Theo’s head throbbed a bit, and his eyes burned. It was a struggle even rolling out of bed- and not only because of the heavy dragon who had taken to flopping all over him at night. His face even stung a bit from where Rahar’s claws had accidentally scratched him. And surely he’d have a few bruises by the time the day was half over. They hadn’t shown up yet, but Theo felt the odd pain here or there. Rahar was a restless sleeper, apparently, and prone to stretching and kicking while asleep.

Theo leaned against his kitchen counter, his head drooping a bit as the ancient coffee pot roared to life. The miraculous black gold poured down into the pot, but Theo was just…resting his eyes a bit. He wasn’t going to sleep at all. Nope, not at…all…

“Theo!” A loud voice startled him out of the light dose, following by the loud beeping of the coffee machine. His heart thundered in his ears, the poor organ probably at its limit over the past two days. “Theo?” The voice called out again, and Theo sighed softly, turning his mismatched eyes in the direction of the dragon, who sat innocently at the breakfast table. Rahar cast a suspicious glance at the beeping coffee machine, as if it might come to life and spew the hot contents at him.

“What is it Rahar?” Theo asked, prompting an aggressive yawn, which made his eyes water. He groaned softly, slamming his hand onto the button to make the machine shut up, eagerly pouring himself a cup of what he affectionately liked to call his go juice. The thing that made him feel human. At least a little bit.

As he poured his glass, he heard the chair Rahar was sitting on creak, sensing an agitated energy in the air. “I’m sorry…” Rahar said, in such a small voice that Theo actually felt a bit guilty. He had snapped at Rahar when the sun came up, and now that he had some semblance of humanity, he felt bad.

Theo bit his bottom lip, and then set the pot back on the warmer, turning to face Rahar as he took a sip of his drink. “It’s all right. I’m sorry I yelled at you,” he responded. He really shouldn’t have any human contact before his coffee. And it needed to be limited contact, even after that. Theo gulped down another mouthful of burning hot coffee, immune to the scalding at this point in his life. “I know you didn’t do it on purpose, it’s fine.” Awake Theo was a far more understanding, virtuous self, than the one he usually woke up as.

“But you look aw- uhm,” Rahar hesitated, his eyes widening. Theo sighed, watching Rahar try to look for something nice to say. Or at least not brutally honest. Theo wouldn’t be surprised if he had massive bags under his eyes. Or sunburn. Or just looked like death incarnate. Probably a mixture of all three. “You didn’t sleep much, did you? Again. Because of me…”

Rahar had all the sensitivity of a kicked puppy. Again, Theo felt that tugging of guilt- which Theo was sure the parents of any rightfully scolded pet might feel. “It’s all right,” he grunted out, moving over to the table, taking his seat. He brought the coffee mug to his lips again, just squinting across the table at the dragon before him. He was in human form now, but it was hard to imagine that Rahar was actually a dragon prince. Apparently from another dimension- with magic, elves, and demons, oh my! “I’m used to it, honestly. And uh, that said- I think it’s best if you stay in the other bedroom from now on….”

Rahar gave a sigh, and nodded, though his expression was one of pure guilt and self-loathing. It was almost enough for Theo to change his mind. Almost. But cranky Theo was still winning out in that particular argument. “I understand…”

Theo nibbled his bottom lip, dangerously close to giving in once more. He was weak, so very weak. Theo cleared his throat again, and then took another sip of his coffee. “Anyways. Uh, I’m going to make breakfast once I finish this, and then I’ll show you the spare room…” he pursed his lips, and then sighed, ad he took another sip of coffee. “And…I guess I should take you out to buy clothes. I don’t even know what size you wear…”

Rahar looked down at his shirt, and tugged at the tank top. Theo liked to wear his clothes a little bigger, but most of them were too tight for the dragon. “These are fine…” Rahar said, though he seemed to be trying to convince himself, rather than Theo.

“Uhm, not really…” he arched a brow as he finished off his first cup of coffee. With a sigh, he placed it on the table. “Once we figure out the size, we can look online for clothes, but it’s too much of a hassle to buy multiple sizes, and then return them all.” He scrunched his face up, not really happy with that. He dreaded going out to shop, but he also didn’t want to try and take Rahar to the city yet. He didn’t want to chance the dragon losing his mind, and getting lost in the crowds.

“On…line?” Rahar tilted his head slightly, and Theo sighed.

“We’ll get around to that, at some point. Now, it’s breakfast time…” he was sufficiently human enough to cook food without starting a fire. Since he’d turned 18, and left his uncle’s to come to live in his parents’ house again, he’d learned to cook, and fend for himself. But he still was no chef. He managed, though, and was relatively confident he could keep Rahar alive, and well fed. Money wasn’t really an issue, which he had been blessed with. His parents left him a rather sizeable inheritance -left by his grandparents of course- and between that and the money he made with the piano, he was comfortable.

Theo stood from the table, and caught sight of Rahar’s eyes widening, as he stared up at him expectantly. “What?”

“That stuff you gave me yesterday. The…the pig strips. Can you make that again?” Rahar’s eyes widened slightly, and Theo blinked. His pupils had dilated a bit, like a cat on the hunt. He looked like a child the night before Christmas.

Theo blinked, and then nodded slowly. “Uh yeah, I think I still have some in there. It’s called bacon…” Theo recalled that Rahar had seemed rather thrilled with the bacon. Chirping, and tail wagging, even. It had been adorable to watch. He smiled at the memory, and then turned towards the fridge. “I’ll start making it. Just sit tight, and I’ll get it made.”

It wouldn’t take too long to make it all, though he had a feeling he’d have to buy a lot more bacon, from here on out.