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Dream Team, but only Dream is an omega

Summary:

Grab a random stranger off the streets and ask them to take a wild guess who is the only omega out of Dream, Sapnap and George, 99% of them would choose George; the other 1% would choose Sapnap.
"What about me?" Dream asks.
"Dude," Sapnap says, "If any company needs an advertiser for its alpha products, you'll still be the one picked out of ten thousand alphas."

Notes:

This is a translation of my Chinese fic 《Dream Team,但只有Dream是Omega》, which can be found here (chap. 20).
There are two other fics under this AU where the three finally came around and entered a relationship, though both in Chinese. You can check them out (chap. 21&22) if you want.

Lots of thanks and credit to my beloved translator @tirlnanakins.

Work Text:

Grab a random stranger off the streets and ask them to take a wild guess who is the only omega out of Dream, Sapnap and George, 99% of them would choose George; the other 1% would choose Sapnap.

"What about me?" Dream asks.

"Dude," Sapnap says, "If any company needs an advertiser for its alpha products, you'll still be the one picked out of ten thousand alphas."

George puts it more bluntly: "Dream could stand on the stage in a tutu and still get 1st place in an ‘alphaness’ contest."

(The bluntest reaction was from Quackity. He simply stated "What the fuck" after knowing the truth and then went into mic-muted silence for 5 minutes straight.)

"But, in fact, I truly, 100% , am an omega." Dream says.

And indeed he is.

Out of all the people, Sapnap was the first to know. A day before he was set to go and live with Dream, his longtime best friend told him in a rare, hesitant tone that there was something he needed to know on Discord. "What is it?" he asked, wholeheartedly curious. "Like what, you actually don’t have the money to rent a house and we’re gonna live on the streets? I don’t really mind. Not sure about George though." Expectedly, Dream laughed, but it was a tense, clipped sound, very different from his usual light, carefree laughter.

"Nevermind, it can wait until I meet you." Dream answered, and the topic was easily steered away onto plane tickets, luggage and meeting points. Sapnap shrugged; he wasn’t worried at all. Dream had always been a trusty friend, and house problems like that would never happen. If he was worrying about his appearance...well, that was unnecessary. He should already know by now, that even if he had three eyes and a pig snout, Sapnap and George still wouldn’t love him any less.

He landed in Florida safe and in one piece, and found Dream in the crowd milling by the exits effortlessly—or rather, Dream found him at first sight. Sapnap heard a familiar voice call out his name—the sound finally crossing the distance between them, transmitted through air rather than signals and cables, sounding slightly different due to the volume, but still standing out vividly against the chatter of the crowds. He immediately looked to the direction of the call, and zoned in on the person calling in less than a second. Even with a mask obscuring half his face, Dream was still very recognizable: the outstanding height, the dirty blond hair, the bright green hoodie, and a pair of eyes that Sapnap didn’t even need to look closely to know they were colored emerald green.

They hugged fiercely (Sapnap was almost picked up off the ground but shhhhh, we don’t talk about that). They exchanged greetings and words, and they laughed out loud. Dream smelled like January Florida; like fresh snowmelt and sunny aftershowers, like an green apple fresh from the tree, crisp and clear. The moment of unfamiliarity was dissolved after some chatting, as if this was supposed to be normal and routine, as if Sapnap was only a traveler away from home for too long.

Everything was smooth just like he expected. So halfway into the trip when the chatter died down naturally, and Dream took a deep breath and said, "Sapnap I have to tell you something", Sapnap absolutely didn’t realize the seriousness of the situation. "Yeah, what is it?" he said, taking his eyes off the scenery to look at Dream in the driver’s seat.

"I’m an omega." Dream said.

Sapnap blinked; and then he blinked again. "You’re joking right." he said, his head buzzing like a overheated computer case. Dream was insistently staring at the road that stretched in front of them, his jaw visibly tense even through the mask. "I thought since you’re going to be living with me, you have the right to know." he said slowly.

