Ru took over the other leg of their journey, but not because Ash wasn't willing to drive. He was more than willing, but he was also a dragon. And while he had seen a couple chimp shifters, and even one bear driving a car in a suit, things were different for dragons... especially dragons that couldn't sit still!

How did he ever manage to behave during an entire flight?

It baffled his mind.

"We're almost there, bud," he said as they began the drive up the mountain.

There was still a light layer of snow on the ground but the temperature was actually already above freezing. It would be melting soon.

By the time they were finally parked in front of the resort Ashy was wiggling like a border collie that's been cooped up all day without anything to do. Which was technically true, except he was a dragon and not a dog.

"Alright, give me a second and I'll come get y—" Ru had just-barely gotten his own door open when Ashy gave a squeal loud enough to rival a six year old girl at a Barbie convention before a blur of pink shot past him and into a massive mound of snow!

Everything was silent for a few moments as several guests stared in confused surprise, but then a flick of snow went this way, then another was tossed that way. Pretty soon Ashy had the pile reduced to a puddle of melting sludge.

Truly a dog in dragon's clothing.

Deciding to do as he would with any canine that wasn't really paying attention when needed, Ru turned and walked away, heading up to the front door.

He expected Ashy to follow him, but when he heard another loud screeching-roar, then a second blur of pink zoomed past his eyes, he couldn't believe what had actually happened.

Oh bud. I think you might need some glasses.

Walking over to the clearly-stunned dragon, Ru knelt down and carefully helped him up.

I've heard of birds flying into windows, but not shifters...

As Ashy shook off the last of his shock, Ru looked over his shoulder as he heard the front doors open.

"Welcome back, Sweetheart! I heard Ashy knock and had to come welcome you myself," Ash's mom said, making Ru raise an eyebrow.

That was him knocking? A few screws loose, maybe...

"Ah," Ru replied as he stood up once he was sure Ashy was okay.

Shaking her hand, he smiled.

"That's some impressive glass, ma'am."

Ann giggled behind her hand before reaching down to pet her son's excited dragon.

"We've learned our lesson, haven't we, sweet Ashy?"

The dragon paused its nuzzling and stared up at her, then back to the glass, then back to her. Ru wasn't quite sure what it meant to say, but if the indignant, steamy huff that soon followed was any indication, the lesson was not, unfortunately, learned.

"Alright, well let's get ourselves inside! I've already started the fire in Ash's room so you two go relax for a bit before it's time for dinner," she said as she easily lifted their heavy suitcases and toted them off without an ounce of trouble.

That's impressive, too.

Following with Ashy wandering around him in a more-muted excitement, Ru made his way through the building with a smile on his face.

The door to Ash's room was open when he got there, but Ann quickly scooted past him with a big smile and a wave.

I think she's happy to see me again so soon.

It was an odd feeling, considering he didn't really have any close relatives left. He'd expected her to be cordial to him, but not greet him so excitedly.

Hearing a snort coming from inside their room, Ru hurried inside, then closed the door.

The moment he turned around, he had a dragon in his arms! His face was instantly slobbered on from forehead to chin, and one of his ears felt like it had received a slight, unintentional nick, too.

"You know what? You're being a bit of a brat," he said playfully as he easily carried the squirming dragon over to their bed and promptly tossed him onto the blankets, earning himself an excited raspy roar!

Of course, Ashy jumped right back up and leaped into his arms again, which resulted in a second toss, then a third, then a fourth! Pretty soon they had a rhythm going and Ashy couldn't have been happier with his new toss-a-dragon game!

Ru was actually having quite a blast, too. Even with Ash at his side for the last week or so, he still had struggled with some depression and hadn't wanted to move a whole lot. Now, however, his blood was pumping and he couldn't help grinning as he played with his sweet dragon.

When they finally stopped, with Ru flopping over onto his back on the bed and both of them panting up at the ceiling, he was just about ready to fall asleep. And, with his eyes already closed, it was hard not to simply drift off. The only thing really keeping him awake was the warm tongue pressing against his neck that was definitely not from Ashy.

Groaning quietly, he reached up with his right hand and gently nudged Ash away.

The man read the signal loud and clear, but chanced a slightly less aggressive approach for some attention and pressed his forehead to Ru's side. That got him a gentle pat, then a full hug after Ru slowly rolled over.

