This is the start of the love story between Ren and Dustin, and this first story was brought to life with the help of my amazing friend,  CorruptedChampionStories! Thank you again!

A Festival to Remember, by  Ren and  CorruptedChampionStories

This story does have mention of Ren having a panic attack, just as a warning to those who are sensitive to that topic

“Ugh… it's a shame none of these fit anymore…” a towering dragon muttered to himself as he walked into the local donation center, carrying a giant box of clothes that no longer fit him anymore. Walking up to the counter to the donation attendant, Ren set the box down on the counter. “Hello there sir! I'm assuming this is all for donation?” The attendant asked the dragon, opening the giant box to see an entire wardrobe of a young man's clothes!

Ren then took a look at the attendant, instantly enamored by the fluffy mothman! Ren could see the moth wasn't all fluff as well! There was some pretty definitive muscle bulging under his work-shirt, which had a nametag pinned on it with the name ‘Dustin’. “Sir? Are you sure you want to donate all this? This looks to be an entire wardrobe!” the handsome mothman said to Ren, snapping him out of his stupor. “Oh! Yeah! It's a shame, they all fit me a few weeks ago, but yeah, I'm sure!” Ren told the moth, who looked at Ren with a mix of confusion and disbelief.

“These all used to fit you a few weeks ago?” Dustin said in confusion, looking at the dragon in front of him and holding out one of the shirts, a T-shirt from a concert by a band he loved, Glass Animals. The shirt wasnt even close to fitting the dragon’s massive muscular torso, and even the shirt he was currently wearing was struggling to hold itself together as the burgeoning muscles underneath were stretching the fabric tight!

“Yes… I was able to back then, heh… but then I transformed into what I am now because of these earrings!” The dragon said, pointing to the gold earring dangling from his ear! Dustin could immediately sense an immense amount of magic from the tiny orange crystal floating in the center of the ancient jewelry! “That earring… I have seen it somewhere in my magic study books at college… it's an ancient artifact enchanted by the Great Sage Chai!” Dustin said incredulously before composing himself.

“Heh… yeah, I know him personally! Name’s Ren, it's nice to meet you Dustin!” Ren said, finally giving his name to the mothman. “Wait how do you kn- oh, right! Nametag!” Dustin said, a bit flustered as the towering dragon chuckled. “You KNOW him!?!?” Dustin said with his maw agape in surprise, Ren just smirking and nodding in response as he continued reminiscing. “Yeah, the best way to put it is that I've known him through two lives! Though it’s a little complicated… I'd love to tell you more sometime, handsome…” Ren finished as Dustin blushed, but leaned forward with a smirk of his own, “Flattery will get you everywhere, dragon… and I absolutely want to know more about this Earring, your friendship with the Great Chai… and you too of course, sexy draggy…” Dustin finished as the two’s eyes met and blushes colored each of their cheeks as the awkward silence dragged on for a few seconds…


“It’s decided then you buff fluffy moff~ You wanna go on a date? You seem like my type~” Ren said smugly, grabbing a piece of Paper and a pen and scrawling something on it before sliding it face down on the counter. Dustin looked shocked and surprised, not expecting Ren to move this fast at all! But he couldnt form a good response before the handsome dragon strutted out, blowing a kiss to Dustin. With trembling hands, Dustin picked up the paper and saw Ren's phone number and a drawing of fireworks with “Lunar festival, see ya there fluffball~”, Dustin letting out a squeal of excitement as he stuffed the paper in his pocket. He couldn't wait for the festival to come as he got to sorting the dragon’s old clothes!


One week later…


“Now, where is that drag- there he is!” Dustin thought to himself as he saw the flaming hair of his date towering above the crowds of festivalgoers! Ren spotted the moth in the crowd ahead of him, waving his hands excitedly to his attention! Ren chuckled as he maneuvered through the people to Dustin, who ran up to him and hugged his muscled side! “Hey there cutie! Looks like you were eager to see me~” Ren said with a chuckle, looking down at his companion with loving eyes as the setting sun was painting a fiery orange and red over the fluffy clouds! “Why don't we go enjoy the festival big guy! The fireworks are gonna start soon!” Dustin said as he grabbed Ren's large hand, not minding the rough calluses on them as he dragged the dragon to the food stands! “Sounds good, I’d love to take you on one of the rides buuut…” Ren started as he stood next to one of the roller coaster entrances, towering multiple feet over the maximum height required. “... as you can see, they haven't bult a ride that can handle this much Dragon yet! Hehehe~” Ren finished with a proud smile as Dustin laughed happily.

Ren then started to walk with Duston once more, though his fluffy ears seemed to twitch in irritation every time the Roller-Coaster above them hit a loop, the echoing screams of the thrill-riding passengers making Ren noticeably shudder for some reason. As Ren kept hearing the screams of the riders above, his mind was filled with a memory, a painful memory that was etched onto his soul from his previous life. The last time Ren remembered screaming like that was hundreds of years before he’d reincarnated. As his mind filled with images of his home village, the fires, the bandits on horseback throwing torches. He could see the houses burning, smell the smoke, hear the cries of those trapped inside and the wails of those being attacked or dragged away by the bandits… it was the reason why he became a warrior in the first place… but it didn't make the memory any less intense or any less painful…

Dustin then felt Ren tense up, and felt his hand loosen as he staggered away, seemingly in a daze. Dustin followed him as he started moving away from the main pathway between and then behind the tents, leaning against a chain-link fence as Ren began to sweat, his pupils narrowing to paper-thin slits as his eyes began to look a little bloodshot. Dustin walked carefully up to his date as he was panicking, slowly reaching out a gentle hand to Ren as he realized the dragon was going through an episode of something bad… Ren then grabbed his hand with a deathgrip, which made Dustin grit his teeth through the pain as he stayed there for his new friend. He guided Ren to a quiet, isolated place away from the bright lights and loud voices.

“Ren, it's ok, whatever is happening is in the past now, and is not happening now.” Dustin said as he reached his free hand up to Ren's chest, rubbing the dragon gently and calming him the best he could. This seemed to get through as Ren’s eyes suddenly returned to normal, and he seemed to realize where he was as his body’s tension relaxed. Suddenly, Dustin was picked up and squeezed against Ren's chest in a tight hug, which surprised the moth for a moment before he moved in for a gentle kiss to Ren's snout, rubbing his bicep as Ren froze up and immediately started calming down even further. Dustin closed his eyes as Ren did, neither breaking their kiss as the distant booms of fireworks shooting up and exploding into colorful bursts beautifully backlit the couple's embrace. Ren and Dustin broke their first kiss and opened their eyes, Ren crying a bit as he hugged Dustin in a tight embrace, knowing that this moth was the one for him.

“I love you fluffball… so much..” Ren said into Dustin’s shoulder, looking back at him with loving eyes, no sign of panic in them as he pulled back and stared at his partner with pure affection. “I love you too, noodle~” Dustin said as he caressed Ren's fluffy cheek and kissed him again as the fireworks continued illuminating the night sky over the town.
The end… or beginning?

Art by me,  Ren

Ren Homura and Dustin Artace belong to me,  Ren

Story by me,  Ren and  CorruptedChampionStories