Chapter Text
In the weeks that follow, Dream tries to let himself enjoy the new dynamic between him and George. Not too much can change while they’re still an ocean apart, only longer calls and more frequent texts.
But once George arrives in Florida, all bets are off the table.
Because now that George is here, he’s bound to notice that Dream looks at his best friend and his now boyfriend in the same way. With adoration in his eyes, a hint of wistfulness and want and sadness. He’s constantly sad, barely on the edge of tears. Everytime he looks at George, he thinks about losing Sapnap. Everytime he looks at Sapnap, he thinks about what a horrible boyfriend he is to George.
He treats them the same way too, his love language shining through in terribly obvious ways. He cooks them all dinner most nights. He cuts the vegetables into hearts as a joke but then keeps doing it. For both of them. He helps them edit their videos and brainstorm new ideas.
He also showers George with real gifts for the first time, finally able to give them to him in person. And he sees the surprise on George’s face as he realizes how many tiny little things Sapnap has collected from living with Dream. It’s the kind of stuff that would never be seen or talked about on stream: pens with pandas on top, a series of fire-themed shot glasses, a minecraft beehive alarm clock, rocks and shells he thought looked cool that Sapnap displays on his shelf. George is starting to amass his own collection now, catching up quickly.
The problem isn’t that Dream is treating Sapnap better than he’s treating George. The problem is that they’re too equal.
Dream still struggles with displaying any intimacy with George. That should be what sets his relationship with George apart from his with Sapnap but he just… he can’t do it in front of Sapnap.
Dream sneaks into George’s room after Sapnap has gone to sleep and that’s the only time anything changes. It’s the only time they kiss and it’s beautiful and wonderful and all he wants to do is keep holding George in his arms but every morning he slinks away before Sapnap wakes up. Like George is his mistress or something. It’s atrocious.
George lets it go on for almost a week before he confronts Dream.
Dream comes into his room like any other night when all the lights have gone out and crawls into George’s bed. He kisses George but pulls back when he feels him not reciprocating.
“...George?”
He cups George’s cheek and the other puts a hand over his. “Can we talk about something?” George says.
Dream swallows. It hurts going down his throat. “Yeah. Yeah, of course.”
“I understand that you want to take it slow. And that this is a big step for you, this being the first time you’ve dated a man and since you haven’t face revealed. I’m so happy to be with you. I want you to know that.” George kisses his palm. “But I just… I thought things would be different when we were together. That you might have had time to think about our relationship and Sapnap?”
Dream goes rigid. “What does Sapnap have to do with this?” He can feel his hackles rising, his defensiveness clear.
George blinks at his reaction. “I just… I just wanted to tell him that we’re together. I don’t want to sneak behind his back anymore. What did you think I meant?”
“Oh…” Dream feels his face heat. Of course that’s what George meant. He just heard our relationship and Sapnap and he thought for a moment… “I want to go slow,” he repeats, hoping the same excuse will work again.
Frustration creases George’s face. “This isn’t going slow. This is hiding our relationship from our best friend. I… I can’t be your secret, alright? I did that once before in college and I’m not doing that again.” His expression softens. “I don’t want to push you but please can we just talk about this? Is there some reason why you feel like we can’t tell Sapnap?”
Dream bites his lip and doesn’t answer.
“What if we tell him together? Would that help?” George suggests.
Dream doesn’t know how he tells Sapnap without crying which would lead to him probably confessing. So maybe this is his best option. Let George do the heavy lifting, let George end the possibility of him and Sapnap ever being together, and finally be happy with George.
So Dream nods and tries not to let himself think about it anymore.
-
The next morning, he doesn’t flee from George’s room. Instead he stays and lets himself appreciate the way the sun hits the high points on his boyfriend’s brow, how George’s eyes will squint for a moment with the light before they relax again as sleep pulls him back under. It’s warmer here than his own bed, the one he’ll lay in for hours each morning while he waits for the sound of either of his housemates rousing.