"But..." Sapnap tried to recall everything that had happened since meeting Dream, but there wasn’t anything, ANY, that could associate him with the gender of "omega". "But, but you don’t have that monthly, um, thing..."

"Yeaaaah...about that." Dream spoke up, managing to sound even more awkward. "That’s the second thing you need to know. I’m...not exactly like normal omegas."

Sapnap didn’t get much out of the following explanations and briefing; the cause of the difference seemed to be a rare mutant disease (needless to say also extremely unwelcome).

The only thing he understood was the "so you’re fine to live with me Sapnap, rest assured", that Dream had repeated for more than 5 times. A good while later, he finally noticed how tense and white-knuckled Dream's fingers gripping the wheel were; and how often he would gulp nervously, and how actively he was avoiding eye contact. He was actually worrying, worrying that Sapnap would somehow shy away because of the reveal of the truth, worrying that there would be an unmendable crack in their friendship, and that was also why he chose to not rip off the bandaid until Sapnap couldn’t just turn back and take a plane home.

"Oh, Dream..." Sapnap said. "You know its okay. Remember? We love you the way you are, even though you are very messed up."

Dream’s shoulders suddenly sagged, as if a great weight was lifted off them. The sentence seemed magical—and maybe it was, a unique code between the three of them, a different way of saying "I love you unconditionally", a solemn promise like an Unbreakable Vow. Sapnap couldn’t help but feel a little proud for his clever wording.

"Huh," he said after a while. "Looks like I’m the most normal one out of the three of us now. "

"Don't worry!" Dream said with a grin in his voice, "We love you the way you are, even though you are not very messed up."

"WooooOowW, I'm so very honored...Does George know?"

Dream stiffened again, and that was all the answer he needed. Sapnap sighed a ‘I-thought-as-much’ sigh. If something easy as a face reveal he could procrastinate and delay for so long, Sapnap had no doubt Dream could take the truth of his secondary gender with him to the grave.

"He has to know someday." Sapnap stated the obvious pointlessly, when the two both knew the truth of those words.

Dreams simply nodded noncommittally. Sapnap adjusted in his seat, sinking wholly into the back and started to brainstorm all the ways to help Dream keep this secret until he is willing to come out about it.

 

***

 

The day George finally flew over from oceans away, 2/3 of the Dream Team went to pick him up from the airport. Both Sapnap and Dream wanted to make real-life sized "Welcome home" posters, but ditched the idea out of rational sense. Going all out with the pickup turned out to be a smart idea, because Dream at least had Sapnap to back him up when he did the big reveal.

"You’re joking." George said for the fifth time with a trace of smile on his face, but Dream looked like he was one second away from blowing up. Sapnap sat in the back, rubbing his face tiredly. "I’m not joking, George!" Dream exclaimed. "I am dead serious, and could you be at least a little more serious about it okay? I am discussing the matter very sincerely with you, and Sapnap already knows—"

"And he didn’t tell me? I don’t believe it." George said.

Dream seemed to have sensed something out of the words, because his tone turned hesitant immediately. "I didn’t mean that, George." he said, drumming his fingers nervously on the wheel. They were waiting for the red light. "I-I didn’t want you to know so soon. I didn’t paln to tell anyone—well no, I mean I would’ve told you eventually. I just didn’t want to, you know, seem..."

"—seem like the odd one out." Sapnap supplied.

"...Didn’t want to seem like the odd one out of the three of us." Dream corrected. "See, you’re an alpha, so is Sapnap, so. I hope you can understand, George, you’re my best friend after all."

"Dream," George said, reaching across the space between them to pat his arm, "I love you."

"Oh god." Sapnap said, immediately leaning back from his former position perched toward the front, and as far as possible from the two in the front. "Please, please try not to do...that in the car, I’m begging you. "

"Sapnap knows too much," George said. "Let’s kill him."

Dream sounded like he was at a loss trying to decide whether to cry or laugh. "Oh come on George, please tell me you don’t think I’m joking."

