Setting Sun

20 | Ad Meliora | 20

{Ad Meliora: Latin for "Towards better things"}

***

A year had passed since George and Dream had first met in Puffy's bar, and a lot had happened since then.

Karl and Sapnap lived together, growing closer and closer every day. About a month after they first moved in, Quackity announced he was moving to Denver to be closer to them. He claimed nothing was holding him in LA aside from his dreams of being a sports announcer, which, when he really thought about it, were kinda stupid. He wasn't ready to dive into the deep end and move in with them, so instead he got an apartment in the same building as theirs. That being said, the three were still incredibly close, and they announced in October that they were all together.

It was called a polyamorous relationship, and it meant that someone was in love with more than just one person. George and Dream didn't quite understand it, but, then again, they couldn't imagine being with anyone else other than each other.

Karl found work as a software developer at Schlatt and Co. with George, which he qualified for with his college degree in computer science. They made the same amount, using the money to help support Dream and Sapnap who still worked at Puffy's. Even with the many raises she'd given them, they still only worked at a bar, so their pay wasn't incredible.

Quackity went for more realistic goals this time around, deciding to go to school for business. He still had big plans, stating that he wanted to own the world's most popular casino one day. As a part time job to help afford college, he also worked as a waiter at the bar, which George could tell he enjoyed despite the lower pay.

Wilbur, as it turned out, had been going to law school for years. He wanted to be a detective, which made a lot of sense after everything that had happened. He graduated in May, and afterwards he was planning on using letters of recommendation from Phil, Corpse, Techno, and a few other officer friends of Techno's to hopefully make it in. In the meantime, he did gigs at the bar, playing music that George had no idea he was capable of producing. He supposed it was understandable, though, given the fact that music usually came from dark places in the heart, and Wilbur had plenty of those.

He'd made quite a few friends there, Nihachu, who's name was later revealed to George as Niki, and him got along great and they performed together often. He befriended a young boy by the nickname of Tommyinnit, or just Tommy, who was a busboy, who George found quite vulgar and immature, but otherwise was a good kid. Tommy's best friend's name was Tubbo in the bar, or Toby outside of it, and they all got along. Then there was Ranboo, who's real name was a mystery, Jack Manifold, and Eret. They were all very kind people.

Puffy's son's fifth birthday was approaching and it would arrive on December 18th. She had a few plans, all of which she made with George. Noah loved Dream, and whenever Puffy came over to their apartment, they would keep each other company while Puffy and George talked. Though George was seeing a real therapist, it still helped to talk to Puffy and he enjoyed it. Puffy loved coming over to their place to eat dinner because she absolutely adored Dream's cooking, which caused her to promote him to one of the assistant chefs. She told him when he finished culinary school, which he just started back in September, he would be able to be an actual chef if he liked.

George's mother and Wilbur's father were safely locked away. Their court cases didn't take nearly as long as George had expected, and he only had to testify once. Gloria Davidson was sentenced to twenty years in prison on an account for assistance in kidnapping, domestic violence in earlier years, and hate crimes. Dennis Soot was sentenced to a life sentence on accounts of kidnapping, assault, attempted murder to the first degree, domestic abuse, stalking, and hate crimes. That on top of his fourteen DUIs and DWIs, it didn't look good from the beginning for him.

Dream and George were happily together. George changed his mind, deciding he wanted to put labels on their relationship. That label was fiancé, and surfaced when he proposed to Dream on his birthday back in August, much to all of their friends' surprise. Dream was also shocked, but he was also a little salty because he was planning on proposing to George on Halloween, which he knew was his favorite holiday.

No one told them they were moving too fast because everyone could see how desperately in love they were. They'd made it past the hardest parts in either of their lives with their heads held high, if they could get through all that, they knew they could get through anything, and they would.

So, as Dream and George sat on the balcony of their apartment, staring out at the setting sun in the distance, they had no fears for the future. Dream no longer felt like he had a missing piece of him that he longed for. He was complete, his other half fulfilling every expectation he'd had for the emptiness. He also would have been nothing without Sapnap, his best friend who had moved six hundred miles just for him. George had come a long way since the scared boy his mother had tried to smother out of existence, he was newly reformed and ready to face anything. He was no longer the broken boy who lost his best friend eight years ago and was too scared to get close to anyone again.

The day he met Dream, everything changed, like a switch turning in his brain that had been off since the day he left England. Dream was unlike anyone else he'd ever met, and he still believed, even all this time later, that he wouldn't have made it without him. Ad meliora.

"You know," George whispered, head leaning on Dream's shoulder. "Sunsets are pretty, but I don't understand how people can prefer them over sunrises. They are superior."

Dream chuckled, resting his head on George's, enjoying the chilly atmosphere, awaiting the snow that was promised that night. The clouds indicating the first snow of winter covered the sky as the two went inside, masking the last light of the setting sun.

(Word Count: 1,089)

A/N: We literally jumped 300 reads in the span of 9 hours... how is that even possible? And number 16 out of 1,000+ other dnf stories?? My brain just cannot process it, I have no idea how to truly express how grateful I am, so I'll go with another thank you. Seriously, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.