The young leader of the Dragoons Army made his way throught the corridors, heading out. He needed some fresh air after today's tactics meeting.

Most of the time, Riou had no idea what Shu and the others were talking about. He didn't know much about war strategy, so he just sat there, listening and pretending to understand. And then he sat there some more, getting bored.

He glanced at Luc on his way out and smiled warmly, mostly just to annoy the mage. He got a cold glare as an answer.

Hmm. Always like that... He thought and shrugged.

He stopped when he got out of the castle, nodding to a few guards who greeted him. It was still quite odd to be called "Lord Riou", and it had been a long time since they'd moved to Northwind castle. And when noble-looking knights like the guards greeted him like that... It felt weird.

Riou glanced around, enjoying the warm sun. He tried to think of something productive to do, as he didn't like just sitting around, not being useful. That was hard nowadays, with everyone treating him like some old high-ranking general. And since he spent most of his time around older people like Shu and Viktor... He missed doing something with someone of his age.

Nanami's probably practicing...

He thought about going to find his sister for a moment, then remembered that Nanami had promised to cook him the dinner tonight.

Ugh... no. Better avoid her at any cost... eheh...

He wandered around the yard, pondering about going to the library to read something. Then he stopped, feeling totally bored.

Maybe I'll just go fishing... At least that's useful.

"Hey, boy, aren't you a bit too young to drink...? Oh, it's you, Futch." Flik smiled to the young dragon knight. He had been sitting at Leona's tavern ever since the strategy meeting had ended.

"Er... Is Humphrey here?"

The Blue Thunder shrugged. "Nope, haven't seen him today. Why?"

Futch sighed. "...Nothing. If you see him, could you tell him that I have a small problem? I need to talk to him."

"Problem?"

"Bright."

"Ah, your little dragon... What's wrong with it?"

Futch looked a bit nervous. "I... Well, he got scared of something and ran away. This is a big castle, so I lost him somewhere. Anyway, please tell this to Humphrey if you see him, Mister Flik."

The blue-clad man smiled. "I'll tell him. And don't call me 'mister'. That makes me sound old."

"Okay... Just... Tell him... I'll be somewhere looking for Bright."

The young dragon knight got an approving nod from the swordsman and left. He exited the tavern and stopped to look around the yard.

Where could you be, Bright...? Well, I'd guess a small dragon can't go unnoticed for long...

He sighed, then walked to the closest person and asked if anyone had seen a little white dragon.

Riou stared at the float. He hadn't gotten anything yet, and the fish seemed to avoid his hook today. He sighed, staring absently at the still water.

He was pretty much lost in his thoughts when he suddenly felt something nuzzling his leg.

"What the...?!"

He turned to look down. A small white dragon looked at him with a pair of bright eyes.

"Oh... you. Bright, isn't it...?"

He remembered the dragon now. They'd found the small wild dragon when helping Humphrey and Futch at the Highway Village.

"What is it? Want food or something? Sorry, I haven't been able to catch anything today..."

The dragon nuzzled some more, then vanished somewhere around the piers.

"Hey... where did you...?" Riou blinked and looked around.

"I'm not sure if you should be jumping around here all alone..." He shook his head. The little dragon was gone already, so there was nothing he could do. He checked his bait, then concentrated back on staring at the water.

Some time passed, and then something startled him again.

"Um... Sir Riou?"

"Huh? Wha...?" The black-haired boy blinked a few times, then shook his head. Damn... Did I fall asleep or something?

He turned to look at the person who was talking to him. "Oh, hi Futch. Can I help you?"

The dragon knight smiled a bit. "I just wanted to ask about something... But if you haven't noticed, you have something there..." He pointed at the bouncing float.

Riou turned quickly, trying to get a better grip of the rod that had almost fallen from his hands. He jumped up from the chair, ready to fight with the fish. He was too late; a few seconds later, the line snapped. "Damn... Yam Koo won't like that..."

He sighed and shrugged, turning back to the other boy. "Anyway... What did you want to ask?"

Futch was glancing around, like he was looking for something. "I... Well. Bright ran away earlier, and someone said that he might have come to this area. Have you seen him?"

