Archive of Our Own

Quinlan waved at Cody and Obi-Wan as he left the cave. 

The last several weeks had been crazy. He had finally escaped the curse. Thanks to Obi-Wan's hard work, and Cody's help.

But they hadn't counted on Cody giving them a blessing to help the ritual along.

That helped quite a bit, and the side effects were very on expected. 

Quinlan stretched, touching his feet, then reaching his arms for the sky. 

Once he felt comfortable enough he took a deep breath and let it out.

He shifted. 

Quinlan spun around. That was still one of the most disconcerting experiences ever.

But he was a dragon now! A golden dragon, without the orange shade that was Cody's color.

He was all gold. And Quinlan loved it. 

He spun in place one more time before spreading his wings. He looked between them for a moment before taking off.

Quinlan started laughing. Flying was a wonderfully free feeling. Being able to fly was the best experience in the world.  It made all the suffering at the hands of the curses worth it. 

Once he had gotten most of the experimenting out of the way, Quinlan flew around, content. 

He thought about the last few weeks. 

Obi-Wan had finally started acknowledging his feelings, and the flowers were disappearing. He could be found talking to Cody pretty much any time Quinlan looked for him. 

Obi-Wan was a reddish orange dragon when he finally tested it out. He was taking it slow, mostly adjusting to no longer sharing his body with Quinlan, and to no longer having flowers invading his lungs and stealing his breath.

Quinlan dove headfirst into being a dragon. It helped that when he woke up in his own body for the first time in six months, it was in dragon form already. He was still more comfortable as himself, but having a dragon body wasn't too strange to him after having been in Obi-Wan's body for so long, unable to interact with the outside world for much of the time. 

With Obi-Wan spending so much time with Cody, and them basically being in a relationship even if they had yet to make it official, Quinlan was starting to feel lonely.

He went from always having Obi-Wan at his side, literally, for six months, to being pushed to the side for his brother's new boyfriend.

There was a reason Quinlan spent most of his time experimenting these days.

Being lonely sucked.

A storm blew up out of nowhere.

Quinlan yelped when a lightning strike nearly hit him.

He looked around frantically. Cody's mountain was a fair distance away, even though it was in view. It would take far too long to make it there in this weather. 

Quinlan started flying back in that direction, scanning the mountains underneath him for caves.

He spotted one. He dove for it, and as he reached the cave, lighting struck his tail. He let out a cry of pain as he wobbled and then completely fumbled on the landing.  

He slid into the cave and came to a stop near a wall with a groan. That was not fun. No wonder Cody warned against flying in storms. It was far too risky.

Quinlan laid there for a bit, regaining his bearings and making sure he wasn't too badly hurt.

He didn't think he was, but it was always good to be cautious. If getting cursed had taught him anything, it was that he needed to look and understand before he moved. 

Quinlan sat up and shook himself without shifting back to human. Being a dragon was weird, sometimes. He didn't hurt as much as he would have falling mid run  as a human. But he still felt where the lightning hit him, and he did feel like he might have some bruises forming.. 

"What do you want?" A voice asked grumpily.

Quinlan jumped and turned. Oops. He had found another dragon and his hoard. 

"Ah, sorry. I should've been more careful and the storm got me so I went for the nearest cave... didn't expect it to be occupied."

The red dragon eyed him suspiciously. "Well, if there's a storm, you might as well stick around. Don't touch anything."

"I won't. Thanks." Quinlan moved a little further into the cave and found a place to sit that wouldn't bother the other dragon.

There was silence.

It stretched on for far too long but Quinlan didn't say anything. If there was anything he'd learned about dragons, it was that annoying them, even in dragon form, was a bad idea. And Quinlan's need to fill silence with sound, even if it was his own rambling voice, was something that annoyed most humans. He imagined that a dragon would take it even worse.

Quinlan glanced at the dragon. 

He was studiously ignoring Quinlan and pretending to sleep. But he clearly was not sleeping. He was doing that wing thing to cover his face like Cody only did when he was pretending. Occasionally it would slip and his eye would peek through.

Quinlan wondered if it was something all dragons did. It was actually kind of adorable.

The rain wasn't stopping. He could still hear the rumbles of thunder. It was a long storm, then. Not one of those quick ones. 

Which meant he was going to be stuck here for a while. 

Quinlan adjusted position uneasily. He didn't want to shift to human. He was still learning how to be a dragon and Cody was way more patient with him than he had any right to be, but then, Cody had dealt with Obi-Wan for months and even fallen in love with him so... 

Regardless, Quinlan doubted he would be able to pass as a dragon if he went human. It wouldn't change his restlessness either. He'd just be small and squishy. 

So Quinlan waited and fidgeted and tried not to be annoying.

"Are you ever going to settle down?"

"I don't do well with silence," Quinlan said.

"It's storming out. It's not quiet."

"I don't do well with the background noise of life and no other sound to occupy me." 

"You're bored."

"Well... Yes."

The red dragon huffed. "Fine. What's your name? I am Fox."

Quinlan stared at him. Cody had mentioned a brother named Fox. He could see the resemblance. That also could explain the similar ways of pretending to sleep.

"My name is Quinlan." He liked that dragons didn't care about family names. One was their name and there were hardly any repeated. When there were, it was still easy to tell them apart.

"Quinlan... unusual name. How long have you been in this area?"

Quinlan shrugged. "I don't know. It's been a crazy time. I lost track."

Fox eyed him suspiciously. "I see. It's not a dragon name."

Quinlan shrugged again. "Don't know what to tell you." 

Fox huffed. "You're not a dragon are you?"

Quinlan gaped at him. "What?"

Fox shook his head. "Just go back to being human or whatever."

Quinlan decided to go with it. He stretched out a bit and winced at the feeling of the bruises. Injuries of course transferred between forms and it was not a pleasant feeling in his much smaller human body. 

"How did you know?"

"I know these things." 

Quinlan huffed. "You have a detection spell don't you?"

"...so you do know something. How did you get a dragon form?"

"A long convoluted story I'm not sure I should be sharing with anyone. And I'm still weirded out by everything that happened." 

Fox huffed. "Of course. At least you know how to keep a secret. You're so casual and honest I'd wondered."

Quinlan grinned. "I just act like that so people underestimate me. If I seem like I am being honest and upfront, they don't realize I am keeping a few secrets. And they treat me as dumber than I am. Honestly a lot of problems can be solved by lulling people into a false sense of security when they underestimate me."

