Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Everyone imagines what it would be like to be powerful. To be so strong and mighty that no one even questions it, they just bow. Some Want to be a wizard or mage with spells that have no limit. Or maybe a beast that is twice the size of a normal human with large teeth. No matter what, everyone wishes they could be strong enough not to worry about strife that they face.

Well,  almost everyone. A dragon like himself has never needed more power than was already in his birthright.

That’s right, the great Tommy Innit is an all powerful dragon. Able to breathe fire and fly the lengths of continents in less than a day. Humans and beasts cower before him alike, and no powerful wizard has been able to stop him yet. So no matter what those weak humans wanted to be, a dragon is the obvious choice. 

Not that they would be anymore of a match to him.

(His clan would laugh at that sentiment. Sure he’s plenty strong, stronger than most his age. But he is nothing in regards to them. Well, maybe hes stronger than Wilbur, that stupid musician.)

He finds it funny how life works. One day you’re living a peaceful life on your own, happy and free with a whole mountain to yourself. Then the next day there’s a tiny human, well humanoid, bleeding out practically on your doorstep! What does it take for a dragon to get some respect around here? He means come on, what kind of manners were they taught to do such a rude thing.

Well, rude or not that didn’t quite get rid of the problem he was facing. So with a small huff, one that likely sent a decent-sized gust of wind down to the village, he followed the smell. 

It wasn’t the first time Tommy had to deal with the grotesque smell of blood. Whether it was from his food after hunting, a random war from the humans becoming too close, or just his older brother’s odd ability to reek of it. He guesses that is just the punishment for the older dragon’s cool nickname. As Wilbur would quote, you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

(Even though they didn’t and probably couldn’t eat cake so the analogy didn’t mean shit. Wilbur just liked picking up on weird human stuff.)

It didn’t take him long to find the dumb thing that was bleeding out, the little cretin sure made it a pretty far distance. The forest wasn’t as dense towards his cave, unlike its near impossibly thick base. It only required a little bit of shrinking himself so he could get through the trees. And then bam, there the humanoid was.

They were tiny, not truly all the way tiny like he had seen with humanoid children. But they were skin and bone, short despite their obvious life experience. Usually those that were bleeding from wounds like these were fully grown adults. Battle-hardened and old but not yet past naivety of fighting in wars. Even in what is considered quite young amongst dragons, he learned quickly that war is not the glory that it is spoken with.

No, war is cruel and unrelenting. It is blood for blood, pain for pain, hate to hate. It is starvation and loneliness of the worst kind. It brings devastation and agony, leaving melancholy at best and depression at worst. It is… It is this boy before him.

It is this poor dumb humanoid in front of him in every way that it hurts.

So, with a small huff, he makes a decision that will forever change his family and his own fate. For a few minutes the fire-breathing dragon that is Tommyinnit has placed the small boy into his nest with painstaking gentleness.

Cloth made with the finest material is easily wrapped around him, cradling him firmly in the safety of the nest. A sparkling pink liquid is splashed onto them, disappearing into mist instead of damaging the blankets nor the human. Tommy’s got to give it to the human wizards who learned how to make potions so powerful as these.

Of course, Healing potions don’t fix everything sadly. So with a quick faint flash he leaves behind his birth form for one of a human. It’s a secret Phil taught them, a long forgotten skill that not even most dragons know. It is of the highest importance that he never reveals his ability, but the human needs his help and they are too weak to wake up anyway.

So he gets to work fishing out the magical medicine that his father also made sure to force him to have. He’s had enough experience patching up Techno from when he would disguise himself to fight. It’s not hard cleaning his wounds with his freshwater creek, boiled with his own fire just in case. It’s calming almost, taking care of the tiny stranger.

With his luck the humanoid is probably going to at least attempt to kill him. But for now he admires how gentle and small the figure is. With short curly brown hair that grows just past his eyes and curled horns on his head. They are very reminiscent of the goats on the mountains back home. He wonders if the human stays, if he’ll get to see them try and pull off those cool tricks like walking practically sideways on a mountain.

While he waits, he will go looking through all of his treasure for something for them to wear. Maybe he should ask Wilbur and Phil about places to get good human clothing. Tommy has always been the least likely to transform, it always makes him feel weak. Techno only does it when his voices need human blood. “A true warrior fights fairly.” or some other fancy shit.

Until then, the makeshift toga works just as good, the olive silk suiting the small being perfectly. He truly hopes that they like it, Tommy knows that some fabrics bug him in human form so who knows. 

They will wake up to find themselves in a whole different world from what they used to live in. Yes, there's going to be conflict and confusion. Culture shock isn’t a pleasant thing after all. But it makes one hell of a story.

This is the tale of the Dragon Tommyinnit and Tubbo the Orphan.

What a truly cliche story.

Chapter Text

It feels like he’s burning from the inside out. His body aches and his bones feel broken. Maybe it’s because they are broken, Tubbo doesn’t know. Right now all he can think about is that he is on fire. Maybe he’s in Hell like they said he would be when he finally kicked the bucket. Did he die? Was he really nothing but a corpse now?

The Brunette doesn’t know how to feel about it.

(He doesn’t like that he doesn’t care. This feels like something that he should care about. If he is dead then it will suck. He hates that saying it sucks is the most negative phrasing he can use.)

Either way, his emotions would have to wait. Whether or not he was in Hell or someplace similar, he couldn’t just sit there. Why would he be allowed to spend his eternity laying down? He's not that lucky.

So he started to pry his eyes open which wasn’t all too hard. He’s used to forcing himself to wake up. It takes him a second to adjust to what he’s seeing with how dark it is, but when he finally does it confuses him quite a bit. He appears to be under this huge cave, the ceiling of which has to be a mile high.

He doesn’t actually think it is, he’s not very good at measurements.

(He’s not very good at anything.)

Looking around at his very limited area of sight, all he can really tell is that he is in fact in a cave. The dripstone is old and shiny from where it hangs on the ceiling, smoother than he would have assumed it would be. For a while he just stays there, admiring the weird geographic form. He could stay there forever, he would love that. 

The thump that shakes the cave easily startles him out of his state of entrancement. It is followed by a gust of warm wind that ruffles his hair. Wind that smells of cooked meat and smoke. If Tubbo didn’t know any better he would think that it was the smell of someone's breath. But he does know better, because what creature could have breathed so large to be mistaken as wind.

It’s with a startling fear that races through him that he remembers what he was doing before he woke up. Or to be more specific, where he was headed.

Towards the one place no person is dumb enough to follow.

The dragon’s den at the top of the mountain.

