⇒ When Leo introduces you to Festus, his beloved bronze dragon, he doesn’t expect the mechanical giant to immediately adore you more than him. Between smug beeps, jealous banter, and a surprise kiss, Leo learns that maybe sharing his “real MVP” isn’t so bad after all.
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You weren’t sure what to expect when Leo insisted on introducing you to “the real MVP” of his life—but you definitely weren’t expecting a twenty-foot bronze dragon to land two feet in front of you, snort steam at your face, and then nuzzle into your hand like a giant, purring metallic puppy.
“Festus,” Leo said with a proud grin, hopping off the dragon’s back. “Meet my favorite person.” You raised an eyebrow. “You mean me or him?”
Before Leo could answer, Festus let out a warm mechanical chirr, coils of steam twisting into the air as he gently nudged your side again—tail curling protectively around your legs like you were some fragile thing that needed guarding. His eyes flashed bright amber, glowing with a weird kind of fondness you didn’t know was possible from something made of gears and fire.
You blinked. “…I think he likes me.”
You gave the dragon a gentle scratch on what might’ve been his cheekplate, and he leaned into it with a low, happy rumble. You glanced at Leo with a teasing smirk. “Festus loves me more than he loves you, huh.”
Leo’s jaw dropped slightly. “Excuse me? I made him. From scrap. In a cave. During a war.” Festus beeped again, even louder this time—like he was confirming your claim. Leo threw his hands in the air. “Unbelievable. Absolute traitor.”
Leo paused. His grin faltered, just for a second. “Likes you?” he echoed, brows furrowing. “He’s cuddling you. Dude—Festus doesn’t even do that to me unless I’ve updated his core processor or fed him celestial bronze scraps by hand.” Festus let out what sounded suspiciously like a smug beep.
You were still crouched next to Festus, giving him cheekplate scratches and telling him what a very good metal boy he was, when Leo plopped down beside you with a theatrical sigh.
“I can’t believe this,” he muttered, flinging a blade of grass into the wind. “You’ve known him for like, ten minutes. I built him. I coded his loyalty circuits. I literally gave him a heart—and now he’s wagging his tail for you.”
Festus beeped smugly and nudged your side again, almost like he was agreeing.
You laughed, brushing hair out of your face. “What can I say? I’m charming.”
Leo gave you a sidelong look, trying to hold back a smile. “Yeah. You are.”
Your hand paused on Festus’s bronze scales. You looked up at Leo, surprised by the softness in his tone—and the fact that, for once, he wasn’t teasing.
The two of you just looked at each other for a moment. The wind played with his curls, and Festus let out a gentle mechanical rumble like he was holding his breath.
Then, Leo leaned in, his voice dropping just a little.
“You know, if I had known all it took to impress you was a giant fire-breathing dragon, I would’ve introduced you to Festus sooner.”
You tilted your head, grinning. “Oh, I was already impressed. The dragon’s just a bonus.”
Leo’s breath hitched—just a tiny, barely-there sound—and before either of you could overthink it, he kissed you.
It was soft. Warm. Tasted a little like the cinnamon gum he always carried and smelled faintly like engine grease and ozone—like Leo.
When he pulled back, there was a dazed little smile on his lips.
Then Festus whacked Leo’s shoulder with his tail.
“OW—hey!” Leo swatted at him. “Traitor and cockblocker? Unbelievable!”
You burst out laughing, clutching your side as Festus chirped smugly and curled tighter around you.
Leo rubbed his arm, grumbling under his breath, “I build you with love and celestial bronze and this is how you thank me?”
You wiped tears of laughter from your eyes and leaned your head against Leo’s shoulder. “Jealous of your own dragon, Valdez?”
He sniffed. “Only because he gets more cuddles.”
You smiled. “You could’ve just asked.”
Leo turned bright red. Festus beeped like he was gloating.
And you? You just leaned in closer—because who needed loyalty circuits when you had this?
