It was nearly three hours before their shifts relented and walked down from the hill of jewels and precious rocks to change back into their human forms. Of course, they couldn't have just done it normally. Ru's crow had run ahead back into their room, shifting mid-step so that Ru fumbled right onto the floor with a startled grunt! 

Ashy was a little more gracious with his approach and simply walked over to sit down on top of Ru's chest before allowing his body to waver, then shift. 

That left Ash completely butt naked, straddling Ru's chest with a sheepish grin on his face. 

More than a little embarrassed, he quickly scurried off of him, then helped him sit up as the man opened and closed his mouth a few times, his jaw clearly sore from the three hours he'd spent preening his dragon. 

"Are you okay, babe?" he eventually asked as he leaned closer and lifted his hands to gently massage around Ru's mouth. 

Ru gave a big yawn, likely trying to stretch out more of the muscles around his jaw, then licked his lips as his bare belly grumbled a bit. 

"Oh, we haven't had breakfast yet," Ash noted helpfully, getting a raised eyebrow from Ru for his efforts. 

Grinning, Ash hopped up, then helped Ru up before getting himself dressed in less than three minutes. His love, on the other hand, had quite a bit of primping he wanted to get done since he'd been so out of it earlier. Which was totally fine!

"I'm going to go talk to mum for a few minutes, I'll be right back," Ash said before hurrying out their door in only a pair of tan cargo pants and black tennis shoes. 

His mum was already at the front desk, but there was luckily another girl standing there, too, so he easily got his mum to agree to talk with him in the back room for a few minutes. 

"I got that little harness you wanted crocheted and stitched done, sweetie," she started off as soon as they stepped inside. 

Ash immediately turned to receive the little item, beaming at it as he held it up to examine. 

"It's perfect! Thank you so much, mum!" 

The little harness was exquisitely made and even had little buckles that Ru's crow could likely work with ease. 

My mum is so cool!

"That's not the only thing you wanted to talk to me about was it, my sweet Ash?" 

Ash carefully clipped the little harness to one of his belt loops, then lifted his gaze back up to his mum. 

"I..." 

How did he even begin to say it? 

"You love that handsome young man you've been rooming with, don't you?" 

She knows me so well.

"It's my job to know you, my little dragon," his mother said as she reached up and gave his hair a gentle pat, then paused. 

"You're hair is... really soft. Did you brush it all out with a new product?" she asked, immediately interested and not at all bothered about the previous revelation he'd been worried about revealing.

"This smells like your normal soap, but I've never seen it work this well," she continued, making Ash smile as he lowered his head in order to allow her access to inspect better. 

"Oh my, did that young man help you with this? He is quite skilled if he did," She said, a smile in her words as she finally finished her inspection. 

"Yes, mum. He takes care of himself really well and even chastised me for using a three-in-one soap," Ash said, earning a hearty laugh from his mother. 

"Oh my! After all of these years trying to get you to try anything else, and now this young man walks into your life and not only has you using other products, but he even helped you through the torture of it!"

She clasped her hands together as her eyes began to twinkle. 

"When will the wedding be?!" 

He... couldn't hold back his tears. 

Pulling his mom into a tight hug, Ash let himself cry at his situation. 

"Mum, I really, really want him to be with me, but I don't know how it could work," he whined, sounding quite undragon-like for the first time in a long while. 

"Well, have you two sat down and talked about it? Do you know where he is from? What his job is like and if he can transfer?" 

She paused for a moment, then continued. 

"He did seem rather cold when I first saw him, even though he was bundled up fairly well. You might have to move somewhere warmer if you really want to be with him." 

That was definitely one of the biggest issues they were likely to have. He wasn't too worried about finding another job for himself since he had more than enough faith in his abilities to handle a busy kitchen, but he had no idea if Ru's job could be transferred, or possibly done completely remotely if they had to move somewhere to meet each other in the middle of their temperature restrictions. 

Then there's our physical restrictions...

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. Your dragon is a doll, he'll love that man's crow, even if it is bite-sized," she said, not really catching on to what he was actually considering... thankfully. 

"Y-yeah, he uh, actually just met Ashy this morning. They got along very well."

His mother's eyes lit up even brighter. 

"Then there is no problem! You do know that his stay here is scheduled to end tomorrow night, right? Does he have your number? Have you two discussed what you're going to do afterward to make your situation work?" 