Fuck

Tubbo always knew he had bad luck. Why else would he be born a hybrid in a village that really didn’t like Hybrids. Why else would he be payed less even though he worked harder than any kid in that stupid town ever had. Why else would his father have left and his mother have given him up. Why else would he have been chased up the mountain, bloody and beaten, after they deemed him not worth their time.

Why else would he wake up in a literal Dragon’s Den.

He’s moving before he can think about it. Even if he was trying to be quiet he has no doubt that the dragon would have been able to hear him. So he doesn’t go for stealth. If anything, his haste to leave has him making more noise than if he simply walked out. He feels the Cave shake again, this time with lighter thumps that are rapid and clumsy. He gets about 25 feet towards what he hopes is the exit before there is another warm gust at his back.

Directly on his back.

The Hybrid freezes because curse his instincts of course he couldn’t just keep running. He knows he’s as good as dead no matter what. Whether he escapes or not there is no way that either parties waiting for him will keep him alive this time. But just this once he wanted to be able to have faith, just this once he wanted to be able to live.

But the universe is cruel and he has never had luck on his side.

(It’s funny, years beyond that day, that he laughs at just how wrong he was.)

A soft growl brings him back to reality, the dragon’s head is hovering over his head. The tilt to the beast's head would be hilarious if not for the fear that courses through him. He wonder’s how this dragon is going to kill him, will it eat him alive or rip him to pieces for entertainment. No matter what he doubts it will be quick and painless. He squeezes his eyes shut and prays to whatever may hear him that it will happen fast.

“Ow do?” Tubbo’s eyes snap open with a ferocity that startled even him a bit. Because that noise he heard wasn’t a growl or anything of the like. No, that was a voice a bit similar to his own, with a slightly stronger accent and a gravely tone. That voice must mean that there is a human here, he could still get out of there with his head!

That is until he realizes that the dragon looks more angry, or if it wasn’t a dragon with no human body language, annoyed. 

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever met a more rude Human in my life,” chills run up Tubbo’s back when he realizes that the voice is the dragon. The dragon is talking. “I mean come on, I've been in wars before yet all of those screaming dumbasses have the decency to respond when I'm talking to them. But not a peep out of you who I even healed! The injustice of it all!” The dragon continues to rant about his manners but the brunette can’t really focus on it because oh my goodness. The Dragon is talking to him.

He’s so caught up in the ridiculous situation that he’s found himself in, that he doesn’t notice that his legs get weaker. That it’s getting far harder to stay standing and that his wounds and body are burning again. He continues to not notice until he is suddenly lifted up into the air. 

The Dragon has the back of his shirt in his mouth, lifting him up like a mother cat would do to one of her rouge kittens. There should be no reason for him to react any differently than he had been before. But, there is no way to play the gentleness in which he is picked up. Hell, the dragon’s teeth don’t even break through the fabric. There are no harsh movements, he’s moving him slower than he probably needs too. There’s no way that this monstrous beast that is 10 times his size would be so careful without intending it. 

The hilarity of the situation is just enough to shock a gasp out of him. The dragon halts its movements, freezing up before they slowly move him back to the ground. When he is fully laying on the ground, wide eyed and frozen as the dragon proceeds to scan him in what has to be worry. Tubbo knows that not all creatures have the same mannerisms but there is no denying that this fire-breathing creature has proven to share at least some displays of human emotions.

“I- Uh I hope I didn’t hurt you there. I was trying to be careful, trust me I was! Its just really hard to know my own strength I guess,” They chuckle a bit, the noise is nervous and strained. Tubbo’s made that same sound enough to know that its more to lighten the mood than because they find this funny. “Can you tell me where it hurts? I can give you any medical stuff to help, I have already healed what I could see.”

The brunette doesn’t quite know what to do. Sure, this dragon that is still talking to him , seems nice. From what Tubbo can tell they haven't lied, all of the visual wounds he had before he blacked out are healed or at least better than they were. But this is still a dragon that he’s dealing with. One that has lived on this mountain longer than he has been alive. One that breathes fire and burns down towns, he’s seen the left over scorch marks on some of the older stronger built buildings.

But he’s had his life ruined by people with preconceptions.

Maybe, just this once, he’ll figure this one out on his own.

“I- I am A-okay, uhm, B-big man?” His words come out as he expected, all nervous and jittery. No one is allowed to blame him for it, it’s not like talking all jittery when faced with his predicament is weird. He’s allowed to be a coward this once.

“YOU’RE-” the dragon starts to shout, obviously excited to have Tubbo finally talk to them. They quickly change their loudness at the hybrid's aggressive flinch. He doesn’t remember the last time that another being cared about how he reacted, let alone a dragon. He still can’t wrap his head around it. “You’re alive! And you can speak! What a relief.”

“I-if you don’t mind me asking-? Why is that such a relief?” The dragon still looks thrilled that he is in fact alive and talking. But they do pause at the sentence, again making a confused face.

“Why wouldn’t I be relieved? I didn’t put that much effort into keeping you alive just for you to die!” Tubbo has to admit that their statement makes sense. But that still doesn’t change why they would care.

“Yeah, but, why?” The beast still doesn’t seem to grasp what he is asking, opening their mouth to argue again. “No no. I mean like, why did you help me at all? Aren’t you a dragon?” Again, the beast takes a pause, still looking confused but more offended than anything.

“You- well, you were dying. I couldn’t just ignore your presence, especially with how bad of shape you were in,” Tubbo is a mere seconds from awing at the wholesome reply when their head whips back up with wide eyes. “Y-YOU were going to stink up my Mountain! That would be a-a real bad waste of this prime real estate now wouldn’t it!”

It’s obvious that the first story was the truthful one. There wasn’t a fibur in their being that Tubbo could detect as lying. Why the dragon decided to act like he didn’t care was beyond him. That didn’t mean that the hybrid was any less thankful though.

“Well, no matter why you helped me, thank you. I owe you one. Though, I don’t really know what I would be able to do for you. I highly doubt you aren’t far more capableable than I am,” he can’t help but laugh at the thought. This situation hasn’t gotten any less ridiculous.

“W-well of course! For I am the Great TommyInnit! The strongest fire-breathing dragon to have ever lived!” They puff up their chest and raise their head, hand or well, Claw lifted up to their chest. The mannerism is once again too human but he is starting to get used to it.

When the dragon, TommyInnit, moves his head enough to make eye contact with him, there is this warm feeling bubbling in his chest. Before he knows it the two of them are laughing. Its strangely joyus in a way, like he has been wanting to laugh this freely for years. He probably has been.

Tommy continues to boast about many things, like the red of his scales and the sharpness of his claws. All the while he continues to move and express himself with human mannerisms. More and more Tubbo gets used to them, just continuing to laugh with the dragon. It’s still strange, he doubts laughing with a beast that is 10 times his size will ever not be. But the more and more he laughs and the more and more he relaxes, he has a thought.

