FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

“Oh gods, that's really good,” murmured Meegi under his breath as he contorted himself across Reeva's deep couch. Exhaling a small grunt as he shifted, he kept his eyes locked onto his goal while moving his forepaws.

“Yeah? Is that working for you?” Reeva replied with a hint of pride in her voice while she crouched down low to the ground. Keeping her wings tucked against her sides to keep them out of the way, she lifted her head to look towards him.

“Oh yeah… Real good. Smells good too, almost… fruity?” Meegi said softly before inhaling a series of small sniffs to take more of the delightful scent in. “I don’t know, smells warm but with cloves. It's not like Tiiph– I mean, not what I was expecting. Better! I mean, better!” Meegi corrected himself and shifted his posture on the couch to get a better angle. “You were right, getting it absolutely soaked really does it…” he mused before holding his breath as he worked harder. Moving so fast that the creamy white slick became agitated enough to form a lather, he exhaled through clenched teeth in relief.

“Told ya, a bit of prep makes it so much better,” Reeva replied and craned her neck higher to get a better look at what he was doing. “Hey! No need to be so rough. Be gentle, I've only got one of those, mister,” she chastised playfully without any real venom in her voice.

Refocusing on her, Meegi paused and flashed her a bashful smile. “Sorry, got carried away,” he replied as he lifted up the washcloth in one paw and flipped it over. Navigating a digit into the crease of the coarse fabric, Meegi resumed rubbing away at the brown stain that clung to his pawpads. After soaking one paw in a bucket of warm, fragrant, soapy water, the decking oil almost completely came off his plump, pink toe beans with a few strokes of the cloth. The difficulty came in the recesses between his toes and palm, where the skin was softer and evidently more porous. So far he had managed to completely clean one forepaw, and was working on the next while his good hind leg dangled off the couch and soaked in another bucket of water.

He had been skeptical at first, having already attempted to rid himself of the stain at home, but the combination scale, horn, and wing soap he used paled in comparison to the delightfully fragrant paw soap and moisturizer that Reeva kept. Sprawled out on her towel-covered couch, Meegi continued to scrub at his paw while lifting his head to watch her fussing about the kitchen. He got the impression that she wasn't expecting guests today, and was now busying herself with relocating personal items to make the apartment even more presentable.

With a clatter of metal, Reeva stood up from behind the kitchen island with a large metal wok dangling from her jaws. Transferring it to the counter, she flashed Meegi a smile before nodding towards it. “Okay, I can do a kind of stir-fry situation, or, if you don't mind waiting, I could do a curry. Although I can't guarantee it won't blow your wings off. I'm out of coconut milk,” Reeva announced cheerfully.

A pang of self-consciousness washed over Meegi as he lay across the only couch in the apartment, suddenly feeling as though he was intruding. “Oh, um… you don't have to cook. I thought you said we were going to get takeout?”

“I mean… we could. But I don't know if it's just this area, but the grubwym fliers always take ages to find this place, and then it's never hot,” Reeva replied as she turned on the spot and opened the fridge with the claw on the wrist of her wing. “I usually just pick up something on my way home, but I really don't mind cooking for us.”

“You really don't have to. I feel bad now–”

“Nah!” Reeva replied in a playful huff to dismiss him and pulled out a paper-wrapped parcel of meat. “You just sit pretty and get those paws clean. I'll make a stir-fry. I need to make some for my lunch anyway, so it's really no biggie.”

Hearing this did little to put Meegi's mind at ease, but before he could say anything in rebuttal, the dragoness had already begun to unwrap the ingredients. “Thanks, I'm not used to having someone cook for me,” he replied, earning a happy smile from the dragoness. It was a lie that she didn't pick up on. While with Tiiphani, every meal was prepared by chefs and while training, the meals were once again created and controlled by the team's nutritionist. What he meant to say was that Tiiphani never cooked for him, but he didn't want to imply that he was comparing her to his ex.

“Red or white?” Reeva asked as she reared up on her hind legs and reached up with a forepaw to collect a large bulb-like glass from a shelf above the fridge. Using one paw to brace herself against the silvery appliance, Reeva looked back at him for his answer. With her wings partially open for balance and her back towards him, Meegi couldn't help but notice how sleek and elegant her body was. It lacked the impossibly thin profile Tiiphani was so proud of, but instead the dragoness’ body tapered in gentle curves that flowed from one to another. He saw how the muscles along her back were gently visible by the way her scales shifted, showing a casual athleticism of someone who took care of their body, but didn't make it their entire personality. Likewise, her waist narrowed gently between her chest and hips, enough to make his paws flex in longing to hold them. She wasn't fit like the dragonesses in the Cresties chest squad, nor harrowingly thin models he saw online. Instead, she looked healthy yet slim. His eyes traced the crimson path of her neck frill from where it started between the middle of her wings and continued all the way up to between her horns.

Locking eyes with her for a moment, he forgot what she had asked and matched her growing smile before she tilted her head expectantly. Flicking his head once to clear his thoughts, he looked between her and the glasses she was collecting. “Oh, um… not for me, thanks. I'm not much of a wine drinker, it would be wasted on me,” Meegi replied politely in a rehearsed voice that made his chest tighten and his tail flick in annoyance. She deserved a better answer, but he didn't want to bring down the mood. “I don't really like alcohol,” he clarified, but hardly felt better. It wasn't a lie, but he wasn't telling her the full truth.

“Nah, that just means you haven't had a good one!” Reeva replied cheerfully and dropped to all fours after placing the glasses on the counter beside the stove. Padding across the kitchen, she headed towards a dark wire wine rack that was nestled between two cabinets. “We did a fundraising event at this vineyard upstate last year, and the owners gave us each a bottle. Lovely couple, a dude and drake, super bitchy but in a fun way. People at work raved about how good their bottle was…” she added while walking back on three legs and clutching the bottle against her chest. Meegi opened his mouth and raised a paw to interject, but Reeva didn't notice and continued, “Super fruity. I think they kind of had a thing for my boss if you ask me–” Her words were cut short as she bit into the wooden cork and opened the bottle with a soft pop. Meegi flinched at the sound and cleared his throat, trying to find the words to stop her while she dropped the cork onto the counter and began to pour the rosé-coloured liquid into one glass. “I've just been waiting for a special occasion–”

“Sorry, um… Reeva!” Meegi said a touch louder than he expected. The dragoness looked at him in surprise, her crimson frill at full height. His tone had clearly announced something was very wrong, and now he had her attention. “Sorry… please. Not for me,” he added with an edge of firmness before forcing himself to relax his expression. In the small silence that followed, the scent of the wine drifted through the air and stung his nostrils. It didn't smell anything like the wine his mother had once used to forget herself, but the scent still brought back a wash of memories.

“What's wrong?”

“Nothing!” Meegi corrected quickly and shook his head. Inhaling through his mouth to avoid the smell, he then swallowed and adjusted his wings at his sides. His teeth clenched together as he fought with himself over telling her the truth or protecting his mother's shame. One day he hoped Reeva would meet his mother, and he didn't want her to think poorly of the 'ness who raised him. “It's just… don't pour me one. Please, I don't mean to be rude, but my… my family has had a pretty toxic relationship with alcohol. So I don't drink. Sorry. I don't want you to waste it on a glass for me,” Meegi explained and was relieved when the dragoness nodded in understanding.

“Right… sorry,” the sky blue dragoness started, her voice sounding crestfallen as she looked between the glass she had filled and the bottle as if deciding its fate. The glass bottle clinked against the counter as she placed it down before opening a drawer and curling her neck to look down as she began to sort through it. After a moment of rummaging inside, she pulled out a plastic and rubber resealable cork and placed it on the counter. “I didn't know. I didn't mean to force it on you,” she added and brought the bottle and glass to the sink.

Realising what she was doing, Meegi lifted his head higher and quickly spoke up. “But I mean, don't let that stop you,” Meegi added, but Reeva continued and began to carefully pour the liquid back into the bottle. It was only partially successful, but after the glass was empty she placed the resealable cork over the neck of the bottle before pressing down. “I really don't mind if others drink, it's just… it's not for me.”

“No, no. It's fine. I get it. My mom is similar. She doesn't drink more than a glass cos my grandad was a bit of a heavy drinker, and she never drinks spirits,” Reeva replied while washing the bottle under the tap to clean off the spilt wine. Satisfied, she dried it with a small towel and slid the bottle back towards the splashback of the counter. Without turning her body, the dragoness curled her neck to look back at him and flashed him a reassuring smile as she rinsed her wine glass. “To be fair, I hardly drink more than the occasional glass too. And never by myself. What about some juice? I've got some mango and orange. Is that okay? If not, all I've got is water…”

“Juice sounds good, thank you, Reeva,” Meegi replied, his emphasis on the words conveying a further apology she accepted with a flicker of a smile. “Mango and orange, I haven't had that since I was at school. It’s a good combo,” he added in an attempt to smooth out the conversation and was glad that her frill relaxed while she bobbed her head in agreement.

“I'm kind of a sucker for sweeter ones. I don't know how well it will go with the sauce, but I guess we can find out,” she chuckled and reached back into the fridge to pull out a large bottle. It wasn't a particularly fancy brand, but it at least had the ingredients to call itself ‘juice’ rather than just ‘drink’. “Are you allergic to anything? Nuts, mushrooms, or anything?” she asked and Meegi shook his head.

“No, no allergies. I'm pretty basic like that,” Meegi replied, hoping to lift the mood. It at least earned him a small snort of amusement as she poured the juice into the two deep wine glasses she had pulled down. “Although I'm not a huge fan of shellfish. Not an allergy thing, but like… eating them is… scratchy,” Meegi added, continuing to clean his paws.

Reeva's laugh brought a genuine smile to his snout and when he looked up he saw her shaking her head. “Scratchy… you know you don't have to eat the shells, right? Like sure, calcium, good for horns and talons, but it's optional.”

“Yeah, but then it's like so much work! Picking around the bits and all that,” Meegi countered, earning him another laugh from the dragoness. “And besides, they look really gross. With all their legs, eyes, and nubby bits… bleh,” he explained with an exaggerated look of disgust. “If it's just the meaty bits mixed with something else, then that's probably okay.”

“Don't worry, there won't be any in it tonight,” Reeva replied as she padded over to him on three legs and clutched a glass of juice in her other paw. Meegi continued to clean them as she came around the couch and placed it down on the coffee table with a clink.

“Oh, it really is coming off, isn't it?” Reeva mused as she looked down at his almost clean paw beans and the now semi-stained cloth he used to rub over them.

