Disclaimer: I don't own American Dragon Jake Long

Title: A Dragon's Nest

Summary: Johnathan has always wondered about his children's aversion to sleeping on the couch and their incessant need to lock their bedroom doors. Now he knows.

Author's Note: So, I decided to write a seriously fluffy sequel. And here it is.

...

Haley was a dragon.

Alright, so Jake had known that, but still. Grandpa's warnings were one thing; pink scales and tiny wings were another.

It was weird, not being the only scaled creature in the house anymore. Nice, but weird. Especially since that meant he had to start picking up the slack, reminding Haley not to transform when dad was home, giving her advice to better her flying, showing her his nest and helping her make her own…

Okay, so maybe that was what had made him the most uncomfortable. His nest was personal, and Haley had been digging around in it and messing it up like it was totally her business, and, call it an instinct, but his temper had flared and made him grit his teeth.

Looking was one thing. Touching was a whole 'nother ballgame.

He'd just lain down and rolled over on his bed when Haley's door creaked open. He didn't pay it much mind, but then he slowly realized that the tiny footsteps weren't heading for the stairwell or the bathroom.

Oh, crud. Nightmare. Jake knew the feeling.

He was out the door and down the hall before he even realized he'd moved, stopping Haley mid-doorknob grab with a hand on her shoulder.

Haley glanced at him. "Jake?"

Jake didn't return the greeting. "You plannin' on going in like that?"

"Huh?" Haley looked herself over, then jumped back. "Oh no. I can't let him see me like this!"

Jake knew that. It was part of the reason he felt so dang vulnerable, standing just outside his parent's door, red scales practically on display should anyone decide to open the door or pass by after a visit to the kitchen, or something. But he hadn't had the time to change, so here he was, nervously twitching his tail, trying his hardest to explain something he just knew.

"But… If he can't see me sleeping, what am I going to do?" Haley shifted on her hind claws, mumbling. "I don't wanna go back to my room."

Oh, yeah, like Jake knew the answer to that. He was a teenage boy, not a miracle worker.

But he was also a big brother, and it was kinda his job (besides, you know, the whole 'protect the country' thing) to help out his younger sibling at times like this. Jake sighed. "Fine. You can sleep in my room."

Haley's snout wrinkled. "But your room smells."

"Got any better ideas?" Because Jake was more than open to suggestions.

"Ulgh, fine." Haley sighed. "If I have too."

"Alright then, Ms-smooth-talker. Sleep in your own dang bed."

Jake started to turn away, but Haley grabbed his midsection, and maybe he'd gone a little too far on this one. "No!"

"Come'on, let's get out of the hallway." He gently pried her off of him and resolved that his nest was going to get messed up, again, but it'd be for a mostly good cause. Not 'to protect and save the world' good, but close enough. "We don't want dad wakin' up and seein' us."

"Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"Dad... he really doesn't know, does he?"

"No, he doesn't. And he's not gonna, either." He opened his door and locked it behind them as a precaution. It wasn't like his parents ever went in his room at night or anything, but old habits die hard. "Get some sleep."

"Jake, would it be weird if I said I want to curl up with you?"

"Nah. It's a lizard thing; body heat, and all that stuff. Grandpa explained it to me once, but I wasn't really listening."

"That's okay. I think I get the idea." Haley curled against his side with a sigh, and Jake refused to admit to himself that he really wanted to curl up back. "Goodnight, Jake."

"Goodnight, Haley."

A pause. "Jake?"

"What?"

"Do your stinkin' laundry."

"Whatever, pushy. Maybe this weekend."

Jake slept in the bathroom during the odd sleepover with Trixie and Spud. The door was always locked.

Awkward? Yeah. But it was also totally necessary.

Sure, his friends knew now, but they didn't get it. They thought his dragon form was a guise; a secret identity, like a superhero. The fact that he wasn't fully human hadn't sunk in yet.

"Jakey? You awake?"

Jake jerked up and transformed, scrambling to get out of his sleeping bag. It'd be so much better if he could just make his nest like anyone else and sleep like a dragon instead of cramming himself into a makeshift bag. (Yes, it was driving him up the wall. How'd you figure it out?)

He unlocked the door and opened it with a creak. "I'll, uh, just get out of your way, then."

"Relax, Jakey, I'm fine. I just gotta ask you somethin'."

"Okay then?"

"Do ya really need to sleep in my bathroom? 'Cause tile floor can't be comfortable to sleep on."

No, no it wasn't. Especially when you had scales. Tile tended to suck the warmth right out of you. "It's fine, Trixie. Just not comfortable sleepin' in your room."

"Gee, thanks." She paused. "Look, Jake, I'm just gonna ask this. Is this some sorta dragon thing? 'Cause if it is, that's cool."

No one could ever say that Trxie pulled her punches. "Huh?"

"You heard me. Is it a dragon thing or not?"

"I, well... yeah. Look, Trix, you and Spud just don't get it, okay?"

Trixie, being Trixie, took that as a challenge. She crossed her arms. "Okay then. Explain it to me."

"I'm a dragon, Trixie. This-" He gestured to himself. "This is me- but it isn't. The scales and wings are me too. I'm never gonna be completely human."

She raised an eyebrow. "Uh, duh. That's a given."

"I'm not done yet. Dragon's... we sleep in nest kinda things. I can't keep up my human form in my sleep. It'd be kinda like you tryin' to act like a dog when you're snoring away, or something. I can't control it. How would you react if you woke up one morning to find a huge scaly lizard sleeping on your floor? Be honest."

Trixie's other eyebrow joined the first. She didn't look the least bit worried. "That's it? Seriously? Man, I thought we were over this. Friends don't freak out when friends sleep in their scales. I was more worried you sleep-fly, or somethin' crazy like that." She grabbed his arm and yanked him out the bathroom door. "Now get your irritatin' butt out here and curl up on a proper bed. Er, nest. Sorry."

"You sure?"

"Hey, as long as you don't set anything on fire, we cool."

"Well..." He rubbed his shoulder. "Dragon's tend to breathe smo-"

"Don't-" She raised a hand to chest-level. "Finish that sentence. I'll crack a window. If it gets to bad we'll just toss you out onto the fire escape."

It was kind of awkward at first, sleeping on the floor for the first time in years, but Trixie and Spud made it a point not to stare at him for any great length of time, and no one complained when he stole an extra blanket to curl up on.

"Man, that nesting thing you guys do looks seriously comfortable." Spud fluffed his pillow. "Like, seriously. I don't know why we humans sleep like we do when nesting exists."

Jake chuckled and curled up, drifting off. It was the best sleep he'd had in ages- and the best part of it was, he wasn't stuck sleeping in the bathtub, or something.

Author's Note: I should've finished this a while ago, honestly, but I've been lazy. Anyway, here's some seriously fluffy American Dragon stuff for you.

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