Maybe , he thinks, it would be fun to get used to this.

The dragon yawns and wraps around him, and despite how terrified he was not even an hour ago, he nestles back into them. The scales are strangely nice against him, they're not cold but they're not hot either. It’s perfectly comfortable and within moments all of the tiredness catches up to him. He doesn’t want to sleep, there is still that fear just barely underneath all of the happy layers. 

He doesn’t want to wake up somewhere else. He would suffer torment and anguish if he just got to stay there for a few more moments. Wet tracks start to flow down his face. All the comfort and laughter from just a minute ago too far gone to prevent the tears. He wants, he wants for once to be safe. He wants this to be real. Please, please don’t make me go back. Just one more mi-

“Calm down little one,” Tommy’s voice is different, its deeper and heavier. It lays across him like a weighted blanket. “I will keep you safe. You are in my den, among my treasures, therefore you shall be treated as such.”

“I don’t want to go back. I don’t want to be killed.” His worries tumble out finally. He feels like just a tiny kid again, telling his mother that there are monsters in his closet. But this time the monsters are too real for his mother to save him from. If his mother would have ever cared to do so.

“No one will ever hurt you again.” The words are bright and sacred. The warmth from before slowly easing his fear away. “You are sacred now. You are my treasure, prized and gold. You have my vow.” Tubbo’s eyes drift shut, warm and safe with no more fear.

“Sweet treasure, pure and gold,

This is my promise until I am gray and old,

Thou being, filled with soft and sweet sorrows,

I will keep you safe for the rest of your tomorrows.”

Chapter Text

It’s weird waking up surrounded by a giant lizard that could destroy the entire valley he lived in. But the surprising warmth the scales hold is enough to not care. Tommy has promised not to hurt him and for once in his life, he trusts his word. So Tubbo goes to cuddle back into the little area he’s in, smushing his face onto soft scales.

Yep, this is really weird.

He’s seconds from dozing off again when his stomach reminds him that he hasn’t eaten in a while. It’s growl is surprisingly loud, not as loud as Tommy, but louder than it usually is. Apparently, it’s loud enough to wake the dragon that he was using as a pillow.

“Now, I know we are going to be spending a fair amount of time together, but that doesn’t make it right to imitate a dragon's growl. Especially with such a lackluster attempt like that,” Tommy laughs, “You didn’t even use your mouth!” He continues to cackle as if its the funniest thing around and Tubbo can only hope that it’s because he is tired. Afterall, how is he supposed to bond with someone with such shit humor?

“I wasn’t trying to imitate you, my stomach growled!” Tommy is still chuckling but looks at him with a confused expression. Or, what Tubbo hopes is confused, its not as easy to detect emotions on a dragon’s face as it is on a human’s.

“I didn’t know that human’s stomachs could growl, or is it just a mix breed thing?” his voice becomes more under the breath as he says, “Maybe I should have listened to Phil more about humans.”

“No no. It’s like an expresion. Our stomachs make that noise to signify that we are hungry, it just sounds like a growl so thats what we call it!” It’s kind of funny to have to explain something that he always thought of as simple. The brunet wonders what else he will have to explain to his new dragon friend during his stay with them. Well, for as long as Tommy wants him there.

Shut up Tubbo, he vowed that he wanted you here. Stop with your stupid self-deprication. Just let yourself have this one thing.

“OH! I FORGOT FOOD!'' Within a blink of an eye, Tommy has risen from his place on the floor and is already rushing around. Tubbo is even more amazed by the precision that he used to gently place him down so he didn’t fall down. His heart opens a bit more at the small action. It really has been such a long time since he has been treated so gently.

“Why are you all panicky? Don’t you have your own food that I could take a chunk from?” Tommy stops his sporadic movements to make a large and uncomfortable looking smile. Tubbo assumes that it’s his version of looking sheepish.

“Well, despite what you may think, dragons don’t often need much food or water. Were like, hrm, what that weird animal in the desert with lumps?” They both pause, but when nothing comes to mind quick enough, the red beast is talking again, “Well anyway, without my Flock, I don’t often remember to keep a storage for those kinds of things. Preparations have never been my style.”

“So how do you normally get food? Fishing, hunting, or do you just fly around looking for an animal and call it a day?” The sheepish look is back, but this time Tommy refuses to make eye contact. “Well, it doesn't matter. Since we need food for the both of us, I can help! I’ll go left an-” the hybrid is cut off by a sharp growl.

Tommy is staring at him, eyes narrowed and teeth bared. His relaxed position changed to a tense action pose. He looks seconds from killing him. After a few seconds of Tubbo berating himself for losing the one thing that gave him joy again, Tommy’s eyes come back into focus. The confusion from earlier spreads over his face again. He shakes his head and blinks rapidly, sending a few gusts of wind his way.

It would be funny but Tubbo is still scared shitless.

“I-I..” The dragon looks just as lost and distressed as Tubbo feels. It probably shouldn’t be as comforting as it is. “I am so so sorry about that big man. Last night, I made a sacred vow to you. It is a spell in a sense, so that I will protect you no matter what,” he gulps, looking to the floor, “I guess my spell made my instincts act up, it got really defensive about you helping.”

On one hand, despite how stupid it all sounds, Tubbo does remember the fancy words he heard right before he fell asleep. He knows that it doesn’t make sense for Tommy to have been mad at him, so he takes his word for now. It calms the stones in his stomach that had clenched up in his panic. On the other hand, there is no way that Tubbo is just going to be a parasite and not help.

“Why won't you let me help you? I won’t be just a useless pet!” Tommy wimpers, closing his eyes and shaking his head. It’s obvious that his instincts disagree with his statement.

“No, it’s not that I don't want the help! Trust me, it might be nice to have you tell me what you want to eat. It’s just that you're still hurt and I really don’t want to make your condition worse, that would be horrible of me-” Tubbo gets to watch a dragon, a mythical powerful huge beast, fall into his anxiety right before his eyes.

Tommy’s breathing is fast and shallow, his words keep falling from his jaw but they become less coherent by the second. His head is swaying and his eyes have dilated, he looks like he’s seconds from a break down. For the first time since he’s met the beast, Tubbo wonders how old Tommy is. He surely doesn’t seem like he should be on his own yet. 

It’s a good thing that he isn’t on his own anymore then. Tommy swore his soul to the job of protecting him, so therefore, the brunet shall do the same. If he can’t help with food until he’s healed, then he can help with this.

“Tommy.”

“-I have never had to take care of a human or whatever they call a mix bread like you-”

“Tommy.”

“What if you were better off without me, I should have just left you alone, GAH no no I wouldn’t do that-”

“TOMMY!”

