———————————————————————

———————————————————————

"I have existed from the morning of the world and I shall exist until the last star falls from the night."

-

———————————————————————

—•—

[ descriptions of a medical event, death]

—•—

George knew that, when his father died, stepping up to seize the Roman throne was not going to be easy.

Unlike his father, George was not born a ruthless, tyrannical leader; hellbent on the destruction of villages just to see the construction of cities.

He was George. He was born shy, indecisive, but kind; wanting to help others and seek out what was best for his people.

But, even with his good attributes, there was something that George was quite displeased about.

His ability to express his emotions.

The large room he sat in was deathly silent. The people around him, wearing veils and clothes of black, sat with their heads down and eyes closed. Some shed crocodile tears: void of any emotion other than the naivety to fake sympathy in the midst of other mourners.

Others, like George, withheld their emotions. So, there he sat, in the front row of this large room, perched on a stone pew, eyed drilled towards the front.

He was dressed in an opaque black toga. No embellishments, no jewels, no sparkle of bedazzling sequins. Just black; black to mourn.

George had been sitting alone for some time and, even when the service concluded and the rest of the room began to empty, he remained. Even when Zephyr, as kind and beautiful as ever, placed a friendly hand on his shoulder, he didn't budge. Even when Karl, his arm linked with Sapnap's, approached with an air of sympathy, the emperor waved them away.

He wanted to be alone.

The large room was now empty as the emperor sat alone. No guards, no protection. If someone wanted to try and kill him, they would most likely succeed.

But he didn't care. He just sat in the stone pew with his dark eyes locked onto the casket at the front.

His heart burned and the backs of his eyes stung with the anticipated escape of tears. He coughed, wiping a hand down his face, as if to set his stormy expression in stone; carve on a face, lack of emotion, like that of a marble man carved by Michelangelo.

Clutching his hands together, George got to his feet. He walked tentatively over to the casket, placing a quivering hand on the sleek surface.

Light from a window high above projected spectral rays of sunshine into the room. They struck the surface of the casket, jumping off to reflect onto the emperors pale face. This lit up a single tear, an aqueous pearl, as it rolled down George's cheek, dropping onto the floor.

"I'm sorry," George whispered, almost choking on his own guilt. "I am so, so sorry. I know we left each other on undesirable circumstances, but I truly am sorry and..."

George took a deep breath, running his fingers along the grooves of the casket.

"...and I never really for the chance to tell you how much I love you. Because I do, really. I do love you, but it was just so hard for me to tell you because...because I was scared."

George blinked harshly to banish any more tears bound to escape.

"I'm sorry."

George willed himself away with one last final glance. He then walked down the aisle, slipping out of the large wooden doors of the hall. He was greeted by the warm rays of sunshine, and the brisk whisper of the midday breeze.

"Your litter, domine." A guard appeared at the emperors side as the litter pulled up before them.

George looked at the guard.

He wasn't Dream.

Clambering into the litter, George suddenly craved company. He craved for the warmth of his bodyguard, and the comfort that brought him. In this moment, in the privacy of his litter, George gripped his head in his hands and ached desperately for the reassuring presence of a certain blond gladiator.

As the litter moved back towards the imperial villa, the streets of Rome seemed to resemble that of George's heart.

They were empty, almost deserted of any life. The marketplace was empty, the stalls closed and packed away. The windows of houses were shut tight, and the gardens underneath them swelled with weeds and drooping flowers.

George's body wracked with a silent sob.

He just wanted to go home.

—•—

George arrived home at the imperial villa when the sun was at its highest point in the sky. Birds sung around him and, unlike the gardens in the city, his garden continued to teem with life.

Bees and butterflies milled about, living harmoniously amongst each other, each gathering pollen and nectar to fulfil their life purposes.

Having hopped out of the litter, George waved the guards off, and watched them leave the property, the golden gates closing with a loud clank behind them.

The emperor then turned to his home, the villa of marble, before ascending the front steps slowly. His black toga dragged along the clean ground, moving around him like the soft waves at low-tide.

He entered his home and was once again greeted by silence. In his state of upset, George had sent his servants home for the weekend, leaving his house the most empty it had been in years.

George's footfall echoed through the hall as he debated turning right, towards the bedrooms. But instead, he turned left, and found himself wandering through the lit-up parlour, and into the kitchen.

Here, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw an unexpected visitor in his home.

Schlatt leaned against the table, sipping from an obnoxiously large goblet. His slurps irked George as he stepped further into the room, suspicious. His hand went instinctively to his thigh, brushing along his dagger.

"Good day, your highness," Schlatt didn't bother to bow. "I hope you don't mind the intrusion, but I have urgent matters to attend to."

George watched the man take another gulp from the ridiculous goblet before he decided to speak. "What do you want? I thought I made it clear that I never wanted to see you again."

Schlatt hummed, holding the goblet in one hand as he spoke. "Yes, I know. But this is urgent, and I'll be straight on my way."

George's hand left his side, away from his dagger as he leaned against the doorframe connecting the kitchen to the parlour.

"Fine, but I am so not in the mood, Schlatt, so this better be good."

Schlatt nodded tipsily. "Of course, domine. May I just start off by saying that I am very sorry for your loss."

