All was peaceful when George woke up. Any remnants of the storm from the previous night were gone, and instead of smashing rain, pale sunlight shone through the window.

George was still underwater, tucked onto his side facing the wall. He blinked drearily before turning over to his other side, his eyes still not fully open.

Dream was there. George had forgotten Dream was there. He jumped with fright at being right next to him, not expecting anyone to be there when he woke up. His body was half out of the water now, and water splashed everywhere, but most specifically, onto Dream.

The blonde sat up in shock at the sudden wake-up. Water dripped down his mask. He turned over to look at George, who smiled sheepishly.

Dream scoffed and wiped the water off his mask with his pyjama sleeve. George wondered silently to himself about why humans wore so many different clothes. Why did they have special sleeping ones and awake ones?

George narrowed his eyes thinking about it, which caused Dream to pause in confusion. George waved him off, replacing his scowl with a smile. It seemed George's thinking face looked really angry. What a shame.

Dream yawned again, stretching and letting his back pop in relief. George crinkled his mouth slightly at the cracking sound but made no comment.

The blonde pushed himself up with a sigh. He looked over at George. He couldn't find the right words to say. George raised an eyebrow.

Dream let himself blow a small sigh out of his lips as he swayed his arms back and forth awkwardly. George laughed at the tall man, who's lip curled, in what George assumed was a scowl behind the mask.

Dream coughed.

"I'm gonna- um- go get dressed." Dream murmured, unsure of himself. George thanked the gods that he wasn't the only one who felt awkward about last night. George hadn't really shown himself as comfortable around the man before then, so it was definitely...different from his usual attitude. George went red a little bit, in embarrassment, at the thought. He was so sad and out of it that he'd spent ages sobbing while clutching onto Dream's arms. Oh god. He hoped Dream didn't feel too weird about it.

"Right! Yeah! Go do that!" George said over-enthusiastically as he realised he hadn't replied, and Dream nodded slightly, before shuffling out of the room.

Nice one George.

- - - - - -

Dream left the room with a heavy breath as the door swung shut behind him. He stood outside it for a moment, before walking down the hallway and onto the deck. Overall, the sight wasn't too bad. There sure was a lot of seaweed around, and Tommy had the job of flinging that back into the ocean. Dream smiled slightly at the grimace on the younger one's face as he picked up the slimy seaweed, and that smile only grew larger as he saw Wilbur sitting on a barrel, cackling at him from behind.

Dream rolled his eyes in fondness and walked down the stairs that were on the other side of the hallway.

The wood creaked slightly underneath him as he jogged down. Fundy and Phil were sitting at the big table down there, eating breakfast, but the rest of his crew was nowhere to be seen. He assumed they were all still in their rooms. Dream checked the time on the clock hanging on the wall.

9:30 am. Dream pursed his lips. They should be up by now. When did he start letting them get lazy? He really should do something about that...

But not right now.

Dream waved in greeting towards the two men at the table, who waved back, before he disappeared down a long hallway to the captains quarters. His door creaked as it opened, and he sighed slightly as he let himself flop onto his bed. He laid there for a moment, staring up at the roof as he saw dust through the beams of light.

His bed was much more comfortable than sleeping on the floor in the merman's room. Every night he longed for it instead of the wood that made his back ache incredible amounts, but it was a sacrifice he had to make. He wanted the merman to be comfortable around him. To maybe even trust him. He rolled his eyes to himself slightly at the chances of that. He'd kidnapped the poor guy, there's no way he'd ever trust him.

And yet...last night had happened. He hadn't expected to see the merman sobbing and shaking, mumbling under his breath as he'd walked in after dealing with the storm and helping his crew. He remembered water running down his clothes as it soaked him, making squelching noises as he walked. He remembered finding that annoying, but then seeing the merman, and suddenly not caring anymore.

He'd desperately tried to get the merman's attention, but he seemed to be in some sort of a daze. So he'd resorted to the only thing he knew to do, shake him and yell. He'd been somewhat hesitant to do that, considering he didn't want to invade the merman's personal space, but he'd decided it was worth it. And so what if he got hit or snapped at by the tempered man? He'd much rather he be annoyed at Dream rather than having a breakdown. But that hadn't happened. Instead, much to his surprise, he'd broken him out of the trance, and seconds later had been pulled toward the merman. He wouldn't exactly call it a hug. No, it definitely wasn't a hug. It was more of just the merman holding the sleeves near his shoulders while his hands rested on his shoulders. So, just physical contact. Out of anything he expected, the merman initiating touch was not on the list.

Dream wasn't sure how to proceed anymore. He'd helped calm him down, and he seemed fine last night, but this morning he was all fidgety and weird. Did he regret that? Was he just so desperate for touch and affection that he'd turned to the only person available- Dream?

