A reunion with an old friend

Liam was slicing bread when Cal came into the kitchen.

"So soon?" He asked.

"Not quite," he smiled, "come with me."

Liam took the wok off the fire and wiped his hands. Together with Ronu, Cal took them into Legion space. Just like last time, they found themselves near the forest. Cal made his way through the thicket with a steady stride, and the others followed him. Once at the shore of the lake, they stopped. Cal looked back to track Ronu's reaction. The man was staring at the scenery in surprise, and vague speculation visited his heart. He walked closer and crouched down at the water's edge and tasted it with his hand. "Just as icy as at home," he remarked, and rose to test his suspicions.

"Does this place look familiar to you?" Cal asked him, but he didn't have to say anything, the man walked ahead with a confident stride.

Liam and Cal could barely keep up with him as he ran into the hillside.

"He doesn't know," he whispered to Ronu, "this is where I buried him…"

Liam and Cal looked at each other in horror.

"What's this all about," Liam asked in his ear.

"The Legion repeated in space the place where he lived with Ronu," Cal answered, and did not miss the opportunity to capture Liam's ear with his lips, "wait, you haven't seen everything yet."

Ronu stood on the cliff and looked down sadly with his hands tucked into his pockets. The men did not hurry him and talked quietly. Finally, Ronu decided and walked the familiar way, toward his home. Liam looked surprised at the wooden palace, got up and walked across the terrace.

"Do you like it?" Cal asked, stroking the polished railing.

"Yeah, I was leaning toward a similar design, but I didn't know if you'd like it," Liam smiled.

"What a joke, all I care about is that you're there," Cal reached over and pinched Liam's leg.

"You're going to stop today," Liam rubbed the sensitive spot.

"I can't, I actually missed you," the man replied resentfully and jumped over the fence to stand behind Liam and hugged him.

"Where's Ronu?"

They looked around and went down the steps. Cal led him to where he'd seen Legion, and at the edge of the log pile they saw the man frozen in indecision. Stopping, they tried not to disturb his thoughts and just watched.

"I don't think there's anything to be afraid of," Liam whispered, "Legion misses him as much as I missed you."

"Let's wait for the denouement," Cal answered him, and hugged him from behind again.

Ronu didn't see them, or pretended not to. He stood for a moment longer and then walked resolutely forward. The unwilling spectators moved after him. Legion was still asleep on the ground. Ronu froze, I then spun around and ran straight for Liam and Cal. You could see he was panting with excitement.

"I can't, I can't… if he gets angry and chases me away…how will I be able to move on?"

He was so cowardly that Liam had to put his arm around Ronu, squeezing his shoulders tightly to keep him calm. It wasn't that Cal was angry, but he stood sullen, then took Liam's hands off the strange man's body.

"Ronu, you have to go in there," he said, "if you don't decide to, you'll be sorry."

"Listen," Liam called out to him, "imagine the worst that could happen, what's that?"

"He'll chase me away…"

"Okay, how will you feel?"

"… I'll be destroyed," Ronu lowered his head.

"But?" Liam continued to ask.

The man raised his head and thought about the possible 'but'. For a few minutes, he built in his head a probable scenario of his future.

"But," he began, "I'll see his face again."

"What else?"

"I won't regret not trying to work things out between us."

"Anything else?" Liam continued to ask.

"The main thing is that he's alive, and he's doing well," it was noticeable how hard those words were for the man. He clenched his fists and sighed heavily.

"That's it, now see? You need to go and do your best," Liam turned Ronu towards the log cabin and gave him a gentle nudge.

The man went on weak legs and soon reached his goal. He pulled out the locket and tossed it up. As before, it lassoed around the dragon's neck in gold and its body began to melt. A moment later, a dark-haired man with a red strand on his head lay on the ground. Ronu took off his jacket and covered his body, but disturbing him woke Dai-Kun. The dragon opened his eyes and stared at his master unflinchingly. Perhaps he thought it was a dream. Without hesitating, Ronu knelt before him.

"Dai-Kun, forgive me, I was wrong about everything, I am very guilty, I cannot change our past, but I pray in this life, forgive me if you can."

If at first the dragon thought he was dreaming, those words made him jerk sharply and sit up. He rubbed his eyes and looked at Ronu again. He had been dreaming a lot lately about his other life and confusing reality with illusion. And now it had gone too far. Dai-Kun thought he might be going crazy.

