Chapter Text
“Alright everyone, clap once if you hear me, clap twice if you hear me!”
Three claps echo around the room, small hands making it happen. George smiles down at the kids surrounding him in a circle, captivating their attention with practised ease.
“We have a special day coming up, so I want you guys to pay attention, alright?” George taps the toe of his sneaker against the tile floor and holds up his hands, commanding the attention of about ten kids like a miniature army. “Hands up, who here likes… the color blue?”
A few hands shoot up and George looks around the room. It’s nice in here, large windows with thicker glass and plenty of sunlight, a few hanging planters well out of grabbing reach and teeny pots on the windowsill that contain little sprouts. There are a few tissue paper decorations that cast little rainbows on the floor, and the indoor wind chime George put up sways by itself.
George smiles at the faces looking up at him, gathered in a circle on the carpet under his feet. “Nice, that’s my favorite colour, too. Okay, put your hands down. I want to know… who likes learning?”
All of the hands in the room shoot up and George laughs at the kids; whoever said that children hate school was a fucking liar because kids are little sponges, always soaking up new information and never fulfilling their desire for more.
“Okay, who can tell me where we like learning from. Adam?”
A boy sitting on the outside of the circle puffs his chest out. “From books!”
George nods, “From books, good. Where else… Laura?”
The girl with the dark hair grins toothily at George and folds her hands on her crossed ankles. George smiles back at her and she seems to vibrate in her spot. “Teachers, Mister George.”
“Lovely, good answer Laura,” George says, and walks a few steps back to his little desk; he grabs a sheet of paper and hides it behind his back, a gleam of excitement in his eyes that matches the kids’. “So, for the special day that’s coming, we are going to have a new teacher in our classroom. This teacher is kind of different, though, they’re not like me but they still want to see you guys!”
George flips the paper in front of him, and scans over the bolded letters.
“Shout out your answers, what do ambulances do?”
“They have sirens!” Jared says, and another little girl mumbles a variance of that statement.
“They, um—” Katarina stutters, and George looks directly at her and waits for her to finish her sentence, “T-they go and save people.”
“Have flashing lights!”
“Cool colours!”
George claps his hands together twice and the kids follow, clapping three times rapidly. The room goes silent, and George looks down at the paper he tucked under his arm.
“I’m sure you’ve figured it out already, but the guest we have coming works in an ambulance! They’re going to show us the inside and outside, see what everything does and explain a few of your questions for you. Do we have any questions?”
Laura puts her hand up again, and George picks her. “Is that today, Mister George?”
George hums, and puts his paper down on the desk. He leans against it and checks the calendar for dramatic effect even though he knows what day the ambulance and paramedics are coming. “It’s not today, but they’re coming tomorrow around lunchtime, so we have plenty of time to think of questions for them. Anyone else?”
“Who’s coming?”
“Mm, not sure yet. I guess I’ll find out at the same time as you, yeah?” The kids seem satisfied with that, and George moves his hand in a shooing motion. “Alright then, you have free time for a bit and then we can think about going to the park. Mister Karl is going to come with us if it’s nice out.”
That earns him a round of toothy smiles and giggles, and the children disperse throughout the room to find various activities. George watches them, adjusts the wire glasses on his nose by the temples and turns back to his desk.
The daycare is a nice place to be. He likes working here, has since it opened two years ago and met plenty of people along the way. Captain’s Care is on the smaller side and owned by a nice lady named Puffy, who drops in sometimes to say hello and work on the accounting side of things. George likes her and they get along, and she sometimes mentions her son and treats George the same way.
Karl is the other worker here; he and George are basically best friends, managing an average of about seven children between them almost daily and honestly loving every bit of it. The kids here are the ones not quite old enough for Kindergarten, but just too old for the parent to stay home for childcare; some days they get those not attending Kindergarten, so around five to six. George doesn’t care; babbling four year olds that are full of questions and five year olds that are in love with arts and crafts make his day, and George wouldn’t rather be anywhere else.