Ash was getting a little dizzy from everything his mum was saying. They hadn't even said the words I love you to each other yet, but then they'd slept in the same bed, naked, after having only known each other for three days!

"I... I don't know where to start. I really like him. Like, I would marry him today if he just walked in here and asked, but mum, he's so much more mature than me. He's handsome, and takes care of himself well. He is practically in charge of a huge company and he doesn't hesitate in situations that would make me think twice!"

Ash was pacing in circles now, tugging at his hair and suddenly feeling rather inadequate.

"But then I hear his thoughts and I see that he's not all put together. I can make him blush, and he really loves all of the food that I've made him, ah!" Spinning around abruptly, he hurried toward the door as he sensed Ru approaching. 

"I forgot I'm teaching him how to cook right now!" he said before disappearing out the door without another word! 

His heart was racing as he hurried out of the room, then out from behind the large desk just in time to greet his man. 

"Ah, is everything okay, Ash?" 

Ash quickly nodded and took his hand before hurrying to pull him away down the hall so that his mum could try to ask him anything. 

Like wedding plans. 

Or offer advise on honeymoon locations. 

He hurried them along for a few moments before he felt a faint tug on his belt loop and slowed down to look. 

"What is this? It's cute," Ru asked as he tugged on the little harness he'd had his mum make for Rucrow. 

"Ah! It's for your bird. I-if you want it, of course. I thought that maybe you'd want to go flying before your vacation was over. That should easily slip around my dragon's neck, then your crow would only have to tug on a little thread to get it to buckle." 

Ru finished slowing down until they were both stopped in the quiet hallway. After a moment's hesitation he carefully unclipped the little harness, then held it up, easily figuring out how it would go on. 

"This... is really cool," he eventually said, a new light in his eyes that Ash had never seen before. 

Turning completely toward him, Ash pointed to the little harness with a huge grin. 

"My mum made it! It should fit him but she'd be more than happy to adjust anything that needs done," he said, hoping beyond hope that Ru would want to use it before they left. 

Ru carefully clipped the little harness to his own belt loop, then smiled up at him pleasantly. 

"Thank you so much for the thoughtful gift, and please remind me to thank your mother later, too. I would love to try it out sometime." 

Ash felt like he was soaring!

"Maybe later today? Once our stomachs settle from breakfast?" he asked as he gently took Ru's hand again and began leading him toward the dining hall. 

Ru gave a small nod as they started chatting about random things as they walked, not really having any one direction for their conversation... even though it would have been a great time to at least hint at possible future planning. 

I'm such a wuss. 

A kiss to his cheek quickly snapped him out of his silent moping and drew a smile back to his face. 

"Sorry, got distracted a bit," he said as he stepped through the door that Ru was now holding open for him. 

Of course, his coworkers were there and immediately called him over, but much to his surprise, and pleasure, his babe simply waved at them, then turned away and tugged him calmly toward the kitchen, refusing to release his hand... even with several people now watching them. 

The moment they stepped into the kitchen Ash got bombarded with requests for help doing this and that. Everything he was being asked to help with were things that every single person in that room had been trained on, or retrained on no less than a month ago! Ru honestly began to look overwhelmed with the sheer amount of people wanting to drag him away to cook. 

This is my Ru time. I'm off today. 

"I'm sorry guys, but mum has approved my days off. I'm not back until Saturday," he said sternly, even though it took some effort. 

The kitchen was clearly in disarray, even though he'd prepped quite a lot the previous night. 

It looks like they rely too much on my dragon...

Ash blinked, his smile returning to his face as he heard Ru's voice inside his head. 

"You guys are all trained to take care of things well enough on your own. Do I need to reevaluate my workers this weekend?" 

The group badgering him for help suddenly quieted dramatically, making Ash straighten his shoulders even more as Ru squeezed his hand gently. 

"I don't see any fires and I don't see the line lagging more than usual. So tell me, what is the emergency that you guys need to drag me off to fix?" 

The room got even quieter. 

"Alright, since there are no emergencies, please get back to your stations and do what you were trained to do. You are a team, and I specifically picked each and every one of you because you had the skills to do this job."

The group quickly dispersed, and his friend, who had been one of the few who'd stayed back, smiled and nodded toward him from the back area where he was prepping some sort of meat. 