The words he said to Ronu now hurt him. He would never want his master to be humiliated, much less in front of him. The man looked at his body and realized he was human again. The illusion had gone too far, so he continued to stare at the beautiful vision without moving. Ronu said something else to him, but he didn't listen, instead he looked at his beautiful eyes the color of a light sky, curly golden hair, tanned cheeks with freckles.

"This dream is the best, only it never happened to me," he thought.

"You're beautiful," Dai-Kun said, not shying away from expressing his thoughts in the dream, and smiled dreamily.

His master was unreachable, far away from him. And in this dream, he wished he could tell him what he was thinking and feeling. The man across from him froze, and a slight blush showed on his cheeks. With excitement, he covered his face with his hands, and Dai-Kun frowned at not being able to see his favorite face. So he reached out to fix it, but when he touched the man's wrist, he jerked his hand away.

"Too realistic," he startled.

Ronu lowered his hands and stared at him for all he was worth. It began to dawn on the dragon little by little. He brought his face closer to him and whispered:

"Are you real!?"

A surprised Ronu didn't know what to say, but Dai-Kun's proximity gave him courage, and he touched his lips with his own. It was a very light, weightless and almost unnoticeable gesture from the outside. If Cal or Liam had blinked at that moment, they probably would have missed it. The dragon glared at Ronu with his eyes, not moving away or attacking. He just stared and stared and stared into Ronu's eyes until he averted his eyes.

"Are you sure you're here with me?" Dai-Kun whispered less confidently, teasing Ronu.

The man looked at him with fear, but overcoming his excitement, he reached out his arms and wrapped his arms around Dai-Kun and drew him to him, meeting his lips with his own. They kissed for a while, and someone in the distance turned away.

"Will you stay with me?" Dai-Kun whispered right at the close contact.

"I'd like to take you home … but if you don't want to, I'll stay with you," replied Ronu in a low voice, losing his head.

"I want to … to be where you are," Dai-Kun nuzzled his shoulder and couldn't believe his happiness, "thank you for coming to me," he whispered, "I'm sorry I left you, I overheard your conversation with yourself, where you were glad that I forgot about everything."

Ronu sighed heavily. He had thought of many reasons for Dai-Kun's action, but he couldn't imagine that he himself had been so wronged.

"I realized that my feelings had no place in your life, and I couldn't bear to exist like this any longer. Tell me, master," he raised his head and looked Ronu in the eye, "is there any chance in this life that you could love me?"

Ronu, who had rehearsed every Dai-Kun question and argument a thousand times, readily answered:

"You'll pardon me, Dai-Kun, but I don't kiss those I don't truly love."

Seeing the man's face transform, he added:

"I loved you back then, but I couldn't sort out my feelings in time. So, I kept on loving you and waiting for your return. Wasn't I a fool? And you never came, until one day, I heard a bell ringing over your grave. That's how I knew you were reborn."

"Did you make him?" the dragon looked into his eyes.

"Hmm?" Ronu didn't understand.

"The lake that rebirths dragons. Did you create it?"

Ronu nodded and looked at his feet.

"So you wanted me back?"

"Very much so," the man admitted.

Dai-Kun deftly put on his jacket and buttoned it, which was long enough. Standing up, he helped Ronu up from his knees and dusted them off himself. Taking him by the hand, he went into the house. Passing by the spectators, Dai-Kun, without turning his head, said:

"Get out, you have nothing to do here!"

Liam, like a fool with a happy face, waved Ronu with both hands and warned him that dinner was at six. Cal took his wrist and they left the space.

"Eh," Liam sighed, lying on Cal's lap in the living room, "I wish I knew they were doing well."

"What could be bad? He'll fry him and be done with it," Cal laughed.

"Who?" Liam, who had little understanding of gender roles, wondered, "Ronu or Dai-Kun?"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, please, let's stay out of other people's beds. Why don't we go check on our own?"

"I can't, I'm so excited about Ronu and Dai-Kun, I'm exhausted."

Liam lay on his other side, hugging his pillow, staring at one point.

"Do you really think they're going to do this?"

He looked back at Cal, who had started massaging his feet, "Mmm, so good, keep going," Liam retorted.

"I don't know, I just said that," Cal admitted.

"Really?" Liam looked away disappointed and continued to lie with his cheek on the pillow, "Sorry, though."

"Do you care that much about what other people do? "Cal asked.

"Not that I care, but isn't it romantic? "Liam asked, and Cal shrugged.

