Work Text:
You were told at a young age to never approach a dragon’s home, for they were quite protective of them and the reason behind it was believed to be that their most sacred treasure was in the center of it. Anyone greedy enough to try and approach their homes with the intent to take what the dragon held most sacred was never heard of again, and there were many rumors of what the dragon could have stored in their homes. It ranged from piles of gold to a mountain of gems and the most famous rumor of all; was that the Dragons stored their heart within their homes, but no one could confirm these rumors. Rumors were, after all, exaggerations to what actually happened, but sometimes they could be the truth.
The warnings were embedded into you by both your parents and like any other parent they told stories about dragons stealing things and ravaging villages and castles, but instead of cowering away from these stories, you listened intently, more curious about these creatures rather than fearful. Sometimes whenever you went out to play with the other children you would look up at the sky and wonder if you’d ever get the chance to see the large creatures, many stories had described them in various ways, records of them ranging from having beautiful scales and elegant features that put nobles, kings, and queens to shame, to being large terrifying towering monsters with razor-sharp teeth that could slice through metals swiftly and having powerfully large claws that could hold much livestock.
But the most powerful weapons they had at their disposal was their power, many of them ranged from the normal fire breathing dragons to dragons that breathed toxic smoke, or glowing scales that enhanced their body’s limits. The most famous rumored dragon was the All-Mighty One, and while the dragon did help humans he also made it clear that not all dragons shared qualities like him, and it was for the best if humans stayed cautious of dragon kind.
You were a curious one, and it occasionally set you apart from the other children, but you count yourself lucky that there were others like you that had the same curiosity you did. And now that you’re a little older you were very grateful to have the friends you have now, still, you were a bit saddened that they had to move away as soon as their families found better land, but you knew that they’d go journey on their own once they were older.
You were content with living with your family in the town, but you loved visiting your aunt more, she lived in a beautiful forest near the town and was occasionally rumored to be a witch. She’d always laugh it off since she was just a weaver with a frail body, her kindness, and jovial nature is what made her a wonderful person in your honest opinion, but what connected you two the most was the interest in dragons. You had a bookshelf full of literature about dragons because of her, and while your parents were wary of it at first they let you be after seeing a spark of genuine joy, they were concerned for you as a child but were relieved when your aunt got you your first book on dragons (and picked up the interest in weaving).
And right now you were on your way to visit your aunt, with a light bounce to your steps you smiled as you walked on the small patched dirt road, but the sound of a goat bleating made you stop in your tracks. From the sound it’s distressing call you jogged over to where the noise was coming from, once you arrived at the scene you saw a goat stuck under a branch that held its neck to the ground, a few other goats were around but then left as you made your way to the animal.
“Hey, buddy~ hey…”, you coo at the scared animal, hoping to comfort it as you carefully observed the branch to look for a way to free the goat. “Alright!”, you sigh as you set down your bag to lift the branch off it with some difficulty.
The goat wriggled around making it difficult for you to hold up the branch until you huffed and put your knee under the branch and carefully placed a hand on the goat’s head to shove it out from under the branch. The goat bleated as it stumbled backward from the branch before hopping away as you sighed before smiling, grabbing your bag from the ground you made your way to walk back to your aunt’s house, only to stumble when you felt a sharp tug on your skirt.
Frowning you cursed, “Seriously? Man~ mom is gonna kill me~”, you whine, already hearing your mom’s words coming to mind as you tug on your skirt, “Damn it~ Let go already~!”, you huffed as you pulled harder. You heard a tear as you fell back, but you didn’t land on the dirt, with a panicked gasp you realized that you were still falling, your scream lasted for a short minute before you grunted in pain as you began rolling down the hill? Cliff? You could hardly think about it until pain erupted in different places of your body.
The next thing you felt was arms catching you, stopping your fall as you heard a grunt that wasn’t your own, the stranger fell back with you in his arms as you gave out a weak whimper at the impact landing. Black spots decorated across your vision as you looked up at the sky in a daze, you heard rustling before a male came into your vision.
“H-hey! Are you okay!? Can you speak!?”, he asked, his movements were frantic as he set you down on the ground.
Your vision faded in and out, but you really wanted to say something to him before you slipped into unconsciousness, so when he reached for you, you reached out for his hand and intertwined your own fingers with his own, feeling him freeze as you did, “Th-... Thank… you”, you sigh out before closing your eyes.
