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When Ashes said it looked like the whole village had gathered outside, Flame didn't think she had meant literally the whole village!

Through the great lancet windows, he could see it all, and what he saw made his frills stand on end. Surrounding the temple gates were hundreds of dragons: a sea of torches and horns, of shuffling wings and scales of every color - all pushing, shouting, whistling or chattering with each other while they waited for the heavy doors to open.

And there weren't just villagers either, but drakes from every corner of the island seemed to have squeezed themselves into the damn courtyard. If they didn't come out soon, Flame imagined that they'd break the gates down.

"They're probably here to hang us," he noted dryly. "I knew we shouldn't have left Astor and Tomas all tied up in the cave like that."

"Hmmm... I don't think they're here to hang us exactly," Spyro studied the crowd, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "I don't see any rope. If they wanted to hang us, they would have brought rope."

Flame buried his face in his claws. It was just his luck. He finally gets some well-deserved alone time with Spyro, so of course they get immediately interrupted by an angry mob. At least if they really were planning to execute them, he wouldn't have to explain to his mother how he got involved in a murder conspiracy.

"Hey, cheer up, sweetie. We'll sort this out and be back in bed in no time, I promise! Spyro leaned in, wrapping him in a wing and nuzzling against his forehead. "Then it'll be just me and you... as it should be."

Flame lifted his head to look at the other male. "You're really not worried at all?"

"Why should I be? I got all my friends here. I got you. And when this whole thing is over with, we can go right back to snuggling!"

"Heh... You're amazing, you know that?" Flame chuckled, looking at his mate with a mix of astonishment and amusement. Nothing could ever get to Spyro.

Spyro just nodded, happily. "I do my best," he grinned, then gave Flame's nose a kiss before hopping off the window seat. He bowed down, stretching out his wings and his back like a feline. "When you've done this hero gig as long as I have, you learn to take things as they come. Sometimes it's an angry gnorc or a fire golem..." He bowed down on the stone floor, splaying out a backleg far behind him. "aaaaand sometimes it's a bunch of villagers with torches demanding to see you in the middle of the night."

"You're living the dream..." Flame mused, watching Spyro's body as he stretched.

"Yeah... I just hope Ashes doesn't blame herself for this, you know?" The purple dragon got back on all fours, then turned to Cynder's bedroom door. "Hey, what do you think those two are doing in there, anyway?"

Flame didn't have the faintest notion. Cynder and Ashes were supposedly inside, getting Cynder ready - whatever that meant. It turned out the black dragoness had decided to turn in early as well. They had knocked on her door, then knocked again, and ten minutes later Cynder had finally appeared, looking terribly groggy and not the least bit amused by the surprise. She hadn't said a word while Ashes explained the situation. Instead, she had mumbled something about needing help with her bracers, pulled the gray dragoness inside and shut the door in front of the boys. That was twenty minutes ago, and Flame was starting to think it was just an excuse to get some more snoozing in. In fact, Ashes was probably in there trying desperately to get her out of bed right now.

"She can be a bit hard to wake up, sometimes," Spyro explained, and Flame had no problem believing him. He was just happy it wasn't him in there.

Another ten minutes later, The Terror of the Skies finally emerged from her bed chambers, now looking a little more presentable, followed closely by a somewhat flushed Ashes. She had her steel bracers and that spiked collar on, polished to a gleam, and seemed mostly awake now. "Alright, let's go see what the hell is so important it couldn't wait until the morning." She gave a big toothy yawn, then set off towards the stairs.

"Wait, guys," Flame hated how he always had to be the voice of reason in these situations. "So... we're actually going out there, huh?"

Ashes tilted her head. "Why wouldn't we?"

"Because they're probably super-pissed about what we did to their precious elders. Why else would they all march down here with torches in the middle of the night?"

"However, angry they are, I'll be angrier," Cynder promised, not the least bit concerned. "Now, the fastest we get this over with, the faster I can crawl back to bed."

"Maybe there's just some town meeting or something we forgot about?" Spyro offered. "I'm sure they're not here to hurt us! Right Ashes?"

Ashes shrugged helplessly. "They only told me to get you guys. That it was important. And we've kept them waiting for some time now..." she rubbed her talons anxiously.

Flame felt that whatever made the otherwise lazy villagers leave their warm caves on a cold February night had to be more important than a town meeting, but he nodded, nonetheless. "Actually, you're right. I'm sure it's fine," he said, putting on a brave smile. "Alright, let's do this thing."

The fastest way from the private quarters to the gates went via the colonnade. They ran most of the way, Ashes leading the way and Cynder trailing behind as fast as she could be bothered. Flame noticed Spyro glancing at him several times, although he didn't say anything.

When they finally reached the temple, there were several very anxious-looking guards already waiting by the gate. They shared uneasy glances before one of them finally approached the arriving dragons. "Ehum. The Elder Council has requested your prese..."

Cynder waved him away. "Yeah yeah, we know. We're coming out now."

As they approached the great gates, Spyro stopped. He turned to Flame, laying his claws on the red dragon's shoulders. "Flame. I just wanted to say that, if you're feeling the least bit uncomfortable about any of this, you could always..."

Flame stopped him with a claw on his lips. He shook his head. "I know what you're going to say, and you're very sweet but no, I'm not gonna sit this one out while the rest of you do crowd control."

Spyro looked unconvinced. "You're not having one of your worry things, right?" he asked, voice full of concern. "Because you promised we'd talk about it if you ever had one of those."

"Spyro," Flame started, taking his claws in his. "I assure you, I'm fi..."

"Are you guys coming?" It was Ashes, standing by the temple door, har talons jittering against the floor. "Come on," she implored them. "I promised I'd be out with you quickly..."

Spyro looked over to the females, not letting go of Flame's paws. "I'm sorry Ashes but... could we just get a minute here?"

"Sure, whatever. Take all the time you need." Cynder replied, before Ashes had the chance to protest. "Let's go see if they have any coffee in this place." With that, she pulled the gray dragoness away to the kitchens, leaving the two males alone.

With the girls gone, Spyro sat down in front of Flame, lifting his chin to meet his eyes. Keen, violet eyes that right now had a glint of concern in them. "So, tell me honestly. How do you feel about going out there?"

Flame quickly realized that just saying that he was fine wasn't going to cut it. Not with Spyro rapidly slipping into full-on overprotective-mode. So instead, he took a deep breath and prepared to tell him the truth - that of course the idea of stepping out in front of all those dragons terrified him. That he'd be terrified even if he didn't think they were gonna accuse him of regicide. That situations like these triggered every single alarm bell in his hypersensitive brain.

But as he opened his mouth to say that, he realized that it wouldn't really be true. In fact, the ball anxiety he'd usually feel in his belly in situations like this just wasn't there right now. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't feel it. At most, there was a mild annoyance and, he had to admit, a weird sort of curiosity. He wanted to know what this was about. And he definitely didn't want to hide inside while his friends went out there when Flame was the reason they were in this mess to begin with.

"Look," he said, taking Spyro's claws in his. "Just today I've fought Astor and survived a cave-in. I'm done worrying. If they're out there to accuse me of something, I'd rather them say it to my face. I'm sick of being the runt, the whelp they can just push around."

"Wow..." Spyro looked at him with eyes full of admiration, He brought a paw to Flame's cheek, caressing. "You've changed so much. I guess those dragons don't know who they're messing with, huh?"

Flame chuckled, but did feel a swell of pride. He had changed. "That said, I'm glad we're going out there together. Just in case they brought rope," he added, chuckling slightly.

"Dude! They're not gonna hang us. And even if they did, you know I wouldn't let anyone touch my little chili. Aaaaalthough..., if you're feeling a lil' shy, I can just keep you right here under my wing, and hiss if anyone comes too close. He cloaked under his wing-membrane, pulling him against his scaled chest.

"Ha! You'd walk out with me cowering under your wing like a chick? No way..."

Spyro chuckled. "Well, the offer still stands, big guy. I'm just glad you're okay." He leaned, licking Flame right on the nose.

Flame's frills shot up, cheeks reddening, and he instinctively cast a glance in the direction of the guards who quickly looked away.

It was nothing but a reflex, a stupid habit, and over in the blink of an eye, but Spyro still seemed to have noticed. He froze, a flash of hesitation in his eyes and he quickly freed Flame from his wings.

"What's the matter," Flame asked, tilting his head.

"This is probably stupid but... I've been thinking and... You're not like embarrassed by people knowing that we're together, right?"

For the first time that evening Flame actually felt worried. "No, no of course not!"

Spyro rubbed his neck. "Well, I can't help but notice that you seem to get a little nervous when I want to do boyfriend stuff, and other dragons are around. I can stop it if you want to...," he said, looking down at his talons.

"No!" Flame almost shouted. "Or well, yes sometimes maybe I get a little nervous, but please don't stop. I'm okay with it. In fact, I like it. I guess I'm just... getting used to this whole being mates thing. And you know, everyone used to tease me about being into you, you know..."

"But, you're like... okay with people knowing, right?" Spyro asked, looking at Flame with hopeful eyes.

"Yeah, totally!"

"Awesome!" Spyro perked, visibly relieved, then pulled Flame in for a tight wing hug and nuzzled him all over. "Because I want the whole world to know how much I love my little chilly!" He then pressed his muzzle to Flame's for a good smooch. "Oh sorry," he said, flushing up a tad. "I guess I got a little carried away."

"That's alright," Flame said, brushing off his mouth with a paw. For a second, the red dragon wondered what he was getting into, but the big smile on Spyro's face made it all feel worth it. As long as he doesn't call me a little chilly in public, I suppose we'll be okay. He even gave him a quick nose-kiss back which made Spyro so happy he started grinning even more and his tail wagged in a most dog-like manner - one of his many odd, endearing perks.

"So... if you boys are done exchanging saliva, we have some bad news." It was Cynder of course, having returned with Ashes from the kitchens. "Firstly, they haven't invented coffee in this realm yet," she sighed. "Secondly, Titan says you two better get your butts out there right this second."

"Titan?" Flame perked. "The elder? You talked to him? Are... are we going to get exiled?" Or worse...?

Cynder let out a laugh. "Flame, you're adorable. Exile you? I shouldn't think so. No, you're not getting away that easily." She walked up to Spyro, whispering something in his ear, which seemed to at first surprise the purple dragon, and then a small smile crept on his face.

"What in all the realms did she mean by that?" Flame asked his boyfriend as they started moving towards the door.

"It means just take it easy and everything will be alright," Spyro replied with a reassuring smile and a nudge, only adding to Flame's confusion.

"Ehm, aaaalright... But you better turn out that hero charm of yours just in case," he insisted.

"Sorry, bud, I don't think my hero charm is gonna be enough to get us out of this one," Spyro laughed. "Come on, let's go."

And before Flame could ask any more questions, they were standing in front of the two double doors, which Ashes and Cynder opened, and the orange light from the sunset blinded Flame as they stepped outside onto the great marble portico.

Flame nearly got a heart attack as the biggest crowd of dragons he had ever seen sprawled out around him. It was one thing to see them from above, another thing to stand right in the middle of them! He spotted some familiar faces from his old flight class in the crowd: Lily, Max, Temrer and Lestor. Lestor had even brought his mate, that coal-black Artisan dragon. In fact, he saw a few other Artisan dragons as well, and even one or two Peacekeepers - meaning that the news must have somehow spread to the nearby islands. He saw Magnus and Titan and even elder Sensai and Cho-Lei, who he had barely met since he was a dragonet. Even his old bully, that bronze dragon whose name he still didn't know, was there in the crowd.

They were all talking amongst themselves, but all voices went quiet the second the four dragons stepped out. Instead, every pair of eyes now turned to look at the emergent dragons. An eerie silence encased the courtyard, like they had interrupted a funeral. Flame's confidence from before evaporated. It poured down his legs, down his talons into the earth like the water off a squeezed dishcloth. He was wrong. He wasn't ready for this at all! He immediately shied back behind Spyro's wing, curling his tail around himself.

But just as he expected the pitchforks to come flying, he saw one dragon raise from his peers and point a claw right at Spyro. "There he is! The brave dragon who thwarted the corrupted elders!" There was a series of "Woahs" and "Wows" reverberating through the crowd, everyone staring at them with wide-eyed reverence.

Flame realized with some relief what was going on. They weren't here to hang them. They were here to celebrate their old hero, Spyro, for saving the day once more. With that relief came a sharp bite of disappointment, although he wasn't sure what he had expected. Spyro was the hero after all. Of course, he'd get the credit.

"Well, this isn't too bad," he whispered to his mate. "Just sign a few autographs and meet me inside when you're done. Just don't take too long, eh?" He winked, then turned around to sneak back into the temple.