Dream pulled his mask off and laid it next to him, rubbing his face with a sigh. Curse him and being awkward. It was unlike him. He'd always been so laid back and cool around everyone, ready to butt into conversations with quips and jokes. But the merman was uncharted territory. Dream was unsure of how to proceed when it came to him, and so his usual charm was instead withered away to awkward mumbles and not a lot of talking.

Dream hummed to himself slightly, sitting up and deciding he needed to get on with his day. He switched his sleeping clothes out for daily ones and yawned again. He was tired after last night. Everyone was. He'd give them a chill day today- his treat. He pulled on his coat and boots, before grabbing the mask. He sauntered over to his mirror that stood above his table, and looked at his reflection.

Piercing green eyes stared back at him. They were usually bright, but today they were dull, with dark bags under them, letting everyone know he hadn't slept well. Curse lack of sleep. It was making him look dead. His gaze flicked over to the scar making it's way through his face from the bottom of the end of his eye all the way to his lips. It even went over his lip slightly. He winced as he saw it, before looking down at his mask and sighing slightly before putting it on.

He fluffed up his hair and left the room.

Dream walked over to the table, grabbing two apples, before walking back up the stairs, waving to Niki who was now up and laughing with Wilbur, smiling slightly as she sent him a grin, and walked down the hallway to the merman's room.

He went in and sat in front of the merman, who nodded to him in greeting. Dream held out the apple towards the brunette, who in turn narrowed his eyes, causing the blonde to chuckle. This guy always looked annoyed. That was probably Dream's fault.

"It's an apple." Dream said simply.

"An apple." the merman repeated the man. Dream nodded, holding it closer to the merman. The merman looked at him in suspicion, before gently taking it from Dream, their fingers brushing slightly before he pulled it to his face.

He studied it, turning it around in his grasp to inspect all aspects of it, before hesitantly moving it to his mouth. He took a small bite, his face impartial as he chewed before a smile lit up his face and he took another, much bigger bite.

Dream grinned.

"Do you like it?" he asked the obvious. The merman nodded his head quickly.

"Cool. Good. I'm glad." Dream blurted, before taking a bite of his own apple.

They sat in silence as they ate, and when they finished, the merman looked up over at Dream with a soft smile.

Dream smiled back at him.

"Dream?" The merman asked, inciting a weird feeling in Dream's chest. The merman never said his name. Maybe once or twice, but he always seemed to avoid it like it was a sickness. The sound of his name on the merman's tongue was weird, but not bad.

"Yeah?" Dream replied, after a moment.

"Thank you." Dream furrowed his brows under the mask.

"For what?" he murmured, questioningly.

"Last night."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Well," Dream started, "it's no big deal. You're welcome- I guess."

"Dream?" the merman asked again.

"Yeah?" Dream responded, wondering what the merman's next statement or question would be.

"It's George." the merman said. Huh? What?

"What?" Dream asked, confused. The merman rolled his eyes.

"My name. It's George." George huffed. Dream's eyes widened comically, almost glad that George couldn't see them. His mouth parted in surprise.

"Oh! Well- that's a very nice name." Dream complimented, feeling himself go red with embarrassment at the stupid response.

George furrowed his brow slightly, processing this, before letting out a confused "Thank you?"

"Thank you for telling me. George." George smiled at the use of his name, nodding instead of saying 'you're welcome'.

They sat still for a moment, before Dream let himself blurt out "I was expecting something weirder."

George paused, looking at him oddly.

"Weirder?"

"Well, yeah!" Dream rushed to explain himself, "We come from different cultures, different worlds, I guess I expected some weird merman-ish name, like....Proteus, or something sea-related." George sat there for a moment.

"Proteus? Seriously?"

Dream blushed slightly, "It's a cool name!"

George raised an eyebrow, as Dream sighed in defeat.

They sat in silence for a little bit.

"Really though George, thank you for telling me."

George smiled.

"You're welcome, Dream."

"It means a lot to me that you felt okay with telling me-" George interrupted him with a groan of annoyance, "Seriously! You're welcome. My god."

Dream scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, before shuffling forward and leaning against the glass, looking forward at George.

The brunette sighed slightly as they sat there in a semi-comfortable quietness before he broke the silence with: "I still can't get over the fact you thought my name was Proteus." "Come on man!"

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Hello friends!!!! I did manage to update daily like I aimed for!!! Even though it's later today because of me being busy, I still found time to write this for you guys. Although time zones exist, so you may not even read this when I post it, but it'll be there for you when you wake up!

Thanks so much for the support, as usual!!

Happy reading!!

-Bee

(23/1/21)

Co-posted on ao3