Green Dragon - 1. An American Dragon in Britain

Zachary Stevens sat in a Portsmouth pub, sipping at a cranberry vodka mix. It was the perfect drink, bitter and sharp, just like his life.

He was gone. He quit. And Zachary kept telling himself he understood, but he really didn’t. Of course a wolf wouldn’t want to be with a dragon. They were both predators, it would never work, having two aggressors in a relationship, two tops.

It just sucked that in nearly fifty years of life, Zachary was still a virgin.

The pub door opened and a dragon entered the bar, drawing Zachary’s eye instantly. He wasn’t a full dragon, appearing half-elven, with blue wings and a tail that hung barely visible through his legs. He wore a simple hoodie, grey with no markings.

The dragon approached the bar, sitting next to Zachary.

“Whiskey please,” he said quietly, waiting to be served.

It was a quiet place, most people at work or at school. Zachary had the day off from his job in a local bookstore, and he was spending it trying to forget about Eric. About the year they had spent together.

“Rough day?” the blue dragon asked as he was handed a shot of whiskey.

He had an American accent, making Zachary wonder what he was doing in Portsmouth. Most tourists went to London.

“Rough week,” Zachary muttered.

“Well, here’s to the future.”

“Cheers mate.”

They took a drink together, the blue dragon swallowing his whiskey like one born to the bottle.

“So what brings you to a pub at midday?”

“Memories,” Zachary sighed.

Who knew, maybe talking to a stranger would help.

“I can feel that. I’ve been running myself.”

“Don’t suppose you’d have any advice for a dragon who just got dumped for being too old.”

The half-elf laughed humourlessly.

“Sounds like a concern my boyfriend had a while back. It’s our lot in life, isn’t it? Live too long and love too deeply.”

Zachary nodded morosely.

“Sometimes I wonder if it would be better not to love at all,” he said.

“I don’t think so. All the people I have loved in my life, I would not want to go through life without them. Even the ones that have hurt me.”

He studied Zachary openly, without judgement.

“I must say, I have never seen a green dragon before. I consider myself lucky in this meeting.”

“And I have never seen another dragon. Or an elf, for that matter.”

“And here I am, both at once,” the blue dragon smiled.

“My name is Zachary.”

“David,” the blue dragon smiled. “It is a pleasure to meet you, though it seems the circumstances are not the best.”

“Dealing with a break-up?” Zachary copied David’s laugh. “Not ideal at all.”

“Well, I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but life seems to go on whether you care to acknowledge it or not.”

“You speak from experience?”

David nodded.

“My boyfriend… I had been coming back from a rather abusive relationship when I met him. We fell for each other quickly, and he taught me many things about myself. But our time together was far too short. We always avoided the subject of death. He was a tiger, he was going to die before me. It was known.

“What wasn’t known was it would be a drunk driver who took him from me before his time.”

“That is rough,” Zachary winced.

He hated how that sounded, but what else was he supposed to say? Sorry for your loss? Something else generic like that?

“Thanks,” David said quietly. “The pain lessened after five months, but it’s still there.”

“Mine was a wolf. His name was Eric and we were together for a year. Just romantically, we couldn’t do anything sexually. Then he messages me last night saying he’s done. He doesn’t want anyone who will stay young forever.”

“It seems like his loss,” David shrugged. “At the risk of sounding like someone just out for some ass, you are very cute.”

“Thanks. If I wasn’t just coming off of a relationship, you’d be just my type,” Zachary smiled slightly.

“There’s nothing saying we can’t help each other recover from past pain” David shrugged.

“Except one thing. When are you heading back across the pond?”

“Whenever. I don’t really have anything waiting for me there,” David shrugged. “I just landed from Germany yesterday, planning to stay in the country for a while. I haven’t been here in nearly a century.”

“The First World War, huh?”

“Yeah. German economy was going downhill after the war so I decided to move back to the states. Didn’t do me much good. But I stopped here for some sightseeing before hopping the Atlantic again.”

“Ah, you were against us.”

“Yeah, nationalism and all that crap. Really I just wanted a lucky bullet to have my name on it. I was just too much of a coward to do it myself.”

“Well, I’m glad you survived,” Zachary said.

“Thank you.”

The conversation stalled, David ordering a soft drink.

“Would you like a refill on your drink?” the older dragon offered.

“Nah mate, I’m good. I need to get to my flat soon.”

Nodding, David took a napkin, writing his number on it.

“If you ever want to talk, just call. I promise I will be here for at least a month.”

“Thanks,” Zachary smiled.

He folded the napkin into his shirt pocket, standing up. Paying his tab, the dragon left the pub, feeling lighter somehow. Maybe talking had helped more than he realized.