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“The dragon riders are back!” Stan stated excitedly, leaving his post by Kyle’s side to go run outside. Kyle gave an affectionate sigh as he was replaced with another guard. Kyle cared about the dragon riders, of course he did. They were their scouts and their war force and as a prince they were important to his kingdom. Of course he also knew why his knight was so excited, Wendy was a dragon rider and they had been childhood sweethearts before Kyle had seen Stan at the training grounds of the adventures guild and, to the amusement of his mother the queen since she told the story all the time, apparently demanded he come home with them. However, as a prince he couldn’t go running out there to say hello to his king, or to anyone really especially the arrogant fuck known as Eric Cartman. Head of the dragon riders against Kyle’s request, hot headed to the extreme, and damn him, highly capable leader Cartman had been a thorn in his side since they were children. Always goading him into recklessness, to climb onto a dragon even though none had chosen him, and openly mocking him staying behind at the palace. The idiot didn’t understand that to put the whole bloodline of the kingdom in harm's way was the height of idiocy.
“Your highness, you didn’t come out and greet your riders, a bit rude don’t you think?” A sickly voice said and Kyle narrowed his eyes as the man he was just thinking of came into view. His chestnut color hair was plastered to his head from the helmet, and his rare heterochromatic eyes glittered with amusement.
“Sir Cartman, as you are aware one simply can’t run to you at a moment's notice. I know you are a low born but you must have been in the palace long enough to know some decorum.” Kyle’s voice was icy and caustic, and he noticed the knight near him shuffle his feet and Kyle tried to reign back his annoyance.
“So I guess that means the prince doesn’t want to see the souvenir I picked up for him on our travels to the deadlands?” Curiosity piquing Kyle got up, and approached the rider before he could even remember decorum. With a flush under Cartman’s smirk he crossed his arms and pouted once his face was hidden from the court.
“You know I want it, give it so I can go up to my tower and research.”
“No, when I do that we don’t see you for weeks.” Cartman resisted and Kyle resisted the urge to throttle him.
“Then why vex me especially with something you know I want to see?”
“To get you to break decorum for me, I always find it so interesting how you want to break all the rules for me.”
Kyle stepped back, forgetting himself as he had leaned closer to the irritating man. “Fine, name your price dragon rider.” Cartman glared and stepped back as well before huffing and handing him a bag. Kyle opened it up and saw soil, he opened his mouth to complain but Cartman tsked. “Look inside the soil Kyle.” Kyle activated Search Sight and looked around, widening his eyes when he saw a seed with roots coming out of it.
“But this was found in the deadlands!” Kyle couldn’t help but shout, before quickly attaching the bag to his hip and hugging the thorn in his side. This was amazing news, this sign of life means that all of his research had successfully worked, they could take their kingdom back from the dangerous beasts that lurked there. He let Cartman go who had a shocked and dazed expression on his face and left him for his tower.
“Make sure to thank Wendy, it was she who put the potion into the ground!” Cartman yelled after him and Kyle waved a hand dismissively. Once up in his tower, he carefully planted the soil and seed into a planter and watered it. Then he waved his hand over the soil to give it some oxygen and boost the nutrients in the soil. Setting up the growth light, he found the notebook with the specific potion and wrote down the results, before starting to brew a bigger batch.
Cartman was in the courtyard relaxing when he saw a shadow come over his body. He cracked an eye open slowly. This was no threat to him, though it was a promise of breaking the rules.
“Take me with you on Eragon.” Kyle demanded and Cartman sat up slowly, if only to annoy the bossy prince.
“Rules are rules my prince, you aren’t to leave the castle.”
“I got permission from the king,” Kyle stated and Cartman almost believed the lie, if he hadn’t known the prince since they were in diapers.
“Whose head will it be when your father finds out you have snuck out your rebellious teen?”
Kyle stamped his foot, and Cartman tried to not find it cute but with their height difference, it was impossible not to.
“There will be no heads rolling if you follow my directions. Stan will cover for us and my father is used to me spending all my days up in my research tower. The potion I gave Wendy uses expensive ingredients, I have made a new one with cheaper ingredients but I need to test if it will work.”
Cartman slowly blinked, Kyle had never bothered to explain himself before, just demands for potion ingredients or seemingly random things. Cartman got them of course, if only because of the reaction he had gotten last week in the throne room but it was still new to be told exactly why he was being given a task.
“Give me the potion then and I will ride out, while you stay locked up in your pretty tower where you can’t be harmed.” He knew the moment he said that it was a non starter, as Kyle’s eyes narrowed into slits and a pout formed. No, not the pout no one in all of the kingdom could deny that. It’s what allowed Kyle to get Stan when they were kids to be his private knight, skipping the school all children went to. It is why Cartman gets him random things like frogs when he leaves the palace. And it was going to cause Cartman to agree to taking the prince to a dangerous land even though kingdom law forbade it.
