Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There they were, all stood next to each other in the small room, just eying the blond swaying the baby in his arms. 

"Karl" he chuckles, "do you want to hold him?" He snickers with a big grin crossing his face. 

Karl screams "yes yes yes" as he wiggles himself out of Sapnap's grip around his waist and basically throws himself onto the small couch, earning a round of giggles from the people in the room. 

Dream turns around glancing at the little human moving around in his arms. Wrapped up in a white hospital blanket and wearing a light blue hat, Dream had never loved something or someone this much. 

He takes a few steps forward, slowly dipping his legs down and placing the small bundle, his everything, into Karls shaking hands. 

He wasn't worried though, obviously it was hard letting go of this newfound love in his life, but he trusted his friends and he knew that after a while the little bundle of joy would be placed back into his big welcoming arms ready to cradle the little thing that was his newborn son. 

Karl was making noises like "aawww" and squeals higher than any he's ever heard, as he gestured the rest of the group to get over there and bathe in the fresh air around this new life. 

As all of his friends group around Karl and the little child in his hands, Clay's mom pulls him back into a corner of the room to talk to him. 

"I've never seen you this happy" she whispers while staring at the large group of people that was awwing at a little yawn that Daniel let out. 

"I've never been happier" Dream answers with a smile, brushing his hand through his hair. 

"You're gonna be a great dad I know that Clay" 

"It's all from you. I don't know if I could have mustered up the courage to pull through with doing this on my own hadn't it been for you" 

A big hug to Dream's side ends their conversation as he hears a little "congratulations" be muttered into his shoulder 

He slowly walks back over to the crowd where Bad was now holding Daniel while Karl was sat next to him sniffling into Sapnap's shoulder, the younger man rubbing comforting circles in his back. 

The baby was handed around to everyone, cradled in so many arms with hands moving over the small strain of hair that had made its way through the brim of the hat. 

The time flew by and at around 5 pm the nurse came in asking the visitors to leave as it was getting late and visiting hours were coming to a close. 

He hugged everyone goodbye as he rocked the little boy in his arms, already missing his friends' company surrounding him and his son. 

Dream thinks back to when he had told Sapnap and George about the soon to arrive baby. Two weeks after finally moving in together. 

"I'll move out as soon as possible, I'll find a little flat somewhere close-" 

"What? No way" he was cut off by Sapnap "You're not moving out dude" 

"What? Yeah I am. I can't do that to you. You wouldn't want a crying infant in the house" 

"We love you dude, and we'll love that child of yours" Sapnap says reassuringly.

"Yeah Dream, stay here. you spent most of your money to move into this place, how will you afford to raise a kid if you can't even pay the rent?" George joins in making a good point. 

"A- Are you sure? It's gonna be loud and- and annoying an-" 

"Don't worry about us man you're gonna be a single dad soon you have bigger things to think about" Sapnap says while patting Dream's left shoulder with his hand and getting up from the grey sofa leaving George and Dream sitting there alone. 

The awkward silence falls over the two like a thick blanket, engulfing both of them in a somewhat curse not allowing them to speak. 

"Soooo, you're gonna be a dad?" George breaks the curse. 

"Yeah looks that way" Dream replies to the question. 

"Are you ready for that?" 

"If I'm gonna be totally honest, I have no clue"

                                           _______

The night passed and so did two more days that they spent in that small hospital room, just the two of them together. Changing diapers, rocking back and forth, mixing Formula, burping and much more. 

Dream and Daniel were finally coming home, home into the small house with the too small rooms and the annoying neighbours that made trouble at every little sound anyone made. Home into the small family that were Dream, Sapnap and George. The loving home in which George and Sapnap had been, unbeknownst to Dream, decorating the entire place for the little bundle of joy. 

They also both greeted them at the door, Karl clinging to Sapnaps arm as the door shells, signaling the arrival of the little human and his Father. 

"You look terrible and you smell" Dream's mother says as he enters, the little baby which had been lifted out of his car seat, placed safely in his dad's swaying arms, one hand pressing down onto the green Pacifier that was resting in the baby's mouth.

"Thank you nice to see you too mom" the blond answers, wrapping one arm around her, pulling her into his side. 

"Oh you know what I mean, now go take a shower and then a nap" she says in a demanding tone while walking over to the man, holding her hands out in front of herself, wanting to take the child out of her son's tired hands.

"No mom I'm fine I swear, just haven't had the time to sleep, or shower" he replies. 

"I can't just leave him alone with you, I'm his dad I'm supposed to take care of him" he adds, flipping the little infant to the other arm, the one he was previously laying on starting to feel a little heavy. 

"And I'm his Grandma, I can take care of him. And I'm sure your friends here would love to spend some more time with him" Clay's mother continues, talking mostly about Karl, who was, just as he had been in the hospital room, squealing around, impatience nagging at his nerves. The Woman now puts one gentle hand underneath the baby's head and neck and another one under his back, slowly lifting him out of the man's arms and into her own. 

Dream sighs. 

"Fine. His clothes are upstairs in the nursery, so are diapers, there's a drawer with binkies somewhere and I'm pretty sure we had some wipes laying around-" 

"Clay. I got it." She interrupts his nervous rambling."We'll figure it out. Go take care of yourself" she says, putting a hand to his back and pushing him towards the stairs. 

A tired "Thank you" can be heard out of Dream's mouth, as he turns and walks up the stairs heading for the bathroom to take the first shower in three days. 

The people downstairs in the living room gather around the child peacefully sleeping in his Grandma's arms, moving his tiny hands. 

They were all sitting in silence, the little boy softly snoring into the woman's chest, Karl looking down at him and shedding a small tear. 

"Look at how cute he is," he says, shedding more tears of joy, Sapnap wrapping an arm around him, nodding in agreement. 

Just like he had been in the small hospital room, little Daniel was lifted from arm to arm, placed from chest to chest, and handed to everyone but one person. 

"Hey George, you wanna hold him?" Sapnap asks moving the small child in his arms closer to George. 

The brunet in question only shakes his head, quietly staring at the ground, not even lifting his eyes to the other people. 

"Well if you don't want him I'll take him again. Can I?" Karl blurts out loudly, startling some of the people in the room. 

Sapnap hands the child back to Karl, eying the other brunet to his side. He thinks for a bit, and then comes to the conclusion that George had never held the baby before. 

Even when they were in the hospital, George had declined the offer to hold his best friend's son. Also he's been weirdly quiet and different  since the child was born. 

Sapnap furrows his brows and says "George can I talk to you in the kitchen for a moment?" gaining him all the attention as the people around were confused about what they possibly could have to talk about in private. Thinking it might be something work related, they shrug it off and go back to staring at the little bundle curled up in Karls arms. 

George nods confused but lifts himself off the couch nonetheless, making his way into the small kitchen with Sapnap. 

"What?" He says annoyed, still confused why the other needed to speak with him without anyone else's presence. 

"Why do you hate Daniel?" Sapnap blurts out, getting straight to the point.

"What? I don't hate Daniel" George replies, letting a little chuckle fly out as he does so. 

"Oh really? You won't hold him, you're quiet when we talk about him, you won't even look at him for God's sake" Sapnap speaks, maybe even slightly yelling at the man in front of him, the anger flowing up to his chest. 

"I don't hate him" the other man speaks softly while eying the floor, "I'm- I guess I'm-" he takes a deep shaky breath in before continuing "I guess I'm just afraid of loving him too much" he finally murmurs. 

"Huh? What do you mean?" 

"I mean, I'm afraid I'll get too attached and then have to let go of him again. I don't wanna feel that pain. So if I never get attached, I won't have to let go" he elaborates, soft tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. 

"Hey hey. Don't cry. Please, come here" Sapnap says, noticing the tears and closing his arms around him, patting his back softly. 

"Listen George, I get that. But never getting attached isn't an option. Are you just gonna ignore all of us whenever he's mentioned? Or when he's in the room? He's gonna live in this house, you can't ignore him forever." Sapnap continues. "You're gonna regret not making an attachment any sooner George"  

"I know, you're right, it's just- it's all a lot right now" he says, loosening himself out of the hug and wiping his tears off of his face with his sweater, splashing water from the sink on it, to dissolve the look of crying. 

Once his voice had stopped quivering, and the wetness in his eyes had dried to a point where you couldn't see it anymore, he and Sapnap moved back out of the kitchen, the older now ready to hold the infant and to admire his little face. 

"Hey Karl, can I hold him now?" He asks, voice still quiet, afraid someone could tell he had cried if he spoke any louder. 

"Sure. Sit down over here and I'll put him in your arm" the curly-headed man agrees, tapping the empty space next to him, signaling where George should sit. 

"Alright, watch his head" Karl continues, placing the small, vulnerable child into George's arms.

George is scared at first, worried he'll hurt the newborn on accident. But as soon as the boy is laying in a steady position with his head in the crook of his arm, George's fears are gone.

For the first time he looks at the tiny human's face, and immediately falls in love with the little boy. He looks at his tiny hands and his tiny feet, and brushes a gentle finger over the soft bridge of his nose. 

"Wow. He's perfect" he mutters, in somewhat of a trance as he stares down at the child in his arms.

"He really is,” Dream chimes in from behind them, wet hair dribbling damp spots onto his T-shirt, the comment making the people in the room turn around and chuckle. 

"Didn't I tell you to take a nap?" Clay's mom asks in a strict tone, the man having obviously not rested like he was instructed to. 

"It's fine mom. Daniel needs his bottle now, so I'm here to make him one" he explains, moving over to the countertop across from the small group gathered on the couch, pulling a small bottle out of the diaper bag, and moving into the kitchen. 

"Like I couldn't have done that" the woman mumbles, rolling her eyes at the blonds willingness to do everything himself.

He's always been like that, she thinks. Very independent. Even as a young boy he wouldn't allow any help if he really believed he could do it on his own.  

George’s eyes follow Dream's body into the kitchen only loosening from the blond's back as Daniel in his arms starts to get a little fussy. Still he doesn't hand the now crying child over to anyone, he simply moves the boy close to his chest, stands up, and sways around with the baby's head resting softly against his shoulder, hand carefully protecting his neck, immediately seizing the crying. 

"Wow you're good at that" Dream says while walking back into the room, testing the bottle's temperature on his wrist, stepping over to the still swaying pair. 

"Thanks" he chuckles. “Is it alright if I feed him the bottle? He seems comfortable right now" George asks, the blond replying with a short "sure". 

He moves back to the couch with the baby laying in the crook of his arm again, being handed the small, formular filled bottle that he now shifts to the boy's mouth, who was already starting to fuss around again.

The baby latches on to the soft plastic of the bottle immediately, feverishly suckling the warm nutritious food out of it while Dream sits next to the man feeding him, bending down petting a hand over his son's head and placing a gentle kiss on it afterwards. 

Dream and George were close, faces hovering only inches apart from each other above the child, their eyes connectingl for a split second, before breaking the bond and staring back down to the little one in George's arm. 

Chapter Text

Being a single dad to a newborn was hard. Of course Clay knew that when he agreed to take the little one on his own.

Well he wasn't on his own, he had an army of people backing him up, helping with night feedings and frequent diaper changes. George especially, had taken a liking to caring for the baby, often dressing him in cute outfits and styling the couple strands of light brown hair on his soft head.

It was as if the first second he looked at that little bundle of joy that day when he came home, triggered his paternal instincts, like some animal that just instinctively knew what to do.

Sometimes, especially in the first few weeks of Daniel's life, it made Dream sad that the brunet seemed to have all of those things more under control than he did. It made him sad that he would cry whenever he would change him, but most times the brunet did it he was totally fine with it. Yes it bugged him but over the months of growing with the tasks of raising a tiny human he started to lose the jealousy that he seemed to have early on. In fact he honored the bond that George had with Daniel, forgetting the worries that George would resent him for bringing a baby into the home.

Now, he even felt bad for the brunet's willingness to help, often worrying that George was doing too much, he didn't want to overwhelm him. He wanted him to know he always had an out if he ever needed one. Just like one day when Daniel was about 4 months old, when Dream was woken late at night.

"Hey Dream. Hey dream" the brunet whispers, rocking back and forth trying to soothe the wailing infant laid in the crook of his arm. "I know we said we'll take shifts but I just can't get him to settle down, he's been crying for like an hour and a half. I've fed him, changed him and now we've been jumping around for like 20 minutes but nothings helping". He readjusts the small boy on his side and wipes some spit off of his mouth with the wet cloth he held in his free hand.

"An hour and a half? George you know you could have woken me sooner, he's my kid, you shouldn't have to do all this" the blond says, quickly standing up, lifting the sobbing child out of George's arm and holding him close to his chest.

"Shh buddy it's alright daddys here" he slowly swings from side to side "I swear I had a pacifier laying around somewhere here- ah there it is" he says, scanning around and finding the small rubber piece surrounded by plastic, pushing it softly to the baby's mouth, the crying stopping as the rubber hits his tongue.

"I think he might be teething, '' he says, looking up at the man in front of him, who looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"He's only 4 months old, isn't he too young to start teething?" The man asks softly, putting a finger to the boy's small hand, who closes his tiny fist around it.

"It's different from child to child. I got my teeth pretty early as well, my mom was telling me about it the other day" the blond says, looking between George and the baby, admiring their tight bond.

"George, you look like you're about to fall asleep right here, go to bed, I got him" he pleads, this being exactly what he didn't want when the others suggested they'd take care of the youngest member of the house in shifts.

"I'm not tired, I can take him again, we'll be fine" the man answers, stifling a very obvious yawn.

"Go to bed George'' he says again, pressing a soft kiss to his son's head, petting a gentle hand over his back to show him he's loved and safe in his dad's arms.

"Fine. But can I stay in your bed? Mine is full with diapers and bottles and stuff." George gives in.

"Yeah sure. I was gonna lay him in-between the pillows and just watch him there, maybe he'll fall asleep, but we can go downstairs too-"

"No no no" the brunet interrupts, "can you- can you stay, please?"

The man softly nods and lays the small bundle, that was now much more calm, in between the two pillows on the queen sized bed, scooting in close, his face only inches from his son's.

George observed and then went around to the other side of the bed, also scooting close to the child, who's eyes already seemed to be getting very heavy.

"Looks like it's working" Dream whispers, smiling over to George, who had his eyes glued to Daniel's little face.

After he answered with a soft nod, it went silent, the only sounds ringing through the room were small stuffy breaths from the child in-between the two men.

"I really love him, you know?" George says, after thinking a while.

"I do too," Clay says, stroking a soft finger over his sleeping kid's face, admiring the little one.

"You know sometimes, it feels like we're a family" George stammers in a quiet hushed tone, looking up to the blond's eyes.

"What do you mean? We are a family"

"No I mean like a real family, you know one with two parents, multiple Kids, a dog maybe?" He elaborates, pulling the blanket further over his chest, turning on his back to stare at the ceiling.

"You want us to get a dog?" Clay asks in a confused voice, now also pulling his blanket over his chest.

"That's not what I mean, " the other man chuckles, moving around the baby to softly push Dream "I mean sometimes it feels like we're a real family, us two are the parents, Daniel is the child."

Dream lets the statement sink into his bones heavily, the words the brunet will probably regret having made in his sleep deprived state, feeling nearly painful.

"Do you like us feeling like a family?" The blond asks, voice interrupted by short thoughtful pauses, thinking through everything he was saying.

"Yeah I love it" George replies, putting a soft hand on the now slightly squirming child to soothe him back to sleep, doing so successfully, the boy mellowing out and flopping his tiny fists down on the soft mattress.

"I get what you mean I've felt it before too" he speaks quietly. Moments like these awakening that feeling even more in him, laying in the big bed together, the three of them, talking in hushed tones as to not wake the baby, it felt awfully domestic.

"You have?"

A soft nod shoots back as an answer.

"Hey now that he's sleeping, maybe we should try to get some rest. If he's really teething then we won't get much sleep the next few weeks" the blond suggests, gaining agreement from the man laying across from him, a sleeping Infant creating a clear line that separated the two.

They look at each other and their eyes connect for just a moment, the green and brown talking more than words ever could in the few seconds that they mix.

Their eyes disconnect as George's lids slowly take over his eyes, the man blinking a couple of times, until they fully disappear under the soft skin. His gentle hand was still layed on the baby's belly, subconsciously scooting in even closer.

Dream smiles at the sight of the man finally sleeping, getting some rest, and looking adorable while doing it.

Although George and his son cuddled up together in his bed was one of the cutest things he'd ever seen, his eyelids also begin to feel heavy, and the world around him is changed out for a silver blurr, sending him into the world of sweet dreams.

The blond opens one eye, the sun from the window blinding him, he takes a moment to get used to the light before he also opens the other eye, checking his surroundings.

He looks down, and on his chest, he sees a head of hair softly rising at each of his breaths. But to his confusion it wasn't his infant son that was resting on his chest, it was the grown man that he'd fallen asleep with.

A soft hand was placed next to the head, Dream now aware of it, being able to feel it through the thin fabric of his shirt, how it lay there so heavy, yet so light.

