This chapter is an anniversary gift from Isaac to Lemon. Enjoy!
—
Three Hills was pretty near sunset, the whole city washed in pinks and reds and purples. Colours Isaac had never paid too much attention to before were jumping out at him in bright ways that he couldn’t help but watch now.
Maybe it was because of Louis. Green though he was, being out with him seemed to make the world more colourful. Isaac held his hand and walked a little closer to him. “The city is really pretty today,” he said.
Louis’s tail came up and wrapped around Isaac’s waist. “I think that’s because you’re in it,” he said.
Isaac grinned. “That’s my line, but I’ll take it.”
Louis blushed a little, but he held Isaac tighter. “Did you enjoy supper?”
“Yeah,” Isaac told him. He’d never eaten food so spicy, so who knew what it had tasted like, but it had been a nice restaurant. Louis had insisted on paying. “I’ve never had food like that before.”
“It’s from a place called Ech’kent. They used to worship dragons there.”
Isaac couldn’t help but snicker at that. “Did the dragons teach them how to make the food?”
“I don’t know. Next time I’ll cook for you, though.”
Looking up at Louis—he was so tall—Isaac tried not to seem surprised. “You can cook?”
“Of course. I’m the cook on my ship. Well. One of the cooks.” He sounded as proud of that as he had when he’d explained to Isaac that he was a merperson king and the world’s only male dragon to be leading a whole colony.
“In that case I can’t wait. We have a little bit of time before the show, right?” They were going to see a play.
Louis nodded. “Is there something you’d like to do?”
“Yeah,” said Isaac. He smiled. “Come with me.”
The Web didn’t like touching dragons much, but with a little convincing, Isaac was able to use Dark to lift both of them off the ground. “Woah,” said Louis. “What are you doing?”
“Trust me,” Isaac told him. “You’re going to like this.” There were people watching them, but there had been all night. Isaac took off, moving them in the direction of the tower he liked.
“I’ve never flown like this before,” Louis said, wonder in his voice.
“Yeah? It’s fun, right?”
“Yeah, it’s fun,” Louis agreed, laughing.
So Isaac took the scenic route through the coloured sky, letting the two of them soar over the capital, between buildings, up the side of the First Church, around the academy’s tower. Finally, he rested them atop the tallest tower in the city. “Whew, I always forget how chilly that is.”
“Wait, this is Gavin’s castle,” Louis said, looking around nervously.
“Yeah. Don’t worry, nobody knows we’re here.” It was maybe a bit of a security thing that they could just fly in here, but it wasn’t like they were breaking in to hurt anyone.
“It’s just…last time I flew in here there were knights with swords and Gavin’s siremate tried to kill me.”
Isaac couldn’t help but snicker at that. “I promise nobody’s going to kill you. I want to show you this.” He pointed out to the west, where the sun was just touching the horizon.
“Oh,” Louis said, tail back around Isaac as he saw it. He wrapped Isaac in a wing, too. “It’s beautiful.”
“Yeah,” Isaac said, resting his head on Louis’s shoulder. “Like you.”
“Hey, I said it first.”
“Yeah, I stole it from you. What are you going to do about it?”
Louis was quiet for a second as they watched the sun fall. “The same thing dragons always do when someone steals from them,” he decided after a minute.
“And what’s that?” Isaac was pretty sure the answer was copious violence, which he was pretty sure Louis wasn’t planning.
Instead, Louis turned him and kissed him, wrapping both wings around Isaac. The sun went down beside them while they stood there, kissing each other. Isaac slipped his hands under Louis’s wings to hold him close. Louis had so many other important things he could be doing and he’d come all the way here to spend time with Isaac. Isaac was so happy to be with him.
When Louis had decided it was enough kissing, he pulled his face back from Isaac’s and smiled. “There. Got the words back.”
“You sure?” Isaac asked. “I think you missed some.”
Louis snorted, nuzzling Isaac’s neck. “We’re going to be late for the play if we don’t go soon.”
“Okay,” Isaac said, and they stayed standing there for just a minute longer. “It’s been a really good night already, you know?”
“Yeah. I’ve been having a good time too. I really like being with you, Isaac.”
Isaac couldn’t help but grin, and he kissed Louis again. “I really like being with you too, Louis. Come on, let’s go.”
He floated them off the tower and over towards the theatre. Louis was still holding him, protecting him from the worst of the wind with his wings. He was so thoughtful.
They landed in front of the theatre, people staring at them. Isaac would have let them stare, but Louis didn’t like it much, so they went inside quickly, finding their seats in the darkened theatre.
When they were seated, Isaac pulled Louis’s hand into his lap, leaned on his shoulder. He enjoyed the play, but of course he did.
He’d enjoyed every minute he’d spent with Louis.
—
How Best to Use a Sword 