#dragon!michael

Michael hated this, hated every time his mates looked at him like some kind of monster. Though he knew that this was a necessary evil, a thing that had to be done because there was no way he could keep this a secret from them, it hurt every single time they screamed and ran away. It went against everything he was for, all his instincts to protect and provide shuddered in self-hatred for being the source of their fear.

“Ryan.” Michael said, wincing as his mate’s name came out with more of a growl than he liked. Swallowing, he tried again. “Ryan, it’s fine.”

“Fine?” Wow, Michael didn’t even know Ryan’s voice could crack like that. The human had backed himself against the wall, hands trying to find purchase on something to steady himself. “Fine? Look at you. You-you-you got fucking wings! And horns! And a goddamn tail, how is any of this fine?”

“Ryan, please calm down, you’ll attract the neighbors.” Michael pleaded, taking one step forward as slowly as he could.

“S-s-stay back. Stay back.” Ryan yelled, breath coming faster and faster. “Just. Please, stay back.”

Michael came to dead halt, biting his lip. He should of thought through this more or at least gave Ryan more of a heads up of what’s to come. “Do you want to talk through this or-?”

“I want you to shut up.” Ryan hissed, a hand coming up to rub at his face. “And let me figure this out.”

Michael’s jaw clicked shut, his whole body slumping. Taking a deep breath, he forced his appendages away. “Does…Does this help?”

Ryan peeked at him through his fingers before he lifted his head, blinking at Michael in surprise. “Oh. Um, yeah, it does.”

Michael nodded. He looked everywhere but at Ryan, letting the human sort out his thoughts. Unfortunately, Michael wasn’t the most patient person ever. After a few moments of silence and fidgets, he decided to try again. “Would you like, um, do you want to talk to Ray about it? He might be able to help.”

“Ray knows?” Ryan demanded. “Wait, what am I talking about. Of course he knows. You two are so close.” The words were spat at Michael, who flinched. “I bet Gavin knows too, doesn’t he?”

“No, he doesn’t. And Ray didn’t know till, like, three months ago.” Michael defended.

That seemed to catch Ryan off guard, “Really?” Michael nodded. “Oh. I thought…or I guess I assumed that, you know, because you knew him before…that you had already told him…and-“

Michael watched as Ryan continued to ramble, face getting more red the longer he went on as the dragon became more confused. It sounded like Ryan was apologizing for something but Michael had no clue what it was. “Ryan, really, it’s ok. No need to be sorry.”

Ryan flushed redder at that. “I’m so confused and upset…and-and-and you’re not human!”

“No, I’m not and it’s ok to be confused and upset. I shouldn’t have sprung this on you. But, instead of panicking, we need to talk this out. Ok?”

Ryan ran his eyes over Michael, thinking everything over, before nodding and cautiously, cautiously, removing himself from the wall. “Ok, yeah. Let’s talk.”

Sighing in relief, Michael motioned towards the couch. “Ask me anything you want.”

~

Michael ended up taking the chair as Ryan took the couch, doing his best to answer all the questions the human had. Ryan had been almost shy at first, asking simple questions such as what was he and how old, before diving into harder to answer areas.

“Is it like having a split personality?”

“No.” Michael struggled to explain. “It’s more…like I grew up in a different culture from you but instead of me being from Asia, it’s me as a dragon vs. me as a human. Being around humans so long, I understand why and how they do things but it still confuses me sometimes. Then there are times you guys do things that…make me react differently than how humans would react.”

Ryan took a second to process that. “So you have control over your…dragon side?”

“Absolutely.”

Ryan hesitated. “Could you make them appear again? Your…dragon…bits?”

“I can make them appear and disappear at any time. Or, well, almost anytime. When I’m hurt or if something surprises me that makes me react in a non-human way, they tend to pop out. But usually, it’s like stretching an arm for me.” Michael focused, willing for only his tail to appear. It was easier for him to control and more comfortable when more of his dragon was at the surface, but he didn’t want to scare Ryan off now that the man finally appeared calm enough to deal with this. “Doing this is easy. I have to focus more on not letting them out on accident.”

Ryan stared at Michael’s crimson scaled tail, biting his lip. His hand twitched before Ryan gained control of it again.

“You can touch it, if you like?”

Ryan glanced down before looking back at Michael’s face and then back down to his tail. He reached forward several times, withdrawing each time, before finally taking a deep breath, closing his eyes, and grabbing it.

Michael yelped, startling Ryan who jumped, falling off the couch. The dragon cackled but helped the human up. “Sorry, it’s a bit sensitive when you surprise it.”

“You’re the one who told me to touch it.” Ryan mumbled, blushing lightly and fake swatting dust off his shirt.

Michael’s smirk turned more fond as he watched the other man, one hand absently petting over his tail. “Yeah but I wasn’t expecting you to yank on it. I feel sorry for anyone you give a hand job to. Goddamn you could pull a dick off with that grip.”

