ORPHANED

:: eighty-six ::

"what can i do to help you?" he watched george swallow the pills, taking the cup of water from his shaky hands as the brunette returned his head to rest against the wall. it took a couple of minutes to get a response.

"i just want to...lie back down."

dream nodded, making an effort to stand from where he sat. "yeah, we could do that. of course." he stood slowly, again cautious not to spill water from the cup. "come?" he kept his voice quiet knowing all too well how loud simple noises could be with a headache.

george stood on unbalanced feet, blinking slowly as he took dream's hand to steady himself, waiting for the blonde to lead them out of the bathroom. dream squeezed george's hand, feeling honored to be the person george had trusted enough to help.

he passed george's bedroom, knowing the light in the living room was much more bearable than that of the thin curtains in the other room. he let the brunette sit on the couch as he refilled the cup of water. on his way back to the couch he drew the curtains, the light subsiding more than it had in george's room.

"better?" he asked knowing the answer as he turned to the brunette not having expected a response.

"better." george nodded showcasing a quick smile.

dream shot back a sympathetic smile. george's voice had been substantially weaker than any day before. he pictured a vibrant george sat next to the frail one frowning at the contrast in his personality. he set down the cup of water on the floor in front of his feet. "c'mere." he sat beside frail george opening his arms for the brunette to again settle against his chest.

when george stopped fidgeting in dream's arms the blonde pulled his legs up onto the couch, so the brunette rested between them. typically, laying down on a sofa wasn't very comfortable, considering his height, but with a pretty boy laid up against him it might've just been a little more bearable.

"can you keep talking, your voice makes me feel better."

dream bit his lip, pausing his movements as he turned away, blushing at the innocent sentence. his hands returned underneath the shirt to rub at george's skin, as his eyes turned to the ceiling. there were plenty of things he wanted to talk about with the brunette, the question was where to start.

"i was thinking of getting an apartment of my own before christmas...well, i've actually been thinking about it since last year." he recalled his image of a homey apartment he envisioned sharing with a certain brunette.

"i didn't want to leave my sister behind though, because there's not a lot to do with my mom working all the time. she's got some really good close friends now, she's always out with them, so there's really no reason for me to be there anymore. it's not like i'm home very often anyway."

"you don't think she will miss you?" george's words spoke through the walls of his brain.

dream considered the question for a while. "i don't plan on moving far, after all there's some problems only an older brother can solve."

george nodded, nestling his face against dream's t-shirt.

"george? would you maybe want to...i don't know." he forced himself to laugh to calm the waves of anxiety that came over him. "i mean, i usually invite sapnap but he's going to be out of town.

"hmm?" george hummed, encouraging him to ask the question.

"do you want to have dinner at my house for thanksgiving?" dream had grown especially adept to noticing when the brunette was uncomfortable, as well as wishing he could take back his words when it was already too late. together they sat, awaiting the next words.

"i don't know dream."

the blonde nodded despite the fact george couldn't see, maybe he had just been reassuring himself. it was fine.

"i'm sorry you feel sick." he spoke just to turn the apprehension in the room.

"it's not your fault." george lifted his hand to rub lazily at his eyes. his words seeming to refer to more than just the previous spoken sentence.

dream had opted against a blanket, the heat radiating off the brunette warming him in a way a blanket never could. again he noticed how george had been sweating. "george i'm honestly concerned, you're sweating."

the brunette shrugged. "i'll be fine."

"but you're always cold."

"your hands feel so good."

dream nodded, continuing to rub at the brunette's skin. they laid like that for a while, dream's hand staying in contact with george's flaring skin, the brunette breathing peacefully in the serene darkness of the quiet living room.

an unavoidable conversation came to mind, he figured it would be best to get it out of the way now instead of later. "george i want to talk to you about last night." there was no response so he continued. "i don't want this to get awkward, because obviously you weren't thinking straight, and i know you probably didn't mean to, but it feels wrong for me to know about it if you don't remember."

still the brunette lay unresponsive.

"george, we kissed last night...obviously i don't blame you, but i let it happen and i feel terrible. i should've known better and stopped it sooner, but i didn't, and i'm sorry. it wasn't right."

he waited for george to answer, his heart racing and his eyes held shut, but still there was no response. the silence only making his thoughts race faster.

"george i'm sorry."

the brunette never answered.

dream straitened himself to meet the others eyes, only to find george sleeping quietly against his chest. mouth agape with soft breaths leaving his lips just like dream had found him this morning.

of course he would be sleeping through the most important conversation in their relationship, it was such a george thing to do. dream sighed, left with unanswerable questions and feelings he refused to address.

—

i'd say now we're about halfway through the story *sobs* this chapter took so long to write and i'm not really sure why