He looks to his side, where was Daniel?

Dreams' heart begins to race, where was his baby son? Had George accidentally rolled over the infant and was laying on him? Had the child somehow made his way over to the edge of the bed and fallen down? Thoughts, as weird as they may seem, roll into the man's head, his heart beating faster and faster.

"George. Hey George. Wake up" he taps on the man's back a couple times.

A tired grunt came back as an answer, enough of a sign to the blond that he was awake and capable of being asked questions.

"Do you know where Daniel is?" He asks.

"What do you mean where he is? Shouldn't you know?" The brunet grumbles back. Having not even realised their position and close proximity to each other.

He finally opens his eyes, and turns his head upwards meeting the blond's face directly in front of him. Just like the night before, their eyes connect, just for a moment, until they're interrupted by the door opening and a man walking in.

The man was none other than Sapnap, to Dream’s relief he was holding the baby boy in his arms safely.

"Woah what did we walk into here huh?" He says, speaking in a funny voice to the child as he sees what looks to be a rather intimate moment between two people.

"Nothing. Nothing is going on" George stutters as he quickly rolls off of Dream's chest, his cheeks turning a dark shade of red as he lets himself fall back into the soft fluffiness of the cushions underneath him.

"Yeah we just fell asleep that's all. Also when did you take Daniel? He was with us the entire night" the blond chimes in, making grabby hands towards his child, wanting to hold him in his arms to soothe his still heavily beating heart.

"Oh he was crying about an hour ago or so, you two looked really comfortable cuddling or whatever it was you were doing, so I took him, I hope that's okay with you" the brunet answers as he walks over to Dream, who was now sat upright in his bed, and handed the child over, clay pushing a big kiss on top of the small child's forehead.

"Yeah that's totally fine. Also we weren't cuddling" he says, very adamant about the last point.

"Yeah whatever. You guys wanna come downstairs, we made breakfast" Sapnap asks, looking between the faces for an answer.

"I could go for some food right now" George says, emerging from the big blanket that was engulfing his entire body and assisting greatly in hiding the deep red blush that had spread over his cheeks and nose.

"Me too but let me go change this one really quick alright? He's still wearing his clothes from yesterday" Dream added, looking at the smiling boy in front of him, bouncing up and down on his thigh.

"Could I change him Dream? I bought this adorable outfit at Walmart the other day and I would like to see if it fits" George asks, a soft sparkle in his eyes as he talks about baby clothes.

"Sure. He's all yours, we're gonna go downstairs" he calls as he hands the little baby over again, wiping a drop of spit off of his chin with his hand, disgusting no-one as everyone in the house had gotten used to having baby spit all over pretty much everything.

They all leave the small bedroom, George and the baby headed towards the nursery, Dream and Sapnap down the steps, where the older noticed the fantastic smell of all sorts of breakfast foods.

"So" the brunet by his side starts "you and George huh."

"Shut up" he spits out immediately "there's nothing going on between us two I swear"

"He bought clothes for your son, and I saw you too making that eye contact. What about the cuddling? You can't deny that. I saw it"

"Again, we weren't cuddling, we were up late with Daniel last night and George wanted to sleep in my bed with us. Nothing weird about that." He mutters out fast, the smaller man next to him rolling his eyes again going "up late with the baby and then falling asleep cuddling, how domestic".

"Okay whatever, change of topic, my mom might come by later and hang out with Daniel here, is that alright?" Dream questions looking at the man standing next to him, leaning with their backs against the counter.

"Yeah sure, of course" he answers back and they sit in silence until the third and fourth member of the household made their way downstairs.

Dream is excited to see the "adorable" outfit that George had apparently bought, and his mouth dropped to the floor and his heart skipped a beat at the pure cuteness.

Dream didn't expect to have such a strong reaction to the two boys but when he saw them he just couldn't control himself.

In front of him was George holding his son, both of them dressed in matching fabric.

A big fluffy crew neck in grey and blue, paired with white sweats. It looked really comfortable.

Dream's opened mouth turns to a huge grin, moving closer to the pair and closing his arms around both of the boys.

As he backs up, he bends down slightly to be on eye level with his son.

"You two look adorable huh?" He talks in baby talk, making Daniel's small face contour in a big grin that looked incredibly similar to the one plastered on Dream's face.

"I have one for you too if you want it" George speaks gently, eying the baby in his arm, loving the tiny little giggle he lets out.

"Really?" Dream excitedly asks, straining his neck as he looks up at the man.

Sapnap stands at the counter, watching whatever the heck this was, while shoveling scrambled eggs into his mouth.

Quickly Dream informs himself about the location of his matching outfit and disappears for a few minutes, until he enters the room again, matching with the others.

"Look at us, aren't we all adorable now?" Dream says to the baby again, that little smile gliding softly over his tiny features again.

"You're all crazy that's what you are" The only man in the room not wearing the grey and blue jumper or the white pants, whispered to himself, while this time, taking care of the bacon he had so lovingly prepared.

"What was that Sapnap?" The blond asks, having not quite understood what he said.

"Uh- I said you should take a picture of all of you, you know cause you're all matching" he comes up with on the spot, forming the sentence like a question, still crunching on some bacon.

"Oh yeah you're right!" George hops all giddy, the baby in his arms giggling once more.

"Here Sapnap take it with my phone" he hands the boy, who had just unsuccessfully wiped the grease of his fingers, his phone, the man just rolling his eyes and snapping a few pictures of the three being all "adorable".

He went back to eating while the other three swiped through each picture, debating which one of them seemed to be the best, Sapnap just watched and rolled his eyes a few more times.

It was about noon when the doorbell rang, George jumped up and quickly let Dream's mother into the house, who just curiously eyes the outfit the brunet was wearing. It wasn't as clean as it had been earlier, Daniel having thrown up all over George's chest, it was slightly stained in the white milk.

"We're back here mom" Dream calls from the living room, Daniel laying on the floor next to him playing with some of his toys.

Dream's mother stops for a few seconds as she lays eyes on her son and grandson, both of them still dressed the same way as George.

"You guys look…" she pauses for a moment, exchanging a look with Sapnap, his face showing what hers showed as well.

"Nice" she completed, as she bent down to her grandson, picking him up and pressing a gentle kiss to his temple.

"The outfits are nothing. I caught them cuddling this morning" Sapnap just had to add on.

The outfits and Sapnap's very unnecessary comment seemed to put her into some thoughtful thinking mode, her sitting down on the floor and staring at something but nothing in particular.

Dream didn't mind the few minutes of silence, it was rare for everyone to shut up at the same time. Either it was Daniel's crying, Sapnap raging because of some game, or patches meowing loudly because God forbid she hadn't eaten in 30 minutes.

It was nice for the blond when his mother was over. Even though she could never stay long, those few hours in the week that she could, were probably what was keeping him and his roommates sane.

Still he noticed the look on her face and as much as he would have liked to let it go and enjoy a Daniel free hour, he had to ask what was on her mind.

"What's wrong mom?" He spoke softly, all eyes now flinging to her figure, still sat on the floor with the infant in her lap.

"Oh it's nothing honey, don't worry" she bounced the boy on her leg, the worried expression only lifting for a few seconds, before appearing right back where it had been before.

"No mom, somethings up, tell me what's wrong" he continues to press further on the matter.

"Fine." She sighs, "May I have a word with George?" she says, the room going silent, except for the tiny babbles and squirms from the baby.

Dream lets his gaze wander towards the man who was sitting awfully close to his own body.
Even Sapnap decided to lift his head from his phone, wondering what was going on.

"Sure" George says, trying to keep his voice steady.

The older woman stands from the floor, handing the small child over to his dad, who lovingly embraced him in his arms.

George and Dream's mother move to the dinning room. It wasn't completely closed off but it was far enough away to keep a quiet conversation.

They sit down at the big wooden table, George at the very outer end and Dream's mom to his left.

The blond woman was staring right at his face, trying to connect their eyes.

George was doing his best to not let that happen as his gentle umber eyes would reveal his nerves.

The silence was driving the man mad. What could she possibly have to talk to him about? The thoughts rushed into his brain, making his heart pump a million times faster. Was he doing something wrong with Daniel? Was he intruding in her family? Was he-

"Don't hurt him" the woman speaks quietly, now having given up on their eye contact.

"What?" George asks, confused.

"Please don't hurt him, he's been through enough already" the woman elaborates further, George still looking like he understood next to nothing.

"Wh-what do you mean?" The shake was very audible in his voice now despite all his efforts to steady the sound.

"I'm not stupid. I see the way he looks at you or how he talks to you." She moves her hand across the table to lay on the man's trembling fingers. "George, if you don't have feelings for him, please tell him. Don't let him hold on to something that doesn't exist."

"I-i" the boy stammers, trying hard to suppress the tears flowing to his eyes.

"I know. Just don't hurt him, please" and with those words she stands from the table, moving back to her grandson, pulling him from Dream's lap immediately.

George sat at the table, his fight with tears seeming sheer impossible now, tiny drops of water flowing over his face for reasons even he didn't know.

He tries his best to calm himself enough to go to his room, having to walk right past the open living room.

He breathes in deep, wiping excess tears from his face and making sure to be quick.

As he thinks he has made it past, a yell calls him back.

"George"

Shit. It was Dream. Of course it was Dream. Right now when he was the only one that would make his tears jump back out.

George turns on the step of the stairs, quickly walking back to the man now looking at him.

The blond looks at his eyes and the wet skin of his cheeks.

"George, what's wrong?"

"I'm- I'm" now, standing here in front of all of them he couldn't hold the tears back any longer.

He rushes away quickly, up the stairs and into his room, accidently slamming the door a little too hard.

"George wait" Dream tries to run after him, but his mother, now trying to soothe the baby in her arm who had gotten scared of the door slamming, grabbed his hand and pulled him back.

"Let him" she looks into his eyes.

"What the hell did you talk to him about mom?" Dream yells.

"Honey calm down, he'll tell you when he's ready"

Dream scoffs at the words, what the hell was that supposed to mean? He looks to Sapnap for an answer, the man only shrugs and goes back to looking at his phone.

The blond male tries to stay calm, tries to not curse out his mother for making George cry.

He does his best to ignore the situation, swallowing his anger and hurt down his throat, waiting as the day slowly mellows out into dawn.

Baby in arm he hugs his mother goodbye, kissing her gently on the forehead before closing the door behind her.

The rest of the day stays calm, George not once emerging from his room, and Sapnap holding Dream from trying to check up on him.

Even though the younger didn't know what the talk had been about, he had a hunch and knew George needed some alone time right now.

At 6pm Dream put Daniel down for the night and promptly he himself fell asleep, not in his bed, but in the way too comfortable rocking chair that stood in the corner of Baby Daniel's room, the colour matching with the carpet.

Chapter Text

The next few days the tensions were running high in the Dream Team household. George was doing any- and everything to avoid not only Dream but Daniel as well. Because where Daniel was, Dream wasn't far. After a few days of this game of hide and seek that no one knew they were playing, Sapnap decided he had enough of it and paid George a visit in his room.

"Hey" Sapnap lets his body drop heavily onto the foot of George's bed, watching the older scroll on his phone.

"What do you want?" George mumbles, only throwing a quick glance to the man before letting his eyes dash back to his screen.

"Nothing, just wanna talk" he answers, crossing his hands underneath his head.

"Well I have nothing to talk about" George huffs, this time not even lifting his eyes from the device in his hand.

"Oh not to worry Georgie, I have something I wanna talk about" Sapnap now sits back up, staring down at the brunet and expecting him to listen now.

"Ugh fine but make it quick" George scoffs and throws his phone somewhere onto the bed while he sits up.

"Okay okay." Sapnap starts, lifting his hands in a defensive stance. He takes a breath in before starting to speak, "It's just that you've been so distant, with all of us and I wanted to ask what that's all about" with these words spoken, George's cocky attitude dropped. His shoulders slumped and his head hung even lower than it had before.

"Does it have to do with what Dream's mom talked to you about?" He asks, trying to find eye contact where none was given.

George nods, head still hung low, eyes studying the ground beneath his feet.

"What-" the younger pauses briefly, "what did she talk to you about?" His voice is quiet now, sincerity coating his tone as he noticed the emotions that this brought over George.

The other slowly moves his head upwards, small tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. A quick hand wipes over his face, before he clears his throat and starts talking.

"She- she said I shouldn't hurt him." The tears well back into his eyes immediately, making his voice shake slightly, "Said that if I don't have feelings for him, I should tell him, let him down easy so he doesn't expect something that won't happen."

Sapnaps face falters a little as he listens to the words spoken. He thinks for a second before carefully answering.

"And- and why do you avoid him now? Why not just tell him you don't have feelings for him?"

"Because-" the tears now flow heavier and his voice gets even more shaky as he tries to speak his truth. "Because-"

"Because?" Sapnap asks, watching the way George's teeth dig into his bottom lip.

"Damn it Sapnap because I do have feelings for him!" The older snaps, apologizing right away with a small "sorry".

"I think so anyway, '' George adds, still avoiding eye contact.

Sapnap looks defeated for a few seconds
Obviously he'd had suspicions and made jokes about the two but this, hearing it from George's mouth, this was different, it was real. He collects his thoughts, eyebrows pinching together in confusion before he speaks.

"You think? How do you not know if you like him?" His immaturity shone brightly through his questions. The confused look stayed on his face until George answered. Head dropping to his hand which was propped up on his thigh, he sighed deeply. The only positive side of his little outburst of snapping at Sapnap, was that the tears had lost their way down his cheeks. The anger had made his eyes dry, cleared his head somewhat and made him focused, so his biggest concern wasn't bawling his eyes out in front of one of his best friends.

"It's complicated. And you know there's a child involved now. It's all just hard" George speaks, voice now slightly stronger and more secure, not shaking just as much as it had earlier.

"Okay how about this," the smaller of the two lifts a finger to his chin as in thought "Describe him to me"

"What?" The confused look that Sapnap's face had been home to earlier had now moved over to George, his brows faltering in deep bewilderment.

"Describe Dream to me and I'll tell you if you have feelings for him"

"Sapnap it doesn't work like that" George says, head snapping back up to Sapnap's eyes.

"Please? There's no harm in doing it"

"Ugh fine. So I just describe him?" George asks and after a clear nod from Sapnap he starts talking.

"Well, he's tall, and he has blond hair, and he has these little spots on his face, little freckles, Daniel has them too" as he talks about Dream a slight smile glides over his face. He loved thinking and talking about the man but he would never admit that, not even to himself. "Also he's super funny even though all the jokes he knows are dad jokes. And his eyes? Oh his eyes are so pretty. I mean I can't see their color but still, there's some kind of sparkle in there that makes me feel so special when he looks at me. His voice is so soft when he talks to me too, it's like honey almost, you know? So smooth and sweet. And his smile," he lets out a quiet chuckle, "don't even get me started on that stupid smile," he shakes his head in quiet huffs "when he smiles at me I feel like- like" he pauses for a moment in what seemed to be a pure overload of emotion, "like I'm the most important thing in the world, like nothing else matters when he looks at me. I feel so safe when he's with me. He gives me that- that sense of being loved, you know?"

Sapnap swallows heavily after taking in the words.

"Woah. You're in love in love" he quickly says, letting one of his hands glide through his hair.

"Ugghh" George let himself fall backwards on the mattress, hands flying over his eyes, "Why is this whole love thing so complicated?"

"Maybe it doesn't have to be" the younger suggests, watching George wipe hands over his face.

"How? I'm not even sure I like him like that, you know I'm not good at this whole emotions thing."

"Okay listen, I know it's hard but you can't avoid him forever, at least for Daniel's sake. And if I'm honest for Dream's sake too. These past days without you, he's like a different person, he's super snappy and moody."

George laughs at that. He could very much imagine Dream hopping around with his baby in his arms while snapping at Sapnap. He feelt kinda bad now, that Sapnap had to endure Dream's moodiness while he just sat in his room, wallowing about stupid emotions like a middle schooler having their first crush.

"I'll try, but I just need some time to sort this whole feelings stuff out okay?" George utters, having sat back up.

Sapnap nods while lifting himself from the bed. He turns the knob but is stopped by a quiet shout.

"Wait."

He turns around and pushes the door closed again.

"What?"

"You won't tell Dream any of this, right?"

"Of course not, this stays between me, you and that horrid stuffed animal you got spying on us over there" the bearded man says, pointing a finger towards an animal of undistinguishable kind that sat fluffed on George's dresser.

"Okay get out" the older rushes now, unable to stop a smile from gliding over his face as he throws a pillow against Sapnap's head.

Things stay calm for another couple days, George is still avoiding Dream and Daniel, until one evening he can't anymore.

Dream was stressed, child held tightly in his arms, he jumped up and down, left to right with no effect. It seems that Daniel was actually teething just like he had suggested to George a few days ago.

Hearing his son scream in pain for the third hour in a row, coupled with his own sheer exhaustion, made the tears flood his eyes now as well. Slowly pricking at the corners before spilling over. Thick and heavy they flow down his skin, hitting his and his baby's shirt.

