Work Text:
Being an ender dragon hybrid has always been something Branzy tried to hide from everyone. After leaving the End when he was young, and after the End got closed off to the Overworld, ender dragon hybrids like him became pretty rare. People hunted them down, wanting to use them for their magic and harvest their scales for potions and armor. And despite the reputation dragons had, Branzy has never been a good fighter, so it was a lot easier for him to just hide.
So hide is exactly what he did. He learned how to enchant clothes and items so they masked his dragon features. His vest hid his wings, the rings on his horns made them appear more goat-like, and he used redstone to made a goat tail to replace his actual tail that actually moved when he wanted it to. His gloves and shoes hid his claws, and he wore makeup that made him appear more like someone from the Overworld rather than someone from the End. At some point, he realized he didn't even need the makeup anymore.
Branzy the not-so-special goat-hybrid. Branzy the weak, the feeble, the pushover. Branzy the unassuming, the perfectly average guy. It was a role he fit himself into well, one he played perfectly. But hunters were persistent and everywhere, and Branzy knew his disguise would only last so long while surrounded by so many of them. So, there was only one place he could go where he knew he wouldn't be hunted, the one place no hunter would dare follow him to.
Rekrap, the very man who told him about the place, was also the one who seemed the most unsure of the idea between the two of them. But Branzy's mind was set. He knew it was risky, he knew it was dangerous, he knew it could very well cost him his life, but it's not like anyplace else was much safer for him. So, seeing no other real choice, off the two went.
Off, to Lifesteal. To the land beyond the Farlands, to the place where the cycle of life and death is disturbed and abnormal, to the place where no government or kingdom can reach. The place for only the truly desperate and the exiled, and Branzy was nothing if not desperate at this point.
Branzy went to Lifesteal with a lot of expectations from what Rekrap had told him about it. A lot of his expectations were met, some exceeded, and some disproven. But there were a lot more things that managed to catch him completely off guard about the place.
Namely, the fact that somehow, in the land of Lifesteal, one could access The End. The dimension closed off to the rest of the world could be entered here, and Branzy realized he could actually go back home, if he so wanted to.
Of course he had to check it out. Of course he had to go. After all the initial fighting was over, Branzy joined the others in exploring the lost dimension. But where the others were looking for resources and loot, Branzy was just... taking in how the place looked now.
It was empty. So, so empty. Part of him knew that it would be, the part that remembered the events that made him flee The End in the first place and knew not to get his hopes up, but it was different actually seeing it in person. Another part of him held onto some bitter sense of hope, trying to reassure him that since Lifesteal was different from the rest of the Overworld, then maybe The End he was exploring was also different from The End he grew up in. Lifesteal was a broken place, so maybe The End that Lifesteal brought them too was also broken. Maybe there was life and his old home just out of reach.
He tried not to think about it too much.
(He also tried not think about how flying with an elytra was nothing like flying with his actual wings. The wind in his hair and on his skin was similar, but his wings ached under his vest, begging to be stretched out and let free. Using an elytra wasn't actually flying, it was gliding, and Branzy wished desperately for the freedom to fly again. It's been a while- too long- and using an elytra reminded him of just how much he missed it.)
Another thing that surprised Branzy about Lifesteal- probably more so than anything else- was when he found himself not only working with but also getting attached to the man referred to as the Overworld's deadliest assassin; ClownPierce.
From mutual revenge to business partners to lifelong indentured servitude, his relationship with Clown has been a whirlwind of emotions and experiences. Yet despite what everyone else seemed to think, Branzy absolutely loved it. The time he spent with Clown, even when he was getting threatened and blatantly used by the assassin, was probably some of the most fun he's ever had, and he wouldn't give it up for anything.
His trust for the assassin was so deep, in fact, that Clown ended up being the first and only person (aside from Rekrap) to learn of Branzy's true origins. Not really by choice, of course, but when Branzy was injured and Clown insisted on helping him, he couldn't really refuse him. It was either let Clown see what he was, or lose a heart and deal with the consequences of respawning. And, well, he found he didn't have to think about it for too long.
