The first time Sonny gifts dragon!Isaiah with something shiny.
On their third date, Isaiah arrives, tells Sonny hello, then excuses himself to the restroom. When he returns, there's a cold beer and a mound of yellowing newspaper in front of his spot on the table.
Isaiah sits and takes a sip of his beer, then pokes at the mound of newspaper. "Dare I ask?"
Sonny grins, but it flickers on and off like a bad lightbulb. "I was helping my ma clean out the attic, and she found this, and I thought..." He rubs the back of his neck. "I like you a lot, which you know. I just hope this isn't too forward."
Isaiah takes another drink of his beer, then starts to peel away the layers of newspaper. They're crumpled in a way that says they've held this shape for a long time. Isaiah wants to pull each sheet away and read the little scraps of the articles. But he's more interested in what's in the center of them all, so he focuses on that.
Sonny doesn't say a word as Isaiah peels away the onion layers, but he taps his fingers against his thigh and tries to play it cool.
Isaiah peels off the final few pieces of old, crumbly paper and simply stares for a moment. "It's--"
"It's a chicken," Sonny says. "I know. It's a chicken dish. Ma used to keep quarters in it for all us to grab lunch money from when we were kids. I don't remember when it disappeared, but when she found it in the attic, she was gonna just drop it off at the charity shop, and I thought--"
"It's carnival glass," Isaiah interrupts, looking up to meet Sonny's gaze. "It's hoard."
Sonny dips his head, then lifts it again, meeting Isaiah's eyes with sharp determination. That, as much as the iridescent, dark blue bowl with the chicken-shaped lid sets off Isaiah's dragon sense. "You mentioned it last week," he says. "I thought you'd like it."
"I do like it," Isaiah says. He strokes his fingers over the curve of the chicken, and he lifts the lid to see the inside. He smiles and lifts out a quarter. "Lovely," he says. He meets Sonny's gaze again. "Here," he adds, holding out the shiny quarter. But quarters aren't his hoard. Carnival glass in its shifting array of colors is.
Sonny cups his own hand around Isaiah's, then uses his other hand to take the quarter from Isaiah's hand. "I'll put it away for our next date," he says.
Isaiah smiles and leans in to kiss Sonny's fingertips. The lights in the bar shift for the evening crowd, and it makes the carnival glass sparkle in a different way. For a moment, Isaiah's dragon brain takes over. All he can do is stare at the newest piece of his hoard.
"I'm glad you like it," Sonny says.
And Isaiah shifts his focus again, smiling widely at how quietly pleased Sonny looks at seeing how much his gift is enjoyed. "Come over tonight," he says. "I want to show you the rest of my collection."
Sonny beams. "Yes," he says. "I'd love to."