George sets the paper down. He really didn’t have much of a clue who was coming, but it was Puffy’s idea and she said that she could vouch for the person doing the teaching. He’s got a criminal record check from the guy as well, and it’s supposed to be coming to his inbox today. Maybe then he’ll figure out exactly who’s coming.
There’s a tug to his pant leg and George looks down. Katarina stands beside him, nervous hands and wide eyes as she looks up at him through purple rimmed glasses. George smiles and tilts his head at the girl.
“Hi, Rina. What’s up?”
She winds a finger around a blond curl and squirms on her feet, mouth opening and then closing just as fast. George peeks around at the other kids — everyone looks occupied, safe and busy — and then crouches down beside her. “Are you having a good morning?”
Katarina looks sideways at him and nods her head, and George smiles. “Good, that’s good. I had a good morning too, did you want me to talk about it until you find your words?”
A small nod. George motions at the carpet, where the kids were all sitting minutes prior, and both him and Katarina sit down on it. He crosses his legs under him, smoothing out the charcoal grey of his pants and waiting until Katarina joins him. She doesn’t sit the same way, but instead tucks her knees to her chest and puts her chin on top.
George gently claps his hands together. “So, this morning I made tea. I’m not a fan of coffee, really, but it’s okay if I’m out of my favourite drink. Do you have a favourite drink?”
Katarina takes a second, and then she nods. “I like apple juice.”
“Yeah? Me too,” George grins, “I think it’s better than orange juice, if I’m honest. Okay, so next I fed my cat—“
“You have a cat?” Katarina asks, a smile spreading over her face and George nods enthusiastically.
“I do! Her name is Cat—I know, it’s unoriginal but she’s super cute, so it’s alright. Do you like cats?”
“Mhm!” Katarina’s knees fall and she adjusts her sitting position to mirror George’s. Her fingers tap at her pants and her eyes are bright now, excited over the bridge of her freckled nose. “We have a cat too! Her name is Patches. She’s got stripes and she’s kinda orange, and she really likes shoes.”
“Oh, so does she like your shoes?”
“She likes to sleep on them. I had to move her this morning because I wanted these ones, they’re my favorite.” Katarina plays with the Velcro on one of her purple runners, tapping and tracing along the threads and stitching on it. “She really likes Dad’s shoes too, but he always leaves at different times than me.”
“I see. Does Dad drop you off here every morning?” George pulls one of his knees up to his chest, and fiddles absently with a thread on the carpet. If his hands feel empty, then he’s sure Katarina’s do too, so he leans back and grabs a fidget toy off his desk. They’re small and cheap, but George has discovered the benefit of having them around and at arms reach.
Katarina accepts the toy and spins the joystick. “Sometimes. Sometimes Grandma brings me in with her and sometimes Mom does.”
Right. Katarina is Puffy’s grandchild and so Puffy’s son must be her father. George wonders why he hasn’t seen him, but also wonders if Puffy has any other children—
“Mister George!”
“Yes?”
“Do we have any markers?”
George offers one last smile at Katarina, a promise to keep talking right after, and looks up at Adam. The boy is standing near the shelves of arts supplies, peeking into the buckest and trying to find his utensils; the teacher hums and points at the lower shelf.
“Look down two—not that far… there you go, remember to put them back when you’re finished, alright?”
“Okay!”
George settles back down and returns his attention to Katarina, who seems wholly involved with the fidget toy. He’s glad that she likes it, and doesn’t immediately pull her away from the little play she’s in. Instead, he peeks around the little classroom and takes basic stock of the kids around here.
Adam is sitting at one of the mini tables and is well into a colouring book. George recognizes it as the one that he usually takes out during free time. Jared and Laura are playing at the sand table. Abbey is sorting out the dollhouse, laying them down in beds and having them make their imaginary breakfasts.
