Kris looked up when someone cleared his throat and a blanket was laid over Kris' shoulders to cover his body. Tao had buried his face in the curve of his neck and had his arms slung around the elder's neck. His tears had dried a while ago and now he just stayed there, unable to let go of the elder, too afraid that he would go away again and leave him. Kris blushed lightly and nodded to the doctor standing next to him, looking down on the two figures sitting in the grass, hugging each other.

"I think it's better we go inside...", the man said and made a gesture towards the hospital.

Kris nodded and slowly pulled away from Tao who hesitantly let go of him only to grab the elder's hands quickly and look at him with wide, questioning eyes. Kris smiled at the man and leaned forward. He pressed a soft kiss to his forehead and closed his eyes as they rubbed their foreheads together and Tao took a deep breath.

"It's okay kitten."

"Are you sure you're fine?"

"Yes. Let's go inside..."

They stood up slowly and with a blush on his cheeks Tao let go of Kris' hands to hold up the blanket that was threatening to fall back down and reveal his body. Kris rose a hand to hold onto the blanket and let the other one slide down Tao's arm to intertwine their fingers. After another reassuring look to Tao, who was looking at him sceptically, he tugged on his hand lightly and they slowly walked back into the hospital together, the doctor following right behind them. Kris tried to ignore the wide eyed looks and open mouthes as Tao and him walked past the people and the younger directed him back to his old  room. Sensing Kris' uncomftortableness he walked a bit quicker and he immediately felt wild anger rise as a woman he recognized as one of the nurses that had been taking care of Kris shrieked and backed away in fear when the two of them walked by. Without realising it he curled his upper lip and released a warning growl towards the woman. '.'

"Shh... Tao, it's fine", Kris whispered and squeezed his hand.

Tao turned his head and shot the woman another murderous glare before he sent Kris a wave of comfort over their bond.

"She's completely overreacting. I should slap her, not just make her believe I would want to."

Kris smiled at the younger and tried not to laugh. Without realising it Tao had instinctively tried to protect him. It made his heart grow warm and he felt possessiveness rise. 'That's my mate.' Tao grinned at him and a light blush coated his cheeks.

"You do realise that you almost screamed that into my head?", he whispered, making sure no one else could hear it except Kris.

The elder blinked a few times before his eyes widened and he quickly averted his gaze. Tao held back a giggle as he saw his mate's cheeks turning the slightest bit of pink. 'Heeeh... he's embarrassed!'

"Of course I'm embarrassed you idiot!"

"I love you."

"Wha- Well that doesn't help!"

Tao gasped as Kris janked on his arm and he stumbled into Kris' embrace. The elder immediately captured his lips in a sweet, lingering kiss. The hybrid shuddered as Kris' long, slim fingers caressed over the mark on the side of his neck and the elder pulled away to look into his eyes.

"I love you too."

Tao turned beet red and quickly pulled away.

"Sh- Shut up."

He turned even redder when he heard an awkward cough behind the two of them and turned to see the doctor standing in the door to Kris' room.

"Eehh... I think it's best if you lie down a bit and relax. I'll come back in a few minutes and we'll talk about what just happened. I think you've got a lot of questions. And... I'd get dressed if I were you."

Kris nodded and watched as the young doctor stepped back and closed the door.

----

Kris took a deep breath and was thankful that Tao was sitting so close to him and he could lean on him a little bit. That was a lot to digest.

"So", he started while looking at the man in front of him, "basically you're saying I- I'm a dragon?"

The man smiled and nodded.

"Exactly."

'Why does he sound so happy? I can't see how that's good in any way...' Tao gasped and nudged his shoulder warningly as he heard the elder's thoughts.

"Stop right there. You're a shapeshifter! How's that not cool!?"

