Jackson squatted in front of the fireplace and frowned at the body that was snuggled amid the burning coals. Fire and played across gleaming red scales, but never actually burned the slumbering lizard. Mark sighed and rolled over, putting out some of the flames with his slender frame and stirring up sooty ash.

Jackson's main motivation for buying a small, two bedroom house had been the kitchen. It was very open and had plenty of counter space for bowls and appliances. The oven was a decent size, and the deep sinks boasted plenty of space for dishes to soak off left-over pieces of grime. But the pièce de résistance was the huge, open fireplace that was tucked into the far wall. Jackson had plans for that fireplace, most of which involving whole roasted chickens.

His plans never included his boyfriend taking a nap in it.

Jackson stared at him for a few more minutes before concluding that Mark was an idiot. The stupid dragon was slim for a winged reptile, but he was still too big to fit properly into the fireplace. His scarlet tail and back poked out onto the cold kitchen floor. The over-all effect was fairly similar to a large cat trying to fit into a box that was clearly too small for it.

Granted, this cat was actually a 130 lb dragon, and the box in question was on fire. But still.

The wanna-be chef stood up and walked over to the sink. A quick search of the cabinets above it produced a pitcher, which he filled with cold water. Jackson snickered mischievously and turned back to the fireplace, eyeing the unaware dragon with a sinister look. He went to stand directly in front of it and raised the pitcher threateningly. “Mark, get up.”

Mark turned over, and one golden eye slitted open to stare at him passively. A disbelieving snort came from the elegant muzzle, and with a yawn he turned his back on Jackson. Clearly, the majestic beast of legend didn't think the petty human would make good on his unspoken threat. A twinge of annoyance went through Jackson, and with barely concealed glee he threw the cold water all over the glorified lizard.

The effect was immediate, and unexpected. The second the water touched his scarlet scales Mark shot up and tackled Jackson with all the force of a large jungle cat. Jackson managed to catch the heavy body for a few seconds, but the unexpected weight and slippery scales caused him to drop his burden. His eyes widened when a scaled forearm latched onto the collar of his shirt and held on. The combined weight of the duo brought Jackson down to his knees with a painful thud.

Jackson scrambled for an escape but was foiled at every turn by sharp claws and snapping teeth. Eventually he found himself pinned under a very wet and irate Mark. He smiled nervously at the glare his boyfriend was directing at him, and at the sharp fangs that were worryingly close to his face. A low growl was coming from deep within Mark's throat, and Jackson had never found the normally arousing sound more terrifying. Although his lower half seemed to thoroughly disagree with him...

The growl began changing pitch, and Mark added a few annoyed snarls and weird clicking sounds. Whatever he was saying did not sound like it was good for Jackson's health. The younger man waited for a break in his chatter then said “Uh, you never did get around to teaching me dragonese.” Mark cut off whatever he had been starting to say and leveled him a cold look.

Jackson looked away first and stared nervously off to the left. One of Mark's claws was poking into his leg and it was slowly getting to him. He debated if it was worth risk annoying Mark further by wiggling to move it when the large form on him shuddered hard. Unfortunately, the main body of the dragon was situated directly over Jackson's crotch, and the quivering body was sending very bad signals to his lower anatomy. Jackson quickly sent a mental command to his to no. stay down you suicidal idiot, now is not the time for this! The dragon's body continued shaking, the glimmering scales seeming to undulate and shift under the light.

Jackson could hear the soft clinking sound of scales hitting each other. The claws that were on his chest tucked themselves away like a cat's did, and the scales began giving way to soft, pinkish flesh. Jackson kept his eyes carefully trained on the floor. He thought Mark was beautiful in all his forms, but the process of changing into them always freaked him out slightly. He had watched Mark go from dragon form to human form once before, and he still had nightmares about it.

If he had bothered to look, he would've seen the slender muzzle push inwards slowly, as if someone had pressed their finger into the top of a cone and pressed down. Mark's head flattened out some, and the pretty red scales began to fleck away. They landed on the floor with a soft chink, like pottery. The golden cat eyes flared and changed color to a deep brown. Brilliant red hair sprouted from the top of his head, growing until it just came above his eyes.

