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Claws clank against stone.
The sound of the wind rushing past his ears.
The cold creeping its way into his bones as a huge shadow covers him.
They’re all pretty certain indicators that Iwaizumi was well and truly fucked.
The low rumble of a beast fills the room. It doesn’t take a lot of brain power to realize it's coming from the dragon that decided to drop in at just the wrong time. The sound isn’t quite low enough to be an intimidating growl, and with their proximity Iwaizumi sees a flash of teeth as the dragon… grins? A hard frown settles on Iwaizumi’s face. The dragon turns its head to the side to get a better look at him, showing off one giant brown eye.
Hanamaki’s cautioning voice pops into the back of Iwaizumi’s mind warning him exactly against this situation, Iwaizumi stealing from a dragon is suicide. So maybe his friends had had a point. But had he listened? Of course not, he wouldn’t be one of the best thieves in the kingdom if he had.
“Hm, what a pretty little treasure,” Iwaizumi’s hood is blown back by the creature's words. The smell reminds him of cold winters spent crowded around a fire, with just a hint of blood splattered over snow.
On instinct Iwaizumi reaches for the emerald pendant holding his cloak together. Another rumble leaves the dragon and Iwaizumi wonders if he could make a run for it while it’s distracted. He hesitates for a moment too long and the dragon folds its wings and settles down, effectively making the only path of escape vaulting the dragon. “Emeralds are rare nowadays when it comes to your kind,” the dragon comments lightly, “I haven’t seen one like you in years, orcs-”
“Half ,” the correction slips out without Iwaizumi really thinking about it. For a moment everything is silent and Iwaizumi wonders if one correction was all it took for the dragon to grow tired of playing with its food. But surprisingly he hears the weird rumble again. The dragon is laughing at him, Iwaizumi realizes.
“My apologies, as I said, it's been a while since I’ve seen your kind. Then again, it has been a while since anyone has dared approach my den," for a moment Iwaizumi wonders if he sees a flash of loneliness in the dragons’ eyes. That train of thought quickly vanishes as the creature continues, “But it would make sense that it would be a half orc. After all you’re well known for your bravery, not your intelligence,” the dragon muses.
Iwaizumi glares at the dragon, refusing to show any fear to the beast. If he was going to die, he would die with his dignity in tact.
“Not even going to try and deny it?” the dragon questions.
Iwaizumi shrugs and gestures to his appearance, layers and layers of dark fabric with only a few daggers strapped to his hip, “Why should I? I think it’s pretty obvious what I am, and it’s not like I’m wearing enough armor to try and kill you.”
The dragon studies him carefully before nodding its large head, “Yes, it is quite obvious that you’re a thief, and a good one at that if you made it this far. I was sure that the traps I set up would keep out any unwanted guests.”
With an eye roll, Iwaizumi scoffs, “You call those flimsy things traps? A child could’ve stumbled their way in.”
“A child would have lost their head 5 feet in,” Iwaizumi remembers the thin tripwire connected to a large blade and is suddenly reminded of the very real danger he’s in, “It would be a shame to kill someone with the skills like yours, even if you are lacking in common sense.” Again with that stupid laugh. “No, I think I’ll spare your life,” Iwaizumi’s heart skips a beat, “But I can't just let you leave with all your belongings. That pendent will do as payment for your life.”
Iwaizumi clutches the pendent tighter. He and his friends had fought to quell the kingdom’s last rebellion, and while his friends took gold as payment, this pendent was all that Iwaizumi himself had earned. “Over my dead body,” Iwaizumi really has to rethink his priorities.
The dragon tilts its head is confusion, “That can be arranged but I think my offer was fair enough,” a gnarled version of a smile graced its face, “And either way, if you still think you’re good enough. You can always try to steal it back.”
The fact that his body is still in one piece takes Iwaizumi less by surprise than the dragon’s dare. Iwaizumi can’t help the matching distorted grin weaseling its way onto his face, his orcish fangs on full display. Adrenaline pumping through his veins Iwaizumi reaches for the pin. Unclipping it he holds it out for the dragon to take. “I’ll be back for this,” Iwaizumi declares. A challenge is something Iwaizumi can never seem to back down from.