"Wait!" Spyro grabbed Flame's tail before he could get very far. "I don't think I'm the hero they're here to see..."

"Err... Wha?" Flame wasn't sure what Spyro meant, but then the purple dragon stepped out of the way revealing him to the crowd once again. He even gave Flame a nudge, who took a wary step forward and into view.

This was met by yet more cheering. More "Woahs" and "Wows".

That's when realization struck. They weren't there for Spyro this time, they were there for him.

"Flame!?" It was Elder Titan. He'd recognize that booming voice and wide, snow-shovel jaw anywhere. Being a fair bit shorter than his pairs, the wide elder had to push himself to the front to get a good look at the red dragon. "Is it true what they say, my boy? Did you save Spyro and Cynder from that cave? Did you build the trap that captured the murderous coward Astor and his co-conspirator Tomas?" Everyone looked at Flame in breathless anticipation, waiting for his response.

Flame froze, his heart thumping so hard he was sure everyone could hear it. "W-what do I do?" he stammered to Spyro. "What do I say!?"

"How about yes?" Spyro suggested, chuckling. "Just do what comes naturally, hun." He gave Flame a soft nudge again, prompting him to step forward.

Flame swallowed hard. His natural reaction would have been to turn around and run. Instead, he raised his claw to wave awkwardly. "Hi guys," he managed. "Ehm yes, I suppose I did help with some of that, sorta."

That was all the crowd needed to hear. Before Flame knew it, he was surrounded on all sides by his fellow islanders, all of them cheering and smiling and shaking his claw and slapping his back. Elder Titan shot out from the crowd and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Well done, my boy!" he roared, shaking him and grinning so wide all his yellow teeth showed. "Well done. Well done indeed!" He then kissed both of Flame's cheeks. "I always knew there was something off about Astor and Tomas, you did the realm a great service!" Then Elder Magnus appeared. "I'm sorry about all this dear, but after Ashes told us how you saved Spyro and Cynder from that cave, well it was impossible to stop them..."

"Oh ehm, thanks." Flame stammered. He didn't know what to say. No amount of heroics could have prepared him for this moment. But things were about to go from crazy to surreal. Suddenly, he saw Nestor coming at him from the crowd. "Flame! Holy heck, who wouldn't have thought! You remember, me right? We were in the same class!" They had barely talked since they were dragonets, but that didn't stop the dragon from giving him a big hug. Then that black Artisan dragon appeared from the crowd. "Hey, you're right, he is cute," he remarked. He had a handsome roughish face and an equally roughish grin on his snout when he leaned in so close to Flame they were practically nose to nose. "Hey, how would you like to go flying with me or Nestor sometime?"

Before the discombobulated red dragon could think of a reply, a blue dragoness, one of the two flying twins from First Flight, popped up inches from his nose. "Hey!" she grinned. Flame let out a surprised yelp and fell back on his haunches. "We were in the same class too you know," the azure dragon continued, grinning at Flame. "You know that, right? Right?" Flame nodded sheepishly, and before he could remember if he was talking to Lily or Max, the other twin had popped up by his side and grabbed him by the shoulder. "Hey, we got us a table over there, wanna hang? You can tell us more about how you built that force trap thing!"

"I ehm..." Flame was overwhelmed, his brain in overdrive. Then he heard a low thud as Spyro landed in the dispersing crowd. He walked up to Flame's side and very pointedly laid a wing over the red dragon. "Hey, they aren't bothering ya, right, mate?," he asked, then looked back at Flame's new admirers with a snort.

His very deliberate use of the word 'mate' was enough to raise a few eyebrows, but then as if to remove all doubt, Spyro leaned in and nuzzled Flame's cheek tenderly.

The dragons surrounding them just stared. So did the elders, and Flame cheek glowed hot while a thousand butterflies took flight in his belly. He still nuzzled Spyro back though. It seemed.... right, to make it official, somehow.

Magnus, of course, already knew about Spyro and Flame's relationship, but Elder Titan and the others certainly didn't. The orange old dragon's jaw nearly reached the sand, and he had to support himself on his cane so as not to fall over. Sensai and Cho-Li reacted in mostly the same way, while some "awww:s", hushed whispers and a few surprised gasps could be heard from the other dragons. Clearly, this was a surprise to many. Sure, Flame's recent achievements had really elevated him in the eyes of his fellow villagers, but for Spyro, a legend, to have picked the little red dragon as his partner, must have come as a shock. Most of them, Flame imagined, would have been surprised to know they were even friends.

Titan was the first to speak. "I do say! Seems like we'll have to celebrate not just our young heroes' bravery tonight, but their newfound love too." He laughed heartily, slapping Flame's back. "Good on you boy! It warms my old heart to see old Spyro here finally settle with a bachelor from our very own village."

Flame blushed furiously but managed to mumble a low thanks nonetheless. Beside him, Spyro was practically glowing with pride. "Look at my mate" his wide grin and puffed out chest which seemed to say. "Look at how perfect he is, how wrong about him you all were..."

And for once, everyone else seemed to agree, because no dragon seemed the least bit irked about their national treasure pairing up with the former village runt. Rather, Spyro and Flame were quickly swamped by dragons, wanting to shake his claw or give their well-wishes, even though Flame had never even met most of them before. "I always thought you two had a thing for each other," Sensai commented with a wink. "Always you were special, Blaze". "Heh... thanks," Flame smiled politely, ignoring the fact that the elder still didn't know his name,

All the attention was surreal and more than a little terrifying for a dragon used to a life on the sidelines. And it turned out that this was only the beginning. Because as soon as everyone was done congratulating the young couple, Titan demanded wine be brought out from the temple cellar, and then insisted Flame give his exact account of everything that had happened.

As Flame looked out over the crowd of dragons staring at him with anticipation, he quickly realized that no escape would be possible until he had told them his story. But it wasn't just Flame's story! Ashes and Ember had helped too, and Spyro and Cynder had fought just as bravely, and they were real heroes, after all. Weren't they more qualified to tell it? He turned to Spyro but the purple dragon just leaned in and nudged Flame softly. "Go on. Tell them, honey. It's your turn now." Cynder who stood beside him nodded in agreement, and so did Ashes.

So this is what it's like being a hero, Flame thought to himself. He looked at the crowd again, Titan and the elders looking at him in great expectation, little dragonets staring at him with eyes the size of dark gems from between their parents' legs. Flame swallowed hard, his heart already drumming in his chest. So here goes...

He started telling them his story. He told them everything, from how he thwarted Tomas and Astor's plan by saving Spyro and Cynder from the force field and destroying one of their power generators. He told them about the dark crevice he had to squeeze through to get to the generator and save Spyro and Cynder's lives, and the long, dark dive on the way back. How afraid he had been, how close he was to drowning and how he had no choice but to keep going, and he found himself taking a lot of delight in the horrified gasps from the dragons in the crowd.

He told them about the plan they had made to capture the two elders responsible, and here Spyro interrupted everyone to inform them that it was in fact Flame's plan and Flame's alone. And when Flame said that getting the force field working again was mostly a matter of luck, Spyro told them about the schematics and all the hard work Flame put in, making it sound like no other dragon on the island could ever figure out how to put a few cables together. But even though Spyro was clearly very excited, he never interrupted Flame's story except to make sure he wasn't underselling his heroics. Even Cynder seemed more than happy to give Flame the lion's share of the credit.

The remaining elders seemed especially shocked to hear about what their former council members had been up to. Titan's face had gradually progressed from its usual orange to a bright red during the course of Flame's story, and Cho-Li curled her snout in disgust when she heard of Astor's tricks. "You should have let that cowardly lizard fall to his death!" Sensai exclaimed, shaking his fist after Flame told them about the mine shaft.

"See! That's what I said!" Cynder blurted out.

Flame rolled his eyes. "Anyaawwy... After that, we tied them up in the cave where you found them. Then we walked out and that was pretty much it."

"You forgot how you got through Red's titanium gates!" Spyro interjected, then turned to his audience with a wide grin. "He detonated a whole bag full of dark gems."

Titan gasped. "You blew up a whole bag's worth of dark gems!?"

Flame rubbed his neck. "It seemed like a good idea at the time... And it was only about half-full."

Many more questions followed, everyone got a second and then a third helping of wine, and it was starting to seem like Spyro and Flame would never be able to slip away. More dragons were still arriving on the beach and the evening was young, even though the sun had long since dipped under the horizon.

Their rescue came from an unexpected quarter. Magnus arrived from the temple with a dozen or so servants, following closely. "Since we're all gathered here anyway, and since we, unfortunately, had to interrupt Spyro's Homecoming Celebration last time when the dragon of honor disappeared mysteriously," the elder glanced over at Spyro who lowered his nose, bashfully. "... I and the temple staff have elected to take this opportunity to continue the festivities today, now in honor of our young heroes here. The kitchen has prepared some delicious courses from the leftovers, so if you'll just follow me over to the pavilions where..."

Magnus didn't even get to finish his sentence before chaos erupted, and Flame was engulfed in a tidal wave of hungry dragons. Everyone wanted down to the beach grounds from where the inviting smell of roasted pigs radiated in steady waves. He could make out Cynder in the flurry of wings and tails. "Finally some good freaking news," she exclaimed. "Come on, guys!" Then she pulled Ashes along to find them a table.

Flame remained where he sat, still dazed by the insane last few hours of his life. He didn't move until he felt someone bump his shoulder gently. "So, was all that as bad as you thought?" Spyro asked with a lopsided smile as he sat down next to Flame.

Flame huffed out a laugh. "It was worse! I had no idea being a hero was this much work."

"Yeah, it's a lot of work alright. But the important thing is that everyone knows how amazing and special my little chili is." He leaned in, planting a tender kiss on Flame's red cheeks cakes. "I wanna see any of them call you a runt now, or say that you're too short to be a proper dragon."

"Well they can still call me short," Flame chuckled, rubbing his kissed cheek. "In any case, it's not such a big deal, dragons around here just have a hero complex. It'll all be forgotten within a week." He laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of it; of everyone making such a fuss of his little rescue. But even so, his heart still swelled with pride when he thought about all the dragons that had come to hear his story, all the claws he'd shaken, the warm smiles and congratulations. Should he pinch himself to make sure it was all really happening?

That would have to wait because now Spyro was gathering him up in his arms and pressed his nose against his cheek. "What did I tell you about being so damn modest all the time?" he growled, playfully, then kissed him again. "You always wanted to be a hero. Now I demand that you enjoy yourself for once."

"Seems like I have no choice then... heh. Oh!". His spine tingled when Spyro's nose traveled lower to brush against his neck and he continued in a more sultry tone: "Now that you've performed your heroic duties for the day, what do you say we sneak back inside?"

It was appealing, it really was. And just the thought of following Spyro back into his lavish quarters sent a fresh wave of tingles down the young male's tail, the promise of some alone time at last. Besides, Flame had never been much for parties, and why should this one be any different?

Yet, when he looked down at the beach again, now packed with happy dragons, drinking and laughing as they gathered around tables stacked with delicious food, he found himself oddly drawn in by the warm scene. He spotted Ember, who had returned with Umber from Artisans now, sitting at one of the tables. Ashes and Cynder were there as well. With Umber there, he was at serious risk of having to tell the whole story all over again, he realized. But the assortment of roasted steaks, fruits and other deliciousness that the servants brought out smelled amazing... and his belly reminded him with an angry growl that he hadn't eaten anything proper in days. And everyone seemed to be having a good time, so against his better judgment, he turned to Spyro and said, "Screw it, we can always snuggle later. We might as well stay a little while..."

Spyro just looked at him for a second, as if he wasn't quite sure Flame actually meant it, but then he lit up with a wide grin. "I didn't expect that... but hey, that's awesome!" He kissed Flame on the nose. "We can always snuggle later, and I'm starving. And after dinner, I have some dragons I'd love for you to meet!" Before Flame had time to reconsider, he had nudged him along to the table where their friends were waiting and waved a servant over to insist some food be brought over for his starving mate, pronto.

Predictably, a little while quickly turned to quite a long while as servants brought out dish after dish, one more extravagant than the next: Creamed salmon with shrimps and garlic roasted potatoes, chicken pot pie, smoked, maple-glazed pig, every type of sausage you could ask for with quite a bit of wine to wash it all down.

"This is awesome, isn't it?" Spyro exclaimed next to him, mouth full of meat pie. He had an impressive appetite, taking on course after course with spectacular speed. Flame managed to keep pace with the two heroes for a while, but by the time the temple staff arrived with the sixth course - grilled lobster tail - he could barely look at food. And it was just as well since more dragons were still arriving from all corners of the island and Flame had to constantly interrupt his dinner to greet new guests, shake claws and hear from even more complete strangers that they always knew he was destined for greatness.