The door to the hallway opens and George turns his head to see Karl walk in, immediately drawing the attention of all kids in the room.
“Mister Karl!” Laura cries, and yanks her hands out of the sand table.
“Ah, Laura! Sink first, we don’t want to get sand everywhere!” George calls, and her path veers off towards the two low sinks at the back of the room. Karl laughs and braces himself as Adam plows into his legs, wrapping around them in a hug like he didn’t see Karl literally last week.
George stands up, offers a hand to Katarina to help her and she takes it, smiling softly at George and giving him his fidget toy back. She wanders over to Karl, surrounds him more with kids and grinning faces with the promise of a walk outside.
“Morning, Karl. You ready for a walk?”
Karl’s brows raise as he nods, and George walks away as he distracts the kids. He grabs his phone from the desk, his wallet and keys, and then takes one last peek at his computer.
A new email catches his attention, and George clicks it open. The subject line reads something about the record check, and the email is from Puffy.
Hi George!
I’ve attached the criminal record check for our ambulance guy tomorrow so you have it on file. He should be here just after lunchtime, and I’ll drop by to help with the kids right after.
Just to help you out, the paramedic usually goes by Dream. He’s my son, so I have faith he’ll do a good job.
Have a nice day!
Puffy
Ohh, that makes sense now. Puffy can surely vouch for her son, and it makes sense as to why Rina is mostly dropped off by her mother or grandmother. Paramedics have much more hectic schedules than calmer careered parents.
George peeks at the attached PDF and the name on it.
Clay. Puffy’s son is named Clay.
Dream?
“Mister George!” George looks up over his glasses, and his gaze lands on Katarina as she waves at him. “We’re going to leave you behind!”
“Coming!”
———
George is nervous .
He’s not usually nervous; there’s never a lot to be afraid about, he works with kids, for God’s sakes, there isn’t room for him to be nervous.
The kids are excited, that’s for sure. Adam keeps talking about the colors and the things he thinks paramedics can do, and Laura keeps looking out of the windows like they’re going to arrive any moment.
In reality, they are. It’s just past lunchtime, the kids are floating around with post-meal sleepiness and buzzing ideas. They spent their entire walk yesterday preparing and thinking of questions for the paramedics and what they could get answered. Some of them weren’t even ambulance based inquiries; George is pretty sure Jared is on a mission to get them to debate the differences between lake water and hose water.
George told him that one had fishes in it, and that got the kid on a tangent about sharks. Maybe he’ll ask about those too.
The brunet sighs and leans back in his chair. Everyone is preoccupied for now, even if they keep walking by and staring through the window. Puffy said she would text when they were on their way, having been the one to drop Katarina off this morning and then head out to the branch office. George doesn’t even know if Katarina is aware that her dad is coming today.
He glances over.
The four-year old is distracted with a book, flipping the thicker pages and mouthing the words on the pages. George smiles as a curl falls over the lense of her glasses and she flicks it away, never once breaking her concentration.
It’s not the first time he’s admitted he has a soft spot for that particular child, and it won’t be the last. Puffy introduced them, was the first person to bring Rina to daycare and leave her there.
She had cried. Most kids do, especially on the first day. George wasn’t bothered, and offered her a little corner by herself until she felt calm enough to join the rest of the kids. Katarina had spent a good two hours by herself, playing with a doll and combing her fingers through it’s hair until lunchtime. Upon trying to engage her again, George received wide green eyes and a frantic shake of the head.
He left her alone again, but left a larger fidget toy beside the doll like it had been there all along. Katarina had chosen a table close to her corner and ate oranges and a sandwich with the crusts cut off, and then washed her hands and returned.
George saw the curious look she gave the toy, and then looked away himself when her gaze snapped to him. The clinking metal was lost in the sound of the classroom but George still noticed. Puffy picked her up when the day ended, and said that her mother was going to drop her off for the rest of the week.
