Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tommy had just been strolling through the woods, looking for his favorite lunch spot, a nice creek where so many plump and juicy fish of all kinds would swim. His claws would leave marks in the dirt and his tail would wag behind him, as he lifted his snout in the air, smelling for the familiar smell of fish and fresh water.

He had been minding his own business, before he heard a small groan of pain from behind a few trees. Now, Tommy knew the woods, he knew what small critters and roaming animals sounded like, and that didn’t sound like anything he'd ever heard before! Maybe it’s something new! A new friend??

Tommy slowly approached the trees from behind, lifting his tail above the ground so it didn’t drag against the dirt and make any noise that could give him away. He felt himself becoming more restless by the second, but he couldn’t tell if it was because he was excited or anxious, maybe both. He flared his nostrils slightly, a bit of smoke steaming out, as he cautiously peeked over from behind the trees.

There was something, someone, curled up against a tree. It took a moment, but Tommy knew exactly what that was, but he had never seen one before. That was a human!! Or mostly one, anyway. Tommy had always been warned by other dragons to stay clear of humans, and that they didn’t like dragons, so Tommy had never really seen one until now. The human had messy black hair that went a little bit below its shoulders, and pretty olive skin with a few scars here and there. It wore a white, and slightly ripped, dress shirt with brown suspenders and tie, with a beanie supplying its head. But, the thing Tommy noticed most about this human, was the long ragged scar that went down its face.

That scar looked like it hurt really really badly. Actually, the more Tommy looked, the human seemed to be in pain, its face scrunched up and its eyebrows furrowed. Oh no, it was hurt! Tommy had to do something, he couldn't just leave it there! What if it died! Tommy doesnt know much about humans, but he knows they are very fragile, way less tough than dragons are. A small scar like that could probably kill it! He needed to do something, besides! Even if the human did try to hurt him, he’s Tommyinnit! No dumb human could take him down!

Tommy slowly stepped out from behind the trees, watching the human carefully. It hadn't seemed to have noticed him yet. The humans chest rose and fell slowly, and it shifted upright. When the human shifted, Tommy noticed something else, something shiny. Tommy inched closer towards the human, trying to get a better look at what shined behind its back. The human's eyes were closed, but it was still obviously awake with the way its face scrunched up and how its hands clutched its stomach.

Tommy continued to get closer before the human turned over with a quiet groan, revealing its back to the dragon.

And what he saw was so… shiny!

Tommy's eyes widened as he stared at the beautiful, golden wings that came into view, the short feathers ruffling against each other in the soft breeze. It was one of the most beautiful treasures he’s ever seen! And he had a whole pile of gold at home! There was no way he could leave this gold here alone! Tommy let out a noise, something similar to a purr at the lovely sight. However, it seemed the human had heard. Its head quickly snapped toward Tommy, and turned around to where its back was now pushed against the tree, hiding the golden wings away. 

The human- no,,, wings were a bird thing, right? But it looked human… what's the word he was looking for… oh right! Its an avian! Tommy was so smart.

The avian's eyes were wide in shock, and its hands clutched its own sides seemingly trying to shield itself. Why would it do that? Tommy's not going to hurt the shiny! He was slightly upset that the gold was no longer in his sight, but that's okay, he’ll have plenty of time to look at the gold when he takes it back to his hoard! The avian attempted to back itself more into the tree the more Tommy got closer, its eyes (well, eye) frantically looking around for any means of escape. Tommy got as close as he possibly could, his snout now only a few inches away from the avian's face. 

From here Tommy could hear its breathing, and notice how quickly its pace had picked up. Tommy tilted his head a bit to get a better look, the avian seemed too scared to move. Tommys gold was scared of him? That's no good! How does he fix this? Hm…

Tommy thought for a moment, before leaning forward a bit and licking the avians face. The avian flinched and raised its arm up in defense, closing its eye tightly and turning its head away. It stood like that for a minute before slowly opening its eye, staring at the dragon before it. It slowly brought its hands down and relaxed a bit, though a suspicious look on its face remained. They stared at each other for a good minute, before finally the avian found the strength to speak.

“You’re not… gonna eat me?” It asked hesitantly, nothing more then a scratchy whisper escaping its lips. Tommy tilted his head, eat it? Why would Tommy eat his gold? 

Tommy shook his head rapidly, wanting to get his point across. The young dragon meant no harm. As a matter of fact, he wanted to do the opposite. Tommy wanted to take the shiny back to his hoard and protect it forever!

