Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Stress. 

That’s the only thing that feels consistent in his life. The stress of everything. 

Before, it was the stress of secondary school. All the classes and unforgiving teachers and the endless amounts of homework that seemed to get backed up no matter how hard he worked. 

Then it was the stress from Uni, which was similar to secondary school, but had the pressure of being a new adult stacked on top. 

Trying to manage classes and work along with scheduling appointments, getting a job, and looking for an affordable flat felt like it was too much. 

But oh lord was he wrong. 

The workload may have lessened since he completed Uni, but the stress felt even worse. 

He had more sparetime and could actually indulge in his hobbies, but he felt guilty. 

Sometimes, George regrets listening to Dream. Sometimes he wishes he had just taken a coding job and silently supported his friends. 

Sometimes all he wants is for the constant pressure from being an “online influencer” to go away. To just vanish and let him exist. 

But it won’t. 

He knows this. 

George takes a break for one day and suddenly there’s rumours he’s died, which always makes him question whether he’s actually alive or not. 

Or the rumours are that he’s gone to Florida, which only makes him sad that he’s stuck in London for another month. 

The worst is when it’s an issue and he doesn’t say anything or chooses to mind his own business. 

Then he’s apparently racist, or homophobic, or antisemetic, or whatever Twitter has to say. 

It’s too much. 

George groaned as he slammed his forehead onto the desk. Why is editing so difficult?

It takes too long and it’s so tedious. Cutting out five seconds because he laughed too long or having to mute a part of the audio because of Sapnap’s profanity, why is it so much?

George practically shoved the mouse away, not caring when it hit the wall and bounced back. 

His head felt like it was the weight of a bowling ball and throbbed with every motion. 

His chest was tight and it was getting harder to breathe. 

He couldn’t move, but he had to. 

‘Call someone ’ his brain said. ‘Call Dream. ’

“No,” he whispered, attempting to shut down his thoughts. 

But…

Should he?

I mean, what would be the harm in calling up one of his best friends, probably the person he’s closest to, and dumping all his mental baggage onto him like he’s some sort of therapist. 

Yeah…

Bad idea…

But what if he just texted?

Then Dream wouldn’t see or hear the state he’s in, and he can still talk. 

Slowly, he lifted his head. The pain was excruciating, pulsing in his skull like his brain was a time bomb ready to blow. 

His phone wasn’t too far away, just on the edge of his desk. Reaching it shouldn’t take much effort, yet the physical pain he felt, along with the simultaneous emotional emptiness and overstimulation made the task feel as difficult as running a marathon in ten minutes. 

George pushed himself up and flopped back in his chair, feeling limp as a rag doll, before opening up his phone and quickly switching to his messages with Dream. 

You: hey Dream

The reply was almost instant. 

Dream: hey Gogy

His chest tightened, winding up like a rubber band. 

You: can we talk for a bit? I don’t feel like editing

Dream: sure! Just lemme get my discord set

Oh fuck, no no no-

You: can we just text? I don’t feel like calling either 

Dream: is something wrong?

Yes

You: no, just don’t wanna call

Lies 

Dream: are you sure?

No, he is absolutely not sure. His skin is three sizes too small for his body and he has a melon for a head. 

You: I’m fine

Dream: are you not okay but don’t wanna talk about it?

He knows

You: Dream, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. I just don’t feel like talking out loud right now 

There was a pause. 

It couldn’t have been for more than two minutes, but it felt like it went on for a century. What started as stress has morphed into a panic attack. Breath came in short bursts and George felt the need to cry, but he didn’t have the ability to. 

He dropped his phone on the desk and pulled his legs up to his chest, palms buried in his face and shoulders hunched over. 

Hot. Cold. Loud. Quiet. 

Bzzz

His head shot up. 

Slowly, George uncurled one of his arms and picked up his phone. 

Dream. 

Dream: what’re you doing? I’ve just been listening to music 

Deep breath. In, and out. 

Everything’s fuzzy. Head felt like it’s stuffed with cotton.  

You: editing 

It was all he could manage before it started. The tears that were previously blocked pooled in his eyes and slowly began trailing down his face. 

He needed to get out of the chair. It’s supposed to be comfortable, but right now it was pushing against his legs and back in a way that felt overwhelming. 

George removed his other arm from his legs and practically melted off the chair to the floor. His legs felt like jello, like they’d go limp if he put any weight on them. 

‘ Heh, you’re pathetic…’

And why shouldn’t he think so? He’s a twenty-four year old grown man crying on the floor without the ability to use his legs at the moment. 

He didn’t look up when his phone vibrated. He didn’t move from his spot for a while, just let himself lay on the floor and silently cry. 

Where’d this event come from? He was fine a moment ago, just editing. 

It didn’t stop. 

It can’t stop. 

Tears just kept coming and coming, spilling out of his eyes and streaming down his cheeks. He’d wipe them away, only for them to immediately be replaced within half a second. 

‘Too much’

His phone vibrated again, but he almost couldn’t feel it. Just a small tickle against his arm. 

Too much and too little at once. 

‘ Go away go away, just everything go away!’

He doesn’t remember passing out. 

He doesn’t remember throwing his phone. 

He doesn’t remember hearing Dream’s ringtone from across the room. 

He doesn’t remember any of this. 

But he does remember waking up. 

George groaned as he opened his eyes. Clearly he wasn’t in his bed, it’s too hard. 

The view of the wires under his desk was confirmation of his place on the floor. 

‘ What the-‘

Bits and pieces started coming back. 

Sobbing on the ground, texting Dream for a bit, editing. But the rest was blurry, he couldn’t make it out.

Dream. 

Shit. 

George pushed himself off the floor. 

His head was stuffy. George made a note to get some water after he checked his phone. 

Where is it? 

Why is it next to the door?

He picked the device from the ground and checked for cracks, luckily spotting none. 

Next was looking at the messages. 

His heart nearly dropped. 

Dream: ugh, that’s not fun 

Dream: what video?

Dream: hey, you still there?

Dream: George?

Missed call from Dream

Dream: I’m assuming either your phone died or you went to bed. Text me when you can okay?

You: sorry! My phone died

More lies…

He stuck the device in his pocket and left the room. 

Water and maybe some painkillers. 

~

After last night, George thought that was it. 

He’d gotten his emotions out of the way and he could move on with his life. Right?

Wrong. 

Very wrong. 

It would have been fine if he was editing or even recording his own video. It would have been, except he wasn’t. 

He was on Quackity’s stream. His live stream. Being broadcasted to over 70,000 people. 

Of course now his brain decided to be stressed. 

It didn’t help that Quackity was yelling so much. Jackbox really brought out all the noise and chaos, which is normally not an issue, but now…

“What the fuck is that?!” Quackity yelled as a drawing popped up on screen. 

“I call it, nipple shield,” Dream said, matter-of-factly. 

“The problem is ‘my nipples are always cold’ so here’s my solution.”

Quackity burst into laughter, the others in the stream (Tommy, Karl, and Tubbo) joined him. 

George nearly took off his headphones, it was so loud. 

He nervously joined in with the laughter so as not to raise suspicion. 

“Dream, you’re an idiot,” he muttered. 

This brought a chuckle from Dream. 

The screen turned blue and showed a few words. 

‘Fuck it’s my turn.’

George tapped his phone and the prompt popped up. 

“I have trouble seeing your stupid face,” he read. 

“So, I’ve come up with…”

The drawing appeared. 

As best he could do. A stick man with a box on its head. 

“Box.”

Pause for effect. 

“Can’t see with it over your head.”

The game clapped, but no one else did. 

No one said anything about it, just moved right on into Tubbo’s turn. 

Did he do something wrong? Even a negative reaction or a “what the fuck” from Quackity or Tommy would have been better than this. 

The silence was the worst thing that could have happened. 

Them talking was too loud, but he wanted them to talk to him, to react to his picture, to just say something to him. 

George tuned out the stream, staring blankly as Tommy showed a picture of what looked like a gun, talking loudly. 

His chest started feeling tight again, only growing tighter as he began to panic. 

George quickly hit the mute key and threw off his headphones. He covered his ears and hunched over, trying to bury his head between his knees. 

Panicked gasps and sobs broke through the silence of the room. Hearing them made it worse, made him feel pathetic and weak. But he couldn’t take deep breaths, or even normal breaths. All he could do was gasp for air like a fish on land. 

He clawed at his skin, trying to both peel it away and pull it closer. 

Too much. Feels wrong. Tight. Too much. Too much!

He stayed like that for a while, not sure how long, but long enough for the stream to end. By the time he gathered himself and caught his breath, he was alone in the call. 

Alone. 

That’s exactly how he felt. 

Alone. 

Chapter Text

Bzzz

Ugh, who’s texting at three in the morning?

George felt awful. 

His head would throb every fifteen seconds, whether he was moving or not. His throat was dry despite drinking multiple glasses of water. Clothes felt like too much but his skin was too sensitive to go bare. 

Despite this, he rolled over to his side and grabbed his phone from the nightstand. The screen cast its soft glow in the dark of the room, the notification ready to be opened. 

George smiled. 

Of course it’s Dream. 

Dream: are you okay? 

‘No, no I’m not …’

George entered the passcode and opened his messages. 

So many unopened messages. 

All of them asked the same thing. Asking if he was okay, if something was wrong, if he needed to talk. 

But the only one he cared about was Dream’s. 

You: no

Regret flooded his body as the screen displayed ‘ seen’ under the text. He should have just lied again. 

Dream: wanna talk about it?

Did he? 

Kind of.

He wanted to tell Dream everything that’s going on in his mind. That editing caused him to break down last night, that he felt more stressed now than he had ever felt, how Twitter treated him. 

Fuck. 

Twitter. 

What are they even saying?

You: kinda? Not really sure how to start 

George’s throat tightened, the lump he’d begun to grow familiar with making itself known. 

Dream: last night?

You: sure, why not 

He paused. How was he gonna explain this without Dream thinking he’s going crazy? 

It was a few minutes before he started typing. 

You: I got stressed out

‘There,’ George though. ‘ Not a lie.’ 

Dream: is that why you messaged me?

You: yeah, I needed a break

Oh it was so much more than that. George knew Dream could probably tell that he was hiding something. 

Sure enough, the next message confirmed it. 

Dream: and when you stopped? Did something happen?

Once again, George felt his eyes start to water, vision blurring slightly. Something did happen, something that made him feel like a pathetic excuse of a man. 

He’s stuck for words again. 

What’s he supposed to say? That he broke down while editing because it was taking too long and cried himself to sleep on the floor like a baby?

You: yeah

George was split between two thoughts. The first being that he was grateful he could have this conversation through text so Dream wouldn’t see him like this. Yet the other was desperately yearning to be next to his friend. He wanted to lean into Dream’s chest and let himself be held and comforted. 

The conflicting thoughts made the tears a little faster, a little stronger. 

He needed Dream.

Who cares if he’s a mess. 

You: can you call? I need you right now

Dream didn’t reply, but almost as soon as the seen showed beneath George’s message, the familiar ringtone came from the speakers. 

George hit accept and held the device to his ear. 

“Hey George,” Dream’s voice said softly. 

His voice. 

“Hi,” George replied, cringing at how shaky his voice was. 

Dream picked up on that instantly. 

“Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

He cared.

For some reason, that was the final straw, and George broke down again. 

“I dunno,” he whispered, quiet sobs following. 

Dream didn’t say anything for a moment, but George didn’t feel alone. He held the phone close to his chest and grabbed his pillow to hug. If he tried, maybe he could imagine it was Dream. 

Eventually, George broke the silence. 

“‘S too much.”

“What is?” Dream asked gently. “What’s too much?”

“Everything. I’m, I’m tired of people a-and I’m tired of editing taking so long, and I’m tired of…” he trailed off, half cut off by another sob. 

George pulled the pillow closer to him, as close as he could get it. He curled his body around it and attempted to bury himself deep inside. 

“I need. I-I need-“ 

“What do you need?” Dream prompted. 

Somehow it didn’t seem prying or forceful. Only a gentle nudge to clarify. 

“I don’ know… I need-“

‘ I need you.’

“Dream, I just-“

He couldn’t get the words out. His brain was beginning to fail him. It felt like it was going foggy, mushy, sort of thick. 

Not in a painful sort of way, but not a nice feeling either. 

“D’eam…”

He heard a soft sigh come over the phone. 

“I’m here, I’m right here George.”

What is this? 

What’s happening? Why is George’s body feeling like he’s on a cloud, yet also like a thousand kilograms were piled on top of his chest. 

What is this intense feeling of emptiness? It’s much stronger than the usual empty feeling, this is something different. 

“D’eam? W’nt you,” he whispered, words slurring together. 

George was starting to panic. He felt alone, abandoned. Fear caused his breathing to grow uneven, hyperventilating. What is this? 

“D’eam?” The only word he could think of. Was he gone?

“Whoa, okay, calm down. Take a deep breath, deep breaths okay?”

Dream. That was Dream. He didn’t leave. 

George tried to. He tried to listen and take a deep breath like Dream said. He tried, but it was cut short and shaky. 

“I can’t, ‘s not wo’king!” 

It’s hard to breathe, hard to speak. 

“Breathe with me, breathe with me okay? In,” Dream instructed. 

George took a very shaky breath and covered his mouth with his free hand so he wouldn’t breathe out too early. 

“Okay, good. I’m gonna count to five right? One, two, three, four, five.”

‘ One, two, three, four, five.’

“Okay,” Dream said. “Breathe out now.”

George removed his hand and let out the air from his lungs. 

It seemed to work a bit, his chest felt looser than before, but it was still a struggle. 

“D’eam, ‘s still ha’d to b’eathe,” he whispered. 

“Okay, we’ll just do that a few more times.”

And they did. Dream gave instructions and George followed. After a few minutes, the hyperventilating had stopped. 

But the foggy feeling in his head? That was still there. 

It didn’t scare George anymore, rather it confused him. It felt less uncomfortable now, but still weird and different. 

“M’ head feels weird,” he said in a quiet tone, not exactly meaning to. 

“Do you have water?”

George nodded, then remembered he’s on the phone and Dream can’t see him. 

“Yes.”

“Can you drink some?”

George hummed in response and pushed himself fully to a sitting position. His water bottle was next to where his phone usually sat on the nightstand. Reaching for it, his arm felt different, almost weaker if that made any sense. Which it didn’t, not to him. 

He grabbed the bottle and lifted it, only to immediately lose grip and drop it with a thunk back on the nightstand. 

“Are you okay? What happened?” Dream asked on the phone. 

He must have heard it fall. 

“Jus’ dropped m’ cup,” George replied, soothing Dream’s worries. 

Attempt two. 

George grabbed the cup again, as tight as he could with his hand. 

Thunk 

Again?

Maybe a different approach?

George put the phone down and reached for the bottle with both hands this time. God he felt like a child… but it worked. 

He took a drink through the straw. The water was room temperature. Not too cold, but not warm either. 

Normally he hated water that wasn’t cold, but this felt nice. It was soothing, making the discomfort that lingered start to fade. 

But the fuzzy feeling was still there. 

“Still feels weird…”

Dream hummed, then went silent for a moment. 

“Maybe you should get some sleep?”

George nodded, then shook his head, once again forgetting that Dream couldn’t see him. 

“I don’ want you to go,” he whined. 

“I don’t have to. I could stay on call.”

“P’ease?” George asked, barely above a whisper. The thought of Dream hanging up and leaving him nearly made him start to cry all over again. “Stay wit’ me?”

“As long as you need” Dream reassured. 

There was some rustling on Dream’s side, presumably him getting into bed. George put his cup back on the nightstand and wiggled his way back under the covers and comfy, still hugging the pillow from before. It felt almost forbidden to let it go, so he didn’t. 

“Get some sleep George,” Dream said, breaking the silence. “I’m right here if you need. If I fall asleep, just shout at me.”

George giggled a bit before burying half his face in the pillow. 

“G’night D’eam.”

He heard Dream reply, but couldn’t quite make out what he was saying. Probably ‘goodnight’ but with how suddenly exhausted George felt, he didn’t really care to think about it. 

The second the words were spoken, he started to nod off. A couple minutes later, he was asleep. 

Chapter Text

‘ What happened last night? ’

George didn’t remember much, only calling Dream at some point. 

His phone!

He’d fallen asleep with it next to him! 

George sat up abruptly and looked over, then let out a sigh of relief, grateful to find it laying safely on the mattress and not fallen on the ground to sustain yet another crack. Judging by the blank screen, either it died or Dream had hung up at some point. 

A quick click of the power button showed that it had died. 

‘ Of course…’

He stuck the charger in and set the device down on his nightstand before pulling back the covers. 

Peeling would be a more apt description, as the sheet was all but pasted onto his skin from drying sweat. 

George wrinkled his nose, getting out as quickly as his half awake morning brain would allow. A shower should do the trick and washing the sheet should also work, but he felt like doing neither. He’d just get dirty again and the sheets would only be used again, so what’s the point?

But one thing he needed was water, and judging by how light the water bottle was, it was time to refill. 

He grabbed the bottle and stood as best he could with his sleepfogged body and shuffled out of the room. 

At some point, his bedroom door had closed, which he didn’t usually do since it blocked Cat from getting in and he loved to take over the bed, whether George was in it or not. 

Sure enough, as if he could read George’s mind, Cat strolled on over and rubbed against his owner’s legs. 

George crouched down to pet the animal, but Cat took this opportunity to climb into his lap and attempt to curl up. 

Much to his dismay, George stood up, but he took Cat with him, shifting the water bottle in his grip as best he could so Cat wouldn’t fall to the ground. 

“I’m sure you’re hungry aren’t you?” George said to his pet. 

Cat didn’t reply, as expected, but he did start purring, which was as good of a reply as he was going to get. 

The walk from his room to the kitchen wasn’t large, only a few metres away. His flat wasn’t that big, but it was nice. It had a bedroom, a bathroom, and an open plan main area. A little on the small side, but what can you really ask for with a London flat?

Less than a month left, just two more weeks…

Two more weeks and he’s moving to America. 

George smiled at the thought. 

He’s been waiting for this for years, daydreaming of when he’d show up to the airport and get on the plane. Sure, it’ll be a long flight, longer than any he can remember taking, but it’ll be so worth it. Especially when he got to see his friends in person. 

Sapnap will be so excited, despite how much they’d play argue on stream and in videos. 

When the pair talk late at night, the younger rambles on about how George may be able to make the house more lively. Things like movie and game nights, day trips, and simply dragging Dream from his room are consistent conversation topics. 

George finds it quite endearing. 

And Dream. 

Dream…

George smiles again as he fills up his water. 

What will he say?

“Finally” maybe? 

Or maybe he’ll skip words and just entangle him in a hug. 

God, George can’t wait to give both of them hugs. 

He set the water bottle down on the counter and picked up Cat’s dish to fill it too. 

He wasn’t sure when he’d put down his pet, but Cat hopped up on the counter and began to paw at the sink. 

George laughed a bit, putting the water dish back on the ground and scooping Cat into his arms. 

“I just filled it, be patient,” he said before setting the cat down and filling up his food dish. 

“Needy baby,” he teased when he returned with the dish. 

Cat meowed up at him, almost as if in protest, and clawed at his ankles a bit. Although he was immediately distracted as soon as food was placed next to his water. 

George grabbed his own water and returned to his room, not bothering with breakfast. Too much work. Besides, why eat if he’s not hungry?

And there was practically no food in the flat anyways. 

He put the water on his desk and moved to the bed to check his phone. 

24%

Good enough…

He unplugged it and returned to the desk, taking a sip of water before plugging the device back into the desk charger and unlocking it. 

Almost immediately, his eyes were drawn to the long list of notifications. 

‘Fuck, Twitter’

He vaguely remembered the dread from last night before it went foggy. 

Hesitantly, he opened the app. 

Where does he even start? It was almost overwhelming right off the bat. 

He’d barely seen his timeline and already he anticipated what the rest would be like. 

I hope George is okay , he left early didn’t he ?

If this was the first tweet he saw, what else was there?

More and more tweets like the first filled up the page as he scrolled. “George left early” and “George went silent” and “where did George go?” 

His DMs were no better, although he ignored those for the most part. 

He replied to those in the Jackbox lobby with the half-baked excuse that his internet went down and closed Twitter as fast as he could. 

He gave the same excuse to his personal texts. 

Except to Dream. 

When he opened Dream’s contact, a message was waiting for him. 

Dream: I think your phone died or something 

Text me when you get up, I just want to know you’re okay 

George sighed and took another sip of his water. 

Was he okay? He didn’t feel okay. 

You: sorry about last night . 

He honestly doubted that Dream would even be awake at this moment. It’s 1PM in England, which means it’s only 8AM in Florida. Dream could sometimes sleep until noon or even past that, despite them having synchronized their sleep schedules. 

Much to his surprise, a little text bubble appeared at the bottom corner. 

Dream: why are you sorry?

What could he say? He didn’t remember much, only breaking down on call with Dream and falling asleep while still on said call. 

You: making you deal with my emotions 

Dream: I’m your friend, I’m here to listen dumbass 

Do you remember what you said?

Oh shit, what did he say?

George racked his brain and thought as hard as he could, but no memories came to mind. 

You: no, not really

I don’t remember much at all

Dream was typing for a while, each second only fueling George’s anxieties more and more. 

Dream: you told me that everything was too much 

Then you broke down and just started saying my name 

Well… there’s worse things he could have said?

This thought didn’t really help, as all George could think of is how much of a burden he is and how he forced Dream to hear the complaints he had with life. 

You: sorry about that

Dream: why are you apologizing? There’s literally nothing to apologize for 

If only he felt that way.

You: I dunno…

Dream: exactly 

George took another sip of his water and watched the typing bubble show up once more. 

Dream: are you getting enough food and water? You kept complaining about your head feeling weird 

Food, probably no. 

Water, mostly yes. 

You: yeah, that’s weird 

Dream: I’m so sorry, but I have to go, vet day, but text me later, I’ll see if I can help some more 

Ah, that explains why he’s up this early. 

