Archive of Our Own

He had always been alone, but he didn’t mind. Most dragons liked to be left alone! He could live his life as he wanted, with no responsibilities and no expectations. Life was perfect! He was never in danger and nothing dared hurt him. Nothing could hurt him. His little oasis, encased under a cliff with a hole at the top for sunlight, was all his own. Not even the wild boar would come here, too scared of the vicious dragon.

Tommy sighed and rolled onto his back, letting his belly soak up the sunlight. He hung his head down from the branch, looking at his reflection in the water. Most of his scales were a bright golden color, only the tips of his wings, feet, and nose were different. They were a more muddled brown; he used to hate those brown spots but he’s grown to love them. The more his neck stretched down, the nicer it felt. He couldn’t help it and stretched his whole body, it shook like an earthquake before he went lax.

A deep rumble started in his chest and his tongue lulled out from the side of his mouth. This is why he was so happy, he could spend day after day napping in the sun, basking in its warmth.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed after that. When he was finally able to open his eyes, the sky was painted an orange hue instead of its normal blue. Tommy planned to laze around more when a quiet squeak sounded from nearby. He immediately froze. As slowly as he could, he turned onto his stomach, his claws tense and ready for action. He peered down, blue eyes shining with slitted pupils. It only took him a second to find the small pest scurrying around.

Tommy shifted his back feet forward but kept his body close to the branch. He wiggled in closer to the wood, trying so desperately to remain hidden. He waits, and waits, and waits until-

He released his tensed muscles, launching himself off the branch, his eyes zeroed in on his target. Tommy’s aim was perfect and his claws closed around the little gray mouse. Somehow the rodent slipped between his fingers, dashing away. He didn’t give up.

He kept his focus clear, watching the mouse’s every move. He was gaining. Every time he jumped, he spread his wings and glided over a rock he got just a little closer. He leaped over a root breaking through the ground and ducked under a fallen tree. Up ahead, he saw the smallest hole in the ground, a burrow. He needed to catch the mouse now. He pushed himself to the limit. He was finally close enough, he leaped, claws extended and-

Tommy slammed into the ground with so much force he flipped around and landed on his back. A furious hiss escaped his mouth. He stood back up and circled the mouse’s den, daring it to come back out. It didn’t. With an angry huff, Tommy began to push as much dirt, leaves, and twigs to cover the hole. He packed it down with all his might, jumping into the little hole to make sure that the mouse could never dig back out.

Silly mouse, this is my oasis . 

Tommy paused to try and think of what he was supposed to do after his nap. Oh yeah! He found his way back to his nest, it was dug underneath his favorite tree and piled full of random knick-knacks he had found. He searched for a specific pile of rocks, growing frustrated when they eluded him. If anything the rocks should be easier to find; they glowed . He was tempted to start throwing things out just to find the rock, but luckily he found them. Well, more like he found one . Either way, it was a start. 

He cradled it in his claw and placed it just outside his den before turning around to scour for more. The pile outside began to grow and soon he had all of the glowing rocks. With a satisfied huff through his nose, he picked them all up and took off into the air. He placed one rock on the tree branch he had been napping on, another on the river bank, and another on his favorite basking rock. Soon the glowing rocks were dotted around the little oasis, lighting it up with the rising moon like little stars on the land.

Tommy was buzzing with energy when they were all laid out. He bounced from rock to rock, circling the oasis with giddy chitters. However, it was all interrupted by a quiet roar echoing from the distance. Tommy froze where he stood. As the silence that followed stretched on, the pumping of fear in his heart increased. A tremble started in his legs and the air in his lungs felt unbelievably thin, burning down his throat. He waited for what felt like an eternity, scared another roar would echo through the oasis. There wasn’t. Yet, the small dragon couldn’t relax.

Tommy squinted in the direction he heard the bellow, eyes scanning the star for any hint of a flying dragon. When he just started to feel safe again, to consider leaving it be, another roar shook from the desert. This one sounded more desperate, more fearful. The dragon sounded scared.

