Hugging Ashy to his chest, Ru did his best to weave in and out of the insane foot traffic around him. 

It's too early for the airport to be this busy. 

Of course, he knew that was a lie. People tended to get the best deals extremely early in the morning or extremely late at night. Thus, the airport was absolutely packed!

He was shoved around constantly as he got through one of the check-in lines to get to the terminals and was forced to keep up with the crowd or risk being trampled. 

I just want to get my baby and go home. 

He had barely slept as he got his apartment cleaned up for Ash's visit. Of course, he knew that his love probably wouldn't care if things weren't perfect, but Rucrow? He definitely cared!

Even now, his bird was going over list after list of things they could try to get done before Ash walks from their car up to the apartment. 

Just a walk, and his bird had a list of things that could still be made better!

So tired...

Even in such an exhausted state, he somehow managed to push himself free of the incessant crowd and make it to terminal thirty-four. 

Ah, people are already starting to come out. 

He considered trying to get closer to the front, but quickly thought better of it as he hugged his stuffed Ashy tighter to his chest. 

We'll wait right here for your daddy. 

And wait, they did. The volume in the terminal grew exponentially as people continued to disembark the plane, but after several tense minutes and nervous heartbeats, his man was still nowhere to be seen. 

The only thing that kept him from becoming a nervous wreck, since Ash hadn't called him or answered any texts since he'd left, was the fact that he could sense him somewhere nearby. He was still going to have to preen quite a bit when he got home to calm himself down again, but at least he hadn't shifted out of stress yet. 

A strange huff met his ears a moment later as the crowd gasped and a few people stepped back in surprise. An excited roar was soon to follow, making Ru quickly take a step forward as his lips hesitantly tilted upward into a cautious smile. 

My Ashy is here? 

He hadn't expected the literal dragon, but when he suddenly saw his baby's shift leap over the crowd, wings outstretched and bright eyes focused on him, he couldn't help but widen his smile and reach out! 

While he was completely overjoyed to see his love, neither of them really planned the actual impact out all that well. Thus, Ru grunted as he was promptly knocked to the floor, sliding back a few feet from Ashy's momentum. Ashy, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind the heavy landing since it had plenty of padding, and immediately got busy licking Ru's face, neck, hair, and just about anywhere else it could reach with the utmost of glee. 

In fact, it even clawed at the stuffed version of itself until the poor thing was sent flying somewhere off in the distance! 

"Ashy, wait!" Ru laughed as he constantly jerked his head to either side, trying to keep his face from being covered in dragon slobber! 

Ashy didn't seem to hear him, however, because it continued its onslaught until it was satisfied with its work. Which eventually left Ru in quite the state... on the airport floor. 

His hair was an absolute mess of drool and sticking up in all directions, and his clothing was a lost cause. Half of it was clawed up and the other half was soaked in drool. 

Good thing I didn't wear anything nice. 

Thankfully, he hadn't sustained much damage to his actual body. A few nicks here and there, but nothing was even bleeding. So, with a tired smile, he looked up at the panting dragon that was now steaming and staring down at him in adoration. 

"Not exactly the steamy situation I thought we'd find ourselves in once you got here, but I don't think I mind it," he said with a chuckle as he slowly pushed himself up, then pulled his sweet dragon in for a tight hug. 

Ashy responded in kind, snuggling in contently now that its energy had been spent for the time being. 

"Is this big guy yours?" 

Looking up, Ru noticed a man around his own age with a little girl in his arms holding something out to him. 

Ah!

Ru quickly reached up with his free hand and took his stuffed Ashy back. 

"Thank you, sir," he replied, grateful that he hadn't lost his cuddle buddy. 

The man smiled, but it looked strained. 

Those are some dark circles beneath your eyes... Hope everything is okay. 

"You're welcome. Your dragon is a sweetheart. He was fantastic with my daughter and I really appreciate it. You two have a great rest of your day," the man said before his little daughter waved to them sleepily, then they turned and walked away. 

Returning his attention to his dragon, Ru grinned and patted his soft pink mane. 

"You were a good dragon, huh?" 

Ashy immediately leaned away enough to nod vigorously, then snort out a puff of steam. 

So cute. 

"I'm proud of you. Let's get home and get some breakfast, then maybe a nap before I have to go to work?" Ru said as he was finally let up and stood. 

That's when he noticed that they had quite a few people staring at them. There were even a few kids that seemed to be considering trying to pet Ashy. 

Probably not the best idea to stick around here. 

