Page 11 of Immortal Bonds

"Oh, it's gorgeous!" Eden cooed, petting at the various leaves that Creighton had painstakingly put together. It was not only realistic but very large.

Creighton smiled and thanked Eden for his praise. Eden spent a few more minutes lavishing love on his gift before putting it back in the bag. Then he looked at Creighton somewhat hesitantly.

"I have another project for you, but this one is a bit different."

"Okay." Creighton adjusted his glasses and grabbed his notebook. "Tell me what you need. I will take care of it."

Eden chewed on his bottom lip for a moment before grabbing the bag attached to his side. He reached in and pulled out some folded papers. "I need you to make both of these, please."

Creighton took the papers from him and, while watching Eden's face, unfolded them. Eden's gaze immediately dropped to the images, so Creighton followed. He separated them since there were two different photos and pondered over why they seemed familiar.

"Do you want these two dragons?" Creighton asked to clarify.

Eden nodded rapidly. "Yes, those exact dragons, please. And they need to be the same size. I can't have one bigger than the other. They'll think I'm playing favorites."

Normally, Creighton would think that Eden was speaking about the stuffies. But this time it felt more like he meant the dragons themselves. The backgrounds in the photos were familiar to Creighton.

They were here in San Noctis. It would be a little odd to craft a dragon in the form of someone who lived in town.

Then again, to Creighton's knowledge, Eden never took his stuffies outside of his play area or his bedroom, whichever he felt was their home. Basically, the castle was a safe place for the animals and creatures that Creighton made for him. Unless one of the people it was modeled after went into the castle, they wouldn't know.

Creighton hummed in lieu of answering, because he wasn't quite sure what to agree to. "When would you like them?"

Eden quickly responded, "Before the council vote, if possible."

Creighton's eyes widened. "I don't even know when the council vote is. Is it soon?"

Eden nodded slowly. "Yeah, like really soon. As in I'm going to have to pay a lot for the rush fee for this."

Creighton closed his eyes tightly, murmuring to himself. He was careful to make sure that Eden couldn't hear him. He knew that dragons could pick up on the smallest of noises, but he needed to complain for a moment about the predicament he was in. The change wasn't going to upset his work schedule. It would, however, interfere with some projects he had lined up for himself.

"I can do it. But tell me one thing. When exactly is the council vote?"

"They speculate in the next week? Possibly like four or five days from now?"

Eden rocked side to side as if that would somehow alleviate the news he had just given Creighton. This man — this Little, who was his friend and client — wanted him to make two full-sized, detailed dragon stuffies in that time?!

He already knew he was going to have to hunt down the fabric for them because he didn't have anything in his arsenal to match them. They were gorgeous. One blood red, so much so that it made Creighton's teeth ache, and the other a silver that practically glowed.

Was he going to need glitter for this? He hated using glitter on stuffies. It was a pain to get to stick, and even when it did, you still had that texture. He hid his scowl by dipping his face closer to the photos.

Eden managed to remain quiet as he waited. He rocked side to side and tapped his feet a bit, but he didn't utter a word. Not until Creighton nodded once and eased the papers down.

"Okay, it’s decided. I'll do it," he said to let Eden know and to affirm it to himself. He'd made the commitment. His projects could wait.

Creighton went ahead and calculated the cost of what it would take to get this done in time for Eden. The other man didn't so much as blink at it. He simply handed over a pile of cash and said that the rest was a tip.

If it were anyone else, Creighton wouldn't have taken the money. For Eden, it was a drop in the bucket. And he knew Creighton was good for the job. With as much work as they'd done together, there was no way Creighton wouldn't have it finished and perfect just the way he wanted.

And then Creighton spoke with his friend a bit longer. They talked about games and how they were feeling in their Little mindsets these days. They kept up with one another, often checking in to see if they wanted to have a playdate. He had refused so far, but temptation was growing.

Eden snapped his fingers. "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you the craziest news. My uncle is in town."

"Your uncle?" Creighton repeated.

"My uncle. And he’s staying with us until after the council vote. He says he's here on business, but I think my mom and dad are going to convince him to stay. Which would be so cool."

Creighton nodded along, though he didn't truly know the other man or have any say in the matter. "I'm happy for you, you know. If that's what you want — family sticking together and all that." Creighton faked a laugh.