Hesitantly, Tommy took a careful step towards it. He took another, and another, and another before a newly determined glint lit up in his eyes. He began to run toward the roar. The foliage disappears and turns into towering cliffs above him. He had to duck through small tunnels to escape the walls that hid his oasis from the world. Soon it was all gone, the walls and scarce foliage. His claws shifted through the sand, running becoming harder.

With an annoyed huff, Tommy spread his wings and pushed into the air. He began to fly just a few feet off the ground, traveling much faster than before.

There was another roar, the same as the last one, it sounded scared and desperate, but this time with anger. A warning. Tommy tried to fly just a little faster, ducking down with the rolling dunes for more momentum. He flew for what felt like ages before he saw strange structures on the horizon, in the very center there was a large, barred cage. Inside was a beautiful dragon, scales glowing like the stars in the sky. The dragon was curled up into a small ball, body pushing out against the cage.

Tommy cocked his head in confusion. Why was the dragon in such a confined space? Surely that wasn’t comfortable.

He made his way closer but froze when something moved outside of the cage. It was a bipedal creature, looking like something similar to a monkey. Except hairless. And ugly.

Tommy didn’t know what that thing was, but he didn’t like it. He didn’t like how it banged on the side of the cage his fellow dragon was in, resulting in a sad warble. Tommy started to glare at the ugly creature as it walked away. Slowly the little golden dragon made his way closer to the caged dragon. He felt his scales shift, changing colors to better match the sand he trod through.

The cage was a few feet off the ground, he bowed down ready to pounce and leaped up onto it. There were tiny clinks and shinks as his claws landed and dug into the metal. The confined dragon went still at the noise but absolutely froze when Tommy began to climb up on him.

Tommy wouldn’t like another dragon crawling up on him either, but in his defense, this cage was small . He couldn’t fit along the sides, he had to crawl up. A threatening growl started in the fellow dragon’s chest, but Tommy just replied with a chirp, one a baby dragon would give. The growl instantly stopped.

Tommy had wiggled up to the dragon’s head, he popped in front of a deep brown eye, “Hi!”

The dragon stared at him for only a split second before he said in a hushed tone, “What are you doing here? It’s dangerous.”

“If it’s dangerous, then why are you here?” Tommy didn’t bother being quiet, he had seen the ugly creature walk away. There was no way it could hear them.

Brown eyes blinked in confusion, “I-”

“If you can be here, I can be here,” Tommy insisted with a nod. “I’m the biggest man after all.”

It was quiet before a rumble started from the glowing dragon. It took Tommy a second to realize he was laughing.

“Hey!” Tommy squealed, jumping further up the other dragon’s face. “Don’t laugh at me!”

“Shh, shh,” the dragon shushed through his laughter. “I’m not laughing at you. I promise.”

Tommy just scoffed, “Whatever. If this place is so dangerous, why are you here?”

The chuckling rumble died in the other’s chest at the reminder. “I-I don’t want to be here.”

“Why don’t you leave?” Tommy asked with a cock to his head. He fumbled his way down, sliding from the top of the dragon’s head to his snout. There was a patch of the glowing scales below his feet and he couldn’t help but ogle at it. He wanted it in his hoard .

“I can’t,” the dragon interrupted his thoughts.

“Why not?” he asked with a cock to his head.

“Why-” the dragon puffed up, an offended lilt to his voice. “I’m stuck! Trapped in this godforsaken cage .” Tommy paused, he looked into the now rage-filled brown eyes with confusion.

Then he glanced up at the cage, “Can I get you out?”

“How could you–” the glowing dragon stopped what he was saying and his eyes widened in shock. “I have an idea.”

Tommy just cocked his head.

“Do you see that little black box?” the dragon said, the snout below Tommy moved and pointed downwards. The little dragon almost had to dig his claws into the scales to remain stable. He looked to where the other had pointed and found–just as he said–a little black box.

