Hey all! This chapter wraps up the last of my planned one-shots. Thank you for all the kind reviews for last chapter! I have also added a cover art from some fanart I found. If the artist wants me to take it down or update the image, I gladly will.

"Finally! We're here!" Deathbringer's grin held such an unabashed, childish joy. He bounced around on his paws, excitedly kicking around some of the pebbles on the rocky cliffside as he shouted back at Glory.

She still had to sift her way through a few more trees, pushing aside a vine or two before she emerged from forest to the shoreside scenery. For the first time in months, she could see the entirety of the horizon sprawled out before her. Waves crashed lazily against rocks below, filling the evening air with their tranquil echoes.

Frequent naps and lazy wanderings had relaxed the two dragons after their time sunning between the trees, but her thoughts every now and then dipped back into their tumultuous state. Though she much preferred that they disappeared entirely, the was a calming nature to the evening without the same claustrophobic nature of the rainforest. She could watch Deathbringer's silly excitement with a cheeky grin, trying her best not to laugh. As she stepped closer, he turned around and winked.

Had he caught on so easily? Surely, a NightWing who could barely tell the difference between an IceWing and a RainWing wouldn't be capable of discerning such a complex emotion. She bumped past him and strode to the end of outcropping, curling her claws over the edge of the cliff. Night hadn't fully settled in yet, but she could already see a thin crescent and two fuller moons to her left.

She only held her gaze out there for a few moments before turning her attention back to her bodyguard. Unsurprisingly, he remained utterly fixated on his queen, an action that prompted her usual lighthearted tease. "For someone so excited for this view, I expected you to take it in more."

"Yeah? What if I told you I am taking in a view," he shot back quickly, waggling a brow.

"Please," said Glory, unable to keep a smile from tugging at her muzzle, "don't act like you're staring at me any more than usual."

With a shrug, the NightWing sat next to her, resting his flank against hers. It was almost too touchy and too close, but Glory didn't object.

He whispered in a soft, smooth voice, "you've had my eyes from the day we met."

Her scales felt warm, and she shuffled about awkwardly "I could… think of worse things to have in my life."

"Ouch, really?" He clutched at his chest with a few talons.

Something felt wrong, had she hurt him? He opened up to her, and she had to him – she knew she could be abrasive and this whole… whatever they were was all new. She twisted around to see him snickering.

She snorted. "You're ridiculous."

That only emboldened him. "Keep telling me that, and maybe it'll come true one day," he replied, prodding her chest with a talon.

Neither of them could hold it in, and soon the peaceful evening was resonating with the booming laughs of both dragons. Glory cackled far more than she intended, forced to completely muzzle herself with her talons as her bodyguard pointed with clear amusement. Deathbringer didn't need to say anything for Glory to realize he hadn't taken her overly-dismissive response to heart.

The laughter felt good to get out, but tons of emotions still churned uneasily inside. Her dexterous tail flicked around his legs and gently curled against his scales. The gesture was practically subconscious, so she nearly jolted when he suddenly placed an approving lick right on her cheek. With a pleased trill, she coiled her tail tighter around him like how other RainWings hung from trees. Right by his side, she felt like she could conquer any puny issue polluting Pyrrhia, or at least her corner of it.

Glory eventually broke the silence by saying, "you're unlike any other dragon I've met." As she ended it with another nudge, she couldn't help but chuckle like a ditzy dragonet.

His snout was inches away. She could feel his breath on her cheek. "Oh? Was that a compliment? Here I was, thinking I was supposed to say all the romantic things." A flick of the tongue later, and he had planted a smooth kiss on her neck.

Glory's scales burnt bright pink. At first, it was pure embarrassment. Still, the thought lingered in the back of her head like a feverish itch. How did she feel about this dragon? For all his flaws, of which there were obviously many, he made an amazing partner.

She hadn't known what she expected love to feel like, and she had to wonder if this was it. It was a far more pestering, insistent emotion than what she held for her nest-mates, though it perfectly fit the equally pestering dragon beside her. When he pulled stunts like this, when he practically begged her to one-up him with romantic teases, she so desperately wanted to know whether he felt the same.

Before she lost herself in thought, a pair of vibrant, emerald eyes bored right into her soul. "You okay, Glory?"

She nodded. "Just thinking."

"About the beautiful sunset?" he asked with a wry smirk. It was already night, and she hadn't realized how much time had passed.

With a snort, she said, "more about the nonsense you always spout."

"Hey, it's not nonsense! I care about you, and I want to help." Something about the way he said that was far too silly to befit an assassin, but she didn't have it in her this time to laugh.

"I know." She made sure he recognized it with a lick back on his cheek. "You've always put me first. Every time." Of course, she left out how aggravating that could often be. "This vacation, too. You've been trying to get me to relax, make me comfortable." As he tried to speak, she cut back in. "And no, don't think for a second you can sneak your intentions past me. You're smooth though, Deathbringer, I'll give you credit."

She took a deep breath. Words seemed to manifest already-formed in her maw, regardless of what she had considered saying. "I should have been doing the same for you."

"What?" He tilted his head. "I mean, I won't say no to a vacation for me too, but I don't really need it."

"No, no, not that," she nearly growled as she stomped a paw on the ground. "When you pester me about what's on my mind, when you ask me if I'm alright time and time again. I never treated you properly and cared to ask you those questions back."

