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“I never thought that I’d see you babysitting a dragon one day, let alone being a dragon parent,” Minho notes as he nods at the baby dragon that is sleeping soundly by their side.
“Oh yeah,” Seungmin snorts in response. “If someone told me a few years ago that I’d be bonded with an elf, living in an elven village, and that I would be responsible for a little dragon, I would definitely laugh at that.”
“Hyunjin knows how to be convincing,” the joke that Minho cracks makes Seungmin chuckle, but it is more than true — Hyunjin sure does know that.
It’s been a month since they adopted Spark and welcomed him in their house, and that brought a lot more changes to Seungmin’s life than leaving everything he knew behind and moving in together with Hyunjin did.
It all started with making sure that their entire house was fireproof and leaving endless charms in every little corner. Just like he promised, Hyunjin did most of the work while Seungmin busied himself with making new charms, which was quite tiring but also very exciting — this was another thing that changed, Seungmin’s approach to this idea.
Before, when Hyunjin would pout adorably as he talked about how much he wanted to adopt a dragon one day, it scared Seungmin, because he knew little to nothing about dragons. Hyunjin has been working with dragons for more than half of his life, taking care of them, playing with them, feeding little babies and helping with healing serious wounds of the senior dragons, but to Seungmin it was all unfamiliar.
Of course Hyunjin didn’t pressure him into doing anything, didn’t even take Seungmin to his workplace until he felt ready to meet the dragons that they had there at that time, and it was something that Seungmin deeply appreciated. He’s not an elf, and definitely not a dragon elf either, so for him even imagining something like having a little dragon fly around their kitchen was hard: especially when he thought about how dragon childhood can last up to seventeen years.
However, after Seungmin heard Spark’s story and saw just how strong Hyunjin’s attachment to that baby dragon was, he barely hesitated with offering to properly adopt this child.
It was nerve-racking for sure, because for Seungmin it was a dive into the unknown, but it also felt like the only right decision: since Hyunjin and Spark developed a bond together, it would simply be cruel to leave the dragon to die without any care once he would be out of the shelter.
Yes, they both knew, just like Hyunjin’s coworkers knew, that Hyunjin would never truly replace a dragon mother for Spark, but since no one among older dragons was willing to adopt this weak child, it was the best choice they could make to save his life.
Hyunjin was the happiest when Seungmin agreed to take Spark into their home and make a family, and amidst the chaos that preparing to welcome a baby dragon in their life caused, Seungmin would sometimes stop and think just how funny it was.
He had no regrets about it, though, and the only fear in Seungmin’s heart was that he wouldn’t be able to become a good dragon parent, which was a fairly understandable and valid feeling. Still, it was slightly funny to realize that they were starting a family together, yet this family was nothing like what Seungmin would imagine for himself even just a few years ago, and especially not something that would be considered normal in the human society.
They were already bonded at that time, granted, but it was still not the marriage bond, and they are yet to get married even now, a month after adopting Spark. Back in the day, Seungmin never thought that he would have a child in his life, mostly because he simply didn’t feel ready for a responsibility like this but also because he realized early on in life that he was into men.
Taking care of someone else’s child, adopting a baby wasn’t a part of Seungmin’s life plan either: he knew that he could do that if he would fall for someone with a child, a single parent, but at the same time he doubted that something like this was possible for him. And yet here he is now, caring for a child with his elven partner, a child that they chose to adopt together, only Spark is neither a human nor an elf — he is a little, cuddly dragon.
It was Hyunjin’s love for Spark and the prospect of the child dying that made Seungmin see that sometimes things could be more difficult yet simpler at the same time, and that was what changed his opinion on adopting a dragon. It didn’t feel serious when Hyunjin talked about it every now and then, even though Seungmin trusted him to be a great dragon caretaker, but things have changed when Spark started recognizing Hyunjin as his parent.
Somehow, it made Seungmin realize that he wanted it too: maybe he didn’t see himself ever adopting a dragon and caring for him for many years, but it didn’t scare him anymore once he looked at it from another angle. It was a chance to save someone’s life, and they had everything they possibly could to make it possible, so Seungmin stopped letting fear take control and instead let the excitement in.
His first time seeing Spark felt a little awkward, because that was also the very first time for Seungmin to interact with a dragon up close and visit Hyunjin’s workplace. Seungmin didn’t know how to act and what to do, constantly holding onto the sleeve of Hyunjin’s fireproof working shirt and fiddling with his healing charm, but when he saw Spark’s curious eyes and the way he tilted his head cutely, as though asking for headpats, Seungmin felt that anything he did would be right.
