Over the next few days, when Dream wasn't with him, like when he went to the bathroom or had to talk with someone, George would practise his walking.

There wasn't anything wrong with Dream helping him walk, but George was trying to do it without the cane, and he didn't need Dream laughing at him every time he failed.

He told himself that was the reason, but really he just wanted to surprise Dream. He wanted to become perfect at walking and show off to the blonde, who he knew would be excited.

The cane was great, that was true, but he didn't want to rely on something. He wanted to be able to do it himself, with absolutely no help.

So every moment Dream wasn't there, George would sneakily walk around, making sure no one was there, and try to leave his cane propped up on the wall.

There were always people around almost everywhere, so he'd usually just go into Dream's room, which had somehow become his room now too, and do it. That way, he could fall onto the bed if his legs failed him, which was an added benefit.

He found he was quickly getting better at it, and the next time he saw Dream he was going to show him just how awesome he was.

George sat on the corner of the bed, sighing slightly after working for a bit. Dream was off somewhere, he wasn't really sure, but this is the longest he's been gone since they became friends.

He yawned, falling back onto the bed and staring up at the roof. He thought back to a few days ago, when he'd been telling everyone the stories, and when he'd made his decision on what he was going to do.

George thought long and hard about it before, and even after deciding what to do, he kept second-guessing himself.

He had to remind himself that it was the right decision.

He just needed to figure out what to say to Dream.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Dream had just spent two hours on deck trying to fix the steering wheel. The bloody thing had broken, and him, Sapnap and Ranboo were trying to get it back on.

He sat down on the stairs after achieving his mission, rubbing his face tiredly. He had to get used to it, not wearing his mask. It'd been a long time since he'd had the confidence to do that, but something about George's words had made his heart flutter. When he looked in the mirror now, he didn't hate it as much.

He still didn't like the look of it, but it didn't leave the same ache in his heart when he saw himself. Before the scar, he'd considered himself to be relatively attractive, but ever since, he'd really not felt comfortable in loving his face. He'd grown to resent the scar, and it's constant reminder that he wasn't good enough.

So for George to call him beautiful, and all these other amazing things...well, they made him really happy.

George had really changed him. For the better, he hoped. Dream had never expected anything like this to happen. He'd never thought he'd grow attached to the very person he technically kidnapped. He winced at the thought. He wished him and George had met in a different way, in a better world. He constantly felt guilty at the circumstances, but George was slowly starting to forgive him for that, at least he seemed to be.

It was amazing to see George coming out of his shell. Dream had expected him to stay hostile and wary the whole time, but as their time together grew longer, he was becoming increasingly affectionate. He'd even gotten to the point where he was joking around with other members of the crew, even scolding Tommy, which certainly was a huge growth from just weeks prior.

Dream wasn't entirely sure how long they'd known George for. He thinks it was probably nearing two months, but time was always weird for him when he was at sea. He just didn't think about it much, and let the days flow into nights without much care.

This was a problem.

He'd been sent on his mission by Schlatt a couple weeks before finding George, and the king was probably growing increasingly impatient.

Dream had been stalling a lot. He'd been taking longer routes back to Lmanberg, stopping and anchoring down for days before moving again. Any way to prevent what he knew was going to happen from actually happening.

He sighed slightly to himself as he looked out at the deep blue churning waves. He breathed in the salty air deeply, before exhaling and rubbing his face.

He'd have to bring up the tear thing again. It had been a while since he'd mentioned it to George. He'd just wanted the merman to feel more comfortable, and not pressured. He had no idea if George was even reconsidering his initial answer, but for everyone's sake, and his own, he really hoped so.

Dream wasn't sure what George's reaction would be when he brought it up. Would he be nice about it? Would he revert back to how he was at the start? Dream just wasn't sure. It was great getting to see George grow, and see more of his personality, which he never thought he'd get to see, but he wasn't sure how George would react to it.

Dream sighed again. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

Thinking about stuff like this didn't feel great, especially since George meant so much to him.

Dream loved all of his family, all of his crew, but George was...special. Different. He felt a different kind of affection for him than he did the rest of his crew, and he wasn't sure what it was. He had no idea why he felt this way, and it made him sick not knowing.

He thought about asking Sapnap for advice, but he assumed he'd just get another cryptic answer from his best friend.

Dream sighed, standing up and making his way down the stairs, towards his room, where he assumed George was.

Better face the waters, then.

Haha, merman joke.

He opened the door slightly to see George laying on the bed, staring up at the roof.

Chuckling, he walked in, and George's eyes lit up when he noticed the man enter.

"Dream!" he yelled.

"George!" Dream yelled back.

"Hold on, stay right where you are!" George commanded, and Dream frowned in confusion, before leaning his back against the door, eyebrows raised.

George grinned at him, and stood up.

He walked over to Dream, who stared at him in confusion.

George rolled his eyes, gesturing to the cane that stood propped up against the bed, untouched.

"No cane!" he cheered, smiling at Dream, who's eyes widened.

He hugged George quickly, the brunette spluttering in surprise before hugging him back.

"You did it." Dream whispered into the hug, and George nodded his head.

"It's because I'm awesome Dream."

Dream laughed and disconnected the hug, smiling down at the shorter man.

Jeez. George really was something else. He was so proud of him.

But of course, Dream had to ruin the moment. That's just what he did.

"George, I'm so proud of you for this, but I came in here to talk." he gestured to the bed, and they both sat down on it, staring at each other.

George frowned in confusion, before nodding slowly.

"Go on..."

Dream let out a breath.

"I need to know your answer. About the tears. We're running out of time and I don't know what to do."

George blinked at him in surprise, and Dream winced, internally kicking himself.

But then George smiled softly, which was not what Dream expected to happen, but he wasn't going to question it.

"I've actually been meaning to mention that actually," George started, "I've spent a long time thinking about it, and lots of factors have been playing into it. Everyone's so amazing here, and I wasn't sure what to do." he stated, and Dream said nothing, waiting for him to continue.

"What I mean to say is, I have actually made a decision."

Dream's breath hithced, and his heart beat increased, nervous for what George was going to say.

George grabbed his hands, holding them in between each other, as Dream looked at him.

"I'll give you my tears, Dream."

x -x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x

Hello friends!!!!!! Hope you liked the chapter :D it was pretty short, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway!

I actually wrote half of this in science class, and the other half on my school bus, so there's a fun fact. This annoying kid I know kept bugging me though and at one point he snatched my laptop and I had to get it back, which was not pog. And now some people on my bus know I write fanfiction, but whAteVEr.

Anyways, happy reading!!!

You guys should start calling me the cliffhanger queen ;)

-Bee

(9/2/21)

Co-posted on ao3