“Yeah, it's getting there,” he replied and watched as she circled the couch and made her way towards the large fish tank. She paused for a moment to collect a rock from on top of the aquarium's lid and then continued to make her way back into the kitchen area. Curious, Meegi watched on as she chopped off a large chunk of either cucumber or zucchini and then attached it to the rock with an elastic band.

Despite the television in the corner of the room being on with the volume turned low, watching the dragoness was more entertaining. While he continued to scrub at his forepaws, she chopped vegetables with a large knife and drizzled an oil of sorts into a large wok. Her constant movement made him realise just how sedentary Tiiphani had been whenever they had spent a night together, often being absorbed in her phone or focused on the television. Inhaling deeply and taking in the scents of the kitchen, Meegi tried to bury the memory of his ex. Tonight was about Reeva.

Once the dragoness had dropped a bowl of marinated meat into the wok, and the sizzling dominated the apartment, she collected the cucumber-laden rock and made her way back to the fish tank. Meegi watched as she dropped the rock inside the tank and began scooping small food pellets. The dozens of brightly coloured fish completely ignored the large slice of cucumber and waited eagerly at the surface before thrashing in a frenzy as Reeva delivered their food. Movement at the bottom of the tank caught his eye and he saw the large, ugly sucker fish Bruce glide out from behind a large rock. The creature reminded Meegi of some sort of stealth aircraft as it silently swept across the tank and descended on the vegetable with its circular mouth.

“Not going to lie, when you said you had something to clean my paws, I thought you meant that thing,” Meegi mused and nodded towards the tank when Reeva looked back at him. The comment made her frown for a moment before her frill perked up and a musical laugh escaped her maw. “Like those tourist places in Asia–”

“And you still came over?” Reeva giggled while returning to the kitchen. Her laugh intensified as she came to the stove and sat down on her haunches. “I mean, Bruce did have a thing for feet, so…” Reeva added playfully and turned her head to look backwards while stirring the meat with a large wooden spoon.

Meegi's scoff wasn't dignified, but only made the dragoness smile more. “Really?” Meegi asked and could tell that the 'ness was genuine as she chuckled and nodded her head in a mixture of embarrassment and amusement. Of course, he had heard of people loving feet more than others, but it had only been a thing of obscurity and he had never met anyone who actually engaged in the fetish. Now scrubbing his paws, he wondered what the attraction was.

“Yeah, he was really into them…” Reeva said with exaggeration before shrugging her wings. “It was weird at first, but it has its perks. I always got a foot rub, but like… when I only get paw balms and things for Christmas or hatch days, it kinda felt like they were just gifts for him. You know what I mean?” the blue dragoness added and turned around to resume chopping vegetables at the kitchen island. “Also, it's reeeally hard to get shit done when you have a dude hanging off your paw like a barnacle,” she continued and waved a knife-laden paw through the air to emphasise her point. Like many utensils designed for a dragon's paws, the large knife was equipped with a handguard-like piece of plastic that looped over the dragoness' digits so it could be gripped easier.

The mental image of the dragoness walking around the apartment, dragging a man behind her who was latched onto her hind paw, made Meegi chuckle. “So you guys were pretty serious?” he asked and looked down at his paw while cleaning to make his question sound like innocent small talk. In the corner of his eye he caught the dragoness’s frill flatten and tried to make light of his question. “Like, do I have to worry about him rocking up on your doorstep, paw scrubber in hand and flowers in the other?”

This made the dragoness cackle a hearty laugh and shake her head. “Oh no, you don't need to worry about him. We were together for a while, and were an item. But that's all in the past. He has moved on, and so have I,” Reeva clarified with a warmth in her smile that made Meegi's heart skip a beat. “Besides, we broke up a few years ago and I've just been focusing on my work. It's surprisingly hard to find time to date someone while working, at least at uni there was time between lectures,” she continued before shrugging her wings and turning around with a chopping board laden with vegetables. Tilting it towards the wok, the dragoness added them to the mix and the hiss of cold vegetables hitting a hot pan rang out across the apartment.

“What about you? Was it always just Tiiphani?” she asked casually as if she didn't care what his answer was. Her tone caused Meegi to frown in confusion. She didn't seem like the wild and open type who would approve of multiple partners. “I mean, you guys didn't take a break or anything? Or like no one else in the showers or while traveling?”

“No,” Meegi replied with a small snort. “Just Tiiphani,” he added and, while looking down, rotated his now clean forepaw from side to side while spreading his digits to make sure he had gotten all of the stain off. “I’m not the kind of drake who would cheat, and even if I was, gods the media team would tear me a new one,” he added, but felt as though his explanation diluted his commitment. “No, Tiiphani was the only one for me…” he continued, his voice dripping with sarcasm that earned him a small laugh from the blue dragoness.

Satisfied that his front paws were clean, he extracted his good leg from the bucket of soapy water and leaned to one side. Pressing his back against the back of the sofa while bringing his hind leg as far forwards as he could, he reached down with his forepaws and held his hind paw. Unfortunately, the depth of the couch wasn't wide enough for his other leg to be supported and with the heavy weight of the cast dangling over the edge, he felt the tension build in his knee to the point that he had to let go of his leg. Curling his neck to assess the situation, he ran his tongue across the inside of his fangs in thought before glancing over towards the dragoness. Seeing that she was busy, he tucked his wings tight against his sides and then used his wing shoulders to roll further onto his back. By rolling his wing shoulders and lifting himself up, he shimmied up the sofa until his shoulders rested against the padded armrest. Keeping his hip against the backrest of the couch, he dragged his broken leg upwards against the cushion until it stood almost vertically and the weight of the cast pressed down rather than sideways. Instantly it was more comfortable than having it dangling off the side, and he was able to bring his dirty paw within reach. It wasn't the most dignified position, almost reminiscent of a cat cleaning itself, but it worked and he began to scrub quickly at his paw. Starting with the soapy liquid that was now running down his leg, Meegi methodically mopped up the trails with the cloth and then focused on the paw pads.

A small snort of amusement from across the room made Meegi's snout burn, and he only chuckled as he saw in the corner of his eye that Reeva was watching. With the backrest blocking most of her view, all she could see was his broken leg sticking up and his head and neck. “You good?” Reeva teased without any judgment in her voice and continued to stir the contents of the wok while looking back.

“Yup, don't mind me,” Meegi countered with a chuckle and continued to quickly scrub. “I'm starting to see the perks of having a guy like Bruce around,” he added and joined in with Reeva's laugh. Thankfully, after soaking for so long, the stain was coming off reasonably easily, with only the marks in the creases between his paw pads proving stubborn. Glancing towards his erect leg and its cast, he frowned at how gross it looked. What was once a crisp red cast was now mostly brown, with flecks of stains covering what little red was left. Even the brown parts weren't even and it looked as though he had been walking through miles of gutters that were full of who knew what. His doctor's words about keeping it dry lingered in the back of his mind, and while the stain had dried quickly, he wasn't sure if he should try to scrub at it with soapy water. “I think I'm going to have to get them to redo the cast. Or maybe get a bandage to go over it or something… or paint it,” Meegi added with a defeated chuckle.

“You mean you don't want a singular splotchy brown leg?” Reeva asked with a smirk and turned her neck so she was looking at him directly. “I mean, I think it suits you more than the red. But yeah, it kinda looks like you stepped in… a tin of stain,” she added. Meegi nodded in agreement while scrubbing under his talons, but when he saw her frill perk up in his peripheral vision, he looked back at her. “Hold on, I might have something,” the dragoness announced and rested the large wooden spoon in the wok before bouncing up to all fours and quickly marching down the hallway.

Lifting his head up higher, Meegi tried to lean to get a better look at what she was doing, but didn't have to wait long before she returned with a small wicker picnic basket held between her jaws. Despite being flat on his back with one leg in the air and the other pulled to his chest, the dragoness continued around the couch with her eyes locked on the coffee table. Shifting his glass of juice with a paw, she placed the basket down as close to him as possible and smacked her lips with a small snarl. Now that the basket was close, Meegi could see the layers of dust that were trapped within the weave of the basket and understood the dragoness's reaction. Whatever was in this basket hadn't seen the light of day for some time now, but hadn't been so worthless as to be thrown out. “Here, see if one of these will fit over it,” Reeva explained and used a paw to open one half of the picnic basket to reveal a collection of brightly coloured fabric items. Before she explained further, Reeva trotted back towards the stove and began furiously moving the contents around to stop them burning.

Running a paw across his chest to rid it of any lingering moisture, he then reached into the basket and gently pulled out a long tubular sock. “Yeah okay, I hadn't thought about that,” Meegi announced and turned it over in one paw. It was a violent pink colour that he would never wear in a hundred years, but there were others. Placing it next to the basket, he reached in and pulled out another that at first glance looked neutral enough. He thought it was a simple dark grey, but as he brought it closer he saw a collection of green lizards sewn into the body of the sock. Each reptile looked like a collection of triangles, all with an accusatory expression while performing acts of violence. It brought a smirk to Meegi's snout, but he continued to pull different ones out. Despite the dragoness' living room being neat and organised, the basket was a haphazard collection of mixed socks. Thankfully, he didn't need to find a set that matched and only needed one that looked smart enough and durable enough to wear in public. “You seem to have a lot of these,” Meegi said in absent-minded observation. A good collection of the socks had leathery pads sewn into the soles which looked as though they could protect a paw from the harsh concrete pavements, but others were only fabric on the bottoms with small rubbery dots to offer grip. All of them, of course, included holes for talons to poke through, but all of them looked almost brand new.

“Don't judge me, I'm not really a sock kinda ‘ness,” Reeva began and paused as she used her tail to stabilise herself while sitting and gripped the wok with both handles. Lifting it up, she began to bounce the pan up and down to toss the ingredients over one another. Placing it back down on the element, she proceeded to drizzle a sweet honey-smelling sauce over the concoction. “I only have them ’cos my auntie keeps buying them for me.”

“How many do you have?” Meegi mused as he began sorting the socks into groups of four, only to discover one purple set was actually two that had different patterns. So far he had made four distinct sets, but the basket was still full of the mixed coloured socks.

“You know how you kind of say you like something to be polite, and then they keep getting you more?” Reeva asked rhetorically and shrugged her wings. “So, every year she gives me some for Christmas and my hatch day, and it's kinda gone on too long to say something.”