Tommy squinted, his pupils turning to slits to see better in the dark. He leaned closer to the mysterious object keeping his new friend captive. “What is it?”

“I’m not sure,” the other dragon admitted, “but I think if you break it, I can get out.” Tommy wasn’t sure if he could believe a tiny box like that would set him free, yet he still crept closer to try and get a better look. The other dragon was rambling about how he could possibly break the box, Tommy just ignored him as an idea formed in his mind. He carefully moved from the dragon’s snout to the metal bars caging him. He felt like he was walking a tightrope as he weaved through the bats and down to the box.

The bigger dragon churred in curiosity and gently brushed his snout into Tommy’s side, but he just went ignored as the smaller one unlatched his jaw. There was a quiet hiss from his throat before he spits across the box. With a bright flash, the other’s scales began to glow in shock. The pattern consisted of when the box began to bubble and sizzle, slowly melting.

Tommy looked up with a smile, his tail lazily wagging behind him while the box completely disintegrated into goo. The bars he sat on suddenly drifted backward as one wall of bars clicked and swung open.

Tommy watched as the other dragon’s eyes lit up with indescribable joy, staring straight at him with that look. A feeling of pride bloomed in Tommy’s chest.

“C’mon,” he beckoned, jumping down from the bars.

The bigger dragon tentatively stepped out, “Where are we going?”

“Home!” Tommy chimed with a soft chuckle. “Hurry up!” He didn't waste any time jumping into the air with a swift push of his wings. There was a moment of silence before he heard another whoosh as the other dragon took off into the air as well, the sound was much deeper as well as louder than Tommy's, his wingspan much larger.

There were sudden shouts from behind them, angry and panicked. As the two dragons made their way past the border of the strange camp, a sharp whistle came from behind them and something flew past them. It arched into the ground and landed in the sand, Tommy looked where it jutted out and squinted at the branch-like object. Suddenly a bright light erupted from the branch, blinding Tommy. His claws jumped to his eyes and his wings stuttered, but before he could fall, a bigger claw scooped him up and held him close to a warm chest.

“I–I can't see,” Tommy gasped in a panic, rapidly blinking his eyes hoping to gain vision again.

“It's okay, I've got you,” the other dragon assured him. “I won't let them get you. How far is your home from here?”

Tommy took a second to try and reorient himself, “Straight from the direction I was leading us. There will be cliffs and at the top and hole you should be able to enter.”

“Perfect, I'll get us there,” there was a huff above him, one of relief and joy. “I can't thank you enough for saving me. Truly.”

“Why would I leave you there? You didn't like it,” Tommy scoffed as if it was just as simple as that. In a way, it was.

“Still, thank you,” there was an amused huff above the smaller dragon before a pause. “By the way, I'm Wilbur.”

“Tommy!” He introduced himself with a wag of his tail. “I think I can see now so you can set me down.”

Wilbur hummed in thought, “I can fly faster than you, just ride on my head to make sure I don't miss your home.”

Tommy immediately puffed up in offense, “I am the fastest dragon in the whole realm, how dare you challenge me?!”

“I–” Wilbur was caught off guard. “I wasn't challenging you, I'm just bigger, an adult, so of course, I'm faster.”

This seemed to only anger the small dragon more, “I'll have you know, I am the biggest, fastest, bravest, and coolest dragon to ever exist. Yet here you are mocking me!”

“I'm not mocking you!” Wilbur tried to justify his actions, stumbling over his words. “It doesn't make you any less just because you're hatchling, you can spit acid for fuck’s sake. I wish I could do that. Certainly would’ve saved me some time back there.”

“Of course you do,” Tommy tilted his snout in the air. “Everything about me makes you envious.”