"I know Danny, I know it's hard. I know it hurts buddy I'm so sorry"

His own soft sniffles turn into loud sobs, sitting on his bed, pulling the screaming infant closer to his heart. He wanted to take his pain away, he wanted to feel it instead of him, he wanted to protect his baby from all the evil and all the hurt in the world but he knew he couldn't.

A soft knock on the door pulls him from his thoughts, a hand dashing up to his face to wipe as many tears as he could before the person outside could see them.

"Come in" he calls, the tremble in his voice very audible.

Slowly the knob turns and a slim face looks into the dimly lit room, the only source of light being a small night light next to Dream's bed.

"Someone's upset, huh?" George whispers.

For a second Dream thinks he means him, thinks he'll wipe the tears of his skin and hold him, thinks he'll make everything better, just for a moment he thinks he means him.

He steps closer to Dream, scooping the still wailing infant from his arms and placing him against his own chest.

Pretty much instantly the crying ceases, the boy calming and breathing stuffed into the brunet's shirt.

"There we go, that's nice huh?" He continues to sway the small boy in his arms, only sparingly throwing glances to the blond still sat on his bed, whose eyes were glued on the picture in front of him.

They sit in the comfortable silence for a bit, just quiet sniffles and squirms coming from the little boy in George's arms, hand gently petting over his back to soothe his tiny pain filled body even further.

"He misses you" the blond speaks, tone quiet while looking at George's eyes, trying to connect soft umber with vibrant viridescence.

"Mmh" George mumbles, avoiding the eye contact at every cost, staring at the ground as he still gently swayed the boy from left to right.

"I miss you too, you know?" Dream adds on, words driving a painful dart through George's heart. He never wanted to hurt either of them with his absence, he just needed some time to understand what he felt, to understand what he wanted.

Slowly as to not disturb the baby now peacefully sleeping against his collarbone, he walks over to Dream and sits down beside him, eyes still avoiding contact.

"I'm sorry" he whispers before falling forward, hand protectively covering the infant so he wouldn't get hurt in the process. He leans against Dream's tense shoulders, loving the feeling of his arms engulfing his smaller frame just seconds later.

"I'm so sorry" he says, face dug deep into the blond's body.

"No no it's okay, hey don't worry." He pulls away slightly to watch George's face. "I just wanna know what happened. Did I do something? I'm so sorry if I did, you know I don't notice that kinda stuff-" he starts rambling, a small hand from George on his cheek making him trail off into silence.

"You did nothing wrong, I promise" he reassures, rubbing circles into the skin of Dream's cheek.

"It's not you, it's more..your mother. She said some stuff and I just needed some alone time to think"

"Oh I knew it. What did she tell you?" Dream shouts, quieting down slightly as he sees his baby squirm between both their chests.

George hesitates, pressing a small kiss to the baby's head before speaking quietly. "She told me to tell you if I don't have feelings for you. She said that I should let you down easy or something."

"She is so bad at just keeping her nose out of other people's business! I'll talk to her okay? I'll make her apologize for saying that stuff to you" Dream starts rambling again, his hand flying through his hair.

"Clay, she was just trying to protect you okay? Don't be mad at her, please. If anything be mad at me. I'm the one who ditched you and left you alone with everything. You should be mad at me."

The blond's eyes sparkle with the reflection of the nightlight as he speaks simple words.

"I could never be mad at you George. Never."

From the sincerity in his tone George could tell it was the truth and it made his heart ache even worse. He pushes his head up further on the blond's body, tucking it neatly below Dream's chin, who immediately presses a kiss to his soft locks.

"So" the taller says in a sad tone "You're here to tell me you don't have feelings for me? Are you gonna let me down easy?" He continued as he could feel his heart breaking into a million pieces, a million pieces with sharp edges that were digging deep into his flesh.

"Dream," George hesitates, hand sliding down to the other's neck, gently caressing the blond locks that fall a couple inches above his shirt's collar.

The younger closes his eyes, thinking that it will hurt less if he can't see the blush of the other's cheeks, the slight twitch in his eye, the soft shake of his nose whenever he breathes out. He thinks it'll be easier, but deep down he knows it'll hurt the same, if not more.

"Just say it, just get over with it, please" Dream whispers, small tears glistening under the skin covering his eyes and a shake in his voice.

"Dream, it's not like that" George speaks, confusion arising on the other's face.

"What?"

George sighs whilst pressing his body even closer against the others, breathing in his scent of summer and love.

"I mean there's something there, feelings wise, I just don't know what exactly" he explains further, feeling Dream's heartbeat fasten against his chest.

Dream moves a hand to Daniel's head, stroking softly over his tiny curls of light brown hair, carefully whispering to George.

"What- what does that mean for us?"

"Right now it means nothing." George says in a stern, decided tone that even he was surprised he could muster in this situation. "I don't want to promise you anything. I just need more time Clay"

Dream nods, while one singular tear makes its way down his tan skin, hitting the fabric of his shorts.

The silence laid thick over the three of them, just the occasional small noise from the little baby still sleeping pressed tightly against George's chest, could be heard.

"I don't want to lose you again." Dream suddenly speaks up, pulling his chin from the older's hair.

"Huh?" George asks, confused.

"I don't want it to be like it was the last few days." He mumbles."I want it to be normal, like we used to be, the three of us." He adds, his hand finding their way to George's chin, gently petting the stubble growing there.

George gently nods, his heart skipping a beat as Dream presses his lips to his temple, hand still softly petting his skin.

His slim hand glides down Dream's body, skimming the muscles very visible underneath his shirt. He stops as he connects with the other's fingers, a slight spark running through the two at the touch. Slowly he moves down the skin, touching it so softly you could think a gentle wind was blowing here, in this dark, small room, at 3 am.

The blond's eyes follow George's hand, head gliding back up as their warm fingers gently intertwine in his lap. George's gaze moves upwards, the deep green now finally melting with the umber like he had so desperately tried to avoid.

Their faces are close now, so close that they can feel each other's breath warm up their tingling skin, hearts beating fast against one another in flushed chests.

George pushes further, aching to kiss the man in front of him, eyes fluttering closed as he's just millimeters from Dreams lips. A strong hand shifts to the brunet's sharp jawline, grabbing the face that he knew so well, the face of his best friend, that he was about to kiss.

Their foreheads touch as thin stalled breaths linger in the small space between the two men, swirling into one.

“George” Dream whispers and George can feel the vibrations in his bones.

The blond doesn't get a chance to hush anymore words, as George dashes forward connecting their lips in what he could only describe as an explosion that seemed to be able to make the world implode within seconds. This kiss was one neither of them had ever felt, it was like the roof of the house had been lifted from above them and warm rays of floridian sun flooded their blood, warming them both. It was like all the tears they’d ever cried, all the pain they’d ever felt, all the bad that they experienced, it was gone.

Gone for what seemed like eternity, gone for the long moment that George and Dream stayed connected like that, room spinning around the two. Gone until George backed up, until the sun stopped shining and the rain settled back, gone until their pain rushed slowly but surely back into their bones as they just sat there, in the dark, cold room, baby still peacefully snoring in the crook of George's arm.

“I- I’m sorry. I- I shouldn’t have- We shouldn't have- I’m sorry” the older whispered as he loosens from the blond, gently placing the baby in his arms before hurrying towards the door, giving the two a last glance before exiting and closing the door behind him.

Dream calls after him, wanting to have him back, wanting to hold him close and wanting to kiss him like that again. But to no avail, George was gone and Dream knew that.

Chapter Text

"There you go. Nice and snuggly huh?" Karl mumbles, having just placed the baby in his stroller, closing the straps over his chest before throwing a fluffy blue blanket over his tiny socked feet.

"He is literally the cutest thing I've ever seen, I swear." He adds, stroking a soft hand over one of the rosy cheeks hidden inside the stroller.

"I know right?" Dream says, bent down on one knee, tying the laces of his shoes.

"George, you ready to go?" He calls up the stairs, having now straightened his body and placed his hands on the stroller's handle.

"Yes yes, I'm ready, I'm ready" the man repeats the words, hurrying down the stairs, losing his left sneaker on the way and quickly running back up to get it.

"Where's Sapnap I thought he wanted to come with us?" Dream asks, while George bent down beside the two, huffing and trying to slip his white shoe back on.

"Oh he's waiting outside, said you people were taking too long" Karl explains, chuckling at the look that appeared on Dream's face.

"He's such a hypocrite sometimes. Last week we were half an hour late because he couldn't find his hat."

They all laugh as the blond opens the door, seeing the man already outside sigh at them.

"Finally" he huffs, throwing his head back as if he'd been waiting for hours.

"Well how about you try and coordinate everyone being ready at the same time while also dealing with a 5 month old who hasn't had his nap today" Dream quips with a smile, Sapnap just rolling his eyes and looking away from the blond.

"Whatever, can we go now?" He answers, already making his way down the driveway.

Dream huffs and shares a smile with George, who blushes and averts his gaze as fast as he can.

Over the last few weeks an unspoken rule had found its place between Dream and George. If they didn't talk about the kiss, it never happened.

They tried to live life normally, going on about their days like they usually would, the only difference being the forbidden accidental touches, or eyes dashing away quickly as they threatened to meet.

"Hey lovebirds, you coming?" The youngest of the men shouts, him and Karl waiting patiently on the sidewalk by the road, hands intertwined in a tight grip.

"Oh fuck off, who are you calling lovebirds here" George shouts as he gently pushes Dream to the side to take control of the stroller, slowly pushing down towards the other men, leaving the blond perplexed on the doorstep.

Dream quickly rushes after them, walking in sync next to his son and George, placing one hand dangerously close to the brunet's on the handle as they reach the sidewalk.

Relieved they could finally leave, Sapnap points a hand forward into the direction they wanted to head, letting the pair on the stroller take the lead.

Dream and George stayed silent, only sparingly gazing towards the other's fingers, the blond's hand inching closer with every step they took.

Contrary to Dream's belief, George didn't pull away when their fingers touched on the black plastic. He just looked at their skin connecting and pushed his own fingers tightly against Dream's. This was the most he could allow himself and Dream could see what it was doing to him.

Right behind the two, Karl and Sapnap were walking at a slow pace. Not that they could walk any faster seeing as the men with the stroller were taking their sweet ol’ time, basically moving in slow motion.

Karl's grip tightens on Sapnap’s hand, the other reciprocating the gentle gesture of love by turning to his side and kissing the man's cheek, making the other giggle.

"We're going through the park right? The one on Creekwood avenue?" George simply questions, the blond clearing his throat before answering, their two pinky fingers, George's left and Dream's right now intertwined into one another.

"Uh yeah yeah. I think we might have been there before." Dream answers, small squeeze running through the connection between the two.

"I think I remember it. It's the really pretty one" George continues, meeting Dream's eyes for just a second before they fling back down to Daniel, who thankfully had fallen asleep already.

"You're the really pretty one" Dream speaks without thinking, George's face dropping as a deep red blush washes over his features.

"George, I'm sorry I shouldn't have-"

"It's fine Dream, don't worry" he mumbles, finger loosening from the blond's, body pulling slightly away. He needed distance, and whatever they were doing wasn't helping the whole feelings situation.

"I'm gonna go talk to Sapnap and Karl" he grumbles, eying the floor as he backs up and moves over to the men still happily intertwined.

"Trouble in paradise?" Sapnap quips, deep smile on his lips as George rolls his eyes.

"Shut up. I just needed some space okay?"

"Well yeah I mean when you like someone it's good to have some distance-" Karl joins in now, stopping abruptly as he felt Sapnaps elbow in his side.

Sapnap's eyes widen as he shakes his head towards Karl already knowing he fucked up.

"Sapnap! You told Karl?" George shouts quietly, quickly gazing towards the blond who was still walking along the sidewalk a couple feet in front of him, he prayed he couldn't hear their conversation.

"I'm sorry okay? It slipped out! I just can't keep any secrets from him." Sapnap defended himself, looking not at all sorry.

George was fuming, the brunet had promised to not tell anyone! And he did anyways, he broke the promise.

"Hey George, chill, I knew anyways" Karl interrupts the building explosion that he could see forming in George's head, that would ultimately lead to both of them getting screamed at.

"Huh? What do you mean you knew?"

"Oh please, have you seen you two? It's pretty obvious if you ask me" George slaps a hand over Karl's arm at the words, the blush on his face deepening to the darkest shade of red.

"Also, why are things still so weird between you two? I thought you talked?" Sapnap added, confused look on his face.

"Sapnap, it's not that easy okay? We did talk but-" he pauses and gives Dream's back another look, slightly zoning out from how defined his muscles were even in a thick hoodie.

"that's not all we did" he finally finishes his sentence, desperately avoiding the other's look, much rather keeping his pupils on the figure in front of him that was Dream, who was still alone and he felt quite bad now for leaving him.

Sapnap and Karl share a look in confusion, before Karl's face lights up in sheer excitement and understanding.

"Oh my god. What did you do? Tell us tell us!" He screamed, loud enough for pretty much the entire neighborhood to hear, which meant Dream also heard it and it made him turn around and curiously eye the three men that walked side by side all of them looking equally as guilty as if he had just caught them doing something bad.

As he sees their expressions and faked smiles, he turns back around. Whatever they were talking about, they did not want him to listen so he picked up his pace a bit to further the distance between them.

"Fine, fine. I'll tell you but you have to promise not to say a word to Dream or anyone else for that matter. We haven't even talked about it." He points to the blond, who was bending over the stroller now, tightening the blanket around his son.

"Okay, okay won't tell anyone, now out with it" Karl giggles, clutching Sapnaps hand under his arm.

"Ugh" George sighed, face burying in his hands before he looked back up starting to speak.

"Don't make a big deal out of this but we kissed." He mumbles, watching Karl freak out like he was a high-school girl who had just found out her crush liked her back.

"Oh my god, George. What the heck? How am I supposed to not make a big deal out of this? How did it happen? How was it? Was it good? Oh I bet it was good! Tell us everything!" Karl was jumping up and down like a basketball, Sapnap still connected at the arm being shaken around like crazy.

"Okay okay, babe, calm down, please breathe" he laughs as he holds the boy at the shoulders to still his movement.

"It was like 3 weeks ago or so. Couple days after our talk Sapnap. Daniel was teething and Dream was super overwhelmed so I went and helped him. We talked and we hugged and then it just happened I don't know"

"How was it?" Sapnap asks, tone quiet and sincere, not hyped up and shrill like Karl's.

"It was-" he thinks for a second and as his eyes dash towards Dream's body, he was taken back to that night, the emotions, the feelings. He could see the man's face in front of his eyes, clear as day, like he was standing right before him. He saw the freckles and the glistening in his eyes. He felt the arms that were wrapped around his body, the gentle hand cupping his cheek. He remembered the moment their lips touched and a shiver ran down his body. Suddenly he couldn't feel or see any of it anymore. He was pulled back out of his thoughts, one little word slipping past his lips, eyes still desperately glued to Dream's moving body.

"magical"

The men, even Karl, quiet down to a comfortable silence as they continue walking on the cement floor, all of them thinking about the words just said.

George felt kinda bad. He knew he should have talked to Dream before telling the other's. But how could he talk about it when he immediately blushed as soon as the man even just looked at him, let alone touched him?

It was like Karl was reading his mind, like he was listening to his thoughts somehow because he instantly asked, "are you gonna talk to him about it?"

He sighed and shrugged his shoulders, he himself not even aware wether he would or not.

The conversation abruptly ended as Dream stopped walking and looked back, waiting for them to catch up with him.

"We have to take a right here" the Blond speaks one hand on the stroller, the other stuffed in his pocket.

"Here let me push him for a little now, you've had him all this way" George says, not letting Dream reject the offer as he pushes the man's hand off the handle, directing the wheels on the rocky dirt path leading them straight into the park's heart.

Just like when they first left, Dream and George were walking ahead of the other two, mostly silence covering the men, the only noise were small cries from Daniel.

"So what were you talking about with Karl and Sapnap, anything interesting?" The blond questions as they walk past a small playground, a little boy on the swing waving George a hand, who easily waves back.

Dream smiled at the small interaction. He thought about what it would be like when Daniel was that age, 4 or 5. How would their lifes look? Would they still live together? Would they even still be friends? He didn't have time to spiral deeper into his thoughts as George answered the question.

"Oh nothing much, we talked about the weather" he lied and Dream knew it.

"The weather? Right." He responds "That's why Karl was so giggly. He just can't contain his excitement of cloudy skies and the slight breeze, of course."

A slight awkward chuckle dips over his face as he eyes the floor, slightly bending forward to adjust the blue blanket on the little baby's body, making sure it was snuggly and warm.

Dream decided dropping the subject of what the three men had talked about was easier than pushing on and possibly making George get mad at him. [So he just kept his mouth shut] .

"You cold?" He asks the brunet next to him, observing the tiny bumps on his skin and the arm that was wrapped protectively over his chest.

