Chapter Text

Dragon Fruit

(AKA: Hizashi has a dumb lizard brain and Aizawa has lizards on the brain)

Chapter One

A Dragon’s Nest

‘When tracking dragons, it’s important to understand the different signs of nesting between age and status. One does not want to wander unprepared into the den of an ancient and territorial alpha, or a cave housing a clutch of eggs and a protective parent.’

- A Complete Guide to Dragons by Eraserhead

It wasn’t easy being a dragon slayer: the hours were long, the job was isolating, the casualty rate was predictably high, and while it wasn’t a thankless job – if anything everyone was always exceedingly thankful – Shouta Aizawa chalked that one down as a negative. He worked best while on the move, and although it was difficult to turn down the kind offers of a hot meal and a comfortable bed, he hadn’t taken this job so he could settle.

If a town was safe, there was no reason for him to remain. In the words of a song he’d heard years ago: ‘Twas better to be all alone.’

The sun glinted off his authentic dragon-scale armour as he marched through the small town, head held high, his raven black hair tied in a messy ponytail. A dirty green cape trailed behind him, kicking up whenever it was caught by the occasional gust of wind. The hunting arrows rattled in their quiver, his bow dipped and swayed with every step, and his dark blue robes parted slightly to reveal a worn leather doublet beneath.

Every piece of clothing was covered in frantic patches and unruly stitches, while everything he needed to survive weighed down his several bags. At his side hung a sheathed sword, the scabbard made of dark wood, native to his distant homeland, while the hilt was curiously ornamental to anyone keen enough to notice.

He could feel eyes watching him from behind closed shutters, but only a few had the courage to open their doors and mumble some sort of greeting, typically along the lines of ‘Thank the Lord you’re here’ or ‘We’ve been waiting for you’.

No, it wasn’t easy being a dragon slayer, and the townspeople were only half the problem.

When Shouta had been a young child, he’d listened to heroic tales of brave knights and vicious dragons, and he’d been drawn into the fantasy as easily as any other youth. In reality, there were no brave knights, but there were plenty of vicious dragons. They came in so many shapes and sizes, with tempers as fiery as the flames they breathed, and the numerous scars than lined Aizawa’s firmly built body were testament to the many he’d expunged.

They were beautiful beasts too, majestic and intricate, but he kept that unique observation close to his heart.

He wouldn’t’ve considered this area adequate territory for a dragon, but a slew of reports suggested a beast was setting up a nest nearby, despite the poor conditions. Livestock had disappeared, farmers had found tell-tale scorch marks in their fields, and a few had even reported seeing a ‘golden serpent’ slipping between the trees. Aizawa wasn’t so sure about that last point: he’d never encountered a golden dragon before and he doubted he’d find one around here.

Whatever colour the beast was, hopefully it hadn’t found a mate yet, or else he’d be dealing with two angry adults and potentially young, and there were very few things he hated more than slaying defenceless fledglings...

However, judging by the amount of livestock that’d disappeared lately, the beast was probably alone, so it was better to deal with it now, before it found a mate and had the chance to breed. Spring was fast approaching, after all, so time was of the essence.

He reached the field where the most recent sightings had been reported and examined the area, his armour making a rough scraping sound as he moved. The scorch marks were several days old, but that didn’t mean the beast had left the area, especially if it was building a nest.

He removed a thick leather glove and let his fingers brush over the blackened ground, feeling the rough texture beneath his skin. It was impossible to discern whether the beast was male or female, for this pattern could’ve fit either. Hopefully it was the latter, for a male would begin to gather more and more food to attract a mate, and when the livestock ran out, its eyes would turn to the helpless people in the town…

Shouta straightened up and glanced around the paddock, noting the old wooden fencing. He trailed along the field’s perimeter, slowly and methodically, his sharp eyes scanning for…

Bingo.

His boots crunched against the ground as he stopped and ran his fingers over several deep gashes in the fence, where a beast had scrambled over to escape with its kill. Aizawa pulled his glove back on and unfurled a scroll from his belt, his steady eyes running over the blotches and fine ink lines. According to the map, there was a mountainous area to the north-west.

Aizawa put the scroll away and examined the claw marks more closely, trying to gauge the size of the beast. It was certainly an adult, but was probably still quite young, which would be both a blessing and a curse: it wouldn’t have a mate yet, but sometimes the younger ones were more aggressive over territory, especially if this was its first spring since coming of age. He withdrew a bandolier of small leather pouches from his bag, each sealed tightly to retain the contents inside. He counted each one and stopped at the fifth, before he pulled out several blue feathers and proceeded to tie them into his hair. The wind brushed through them, fanning out their unnoticeable scent, and he grabbed a handful of dry dirt.

His face and armpits were quickly smeared with the grime, creating dark streaks over his pale skin, and the remainder was purposefully poured into his boots. The feathers and dirt would mask his scent for a while, at least until he found the dragon’s lair amongst the foothills and caverns. A few nearby farmers who’d come out to watch looked at him as if he were crazy, although their faces blanched once he accidentally made eye contact.

Aizawa almost cursed himself. Once he’d habitually looked away from people, to hide his shame, but when working with dragons...

“You see his eye?” one farmer growled in a rough, callous tone. “Boy’s got a demon eye.” The group murmured some religious prayer for protection, but their cruelty was ignored.

Now wasn’t the time to think about that: he had a job to do. Aizawa hopped the fence in an impressive leap and started north-west into the forest, leaving the superstitious farmers behind. As he moved, he made sure to run his palms over the trunks of trees. It would rile the dragon up, to have some of its territory claimed by a human, but that was the entire point: they were easier to fight when blinded by rage.

It was an odd balance of leaving his scent and masking it, but there was a reason Aizawa was still alive by this point in his career. To kill thy enemy, one had to know thy enemy.

He was surprised by the minimal territorial marking though: there were a few scratches about, and some trees were bare where bark had been rubbed away by scaly skin, but these were few and far between. This was peculiar, especially for a young adult, who’d typically overcompensate with their territorial marking.

Was it a female then? Or perhaps the dragon had been distracted by something…

The environment shifted subtly from the flat forest to rockier slopes. The trees were more spread out here, making it ideal for a wyvern, but that contradicted the other patterns the monster had left. Perhaps the dragon had been orphaned at a young age, and was inexperienced...

He spied several small cave openings nearby, and a brush of warm wind told him he was nearing the nest: dragons always kept a fire blazing at the heart of their homes

He crested a small hill to find a short drop on the other side, with claw marks raked into the gravelled slope. Heat washed up from below, and he noticed the flicker of a flame-cast shadow. In the distance, the sun was already nearing its final descent behind the horizon, the sky painted in luscious hues of orange and red.

It hadn’t taken him too long to find the nest, and that was exceedingly peculiar, despite his dedication to the job. Dragons were usually better at hiding their homes, and even the selection of this area was peculiar. Gravel was an obvious giveaway for claw marks, so most beasts avoided territory with it, not to mention the lack of trees to hide the entrance with.  Honestly, judging by the rough markings on the ground, it almost looked like the dragon had recently fallen over the ledge, but a dragon wouldn’t be that inept… right?

Aizawa closed his eyes and listened. The wind whistled over his ears, gently brushing the azure feathers against his face, and with it came the sound of something snoring.

Shouta opened his eyes and carefully descended the hill, his soft boots moving precariously across the slippery gravel. He reached the bottom without incident, which was thankful since the sun was getting low: travelling down would’ve been far more dangerous in the dark.

An orange glow lit his destination: an opening about four times his height and several metres wide. It wasn’t something an ancient dragon could squeeze through, and even the cavern beyond didn’t look too large compared to some dens he’d encountered in his many years of slaying. His sensitive nose caught onto the scent of burnt meat, and he knew he’d found his livestock killer - apparently it was fond of barbeque…

It mustn't have sensed the stirrings in its territory, for it to still be asleep… Good.

Aizawa inhaled deeply and crept inside, ensuring his boots moved silently. The heat was more intense here, yet certainly wasn’t unwelcomed after the chilly breeze outside. He reached the end of the brief tunnel and peered inside at the large bonfire at the cavern’s centre, noting the yellow flames with stark curiosity, until…

His eyes slid to the side to see what, at first glance, might’ve been nothing more than a boulder with fuzzy moss peppered across its surface, dyed yellow by the flames. Nevertheless, on further analysis, the rock was breathing. Aizawa’s heart skipped a beat at the awe-inspiring colour the creature reflected.

It really was gold: he’d never seen a golden dragon before! Well, it was almost entirely golden…

An odd discolouration scarred the scales on the creature’s left chest, as if it’d been partially burned, which was an impossibility in itself since dragonhide was fire-proof.

What could’ve easily been mistaken for exotic moss was actually a smear of yellow feathers, which covered the beast’s legs, back and the top of its (mostly hidden) head like a mane. On impulse, Shouta moved closer, merely to get a better look at the magnificent creature. His heart was hammering as his eyes roamed along its long, jutting horns, to its slim serpentine neck. For a dragon, it wasn’t especially bulky, but it was long, although the full length of its tail was tucked tightly within the curl of its body. The beast was about the age he’d predicted, despite its carelessness, although a true estimate was difficult to guess, even for Aizawa.

Its hoard of treasure was … minimal, and that was disappointing. Such a beautiful creature should’ve had an equally beautiful hoard. He could only spy a few small coins and bracelets poking out from beneath its sleeping position, winking greedily in the light of the fire. The creature mustn’t’ve been here for very long as only a small pile of animal bones were tucked away in the corner, just shy of the fire’s luminous reach.

It was rather saddening to know he’d have to destroy such a dazzling creature, but he’d at least end the dragon’s life quickly and mercifully, long before it had the chance to hurt anyone. However, just as he drew the black steel sword from its sheath, the slumbering beast moved.

-o-

The beast stirred at the scent of something strange inside its nest, an odd mix of approaching danger and an expected arrival. As it came to, it was able to better distinguish the smell: a male dragon! At long last, a mate to court! However, the awaited smell was tarnished by the twinge of death...

Death: death was in its nest.

The dragon snapped to its feet in seconds, its long neck towering above the intruder.

Intruder. Intruder. Not a nice intruder: a bad.

Their horrible stench was masked carefully, yet now he had detected it, it was all he could smell. It was a human who reeked of dead dragon, and blood, and feathers, and dirt, and sorrow. In its hand was a slither of evil metal, as black as the night, yet the weapon smelled of nothing.

Reptilian eyes searched the shape up and down as rage thrummed through him. This human had dirtied his territory, had killed his brethren, and had now invaded his nest with dragon skin draped across him and a sword-with-no-smell.

He backed away from the human, forcing some distance between them as he gathered fire in his throat to defend his home. Before he could gather enough, however, the flames vanished.

Before the beast could think more on its sudden lack of fire, something flew through the air and wrapped around his snout, throwing the dragon’s entire head back. Smoke poured from his nose, yet there were still no flames.

He lashed his tail at the man, but he leapt over it with practised ease. The dragon instinctively swung his head back and forth, trying to rid himself of the face-bad and to regather his fire. Where had it gone? Where had it gone?

The beast turned to the human. Their hair was flying, and a strange red fire burned in the villain’s right eye.

The man had strange eyes: one black and one burning red.

The dragon paused at the sight as the Other stirred inside him.

Man, this guy looked weird. Wasn’t there a clan that had those-

Hizashi took a step back as his pupils expanded and his stomach wrenched. Oh thank god, he was back, and there was someone who could help him! Wait, no, he was attacking him!

He tried to open his large mouth, even though he wouldn’t’ve been able to talk anyway, but the bola wrapped around it secured his snout too tightly. Dammit, what was the time? Was it almost sunset?

The attacker lunged with his sword, and Hizashi tried to parry it with his paw, believing it would harmlessly skirt off his thick skin. However, to his shock (and horror), it sliced cleanly through the back of his paw, shooting searing agony through his body. He felt his mind falter as the dragon stirred inside him again, but he forced the beast back down by focusing on the human’s face. It was difficult, but manageable: he refused to succumb and hurt this man, even as he threw another bola at him. Hizashi was too caught up in staving off his inhuman instincts to avoid it.

The ropes wrapped around his front legs, and the next thing he knew he was slamming into the ground. His head swam with pain, and dizziness obscured his vision. For a moment, he’d feared he’d dipped again, but his human mind was miraculously intact.

Dammit, why was this happening to him? After three years, was this how everything would end?

Hot blood ran from his paw where the blade had cut, but he suspected the wound would soon be the least of his concerns. His ears twitched as he heard boots approaching, each step scuffing against the ground. Every footfall made his stomach wrench. Hizashi tried to talk again, tried to scramble to his feet, but his back legs refused to co-ordinate. Had there been poison on the blade?

His body shuddered as numbness spread through him, coupled with exhaustion, although his mind remained sharp. Those boots stopped beside him, but Hizashi could barely keep his eyes open. A voice in the back of his mind told him to give in to the beast, that it was his only chance at survival, but he refused: he’d rather die with his humanity than become a mindless monster.

He closed his eyes in anticipation and waited for the blade to pierce his neck, but instead a hand ran through his feathers. “Shhh,” hushed the man, and the voice nearly brought tears to Hizashi’s reptilian eyes. Oh damn, a human voice: how long had it been since he’d heard someone speak? The hand continued to stroke his monstrous face, slipping tenderly over scales and brushing between feathers, like a man comforting a dog during its dying moments. “It’ll be over quick,” the voice promised him gently. “Think of home.”

Home? Right, this was okay, because Hizashi didn’t have a home anymore. He belonged nowhere, so this was okay. He’d die before the curse consumed him and he’d take that as a final victory.

His reptilian body relaxed and the dragon slayer must’ve sensed the change, for his tender hand pulled away. He missed the touch already, but he did as the man asked and thought of his childhood home, in the few days that’d been happy. He only wished he hadn’t been numb, so he could’ve felt the weight of the small jade pendant around his neck when he-

His eyes snapped open.

Without further warning, his monstrous body was bathed in a dazzling light. No, he was the dazzling light. Pinpricks of liquid joy glossed his vision, and hymns of salvation filled his head with harmonious chords.

The sun had set and he was alive. In moments, Hizashi Yamada would be human again.

Chapter Text

Chapter Two

To Bite a Bard

‘To wake up with a curse one day,

Was quite a cruel surprise.

And now my voice is whisked away;

Away with each sunrise.’

- The Bored Ideations of the Greatest Bard of All Time

Aizawa readied his blade over the creature’s neck, prepared to kill it with a quick, decisive thrust, but before he could, something happened.

For a moment, he thought he was staring into the sun itself as a brilliant light lashed against his eyes. He was forced to end his Erasure, as he certainly would’ve lost his vision entirely had he kept his eyes open. Claws scraped against stone and he heard the bolas rattle, yet he was unable to do anything except step away from the luminous beast.

It died down as quickly as it’d started. The golden fire at the cavern’s heart was once again the only source of light, and the first thing he noticed was that the dragon was gone.

In its place, lying face down on the ground, was a naked human… Actually, that description wasn’t entirely accurate…

Thick horns sprouted from his head, pointed backwards, and a tapered lizard-like tail extended from his lower back, reaching his ankles. The next oddity he noticed was the black tattoo that stained the man’s fine skin, and he was reminded of the inky splodge that’d tarnished the dragon’s golden scales, although he now had a better view. From his current distance, the tattoo looked like a sun, with black flames spiralling out across the man’s torso.

The blond didn’t stir… No, wait, he couldn’t.

Aizawa’s heroic instinct kicked in as he raced to the stranger’s side and drew a small vial from a pouch on his belt. He turned the man onto his back and checked he was breathing before he poured the contents down his throat. The stranger’s eyes opened, two pools of unnatural emerald green, and he frantically spluttered.

“Th-The hell?” he cried, voice course and indignant. The blond tried to move, but his face noticeably paled once he realised he couldn’t.

“It’s okay,” Aizawa explained concisely. “You’re under the effects of a paralysis poison. I’ve given you the antidote, but it’ll take time to counter the effects. Don’t fall asleep.”

“Why would I fall asleep?” he asked back, voice raising several pitches. “You tried to kill me!”

“I tried to kill a-...” Aizawa stopped himself. He wasn’t an idiot, but the situation was completely ludicrous. Dragons didn’t turn into people, especially not into handsome naked men, unless… Shit, not again… “Don’t tell me you’re some sort of cursed prince or something like that…”

The dragon-man’s expression was pained, and Aizawa noticed his sharp canines as he said, “Usually I’d lie and say yes to the whole ‘prince’ thing, but I don’t want you thinking you’re right for even a moment. I’m Hizashi Yamada, the greatest bard in all the lands! You’ve undoubtedly heard of me!” Oh god, a bard. That was even worse than a prince… “Although, you’re unfortunately correct about the curse part… My tale is a long, sad, yet heartfelt story, and if you have ears to listen I will-”

“Pass,” he said indifferently, and the look on Yamada’s face was priceless. Aizawa noticed a small blond moustache on his upper lip, far neater than his own course scruff, and somehow it made the expression all the more humorous. “Guessing you seduced someone you weren’t supposed to … or tried to.”

The man opened his mouth, closed it, opened it, and then closed it again. “Well,” he said at last, “you’re the first person I’ve talked to in three years, and I’m already sick of your company! You’re not going to get a heroic portrayal in my ballad if you keep being such a downer!”

Even though he was unoffended by the comment, Aizawa felt the need to let go of the blond. The following thud and cry of ‘Oof!’ filled him with some satisfaction. “Details of the curse?”

“Straight to the point,” grumbled the bard from the floor, displeased. “You see, I used to be the handsomest man in all the lands, but three torturous years ago I was-”

“Not the backstory: the details.” Bards…

Hizashi rolled his eyes and gnawed his lip, expression sour, but he relented nevertheless. “During the day I’m a dragon, and at night I’m this semi-human monstrosity you see before you. I have to break the curse before this tattoo covers my heart,” he gestured to the black mark, “or I’ll be a dragon forever! Isn’t that horrible?”

“Is it a timed condition?”

The blond huffed, blowing a few strands of long blond hair from his fair face. “Sorta. It grows whenever I surrender to the dragon - when I ‘dip’ for too long.” He glanced at it again and scowled. “It’s gotten worse lately! I must’ve dipped for a few days… It was fine the first year, but it’s like walking on a hill: it’s easy to walk down, but the more you do the harder it is to walk back up…” His green eyes snaked back to him, and Shouta knew better than to break eye contact with a dragon - the scar under his right eye was a constant reminder of that lesson. “You’re an Aizawa, right?”

“Yes. You’re from Nippon?” he asked, tilting his head slightly. A feather slipped from his fringe and landed on Yamada’s chest, and they both became acutely aware that the blond was completely naked.

“Mother was,” he said, a tone of discomfort in his voice, and that tone was all the prompting Aizawa needed to pull off his blue robe and cover the blond’s body with it. The man’s shoulders slumped a little as he physically relaxed, although that also told Aizawa the antidote was working. Around Yamada’s neck was a long cord, with a disc of simple green jade dangling from its lowest point, although it was too bland to garner more attention. “I’ve heard stories, but I’ve never seen an Aizawa before.”

“Shouta Aizawa,” he introduced as he sat himself more comfortably beside the blond. “If you’re the dragon of these parts, then this is your territory?”

For just a moment, the bard’s pupils flitted from round to slitted, then to round again. However, when he spoke he said, “Territory? I’m not a dog…”

Aizawa knitted his brows together as he summarised the blond’s condition: he must’ve had the natural instincts of a dragon below the surface. Perhaps it affected him subconsciously too… If his mind slipped, the dragon side might attack him again, unless Aizawa took special… precautions…

The bard was annoying, but then Shouta remembered the beautiful golden specimen, and a small voice in his head told him there was an opportunity here to save a town without taking a dragon’s life…

Besides, if he killed Yamada, then the curse would-...

“How do you break the curse?”

The blond’s face grew flushed. “If I knew that, I would’ve broken it ages ago!” Man this guy was loud… “I’ve been travelling for three years to find someone who might know, but I’ve had zero luck!” He pouted and wriggled his arms, working feeling back into them. “I’ve had no one to share my ingenious masterpieces with! It’s been so sad.”

“You say you ‘dip’ between being yourself and a dragon?” The blond shrugged. “Is it only when you’re in the different forms?”

Hizashi shook his head. “I can dip in human form, and can be myself in dragon form. At the end of the fight, I’d managed to find myself again, but … it’s easier to be me when I’m human and it’s easier to dip when I’m a dragon.”

He nodded. “I’ll help.”

The blond stared at him in amazement, his green eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “Wait… You’re gonna HELP me?”

“If it stops you stealing sheep, then yes.” One less dragon threatening people, and this time he wouldn’t have to kill it. “Can’t leave you here to cause chaos. I know someone several towns over: she can help you.”

Nemuri was going to have a field day with this guy…

“...Wait… How do I know I can trust you?” the blond asked, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Aizawa sighed and moved forward again, taking Hizashi’s right arm and lightly massaging it to work feeling back into the limbs. At first the bard looked ready to protest, but seemed to think better of it. Good; if they were going to travel together, it was important for their scents to mix, in case the dragon mind took over again.

“You don’t have any other option. Either your curse gets broken, or I kill you. I can’t allow a feral dragon to threaten the people.”

To his surprise, the blond looked sombre, and quietly said, “If you must kill me, do it while my human mind is still intact.” There was a silence, filled only by the crackle of the bonfire, while Aizawa gently massaged feeling back into the blond’s arms and legs. Eventually, however, Hizashi perked up and eagerly said, “I’ll write a song about you if you manage to break my curse! It’ll become an instant classic!”

“Pass.”

“Come on, I’d have to repay you somehow!” He grinned eagerly. “Ladies would be all over you!” Aizawa made a face at the thought of ‘ladies’, but the man must’ve misinterpreted his reaction. “Not the showy sort then? Weird… Thought that was why you guys became dragon-” Hizashi looked into his different-coloured eyes, as if he’d seen them for the first time. “Right, Aizawa clan! You wouldn’t‘ve had a choice!”

“I did have a choice,” he murmured dismissively, but didn’t expand on it. This guy talked a lot… “We’ll take your ‘hoard’ with us.” Aizawa nodded at the (very) small pile of coins and jewellery the dragon had slept on earlier. “I should hold onto something, in case you dip again, so your dragon side knows I can be trusted.”

-o-

He regained feeling in his legs at last, and the strong, calloused hands finished their massage. Hizashi would’ve been lying if he’d said he hadn’t enjoyed the human contact, although he’d wished it’d belonged to some busty woman instead, but he wasn’t in any position to be picky. With Aizawa’s help, he’d be back to bedding beautiful women in no time!

The last thing the slayer did was examine the wound across the blond’s right hand, that’d carried over from his dragon form, although it’d thankfully shrunk with the transformation. The man pulled a clean handkerchief from a pouch and rinsed the wound with water before applying a strong-smelling salve and a bandage for him. The pain eased almost immediately.

Aizawa pulled away, yet didn’t turn his back to him. In fact, he’d been constantly trying to make eye contact with him, to the point where it’d been disconcerting.

The dragon slayer was a mess of a man, with obviously zero pride in his appearance. Bird feathers stuck out of his oily hair, dirt was smeared across his face, and he smelled of sweat and nature. The cape he wore was slathered with earth and berry stains, while the hide of grey dragon scales he wore sent unexplainable chills up Hizashi’s spine.

He was good looking - for a guy - although the course stubble around his face gave him an almost wild appearance. Hizashi was already figuring out the most poetic way to describe the dragon slayer for his heroic ballad, and he already knew he’d be making a few hundred ‘artistic liberties’...

The man mentioned something about taking a piece of jewellery from his ‘hoard’, and Hizashi seethed internally at that, although he thought it was due to Aizawa’s choice of wording. “Territory? Hoard? You know I’m not really a dragon, right?”

The slayer gestured to the small pile of glistening trinkets. “Then what do you call that?”

Treasure! Pretties! Mine, mine, mine!

“Mi-...” Hizashi stopped and shook his head to clear it. “My collection.”

“Look, whether you want to believe it or not, you’re displaying clear dragon behaviour,” explained the man. “If we’re travelling together, I’ll need to work around that. Lucky for you, I’m an expert.”

What would a dragon slayer know about dragon behaviour? Their job was to kill dragons, not study them… “Fine,” Hizashi conceded as he stood up at last, his legs shaky as he pulled on the robe. Although it smelled strongly of the strange man, it appeared to be of good make and was cleaner than the rest of him. At least this was to his taste: the fabric was soft and blue, with a few swirls and dark bird outlines decorating the design. It reminded him of something his mother would’ve worn long ago…

The slayer went to his pile of treasures and Hizashi couldn’t look away from the aggravating sight. Why was this aggravating? He couldn’t even remember where he’d found most of those things…

Did the man really need to take one...?

No! The bad didn’t need to take one! No, the human was going to steal from him! The bad was going to steal one of his SHINIES!

 As soon as the human picked up a gold bracelet, his body moved of its own accord. He threw himself at the bad, his claws outstretched, ready to-

The slayer’s strong hands grabbed him instantly, long before he could bury his claws in the thief, and his face was shoved to the ground. His weak human form was pinned beneath the slayer. In a panic, he lashed his tail back at the bad, hoping to knock him away, but… He froze in horror.

The man had stopped his tail, but not with his hands. No, the bad had caught his tail with his mouth. Teeth clamped down to keep the scaly skin from escaping, and instinctual confliction swept through him.

The human had bitten his tail. He was supposed to be an alpha dragon, but alphas didn’t get bitten on the tail… unless...

A whine echoed from his throat and his claws dug into the ground. His weak human body trembled as his alpha status slipped away, all thanks to this bad… No, not a bad: his new alpha.

This human was his alpha, so...

That meant he was an omega dragon.

His body relaxed under the grip of his alpha as he submitted himself completely. The human must’ve been pleased by his submission, for he released his tail, no doubt leaving a bite mark behind as a reminder of his dominance.

“Yamada,” his alpha said firmly, not yet releasing his grip on his other limbs. “Yamada, come back.”

The Other stirred in him and then Hizashi was blinking at the ground, feeling dizzy and a little ill. His tail stung, and so did his face where his cheek was pressed into the dirt. Aizawa had him pinned, unnecessarily.

As per usual, he’d seen mostly everything, yet had no link to the dragon’s mind or motivations. It was disorienting, but he was at least glad he hadn’t hurt the other man. “Thanks,” he murmured, “but you can get off me now.”

Aizawa released him instantly. Hizashi felt hot, and his body was tingling strangely, but he chalked it up to being too close to the fire.

“You okay?” asked the slayer, voice a tad rough as he helped him back up.

Hizashi nodded. “Yeah, Aizawa, I… You can take the bracelet. I won’t attack you.”

The slayer warily picked up the bracelet and went to store it in a pouch, but paused. “I’ll wear it, okay? You can keep a constant eye on it.” He put it on his wrist, although the opulence was a stark contrast to the rest of his outfit. This time, however, the sight pleased Hizashi, although he told himself it was because he’d managed to control himself.

He couldn’t hear the dragon’s internal celebration as his alpha complimented his choice of shinies by displaying one, nor did he notice the odd changes in his body that’d just taken place.

“You can carry the rest with you,” said the slayer as he stepped away and threw him a small bag that already contained some supplies. “It’ll make you more comfortable while we journey.”

Hizashi nodded and didn’t complain about having to carry some of their supplies, so long as it meant he could carry his hoard- collection with him. He loaded the bag with the old coins, but put on some of the bracelets, preferring to show them off.

“So where’re we going? You mentioned a friend?” He looked back at Aizawa, who was staring at him intently again.

“She lives about two days from here,” he explained. “We’ll travel by night when you’re in your mostly-human form, and sleep during the day when you’re a dragon.” Aizawa dropped eye contact briefly, but only so he could glance him up and down. His nose twitched a little. “Tell me if you get cold - it’s chilly outside. You wouldn’t just so happen to have wings, would you?”

“Just a sweet singing voice and a worldly repertoire of songs and ballads!” he declared with a grin. Hizashi glanced at his tail and scowled slightly. Wow, the guy had bitten him! He really was wild… The blond wrapped his tail around his waist like a belt, but there wasn’t anything he could do to hide his horns and claws.

“I’d rather you had wings,” the man responded dryly, and honestly Hizashi couldn’t bring himself to argue as the man turned to the fire. His right eye glowed red and his hair lifted, as if by magic, and the fire inexplicably died.

The Aizawa clan, the most famous band of dragon slayers in the world, with the power of Erasure. Thanks to that Quirk, they could completely extinguish a dragon’s flame, even if it were still inside the beast’s throat. A perfect power for a dragon slayer to have, yet this one was far, far from home…

Perhaps it had something to do with his eyes. He’d never heard of an Aizawa with both a red and black eye before...

He’d find out more details later, perhaps add a few elements to the heroic ballad he’d finish writing once he was free from this curse. “Is your friend a princess?” he asked with a grin. “A princess’ kiss might be just enough to save me!”

“No,” he murmured as he rubbed his red eye, “but she helps me with my scars, and she knows a thing or three about curses. I wouldn’t recommend kissing her though - you might find yourself as an amphibian as well as a reptile. I know it’s mating season but-”

“I’m a human,” he clarified before the topic turned into one he wasn’t ready for, “and this is my third year with this curse. I’m fine. Besides, for a guy like me, every season is mating season! Now, let’s go see your friend!”

They left the cave together, their journey to cure the bard’s curse officially underway. Little did they know of the trials and tribulations that awaited them along the road, or what they would discover along the way.

Chapter Text

Chapter Three

Apple Trees

‘Sometimes, in communities, conflicts will arise as young dragons begin to mature and look for mates. A fight between two alpha leaning dragons can often be seen ending with one biting the other on the tail. This establishes the winning alpha’s power and the losing dragon will submit, accepting a more submissive, omega, position. It is not uncommon to see a conflict resolved this way to end with the alpha and new omega bonding later during mating season.’

- A Complete Guide to Dragons by Eraserhead

A soft breeze brushed over their faces, as if welcoming them into the cool night, but all it did for the dragon slayer was remind him about the lack of trees around the cave’s entrance. “First of all,” Aizawa said as he glanced over the landscape, “if you’re going to make a nest, avoid such an open area, and make sure it doesn’t have gravel around it. No doubt even if there were other dragons looking for a mate, they would’ve been turned off by your poor choice in-”

He looked back at Yamada to resume eye contact, only to find he was offering him the most unimpressed expression Aizawa had ever seen. “You know I’m not into banging lizards, right? I’m exclusively into women - human women. The weird lizard brain? It ain’t me, and it’s something I’m super actively trying to stop, so you can keep your dragon exterior home design to yourself, ‘cause I ain’t interested!”

Aizawa’s robe was a tad large on the blond - while they were the same height, the dragon slayer was bulkier, thanks to his muscles. The cut of the robe was halfway up his thigh, revealing his long, supple legs, and Aizawa made a mental note to get him some more covering clothing as soon as he went back to town. Even so, the bard was quick to pull his arm from the left sleeve so it only covered the right side of his body, leaving his strange tattoo (and left nipple) exposed.

“That really necessary?” Shouta grumbled, trying not to focus on the exposed half of the man’s chest.

“Gotta keep an eye on the curse’s progression,” he justified with a shrug. “You got a better solution?”

He shook his head, but wasn’t too concerned. It was chilly out, so it would only be a matter of time before the cold wore down his logic and he’d surrender to wearing the robe properly. Shouta waited for Yamada to cover up, or to ask for something warmer to wear, but the blond said nothing, despite his slip of an outfit.

Interest piqued in Aizawa’s mind. He knew dragons always kept a fire at the heart of their homes, so he’d assumed dragons could feel the cold, but… 

He determined to learn everything he could about dragons from this annoying bard. 

Hizashi’s round pupils continuously darted to the bracelet around his wrist, but his mannerisms weren’t hostile. Right, the tail biting must’ve done the trick.

Honestly, he didn’t know much about biting a dragon’s tail, he just knew it was a show of dominance. If two beasts ever fought, the victor would bite the loser’s tail to mark their inferiority, and the bitten dragon would take its lower place in the hierarchy. It would be safer travelling with Hizashi if the dragon knew Aizawa was the dominant one between them.

A bite on the tail was a sign of dominance, which was very different to a bite on the neck: a bonding.

His fingers lifted to the thick collar around his neck, the material strong enough to stop a dragon’s claws, with a ring of formidable metal hidden inside the leather. Nemuri had given it to him a long time ago for protection, after he’d had his throat torn open by a crazed dragon. If Nemuri hadn’t been with him at the time he certainly would’ve died.

Even now, the horrific scar was a constant reminder of his mistake, the burdened skin creeping just above the collar’s mask.

Well, the collar now had a second use. There wasn’t much chance of him being bitten on the neck by the bard, but being bonded to a dragon was certainly not on his agenda, especially since bonds were for life and the last thing he needed was-

“What’s the plan?” Yamada asked impatiently, tapping his foot. “Walk straight into town and hope they ignore the fact I look like a human and a dragon had a baby?”

“Don’t be stupid,” he dismissed. “A human and a dragon can’t have offspring.”

The blond made a face. “How do you know?”

Aizawa rolled his eyes and murmured, “Actually it has to do with the dragon’s internal body temperature being-” 

“And we are ending the topic right there! As I said, not into lizards!” Hizashi’s face was pale. “So tell me seriously, what is the plan?”

“My friend lives a few towns over. We’ll avoid the main roads and the other villages along the way so we don’t attract any unwanted attention.” He glanced around, the cold wind catching across his dark fringe, sending another blue feather falling to the ground. His mind tried to formulate the best route, but what should’ve been a two-day trip could potentially take four days off the main roads.

The people around here were a superstitious lot - if they’d been god fearing over Aizawa’s eyes, then the horned, tailed Yamada wasn’t going to stand a chance of peacefully blending in. Shouta would have to slip in alone to tell them the dragon was ‘gone’. “Hiding your tail is manageable, but your horns are a different matter. I’ll go into town to get some supplies and some extra clothes for you.”

Yamada glanced himself over. “This is fine: easy to slip off if I mistime my change. Anything more and I’ll probably tear it.”

Aizawa had a few issues with this, but instead he said, “I’ll get you some pants. I don’t care if you rip them.”

“If you insist. I mean, I can understand why you’d want to cover me up…” Wow, was Aizawa’s sexuality that obvious? He went to say something about how he wasn’t attracted to annoying blond bards, but then Yamada said, “The ladies would be all over me if they saw me so scantily dressed!” He struck a few poses and Aizawa eagerly ignored him. Never mind.

They headed for the town, but once they got too close for comfort, the blond hung behind in an orchard of fruit trees while Shouta ventured on without him.

The few people in the town who’d been waiting were sceptical to see him so soon, until they noticed the gold bracelet on his wrist - no living dragon would willingly share its hoard. They asked to see the beast’s ‘Fruit’, but he shook his head.

They hesitated and told him they couldn’t grant him the reward without proper proof, but at the first mention of money Aizawa declined. “I assure you the job is done, but I don’t want payment.” He never accepted money from these people: many were already struggling to feed their families.

