“Mine,” Doc rumbled, kissing Ottis on the lips. “All mine.”
“I can’t believe it was that simple,” Ottis blurted.
“Well... we still have to do the bonding circle,” Doc said. “For dragon mates. If you want.”
Ottis’ heart skipped again. They hadn’t discussed the love thing, but everything Doc had done for him these past few weeks... it hinted at a sort of care that Ottis had waited his entire life for.
“Yeah. I do,” he croaked.
Doc beamed. He closed the distance between them and brushed their lips together, kissing him slow and sweet. “You’re so precious, you know that?”
“Maybe,” Ottis said. “I just know that you don’t mind the terrible words falling out of my mouth.”
That made Doc laugh. “Those words are the best parts of my day.”
Ottis sighed, helplessly fond. “Of course.”
They exchanged a silly grin. Then Doc perked up. “I haven’t shown you the nest. It’s not perfect yet, but... Would you like to see it?”
He’d had to take a break from nest building after the fight with Sevrian, grumbling as he made a temporary nest in their bed full of pillows and blankets. For Ottis, that was more than enough.
But for Doc, and the rest of Ottis’ friends’ alphas, nest-building seemed to be an important courtship ritual, as though they had to prove just how serious they were about the courtship.
“Of course I want to see it,” Ottis said. “I’ve been watching you build it, up until you stopped letting me look.”
Doc grinned. “I had to keep the rest a surprise for you. It’s presentable now, though.”
He pulled out of Ottis reluctantly, heading into the bathroom. In moments, he was back with a washcloth, wiping Ottis down first, before cleaning himself.
“You’re usually messier than this,” Ottis said.
“I don’t want to get cum all over the nest,” Doc said dryly. He sat Ottis upright and dressed him in a silk robe, before wearing one himself.
“This feels kind of official. Like we’re going to meet the parents,” Ottis blurted. “But instead of human parents, it’s a nest. A nest-parent? Will the nest ground me if I eat in it?”
Doc huffed. “Are you sure you want to think of it that way? Because then it’ll get weird if we mate in the nest-parent.”
“Ugh!” Ottis scrunched up his face in horror. “I mean, other people can do that if they want. But not me.”
Doc laughed and scooped Ottis off the bed, setting him on his feet. Together, they made their way through the mansion to the room with the balcony.
Then, Doc paused.
“Are you having second thoughts?” Ottis asked.
“Just anxious about whether it’s good enough for you.”
Ottis tangled their fingers together. “You built it. Of course it’ll be good enough. It’ll be perfect, Doc.”
Doc exhaled, gazing softly down at him. “Let’s see what you think, then.”
He opened the door and gestured Ottis forward.
Inside, a magnificent nest took up most of the room. Low wood walls held together a huge pile of pillows and blankets. Sprigs of baby’s breath were gathered in little vases along the wood walls, and four tall posts held up a sheer pink canopy, crisscrossed with golden fairy lights.
Ottis drew a slow breath, limping toward the nest. It was even more beautiful than the half-built nest he had seen, with its walls sanded smooth and polished to a shine. Doc had added rounded cabinets stuffed full of snacks and books.
“I’ve smoothed down the edges so Marcie won’t hurt herself in there,” Doc said, his eyes wide and hopeful.
