Sunny Side Up || dnf (+ karlnap)

Forever is a Long Time

I'm sorry for all the emotional pain I've put you through

TW/CW: hospital, discussion of some of the events of previous chapters, kissing

Previously...

His breathing is steady, thankfully, and I lean my head down near his thigh, closing my eyes. I'm not sleeping, just relaxing for what felt like the first time in two days.

And then, I hear a soft groan, and George's hand twitches, hitting my palm. I'm sitting up in an instant, eyes wide.

"GEORGE?"

George's P.O.V.

What's going on? Where am I? Am I dead?

I'm slowly becoming more aware of myself. If I'm dead, then the afterlife sucks. I can't do anything, I'm just stuck in place.

But then I feel something. Something is touching my hand, holding it gently and rubbing my knuckles.

Maybe I'm not dead, then.

Suddenly, I can feel everything. Two arms. Two legs. Chest and torso. A weight by my leg. Something cold and metal around my wrist. A steady beeping in the background.

I can't stop the groan, starting low in my throat and barely moving up past that. I want to know what's touching my hand. I try to grab it, but I only manage to tap it quickly. Just a twitch.

But then there's a voice. One I didn't know I needed to hear so badly.

"GEORGE?"

"Mmnghh," I mumble, furrowing my eyebrows. I want to look. All I see is darkness.

"NURSE!" It's the same voice as before, sounding frantic. Whatever was touching my hand is now gone, and I miss the contact. There's shuffling, and voices I can't make out. Not that I want to hear them, the only voice I can focus on is the one from before.

The one that is so terribly familiar. The one I can't really place, but naturally find myself drawn to. That's the only voice I want to listen to.

"George, please, can you open your eyes?" I want to obey the voice. But I can't do it, I can't open my eyes, I can't see the owner of the voice. There are more voices in the background, faint and garbled beyond belief.

Then the one I want to hear.

"He twitched earlier. His hand. I swear..." Somebody is grabbing my hand, holding it loosely. "George, I know you can hear me. Can you try to squeeze my hand, please?" He squeezes my hand quickly, before adding: "Like that." It takes all my focus, but I manage to curl my fingers around the voice's hand. It's hardly a squeeze, but I hear a soft gasp.

"George..." There's a light pressure on my cheek, and I finally force my eyes open a bit. There he is, the owner of the voice. He has fluffy, slightly damp blond hair. His eyes are watery, and appear yellow in color. There's movement to the side of him, but I can't tear my gaze away. I only want to look at the man.

"George!" He gasps, lunging forward and wrapping his arms around me. I just stare blankly, slowly moving my arms around him in a hug. Except I can't move one of my arms far enough, something's holding me back.

"Eeuuhhh!" It's not really a word, more of a wail. There's a cold pressure against my wrist, and I can hear the sound of metal clinking and rubbing together. The man shifts, sitting up and holding both my wrists loosely.

"It's okay! It's okay, you're okay!" I stare at him, wide-eyed. If he says it's okay, then it must be. My breathing levels out– I hadn't even realized it wasn't normal. I hear more shuffling from the other side, and the layer of fog clears from my brain. Everything comes back at once, hitting me like a ton of bricks.

I look down at my lap in shame. I know why I'm here. It makes sense why I'm cuffed to the bed. I let out a slow, shaky breath.

"George?" The man. He's Dream. Internet famous, funny, talented. Handsome. My best friend. My crush.

"Dream..." My voice breaks softly, and I feel like crying. A few tears stream down my cheeks, and I close my eyes.

"Why'd you do it?" He sounds so horribly broken. And it's all my fault, I did this to him.

Maybe I should give him the truth. He deserves at least that.

"I hate myself," I mumble, opening my eyes, but not looking up. "I hate everything about myself. I'm- I'm disgusting!"

"No, George, you're not." I look up, shaking my head. He's crying too. "You're amazing, and beautiful, and funny, and just perfect in every way. And I- I love you, George. More than you could ever know. More than just a best friend."

"You do?" My voice is barely above a whisper. He nods, letting out a shaky breath. "Even though I'm-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence." He's angry. "George, no matter what, I will always see you as perfect. Even if you can't understand it. Because, to me, you are perfection. And nobody else could ever be as perfect as you. I love you."

"You said that already."

"George."

"Dream." He sighs, shaking his head. His eyebrows are furrowed, and he's still crying. So am I.

"No matter what. You are always perfect to me. Every flaw you think you have is just another reason why I love you. Because nothing could ever stop me from loving you, George. It's always been you. I just wish I could've realized it earlier." He leans in closer, kissing my forehead lightly. "I love you, George. Forever and ever."

"Forever is a long time." I stare at his face, inches away from mine. I glance at his lips, fleetingly, and I wonder what kissing him would feel like. He seems to read my mind, leaning in and pressing our foreheads together, barely an inch of space between our lips.

"You're such an idiot. Can I kiss you?" I don't want to speak. In fact, I can't speak. I just nod dumbly, and our lips make contact.

It's about damn time, too.

Kissing Dream is even more amazing than I could've ever imagined. It's everything I could've ever wanted and more. We fit together perfectly, no awkward bumping of noses or anything of the sort. Just his lips on mine, kissing soft and sweet. When he pulls away from the kiss, I immediately miss it.

"When I say I love you, I mean it. I always have."

"I love you too," I whisper, half hoping he didn't hear it. But he smiles, and I know I had no such luck.

"You said it."

"Shut up," I mumble, trying to cross my arms, but being stopped by the handcuff. He notices, expression darkening.

"George, will you promise me something?" He asks.

"Depends on what it is."

"Can you promise me you'll try to get better?" I'm hesitant to answer, but I can tell it means a lot to him.

"I promise. For you." He shakes his head.

"No, George. You have to do it for yourself, not for me. You deserve to be happy, and healthy."

"Okay," I breathe, without hesitation. Dream seems as surprised as I am.

"Okay?" He tilts his head. "You'll do it?"

"I can try." The smile on his face makes this impossible promise worthwhile.

"Thank you. I'll be there for you every step of the way, I promise. We can fight this together."

one more chapter left! It'll probably be out later tonight :)

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