He does love George. Beyond this back and forth, beyond the hiding and lying, beyond all his feelings for Sapnap, he knows he does love him. Maybe this will finally give him the chance to accept that and embrace it. To enjoy actually getting to be with one of the people he loves.
One of.
The peace can’t last though. Eventually George rouses, kissing him good morning and then dragging them both into the bathroom to get ready. While they brush their teeth together, Dream begins to think that maybe he’s ready for this.
What he’s not ready for is Sapnap coming out of his room at the same moment they exit George’s bathroom.
Sapnap stares at them. Dream stares back.
Sapnap’s gaze drifts to their linked hands and Dream pulls away from George. He ignores the almost inaudible hurt sound he hears from behind him.
“Did you both just…?”
“Actually,” George pushes past Dream. “We need to talk to you, Sapnap. Let’s go to the living room, okay?”
“Um, okay.” George has already set off but Sapnap lingers, casting a confused look to the remaining person. “Dream—” he starts but Dream just ducks his head and follows George as fast as he can.
George leaves a seat beside himself for Dream and with no other choice, Dream takes it. Sapnap ends up on the armchair, hands clasped as he watches the two of them. For an absurd moment, Dream feels like they’re in couples therapy. They could probably use it after this honestly.
Sapnap rubs his palms over his knee. “So… so what did you guys want to talk about?”
George casts one look at Dream and then claps his hands together. “Alright, I’m just going to say it. We’re—”
“Maybe!” Dream interrupts. George whirls to look at him, betrayal already clear on his face. Dream shrinks under the force of it as he finishes, “Maybe we can ease into it?”
George frowns. “There’s no easing into it. At this point, Sapnap could probably guess. We came out of the same bathroom this morning.”
Dream winces, casting a look at Sapnap’s face to see if he has any reaction. But Sapnap isn’t looking back at him. He’s only staring at the floor. His hands are clenched into fists.
“So you guys are together, right?” Sapnap mutters. There’s a tremor in his voice, a furrow deep in his brow.
George takes Dream’s hand and nods. “We are. We hope that you can accept that.” Dream can tell that George is trying to read Sapnap’s face and figure out why he looks so unhappy, treading carefully with his words.
Sapnap’s head jerks up to face them. “Of— of course I do! This isn’t— I’m not mad at you guys being together or like, trying to be weird about it. I’m… I’m happy for you guys. Really, I am.” His hands twist together. “I just… Wow. I guess I should have seen it coming but still… DNF really does win in the end, huh?”
“I guess…” Dream mumbles.
George looks between the two of them, eyes narrowed. “Why are you both saying it like that?”
“I’m not—” Sapnap starts to protest before George glares at him. He deflates. His hand comes up to rub the back of his neck. “It’s… it’s dumb to talk about now but I guess I always thought that maybe… ” He glances at Dream, directing his words to him. “Well, that you and I might end up together.”
“Sap…” is all that Dream manages before a sob breaks though. He buries his face in his hands as he starts to cry, too ashamed to look at either of them.
He can’t do this.
He can’t do this.
He can’t be crying in front of his boyfriend because he wants to be with another person, because he wants to be with both of them so bad it feels like he needs them to breathe, because he can’t imagine a future where eventually he and George live happily without Sapnap there too.
“I’m sorry, George,” he weeps. “I love you but… I…”
“You love Sapnap. That’s why you cried when I confessed, isn’t it?” George states. He sighs. “Dream, would you…” Through his fingers, Dream watches him run a hand through his hair and then pull as if to ground himself. “Would you be happier with Sapnap? Because you’re clearly not happy with me now.”
“No, no, no. I don’t want to come between you guys,” Sapnap blurts out, shaking his head. “It’s okay, it was just a stupid fantasy I held onto. You guys are meant to be together. Everyone knows it.”