Once things had calmed down, Ashes told him about how shocked everyone had been to find Astor and Tomas tied up, and how they were even more shocked to hear that their village's very own Flame was the architect behind their capture. Ember informed him that she had written to Mother and warned that he'd probably hear from her soon. Even Cynder seemed to enjoy herself. "I have to admit," she said as she tore into another slice of the smoked pig, "as weird as dragons around here are, at least you know how to cook! Almost worth the assassination attempts..." She laughed, and Flame realized it was the first time he had heard the black dragon laugh, at least since Red's Cave. It was great to see her so relaxed for once. "Of course, it can't compare to fresh meat", like the hares we'd hunt in Tall Plains," she was quick to add.

Ashes perked from her seat next to Cynder. "Woah! You guys used to hunt? That's so cool!"

"Well, we didn't exactly have kitchens and servants to call on in the outer realms," Spyro explained, licking some gravy off a claw. "Cooked food is way better though..." Flame tried to picture Spyro sinking his teeth into the neck of some wild critter. It was a little hard to imagine.

"Ha! You're only saying that because you couldn't catch a hare if one crawled into your mouth," Cynder teased. "I seem to remember that I did most of the hunting..."

"Hey, I did hunt some! I just never got the stalking down," Spyro defended himself. "Plus, bright purple scales aren't exactly the best camouflage..."

While Ashes bombarded Cynder with more questions about the Tall Plains, Warfang, and other odd places, Spyro took the opportunity to introduce Flame to some of those old friends of his, of which there turned out to be many. Spyro was popular after all. Some were dragons from their flight class that Flame had never bothered to get to know, but who definitely knew Spyro. Some were dragons from nearby Avalar who Flame had never even seen before. As they went from table to table, and memories, warm laughs and funny anecdotes were shared between Spyros and his old buddies, Flame couldn't help wondering how his life might have been different if maybe he had made himself a little more approachable.

However, they were all happy to see Flame, whether again or for the first time. And Spyro made sure he never felt left out. In fact, he always made sure to introduce Flame as his mate and glowed with pride as he told them about their shared adventures as dragonets, and that they were once wingmates.

They even happened to run into a certain bronze dragon. "Flame!?" His old bully looked at him, mortified. His pupils grew even smaller when Spyro stepped up next to Flame, and with a snort, looked down at the other dragon.

The bronze one gulped and seemed to Flame now much less threatening than he used to be. To his credit, he didn't escape into the crowd, but instead, turned to Flame. "I ehm... I just wanted to say..." he gulped again, then cleared his throat and spoke: "I am well aware I've done little to deserve your forgiveness. But if you can find it in you to overlook my past behavior, I would like very much to be friends." His little speech was stilted, like he had rehearsed it, but the remorse was obvious in his eyes. "Look, I was a total jerk and I'm damned sorry. Can you forgive me?"

Flame, suddenly, was just as mortified. He'd never been put in the position of having to accept someone's apology before. But looking at the squirming dragon before him, he couldn't find it in his heart to drag out the moment any longer than necessary. "Hey, it's cool," he said, giving the dragon a reassuring smile. "We were young. It's behind us."

The bronze dragon exhaled deeply, as if he had been holding his breath. They shook claws, and his bully, whose name was Philip it turned out, was overjoyed with relief. He apologized several times more before they finally parted, and even invited Flame to his aviator club since he was, after all, best in class.

"That was weird," Flame said on the walk back to their own table. "I didn't expect that kid to even remember me!"

"Well, maybe you're more memorable than you give yourself credit for," Spyro offered with a shrug.

Flame arched a suspicious brow at the purple dragon. "Hey, you didn't have anything to do with this, did ya?"

"Me?" Spyro let out an offended huff. "I'm fresh back from the Forgotten Realms. When would I have had time to do that?" "However," he added. "If it turned out that someone had given him a friendly nudge in the right direction, that would only be a good thing in my opinion. But again, I didn't do anything..."

Flame stifled a laugh. Spyro was good at many things, but lying wasn't one of them. "Whatever you say, Spy."

"Aaaaaanyway, let's get back. I'm still hungry." Spyro said, changing the subject.

By the time they got back to their own table, the servants were busy bringing out dessert - Chocolate Truffle Layer Cake and Caramel-Croissant Pudding. Flame was halfway through a slice of pudding when he felt a broad claw on his shoulder. "Enjoying the feast, boy? You should, it's in your honor!" It was Titan again and this time he had most of the remaining elders with him, Sensai, Titan, Magnus and Cho-Lei. Sensai approached the table and bowed so low his nose nearly touched the sand. He then produced a small print from the pouch on his side and began reading. "I would just like to inform everyone that I've received word from the temple guard, regarding the traitors Astor and Tomas."

'Please don't say they've got away, please don't say they got away' Flame repeated to himself in silent prayer.

"Both of them have now been escorted to Volcanic Isle, where measures are being taken to ensure they remain until the time of their trial."

There was an audible sigh as all the dragons at the table exhaled almost at once. Flame looked over at Cynder, whose expression hadn't changed much, but he could see the relief on the black dragoness. Her wings relaxed, as if they had been tense all this time.

"Of course, the Council would like to extend our sincerest apology for the behavior of our former members to all of you," Magnus said, although his gaze lingered on the black dragon, in particular. "We're terribly terribly sorry."

That really was the least one could say about their repeated murder attempts, but Magnus' green eyes were sincere. Cynder remained quiet for some time, then snorted and nodded, accepting his apology.

"Excellent!" Titan clasped his talons together, then turned to Flame. "Now that this nastiness is behind us, might we have a quick word with the hero of the day?"

Flame looked up, wiping some chocolate off his nose. "With me?"

"Yes," Titan replied. "In private. It'll just be a minute."

Flame exchanged a quick glance with Spyro who seemed just as confused as Flame was. "Okay..." he replied, then rose from his chair.

"Capital!" Titan grabbed his claw and pulled him over to the elder's pavilion where the rest of the council was waiting. He sat him down at the table and promptly shoved a glass of something strong in his claw. "Here! Something a little more suitable for a proper hero than that watered-down catpiss the servants like to serve." He grinned, and before Flame could tell him he doesn't really drink spirits, he had raised his own glass for a toast. "To Flame!"

There was a cheer from the other elders, and Flame carefully took a sip. It tasted like a fireball had backfired in his throat and he just barely suppressed a cough.

"So," Titan laid his strong arm over the red dragon. "Tell me, have you asked him yet?" he whispered, or at least as close to a whisper he was capable of.

Flame was confused. "You mean Spyro? Asked him what?"

"Oh, you're too much, little one!" the elder laughed, as if he had said something particularly funny. "You know, I hope you realize the magnitude of what you've achieved here today, boy." Flame, who had had the magnitude impressed upon him several times that evening, kindly informed them that he did and thanked him again, but Titan just scoffed. "Not that you saved Spyro!" he boomed. "That you won him over! That dragon is horns over claws in love with you, can't you see? You've managed to do what none of us elders never could: namely to give that realm-trotting gallivanter a good reason to stay on his own damn island for a change. And it was about time too."

"Yes, about time indeed," Sensai added, adjusting his glasses. "You're a smart fellow, Flame. I'm sure you can appreciate how bad it looks to have our most famous and distinguished dragon appearing to prefer other realms over his own. You know, there are elders in Artisans who question whether Spyro was even hatched here!"

"Not to mention those darned Peacekeepers who like to insist Spyro's egg was one of their own!" Cho-Lie added. "But now that you've won Spyro's affections, he'll have no choice but to stay in our realm. Clearly, the faster your union is formalized the better!" There was a murmur of agreement coming from the other elders.

Marriage? Flame just blinked, totally taken aback. Were the elders really suggesting Flame marry Spyro just to bolster the reputation of his own realm? The truth was that he hadn't given much thought to what would happen next, if Spyro was planning to stay on the island, or if he was hoping to return to the Forgotten Realms he seemed so fond of. He had been so busy the last few days to worry about what would happen when things settled down. "I ehm, I really don't think he's the marrying type," he said.

"Ha! Of course, he isn't! His type never is! And that's where you come in, loverboy," Titan laughed, slapping Flame's shoulder so hard he nearly dropped his glass. A sweet little dollop like you, he won't stand a chance, hah-hah!"

It was probably meant as a compliment, but Flame felt a bitter bite in his heart. Who were they to tell him to manipulate Spyro? He suddenly felt like the rest of the elders were all like Astor and Tomas - less murderous perhaps but just as selfish. They only cared about themselves and the reputation of their damn realm. Anger welled up in his chest but settled down again when he heard Magnus' soft voice.

"Oh, don't pay them no mind, Flame dear," he said. "We're just glad to see you both so happy. Counsel-dragons," he turned to his fellow elders. "Surely this matter can wait. Flame is clearly exhausted after his long day."

"Of course. Of course..." Titan waved his talon. "You're a young dragon, you got better things to do than to stand around while a bunch of grey old drakes chew your ear off about realm politics. Run off and have fun, you, but remember what we talked about!"

Flame shot Magnus a grateful glance, then quickly excused himself and hurried back towards his own pavilion. Halfway there, he bumped nose-first into a set of familiar yellow chestscales.

"Oh, there you are?" Spyro grinned down at him from above. "We just keep running into each other, don't we? Heh-heh! So what did the elders want? If they wanted to send us off on some new mission, I hope you told them where they can shove it."

"Not really... They wanted to know if we..." Flame stopped himself, realizing suddenly that he would rather broach the subject another time. "Actually, they just wanted to convey their gratitude to us both for everything we did for the realm, you know..." he said, rubbing his neck. "Nothing important."

"Oh. So they just wanted to thank you?" Spyro asked, tilting his head as he looked down on Flame. He seemed a little surprised.

"Yeah, yeah you know how they are," Flame chuckled, waving away the issue with a talon. "Hey, let's get back to the others."

When the two males got back to their own pavilion, Flame noticed to his horror that seated at their table were now a dozen or so dragonets. The little miniature dragons looked up when they spotted Flame, turning their noses to stare at him with gigantic, curious eyes.

"There he is, guys!" It was Ember, and she was pointing right at Flame. "Don't be shy, go talk to him!" At that point, all dragonets hopped off their seats and ran toward Flame, encircling him and making escape all but impossible, all to Ember's amusement. It turned out that some of the village's younger denizens, namely most of Mrs. Eldrid's class, had arrived too late to hear Flame's speech, but Ember had promised Flame could retell his story for them personally.

Totally petrified, Flame could only look on as the little dragons gathered around him. "Did you really kill Astor with a dark gem!?" one of the little ones asked. "Are you really him!?" "Were you afraid?" "I thought you'd be bigger!" "Can you show me how to build force field traps?" "Have you been to Avalar?" "My dad said he could fight you, is that true?" They peppered him with questions, pushing and squabbling amongst themselves, making Flame want to tear his horns off. One of them held up a piece of paper for him to sign, another tried to show her some drawing she made, a third climbed up his back and, hanging off his horn, demanded Flame show them his fire breath.

"Hey, ehm, wouldn't you guys rather hang with Spyro over there, he's an even bigger hero!" Flame tried desperately, turning with pleading eyes to Spyro, while chattering dragonets crawled over him.

"Oh, you're on your own, pal," Spyro grinned, and in what was probably his biggest betrayal since he left for the Forgotten Realms, slid off to join Ashes, Cynder and his equally treacherous sister who were already laughing hysterically.

Now, the dragonets were screaming for the story Ember had promised them on his behalf, and Flame, groaning, resided himself to his fate and started telling the whole thing again, skipping the most frightening parts. He had had to tell the story twice more and sign a number of autographs - a task made easier by the fact that none of them could really read - before his new fan club would finally leave him alone. Before she left with the others, the little dragoness with the drawing got the chance to present him with her work. It was a fairly graphic claw-painting of Flame, bleeding from his eyes and several deep wounds in his side, throwing a flaming dark gem at Astor who was at least five times as big as his real-life counterpart. Despite the artistic liberties taken, Flame had to admit it was pretty good, and promised to keep it.

"That was freaking adorable," Ember laughed as the exhausted red dragon finally took his seat at the table with the others. Flame just groaned and helped himself to some more wine. "I hate kids...." he mumbled. "If being a hero means you gotta have the whole island's hatchlings following you everywhere, it ain't worth it, sis..."

Ember scoffed. "Oh, you're so dramatic! I think you were rather good with them." She took a sip from her own cup, then lit up. "Hey! You figure Spyro might ever want to have kids?"

