Zodiac

Chapter Twelve

AN: special valentine's chapter!! <3

Dream didn't know how to feel when Calix left that night.

On one hand, he was glad that George was finally away from Calix and no longer had to put up with the Libra's toxicity. He was glad to finally have a chance at winning the Scorpio's heart.

But on the other hand, he was worried that George wasn't as okay as he said he was.

The days that followed George and Calix's breakup were busy. With Sapnap's help, Dream and George were able to pack up all of Calix's things and leave them out on the sidewalk. He didn't deserve having them dropped off.

Weeks passed by in a blur, blending together routinely as Dream went through the motions. Wake up, eat, shower, drive to George's. He'd spend the day with George, then drive home as late as possible, aiming to spend as much time with him as he could.

He didn't know what to do now, but making moves seemed like the reasonable option.

He started off simple - compliments.

Based on the way George reacted when he first started this stage of his plan, he wasn't used to receiving compliments all too often, which just gave Dream yet another reason to hate Calix, but he decided to push that aside for the time being.

They were lazing about on George's couch again, their calves pressing together, just scrolling through their phones when Dream looked up.

"That sweater looks good on you," he said simply, watching in amusement as George sputtered and dropped his phone on his face. A blush spread across his cheekbones all the way down his throat.

"Where did that come from?" George managed after a full minute of blushing furiously and coughing for no reason. Dream shrugged, feigning disinterest as he turned back to his phone.

 
"It's just a fact," he said. "It makes your eyes look pretty."

This second statement sent George into another round of choked wheezes, turning away in embarrassment.

Dream laughed quietly, watching him out of the corner of his eye. This was going to be a lot of fun.

The next time it happened, they were in the Taurus District, walking around on a trip that was technically supposed to be for George's job. But ever since Calix had left the picture, Dream had taken to accompanying George on his travels, loving the extra time he got to spend with the Scorpio because of it.

They stood in some random gift shop, laughing quietly with their heads bent towards each other over the silly gag items they found. Dream grinned as he tugged a beanie with the symbol of the Bull emblazoned across the front over George's wild hair, nearly covering the shorter man's eyes.

 
George laughed, eyes sparkling with mirth as he lifted the hat so he could see, smiling widely at Dream. "How do I look?" he asked teasingly. Dream leaned down, pushing their faces a lot closer than they had been before, smirking at the new redness that tinged George's cheeks.

"It's cute," he said, pausing. "Not as cute as you, though."

George bit his laugh back, pulling this hat off and throwing it at Dream, who caught the object easily. "You're so weird," he chuckled, already moving on through the store. 

The shop-owner glared at them from behind the counter and Dream waved awkwardly. They probably couldn't stay here much longer. The Taurus District was a beautiful place, filled with strong, sturdy structures that matched the Signs personality, but they weren't too kind in the presence of other Signs.

"We should get going," Dream called to George, who hummed at him as he trailed his fingers over a display of candles. "It's getting kind of late."

 
"Sure," George said, still gazing at the shelves. He looked over his shoulder at Dream, throwing him a smile that knocked the breath out of his lungs.

 
"Let's get going."

After getting George accustomed to the compliments that Dream enjoyed raining down on him, it was time to start with Phase Two of getting George to fall in love with him.

Physical touch.

He knew George wasn't too keen on touching other people - he'd seen the way he hesitated before hugging Sapnap, even shaking hands with someone - but Dream was curious to see if it would be the same with him.

He was starting to get antsy with how long this process was taking him, considering that any day now George could find someone new to be with and completely leave Dream behind, so he picked a bold move.

It was a rare occasion, the two of them finding themselves at Dream's apartment as opposed to George's. George was in the kitchen popping popcorn on the stove for them to eat while Dream picked out a movie for them to watch. To anyone who might've seen them, they would've said that they were on a date.

Hopefully, that would be the case sooner rather than later.

 
Once Dream had finished in the living room, he padded quietly into the kitchen, coming up behind George who stood at the stove, watching the kernels in the pan and waiting for them to pop in the oil. He jumped violently in surprise when Dream slid up to him and rested his chin on George's shoulder, draping his arms around his middle.

 
"Dream?" he said uncertainly. Dream made a noncommittal sound in the back of his throat, deciding that if George hadn't pushed him off by now then it was okay for him to stay. He rearranged his arms so that he was grasping his own wrists, holding George tight against his chest. George inhaled shakily, but still didn't push him off, opting to go back to studying the popcorn kernels. Dream snorted softly at the red that was slowly crossing his cheeks again.

George was blushing again.

They stayed like that until the popcorn was done, Dream sighing in disappointment before he extracted his arms from around George and moved around the kitchen to grab a bowl for their snack. George didn't say anything, refusing to make eye contact with Dream as he took the bowl from him. Dream wanted to cheer at George's obviously flustered face.

But he wasn't done yet.

The two of them settled on the couch in the living room, blankets spread across their laps and the bowl of popcorn in between them. George was enamored with the movie, eyes spread wide as he watched. Dream glanced over at him, slowly picking up the bowl of popcorn so he could put his plan into place.

 
George barely noticed as Dream slid closer to him, didn't say anything when their legs tangled together on the footrest. Dream bit his lip before making a bold move.

George finally looked at him when he picked up his hand, lacing their fingers together tenderly. For what seemed like the millionth time that night, heat spread across his face in yet another blush. Dream smiled softly at him and turned back to the movie, squeezing George's hand and pressing their shoulders together so that they were as close as possible.

Butterflies swarmed in both stomachs.

Maybe Dream's plan wouldn't take as long as he had anticipated it would.

AN: our discord link should be accessible from my profile now!! join for updates on new chapters and to just have a good time <3 i hope you're all enjoying!!