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Jensen woke up slowly.
It was early, he could tell. The air drifting into his cave from outside was still crisp and smelling of night time, the few birds he could hear lazy and in no hurry to start their day just yet.
Too early, he decided, and snuggled deeper into his soft nest, turning around until he found the most comfortable spot without opening his eyes even once. He huffed a contented sigh and soon the slow heartbeat of the earth lulled him back into sleep.
He napped for another hour and a half before his growling stomach finally forced him out of his nest, the impatient sounds reminding him that he hadn’t eaten much last night. Yawing, he got up and stretched. Legs first, then his tail. His wings would have to wait till he got outside and had enough room.
Still more asleep than awake, Jensen made his way to the entrance of his cave, only stopping once to poke his snout into his treasure chamber and take a critical look around the room. Satisfied that everything was still in order, Jensen was finally ready to greet the morning. And what a fine morning it was.
Bright sunlight poured over the edge of the nearby mountain, flooding the whole area in golden light. It had snowed last night and the evidence lay thick and fluffy over the valley, beckoning Jensen to come play in it.
Despite the crisp winter morning, the volcano beneath him was burning hot, molten rock flowing close to the surface and keeping him warm and cozy.
Jensen rumbled happily and stretched his wings wide, working out the crooks and the tension of a night spend with having them folded up tight against his body. Next came his morning bath – perfunctory today, since he had more important things to do, but he took great care to clean every last one of his scales with his tongue, not stopping until they were bright and shiny, the morning sunlight reflecting in them and making them sparkle.
He yawned once more and then took off with a mighty beat of his wings. The warm currents of the volcano helped him gain speed and height fast, and soon, Jensen was soaring through the sky, climbing higher and higher until he could barley see the entrance to his cave.
From up here, he could make out the shapes of other dragons – some of them hunting like he was, others play-fighting and chasing each other across the valley. He had no inclination to join them just yet, breakfast being his top priority right now, but maybe he´d drop by later. It´d been days since his last workout and he could definitely use the practice.
A shadow in the corner of Jensen´s eye drew his attention and when he turned his head, Jensen could make out the shape of a rabbit crisscrossing through the snow a few hundred feet below.
He licked his chops and smiled. Breakfast was served.
**
An hour later, Jensen gracefully dropped down onto his favorite rock and made himself comfortable. It was a smooth platform just a few feet above his cave, high-enough that he could keep an eye on the surrounding area while he let the sun warm his scales, but sheltered enough that no cold winds would ever disturb his nap.
Jensen stretched and then curled up to rest, his stomach full of rabbit and his chest full of accomplishment. The animal had been more than big enough to satisfy his hunger and then some, so he´d grabbed the parts he hadn’t eaten and brought them over to Alex and her nest. She and her mate Chris had recently laid a clutch of three and were so busy with their offspring that hunting had become a constant chore. Jensen helped out whenever he could and he knew that other´s of their flight did the same. For all of their love of independence, the dragons of Noir were loyal to a fault.
Still, Jensen didn’t envy Alex and Chris their new task. New-born dragons were a handful and while Jensen didn’t mind helping out, he wasn’t ready for a clutch of his own just yet. Maybe in a season or five – provided he found a mate first, of course.
Jensen blew a tiny cloud of smoke to clear his nostrils and then proceeded to lick stray smears of rabbit blood from his claws, getting them nice and clean again. It wouldn´t do to leave himself hanging – dragons were a beautiful if vain species and Jensen himself was no exception.
He was just finishing up with his last claw, when a faint glimmer caught his eye. Curiosity instantly peaked, Jensen lifted his head, keen eyes searching the area and zeroing in on a spot right at the entrance to his cave. Well, whatever it was, it most certainly hadn’t been there when he´d left his home this morning.
After having made sure that no other dragon was in his vicinity, Jensen got up and took to the skies. A few strong beats of his wings brought him over to his cave where he landed without a sound right next to the glimmering object.
It was a pebble.
No, not any pebble. This one was beautiful . It had a grayish-blue color, like the sky before a thunderstorm, silver lines crossing the stone like bursts of lightning, each line gleaming in the sunlight.