His head shoots up and stares at him, giving his undivided attention. His eyes widened when he realized the proximity between them was gone, Tubbo had been approaching him as he panicked. Now, the brunet stands a few feet away, easily within chomping distance. The thought only makes his new instincts more upset with him.

“You’re okay big man. I totally understand that reasoning. You only scared me because I was worried that I had upset you somehow-”

“You would never upset me by asking if I needed help. You will never upset me for any such reason. I will-” Tubbo chuckles cutting the dragon off. The hybrid’s expression is relaxed with a hidden note of sadness. Tommy wants to get rid of all the negativity that lies beneath his skin.

“You don’t have to keep promising things to me. I was once told that friendship is a mutual benefit. I will care for you and you will care for me,” He takes a breath and raises his arm up, palm flat. Tommy’s eyes narrow almost comically before he puts his snout against his hand. The two laugh before Tubbo continues, “I will trust you as you will trust me. Not because of magic or instincts, but on a similarly sacred tradition.”

“What tradition is that?” his words come out muffled having yet to remove his snout from where it is. He laughs again before he shakes his head and straightens his back. Tommy has seen many humans act cocky with a similar pose. Standing tall with their head raised, challenging him or one of his Flock. It’s with a certain spark that the dragon see’s Tubbo standing like that and thinks that maybe, had those that had fallen looked the same, he would be nothing but ash.

“The bond of Companionship. With this bond, we will love one another for as long as fate allows. No hardships will separate us for long, but we will never promise to be perfect. If we are angry, we will allow ourselves to be angry. If we must leave the other’s side, we shall do so. A companion is a friend, an Ally, and someone who could become family. So for the sake of this bond, we must promise to be the best we can be.”

“How will I be able to be angry at you? You are my Sacred, it is set in stone.”

“Like this, I, Tubbo Underscore, hereby promise to uphold all the promises I have made in the past. But I also promise to my companion, to not sacrifice my beliefs and Morals for them. That is the only way I can be true to them, in the way that they deserve.” Tommy’s eyes sparkle with understanding and he smiles.

“This reminds me of something that Techno has said to me. I understand now, is it my turn?” Tubbo nods and so the dragon takes in a breath and repeats the oath, “I, TommyInnit, hereby promise to uphold all the promises I have made in the past. But I also promise to my companion, to not sacrifice my beliefs and Morals for them. That is the only way I can be true to them, in the way that they deserve.”

“Perfect.” The hybrid says before he removes his hand for his snout. Tommy’s about to object at the loss of contact before Tubbo does something weird. There’s a bump on the area the hand used to be, but this time there rests Tubbo’s head. With the closeness between them, Tommy finally gets to see his horns up close. They’re goat horns .

Its with a startling memory that he remembers seeing goats headbutting on the old mountain with Phil. The older dragon had already sensed his question and told him that it was how they showed affection. With the flustered look that Tubbo has as he removes his head and walks to the nest, he assumes that it means the same.

He smiles, “Yeah, perfect.”

Chapter Text

It’s funny how easily they blend together. Yeah, there are issues that mess them up, but for all that could go wrong, not much does. The trial and error of Tommy trying to feed Tubbo raw meat is one of them. Raw, is putting the corpse of a deer in front of him a little too lightly. Its with the loss of appetite and dry heaving that the brunet has to inform his new friend of the mistake. 

But it’s also amazing in the messiest of ways. Sure, the promises of comfort and care and the gentle actions have been nice. It’s been so long since he’s been on the receiving or giving side of that. But there’s something so much more comforting about this whole ordeal in how Tommy freaks out about the situation. Hastily trying to pick up the dead creature in a way that makes him trip over himself and proceed to start cursing up a storm. 

His laughter falls from his mouth so easily. It’s no cackle or full-bellied laugh that he heard other people do, but its joyous. His outburst of laughter has Tommy looking back up at him and scrunching up his face. 

“HEY! DON’T LAUGH AT ME! I would like to see you try and be nice by giving someone an entire deer! I worked hard to find this fucker and kill it and all you do is laugh at me!” The hybrid’s laughter only grows in its loudness at the dragon’s complaints. “YOU HAVE NO MANNERS, SHAME ON YOU!”

The dragon, a ginormous beast that is easily at least 4 Tubbos’ tall and 8 Long, walks away with a frown. His legs stomping off like the toddlers he’s seen throwing tantrums back at the village sends him into another whirlwind of laughter. When Tommy finally comes back 15 minutes later, this time without a carcass but now with some fruit in a bundle he holds in his jaw, he’s finally calmed down.

“There! I got you some of the apples from the trees around the mountain. Or are those “inedible” too, you wimp.” His little giggles fall back out, barely audible enough to be giggled with how little air he has still. The grumpy demeanor of the beast a little bit aways changes almost like a match, lighting up and laughing along with him. Yeah, this is so weird that its funny. But, its also amazing in a way that makes him want to cry again.

Its funny and amazing all tied into one.

-----------------------------------------------

It was surprisingly easy to connect to each other. He was expecting a lot more miscommunications and misunderstandings to happen. Just a lot of mis type things. All of it.

But there really wasn’t. Yeah sure the deer incident happened but after that nothing was nearly as dramatic. Before they knew it they were talking and laughing and just spending a lot of time together. Like, they knew that they were going to be spending time together, but to enjoy it was entirely different. They got to learn about each other and the other’s culture.

Tubbo learned that dragons were more in control of their bodies than he expected. He had always assumed that they were stuck being that large and tall. It wasn’t even a week before he had noticed that the beast had shrunk himself occasionally. When he pointed it out, Tommy was startled only to laugh and proceed to show off and brag. He could go from the size of a newt to barely fitting in the cave within 10 seconds. It was amazing, not that he would ever tell that to Tommy.

He also learned that for a dragon, Tommy was really knowledgeable about how to hunt and find food like someone who wasn’t huge as shit. In the same way, he also knew about clothes and slang that were far too human in nature. But hey, if Tubbo didn’t have to explain why more form-fitting clothes were normal rather than a blanket draped over him, he wasn’t going to complain. 

It became a messy routine within the month that had already passed. They woke up, usually Tubbo first, and then after headbutting the dragon, they started making breakfast. Even though Tommy didn’t need food regularly as humans did, he would always try to join him. He said it reminded him of how he would eat with his flock when he lived with them.

That was another thing that the brunet got to learn, Tommy had a flock of 3 other dragons. Not just any other 3 dragons either, these ones were famous for their havoc and actions. There was Technoblade, Known for joining in on wars if the side he liked better was losing. Wilbur, who they only knew the name of for the sake that he was the most friendly beast of them all. Then, there was his father, Philza, the ancient dragon that had helped seal a deal to keep his kind safe and out of wars and extinction.