Shouta lived a comfortable existence anyway. He could live off the land without much worry, and if he ever needed gold, his line of work constantly put him into close contact with literal piles of it: occasionally he gave in and grabbed something shiny to sell for a hot meal and a warm bed, especially in winter.

“Well, if there’s anything you ever need, please tell us,” said the town’s leader with an eager nod.

“Now that you mention it…”

-x-

Hizashi’s stomach rumbled. Aizawa was taking a while to return, and even though he knew he’d eaten only recently (although he did his best to forget the fact he’d eaten an entire sheep), he was already hungry again. He glanced around the orchard, the fruit bright and almost ready for harvest. Well, they wouldn’t notice a few missing apples…

He reached up and filled his arms with the red fruit, before he found a place beneath a tree to sit and eat while he waited for the man to return with some pants. The fruit was a little sour, but that didn’t stop him from munching eagerly on them.

Soon enough, his animal ears flickered at the sound of soft boots disturbing the grass. He tried to pull his hair in front of the abominations, but they flicked through his fringe of their own accord. Stupid ears…

Aizawa found him beneath the tree, and Hizashi happily offered his companion an apple (the least ripe one he’d picked). “Hungry?”

To his surprise, the dragon slayer knit his brows together in a disapproving look. At first Hizashi thought it was because of the fruit’s un-ripeness, and he almost offered him a different one, until the man lowly grumbled, “You’re stealing.”

The blond was taken aback by the accusation. “It’s only a few apples,” he defended. “They won’t notice.”

“These people don’t have much,” he said as he threw him a pair of pants. “Every apple counts. We don’t need to steal. Besides, you’ve already taken enough from them.”

Hizashi’s face grew hot. “It’s not like I wanted to eat their sheep! They were gammy anyway…” The man’s expression was unimpressed, further highlighted by his different coloured eyes, and the blond muttered to himself as he pulled the pants on while juggling the fruit around. Thankfully his tail was a little higher on his lower back, so the pants were comfortable on his waist, although to call them pants would be generous: they were tight enough to be leggings. “They didn’t have anything bigger?”

“It was short notice and pants are pants. We can’t put the apples back now, so you might as well eat them, but if I’m helping you it means you follow my rules. You eat what I eat and you don’t steal.” The man offered him a pair of boots, but one look at them had the bard pulling a face.

“Have you even seen my feet?” He wriggled his toes, but the man never broke eye contact. Such a disconcerting guy… True his feet and hands were now human, but his nails were sharp claws that made wearing gloves and boots exceedingly difficult (and certainly uncomfortable). He’d tried cutting the nails several times, but they always grew back after he transformed, so he’d given up. “I can’t wear them.”

The slayer grunted and pulled a knife from a sheath on his thigh, instantly taking the blade to the front of each boot. Hizashi watched as he efficiently removed the toe cap of each, storing the pieces of leather in a pouch before offering the shoes back to him. “Better?”

The blond was somewhat impressed as he pulled them on, wriggling his clawed toes through the gaps. “Better.” This guy was something…

Aizawa nodded and, without missing a beat, swiped the best apple Hizashi had picked, taking a crisp bite before the blond could complain.

Yeah, he really was something: a dick.

“Oh,” the slayer said after a few bites and pulled something from his pack, holding it to him, “can you read this? A town gave it to me a month ago.”

The man was offering him a book. Hizashi lifted an eyebrow at it, but reshuffled his apples so he could take it. As he did so, a wave of eagerness rushed through him, but he guessed it was the sheer joy of having some reading material after all this time.

“Of course I can read it,” Hizashi mumbled indignantly. “I’m not a moron.”

“...” The man ignored the comment and gestured through the orchard. “The place is that way. Do what I tell you and you‘ll make it there in one piece.” He took another bite of the apple, and Hizashi watched the juice trail down his lips and through his dark stubble. This guy needed a shave…

They started in the direction the man had pointed, but it was too dark to check out the book, so he slipped it into his bag without reading the title. As the two moved, the blond noticed a rounded rock resting inconspicuously in a patch of grass, and he automatically picked it up without giving it much thought. Just something else for his hoard- collection.

He tried to talk with the slayer, but the man’s responses ranged from yes, to no, to animalistic grunts. Hizashi would’ve persisted more in making conversation, but he was already weary from travelling at night, and he guessed it was the same for this man. He’d try again tomorrow night when they’d hopefully be more well rested…

-x-

The sun would be rising soon, but the slayer showed no sign of stopping. By this time, the blond was practically sleepwalking, his footsteps sounding loud compared to Aizawa’s, but he did his best to remain in control of himself. His bag was gradually growing heavier and heavier as he continued to pick up the occasional shiny rock, but he didn’t think too much about the kleptomania.

The forest was thick around them, overgrown and wild, and extra difficult to cross in the dark with only the light of the moon to guide them forward. The trees were dark columns, and he couldn’t fathom how Aizawa was able to guide them through.

Aizawa changed direction so abruptly that Hizashi bumped into him. Before he could even question the change, Aizawa said, “Clearing.” The man must’ve known how tired the blond was, for he grabbed his wrist and guided him carefully to the left.

He followed without complaint, and they soon emerged in a small clearing. Judging by a circle of stones at the centre, it had been used as a campsite in the past, but the smothered firepit spoke of disuse. It would be safe, and the size would be more than enough for Aizawa and Hizashi, even once he shifted forms.

“Here?” the blond asked, something feeling off about camping out in the open, even though he knew it was perfectly safe.

Part of him wanted to continue until they found a cave or a tunnel, but as soon as Aizawa nodded at him decisively, the feeling went away.

“We’ll sleep during the day and move at night when you’re human,” he said conclusively. “Keep control if you can, but I’ll make sure you don’t go off and eat any more livestock.”

The comment filled him with warm relief, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, despite his heavy bags. Even if he changed, he wouldn’t… “Aizawa,” he said firmly, drawing the man’s undivided attention, “... If I go feral, don’t hesitate to stop me, no matter what, even if it means you have to… kill me.”

Aizawa’s expression hardened, but he nodded. “As I said, if that curse completely consumes you, I’ll destroy you before you hurt anyone.”

Hizashi nodded, his shoulders slumping more. “The sun’s nearly set,” he said as he pulled off his boots. “I’ll change forms soon, so I should strip now so I don’t ruin my clothes.” He didn’t really know why he felt the need to expand on it: they were both guys after all.

Aizawa nodded, but seemed to pause, as if he wasn’t sure whether or not to look away. And, well…

He wanted his alpha to see him. Even in this puny human form he was clearly virile and attractive - certainly a desirable option for any mate to consider. So what if he was now an omega? He was an ex-alpha, meaning he was strong. His alpha was clearly powerful too, and his heady scent was already all over him. He mindlessly pulled at the robe to reveal his prideful form below, but then his alpha started to click his fingers.

“Yamada,” he said firmly, and Hizashi blinked at him.

Had he fallen asleep standing up or had he dipped? “Sorry,” he said with a yawn. “Can you look away? Usually only beautiful women get to see this sexy body~” Aizawa grunted and glanced away at last. Hizashi pulled off his pants and robe, folding them neatly before laying them carefully on the other side of the clearing. However, another thought struck him as he eyed the ground. “Ah… Do you think there’re a lot of bugs here?”

“Tonnes,” the man replied honestly, and Hizashi felt inexplicably dizzy.

“I miss sleeping in a bed,” he admitted as he glanced towards the first rays of sunlight. His ears flattened as dread filled him. As the beams lit the land, he closed his eyes and let the change take place.

His skin grew warm, as if the sun’s heat was focused exclusively on him, and his long blond hair fluttered around his neck. As limbs painlessly stretched and shifted, he felt his blond strands expand into feathers and ring themselves around his body, and he very quickly dwarfed Aizawa.

He’d forgotten to remove the small bandage from around his hand, but it easily snapped as he transformed, although the wound was healed over until it was only a subtle mark on his paw. Around his neck, the loop of his jade necklace held, as it had for countless transformations before.

Hizashi sat in the clearing as the light cleared, his tall neck nearly reaching the top of the trees. He exhaled a puff of smoke and very carefully lowered his body so he was lying down across the dirty leaflitter. Aizawa looked him over, his eyes wide as they beheld his new form.

Hizashi flattened his ears at the uncomfortable gaze, and tried to say something sarcastic, but all that came out was a very soft whine.

Dragons couldn’t talk.

He cocked his head instead, and crossed his front paws in an effort to maintain some humanity, despite his current appearance. He huffed out another cloud of smoke, and Aizawa finally came to his senses. “Gold dragons are unheard of,” the slayer justified as he moved towards him. Hizashi tensed. Was the man going to kill him now he was in his dragon form again? Had he been stupid to trust the man? Of course he had! He was a dragon slayer, not a curse breaker! Well, if he was going to kill him then-

Aizawa stopped beside his leg and fiddled with his bright yellow feathers. At first Hizashi was at a complete loss as to what he was doing, but then he realised…

Shouta Aizawa was preening the dragon’s feathers, neatening them up and cleaning them of any twigs or dirt. Hizashi cocked his head in confusion, and Aizawa met his eyes, but didn’t stop his ministrations. “I’m establishing a pack rapport with your dragon side,” he explained concisely. “In a pack, dragons preen each other. If you dip, I won’t have to hurt you if the dragon thinks we’re on good terms.”

This guy was super weird… 

Then he watched as Aizawa pulled a huge, creepy bug from between his bright feathers and instantly Hizashi didn’t mind the treatment one bit. He could preen him all he liked if it meant being insect fre-

And then the man shoved the bug into his mouth.

Hizashi heard the firm crunch of the slayer’s teeth as he chewed it, and if he’d been capable of screaming he certainly would have. Instead, he used his tail to shove him away.

Aizawa blinked at him with his oddly coloured eyes and swallowed the chewed remains of the bug. “What?”

Hizashi managed a disgusted rumble in his throat that sent smoke coiling out his nostrils, and when the man tried to return to preening, he was blocked by the dragon’s golden tail. His ears flattened in disgust.

“Bugs are a good source of protein,” Aizawa (grossly) protested. “Some of them even taste good. You should try-”

Another disgusted rumble and he set his tail down as a barricade, trying not to think about what other insects were surely crawling on him in the meantime. He felt sick.

“Fine,” Aizawa said with a shrug and sat himself down on the other side of the clearing as he pulled something from his bag: a set of panpipes. “We’ll move when the sun sets. Go to sleep.”

He watched the slayer’s eyes sweep down to examine the black scales of his side, and Hizashi felt self-conscious about the discolouration. Once it reached his heart, the curse would be complete...

His own eyes trailed to the scales Aizawa wore on his chest, and an indescribable sadness welled inside him, although he knew the pain was due to another mind that lurked beyond his.

Aizawa’s lips drew close to the panpipes and Hizashi’s ears trembled as he heard music for the first time in three years. The sadness that roiled inside him was entirely his own as he rested his head on his monstrous paws.

The notes were simple yet beautiful, and they seemed to echo around the dark clearing like sombre dancers. From the corners of his eyes, he thought he spied bright things moving about, but when he tried to focus on them, they shifted.

The things moved forever at the corners of his eyes, but he wasn’t overcome with fear for them: they brought him comfort.

Even though he was no longer in his den, the air felt warm and safe and he fell asleep long before Shouta’s song had ended.

Chapter Text

Chapter Four

Dark Clouds and Starlight

‘So my humanity is stripped clear,

Slowly from my whole.

Funeral bells are all I hear,

For me it is they toll.’

- The Bored Ideations of the Greatest Bard of All Time

The magic glyphs didn’t wake Aizawa: the sounds of the stirring dragon did. He opened his eyes and checked the small circle of sky overhead, noting the red haze of approaching sunset through the veil of clouds. The dragon was stretching and unfurling in a way more akin to a cat than a human, and sure enough when those green eyes glanced at him, his pupils were reptilian slits.

Aizawa was ready to use his Quirk, should the beast attempt to burn him to nothing, but instead the golden dragon paced towards him without any hostility in its movements. Shouta stood up and let the dragon reach his side, although he had to force his body not to react, especially when it moved its head (full of razor-sharp teeth) close to him. It paused expectantly.

The dragon slayer cautiously moved a hand to the beast’s mane and pulled out a loose feather, tucking it behind his ear so their scents would be similar. The beast lowered its head further, and he took the invitation to help preen the other feathers, pulling several parasites from the creature. Despite the inhuman eyes, the dragon made the same disgusted sounds Hizashi had at the sight of each bug, and Aizawa was kind enough to flick each one away instead of eating it.

Guess it was something the two sides had in common.

As Aizawa was finishing up, the beast moved its head close to his chest and sniffed at the dragon scale armour he wore. It made a gentle whine at the back of its throat, a note that was sad and sombre and sounded like nothing he’d ever imagined a dragon could make. Something moved, and although Aizawa knew better than to break eye contact with a dragon, especially when it was so close to him, he looked.

His eyes focused on the black curse mark: it was moving . He watched as several beautiful scales dimmed and darkened.

Shit.

He grabbed the dragon’s head, startling it. “Yamada,” he said firmly, trying to draw the human mind back. The emotions of the beast must’ve directly linked to the curse’s expansion. “Yamada, it’s Aizawa. I will eat another bug if it’ll snap you back.”

The large green eyes blinked up at him, at first seemingly mesmerised by something, but then the pupils expanded until they were round and confused. The bard’s mind was back. The curse halted its expansion and Aizawa relaxed.

Yamada’s eyes slipped to the calloused hands that tightly clamped his face, and he made some sort of indignant growl at the back of his throat until the slayer released him. The dragon pulled away and snapped its jaws a few times - Shouta’s grip must’ve been a bit too tight.

“How do you feel when you see my scale armour?” he asked, drawing Hizashi’s attention back to him.

The dragon cocked his head one way and huffed disinterestedly, but there was something uncomfortable in the way the beast’s ears flattened. Of course it would be disturbing for the man’s lizard brain to see him wearing the scales of a murdered dragon... Aizawa nodded and stepped back as he pulled the piece of armour from over his head and hid it in his bag, planning to wear it again once this matter was sorted.

Hizashi rolled his large eyes, but his feathered shoulders noticeably relaxed. Bingo.

There was still an hour or so until the sunset would render him human again, and Aizawa had to decide what he was going to do until then, for the trees here were too tightly packed for the large beast to move inconspicuously. He had an answer shortly, however, as he heard the sound of Hizashi’s stomach rumbling. The beast ducked his ears, embarrassed, although they perked once Aizawa unslung the hunting bow from his back.

“I’ll get food,” he murmured. “Stay here and light a small fire for us.” Hizashi nodded his oversized head, and Aizawa’s eyes dipped to the mesmerising feathers of the beast’s mane - he made a mental note to collect more later. “Keep control of yourself, no matter how bored you get.”

Hizashi huffed, as if offended, but Aizawa didn’t say anything more as he grabbed several handfuls of dirt and smeared his face and armpits with the earth, before also running it through his messy black hair and tying in more blue feathers. He’d never seen a look so comically disturbed on a dragon’s face before, and he couldn’t keep himself from rolling his eyes before he disappeared through the column of trees.

-x-

Aizawa had been gone for a long time. Hizashi had managed to get a small fire going, despite the itch to make it into something more impressive. Although he and the slayer had only been travelling together for a short while, it already felt odd to be alone with his thoughts again, and he was quickly growing bored of the silence.

He tried to fill the time by imagining everything he’d do once the curse was broken.

Well, a hot bath and a comfortable bed would be first on his long agenda, preferably with a young buxom woman - or three - to join him in each. That thought made him purr: it’d been a long time since he’d had proper company, and he’d already written and memorised a hundred new saccharine ‘love’ songs since his first transformation.

Oh, he’d get himself a lute! He’d loved his old one, and the memory of it smashed beneath his unwieldy body on the night of his first transformation still tore at his heartstrings. He’d get a brand-new lute and he’d finish writing his new masterpiece: a ballad about his fearful quest and ultimate salvation.

His thoughts turned to Aizawa as he planned out lyrics to describe him:

A man of nature came one day, to end my suffered streak,
His heart as wild as disarray, demeanour strained and bleak.

His eyes they brimmed with mystery, a beast of darkest night,
Coal and ruby won’t stray from me; they taint my life with light.

...Wait… Had he thought ‘taint my life with light’? Whoopsie, wrong word! ‘Fright’! There, that was better: ‘ they taint my life with fright!’

Yeah, Aizawa was definitely the wild one between them. Human of form, but a beast at heart, while Hizashi was human at heart and a beast in form. Fate was so unfair - Aizawa would’ve been the better dragon between them. If he’d been the cursed one, he would’ve willingly dipped all the way to base instinct within the first few days!

...Ack, why was he Hizashi’s only hope at curing this curse?

...Wow he was getting bored… How long did it take to hunt some food? Hizashi could’ve gotten something for them far quicker than this! If he focused enough on sounds and scents, he’d be able to easily find a nearby farm. They had so much livestock, and it wasn’t really stealing since the curse would start spreading if he got too hungry, and it would be better than-

Hizashi quickly shook his head, managing to tear himself from the edge of a dip. That’d been close…

He remembered the book Aizawa had given him, and a thrum of eagerness swept through him, before he remembered how unwieldy his claws would be with retrieving it from his bag. He huffed and kept his mind preoccupied with more ballad planning as he sought out every metaphor and simile that would fit the dragon slayer to a T.

The sun set, but Aizawa hadn’t returned yet. Hizashi was so busy planning similes to describe the slayer’s odd eyes that he barely noticed the turning sky until every instinct in his body alerted him of the inevitable shift. He only had moments to brace himself as his body shrunk and his limbs grew thinner. Feathers were painlessly plucked from his neck to become his overgrown mane of blond hair, and the feathers disappeared entirely from the end of his smooth tail, although the appendage remained.

He was thankful that the transformation didn’t hurt, but he didn’t waste any time before pulling on his pants, robe and boots. It felt good to be dressed again. His eyes automatically drifted to the black mark across his side, and he clenched his teeth once he realised it’d grown slightly overnight. He remembered Aizawa had preened the dragon’s mane, although the memory was dreamlike, and he guessed something had triggered it to spread around then…

He’d pressed his snout to the dragon scale armour, and then… He recalled Aizawa’s look of… the look of… horror. It hadn’t suited Aizawa’s face at all, but there had been no other emotion in those wide eyes as he’d painfully manhandled his snout and called his name to drag him from the dream.

So that’s why he’d removed the armour…

Hizashi’s ears pressed back against his hair as his fingers trailed over his chest. Soon enough, the black flames of the tattoo would cover his heart, and everything would be over…

The rest of his life would be spent in that dreamlike state, where he had no control over his actions, and no access to his thoughts or emotions… Or maybe it would be different when the final time happened: maybe he’d slip into sweet unconsciousness, as he sometimes did when the dragon took over. Honestly, Hizashi was terrified of either outcome - not that he’d ever admit it openly.

If the curse wasn’t cured, he only hoped Aizawa would give him a quick, painless death… Well, he also hoped the slayer would spread his tragic story far and wide for everyone to hear, but he wasn’t going to get his hopes up on that happening.

He didn’t even consider the possibility that Aizawa wouldn’t come back though. Hizashi didn’t have a single doubt in the slayer’s conviction, and he didn’t consider how strange that in itself was…

In any case, Aizawa did return shortly after sunset, carrying a dead deer carcass around his shoulders. The slayer’s eyes instantly locked with his, and there was a hint of relief there. “You’re still you.”

Hizashi pursed his lips together. “Of course I am…” He didn’t need to admit that he’d nearly dipped just thinking about his stomach. “Was, ah… the hunting … good?” The blond eyed the dead deer and made a face at the thing’s dopey expression.

Aizawa shrugged the corpse from his shoulders and carefully placed it on the ground as he pulled out his knife. “We’re not going hungry,” he said gently and ran a hand over the dead deer’s neck as he whispered something Hizashi couldn’t hear. After a moment of silence, the man set to work.

The blond had to look away at the first sight of red, and the scent was disgusting - yet somehow made his stomach growl even louder. Gross! He focused on the sky, but it was unhelpfully swathed in dark clouds, so he focused on the fire instead, and wondered if it would be large enough to cook the beast. Whenever he was a dragon, he’d typically roast the entire thing whole but, judging by the sounds of Aizawa’s knife, he was cutting it into parts.

As he waited, his thoughts wandered. The clearing was so dirty. It made for a horrible nest! Perhaps he should clean it up to make it look nicer, and he could make comfortable bedding out of leaflitter and branches. His hoard of pretty, shiny rocks would look dazzling by the fire! It would be comfortable, especially since his alpha had brought them both enough food for-

“There’s an iron pan in my bag,” the slayer called, dragging Hizashi from his thoughts. Thoughts? The blond tried to remember what he’d been thinking about, but it had already slipped his mind. “Yamada?”

“I heard you,” he said as he went to the man’s bag and fished inside. His fingers brushed against what was surely the scaled armour, and he instantly felt sick at the icy touch. He wrenched his hand from the bag and covered his mouth as he instinctively wretched, although he resisted the urge to actually vomit. Aizawa was at his side in moments.

The slayer reached for him, to help him, but his gloves were covered in the deer’s hot blood. He scrambled away from the bad, bad, bad. The bad that’d killed his brethren, that would surely kill him - that had tried to kill him and would-

The bad must’ve realised the error of his approach, for he grabbed his dirty cloak and wiped the red onto the fabric instead and-

WHAT THE FUCK? THAT WAS SO UNHYGENIC!

“Wash your hands, you moron!” Hizashi wailed. “You’re so gross! Haven’t you ever heard of basic hygiene? I guess not since you eat bugs, and smear dirt all over yourself, and have gross bird feathers in your hair, and wear some dead guy as armour, and your hair is filthy, and you need to wash your clothes, and… and…” He was panting by the end of it.

Aizawa watched him from where he crouched nearby, his oddly coloured eyes reminding him of a cat waiting for a bird to let down its guard. “You done?”

Hizashi tried to think of something else to say. “And you sleep sitting up, which is weird…” A silence went by, before Hizashi finally conceded. “I’m done…”

The slayer’s eyes flicked to his bag and narrowed. Something was churning in his head. “...You can tell he was male?”

It took him a moment to realise he was talking about the armour, and a few more moments to realise exactly what he’d said. “No,” he lied, but the man wasn’t fooled.

“...Okay.” Aizawa straightened up and moved to his bag, pulling the aforementioned dragon scale armour from inside. Hizashi felt sick again at the mere sight, and for a moment he thought he could feel it against the back of his hand again - cold, lifeless, dead . They’d felt of death and sorrow and regret. “He’s been with me for a long time,” the slayer said softly as he placed the armour beside the fire, “but it’s time for the final funeral...”

There was something odd in the way Aizawa said those words: his voice was … sad .

Hizashi watched as the man dug a hole beside the firepit with his own two hands. It was inefficient and dirty work, and the blond took no part in it. He was too busy wondering why Aizawa, the strange dragon slayer, was so sombre over the remains of a long-dead monster. He killed dragons for a living, so why was he acting so weird?

Once finished, the first thing the slayer did was place his sheathed sword in front of him as he gathered the dragon scale armour and placed it carefully inside the hole. Almost-silence permeated the night air, disrupted only by the crackle of the fire at the clearing’s heart. The slayer turned to him, his strange eyes devoid of light, despite the nearby glow. “Can you sing?” Hizashi would’ve usually flaunted his skill by declaring himself to have the voice of an angel, but instead he wordlessly nodded. “ Will you?”

The sadness Aizawa exuded must’ve been contagious, for his own chest felt heavy. He nodded and sat beside him in front of the open ‘grave’, and he sang something soft and sombre: something he’d once sang at a different funeral.

“It hurt to hear your sobbing, to see the sun had set.

With every evening ‘til our last, the sombre sight we’d met.

The moon she is arising, to greet us with her song,

How some will listen, some will not, the choice; not ours for long.

The sun she was so saddened, the time you went too far.

Yet all is well, her tears have dried, your heart has left to star.

Yet all is well, our tears have dried, our hearts are falling stars...”

As he sang, Aizawa filled in the grave, his expression unreadable. The light of the fire danced across the sad gathering, flickering over their faces and casting shadows amongst the trees. The orange glow reached the hilt of Shouta’s sword and outlined the engraved cloud with warmth, while darkness fell across the coiled dragon on the weapon’s guard. The deed was quickly done, and Hizashi’s voice grew silent. He was unsure about what the slayer was thinking, but even the blond closed his eyes and thought a few words of prayer for the deceased dragon...

Sad, sad, sad.

He bowed his head and lowered his body, sniffing gently at the dirt where his brethren now slumbered. A whine sounded from the back of his throat, his ears trembled with despair, and his alpha placed a dirt-stained hand on his fragile, human shoulder, trailing a small circle over the skin, although his eyes were set on the ground.

“I won’t fail again,” his alpha said softly. He didn’t know what he meant, but the words were comforting all the same. Even though the human’s hands were forever dirtied by the blood of the dragon’s kin, beating inside his chest was a good, strong heart, and he knew he could trust him.

This human whose soul cried over a dead dragon was his Desired One.

The hand on his shoulder tightened, and gently made him sit back up as he called the name of the Other.

“Yamada,” Aizawa said, and the bard refocused. He must’ve dozed off. The slayer clapped him on the back reassuringly, as if he was the mourner, and when Aizawa spoke his voice was more centred. “We eat and we go.”

Hizashi nodded, glancing unhappily at Aizawa’s grimy hands. “...Okay, but if we find a stream we’re stopping to wash up.” The slayer grunted as he picked up his sword and retied it to his waist, before he went to finish preparing their dinner. Hizashi felt weighed down by something intangible, and his eyes avoided looking at the fresh pile of dirt. Above them, the clouds finally parted. The harsh glow of the fire was softened by tender starlight, but the dread refused to pass.

Chapter Text

Chapter Five

Bathing with Consequences

"Grooming is an important social event in dragon communities. Small groups of clan mates, bonded or otherwise, will get together to preen each other, removing loose feathers and straightening frays back into optimum condition and position. During grooming, a dragon will sometimes comb an oil, produced from its saliva, through their clan mate’s feathers. This spreads their scent to their clan mates and adds a beautiful and protective sheen to the feathers."

  - A Complete Guide to Dragons by Eraserhead

The deer meat was devoured quickly. Even in human form, his companion had a dragon’s appetite, and Shouta made a mental note to keep him fed in the future. If he’d had more time, he would’ve skinned the deer and tanned the hide, but they had to move as soon as possible, so he buried the heart and left the rest for the scavengers.

It was more difficult to leave the clearing than he wanted to admit: to Aizawa, it felt as if he was leaving a piece of his soul behind. Nevertheless, it was an essential sacrifice. Dragons were surprisingly social beasts, and the sight of the deceased kin’s scales would only accelerate the curse.

He would save this man. He would not fail again.

The moon was high and full in the night sky, and the clouds had dissipated, meaning the overgrown path was easy for Aizawa to traverse with his sharp eyes. Yamada stumbled behind him, but managed to keep pace - he only fell over once or twice (which was amazing considering how many rocks Shouta had seen him pile into his bag).

“Any other song requests?” the bard asked eagerly. “Maybe something a bit happier, to lighten the mood!”

It was frustrating. Aizawa wanted to snap at the annoyance, to tell him to shut up, but he thought better of it. Yamada hadn’t intended any harm; he just didn’t like the silence of the forest. “No,” the slayer said instead, voice even. “Not interested.”

They journeyed in silence, just the way Aizawa liked it… Well, until the blond started to hum, and… Well, it sounded nice (not that he’d ever admit that), so he didn’t tell him to stop.

The next thing Aizawa said - sometime later - was: “There should be a stream up ahead. You wanted to bathe?”

“Yeah,” Hizashi said eagerly, “and you need a bath too.”

“I do?”

“You’re covered in blood and dirt!” Aizawa almost wanted to remind him he was a dragon slayer : being covered in blood and dirt was in the job description. “You should wash that cloak too - it’s gross.”

“No,” he grunted as he evaded a few thick tree branches, “I need the cloak to carry a specific scent.”

“Fine,” conceded Yamada, “but you’re washing yourself super thoroughly! Your hair too.”

Bards…

They reached the stream within the hour, the area lit by the bright moon above. Thankfully the clouds hadn’t returned to dampen the sky. “Finally!” Hizashi cried as he raced ahead and immediately stripped himself of the robe, boots and pants.

Aizawa couldn’t help but stare at him from behind. The moonlight shone over his supple shoulders, down his back and across the golden scales of his reptilian tail. Despite the odd ears and the horns, and everything else dragon-esque, the man was stunningly attractive. For a moment, Shouta was completely mesmerised by his long, golden hair, and he couldn’t quite keep his eyes from glancing over the firm curves of his body. He thought he saw a thin scar on his back, almost hidden by golden locks, but his eyes couldn’t stop moving lower towards his-

The blond stepped into the stream and the pretty illusion was broken by his loud cry of shock. “Cold!”

Aizawa shook his head to clear it. Right, this man was a bard, who’d definitely been cursed for seducing someone he shouldn’t’ve. He was loud and unpleasant and egotistical, and the only reason he was saving him was because he didn’t want another dragon roaming around, and because…

His eyes focused on the curse mark, and for the first time he realised exactly what it depicted. At first he’d thought it was a sun, but now he could see the tattooed symbol for what it truly was: a dragon’s head with its mouth partially open, while the dark waves around it were bursts of inky flames.

If it covered Yamada’s heart, their quest would end in failure.

-o-

The water was icy at first, but he hadn’t washed in a few days and that thought alone was enough to send Hizashi splashing into the shallows. Strangely enough, the water wasn’t cold for long, but he didn’t want to think too much about a dragon’s natural body temperature. Perhaps he should ask Aizawa if the air was cold...

The blond turned to ask the man the question, just as the dragon slayer was removing his leather doublet and shirt. Hizashi watched, instantly transfixed, as the man’s muscles rolled and stretched while he pulled the shirt over his head.

Holy shit he was buff!

Aizawa’s body was lined with scars, all unimaginably horrific, but the marks were nothing compared to the mesmerising muscles, lit perfectly by the soft moon above. Aizawa tossed the shirt to the side and pulled his hair from the trademark ponytail, letting it fall messily about his shoulders. Hizashi’s ears stood tall. Without even meaning to, a new stanza for his ballad was written:

His soul was scarred from history, the marks as clear as day,

What he had won was victory, his flesh the toll to pay.

A sadness wandered through his chest, the sight so clear to see,

His hide as thick as mountain’s crest, his eyes so fiery.

He locked eyes with Aizawa and his heart skipped a beat in sheer terror. No, no, no, he hadn’t been checking out the weird, dirty, forest guy! So what if he was handsome? It was okay for a man to admit another man was handsome. ‘Cause, well, yes he was actually very handsome, but Hizashi was exclusively into women, and there was no way he was-

“You okay?” Aizawa asked, and Hizashi realised (to his further horror) that he hadn’t looked away .

His ears flattened against his head as he turned away so quickly he whipped himself with his hair. “Is it cold tonight?” he asked, voice pitchy, and he simply hoped Aizawa didn’t get the wrong idea.

He heard the light clack as the man undid his belt and removed his pants, and Hizashi was NOT interested in seeing ANYTHING more… “I suppose it is,” the other man murmured. “If you get cold, I’ll lend you my cloak.”

“I’m fine!” he said, quickly splashing some water over his face to calm himself. “I think I just feel the cold a bit less than … well, normal people.” He waited for Aizawa to tell him something along the lines of ‘That’s a blessing’ or ‘You should feel lucky’ .

Instead he said, “Cold reminds me I’m alive.”

Hizashi turned to him automatically, his eyes set on his face. Aizawa’s eyes were on his body.

For a moment the blond felt odd beneath the gaze, as if he were torn between covering himself or giving the man a better look, but his logical side hurriedly told him the slayer was just looking at his curse mark and nothing more. Why would he be checking him out anyway? They were both guys and-

Hizashi’s eyes accidentally slipped down. His thoughts stopped entirely.

His mouth, on the other hand, had a mind of its own. “You must make a lot of women happy with that thing!”

Hizashi officially wanted to die.

Aizawa blinked slowly, before subtly turning his body to obscure his view. “I’m not into bards.”

The blond was caught by surprise, and his face grew hot with indignation. “Well I’m not into men, especially gross ones who eat bugs!” Aizawa’s eyes slipped down again, and he realised he was looking at his tail - without realising it, Hizashi had curled it defensively. He huffed and tried to relax it as he returned to rinsing himself down. He heard the splash of the raven-haired man doing the same, but eventually the tense silence got to him. “...Whatcha got against bards? Not that I want you to like me or anything, I just-”

“How’d you get cursed?”

Hizashi inhaled excitedly. He’d been waiting a long time to tell this story. “Well, since you asked, I was journeying through the town of Nile, spreading joy and mirth with my lute and voice! I had a great many women flinging themselves at my feet, so of course I was in no position to refuse their pleas for my sweet caresses, yo~!”

“Let me guess,” Aizawa said, halting his story. “You seduced some poor girl, she fell madly in love with you, you broke her heart, and she put a curse on you - probably something about being as much of a monster on the outside as you are on the inside.”

Hizashi scoffed and rolled his eyes. “In ‘ love’ with me? Don’t be stupid. She was infatuated, yes, and who wouldn’t be? You wouldn’t understand it because you’re a guy, but to women I’m amazingly attractive! But ‘ love’ ? No such thing, man!”

Aizawa looked at him oddly. “… You’re a bard … who doesn’t believe in love?”

Hizashi shrugged his shoulders and ran some water through his hair to clean it. “I’ll sing about it all the damn day, if that’s what listeners wanna hear, but why would I believe in something that ain’t real? Lust is real - love ain’t. Why? You don’t seem the type to fall victim to some honeyed words. Did a bard break your ‘wittle’ heart?”

“My biological father was a travelling musician,” Aizawa said, his tone uncharacteristically soft, “who left my mother once she fell pregnant. She raised me alone for those first few years because of his selfishness. People told me that’s why my eyes are like this: the price for his negligence… Growing up, it felt like a curse.”

Hizashi flinched and finally left the stream, wringing the excess water from his hair. “... I am sorry to hear that,” he said, genuinely, “but I’m not that cruel… There’s a special herb a man can eat that stops ‘accidents’ like-” Hizashi looked back at Aizawa, and he instantly cut himself off as he realised what he was saying. “Not that I’m calling you an accident, or saying I’m sorry you’re here, because-”

Aizawa shook his head, his wet black hair clinging to his muscular shoulders. “It’s fine.”

“Well, okay…” Hizashi twitched his moustache, his ears raising a little, curiously. “Still, that proves my point: love doesn’t exist.”

“My biological father abandoned us, but my mother met someone else.” To his surprise, a soft smile lit up Aizawa’s face and Hizashi was unknowingly staring again. “ That was love… True love. And I once-” The man paused and stymied his own words. His smile vanished as quickly as it’d appeared.

Hizashi cocked his head and raised an ear, but the slayer stayed silent. So, instead, the blond snorted. “Now that’s a good joke.” He pulled on his pants, boots and robes, just as Aizawa was getting out the stream. “Well, if you wanna die a virgin while you wait for your ‘true love’-”

“Not a virgin,” he clarified instantly.

