So I was actually writing this up in a vore story and I would just take canon stuff out afterwards, but there ended up being too much canon story stuff happening in it to properly do that. So I've decided to make this its own thing and I'll be posting the vore stuff on a separate thing. Either way this was fun to write! It's technically a rough draft? But at the moment I'm tired and half-asleep, so it's for tomorrow-me to worry about! Enjoy and let me know what you think!

---

“Arrodo? Arrodo, it’s time to wake up. Breakfast is ready and it’s better if you eat it while it’s still hot.” Italra said as she gently shook her boyfriend’s shoulder from their bedside. Two black horns curved back and down towards the ground before even reaching the back of her head. Light red scaled covered her from head to paw to tail and twin lines of small black spikes started from the back of her head all the way down to meet at the tip of her tail.
Arrodo groaned softly and opened his golden eyes slowly to see his girlfriend’s own light orange, turning his tired frown into a soft smile. He leaned forward to kiss her and sighed, “I suppose if you’ve made breakfast I can’t exactly say “no,” can I?” He chuckled softly and stretched out beneath his heated blanket before rolling himself out of bed. He shook the sleep from his muscles and stretched out his front and legs, coming up from the stretch to kiss Italra’s cheek softly.
Arrodo stood up fully to be a full head higher than Italra, but unlike her he had neither horns nor spikes. Plain beige scales covered his form and sets of black claws sprouted from each of his toes, “Y’know, if anybody else woke me up—”
“They’d get a piece of your mind,” She finished as she walked by, wrapping her tail softly under his chin to gently pull him after her. Arrodo hummed softly and pranced after her without a second thought. The pair walked into their dining room to a spread of freshly roasted pork with a honey glaze served on two plates, two large bowls of water, and a single bowl of assorted fruits in the center. Arrodo’s eyes lit up at the sight and he gave another quick peck to Italra’s cheek, “You really are the best, aren’t you? You even got my favorite meat!”
“Of course I did. I figured it would be better to have you wake up to that, so I don’t have to immediately mention that it’s nearly noon.” She booped him on the nose playfully with her tail and stepped to her side of the table, “You’re lucky you don’t work today.”
His face reddened in a light blush, “If I worked today I wouldn’t have slept in until noon. I do have some standards after all.” He said, raising his nose to the air proudly and quickly took his spot across from her.
“Obviously you do. Why else would you be with me?” She retorted with a mock-pride that made Arrodo huff.
“Because you were silly enough to settle with somebody like me obviously. Your biggest mistake, I think.” He stuck his tongue out and grabbed a hand of bananas for his plate.
Italra rolled her eyes and chuckled, “I don’t make mistakes, thank you very much. And don’t bring up my cooking before we met because that doesn’t count.”
“I agree, but mostly because I wouldn’t call what you made back then cooking.” He bit into his pork and winked back at the glare he got. Once he swallowed his mouthful he added, “Of course, you’ve also come quite a long way since we met. Over ten years ago now.”
Italra thought a moment and nodded thoughtfully, “I suppose it has been, yes. Over a decade. Time flies, doesn’t it?”
“It does.” He hesitated a moment to take another bite of his pork and chose to sip at his water instead, “Speaking of, I’ve been thinking.”
“Hm?” Italra cocked her head to the side and glanced at the pork, “Is something wrong with the pork?”
“What? No, no. Not that. It’s just… Well, we’ve been together for over ten years now. And sure it’s had a few ups and downs here and there, but we’ve made it through. And honestly I don’t fully know what I’d do if you were suddenly just gone.”
“Suddenly just gone? What do you mean?” She asked with soft concern, “Why would I just be gone?”
“Well, I don’t know. But I mean, if something did happen and you were gone, I wouldn’t know what I’d do, y’know? I just—I love you,” He blurted out, “And I know I’ve said it before, but I really, truly mean it. I love you with every fiber of my being. And I—” He bit his lower lip and tapped his claws nervously on the floor, “If you would accept, I’d love to take out relationship to the next level. I want to be mates with you, Italra.”
Italra listened to her boyfriend stumble his way through his thoughts—something she found was cute when he got flustered like this—but the request made her jaw drop in shock. She stared at him mortified and speechless and slowly his shoulders slumped softly in disappointment.
“I-I’m sorry, Ita. This was so sudden. I’m so sorry!” He said quickly, shaking his head, “That was stupid of me to spring on you so suddenly like this. I just got out of bed.”
“No, no!” She spoke up suddenly to stop him, “No.” She said again, much calmer, “You misunderstand. I… I didn’t expect this. Rather, I didn’t expect this so soon.” She took in a deep breath and quickly drank from her water to both calm her and help quell her persistent blush. She set the bowl down gently and stood up. “I can’t say yes right now,” She answered firmly. “I’m sorry, Arrodo. I’d love to say yes, but I can’t because—” She cut herself off and shook her head, “It’s something with me.”
“What is it? What’s wrong?” He asked almost desperately, “If it’s something I can help with, please let me. Even if we’re not quite on the same page, I will still help you through anything you need, Ita. Just say the word and I will be there for you.”