And damn if Tommy didn’t adore the trio. Whenever anything got brought up about wars or pink for some reason, Tommy jumped on the chance to talk about the skill that Techno had. If something sounded like music or Tubbo talked about getting Salmon, also weird, he was ranting about how talented and stupid Wilbur was. If something was green, old, or Tubbo tried to scold him for something, Philza was being brought up. 

It startled him at first, how eager Tommy was when the others could be mentioned. But soon it just made him laugh and smile, nodding along to him as if he knew them his entire life as well. It was amazing to hear all of the fun and silly stories that the dragon had to share. Tubbo couldn’t wait until the day that he would get to meet them. Screw the legends and ideas that they were supposed to be scary and powerful, they seemed like wonderful beings.

After they ate, they would spit ideas on what to do that day. If they had done something silly and fun the day before, they would choose something productive that day. Sewing and making new clothes for Tubbo, gathering more fruits and herbs, resetting traps and tending to the farm they had only just started, etc. If they had done the productive stuff the prior day though, they got to have some fun.

Exploring was usually Tubbo’s go-to, sure Tommy had lived on the mountain for a while but he hadn’t really seen it all that much. Looking and mapping out the large area was fun and exciting. The more caves and openings they found the more silly names they got to call them. It reminds them both of childish stories from long ago.

Tommy, on the other hand, liked taking Tubbo on more risky adventures. Whether it was actually going into those caves and meeting bears or going climbing and almost getting stomped on by a mountain goat. Though, Tommy’s favorite choice would always go to wanting to take Tubbo into the skies.

Don’t get him wrong, flying sounded fun and wild. Especially with Tommy being there to keep him safe and everything. But every time it was suggested, the brunet backed out of it as fast as possible. It was also this way that they learned that Tommy’s spell had given him an empathic insight. Apparently, even the spell felt that it was weird how nervous he got about the idea and would make Tommy pull back from trying to peer pressure Tubbo. 

He had promised that he would work on the fear by climbing higher. It wasn’t the fear of heights that got to him but maybe just working on having Tommy to fall back on would help him get over it. Until then they would just climb the mountain and then Tubbo would watch as Tommy showed off some funny tricks in the air.

It was one of those days again when they went to go outside the cave. They were mid-debate on what they should do when an arrow came flying through the air in their direction. He guesses that they know what they are doing today now.

Chapter Text

The arrow lands a few feet away from the duo. Its nothing special, no fire or designs or note, just a simple arrow. It would have been easy to ignore it, to think it was a mere mistake. There had been stray arrows all the time when he was in the village. Children weren’t often blessed with perfect aim when they were being taught the craft.

But there was no hoping or assuming that it was a mistake. Not when they are just outside the huge cave near the peak of the main mountain. Not when the whole village knows that this cave is the dragon’s, that this mountain is the dragon’s. 

They have both stopped moving, just staring at the tiny little arrow. They wait, all tense and ready to move. It takes what feels like hours for the other shoe to drop in the form of rustling. Had it not already been a month of living on this mountain, Tubbo could have brushed it off as a wild animal. But the hours he’s spent focusing on noises both back in the village and here when learning to hunt tell him that its not a small animal.

The rustling is too accidental for a small animal who would naturally know how to use bushes for cover. All larger animals also know not to come near here and have their own areas. It could in theory be a deer at best but by the way Tommy lowers into a snarl he is going to assume not.

This moment should be terrifying, there are a million possibilities of what this could be and how all of this could go to shit. But all he can really think at the moment is disappointment. It sucks, all he wanted to do was have fun with his best friend. He wants to be scared, but he knows that he’s safe. If Tommy can scare away a Bear then he can handle whatever this is.

His confidence is met with an arrow more directly aimed at his head. But it is also proven, when Tommy moves in the way of it and the small stick ricochets off of his hard scales. His snarl stretches and his eyes narrow before he lets out a loud growl. Its deep and guttural, making his stomach shake the way it does when a drum is too close. 

Now, this sucks.

Yeah okay sure. Its not enough that someone has to interrupt what was probably going to be another good day. It’s not enough that the person seems to be aiming at Tubbo. No, what ruins this is the fear and comes over him at the growl. Just seconds ago he felt no fear towards an arrow simply because he knew that Tommy would protect him. But now all he can focus on is that Tommy is mad.

He’s mad at you. Like yeah he promised to protect you but you didn’t even try to move out of the way. Sure you probably wouldn’t have made it but you can’t be that useless. The arrow might have bounced off but it probably still hurt him. Probably left a bruise, if dragons can bruise. All because he had to protect something worthless like you.

Tubbo had been having the time of his life on this mountain. He was free from the anger and the suffering that he was constantly dealing with. He had a friend who cared about him and gave him anything that he wanted even if it was one of his treasures. It had been a while since the thoughts took over like this.

Sure, He struggled with the occasional thought or worry. But they hadn’t completely overwritten his brain like this in a while. He really did manage to get too used to the peace and quiet.

You lost every survival instinct you had. You are even more weak than you were when you were starving! You are nothing but a weakness, a burden. You are nothing.

----------------------------

It was rare when humans came up the mountain. After he had moved there and they had sent people up to see what he wanted, they had learned pretty quickly that Tommy wasn’t exactly the friendly dragon that people had been talking about. Tommy was no Wilbur after all. But in that same way, Wilbur was no Tommy. 

He admired his older brother for making a point to speak words before fighting. He was always one to shift into a human and gather information before showing up as his dragon form. It was in that way that he managed to make his appearances more well received. But if the need to fight had ever arised, if they were prepared with the tools to take on a dragon, Wilbur would be in a pickle.

Tommy on the other hand usually followed Techno on his ways of knowing how to stand against attacks. Sure, when he could he always tried to rely on using words and staying away from bigger conflicts like wars. But if he was threatened or there was a small scuffle, he knew how to handle those situations easily. So when they had come to him trying to attack, he handled them with ease and sent a message down to them that he was not to be messed with.

So to say that he was pretty upset by the arrows being sent at him and Tubbo was an understatement. Yes, people never fully stopped going on the mountain, but no one had attacked him since he got there years ago. He was pissed that someone had dared to even try and harm him, let alone with such a shitty arrow shot. 

But they hadn’t aimed for him now did they?

No, that dumbass had aimed for the hybrid just beside him. Someone who looked easily just like a human from such a distance. The person had tried to kill one of its own kind instead of Tommy. They thought that it would be smarter to kill the human who was laughing alongside a huge dragon before killing the actual beast.