Riou slapped himself. "Ah! Of course... Yeah, I saw him earlier. Came here, nuzzled me a bit and looked cute. I should've known that he'd run away or something, since he was alone. Sorry, I should've caught him. He was right here."

The young dragon knight nodded, looking a bit relieved. "It's okay, Sir Riou... How long ago was that? And where did he go?"

The older boy shook his head. "I must've dozed off... I'm not sure. Anything from fifteen minutes to a half an hour. And stop calling me 'sir'. Really. Leave that to the fanatic knights. Call me Riou."

Futch nodded. "All right... Riou. So, where did Bright go from here?"

"That way, I think. Last time I saw him, he vanished behind that crate there..."

"Okay. Thanks... I'd better go look for him, then."

The young army leader put the rod away. "Need help? I don't have anything better to do, and the fish hate me today."

Futch smiled slightly. "Sure, I could use some help. Let's start from there, then..."

The two boys spent half an hour searching the port area, but found nothing. Then someone mentioned about hearing someone talking about something small and white sneaking around the library area.

"Library? Now he's there? Oh great... Sir Riou, we need to..."

Riou stopped the other boy. "Really, Futch. I've had enough of Freed, Shu and the others calling me 'sir' and 'lord'. Please? Just..."

Futch grinned nervously. "A-all right... Riou."

"Better. Library, eh? Let's go then. I'm sure he won't leave the castle area. The surrounding area can be quite scary for a little dragon... He's in the castle area somewhere. Don't be so nervous; we'll find him."

The dragon knight smiled. "I think I know why they made you the leader... You are always so optimistic, even when..."

The older boy lowered his face, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Ah... er, I just think Shu wanted me because I have this rune... But thanks anyway. Let's go find Bright now."

They made their way to the front yard of the castle and started looking around and asking again. Few knights had seen a glimpse of something that might have been the dragon, so they concentrated on searching the area outside the main hall.

After nearly an hour, they stopped to rest by the inn. Futch sighed, still looking around. "Anything new?"

The other boy shook his head. "Nothing right now... But I'm sure Bright is here..."

"Futch."

They both turned to look at the speaker. The tall warrior had just stepped out from the tavern.

"Bright is missing?"

Futch looked a bit embarrassed. "Yeah... he just... ran away. I'm sorry, Humphrey. I know I'm his guardian, and I should keep an eye on him. But..."

The swordsman nodded, glancing around. "Is he here somewhere?"

He stopped when he noticed the army leader. "Lord Riou."

"Hi Humphrey. I'm helping, too... Well. Someone said that they saw Bright somewhere here, so we've been looking around for some time now..."

Humphrey nodded again.

"I'll go ask people and look around. Continue from there." He pointed at the part of the yard near the entrance.

"Okay. Riou?" Futch turned to look at the other boy.

"I don't have better plans. Let's go check there, then." He smiled to Humphrey, then left to look for the small dragon again.

A half an hour passed, but they weren't getting anywhere. Riou was searching the area around the rune shop while Futch checked inside the buildings.

"Bright... Ah... okay, so if I was a little dragon, where would I go...?" The young army leader sighed, checking behind a few empty barrels.

"Probably somewhere where there's food... but we asked Hai Yo already..."

"Riou!"

The boy jumped, then turned to glare at his sister. "Nanami... Don't scare me like that! I'm busy..."

Nanami looked at him curiously. "Busy? Yeah right. You promised we'd practice today, and then I'd cook you a great dinner."

Riou tried to smile. "Um, I forgot. That can wait, eh? I'm looking for something... Have you seen Bright?"

The girl considered it for a moment. "Bright? Oh, Futch's little dragon. He was just there... See those crates? There's some foodstuff for the kitchen. He was... Riou?"

The boy was already gone, running towards the crates.

"Here boy... Bright..."

"Riou?" Futch stopped behind him. "Did you...?"

The older boy nodded. "Nanami saw him here. Let's see... Bright? Are you... Aha!"

He pointed at a few small boxes. Behind one was something small and white. He nodded to Futch, and they circled the box quietly. Bright was indeed there, trying to gnaw a hole on the box so he'd be able to get the contents.

Futch stepped closer carefully, not wanting to scare the dragon again. "Bright? It's me... Now, let's go find you some real food, okay? I'll..."

Suddenly, Nanami appeared from behind one of the crates. "Riou! Mind explaining what - AAH!"

