The Railroad

Chapter 25

"Actually, we would," Dream heard his best friend reply with a snarky tone, causing him to smirk.

"Yeah, sorry amigos. I don't know how you run things up in Tallahassee, but here we still abide by the law even without a sheriff, and I don't believe that you have obtained a warrant," Quackity said, not even trying to be polite.

Honestly, it made George happy to hear someone stand up to his father. He was sick of the man always getting his way solely because he was rich and, therefore, feared by most. But, of course, the Mexican wasn't threatened by anyone, and would surely not take anything from you. He had higher self respect than that.

"Hey, don't I know you?" his father said, making George's blood run cold. "Yes, yes I do! You are one of my son's old friends, are you not?" he said, suspicion laced in his tone.

Quackity avoided the question, instead saying, "If you could please leave now, I would greatly appreciate it, chico."

George heard no response, just the faint sound of footsteps, followed shortly by the door opening and closing once more. A few minutes passed by in silence, neither of the two daring to make a noise, just in case the threat wasn't gone just yet. George let out a yelp as the door opened, followed by some shuffling and then the door to the crawl space inching open.

Dream was ready to hit whatever it was, keeping George safely behind him, but relaxed as soon as he saw the lit up face of Karl looking at them through the crack. The tall brunet beckoned to them, and they quietly crawled out.

"You're okay, they're gone now," Karl said once they'd made it back into the hallway and started back to the living room.

When they entered, George saw Nick and Quackity on the couch, talking quietly, and Ranboo sitting on one of the bar stools.

"Alex, I love you," George said to the Hispanic, who laughed loudly at him.

"Now that that's dealt with," Ranboo said, "can someone please tell me what's happening right now?"

"Right," Dream began, "So, we can't tell you too much, but we need to get into the lab here unnoticed." Ranboo quirked an eyebrow. "Alright, so, George here may or may not have the cure for zombie-ism."

Ranboo's jaw dropped. He stared at the blond with wide eyes, pooling with awe and stupefaction. "He has the what now?"

"The cure. But he only has one vial, and needs to replicate it in the lab. His dad is bad news, so we have to be undetected until knowledge of the cure can get out there and it's mass-distributed. I know this is a lot of information at once, and that this is a tall order, but please, can you help us?"

"Dream... I don't know. I have a family now; I have to look after them."

"I know, I know, and of course they come first. But all you have to do is get us in and we'll take it from there. Please?"

Both blond's stared at each other for a long moment. A sense of understanding seemed to pass between them both as, for a split second, Dream flickered his eyes to look at George. It was an act that went unnoticed to everyone else in the room aside from Ranboo, who was always paying way too close attention to miss something like that.

And what Ranboo observed from the subtle glance was astonishing. There was such a drastic change in his green eyes when his gaze shifted for that fraction of a second that Ranboo was taken aback. The tall blond had never seen his friend as... mesmerized as when he looked at the brunet named George. He'd come to know Dream quite well in their brief rapport; he'd heard the blond rant about how he didn't think he'd ever find love or even know what it truly felt like to care about someone in that way. But that one glance as well as the few words he'd spoken to the brunet earlier had convinced of entirely the opposite.

He had indeed found love.

"I'll help you," Ranboo sighed.

"Really?" Dream said, stepping forward to quickly hug the other. "Thanks, kid. You have no idea how much it means to us."

"Of course. Just tell me when; I'll be there."

~~~

George sat next to Dream on the extra bed their friends had offered them. The room was pitch black, moonlight creeping through the slit between the drawn curtains and washing the end of the bed in its dull glow. Outside, wind howled and shrieked as it passed through the alley, signaling an up and coming storm.

Beside him, Dream's chest rose and fell evenly, a steady pace that signified his sleep. But George was very much awake, sat up in bed and knees pulled up to his chin as thoughts swarmed in and out, causing a whirlpool of emotions to flow through him. He was so scared, but yet somehow completely calm for what was to come. To be honest, he didn't know what he was feeling, and it scared him. He'd certainly come a long way from his lab in Tallahassee.

"George?" the groggy voice of Dream came from next to him, startling George. "Why are you still awake, princess?"

The brunet shrugged. Dream pushed himself up, rotating his body so he was facing the smaller. He rested one hand on George's knee and the other on his cold hand, making George glance at him.

"What's wrong, baby?"

It was the first time Dream had called the brunet that, and shivers crept up his spine as he tried to ignore it. "Just thinking. I'm anxious for tomorrow, but ready at the same time? I don't know what's going on with me."

"George," the blond said, moving his hands up to cup the other's face. He softly kissed the boy's forehead, using his thumb to gently stroke his cheekbone. "It'll all be alright. You know why? Because I'll be there, and I won't let anything happen to you, I promise. As long as I'm around, no one will ever hurt you."

"It's not me I'm worried about," George sighed, making Dream laugh.

"You don't have to worry about me, either. I gotta make sure I'm around if I want to protect your cute ass."

The brunet giggled softly, an adorable noise that graced the taller's ears. Seeing his kind smile - the dimples on his cheeks and his pearly white teeth - was one of Dream's favorite sights. He loved this boy so much, with all his heart, and no harm was ever going to befall upon him and wipe away that enchanting smile.

They kissed, on the lips this time, and neither had ever felt anything like it. As George's mouth opened slightly, hot air hitting the back of Dream's throat, Dream slipped his tongue in and bit the brunet's bottom lip softly. Sparks radiated off them both, shooting through their bodies like currents of electricity, firing energy and strength into the both as serotonin overcame their minds.

"Think you can sleep now, princess?"

George nodded, and the blond pulled him onto his lap, leaning back onto the pillow and cradling the smaller in his arms. George wrapped his arms around Dream's torso, using the broad chest beneath him as a pillow. It was probably the most comfortable sleep of his entire life: the steady rise and fall starting once more as Dream returned to dreamland, pulling George right along with him.

~Word count: 1,240~

A/N: the calm before the storm...