"I told you to take a hoodie" he continues as he tries to look into George's eyes.

"Well it was warm when we left and I didn't want to carry it all the way. But it's fine we're nearly home" the other rebutted, slinging his arm even tighter over his thin shirt.

"No George look you're shaking, take my hoodie I'm warm anyways"

George rolled his eyes, pausing his walk as he waited for Dream to slip from his hoodie and hand it over, definitely noticing the way the blond's shirt rode up exposing the tan skin of his chest as he pulled the fabric over his face.

"Here" the man reaches out, signalling to the other to put his arms up before he glides the pullover over his chest, his heart jumping at the sight of George drowning in the huge hoodie that was his. There was something awfully domestic about this, and neither of them would admit how nice it felt.

"Woow sharing clothes huh?" Sapnap calls from closely behind them, both of the other men having had time to catch up during the hoodie exchange.

"Haha very funny" Dream said, taking another look at the man before continuing the walk.

The four men made their way through the park, again Dream and George inching closer and closer with each step. After about half an hour of turning through the intertwined paths, they made their way back onto the pavement road that they had walked on earlier, this time heading into the other direction.

As soon as the stroller touched the cement, Daniel woke up and started screaming loudly, tiny hands flinging around him.

"Oh buddy look we're nearly home, just like 5 more minutes" Dream coos as he bends down to the wailing infant trying to soothe him while also keeping him in the stroller.

"Here it's fine, I'll take him." George says, stopping all movement and loosening the black straps from the baby's body and picking him up, blue blanket wrapped tightly around him as he rested him against his chest.

Pretty much immediately, the crying stops, baby softly grabbing pieces of George's brown locks, seemingly very interested in pulling on them.

They continue to make their way up the road, all of them relieved to be home. They loved their little walks, but this one was longer than usual and the cold weather made it hard to enjoy.

Just as they were turning into the empty driveway of their house, an older lady, one of their neighbours Dream recognises, looks at them and with two hands slapped together in front of her chest speaks nearly as giddy as Karl had earlier.

"Oh my lord, look at you two! And that little baby oh what an adorable little boy! What's his name?"

Dream, who had seen the lady around a few times, was not reluctant in telling her the answer to her question, since becoming a dad he often found himself in conversations with older women who thought Daniel was adorable.

"His name is Daniel" he quickly replies, stepping closer to George and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. It was more of a subconscious move to Dream but to the woman it must have looked like some form of showing off his pride and joy and she was not shy to comment on it.

"Oh Daniel aren't you adorable! And your dads too huh? Look at them, so young, such a nice little family you have here."

Sapnap and Karl who had now reached them talking on the sidewalk, couldn't but let out loud bursts of laughter at this, hands slapping on knees as they heard what the woman said.

George's face turned red within seconds, Dream noticing this and quickly talking to clear up the misunderstanding.

"Oh we're not-" he starts, being interrupted by George, who just takes Dream's hand and intertwines their fingers, deep smile on his face, thinking it would be easier to just play along than to explain whatever they were to this old lady that they'd probably see like once a month if even that often.

"Oh honey it's fine" George quickly says, the laughter behind them abruptly coming to a halt, as perplexed looks creep on their features.

"Uh yeah, alright babe" Dream does his best at playing along, heart beating about ten times faster in his chest as he tightened his grip on George's hand.

"Alright well, you little cuties, I'm sure you have lots of work with this little one so I'll let you get back to it." The woman smiles, making little grimaces towards the baby who smiles and lets out a little laugh.

"You take care" Dream calls after her, before pushing the stroller up into the driveway, his and George's hands still connected in a tight hold.

Karl and Sapnap agree to take Daniel inside while the others gather all the stuff from the stroller.

"Uhm you know you can let go now, the woman is gone" Dream says, George's hand squeezing Dream's slightly in his.

"Oh yeah, sorry. It's just-, it feels kinda-" he pauses for a moment, kicking dirt around with his feet, "nice. It feels nice".

A slight tint of red appeared on both of their faces, Dream's mouth dropping and whispering soft words, "it does?"

"Yeah. It does" he speaks softly, shallow breaths slipping over his lips as he steps closer.

"So warm and soft" he continues, taking the man's hand in his, quickly intertwining their fingers once more, heat radiating off his face.

"George. Stop." Dream reluctantly pulls back, trying to loosen their tight connection.

"You don't want to?"

"I do but-" he breathes while looking deep into the boy's eyes "you'll regret it. You did last time"

"What if I won't?" He mumbles, free hand attaching to the blond's shirt and pulling him in closer, faces only inches apart, breath lingering in each other's skin, just like that night 3 weeks ago.

George took one last breath before darting forward, chest thrown flush against the others, and lips colliding once more in the same deep explosions he had felt the last time. Everything surrounding them turned into a big white blur.
Space and time were frozen and it was just them, together out there in the evening sun, that shone on their heads.

The blond's hands move over the man's body, finding their place in the dips of George's waist, which were hidden by the big grey hoodie he still had on.

Dream connects his arms behind the boy's body, tightening them and pulling him into his chest even more, he never wanted to stop this, he never wanted to let go.

They pull apart after a couple minutes, their lungs aching for breath, while gazes meet in between them.

"Wow" George mumbles, as he places his hands against Dream's chest, heart feeling like it was doing backflips in there.

"You know," the blond starts now, "if we do this more often, we're gonna have to talk about it eventually", he huffs as he places his forehead against George's, a big smirk appearing on the older's face before he also speaks up.

"Shut up and kiss me you idiot" He laughs as he launches his face back against the lips of the other, taking him by surprise making him tumble backwards slightly.

Another few minutes pass and even after they had stopped kissing they stayed close, hugging deeply, George's face placed against Dream's chest, both of them loving the comforting embrace of the other.

The younger had placed his chin into the brown silk that was splayed on the boy's head, happily just standing there, hugging George, whether it meant nothing or something, he didn't care, he didn't want to think about it, he just wanted to stay in this moment.

"Are we interrupting something?" Sapnap laughs as he eyes the men huddled close into one, baby in arm and Karl in tow.

"Wha- no no" George quickly mumbles as he loosens from the others embrace. "I was just- nothing, nothing"

The blond backed up, not failing to notice how George kept a finger wrapped around one of his behind their backs, smiling softly down to him just admiring the man.

"Well whatever you were doing, this one needs a new diaper and I'm not changing him"

Dream laughs, removing his finger from George's hand with a little look, and taking his baby in his arms, finally making his way inside past Karl who's face looked like he had just seen a ghost, when in reality it was just the two men cuddling in front of their door.

The rest of the evening was spent inside, all of them enjoying each other's company in the living room, sitting and chatting and playing with Daniel.

Chapter Text

"Mom, do I have to go?" Dream whined into his phone's microphone, one hand laying heavily on his head.

"Yes you do, I promised Sophie's mother you would go!" The woman speaks on the telephone, the voice ringing into Dream's ears.

He lets out a long sigh, the hand that had been tangled in his hair, wiping over his face now.

"Fine. But I'm not staying long, two hours tops!" He agrees. George, who only had the man's lines, looked at him in confusion.

A few minutes later, the call had ended and Dream stood from the sofa, moving over to the brunet standing by the living room's entrance, still holding a confused look on his features.

The blond wraps his arms around the other's waist, only deepening the confusion.

Something between them had changed since the last kiss, when the others caught them cuddling on the front porch. They didn't shy away from touches anymore, they embraced connecting and being close to one another. Still it was somewhat new, and they had to get used to it.

The bruent places his arms on top of the ones wrapped around his body, leaning back into the taller's touch.

"What was that call about?" He whispers, head leaned against Dream's shoulder, faces only inches apart.

"My mom is making me go to some stupid play date" he huffs, pulling the man even deeper into his chest.

George laughs, "What are you, like 6?" He speaks, face now pressed against the blonds, who could feel his lips moving when he talked.

"It's for Daniel obviously" he presses a kiss to George's cheek before loosening his grip, not missing the slight pout appearing on the brunet's face.

"Some old high-school classmate of mine has a kid that's Daniel's age and my mom thought it would be a great idea to have us meet for a little play date" he speaks, the slight anger he felt was audible in his tone.

"Ah, okay." George whispers in understanding, gliding a comforting hand down his arm to calm the other's emotions.

"When do you leave?" He adds, eyes darting over to the floor, where the baby was playing peacefully laying on his tummy.

"in like a half hour, so I gotta get ready now" the blond responds, picking up the child and bracing him against his hip.

An idea ran through his brain and he froze before speaking in an excited tone towards the brunet.

"Wait! How about you come with? Please George please come with us, I hate other parents, they're so annoying, please?" He begs the man who just rolls his eyes and takes the baby into his own arms, sighing.

"Finee, I'll go. But like you said, two hours tops." Dream jumps up and down at that, if he brought George it couldn't even be that bad.

"I'll go get Daniel changed, how about you pack his diaper bag and put on some fresh clothes, you smell like shit" the man holding the child mumbles, Dream nodding and making his way over to the diaper bag, not even mad about the insult.

"Let's put some fresh clothes on you, huh?" George said to the baby when they arrive at the nursery, gently placing him on the changing table.

He changed the boy's diaper and looked for an outfit, something that would work with the weather today.

After a few minutes he decides, a nice grey jumper with a dinosaur on it and some sweatpants, subconsciously he was dressing the baby like he would dress himself, comfort was definitely more important than looking good, especially for a baby.

He slides the clothes over his skin, also adding socks and a little hat to the outfit.

Once he's done, he presses a kiss to the boy's head and moves the two of them into his own room, laying the boy in the middle of the bed and picking out clothes that looked very similar to the ones the baby was kicking his little legs in.

"Let's go see if dada is ready huh?" He picks up Daniel and together they move downstairs, George halting when he lays eyes on Dream's figure.

There he was, tight black jeans, a thin black shirt, and the somewhat long blond hair combed and styled.

All in all, Dream was hot, but the brunet quickly shook the thoughts away as he walked down the last few steps of the stairs.

"You ready to go?" He asks, the other having not even noticed his arrival, jumping slightly at the sound.

"Huh, ah yeah I'm good to go," he turns around and takes a look at his two boys, hugging them dearly before sliding shoes on his feet.

"I'll go get him settled in the car, okay?" The brunet waits for a slight nod and moves to the vehicle, door already opened on the side of Daniel's car seat.

On the way down the driveway, Daniel, who had just learned how to wave, felt the necessity to wave at everyone and everything he saw, which was incredibly cute, but also slightly annoying when he had none of the motor skills that stopped him from whacking a tiny baby hand into your face every couple seconds.

He lays the boy down into his car seat, pressing little kisses all over his tiny face making him laugh deeply. He tightened the straps and pulled them over his chest, making sure they were fastened properly.

Once he's sure the baby is safe in his seat he closes the door and quickly moves around to the other side, rushing to get into the car so the baby wouldn't be alone.

After another few minutes the blond joins the two, sitting in the driver's seat and handing the diaper bag over to George, who places it by his feet.

The brunet reaches a hand to the baby when he gets slightly fussy, letting him play with his fingers which calms him immediately.

The ride was short, 20 minutes maybe and went off without a hitch. Daniel seemed content with chewing and playing with George's fingers and didn't make any trouble the entire way there.

Once they pulled up in the driveway the two men leave the car, George throwing the diaper bag over his shoulder before loosening Daniel from his seat and lifting him into his arms.

Together they walk up the concrete, ringing the bell and waiting, no one opened. Dream checked the address once more, about to call his mom and ask if she'd made a typo, when they hear a woman's voice shout from the yard.

"Clay? You can just walk through the gate, we're in the garden"

The men look around, finding the small gate to their right and making their way through a beautiful garden, little flowers and bushes gave colour to the big patches of green.

They walk a few steps around the house until they see a pretty little patio, a big table and multiple chairs, a woman and a man already sat waving their hands excitedly.

"Hi!" The woman jumps from her seat, running over to the blond and engulfing him in a tight hug which Dream reciprocates.

"Hey nice to see you!" Dream calls, hand patting over her back.

"Shall we sit down?" She gestures to the patio, both men nodding and making their way over to the table.

"Honey this is Clay," she points to the man as she speaks to her husband, "he was in your biology class, remember?"

"Ah yes, Clay, nice to see you man!" The guy fakes, obviously having no clue who the hell he was, stretching a hand towards him to shake.

"And you are?" The woman questions George, smiling with a wide grin at both the man and the baby on his arm.

"Oh Hi, I'm George, I'm Clay's, " he pauses for a moment for the lack of a word to call them, "roommate" Dream helps him out "he's my roommate".

The woman walks to the brunet and hugs him as well, in a high pitched tone saying "well nice to meet you, Clay's roomate, I'm Sophie" winking at the blond as she says the word roommate.

"And this must be little Daniel, huh?" She bends down to the baby, who was happily waving a small hand into her face, it really had become one of his favourite activities these past couple days.

"Yes, where's your little one?" Dream asks, looking around.

"Oh she's still sleeping, took a late nap but I was gonna go wake her anyways or she won't sleep later"

"Honey, could you get her? I'll get our guests something to drink" she rambles, pointing to the chairs gesturing to the men to sit down.

Sighing deeply the man stands from his chair in which he had seemed so comfortable, making his way to the glass door, followed closely by his wife.

"She's…loud" George says once both Sophie and her husband had disappeared in the house.

"She was like that in high-school too, but when she was screeching about some boy liking her it was much worse, trust me" Dream responds, George slowly scooting closer with his chair until there was no space between the both of them.

"Alrighty! I brought some water and we have some lemonade if you'd like" she places a tray onto the marmour table, four glasses standing empty, reflecting the sun onto their surroundings.

"George, would you like something to drink?" She looks at the man.

"Oh just some water please, it's quite warm today isn't it?" He speaks and his nervousness makes his British accent shine through ten times as much as usual. Dream chuckles at this, hand wandering to the man's back, stroking soft circles into his shirt, trying to calm his obviously shaky nerves.

"Well it's Florida, so it's actually kinda cold for this time of year but I reckon you're not from around here?" She asks, having noticed the accent now as well, pushing a cup with the cool liquid towards the man.

George was taking a sip from the beverage, so the blond answered for him.

"He's from London, moved here right before I found out I was gonna be a dad"

"Oh wow, London! It must be much colder there I assume" she responds, eyes sparkling in the early midday sun.

George nods and their conversation is cut short, as the man walks back out onto the patio, a grumpy baby settled on his hip.

"She is not happy" he laughs, handing the child over to her mother to comfort her.

"Hi Hailey! Did you have a good nap?" Dream coos towards the baby, her only blinking a few times before hiding her head in her mom's neck, rubbing her tired eyes with little fingers.

"Wow she is getting big! How old is she again?" He curiously asked, the child looking to be a little older than Daniel.

George smiled at the man's excitement, no matter how often he said other parents were "annoying" or "brag about their kids too much" he was very interested in facts about them.

"Oh she's about eight and a half months now, what about yours?" The woman answers and lets her gaze wander to the baby across from her.

"Oh he's uhm- he's" Dream pauses to try and think of the answer, "six- no, wait" he pauses again, just about to guess an answer when George comes to his rescue.

"He's seven months next Thursday" he quickly throws in, all the people averting their gaze from the blond and over to George, who was now letting the baby jump up and down in his lap while Dream tried to hide his embarrassed face, for not knowing how old his son was.

"Yeah, seven months next Thursday" Dream repeats, slightly shocked that the brunet knew such information about his son, the thought made a smile creep over his cheek as he looks at him.

"Oh sorry that's work, will you excuse me for a second" the guy across from them mumbles as a loud ringtone runs through their ears.

He stands up and moves into the house answering the phone with a "Hello?".

"Oh he's always working, the firm is doing well so they need him there a lot" Sophie said in a playful tone but Dream noticed she wasn't really happy about any of it.

"Uh so what do you two do for work?" She adds bouncing her daughter on one leg, just like George was doing with Daniel.

"Oh well we both work from home, it's easier to take care of this little rascal." He tickles the baby's belly, making him giggle deeply.

"He does web development stuff and I mainly work on software" the blond explains, Sophie nodding along interested.

"What do you do?" George asks and Sophie laughs.

"Oh I'm a stay at home mom. But I used to do teaching jobs" she squeals, baby now slightly starting to whine against her mother's chest, climbing up her body until her dad comes back and lifts her into his arms as he sits back down.

Silence falls over the four until Daniel starts squirming against George's chest just like Hailey had, the child was obviously bored of just sitting there and not doing anything.

"Hey how about we take the kids and go play with them and you can stay back and have a chat?" George suggests, talking to the other's, watching the man which the baby girl was now using as a climbing post just like she had her mother, she seemed to be bored as well.

"Sure" the bearded shrugs, standing up and moving around the table, waiting for George who is stopped by Dream's hand on his wrist.

"You want me to go? You've had him this entire time, I can take him now if you want" he offers, the other smiling and moving in close, pressing a hug to Dream's side, speaking quickly.