Katarina’s mother was… definitely something. She’s polite and proper, fitted with a business suit and clicky heels that slip sometimes on the tile floors. A beautiful woman, sure, and if George swung that way he’s sure her blond hair and blue eyes would be something he’d be into. As it turned out, he just took down her name on the sign-in sheet — Celiel, she had told him — and told her to have a good day.
Katarina introduced herself to the rest of the classroom that morning, and George got her to talk about the animal she was drawing before lunch.
He had never seen her father, though. It seemed like the elusive man had dropped off Katarina on the days George was always in the classroom and Karl was in charge of sign-ins and pick-ups. It wasn’t something he was worried about, since all the parents need to write their names and numbers down for emergency purposes, but George didn’t look through every single one everyday.
Besides, Katarina didn’t have allergies or medical concerns. He did go through her registration, but it wasn’t like he was looking for her father specifically.
George watches softly as Katarina finishes her book and immediately chooses a new one; Laura loses her interest in coloring and walks over, says something to the blonde child and they share a smile. Laura sits down beside Rina and they start reading the book, giggling as things are pointed out and explained.
Footsteps catch his attention and George swings his gaze to Wyatt, a kid who attends Captain’s Care every second day when he isn’t in Kindergarten. George doesn’t mind him, but Wyatt is known to start shit because he’s one of the oldest kids here and has an ego the size of his ears.
Jesus, George, don’t bully the children .
“Mister George?” He’s holding a book, but it’s turned so George can’t see the cover.
“Hi, Wyatt, what can I do for you?”
“What does ‘exclaimed’ mean?”
“Well,” George taps his fingers on the desk as he turns his chair more towards Wyatt, “What do you think it means?”
Wyatt motions at his book. “They were like, yelling and stuff I think. But it wasn’t angry yelling, just because they were happy I think. So, happy yelling?”
“That sounds about right.” George holds a hand out for the book and Wyatt hands it over, showing the page he was on. He doesn’t recognize the title, but that’s alright. “Typically it means that someone is saying something loudly, or with excitement. You know how you yell when we’re outside, playing tag and stuff?” Wyatt nods. “It’s like that. It can be positive, which is happy, or negative, which is sad or bad. It can mean a lot of things.”
“Do I need to figure it out everytime?” Wyatt frowns, and George thumbs the page over. He glances at the words and the scene, and then hands it back. “I don’t want to do that.”
“Mm, usually you can tell if it’s good or bad with how the characters are acting. I wouldn’t be shouting something happy if there were a lot of bad things going on, right?”
George pauses, waits as Wyatt purses his lips and thinks about it. The kid hums, and then looks back down at the book pages.
“I think I got it. Thanks, Mister George!”
George laughs and turns back towards his computer. “No problem, Wyatt. Let me know if you have any other questions, okay?”
He receives a nod and a half-grin, and then Wyatt is running back to his little corner to keep reading. Out of the corner of his eye, George sees Adam look out of the window. In his pocket, his phone buzzes.
“They’re here!”
Oh boy.
“Clap once if you hear me, clap twice if you hear me!”
George claps and three others follow him.
“Alright everyone, line up at the door!” George stands and the kids in the room scramble towards the exit, trying to make the line straight and tidy. Karl pokes his head in, a grin already on his face as he comes into the room and stands at the front of the line. George shakes his head with a smile and does a quick headcount. “We already went over our rules, but in order of the line, tell me what they are?”
“Don’t run into the street!”
“Ask re-respectful questions!”
“Don’t touch without asking?”
George nods at all of them, and takes the blue lanyard his keys are off his neck. “Good. Karl is going to be the line leader so we can get our outdoor shoes on, and we can head out to the parking lot. We can see what the paramedics say. Any questions?”
He’s met with silence, and then Karl opens the door to the hallway. Like little ducks, they file out of the door one after another like little ducks. George smiles, and takes one last look at the classroom before switching the light off and locking the door. The kids disperse from the line to swap out their shoes, and George bends down to help little Elody tie her laces. Somehow, her mother doesn’t understand three-year olds don’t have the fine motor skills for that yet.