Italra stared at him, completely taken aback for a moment at his words before a small smile grew on her face, “I know you would be.” She answered back softly, “But it’s not something that will simply go away. It’s something about me that you don’t know that will not change no longer how long we’re together. To the ends of time this will not disappear.”
“Are you going to change?” He asked back gravely.
“W-What?” She asked, stepping away from the table fearfully, “What do you mean by that? How would I change?”
“I don’t know,” He said softly, “But you’re scared that this is going to change our relationship. So I want to know if you’re going to change as a person. Is the person I’m in love with not the person you are?”
“N-No, not exactly. I’m still me even if I tell you this. I just don’t know how to tell you and I don’t know how you’ll react to it,” She explained anxiously. “I absolutely love you, Arro, but if I tell you this then I know you won’t believe me. But if I show you, then I think you’ll—” She cut herself off with a whimper, “I don’t know if you’re ready. I wasn’t going to say anything for at least another decade.”
“There’s only one way to find out.” He replied bluntly, “If you think that you can’t tell me, then okay. Show me what you have to. I already told you I’ll stick by you. Are you going to show me you’re some sort of collection of trophies from being a serial killer or something? Because that would definitely put a damper on the relationship, but y’know, nothing’s perfect, right? I’m sure we could work it out.” Arrodo smiled at her just as he had when she woke him up, “I love you, Ita. That’s not going to change, okay?”
She laughed softly and wiped away a tear that started to roll down, “You’re stupid, you know that? Serial killers wouldn’t just show off their collection to a boyfriend.”
“Well, normally not. Unless they plan on adding the boyfriend to that collection. At which put it’s a very big damper on the relationship isn’t it?” He asked as he stepped forward to wipe another tear off with a gentle claw, “Show me when you’re ready, okay?”
She nodded and kissed him on the cheek, “If you think you’re ready, then okay. I’ll show you. But you need to understand that there’s no going back after this. Once you know, I won’t feel right trying to make you forget.”
“You’re very serious about this. But we need to overcome this obstacle for our relationship to work out, right? So let’s overcome it together. I want to be with you. If you’re not changing who you are as I know you, then I don’t care what you’re going to show me. If your past is littered with sins and this is how you turned out, then I will forgive you.” He leaned in to touch his nose to hers, “And if the gods themselves would try to separate us, then I will take them down myself for daring to think they could ever stand between us.”
She laughed delicately as she rubbed her nose against his, “You would dare to even challenge the gods? A bit cheesy, isn’t it? But I’m not changing who I am. Not much anyway. Everything with you has always been sincere from the moment we met and will be even after this. If you are ready for me to show you, then I need you to do one thing for me: close your eyes and do not open them no matter what until I say you can. Can you do that for me?”
“Cheesy or not it’s the truth, Ita. But if that’s what you want from me, then so be it.” He said, giving her a final kiss before shutting his eyes firmly, “I’m ready when you are.”
“Alright. A fair warning, there will be a fair bit of pressure in a moment all over your body. Just so you know and so you don’t get caught off-guard.” He nodded, then she placed her paws on either side of his head.
A sudden wind picked up and swirled around the pair, kicking up dust and a few lighter objects they had in their dining room. Arrodo frowned but resisted the urge to figure out what had clattered and fallen over onto the floor. He gradually felt himself become lighter and lighter until he was weightless, then all at once his own full weight came crashing back on him to knock the wind out of his lungs. He doubled over onto the ground and groaned in pain as he gasped for breath. A gentle claw touched his face and suddenly he felt the air rush back into his lungs along with a surge of vitality. His effort to keep his eyes closed doubled to the point that they ached from how tightly he kept them shut.
“Don’t open just yet. But if you’re feeling a bit better you can relax a bit. The worst is over,” Ita said before kissing him on the lips, “How do you feel?”
“I-I feel like I was just crushed under myself everywhere on my body, then suddenly I was okay.” He explained in confusion, “Where are we?”
“My home,” She answered simply and stepped back from him, “You may open your eyes.”
Arrodo did quickly and blinked rapidly trying to adjust his sore eyes to the blurred sight. Very certainly they were no longer in their shared home. As his eyes managed to focus he looked around to find himself in a large entrance hallway lit from the high ceiling with chandeliers down the length of the room, though no shadow was cast on the ground despite them being the only light source; the entire room was well lit and completely visible. The pair stood on a red carpet with golden trim down its length leading to a dais where a large throne sat empty. The walls and floors were sculpted from a dark brown stone as if the room had simply been carved out in complete perfection from a stone wall or mountain.
Arrodo fell back on his haunches and looked around in silent awe at the magnificence of the room before his eyes finally fell back onto Italra who simply smiled at him, “This is your home? Wait, I thought you said you didn’t have one before.”
“No, not quite. I said I left my home, not that I didn’t have one. I’ve had every intention of coming back here, but I wanted something more before I did.” She explained, turning around to walk towards the throne.
“So, this is all yours? Wait, are you some sort of royalty or something? Are you a princess?!” He asked in complete shock, leaping back onto all-fours, “Is that why you were worried?”
