ORPHANED

:: one hundred twenty-two ::

after a morning that left them with their heads in the clouds, it really only made sense for the blonde to adapt a sudden protective clinginess. anywhere the brunette was to travel around his apartment the blonde was destined to follow. as george's morning routine played out, with the blonde trailing only a few seconds behind him, he couldn't help but relate the behavior to a dog that would paw at any closed doors, insisting they be together no matter what it was he was doing. dream might have been above clawing at doors, but he certainly was not above whimpering about anything that dissatisfied him in the morning.

"george," the blonde stressed the name, a frown evident in the way his words closed.

"dream," the brunette mimicked, glancing at the blonde that peered over his shoulder. he fixed himself and the other, the only breakfast he was confident was impossible for him to mess up, even with the little focus that was paid to his actions.

"the floor is cold," he mumbled, snaking his hands underneath george's sweatshirt and wrapping his arms around the brunette's waist to help regulate his own body temperature.

george shivered at the cold fingertips that brushed past the tips of his hip bone, "you can sit down, you don't have to stay over here." he topped the bowls of cereal with slices of the singular banana that stayed untouched on the counter, forgotten about after it's bunch dissipated.

a whimper left dream's lips, and he rested his head in the crook of the brunette's neck, pulling them closer together so george's back pressed flush against his chest.

a playful eye roll from the brunette went unseen by the other, yet he still picked up both bowls. "okay, i'm done now." he shuffled to the table along with the added weight that seemed to be far from any idea of letting him walk in peace. "here, sit down." he placed one of the bowls in front of the seat the blonde claimed as his own, waiting for the arms to detach from around him before he moved across the table to take his own seat.

they looked across the table to one another, doe-eyed, and suddenly george felt like his effort was unnecessary. "are you not hungry?" the slight of a frown found his lips, but in bright burning contrast, the blonde began to shine a sleepy smile, sitting up straighter in his chair.

"i need a spoon george."

"oh." his frown fell only to make room for the embarrassed flush that just seemed to belong on his face. he stood from the table all too well informed of the eyes that studied his movements. he tried to act natural, fetching the two spoons before quickly taking his seat again.

the blonde crossed his arms, and tilted his head, staring at the brunette with an unexplainable smile on his face.

"what now." george plunged the spoons into the bowls, wanting to turn from his eyes but feeling trapped by his own curiosity.

"you keep your silverware to the left of the sink?" his voice bounced with a giggle he tried to suppress, only letting it fall from his lips when he saw the brunette's reaction to the unrelated question.

"i-" george had to turn back to the kitchen to confirm the examination, "i guess i do." his eyes returned to the blaring smile that came along with the blonde's laugh, watching with an agape smile as the blonde tried to gain his composure.

it was one thing to hear but it was another to see, and in-person at that. his laugh started as a simple rumble against his ribs, amplifying into an echo that slipped past a giddy smile and filled every corner of a cold room. his freckled skin adapted a mesmerizing glow complementing his demeanor and enhancing his image. it was almost impossible to be miserable around the man that almost always gleamed with happiness.

when dream's laugh had finally calmed into a manageable giggle the flushing of his skin kept him warm, the heat of his joy seeping across the table to tangle itself within the brunette's core until he began to feel hot in the sweatshirt he wore.

"i don't understand what's so funny about it."

dream shook his head, "i guess it's not actually that funny." this time he made the first effort to link their ankles, pulling his untouched bowl closer to himself. "we have ours on the right."

"i don't know what it is with you and shaming me for how this apartment is set up. first, my roof isn't comfortable enough for you. and now i don't have my silverware on the right side?" george snorted, "is there some book i missed out on reading or something?"

dream smiled at the remembrance of the day they sat on the roof together. "oh yeah, but it's years old now, i doubt you'll get your hands on it."

"i guess that's too bad."

"i guess so." they smiled to themselves as they finished their cereal. "just you wait until you get to sit on my roof." he spoke with a smug look, "some argue it's the best roof to sit on."

"some?" george quirked an eyebrow.

there was a pause on his end, "...no, just me."

his response elicited their teasing giggles and it was not long before their silence was broken again. dream felt a rumble in his pocket originating from his long-forgotten phone, when he retrieved it and saw how many missed calls from his sister he almost started to panic, however, it was her latest text that calmed his nerves.

'when i said not to come back until you kissed him i didn't actually mean it idiot'

he opened the message and sent back a simple, 'rude.'

her answer came just as quickly.

'so you are alive! good, it's the first snow of the year so you should know what that means ;)'

he smiled at the text and turned to the brunette across the table who stared at him with concern.

"i guess we have plans for today."

—

lately i can't stop accidentally writing alliteration's into this story and i have no idea where they are coming from. also, i default to spelling a lot of words the european way (i.e. favourite and behaviour) and i have reason to believe that is from all the phanfiction i read when i first got into wattpad