“No it does not–” the bioluminescent dragon was beginning to puff up as well when sharp fangs suddenly dug into his claw holding the hissing hatchling. “WHAT THE FU–”

----------

It felt like ages to Wilbur before they arrived at the hatchling’s home, the little gremlin was hissing, biting, and clawing at him the whole time. It took all of his strength to not strangle Tommy, but his anger dissipated as soon as he saw the glistening beauty of the water.

He wasn't sure what he expected below the strange gap in the plateau, probably just more rocks with lizards and bugs hiding from the heat of the desert. Instead, there was an oasis. Water lapsed in a lake big enough for him to swim around with branches of rivers and streams spreading to moisturize the lush foliage.

Wilbur didn't even hear it as Tommy tried to welcome him, he just dived straight into the water. His dry scars soaked up the water, and his body relaxed at the feeling of being home.

“You motherfucker! What do you think you're doing? You are so disrespectful and a real wrong’un,” Tommy's voice cut into his ears as soon as he surfaced again.

“Sorry, I couldn't help it,” Wilbur paddled around in the water.

“Yeah, well–” Tommy stopped with a gasp, a sparkle starting in his eyes. “What are those?”

“What are what?” Wilbur cocked his head in confusion. Tommy leaped from the branch he sat on, landing on Wilbur’s stomach. He scrambled to his arm and gently placed his claws around a glowing patch on Wilbur's scales. It shone brighter than before, Wilbur subconsciously lighting up with joy as the feeling of water.

Tommy looked up at him with curiosity, “What are these? They were glowing like this before.”

“Oh,” Wilbur gave a soft laugh at the mesmerized gleam in Tommy's eyes. “Those help me communicate.” Although it was strange the small dragon didn't know this, he brushed it off.

“How? You're talking just fine right now.”

“No, it–” Wilbur found himself completely baffled. “Tommy, they help me talk in the water. ”

“Why do you need to talk in the water?” Tommy asked yet another one of his strange questions.

“I live in the water,” Wilbur answered, wondering if Tommy has ever even met another dragon. Not only was it strange that he didn't know this common knowledge, but it was strange that there was no other dragon with the hatchling. No dragon as young as Tommy should be alone. He should have a protector.

“What?! How?!” Tommy had a new buzz to him, obviously excited to hear Wilbur reply.

“I'm a sea dragon.”

“Whoa,” Tommy just stared at him in awe.

“Tommy, have you ever met another dragon?” Wilbur decided it would be better to ask than beat around the bush.

The way Tommy looked down to the ground and his tail curled under his stomach told it all.

“That's okay!” Wilbur couldn't help but try to cheer the hatchling up. “I'll teach you all you need to know–” and without a thought, he added “–I’ll be your protector.”

“ Protector ?!” Tommy squawked a disgusted curl to his lips. “I don’t need a protector, if anything, you need me to protect you .”

“What?” Wilbur was finding himself more and more confused with each second he spent with this dragon.

“I guess it’s only right since you are a part of my hoard,” Tommy continued to ramble, his pupils dilating as he stared at the glowing scales.

“What?” Wilbur repeated.

Tommy shot up, standing straight with chest puffed out and wings flared, “I’ll be your protector from now on.”

“That’s not how it wor–”

“And as payment for protecting you,” Tommy rudely interrupted, “you need to teach me everything you know about dragons.”

Wilbur honestly wasn’t sure how to respond, before he could stop it he burst out laughing. His chest convulsed from the way he wheezed, jostling Tommy where he stood on the other’s chest.

“What are you laughing at, bitch?” the hatchling snarled.

Luckily Wilbur came up with the perfect excuse, “I just can’t believe I ever thought I could be the protector of someone so great and amazing.”

Tommy’s face morphed from anger to confidence, “Damn right.”

“Here,” Wilbur shifted, with a wave of his tail he pushed them to the center of the lake, “get comfortable and I’ll explain what those scales of mine do.” Tommy practically jumped up and down from joy, settling down to lay on Wilbur’s stomach as the dragon floated on his back.