"I can see that. Intimidation and bluffing is a good tactic, but so is underselling yourself. I can admire that."

Quinlan grinned. "I like you."

"...seriously?" Fox asked, giving him a bewildered look.

Quinlan was pleased to realize he had spent enough time around Cody to recognize dragon expressions. 

"Yep. You take me seriously, you have yet to underestimate me, and despite being exasperated by me, and not wanting me to continue being annoying, you also aren't dismissing me as someone that matters little."

"...you have experience."

Quinlan shrugged. "When I was younger, I was always myself because that is the best person to be, you know? I didn't know how to be anyone else. Then  someone blew up on me and didn't want to be friends anymore. After that, I was a bit self conscious of my flaws and tried to dial back and asked everyone to let me know if I was too annoying. Still had people not communicating and blowing up on me. So I dial it up on the first meeting, and if people can pass that test, then they're worth giving a chance. At least then I know I've given ample warning and getting into a friendship or relationship that lasts months or years is on them when I led with my absolute worst foot forward."

"I don't think it can get worse than you divebombing my cave and slamming into the wall."

"I'm still learning to fly and I did get hit by lightning," Quinlan said defensively. "But I am sorry about that, really. If I'd known it was occupied, I would have tried to find a different cave."

Fox sighed. "No, it's better that you shelter here. At least you know my cave is stable since it's my home."

"Huh. I hadn't thought of it that way." Quinlan grinned at Fox. "So... You know a bit about me."

"And yet somehow nothing at all."

"True. I was wondering if you'd be willing to share something about yourself?"

Fox sighed. "You're ridiculous, you know that right?"

Quinlan beamed. "Thank you! I try really hard to be as obnoxious as possible." 

Fox huffed a bit of smoke in his face.

Quinlan didn't flinch.

"I like being alone because my brothers are obnoxious, and not in a good way like you. They didn't leave well enough alone with me. I went through something traumatic where a wizard got control of me and I wasn't the same after that. They spent a lot of time after trying to help me heal, but they were just hovering and being paranoid over the dumbest of things. Took me forever to shake them off... Then things got worse when Cody returned home and suddenly nothing I did was right.”

Quinlan blinked then grinned. "I have a brother too! His name is Obi-Wan and I've always protected him as much has I could from the idiots in our village. We're both orphans. I'm so glad we were able to leave that place. Thanks for sharing!"

Fox stared at him then shook his head. He walked over to the cave and poked his head out. After a moment he huffed. "Might as well take a nap or find something to do. It's probably going to go at least until sunset."

"Oh..." Quinlan knew that both Obi-Wan and Cody were going to worry. 

"You look like you could use a nap," Fox said gruffly. 

"How do you feel about cuddling?" Quinlan asked. 

"...I am not adverse. Why?"

Quinlan shrugged. "I do better with cuddling. Always have. I get touch starved really easily, and I just sleep better that way."

Fox huffed. "Then get over here. I don't care if you stay human. Just get some rest so you stop looking so pathetic and I can actually take a nap."

"Pretty sure you were pretending earlier."

"It doesn't matter. Sleep." 

Quinlan yawned as he joined Fox. He took a moment and found a good place to lean on Fox and close his eyes. 

Fox didn't move.

Quinlan got a little more comfortable and fell asleep. Fox was nice and cozy.

Fox stared at Quinlan once he was certain Quinlan was asleep.

Quinlan was an unusual human. 

But... something about him seemed suspicious. He reeked of magic. He seemed to have been cursed, if Fox remembered that scent right. 

Quinlan was strangely open but he was definitely keeping something secret.

Fox did not mind a mystery. Quinlan had seemed genuine. He had definitely winced a few times as he got comfortable, signifying bruises. There was also a light case of shakes that Fox recognized from his own close bouts with lightning. It was impressive how Quinlan hd been ignoring them.

But how did a human become a dragon? He had heard rumors of it being possible, but he had never encountered one before.

And he wasn't sure he would have guessed that Quinlan was human if it wasn't so new to Quinlan, either. If Quinlan was good at hiding his usual secrets, he'd be able to hide that too once he got used to things.

Fox sighed and put his head down next to Quinlan. He'd worry about it after his own nap. At least the human was sleeping now.

He pulled his wing over to cover his head and Quinlan, falling asleep in no time once he got his thoughts to stop.

.

Quinlan yawned sometime later as he woke up. He blinked at the unfamiliar red wing above him. That wasn't Cody. Or Obi-Wan, who was a bit more ginger red than brilliant red. 

Oh. Right. He crash landed in a cave and met the dragon living inside it. Named Fox. A weird name for a dragon, but from what Cody said, their parents had been weird when naming all of them. He'd been the only one of his clutch to end up with a somewhat normal name. 

Quinlan stretched a bit and stood up. He glanced around the cave.

It didn't look all that different from Cody's. 

He didn't dare touch any of the gold or treasure. He knew that all dragons protected their hoards differently, and he did not want to find out how Fox protected his hoard the hard way.

Quinlan debated just leaving before Fox woke up, but he decided to wait for Fox to wake up so he could thank him.

And maybe make arrangements to visit some time.

He was getting bored with Cody's cave.

Obi-Wan and Cody were such nerds and able to talk magic and other knowledge for hours. 

Quinlan could keep up with their talk; he wasn't dumb. But it just wasn't the sort of thing that he could handle for hours on end.

He let out a breath and relaxed. 

At least Fox was nice enough.

He knew that it was no guarantee that other dragons would be friendly.

They could be mean even to each other. There was a reason most dragons lived alone. 

But Quinlan didn't want that for himself. He hated being alone. 

He couldn't have done what Obi-Wan did during the curse. Being all alone after Quinlan didn't have the strength to talk anymore. 

It was bad enough that he was in Obi-Wan's body and communicating with anyone else was difficult. 

But the idea of being the person hosting another? Quinlan knew he would never have been able to handle being in Obi-Wan's shoes.

Quinlan wrapped his arms around his legs. Alone with his thoughts, nothing to distract him, and he was now thinking about the curse. 

It had been awful. He struggled so much. Being alone was hard. 

Quinlan blinked and realized he was crying. He rubbed his eyes and buried his head on his knees.

He hadn't shared anything of his feelings with Obi-Wan.  He knew Obi-Wan was struggling enough, with two additional curses. He knew that Obi-Wan would have just pushed himself harder in the wrong ways if he had said something. 