Meegi nodded in understanding and lifted his head to look back at her. “You wear them whenever you meet her, don't you?” he asked with a growing smile that turned into a chuckle when she nodded. “You know, you could always say that you've grown out of them or something, or like something else.”

His suggestion was dismissed by the dragoness, who shook her head and refocused on the sizzling wok. “Yeah. I like my auntie. It feels rude to say something. And I honestly wouldn't be surprised if she knows already and is just pranking me. She is kinda like that,” Reeva explained and shrugged her wings again. “Besides, you can wear them now.”

Her playfulness made him chuckle and continue to sort through the pile. Many of them were too colourful for his liking, sporting stripes of yellow or red across equally vibrant colours. Diving a paw to the bottom of the pile, he lifted it up to refresh the selection and his eyes noticed one that was rolled up and looked almost completely black. “Oh, a black one, this might work,” he announced mostly to himself and began to unroll the sock. It wasn't made of cotton or wool like the others, but instead a satin-like material that felt incredibly soft and almost stretchy in his paw.

“Black…” he heard Reeva mutter before a clatter of the wooden spoon being hastily dropped on the counter snapped his attention from the sock. Looking towards the kitchen, Meegi froze as the pale blue dragoness leapt over the kitchen island and rushed towards him with a look of mortification in her eyes. In an instant she was beside him on the couch and snatched one end of the sock from his grip, in doing so unravelling it to full length as it slipped out of his paws.

In the brief moment before the dragoness tucked the sock under the membrane of her wing, Meegi caught a glimpse of intricate lace that crowned its mouth and realised what he had been holding. “Wait, your auntie bought you that?” he asked in disbelief, inadvertently adding fuel to the dragoness's embarrassment. “I mean, nothing wrong with that…”

“Yeah,” Reeva replied and refused to make eye contact while she turned the basket to face her and began hurriedly pulling out the rest of the black silky leggings. “She was pretty excited when I said I was dating a man… you know….” she added and Meegi nodded in understanding while a broad smile pulled at his lips. His expression only seemed to humour the dragoness, whose tail flicked behind her in a mixture of agitation and amusement. Between the darkening of her snout and the way her frill was swept back sheepishly, she was clearly embarrassed but unlike Tiiphani, she wasn't getting upset. “Oh don't laugh, he liked it. But hey, if you want to wear it, don't let me stop you!” Reeva retorted playfully.

Laughing, Meegi shook his head and felt genuinely joyful that the dragoness was leaning into the situation. “Maybe another time. I wouldn't want to tear it on the cast,” he replied as the dragoness found the fourth sock and padded away giggling with them tucked under her wing. “But the black did look good. Do you have a non-sexy one?”

“Oh, you think they're sexy, do you? Noted. But no, those are the only black ones I've got,” Reeva replied back over her shoulder as she returned to the stove and hastily deposited the frilly socks into a cupboard to be put away later. “But I think I've got some red Crestie ones in there if you want,” she added casually.

Meegi tried not to let his emotions show and nodded with a forced smile. He thought he had spotted the golden logo in the pile but had been deliberately avoiding it. The evening had been going so well and she hadn't once treated him like the Dragonball player he used to be. While the sock was a far cry from a full uniform, it was still a holdover from his old life that he wanted to ignore, at least for tonight.

Rummaging around in the basket once more, his paw found a soft and thin sock that was a bright sky blue with a single red band around the top. Complete with a leathery sole that he could wear outdoors, the stretchy sock was clearly an attempt at matching Reeva's colours even if the blue was off by a few shades. Out of all the socks he had found so far, it was the most casual and lacked any patterns or cartoon characters. He paused as he contemplated how it would look wearing the same colours as her, and if they were ready for such a public display. Memories of wearing his crimson harness while with Tiiphani circled his consciousness, and how it subtly signalled that they were together. At least with Tiiphani, it was common knowledge that they were an item, but with Reeva it was still something he was coming to grips with. Their relationship had been moving so quickly, he wasn't sure if this was too big of a leap or how she would feel about such a gesture.

Swallowing a deep gulp, Meegi took a second to quietly clear his throat and then raised his head up over the backrest of the couch with the sock dangling from his forepaw. “Hey, um…” he started and watched as the dragoness looked back at him while tending to the wok. Her eyes darted from his and lingered on the sock before tilting her head. The small perk in her frill and the smile forming on her snout gave him the confidence to continue and Meegi turned the sock to make sure she could see which one it was. “Are you attached to this one?” he continued and felt as though the words leaving his mouth were like watching a train wreck in slow motion. ‘Of course she would be attached to it, they were her colours,’ he mentally hissed to himself. “I mean, I kinda like it, but are they special or anything?” he added bluntly, but when Reeva grinned wide, he knew she understood what he was trying to say.

“No-no, all yours,” Reeva replied in a strained attempt at sounding casual. Her frill trembled as it was trying to lift but Reeva was trying to actively keep it down while she turned back to the stove, and Meegi caught a glimpse of her tail flick out from behind the kitchen island in excitement. “I’m glad you like them!” she added, making Meegi's heart skip a beat.

“Thanks,” Meegi replied and, while leaning forwards, scrunched his toes as close together as his cast would allow and began to try and slip the sock over it. It wasn't easy as the sock was clearly sized for a slimmer leg than his own and the added girth of his cast made the fabric stretch wide, but, slowly and surely, he was able to roll the fabric up until it reached his stifle joint. Once fully pulled up, the elastic mouth of the sock hooked over the lip of his cast and prevented it from slipping down, and while the fact he had a cast on was still obvious, it was at least covered.

“That looks good on you,” Reeva mused, her frill still perked up despite trying to sound as though she was giving a casual compliment. Twitching her head to gesture towards the wok, she then looked towards him. “Food is almost done, are you all cleaned up?”

“I think so,” Meegi replied and quickly grabbed the cloth again to give his good hind paw another quick scrub. “Where do you want me to put the towels and bucket?” he asked as he rubbed the cloth through his digits one last time to try and get the last of the stain off his pads. It still wasn't completely clean, but far better than it had been and unless someone was closely inspecting his paws, no one would ever notice.

“Oh, can you empty it in the bathroom, and just stick the towels in the basket? I'll deal with them later,” Reeva called back while opening a jar of crushed nuts and sprinkling the contents over the wok.

Rolling onto his side and then his front, Meegi made sure not to step in the bucket while getting up and collected the towels they had put down to protect the couch. For the most part, they were still quite clean and only two had dark wet patches. Rolling them over one another, he picked them all up together and tucked the ball of fabric under his folded wing and then lifted the bucket by gripping the plastic handle in his maw. Lowering his head further than he would while walking, Meegi kept the bucket stabilised and made sure not to slosh the contents. Padding out of the living room and down the hallway, he paused to use his forepaws to open the bathroom door and stepped inside.

Like the rest of Reeva's apartment, the bathroom was simplistic modern aesthetics, although unlike the routinely cleaned bathroom he had shared with Tiiphani, most of Reeva's shelves were cluttered with a collection of large bottles of various soaps, polishes, and moisturisers. The space was clearly designed for both humans and dragons alike, with faucets that could be manipulated by both small hands and less dexterous paws. Additionally, two separate doors led to the bathroom, one from the hall and another from the apartment's only bedroom. The door to Reeva's bedroom was slightly ajar, and his eyes lingered on the small glimpse into her private space.

To his surprise, and in stark contrast to the modern design of her apartment, Reeva's bed looked out of place. It sat low to the ground, with a foot-high real timber frame bordering the plush rectangular mattress. At each corner stood tall posts that supported a pale white canopy above. He had never seen a four-poster bed anywhere other than in movies, and his curiosity brought him closer to the door to get a better look. The room was significantly smaller than the living room, and the bed dominated the space, leaving only a passage just big enough for a dragon to walk around three of its sides. Nestled in the corner stood a narrow but floor-to-ceiling bookshelf full of heavy novels. Meegi wanted to press the door back further to investigate more and perhaps glean more clues into the dragoness's interests, but felt like he was invading her personal space just by looking in.

With the bucket still dangling in his mouth, he turned back around in the bathroom and padded towards the large grate in the middle of the shower that also served as a toilet and began to pour the contents of the bucket down the drain. Thankfully, the stain had become so diluted by the soapy water it didn't have a chance to stain the tiles, but Meegi still collected the flexible shower hose and, while being careful not to get his sock-covered foot wet, gave the rim of the drain a quick rinse to be sure. Placing the bucket upside down so it could dry, Meegi dumped the towels in a wicker basket in the corner of the room and made his way back to the living room.

Rounding the corner of the hallway, he was re-greeted by the delicious scent of Reeva's cooking and slowed to a stop beside the kitchen island. “Can I help?” Meegi offered but the dragoness simply shook her head while flashing him a look of thanks. With a small shuffle of her wing, she invited him closer and without hesitating, Meegi stepped to her side. Inside the wok was a kaleidoscope of colourful vegetables and tender strips of meat mixed with noodles. “That looks really good–” His words hitched as the dragoness leaned into him while sitting on her haunches. Lifting his wing, his heart warmed as she pressed into his side and continued to stir the contents of the wok. Letting his wing drape across her shoulders, Meegi enjoyed the feeling of her body against his.

“Better than takeaway?” Reeva asked and tilted her head to see his reaction. When he nodded, her frill twitched up an inch in excitement before she looked back down at the wok. “I may have made it a little spicy, I hope that's okay,” she continued, but Meegi reassured her with a flex of his wing to hold her close.

“I like spice. Growing up we used to eat Turkish food a lot,” Meegi explained and met her gaze when she looked back at him. “Perks of my mom working at the restaurant, she would always bring home leftovers.”

“I don't think I've had Turkish food before. Other than Turkish bread, of course,” Reeva replied, with a hint of self-consciousness in her voice. “Mom and dad weren't the type to eat out, or get takeaway really. They'd prefer to cook instead. Not that I minded, of course, but now they are retired I think they are starting to come around.”

“Never had Turkish food? Well… we will have to fix that,” Meegi chuckled and looked at her with sincerity. “Next date, let's get some. The place my mom works does an amazing menemen. That with some garlic pita bread… can't go wrong,” he added cheerfully and paused when her mouth parted in a toothy, cheeky grin.

“I have no idea what that is, but it sounds good,” Reeva started and wiggled her shoulders against him. “Although, at our current rate that would mean I'm meeting your mother tomorrow then, huh? Kinda rushing things, aren't we?”