"Oh no it's fine I got him, we'll let you two catch up" he mumbles, accidentally forgetting that there were other people around pressing a gentle kiss to the blond's cheek.

"We uh, have a sandpit over there if you want to put them in there?" The man says, pointing to the end of the ginormous yard, small sandpit surrounded by wooden barriers laying in a field of grass.

"Sure, sounds good, wave bye bye to Dada Daniel" he turns, waving at Dream, the child replicating the movement immediately, waving to his dad and the woman sat at the table.

Once the others were out of ear shot, the woman starts giggling talking in an even higher pitch than before.

"Soo, spill the tea"

"What do you mean?" Dream chuckled, those squeals she let out, taking him right back to his high-school experience, pulling memories from the back of his mind that he didn't think he still had.

"Oh come on, you know what I mean" she adds and the blond furrows his eyebrows in thought, really not knowing what she meant.

"George. He's not really just your roommate is he?" She elaborates further, the deep blush rising into Dream's cheeks and the big embarrassed smile telling her she must be at least a little correct with her assumption.

"Ohhh tell me everything" she giggled. The fact that they hadn't spoken in years didn't make her shy or any less invasive, just like she'd been in high-school, he thought.

Dream swallows hard, a big warm breath escaping his lips as he looks over to George, watching him laugh and chat with Sophie's husband and play in the sand with his son.

The dumb smile on his face deepened even more as he zoned out for a second just watching the brunet sat against the beautiful spring sun that made his outline glimmer in a golden tint.

"He's awesome" The blond finally spoke, back from zoning out but eyes still tightly glued to George, who had now caught his stare, smiling and waving a hand towards him.

"I honestly have no clue what we are" he continues, as he's finally able to detach his gaze from the man, waving back a lazy hand.

"What does that mean?" The woman asks, perplexed brow almost touching her hairline.

"it's complicated and very confusing" he answers, eyes dashing back over to the boy, who just pressed a kiss to Daniel's head.

"Do you love him?" Sophie mumbles so quickly Dream has to ask her to repeat it.

"Do you love him Clay?"

His heart started doing backflips at the word love, and he nods quickly without even having to think about it. Of course he loved him, there was no doubt in his mind that that was true.

"Just-, I don't know, I don't want things to get even more complicated." He now lets the words gush out, seemingly really needing someone to talk about this to. He couldn't talk to Sapnap, fearing the man was already too far tangled into the mess of their feelings, he didn't need to play their therapist as well.

"Like what if we start dating and then we break up? Daniel would be devastated and one of us would have to move out and it'd be a whole thing." He speaks, Sophie listening and nodding along.

"What if you don't though?" She asks.

"Huh?" He didn't understand.

"What if you don't break up? What if it goes well?"

Dream's eyes glide to the floor beneath his feet. Deep in thought he nods. What if?

Chapter Text

"Hey Dream, could you grab the picnic blanket from the cupboard? I can't reach it" George calls through the house, a reply from a distant room, followed by the blond's appearance in the hallway.

"Sure" he mumbles with a smile, reaching his arm up and barely having to stretch his body, he was just that tall.

"There you go" he says, handing the striped blanket over, waiting for George to grab it and pulling him into his chest once he did.

"What?" George laughs, his mouth contorting into something that his friends had dubbed the "Dream smile".

Dream shrugs his shoulders while taking the small brunet in his arms, picnic blanket stuffed between their chests forcing a certain space between their bodies.

"You're an idiot," George scoffed, trying to loosen from the tight grip the other had on his back, deep chuckles escaping his stomach as the blond forced small pecks on his cheeks and forehead, pulling him even closer.

"I thought we talked about this, no PDA in the house!" Sapnap nearly shouts as he and the curly haired enter the hallway, baby Daniel gently braced against Karl's hip, kicking and wiggling his arms and legs.

"Oh shut up" Dream says, finally letting go of the brunet and moving over to his son, enjoying the laughs coming from the infant's mouth when he strokes a finger over the soft features of his face.

"Hi buddy!" He starts, pushing his hands under his son's arms, slowly lifting him from Karl's grasp, the man's face developing into a sad expression as the baby was taken from him.

"Did you have a good nap?" The blond continues to talk to Daniel in his well trained baby voice, while rolling his eyes at the exaggerated pout that Karl was showing on his features.

The baby giggled at his dad's craziness, closing his tiny chubby arms around Dream's neck and rubbing his face on the blond's cheeks in excitement.

"Are you being silly? Yes you are, yes you are" The baby voice continued, the little one in Dream's arms squirming and wiggling at the chuckles traveling through his entire body.

"Did you change his diaper?" Dream asked, looking up at Karl and Sapnap, the two men that had agreed to get the boy from his room once he had woken up from his nap while the others packed for their trip to the park.

"I did" Karl raised his hand, while smiling and making faces at the boy, who was now playing with Dream's collar.

"You don't even live here and you've changed his diaper more often than Sapnap" George laughs, watching the offended look sprout on the youngest' face.

"He's here like all the time, he might as well live here" the youngest scoffed, turning his eyes to his friends as he crossed his arms over his chest, visibly still offended.

"Whatever. We're all ready to go now aren't we?" George changes the subject quickly, eyeing the few bags stood by the door, ready to be picked up and carried to the park with them.

"George, you wanna take Daniel?" The blond asks, watching the man's face light up as he nods, stepping forward and lifting the child into his arms.

"I thought maybe we could put him in the carrier so we don't need to drag the stroller along?" George suggests, Dream nodding and opening the cupboard door to his left, searching for a few seconds, before pulling out the green and white carrier and handing it to George, who skillfully clasps it around his waist and settles the baby in it facing his chest.

"Alright, Karl Sapnap, could you take these two bags? I'll take this one" the blond asks, fingers pointing towards the bags while his eyes stayed glued on George, who was petting soft strokes over his son's back and head. The baby, still tired from his nap, leaned against the man's chest, looking comfortable and smiling at Dream.

The other two men do as they're told, grabbing bags and throwing them over their shoulders, all of them lining at the door to finally leave the house.

The warm July air hit them like a wall of fire, all of them having to halt for a second to adjust to the heat surrounding them.

"Are you sure this was a good idea? It's so hot." Dream asks the others, mainly directing his question to Sapnap, who had brought up the idea of a picnic in the park.

"Oh come on, don't be a pussy, we have food and water with us, we'll be fine. We can just lay somewhere in the shade" the questioned man responded, pointing to the bag he was carrying which was stacked with plenty of water bottles.

"He's right," Karl joins in, "also if it gets too hot we can just leave again. It's not like we need three hours back"

Dream nods, walking closer to George and his son, pressing little kisses to both their faces before smiling dumbly at the brunet and holding his hand out for him to take.

George observes the long, lanky fingers right by his and lets his own glide over the soft skin for just a second before pulling back slightly. He turned around to the other two men, who had obviously been watching them but turned their heads when George looked at them.

The brunet rolls his eyes and lets out a small scofflike laugh before turning back around and intertwining his hand with the blond's much bigger one, walking down the hot pavement of their Florida neighbourhood.

Slowly they follow the street's flow before turning right, into the park. Unlike the last time they walked through here they didn't stay on the designated path leading to several playgrounds and small ponds, they swayed off it and up a small hill, their goal being a big patch of shade, created by a tree on top of the hill, just next to a small wooden bench.

Dream was surprised about how empty the park was. Usually on a nice day, the place would be buzzing with people. Parents bringing their kids to get them out of the house, young couples making out in the hidden spaces by the tree, lonesome people finding the perfect spot to read and drink their overpriced Starbucks beverages.

But not today. Today the space was completely void of anyone. The reason for this probably being the staggering heat that was still dehydrating them as they made their way up the hill not protected by any shade whatsoever.

After just a few minutes of strolling over the dry grass they finally reached the top and were able to relax in the shade a bit, before taking the big picnic blanket out of one of the bags and placing it in the middle of the shadow patch.

George loosened the carrier from his waist, carrying a baby strapped to your chest up a hill was exhausting enough but doing it in this type of weather was another kind of difficult.

He pulled Daniel from the fabric and sat him down on the blanket, the baby flapping his arms and legs at the newfound freedom. He seemed to enjoy himself while the adults around pulled out some of the water bottles, trying to cool themselves down.

The shade was giving them a nice enough chance to do so Dream thought, the difference in temperature between the shade and the sun must have been at least ten degrees.

Once all the bags have been loosened from their sweaty shoulders and hands, they sit down on the blanket as well, enjoying a few moments of peace and quiet to calm their breath before the baby got bored and decided to crawl all over them, laughing and patting them until they finally paid attention to him.

The excitement over his leisure turned into frustration quickly, his mind obviously realising the now worsening discomfort of being hungry, which Dream, in great parently fashion, immediately understands, sighing and sitting up, pulling the bag of food from the ground.

They relieve the bag of Its contents. One by one the little boxes and tupperware tower on top of each other, the baby already trying to grab the food that he sees.

"What do you want, baby? You want some goldfish? Or some cheerios?" George asks the boy that was now sat in his lap, showing him the respective food choices the child had in front of him to get him to decide.

"Cheerios?" Alright, here have some" he says after the cheerios had clearly won, the baby whining and stretching his grabby hands towards the little plastic box as George opened it.

Happily Daniel dives into the food offered to him, munching on the small circular rings that were one of his favourite snacks.

Once the baby was satisfied and very enthralled in his own food, the men had a chance to look at the beautiful options in front of them that almost looked like a feast.

Between boxed snacks and mashed up fruit for Daniel there were three different cheeses, pieces of sausage, white bread, grapes, bananas, apples and a lot more. The fruits cut into bite sized pieces in case the little one wanted some too.

All in all they could see that there was a lot of effort that had been put into this picnic, some of the other snacks, like the cucumber or the peppers were even cut into cute shapes, like stars or hearts.

The boys start grabbing at all different foods, George opting to have mainly fruit, while Sapnap was spreading butter on his third piece of bread, placing cheese on top.

Once their bellies were filled to pretty much its full capacity, they rid the blanket of the containers and laid down. Most of them were tired and exhausted from eating so much but of course Daniel, who had refused to eat more than a couple of cheerios, was full of tiny toddler liveliness.

"You've got energy huh buddy?" the youngest of them coos as he stands and pulls the baby into his arms, stepping from the blanket and throwing him a bit too high in the air for Dream's taste.

Sapnap, not the nurturing kind like Dream or George, often played quite rough with Daniel, much to the little one's liking, giggling and squirming for the man to do it again. Dream placed a tan hand over his eyes to halt his overprotective parent side from stopping the fun his son seemed to have with his uncle Sapnap.

"He'll drop him one day, I swear. I'll kill him" he whispers as he loosens the hand from over his face turning to his side to connect his eyes with the brunet's, which were only a couple centimetres from his, the men being entirely too close for people that claimed to be just friends.

The smaller laughs quietly, not even thinking about loosening his eyes from skimming over the blond's incredibly attractive features, his beauty only enhanced by the stray slithers of sun dancing on his perfect skin.

Slowly George scoots even closer, way past the imaginary line of closeness they shouldn't cross, leaning his face on the blonds chest, lower bodies pressing into each other like it was no big deal, like this happened all the time. Truthfully, it happened more than the two would admit. And if they were caught, then it was never on purpose of course, then it was always accidental, never intentional. Because if it were, that meant they were more than friends, something to discuss, to talk about, to figure out and they didn't want to deal with that right now.

But out here, it was just them and their friends.They didn't care about it being "too much" or if they were going "too far", it was just them and their friends, so instead of pushing George back and sharing a look with him that said "we can't" or "we shouldn't" he closed his arms around the man and pulled him even deeper into his embrace, his free hand moving to the locks falling into a messy chaos on his chest, massaging the scalp hidden under all the silk as George made subtle noises of comfortableness in forms of sighs and deep breaths.

"Come on buddy, I'm getting tired man" the guy still throwing the baby up high into the air huffs, clearly out of breath from the strenuous exercise that was tossing and catching a nine month old over and over again.

"Let's take a break from that, yeah? So I can catch my breath?" Even against the protests of the baby kicking and punching him with as much strength as a child of his age could, he stopped with the fun activity, standing and breathing deeply.

"I know, but I need a break, how about we go down to the playground and we can play there? Then these two love bugs can have their peace and quiet for a bit" He chuckles at the last few words, quickly bracing the baby against his hip, swapping looks with Karl who seemed happy to accompany them down to the swingset.

"Dream is it alright if we take him?" Sapnap asks, watching the blond give a drowsy nod followed by his tired voice "just make sure you don't kill him" he mumbled into George's shoulder, Karl giving a thumbs up as Sapnap called a quick "got it", already descending down the hill.

The two men, still cuddled up on the blanket, had a perfect view on the small playground underneath. Granted it was pretty far away and the only thing they could see was the blurry outlines of people, but they were still within their vision, which calmed Dream's overprotective parent thoughts down slightly.

Even though being able to see them eased his nerves he still pushed up on his elbows every once in a while, trying to check up on the three now playing in the cool sand.

"Baby he's fine, lay down" the brunet whispers half asleep, petting his hand over the broad chest he had his head placed on.

"What did you just call me?" The blond's voice was small and quiet, slight shock covered it as he averted his gaze from the playground beneath and moved it to the man on his chest.

"Oh come on. Don't pretend you don't like it" the smaller of the two scoffs, the other laughing and dropping his arms from under him, making the both of them fall hard to the floor.

"Dream!" The brunet shouts, the fast movement scaring him, hands clasping around the man's waist even tighter.

Dream's deep laughter rattled the both of them, George struggling to hold on with the heavy motion of the blond.

Once his laughter had calmed a bit George scoffed and lifted his head, chin poking into the man's chest whispering "You're an idiot" trying to do so with the most serious face he could muster.

"You're smiling"

"No I'm not" the smaller responds, the faint smile getting wider and more obvious by the second.

"You are! You are smiling!" The blond calls, now starting to tickle the grin out from the boy, his plan being somewhat successful and turning their cuddles into a full on ticklematch with them writhing around the dirt ground hard on Dream's back.

With one swift movement Dream flips George around, pressing the man's back into the hard ground as he knelt over him, knees braced on both his sides, wrists pinned to the floor, chests close, faces closer.

The harmless tickle match was over but whatever this was, it was much more interesting, Dream thought.

The smaller boy who was pinned tightly underneath the bigger man's weight, blushed deeply, the red tones of his face shining brighter than even the sun, and Dream laughed at the guy beneath him.

"I win" the blond whispers bending down, eyelids fluttering shut as he got closer to the other's mouth.

Just as he wanted to connect their lips, a strong force pulled him away and forced his body back against the floor. George had used this vulnerable, soft moment against him, freeing himself and pushing the other back down, straddling the man and sitting right on his crotch, which Dream was very aware of.

"Not so fast pretty boy" George looked ethereal from this angle. The man's low lustfull voice, combined with the pressure on his crotch was making Dream go wild.

"I win" the boy whispers, bending down to the blond's flushed face and kissing his lips gently but with passion, in the process bucking his hips just in the right spot for Dream to moan and push him off his body.

"George," he breathed, hand moving to push sweaty hair from his face.

"What? You don't like it?" The smile and voice that George had in that moment was killing him and it took every single ounce of sheer impulse control not to just take the man right then and there, on the picnic blanket in the shining sun.

George sat on Dream's lap, hands braced on his chest, gliding over the loose shirt slowly, watching the deep blush spreading over the guy's body.

"You can't tell me you don't like it when I do this." George's voice was low and lustful and driving Dream crazy. The smaller bucked his hips another few times, Dream's head falling back, all his focus on trying not to moan, not wanting anyone to witness whatever this was.

"George" he huffed, hands gripping George's hips tightly, halting his movement completely.

"We can't" he adds, as George tries to move through the hands that were probably bruising his skin they held that tightly.

The devious smile on his face faltered as his horny brain fog cleared enough to let reason in and he understood.

With a small pout he loosens the blond's hands from his hips, slowly climbing off the blond not before sending another thrust into Dream, making them both shake in the sensation.

"You are horrible, you know that?" The blond whispers as George snuggled his head back against his chest, their position returning to the one they had had earlier, when the other's had left.

For maybe a half hour the two lay in each other's embrace, the first few of those minutes Dream shifting his lower half a suspicious amount, George smiling in the know that this was his merit.

At some point the shifting stopped and a sweet calmness fell over them as George cuddled deeper into his chest, sunrays heating their skin up nice and warm, making them forget over their deep desires and lust, at least for the most part.

They dozed off slightly in the warm comfortable air around them, waking from something or better someone, being placed on them.

"Woah, hello sweetheart" the blond blinks open his eyes, loosening his hand from George's hair to pull the child towards the two of them, the little one, happy to be in his dad's arms, let's himself drop onto the still free space of his chest, right next to George's head, who lifts one of his hands to gently stroke over the baby's soft cheek.

There they were, the three of them laying together, cuddling, outside, on a blanket with sun occasionally bouncing over their features.