Quinlan wasn't going to stress Obi-Wan out, no matter how lonely he was. 

Quinlan sniffled as the tears started flowing. He hated crying.

"Something wrong?" Fox's voice startled him.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I'd been cursed and... I guess I haven't processed it yet."

"Want to talk about it?" 

"...not right now." Quinlan sighed. "It's enough to not be stuck with my brother and his boyfriend, while also not being alone. I hate being alone."

"You're a dragon now."

"So? I've never dealt well with being alone. Couldn't even sleep alone until I was like... fifteen."

"Oh, I suppose such things that are a part of you won't leave just because you're a dragon now. How did that happen, if you don't mind me asking?"

"It was a blessing meant to help my brother do the ritual he created to undo our curse, since the curse affected both of us. When I woke up, I was a dragon. Took a bit to master the shift between, and I'm still a bit bad at it. My brother took a bit longer to figure it out."

"A blessing to undo a curse, yeah that would work, and I can see how that would give you a dragon form, if a dragon gave you a blessing."

Quinlan nodded absently. "I'm still figuring it out. It's weird."

Fox was suddenly human, near identical to Cody. He sat down next to Quinlan. "I can imagine. Some of my brothers hate being in human form. I find it to be too much work unless I have a purpose."

"Then why shift now?" Quinlan asked quietly.

"You look like you could use a hug." Fox hugged him. His face said that he could not believe he was doing this.

Quinlan was grateful as he returned the hug, leaning in. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. If you want to visit... you can. You don't have to tell me your secrets. Truth is... I'm lonely too," he admitted. "I've pushed everyone away because they were too overbearing when I went through something traumatic." 

Quinlan suspected that wasn't the full truth.

"And you don't know how to reach out?"

"I don't know if they'd even want to hear from me after so long, let alone forgive me for it."

"Alright. How often are you good with visits?"

"Let's start with... every three days?"

"Sounds good." Quinlan smiled brightly, feeling more hopeful than he had in a long time. 

Fox smiled back. "The storm sounds like it's over. You better get going before your brother worries too much."

"I will. Thank you." Quinlan hugged him.

"You're welcome."

Fox watched Quinlan fly away. He wasn't so bad for a human. Fox hoped that they could make a real friendship.

Maybe a friendship would help him feel confident enough to try reaching out to his brothers. Most of his brothers were within half a day's flight. It wouldn't be hard to find them and talk to them. 

But he had no clue how they had been doing since he pushed them all away and disappeared without a word. He had been careful to make sure they couldn't find this cave for years. 

Once he let the enchantment fade, he got a couple of them visiting, though they didn’t talk much, more poked their heads in to make sure he was alive and then disappeared again.

.

Quinlan landed outside of Cody's cave and entered. 

He rolled his eyes when he found Cody and Obi-Wan passed out over some books. He put a blanket around them and found a book to read to occupy himself in the meantime.

He really needed to get back to some of his hobbies. He'd have to go back to a human town though to get the supplies... that was going to be weird. He needed better control over certain dragon traits. Breathing fire in human form was cool. 

Sneezing fire in human form was weird and would not go over well in a human town.

So he needed a bit better control. At least to the point he was sneezing sparks instead of flames. Apparently that was possible, it just took practice and control.

Quinlan shook his head and focused on his book. 

In a few days, he'd visit Fox again and maybe Fox could help him with some of that.

.

Quinlan started regularly visiting Fox. It was nice to get away from Cody and Obi-Wan. Even better, he was starting to feel like his own person again after so long attached to Obi-Wan. 

Fox was always grumpy, but he let Quinlan get away with a lot. It was always a good day when he could spend it with Fox.

Fox started teaching him some tricks. 

They didn’t really talk about themselves too much. Neither trusted the other to say more than they had that first day, but they did just enjoy spending time together. 

“Why are you so determined to learn to avoid doing more than sparks in human form? What is so important about learning how to control yourself?"

Quinlan sighed, looking away. “I missed a lot because of the curse. I want to get back to some of my hobbies, but to do that I need to enter a human village and avoid arousing suspicion as a dragon. Most of the villages around here would recognize me. Obi and I traveled this area a lot before the curse, though we had been branching out farther and farther and coming back less and less… this area is where we were raised.”

“I see. What hobbies?”

“Oh. Well, I’m almost a master glassblower, and I enjoy a lot of glasswork in general, so I want supplies for glass so I can make stuff again. I also enjoy crochet… always came in handy to make blankets and scarves and whatever clothes we needed along the way. Obi was always better at actually sewing clothes, but what I did worked in a pinch. Um… Beyond that…” Quinlan shrugged. “I want to pet some cats, and see if being among humans feels different now that I’m not really human anymore.”

“Hmm. Alright. Well, you’re starting to get the hang of your control. But no one’s control is perfect. You’ll want to start coming up with explanations if you can’t, if you truly want to avoid revealing you’re a dragon. You didn’t use magic before?”

“I had a little bit of magic that worked best with glass… Not enough to really acknowledge as real magic though…”

“You could say there was a curse, which is true, and that it strengthened your affinity to glass, including heat, which sometimes results in flames.”

Quinlan gaped at Fox then flung his arms around his neck. “That’s a great idea! Thank you so much!” 

Fox grumbled and returned the hug. “You’re welcome. Just don’t rush into it.”

“Oh, definitely not. I want to go soon, but I don’t think I’m ready quite yet.”

.

To Quinlan’s surprise, the next time he visited Fox, Fox took him flying. It wasn’t the first time they went flying, but they went near one of the villages.

“This way.” Fox led Quinlan behind a large hill at the base of the mountain. He shifted to human.

Quinlan followed suit, confused.

“Come on, let’s go visit the village.”

“They won’t make the connection between us and the dragons they just saw disappear?”

“Nope. They don’t expect dragons to have a human form, so as long as we give them no reason to think we’re dragons, they won’t bat an eye.”

“Oh. Huh. Crazy. What about the fact that we’re coming from this direction?”

“Traveling, passing through. Stay one night and leave the next day, simple enough. Come back in a few months and repeat. Just gotta be careful about when and which village.”

“Oh… wow you really know this area, don’t you?”

"Well, I do live here. I can't believe I never ran into you before."

Quinlan shrugged. "Obi and I were all over the place when I wasn't taking the time to learn from others. I'm not really surprised."

