I Raised A Black Dragon

Outside the hotel, Noah took a brief look around. The towering building that masqueraded as a hotel hid so many dark secrets, and she was the one who managed to uncover it all. Pride was swelling inside of her as she stepped inside with Kyle, only for shock to take over at the state of the inside. 

Whilst the flames had been extinguished, there was still a lot of damage. Smoke stained the walls and ceiling, the tables and chairs had been thrown about the place as the patrons rushed to escape the fire, cards were strewn about the floor, and liquor bottles had been smashed. If the abandoned house was in a state of disarray, then the bar was even worse. 

Noah heard Kyle sharply inhale, and she knew that he was at his limit. 

“Muell.” Noah called out to the dragon following close behind her. “Get this into a state of normality, please. For his sake.” She gestured with her head to Kyle, who was silently seething.  

“Right.” Muell stepped out into the middle of the room and waved a hand. Black magic spread out and filled the room, lifting everything into the air. The tables and chairs were neatly arranged in rows, the cards were neatly stacked into their respective piles and placed onto the tables, and the broken bottles were neatly swept into piles in the far corner. Aside from the soot stains, everything was back to how it was when Noah first arrived. Minus the patrons, of course. They were all still gathered outside the hotel, seeking shelter from the rain. 

“Well, now that all this has been sorted out,” Kyle said as he took Noah’s hand, “We should get some food and conduct our own investigation.” 

“Yes, we should. At least until the Bureau arrives.” Noah allowed herself to be led through the bar and into the kitchens at the back. For all the misery Adrian seemed hell bent on causing, as well as running the highly illegal operation where he tested on humans, he did at least seem to care about his test subjects and “employees”.

The kitchen was well-stocked with food, with the cupboards and fridge full to bursting. Noah let go of Kyle and rummaged through the cupboards, looking for something to eat. Nothing had been left out for them, which means she would have to cook something from scratch.

She began rustling around until she found an unopened packet of pasta. Aware that Kyle was watching her, she set about making some proper food for the two of them. She poured water to a pan and brought it to a boil, adding the pasta in and ensuring it was all covered. As the pasta cooked, she set about making a homemade sauce using some tomatoes she found in the pantry. 

All the while, she was consciously aware that Kyle was staring intently, seemingly watching her every move. 

“Is something on your mind, Kyle?” She asked as she stirred the pasta. “You’ve been looking at me ever since we entered the hotel.” 

“How did you find this place, Noah?” Kyle leant against some cupboards; his arms folded. “I get that you were being attacked at the marketplace, but how, of all the places in Tauren, did you end here? The one place we would find Adrian and the replica process?” 

“I didn’t.” Noah stirred the tomatoes and sprinkled in some herbs that were laying close by. “Muell teleported me here.” 

“My point still stands. Why did you not just run away? Blast a fireball at them and run back to me.” Kyle frowned. “We could have dealt with them together. And how did Muell know about this place? What are the two of you planning? How did you know about the hotel and how it wasn’t all that it seemed?” 

“I don’t know.” Noah sighed as she turned around. She waited for Kyle to chastise her for deliberately getting herself into dangerous situations. They had already had that chat, so how many times did they need to have it. 

Instead, all he did was walk forwards and take her hands in his. “I will deal with the food.” Kyle said, pressing a kiss onto the palm of her hands. 

Noah found it unfair. If she had known that Kyle Leonard would be this dangerous, she would have been afraid to be close to him. As she kept lowering her head, he eventually grabbed her head softly, forcing her to look up, but she avoided his gaze as much as she could. “Didn’t we promise to have a platonic relationship?” she stuttered, even though she had already asked the question.

With a sly look, Kyle replied, “I don’t remember making a promise; I only said I’d make an effort.”

“That’s what I meant!”

“I wasn’t really confident from the beginning. I was just trying to get at your level because you’re so on guard. I guess my patience wasn’t that long for you; it didn’t even last a day.”

Noah couldn’t utter a reply; hearing Kyle say those words with so much nonchalance made her flush. If it were a usual day, she would clap back at Kyle, but she was rendered speechless by his deep stare and by the way his fingers softly brushed her neck. 

“And frankly, you looking at me with that expression is hard to…”

“What expression do I have on my face? It’s the same as normal! It’s uncomfortable seeing you suddenly act like this. What’s wrong with you?” She tried to speak as firmly as possible, but her emotions betrayed her as her voice wavered at the end of her sentence.

“It’s because you’re so cute. That expression that’s wary of a man. You don’t usually make that kind of face.”

Dumbstruck at Kyle’s straightforward answer, Noah narrowed her eyes at him and said, “Your personality really stinks.”

Kyle sighed, removing his hands from her, and asked. “Do you really think I’m that bad? Then tell me how far I could go. I’ll take it slow, one step at a time.”

Noah replied hesitantly, “I think hugging is fine…” And with nowhere to step back, the only place to hide was in his arms. Noah carefully inched closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Like this.” As she inhaled the familiar scent of his body, her composure gradually returned. With her face buried in his chest, she heard Kyle’s frantic heartbeat and felt a pleasant thrill. She mumbled, “I need some time to adjust.”

“Then all you need to do is get used to me.”

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