Attention: SPOILERS for quite recent chapters concerning Zeno's background! So read on own risk ;)

NaNo struck again. Instead of writing what I should do, I made an excursion into a new fandom. I'm no native speaker, so please bear with possible mistakes.

In chapter 52 Zeno said to Jae-ha that he always slept close to Shin-Ah as latter was injured. I found that cute and endearing. How did that happen? Let's find out, shall we?

Shin-Ah didn't know what he should think about the newest addition to their group. He liked Zeno. The yellow dragon was nice and friendly. But at the same time, he was so loud! And he tended to touch people all the time. It was both not something Shin-Ah was used to. If people had been loud around him, it had been either scared villagers or people he had fought. Nobody tended to touch him voluntarily, Yona being the first one to ever say something positive about him being close. His hands were warm? He somehow felt warm deep inside whenever he rememberd those words.

He didn't feel the same warmth when Zeno came to sit next to him in the evening, but it came close. They only knew Zeno since a few hours but he behaved like he had been part of their group since weeks. Nonetheless, Shin-Ah had thought that Zeno would only thaw to him after a little while and subconciously stick more to Yona, Yoon or Jae-ha who were more outgoing. Shin-Ah was used being avoided, so he told hiself it wouldn't hurt him if one of his fellow dragons would not get used to him too quickly. Zeno turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

For a few seconds they sat in silence, observing Yoon how he prepared dinner. The yellow dragon's stomach made rumbling sounds as if he didn't have had tons of meat for lunch and he drooled again. Then Zeno straightened suddenly, leaned closer to him, and Shin-Ah had to tell himself that another dragon wouldn't attack him to not flinch back. Zeno smiled at him in that bright exuberant way.

"Who is that?"

Who? Shin-Ah felt the slight movements in the fur that covered his head, shoulders and back. That was where Zeno looked to, his head tilted a tiny bit to the side.

"That is Ao."

Zeno observed his little friend a bit longer, then focussed his eyes on Shin-Ah's mask as if he would be able to look right through it. The smile was still there, Shin-Ah noticed, it had just taken a different tone. It now was less bright but more heartfelt.

"You have to be kind and patient for him to get that attached to you."

Shin-Ah felt another warm feeling inside his chest. He needed a few seconds to file it, though. Pride. He felt proud of something he had done. He had been praised. It didn't matter that someone did it he had only met a few hours ago.

"Ao is just kind," Shin-Ah said and unconsciously reached out to pet his little friend's head. Zeno only kept smiling at him at those words. Maybe he would have added something, but Yoon took that moment to declare dinner to be ready. It seemed nothing could take Zeno's attention if there was food. Only minutes later they all sat around the camp fire, Zeno loudly praising the cook, which made Yoon puff out his chest, declaring that I would only be natural for him to cook well. He could do anything, after all he was a genius and pretty boy.

Only after they had eaten and taken care of the dishes, they noticed that Zeno's pack was really small. He had no bed roll with him, only a few minor thing necessary for survival.

"We don't have any spare blankets or bed roll. Where should Zeno sleep?" Always the practical one, Yoon pointed the problem out.

"He can sleep with us," suggested Yona, which immediately and vehemently refused by a choir of voices.

"Zeno sleeps with Shin-Ah!"

It hadn't been a stated fact, more a jubilant outshout. Shin-Ah looked down to his side, where their newest addition to the group now stood.

"Why him?" Shin-Ah wasn't hurt by Jae-ha's question. It was just blunt curiosity, that much the blue dragon knew.

"Because he is warm and fluffy," Zeno explained like it was the most evident thing in the world and petted Shin-Ah's fur covered shoulder.

"Is that okay with you, Shin-Ah?"

Shin-Ah inclined his head to show Yona that he was. That only led to Zeno throwing his arms up in the sky and cheering. For a moment Shin-Ah wondered how he should even be able to sleep with that man in the same camp, least of all sharing a blanket with Zeno.

Settling down for the night was a quick affair. They all were tired from travelling, so they only quickly assembled the tent for Yoon and Yona before everybody found a place around the low burning camp fire.

It felt weird to have someone other than Ao this close for the night. The side Zeno lay at burned with the presence of him. A tiny bit of distrust still crept through his mind, but Shin-Ah quickly pushed the thought away. Yona had said she believed Zeno was the yellow dragon, so it had to be true, even though Zeno showed no evident powers. It just meant that he would yet need to find his powers or they got lost over time. No matter what, they just had to make sure that he was safe during battles they would sooner or later face.

Shin-Ah couldn't tell if Zeno already was asleep or not. Considering that he hadn't stopped talking or moving during the hours he knew him and now lay limb and breathed easily, it was highly likely that he was asleep, though.

-xxx-

It took Shin-Ah a while to fall asleep, Zeno noticed. Actually, he hadn't thought the blue dragon would have been able to sleep at all, with a basically stranger this close to him. The trust he got from the the cautious kid flattered him.

People were mirrors. If you smiled, a smile would be reflected. So far Shin-Ah hadn't smiled at him, but Zeno was sure he would reach that sooner or later, too. Shin-Ah was kind and caring, he just wasn't outgoing.

Zeno cuddled deeper into the fur of Shin-Ah's coat. He was content. It had been ages since the last time he had been this close to a living breathing human being; even longer since he had been this close to one of his dragon brothers. It felt amazing to be able to talk to them, to touch them. That was the reason he might even overdo it a bit, at least annoying Jae-ha to no end.

Slight tugs on his hair made him look up. Ao nibbled on a hair strand of his. Zeno slowly rose his hand from under the blankets and extended his finger. Ao allowed him to pet its soft fur. It was a relief to know Shin-Ah had had this little fur ball at his side while being held captive in his own village. A short wave of regret washed through him. He had known how they had treated Shin-Ah and he hadn't done anything against it. It was too late for regret now, he told himself, but he would make sure to try to make it up to him and his other brothers.

Shin-Ah made a soft sound in his sleep. Immediately, the small animal perked up and turned its attention from Zeno to its owner. Ao disappeared in the fur only to reappear seconds later in the curve of Shin-Ah's neck. With a soundless chuckle Zeno watched the small animal curl up there and close its eyes. It was evident that the affection of master and pet, no rather those two friends, was strong on both sides.

It amazed him how easily he had been included in this small circle of friends and comrades around the princess, and only now he noticed how much his heart had craved for it after years and years of being alone. It would hurt in the end, once they would die, but somehow he felt like it already was worth the pain he would have to endure.

He slid just a bit closer, relishing in the fact to have a warm body next to him to curl up to. And maybe, just maybe, the end would be different this time with all four dragons around one red-haired master.