Chapter Text
George has never been the kind of person that would appreciate touching very much. He really just blames his family, he can't really remember any hugs shared between him and his parents up until he was of age and leaving for college, and even then, it felt performative for the people that were around the train station when his family went to see him off.
So yeah, he is not a touchy person, it's not a problem really, up until he became somewhat of a popular streamer and people now tried to touch him all the time. He knew it meant nothing, the random touches to his shoulder, the short-shared hugs, but every time he felt his skin fire up, it would itch with the feeling of other person so close to him and God, his heart did not know how to deal with that.
And then a pandemic hit and he hasn't physically touched anyone in a year and suddenly had a deep craving for it, to just... have someone close.
His wishes were never fulfilled.
It was overwhelming now, sitting on a plane with a stranger pressing a shoulder into his because that already felt like too much even though it shouldn't. He tried to ignore it, the hotness starting up under his skin.
Maybe this was good to prepare him for what's waiting for him as he gets off the airplane. He is sure neither of the boys is going to hold back in squeezing him tightly, they have been waiting years to finally meet and see and touch each other.
Touch.
He knew Sapnap shared his uncomfort with it a bit, but then again, he watched him change into the touchiest person in a matter of three streams with Karl, so maybe it just depended on the person.
But Dream, he heard so much, especially from Sapnap, he warned him repeatedly just so he can mentally prepare himself, he probably knew that George needs to mentally prepare himself for that.
The shared words about touches on the lower back as he passes you in the kitchen, the shoulder bumping, cuddling on the couch, long unexpected hugs, it all was still fresh on his mind. He tried to imagine it but his skin was already cringing into itself just from this slight shoulder touch from a complete stranger so he really doesn't know how he is going to be able handle... that. Him.
There will probably need to be a talk about some boundaries pretty early on. He is going to have to test out those boundaries first though.
The announcement finally comes, they're beginning their descent and now George's skin itches just from all the anxiety filling up his body.
It feels surreal in a way, to finally sit here, after so many tries and so many fails. He never had money for this before YouTube. After YouTube took off Covid did too and he was denied meeting his best friends once more.
He generally liked oceans, just hated this one for separating him from what he really wanted. And also, being so goddamn big, he has been on a plane for 10 hours and his body was crumbling into itself. He fastened his seatbelt and lounged back into the seat. Just few more minutes and he could stretch his muscles. He could see them, his friends, and begin what would be a new chapter. A few more minutes and he would find out how touch-starved he really was.
His anxiety was mixing with excitement as he was walking through the unfamiliar airport with his two big suitcases trailing behind him, one full of pieces of his setup because it seemed like a better idea to have eyes on it on a plane instead of just shipping it. Best would be if he could just somehow magically teleport everything to his room in Dream’s house. This was so much work. It wasn't easy on his tired limbs but the adrenalin from being in an unfamiliar place and all alone kept him strong enough, up until he saw a very familiar green hoodie come into view. Dream was typing into his phone, leaned on some mural structure, Sapnap next to him looking around lazily, completely missing and skipping over George.
Of fucking course he would.
What was even worse was that Dream was holding that godforsaken Dream mask in his hands. Sapnap had a white bandana around his head. Were they...cosplaying themselves? What the fuck?
He began slowly walking towards them. Sapnap finally locked eyes on him and began nudging Dream quickly, who put the mask over his face, bit too late, and they were walking towards him.
"About fucking time," Sapnap uttered and hugged him. It was short, exactly all George could muster. He patted his hand a few times, the touch felt awkward but it was okay because his wide smile made up for it. He looked at his bandana then, eyebrows raised. "Please don't ask, it was his idea!" he pointed to the man towering over them with that menacing mask.
"I think I'm just gonna wait for the next flight back," he scrunched up his nose and he saw Dream's shoulders slump.
"It was supposed to be funny but Sapnap wasn't paying enough attention to surprise you!" Dream whined but let the mask down and George stared at his tanned face, the freckles making a bridge over his nose, and just smiled. He tried to open his mouth to give some funny retort back but then a second passed and he was suddenly in an excruciatingly painful hug, Dream holding him as if afraid that his threats about going back were real. He squeezed him even more, he felt him let out a breath so close to his ear, their heads smushed together by the embrace.
George... No one ever hugged him like this before.
No one ever hugged him like this, like they really meant it and were thankful to hold him in their arms and appreciated every second of it, like hugs weren’t just polite commodity.
His body responded with the oh so traditional anxiety, he felt hot, god, Dream was so warm, and he didn't even know on which part of the touch to concentrate because Dream was everywhere, in every single space of his being.
George could never really smell other people’s scent, unless they smelled very very bad, but now he could easily tell that Dream uses some apple shampoo and the same brand of aftershave he does. It felt too intimate.
Sapnap haven't prepared him nearly enough.
"Okay, let him breathe please!" Sapnap laughed and Dream's own laugh echoed through George's entire being. God he really was not prepared for something like this.
"Please, I saw you taking photos for twitter, you're enjoying this too!"
"It's prime content okay? People were waiting years for this moment!"
"We were waiting years for this moment!" Dream laughed and he finally stepped back, only a bit, his hands stayed on George's shoulders. His tone softly lowered. "I'm so glad you're here," he sighed happily and George just stared.
"Sapnap was right, oh my god," he said and then they all burst out laughing. Dream’s hands left his shoulders and George's body didn't know how to deal with that either.
Dream took one of the suitcases and nodded to Sapnap to take the other. His hand was around his wrist now, the wrist that the stupid mask was still hooked around. George stared at it a bit longer.
"God that thing is hideous!"
"Are you calling me ugly?" Dream raised a brow but he laughed. He still held his wrist all the way to the parking lot and to the car and George still felt like he didn't get a chance to settle into his body just yet. They loaded all his luggage into the trunk of the car and then George was in the backseat, feeling tired and worn out. It felt nice to finally have some space without another presence, he gladly let Sapnap take the front seat even though Dream protested. He was now looking at him through the rear-view mirror, still unable to keep the smile from his face.
"We have like an hour drive to the house, you can nap," he said because he probably saw how his eyes kept closing on their own. George hardly nodded as he let his head fall back and sleep overtake him. There was enough time for them to talk after.