He wasn't scared Clown would tell anyone else. Clown liked having power over him, and sharing his secret would make Branzy a huge target for anyone who knew about it, which wasn't something Clown could really use to his advantage. The threat of being blackmailed was still there, of course, but Branzy knew Clown wouldn't actually say anything to anyone else about it. Clown would keep it a secret, but that didn't mean he still couldn't use the information against Branzy. There were several things Clown could force Branzy to do now that he knew the truth, and it made Branzy more anxious than normal for a short while.
And yet, he never asked or forced Branzy to do anything he was actually that uncomfortable with doing. Help with enchanting, help with potion making, but nothing near as bad as what Branzy had feared. And, admittedly, it was kind of nice to have someone aside from Rekrap know what he was. It made him feel less... alone, in a way.
And then The End portals got destroyed, somehow, and Branzy had to accept for not the first time in his life that he could never go back. But really, with being as close as he was to Clown, and knowing how Lifesteal as a whole was, he shouldn't have thought it was permanent. Nothing in Lifesteal was permanent, and he thought he knew that by now, but apparently he didn't.
So when Clown asked for his help with a secret project and lead him to a handmade End portal, Branzy was shocked, despite a voice in his head telling him he should've expected something like this.
The idea of building a castle in The End together, a dimension that currently only the two of them had access to, a place where they were away from everyone else, a place they could actually call themselves safe-
Yeah, Branzy liked the sound of that.
And just like Clown leading him to a handmade End portal, it probably shouldn't have surprised Branzy nearly as much as it did when Clown permanently sealed off the only portal out of The End. Really, considering everything else that lead up to this point, he should've seen it coming.
But now here he was. Trapped- for his own safety?- in The End, with no one but ClownPierce to keep him company.
He had... a lot of mixed feelings on the matter. Feelings that would definitely take him a while to process. And Clown... well, he just seemed happy that Branzy wasn't completely mad at him for it, and was surprisingly okay with giving Branzy his space when he asked for it. Probably because he knew that there was nowhere Branzy could go to get away from him, and that ultimately, Branzy couldn't stay away for long even if he wanted to. Clown was the only company he had, which meant he was the only person Branzy could go to when the silence of The End became too much.
(Not that Branzy wanted to stay away for that long. No matter how conflicted he felt, he did still love Clown, and could never actually leave him no matter what.)
It was one such spiral of confusing emotions that had Branzy sitting on the edge of the island where their tree was. His legs dangled off the edge, over the void, over certain death, over the only escape he had from this place. If he died here, he would respawn in the Overworld and be free. He found he wasn't desperate enough to even try it.
He had asked Clown multiple times, maybe even too much, if they were truly alone here. If Clown knew that no one would find the End portal, if their portal really was the only working End portal left, if there really was next to no chance anyone would come in behind them. And every time, Clown reassured him that it really would be just the two of them, and that Branzy had nothing to worry about. As if to prove his point, or maybe just because he finally felt comfortable enough to do so, Clown had stopped wearing his mask around, even going outside of the castle without it on his person. Clown without his mask was a rare sight even when it was just the two of them in his secret base, so to see him without it so often here made Branzy feel like maybe, it really was safe here.
His wings and tail ached under the enchantments they were hidden under, practically begging to be let loose. The wrongness he felt in his hands and feet was stronger than normal, and his horns felt weird on his head. The pull of The End made his body tingle unpleasantly, calling to him, telling him to finally let his true self free.
It was a sort of strange thought, actually allowing himself to be himself again, and in The End of all places. He doesn't remember the last time he's taken off all of his enchantments at the same time. It's been too long, if he was being honest.
But they were alone here. Clown seemed confident in that, so maybe, it would be alright if Branzy...
Branzy took in a shaky breath, before reaching for the buttons on his vest and beginning to undo them. He glanced behind him, confirming there was plenty of space for his wings since dragon wings were much larger than other hybrids, and finally slipped his vest off. He shivered as his wings snapped free from the enchantment and stretched out behind him. He had to grip the ledge he was sat on to prevent himself from falling as he shifted, rolling his shoulders as he moved his wings to try to relieve them of their soreness.
God, it's been too long.
Slowly, he got up, stepping away from the ledge before he began taking off his other enchantments. His gloves and shoes, the fake goat tail, and the rings on his horns were all taken off and dumped into a pile on the ground. Once everything was off, it felt like he could finally breathe.
God, it's been way too long.