Knowing that she was playing, Meegi leaned his head closer until her smile dropped and she tilted her head to kiss him. When his snout was an inch away from hers, her eyes closed and Meegi tried to keep his composure as he paused. “Nah, we will get takeaway,” he teased, causing her eyes to open and her mouth to part in mock offence. Dipping his head in, he angled his snout and kissed her. He felt her attempt a laugh in their mouths' embrace before she melted against him and deepened their kiss. Pressing his tongue into her maw, he ran it across hers while simultaneously pulling her tight against him with his wing. It wasn't a rushed kiss, but a deliberate and paced mutual exploration of each other that made Meegi's heart race. She wasn't passive either, angling her head and extending her neck to press back towards him.

For what felt like minutes, the pair were absorbed in the moment until a sudden hum and recoil from Reeva caused him to open his eyes in fear of doing something wrong. “Sorry, too quick?” he asked breathlessly before inhaling quickly and lifting his wing when she straightened her posture.

“No… I mean, I don't want to let it burn,” Reeva replied with a fluster in her voice that matched Meegi’s. Moving with haste, she collected the wooden spoon and quickly began to stir the contents, now making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan. “Yeah, this is done.”

“Bowls?” Meegi offered after briefly scanning the countertop and noticing they were absent. Answered by the dragoness nodding and then gesturing with a folded wing towards one of the kitchen cabinets, Meegi moved around her and retrieved a pair of large. pale grey porcelain dishes. Moving back to the dragoness's side, he placed them down next to the stove and took a small step backwards to give Reeva room to plate the meal.

While waiting, the moment became etched in his subconscious. It was so incredibly mundane, and at the same time oddly comforting. The rational part of his mind told him they were still only just at the beginning of their relationship, but the way everything felt so normal and real sent a wave of calm throughout his body. Yet he couldn't help but feel the sense of longing grow in his heart as he soaked in the sensation of normal life. With Reeva, he wasn't famous, and the apartment wasn't a glitzy and glamorous penthouse that reminded him of his obligations. Instead, it gave him a hint at what a life could be like. It was as if his entire life he had been playing the actor in a television show, with a script he had rehearsed and had been surrounded by others who had been in on the routine. But now, the curtains had closed, the audience had left, and he had found himself again.

“Everything okay?” Reeva asked as she caught him watching her with unfocused eyes. Her words shook him from his stupor and after quickly blinking twice, he renewed his smile, nodded, and stepped closer to her side.

==Page break==

“Are you sure you don't want any more?” Reeva asked as she collected his bowl from the kitchen island where they had eaten. Meegi knew she had only made enough for the pair of them and a bit extra for her lunch that was now cooling in a clear plastic container by the stove.

“Oh, I would love more, but I am waaay too full. That was amazing, Reeva,” he replied with genuine sincerity and licked his snout clean of any remaining sauce. “I honestly think that is the best meal I've had since… well, since that last time you cooked for me. Back at school. Thank you,” his praise caused the dragoness's frill to flatten as she beamed a cheeky grin.

“I’m glad you liked it,” Reeva replied while carrying the bowls into the kitchen and loading them into the dishwasher with a soft clatter. “If you want, the couch unfolds. That way there is room for both of us,” she continued and gestured with her snout towards the cream leather sofa. “It might need to be pulled back though.”

The idea of stretching out brought a warm and content smile to his snout, and when he followed her gaze he couldn't help but adore the humble nature of a fold-out couch. Back in the spires, the couches were deep enough for both he and Tiiphani to lie on without feeling cramped, however Reeva's was more suited to accommodate a single dragon or perhaps a human and dragon if they were cosy. “That sounds amazing,” Meegi mused and pulled himself up onto all fours and moved towards the couch. He waited until Reeva had returned and hooked a paw under one edge of the sofa while she did the same. With a small heave, the pair of them half dragged, half carried the couch back until the backrest was next to the kitchen island and there was enough space for the built-in bed to be unfolded.

Despite his attempts to help, Reeva shooed him away while she pulled off the cushions and used her maw to grip a horizontal metal beam from within the couch’s base. With a collection of groans and twang sounds, the bed began to unfold until it sprawled out across the living room. Its mattress wasn't much more than six inches of dense foam that slowly inflated after being compressed for who knew how long. He waited patiently while she reinstalled the couch cushions on the backrest to make a pseudo headboard and then ran a paw across the fabric mattress covering to straighten out a wrinkle.

“Alright, you get comfortable and I'll get us some snacks,” Reeva announced and began to make her way back to the kitchen. “Can't have a movie night without snacks!” she added cheerfully.

“There's more?!” Meegi exclaimed in amusement and stepped up onto the fold-out bed as the dragoness giggled. It was surprisingly firm, and far less comfortable than the couch had been, but better than the hard ground. Realising he had left his juice on the coffee table, he collected it and took a sip before relocating it to the kitchen island. With the couch up against it, it created a convenient shelf where it wouldn't be knocked over. Settling down on his front, with his rump towards the television, he watched the dragoness as she began to fill a large stainless steel bowl with a collection of things from brightly coloured packets. “Juice, snacks, movie, and a fold-out bed… this is the recipe for an epic sleepover,” Meegi mused. It had been meant as an idle joke to fill the air, but he clamped his jaws shut when he realised what he had said, and what she might think he was implying. He honestly hadn't meant to invite himself to stay the night, but now struggled to find an elegant way to backpedal. “I mean–”

Her laughter eased his worry, and she curled her neck to look back at him while shaking the last of a bag into the bowl. “Meegi, you make it sound like we are teenagers,” she mused before her frill dropped down an inch and she seemed to realise what he might have been implying. “I mean, you are welcome to stay the night if you want…” she started, causing his heart to skip a beat. “But I'll warn you, the fold-out isn't the best for sleeping on. So I recommend folding it back to being a couch if you don't want to fly home tonight,” she added with a hint of seriousness in her voice that made it abundantly clear what she really meant.

She was setting a boundary that he was more than happy to adhere to. He was welcome to stay, but she wasn't looking to share her bed with him. Bobbing his head in understanding, Meegi leaned from side to side on the fold-out bed as if assessing it. “Yeah, it's a little thin, but the couch works for me. Thanks!” he replied cheerfully, and prayed that he didn't sound as though he was overly compensating for her rejection. He genuinely wasn't looking for anything more than just spending time with her, and with how quickly things had been going with them, he appreciated the clear pause. “Are you working tomorrow?” he asked and when she nodded he flashed her a warm smile. “Alright, how about I get breakfast in the morning?”

“You really don't have to. I usually don't eat breakfast,” Reeva replied while tucking the large stainless steel bowl between her folded wing arm and her shoulder. Despite trying hard not to look crestfallen, the dragoness tilted her head from one side to another. “But we could probably get something on the way to work.”

“Done,” Meegi mused while leaning to one side and reaching out with a forepaw as she came close to the fold-out bed. Taking the bowl from her, he expected her to lie down but instead she did a small lap of the couch and clicked off the lights with a folded wing. With only the light from the range hood, the pedestal lamp in the corner of the room, and the television, the apartment was cast into an intimate darkness that made Meegi's blood run warmer. Turning his head to track her return, he felt as though she thought the same as her frill perked up further. Not wanting to stare, he glanced down at the bowl and took stock of the contents. “Good gods!” he started before chuckling sheepishly. He had expected some sort of healthy combination of nuts and dried fruit, but instead the bowl was half filled with a wild collection of biscuits, soft candy, chocolate drops, liquorice strips, and wafers. “I think my old coach would have a fit if she saw this,” he added and reached in to select a chocolate chip cookie.

“Heh heh,” Reeva chuckled guiltily as she came around the couch and stepped up onto the mattress. “It's not like we have to eat all of it, but the ‘Riimy trail mix' is a bit of a tradition in our house. My uncle was apparently a bit of a sweet tooth, and whenever we watched movies as a family Mum always made it,” Reeva explained while lying down beside him.

With how close she lay to him, Meegi felt as though he was taking up more of the couch than necessary but with a small sweep of his tail tip he found the edge behind him and confirmed he was right at the edge of the bed. With the bowl the only thing separating them from one another, it felt incredibly cosy and when he locked eyes with her, he felt himself becoming lost in their brilliance. The way that her amber irises caught the dim light gave them a depth he hadn't noticed before, and now he could make out the intricate and fiery vein-like structures that made up their colour. Combined with her pupils dilating wider than normal, it gave her a softness that was both equal parts inviting as it was disarming.

Her eyes eventually dipped as she looked down at the bowl of high-calorie junk food and when he felt her paw against his, he looked down to see her gently take the cookie from his grip and became frozen in place as she brought it up to his snout. “Open up,” she murmured, and when he parted his lips she placed the edge of the cookie in his mouth. A small part of him thought that she might bring her muzzle in to take a bite of the other half, and for a moment she looked as though she was considering it before her self-consciousness seemed to take the better of her. Flattening her frill against her neck, the dragoness let out a small chuckle while he continued to hold the sweet treat in his mouth as she collected another and began to snack on her own. Turning her head slightly, she gestured with a small dart of her head towards the television while she crunched on her cookie. “What did you want to watch?”

The first answer that came to Meegi's mind was simply her, but he felt as though it were too corny and far too forward. Instead, he used his tongue to fold the cookie into his maw and then hummed in uncertainty. His hum turned into more of a moan of bliss as the chocolate chips suddenly melted in his mouth and he was treated to a taste he hadn't enjoyed in far too long. “Oh wow, these are good!” he replied with a muffled voice before tucking the fragments of the cookie to one side in his mouth and lifting a forepaw to his snout to cover his lips. “Up to you, what sort of things do you like to watch?”

“Oh, I don't know if you would like my sort of movie,” Reeva replied with a hint of self-consciousness as she collected a remote from behind her and shifted her posture so she was looking more towards the screen. Turning his head to look at the screen, he watched as a collection of tiles filled the display. Most were suggestions for things that she might like, and Meegi cocked his head as he scanned the titles. In conjunction with the occasional romantic comedy or stand-up routine, the vast majority of the movies it was recommending to her were documentaries, or movies based on real-world events.

“Oh, I wouldn't say that. I kind of liked that one about the Sudanese tribe of dragons that is still doing things like the olden days,” he said while gesturing with a paw towards the screen and scanning through the others. “Although, that one below it, the history of the British dragon guard, that one was dry. I'm not sure if I actually finished that, or gave up on it,” he continued and in the corner of his eye he saw the dragoness turn to look at him, clearly surprised that he had similar interests to her. Smiling a knowing smile at her, he shrugged his wings and tilted his head. “What?”