"Let's go," he said as he grabbed his dragon's carry-on bag, then held his stuffed form under one arm as he began heading back through the airport. 

His baby stayed close by, but ever few moments he would run ahead, do a little circle around him, then return to his side with an excited snort. 

Not quite out of energy yet, I see. 

He gladly allowed his rambunctious dragon to run around a bit, but as the crowds began to grow thicker, he recalled him back to stay at his side for fear that he might trip someone or get stepped on. 

By the time they got to the baggage claim area he was running out of stamina. Ashy, on the other hand, began chasing bags down the conveyer belt, hunting diligently for his own.  

Even doing such a simple task, his Ashy was quite the spectacle to those around him. So, when he actually managed to retrieve his own luggage and tug it over, several people couldn't help but clap in appreciation. 

Ashy, however, only gave them a dismissive snort before hopping up on his back legs and putting his front paws on Ru's chest, clearly asking for his praise. 

Ru was more than happy to give it and gladly patted his baby's head before grabbing the handle of his luggage. To his surprise, however, the bag suddenly became a decent bit heavier right as he went to turn away and begin pulling it, making him look over his shoulder. 

"Am I supposed to pull you, too?" he asked the dragon that was now settled on the back and top parts of the luggage, its long tail swinging eagerly from side to side. 

"I swear you're just a really warm dog sometimes," he said... as he turned back around and began tugging his dog toward the exit. 

I wonder if my crow would like to do that sometime, too. 

He hadn't sensed his crow much over the past two weeks, but the moment it heard that Ash was coming to visit it had turned him into an obsessives preener. 

I need to make sure that I clean myself up a bit once we get home. I want to look good for him but I'm covered in slobber right now. 

Even if they took a nap, or simply had a snack and watched some TV before he had to leave for work, he still had to at least clean up some. 

His mind went through all of the things he could do to make sure he looked impeccable when Ash switched back to his human, checking each one off quickly before something else was added to the list. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice that they'd gotten to the car and Ashy was waiting to be let in until the dragon gave a confused snort. 

"A-ah, sorry!" he hurried to say as he quickly unlocked the car and held open the passenger's side door for him. 

Once he was in Ru strapped him in with the seatbelt, then shut the door before hurrying to the back to load the suitcase into the trunk.  

They were soon on their way, without the heater on. He'd remembered to wear some layers so that Ashy wouldn't get too hot, so he was pretty comfortable even in the cooler weather. The little dragon didn't seem too thrilled with the seatbelt it was strapped into, but it's attention was thankfully taken away quickly by the passing surroundings. 

"Much greener than you're used to this time of year, huh?" Ru said with a grin as he focused on the road. 

Sure, there were some trees that had dropped their leaves, but there were also quite a few that hadn't felt temperatures cold enough to bother reacting yet. 

Ashy gave a quiet grumble in response as he looked every which way. 

I'm glad you ride in a car so well, and am honestly quite surprised you managed on the plane, too. 

He thought about all of the things that Ashy had to deal with and couldn't help but chuckle a little. His bird would have had a meltdown right at the first check-in counter, yet Ashy had managed to go through the entire process without a hitch! Well, to his knowledge. 

They were both relatively silent on the drive back, leaving the time to pass on its own as the radio played quietly. When he finally pulled into the little garage he reserved for himself, Ru was just about spent. 

In fact, he ended up leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes after removing his seatbelt and turning off the car. 

Just need a minute...

He was given his minute... and several more. 

By the time he felt something warm gently press against his left cheek he was nearly asleep. It took him a few moments to process the touch, then another couple of seconds to pry his tired eyes open. 

What he saw when he was finally able to focus again, however, immediately stole his breath away. 

My sweetheart is back...

Ash had shifted at some point while he'd been resting his eyes and now sat straddled over his lap in all of his gorgeous, naked glory. 

 I thought your dragon had shorts on...

Even in the darkness of the little garage, he could still make out the man's silhouette, and, of course, could easily see the fire in his left eye as his dragon now watched from within. 

His bird immediately wanted to begin preening the man, but he was just too tired to keep up with its thoughts. 

"It's okay, baby," Ash whispered in his deep, calm voice as he leaned in for a gentle kiss. "I couldn't sleep, either." 

Ru gave his head a little shake once Ash had pulled away a tiny bit, trying to clear away some of the cloudiness in his mind. 

"Do you have to work today, Ruru?" 

He didn't want to. 

He really didn't want to, but he'd never called out a single day yet. 

