When Soryong woke up one morning nearly a week after their first kiss but without anyone beside him, he was kind of confused. A sort of disappointment washed over him, but he could still smell the other man's scent in the room. He smiled and his heart felt warm and fluttery at the mere thought of Injun. Soryong stretched out the sleepiness from his body and rummaged around the room for his boxers that were flung quite enthusiastically the previous night. After putting on some underwear, he walked out into the kitchen where he hoped Injun would be, but the InGanWoo was gone. With a shrug, he went over to pour himself some cereal and sat on the table to eat. It was then that he realized how comfortable he had gotten with minimal clothing ever since he and Injun's first night in his room, something he had never been able to do since childhood.

Since Injun still hadn't come when it was nearing noon, Soryong planned to make some lunch for the both of them. His hair had dried since taking his shower by then, and he had put on some clothes to be more civilized. Though he couldn't begin to guess when Injun would be popping in, Soryong decided to make some simple french toast with whipped cream and strawberries, just in case the InGanWoo didn't have breakfast before going out. It was strange, Injun would be gone like this for several hours every few days. He may have even been gone every day when Soryong was attending his classes as well, but he never questioned Injun about it. There was some trust that formed between them in the last week or so, and Soryong didn't think that he would be out plotting for his ultimate destruction or anything. Besides, what could a man who grew up alone fending for himself possibly be thinking about doing to the dragon, even if he hadn't and very well may never be able to transform?

But as he was thinking about that, an idea formed in Soryong's mind, one that would require a bit of guts from all parties involved. The silver eyed immature dragon would tell Daeryong about it that night when he was dreaming, which was another new thing that formed that week. After his meeting with his blue eyed twin, Soryong and Daeryong could meet and converse in their dreams. While they had their respective dreams of the past and the future, they were now able to talk during them as well, though they couldn't see each other's dreams. It was a weird thing being a dragon, Soryong would think, though he hadn't been matured yet.

Just when Soryong sat down and started digging into his good, the door opened and Injun came in with a bag of vegetables. The immature dragon looked up and smiled, despite guessing that Injun's lack of money probably meant that he stole them, though from a garden or a market, he couldn't tell.

"Come on, Injun," Soryong sighed, "you don't have to steal."

"Sorry," injun put his earnings on the table and shrugged. "It's the way I've been living since my parents died. But anyway, this smells great."

Soryong pointed to the plate across him and Injun sat down to eat. The two enjoyed their light lunch without much words, though the thoughts going through their minds were easy enough to decipher. Neither Soryong nor Injun could keep themselves from looking up periodically and smiling. There was such a mist of the sweet budding of love in the air that none could enter the room without being affected. Soryong couldn't believe that such a man had been waiting for him for so many years, though he was glad that what they now had went beyond what either of them ever imagined.

"Where do you go all the time?" Soryong asked after shoving the last of the french toast into his mouth. "You go like everyday, and I start to get worried sometimes. I mean, what if you get spotted by those guys that kidnapped me? They can't be happy about what you did to them last time."

"Don't worry," Injun laughed as if it wasn't even something to be concerned about. "I've had to fight off worse than a bunch of old men in lab coats. And I'm sorry, I just go out for walks around the area. For one thing, I'm not used to staying for very long somewhere, much less an apartment. And two, I also sweep the area in case any of those goons try to come back again."

"Speaking of them, I was thinking about something. I met my twin brother earlier this week and--"

"Twin brother!?" Injun's mouth dropped open and something that looked like excitement filled his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me about this? Where is he now? Do you keep contact with him?"

"Calm down, Injun," Soryong laughed and held up his hands. "But yes, we can talk when we dream, which you probably already knew, but I'm not sure where he is."

"Do you know if he's a mature dragon?"

"Yeah, he transformed into one right in front of me the day we met. I was nearly shocked speechless, but then I was thinking how awesome he looked. It made me wish more than ever that I was mature as well. Which brings me to my main point, what do you say about the three of us storming back into that warehouse to get my jade earring back? Daeryong told me that if I get it back too late, I may never be able to mature as a dragon."

"Yes, he was right," Injun nodded solemnly. "That has happened enough times in history to prevent more dragons from laying eggs. So I do think we should get your earring back before it's too late, though I have some doubts about heading in there blindly. First off, they must have it hidden somewhere quite heavily guarded in case you return. And I have no doubt that they have more of their amulets hanging around the place to drain you of your strength and your power. They use those with spells to disarm their prey."

With that last word, Soryong suddenly felt vulnerable, but he was determined not to back out of this plan. After all, Injun was apparently a great fighter, and Daeryong would be able to help in his dragon form, wouldn't he? But there were some things that they needed to think about as well. For example, what if the RyongHyulDan had sent for reinforcements after the several of them had been beaten by one man and an immature dragon? The optimistic side of Soryong thought that they could handle several more, especially if Daeryong was willing to join, but the realistic side of him said that the hypothetical new guys would be tougher and better trained. Another thing to think about was how they would find the earring if it hadn't been shipped out. Then again, he was seriously doubting the cult would endanger their chance at a dragon, taking into consideration that there were so precious few left in the world.

"I think we can pull this off," Soryong finally said when the silence was getting too thick.

