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It must be ridiculously late.
The silver light that floods their tent with pale shadows signifies that the moon is still hanging high in the night sky, but somehow, it feels like it should be close to the early hours of morning. He almost thinks that if he closes his eyes for a moment too long, he’ll open them to bright sunlight and a day full of exhausting chaos. Perhaps it’s because time is simply dragging .
He doesn’t quite understand why life feels like it’s at a standstill, but it must have something to do with the private hours spent together before joining the rest of their merry little bunch for the night. Really, he can’t take his eyes off this man. They always sleep next to each other, but not too close — he’s been laying there, uncomfortably still, eyes squeezed tightly shut and face scrunched up in what must be annoyance. With brows furrowed and lips twisted into a grimace, it’s painfully obvious that Kija is only trying to pretend to be asleep — and he has been for how long now?
Jae-ha can’t help but smile.
Earlier feels like something akin to an incredibly sweet fantasy; he almost wonders if he’ll wake in the morning to find out that none of this actually happened, that it’s just all of his desires coming alive in the privacy of his dreams. A long conversation about where they stand with each other, reflecting on some of the occurrences during their travels, led to Jae-ha curling a finger beneath Kija’s chin, tilting his head up, and claiming a chaste kiss, which bloomed into many more — tentative and curious.
And the walk back to the camp was delightful in itself — a thoroughly exhausted Kija stayed close while a lovestruck Jae-ha found his heart thundering in his chest with every brush of their hands. Although they didn’t speak of the exchange, a deep fondness formed between them. After they slid wordlessly into the tent they shared with the other dragons and Hak, Kija promptly hid himself under the sheets, and Jae-ha lost himself in gazing upon Kija’s features, which somehow just seem so much more angelic now.
Kija has always been one to be easily flustered, and while it’s definitely amusing, the flirtatious green dragon also finds it quite adorable. Pink graces his cheeks, and he fidgets, pulling on the sheets enough to cover his mouth while his eyebrows knit together with such concentration. He’s cute when he’s embarrassed, and for some reason, Jae-ha just can’t get enough.
He shifts a little, propping himself up onto his elbow and resting his chin in his hand, and Kija’s brows twitch at the sound of his shuffling. He must’ve thought Jae-ha rolled to face the other way, because after a long stretch of silence, the white dragon peeks at him from beneath the messy bangs hanging in his face.
“Would you stop looking at me,” Kija snaps in an urgent whisper when he finds himself making direct eye-contact with the amorous green dragon. Those soft lips are curved downward into an irritated scowl, and Jae-ha’s gaze flickers to that sweet mouth as though he’s contemplating leaning in to snatch another kiss or two, or three.
The hum that follows those words is so sickeningly playful, and Jae-ha’s grin hasn’t faltered. He drags his gaze back up to lock with that of the white dragon once more. “Apologies, Kija, dear,” he says, voice low and thick like honey. “I just find you very beautiful tonight.”
“Tonight should be no different than any other night,” he retorts, exasperated.
“But it is,” Jae-ha tells him matter-of-factly. He reaches out to tuck a lock of white behind Kija’s ear, and Kija stubbornly smacks his hand away. It makes Jae-ha laugh softly, and he draws back, deciding to mess with the agitated white dragon in an entirely different manner by saying, “I may have kissed a lot of beautiful young ladies — and quite a few handsome men — but I had never kissed an angel.”
Kija, having been incredibly dense when they first met, has come a long way, and he immediately recognizes that very weird, strangely flattering compliment. His face flushes to a brilliant, flustered red, and his ears are burning. He abruptly sits up, bristling.
“Keep your voice down before you wake the others,” Kija hisses, and he thinks he’s staying quiet enough to avoid disrupting his comrades. Really, he does. But something shuffles behind him, and Jae-ha’s gaze drifts past Kija to the source.
“Oh — no worries! Zeno is already awake!”
Jae-ha can’t help but find Kija’s surprise somewhat endearing. He catches every shift in Kija’s expression, from the absolute shock of Zeno announcing himself to the crippling embarrassment at the notion of the little yellow dragon having heard their entire conversation — when Jae-ha snorts out a quiet laugh, he ducks his head, and locks of green fall around his shoulders.
“Hakuryuu and Ryokuryuu are so cute!” Zeno adds once he’s sitting up behind a very mortified Kija, and even Jae-ha finds himself a little thankful that the easily excitable yellow dragon is keeping his voice fairly low. He leans forward, warm arms circling around Kija’s waist as his chin comes to rest on his shoulder.
“H-How long have you been awake?” Kija finally stammers out; despite tensing upon Zeno’s embrace, he relaxes a moment later.
“Long enough!” The smile that graces their immortal comrade’s lips is impossibly kind, and his eyes are deep with affection; yet, there’s a wistful distance behind that gaze. “Actually, Zeno never went to sleep.”
“Keeping tabs on us, are you, Zeno, dear?” Jae-ha drawls, with the same rich, sultry tone from minutes before; he lazily drags his focus from Kija’s deep blue eyes to Zeno’s affectionate gaze. Kija must have flushed a shade darker, and he drops his gaze from Jae-ha to his own lap as though to avoid any further teasing from the green dragon, but Zeno is completely unfazed — in fact, he’s even a bit amused.