He stretched his entire body, flicking his tail and flapping his wings and wriggling his claws on his hands and feet and rubbing the skin where his horns met his scalp. It was a similar feeling to when he stood up after working on sketches and blueprints all day, painful but in a relieving and blissful sort of way, almost feeling like he's been reborn.
His eyes drifted as he stretched, back to the endless void in front of and all around him. Infinite wide open space that beckoned to him, begged him to walk off the island and immerse himself in it. It was a call he was very familiar with, one from his childhood, one that pleaded to him anytime he was near the void even in the Overworld. His wings twitched.
Branzy doesn't remember the last time he's properly flown. He wonders if he even remembers how to.
He stepped back to the edge and stared down, into the black abyss calling his name. The void that told him to step off, to take the leap and see what happened. And, well, he didn't see any reason not to.
He took in a deep breath, and let himself fall over the edge.
The wind through his hair and on his skin was a familiar feeling, but the wind on his wings, on his tail- when was the last time they felt the air like this? It made his heart race- or, maybe that was because he was currently falling into the void. Maybe it was both.
His wings snapped open, catching the wind before he used them to push himself up. He may not remember the last time he's flown, but his body remembered how to, the way his wings flapped and angled themselves to stop himself from his freefall and lift him back up coming entirely naturally to him. As he flew higher and higher, he stared; at the islands around him, at the void encompassing him-
And for the first time in a very long time, he felt truly free.
A wide grin broke out across his face, and he flew to the main End island. He landed, stumbling a bit before leaning over with his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. He looked back behind him, at the castle now across the void from him. His vision was sharper now, amplified by being in The End and unrestricted now that he didn't have any enchantments hindering his abilities. He stared at the castle and took in all the little details he could, scanning the windows and the doors and noticing a lack of Clown visible.
If Branzy were to disappear for a bit, it would be fine, right? Clown knew he'd come back. Branzy could stretch his wings for a bit.
Branzy straightened, looking up at the obsidian pillars towering over him and at the black sky that beckoned him to get lost in it. His wings spread out behind him, and with as much force as he could, he pushed himself off the ground and into the sky above. The wind trying to slow his wings and the feeling of gravity pulling him back down were familiar struggles he fought against as he pushed himself higher and higher into the air.
He had much more control with actual wings than anyone could ever have with an elytra. Using an elytra all this time has made the aching hollowness in his chest, the longing for true flight, grow more and more every time he used the fake wings. That hollowness was now ebbing away, replaced by a lightweight warmth that coursed through his veins.
He's long lost sight of the obsidian towers now, probably high above them and barely visible from the ground, and decided now to lean back. That hint of fear, of thrilling excitement he felt as his wings struggled to keep him in the air, to stop him from freefalling, was a feeling he's long missed. Flying upside down was difficult and dangerous, especially from so high up, especially over the void, but it was exactly the type of fun he needed right now.
Laughter bubbled up in his throat, and he saw no reason to hold it back. He laughed as his wings stretched out to let him glide down, faster than normal since their upside down position didn't let them catch the wind properly. He should not be doing this when he's so out of practice, but he just couldn't help himself. It would be a while before he hit the ground or fell past the islands, anyway.
When the tallest obsidian tower came into view, Branzy decided it was time to flip around. He was a bit clumsy with it, falling faster at one point as he forced himself back to a normal flying position, but managed to right himself without too much issue. He flew well past the main island, into the long expanse of void that wouldn't stop until he finally made it to the Outer End Islands.
It was kind of a long flight, considering he didn't know his own stamina and had no way of saving himself if his wings got too tired to continue, but he was having too much fun to not try it. It was peaceful, flying over the silent void, unable to tell how high he was without any islands for reference. He wasn't worried, though. He knew how it felt to go too low, when the air got so heavy it became suffocating. He'd know to pick himself back up before that.
Thankfully, he managed to keep himself at a decent height as the Outer End Islands came into view. As he got closer, he prepared himself to land, managing to do so slightly more gracefully than the first time he did. When his feet touched the ground and he took a few steps forward as he slowed down his momentum, he couldn't stop himself from laughing again. He finally opted to plop himself down on the ground, wings and tail stretched out behind him as he turned and faced the void he just came from.