“He senses our bond,” Hyunjin cooed then, because Spark started flapping his little wings excitedly and bumped Seungmin with his nose — which was a gesture way too friendly for a newly born dragon. “This means that he’ll get used to your presence quickly, and then you two may develop a bond of your own!”
That was exactly what happened: Spark recognized Seungmin as his parent’s partner thanks to their magic bond and wanted to be held, seeking comfort in someone he hadn’t even seen before. All of Hyunjin’s coworkers were busy minding their own business at that moment, so Seungmin shared the intimacy of it with Hyunjin and Spark only, and up to this day he still thinks about it with a smile.
When Hyunjin explained how to hold a dragon properly, Seungmin felt nervous, but it all dissipated in the air as soon as he actually took Spark in his hands, gently touching the soft scales and struggling to hold back a grin at how adorably the baby blinked at him. It was definitely love at first sight for them, which nearly got Hyunjin to tears as he stood by their side, watching this very first meeting of his lover and his new child.
Now, a month later, Seungmin is no longer afraid to stay together with Spark without Hyunjin at home, because he has memorized everything he needed to know about baby dragons and had quite a lot of time to watch Hyunjin handle the difficult situations before he would be able to do it on his own. Spark doesn’t need to be constantly supervised, but since he is still a child, he is very playful and needs company, and there are also other things, like feeding him every few hours.
Seungmin doesn’t really participate much in teaching him how to live as a dragon in this world, because as much as he would love to, Hyunjin is the one who spent over a hundred years working with dragons of all ages and backgrounds, so he knows the teaching methods much better.
Spark isn’t their first dragon that was born a lot earlier than he was supposed to, so Hyunjin is prepared for just about anything, but he is the first dragon that has ever recognized Hyunjin as a parent, so they’re both very excited about helping him grow.
But it includes many different things, and for now Seungmin isn’t ready to be not only a dragon parent but also a dragon teacher, so Hyunjin handles that while he mostly just makes sure that their baby isn’t hungry, sad or hurt — and that he doesn’t burn down their house, too.
“Jisung is still worried about our house,” Minho shares quietly, reaching to pet the sleeping dragon, and this comment brings Seungmin out of his thoughts and back to the garden.
That is only understandable: Jisung is a human too, just like Seungmin is, but if Seungmin’s partner is a certified dragon caretaker, as well as a dragon elf, Jisung isn’t as familiar with the sight and smell of dragon fire or the way baby dragons behave. Since they’re neighbors (and good friends, too), once Spark grows up a bit more, Seungmin will have to explain to him that sneaking into their neighbors’ yard isn’t a good thing to do no matter how much he wants to play with Minho.
“He barely uses fire yet, so Jisung can relax for at least another year or two,” Seungmin says with a laugh. “Hyunjin said that dragons don’t have much control of their fire until they start understanding the world around them better, and without a real dragon mother it may take even longer for him to start actually using it.”
Sure, there are occasions when Spark starts randomly coughing with fire, but just like his name, those are mostly little sparks, not strong enough to burn anything yet, especially with the number of Seungmin’s charms and Hyunjin’s spells that are protecting not only their house, but their friends’ too.
At first, Seungmin was very nervous about it as well, but the worst Spark can do right now is accidentally burn his fingers a little — it hurts, yes, but it’s definitely not something dangerous.
“Oh right, that’s certainly going to make him stop worrying,” Minho laughs too, and they both know that no, no matter what he or Hyunjin say, Jisung will still keep worrying about Spark burning their house down.
“Well, he’s a baby, not a monster,” Seungmin tries. “Humans believe that dragons are dangerous creatures, but Hyunjin says that it all depends on how they grow up and what their life is like. It’s not in their nature to be scary and aggressive, it’s just what life makes them turn into.”
“I know,” Minho smiles, now patting him on the shoulder as he gets up to his feet. “Jisung knows that, too. We’re mostly just messing with you, but we really admire you for doing this. Few are ever brave enough to work with dragons, let alone adopt one, and you’re saving his life, so that’s worth a lot of respect.”
This is true: adopting a dragon is a huge responsibility, just like every adoption is, and the dragon’s future behavior and personality heavily depend on how well their caretaker understands dragons and how strong their bond grows. Dragons aren’t like pets, they don’t see you as their owner or friend, so you have to deal with them quite literally considering you their parent, relying on you to protect them, teach them, guide them in life before they can fly away and start living on their own.
They bite and scratch, wake you up at the ungodly hours, do things that they aren’t supposed to until you explain why they shouldn’t do this — and you can’t predict or be ready for everything, so it’s tough. Other than that, living together with a dragon also requires making a space for the dragon to think of as their own, fireproofing the entire place and either getting used to always having scratches and burns on your hands or having healing potions and creams around.