Ryan sputtered causing Michael to fall into a fit of giggles, waving off the other man’s attempts to defend himself. “I’m just kidding; I know you have great dick jerking techniques.” He winked.

Ryan huffed, blush darkening, but at least now he was grinning. “Will you let me touch your tail or not?”

Michael shrugged, still grinning as he swung his tail in front of Ryan, letting it gently bob. This time Ryan’s touch was more gentle, still wary but getting braver the more his fingers ran over the scales. Michael watched the human’s face carefully, searching for any signs of distress or fear or anger. The dragon relaxed as all he saw was awe and wonder.

Shaking himself slightly, Ryan withdrew his hand. “So... I’m more calm now.”

“Yeah?” Michael eyed him, ready for a but.

“Had a mild freak out.”

“Rightfully so.”

“But I’m calm, I’m cool- “

“Cool?” Michael asked.

Ryan ignored him. “And I’m ready to handle this like an adult.”

“To be fair to you, you’ve been handling this as well as you could.”

Ryan smiled. “Thanks. Are you hungry? I can cook something.”

“That’s it? No more questions? No more worry?” Michael would of have thought Ryan would have the most questions, besides Gavin (though he expected Gavin’s questions to be fucking stupid) as they were the two most curious of the group.

“Don’t get me wrong, I still have a thousand more questions for you. But we’ve both have had a long day and we can talk later. Plus, it gives me time to go over everything. So you want to order in or have me cook something?”

It took a moment for Michael to answer. How was it he kept ending up with such supportive and kind boyfriends? “Order in. I’ll pull up a movie and we can have a spontaneous date night.”

~

The two ended up on the couch together, under a blanket as they watched a horror movie and eat Chinese. Michael had been hesitant to get too close to Ryan at first, but after the man had plopped down and forced Michael to put an arm around him, the dragon had figured he was ok with contact.

After laughing their way through the first movie at how stupid the people were and Ryan pointing out all the scientific flaws, Michael flipped through the selections for a second one while Ryan cleaned up and got them more drinks.

“You want a movie about zombies or a movie about killer sheep?”

“Killer sheep?” Ryan called from the kitchen. “That sounds dumb. Let’s watch that.”

Michael grinned. “Ok.” He pressed start for the movie but a hand reached over his shoulder and pushed pause.

“But first, “Ryan walked around handing Michael a beer and plopping down, facing the other man. “We still have to talk about this morning.”

“You want to talk more about dragon stuff?”

“No, no dragon stuff. We still need to talk about what happened with Ray and Gavin.”

“Oh.” With all the excitement from revealing he was a dragon, he had forgotten about this morning. Shifting in his seat to face Ryan, he shrugged. “What about it?”

“You can’t ignore this, Michael. Communication is key to keeping a relationship going.”

Michael huffed but he couldn’t deny Ryan was right. “Ok. I guess.”

Ryan patted his knee. “So my guess is that it has something to do with you being a dragon, right? That’s why you showed me?”

Michael sighed. “Yeah. Gavin…did something that set off my dragon and when I told Ray, he disagreed with how I reacted.”

Ryan nodded, not prying into the exact details further. “And do you still think you’re in the right?”

Michael’s lips thinned, looking away from Ryan, but he couldn’t deny it. “No.”

“So, here’s what we’re going to do, ok? You’re going to text Gavin and apologize. Then tomorrow, you and Ray are going to spend all day together and fix things.”

Michael looked back at Ryan, noticing how soft Ryan’s smile was. “You think that would work?”

“Absolutely. Remember, communication is how this is going to work.” Ryan gave him one last smile before turning towards the TV. “But we can do that later. First, let’s watch sheep brutally murder humans.”

Clearly, everyone was worried about his sudden exit. Ryan had called him last night, asking if he’s ok and Jack had texted him the same thing. Gavin had texted also, but Michael had ignored it. Ray had stopped by and, after some coxing, had been able to get what was wrong from the distressed dragon.

That had not gone well. Ray didn’t understand why the sight of a hickey on one of his mates would upset him and even giving the explanation that it was a dragon thing didn’t help.

“It looks like you’re making a big deal out of nothing.” Ray had said.

Michael growled, black smoke puffing out from between his clenched teeth. “Doesn’t it bother you? That Gavin may never be ours?”

Ray scowled back at him. “Don’t growl at me. Of course I’m disappointed but this doesn’t have to mean he won’t be ours. Why are you freaking out about this?”

The conversation went down from there and Ray left in a huff. The lad had only looked at him when Michael walked in this morning, seeming determined to ignore him. For some reason, Geoff was taking the same approach, only grunting when Michael said hello. When Michael had apologized for leaving, Geoff only nodded and anytime Michael tried to start a conversation, Geoff either nodded or didn’t bother to reply at all. Geoff frustrated Michael the most because he had no idea why the other man would be ignoring him.