After a few minutes of putting Liam's feet down on the couch, Cal got up and left the room. Liam continued to meditate on the topic of other people's relationships when he smelled the scent of roses in the room. He looked up with interest and found that Cal had entered the room carrying a giant bouquet of flowers. The man definitely placed the vase closer to Liam.

"What's this?" Liam asked with a smile.

"It's for you," Cal replied, sitting down at Liam's feet again and continuing to massage them.

Liam buried his face into the pillow from the overload of good feelings. Sneaking glances at the flowers, he hid an embarrassed blush from Cal. The scent penetrated every cell of him and made his head spin. By themselves, thoughts of other people dissipated and Liam enjoyed his special moment with the man he loved. He didn't notice himself falling asleep. Cal covered him with a soft blanket and, resting his blond head on his thigh, dozed off too, cuddling against Liam.

There was a knock on the door at six sharp. A stunned Liam barely cracked his eyes open, feeling his heart leap out of his chest. He'd slept through dinner! Cal lay on his feet and rose a little confused as well. They looked at each other and scurried about, Cal opening the doors and Liam quickly putting the pot of roast on the fire. He was chopping vegetables when he heard Tishow's low bass rumbling through the living room. Pitsu and his egg came in after him.

Cal entertained the guests with conversation, buying Liam an extra twenty minutes. The crumpled plaid on the couch and the fragrance of roses were not lost on the guests, but out of politeness, they didn't broach the subject. The marshal asked if he could take the plaid and, having received permission, wrapped his precious dragon egg in it. Cal in his heart reveled in this picture, but also restrained himself.

"Where's Ronu? Is he coming?" Pitsu asked, glancing around the room and meeting Liam's gaze and waving him over.

"We invited him and Legion, but let's see if they'll come," Cal mused.

"Hmm, what's your dragon doing here?" The marshal wondered.

"What about yours?" Parried the man with a smile.

Pitsu held out his open palm:

"Do not touch the children! Where will he go without me?" With his other hand, the man gently pressed the egg to him.

"Have you thought of a name yet?" Cal asked interested.

"How can I, I do not know whether it is a girl or a boy, and then on the shore I did not have time to figure out?" The marshal could talk about his dragon for hours.

Tishow left the living room and joined Liam in the kitchen. Silently, he washed his hands and began cooking next to the Head. The General's nimble hands skillfully plated the vegetables and served the dish. The man beside him involuntarily admired and asked:

"Do you really enjoy cooking?"

"…"

"I never thought so," Liam expressed surprise and stirred the roast, "it's ready, now we can set the table.

Even though the two guests were late, Liam still set out the dishes and chairs for them. Dinner started at almost seven, but Ronu and his friend never showed up. The casual atmosphere at the table was conducive to peaceful conversation. The guests praised Liam's cooking skills and complimented his new home.

They congratulated Cal on the move, too, and the awkwardness of mentioning their living together was somehow quietly resolved. Having survived dangerous adventures together, these brave men had grown attached to each other, restored lost bonds, as in the case of the General and his handsome grandson. In truth, Tishow was fine with his granddaughter-in-law, as Liam had long since become dear to him.

Marshal had switched from his passionate crush to caring for the little dragon, whose heartbeat he could sometimes hear clearly when he put his ear to the shell. He made far-reaching plans, and he even had the sinful thought of naming the baby Cal because of their similarities in appearance, but he wouldn't dare. At the end of dinner, Liam pulled out the excellent plum wine he'd brought from the land. Drinking the divine beverage, the company barely left the Chapter house well past midnight.

Cal and Liam went to see their friends off and had a long conversation while standing on the bridge, so they were surprised to see Dai-Kun running toward them. Taking a breath, the tall, powerful man spoke:

"Why are humans so weak?"

The men looked at each other.

"What's wrong?" Liam was frightened and grabbed Dai-Kun's arm.

"Ronu passed out after…uh, well…" The man looked away, embarrassed and not daring to admit what had happened.

Cal stepped to the front of the room and asked:

"Were you doing something?"

"Yes…were doing…"

Cal felt awkward too, coughing he clarified:

"Um, were you…penetrating…. Ronu?" A thick blush covered his cheeks, and behind him, Liam jabbed his face into his back.

"Many times…" It was the answer. Even a stunned Liam couldn't stand it and looked out from behind Cal's back, "Many times?"

"He didn't complain of pain or ask you to stop?" Investigated Cal to get a fuller understanding of the situation. Liam hid behind him again, choosing not to participate in this embarrassing showdown. Mentally, he thanked heaven that Cal was always patient and gentle.