Wilbur was sure he was going to die in that cage those monsters had him trapped in. He was going to wrinkle up and shrivel like a prune. Instead, this ridiculously small dragon saved him. Taking him to an oasis to soak his dried scales. Honestly, an oasis wasn't even the right word for this body of water, it was a lake.

It stretched far enough for Wilbur to swim around more than comfortably. A beauty like this in the desert was rare and usually exploited. Yet not here, this was treasured by the little spitfire who saved him.

Speaking of, said spitfire was loudly snoring on Wilbur’s chest, keeping sleep just out of reach. If Tommy wasn’t so goddamn cute, Wilbur would have been mad. Instead, he curled a protective claw around the small body, a purr starting in his chest. He tried to shove it down, keep it from waking Tommy, but then a smaller purr joined his.

Wilbur was instantly overwhelmed with protect-treasure-baby-love-lovelovelove . It didn’t help that Tommy’s scales shone just as bright as gold and he had this worldly innocence to him. Wilbur’s purr doubled in volume, shaking the water like an earthquake.

He couldn’t comprehend the feelings stirring in his chest, they were wild and beyond anything else he had felt before. Not even his now-lost hoard could compare to this feeling. If it was possible, he would trap this feeling in a box and keep it with him for the rest of his life.

It didn’t take him long to fall asleep after that.

----------

Tommy had been expecting a change now that Wilbur was there. He expected entertainment . So of course, when he found himself growing bored repeatedly, he expressed his frustration.

“I’m losing my mind in this place,” Tommy whined, head thrown back and hanging off the branch.

Wilbur merely raised an eyebrow, looking up from where he had been napping, “Haven’t you lived here your whole life?”

“Yes, and?” Tommy scoffed.

“What do you usually–” he stopped as a long yawn rolled from his chest “–do when you’re bored?”

“Find more rocks, chase some mice out, nap in the sun, swim, go outside for a bit,” Tommy listed easily.

“Why don’t you do one of those?”

“Because you’re here,” Tommy huffed, sliding off the branch and almost falling on his head before catching himself. “You need to entertain me! Do something with me.”

Wilbur was about to tell the golden dragon just how ridiculous that was, he was not there to be a source of entertainment, then he saw the look in Tommy’s eyes. He couldn’t say no.

“How about some hide-and-seek?” Tommy piped up, bouncing on his hind feet. Soon Tommy was gone from sight as Wilbur searched.

“Toms,” Wilbur sang, crouched close to the ground as he scanned for the golden dragon. “Where did you go?”

There wasn’t a response, not even a mischievous giggle.

Wilbur hummed, just a little bit of frustration bubbling in his chest. He had been looking close to the ground for the other, maybe he needed to look higher up. He was sure he didn’t hear any flaps of a wing while he counted, but Tommy could have scaled up a tree. He lifted his head from the ground, scanning for any signs of gold.

A spike of adrenaline pumped through his heart as he said just a sparkle of gold in the distance. He didn’t hesitate to pounce, jumped up with a push of his wings, and launched himself forwards. Yet his heart sank just as fast as it had picked up as a golden feathered bird flew off, spooked by his sudden movement.

“Gaddamnit,” Wilbur hissed, searching again for any signs of Tommy. He looked under rocks, inside of trees, and even on the water. Nothing came up, he couldn’t find the little shit.

With a heavy groan, Wilbur gave in, “You win, Toms. I can't find you.”

There wasn't a sound or any other indication of the small dragon leaving his hiding spot.

“You can come out,” Wilbur tried again, making his way toward the water. “I give up.”

There was a small peep of a voice calling from above him, “What if this is a trick?! What if you want me to come out?!”

Wilbur craned his head up, looking for any sign of the small dragon, “Why the fuck would I do that? I just admitted defeat.”

“Well–I–it–” there was a moment as Tommy tried to think of a comeback. “It doesn’t matter.” Suddenly, the very golden dragon Wilbur had been looking for, leaped onto his snout.