It’s not fun at all, and it brings a lot of stress, so usually only dragon elves with many years of experience as dragon caretakers decide to do this, but as Seungmin already learned in just one month of being Spark’s parent, it’s ultimately very worth it in the end.
The love that Spark gives them, watching him grow and change every day, seeing how he shows more and more interesting traits that he picked up from Hyunjin, seeing that Spark slowly starts picking up his, Seungmin’s traits too, it’s all worth it.
Spark wakes up shortly after Minho leaves for dinner, and it’s pretty much dinner time for him too, so Seungmin already has the food prepared when the dragon yawns and opens his eyes. Just like Hyunjin, he needs a lot of time to shake away the sleepiness, but once that happens, he usually becomes very energetic regardless of what time or day it is, and this evening is no exception.
“Eat up, love,” Seungmin murmurs in his broken dragon language as he gently scratches the dragon between his wings, pushing the bowl with food closer to him.
Another thing that changed in Seungmin’s life when they decided to properly adopt Spark was that he started taking lessons on dragon language from Hyunjin, who was more than happy to help him with that.
There aren’t many things that he can say or understand after just one month of studying and trying to speak it with Hyunjin, but it’s enough for Seungmin to feel proud of himself and to communicate with Spark — as a baby, he doesn’t really speak this language too, not yet.
Learning a language that’s so old and complicated is difficult, and Seungmin often hides in his potions and charms store after yet another tough lesson with Hyunjin just to restore his energy, but he knows that it’s important. Spark won’t ever speak their languages, even if Seungmin masters the elven language, but they can learn to communicate with more than just body signals, so he is willing to make that effort for their little family.
Spark squeaks adorably at the sight of food and empties his bowl in no time, and Seungmin already knows what’s going to come next: after dinner, the dragon gets very playful and energetic, so they usually play together until Hyunjin comes from work and only then Seungmin gets to eat too. That’s how it always is, or at least, has been for the past three weeks, and Seungmin expects it today too, already has a new game in mind, but…
Instead of asking Seungmin to play together, Spark bumps his parent with his nose lightly to express his gratitude for the food and then just sits there, looking at Seungmin with those adorable amber eyes and clearly waiting for something. It’s confusing, because Seungmin was sure that by now he has memorized all the signals from Spark, but it seems like he learned something new, something that Seungmin needs to understand in case it’s something crucial.
What if Spark has a stomachache? How do you even help dragons that are in pain if talking in the dragon language isn’t an option at that time? Maybe he simply wants to get more food, what if he’s still hungry? Could it be that Spark saw him and Hyunjin eating desserts after yesterday’s dinner and now expects to get something sweet too? Can dragons even eat sweet things?
“What’s wrong?” Seungmin mutters, more to himself than the baby, but Spark doesn’t even react to this question.
Their knowledge of the dragon language is limited, because Spark is still a little child and Seungmin has only learned a few phrases and words so far, so even as Seungmin tries to ask whether Spark is hurt or needs something, the dragon keeps staring at him with curious eyes.
It’s really cute, and Seungmin would definitely coo at this if he knew why their dragon is behaving like that, but since he has no idea what caused it, he starts to worry.
“Should I hold you?” he asks in the dragon language, barely getting any of these words right but still trying to communicate with Spark somehow — only to get no response again.
Seungmin almost slips into the pit of self-doubt at that, because how can he be a parent, stay alone with this child and be responsible for his and everyone’s safety if he doesn’t even understand what Spark wants from him? That’s not the first time for something like this to happen, but usually Hyunjin was around to explain what was going on, so good at reading the tiniest signs that nothing could go unnoticed by him, and right now he is alone—
Maybe he got it all wrong, and as much as all the struggles are worth it in the end, he is simply still not ready for something so serious? Maybe it’s all because he is a human and will never be able to understand dragons the way that Hyunjin does? What if Spark only treats him like this, with what Hyunjin calls love, because he is a baby and doesn’t understand the difference between Hyunjin and him thanks to their bond?
“Hello-hello there, what are my two babies doing here in the garden?”
Hyunjin’s voice suddenly brings him back to the real world and takes all the doubts away for a moment, but instead of relaxing at the sound of it, Seungmin only tenses more once he glances at Spark and sees that the dragon is still looking at him, now with pleading eyes.
That’s not how the elf was supposed to see them this evening, but he’s home a bit earlier than usually for some reason, and Seungmin can only sigh, because hiding his emotions about this little situation won’t work anymore. Hyunjin feels when his mood changes, especially accurately ever since they bonded, so it doesn’t even surprise Seungmin when Hyunjin doesn’t just briefly hug and kiss him but holds him a little longer than he usually does when he comes home after work.