George hummed noncommitically. "Look me in the eyes and say it again, and I’ll believe you then."

"We're driving on the road, guys." Sapnap said nervously.

Dream didn’t answer. Instead, he jammed on the breaks and guided the car away from the road to smoothly park by the side. ("Is parking even allowed here?" Sapnap asked nervously, trying his best to crane his neck and see the signs.) He even stopped the engine, waiting until the rumbling died down. Then, he turned and stared George dead in the eyes, only to say slowly, seriously and word-by-word: "George, I am an omega."

The atmosphere was weirdly solemn; Sapnap was holding his breath until George started to laugh, his eyes crinkling from the effort, and reached forward in the tight space to give Dream a gigantic hug. "I believe in you ,Dream, I believe you," he said. "By the way, you smell good."

Dream's exposed ears began to redden quickly. Sapnap wrinkled his nose at the almost flirtatious words, but...yeah, he had to admit Dream smelled really good. After realizing the "January Florida" smell he had sensed was actually Dream's scent, he began to notice more keenly that vague scent, clinging to every surface Dream touches, filling their shared space, like an automatic air freshener, not enough to make an alpha react but enough to make one cheery.

"Are we good?" Sapnap asked after Dream and George finally reluctantly broke apart.

"We are good." Dream said, and George nodded his confirmation. The former revved up the car, and they continued their drive to a destination that would house three people and a lifelong friendship.

 

***

 

George didn’t sleep well on the plane, but it certainly didn’t affect his great mood about the fact he was about to meet his two best friends. Especially Dream, he couldn’t help but smile at the thought. Oh, how far he has come to finally arrive at this step.

And when the excitement of uniting was still fizzing among the three of them, when the Floridian streets were still flying past the windows, Dream suddenly told him in that tone he used for "serious stuff": he was an omega.

At first George thought it was 100% a joke, since they had went way more in terms of jokes before. He laughed as expected, and waited for Dream and Sapnap to laugh with him. But soon enough, Dream repeated the sentence word-by-word again, and Sapnap promised from the backseat that he was, indeed, telling the truth. George could feel his smile slipping.

"You're joking." he said, more trying to convince himself than doubt.

Dream repeated a third time. Then a fourth, and George could see him getting visibly more irritated by the minute, his voice rising higher, even to the point where it completely drowned out the music playing in the car. Sapnap sank into silence after testifying twice, seemingly giving up on the mess. George didn’t know what to do by now. He was almost convinced, but it was hard for him to accept the fact that Dream had been hiding the truth all along—yes, he had said no to face revealing until now, but gender—that was a completely different issue. For George, it was like Dream had been hiding his height, or age, or favorite color. What was worst, Sapnap knew first, before him. Not that he was jealous of Sapnap because of that (okay, maybe a little—just a little), he just suddenly felt like he was not trusted, and the foundation that their intimacy built upon started to crumble. His emotions teetered dangerously on an unstable edge, his only mask a facade of  indifference hiding his loss of what to do.

He needed some proof, some reassurance, anything that proved Dream still cared about him. So he said, "look me in the eyes and say it again and I'll believe you", which was him being deliberately annoying, the same as when he would provoke and annoy Dream with unreasonable requests for fun in past videos. He was 100% sure that Dream would just brush off his request; because by traffic law, they were driving on a very crowded road, and the cop in the distance didn’t exactly look nice to be messing with.

But Dream immediately slammed on the brakes and slowed down the speed, bringing them to a stop by the curb, and zeroed in on him with those bright green eyes, and told him for the sixth time: "George, I’m an omega."

George met Dream's eyes for the second time—the first time was at arrivals, he walked up to Dream with his luggages in tow, unable to take his eyes off that burning gaze, as if he was being dragged in by them, until he was standing right in front of Dream, and he looked up to see the real color of Dream's eyes for the first time, and smelled that comforting snowmelt scent of him. In the cramped space of the car, they were close, close enough for him to see the dilating of Dream's pupils, the tiny rifts on his retinas and sparse freckles scattered across his nosebridge. They were little signals, pieced together to write a story of anxiety, worriedness, complete honesty—and love, bared for all the world to see.