"I suppose that does make sense. Today is a single night trip, to see how you handle it. Next time we can try a longer trip so you can enjoy the glassblowing."

Quinlan grinned. "I know how to set up a portable forge... Once I get one set up, I could set up anywhere and blow glass."

"Oh, well, that's good."

"It'll be a lot easier to buy and hoard supplies too, since it'll be easier to carry them."

"Hoard?"

Quinlan blinked. "Did I really just use that word?"

Fox snorted. "Seems that instinct is coming through. I wondered. Dragons hoard. It's not always gold, it's things we treasure. Which. Are often other people's treasure. Most of us dragons end up with a hoard of gold so that no one realizes what we're really protecting with our curses."

"Huh." Quinlan hummed. "I can see that. ...yeah, I suppose I treasure being able to create and keep my creations safe the most, but I also treasure the things people make that they gift me. Obi is good at pottery. Before we became wanderers, I don't think I'd thrown away anything he made me."

"Then you will have a fun time hoarding."

Quinlan smiled, then sighed. "There's still so much to learn about being a dragon, I wonder if I'm ever going to learn it all. I never grew up with it like you did."

"No, you didn't, but you're a fast learner. I wouldn't have expected any human to learn any of this so quickly."

"Oh, really?"

"Yep. Come on, let's see what you can do."

Quinlan grinned at Fox as they walked into the village. 

The village eyed them oddly, not expecting to see those two people together, but the confusion was short-lived as everyone got on with their daily lives.

Quinlan happily spent time blowing glass. He was delighted to realize he was now immune to the heat after all, and he could handle glass without gloves. It made doing what he wanted to do a lot easier. 

Fox watched him with the hint of a smile the whole time.

Quinlan promised they'd do it again some time. 

Fox offered space to start his hoard as they left the village the next morning.

"Really?"

"You'll need a space, and finding your own cave for that isn't easy. I'm okay with it."

"If you're sure..."

"I am." Fox said firmly.

Quinlan beamed. 

They had to walk for longer away from the village, but neither minded spending so much extra time together.

There was a moment where they almost got caught in an avalanche, which resulted in Fox pressing up against Quinlan against the rocks, both still in human form.

Fox looked down at Quinlan's startled face and smiled. Has he ever seen anything so beautiful?

Before he could stop himself, he kissed Quinlan.

Quinlan wrapped his arms around Fox and returned the kiss with enthusiasm. 

When they pulled away, they rested their foreheads together breathlessly.

"What does this mean for dragons?" Quinlan asked once he caught his breath and got over the shock. A brilliant grin adorned his face.

"Let's get back to my cave and we can talk." Fox needed time to think. He hadn't realized he was growing feelings for the human, but now that he had kissed Quinlan, it was obvious. And now he had to explain dragon mates to Quinlan. Why did this have to happen to him?

"Alright. Think we're far enough away yet?"

"Normally, no, but the avalanche will make them a bit confused for a while, and the path is blocked so let's sneak away."

"Alright!" Quinlan grinned and followed Fox to a more open space to shift, then fly off to Fox's cave.

After they arrived, Fox stayed in dragon form, so Quinlan followed suit.

Fox watched him for a bit before sighing. "Dragons mate for life," he said bluntly. "So we're picky about things like dating. Can't let things get too far, can't risk ourselves too fast, not until we're sure we're in it for life, and we're even cautious with other dragons. Some kind of innate magic instinct thing that I don’t understand but don’t want to mess around with." 

"Okay. You kissed me."

"I did. On impulse. You're the first one I've ever thought about kissing, Quin. So I'm kind of new to this, but... I think we can make this work."

"Tell me more about how it's supposed to work?"

Fox told him.

Quinlan nodded along, thinking about the things he had seen Cody do with Obi-Wan. But Cody had not mentioned to Quinlan that mating was for life.

"I'm in," he declared when Fox was done.

Fox stared at him, then snorted, smoke coming out of his nostrils. "Just like that? What about your family? What about your life?"

"My life is already wrecked now that I'm a dragon. And anyway, I don't know that I can go back after that curse." Quinlan shuddered. He'd been so focused on Obi-Wan's wellbeing he hadn't thought or talked much about how traumatizing it was being trapped like that for six months. He hadn’t even fully explained it to Fox yet because he wasn’t ready. There was no way Quinlan was going to risk that happening again.

"And your family?"

"They don't matter," Quinlan said quietly.

"There's a story there."

"It's..." Quinlan sighed. "Obi-Wan and I are orphans, the community we were raised in was our family... I found my birth family, they're um. Not the best. And Obi-Wan had some issues growing up so we go back as little as possible. Honestly, I was thinking hiding that I'm a dragon was going to be difficult anyway, if I ever went back, so I'm okay with not going back."

"That's not fair to you," Fox said quietly.

Quinlan shrugged. "The curse changed things, changed me, even before the blessing turned me into a dragon. I want to reclaim some of that back, but..." He shrugged again.

Fox sighed. "Alright, we're going to revisit that once we're done talking over dating." 

"I'm good with dating, you already volunteered space that I can use here. I spend most of my time here anyway. Dating won't change that. What are you looking for before becoming mates for life?"

Fox was silent for a moment. "Someone I can live with and not get annoyed at everyday. Someone who is an equal and who listens and cares. But also someone that will give me space... So far, you're fitting that."

"And when will we know?"

"It's something of a we will know it when we experience things. Once our feelings hit a certain point, our instincts will take over and initiate the bond for mating and there will be no going back."

"Ah, that's why you have to be careful not to get too invested. And if we do become mates, we can't go too far from each other, and we will always be tied together... So far, I think I can live with that."

Fox smiled and butted his head against Quinlan's. "I'm a bit tired. Let's take a nap before you go back to your brother."

"Maybe you should come with..." Quinlan yawned. "Think you might know the dragon that helped us."

"Oh, I see. I suppose I shall have to go, if only so your brother can meet who you're considering as a mate."

Quinlan hummed curling up with Fox. "He's going to have a hilarious reaction. but this is great... thanks for having me over, Foxy. And napping with me. Mmmm... so warm." He put his head on Fox's neck and fell asleep promptly.

Fox snorted and got comfortable.

Quinlan was ridiculous.

Quinlan could be his ridiculous. 

Fox hoped this worked out.

.

"Quin's never been gone this long. What if something happened?"

"Quin can take care of himself, Obi. I'm sure he just got distracted."

"He didn't come back last night! And now it's almost evening again! He didn't tell us he had plans that would keep him away... so where is he?"