Jensen circled the pebble slowly, admired it from all sides. His ears were tilted backwards, his senses searching the area, but there was no sign of another dragon, no clue as to who had left the gift.
And a gift is was, Jensen was sure of it. Pebbles like that didn’t appear out of thin air and the placing seemed deliberate. As if someone had taken great care to show off their gift to its greatest advantage.
Frowning, Jensen snaked his long tongue out, tasting the air, the pebble itself. Beneath the usual sulfur and brimstone of the volcano he could make out a faint, vaguely familiar scent Jensen couldn’t quite place.
Strange. Very strange, indeed.
Jensen wrinkled his nose, took another long look around. Still unable to detect anything out of the ordinary, he shrugged and gently took the pebble between his jaws. Mysterious gifter or not, this pebble certainly deserved a place right on top of Jensen´s already extensive treasure hoard.
With a proud swish of his tail, Jensen carried his gift inside his lair.
**
When Jensen woke up the next morning, there was a new pebble waiting for him.
This one was slightly bigger than the last one had been, though equally as beautiful. It was purple this time, tiny flecks of jade sprinkled in between, and Jensen spend on hour admiring it from every angle before finally carrying it inside.
The same scent from the day before lingered, and while Jensen still couldn’t place it, it was stronger this time. He´d missed his admirer only by a few minutes, it seemed, though when Jensen took a look around, there was still no sign of another dragon.
He spend the day much like he usually did, went for a flight and a nap before hunger forced him to go hunting once more, his kill of the day being half a dozen mice he dug up in the soft soil of the nearby forest.
Hunger dealt with, Jensen payed a visit to Mike and Tom and together they dashed through the snow in a wild chase, mock-fighting until they were all exhausted and ready for another nap.
Curled up together on a flat rock, Jensen carefully enquired whether they had seen another dragon lurking around his cave, but unfortunately, neither Tom nor Mike had been paying attention.
“We´ll keep an eye out,” Tom promised though, and well, that was good enough for Jensen. He´d find out eventually.
**
The third morning brought icy rain and frosty winds with it, the cold cutting deep, even right there, on top of the volcano.
Jensen very nearly didn’t venture outside at all that day. His nest was cozy and warm and he had a storage room of dried meats just for occasions like this. He would spend the day rearranging and admiring his treasures, no need to go outside and catch a cold when he might as well stay in and enjoy himself here.
One look at the two pebbles right at the center of his hoard brought thoughts of his admirer with it, though, and Jensen couldn’t help but wonder. Was he important enough to the other dragon to brave the cold and the icy winds out there just to bring him another gift? Only one way to find out.
Stomach churning with anticipation, Jensen tugged his wings tightly around his body to keep himself warm and made his way to the entrance of his cave. He stopped a mere two feet away from the opening, tried to tell himself that this delay was only due to his reluctance to face the cold, but deep down he knew that it was something else entirely that had him hesitate. Steeling himself with one last deep breath, Jensen poked his head out into the open and took a look around, keen eyes observing the area.
He hadn’t dared hope, had already braced himself for disappointment, but there, nearly hidden between a rock and a leafless bush, was a package.
Jensen inched closer, scenting the air and trying to find out what his admirer had brought for him today. This was most certainly not another pebble. He poked the package with his nose, tongue flicking out to catch the scent. Coming up empty despite his efforts, he gently took it between his teeth to carry it inside his cave and all the way down to his sleeping chamber.
Once he was safely curled up in his warm nest again, Jensen carefully opened the dried leaves that had served as protection for his latest gift and stared at the content in awe.
Moon bugs. His admirer had caught moon bugs for him.
The tiny, deep-blue bugs were a rare treat. They were incredibly hard to catch, only came out at the nights of a blue moon and were wicked fast. Only the most seasoned of their hunters were be able to catch these bugs, and while Jensen had already proven several times that he most certainly counted amongst those very few, he very rarely had the desire to repeat the performance. He´d much rather sleep at night, thank you very much.
