“You didn’t like me when we first met.”
“You were trying to kill me.”
“Or fuck you.”
“Or fuck me, yes. I remember. I won’t ever not remember that, thank you. But I got over it, right? You’re my buddy now. You know that.”
“And you’re my sexy son,” Kevin said, grinning around a mouthful of sharp teeth. But then the smile faded. “I’ve never met another dragon before.” He looked away, wings drooping a little. “I just don’t want to disappoint anyone, you know? What if I’m not good enough?”
“Pick me up,” I demanded.
He stared at me for a moment, but complied. He was gentle as his claws curled around me, bringing me up until I was level with his face, feet dangling into the air below.
“Closer,” I said.
He did.
“Closer.”
He did, going a little cross-eyed as he continued to focus on me.
I punched him in the nose.
“Ow!” he roared, jerking me back. “What the fuck!”
“You don’t get to talk bad about yourself!” I snapped. “You’re good enough! You know what, you’re better than good enough. So I don’t want to ever hear you talk like that about yourself again, you hear me?”
He growled at me, exhaling hot smoke that caused me to cough. “You didn’t have to hit me!”
“Oh, fuck off. You probably didn’t even feel that. Me, on the other hand. My fist hurts like a motherfucker. Why is everything about you so hard?”
“Yeah it is,” he said. “You want to see how hard I can—”
“Stop it.”
He pouted. “You said it, not me.”
“You didn’t have to rise to the godsdamned bait, you—”
“I always rise, I’ll have you know—”
“Kevin!”
“Sam!”
“What are they doing?” I heard Ruv ask below.
“It’s better not to ask,” Gary replied. “This is how we do. Just roll with it, honeybunch. It’ll make things easier.”
“Don’t hate the player,” Tiggy said. “Hate the game.”
“I still don’t even understand it sometimes,” Ryan said.
“You listen to me, okay?” I said, taking Kevin’s face in my hands as best I could. There was a contented rumble in his chest as I put my chin on top of his nose so he could see me properly. “You are good enough. And if any other dragon, or any other person, says you’re not, they’re wrong and they’ll have to deal with me, okay?”
“You are my favorite human,” Kevin said quietly. “In case you didn’t know.”
“I’m everyone’s favorite human. I’m used to it by now.”