"What if we had, like, a virtual dinner date?" Clay suggested suddenly one evening while on call. George had to pause the code he was running through and patching in order to give him a confused look. Virtual dinner date? "Think about it! We're on call all the time so it won't be that new or different. You could go get dinner and I'll get lunch while on call and It'll be like a date." He elaborated nervously, feeling rather silly now that he'd said the words aloud. To give himself credit, It sounded like a good idea in his head.

George decided to spare Clay any additional embarrassment and smiled, resuming the code as he spoke. "I'd like that. Wouldn't it be awkward talking to my phone in public though? People are going to stare." He questioned in return, imagining the plethora of dirty looks he's sure he'd receive.

Clay shrugged nonchalantly, however. "Not really. People care about strangers a lot less than you'd think they do, you'll be fine." He reassured breezily, plucking his phone from the desk and snapping photos of a select few pages in his notebook. He sent them off to the band group chat before switching off his phone and closing the notebook, shifting to take in and watch his boyfriend's softly focussed expression with a warm sense of fondness. George's lips were lightly pouted in thought, eyebrows low over his eyes.

"What are you working on?" He switched the subject to quell any of George's remaining nerves - they'd talk about the idea later -, crossing his arms on the desk and settling his chin on top of them. George glanced back and forth between where Clay was making himself comfortable and the code for a moment with a smile, discreetly pushing something on his desk further back into the camera's blind spot to ensure it was hidden from view.

"Just patching some code, making sure it runs smoothly." He replied with a faux nonchalance that Clay picked up on but decided to let slide. It didn't seem all that important at the time. If it was something bad, Clay was sure he'd know from George's reactions alone. This time, he was happy to let George keep whatever secret he had.

"New plug-in?" Clay continued instead and watched as George's smile grew, tips of his ears heating to a soft pink. George bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from breaking into a grin. Clay decided that whatever the secret was, it certainly couldn't be bad if it had George smiling like that.

"Sure, something like that." He replied, pursing his lips in an attempt to will away his smile. It didn't work, but the effort was there none the less. Clay decided that maybe he wouldn't let George have this secret. He wanted to know.

"It's not a plug-in? What is it then?" Clay asked, tone laced with confusion, and picked his head off of his arms. George didn't bother stopping his grin this time as he looked over to the screen that held his boyfriend.

"That's favouritism, Dreamy, I can't just give out spoilers like that." George mimicked with a shit eating grin and Clay groaned, dropping back onto his arms. George laughed to himself happily. "How is the album coming along anyway?" He followed up by way of changing subjects.

"I just sent off some drafts to the band, waiting on them for feedback and ideas." Clay said by way of answer and George nodded. There was a soft silence for a moment before George broke it once more.

"How many songs?" He asked and Clay laughed. "Come on, please?" George begged, only making Clay laugh harder. At the end of the day, George would always be a fanboy before anything else and Clay was more than elated for that fact.

"Maybe six or seven so far? I don't know whether I actually want publish the last one or not." Clay finally caved and said, to George's pure glee. George decided he'd worked on the code long enough for now, it was running relatively smoothly and he still had more time to continue editing it later, so he saved and closed it, bringing his entire focus to Clay.

"Because it's not good enough or?" He trailed off, pulling up his knees to sit cross legged in the chair. Clay shook is head, cheek squished against his arms.

"No, it's good enough, I'm actually kind of proud of it, but it's just... personal, I guess. I kind of want to just keep it for myself, you know?" He attempted to explain and George nodded in a rough understanding.

"Yeah, I get that." He agreed gently. "You're allowed to have things for yourself, Clay. Whatever you decide to do, I'll support you." He affirmed with a smile and watched as Clay twisted to bury his face in his arms. At the realisation that the tips of Clay's ears were painted a deep red, George giggled.

God, was Clay lucky. It was times like this that he truly realised it. George's understanding was endless and relentless and sometimes undeserved but he gave it anyways. He was understanding and beautiful and handsome and smart and kind and his. George was his. How wonderful.

"Simp." Clay finally commented, tilting to peek up at George's reaction. George threw up his hands in defeat with a groan that made Clay wheeze to himself. After a moments time taken calming themselves, Clay spoke once more. "I'd share it with you, of course."

George smiled smugly to himself at that. "Because I'm your favourite." He finished, bringing his hands up to frame his face. The corners of Clay's lips quirked, eyes softening and warming the longer he watched George.

Maybe Dream isn't supposed to have favourites, but he's never been a stickler for the rules anyways. "Yeah." He agreed quietly and George shared his gentle, private smile.

"Hey George?" He asked and George hummed a softly questioning noise. He had curled further down into the chair, fingers absently playing with Clay's chain around his neck. He looked, for lack of any better words, utterly soft and homely. His shirt was somewhat rumpled and Clay was more than certain it was covered in cat fur. Clay could also see the soft indent in George's hair from where his headphones had once resided, having not fixed it since this mornings stream. At the bottom of his screen were the tops of George's knees, covered by his dark gray joggers, and Clay had half the mind to tease him for just how utterly small he was. Instead, he smiled and uttered the three words that he was sure had been echoing in his lungs since the moment he'd been made. "I love you."

Honestly, George shouldn't have been surprised by the words at all and yet they still made his heart stutter and start like a half finished program. His smile only grew with his fondness, cheeks shaded a soft pink. "I love you too." He answered.

They said the words as if they were a secret language made for them that  only they understood. In some aspects, that's exactly what they were.

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@JeThrowMeAway
@Geo-logist Galen Edward Barret get your ass back here right now before I skin you
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retweets likes
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@fleepfloop
Was anyone going to tell me that Geo's first name is not actually Geo, or even George, or was I just supposed to find that out from an angry Jethro tweet myself?
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@Geo-logist
S o r r y c an't t al k rn ge tti ng o n p lan e l o ve yo u by e e e e e e e <3
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@EmotionalBeen
????????????
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@OhOphelia
Geo planned a trip to meet Kiri for the first
time without telling anyone (except me 😌
✨) and Clark is absolutely going to whine
until he gets back and then some
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Geo couldn't really tell whether his knees were trembling from excitement or fear. If he had to hazard a guess, he'd say it was probably equal parts both. He'd never been out of country without at least Ophelia before and, oh dear lord, he definitely should have asked Ophelia to come with. Being in a foreign place, alone, waiting for someone you'd only ever spoken to online did wonders for demonstrating just how nervous a person could get before they combusted entirely.

He was about to turn himself around and skip his way back to his hotel room where he could sob down the phone to Ophelia like a coward and beg her to come with when he finally spotted him.

Kiri was there, right there, possibly ten strides away. It felt as though something had come and was slowly, carefully, draining Geo of every worry he'd ever had. Kiri was right there and Geo was okay. Geo was okay because Kiri was right there. With a giddy smile that Geo was sure he would have been teased for relentlessly, he began the strides it took to reach Kiri's side.

"Hi." He greeted breathlessly, the moment he was within earshot.

"Hi."

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1.5k words

I wrote half of this while out kayaking and it was possibly the most terrifying thing I've ever done :) It's the first time I'd actually bought my phone out on the water with me.

Feedback is welcome and appreciated!!

Yours, Dandelion