Draco took another sip of his warm tea, the steam gently caressing his face as he began to ret the events that had transpired in the dungeon.

  "It must have been quite hard to watch them. But what happeo Cir must have been quite worrisome for you," Bahamut said, her voice ced with empathy, as she listened ily to Draco's narration.

  Draodded, a pensive expression crossing his features.

  "Very much so," Draco replied, his brow furrowing slightly.

  "It made me wonder when Cir began harb suplex thoughts aions." He paused, his gaze briefly drifting to the ceiling.

  Leaning ba his chair, his fingers drummed lightly against the por of his teacup.

  "In the past, it used to be easy to uand them – their thoughts, desires, and needs were quite simple. But now, things are a bit more plicated," he tinued, his voice tinged with a hint of wistfulness.

  He paused again, taking another sip of his tea before eborating.

  "After Cir poi out, I began looking back at my as, questioning the type of retionship I wanted with her. Was she just a childhood friend, an adopted sister, or just pin family?" Draco's gaze shifted to Bahamut.

  "This, in turn, made me start thinking a lot more about my iions with my other siblings. What did they truly think of me? Was I a parental figure, just a brother, or something else entirely?"

  The questions didn't stop there. Draco found himself delving into the past, expl doubts and fears he had long suppressed.

  "I even found myself delving into the past, asking myself questions that I had previously avoided," Draco said, his voice tinged with a hint of unease.

  "What kind of questions?" Bahamut inquired, her eyes riveted on Draco's face.

  Draco's gaze shifted, his eyes distant as he pted his words.

  "I always wondered why the one-eyed bck dragon stopped by our farm. I 't help but keep thinking that I was the reason for its visit." he said.

  "Why would you think that?" Bahamut's eyes widened slightly, and she tilted her head, urging Draco to tinue.

  Draco's gaze darkened as he expined his thought process.

  "If it was merely a ce that the dragon passed through our town, it shouldn't have focused its most devastating atta the celr where we hid. I mean, such a powerful creature would have relished iroying the eown, but its wrath was directed specifically at our family's sanctuary." He paused, his fiapping lightly on the por cup.

  Draco's fihen tightened around his teacup, and a shadow of unease passed across his features.

  "I always have this fear that the others will eventually figure it out and bme me for the death of our family. I even sometimes wonder if my excessive emotional attat to them is no longer one of love but due to guilt – a desperate attempt to atone for something I may have done, or something that I'm responsible for." Draco fessed, his voice barely above a whisper.

  Bahamut listetentively, her heart ag for the burden Draco had been carrying.

  She khat the events of the past had left deep scars, and the questions he now faced were not easily answered.

  "It's uandable that you would have these thoughts and doubts," Bahamut said, her voice ge firm.

  "The trauma of what happened has clearly left a sting impact, and it's only natural that you would eventually seek to make sense of it all." She reached out and pced a reassuring hand on Draco's arm.

  “However, you shouldn’t be so quie yourself. The events that unfolded that day were not of your making, and you ot be held responsible for the as of that dragon. Your love aion to your family is a result of your character, not a sign of guilt.” She said.

  Draet her gaze, his eyes filled with a mix of relief and lingering uainty.

  “But what if I am somehow responsible? What if my as, or inas, somehow tributed to the tragedy?” he asked.

  Bahamut shook her head emphatically.

  "We ot ge the past, Draco. All we do is learn from it and move forward, oep at a time. Your focus should be on the present, on cherishing the retionships you have with your loved ones and finding a way to heal the wounds of the past." she advised.

  Draco took a deep, steadying breath, his eyes meeting Bahamut's, his shoulders slightly less tense.

  "Perhaps you're right. This whole Cir thing got my head all messed up” Draco replied.

  "Thank you, Bahamut. Perhaps I o hear this from some else. But it's a relief to finally voice these thoughts and fears aloud." he added.

  Bahamut smiled, her hands reag across the table, gently caressing his cheeks.

  "I'm here for you, Draco. Whenever you need someoo listen or to uidance, I will be by your side," Bahamut said softly, her gaze fixed as she met his eyes.

  The two fell silent, their eyes locked in an intense moment of unspoken uanding.

  Draco could feel his heartbeat qui as he gazed into Bahamut's captivating eyes, mesmerized by the genuine and affe he saw reflected there.

  Bahamut too felt her pulse rag as she inched closer, drawn to Draagic presenbsp;

  The table between them seemed to shrink, and she found herself gravitating towards him, her face mere inches from his own.

  Suddenly, Draco let out a gentle sneeze, breaking the tense spell that had enveloped them.

  "Sorry," he apologized, feeling a bit embarrassed.

  Bahamut blinked, her own face reddening as she realized the intimacy of their proximity.

  "What are you apologizing for?" she replied, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

  Draco opened his mouth, unsure of how to respond, when Bahamut quickly ged the subjebsp;

  "Ahem, anyway, I should warm up your food. It must be cold by now," she said, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of the table.

  "Hmm," Draply hummed, relieved and disappointed all at onbsp;

  'Sigh, that was close,' he thought, barely avoiding a moment that could have altered the course of their retionship.

  Bahamut quickly busied herself with reheating Draeal, her mind rag.

  She felt extremely awkward and couldn’t bring herself to look at Draco’s face.

  Meanwhile Draco was a bit lost in thought.

  'In the end, we didn't really talk about Cir huh, would it be awkward if I brought the topic back up now' Draco pondered, as he watched Bahamut work from behind.

  It didn't take long before Bahamut had pleted reheating the meal.

  With a slight sigh, she gently pced the steaming pte oable in front of Draco.

  "Here," she said, her voice barely above a whisper as she avoided making eye tact.

  "Thank you," Draco replied, a small smile.

  He could sense a hint of unease in Bahamut's demeanour, but he was unsure of how to address it.

  "I..." Draco began, but his words were cut short as Bahamut quickly interjected.

  "I will be turning in for the night," she said, her tone slightly curt.

  "Remember to wash your pte when you're done." With that, she turned and began to make her way out of the kit, still avoiding Draco's gaze.

  'Ugh, I might have messed up,' Draco thought, his brow furrowing in .

  He didn't want to create any weird tensioween them, especially after they had gotten a bit closer.

  "Hmm, once again, thank you for the meal," Draco said, his voice filled with genuine gratitude.

  He could see Bahamut's shoulders tense slightly at his remark.

  "Sigh, you really are a silly boy," Bahamut muttered, her voice barely audible as she turned around and took a tentative step closer to Draco.

  "Anyway, make sure you go to bed after eating," she said, her tone shifting to a more authoritative one.

  "I have a feeling that you might stay up te thinking about useless things." she added.

  Draodded in aowledgment, his mouth full of the delicious food.

  "This should help you sleep well tonight," Bahamut said, her voice suddenly taking on a softer, almost pyful edge.

  "What did you say?" Draao utter, his brow furrowing in fusion as he turo her, but before he could say anything else, Bahamut had leaned in and pnted a tender kiss on his cheek.

  Draco's eyes widened in surprise, his heart rag as he felt the warmth of Bahamut's lips against his skin.

  But just as quickly as the moment had arrived, it was gone, with Bahamut swiftly turning and hurrying out of the room, leaving Draco alone and flustered i.

  ‘Ugh, she got me. I feel more like a boy than man for letting her make the first move’ Draco thought.

  'And what do you mean sleep well tonight when you just made me this hard?' Draco wondered, his face flushed with a mix of fusion and desire.