When you woke up you came to with a slight throbbing pain in the back of your skull, a low groan escaped your lips as you blinked your eyes open, the sun looked to be set as you slowly sat up, wincing as you sat up. You rubbed the side of your face as you looked around yourself only to gape at the sight around you, in every direction was fields of purple anemone flowers.
Standing up you momentarily stubbled before getting your footing back as you stood in awe of the seemingly giant garden-like-field. Looking around, you saw a variety of garden-related structures; there were garden arched covered with the signature flower, a waterfall that pooled into a large pond that continued to flow downstream under a bridge, and on the other side of the bride was a homey cottage, in some areas there were rock paths.
Lost in your own thoughts you nearly jolted when you heard a voice call to you, “Um, Mis…”
Turning around you saw the stranger again, the same stranger that caught you, “You…”, you whispered as he stood there, he looked uncomfortable as he looked to the side.
He suddenly turned away from making you, making you jolt as you watched in concern, “I’m so sorry! Ishouldn’tofdoneanythingwithoutMirioIshould’veaskedhimforhelp!”, he speaks rapidly as you blink before giggling, catching him off guard as he looks over his shoulder at you while your giggling turns into joyous laughter.
“Haha! I’m sorry but your- ramblings- they- they are- heh”, you stifle your laughter before smiling at the stranger, “They were cute~ I’m sorry about laughing but I couldn’t help it”, you sigh.
You smiled as you introduced yourself, “I’m (Y/n), (Y/n) (L/n), and you are?”
The stranger gripped his hood before peeking at you from under it, “Tamaki, Tamaki Amajiki, Dragon of this Anemone Garden you stand in”.
Your eyes widened at the revelation as you spun around taking in the field of endless anemone flowers, “Dragon of…! Incredible a real dragon! Wow! And your garden, it’s so!!! Woah!!!”, you have a wide smile on your face as you turned back and raced to Amajiki making the poor drake jolt as you took his hands in your own, face close to his own.
“This is incredible, I’ve always wanted to meet a dragon! Who knew there was one near my home! Gosh, it’s an honor Amajiki!!!”, you chips as the now humanoid drake stumbled on his words trying to speak.
“I-I-I…..”, his hood shadowed his face as he pulled away from you, leaving you confused until you made a startled noise when he dashed away, “I’m sorry but I’m not a great dragon! I’m going home!”
“H-hey! Wait Amajiki! I have so many questions I want to ask! Amajikiiii-!!!”
~~~
That was your first time you met the introverted dragon, and it took you by surprise considering all the stories you’ve been told about dragons, but you accepted his different qualities, and even got a chance to meet a friend of his when you were visiting one time to visit the dragon. Mirio Togata, Dragon of the Amber Mine, also known as The Lemillion by your kind. Apparently Tamaki had one too, The Suneater, and the reason why your town never spoke of him was because he discreetly moved territories.
As time passed you always managed to pop yourself into Tamaki’s life to the point where he almost reluctantly (but admittedly a bit happily) decided that you could be his friend, Mirio was excited about that.
“So, your Suneater title was given to you by humans and the anemone garden is something you’re known by by other dragons? I’m a bit confused”, you saw as you lay on his scaled back.
“Well, you see, often times dragons produce excess mana that come from our scales, it was said that ancient dragons interacted with earth’s flora and minerals so often that their scales were ‘blessed’ by certain species of flora and minerals, as a result our scales could produce mana kin with aspects of earth’s flora or minerals, specifically the flowers and gemstones since they could often be used as a source of mana by many beings”, he explained as he finished eating his meal, “but each dragon produces a different kind of mana, take me and Mirio for example, my scales produce a lot of mana that is kin Anemone flowers which is why my home is mostly made up of them, while Mirio can produce a lot of Amber stones in his area”
A purr like rumble came from his chest as he looked at you, “Dragons know each other by the mana our scales leave, whether it be stone or flower, it’s also how we mark our territories”
“Ah~ I see now! That’s so cool! No wonder your home is filled with so many purple anemones! It really suits you Tamaki”, you smile up at him as you slide off his back.