“Nothing,” Reeva started before shaking her head. “I just thought you would be into action movies or something,” she explained, making Meegi laugh.

“Oh, don't get me wrong, I like them too. But the hospital had a pretty curated list of family-friendly shows. The options were basically either daytime TV or documentaries, and well… I kinda liked them,” Meegi explained before shrugging his wings. “And to be fair, while I was with the Cresties, I didn't really have time for a three-hour movie about the migration of whales. So it was nice to kind of relax and just take it all in,” Meegi added, deliberately missing out the failed attempts of watching a movie with Tiiphani. Her taste in movies hadn't seemed to mature since school and there were only so many movies where the ‘ugly’ 'ness discovered her inner beauty and confidence with the help of a stylist, scale paint, and a musical montage.

“Well, I would never have guessed,” Reeva mused and looked back at the screen. “I’m guessing you've seen that one about the history of dragonball, I've been meaning to get around to that,” Reeva offered when she looked back at the screen and, while pressing a few buttons, navigated the selection box over the panel.

“You're not missing much,” Meegi replied with a touch too much bite in his voice. “We watched it as a team at the start of every season. Starts with two rich nobles in Europe having a falling out over an arranged breeding between their dragons, then one got their dragons to go steal each other's eggs, the other tried to steal them back, the feud ran over the course of a few years, bloodshed-bloodshed, people wanted to know the score, then it became a sport. Pretty grim, but that's kinda the cliff notes,” Meegi explained before pausing to take a deep breath. “Maybe something else?” he asked and looked over to her.

“Something else it is,” she replied with a chuckle and scrolled further down the list of movies. “Oh, Kaarif has been bugging me to watch this, have you seen it?” she asked and when Meegi looked back at the screen, he focused on the highlighted tile. It showed a picturesque image of a man standing in a canoe-like boat, with a paddle in hand while a frilled dragoness's head protruded from the water. With the sun setting behind the characters, the figures were not much more than silhouettes but the elegance of the dragon's features made it clear she was female. With a tap of the remote, the icon expanded to enlarge the cover art and give more information about the story. Judging by the image and details, it was hard to make out if it was fiction or not, but Meegi hadn't seen it and it was a decent length. While he shook his head, Reeva seemed to have a slight change of heart and scrunched up her snout. “Actually… It's about a dude getting with a 'ness. That's probably a bit weird, isn't it?”

“Why would that be weird?” Meegi asked with a chuckle and looked towards her. “Oh, cos of the whole Bruce thing?” he asked, regretting his blunt choice of words. Judging by the way she sheepishly nodded and renewed her aim with the remote to change the selection, he knew that he had misspoken. “Nah, let's watch it,” he stated and when she turned back to him in surprise, he leaned closer and gave her a small nuzzle of affection to the underside of her jaw. It was a small gesture, and one that he hoped would communicate that he wasn't judging her for her past partners, nor was his hesitation to help her work anything to do with any traditional values. He was well aware that there were some who were against a mixed relationship and while he had never been interested in a human, he wanted to make sure she understood he wasn't bigoted. “And I really don't have anything against mixed couples. Besides, your whole job is about dragons and humans coming together, right? If I had an issue, I wouldn't be here.”

He felt her swallow, and the small vibration in her jaw as she hummed in contradiction. Pulling back, he looked at her as she looked away briefly. “It's not just humans and dragons though, Meegi. It's equally about dragons and dragons. Many have lost out on what they are owed because of archaic laws, and because the system was written by humans either looking out for themselves, or just at a time when we weren't much more than a fancy horse. What we are trying to do is get proper equality to give people, regardless of species, the same legal protection that humans have had in traditional marriages,” she explained, her voice adopting a sincere and professional tone. The look of genuine honesty in her eyes added weight to her conviction and Meegi noticed that it was a stark contrast to the many speeches he had nodded along to at team press briefings. She wasn't trying to sugar-coat the situation, but left very little room for a rebuttal that gave him a hint at how fierce she could be in a structured debate. Meegi found himself captivated by the contrast of the intimate light and the sudden assertiveness in the dragoness's voice. It wasn't bossy or demanding, simply clearly articulating her stance and something about the power she drove behind her words stirred something inside him. However, before he could comprehend what he was feeling, Reeva dismissed herself with a small shake of her head. “Sorry, I sounded like I was at work for a second there,” Reeva added, her frill dropping as she became self-conscious. “Movie, yes?”

“Yeah,” Meegi replied while smirking, and leaned back towards her before nuzzling back under her snout. “And don’t apologise. I misspoke. Dragon marriage sounds kinda cool actually,” he said and extended the tip of his tongue out of his maw to stroke against the soft scales on the underside of her neck.

“I think you're coming on too strong,” Reeva replied, causing Meegi's eyes to widen and quickly pull back suddenly. However, instead of discomfort in her expression, he only saw stifled merriment. “We've been on like three dates, I think it's a little early to be talking about marriage,” she mused casually and looked towards the television as she clicked the remote to select the movie. Her lip quivered for a moment before a broad toothy grin formed on her lips, making Meegi let out an exasperated but humoured sigh. She knew what he meant, but her sense of humour only made him enjoy the moment more.

While the titles of the movie began to play, and the opening music swelled, Reeva's tail swept towards him and paused in the middle ground between both of them. Sensing what she wanted, he brought his own tail forwards and when their tips touched, she coiled hers with his. Feeling her soft scales pressed against his sent a wave of calm over Meegi and by extending his neck, he nuzzled back under her jawline while keeping an eye on the screen. The opening scene of the movie showed a young man casting a small net off the side of his canoe, while wearing not much more than a loincloth and a bandolier-like strap that was bristling with small bones, wooden hooks, and a sheathed knife that looked as though it was made from a sliver of shale rather than metal. The warmth from the unrelenting sun caused the man's muscles to glisten in sweat despite the almost crystal-clear water surrounding him. Paying some attention to the movie, Meegi continued to gently press his snout against Reeva's neck and hummed in approval when she reached around the bowl of snacks and pulled his paw towards her so it was closer.

A flash of colour on the screen tore at his attention, and Meegi focused on a new character being introduced. An aquatic dragoness, with scales a teal-like colour that contrasted with fiery orange frills, emerged from the water with a large fish in her mouth. With only a few lines of dialogue between the pair, it was clear that she was a bit of a prankster, and the man was well versed in her antics. Their banter made both Meegi and Reeva chuckle and caused him to cease his affections as he focused on the story.

In the middle of the dialogue, a soft vibration rang out from behind Meegi followed by a trumpet-like melody that would have been more fitting at a military base than Reeva's living room. Hissing in frustration, Reeva pulled away from Meegi and quickly searched for the remote that had slid under her folded wing. Spotting it before her, and realising that the sound was Reeva's phone ringing, he reached forwards and collected the remote. “Pause?” he offered and pressed the button when she nodded. Groaning in exaggerated reluctance, Reeva stepped off the folded-out couch and hurriedly moved to where her phone's holster and harness hung from a hook beside the door.

“Sorry, I have to get this,” Reeva replied as she untangled her tablet-like phone and its holster from her harness and brought it over to the kitchen island. Tucking the straps that would normally wrap her forearm under the device, she managed to prop it up so she could sit at the table and look down at the screen with relative comfort. With the couch backed up against the island, Meegi felt closer to the call than necessary and shrank back when Reeva deliberately angled the screen away from him. He was about to get up and use the bathroom solely as a method to excuse himself from the room but paused when Reeva accepted the call with a cheerful, “Hey Mom! Can you hear me?”

Refocusing on Reeva, Meegi noticed the dragoness' attempt to keep herself composed while her eyes darted over the tablet and locked with his for a brief moment. In the silent exchange, she made it clear that she wasn't expecting to introduce him to the family just yet and he flashed her a reassuring smile. There was a pregnant pause followed by the sound of Reeva tapping the volume up and something being rubbed against her mother's tablet before suddenly the older dragoness’ voice came through the speakers louder than expected.

“Ah! There you are! Sorry honey, we only just got back to the hotel,” Reevian's voice called and was quickly turned down to a more comfortable level by Reeva. “Oh, it's dark, sorry did I wake you?” she asked and Meegi tried not to chuckle as Reeva's frill flattened in guilt.

“No, no. I just had a headache, that's all. I'm fine, just too much time behind a screen I'm guessing,” Reeva replied quickly before a pregnant pause hung in the air. Meegi didn't think it was due to any latency in their connection, and when he caught Reeva briefly widen her eyes while looking at the screen, he understood there was a silent exchange happening. “How is Hungary? That's where you are, right? Or am I getting things mixed up?” Reeva continued in a voice Meegi had heard before. It was the tell-tale slightly stressed voice that directed another to a different topic in order to avoid where the current conversation was going.

An amused chuckle came through the speakers that caused Reeva's frill to twitch and for the dragoness’ stare to intensify briefly before softening as her mother played along. “Oh Reeva, it's beautiful here. Everything here looks like it just came out of a fairy tale. It's all so old and historic, but not drab and cold like England was. We had lunch at this ruined castle called Szigliget… or sizzle gate… What was it, honey?” Reevian asked before a snort of amusement followed by the sound of a drake laughing came through the speakers.

“Yes honey, sizzle gate. That's the one!” Reeva's father chimed in before continuing to chuckle.

Meegi had to clamp his jaws shut to stop himself from laughing at the exchange, and looked towards Reeva who was smiling. Once again, her eyes flicked towards him before she refocused on the screen and adjusted its angle. “Did dad get obsessed with architecture again?”

“Hey–” came the reply from her father before Reevian cut him off with an affirmative and exaggerated hum. “Oh you have no idea! Keekzee and him have been having a debate over what constitutes a castle vs a fortress and gods you would think that they were debating religion,” Reevian interjected while her mate made some remark about Keekzee saying a castle needed ramparts and what they'd visited didn't have any evidence of such structures, but was still called a castle. Listening to the chaos, Meegi couldn't help himself from collecting a paw full of chocolate-covered almonds and watched Reeva while he slowly and deliberately ate them like popcorn. His pantomime made the corners of Reeva's lips curl into a knowing smirk, but other than another quick glance towards him, she tried her best to keep a straight face. “Needless to say, I'm all ramparted out,” Reevian added in an attempt to silence her mate's retelling of their discussions.

“Awww, I was looking forward to ramming your parts tonight,” Reeva's father grumbled in a low voice that was still captured by their phone's microphone. Meegi had been halfway through swallowing one of the chocolate-covered almonds when he suddenly inhaled in a stifled laugh. In an instant, a fragment of nut rushed to the back of his throat and found its way into his windpipe. Trying his best not to cause a scene, Meegi quickly dropped his snout downwards and tried to cough as quietly as possible. “Whose coughing?” her father asked when Meegi failed to dislodge the nut and hacked louder than intended.