The lineup is less calm as they get their hoodies and shoes on. George pulls a cardigan over his thin t-shirt, and waves at his friend by the door. Karl nods, and puts his hand on the doorknob. All of the kids snap to attention, and George chuckles.
“Alright, best behaviour, everyone! Be kind, be respectful, and most of all, be yourselves.”
Karl opens the door, and sunlight peeks through. Fall isn’t exactly cold, not yet at least, so George can get away with a light coverup and the kids are warm enough in hoodies and jackets. Their adrenaline is going to keep them warm enough anyways, and George has already prepared himself for the influx of questions when they visitors finally leave.
The first thing he sees is the ambulance. The next thing is the three people standing nearby, chatting and probably soaking up the nice sunlight. George shuts and locks the door behind him, grinning to himself as the oo’s and ah’s escape from the kids. Then, he hears a gasp.
“Dad!”
George turns around to see Katarina frozen in her spot, grinning wildly at one of the three standing there. When he looks at the object of her attention, his own breath catches.
Katarina’s father is, simply put, hot . He’s blond and tall, with the same wide grin on his face and broad shoulders. Dream looks good in the navy blue one piece, cinched at the waist — Jesus, his waist —and exposing the muscles on his arms under the shortsleeves.
There’s a few things on his belt, pouches and whatnot, and George watches as the man waves with a large hand. Katarina moves like she’s going to dart forward, but stops and looks back at George with pleading eyes. George is a weak, weak man and, after a glance around the parking lot to ensure nobody is driving through it, nods at the small girl.
Her face breaks into a smile and she flies towards her father, who crouches and holds his arms out to catch her. The force of a child nearly bowls him over, but George is subjected to the most beautiful laughter he’s ever heard in his life before.
He hardly registers Puffy walking over until she pats him on the shoulder. “So! How’d the morning go?”
“Good, I think. They were all excited for this, so it wasn’t hard to manage them.” George tears his eyes away from Dream and his daughter, and smiles at Puffy. “Thanks for suggesting it. I think it’ll be really cool for them, they seem to be enjoying it already.”
It’s the truth. Karl took the kids closer, and is chatting with the other paramedic that came along with Dream. George vaguely remembers something about seeing a Nick in his folder, but his attention at that time was on Dream. The kids are gathered around Karl, peering at the ambulance and it’s shiny metal side; George swears they’re close enough for their noses to brush the red stripes.
“It’s fun! Besides, Rina gets to see her father when he’s ‘working’, so that’s something special for her.” Puffy smiles and gazes at her son and granddaughter, and George finds himself doing the same. Dream adjusts the purple lenses on the childs face and they share a laugh, then Dream is standing up. Katarina’s hand looks tiny in his hold, but Dream’s hands are gentle as he pulls her over to the rest of the kids.
Puffy nudges him. “Dream is pretty good with kids, as you can tell, but feel free to help with anything you see fit. I don’t think there will be a problem.”
“Sounds good. Are you sticking around?”
She shrugs. “I might. At least until I can say bye to Rina, because Dream is picking her up tonight. First time in a while he’s had the time off to do so.”
George nods and they walk closer to the kids. Dream is talking to them about the ambulance right now, the backdoors swung wide open as he captures every kid’s attention. He’s sure as shit got George’s too, one hand sweeping towards the vehicle and the other still tenderly holding his daughters; Rina never let go, and Dream didn’t either.
“He seems like he knows what he’s doing,” George laughs quietly, and Puffy grins.
“Katarina is a handful, that’s for sure. I’m surprised she hasn’t given you trouble yet.”
“Rina?” George looks back at the little girl, who’s staring up at her father with adoring eyes that absolutely melt both George and Dream, if the smiles the blond keeps angling down say anything. “I’ve never had issues, she’s been perfect.”