"You're quite optimistic, aren't you," Injun said with a smile, obviously itching to give the dragon a kiss. "But you're right, we kind of have to if you ever want to become a full fledged dragon, and I really think you do."

"It's funny, all my life I've been like a turtle in its shell, hiding and refusing to come out, then I find out that I'm a dragon, but am in danger of losing that. Now I want to fly and roam the world like I've never dreamed possible, and I want you to go with me, Injun."

At that, Injun couldn't help himself as he came around the table for some more kissing, which the two couldn't get enough of. And despite what had been going on the past few days, Soryong took Injun again on the kitchen table, all of their fears and uncertainties dissipating for a while.

That night, however, Soryong asked his blue eyed twin to come over the next day so they could talk.

Despite having expected Daeryong to come in that day, Soryong and Injun were caught a little unexpected when the rap on the door came around ten a.m. It wasn't that they were preparing anything, but they did have to scramble to put on some clothing and at least try to keep from kissing any more. When Daeryong did come in, though, he probably smelled what was going on, judging by the wisp of emotion on his face. Even then, the three went into the kitchen as Soryong introduced Injun and took out some iced tea and some macadamia nut cookies, which the blue eyed twin gobbled almost too quickly.

"Whoa there, Daeryong," Soryong frowned, "go easy. You don't want to end up with a stomachache, now, do you?"

"I'm sorry," the blue eyed dragon chuckled. "I've just been living off of birds, fish, and some other animals since I matured and ra--" he stopped abruptly before covering it up smoothly. "You would never guess that a whole cow can feel like an appetizer when you're a huge dragon."

Laughing at that, the lovers sat down across from each other and took some cookies too.

"So what's up guys?" Daeryong leaned back and crossed his arms in a totally relaxed manner. "Besides, you know, all the lovey dovey business you probably can't stop," he finished with an evil glint in his eyes.

Soryong nearly blushed as he and Injun looked at each other, holding back smiles that would give them away.

"Okay," the silver eyed twin cleared his throat. "This is actually serious, Daeryong. Injun and I were talking about going into the place where my jade earring was taken and try to get it back. We were wondering if you would be able to help us."

That made Daeryong's confidence falter for a bit, but he coolly sipped his iced tea before answering. "Easy. We go in, scare the out of whoever stole your earring with my dragon form, take the jade, and come back."

"No offense, Daeryong," Injun shook his head, "but someone seeing a real live dragon in this day and age wouldn't bode well. Besides, there's the RyongHyulDa--"

"I know about the Dragon's Blood Group," the blue eyed man shrugged. "They're not going to get me or Soryong. That I can promise you. But luckily for both of you, I can put up a decent fight when it comes to these things."

"So," Soryong smiled excitedly, "does that mean you're up for it?"

"Damn right," Daeryong pumped his fist and whooped. "Are we going there tonight? Tell me you guys already have a plan."

"Well," Injun drew out the word uncertainly. "Soryong isn't much of a fighter, but you and I can. I was wondering if we should have him sneak in when we create a diversion, though there is a risk of a fight there as well. What do you think, Daeryong?"

Although he knew the truth more than either of these two men, Soryong felt quite useless and pathetic in the presence of the other two. It was driving him to jump into this a tad dangerously.

"I can take care of myself," the immature dragon declared stubbornly. "You two can draw them outside, and I'll sneak in. Wherever they put my earring, I will find it."

"Xiao Long," Daeryong bit his lip, "are you sure about this? Injun and I can just as easily pull this off ourselves. Besides, I'd be worried about you, wondering if someone inside is going to find you and beat you up pretty bad."

"Same here," Injun reached out and took Soryong's hand. "If you want to sit this one out, we could totally go do this ourselves."

But all of this concern was making Soryong even more stubborn, so he shook his head and demanded to be a part of this, much to the dismay of Injun and Daeryong. They settled on it, however, and decided to go after darkness fell to make the best use of Daeryong's dragon body. He explained that he was a black dragon of the night, capable of turning practically invisible in the darkness. After that, Injun desperately wanted to see his dragon form, and a pang of jealousy hit Soryong hard when Injun's eyes lit up in wonder as he slowly brought his hands down Daeryong's black scaly body. The silver eyed twin wished he could amaze Injun like that, considering he was a Human Friend destined to accompany a dragon. When all of the excitement wore off, however, and Injun was out taking his walk, Daeryong approached Soryong carefully with a concerned look.

"I have to tell you something, Xiao Long," the blue eyed dragon couldn't bring his eyes to meet his brother's. "In all of my dreams of us, I have never seen you in your dragon form."

The words made Soryong so much more disappointed than he ever thought he could be. "Well, it's not like they're definite or anything...right?"

"I'm sorry, Xiao Long, but that's the truth," he finally looked up. "I've seen you wear your earring, but I have never seen you transform. It's been about a week now without your earring, and I don't know if you have any time left."

"How long does it usually take before it's too late?" Soryong whispered quietly.

"For some, only a few days. Others have held out after several months, so there's no way of knowing."

That made Soryong's heart sink, but he wasn't going to give up on getting his earring back, not when he knew in his heart that a dragon was what he was meant to be. Since it was still too early in the day, Daeryong decided to go out, promising to come back in late afternoon for the mission.

What the blue eyed dragon didn't say was that he never saw Injun in his dreams either.