Chapter Text
He’s laying in bed, staring out through his open window. The cool breeze drifts in as he tries to see a glimpse of the stars in the dark sky between the clouds. He’s glad his bedroom window faces the apartment complex’s pool and garden even though they are quite a few stories below. The fresh air that drifts through is much better than the air on the road side that Sapnap’s bedroom faces.
He would probably be cold if he wasn’t wearing a T-shirt, sweatpants and his black smile hoodie. His stomach slightly rumbles and he is tempted to go to the kitchen to get some food, but if he did he runs the risk of running into George. So instead he lays in bed and stews in his regret.
The past two weeks since kissing George on that couch have been so hard. He has been so awkward around George and he knows George has noticed.
Ever since George looked at him in the kitchen the night after the couch incidence he has felt guilty. George would’ve woken up with hickies on his neck and not had any idea how he got them. And then seeing Sapnap and his mum teasing him about hickies on his own neck would’ve helped George put the puzzle pieces together.
That whole conversation was a complete mess.
Sapnap brought up Lisa and then the look on George’s face when he realised he must have done something with Dream that he couldn’t remember, well George looked like he was gonna throw up.
That made him angry. Angry at himself for not stopping George the night before. And angry at Sapnap for bringing up Lisa. While George would obviously not care about his relationship with her, he knew George would be upset that Dream had never even mentioned it to him. To be fair she was only a fling that happened just before George moved here.
And in his defence, he was just nervous. Nervous about George moving in with him and Sapnap and everything else that was happening at that time. He needed to just let off some stress. And Lisa worked with his Merch company. She was pretty and nice and someone who he could trust. She already knew he was ‘Dream’ so it wasn’t like he was jeopardising him and Sapnap’s security or anything. It was fine.
Then when Dream was going to pull George to the side to apologise and explain what happened between them, George literally fled not just from him, not just from the room but from the entire apartment. Using the excuse to return his mum’s notebook.
“Dude! I thought you said you ended it with Lisa?”
He didn’t know what to say. If he told Sapnap the truth he would’ve embarrassed George. But if he lied and said he was with Lisa then Sapnap would be pissed off at him.
“Yeah I did end it. I just. I dunno.” Technically he hadn’t said anything that was a lie. He just made it sound like he went back to Lisa.
“Why would you do that? What about George?! He’s actually here now. In the same country as us, in the same freaking apartment! Not an entire ocean away!”
“Nick! Stop it! I’m serious,” he almost hisses. “George doesn’t like me like that! If he did I would know. Because I’m his best fucking friend.
George is probably more upset that YOU just brought up some woman’s name that I never told him about.”
“You’re being an idiot.”
He was done with the conversation. Storming to the fridge, he grabbed his dinner out. He could sense Sapnap still standing behind him but he ignored him, dumping his food onto a plate instead and shoving it into the microwave to heat up.
He was watching the plate spin when he heard Sapnap scoff, walking out of the room seconds after.
The ding of the microwave brought him back to the present. He took his plate and walked back to his room, ignoring Sapnap on the couch in the lounge room.
The feeling of regret laces it’s way through that memory as he lays in bed. The memories of his numerous attempts to apologise muddled in his head with everything else. He realises this is not productive in the slightest but he can’t help it.
Every time he tried to even attempt to speak to George, he had chickened out and when he could see the relief on George’s face when he did so just convinced him that chickening out was the right decision.
Realising that George hadn’t come to talk to him about it either made it clear that George didn’t want to talk about it at all.
Dream has never thought of himself as a coward but George brings out things in him he would have never thought were even inside of him. A lot of things.
Everything started to get better after about four days and now two weeks have past and him and George are basically back to normal. There are some mornings when he notices George avoids him for seemingly no reason but other than that they are fine. They stream, work on YouTube video ideas, play games together. Sapnap and him have been trying to convinced George to come workout with them but George always says no.
A smile creeps along his lips thinking about yesterday. Sapnap was begging George to come watch him skateboard in an empty car park, even tried to offer his services of editing George’s video for him. In the end George caved and went with Sapnap.