Tommy didn’t need no Oath Spell to be fuming with rage. Within a second he had shrunk his body to allow him to fit into the trees where the bitch was hiding. He shrunk only enough to fit and still maintain his size to scare the living shit out of them. Another arrow was released and again it didn nothing to him. Not even a scratch on his lovely red scales.

With an emphasized stomp, he crushed the bush that they were hiding behind and met their horrified eyes with his enraged ones. After a small 5 second pause on his part, his brain deciding whether the disgusting being in front of him deserved being set on fire or ripped apart by his teeth, he took an inhale.

Tommy had always loved breathing fire. Despite the fact that most stories and legends said that all dragons could do so, not many actually could. Out of his family, only he could breathe normal fire. Techno could breathe, uhm, something. He doesn’t remember what name they gave the gas that spilled out of his mouth when he was particularly angry.

“TOMMY NO!” And just like that, the fire building up in the back of his throat got coughed up. Instead of the magnificent breath of fire it was supposed to be, all that came out was a spark and smoke. He whipped his head around at Tubbo and huffed the rest of the smoke through his nose.

Tubbo was still pale as the snow peaks of the mountain. He had his fist clenched against his chest and his other by his side. It was obvious that he was trying to calm himself down. But Tommy didn’t need his new instincts to tell him that he was still unsteady. The brunet’s eyes were still small and scared.

“Tommy, I know that you probably can’t control yourself that much right now. But think about it, why would they attack me? If they were only coming up here for you, it would make more sense for them to try and protect me. Somethings wrong here, I can feel it,” they both stayed silent, breathing heavily and thinking about what could be different. 

They didn’t get long to think.

The people attacking them really should have thought about their life choices during their pause. Instead, the fools decided they wanted to die all together. At least, thats all Tommy could assume by the arrow now lodged in Tubbo’s shoulder.

The younger dragon had often assumed that Techno made up the ‘seeing red’ parts of his retellings. Sure it made for a cool thought when trying to explain how blood lustful and angry he would get during moments on the battlefield. But there was a huge difference between what he assumed was story and truth.

Tommy had fought in wars before. He may not have liked it and he may not have participated if he could help it. But he had fought for his life before. He had never experienced true bloodlust. It was so ironic, that as his eyesight faded into red, all he wanted to do was cry.

-------------------------------------------

Tubbo didn’t know what was going on. He had gone from scared out of his mind to screaming out his friends name to prevent said friend from commiting murder. Because sure it didn’t make sense that this was happening but he also didn’t want to have to see Tommy kill anyone. Then this time he didn’t get a chance to be scared before his arm felt like it was being ripped off. 

When he turned to look at what was happening, he learned that there was thankfully not an animal ripping his limb off. Not that the arrow half way through his shoulder was much better. But at least this was something he could save. 

Tommy was a weird dragon in his opinion. He had the usual gold and jewels and shit. But he also had a lot of nicknacks and books. He claimed that his father Phil was the one to force him to have them. They ranged from popular literature books to those on science and medicine.

Tommy may have known the basics, also forced on him by Phil, but he didn’t read them all that much. It was just dumb luck that Tubbo had always been intregued by those kinds of things. They had put it in their schedule to try and read as much of a book before bed as they could before passing out. 

It was through that knowledge and the weird obsession that the dragon had to collect potions any chance he got, that Tubbo sprinted back into the cave. 

There was a small part of him, okay a large part of him, that wanted to go back out and make sure Tommy would be okay. But then there was a loud roar followed by heat that he could feel at his back and all of a sudden Tubbo was more worried for the people that attacked him.

It wasn’t hard to find the stash of potions and medical books, Tubbo had made it his mission to organize the things on actual shelves. Tommy would collect wood, since he could knock down trees with his tail on accident. It paid off pretty well if he did say so himself.

The healing and regeneration potions were in his other arm and set down on the table within seconds. All he had to do was… was to pull out the arrow. 

Look, he knew that this wasn’t going to be pretty or easy in any way. It was going to hurt worse than anything he had ever felt. But he also knew that the potions would heal it like nothing happened. Tommy would be coming back into the cave and everything would be okay again. They would cuddle up in the nest and all of the pain would disappear like a bad dream.

It didn’t make what he was about to do any better.

But he didn’t survive this long for nothing. He didn’t escape the village that pushed him out just to die now. So he took a deep breath and grabed onto the stupid arrow. Closing his eyes he pulled as straight and as quick as he could. He had intended to breathe out during the process but it just became a scream of pain.

But there it was, in his hands was the whole arrow. Tubbo didn’t take the time to appreciate how fucking lucky it was that he managed to pull it all out in one go. All he did was throw it down before chugging the potions back to back and falling to the ground.

The rapid thumps of Tommy’s stomps were the last things he sensed before he promptly passed out.  

Chapter Text

When Tubbo wakes back up, he is entangled in a mass of red scales. He had expected this and was ready to go back to sleep knowing everything was okay. Though, upon his small movement, he was greeted by a hiss from the dragon around him.

And not just any hiss. This wasn’t protective or annoyed. No this hiss was one of pain. He had to deal with Tommy trying to act all tough while he had a splinter in his… paws? Well either way, that hiss was the same one from then and he only needed to know that before he was wide awake.

“Why was that a pained hiss?! Did you get hurt?!” He was up and moving, trying to get a good look of the beast. Though Tommy didn’t seem to be very willing to get a check up. He also started moving, trying to get Tubbo away and to stop his sudden inspection.

“I’m fine, big man, it's okay. You’re overthinking it. Just calm down and- ACK,” Tubbo had just managed to prod at his wings before he was practically launched away. It wasn’t painful but being suddenly tossed several feet isn’t exactly pleasant no matter what. “AH, sorry Tubbo, you just, uhhh, startled me is all.”

With a huff, Tubbo corrected himself into a sitting position. He gave his friend a once over before huffing again and standing all the way up. If Tommy was going to do this the hard way, he might as well meet him there. With a few strides, Tubbo got to the nearest treasure pile and picked up a handful of gold.

“TommyInnit, if you do not show me where you got hurt I will start chucking gold out of the cave.” His demand was met with laughter and cockiness. ‘Too Bad’ the brunet thought before heading straight towards the entrance of the cave and whipping his hand back. He was a millisecond from tossing the gold when he heard the noise of a giant dragon scrambling behind him.

“WAIT! WAIT! Okay I get it, I do. But I promise you really shouldn’t be worrying about it, you got really hurt and even passed out! You shouldn’t be worrying about me right now Tubs.” The hybrid huffed again, this time with more fondness at the nice sentiment. 