Hizashi grinned victoriously. “Then you prove my point! There’s nothing wrong with sleeping with women - even if they have bad taste in wanting to sleep with you. I’ve been punished over nothing! We’re no different after all.”

Aizawa scoffed as he pulled his patched-up pants back on. “The difference is obvious: I don’t go around seducing poor, unsuspecting maidens. Everyone I’ve been with approached me - never vice versa - and I’ve always made it clear it’s only a one-time thing.”

Hizashi turned around, only to feel a force push him back against a nearby tree. Even though they were practically the same height, Aizawa seemed to loom over him. They were close - too close for comfort - and the dragon slayer had him tightly pinned.

“And, just so you know, I exclusively like men , but even I’d never be desperate enough to be attracted to someone as egotistical and selfish as you! ” Hizashi felt his warm breath brush over his skin, and he felt a strange compulsion to bow his head - he didn’t. Aizawa continued. “I’m helping you because it’s the right thing to do, but there’s not a single doubt in my mind that you deserve this. The easiest way to break a curse is to learn your lesson, so I suggest you think long and hard about what you did to get to this point and fix it - pronto.”

The man stepped away to finish getting dressed. Hizashi hadn’t realised he’d been holding his breath. He swallowed and fixed up his robe, suddenly feeling more self-conscious than he wanted to. “I did nothing wrong!” he insisted.

“Then I guess we’re going to see Nemuri.”

-x-

Things were awkward between them, but Aizawa couldn’t bring himself to care. At least the bard was silent as they travelled. Right, the blond looked beautiful, but there was no way Shouta would fall for the same mistake his mother had in even befriending someone so hideous of heart.

Nemuri insisted he was still fated to meet his true love, and although he tried to be optimistic and believe her, he wasn’t even certain he wanted another love. After all, he’d already lost him, and he doubted he could ever love someone like that again…

His hands instinctively went to the scales around his chest, but his fingers brushed smooth leather instead and his heart dropped. He’d surrendered the last remnant of him because of some stupid, annoying, selfish-

“I’m sorry,” the blond said, the words clearly forced. Aizawa was almost thankful for the sound, for it distracted him from his thoughts. “It was … really horrible what your father did… I didn’t mean to make light of it … so I’m sorry.”

“...You got a Quirk?”

Hizashi looked at him in surprise. Aizawa was finished with silence, but he didn’t want to continue the conversation of the past either.

“Yeah,” Yamada said, but his demeanour was strangely uncertain as he clambered over a fallen tree. “It’s called Voice, but I don’t use it… Just changes my pitch and volume. It’s… dangerous.”

“Hm? Doesn’t sound dangerous. Sounds perfect for a bard.”

Hizashi looked oddly … uncomfortable. “It could’ve been worse, Aizawa,” he said sombrely. “Your father could’ve stayed…”

Aizawa waited for the blond to expand on the comment, but the silence had returned. “I suppose you’re right,” the slayer agreed, but felt no need to pry the reasoning from him. They reached another stream - far smaller than the last - and paused briefly to drink the fresh water. “You’ve staved off the curse for three years… That’s … impressive.”

Hizashi shrugged. “Don’t know much ‘bout curses, but I’m good at keeping myself occupied.” His hand gently brushed the jade necklace he wore, but Aizawa didn’t pay too much attention to the small detail.

“Mating season’s approaching. How’d you suppress your instincts the last two times?”

The blond rolled his eyes, but picked up a smooth rock by the riverside. “Dunno what you’re talking ‘bout - haven’t had any issues with things like that. I’m probably too attracted to women to ever-”

“Wait… How old are you?”

The blond cocked his head. “Twenty-Five… Why?”

Huh, same age as him… That made sense with his theory though. “You must’ve just hit sexual maturity for dragons,” he theorised, his mind racing. “That’s why you haven’t had any problems before. This is your first year where you’re seeking a mate, thus the nesting habits and the amateur territorial marking.”

Hizashi stared at him in complete terror. “Wait… What?”

“You’re going to soon try to build another nest that’ll attract a dragon, or you’ll start keeping your senses peeled for already existing nests. We’ll stay away from areas where other dragons might be, lest you start trying to court them with gifts.”

The man’s animal ears flapped as he seemingly panicked. “You’re kidding, right? I’m not into lizard girls!”

“Who said lizard girls ?” he asked, his sudden desire to educate outweighing everything else. “Male dragons can mate and have offspring with other male dragons.” Yamada looked deathly pale at the information. “You said the dips were getting more frequent - I doubt you’ll be able to remain yourself by the start of spring, unless you break the curse before then.”

The blond’s ears drooped and he whimpered as he stared at his reflection in the shiny rock he’d picked up before. “Let’s leave that outta the ballad,” he whined, and Aizawa wasn’t sure if he was talking to him or himself.

“Thank you,” the slayer said roughly, and the blond glanced back at him, his face downtrodden yet curious. “For the song… when we buried the scales.”

The blond’s ears slowly raised until they stood tall again. “Was I good?”

He didn’t want to encourage the bard, but… “If I say yes, are you going to sing more?”

“Not unless you want me to.”

“Fine,” he said with a sigh as he filled his waterskin for the journey. “You sing well. You wouldn’t be a decent bard if you couldn’t…”

He never would’ve imagined how instantaneously the blond’s face could light up. “I haven’t had an audience for three years,” he said, glancing almost nervously at the shiny pebble in his hand. Hizashi looked … thoughtful. “You can preen my feathers all you want, as long as you don’t eat anymore bugs.”

His golden tail wagged behind him and the moon reflected off his horns. Something weighed in Aizawa’s stomach. Yeah, this guy was a selfish, egotistical bard who’d definitely broken too many hearts, but the dragon slayer instantly regretted what he’d said earlier...

To be forced into isolation, and to then gradually lose yourself to the mind of a beast: no one deserved that.

...Well, some people certainly did, but as annoying as he was, the bard was surprisingly … harmless.

To last three years with this curse: Nemuri was going to like this guy.

Yamada moved to his side and - much to Aizawa’s surprise - offered him the shiny rock. “Here.”

Shouta glanced down at it curiously. The moon glinted off the smooth side but, although it was pretty, it was just a normal rock.

Oh, this was some sort of dragon hoarding behaviour. The blond wanted to carry as much treasure as possible, so Aizawa was just another means of transporting it, since his bag must’ve been too heavy by now. While he didn’t want to encourage this, he did need to form a kinship with the dragon. This was progress.

So, Aizawa did the stupidest thing he possibly could: he took it.

Hizashi’s ears twitched and his tail curled and his eyes sparkled, but other than that he seemed normal. “You gonna tell me ‘bout this friend of yours?”

“She’s a witch doctor,” Aizawa said as he put the pebble away in his coin pouch, and he noted how to blond’s eyes followed it carefully.

“A witch doctor?”

“Don’t let the name fool you,” he said as he ensured the long yellow feather was still behind his ear. They’d have to camp soon, and it was important to have something with Hizashi’s scent on, in case the dragon went feral - not uncommon for unbonded dragons around mating season. “She’s not really a doctor.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Six

Feathers Downstream

‘How I miss the brush of skin,

Of a woman’s slender hips.

My voice drew them to my sin,

And my sin led to their lips.’

-The Bored Ideations of the Greatest Bard of All Time

Unfortunately they were in an open area devoid of trees by the time of dawn’s approach, and they had to make camp in a shallow ditch that would at least give them some cover. A river coursed nearby, filling the night air with the sound of bubbling and churning water. Aizawa had mentioned something about catching them some fish once the sun started to rise.

While scouting the small area, Hizashi found a white feather atop a rock, and instantly thought it would be something the slayer would want. He wore them often, so it just seemed reasonable to give it to him.

“For your hair,” Hizashi said as he held out the feather. The air felt static as he waited for the slayer to take it, and for a moment he thought he’d turn up his nose, but then Aizawa accepted it. He felt exceedingly pleased at the approval, but he just told himself it was a normal response to human interaction after three years of isolation.

As much as the slayer seemed to hate him, he at least treated Hizashi like a person… Sorta. Even when he did treat him like a dragon, he at least didn’t treat him like a monster or an abomination. Even so, it would be nice to at least attempt some sort of friendship, to make the journey easier on them both.

The slayer tied the white feather into his raven hair, and pride welled inside him. “Hey,” Hizashi said as he eagerly helped the slayer gather some sticks for a fire, “you ever been to Musutafu?”

“A few times,” Aizawa said without missing a beat, although Hizashi was surprised he’d replied at all. “It’s close to the Nippon border, so it feels like home.”

“Right?” he said, his ears flicking up. “They get cherry blossoms there! Man, I need to go back once I’m cured!” His tail wagged eagerly. “The women there are so pretty too. I love a woman in a kimono!” He could see Aizawa mentally tag out of the conversation, but Hizashi didn’t want it to die there. “And the … men? I mean, I don’t really look at them, but do you think they’re … handsome there?”

The slayer paused, clearly surprised, but after a moment he scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, I guess... I’m sorry I blurted that out before, about my… preference.”

“It’s okay,” Hizashi said, sheepishly. “I mean, I always go on about women, so it’s only fair that you get to talk about what you like too…” He scuffed his boot against the dirt, knowing there was more he needed to say. “And it doesn’t bother me, by the way. I, ah… don’t like men, but you’re free to like whatever you like, so long as you don’t-...”

‘So long as you don’t do anything to me’ had been what he was planning to say, but that suddenly felt stupid, especially when Aizawa’s exact words rang in his mind.

And, for the record, I exclusively like men, but even I’d never be desperate enough to be attracted to someone as egotistical and selfish as you.

Hizashi didn’t notice the way his ears fell, but Aizawa must’ve, for he gently said, “I miss the cherry blossoms too.” They piled the sticks in the centre of camp and the slayer gathered some rocks to encircle it. “Nippon had too many dragon slayers and not enough dragons, so I came here instead. Haven’t been home since I left - maybe ‘bout nine years now.”

Hizashi smiled somberly. “Yeah, I suppose I like going to Musutafu since it’s so similar to Nippon. I don’t really wanna go back home, but Musutafu reminds me of everything good I miss.”

Shouta didn’t question why he didn’t want to go back home, but he did ask, “What do you miss the most?”

“The omelettes!” he said quickly, his grin stretched from ear to ear. “They’re so different here! It’s criminal! How do you get sweet omelettes in one place and savoury in the next?” He practically drooled at the thought - he hadn’t had a professionally cooked meal in years now. “What about you, yo?”

Aizawa took the time to mull it over as he pulled out a tinderbox and busied himself with lighting the fire. “My family.”

Hizashi’s smile was softer, but it remained. “I bet they worry about you…”

“...They do,” he agreed, and for a moment he thought he saw the ghost of a smile on Aizawa’s face, but then his instincts warned him he’d be changing very soon.

Without missing a beat, the blond spun around and flung off his robe, pants, boots and bracelets, although he left the jade necklace on - the cord was wide enough for his serpentine neck. Aizawa managed to catch the flying clothes, just as the first rays of sunlight hit Hizashi’s skin and his transformation stole what humanness he had left.

His long body curled into the weird trench and his bird-like feet scrambled a little in the loose dirt, accidentally smearing some of his feathers with grime. He made his best attempt at a pout, but was wholly unsuccessful in the attempt.

Aizawa dropped the clothes in a pile without even folding them, earning a further disapproving look from Hizashi. The dragon gestured at the pile, trying to tell the slayer to fold them for him, but the man shrugged his shoulders. “No idea what you want,” he said and Hizashi huffed unhappily, but gave up. No manners… “I’m going fishing in the stream. You catch your own dinner.”

Hizashi blinked his huge eyes at the man, surprised. Food would be good since he was pretty hungry by now, but he was also exhausted from travelling all day and…

Well, his Desired One was probably hungry and tired too! His ears flicked up and he eagerly stretched his long body, letting his beautiful scales glint in the morning rays of sun. Of course his alpha had already noticed how mesmerising he was - why else would he be responding positively to his courting? His reptilian eyes glanced to the feather in his Desired One’s hair - it smelled nice and suited him so well!

He’d catch lots of juicy fish, and cook them for him too! His alpha would beg for him to be his mate if he did that! That was surely what would earn his Desired One’s approval, right? Sure his alpha wasn’t a dragon, but-... Well…

He’d never actually met any other dragons…

His sharp eyes glanced over his alpha, and his ears tilted this way and that as he considered him carefully. Was it weird for a dragon to have a human as their Desired One? They wouldn’t be able to breed, first of all, but that wasn’t always necessary to bond… Was it? Well, not only that, but he doubted they could mate at all. The Other probably could, being a human too, but that would involve sharing, and he didn’t like to share.

His alpha was tall by human standards (and very strong), but compared to the dragon he was small.

Would other dragons find it strange that he had a small human as his Bond? Certainly he was a beautiful dragon, and would be heavily sought after once he was discovered by others of his kind, and he’d be able to mate and breed with a dragon Bond, but-

His Desired One walked towards him and carefully brushed some dirt off his yellow feathers. “How do you muck these up so quickly?” he murmured as he started to preen him, and the dragon’s mind completely faltered. The human could preen so well with his human hands: far better than another dragon ever could! His alpha pulled several bad, bad insects from hiding and flicked them away.

Yes! Alpha was his Desired One who would keep his feathers beautiful and who would keep him clean of all the bad, bad parasites! He would return the favour and show his alpha just how appreciated he was!

-o-

Aizawa almost had a heart attack when the dragon suddenly curled its neck and lunged at his head with its giant jaws. He thought the beast was going to attack him, and he almost fled, but was distracted by the strange rumbling sounds that emerged from the dragon’s throat.

It was… purring?

The beast’s jaws stopped above his head and the teeth gnawed at his hair. It hurt a bit as his locks were tugged and chewed, and he almost growled at him to let go, when he realised what this was: the dragon was trying (emphasis on trying) to preen him back.

As painful as this was, it was technically a success: the beast viewed him as a member of its group. Despite the annoyance of the situation, Aizawa let the dragon chew at his hair until it was satisfied, although the slayer was far from happy by the end of it. While his hair was still there, it was now damp with hot, thick saliva, and if anything was even messier than what it’d been minutes before.

The dragon, on the other hand, looked thoroughly pleased with itself, and Aizawa felt the corners of his mouth twitch a little… This wasn’t funny… No… Definitely not…

He glanced over the creature’s beautiful feathers and once again caught himself staring as they shimmered in the sunlight. He’d be lying to himself if he said the bard was anything less than beautiful, even in this form… Not that it changed his opinion of him as a harmless annoyance who spoke way too much.

The dragon’s thin pupils must’ve noticed his intense gaze, for he cocked his head and rolled his feathery shoulder, as if gesturing something. Not only that: the beast was still purring eagerly. Wait… Was it allowing what he thought it was?

“May I?” Aizawa asked, and the dragon purred louder. He swallowed and stepped forward to keep preening the feathers. They were soft and silken beneath his fingertips, and after a bit of rummaging he found several that were close to being malted. He very gently pulled the loose feathers from the dragon, and the purring never stopped.

Soon enough, he filled a small bag with the feathers, and his chest was thumping at the eager thought of them. He’d never been able to harvest willing dragon feathers before, and when they were unwillingly taken the scent was all wrong. These would let him surprise any dragon he came across, for they’d be confused by the soft, familiar smell, until he took his sword and…

His chest fell a little as he closed the bag, and his shift in mood must’ve been obvious, for the purring stopped. The dragon gently whined and nudged at him with its warm snout, and Aizawa carefully placed his palm against the smooth golden scales. “Yamada, come back.” The dragon cocked its head, seeming somewhat displeased but not at all angry. His eyes remained slits, and Aizawa’s brow creased with irritation. “ Yamada, ” he gritted out firmly as he stared down the beast, “come back or else I’ll ban you from speaking at all when-”

The pupils dilated until they were round and surprised. For a moment, Hizashi leaned into the touch of Aizawa’s hand, before suddenly recoiling, as if his touch were acidic. He snuffed unhappily and sat up straight, his ears flicking in irritation. Wow, the two sides of him were so different, yet…

Hizashi’s stomach grumbled loudly, and his emerald eyes instantly glanced back to where the river gurgled nearby. Right, they’d get some fish for dinner… Well, technically breakfast.

Aizawa climbed up the side of the small trench and pulled his fishing spool from one of his pouches, along with a bone-hook and a custom lure with a few blue feathers on. The water wasn’t too fast here, so it’d be a perfect place to sit and fish.

The dragon slayer found himself a small patch of grass on the shore and tossed the lure into the water. Now it was time to patiently sit and wait while-

He was surprised to hear Hizashi as his large, slender body sat down beside him, eyes turned towards the water as he glanced over the fish just below the surface. His ears were twitching as he concentrated, and Aizawa’s own eyes kept catching on the small hint of movement. It was sort of… cute? As a form of dragon behaviour, of course...

His line tugged and Aizawa was quick to pull it in, dragging a large silver fish onto the shore, where it flopped until he pulled out his thigh-knife and ended it quickly. One down. Two would usually be enough to satisfy him for a while, but the dragon had a voracious appetite, so he’d need to-

He heard a sudden splash to his left and he was instantly drenched by a rush of water as Hizashi attempted to ‘bat’ a fish onto the shore with his claws. Water ran down his face and through his hair, helping to wash away the saliva from earlier, although it was still unappreciated. Hizashi didn’t even notice as he went to try again.

Much to his chagrin, this time he had some success, meaning not only was water splashed onto Aizawa, but a wriggling fish hit him square in the face. The force wasn’t enough to knock him back, but he still shot the dragon a sharp glare. Those green eyes stared back, his ears standing tall, and then the beast made the strangest noise he’d ever heard. It sounded like rough snorting, paired with animal growls and deep exhales of air: Hizashi was laughing at him.

Aizawa had half a mind to collect the two fish they’d caught and eat them himself, but the last thing he wanted was a hungry dragon. He thought briefly about how to get revenge against the cursed bard as he stabbed the second fish, when he noticed a stag beetle slowly crawling through the muddy grass of the riverbank. The slayer carefully picked it up and glanced back at the dragon, who was still too busy ‘laughing’ to notice. Aizawa held it close to the beast and waited for those green eyes to finally notice…

The laughing instantly stopped. The terrified squeal the dragon made warmed his little heart, and - to make it even more hilarious - Yamada scrambled away and accidentally plummeted into the river. The water wasn’t fast, nor was it especially deep for the large dragon, but the sight of the beast sitting dumbfounded with its feathers and scales sopping wet all because of a single beetle was enough to make Aizawa’s shoulders quiver, and his chest flutter and…

And he started laughing.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed, yet here he was. He tried to stop, but every time he noticed the dragon’s miserable state he was laughing all over again.

Large, sharp teeth clamped around the front of his cloak and, before he could even think, Aizawa was pulled into the stream as well. His head was temporarily submerged and he spluttered instinctively as he broke the surface and looked up at the satisfied beast. Yamada started laughing at him again, but this was no time for laughter.

Aizawa’s mind raced, as did the emotions inside him.

His clothes were soaking wet. The scents he’d carefully covered his cloak in were washed away, and even the feathers in his hair were gone - including the one the dragon had just given him to hold onto. His weapons were soaked, and he’d have to waste time now putting everything out and drying it beside a large fire that could potentially give away their location and-

There was a splash as Hizashi’s head dipped into the water nearby, and when he reared again, Aizawa was surprised to see the white feather he’d been given earlier was now between the dragon’s teeth: he’d rescued it before the river had swept it away. The cursed bard seemed incredibly dumbfounded, but his pupils were circular, which offered some comfort. The beast made a face as he clearly questioned his life decision to hold a feather in his mouth, and he was quick to offer it back to Aizawa.

The anger he’d felt only moments ago drifted away with the river.

It would be for the best if his scent was as close to Yamada’s as possible, so washing his clothes would have some benefits. Admittedly, they had needed a wash. The fire really wouldn’t matter either since it was daylight anyway and there weren’t any nearby villages who’d spot it. He’d have to spend a bit of time mostly-naked, but it was a warm day at least and he’d be sleeping for most of that time. Really, the worst outcome was that they’d scared the fish away, meaning Shouta would have to give what he’d caught to the dragon and go without until-

Yamada grunted and nudged him, and Aizawa realised he still hadn’t taken the feather from him. He took it and carefully retied it into his sopping black hair, and the dragon cocked its head this way and that as it considered him. He noticed the green eyes focusing especially on his left side, where the yellow feather he’d also been wearing had now disappeared.

The beast turned its head and chewed at its own shoulder. For a moment he was confused as to what Yamada was doing, until he saw him twist his head suddenly and pluck a beautiful, yellow feather from his own body. His head turned and he offered it to him as he had the white feather.

It was large and shimmered majestically in the warm sunlight. In fact, the feather was more beautiful than the one he’d plucked himself, as that one had been older and loose already. Was it normal for a dragon to offer its own feather to another? Despite his rounded pupils, it didn’t really seem the sort of thing the bard would do…

“Thanks.” Aizawa couldn’t stop himself from taking it, and those green eyes danced with unusual joy.

Was this more hoarding behaviour? It didn’t make sense. He could understand Yamada giving him the shiny stones, and the white feather, but what was the value in ripping out one of his own feathers only to-

Shouta stared dumbly at the beautiful feather as several pieces fell into place.

The dragon’s instincts were bleeding through into Hizashi’s behaviours, and vice versa.

The gifts weren’t the result of hoarding instincts at all:

Aizawa was being courted.

-x-

Aizawa stood alone by the roaring fire as he pulled off his soaking clothes and set them out around the heat. The two fish they’d caught were skewered on sticks beside it, slowly cooking, while Yamada was back by the river, waiting for the fish to return after their earlier disturbance.

For some reason, the dragon was trying to court him.

He gently turned the golden feather in his fingers, watching as the fire’s glow reflected off its shimmering surface. In some countries, dragon feathers were valued more highly than the gold they hoarded. Aizawa held the treasure in the flames and watched as the colours licked over it, yet the feather did not burn.

Why would the dragon be courting him? Did the bard know? No, Yamada hated him, so why did-

When he’d bitten his tail. Had there been more to that than he’d realised? He’d forced the dragon to submit to him, to be lower in the hierarchy, so something must’ve shifted then. Or…

He looked out to where the dragon sat beside the river, concentrating on the fish within. Three years : Hizashi had been without any social interaction for three years.

He’d expect someone as loud and outgoing as the blond to go crazy after one month of solitary, but here he was three years later with his mind (mostly) intact. That was the same for his dragon side too. Most people didn’t know it, but dragons were surprisingly social creatures. They usually didn’t leave their family nests until their first mating season, and even then, if they’d been unsuccessful at finding a mate during the spring, they’d return home until the next year.

The answer was obvious then… He was lonely.

The beast was so alone, it was willing to Bond itself with a random human - someone it could never mate with - just to ensure it was never lonely again.

Aizawa sighed, but he knew what he had to do. The next time Hizashi offered him something, he’d have to reject it, to gently inform the dragon he wasn’t interested in being its Bond.

Chapter Text

Chapter Seven

Dragon Dentistry 

‘Dragons are known to be intensely protective of what is theirs, fiercely guarding the coin and trinkets of their hordes. Rarely can they be observed relinquishing any of their treasures, with one such exception being unbonded dragons attempting to court potential mates with gifts.’

 - A Complete Guide to Dragons by Eraserhead

The fish returned with time, but damn it took a while. His ears flicked as he heard Aizawa busying himself with drying his clothes, but the less he saw of the man’s chest the better… Mostly because he didn’t want the other man to feel uncomfortable and for no other reason at all because why would he be uncomfortable seeing another guy’s buff chest? He was straight, and the guy was Shouta Aizawa, the wild dragon slayer who ate bugs and who hated bards with a burning passion and-

FISH!

Hizashi’s large head plunged into the water before he could even think. His fangs snared the fish and he automatically swallowed it whole, but it took him a few moments to realise what he’d done. Yamada made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat and shook his head. Gross, gross, gross! Like, there was a difference between eating raw fish and eating a whole live fish! Was it still alive? No, his stomach had probably killed it, but he’d eaten-

FISH!

His head went back into the water, but this time he missed. His teeth wrapped around something large and he heard a horrible snap . Hizashi tore his head from the water and spat the large rock onto the shore, along with the tooth that had snapped off. He smacked his non-existent lips as he figured out where the fang had come from, finding one of his front fangs had snapped near the root. Did dragon teeth grow back at all? Would he now be without one of his human teeth?

Damn, stupid dragon brain! He puffed smoke from his nostrils and parked himself firmly on the shore, vowing to catch the next few fish with his claws.

-x-

Aizawa had eaten his two roasted fish and was in the process of dozing off by the time Yamada finished his fishing exploits with a hopefully satisfied stomach. He walked unhappily on all fours, something clutched within his mouth. Another gift? Aizawa would have to reject this one, to gently let the dragon know he wasn’t interested in Bonding.

Hizashi walked in front of him and whined unhappily, holding the new gift out with quiet expectation. The slayer held up his hand, planning to wave it away, to tell him no, when he realised what it was: in the beast’s jaws was a broken dragon tooth.

The bard must’ve snapped it off accidentally while fishing. He looked up at his eyes, noting that the pupils were rounded. Hizashi was offering him the gift, probably not even realising what he was actually doing. Should he tell him or…?

No, the bard would get defensive over it. In Hizashi’s mind, he was probably giving it to him for a completely different reason, but he still had to be firm and…

The dragon nudged him, drawing him from his thoughts. “I can’t-...” Aizawa’s words were stymied as the full situation dawned on him.

Fuck, the dragon was offering him a tooth.

His mouth was almost watering at the sight of it. They were worth far more than feathers, especially if you had a full set of them. Aizawa had met many slayers whose sole reason for taking the career was to collect the teeth of the dragons they killed. In his early days of slaying, he and… his original ‘companion’ had pried the teeth from the corpses too, but that had been a long time ago, and now Aizawa had a rule to never desecrate the dead beasts.

And yet here one was, offering him a tooth, and before Aizawa could think better of it, he reached out and took it. Just as with the feather, as soon as he accepted the gift, Hizashi’s green eyes danced with absolute joy, and the slayer cursed himself internally, until he looked at the tooth.

It was beautiful, even if it didn’t have the root. His fingers ran over the light ridges of the canine and brushed over the sharp end of it. In his younger years he would have sold it, but right now he had a more important role for it, especially since he was on his way to see Nemuri.

He looked back at Yamada and noticed where the tooth had snapped out. The root was still in the gum, meaning it wouldn’t regrow until…

Aizawa sighed and stood, pretending not to notice the way the dragon’s green eyes flicked to his bare chest and stared for far longer than necessary. He slipped the tooth into a pouch drying beside the fire for later work and pulled out the old, rusty pair of pliers he’d used in his early days to remove dragon teeth. That made Hizashi look away from his chest.

“The root isn’t out,” Aizawa explained carefully. “Dragon teeth regrow, but not until the entire tooth is gone. If you want a nice mouth full of shiny white teeth, I have to extract the root.”

The dragon pulled his head away so fast he nearly fell over, and his front paws came up to cover his jaw, further protecting it from Shouta. The slayer rubbed his forehead… Why did he even care if the bard didn’t have a perfect smile anymore? Better than risking his arm getting bitten off…

“Suit yourself, but there’s a chance you’ll be missing a tooth in human form unless it regrows in dragon form.” That caught the narcissist's attention. His ears drooped unhappily, but he carefully lowered his body down and uncovered his mouth. He made a strange noise that rose at the end, and he interpreted it as a question. “It will hurt.” Yamada whined unhappily. “I’ll do it quickly though, so it’ll only hurt a moment.” The dragon screwed his eyes shut but opened his jaw, and Aizawa was able to clamp the pliers around the remains of the tooth.

To be safe, the slayer activated the Quirk of his right eye, ensuring the beast didn’t accidentally flambe his arms on pure instinct. It gave him a headache, but was better than the alternative.

“I’ll pull it out on three, ‘kay?” Hizashi wriggled his ears to show his understanding. “One.” Aizawa ripped it out.

The dragon’s eyes shot open and looked at him, his pupils suddenly thin and reptilian. Aizawa stepped back and instinctively reached for his sword, only to remember it was drying by the fire. The beast reared above him, and for a moment Aizawa thought he was in danger, until…

The dragon’s long red tongue tested the sore gum where the tooth had been removed, looking almost comedic. Aizawa relaxed automatically upon hearing the sound of purring, and he safely stored the pliers and the remains of the tooth, before turning away. “I’m going to sleep now. You should too.”

He sat himself near the fire and pulled out his panpipes, but was surprised when something brushed against his bare back. The dragon sat behind him and wrapped its tail and long neck around, protectively shielding Shouta with its large body. He leaned back to find the soft, warm feathers, and he relaxed. So that’s why he’d been focusing on his bare chest: he’d been wondering if he was cold. He’d be enveloped in Hizashi’s scent come nightfall.

He looked to the beast’s reptilian eyes, and then at the cursed discolouration of his scales. It wasn’t spreading, so maybe there was no harm in letting him stay like this for a time…

Aizawa played the song Nemuri had taught him long ago on the panpipes and felt the protective glyphs come to life. They encircled the area and ensured he’d instantly wake should danger come to greet them.

The dragon curled closer to him and when he looked again, his pupils were rounded, although Hizashi didn’t try to move away. Those green eyes were trained on the fire, sombre.

The music had brought his human side back. He’d have to remember that for the future…

Even though he’d finished the protection spell, Shouta brought the pipes back up and gently played until he leaned into the soft feathers and let the sound carry them both to slumber.

-x-

Shouta was the first one to wake. The fire was more subdued than it’d been before he’d fallen asleep, but despite the growing chill of the approaching night, he wasn’t cold. He was still pressed against the warm feathers of the sleeping dragon. It was easy to forget how hot a dragon really was, as their scales gave an impression of coldness.

He found the will to pull himself to his feet, stepping carefully so as to not wake the sleeping Yamada as he checked over his things. Everything was dry, and he pulled his clothes on without any issue and without waking the slumbering beast. He turned and looked at the dragon.

Guilt washed through him.

Many wouldn’t understand how being turned into a large, fearsome, fire breathing dragon could be in any way cruel, but for someone like Hizashi Yamada it was certainly a horrible fate. Right, despite what he’d said, Shouta didn’t really believe he deserved this curse.

He went to the river to wash the sleep from his face, but the thought stayed with him as he went. A dragon could not talk, for a start, and that should’ve been punishment enough for Yamada without everything else on top of it. To be shunned and called a monster by people who’d once thought you beautiful… To become so lonely that you’d subconsciously try to tie yourself to the first person you met, even if you hated them.

The ironic intention of the change was obvious. Dragons were monogamous. Clearly that was the lesson the curser had wanted Hizashi to learn, yet even that was cruel. How could someone like Yamada, who didn’t even believe in love, do anything except break hearts? He didn’t approve of it, of course, but this curse could cost the bard his life - and others theirs.

If the dragon completely took over, Aizawa would have to kill him.

If you must kill me, do it while my human mind is still intact.

Aizawa sighed as he stared at his tired reflection in the water. He didn’t have the heart to tell the blond why that would be impossible. He’d have to wait for the curse to completely take over before he could kill him, or else it would jump to Shouta instead.

He noticed something green sparkling in the water. Aizawa frowned to himself and edged closer to get a better look. Oh! It was Yamada’s jade necklace! It must've fallen into the shallows, but thankfully the weight had been too much for the gentle river to carry away. He pulled it from the water and carefully dried it with his cloak, finally giving himself the opportunity to glance it over.

The ornament was definitely jade, shaped in a round disk with a hole at its centre, and it was tied on a long piece of cord. It must’ve come undone and fallen off while Hizashi had been fishing. He’d have to return it and-

Aizawa paused. If he gave it to Hizashi, the dragon might consider it a gift and assume he was trying to court him back. So, he’d have to figure out some way of leaving it somewhere for Hizashi to find. He turned around, planning to leave it in a place the dragon would see upon waking, but it was already too late for that as he saw the beast stir. The necklace disappeared into his coin pouch – the worst thing would be for Yamada to think he’d stolen it. The sun set as he was waking, and Shouta instantly looked away as the warm glow filled their small camp, and when it finally faded he saw the slumped figure of the human as he sat up and yawned.

His golden hair was splayed over his shoulders, far brighter than it should’ve naturally been, and he looked surprisingly docile as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. It wasn’t that Aizawa didn’t notice his extra features, such as his horns and claws and tail, it’s that they didn’t poison the sight at all.

Hizashi Yamada was beautiful.

Rather than stare, however, Aizawa was polite enough to pick up the blond’s clothes and offer them to him. “Let’s move.” Before Hizashi took them, however, Shouta froze: was this considered a gift too?

He instantly dropped the clothes, earning an annoyed glance from the blond. “...Thanks,” Yamada murmured, a touch sarcastically as he grabbed everything from the dirt and pulled them back on. Man, this was going to get awkward… He really should just-

The blond froze and instantly paled. “My necklace!” he cried, voice panicked as he patted down his clothes, his emerald eyes wild. “Shit! Where is it? I can’t have lost it!” He scrambled through the dirt, searching desperately.

“Hey,” Aizawa said, panicking himself as he knelt to his height and pulled the necklace from his pouch. “It’s here.”

Hizashi looked up at him, his body trembling. His hands shot out and grabbed the jade charm from his palm and pulled it tightly against his chest, holding onto it for dear life. He bared his teeth at him, canines sharp in the fresh moonlight. “You stole my necklace!”

He shook his head and kept his voice even, despite the accusation. His training kicked in as he locked eyes with Hizashi and made sure to never look away. “It fell in the river,” he gently explained, “probably when you were catching fish.”

The blond opened his mouth, but then closed it. His shoulders slumped a little, but his iron grip on the necklace never eased. “...You found it…?” Aizawa nodded honestly, and the emerald eyes softened. “Oh...Thank you… You… This necklace means everything to me…”

“It matches your eyes,” he said assuredly, although he regretted the words after they emerged.

Yamada stared at him in surprise, before he glanced down at the circle of jade in his palm. “This necklace was my mother’s… It’s… the only thing that’s kept me tethered… Without it, I’d…” He released it with one hand so he could run his fingers over his spreading curse mark.

Aizawa didn’t make him say the rest as he offered his hand to Hizashi and gently said, “Come on.” The blond looked up at him with those stunning eyes, and the slayer had to remind himself that this man might’ve looked like a rose, but his beautiful exterior hid a scathe of dangerous thorns. Hizashi took his hand and Aizawa helped him up. He felt small calluses on his long fingers, and that surprised him for a moment, until he remembered that he’d once mentioned playing the lute.

The man must’ve played it a lot before…

“Tell me about these past three years,” Shouta said, sensing how shaken Yamada was from temporarily losing his necklace. “Whatever details you’re comfortable with sharing.”

