Inception {Dreamnotfound}

25 | To Be Yours | 25

-George's POV-

"So, you two finally made it official."

Clay shoots Sapnap a knowing smile, accompanied by what is either a sarcastic wink or a subtle 'well done'. "Yup!" Karl beams, parting Sapnap's hair to press a quick kiss to his forehead. The ex-assassin seems too stunned by the action to reciprocate, grinning at nothing in particular.

"About time too," Clay wheezes, still amused by Sapnap's reaction. "I was getting fed up of watching you two embarrassingly gush over each other."

"I had to watch you and George figure out whatever the hell you had going on for so much longer!" Sapnap retaliates, elbowing Clay harshly in the ribs when he makes the mistake of stepping closer. "Correction:" the blonde protests, hitting Sapnap with enough force that I debate if he's joking anymore. "We both had to watch George fail to put two and two together for much longer."

"Hey!" I glare bitterly at my boyfriend, who's too busy laughing to notice. As is everyone else, I realise, when the door opens suddenly, and nobody bothers to check who it is. To my relief I quickly recognise the three figures, Tubbo leading with the latter behind him.

"Well it would've been a lot less painful for you had you just told me!" I grumble, waving a subtle hello to Tubbo before folding my arms. "It would've been a lot less painful for all of us if you hadn't been so stupid, Gogy," Sapnap jokes through his laughter, and I'm too caught up on the last word to even care about the rest of it.

"What sort of nickname is Gogy?" I ask, putting emphasis on the name while shooting Tubbo a 'don't ask' glance. He shrugs his shoulders in response, resorting to poking a still giggling Karl in the arm until he receives an explanation.

When I turn back to Sapnap he's moved, watching me with a smug grin. Our height difference isn't much at all, but Sapnap always makes sure to stand closer when he's teasing me, just so he has an excuse to look down on me from above. "Your nicknames don't make any sense-" I scowl, suddenly cut off when Sapnap reaches forward, pulls against my glasses and snaps them down over my eyes.

"Gogy goggles," he smiles innocently, earning a wheeze from Clay that's so high-pitched I'm surprised I can hear it. Even Tubbo is giggling now, and I shoot Clay a glare before slapping Sapnap's hand away.

"You're not funny," I spit, unable to make it sound harsh enough to prove a point when a small part of me thinks that maybe, just maybe it was a little clever. But I'd never give Sapnap the satisfaction of knowing that, so I readjust my glasses without so much as a smile.

"Impressive, haven't seen Dream smile in a very long time," Skeppy cuts in, and the rest of us are all suddenly made aware of who still stands in the doorway. "Or Sapnap," Darryl chimes in, offering the man in question a sweet little wave. "Wait, are you two together now?"

Sapnap nods, reciprocating Karl's forehead kiss from earlier. "Aw, congratulations!" Darryl claps excitedly, giving Sapnap a high-five and Karl a thumbs up.

It's moments like these where I feel the worst about what I did, when I'm reminded of just how nice Darryl always was to everyone. Though when I search the room in aid of comfort, I notice Clay is already stood beside me, consoling eyes filled with warmth as he subtly offers me his hand. I decide to link only our pinkies together out of fear of Darryl noticing my discomfort, offering Clay a silent thanks with a smile before turning back to the conversation at hand.

"Are you two uhm..." Sapnap cuts himself off, offering Skeppy an apologetic smile when words fail him. He must know their situation is tough, and questioning it was definitely not his best idea.

"Working on it..." Skeppy concludes bitterly, failing to meet Darryl's eyes as he speaks. He stands unsurely in the doorway, where Darryl left him and not a step further.

"How is he even alive?" Clay asks quietly to Skeppy, signalling to Darryl. "I don't understand. Tubbo disappears, then suddenly you're here with him, and Darryl is alive again?!" Skeppy sighs deeply, shaking his head at the floor. I notice his gaze linger on the band on his wrist, then on his soulmate's, refusing to meet the alarmed look in Darryl's eyes.

"The people who took Tubbo... knew some stuff I didn't." Skeppy speaks slowly, unsure quite what to say or how to put what seems like the impossible into words. "About Darryl, and about someone else, but that's not for me to tell you." He sends a querying look in Tubbo's direction, hand clasped tightly over his soulmate band.

Immediately I understand what he means, matching the knowing look in Clay's eyes while trying to avoid the questioning one from the unknowing two. "You're gonna need to tell them if you want me to explain what we need to do about it," Darryl cuts in, earning a shaky sigh from Tubbo.

"Fine."

Slowly, he tugs at his sleeve, trying his hardest to be careful with the pull of fabric against his injuries. It takes Sapnap and Karl a few seconds to realise the band against the similarly coloured bandages, the former confused and the latter connecting the pieces.

"Did you meet your soulmate?" Sapnap questions, blinking t the band rapidly, as if unsure it's real. "How can it be white? Is that even possible?"

"They're not my soulmate," Tubbo explains nervously, muttering a warning to Tommy before removing his band. He holds both ends apart, showing the black centre to Sapnap, who splutters more questions, each one becoming more incoherent than the last. Karl says nothing at all, eyes glued to Tubbo rather than the band.

"I thought your eyes looked slightly different than they used to," Karl mumbles quietly, looking from the band to Tubbo's eyes, which are the same colour once more. He then turns to Skeppy, squinting at his left eye, which still glitters with the slightest hint of yellow.

{Author reminder: Karl is very slightly colour-blind, in case you didn't know! Two shades of blue would also be quite similar to him.}

"They are," Tubbo deadpans, connecting the band back around his wrist. He winces briefly when both ends snap together, eyelids fluttering as the colour of one eye returns to a lighter blue. "I wear the band of a seventeen-year-old called Tommy, and the other eye is his colour."

Tubbo spends the next few minutes explaining to a dumbfounded Sapnap and confused Karl the rules and conditions under which Tommy lives. I watch in amusement as Sapnap's mouth hangs slightly more open with each piece if new information, and how Karl's smile grows that little bit wider, prouder.

"That's so sweet though..." Karl smiles sadly after learning what the band does to Tubbo in return, offering the teen a hug. Tubbo gladly accepts it, and I can't help but smile at the bond those two have, despite what they've both been through to keep it.

"Tell Tommy that Sap and I say hi," Karl giggles, ruffling Tubbo's hair mischievously. Sapnap smiles as he watches the two, watches Karl wave in the direction that Tubbo signs.

"You really did fall for him, didn't you?" I smirk to the ex-assassin, Clay not bothering to hide his smug grin at my rebuttal. "You can't blame me!" Sapnap protests, eyes never leaving Karl. There's a dreamy grin on his lips, a glow in his eyes that I've slowly become used to seeing, thanks to his soulmate.

"Guess not, but that's revenge for earlier," I quip, barely dodging the half-hearted punch thrown in my direction. I stick my tongue out if only to provoke him, amused by the anger that flares in his eyes.

"You're so petty," Sapnap groans, deciding to drop the subject, but not before one more thing.

"Gogy."

"Snapmap."

"Oh my god, both of you shut up."