George, for a minute, felt like a kid that asked for the stars and actually got them. The situation was so ridiculously cute that he started to laugh, all the anxiousness and fumbling evaporating like morning fog. Dream looked like he still had no idea what happened, so he reached out, and took his best friend into his embrace.

"I believe in you, Dream, I believe you." he said, unable to contain his smile, mussing his hair for good measure. And then, out of purely good intentions, he said: "By the way, you smell good."

Dream bodily tensed in his arms, and proceeded to hold George even closer, as if he was afraid letting go now and the other would see his ears turning a bright red—which was completely unnessesary by the way, because the heat rising up in their touching cheeks was enough to say it all.

They finally let go of each other in sync after a good while. He heard Sapnap ask, "Are we good?"

He glanced at Dream, who had already straightened up in his seat. He looked relaxed, happy, and content. George felt a short bit of guilt for his insolence.

"We are good." Dream says, and puts the car into starting gear.

George nodded his agreement. We are good.

 

***

 

Neither George nor Sapnap was a medical expert, so they knew little to none about Dream's weird disease. After studying the lengthy explanations on Wikipedia for hours, those complicated innate and acquired causes still didn't make any sense; all they got out of it was that it seemed to cause abnormal secretion of pheromones and usual performances of heat traits, as well as intensify other mental disorders, such as ADHD.

The last word was way too familiar to them by now.

Dream only shrugged and combed through Patches' fur, saying that he actually quite enjoyed life without heats. "Not without. Your heats are not gone, just suppressed, and that's not good for your body." George corrected him, the cursor dragging a line of blue highlight on the computer screen.

To make matters worse, "There is no known cure, only treatments of drugs combined with psychotherapy to relieve symptoms." Sapnap read aloud, and two pair of eyes zoned in on Dream's face at the same time.

"Are you taking your meds, Dream?" George demanded like a worried mother hen.

"What meds?" "He isn't." Dream and Sapnap spoke at the same time.

If Sapnap and Dream hadn't held him back, George would have taken Dream directly to the hospital.

"Calm down, guys," Dream said, "I've been fine all this time!"

"Just because you look healthy doesn't mean you are healthy, Dream." George sounded exasperated, as if he was explaining 1+1=2 to Dream. "You should get treated."

"Is it that important to you? Whether I'm a normal omega or not? " Dream said, crossing his arms; Patches jumped down from his lap and meowed disgruntledly.

"Your identity—gender doesn't matter, Dream," George said, "We just hope that you won't die in the house or have a nervous breakdown."

Dream turned to Sapnap, "do something" written all across his expression. Sapnap coughed, only to discover George was staring at him, too.

"Um, I think, we can respect Dream's personal wishes. But of course I want you to get rid of the side effects of this strange disease, Dream, even if that will cause you agony for three days monthly or a loss of large amount of money on suppressants or something..."

"Thank you, Sapnap." Dream said, "You've made my point."

George snorted, and Sapnap quickly read on, "'Omega pheromones are supposed to peak once a month, but once suppressed, will result in an almost opposite display of omega traits.' Oh, I think I know what this means. George, you'll see. "

George raised his eyebrows. Sapnap glanced at the date on his phone.

"In another week." He said, sighing aloud.

 

***

 

Under the chaos of streaming and recording, a week disappeared quickly. Then one day, when George was awakened from his peaceful sleep by loud singing, propping up his eyelids and turning on his phone to read 6: 45 a.m. on the screen; when he walked into the kitchen in a daze, finding Sapnap sitting at the table, pale as if he had just committed either homicide or suicide, greeting him good morning with a tired blank expression and unshaven stubble; and when Dream served them fresh-baked bread with a spring in his step, the scent of green apples and aftershowers and snowmelt in the air a little stronger than usual—it was only then he realized that, yes, Dream was under an untypical omega's untypical heat.

