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“Oh, wow. I can smell that,” Cosmo told him. “That’s kind of amazing.”

Hawk nodded eagerly. “I know. Somewhere down on the other side of all of that is my hoard.”

“Really? I need to see that too. But first, I want to scrub your scales. I know you said you itch.”

“I do. And I also want a picnic with you. It’s just fun.”

Cosmo laughed. And it was so good to hear. He’d been so down. Hawk didn’t want his love to be sad. He wanted him to be happy that they were together, and he wanted to be able to provide that happiness.

Swinging his hand, Cosmo was almost running now, and they tumbled through the halls. A warren of mazelike, although not small, corridors. He had spent a great deal of time as a dragon instead of a man over the years, and he’d designed things so that he could move around and also so that he could defend his home.

Stone burned way less than wood or even glass. It took much hotter temperatures to make it melt, after all. And it was way easier to scrub the soot off, and also whatever other sorts of things might be left after a battle. Hence Cullen saying that he still had blood to scrub out of his part of the house. Hawk had a feeling that was mostly wood considering that was part of the A-frame.

Wood fibers just drank up the blood. It was never going to get all the way out.

Cosmo wandered with him, floating around to explore the things that he had hidden—a gemstone here, a little statue in a niche there. He hadn’t thought at the time that he was hiding them to amuse his mate, but magic worked in mysterious ways.

Perhaps he had been, and he just hadn’t known it.

They wandered until they got down to the sandpit, the staircase opening up to a huge room that was lit by dozens of huge stones that glowed with enclosed magma, the walls shiny obsidian, reflecting the light and fragmenting it.

“Oh… Oh, look, love—” Cosmo sounded absolutely stunned, and that pleased him down to the core. This was more than his house. This space was his heartbeat, his center, and the fact that his mate thought it was beautiful honored him deeply.

“You like it? I’ve worked on it for many, many years until it was just the way I wanted it.” He took a deep breath, let it out in a sigh. “It’s been a while since I’ve been here. I can tell there’s a little dusting needs to be done.”

“A little bit, but it’s doable. Are the rocks hot?”

“Warm, yes, but they won’t burn you.” There is no way that he could burn his mate. He knew it.

“Oh, sound good. Let’s get to work.”

And there was some work to be done. The random cobweb the size of a truck, a few critters that needed encouragement to move, and the periodic lump of glass that he created when he fell asleep in the sandpit and snored. That was always such a challenge. It did make for interesting sculptures in the house, though.

Cosmo picked one of the rather large pieces of glass up, tilting his head. “This is fascinating. Are the little drip parts on the side where you drooled lava?”

“Don’t make me beat you.” He laughed, his entire self cracking up, because not only was it funny, but it was basically true. He wasn’t sure—he’d been asleep.

Cosmo carefully took the pieces of glass to the side of the pit, arranging them like a little army. “They’re beautiful. I like them.”

Hawk gave Cosmo a sideways glance. “You do?”

“Of course I do. They’re manifestations of you.” He got a sparkling grin. “Now food or naked first?”

“Mmmm. Food. It will be better in this form. When I get naked and in the sand, I’m liable to go big on you, and then these tidbits will be too small.” Hawk waved a hand. “And I wish to enjoy our snack together.”

“Ah. Well, then.” Cosmo beamed. “Let’s have some nibbles.”

“Yes, let’s.” Hawk picked his way across the sand to an area where Cosmo could sit, brushing it off a little and putting down a blanket. That would make it nicer for when they ate.

He unpacked the repast the brothers had made for him, humming, because he approved. Sandwiches. Fruit. Cookies. Water, and a thermos of tea. How lovely and civilized.

He poured the tea into the provided mugs, which were some unbreakable material. Very 1950s.

“So, tell me more about your home,” he asked Cosmo, teasing.

His rose looked at him, confused. “This is my home.”

Hawk chuckled, tickled pink—pun intended. “No, I mean where you grew up. Tell me something about it that I don’t know.”