“Toms, you and I both know that I feel fine. I got all the right healing stuff done before you found me. Now all that’s wrong is that you are hurt and you won’t show me,” he said, lowering his arm and turning around. Tommy’s face was sad and sheepish, but it was obvious that he was still hiding the injury. “Fine, I guess you don’t trust me afterall. I get it, I know that I’m worthle-”

“NO!” the expected growl came. Whether it was the spell or the fact that Tommy really did care for him, he always reacted the same anytime Tubbo tried to talk negatively about himself. ”Fine fuck you Tubbo Underscore. Fuck you and all you stand for.” Tubbo’s smirk of victory didn’t last long, not that he expected it to.

His Dragon companion lifted one of his wings and made a poor attempt to fully expand his wings. The brunet was confused for a moment, not seeing anything hidden underneath the massive limb. But then he moved his eyes over to the wing itself and he couldn’t prevent the gasp that left his mouth.

“Oh my god, Toms! What happened to your wing?!” He almost tossed the gold in his hand to the side in his hurry to get a better look at his friend's wound. It looked fresh, which made sense as they were only attacked a little while ago. But it looked fresh in the way that meant that Tommy hadn’t even tried to patch it up besides maybe throwing a healing potion on it.

“Okay so yeah, maybe it’s not in good condition and maybe I didn’t really try and acknowledge it. But you were passed out on the ground after screaming in pain! What was I supposed to do? Just leave you there while I patched myself up? Plus do you know how hard it is to patch up your wing? It’s so hard and tedious and it would probably be better if I shifted but then you could wake up and be in pain or see that form and it would all be a mess and-”

“Toms,” Tubbo did his best to have a calm but firm tone, when Tommy went full ramble mode, he often was far harder to get to focus back in than normal. Especially if its a panic ramble like this. “It’s going to be okay. I know that you were worried about me and I appreciate that. Thank you for taking care of me, I love you big man.”

The brunet's sentiment earned him a soft huff and then a dragon’s head nuzzling his face. They both giggled to themselves in their little soft headspace for a moment. Just relaxing and taking in the care of the moment and of each other.

“I love you too, little man.” Tommy teased, laughing as he was met with hands swatting at his face. Once they had got out all of their tension for the moment, Tubbo blew out his breath before taking a deep breath.

“Okay, now that we are all calm and focused again, I really am going to need to look at your wound. It looks pretty nasty and I don’t want to know what happens if you get it infected.” The dragon huffed but nodded his head, which Tubbo still finds amusing as shit. “TO THE MEDICAL AREA!” he shouts and proceeds to march aggressively to said area. He feels the warm gusts of wind from Tommy quietly laughing behind him.

“Ah yes! No time to dilly dally and all that.” They chuckle and make silly jokes all the way to the medical area. It is mainly just a section that Tubbo started to move all of the medicine and potions in. It’s got a few shelves for the books and potions but besides that there isn’t much to it. Hence why it only gets the title of area and not room. Tommy and him had several interesting (Silly at best, stupid at worst) agruments on the wording of things.

“Okay let's get a proper look of the wound now that you aren’t being a piss baby.” The dragon squawks in defiance but still moves his wing in the brunet’s direction. The wound isn’t too bad, but one of the bone structures is all messed up and it could cause serious problems. If Tubbo does this right then everything should be hunky dory. If something goes wrong and the wound is worse than it looks, Tommy might have a lot of trouble flying in the future.

But there is no reason to be so worried. Not only do they have books on all of this kind of thing, but like Tubbo was thankful for earlier when he was trying to heal his wound, the fire breathing dragon in front of him is less attracted to shiny objects and more attracted to potions. Tommy himself has said he doesn’t quite understand why that is. But they aren’t going to look a gift horse in the face now are they?

“I think the book on wing repairs was over… Aha! Got it,” he exclaims, lifting the book from where he had found it on the shelf. It was a newer book as well, created in the era that had brought on more information and peace between humans and dragons. It had been a life saver for both races to finally be able to have literature and information to help one another.

Wizards, mages, and just normal journalists alike all helped to gather information from any dragons willing to share. Tommy’s Flock, or more specifically Phil and Wilbur were huge contributors to the books. It made sense as Phil was the one who played a major role in getting the peace treaty. 

And from what Tommy has said, Wilbur likes to talk and ramble about all kinds of information. If he were ever to need information that Tommy couldn’t give, he is told that just barely mentioning his question to the dragon's brother and he’ll get a whole essay on the topic.

“Okay it says here to clean it obviously, and carefully dab on healing but not regen. Because the wing is such a delicate limb, it needs to be treated more delicate in return. Then it says to place a plaster on the wounded area specifically. All thats left after that is that we need to bandage the entire part of the wing and you must rest it. You hear that TommyInnit? You have to rest the wing. ” 

“Yeah yeah, I got it.” he huffs, but starts moving towards his fresh water spring to get the water. “You do realize that I survived without you right? Like I know I seem stupid but I am 170 years old. If you were that old you would be on your deathbed.” 

“Yeah, but it’s super young in dragon years, just the same for how we view dogs. The average dog would barely make it to 17 and yet I am that age. It doesn’t mean that I am any more prepared to take care of myself alone.” 

“Well, then its a good thing that we aren’t alone anymore! We have each other to help us to not only survive, but thrive.” he says, putting on an inspirational tone. The two laugh as tubbo cleans out the wound, his own arm getting a little achy. 

“Okay, time to dab some healing on it,” Tommy’s laughter becomes sheepish and his, well what Tubbo assumes are a dragon’s equivalent to shoulder blades, tense up. It’s been what the hybrid feels is long enough to not be so thrown off by the humanness of the mannerism, the shoulders of his friend pushed against his neck. One of these days, he’ll ask about it. Maybe it will have something to do with the form Tommy can shift in that he nervously mentioned earlier. “C’mon, I promise I will be gentle and I will let you choose what we do tomorrow!”

Another grumble comes from the beast, but Tubbo can see the shimmer light up in his eyes. It also helps that Tommy’s tail is wagging back and forth now. But Tubbo likes to think that he could still tell anyway.

“Okay fine, just get it over with Tubs. But hey, why tomorrow and not today?” he asks and Tubbo gets to work.

“Because most of the day has already been wasted and I think we both just want to take a nap.” Tubbo doesn’t mention that his arm is starting to really hurt with all of his movements. From how Tommy does his best to give Tubbo a better angle while reaching his head to the shelves to grab a health potion, he already knows. Well, that’s one good benefit of the spell.

You say that as if the spell isn’t a godsend. How many times has it been able to tell Tommy that he is pushing a boundary? How many times has it helped him find you when you got stuck in a cave? It keeps you safe in ways that Tommy couldn’t alone. How much of your safety is the spell’s doing? 

“I think that’s enough Tubs,” the voice breaks him away from the thoughts. Tommy is still there, standing closer to him than before. His head is over his, blocking out most of his surroundings practically sheltering him. He breathes in and out, yeah, that’s enough silly thoughts. “What step is next? The bandages?”