The avian's eyes narrowed, as it leaned forward just a bit, so now it wasn't pressed against the tree. “Can… Can you understand me?” It asked quietly.

Tommy nodded his head.

The avian looked shocked, placing its hand on its forehead in disbelief. While the other processed the information, Tommy slowly leaned forward and pushed his nuzzle behind the avian's shoulder, trying to turn it around and get another glance at the shiny gold.

“Woah- Hey! The hell are you doing?” The avian shouted in shock as it snapped out of it, pushing the dragon's nose away, a disappointed whine escaping Tommy's lips. The avian let go of Tommy's nose and he went to nudge its shoulder again, more gently this time, trying to show the avian what he wanted. “What?” Oh cmon! Let him see the gold already! Tommy huffed and shoved the avian, not very harshly, but enough to make it turn a bit. The avian let out a yelp at the sudden force, flinching a bit. “Hey! What the hell man-“ It trailed off when it noticed what Tommys now dilated eyes were staring at. 

“My- My wings?”

Tommy nodded frantically, an excited glimmer in his eye.

“Oh-“ The avian muttered before turning around, giving Tommy a better view. The avian turned his head to look back at the young dragon. “There you go, I guess- Nothin’ special.” It muttered, watching Tommy closely, as to make sure he didn’t try anything.

Tommy's pupils dilated even more as he stared at the wings, the pretty, golden wings. They were obviously not well taken care of, that wouldn’t do. The moment he brought his treasure home he’d make sure to fix it up! The wings were short, smaller than your average sized avian wings. Were they still growing? Tommy stared for a long time, watching at the beautiful golden feathers swayed in the wind. Oh yeah, it was his now.

“Look- I uh- appreciate you not eating me, but I kinda have to go home and fix myself up-“

Tommy's head snapped up to the avian's face. Leave? Gold cant leave! His gold cant leave! His gold is hurt! What if something bad happens to it? Tommy shook his head.

“…No?” The avian questioned, already in the process of standing up.

It faced Tommy again, fidgeting with its sleeve. “Look, maybe I can come back some other time-“ Tommy shook his head before it could finish. Gold cant leave, gold is hurt, gold is his. He needs to bring gold home! He needs to bring the gold home right now before it runs off and gets hurt!

Tommy stretched his wings out far, the avian stepping back a bit with wide eyes. Even for a smaller dragon, his wings were huge. Especially compared to the avian beside him. He let out a huff, a bit of smoke coming out of his noise, before leaning forward and snatching the avian by the back of its shirt.

“WOAH- Hey man what the hell?! Put me down!” The avian screeched in panic, squirming around in attempts to escape the dragon's grip. Tommy shook his head lightly, not trying to shake his gold around too much. He wouldnt want to hurt it by mistake!

Tommy shifted his mouth to get a better hold on the avian before spreading his wings out, hearing the panicked protests from the gold under him. Tommy internally smiled, knowing his cave up in the mountains would be a perfect place for his gold! He could take care of it and keep it safe there for all of eternity! Tommy began to flap his wings before taking off into the air, hearing a scream come from the gold. Tommy warbled, trying to assure the gold it wasn't going to be hurt, but it didnt seem to understand, so naturally it continued to panic beneath him.

Tommy sighed internally as he flew up to his mountain. Gold would understand when they get home! The flight wasn't long, maybe a few minutes, before home sweet home was in sight! Tommy let out a pleased purr as his wings slowed down, landing on top of the mountain. Now that the sounds of the wind were gone, he could hear his gold's heavy breathing. Tommy kept hold of his cold as he pranced into his cave, wondering a bit before he reached the very top of his hoard. He leaned his head down and placed the gold gently on top, to which the avian immediately collapsed on top.

Gold clutched its chest as it took quick and heavy breathes, still getting over the panic from earlier. 

“What the FUCK?! What the hell was that for!?” The avian screeched as it stumbled over the bits of gold and shiny jewels. It finally reached a stable standing point as it looked up at the dragon with a frustrated look. “I thought you said you werent going to eat me!? Why the hell did you bring me here then?” The avian questioned in a panic, backing away a bit, but not too much in fear it would fall down the tower of shiny golden coins and jewels.

Tommy shook his head frantically, trying to remind the gold he would never eat it in a million years! It took the avian a moment to understand, however. “Well, if you're not going to eat me, what the hell am i doing in your- cave thing!?” 

Tommy took a seat on the top of the mountain of jewels, glancing down from the shiny back to the avian. The other didn’t seem to understand, not before taking a good look at where the dragon had put him, at least. His face slowly paled as his eyes widened.