“Where the fuck were you?” Wilbur scoffed in confusion.

“None. Of. Your. Business,” Tommy said, rolling his shoulders back and raising his head high. “Now it’s your turn to hide.”

“Wha–” Wilbur stumbled to find the words. “I’m too big to hide in here. Where could I even hide?”

“Well I’m the biggest man ever and I was able to hide,” Tommy cocked his head, his head looming rather large right in front of Wilbur’s eyes.

“Toms, Tommy,” Wilbur chuckled, a new feeling blooming in his chest. “Just trust me on this, how about we go do something else?”

----------

“Look, Wilbur,” Tommy hissed, frustration curling in his chest. “We can’t name all of the flowers Sally .”

Wilbur just scoffed, “Well we can’t name them all Clementine .”

“Why the fuck not?!” Tommy puffed up, a harsh glare forming on his face.

“Same reason we can’t name them all Sally,” Wilbur snapped back, his lips pulled back into a snarl.

“So you admit that we can’t name them all Sally!” Tommy jumped up, acting as if he had won the argument.

“We can’t name all of the flowers the exact same thing ,” Wilbur shouted, his anger going ignored as Tommy’s victory trot. “Whether that be Sally or Clementine it doesn’t matter. We have to give them different names.”

“This is my oasis and they’ve always been named Clementine,” Tommy put a hand to his chest, trying to exaggerate how this was his home. “I don’t even know why you’re trying to change them.”

Wilbur groaned, flopping onto the ground and covering his eyes with his claws, “I give up. There’s no winning against you.”

Tommy began to hop around with joy, “I always win because I’m always right.”

“How about this,” the bigger dragon felt the need to change the topic and promptly did so. “What if we made flower crowns? Then all of these Clementines can just be one.”

“What the fuck are flower crowns?”

Wilbur gasped, his claws spreading so he could peek his eyes through them, “You don’t know what flower crowns are?”

Tommy puffed up in anger once again, “You–”

“Oh you poor baby,” Wilbur reached forward and snatched Tommy to his chest. “Don’t worry, big brother Wilby will teach you how to make them.”

This only made the smaller dragon angrier, a feral look growing in his eyes, “Let me go you motherfucker, I never called you ‘Wilby.’ You’re just so old you can’t even hear your own name right. Now let me down ! I’ll claw your eyes out and make you swallow them.”

“Here,” Wilbur rolled around until he was on his hind legs, it was awkward to walk around while holding a hissing child, but he didn’t care. “Let me go get all of the flowers and I’ll bring them here. That’ll make everything easier.” Tommy was placed down on a sun-warmed rock and he didn’t even get a word in before Wilbur was gone, plucking flowers from his field. Yet, he didn’t move to chase after the other, he found himself rather excited to make ‘flower crowns.’ Not that he would ever admit that, he would just say the rock was too warm to move from. This was sunbathing hour after all.

Hours later, the two dragons had matching crowns around their heads. Ruined attempts littered around them, failed from the clumsy hands of the smaller dragon. Yet none of the failed crowns were thrown away, they were all delicately placed in Tommy’s hoard.

----------

One night, Wilbur found himself trying to convince Tommy to go above the oasis, up on top of the plateau.

“Please, Sunshine,” Wilbur begged, his claws clutched in front of him. “You’ll love this, I just know it.”

“Fine,” Tommy huffed, giving in with a roll of his eyes, “but if we get killed by humans because of your stupid choice. I swear I’m going to make what little life you have left miserable.”

“I promise, we’ll be fine,” Wilbur tried to assure him, curling his wing around the smaller. “I’ll protect you.”

“If anyone needs protecting, it’s you!” Tommy growled in response, the hostile display ruined by the pleased look on his face.

“Yes, yes it is,” Wilbur hated to say it, but he had really grown to love this little dragon, Tommy was something akin to a brother. If anyone ever said it out loud though, Wilbur was sure he would end up crying.