You: I’ll bother you later :]

‘ Don’t leave me… ’

No text bubble showed up. 

He was alone again. 

Chapter Text

“What condition can make your head go foggy?” George asked out loud as he typed into google. 

A few hours had passed since his conversation with Dream, yet he hadn’t gotten a text. To pass the time, George decided on figuring things out with the help of Dr. Google, who is a pretty shit doctor for the most part. 

“Well first off, I don’t have a disease…”

‘ Anxiety, I do have.’

He clicked the link, which matched up pretty well, but didn’t explain the issues with speech, the clinginess, or the randomness it occurred in. 

Frowning, George clicked back. 

A page on chronic fatigue managed to explain the dizziness but not the panic, and this set a pattern of possible solutions ending up nowhere. 

“Ugh! This is impossible!” George exclaimed, slamming his hand on his desk in frustration. 

He began to google his other symptoms together. Brain fog, slurred speech, clingy, anxiety, weakness, it all went on the list. 

He checked every link. 

“Dysarthria no, hepatitis no, stroke? NO!”

He slammed his hand on the desk again, then brought his head down to rest next to it. Frustration bubbled up and George could feel his face growing warm. 

He wanted to quit, wanted to just give up and go back to bed. But something told him to click over just one more page. 

So he did. 

George lifted his head and clicked the mouse, not really expecting much. 

But something caught his eye. 

‘What’s littlespace?’

Curiosity officially peaked, George clicked the link. It brought him to a tumblr blog post titled “Littlespace and what you need to know (from my experience).”

“How convenient,” he muttered, beginning to read. 

Littlespace (or age regression) is a coping mechanism in which a person will mentally regress to a younger age. This can be anywhere from a preteen to an infant. 

Typically, the individual will feel different when in headspace, such as a fuzzy feeling or lack of coordination or a series of other affects, but some people only get the fuzzy feeling or a few symptoms rather than all. 

Okay, George may think this is a little odd, but it sure as hell is sounding familiar so far. 

There’s different age ranges and each has a term. 

Babyspace is between the ages of 0-2 and typically involves a complete or almost full lack of coordination and function of speech. Many littles will use bottles and pacis during babyspace. Some individuals will need diapers at this stage while others may not, but the majority prefer them for this stage. 

When in babyspace, you may long for your caregiver and that’s okay. After all, they’re here to care for you when you’re regressed. 

“What’s a caregiver?”

The site didn’t explain yet, so he kept reading. 

Next is toddlerspace, which is generally ages 3-5. Toddlerspace is very similar to babyspace, except for the verbal and physical aspects. Most people in toddlerspace can talk, but their speech often regresses with them to reflect their mental age. This could be slurred words or a decreased vocabulary or other. Coordination is another aspect that is still affected but to a lesser extent. You may find it difficult to hold things or to walk properly. 

Pacis are still desired by many, but most will prefer a sippy instead of a bottle, and some may like pull-ups if they have a tendency to wet themselves. 

George didn’t bother reading any further. This sounded very very familiar, though he cringed at the mention of diapers or pull-ups. 

He leaned back in his chair with a sigh. Whether it was relief, embarrassment, dread, or a combination was beyond him. 

Littlespace…

Was that it?

He opened another tap and typed the word into the search bar. Many results showed up from therapy ideas to youtube videos. 

George clicked on as many as he could, each giving him more confirmation of an answer. 

He had mixed emotions. On one hand, he was pretty sure he’d found his answer, but on the other, this all scared him. The feeling he’d had wasn’t a good or bad one, but the panic from being alone scared him. 

Is this what happened to him when he woke up on the floor?

George checked the time. Only 3pm. 

He needed a distraction. 

Pushing himself out of the chair, George unplugged his phone and shoved it in his pocket. He left his bedroom, pausing to give Cat a quick pet from where he snoozed on the bed before he left. 

He shoved on a pair of shoes and grabbed his keys from the little hook by the door, locking it behind him as he left the flat. 

A walk should help, maybe doing the shopping too?

The fresh air was like a well-needed slap in the face, surrounding his senses and flooding his lungs. George took a deep breath and gave a faint smile. He doesn’t go out often enough, though Tommy’s vlogs sure help him do that. 

London was nice. High buildings with some older touches and how the city always felt alive. Although the lack of air conditioning with the new heat of summer made it a little less desirable, George knew he was gonna miss it. 

He never had to pay for a taxi since luckily the Asda was just a short walk from his flat. And since he lived alone, the heaviest thing he carried was a jug of apple juice. (Cat food and litter was ordered in)

Stepping into the store, George saw only a few people, although there’s probably more in the actual aisles. 

He ordered takeaway a good amount of the time, so the shopping usually consisted of boxed macaroni, some bread, and a few sandwich supplies. 

He grabbed a basket and began the shopping, going for bread first, then the pasta. 

The whole time, the research and littlespace thoughts floated around his head, making him think stronger about it, which was the opposite of what he wanted in the first place. 

George shook his head, as if to reset it, and continued walking. 

He acquired the bread and macaroni, moving on to the sandwich supplies. 

Peanut butter was a few aisles over, past the cereal aisle, past the spices, past the baby stuff. 

Pause. 

A tiny urge pushed at his brain, trying to fight its way to the front. An urge to go down the aisle and just look at the things there. 

George pushed it down and walked past, giving his head another shake. Less than ten seconds later, he turned around and went in. 

The shelves were lined with anything a parent could need for a child. From baby food to diapers. 

‘ I don’t care what age I regress to, I’m never getting diapers,’ George vowed, quickly walking past them quickly with his face growing hot. 

Past the items we won’t mention was what caught his attention. Sippy cups, pacifiers, teethers, and baby-proof bowls hung from small hooks on the shelf. 

‘ This is embarrassing…’

‘ Get them,’ the urge said. ‘ Get them, no one cares. And if it’s not what it is, then you can just throw them in the bin.’

He pondered this for what was probably longer than needed. If anyone walked into the aisle, they'd most likely question him or at least give him strange looks. 

‘ Fuck it.’

He tried to be casual about it, pulling a sippy cup and a pack of pacifiers off the shelf and putting them in his basket. Thank god no one was in there with him!

George sped-walked out of there and went into the next aisle, which held the peanut butter and jam. He didn’t even check the brands or flavours when he grabbed them and tossed them in the basket. 

He checked out, going red as the cashier scanned the baby items. Although, the teenager probably didn’t give two shits about it. 

The walk home was a mix of excited and nervous thoughts. 

To start, he had just bought those. He actually did buy them. And they’re supposed to help him when or if he regresses. 

But on the other hand was the doubt. What if littlespace wasn’t the answer. What if he just wasted £15 on something he’d never have a use for. And what if he does regress? What if it happens on stream or while on a call with someone?

George was so deep in thought that he nearly walked past his flat. 

Cat was waiting for him at the door, ready to rub himself against George’s legs. George smiled and knelt down to give his pet a scratch on the head. 

“What did you do while I was out?” He asked. 

Cat meowed at him, as if to answer, then hopped up on a stool and curled up. George sighed and put his bag down on the counter. 

He put away the shopping, then brought the bag to his room. 

Cat followed close at his heels, probably anticipating the bag when George was finished with it. 

He dumped the remaining objects on his bed, then tossed the bag to the floor. Sure enough, Cat practically dove in the minute it touched ground. 

George sat criss-cross on his bed, staring at the items. 

Fingers crossed this is the answer. 

Chapter Text

“I’m telling you, I swear there’s diamonds down here!” 

George rolled his eyes, but followed Sapnap down into the cave. 

They’re playing Minecraft. It started as testing out a few plugins for future videos, but quickly turned into just casually playing the game.

They don’t do this often, so George cherishes when they do.  

“I don’t see any! You’re an idiot!” George complained. 

Sapnap scoffed and hit George in game. 

“There has to be, look at this lava pool.”

“There’s nothing here!”

Ignoring George, Sapnap started mining around the pool. George on the other hand left the tunnel and went down a different one. 

He let his mind wander a bit as the muscle memory took over. He didn’t really have much to do other than help Sapnap and Dream with these plugins, yet he almost wished he had a full schedule. 

He’d rather be busy than be alone with his thoughts. 

“George!” The shout burst through his headphones. 

“I found them! I told you they’re here!”

The brunet flinched, the noise scaring him a bit, before he turned his character and returned to where he left Sapnap. 

Sure enough, when he found him, Sapnap had mined around a pocket of what looked to be eight diamonds. 

“I’m an idiot? You’re a fucking dumbass,” the younger said. 

He meant it lightheartedly, George knew that, but the little inkling of doubt planted itself in the back of his mind. 

“Looks like you’re right,” George shrugged. “I guess they were here.”

“Damn straight they were,” Sapnap declared proudly, mining the diamonds. 

He stuck on in his off hand and held the rest in his main hand, flaunting them in front of George. 

‘ Stop ’

“Can you stop?” 

Sapnap chuckled, putting his shield back in the off hand. 

“I’m the master diamond finder.”

Dammit! Why is this stressing him out so much!

It’s barely anything, just being incorrect, yet George felt like he wanted to cry. 

Like a child would when losing a game. 

“Seriously, stop it.” 

George took a deep breath, trying not to let the shakiness come over the mic. 

“Uh, okay? Are you alright?” Sapnap asked. 

George shook his head. 

“I’m just getting tired,” he excused. 

“Wanna call it?”

“Yeah, kind of.”

Sapnap gave his character a few little shifts before logging off. George followed suit quickly after. 

“Are you sure you’re just tired?” The younger questioned. 

He knew George too well. He knew something was up. Yet George ignored this fact. 

“I’m sure. Tell Dream he’s an idiot for me,” George smirked. 

“Sure, but if he murders me, it’s your fault.”

George laughed and shook his head. 

“Bye Sap, text me soon?”

“Absolutely. See ya!”

And with that, he was gone. 

George slumped back in his chair, feeling slightly better, yet more drained than before. He couldn’t handle anymore conversation, yet he didn’t want it to end. It was confusing. 

His mind felt like it was becoming too much. He didn’t like how it would wander from thought to thought like a person trying to cross stepping stones. He wanted it to stay on one topic like it used to, wanted it to be still. But it wasn’t. 

It literally felt like he was going a mile a minute. 

He felt dizzy. 

It felt familiar, something he’d felt before. Foggy, almost comforting. Yet he felt alone at the same time. 

George wanted to be held and spoken to softly. Wanted someone to cuddle him and gently stroke his hair as he listened to their heartbeat. He wanted someone to sooth his mind and reassure him he’s okay. He just needed someone there for him. 

Oh shit. 

Is this what it felt like to slip?

It sure as hell felt like the first time he assumed he had. The same fuzzy feeling in his head was there, clouding his thoughts and making it harder to be clear. He lifted his arms experimentally. They felt heavier than normal. 

He’s slipping. He knew it. 

George pushed himself out of his chair as quickly as he could and started to walk to his bed. His legs almost immediately gave out, sending him toppling to the floor. 

The urge to cry returned, but George shoved it down. 

Nope, not allowed. 

He pushed up, forcing himself to crawl to his bed instead. But then came the issue of getting in it. 

He normally would walk over and just flop over, but clearly that’s not an option. 

George was having trouble thinking at this point. Everything was going in a way that confused him. Why couldn’t he get on the bed? 

He tried pulling himself up by the sheets, but he only succeeded in messing up the comforter. 

He pouted and whined. How could that not work? Why was no one here to help him? 

Attempt two was sitting back and trying to crawl up the side, using the sheets as a rope and his feet to anchor. 

It worked for a moment, but they didn’t hold forever. With a muffled pop they came off his mattress and sent George back to the ground. He landed hard on his backside. 

Frustrated and with sheets in his hands, George curled up on the floor. He felt alone and empty, needy for someone who wasn’t there. Cat wasn’t even on the bed. 

He wasn’t crying, not really, right? His hands came up to his face, but he couldn’t tell if it was wet or not. At some point, his thumb found its way to his mouth. It was soothing, having something to suck on and kind of ground himself. 

Whether or not he was crying, George started to feel a little better. He adjusted his position, less about getting as small as possible and more about finding a more comfortable position to sleep in. 

He scrunched his eyes shut and brought his other hand up to join the first. He wrapped it around and held it in place, which only made the fog grow thicker. 

But it wasn’t awful. 

George felt tired and he could tell just how heavy his eyes were even though they were closed. He sucked a little harder and cuddled up as best he could in the sheets. 

It’s warm. 

~~~

Tap tap 

What was that?

George sat up only to be bonked in the face by Cat. He gave a sleepy giggle and a few weak pets to the cat, then stretched. 

His back was sore, so was his thumb, specifically the left. 

He tried to remember the night prior, seen as this is the second time he’d woken up on the floor. He’d slipped right? That’s what happened and that’s why he was on the floor right? 

That’s exactly what happened. 

Why? He’d just been playing Minecraft with Sapnap. That shouldn’t cause stress right?

Confused, he sat up, rolling the sheet in his arms to clean it up. He didn’t remember how they got off the bed. At all. 

He tossed the sheets on the empty mattress and checked his thumb for injuries. The pain didn’t feel too bad, but he wanted to be sure. 

Strangely, it was wrinkled, as if left in water for an hour. Small dents around his knuckles added the second clue. 

Had he been sucking his thumb?

George experimentally placed it in his mouth. Sure enough, his teeth matched the dents in the skin. He cringed. 

Seriously?

Oh well, at least this is one hundred percent confirmation that age regression is what this is. Next time he’ll have the supplies ready. 

‘What if I-‘

An idea popped into his head. He checked the time real quick. 10:32.

Damn, that’s early for him. 

George opened the nightstand drawer, where he’d stashed the baby stuff yesterday. He pulled out the sippy cup and stared at it. Why is a child’s cup with penguins on it so intimidating?

He shook his head, as if to reset his brain. 

‘ Should wash it first .’

George took off the packaging, then stared at it again. It was a simple cup, two handles on the side, penguins adorning it all the way around, and what seemed like silicon for the drinking nub. It fit in his hand and made him go a little dizzy. 

George stood up, cup in hand, and marched to the kitchen. Cat followed closely behind, batting at his heels as he walked. George smiled and put the cup down. 

“Do you want some food? Is that it?”

He picked up the cat and cradled him like a baby. 

“Do you want food? Little baby,” he said softly. 

George refilled the bowl with cat food and then placed Cat back on the ground. The animal was instantly captivated by the food and happily munched away. 

George watched for a minute before remembering why he came in here in the first place. The cup. 

He picked it up again and moved over to the sink. He didn’t have a dishwasher in the flat, so all the dishes had to be hand washed. 

He unscrewed the lid and removed the little silica package before turning on the sink and running the cup under the water. Washing dishes always seemed to put George in some kind of trance, the repetition was soothing and strangely calmed him down. 

He dumped out the inside and started drying it. Was he actually about to do this? Was he seriously going to use a sippy cup?

Well, not yet…

Just getting it ready right?

Chapter Text

George stared at the cup for a good few minutes. It’s easy right? Just fill it with juice and put it in arms-reach of the floor. 

He took a breath and opened the fridge. Juice. That’s it, just the juice. 

Juice and jelly…

And a box of leftover takeaway…

Ignoring the depressing fridge situation, George grabbed the juice and closed the fridge. And froze. 

Dammit! Just pour the juice!

It made a splashing sound as it hit the plastic, swirling around the cup in a captivating way. Eyes wide and distracted, he nearly overfilled it. 

‘ Am I still out of it?’

He screwed the lid on, then poured a normal glass of apple juice. Not as interesting as the sippy cup for some reason. He pursed his lips and looked at the plastic cup. 

George shook his head and took a sip from the glass, not the cup. He took both with him back to the room though. 

But something still was eating away at his mind. This tiny little thing that kept repeating in his head. 

‘ What’s the harm in having just a sip?’ It said. ‘ One sip won’t hurt.’

“No!” George exclaimed, shutting down the thoughts. 

There really wouldn’t be any harm in having just a sip, he knew that. But he felt ridiculous, almost embarrassed, despite the fact that he’s the only one in the flat. 

Fuck

What’s gonna happen when he moves in with Dream and Sapnap? It’s not like he can control when he slips. Will they think it’s weird, will they send him back to London?

Yeah, best not to have a sip now…

~

Nearly six hours of filming and editing (and a call with the guys) later, and George is tired. It’s only like 4pm, but he got up early so why not go back to sleep?

The juice in the big cup had been long gone, but the sippy cup remained full. 

George turned off his computer and started scrolling TikTok, chewing his lip slightly and looking for a distraction. That’s all he was looking for today, distractions. 

After a few minutes of mindless scrolling, he gave up. 

“I give up!” He groaned, slamming a hand onto his desk. “Why is this so hard to ignore?”

Denial, distractions, more denial. 

Distraction gone. 

He couldn’t deny it anymore. George wanted to slip. He wanted to go little again. 

Maybe it would be fun this time? Maybe relaxing?

But what would he do when he did? He didn’t have any baby toys or colouring books. Not even a stuffed animal. 

He closed out of TikTok and opened google. 

What to do in littlespace 

Google gave many answers. But most need a caregiver or things he didn’t have. 

Be read a story, have little snacks, colour, play with stuffies, they all needed things he didn’t have. 

Relaxing video games didn’t really appeal to him either. That’s his job , how can he relax if he’s doing work?

‘I don’t have a bathtub either…’

Instead of getting frustrated, George just felt sad. He wanted to do those things, but he couldn’t. Not yet. 

Maybe cartoons would work?

Yeah, that’s an idea. 

George grabbed the sippy cup and stood, quickly moving over to his bed and flopping over. He set the cup on the nightstand and opened the drawer. 

The pack of pacifiers stared him down, making the anxiety and nerves return. They were cute, he couldn’t deny that, pastel blue and yellow with little animals on the button. But what if someone finds out?

‘ Wait, why am I worried? I live alone.’

He tore through the cardboard before he could change his mind. The pacifiers tumbled out, one, two, three. 

A blue one with an elephant fell at his feet, so it seemed to be the chosen one. 

George put the other two back in the drawer, along with the trash, and set it next to the sippy cup. 

He plugged in his phone, then made double sure it was charging, and turned on Netflix. Seemed like a good place to start looking for kids shows. 

He typed “kids” into the search bar and started browsing. The shows for little little kids just made him cringe. They looked awful. But a few shows caught his eye, one in particular. 

‘ Why’s he dressed like a cat?’

With a shrug, he tapped on it and started the first episode. 

The intro started playing and George set his phone down on the sheets. He grabbed the sippy cup and held it in his lap, still nervous to take a sip. 

He watched one episode of the show without even drinking a drop. The show was making him feel entertained, but he didn’t feel the fuzziness or brain fog from before. Only a hint if any. 

George looked at the cup. 

The silicon nub looked very appealing, probably feels nice to have in his mouth. Hesitantly, George lifted it up and gave an experimental tap to his lips. It wasn’t entirely bad. 

Slowly, he opened his mouth and put the nub inside. He closed his lips and gave a tentative suck. Juice flooded his mouth, along with an odd comfort. The silicon felt nice on his lips. 

Slowly, George took another sip. With this one came a shiver and blast of fog. He brought his other hand to the cup and grabbed it by the handles. 

He’s slipping fast. Less of a slip and more of a tumble. 

He felt small. 

‘ Get the paci.’

George turned to look at the nightstand and grabbed the paci. He dropped it on the bed in front of him and continued to drink his juice. The nub of the sippy was nice to chew on. 

He tried to shove the paci in his mouth, but was blocked by the cup. He whined, but didn’t move the sippy and continued to drain the juice. 

Soon enough he was only sucking on air. 

George dropped the cup to his lap and replaced it with the paci. It was so much nicer than the cup. When he sucked, it didn’t fill his mouth with air and instead drew his cheeks in. 

He felt himself slipping deeper into headspace. The show was lost to him, only thoughts being mush. 

He laid down and hugged his pillow. He pretended it was someone else. He pretended his blanket was a person holding him close. 

He pretended that he wasn’t alone. 

~~~

So George now had a new schedule.  

Wake up, feed Cat, work, have dinner, pack, go into littlespace, go to bed. 

He bought a few more things. A colouring book, some crayons, a few more pacifiers and another sippy cup, and even a stuffed animal (it’s a Minecraft mooshroom). 

And to his surprise, George was starting to feel better. He wasn’t as depressed and he didn’t get overwhelmed on videos and recordings as quickly. 

It still happened, but not as easily. 

On the down side though, he was slipping much more often. What started as part of the evening routine soon turned into random bouts of being small. He sometimes found himself having to stop editing because he was going little and forcing himself to stay big made him more anxious. 

But what would happen when he had to go to America? His plane leaves tomorrow.

Chapter Text

“Yes it’s all packed up, I’m not entirely incompetent,” George scoffed.

Dream laughed from the other end of the line. “I know, just teasing.”

George rolled his eyes, soft smile on his face. He was video calling for the first time in a long time. And in less than a day, he wouldn’t need to video call in order to see Dream, he’d just have to go down the hall! His smile grew, and Dream noticed.

“What’re you so happy about?” He asked.

“Excited,” the brunet replied. “I leave in an hour to move in ! I’m going to live with you!”

Dream grinned, but didn’t reply. Instead he turned his head to the left.

“Who’s that?” A voice asked. 

Sapnap.

“George, we’re just talk-”

“GOGY!”

Sapnap hopped over the back of the couch and plopped down next to Dream. Dream rolled his eyes and shoved the younger, who shoved back. Sapnap put his arm around Dream and leaned into view.

“You packed?” He asked.

“Why did both of you ask me that? Of course I’m packed. That’s all I’ve been doing the past two weeks,” George replied.

“The only things that aren’t packed are me and Cat.”

“Do you think Cat will like Patches?” George added, starting to get worried.

Dream shrugged.

“She’s pretty friendly for a cat. I’m sure it’ll be fine. The worst thing she’ll do is like, ignore him.”

The movers had come earlier to ship his things to America. George was sitting on the empty floor of his room, only occupied by his suitcase and carry-on bag. Cat was in the other room, pet carrier and food keeping him entertained.