"Good morning!" Dream said in a sing-song voice, "Good morning George, good morning Sapnap, would you guys like to go shopping together? I mean after breakfast. Our storage is running low. "

"Okay Dream," Sapnap muttered wearily, picked up a piece of bread and stuffed it in his mouth, seemingly giving up on controlling his fate.

"Dream," George said, looking at the man who sat down to pour himself milk. "You seem...energetic." His face was ruddy, eyes bright; even his hair was fluffier, bouncing as if he was walking on springs.

"Yeah babe," said Dream, "let's gooooo! "

Shopping was a marathon. If he could, George would really, really like to recreate "Beating Minecraft, but were in shopping carts", and replace the two in the cart with him and Sapnap. He was confident that the Dream right now wouldn't mind, since he was pushing a mountain of stuff that looked the same height and weight of both him and Sapnap combined, walking ahead and as energetic as before.

"This is the weirdest thing I've even seen in my life." George commented, already on the brink of being worn out.

Sapnap was barely better than him. "You'll get used to it," he said, stifling a yawn. "Dream is really good at turning those faults into his advantage."

But when he saw Dream single-handedly tow four bags to their car, each of those twice bigger than his head, George couldn't hold back anymore. "That's not scientifically possible,"he declaired. "Dream, aren't you tired? Do you need help?" His best friend turned and sized him up, taking in his huffing and puffing form, and shrugged, "I guess not. Come on! We still have time to go home and make lunch."

To nobody's surprise, George fell asleep on the way home, and it took Sapnap a full minute to wake him up.

And now they sat on the couch watching TV. Patches sprawled on George's lap yawning. Clinking of pots and pans came from the kitchen. Dream was a good cook, but by no means a cooking lover. George silently compared this Dream to an "omega in heat" in his mind: physical weakness (false), drowsiness (false), fever (maybe a little?), mood swings (if overhyper counted, probably), pheromone peaks (none), increased dependency (really?)...

"I'm confused." he said.

Sapnap nodded wordlessly, and proceeded to open another bag of chips.

"I hear you two eating snacks!" Dream yelled from the kitchen, "Lunch is almost ready, maybe a little help here?"

"You can go over, and discover that there's nothing for you to help with." Sapnap said drily, stuffing the chips into his mouth. "You'll get used to it."

After lunch (which was delicious), George claimed that he needed to rest.

"Oh no, absolutely not!" Dream exclaimed, hooking his arms around their necks. "We're going to play Minecraft!"

Sapnap didn't even bother to resist.

Yes, they played Minecraft. For how long, George didn't remember. At the end he was so sleepy, to the point of bordering unconscious. He could only sit there, listened blankly to Sapnap and Dream argue about the damage of an axe hit, and almost walked himself into lava, fell off a ravine, or faceplanted into the keyboard multiple times. When Dream finally decided it was time to get up and stretch their legs, the sky was already fully dark. Dinner was takeout, high-caloried pizza, but he didn't give a flying fuck what he was stuffing into his mouth; he only longed for the bed in his room.

Dream tap-danced in his dream (hah!) all night long. It wasn't an enjoyable night.

The second day, George was again slapped awake by Dream singing, just like yesterday. Sapnap welcomed him downstairs with bloodshot eyes, saying that there were only two more days to go.

George rubbed his face, thinking that maybe enduring an normal omega's heat and scent may be better than this.

(He would come to regret that thought.)

 

***

 

This was the fourth month the Dream Team finally got to live together, and all was going well. George got used to Dream's three days a month abnormal period with time. They still occasionally tried to get Dream to go get treated, but as long as Dream was happy and well, normal or not seemed to be unimportant.