“Neebis, Reeva has a friend over,” Reevian answered for Reeva with a knowing tone in her voice. Now that his cover had been officially blown, Meegi turned his head away and coughed sharply. Swallowing deeply, he cleared his throat and looked back at Reeva sheepishly. The dragoness’ expression was a mixture of worry and embarrassment, but when he flashed her a smile and nodded to say he was okay, her concern faded to pure mortification.

“A friend? Is it Kaarif?” Neebis asked and was met with a shake of Reeva's head. “Oh?... Oh! Oh right then… well… hello Reeva’s friend,” her father added in a friendly voice, but was clearly caught off guard by this development.

“Hi Reeva's dad,” Meegi croaked out in an attempt to make light of the situation, and grinned a toothy smile as Reeva's eyes went wide and her frill became painfully erect. Picking out another chocolate almond from his paw, he continued to grin a cheeky smile as the dragoness shook her head in disbelief.

“Honey, we can call back if you want–” her mother started but was dismissed by Reeva quickly shaking her head and flashing a glare towards Meegi.

“No Mom, I’ve got all the time in the world for you,” Reeva replied while settling down on her haunches to get comfortable. “What else have you been up to?” she added, making it clear to Meegi that she was extending the conversation to get back at him. Not that he minded, and Meegi continued to snack while listening to her engage with her parents.

Compared to the conversations Meegi had witnessed whenever Tiiphani's mother returned from a trip, thier dialogue was focused mostly on the sights they had seen and food they had enjoyed, rather than on people they had met along their travels. It was quickly clear that they were a part of some kind of tour, or at least had a guide showing them where the good spots were. “.....You should try and get here if you get time off. I didn't realise that there were thermal springs out here and they are phenomenal. Vii took us to this one off the beaten trail that the locals go to. So much cheaper and they served these deep-fried flatbread things. Really amazing,” Reevian continued while Reeva smiled warmly down at her tablet. “But how are you going, honey? You've got that fancy dinner thing coming up, don't you?”

“Two more weeks and getting closer every day,” Reeva replied with a mixture of trepidation and uncertainty in her voice. “Things are getting pretty chaotic. But it's all worth it. Anything to help keep Auntie T off my tail,” Reeva added, causing her mother to laugh and for Meegi to smirk a lopsided smile at the idea of being pressured by a family friend to change such a monumental establishment.

“Oh she is just keen. You know how she gets,” Reevian replied before lowering her voice to a warmer tone. “But honey, don't spread yourself too thin, okay? I know that this is important, but I don't think Auntie T would want you burning out trying to change the world, and I sure as hell don't want to see that. Okay?” she asked and when Reeva nodded, her mother continued. “Now is there anything I can do to help? I can fly back and help with the food if you need me–”

“No, Mom… thanks but it's okay. Catering is actually the one thing that is going smoothly. It's just the everything else that is keeping me busy,” Reeva replied while keeping her eyes locked onto the screen. While she explained some of the activities that she was facing, Meegi caught a glimpse into the stress that was simmering in the back of the dragoness' mind. The knowledge sent a pang of guilt through his chest as he listened, knowing full well that his indecision was adding to her mental load. “....But it will all be fine, I'm not the only one working on this, and hey, after this gala it's not like laws will change overnight. It all takes time. A few more weeks and the chaos will be over and we will be preparing something else,” Reeva joked and shuffled her wings against her sides.

“Just don't forget to breathe, okay? You're a brilliant 'ness and I honestly couldn't be prouder,” her mother continued before her father corrected her, “We, we couldn't be prouder. You always were a good egg,” Neebis added.

“Thanks,” Reeva replied and nodded with a warm smile. “Otherwise I'm doing good.”

“That's good to hear,” Reevian replied before a small pause fell between them. “So… What do I have to say to get a look at this friend of yours? Is he cute? His voice sounded deep enough to be a drake–”

“Mom!” Reeva exclaimed. The sudden change of subject clearly caught her by surprise, but it was the enthusiasm in Reevian's voice that made Meegi snort in amusement. When Reeva looked up at him, he quickly ducked his head as if to apologise for making a noise, but continued to silently chuckle at the similarity to how his own mother had reacted.

“Oh come on! I'm your mother! It's my job to know these things, right? Besides, it's not like I'm hounding you for grand eggs. But I could!” she threatened jokingly, making Reeva's frill go vertical and her mouth open and close in stunned embarrassment. “Come on, let us say hi. I promise I won't embarrass you too much.”

Reeva tore her gaze from the screen and looked towards Meegi with a questioning look. Meegi understood that by showing his face, he would likely cause the dragoness to receive a barrage of questions from her parents, but it would be even weirder if he didn't at least say something now that they knew he was here. Despite joking about meeting each other's parents, Meegi knew that this was a big step, even if he had technically already met them while they had been studying at school.

“I don't mind,” he mouthed silently and stepped off the fold-out couch when Reeva nodded. Taking a brief moment to lick his snout and then wipe it with the back of his forepaws, he made sure he didn't have any residual snack clinging to him and reset his wings to appear more presentable.

“Alright, but you have to play nice,” Reeva chuckled with a hint of nervousness in her voice. Her words were drowned out by a squeal of excitement from the older dragoness. With a sharp glare, Reeva looked down at the screen and her mother fell quite and attempted to compose herself. Pulling his neck back into an elegant arch and puffing out his chest to appear more regal, Meegi caught himself and paused mid-step. This wasn't a press meeting, a post-game interview or a brand appearance. This was Reeva's parents, they weren't wanting to see Meegi the Dragonball player, they wanted to meet their daughter's suitor. Exhaling softly, he relaxed his wing shoulders and brought his neck into a more comfortable curve.

Taking a few steps to come to Reeva's side, he looked down at the screen and focused on the image of the two dragons looking back at him. While her father's crimson frill perked and his head cocked in confusion, Reevian's eyes betrayed a whole gamut of emotions. At first she looked at him with a polite and warm gaze, before her eyes narrowed in recognition and then widened in surprise.

“Mom, Dad, this is Meegi,” Reeva started and placed a forepaw on Meegi's as he bobbed his head in greeting. A silence grew between them all. Meegi didn't know exactly what to say, and it was clear Reeva didn't either. Both of her parents looked surprised by his presence to the extent that they were too shocked to introduce themselves.

Seeing the pair again, Meegi was reminded where Reeva got her looks from. Her sky blue scales were clearly a mix of her mother's teal and father's alabaster white scales, and she had completely inherited her father's crimson frill in its entirety. However, unlike her father's red membranous wings, Reeva's took on more of her mother's blue-green colour. “Hey,” Meegi said meekly, and when the pair continued to look at him in dumbfounded silence, he wondered if the call had failed in some way.

“Okay, now I'll let you go, it must be getting late there, right?” Reeva added in an attempt to escape the awkwardness.

“He's a drake–” her father blurted suddenly but was silenced by Reevian sharply jabbing her wing into his side. “I mean, what a drake! You look like you take care of yourself,” Neebis continued, his own frill flattening just as Reeva's did when she was embarrassed or flustered. Clearly her father had been expecting his daughter to be dating another human, and Meegi remembered just how protective her parents had been back at school. “Well, it's good to meet you, Meegi!” Neebis continued, awkwardly finding his words while speaking. “I like that name, spelt like the Cresties player?”

“Yes honey, it's spelt exactly like the Cresties player,” Reevian chimed in and beamed with approval into the camera. “Sorry, where are my manners? Call me Reevian. It's good to see you again, Meegi. You've grown so much since school. I don't remember you having that mane, it looks good on you!”

“Thanks, I used to shave it back because it was a bit raggedy. But I've let it grow out a bit,” Meegi explained and tried not to show his amusement when Neebis’ frill suddenly flicked up to full height in recognition. “It's great to meet you properly this time, I think we only met passing and briefly at the cafe that one time,” Meegi continued, hoping to make light of the moment.

“Oh gods, yes! So sorry about that,” Reevian laughed before looking towards her mate who chuckled. “Although, maybe we did have something to worry about!” she added before waving a paw to dismiss herself. “I’m kidding, of course, good to see my daughter has a good eye for mates. Next time we are back home we will have to have you over for dinner and give you a proper interrogation,” Reevian continued with a playful smile.

“Of course. Oh! By the way, I think you know my old boss, Mike? He says he wants to catch up next time you're in town,” Meegi said and caught a hint of pain in the dragoness's eyes before she nodded quickly and swallowed deeply.

“Yes, Mike… of course. Yes-yes-yes, it's been so long. We will be back in a month's time, so if you can let him know, I've been meaning to say hi, and I'll pop in when we are back,” she said with a slight quickness in her voice that betrayed her composure. “Well, it was lovely to meet you but we won't take up any more of your evening. Reeva, is it okay if I give you a call tomorrow night? I just want to run something by you.”

Meegi guessed that the idea of another call was actually to get more details from her daughter, and when he glanced towards Reeva he could tell she was thinking the same by the way the corners of her lips curled into a knowing smile. “Yeah Mom, I'll shoot you a message when I'm off work.”

What followed next was a repetitive and rushed exchange of farewells before Reeva reached forwards and tapped the button to end the call. Turning his head to look at her when she exhaled a sigh of pent-up stress, Meegi tried to offer her a reassuring smile. “It wasn't that bad, was it?”

“That bad?! My dad basically passed out when he saw you!” Reeva exclaimed with an exasperated laugh. “Although he was super weird with my ex too, I think he had only just come around to the idea of me with a man. But I swear, if I have them start talking about eggs, I'm gonna flip,” Reeva continued before reaching forwards with a paw and flipping her phone so the screen was now against the table and wouldn't distract them if she got a notification.

“But at least they sound like they approve, right?” Meegi asked and leaned closer when she nodded. “Maybe explain that we are trying to take things slow. We haven't even had our weekiversary yet,” he added, causing her to jerk with a small but violent snort.

“Weekiversary…” Reeva chuckled before lifting her head to look over him and towards the TV. “Movie?” she asked simply and when Meegi nodded they made their way back to the couch.

