Setting Sun

11 | The Calm After the Storm | 11

When George woke up, his eyes were heavy with tiredness, the remnants of the tears still remaining in his eyes and on his cheeks, making his face sticky. He remembered everything, all the pain. All the memories. A choked sob came from his chest, and he felt warm arms wrap around him comfortingly.

He looked back to see an exhausted and concerned Dream staring down at him. They were in his bedroom once again, and George was laying on Dream's chest.

"What happened?" George said, voice hoarse from the crying. His throat stung and he desperately wanted some water.

Dream frowned. "You don't remember?" he asked softly, cautiously.

"No, I do, but like, where's Wilbur? And Karl and Sapnap?"

"Karl and Sapnap are out getting medicine for you. You've got a cold," Dream explained. "As for Wilbur... I have no idea. When I found you last night-" he looked pained by the recollection of the events "- he was just standing there, staring. I thought he'd done something to you, but then I heard you mumbling. Over and over again, you were saying the same thing: 'make it stop, make it go away.' Then I knew, it was all you. Wilbur just ran after I got there and started yelling at him."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Since last night, it's about eleven am now, so like... fourteen or fifteen hours?"

"And you've been awake this whole time?" George said, already knowing the answer.

Dream nodded. "I was so worried, I couldn't even think about falling asleep. Please never do that to me again, Georgie," he mumbled, running his hand through George's soft brown hair. George didn't cringe away from the name as he had with Wilbur, he welcomed the warmth that came with it.

"Which part exactly?"

"All of it. I was so scared for you when you left me, but I didn't know how to answer your question in a way that wouldn't upset you. I know what the right answer was for me, how I felt about our relationship, but I didn't know how you felt. I came when I heard you yelling, but I didn't get there in time and you were already curled up on the ground and you wouldn't respond when I tried to get you to focus on me. And you kept saying those dang words, and you wouldn't stop and-"

George cut him off abruptly, connecting Dream's lips with his own. They both savored the kiss for a moment, and when they released, there was a new found lightness over both of them. This was the answer to George's question, it was what both of them had been waiting for.

"That is how I feel. All of that stuff I said last night was in the past. I need to get help, professional help, to deal with it all, but I think last night was sort of... closure. Wilbur is alive, I don't need to feel guilty anymore, and my mom is back in England, she can't hurt me. All of that pain I went through was necessary, because it's what made me move here, it's what made me find you."

"Yes, but you shouldn't have had to go through that just to be happy, George, you deserve better than that."

"Do I? Regardless of whether or not Wilbur is still alive, I more or less caused everything that's happened to him. It was because of our friendship that he was hurt so badly that he had to leave the continent."

Dream put a finger to his lips, silencing him. "George, the hand you and Wilbur have both been dealt in this life was not your fault. You have to stop saying it is, it's the thing that's been holding you back from letting go and moving on. And from what I saw last night, you need to let go. Or one day, it'll kill you. You don't have to accept that I'm right right now, but you will. For now, stay here with me. Be with me, and let everything else go."