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Virri deposited his treasure down onto the grass very carefully. He didn’t know what he’d do if he broke any of those fragile bones. It was just on sunset and he had landed in a clearing near his home. The home he had prepared for himself and his treasure. He couldn’t wait to curl up in their nice, comfortable nest with his treasure safe and warm in his arms.
He had watched over the young man for a whole winter. Humans could be such clever little things. Surely at least one would see his treasure for what he was and take care of him.
But no one had. Virri was almost certain that another icy winter alone would prove too much for his poor treasure. He had given the humans a chance and they hadn’t taken it, so Virri was doing what any self-respecting dragon would do: taking his treasure.
Karis picked himself up off the grass and dusted off his shirt and trousers before turning furious dark brown eyes up to the dragon who had just stolen him away. “What the hell?” he yelled. He was shivering, his clothes not sufficient to shield him from the brisk autumn breeze.
Somehow, Karis still managed to look elegant despite his thin, threadbare clothing and having been carried by a dragon over a forest.
Virri stretched his impressive wings, white scales dusted with gold shining in the setting sun. That had been a short but nerve-wracking flight. He had been so worried Karis might struggle and he might accidentally cut him with his claws, but his lovely treasure had been a perfect, still passenger.
“Marry me,” he told Karis.
“What?!” Karis gave him a withering look that suggested he was questioning not only Virri’s sanity, but all of his own choices that had led up to this moment in his life. “You do realise that this is highly inappropriate! I don’t even know your name!”
Adorable. That beautiful dark hair that would fall in waves when Karis let it down, those warm eyes, those soft-looking lips. Virri huffed out a puff of frosty air as he marvelled at the treasure before him.
No, there was nothing at all wrong with Virri. It was everybody else who was insane. Someone should have snapped up this precious creature by now and draped him in fine silks. Fed him good, hearty food. Surrounded him with gifts and sunshine and the joy of family.
Their loss, his gain.
“Virri. Now you say yes,” he ordered. He wasn’t going to let his treasure go back to that tiny, cold, lonely house in the woods. The place was falling apart. Karis deserved better.
Karis gave a wordless cry of pure frustration and threw up his hands. “You stupid, weird dragon, all right, yes, whatever, it’s not like anyone else wants me—no, wait a minute! We aren’t even the same species!”
That had gone better than expected. Too late to take it back now, darling. Virri’s wings folded as he called on his magic. Changing form was always a little disorienting. His senses in this human-like form were dull and weak compared to his dragon ones, but, oh, there was his lovely treasure, radiant as ever!
The look on Karis’s face as he took in Virri’s new form made Virri smile fondly. So precious.
Poor Karis’s eyes had gone wide and dark. He swallowed, tried to say something and failed.
Oh, yes, darling, you like it. Virri had dressed in his favourite light blue coat with the swirling white vine pattern with a white shirt underneath and light grey trousers. He had brushed and tied his golden hair back with a white ribbon. He had wanted to make a good impression when he shifted in front of his potential mate, but he had left off any jewellery. Gold and gems wouldn’t impress Karis, he was sure.
Virri, preening under Karis’s admiring gaze, spread his arms. “Come here, darling. We have a wedding to plan, but you must be cold, tired and hungry. Let me take care of you.”
He worried that Karis might balk, perhaps even run. He could take things slow. He could gently coax and let Karis get used to his presence and his touch. Karis had spent so much time alone. It was only natural that it might take a while for him to warm up to Virri.
Karis’s steps forward were small, hesitant. “What do you want from me? If this is about politics, you have me mistaken for someone else. If it’s about power, I’ve got so little magic that the Academy kicked me out.”
Virri smiled down at him. Karis didn’t understand yet, but Virri would make sure he soon did. “This is so very simple, my precious one. I want you in my nest and at my side always. I want to make you happy and share everything I have with you. I want to see you smile and feel the warmth of your love.” He closed the distance between them and touched Karis’s cheek. Even though it must be too soon, he just couldn’t resist the impulse to lean in and taste those soft lips.
Karis trembled as Virri wrapped his arms around him, holding him like the treasure he was.
So fragile, so vulnerable and human.
Karis opened his mouth for him and Virri purred as he deepened the kiss, one of his hands going up to tangle his fingers in Karis’s hair.
Yes, the taste was exquisite! The sounds Karis made and the way his warm body moved against Virri were divine. How was it that no one else had spotted this precious gem and taken him for their own before now? Humans must have no eye at all for treasure. Perhaps it was that they were blinded by gold and power and couldn’t see what truly shone and sparkled.
Virri broke the kiss so Karis could breathe and, still purring, admired him. There was a lovely rosy hue on his cheeks. Virri had managed to free some of his hair and stray strands of dark brown hung down. Virri brushed some back from his cheek. There’d be a hairpin somewhere on the ground, but that was something to deal with later.
Karis’s arms had found their way around him sometime during the kiss and there was no space between their bodies at all. Virri could feel Karis’s need for him and he knew Karis could feel his.
“Why do you want to marry me?” Karis asked. “I have no money or family name, nothing but a tiny bit of magic. I disappear for months and literally no one notices because I’m that unimportant. I have nothing to give a dragon. My God, look at you! You could have a prince or princess, or some famous knight. Someone who would give you power, prestige, wealth.”
“I don’t want a prince, princess or knight. I don’t want power, prestige or wealth. What I want is your heart. What I will give you in return is everything I have, including my own heart.”
“But, why?”
Virri laughed. “Since when does love make sense? If it did, I’m sure humans would have it all worked out by now and neatly documented in some book that they could study. You are a treasure. I like your voice. I like that you yell at me and chase me away from your garden. I like your lovely hands and your long, dainty fingers. Now I know I like your taste and how your body fits against mine.” Virri would happily list off Karis’s many charms one by one. He was sure he would find many new ones to add to his long list soon.
Karis looked like he might faint if he wasn’t still wrapped in Virri’s arms.
“So,” Virri asked, leaning in close to murmur in Karis’s ear. “Will you be my darling husband, my lovely treasure?”
“Yes.”
It was barely more than a breath, but Virri would have known the answer even if he hadn’t heard the word. It was in the way Karis melted into him, no longer trembling. All the tension was gone from his muscles.
Virri cradled Karis’s head against his chest and stroked his hair. His darling. His most priceless treasure. Never again would Karis have to spend winter nights alone in a cold bed listening to the wind rattle the windows, miserable and hungry because he’d had nothing to eat. Virri would make sure he had a warm, comfortable nest, all the food he cared to eat and all the company he could stand.
“Come, darling. I’ve made a nice, cozy nest just for you.”
“…Nest?”
Virri smiled down at him. “Yes, a nest. It’ll be far more comfortable than that thing you’ve been sleeping on.”
“It’s a bed and it’s—well, I can’t say mine’s comfortable, you’re right about that.”
“You’ll like it, I promise. May I carry you? I’m worried about your feet in those shoes. They’re so worn, you might as well not be wearing shoes at all.”
“Oh. Thanks.” Karis stammered.
Virri lifted him easily into his arms.
Karis put an arm around his neck and closed his eyes.
Virri remembered that there was some human tradition about carrying a bride over a threshold or something. He probably should have done more research on human wedding rituals, but he was too busy trying to make their new home comfortable for a human.
He also hadn’t figured out how to explain that his parents desperately wanted him to have at least one clutch of babies, preferably more, but there would be time to discuss the possibility of children before the wedding.