Before climbing back onto the fold-out bed, Meegi took a small step to one side and gestured with a folded wing for her to take the lead and get comfortable. With a casual elegance, Reeva collected the bowl mid-step and instead of lying perpendicular to the back of the couch like they had been before, she instead lay lengthways across the middle of the bed. Pausing while she got settled, Meegi’s heart skipped a beat as he realised the error in how he had been lying before. Previously he had been orientated in a position that meant they had to curl their necks a full 180 degrees to look at the television, which was fine for watching a movie with friends. However, this position was far more intimate, and with how she had left a gap between herself and the backrest it was obvious where she wanted him to lie.

As she made herself comfortable and pulled the bowl of snacks to sit between her forelegs, Meegi's eyes began to wander across her body. She rested partially on her side, both of her hind legs kicked out towards the television with one resting over the other, the digits of her dainty hind paws curled slightly in a graceful yet relaxed pose. His eyes traced towards and roamed over her semi-furled wing that sprawled down her side and blanketed her body. She either didn't seem to mind him staring, or hadn't noticed as she searched for the remote and once finding it, pressed play.

Realising he was staring, he purposely stretched his wings as though that was why he was lingering, and then stepped up onto the bed. Lying down with her already on the fold-out bed proved awkward as his cast limited his movements and he took things slow for fear of accidentally kicking her with it. However, with a small fall into the backrest, he plopped himself down in the gap beside her. Unsure exactly where she wanted him to put his legs, he carefully navigated them to stretch out backwards as best he could, before the telltale sounds of a Dragonball buzzer snapped his attention towards the screen.

Filling the screen with a colourful yellow and blue logo, an ad for a popular sports betting agency dominated the living room, making his jaw tighten and heart beat faster. In the bottom corner of the screen, he saw that they were being served a two-minute unskippable ad, likely because they had paused the video for too long. “I really should get premium,” Reeva muttered under her breath before placing the remote next to their bowl of snacks and helping herself to a chocolate.

Meegi knew the ad well, or rather, he thought he did. It had been made in partnership with the Cresties, and while the announcer advertised fast returns and better odds for paid members of the Cresties crew, the footage showed a dramatic pass Fiital had made during the first game of the season. Meegi remembered the pass well, and it had not only earned them a win, but was also his first goal for the season. However, while the camera tracked the ball with upbeat music, they had hidden a cut in the footage and instead of showing Meegi catching the ball as he had done, they had spliced in footage of Looran snatching it out of the air before driving into an opposing player who had the misfortune of trying to do an intercept. The footage of the dragoness was from a completely different game, and unless someone was paying attention they would likely miss the fact that the background had changed. He knew it was only natural for them to advertise the current roster rather than reuse footage of him, but it still hurt to see. Thankfully, mid-sentence the audio was cut short as Reeva muted the television. Whether she could tell his discomfort or not wasn't exactly clear, but either way he was grateful.

“Is it weird? Seeing them on billboards and stuff?” Reeva asked while reaching for another chocolate. She asked it so casually that Meegi felt as though he had some time to think about it. Weird wasn't the word he would use, but at the same time he struggled to articulate how he really felt about seeing what he had lost.

“Nah,” Meegi finally replied, finding it easier to hide behind a lie. “They are all good players, I'm just grateful that I had the chance to play with them,” he added but felt as though he was speaking to a camera rather than the dragoness. Glancing over to her, he wondered if she could tell as she returned his look with one of reluctant acceptance. Taking a deep breath through his nostrils, he filled his lungs with air before slowly exhaling and rocked his head from side to side. “It's fine. I think I always knew that getting dropped could happen. After all, I wasn't exactly meant to be on the team.”

“What?”

Meegi didn't answer right away and instead collected a large biscuit from the bowl and turned it over in his paw to inspect the choc chips. The ad was still counting down while footage showed people celebrating the win that they could have if only they gambled their savings with the company. He didn't want to bring down the mood, but Reeva deserved the truth, even if he was still coming to terms with it himself. “I mean the whole magic thing. I knew as soon as I could do it that I wouldn't be able to play at a professional level. Hiding it was always a risk, so I think it was an inevitability,” Meegi stated before taking a bite of the cookie and continuing with his mouth full. “Also, let's be honest. Dating Tiiphani was what really got me on the team.”

The look Reeva gave him as she gave a single chuckle was one of amusement mixed with disbelief. The look lasted a beat before her eyes narrowed and she turned her head to look at him more directly. “Gods, you're being serious?” she asked and when Meegi nodded, she vehemently shook her head. “Sorry Meegi, I don't believe that for a second. Back at school she only took an interest in you when you started winning games. Hell, there was that game when you guys lost to the Southern Lake Lions, she basically stopped talking to you and Miikalah until you guys won the next game.”

“Really?” Meegi asked, genuinely confused as to why Reeva had been paying so much attention to Tiiphani's behaviour.

“Yup, Miikalah said that it made their group assignments extra hard because she ghosted her. Apparently her father was super judgy on her, so I kinda thought she was with you to impress Daddy,” Reeva explained and nodded towards the television as it showed the Cresties performing a formation pass over a CGI logo of the sports betting company. “Cos you know, that little detail where you ARE a phenomenal flyer,” she added and leaned into his side. “I don't think a team like the Cresties would put you on JUST because you were dating the boss's spoiled brat. They knew you were good.”

Slowly chewing his cookie, Meegi mulled over her words before shrugging his wings. “I guess. But, I was still lying about the whole magic thing. Things could have gotten pretty messy if I got caught publicly,” he added as the ad finally ended and the movie resumed playing. Despite the movie playing, Reeva didn't unmute the television right away and he looked across to her to see that she was looking in the direction of the screen but her eyes were unfocused. Eventually she seemed to concede and pressed a button to unmute the speakers.

The characters in the movie were now making their way back to shore, with the human standing up on his canoe-like boat while the dragoness playfully swam in the water alongside him. “So that fan at the park…” Reeva started before blinking and then turning to look at him, “I have to ask, was it uncomfortable because he caught you off guard? Or was it because I was with you?” she asked with a small sadness in her voice.

Her question and what she was implying was like a sledgehammer to his emotions, and completely contrasted with the playful music that was playing from the television. Recoiling his neck back as if he had been stung, he looked at her in confusion before hastily swallowing the last of his cookie. “What?”

“I mean, if you think you're only a Crestie because of Tiiphani. Being seen with me wouldn't look good, right? Is that why you don't want to be at the gala–”

“Gods no!” Meegi exclaimed and shook his head to emphasise his point. A cold weight of dread pulled at his stomach as he realised he had been so selfishly thinking about himself being spotted by fans that he hadn't even considered how his aversion could look for her. “No-no-no! Reeva. I love hanging out with you!” he added and reached out to hold her paw with his own. “I honestly do. Being with you… it feels like I'm outdoors.”

“What?”

Meegi cleared his throat while hastily trying to find the words to complete his analogy. “I mean… It's like I've been indoors all day. And then being with you, it's like I can breathe,” he continued but hissed under his breath as he fumbled his explanation. Pausing to take a deep breath, he was glad that she wasn't looking him in the eye and had taken to looking down at his paw holding hers. “What I'm trying to say is… you know I'm not from the sort of money like Tiiphani or any of that. While I was with them, I had to be… well something I wasn't. It was all an act, pretending I didn't know magic, pretending that I was like them. Everything was gryphonshit. It wasn't me. But now… with you… it's like I've been indoors or in a cage for years and now, I can finally fly.” Meegi let his words hang and closed his eyes for a moment to reflect on what he had said. It was as though by saying it out loud, he had lifted a small weight from his shoulders, but at the same time by spelling it out had left him vulnerable. “That sounded corny as fuck, didn't it?”

Opening his eyes, he caught Reeva smirking at him as she shrugged her wings. “I mean… yeah… but also… nawwww,” she whined playfully before dropping her head down until she pressed the bridge of her snout against his throat. “‘Corny as fuck’ is adorable coming from you, my caged Dragonball star who's finally stepped outside,” she added, making him scoff in a small chuckle.

“I mean it though. I know it's only been a few dates, but it's so refreshing to be around you. You're–” Meegi caught himself about to say normal and remembered his mother's warning. Swallowing, Meegi refocused on the dragoness and pulled his head back before curling his neck so his eyes were level with hers. “You're incredible,” he added and when her frill flattened against her neck as she smiled a bashful smile, he knew he had said the right thing. “And smart, funny and well… beautiful.” Confessing this made the sky blue dragoness wiggle in excitement and a look of genuine excitement fill her eyes. “I like you, Reeva. I mean, like I like you a lot. And well… I don't want this feeling to go away, and…” he added before breaking eye contact as he realised he was rambling too much, and might be coming on too strong.

“And? Gods, you're not going to propose to me or something are you?” Reeva teased before leaning further into him and lifting a forepaw so his front leg was trapped between her chest and leg. Rotating her wrist, she held his paw and gently stroked the scales on each knuckle. “Like I'm trying to make that a possibility but give me some time.”

Exhaling a laugh, Meegi nodded as he chuckled. “No rush, whenever you get around to it,” he teased back, and his smile grew when Reeva giggled and leaned forwards to plant a small affectionate peck-like kiss on the corner of his jaw. However, when she went to pull back, Meegi dipped his neck down and pressed forwards and met her halfway. Their kiss started gentle and slow, before delving into something even more tender. Lifting his wing closest to her, he draped it across her and pulled her close. With the movie forgotten, Meegi focused on the moment and tilted his maw to deepen their kiss further. With her pressed against him, he could feel the tightening in his loins and bunched his thighs to keep himself from overstepping. A small hum from Reeva signalled for them to part, and as he pulled back he searched her eyes to see if he had done anything wrong.

“I don't want this feeling to go away either. So forget about the whole gala thing, I didn't realise it was that weird for you,” Reeva mused before curling her tail closer towards him and intertwining his tail with hers.

The contradiction between her affection while also giving him a reprieve from the gala made Meegi's senses sharpen. Whenever he had been reluctant to do something, Tiiphani had always appealed to his baser instincts, yet Reeva was doing the complete opposite. He half expected another offer to come from the dragoness, but when she contently looked towards the television while holding his tail and paw, he was reminded in yet another way that she was not like his ex.

“Thanks. I was never good with the whole fan service thing. And that guy at the park kinda just didn't want to let me go. Like I said, usually we have a marketing rep with us to move the clingy ones along. So I really appreciate what you did back there, you handled them well,” Meegi replied and caught her nod in acknowledgement before following her gaze to watch the television. The main characters were being addressed by a chieftain-like figure who seemed to be giving them a quest or mission, but without the sound, and due to not watching for the last few minutes, he was at a complete loss as to what was happening in the story. Reeva didn't seem to be in any hurry to add sound, and she continued to knead her paw on his foreleg while her tail held his close.