All over reptilian limbs shed scales and revealed the pink flesh under it. The whole process was reminiscent of a snake shedding its skin, but in pieces instead of one whole bit. When the sounds of falling scales finally stopped, Jackson glanced up to see his boyfriend, completely but for a few left over scales, perched on his chest and looking angry as hell.

Jackson sent another weak plead to his to settle down.

Mark opened his mouth, but the only thing that issued forth from it was a weak croak. The dragon scowled furiously and rubbed at his throat, trying to stimulate the still forming muscles to finish growing. Jackson fought down the suicidal urge to sit up and kiss his pretty pouting mouth. After a few moments Mark carefully hummed and nodded at the sound.

Then he gave Jackson his coldest glare, and suddenly Jackson was less focused on his libido and more on the safety of his face. The dragon leaned over imposingly and hissed “Jackson, why exactly did you feel the need to wake me up?”

Some hysterical part of his brain reminded Jackson of some old proverb his mom told him when he was little. Never wake a sleeping dragon. Or something like that anyway. The human scrambled for an answer that would satisfy the dragon and leave his face fully intact. “Uh... You shouldn't sleep in the fireplace? It's a... uh... safety hazard... and...”

Jackson faltered into silence as Mark continued to level an icy stare directly at him. When he seemed sufficiently cowed the scarlet dragon snapped “I'm smart enough to not block the chimney, and I made sure the fire didn't get bigger than a few flames. And further more –!” Mark's mouth suddenly snapped shut, and a violent shiver ran through his whole body. Without warning he dropped down to lay chest-to-chest on Jackson, cuddling into his shirt the best he could.

“It's too cold for this!” he whined. Jackson's eyes widened as it finally occurred to him what was wrong. Even if he had a human form, Mark still was a cold-blooded reptile that needed outside sources of heat. Dragons either hibernated in winter or lived in perpetually warm places like volcanoes. The fall weather was mild to Jackson, but probably felt like an arctic tundra to Mark.

Jackson wrapped his arms snuggly around his boyfriend. Mark still felt warm from his fire nap, but the cold water had probably removed most of the relieving heat from him. “I'm sorry, I forgot.” He sat up carefully so he wouldn't toss Mark's on the cold kitchen floor. Mark shifted to adjust his new position on the brunet's lap, trying his best to maintain contact with his new-found heat source. Jackson watched the play of muscle in his body appreciatively until a question suddenly came to mind. “Wait a minute.” Mark kept shifting and hummed to show he was listening. “If you were cold, why didn't you just turn on the heat?”

Mark stopped moving. The dragon looked away as his face turned red and glared at the floor with enough force to crack the tiles. “I tried.” Jackson almost laughed at the annoyed look on his face, but just barely managed to keep it in. “What do you mean you tried?”

“I mean I tried but I couldn't figure out the machine! Why are there so many buttons?! Surely you just need two, one to turn up the heat and one to turn it down! Human technology is dumb!” All this was said in a rapid shout as Mark flailed his arms in indignation. The dragon kept up his triad about why technology is stupid while Jackson gave up on hiding his amusement and laughed. The betrayed look Mark sent him only made him laugh harder, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

A small huff came from his lap, then the nice pressure that had been on it was gone. Before Jackson could recover from his fit of mirth something wrapped around his body, and with a whoosh he found himself cradled in a princess hold. Mark gave him an unimpressed look as Jackson went limp in his arms, dramatically playing dead. The brunet closed his eyes and put his hand to his head in feigned distress. “Oh no, someone help me! I've been taken by a dragon!”

Mark laughed at that and left the kitchen, carrying his 'helpless maiden' to their bedroom. “That's right, I'm a big bad dragon, and if you don't do what I want I'll eat you.” Jackson opened his eyes and leered at him. “I wouldn't mind getting eaten by such a pretty dragon.” Mark snorted and threw him onto the bed. “Maybe later.”

The dragon crawled into the bed with him, wrapping his arms possessively around the human. “First the mighty dragon demands to be warmed up.” Jackson turned and offered him a grin that promised sinful things. “I know a good way to warm up.”

A pillow to the face was his answer. 

~    ~    ~    ~

AN: next weeks chapter is gonna be one of the requested ones! All aboard the Hype Train!

Also, you can possibly expect a bonus chapter at some point thanks to the lovely DarkShadowWolf215 and riceFTW, who continually give me ideas to work with! The bonus chapter will probably consist of omakes from previous chapters, so they'll be very short!