Gavin kept making eye contact with him, mouth opening as if he was going to say something before closing it and turning back to his work. Michael felt like a jackass but he still couldn’t bring himself to talk to Gavin. Not with that hickey still staring at him.

Jack and Ryan weren’t oblivious to what was going on. They couldn’t be, with the others tap dancing around each other and commentary in videos were tense. Several times, Jack came up to ask if he was ok. Michael knows he didn’t convince him with his forced smile.

Ryan was a little more aggressive, cornering Michael alone to talk. Michael hated how much this was affecting all of them, but he couldn’t tell the others without revealing his nature and, after his fight with Ray, he wasn’t so sure he wanted to. Lying to Ryan made him feel queasy, especially because they were dating, but there was no other way.

By the time they all left for home, Michael was feeling worse than he did the day before. He hated how awful it felt to be stuck in that room all day, a room that usually felt more like home than even his own apartment. There was no way they could release the videos they filmed today, with how awful their energy was, so they’d have to re-film, causing more work than was necessary. Watching Ray ask Ryan for a ride home, when they usually rode together, and leaving without their usual good-bye kiss was just the knife twisting deeper.

Once home, Michael threw his bag against the wall, stalking over to his refrigerator and grabbing a beer. He drained the can, smacking his lips, but the alcohol only made his stomach turn more. “Doesn’t get me fucking drunk anyways.” He growled, crushing the can and throwing it into a nearby trashcan.

Grabbing the edge of his counter, he hung his head. Everything was a disaster and Michael knows, knows, it’s his fault. Glancing at his phone, Michael took a deep breath and checked his messages.

There were three from Gavin

“Hey, you ok?”

“You ok?”

“Can you call me, you pleb. Please?”

Michael felt a pang in his chest. He was such an asshole. You guys have an amazing friendship. Remember that. Michael closed his eyes. He hated when Joel was right. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, an inner war fighting inside him.

Michael was startled out of staring at his screen by a knock on the door. Shaking his head, he sat down his phone and went to answer. Michael was extremely surprised to see it was Ryan who stood on the other side.

The dragon continued to stare at Ryan as the other man fidgeted. Clearing his throat, Ryan finally spoke. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry, this…this is kind of unexpected.” Michael stood to the side, letting the other man in.

“I know and I know today has been kind of tough.” Ryan held up his hand, stopping Michael from replying. “We all know, but Jack and I seem to be out of the loop a bit. I tried to talk to Ray about it but all he said was that you guys got into a fight.”

Michael turned towards his kitchen, Ryan following him, and grabbed another beer, popping it open. “Yeah. We did.”

Ryan watched him, grimacing at the sight of Michael slamming back the drink. “Michael, I want to help. We can’t have another day like today, you know that right?”

“I do. But it’s-I don’t think you’ll understand, Ryan. It’s complicated. I tried to explain it to Ray and look where we’re at now.”

Ryan pulled out a chair, sitting down and resting his head on his hand. “So make it uncomplicated for me. You’ll never know if I’ll understand unless you explain it.”

Michael shook his head. “It’s really not that simple.”

Ryan gave him a look, not making any move to leave or drop it.

Michael ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. “Look, something Gavin did pissed me off and Ray doesn’t think it should. So now we’re fighting.”

“And you’ll ignoring Gavin.” Ryan snorted. “Don’t look so surprised. Gavin asked me if I had talked to you, saying you were ignoring his texts. He was really upset about it.”

Michael glanced at his phone, taking another sip.

“Michael,” Michael looked back at Ryan, surprised to see that the other man had stood up, walking towards him. He grabbed Michael’s drink, carefully taking it and setting it down. Ryan’s blue eyes never left Michael’s. “Let me help. I don’t like this, all this fighting. I want-need to fix this.”

Michael reached up, dragging Ryan into a slow kiss. After the crappy day he had and how sick he felt, Ryan was helping him feel better. Michael wanted to fix this too, and though he was a bit overwhelm with how many things he had to fix, he felt better knowing Ryan wanted to make things better too. He loved this man, trying to convey how much through this kiss.

“There are some things I have to tell you first.” Michael said, once they broke apart.

Ryan raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

Michael took a deep breath in. “Yeah.” Grabbing Ryan’s hand, he led the other into the living room, pushing him down on the couch. “Just…please don’t freak out too much.”

Michael turned around, heart beating fast. He took his shirt off, thinking about Ray and Geoff’s reactions, hoping that this would be the same. Closing his eyes, he let himself go.

There was a gasp and rush of movement. When Michael turned around, Ryan had flipped over the couch, making it a barrier between the two. He was crouched down, eyes wide as he stared at the Michael’s impressive wings, only flicking down once to look at Michael’s tail wrapped around his leg.

“What the fuck are you?”

