A DNF Merman AU

Ex. Chapter 6.5

A/N: Hello mad lads!! (And lasses and laxes, too, of course)

Here's the Part 2 I promised for the previous chapter. It's short-ish, and dialogue-heavy, but I hope you enjoy it anyways:)

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Ex. Chapter 6.5

George is, to put it simply, fucked. At first, he had thought that the hurt would lessen over time. That the pain would begin to soften. In reality, though, he misses Dream more and more with each passing day. Clay fills his mind day and night, memories of soft touches and tender kisses haunting both his waking hours and his dreams. Every moment spent alone feels like a moment wasted, like he's missing out on a whole lifetime of memories he could be making with Dream.

Maybe if he returns to the spot they met – their spot – one last time, he'll get the closure he needs. Maybe he'll be okay again.

But when he arrives, he is met with the image of Dream's back silhouetted against the setting sun.

"Hi, George," Clay says, still facing the sunset. George is reminded of the first times he had spoken to him, but this time, his broad, freckles shoulders are curled inward, and his voice is tentative.

"I'm not sure if you're even here, but if you are, I hope you'll hear me out," he continues. "Actually, I've already said this same spiel a couple times this week, hoping you'd be here." He pauses, chuckling under his breath at himself. "God. I'm such a mess." He pauses. " I miss you so much. I'm sorry."

George's breath gets caught in his throat. What? This is not what he was expecting to hear.

"I know that listening to me is probably the last thing you want right now, but I wish we could have just talked it through. I never meant to scare you or pressure you. God, Georgie. That's the last thing I'd ever want to do." Clay's voice quivers slightly, and George realizes suddenly that the boy is crying.

What???

"I'd never want to hold you back or tie you down, George. You're meant to be free. I know that. I've always known that. And maybe it was selfish of me to try to hold onto a piece of you. I'm sorry."

"George, I understand that you need space and that you don't want to talk to me right now. But I want you to know that if you ever change your mind, if you ever want to come back, I'll welcome you with open arms." The last part is so quiet that the merman isn't entirely sure if he heard it correctly. " I love you."

He takes one last shaky breath before finally speaking up.

"I love you, too," George whispers. Clay immediately perks up at the sound, and George closes his eyes, not quite ready to see Dream's face.

"George?"

"I thought you wanted me gone," George says under his breath.

"What?" Clay asks just as quietly. "Why would you think that?"

"I– was scared. I don't know. I thought you were gonna ask for space or something."

"God no. That's the last thing I wanted."

"I –– I guess I just," George rambles, panicking. "Thought you were gonna end things, and so I left, and then I felt so alone, but then ––"

"George."

"I felt so stupid because I knew that it didn't really make sense?? Cuz it would've been so out of the blue? You had never done anything before to make me feel unwanted. But I couldn't help worryi–"

"George."

"And then I thought that if you really wanted me here, you would've reached out. But then you never di–"

"George!" Clay says with a firm kindness that makes him melt. "Take a breath, baby. Can you breathe with me?"

The merman nods, following Clay in huge, shuddering breaths. He wills his stammering heart and racing thoughts to calm down.

"I did try to talk to you, Georgie. I wrote you a letter, and when it disappeared, I figured you had it read it."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah. It must have just been washed away or something. I don't know. And then when I never got a response, I guess I just thought you didn't wanna talk."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"So," George clarifies. "You never wanted me to leave?"

"No, baby." Clay shakes his head. "I actually, um. I was trying to ask if you'd move in."

"Oh."

Both boys remain silent for a moment. George is embarrassed about the tears gathering in his eyes until he hears Clay sniffle in front of him.

"Wasn't there something you had wanted to talk to me about? Before it happened?" Clay asks hesitantly.

"Oh. Yeah." George sighs. "I was going to ask if I could go back to the sea for a little. But I didn't mean like this."

Clay takes George's hands into his own, and he realizes that at some point during the conversation, he must have swum over to Dream. The boy runs a finger over the back of George's thumb soothingly.

"I– I don't know what to say," George murmurs.

"Georgie. You deserve to be free." A tear rolls down his cheek as Clay gives his hand a quick squeeze.

"I–I'm not ready to let you go, Clay. I don't know if I'll ever be." He keeps his gaze trained on their connected hands.

"Then don't. Why can't you have both?

"Huh?"

"Who says you can't have both?" Clay repeats. "Who says you can't spend as much time as you want in the ocean? Just know that at the end of the day, you'll always have somewhere, someone, to come back home to."

George finally looks up at Clay, and he cannot help the faint smile that breaks through his tears. "Okay, Dream."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Maybe George doesn't have to choose between worlds. Maybe George belongs to both the land and the sea. Maybe home is here, in the arms of a sun-kissed boy, where the sand meets the shore.

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FIN

(haha. get it. like. finished. but also like. fin. like fish fin. haha. ha)

A/N: But also yeah! That's the end for this story:). Thank you so much for all of your support. I really enjoyed writing this book.

I love these boys, and I'll really miss writing in this particular AU. I'm planning on eventually posting a oneshot book, though, so if I ever want to write about these specific characters again, I'll put it there.:)

I have both a new long au story and a series of oneshots in the works right now. Which would y'all prefer first?