“Ugh, I can’t wait to leave here! It’s so boring!” George complained.

“What? But you got to actually do shit!” Sapnap said.

“Well, yeah, but it’s not as fun without you two,” George said quietly, looking at his lap.

Dream smiled at that. “Simp.”

“Oh shut up!”

~

“Seriously, we’re getting you a good American burger. None of whatever the fuck that thing was Wilbur had,” Sapnap said with disgust.

George laughed.

“Sure, sounds like a plan!”

BEEP BEEP

“Oh shit… I have to go.”

Seeing both of his best friends pout both made him want to laugh and pout along with them. While it was quite funny to see two grown men upset at the fact they had to hang up, it also made him a little sad to see his friends upset.

“Relax, I’ll be in America soon enough. Then you’ll get sick of me.”

Dream shook his head.

“I could never get sick of you.”

“I’m sure you will. I’ll never let you sleep. Sap may be scared to wake you, but I sure as hell am not.”

“You’re such an idiot…” Dream muttered. “Go get your plane!”

“Don’t die!” Sapnap added.

“You’re both idiots! I’ll see you in America!”

With that, George hung up the phone. He sighed and leaned against the wall, letting his head go back and thump against it. This was it, his last few moments in London. He’d filmed his last vlog with Tommy a few days prior and doubled down on editing so he wouldn’t have to do any work for the first month or so of being in America. 

It was kind of bittersweet, leaving the place you’d grown up. But the thrill of moving in with Dream and Sap was overwhelmingly positive. As cheesy as it was, George often fantasized about group dinners or movie nights. He just wanted to spend time with his two favourite people.

Maybe Dream a little more than Sapnap…

But just a little.

With a deep breath, George picked himself off the floor and grabbed his bags. One backpack and one suitcase. He’d paid for a checked bag so Cat would be able to fly with him. Speaking of Cat, George needed to get him into the carrier.

~

Throughout the whole cab ride, George wasn’t sure whether he was sad or glad to be leaving. Passing by the older buildings and parks sent a rush of nostalgia so strong he couldn’t break his gaze from the windows. Cat was curled up asleep in the carrier the whole ride. Hopefully he’ll stay asleep for the plane ride.

Security was as it always was, a fucking nightmare, but what do you really expect from the airport? Mainly because he had a pet with him and trying to get him through the scanner was rough. But once he was through, the rush returned.

 George sat down on one of the seats while waiting for boarding to be called. An idea, an evil idea, popped into his head. He pulled out his phone and opened it to instagram. Cat was at his feet, curled up in the carrier, perfect for photographing.

He captioned it, Cat, then posted it on his story.

‘ Let the chaos begin.’

“Now boarding flight 260 for Orlando Florida, please gather your belongings and prepare to board.”

This is it. Officially his last moments in London.

George opened up his phone again and clicked open his discord chat with Dream and Sapnap.

You: Boarding now, going dark

He was practically shaking with anticipation as the flight attendant checked his ticket and directed him to his seat.

George put his bag in the compartment and tucked Cat under his seat before sitting down. A window seat, Dream promised one. 

He wanted to stay awake for at least half the flight, but if he’s being honest, he fell asleep shortly after takeoff. When he opened his eyes again it was dark out the window and there was nothing but ocean below him. Jesus, what time was it in Florida? 

George grabbed his phone from the front pocket of his hoodie and turned it on. Unfortunately, it was still on London time. With a grumble, he put it back in his pocket and stared out the window. 

Even though he couldn’t see much, it was still slightly therapeutic to watch the world go by underneath him. 

He allowed his mind to wander. Wander to thoughts of video ideas (he often thinks of those), what he’s gonna do with Dream and Sap, how different life was gonna be from then on, and eventually, he let it wander to littlespace. 

George had made sure to pack a few things with him. A pacifier, the penguin cup, a couple pages of his colouring book that he tore out, about ten crayons, and of course, his mooshroom. That would probably be the easiest to explain, after all, it’s a mushroom and that kind of became a part of his character.

It didn’t have a name yet, or at least he couldn’t remember giving it one, but George still treasured it like a family heirloom. The mushroom cow was practically an extension of his arm when regressed, being towed from room to room and dragged on the floor when his legs didn’t function.

George didn’t regret purchasing him at all.

“Attention passengers, this is your captain speaking,” a voice on the intercom said, snapping George out of his thoughts.

“In a few minutes we will begin our descent into Orlando Florida. Please open your windows, put up your tables and any larger electronic devices, and return your seats to their upright position.” 

‘ We’re landing already?’  

George checked out the window. Sure enough, buildings and lights blinked from the ground below, slowly growing closer and the plane circled the airport.

Eventually, a loud noise entered the plane, the sound of the wheels coming down. The whole cabin shook and bounced with the force of the wheels making contact. Even after the plane stabilized again, George still felt the effects of the landing.

He was finally here! Finally in Florida!

~

You: I’m at baggage claim C. Come pick me up idiot

George shoved his phone back into his pocket and slouched into the seat once more. Why do airport seats have to be so damn uncomfortable?

The waiting was the worst part in his opinion. The buildup only made his nerves go on high alert, not quite prepared to finally meet his best friends in person for the first time. He fidgeted with the strings on his hoodie, unconsciously sticking one in his mouth. Where were they?

Tap tap

George whipped his head around so fast he could hear the air rushing in his ears. What he saw made him both laugh and breathe a sigh of relief.

Staring right at him was this stupid grin.

“You can’t scare me like that! There’s better ways to get my attention,” he chided, taking the string from his mouth and smiling right back at the face.

“Nice to see you too,” Sapnap said, clearly holding back excitement.

Despite the fact that he’s not big on showing emotions or anything like that, George practically launched himself out of his seat and right into a hug. Sapnap didn’t seem to be expecting that, his body going rigid at first before tightening his arms around the brunet. 

God…

George needed this.

Chapter Text

After what felt like too long and too little at the same time, George loosened his grip and backed up, beaming. He looked around the airport, expecting to see another familiar face, but didn’t. He looked back to Sapnap with minor disappointment.

“Where’s Dream?”

“He’s driving around,” Sapnap explained. “He didn’t wanna be recognized.”

George nodded. Makes sense.

Still, he wished that Dream was there to greet him first. Sure he loved Sap, but he wanted Dream there too.

Sapnap put an arm around George.

“Don’t worry, you can see your boyfriend in a few minutes.”

George felt his face grow hot and he shoved the arm off his shoulders.

“He’s not my boyfriend, you’re an idiot.”

George slung on his backpack and grabbed Cat’s carrier. Sapnap insisted on dragging his suitcase, despite George saying he was perfectly capable of taking his own suitcase. Sapnap just shook his head. “You’re our guest, I have to do something nice so you don’t murder me in my sleep.”

George smiled a bit. Everything was starting to feel a little better. Sure it had been hard for a while, but now he’s finally here! He already got to hug Sapnap and soon he’ll get to do the same to Dream! He almost couldn’t wait.

He glanced over at Sapnap, who was just barely taller than him. By like, less than two centimetres. The man was on his phone, probably texting Dream so they knew where to go.

“What’s it like living with him?” George asked, more so thinking out loud.

Sapnap pursed his lips.

“Not really too different from before, honestly. He has great taste in food though. Seriously, I didn’t expect it!” 

He laughed under his breath before continuing.

“I don’t leave my room much during the day. We kinda do our own thing. But sometimes he just comes in and sits on the floor for like an hour.”

George hummed.
“Well that’s going to change. I will seriously drag you out of your rooms if I have to.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

“Is that a challenge?”

Sapnap smirked.

“You bet it is.”

They walked past a set of sliding doors and out into the pickup/drop off area. The air was surprisingly warm for being so late at night. George had expected a chill, but it felt almost muggy despite it being… (quick check of his phone) eleven PM.

He checked Cat’s carrier. Surprisingly he was still asleep, although he could have woken up sometime during the flight. Another idea came to his head.

“Hey Sap,” he started, slow grin forming on his face. “Post a picture of me to your instagram.”

The younger pulled out his phone and held it up.

“Smile, say ‘fucking finally!’”

George stuck his tongue out like a child, only for the flash to go off the moment he did.

“What! Hey! Delete that!”

“Nah,” Sapnap replied, giving an evil laugh. “Nah this is perfect!”

George went to grab Sapnap’s phone, only for his own to vibrate.

He pulled it out and opened it.

Dream: I see you :)

He sees him. Dream can see him.

George felt his heart skip a beat and looked around the cars for the familiar face.

“Dream says he can see us,” he whispered to Sapnap, careful to avoid anyone overhearing.

Sapnap looked up and around, eyes landing on an inconspicuous silver car. Silver, that’s not exactly what George was expecting. Then again, he didn’t know exactly what he was expecting in the first place.

Sapnap waved to the car and the boot popped open.

“Try to do this quickly,” he said. “Let’s get home before someone sees us.”

George nodded and grabbed his suitcase from the younger. He lifted it into the boot and then put his backpack in with it. Unfortunately, the boot was separated from the actual car, so he could only see the top of Dream’s hair sticking out from over the headrest. 

“Give me your cat, I’ll sit in the back,” Sapnap more demanded than offered. Then he smirked (what’s with all the smirking?) “He’s all yours.”

George carefully handed the carrier to Sapnap and dragged himself to the passenger side door. Strange that it’s on the opposite side in America…

He hesitated, hand on the handle, before he pulled it open gently.

There he was, Dream, looking very lovely in both the moonlight and street lamps. He couldn’t help the humongous grin that spread across his cheeks. But Dream held a finger to his lips as if to say ‘stay quiet.’

Yet he was beaming as well.

George nodded and got in the car as quickly as he could. The moment his seatbelt clicked, the car started to move. 

It took less than ten seconds for Dream to start talking.

“Welcome to Florida!”

George felt like he was floating. This is the happiest he’s felt in a long time. 

“Thanks,” he managed, before breaking into happy little giggles.

“I can’t believe I’m here,” he said, relaxing back into the seat.

“Believe it,” Sapnap replied from the back. “You’re stuck here with us now.”

“Oh the horror,” George said sarcastically.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to look at the source. 

Dream. Of course it was.

“I promise I’ll give you a hug when we get back,” the man whispered, barely loud enough for George to hear. 

“How was the flight?” He asked, back to his normal volume.

George shrugged.

“I slept for most of it.”

Sapnap snorted.

“Of course you did, what else would you do?”

“You literally had to call Karl so you wouldn’t fall asleep while driving,” Dream said.

“But I was driving.”

“Well excuse me, let me pilot my own plane next time,” George cut in.

The rest of the drive consisted of similar conversations. Small talk that led to teasing and playful insults. It was nice, almost as if they were just on call. But they weren’t. They were in the same car, in the same country, driving to their house.

Their house. George liked the sound of that

~

“Should I keep Cat in my room for a few days so Patches doesn’t freak out?” George asked, taking the carrier from the back.

“Still can’t believe you named your cat Cat…” Sapnap muttered.

Dream shrugged.
“If you want to. I don’t think she’d have too much of an issue with him, but like if it makes you feel better than sure.”

George nodded and grabbed his backpack from the boot, or trunk as it’s called in America. 

“Maybe just for a day or two.”

Dream nodded and walked up to the front door.

George took a moment to take in the house.

It was nice, like really nice. Not too big, but definitely not too small. It was a two story house with what seemed to be large windows that probably let in a lot of natural light. The front garden had a few bushes in it lining the path, almost making it feel like a red carpet.

“Hey!” Sapnap called, snapping George from his thoughts. “You coming or what?” 

“Yeah!” George called back, quickly walking up the path and through the door. 

The inside was just as nice as the outside. He could see the living room from his spot. What seemed to be a large cushy couch was the main attraction, as well as the TV. He could also see what seemed to be a dining room-

Arms wrapped around him, gently squeezing his shoulders. George bent his knees to put the carrier down before returning the hug. God, if hugging Sapnap had been nice, hugging Dream was like heaven. George buried his face in the other’s shoulder unconsciously balling his hands in the fabric of Dream’s shirt. 

He remembered a conversation from before, how Dream told him he went by the policy not to let go until the other person did. And since they were in the comfort of their own home, ‘Our home.’ George allowed himself to fully sink into the embrace.

It took a while before he let go, regretting it as soon as he did. But he got to see Dream’s face, having to look up at him. It made him feel a little small, which he shoved down. He didn’t need this right now, he didn’t want to regress when he just arrived.

“I told you I’d hug you when we got back,” Dream smiled.

“Thank you,” he whispered in response, pressing his forehead into Dream’s chest.

Sapnap seemed to vanish. He wasn’t in the room when George looked up. Neither was his suitcase or backpack.

“Where’s Sap?”

Dream gestured behind him.

“Probably putting your stuff upstairs. Come on, I’ll show you your room.”

George picked up Cat and followed the taller man up the stairs and down the hall. It was pretty easy to tell whose room was whose. Sapnap had a caution sign nailed to it and Dream had a couple art pieces, clearly by fans.

“Your room’s next to mine,” Dream explained, stopping at the end of the hall. 

“The one with the warning sign is Sap’s, mine has the fanart. The bathroom’s the second door on the left and the one next to it has towels and other bathroom shit if you need it.”

George smiled and opened the door to his room. Sapnap wasn’t inside, but his suitcase and backpack were. There was a double bed in the center of the room with a nightstand next to it. A desk was on the wall, ready for his computer when it came.

It felt so familiar, comforting.

“It looks just like my old room,” he said softly, setting Cat down for the final time.

“Good,” Dream replied. “We tried so hard to make it look right.”

George turned to face Dream, then paused.

“Can I give you another hug?”

Dream smiled gently.

“You don’t have to ask, you know, you can just like, go for it.”

With that, George rose to his toes and reached up to wrap his arms around Dream’s neck. He buried his face again and grabbed fistfulls of Dream’s shirt. This time it was intentional. He didn’t want to let go, especially when he felt Dream run his hands up and down his back. George let out a shaky breath and tried to pull himself closer.

Dream could probably tell something was up, he knew George too well, but he didn’t care. All he wanted was to be held and never let go. 

He felt a hand go through his hair, gentle touch tracing circles on his scalp and soothing him more. Despite how much he’d slept on the plane, George started to feel a little drowsy. Dream was comfort. Dream was home.

Chapter Text

You: Where’d you go after stealing my belongings?

Sapnap: My room, you seemed to need space

You: Sorry, did I make you uncomfortable?

Sapnap: Nah, kinda expected this ngl

You: What’s that supposed to mean!

Sapnap: ;)

George put his phone down with a sigh and shook his head. Sapnap’s being Sapnap again...

Cat sat at the foot of the bed, seemingly scanning his new environment. He’d woken up the second George took him out of the carrier. Maybe he was keeping Cat in here for his own comfort. But of course he realistically had to let him out the next day so the cat could learn where the litter box was and where food and stuff was. 

George started unpacking his suitcase, sticking the clothes in the closet and putting a few things on the desk like his mouse and laptop. When he got to his backpack, he hesitated. That’s where he had his littlegear… 

He didn’t want to slip. He wasn’t ready for the others to get suspicious or anything. It also made his anxiety spike at the thought of going little while here. But this would be the first night in weeks he hadn’t regressed. But he just couldn’t… Not while they’re here…

But he had to put the things away, he couldn’t just leave them in the bag and feel okay with himself. Carefully, he unzipped the big pouch. The mooshroom greeted him, the safest thing he could have out. George smiled and picked him up and gave him a quick cuddle before placing him on the bed.

The other things went right to the nightstand drawer. The crayons, the colouring pages, sippy cup, and the pacifier. He wanted to get them into the drawer and forget about them as quickly as possible, yet another part said to stick the pacifier in his mouth and plop onto the floor to colour. He could feel the familiar foggy feeling start to cloud his mind.

But he refused.

George squeezed his eyes shut tight and took deep breaths. He tried to think about big things, like streaming, like moving, like having to help with cooking and the shopping, things like that. It was working. He felt the fuzzy feeling slowly go away, only to be replaced with a lump in his throat and pain in his head.

He’d never fully suppressed it before, he didn’t know how long it would last either. The thought of Dream or Sapnap seeing him regressed nearly sent him into a panic attack immediately. He let himself fall onto the bed and held the mooshroom so close to his chest that if it were alive, he’d be squeezing the air out of it.

‘ You just have to make it until you’re comfortable,’ he told himself. But how long would that be?

~

A knock on the door woke him up.

George didn’t remember falling asleep.

“Hey, you up?” 

Dream.

George pushed himself up and stretched. The sun was blaring into the room, nearly blinding him.

“Why does the sun have to be so bright?” He groaned, rolling onto his stomach.

A laugh came from the other side of the door before it opened.

“Good morning Gogy.”

“Ugh, send me back to London…” 

The bed shifted next to him and George looked up. Dream sat on the edge of it, staring at him with a soft gaze. But the moment George looked up, Dream looked away.

“Come on, it’s like noon, Sap wants to get burgers.”

‘ Of course he does .’

“Yeah,” George said with a yawn. “He told me that yesterday.”

Dream stood up, much to George’s dismay. He wanted him to stay…

“C’mon, I’ll pay so you can get whatever you want.”

“I need like, five more hours…”

Dream chucked.

“You get ten minutes.”

George heard the door close a few seconds after. When it did, he smiled. 

This was everything he wanted.

~

“So what do you want on your burger?” Sapnap asked as they waited in line at a Burger King drive through. 

“No tomato,” George replied, leaning closer to see the menu. “And I want a sprite.”

Dream snickered from the backseat. Something told George he had known exactly what he would want. That fucker knew him way too well.

Sapnap seemed to know too, since he nodded with an eyeroll.

“Dream, you want sprite too?” 

Dream shook his head.

“I don’t want a drink. I’ll get water at home.”

George wrinkled his nose.

“You’re weird.”

“Shut up!” Sapnap cut in. “I have to order.”

Dream and George sat in silence while Sapnap explained what they wanted. He then pulled around, paid, and got the food.

“No eating in my car, I wanna keep it clean,” the youngest said.

George didn’t believe that for a second.

“I bet you eat and drink in this car,” he huffed.

“And didn’t you piss like, all over the front?” Dream added.

“Yeah, I can make a mess of my car, you can’t,” Sapnap said with a smirk.

Dream’s response was to flip him off, and George laughed, slowly taking a chip from the takeaway bag and dramatically bringing it to his mouth. Sapnap glared, but they all knew it was in good fun.

“You guys can start eating when we get back, I need to let Cat out and show him where the litter box is,” George said. “I don’t want him to piss all over my floor, you either Sap.”

“Okay, fuck you both!”

~

George let himself into his room, immediately dropping to the floor. He didn’t realize how drained he was from a brief drive to a fast food place with his two best friends. He didn’t wanna leave the room, it felt so nice to be away from people. But he knew he couldn’t stay in here, he had to go back out.

“Cat, come here,” George called, clicking his tongue so the tabby would come to him.

With a little chirp meow, Cat crawled out from under the bed and rubbed against his shins before placing two paws on his knees. George smiled, feeling slightly better. Cat always made the stress go away.

“I bet you’re hungry, come here,” he said softly, cradling Cat like a baby. 

He forced himself to his feet and left the room, hating every second of leaving it. Dream had told him that the litter box was in the laundry room (they have a room devoted to laundry apparently) so he took Cat to where he assumed it was, which was under the stairs. 

Thank god his assumption was correct.

He briefly explained to Cat that this is the toilet and set him in the box before leaving to give him privacy. 

“You’d better not have eaten my burger,” he said as he entered the dining area.

The other two were seated at the table, the majority of their own food gone. True to his word, Dream had a glass of water sitting in front of him. Sapnap gestured to a wrapped burger and a container of chips, along with a drink.

“I’m not that much of an asshole, give me some credit.”

George smiled and shook his head, trying his best not to show his discomfort. He took a seat on the chair and unwrapped the burger before taking a bite.

“Is it better than that UK shit?” Sapnap asked, disdain in his voice.

George nodded, although he couldn’t really taste too much of a difference. In his opinion, a burger’s a burger as long as it doesn’t taste like absolute shit.

“It tastes American,” he decides on.

“I’ll take that as a complement,” Sapnap declared proudly, finishing off his own food.

George glanced at Dream, who was sucked into his phone. He tried to peek at what it was, but Dream had a privacy screen, which effectively stopped his snooping.

Somehow, Dream seemed to notice.

“You guys need to see how much twitter is freaking out!” He exclaimed, spinning his phone on the table and sliding it across to the others.

The trending tab had multiple references to George being in Florida, Sapnap’s story post, the radio silence from all three of them, and “OH MY GOD IT'S HAPPENING”

Sapnap immediately started laughing, but George was a little overwhelmed. A lot overwhelmed. Yet he laughed with Sap so they wouldn’t catch on, rapidly eating his food to distract himself.

This was gonna be a long day.

Chapter Text

It had been two days since George arrived in Florida. Throughout those two days, he managed not to slip. Sure, he was more on edge than before he started regressing and he felt like breaking down every second he was out of his room, but it’s what he felt he had to do. It’s what he knew he had to do.

But that night, that night he didn’t know if he could do it anymore. 

The other two were either doing computer shit or asleep, no one was gonna bother him. Which worked out great for George, because he was currently balled up on his bed with tears streaming down his face. He’d already quietly sobbed into his pillow, which was now drenched, but he couldn’t stop. It was too much, he needed to regress.

But he just couldn’t let himself. What if he did and then Dream or Sapnap came into the room? What if they needed him for something and he was little? What if they could hear him from their rooms? Too many questions and not enough answers.

He couldn’t let himself, but it didn’t seem like he had much of a choice in the matter. The fog was coming fast, so thick he could barely think, chills running down his spine. He needed his paci, he needed his mooshroom, he needed someone . But even his rapidly slipping mind knew he couldn’t have someone.

Before he was completely gone, George opened the drawer of the nightstand and pulled out the paci and popped it into his mouth. The relief was almost instant. His sobs began to slow down and his eyes didn’t flow tears every second of the hour.

