another revealed truth

planes, trains and automobiles

trigger warnings listed in opening author's note

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dream had heard people say about how quickly college seems to go, but he didn't realise how fast it actually was until it was the first day of winter break and he felt like he'd only been here for a few weeks.

it feels like so recently he was unpacking his car to take his belongings up to their new apartment, and now here he is putting suitcases back in the car with everything he'll need for the few weeks at home.

"isn't karl going home for christmas?" sapnap asks as he lifts george's bags into the trunk, the brunette just watching from a few feet away.

dream doesn't know the answer to the question, and he momentarily worries that it will seem suspicious. he's admittedly relieved when george answers, "no, he's staying here."

"oh," sapnap frows slightly. he steps back when the last bag is in the car and dream reaches up to close the trunk, making sure it's secure. "do you want us to wait down here while you go say bye?" the ravenette offers, nodding up towards their apartments.

"no, it's alright, i already said bye," dream lies. he does his best sad smile as he steps around the car towards the driver's seat. "plus i'll call him tonight, or maybe tomorrow morning if i'm too tired."

sapnap says something to express his understanding but dream misses it as he climbs into the car. sapnap and george both get into the back, which feels a little weird but dream doesn't mention it. he imagines that the pair are desperate to spend their last little bit of time as close as possible before george is flying across the planet back to england.

he's had to listen to sapnap complain about it for days, and dream had to do his own fair share of fake-sadness about leaving karl. sure, he was disappointed to stop having sex for a few weeks and karl is a genuine friend who he'll miss while he's away, but not as much as he's clearly supposed to.

the drive to the airport seems far longer than it should be (to dream, at least. for the boys in the back it seems to pass in seconds) as the blond tries his hardest to zone out the soft hushed words and the quiet sound of kissing.

george and sapnap were clearly trying to be discreet with their affection, which dream appreciates, but he's more than a little relieved when they finally pull up in the airport car park and the other two go to clamber out the car.

dream looks back right before george steps out to say, "have a good holiday!"

the brunette looks over with a smile, asking, "are you not gonna come see me off?"

dream shakes his head. "i'll leave you two to it. i think sapnap's gonna want a proper sloppy kiss and i'd rather not be exposed to that trauma."

he makes george laugh, which is nice, and the pair say a proper goodbye before george gets out to collect his bags from the trunk.

dream watches both boys as they head into the airport together, fondly rolling his eyes at the way sapnap carries half the bags as if george can't manage on his own. they're running later than intended because george and sapnap had 'something really important to do' before they left, so dream doesn't think the couple will take too long.

he expects sapnap will come back sad, and mentally prepares himself to coddle over the ravenette for the rest of their journey back to florida.

in the meanwhile, he pulls out his phone to text karl (on instagram, because for some reason they still constantly talk there). he uses the speech-to-text feature for the best chances at accuracy and to save some time, just letting the brunette know that he told the others that they said their goodbyes, in case george happens to ask about it.

karl doesn't reply but that isn't particularly shocking since the brunette often unintentionally leaves dream on delivered for lengthy periods of time.

after a few moments of thought, he sends a second message asking if karl has any plans for christmas day, because he can't help but think it's sad if he doesn't. then, after that, it doesn't take long at all for sapnap to return to the car with a ridiculously exaggerated pout.

"welcome back," he says with a small smile, liking the fact that sapnap gets into the front seat. "how you feeling?"

"depressed," sapnap answers. his lips quirk up a bit at the sides, which is good, because it means dream doesn't have to worry about the risk of his best friend feeling genuinely depressed again. "maybe i should just go to england."

dream fondly rolls his eyes as he starts the car, gently shaking his head. "i'm sure that would break bad's heart."

sapnap just hums, slouching in his seat.

dream doesn't mind the ravenette's grump, because he knows it'll pass soon. "do you want me to stay around yours tonight to keep you company?" dream offers. "i could be your cuddle replacement."

"won't your family want to see you?" sapnap wonders, though it's clear he wants to agree. dream isn't surprised, since sapnap often gets sad at nights so it makes sense that he'd like the idea of some company. that's probably why george sleeps over so often.

"i haven't told them i'm coming back today, so they wouldn't know," dream confesses. he's yet to tell his dad because he simply doesn't want to be forced to see the older man yet, and he made the decision not to tell his mom yet so it could be a nice surprise for her. both of those reasons combined are why he didn't tell his sister.

"but don't you want to see them?" sapnap asks, clearly thinking that dream is only offering for his sake.

"i wanna see my mom and sister," dream answers, though he's sure that's what sapnap meant anyway. "but i know that as soon as i'm with my mom i won't want to leave her, and i want to spend some time with bad so it's probably better that i see him first so i don't go all momma's-boy and forget."

"okay, you can stay over. if you're sure you want to."

"i definitely want to," dream laughs shortly, glancing over at sapnap - the ravenette's cheeks are very pink, and he wonders if he cried when saying bye to george. "plus, i'm desperate for a dad hug from bad."

sapnap chuckles, "i'm sure he's desperate to give you one. you can have the hug that skeppy will try and give me, too."

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I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

-kit