"What? Oh no no no, no way. I don't think he's the egg-stealing type, at all. And I'm certainly not." A terrifying image came to him, of himself stuck in some cave while Spyro was out hunting, surrounded by dozen eggs they would have acquired Ancestors know how. He looked over at Spyro who had gathered all the dragonets around him to tell a story of his own. Right now, he was pretending to be a gnorc, claws held high with his tongue lolled out in a stupid expression, and the dragonets squealed in delight as he set to chasing them around. "Don't give him any ideas though..." he added, just in case he was wrong.

"Oh that's a shame," his sister said, taking another sip. "But just so you know, if you change your mind, I'd happily help with the egg part. Oh, and do you think that Spyro is a pitcher or a..."

"Ember! Geez!" Flame interrupted. "Ancestors above, I've been together with the guy for like twenty-four hours and I already have the elders trying to arrange a marriage and you offering your... egg-services."

"Relax! Just tryna be helpful," his sister laughed again, then reached over to rub his frills. "And besides, out of the two of us, you're the dragon who actually got to date him. So you'll forgive a girl for being a lil' curious."

"Yeah yeah... very helpful." Flame brushed his frills back in. "And for the record, I'd eat a dung-grub before letting Spyro..." he trailed off because his sister wasn't listening to him anymore. Instead, her eyes were pulled back to Spyro, and as she looked at the dragon, her smile faded slowly. After a while, she let out a deep sigh. "I did love him, you know..."

Flame nodded slowly. "I know..." He looked down at his claws on the table, not sure what else to say. What else could he say? He wasn't sorry Spyro picked him instead of her. He didn't think he should be.

There was an awkward silence between the siblings. Ember had gone quiet, which certainly wasn't like her. Usually, she'd find something to rant about, like Mother, or dragons she disliked or something funny Umber did, or she'd find something to tease him about. Flame wasn't used to having to drive the conversation. and his mind was racing for something to say. He glanced at Ashes and Cynder in case they could provide a distraction, but they stood further down the beach, talking to Magnus about something - probably Cynder wanting to know the details of those "measures" taken to ensure Tomas and Astor didn't escape. And nobody else was nearby. He had just considered making up something about having to go to the restroom when Spyro finally returned. Flame was doubly happy to see his mate.

He flopped down in the seat next to Flame, wiping some sweat off his forehead. "Man, those kids sure got a lot of energy, and I think I'm getting old. I used to be able to catch 'em a lot faster," he laughed, then turned to the other dragons. "So, what are you guys talking about?"

"Oh, nothing important," Ember said before Flame had a chance to reply. "Hey, you guys must be exhausted after all this hero business." She got up from her chair, then stretched her wings. "I suppose I should get the toddlers back to Mrs. Eldrid. I promised to have them back before nine. And if I were you guys, I'd sneak off before Titan wants another toast or something."

Flame looked around. Ember had a point. Most dragons had retreated into the temple, from which loud music could be heard, but there was still the risk of someone noticing their absence. They might not get another chance to sneak off. "Hey, that's a good idea, actually. Thanks," he said, smiling at his sis.

"Hey, don't mention it. I better go take care of the dragonets now before Cynder eats one of them." Ember gave Flame a quick fist-bump, then headed off to gather up the little dragons who had begun to harass Cynder instead. It seemed like a good idea too - Cynder did not appear too amused.

And with that, the two males were finally alone again. "Yeah, she's probably right." Spyro yawned, stretched his wings then took Flame's claw on his. "We should try to get away before Titan insists on another toast or something."

With the temple stuffed to the brim with dragons, Spyro's chambers were unavailable for the time being. So instead the two males snuck off to a quieter part of the beach, further down by the cliffs.

Flame spotted the rock where he had curled up and cried after his awkward reunion with Spyro before. In retrospect, it seemed so stupid to overreact like he did, but mostly he couldn't believe it was just two days ago. It was like a distant memory belonging to another dragon. He felt like he had changed more in the last forty-eight hours than he had during all the ten years Spyro had been gone. What if Ember hadn't found him in Dark Hollow when she did? What if he had stepped through that portal, never knowing that Spyro had returned just for him? He shuddered at the thought.

But it didn't matter, because his Spyro was right there, strolling by his side, with his wing wrapped over his back and nose turned to the sky. He noticed Flame looking at him, and lit up with a wide smile, as he often did whenever he saw Flame, as if each and every time was a fresh surprise. They nuzzled closely.

After a while, they reached the cliffs and sank down in the sand. It was a bit cold, but after mingling with hundreds of dragons between tiki torches, it felt nice to let his scales cool off. The stars had come out, like a billion pearly white gems covering the night sky. The ocean beat against the beach in calm, steady waves, and the breeze was pleasantly refreshing as it blew through his frills. He leaned back in the cool sand, breathing a deep sigh. "This has been a pretty crazy night."

"It's been a great night." Spyro moved closer so that they were lying side by side. "You did great today, by the way." He gave Flame's cheek a lick, and the red dragon felt warmth spread from his chin throughout the rest of his body. They lay in the cool sand, listening to the waves washing over the beach and the crickets.

"Hey, it's funny," Spyro said after a while. "You know, I didn't think I'd miss anything about this realm, but I did miss the stars."

Flame peered at Spyro with an amused smile. "I never figured you for the star-gazing type. Don't they have stars in The Forgotten Realms?"

Spyro let out a laugh. "We totally do. In fact, one of our realms IS a star! But these ones are still better. Prettier. Like how the last gem is always extra special, even though it's kind of identical to all the ones you already have, you know?"

Flame nodded. He knew exactly what Spyro was talking about. "I suppose you'll want to go back there?"

Spyro was quiet for a while. His breath made little white clouds in the chilly night air. "I guess the elders asked you to make me stay on the island, huh?"

Flame's heart dropped to his stomach and he immediately felt guilty for his earlier attempt at deception. "Yeah... they sort of did," he admitted. "They wanted me to manipulate you into staying. They even wanted me to propose. Hah! Can you believe that?" He gave a small laugh, and the thought made his belly tingle again. "I didn't agree to it of course. I mean, I totally understand if you want to go back to The Forgotten Realms..."

Spyro turned to Flame, giving him a warm smile. "Hey, I wanna be wherever you are," he said, resting his big head on Flame's shoulder. "They're just a bunch of stupid floating rocks anyway."

"You're sweet," Flame said. "But you can tell me the truth."

"Well... now that you mention it..." Spyro's nose turned upwards to the dark night sky. Somewhere, out beyond that infinite darkness were realms unlike Flame had ever seen, realms where Spyro had spent half of his life. He breathed a deep, longing sigh as he looked into that space and that alone told Flame everything he needed to know.

"I suppose I'd miss the freedom of it," Spyro said finally. "Of being able to jump from realm to realm, with no rules and nobody saying which portals you can use or not. It's quite nice there now, now that the war is over. I'd miss Hunter, and the guardians. I'd miss the little cave me and Cynder hallowed out over in Crystal Mountains before coming here, before the portals opened up. I always thought that I'd show you it someday..."

Flame nodded softly. "And Cynder? She seems to really hate it here, so she'll definitely want to go, regardless of what you do right?"

"'Hate' is such a strong word, but yeah, I suppose she's not a fan." Spyro let out a small laugh. "Yeah, she'll probably want to return, regardless..."

This, of course, made the red dragon feel even worse. Not only would he be tearing Spyro away from the place where he felt at home, he'd also take from him his best friend.

"But hey, none of that matters," Spyro said, looking at Flame. "Because when I said I'm never leaving again, I meant it. If you wanna stay here, we stay here."

Flame swallowed hard, a whole range of conflicting emotions welling up in his chest. "I don't even know what I want..." he whispered, as much to Spyro as to himself. A part of him hated the island. Another part of him didn't want to think of ever leaving it. It was like his cave where he had spent all those years when Spyro was out adventuring. He hated the cave as well. Hated how well he knew every inch of it, how much time he had spent on the couch by the window, reading every book in his meager bookshelf over and over again. But he had hated the idea of stepping outside even more. But that was the old Flame. Maybe he was ready for something more now? Maybe he even wanted it?

"Hey, you remember that stupid deal we made?" Spyro asked, bringing Flame back to the here and now. "You know, the one about you replacing me as the new hero?"

Flame nodded, thinking back to that odd sleepover in Dusky Woods. How could he forget the night that had started it all?

"You know... To be honest, I didn't think you'd be able to do it. Replace me as the hero, I mean."

The red dragon perked, confused. "You didn't? Then why did you make that deal?"

"I don't know," Spyro brushed a talon through the sand. "I guess I thought that even if nothing came of it, it'd be fun to spend some time together." He turned to Flame, his eyes glinting in the moonlight. "But look at you now, Flamo! You proved everyone wrong, even me."

Flame chuckled. "Maybe. But You and Cynder are the real heroes, saving the world and all that. All I did was kick the butt of a couple of gray elder dragons."

"And saved me and Cynder, the real heroes, so that should make you like... some sort of extra-hero."

"I guess..." Flame rolled his eyes at Spyro's silliness. But he had to admit Spyro had a point. They did see him as a hero now. Flame had gotten what he had dreamt off since he was just a hatchling. Today he had felt accepted by his fellow dragons for the first time in his life. Another reason why leaving now seemed odd to him.

But while being more than just the village runt, to be an actual hero, was nice, he realized it made no real difference in the end. He didn't need it, and in retrospect, almost felt silly that his younger self had put so much stock into the whole hero status. There were much more important things in the world than to be viewed as a hero. And if one of those very important things were to leave the island, well then by the Ancestors, Flame was leaving too.

"Hey," Spyro inched closer and wrapped a warm wing around Flame. "We don't have to decide anything now. Oh and..." he rubbed his nose against Flame's neck, his breath making his scales tingle. "That idea they had about you proposing... well that'd be kinda cute. If you did, just sayin'."

The red dragon felt his heart skip a couple of beats. Wow... things are definitely happening fast now... he thought to himself. "Heh maybe someday," he whispered, thinking off to a long future with the dragon whose lap he was now snuggling into. A life in a home of their own, either here or on some realm far away. Their tails wrapped together, and they just sat there, watching the waves and the glimmering stars, and it was easy to think, right there and then, that Flame could be happy anywhere in the world as long as Spyro was with him.

~ ~ ~

After a little while, they heard footsteps in the sand. Flame looked up and there was Ember, followed by Ashes. "Hiya, lovebirds! Sorry for barging in on your moment here but me and Ashes just wanted to say goodnight before heading off."

Flame's head popped out from under Spyro's wing, and his cheeks flushed red at being caught in such an intimate moment. But he reminded himself that nobody cared. "Oh, you're leaving already?" he asked, hopping out of Spyro's lap. "Both of you?"

Ember nodded, yawning. "Yeah, those bastard elders are behind bars, my brother's reputation is restored, you guys have finally stopped fighting and have gotten all cutesy instead. And nobody is under immediate risk of assassination. It's about time me and Umber got our tails back to Artisans."

Flame turned to Ashes. "And you?"

"Me? I'm just heading back to Dreamweavers I guess," Ashes said. "Of course... It's very far away so I really should hurry. It was nice meeting y'all though." She gave them a small smile. "Maybe I could visit again sometime, if it's okay with you guys." She dipped her nose, rubbing her talons together as she waited for an answer.

"Oh, come here, you!" Flame walked up to the little gray dragon, giving her a tight hug. "Visit as often as you'd like," he said. "I'm sorry if I was a bit standoffish when we first met. I'm usually nicer, I promise."

The female laughed softly "And I'm sorry if I got a bit nosey... And for calling you short."

"Hey now," Spyro stirred from his own spot in the sand, then walked over to the three dragons. "Are you guys really gonna wing on home now, at this hour? Why don't you stick around for a while? You can sleep with us in the temple later. I'm sure we got room!"

"Yeah, trust me, they could fit the whole island in there," Flame added. "Plus, it's warmer. Really, you guys should stay." As he looked at the two females, his annoying sister and the gray dragoness that had irked him so, he realized that he actually wanted them to stay. He mostly didn't want them to have to fly for hours on to their respective homes in the middle of the night just because they didn't want to intrude. Both Ashes and Ember had helped him find his way back to Spyro in their respective ways. As long as they didn't have to share rooms again or something, he didn't mind having them over to the temple.