God, he's missed this freedom so much. How could he have ever forgotten how fun it was? Sure, his wings might be a bit sore, but that was probably because they weren't used to being used much anymore. With a bit of practice, he was sure he could build their strength back up. And if he really was stuck in The End for the foreseeable future, then he definitely had the time and space to do just that. Despite all of his other mixed feelings about being stuck here, that thought made him way more excited than it probably should have.
He laid back, staring up at the black static sky above him and let himself catch his breath. He could use one of the gateways if there was one nearby to go back to the main island, then follow the bridge back to the castle, but where was the fun in that? He finally had his wings back, and he fully intended on using them. He just needed a bit of a break before he returned home.
...home?
That- well, that certainly brought up a whole new mix of emotions he quite honestly didn't feel like dealing with at the moment. He could think about that and it's implications later. Right now, he closed his eyes and let his body rest before he would return to the castle. It's not like he didn't have plenty of time to think, after all.
-
Branzy slowed as he neared the castle, bracing himself to land on the roof of the tallest tower. He gripped the tiled surface, wings flapping to a stop as he settled himself on the slanted roof. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, smile firm on his lips. His hair was definitely a mess, clothes probably not much better, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He was tired, his wings were sore from flying so much, but he doesn't remember the last time he's felt this alive.
Movement caught his eyes and he looked down and to the side, gaze landing on the island with their tree. Specifically, on the figure there, who was standing up from his crouched position and holding something. Branzy's vest, he realized. His chest filled with warmth and his smile widened, opening his wings and pushing himself off of the roof to glide the short distance to the other island.
"Clown!" he called out as he landed on the bridge. The demon turned to him, expression flickering with surprise when he saw the dragon. As Branzy approached him, he realized, based on how Clown was looking him up and down, that this was the first time Clown has seen any of Branzy's dragon features aside from his wings. The thought made his heart stutter, and he couldn't stop himself from getting closer until he latched himself onto the taller man, nuzzling his face into his chest as his arms looped around his middle.
Clown chuckled, wrapping his arms securely around Branzy in return. He was always so warm. It was a comforting change compared to the wind that had been biting into Branzy's skin just a minute ago. It was relaxing, even, so much so that Branzy found himself leaning more of his weight into the demon before he could even think to stop himself. Clown seemed more than willing to support him.
"Hi, Branzy~," he greeted. "Finally getting comfortable, are we?"
Branzy's smile widened (when was the last time he's smiled this much?) and he laughed. "Yeah, guess I am. Figured I couldn't let you be the only one enjoying yourself here."
Clown giggled, placing a kiss on top of Branzy's head. "Glad you've finally decided to join me," he hummed. One of his arms trailed up his back, gazing past the area where Branzy's wing met his back and making him shiver, before his claw landed in Branzy's messy hair. "What the hell happened to your hair?"
Fuzzy joy buzzed inside Branzy's chest and he tightened his hold on Clown, a grin breaking out across his face. He turned his head to look up at the assassin, still beaming as he met Clown's curious and slightly amused gaze.
"I went flying!" he happily announced. "I can fly again, Clown! I don't have to use that stupid elytra anymore! I'm never gonna hide my wings again, I hated using that thing so much."
Clown's eyes shifted to something incredibly fond, moving his hand from Branzy's hair to cup his cheek. Branzy leaned into it quite happily. "Well, this is your dimension, Branzy. You should be free to do as you please. Why else do you think I brought us here?"
"Because it was the only place you could actually seal off?"
Clown's eyes narrowed, the hand on Branzy's cheek tightening and his claws threatening to dig into Branzy's skin. That dark look in his eyes was one Branzy was very familiar with, and it made a mix of fear and butterflies flutter inside of him.
"And because I thought you might prefer it here," Clown said. "Are you underestimating my kindness to you, Branzy?"
"N-no! Never, Clown, I never doubt the things you do for me," Branzy hastily replied. "I- thank you. It... I mean, it's still kinda strange, but it's also kind of nice to be here, I guess."
"Well, you do have plenty of time to get used to it, so," Clown grinned. Branzy laughed.
"Yeah, I guess I do, huh?" he smiled. His feelings about this whole thing were still very much mixed, not even all his time spent flying completely fixed that, but he found himself in a more positive mood about it all at the moment.