“A little,” Zeno admits with a sigh, pressing his face into Kija’s neck. “Zeno just wanted to make sure that Hakuryuu and Ryokuryuu got back safely!”
“You know we’re more than capable of handling ourselves,” Jae-ha says with mild distaste, but his expression is still warm.
Zeno extends his arms to reach for the man sitting across from them both, and as he leans forward, the weight of his chest against Kija’s back forces the flustered white dragon to do the same; Kija is watching Jae-ha through narrowed eyes, but his face is glowing red. “Well, you can never be too sure. Zeno just cares about you both a lot, that’s all. Sleep is a lot more restful when Zeno knows that the three of you are close by.”
With a thoughtful hum, Jae-ha reaches out with his right hand to lace his fingers with Zeno’s; the light squeeze that follows is a form of unspoken reassurance, though it almost feels unnecessary. “You and I both know there’s nothing to worry about. But I understand.”
Kija makes a small noise of agreement and nods. “And if anything were to happen to Jae-ha, I’m sure he wouldn’t be missed.”
Jae-ha’s lips curve upward, and he clicks his tongue as he fixes his gaze on Kija once more. He pulls his hand away from Zeno, instead placing his palm against the side of Kija’s face and running his thumb over the curve of the white dragon’s cheek. “Nothing would happen to me, Kija, darling,” he assures, voice still playfully tempting.
“What a shame,” Kija says flatly, impatiently swatting Jae-ha’s hand away from him yet again — and there’s a little bit of relief that flowers in his chest when he realizes that Jae-ha isn’t upset by his continuous stubborn rejection; there’s a time and place for that, and it certainly isn’t here!
Two small hands come down on Kija’s head, ruffling his hair with a little too much force, and Kija’s squeak is almost completely unheard as Zeno declares, “Ryokuryuu and Hakuryuu are so funny! Zeno will leave you to it.”
“L-Leave us to what?” Kija squawks, quickly turning to face Zeno, but the small boy has already plopped back onto the ground, facing away from them as he snuggles into the abundance of fur against Shin-ah’s back.
“Finally going to bed, are we?” Jae-ha notes, significantly quieter and much calmer than the white dragon sitting across from him.
“Mm! Zeno is tired,” he says, and after a pause, Zeno adds, “and perhaps you two would prefer if Zeno isn’t paying attention.”
Upon hearing the giggles that follow Zeno’s words, Kija stiffens, his heart thundering. He and Jae-ha exchange a glance — and Jae-ha’s very clearly amused by Zeno and the whole situation, while Kija feels like his ears are on fire, like he’s just stuck in this endlessly embarrassing scenario, and of course it’s Jae-ha’s fault, but their playful little yellow dragon won’t quit fanning the flames.
Without giving Jae-ha another moment to consider some other ridiculous flirt, Kija collapses back under the sheets. “I think we should also go to bed,” Kija says, looking up at Jae-ha through thick lashes and messy bangs.
“Zeno’s so graciously giving us privacy, and you only want to go to sleep?” Jae-ha jests, but he follows Kija’s lead and settles down beneath the blankets. He closes the distance between himself and Kija just slightly in doing so, and he can tell by the way the white dragon is eyeing him that his effort hasn’t gone unnoticed. The deep violet of his eyes is glittering with an almost seductive mischief, and he flashes one of those alluring, flirtatious smirks along with it.
There’s a brief silence, and Jae-ha can see the storm behind Kija’s gaze as words trip over his tongue. Instead of answering Jae-ha’s remark with a sharp tone, he finds himself feeling just a little defeated and murmurs, “It’s been a long day.”
Jae-ha resigns with a heavy sigh; he’s close enough that his breath stirs the locks of hair that frame Kija’s face. He nods, but doesn’t speak — he’s thinking about his response this time, instead of spitting out the first string of words that come to his mind. He doesn’t have time to put them together, though, because Kija shifts, eyes narrowing.
“Would you stop staring at me?” Kija hisses. “We’ve been over this.”
Lips cracking into a grin, Jae-ha chuckles softly. “Right. Forgive me for seeing you in a new light,” he says, and clearly, he just isn’t ready to drop it for the night.
“Don’t start—”
“Oh, before Zeno goes to sleep—” The little yellow dragon is sitting up almost a heartbeat later, and he leans over Kija, placing his hands on the ground on the other side of the white dragon; he doesn’t seem to care that he’s interrupted, and Kija, trapped, can only gape up at him incredulously. His eyes are bright, curious, and Jae-ha cocks a brow at the sudden burst of enthusiasm. “—what was it like, Ryokuryuu?”
After taking a moment to weigh the question in his mind, Jae-ha concludes that he doesn’t quite know what Zeno is trying to ask. With a hum and a click of his tongue, he replies with a simple, “You’ll have to be more specific, Zeno, dear.”
Despite keeping his voice relatively low for the duration of their conversation, Zeno has suddenly lost his consideration for the softly-snoring Shin-ah behind him, and the oddly quiet Hak on the other side of the tent. The small dragon throws his arms into the air and loudly clarifies, “Zeno wants to know what it was like kissing an angel!”