“It's fine, I've done similar before, but it's usually more of a ‘oh Senator Taanith, let me introduce you to this other person, they've been begging me to introduce you to him all night,’ that sort of thing,” Reeva explained. The senator's name was oddly familiar and Meegi pulled his head back an inch as he frowned. “Usually I don't have to be as rude as I was with that fan, but I kinda guessed he wouldn't take a subtle hint.”

“Senator Taanith… I think I've met him,” Meegi mused and looked down at his paw before pulling his head back up when he remembered where. “Yeah! Haanith had him as a guest one time. At… I forget which game. Big drake, right? Purple scales?”

“Yup, that's him. Although he has lost a lot of weight since his mate left him,” Reeva replied while picking out another chocolate drop from the bowl and tossing it into her maw. The fact that the dragoness knew such a trivial detail made Meegi cock his head and look at her to see if she was serious, but when she glanced towards him she bobbed her head while chewing. “It's… it's my job to know these things. He is coming to the gala after all, we had to know if he was bringing a plus one or not.”

“He is a big Cresties fan,” Meegi said softly and noticed Reeva turned her head slightly faster than casual to look back towards the television while her frill dropped an inch. “You already knew that, didn't you?” he asked. A small flicker of paranoia flared in the back of his mind. He knew how much this gala meant to her, and a traitorous thought wondered if she was only spending time with him to try and convince him. His snout wrinkled, not at the thought of Reeva betraying him, but the fact that he thought that she would ever do such a thing. “I mean… it's your job, right?” he added, trying to smooth out his accusation.

“Yeah… he’s a Crestie fan,” Reeva replied and looked towards him with a hint of pain in her eyes. “If you did come, I would have wanted you guys to talk. But forget it, it's honestly not an issue. Keeping work and… this, separate is fine by me,” she added and intertwined her slender digits with his in a reassuring grip. He could see that she understood how it looked, and genuinely meant what she said. Her level of care and understanding was better than any soothing balm and he felt the tension through his body ease as she lay beside him. She had given him a choice, and was respecting his answer, something that he hadn't experienced for such a long time.

Nodding in thanks, Meegi leaned forwards and pressed the bridge of his snout into the crook of her jaw. He felt the croon escape her lips as much as he heard it and exhaled softly as she leaned back into him. “Thank you, Reeva,” he murmured honestly as he began to imagine what an interaction would look like between himself and the senator. Previously the large purple drake had been overly charismatic, eager to get photos with all of the team despite how exhausted they had been from playing. It hadn't been the environment for an engaging conversation and Meegi could hardly hear the drake over the deafening roar of a stadium full of fans. The senator had been eager to talk, and Meegi guessed that if he was at a dinner with the purple dragon, he would struggle to get away, especially with Meegi's career developments still fresh.

“Hypothetically…” Meegi started, his voice becoming tight as he contemplated the idea. Just the thought of putting on the mask of the Dragonball player again sent a cold chill through his spine, but he swallowed through clenched teeth and pulled his head back so he could look at Reeva. The look of caged optimism in her eyes made his chest tighten and he wanted to be very careful not to get her hopes up. “How critical is Taanith to the cause?”

“Honestly? He is only one of many hurdles,” Reeva began, turning her head to focus exclusively on him. “We need some support at all levels and on all sides, he is one that used to be supportive, but that’s changed over the last two years,” she went on to explain before shaking her head. “I think with his mate leaving him, he is a lost cause. She was a big supporter, and he sees that she would have had a claim to his wealth if they had been married. So… I doubt that even if you signed every scale on his body, he probably would still be against the movement. Don't worry about it,” she concluded and gave a small reassuring nod before turning back to face the television and leaning her shoulder into him to deepen their hug.

“I just don't know how much I would have to offer, I hadn't really given marriage any thought. I just kinda thought that's how things were, you know? Like wingless folk being unable to play Dragonball. The idea that we could change that hadn't crossed my mind,” Meegi admitted before chewing the inside of his cheek. “Tiiphani's father seemed to know the drake pretty well, have you tried reaching out to the Cresties directly? Haanith might be able to help if there's something in it for him,” Meegi asked, already hating the idea of bringing the large crimson drake and everything he stood for near his new partner. Seeing Reeva nod in defeated admission, he felt a small tension ease in his chest and tried to think of anything he could do to help without throwing himself back into his old life. “I'm pretty sure I've done a video message for that senator. I could do one of them if it would help.”

“That could work… what would you say?” asked Reeva and adjusted her posture to relax further into his side. Reaching into the bowl with her free paw, she began to sort through until she found something she liked. He half expected her to reward his idea with a treat, like one would when training an animal or how Tiiphani might have done. However instead she simply bit into it and enjoyed it herself before looking back at him when he didn't speak.

Thinking through what he would say, he remembered the last conversation he had with the team's owner and realised his plan might be his undoing. “Actually maybe that's not a good idea. I signed a lot of things to say I wouldn't represent the team in any way, and if a video of me got out, it could kinda go bad. Especially if it was anything like the video messages we did for fans. The Cresties probably have an IP claim on that sort of thing.”

“Was that actually a thing? I saw that it was one of the bonus rewards for being a member, but I've never heard of anyone getting a video,” Reeva asked, her eyes narrowing when he momentarily tensed his wing around her.

Swallowing his guilt, Meegi cleared his throat and nodded. “Oh they were a thing. There are just a lot of fans and only so many of us. So the odds are pretty low. But to be honest, you weren't missing much. They weren't very imaginative,” he explained and looked down at the bowl of snacks. Knowing that he wasn't telling her the whole truth was like a stone stuck under his scales, it wasn't painful but it made it uncomfortable. With one of his forepaws intertwined with hers, he couldn't reach into the bowl without rudely leaning into her. She seemed to understand his dilemma and instead of releasing his paw, reached into the bowl and collected a cookie. Dipping his head down, he took the delicious treat and hummed in thanks.

“I was a paid member for a few years now and I never got one of those messages, I kinda thought it was just a scam. Or that they were for a higher-tier membership or something. I read somewhere that it was based off whose horn camera you streamed…” Reeva explained while leaning into him further and watching the movie. “It would have been nice to get a video from you, I can see why they sell the idea.”

The taste of the dragoness' sweet treats felt somehow sour in his mouth as he chewed. Inhaling before he swallowed, he curled his neck down until the tip of his snout ghosted between her folded frill and her left horn. “It wasn't just the horn camera, they had this whole algorithm going on. Apparently it took data from your online shopping and compared it against which player promoted things you frequently bought, and also age demographics and all sorts of metrics.”

“Well that's kinda gryphonshit then. We are the same age, and I spent whole days on the team's website looking at you strutting with the latest merch,” Reeva said with a serious tone that made Meegi look down at her in surprise. “And I pretty much exclusively watched games from your stream, even after the game. Although they'd always cut it before the showers, which was a bit of a shame,” Reeva said before snorting a laugh and grinning up at him.

Her wit burned through his dark thoughts like a lighthouse and he couldn't help himself but pull her closer with his wing as she giggled. “Oh they did, did they? Well that is a crime,” Meegi chuckled and kissed the leading spine of her frill. Pressing his lips against it, he was surprised at its strength as he felt it try to perk up in excitement. “Although, the algorithm must have been pretty smart. I did see your name come up.”

“Oh?”

Inhaling and taking in her scent, he found himself relaxing further and while the guilt and doubt still simmered in the back of his mind, he felt as though he could open up with her. It wasn't just her scent, but the pressure of her body beside him combined with the padded backrest all calmed his senses to the point that he felt as though he was in a cozy nest of his future mate. “Yeah, R33VA right? Your avatar is a flower, right?” he asked and smiled warmly when she pulled her head away to turn and look at him in surprise. Knowing that he had guessed right back when he was at the stadium made his heart flutter and with a swallow he cleared his throat and continued. “I'm sorry I never finished it. We had these scripted messages we had to read, and well, we could go off script a little, but it didn't feel right. I didn't want to say some canned PR thing… I think even back then I just wanted to hang out with you,” he said and smiled weakly as Reeva's eyes conveyed an array of emotions.

At first she looked doubtful, then enamoured, then finally amused. “What did you want to say?” she asked, her beautiful amber eyes holding his gaze but carrying no judgment or pressure.

“That I wanted this,” Meegi said softly and squeezed her with his wing to emphasise his point. “I just didn't know how to say it back then.” He whispered and brought his snout towards hers to nuzzle her softly. Seeing her close her eyes and lean into his affections made his blood run hot, but he kept himself composed as he gently rocked his head to stroke the side of her angular jaw. “Sorry I didn't send you one when I was a Crestie.”

“You're always going to be a Crestie, Meegi. And not just to me,” Reeva murmured while lowering her head to then press it under his jaw and affectionately rubbed the bridge of her snout against his throat. “I don't think anyone will forget someone as good as you, I'm just happy that I get to know the real Meegi as well. He is pretty cute.”

Her compliment hung in his mind as he continued to hold her in his embrace. She wasn't just saying it to bolster his ego, but it came from a place of truth that resonated in his core. He might not be wearing the uniform, but he could never escape what he once was. Eventually his fame would fade, and despite wanting to fall back into the life he once had, before the game, before the fame. As comforting as that was, a small itch in the back of his mind nagged him with the reality that he would only have a limited window of time to do anything meaningful with his image. Once he had faded into obscurity, he couldn't help a cause like Reeva's.

Swallowing deeply, he took a moment to close his eyes and steady his heart while trying to replace his indecision with the feelings of the present. Holding her close, on the fold-out bed while the long-forgotten movie played was simply divine. He was himself, and she was herself and together they were comfortable with that. This wasn't like anything he had experienced before. Not with Tiiphani, not with her family. Where he had always been on edge, conscious of saying the wrong thing, tiptoeing around his mate's mood, instead he was getting a glimpse into what a real relationship should be.

And he wanted more than anything to keep this fire in his heart alive.

“Don't cut me from the list just yet,” he said in a voice almost lost against the music from the television. It took a second, but he felt her tense under him and her frill dig into the softer scales under his jaw. Despite this, he dipped his head down in a small nod against her to reassure her she heard him right. “Let me think about it for another day. The last few have gone so quick, in a good way, but I want to make sure I'm ready.”

“I don't need to know until the day of the gala. Take as much time as you need. But Meegi,” she started and extracted her head out from under his. “Thank you for considering it, either way.”