Pssst.
[slides dollar bill on the table]
You got the good stuff? (c!drunznf)
Wanna tell me about it? (/nf)
[slides dollar bill back to you]
This one's on the house, I'm still testing it you see, it's rose thorns au (post-prison, pre-finale), and c!punznf has me acting up...
George hasn't seen Dream in a year and a half and when he comes back into his life, he has a new boyfriend... now what is this .
He's a jealous bitch that's going to make Punz's life a living hell just by the absolute horrendous vibes he's going to project in their presence.
But now he's fucked because Punz is nice to him, kind to him, and has too much patience for their own good and George doesn't know what to do with that.
Direct his anger anguish, hurt towards Dream instead? He's tried it. Successfully too! But he– can't. Not anymore. Not when Dream tells him he still loves him he means it, and god doesn't that make this so much fucking harder than it needs to be.
Dream will look at him like he's the sun, moon and stars in a single person. He'll cook for him without him asking, and even when Dream himself won't even end up eating any of the food either. He'll keep him safe, protect him, like he was always meant to, and he'll tell him everything. Like, he actually gets to sit in the meeting room, strategize with them, and offer suggestions about the infamous 'Plan'.
He wants so bad to be furious about being left out, but he isn't being left out.
And one of the reasons for that is Punz. They'll ask his opinion on the most mundane of stuff, they'll leave the room when he gets pissy instead of bickering back until someone gets actually hurt. They'll make him food when Dream can't and they'll enchant his entire armour set and all they'll ask for is that George watches them while they work.
Whatever. George hates him so fucking much. He does.
And when Punz royally fucks up and his relationship with Dream is crumbling at his feet, George is supposed to gloat and stomp on the crumbs to help crush it once and for all. But he can't. Because Punz is crying hysterically, kneeling over the dozens of open books scattered in his office, his mistake on display for anyone to see.
George has never seen him like this and the sick satisfaction he thought would come never does. He never wants to see him like this again (and doesn't that confuse him). So he drags Punz out, and when they finally talk he finds out their insecurities aren't actually that different. A mismatched puzzle of unresolved issues where the biggest problem is that none of they talk nearly enough as they should.
Well, makes sense. They're idiots in love with an idiot after all.
Things get easier after that.
When Dream comes back skitterish and shaking, George finally understands how much Punz means to him. Better later than never, right?
Later, he'll look back and cringe at how awful he was to be around. But he'll smile too, at how that didn't stop Dream from tripping over his own feet trying to show George how much he loves him.
It didn't fix any of their problems – love. Probably made some things worse actually. But George likes to believe it somehow helped them get where they are now.
Where when George pesters Dream for attention and he can't give it to him – courtesy of a bad day –, George can fall into Punz's lap instead. A bold move on his part the first time he tried it, made Punz's pulse spike so hard he heard Dream curse while cooking, and then made him almost burn their food when he turned around to check on them and couldn't stop staring.
George thanks Punz's design choices every day, for making the couch be in direct view of the kitchen.
Now, Punz reassures him when Dream can't get out of bed for breakfast in the morning, peppers him in kisses when they dance past George’s perch on the kitchen counter as they make lunch, and makes him fall in love again while they both wait for Dream to finish cooking dinner, Punz sitting comfortably on the couch and George sitting comfortably in Punz’s lap.
They'll whisper silly pet names into his ear until he's blushing from giggling so much, and then they'll murmur "My angel" in reverence into his neck and "I love you" into his lips like a promise and George will finally, finally understand Dream utterly and completely.