The blond inhaled deeply but nodded as he started to speak. “First transformed when I was staying at an inn. The woman I’d spent the night with freaked out and tried to stab me with a hairpin, but thankfully my hide was too tough.” He mindlessly scratched at his chest, as if recalling the feel of the makeshift weapon. “Honestly, I was just as shocked as she was! I scrambled around the room, broke my lute, and kinda knocked a wall down in my panic. Can you blame me? Thankfully it was the outside wall, so I was able to slip out and stretch while I had my realisation. Tried to speak, but we all know how impossible that is in dragon form… The villagers turned on me. I recognised some of their faces too - people who’d cheered my performances - but then they’d only looked at me with fear…”

“They didn’t know,” Shouta said as softly as he could. “Only talk about it if you want to.”

“It’s… good to finally talk about it,” Hizashi admitted with a sad smile. “I’ve been alone for too long... I fled Nile and got lost in a huge forest. It was… disorientating. I’ve had a lot of practise now with controlling my dragon body, but back them it was clumsy to control. Honestly thought I’d be a dragon forever, but when night fell I was back in my human body, but things were only worse… At least while I was a dragon, I was at the top of the food chain, but then I was a small human, alone and naked in a dark forest. That first night was spent buried under a pile of bug infested leaflitter… I slept, thinking it was all a bad dream, but…” Hizashi toyed with his necklace. “When I woke up, I was a dragon again, and I was hungry. I drank from a pool of water and got sick. Oh, did you know you should only drink from running water?”

“Literally everyone who goes through forests knows that,” Shouta said, but cringed at his own tone.

“Well, I got sick. Couldn’t keep down what little food I could scrounge up, yo. Soon got so hungry I had my first dip. Woke up covered in blood beside a half-eaten bear!” He laughed, but anxiety dirtied the sound. “Had to accept my fate and start bathing in rivers like some sort of crazy person - no offense. Ate anything I could, trying to stave off another dip - only happened when I was starving back then. Once I even stooped to eating a…” His face tinted green. “Eating a slug , but I got sick again… Think it was poisonous. Ah, gross, I don’t even wanna think about it… Can’t even look at bugs anymore without wanting to heave.”

Aizawa understood instantly. “The slug probably had a parasite.”

Hizashi’s face now matched his eyes. “Right, Mr. I Eat Bugs… Look, the entire first year was just me eating disgusting stuff and getting sick. I survived it ‘cause of luck and ‘cause I didn’t really have much choice! I learned from my mistakes, and by the second year I was able to set up traps for rabbits, and figured out how to cook them properly. Managed to set up a nice camp for myself, and had more time to be bored. Focused on remembering all the songs and poems I’d learned, and practised having conversations in the different languages I’d neglected. Then, at the start of my third year, I had the same dream three nights in a row. A woman’s voice told me that when the curse covered my heart, I’d lose myself forever…” Hizashi moved a hand to his mark and ran his finger along the spiral, his brow creased in concentration. “Been travelling since, trying to find a way to cure it, but I must’ve been lost in a strong dip… Don’t know how long ‘til you found me, yo. Would probably still be in that cave, slowly losing my mind, if you hadn’t come along…”

Shouta scratched the back of his neck. “We’ll get you cured, and then you won’t have to sleep in the woods ever again… or eat more bugs.”

Hizashi smiled and rubbed at his cheek, but his ears were low. “Yeah… I’ve been through hell already, so I ain’t backin’ down now… Thanks, Aizawa, for letting me tell someone...”

“We should reach my friend’s place tomorrow after nightfall,” he informed gently, his eyes shifting to Hizashi’s mouth. “Is your tooth back?”

The blond blinked and opened his mouth as he retied the necklace around his neck. “It’s back,” he said, ears perking happily. “It actually-” Hizashi paused and his face turned slightly disturbed. “Wait… Are you keeping the tooth I gave you?”

He nodded. “I’m planning to make a necklace out of it. They’re good luck.”

“...That’s creepy…”

He shrugged his shoulders and quickly packed up everything from their camp.

Okay, he had a new plan.

If he turned down the courting attempts, the dragon might potentially leave to find another dragon/person to court. If he at least appeared to be interested, their journey would go smoothly… He hoped.

Chapter Text

Chapter Eight

She has a Dragon Fruit

In all the tales that I have spun,

A damsel waits, unknown.

Am I the quarry in this one?

Do monsters die alone?

-      The Bored Ideations of the Greatest Bard of All Time

The third night of travel was much like the first two. Hizashi blindly followed Aizawa through the dark with nothing but the moon to guide them. They’d left the open plane behind and were back to adventuring through a swollen forest, with so much leaf litter that it often reached Hizashi’s shins.

His companion was as talkative as ever, meaning they moved in dead silence. The bard kept himself occupied by mentally writing through his heroic ballad.

Although the curse was spreading true, the hero held on fast.

He would see the journey through, and return to days long past.

Women would weep at his return, to see his face a shine.

A lady’s heart so quick to burn, yet dark hair his to pine.

He paused as his mind stumbled over the final rhyme. Dark hair? Pine? That didn’t sound right…

A lady’s heart so quick to burn, their hair as long as twine.

...That wasn’t good either. Maybe he was losing his touch…

No way, he’d finish his ballad and sing it to the world once he was cured!

“So what’re you gonna do after our quest?” Hizashi asked, hoping to spark some discussion.

“Slay dragons.” Right, this wasn’t a life changing experience for Aizawa: this was a small detour and afterwards everything would return to normal… Well, as normal as life was for a wandering dragon slayer. Hizashi would be cured and they’d part ways forever.

“Why’d you become a dragon slayer anyway?” he asked curiously, remembering something the man had said when they’d first met. “I know usually Aizawas don’t have an option, but you said you did…”

Shouta grunted. “What’s odd about me?”

“You eat bugs, you cover yourself in dirt, you wear feathers in your hair, you eat bugs, you act like you were raised by wolves, you had a funeral for a bunch of scales, you don’t like music-”

“I like music,” he corrected. “I don’t like bards .”

“You’ll like the ballad I’m writing about our heroic quest!”

Aizawa grunted distastefully and turned the topic back to the point. “Physically, what’s odd about me?”

Hizashi instantly remembered. “Your eyes,” he said precisely.

He nodded. “My Erasure Quirk is only in my right eye. Even though I can use it, it gives me a headache, and I can’t use it for as long as others from my clan. Those who become dragon slayers start training when they’re young, but they wouldn’t let me try until I was older, when I convinced them I was just as capable as the others.”

“Would you kill a dragon that was living away from people?”

“No,” he said instantly, surprising him. “I only kill ones that pose a threat. Dragons … are beautiful creatures, with intricate social structures and behaviours, and they shouldn’t be killed because their parts are valuable…”

Something felt warm in his chest at those words, but he didn’t read too deeply into it. “It must get lonely,” he said while trying not to remember the three years of utter isolation he’d endured himself. “But it must be nice being a hero, and I bet you get paid a tonne.”

Aizawa opened his mouth, as if to say something, but he silenced whatever thought he’d been thinking. Instead he asked, “What was the title of that book I gave you?”

Hizashi pulled it from his bag, using the light of the moon to read the handwritten title. “‘ A Guide to Dragon Behaviours and Mating Rituals’,” he read aloud. The green fabric was rough against his fingertips. “Sounds very… interesting…”

Aizawa instantly stopped and looked at him, his eyes oddly wide, as if he were enthralled by something. “Really?” Hizashi nearly tripped over his own feet as he stopped as well. “Is it good?”

“I haven’t read it yet,” the blond said, his brows knitting in confusion. Why was the guy acting so weird? Hadn’t he had this book for a while? Why hadn’t he-...

“You don’t know how to read!” Hizashi said without missing a beat. Aizawa openly flinched, and the blond’s face grew hot with shame as he remembered what he’d said when the slayer had asked him if he knew how: Of course I can read it; I’m not a moron.

“I can read … but not that language,” Aizawa said softly and turned away. “Come on. We need to make as much distance as possible before-”

“I’ll read it to you,” Hizashi blurted, surprising himself.

That made Shouta pause. “...You don’t have to. Besides, you’d only be able to read it to me while you’re human. Once you change then-”

“Fine,” he said firmly, “I’ll teach you how to read while I’m at it.”

Aizawa looked like a stunned deer. “... Why?”

Because it would give them something to do. Because Hizashi was sick of the silence between them, and as weird as Aizawa was, he was helping the bard, and had played music for him and had found his necklace and had-

“Well I’m planning to read the book anyway,” he said dismissively, “and it might be a useful read for a dragon slayer.”

“...” Aizawa picked something from a pouch on his belt. “Here,” he said as he offered him a gold coin that shimmered in the moonlight, pairing well with the gold bracelet Aizawa still wore from his ‘collection’. “Teach me to read, and I’ll pay you. Unlike the other coins in your hoard, this one has some worth.”

Hizashi’s mouth salivated at the offered gold. He snatched it from Aizawa’s hands before he’d even realised, and a feeling of warmth swept over him. His tail wagged eagerly from side to side, yet he didn’t even notice as he examined the gift of gold.

Yes, yes, yes! A gift! Alpha wanted him too! Such a pretty treasure! His alpha had such a good taste in treasure! The alpha was his Desired One and they would court and bond and it didn’t matter that he was a human alpha because they wouldn’t be alone anymore and he would protect his Treasure from anyone who tried to hurt him and-

“Yamada,” he said firmly and Hizashi blinked down at the piece of gold. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” he said as he squeezed his fingers around it. “And stop calling it my hoard - it’s a stash.”

Aizawa folded his arms. “Most of those coins are literally worthless. I don’t even know where you got them.”

Hizashi pursed his lips as he shoved the book and coin away in his bag. “They might come back into circulation…”

“Yes,” he said sarcastically, “a coin that’s been out of circulation for 109 years is suddenly going to come back into circulation. Don’t hold your breath.”

Hizashi rolled his eyes but couldn’t feel too annoyed at the accusation - for some reason he felt… happy.

-x-

There, it was done. He was officially courting a dragon.

Aizawa didn’t want to think about that too much, but unfortunately his thoughts strayed of their own accord.

Technically he was leading the beast on, but it was for a good reason: taking a mate-seeking dragon across the countryside would be a nightmare. This at least ensured the gold dragon wouldn’t go wandering to find himself a different mate.

Did the beast even realise what it was doing? Who’d ever heard of a dragon taking a human bond? Humans didn’t live as long as dragons, and a human and dragon couldn’t even mate, let alone breed. There’d been plenty of comedic stories told by the kids of his clan about disturbed adventurers who’d gotten a little too lonely on the job: every story ended with the man dying of third degree burns to a very sensitive area.

All jokes aside, a dragon’s internal body temperature was a serious concern when fighting them. Plenty of his scars were caused by dragon blood that had seared through his clothes and scolded his skin.

Usually this wouldn’t be an issue, but for a dragon slayer wanting to make the most money from the kill, he’d have to be equipped to harvest everything .

Aizawa had once done the same.

His hand came up to the scales on his chest, but he was again reminded that they’d been put to rest. Instead his hand rose higher, to trace part of the scar that mutilated his throat. Ever since then…

Now he buried their hearts.

Would he have to do the same thing to Hizashi’s?

His fist tightened at the thought.

They journeyed without much discussion, although the blond hummed as he crawled over logs and snapped his way through twiggy branches, and Aizawa couldn’t bring himself to make him stop.

Twice the bard offered him a gift - another shiny rock and a ‘very cool looking’ leaf - and both times he accepted it. Seeing those green eyes glimmer with instinctual joy was admittedly a nice sight, although he told himself he was only accepting them because the dragon would get upset if he didn’t.

Aizawa tried to fulfill his part of the courtship and offered the blond a clean mouse skull he found as they moved, believing it to be a suitable gift. To his surprise, Hizashi yelped in horror and frantically shook his hands, turning the gift down. “Ew! Gross! Get that away from me!” Even his tail curled in distaste, and Aizawa quickly did as instructed.

Okay, the dragon was more particular than he’d given credit for…

To appease the slight, the slayer quickly fiddled with his bags and pulled out a small sapphire he’d pinched from a dragon hoard several months back. “Here, take this.”

Hizashi paused as his eyes beheld the gem, and although his gaze was greedy, his eyebrows crinkled in confusion. “Why?”

Damn. What was he going to tell him?

“My friend might ask for payment,” he lied. “Better for you to hold onto something in case we get separated.”

There were plenty of flaws in his weak argument, but it miraculously sufficed as Yamada took the gem, tail wagging eagerly. “If you insist.” His eyes looked so happy and beautiful and green and Aizawa caught himself staring for too long.

This was dangerous.

He was attracted to a bard. Not only that, but one that was gradually turning into a dragon because he’d already broken one too many hearts!

Then again, maybe it didn’t matter at all. Yes, he was attracted to him physically , but that was where it ended. His heart was safe, despite the dragon’s strange attempts to woo him. Aizawa doubted he could ever love again, despite Nemuri’s claims, and Hizashi claimed he didn’t even believe in love so there was no risk of anything developing between them.

The blond was clearly attracted to him as well, as much as he went on about his victories with women, but that didn’t matter - Aizawa didn’t sleep with men who were first timers with other men anyway.

Or bards.

Still, the blond looked at him with sparkling eyes and a toothy grin and Aizawa hated himself for the way his senses stirred at the sight.

“Thanks,” Hizashi said, his voice sounding softer and more genuine. “You didn’t have to help me…”

Aizawa furrowed his brows and was torn between keeping eye contact with the pseudo-dragon and looking away from the shimmering face. He didn’t look away. “I did have to help you. Do you realise what would’ve happened if I’d killed you before the curse was finished?” Hizashi’s face went blank. “...Forget it.”

The blond pursed his lips. “If you know something about the curse, don’t you think I should know too, listener?”

“...” Aizawa sighed as he resumed walking ahead through the dark night. “If you kill someone who is cursed, there’s a good chance the curse will be transferred to the killer. This renders it practically incurable…”

“How?” the blond asked, before he expanded on the question. “How does that make it incurable?”

“Curses are placed for a reason, with a way to cure it so long as a certain criteria is met. However, the person who the curse transfers to doesn’t need the same lesson and the criteria is rendered obsolete. For example, you got your curse by seducing poor, innocent women.”

“Trust me, they weren’t innocent.”

Aizawa rolled his eyes. “If I killed you and got the curse, how could I possibly break it when I already know that’s a wrong thing to do?”

“It wasn’t wrong - they had just as much fun as I did,” claimed the blond, only proving Aizawa’s point.

“If you have the curse, there’s a chance it’ll be cured,” he said, more softly. “However, if it transferred to someone else…” His fingers lifted to where the dull scales had once sat across his chest. “They’d be doomed…”

Hizashi was oddly quiet for a while, and when he spoke again his voice was soft and sombre. “That means you can’t kill me until my dragon side has completely taken over…”

It wasn’t a question, but Aizawa felt the urge to gently confirm, “Yes. If I killed you now, I’d become the feral dragon instead.”

The blond exhaled heavily, not in exasperation: in defeat. “Then… I guess we have to figure out how to cure it before then… You know a lot about curses.”

Aizawa clenched his jaw. The scar on his neck painfully ached. “Personal experience.”

-x-

They stopped in another forest clearing, this one slightly larger than the first. A cool wind blew between the deciduous trees, while the sky above was covered in thick, dark clouds. Even Hizashi knew it was going to rain soon based on the smell in the air, but hopefully it would hold off until morning - rain didn’t bother him in dragon form.

Aizawa used a tinderbox to light a fire, and Hizashi pulled the book from his bag: ‘A Guide to Dragon Behaviours and Mating Rituals’ .

It wasn’t a book he’d typically read. Hizashi was more into heroic tales about warriors slaying dragons and rescuing princesses rather than boring, factual stuff about the creatures, but perhaps it would be wise for them both to learn more, even if Aizawa was already the expert.

“You ready to learn how to read?” Hizashi asked as he sat himself against a tree.

The slayer grunted and pulled off his thick gloves, warming his fingers by the heat of the fire. “I need to get us dinner.”

“Oh, I picked some berries while we were moving.” Hizashi pulled a pouch from his bag and emptied the round spheres of violet onto his open palm. “See! I can fend for myself!” He shoved them into his mouth and eagerly chewed. They were a little sour, but better than-

“They’re venomous.”

Hizashi instantly spat them out and frantically wiped his tongue over his arm to rid his mouth of the juice. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he squeaked.

Aizawa shrugged, and the blond noticed how the edges of his mouth twitched, as if he were trying not to smile. “Just did. How’d you manage to survive three whole years on your own?”

“I survived just fine, thank you!” The blond huffed and pulled the book against his chest. “And it’s ’poisonous’…”

“Hm?”

The blond blew some hair from his face. “If it’s bad to eat then it’s poisonous. If it’s something that poisons you by biting you then it’s venomous… Berries can’t be ‘venomous’.”

To his surprise, the man’s face softened. “Sorry, you’re right.” Shouta sat beside him, his back resting against the tree. They weren’t touching, but Hizashi could smell his soft earthy scent. “I’ll get food after you transform, since you won’t be able to teach me then anyway.”

The blond nodded and showed him the cover of the book. “Can you read this?”

Aizawa pointed at the fourth word. “This is ‘Dragon’, but besides that I only know my name. It’s… not that I can’t read, it’s just the written language here is so different to Nippon’s…”

Hizashi smiled softly at that. “Which language do you prefer? I’m fluent in six of them, and I can read and write in four.”

He shook his head. “The one of this land is fine. I need to be as fluent in it as possible, so it’s better if I always speak it.”

Hizashi nodded. It was a good plan. He picked up a stick and scratched the alphabet into the dirt while sounding each of them out. Since he already knew ‘Dragon’, he used it as an example to show how the letters were grouped together in syllables, a style similar to their native language.

Aizawa watched intently. Hizashi wasn’t sure if it was a silence of confusion or if he was absorbing the information.

“Make sense so far, listener?”

The slayer took the stick from him and pointed at the letters to spell the blond’s name: Yamada.

He smiled. “Correct.” Hizashi repeated all the sounds with the corresponding letters and showed him the cover of the book again. “So tell me, what does this say?”

Aizawa stared at it for a while, his eyes flicking back and forth between the letters in the dirt and the letters on the cover, before he finally read it, slowly and methodically. His pronunciation was good: he had taken his time to determine the full word as opposed to just the letters, which was a good start.

Hizashi opened the book and read him the preface, which introduced the author as a man who’d been studying dragon’s for years upon years. Many of his accounts were taken from stories and observations of dragons, and he compared the beasts to bears.

“...But they’re not like bears,” Aizawa said after Hizashi read it out loud, a small frown on his face.

“Well it doesn’t mean exactly ,” Hizashi said as he rolled his eyes. “It’s a comparison, so you gotta look beyond the fur and the horns and-”

“I’m talking about their behaviour,” the slayer amended, his frown deepening. “Dragons are more like birds.”

“Well, we’ll see if he justifies himself later. Let’s learn.” The blond had him read sentences on the page. At one point their legs brushed together, but it was Aizawa who shifted away from the touch. The blond didn’t think much of it and the lesson continued…

Eventually, the sun began to rise. Hizashi shoved the book into Aizawa’s hands and stood to strip, frantically making sure he was naked by the time his transformation took place.

He succeeded, kicking his pants off before his limbs lengthened and his skin hardened. The clearing shrunk as his body grew, and soon enough he was back in his cursed form.

His ears drooped unhappily. He’d been enjoying teaching the slayer how to read, yet now he wouldn’t be able to resume again until the next time they made camp, which might not even be at all since they’d reach the witch doctor’s abode during the next night.

He huffed a little and noticed Aizawa move. To his surprise, the slayer folded Hizashi’s clothes. His ears perked happily and the man noticed the look. “You stay here and rest while I get us some food. I saw deer tracks when we were nearing the clearing, so hopefully we’ll eat well tonight.”

He unslung his hunting bow and Hizashi watched as he left him to his own devices.

The dragon glanced around the clearing, trying to find something to keep himself amused. His ear twitched automatically at the sound of movement above, and his eyes tracked the disturbance. In one of the trees perched a single raven, its small beady eyes glancing him over, but he ignored it.

Without anything better to do, Hizashi returned to thinking about his ballad, but instead his eyes kept glancing to the book, still situated where Aizawa had placed it beside the tree.

The dragon carefully used his bird-like feet to pick it up and flick it open to a random page.

‘Dragons are villainous creatures that destroy entire villages to impress mates. Male dragons will attract swarms of females and form a harem. He offers them protection while they seek treasure and food for him.’ 

Hizashi blinked in confusion. Harem? But Aizawa had mentioned several times that dragons were monogamous… He flipped a few pages over.

‘Dragons will raid caravans to steal any wealth they can get their claws on. There is a reason it’s called a hoard as well, for a male dragon never shares. There was a saying when I was growing up: ‘She has a Dragon Fruit’. It means the only way to win her is through lavish gifts. There’s an old story of a knight who got close enough to a dragon to slay it by offering a golden goblet. The beasts are all dumb and greedy.’

A memory flitted through his mind of Aizawa giving him a sapphire. So, that was why he’d given it to him: to make him compliant...?

...Was it actually working?

Hizashi’s ears drooped. Was this to be his fate? To turn into a dumb, greedy beast and immediately die at the hands of the slayer? How could this possibly be a suitable punishment for whatever he’d done? Seducing women: that was apparently why he'd been cursed like this.

If this was his punishment for that - for nothing - then how would he have been punished if the curser had known his real crime?

Chapter Text

Chapter Nine

 Off the Scales

‘Don’t judge a book by its cover: especially a book about dragons. Most are based on stories invented to scare the children of days long past. This book, however, contains my life’s work. I have titled it ‘A Complete Guide to Dragons’, but someone could live a thousand lives and never learn all there is to know. Dragons are complex creatures who deserve our understanding: not our steel. This might not be a truly complete guide, but everything inside is true, and I only hope you use this information wisely.’

 - A Complete Guide to Dragons by Eraserhead

Shouta was mentally distracted by the comparison between dragons and bears, but he eventually returned to the clearing with a total of five rabbits and a pheasant - a decent haul.

Hizashi was already curled up near the fire, his head down and his green eyes staring forlornly into the small blaze. His pupils were rounded, so Shouta relaxed. “I’ve brought us food. No deer, but I’ll only have one of the rabbits, so you can have everything else.”

The dragon’s ears flicked, but he didn’t look at him. It was strange seeing him so down. The book sat beside him, and when Aizawa glanced at it, he understood why the blond was feeling so glum.

Inside was an illustration of a knight slicing off a crazed dragon’s head. Behind the ‘valiant’ figure was a princess with dark hair, and a shiver of dread ran up his spine. For a moment, the characters took on different appearances. Instead he saw himself standing in front of Nemuri Kayama, and the dragon’s scales in the image were momentarily grey. When he blinked, the picture had returned to normal.

Shouta sighed and set the game down so he could cheer Hizashi up by preening his feathers. “We’ll cure this,” he said, trying his best to be comforting. There wasn’t any doubt in his words.

Even so, the dragon’s tail reached around and gently nudged him away. Aizawa was surprised by the gesture, but didn’t try to intrude on Yamada’s space as he sat down and started preparing their dinner.

“How do you like your rabbits?”

The dragon didn’t respond, just pulled himself up, turned his body so he wasn’t facing the slayer, and dropped back down. The sigh he made was loud and far from subtle. Oh great, he was moping.

“If you don’t eat and get too hungry, you’re gonna cranky dip,” reasoned Aizawa. Seriously, what was with this guy? His eyes slipped back to the open book and something clicked.

Oh, he’d been reading from it! Had he found out about the courting process? Had he figured out that Shouta was only pretending to court him back? But why would Hizashi be upset about that?

The slayer put down the small animal carcasses and went to pick up the book. He noticed the dragon’s ears flicker, but he didn’t turn around.

Aizawa looked at the pages, the illustrations, and the remains of the alphabet still written in the dirt. Some letters he could make out, but he needed more repetition to better understand each one. He did find two words he recognised, however: Dragon Fruit.

“...Some slayers hunt dragons who aren’t a threat to villages,” Aizawa said as he ran his finger beneath the two simple words. What did the other words say? What was the context that had made the mighty dragon mope? “They do it for fame and for riches, like high paid butchers.” His lip twisted. Hizashi didn’t look at him, but he knew he was listening by the way his ears pressed back. “You can sell any part of a dragon: every feather and scale and tooth has a price, and there’re always people willing to pay… For a dragon to give another dragon a piece of itself is seen as a great honour.” Shouta sat back down and closed the book so he could take out his knife and the fang he’d been given. “Something as simple as a feather is worth more than any pile of gold and jewels, yet humans take such treasures and sell them by the bulk… I did it once too, a long time ago.”

Hizashi whined, a difficult sound to listen to, and Aizawa wasn’t sure how much of the noise was the bard and how much was the dragon.

“They say a dragon’s soul rests in its heart, and a dragon’s soul is a wonderous thing…” He dug the knife into the tooth and meticulously gouged a hole through it. “Therefore, the heart is the most prized part of a dragon: a ‘Dragon Fruit’. Many would pay a king’s ransom for a single heart. They’re only slightly bigger than a human’s, but they are very different…” He finished the hole and pulled out his line of fishing wire, cutting some off at the end and using it to turn the tooth into a simple necklace. “There are only three ways for the soul to be released from the Fruit…”

Hizashi’s head finally turned to face him, his pupils round. There was a mixture of curiosity and sadness in those emerald pools.

“The first is to boil it, which is the reason it’s so effective in spells and witchcraft. The second is to burn it, but the only fire that can burn a dragon’s heart is that of another dragon… And the third? The third is what I do, Yamada. I bury the Fruit and let the soul return to the earth.”

Hizashi huffed again, and even though he couldn’t speak, Aizawa had a good idea what his sentiment was: How was that supposed to cheer him up?

He pulled on the dragon tooth necklace and watched as the fire danced across the surface. Thunder rumbled overhead and he knew it would soon rain. “I don’t know what you read in that book, but it isn’t something to be scared of. We’re going to cure you of this curse, Yamada, and even if we can’t, I will bury your heart in the ground so no one will ever hurt you again.”

A drop of rain ran down his nose, and with that one came a thousand more. His hair was quickly drenched, but his first response was to shield the book within the folds of his cloak.

He heard Hizashi move and, to his surprise, warm scales brushed against him. Aizawa was gently pulled back into soft yellow feathers. Above him, the dragon’s tail hovered, keeping the water from reaching him.

“Our food will get ruined,” Shouta said, and the beast huffed. A burst of fire lit the scene and after it came the scent of burnt meat. Hizashi’s long neck reached forward and wolfed down several of the rabbits without taking the time to prepare them. Shouta felt him shiver with disgust and he couldn’t help but smile a little. Good thing dragons had powerful stomachs.

Hizashi dropped a roasted rabbit and pheasant into Aizawa’s lap and then curled his neck around him, forming a wall of scales, while his feathered tail made for the perfect roof.

He listened to the shower of water that poured around them, but Aizawa was warm and dry. He ate his burnt meat and eventually fell asleep after playing a soft protective tune on his panpipes.

With the rain, neither of them noticed the raven in the treetops above, nor did the glyphs of his instrument let him know of its presence. It watched them curiously and acutely, its head tilting from side to side, before it took flight to escape the downpour, its wings carrying it unnaturally fast.

It had much to report to its master.

-x-

When the blond woke, his hair was sopping wet, all the way down to the roots, yet even then he wasn’t cold. In fact, he was very pleasantly warm - even more so than he usually was.

Soft hair brushed against his chest, and for a moment he imagined he was in a warm tavern bed with a beautiful woman. An arm was around him, holding him close, and their head was pressed against his bare chest.

So, had it all been some long nightmare? His hand moved up and gently tangled in the soft hair, and it felt especially nice between his fingers. But then Hizashi felt his ears tremble - inhuman ears - and his eyes snapped open.

Lying on his chest, with an arm wrapped protectively around him, was Shouta Aizawa. Hizashi froze, his fingers caught in the raven hair, as the slayer stirred.

Those odd eyes opened and looked directly into his, and Hizashi’s heart skipped a beat. In fear, he quickly told himself: his heart had skipped a beat in fear.

Aizawa opened his mouth, but Hizashi cut in first with, “I think the rain stopped!” The slayer was rendered speechless by the sheer idiocy of his obvious words, giving Hizashi the time to swallow and add, “And I woke up like this I swear.”

Of course, his fingers were still looped in black hair. It was like he’d been caught red handed, even though he hadn’t been doing anything wrong - Aizawa was the one cuddling up with him!

“...” The slayer pulled himself up and Hizashi instantly let go, accidentally pulling the white feathers from his hair. They hit the muddy ground and were smeared, earning a distasteful look from Aizawa.

Speaking of muddy… “My hair!” gasped Hizashi as he sat up dramatically, feeling his long blond locks. “It’s… It’s… Disgusting !” Mud streaked his hair where he’d slept, and his naked body was caked as well. Aizawa, on the other hand, appeared perfectly clean! What an ironic twist… “Ew, I need a bath…Damn, I miss having hot baths so much…”

Aizawa glanced him over, but was proper enough to keep his eyes from roving below the waist. His expression was soft, especially considering the odd start to their … night. “My friend lives on the outskirts of a town. We can stop in and have a bath before we see her.”

His ears literally perked up. “Like a hot bath?” The slayer nodded once, but then his ears dropped. “Wait… How am I supposed to get into town with horns and a tail without getting hanged, drawn and quartered…?”

Aizawa frowned. “I’ve known plenty of towns that’d accept you. Curses might not be common, but they’re not exactly rare. My dad - not my biological one, but the man who raised me - was cursed for something his parents did, and yet he became an accepted pillar of the community.”

Hizashi rolled his eyes and murmured, “Whatever curse he has, it can’t be worse than mine.”

“He’s literally a bear-dog-mouse hybrid who barely reaches my knee.” His face was so straight that Hizashi knew there was no way he was joking. “Yet he married my mother, raised me, and became the mayor of the village.”

“...He’s a what now?”

“Mayor of the village, although I suppose you’re right - the people around here are a bit unpredictable, but if they’ve got a witch doctor nearby they should be more accepting…”

“Wait, please backtrack and explain. Do your parents actually have- Oh damn, now I can’t get the mental image of them out of my head...”

“But we shouldn’t take any chances. We’ll brainstorm ideas as we near the town. Gather your things.”

Hizashi was confused, but Aizawa elaborated on nothing personal, and he quickly decided to exclude the information of the slayer’s family from his ballad. 

-x-

Even though this was his first time walking through a village in three years, Hizashi couldn’t stop himself from moping.

Firstly, the streets were practically empty, with only a few drunkards hanging around, too lost in their alcoholic stupor to notice the strangers walking through the streets. Hizashi was thankful in a way, because then no one would get to see his abominable hairstyle.

Aizawa had used dried mud to slick it up into a strange standing ordeal that successfully covered his horns and ears, yet made him look completely and utterly ridiculous! His tail was wrapped around his waist, hidden by his robes, and he was loosely wearing Aizawa’s gloves to hide his claws. The boots had been a more difficult accomplishment, but Aizawa had temporarily covered the toe gaps with malleable cloth to hide his other set of claws.

It seemed stupid to go out of their way to cover him up now, considering the empty streets, but Aizawa explained they’d have to get past the innkeeper for the hot bath, so it would be necessary in the end.

They entered the inn, one of the few places with lights still on in the entire village, and the innkeeper was already snoozing on the counter. As the bell jingled above the door, she snapped to attention and blinked at them, almost in a dazed amazement at their sudden appearance, but her eyes were set on Aizawa rather than Hizashi.

“Shouta!” she said loudly, smiling the goofiest grin he had ever seen. “Go out with me!”

“No,” Aizawa said instantly.

She laughed loudly and turned to Hizashi. “Isn’t he such a joker?” she asked, although the question was clearly rhetorical. However, she paused when she looked at the blond’s muddy hair. “Woah! You need another bath? You kids are crazy! I’m guessin’ you want another bed ‘n bath combo - not like you to stay two nights in a row, Shouta!”

They blinked in confusion. Was this some weird joke? He waited for the punchline but she was clearly waiting for him to say something. “Just a hot bath tonight.”

“Okay!” She glanced at Hizashi’s hair, and then grinned eagerly. “Hopefully Aizawa’s not… ‘drag-on’ you around!” She burst out laughing at her own joke.

Hizashi wasn’t sure if she was funny or crazy, but she was certainly something.

“A hot bath,” Aizawa repeated, as stone faced as ever.

“Why have a hot bath when you and I can go on a hot date ?” she asked, flicking her green hair.

“Honey,” Hizashi said slowly, “I can’t tell if you’re joking or if you’re barking up the wrong tree…”

Much to his amazement, she barked… and then proceeded to laugh again. Aizawa nudged Hizashi. “Just ignore her. You’ll live longer.”

“Wow Shouta!” she snorted. “Your jokes are really slaying tonight!”

“...”

“Yeah,” Hizashi suddenly said, feeling his own smile shift into a grin. “I think your jokes are ... off the scales!” Both he and the innkeeper snorted with mirth, probably waking up everyone in the joint.

Aizawa turned to him, his face completely devoid of life. ”You’re my curse.” He turned back to the woman. “Fukukado, one hot bath. We need to see Nemuri before dawn.”

“Okay okay,” she said as she stepped out from behind the counter. “Your bath will be drawn long before dawn!”

As per usual, Hizashi’s interest was well founded: this girl was great! She disappeared into a back room and Hizashi offered the man a snide grin. “You should go on a date with her. Maybe she’d actually make you smile once in a while.”

Aizawa responded by flicking him on the forehead. “You already know I’m exclusively into men.”

“I know,” he said, his voice sounding a little odd, “but she doesn’t seem to know that. What, you never brought a man here before? She mentioned about you having the room two-nights in a row.”

Aizawa shrugged. “I come here too often to see Nemuri. I don’t accept invitations in towns I spend too much time in. Don’t want anyone getting attached. Besides, you know for a fact where I was last night, and it wasn’t here. Probably just a dumb joke.”

Hizashi snorted. “’Don’t want anyone getting attached’? You and I aren’t so different after all.”

“I’ve told you before what the difference was: I don’t sleep with virgins and I only sleep with those who approach me first.”

“Doesn’t change the fact you sleep around. You aren’t looking for anyone to tie you down so you can stay free to-”

“You assume far too much about me,” he murmured, his voice deeper than usual. “Slayers die often. I’m no exception. One day I’ll die, so what’s the point in breaking a lover’s heart?”

Hizashi made a gagging sound. “As I’ve said, Aizawa, romantic love doesn’t exist.”

“It does…”

“Sure,” he said sarcastically. “How would you know? I doubt someone like you has ever been in love!”

The look on Aizawa’s face was pained, as if he’d been stabbed in the chest. His fingers automatically moved to the thick collar around his neck, where the jagged edges of a scar flared beneath, and his body turned away from him. “...”

Something painfully squeezed inside Hizashi to see him so uncharacteristically sombre. He had the gut instinct to grab one of the still-burning candles on the countertop and offer it to him. “Here,” he said, his voice sounding strange in his own ears.

Aizawa looked back, his oddly-coloured eyes flicking back and forth between Hizashi and the burning candle, and for a feared moment Hizashi thought he’d reject it.