Picking one of the flowers you turned to Tamaki as he tilted his head at you, “You know humans have developed a language for flowers and stones and gave meaning to what they symbolize…”, you say as Tamaki leaned down to you.
“Language? Symbolism?”, he asked.
You nod as you raise the flower, “If I recall correctly a friend of mine once said purple anemones could mean fading hope and being abandoned…”, Tamaki sulked as he planted his face on the ground.
“I knew I wasn’t that good of a dragon… but for others to guess it too makes it more harsh”, he pouts, you chuckle as you walk up to Tamaki’s snout and stroke one of his whiskers.
“I wasn’t finished Tamaki…”, you smile as he looked at you while you looked at the flower and brought it close to your face, “Purple Anemones can also mean anticipation and symbolize protection from evil”.
Cutting off the flower stem you then placed it in your hair as you looked up at Amajiki with a smile, “I like to think that it’s the latter you symbolize”, you cheekily grin as Tamaki looked away before transforming into his humanoid form.
Covering his eyes with his hood he walked with you to escort you out of his domain while you both talked about many things, from how your family was to how Mirio was doing and other little subjects like how you were going to be busy with the orders your aunt and how you’d assist her in weaving while Tamaki talked out how scarce some animals were getting due to the change of weather. You invited him to come over with you to your aunt’s home or your own if he ever felt hungry but he refused politely, and eventually you left and waved goodbye to Tamaki, he returned the gesture and watched as you left being sure to keep an eye on you until you were far enough.
Picking up one of the anemone flowers near his feet he crushed it with one hand before bringing it near his lips, parting his lips he gently blew into the crushed flower. Briefly closing his hand into a fist he then slowly opened his fist to reveal a chirping swallow* bird, it ruffled its feathers before looking up at the dragon, as if asking what to do now.
“Make sure she stays safe okay?”, he tells the bird before letting it fly off to follow after you, Tamaki sighed as he watched it fly in the sky before it’s silhouette faded.
As he trudged back to his home his nose smelled the familiar scent of his friend before he heard the dragon land, Mirio’s voice boomed as he greeted his friend, “Hey Tamaki! How’s it going with your human friend!”
Tamaki nearly blushed but he did stutter out an answer as he hid his face in his hood, “F-f-fine! It went fine!”.
Mirio observed his friend before smiling as he came up behind him and wrapped his arm around Tamaki’s shoulder, bringing him into a side hug, “Did you ask her to be your special other already!? How’d it go!? Did you already tell Nijire!?”.
Tamaki’s face reddened at his friends bombarding questions, but he eventually tried to make himself sepak as he looked down to the side, Mirio stopped talking as he looked at his friend, sensing his glum aura, “N-no… We just talked as usual….” Tamaki sighed before a whine escaped his throat as he faced the wall of his house as soon as the both reached it.
“I’m pathetic aren't I? I’m so hopeless”, Tamaki’s glooming aura concerned his friend as Mirio went to pat his back.
“Hey don’t say that~ I’m sure there will be another chance for you to say how you feel about her, don’t sell yourself so short, besides I’m sure there are things you can do other than telling her with words”, Mirio pointed out.
“Telling her... without words?”, Tamaki questioned.
“Yep! But I’m not sure how to do it~ Humans are different from dragons after all and from what I hear their courting rituals are a bit more complex than ours”, Mirio informed as he rubbed his chin.
Tamaki softly bit his lip as he thought about it, “Telling her without words…”
~~~
“Tamaki! I-I- We-ll… Hm~ This is actually a pleasant surprise”, you hum with a gentle smile as Tamaki stood in front of your home, sheepishly looking at the ground before turning around in a haste.
“I-I’m sorry! This was a bad time. I shouldn’t have come without telling you beforehand!”, he fretted, before he could step out of your reach you caught him by his wrist.
“No, no, no! It’s fine really! I just thought- um- I thought you’d be patrolling your area today is all”, you timidly admit, feeling your cheeks warm as you scratched your cheek.
Tamaki turned back to look at you before relaxing, giving you half a smile as you let go of him when he turned to face you, “Well- Mirio has always been telling me that I should take a break every now and then”.
“I understand it is better to be safe than sorry, but always remember to take a breather, it wouldn’t kill you to have a little time to yourself, Right?”, you chuckle.
