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"Chris? Come on, this is not funny anymore. Chris?" The voice continues.

"Shut up Drake... my head hurts..." Drake? Right... Drake... the dragon... the red puppy with the beaming green eyes. Now it makes sense... does it? Have I just woken up from a bad trip? Or did I fall asleep again? "Chris, you are finally back." My body gets squeezed from everywhere. "Drake... what... did you put me... on drugs?" "Chris, I'd never do such shit to you. I'd even punch you if you'd ever start taking drugs." "But..."

Az comes closer to me. "Chris? Don't blame Drake. I forgot to mention the aphrodisiac effect of green fire. But I never expected it to knock you out. It's not meant to be anywhere even close to this. What happened?" "First I saw colors... then... oh man... I'd prefer not to talk about it..." "Chris..." Az looked like he was going to cry any second now. "...how can I make up for that?" I don't even really listen to him... which one is the dream? Is this the dream? Or have I really become a dragon and I had a dream of an alternative reality where I fell asleep instead of meeting Drake? My head starts to hurt. Drake rushes to me to support me. "Chris, calm down, relax. This is the reality. I am real. I don't know what you dreamt of, but this is reality." "Drake?" Az gives him a confused look. "He must have had a dream of his former life. He is confused about what is real and what is not."

"I woke up in my armchair... I was in my apartment, I was human. I haven't met any of you, but I saw signs. But they could have been elements of the dream I had... of this world. What if this all is just my dream?" "CHRIS!" Drake shouts at me, a slight snarl in his voice. I jump up in shock, lose my balance and stumble backwards until something catches me. It is Mike. "Drake, stop it. He is confused, and I can understand him. Give him some time to sort his thoughts." "Mike?" "How long since he left there? Just a week. And he has experienced many very exciting things. Love... flying... extreme sex... Who would not think of it as a wonderful dream? He goes through this so much quicker than me, I'm not surprised that things are confusing him." "But I know that this is reality."

"Drake, you have been a dragon for your whole life. You don't know anything besides being a dragon. But for a lost soul like me or him... at least in the beginning... this is a serious identification problem. He can't just flick a switch and be a dragon. He is still struggling between this and his old life. Give him time. He will choose you. He is strong. Stronger than I was. I ran away, tried to go back. He already chose you once. He will come back. Give him time to fight in this struggle."

"You know..." I start. "...I am right here." "Sorry." Mike's voice comes from behind. "But try to understand us. We are worried about you." Az comes closer. "Mike, do you still have contact to the others?" "Which... oh, you mean the lost soul helpers? Not really... but I don't think Chris needs them anyways. Other than me back then, he already has his bond to Drake. He just needs some reassurance. Drake should know best what he has to do. He knows Chris better than anyone else."

Drake gives me a hand, helps me stand up slowly. My knee hurts a bit. Must still be from when I hit it against the table. "Thanks for the meal, and sorry for this story, but I think Chris should get some rest. We'll talk later." Drake hugs Az and Mike, then they both come to me with open arms and squeeze me. "Get better, okay?" "Sorry for this, I can't say it often enough. Sorry Chris." I hug them back but don't say a word, then slowly follow Drake over to his... our house. It is getting dark outside. Just how long have I been away? He supports me all the way, afraid that I might pass out again every moment now. "Drake, I can walk on my own." "But I want to help you. It's partly my fault that this happened to you." "What are you talking about?" "I should have known this might happen. I should have warned you." "Drake..."

"Here we are. You want something? A drink? Should I play some music?" "Do we have juice? Like orange juice?" "Sure. I'll bring you a glass. Maybe you wanna lie down a bit? How about I bring you a blanket, too?" I nod and enter the living room. Music was no bad idea neither, but I wanted to hear something I know. I have to sort my thoughts, try to figure out what is real...

I start my laptop while Drake enters the room with a can of ice-cold orange juice and a few blankets. He was overly caring for me as always... as he always was. He was always caring for me with so much effort... Windows finally finishes booting up. I take the laptop and put it down near Drakes computer. I unplug his sound system and plug it into the side of my small laptop. A bit of this... and a bit of them... And this song... and... should I really add this song? I loved it from the first moment I heard it. It was one of the first songs to cast goose bumps on me. In a good way. Why am I even scared? Stop being so whiny Chris. Don't be embarrassed about hearing a love song from a game. It's not even sure if the random playlist will play it.

I click on the play-button in the lower left corner. A song starts, but I can't hear much of it so I increase the volume quite a bit. Now it would be about right if I wanted to have a conversation... but I do not want to talk now. I look for a volume controller somewhere around, as I had already reached the maximum volume on my laptop. Drake puts a hand on my shoulder, points at a small box on the left side of his monitor. He rotates the knob, the music rapidly turns louder. He stops a bit early for my taste, but I don't want to come into an argument. It was loud enough to stop any longer conversation from happening.

I lie down on the couch while Drake hands me a glass of juice. I take a sip of the juice, feel the icy liquid run down my esophagus and into my stomach. Can this really be a dream? Is Mike right? Should I rather enjoy this dream than try to escape this reality? I mean... everything was a bit too perfect. Not only have I found the love of my life, but he is also a beautiful and caring and funny guy - no - dragon. And I have become a dragon, too. And I have had great sex with him. And I wanted more of it. Everything was just too perfect.

Just as Drake wants to cover me with a blanket, I stand up and walk towards the fireplace. Sally's picture... a souvenir of my past. I see the reflection of my face next to her. It definitely does not look human. "Hey Sally." I whisper. I slowly close my eyes, then open them just a tiny bit. I stroke the glass with the back of my right index finger. I take her with me and walk back to the couch, lie down and let Drake cover me. He smiles warm at me.