Of course he’d reject it! The Other has hurt his alpha! The Other was cruel cruel cruel! His alpha would be happier if there was no Other to hurt him, then alpha would smile and be happy and-

“Yamada,” his alpha said forcibly, his voice suddenly harsh. He grabbed his shoulder and the pain of his fingers wrenched the Other back out.

Hizashi felt sick as he swayed on his feet. “...Huh?” He glanced down at his chest, perfectly illuminated by the candle in his grasp: the curse had spread by an entire inch. His fingers trembled as cold fear gripped him.

Aizawa placed his free hand on Hizashi’s other shoulder and held him tight as he heavily exhaled. “...Yamada… Look at me.” He did. “I can’t accept the candle because it isn’t yours to give… Okay?”

The blond nodded, his head feeling heavy, although he told himself it must’ve been the mud in his hair. “Okay,” he murmured and carefully set it back down on a different table. “...What’ll happen…? If it reaches spring and I haven’t cured the curse…?”

Aizawa shook his head and the act alone spoke volumes. Hizashi swallowed and focused on the pressure of Shouta’s hands on his shoulders. He didn’t want the man to let go: if he did, he might’ve collapsed.

“My mother was a bard,” Hizashi quietly admitted. He didn’t know where it came from, but he felt the need to say it nevertheless. “My parents had a fling, and my father felt obligated to marry her once they realised she was pregnant… He… They…” Hizashi shook his head. “There’s no such thing as love.” He swallowed again and stepped back, letting Aizawa’s hands slip away from his shoulders. He stayed standing as he let himself smile a twisted, bitter smile. “How can something so sweet exist, in a world as cruel as this ?”

Chapter Text

Chapter Ten

Soap

‘One day when I can write

The best words to end a fight

Then everyone will be happy

And then my daddy

Will love me.’

- The Unsung Hopeful Poems of a Child

Fukukado soon reappeared, her smile as bright as daylight. “All ready!” she chirped. “The bath is hot and steamy, just like our date will be once you stop playing hard to get! Both of you better stay clean this time!”

Aizawa grunted non-committedly, after placing some coins down, and walked towards the familiar room out back, although his face was carefully masked. What had Yamada been opening up about before the intrusion?

Hizashi followed him quietly, but of course his silence was only brief. As soon as he saw the large stone tub with steam wafting from the water, he gasped in glee. “A hot bath!” He raced ahead of Aizawa and felt the water, hopping from foot to foot. “Woah, it’s been years! Baby, how I’ve missed you!”

“Isn’t all water hot for you?” Aizawa asked, feigning disinterest.

“After I’m in for a few moments,” he murmured, “but even if I can’t feel it, I know the water’s still cold, but this… ” He ran his fingers through the steaming surface and goofily grinned. “This is gonna be heaven.”

Aizawa grunted and slipped off his bags and cloak, dropping his things into a chaotic pile. “Use one of the buckets to rinse first.”

Hizashi turned to him, his eyes comically wide. “Wait… Why’re you stripping?” Those green eyes darted around the small room, but there was only one bath. It was large, which was why it’d taken a while for Fukukado to heat up the water, but they’d be fairly close together even so.

“I’m having a bath too, and we don’t have time to take them separate since we need to get to Nemuri’s while you’re human.”

Hizashi pursed his lips. “...Fine but, for the record, I’m not into guys, so you’ll have to control yourself when you see my sexy body.”

“The innkeeper,” Aizawa said pointedly, “would you seduce someone like her?”

Hizashi raised an eyebrow. “No way! She seems fun, but she ain’t my type.”

“Exactly.” Hizashi looked confused. “Just because someone is of the gender you’re attracted to, doesn’t mean you automatically want to sleep with them. Besides, I already told you: I don’t like bards.”

The blond huffed a little, but didn’t delve further, and Aizawa was relieved by that: Hizashi hadn’t noticed his attraction to him. Good, nothing to justify. Course that wasn’t why he was bathing with him: Aizawa hadn’t had a hot bath in a long time either, and he wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity.

He stripped his clothes down, but decided to leave the gold bracelet on just in case the dragon was offended. The dragon tooth necklace also stayed, and he didn’t remove the collar around his neck either, but for entirely different reasons. Hizashi had to wash the mud from his hair, so Aizawa was the first in.

The worst part was always the initial dip. The hot water made his scars burn for a few moments, but the pain typically calmed to a dull ache: the consequence of dragon wounds.

He gently rubbed the one on his neck, wishing he’d taken the collar off after all, but it was better to be overly cautious when temporarily courting a dragon.

He took one of the buckets from the side and rinsed the hot water through his hair, letting the heat of the bath soak into his spirit. Soon Hizashi stepped in and Aizawa made the mistake of looking at him.

Now his naked body was lit by the burning candles of the room. The only thing he wore was the round jade necklace, so-

Aizawa looked away before he absorbed any more information, quickly chastising himself. Man, it must’ve been longer than he’d thought since he’d last been with anyone.

The blond moaned with delight as he lowered himself into the water. “Oh man, I’ve missed this~ I was planning to wait ‘til after I was cured but I ain’t complaining!”

He splashed the water over his face and eagerly purred, the sound more animalistic than human, although Aizawa didn’t point that out.

Hizashi’s tail swished through the water, and he was clearly enjoying the sensation until his green eyes fell on- “Soap!” The blond grabbed the bar of soap with his claws and immediately set to work on lathering his hands, but suddenly paused. The look on his face was disturbed, and for a moment Aizawa thought maybe there’d been a bug, but then the blond stared at his nails with disgust. “I’ve got soap under my claws!” He tried desperately to get it out, sticking his tongue out in sharp concentration, but was ultimately unsuccessful. “Whatever,” he said instead, “I guess this is my life now...”

Aizawa rolled his eyes and continued rinsing out his hair, only to hear a slight gasp of pain from the blond. He looked at him again and noticed a hint of red roll down his back.

Hizashi cursed unhappily. “Ouch… Stupid claws! They’re so unwieldy...”

The blond tried again, gingery running the flats of his fingers over his skin, but the going was tedious and ineffective.

Aizawa rolled his eyes and took a spare soap from the side of the bath. “Do you want me to wash your back?” he asked, not really knowing what he was signing up for until after he said it. Dammit. No, it was okay, the blond would refuse and-

“Fine,” Hizashi relented and turned so his back was towards him, “but try anything weird and I’ll scream with my Quirk.”

Aizawa blinked. Right, he’d mentioned having a Quirk called Voice, although he hadn’t explained much about it. Must’ve affected volume then…

Oh dammit he’d agreed…

Aizawa exhaled and moved so he was close, and the first thing he did was move the blond’s long hair away. It was drenched already, but smelled earthy thanks to the mud. He noticed how it clung wetly to Yamada’s supple shoulders, and he then forced himself to not notice that as he slipped it out of his work area.

He went to lather his hands with the soap, but paused at the sight of something carved into the slick surface. There were two words, written in the language of Nippon, and that in itself should’ve been strange enough, if he hadn’t been so caught off-guard by what it said:

‘No Cure’.

Shouta swallowed down the sudden lump in his throat.

“Everything okay?” Hizashi asked, glancing back a little.

“Yeah,” he practically grunted as he lathered his hands and put the soap face down. He had a million questions, but the first thing that came to mind was denial. Of course there was a cure! Even if there wasn’t, he wouldn’t just give up because a bar of soap said so. Who’d even left the message in the first place? It must’ve been some crazy coincidence. He’d take it to Nemuri and see if she had an explanation.

Shouta pushed the emotion down so he could wash Hizashi’s back.

He planned to make this as quick and simple as possible, but he was surprised by the way the blond automatically tensed as soon as his calloused hands touched him: a fear response.

What was he scared of? Had he somehow seen the message too?

Oh… There was the slight scar - the single imperfection - on his soft skin that Aizawa had first noticed when they’d washed in the river together. It was long and thin, caused by something lashing the skin.

“You okay?” Shouta asked gently.

The blond laughed, but there was a nervous twinge to it. “Guess it’s been a while since a person touched me there.”

No, that wasn’t the whole truth, but he didn’t pry honesty from him. The scar was none of his business.

However, his plan shifted with the blond’s discomfort. He kept his movements casual, but was gentler than he’d planned to be, and he avoided the area carefully. The slayer washed the small scratch where the blond had tried to wash his own back and, to his surprise, Hizashi subconsciously leaned into his touches. In response, Aizawa pressed a little harder as he worked his fingers over a firm muscle knot.

He didn’t think it would be pleasant for Yamada: his hands were rough and hard from his lifestyle, but to his surprise the blond gasped gently in pleasure when he pressed a little too hard around his shoulder blade. Something brushed against his leg, and it took him a few moments to realise it was the blond’s tail. It ran lightly against his outer thigh, and he doubted Hizashi even noticed he was doing it.

Aizawa pulled away, but the blond whined and shuffled back a little, knocking against his legs. For a moment he wondered if he’d dipped, but this theory was proven wrong when the blond murmured, “Keep going…”

“Did you want me to wash your back or to give you a complete massage, your highness?” Aizawa asked sarcastically, and it snapped the blond back to reality.

Hizashi instantly pulled away and turned, his face flushed with embarrassment. “Right, thanks, yes.” Aizawa rolled his eyes and moved back to his side of the bath, where he started to soap himself too. “Ah, my claws are a bit unwieldy,” Hizashi said slowly, “but if you want me to return the favour, I-”

“Not necessary,” Aizawa cut in. He was surprised that someone as selfish as the blond had offered at all… “Thanks, but I’m nearly done.” 

Hizashi nodded, clearly a little weirded out from his own earlier reactions, but he quietly washed the rest of the mud from his hair and combed it carefully with his claws.

Aizawa got out first so Yamada could enjoy his bath at least partly alone, and he dried himself thoroughly before he pulled on his pants.

“You’ve got a lot of scars,” commented the blond, and Aizawa looked back. His arms were now leaning on the side of the bathtub as his emerald eyes glanced between the many marks that marred his back.

“Each scar is a lesson,” he said gruffly. “Better to live with scars than to not live at all.”

Hizashi pointed to a mark on the centre of his back. “What’s that one from?”

“Was once late to class - was never late again.”

He whistled. “Harsh. What about that one?” He pointed to a burn that covered his right elbow.

“Was using Erasure on one dragon, not realising it had a bond. Would’ve been a lot worse if I hadn’t heard it approach at the last moment. Now I know to survey the area before initiating an attack.” He tested the arm a little, but it moved fine. Nemuri wasn’t really a doctor but her healing salves were amazing.

Hizashi grinned, like it was some game, and honestly Aizawa didn’t mind this. “That one?” He gestured to a slice on his left shoulder blade.

“Got into a scrap with another dragon slayer two years ago.” Aizawa grinned slightly, although he didn’t really notice. “I learnt not to cheat at poker.”

The blond laughed a little. “Beneath your eye?”

“I looked away from a dragon and it lashed me across the face with its tail - unlike you, this one had a spike on the end. Was lucky I didn’t lose the eye.”

“And the lesson?”

“Always keep eye contact with a dragon, or else it might get upset.”

The blond paused thoughtfully. Right, he was smart: he must’ve instantly linked the information to why Aizawa kept up eye contact a lot.

“I also learnt,” Aizawa added, “that sometimes a bit of luck can go a long way.”

Hizashi snickered, but then his eyes dipped a little lower and he pointed out the scar on his neck: the one mostly obscured by the collar. “What about that one?” Aizawa’s body went rigid and his smile instantly fell. An almost panicked expression crossed Hizashi’s face at the dramatic change. “Hey, you don’t have to answer if-”

Aizawa shook his head and turned away from him. “I was travelling with Nemuri and… a dragon tried to kill her. I stepped in the way, and my throat was torn open. I … killed him to save her, and nearly died myself. I would have died had she not healed me…” He swallowed and trailed his fingers over the leather collar. The scar ached beneath. “The lesson I learned was a simple one… Curses don’t transfer if the victim is already consumed.”

His hand trailed down to where he’d once worn the grey scales, even though he knew they were long gone. However, his hand did touch something: Hizashi’s dragon tooth necklace. His fingers brushed over the smooth ridges and something calmed inside him. The ache of his scars lessened.

The room felt cold, despite the steam, and Aizawa pulled on the rest of his clothes - all except his cloak. He only paused when Hizashi quietly said, “Thanks… for the bath. It means a lot to me.” The blond turned away from him, and Shouta used the opportunity to swipe the inscribed bar of soap from the edge of the bath.

“I can tell,” he said softly as he sat by the door. “Finish up soon though - we’ve got to see Nemuri before the sun rises.”

He put the soap away into one of his small pouches, the carved words of his homeland ringing through his head.

‘No Cure’.

-x-

Hizashi followed Aizawa quietly. There were so many questions he had about the dragon slayer, yet he didn’t dare to ask him. How could he? The man was already helping him, with the only reward being one less dragon in the world - whether he failed or succeeded. This man was either going to save him or kill him…

No, whatever happened, whether they failed or succeeded in breaking the curse, this slayer was going to save him.

Around Hizashi billowed Aizawa’s green cloak, and it smelled far nicer than he’d originally thought it would. The scent was of leaves and berries and flowers, all natural yet all subtle too. The hood was pulled up, and his horns had been pierced through the material.

When the innkeeper saw them, she grinned, but before Aizawa had spoken, Hizashi had stepped in and regaled her with the ‘fact’ that dragons had a natural aversion to attacking creatures with horns, so the ‘accessories’ (that were totally attached to the cloak and not to his skull) were all a cunning ruse to confuse poor lizard brains.

Of course it was all bullshit, but they were the experts, so he didn’t think she’d question it. She’d laughed, as predicted, but then she said, “Good one! If anyone questions it, you can always get straight ‘to the point’!”

“Aren’t you sharp, listener!”

Aizawa shoved him out the door, just as Fukukado called out, “Good luck with the curse!”

Hizashi glanced at Shouta in surprise, but he just shrugged it off. “You do have a huge, growing curse mark on your chest…”

“I suppose…” He didn’t question it further. The streets were just as empty as before, and the moon was growing slimmer and slimmer by the night. However, despite the lessening light, he could finally see their destination in the distance. How did he know it was their destination? Well, it was a witch’s hut.

The place sat outside the town, with a field of flowerless shrubs surrounding it, giving the impression of a barren no-man’s-land. Clearly it was rarely traversed, and who could really blame the townspeople for avoiding the area when they saw the hut beyond.

The wooden abode was small and twisted, with a dented chimney and a ring of dead grass, all encased within an unkempt brown picket fence. Everything seemed to be falling apart, and cobwebs were so thick across the front landing that he could spy them from far away. A sinister chill crept up his spine and his steps might’ve slowed had Aizawa not been setting such a steadfast pace.

Of course this slayer would be friends with someone who lived in a place like that! It looked like it’d collapse at any moment!

He was busy trying to figure out ways of describing it for his ballad, when they started to cross the dry landscape, and his thoughts stopped when he noticed something strange.

The image of the house seemed to shimmer as he grew nearer, but only for a moment. He blinked a few times, but the sight stayed the same until they reached an iron-wrought gate in the picket fence.

Aizawa didn’t even hesitate to swing it open for them, and instantly the decrepit image melted away as they saw through the glamour.

The lawn beyond was green and neat, and the white cottage house was covered in beautiful assortments of flowers, all neatly maintained in pots and garden beds. There were no more cobwebs, although there were several butterflies he kept his eyes on, lest they fly near him. Despite the night, the place seemed brightly lit, as if it were perpetually day in the small plot of land - although his form didn’t alter.

Pink smoke puffed from the chimney, and the entire place smelled of lavender and cinnamon. This… was actually a really pretty place. They stepped inside the gate, where a small stone pathway led to the porch.

“Right,” he murmured, “she’s a witch.”

“A witch doctor ,” corrected a female voice from just behind them.

Hizashi practically leapt from his skin as he spun around, backing up a few paces towards the house, although Aizawa turned more calmly to face the stranger.

Sure enough, a beautiful woman stood just behind them, her long dark hair topped with an oversized hat that was decorated with a bundle of poppies. About her neck was a bird-skull necklace, and her eyes were a piercing blue. “Hizashi Yamada and Shouta Aizawa,” she said with a wide, almost nefarious grin, “I’ve been expecting you.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Eleven

Bottling Attraction

‘Magic is seeped into every part of a dragon, potent enough that even those without the ability to tap into its essence will pay a small fortune for a single scale or tooth to keep for good luck. The real value, however, comes to those with the skills to brew the pieces into powerful potions, or imbue them with spells, like those to hide, or those to find.’

 - A Complete Guide to Dragons by Eraserhead

The witch held her hand out to Hizashi, her palm almost engulfed by her puffy sleeve. “Nemuri Kayama,” she introduced, and when he offered his own hand, she squeezed it so hard it hurt. The witch pulled his palm up, nearly twisting his wrist as she pulled off the ill fitting glove, and she pried his fingers apart. A whistle escaped her lips. “That’s one hell of a love line ya got there!”

She cackled and he was able to wrench his hand away and rub it until the pain faded. Any interest he might’ve had in the beautiful woman instantly died. He couldn’t keep himself from pouting as he asked, “How’d you know my name?”

“I told you! I’ve been expecting you for a while now!” They heard a bird cry, and from the sky emerged a fine raven, which immediately perched itself on her arm. “Tensei here’s been following you for several days now, just to make sure you were making decent progress.” She cooed and scratched the bird’s chest. “You were so good! Who’s a fast boy? Who’s a fast boy? You’re a fast boy!”

The raven unhappily squawked and pushed her hand away slowly with its wing, the act oddly human. She tossed the glove back to Hizashi, and he used the opportunity to pull off the other and return the pair to Shouta, who simply tied them to his belt for now.

“Where were you?” Aizawa asked, surprising them both. “You don’t leave your home without reason.” Hizashi had assumed she’d popped in with magic, but was Shouta insinuating she’d followed them from the town?

The witch pursed her lips. “I have friends other than you, you know…”

“Do you?”

“Wow! Rude!”

Hizashi stared at the bird on her arm, before a quick memory surfaced of seeing it once in dragon form, although he hadn’t thought too deeply about its presence. “Then you already know of my predicament! Quick, I need something to rid myself of this curse before it-”

He was stopped by Aizawa. “It isn’t going to be that simple.”

The blond turned to him in surprise. “Huh?” However, the man didn’t expand on it. Wait, what did Aizawa know that he didn’t?

Nemuri exhaled and his eyes turned back to her. “Come inside. I’ll brew you some tea and we’ll talk about curing your curse.”

She slipped between them, the bird sitting proudly on her shoulder as she climbed the porch steps and opened the front door. Aizawa and Hizashi followed behind, and the blonde pulled the green hood from over his head. If the outside of the house had been pretty, the inside was horrifying .

The place was cluttered with old furniture, and the walls were packed with shelves and shelves of jars and bones and burning candles. From the ceiling hung clumps of dried leaves and herbs, as well as a few dream catchers and wind chimes. A small pink fire burned in the fireplace, while at the centre of the room was another fire with a large iron-cast cauldron sitting atop. Something boiled away inside it, and Nemuri was quick to pick up a large wooden spoon and stir the questionable contents.

Meanwhile, Tensei the raven flew off into another room, and returned carrying a teacup in its beak, before making the same trek several more times until four cups now sat on a table beside the cauldron. Hizashi was about to ask what she was brewing (and if it would solve his problem) but was distracted once she poured the concoction into the teacups and passed them around.

Hizashi stared into his own reflection in the cup, almost expecting it to change, but the sweet-smelling liquid didn’t alter. “What’s this?”

“Tea,” said Nemuri with an odd look. “I told you I’d brew some. Drink up.”

Hizashi scratched his neck, still unsure if he should, but he saw Aizawa drink it down without hesitation. He sipped it and felt a soft calm ease through him. It actually tasted nice, if a little bitter, and Nemuri sipped her own cup before continuing.

“Now, you’ve been cursed to be a dragon during the day and a hybrid during the night,” she said calmly. “Unfortunately, the curse on you is a powerful one, only castable by the strongest witches and warlocks. I have an idea about who probably did it, but she’s elusive, and even the caster wouldn’t be able to undo the spell now, especially at the level with which it has spread, so there’s no point in finding them.”

Aizawa grunted. “You really messed up.”

Hizashi huffed. “Okay, so how can I fix it?”

She pulled a thoughtful expression and tilted her head from side to side as she mulled it over. “ I can’t cure it,” Nemuri said, “buuuuuuut I can tell you what the inscription is.”

“The ‘inscription’?”

The witch bobbed her head in a nod and smiled. “Right! Whenever a curse is placed, it must have a breakable clause - kinda like fine print - and those with magic can read what the clause is! I can read it for you, and it should tell you how to break the spell!”

Hizashi was a little peeved that there’d be another leg to their journey, but if she couldn’t break it then they needed to find out what could. “Okay, tell me.”

She paused, glanced between them, and her smile grew more devious. “First, I’ll need payment.”

Before Hizashi could complain, Aizawa spoke up. “What sort of payment?”

She laughed coyly and twirled a lock of hair between her fingers. “You see, I brew potions for the nearby townspeople, and for travellers near and far. My most popular potion, however, is the hardest to come by.” They were silent, but she was happy to clarify without prompting. “Love potions, of course!”

Hizashi stared at her for a moment, before suddenly bursting with laughter. “Love potions! No offense, but that sounds crazy ! What, you bottle ‘love’ and sell it to others?”

She snorted. “Don’t be stupid; you can’t bottle love! The name’s a lie. You see, what I bottle for a love potion is actually attraction ! Trust me, it works like a charm!”

Hizashi fell silent. Aizawa stepped in again. “How’re we gonna get you ‘attraction’?”

“Easy!” Nemuri declared with a grin. “All you gotta do is kiss, and I’ll tell you all about the spell!”

Hizashi stared at her in shock. “But we’re both guys and I’m-” A hand grabbed the front of his cloak, and the next thing he knew his lips were pressed against warmth.

His eyes widened as he stared into Aizawa’s face, but the slayer’s eyes were closed as he kissed him. The blond’s heart started racing and his mind stopped working altogether, but before he could do anything, the man had already pulled away.

“There,” Aizawa said simply, releasing the front of his robe. “We kissed.”

“ YOU COULD’VE AT LEAST GIVEN ME SOME WARNING!”

He watched as Aizawa’s dark hair blew to the side, thanks to his voice, and everything in the room rattled. Hizashi gasped and clamped his hands over his mouth in complete shock.

It was the first time he’d used his Quirk since…

Aizawa grunted and rubbed his ears, but didn’t comment on the Quirk. “You would’ve wasted too much time. It’s done now.”

Hizashi scowled, but couldn’t really argue with that: it was done now. He had officially kissed a guy…

Nemuri watched them with an unhappy pout. “Unfair,” she said as she tossed something into the pot and started stirring, her cheeks dusted with slight pink. “I wanted a heated kiss…”

“You said a kiss and we kissed,” said Aizawa, face blank. “Read the curse’s clause.”

She sighed and grabbed a leaf from one of the hanging bundles as she moved in front of Hizashi. “Hold still.”

He did so and she ran the leaf across the curse mark before tossing it into the cauldron. The tea inside turned emerald green, and smoke billowed as she added several more ingredients to the concoction. She used the spoon to wave the smoke around while she muttered an odd language beneath her breath, and soon the emerald smoke wrapped around them like a veil. Her eyes suddenly opened, mirrored pools of green, as words etched themselves into the cloud, and Nemuri read them in an otherworldly voice.

“Serpent with a tongue of sun,

Hoarder of the hearts you’ve won.

A notch for you, the tears they’ve lost,

Your voice of sweet became the cost.

In a place of fear you’ll find,

One who’ll save you with their bind.

A ring of teeth shall set you free,

When life is lost: your lover’s fee.

Not just lust and not just sight,

Once love is your true guiding light.”

The smoke swirled for several moments longer, but the words dipped away. Rather than rush out the chimney, the clouds were vacuumed back into the cauldron and completely disappeared. Hizashi swallowed, expecting something more, but everything was silent. “...Okay,” he said slowly, “but what does it mean?”

“No clue!” she declared eagerly, her eyes back to normal. “I can only read the clause: I don’t have insight into what it means. It’s like reading a bottle of toothpaste! You can list all the ingredients, but understanding what they are is another story entirely!” They stared at her blankly and she rolled her eyes. “Trust me, that one will make sense in a few hundred years.”

“Well the curse’s clause is clearly a joke!” he snorted. “Love? A lover? Complete and utter fiction!” He scratched the back of his head and looked away. “Besides, it sounds like it wants someone to die for me… ‘When life is lost’... No thank you. I’d rather die!”

No one deserved to die in his place.

She sighed. “Well, that’s how you can break the curse…”

“What about the pool?” Aizawa asked gently, catching the attention of Hizashi and Nemuri. “The one that’s said to grant healing wishes.”

Nemuri tilted her head a little, but her expression was blank. “It should work, but I can’t tell you the way there. I could show you, but… After last time, I imagine that’s the last thing you want.” Hizashi glanced between them, but her odd wording was given no explanation. “Thankfully, you already have something I can enchant.”

Around Aizawa’s neck was one of Hizashi’s dragon teeth, as pearly white as his human teeth. The man nodded. “This idiot accidentally snapped it off.”

“Dragon teeth make excellent vessels!” she declared, her eyes sparkling. “I’ll imbue it with a locator spell that’ll lead you to whatever can break your curse! It’ll point you straight there!”

Hizashi brightened, but his excitement was dampened when Aizawa asked, “And what’ll be the cost of the spell?” The blond’s ears instantly fell. Right: the cost…

Her smile twisted maliciously, and she tossed something in the cauldron that turned the stew pink. “I need more attraction, but it’ll have to be stronger than just a peck. You’ll have to kiss again , but this time it needs to be a real kiss with plenty of tongue and touching and everything in between.”

Hizashi instantly stepped away from Aizawa before he had any funny ideas. “How is that even possible? That you collect ‘attraction’ when we kiss, and then you bottle it and put it in potions?”

She shrugged and held out her hands innocently. “Haven’t you ever heard of ‘chemistry’?” After she said it, the raven’s beak clicked twice against the wooden table and once against the teacup, creating an odd mixture of sounds. Nemuri cackled and eagerly added, “And that’s called a drum snare! Thanks Tensei! Emi would be proud!” The raven cawed. Hizashi was unamused.

“I’m not kissing him.”

“Then you’re not getting cured unless you figure out why someone has to give their life for you!” She shrugged and shook her head, as if she couldn’t help any further.

Aizawa sighed. “It’s just a kiss, Yamada,” he said evenly. “It won’t mean anything, and we don’t need to ever talk about it again. We need the spell.”

“You’re a guy!” he argued. “I’m not into guys!”

“Then pretend I’m a girl.”

“That’s difficult to do since most girls don’t have facial hair!” He huffed and crossed his arms. “Why are you so intent on kissing me anyway?”

Aizawa shook his head. “We came all this way already, and since you don’t want to use the spell clause, this is the only way we can break the curse. I’m not going to force you, but if you become a complete dragon then I’ll have to kill you, and I don’t want it to reach that stage.”

Hizashi bit his lip and frowned at Nemuri. “There must be another way…”

She shook her head and wiggled her spoon. “You could give me a limb - a hand or a foot. They’re great for lucky charms.”

He groaned unhappily and turned to Aizawa. “Does it really have to be you ?”

The slayer rolled his weighty shoulders. “You think I’m happy with this? You’re a bard. Still, I can do the kissing if it’ll spare your inflated ego. You can think of it as ‘I kissed you’ rather than ‘you kissed me’.”

Hizashi swallowed, but reluctantly nodded. “ Fine , but just for the record, I’m not happy either.”

Aizawa grunted and stepped closer, and the blond had to resist the urge to step back. The slayer’s hands came up to his face and gently cupped his cheeks. His palms were rough and calloused, and he could sense the strength behind the soft grip of each one. He was used to soft, small hands touching him: not ones like Aizawa’s.

Warm breath brushed against his face as the slayer drew closer, and Hizashi quickly closed his eyes as a slight panic set in. Then rough lips pressed against his, and the panic instantly died. The scent of Aizawa filled him: the smell of earth and warmth and rain.

The press of lips started firm, but eased back a little after initial contact, until the touch was gentle, only for him to press firmer once his lips moved against his. It didn’t seem too bad, but then Aizawa’s tongue brushed against his bottom lip, and a tremble ran up Hizashi’s spine. Part of him wanted to pull away and declare the kiss enough - although he knew it wasn’t - while another part of him wanted to open his mouth and let this man taste him. He wanted to blame the latter on his dragon brain, but even though he knew little about dragons, it was fair to guess kissing was more a human thing.

Whatever the majority or minority in his mind was, Hizashi hesitantly opened his mouth. Aizawa pressed close against him, one of his hands moving to the back of his neck so he could support him, and then a tongue brushed against his own and his overthinking instantly stopped.

Aizawa’s lips continued to move with his as he explored Hizashi’s mouth, running over his tongue and cheeks and palate and teeth - not a centimetre went untouched. Meanwhile, his coarse facial hair scratched against his face, but the roughness wasn’t exactly unpleasant, as he’d imagined it would be.

Once the tongue had explored everything, Aizawa focused on areas that made Hizashi involuntarily squirm. Firstly was his own tongue, which was brushed against teasingly, as if he were trying to urge the blond into kissing back, and the urging worked.

Hizashi pressed back against the kiss, not used to being on the submissive side of a situation like this.

He tried to grab at the front of Aizawa’s doublet, but his claws slid off the leather, so he was forced to wrap his arms around the slayer’s neck instead, lest his legs give out on him as he finally slid his own tongue along Shouta’s.

That was all the encouragement the raven-haired man needed to start really kissing him. The hand on his cheek slipped down to the small of Hizashi’s back as he held him close, and his tongue ravished his mouth. The blond softly moaned as the taste of Shouta filled his senses, and their tongues clashed and ran together to create an array of sweet sensations that sent shivers up (and down) his spine.

His face felt hot - in fact his entire body did - and the kiss became more chaotic, more desperate, more amazing. Wow, even their bodies felt good together. The hand on the small of his back was comforting, especially for someone as touch starved as the blond. They were about the same height but, when pressed against the other man’s thick frame, he felt smaller and strange. Shouta could’ve snapped him like a twig if he so wished, but he didn’t. Even the rough way they kissed was perfectly painless, and the blond’s body was soon trembling with something he hadn’t felt for three years: desire.

The foreign tongue suddenly retreated, as if he was about to end the kiss, but something screamed in Hizashi’s mind. He didn’t want it to end yet, so he thrust his own tongue into Shouta’s mouth. He was initially assaulted by the bitter taste, now intensified tenfold, but it didn’t distract him from continuing their duel as he pressed their bodies tightly together.

Hizashi was starting to grow lightheaded and at first he wasn’t sure why. Then Shouta’s rough hands returned to his cheeks as he practically pried them apart. As soon as their lips parted, the blond automatically inhaled a deep breath of oxygen, and he quickly realised why he’d felt so oddly lightheaded as they both started panting. His face tingled where coarse facial hair had scraped against it.

-o-

Shouta did the worst thing he possibly could after pulling away from the kiss: he looked at Hizashi’s face. His cheeks were dusted with a fine rosy red, his hot lips slick with saliva, and his emerald eyes were glazed with a layer of what was undoubtedly lust .

A thin line of saliva joined them together, and Shouta was torn between shoving him away and kissing him again. His heart was hammering in his chest. If it’d been anyone else who’d kissed him like that, he certainly would’ve done the latter, but this was Hizashi Yamada , the current bane of his existence!

He was irritating! He was egotistical! He was selfish! He was-

...A good kisser.

Aizawa mindlessly started to move closer again, but the haze was interrupted by Nemuri - he’d forgotten she was watching. “Woah, woah, woah, even I think that’s more than enough! You keep kissing and I’ll be the one in debt!”

He froze as cold realisation hit him again, this time more bluntly. Right, they’d been kissing for Nemuri’s price. He saw the same shock of realisation reach Hizashi’s expression too. They pulled themselves away and put several metres of space between them. The blond didn’t even look at him, and Aizawa internally cursed - he’d chide Nemuri about it later.

When he looked at her, he wasn’t at all surprised to see her face flushed too, with a trail of blood running from one of her nostrils. “Such passion! That’ll definitely be enough attraction!” She flipped her wooden spoon around, revealing the handle to be a wand that she tapped twice on the edge of her cauldron, although nothing seemed to happen. “Right, you admittedly went a little overboard, so to compensate I’m willing to let you stay here until tomorrow night. Dragon boy can sleep in the yard, since the glamour will hide him from the town.” She wiped the blood away. “So, toss the necklace here and I’ll activate the spell that’ll take you straigh- right to the pool!”

“What is this pool anyway?” asked Hizashi, noticeably not looking at him. His voice was unsettled. “You mentioned healing?”

She nodded eagerly. “It’s known as the Recovery Spring and is said to be watched and maintained by a beautiful fairy. One may enter the pool and be healed of wounds and curses, so long as they haven’t already been completely consumed.”

Shouta shivered - it was the same speech she’d said last time that had filled him with such hope… Of course, last time they’d never even reached the pool before the curse finished spreading, but this time would be different. Even if Hizashi Yamada now hated him for the kiss, Shouta would save him.

He wouldn’t fail him, as he had failed Shirakumo six years ago.

Chapter Text

Chapter Twelve

Gentle Stirring

“I’d really like to kiss you

But I think that I would miss you

And my daddy wouldn’t love me

If you kissed me.”

-          The Unsung Hopeful Poems of a Child

Hizashi’s lips were still tingling, and he hated it. Dammit, why was the wild guy such a good kisser? No, it didn’t matter, it had probably been something in the tea! Right, the witch had probably spiked it with something weird, because there was no way he’d actually enjoyed being kissed by a man!

Aizawa pulled the dragon tooth from around his neck and held it out to Nemuri, who instantly dropped it in the cauldron. “Okay! I’ll put a spell on it so when you dangle it, it’ll point towards what’ll break the curse, which should point towards the Recovery Pool.”

She grabbed some things from the shelves and tossed them in her pot, before waving her wooden spoon/wand over the pot and chanting something in another language. A golden glow filled the small room, and Hizashi had to shield his eyes from it.

The illumination quickly died away and he curiously watched as she pulled the necklace from the pot. Liquid rolled off the tooth, which now seemed somehow brighter than before. She swayed it in a circle, and to his amazement it froze, defying gravity as it pointed… towards Aizawa.

Hizashi’s stomach dropped.

The slayer, however, was undeterred as he took the necklace from Nemuri and turned around. Despite his change in position, the dragon tooth hadn’t moved to point at him, and had instead been pointing at the wall beyond Aizawa, probably to the northwest. “That’s where the pool is?” the slayer asked and Nemuri nodded.

A wave of relief swept through Hizashi. He was just being paranoid! The blond accidentally made eye contact with Aizawa, and then instantly looked away. Dammit…

It would be fine: the slayer had promised not to talk about the kiss and he had no plans to either.

The man put the necklace back on, and it hung lazily around his neck. “If you need to check the direction,” the witch said with a smile, “just take it off and hold it out, and it’ll point the way.”