As hard as this little mishap with George was, he’s glad he lives with his best friends. He’s glad they have moments like those together, moments where they are laughing and just -
A loud crash jolts him out of his thoughts. He’s out of bed and rushing through his bedroom door before he can even think. A vague image of George’s wooden bat washes across his mind and he only has half a second to wish for it in his hands when he sneaks around the corner of his kitchen.
The sight that greets him immediately makes him relax.
It’s just George. On the floor. With a smashed bowl? Milk and cereal puddle in front of him, traveling along the grouts of the tiled floor.
“George!” He whisper yells, surprised that he could actually do such a thing. “You scared the shit out of me.”
He tries his best not to let his eyes roam over George’s exposed pale skin. Questions rise up in his throat but he bottles them.
Why is George not wearing a shirt? How did he manage to drop the bowl? Why is he even eating cereal in the middle of the night?
“I’m sorry Dream,” he mumbles. “I just got scared. Quackity came out of nowhere. He tried to take my cereal.”
He breathes out, the realisation that George is asleep again sinks into him. He’s glad he can actually recognise it this time.
Crouching down he grabs pieces of ceramic out of George’s hands and places them back on the floor.
“You okay?” He murmurs, checking over the slim pale hands under his larger ones to see if his friend has hurt himself.
Milk coats his hands but otherwise George is fine.
“Come on. Hop up. I’ll help you.”
Manoeuvring George over to the sink is more difficult than he expects. George clings onto him, muttering about how he was sick of the cereal anyway, how Quackity could steal all of it for he cares.
“I don’t wanna buy any more of the cereal Dream.”
He turns to George at that statement and realises his friend is already watching him, eyes not wavering from his. He’s the first to look away, instead focusing on placing George’s hands under the faucet to rinse them off.
“Dream you have to help me get rid of Quackity.”
George’s tone is so serious he can’t help the smile that he can feel crawling across his lips.
“I’ll help you George. Don’t worry.”
His words of reassurance seem to placate George, who relaxes back, leaning himself against the bench.
He tries to ignore George’s eyes on him as he quickly cleans up the mess on the floor.
It’s somewhat amusing, seeing George keeping a lookout for some tiny dream vision of Quackity. He really can’t help but tease George.
“Has he come back George? Is Quackity here?”
Dark brown eyes meet his and George shakes his head. He looks so sleepy and tired and serious at the same time.
“Come on George, let’s get you back to bed.”
“No,” he whines. “I’m still hungry. This is all Quackity fault.”
“Okay okay,” he rummages through the cupboards, trying to find something simple for George to eat.
George comes to stand beside him and he unwittingly tenses. George’s head comes to rest against his shoulder as they both peer into the cupboard. Trying his best to ignore his best friend beside him, he grabs some snacks for George and the last Slim Jim out of the box for himself.
“Alright, I got us some snacks.”
George’s head suddenly rises of his shoulder and his bicep is suddenly grasped by George’s fingers.
“Dream! Quick. Look, he’s back.“
His hands are full with snacks so he can’t stop George from taking off, he can only follow.
George rushes through the kitchen and stops halfway down the hallway. When he catches up he follows the direction of George’s finger as it points at the wooden floorboards.
“He’s right there Dream.”
He glances up to look at George’s face, his eyes are now closed and tiny lines have appeared between his furrowed eyebrows.
“What do you want me to do George? Squish him?”
His joke offer actually causes George to bark out a laugh, his frown disappearing and being replaced with a smile. For the first time in a while he has made George laugh. Warmth blooms through his chest and he realises he must’ve been carrying around the guilt in his chest ever since- he stops his thoughts again. This moment is too good, too funny to ruin with guilty memories. He relaxes, realising he can just be normal with asleep George, there’s none of the underlying awkwardness he’s had with awake George that’s been present for the past two weeks.
