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George doesn’t necessarily want to be at the lake right now, but he’s got nothing better to do.
He shifts the large tube in his arms and traipses behind Sapnap, who bounds down the sandy shore toward the water. Sapnap was insistent that George join him on a day trip to a nearby lake, and though George is not much of a swimmer, he thinks some time outside might be good for him and his pale skin. Which is why he intends to spend the entire day sunbathing.
As Sapnap splashes into the gentle waves, George lays the tube down and sits. He groans as the bottom scrapes against the sand.
“Sapnap, it’s too shallow here. Can you pull me out?” he asks, using his most pathetic whining voice.
Sapnap rolls his eyes. “George, you’re such a baby, is it so hard to stand up and push it yourself?”
George pouts. “Please?” Sapnap sighs heavily and grabs the handle of the tube. “Thank you,” George says sweetly as he’s pulled away from the shore.
He tilts his head up with a sigh, almost wishing he’d worn sunglasses. The sun beats down on his chest and arms. George hopes he’s applied enough sunscreen.
“Okay, this is far enough,” George says when he sees that Sapnap can no longer touch the ground. He’s hanging from the handle of the tube, legs propelling George’s tube forward in the water.
“No, I want to see how far I can go,” Sapnap says. George frowns. He considers protesting, but the sun makes him sleepy and he can’t find the energy within himself to bother. George shrugs and closes his eyes, settling into the tube.
He drifts into a kind of trance, perhaps even dozing off. For a second, George thinks he hears Sapnap mutter something, but the sounds of kids playing near the shore drown it out, and he’s far too relaxed to care. He feels Sapnap adjust his grip on the handle and continue pulling them out to sea.
What could be seconds or minutes pass by before George starts to question Sapnap’s silence. Sapnap is never quiet. George peeks an eye open to look at him.
And immediately opens his other eye, lifting his head in shock.
The boy pulling his tube is not Sapnap. He’s tan, with toned muscles and dirty blonde hair falling in waves around his ears. He swims with one arm in long, sure strokes. At George’s sudden movement, he stops kicking and turns around to face him.
And George can’t help but think that, objectively, he’s hot.
“Um, hi?” George forces out, his voice sounding a bit strangled. The blonde stranger’s green eyes dance with amusement.
“Hi. Your friend got tired of pulling you, so he asked me to instead.” It’s a practiced line, something the boy had probably been repeating in his head for the past several minutes. But something about the boy’s silky voice makes George’s breath hitch.
“Um. Okay. And who exactly are you?”
“I’m Dream.” The stranger smiles, flashing perfect white teeth underneath his freckled nose—of course he has perfect teeth.
He tears his eyes away from Dream to look around. They’ve gone out much farther than he thought. The lake’s shore is in the distance, so far that George can barely see any people. He looks around, seeing nothing but open water around them. There’s no one nearby in any direction.
George refocuses on the stranger to see that he’s watching him expectantly. “Oh. I’m George,” he mutters, answering the unspoken question.
“George,” Dream repeats. “And what brings you out here?”
George raises his eyebrows. “You did.”
Dream’s lips part momentarily before realization hits him and he throws his head back, wheezing with laughter. George’s lips twitch as he suppresses a smile.
Dream composes himself and looks up at George. “So, what exactly was your plan once you got away from shore?”
George flushes, feeling somewhat ridiculous floating in a tube while Dream treads water beside him. “Well, I was just going to relax out here in the sun,” he answers.
“Oh.” Dream says. “Do you...I mean, could I maybe take a turn in the tube?” It’s only then that George realizes he looks exhausted. Probably from swimming hundreds of yards against the waves with George in tow.
George hesitates. The sun is so warm, and he really doesn’t want to get into the water. “Well, maybe we could, you know, share it.”
Dream raises his eyebrows, cheeks turning pink. “Share it?”
George smiles shyly, desperately fighting a blush. “Yeah, I mean I don’t really want to get out so I mean, you could just get on too?” He cringes internally. Why is he doing this?