Gently, Jensen wrapped his tongue around one of the bugs and drew it into his mouth, spice and heat exploding on his tongue and warming him from the inside out.
Jensen rumbled in delight. Whoever his mysterious admirer was, they deserved his undivided attention.
This dragon was not playing games, no. They were in for the long haul.
Jensen was being courted. What an unexpected delight.
That night, when Jensen lay curled up in his nest, his wings and tail tightly tugged around his body, he dreamed of pebbles and bugs and his mysterious, faceless admirer, and for the first time in his life he thought that maybe taking a mate and foregoing his independence wouldn’t be all that bad.
**
Jensen had always been a bit of a loner.
He had a few friends and his two siblings, visited his parents on the other side of the volcano from time to time, but other than that, he much preferred his own company to that of most anybody else. He´d never felt the need to settle down, had figured he´d think about it once the urge hit, but up until now, no dragon had caught his eye.
There´d been proposals, of course. Jensen had simply never entertained the idea of accepting them before.
Jensen knew he was an excellent catch. He was an accomplished flyer, a prolific hunter and strong fighter. His lair was wide and his treasure hoard extensive, and while dragons didn’t follow any form of hierarchy, he was highly respected throughout their lands. It didn’t hurt that his scales were of a rare, deep-green color that glimmered and shone in the sunlight – a welcome dash of color amongst the usual black-red-brown of his species.
His new admirer could be anybody, really.
There´d been more gifts during the last two weeks: dried meats and fresh winter berries, more gorgeous pebbles, smooth pieces of glass and even a rare woodland flower - a first herald of spring, roots still intact, and all. It now had a very special place right at the entrance of Jensen´s cave, and he smelled it every morning before taking off in flight.
Heaving a deep sigh, Jensen mentally went through a list of the most likely candidates, but none of them seemed quite right. These gifts were much too thoughtful, too well-matched to his tastes to have come from any one of them. Frowning, Jensen tried to think of someone else – someone, who knew him well enough to know his preferences. Someone, who was thoughtful enough to cater to every single one of them.
To no one´s surprise, not a single dragon came to mind.
Jensen huffed, a cloud of smoke escaping him. Whoever his mysterious admirer was, he´d catch them sooner or later. Jensen was sure of it.
**
His chance came much sooner than he´d expected.
Two days later, Jensen was up earlier than usual, ready to meet his friend Ty for an extensive hunt. He wanted to stock up on meat, his supplies sadly depleted by the last few days of staying in due to the cold weather.
It was a beautiful day, sunny and bright, and Jensen was looking forward to the hunt, eager to spread his wings and sink his teeth into warm, living flesh.
Licking his chops in anticipation, Jensen stepped out of his cave, his eyes immediately falling on the bright red pebble already waiting for him. It was as beautiful as any of his other gifts had been, but something about the placement was off.
Jensen slowly inched closer and eyed it critically. Tiny lines of gold shot through the deep red of the pebble and while it glimmered beautifully in the sunlight, Jensen knew that a tiny tilt to the right would’ve brought out the gold even better. It was unusual for his admirer to be so careless, and that, well. That could only mean one thing.
Heart suddenly beating at twice its usual pace, Jensen glanced around, careful not to give himself away just yet. At first there was nothing, and Jensen had almost given up on his quest, disappointed that he´d missed the other dragon yet again, when a faint movement caught his eye.
There, hidden behind the cover of a half-burned, charcoaled tree, Jensen could see the tip of a tail peeking out. A part of a snout. The sharp edges of horns.
Jared clearly thought he´d hidden himself well, and with regards to the meager choice of hiding places surrounding Jensen´s cave, the kid had done his very best. It just wasn’t quite good enough to fool a hunter of the likes of Jensen, though.
Jensen wasn’t sure whether he´d surprised the other dragon with his early arrival or if Jared had gotten sick of not knowing how his gifts were being received and had finally decided to wait for Jensen to arrive and see for himself. Not like it mattered, really. The kid had most certainly earned himself a show, if not a hell of a lot more.