Dream rarely had ADHD attacks now. Actually, only once after George arrived. They resolved that crisis in time, by way of hugs, companionship and whispered promises. Sapnap repeated "We love you the way you are, even if you are very messed up" time after time, until his throat hurted and his lips were dry and chapped; while George just quietly buried his face into the crook of Dream's neck, evenly combing through his hair. Patches joined them at sometime, purring steadily by Dream's side. For the three and Patches, it was a soft, intimate moment.

They slid into their three sided relationship easily: Dream took the lead, George was the grumbly and joking one, and Sapnap was the poor soul who complained all the time but still does the work. They shared chores occasionally, and often shared a movie late at night—each curled on the couch with their own gigantic bag of chips, exchanging flavors from time to time. Dream was always in the middle (none of them wanted to admit it was because he was the tallest), ending up as George's pillow more often than not. When the movie ended he and Sapnap would lug George back to his bedroom, and shoulder pats as a way of saying "goodnight". If Sapnap got scared by the horror movie, Dream would also silently stole him a hug.

Going out was always pleasant. Sapnap needed sun and fresh air outdoors, Dream didn't mind, and George had to agree with the majority. Sometimes they just strolled and talked about everything and nothing, maybe the idea for the next video; and then George would suddenly start running, tempting the other two to chase after him, or Sapnap would be attracted by a cute puppy, and just crouch there playing with them for a good half hour. Occasionally one or more of them got recognized by a keen-eyed fan, and left with some harmless selfies. Dream had already gotten used to keeping a pen for signatures on him at all times while out, since how could they allow their fans to leave empty handed?

Everything was so smooth, that a lot of times Sapnap and George would forget Dream's real gender. And to be honest, was it really that important?

So Sapnap foresaw him and George being woken up by singing, foresaw them reluctant to leave their beds, foresaw them walking into the kitchen to wait for Dream's breakfast, but didn't foresee waking up to the scent heavy and thick in the air, as if someone smashed a perfume bottle.

"What the fuck?" he muttered groggily, body reacting a step ahead of his brain.

He bumped into a bedheaded George at the top of the stairs, the latter looking almost panicked, the force of which he gripped Sapnap's arm making him frown.

"So I take it means you've felt it too?" George said, eyeing Sapnap's crotch.

"What?—oh. OH. What the f—!" Sapnap jostled back to reality with a full-body flinch, the thick scent in the air instantly becoming clearer to every one of his senses. But at least now he realized how his body was instinctually reacting to the pheromones of an omega. For a moment, he was frightened.

Patches was nowhere to be seen, maybe sensing the odd atmosphere. The air still lingered with Dream's cheerful singing like always.

"What happened?"George asked in a whisper, his fingers sinking into Sapnap’s arm painfully.

"I don't know." Sapnap answered, trying his best to quell the discomfort between his legs.

Dream poked his head out from the kitchen. "Sapnap, George, why are you guys—" He stopped midsentence, eyeing the two weird-expressioned men. "What's wrong with you two?"

"Dream," Sapnap managed with difficulty, "Your...your scent."

"My scent?" Dream asked with a blank look on his face. "What's wrong with it?"

George's breathing was labored. Maybe it was because of the closeness, even Sapnap, an alpha, could also distantly feel George's alpha pheromone uncontrollably wafting out—the scent of grape soda. His own scent (charcoal and beer, if he remembered correctly) was probably leaking everywhere as well by now. But Dream, an omega facing two alphas on the brink of tipping into rut, was just standing there relaxed, as if he couldn't at all sense the alpha pheromones thick in the air like incense.

Sapnap started to falter. Alpha instincts weren't made for being gentlemanly and graceful in a room full of omega pheromones.

Of course, he didn't doubt that if he lost control, he definitely would be put down by Dream easier than putting down a grumpy Patches. However, it definitely didn't mean that Dream could take on the two of them at the same time; and even if he could, it wouldn't be pretty. And, thinking with his (not much left) sanity, this situation could last for three days. He tried to speak, but all that came out was ragged gasps.