Ash returned his smile, but that was it for work. Turning, he quickly tugged his Ru into the little back room that he often used to work on new recipes. Or, more recently, cook for his babe. 

He'd actually prepped a bit for their breakfast together yesterday, too, so when he opened his spare fridge, everything was ready to go. 

"Look at you being all set for our date," Ru noted as he helped him take everything out and set it where each one was labeled to go. 

Ash had to focus everything he had on not turning as red as a tomato at Ru's comment. He hadn't really thought that they would ever officially date, or, at least, not anytime soon, but since Ru had just said the word, he gladly accepted their situation.

If he's willing to consider this a real date, then maybe he's willing to try and work with me on a real relationship, too...

"What will we be making first, my adorable chef?" 

Okay, tomato color it was for his poor face!

Ash quickly fumbled around for a moment before stopping in front of the ingredients he'd prepared for a batch of gluten free pancakes. 

It was quite a bit more than a normal batch would take, but that was because you needed an extra binder and he preferred mixing a few different flours in order to get the texture just right. 

"P-pancakes," he said, stuttering even though he was calming down. 

 He'd taught quite a number of people how to cook over the last few years, but with Ru suddenly standing beside him, he couldn't help but get distracted. 

He made all sorts of mistakes, like mixing wet ingredients into the dry ones when they were supposed to be mixed together, first. He also broke nearly every single egg so badly that little bits of shell got into the mixture and he had to dejectedly fish each one out. 

He then almost forgot to mix in the eggs after having had to fight them so much that he pushed away the bowl he'd cracked them into!

Ru had actually been the one to catch him on that, and thankfully right before he was about to start pouring the batter onto the hot griddle pan. 

Once the pancakes were finally cooking, Ash turned to Ru and hunched his shoulders. 

"I'm sorry, I'm supposed to be teaching you all of this but I'm just making stupid mistakes," he mumbled, truly heartbroken that he couldn't focus enough to show his love a good time on their first official date. 

He was just beginning to slip into despair when he felt Ru's cool hands press against his cheeks and guided his head upward until he could lean in for a kiss. 

Ash gladly let his mind turn to mush as he sank into his man's arms and opened his mouth for Ru to explore. The guy didn't hesitate for even a second, and pretty soon they were in their own little world, completely oblivious to the cacophony of noises being made just beyond the open door nearby. 

By the time their mouths broke free of each others' Ash was panting as if he'd just run five miles and his mind was spinning like one of those teacups at the amusement park in town!

"Hmm? So cute," Ru mused as the man leaned slightly to the side and licked the left edge of Ash's lips. When he leaned away again he was licking his own. 

"And sweet." 

I... was there sugar on my lips?

He had tasted a few things, but—another kiss broke his thoughts apart and forced him to focus on simply getting in enough air to keep from passing out!

The only thing that eventually stopped their make-out session was the smell of something burning. 

They quickly broke apart, though Ru was a little more reluctant. Ash then hurried to remove the pan from the heat. 

I'm a disaster...

"Err, sorry about that. I shouldn't be distracting you while you're cooking," Ru said sheepishly as Ash finished getting rid of the burnt pancakes, switched pans, and got some butter warming up again. 

"It happens," he said, which was true... just not because of a impromptu make-out session.

"We have plenty of batter left, so let's just finish this batch before we play tonsil hockey again, okay?" Ash said with a smile over his shoulder for Ru. 

"Tonsil hockey? Haven't heard that one since high school," Ru replied, making Ash blush harder and quickly return his full attention to the pan in front of him as he added some batter. 

The food sizzled and quickly began to bubble lightly as he focused on making sure they turned out perfectly. Ru thankfully kept quiet and watched, giving him time to cool off. 

By the time the pancakes were done he was already moving toward the sausage, onion, and egg hash that he'd planned to do along with them. It was a little thing he'd been testing out, and it thankfully didn't take long to perfect. 

The mixture cooked quickly in another pan as Ash added salt, pepper, a dash of paprika and some diced jalapenos. He was just turning the heat down a little to finish off the dish when he noticed not one, but two of the pancakes he'd set aside on a plate a few moments ago were missing. 

Instead of chastising Ru, Ash began scooping up the hash he'd made onto another plate he'd set out beside the pancake one. 

That, too, was soon being picked at, though in a much less stealthy manner. The guy was literally tearing into it with his bare fingers even though it was still piping hot!