So Jensen circled the pebble even longer than usual, gave it a thorough inspection and rumbled his approval loud enough to be heard all the way over to where Jared was crouching behind that damn tree. At the rate he was going, Jensen would be late for his hunting date with Ty, but his friend wouldn’t mind for sure. Not once Jensen told him the reason for his delay.
Finally, Jensen knew he simply couldn’t put if off any longer without raising suspicions, so he gathered the pebble in his mouth with a heavy heart and carried it inside to his other treasures. This one deserved a very special place - after all, it´d been the one to reveal the identity of Jensen’s secret admirer to him at long last.
When Jensen strolled out of his cave a few minutes later, Jared was gone.
**
“Finally,” Ty said once Jensen had apologized for his delay and had explained the reason for it. “The kid´s had the hots for you for ages. I´m glad he finally made a move.”
Astonished, Jensen plopped down beside his friend. “You knew?” he asked. “But why didn’t you say anything?”
“Everyone knew. That kid isn’t subtle.” Ty eyed him critically. “With the exception of you, apparently. By Daaih`s horn, Jensen. How could you not have known?”
“Jared´s never said anything to me,” Jensen defended himself. “We battled a time or two, went hunting together. But he never showed the slightest inclination -”
“Of course he did,” Ty snorted. “That kid´s been chasing your tail since before he was old enough to know the real meaning of it.”
“But - ,“Jensen broke off and snapped his mouth shut, considered Ty´s words.
He´d known Jared since before the other dragon had even hatched, their parents being life-long friends. They´d grown up together, had grown into their adult wings side by side. By the stars, Jensen had been the one to teach Jared how to hunt. If he hadn’t seen the clear evidence to the contrary with his very own eyes, Jensen would’ve sworn up and down that Jared thought of him as an older brother, only. Certainly not as a potential mate.
Jensen himself had never regarded Jared as a potential love interest either, but once he thought about it, he couldn’t deny that the idea had a certain appeal. Jared was an attractive dragon, his scales a dark shade of chocolate brown and his eyes showing a myriad of colors, prettier than even the most gorgeous pebble in Jensen´s vast collection. They were evenly matched in pretty much every aspect, and Jensen knew that´d make a formidable pair.
“Think about it,“ Ty advised, got up from his perch on top of a rock and stretched his wings. “Now, are you ready to catch a few rabbits or would you rather stay here and contemplate your love life?”
Jensen was up in the skies before Ty had even finished his sentence.
**
It became a ritual of sorts, after that.
Jensen had never been an early riser, but he quickly found that he didn’t mind leaving his nest early when that meant he could catch a glimpse of Jared.
He knew he had to be careful – one wrong step and he´d probably spook Jared, maybe scare him enough to never come back, and Jensen couldn’t have that.
So he waited patiently instead, hidden beneath the deep shadows of his cave, only just close enough that he could get a decent look at Jared when the other dragon arranged his gift for Jensen to find.
It would’ve never worked anywhere else – this close, there was no way to hide his scent and Jared would’ve noticed him for sure. Thankfully, the area surrounding Jensen´s lair was saturated with his smell, claiming this cave as his. Jared would never know the difference unless Jensen decided to show himself.
Like clockwork, the other dragon visited Jensen´s lair every single morning, the first sunlight of the day shining on his scales and making him look radiant and gorgeous.
When his chosen gift of the day was a pebble, Jared always took a lot of time to arrange his offering, nudged it with his nose until the rays of the sun caught it at the perfect angle, the colors reflecting back and dancing over the surrounding rocks and shrubs like magic bursts of light.
But even with other gifts, Jared always took great care, decorating them artfully, the presentation every bit as important as the gifts themselves.
And then, once Jared was finally satisfied with the placement of his offering, he always glanced over to Jensen´s cave. The first time he did it, Jensen thought he´d been caught, mind racing for the right words to make Jared stay, but his friend only sighed wistfully and then turned away, hiding behind his tree and patiently waiting for Jensen to show up.
The following minutes were always the hardest. Every fiber of Jensen´s being yearned to race outside immediately, admire the gift, maybe catch a whiff of Jared´s scent while it was still fresh. He also knew he couldn’t do that, lest he gave himself away right from the start.