He wrapped his arms tightly around his mooshroom, which was on the nightstand as well, and took some shaky breaths. He was feeling better, but this wasn’t enough. He needed someone to help him. But he couldn’t, he just couldn’t, especially not when he was already in space.

George buried his face in his pillow, imagining it was someone’s shoulder or chest. Imagining it was Dream.

~

‘Ugh, what the fuck happened last night?’

George groaned and sat up, only to discover the pacifier still lodged in his mouth. Fuck… He slipped, didn't he?

With a new sudden awareness, George removed the pacifier and shoved it in the nightstand as quickly as he could. He wiped the drool from his face as best he could before standing to leave. He wanted juice.

He wasn’t sure of the time, but the sun was up already. There’s a chance either of the guys could be up, which means it's a blessing that they didn’t walk in on him with a pacifier in his mouth.

Sure enough, George saw the back of someone’s head on the couch as he came down the stairs. 

Dream, he’d know the dirty blond hair anywhere.

Something brushed against his legs and he looked down, expecting to see Cat. To his surprise, it wasn’t Cat, it was Patches. 

“Well good morning,” he said, reaching down to pick her up.

She attempted to escape, but George was quicker, cradling her like he cradled his own cat.

“I see you finally met.”

George looked up from the cat in his arms to see Dream smiling from the living room.

“Yeah, where’s she been these past days?” He asked, gently scratching Patches on her chest.

Dream shrugged.

“Probably under my bed.”

George walked over to the couch and sat down next to Dream. He held Patches out and practically dumped her in Dream’s lap. She sat there for a grand total of five seconds before hopping off to groom herself.

George smiled before turning to look at Dream, only to be met with a concerned expression.

“Uh, is everything okay?” He asked, confused, panic starting to rise.

“Your face is all red,” Dream said quietly.

George quickly brought his hand to his cheek, flinching at the feeling of dried tears on his skin. Shit… He should have checked before going downstairs.

“Are you alright?” Dream asked. “It’s okay if you’re not.”

George nodded, then shook his head.

“I dunno…”

Dream frowned as he brought a hand to meet the brunet’s cheek. His thumb gently stroked his face, wiping away the dried tears and tracing the tracks. Gently, he pulled the smaller closer to him. George went limp, slumping against Dream’s side, becoming completely pliant.

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

George shook his head. 

“I don’t know how to.”

Dream pulled him off his side, making George whine slightly, only to pull him into his lap and wrap him in a hug. George immediately returned the hug, squeezing him tightly. He felt the lump returning and knew he was gonna cry.

“‘M not ready to explain…” He managed before his eyes spilled over.

Dream rubbed little circles into his back, not seeming to care that George was staining his shirt with tears. He allowed George to cry, holding him throughout. 

George didn’t let himself cry for long though. He stopped himself with choked breaths and a few hiccups. He didn’t pull away though, instead choosing to trace shapes on Dream’s chest and lay with his eyes closed.

“You don’t have to be ready yet, I don’t need to know what’s wrong,” Dream said gently. “I’m here though, you don’t have to be alone. Both me and Sap are here for you.”

‘ But I only want you…’

“Thank you.”

They stayed on the couch for a bit longer. George silently cursed himself for starting to crack, but also didn’t mind. He felt safe in Dream’s arms, he felt calm. Even though his mind wouldn’t shut up about how much of a failure he was for not being able to last more than two days, he felt okay about it for the most part.

George finally sat back, looking into Dream’s golden eyes with his own waterlogged ones. Dream gave a soft smile and reached his hand up to his face again, using his thumb to wipe away the remaining tears. 

“Feel better?”

George nodded, flashing a smile.

“Yeah, thank you.”

“Wanna get something to drink? You should probably hydrate.”

George nodded again.

“Juice please.”

One cup of juice later, George officially felt better. Better than he had since the start of his move. Sapnap still wasn’t up, so it was just him and Dream, which was nice. As much as he loved Sap, George knew that Dream was special.

He could never seem to get the boy out of his head. No matter what he did, Dream was always there. Even when he was little, he longed for Dream. If only he could tell Dream about it, then he could go seek comfort when he was small. He wouldn’t have to take care of himself anymore. 

But this was good. This would have to do. It was nice, it was enough, right?

No.

~

That night was almost the same story, except he didn’t feel as pent up as before. The urge to cry wasn’t that strong, but it was still there. George couldn’t stop himself before he slipped. He stuck the paci in his mouth and sucked away while he mumbled little things to Mooshy and Cat. 

He had waited until he was sure no one would come to his room. He was safe.

He’d also filled up his sippy before, carefully when no one was looking. Taking small sips from the cup every once in a while sent George deeper into his headspace. His mumbling soon became babbling, a combination of gibberish and very slurred words.

Mooshy was the only one who knew his secret. Him and Cat that is…

He so desperately wanted Dream, he really wanted him. Yet he knew he still couldn’t. Even though Dream said he’d be there for him and ready to listen, he was terrified to go to him. What if he thought this was weird? What if he sent George away? 

The idea of Dream sending him away, of his Dream wanting nothing to do with him, sent a sudden wave of sadness over George’s tiny mind. And for a second night in a row, George found himself crying himself to sleep.

For a second morning in a row, George immediately shoved his pacifier into the drawer, this time along with the sippy cup, which he should probably wash after it had juice in it.

Today, George was sure to make sure he didn’t have tear stains on his face though. As much as he loved being held by Dream, he didn’t want to have a repeat of the previous morning.

Good thing too, since when he went downstairs both of the guys were up.

Well, sorta.

Sapnap was in the kitchen, watching the microwave like a hawk. Dream on the other hand, was passed out on the couch, both cats next to him. Sapnap opened his mouth to say hello, but George quickly shushed him and pointed to the living room.

Together, he and Sapnap tiptoed to the room to get a better look. George smiled fondly, it made him happy to see Dream with the cats, resting peacefully.

He quickly snapped a picture on his phone. (For blackmail- obviously…)

“He’s been like that for the past thirty minutes,” Sapnap said, opening the microwave and retrieving a hot pocket. 

George, smile still on his face, nodded and opened the fridge.

“He looks peaceful.”

Sapnap raised an eyebrow before lifting his hot pocket to his mouth. 

“Of course you think tha- OW what the fuck!” 

George laughed as the younger dropped the wrap back on the plate, letting his mouth hang open.

“Hot?”

“No. It’s ice cold. Yes it’s hot!” Sapnap snapped, turning on the sink and drinking straight from the tap.

George just kept laughing.

“What‘s funny?” 

Oops… 

“Sap nearly set himself on fire with a hot pocket,” George explained, slightly exaggerating.

“I did not,” Sapnap retorted, turning off the sink, chin dripping water. “I just burnt my fucking mouth.”

“Yeah, like I said, you practically ignited yourself.”

Dream giggled, still slightly drowsy.

God-

Why is he so cute?

Wait what?

Well, nothing to deny there. Dream was cute! Especially when he’s half asleep snuggled up on the couch with cats. Plus his messy hair was a good addition. And the somehow oversized clothes, god they’d be so big if George put them on. They’d make him feel all small and safe.

“You’re staring.”

George flinched and nearly smacked Sapnap in the head.

“God! Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“You are though,” Sapnap continued, taking a hesitant bite of the hot pocket. “You suck at hiding it.”

George rolled his eyes and turned back to Dream, who’d gone back to laying on the couch.

Okay, maybe he was staring. 

Just a bit.

Chapter Text

“How do you suck at this?” George asked, speeding past Sapnap.

He’d somehow managed to convince the others to play some Mario Kart. He knew he’d be good, so there was no risk of getting too overwhelmed by it. After all, it was still stressful not being able to regress whenever he needed to.

“Shut the fuck up!” Sapnap yelled back, desperately trying to get back into the lead. 

Meanwhile, Dream didn’t seem to be getting into it, which was strange considering how competitive he usually was. He seemed distracted by something, he kept driving his kart into walls and off the edge.

George was not complaining in the slightest. Not as he sped across the finish line in first place.

He giggled, turning to Sapnap and flipping him off. “Get better.”

This seemed to snap Dream out of whatever trance he was in.

“Get good? That’s your insult?” He teased.

“Oh, my bad, should I have called him dogwater instead?”

“You’re such an idiot…”

Dream ended up finishing in seventh place, and Sapnap in second. 

The next race didn’t exactly go in George’s favour though. Not with Dream back in focus. His competitive side had him trash talking the others when they made a mistake or ran into one of his strategic fake question blocks.

 “Dream! You’re such a fucking arsehole!” George practically screamed as he was hit with a blue shell, Dream as Princess Peach whizzing past him.

“Hmm, maybe you should get good, Gogy,” he smirked.

George pouted as he came in fourth, just behind Sapnap, who was quick to gloat.

“I think I’m done with this,” he grumbled, putting down his controller.

It wasn’t too much, not yet at least, but he didn’t want to let it become a risk. He needed a distraction, something to get them away from the game.

“We should make food,” he declared, standing to his feet.

Dream looked at Sapnap, who shrugged, both proceeding to put their controllers down as well.

“Whatcha wanna make?” Dream asked, leaning against the counter. 

Shit-

He hadn’t thought this far ahead…

“Uhhh, soup,” he said slowly.

“Soup,” Sapnap repeated, taking a seat on the counter next to Dream.

“Yeah, soup, chicken… Chicken soup.”

Dream and Sapnap shared another glance, which both confused and worried George. What were they thinking? Did they think he was behaving weird, because he was. Did they want him to leave?

“Nevermind, I’ll just go,” George said quietly, walking away quickly.

He needed something, anything, to get his mind off of what just happened. He practically sprinted up the stairs and into his room, closing the door behind him. 

Too close.

Just as he was about to allow himself to slip, there was a knock at the door.

Shit.

“George?”

Dream.

“Are you okay? Can I come in?”

Why the hell not? He desperately needed a hug right now.

George slowly backed up enough to open the door. Dream walked in and closed it behind him, sitting down next to George.

“Wanna talk?” He asked, putting an arm over George’s shoulders.

Just like yesterday, George melted into his touch. He allowed himself to be vulnerable, to show just a hint of what’s underneath his skin.

“Just got to be too much,” he whispered, nuzzling into Dream’s neck.

“Did I go too far? I’m sorry if I did.”
God, his voice was so gentle, so soothing.

“Not just you,” George started. “I- I’ve been getting overwhelmed a lot recently.”

Dream hummed, switching them from a side hug to full hug. George was grateful for this, tangling them together and taking a deep breath.

“I get it, I know what overstimulation feels like.”

Of course he does, why didn’t he think of this sooner? 

“But you don’t have to like, pretend like you’re okay,” Dream continued. “I said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s okay to not be okay.” 

George nodded, squeezing Dream with his arms.

“But if you just wanted a hug, you can just go for it.”

“Well but where’s the fun in that?” George asked, bringing a laugh from Dream.

“C’mon, I think you got Sap actually really wanting soup.”

“Um, can we, um,” George started, trying to get the words out. “Can we stay for just a couple more minutes? I need it.”

“Of course.”

~

“What’d I tell you?” Sapnap asked. “I told you Dream has great food!”

They did end up making soup, which took over three hours and a visit to that old video Bad made on how to prepare soup. But it was so worth it. 

Dream rubbed the back of his neck.

“It’s not really my food, we all made it.”

“Just take the complement Dream.” 

The blond held up his hands in surrender and took a sip of soup. 

George smiled as he looked around the table. This is everything he wanted when he moved, to spend time with his friends, laughing and just having a good time. Everything was going right (well, except for his mind, but that’s besides the point) the cats were getting along, they weren’t just staying in their respective rooms all day, and they hadn’t discovered his secret yet.

“What do you think, Gogy?” Sapnap asked. “Soup good or what?”

“It’s perfect,” he smiled back, drinking the broth that was left in his bowl.

“I’m actually gonna get seconds.”

‘ Wow, getting seconds!’

Both Dream and Sapnap ended up getting seconds as well and they ate in a comfortable silence. Dream took the dishes after, insisting that he wash them for some bullshit reason George didn’t even want to argue with.

Tap tap

George turned around to see Sapnap. He should have guessed.

“Wanna watch something?”

“Sure, what're you thinking?”

Sapnap ended up turning on an anime that George didn’t quite understand, but the younger seemed to enjoy it, so George sat back and watched anyway. He liked seeing Sapnap smile, he liked seeing his friends happy. He grinned when Dream joined them, practically flopping on top of Sapnap.

This is everything he ever wanted. 

This was the perfect night.

~

“I think we should call it,” Dream announced after the fifteenth episode.

“What? No, you can’t-” Sapnap started, only to be cut off by a yawn.

“Okay, okay I guess you can.”

Dream patted him on the shoulder before standing up.

“You two coming or are you gonna stay down here a little longer?”

George shook his head.

“No, I’ll go up.”

Sapnap nodded his head too in agreement.

So together, the trio made their way upstairs and to their respective bedrooms, saying goodnight before they did.

George closed his door and sighed. God that was amazing.

And since they’re all going to bed, he felt safe regressing tonight. That's an improvement right? 

He grabbed the pacifier and his mooshroom and changed his clothes into the baggiest ones he owned. He stuck the pacifier in his mouth after pulling his shirt on and tucked the mooshroom under his arm before crawling into bed.

He was sleepy already, so it didn’t take much for the haze to roll in and his mind to go fuzzy. He played with Mooshy for a little bit before he was too tired to even hold his head up. With that, he laid down and snuggled the mooshroom into his chest, careful not to dislodge the paci, and let sleep take over.

He dreamed he was in minecraft, that he had a real mooshroom and lived in a house made of mushrooms. That he had a crown. That he was a prince. Prince of the mushrooms!

As with the past couple days, he woke up big again. He began the normal routine of putting the pacifier back into the nightstand and placing the mooshroom next to the bedside lamp.

But something was different. Something wasn’t right.

Wrong.

His heart dropped.

Fuck-

No no no, fuck shit fuck fuck fuck nonono

No this didn’t happen-

George could barely breathe with panic.

This did not fucking happen.

But it did.

Wet.

Chapter Text

How the fuck do you come back from this? How the fuck do you hide this? This had never happened before. This shouldn't have happened!

How the fuck do you explain that you wet the fucking bed at age twenty four?

George checked the time. Only seven AM. Perfect.

That’s really early.

Step one: Take a shower.

That was pretty easy. George spent a good amount of time letting the water wash over him and take away the embarrassment. He wished with his whole mind that this was just a bad dream, that he’d wake up and be in clean and dry sheets with no childish- no babyish mistake.

But when he opened his eyes and turned off the water, he was still there, dealing with the consequences.

‘ You’re okay,’ he told himself. ‘ You’re not the first and you surely won’t be the last.’

He toweled off and pulled on a random outfit that could pass as pajamas. But now came step two: Clean the sheets and his clothes.

George placed his wet pants and sweats on his towel (he’d wash that too) and began to strip the bed. The comforter went first, then the sheet, then the fitted sheet. This is where he ran into another problem.

There was nothing protecting his mattress.

A damp spot was square in the middle of the bed, clearly not coming out on it’s own. But you can’t throw a mattress in the wash! What the fuck? 

This is not happening.

George slumped to the floor in defeat, all out of denial. What now? He can’t just buy a new mattress, that would take time to come in. And he couldn’t sleep on the floor or couch, not with the risk he could have another accident. 

How do you get piss out of a mattress?

He groaned as he remembered something. There was someone who knew how to do that in this house. Dream knew.

He remembered getting the panicked text one day from Dream.

“Help! What do you do when you piss the bed?!”

He’d laughed at the time, but now? Now he just felt awful for laughing at what was clearly a horrible situation. Was this karma? Was this what he got for all the pissbaby jokes?

George sighed and rubbed his eyes. He can’t do this alone.

He needs help.

Slowly, he shuffled out of his room and over to the next room. He raised his fist to knock, only to freeze as fear filled his body. Once he did this, he couldn’t go back.

Fuck it.

Knock knock

“Dream?” He whispered, secretly hoping he wouldn’t get a response.

Unfortunately, he heard a groan from the other side of the door. No going back.

He opened the door and slowly shuffled in.

“Hey,” Dream greeted, yawning. He was sitting up in his bed with the sheets still over his legs. Hair all messy from sleep.

“‘S everything okay?”

George shook his head, making Dream raise his eyebrows in alarm.

“I have to tell you something, but you have to promise not to tell Sap.”

Dream pushed the sheets off and padded over to stand with George.

“I promise.”

George felt his eyes start to sting, so he refused to look at Dream.

“Last night, um, last night I-” he tried. “Um, last night I- I kind of um…”

His voice shook as he spoke.

Dream lifted his hand and gently cupped George’s face, lifting his chin so he could see his tearful eyes.

“I w- I wet the bed, and now I don’t know what to do…”

And with that, a few tears escaped his eyes and began to trail down his face. 

“Don’t laugh…”

Instead of laughing at him, Dream pulled him close into a hug. 

George took a shaky inhale and refused to let himself cry anymore. He’d been doing that way too much recently.

“Don’t laugh,” he repeated, wiping his eyes.

The way Dream ran his hand through George’s hair made him feel safe, like he didn’t just make a mistake that little children make. 

“It’s okay, don’t worry. I’m not gonna laugh, I promise.”

This made him feel somewhat better. To know that Dream wasn’t gonna laugh at him. And hearing that it’s okay? That did more than he thought it should.

“I feel like every time we hug, it’s because I’m having a rough time,” George said, laughing slightly.

“You wanna talk about it?” Dream asked, like he always did.

George almost said no, like he always did. But something inside urged him to say yes, to open up and tell him everything.

“Do you have the time? How soon do we have to clean the mattress?”

Dream shook his head.

“Forget about that, we can get a new one later. Right now, I’m here to listen to you and what you have to say.”

Dream led him over to the bed, took a seat, then pulled George up next to him.

“Go ahead. I promise I won’t tell anyone any of this.”

Well, here goes nothing…

“So I’m pretty sure you can tell I’ve been having a hard time recently,” he started, fidgeting with his hands.

“Well, it’s been going on for months, an- and it got to the point that I could barely stream.” 

Dream nodded, a sign he was listening.

He placed a hand on George’s shoulder and nodded again, this time to say continue.

“Well, I f-found a way to deal with it…”

Deep breath.

“Do you know what age re- regression is?”

Dream made the maybe gesture with his hand.

“Sort of? I’ve heard of it but I don’t know much.”

“It’s a coping mechanism,” George started. “You get fuzzy and your mind gets smaller. It feels like you’re a little kid.”

“I um, that’s what I do. Age regress I mean.”

He waited for Dream to laugh, or to push him away, or to tell him that he’s weird and to leave, but again, it didn’t happen. Instead, Dream nodded again, as if to say to continue. 

“Um, I use some things to help me regress. Like the mooshroom plush I have, and some colouring books. And um, a pacifier, um, and a sippy cup…” he trailed off, shrinking in on himself.

“I haven’t been doing it long, but I need it. It helps me not get overwhelmed as quickly. But I’ve never we- had an accident before today. I’m not quite sure what happened.”

There was a silence that followed. Both comfortable and anxiety inducing at the same time. Comforting because it gave George the opportunity to tangle himself in Dream’s embrace again, yet anxiety inducing because he didn’t know the thoughts that were going through Dream’s mind.

“That one time,” Dream started, breaking the silence. “That one time when you called, you got like, really clingy and it was kinda hard to understand you. Was that…” 

George nodded. Dream didn’t need to finish his sentence at all. He already knew what he meant.

“That was actually the first time.”

Much to his horror, Dream let go of the hug. 

This is it, rejection. Dream’s gonna tell him to leave, to go back to his room and deal with this himself. He’s gonna hate him.
George squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see his face when he sent him away.

“Hey, don’t worry, it’s okay.”

A hand started rubbing his shoulder and another stroking his hair.

“You don’t have anything to worry about.”

“But-”

“Nope, shhh, don’t even start.”

Dream lifted his chin and George opened his eyes, greeted by the kindest expression he could ever imagine. 

“Can I help?” Dream asked, then quickly began to clarify. “I mean like, if or when you regress again. I don’t want you to do this alone, so can I help?”

He froze. Dream wanted to help? 

He’d read about caregivers multiple times, but he could never read for too long or else he got envious. But Dream’s offering, and he so badly wanted to say yes.

“Sure.”

~

“You can’t sleep on the store mattresses, come on,” Dream groaned, pulling George from an incredibly comfortable display bed.

The pair decided to go out mattress shopping before Sapnap woke up, which Dream estimated to be a little over four hours. Dream had helped George clean up the sheets and get the laundry started, as well as take care of the cats. (Well, Dream took care of them and George played with them)

“But I like it and I don’t remember sleeping too well recently.”

“Well if you like it, then let’s buy it.”

George shrugged, trying not to show too much interest in the bed, completely failing his goal.

“Sure, why not?”

Dream snorted and shook his head, flagging down a salesman to ring them up.

Shit-

They can’t cart this home can they? What was he gonna do about the previous mattress? And where would he sleep?

Chapter Text

George sat on the display bed, arms crossed over his chest. He couldn’t sleep on his old mattress, that would be gross. But he also couldn’t sleep on the couch because what if he had another accident? And he couldn’t ask Dream to give up his bed, same issue as the couch and also it’s just rude.

“Alright George, the mattress will come by noon tomorrow,” Dream announced, sitting down next to him.

George forced a smile and nodded, pushing away his thoughts. Dream must have known something was up, because he frowned and gently grabbed George by the wrist, leading him back to their car.

He got in the driver’s seat, leaving George to get into the passenger side. The moment he did and the door closed, words were practically falling out of his mouth.

“Dream, I can’t just stay awake until tomorrow! I have to sleep at some point, and I have to sleep somewhere. But I can’t because my mattress is ruined, and I can’t sleep on the couch because what if it happens again?”

“Whoa, slow down for a moment, okay?” Dream cut in, grounding him by placing his hand on his shoulder.

“You can just stay in my room.”

George shook his head.

“What if it happens again?”

“I’ll put a mattress protector on it, don’t worry.”

“But, where will you sleep?”

Dream shrugged.