He considered apologizing for not wanting to make out, but then quickly decided against it. They were two different people who showed love in different ways. Ash had always been more intimate, while he, himself, was more reserved. His man had likely already knew that he might be declined the more personal interaction.

After last night, he was just a bit too self-conscious to be so close again so soon. He'd liked it, a lot, but he needed time to process things, too.

"Mm, want to go eat now, Ruru?"

Releasing Ash, Ru slowly pushed himself up and off the bed. He heard his man get up beside him, but was busy stretching his arms over his head and didn't bother looking.

Of course, he could sense his love's eyes on him as he moved, and especially the portion of his belly that the stretch had revealed, but Ash kept his hands to himself.

When he finally looked over his shoulder with a smile, Ash mirrored his expression and offered a hand that was readily received, then gently squeezed.

On their way to dinner they stopped by the front desk and greeted his mom again. The woman beamed at them as if she had suddenly gained a new son, and even handed him a little paper box with a few knitted socks and scarves in it for his crow.

The little box gave them something to talk about during dinner that wasn't stressful, making for a fun time as Ru kept pulling item after item out.

One scarf had little birds strutting around on it while another, of course, had adorable dragons prancing about. Two pairs of socks matched, while two others were different color patterns.

Hmm? What's this?

His inner crow quickly perked up at the sight of the little cape, nearly taking over his body right there at the dinner table!

We'll explore the rest of this box later, Ru quickly decided as Ash snickered with one hand covering his obvious smirk.

"And you," he said as he nudged Ash with an elbow, making the man's eyes squint from having been caught.

"What? I think you'd look adorable in it! And you know that Rucrow would love to wear that while flying, too," he said, making Ru fight himself not to agree right away.

His crow would absolutely love to wear the little cape on their first flight. Along with the suit and socks he'd been made, too.

"I think your mom is spoiling my crow," he said, posing the words as if he wasn't quite sure, when both of them knew darn well that Ash's mom was definitely spoiling his crow.

Ash grinned widely as their second course arrived, since they'd both been pretty starving after their long drive. As he worked on his steak, Ru happily munched away on his taco salad.

"She really likes you, and not just because I like you, either. You're down to earth but still fun, and you've helped me learn a lot about not only myself, but also finances, housing, and honestly, what I want in life."

Ru felt his face warm as Ash continued to speak, praising him unconditionally even though he didn't think he deserved it.

It did feel nice once he got over his own embarrassment, though, because it had been a long time since someone had praised him so openly without an ulterior motive. Well, since someone besides Ash had. His love tended to praise him quite a bit, not that he minded, at all.

Eventually, he did get a bit self-conscious and reached over to slip a tortilla chip into his love's mouth. It thankfully silenced him, but the look in his bright eyes made it clear that he was more than happy with his response.

As Ash crunched away on his chip, then went back to his steak, Ru began to run through different ideas and situations in his mind, as he tended to do. He sensed Ash listening in here and there, which was another thing they'd decided to work on.

Their connection wasn't very strong, especially when in their animal forms, so they'd decided to try and work on that whenever they had some relaxing down time. So, right now Ru was doing his best to think openly to his love.

Neither of them were that great at talking back and forth strictly telepathically, but they were getting better at one person speaking while the other replies with feelings.

By the time they finished eating neither of them could keep a straight face because, while Ash had been taking their telepathic practice session seriously at the beginning, he'd only been able to manage for so long before he started slipping in some inappropriate emotions as his responses.

Thus, the two of them left the large room giggling to each other with plenty of eyes on them, but neither cared at all as they walked hand in hand, swinging their arms playfully.

Oh?

Ru's gaze caught sight of the hot springs just beyond the window as they headed down the hall, making him slow to a stop a few moments later.

That was a pretty long drive...

"Want to go soak a bit?" Ash asked, clearly understanding what he was thinking about.

Ru's eyes lit up at the suggestion as he quickly tugged Ash back to their room. Not five minutes later they were outside, but this time Ash was leading a shivering Ru toward the more private pool they'd used when they'd first met.

The sight of it made Ru smile before quickly sliding into the hot water with a long, content sigh.

Heaven.

He ducked beneath the surface for just a moment before shaking his wet hair out, grinning up at Ash as he slid only his legs into the warm water.