“He’s gone into my room. But I’m hungry. Let’s just leave him.” George speaks matter of factly as he turns around, walking away from his room. “Let’s just eat in your room.” He mumbles, eyes open again but looking glazed over, their shoulders barely brush together when he walks past.
This whole situation made him nervous at first, he was worried that he might have to push off any advances George made on him while asleep, but tonight George seems different. More sleepy and hungry and just normal. This is probably the most relaxed he has felt around George in ages so he turns off the hallway light and follows George into his room.
George sits on his bed, reaching out for the snacks that are in his hands. He passes them to George, taking a seat next to his best friend on his black doona cover.
George is quiet while they munch on their snacks until he hears the quiet chattering of George’s teeth.
He realises that his window is still open, and George isn’t wearing a T-shirt, no wonder he is shivering.
He’s pulling his hoodie off before he can second guess his actions.
“Here George. You’re cold.”
George’s ‘Thankyou’ is muffled as he brings the hoodie up to bury his face into it. He feels his heart quicken, and making a joke is his only option.
“It doesn’t smell that bad, does it?”
“No. Of course not. You always smell so good Dream.”
He feels himself freeze. George’s answer has thrown him completely.
It’s slightly weird talking to George like this. His defences are down, there’s no filter on his words. No sarcasm drips off his answer, he realises George doesn’t have any defences at the ready. It’s strange because that’s something that’s always been there in the background of his personality. Whenever someone says something a bit too serious for George, a bit too meaningful he shuts it down. And there’s none of that in the way when George talks to him right now.
Once his hoodie settles onto George’s torso, covering his bare skin, his best friend rests his head back against his shoulder. The realisation that George fits perfectly against his side, that he looks very very cute in his hoodie proves to be too much for his heart. Tears well in his eyes and he’s thankful that it seems like George is falling back asleep against his side. Thankful that even sleepwalking George won’t see him cry.
He wishes he didn’t feel what he felt for his best friend. He wishes away his feelings for George because if they didn’t exist, him and George wouldn’t have had that incident on the couch.
His heart twists painfully at the memory and he stands quickly, just wanting George to get off him.
George’s body falls to the side onto Dream’s doona. Eyes closed, dark hair falls over his face and arms limp and falling of the side of Dream’s mattress.
Pushing all his feelings down inside him to the very bottom he releases a big sigh. Trying to call himself before he takes the food from George’s hand. He handles George’s unconscious body carefully, flipping George’s arms up over his back and hoisting him half up on his shoulder.
When he wraps his arms around George to hold him, finding he’s very thankful for all the weights he’s ever lifted in his life. Holding George so close, carrying him back to his room and gently laying him on his blue sheets feels strangely important. As if he’s carrying precious cargo and not just his sleeping best friend.
He realises they are one and the same.
He tucks the sheets around George, making sure he won’t be cold. Dark curls of hair fall across his face and Dream’s hand is halfway to his serene face, ready to brush the hair away when he stops himself. That’s taking it too far. Touching when it’s not necessary, not needed. Instead he steals himself away from George, escaping through the wooden door, down the hallway and back into his own room.
****
There are no new marks on him. He can feel panic rising in his chest. Last night he didn’t just dream again. He actually physically interacted with Dream while he was asleep and that knowledge terrifies him. Nothing is amiss except the weight of Dream’s hoodie on him which means he probably didn’t force himself on his best friend again and then leave him sitting confused and weirded out once more which is good.
He tries his best to remember last night but his memories are frustratingly amis.
He has to know what he did. He has to know. He can’t go any longer being in the dark. He’s rushing in and then out of Dream’s empty room and just about to enter the kitchen when he catches himself.
Sapnap’s laugh is rings out through the kitchen as he steps tentatively through the doorway.
“What so he dropped the bowl and YOU had to clean up the mess. Hah. You’re such a simp. I would’ve just woken him up.”
A sudden vision of Dream’s hands on his, gently taking pieces of a broken bowl from him flash through his mind.