Puffy makes a small noise of astonishment, and George trails his gaze up from Katarina to the hand she’s holding. Then, he keeps going up, up—
A golden gaze meets his, connects over the children’s heads, and George’s lips part.
He looks away. Dream stumbles over his sentence but keeps going.
George is just thinking he got away with that when--
“You know what, maybe I’ll hang around after as well. You and Dream have never met, right?”
Oh my God .
George looks over at Puffy, who’s got a wide and mischievous grin on her face; he fumbles, looks for an explanation as to why he was just ogling his boss’s son — at work! He’s literally working! — when the woman laughs and looks back at the kids.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure he’s just as eager to meet you. Didn’t I say I can vouch for my son?”
“Well, yes, but—“
“Trust me on this one, George.” Her eyes gleam with mirth and even under that, honesty. “A mother knows best. Wait a bit after and talk to Dream.”
George sighs, but it’s content and he feels safe about this. “Alright. Are you setting me up?”
“I would never.”
“I thought mothers don’t lie?”
“Hm, touché.”
The showing goes by smoothly. Dream works super well with the kids, answering questions as they come like he’s been doing it his entire life. His partner, whose name George learns is Nick but goes mostly by Sapnap, is also a good candidate for working with kids. Maybe he doesn’t have the same charm that a young dad does, but he’s still got a nice smile and kind words and George can tell Karl is completely enamoured.
“Mister Dream!” Adam’s hand shoots up and Dream looks over.
“Go ahead, little man.”
“Do you save lives?”
Dream’s brow quirks and as George floats a little closer, he can already tell what question might come next. George looks up and makes brief eye contact with Dream, and realizes Dream is also aware of the train of thought. “I definitely try to, that’s part of my job. We don’t just run around with cool lights. Oh, speaking of…” The blond motions his hand at Sapnap, who says something to a smiling Karl and then walks around the side of the ambulance. “I don’t want to worry the neighborhood and hurt your ears with the sirens, but we can turn the lights on for you. Cool?”
Adam’s face lights up, along with the rest of the kids in the group. Katarina has let go of Dream’s hand, but is tucked against his leg like she belongs there. Judging by the comfortable way Dream maneuvers with her, it’s a common practise.
George relaxes as the question he thought was coming is avoided. Nobody likes being asked if they’ve had people die , and even though they went over things to avoid beforehand, he’s sure it would have slipped the ambitious mind of a four year old. As he blows out a soft breath, Dream seeks out his gaze again and smiles gently. Then, like he wants to prove he’s good at his job or something, Dream winks.
The teacher blinks. Heat rushes to his cheeks and he physically fumbles, but luckily the flashing lights of the ambulance draw a bit of Dream’s attention away, along with the kids. He doesn’t know what to do with that, not the wink or the golden gaze that finds him again — George can feel it on his skin, he knows Dream is looking — and bites down on the smile that tugs at his cheeks.
It feels nice, being flirted with again. He’s hardly had time for dating, let alone finding someone that likes men, and now he finds one in the parent of one of his daycare kids?
Puffy was right. Maybe mothers do know best.
But… isn’t Dream married? Or at least with the mother of Katarina.
George eyes his hands. He doesn't see a wedding band, but that also doesn’t mean anything. Out of pure selfish desire, he hopes that Dream isn’t dating the woman, but then again he doesn’t get his hopes up.
The children run out of questions soon enough, and a quick glance to his watch tells George it’s nearing the time for the last snack. He motions at Karl, who’s been sucked back into the world of his paramedic, and he starts rounding up the kids. George sees a flash of phone numbers being exchanged, and smiles as Karl tells the kids to line back up.
George turns around to see Dream crouching again, talking quietly to a pouting Katarina. He frowns softly, and walks over.
“—I know, but I’ll be back in like, an hour? Sap and I just have to drop the ambulance off, and then I’ll come get you.”
Katarina pouts harder. “But I don’t want you to leave again!”