"Hey Sal... has been quite some time since we lied like this, hasn't it? Now I could really need you..." I feel bad... why am I asking a photo of my dead cat for help when there is this wonderful dragon just in front of me? Because I need help with a decision about him? Because I fear that my heart breaks when I lose him after bonding too much with him? Because he might just exist in my fantasy?

It's like she lies right in front of me, resting on my chest, opening her beautiful greenish yellow eyes. She gives me her beautiful smile, then yawns at me, stretching her body while digging her claws deep into the blanket. She comes closer to my head, cuddles a bit with me, then gives me a head-butt that lasts for a few seconds. Just as I want to raise my hand to stroke her, knowing that she just exists in my imagination, she hops down on the floor. Where was she going? With one jump she lands on the back of the armchair Drake sits in. She climbs onto his shoulders, starts rubbing her head against his ear while making sure to keep eye-contact with me.

You are right Sally... And Drake was right, too. You are my lioness, my guardian...my guide. I shouldn't make those I love worry about me. Even if this is just a dream, Drake is worth being loved with all I have. I look at Drake. He is lost in thoughts... I receive a few pictures... me, smiling... laughing... us kissing and cuddling...

I get up from the couch, put the blanket down and the picture on top of it. Drake looks at me... a slight look of sadness and confusion in his eyes... but also hope. I hate to see these beautiful green eyes filled with tears. I hop onto his lap, forcing a moan out of him, then close my arms around him. A tear rolls down his face. He answers my hug and pulls me into a passionate kiss. Our tongues start twisting around each other slowly, our hands stroke our partner. Even if this should only be a dream, I will live it with all my heart. Even if chances for this being real are extremely low... there is a chance that all of this was real. And as long as there is this chance, I can't make Drake sad by any means. Because I love him. Always will. Forever. Even if this is just a dream.

I feel his hand caressing my head, carefully stroking through my hair.

"I'm sorry Drake. Even if you were a dream, it would be no valid reason for not loving you. You deserve to be loved from all of my heart." "You have a hard time, and I haven't been going easy on you. But I am proud of you. Not because you are making the decisions I hope for, and not because you are evolving so fast. No... It is because you feel so much for me that it even overwhelms yourself. You know me for less than a week, yet you have completely opened up to me, showed me your most sensitive side and trusted me. Mike was right. You are strong. Even stronger than me. I don't know if I could have made the same choice."

And if it wasn't already hard enough not to cry, right now the song I was afraid about started. Starting slowly with some high-pitched piano sounds, soon the songstress begins.

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Annotation:

I know you will ask, so here is the answer already. The song is "Eyes on me" from Nobuo Uematsu, sung by Faye Wong. It's the title song from SquareSoft's fantasy-RPG "Final Fantasy VIII". All © belong to their respective owners.

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Whenever I sang my songs... On the stage, on my own... Whenever I said my words, Wishing they would be heard...

An ice-cold shudder runs along my spine, and I sense that Drake experiences the same.

I saw you smiling at me, Was it real or just my fantasy?

"Never thought you'd like this kind of music." "Actually it's from a game I played... There are a few songs that don't suit to the rest, most of them come from games I really liked to play."

I kind of liked it your way, How you shyly placed your eyes on me. Did you ever know? That I had mine on you?

"No need to explain it. It's a beautiful song. A lone guy... Coming into a bar, not for drinks, but for someone he is not allowed to talk to... or maybe he's too shy. And this person, the songstress... she likes him too..."

So let me come to you, Close as I wanna be. Close enough for me To feel your heart beating fast.

"This song was your secret, wasn't it?" "Yeah... I was ashamed of it because... it's the polar opposite to my usual music. I did not want people to look strange at me."

Darling so share with me Your love if you have enough, Your tears if you're holding back Or pain if that's what it is

How can I let you know? I'm more than the dress and the voice. Juts reach me out and You'll know that you are not dreaming.

Darling so there you are, With that look on your face. As if you're never hurt, As if you're never down

Shall I be the one for you, Who pinches you gently, but sure? If frown is shown then I will know that you are no dreamer.

"Why do you care how random people look at you?" he asks me as the song ends. "Not random people... my friends..." "Would a real friend point at you and laugh about this song?" "No... of course not..." "So?" "I was afraid of how much of a friend they really were. We were good friends, and I did not want to risk to find out that they are not as good as I thought. I did not want to stand completely alone." "You will never be alone again, this is my promise to you."

I cuddle my head into his chest and stop holding back my tears. Could I have ever wished for more? No. Not at all. He was my perfect partner, my perfect match. He is my life. We continue to cuddle while the music still plays. I could do this forever, letting my hands glide over his silky red scales, sinking deep into his emerald-green eyes, losing myself in there. Was there a noise? I look over to the door. It's closed. Not like anyone could break in here. Must have been my imagination. "Something's wrong?" "Nah... thought I heard something." I turn my head back, but Drake holds my head with his hands, lowers my head. He puts his forehead against mine, the tips of our muzzles touch.

"That's what you did often with your cat, isn't it?" "Where do you know that from?" "She just helped us finding back together, hasn't she? I saw her, too. So tiny... and fragile. But not the slightest bit afraid, because she knows how you feel for me." "You saw her?" "Just through your eyes, not for real, but yes... I saw her just a few minutes ago, and almost felt her touch on my scales. Somehow makes me want to have a cat or two." "You think we could have a cat?" "No... animals are unable to survive in this thin atmosphere." Right... I had forgotten that the air around us was thinner than what I was used to.

"Chris?" "What is it?" "Please don't be mad at Az."