Empty Boxes

Chapter Twelve

Waking up with George held tightly in his arms gave Dream a sense of euphoria he never thought he'd ever feel. 

The blonde man stirred from his rest slowly, his arms catching on George's waist as he attempted to stretch them above his head. He blinked in surprise and looked down, smiling at the sight.

George was still fast asleep, a peaceful look on his face as he breathed softly. He held Dream's arms close to his chest which, Dream realized with dismay, was extremely bony. He frowned at the small bruise beneath his lip from where Oliver had hit him last night. He pulled George a bit closer and pressed his nose into his neck, eyes shut tight.

If only he had been a little quicker, George wouldn't have been hit. Guilt settled over his stomach like a heavy weight.

But George still breathed steadily in his arms, a small smile over-taking his face as he dreamed. Clay smiled with him, adoring the man he loved silently.

He didn't want this to ever end.

So he laid there, scrolling through his phone with one hand, the other still wrapped protectively around George, who slept on and on for a few more hours before showing signs of waking. Dream contemplated moving before deciding not to, and continuing to look through twitter. 

George groaned loudly and stretched, letting go of Dream's arms to do so before he realized where he was. He flipped over and Dream quickly took note of the blush that spread across his cheeks and throat.

"Good morning," he said casually. George quickly sat up and held the blankets close to his chest.

"Good morning," he said quickly, standing up and tossing the covers on the floor. Dream sat up and watched as the other stumbled around the bedroom, muttering to himself as he grabbed clothes and shut himself in the bathroom. Dream was about to let him go before he remembered the last time George had shut himself in the bathroom.

"Hey," he called carefully, getting up and walking over to the door. "Are you...going to be okay in there?"

He heard shuffling around and realized George was probably undressing. He turned red at the thought and quickly cleared his head, opting to think about something else.

"I'm fine!" George called back, turning the shower on. "I'll be out in a few minutes!"

Clay nodded, satisfied enough, and left the bedroom, going to find Sapnap.

As expected, Nick was already in the kitchen, sitting at the counter over a bowl of cereal with Twitter pulled up on his phone.

"Good morning," Dream said, heading to the fridge and pulling out a carton of juice. He screwed off the top and poured some into a glass, taking a small sip from it and sitting next to his friend. Sapnap mumbled back the greeting, handing Dream his phone.

"Have you seen this?

"Seen what?" Dream took the phone and glanced at the screen. He immediately let out an exasperated sigh.

It was another meme about Dream's shoes.

Sapnap burst out laughing, smacking the counter in hysteria. "They never get old!" He cried. Dream huffed and gave the phone back with a roll of his eyes.

Once Sapnap calmed down, he said, "What's going on with you and George?"

Dream glanced at him from over his glass of juice, swallowing his sip before speaking. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Everytime I look away, you guys are always cuddling or some shit. What's that about?"

Dream shrugged. "Just for comfort, I guess. It's not a big deal, Sap."

"What's not a big deal?"

Both men looked up as George entered the kitchen, a towel draped over his still wet hair. Dream turned bright red.

He was wearing one of his sweatshirts.

George noticed where his eyes were looking at and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah," he said slowly. "All of mine were dirty, so I just borrowed one of yours. Do you mind?"

"Of course not!" Dream said quickly. "It- it looks...good on you."

Both men looked away and Sapnap laughed at them both. "You guys are so weird," he teased, dumping the rest of his cereal down the sink and walking over to George, who wheezed as Sapnap draped himself over his back.

"Get off, you ape!" he gasped, pushing Nick off with a laugh. "God!"

Sapnap flung his arm over George's shoulders, leading him into the living room. "I'm injured, Gogy," he whined, tossing them both down on the couch. "We have to do what I want or else I won't get better."

George looked over at Dream and rolled his eyes, making him smile. 

"And what do you want to do, Sapnap?"

"Watch movies! Can we have a movie day, please, please, please?"

Dream sat next to George on the couch and, after a moment of consideration, intertwined their fingers. George went red again, but didn't pull away. Butterflies flew in Dream's stomach.

"Movies, right," George said, now flustered. He grabbed the remote for the TV and quickly turned it on. "What do you want to watch?"

In the middle of the second Hunger Games movie, Nick passed out on the couch, snoring loudly with his mouth wide open. George and Dream were watching the movie quietly, hands still entwined.

Dream looked over at George and studied him, glancing away quickly when George looked at him.

"Dream?" he whispered, tugging on his hand a little. Dream looked back at him, embarrassed.

"Yeah?" he whispered back. George smiled faintly at him.

"Do you mind if I...lean on you? I'm a little tired."

Dream might've died and gone to heaven right there. He hoped the way he nodded wasn't too enthusiastic. George's smile grew a little bit and he shifted around, tucking himself neatly against Dream's side. Clay cautiously wrapped his arm around George, growing more comfortable when the other man didn't move. George reached up to the back of the couch and pulled the blanket off the back of it, dragging it over both of their laps before reaching over to grab Clay's hand again.

By this point, Dream's heart was nearly in his throat, pounding nervously beneath his skin. He sighed happily and rested his head on top of George's inhaling the scent of his shampoo that still lingered.

Soon, all three of them were sleeping happily on the sofa, the light from the TV flickering as the movie played in the background.

It was finally peaceful.

AN: wrote a chapter full of fluff just so you guys wont hate me for what's about to happen in the next chapter ahahaha <3