The NightWing had to pull back after that, clearly struck with quite a few thoughts. Glory couldn't read a thing from his expression, nor was she particularly trying to. Instead, she stared down at the lifeless grey boulder, trying to piece together whether she had made yet another mistake in all this or not. Why can't any of this be easy to say? she thought with a scowl. How can it possibly be worse than leading two tribes?

Wind from the ocean whistled by, and the chill of the night slowly ate into Glory's scales. Without her bodyguard's comforting body heat, she stood isolated and held back a shiver. The momentary silence creeped over them like a murky fog, leaving Glory with second thoughts. Bringing this up during a vacation of all times? She supposed the times she could shamelessly enjoy herself as a dragonet were far behind her. Even vacations wouldn't be free of this wretched burden that she had set for herself for the rest of her life the moment they all left the Talons of Peace.

She turned away and decided to watch some of the waves break a distance away from the shore. At least their crashing against the rocks was something to properly distract herself. She hummed to herself, swishing her tail about as she tapped a claw to the rhythm of the waves. All this fidgeting and nerves had her feeling more like Starflight – an absolute travesty, as much as she liked the dragon – so she tried to instead admire the scene ahead of her.

Is this what Deathbringer had brought her to see? It was rather comfortable, but it wasn't as monumental of an experience as he'd advertised.

Tenderly, while still out of view, Deathbringer slipped underneath her wing and supported her flank. One of his own bulkier wings soon rested over her back as he wiggled up next to her. "See? It's not a bad time out here when you have someone to share it with."

She huffed, her body language keeping firm. Only her tail acknowledged his presence by curling around his nearest hind leg. "And I take it this 'someone' is a charming, handsome bodyguard?"

"Maaaaybe! How'd you find out?" He laid his talons over hers as he leaned in close.

Finally, she obliged and nuzzled back. "I'm getting the idea he won't ever leave me alone."

"Not a chance," he said. "I'd do anything for you, Glory."

However much he meant it, she wasn't sure she was convinced yet. "Are you sure you haven't just fallen too hard? What about me caring for you? I sometimes feel like I don't know anything about you from before we met."

"Glory, listen." His voice was sharper now, more serious. "I… well… you've cared more for me than almost any dragon." Something kept tying his tongue, and his face was ridden with an uncontrolled blush.

At least now she realized she wasn't the only one stumbling through all this without a proper guide. There must have been something in her expression that urged him to elaborate. "It isn't your fault Glory, about my side of things. I like being spooky and mysterious anyways, a proper assassin."

Hearing him be that comfortable with his rather sinister former profession was another point of confusion for her. She may not have known why, since she doubted it was solely to infuriate her, but he latched onto humor at every opportunity. "Deathbringer," she warned testily.

"Alright, alright." A hearty sigh left his maw, then he snuggled in closer. She could feel the tension in his scales. "War's terrible, alright? No one wins, least of all me. Well, unless I count finding you as a part of that, right?" He tried for a hopeful smile, but he was clearly still stricken by something lurking in his past. "I just don't want to talk much about that. Instead, I'll protect you, and I'll make sure that nothing can harm my kind, brave, noble queen."

Glory held back a bark of laughter. "I think you're the first to describe me that way."

"Not the last, though!" he cheered.

Her concerns vanished when she saw the pleased, excitable glow in his eyes. As much as she may have wanted to learn more about him if she was going to call him her mate, she would rather see his infectious grin again. In fact, she could properly care for him too.

In a quick pounce, she tackled him over onto the ground with a loud fwump. All it took to pin the NightWing was a paw over his chest, her claws tapping against his scales. She bared some more weight onto him until a faint yelp cut out his chuckles. With a playful grin, she leaned forward and nipped on his nearest horn.

"Someone should have told you that your queen can protect herself!" She lightened up on the weight once she was certain her favorite bodyguard wouldn't get any ideas. As she pulled her talons away, though, she inched the rest of herself closer. "You know I do want, more than just a bodyguard?"

"O' Mighty Queen Glory, what might that be?"

She rolled her eyes, trying to ignore him potentially ruining the moment. After sitting back on her haunches and nearly laying over him, she relished in his scent and the warmth of his body. Finally, she could say she made her decision. She was nervous, still nervous to blush despite her confidence and bravado, but her speech felt much steadier now.

With a gentle squish against his side, she laid down on top of him and rested her head against his. "I want to be with you."

"Be with you…" He gaped his maw, giddy. "Like, together together?"

"Yes, together," she said, bopping his snout with a claw, "you moony NightWing. Earlier, you wanted me to say how I felt about you, so there it is. I like you, Deathbringer." The words felt lamer than she intended.

She could hear his heart pounding and feel every rise and fall of his chest. Over a few uncertain moments, her own heartbeat synced with his. The world beyond the two of them didn't feel insurmountable anymore. RainWing and NightWing together, now able to decide their own futures. She had hated being tied down with obligations in the past, but now she had someone new who could stick with her through all of it, even when the other dragonets hadn't.

"Besides," she continued, "doesn't someone have to keep you in line? Imagine what kind of utter nonsense you would get up to without me."

Deathbringer's grin was answer enough. He craned his neck upwards to her until their snouts bumped together. Before Glory fully understood what he was up two, their tongues were entwined in a deep, passionate kiss. Even afterwards, the two laid there in close intimacy, surrounded by the sounds of wind and ocean.

Without pulling back, Deathbringer gave her the dumbest smile she had ever seen. "Let's get up to some nonsense, then. Together."

As the night grew darker and the moons travelled over the sky, the two huddled in together. Glory had never felt so unburdened before in her life. Always, she would have this lovely dragon to count on, for better or worse.