A white light engulfs the dragon, twisting and warping the being inside of it. Once gone, in the dragon’s place stands a young person that could be mistaken for a high elf if not for teal scales scattered about his face and the horns growing out of fluffy brown hair.
Oh no, he’s hot. Iwaizumi can’t help the mental slip and his face begins to turn a deep red.
Gracefully, the former dragon steps forward and gently picks up the pin. With an effortless smile and a wink they say, “I’m looking forward to it.”
Iwaizumi’s heart skips a beat and once again he comes to the realization that he’s fucked.
“So let me get this straight, you gave away the King’s Favor,” a voice berates Iwaizumi.
Iwaizumi’s head already hurts from how many times he’s banged it on the table, but the statement compels him to once again repeat the process. Muttering lowly he clarifies, “I’m going to get it back.”
Another voice pipes in, “You’re going to steal it back. From a dragon? You’re record is 0-1. Not looking too likely right now.”
“Hanamaki has a point. I would offer to help you but I’m not looking forward to death by burning. Not since that one time I got put on trial for being a witch,” the first voice comments.
Lifting his head Iwaizumi glares at his friends. Hanamaki and Matsukawa are sitting with him at the Thieves’ Guild’s bar. Matsuakwa, a half elf, is dressed in his traditional wizard garb; a long deep navy robe lined with gold embellishments and his curved ears pointing out of a crooked traditional witches hat covered in various spell components.
Hanamaki on the other hand wore far less. A tiefling raised in the desert, his monk outfit consisted of a pair of shorts, some bracers and a light jacket tied around his waist. Normally they’d never even come close to the Thieves’ Guild general hall, but being friends with a certain half-orc came with its own set of perks (as well as drawbacks, maybe befriending a career thief hadn’t been their soundest idea, but it did lead to a very exciting life).
“Even if you offered your help I wouldn’t take it. I’ll get it back on my own. I know the layout now, I can get in and out, 15 minutes tops,” Iwaizumi assures them.
Letting out an exhausted sign, Hanamaki throws his hands in the air and head back gasping, “Its a cave! There’s no layout!”
“You’re actually going to get yourself killed man. Just give up on it. I know the pendant was your get out of jail free card, but if the guards catch you again we can bust you out. We can’t break you out of a dragon's stomach,” Matsukawa reasons dryly.
Iwaizumi bites his lip and thinks over what his friends have said. They weren’t wrong. But… there was something about that challenging glint in the dragon’s eyes. Something about his posture. Something about him , that captured Iwaizumi’s interest and every bone in his body was ready to rise up to the challenge.
It’s been one week since Iwaizumi’d come back from the dragon’s cave. One week of planning. 3 days of getting his friends to stop trying to talk him out of it. 3 more days of refusing their help. 1 day of giving in. And now the last day of prep before “Mission Impossible” as dubbed by Hanamaki, would begin.
It’s afternoon in the capital and Iwaizumi’s walking to the city’s most famous enchantment shop. A place run by a pair of husbands, a fire genasi wizard named Yahaba and a seemingly human blacksmith named Kyoutani. The couple had been in Iwaizumi’s debt after he had saved the blacksmith from an illegal were-fighting ring. What the people and guard of the city didn’t know is that their best blacksmith was in fact a werewolf. In exchange for both his silence and his help, the couple had given Iwaizumi a permanent store discount as well as their friendship.
While mentally reworking the list of items he would need for tomorrow's exploits, something shiny caught Iwaizumi’s eye. And while Iwaizumi had long outgrown his younger childish impulse of shiny=steal, something about this just calls out to him. At first it shines gold where it’s clipped on the stranger’s cloak, then a sliver of green as a sparkling emerald catches the light.
Iwaizumi’s brow furrows as he tries to get a better look, but the stranger disappears behind a corner.
Now, Iwaizumi has two options. Brush off the odd feeling the sight had given him. Or trust his instincts and follow.
Knowing that his gut has never steered him wrong, Iwaizumi makes his way around the corner as well. After spotting the stranger again his training kicks in and Iwaizumi starts to carefully tail the cloaked figure, sticking to the shadows is second nature to him now.
The path they take has many twists and turns. If Iwaizumi didn’t know any better, he’d assume the figure was trying to lose him, but that was impossible. They hadn’t turned around once, which made it that much more difficult to spot the jewelry that had caught Iwaizumi’s attention in the first place.
