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George stirred awake around three in the morning after another one of his more undesirable dreams, mostly consisting of a strange monster he would have no fear of in the broad daylight, but every time he woke up from one, he was still shaken. This particular night wasn't too bad, though. He and Ringo were sharing a bed tonight, so the minute he opened his eyes and felt his stomach doing flips inside of him, he curled up closer to Ringo's back and tried to steady his breathing.
"Georgie?" His body tensed at the sudden and unexpected voice. "Oh, god. Didn't mean to scare ye, love." Relief overwhelmed him as Ringo began to turn around.
"Nah, you didn't. I guess I just didn't think you were awake." He chuckled, but when Ringo had finally turned all the way around, he noticed that something was off about his face. "Y'alright?"
Ringo cocked a brow in some attempt to seem a bit confused by George's realisation, but the worried lines across his forehead gave him away. "What? Of course I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be?" His voice wavered up and down unsteadily.
"I dunno," George said as he placed a hand on the soft face in front of him. "You just seem off. Up late thinking?"
At just that moment, a tear slipped out of Ringo's eye, and George caught it before it reached the pillow. He opened his mouth to explain, but no words came out.
"Gosh." George's gentle tone only seemed to elicit more tears, and pretty soon, Ringo was crying hard enough that asking him what was wrong would only make it worse.
So instead, George drew him in a bit closer and let him let go of whatever pent up emotion was causing him so much pain. For about ten minutes, he rubbed his back, not saying a word so as not to disturb him, And eventually, Ringo came back and pulled away from the hug, sitting up in the bed.
"Do you want to talk?" he whispered, unsure if Ringo was even up for anything of the sort. But it didn't hurt to try, right?
"I think that going on tour was a mistake." That was quite a statement that he had to admit he definitely did not expect.
"Oh.” In a hazy state of confusion, the ability to form a sentence escaped him. He sat up in the bed next to Ringo, and the look he gave him said the words he couldn't.
"I don't know, George. I mean, you know how I get about being away from home this long." He did know. He remembered plenty of times when Ringo had been upset about only a few days away. "It's three months, Georgie."
George nodded, leaning over to briskly kiss him on the forehead, doing away with some of the wrinkles. "It'll be over before you know it, yeah?" Ringo shrugged. "Seriously, love. Just a few short blinks from now and we'll be back at home, sitting around the table with Pattie, eating whatever takeout food we can all agree on."
"That's just it, though. What if we get back and it's not the same?" George faltered, so Ringo continued. "I mean, what about Tiger?"
"What about him?"
"What if he doesn't remember us?" The words fell out of his mouth, clearly before he had time to think about them, judging by the slight widening of his eyes. And then suddenly, it all made sense to George.
"Is that what you've been worried about?" he asked with a caring tone.
"No! No, that was just an example, it was stupid. I just meant -- "
"Of course he'll remember us, Richie! It's only a few months. Not years." Ringo laid back down in the bed.
"Just forget I said anything." George laid back down next to him and enveloped him in his arms. "George, I don't need your comfort. It's stupid, anyroad. You're right. He won't forget us."
"Love, stop that. You're upset, and you have every right to be."
"I just don't know what I was thinking."
"That's alright. Night time messes with all of our minds. Gives us too much time alone with our thoughts." Ringo sighed. "Besides, I'm sure Tiger is having so much fun with Pattie and can't wait until we're back home."
"Yeah, I suppose."
"We can phone her in the morning if you'd like. Would that help?" Ringo nodded. "Alright. We don't have to be out of here until nine, so let's plan on it, okay? I'm sure she'll be glad to hear from us."
"Yeah, I miss her." George snuggled a bit closer to him. "Do you think we could get some sleep now? I'm feeling quite a bit knackered."
"Needless to say, I am, as well." George closed his eyes, and as soon as he felt Ringo relax and settle down in his arms, he fell back into his dreams.