“Okay,” Dream says, grin slowly forming. He grabs the side of the tube and hoists himself up, settling on top of George. He’s dripping water everywhere and George is soaked from neck to toe, but he can’t even think about that because he’s being crushed.
From his vantage point in the tube with Dream below him in the water, George failed to realize just how big Dream is. He is easily over six feet tall, though it’s hard to tell exactly. Dream has seated himself directly on top of George, Dream’s back pressing into George’s chest. The air feels like it’s being forced out of George’s lungs, probably because it is. The back of Dream’s head hovers in front of George’s face. George would smell his hair if he could get any air to his lungs.
“Dream,” George groans helplessly, feeling pathetic.
Dream must realize what’s wrong, because he does his best to shift his weight, and George is able to take a quick breath. “Sorry, are you alright?” he asks, sounding worried.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” George takes another breath, “you’re just so heavy.”
Dream chuckles awkwardly. “Alright, clearly we need to switch.” George nods into his hair. “Okay, I’ll move to the right and you put weight on the left side to balance.”
Dream slides to the right, lifting his weight off George as much as he can. George wriggles around, trying to free himself enough to shift to the left. He grabs onto Dream’s shoulder, trying to lift himself, and suddenly the tube is tipping and George doesn’t even have time to scream before they’re both underwater.
There seem to be limbs everywhere and George flails around, trying to break the surface, but he’s not even sure which way is up or down. He kicks wildly until Dream grabs him by the hand and pulls him up. George gasps, sucking in air, which seems to be in short supply lately.
Dream places his hands on George’s shoulders. “Are you alright?” Dream asks, eyes full of concern.
George nods, coughing. “I’m fine,” he mutters. He meets Dream’s eyes and grins, embarrassed. Suddenly they’re both laughing hysterically, ignoring their aching lungs.
“Oh no, the tube,” Dream chokes out between bouts of laughter. George looks around to see the tube bobbing away from them. This only serves to make him laugh harder. Then, Dream takes a hand from George’s shoulder and slips it around his waist. George stops laughing as he’s pulled to Dream’s chest. He stares at Dream in shock.
Dream tilts his head, gaze flicking down to George’s lips for just a moment before he grins and turns, swimming toward the tube with George held tight against him. George isn’t quite sure what to do with his arms or legs, resisting the urge to wrap them around Dream like a koala.
When Dream reaches the tube he releases George and flips it over.
“Okay, let’s try this again,” Dream says with a grin. He pulls himself into the tube easily and reaches both hands out for George.
George reaches up to take them, but instead Dream grabs him by the waist and pulls him onto the tube facing him. George’s legs fold awkwardly underneath him until he ends up sitting criss-cross applesauce on Dream’s lap. Dream doesn’t take his hands from George’s waist. Their eyes lock.
“Hi,” George breathes.
“Hi.” Dream’s face is so close George can count the freckles on his nose. He can also see the pink flush on Dream’s cheeks, surely matching his own. George hesitates before raising his hands to rest on Dream’s shoulders. His heart pounds so loud he wonders if Dream can hear it.
“Can I tell you a secret?” Dream whispers. George nods shakily. Dream leans in and puts his mouth by George’s ear. “Your friend didn’t ask me to pull the tube for him. I asked him.” His breath against George’s ear sends goosebumps racing down the side of his neck.
“Why?” George whispers, having trouble breathing yet again, but this time for a completely different reason.
“You looked so pretty up there on the tube,” Dream murmurs. “I had to talk to you.” He pulls away to meet George’s eyes, looking nervous and somewhat flustered. His hair is messy and his green eyes seem to sparkle in the sunlight. Beautiful, George thinks.
“Can I tell you a secret?” George whispers back. Dream nods, throat moving as he swallows.
George leans forward, but instead of whispering in Dream’s ear he closes his eyes and kisses him. Dream tastes of sand and sunlight and George thinks he’s gotten more than his fair share of sun today.