Ember looked up. "Really? I mean, sure! We could stick around for a night, right Ashes?" The grey dragoness nodded eagerly, and they sat down in the sand next to the two males. Since the night was growing steadily colder, Spyro went off to gather up some firewood, and returned a few minutes later proudly carrying a couple of branches in his jaw, which he arranged in a neat pile and set ablaze with a single plump of fire breath. After a while, Cynder came up to join them as well. Having finally established to her satisfaction that neither of the elders was likely to escape, she was quite cheery, almost like when they first met a few days ago before the whole business with the elders' murder attempt. She had with her Spyro's satchel, and in it, a big thermos full of dragon-glogg. "Got this from the kitchens. Figured you guys might be cold. This is an awfully nifty invention by the way," she mused as she poured the other dragons some of the steaming-hot mulled wine from the metal container. Flame shuddered as he sipped the sweet, spicy wine, which tasted of cinnamon and oranges, and shuddered again as Spyro inched nearer and wrapped his warm wing over his body. All and all, this was pretty perfect.

Once they all had a few mugs of warm wine in their belly, his sister turned to Flame. "So, bro, I never really got the chance to hear your story."

"Oh, please no more." Flame shook his head frantically. "I'd rather spend the night in Red's Cave than tell another dragon about how I destroyed that stupid generator."

"Pfft, not that story, you dolt." Ember laughed. "I meant the story about you two!" She pointed at Spyro and Flame as they lay side by side. "I mean, how did you guys become a thing? When did that start? I heard something from Ashes about a well in Crocodile Swamp..."

Spyro let out a surprised gasp. "She doesn't know about that time I rescued you from the well!?" he asked, turning to Flame. "But it's such a cute story! Hey, can we tell her, please?" He practically jumped in place, his tail lashing the sand.

"I'm reeeally not sure," the red dragon mumbled, brushing a paw along the spines of his neck. He didn't think his little mud well incident was particularly cute. Mostly just gross, and a little embarrassing, even though it did have a happy ending.

"Oh-oh!" Cynder raised her claw. "Why don't you tell them about that time Flame got his tail stuck in that sinkhole? That's a cute one!"

Flame let out an undignified huff and turned to his mate. "You told her about that?!"

"I ehm... might have like... mentioned it," Spyro admitted, looking a little guilty. "But come one, Flame, it's a funny story!"

"Did you tell her about the incident with the lava-gnorcs, too?" Flame crossed his arms.

"No, of course not! Or well... at least I don't remember doing so..."

Ashes instantly lit up. "Oh wow, I wanna hear about the lava gnorcs!"

"Hey, wait just a minute, here! Why am I the only one who hasn't heard about any of this?" Ember exclaimed. "I'm his sister! Please, just start at the beginning. The thing with the well." She looked at Spyro and Flame with pleading eyes. "Come on guys. You can't tease me like this."

For whatever reason, this seemed really important to her, although Flame couldn't understand why. He never imagined his sister would actually want to hear about him and Spyro. She had always been so jealous...

"If you're feeling tired, Flame, I'd happily tell them," Spyro said. He shifted closer, then laid his big purple paw on his mate's shoulder. "Only if it's okay with you of course."

Even if Flame had wanted to say no, it would be hard with Ember's imploring eyes tugging at his heartstrings. His reluctance quickly vanished, and he nodded. "It's okay I guess... Just don't tell them about the sinkhole!"

Spyro lit up and nuzzled him happily. He then turned to the girls, his tail twitching in excitement. "Let's start at the very beginning," he said. "The first time me and Flame went on our very first epic adventure. A thrilling tale of treasure, danger and the start of a lifelong friendship. I'm talking about the time me and Flame got caught digging for gems in Mrs. Eldrid's vegetable garden."

Ember gave them a weird look. "That's... when you guys fell in love?"

"No, that happened when we were five..." Flame explained, rolling his eyes. "Spyro, how about you skip forward to the thing with the well since that's what Ember actually wants to hear about?"

"Hey, she said she wanted to hear how it all started!" Spyro defended. "And it really is a scary story, Mrs. Eldrid is a frightening dragon. She almost got me with her rake that time. Then we explored that old mill by the river, remember? Flame was soooo brave that day!"

"Spyro..." Flame was starting to worry they'd be there all night if his boyfriend had his way.

"Right right. The well. Gotcha. I remember it like it was yesterday, and boy it was a weird day! I was on my way to the beach when I heard something going down by the well, you know the one by Crocodile Swamp? And I got there... and I..." Spyro stopped for a second, his smile fading a little as his mind took him to that day. "... I went to investigate. And I saw a bunch of ugly dragons looking down into the well, laughing and pointing and such. And when I got closer, I saw that there was another dragon down there, a little red one, although he was mostly brown with all that mud covering him. Yet, somehow, I knew right away who it was."

Spyro's paw found and squeezed Flame's as their eyes met.

"I don't know how exactly I recognized you," he said. "I just sort of knew. Most of all, I remember how much you fought. You climbed, you crawled, you kept falling back again, because it was real slippery, but you wouldn't stop. Wouldn't give up."

"Holy crap...," Ember exclaimed suddenly. "Why didn't you tell me or mom about this?" She looked at Flame in an almost accusatory way.

Flame shrugged his wings. "Those bullies were on me like all the time. I didn't think it was a big deal..."

"Well, they weren't on you anymore after that day," Spyro said, proudly. "I got angry, of course, and decided to teach the bastards a lesson. Tail-whipped one, charge-attacked another. There were probably at least seven of them coming at me at once - but I kicked their asses. They all ran off, of course, and I could finally get poor Flame out that well. They should be happy I didn't toast them too."

"Woah..." Ashes gasped. "Seven dragons!" Beside her, Cynder scoffed. "I could have easily taken on seven too." Ember just shook her head slowly. "That's so fucked up. Weren't you afraid?"

"A little bit, I guess..." Flame admitted. It felt a little weird to be talking about this stuff. "Although Spyro makes it sound worse than it was. I wasn't down there too long..."

"He must have been down there for ages!" Spyro continued, "Because he was so cold when I pulled him up. He was covered in mud, but we wiped him off, and we spent the entire evening chasing sheep around." He nudged Flame's shoulder. "Hey, remember that?"

Flame nodded quickly. "Of course I remember your sheep infestation." Spyro had made it all up to make him feel better. And even though Flame hadn't caught a single cheep, it had worked so well.

"And I recall thinking how impressed I was with this little guy," Spyro went on. "...who had been thrown down that dark, gross well and came out frozen like a dragon-popsicle. But still had energy left him. Still wanted to play, and hang out. I guess that's when it started..."

"Started what?" Ember asked, tilting her nose.

"Yeah? Started what?" Flame asked as well.

"I don't know exactly. Something..." Spyro said, looking at Flame with those warm, familiar eyes. "When I pulled you out of that well, saw you there covered in mud from tail to horn, well, I just couldn't stop thinking about how that was about the cutest thing I've ever seen. I just couldn't get you out of my head from then on... That's why I knocked on your door the very next day..."

Flame just blinked, his cheeks heating. It was like he was seeing the purple dragon in a whole new light. All this time, he had thought it was empathy that had made Spyro come back the next day, empathy for a poor, pathetic dragon he wouldn't develop feelings for until much later. The idea that Spyro might have felt the same way for him right from the start was something he had never considered in his wildest dreams. He didn't usually like to revisit memories from his childhood, neither the good nor bad ones. He had tried not to for years. Right now, he was glad that he had made an exception tonight. In fact, letting it out there felt good.

Spyro leaned in to brush his soft nose against Flame's cheek, and Flame realized his eyes had gotten a bit misty. He rubbed the wetness away and happily returned Spyro's nuzzling, his own tail making a little wag. "Hey," he said, smiling. "If you really want to tell them about the sinkhole, you can."

Spyro lit up. "You sure!?"

Flame nodded. "It is kinda funny. But afterward, I'm telling them how you got us lost in Dusky Woods."

"Deal." Spyro grinned, then laid a wing over Flame, their tails intertwining. "So, anyway..."

Flame had never seen a dragon tell a story about a guy getting stuck in some mud with such passion. In his version of the tale, the sinkhole became the size of a lake, his rescue a dramatic feat of ingenuity and bravery (he had pulled Flame out with a stick), and he didn't even notice the girls giggling when he talked about how they had to spend the entire night brushing the sticky mud off Flame's butt with wet banana leaves. To him, it was adorable. To him, he was simply sharing with his friends one of the most endearing sides of his mate. To him, nervous little Flame was a hero for even following him into that jungle.

The rest of the night consisted of Spyro very excitedly telling the girls about that magical summer, how their quest for gems took them across the island from Volcanic Ilse to the Dark Mines, and even Avalar. He told them about their triumphs, like how they "won" First Flight together or that time Flame got his first gnorc with a charge attack. He also told them, sometimes in more detail than Flame felt was necessary, about all their embarrassing little mishaps along the way - like their ill-advised expedition to Volcanic Isle and Flame's dreadful encounter with that small lava gnorclet (a giant lava beast in Spyro's version).

But every story, even the embarrassing ones, had a happy ending, and the admiration in Spyro's voice was unmistakable. His eyes lit up with pride when he told them how nervous Flame had been on their glide from the tallest tower in Autumn Plains, but how he had still jumped, bravely, and expertly glided all the way down. He then spent a good five minutes describing the gem he gave to Flame that day, holding his paws out from side to side to really show the girls just how big it was.

Flame was lying next to Spyro in the sand, listening to the dramatic explanations he had to share about this and that, the "awwws" and the laughter that followed, and it didn't take long for him to join in and laugh as well. He even shared a few memories of his own, like their unplanned sleepoer in Dusky Woods, when Spyro had found those berries that gave him those stomach aches, and all the times he had gotten them lost. He even told the other dragons about the first kiss, and particularly enjoyed seeing the blush on Spyro's face. Payback...

He glanced over at Ember who had been uncharacteristically silent through most of the evening. She had been sitting still, listening closely to all of Spyro's stories. He realized that his sister had never heard any of them before. She had known Flame used to sneak out with Spyro, she had seen all those embarrassing claw-paintings and knew about the kiss, but nothing else. Never the in-between parts, what happened in the time they spent together, the stuff that really mattered. She was getting to know a whole new side of her brother, a side that Flame had kept carefully tucked away, and in retrospect, he found himself wondering why he had worked so hard to hide it to begin with.

Cold wins swept in over the beach and he found himself inching closer to Spyro's warm scales. Before long, he was leaning against the other dragon's flank, barely asleep and feeling the soft rumbling against his cheek as he talked and laughed, and thinking about how amazing it felt to lie there next to his mate without minding much that they weren't alone.

It was one of those moments you wished could last forever. But no matter how hard he tried, it soon became possible to keep his eyes open, and his friends' words and laughter started to blur together to one unimportant but pleasant background noise. He didn't realize he had fallen asleep until he felt Spyro nudge his cheek carefully.

"I think we better get you to bed," he chuckled. Flame could only nod in agreement. His mate helped him to his feet, and even offered to carry him, but Flame refused. "I still have some dignity left, after all", he laughed. "I'm not a hatchling. I can walk on my own." And so, the five dragons walked back towards the temple.

Ashes, as always an indispensable source of energy, took the opportunity to slide in between Spyro and Cynder. She wanted to know about the war against Malefor, Warfang and a thing called Dark Aether. Flame didn't even try to keep up.

Instead, he turned his attention to Ember who was trailing far behind. The pink dragon seemed uncharacteristically lost in thought, walking with her nose drooping, wings sagging, tail dragging behind her. He walked up to her, giving his sis' a small nudge. "You okay there?"

The dragoness jolted and looked up. "Oh, me? Sure, I'm okay. It's just..." she hung her head, looking at her feet. "I could probably have been a better big sister to you, huh?"

"What do you mean?" Flame asked, even though he had a pretty good idea of what she was talking about.

"Everything! I had no idea those bullies were messing with ya. And I always teased you about Spyro, you know, the fake love letter and all that..."

"Well, I guess the love letter was kinda funny..." Flame admitted, giving her a small smile. "Besides. We were young, and you didn't know."

"Yeah I guess, but that doesn't make it right. I gave you a hard time over Spyro because, well, I guess I thought it would somehow help you get over him. I thought it was all in your head, you know? Like he had just been leading you on. But I guess I was just being a massive dick..."

Flame nodded softly, but didn't say anything. What does one say to that? "Yes, totally?" All he knew was that he didn't want her to beat herself up over it.

"And I guess..." Ember went on, "part of that might have been jealousy. But it doesn't matter. Because what I'm trying to say is ..." she stopped, turning to Flame, meeting his eyes. "I'm really sorry, bro."

She looked so very sad that Flame felt his heart ache. There was only one thing he could do. "Hey, don't worry about it, okay?" he said, wrapping her in a hug. "You still helped bring me and Spyro together, even though you loved him too. You are a good sister, the best a dragon could ask for!," he said, squeezing her tightly.

He felt her exhale deeply between his arms. "Thanks," she said. They hugged for a long time, and when the sibs finally let go of each other, Flame felt a lot better, and he hoped Ember did too.

