"Do you ever stop giving, Connie?"
Connie stopped, and turned back to look at her friend Col, "What do you mean?"
He sighed and stepped forward, "I mean, you're practically giving up everything you have for this." Connie smiled warmly, trying to reassure any of his doubts. But he knew better, as he was used to the 'Connie' look by now.
"Of course I am, Col. That poor dragon is trapped somewhere in the Ural Mountains, and I can't just sit here and do nothing about it."
Col sighed, because she clearly wasn't getting the point, "Connie, some people give 'til it hurts. You give until you don't have much left to give… and then you give some more." He scratched at the nape of his neck, starting to feel heat rise to his cheeks, "Let others give something for you once in a while. Let someone else take care of the dragon. In fact, I'll see to it myself that the dragon is safely recovered."
Connie blushed slightly, not having expected to hear words like those escape his mouth. She turned up her face to look him straight in the eyes. He'd grown taller over the last few years, surpassing her by a good couple of inches. She smiled, and Col noted that whenever she smiled in such a way, her mix-matched eyes lit up with warmth, "I thank you, Col, as this is taking mounds of stress off of my shoulders."
He shrugged nervously, "It's the least I can do for you. Then again, I would do most anything to make you happier."
The words slipped out of him before he had time to stop them.
Connie grinned and rolled her eyes. Col's face had taken red to the next level, and thirty shades deeper.
"So that's what you really think of me? Be honest, please."
He stared at his feet, "Well, I've felt differently about you for a while…"
Connie poked him skeptically, "A while? How long is a while?"
"At most, two years ago, when I finally realized that what I was feeling towards you wasn't just friendship."
"Hmm... what made you realize it?"
"Your smile."