Bright, obviously not happy for being interrupted, jumped on the box and then on the crate beside the girl. Then he jumped down from the other side, and ran towards the tavern.

"Nanami! We just found him! Sorry, got to go..." Riou didn't stay to give his sister a better explanation. He just ran after Futch who was already following the dragon.

"That way! Bright, wait...!"

They caught the small dragon by the wall of the tavern. Futch stopped running and walked closer slowly. "Good boy, Bright. Now let's..."

Just when Riou got there, ready to help Futch catch the dragon, Bright looked at them and then jumped on a windowsill. He then continued upwards, stopping on another window that belonged to the inn upstairs. Then he went up and vanished to the roof, obviously heading to the garden. The two boys glanced at each other when they heard someone screaming. "Up there!"

They ran inside the tavern, crossed the main hall and then ran up the stairs and to the garden. Some of the people looked quite upset.

Riou glanced around. "Where did he go? Hey? Did anyone see a small dragon here just a few minutes ago?!"

He decided not to continue when Simone showed up and started complaining about some horrible monster showing up and knocking down his table.

"Er, really sorry about that..." Futch interrupted. "Riou, someone said that he went that way. Let's go!"

Riou smiled apologetically to Simone and then ran after Futch again.

Fifteen minutes later they had completely lost the small dragon again. Futch returned to check the garden again, but there were no signs of Bright.

Riou shook his head, checking a few rooms by the corridor. "Not here... The knights there say that he hasn't gone past them, and since that's the only way out, I believe he's still in this part of the castle..."

Futch sighed, almost willing to give up. "Now what, then?"

"We look around some more, I guess..."

"Lord Riou!!"

"Eh?" The boy turned to look at the guard who came running. "Yeah?"

The guard stopped and saluted briefly. "Sir, I... Well, you'd better come see for yourself. There is some creature in your room, and we can't get it out..."

Riou glanced to Futch, who looked back, obviously thinking of the same thing. "Bright."

Several guards occupied Riou's room. They were seemingly trying to get something to come out from under the bed, but with no success.

"So...?" The young army leader asked, looking at one of the guards.

"Forgive us, Sir. That... thing ran past us and hid under the bed. We can't get it to come out. We tried to use force, but it almost bit me..."

Futch stepped closer to the bed and knelt down. "Bright? Is that you...? Ah, there you are..." He turned to look at the older boy. "Er, could you ask the guards to leave? Bright seems to be scared. I'm sure I'll get him to come out..."

Riou nodded, turning to the guards. "You heard him. It's not some monster... it's just Bright. You can go. Futch can take care of this..."

"Are you sure, Lord Riou? As I said..."

"Very sure. It's okay."

The guard bowed slightly, then left, followed by the others. Riou moved closer to the bed and knelt down beside the other boy. "Yup, it's him all right. Can you get him to come out?"

Futch nodded. "Of course... And this time he won't get away. Just give me a moment..."

An hour later, Riou was sitting by the desk, half of the time trying to write his diary, but mostly staring at Futch. The dragon knight was sitting next to the bed, talking to Bright in quiet tone.

"He's still not moving?"

Futch sighed. "I'm not gonna force him to come out... He'd just get more scared and probably wouldn't want to come near me. I want him to decide if he trusts me... But..." He shook his head. "He's still there, and I'm out of ideas."

"It's okay... I'm sure he'll come out when he wants. Until then... You could sit on the bed. It's more comfortable..."

The younger boy shook his head, but then reconsidered and got up. "Well... guess I could. The floor is a bit cold, anyway. Oh Bright, why can't you just..."

Riou turned back to the diary, smiling. He didn't have the chance to pick up the pen again when someone entered the room.

"Riou! Could you now explain what you've been doing all day? And what's Futch doing here, by the way?"

The boy sighed. "Nanami... learn to knock, will you? And keep quiet. Bright."

"Huh? Oh, that lizard..."

Futch, who had been staring at the floor, lifted his gaze. "He's not a lizard. He's a dragon... We've been trying to find him for the whole afternoon, and now he's stuck here. And he's scared. Could you please...?"

Nanami looked at them doubtfully, then nodded. "Oh... so... he's... Well, Riou? Are you two gonna stay here the whole evening?"