"And for all it's worth, I'm sorry for snatching him away from ya like that," he added. "And not telling you about the wingmates thing. I know how much you practiced for it.." If Ember apologized, it was only right he did the same.

"Oh that, I barely remember it," Ember laughed. "Just promise you guys will stay together now. I worked too hard to bring you dorks back together to see you break up over something stupid like another trip to the Forgotten Realms. And don't let him near any portals either."

"Heh! I'll try to remember that..." Flame mumbled, glancing at the handsome, purple dragon walking in front of him, his heart warming with the knowledge that whatever happened in the future, they'd be together. Spyro was clearly talking about The Forgotten Realms again. He didn't have to hear him to know, he could tell by his wide grin and the ways his eyes sparkled. Maybe, he thought, The Forgotten Realms weren't such a terrible place after all.

For now though, he just wanted to sleep.

Which is why, when they finally reached the temple, he was extra disappointed to hear that it was completely full.

"Really!? All those party-goers couldn't find anywhere else to crash?" Cynder asked Ember when she came back out with the bad news. "You're telling me they even took my private chambers!?"

"Seems so." Ember gave a helpless shrug. "The place is packed."

"I don't suppose we could like... kindly ask them to find somewhere else to sleep?" Flame suggested. He and Spyro were heroes after all. Surely, that must come with some perks?

But Spyro, predictably, refused. "It would be a real dick move to kick them out after they threw us this awesome party," he decided, shaking his head. "Besides, we were really only borrowing our chambers anyway."

Flame sighed. There were times he wished Spyro wasn't so terribly noble and a little more willing to cash in on his stardom. "So I guess it's back to Magnus' place then..."

There was a collective groan from all present dragons. Nobody seemed too keen on spending another night stuffed together in Magnus' tiny one-dragon bedroom.

"Well screw that," Ember said. "Sorry guys, but I think I'll fly back to Artisans after all. Umber's probably already home and wondering where the heck I am, anyway."

Spyro nudged Flame. "And I was hoping you'd invite me over to your place," he suggested with a wink. "Maybe you could make me some of that tea you used to drink?"

Flame's heart skipped a beat, then kicked right into overdrive as the young dragon thought of bringing Spyro over to his place. He hadn't even had a chance to clean! "I err ... sure! But it's a bit messy... and cramped... and don't you hate tea?" he asked. "Besides, it's not anywhere near as comfortable as the temple. And it's a bit of a walk."

"Oh nonsense, I'm sure it's lovely." Spyro waved his concerns away with a flick of his tail. "And, I don't mind the walk. So what do you say, compadre?" He nudged him again. "I am really sleepy, you know."

It wasn't like Flame had much choice. It was either Flame's place, or Magnus, and Flame's back still ached from the last night he had spent there. And now Spyro was using those pleading eyes on him again. "Sure, okay, fine. But I gotta warn you, it's messy!"

"Yay!" Spyro did a little jump, wings fluttering.

Good Ancestors, he is adorable.

Then Flame remembered that there were two dragons left with nowhere to sleep. He turned to Ashes and Cynder. "But what about you guys? I'm afraid I don't have room for three dragons..." Hardly even two...

"Pfft, like we'd wanna share a room with you lovebirds anyway," Cynder scoffed, winking. "Thank you, but I have other plans," she said proudly, her nose dipping to look at the gray dragoness beside her. "Or more specifically, we have plans. Don't we, Ashes?"

Ashes rubber her talons, looking even more bashful than usual. "We were thinking about trying that hostel in the village again," she explained. "And Ashes was kind enough to invite me along," Cynder filled in, wrapping a wing over the smaller dragoness, whose cheeks quickly went from gray to pink. "I don't think they'll dare turn you down again when I'm with ya." She leaned in and the two girls rubbed noses.

Spyro and Flame exchanged a surprised glance. That was certainly unexpected.

So with the housing question settled, the five dragons said their goodbyes. Ember embraced Flame again before taking off, and said she'd be back tomorrow if she could, which Flame was happy to hear. He got a shy hug from Ashes as well, who also promised to visit soon. Then Cynder lifted him off the ground and squeezed him tightly.

"You did good, little guy," she smiled. "Thanks for getting us out of that cave, and for giving Astor a good ass-kicking." She let him down then leaned in close. "And you take care of that big doofus now," she whispered, eyeing Spyro. "He's more work than he looks. Keep his tail out of trouble for me, will ya?" She kissed his cheek.

Flame swallowed, blushing hot. "I'll do my best," he promised, brushing his cheek with a paw.

Then the three females winged away into the dusk, leaving Spyro and Flame alone in the courtyard. They watched them disappear into the darkness together, his sister heading towards the nearby Artisan island, and Cynder and Ashes towards the village which glimmered in the distance. How weird it was, he thought, to have so many friends all of a sudden.

Sitting down too long was a mistake, though. Spyro had to help Flame back on all fours - the little red dragon was about ready to pass out. "Don't fall asleep now, love. We're not home yet," Spyro smiled, his soft nose brushing warm against Flame's scales.

Flame nodded slowly with a yawn, pressing himself against Spyro's side. "I don't suppose that offer about you carrying me is still on the table?" he asked, a little bashfully.

Spyro looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Oh? What happened with 'I'm not a hatchling. I can walk on my own'"?"

Flame rolled his eyes. "Well, we are alone now, aren't we?" he said, then climbed on top of his mate as the latter lowered himself for him. "But no flying okay?"

Spyro nodded, chuckling warmly. "No flying."

~ ~ ~

Flame was soundly asleep by the time they arrived at his place, rocked into a slumber by the gentle movements of Spyro's body. He woke up when his mount nudged him softly, and yawning, blinked himself awake. "Oh, we're already here?"

Spyro nodded. "Seems so. Want me to carry you inside, bud?"

"No-no. I'm not that..." Flame gave a big yawn. "...tired". He shook his head awake, then hopped off Spyro's back, shook again on the ground. He then walked up to the door and opened it for his guest. "Welcome in. It's not much but, well, it's me..."

The moonlight poured into his humble domain. It was indeed nothing fancy. A small sitting area on his right, two bookshelves and a fireplace, and a reasonably comfy chair by the window - which was really just a hole in the cave wall. On the left, his kitchen, and Flame winced internally when he saw a few days' worth of dishes fighting for space in the sink. After that was a hallway that led to the favorite place in his home - the bedroom. A part of him was a little embarrassed to still be living in a cave, and compared to the ample splendor of the temple, it was nothing. But he reminded himself that Spyro had spent most of his life sleeping in an old library without complaints, so hopefully, he wouldn't mind.

The big dragon had to duck to fit through the doorway, and even once inside, he couldn't stand upright without his horns scraping the roof. "This is nice!" he said right away with a big smile. Although Flame was sure he would have said the same if Flame had taken him to the old pigsty and presented it as his home. "Really nice. Hey, isn't this where...?"

"Yeah, it's my mom's cave. The old family home, heh-heh..." Flame quickly changed the topic. "Hey, did you say you want some tea?" He moved into the living room where he moved some old scrolls and a stack of canvases from the couch so his guest could sit. "Why don't you take a seat? I'll only be a minute... Again, sorry for the mess!"

Spyro caught him before he could sip off to the kitchen, leaning in against his shoulder. "Hey, relax, Flame. I like it," he said. "It's cozy. Besides, it's our home now, ain't it?"

The very thought made Flame feel all warm and fuzzy inside. "If... you'd like," he said. He leaned in against Spyro, against his soft nose at his neck, almost losing his balance as he did so.

Spyro, wrapped an arm around Flame to keep him steady, chuckled. "Why don't we skip the tea and jump straight to bed, love?"

Flame thought that sounded like a marvelous idea. Side by side, he led Spyro into their bedroom. Like the rest of his cave, it was a humble thing. Nothing of note. A mattress on the floor, a pile of pillows, sheets in the form of some old furs his mother had left him. But it was comfy.

The floor was another matter. Again, Flame cursed himself for not keeping a tidier home when he saw all the paint cans, canvases and other junk filling every inch of the floor. But Spyro didn't seem to mind much as he ducked down and followed Flame inside, careful not to step on anything. Instead, his eyes fixed on the cave wall and the paintings that covered it.

"What's this?" he asked, sitting down on his haunches and studying the wall with a puzzled expression.

Flame froze. Oh yeah... his damn paintings. He had completely forgotten about those. Well, there was no use hiding it now. He picked up the lantern he had lying on the kitchen table, and with his fire breath, lit it up. Suddenly the entire wall bathed in the warm glow.

"Wow." Was all Spyro said as he stared at the wall covered with his art.

In his later years, Flame had graduated from just dragons to other motifs and liked, especially, to draw various places on Dragon Island. Despite his ambivalent relationship with his home island, there were so many places that still surprised him with their beauty. On his walls were the soft rolling hills and mountain peaks of Dragonfly Falls, Autumn Plains in Avalar, the soft green gardens of Dark Hollow and many other places.

"These are amazing," Spyro said, looking over the intricate paintings. "They look almost like the real locations, only more colorful."

"I'm glad you like them. You're the first to see them. I don't get a lot of visitors..."

"I'm not a visitor. I live here now, remember? Mates and all that" Spyro said, his warm smile melting Flame into mush. "I wish I could paint like this."

"It's not that hard. I could teach you. Actually, it would be nice to teach you something for a change!"

"Maybe... but I'll never be as good as you," Spyro mumbled, his eyes following the rolling landscape around the room. Painted along the walls were dragons, black dragons, green dragons, big dragons, small dragons, fire-breathing dragons, and lastly, an image of a purple and a red one, flying side by side through orange clouds.

"I remember this!" Spyro exclaimed, pointing at the two dragons. "That's you and me, when we were flying to Dark Hollow after your first flight!"

Flame stared in bafflement. "Wow! I'm surprised you remember that!"

"Of course I do! That's when I taught you inside-loops, and we won the First Flight Race." Spyro sighed, his claw tracing the two dragons flying through the sunset. "That day means a lot to me. It was the first time I ever flew that far, and I did it all with you."

"Yeah, it was a pretty cool flight..." Flame mumbled, thinking back to that day. "Wait... What do you mean it was the first time you flew that far? You told me that you flew that stretch many times before!"

"Oh that. I just said that to make you feel better," his mate admitted, with a sheepish smile. "I never flew the entire way to the village in one go, and I only knew about the ravine I used to look for gems in the area."

"What!? And I thought you jumped flights like that every other day!" Flame flopped down on his haunches, a little stunned. Spyro had been so confident that day. "Don't tell me you were afraid too?"

"Maybe a little," his boyfriend admitted. "But mostly I just wanted us to win. So those bullies would get off your tail. And hey, it worked didn't it!?"

He stopped closer to Flame and ducked his head down to rub noses with the other male. "I could never have done it without you."

Flame happily returned the nuzzle, but was still a little lost in thought. Maybe he and Spyro weren't as unlike as he thought... He was about to ask Spyro if he was ever afraid of going to The Forgotten Realms, but the purple dragon had already pressed deeper into his messy, private room.

"Hey, is that what I think it is!?" he gasped, pointing to a white gem lying on Flame's bedside table between some candles and a pile of scrolls. "

"The most sought-after gem in Autumn Plains. Yep, that's the one you gave me."

Spyro stared at the gem with wide, shining eyes. "Can I?"

"Of course..."

The purple dragon picked up the gem in his claws, holding it like it was some precious, long-lost artifact. "Wow, I can't believe you still have this. Hey, it's a lot smaller than I remember it."

Flame walked up to his mate, leaning against his shoulder. "Things always are..."

"You're not," Spyro quipped. He ducked down so he could give Flame's nose a little lick. "You're exactly like I remember you."

Flame chuckled, but their noses remained in place. His paw Spyro's neck and he pulled him in against his lips, and their eyes closed. Spyro was wet and warm against his mouth, familiar by now but still completely new, and the sensation made him shudder. It was fireworks and butterflies in his chest - just like the first time in Dark Hollow. He couldn't imagine ever getting used to it.

The kiss ended, and Spyro caressed his cheek. "My little Flame. Let's go to bed."

That seemed to Flame the best idea he had heard all day. "Yeah, let's". He took Spyro's claws in his and pulled him to his modest but comfortable bed. But he was so tired he tripped, dragging the bigger dragon with him. Spyro landed right on him oof!, and he was heavy. There was a brief moment of shuffling and nervous giggling as the two dragons tried to make room on Flame's way too small bed. However, they eventually made it work, their two bodies pressing close.