“Thanks, Nemuri,” said the slayer. “I’m gonna wake up Sekijiro at the general store and get some supplies. I’ll be back by morning. You can use your Quirk to make sure Yamada stays out of trouble once he’s in dragon form.”

The blond went to protest, but stopped: Aizawa had a point.

“No worries~!” cooed Nemuri happily. “I’ll look after blondie while you’re gone! I’m sure he and I have much to talk about!” Aizawa grunted and left the cottage without looking back, leaving Hizashi all alone with a witch and a raven. She instantly beelined for him and grabbed him by the shoulders, her eyes sparkling like jewels. “Tell me everything about your journey so far!”

Hizashi paused. Besides Aizawa, this was the first person who knew about his curse who wasn’t deathly afraid of him. His eyes widened with awe. “Do you have a lute?”

-x-

“And so did we both seek to mend,

The balladeer’s curse shall near its end!”

He strummed one more time on the lute and fell silent, a grin tugging at his lips as his great masterpiece came to a conclusion. Of course it would end differently once the story was finished, but life was a work-in-progress.

Nemuri eagerly applauded, and even the raven fluttered its wings together in a replication of the act. “Bravo! Bravo” she called out happily. “I especially loved your descriptions of Shouta! He’s definitely become a bit of a wild man!”

“Become?” Hizashi asked with a snort. “I bet he was born like that. Can take men out of the wild, but you can never take the wild out of men, as my mother always used to say.” He tried not to flinch after he said it though, for his mother had used the phrase with very different connotations.

She shrugged and kicked her feet. “Well, he wasn’t always such a weird, wild loner… What happened to the scales he used to wear? You didn’t mention them.”

Hizashi paused and scratched the back of his head. “He… had a ‘funeral’ for them…” Nemuri nodded solemnly, and he frowned. “I don’t get why though - it was just a dragon.”

She looked surprised. “Wait… He hasn’t told-” Nemuri groaned. “Dammit Shouta, you need to talk through stuff!”

He frowned. “Hasn’t told me what ?”

“Screw him, I’m gonna be the adult and tell you! Aizawa didn’t always slay dragons alone. Six years ago, a dragon was just a monster he’d been trained to kill, carve up and sell the pieces of, and he didn’t do it alone: he used to have a partner.”

“A partner ?” Hizashi blinked in surprise. Aizawa had travelled with someone willingly? 

She nodded and stood up, brewing something different in her cauldron that smelled… delicious. “Yeah, a partner. They were childhood friends who left home together to become wandering dragon slayers. It was fine, until they were nineteen. They took down a dragon, not knowing she was cursed…”

The pieces suddenly clicked in his head. “His friend landed the killing blow?” She nodded and he swallowed. “So the curse jumped to his friend and...”

If you kill someone who is cursed, there’s a good chance the curse will get transferred to the killer. This renders it practically incurable… If you have the curse there’s a chance it’ll be cured. However, if it transferred to someone else… They’d be doomed…

“He couldn’t stave it off as well as you could,” she said softly. “You were alike, but very different, and when he inherited the curse it was already far gone. I was their friend, so I agreed to travel with them to guide them to the pool, but…”

I was travelling with Nemuri and… a dragon tried to kill her. I stepped in the way, and my throat was torn open. I … killed him to save her, and nearly died myself. I would have died had she not healed me… The lesson I learned was a simple one… Curses don’t transfer if the victim is already consumed.

“Aizawa killed him,” he said, and the air grew still.

“The circumstances are similar, but they’re different too,” she said, perhaps trying to comfort him. “The dragon mind his friend inherited was the woman’s, and she’d been feral long before they killed her. Aizawa didn’t kill his partner - the curse already had - but I know he doesn’t see it like that… So, he did what he’d never done before: he buried the Dragon Fruit and cut some skin from the beast for armour. In his mind, it’s what his friend would’ve wanted: to go on to protect him, even in death.”

Hizashi swallowed as the full weight of the funeral sunk in. Aizawa gave up the last comfort of his dead friend to keep his curse from spreading faster. He was silent with guilt.

“...May I read your palm?” she asked, holding out her hand. “ Properly this time.”

“Sure, listener,” he said, his mind still distracted by the story as he offered his palm to her, and she ran her fingers over the lines.

She studied it carefully, her eyes sharp and precise. “This one here if your lifeline, but it has a few breaks in it. Seems like you’ve experienced your own trauma, early on in life.” He swallowed, but didn’t comment. “You were rarely alone before the break…” She ran her finger over that spot. “Early teens… You lost someone special, and your whole life changed… But you’re strong, even if you don’t realise just how strong you are.”

He was quiet, and her attention moved to another line on his palm.

“This is your head line,” Nemuri told him. “You have an excellent memory, and your creativity is one of your strongest aspects. However, trusting others doesn’t come naturally to you, and when the going gets tough you’re quick to run from your problems. You yearn for attention, yet have an aversion to others becoming dependent on you, and you have a tendency towards being superficial to hide your vulnerabilities. You’re insecure, yet you hide it behind a mask of egotism and narcissism. You need to be in control of a situation, and you’re the sort to always have backup plans in case things go awry.”

Hizashi snorted. “I’m not insecure! I’m the greatest bard to have ever lived!”

She smacked him on the head with her wooden spoon, and he hissed in pain. “Thanks for proving my point! Now… Your heart line.” He rolled his eyes, but waited. Nemuri had been surprisingly accurate so far, so… She smiled sadly, and her voice had softened. “You were nearly in love once, a long time ago, but something sinister stood in the way and the wound has never healed. Now you keep your heart barred behind tall walls. You’ve tried to fix it superficially with sex, and you’ve convinced yourself that love does not exist, yet secretly you want to be proven wrong. You’re someone who loves rarely, yet who loves more deeply than most can even fathom, once you find someone who can heal your heart.”

He swallowed and tried to say something about how wrong she was, but before he could she encased his hand and held it to her forehead. Her eyes flashed green.

“Through turmoil and strife, you shall find true, unconditional love – the love you nearly had so long ago. Together you will be the sun and moon, and your life will be filled with music and song. Individually you are strong, but together you can move mountains and change everything . Learn to trust yourself, learn to let them depend on you, and let yourself love deeply and true. From your quest, a choice shall arise, with two paths stretching into the future, each with its own rewards and consequences. One shall bring you power and misery; the other fear and joy. Along both you will learn of love and loss.” The green shimmer disappeared as she closed her eyes. “To accept the future, you must accept your past. Only blood can wipe out blood, and only tears can heal...”

“...What do you mean…?” he asked, but she shook her head and glanced down.

“Yamada, there was one part of the clause I didn’t reveal earlier… It had two more lines, but I didn’t think Shouta needed to hear them.”

He stared at her in amazement. “What? Why didn’t you say something sooner? Tell me!”

She exhaled and hovered her hand over the curse mark… No, her hand was over his heart. This time she said the words in her own voice.

“Your father’s curse is your curse too;

Embraced disgrace be your undo.”

He swallowed, and he was actually glad she hadn’t said it earlier with Aizawa present, because he would have questioned it too literally.

Hizashi’s hands came up and grabbed his own arms as he held himself for reassurance. He felt sick at the poem’s accusation.

It wasn’t a line about how to break the curse: it was how he’d come to earn it.

No, he wasn’t anything like him! He wasn’t! He...

She stood and moved to the pot, stirring in more ingredients for dinner. Nothing more was said. He picked up the lute and started to play.

-x-

Sekijiro loaded up the bag of supplies for him as Shouta pulled the correct coinage from his pouch. His fingers brushed over two small stones and a really-neat-looking leaf and for a moment he thought back to the bath, to how Hizashi had grinned at him as he’d asked about his scars.

However, he then recalled the way the blond had avoided looking at him at all in the hut and the feeling of gentle warmth dampened.

“You sure you’re not willing to part with those?” The general store owner indicated to the dragon tooth necklace and the golden bracelet.

Aizawa grunted as he took the loaded bag. It didn’t feel too heavy now, but supplies had a tendency to get heavier the longer you carried them (especially with a literal hoarder for a companion). “Thanks,” he said, ignoring the question altogether.

“Well, come back if you ever have more gold to spend.”

He grunted again and was out the door. If he hadn’t given himself the time limit of reaching the hut before sunrise, he might’ve taken a long route back just to delay the awkwardness that would dirty the air between them.

His mind wandered to the kiss, but he immediately made it trail back to reality.  It had been a one time thing and there was no way he had actually enjoyed it!

As he neared Nemuri’s place, however, he was welcomed with the sound of soft music and a beautiful voice.

“ When my lover was a dancer, her skin was sweet as dew,

Now she sleeps beneath the dirt, her eyes a hollowed hue.”

It was the end of the popular piece, and Aizawa recognised both the song and singer. The song was sung throughout this land and he’d heard it a number of times when he’d been more frequent to taverns and cities, while the voice belonged to none other than Hizashi Yamada.

As conceited as he was, he wasn’t lying about his musical prowess. Shouta’s hand moved to the dragon tooth around his neck, and he felt a soft reassurance from the subtle ridges.

He entered the house without knocking, surprising the blond so much with his sudden presence that his ears raised, and then instantly lowered once he realised it was just him.

Nemuri beamed brightly. “Hey! Hungry? I’ve made stew!”

He grunted and put his bags down. “Sure.” Tensei ferried several wooden bowls to the witch, which she filled with a heaping of savoury stew and then offered to both Hizashi and Shouta. The blond took it and moved outside to eat on the cottage’s front steps.

The slayer turned away from the front door and sat himself down on the couch. The soup was salty, with chunks of vegetables and meat, and it was a nice treat after the travelling they’d done thus far. He ate it quickly while Nemuri cast a few cleaning spells, although she didn’t say anything to him.

Soon, he finished up the soup and went to check on Hizashi outside, finding him on the step, mindlessly turning his jade necklace this way and that. “You okay?” Aizawa asked as he sat himself near him.

Hizashi's first response was to scoot slightly away, although he tried to mask this by turning towards him. He still had the lute. “Yeah…”

The slayer gestured vaguely at the instrument. “You play well. Self-taught?”

The blond shook his head. “My mother taught me…” He strummed his fingers over the strings, and the sound vibrated over the soft night air. Soon the sun would rise and Nemuri would force him to sleep.

“... I can ask Nemuri if she can lend it to you,” he said, although his mind was at war. It was illogical to bring: the weight was unnecessary and the sound could attract unwanted attention. Even so, he didn’t rescind the offer.

Hizashi’s eyes went wide. “Think she’d say yes?” he asked, a buzz of joy about his appearance.

“If she doesn’t, I’ll get you one…”

His ears perked forward again, but then lowered back in suspicion. “What’s the catch?”

“...It’ll be an apology for the kiss,” he said quietly. “And don’t worry, that’s all I’ll say about it.”

The blond glanced away while scratching the back of his head. “... I’m sorry about your friend.” Aizawa stared at him in shock. “The witch told me about him - Shirakumo, right?”

The slayer swallowed and looked at his feet. Damn that witch… “I’ve changed a lot since then…”

“I appreciate what you did, with burying his scales. I didn’t know at the time, but that must’ve been ultra-hard for you, and I appreciate everything you do…” He fidgeted a little. “And you were a pretty good kisser…” Hizashi’s face turned bright red. “Not that I’m saying I’d ever want to kiss you again, I’m just saying if I was in a life or death situation and someone told me I had to say whether you were a good kisser or a bad kisser, I’d say you were a good kisser, but then again it could be that I’m such an amazing kisser that I just didn’t notice you were a bad kisser, but-”

“Thanks,” Aizawa said, cutting off his rambling. “You were too.”

They sat in silence for a little longer, staring at the lavender sky, until Hizashi softly said, “...He wasn’t your friend… Was he?”

“He was,” Shouta said, his fingers moving to the scar on his neck. It was aching. “He was my friend, but… he was also my lover… Love is real, Yamada: I’ve felt it.”

“...Then maybe I was wrong,” Hizashi said softly, catching him by surprise, but the blond wasn’t looking at him. He put the lute down and pressed his legs against his chest. He didn’t voice the following part, but the silence said it loud and clear:

Maybe I’m the one who’s broken.

Shouta wanted to tell him he was wrong, that even if he didn’t feel love it didn’t mean he was broken, but… no words emerged. Unlike Yamada’s silence, the slayer’s said nothing.

The door behind them opened and Nemuri stepped out. “The sun’s nearly up,” she said while rolling up one baggy sleeve. “Move onto the lawn, dragon boy, and I’ll use my Quirk.”

Hizashi moved away from him while removing his clothes, and Aizawa knew his chance to reassure him was gone. He just wished he knew why the sad expression on the bard’s face made his chest hurt more than the scar on his neck.

Aizawa picked up Hizashi’s clothes and folded them neatly. Nemuri stood in front of the naked blond, waiting for him to transform. Hizashi didn’t appear at all modest with his nudity, although there was a distant look on his face.

“Once you transform, just get comfortable and breathe in normally,” she instructed and rolled up her other sleeve. “My Quirk is Somnambulist: it can put people to sleep. I’ve never tried it on a dragon before, but it should work.”

Hizashi nodded and turned his face to the horizon. The first rays of sun swept over his beautiful face, and all Aizawa could do was stare until the blond glowed just as brightly.

Soon enough, the bard had been replaced by the golden dragon, an utterly dazzling sight, although his pupils remained rounded. His long face was still turned to the sun.

Shouta’s chest was hammering at the sight, but a sudden epiphany turned the gentle stirring into a horrific realisation.

He was falling for Hizashi Yamada.

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirteen

 A Warning

‘Spring in a mate-seeking dragon’s territory is thick with pheromones meant to attract other unmated dragons. The pheromones are powerful enough that they can even affect other species, humans included, though not nearly to the same degree as more compatible creatures. The pheromones of a dragon can even cloud its own mind, leaving it in a desperate state until another comes along to satisfy the mating urges, or until the end of the season.’

 - A Complete Guide to Dragons by Eraserhead

Thankfully, Nemuri’s Quirk did work on the dragon, and Shouta watched as the golden beast curled up on the vibrant lawn to sleep.

His heart was hammering away against his ribcage, and his hands tightened into balled fists.

He was falling for the bard…

Nemuri turned on him as soon as Hizashi was asleep. “You’re hopeless!” she accused, her feet carrying her to his side in moments. The first thing she did was whip out her spoon-wand and smack him upside the head. “You’re seducing a dragon !”

He cringed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m not seducing him… I’m pretending to court him so he doesn’t think I’m an enemy.”

“What if he has a pheromone swing?”

“We’re safe until spring.”

She groaned and shook her head. “You’re a moron! His swings might kick in early because you’re being so reckless! I bet you haven’t turned down a single gift he’s offered.”

“I-...” He paused. “I will. I’ll turn down the next thing, okay? Problem solved.”

She shook her head and led him back inside the cottage, while the dragon stayed sleeping outside. “A dragon can’t satisfy itself if overcome by pheromones.”

“I know…”

Dragons were an interesting species. They’d go crazy with hormones in the spring, especially if they didn’t have a mate. Many would temporarily lose their minds and turn completely feral, attacking anything that entered their territory that wasn’t another dragon seeking a mate.

To attract a mate, a dragon could release pheromones, but the only thing that would satisfy the dragon’s instinctual call would be mating, or the end of spring.

That’s why their quest had a deadline. Now Hizashi was twenty-five, there was no way his human mind would last the instinctual onslaught that would accompany the season.

“It won’t be an issue,” he said dismissively. “I can’t sleep with him anyway. He’s a dragon .”

“And what will you do if he gets the urges when he’s in human form?”

Aizawa shook his head. “He’s an alpha, so even then I’d still-”

She laughed. “You bit him on the tail! You turned him into an omega, you moron!”

He stared at her in horror. “...Huh?”

“You’re so oblivious to magic… His dragon magic turned his body into an omega because you bit him on the tail! You’re the alpha! He won’t be trying to screw you: he’ll be trying to seduce you! Wow that’d be sexy…”

The slayer swallowed, trying to hide how shaken he was. “So? Even better since I know I wouldn’t take advantage of a situation like that…”

She took his hand without warning and held it to her forehead as her eyes flashed red. “I see a twisting black flame and opening jaws. The curse mark is growing, but now you’re the cause. His next gift to you will tip the scales. To accept is to damn him, but to reject is to break him…” She exhaled slowly and opened her eyes, yet didn’t pull his hand away as a gentle smile lit her face. “You’re in love .”

His face felt hot and he crinkled his nose. “That’s still your future prediction? You’ve been predicting that since-”

She shook her head. “You’re in love now … I’m happy for you…”

He wrenched his hand away and swallowed. “Don’t know what you’re talking ‘bout. I’ll never love again, especially not some annoying, conceited bard who-”

“You can fool yourself all you want, Zaza, but you can’t fool me.” She stepped away. “It’s new,” she said as she pulled a flower bud from her hat, “but with enough care and attention, it’ll bloom into something beautiful.” As he watched, the bud between her fingers slowly opened, the red poppy petals spilling out of the shell, entwining to complete a perfect blossom. “He has hurts he hides too, you know.”

“...Is it me?” he asked, although he didn’t want to hear the answer. “Am I the lover…?”

When life is lost: your lover’s fee.

The flower in her hand withered and died before their eyes, the browned petals trailing to the ground like leaves in autumn. “If that’s what you both choose.”

Shouta shook his head. “You’re reading too deeply into this. I’m only attracted to him. It says right there in the poem: ‘not just lust and not just sight’, and I guarantee anything I feel for him at all is based on lust and sight. Besides, you know how I feel about bards.”

She smacked him with the spoon-wand again and threw up her hands. “You. Are. Hopeless! ” Nemuri turned and ranted at Tensei, but Shouta didn’t pay any attention.

His eyes drifted out the window of the cabin, to the slumbering figure that glittered in the infant sunlight, and he recalled the bard’s musical voice.

When my lover was a dancer, her skin was sweet as dew,

Her feet would waltz to daisy hop, her eyes were ashen blue.

When first we met I was entranced, her charm so fair of face,

When next we met I was in love, my heart a stallion’s pace.

Maybe he was hopeless after all...

“How much for the lute?”

She turned to him, surprised. “It’s just a normal lute, Zaza: nothing like those panpipes I gave you.”

“I know,” he said, “but how much?”

Her eyes glanced outside too, and her mouth tugged sharply at the edges. “Give me something he’s given you.”

Shouta paused. What came to mind first were the bracelet and feathers he wore, but they were instantly dismissed. The dragon would notice if those went missing.

That left the small rocks and the neat-looking leaf. He opened his pouch and stared at the rocks. Now that he really looked at them, they were beautiful. Not worth anything, of course, but something could be worthless and beautiful concurrently.

Then the leaf would be the payment. He went to pull it from the pouch, but paused. It was beautiful too. It had been dead with winter long before Hizashi had offered it to him, but the skeletal lines that ran across it were intricate and mesmerising. The edges of the leaf were crisp and curled, and for a moment he saw emerald eyes ablaze with excitement…

“How much gold?” he asked, changing the subject without admitting what he refused to admit.

The sharp line of her mouth stretched into a wicked grin. “Looks like he isn’t the only hoarder.”

He huffed. “A leaf isn’t equal to a lute. You’d get an imbalanced trade.”

“I would,” she agreed, yet her gaze was like a dagger. “A dragon’s gift, no matter what form it takes, is priceless.” He swallowed and waited, and eventually she exhaled. “Five gold pieces.”

“Now that’s an imbalanced trade,” he said, scandalised.

“It’s sentimental, so of course it’s worth more!”

He rolled his eyes but fished out the coins, placing them on the table for the trade. “Here, but mention I bought it for him and I’ll tell everyone your young appearance is a glamour spell.”

Nemuri rolled her eyes and slid the coins into her sleeve. “I’ll give it to him when it’s time for you to leave.”

He went to close the pouch, but paused at the reminder of another question that had recently arisen. “...Do you know anything about this?” He pulled out the bar of soap from earlier, the Nippon words for ‘No Cure’ prominent on the surface.

She took it and raised a brow in surprise, but then her expression saddened. “…Such a hypocrite...”

“What?”

Nemuri shook her head and managed a smile. “...You’ll cure this, Shouta,” she said, far more softly. “Don’t lose heart, okay? Get some sleep and forget about this.” The soap was placed on a shelf as she picked up an old blanket that smelled of lavender and tossed it to him. He caught it and curled up on the couch. His questions were unanswered, and she clearly knew more than she let on, but he’d known Nemuri Kayama for a long time. If she said there was a cure, then he’d believe her word over a bar of soap. “Shouta… You deserve to love again.”

“Wake me before the sun sets,” he told her with a yawn, yet the couch felt uncomfortable. For a moment, he thought he wouldn’t be able to sleep at all, despite his exhaustion, but then his senses were overcome by the sweet scent of the witch’s Quirk, and he welcomed slumber with open arms.

-x-

Hizashi woke before the sun set, alone in the garden. For a moment, he panicked.

Alone.

No, he didn’t want to be alone again! Bad, bad, bad! He couldn’t be alone again! He’d spent so much time alone - too much time. Where was his Desired One? He sat up and frantically glanced around, his ears flicking up at the sound of a door opening.

The dragon turned to face the noise, and instantly relaxed at the sight of his Treasure. Yes, technically it was premature to call his alpha his ‘Treasure’, but he’d accepted every gift the omega had offered, and no dragon (nor human) would be stupid enough to ignore the golden creature’s magnificence! Clearly his alpha wanted him.

His Desired One looked up at him with those beautiful, different coloured eyes, and the dragon lowered his large head so he could be at his eye level.

“You’re incorrigible,” sighed the human, but he reached up and tenderly preened the feathers about his neck. The dragon happily purred at the treatment, until the female came along.

She stepped out the house, and the dragon’s eyes were instantly on her, and his ears pressed tight against his face. The female smelled of wrong smoke and bad, bad flowers. What if she tried to steal his alpha and he was alone, alone, alone again?

He growled and bared his fierce fangs, to warn her, but as soon as he did his Treasure grabbed him by the horns and shoved his snout into the dirt, catching him by surprise. “ No,” his Desired One warned, his growl far more menacing than the dragon’s. “You don’t do that to people, let alone friends.”

...Friends…? Like a clan? Oh! She must’ve been a part of his alpha’s clan! He’d made a mistake, mistake, mistake! The woman wasn’t a bad: she must’ve been a good.

Why would he worry anyway? The dragon was far more beautiful than the female, and the gifts he gave were well received, and his alpha had been giving him gifts too! Of course his Desired One would get upset at him for even assuming for a moment that he’d prefer the female!

His alpha wanted him, and no one else.

The dragon softly purred, to let his Treasure know he’d seen reason, and the hands released his horns and returned to preening his feathers until the sun was close to setting. Once the light had turned to red, his Desired One did the oddest thing: he sang.

The voice was low and quiet, as if he were doing it reluctantly, yet the words were clear.

“When my lover was a dancer, her skin was sweet as dew,

Her feet would waltz to daisy hop, her eyes were ashen blue…”

Shouta’s hands had moved to hold Hizashi’s large, monstrous face as he returned to his right mind. The bard tried to sing along, but all that emerged from his fang-laden jaw was a discordant whine. The hands felt nice as they trailed over his scales and the edges of his feathers, and Hizashi leaned into the soft warmth as the transformation took place.

At first he thought maybe Aizawa’s hands were growing, but he realised quickly that his own body was shrinking into his human form. Even then, the slayer hadn’t removed his hands from his face, and Hizashi was pleasantly reminded of the way he’d cupped his cheeks as they’d kissed, before he reminded himself about how that shouldn’t’ve been a pleasant thought.

“Since when could you sing?” Hizashi murmured as he pulled away. He didn’t know why he was feeling so strangely down, but then his eyes moved to the scar on Aizawa’s neck and he had a better understanding.

He knew the truth now. Shouta wasn’t helping him because it was the right thing to do, or because Hizashi deserved to be cured: he was doing this to avenge the memory of his dead lover. That left a bitter taste in his mouth, although he didn’t let himself think too deeply on it.

“There’s a difference between singing and singing well,” Aizawa pointed out as he offered the blond his neatly folded clothes, and Hizashi didn’t hesitate to pull them back on.

“I’m surprised you know that song.”

“I travel a lot.” The simple explanation was the end of that line of conversation.

He noticed movement out the corner of his eye, but when he turned it was just the witch moving towards him with the lute held forward. “For you,” she said simply, and pressed the instrument into his clawed fingers.

Hizashi stared at it in amazement. She was… giving it to him? Why? Because he was beautiful? Because he had such an amazing singing voice that she’d never heard another that was comparable? Because-

I can ask Nemuri if she can lend it to you … If she doesn’t, I’ll get you one.

He looked at Shouta, but he was already pulling off the dragon tooth necklace to discern their direction, so Hizashi focused his attention on the witch. “Thanks,” he said gratefully as he strummed the strings, “I’ve missed music…”

“Don’t worry about it,” she told him. The raven was perched on her shoulder, and it squawked something eagerly. “Tensei’s right: it’s been nice properly meeting you, Yamada, and I wish you both the best of luck! Remember, if you ever want to help refill my reserves of ‘attraction’, you’re more than welcome to return and kiss it up some more!”

Hizashi scowled at the memory of the kiss, but just nodded. “Thanks… I think.”

“You stay safe too, Zawa! Remember what we talked about! Be good! I’ll see you soon!”

Hizashi glanced between them curiously, but Aizawa grunted disinterestedly and started for the gate without looking back. Of course they’d talked while he’d been asleep. He wondered if Aizawa had had his palm read too, but then he remembered they’d been friends for years - he’d probably had his palm read many times.

The blond waved as they left the gateway, but as soon as they were beyond the picket fence, Nemuri and Tensei vanished as the glamour took over the view. The house was once again rundown, but Hizashi wasn’t fooled by the illusion this time.

“Come on,” Aizawa murmured as he instantly beelined to the right, away from the village and towards the forest. “It’s this way.”

“Any idea how far?” he asked, glancing back towards the town, but no one was milling about on the edges to see them. 

“I don’t know. Definitely a few days.” They reached the tree line and Aizawa sighed. “We need to talk…”

Hizashi hooked the lute onto his travel bag. He’d been waiting for this conversation. “Look, I know I’m attractive - it’s okay. I’d be attracted to me too in your position, but I’m really not into guys, and-”

“Your dragon side is courting me.”

The blond nearly tripped over his own feet. “Huh?” His Quirk shook the branches above them. “What’re you talking about? I’m straight !”

Aizawa rolled his eyes and clambered over a fallen log, not pausing for even a moment. “You’re subconsciously giving me gifts to woo me. I’m guessing your dragon side is lonely, and is trying to Bond with me to spare itself.”

Hizashi laughed, the sound high and anxious. “Good joke, Aizawa, you really had me going!”

“The rocks, the feathers, the tooth and the ‘really-cool-looking’ leaf: why did you give them to me?”

Hizashi opened his mouth to reply and went dead silent… Why had he given him those? They hadn’t been meant as a gift but… “That doesn’t mean anything.”

“Then you wouldn’t care if I threw one away.” Aizawa pulled out a rock - one of the ones he’d given him - and made to throw it.

A cold feeling gripped Hizashi’s chest, and all he could do was stop and stare with wide, horrified eyes. Far from cruel, Shouta’s eyes were soft and… sad. The slayer exhaled and put his arm down, the pebble still safe in his gloved hand.

“Do you get it?” he asked, voice rough. “You’ve been drifting between your two minds for so long, they’re blurring. It works vice versa too - your dragon side is just as disgusted by bugs as you.”

Hizashi shook his head. “I’m not into men …”

“You don’t need to be. Your dragon side is desperate for companionship, and dragons don’t care about gender.” He gestured for him to keep walking as he put the pebble away, and he instinctively relaxed. They kept moving, but Aizawa continued to speak. “If you keep giving me gifts, it might make you exhibit pheromone shifts even before spring begins.”

“Right…” Hizashi almost let it go, when he suddenly remembered the sight of Aizawa giving him the sapphire. “You were courting me too!”

“I was,” he admitted gruffly. “If you’re courting me, then you’re not trying to run off and find other dragons. It was easier, but I should’ve told you. I’m sorry. From now on, we can’t risk exchanging anything that might be misconstrued as gifts, got it?”

Hizashi glanced away, his ears flopping low. He didn’t know why the news made him feel so bitter, but it did. It felt almost like a betrayal, although he didn’t want to read too deeply into it. “...If it’ll help me see next summer, then I’ll be careful.”

-x-

They’d been walking all night with Shouta in the lead, but although they had plenty of time left before the sun rose, the bard was starting to fall more and more behind. At least he hadn’t offered him any more gifts. It was time to break for the night.

They found a decently sized clearing and the slayer put his bag down. “We move again as soon as the sun sets. I’ve got food for tonight, so we have time to continue.” Hizashi tilted his head, clearly unsure as to what he was referring to. “You were teaching me how to read?”

“Oh!” the blond gasped and quickly pulled the book from his bag. “Yeah, I was! Sorry, just had a lot on my mind.”

The slayer pulled out some bread from their rations and set about starting the fire. “If it’ll make you uncomfortable, you don’t have to.”

Hizashi shook his head and parked himself beside the fire. “Actually, there were some parts I wanted to go over with you… Some of the information you’ve told me contradicts what it says…”

Shouta blinked in surprise. He was wrong about something? He’d been studying and observing dragons for years now - had he misinterpreted it? “Tell me.”

The blond nodded and flipped the book open, reading a section directly from the page. “‘ Dragons are villainous creatures that destroy entire villages to impress mates. Male dragons will attract swarms of females and form a harem. He offers them protection while they seek treasure and food for him.’”

By the time he finished reading it, Shouta’s mouth was hanging open and he felt… angry. “That’s wrong!” he growled out, clearly catching the blond by surprise. “Dragons don’t form ‘harems’!” He moved to Hizashi’s side and stared down at the book, although he couldn’t read it. “Dragons are monogamous! They find one mate and after they successfully court one another, they bond for life and never find another. They don’t have a gender hierarchy either - females try to attract a mate just as much as males. Anyone who has even watched dragons for a short while would know that! And they don’t destroy villages as courting displays. Keep reading.”

The blond nodded and continued to read, and the anger inside Shouta welled higher and higher. It took everything he had not to grab the despicable book and hurl it into the fire.

“It’s wrong ,” he said with a growl. “It’s garbage. Whoever wrote it probably never even saw a dragon, let alone studied them.”

“...How do dragons bond?”

Aizawa didn’t think of why the blond was asking before he jumped straight into his answer. “They mate, and then they bite each other on the necks. Dragon magic stops the marks from disappearing and tethers them so they’re together for life. If one dies and there are no more young to look after in the nest, the remaining one will waste away. It’s like marriage, except it’s forever.”

Hizashi snorted. “Sounds horrible.”

The slayer’s shoulders slumped a little. The bond was beautiful, yet tragic. It made it easy to kill off bonded dragons who didn’t have any young: if you killed one then the other wouldn’t even fight back. It was truly heart wrenching, but it was his job… “Do you get it?”

“Get what?”

“Why they turned you into a dragon of all things.”

The blond snorted. “Cause I can’t sing my beautiful songs.” Aizawa shook his head, and Hizashi sneered, skewing his moustache at an odd angle. “I’ve never seen a happy marriage…”

“You’ve never seen another dragon either.”

“If you’d married Shirakumo, would you be happy right now?”

Shouta paused. It seemed like an obvious answer: of course he’d be happy. He would’ve never met the blond bard, so… That was a positive, right? Hizashi would still be in that cave, slowly losing his mind to the curse in cold isolation while he stole sheep from the townspeople. Maybe someone else would’ve found him…

Would Shouta still be a slayer if he and Shirakumo had married…?

“...I’m more miserable without him than I ever was with him,” he said softly. “Just like a bonded dragon, I wanted to waste away after he died.”

The blond looked at him, his expression surprised. “...Why didn’t you?”

“Because I had a job to do,” he managed more firmly. “He would’ve wanted me to keep going... That’s what love is: wanting someone to live on, even if it’s without you.”

Hizashi stared into the fire, the flames dancing across his emerald eyes, and a bitter grin crossed his mouth. “Only one person has ever truly loved me, and they left me with him…”

He put the book away, and Aizawa couldn’t blame him: he was no longer in the mood for reading. Instead the blond pulled the lute out and strummed away at the strings. The slayer moved to the other side of the fire.

They were like that for a while, but eventually the blond couldn’t resist a song, and Shouta saw no reason to stop him.

“When my lover was a dancer, her skin was sweet as dew,

Her feet would waltz to daisy hop, her eyes were ashen blue.

When first we met I was entranced, her charm so fair of face,

When next we met I was in love, my heart a stallion’s pace.

The tendril grasses of our home, swept cleanly through the air,

As did her skirts and legs and lace, when other men would stare.

When my lover was a dancer, she kept the brothels whole,

While all the men who came for her, would taste my darling doll.

She gave to me her loving voice, and filled my life with song,

Swore to love me with her smile, yet she had done me wrong.

When my lover was a dancer, her skin was sweet as dew,

Now she sleeps beneath the dirt, her eyes a hollowed hue.”

The air grew still and silent as the song ended, filled only by the crackle of the fire. Shouta was the first to speak. “You skipped a couplet…” The second last part, the one where the persona murdered the dancer, was gone.

Hizashi exhaled. “I don’t sing that part.” Shouta glanced him over, wanting to say something more, yet also wanting to stay silent. Whatever he was going to decide, the blond spoke up first. “The lute was from you, right?”

“It was Nemuri’s.”

“You traded for it though, or bought it,” he said softly, “right?”

Aizawa exhaled. “It’s better if I say no.”

Hizashi’s expression softened and his smile was small, yet inviting. It made his heart skip a beat. “Thanks, Shouta. It… It really means a lot to me…” That look of joy in his sad eyes spoke volumes: the lute had been accepted as a gift.

Eventually the sun began to rise and Hizashi carefully folded his clothes and stored his lute away to keep it safe. Shouta tried not to watch as the bright glow filled the clearing and soon the blond was back in dragon form.

The creature stretched like a cat, the fire flickering off its dazzling, golden scales, and Aizawa was entranced by the sight.

Then the blond glanced over at him and Shouta found the will to sit back and look into the fire instead. “We move out as soon as the sun sets and you're human again. You should stay on that side of the clearing.”

Hizashi’s ears drooped in dismay, but he obeyed, and Shouta thought it would be the end of it…

He didn’t know how wrong he was.

Chapter Text

Chapter Fourteen

Pheromones

“It didn’t hurt to lose myself,
Among her sheets and thighs.
The only solace of my wealth,
Brief partner to the highs.
Yet I will leave and sin again,
And she will do the same.
With nothing lost yet all to gain,
With first there comes a shame.
It didn’t hurt to lose myself,
But lost myself I did.
So I shall hide from guilt with stealth,
Beneath warm sheets I’ve hid.”

- The Poem of a Wanderer

The dragon awoke, the sun descending gradually across the horizon as he stretched his claws and supple body, wondering why his alpha was so far away. The fire was mere cinders between them, but the beast didn’t want anything between them, so he stood and strode over to his alpha’s sleeping form.