Michael knew his mates were no virgins. He wouldn’t wish that upon them nor did he have any desire to be their first and only. He had also seen the aftermath before. Geoff coming in after a night at the bar, the faint smell of orgasm on him. Ray with his hair messed up a way that the other man didn’t notice but Michael did. Ryan with a rosy glow and wide smile that only came from being sexed.

But this was different in that no one has dared put a mark on them before. That was Michael’s right. The lad snarled, mouth pulling back to show sharp canines. That was his right. How dare anyone take that away.

Closing his eyes, Michael took a deep breath in before slowly letting it out. He couldn’t go dragon right now, not at work. Not in front of everyone, especially his mates.

The door opened. Michael’s breath caught, trying his hardest to make it seem like he wasn’t ten seconds away from ripping apart the wall in front of him.

“Michael?”

Joel?

“Michael, it’s me.” Joel softly knocked on the door. “I, uh, smelt your dragon.”

Michael didn’t make any other move than to close his eyes. Shit, if Joel smelt it than I must be close.

“I, uh. I know I might…not be the person you want to see right now.” No shit. “But. But I am a dragon also. I’ve been through a lot of things. And maybe I can help you.”

Michael huffed before straighten up and opening the door. Joel took a step back, clearly surprised that Michael did what he asked. “Fuck, Michael. Your eyes are gold.”

“It’s not very helpful that I’m around another dragon right now.” Michael growled out, voice gravelly.

Joel put his hands up, making sure to not look Michael in the eye. “I know. Trust me I know. But I’m the only one who knows what you’re going through. So let me help.”

Michael took in another deep breath. Joel was right. He hated to admit it but having someone around who knew how to deal with this (who could help control him if he wound up going on a rampage) was already making him feel better.

“So. What’s up?” Joel asked.

The bruise flashed across his mind and Michael counted to ten. “Gavin has a hickey.” He gritted out.

Joel whistled, running a hand through his hair. “Ok. Ok. Fuck. Yeah, that’s tough.”

Michael snorted. “Thanks Joel, that makes me feel better.”

Joel shot him a look. “Ok. First thing first. Have you two officially mated?”

Michael’s shoulders sagged. “No.”

Joel cocked his head. “Are you dating?”

“No.”

“…Talking about dating?”

“Nope.”

“And you’re sure it wasn’t any of the other guys?”

“Absolutely.” The scent covering Gavin wasn’t any that he recognized.

“Hm.” Joel paused, eyebrows furrowing. “I-ok. I know Gavin’s had other lovers…”

“Yep.” Jealousy flared like hot fire through Michael’s veins before he got himself under control again. “He has.”

“…then what’s the problem? You’ve never acted this way before.”

“I don’t know.” Michael spat. “Ok, Joel. I don’t fucking know. I’ve always been able to hide it before. It’s just…it’s just….” Michael spun to the right, fist lashing out and hitting the wall. Joel flinched at the sound, wincing at the hole that formed.

Deep breath. Let it out slow. “It’s just,” Michael whispered but trusted that Joel could hear him. “It’s just…I thought we were getting closer. Not just Gavin and I, but all of us. I’m dating Ray. We’re dating Ryan. Jack and Geoff went out together last week for drinks and have been flirting ever since. Ryan and Gavin have been teasing each other more. We were bonding.” Michael hissed, silted gold eyes turning to look at Joel.

“We were getting so close to actually coming together, I could taste it. But now?” Michael shrugged, looking back at the wall. “I don’t know.” It wasn’t that that Gavin slept with someone. It was that he slept with someone now, when Michael had been so sure that they were coming together. “What if this means he doesn’t feel the same? That he doesn’t want us?”

Joel let out a sigh. “Michael, this could mean a lot of things, especially if you haven’t made it clear to him that you do want him. But,” Joel moved closer to Michael, one hand reaching out as if he was going to pat Michael’s shoulder, but thought better of it. “I want…need you to think about the idea of Gavin not wanting you to become his mate. That he doesn’t want you.”

Michael hissed at him.

Joel refused to back up. “This is why I need you to think about it. Come to terms with it. Because we can’t have you going full dragon if it comes to that.”

Michael bit his lip. He didn’t want to think about it, the possibility of one of his mates not wanting him. But, as much as he hated to admit it, Joel was right. Michael wouldn’t force someone to mate with him, no matter how much his dragon wanted to. If Gavin decided to he didn’t want Michael or the others, he’d have to let him go. His dragon though…

“How do I get my dragon to accept that?” Michael asked.

“I’m not going to lie to you, it’ll be hard. Your dragon will be wrathful. The burn you’ll feel will only get worse as time goes on. When he meets someone else, you’ll want to rampage. Burn the city down.”

“You’re not exactly making me feel better here, Joel.”

Joel smiled. “You will get better. You have mates now, right? They’ll help you. Surround yourself with them, focus on them, and you’ll be fine.”