"Mhm..." he mumbled affirmatively. "Gotta be there by seven." 

It was already five. 

Ash pressed himself a little closer before leaning in for another, longer kiss. 

"Can I be a bad influence and ask my sweet boyfriend to call out today?" 

Ru exhaled and reached forward, wrapping his arms around his man, eager for his added warmth as he nuzzled his face into his neck. 

Even his crow wasn't a fan of calling out, since it had a pretty strong work ethic as an animal, somehow, but when Ash requested it? Their beautiful, shiny, new boyfriend? The answer was obviously one-hundred percent yes!

"Mmm, alright." 

Actually calling, though, took a lot of effort, but at least he did sound exhausted, making it believable that he wasn't feeling well. When he finally hung up, Ru felt oddly light and more than a bit relieved. 

Looking up at his boyfriend in the darkness, he grinned sleepily and said, "I don't have to go in today now." 

Ash matched his smile with a beaming one of his own, then, unfortunately, got off his lap and slid out the door to retrieve his luggage. 

Another moment later and he had on a pair of shorts and was offering him a hand up after having opened Ru's door. 

He accepted it after grabbing his stuffed Ashy, and gladly held onto it tightly as they made their way out of the little garage building and up the stairs into his apartment. 

The moment they stepped inside he began to tidy up more, even though there wasn't really anything else to do. Ash noticed that, too, because he was soon back by his side, taking his hands before guiding him back to the single bedroom. 

That's where Ash promptly stripped him right down to his boxers, kissed him for what felt like hours, then told him to sit down and wait a few moments while he drew him a warm bath. 

Once Ash walked out of the room, Ru blinked and looked around. He felt as if he were in a dream already, but he was still clearly awake. 

"He's really here... and I really called out of work to spend the day with him." 

Well, he was probably going to be asleep fairly soon, because he had never been the best at pulling all-nighters, but Ash was actually going to be there when he woke up. 

The thought made him jittery, and when Ash didn't return for nearly a minute, he couldn't resist standing back up and walking into the bathroom. 

Ash was leaning over the tub, mixing one of his bubble soaps into the water as it continued to fill. That left Ru with a perfect view of his ass. 

Swallowing, he waited by the door, not daring to trust himself to walk closer without grabbing hold of something that he shouldn't. 

"Why shouldn't you? I like it when Ruru touches me." 

Ru quickly lifted his eyes to Ash's face as the man turned to smile at him. 

"Y-you're naked," he mumbled out eventually, stating the obvious. 

Ash gave a quiet little laugh as he turned back to the spigot and turned off the water, then straightened back up again before walking over to him. 

"Would you mind if this sweet dragon bathed with you?" he asked as he gently took Ru's hands in his warm ones. 

His tub wasn't exactly big, by any means...

"I think we can make it work," Ash replied, clearly able to figure out what he was likely considering. 

A bath with my dragon and a whole day off to spend together...

Ru couldn't help but smile as he stepped closer. Ash was more than happy to tug him into his arms for a strong hug, then lead him over to the tub before helping him in after removing his remaining underwear for him.  

The water felt like heaven, but Ru's attention quickly diverted the moment Ash slid in behind him. There was definitely not enough room for them both... unless one settled overtop the other. 

He happily volunteered as tribute without hesitation and settled himself contently against his boyfriend's warm chest. 

It smells like my bath soap, but also my Ash. 

He liked the mixture a lot. 

With his head resting against his love's shoulder, Ru dozed quietly in the warm water as Ash carefully bathed him while humming a quiet tune. 

I feel like I'm dreaming. 

The hand gently working shampoo into his messy hair slowed before he felt a kiss softly press against his cheek. 

"Me too, but this is real. I'm here with you, and you're here with me," Ash said, a smile in his words. 

Ru grinned and snuggled in a bit more, then yawned. 

"I'm just about done, then we can take a nap together before I make lunch later," Ash said as he began rinsing Ru's hair. 

 Ru readily agreed, and made sure to stay coherent enough to get out of the tub without much help. Ash didn't hesitate to dry him off from head to toe... while kissing a few places in between, then they both promptly fell into his small bed. 

To his surprise, though, Ash was actually the first one asleep, his little snores sounding quite like his other half's adorable quiet snorts. 

He must have been really tired. 

He'd never actually heard him snore. 

So cute!

Grinning to himself, Ru settled in his man's arms and closed his eyes, simply enjoying the moment exactly as it was. He drifted off a little while later, his heart full and his smile still on his face.