Cody shifted human and placed his hands on Obi-Wan's shoulders. "Breathe, Obi. Breathe. It will be okay. Quin will be okay. He can take care of himself."

Before anything else could be said, Quinlan swept in and bounded over, shifting human as he did so. He seemed extra excited.

"Hey! Guess what! I'm dating, I think you might know him, Cody!" 

Cody blinked. "Know who?" he asked cautiously.

Fox landed and looked around. "...Cody." He shifted human, raising an eyebrow. "Quin mentioned your name a few times, I didn't actually think you'd give a blessing to humans."

Cody flushed. "Fox!" he complained. 

Obi-Wan snorted. "Only you could start dating my boyfriend's brother."

Quinlan slung an arm around his shoulders. "Yeah, I know. Foxy is pretty great though." 

"He treat you right?"

"We went to a town yesterday, stayed the night, then almost got caught by an avalanche on the way out. I was able to pick up some glass supplies. I'm thinking about experimenting with it considering firebreath. And I can handle hot glass without gloves which makes things so much easier."

"...well that's a yes," Obi-Wan drawled, smiling. "I'm happy for you."

Quinlan beamed. 

Fox and Cody were still staring each other down, just from a closer distance. 

"Why did you leave?" Fox asked finally.

"You don't know?"

"No, Dad told us nothing, and whatever you think is obvious isn't obvious to me. Besides, I was dealing with… a lot and not entirely aware,"  Fox admitted.

Cody groaned. "Typical. Should have known that bastard wouldn't even tell you..." He shook his head. "Let's talk over some snacks and tea or coffee or something."

Quinlan and Obi-Wan exchanged confused but curious looks.

Fox sipped the coffee and waited.

Cody took in a breath and let it out. "You know how Father was all about traditions and all that?"

"Yes?"

"He took me to the dragon war for tradition since I'm the oldest. I thought I was ready, I was not. I couldn't stomach the war for long, and what was worse was how dragons treat humans traditionally. I wanted no part in that, and he got mad when I said I wanted to go home. Told me that I was a worthless hatchling and if I did, I'd be stuck playing mother to the rest of you until you were of age. We fought. I came home, dealt with his expectations until I was sure the rest of you could fend for yourselves or at least take care of each other, I let him drag me around to other things, and then I left."

Fox huffed. "Dad's a right bastard. He's got an empty nest, I don't think anyone is visiting. I cannot believe we've been practically neighbors and never realized it."

Cody shrugged. "I had enough of adventures, and I rarely leave my cave anymore, basically just for food. Had some rough encounters with humans, so steer clear of them, or I did until Obi came looking for help. And now here we are."

"Here we are," Fox echoed, sighing.

“Are you going to the sibling reunion for the summer solstice?” Cody asked.

“I’ve never been invited.”

“What?” Cody stared at him. “No one mentioned that.”

Fox shrugged. “I suppose it escaped your notice but they care more about you than they do me. And I did have that spectacular meltdown in your direction once.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you should be ostracized.”

“Better than being babied.”

“...what?”

“...you don’t know.” Fox sighed. “I don’t know why I’m surprised. Our siblings are idiots.”

“Typical. I want the full story before we go.”

“Before we go?”

“Yes. You’re coming with, it’ll take some attention off of me for dating Obi-Wan, and I can smack some sense into them if they treat you horribly.”

“I’m not sure that’s worth it but… We can try one time, and all bets are off if they treat Quin poorly. He doesn’t deserve that.” Fox’s lip curled as smoke trailed out of his mouth at the very thought.

Cody nodded, then sighed, glad that both Obi-Wan and Quinlan were distracted chatting about Quinlan's trip and Fox.

"What did Quinlan tell you of the curse?"

"Not much. Why?"

"I'm worried about him," Cody admitted. "Look at him, can you imagine him trapped in another person's body, only in charge if he pushed for control, for months on end?"

"...he would hate it."  Fox carefully filed away the information on what the curse did to Quinlan to examine later rather than freak out about it right there.

"Exactly. I don't think he would bounce back either. And yet..."

"Obi-Wan is his brother, he feels responsible for Obi-Wan... He's not going to let Obi-Wan take care of him, especially not when Obi-Wan had been dealing with a different angle for the same trauma." Fox sighed. 

"Can you talk to him, make sure he's dealing with it?"

"I can try." Fox agreed, then fell silent for a moment. "How are you doing with this?"

"I'm still a bit shocked I helped Obi at all, let alone fell in love," Cody admitted. "And yet... here we are."

"Here we are... are you happy, Cody?"

"Happy? Now I am. What about you?"

"I think I found what I was missing. How can I be so certain I found my mate so soon after I met him?"

"I don't know. But that's not going to stop us from loving them."

"No, it's not. I'm looking forward to Quin sharing my space." Fox grinned. "He's pretty sure he's going to end up hoarding the things he makes out of glass, and I'm excited to see what kinds of things that means."

"Oh, that sounds good. Obi's hoard is going to be books."

"Books?"

"Books. He's very academically minded... the counter for the curse was one he created, I just blessed it to hopefully counter a different curse he was under at the time."

"Two curses at once?"

"Yeah, apparently the sharing bodies one was Quin's fault. The other one was definitely Obi's fault, though."

"Wouldn't surprise me."

There was silence as the sounds of Quinlan and Obi-Wan playfighting took over the cave.

Fox turned and watched his boyfriend with a fond smile.

"How did you meet, anyway?" 

"He crash landed in my cave during a storm. We've been making friends since."

"...huh. Okay. Explains a lot."

Fox nodded. "Alright, I think I should get going. It's getting late."

"No shame in staying for a night or two, I've always had rooms for my brothers."

"...wait a minute. How many have stayed here?"

"Mostly cousins, ten since I moved in years and years ago, I think. But a couple of brothers."

"They have hardly visited me, and none mentioned you…” Fox was unsurprised, but still disappointed by the blatant favoritism.

"Well, they shouldn’t have treated you like that. You’re grumpy and need your alone time, but you need it that badly. And I don’t know why they wouldn’t mention me.”

Fox shrugged. "Alright, I'll spend the night." He resumed watching Quinlan play around with Obi-Wan. "It'll give me more time to make a plan of action."

"Good luck with that." Cody let out a breath. "And thank you for listening. Half of those who visited didn't actually give me that courtesy at first, they all exploded, then listened."