Michael eyed Joel. “You talk like you’ve been through this kind of thing before.”

Joel’s smile faded. “I’m an old being, Michael. I’ve been through a lot.” Joel turned to leave but paused with his hand on the doorknob. He looked back over his shoulder at Michael, eyes now the same shade of gold. “You and Gavin have an amazing friendship. Remember that.”

Then he left.

Michael sighed and rubbed a hand across his face. This was too much for him. Already, a headache was forming, his dragon was pacing inside. He back ached with the need to release his wings and his throat burned with unleashed fire. He didn’t know how he was going to get through the rest of the day.

Of course, that’s when a knock came at the door.

Michael jumped, looking around widely. “Um, occupied!”

“Michael?” Shit, it was Geoff. “Hey, it’s me. Gavin, uh, Gavin said you ran away earlier? And that you looked pissed? Are you ok?”

Sighing, Michael opened the door. There was no way he could avoid this. When he opened the door, Geoff stood there, one hand raised to knock again. The man was obviously worried, face set into a serious frown as his eyes roamed over Michael.

Blinking, Geoff took a step back. “Shit, man. You’re eyes are gold.”

Michael rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah. I’m…going through some shit right now.”

Geoff was still staring at him. “Dragon shit?”

Michael grinned a bit. “Yeah, dragon shit.”

Geoff frowned. “Are you ok? Do you need to go home?”

Man did he wish he could go home, he didn’t know how he could go the rest of the day feeling like this. Like he was going to explode any second. But…”No, we have too much to film today.”

“Michael, I think you need to go home.”

“Geoff, I’m fine.”

“Michael,” Michael blinked at how serious Geoff sounded. “Go home.”

“Geoff?” Michael asked.

Geoff blinked, seemingly to realize how he sounded. His shoulders dropped and when he next spoke, his voice was softer. “I’m just worried. This isn’t normal for you, right?”

Michael shook his head.

“There’s no need to stress you out anymore. Go home, calm yourself, take care of whatever you need to be taken care of.”

“Yeah, ok.” Michael said, though he was still hesitant. He absolutely didn’t want to go back into the office and face Gavin, not if he wasn’t sure if he could control himself. But there was something about Geoff… “I’ll do that. Could you tell the guys I wasn’t feeling good?”

Geoff and nodded and moved out of the way for Michael to pass. “Take care of yourself, Michael.”

There was something about the way Geoff was acting that left a sour note in the pit of Michael’s stomach.

So, a lot of people have guessed that Geoff was the one to give Gavin the hickey and, while I thought about it writing this chapter, I decided not to go that route. Only because I have some special Geoff centered angst that I have planned. I hope nobody is too disappointed by that.

Both boys had to do a double take as they looked over Ryan. The older man was attractive, handsome as hell as Michael liked to say, but he often hid it behind baggy jeans and loose shirts, only giving the rest of them faint glances of a soft, furry stomach. Now though.

Michael always knew that Ryan deep down was a sweater guy. The sweater he had on now was light grey, tight across his chest, and soft looking. On anyone else, Michael would have thought they looked like a frumpy dad but Ryan pulled it off. Amazingly, his jeans were just as tight, hugging his legs and showing off those muscles he kept hidden. His hair looked like it was styled at first but after, what Michael guessed was constantly running his hands through it, it stood slightly up and looked.

Rumpled.

(Michael didn’t even know Ryan could looked rumpled, what the hell. No man should be this good looking.)

They stood there for a few seconds, taking each other in before Ryan blinked and slumped against the door frame. “D-Did I overdress?”

Michael and Ray both looked down at themselves. Fuck, compared to Ryan, they looked like slobs, Michael in a wrinkled shirt and Ray in the first thing he found in his dresser. Michael blushed, sputtering. “Wh-No. No. You’re fine. I mean, both fine and fine. We-fuck, dude, I don’t know-“

“We were expecting a causal get together.” Ray jumped in, face just as red as Michael’s. “Man. Fuck. We-shit, we can’t even change-“

“I’m so sorry, Ryan-“

“We’re so stupid-“

“-already messed it up-“

“-God, are we stupid-“

Ryan held up a hand, stopping them. His cheeks were slightly red as well but he was smiling. “How about we agree we all messed up and continue with our…date?” Though it wasn’t a question, the way Ryan said date made it sound like one.

“Date.” Ray said firmly.

Michael nodded. “When a good looking man cooks for you, it’s definitely a date.” He winked at Ryan and enjoyed the way it made the color return to Ryan’s cheeks. “So, uh, can we come in?”

“Oh. Yeah, yeah. Come in, please.” Ryan stepped to the side, sweeping one hand out to present his apartment. Michael and Ray eagerly pushed past each other, both wanting to be the first to see everything. Of everyone, Ryan’s apartment was the one Michael’s seen the least. When they hang out as a group, it was mostly at either Geoff’s or Michael’s places. In fact, this will be the first time he’ll ever see Ryan’s apartment.