“I— You brought me to your hoard?” It asked quietly. “Why?”

Tommy tilted his head in a ‘you-know-why’ kind of way.

The avian visibility gulped as its wings pushed themselves tightly against its back.

“I- You want me to... be your hoard?” It asked, in a whisper.

Tommy nodded his head with a smile. You already are.

The avian stared. It stared for a very long time.

“Woah, woah, woah- No, I- Sorry but there's no way.” The gold stammered out between nervous laughs. “I’m- I’m flattered I am but- I cant be your hoard! I have a family, dude- I just-“

It cut itself off when Tommy shook his head. The avian winced at the realization. “You’re not giving me a choice… are you?” Tommy shook his head.

The gold looked around frantically, and began to head down the hill of gold before Tommy blocked its way with his tail. It let out a frustrated groan before Tommy picked it up with his teeth again and set it between his arms, leaving no place for escape. Believe him, it tried. It tried to get out of the dragon's grip for maybe a few minutes before eventually going limp in exhaustion.

“You’re—“ It took a deep breath. “You’re really not gonna let me go without a fight, are you?”

Tommy shook his head with a smile. Gold let out a long, defeated sigh.

“Great. First I get fed poisonous berries from my devil of a sister, but when I go outside to blow off steam, I get kidnapped by a dragon. Just great.” The gold muttered, but Tommy wasn't paying too much attention. He simply nuzzled his new treasure, holding it close and never wanted to let it go. He could hear a small groan coming from the gold, but that's okay. Soon gold will love its new home! It'll realize how safe Tommy can keep it. Just wait!

The avian looked up at the young dragon, a look of annoyance and defeat on its face. “So… Do you have a name? It’s kinda lame just calling you ‘dragon-that-kidnapped-me-in-the-woods’, y’know?” The avian said with an awkward and crooked smile. Tommy stared at the gold for a moment before nodding his head. “Oh? What's your name?”

There's a beat of silence.

“Right, dragon.” The avian said with a nervous laugh. “Well, if it's any use to you, my name is Quackity.” The avian- no, Quackity said with an awkward smile. Hmm, Quackity. Tommy liked that name. Tommy let out purr as he nuzzled closer to his treasure, a small yelp coming from Quackity. “Wow- You sure are, uh- affectionate, huh?” Tommy let out a happy noise as he laid his head down, right next to his new gold. He shut his eyes with a smile as he held Quackity close, only receiving a bit of struggling before he eventually relaxed in his arms.

“Prime— Dad’s gonna kill me-“ Quackity muttered, shifting around in attempts to at least be comfortable in this situation. If Tommy heard it, he didn’t care. He only cared about keeping his new gold close and safe. Tommy felt himself begin to doze off, falling asleep easily with his most precious treasure beside him.

Chapter Text

Now, Quackity's gonna be honest.

He did not plan to get kidnapped today.

Yet here he is, stashed away in the hoard of a giant fucking dragon.

He'd say there's no way his day could get worse, but with his current luck streak, it probably could.

First, his son of a bitch sister, Hannah, decided it would the funniest thing in the world to feed him poisonous berries, and since she's the plant person he had trusted they would be safe, as a matter of fact, he didnt even consider they'd be bad. A mistake he will never make again.

And now, if that wasn't bad enough, when he decided to take a short walk to calm down, his stomach started hurting like something was going to rip through his stomach from the inside. So he leans against a tree, takes a seat, tries to cool off.

Then, with a burst of his incredible luck, he's face to face with a fucking dragon. 

And now the very same dragon is holding him captive like he's some personal teddy bear. 

Prime, Sam is going to kill him.

Quackity shifted his position in the dragon's arms, using any room he was given, unfortunately, though the dragon seemed pretty clingy.

Quackity could feel the dragon's muscles loosen, he turned his head to see the beast's eyes closed. Quackity struggled a bit more, trying to find any way to get away from the dragon, but alas, to no avail.

Quackity let out a long groan before giving in, leaning into the beast. It was warm, Quackity noted, which was to be expected. It was a dragon after all, their whole thing was fire and heat.

Quackity wasn't really sure what to do, it was obvious the dragon had taken a liking to his wings, but he didn't really understand why. Well, yeah sure dragons liked gold, he knew that, but his wings weren't gold. They were a mustard yellow, the color of any plain rubber duck you'd find at the dollar store.

His wings weren't even shiny, they didn't look golden in the slightest. Well, maybe if the lighting was right his wings would look shiny, but still they wouldn't look gold. 