Tamaki blinked at you before nodding his head, a small smile on his face, “R-right”.
You both walked on the streets of your town, with Tamaki assisting you in getting some fruits and veggies that were in the basket, but he mainly handled the larger slabs of meat with little struggle. You did notice a few girls ogle at him and gave a estranged smile to Tamaki when he asked what was wrong, you decided not to tell him as you looped an arm with his empty arm.
“Hey Tamaki, do you usually stay in your dragon form during winter times?”, you ask.
“I do, in my dragon form I am able to withstand colder temperatures rather when I am in my human form, it’s preferable that way, why do you ask?”, he looks down at you as you both walk back to your home.
“Well, would you mind if you walked me back to my aunt's home? I have something there waiting for you”, you sheepishly explain.
Tamaki shook his head, “I don’t mind at all”.
While you dropped off the food in your home Tamaki took the chance to dig around his cape and pull out the bouquet of anemones he made you, specifically the ones that grew near his heart sphere, and within the bouquet of purple anemones was a scale of his that he plucked out. Just looking at it made Tamaki fidget at his spot as his cheeks tinted red, but when he heard your door open he stored the bouquet back in it’s place.
Walking up to him you asked, “Ready to go?”.
Tamaki gave you a small smile, “Ready”.
Walking on the trail to your aunt’s home you talked with Tamaki on a recent book you got and finished within a span of a week, “I found the book in the corner of the book store, Edwin let me have it for free since I was a common visitor, I only started reading it just a few weeks ago and it was a very amazing story I enjoyed it- Ah~ I don’t think I mentioned the title yet-” You sheepishly laugh as you scratched your cheek.
“It’s called Love Beneath the Scales, from what I’ve read it’s an old book”, you reveal, making Tamaki perk up.
“Love Beneath the Scales you say?”, Tamaki asked, making you nod as you look over at him.
“Yeah… have you read it already?”, you ask.
“No, but… It sounds like a sister story to “Adoration In the Flesh”, it’s a story shared among dragons through oral traditions, it has a human and a dragon share a journey together and at the end of their journey they realize that their feelings towards one another are more than platonic”, He explains.
“How… coincidental, it was the same theme in that book too”, you reveal.
You both looked at one another and momentarily stared at each other before a red hue covered both of your cheeks, you both looked away from one another in haste.
“Sorry! I stared to long (Y/n)/ Tamaki!”, you both exclaim, you both looked at each other again, still red faced until you both saw your aunt's home come into view.
“Ah~ We’re here…”, you trail off before giving Tamaki a smile, “Wait right here for a moment okay?”.
Tamaki nodded as he watched you enter the small yet comfy house, pulling out the bouquet Tamaki looked them over before hiding it in his coat again, he gulped as his hands shook tentatively, anxiety sinking into his form before he looked up, “Without words…”
Tamaki’s head snapped towards you, you hid something behind your back as you bounded up to him with a grin on your face before standing before him, “Since winter was coming I decided to make you something so you could stay warm….”, you reveal as you bring out a blanket.
Unfolding it before him, Tamaki gaped at the design on it, it had many gold and white designs surrounding a dragon, specifically his dragon appearance, that was curled around a patched of purple anemone flowers.
“I wanted to make it as big as your dragon form, but that would’ve wasted a lot of my aunt's supplies, so I decided to make it for your human form”, you smile as Tamaki tentatively touches the blanket before grasping in his hold.
He teared up as he looked at him before blinking away those tears and smiling at you, then perked up as he laid the blanket on his back, you looked at him questionably with his sudden shift in mood until he pulled out a bouquet and slowly offered it to you.
You stared at it before tentatively taking it, looking up at Tamaki you give him a confused look, “Tamaki…?”
He looked down as you studied the bouquet closer, and gaped when you saw a scale within it, and if you recalled correctly…
“I love you too Tamaki!!”, you chirp as you pounce him, Tamaki yelped as he caught you before falling on his bottom, you were about to apologize but loud purrs rumbled from his chest as he nuzzled his face into your own, you felt stray tears fall on your skin as he purred loudly.
“I- I love you… I promise I’ll always love you!”, Tamaki hiccuped as you smiled jovally as he peppered your face in many kisses.
...when the dragon gave their human a healthy scale, it was a declaration of their love.