It was both what he had imagined and not. The place was clean, and yet Michael could see various knickknacks littered along the counter and tabletops. Books were everywhere, stuffed full in shelves with a few laying around. Pictures hung on the white walls and it warmed Michael’s heart to see most of them were pictures of the group, even if Ryan looked disgruntled in most of them.

What surprised Michael the most was the sheer amount of plants Ryan had. There was one on the table, one of the counter, three along the windowsill in the kitchen, two on the bookshelf, and, from what Michael could smell, a few in the back rooms.

All in all, the place looked homely and lived in. It fit Ryan perfectly.

“Nice.” Ray said once he’s fully looked around.

“Sorry about the mess.” Ryan said, heading towards the kitchen. Michael took a small sniff and his mouth instantly watered. Whatever Ryan was cooking smelled delicious. “I didn’t have much time to clean up. Hopefully my cooking makes up for it.”

“Dude, its fine.” Ray replied, following Ryan into the kitchen. “You should see my apartment. What are you cooking? It’s making my stomach rumble.”

“Pasta. May of made too much of it so I hope you guys are hungry.”

Michael slowly walked around the living room, looking at pictures and listening to the two of them make small talk. He couldn’t help smiling. This is what he has always wanted. Casually conversations and homemade dinner, being able to give each other loving smiles and talk about cute Ryan looks in an apron or how Ray doesn’t know anything about cooking. Being able to relax with the people he loves. The only thing that could be better were if the others were here.

One day Michael thought before his attention was grabbed by Ryan calling his name.

~

Michael was floating high Monday morning. The weekend had been magical. The date with Ryan was amazing and the older man proved himself to be a real gentleman, offering to drive Michael home (which Michael refused politely, he had plans to spend the night at Ray’s anyway) and giving them chaste kisses when they left (Michael didn’t let him get away with it though. He pulled Ryan back to give him a real kiss.)

Saturday was just a relaxing day, spent playing video games and watching movies with Ray, completed with pizza and singing along to bad songs they searched on the internet. Sunday left Michael feeling lonely when he had to go back to his own place, but he got some cleaning done and a few homemade videos filmed, so he was left with a productive feeling by the time he went to bed.

His morning was greeted with a good-morning text from Ray (filled with obnoxious kissy faces) and he was able to sneak a kiss to Ryan when he passed by him getting into the building. Michael was still grinning at the way Ryan had turned red when he sat down in his chair.

“Someone’s jolly this morning.” Gavin commented, looking away from the video he was editing.

“Fuck jolly, I’m in a tip top mood.” Michael replied, stretching out his arms as his computer woke up. “Had a fucking good weekend. How about you?”

Gavin shrugged, going back to his video. “It was alright. Hung out with Geoff for a bit, then spent the rest playing Halo and Destiny.”

“Oh yeah?” Michael looked over at him. “You leveling up your Hunter for that raid-“He cut himself off, blinking at Gavin.

There, right fucking there, on his collar bone, barely fucking covered up with Gavin’s shirt, was a hickey. A full on, fucking dark purple bruise. Michael’s whole world narrowed done to it. He didn’t even hear Gavin’s reply, he was too busy staring.

Someone had touched his mate. Someone other than him had given Gavin a mark.

Michael had to give Ryan credit though, the first Friday they had where they could leave the office before 1am Michael got a text asking if he and Ray would like to come over to Ryan’s apartment for dinner. Michael agreed, probably a bit too aggressively. But oh well.

Ray’s apartment wasn’t all that far from Ryan’s, which in turn wasn’t that far from the office, so as soon as they got the all clear from Geoff that they could leave, that’s where the two lads headed. Michael kept some of his stuff there anyways, including clothes, so it was the ideal situation.

Though he did wish he would have left slightly better shirts.

“Should I go with one of our shirts or the one that I wore two days ago and didn’t wash?” Michael called out to Ray, who was taking a shower in the nearby bathroom.

“Definitely one of ours.” Ray called back. “Did you forget about what happened in that other shirt? Don’t subjugate Ryan to that.”

Michael picked up the shirt in question and grimaced. He had forgotten that Ray had ambushed him when he was wearing this and the two didn’t quite get all their clothes off before getting each other off. “At least it narrows down the choices.” He muttered before throwing the shirt into the corner.

He heard the shower turn off has he was picking between two shirts (should he go with a Ryan shirt to try to be funny or would it just make Ryan mad?). He turned when feet reached the door, giving Ray a whistle of approval as the lad stepped into the room in just a towel.

Ray rolled his eyes. “Don’t you have something better to do than ogle me?”

“Nope.”

Ray shook his head. “Come on. We’re supposed to be at Ryan’s at 8.” Ray paused and Michael could sense his hesitation. “Speaking of. Are you…uh, going to…tell him?”