As he stared up at Clown's smile, he couldn't help himself and leaned up to plant a quick kiss on the demon's lips. In doing so, he realized that the fangs he forgot he didn't have anymore were back now, and as he pulled away he ran his tongue over them. Huh. Those enchantments really did hide a lot more than he thought they would, didn't they? Must've been why flying felt so good to finally do again, some deep-seeded instinct in him finally unrepressed.
He nuzzled back into Clown's chest, giving the demon a squeeze before loosening his hold, but only slightly. His claws gripped the back of Clown's shirt as he leaned more of his weight into him, one of Clown's own claws attempting to fix Branzy's hair- or just playing with it, Branzy didn't really care which. It didn't matter what the taller man was doing, just as long as Branzy could embrace him and hold him close and cherish him and-
...oh.
Speaking of unrepressed instincts-
Suddenly, all the warmth and pleasant buzzing he was feeling were dialed down to something faint and muted. Still there, but not nearly as loud as before, and now accompanied by a twisting feeling in his gut.
That was an instinct Branzy had, somehow, completely forgotten about until right this moment. One that, now that it was practically smacking him in the face, he really should've seen the signs of sooner. As if Branzy would be okay with just anyone trapping him in a dimension without his permission, and as if he'd be even a little bit happy about it, too. As if Branzy would reveal his true form to just anyone rather than lose the heart and deal with the consequences of respawning. As if Branzy would let just anyone get away with pushing him around and toying with him like the demon has for their entire partnership. Not even Rekrap got privileges like that.
The feeling was overwhelming now that he was able to identify it. The mix of being in The End, as well as his binding enchantments being off for the first time in years really didn't set him up to have a good handle on his instincts and emotions. He doesn't think he'd be willing to let go of Clown even if the assassin started trying to pry the dragon off of him right now. Which, thankfully, Clown did not seem intent on doing, still happily playing with Branzy's hair instead.
No wonder Clown was so special to him. God, how did he not realize this sooner? And what the hell was he going to do about it now?
Probably indulge in it, since he didn't have the willpower to do much else. Their shared bed was already practically a nest, curtesy of both of them, and that's exactly where Branzy's instincts wanted him to take Clown right now. He tugged at the demon.
"Can we go lay down?" he asked softly, trying to mask the now confusing feelings swirling in his chest. Clown hummed.
"Of course."
Clown made an attempt to step back, and Branzy attempted to let him, but then he got another idea instead. Before Clown could question him, Branzy scooped him up in his arms bridal style and relished in the surprised yelp that escaped the assassin, a sound Branzy was sure only he himself was allowed to hear and still be allowed to live afterwards. He grinned, feeling satisfied with Clown in his arms, only helped by the taller man wrapping his arms around Branzy's neck.
As much as Branzy would love to fly Clown to their bedroom, the window wasn't quite big enough for him to feel comfortable with that, especially since he was still working on the whole landing gracefully thing. The last thing he wanted was to harm Clown in any way, especially with his instincts demanding he keep Clown safe at all costs. So instead, he walked inside the castle and up the stairs, Clown barely a noticeable weight in his arms.
When he got to the bedroom, he gently set Clown in the nest- on the bed, and crawled in basically on top of him. He didn't exactly miss the curious gaze Clown was giving him, but he also didn't think about it near as much as he normally would've as he wrapped himself around the demon and laid his head on his chest, draping a wing over him. Something inside Branzy's chest felt like it had finally settled, then, like something had finally clicked into place and he could actually relax. The serene feeling washed over him as he let himself close his eyes, especially when Clown wrapped an arm around his waist and used his other hand to scratch at the area where his horns met his scalp. It was a very pleasant sensation.
Things felt so right in this moment he isn't sure how he never noticed how wrong he felt before. It should've been obvious from the moment he first started working with Clown; he should've realized the sudden intense emotions he was feeling for the assassin was not a simple normal obsession. He's felt this way since they started working on the Funhouse together, and it's only gotten stronger the closer the two have gotten. It was honestly pretty embarrassing it's taken Branzy this long to figure it out. That's probably what he gets for repressing all of his draconic instincts for so long.
"Your tail is twitching," Clown suddenly spoke, startling Branzy. He blinked his eyes open as he pulled himself from his thoughts.
"What?"
"Your tail," Clown repeated. "The tip keeps flicking around."