"Hospital." Dream decided immediately, braving through Sapnap and George's pheromones like braving crossfire, and amazingly unaffected through it all. He propped one up with each arm, and dragged them out the door.

Fresh air and the trip helped the two alphas regain their sanity slightly, but it was still hard for them to grasp the situation. It was not until both of them and Dream each got a dose of suppressant, and the doctor was spreading out pieces of paper with test results, saying that, "It's not their fault, it's Mr. Omega here's fault", that they finally started to slowly comprehend what had happened.

The doctor ranted on about a lot of stuff such as medical history, pathology and such, but at last of last, it all boiled down to one sentence:"Dream's condition is getting better."

"You must've gone through very good mental conditions and living conditions in the last month— ("Yeah, if you mean staying up playing video games." George muttered under his breath.) —so that now your pheromone production is slowly returning to normal. If this kind of therapy and treatment continues, I'd say you have an 80% chance of recuperating to a state close to a normal omega. Of course, minding the peculiarities of your condition, the residual effects may be hard to get rid of completely..."

The words after were unimportant, because Sapnap and George only cared about the first half—that Dream was getting better, and could be better still.

And it was the fruit of the three of them (plus the one cat Patches)'s joint effort.

George was smiling, and Sapnap couldn't be prouder.

Dream however, was quite the opposite, looking absent and lost, silent all the way home.

"Dream, you look unhappy." Once the door closes behind them, George cut straight to the point. Dream walked to the sofa and sats down heavily. Looked like it meant they needed to have a talk.

"Talk to us." Sapnap said ,sitting down on his left. George followed immediately, sitting down on his right.

"I just..." Dream sighed, head down, fingers entwined. "It's just that, I'm less and less like an alpha now, aren't I?"

"But it doesn't matter." George answers immediately. "Whether you're Alpha, Beta, Omega, or Alpha Monday Wednesday Friday Omega Tuesday Thursday Saturday and Beta Sunday, it doesn't matter to us, Dream. We love you because you're you."

"Yeah, if we can endure your morning serenades then we can endure you smelling perfume-y or being a bit lazy for three days a month." Sapnap said.

"No matter your gender, you're always awesome, Dream, and that is a fact."

"You two are already treating me like a heartbroken little girl." Dream said, leaning back with a huff. "I don't like that."

"If you ask me, we're more like the hands-tied ones." Sapnap mused. "See, you aren't even affected by our pheromones—"

"And Sapnap had one whiff of you and couldn't even stand straight," George added helpfully, earning a "Shut up like you're one to say!" from the victim.

Dream lifted one eyebrow and glanced around. "Reaaaaaaaally?" he drawled, an evil grin the two were way too familiar with creeping onto his face.

"Oh NO," Sapnap groaned.

"I smell good, don't I?" Dream asked, reaching out a hand to tousle the hair at his nape, right by his scent gland.

"Dream, " George protested weakly.

"You guys like my scent?" Dream pushed on, the mischief in his eyes evident. "Come on, admit it. Come on Sapnap, George, admit it."

"We love you the way you are, even though you are very messed up." Sapnap said. Georage nodded along, an unspoken "yes we damn do".

Evidently that sentence worked, because Dream bursted out laughing, and gave the both of them a loud peck on the cheek.

"I'll go buy some suppressant." Dream said, jumping up, ignoring the two still in shock. "That shit just now only works for a day, so if you two don't want to spend the next two days in the scent of my 'perfume'...see ya later!"

George turned to face Sapnap. "I've regretted." he whispered, "I'd rather have the previous Dream."

"Good for you," Sapnap said dazzily, still absently caressing where Dream just kissed him .

Patches squirmed out from under the couch and jumped on the table, staring at the two of them, her eyes judging. Finally, at the silent end of the man-cat staring contest, George concluded, "This is so messed up."

"We just love things that are messed up, don't we?" Sapnap muttered bitterly. "Maybe we should call ourselves Dream-messed Team instead."