Fox shrugged. "I've learned some things about communication. And... you helped Quin, so you can't be all that bad."

Cody nodded. "Makes sense." He sighed, leaning forward.

"Do I want to know what it is now?"

Cody shook his head. "Just thinking about family. Leaving was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made. I love every one of you, but I couldn't do it, not while still traumatized from being dragged off to the dragon war, not after seeing how far dragons and humans were willing to go for the ones they loved."

"That's understandable." Fox sighed. "I'd be bothered by that too... you would've had nightmares but been bothered by all of us and not had any time to deal... and it's always easier to process on our own time."

Cody nodded. "Yeah. I'm sorry it hurt you though. Wasn't my intention."

"You had to take care of yourself. I just wish people would actually explain things. I know I'm a grump who explodes easily, but it only makes it worse to be left out of the loop."

"I should have told you. I know others fear your temper, and you do need to be better about not taking it out on everyone else but... That's your initial reaction. Once you cool down, you're usually fine, and accept what you've been told. If nothing else, they, we could have sent you a letter."

Fox grimaced. "There is a reason I moved away from everyone. Wolffe kind of banned me from the family after I almost hurt Bly." Oops, he had not meant to let that slip. It was something he preferred not to think about.

Cody frowned. "Wait a minute... just how much contact have you had with our brothers?"

"Um, I've had Wolffe visited a few times, not quite once a year but it's been at least five visits... Thorn visits once a year... um... Everyone else is less than that."

"...anyone at zero?"

Fox nodded.

"...They've been visiting me more than you, and you're not far."

"You know I prefer not to have company."

"Never stopped them from visiting me, even when I told them I don't like visiting that much." Cody sighed. 

Fox looked away, feeling oddly emotional. "I see." 

"I am not okay with that," Cody told him. "I'm not going to let it continue."

"You don't-"

"You live not far away. You can visit when they are and I'll tell them to leave if they want to complain."

"You don't have to."

"I'm still your big brother."

"I thought you didn't want to have that responsibility anymore."

Cody rolled his eyes. "I didn't want the responsibility of parenting all of you anymore. And having a few years of space where at most brothers are sticking around for a month does wonders for how much I'm willing to do."

Fox blinked. "...fair point."

.

It was just Obi-Wan and Quinlan in a room, as Cody had insisted on brotherly bonding time with Fox.

"So... you do really like him?" Obi-Wan asked Quinlan.

"Yeah. It's weird. I didn't know it was possible, honestly. But... He's wonderful. Grumpy, yeah, but he's a softy underneath. I think it's to protect himself but he doesn't realize it." 

"Grumpy people usually are like that."

Quinlan nodded, and sighed happily, leaning on Obi-Wan. "He wants to help me set up a glassblowing forge! And I don't know... he's just so nice. Once you get past the grump."

"I believe it, Quin. I doubt you would be so happy otherwise." Obi-Wan was smiling. "I'm happy to know where you've been disappearing to." 

Quinlan huffed. "I didn't want to say anything, I wasn't sure about the rift between Fox and Cody, and I don't know. A lot going on in my head, I guess."

Obi-Wan nodded. "Of course."

"Can't believe he asked to court me though." Quinlan sighed dreamily. 

Obi-Wan smacked him with a pillow.

Quinlan yelped in surprise.

"I think that's enough sap from you." 

Quinlan pouted. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. You've been waxing poetic since we came in here an hour ago. We should sleep." 

"You're right." Quinlan chuckled.

.

A few days later, Fox finally approached Quinlan while he worked on some glass. They had been able to get something set up so he could do some things. They still needed to get the portable forge.

"Quin?"

"Yeah?"

"I wanted to ask you something..."

Quinlan looked up. "About?"

"Were you really not that bothered by the curse?"

Quinlan tensed and looked back at the glass he was working with. He started working again. 

"Why do you ask?" 

Fox watched him worriedly, but did not get closer. "You don't talk about it but you play it off flippantly. I know it'd bother me, so I was wondering if it bothered you, despite how you act."

Quinlan sighed but kept working. Only once he had a finished piece to set aside did he look at Fox.

"You really want to know?"

"Of course I do. I care about you."

Quinlan let out a breath. "Alright. Yeah, it bothers me. I was trapped in another body, a passenger, unable to do anything unless I really pushed for it."

Fox nodded and stepped closer. "A hug?"

Quinlan nodded and hugged him, burying his head in Fox's chest. "It was so hard. I'm so used to talking but all I could do was listen and observe and sometimes push Obi-Wan to take care of himself and I learned so much about how he thought and I just... Cody is so, so good for him, he's actually taking care of himself now and he isn't as worried about everything like he used to be, and I just..." 

Fox started rubbing his back, still listening to everything he said.

"And... and I thought that no one would care if I was gone. Obi's been my only friend, my lifeline. Everyone loves him. Me? I get to learn about glasswork but everyone is always happy when I go, they don't really care about me, and I am so, so tired of no one caring and I was kind of relieved to go I was just so worried about what Obi-Wan would do once I didn't have the strength to even speak to him mentally anymore and I was right to worry but Cody was there for Obi-Wan when I couldn't be... and and... as happy as I am for Obi-Wan I just felt like there was nothing left for me." The first tears started appearing, but Quinlan didn’t stop pouring his heart out with everything he had been keeping inside.

"Like... the one thing keeping me going all those years is gone. I'm not all that different from Cody, in some ways. I've always been responsible for Obi-Wan because no one cared enough about our feelings, but Obi-Wan had me and that was enough for him. But I had no one. And then I was stuck in his body, watching him do amazing things, and feeling inadequate. I'm good at glasswork, I love exploring and checking out treasures and doing it with my brother but it was my fault we were in that predicament in the first place. I wasn't good enough. And the more I watched Obi-Wan work on his own, with my support but still, he appeared to be on his own, the more I realized it's time for me to let him be on his own, he doesn't need me and I... I realized I don't know what I want, what I'm meant to do. I love glasswork, but I only started learning anything about glass to have something that could guarantee money for when our treasure hunts weren't leading anywhere. And now I'm a dragon, and flying is great and immunity to heat is fantastic but now I know even less who I am and..." 

Quinlan was out of words. He started sobbing. 

Fox held him and moved so they were sitting comfortably, worried but relieved that Quinlan had talked. 

Once he started talking it was like a dam had burst and what he had been holding back came out.

