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Dream never really understood George’s relationship with his parents. He knew it wasn’t a good one - the number of times George had shown up on his doorstep after dark after a fight with his parents was too many to count.
He’d asked George once, what was going on. They’d gotten permission from Dream’s parents to camp out in the Dream’s backyard, and the two boys were laying side by side, staring up at the clouds floating over the moon.
“George, you’d...you’d tell me if anything really bad was going on, right?”
George shifts slightly. “Why are you asking?”
Dream rolls his eyes. “You know what I’m talking about, with your parents, idiot. You’d tell me if they’re abusive or shit, right?”
It’s quiet except the chirping of crickets and George’s soft exhale. “They’re not abusive, we...we just don’t get along.”
“What do you mean, you don’t-“
“I don’t want to talk about it, Dream.”
And that was it.
Except for one day, several months later, after school.
“You wanna grab something from the store before we meet Sapnap?” Dream asked, looking back at George.
“I guess,” George answered slowly, and Dream huffed.
“What do you mean, ‘I guess’? You’ve been acting weird all day, what’s going on.”
“You’re acting weird,” George halfheartedly retorted, then sighed. “I dunno. I got an idea.”
“Okayy, let’s hear it.” Dream jogged in place, clearly impatient.
“...Fake dating to piss my parents off.”
“That’s a terrible idea George,” Dream answered instinctively, then abruptly stopping jogging. “Wait, fake dating who?”
George looked away, hoisting his bad further onto his shoulder and walking away from the school. “You, idiot.”
Dream stared at him, mouth open. “Me - what?”
He saw George shrug from the behind. “You’re my best friend Dream. Plus, my parents hate you.”
“Everyone loves me,” Dream retorted, rolling his eyes, then sighed. “Fine, I’ll do it.”
“Wait, really?”
“Just don’t be weird about it,” Dream added, laughing as George shoved him.
And so the fake dating began.
“Are we going to kiss?” Dream asked out of the blue, then quickly backtracked. “Like are we going to kiss ever, in this fake dating thing.”
“...What?” George clearly wasn’t paying attention, a textbook open on his lap and papers and binders strewn around him.
Dream threw the ping pong ball he found under George’s bed and watched it bounce off George’s shoulder. “Are we -“
“No, I heard you.” George paused. “I don’t know, maybe in front of my parents?”
And that’s how Dream found himself trying not to stare at George’s lips as he quickly tied his shoes on, feeling his neck prickle from the weight of George’s mom’s stare.
“Okay, bye George,” Dream said, standing up, and with only a seconds hesitation he leaned in and kissed him. The kiss lasted only a second before he pulled back, heart pounding, made quick temporary eye contact with George before turning around and dashing down the steps to the sidewalk. “Love you!”
Gogy: that was perfect my parents were so mad
Dream: so ur just using me to make ur parents mad
Gogy: well yeah
Dream: so u didn’t like our kiss that hurts :pensive: i thought u loved me
Gogy: shut up don’t be weird
Gogy: I’m going to bed goodnight
Dream: goodnight gogy my beloved :)
sapnap: so ur telling me you guys kissed
dream: just in front of his mom to piss her off
sapnap: i dunno dude it sounds kinda weird
sapnap: like how long is this going to go on for
dream: til he tells me to stop I guess
sapnap: dude your such a simp
dream: no i’m not he’s my friend
sapnap: so you’d do it for me
dream: yeah of course
sapnap: okay then
sapnap: dream, kiss me
dream: no ew
sapnap: ....
sapnap: again
sapnap: s i m p
School went out for the summer, came back into session, and Dream and George’s fake relationship was still going strong. By the time Halloween rolled around, they’d gone on dates and kissed so many times that it felt like second nature. To others too, it must have seemed natural, since several of their oldest friends (and family members) often forgot they weren’t dating.
For example Dream’s mom.
“Dream, come here, sit with me.”
“What, mom,” Dream flops down on the couch.
“I just want you to know, okay, that I’ll love you no matter what and you can tell me anything, okay?”
Dream frowns. “Wait is this about George? Mom, we’re just friends, it’s a joke.”
“I didn’t say this was about anything specific, Clay. You’re the one who brought him up. Just know I will always love you.”
Or Drista.
“Wait, so do you like....actually like him?”
“We’re just friends, dumbass.”
“I don’t know about you, but that’s not what i do with my friends.”
“It’s fake dating, okay. Plus you have weird friends anyway.”
“You really think you can beat the world record?” George lifted an eyebrow.
“Yes, a hundred percent,” Dream answered confidently, leaning back in the patio chair as he propped his feet into George’s lap.
“You’re such a nerd - get your gross feet off of me,” George wrinkled his nose and pushed Dream’s feet off his lap.
“You love my feet,” Dream said, wiggling his eyebrows band internally grinning as George wrinkled his nose up further. “You love me,” he continued, half singing the words.
“Stop it,” George responded, but there was no real heat behind the words.
“Say it, you love me.”
George rolled his eyes. “Fine. Dream, I - love you.”
Dream smirked, not missing the way George’s cheeks were a light shade of pink. They sat in silence on the porch for a bit, letting the breeze ruffle their hair, until George abruptly leaned in and kissed Dream. Being used to this by now, Dream kissed back, ignoring the rush of warmth in his chest. He waited for George to pull back, and when he did, Dream leaned in. “Who was it?”
“What?” George looked unusually flustered, and Dream internally frowned before repeating his question.
“Oh, I uh, think it was a family friend of me something,” George said, running his fingers through his hair.
Dream let the matter drop, but later that night he kept thinking about it. Was there really someone there? And why did he like the thought of George wanting to kiss him of his own accord?