“Yeah nah i didn’t even hear anything.” Dream and Sapnap appear in his vision as he steps further into the kitchen. “How often does he sleep walk? I didn’t know he had done that since he got here. He used to do it back in his flat in London didn’t he? I remember he said once.”
“This was only the second time I’ve seen him do it.”
“What did he do the first time?”
He watches as Dream’s face flares red and the realisation that Dream had never told Sapnap what happened between them dawns on him. The realisation that Dream knew he was asleep when they kissed comes a few seconds after. If Dream knew he was asleep why would he let it happen?
“George! Dream was just telling me about your sleepwalking adventures.”
“Yeah,” he chuckles, but it sounds fake even to him. “I actually don’t remember what happened last night.”
“Oh. Do you usually remember what you do when you’re asleep?”
He sees Dream tense and look up at him, obviously interested in his answer to Sapnap’s question.
“Umm,” he stalls. If he answers honestly he will be letting Dream know that he remembers what they did and he’s honestly not sure if he’s ready for that. All the determination he had to talk to Dream has disappeared entirely, leaving him a nervous wreck. He bites his lip as he bites the bullet. “I always remember what happens but last night i don’t remember much.”
“You didn’t do anything.” Dream says in a rush. “So don’t worry.”
“Pft. Yes he did. He smashed a bowl.”
Neither of them respond to Sapnap. He’s too busy taking in Dream’s surprisingly clean shaven appearance when their eyes connect. Embarrassment flares through him, face heating up as he quickly tears his eyes away, glancing down at the scrambled eggs on Dream’s plate instead. He hates that Dream’s words hinted at what happened before but he’s glad he hadn’t basically assaulted Dream in his sleep again.
“Am I missing something? You both look kinda...” Sapnap’s words trail off. There’s a tense few seconds then suddenly the pop of the toaster breaks the silence that the kitchen had descended into. Sapnap turns away, grabbing the hot toast and sliding the slices onto his plate.
“You want some toast George?” Sapnap offers.
“No I’m good. Actually Dream can we talk? I need your help fixing this thing.”
He can see the reluctance on Dream’s face but thankfully he agrees, leaving his plate and following him out of the kitchen.
He leads Dream to his room, wanting to be as far away from the kitchen so Sapnap doesn’t overhear their conversation.
“If you remembered what happened that night on the couch why aren’t you mad at me? Why didn’t you say anything?!” He’s somewhat glad that Dream gets straight to the point. But wait what?
“Mad at you? Wha-? Why would I be mad at you? You’re the one that should be mad at me! I fully forced myself onto you one night and then ignored you for like 4 days after.”
“Because you were asleep! And I didn’t realise! I thought you actually- So I- and then I let you-.” He stops and collects himself, taking a deep breath. “I should’ve realised that you were asleep and you wouldn’t actually want to do that. But I didn’t realise until after and I’m so sorry George.”
So he didn’t realise I was asleep until after. “Wait you thought I was awake? But why would you let me sit on your lap and start making out with you?” He asks, his tone is incredulous but he can’t really control it.
Dream stays silent and George is still confused. “You shouldn’t be apologising Dream. I should be. I should’ve had more control over myself. And this morning I was so scared that I did it again. My dreams have just been so exhausting lately because they are always of you and I wake up terrified that I’m sleepwalking again.”
“I’m sorry George.” Dream says again, looking so sad and broken that he feel his heart break at the site of it.
“Dream please stop apologising.” He can’t stop himself from reaching out and placing what he hopes is a comforting hand on Dream’s shoulder.
“I feel like I’ve messed things up between us and I hate that. I never wanted my feelings for you to come between us. I really didn’t.”
He’s about to cry and the words are just pouring out of his mouth but he can’t turn away now, Dream deserves better. He deserves the conversation that they should have had weeks ago.
“Feelings for me?” Dream looks at him, confusion and something else glimmering in his eyes.
Now it’s his turn to be silent. He doesn’t know what to say that would stop Dream from being weirded out. Words fail him and he drops his hand from Dream’s shoulder.
“George.” Dream almost whispers, and he sounds scared.