The boys glanced at each other, then Riou nodded. "As long as it takes to get Bright to come out of there safely. Why?"

"Well then, I'll have to make you some dinner! I'll be right back..." The girl left, whistling happily.

"Ugh. Got to ask the guards to get us a few sandwiches or something..."

Futch gave at the older boy a questioning look. "Huh? Why?"

Riou grinned a bit. "Apparently you've never eaten Nanami's cooking. I suggest we dump it out of the window as soon as she leaves."

"Oh. That bad?"

The older boy nodded. "Yup."

Later in the evening, the two boys were both sitting on the bed, trying not to feel sick. Unfortunately for them, Nanami had wanted to eat with them. Now it was getting late; it was already dark outside.

"Gah... Okay, so you weren't exaggerating, Riou..."

"I told you... Her food is really, really bad. Ack... Glad it's so late and she went to bed." The older boy sighed. "How's Bright?"

Futch glanced under the bed. "Hiding in his corner there. Bright, please... Just come here. It's late, we should go to bed..."

The army leader smiled a bit, shaking his head. "I think he's planning on spending the night there... Oh well. You'll have to sleep here too, then. Good thing that Humphrey stopped by earlier, so he knows where you are."

"Oh, yeah... Guess you're right. I can't exactly just go to sleep and leave Bright here alone. He'd never trust me if I'd do that." The young dragon knight sighed. "I'll sleep on the sofa, or..."

Riou sat up. "Naw, there's plenty of room here. Just look at this bed. This is big enough for three. I really wonder why they gave me this... I usually just sleep here on this side."

The other boy gave him a shy smile. "Well... I guess it would be better if... I mean, with Bright hiding under there..." Futch said, also sitting up. "I guess I... Well... I don't have my nightshirt here..."

Riou got up and picked something from a chair. "Here. I have enough of these... I don't use those that much. I mean, most of the time I'm just too tired and fall on the bed with all my clothes on... Or... Well. Hope that fits."

Futch removed his tunic and quickly got the nightshirt on, then grinned to the older boy. "A bit big... But that's fine. Thanks."

"No problem. I'd better get something on, too.... Er, I usually sleep naked, but..."

The dragon knight blushed and turned to look at the floor. "Eh... well. This is your room. So... um, do what you want... I-it won't bother me, really. It's okay."

The older boy gave him a questioning look. "Are you sure? Well, if you say so..." He removed his clothes and crawled under the blankets. "Good night then, Futch..."

"Good night... I don't think I'll be sleeping that much, since I want to wait and see if Bright will come out of there..." Futch got the rest of his clothes off and dropped them on the floor. Then he checked where the small dragon was hiding and lay down on the bed, pulling a blanket over himself.

Riou turned off the lantern on the nightstand. "I'm sure he'll come out sooner or later. And you could try to get some sleep... Hey, Bright isn't going anywhere. The door is closed, and he can't escape from the windows."

Futch smiled, staring at the ceiling. He couldn't actually see it very well since the room was dark now. "Thanks. You're right... but I really don't feel like sleeping, though. It's been a long day, but I don't feel tired. Just a bit worried."

The other boy turned to his side, looking at the young dragon knight. "Yeah, I don't, either. Wanna talk about something? It's not like I get to talk to someone like you everyday..."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

Riou sighed. "Well, you know... someone of my own age. I have to be the leader here and all. Shu keeps me quite busy with all the strategy stuff and such, if I'm not out doing something, or in a battle somewhere... Truth is, I haven't had a day like this in a long time. So long that I didn't even remember what it feels like to have some free time..."

The younger boy blushed, thankful that the darkness hid it. "I'm sorry. Hey, I don't really know what it's like... I've been travelling too long, I guess. And I've never been a leader. But I guess it's kinda boring to talk to people who are old enough to be your father all day. I kinda know... Humphrey is a lot older than I am, and doesn't really talk that much."

"You're right... It is, really. And the only younger one I talk to daily is Nanami. And she's..."

"A girl?"

The older boy laughed. "Yeah... a girl. She's my sister, so I can talk with her about almost anything. But she's still a girl. I used to have a best friend, too, but... I think you know..."