His alpha smelled of him, yet the scent of the female still clung to his clothes, and the dragon was quick to nuzzle against his small Treasure to help wash him with his superior scent. While he did so, his alpha awoke, and a human hand came to rest against his snout.

“No,” his alpha said oddly, and the dragon tilted his head in confusion. No? Didn’t his Desired One want to smell of him? He smelled good, but together they smelled amazing. “Yam-”

He whined before his Treasure could call back the Other, and he pushed himself against him. No, no, no; why was his alpha being so mean?

Right, he was just cranky! Well, there was one way to fix that! He would give him the ultimate gift.

The dragon chewed at his own golden shoulder and grunted a little at the slight pain, but it would be worth it as he offered the shimmering treasure to his Desired One:

A golden scale.

He saw the look of wonder cross his alpha’s face, and a wave of utter delight coursed through him. Right, this would make his Desired One happy, and would prove what an amazing Bond he’d be! He’d give him the scale and bare his throat and they would happily bond forever and neither would ever be alone again.

His Treasure would no longer smell of sorrow.

He waited for his Desired One to take the gleaming scale, but despite the look of bedazzled awe on his face, his alpha refused to reach out and take it. “...No.”

The dragon trembled in horror.

What? His scale wasn’t to his Desired One’s taste? It was the ultimate gift, and his alpha was refusing it - refusing him?

Maybe he was just being a weird human. The dragon whined and nudged him, still offering the scale, silently begging for his Treasure to accept it, yet he stepped away and refused.

The scale dropped to the dirt.

...Was it because of the Other? Had the Other said something that made his alpha not want him anymore? No, no, no! He needed his Desired One! He needed their bond! He couldn’t be alone again!

Right! He’d use his pheromones! He’d once been an alpha, so his pheromones were strong: they’d convince his Desired One he was an ideal Bond!

Without thinking more on it, the dragon sat back and scratched at its belly, where its pheromones were stored. It didn’t care how much it released - the more the better!

The sweet scent filled the clearing, and wrapped around the beast, catching it by surprise. Wow, its scent was strong and… heady and… intoxicating.

The dragon swayed where it stood and a whine churned at the base of its throat. Wait, was it normal for a dragon to be affected by its own pheromones? He didn’t know, but-

Hizashi Yamada gasped and stumbled with his four legs, in a mixture of confusion and… and… Oh fuck, what’d happened?

He had to get away from the overwhelming smell, but when he tried he smacked muzzle-first into a tree.

Fuck, his dragon body was burning. He felt so hot, but he didn’t know how to soothe the ache of unwanted lust.

He felt the edges of the dragon’s consciousness threaten to take over again, a tempting promise to free him from the feeling, but Hizashi refused to let it consume him. No, he had to keep his mind human! He had to stay him!

Thankfully, the sun was setting, and when the final rays of red disappeared behind the trees, his body glowed and shifted.

He shrunk down quickly, back into his naked human body. There was brief pang of hope, an expectation that the ache would end, but instead everything grew worse.

“Fuck~” Hizashi moaned as he curled his hot, human body against the crisp leaflitter, his skin already coated with a layer of sweat. The air was sickly sweet, as if his limbs had been bathed in thick, cheap perfume. Trembling wracked his body and he scratched at his chest as an odd itchy sensation burned his skin, until he realised his curse mark was spreading.

The dragon continued to struggle in the back of his mind, along with the sweet whisper that he didn’t have to put up with this suffering if he just let go...

“Hizashi!” He heard Aizawa’s feet crash through the leaf litter, and a gloved hand grabbed his shoulder. The grip was firm, almost painful, but it was enough to weigh him to his human side. The mark stopped spreading on his chest, but his body continued to tremble.

Lust. Desire. Need.

The stupid dragon had done something and Shouta was almost certainly partially to blame. “W-What happened?” he forced out, trying his best to keep the edge of want from his voice.

He could smell something else twinged amongst the aroma of perfume: the smell was earthy and musky and sweaty and honestly Hizashi had never smelled anything so delicious.

His eyes were caught by the slayer’s face, and it was as if everything else disappeared. Damn, Aizawa was handsome with his rough stubble and his mismatched eyes and his soft raven hair. Those lips too: he remembered how they’d felt against his, and now his mind wondered how they’d feel against other sensitive areas…

“Just stay focused on me,” murmured the slayer, very needlessly - Hizashi could focus on nothing else. He remembered the times he’d seen him naked, and his thoughts quickly strayed away from his face.

You must make a lot of women happy with that thing.

He was practically assaulted with images that made his breathing grow heavier. No, he wasn’t supposed to want that. A man’s duty was to be with women, not with… Not with…

***
The thought faded. In that moment he knew exactly what he wanted: he wanted Shouta buried deep inside him.

“You smell good~” Hizashi purred as he pulled himself forward, trying to move into Aizawa’s lap.

However, his movement was thwarted by thick hands that grabbed his shoulders and held him back. “Yamada,” Aizawa all but growled. “You’re overcome with pheromones.”

Pheromones. Well, that explained the smell, but what Aizawa said was wrong: he was far from ‘overcome’. If anything, this was him being open about how he felt for the first time.

It’d been three years since he’d last been touched like this, and he was desperate for more. In that moment he didn’t care that Aizawa was a man or that they disliked one another. It’d been so long since he’d last felt good…

Maybe it was the same for them both…

“Want it~” Hizashi purred, trying to lean forward, yet the hands still held him back. “Need it~”

How the mighty had fallen… He was used to being in Aizawa’s position (although far more accommodating). Even so, the slayer was stubborn. “You’re not you.”

He shivered. What, did this guy have an iron will? He’d tried not to notice the way Shouta looked at him, but he knew that look meant attraction - he’d seen it enough times to know. So, why was he so against a bit of fun?

Hizashi whined. His body was burning, and he was already painfully hard.

He swallowed thickly and unhappily pulled himself from Shouta, managing to crawl several paces away before he deemed himself both far enough yet close enough. His shoulders and face slumped into the damp leaf litter, while his hips were raised high as he presented himself to the dragon slayer.

If he’d been completely lucid, he would’ve probably found it embarrassing, but his lust won out over all thoughts of unimportance.

Aizawa stared. “You don’t even-“

Hizashi glanced back to him and the slayer paused. He realised faintly why the man was trying to resist him so annoyingly: Aizawa thought he wasn’t lucid enough to give proper consent, that afterwards the blond would feel betrayed and used and…

“Shouta,” he said with emphasis, “I’m just really fucking desperate right now.” He paused to whine as he moved his hand to stroke himself, but it wasn’t enough stimulus. “I’m me, I swear~ D-Do I gotta sing a s-stupid song to convince you? J-just… please stop bein’ chivalrous cause- fuck~” His tail curled back and rubbed against his entrance, earning a pitchy whine of need. Damn, that felt good… “Know you want me, and right now I want you~ Th-The curse… might spread if I stay like this, so…F-fuck~”

He rocked his hips needily, but no matter how much he touched himself, it was far from enough. It was torturous, and the dragon mind almost took over once again, until-

A gloved hand ran over his leg, and a moan escaped his throat. It was such a light touch, yet it sent shocks of pleasure up his spine, and was enough to reground him. “You really want this?” quietly asked Aizawa.

He trembled at his voice, especially when the hand stroked up his leg again, “Baby, I need it~”

Aizawa exhaled, a shaky sound that made him throb with success. “…Okay…”

-o-

The smell was intoxicating. He could resist its pull if he tried, but…

Hizashi moaned beneath his hands. His skin was already slick with sweat, and the sounds that tumbled from his lips made Shouta’s pants tighten.

He was to blame for this, just as Nemuri had predicted.

I see a twisting black flame and opening jaws. The curse mark is growing, but now you’re the cause.

Once lost to a pheromone swing, there were only two ways it could be ended: by mating, or by the end of spring. With spring not yet upon them, that left only one unwanted option...

“Nothing with necks,” Aizawa managed to murmur as his hand slipped down and touched the blond’s length. Hizashi whined and bucked his hips against his palm, desperate for contact. “If we bite each other on the neck, it’ll bond us together… Get it? We can’t let that happen.”

“Yeah, yeah~” he whined, still bucking his hips. “Just give me more~”

Aizawa would’ve rolled his eyes in any other situation, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the trembling creature for even a moment. Damn, he didn’t have anything for lube…

He stopped stroking Hizashi, earning a plaintive whine, but it gave him the chance to pull off his gloves. He ran his thumbs over the blond’s cheeks and parted them, and the sight stirred an odd fascination in him: a thick fluid dripped from Hizashi’s entrance. Curiously, he slid his fingers across the slick, finding the liquid to be warm and clear.

Could omegas self-lubricate? Guess there were far more changes to the blond besides his external dragon features…

He slid a testing finger inside, finding it went in easily thanks to the slick, but Hizashi was still tight and… hot. His internal body temperature was higher than an ordinary human - not so much to burn but enough to make Shouta tremble with his own yearning. He swallowed and slid his finger in and out of the heat, earning an animalistic mewling sound from the blond.

“Feel okay?” Aizawa asked, trying to keep the blond focused.

“Hot~” he replied concisely. The slayer grunted and started to search for his sweet spot - it wasn’t too difficult to find. He brushed his finger over it teasingly and watched as it grew more and more sensitive to the blond. Hizashi clawed at the ground and moaned in confusion, involuntarily bucking his hips back to make Shouta’s touching less irregular. “F-Fuck~ F-Feels so good~”

Aizawa felt giddy, but blamed the feeling on the pheromones. He slid a second finger inside and resumed his teasing, although he doubted the blond even noticed the extra width. God he wanted to be inside him. He wanted to bury himself deep in that heat and kiss him furiously and bite his neck until he belonged to him and-

Shouta shook his head to clear it. The pheromones were strong, but his reasoning was stronger.

He’d simply ease the blond’s hormones this one time, and then everything would go back to how it’d been between them. This would mean nothing at all…

Soon his third finger was in as well, stretching him and prodding at that spot that made Hizashi’s tail curl with delight. Meanwhile, Shouta was stroking himself, although just the sight of the blond looking like this was enough to make him solid. Damn, he was beautiful…

He removed his fingers and used some of the excess slick to lubricate himself before he pressed his length against the readied entrance. Even so, he paused long enough to ask, “Ready?”

Hizashi’s tail uncurled and wrapped around Shouta’s waist. He could feel the warmth of the scales through his clothes, and the impatient pull was all the answer he needed as he slowly entered. The blond moaned beneath him, his claws digging into the leaf litter, and he pressed back against him, but Aizawa held him tight so he didn’t move too fast.

“Big~” Hizashi whimpered happily in their native tongue, his tail tightening around him. Since he’d become an omega, this submission must’ve been another bleed over between his human and dragon sides. Shouta made a note to feel guilty about it later, but all he could focus on at that moment was how hot and tight the bard felt.

Even though he moved in easily, thanks to both the slick and the preparation, the hot walls readily constricted around him, and he had to stop halfway to brace himself. “Yamada~” he half-murmured, half-groaned.

“Don’t stop~!” complained Hizashi as he pressed back again, this time managing to engulf another inch of Shouta before the slayer managed to resist.

“Slow. We’re not gonna last long if you rush…” After he said it, however, he realised how stupid the sentiment was. They should’ve been rushing this, to get it over and done with so they could move on.

Hizashi knew that too, but all he said was, “Faster~”

Defeated by the solid ‘argument’, he continued sliding forward until he was completely sheathed inside the heat. They both breathed raggedly, and they were already sweating so much that Aizawa almost decided to strip off his own clothes. He settled for untying the front of his leather doublet instead, and lowly murmured, “Moving.”

“D-Don’t need to announce e-everything,” said Hizashi between breaths, “just d- Ah~!”

Aizawa moved. Despite his advice to finish this up as quickly as possible, he went slow to start, to ensure he wasn’t hurting the blond - it was Hizashi’s first time with a man, after all. After a few thrusts, however, it was clear he wasn’t in any noticeable pain, and the slayer was able to speed up his pace.

He aimed for the sensitive spot he’d found during his preparations, and after only a few thrusts against it, the bard was crying out with pleasure. “Th-There~!” The more he pressed against the spot, the more sensitive it became, and soon Hizashi was rocking his hips back full-force, trying to milk as much pleasure as he could.

Shouta’s hand slipped down to Hizashi’s ignored length, which was already dripping precum, and a few strokes earned a cry of ecstasy.

“Fuck!” the blond cried with his Quirk. The sound shook the surrounding trees and made Shouta temporarily falter. It’d hurt his ears, but in that moment, it’d also sent a shock of pleasure through him, to know the blond was feeling so good because of him.

No, it was because of the pheromones, he told himself.

Although Hizashi was facing away, he turned his head for just a moment, and the sight of his face made Shouta’s chest flutter. His face was dusted red with desire, his emerald eyes glossed with want, and his lips were slick with drool.

Shouta wanted to kiss him.

Against his better judgement, Aizawa pulled out, earning a loud, frustrated whine from the bard. “Roll over,” he huskily ordered. The tail instantly slipped from around his waist as the blond obeyed, baring his stomach (and neck) to him.

Hizashi Yamada was beautiful, and the slayer instantly leaned down to capture his slick lips in a heated kiss while he slowly re-entered him. The blond was more distracted from this kiss than the previous one, but he still kissed desperately, all tongue and teeth. Soon enough they were back to their previous pace. The sound was wet as their hips slapped together, the slick dripping between their bodies. Firm legs squeezed at his outer thighs. Hizashi’s tail wrapped around his leg instead, and his hands clung to his doublet, the leather protecting his back from the claws.

He had the strange thought that, if they ever did this again, he’d have to wear the armour so his back wouldn’t get shredded. Well, it was a stupid thought, since this was just a one time thing.

Hizashi moaned into the kiss, and he could tell their movements were growing more desperate as they both neared climax. Shouta returned to stroking the bard’s leaking shaft in time with the movements of his hips, earning a mouthful of whines and moans. An urge clouded his thoughts, and he pulled away from Hizashi’s lips so he could move to his neck. He kissed the supple skin a few times, tasting it with his tongue as he left a hickey or two.

In response, Hizashi tilted his head to the side, giving him full access to his beautiful neck, but a few thrusts later they were crying out as they hit their end. The blond came over his hand, his own chest and Shouta’s doublet, while the slayer finished deep inside him, earning one final moan from each of them. With the end came the sudden, overpowering desire to bite Hizashi’s neck as hard as he could, to leave a mark that would make the beautiful creature his forever...

He opened his mouth, prepared to bite down, but came to his senses moments before it was too late. Aizawa’s teeth sunk into his own lip to stifle the urge. He moved his hips a few final times, revelling in the satisfied contractions of Hizashi’s body, before he slowly slid out. Apparently it’d been longer than he’d thought since he’d last had sex…

“You okay…?” Aizawa asked, his voice rough as he looked at the blond’s face.

It was the same sight as before, with red cheeks and slick lips, but at least sense was returning to his gaze. Even so, the tail didn’t retreat from his leg. Hizashi was panting hard as he nodded, but his gaze caught onto Shouta’s lip. “Shit, you’re bleeding!” The blond sat up with a cringe of discomfort, but didn’t let it stop him from checking out the cut caused by Shouta’s own teeth. He wiped away the dab of blood for the slayer, and his shoulders drooped with relief. “Okay, it’s just a small wound.”

Despite the chaos of lust that’d just taken place, it was the small tender act that made Shouta’s chest quake the most.

Nemuri was right after all… Shouta Aizawa was in love.

The blond’s eyes shifted from his mouth and instead stared at his collar-covered neck. Right, dragons didn’t mate and then not bond. Hizashi tilted his head to the right, perhaps a subconscious display of offering his own, uncovered throat, but all Shouta did was cringe at the hickies he’d left. Damn, that’d been close…

“I’m sorry,” Shouta said, quickly tucking himself away as the shame coursed through him. “You were-”

Hizashi stopped him, face somehow redder than it’d been moments before. “Don’t be! The curse was spreading, and we both panicked, and... It’s… not your fault, and I’m not mad.” He looked away awkwardly as his moustache tilted. “I mean, I technically seduced you…”

What was he supposed to say to that? Hizashi had seduced him. Hizashi, the super straight bard who hated him, had wanted him, even if only superficially, and Shouta had taken full advantage. He couldn’t decide whether he’d been used, or whether he’d used Hizashi, but the point made was true: the only other alternative would’ve been for Hizashi’s mark to spread.

They’d had no choice in the matter, and Shouta hated that the most.

The dragon slayer exhaled and offered him one of the waterskins. “Get cleaned up. We should move as soon as possible, but if you need more time to rest I’d understand. There are plenty of rivers around - we can stop to properly wash up once we reach one… Are you sore?”

The blond awkwardly swallowed as he shifted on the spot. “No,” he said, voice uncharacteristically quiet, “just… Ah…”

Shouta glanced down and instantly noticed the trail of white running from Hizashi’s entrance. He almost cringed. Even though there was no chance the blond could get pregnant, despite the changes to his body, he shouldn’t’ve finished inside.

***
“Sorry…” The tail finally released his leg and he quickly moved away to find Hizashi’s clothes. “It doesn’t change anything,” Aizawa managed to say, hoping the words would comfort the blond and make things less awkward between them. “It was just to stop the curse from spreading. You’re still straight, and I’m still not into bards. It was a one time thing.”

“...And if my hormones act up again?” the blond asked as he pulled himself up, swaying a little on his unsteady legs.

“Then it’ll be a two time thing. I’ll help with your hormones, if necessary… If that’s okay with you, of course.”

Hizashi pulled on his clothes, yet he wasn’t looking at him. “...Well, if it’s have sex with you or become a dragon and die, I think I’d rather the sex!” He laughed, but the sound was forced, and offered no real comfort. Hizashi finally had a good look at Shouta, and his demeanour melted a little. “I know this sounds weird, but… Thanks… I know it was probably the pheromones helping with the decision, but-”

“Please,” Aizawa said firmly, “don’t thank me for having sex with you when the only alternative was you becoming a dragon.”

“What I’m trying to say is that it felt … good.” The expression on the blond’s face was priceless, with his moustache turned to the left and his expression turned to the right. His blush was back. “This… will probably come as a bit of a shock, but… Admittedly, maybe I’m… not as straight as I should be…” He bowed his head expectantly.

Shouta eyed him half-heartedly. “You don’t say,” he murmured with a touch of sarcasm, although the blond’s body language didn’t go unnoticed.

Hizashi raised his hands defensively. “But don’t get me wrong, I’m not into you! You’re still a weird guy who eats bugs and while I appreciate the help that you did, what with having sex with me, a guy you’re not even into, who you have to be in close proximity with until we get the curse cured, I’m definitely not attracted to you, and never will be, but- I’m really digging my own grave here…”

Aizawa rolled his eyes and looked away, pretending the blond’s words didn’t both fill him with hope and despair. At least the guilt receded. “Let’s pretend it never happened, and hope it never happens again. Fair?”

“Fair.” Hizashi gathered his things, but Aizawa kept a close eye on him to ensure he wasn’t in any obvious pain. Once he was positive he wasn’t, and once the bard was ready, they set out.

Even so, they couldn’t shake the awkwardness that followed them through the forest, even after they tried to wash the memories away in a nearby stream: the memories of lust and pleasure and desperation.

*** (Read this for a non-sexy summary of what happens during the sexy scene. It's 100% okay if you're uncomfortable with sex scenes and I want this fic to be as accessible as possible!)

Shouta is stubborn as Hizashi is overcome with pheromones, but Hizashi internally admits he’s being honest with himself for the first time ever. He seems more caught up in the fact that he hasn’t had sex for three years, and he doesn’t care about Shouta’s gender, so long as he can feel ‘good’. However, Shouta keeps refusing (claiming “You’re not you”), much to Hizashi’s chagrin, although Shouta doesn’t explicitly say he doesn’t want him.

Hizashi realises why Shouta is restraining himself: he doesn’t believe the bard is capable of giving proper consent in his current state. Shouta doesn’t want Hizashi to hate him. Realising this, Hizashi manages to tell him “I’m me, I swear”, claiming he’s desperate but lucid. He admits he’s aware Shouta is attracted to him, and argues that the curse will spread if he remains like this – his attempts to satisfy himself aren’t enough.

Just when Hizashi might give into his dumb lizard brain to mentally escape the torment, Shouta finally caves, asking one final time whether Hizashi actually wants it, to which Hizashi says “Baby, I need it~”

The perspective shifts to Shouta. The smell of the pheromones is intoxicating to him, but he knows he could resist them if he needed to. There’s some guilt present as he blames himself for Hizashi’s current situation, and he remembers briefly back to Nemuri’s prediction: I see a twisting black flame and opening jaws. The curse mark is growing, but now you’re the cause.

He knows there are only two ways for Hizashi to return to normal: for spring to end (which is awkward since it’s still winter), or by mating. Shouta decides the latter is their only real option, although he manages to warn Hizashi that they shouldn’t do anything with necks, since if they bite each other it would bond them together.

As much as he doesn’t like the circumstances surrounding it, it’s clear Shouta is still very taken with Hizashi, and he’s very attentive in making sure Hizashi isn’t in any pain, especially since it’s his first time with a man.

Shouta plans to ease the blond’s hormones this one time, and hopes that everything will return to normal afterwards. Their love making starts at last, and Shouta is clearly smitten: even though he doesn’t admit it out loud, he constantly acknowledges how beautiful Hizashi is.

Hizashi accidentally uses his Quirk at one stage, but Shouta doesn’t mind. They share another kiss, although it’s far more feral than the kiss they shared in Nemuri’s hut. Shouta ends up leaving a few hickies on Hizashi’s neck and he almost bites him as they finish, but manages to stop at the last moment by biting his own lip instead.

As soon as it’s over, Shouta asks if Hizashi’s okay, and the blond slowly returns to his senses. However, what really captures Hizashi’s attention is Shouta’s lip, which is bleeding from the earlier bite. Hizashi dabs the blood away and is relieved it isn’t anything serious.

Despite the chaos and lust that’s just taken place, Shouta is more moved by the random act of genuine tenderness, and he finally admits (to himself) that Nemuri was right: he’s in love.

Hizashi tilts his head a few times, to subconsciously bare his neck, and Shouta theorises it’s the dragon’s instincts bleeding through: dragons don’t mate without bonding. Shouta is quick to apologise for what happened, but Hizashi is equally quick to dismiss him: he’s not mad and he doesn’t blame Shouta, claiming: “I mean, I technically seduced you.”

Shouta doesn’t know how to respond to that. He can’t decide whether he took advantage of Hizashi, or if Hizashi took advantage of him. He unhappily reminds himself that their only real alternative would've been allowing Hizashi’s mark to spread. However, he decides the lack of choice only made the decision worse. He doesn’t voice this, however, and instead gives Hizashi a chance to clean up. He again asks Hizashi if he’s in any pain. He isn’t, but his ego seems a little muted.

*** (If you return to the chapter, there is a point with another set of *** marks - you can resume reading the story from there onwards. The line is:
“Sorry…” The tail finally released his leg and he quickly moved away to find Hizashi’s clothes.    )

Chapter Text

Chapter Fifteen

Mine, Mine, Mine

'During spring dragons can be seen putting on a myriad of displays to attract attention from their desired mate. These displays can range from outstretched wings and fluffed plumage to show off their particular colouration and pattern, to feats of strength or aerial acrobatics as proof they can provide better than another. Largely the success of these displays will depend on the target’s particular tastes and what they deem to be worthy traits to be passed on to future offspring.'

- A Complete Guide to Dragons by Eraserhead

Hizashi felt good, despite everything, and he couldn’t even bring himself to be guilty or shameful about it. Okay, he’d slept with a guy. No, he’d slept with Shouta Aizawa (arguably worse), but did that really matter right now? He hadn’t had sex in three years, and the dragon hormones had been driving them both crazy.

Even so, who knew that having sex with a man could feel so good. He’d never felt that amazing with a woman before - at least not that he could remember. Then again, for all he knew, the pheromones could’ve had an aphrodisiac effect… Then what was it like without the pheromones...?

His eyes turned to Shouta, and he quickly scolded himself. No, he wasn’t going to sleep with him again (unless it was a curse emergency). Hizashi had some standards to hold onto!

Thinking of the curse made him knit his brows together. The mark had grown. While it hadn’t yet reached his heart, there was no way to reverse the spread. Every inch meant he was permanently closer to his demise, although that was the last thing he wanted to be thinking about right now. Since Aizawa was being his usual silent self, Hizashi pulled out his lute, and went to continue forming his ballad, but was interrupted when the slayer finally spoke: “Sing something funny.”

“Sure, listener!” he said eagerly, strumming the strings as the widest grin crossed his face. “ Something funny~”

The silence was deafening, broken only when Aizawa sighed. “You have one more chance to actually sing something funny, or else I’m banning music altogether.”

Hizashi snickered and strummed the lute again, but this time he decided on a song.

“William the Brave would never behave,

His wit was as sharp as his blades.

Ladies and lasses fell on their asses,

As well as the chambermaids.

To see his fine form, thick with decorum,

Was quite a fine sight to sip,

Until on a day came a lady in grey,

With sword upon her hip.

‘William the Brave? More Billy the Knave,’

She said with a mighty laugh.

‘Fight me and see, a coward thou be,

Your manhood? Merely a farce!’

They fought with their swords, their bodies and words,

For days without any rest.

When, like a cutlet, she sliced through his doublet;

Revealed to the world William’s breast!

William, once Jillian, he once was a woman!

The crowd: amazed and in strife.

But lady in grey, on one knee did say,

‘Please sir, please make me your wife!

What thought I a lie, was my own to fly,

Your manhood, certainly true.

You fight with such grace, I am in some haste,

To wed somebody like you.’

Although he was red, the two they were wed,

A perfect couple, they call.

The lady in white, oh brimming with light,

And William was brave after all.”

Aizawa snorted. “You have a very odd definition of ‘funny’.” Even so, Hizashi noticed a slight smile tugging at his mouth.

“Liar~” he accused playfully. “I’m super funny and you know it!”

“Funnier than me,” Aizawa conceded, finally grinning a little. He looked odd when he smiled - it was all teeth and stretched lips - but the sight of it made Hizashi feel strange. “Then sing me something sad.”

“You got it!” He pulled a few strings on the lute, already knowing what he wanted to sing. “I wrote this one myself, before the curse.” Hizashi inhaled, and the mood instantly shifted. The notes were soft and sweet, but the tone was melancholic.

“ On a far away hill, her shape rose so tall,

With beauty and sweetness and grace.

Alone on a hill bloomed a flower of sun,

Alone there in that barren place.

Though she was never vain, she knew of her worth,

Although there was none to compare.

‘If only I was not alone on this hill,

If only I had love to share.’

The sunflower sang each night

until dawn,

Just hoping and praying

for one,

To share with her

this most glorious world

And one day that someone

did come.

A human as pretty

and charming as she,

Skipped up the green hill

for a view,

And found the sunflower,

dazzling still,

Instantly knew

what to do.

The flower, first happy

to be not alone,

Roots practically shaking

the mud,

Until the fair human

tore out her stem,

Her nectar dripped down

just like blood.

Thin fingers did rise

to pluck out her petals,

A pain as sharp

as a knife.

Others did follow

as flower was stripped,

With words

to bury her strife.

“They do love me so,”

sang the murderous one,

While pulling

another flare loose,

 “They do love me not,

they do love me so,”

The flower bore through

the abuse.

Petals were stripped

and dropped to the dirt,

The flower

a beauty no more.

No victory won,

the human they sighed,

And flung her bare corpse

to the floor.”

Before he could finish, Hizashi was interrupted by Shouta singing the final stanza in his place:

“ The ugly flower stared up at the sun,

Her hurt form as barren as stone.

And then she did die with but one last song,

‘‘‘Twas better to be all alone.’”

The air was still. Hizashi’s fingers were still, the instrumental unfinished, but he was too stunned to continue. “...How’d you know…?”

Aizawa sighed, “…I heard you sing it five years ago.”

He stared at him in amazement. “You heard … me ?”

The slayer rolled his shoulders. “Just once. I was in a bar, although I can’t remember where exactly… I… still wasn’t in a good place after losing him .” Aizawa scratched his head in thought, as if he were remembering back to the day in question. “I was drinking - a lot. I didn’t see you. You were performing in another section of the bar, but your voice was loud enough to reach me. You kept singing stupid songs that made everyone laugh, but as the place was closing … you finished with that song. Bet you thought everyone had already cleared out, but I heard it… Nearly went to see you, but I left instead. Didn’t think you’d appreciate some drunk stranger talking to you, especially after that song… ‘Twas better to be all alone’ after all… Should’ve realised it was you far sooner…”

Hizashi wasn’t sure if he remembered the place - he’d sung in so many taverns - but it sounded like something he’d do. He wasn’t really sure how to respond though. Part of him wished Aizawa had met him sooner, but… How would he have reacted to some weird, drunk dragon slayer coming up to him at the end of his performance?

Hizashi was different now; so much so that those sad words didn’t suit him anymore.

’Twas better to be all alone’? He’d been alone for three fucking years, and he never wanted to be alone again.

“You’re good,” Aizawa said, interrupting his thoughts. “You’re talented, as much as I hate bards. That last song stuck with me…”

“What did you remember most? The tune? The lyrics? My sweet, sweet voice~?”

Aizawa was still looking away from him, as if ashamed, and when he next spoke his voice was quiet. “...You sounded as lonely as me.”

He paused. Hizashi Yamada, the greatest bard to have ever lived? Lonely ? He hadn’t been lonely back then ! He’d been surrounded by beautiful women, with entire taverns continuously praising him for his lyrical finesse! How could he have possibly been lonely ?

Even so, he felt his ears fall with dismay, and for a single moment he lost his composure. “... After I’m cured, what’ll happen? Will you … leave me…?”

Aizawa didn’t seem to notice the shift in atmosphere. “In the middle of the woods? No, I’ll take you to the closest town, get you settled, and then we’ll part ways. I’ll go back to dragon slaying, and you’ll be a free man.”

“...Will you be okay? Alone?” He didn’t know why he was asking such a question. Did he really care if Aizawa was lonely? He chose to live like this, so...

“I’ve been alone for six years, Yamada. This detour won’t change anything. Besides, I work better alone.”

“Right, of course, definitely.” Hizashi laughed, slightly awkward. “I didn’t mean to pry.” He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced away. “I just… don’t wanna be…”

Alone.

He didn’t want to be alone anymore, but he couldn’t stay in one place either. Hizashi had a story to spread, but…

“A burden,” he said with a shrug, his composure returning. “I don’t wanna be a burden.”

“…Right…” Shouta didn’t seem completely fooled, but he didn’t pry. “You’ll have a lot of readjusting to do once you’re cured. If it makes you feel better, I won’t leave you until I’m certain you’ll be okay. Okay?”

Hizashi was taken aback by the offer. “You really think I’ll need time to adjust to sleeping in a bed?”

“Time to adjust to crowds,” he clarified. “But maybe you’ll surprise yourself – maybe you’ve changed more than you realise, and not just in song material.”

“Na, the material’s still the same – more sappy love songs for the ladies!” He grinned and Shouta rolled his eyes, but something felt off. Things were quiet for a while as Hizashi thought about what Shouta had said… Had he been lonely before…? “You know…” Hizashi said cautiously after a time. “Love doesn’t exist, but… I think I liked someone once, when I was a child.”

“Hm? She really turned you off romance.”

“...They were… a boy …” He paused. In any other instance it might’ve been for dramatic effect, but instead he was gauging his companion’s reaction. Would he hurt him? Yell at him? Whip him?

Instead, Shouta was stunned silent.

Knowing he had to explain further, Hizashi quietly continued. “I saw him when I was very young, and he was young too. He was only passing through my village, and we never actually talked… I can’t even remember what he looked like anymore, but I remember thinking I’d never seen anyone cooler than him… He never even knew I existed.”

“Your first crush was a boy ?” came Aizawa’s delayed reaction.

“I don’t think it was a crush - don’t think it ever even reached infatuation. I just … really liked him.” He ran his fingers over the instrument’s strings, and his ears trembled. “I was too young to keep secrets… When my father found out, he…” He slowed, and his hand traced the scar on his back through the robe’s soft material. It ached at the memory. “‘ A man’s duty is to be with women, while a woman’s duty is to be with one man’ ...” Then he laughed, a small twisted sound. “I bet he’d kill me if he found out I slept with you, no matter the circumstances…”

“You don’t have to force yourself to be someone you’re not,” Shouta said, his voice so soft it took Hizashi by surprise. “There’s a difference between growing and acting.”

Hizashi smiled a little - it was a far cry from his smile at the start of the conversation, but it was a smile nevertheless. “Thanks… Love still doesn’t exist, just so we’re clear, and I still prefer breasts!”

“…Thanks for telling me,” Shouta said, unaffected by Hizashi’s flippant remark. Had he ever heard the dragon slayer speak so much? Whatever had come over the man didn’t last long, however, as Aizawa quickly glanced around the cool night. “Need to be careful from here on out… This is dragon territory.”

-x-

The territorial marks were fierce and deep, clawed into the trees and dirt with purposeful precision. This area belonged to a dragon, and Shouta had to keep his eyes peeled and his mind sharp.

The marks were excessive, indicating a young male dragon, probably seeking a mate to impress considering the size of the area. At least it was far from civilisation… Were they an alpha dragon or another omega? If it was the former, they’d be in trouble.

Not only that, but the sun would soon be rising on them. There was no other option: they would have to continue through even when Hizashi was in his cursed form. If they stopped here to camp, there would be trouble.

When Shouta told him, the blond was taken by surprise, but he didn’t complain about the decision. “You’re the expert,” he said, although there was some apprehension in his tone. “But I don’t know how I’ll react if we run into a legit dragon. I’ve never even seen one before!” He paused and paled suddenly. “Wait… WHAT IF IT TRIES TO MATE WITH ME?”

Shouta waved his hands, signalling for him to keep his voice down. “Stay human minded, and if the dragon tries to court you, decline it.”

“That’s easy for you to say!” he moaned unhappily. “You won’t have a dragon trying to seduce you!” Aizawa stared at him, as if he were stupid, and Hizashi’s face regained some of its colour thanks to an embarrassed flash of red. “I meant like, a dragon dragon! It’s totally different!”

Shouta rolled his eyes and placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. “Look, if things get too ‘pushy’, I’ll intervene, but I’d rather not kill it. This territory is away from civilisation, so it shouldn’t be a threat.”

The blond looked at him so fast his hair waved violently in the air, and his expression was oddly conflicted. “You’d let it live…?”

He could sense the unasked addition to the question: You’d let it live, yet you plan to kill me?

“It isn’t a feral dragon,” Aizawa explained slowly. “It won’t attack humans unless it’s starving, or desperate. You, someone never raised by a dragon community, who has suddenly lost all the humanity that was keeping you together, will turn feral. You’d attack anything, Yamada.”

He swallowed and nodded, glancing away again as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head. “Wasn’t asking to be spared…”

“I know… I’ll protect you.”

That would be easier said than done, although he didn’t need to frighten the blond unnecessarily. If Hizashi dipped and his lizard brain was romantically interested in the other dragon, there would be very few options for the slayer.