Oh. Oops. Branzy hadn't even realized. Another consequence of keeping his dragon features hidden for so long is that he forgot he needed to control them so they wouldn't give away his emotions. Which, given he was still getting used to even having them, was not an easy thing to do at the moment.
While Clown's words were said as a statement, it was very clear he was asking what it meant. Body language varied widely across hybrids, so what meant happiness for one species could mean anger or sadness in another, or could mean nothing at all. Most people didn't have any experience with dragons, and the rumors and stories that circulated about them didn't exactly describe their body language. Which meant Branzy had two options.
He could lie and tell him that it meant nothing, or that it was a good thing, or even that he was doing it on purpose. Clown would have no reason to doubt him and Branzy wouldn't have to explain anything further than that. Lying was the easy option. Until it would, of course, come back to bite him in the ass later when Clown inevitably realizes that it does not mean whatever Branzy might tell him it means right now.
But really, since when could Branzy ever lie to Clown?
He took a deep breath.
"Yeah... it tends to do that when I'm like... mildly annoyed or uncomfortable, or something."
The hand on his scalp paused and Clown subtly tensed under him. "And what's got you feeling like that?"
Branzy let out a nervous chuckle, giving Clown a quick squeeze to try and reassure him (and urge him to continue scratching his head). "Oh, I've just been trying to... process some things. I never realized how much the enchantments on my clothes actually repressed my normal instincts, so now that I took them all off I'm trying to readjust to them again. It's not really a bad thing, it's just- a lot to get used to again, you know?"
Clown hummed and eased back up, the scratching on Branzy's scalp continuing, much to his delight. "What sort of instincts?"
Branzy tried not to grimace as he swallowed down his anxiety. "Things like flying. I mean, I knew when I first started using an elytra that I missed flying, but it really was such a relief to finally use my wings again. They're actually kinda sore from how much I used them today. I wanted to keep going but I had to stop myself so I wouldn't tire them out so much that I'd end up falling in the void."
"Makes sense," Clown nodded. "What else?"
Curse Clown and his ability to read Branzy like nobody else can. Branzy couldn't help the way he tensed at the question.
"N-nothing much, really. Just, like, cravings to eat chorus fruit again, maybe steal some purpur from the cities-"
"Branzy," Branzy flinched. "There's something you're not saying, Branzy~ Why not just come out and say it if it's bothering you so much?"
Clown really did not like giving Branzy a choice in things, did he? Branzy sighed in resignation.
"Alright, fine..." he muttered. "Um... you know- you know about how dragons have, like... hoards and treasures, right?"
"Isn't that what your workshop is?"
"What? My workshop-?" Branzy was surprised by the question, ready to deny it before stopping himself. Now that he thought about it, a pit formed in his stomach at the realization that he was currently locked away from it and couldn't spend time there. Which meant...
"Okay, yeah, it is- but that's not- I'm not talking about that right now."
Clown giggled. "Alright, then what?"
How was Branzy going to explain this?
He took a deep breath and shifted before sitting up, now straddling Clown's hips as his hands drifted to hold the demon's sides. Clown's own hands moved to rest on Branzy's outer thighs, staring up at him with curiosity. Branzy tried to keep his tail from flicking around wildly behind him, with moderate success.
"Well... our treasure can kind of be anything. It's just things that grab our attention or things we're really passionate about. And, yeah, my workshop is one of my hoards, so thanks for permanently separating me from that," Branzy didn't really mean the venom in his words. Kind of. "But we can have multiple hoards, or even treasures that aren't in a specific hoard. I mean it when I say they can be anything."
Clown hummed in contemplation. "So do you already have a hoard here?"
"Sort of?" Branzy paused to look around their bedroom. "Yeah, actually, this whole room is one. I also have a shulker box in my ender chest full of treasures I like to keep with me that kinda counts, too."
"But I thought dragons didn't like when others went near their hoards," Clown mused, Branzy looking back at him to see the slight furrow in his brow and pull on his lips that meant he was piecing something together. He swallowed the lump in his throat and looked away again.
"We don't," Branzy nodded. "Um, there are rare occasions we'll let someone in, but never- never unsupervised."
Heavy in the air were the unspoken words that Branzy has, in fact, told Clown that he was allowed in Branzy's workshop even when he wasn't there, and the fact that Branzy never had a problem with Clown sharing this room with him. The silence was almost suffocating.
