Forever

Chapter 23

It was strange getting used to sharing a space with George, even though it was something Dream had been doing for a while now. It was like having someone new wander around the apartment, and Dream felt like he was constantly having to watch what he did and what he said.

For the first day or two, there wasn't much conversation. George spent a lot of time resting and recovering, either curled up in bed or sometimes lying under a blanket on the couch.

Dream made sure to give him space to do whatever he needed to do, but he was never too far away if George needed something. He was there to make sure there was food when he was hungry, or to show him where the spoons were when he couldn't remember which drawer they kept them in. He was just doing his best to find the midpoint between being helpful but not overbearing.

A couple of days after being back, George finally started feeling a bit better. He wasn't as tired anymore, and he started spending more time wandering around the apartment. Dream noticed that he was trying to familiarize himself with things again, and it sparked a feeling of hope because George was really trying.

Over the course of the next couple of days, Philza and Sapnap both began visiting. They would come over for an hour or so at a time, and George was content to sit and talk with them while they were there. When Philza would visit, George would ask questions about his childhood and their family. And when Sapnap would visit, it was questions about their line of work or the other members of their team.

George was usually tired and a bit foggy from the overload of information after they would visit, but that didn't stop him from pulling Dream down to sit beside him on the couch. When it was just the two of them, he would ask questions about Dream, or about their life together. Dream would sit with him for however long George wanted, answering every question George asked as best as he could. It was the least he could do to uphold his promise to help George remember, and it felt like each day, they were making at least a tiny shred of progress.

About a week in, the two of them were sitting at the kitchen table together. They had just finished eating breakfast together, and Dream was looking through a couple of text messages that he had gotten from the team. He could feel George watching him, which was something he usually did when they were sitting together.

"What's your favorite color, Dream?"

Dream looked up from his phone, a small smile on his face as he answered, "green."

He was getting used to the random questions, and he liked that George was taking so much time to learn about him. George nodded at the answer, and Dream watched as he reached for his phone and began typing something. It was something he had been noticing a lot more recently; every time George would ask a question, he would usually pull out his phone and begin typing away, and Dream had been curious about it for days now.

"What are you doing?" Dream asked, and George's eyes flitted up. A light flush crawled up his face, and George flipped his phone facedown on the table as he muttered, "nothing."

"Oh come on, George," Dream responded in a playful tone, "you wouldn't be blushing if it were nothing."

George scoffed quietly, but he was smiling as he answered, "it's stupid, and I don't want you to think I'm weird."

Dream leaned forward onto his forearms, giving George a reassuring smile as he quietly said, "I would never think that. Just tell me, please."

George held his gaze for a moment, and then with a defeated sigh, he reached for his phone and flipped it back over. He angled it so Dream could see the screen, and Dream looked down to see that he had the notes app opened.

"When I talk to you, or my dad, or Sapnap," George explained, "I try to write down the things that I think are important. It's mostly the things I don't want to keep forgetting, and it keeps me from getting frustrated when I can't remember something specific."