“You don’t understand, Sapnap,” George growls. “He wants you. He cried when I asked him out because he wanted it to be you. I should have known—” He looks to the ceiling, blinking away his own tears. “I should have known when you said you wanted to take it slow,” he scoffs. “You’ve never wanted to take anything slow in your life.”
“George, please,” Dream lowers his hands so he can meet George’s gaze. “It’s not like that. I wouldn’t do that to you.”
“You’re doing that to me right now! You don’t have to lie to me.” He stands suddenly, making Dream and Sapnap flinch. “I knew I was going to ruin it. I knew… I knew…” He gasps, squeezing his eyes shut and turning away. “You two should just be together. I’ll go back to Britain where I belong and we can just pretend this accident didn’t happen.”
“It wasn’t an accident though. I said yes, George,” Dream argues, not sure if he means to put more or less blame on himself. “I don’t want you to leave.”
“Well I don’t want to stay if our friendship is ruined.”
“But I…” Shame colors Dream’s cheeks red. “I don’t want to break up. Can’t we just—” He covers his mouth, stopping himself.
“What?” George asks. Dream shakes his head. “Dream, please. Just say it.”
Dream pushes past the lump in his throat. “Can’t we just all be together? Like we are now. It would just be… more. Would that be so bad?”
“All three of us?” Sapnap interjects. For a second his face looks hopeful, or maybe Dream’s imagining it, but then it falls. “No, no, that’s not… that’s not how it’s supposed to be.”
The more he goes on, the dumber Dream feels. This is such a stretch, a selfish one at that. But at this point he feels like he has to try and defend himself.
“But— but it could be. It’s like what you, Karl, and Quackity have on the smp.” He hugs himself. “It’s not… It’s not wrong.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Sapnap casts a look in George’s direction, voice dropping. “I meant that DNF is what’s supposed to happen. And George would never like me like that so it could never work. So it’s not even worth talking about.”
George finally turns to face them fully. Tears glitter in his eyes. He opens his mouth, closes it, and then opens it again to whisper, “But what if I did? Would… would it work then?”
Sapnap sucks in a deep breath. “I can’t be with you if the only reason you’re doing this is to keep Dream. I won’t do that.”
“It wouldn’t be,” George assures him quickly. “You just never seemed interested and I guess like everyone else I thought that me and Dream would… But you… it’s the three of us. It’s always been the three of us. We— I… I lo— I’ve liked you both. For a long time. In the same way. I mean it’s…” For the first time since all of this started, George sounds hesitant. Scared. “You’re both my best friends. And I need both of you. I turn to both of you. I want to be with both of you. I lo…” He takes a deep breath in, exhales. “I loved both of you.” He pauses, giving them both a sharp glance that lingers a moment longer on Dream. “Don’t say it back. I mean as friends. We’ve all… I mean, we say it to each other all the time and even if it didn’t mean… It wasn’t a lie. I just… I just didn’t think you would…” He huffs, running a hand through his hair again. “What I’m trying to say is that even if I didn’t really let myself think about it, if we do this, I think I would. Feel the same way. About both of you. Because it’s you.” His gaze turns from Sapnap to Dream. “It’s us. The three of us. So this could work… if, if we all want it to.”
Sapnap nods slowly as if disbelief is still holding him back. George finally smiles for the first time in an hour. Elation rips through Dream’s veins, washing away his fear of loss and regret and leaving behind only love.
He doesn’t wait to pull Sapnap up to stand with him so he can wrap them both in a hug.
“Thank you, thank you,” he breathes, giggling. “I love you both so much.”
“So are we dating now?” Sapnap asks.
“I hope so,” Dream grins. “Because I think it means I can do this,” He leans in to kiss George, pulling away just as he begins to whine, “and this.” Then he kisses Sapnap, relishing in the feeling of finally finally finally.
He pulls away to see only fondness on the face of his two best friends. His boyfriends now.
This isn’t giving up. They aren’t ruined.
They’re in love. He’s in love. The feeling has never felt so sweet.