“No, no. I’m not a princess, Arrodo. I’m… more than that.” She sat on the throne and smiled warmly at him as her visage began to shimmer and change. Her light red scales darkened to a pitch black with a red underbelly that rose all the way to her lower jaw. Her claws that had once been trimmed down became long and sharp like small scythes at the ends of each of her toes. Similarly the tip of her tail sharpened and shaped itself into a spear head that delicately curled around in front of her. Her once short horns grew and twisted themselves outward and upward, wrapping themselves around her head before turning up with a soft curve forward to face whoever she looked at. Lastly her soft orange eyes darkened as a glowing red filled in around them.
Arrodo stared at her in speechless silence completely unable to even make a sound. Slowly the dragon before him stepped to him and it was only when she was directly in front of him that he realized that he now stood at half her height.
“Hello, Arrodo. Do you know who I am?” She asked softly, her voice having remained unchanged. “I suppose that’s a bit of a test to see how religious you are as well, isn’t it? Sorry. A bit much to ask you right now, I think. My name is—”
“M-Magnira…” He answered suddenly in a forced whisper. “Y-You’re Magnira, Goddess of the draconic Underworld, creator of Flame, and Lady of passion.”
“Oh. Well, that about sums it up then, doesn’t it?” She asked with a light laugh to try and ease the tension, “And just so you know, you’re not dead. But you do currently have a piece of my aura around you to stop the effects of the underworld from metaphysically scarring your body and soul. Not something everybody gets. So, uh, yeah.” She swallowed nervously and flicked her tail, “How are you feeling?”
“Uh… I, uh…” He spluttered out slowly, “F-Fine? I think? I mean, I’m not dead. This is just a lot to take in. But I’m not dead which is nice. Was I insulting when I said I would take down the gods for you?”
“To the wrong god, yes. But I found it very flattering that you would take me down for me.” She said with a more sincere laugh, “It’s still me, Arro. I’m sorry for lying to you about what I actually am, but I do promise you that Italra is still me entirely. I just couldn’t show myself out there as me.”
“Why did you do all this though? What was the point?” He asked, taking another moment to look over her form, “You went to the normal world.”
“I did, yes. Because while I could be married to the other gods and find love there, there’s something about them that doesn’t exist in the mortal realm. I don’t know how to describe it, but the rest of the gods don’t have it. And when I met you, something clicked that never clicked with the rest of the gods. Truth be told I never actually told them what was going on, but that’s something for later.”
Arrodo looked down to the floor to run all this new information through his mind before finally looking back up at her with realization shining in his eyes, “That’s why your food sucked!” He shouted up at her.
It was Magnira’s turn to drop her jaw in disbelief, “Excuse you?”
“Your food when we first met was absolutely atrocious!” He said with brash confidence, “You never cooked a day in your eternal life, did you?!” He accused with a simple furrow of his brow, “And that’s why I had to teach you. Right?”
Magnira stared down at Arrodo for a long moment before throwing her head back to laugh. Arrodo smiled as the giant dragon before him fell to her side smacking the floor with her claws as she continued to laugh. When she finally managed to calm herself she rolled onto her belly and nuzzled Arrodo affectionately, “You just pulled the biggest gamble in history and won. I swear you’re an idiot.”
He smiled and nuzzled back against her cheek and gave it a small kiss, “Yes, but I’m your idiot. As long as you swear to me that you are still you, then I don’t care that you’re a god. I still love you no matter what.” He sat back on his haunches and stared at her tenderly, “There is only one thing, and I hope you understand.”
Her smiled faded a bit and she cocked her head to the side, “What is it, Arro? What’s wrong?”
“I know you have duties here and you can’t be gone forever. You’re the ruler of the damned Underworld after all. But I don’t know if I can live here with you. At least not yet.” He said, turning his head from her, “I want to be with you. I truly do. But I still have my own life to live back in the, uh, mortal world. I can’t just abandon that. I have friends and family. Obviously I won’t tell them about you being, y’know, you. But I can’t just leave them either.”
Magnira stared at him for a moment, “Obviously,” she said with a roll of her eyes, “I can’t keep living people here either. A visit here and there is one thing, but there are universal laws that even gods have to follow. And of course I’ll still be around with you as much as I can be while you’re alive.” She smiled and gave his cheek a small lick, “When you do finally pass, you and I can be together assuming you have no objections to it. Until you do though, I will be by your side. I can send Italra back with you so we’re never truly apart. It technically won’t be me, but at the same time it absolutely is.”
“I’ll try not to think about it too hard and chalk it up to god magic stuff.” He grinned and nudged at her snout playfully, “How long do I have in this Underworld with you right now though?” He asked innocently.
“Technically as long as I decide to keep you here. Why do you ask?” She nudged back softly only to make him stumble off to the side.
“Well, maybe we could check out a few chambers while we’re here, hm?” He continued from the floor casually, “I think it could be fun to do a bit of private exploring, no? It’s a unique opportunity.” He placed his paw on her snout and winked at her.
A knowing grin grew on her face and she rose to her feet, “Very well. I’ll show you to a few good chambers that I think you’ll enjoy greatly. Come along,” She turned and started for a side door Arrodo had failed to notice earlier. With no need to be told twice Arrodo rose to his feet and trotted after her.