The only golden thing on him was his tooth, but he didn't think the dragon had noticed that yet.

He feared for when it did.

It was obvious to Quackity he wasn't getting away from the dragon anytime soon, not while being smothered against its chest anyway, so he might as well take what he could get.

Quackity shifted and turned, the dragon's grip loosening only a bit to allow Quackity to find a comfortable position. He was now lying on his back, leaning his head between the dragon's arm and torso. Quackity stretched out his arms with a yawn, curling up into a ball.

Now, he wasn't planning on becoming comfortable, he didnt think he could if he wanted to. Like, fuck, that's a dragon. He's scared out of his damn mind.

He's sick, his stomach hurts, he was kidnapped by a giant dragon, he doesn't know where he is or how to get home, and he left his phone at home. 

Quackity doesn't know what the hell he's going to do. He already misses his dad, his idiot little siblings, his home.

Quackity removes his tie and kicks off his shoes, then presses his wings close to his back.

He can think more about an escape plan tomorrow. For now, he needs to rest.

And with that, he dozed off into sweet sleep.

He didn't dream that night.

***

Quackity wakes up alone.

Alone? Wasn't he just getting smothered by a clingy dragon? Was it just a dream?

Any hope he had was quickly taken away when he realized he was still lying on top of a pile of treasures. He stumbles forward, scrambling to stand up. Once he got his balance, he looked around. Yep. Same cave from the night before. Great.

Quackity placed his hands on the treasures and carefully led himself down the pile, trying his best not to slip and fall on his ass. Once he reached the bottom, he stretched out his wings and shook out any gold bits and coins that snuck their way between his feathers while he slept.

The cave was big, no, it was huge. He wasn't sure how he was going to get out of here. He thinks he remembers the way they came in, but to be fair, he was mid panic attack when they arrived, so he wasn't paying too much attention.

He wondered a bit, dragging his hand across the wall as he walked. He tried his best to focus, but he couldn't help but let his eyes wander to the various treasures sprawled across the cave. He loves money just as much as the next guy. Give him a break.

Though, he knew better than to get grabby with it. Dragons were incredibly protective, especially of their hoard. If Quackity dared to take even the smallest coin, he was certain the dragon would hunt him down. The thought sent a shiver down his spine.

Though, the dragon seems to like him so far, so that's good. Maybe he can get out of here scott free if he's sneaky about it.

But if you've been paying any attention to the story, you'll know Quackity doesn't have good luck like that.

Just as his hopes were getting high, to his horror, he heard the sound of large footsteps getting closer. They came to a stop, a small gust of wind blowing from behind him when they did. Well, isn't that just lovely.

Quackity scrunched his face up, already knowing he'd failed. He turned his head slowly, a nervous smile plastered on his face. Low and behold, there it was. The giant dragon from the night before.

Now that Quackity wasn't having a panic attack, he was able to get a better look at the beast. Almost its entire body was a dull red color, except the white line that went up his back and down his snout. Its eyes were a piercing blue color, blue as the sky.

Quackity also noted it was a smaller dragon. Not a small dragon, no the thing was fucking massive, but it was smaller than a healthy adult. So, it was either malnourished or on the younger scale. Quackity guessed it was the ladder.

Quackity turned completely, coming face to face with the young dragon. It had its head tilted downwards, staring at Quackity with large eyes, its tail swaying from side to side behind him.

"Heyy man! Didn't- Didn't see you there!" Quackity greeted it nervously, hoping the dragon didn't realize he was trying to sneak off.

The dragon only huffed in response, a bit of smoke coming out its nose. It turned its head back to the hoard of treasures, glancing from it to Quackity.

'Not even ten minutes out and he already wants me back up there, great.'

"Uhm- I was actually wondering if I could walk around a bit? Explore the cave, you know. Not a fan of being cramped up." He said nervously, hoping the dragon would have any sympathy for him.

Luckily, the dragon seemed to understand with a nod, and rather than go to the hoard, it picked up Quackity by the shirt collar once again. Before Quackity could protest in panic, the dragon leaned its head and set Quackity on it's back.

Quackity held on for dear life when the dragon began to move, having no idea where they were going but trying to not fall off and bust his head anyway.

Luckily, they weren't heading back to the hoard, but rather another part of the cave. The dragon seemed to have zero self awareness, prancing along without a thought in the world as Quackity struggled to hold on.

