George stirred lazily in bed, flipping onto his side, seeking the warmth of Dream. However, the older boy was surprised to find the bed cold on Dream's side. George blinked his eyes open, squinting in the morning light. Dream's wallet was still there, as well as pretty much all of his stuff. But where was Dream himself? George struggled to sit up, the blankets falling away and causing him to shiver in the morning chill. That's when George noticed that the window was open, and the door was ajar.

What happened?

George slid out of bed, pulling on a comfortable t shirt and sweatpants and giving his messy hair a half hearted tug. He pushed open the bedroom door, and glanced up and down the hallway. No sign of Dream. He walked down the hallway, footsteps muffled by the thick carpet that lined the floor. George emerged into the living room, and he did a three sixty, but still saw no Dream. He heard a slight noise from his left, and jumped, but it was just the wind that was streaming in from another open window.

Weird. Why are all the windows open?

George slid the window shut, shivering slightly from the chilly morning wind. He proceeded down the hall to the mini at home office that Dream usually worked in. That was when he caught a whiff of a slight burning scent accompanied by a whiff of smoke that was wafting in through the door he had just opened. George turned around, confused. He left the office, and proceeded in the direction of the smell, and stumbled upon the kitchen. There, Dream was dozing on the kitchen table, head resting in his arms, and slumped on the table. George sighed, relieved to have found Dream again.

He walked over to Dream and gently shook his shoulder. "Dream~"

Dream stirred sleepily and swatted George's hand away. "What? What time is it?" He mumbled into his hoodie sleeves.

"Dream, you fell asleep. Were you cooking breakfast or something?" George looked up from the sleepy Dream and his eyes widened. One of the curtains near the stove was on fire. That's where the smoke was coming from.

"Dream! The curtain's on fire!" George cried, urgently shaking Dream, who jumped up, still a little groggy but more alert. Dream spun around twice until he found the source of the smoke.

"Grab the fire extinguisher! It's by the washing machines, in the second cabinet!" Dream shouted instructions to George, then whipped around, snatched his half empty water bottle and threw the water into the flames, which doused it a little, but it only flared up again, roaring angrily.

George turned and sprinted for the fire extinguisher, and followed Dream's instructions to a small red fire extinguisher, which he rushed back to the kitchen with. Dream spun around on George's entrance, and held out a hand. George was momentarily frozen, horrified at the progress that the fire had made. It had started by eating up just a corner of the curtain, but now it had spread to the cabinets beside it, which were made of wood. The fire greedily gulped the wood down, the light dancing on the shiny metal refrigerator door.

"Hand it over!" Dream roared. George snapped back to reality, and gave Dream the fire extinguisher, watching, cowering in the corner, as Dream tried to put out the fire. His efforts proved hopeless, as the fire spread, now to the counter tops. The fire ate up the wood, creeping closer to where Dream was standing. George finally broke out of his terrified trance and tugged Dream backwards just as the fire leapt to where Dream had been standing just moments before.

"We need to leave! Call the fire department! It's gotten out of control." George cried, tugging on Dream's hand to the door. Dream stood there, paralyzed, staring at the burning apartment around them.

"Dream!" George screamed through tears that had somehow started to stream down his face. "Dream, please come!"

Dream slowly turned away from the fire and met George's eyes. Somehow, under George's gaze, Dream seemed to calm down, and he reached into his back pocket for his phone. George pulled Dream towards the door, and Dream complied, running after George, and speaking quickly and urgently into the phone. Suddenly, George stopped, and Dream crashed into George, nearly sending the older toppling forward — or into the flames. Dream's eyes widened. The fire had spread around the house, blocking the front door.

Dream turned to George, putting his hands on George's shoulders. "George, I need you to trust me."

George met Dream's gaze, wide eyed, panicked, but nodded.

"We're going to get blankets, wet them in the sink back there, and run through the fire with the blan-" Dream broke off to cough. The smoke was already starting to get to the pair. "-blankets covering us. Got it?"

George nodded quickly, and slipped from Dream's grasp, opening the closet and pulling out a large blanket. George then turned to the bathroom, the blanket in tow, and with Dream following behind. George turned on the tap, making the water flow as fast as possible, and soaked the whole blanket through. Dream took George's hand, and forced George to look him in the eye.

"Do you trust me?" Dream demanded.

"Yes." George coughed.

"Then let's go." George draped the blanket around the two, and they ran, bent over, and stopped just before the flames. Dream took a deep breath, grabbed George's hand, and lead them through the fire.

The blanket protected them. Mostly. George's pant leg caught on fire, and once they stepped outside, George ripped it off with his hands, which he immediately regretted. His hands started blistering from the heat, and George gasped from the pain. Dream stomped the torn fabric out, and ordered George to sit down on the lawn. George obeyed, sitting down, and wincing as the blades of grass grazed his burnt skin.

Dream kneeled down, inspecting George's burn. "I'm not a doctor, but I think you'll be fine." Dream finally concluded, looking back up at George.

George encircled Dream in a hug, tears streaming freely now, the burning house behind them going forgotten as George clung onto the thing that mattered to him most.

Dream.

"Thank you." George finally whispered into Dream's collarbone. Dream rubbed circles in George's back, vanishing into their own world. As the sirens approached, the two didn't move. Instead, George continued to hug Dream tightly, and Dream continued to rub soothing circles onto George's back.

"I love you." Dream finally breathed, pressing a kiss onto the forehead of the thing that mattered to him the most.

George.

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