After a long day, and a long cold walk home, his sheets felt heavenly against his tired body. But even that couldn't compare with the sensation of Spyro's warm scales against his side when the larger dragon wrapped his strong forelegs around him and pulled him close. He instinctively rolled to his side, letting Spyro embrace him from behind. It was exactly like that night in Dark Hollow: the warmth spreading through his body like warm honey, numbing him, making thinking hard, making keep his eyelids open even harder...

"This is nice," Spyro purred behind him, his chest rumbling softly against the smaller dragon. Flame could only agree. It was. Perfect in fact.

But then he realized he couldn't fall asleep yet. There was one more thing he needed to do. "Hey," he said, lifting his head to look at Spyro. "I've been thinking about The Forgotten Realms."

"Mhhm?" Spyro cocked his head, sleepy but instantly curious.

"I'm thinking maybe it's not as bad as I thought. In fact, I'd love to see it. Maybe we could go there for a few weeks or something? Like a vacation?"

Spyro jolted, a wide grin springing to his face as his tail swished back and forth under the sheets. "Flame, that's a GREAT idea! But are you sure you feel ready?"

"This time I think I am." He craned his neck to press his muzzle to Spyro again. Spyro kissed him back, then pulled the sheets over them with his teeth, wrapped his forearms and wings even tighter around Flame. "I can't wait," he said. "I love you, Flame. I love you more than anything."

"I love you too, Spyro. And thanks... for coming back."

"I did promise to." He gave his mate cheek a lick. "Goodnight... mate" A minute or so later, Flame heard gentle snoring coming from behind him, and he felt the soft rising and falling of Spyro's chest. And as he lay there, seconds from falling asleep himself, he couldn't help noting how well he seemed to fit between his wings and arms, almost as if they were made for each other. At that moment it was hard to imagine anything they couldn't do as long as they were together. For the first time in Flame's life, he felt like he wasn't too small. He was just the right size.

~ Epilogue ~

Flame woke up to a shower of icy cold drops raining over his snout and chest. "What, wha...?" The discombobulated dragon shook his head, then looked around, confused. Above him was the sky, gray and covered with a blanket of even grayer clouds. Below him, water had begun to pool around his paws, and cold winds swept over the lonely beach. Realization quickly sank in - he was on Dragon Shore. And he had zoned out again, his mind slipping back to some memory, or a dream maybe. He was pretty sure it was about Spyro, which was suitable because here he was, on this stupid beach and - he let out an annoyed sigh - still waiting for Spyro. And his paws were freezing. He shook the wet sand off his claws, then padded further up the beach, to the grass, where he flopped down on his haunches and looked up at the sky. Still no dragon.

Around him, the beach was as empty as ever, and it was hard to imagine that in warmer times, it would buzz with life - families and dragonets. Of course, few sane dragons would ever think of visiting Dragon Shores in the middle of freezing, rainy Mars, but then again, Flame was hardly sane.

He had almost snoozed off again when he saw a flurry of yellow wings above. He looked up and there he was, the purple dragon he had been waiting for. Spyro came to a graceful landing on the beach, spreading his great orange wings to break his descent, hovering in the air for just a second before dropping down on the sand. He had a big, brown rucksack on his back, packed with essentials for their trip. His old satchel was strapped to his flank and he was wearing those nifty new thigh-pouches Magnus had made him. Flame always thought he looked really good in those. Finally, he had yet another bag hanging from his jaws. He looked about ready for a trip to the border realms a dragon could. Spyro looked around, then lit up when he spotted Flame and hurried up to him.

"I'm schu schorry I'm schlate!", he exclaimed through the strap in his mouth, then dropped his bag and the rucksack so he could wrap Flame in his forearms. "It took forever to find the maps. And then the temple was locked so I had to go get the keys from Titan, and then..."

"Hush," Flame stopped him with a kiss on his muzzle. It worked. Spyro calmed down and looked at Flame, cheeks slightly pinker as they often get when the smaller dragon initiated kisses. "Don't worry about it," he smiled. "It was only two hours, after all. I'm sure I'll get the feeling back in my paws eventually."

"Ohhh nooo, you must be frozen!" Spyro hugged Flame a little tighter, which really didn't help much since Spyro after his long flight was even colder than Flame. "Why didn't you just wait with the girls up in Dark Hollow?"

"And risking you getting lost on the way there, no way. Which reminds me, oh grnoc-spit, we're soooo late..."

Cynder was pacing back and forth by the time the boys landed in Dark Hollow. "Oh, finally!" she exclaimed when she saw them. "Ancestors above, I was beginning to think the elders weren't letting you leave or something!" She threw out her wings in exasperation.

Flame wished he had a better excuse than "I fell asleep and Spyro got last trying to find some maps we probably don't need." He gave a sheepish smile. "It's nice to see ya Cynder. Thanks for waiting..."

Ashes was sleeping by the portal arc, but her ruff shot up when he heard Flame's voice. In a second, the snoozing dragon was back on her feet. "Oh, oh, you're here! That means we can go!" She rushed up to help Spyro with the bag, and in a second, had strapped it to herself and stood ready at the portal, claws jittering with excitement. "Forgotten Realms, here we come!"

"Oh, show some dignity you little grayling, It's just a few realms," Cynder chuckled, rolling her eyes. Although it was hard to miss the smile tugging at her lips as she looked down at the little gray package of uncontained energy. Ashes had almost fainted when Spyro and Cynder had invited her along to The Forgotten Realms. She had talked about the trip the whole week. Now she looked at Spyro and Flame. "You guys coming?"

Flame felt his mate nose his cheek gently. "You feeling ready, Flamey?"

It was a simple question, but one that meant so much. Flame looked at the glowing portal, then back toward the village. A sea of warm lights, nestled beneath the grand, hulking mass of Mount Dragonfly, the temple and Dusky Woods visible further in the background. He had never left the island, except for a few trips to Avalar. Sure, it was a gray, rainy place, nothing compared to the majesty of The Forgotten Realms, but it's a place he knew. And even though their first trip would only be for a few weeks, and even though he would be with Spyro all the time, it felt like a big step. Like, somehow, it would change his life forever, in ways he couldn't quite tell yet.

But sometimes, change is good.

He nuzzled back against Spyro, smiling. "I'm ready, hun. Lead the way."

Spyro gave a happy yap and the two stepped toward the portal, but before any of the dragons had stopped inside, Flame heard wings from above.

He looked up and was surprised to see a pink dragon zooming towards him through the air. "Flame!" his sister shouted, then came to a landing in the grass in front of them, panting hard as she caught her breath. "Oh good..." she gasped. "You're still here..."

"Ember? This is a surprise...." They had already said their goodbyes before. She helped her sister to her feet, sharing a confused glance with Spyro. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah... yeah sure," she gasped. "Everything's fine... It's just.... I should probably warn you that mom is coming here. And she really really wants to talk to you about something..."

Flame's blood froze to ice in his veins and he grabbed his sister by the shoulders. "WHAT!? When!? Why!?"

"Well ehm..." Ember rubbed her neck frills awkwardly. "I might have sort of let it slip that you're going to The Forgotten Realms... with Spyro. She's totally on her way right now."

This wasn't good. This really wasn't good! The red dragon felt himself getting dizzy, most of his blood rapidly leaving his head and pooling at his feet along with all his confidence. The one dragon that was absolutely, positively guaranteed to mess up his secret trip to The Forgotten Realms had somehow found out and was heading here. "Ember... what the hell?"

"It's not my fault!" his sister defended herself. "She showed up in your cave, you had everything packed. What was I supposed to say, that you've taken to living in the woods like a feral!? Besides, I don't think it's that bad. I explained the situation and..." she trailed off, spotting Spyro. "Although, Spyro might wanna go ahead. I don't think mum would like seeing..."

But it was too late. All present dragons froze as a swift shadow passed over the meadow. A dragon, larger than any of those present, with scales a shining crimson, touched down in front of them. Flame's mother tucked in her big wings, then walked over to the odd group of dragons gathered by the portal. Her eyes peeled when she spotted Spyro, an expression that seemed to say not you on her snout. "So it's true..." she said after a while, her voice a deep rumble.

None of the other dragons seemed to know what to say. Cynder had her head tilted in confusion, Ashes looked a little frightened, Spyro looked even more frightened.

Flame gulped hard, feeling like the enveloping, extremely uncomfortable silence would swallow him whole if he didn't do something. He stepped in between his mother and the other dragons, forcing a smile to his lips. "Oh hi, mom! What a pleasant surprise." he fibbed. "Ahem, you remember Spyro...?"

He nodded to his mate who gave his own attempt at a smile. "Oh, hello there Mrs. Scorcia. It is great to see you again."

Flame's mother didn't bother trying to pretend the pleasure was mutual. Instead, she walked straight up to Spyro, craning her neck to look down at the purple dragon who looked more and more terrified by the second. "So..." she started calmly. "I always knew that sooner or later, some young dragon would come along and take my son away, but I never thought that away would be the most dangerous realms known to dragonkind, and the dragon would be none other than Spyro the Dragon..."

She didn't exactly sound thrilled by either prospect. Poor Spyro cleared his throat and looked up at the dragoness. He wasn't a small dragon by any means, but compared to Mother, he looked like a scared mouse trapped between the paws of a hungry tiger. "I ehm... I'm not taking him so very far away," he offered with a nervous smile.

"The Forgotten Realms are far away," Flame's mother replied, fixing Spyro with her sharp emerald eyes. "Very very far away." Her voice was as smooth and deep as a river, but Flame knew that behind it hid a temper no dragon dared to challenge. Moreover, there was a very real glint of concern in her green eyes. He had seen it a thousand times before and had learned to take it seriously. Flame took a deep breath, looking over at his shivering mate. The worst thing he could do now was to laugh.

Spyro laughed. A very awkward, forced laugh. "It'll be fine," he said, trying to sound as casually reassuring as he could. "The Forgotten Realms aren't that dangerous. Hell, me and Cynder go there all the time. Even the lava monsters aren't that bad when you learn to..."

His mother gave a heavy snort, and Flame buried his face in his paws.

Spyro's sentence trailed off under the bigger dragon's gaze. Stammering, he changed his tone. "I mean, what I meant to say is that we'll be very safe, and we won't go near any dangerous realms or hunt for hidden gems..."

"Very well. And don't you think you should have asked me before inviting my son along on a trip to the forbidden lands?"

"Mom!" Flame stepped in between Spyro and his mother. "This is weird enough as it is without you interrogating Spyro. He isn't responsible for my decisions." He looked up at the dragoness with pleading eyes. Why do you always have to do this?

"Yeah!" Cynder added from somewhere behind them. "Flame's a big boy, he can take care of himself."

Flame watched his mother snap around in a second, angry eyes fixing on Cynder. Flame felt his heart sink in his chest. The black weighing in on this was the last thing he wanted. And of course, she didn't stop there either.

"I don't see what the big deal is, anyway," she scoffed, waving a talon. "It's not like we can't keep him safe. And who are you supposed to be exactly?"

"I'm his mother," Flame's mother growled, although it was less a growl and more a heavy vibration that made the very earth shake and Ashes hide behind Cynder's wing. "And I assume you" must be the recently reformed Terror of the Skies? The black dragon who laid waste to half of the known realms. I expected you to be bigger..."

Cynder snorted smoke, bristling instantly. She opened her muzzle to say something probably not too pleasant before Flame squeezed himself between the two angry dragons. "Guys! Come on. Mom, relax. These are my friends."

His mother exhaled deeply, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples. "Fine," she said. "I am sorry for... interrupting your little trip... but I need to have a word with my son in private."With that, she turned her back to them all without another word. She looked down at Flame. "Son. Come with me. We need to talk."

Flame's eyes shifted from his friends by the portal and his mother's stern face. His heart sank in his chest, their planned trip, the gems they'd collect, the moments alone with Spyro he had hoped for, all slipping away between his claws. He already knew what his mother was going to say. He knew how she felt about Spyro. He knew how she thought about the Forgotten Realms, or any place off the island. Suddenly, he felt like a little hatchling again, trying to practice his pathetic fire-breath with the looming, disapproving shape of his mother hovering over him like a particularly judgemental cloud.

"No," he said, digging his claws into the ground.

"No?" His mother craned her neck to look at her son, her tail twitching behind her. "No what?"

Flame met her gaze, bravely. "'No' as in I'm not going anywhere. Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of my friends." He walked over to Spyro, demonstrably planting his haunches in the grass right next to him. Their tails intertwined secretly behind them, and he felt a little braver.