When the dragon came to a stop, Quackity let out a sigh of relief before the dragon laid out its tail for Quackity to get down from. He very carefully, and very slowly, made his way down the dragon's tail. He only noticed he hadn't been breathing once he got down and took in a huge gasp of air.

The dragon took a seat, the cave shaking a bit as he did so. Quackity took a glance around the area, it seemed... comfy. There were a bunch of mixed-matched blankets and pillows piled up next to the dragon. Quackity could take a guess and say that was for him.

He happily took one of the blankets, wrapping himself tight, you'd think a dragon lair would be warmer. He sat down on a few of the pillows, and proceeded to scan out the rest of the area.

That's when he saw it.

The daylight seeping from around the corner.

The exit.

Quackity felt a giant rush of relief overflow him, a smile now on his face. 

His moment was quickly cut short as the dragon behind him nudged his wings with its snout. Quackity snapped his head around, gasping in shock as he pressed his wings tightly against his back.

"Woah, woah, personal space buddy." Quackity snapped, doubling down as the young dragon flinched back with a whine. 

"Shit- I uh- sorry I didn't mean to be rude." He muttered out his apology, "Slipped out." The dragon seemed quick to forgive as its head perked up, blue eyes brightening up.

Quackity felt a fond smile creep on his face. What could he say? The dragon was pretty cute. He swallowed anxiously, glancing back at the light shining from around the corner.

As cute as the dragon was, he needed to get the hell out of here.

"Hey uh- Look. You're cute and all, but I kinda need to go. Y'know, uh, errands to run. I'm sure you understand-" Quackity said with a nervous smile, backing away near the light, fluffy blanket still around his shoulders.

The dragon seemed alarmed by this, but not angry. Its head perked up and it let out many whines of protest, stomping its feet and it stumbled closer to Quackity.

"Look- It was a fun sleep over but I really have to go-" More nervous laughter as he got even closer to the light, closer to freedom.

The dragon honestly looked like it was about to cry, moving around frantically as if looking for something that would convince Quackity to stay. Guess it knew force wouldn't help.

Though, Quackity had already turned around and was booking it for the exit.

As he speed walked, there was a poof heard from behind him. Quackity figured it was the dragon blowing smoke out of his noise again, or something along those lines.

That was, until there was a voice.

"Stop!"

Quackity did exactly that, and stopped in his place. His wings were perked out and his eyes were wide, that... that came from where the dragon was, but that's not possible. Dragon's dont speak.

Quackity turned around slowly, his feathers fluffing up even more at the sight before him.

That... That was a child.

Before him, was a child. His eyes were puffy and red, watering as if he were about to cry. He had short blond hair that shined even in the darkness, and eyes blue as the sky. He wore a dirty red and white shirt and ripped brown shorts, his skin was covered with cuts and scabs. Most notably, though, were the small red scales that trailed up his cheeks, and his pointy ears.

He easily recognized those eyes.

Quackity stared in absolute disbelief. The boy was small, like, really small. He couldn't be older than 13.

The boy ran up to him as he wiped his nose with a sniff.

"Please--" The boy began, his voice shaky and high pitched. He sounded so young. "Please don't leave!"

Quackity didn't know what kind of guilt-trippy tricks this kid was using, but fuck it was working. 

Quackity had no idea what to do, or even what to say. What could he say? When he thought it was just a dragon, it was easy trying to leave, but now? He's in front of a child with no one to take care of him. Like, Quackity assumed he was young but he didn't think he'd be this young.

Fuck.

"I..." He began before shutting his lips tight. Sam would kill him for this, but... "Alright kid, I'll stay for a bit longer."

Quackity's heart warmed as the boy's eyes brightened immediately.

"Really?" The boy squealed before running up and hugging Quackity. Quackity let out a yelp of surprise, but didn't protest as he placed his hand on top of the boy's golden locks. "Thank you, thank you!"

Quackity ran his hands through the boy's tangled hair and laughed nervously, he has a feeling he has no idea what he'd just gotten himself into.

"Uh, hey kid?" The boy looked up at Quackity, his claws still holding him close. 

"Yes Mr. Quackity?"

Okay, Quackity hated that.

"Um, Just Quackity is fine." He said awkwardly. "But, you said you had a name, right?" 

The boy nodded.

"If I'm gonna hang around here, I might as well know your name, yeah?" Quackity said with a small smile.

The boy stared up at Quackity for a bit, puffing out his cheeks as if he was thinking about it. This kid... this kid was fucking adorable. After a moment, that adorable smile came back to his face. 

"I'm Tommy!"