Tubbo shakes his head, turning to look back at the book again. “No, its putting a plaster only on the wound half. Then we wrap the wound up with bandages and that should be it.” he yawns, rotating his shoulder to try and lessen its pain. 

“Thank the Stars! I’m tired as shit. Give me the plaster big man, I’ll trade ya.” He does in fact trade Tubbo the healing potion from earlier for the plaster. If Tubbo wasn’t so tired he would thank him for making it so nonchalant. They both seem to be adverse to getting help pity from others. Tommy really is some magic being, cause by the time Tubbo is done gulping the potion back he has the plaster all done. Now he really is going to need to ask about how he did that later.

But for right now, he’s fine with watching his friend get the roll of bandages and nudge him along until they are in the nest. It both doesn’t take long and also feels like he has been doing it for years once they finally tie it closed. It takes nothing at all before the two are dozing off. Their backs are probably going to hurt later, having decided not to actually lay down comfortably. 

But right now they are fine. Or well, they will be. That’s all either can ask for.

Chapter Text

It is a week after that attack when they finally become too antsy to stay in the cave any longer. They still did things and technically left the cave to tend to the garden and traps, but nothing much else. It was only the necessary things and when Tubbo had gotten so used to exploring? To say the least, it was a very boring change to his routine. 

Tommy was especially pent up with all of the energy from resting his wing. To have to stay grounded and away from the skies gave him anxiety. It was funny in the beginning, getting to watch his friend huff and puff in frustration. The swear words he had learned from humans leaking out from under his breath. Tubbo didn’t take it seriously at all until a day ago. 

They had been sitting around the fire pit after their dinner when he became solemn. It took a bit but the young dragon finally told him the reason he was particularly stressed. He said it reminded him of a warning story his father once told him when he was young. That a dragon had challenged a human and that person rewarded their cockiness with defeat. A defeat that cost him his wings and flight.

Dragons are born to fly and glide. It's in their blood to want to be in the skies, high above the problems of the world. So to take that away, let alone permanently, was a fate worse than death. His father had been close to that dragon. Not too close but they had known and respected each other's strengths. What happened to him pushing his father into finally trying to push a peace treaty.

Years later, his older brother Techno would tell him that the dragon from the story didn’t agree with the treaty. That he was hurt and broken in a way that no winged dragon could understand. That he wanted revenge on the human that did that to him. But for the sake of others and his growing family, Phil took the treaty, making it impossible. Well, unless he wanted to destroy the safety they finally got after years of suffering.

Its tragic story reminded him of the old soldiers' tales of war. How it may have ended for the better, but nothing would ever give them back the person they were before. They laughed and gigged with one another over their tall tales, but even as young as he was, Tubbo could see the truth. Right there, shown in a horrible beauty, the darkness that hid behind their eyes.

Tubbo knows Tommy has lived longer than him, so he probably has the same stories. It hurts to know that someone of the same mental age as him had to go through that. It hurts to see the same agony in his eyes. It's hidden far better than the soldiers but in times of weakness, it's obvious. The world has never been safe in Tubbo’s head, but it never seems to stop scaring him still.

It’s one of those moments that breaks the camel's back. Tommy is laying on his side, flapping the unwounded wing just a bit. It would be kind of funny or cute if his eyes weren’t so gray. That's another thing he needs to ask about. Why his eyes turn gray on the really bad days.

But right now he pushes it off again. Soon he thinks. Right now all they need is a little more joy. So the brunet breathes in as deep as he can, and the dragon’s ear flaps at the dramatic noise. His eyes move to meet the hybrids, widening with the realization of what's about to come. But he is too late to stop it, not that he really would.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” His yell echos through the cave they’re in. It's thunderous and bouncy and most importantly hilarious. With all of the drama of their lives, it's hard to remember that they are indeed teenagers in their own race. Loudness still means funny, and one of Tubbo’s goat squeals Yells are always a trigger for Tommy. The beast that could no doubt squash part of an army without meaning to is already cackling. His tail is flopping on the ground like that of a dog and he is immediately trying to calm his breath enough to make a funny echo as well.

The two laugh like no one's business doing nothing but that for a few more minutes. The cave shakes with the energy of their yells and shouts but the energy is far too light for either of them to be worried. They’ve done enough worrying for a while. Right now, they just want to let out more stress.

By the time the two are out of breath, their throats sore and mouths dry, they are curled up into one another. Tubbo’s face hurts from laughing so much and he doesn’t doubt that Tommy’s probably does too. But when they make eye contact again he can tell neither of them regrets it. Their joy lights up the energy of the room, the air feels like it's filled with lightning.

He could never give this up. No, that's not exactly right. He would never give this up; not in a million years. Nothing in his life would ever be the same if he wasn’t with the dragon anymore. He looks back on his life before being chased up the mountain as if it was decades ago. It feels like it was, if not because the pain they caused has faded but because he feels like he’s known Tommy his entire life already.

He can see them being soulmates in the basic sense of the term. That their souls are linked to know each other in every form and time. That maybe their fae in another world, or heroes fighting for good. Maybe they are soldiers fighting for their country or in a world where hybrids can live safely together.

No matter what, he can feel it in his bones that he will know his friend in every timeline. That every day or year or second after this will always be spent knowing that they are there for one another. He fears for only a moment that he is becoming far too clingy for his own good; it's ended by Tommy’s tail wrapping around him and pulling him into a hug.

So what if he is a little too clingy and possessive? He ought to deserve the right at this point. He never had much before this and even now it is mostly shared between them. If the one thing he cares about happens to be their friendship? What's the harm that it could cause? It just solidifies their bond and loyalty.

And so they settle against one another, this time in a more comfortable position, right there in the middle of the cave. It wasn’t much work, all they did was yell and laugh until they were out of breath. But it still took a lot out of the two so no judging! It’s not like anyone will judge them or care but still! 

Their breathing calms down soon enough, along with their minds. Without the comfort of their nest and the conscious thought of actually trying to take a nap, the two slip off into sleep. If anyone was there to see it, it would be quite the funny and cute image. A small hybrid just barely peeking out of the arms of a giant dragon, both lost to sleep but with smiles on their faces.

In two days Tubbo will sigh and tell the beast he calls his best friend that he can take off the bandages and fly again. In three days Tommy will finally make him agree to learn how to fly with him. In a week their lives will change again and their peace will be uprooted. 

But right then and there? The two friends just continue to dream. The rest will do them good whether they want it or not. The future is forever after all, and they deserve to spend it however they please. If that so happens to be cuddled into each other like infants? Well then so be it.

What's the harm in a little more bonding?