I forced this baby to be not adult-exclusive! Hurrah!

This is a fic of a fic. I wrote this in dedication to the awesome third chap of Wayward_Dragon's "The Dragons of Kandrakar", which is a rewrite of Caleb's scene in the cartoons' first episode. The whole fic is a rewrite, with elements (no pun intended I swear) from the comics, cartoons, and novelizations combined.

---

They've been together since they were children, and they would tell themselves that only each other knew each other through-and-through.

Aldarn was attracted to men and only men. Caleb played wingman for him so many times; Caleb helped him through every flirtation and heartbreak.

Caleb was a living undead, or so the people around them say. Aldarn bravely his hand, declaring he had no filthy, disease-spreading friend.

They hadn't really let go since. Through thick and thin, they stood together.

And in their private moments, the short, silent minutes of rest after a quick sparring session, they could enjoy a bit of peace and silence, their sweaty, shirtless bodies lying next to each other, breathing in the air of the land they managed to rescue from the darkness.

Aldarn would trace Caleb's scars with the sense of sight. The galhot could never bring himself to touch the green stripes unless Caleb explicitly permitted him to. Aldarn liked admiring them that way.

Caleb, meanwhile, would gnaw and bite and nip at Aldarn's fingers. A little fixation of his. He's been so fascinated with his friend's thick, calloused fingers, the ones that held his hand back when they were children and gave him hope.

"You know you can touch me, right?" Caleb would whisper softly.

"I do," Aldarn would mumble back, his lips touching against Caleb's shoulder. "But I like looking at you more."

Caleb always replied with a pleasant laugh. "Don't hold yourself back, really. But no tickling."

"Yes tickling! Many tickling!"

"Oh no!"

They laughed together, like they usually did, with Aldarn's fingers tapping against Caleb's skin like butterflies.

Only that this time, it's mixed with kisses and romance and intimate touch that was more than familial or friendly.

"I'm your idiot."

"Yes. You are. Always."

"And forever."

Sharing goofy smiles, they pick themselves up and don on their shirts again. Together, they ride their feathery steed back.

"Love you, Aldarn."

"Love you too, Caleb."