Finally the stranger turns into an alley. A quickly glance at the sky shows that Iwaizumi doesn't have a lot of daylight left. Cursing under his breath Iwaizumi hopes that Yahaba won’t be to angry if he shows up after closing time.
A cracking sound from the alley snaps Iwaizumi’s attention back to the stranger. An uneasy shiver runs down Iwaizumi’s neck and unconsciously he reaches for his dagger. Taking a breath he turns into the alley, mentally preparing for anything.
Upon entering Iwaizumi immediately takes note of a destroyed crate in the corner. And another quick glance around reveals that the stranger is gone. Tensing, Iwaizumi steps further in to investigate.
“Took you long enough,” a sweet voice whispers in his ear. Alarmed, Iwaizumi spins around dagger raised. The turn brings him face to face with brown eyes that had burned their way into his soul only a week prior. A pout settles on the dragon’s face, “Now that's uncalled for.”
Quickly Iwaizumi grabs the dragon by the collar and can’t help a smirk, “Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to sneak up on people?” Iwaizumi pushes the dagger up to the other’s neck.
The dragon’s pout curls into a smile, not caring about the weapon at his throat, “Didn’t anyone teach you not to threaten dragons? I thought you wanted to steal your pendent back? Yet I’ve been terribly bored for a week. Chicken out already?”
Keeping eye contact Iwaizumi begins to stealthily unclip the pendent from the other’s cloak. As a distraction he deliberately pushes the dagger a bit closer to the other’s neck. If the dragon notices anything they don't show it. “You wish. A good heist takes preparation, planning,” Iwaizumi says.
Raising a brow the other taunts, “Oh really? And what was your great plan the first time around?”
Iwaizumi stalls for a second. The dragon had him there. The jump between hearing about a dragon cave and going had been rather quick. Iwaizumi’s dream had always been to steal from the species best known for guarding treasure and when his golden opportunity arriveds he hadn’t waited for the chance that his friends would talk him out of it.
“Dragon got your tongue?” the other quips. Iwaizumi frowns and tightens his grip on them. “Come now there’s no need for that,” they continue, “How about you let me go and we have a civilized conversation?”
Iwaizumi’s brows raise, “Civilized conversation about what?” He finally gets the pendent loose and meticulously he guides the pendent into a special sewn in sleeve pocket without alerting the dragon.
Another surprise, the dragon blushes a bit, seemingly also caught off guard. “Uh well… about…just….”
Iwaizumi’s mind flies back to the cold walls he’d crept along, the deafening silence that preceded his conversation with the dragon. Brown eyes take on a familiar sadness and Iwaizumi is reminded of his life before he’d meet his friends. They’re lonely. His grip grows lax and he lets his arm drop. Clearing his throat Iwaizumi takes a step back and quietly he mumbles out, “Do you wanna like, go grab some food then?”
The dragon’s face lights up. The smile is dazzling and Iwaizumi’s heart stutters. The dragon steps forward and they excitedly grab Iwaizumi’s wrists, pulling him close. “Yes! Lets go! I heard some ladies talking about a tavern near the outskirts of town!” Just as quickly as they had entered Iwaizumi’s space they exit. Iwaizumi takes a moment to collect himself and forces down the blush that threatened to ruin his composure. Numbly he nods in agreement. “Great! Follow me,” the dragon slides forward.
When Iwaizumi goes to follow though the other stops and turns around with a coy smile, “Oh, and you’re going to have to do better than that!” Quickly they flash the King’s Favor for Iwaizumi to see. Eyes wide Iwaizumi lifts his hand to inspect the sleeve pocket where he had stored the pendent. There was a slight tear, most likely made by a dragon’s claws.
For a moment Iwaizumi is angry, not many people can best him when it comes to thievery, but soon after comes another emotion he’s not quite familiar with. One he just doesn’t have a name for yet. And as he readies himself to chase after the disappearing silhouette of the dragon he feels an emotion he’d soon know to be admiration.
The next morning Iwaizumi is rudely awoken by a furious knocking at his door. Groaning he flips over on his bed, trying to stifle the noise with copious amounts of pillows. The noise really wasn’t helping his rapidly developing headache.