So he forced himself to stay still for heartbeat after heartbeat, every muscle in his body coiled with tension and bursting with impatience.
Jensen only left his cave once he thought that enough time had passed, eagerly jumping up and hurrying over. He didn’t bother to hide his delight, admired his gifts with all the reference they had due, glancing over at Jared´s hide-out to catch a glimpse of his reaction - a content smile, a satisfied curl of his tail, anything at all.
Every morning Jensen looked, and every morning the wish to thank Jared in person grew and grew. He wanted to fly over and tug Jared close underneath his wings. Wanted to drag the kid into his cave, show him Jensen`s hoard overflowing with Jared´s gifts, every single other piece of treasure paling in the light of Jared´s gorgeous offerings. By the stars, Jensen wanted the kid in his nest, wanted to see him writhing beneath him, finally wanted to make Jared his.
Jensen couldn’t quite place the moment when everything changed, but he´d found that he didn’t care about the pebbles anymore. They were still beautiful, unique, not a single one of them looking alike – a testament to the time and care Jared took to select just the right one, to make each gift a perfect addition to Jensen’s extensive collection. Jensen still admired them, still looked at them whenever he found the time, but he found his joy at seeing them shine paled compared to the warmth that spread through him every morning when he watched Jared drop off his gifts.
His mate wasn’t ready yet, though. Jensen needed to be patient, give Jared time, wait him out. He just hoped he wouldn’t have to wait too long.
**
It all changed on the morning right before Courting Day.
Jensen usually avoided that day like a cave full of trolls, would rather be caught with his snout in a beehive than take part in the ridiculous rituals most of his flight mates seemed to be so fond of. He usually spend the day curled up in his nest or high up in the mountains hunting, but this year – this year felt different.
He still had no desire to join the fray, take part in the courting flights or the intricate mating dances the other dragons seemed to find great joy in.
The closer the day had come, the more Jensen had found himself thinking of Jared, though, had spend countless nights wondering whether the kid would like to take part in the whole ridiculousness. Whether Jared wanted Jensen to join him, make their courting official, declare his intentions in front of the whole flight.
The scary part was, Jensen would let him. He´d allow Jared to drag him right into a dance, would think himself lucky if Jared wanted to fly with him.
Jensen´d much rather spend the day like he usually did, provided he´d have Jared alongside him every step of the way, but if joining the celebrations meant finally having Jared with him, well. How could Jensen say no to that?
With new resolve, Jensen climbed out of his nest and up to the entrance, settling down in his usual spot and waiting for Jared to arrive.
That morning, Jared took particularly long to arrange his gifts. It was both a tinted piece of glass and a fat sun-weed lizard, and Jensen felt his heart beat a little faster as he took both in. Would this be the day Jared finally came forward?
He barley managed to reign himself in long enough to wait a few heartbeats once Jared had stepped back, and then nearly stumbled over his own four feet in his haste to get outside.
Sadly, no matter how long Jensen stalked around his prize, Jared didn’t seem inclined to join him just yet. Maybe the kid wanted to share the lizard between them?
With a flutter of hope in his chest, Jensen sat down and sliced the lizard open with a sharp claw, neatly cutting it in half. He couldn’t get more obvious than that, could he?
But Jared didn’t come. He stayed hidden behind his tree like he´d done every single day before, silently watching as Jensen devoured half of his lizard in tiny little bites, trying in vain to drag out the inevitable.
The lizard was delicious, one of Jensen’s favorite prey, and yet, the taste was lost on him that day, each bite more difficult than the last one had been. He barley managed to down half of it.
Finally admitting defeat, Jensen stood and gathered the beautiful piece of glass, the second half of the lizard. He shot one last glance over to Jared and felt a sharp pain in his chest when he found Jared starring back at him, longing clearly written in his stunning eyes.
His mate looked sad and defeated, hopeless, really, and Jensen couldn’t have that. It was time to act.
**
That night, Jensen barley slept at all. His thoughts kept circling back to Jared and the hopeless look in his eyes. It was a look he never wanted to see on his mate´s face ever again. Jensen was determined to clear things up, once and for all.
