Rigid Love (Sequel to Stockholm Syndrome)

Lesser of the Two Evils

TW: none

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Dream didn't bother me when he picked me up which I appreciated. When we got to his house, he pulled me into a hug and didn't let go. Even when we got in bed, he continued to hold me close. I think he knew why I came here even though I wasn't completely sure why myself. He kissed my forehead softly and that's the last thing I remember before drifting off to sleep in Dream's arms.

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My eyes fluttered open and my nose perked up to the smell of bacon. I never really cared much for American bacon, but the way Dream makes it appeals to me. Not wanting to put on my clothes from yesterday, I threw on one of Dream's oversized hoodies. Rubbing my eyes and still half asleep, I step into the kitchen. It takes Dream a second to realize I'm there, but when he does, his face breaks into a smile and turns the heat down on the stove. He gives me a big hug I didn't know I needed and sits me down on a chair at the table. "You look cute, George," he said with a smile on his face. He knows that comment would get me flustered. I felt the blush spreading across my face.

"I missed your bacon," I admitted after a few seconds of silence.

"Yeah?" He chuckled. "What made you miss it?"

"The bacon at school is shit." I chuckled, too.

"Ah, of course. College food is always shit."

He then placed down a plate of bacon, eggs, and toast. I look at it, remembering a distant memory.

"What's wrong? Not hungry?" Dream asks, sitting down with his own plate of food.

"No, I am," I said, taking a bite of the fluffy eggs.

"Then what is it?" Dream takes a bite of bacon, muffled crunching filling the room.

"Just remembering something."

It clicks with Dream. He nods knowingly. "Oh, yeah. This was the first meal you had with me upstairs, wasn't it?"

I smile. "Yeah," I whisper, fighting back a laugh. We both know it's a little awkward.

We make small talk during the rest of breakfast. Dream keeps the topics generally pretty light, sensing I don't want to talk about the heavier topics just yet.

After breakfast, we settle on the couch. I get more deja vu but that wasn't a bad feeling as that was a good memory. Dream lays horizontally while I sit on top of him, legs and arms wrapped around his back, head on his chest. Dream hums contently and I copy him, finding it funny.

He rolls his eyes. "Idiot," he mutters playfully.

"You're the idiot," I respond snuggling back into his chest.

Dream puts a hand on my head, cradling it. "George?"

"Mhm?"

"Is your boyfriend going to be mad that you're cuddling your ex? And that you're half naked cuddling your ex?" I don't know if he meant this question to be an indication for me to get off him or if he was just curious.

"He's not my boyfriend," I yawn into his chest.

"Are you sure?" His hand slips down to my back, rubbing it.

My eyes shoot open. Well, I guess we're having this conversation now. I take a deep breath, debating if I should let everything out now. "Sometimes he is... sometimes he isn't."

I can tell by the silence Dream wants more, but I don't give more to him. "So I'll go back to my question..." 

I sigh. "I don't care. I'm fucking my ex, sleeping pretty much naked with my ex, and spending all my free time with my ex I can. Let's just make sure that he doesn't find out I'm spending my whole day like that."

"You need to choose, George."

"Choose?" I ask, lifting my head up to look at him.

"Stay with him or break up with him." This conversation wasn't comfortable for either of us, but it needed to be had. "And before you make your decision, I'd like to weigh in my true, honest opinion - unbiased. I think you should break it off. It's not healthy."

"I don't know if I can..." I trail off.

I didn't expect Dream to argue back, but he shoots back, "He's manipulative and he hurt you."

I sit up from my laying position. "If I remember correctly you hurt me first."

Dream sits up with me. He searches for something to say. "At least I'm trying to better myself."

I raise an eyebrow.

"Have I done something without your consent since we met back up? Have I hit you once? Have I threatened you? Everything I say about your relationship is for your own good. I'm only looking out for your happiness, George." He puts a warm hand on my cheek. I look up at him with watery eyes. "I can see he doesn't make you happy." He takes a deep breath. "I'm not asking you to choose me over him - I'm asking you to choose to be in a terrible relationship that isn't healthy or not." I don't say anything, contemplating what to say to that. "In other words, I don't care if we're together," he says, his voice shaking slightly. "I just want you to be happy. I'm here for you, though. Whatever you want."

I shake my head. "How do I even bring that up? To him, I mean. How?"

"I can help," Dream offers.

I smile, happy to have his help. Our relationship isn't perfect but he is right in some ways. 

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A/N: Hey guys :) short chapter because it needed to happen. Ok but honestly I really liked having a shorter chapter after a long, intense one. I had to point out that I love your comments about TJ :) So very happy I could make a character that is so unlikable! Anyway, yes, I was gone for a good chunk of time, but school has been really kicking my ass so I needed to focus on that and also my mental health because that has been really poor, as well. But therapy is great so it's getting better and school assignments are slowing down. I really wanna try to get another 2 chapters out by the end of next week but we'll see how that goes.

I did want to touch on another thing, though. I've been a little distracted and almost uninterested in writing this sequel up until a couple days ago because. I had been thinking about 2 other dnf fanfics I just NEED to write so those will be coming either while I'm writing this sequel or directly after. 1. High school au and 2. mermaid au and that is all I'm going to say for now!

Thank you so much for reading, as always!!

-AL