TW: Mentions of SH

George wasn't sleeping. How could he, with Dream wrapped around him, holding him so warmly, affectionately? His head spun, unable to cope with these new emotions.

Absently, George scratched at the new cuts on his arms, wincing as his nails caught on the dried blood. Guilt settled in his gut as he remembered his promise to Clay, to tell him if he ever felt like harming. Obviously, he hadn't kept it.

Dream mumbled something in his sleep and moved, leaning further into the couch and pulling George with him. George blushed furiously, as his back was pressed to Dream's chest, between his legs. Sapnap snorted in his sleep from the other end of the couch, half of his body hanging off the edge. George smiled.

He didn't deserve them.

His thoughts returned to Dream, who was still holding him close, his breath tickling George's ear. George stifled a giggle, not wanting to wake either of them.

Vaguely, he noted Clay's arms wrapping themselves around his waist, but was too deep in thought to really react to it.

His feelings for Clay were new. He didn't know if he genuinely liked him, or if he just missed the comfort of another human, comfort that Dream had so readily supplied, without George even having to ask.

George huffed, getting frustrated with himself. He had been with Oliver for so long that he had forgotten what it was like to feel anything for anyone other than him. He didn't know what to do, couldn't remember what to do. All he knew is that his heart wanted Clay, regardless of his head telling him that he was wrong.

"Georgie? Are you okay?"

George jumped, his hand flying to his mouth to quiet the small yelp that escaped his lips. Sapnap watched in amusement as George exhaled heavily.

"Jesus, Sapnap," he whispered harshly. "What's the matter with you?"

Sapnap shrugged and sat up, wrapping his blanket around his shoulders as he faced George. "What are you doing up?" he asked. "It's pretty late, isn't it?"

"I'm just thinking," George said, rubbing his eyes.

"About Dream?"

George's mouth fell open with a small pop at Nick's bluntness, but he quickly closed it. "What makes you think that?"

Sapnap laughed and gestured for him to move closer. George carefully moved Clay's arms from around his stomach, placing a pillow in them so Dream wouldn't notice, and went to sit beside his other friend.

Sapnap smiled reassuringly at him.

"You like him, don't you?"

George wrung his hands and sank deep into the couch.

"There's no point in denying it," Sapnap laughed. "It's so painfully obvious."

George winced. "It's not like I meant for it to happen," he mumbled, picking at his nail. "I just-"

"You don't have to explain yourself. I'm just wondering what you plan to do about it."

"Nothing," George said quickly. "I'm not going to do anything about it. I'm going to just...wait it out, let my feelings go away on their own."

Sapnap frowned , looking deeply troubled by this statement. "Why would you do that?"

George shook his head. "You don't get it, Sap," he said. "I can't just...move on so fast like that. Plus, I don't think Clay could ever like me like that. I don't want to ruin our friendship."

"I get that," Nick said carefully. "But what makes you think that he doesn't feel the same way."

George laughed humorlessly. "Come on," he said dryly. "Dream's as straight as they come. Have you seen the way the man dresses?"

"Clothes aren't always accurate," Nick pointed out, shooting George a look. "You never know, Georgie. Why don't you just try?"

George was about to reply, but Dream stirred in his sleep, holding the pillow tight against his chest. He mumbled vaguely and turned over onto his side, staying asleep.

"It just wouldn't work," George whispered, standing up and shutting the TV off. The room was plunged into darkness.

"I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Sapnap."

"Goodnight, Gogy."

George slept late into the afternoon, exhausted after staying up nearly all night. When he woke up, Dream was sitting on the bed next to him, leaning against the headboard of the bed.

"Good morning," he said, smiling. George mumbled his reply, stretching out his limbs and sitting up.

"Sap went to the store a few minutes ago," Dream said, looking back at his phone. "Said he'd be back in a while."

George nodded and yawned, still half asleep.

"Can we talk?"

And suddenly, he was wide awake.

Dream had woken up as soon as George moved out of his arms. Of course he heard everything.

His heart was pounding in his chest as George left the living room, going to sleep in his bed. Once he was sure that he was gone, Dream exhaled loudly and sat up. Sapnap grinned at him.

"What did I tell you?" he whispered loudly. "I told you he liked you - he just didn't want to admit it."

Dream shook his head in shock, laughing in disbelief. He was nervous, but also so, so inexplicably happy. He was so close.

"I can't believe it," he said, stunned. "How did you know?"

Sapnap rolled his eyes and lay back down on the couch, pulling his blanket over himself. "He was as obvious as you were," he said coolly. "It wasn't really that difficult. What are you going to do now?"

Dream rubbed his cheek, grinning widely. "I gotta talk to him, right?"

"Absolutely."

So, the next morning, Sapnap agreed to leave the apartment for a few hours while Dream talked to George.

Which led them to now.

"Talk about what?" George asked cautiously, glancing at Dream out of the corner of his eyes. Dream sat a little straighter and inhaled a comforting breath.

"I wanted to tell you something."

"Alright?" George said, confused. "Go ahead."

"George..." Dream sighed and rubbed his sweaty palms on his jeans. "God, George."

"What, Clay?"

"I'm in love with you."

George stared at him before bursting out laughing, his eyes crinkling at the corners. Dream felt his heart twinge painfully, his cheeks burning. It took George a minute to realize Dream wasn't laughing with him, instead staring at him intensely.

"You're not serious," he said, the last remnants of laughter fading from the air. "Are you?"

"I'm dead serious, Georgie."

George shook his head and stood up from the bed, backing away until his back hit the edge of his desk. "No, no, no,'' he said anxiously, refusing to meet Dream's gaze. "You're joking. This is a joke."

Clay stood up, moving to stand in front of the other, reaching down to grab both of George's hands, squeezing them gently. "George," he said softly. "I mean it. I'm so catastrophically in love with you, it hurts. I just...couldn't leave England without telling you."

George was still shaking his head. "I can't believe you," he said stubbornly, pulling his hands away from Dream's hold. "This is a dream, right? Am I asleep?"

Dream groaned loudly and, before he could change his mind, grabbed George's face between his hands.

The two of them had a mere second of eye contact before Dream leaned down and pressed their lips together.

This wasn't real, was it?

George's eyes widened comically before they slid shut, hands reaching up to grasp Dream's wrists, pressing himself further into the kiss. Little bursts of electricity shot up and down his spine, making his skin tingle with the static.

And then his brain kicked in, recognizing who exactly he was kissing and he gasped, yanking Clay's hands away from his face and pushing the blonde man away. Dream stepped back, breathing hard, cheeks tinged pink.

"Stop," George whispered. Dream's eyes widened and he took a few more steps back, looking scared.

"I messed up, didn't I?" he said, sounding horrified.

George couldn't say anything, his heart and his mind clashing together with varying thoughts. He swallowed.

"Please, just...leave me alone for a bit," George said quietly, hugging his arms and looking away. "I can't do this right now."

Dream nodded and walked silently out of the room. As soon as the door shut behind him, George broke, sliding down to the floor and covering his mouth as a sob burst through his mouth. Tears slid down his face.

"God dammit," he cried, slamming his fist into the desk behind him. His monitors shook a bit from the force, but didn't fall.

He messed up.

AN: lmk what you guys thought of this one :) i was looking forward to it for a while. Thank you so much for almost 11k reads! That's incredible!