“I’m a terrible parent,” he whispers, burying his head in Hyunjin’s shoulder and trying not to think about how Spark must still be waiting to get something from him. “I thought I knew everything by now, but after dinner Spark just sat there and has been looking at me like he wants something, but I have no idea what that is!”
Hyunjin doesn’t say anything to this, but when he looks at their baby dragon, it’s clear for Seungmin that he understands what Spark wants, and the way Hyunjin’s face lights up with a grin confuses him for a moment. Only a moment, though, because then Hyunjin lets go of him and kneels by the dragon’s side, gently scooping him up and then wordlessly asking Seungmin to take Spark into his arms.
Much to his surprise, Spark immediately clings onto him and even tries to hug Seungmin with his little wings, purring quietly when Seungmin starts petting him. It’s really adorable, how quickly Spark goes quiet and almost falls asleep in his arms, but it is also still slightly confusing, because it can’t be that he simply wanted to cuddle and that was his way of asking for it, right?
But as Seungmin looks at Hyunjin, who is still grinning, he knows that it’s exactly what happened, and this realization makes him whine in slight frustration. How was he supposed to guess that?
“You’re not a terrible parent,” Hyunjin now finally responds to what he said earlier as he takes a step closer and pulls him in for a hug, careful so that Spark can continue napping between them.
“But I—”
“You’re the best parent that he could have,” it sounds like a huge stretch, but Hyunjin is quick to explain what he means. “Other dragons refused to love and protect him. Other elves are too scared to take such a responsibility of raising a dragon. You barely even hesitated despite not knowing much about dragons, and you love him.”
These words truly work like a flash of light in the fog of doubt that was still controlling Seungmin’s mind up until this second, and when Hyunjin leaves a tender kiss on his forehead, he knows that Hyunjin is being honest, that it’s not just a way to support him with comforting lies. He is doing enough, and he is doing everything right, because you can never know everything or be prepared for everything — sometimes the bravery to do it is already more than enough.
“How did you know that Spark wanted this, though?” Seungmin asks quietly, smiling at how cute the dragon looks enjoying their warmth. “I want to understand that in the future too, I mean, until I learn enough of the dragon language to ask him.”
“Have you not noticed that he was acting just like I did a few days ago when I was feeling clingy?” Hyunjin’s response is a melodic fond chuckle. “I didn’t say anything, just looked at you silently because you were busy and I didn’t want to distract you.”
Now this makes a lot of sense: that evening, Hyunjin really wanted to cuddle but he saw that Seungmin was very focused on revising the new phrases that they learned earlier, so he waited until Seungmin finished with that and noticed the pleading eyes.
They both believed that Spark was soundly asleep by the fireplace at that moment, but apparently he was watching them with all the curiosity that he has and now decided to do the same.
“You know by now that dragons pick up their mother’s traits and often mirror her behavior, but Spark doesn’t have a dragon mother, so he watches me instead,” Hyunjin explains. “We’ll need to teach him another way to ask for affection and cuddles, something that we will all understand, and there’s nothing wrong with you not knowing what he wanted this time. It takes longer than a month for baby dragons to learn proper communication, sometimes a year or even longer, and until then everything you do is right, you hear that?”
“Thank you for saying this,” Seungmin murmurs, smiling to show how grateful he is. “I wouldn’t ever do something like that with anyone else, but I’m glad that we’re doing this together right now. It’s hard for me, yeah, but I’m happy that we’re able to give Spark a chance to turn into a mighty wise dragon in the future, even if having a mini-version of you wasn’t exactly how I saw my life going.”
They both laugh at this remark, and then Hyunjin volunteers to prepare dinner today since Spark refuses to sleep in his nest-like bed, clinging onto Seungmin even after they get back into the house. It’s all idyllic again, like it is after the big and small struggles that they have to go through during the day, and Seungmin absolutely loves it, loves these quiet, slow evenings together — and the elven recipes that Hyunjin occasionally shows to him, too.
“Having a mini-version of you would be fun, though,” Hyunjin says about an hour later, half-serious and half-joking, as they enjoy their dinner, and while it makes Seungmin laugh, it also scares him a little.
“Never,” he immediately shakes his head, and his eyes go wide even at just imagining having another little dragon in their house.
But as he thinks about it again, much later in the evening, with Hyunjin hugging him from behind while he washes their plates, he realizes that maybe… when Spark grows up and leaves their home…
Hyunjin doesn’t need to know about that, though.