“The couch? Wouldn’t be the first time, won’t be the last.”

George shook his head and looked down at his lap.

“I can’t do that to you. It’s your bed and I’d feel too bad about pis- about it happening and having to clean it up.”

“Besides,” he added. “Won’t Sap get suspicious? How’re we even going to explain this?”

“We could say that the bed was too uncomfy? Like that you were having back issues or something,” Dream offered. 

George nodded. ‘ I guess that would work…’

“But what about where I’d sleep? Maybe I’ll just sleep on the floor so the cleanup isn’t too bad?”

Dream shut that down almost instantly.

“Nope, that’s not happening.”

George groaned and slammed his head against the back of the seat in frustration.

“I hate this… Why can’t I just be normal?”

“Hey,” Dream said, turning to look at the brunet. “Don’t stress so much, it’s really not a big deal.”

“Dream, I’m twenty four! I shouldn’t be pissing the bed!” 

Dream sighed and turned on the car. 

“I have an idea, but you might not like it…”

‘ Oh god, Dream what are you thinking?’

~

“Dream, no, absolutely not!”

When Dream said he had an idea, George did not expect that idea to be this!

“Dream, I am not going to wear a pull-up like some child.”

Dream mumbled something under his breath, something that sounded strangely like “isn’t that what age regression is?” But George ignored it, placing the box back on the shelf.

“I can’t, I promised myself I wouldn’t…”

Dream took the box from the shelf and returned them to George.

“If you need them, nothing wrong with changing your mind.”

“You don’t even have to use them,” he added. “They can be there just in case, okay?”

Dream was going to be a good caregiver wasn’t he? Always knowing what to say to help George to calm down and feel better about the situation. And he knew when to go soft and when to be his normal self.

“Fine, but only because you said so…”

There’s no way Dream was going to let him leave without the box

George chose to go on his phone while Dream checked out, blocking out the embarrassment of having to buy pull-ups in the first place. He had vowed to never wear them. Or, well, he vowed to never wear diapers, right? And a pull-up wasn’t a diaper right?

Oh who was he kidding? They’re too similar.

This was breaking his vow to himself.

What if Sapnap saw? He probably wouldn’t understand and instead would choose to mock George for it. 

‘No,’ his brain argued. ‘Sap wouldn’t do that.’

Still, he couldn’t shake the thought.

“Dream,” he started when they got back to the car. “I don’t know if I can do this…”

“That’s okay,” the blond replied as they pulled out and began the drive home. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

That made him feel much better. 

George allowed himself to get lost in the landscape going by. As similar as Orlando was to London in some aspects, it was so different. Different plants, different building styles, different land, different. 

Maybe a little too different as he thought about it.

~

He stared at the box, slightly scared, slightly anxious, and entirely disappointed.

Dream had offered to let George stay in his bed, but George refused, resolving to stack blankets on the floor of his own room and call it a day.

He hadn’t wanted to regress tonight, but he could tell the fog planned on rolling in, and knew he had no choice. 

Dream said he didn’t have to do anything he didn’t want to, but he felt like he needed to give these a shot at least once. 

After all, Dream did pay for them…

George sighed and slowly started to peel back the cardboard flaps. The *ahem* night pants were adult sized and plain white. They seemed discrete enough, not really bulky and would probably be no more visible than his normal pants under his sweats.

He pulled one out of the box.

‘ Here goes nothing.’

They felt very strange, having a paper/plastic sensation along with fake cotton. They made a slight crinkling sound as he pulled his pajamas over the night pants. Yet when he stood, they didn’t make any real sound.

Good thing, because he had to go downstairs to refill his water.

With the bottle in hand, George tiptoed to his door and slowly opened it. Sure no one could really tell, but he still felt strange about the whole situation. 

No one in the hall.

He was as quiet as possible, trying to avoid any squeaky spots on the floor or having his footsteps be too loud. Once again, no one was there.

Good.

George filled up his water bottle and then quickly ran back to his room, incredibly aware of the synthetic cotton rubbing against his legs. He closed his door the second he entered the room and hunched over, hands on his knees, accidentally scaring Cat from the empty bed.

“Sorry,” George apologized, padding over to give his cat a few head scratches as an offering. “Come here.”

He picked up Cat and brought him over to the makeshift bed on the floor. The tabby curled up and started to purr, effectively trapping George in his spot. He laughed softly and gently pet the cat, slowly starting the descent into littlespace. 

“You’re pretty,” he giggled, pressing his face into the sleeping cat. “Pretty kitty.”

Little George didn’t have as much respect for Cat as he did when big, so he stood up and made Cat have to get comfy again. His legs felt unstable, but not too unstable that he couldn’t walk. Instead, he toddled on his wobbly legs to the nightstand and fumbled with the drawer, eventually getting it open and pulling out the paci to stick in his mouth.

He grabbed Mooshy from the empty bed and padded back to the blanket pile and dropped to the ground with a plop. He giggled, proceeding to stand up and drop again. It was funny.

The paci felt nice to chew on, it made a squeaking sound too! He liked it.

He stayed on the blankets for an hour or so, babbling to himself and making up little stories about being prince of mushrooms, Mooshy as his favourite pet. Eventually though, he started getting sleepy. His eyes were heavy and he needed to lay down.

No!

It’s too hard!

The ground was wrong! It hurt his back and made him sad.

George pouted, sticking out his lower lip and holding Mooshy to his chest in crossed arms.

Someone fix it!

Somewhere deep in the back of his mind, a tiny voice whispered to him.

‘ Go to Dream,’ it said. ‘ He can fix it.’

Yes. Good plan. He nodded to Mooshy, who clearly had the idea in the first place, and stood up.

It was hard to twist the handle of the doorknob, but he managed to get it, leaving his room and walking the short distance to Dream’s door.

‘ Knock,’ he remembered. ‘ You have to knock. It’s nice.’

So that he did, gently tapping on the door. Only now did he remember how scary it was. Dream could change his mind now.

George tried to make himself as small as he could, accidentally going a little deeper into space. He hid his face behind Mooshy as the knob began to twist. The door opened and sure enough, Dream stood behind it.

He seemed to pick up quickly that something was different, because his expression shifted from confusion to a softer one. 

“Hey there,” he greeted, gesturing for George to come into the room. “What’s up?”

George toddled into the room, trying his best to make his steps seem normal and not little, utterly failing. His appearance didn’t help his weak attempt. Extra baggy clothes, mooshroom stuffed animal held close to his body, and presumably a pacifier sitting in his mouth.

“The ground, ‘s too ha’d,” the little explained, voice very quiet and timid. Very small. “It hur’s…”

“See, that’s what happens when you sleep on the ground, silly,” Dream teased, quickly realizing that George had regressed.

“Fix it?” George asked, looking up at Dream with wide, pleading eyes.

Dream shook his head.

“I can’t fix the ground.”

George whined, finally dropping his arms from his face to show that he did indeed have his paci.

“But, but you ha’ to!”

Dream not being able to fix the floor and make it softer? How could he not fix it? Dream could do anything! He’s Dream!

“Why?”

Dream crouched down a bit so George could look at him without having to strain his neck.

“I’m not magic, I’d need to ask someone else to come fix it for me.”

“But I can’t s’eep,” George pouted, eyes beginning to shine a little with unfallen tears.

Dream placed his hands on the little’s shoulders and lifted his chin. 

“Do you wanna sleep with me?”

George’s expression could best be explained as a mix between excitement, awe, and confusion.

“Bu’ tha’s your bed. ‘S not mine.”

“We can share, how’s that sound?”

George grinned behind his paci, nearly losing it in the process.

“Can Mooshy s’eep too?”

“Of course he can.”

Dream stood to his full height and grabbed George’s hand to lead him over. But the little planted his feet and whined, much to Dream’s confusion.

George held his arms up, eyes once again wide with want.

“Hol’ me?”

Dream nearly melted on the spot. How could he say no?

“Of course, come here Georgie.”

The brunet bounced a little in excitement and nearly tripped over himself as he leaned close to Dream, who caught him before he could fall.

George felt himself being lifted off the floor, giggling and still trying to bounce.

Dream held him like a baby, close to his chest. He could hear his heartbeat, soothing to his ear. George hummed happily, nuzzling his cheek against the soft fabric of Dream’s shirt. 

He liked this a lot.

Chapter Text

George didn’t remember coming to Dream’s room last night. But he does remember waking up with his head resting on Dream’s shoulder. He remembered being tucked in and given a kiss on the forehead. He remembered demanding that his mooshroom get a kiss too. He remembered Dream getting under the covers with him, and he remembered immediately snuggling close to him, trying to get as close together as he could.

He’d have to seriously thank Dream for this.

The pacifier was still in his mouth, much how it had been the previous times he slipped. It felt nice not to wake up in a panic today. It felt nice to wake up next to Dream, to cuddle up to him in the morning (or whatever time it was, didn’t seem like morning) and relax for once.

Dream must have felt him wake up, because he moved an arm to pull George closer to him.

“Good mornin’,” he said softly. “Are you…”

“I’m big now,” George confirmed, taking the pacifier from his mouth and tossing it off the bed.

“Thank you, for last night.”

Dream smiled at him sleepily. “Any time, thank you for coming to me.”

George hummed and nuzzled close to Dream. He liked this a lot. He wanted every morning to be like this…

“Can I tell you something?” Dream asked.

George nodded, perking up a little and becoming attentive.

Dream sighed.

“I really like this. Like, being here with you.”

George felt his face go hot and his heart begin to race.

“You do?”

Dream smiled and closed his eyes, running a hand through George’s hair.

“Yeah, I do.”

“I do too,” he admitted.

~

They laid together for what felt like hours, just enjoying each other and slowly (very slowly) waking up. Eventually though, they unfortunately had to get up. George felt like pouting, he wanted to stay in bed all day.

Yet he was the first to get up, rolling off the bed and picking up his pacifier to stuff in his pocket.

Apparently his shirt must have rolled up or something, because Dream made a comment.

“How’d they work out?”

Huh? What did he- 

Oh!

George had completely forgotten he was in the night pants. He must have gotten used to them.

“I forgot I had them on,” he laughed, slightly uncomfortable now that Dream had pointed it out.

George crouched down, partly to check if it had happened again, and partly to hide himself from Dream. 

‘ This is just weird,’ he thought as he attempted to casually feel the pull-up.

His heart sank a bit.

Heavy.

But he felt a little better because neither he or Dream had noticed, which means they had worked.

“Well,” he started, flushing pink. “Um, I guess they worked well?”

Dream moved over to the other side of the bed.

“I take it that means another accident?”

George shrunk in on himself as he nodded.

“I don’t know what’s happening.”

Dream slipped off the bed and sat down next to George, gently turning the brunet’s head to look at him.

“It’s okay, you can’t control it.” 

George wasn’t sure if he meant the bed wetting or the regression, but made him feel better nonetheless. He let his forehead drop to Dream’s shoulder.

“I’m a mess,” he chuckled.

Dream shook his head, then tilted it from side to side.

“Not in the way you mean. But you do need to get out of the pull-up.”

George groaned and tried to get closer to Dream.

“I don’t wanna,” he whined. “That means leaving…”

Dream let him climb on his lap, only to stand up and take the brunet with him. George squeaked, but clung tighter, wrapping his arms around Dream’s neck. 

Wow, Dream was strong.

“You may not be little right now, but as the person who’s taking care of you, I can’t let you sit in that all day.”

“Caregiver,” George mumbled.

Dream hummed in confusion, leaving the room and turning into George’s.

“Caregiver,” he repeated. “Someone who looks after a little.”

“Well,” Dream said, placing George on the ground. “Consider me that.”

“Now,” the blond continued. “Can you take care of this yourself or do you want help?”

“I can clean myself up, thank you very much,” George snorted, gently pushing Dream out of the room.

Dream however, found this amusing.

“Come join me downstairs after!”

George scoffed and shut the door. But he could hear laughter from the other side, and he couldn’t stop himself from laughing too.

God, moving here was the best thing he’d ever done.

George cleaned himself up and changed into some better fitting clothes. (Still comfy though, he almost never wore anything else)

He wrinkled his nose at the night pants, setting them down in the bin with a promise to dispose of them later.

He was probably the last one downstairs. His phone said it was just past 11:30 and only Dream would sleep past then, and rarely too. 

Well, George would too, but he was already up.

Heading down the stairs, his assumption was correct. Sapnap was sitting on the counter with a plate of some sort of leftovers and Dream was on the couch watching TV, his cat curled up next to him. 

George gave a wave to Sapnap before hopping over the back of the couch to sit with Dream. He still kind of wanted to be as close to the blond as he possibly could. That night, last night, that was everything that he ever wanted.

“Well hello, can I help you?” Dream asked, already putting an arm around the brunet.

“That’s good, thank you,” George replied, moving closer to lean against him.

From the kitchen, George heard a scoff. He lifted his hand and subtly gave Sapnap the middle finger. 

“Well that’s mature of you.”

Dream lightly squeezed George on the shoulder, probably trying to tell him to knock it off. George lightly thumped his head against Dream in response, telling him to shut up.

“Karl asked us to be in a jackbox stream tomorrow,” Dream said, changing the subject.

“I saw,” Sapnap replied before taking a forkful of his breakfast. “I’m gonna join.”

“How ‘bout you?” Dream asked, directing to George. “You in?”

George took a minute to think. He hadn’t been in a jackbox stream for a while, not since he had a panic attack that one time. He’d talked to Quackity a few times after and cleared up what happened, but not much else.

“Who else is joining?”

Dream lifted his phone up to double-check.

“So far it’s me, Sap, Karl, Bad, and Puffy.”

Fuck it, why not?

“Sure, I’ll join.”

Dream grinned and typed away on his phone.

Oh god, what did he get himself into?

Chapter Text

Rain had never bothered George before. He found the light drumming of drops to be soothing, along with the occasional roll of thunder. Lightning, he didn’t really like, particularly because the flash hurt his eyes, but the rest was nice.

So why was it that when the sky began to darken did he feel panic start to rise?

He was sitting on the couch, phone in hand, scrolling through tiktok, when he heard footsteps on the stairs. Someone was coming down.

Sure enough, Sapnap spoke up a moment later.

“Looks like it’s gonna rain.”

George glanced out the window. Dark clouds rolling in backed up Sapnap’s statement.

“Yeah, it does. What’re storms in Florida like?”

Sapnap flopped onto the couch, legs automatically lifting to completely invade George’s personal space and make themselves at home on his lap. He pursed his lips for a moment before answering.

“Short, but harsh. Sometimes the power goes out for like an hour, but they’re usually two hours at most.”

George manoeuvred himself so that the intruding legs were comfortably placed over his own, nodding in the process. That didn’t sound too bad, not too different, maybe even a little familiar. God he felt like he needed just a bit of familiarity. 

He got back into an easy rhythm of scrolling on tiktok, showing Sapnap a few, then going back to his own scrolling. He may be missing the way things used to be, missing the comfort that came from the similar days and happenings, but being able to look over and see Sapnap in person, that was worth all the stress the change caused.

George may favour Dream, for reasons he isn’t quite ready to admit to himself yet, but he still loved Sapnap. The boy was like a younger brother to him. Sure, he could be annoying at times, but that just seemed to make George more inclined to savour these moments of peace between them.

“Do you think you could record a skateboard trick for me?” George said, no inclination to the topic.

Sapnap tried to hide the way his face lit up, very poorly if I’m being honest. 

“Sure, why?”

George shrugged.

“Just to have, I guess.”

Sapnap grinned, much to George’s delight. He liked seeing the younger man happy.

“Next chance I can!”

George smiled back, adjusting their position so that he was laying as well, both of their legs now occupying the same space.

That’s when it started.

The gentle pitter-patter of rain thumping on the roof. 

George looked out the window, pleased to see raindrops falling from the sky. Memories of snuggling up under his covers when it rained with a cup of hot chocolate, his phone, and Cat flooded his mind. Maybe they had some chocolate syrup?

“Do we have chocolate syrup?” 

~

Of course they would have chocolate syrup! Good thing too, because what’s a rainstorm without hot chocolate? He made it in the microwave, milk in a mug and then mixed in the chocolate. Of course, George made enough for him and Sapnap. Dream doesn’t seem to really drink much besides water, so George didn’t want to risk it before asking him.

The rain began to pound harder. What was previously a soft pitter-patter had turned into harsh thumping. So loud he could hear it downstairs. Dream probably had it worse, since he was upstairs working on a plugin.

George didn’t know where the blankets were, and he felt weird asking Sapnap yet another question, so he didn’t. Instead, he tucked his knees up and under his hoodie, becoming a ball of sorts. He sipped at his hot chocolate while watching the rain fall and hit the ground.

It was soothing.

Until it wasn’t.

CRASH

The sound of thunder filled the atmosphere, startling him out of the almost trance-like state he was in. It was loud. It sent a rattle all the way from his toes to his head and back again.

George didn’t like it.

There was a flash and then another slam of thunder only three seconds later. George jumped, nearly spilling his drink. Apparently, Sapnap found this to be hilarious, as he laughed while George put down his drink.

“Why are you laughing?” George asked, shooting a glare to the younger.

Sapnap smirked and shook his head.

“I thought you’d be used to rain. You’re from London.”

“Well, I am. Just didn’t expect it,” George said defensively, crossing his arms over his balled up legs.

Another crash of thunder. He flinched again.

‘ Why is this happening?’

The rattle returned, this time with a shiver. A familiar shiver.

Fuck.

‘ No, not slipping! No slipping!’

He focused on his drink, taking slow sips and thinking of big things. The stream tomorrow, he’s playing Jackbox with his friends. But last time he played with them he had a breakdown and couldn’t finish the stream. What if it happens again?

‘ This isn’t helping!’

His skin felt cold and his head grew foggy. He couldn’t stop it, he was slipping fast and he couldn’t stop!

Sapnap was right there...

George went quiet and put his hot chocolate down before his hands went weak. He moved slowly and quietly wrapped his arms around his legs, attempting to get physically smaller than he already felt.

The storm should go away. It’s mean. 

It’s too loud. And it’s scary.

Another clap of thunder rolled in, sounding violent to George’s overstimulated ears. He covered them with his hands and tucked his face as much as he could into his hoodie. He wanted someone to protect him. He wanted Dream.

There was no thunder for what felt like ages, so George felt a little safer. He slowly lifted his head up, only to immediately shoot back down as the loud sound broke the silence again. He must have made a noise because someone started talking to him. 

“Hey, are you okay?”

Was he? 

No, no he was not. 

He was scared, and sad about being scared, and embarrassed that he slipped.

George shook his head, not trusting his voice. He could feel a lump rising up in his throat and it felt harder to breathe. It’s too loud!

Sapnap spoke carefully.

“What’s wrong?”

George shook his head again, quietly whispering his answer.

“I couldn’t hear you, can you say it again?”

“‘S too loud…”

“What’s too loud?” Sapnap pushed. “The thunder?”

George nodded, flinching as another clap sounded through the storm.

“Don’ like it…”

He sounded so small, so quiet. His voice was muffled and slurred, slightly cracking as well.

Gently, Sapnap tapped George on the shoulder, trying to get him to look up. George only tensed up and let out a small whimper. Sapnap frowned and softly placed his hand on the other’s head, lightly stroking his hair. 

“Hey, can you look at me?”

‘ Sap wants me to look at him.’

He slowly lifted his head, and his expression was nearly heartbreaking.

George had wide, tearful eyes, seemingly pleading for something. His mouth frowning, lower lip quivering slightly. His shoulders were hunched up and George seemed to try to shrink back into them.

He looked terrified.

An overwhelming need to protect washed over Sapnap. He moved closer and held his arms out, an open gesture for George to come close. Slowly, very slowly, the boy uncurled his legs and crawled over. He practically melted, going limp immediately and collapsing into Sapnap.

He wrapped his arms around Sapnap, tangling his hands in his hoodie and hiding his face in his chest. 

Was he safe yet? Maybe?

Sapnap closed his arms around George, holding him close. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but it pained him to see his friend like this, terrified and on the verge of tears. 

“You, uh, you wanna tell me what’s wrong?”

George didn’t move or reply at first. He squeezed his fists tighter as the storm gave another clap of thunder. Eventually, he lifted off for a minute and stared directly into Sapnap’s eyes with his own waterlogged ones.

“M’ke it go ‘way,” he whispered, bringing one hand up to his face. 

He tucked his face back into Sapnap’s chest and slipped his thumb past his lips. Being able to suck his thumb felt comforting, even though the storm was scary and mean and looked like it was trying to get him.

“Hey,” Sapnap started, running a hand up and down George’s back.

‘ Like Dream.’

“The rain’ll stop in like, an hour,” he said. “Don’t worry about it.”

That didn’t seem to help at all.

George was like a deadweight against him, yet not too heavy, definitely not more than Sapnap could handle. So having him lay limp against his chest wasn’t so bad.

“‘S g’nna get us,” George whimpered, lifting off of Sapnap and looking at him again.

Sapnap stared at him with confusion. What didn’t he understand? How can he be so calm when there’s an angry rain monster coming for them? 

“Wan’ D’eam…”

“George, look at me,” Sapnap said. “The storm can’t ‘get us’ because we’re inside.”

“‘Nside?” 

More confusion on the younger man’s face.

“Yes, we’re inside. Where the rain can’t go.”

“Where the rain can’ go,” George repeated.

Finally, he seemed to be calming down, much to Sapnap’s relief. He was awful at helping in situations like this. Like what are you supposed to do when someone is panicking?

Then, just as the room started feeling calmer, there was a bright flash of lightning followed almost immediately by thunder. Then the lights started to flicker, then they went out.

Chapter Text

George shrieked and buried his head in his hands, trying to hide.

It turned off the lights! Sap lied! It is gonna get them

The dam broke and tears started streaming down his face.

“You sai’ it wa’n’t g’nna ge’ us!”

“It’s not, wh- ah shit… What do you need?”

How the fuck does he deal with this? George is basically having a panic attack!