Now Fox had an idea of what to do. He just hoped that Quinlan would let him help.

Quinlan clung to Fox and kept sobbing.

Fox rubbed his back soothingly, humming a song he remembered vaguely from his childhood, some lullaby everyone liked singing.

Eventually Quinlan calmed down and leaned on him, quiet and listening.

"What's that?" he asked after a moment.

"Just a song my mom used to sing. And my brothers. I can't remember the words anymore. Just the melody."

"I like it." Quinlan said quietly. "Reminds me of happier times, of playing with Obi before the world caught up with us and told us it was bad."

"I'm sorry," Fox said quietly. "It sucks that the world hasn't been kind to you. And it sucks more that you didn't really have anyone, not even Obi. But that's not true anymore. You have me, and Obi has Cody. Neither of us are alone anymore."

Quinlan smiled, hopeful. "Yeah?"

"I asked you to date, to consider being my mate, didn't I?" Fox asked, chuckling. "It will all work out, Quin. I promise."

Quinlan hummed. "If you're sure..."

"More than certain Quin. You are a wonderful person, who deserves so much more. You keep taking care of Obi, you have been trying to help me. Let us help you. Let me take care of you."

"Okay." Quinlan's grin was the brightest thing Fox had ever seen. It made him look more gorgeous than before.

He kissed Quinlan before he could stop himself.

Quinlan let out a surprised noise before melting into the kiss and relaxing. 

Fox chuckled. "You are amazing, Quin. I just wish you could see it."

Quinlan sighed. "I guess... I just was always barely keeping my head up, keeping Obi safe and so, I never stopped to think about what I was doing, just that I was succeeding, sometimes almost failing, and there were a few times I did almost fail... what I was doing just felt... normal."

Fox hummed. "Just because it was normal does not mean it's amazing if it is something you struggle with. You are amazing. Cody told me about what you told him before you lost strength. How that helped him."

Quinlan looked away sheepishly. "I was just doing what I thought was right... I didn't think about it... I... I love Obi, and if anyone had to die I would always prefer it to be me, but I know Obi would always blame himself, and I didn't want that. I had faith he would succeed but I was also perfectly okay with being the one to die if that was how things had to go."

Fox sighed. "You two are like the worst pair of brothers."

Quinlan chuckled. "I suppose we are." He paused, thinking about it. "Huh. I just realized something. I don't think that it was that I didn't mind dying, that I was prepared to die or anything. I think I wanted to die. I didn't have anything to live for besides Obi. If I couldn't live for him, what was the point?" 

Fox hugged him tightly. 

"And, as much as I love being a dragon, it's also really weird, and not what I wanted. I'm not... I wasn't a dragon. I was just a human who could barely use magic. I didn't ask to be a dragon and I love flying and I love fire and I love being able to handle hot glass but it's not... it's not me? I don't know."

"It's not who you always pictured yourself to be," Fox said quietly, trying to listen. Trying to understand.

Quinlan nodded. "Yeah, that's about right. And I... I just... I don't deserve that. How can I be so lucky? I've never been lucky... I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop."

Fox hummed. "I don't know. How did you learn magic?"

"The village that raised us sucked with emotions and didn't really know what to do with a pair of unrelated orphans but they were good at teaching. And we found a better place, a while back. They're like monks and they respect all life, no matter what, even dragons... they taught us everything we need to know. But we never fit in there because of how we were raised."

Quinlan paused and hung his head. "No... I didn't fit in there. I couldn't get the hang of their expectations. I love the people and the place, but I can't do silence, and I can't not be me and... I was interrupting their way of life. I would never fit in. So I left. Obi would have been so happy there, he was happy. But when I left... he followed."

"And you've felt guilty ever since," Fox filled in quietly.

Quinlan nodded. "He could do so much better than me as a brother, he would have avoided all the curses entirely if he didn't leave with me and just did the temple and their acts of service and I bet they would have helped him with his emotions, no need to figure it out the way he did." 

Fox nodded slowly, getting a better picture. "Did they ask you to leave?"

"No... but I could feel their annoyance, the way they looked at me... I kept talking too loud, knocking things over... and I'm clingy, I love cuddling, but they don't and... I couldn't keep interrupting their way of life anymore. They were just too polite to call me out."

Fox frowned. "If they didn't say anything to your face, how can you be sure you didn't fit in?"

"I don't even fit in at glass shops, the first person who taught me was happy to get rid of me once I learned all the basics. I've been chased out of towns before just for being me, no magic done at all, and yet... chased me out."

Fox sighed. "You're a puzzle, Quin."

"Huh?"

"You're not used talking about yourself, so you keep talking about everything that comes to your mind, but it's all disjointed and out of order, and some of it has never come up before."

"Oh. Sorry."

"No, it's okay. I just keep thinking I know what's going on, how I can help you, but then you add something else that shows me it's far more complicated than it appears."

Quinlan nodded, looking down.

"Hey, I've already chosen you, you don't need to worry about that changing. I will help you in any way I can because I want you to be happy."

Quinlan didn't look up. 

Fox placed his hands on Quinlan's shoulders. "Look at me, Quin."

Quinlan looked up.

"I don't care what other people think of you. I care what I think of you, and I think you are a good person I can live with, and that I adore. I want you to be happy. I love seeing you laugh and smile, and I have been enjoying your glass work. You've been doing so good and it's so fascinating... and it makes you so happy."

Quinlan sniffled. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure, Quin. I like you, I might even love you. I just know I want you to be happy, and that if you choose me I will always do my best to make you happy. I've never felt like this about anyone before."

Quinlan didn't look convinced.

Fox kissed him.

Quinlan hummed, leaning in. 

Fox wrapped his arms around him and rested his forehead on Quinlan's. "I want you to be happy, okay? We can make each other happy. But sometimes that means we need to talk about the hard stuff. I know I'm not the best example because I hadn't talked about my issues with Cody and my brothers before, and I should talk about it, more structured, I haven't been entirely truthful with you and I should start. Do you want me to talk first? Do you want to sleep on it? We don't have to talk until you're ready."

"That's... that would be good..." Quinlan sighed. 

"Which option?"

"...all of the above. I'm not really ready to talk, it'll help me be ready to hear you talk first, but we should sleep on it. You just reunited with Cody and started talking with him again. We don't need to talk right now... but you're right... communication is best. I'm just so used to keeping it to myself and dealing with it on my own..."

"Take your time, Quin. I'll be waiting for you to be ready."