Of course, Daniel being a young child, nearly a toddler even, he couldn't manage to sit still for more than just a few minutes. Skillfully pushing his tiny body off the man and crawling up even higher, nearly sitting on Dream's neck, clapping his hands in excitement.

"Dada" The child stutters out, hands flying over the blonds face, not being particularly gentle, slapping and hitting over the skin. The man however did not care one bit, eyes opened wide as he sat up, George falling from his chest, and baby sliding down to his lap.

"Did he just-" he looked around to the other's, the men seemingly unimpressed by the near abuse the baby had used on his dad's skin.

"Slap you in the face? Yeah he did" Sapnap says, still perplexed at why this was some great revelation that was worth letting George fall onto the floor for.

"No no, he said Dada, I heard it, I swear he did" Dream excitedly explained, quickly getting up from the blanket to walk towards Karl who was making his way up the hill, standing still when he met Dream at the top.

"Why do you look like you won the lottery?" Karl asks Dream, looking to Sapnap standing close to them leaned against the tree and George having now sat up on the blanket where he fell from the man's chest. Both of them shrugging their shoulders, watching as the blond's giddiness took over even more, him now jumping up and down in one spot, child giggling on his arm.

"He said Dada! I'm telling you he did" he excitedly yells, a bit too loud seeing that Karl was merely a few feet away.

Karl understood what big of a deal this was. Now both of them were jumping up and down, yelling and squealing at the little child, trying to get him to say it again.

"Daniel, come on say Dada, Dada, yeah go on, you said it earlier, Dada" the blond tried to no avail, the only sounds coming from the baby's lips, being small insignificant babbles and squeaks.

"Come on you can do it, Dada!" Karl incouraged the boy even further, but still nothing.

George now feeling like he was missing all the action that was happening, slowly pushes himself from the ground and walks over the the men who were still bending over the little one desperately trying to repeat the huge developmental step Daniel had done earlier.

George steps close to the three stood tightly in a circle, Sapnap still watching from his position by the tree, and pet a gentle hand over Daniel's face making him smile.

The baby stretches his arms forward, obviously trying to symbolise that he wanted to go into George's arms, maybe hoping there he wouldn't be pestered and pushed to say words he just really didn't feel like saying right now.

"Oh come here buddy, are they crazy? Yes they are, yes they are" The brunet slurrs in his baby coo once Daniel was secured on his belly, face right infront of his own.

Without hesitation he reaches his hands out once more, just like he had done with Dream, slapping and playing with his skin, the fun he had with that, no one could explain.

Out of nowhere the boy lifts his face higher, to make eye contact with George, who smiled a deep smile showing his perfectly white teeth that glistened in the blinding sun.

Apparently the beautiful smile and pretty teeth was something not only Dream enjoyed, cause when Daniel saw them, he clapped his hands together, yelling "Dada Dada Dada" over and over again, so loud that none of the men could deny it this time.

George's mouth drops open, gaze swapping between the boy's happy face and Dream's shocked expression, no one really knowing what to say.

Not only had Daniel spoken for the first time with all of them present to hear, he had also called George his dad. Wether the infant did it intentionally or just cause he could say the word, none of them knew, none the less it made things awkward in a way none of them could explain.

"He called you dad" Dream mumbles quietly, looking into George's eyes, who turns his head to the side and quickly replies.

"Oh he probably doesn't even know what that means, he'll say it to anyone" as George talks, the baby's attention focuses back onto the man's face, once again calling "Dada" before leaning his head against the stubble on the brunets chin, hands flinging to his own eyes, rubbing them as they were starting to get tired.

"Are you tired sweetie?" George tries to steer the conversation away from the little one recognising him as his dad, and into a new topic.

"I think he's getting sleepy now, maybe we should head home?" He continues towards the other's, all of them exchanging views and nodding, the long exposure to the heat and their stomachs still filled to the top with great foods had made them all hazy, ready for a nice nap once back at the house.

"George, here I can take him, you don't have to-" Clay starts, walking over to the man who was already closing the clip of the carrier on his waist, while the other hand was skillfully holding the now dozing child steadily against his chest, trying not to wake him, as he pushes him lower and into the fabric with his head lying comfortably against him.

Dumbfounded Dream closes his mouth, there was no arguing over who would take the child now, seeing as the boy was strapped to George's chest, like a bomb that could go off at any moment.

While George walked slow steps around the patch of shade to make sure Daniel wouldn't wake up, the other's picked up every last box and container that they hadn't put in the bag yet, before Dream lifted the blanket in the air, shaking it to get rid of crumbs and then folding it into a small bundle of fabric.

They look around checking if any of their belongings were still hidden somewhere on the ground, underneath high grass and pretty flowers. Not being able to find any of them they assume they have everything and together they make their way back down the mountain, George walking slow and steady steps in an attempt to keep the little boy on his chest asleep, petting a gentle hand on his back and quietly mumbling sweet words to him.

Dream, Sapnap and Karl trailed behind George, the two brunets making casual conversation while Dream stared ahead, looking at the man who was now softly cooing to his son, pressing kisses to the baby's head to calm him.

He loved the bond George had with Daniel, it was sweet and full of love. Now that Dream thought about it, the fact that Daniel called George his dad instead of him, wasn't even so bad. He was nurturing, kind, basically around the boy all the time, the blond understood how their situation could be confusing for a small child.

Dream's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a gentle touch to his hand, he slightly jolted before realising the person standing next to him was George, holding out his hand for the blond to take. Dream smiled deep, before carefully wrapping an arm around George's waist and pulling him in, pressing a soft kiss to the man's lips, other hand moving to his chin, to deepen the kiss.

George doesn't back away. Usually they only kiss when no one was looking, when it was just them, but here they were, stood on a small pathway, baby strapped between them, lips connected and only ripped apart by Sapnap's sharp voice cutting the air behind them.

"Guys, can you do that later? You're blocking the path" Even with Karl's elbow to the stomach he didn't quiet down his voice even one bit.

"What, I'm right" He mumbles as Karl shoots him a stare that looked like it could kill with just a few blinks. Dream and George, lips seperated but faces still close, laughed and intertwined their hands making their way further along the path, much to Sapnap's enjoyment, who mutters a quiet "finally" under his breath.

They walk slowly and without much conversation back to their house, both pairs holding hands and swaying them back and forth in gentle movements.

Finally at home, George and Dream climb the stairs to the nursery. Once there the brunet unclipped the carrier and let the child glide into his arm, the boy waking and squirming slightly.

"Shh, shh it's all good buddy, go back to sleep" he whispered as he held the baby close to his heart, petting and stroking over his back and hair to soothe him back into a gentle sleep.

The baby squealed and lifted his head, blinking at George, he opens his tired mouth, slurring the word "Dada" before letting his hair hit the man's shirt and drifting further into rest.

"Yes baby, Dada" the brunet says, exchanging a look with the blond who was standing by the door of the room, smiling wide.

Once George was completely certain the baby was sleeping, he bent down and placed him in his crib, one last kiss on his head before lifting himself up and just admiring the small bundle that was now snoring softly.

"He's perfect" the blond whispers as he steps behind the brunet, engulfing his body with his arms and pulling him into his chest, little kiss pressed to the spot where their faces meet.

"Yeah, he truly is" The other responded, head nestling deep into the warm comfortableness that Dream was, taking his arms and wrapping them even tighter around his waist, soft breaths lingering on his skin.

"And you're his Dada now" the blond laughed, trying desperately to not be too loud and wake the child again.

George laughed aswell before letting his hand glide on the bigger ones around his middle, loving how Dream's grasp around him felt.

"Yeah, I guess I am" he says, eyes thoughtfully flickering on the child's sleeping body.

"I'm his dada" He mutters more to himself than anyone else.

Chapter Text

George turns his key in the lock of the door. It was a long exhausting day and all he wanted to do was lay in his bed and close his eyes, at least for a few hours before Daniel would fuss again.

He steps into the darkness that was their hallway, lazily kicking the shoes off his feet as he lets the door fall shut behind his back. Quietly he curses as the noise made by the closing of said door shakes the entire house, possibly waking one small baby boy, who hadn't really been interested in sleep these last weeks.

He doesn't move for a few seconds listening for noises before walking down the hallway and past the kitchen. He pauses as he hears a slight grumble from the small room, it sounded more like an uncomfortable groan. Was someone in the kitchen?

Very gently he steps forward, flicking the light on and glancing inside. Seeing blond hair splattered on the hardwood floor made him rush to his side, thinking he was injured.

"Heeyy Geogiee" the man, who was definitely not injured, slurred into George's face, the draft of heavy alcohol hitting his nose making him pull back.

"Wha- are you drunk?" George asks, mouth dropped as he watched the man laying on the floor.

"Maybe jus' a lil' bit" the blond slurs again before pulling a bottle of what looked to be Vodka from behind his body, leading it to his mouth.

"Okay no, I think you've had enough already, give me that" George quickly jumps to Dream's side, taking the half empty glass bottle and placing it on top of the counter where Dream couldn't reach.

"George, no I'm toally fin', give that back" the blond garbles, trying to pull himself up on the counter but failing miserably and falling back to the floor.

"You are not fine, you are drunk. Come on let's get you to bed. Daniel is at your mum's I hope?" he bends down, letting the man lean on his arm as he does his best to pull him up straight, quickly pushing the bottle further away as Dream tries to grab for it. Dream nods.

"You smell nice" the other laughs, weight almost completely on George's small frame, making him struggle to stay up right.

"I smell nice?"

"Yes. Strawberry or some'ing" he mumbles, slowly assisting the man in guiding him to the bedroom.

Heavily George drags Dream's body along with him, the other giggling and laughing as they tumble through the empty, dark house.

"Geo'ge, you know what?" The blond questions, halting all his movement, dropping his weight down into George's side.

"What?" The man huffs, again struggling with holding the man from falling to the floor.

"You're pretty"

"Huh?"

"You're a very pretty man George" he elaborates, heavy hand wiping some spare vodka from his lips as a small hiccup passes through his body.

"Let's get you to bed now yeah?" George did his best to ignore the words said, Dream making it much harder as he digs even deeper.

"I like kissing you"

Again George doesn't respond, hoping the other would forget and let go of the topic at hand.

"It fel' real nice Georgie," he says, slow shuffling towards the stairs with George's help.

The older stays silent, hand snaking around Dream's back and holding the man on his waist, adding more stability to the pair as they climb the stairs.

"I wanna kiss you again" he mutters, pausing on the second step and pushing against the man to his side, tumbling and swaying as his vision spun before his eyes.

"Where did you even get the Vodka Dream? We don't usually have alcohol in the house" George escapes the statement by asking a question, Dream now clasping one hand to the railing of the stairs and pulling himself onto the next step.

"Store, after I dropped Daniel at my mom's" he mumbled, face pushed dangerously close to the brunets, as little hicks and giggles drown out his speech.

George just nods in understanding, gently guiding the man up a few more steps, until the blond stops again, finger raising from the railing, slurring his words into George's direction.

"George," he pokes the man's arm even though he had all his attention already, "I hav' a son" he says almost as if he hadn't realised it all these months. "I have a baby George".

"Yeah you do, which is why you shouldn't drink this much, now up, go" he pushes the blond's back trying to speed up the process of getting the man into his room.

He steps up two stairs, the first-floor hallway being in sight already, as he speaks to George once more.

"Yo' know what Gerge?" He hiccups as he speaks, waiting for the other to respond who just calls an annoyed "What?" up towards the man in front.

"I don wana be friens, I wana be more, I love yo Georgie" as the words fly out of his mouth, one of his hands darts back against the railing, a big tumble almost knocking him down.

George's face dropped, his heart hurt more than he ever thought it could and even he didn't know why.

"There's your room, last step, come on" he blatantly ignores the biggest statement of them all, hoping the blond wouldn't notice the strong shake in his voice as he pushed him up the last step, and in the direction of his room.

"Sit" he mumbles, pointing to the bed as he let go of the struggling man, turning on the lights.

Clumsily Dream does as he's told, taking more of a lying position on the queen sized bed, as he waits for George to make his way over to his side.

"Why did you even buy alcohol? You don't drink" George asked, as he bent down to the man's legs hanging off the bed, loosening the laces and pulling them off his feet, placing them next to the bed.

"Was sad" he mutters.

"Sad about what?" George continues to dig, already having a hunch about what the man could have been sad about.

" 'bout you dummy" Dream giggles, hand placed lazily on his chest now.

George stops in his tracks for a second, heart pumping quickly before he grabs the man's legs and pulls them onto the bed, throwing the comforter over his lower body and chest.

"What about me made you sad?" He asks quietly.

"Yo don love me. You kiss me and cuddle me but yu don lov me"

"Now who told you that?"

The other shrugs his shoulders as an answer, as his eyes start to drift closed.

"Okay, you get some rest and we'll talk tomorrow, Good night Dream" he pets a hand over the blond locks falling into Dream's face but as he turns to leave, a strong grip holds him in place.

"Don go, stay, cuddle me" the blond begs, and George is too tired to argue anymore, so he strips from his hoodie and moves around to the other side of the bed, climbing in and pressing his back to Dream's, who immediately turns and wraps big comforting arms around his chest. George loved how this felt, but he couldn't help but feel fear nagging at his bones. Was Dream only doing all this because he was drunk? How would he talk about the things the man said tomorrow? Did Dream really love him?

The fear weighs him down, speeding up his heart and making his breath quicken until a tight squeeze from the blond and a pull that moved him even closer, dragged him away from panicking. He enjoyed the warm embrace, moved his own hand over the spot where the blond's lingered on his waist, and intertwined their fingers, a deep stupid smile brushing over his blush stricken cheeks as his eyes start to flutter shut.

"Good morning sleepyheads!" Sapnap shouts, and he feels like he's having a deja vu.

Slowly George opens his eyes, the bright light from the ceiling lamp making him wince and pull himself back down into what seemed to be Dream's chest.

The blond twitches at the sudden movement, eyes ripping open, deep groan escaping his lips as the light also reaches his sensitive eyes, hand gliding to his head as he notices the hammering headache, presumably from drinking half a bottle of Vodka straight from the bottle.

"Yeah that's what you get when you drink idiots" the youngest says, quiet chuckle as he eyes the men.

"I didn't drink" George calls into Dream shirt, hand raising into air, one singular finger sticking out as if he were to lecture someone.

"Wait. So you drank over half a bottle of Vodka on your own?" He pointed to the blond, who had sat up slightly, one hand now gently massaging through the brown locks that were splayed over his chest, gently nodding.

"Woah" the smallest only says, watching the men be awfully domestic once more.

"I have someone here who would like to see you" the standing brunet mumbles and again George lifts his head, trying to open his eyes once more. Blinking at the blurry image of a baby, Dream's mother must have dropped Daniel back at the house.

Dream makes grabby hands, hoping that the baby would sense their dire situation and be good and quiet today. He fears that the shrill scream of a baby would undoubtedly make his headache much worse.

Just as Sapnap wants to hand the child over, he pulls him back, a quick gaze to the blankets covering their legs.

"You're not like naked, are you?" He asks, gaining a slight slap to the arm from George, who also adds a scolding "Sapnap!"

"No we are not naked! We didn't do anything!" The other fakes an apologetic face whispering "was just making sure" under his breath as he hands the baby to Dream, who had removed the massaging hand from the brunet's hair, much to his disliking.

"Hey there my big boy!" Dream tried to put on the most awake and energetic baby voice he could muster, enjoying the tiny giggles he pulls from the boy.

"Did you have a nice time at Grandma's?" He goes on, George petting a gentle finger over the infant's hand before pushing himself up slightly to press a kiss to his cheek.

"Okay, I'll let you guys be" Sapnap spoke as he left the room, Dream waving a tired hand after him.

The blonds arms, already heavy from the hangover were giving out, the boy was about ten months old now and he was starting to get heavy if you held him for a while.

He places Daniel on the bed in front of George, the baby doing an incredible job at just sitting and playing with one little toy Dream had thankfully found on his nightstand.

Now that his hands were free, he moved one of them back into the brunet's hair, the other man sighing softly as the massaging continued. He turned around on Dream's chest, they were now face to face and could look each other in the eyes if they wanted to.

George takes his arms and crosses them on his chest, laying them on top of each other and feeling each breath cursing through his lungs and the beats made by his heart.

"I meant it" Dream mumbles, deep in thought staring at the child who was putting the toy into his mouth to chew on it.

"Huh?" George answers, confusion rising on his face.

"The stuff I said yesterday. I was drunk but I meant it." he explains, as he gently lets his thumb glide over George's face, the soft skin pumping electricity through his fingertips as he brushes over the different features of the man's face.

"You really did? All of it?" George thinks, scooting up further on the man's chest to be closer to his face.

"All of it, every single word"

"Even the bit about how I smell good?" George chuckles, removing the hand from his face and pulling it down his own chest, playing with the bigger fingers and stroking gently over Dream's skin.

"Especially that" Dream smiles as he leans forward to take a whiff of the boy's hair, afterwards acting like it was the best smell he's ever smelled, jokingly whispering "delicious" while staring up at the ceiling.