George whined and held his arms out before attempting to bury himself in Sap’s hoodie. He could feel himself going deeper into space, a little smaller than before. He’d never thought about a specific age, but he’d have to guess around four or five, even when his legs didn’t work right. But he felt smaller than that, he felt tiny, clingy, and needy.

Too little to think.

“D’eam…”

Sap sighed. 

“You need Dream?”

George nodded and tucked his face into Sap’s hoodie, his tears soaking into the fabric and making the younger man cringe a little.

“Then let me stand up so we can go upstairs.”

NO!

George shook his head and only wrapped his arms tighter around Sap’s neck. He’s just a little boy, how can he walk on his own? Why doesn’t Sap understand?

“No? Come on dude, I can’t carry you upstairs.”

“No, ca’y.” George whined, pushing himself closer into Sap.

Sap tried to pry the arms off of his neck, but with another flash and more thunder, he only succeeded in getting even more stuck to George. He’d now wrapped his legs around Sap’s waist, placing all his weight against him. 

Sap sighed, there wasn’t any use fighting it.

“Fine, but this is the one time. And if you get too heavy, I have to put you down.”

George whined a little, but didn’t say anything. Only buried himself more into Sap.

Sap stood, struggling a little to lift George. It was easy when they were sitting, but while George isn’t as heavy, the two are still the same height. It’s hard to carry someone who’s as tall as you are, especially when they’re practically a deadweight.

It was a very slow process, moving from the living room up the stairs, especially in the dark. Dangerous too, Sap nearly tripping multiple times. But what the hell? He’d gone this far already so what’s the rest of the way?

“We’re almost there, can you walk?” Sap begged, arms shaking.

George shook his head and Sap groaned, adjusting his grip before slowly walking down the hall. 

“Dream? Can you help me? It’s uh, I don’t know what to do?”

George heard a door open and soft footsteps on the wood floors.

“Is he okay? What happened?”

“I have no fucking clue. He just freaked out when the storm started.”

George felt Sap loosening his grip and panic rose in his chest. He whined and tried to cling to Sap, but he couldn’t anymore. The tears started again and quiet sobs escaped him. But they stopped as soon as he felt someone else’s arms supporting him.

Dream.

George went fully limp except for his arms, which he used to hold on tight.

“What’s wrong with him?”

A hand started to trace circles into his back, gently soothing him. 

“I’ll explain later, he’s okay, don’t worry.”

“Kinda hard not to.”

“Can you get some water with a straw while I try to talk to him? I promise I’ll explain later.”

There was a pause and then footsteps. George could feel himself being moved, then he felt himself being lowered onto something soft. It was nice.

“Georgie?”

Dream. Dream was speaking to him.

“George, can you open your eyes?”

It was an effort for him, but George slowly lifted his eyelids. The room wasn’t dark. There was a faint glow that made shadows dance along the wall. Pretty.

In front of him sat Dream, looking at him with concern.

“There you go, hey, can you tell me what happened?”

Dream was comfort.

George shook his head and stuck out his arms. Dream held one of his hands out and George grabbed it quickly with one hand. He used the other to suck his thumb.

Dream frowned.

Did he make Dream sad? He didn’t mean to!

“George, can you tell me how old you are? Do you know?”

George only blinked back and tilted his head slightly. He was confused. What did Dream mean?

“Can you hold up fingers for how old you are?” Dream tried again.

Oh! That’s what he wanted.

George thought for a moment (how old was he?) before he looked Dream in the eyes. He let go of his hand and held up two fingers, only for one to drop down, leaving a single finger. 

“Are you one?”

George nodded and reached for Dream again, both hands making a grabbing gesture. Dream gave in this time, pulling the little into his lap and letting him sit. 

“You’re really little. Do you want your mooshroom?”

Another nod.

This time accompanied with some incoherent mumbling.

Dream stood, taking George with him and made the quick trip to his room. 

Much faster than Sap.

George watched as the light from Dream’s room got further and further away until he was in darkness again. He buried his face in Dream’s shoulder and let himself cry softly. Dream didn’t cringe like Sap, instead he ran a hand through George’s hair and gently shushed him. 

He only stopped to grab the stuffie and hand tuck it under his arm. He was a little nervous that George would drop it on the way back.

They got back to the room at the same time as Sap.

Dream set George on the bed and handed him the mooshroom.

“Don’t let him hold the cup, he’ll drop it,” Dream warned Sap.

Sap looked at him confused and awkwardly held the glass in front of George. The brunet looked at the straw with wide eyes before latching on and taking sips of water.

“Okay,” Dream started while Sap held the glass for George.

“I’m not sure how much I’m allowed to say, but I’ll try.”

If Sapnap was confused before, now he was even more bewildered. 

“Sometimes, okay so like, sometimes when George is stressed, he like, he kinda shuts down a little. Like, it’s harder for him to like, talk or move...” Dream trailed off. How do you explain what littlespace is without explaining what littlespace is?

“I’m guessing that’s all you can say?”

Dream nodded, glancing at George.

Thank god he’d nearly finished the water, he could have gotten dehydrated.

George held Mooshy close to him and leaned back, taking the straw out of the cup with him. It was nice to chew on, like his paci.

He was quite content to sit there for the rest of the rain, stuffie in arms, and friends to keep him safe.

Chapter Text

By the time George was big again, the rain had stopped. 

The straw had been chewed flat and his mouth was dry. His eyes stung and everything felt too bright when he opened them.

What happened?

He sat up and looked around. This wasn’t his room or the living room, so where was-

Wait, this was Dream’s room?

How’d he get here?

No one was in the room, no one but him and the mooshroom plush. Had he slipped?

That would explain why he was in Dream’s room, he’d probably gone over for comfort.

God, if only his memories weren’t so fucking fuzzy.

He pushed himself up and left the room, leaving his mooshroom behind. He went straight to the bathroom, crossing his fingers Sapnap wouldn’t see him. 

He looked in the mirror. God, his eyes were bloodshot. 

George washed his face and dried it with his shirt before leaving the bathroom to go downstairs. He heard talking from the living room, so he went to join in.

George smiled at both his friends. Dream smiled back, yet Sapnap gave him a strange look. What did he do? He knew he didn’t have anything on his face, since he’d checked when he was in the bathroom. The only thing he could think of was his bloodshot eyes, which wouldn’t be too odd considering none of them exactly had normal sleep schedules and George could just blame it on jetlag. 

He shrugged it off and sat down next to Dream.

“What’re you doing?”

“Trying to figure out what to do until they fix the power tomorrow,” Dream answered.

The storm must have made the electricity go out. George remembered the start of the storm, he remembered sitting on the couch with hot chocolate. He doesn’t remember leaving the couch, but he had to at some point in order to have ended up in Dream’s room. 

“What’s the plan currently?”

Dream shrugged.

“We haven’t really gotten to that part yet.”

George snorted and bonked his head against Dream’s shoulder. 

“You’re an idiot.”

Strangely, Sapnap hadn’t said a single word yet. He hadn’t even acknowledged George past the odd look. Did something happen? Why was he suddenly silent? It’s not like him to be quiet. 

George leaned up to be level with Dream’s head.

“Did something happen? Sap hasn’t said a word to me.”

Dream frowned, his expression giving away the answer.

Something indeed had happened. The only question was “what”.

Dream sighed and pushed himself off the couch. He grabbed George by the wrist and led him from the room, saying something about being right back. 

Sapnap must be so confused.

Dream led him over towards the laundry room before he stopped. George looked up at him, confused and a little scared. What had happened? What was Dream about to tell him?

“Dream, what happened?”

Dream was silent for a moment, seemingly trying to think of how to explain. He put a hand on George’s shoulder and pursed his lips.

“Don’t get upset,” he started.

“I’m not sure what happened exactly, but there was a storm, and the power went out.”

Okay? Is that it? George had kind of pieced that together.

Why would that be bothering Sapnap?

“What does this have to do with Sapnap?” He asked, a slight hint of frustration in his tone.

“Well, he brought you to me…”

All the colour left George’s face. He knew exactly what Dream meant by that. His body felt cold, arms numb and hands throbbing, as if all the blood had left him. 

He stood still, eyes wide and mouth parted for what felt like an eternity. 

“Dream-”

“I didn’t tell him what it was,” Dream reassured. “I just said you get overwhelmed.” 

“But you were definitely little. Like really little,” he continued. “I asked how old you were and you couldn’t talk. You only held up a finger.”

George hid his face in his hands as Dream told the rest of the story.

This is a nightmare right? It’s not real. None of this week was real. He was going to wake up and be on the plane to America and get to start over. Right?

God he wished he could.

Or at least start the day over.

Shit.

“I- should I explain?”

Dream shrugged.

“If you’d like to. I told him that you might not want to.”

George smiled a bit. 

“Can you help? Or at least be there?”

“Of course.”

~

The pair returned to the living room a few minutes later. Sapnap was still on the couch, now scrolling on his phone, seemingly uncaring that if it died, he couldn’t recharge it. Actually, they probably had portable chargers in case this happened…

George broke the ice.

“Hey, how’re you doing?”

‘ Really? That’s the best you can come up with?’

“Uh, I’m good? Thanks for asking?”

Shit, how does he start this conversation? It’s so much easier to talk to Dream. He didn’t really even think about it, more just word vomited. But with Sapnap, he’d had no warning about the slipping, he just got stuck with a scared, little George. 

The first time he’d gone into babyspace…

He absentmindedly slipped his hand into Dream’s, silently asking for help. Luckily, Dream was incredible at reading him.

“I told you I’d explain what happened,” he started. “But I’m only here to help explain if needed.”

He gestured for George to take a seat, so he did. His legs shook from nerves and everything felt off. A thousand thoughts ran through his head, yet only one stopped.

‘ You have to tell him.’

“Um, so, I,” George paused and took a deep breath. “I bet you’re confused.”

Sapnap gave him a look that said ‘no shit’. George took another breath before continuing.

“Dream said I get overwhelmed sometimes. That’s partly true.”

‘ Here goes nothing .’

“Have you ever heard of age regression?”

The room was plunged into silence. An uncomfortable one. No one spoke, no one made a single sound.

“It’s like, you, um…”

Dream stepped in.

“It’s a headspace that’s usually caused by anxiety.”

‘ Wow, someone did their research.’

George spoke again before Sapnap could even open his mouth.

“You get small, mentally I mean. It’s like you’re a child.”

More silence. Still very uncomfortable, but neither Dream or George spoke, letting Sapnap figure out what this meant and the implications.

“So, is that what happened?” He asked, finally speaking.

George nodded, shrinking down into himself. It didn’t feel as scary as telling Dream, but he was still filled with anxiety. Fears that Sapnap would reject him, turn him away. That he’d made everything awkward between everyone. 

“Is it bad?” Sapnap asked.

George shook his head, still refusing to look up.

“No, it actually helps.”

God, you could hear it in his voice. The rising panic and fear, it was there in the cracks of his voice. George wanted to crawl into a hole. He wanted to leave and go back to his room, hide under the bed until everyone went to bed and he could leave without having to interact. 

He wanted to go back to England.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” 

George felt a hand on his shoulder, yet he didn’t flinch. Instead he leaned into the touch, seeking comfort and validation.

“I’m scared you’ll hate me,” he whispered, deciding to be honest and open. Why not, he’s already shared his deepest secret. 

Arms wrapped around him and pulled him in. 

“Why would I hate you?”

George shrugged.

“It’s weird.”

“I’ve heard weirder.”

George finally lifted his head up, greeted by a soft smile. He wasn’t slipping, he knew that for a fact, but he felt soft, warm, and safe. 

Chapter Text

“Do either of you have a spare mic?” George called from his room.

He’d set up his laptop with discord, but the microphone must have gotten mixed up in the bags to ship instead of the ones to take. That meant he was either going to be using his phone mic or the built-in laptop mic, which were both not the best. In George’s opinion, they were utter shit.

“I do!” Sapnap called back.

“Can I use it?”

No reply came back, but George could hear some shuffling followed by  footsteps going across the hall to his open door. 

“I present to you, my lord, my old, possibly busted, mic,” Sapnap said, holding it out with two hands and lowering his head.

George laughed and took the mic from the younger. 

Sapnap had spent a good amount of the past twelve hours doing whatever he could to make George smile. This included being over-dramatic, making random faces, and an occasional side hug. 

“Rise my servant,” George played along.

Sapnap listened and lifted his head, grinning from ear to ear.

“I hope it works, last time I used it I hit it off the desk.”

“How’d that happen?”

Sapnap shrugged.

“I don’t remember. Probably parkour.”

George turned to plug the microphone into his computer. Fingers crossed it worked.

He didn’t know exactly how bad the built-in mics would sound on stream, but they couldn’t be good.

“Ten minutes,” George commented. “You should probably go back to your setup.”

“See you in a few minutes Gogy.”

With that, Sapnap left the room, leaving George to his thoughts.

He sighed and absent-mindedly tested the mic (it worked), thinking over what happened last time. He’d watched the vod, seen how weird it seemed to the audience. You could even hear his hyperventilating if you listened for it.

God he hoped nothing like that happened this time.

He didn’t know what he’d do if it happened again. Probably slip and then beg for Dream. Or maybe Sapnap? He hadn’t slipped the previous night for some reason, so he didn’t know if he would ask for Sapnap or not. 

The discord ringtone broke George out of his thoughts. Someone, probably Karl, had started the call. He was out of time

And only 10 minutes until the stream. 

George took a breath, held it for a few seconds, then let it go with a sigh. Here goes nothing. 

He joined the call. 

“GOGY!”

Guess there’s five out of five today. 

“Quackity!” He yelled back, not quite as loud. 

“Where the fuck have you been?” Quackity asked, a lighthearted hint to his tone. 

George laughed. 

“I moved, idiot.”

Karl took this chance to join the conversation.

“Oh my gosh, George in Florida confirmed?”

George made a face of mock surprise, complete with his hands on his face. 

“Oh my god!”

He didn’t realize how much he’d missed these two until now.

The rest of the lobby slowly started joining the call. Sapnap first, then Dream, then Bad, and finally Puffy.

Karl started his stream up and soon George fell into the easy and familiar flow of it all. It had been so, so long since his last stream. 

Another thing he hadn’t realized he was missing. 

“So should we start things off with a Quiplash?” Karl asked.

No matter how long he’s been a streamer, George will never remember that they can’t see his body language. He shrugged, only to realize he’s not physically talking to them, only through the screen. 

He’d gotten so used to having Dream and Sapnap at his fingertips. It was strange to only hear them through his headphones. 

He wasn’t sure he liked it. 

“George?”

Who was that? What?

George placed a hand on his forehead.

‘ I’m getting in my head again…’

“Sorry, I’m here. I got distracted on Twitter.”

‘That’s a stupid excuse.’

“You ready to start?”

That was Karl. 

“I’ve been waiting.”

With that, the first game started. 

~

“You’re trash! You’re literally fucking trash!” 

George sighed as Quackity started yelling.

‘ Here we go…’

“I can quip better than you,” Karl shot back, flaunting his victory.

George groaned and rested his forehead on his hands. Jackbox always led to someone getting upset and then yelling. It almost never goes any different, which is quite unfortunate when you’re trying to avoid getting stressed.

“Okay, but we’re all better than Bad right?” He input, trying to switch the focus, knowing Bad wouldn’t yell as much.

“What! That was rude,” the older man complained. But he didn’t say anything else about it, so the argument fizzled out. 

George sighed as softly as he could. One game down, thirty minutes completed. Only however long to go…

Maybe he could drop out after an hour? No one should attack him right?

He looked back at the screen to see that Quiplash had been closed out and the screen share had gone black. 

“What are we doing?” He asked, voice a little quiet from embarrassment. 

“Switching to Patently Stupid.”

Karl loaded up the game and turned on the screenshare again.

“Okay, nobody leak the code,” he said.

George smirked.

“What code?” He asked. “QP-”

“SHUT UP!”

Unfortunately (not unfortunately) a few people seemed to get the code. Random people popped into the room, making the majority of the call break into laughter. Even Puffy giggled a little. 

Karl whined and closed the room.

“I hate you…” he muttered while making a new one.

“You don’t hate me,” George responded. 

“I don’t,” Karl agreed. “But I’m mad…”

George smirked to himself. 

Maybe this wouldn’t go as bad as he thought. 

Screenshare turned back on, only this time Quackity leaked the code, much to Karl’s disappointment. 

“Okay! You’re not allowed to talk! Everybody quiet!”

Of course, no one stayed quiet, but Karl managed to start the game before they could leak the code a third time. The hosts started talking, and George tuned them out, thinking over and over in his head ‘ stay calm, stay calm, stay calm’ like a mantra. 

And it seemed to be working. Prompts were filled, distributed, drawn, and labeled, all without anyone getting too loud or wild. And when the sharing portion started going good, George couldn’t help but smile.

Especially when Dream was talking.

Chapter Text

Throughout the stream, George could feel himself letting his guard down. His filter began to drift away, replacing itself with giggles upon giggles. It was to the point where he could barely speak without interrupting himself. 

Every time he started to calm down, someone (usually Karl) would set him off again. 

“Hang on,” he laughed. “I’m gonna mute for a moment.” 

The second George went on mute, he lost it. He was pretty sure Dream and Sapnap could hear him from their rooms, which was confirmed when Sapnap made a comment on it. 

What got him laughing so hard? 

Nothing, literally nothing. All Karl had done was ask if he was good.

The answer?
No fucking clue.

He didn’t feel small, not yet at least. But he also didn’t feel normal. Some sort of in between state. His head felt a little fogged up, but not so fogged up that he couldn’t think properly. Moving his fingers around, George noted that he also had retained coordination.

He doesn’t wanna leave the stream. He doesn’t wanna leave his friends.

Sure Dream and Sapnap live with him, but George wanted to spend time with the others too. 

He took a few deep breaths and a sip of water, then unmuted. 

“Sorry, I needed a bit to calm down.”

“It’s all good,” Karl replied. “I’m actually ending stream though, so say goodbye!”

Oh…

It’s over?

George pouted, crossing his arms and puffing out his lips. He heard the other’s saying their farewells and a couple discord disconnect notifications.

“Chat says you didn’t say goodbye, George,” Karl said. 

George shook his head. Why say ‘goodbye’ if he didn’t want to?

“Fine… Bye chat!”

He muted again before anyone could say anything. Discord screenshare went away as the stream ended. Why did it have to end? 

The others left the call, one by one, until it was just George sitting in the call, alone, all by himself. 

He didn’t want to hit hang up, even though no one else was there. He wanted this night to keep going on and on forever. 

A knock on his door brought him out of his head. How often did he get lost in thought?

“Hey,” Sapnap’s voice called. “I’m ordering some food, what do you want?”

George shrugged.

“I dunno.”

“Can I come in?”

“Okay.”

The door opened, but George didn’t look away from the computer. Instead he pulled his legs off the ground and to his chest.

“What’re you doing?” Sapnap asked, leaning over his shoulder.

“I don’t wanna leave,” George answered.

A hand was placed on his shoulder. He turned his head to look back behind himself.

“Why don’t you come downstairs?” The younger said.
While this was phrased like a question, it was clearly not one. This was a command.

George groaned and shoved his headphones off and onto the desk with a clatter.

“Fine…”

If he didn’t know better, George could have sworn he saw Sapnap frown as he stood up. 

Before he left, George made sure to grab that giant hoodie Dream had sent him. Why it was so big, he had no idea. It’d be big on Dream, so it wasn’t because it was his size. But whatever the reason, it didn’t stop George from pretending it was Dream’s. In fact, the hoodie was exclusively referred to as “Dream’s hoodie”.

He pulled it on as he followed Sapnap downstairs and to the living room. The second they got in the room, George was curled in a ball and pouting on the couch. 

Sapnap whispered something to Dream, who was also sitting on the couch, before taking a seat of his own and grabbing the remote and putting on some skateboard compilation thing. George didn’t care for it at all, pulling the hoodie over his knees and becoming a full blob.

“So, what does everyone want to eat?” Sapnap asked.

George didn’t answer and Dream only shrugged, head in his hands.

“Just get something you like, I’m not that hungry.”

Sapnap frowned, scrolling a little on his phone.

“George, any ideas?”

He thought for a minute. Maybe he had one idea.

“Mac ‘n cheese?”

Sapnap shrugged.

“Sure, why not.”

The three sat in silence for a bit, the only sound being clatters of wheels on pathement. At some point, Dream had switched from sitting up to laying down, slumped in the corner of the couch, and George had grown bored of skateboard videos.

“Change it,” he demanded.

“What why?” Sapnap complained.

George whined.

“Change it! I don’t like it!”

He stuck out a sleeve-covered hand, trying to reach the remote from his seat. 

Sapnap smirked and held the remote out of reach. 

“What’s the magic word?” He teased.

Why is he being mean? Why can’t he just give George the remote?

“Stop being mean,” George complained, hitting the couch a couple times with his hands for emphasis. 

“C’mon Gogy,” Sapnap continued. “What’s the magic word?”

George whined again, throwing his head back against the couch.

“Please?” He muttered, practically inaudible.

“What was that?”

“Please! P’ease can I have it?” 

George was upset now. He couldn’t stay on call and talk with his friends and now Sapnap was being mean.

“There we go, good job,” Sapnap said, handing the remote to George.

George blinked at the device in his hand, then looked at the TV. Now that he had the remote, he had no idea what he wanted to watch. It didn’t really matter, the symbols on the buttons looked blurry and fuzzy.

He looked at Sapnap again, holding out the remote, much to the younger’s confusion.

“I don’ know what to do…”

Sapnap chucked, taking the remote and turning off youtube. 

“Do you wanna watch a movie?”

Sapnap was pretty sure that George was slipping. He’d figured it out upstairs, but didn’t want to assume anything or offend his friend. The small fit and slightly slurred words were confirmation.

George’s eyes lit up.

“Yes.”

While Sapnap set up the movie, George looked at Dream. Was he asleep? 

It seemed like it, with the way the blond was limp against the cushions and breathing steadily.

He seemed cold, even though he had a hoodie on.

George frowned, uncurling from his ball and scooted off the couch. His legs were unsteady, but not entirely useless. So he sort of waddled around the room, looking for a blanket or something.