To his surprise, Ash actually pulled out his phone and began typing on it, making Ru wade closer curiously.

"Making a note to get a hot tub when we get our own place," Ash said as he grinned past his phone at him.

Cute...

"Thank you, babe," Ash said as he leaned forward, his grin turning adorably boyish.

Ru chuckled as Ash caught his thought. Their practices were evidently paying off.

"Hey Ruru? Since we'll be here for at least a little while, would you like to start planning what our menu is going to be? And I was thinking, if you're going to be my partner, as well as my husband, why don't we just make the entire restaurant gluten free? That way you can help me taste test everything, too."

Ru felt his face warm, and not only from the hot spring he was currently soaking in.

H-husband...

While he was still short-circuiting, Ash began to ramble on about different ideas he had for seating, decorations, and a plethora of other things that were honestly going in one ear and out the other at the moment.

"I definitely want to do some pasta dishes, Ashy really likes burgers, too. Maybe we can just do a little of everything? Donuts sound good, too, but then I'd have to be there even earlier than I was planning..."

Ru blinked, then frowned.

"Let's figure out our main dishes and appetizers first," Ru said, not wanting his man to be gone so long at work that they didn't ever get time to themselves. He understood how restaurants could be time sinks, especially for the head chef, but he wasn't willing to give up his man for too long.

Ash seemed to read his thoughts again, because he quickly nodded.

"Yes! The main stuff first. We can always add or remove stuff once we're established," Ash said, making Ru chuckle quietly.

Oh to be young again. It's not worth burning all your energy trying to do everything right off the bat, though.

It was a good idea to be very busy, especially with how hyper his love could be, but it wasn't logical in the long term. Besides, he wanted some of that energy for himself when they got home, too.

Glad he's willing to listen to reason.

"Macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, and alfredo pasta are the easiest ones, and we can add proteins or sautéed mushrooms and broccoli to them pretty easily," Ru said, earning a nod from Ash as he typed a bit more on his phone.

"As far as burgers go, do you have a good bun recipe in mind?"

Ash quickly nodded again and hummed quietly as he quickly tapped away at his phone, then turned it to show him the screen.

"This is the one I made for you last week!" he said excitedly.

Oh man, I had actually forgotten about that. I'd been so tired that I just inhaled dinner, then passed out.

"Oh right, those were really good. Definitely use that," Ru agreed right before his eyes widened.

"Oh, for dessert you have to do your eclairs! Those were so good!" he added, his mouth already watering at the thought of having the treats again.

Ash grinned and typed a bit on his phone as he spoke, "eclairs for the menu, and my man tonight."

Ru's inner kid howled excitedly within his mind!

He would have grabbed Ash and pulled him into the water for a tight hug if it weren't for their mistake last time.

Don't want to overheat my dragon.

"Only in bed, love," Ash said with a wink before getting back to typing.

"I think chocolate pudding cake would also be a good addition, and maybe a few different fresh ice cream flavors to keep things easy to start with?" he said, earning a smile and nod from Ru as he reached around one of Ash's legs and gently hugged it to his chest playfully, then dropped his chin to the man's knee.

"I can easily make the cake vegan, too, since I know that a lot of people prefer no animal products these days," he added, making Ru agree with a content hum.

"That's definitely a good idea. We can brand ourselves as a healthier, but still delicious alternative to other restaurants in the area," Ru said, earning a head-pat from Ash as his agreement.

"I prefer cooking healthier stuff anyways, and considering we're doing gluten free, that will make it much easier to keep to better ingredients."

They chatted a bit more about what they intended to do, but the excitement of being able to have more of Ash's delicious eclairs eventually got the better of Ru and had him pushing himself up out of the water.

The remainder of their evening was spent in the kitchen with both of them in swim trunks, each making their own batch of eclairs as Ash called out the directions. It was all for fun, but they were surprisingly competitive when it came down to it, and to both their surprise, Ru's eclairs didn't actually end up being bad at all.

In fact, he'd followed the recipe almost to a T, so while he gladly ate Ash's batch of treats while sitting on the counter, Ash happily munched on his as he relaxed in the beanbag.

All in all, it was a good night, and when they finally returned to their room some time around eleven, both passed out after a quick, simple tooth brushing and a content, sleepy kiss.