“It’s nothing.” He wants to say, but it’s not. It’s not nothing. His feelings for Dream has caused so much trouble between them.
Instead he tries to be as honest as he can.
“I’m sorry. I never wanted to mess things up or make you uncomfortable. But I did. I can’t control myself obviously when I’m asleep. So I’m sorry.”
“I never pushed you away that night because I-.” He stops mid sentence like he’s forcing the words out of himself. “Because to be fair when you climbed on top of me I thought you actually. I thought you wanted to kiss me.
And that. That made me happy because I like you. So that’s why I let you kiss me.
I thought you were upset with me because I let you do something you didn’t actually wanna do when you were asleep.”
Dream’s words left him frozen in disbelief.
His best friend steps closer towards him and he realises he can’t move. Dream towers over him and all George can see is his newly shaved jawline and his lips and his chin.
‘That made me happy. I like you. Happy. That’s why I let you. Kiss me.’
The words Dream spoke are ringing through his head and he realises Dream is still speaking but he honestly cannot for the life of him comprehend any of it.
“George!”
Dream has a tight grip of his shoulder, and his fingers feel like they burn into his skin through the hoodie.
“Please say something.” Dream begs, peering so desperately into his face obviously hoping for him to respond.
Somehow his hands have grasped onto Dream’s arms in return and he realises they are standing so close to each other, holding onto the other like they are each other’s lifelines.
“Wait so you wanted me to kiss you?” He can’t believe it and it must come through in his tone.
“Yes George! God yes. I’ve honestly wanted to kiss you for such a long time. That night when you came out and we were together on the couch. I honestly thought it was too good to be true.”
“You wanted to..” He can’t even finish the sentence.
“Kiss you George.” Their faces are so close together when Dream finishes the sentence he couldn’t.
“Kiss me..” He’s unsure whether his words are a request or not but Dream doesn’t hesitate. His face is suddenly grasped by large hands and the kiss Dream places on his lips is surprisingly soft.
They pull slightly apart and he can hear Dream swallow nervously.
“You’re definitely awake right now yeah?”
George smiles against Dream’s lips as his best friend teases him. He leans slightly further back, moving his hands up to grab hold of his Dream’s face. His fingers dance across the smooth skin.
“I am.. so very awake.” He states, admiring his friend’s smooth face and bright green eyes. His words don’t even begin to cover it. His body is thrumming, electricity zings under his skin where Dream’s hands rest on him. He has never felt more awake, more alive then he does in this very moment. He’s smiles up as Dream stares right back down at him, eyes shining with happiness.
“Good. I was just checking.”
“Alright. Great! You’ve checked. Now shut up and kiss me again. Idiot.”
He grabs a handful of Dream’s shirt, yanking him forward so fast their lips clash rather painfully.
He feels their lips break apart again after a while, and Dream obviously can’t stop smiling, which makes it kinda difficult to continue kissing but he doesn’t care one bit.
After all the apparent miscommunication and angst of the past two weeks, finally, FINALLY, he can kiss his best friend when he’s awake and can actually enjoy it.
They must’ve been standing there kissing for a while, because suddenly Sapnap is walking through his doorway.
“Yo. What is Dream helping you fix? You guys have been in here for-“
There’s no time for them to break apart. They turn as one to look at Sapnap and he almost laughs out loud at his best friend’s expression at catching them in this compromising position.
“WOAH WHAT THE FUCK?!”
He is glad Sapnap never saw them on the couch. He honestly believes that he would’ve had a heart attack or something if he walked in on them like that.
“Ugh. Okay fucking finally,” Sapnap says, rushing out of the room and leaving them alone together.
The feel of Dream burying his face into his neck and laughing is something he doesn’t think he will ever forget. And realising there is so many other things he’s gonna get to do with Dream now fills him with an indescribable feeling.
“Come on George.” Dream says, holding his large hand out. He takes it and Dream leads him out the room and down the hallway. He squeezes his hand and smiles down at him.
“Let me make you some breakfast that’s yummier than your cereal.”