Once he'd finished removing the rest from the pan, Ash turned and gently grabbed Ru's fingers on their way back for more hash, then lifted them up to settle between his lips as he spoke against his warm skin, "you're going to burn yourself, love. Give it just a few moments to cool." 

He couldn't argue that he'd outdone himself this time, though. Especially considering what he could taste on the man's fingertips. 

Two of those fingers didn't wait long before they took advantage of the situation he'd created, however, and gently grasped his tongue as their owner stepped closer, putting them nearly flush against each other. 

There was soon a cool hand pressing against his lower back as Ru stared at him as if he was suddenly the most delicious looking item in the little kitchen. 

Ash held his gaze until Ru released his tongue, then wept his damp fingers along his lips. After a moment of tense silence, he leaned forward and replaced his fingers with his mouth. 

That kiss was surprisingly gentle and only lasted a few moments before Ru retreated completely, making Ash quickly step forward, confused at seeing the man's retreating back!

He calmed down soon, however, when Ru simply pulled the door shut, then flicked the little lock before returning to him. 

"Hmm? Miss me already?" Ru teased with a playful grin. 

Yes. I absolutely did. 

The man looked about ready to kiss him again when he noticed something over Ash's shoulder, drawing his attention that way, too. 

Oh, my big beanbag chair. 

It was a fancy one that was pretty comfortable and he often used it to enjoy a nice meal by himself. 

"Sit with me for breakfast, Ruru?" he asked eagerly.

Ru grinned and nodded as he grabbed both of the plates, then walked over and dropped right down into the big beanbag chair. 

Ash quickly filled two cups with water before bringing them over and setting them on the little table tray he always left beside the chair, then, in response to a beckoning motion from Ru after the man had set down their food, Ash settled himself right into his lap! 

Best day ever. 

They both seemed content to ignore the food for a few minutes and simply enjoy each others' company, but when Ash's belly finally began to rumble, Ru wouldn't allow him even one more tiny kiss until he agreed to eat something. 

Thus began a breakfast of trade-offs. Every time he took a couple bites of something, Ru would let him have a kiss. He didn't really think that the situation was exactly fair, however, so when the man had finally decided that he'd eaten enough to simply make-out again, Ash turned his head away, pretending to pout. 

"I ate while you were cooking, Ashy. As well as while I was making you eat for kisses, too. That's why so much is missing. It was fantastic, by the way," Ru said, already figuring out his strategy even though he did reach over and grab the last pancakes to nibble on anyways. 

Ash glanced at him over his shoulder, pouting for real this time. His expression only seemed to make Ru have to fight back a chuckle, though, so he pushed the emotions away and simply turned a little more toward his man, lifting his hands up to settle against his firm chest. 

"Um, Ru? I've been meaning to ask you something... if now would be a good time?" he said, somehow finding the courage to get the words past his lips before he chickened out again and swallowed them. 

Ru stretched a bit beneath him right as he finished the pancake he'd grabbed, getting comfortable before wrapping his arms leisurely around Ash's bare back. 

"Yes, let's talk." 

Ash immediately fidgeted as Ru stared straight at him, his expression serious. 

"U-um... I was just wondering..." 

Full sentences, come on!

"I was wondering if you..." 

Argh!

Groaning, Ash leaned forward and pressed his forehead to Ru's chest. He just couldn't get the right words out of his mouth! 

I'm an adult. I just need to say what I need to say!

And yet, those words seemed so hard to speak when the chance of them being turned down was ever present. He actually began to sweat a little as his worry built up into panic, but as soon as he felt Ru's fingers gently begin sifting through his hair, he managed to calm himself down. 

"You're such a sweet dragon, love," Ru said after a few quiet moments. 

Ash snuggled in a little more, then sighed out a good bit of his frustration as he closed his eyes and let his tense body relax. After another minute, he opened his eyes and tilted his head back just enough to meet Ru's gaze. 

"Ru I... I want to be your sweet dragon," he said, his words getting faster as they neared the end of the sentence.

Ash immediately tucked his head back against Ru's chest after he'd spoken, too, his face warming considerably. He refused to let his nerves ruin his one big chance at confessing, though. 

So, after another moment of stressing, Ash looked up again and finished what he'd meant to say. 

"May I? May I be your dragon, Ruru?"