His mother's expression didn't change much, although her orange eyes seemed to lit up like little pieces of smoldering ember. "Very well," she said finally, then spoke:

"When your sister's letter reached me, I hadn't heard from you in months. Months. So you can imagine my surprise when I read about your fight with the elders, about conspiracies and murder, and that somehow, my own son is involved in it all. And then to land here, and to have to hear from Magnus and Titan, and eventually your own sister, that yes, my son fought Astor and Tomas with dark gems, blew up a mine-shaft and almost drowned.

Flame cringed with every word. He shot an angry glare to his sister who looked back helplessly, an apologetic wince crossing her face. How could she tell her all this?

His mother continued: "And then to hear about you planning a trip with Spyro to that awful place where no good dragons ever go and no good things ever come from... Well, you can understand why I feared my son had gone completely insane."

Flame did understand. He knew exactly how insane it must sound to a dragon like his mother. He wanted to tell her that the real insanity would be to stay on this island for the rest of his life and never leave, never take any risks. He wanted to say that and so many other things he had thought about telling her if he ever got the chance, but it all shriveled up in his chest, sucked right out of him by those judging eyes. He was a hatchling again. Nothing had changed after all.

"It wasn't his fault." It was Spyro's voice. He stepped up next to Flame and this time when he looked up at Flame's mother, he wasn't shaking. Well, not much at least. "You got it all backward!" he explained. "Flame was only in that cave because of me and Cynder. He rescued me. We were on our own, trapped, but he rushed in to free us. You can't blame me if you want, but not Flame!"

"It's true," Ashes piped up, appearing carefully from her hiding spot behind Cynder's wing. "And Spyro asked him to stay outside. He didn't even want Flame in there. So it wasn't his fault either."

"And the only reason any of us was in that blasted hole to begin with is because two of your elders tricked us," Cynder hissed.

Flame remained silent, watching his mother's reaction. Her stern face didn't change much, and he prepared himself mentally for the inevitable anger, the scolding.

But no scolding came. Instead, his mother breathed a deep sigh. "I know," she said, her face softening as she looked down at Flame. "I know that you rescued them. I came to tell you... that I'm proud. You did the right thing."

Flame wasn't sure his ears worked right. Even the rest of the dragons looked shocked, Spyro giving a muffled surprise of surprise. He gaped at his mother in confusion. "You... you're not angry with me? You're proud?"

"Of course I'm proud of you!" his mother exclaimed. "And I always was! But... maybe I didn't always... express it as often as I should have. But these recent events have shown me how much you've grown in my absence and, well.." She leaned in down so that they were face to face. "While, yes, I was angry at first, your sister changed my mind. She told me about the elder's plan to hurt Spyro and Cynder here. That you put yourself in danger to keep them safe..." She laid a claw on Flame's shoulder. "I always knew you had a good heart, Flame. But I never knew you were so brave. So when I heard you were leaving, I hurried her to tell you this before you left."

"Why?" her son asked, looking up at his mother. His eyes were beginning to burn with tears, and he barely trusted himself to speak.

"Because..." her mother swallowed hard. She hesitated, looking away, fixing her nose sternly on the grass, and suddenly she seemed a little smaller than usual. When she spoke again, her voice was so quiet Flame could barely hear her. "Because I was worried that if I didn't... you might not want to come back at all..."

She went quiet for a while, then recomposed herself, clearing her throat. "I am still disappointed, Flame. I'm disappointed you didn't come to me for help when things got bad. I'm disappointed you didn't tell me about this trip of yours. I'm disappointed you didn't trust me enough..."

"I only didn't tell you because I knew you would have stopped me..." Flame muttered. It was only the truth.

His mother nodded. "Maybe, if It wasn't for what Ember told me, I might have..." "But," she continued. "I still want to apologize... It is a bad mother who lets her only son think himself a disappointment. Whether you want to stay or come back is up to you, but I need you to know how sorry I am. For how things turned out between us." She leaned down and looked him in the eyes. "Can you forgive me, Flame?"

Flame opened his words to reply, but words didn't come out. But when his mother opened her arms, he rushed right up to her chest. She squeezed him tightly, enveloping him in her warm wings like she hadn't since she was a hatchling, and when Flame looked up he saw tears in her green eyes. "It's okay," he said, petting her big cheek "I do forgive you... and I'm not leaving. Not for good anyway."

The embrace lasted for a long time until his mother slowly let go of her son. "I suppose that's really all I had to say," she said, wiping a tear off her cheek with a wing. She then looked up at the other dragons gathered and her eyes very quickly found Spyro. "To be clear, I still think this trip is... pure madness. But I guess it makes me feel a little bit better knowing that Spyro will be there with you."

Flame felt his heart jump in his chest and he turned with sudden hope to Spyro. The purple dragon was clearly as excited as he was, though he held it back as he looked up at Flame's mother. "So... you're okay with us going then?"

The crimson dragon looked first at Spyro, then back down at her son, and Flame could feel her wings tightened around him for a brief second. She inhaled deeply, then exhaled, as though she was letting go of something, she was. She was letting go of him. "Well I can't very well stop you," she sighed, then freed him from her heavy wings. "If this means so much to you, you can go..."

"Thank you!" Flame squeezed his mother again, then hopped down to rush up to Spyro. They embraced, both dragons exhaling in warm, overflowing giddy, happy relief, and before Flame could think, he had kissed his mate right on the muzzle. Spyro flushed up and would probably have kissed him right back, had it not been for their audience. Particularly the huge dragon with very ambivalent feelings towards him, standing right there and looking at them with an odd expression.

"So... you two are like a thing then, huh?" His mother looked down at the two embracing males with what must be a mix of some pretty strong emotions. She also had a slight blush on her big nose.

"I suppose we are," Flame said. He looked up to his mother but didn't step away from Spyro. "I need you to be okay with that too..."

His mother sighed again, then chuckled softly. "Well... I can't really claim to be surprised, now can I?" Her eyes shifted to Spyro, and Flame could feel his mate tense up next to him.

"Spyro, I still think you're a reckless daredevil of a dragon. And I haven't forgotten how you broke my son's heart after leaving so many years ago." Flame saw his poor mate wince slightly at the mention of that.

"But," his mother continued. "I also know that you had your reasons. And the truth is that I misjudged you. I thought you were a very different type of dragon, the kind of dragon those elders had trained you to be. The kind of dragon I wanted my son to stay away from. But you did the right thing in the end. Both when it comes to... her," she nodded to Cynder. "and when it comes to my son. From what I hear, you've done what you can to set things right and keep him safe. So for that, I owe you both an apology, and a thank you."

Again, Flame had to wonder whether his ears worked as they should. He had never in his life heard Scorcia say anything good about Spyro. Next to him, Spyro seemed just as surprised. "Tha... thank you," he stammered, a small, tentative smile on his nose.

His mother approached, leaning down in front of the two males. "I apologize for thinking ill of you, Spyro. And I thank you for being there for my son, even when I wasn't... So if you promise to take good care of him, and never leave him again, then I guess I could get used to thinking of you as part of our little family."

She extended her paw to Spyro who stared at him for a good few seconds as if his mind needed to parse what just happened. He then took his mother's paw in his. "I promise," he said with no doubt in his voice . "I'm never leaving him again. Never."

"Well, that's good enough for me," his mother replied, a rare smile tugging at her own snout. They hugged again, all three of them this time, and Flame could still barely believe it was really happening. His mother wasn't disappointed in him. She didn't hate him. She didn't even hate Spyro. She was proud of them, both of them. And with that, it was like one last big weight fell from his heart.

His eyes found Ember's, who looked on at them quietly by the portal. She gave him a wink, and Flame's heart filled with warm gratitude. Whatever she had said to his mother, it seemed to have worked. He had been wrong to doubt her. He made a mental note to thank her later.

"Well then, that's enough of that." His mother cleared her throat, then let go of the two boys. She got back on all fours, smoothed down her frills that had become uneven by all the hugging, and with that, was back to her regular, dignified self. "I better get going, and so do you. You're gonna need your strength for the trip. And do remember to be careful, please, both of you!"

"No power-ups, no spelunking, and no rhynocs," Spyro promised. "I'll bring him back safely."

His mother locked eyes with Spyro and nodded with a heavy snort, probably meaning something along the lines of "you better". She looked over to the black dragoness, and snorted. "And you. You've caused our realm a great deal of trouble. But for what it's worth, I was relieved to hear that Spyro didn't do what he was sent out to do. That said, we will be keeping our eyes on you."

Cynder muttered something inaudible, which probably was for the best.

Then, finally, did Flame's mother unfurl her great wings, spreading them to take off. Before doing so, she craned her neck to look back at Ember. "Are you coming, daughter? It's getting dark."

"Oh?" Ember perked, then ran up to her mother's side. She spread her pink wings, then looked back at Flame. "Stay safe, bro. Hope you have fun!"

Flame seemed to detect a certain hesitation in her voice. He looked back at his sister and felt a strange tug in his heart. That's when he got an idea, an insane, stupid idea, not the kind of idea that the Flame of a few weeks ago would have ever thought of. "Hey," he said. "Hey, why don't you come along?"

"Oh, you mean it, bro!? I'D LOVE TO!" She ran up to Flame, hugging him tightly. She then looked back at Mother. "If it's okay with you of course..."

Their mother craned her big head to look back at the dragons gathered by the portal, then nodded slowly. "Very well. Just for a few weeks. Don't be late, and I'll be here when you come back."

Flame looked up. "You're staying in the village?"

"I thought I might," his mother replied. "It turns out there's an opening in the council, and they've asked if I wanted my seat back. And Magnus has been kind enough to offer me to stay with him until I can find a cave of my own..."

Ember and Flame shared a stifled giggle. Neither wanted to imagine their mother trying to fit in Magnus's bedroom. Still, knowing that his mother would stay on the island made him... strangely relieved.

"Well, anyway. I'll be off then." Mother said. "Ember. Take care of your younger brother. And Flame," she leaned in to nuzzle him. "Be safe. And for Ancestor's sake, don't forget to write this time!"

With that, she unfurled her great wings and with a single, heavy beat, thrust herself into the sky. The remaining five dragons watched her wing off into the dusk, her crimson scales glimmering in the light.

"So that's your mother." Ashes asked, walking up to Flame's side. "You know, she's nicer than you made her seem!"

"If by nice, you mean terrifying!" Cynder blurted out, breathing a sigh of relief at the sight of the large dragon winging off. "Never seen a dragon make such a fuss over a little vacation. For a second there, I thought she was gonna eat me."

"Oh, she's not that bad," Flame said with a claw wave, surprised to find himself defending Mother. "Actually, she really seems to like you guys now."

"You have to admit, she is a little terrifying," Spyro said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Dude. She even accepted you as my mate. Practically gave us her blessing! What more can you ask for?" Flame pressed up against his boyfriend's side. "And maaaaybe if you bring me back safely after a couple of trips, she won't think you're so irresponsible either..."

"Ha! Maybe so..." Spyro laughed, pressing back against Flame. They kissed, softly, tightly, then turned to the portal which stood there with its enticing, white glow. A promise of new adventures in new strange places.

"So... Can we go already?" Cynder asked. "Before something else happens, please." "Yeah, let's go!" Ashes whined. Spyro turned to him also, and Flame now realized that four dragons were once again looking at him. He breathed a deep sigh, looking back to steal one last glimpse of the island. His heart warmed with his knowledge that it'll still be there for him when he returns in a few week's time, as safe and familiar as ever. And now, his mother would be waiting for him too. His old life wasn't over. It would still be there for him as long as he needed it. But today, he needed something new.

"Yeah, let's go." He said, then took Spyro's paw on his, and side by side with his four friends, stepped into the white glow, on to their next adventure.

~ ~ ~

Well, there it is! Spyro's Old Flame, finally done! I've worked on this little fanfic, on and off, for pretty much exactly a year now. It started out as a little fic for a friend, just a few pages to go with Draktau's amazing part.

It grew into a 140 000 word mega-project. It was the overwhelming positive response I got from you all, the comments and the messages, that kept me writing, made me want to give all these characters the ending they deserved.

So if you're still reading this, I wanna give you a big thanks for sticking by me, even when updates were few and far between and the promised finale was delayed again and again.

This is, however, not the end for Spyro and Flame , or any of the other characters. I'm planning more stories from my own Spyro universe, most of them taking place in the Forgotten Realms. Mostly, I just wanna write more romantic Spyro and Flame fluff.

For those of you who read my Juxtaposition series, my next objective is to actually finish it after leaving it dormant for so many years. For those of you who HAVEN'T read my Juxtaposition series, don't, it's terrible!

That said, I am hoping to write a lot more in the future, not just fanfics but some original works as well.

Again, thank you so much for sharing this adventure with him! Writing this has been freaking huge for me. I've learned so much. Thank you all so much!

V_2021-05-07 22:27:01