"No…" the confused man replied, "it seems. it felt good to him."

Cal rolled his eyes, "of course it felt good." He eyed Dai-Kun critically and made the assumption that he was as large as his entire figure in some special place, and mentally reprimanded himself.

"We should go with you and make sure Ronu is alright and help if we need to," he said to the man across from him, "Liam, grab the meds, you know the ones."

Dai-Kun felt terribly guilty as he let them into Ronu's house, and grimaced as he trailed behind until he bumped into Cal's back.

"Where to go?" His current host asked him, and the man pointed to a bedroom on the left.

Barely entering the room, Liam squirmed as Ronu lay naked on the bed. Cal turned his back in panic as well.

"Why didn't you cover him up?" He hissed at the perpetrator of the incident.

"I…" Dai-Kun rushed forward and threw a sheet over the man, then came back and apologized.

There was an awkward pause. Cal tugged on Liam's sleeve and asked him to handle this alone.

"Why me?" Liam looked at him with round eyes.

"I can't," Cal admitted, "please do your best and let this one help you."

After he said that, the embarrassed man stormed out of the room. Liam sighed and clutched the box of medicine in his hands.

"Okay, let's go," he said, dooming to the flustered assistant.

"…"

Walking over to the bed, Liam slowly squinted and examined the bed for blood, but saw nothing of the sort. He carefully lifted the edge of the sheet for fear of exposing Ronu, but still, the bed was also without signs of bleeding. That was reassuring, unless…

"You didn't change the bedclothes after you slept, did you?"

"Uh, no, but…"

"What?"

"We didn't do it here…" the man confessed.

"Oh, my God! Where?" Liam was starting to get angry.

"Liam," Cal called out to him, "there's this, uh. living room table, bloody, but not too much."

Liam tapped his hand on his forehead and frowned.

"Did you clean it?" He asked Dai-Kun.

The man nodded. Liam leaned over to Ronu and listened to Ronu's slightly ragged breathing, as if he were having a nightmare.

"It's probably pain shock," he said, "you should talk to him, Cal," he turned to the man in the doorway."

"Come here," the dragon master called out and took him by the scruff of the neck and led him outside.

Sitting on the terrace, they were silent for a while. Then Cal laughed, and the man next to him staggered back in surprise.

"I don't know where to begin. Firstly, you're going to leave me, aren't you?" Cal said.

"…"

"And second, you're going to have to learn to be patient and … gentle," Cal stammered, "I can't believe I'm saying this!"

"I'll try," Dai-Kun grumbled, unhappy with the intrusion into his personal life, "but I don't know how."

"To begin with, you must be careful, for I suspect you are massive down there… and he, he's not ready to accept you fully yet, which is why it happened the way it did."

It seemed to Cal that he had used up all the air in his lungs and all his self-confidence to say such a thing out loud. But there was no way out, he had to finish Ronu's life-saving lesson.

"He would be sick and healed for a while. But then he would be healthy again. After that. you must always prepare him before entering. Remember, that's the most important thing," Cal wiped his sweaty forehead.

"Prepare," the man nodded, and Cal rolled his eyes, "of course, he doesn't know what it is!"

"To prepare means to stretch gently," he struggled to pronounce the words, "wash your hands, moisturize your fingers…" Cal jumped up from his seat and wished he had a scroll on the subject and had to say such a thing. But Dai-Kun didn't judge him or ignore him, instead he listened attentively and tried to figure out how to proceed. This made Cal sit back down, pat him on the shoulder, and, putting his pride to the back of his mind, talk to him at length.

After a lengthy lesson, Dai-Kun realized his mistakes and drew the right conclusions for the future. Meanwhile, Liam set aside the medication Ronu might need on the nightstand and went outside, calling for his assistant. He explained how and what to do, asking him not to let Ronu get up unnecessarily, to feed him right in bed, and to take care of him as best he could.

"He's awake, by the way, and he's calling for you," Liam said, and he was nearly blown away by the shockwave from the Dai-Kun that had ripped him from his seat. Liam smiled haggardly and leaned on Cal's arm and walked down the stairs.

"Don't ask him anything," Cal warned him, who was shaking slightly from the embarrassment, "just go home, that's enough for today."

"I don't even want to bathe, I want to go straight to bed," Liam replied, still holding on to the man's hand.

The bright night sky lit their way home, while Dai-Kun lay at Ronu's feet and begged for forgiveness for the millionth time. The man hid his smile from him and enjoyed his new busy life next to someone he thought he had lost forever.