The doctor rose his brow as he watched the exchange of looks and the change of emotions on the faces of the two men sitting in front of him on the bed. It was fascinating how they comunicated without talking to each other. It was the first time in his career that he had met such a young and passionate couple. They were a match made in heaven, he could see it clearly although they seemed a bit mismatched at first, the elder a dragon and the younger a panther hybrid. The auras around them where as blinding as the sun on a hot day whenever he focused on them enough to activate his power. The hybrid's aura was all kinds of soft but at some times fiery colours while the shapeshifter's aura mainly concisted of grey and different shades of red. Whenever the two of them sat close to each other the shapeshifter unconciously mixed his aura with the hybrid's in a possessive, dominant way. He claimed him as his and Sehun pitied the person who would ever be stupid enough to make a move on the dragon's mate. But it wouldn't be easy for them from now on. The dragon had a lot to learn. He had to learn how to control the shifting and how to develop the power. The glints of a dangerous fire in his eyes showed that he was even more powerful and dangerous than he knew himself and he probably had a lot of hidden talents inside of himself. Sehun had already explained to the two of them what had happened and they seemed to take it pretty well. It was normal for dragon shifters to never transform before they had found a mate, the animal stayed hidden inside the human until he was deemed ready by the animal to control his power and have a person next to him that was able to balance him out and help him. But it was the first time Sehun had ever heard of a dragon that didn't know about the power inside of him. Dragons were trained and taught about their heritage and their power from small on until they transformed for the first time. It was too dangerous to let such a powerful, dangerous animal free without someone that knew how to control it and how to keep it from running wild. It was fascinating how the man in front of him had complete control over the wild animal although he had never known about it. He may not be able to control the shifting yet but the most difficult part, taming the biest and morphing their souls into one was something that Kris had done without even realising. If he hadn't, he probably wouldn't be sitting in the room and on the bed in front of him. Sehun's respect for the man and his mate grew as he thought about how the dragon probably would have killed everybody in his surroundings or himself if Kris hadn't been able to cope with the situation and the dragon would have destroyed him, taken over his body and pushed the human out. The dragon was the only animal that was almost extinct and at the same time one of the most dangerous ones left in the world. They were gigantic, powerful and very, very dominant. Their self-control was legendary and it had to be. He smiled as he saw the panther slapping the dragon on the shoulder and the man just smiled at his mate before he lifted his hand and traced his fingers around the mark on the hybrid's neck.

"What's this?", Kris asked and looked at Tao curiously as he pulled back his hand.

The hybrid blushed as he thought about the mark on the side of his neck.

"It's your mark... idiot."

Kris' eyes widened and he turned Tao around to look at the mark properly. It looked more like a tattoo than a mark. The colour was a few shades darker than Tao's skin and it looked like a bite mark. You could clearly see the points where teeth had broken the skin and it seemed like a scar, only that the skin was completely smooth and normal.

"I made that?"

Tao's eyes widened and he turned a dark red. 'This ing...'

"Of course you made that you stupid idiot! What do you think! Jesus Christ this is so embarrassing."

They both turned as they heard a chuckle.

"Your panther has left quite the mark on you too", the doctor said and pointed to Kris' neck.

The elder's eyes widened and his hand flew up to grab the side of his neck where Tao had bit him after they had had . His skin there felt sensitive and instinctively he knew the doctor was right. With wide eyes he leaned over the edge of the bed to look into the small mirror standing on the bedside table. He pulled his fingers away and revealed a big bite mark. Like Tao's mark, his was a few shades darker than his skin tone and you could see it clearly on his neck.

"Woahh...", he let out and looked at Tao with a glint of amusement in his eyes. "Seems like you liked to bite me."

Tao let out a spluttered scream and slapped Kris on his thigh hard.

"Sh- Shut the up! You're one to talk! Look at this!", he shouted and pointed to his neck. "It's huge!"

Kris felt laughter bubble up and clasped his hands over his mouth to stop it from coming out.

"Y-You! How dare you laugh!", Tao shouted and poked an accusing finger into Kris' chest. 'This embarrassing, stupid-'

"I love it."

Tao blinked and his hand fell into his lap.

"What?"

Kris grinned and he lifted his arm to touch Tao's neck. His heart felt like it was overflowing with happiness, love, excitement and possessiveness.

"I said, I love it. It shows everyone that I'm yours and I wouldn't want it any other way... I love you."

Tao suddendly felt tears welling up and he sniffled. Kris always managed to throw him off his balance. His heart was beating hard and he was so embarrassed but at the same time he felt weirdly proud and possessive. He lowered his head and looked at his hands lying in his lap.

"Th- That's right. You better remember that because I'm not letting you go", he mumbled.