Understandably, Riley was a mess for a good while.
Who would have expected things to end up like that? A scene so heavy and sincere that it felt permanently burned into his memory.
Frankly, he had always imagined himself on the other side of things. The one asking. The one bowing with all seriousness as he requested the hand of his partner from their family. Maybe that was projection. Maybe it was habit. But he had never really seen himself as the one to be taken care of.
And yet.
Here he was.
Curled up between the legs of the dragon lord, head against Kael's chest, sniffing far worse than Liam, who earlier looked like a goldfish.
To think he had comforted the kid earlier, only to end up completely undone himself.
At least now, he had finally calmed down.