George pushes the man back, laughing deeply. Even the baby seemed to enjoy this little show and he dropped his toy to the bed to clap his tiny hands together in a sweet giggle.

"Your daddy is a crazy man, yes he is, yes he is" George speaks in baby talk while wiping some spit off of Daniel's mouth with his fingers, smearing it to the bedsheets after.

"George, listen" Dream starts up his serious voice once more, George's smile faltering quickly as he focuses on the man's lips moving.

"I'm serious, okay? I meant all of the things I said, now you tell me what you think about them"

"What I think about them?" George asks and Dream nods.

"Well, Dream this is tough. You were drunk when you said those things, now I have to confess my feelings sober?" He huffs, words leaving his mouth without a thought backing them up.

"You're- You're confessing your feelings?" Dream stammers and George can feel his heart under his chest beat about ten thousand times quicker than it had before.

"Yes? No? Maybe? Dream I don't know okay? I agree with what you said, that you wanna be more than friends and I also think that kissing you felt amazing but I just don't know how that would work with you and Daniel and Sapnap and-" he says and continues rambling until a strong grip flips his body around and pulls him into a passionate kiss to the lips to shut him up.

His face widens for a second until he understands what is happening and lets his eyes flutter shut quickly, hands finding their way up on Dream's face, holding his jaw as he moves with the kiss.

"You know we don't always have to kiss when we talk about us, right?" George huffs when they break apart, big smiles rolling onto both their faces, the baby squealing for attention.

"I don't wanna lose this" the brunet nearly whispers as he looks back up to the blond, "I wanna keep things the way they are without putting a label on them, would you be okay with that?" He asks, pushing himself up on his elbows, his face just a few inches from Dream's.

"Whatever you need to be happy, baby" he says and George twitches at the pet name, a deep smile drowning his face.

"Wait, can I call you baby?" Dream adds on, the sheer panic of having said something that made the other uncomfortable, was coaching a laugh from deep down George's stomach.

"Yes, you can call me whatever you want, Dream" he chuckles as he bends forward and connects their lips in a kiss once more, sitting up and straddling Dream's thighs as he sat back down, chests flush as they kiss again and again and again, the little boy still sitting behind the men contently playing with the toy in hand (and mouth), slightly squirming every once in a while.

When the baby finally has enough he starts to cry, heavy tears make their way down his skin as the adults finally break apart and give him some attention.

George stands from the bed, pulling the baby from the covers and into his arms. Dream now realised that the brunet wasn't wearing his pants anymore, he must have taken them off during the night. The only thing that was now saving him from exposure were the tight black boxers that Dream couldn't take his eyes off even if he tried.

"Okay stop staring or I'll think this whole thing over" the man mused as he caught the eyes digging into the exposed skin and gliding over the material.

Skilled he manages to slip into his pants while holding a baby, Daniel pointing at random things in the room, laughing and clapping his hands.

Dream sits in the comfortable sheets for a little longer, he stared at the man holding his son, he looked at his face and how he made his expressions nearly explode when talking to the baby, grabbing some of the things Daniel had pointed at and explaining what they were in way too much detail for a child to understand.

"I love you" the blond whispers, so quietly that George can't hear over the baby squeaking on his hip.

"Did you say something?" The brunet turns to him, a perplexed look on his face.

"No, no, must have been Daniel babbling away" he quickly says, him now also peeling the thick comforter from his legs and dragging himself from the comfort that was his bed.

He stretches his limbs and as he smells his armpits, he decides a new shirt could come in handy, this one smelled like sweat and spilled Vodka.

He opens the door of his closet, pulling a random shirt from the inside and throwing it onto the bed.

He stretches his arms behind his back and slips from his thin smelly shirt, throwing it next to the laundry bin, he'd pick that up later. (or never)

Tired he lets a lazy hand glide over his exposed chest, now noticing George's deep stare connected to his skin.

"Oh look who's staring now huh?" He jokes, quickly dragging the fresh shirt over himself to force the man's gaze away.

"Shut up" George laughs as he pushes up on his tippy toes to press a quick kiss to the man's lips. The baby in his arms was getting bored of learning about the few dead plants and paintings Dream had decorated his room with, so he started squirming and whimpering to please go somewhere else.

The men laugh and intertwine their fingers before making their way down the stairs together, moving into the living room where they hear people talking. Expecting it to be just Karl and Sapnap they thought nothing of it and kept their hands interlocked as they walked in.

Once they saw who Sapnap was really talking to, their mouths dropped slightly and their connection immediately loosened as they stepped further away from each other.

"Well hello there" the woman says as she stands up and picks the baby from George's waist, all of them avoiding eye contact.

"Hey mom" Dream says, hand moving to his head for a few seconds.

"Hey" George, quickly waves an embarrassed hand in the air.

"Uh George," Sapnap interrupts, "didn't we want to go to store now?" He continues.

"What stor- ohh the store yeah oh shoot you're right" He says, as he understands, Sapnap giving him another quick look.

"Yeah you promised me we'd go." The smaller man added on and George nods deeply "Well it was nice seeing you" George waves a quick hand at Dream's mom, pressing a quick peck to Dream's lips as the two men leave the room heading for the hallway.

"George wait" Dream calls after the boy grabbing his arm and pulling him back.

"You can't just leave me after that! What am I supposed to say, she's gonna ask George" Dream whispers, he wasn't quite sure weather they were still in her ear shot and he didn't wanna risk anything.

"Oh I'm sure you'll find something to tell her baby. But I gotta go now, I promised Sapnap I'd go with him to that store" he obviously lied, there was no store and Dream knew it.

Again, George stands tall to press his lips to Dream's and with a last little touch over his arm, he runs out the house, following Sapnap and leaving Dream standing there alone, his mother walking up behind him and speaking in a soft voice.

"Clay, we need to talk"

Chapter Text

"Clay, we need to talk" the soft yet stern voice of his mother echoed in his head as he slowly turned around on his heels, the woman stood behind him, her arms crossed in front of her chest, a look in her eyes that Dream couldn't quite point.

Dream let his head drop to his chest, like he used to when that voice told him he had to do the dishes or take out the trash all those years ago when he was a teen.

He let one of his hands move to his hair, sliding through the messy locks of blond before noticing something, rather someone, by his feet.

"Hey buddy" he smiles at the infant crawling by his toes, now trying to pull his weight up onto his own legs, hands clasping onto his father's jeans for stability.

"Look at you go huh. We're gonna have a walker on our hands soon, won't we?" He bent down and attached his hands to the now wobbly child, lifting him up and making him giggle.

"Clay, I'm serious" his mother spoke, sending a small smile to her grandson, a more serious look to his father.

Reluctantly he nods, pressing a kiss to his son's face, before slowly walking through the hallway and into the living room, letting himself drop onto the couch, his mother taking a seat across from him.

"What do we need to talk about then?" Clay spit, so rude it even shocked himself. Mumbling a little "sorry" as he let the child in his arms down onto the floor, the baby crawling over to some discarded toys a few feet away.

"Clay," the woman starts, taking Dream's hand in hers, and breathing steadily.

"I think you're going a bit fast with George" she remarked, Dream's mouth dropping and eyes opening wide at her words. His mother was never particularly fond of his close relationship with the brunet. Why she felt that way? Dream didn't really know, he only knew whatever reasons she had, she made George cry the last time the two of them talked on their own, and no reason could validate that. Ever.

"You're kidding right?" He chuckles slightly, ripping his hand back from her grasp, a quick glance over to the child still peacefully playing on the floor.

"I just want to protect you sweetie" she tried to explain her motives, Dream huffing out loud in disbelief, quickly rising from the couch, pacing around the living room his arms pressing into his side.

"Honey, I know you might be upset with me but-" the woman starts, quickly being interrupted by the blond's raised tone.

"I might be? What do you mean I might be? You're trying to interfere with my relationship, of course I'm upset with you. What is your problem with George? He has been nothing but nice to you" his temper was something Dream didn't quite know how to manage at times, but since Daniel, there hadn't been many big fights or outburst of anger that he had faced, so this being the first in many many months, didn't make it better.

"Clay honey, I love George, I really do." Her voice was still the same soft high tone it was before. It made him think back to those many fights he had with her during his adolescence, and how crazy it drove him, how it boiled his blood when she showed no significant change of emotion in the way she spoke. After a short pause she continued on. "He's a great guy but I just don't know if you're doing the right thing"

"And? How is that any of your business if I'm doing the right thing or not? Why should you care, it's my life, I get to choose what I do and what I don't!" His heart was pounding hard against his chest, his face red from shouting, and hands clamped into fists by his side, he was angry, and she could see it.

"I'm your mother Clay! I care about you, I want to protect you from the pain!" Her voice rose, almost to a shout, a slight shake, almost as if she was gonna cry, audible in her voice.

Seeing and hearing his mother like this did things to Dream and out of nowhere, small tears fell from his eyes, his sleeve quick to hide his face and wipe them away.

"I don't care that you're my mother!" He shouted through the pain and the tears.

"Clay!"

"No you don't get to 'Clay' me now, not while you're in my house!" his tears flew as he shouted and screamed, face red as a tomato.

"Clay watch out!" The woman now screamed, panic and worry lacing her loud shout.

Before Dream could even figure out what the hell she had meant, loud cries emerged from the floor. Daniel had once again tried to pull himself up on things, this time the sofa and had found the sudden confidence to let go, making his small body stand wobbling on his legs for a few seconds until they couldn't hold his weight anymore, and he fell face first into the corner of the coffee table.

Dream’s heart was pounding even harder as blood started pooling on his son's face, running from the cut on his temple and covering his skin and the floor underneath him.

"Shit" the blond whispered, being quick to bend down to his child, his own tears having picked back up now, frantically screaming and shouting at his mother for help.

"Mom help! There's so much blood! Help me!"

Of course in Daniel's ten months of life he had gotten hurt before. From bumped heads to splinters in tiny fingers, they had seen a lot. But an injury of this caliber was new territory for Dream.

"Okay honey, honey, you need to calm down, it'll only stress him out more if you're panicking" she quickly stood and made her way over to the two, the crying and bleeding child in Dream's arms still screaming his head off.

"I'm gonna get a towel, both of you try to calm down okay?" Dream nods, the fight was totally forgotten. The only thing he was thinking of right now, was the little boy in his arms, and that he had to be strong for him.

He tried his best to dry the tears on his own face, as he held the baby close to his chest, droplets of blood falling from the child and staining his shirt, a gentle hand petting over the infant's back combined with quiet shushes to try and calm him.

"Okay put this against his head, he'll probably have to get a few stitches in that forehead of his" his mother calmly explained as Dream still knelt on the hard ground freaking out at the thought that his small baby had to get stitches in his head because he was too busy with arguing too watch him.

"I'm so sorry baby, I'm so sorry" he kept whispering into Daniel's ear as he pressed the towel up to his head and stood from the ground, his own legs unstable from his nerves.

"Put on shoes, I'll drive" the woman spoke and dipped into the kitchen to grab the car keys. Dream nods, muttering another "I'm so sorry" into the blond locks of hair in front of his face, trying so hard to not let his own tears spill back from his eyes.

"Okay let's get you to a hospital huh buddy? Yeah, I know it hurts" the woman muttered to the baby just as she opened the front door, pressing a kiss to the unhurt side of the boy's face.

Quickly the three get into the car, the woman in the front and Dream and Daniel in the back, the blond quickly securing the baby into his car seat as the engine was starting up.

"Seatbelt honey" his mother spoke as she saw he wasn't wearing his, the man without his eyes leaving the boy pulled the belt across his face, fastening it before leaning back down to his son, who had started to calm down slightly.

The car stays silent for a few minutes until Dream’s mom spoke up.

"Clay"

The man looked and made a noise that symbolized "What?" As he didn't think he could speak without crying again.

"He'll be okay. I know it's scary, but he will be fine" she says, this time with no stern or serious tone. This was her nurturing one, the one that was there for him when he got a bad grade or when his first pet fish died, or when his girlfriend told him she was pregnant not even that long ago.

Dream doesn't answer, just slightly nods, as he grabs his boy's hand, sliding his fingers over the soft baby skin, the child's tears having thankfully stopped.

"See how you're acting now? You want to protect him from all the hurt and pain right?" She added and another nod from Dream followed. "You wish you could take his hurt onto yourself. You wish you could make life painless, cause you never ever want to see your child in pain" she spoke exactly how the blond felt, seeing his son screaming in pain from an injury he could have prevented, broke his heart into a million tiny pieces, which seemed to stab his own flesh deep inside of him.

"That's what I want to do for you Clay. You're older now so it's not split open heads or scratched knees. I want to protect you from having your heart broken because that's pain I can't heal with a bandage or stitches. Do you understand now why I'm so protective of you Clay?"

"I do" were the two small words that fell from the man’s mouth, as they turned around a corner and onto the highway, he understood now.

"I'm sorry Mom. I shouldn't have been so upset. It’s just," he paused for a few seconds, thinking of what to say next, “I really like him. I’ll risk the pain for all the happiness he gives me” he swallowed hard after that, eyes wandering over to his baby boy, who was looking up at him.

"Why don't you call him? Tell him to meet us at the hospital? I'm sure Daniel would like to see him" she was right. Sapnap and George didn't even know about what had happened yet.

Quickly he grabs his phone from his pocket, dialing the top number which of course, was George's.

After a few rings the brunet answered, a cheerful "Hello" bouncing into Dream's ear, his aching heart fluttering slightly in his chest.

"George,-"

"Oh hey, did your mother finally decide to leave? What did she wanna talk about?" George laughed and Dream could hear Sapnap giggling in the background.

"Sorry that we dipped like that but you know, me and your mum don't really get on-"

"George" the blond shakely interrupted, urgency lining his words.

"What's going on? Is everything okay?" The brunet asked, and for some reason the worried tone from the man and trying to explain what happened made fresh tears slide down his cheek, the sobs being audible through the microphone.

"Hey, hey honey." George tried to calm the tears before he went on "Tell me what's going on? Did something happen?"

A particularly loud sob made the woman in the front of the car pull some tissues from the compartment next to her, handing them to the backseat for her son to dry his tears.

"I- I was having- an argument with-with m-my mom, and Daniel fell. He hit his head, George there was so much blood," once the words left his mouth he felt better, he didn't know why but he did slightly, the tears and sobs slowing as George responded.

"What? I-Is he okay? Are you going to the hospital? Which hospital, we'll meet you there" George's worry made his splintered heart pull together just a little more, he wiped a tear as he answered "We're going to Orlando health center, the one we were at when Sapnap broke his finger, remember?"

"We'll be there as soon as we can, yeah? And Clay? I love you. Give Daniel a hug from me." Dream's breath stalled in his throat for just a second, a quiet "I love you too" and "I will" falling from his lips before he heard beeps from his phone.

Thankfully they lived fairly close to the hospital, so after about 20 minutes, which felt like hours to the blond, they arrived in the hospital's parking lot, driving as close as possible to the emergency room entrance.

Dream instantly opened the door, before unbuckling his now whining child from his seat, setting him against his hip and stepping out of the car.

He entered the building in a hurry, his mother closing up the car and following right behind him.

With quick paced steps he reaches the front desk, a woman in scrubs, a nurse he assumes, looks up at them and the now dried blood all over Daniel's face.

"Oh my, what happened to this little fella" she spoke softly to the blond and the woman now standing behind him, Daniel starting to cry as he picked at the wound on his head.

"He fell and hit his head on the coffee table, my mom thinks he'll need stitches" he spoke fast and without taking a breath, panic very audible still in his shaky tone.

"Okay honey," she was talking to Dream, placing a calming hand on his arm, noticing the dried tears under his wet eyes, "We'll have a doctor check him out in just a moment, here this room is free" she pushed back the curtains of one of the closest rooms, the blonds walking into it, Dream placing the infant onto the bed, his hand sliding over his body in an attempt to soothe him.

"I heard someone hit his head on the coffee table?" A weirdly cheery voice sounded as the curtain moved a few minutes after they entered. It was a young doctor with a huge smile on her lips.

"I'm doctor Smith, I'm a pediatrician, I'm assuming you’re the father?" She asks as she steps closer to shake Dream's hand, the man standing from where he was sat.

"Yes, yes I'm his father, and this is my mother, his grandmother" he pointed at her as he explained.

"Alrighty, how old is this little one here?" The doctor bent down over the boy, the baby's tears having stopped, a small wooden stick in his hand to distract him from the pain.

"He's ten months old, eleven in a week" he held his boy's hand as the doctor flashed a light into his eyes and examined the cut.

"Was he ever unconscious or did he throw up?" She asks questions, to which Dream shakes his head.

"Very well. It looks like it's just a superficial wound but I would still like to keep him here for a few hours for observation." The woman continues on, taking off her surgical gloves and standing from the rolling chair she had sat on.

"I'll send in a nurse to stitch up that wound" she calls as she closes the curtain faster than Dream can even thank her.