If Jared thought Jensen would willingly spend another night all alone in his nest, he had another thing coming. Enough was enough,
**
Courting Day came with a beautiful sunrise, a promise of spring in the air that hadn’t been there the day before.
Jensen had been up long before dawn, had paced the perimeter and checked his whole lair for last minute adjustments, but all of his treasures were sorted and arranged just right, his nest long since ready to accommodate two dragons instead of just the one. Jensen had spend hours upon hours during the last few weeks gathering the softest material and dragging it inside, slowly extending the circle of his nest until he was sure that Jared would fit in there, too. It´d probably be a tight fit, but that was okay. All the more reason to cuddle up close.
Jared was late that morning – late enough that Jensen was going out of his mind with worry. Had Jared finally come to his senses? Had he finally decided that Jensen was too old for him, just some grumpy old grouch you better left to his own devices? Or had something happened to him? A cave-in, maybe? An attack? It had been a full moon last night, the perfect opportunity for a late-night flight, and while dragons in general and Jared in particular were hard to kill, Jensen knew from experience that there were creatures out there that might pose a threat, even to a dragon.
Jensen was just about to get up and fly out in search of Jared, when the familiar beating of a large set of wings interrupted the frantic beating of his heart, and two seconds later, Jared came into view.
He looked more gorgeous than Jensen had ever seen him, every single one of his scales gleaming in the morning light, the silver of his horns sharp and deadly and beautiful.
Jared landed gracefully in front of Jensen´s cave and gently folded his wings back before glancing at the entrance with an air of tangible nervousness, clearly looking for any sign of Jensen.
Finding none, Jared then lowered his head and placed today´s gift down on the gray rock below him.
Jensen’s breath caught.
If he´d thought Jared´s previous gifts had been beautiful, nothing in the skies could have prepared him for this. This was no mere pebble but rather an honest to moon gemstone, its sharp edges and lines breaking the light and reflecting it thousandfold. It was of a deep emerald color, veins of gold cutting through the stone, and Jensen realized in wonder that the green was of the exact same color as his scales, the veins a perfect fit to the scales on Jared´s wings where his usual chocolate color gave way to a gleaming gold.
The message was clear: this was Jared´s final gift. Jared was finally ready to face him, to hear Jensen´s answer, and judging by the way Jared was holding himself, his mate feared to worst.
Jensen smiled. Jared didn’t know it yet, but Jensen’s heart had made the decision many sun rotations ago. He wouldn’t back down now.
As usual, Jared took his time arranging the gift, turning it this way and that and frowning at it unhappily. He seemed nervous, jittery, full of dread and hope and fearful love, and Jensen could feel every single emotion pouring off of him in waves, like they were already soul-bound and mated, two halves of a whole.
Finally, Jared seemed satisfied with the arrangement, one last nudge and he pulled back, settling on his hind legs beside the gemstone, head held high and facing Jensen.
Inside his cave, Jensen took a deep breath.
He got up and stepped out of his hiding place, into the light until he stood in front of Jared for the very first time since their courting began. They stared at one another for a few endless heartbeats, speechless and unsure, and it took Jensen three damn times until he finally found his voice.
“You know, Jared, as lovely as your gifts are, I´m getting real tired of caring them inside every goddamn morning,” he said, realizing too late that this was decidedly not the heartfelt declaration of love and devotion he´d practiced over and over in his head the night before.
Naturally, Jared´s face fell, hurt and defeat dulling his eyes and well, that simply wouldn’t do.
Jensen smiled at him and gently touched his nose to Jared´s, a spark of heat sizzling through him at that very first touch.
“I’d be easier for both of us if you´d just drop them off inside instead, don´t you think?” he rumbled, the tone of his voice hopefully conveying the hidden message beneath his words, and with one last affectionate nudge, he pulled back and headed towards his lair.
Just before he entered the cave, Jensen turned his head once more and smiled at Jared, who was staring back at him in hopeful disbelieve.
“You comin', Jay?”
Jared´s answering smile was even more blinding than the glow of the emerald beneath his feet.