Futch smiled sadly. "Well, I know all I've heard. He can't exactly be called a best friend now that he..." He didn't continue, not sure if the other was wanted to talk about Jowy.

Riou just wrapped the blankets around him more comfortably. "It's okay. Jowy made his decision, and I can't blame him. It's sad, and I wish it wasn't like that, but that's just how things are. And I made my choices. I'm the leader here, and can't just walk away."

"It must be hard to be the leader. I don't know if I could do that..."

"It is. People expect so much from me, and... Well. That's also why I don't have many friends. Everyone looks up to me, like I was some great general or something." Riou changed his position, turning to his back to stare at the ceiling as well.

"Hey, if they want to admire someone like that, how about Flik and Viktor or... well, Humphrey! They're all heroes from the Toran Liberation War, eh? I'm just... But..." He sighed. "I have this rune and all. And people need me. So... Well. Sorry about ranting like this, Futch. You're probably bored to death."

The younger boy shook his head. "No, it's fine. I kinda understand. I knew how hard it was for Lord McDohl in the Liberation War... now you're in the same position. I can guess how lonely it is."

"It kinda is. Well..." Riou got up a little, leaning to glance under the bed. "Guess who hasn't moved a bit..."

Futch took a quick glance as well, then sighed and lay back down. "Yeah. Bright has obviously decided to spend the night there. Hope he doesn't get cold."

The young army leader turned to look at him. "Cold? Think it's cold in here?"

"Maybe a little. The room feels a bit chilly."

Riou nodded, pulling the blanket over his shoulders. "It gets a bit cold sometimes, but it's nice and warm under these blankets. I have two here; want to share?"

The dragon knight smiled and crawled closer. "Sure. And since Bright isn't moving, I could try to sleep. I'm still not tired, but anyway..." He felt warmer under now, and lying close to the other boy was actually more warming that the blankets.

The older boy turned to his side again. "I can't sleep right now either. Want to talk some more? About... anything. Some other stupid things? It's quite fun, really. It feels like I haven't talked to a boy of my age for an eternity."

Futch grinned. "Sure. Well, about what? What do boys like us talk about, anyway? I've never really... Well. I've been a dragon knight all my life, so I guess I've never been just a 'normal' boy. Then I spent a long time with Humphrey. Now... well, now I have Bright. But he's young, so it'll take time before I'll be a real dragon knight again. So..."

"Hmm." Riou stopped to think for a moment. "Things guys talk about? Haven't talked with anyone for so long that I don't remember. Well, war, fighting, weapons and girls, at least..."

The younger boy smiled a bit. "I'd guess you're tired of talking about wars and fighting and such, since Shu and others probably talk about those all day."

"Yeah, maybe. What, then... Girls and fishing?"

"Okay. Fishing... Er, I don't know much about fishing. I've never really been fishing just for fun... When I was traveling with Humphrey, we got to fish sometimes, but... I don't know. Dragons are the only things I really know a lot about, I guess. So... What about girls? I've never really..."

Riou shrugged. "And I don't have time for such things. Besides, I'm not sure if I... like girls... if you know what that means."

"Eh? Er, I don't, kinda... or I do..."

The army leader shook his head. "No, it's okay. Maybe it's better if you don't know. Those things are kind of... well, I don't know how to explain. I'm not very experienced, so... And I don't mean that I... Well..." He looked at the younger boy, as if to see if he'd freak out and decide to get away.

Futch just stared at the ceiling that was hidden by the darkness. "No, I do know what that means. It means that... Let's just say that we were once at a town, and a man came to me and said that he'd pay me good if I... Well. Humphrey almost broke the guy's neck. But I know what he wanted."

"Do you really? I mean..."

The dragon knight snickered. "Er, if you mean that do I know what... that is, how to do that thing, no. I've never been with anyone. Have you?"

"With a guy? Or a girl?"

Futch grinned. "Anyone."

"Okay." Riou paused for a moment. "Never with a girl. With a guy, once. Well, you can probably guess who that was... Anyway, we didn't really do much. I know how the whole thing is done, but we just... touched each other."

The dragon knight moved a little closer, drawing the blankets around him a bit better. "Touched... Hmm. But... You know how it's done? Er... could you... tell me? I mean, I know nothing about that stuff. I've never... And no one really told me, either. I'm old enough for... you know, but I don't feel very comfortable asking Humphrey."