“Duckling, I’m not leaving forever.” Dream glances up at George, and then back down at his daughter. He smiles, and George feels his heart clench. “I’m not allowed to bring the ‘lance home, they need it at the hospital, remember?”
“Mm, right…”
“And…” Dream looks back at George, “Mister George is still here. You always tell me about him, so you aren’t going to be totally alone, hm?”
George swallows at the sound of his name on Dream’s tongue, and crouches down beside Katarina. “Your dad is right, y’know. You can spend the rest of the day with me and we can see who can untangle the metal loops faster. Does that sound fun?”
“But—“ Katarina sniffles and George’s heart cracks. This child has him wrapped around her little fingers, God. “But you said nobody can beat your record.”
George grins, and cups his hand like he’s going to tell a secret. Dream watches with gleaming eyes, and maybe because he knows he can pass it off as something friendly, George looks over briefly just so he can wink at the blond.
Dream blinks, blushes. George smiles.
“That’s because they don’t know the tricks. I’ll teach you those, and then we can have a race, yeah?”
Katarina’s face goes from tearful to excited, and she looks around at the line slowly heading back to the building. Her head turns back, and as George stands, she tackles Dream in another hug and rips away just as fast.
“Bye Dad! I gotta go practice so I can beat Mister George.”
Dream snorts and waves at his daughter as she runs away, curls streaming behind her and purple runners pounding the pavement like she’s trying to win a metal. He crosses his arms as he stands back up, and George tries his best to keep his gaze shoulders and higher. It doesn’t really work when Dream is almost a solid foot taller, but he puts in an effort.
“She really does like you,” Dream says through a laugh, and George smiles despite his nerves.
“I’m glad, she’s honestly a delight to have here.” They pause for a second to watch the kids all trail inside the doorway, and then it shuts. George glances back at Dream, and is pleasantly surprised to find Dream already looking at him. “I’ve never seen you drop off Katarina, but it makes sense now.”
“Oh, how so?” Dream tilts his head, something George immediately finds endearing.
George motions at the ambulance, sucked into a little world of himself and Dream and the thing behind him. “Well, you obviously have a busy schedule. You can’t be expected to work on the same clock as a daycare, not when people are unpredictable with their accidents. It’s an accident for a reason.”
Maybe he’s rambling, he does that a lot. Maybe he’s saying all the right things, because Dream is still smiling at him and hasn’t really looked away since.
“Anyways,” George coughs, “I’m George. George Davidson. It’s nice to actually meet you.”
He offers a hand and Dream takes it. George realizes that isn’t not only Katarina’s hands that are swallowed by the grip, but his own too. Dream’s hands are warm.
“I’m Clay Bloque, but I go by Dream. I’ve heard a lot about you, it’s good to finally meet you in person.” They drop their hands and George’s immediately feels cold; he tucks it in the pocket of his cardigan. Dream hooks his thumb on his belt and George definitely doesn’t glance down, no way. “Rina really likes you, she enjoys coming here now because of you. Thank you for that, I know she can be difficult sometimes.”
“Oh, not at all!” George waves his free hand and laughs softly. “She’s been good, really. I haven’t had an issue with her the entire time.”
“Really?” Dream looks over at the daycare building and his eyes soften. “That’s good. I was worried because she’s normally around someone familiar all the time, like Mom or Celiel. I’m not the most reliable, because, well—” Dream shrugs his shoulder at the ambulance and George nods, understanding. “I’m just happy she’s not raising hell in there. She is my kid, after all.”
George chuckles and nods, watching as the lights to the ambulance shut off. He doesn’t know where Puffy is, but thinks she may have headed back into the building with Karl.
“So, when you’re busy it’s usually your wife that picks her up, right?”
“My what?” Dream repeats, and then scratches the back of his neck. “Do you mean Celiel? She’s not my wife, uh, we aren’t together.”