He scooped Tommy up with his claw and pushed off the ground, flying straight through the gap in the ceiling. A dark blue sky stretched all around them, dotted with specks of light. Wilbur had missed the night sky, he missed floating in the ocean and gazing up at the stars, their beauty infinite.

“I used to stargaze all of the time at home,” Wilbur said, laying down with Tommy cradled to his chest. “It was a relaxing way to pass time for me.”

There was a moment of unusual silence from Tommy before, “So you just stare at the sky? That seems boring.”

“It can be to some, but my brother used to tell me stories of the stars and that made it better,” Wilbur chuckled.

“You have a brother?” Tommy asked, craning his head up to look at Wilbur.

“I do, but I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to see him again,” Wilbur admitted, trying to force down the sorrow growing in his chest.

“Why not?”

He huffed out a soft breath, “This desert can’t be anywhere near an ocean and I don’t even know which direction I could go. Besides, I wouldn’t want to leave the biggest man ever, would I?”

Tommy wouldn't admit it but his eyes started to water, a warm feeling spreading from his chest, “Of course! Who would ever want to leave me?”

“No one, absolutely no one,” Wilbur sighed and they went back to staring at the stars. The time passed in a blink of an eye and suddenly Tommy was bouncing up and down, excited to show Wilbur something special.

“Your stars reminded me of them,” Tommy said as he dug into the trunk of a tree. “I think you’ll like them. Now, close your eyes.”

Wilbur listened without complaint. There was a shuffle and Tommy got to work with the surprise, twigs snapped and leaves were shoved to the side. Wilbur was itching to just barely peek an eye open to see what was happening.

Finally, Tommy shouted, “Okay! You can look.”

Wilbur wasn’t prepared for the stars to be laid out on the ground before him. Little spots of glowing lights dotted across the floor in a random array. Yet, just a few replicated the pattern Wilbur had shown Tommy in the sky.

“I usually find them at the bottom of the river, I have to dig around for them, it’s surprisingly hard considering they glow in the dark,” Tommy began to explain, lifting one to Wilbur. It was just a small rock, basic and rather plain, yet it shone like his own scales.

“That’s…” Wilbur couldn’t find the words to express how he felt, but the smile growing on his face could.

“They remind me of your scales,” Tommy practically petted the stone with a delicate claw, “and now they remind me of your stars as well!”

----------

A content purr rolled from Tommy's chest, his scales soaking up the warmth of the sunlight, and his mind teetering on the edge of sleep. A deep purr came from the dragon below him, acting as his little island. Tommy stretched, his wings arching out and claws extending. A tremble ran through his body, it hurt yet it felt so nice too.

He finally tipped off the edge, falling into a light slumber, still conscious enough to hear the waves of water against the bank.

Tommy could feel each blissful second pass by, and he remembered why napping with his favorite pastime. It was just that much better with Wilbur there. The two of them stayed there for hours, then it all got interrupted.

Tommy was rudely awoken by a gross and disgusting lick across one of his eyes. Yet…it was strangely…relaxing. Something buried deep inside of him was practically preening. He blinked one eye open, watching Wilbur’s bright pink tongue lick at his other eye. It switched after a few more licks and Tommy’s purr grew louder. He could even hear the purr coming from Wilbur.

When it stopped, Tommy couldn’t stop asking a question, “What was that?”

Wilbur cocked his head, “I was–Do you not know what that is?”

“No, that’s why I asked,” Tommy deadpanned with a roll of his eyes.

“Wow,” Wilbur sighed with a chuckle. “It’s just a bonding activity, usually between families and such.”

A smile stretched across Tommy’s face, “Does that mean you see me as family?”

“I–” Wilbur was suddenly struck with embarrassment. “I mean…kinda.”

The smile grew bigger on the golden dragon’s face, “Wilby, I’m happy to be your family.”