A basket in the corner of the room caught his eye. A blanket basket!

Walking was too slow, so George dropped down to his hands and knees to crawl over. Sure enough, the basket had blankets!

George sat back on his heels and reached inside, tugging on one of the blankets until it started to come free. But it came free all at once, knocking the brunet off balance. 

He clung to the blanket as he fell to the side. 

It didn’t hurt, it was actually kinda fun. George giggled, pulling the blanket over his head before remembering the reason he wanted it in the first place. 

Right! Dream!

George tried to crawl back to the couch, but he kept getting stuck on the cloth. It would drag under his knees or hands and make it so he couldn’t move. He whined, pouting again. This isn’t fair!

He looked at the couch again.

Dream hadn’t moved, but Sapnap had, watching him with an amused expression.

George made grabby hands at his friend, trying to get his attention.

“Help p’ease?” 

Sapnap laughed before standing up.

What’s funny? Why is he laughing?

“Having trouble?” He asked, crouching down to be eye level with the little.

George whined and looked away, fingers making their way into his mouth.

“Help.”

Sapnap reached out and lowered George’s hand before taking the blanket from him.

“Where’s this going?”

George pointed at the couch.

“Is for D’eam.”

Sapnap gave a soft smile before walking back to the couch, George crawling behind him. He placed the blanket over Dream before helping George up onto the cushions again.

George moved next to Dream, sitting on his knees. Despite the blanket already being pretty well placed, George smoothed out any wrinkles he could see. Once it was satisfactory, he gave a couple pats to what seemed like Dream’s shoulder before scooting back to his previous seat. 

An animated movie was on the TV, capturing George’s attention almost instantly. He almost didn’t notice Sapnap moving to sit next to him until his thumb was being removed from his mouth again.

“Don’t do that,” Sapnap chided. “You were just crawling on the floor, your hands dirty.”

George huffed and stuck the other thumb in his mouth, only for it to also be removed. “Stop! Sa’na’ stop!” 

He whined when Sapnap shook his head.

“No, it’s yucky. No fingers, you got that?”

George pulled his hands away and crossed his arms. He lowered his head and caught the collar of his shirt between his teeth, chewing on the fabric. Dream never said no fingers, Dream let him.

Sapnap waited a few minutes for George to get distracted by the TV before he stood up and left for a moment. He just wanted to check George’s room to see if there’s anything he could need. 

Dream had sent him a couple links on age regression and informed him a little on how to help, and Sapnap wanted to do as best he could. 

He returned downstairs with an armful of things, sitting next to George again and tapping him on the shoulder. The pout on the little’s face melted away almost instantly.

Sapnap had brought him Mooshy!

He reached out, giggling as the stuffie was placed in his lap.

“T’ank you!”

Sapnap ruffled his hair in response, putting the other things on the cushion next to him. When George started chewing on his shirt collar again, Sapnap subtly slipped a paci into his lap, hoping George would notice.

Fortunately, he did, letting the fabric fall from his mouth and be replaced by silicone. 

It was strangely comforting caring for the little. Sapnap felt a little more confident in his actions, making sure that the sippy cup he’d found was filled with water and in arms reach.

And George? He could get used to this. He could get used to having someone take care of him.

Chapter Text

George woke up on the couch, blanket covering him and holding the mooshroom stuffie close to his chest. Sleep-fogged mind had no thoughts other than ‘ warm’ and ‘ too early ’. Brief glimpses of the previous night drifted around his head, but he couldn’t focus on any of them.

Something about blankets and macaroni and cheese?

Disney movies?

Small.

Wait-

Small…

That woke him up.

George launched himself up in panic, nearly falling off the couch. ‘ God please don’t have happened…’

A hand shot down to his waist, feeling for, uh, yeah.

His breath slowed back to normal, relieved to only feel dry fabric. 

That would have been even more embarrassing than the first time. 

He rubbed what little sleep remained from his eyes before going to check his phone, which was nowhere to be found.

‘ Probably upstairs…’

George stood from the couch, quickly folding the blanket up as best he could and setting it back down. 

No one else was awake, he noted, scanning the room. Interestingly, he wasn’t the only one who stayed on the couch last night. Nestled in the corner, he could make out blond hair peeking out from under a blanket.

He huffed a laugh. Dream looked oddly small in this position, curled up in (presumably) a ball, covered head to toe in a large blanket.

He should take a picture…

Once again, George reached for his phone, only to remember it wasn’t here.

‘ Right, upstairs’

He gave one more quick scan of the room, checking for anything he should take upstairs with him. Obviously, the mooshroom was coming with him, but he didn’t see anything else.

Odd. If he was little, there should be a pacifier nearby. Unless he just forgot it, wouldn’t be the first time.

Shrugging, George grabbed the plushie and headed up to his room. 

The mooshroom was placed on his nightstand, then began the search for his phone.

It should be on his desk, only it wasn’t. Apparently it’s a day of things not being where they’re expected to be.

Judging by the bright sunlight outside, it had to at least be morning. 

Logically, if something isn’t where it’s meant to be, then it should be where it isn’t meant to be. So where is his phone not meant to be?

The kitchen?
No, that makes no sense. How would it have gotten there in the first place?

George did another sweep of his room. On the desk, under the desk, the bed, under the bed, it wasn’t there.

‘ Well… this is inconvenient…’

He huffed and left his room, walking down the hall to the room with the warning sign. Not even bothering to knock, George opened the door.

“Sapnap, did you touch my phone?”

He didn’t get a response at all. So obviously the next course of action was to very quietly open the door and tiptoe inside. 

Sapnap was fast asleep, curled up around a pillow with the blankets tangled around his legs. The curtains were drawn tight, not allowing any light in. Of course Sapnap would have blackout curtains…

George took in the room. This was the first time he had gone in since moving here. Sapnap had been doing a lot of streams with Karl when he wasn’t downstairs. Not that George really noticed, he’d been a little preoccupied with hiding his secret.

The floor was somewhere between neat and messy. The center was clear, but the walls were lined with boxes and a small pile of clothes. The small bin in the corner by the door was nearly overflowing with fast food wrappers, a couple empty soda cans lying next to it in what seemed to be a feeble attempt at a recycling section.

In the back corner was his bed, pushed against the two walls. A nightstand sat next to it and next to the nightstand was his desk and setup. George looked for a dresser, but it must be in the closet because it wasn’t anywhere in the room.

He took a closer look at the two surfaces in the room. The desk only contained Sapnap’s three monitors, keyboard, and mic. Fortunately, the nightstand had two phones lying on it, each of them plugged into a charger.

George pulled the charger out of his phone, the one with the clear and blue case. The screen turned on, displaying the time.

10:41

‘ It’s still too early.’

George turned to leave, ready to fall into bed and go back to sleep, when he was interrupted.

“George?”

‘ Great, Sapnap’s awake. No more sleep.’

George turned his head to his friend, who was slowly pushing himself up.

“Why're you in my room?” Sapnap asked, rubbing an eye with the back of his hand.

George held up his phone as an answer. Sapnap nodded, seemingly understanding what he meant.

“What time is it?”

“Around ten forty,” George replied. 

Sapnap kicked the blanket off his legs and turned to sit with them dangling off the side of the bed.

“Sorry, I wasn’t sure where your charger was so I just took Dream’s and plugged it in here.”

“It’s alright, I don’t mind.”

George paused, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Can you, uh, what happened last night?”

Sapnap’s eyebrows narrowed and his head tilted to the side.

“You don’t remember?”

George bit his lip before responding.

“When I, um, when I’m small I don’t really remember much.”

The silence was uncomfortable. Why wasn’t he talking? George didn’t know what else to say, he’d expected Sapnap would.

“Can you tell me what happened?” He repeated, trying to prompt his friend.

Sapnap shrugged.

“Sure. I came to ask what you wanted to eat, but you were kinda pouty so we went downstairs and watched some tv. Apparently you don’t like skateboarding because you got mad when I didn’t change it.”

George laughed under his breath. He didn’t really like the skateboarding clips, but Sapnap did so he’d usually just let him watch and go on his phone instead. 

“I realized you were, I don’t know, slipping I guess, after that so I put on a movie. I’m not gonna lie, it was kinda funny watching you crawl around on the floor with a blanket,” Sapnap continued.

“Why did I have a blanket?”

“You wanted to give it to Dream.”

‘ Of course.’

“Anyways, when you were distracted I got some things from upstairs so you’d stop sucking your thumb. Seriously, I don’t know the last time we vacuumed that room. Anyways, you fell asleep shortly after that.”

George played with his phone case as he listened.

“Did you, um, take the uh…”

“Pacifier? Yeah, it’s on the counter. I washed it after the movie because it fell on the floor. Again, I don’t know when we vacuumed.”

George looked at the ground, face flushed warm. This was definitely going to take some getting used to. 

“Thanks, for helping.”

Sapnap grinned, hair falling in his face.

“I had fun, it was nothing.”

George left the room so his friend could get dressed. He didn’t have anything planned today, so he went back downstairs to check on Dream. If his limited memory served him correctly, Dream seemed off last night.

He hadn’t moved from where George left him. If anything he’d fallen into a deeper sleep. George frowned. Dream could sleep for a while, but he was usually up before noon to feed Patches. Was he getting sick?

George pulled the blanket down a little and placed the back of his hand on Dream’s forehead. Sure enough, his forehead was warmer than it should be.

George turned around as footsteps came down the stairs. Sapnap walked over and glanced at Dream, then to George, who was still frowning.

“What’s wrong?”

George tilted his head towards Dream.

“I think he’s getting sick, his forehead’s warm.”

Sapnap pursed his lips.

“Has he moved at all?”

George shook his head.

“I don’t think so. When I woke up, all I could see was his hair.”

Sapnap sighed and started heading to the kitchen.

“I’ll feed the cats, last time Dream was sick he slept for a whole day.”

George nodded, climbing over the back of the couch to sit next to Dream. This worried him. When would Dream have even caught something? He almost never left the house except to get food. 

‘ Was it when he picked me up from the airport? ’

He frowned again and pulled out his phone. 

How to get rid of a fever

Google wasn’t much help then what he already knew. Basically just said rest, medicine, and drink water. No magic remedy to make it go away, just time.

This sucked.

“He’s gonna be fine,” Sapnap said, sitting next to George.

“I promise, he’s gonna wake up tomorrow, maybe be a little moody, then hide in his room for a few days.”

“I know,” George huffed, dropping his phone into his lap and flopping against the cushions. “I just don’t like it.”

Sapnap ruffled his hair in a playful manner. George whined and tried to shove his hand away.

“What was that for?”

“Just trying to help distract you.”

Chapter Text

George spent the rest of his day just scrolling through TikTok. There wasn’t much else he wanted to do, plus he couldn’t talk with Sapnap because the younger had promised to stream with Quackity. 

He stayed by Dream the entire time, mindlessly scrolling, liking posts, and silently judging people for posting thirst traps.

A few people were mentioning how absent minded he’d seemed towards the end of the stream, but not enough that he needed to worry. If anything, he could just blame it on still not adjusting to the time difference.

Dream still hadn’t moved when Sapnap ordered dinner around 7:30. Sure, Sapnap had said this would be the case, but George was still worried. Should he try to wake Dream and force him to drink water?

“Whatever you’re thinking about, stop,” Sapnap said, throwing a chip at George.

George flinched and scrunched up his nose, throwing the chip back at Sapnap.

“What? I’m not thinking of anything.”

“Yes, you are,” Sapnap insisted. “You went all spacy.”

George rolled his eyes. As he’s said before, this fucker knows him way too good.

“I’m just worried,” he admitted before taking a sip of sprite.

“About Dream?” Sapnap asked, looking over his shoulder to the couch.

George shrugged and started flipping his phone in his hand. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen Dream sick. With a friendship as long as theirs, it’d be more shocking if one of them had never gotten ill during that timespan. But it’s different now that they’re in person.

It’s one thing to hear that he’s sick through a text or call. George could always hear it in his voice or in the slightly different typing style from fatigue. But actually seeing how exhausted he was, having slept for nearly 24 hours now? It’s much more concerning.

“It’s different being here instead of miles away,” George admitted, shifting his gaze to Dream.

Dream had a thin layer of sweat across his forehead, yet goosebumps covered his neck. George dropped his phone into his lap and reached over to brush some of Dream’s hair off his forehead. It was damp and slightly sticking. 

Sapnap climbed over the back of the couch and took a seat next to George. He stretched his legs out over George’s and reclined with his box of chips.

“Is he still warm?”

George nodded, flipping his hand over to feel Dream’s forehead with the back of his hand.

“He might be warmer than earlier.”

Sapnap hummed and ate a couple chips. His expression was a little hard to read, but he seemed to be considering his options. He had his eyebrows knit close together as he munched on a few more chips.

“We could take his temp?” He suggested, mouth full.

George shrugged and shoved Sapnap’s legs off of his own. He moved his phone to the cushions before standing up. 

“Where’s the thermometer?”

Sapnap pointed towards the kitchen.

“Above the stove,” he said. “The cabinet up there.”

George made his way to the kitchen and reached up above the stove, standing on his toes to see better. The thermometer was sitting in its case right at the front of the cabinet, so it was easy to grab. When George returned to the couch, Sapnap had scooted over next to Dream and was fidgeting with the blanket, seemingly unable to decide if it’s a better idea to have it off or on.

“Leave it on,” George said, leaning over the back of the couch. “My mum always had us sweat out fevers.”

Sapnap relented, letting go of the blanket and leaning back against the cushions. He reached up and George handed over the thermometer. George walked around the couch, not climbing over the back for once, and plopped down next to Sapnap.

“How do we do this?” He asked, leaning slightly against the younger’s shoulder.

Sapnap removed the case from the thermometer and held it up.

“Just stick it in his mouth I guess.”

George let Sapnap take over for a bit, picking up his phone and scrolling aimlessly once more. Distraction, that’s what he needs right? 

A minute later, Sapnap bonked his head against George’s shoulder. George put his phone down and blinked at Sapnap. 

Sapnap held up the thermometer, then twisted his wrist to let the screen face himself. He pressed a button then flipped it back to George.

38.8 degrees.

‘Damn, that’s high…’

Instead of commenting on the temperature, George chose to focus on Dream’s state of consciousness once more.

“When will he wake up?” He asked. “He needs water.”

Sapnap tossed the thermometer gently to the coffee table and gave a shrug.

“Sometime tonight maybe?”

George sighed and flopped back against the couch again. He was doing a lot of that right now. As Sapnap reached forwards for the TV remote, George made up his mind. He was gonna stay down here until Dream woke up

This ended up proving to be much more difficult than he anticipated. Sapnap was, once again, watching some skateboarding videos. And George had sort of gotten himself on a normal sleep schedule, somehow. Maybe a combination of jet lag and going small? 

Around 9PM, Sapnap went upstairs to play Valorant, checking Dream’s temperature once more before going upstairs. No change yet.

George watched him go up, then waited for the sound of his door closing. He counted one minute after hearing it close before rising from the couch and climbing the stairs himself. George could feel himself growing more and more tired over the past couple hours. 

Along with the growing drowsiness, he’d felt a familiar chill creep up his spine. But now was not the time to regress, so he’d shoved it down. Sapnap might know about it, but George still wasn’t sure how much he wants to be little around him yet. If he could control it, it would be, not much at all.

But remembering the stress of hiding it, George decided it’s better to not do that. Which led to now, where he was lowkey sneaking into his own bedroom.

Sapnap might know about his regression, but George would be damned if he found out about the other secret. No one, other than himself and Dream, will ever know about the night pants.

Unfortunately, as much as he hated to admit it, they were a pretty good safety precaution.

George never really got dressed that morning, so getting ready for bed was easy. Just a quick swap of regular pants to the night pants and all was set. George refused to look down or even so much as glance in the general direction as he slid them on, opting for a blind experience instead. The embarrassment of it all hasn’t left, causing his face to grow warm despite being alone.

A shiver ran down his spine as the chill returned again, his brain starting to go foggy. With the last bit of full coordination, George tied the string on his sweats. 

Looking around the room, it started feeling larger, another familiar feeling. Still, his eyes grew wide. The feeling of loneliness filled his stomach like a stone, bringing a pout to George’s face. Though it was erased upon seeing Mooshy sitting on the nightstand.

George smiled and stumbled over to grab his friend, giving him a hug the minute his hands grasped the soft fabric. 

Tucking Mooshy under one arm, George made his way out of the room on increasingly unsteady legs. By the time he reached the stairs, George could only walk by bracing himself on the wall.

He looked down the stairs, pout returning to his face. Could he make it without falling? What if he slipped?

His eyes widened once more as an idea popped into his head. Sliding down!

George sat down on the top step and placed Mooshy in his lap. Slowly, he scooted forwards, still a little scared that he’d end up taking a tumble. For a brief moment, he feared it was true, until his backside made contact with the next step with a thump. A smile broke out and he couldn’t help but giggle, holding Mooshy close to his chest.

George continued scooting down the stairs until he reached the bottom. When he ran out of steps to slide down, he began to crawl back to the couch in the living room. Dream wasn’t feeling good. He needs something… Hugs maybe?

The couch was much taller from the ground than he anticipated. George frowned, then attempted to pull himself up. Fortunately, the couch was shorter than the bed, which he never managed to climb up. He placed Mooshy on the cushion, then crawled up on top himself.

George sat on his knees facing Dream. He was sleeping a lot. A lot more than he did normally. And he was extra hot both times Sapnap checked. George pouted and pushed Dream’s shoulder, wanting him to wake up.

When Dream didn’t wake up, George whined and pushed him again. This time Dream stirred and groaned slightly, pulling the blanket up to cover his shoulder.

This was not enough though.

“D’eam?” George whispered, pushing his now covered shoulder again.

Dream shook his head, eyes remaining closed. So George kept repeating his actions.

“D’eam? Are you ‘wake?”

“Mmm-mmm,” Dream hummed, pulling the blanket over his face. “Asleep.”

His voice was scratchy. It sounded like it hurt.

“Stay here,” George demanded. “Wa’ch Mooshy.”

He shoved his friend under Dream’s blanket, then shimmied off the couch. What if he got Dream water? With a straw, obviously.

Steadying himself on the couch, George attempted to use his legs. They were shaky, but when he let go he was stable. 

He toddled to the kitchen, then began the search for a cup. The first one he found was (he thinks) blue and made of plastic. Perfect! Although it didn’t have a lid. He’d just have to try very hard not to spill. 

The fridge had a water dispenser on it, so George pressed the cup against the lever while holding himself up on the handle. The water splashed against the side of the cup in a way that mesmerized George. It swirled and swirled and got higher and higher. Then it was spilling out the top and down his hand.

George flinched back, spilling more water out of the cup and splashing to the ground. 

Uh-Oh. Oh well.

He held the cup with both hands and placed it down on the counter. The straws were kept in the drawer, so that was easier to get. George held it above the cup and dropped it in, splashing more water out but not as much as before.

Now to bring it to Dream!

He picked up the cup once again with both hands, then turned around and began to toddle back over to the living room, being careful to avoid any puddles he made. Unfortunately, more water spilled out of the cup, but not much. He was very careful. 

When he got back to the couch, George placed the cup on the coffee table and then crawled back onto the couch.

“D’eam,” he said, shaking his shoulder again. “I got wa’er.”

Dream groaned and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands.

“What?”

George repeated himself, pointing to the cup.

“Some spill’ out ‘nd made a mess,” he admitted a little sheepishly. 

Dream seemed asleep still, but his eyes were open and he was sitting up.

“George?” He asked, a little slurred. “What time is it?”

George shrugged.

“I’s late.”

Dream hummed, then winced and brought his head to his head. He attempted to sit up, but didn’t seem to be able to as he fell back into the corner of the couch.

“Did I sleep all day?” He asked, still trying to get information, clearly disoriented.

George nodded this time.

“Mhm, all nigh’ ‘nd all day.”

Dream rubbed his forehead, pushing his hair back and then massaged his temples.

“Fuck… my head… you said water?”

George nodded, wiggling off the couch and picking up the cup. He held it out to Dream (maybe a little too aggressively as it started to slosh around) and waited for him to take it. Dream grabbed it, with one hand as opposed to George, then huffed a laugh.

“Why’s the cup all wet?”

George looked at his lap, which he hadn’t realized was a little wet from being splashed.

“‘Cause I spill’ a ‘lil when I got it,” he explained.

Dream smiled, seeing that the straw George picked was one of the crazy and twisty straws he kept for when his sister visited. He took a long sip, then backed off with a content sigh.

“It’s okay,” he said, taking another sip. “We’ll clean up later.”

George nodded firmly, clearly taking this to heart. He crawled back onto the couch while Dream practically drained the cup of any liquid. Once the straw was only sucking up air, Dream backed off, breathing harder. 

“Thanks,” he said, leaning forwards and all but dropping the cup on the table. “That was nice.”

George beamed, his right hand starting to make its way to his mouth. He kept smiling as his thumb slipped between his lips.

Dream seemed to have a realization, his mouth making a small O shape. He leaned back  against the corner of the couch, then adjusted the blanket so it covered his body but not his arms.

“George,” he started. “How old are you right now?”

George pursed his lips around his thumb.

“T’ree,” he decided, holding up three fingers to emphasize his point.

Dream nodded, then cringed and brought his hand back to his head.

“Okay,” he said. “What do you need?”

George blinked. Why is Dream asking when he’s the one who’s ill? Although George did want something, so he shouldn’t ask questions.

“Hol’ me.”

Dream’s expression softened and he lifted the blanket, looking a little puzzled when Mooshy tumbled out.

“Come here.”

George giggled and crawled forwards, wiggling under the blanket and pressing against Dream’s body. It was warm, warmer than usual, but not uncomfortable. It’s probably because he’s sick. 

George sandwiched Mooshy between the two of them, then stretched his arms out to reach around Dream’s torso. He nuzzled as close as he could, letting his head rest right above Dream’s heart.

“I wan’ you t’ feel be’er,” he whispered.