“Hey Iwaizumi! You’re late for your own heist!” Hanamaki’s voice comes in way too loud and clear for Iwaizumi’s comfort.
Heist? Iwaizumi wonders to himself for a moment, trying to decipher his friend’s meaning. When he figures it out it hits him like a ton of bricks. Far to quickly he sits up, wincing at his head’s painful protest. He barely stumbles to the door and opens it to see his friends waiting.
“Holy shit, you look like you got ran over by a wagon,” Matsukawa breaths. It really was a sight to see the usually well dressed rouge looking as disheveled as he was. Rolling his eyes Iwaizumi backs out of the doorway, motioning for his friends to follow.
Hanamaki discreetly looks around the room for any other guests, “What the hell happened to you last night? It’s not like you to go binge drinking the night before a job.”
“Or at all,” Matsukawa tacks on at the end. He looks over to Iwaizumi’s equipment table and sees none of the new weapons they had all agreed they’d need for their endeavor, “And where's our gear?”
Just one drink! Come on Iwa-chan~ The dragon’s voice rings faintly in his ears. Sure, just one shot of Dragon Piss. No big deal for a big strong half-orc. Oh how wrong Iwaizumi had been.
“I got… distracted,” Iwaizumi admits honestly.
Hanamaki and Matsukawa both turn to each other and quirk a brow. They share a silent conversation and then grin from ear to ear. Each one of the plasters themselves to one of Iwaiuzmi’s sides.
“Tell us about them,” Hanamaki presses.
Matsukawa follows it up,” Yeah who could make you forget all about your steal boner for that dragon.”
Another memory flashes through Iwaizumi’s mind. The dragon and him outside his door, saying good night. The dragon whispering in his ear, I guess if I can’t leave the pendent I should leave you with my name…
“Their name is Oikawa,” Iwaizumi rasps out as he tried to find any of the medicine herbs he kept around for when a drunk friend spent the night.
Chesire grin never fading Hanamaki pushes, “So this dear sweet Oikawa is what made you give up on your dragon stealing plans?”
“Nope,” Iwaizumi rolls his eyes, “They are the dragon.”
Weeks passed and the adventuring group finds them rescheduling week after week. Pushing the day back and forward, but no matter what it seems that Oikawa is determined to show up at just the right time to incapacitate Iwaizumi in some way.
Hanamaki and Matsukawa think its hilarious. Iwaizumi not so much. Sure he likes spending time with the dragon, but there's always the frustration of having been bested in the back of his mind. How can he call himself the best thief in the kingdom when he can’t steal something as simple as a pendent back.
And it’s this frustration that carries Iwaizumi up the mountain once again. This time unplanned. The party had agreed that they would go the next afternoon, but Iwaizumi had woken up and decided that today would be the day. He couldn’t allow Oikawa to show up at the last minute once again.
Silently he moves through the woods, well aware of the fact that even the slightest slip up, even this far out, could end in failure. Dragons are a perceptive lot, but even their hearing became useless when there was nothing to hear.
The sun beat down on his back as he slowly but surely makes his way through the trees. The heat was something he had accounted for, but not enough apparently as when he lifts his waterskin to drink from it’s empty. Frowning Iwaizumi stills and listens for the sound of running water. If he remembers the maps correctly there should be a river nearby.
His memory does not fail him and neither do his ears. Iwaizumi quickly finds the river flowing down the mountains. Taking a seat on the bank, Iwaizumi decides to peel off some layers and cool off before making the rest of the trek up the mountain.
Just as he dips his feet into the water a rustling behind him startles Iwaizumi. In a slight panic he jumps into the shallow river and pulls his short sword.
“Oh? I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow,” Oikawa’s expression is that of genuine surprise.
Iwaizumi’s heart feels like a battlefield. It wants to drop and skip beats at the same time. A large part of him is happy to see the dragon. Over the course of a few months they had weaseled their way into his life and Iwaizumi couldn’t deny the butterflies the dragon gave him.
And yet a stronger part of him feels defeated. Months of planning and fixating on this job had wound him up in a way that few things in life could. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to win. Acknowledging that he would fail after all this time and effort would break something inside him. He can’t give up.
Face betraying his inner conflict, Iwaizumi forcefully digs the sword into the side of the river bank and makes his way out.