“Tell him what?” Michael asked, having finally decided on a shirt, pulling it over his head.

Ray scratched the back of his head. “You know. Tell him that your, uh, not exactly. Human.”

Michael stopped. “Oh.” Oh. He’d forgotten about that important detail. Michael ran a hand through his hair. “I mean, eventually I was going to tell all of you.”

“But you haven’t.”

“No, I haven’t.” Michael sat on the bed. “I do want to tell them. I have to.”

Ray sat next to him. “But.”

“But I’m worried. This isn’t me coming out and telling you guys I ran with the Mafia and did hard time. I’m revealing to you that I’m a dragon. Therefore, also revealing to you that all that fairytale stuff is, you know, sort of true. That’s a big deal.”

Ray’s hand settled on Michael’s leg, comfortably warm. “I know.” He soothed. “Trust me, Michael, I know. I’m incredibly grateful that you showed me.” He gave Michael a reassuring grin. “And I’m not saying that you have to tell him tonight. But I do think you should tell him soon. Especially now that we’re dating him.”

Michael looked at Ray. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Ray grinned. “I’m just saying that once we started dating, you became very dragon like.”

“I did not.”

“Michael, you were in my lap purring yesterday when we were watching TV. And not just a light purr, like you thought you were doing. This was full on rumbling.” Ray laughed at the pout Michael was giving him now.

Michael huffed, but he couldn’t help smiling also. It was nice to not have to hide that part of him, to be able to do stuff like that and not have to worry about others freaking out. He wanted more of that comfortableness, wanted it all the time. Michael dreamed of the day he could stretch his wings at their office and it just be a normal thing for the rest of them.

The kicker was, he could have that. He could probably have it right this second if he wasn’t such a chicken shit.  Both Ray and Geoff knew, and even if Geoff hesitated sometimes in touching him, they were taking it well. Would the rest of his mates’ reactions be the same? Or would they recoil in fear as others had?

“The choice is yours.” Ray’s voice brought him out of his musings. He looked over at the other lad. Ray gave him a soft smile. “Whether you tell the others or not, the choice is yours. I won’t tell anyone, I had promised you that. It’s all up to you and I’ll support you for any decision you make.”

Michael grabbed the front of Ray’s shirt and pulled him into a kiss. Ray made a sound of surprise but was quick to join in. Eventually, Michael pulled away. “How’d I ever end up so lucky as to have you?”

Ray grabbed the back of Michael’s head and pulled him back in.  “The universe is funny, I guess.” He whispered against Michael’s lips. Michael smirked and pushed him back against the bed.

The two were pulled away from their making out when Michael happened to glance at the clock and notice it was almost time to go. He laughed when Ray only continued to kiss at his neck, pushing at him. “Come on, you fuck. Don’t give me a hickey.”

Ray looked up and pouted at him, rolling his eyes when Michael continued to push at him. “Fine. Fine. You’re no fun.” Ray stretched out and went to get dressed. Michael watched him fondly.

“Hey Ray.” Michael called out. Ray stopped by the door, looking over his shoulder at the boy still laying there. “I’m going to tell them. Not tonight. But…I will.”

Ray smiled. “I know. Now get your lazy ass up.”

Michael laughed, doing what he was told.

Gavin shrugged, not looking at Michael. Instead, he stabbed at his own meal. “Ryan’s been acting…weird, I guess? I’ve just noticed every time I talk about you guys he tenses up or leaves. I was wondering if, you know, something happened.”  

Michael swallowed. “No.” He lied.

“Oh…” Gavin’s voice was small, like he knew Michael wasn’t telling the truth. Which he probably did. Michael didn’t make it a habit to lie to Gavin and vice versa.

And Michael didn’t want to lie. But he also didn’t want this to blow up more. Because he could fix this. He could. He hoped.  

It would probably help if he knew exactly what it was he had to fix. And that’s what turned his stomach whenever he thought of the blond haired gent. Ryan freaking out over Ray and him kissing was something Michael had not expected. Out of everyone, Michael had thought Ryan was the closest to figuring out his feelings. In fact, if Ray hadn’t made a move, Michael had planned on asking Ryan out first.

And that’s probably what hurt Michael the most. The six of them were a pretty close, tight-nit group (and thanks to Michael’s dragon half, he felt a sort of special bond that was unique with each of them). Having Ryan avoid him or refuse to talk to him hurt.

That’s why Michael had to believe he could fix this.

~

It was the perfect time. Or as perfect as it was going to get. Jack had taken the day off due to a dentist appointment. Gavin was in England, shooting Slow Mo videos. Geoff had been pulled away by Burnie and Barbara to work out schedules for the upcoming weeks. It was just Michael, Ray, and Ryan in the office. Michael looked at Ray and nodded. It was time.