"Branzy," Clown finally started. Branzy forced his eyes to meet Clown's. "You've said before that dragons don't really have strong instincts when it comes to having mates or partners, right?"
"Yep, we don't."
Clown's eyes narrowed, their intensity making Branzy feel trapped in place. "And when you said that treasures could be anything, does that also extend to living things?"
Branzy couldn't stop himself from turning away yet again, pointedly staring at anything that was not Clown as his chest tightened. "Y-yeah, it- it definitely can. Any... any living thing could be a treasure."
He had to put a lot of thought into stopping his tail from moving around, so much so that he didn't process the change in Clown's expression. Before he could think about elaborating any further, Clown suddenly sat up, causing Branzy to fall back with a yelp. Arms wrapped around his waist and caught him before he leaned too far back, his own hands reaching out and latching onto the demon's shoulders. He blinked, now face to face with a widely grinning Clown.
"Branzy," Clown practically purred, causing the dragon's heartrate to spike. "Are you implying what I think you're implying?"
"I- I mean- um- that- that depends entirely on what you're thinking, but- p-probably?"
Clown inched closer, arms around Branzy's waist tightening and pulling him in until their noses were barely an inch away from each other's. His grin didn't falter. Branzy's claws gripped the fabric of Clown's shirt tightly as he breathed in Clown's almost overwhelming scent.
"Am I one of your treasures, Branzy?"
Branzy swallowed down his rapidly beating heart as he stared at the demon in front of him. "I- you- you have have been for a long time now, C-Clown."
The absolutely giddy laugh that Clown let out filled Branzy's chest with warmth and a smile twitched onto his lips. Before he knew it, what little distance there was between them became nonexistent as Clown pulled him in even closer and crashed their lips together. Branzy melted into the kiss happily, moving his hands to wrap around Clown's neck and sneaking a claw into the demon's hair. He felt Clown shudder from the touch and tighten his arms around his waist, Branzy once again reminded that Clown wasn't used to his claws yet, and smiled against the demon's lips.
It wasn't until he felt something suddenly touching his tail that he jumped and pulled back with a yelp, head snapping to the side to see what it was. He was surprised to see Clown's own tail laying next to his on the bed.
"Branzy?" Clown questioned, the words what's wrong? remaining left unsaid. Branzy turned back to him and giggled as his chest buzzed with warm and fuzzy feelings.
"Sorry, not used to things touching my tail yet, it just surprised me is all," he smiled. He moved his tail back to touch Clown's, which the demon took as an invitation to coil his thinner tail around Branzy's. It made Branzy's heart skip a beat, the touch so strange yet so nice all at once.
Clown hummed, before leaning forward to kiss Branzy again. The kiss was much shorter this time, only lingering for a few moments before he pulled away with a smile. It was then he suddenly leaned back, bringing Branzy down with him and moving them so they were both on their sides and facing each other. Branzy went with him easily, giggling as he let Clown adjust them how he wanted. Clown didn't settle until he was nuzzling into Branzy's chest, curling up into him as his tail stayed coiled around Branzy's.
Branzy kept an arm wrapped around Clown as his other claw played with Clown's hair, and was mildly surprised when the demon started purring. It was by far not the first time he's heard Clown purr, but it usually took him a few more minutes before he'd start. That, along with the demon's arms still firmly around him, told Branzy that Clown was very happy and satisfied with where he was right now, which made Branzy smile as the emotions in his chest settled to something warm and pleased. He planted a kiss on Clown's head before nuzzling into his hair.
He remembers when Clown explained demonic instincts to him and how important mates were to a demon, and how almost disappointed he seemed when Branzy told him that dragons didn't have those same instincts. Branzy can only assume that being told he was one of Branzy's treasures satisfied whatever disappointment he felt before, as it was the closest Branzy could get to Clown's own instincts. While he didn't think Clown would feel weird about it, it was still nice to get such a positive reaction from him.
Maybe if they kept spending their time like this, Branzy could get used to living here. In their castle, in their bedroom, with his favorite treasure held firmly in his arms, Branzy could definitely see the appeal of staying here forever. Maybe he could even take Clown to go flying with him at some point, once his wings were rested enough.
But right now, he was just satisfied to stay right where he was, and as far as he could tell, so was Clown.