“Fine, we will go but you are not to leave Eragon’s side or back. We will go there, you will instruct me how to pour the potion and where, and then we are getting out of there to come back.” Kyle chewed on his bottom lip but must have decided that was his best option because he nodded. They left the courtyard and climbed up to the dragon tower, where he found Eragon dozing in a sunny patch from the window. He got up at the scent of Cartman and eyed Kyle warily. Kyle for his part put on a brave face, despite Eragon being how he dropped from the sky the last time Cartman goaded him into riding, and approached him. He held a hand out and allowed the dragon to sniff him. Eragon closed his amber eyes and pressed into it, huffing out a small breath that warmed Kyle’s hand. This made things easier, Kyle seemed to no longer have trauma over the fall that he would have been fine during because riders had spells specifically for his situation, and Eragon had figured out he didn’t need to feel guilty anymore. They had all only been children after all.
“I assume you no longer remember how to mount?” Kyle flushed red and Cartman raised an eyebrow, an interesting reaction to a question but maybe he was just embarrassed.
“I do not, mind helping me?” Kyle was more reserved now and Cartman nodded, he obviously wasn’t fully over his phobia of dragons. He got Eragon saddled and ready, even as the dragon wiggled in excitement over flying. Then he grabbed Kyle and lifted him up into the saddle, placing him there and belting him in. He then got into the saddle behind Kyle, wrapping his arms around him to grab the reins. Kyle was stiff in front of him and Cartman leaned forward so the prince could feel his warmth.
“I won’t let you fall, not this time. We’re all too old for such tricks.” Kyle relaxed some but was still stiff and Cartman sighed, the dumb ass would get whiplash if he didn’t relax. Slowly, Cartman scooted closer so Kyle was leaning into his chest and his thighs touched him.
“In this position, if you fall I fall, the straps won’t allow for that though I promise.” Kyle relaxed further and nodded and Cartman smirked. Good, now it was time to undo all of that progress, as Eragon launched from the rampart. Kyle screamed and Cartman laughed as Kyle grabbed onto his wrists in a death grip. Eragon let them freefall for a bit, before flapping his wings and getting them airborne.
Cartman leaned so his mouth could be next to Kyle’s ears and he could hear him. “Open your eyes, you won’t regret it.” Kyle cracked an eye open, before opening both and staring down in wonder, his mouth opening. A bug flew into his mouth, ruining the view and Kyle spluttered as he spit it out and the bug flew off, no doubt shaking it’s little bug leg in a fist.
Cartman laughed, “Yeah I should have warned you of that, my bad.” Kyle moved in the saddle to glare at him but it was half hearted, as Kyle snickered as well. Kyle returned to viewing the ground beneath them and Cartman fought to maintain control of Eragon. Normally they would be doing flips and spirals in the air but Cartman didn’t feel the urge to do that with Kyle on his dragon finally. Green fields melded into brown and then eventually black and Cartman circled the area to ensure it was free of hostile creatures. Satisfied, he landed and was pleased when Kyle stayed seated on the saddle. He was given the potion and strict instructions and so he did just that, this time instead of a seed, a sprout planted and he looked at Kyle who had a smug smile on his face. That smile did funny things to Cartman’s heart and he felt it beat a little faster than was normal. It must be because of what this sprout represented. Cartman climbed back up behind Kyle and bracketed him again, smiling into Kyle’s hair when he instantly relaxed and leaned into his warmth.
“It’s cold in the deadlands, I should have warned you to wear something warmer.” Kyle shrugged, robe sleeves flapping as they took to the sky.
“It’s not so cold when you are here.” Cartman shook his head, he was going to kiss this man, he just knew it he didn’t know how though. They got back to the kingdom safely and Kyle waited patiently while Cartman unstrapped him from the saddle. Kyle could have gotten down himself, but Cartman didn’t let him, using the excuse to pick him up by his waist and bring him back down, using his arms to stabilize the prince. Kyle looked up into his eyes and Cartman felt like now was the perfect time. He leaned in and kissed the prince, and it felt good and right. It felt even better when Kyle kissed him back, hands snaking around his waist to return the hug.
They broke apart but Cartman stubbornly kept Kyle close who laughed and rolled his eyes.
“I heard that dragon riders are possessive like their dragons.”
“You heard correctly,” Cartman smiled as he nibbled on Kyle’s throat. Kyle let out a gasp and shivered in his arms and Cartman did it again, because he could and because it was fun.
“There is a bed in my research tower-” Cartman swept the prince up and made for the tower, Kyle laughing as they went.