Quinlan smiled and kissed him. "I know. You're wonderful like that, Foxy."

Fox smiled. "I try. Now, let's get some sleep, okay?"

Quinlan yawned. "Okay. You sure you don't want to sleep as a dragon?"

"You're not comfortable with it yet, and I rather like being able to cuddle properly, no matter what that means for me."

Quinlan beamed and pulled Fox to bed. 

They slept well that night.

It took Quinlan three days to get up the courage to bring up the talk again.

Fox sighed. "Alright, let's get settled."

"Sounds bad."

"It... kind of is." Fox huffed.

"Good thing I made some cookies."

Fox stared at the plate of cookies in Quinlan's hands. "How did you manage that?"

"Experimenting with firebreath for glasswork showed me how to control it enough to bake stuff. I expect I'll be cooking a lot more when I'm in the mood for human food."

Fox snatched three cookies and started making them. "This is good."

Quinlan beamed. "I found the recipe in the box of my parents things that I was allowed to have. It's my favorite."

Fox gave him a surprised look then nodded. "That sounds nice. I really like them too."

Quinlan smiled wider, then settled in to cuddle Fox and listen to what he had to say.

Fox let out a breath. "Cody is actually technically the same age as me, since we're from the same clutch. There were ten of us in that clutch, and we have a lot more younger siblings. Cody just hatched two days ahead of the rest of us, we hatched over the course of a day, then Rex was the last one a day later."

"Which makes Cody the oldest and the one in charge?"

Fox nodded. "The dragon wars... those things don't really require dragons to fight it but our dad had fought before and missed those glory days so he dragged Cody to it. I remember that, though it was after they left but before I came back that I had that encounter with the wizard and no, I’m not ready to talk about that yet even if that affected how I reacted to everything.”

Quinlan patted his hand and offered him a cookie.

“I remember Cody coming back and being different. Arguing with our dad a lot, nightmares, snapping at us a lot... There were a few times he got vicious with me but I was not the greatest brother and I was more of a stubborn troublemaker than the rest, and none of them actually saw it.

“Then... Cody left, abruptly, one month later when dad left him in charge again. He didn't want to deal with us. I was overwhelmed with emotion. I had missed him, he had come home but he wasn't the same, and he had hurt me, but I was trying to be better because I didn't want to stress him and then he just... he left without a word to me. He must have told the others because they were fine with it. I found out he gone and... I honestly don't really remember what happened after," Fox admitted. "I guess I had a tantrum, and couldn't be calmed, and I hurt others."

Quinlan hugged him tightly. "Sounds more like a meltdown. Tantrums are controlled and meant to get attention and what they want. Meltdowns are uncontrollable collisions of too many things happening at once causing an eruption of feelings. If you don't even remember what happened, I doubt there was any chance for you to control yourself."

"...Oh." Fox swallowed, feeling his emotions rise up. "Well, my brothers said I was ungrateful, that I didn't care about Cody, that it wasn't about me... and things weren't the same after that. They told me nothing about Cody, even though they went looking. I wasn't allowed to look for him because clearly I was too immature to handle it and they didn't want me to hurt him. 

“I wasn't really angry once I calmed down. I just was hurt and lashing out because they kept lecturing me on what Cody had been through and how much work it is to be in charge of not just us, but two other clutches at that point... we were the equivalent of humans who were almost adults, the next oldest clutch was more like... humans just hitting puberty, and the last clutch was just getting out of the toddler age... and while I was able to read between the lines eventually, I was still at a loss as to why Cody left. They never actually answered my questions.

“As soon as I was certain I had gotten all the dragon magic lessons I needed to survive, along with all the other survival skills, and knew where to look to learn more, I was gone. I only returned on occasion to the sibling events initially, and there, everyone shuns me, even our younger siblings. So I gave up after the first couple of years.. They don't really visit, other than to see if I'm alive or not, and they rarely stay the night."

Quinlan winced. "So you've been isolated. Aside from visiting humans."

Fox sighed. "Yeah. That's why I was so willing to let you hang around. I've been lonely. I'm used to humans. You're both dragon and human, which, for me being desperate, was fine. And now... now I've seen Cody..."

"And you've talked."

"And we've talked. I've learned that our brothers have been visiting Cody, including brothers that visited me and told me nothing about Cody. He told me about his feelings in more detail and he's a bit horrified by how I've been treated. That's not what he wanted, but he forgot how meddling our brothers can be."

"I'm sorry. What are you going to do?"

"We're going to show up at the annual brother gathering together and Cody is going to sit down with all of us and try to get to the bottom of it. Which will be... fun."

"For you or everyone else?"

"For Cody, mostly," Fox huffed. "I'm not the nicest dragon, and I did cause some of the issues myself. But it was me against everyone else because I was lashing out and they didn't care sooooo I think Cody is angrier at them for shunning me and never telling him where I was. If they had... he probably would have sorted it out long ago."

Quinlan nodded. "I had wondered when I realized how close you two live to each other."

"I'm surprised we never saw each other when we were out flying." Fox sighed. "But I am glad you realized who we are to each other so that we can sort it out now."

Quinlan smiled and cuddled. "Me too. I'm also glad not to be alone anymore."

"And you'll talk to me when there's issues in the future?"

"As long as you talk to me. Neither of us are alone." Quinlan smiled.

"Good. I'm glad that you're willing to talk."

Quinlan sighed. "I'm not used to it though. I never liked Obi-Wan knowing when I was dealing with problems, so I kept it from him. I dealt with my emotions better than him but beyond that, I think maybe I've been worse than him when it comes to dealing with things... I just refuse to lie to myself."

"We'll work it out. You almost died, lost yourself to Obi-Wan's body, and now you're a dragon. Which is great, but now you're figuring things out."

Quinlan sighed. "In hindsight, I'm not sure I ever truly figured myself out," he admitted. "I just... I wasn't good at that. I didn't have to, and it was easy to make my identity that of Obi's protector. But now he doesn't need me anymore." Quinlan yawned.

"He doesn't, and that's why you were stupid enough to fly in a thunderstorm."

"More like unobservant enough... I did not see it coming. I think I need to learn more about how to recognize a storm is coming."

Fox nodded. "I will teach you."

"Good." 

"But now I think we're both tired of talking and it's time for sleep. So, come on, let's curl up and sleep."

Quinlan let Fox pull him over to sleep, smiling, happy for once in his life. Things were going to get better.