George shuffled his feet, excited but nervous at the same time. He bounced on his toes, and Dream chuckled, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down, George. He's not going anywhere."

George gave Dream a fake glare, but melted when Dream pecked a kiss onto his cheek. George smiled and intertwined his fingers with Dream's, waiting.

A couple of months back, George had had an idea: what if they adopted a child? Since same-sex couples weren't able to reproduce biologically, adopting a kid seemed to be the best idea, since neither of them were comfortable with having a foster mother. They had looked around at their nearest orphanage, and once the dreary process of legally adopting a kid was over, there was still a few more weeks before the deed could be done. A few days before, the pair had received an email giving them the date, and here they were, George bouncing excitedly and Dream with a lazy, amused smile lining his face.

Suddenly, the door opened, and George sat up straight.

"Come on in." A man in his late thirties beckoned them in. George stepped in hesitantly, Dream following behind. They were greeted by a sullen looking child who was picking at the hem of his thin and tattered shirt.

"This is Hayden. Say hi, Hayden." The man glared at the child. Dream winced, and George stepped slightly closer to Dream.

"Hi." The child finally grumbled.

"These are going to be your foster parents." The man gestured towards the pair, and they fidgeted awkwardly on the spot.

Hayden looked up at them with a piercing gaze that took both of them aback. His eyes were an electric blue, a shocking difference from Dream's sea-green ones that always seemed relaxed and good-natured. Instead, Hayden's eyes screamed distrust and wariness.

"Hi, Hayden. I'm Clay, but I like to be called Dream." Dream introduced himself.

"I'm George."

Hayden didn't respond, merely continuing to stare at them with that piercing gaze of his. After a few more documents to sign, the man finally shook both their hands and let Hayden up. Dream felt a little awkward. Now that they had actually adopted a child, and he was standing in front of them, Dream didn't know what to do. Should he hold out his hand for the boy? Or should he just tell him to follow?

Dream cleared his throat. "Hayden, you can come with us now. We'll take good care of you."

Hayden stood up slowly, still staring steadily at them. "Are you going to abandon me like everyone else?" He asked suddenly.

Dream was taken aback, but he also felt a little sorry for the little child. "No. We promise."

"Everyone else promised, but they left me in the end." Hayden narrowed his eyes at Dream and George. To the side, the man stood awkwardly, holding the door open.

"Hey, Hayden." Dream kneeled down so he was at eye level with the little boy. "I know you've probably been tossed from foster home to orphanage to foster home, but we'll take care of you." He swallowed slightly. "I know what it's like to feel unwanted, but you are."

Hayden stared at Dream for a little longer, then finally nodded. "Okay." He replied. "Let's go."

George let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Dream offered his hand, but Hayden ignored it, pushing ahead. The trio went out to the car, and George helped him inside, Dream taking the wheel. On the way back to the house, George tried to make conversation with Hayden.

"How old are you, Hayden?" George asked.

"Five." He replied shortly.

"When's your birthday?"

"February 25th."

Soon enough, though, Hayden began to warm up to them, and by the time they arrived back in the garage of the house, Hayden had cracked a laugh. It wasn't much, but it was a start. George led Hayden inside the house and showed him the former guest room, which would now be dedicated to Hayden as his personal bedroom.

For a moment, Hayden stared into the room. The day before, Dream and George had stripped it of all of the decorations, so Hayden could decorate it as he wanted. Now, all that stood in there was a single bookshelf, a small walk-in closet, a desk, and a bed.

"Do you, do you like it?" George asked tentatively, as Dream walked up behind them.

"Is it all mine?" Hayden asked after a while of silence.

"Yep." Dream replied, ruffling his hair. Hayden was silent again for a long time, before turning around and promptly hugging George's legs, which were closest to him.

"Thank you!"

-

Dream and George lounged on the couch, feeling exhausted. They had just gone on a shopping spree with Hayden, picking out clothes and furniture, and finally, a set of glow-in-the-dark star stickers and paint, which they had spent the past two hours installing in his room. They were all happy with the result, and when Hayden went off to bed, Dream had stood in the doorway of the room, staring up at the ceiling. When George went to ask him why, Dream didn't reply, merely pressing a kiss onto George's temple and walking away.

"I used to dream of being an astronaut." Dream spoke out of the blue.

"What?"

"I used to dream of flying amongst the stars, watching as the planet disappeared into a single blue dot. It gave me perspective. I always thought, if millions and millions of miles away, our planet is but a small blue dot amongst the twinkling stars, then aren't all these arguments, all the blood shed, wars fought, aren't they all, really, meaningless? They seem so big, but in reality, they're so small." Dream mused. George listened carefully.

"I remember, my mother used to bring me to bookstores occasionally, because she just liked to hang out there. There was this one book that really captivated me. There were pictures of the moon, the planets, the stars, and I was immediately spellbound. I always begged her to let me buy it. But it was so expensive! I think it was, what, 20 dollars? I begged her every year when Christmas and my birthday came near, but I never got it. Only on my 17th birthday, she got it for me." Dream smiled slightly. "By that time, I had lost my spark for it, I guess. I asked her why she decided to get it for me years and years after I first asked for it."

He chuckled to himself. "She told me that she would only give it to me once I stopped asking. Because sometimes you just need to let things happen, and they'll figure themselves out." He fell silent. "Seeing that same fascination and obsession in our adopted... son, it brings a smile on my face." Dream closed his eyes, a slight curve gracing his lips, basking in the warmth of his memory.

George smiled at Dream. "I'm glad." He replied simply. He reached out a single finger and traced the outline of Dream's smile, his finger ghosting softly over the ridges and curves of his smooth skin. Dream's eyes blinked open and he met George's gaze.

"I love you." Dream whispered.

"I love you more."

Dream winked. "Impossible."

George chuckled quietly, then leaned forwards and pressed his lips onto Dream's. It wasn't a steamy kiss, or one loaded with emotions; instead, it was sweet, soft, and they were both merely savoring the moment, enjoying the feeling of each other's lips.

"Don't ever leave me." Dream breathed when they finally broke apart, staring into each other's eyes as their foreheads stayed pressed together.

"Never."