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george pushed the thick lump of trepidation down his throat when the cascade of lava finally returned behind him, making a sizzling sound against the quickly-cooling obsidian. his eyes were trained on the gentle waving of the water in dream's cauldron as the firm wall separating the two of them sunk into the floor.
he stepped forward timidly, feeling uncharacteristically uneasy around dream's quiet, static figure. something about dream's hunched figure surrounded by the liquid oozing and dripping through the blue cracks in the otherwise dark material felt menacing, and it reminded george of why dream was here in the first place.
why george was forced to schedule appointments, and go through almost an hour of safety protocols and signing legal papers waiving sam of any responsibility if something bad were to happen to him.
but dream would never hurt him. not george.
"sam told me you wouldn't talk much."
"he didn't tell me you were the one visiting."
dream's voice didn't sound like his own. the words sounded like they were scraping the inside of his throat on their way out, like they knew that they should have stayed in his stomach, slowly being eaten away by his bitter stomach acid so that no one could hear them.
"i'm sorry i didn't visit earlier."
"i knew you would be here eventually."
george scoffed gently and rolled his eyes.
"am i that predictable?"
dream didn't respond to the question. he only leaned back against the sturdy wall facing the lava chasm he was trapped in and crossed his arms. his eyes scanned george's body for any indication of emotion or fear, but he failed to find any.
"george, do you remember when it was just the three of us here, me, you, and sapnap?"
the smaller man was taken aback at the awkward straightforward nature of the question but he nodded. dream acknowledged the movement and continued.
"do you remember when you were king? or when we sat on the hill watching the sunset, and i told you how you would rule everything the bright rays touched when my time was over? do you remember that?"
"i do."
"are you ruling right now? have you ruled since i fell?"
george knew the answer as much as dream did, and he was confused as to why he was asking when he knew.
"no. i'm not."
dream nodded and a soft hum left his lips. he ran his fingers through his shaggy hair as he looked into the glowing aura of the glowstone to his right.
"and i promised you that. you know i never go back on my promises."
"what are you implying?"
"you need to get me out of here, george. i can make you king again. that sun hasn't stopped shining, and your reign hasn't stopped either, even though it seems like it. i know how badly you miss being in charge."
somewhere behind him, george heard something mechanical shift, like a switch had been flipped. the sound of running lava began to drip into his ears, and he moved closer to dream subconsciously to avoid it.
everyone told him not to fall into dream's tricks. he knew it himself. dream's puppy dog eyes and softened tone was a facade. he wasn't in here because he made one small mistake. he was in here for a reason. multiple reasons, actually, and even though george felt almost none of them, he knew what pain they caused for everyone else.
he knew he couldn't afford to fall in, but his feet were already dangling off the edge before he had a chance to think.
he did want to be king again. he wanted the power, he wanted to feel like he was untouchable. dream made him feel like that whenever he was near, even in this dark and lonely prison cell.
he was never untouchable, no one was. not even dream. but it was the feeling, the rush of adrenaline of being so far above everyone else, the knowledge that no one could take what you had. that was the real power.
and he felt that with dream, whether he was king or not. he was untouchable next to dream.
"you know i can't say no to you."
the words fell from his lips as dream pulled him closer, kissing the crown of his head and running his fingers through george's short brown sides. george wasn't thinking clearly, but he thought he felt a tear fall onto his shoulder.
"george, your time is up," sam called from the other side of the massive room. the platform had been extended once again behind him, and george pulled himself out of dream's grasp hesitantly to make his way out.
dream grabbed his arm before he left and pressed a soft kiss to the inside of his wrist, his warm lips against george's pulse.
"i'll be waiting."