“Oh. Oh! I’m sorry!” George backtracks, and Dream laughs good-naturedly.
“Don’t worry about it, it’s alright. We have shared custody of Rina,” Dream leans against the ambulance. “Rina goes there or to Mom’s when I’m on call, and then is with me the rest of the time. Like today.”
George nods and they fall into a comfortable silence. Dream stifles a yawn, and a smile is shared.
“So, are you working today? Puffy didn’t say.”
“Heh, no we aren’t.” Dream looks to the side like he’s going to find his partner, but Sapnap must be sitting and waiting inside the cab. “We got the day sectioned off to come help with this, but it wasn’t in our rotation anyways. I guess I could say thanks for a guaranteed day off?”
George laughs at that, and pushes his hands deeper into his pockets. It isn’t cold outside, but the wind has picked up and he doesn’t know how Dream is only in a short sleeved uniform. “I would say you’re welcome, but I didn’t think you would want to spend your afternoon talking and teaching little kids.”
“I enjoyed it.” Dream scratches the back of his neck, his grin turning shy. “They’re eager to learn, and I have things I can teach, so why not? Thanks for inviting us out here.”
“Oh, well, Puffy did most of it,” George deflects, but Dream shakes his head.
“She told me it was your idea. I think you should take the credit, it was a good one.” Dream licks his lips and something like nervousness crosses his face.
“It means I finally got to meet the pretty teacher my daughter adores.”
George closes his mouth, something warm curling in his chest and spreading out. He huffs out a laugh, pushes his glasses up his nose and looks at Dream through them.
“Are those her words or yours?”
Dream shrugs, that nervous look sliding away to be replaced with easy confidence. It looks good on him. “Usually it’s her, but now I know she’s right. Rina has a good eye.”
George shuffles a scant inch closer; if Dream noticed he didn’t say anything, but his hand lands on his hip and widens the space in front of his chest, creating almost a spot for George to slip into. If he wasn’t at work or in public , maybe he would accept it. “Does she also get that from her father?”
Dream’s eyes shine with suppressed laughter and what George wants to call pure interest. Puppy curiosity. Adoration. “Perhaps. Maybe we just like pretty things—“
The siren blips. Dream stiffens and George yelps, unused to the sound like the paramedic is. They both look over to the driver's end and George sees the raised and smug brows of Dream’s partner in the side mirror.
Dream sighs and then laughs, a little tight but George can tell it isn’t aimed at him. They share a smile, and then Dream is reaching out his hand again. George takes it, but this time the shake is softer and Dream’s fingers run under his palm.
George inhales, sharp but not harsh, and Dream’s eyes drop and dart back up.
“I’ll see you later, George. Pick-up is at four, right?”
George searches for anything, words, a sentence. “Y-yeah, four. I’ll see you then.”
Nice going.
“Four,” Dream repeats, brows pulling together like he’s going to say something more but the siren chirps again, interrupting anything that may have come from him. The blond glances at the side mirror with a dirty glare, but it immediately softens when he turns back to George. “See you then.”
George walks back to the building in a daze, half in awe of the conversation and half at his own ability to keep it going. Sure, he’s good at chatting and keeping up with parents, but just from that little exchange it seems like Dream isn’t just another guardian to deal with.
Karl gives him a grin and raised brows, but George shoots his own look at Karl’s phone, currently lit up with texts from a new number. The workers share guilty looks, each of them having fallen victim to the stupid charms of paramedics, but it’s not like it’s a bad thing.
Snack time goes flawlessly, and George finds himself playing simple games of Telephone and Shout Out as time passes easily. The afternoons either move quickly or drag on, and he’s glad his desire to see Dream again isn’t pulling at the minutes. Karl helps, and together they work and get the kids through games and drawing, a quick game of musical chairs in the middle of the room, and then it’s basically time for them to leave.
George waits in the classroom and when a certain blond knocks at the door frame, he isn’t the only one without a hot paramedic’s number.