Ryan sat at his desk with headphones over his ears, determined to ignore them. Michael slammed his hand on the desk, leaning as close to Ryan as he could. That got Ryan’s attention.

“What?” He asked, pushing his headphones back to scowl up at them.

Michael refused to be deterred. “We need to talk.”

“No we don’t. I’m busy.” Ryan turned back to his computer.

Michael turned his monitor off.

“What the fuck!” Ryan exclaimed.

Michael ignored the outburst. “Why have you been avoiding us?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Bullshit.”

Ray put a hand on Michael’s shoulder, pulling him back slightly. “What Michael means is that everyone, and we do mean everyone, noticed that you refuse to interact with us anymore.”

“Everyone is obviously imagining things.” Ryan said, trying to defend himself.

“You ran across the parking lot, in the opposite direction of your car, when you saw us.” Michael injected. Ray glared at him.

Ryan blushed slightly. “That-that had nothing to do with you.”

Michael opened his mouth to argue but Ray cut in. “Is it because you caught us kissing?”

Ryan stayed silent.

Michael took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “Did-was it because you were disgusted by it?”

“What? No, no, no, no, no. You have it all wrong.” Ryan said, frantically. “I wasn’t disgusted. I was-“ He stopped suddenly.

“You were what?” Ray asked.

Ryan bit his lip. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”

“No, no.” Michael said, preventing Ryan from turning his chair. “This isn’t nothing. Something caused you to ignore us.”

“Really, it’s nothing.” Ryan wouldn’t look at them

“Ryan-“

“Michael, I don’t think we should keep pushing him.” Ray cut in.

“We need to get to the bottom-“

“Not if he doesn’t-“

“He can’t-“

“Not-“

“Bu-“

“It’s because I was jealous.”

Ray and Michael stepped back as Ryan stood up, falling into shocked silence. Ryan’s nostrils flared and his hands clenched. “I’m fucking jealous of you guys ok. I wished I was I was the one kissing you ok?” Ryan stopped short, realizing what he said. “I’m-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Ryan-“

“I’m sorry.” Ryan said again, before running out.

“Ryan wait. “ Michael tried running after him, but Ray held him back.

“I think Ryan needs some time to pull himself together.” Ray said.

“I don’t know, Ray. Do you think that’s wise?” Michael looked back at the door that Ryan left through.

“I think we need to talk about he said.”

“Oh, right.” Yeah they should probably talk this. But neither of them said anything. Finally, Michael sighed. “So Ryan wants to kiss us?”

“Yeah.” Ray bit his lip. “Ho-How do you…feel about it?” He looked up at the other through his eyelashes.

Michael didn’t know what to say. On one hand, he didn’t want to say anything that would hurt Ray or cause them to break up. On the other, this is exactly what he wanted. Well. Not exactly. He could do without Ryan running away and forcing them into this awkward conversation. It’s close enough though, especially if he could get the ball rolling.

“Ray, I-I think there’s something I should tell you.” Michael began.

“Shit, you’re not breaking up with me are you?” Ray asked, eyes going wide.  

“What? No. Nothing like that. You’re my mate, remember?” Michael brought Ray closer, brushing a hand over his neck. “You wear my mark. I could never get rid you.”

Ray blushed but smiled, leaning into Michael’s touch. “Ok. Well, what do you want to tell me? Does it have anything to do with the Ryan situation?”

“Yeah. Maybe we should sit down.” Michael led them over to their desks. Once they were situated, he ran a hand through his hair. “I want you know that I do love you ok and want you to remember that as we talk about this. I never want to break up with you, but…I’m polyamorous.”

Ray sat back, blinking. “Oh.”

Michael rushed on. “I do, do love you and want to be with you and spend time with you and everything. But I also have those same…feelings…for others.”

“Others?” Ray questioned. “As in more than one other person?” Michael nodded. “I’m guessing Ryan is one of them since we’re talking about this now. Who else?”

Michael took a deep breath. “The rest of the guys. Jack. Geoff. Gavin.”

“Oh. Wow.”

“I know it’s a lot to take in and that it’s not normal. But I’m also a dragon and you seemed to take that ok.” Michael looked at Ray hopefully. “Really, compared to that, is this that big of a deal?”

“Michael, I-“Ray leaned in to kiss him. Michael was surprised but gladly accepted it, hoping that this wasn’t a break up kiss. When Ray broke apart, he smiled at him. “I’m really happy to hear you say that. Because I have those same feelings for them too.”

Michael perked up. “Really?”

Ray nodded. “Really. I’ve been worried because I knew I had those feelings and was hoping that by dating you I could get over them. But they didn’t. I’ve been so worried that you would find me disgusting.”

“Oh Ray.” Michael kissed him again. “Not disgusted in the slightest. So we’re on the same page?”

Ray smiled briefly before frowning again and looking at their door. “Now we have to talk to Ryan.”

Michael looked at the door too. “We do.”