George hummed skeptically. "No you're not, but proceed."

Schlatt downed the rest of whatever liquid he had in the large goblet, before slamming it down on the table dramatically.

He hiccuped. "True, I'm not sorry, because I told you you'd regret it."

George stilled. "What did you just say?"

"I told you that you'd regret not giving him back to me, so I acted accordingly to get my revenge."

George was in shock. "You... you killed—?"

"I did, yes," Schlatt hiccuped again. "And you're next."

George screamed and stumbled back as Schlatt lunged for him, unearthing a knife from the folds of his toga. He slammed George into the ground, pinning him to the cold floor using his knees as, unsteadily, he held up his arms, clutching the knife in two hands.

"Killing the emperor of the Roman Empire, what a spectacle, huh?" Schlatt coughed. "Too bad that no one will know who did it."

"Schlatt, please... please don't do this..." George felt weak, emotionally drained.

He didn't want to die like this.

"I hope that Pluto welcomes you to the fiery pits of the underworld with open arms, domine." Schlatt spat, readying himself to swing.

George screwed his eyes shut and braced for the impact of the knife piecing his chest.

...but it never came.

After a moment, he opened an eye, then both of them. Schlatt was still on top of him but George could immediately tell that something was wrong.

Saliva foaming at the corners of his mouth, Schlatt dropped the knife with a clatter and gripped at his chest with both hands. He coughed, raggedy and dry, heaving as he fell to the side and collapsed in a quivering heap on the floor.

George hurried to his feet as Schlatt groaned in pain, one hand pressing tightly to his chest, the other reaching for George's ankle.

George kicked Schlatt's hand away. "Fuck you."

Schlatt managed to spit out an unintelligible string of words, before his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and his breathing shuddered to a halt.

Breathing erratically, George backed away.

What the hell had just happened?!

Out of the door, George sprinted down the hall. Frantic, his feet glided along the polished floor, desperately in need of solace.

Puffing, George threw open his bedroom door, eyes blinded with the stinging sensation of tears. Before he could blink them away, his body slammed into something hard.

He toppled backwards, but was caught by a pair of arms, before being pushed flush against their chest quite aggressively.

George whimpered, desperately blinking back the tears, but they kept coming. He felt his legs collapse, and he sunk to the floor, all the while being held.

The person sunk to the floor with George, and the emperor cried into the soft fabric of their toga. Sobbing, George buried his face into the sweet smelling material.

The person stroked the back of his head, running their fingers through his hair with delicate care. They shushed him like a baby, holding him tightly as he wept, smearing his tears into their chest.

"Are you alright, domine?"

George had stopped crying now, and he wiped his eyes and face on the persons toga. He gripped the fabric in his hands, before nodding, refusing to look up.

"Why are you crying, love?"

George shook his head adamantly. "I-I almost got killed b-by Schlatt, but he just died— I swear I didn't d-do anything! He just had a... a heart attack or something."

"A... heart attack?"

George nodded, whimpering in sadness again, but he bit his lip to try and stop the sound.

"Well, I'll be damned. It was about time that that bastard died." The person laughed and George was immediately filled with warmth.

The laugh was light and airy and made George feel warm inside. It was comforting, and familiar, and his whole body grew alight with a flame of happiness.

Looking up, George met Dream's eyes.

Dream stopped laughing, smiling down at George.

And George could actually see him smile.

Because he wasn't wearing a mask.

HE WASN'T—

George gasped. "Where's your mask?"

Dream shrugged. "I don't need it. Someone said to me that I will find someone who accepts me for me, and I found that person. So, I'm not going to hide anymore."

George studied Dream's face wordlessly for several minutes. His eyes jumped over the scars and freckles and blemishes that coated the ex-gladiators face. The emperor reached up and ran the tips of his fingers down one of the large scars, and Dream closed his eyes, humming as George's touch wandered over his marred skin.

"You're beautiful."

Dream opened his eyes and flushed pink. His cheeks began to heat up even more when he realised how close he and the emperor were sitting: George practically straddling his lap.

George held the blond's head in his hands as they locked eyes, their faces only a whisper away from each other.

Dream averted his eyes, suddenly shy. "George...?"

"Are you nervous?" George whispered, running one of his hands through Dream's unruly hair, forcing the blond to look at him. "Didn't you want to bend me over your knee? Touch me? Make me beg for it?"

Dream swallowed thickly. "Domine—?"

"Well, do it then," George's breath fanned across Dream's face. "Make me fucking beg for it."

Dream's eyes darkened. George challenged the green-eyed gaze with his own.

"Are we really going to do this?"

George ran his tongue along his bottom lip. "Mhm."

"Even after your mother's funeral?"

"Mhm."

Dream chuckled. "Are you sure—?"

George surged forward, capturing Dream's lips in a raw, passionate kiss. Their lips locked, then they separated, long enough for Dream to grunt and pull George by the waist, crushing his mouth back onto the emperors.

———————————————————————

Hey homies, this is an authors note!

Lol of course he's not dead— bet you guys cried didn't you HAHAHAHA

I got tired halfway through editing and took a nap so if there's any typos or grammatical errors oh well :D

😈

This chapter question/statement: favourite minecraft flower?

Until next time,

Blue :)