Another few minutes and the nurse from the front desk walks in, blue gloves already on her fingers, she smiles at Dream and his mom.

"Okay, dad you get on the bed and hold him, he's not gonna like this and it'll be harder to do if he's wiggling about" Dream nodded and does as he's told, picking up his infant son and with him together sitting down in the bed, holding him tight.

The process of watching his tiny baby get a needle poked into his sensitive little head was hard for him to watch, so he closed his eyes and just held the baby, screaming in his arms, whispering words of love into his ears to calm the boy and himself down.

Once finished, the nurse put a cute bandaid over the stitches, and told them to have a pediatrician take them out in a week or so, when the cut was healed a bit nicer.

He thanked her repeatedly as he stood from the bed and danced around with the bay on his arm, trying to get the boy to calm and maybe even take a nap to give him and the adults around a break for a bit.

The infant was generous, and just a few minutes after getting stitches into his head he dozed off in his father's arms, one thumb in mouth and the other holding onto Dream's shirt with a tight grip.

He placed the baby into the bed and spread the blanket up to his chin to keep him warm and comfy.

"You have some visitors" the friendly front desk nurse stuck her head through the curtains and whispered, before George and Sapnap walked in, worried looks on their faces.

"Hey, so sorry we took so long, how's he doing?" George was the first to speak, running into the blond's arms and pressing him tightly, standing on his toes to reach his lips, pressing a quick peck to them before diving back into the hug.

"He's doing okay, had to get a few stitches but other than that he's fine. They wanna keep him here for a few hours to monitor if anything happens." He finishes his explanation by adding a quiet and soft "Oh George I'm so happy you're here" grabbing the man's fingers in his as the tears start to flow again.

"Sapnap, how about you and me go and find out where the cafeteria is? I'm starving" Dream's mother directed at the other man in the room, who hadn't said anything, just staring around the dark room, leaning against the wall.

"Sure" he says watching Dream's heavy sobs into George's shoulder and the brunet patting his back in comfort, they needed their alone time right now, they both knew that.

Once they were gone, Dream pulled back from George, the brunet man looking up into his teary red eyes, his hand placed on the taller’s cheek, rubbing comforting circles in the wet skin, as more tears rolled down his face.

"I'm such a horrible father" the other sobbed, looking again at his poor son, who had to endure what must have been incredible pain, because he didn't pay attention, because he was too upset to save him from his injury and all that came with it.

"Hey hey, look at me. You are not a horrible father, do you hear me?" He pushed the blond backwards and into a chair, forcing him to sit down.

"Accidents happen, and you can't always prevent them. He couldn't have a better dad." He rubbed the man's thighs, squating on the floor, connecting eyes up with the man that looked to be wrestling with his thoughts.

After a few seconds of silence, he quietly spoke up.

"He could have you" his tears had slowed but his voice still shook as he whispered the words.

"What?" The brunet asked merely a breath, it was that quiet.

"He could have you, as a father" the blond continued.

"What do you mean?" The brunet was starting to understand. He needed to hear it from the man's mouth himself to truly believe what he was suggesting here.

"George, will you adopt Daniel?" Dream spoke and after you could have heard a pin drop. It didn't take long until water rose into George's coffee brown eyes, filling them with tears as he stammered on his answer.

"Are you sure about this?" Dream nodded.

"Nothing in the world would make me happier" the tears were flowing hot and wet down his face as he jumped up and into Dream's arms, holding him tight with the biggest smiles on their faces.

The baby next to them, still peacefully sleeping, turned around and mumbled something that sounded an awful lot like dada. Maybe he understood what was happening after all.

Chapter Text

Dream's eyes fly over the ceiling lazily, he felt the little child crawl and climb around on his chest, guiding his gaze down to the boy. To his boy, his son who was about to turn one.

One year of sleepless nights, of wearing the same shirt for seemingly weeks on end without showering, one year of good and bad, of painful and beautiful moments. One year of Daniel.

But most of all, one year of love, one year of being a family, one year of having a purpose, one year of loving his son.

Being a dad had changed Dream in the best way he ever thought it could. Being a dad had made him a better person and he knew that the second the nurse had placed his freshly baked bundle of joy in his arms, almost exactly one year ago today.

The child on his chest giggles deeply as he slaps his hands to the side of the blond's face. Dream leans forward slightly, pressing loving smooches to his small cheeks making him laugh even louder.

He rolls himself over, the little one in his arm still chuckling at how silly his dad is.

Daniel was now laying with his back to the mattress, Dream holding himself over the boy, just watching his adorable features as he smiles and laughs.

The baby let go of a big yawn, the few tiny teeth in his mouth poking through his gums visible.

"You tired my big boy?" Dream asks as he strokes over the baby's face, another yawn creeping over his features.

The man inspects the watch on his wrist, the illuminated numbers showing that it was already past midnight, meaning the child below him was not a baby any longer, he was a toddler now, a one year old. His one year old.

"This happens when you don't wanna sleep at bedtime buddy" he tickles the boy's nose, bright chuckles lighting up the room, and when Dream hears his son laughing, nothing can put a damper on his mood.

The boy babbles and lifts his small feet to his head, accidentally kicking his dad's chin on the way up, the blond playfully huffing at the baby, and quickly picking him up, it seemed they both had too much energy this late at night.

He throws the child up into the air a few times, catching the giggling baby perfectly, until a loud knock at the door disrupts their rhythm of throwing and catching.

"Yeah?" Dream asks as he settles the baby at his hip, his other hand moving to the cold doorknob and pulling it open to a tired George and a very grumpy looking Sapnap.

"What the hell are you doing?" the smaller brunet huffed, hand rubbing over his right eye. He looked creepy in the dark hallway, standing with his long robe, the small night light from Dream's room, throwing flimmering shadows onto his features.

George stepped forward, laying a firm hand on Sapnap's shoulder, a sign for him to step back.

"Dream, why is he still awake?" The taller of the two asked, taking another step closer and scooping the child from Dream's hip, the boy clapping, obviously happy to see his "dada" and uncle Sapnap.

"Well he wouldn't sleep so we stayed up a bit" Dream knew it was wrong of him to have kept Daniel up so long. These past months, they had worked so hard to get Daniel on a good sleep schedule so they could all get their much needed rest, he had probably just made a lot of that work useless and would very likely face repercussions from it in the nights to come.

"It's almost one a.m. Dream" George said in a stern tone, eyebrows raised, both of them watching as Sapnap sighed loudly and walked back to his room, slamming the door. The man was obviously upset at his beauty-sleep being interrupted. The taller brunet shouted a quick "goodnight" into the direction in which Sapnap had just disappeared, before focusing his attention back on the blond in front of him.

"I'm sorry. I'll put him down right now. You go back to bed, I'll handle it" the blond apologised, making a movement over to the man and his boy, as if he were to grab him back to his chest again.

"No, no, Dream, you look like you haven't slept in days. You should go to bed, I can't sleep anyways." The brunet argues, the boy's small hand wrapped around one of his fingers, the skin soft on his own.

"George no it's alright, I'll get him to bed, you go and sleep, you deserve it" the blond stepped forward and pressed the brunet into his side, the baby being squeezed just slightly between their chests, babbling and giggling at this new position.

"I'm not taking no for an answer, Clay. Either I put him down, or we do it together. I have to make sure you actually do it" he laughed slightly as Dream pulled him in even further, connecting their lips in a few quick kisses before Daniel got upset and started fussing.

The blond sighed, but smiled and stepped back a few steps, reluctantly nodding to George's proposal of putting the boy to bed together.

"Fine," he gives in, wiping a stray strand of light brown hair from Daniel's forehead, a smile gliding over his lips as he did the same with one of George's locks.

Together they walked down the long staircase, the taller turning on the light in the living room, as George sat down on the couch, placing the baby on his lap.

"He doesn't seem tired at all" George muttered as he watched the boy squirm and giggle against his chest, a drop of spit making its way down one of his small hands, which he had stuck in his mouth.

"I told you. I tried getting him to sleep earlier but he just wouldn't settle down" the blond pet a gentle hand over the back of the boy's head, feeling the soft strings against his fingertips, it was a texture that couldn't compare to anything, not even George's silk-like hair could compete.

"It's like he knows it's a special day" George murmured, carefully watching the little features pull to a smile, once again showing off his small white teeth poking from his gums.

"Yes you do huh? You know it's your birthday don't you sweetie?" George bent lower so he was on the same eye level as the baby, making him giggle with his silly tone and facial expressions.

"He's got your smarts," Dream laughed as he sat next to both of his boys, watching as George turned his head towards him, eyes turning significantly as he let go of a sigh of hot air.

"I don't think it works like that" the brunet laughed as he hugged the baby just a little tighter to his chest, pressing a kiss to the back of his head, sniffing and revelling in the soft baby scent, wondering how long he would have until it faded. He hoped it would stay forever.

Dream hummed, the three sitting in a comfortable silence for a bit, the tranquillity only being interrupted by calm breaths and quiet coos from the baby still sitting in George's lap.

"Sometimes, I wish he was mine." George hushes, "you know, biologically" he adds as he sees Dream's mouth open. It felt like something he couldn't say in the same volume as any basic smalltalk, it was real and honest, an intimate detail about him and Daniel's relationship he wasn't sure he would ever share with the boy's father.

"You do?" The blond asked, having also adjusted his tone to fit the mood and topic of their conversation.

George nods. Picking up a small toy from the coffee table and handing it to the baby who had started to fuss in his arms, the silence and the few whispered words in the room not stimulating enough to keep him occupied.

"I mean," the blond started, taking a second to formulate his thoughts into an actual sentence, "my offer still stands." He eyed the floor as he said the words, hands rubbing against one another nervously.

"I said I'd think about it" George whispered, eyes focused on something and yet nothing at the same time, seemingly staring into an empty void.

"I'm just saying. He'd be yours, officially. Not biologically of course, but legally, he'd be your son" the blond explained, scooting closer against the brunet's back, body untensing as he felt the other's head touch his shoulder.

"I know." He said. and with that last word, the topic was done, and they both knew it.

As the comfortable silence settled back over the room, the baby began to whine. He was overtired and cranky, maybe some of the tension between his dads had rubbed off onto him.

"Oh buddy, it's okay" the brunet whispered, standing from where he was sat on the couch, bouncing a bit with the child on his arm, the boy fussing even more, the blond quickly getting up and taking the baby into his arms to try and console him.

"I think he might be hungry" Dream stated, George nodding and hurrying to the kitchen, the blond following behind him with the baby on his hip, still heavily swaying his body from side to side trying to soothe him.

"I know buddy." He pressed a kiss to the now screaming child's temple, "Daddy is already making you a bottle, see?" He pointed at George who was stretching his arm up high to reach one of the child's bottles, pulling the almost empty packet of formula off the shelf below and adding a few spoons of the white powder into the colourful bottle.

He quickly lifted the water cooker, emptying the water still in it from their last use, holding it under the running faucet before closing the lid and placing it back on the counter, pressing a small lever on the side to bring it to a boil.

"Almost done sweetie," George calls over the sound of hot water pouring into the powder in the baby's bottle, big puffy red eyes watching the man's every move.

"He can't have it yet, it's still too warm" George hummed, shaking the bottle to mix the water and powder into one mixture.

"Okay, I'll get him a fruit pouch so he doesn't wake up the whole neighbourhood." The blond called, already on his way over to the pantry, bouncing the child up and down with every step, slowly managing to calm the wailing baby in his arms, only occasional sniffles remaining when they reached the cupboard.

"Here you go honey," Dream muttered as he unscrewed the top of a yellow and green pouch and handed it to the boy, still bouncing and swaying his body, to keep him calm, free hand wiping over his face, trying to get rid of spilled tears and spit.

"Okay the bottle is gonna be done in a bit, let's go back upstairs," George had joined the two in the hallway, bottle held tightly in his hand as he first pressed a kiss to Daniel's head, before moving on to Dream's cheek.

"Alright, here you wanna take him?" The blond asked, George nodding and gently lifting the boy from Dream's arms, handing the bottle over to the blond, who continued shaking it, walking up the stairs behind the older man holding the baby.

"I know buddy. You'll get your bottle in just a few minutes sweetie," Dream hushed the baby, the little eyes staring over the brunet's shoulder, watering with a few quiet squeals and cries, still suckling on the apple banana pouch Dream had given him, the snack seeming to calm him down.

"I think he needs a new diaper," George stated once back in the blond's bedroom, lifting the boy up to his nose and sniffing his bottom, quickly pulling his face away as the stench hit his nose.

"Let's get you changed, huh sweetie? Huh?" he smiled at the child in his arms, a few steps moving the two of them over to the changing table, placing the boy on it and starting to take off his pants, the brunet's silliness calming Daniel and even making him giggle slightly.

"You are such a cutie aren't you? Yes you are, yes you are," George cooed down to the boy in baby babble, Daniel laughing loudly as his dirty diaper was changed for a new, clean one.

"There we go honey, all done," he pulled the boy up so he was standing on the changing table, holding his hands and arms, so that if he fell he'd be able to catch him easily.

"You're the cutie," a voice in the background made the brunet turn around, the blond laying in the large bed, bottle in hand and eyes fixed on the man who was now walking over to him with his son.

"And you're an idiot," the man muttered, bending down and pressing a gentle kiss on the blond's lips, handing the child over to Dream before climbing into the other side of the bed.

"Hey Daniel, are you ready to have some milkies?" George said in a silly voice, the blond turning to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Who's the idiot now?" He laughed, causing George to roll his eyes.

"Here buddy," Dream scooted up against the bed's headrest, the baby comfortably laying down with his head in the crook of his arm, making grabby hands for the bottle filled with milk, eyes fluttering closed once he tasted the sweet milk mixture.

Seeing his son tiredly snuggle up in his grasp, he couldn't help reminiscing back to when he was just born, so tiny he would drown in his arms, sleeping for most of the day, taking up all the newborn snuggles he could while being so exhausted he barely ate all day.

"What are you thinking?" George whispered, leaning into his side, head placed gently against his shoulder, having noticed the blond's face, which held a tint of painful thoughtfulness.

"I just can't believe he's one already." He responded, voice quiet and cracking slightly, "I mean I still remember when we got home from the hospital like it was yesterday," he couldn't stop the tears welling in his eyes. His son growing up was a good thing of course, but it also meant he had to say goodbye to the past, to his tiny little baby boy that screamed when he wasn't held 24/7, the tiny thing that fit in newborn clothes the size of his hand.

"Time really flies doesn't it?" George mumbled, hand flying up to Dream's face, nonchalantly drying the wetness of his tears, before moving up and petting his hair, watching the baby gulp his milk tiredly.

Dream just nodded slowly, spoken words would surely send him over the edge of a nervous breakdown. He didn't want to wake the boy any more, so he just nodded.

"Hey, that's not a bad thing though," the brunet hushed as he watched the blond fight his tears with all his might.

"You remember how hard it was right?" He added, also remembering back to the first few months of Daniel's life, sleepless nights and shirts covered in throw up, the memories sitting side by side in his brain with the beautiful moments, moments of love and joy, of milestones and growth, of change and adjustment.

"He’s gonna be talking soon. I mean hell he’s almost walking, it’s not much longer and he’ll be running around the place.“ George laughed, guiding his hand from Dream's to the boy’s face, petting over the skin and pushing the light brown locks from the baby’s forehead, imagining how he’d be in just a few months, wobbling on his tiny legs while slurring nonsensical words. He was thinking about their future together, his and Dream and Daniel's future, a future in which they would all be together.

"I’ll do it,“ he called suddenly into the silent room, only the small suckles of the baby and his bottle audible, the blond’s head turning to him.

"I’ll adopt him. I want to be his dad, forever.“ he added and Dream’s smile basically fell off his face it was so large, the tears finally breaking free and making their way down his skin, muttering „I love you, I love you so much,“ while plastering kisses and smooches all over his features. Both of them were feeling a pure emotional explosion of joy and loss, excitement and fear of something unknown.

They fell into a comfortable silence, quiet breathing interrupted by the boy’s bottle emptying, a gentle plop noise as Dream pulled it from his mouth and placed it next to him on the nightstand, the boy squirming and fussing only slightly, the man being able to soothe him again.

The blond held and rocked his son back to sleep before laying him down on the fluffy mattress between him and the brunet. The two scooted lower, heads placed on soft pillows before admiring the little baby, listening to his soft snores and tiny whimpers.

"He looks so cute like that,“ George whispered, sliding a finger over the bridge of the boy's nose, gently smiling at the blond, who was partially hidden by the baby’s head.

"He’s always cute“ Dream hummed, smiling back, the tiredness setting into his bones now that the baby was asleep, a large yawn flew across his face, and George nodded, placing his hand on Daniel's stomach, feeling his body move with every breath, Dream smiling as he laid his larger hand on George's, petting his skin gently.

"Happy birthday Daniel," George whispered, smiling wide.

Laying like that, feeling their son's beating heart and his deep breaths and his snores while their hands connected, they finally fell asleep, thoughts of their future together easing them into an easy and comfortable slumber.