“I will,” Dream replied, wrapping his arms around George and pulling him close. “Just get some sleep, Gogy.”

Chapter Text

George opened his eyes to darkness. His face was pressed against something warm and soft. What is it?

His head felt too full, as though it had cotton in it. George pushed his forehead into whatever was in front of him and squirmed backwards slightly. His arms couldn’t move much, they were trapped under something.

Finally, George leaned back, seeing what he was trapped under.

An arm?

Oh right! He was downstairs, with Dream, who is sick.

What time was it?

George scooted back on the couch some more, manoeuvring so he didn’t fall off. He sat back on his knees and looked around the room. It felt different than normal, it didn’t seem the same. Something was off.

George squinted and held his hand up. Experimentally, he moved his fingers around, then paused at the difficulty. Then it clicked.

He wasn’t exactly big yet.

George pulled his lower lip between his teeth as he looked around the darkness again. Each corner seemed as though it held something inside it, something hiding in the shadows. This is scary!

He quickly scanned the couch for Mooshy, the great protector of the Mushroom King. Where was he? Did Dream sit on him? That would be rude.

George crossed his arms over his chest and whined. He didn’t want to wake Dream because he was sick and he should sleep, even though he slept all day yesterday. Maybe he could go to where there was light? The kitchen had a microwave with a light under it that never went off.

That’s safe!

But it’s so dark! The stretch across to the kitchen was so far and it was dark and scary!

George took a breath and puffed out his cheeks. He can be brave!

Slowly, he stuck his leg off the couch, then pulled it back immediately in case something grabbed out at him. When nothing did, he moved both legs and slipped off the cushion. The ground was harder than he expected, and it felt cold. 

He stuck both arms out to his sides and balanced on his unsteady legs before he yanked them back to his chest in a hug-sort of position. Ever so slowly, George began making his way to the kitchen. 

Each step felt like a risk. It sent spikes of fear through his chest and hands, tingling in his fingers and spine. The kitchen only seemed to get further and further away the closer he got. George whined again and lunged forwards. He lost his footing and sort of stumbled forwards, catching himself on his hands.

Forget walking, it’s too slow. Crawling is way faster!

He speed-crawled the rest of the way, hiding behind the island and pressing his back to the side of it. He was breathing fast, his heart was nearly beating out of his chest. His lip was trembling a little as his thumb made its way past. 

That was really scary.

George squirmed a little in his spot as his head grew more foggy. Before when he was in this sort of floaty stage, he was able to rationalise things a little more. But now he was full on small. His mind was fuzzy and didn’t make sense. 

He squeaked as something flitted past the window, casting a shadow against the back wall.

The ground was uncomfortable, everything was uncomfortable. Something was making his stomach feel weird and he couldn’t see anything! The microwave was light, but it wasn’t enough. The shadows lurked behind every corner.

George wiggled around again to get more comfortable and to push himself further against the back of the island. He couldn’t scream, couldn’t cry. What if the shadows heard him? All he could do was sit and wait for them to go away.

As much as he tried, George couldn’t stay awake. His eyes grew heavy again and he felt his tense muscles relax. He was still scared, but he just couldn’t stay awake. He fell asleep with anxiety building in his chest and his body refusing to move.

~

“George? What are you doing on the floor?”

His eyes shot open and quickly he whipped his head around. He was still small. Why was he still small?

“Hello? Dude, you okay?”

He blinked up at Sapnap with wide eyes. Sapnap had concern written on his face and George felt a little guilty.

“‘M ‘kay,” he mumbled, still a little sleepy.

Sapnap knelt down next to him.

“Why’d you sleep on the floor, I thought you went upstairs.”

George shrugged.

“D’eam was here ‘nd I didn’ wan’ go ‘way.”

Sapnap sighed and stood up. He muttered something under his breath and turned back to the microwave.

George hummed and rubbed his eyes, which felt a little dry. So did his mouth, he noticed, as he returned his thumb to its rightful place.

The microwave beeped and Sapnap opened the door. He pulled out something (probably a hot pocket) and set it on the counter. After he did, Sapnap crouched down again to be level with George.

“Are you small?” He asked bluntly.

George shrugged, which was more difficult with his thumb in his mouth.

“I dunno.”

“Yep.”

Sapnap stood up again and left George’s sight for a quick moment. George pouted and squirmed in his seat. He was very uncomfortable, but he couldn’t figure out why.

As he whined and wiggled around, Sapnap sat next to him. He frowned and put the back of his hand on George’s forehead.

“Well you’re not warm, so at least you didn’t get sick,” he noted, retracting his hand. “Something wrong?”

George whined again. He didn’t know what was wrong! Maybe he’s hungry?

“Wan’ food.”

Sapnap raised an eyebrow.

“What’s the magic word?”

“P’ease?”

Sapnap smiled.

“Alright, whatcha want?”

“I don’ know.”

Sapnap pursed his lips and blew some air out. It made a funny noise and George laughed.

“Do you want… A hot pocket?”

Sure, why not?

“Yes!” He exclaimed. “Pre’y p’ease.”

Sapnap shrugged and opened the freezer. He pulled out another packet and dropped it to the counter. He seemed to have a realisation, because he quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out something.

“Here, almost forgot to give this to you,” he said, once more kneeling down and holding his hand out to George.

George’s eyes widened and he grinned as he took the paci from Sapnap’s hand.

“Stop it with the fingers buddy, that’s yucky and you’ll actually get sick.”

George pouted and put the paci in place of his thumb.

Deciding he’d sat there long enough, George crawled away. What’s Dream doing?

Apparently, he’s still sleeping. He’s slept a lot. Too much.

George climbed up the couch and stared at Dream. 

“Wake up,” he ordered, shoving Dream’s shoulder.

Dream groaned.

“Mmnmm, no,”

“Yes! Wake up!”

Dream rolled over and opened his eyes, looking annoyed.

“What? What do you need?” He snapped. Then he flinched, expression dissolving into instant regret.

George’s face crumpled and the paci dropped from his mouth.

“‘M sorry. Didn’ mean to upse’ you.”

He dropped off the couch and crawled back to the kitchen, hiding behind the island. George pouted and sniffed as his eyes started watering a little. Dream’s mad at him. Dream’s gonna hate him now!

Sapnap, who had just finished making the second hot pocket, turned around to this mess. George was curled up against the island, looking like he was trying not to cry. And in the living room, Dream was now awake and looking incredibly bewildered.

Sapnap huffed. How is he the responsible one?

Okay, well it’s not George’s fault at the moment. But Dream is always so reactionary, he doesn’t always think before he speaks. Goddammit…

“Dream what the fu- frick did you do?”

Dream held up his arms, then waved Sapnap over.

“I didn’t know he’s little and snapped at him,” he explained a little sheepishly.

“Oh for fucks sake…”

“Listen- dammit .”
Dream paused and winced, putting his hand to his temple.

Sapnap sighed.

“Okay, you go get medicine or something, I’ll try to talk to George.”

“You’re mothering me…”

“Ugh, I know, it’s backwards now.”

Dream chuckled, pushing himself off the couch.

“Gosh I fucked up…” he whispered.

“You’re just an idiot when you’re sick,” Sapnap replied, lightly slapping him on the shoulder.

While Dream shuffled off to the bathroom, Sapnap returned to the kitchen. This wasn’t how he expected the day to go when he woke up. But he should have realised something would go wrong the second he saw George asleep on the kitchen floor.

Speaking of, George was still in his spot by the island. His face was hidden in his hands and his sniffling was audible. Sapnap crouched down in front of him and gently moved his hands away.

“Hey buddy,” he started. “What’s the matter?”

George yanked his hands away and stuffed a couple fingers in his mouth. He whined and shook his head.

“No!”

“No? No, what?”

“Go ‘way! ‘M not good, go ‘way.”

Oh god…

“Gogy, deep breaths. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Sapnap was trying to act calm. He still wasn’t quite sure what to do, but panic attacks aren’t a stranger to him so maybe the methods would work here?

George took a shaky breath.

“Th’n why ‘s D’eam mad at me?”

“He’s…” Sapnap paused. How do you explain this? 

“He’s not mad at you,” he started again. “Dream’s just tired and he doesn’t think.”

This seemed to mean nothing to George, who only shook his head and tightened himself back into a ball.

Sapnap was at a loss. He wasn’t really prepared to be… what is this? A makeshift parent? He wasn’t really prepared to be a makeshift parent. He had no clue what to do.

“George, look at me.”

Surprisingly, the boy listened. He lifted his head and the sight made Sapnap’s heart throb. George’s lips were stuck in a pout and he had tear tracks on his cheeks. Sapnap changed his approach. Words clearly weren’t going to work. He wasn’t sure how old George was at the moment, but reasoning was beyond him. Maybe physical touch?

Silently, he opened his arms up, offering a hug. George hesitated, pulling in on himself for a moment before practically launching himself into Sapnap. He wrapped his arms around Sapnap’s torso and clung, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt.

Sapnap returned the hug (not as aggressively though) and ran his hand up and down George’s back to sooth him. He wasn’t crying, not anymore, but he was still breathing unevenly.

Over the top of the island, Sapnap saw Dream hesitantly standing by the edge of the kitchen. Sapnap tilted his head, gesturing Dream to come closer.

Dream looked unsure, but he walked over (albeit very slowly) and knelt down to the pair.

“George,” Sapnap started. “Someone came to see you.”

George leaned away to look, then buried his face in Sapnap’s shoulder after seeing Dream.

Dream tossed his hands up in a “see, what can I do?” gesture. Sapnap gave him a “you didn’t even try” look and lightly pulled George off of himself. George shook his head and his breathing hastened. 

“No, no, no, no don’.”

Sapnap gave another look to Dream.

‘ Do something!’

Dream sat there with his mouth slightly open for a second or two before he spoke.

“Hey, can you look at me?”

George shook his head.

“George? Gogy, please look at me.”

This time George listened, turning his head just enough to see Dream.

“Hey, I’m sorry I yelled at you. You didn’t do anything wrong, I shouldn’t have yelled.”

George took a hiccup breath and blinked harshly. He looked unsure and sucked on his thumb a little harder than before.

Dream tried again.

“I promise I’m not mad at you, you did nothing wrong.”

George looked at Dream.

“P’om’s? Not an’gy?”

Dream shook his head.

“No, I’m not angry. I’m just sick and my head hurts.”

“‘M s’ry…”

Dream blinked.

“Why are you sorry?”

“Don’ be sick,” George replied, ignoring the question.

Sapnap looked at Dream with an expression that begged him to take George. Listen, Sapnap loves him, and he knows Dream’s sick, but he wasn’t prepared for this and he has breakfast to eat.

Dream nodded, reaching out and lifting George off of Sapnap’s lap and into his own. Much like how he did to Sapnap, George clung to Dream like velcro. Dream used one arm to support George and the other to pull himself up.

“We’re gonna go upstairs, give you some space,” he explained.

Sapnap nodded, gratefully.

Dream took George to his own room. He set George on his bed and then sat next to him.

“Hey Gogy, can you look at me?”

George looked up, still pouting. Dream wiped the remaining tears from his face and gently cupped his chin. He leaned forwards and pressed a gentle kiss to George’s forehead.

“I’d never do anything to hurt you on purpose.”

George nodded and went limp against Dream.

Dream let the little have comfort for a few minutes. But he did have to make sure George was taken care of. He needs water, food, and maybe a change of clothes.

“George? Can you tell me how old you are?”

George shook his head.

“I dunno.”

“That’s okay. Do you wanna change clothes?”

George nodded.

“Feels weird.”

Dream frowned, but nodded to show understanding. He picked George up again and made the quick trip down the hall. He set George down on the floor this time and stood in the center of the room for a moment, tapping his thumbs together.

“Do you need anything before clothes?”

George thought about this. Did he need something? He didn’t have his paci so maybe?

“Paci.”

Dream nodded.

“Where are they?”

George pointed to his nightstand drawer. He’d originally thought he’d only packed one, but he found another that had snuck into his checked bag. Thank goodness right now because the other was somewhere downstairs.

Dream opened the nightstand drawer and pulled out the space paci. He handed it to George, who bounced a little in excitement.

While Dream rifled through his closet, George fidgeted with his hands. He squirmed in his spot, feeling uncomfortable again. He whined and squirmed and repeatedly linked and unlinked his fingers to try and relieve the discomfort. 

Dream backed out of the closet, a fresh pair of sweats and a t-shirt in his arms, then frowned at George.

“What’s wrong baby?”

George pouted but didn’t respond verbally. He pouted and wiggled around again.

Dream bit his lower lip and wracked his brain for any clues he could see. A thought crossed his mind.

“How long have you been little?”

George blinked.

“A lot.”

Dream pursed his lips and nodded. This is gonna be an awkward conversation to look back on, but who cares right?

“Did you, uh, did you wear a pull-up last night?”

George nodded, then pulled down the waistband of his sweats to show the night pants were indeed on.

“Did you change them?”

George shook his head.

“Are they wet?”

George shrugged.

“Dunno. Feels bad.”

Dream knelt down and set the new clothes on the floor next to George.

“Where are the pull-ups?”

George pointed behind him.

“Un’er the bed.”

Dream scooted forwards and reached under the bed. George had pulled his sheets down to block the view at some point. Dream half expected to brush against a cat while digging around, but he didn’t. There was very little under the bed, so it was easy to find the plastic packaging.

“Can you change all by yourself?” Dream asked, not wanting to cross any boundaries that didn’t need to be crossed.

“No.”

Dream took a deep breath.

“Can I help you?”

George paused. He stuck his thumb in his mouth next to the paci. Finally, he nodded.

“Can I help with the pull-up?”

George nodded again.

“Can you use your words baby?”

“He’p p’ease.”

Dream smiled. “Good job baby, thank you for using words.”

George smiled and clapped his hands. He was good!

Dream gently lifted George’s arms above his head and tugged off his hoodie and shirt. George’s hair poofed out the neck hole when it popped off his head. Dream leaned a little closer and booped George on the nose, making him giggle.

Dream directed his arms back up and carefully pulled the fresh shirt over his head and arms. Next, Dream untied the string of George’s sweats and carefully slipped his fingers through the waistband, leaned George back to lay on the ground, and tugged them off. He tried not to think about how strange this was, but he couldn’t help it. Dream doesn’t mind at all, but he’d never imagined this would be something he’d do.

“Are you okay with me taking off the pull-up?” He asked again.

“‘S ‘kay.”

Dream took a breath for preparation and then removed the night pants. He frowned and he couldn’t help the small amount of guilt he felt. The pants were nearly soaked through, how long had George been sitting in this? The clock read that it was around noon and Dream had no idea when George had gone to bed. He only vaguely remembered last night and being brought water. 

Dream wasn’t sure how long George had been small or if he was capable of using the toilet while small. And the research he’d done said a lot of littles wear either diapers or pull-ups while in littlespace. Dream also doubted that George would want to be at risk of having an accident in front of Sapnap, who didn’t know about the bed wetting or pull-ups, so he decided that it would probably be smart to put George in a fresh pull-up.

Dream tugged the new sweats over the pull-up and tied the string so the waistband wouldn’t slide. Once he was done, Dream snuck his hand under George’s shirt and tickled his sides a little. George giggled and pushed at Dream’s hand.

“Feeling better baby?” Dream asked, helping the little sit up.

George didn’t answer, not with words, but he giggled and bonked his head against Dream’s shoulder, pressing as close to him as he possibly could.

Chapter Text

To say that George was mortified was an understatement. He didn’t remember much, as per usual, but the memories came back in fuzzy glimpses. He was sitting on the couch, nuzzled against Dream, who was seemingly asleep. George blinked as he came back to his usual mindset. How long was he small? Why was he small for so long?

Dream had changed…

George groaned and covered his eyes. This was one of the most embarrassing situations of his life. He may be comfortable with being small around his friends, at least for the most part, but the night pants and bed wetting issue was still uncomfortable.

Slowly, George extracted himself from Dream’s side. His legs felt shaky, but he could stand on them. He spat out the pacifier into his hand and shoved it in his sweatpants pocket. He scanned the room and to his relief, Sapnap wasn’t around. Judging by the muffled shouting from upstairs, he was probably streaming Valorant.

George headed to the stairs, preparing to hide from the world until he died. At the top of the stairs, both Cat and Patches were sitting, watching him like guards. George huffed a laugh and smirked. Thank god they’d adjusted well to each other. When he walked upstairs, Patches scampered on downstairs, while Cat chirped at him and followed close at his heels.

George opened his door, waiting for a moment to let Cat enter, then closed it behind him. He leaned back against the door and closed his eyes, sliding down to bury his head in his knees. 

‘ How the fuck did I get into this situation?’

Cat rubbed against his ankles, flopping over onto his feet and started purring. George gave a small smile and pet Cat’s chest. Cat was particular about attention at times, it was no wonder George was his owner. Cat nipped at his hand, then licked George’s finger with his sandpaper-like tongue.

George gently scooped Cat into his arms and padded over to the bed. He set Cat down before flopping down himself. Cat immediately curled up against his side, still purring like a motor. George pet Cat with one hand and removed the pacifier from his pocket with the other, placing it on the nightstand.

Cat was a comfort, soothing George’s embarrassment and anxiety about the situation. God he wished he had more control over himself when small, maybe then he wouldn’t be in this situation. It’s not like he was mad at Dream, he remembered how hesitant Dream had been until little George had said it was okay, but the situation was just awkward.

From the hall, George heard Sapnap’s signature train whistle screech and he couldn’t stop his laughter. Sapnap always got so into his games.

Cat meowed, clearly disturbed, adjusting his position before settling in again.

George sighed and closed his eyes, trying to relax. Maybe if he took a nap, this would go away. And it was getting harder and harder to stay awake as Cat moved onto his chest. Slowly, his eyes fell shut and George drifted off to sleep.

When he woke up, Cat was back at his side and the sun was setting, casting a warm glow through the window. George pushed himself up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Gratefully, he felt a little better. But as he scooted off the bed, he became aware of the plastic-cotton feeling against his legs. And then the embarrassment resumed.

Quickly, George untied his sweats and swapped the night pants for his regular pants. He glanced back at the bed, feeling like hiding under the blankets for a moment, before taking a deep breath.

‘ I can’t hide forever, can I?’

Slowly he opened the door, peeking into the hallway before tip-toeing down the hall. Sapnap’s room was quiet, which meant he was probably downstairs. When George reached the ground floor, he froze for a moment, then shook the feeling away. Just act normal, nothing is wrong and he is not nervous at all.

Faking confidence, George walked into the living room and sat on the couch. Both Dream and Sapnap were also there. Dream was now awake and scrolling youtube on the tv, while Sapnap was messing around on his phone. George didn’t say anything, silently hoping that he would go unnoticed. 

Unfortunately, Dream was observant and glanced over.

“Hey,” he started. “You feeling better?”

George blinked.

“Aren’t you the one who’s sick?”

Dream shrugged and went back to scrolling youtube, seemingly having gotten his answer.

The room felt awkward, this whole day felt awkward. Dream filled the silence by popping his mouth every few seconds, but that honestly just made the tension worse.

Sapnap sighed loudly, drawing both Dream and George’s attention.

“Okay, what are we doing?” He asked.

“Uhh…”

Sapnap shook his head, once again resenting the fact that he had somehow become the responsible one.

“Wanna order pizza or something?”

“Sure,” Dream replied, returning to absently scrolling.

And once more the room was plunged into silence. George drummed his fingers on the couch, trying to think of something to say. 

“You know what,” he blurted, breaking the silence before the tension got to be too much. “I feel weird about earlier, but let's ignore that. It happened, we’re moving on.”

“Oh thank god!” Sapnap exclaimed.

Dream, who was still slightly out of it, just laughed.

And with that, the tension was gone. If the situation could be treated as normal, then nothing was weird about it and they didn’t need to act differently.

“Want any sides?” Sapnap asked, pulling up the pizza place’s website.

“Wings.”

“Breadsticks.”

Sapnap nodded and tapped at his screen.

Dream put on some random compilation video, finally picking something.

And George, despite being the one to say ‘move on’, still felt awkward. 

Dream seemed to notice this. He looked to George, catching his gaze. He lifted an arm and tilted his head towards the now open spot next to him. George bit his lip, a little unsure, but Dream gestured again and George threw away his nerves and scooted down the couch to sit next to Dream.

Dream wrapped his arm around George’s shoulders and pulled him in so George was laying against his side. He traced random shapes on George’s arm while shifting a blanket over both of them with his free hand. George sighed, relaxing into the touch.

Dream leaned down so his head was close to George’s.

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable,” he whispered.

George shook his head.

“You didn’t. It was just an uncomfortable situation.”

“I just don’t want this to get weird, I don’t want you to hide.”

George pressed closer to Dream, lifting his legs to lay them across Dream’s. He smiled a bit, feeling safe. He listened to Dream’s heartbeat and placed one arm around Dream. Dream really cared about him. George already knew that, but being in America and knowing that he didn’t change his behaviour when he found out about George’s regression just made it feel so much more special.

The silence that followed wasn’t tense this time. It was a comfortable silence that only happened when you were close to someone. Youtube autoplayed videos in the background while Dream began playing with George’s hair. Eventually the doorbell rang and Sapnap got up to get the door. 

Dream sighed and moved his arms off of George while George scooted back to the cushion. Dream stood and walked to the kitchen, returning with some paper plates at almost the same time as Sapnap entered the room with the declaration of “pizza!”

Sapnap set the boxes down on the coffee table and George opened them up, inhaling the delicious smell of food. He took a plate from Dream and helped himself to a serving of everything.

Sapnap took control of the TV and switched to Netflix, scrolling until he settled on Breaking Bad. 

George settled into the couch, returning to Dream’s side, this time leaning his back against Dream’s side. Sapnap flopped back on the couch, plate in hand. George once again used a friend as a leg rest, this time dropping them across Sapnap.

As the theme music played, all remaining sense of awkwardness and embarrassment faded away. These were his closest friends, the people he moved across the world for. And George couldn’t be happier in this moment. This was comfort.