The army leader laughed softly. Then he just smiled, sitting up. "Okay. I'll tell you. First... well. Er, do you want to know how a guy and a girl do it, or two guys? I probably know more about the latter..."

"Well... anything is fine."

"Sure." Riou took his pillow and moved it behind his back. "Now. You know the basics, eh? What goes where?"

"Kinda. Better with dragons than with humans, but still."

The older boy grinned. "Well then... It's best to start with touching. And kissing. Carefully at first... And then... Well, it depends if you're the leading partner or..."

Futch blushed, again thankful for the fact that the darkness hid his reddened face. "Eh, um... I'm... Well, not probably gonna be the leading partner anytime soon. But... Maybe it would be good to know those things, anyway. Continue?"

"Yeah. Now... Erm." The army leader paused. "I don't really know how to explain, since I don't have that much experience. I could show a few things, but..."

The dragon knight blushed again. "Um... Well, if... I guess it's okay. Show, then. A few things are fine, I guess. I... I've never kissed anyone, so I don't know how it's done..."

Riou leaned closer slowly, stopping to look at the younger boy's face. He couldn't see very well in the darkness, so he raised his hand and touched Futch's face gently. Then, after taking a deep breath to control himself, he moved closer, pressing his lips over the other boy's.

Futch almost moved away, but stopped himself, closing his eyes. He parted his lips slightly, afraid of doing something wrong. He had no idea how it was really supposed to be done - he'd seen people kissing before, but it felt so strange. He was a bit scared, but at the same time, all his senses felt so sharp, and as the older boy's tongue entered his mouth to explore a bit, he felt like his body had melted.

The army leader's fingers wandered behind the dragon's knight's neck for support as he let the kiss deepen. The only person he'd ever kissed was Jowy, and that had been a long time ago. This felt so different, too... Jowy, being older, had taken the lead, but now... He tried to remember how Jowy had done it, but soon forgot about his old friend. This was different - kissing Jowy hadn't made him feel like that. Kissing Futch felt like the world had stopped right there...

Then, a small almost purring voice could be heard from the side, and both boys jumped up.

"Good gods! What the...?"

Futch stared to his side for a moment, then raised his shaking hand, reaching to touch the source of the sound. He could hear it again, and then something nuzzled his hand.

"Dammit, Bright! Don't do that...! You scared us..."

The dragon knight blushed bright red when he realized what the little dragon had interrupted. He lay back down carefully, drawing the dragon closer. Bright had obviously decided it was cold under the bed, and squirmed his way under the blanket.

"So... uh... He decided to crawl out from there finally... Um. Perfect timing," Riou mumbled, blushing as well. He hid under the other blanket, trying to think clearly. A moment ago, he had been kissing the younger boy, and it had felt... Too damn good... Futch...

He stopped himself, for his thoughts were already slipping into other things he'd wanted to do with the younger boy.

Futch petted the dragon absent-mindedly, his thoughts also wandering somewhere else. Finally, he glanced at the dragon, noticing it was asleep.

Riou said... he... likes other boys...

He took a couple of deep breaths, trying to figure out what he was really doing. Then, he smiled to himself, knowing what he wanted. That kiss was enough to show him what he liked, too, and Riou made him feel something he'd never felt before.

The dragon knight petted Bright a bit more, then moved away, crawling under the other blanket and pressing his body next to Riou's.

The older boy wrapped his arms around him carefully. "...Futch... Are you really sure what you're doing?"

Futch was shaking a bit, but nodded. "I... Well, you promised you could show a few things..."

He glanced to the other side of the bed where the dragon was sleeping peacefully.

"And, uh... for things that you don't know, I guess we have the rest of the night to find out..."

Riou smiled, also glancing at the dragon. Being close to Futch made him unsure of what he was feeling, but after the long day and all that had happened...

He touched the younger boy's face, then leaned in to kiss him again. After all, Futch was right. They had all night to find out what those feelings were.

Author's notes:

Um... Very old kiriban fic. Took me ages to finish, and it doesn't even have a real sex scene either. Ah well.

Well, the pairing is interesting, anyway. Hope you like it, Prof. Emma!

- Lady Harken (October, 2002)