Oikawa, Iwaizumi had quickly learned, is good at picking up what someone is thinking. It made it infuriatingly difficult to best the dragon, yet it was one of the qualities that made them such a challenging opponent. This time was no different. They made their way to where Iwaizumi was silently peeling off even more layers to dry and sat down next to him.
“You know, if it hadn’t been up to chance, you probably would’ve gotten it today,” Oikawa concedes.
The admission catches Iwaizumi off guard and he turns to Oikawa. Looking at him, Iwaizumi notices that the pendent is hanging right over Oikawa’s heart. Rolling his eyes and letting out a snort of derision he responds, “No way. You wouldn’t have even been there, and you keep that thing with you wherever you go, so I can’t grab it while you’re gone.”
“If you know that, then what was the point of walking all the way up?” Oikawa asks.
Iwaizumi shakes his head, “I was gonna hide out till you went to sleep and steal it while you were a lizard.”
“Dragon Iwa-chan! I’m a dragon!” Oikawa exclaims. The pout was becoming a usual sight and something about it tugged at Iwaizumi’s heart. He couldn’t help but tease them to see it every once in a while. “It was still a good plan. Probably would have worked,” Oikawa remarks.
Iwaizumi can’t help but notice the contrast in Oikawa’s expression and tone. On their face was a perfectly crafted smile, a smile that could throw just about anyone for a loop, but the truth lies in the sad undertone. The strain of the smile and the quiver in their voice.
“Why so glum? You won another day, you caught me,” Iwaizumi questions.
Oikawa bites their lip. A nudge from Iwaizumi is all that’s needed to break the silence, “Well… you’re getting closer and closer to actually beating me and... when you get the King’s Favor back, you won’t have any more reason to spend time with me.” Oikawa avoids Iwaizumi’s startled expression and chooses to focus on the way the river rushes past their feet.
Iwaizumi stares at the dragon. Everything about their posture, their words, screams that they're scared. Scared? Scared of what? Iwaizumi thinks back at all the stolen glances they didn’t think he saw. All the filipant words thrown and the tinge of fear before Iwaizumi’s response every time. The longing mirrored in both their eyes.
And suddenly, it all clicks into place. Iwaizumi’s own battling heart finds a resolution.
And then the words come out so easily, “I give up.”
Iwaizumi doesn’t think he’s ever see someone move so quickly before, it almost gives him whiplash. The fear and confusion are written all over Oikawa’s face, their words come out frantic, “What? No! You can’t just… give up.”
Smiling Iwaizumi stands up and holds out a hand, “I give up on the King’s Favor. It’s yours. So now, why don’t you help me gather my things and we can go grab a bite to eat at the Guild?”
For a moment, Oikawa doesn’t look like they believe him. Like Iwaizumi is luring them in just to steal the pendent form under their nose and then walk out of their life. But they know that out of all the things that Iwaizumi is: thief, mercenary, black market merchant; a liar isn’t one of them.
A genuine smile blossoms on Oikawa’s face and they take the outstretched hand.
It was at the Thieves Guild that Hanamaki and Matsukawa finally got to meet the famed dragon. And there that they talked him into going on a quest with them. And after that quest and another night of drinking it was another. And another. And another. And another. And before long the party had a new addition to it’s rooster.
Somehow or another Iwaizumi had ended up moving out of his permanent room at the Thieves’ Guild and into a cave with a needy dragon. And somehow or another a ceremony was held under the light of the moon where a young dragon and half-orc promised to spend the rest of their eternities together.
And it's with these two that we close out our story. Two beings who happened to fall in love sitting atop a mountain. Waiting for the sky to turn dark so they can watch the stars together.
Oikawa looks lazily at the sunset from his spot in Iwaizumi’s lap, “I guess you never did get to steal from a dragon.” His gaze drifts upwards to observe their partner, “Sorry about that.”
There is not an ounce of regret, nor resentment to be found in Iwaizumi’s eyes, “Why would you say that?” Only a fond affection as he locks eyes with Oikawa. “I stole your heart didn’t I?”
Oikawa’s eyes widen and them light up. Their chest rumbles in a way that can only be a dragon’s laugh and they pull Iwaizumi down for a kiss.