He could kill the other beast, but then the golden dragon might attack Shouta for killing one of its kin (not to mention a potential mate). He had to hope they got through quickly and never encountered the beast.

They continued through the territory, moving as silently as possible, although the sun eventually rose. A bright light illuminated the area, and all Aizawa could do was catch the blond’s clothes and hope the trees kept the sight shielded enough to not draw any unwanted attention. Hizashi stretched out his long form and shook himself, comically puffing up his golden feathers like a bird. Despite the situation, Shouta almost smiled at the silly sight.

“We’ll move quietly,” he whispered softly, “so we don’t draw attention.” With the sun up, the dragon of the territory would be more active, so the slayer stooped and picked up several handfuls of dirt to smear across his face, armpits, and hair, before filling his boots with the remainder. Hizashi wasn’t looking at him, however: he was nervously glancing around at the territorial markings on the nearby trees, his ears twisting this way and that. Right, he’d be a lot more sensitive to it now…

Even though he’d wanted to move quietly, Shouta started to hum, catching the bard’s attention. His emerald eyes focused on him, pupils as round as the sun, and his ears relaxed. If this would help keep Hizashi’s mind human, he’d risk the sound.

Together they ventured onwards with the slayer taking the lead.

-x-

Hizashi focused on the soft humming - he had to. If he looked around at the territorial markings, he was quickly overwhelmed.

MINE, the marks whispered. MINE.

What worried him most, however, was the mixed feelings he had by being here. While part of him wanted to flee as fast as possible, to get away from the MINE, MINE, MINE, another part wanted to find the dragon who’d made the marks.

A small, unwelcome part wanted those territorial claims shredded across his own beautiful body.

MINE, MINE, MINE.

And that terrified him.

But this territory size was impressive. He wondered what the dragon looked like… What would it be like to meet another dragon?

What would his Desired One do?

Would Alpha fight to keep him? They had mated, but hadn’t bonded, and that confused him. Was it normal to mate without bonding? It didn’t feel natural for the dragon. Maybe his Treasure didn’t know about it…

He focused on the leather around his Alpha’s neck, and his ears flattened back. What if his Treasure didn’t want to bond after all? He had turned down his scale…

Fine! He’d find the alpha of this territory and try to court them, since his Alpha clearly didn’t want him! Besides, another dragon would be best - he could have young, and raise a nest, and be happy, and-

The humming came back into focus, and some small part of his mind desperately grabbed for it.

Hizashi had to stop and shake his head as he retook control, and Aizawa stopped as well, but his humming thankfully continued. The dragon leaned forward and pressed his large face against the slayer’s chest, breathing in his earthy scent to ground himself again, and he wasn’t pushed away. A hand gently preened his feathers, and slowly the dragon was able to calm down.

However, things were about to change. Aizawa stopped and pulled away without warning. His humming stopped. Hizashi was about to whine unhappily, but then he looked up and realised the reason for the slayer’s shift. The human now had his hand on his sword handle and his face was turned towards the intruder.

No, they were the intruders, for the one who now joined them in the clearing was the territory’s owner: a large alpha dragon.

The beast was the same age as the golden dragon, although he wasn’t sure how he knew that. Its scales were blue, as were its eyes, while the sharp feathers that lined its mane and legs were inky black. Large silver cuffs wrapped around its front legs and the end of its tail, ornaments from an undoubtedly large hoard, and the male’s horns were long and tapered to dual daggered points.

The odd part, however, were the purple burns that lined the beast’s body, mostly around its neck, belly and legs. A dragon with burns ?

Its tattered ears raised at the sight of the golden omega in its territory, and instantly Hizashi felt uncomfortable under its gaze. Was it interested in him? Oh damn, he hoped it wasn’t. He hoped it would just leave them alone and-

But the golden dragon was beautiful! How could an alpha possibly resist his shimmering scales and his well-tended mane of feathers?

The burned dragon clearly realised what a beautiful bond he’d be, for he blew out a puff of blue flames , easily igniting a nearby tree. Within moments, the trunk was cremated, and the alpha dragon held its head high after proving just how powerful it was.

Well, yes it was powerful, but…

The blue dragon was burned!

The omega crinkled its eyes in disgust. Ew, who wanted a burned bond? Dragons weren’t supposed to ever get burned! Besides, what if he accidentally burned his beautiful golden scales with that bad blue fire too?

As the thought crossed his mind, a wind kicked up, blowing the flames towards him. They didn’t reach too far, but to his horror the blue fire singed the ends of his golden tail feathers. He quickly whipped his tail away, but the other dragon looked pleased by the demonstration of how powerful its flames were - powerful enough to burn a dragon.

No! He was too beautiful to get burned! That and…

Although he was a human, he preferred his Treasure. His Desired One was gentle and smart and kind and handsome (for a human) and, even though he did have some scars and burns too, his Treasure would never burn him. He’d make sure his Alpha realised what a perfect bond they’d be, and then they’d be together forever.

So the golden dragon turned up his nose at the blue fire display, clearly catching the alpha by surprise. Only then did it notice his Desired One. It must’ve been so dazzled by his golden scales that it hadn’t noticed his small Treasure standing beside him, especially since their scents were so similar by now, and the stark realisation crossed the burned dragon’s face.

The golden beauty preferred a human… But, the two weren’t yet bonded. There was still time. After all, if the burned dragon was the only option, then its search for a mate would be over, and its prize would be worth it.

The burned beast turned hostile, its feathers flaring to make it appear larger, and bitter smoke poured from its mouth. It stared down the small dragon slayer.

A fight was inevitable.

Chapter Text

Chapter Sixteen

Audience of One

“On a stage I’m wanted most,

My voice can ease their fear.

Yet now my crowd is all but lost,

I’d die to have them here.”

-      The Bored Ideations of the Greatest Bard of All Time

Shouta watched as the dragon turned to him. His mind had already profiled it:

It was definitely twenty-five, nearing its first mating season, although for some reason it had left its familial nest far sooner than one usually would. The blue fire was incredible: fire that was so hot it was even capable of burning dragon scales. Of course it would get aggressive after being denied, especially if-

...Wait… Hizashi’s dragon brain had denied it!

He had no time to think that thought through though as the burned beast opened its smoking maw, prepared to cremate him instantly. Shouta activated his Erasure Quirk, his right eye instantly glowing, and no fire emerged.

The creature was stunned. The slayer moved fast, determined to end this quickly.

From his belt he pulled two bolas, and he threw the first with sharp accuracy at the beast’s head. It tried to evade, but wasn’t fast enough. The ropes wrapped around its snout, sealing it shut. His other bola flew before the dragon could think.

Both its thin front legs were wrapped together by the coils, yet it stayed standing. Aizawa was about to draw his sword, but stopped when he saw Hizashi moving. The golden dragon hurled forward and rammed its head against the beast’s side, successfully knocking it over. There was a loud THUMP as the blue dragon hit the ground, its large body knocking over a thin tree.

With its front legs tied, it struggled to pull itself back up, but before it got the chance, the golden dragon turned to Aizawa and bent its head.

He didn’t need to waste time comprehending what Hizashi was suggesting, but it was a shock nevertheless: he wanted him to ride on his back.

Aizawa leapt on without argument and clung to the thick yellow feathers, keeping his Erasure trained on the flailing alpha as Hizashi raced through the trees, carrying him as far from the enemy as he possibly could. Branches crashed against them, scraping across Hizashi’s thick scales and pulling at Shouta’s cape.

Soon they were clear of the territorial markings, but Hizashi didn’t stop until they were clear of the grasping trees altogether. Only then did the dragon stop, panting so hard that smoke poured from his mouth and nostrils.

The slayer pulled himself from his back before he overstayed his welcome and pulled out his water skin. “Open.” The puffing dragon willingly opened its jaws, and he noticed how his pupils chaotically shifted between being rounded and slit. Aizawa did his best to calm him, pouring some water into his mouth while humming and smoothing out his feathers. Gradually his pupils settled on being round, and his entire body slumped to the dirt. The slayer sighed with relief. “You did well.”

Hizashi grunted, but didn’t try to rise from where he’d collapsed, and Aizawa carefully looked him over. There were a few scratches on his legs, and his feathers were in complete disarray, but altogether he appeared okay. Shouta washed some of the deeper cuts with water, but knowing how the blond healed, they’d probably be gone once he transformed back into his human form.

Aizawa scouted the area for a good place to camp, eventually settling on a small space beside the tree line. There were no territory markings, and while he guessed the burned dragon had managed to free itself of the bolas by now, there was no way it would’ve followed them so far from its home, even to chase a potential mate.

They were safe.

Aizawa started a fire and removed his heavy equipment, including his sword. He could already hear the quiet snores of the golden dragon. Hizashi wasn’t used to running for his life (especially with a human on his back), so as powerful as he was in dragon form, it had taken a toll. Aizawa cooked up some of their rations but didn’t wake the blond until he’d had his own small share. Eventually he poked the sleeping Hizashi, and the green eyes sleepily opened - round and annoyed.

“Food,” Aizawa said, gesturing to the nearby fire. The dragon huffed a little and tried to go back to sleep, but he poked him again. “It isn’t far. Come to the fire, eat, and then we can sleep in ‘til late tonight.”

At the prospect of a ‘sleep in’ the dragon finally relented, pulling himself to his feet as he limped to the fire. Wait, had he hurt his leg more than he’d realised?

“Where does it hurt?”

The dragon slumped beside the fire and gently whined, holding out his front paw. Shouta examined it thoroughly and found a sharp rock embedded in the centre of the sole. Dried blood was crusted around it, as well as caked dirt. It was deep and would’ve been painful for the dragon to run on, but maybe he hadn’t noticed due to adrenaline. “I’ll take it out, but it’ll hurt.”

The golden dragon tried to say something, although it only came out as an odd whine/growl. He understood the sentiment though: It already hurts .

Aizawa pried the rock from the blond’s foot, earning a rough whine of pain. “Better?” Hizashi nodded his head, but Shouta took the time to clean out the wound and smear it with sweet-smelling salve. From his pack he pulled some bandages and carefully wrapped them around his large bird-like paw, to help keep the wound clean until Hizashi transformed. “Better,” Shouta repeated, although now it wasn’t a question.

Hizashi’s ears pressed back as he rested his wounded foot and ate the rations, but he didn’t appear to have much of an appetite. Even though he was tired, Shouta took the time to gently preen some of the dragon’s messy feathers, trying to make him look presentable again. His hand accidentally brushed over the smooth scales of Hizashi’s neck, and the serpentine body shivered beneath him. The dragon turned its head slightly, probably a subconscious welcome, but Aizawa wasn’t planning to bite his neck and bond them together - not now, not ever. If he did, Hizashi would hate him, and… well…

Shouta loved him.

He wished he didn’t. He hated bards, and braggards, and he wanted to tell himself it was just because of Hizashi Yamada’s looks, but … it wasn’t. He loved his smile, and his voice, and his laugh, and even his jokes. He cared for the cursed bard, as difficult as it was to say, and he didn’t want Hizashi to hate him.

He had to be logical about it. His eyes slipped to the curse mark on the dragon’s chest, and he resisted the urge to sigh. It’d grown again - only slightly, but when it couldn’t be reversed, every inch was considered a mile. If he succumbed to the curse, Shouta would have to kill him before he hurt anyone…

But… What if the dragon didn’t go feral ?

In the forest, the dragon brain had been the one in control when they’d met the alpha, and yet he’d chosen Aizawa: a human . As he continued to preen through the feathers, he wondered if there was more connection between Hizashi and the dragon than he’d first thought.

The bard’s large tail reached forward and wrapped gently around Shouta, pulling him close against the feathers of his front leg. A loud exhale told him Hizashi was ready to sleep, and Shouta didn’t complain as he pressed his face into the comforting brush of golden feathers.

As he himself drifted off to sleep, he wondered whether Shirakumo would approve of him falling in love with someone like Hizashi Yamada, and moments before sleep consumed him, he managed a small smile.

Shirakumo would’ve teased him, but he would’ve definitely approved.

-x-

Hizashi woke up late, with the moon already high in the sky and his body human. His robe was draped over him, and the dragon slayer was absent. He opened his eyes and looked around, searching for him, and when his eyes landed on Shouta a wave of relief rocked through him. The man was sitting nearby with the book on dragons in his hands. He hadn’t noticed Hizashi was awake yet, and his expression was a mixture of concentration and frustration. He must’ve been trying to read the book by the light of the fire.

His black fringe was tucked behind his ears so it didn’t hang in his different-coloured eyes, and he must’ve cleaned off the dirt he’d been using to hide his scent before. Hizashi’s golden feather looked perfect in his dark hair, yet his mind wandered, letting him wonder what it would look like with a crown of golden feathers.

Shouta’s lips were subtly twisted this way and that as he struggled to read through the words without a teacher. For a fleeting moment, he remembered how those rough lips had felt against his, how his tongue had caressed every sensitive inch of his mouth.

After that, his mind focused on other details: the handsome cut of his jaw, his broad shoulders, the muscles hidden beneath simple layers of leather and cloth. He remembered how his mouth had felt against his neck as he had kissed and sucked, and Hizashi wondered how amazing it would’ve felt to have been bitten by him…

Damn, he really was sexually attracted to Shouta Aizawa…

...Well… Maybe it was just leftover hormones from the dragon or something! Perhaps he should test to see how good it felt without the pheromones, before he really decided whether he was genuinely sexually attracted to a man or not. Yeah! That sounded logical!

All he had to do was seduce him, and Hizashi was an expert at seduction!

As he thought that, said slayer finally noticed he was awake. “How’re you feeling?” he asked, snapping Hizashi from his thoughts.

He blinked and laughed sheepishly. “My arms and legs are kinda sore, but I guess I needed to exercise!” Hizashi looked at the bandage that’d been wrapped around his wrist, now far too loose in his human form. He checked the wound, but it had already healed up. “How goes the reading?”

“Is it technically reading if I’m just staring at words?” asked the slayer while he scratched the back of his head. His fringe fell over his nose, and his expression relaxed. “It’s different to Nippon’s…”

“A good tip is to try and recognise base words,” Hizashi said helpfully as he sat up. “Like the word ‘studious’! It has the same origin word as ‘study’, so you can guess its meaning just by knowing the word study. Oh, or by even splitting a word, like ‘disillusioned’! Illusion is a fake image designed to trick you, while if you add ‘dis’ it usually makes something mean the opposite, like with like and dislike! So to be ‘disillusioned’ is to discover that something you believed in was wrong! You see through the ‘illusion’, and-” He realised he was rambling and quickly cut himself off.

He was planning to seduce him! Gushing about words wasn’t sexy!

“...You know your stuff.” He blinked at the slayer and was surprised to notice how soft his expression was. If he squinted, it almost looked like he was smiling.

Hizashi felt his cheeks grow warm, although he wasn’t sure why. “Languages are kinda my thing! I can speak six. I travelled a lot over the country, and met a lot of people, so I wouldn’t be much of a bard if I couldn’t communicate, yo.” No! This wasn’t sexy at all! Hizashi swallowed and quickly changed the focus. “But you were pretty cool yourself. You’re great at throwing those bolas! You’re really strong.”

The man frowned and glanced away as Hizashi stood and pulled on his robe. He snapped the book shut. “Practise, although I’m now out of them. I’ll have to pick up more when we get the chance. Do you… know why you rejected the other dragon…?”

He blinked in confusion. He’d slipped back and forth a lot during the confrontation, and yet he had no idea why he’d turned it down, except… Well, why would he have turned the dragon down (besides the fact it was a dragon)?

“I don’t know precisely,” he admitted, “but it was covered in burns, and that blue fire was super freaky. Maybe it didn’t make a good first impression.” Hizashi rubbed at the back of his hand, not even realising his fingers were trailing over the scar the slayer had given him when they’d first met. His ears flicked a little, but he managed a playful smile. “Maybe my good taste in men carries over into dragon form!” Aizawa blinked at him in surprise, but it only took him moments to realise his error. “ Women!” he corrected, blanching. “My good taste in wo men!”

The man nodded, and glanced down at something, before he paused. Aizawa got to his feet and glanced around frantically, as if he were searching for something. “Dammit…”

“What’s wrong?”

Their eyes met and held briefly, but then Aizawa pulled a torch from his pack and used the fire to light the end of it. “You stay here, Hi- Yamada ,” he said firmly. “I’ll be back as soon as possible. Don’t go anywhere, and don’t do anything I’d be disapproving of.”

Before Hizashi could sarcastically reply, the slayer was already racing back into the forest, his burning torch held high. They’d been travelling without torches throughout their journey, so did that mean Aizawa was trying to find something?

He sighed and sat himself beside the fire with his lute, deciding to take the time to write a ‘love’ song for the slayer. Never once had he failed to seduce a girl through song! All he had to do was paint over some sappy romance tune he’d used before to make it fit Aizawa. However, when he tried to do that … none seemed to fit. It didn’t help that they were all about women, but even the analogies didn’t work…

Okay, he just had to come up with something new!

However, even then it was difficult. Everything felt too personal, almost embarrassing, and he couldn’t pinpoint why.

Hizashi sat strumming on the lute for what must’ve been an hour with no sign of Aizawa. In fact, something else appeared before he did…

He heard the heavy beat of wings overhead, and when he glanced up, he saw a dash of red against the sky. It was large and for a moment he thought it was a bird flying by, until it turned and circled above him. Only when he saw the long tail did he realise it wasn’t a bird: it was a dragon!

Not only that, but before he could react, it dived into his camp and set itself down on the opposite side of the fire. Hizashi was too stunned to move as the beast settled beside the warmth.

It was a small dragon, but something told him it was about the same age as him. While it had wings, the feathered limbs replaced its front legs, and it had an odd mixture of feathers, with the ones on its mane coloured a dirty yellow, while its wings were a vibrant red. Its horns were more curved and turned to the sides, and its scales were a light tan, although his underbelly darkened to black. Brown eyes studied him from beyond the fire, more curious than anything.

It sniffed the air and tilted its head, and…

It was prettier than the burned alpha, and its wings were certainly beautiful, even though it was a not- dragon. Even so, it wasn’t as beautiful as he was, nor was it as amazing as his Desired One. He huffed to signify his disinterest, only for the alpha to huff back in the same way. What? It wasn’t interested in him either? Impossible! He was the most beautiful dragon ever and- Oh, he was in the form of the Other. Of course the not-dragon was disinterested. Well, he was disinterested too.

Hizashi blinked as he returned from the short dip, and his fingers carelessly brushed the strings of his lute. The winged dragon perked at the sound, its ears raising tall, and the blond realised why it had joined him by the fire. He wordlessly played, and the dragon listened, and…

For the first time, Hizashi understood what Aizawa had said. Dragons were beautiful creatures… This one wasn’t feral or aggressive, it was just curious, and… Well, the bard could never bring himself to hate a fan.

He played for a while, but the dragon’s ears suddenly perked again, and its head turned towards the forest. For a moment, Hizashi thought Aizawa was returning, but… No one was there.

The dragon stood on its hind legs and spread its wings, the scarlet feathers appearing practically ablaze in the light of the fire, and then it took flight without warning. Odd. He wondered if it knew about the nearby territory…

Hizashi glanced back towards the trees and that was when he saw it, just barely out the glow of the fire: Aizawa’s sword. His heart missed a beat. The slayer had been in the forest without it this entire time ? Why had he even gone?

He stood and rushed over to it, feeling the weight of the weapon in his hands as he carefully picked it up. The hilt was more intricate than he’d realised, the slick metal reflecting the flames of the fire. At the base of the handle was a coiled dragon, etched into the gold with sharp lines, while on the pommel were soft, rounded clouds. As he examined the scabbard, only then did he notice what Aizawa must’ve noticed an hour ago, and his chest felt cold.

Hizashi’s necklace was gone.

He turned his head up and stared at the dark woods they’d raced from so recently, and as he did all the pieces fell into place.

His necklace must’ve fallen off when he’d ran from the burned dragon, and Aizawa had noticed long before he had! He’d left to find it, but hadn’t wanted him to panic. However, he’d left so fast and so suddenly, he’d forgotten to take his sword…

His fingers tightened around the scabbard as he came to his decision.

Shouta had told him to stay, no matter what…

But since when did Hizashi follow orders?

Chapter Text

Chapter Seventeen

Hizashi’s Necklace

“Once a newly bonded pair of dragons are released from the high of Spring hormones, the next step for them is usually to find a new nest. It’s important for them to find an adequate amount of space for their combined hoards and future offspring, although some get so caught up in the idea of their doubled wealth that it often leads them to overestimate their needs and underestimate the time they have before their first clutch of eggs hatches.”

- A Complete Guide to Dragons by Eraserhead

Shouta was in trouble.

He’d spent a long time scouring the path for Hizashi’s necklace, and he knew the blond would soon realise and get worried. His search had taken him back into the blue-dragon’s territory, to an area where the scrapes of the blond’s claws were interwoven by another beast’s tracks. The blue dragon had searched this area after they’d fled, but had ventured no further. That knowledge offered Aizawa an unpleasant thought: what if the dragon had found Hizashi’s necklace already and added it to its hoard…?

Without warning, something tore through the nearby trees and lunged directly for him. Gaping jaws appeared from the darkness, laden with sharp teeth, and although the slayer’s quick instincts spared him from their reach, when he went for his sword it wasn’t there .

Dammit! He must’ve left it back at camp! He’d been so single-mindedly focused on finding the necklace that he hadn’t noticed the lack of the weight on his hip. Without any bolas left, and with a bow that would be useless against a dragon’s thick hide, the best he could do was flee as a burst of heat destroyed several trees beyond him.

Blue fire lit the scene, and he was forced to ditch his torch so he could slip away in the destructive chaos. His feet carried him effectively through the forest, although light was no longer an issue with the blaze. He heard the creature charging behind, and the best he could do was turn and use his Quirk. The fire was extinguished, plunging their world into temporary darkness, and Shouta ran as fast as possible through the thick trees.

He listened as more fires were lit behind, but it seemed the dragon had been so taken by the chaos, it hadn’t known which direction he’d fled. He released his Quirk, just as he noticed a light ahead of him. Bingo: he was headed directly for the dragon’s lair.

Hizashi’s necklace would be inside, but if the beast returned to its home, he’d be trapped. He had to decide whether it was worth the potentially fatal risk.

He remembered how the blond had been filled with relief when he’d last returned the pendent to him, and Shouta’s quest was solidified. He couldn’t return without that necklace.

The entrance to the cavern was large, with plenty of thick columns of stone that kept it structurally stable. At the heart of the lair was a roaring fire, the flames blue and ethereal in their beauty.

Just beyond their ghostly heat was a pile of treasure, and even from across the cave he could spot the newest piece laid atop the hoard: a simple jade necklace.

He hurriedly mapped out several hiding places behind rocks and columns as he dashed across the cavern, his shadow becoming twisted and misshapen by the firelight. Thankfully the pile of treasure was stable, and he managed to ignore the glittering gold and jewels in favour of the simple necklace.

The jade was smooth in his hands, and a wave of dizzying relief filled him as he retrieved it. He’d be able to return it to Hizashi after all, and the blond would smile and Shouta would let himself fall just a little bit more, and-

He heard claws outside the cavern. The dragon was coming.

Aizawa scrambled down the pile of treasure, sending gold spilling in all directions as he threw his body behind a large boulder, hiding himself mere moments before the blue dragon entered its home.

The hiss the creature expelled was telling of its rage at the sight of its disturbed treasure. It must’ve immediately noticed the missing necklace too. Aizawa didn’t risk looking around to see what it was doing, but he heard a loud crash on the other side of the cavern and was able to easily guess. The beast was methodically destroying all hiding places in its home.

There was another crash, this one closer than the last, and Shouta’s mind hurried over solutions. His best chance was to run for the exit while using Erasure on the dragon. He could expunge the fire at the cave’s heart, but he wouldn’t be able to outrun the beast.

Another crash symbolised its growing nearness, but no new ideas presented themselves. Dammit, if only he’d had his sword and dragon scale armour! This beast was nothing compared to some of the creatures he’d slain in the past!

He could hear it growing closer and closer, and Shouta was just about ready to take his chances with running, when-

“HEY! UGLY!” yelled a familiar voice, the sound unnaturally loud, even as it echoed around the cave. Hizashi Yamada’s Quirk: Voice. Wait… Hizashi was here ? “I DON’T KNOW IF YOU CAN UNDERSTAND ME, BUT I HOPE YOU DO, JUST SO YOU KNOW HOW UGLY YOU ARE! YOU’RE SO UGLY, I BET BUGS ARE GROSSED OUT BY YOU!”

The dragon roared at the intruder in its territory and raced from the cave, giving Aizawa the perfect opportunity to escape. He slipped from behind the rock and dashed for the entrance, yet now had a troubling choice. Should he go towards Hizashi’s voice to save him, or-

“YOU’RE SO UGLY, YOU LOOK IN A MIRROR AND YOUR REFLECTION CRIES!”

Strangely enough, this time his voice had come from the south. Wait, could Hizashi do more than simply change his volume?

“EVEN BETTER! YOU’RE SO UGLY, I BET YOU DON’T EVEN NEED TO MARK UP YOUR TERRITORY, SINCE NO ONE WOULD EVER COME NEAR YOU WILLINGLY ANYWAY!” Now his voice came from the west.

North: they’d travelled north before. Shouta hurried that way, and he realised it was the only direction where the jeers didn’t emerge from. “Hizashi!” he whispered harshly, forgetting to use the blond’s family name. “Hizashi!”

“Shouta!” The bushes parted and Hizashi stepped out, his face filled with relief. Before he even knew what he was doing, Shouta pulled him into a tight embrace. The blond didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around him too, holding him tightly, and the raven-haired man focused on how nice it felt to hold Hizashi like this.

The bard fit perfectly in his arms - horns, claws, tail and all.

They pulled away so Hizashi could return his sword, and even as he tied the scabbard to his belt, he showed the blond his pendent. “You dropped this,” he murmured.

Hizashi’s emerald eyes widened at the sight of it, but whatever reaction he’d been expecting, he was rendered surprised. The bard grabbed him by his cloak and pulled him into a forceful kiss.

Hizashi was kissing him.

At first it was rather wooden, but he quickly realised the reason why: he was too shocked to kiss back. Shouta immediately corrected that, pulling the blond just as close as they’d been during the embrace, and he closed his eyes to revel in the touch of the blond’s lips on his.

Some part of his mind tried to be cynical, to tell him the only reason Hizashi was doing this was because he was overwhelmed, and not due to any romantic inclinations, that the blond was a womaniser, that kissing meant nothing to him, but…

His heart was soaring.

It was only a brief kiss, for they were interrupted by the crash of trees and a ruinous roar.

Shouta pulled away and spun around, keeping the bard safe behind him as the burned dragon tore into the clearing. Its tail lashed out, tearing several trees from their very roots, but the humans were unharmed. Blue fire trailed across the beast’s body, creating a demonic sight, although the dragon wasn’t being burned this time – the old burns must’ve been from prolonged exposure.

Shouta went to use his Erasure Quirk, but before he could activate it, something swooped down from the sky. It landed in front of them with a flutter of feathers and wings, and his heart skipped a beat.

Between them and the dragon now stood a wyvern , its feathers a mixture of silk yellow and blood crimson, and its wingspan was remarkable – too large for the small clearing.

The beast had no reason to be here, for it must’ve known this was the blue-dragon’s territory, and wyvern preferred cliffs to nest on rather than caves. There were too many trees too, making it undesirable for the flying creature. Was it hungry and desperate enough to fight over a meal of two humans, or was it planning to kill the dragon and devour it instead?

It shook itself and rammed its body into several trees to its right, broadening the side of the clearing for whatever was to take place. The wyvern’s lithe body slipped into the brand-new space, giving the humans a view of the blue dragon again. Fire still covered its body, yet its expression was almost comical in its clear confusion. It had no clue why the other beast was there either.

Aizawa’s eyes slipped back to the male wyvern, and he quickly had his answer. The beast outstretched its glorious wings completely and puffed up its keel, intentionally reflecting the blue light of the dragon to make its beautiful feathers all the more mesmerising. Both Shouta and the dragon were stunned.

This was a courting display !

While physically possible for a dragon and a wyvern to bond, it was exceedingly rare and all but unheard of, and yet…

Maybe it was the amount of territory, maybe it was the press of spring so soon in their young futures, or maybe it was the ethereal blue flame, but for whatever reason this wyvern was interested in the burned dragon.

The blue beast, on the other hand, still appeared confused.

With its initial display ignored, the wyvern continued. It leapt into the air and flapped its powerful wings, extinguishing the blue flames with the whip of the wind. Aizawa was awed, and he felt Hizashi grab his wrist and try to tug him away, but he couldn’t move: this was a once in a lifetime sight.

The wyvern began to perform an intricate aerial display of dips and twists, with soft moonlight sliding across its feathers. Although normal dragons could fly thanks to magic, their swimming-style of flight could not compare to the power and grace of a wyvern’s wings and coordination. They were made for the sky and it clearly showed.

Aizawa wasn’t the only one mesmerised, judging by the way the dragon’s black feathers puffed up. There would be a fight, either way: both beasts were alphas, until one was bitten on the tail. In either case, the dragon would then attempt its own courtship by offering pieces of its hoard, and slowly the two would grow used to the other, and eventually they’d bond for life.

“Shouta,” said a soft whisper beside him, and it was enough to break the slayer from the captivating sight. He turned and his eyes met something just as captivating: Hizashi Yamada’s worried face.

Alarms rang in his head at last. They were in danger here, but this was their chance to escape. He nodded to signify his lucidity and understanding, and he grabbed Hizashi’s hand as he led him away from the clearing, thankfully moving undetected. The dragon had probably forgotten all about them in favour of the captivating wyvern that continued to twist and turn and dazzle in the sky above.

For whatever reason it had appeared, Shouta would never forget the spectacular sight.

-x-

They were soon back at their campsite, far from the territory of the dragon. Hizashi looked to the sky but could no longer see any sign of the winged dragon. “That was lucky… Maybe it liked my playing so much it wanted an encore!”

Aizawa looked at him oddly. “Hm?”

“That winged dragon came into camp and randomly sat and listened to me play! It was really cool and curious and didn’t try to attack me at all!”

“A wyvern,” Aizawa corrected softly. “Dragons have four legs, but a wyvern has two legs and two wings.” Hizashi blinked in surprise but nodded. “This is yours.”

The slayer returned the jade necklace to its rightful place around Hizashi’s neck. The cool weight of the jade rested against his chest, and Hizashi felt tingly at its return. “Thank you,” he said, voice dripping with warmth. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without it…”

For a moment he remembered the brief kiss they’d shared in the forest, before the dragon had discovered them, and his cheeks felt warm. Why had he done that…? Hizashi moved a few strands of fringe behind his trembling animal ears.

“I need to thank you too, for using your Quirk. I was in trouble, but your quick thinking really saved me.” Shouta stepped away to give him more personal space. Hizashi wished he didn’t feel a twinge of disappointment. Right, he’d been contemplating seducing Aizawa again, to feel what it was like without the blend of pheromones driving him crazy, but…

The blond cupped the jade pendant in his hand and swallowed. “This is all I have left of my mother…” Hizashi continued before Shouta had a chance to interrupt. “I’ve mentioned it before: my mother was a bard and my father was forced to marry her after she fell pregnant. But, despite her beauty and kindness, he never loved her - or me . Every night he’d go out drinking and return the next day smelling of sweat and perfume… ‘A man’s duty is to be with women, Hizashi, while a woman’s duty is to be with one man.’” He sat himself down beside their dying fire. Hizashi hadn’t realised how tired he was until that moment, even though he’d only recently slept, but his story continued since the slayer didn’t stop him. “My mother was faithful, but … He used to claim she was the one who went around, sleeping with everyone else behind his back. They … fought a lot.”

Aizawa sat beside him, his brows knitted together in an uncertain expression. “Hizashi, if it hurts too much, then-”

“ Please ,” he said, allowing a slither of emotion to slip into his tone, “I want to tell you, and I’ve never wanted to tell anybody before, so… Someone needs to know… Needs to know what I did.” Hizashi fell silent, but Aizawa didn’t say anything more, so he continued. “He was a violent man, but my mother protected me from the worst of it, until she fell sick.” He curled his hands into fists and his ears trembled. “It was curable, but although he had the money, he refused to buy her the medicine. I tried to scrounge up enough for it by singing - my mother always encouraged me to sing and write poems - but when my father found out he… got extra violent…”

He didn’t say anything, but his hand moved to the middle of his back, where his old scar rested beneath the soft silken robe. That wound he’d earned for being interested in another boy, but he’d earned plenty of others in the past. That’d been the only one to scar.

“I gave up singing. Mother got sicker and sicker until… I was fourteen. At her funeral, I sung, despite his warning - the same song I sung for the burial of your partner’s scales…”

Yet all is well, her tears have dried, your heart has left to star.

Yet all is well, our tears have dried, our hearts are falling stars...

“He didn’t murder her, but he killed her all the same. Mother couldn’t protect me anymore. That same night, he tried to take her necklace from me, and…”

Hizashi paused as the emotion of that night stirred inside him .

“As his fist came down, all I could think about was how much he’d already taken from me… I decided, in that moment, that he’d taken enough. I… I screamed .” He paused after the admission as angry tears pricked his eyes. “My house collapsed … A ceiling beam crashed directly on top of him.”

His hand covered his mouth as the anger died. That hideous image flashed in his mind – the image of his father’s face as the beam had crashed on top of him. He’d buried the image down for so many years…

Hizashi closed his eyes and thought of the man sitting beside him, to forget that image of death and destruction. Shouta wouldn’t hurt him. He trusted Shouta Aizawa more than he’d ever trusted anyone.

“He died,” Hizashi managed, the emotion gone from his voice, “and I fled Nippon… All because of this necklace.” His fingers curled around the simple jade for reassurance. “ That’s what I should’ve been given this curse for… That’s the worst thing I’ve ever done. That’s why I don’t use my Quirk… He killed my mother, and I killed him.”

He was silent. Hizashi tried to search for something more to say, but he was fruitless in his pursuit, and soon he stopped searching. Instead, Shouta was the one who eventually asked, “Did you get your Quirk from him?”

That was easier to talk about, yet still unpleasant. “I’m a mutation.” Emotion slowly returned to his voice. “His Quirk was called Breath, and my mother’s was Vocal Control. Breath gave amazing lung capacity, while her Quirk focused on vocal cords, giving her the ability to change her voice to any pitch, no matter how high or low… Mine is Voice, a combination of both… Guess it’s kinda ironic, if you have a dark sense of humour. The ‘gift’ he gave me was his demise...”

Thankfully they didn’t have to sit through another silence. “I’m grateful for the help. Throwing your voice was smart…” To his surprise, the slayer smiled. “Although, maybe calling a dragon ‘ugly’ wasn’t the best move.”

Hizashi relaxed at the sight of Shouta’s smile. He wasn’t scared of his Quirk? …He wasn’t scared of him?

“You kidding? That was the best part!” He forced a laugh, and although Shouta didn’t join in the sound, his smile stayed. “Okay, second best. Can’t beat that wyvern showing up and gloating over how pretty it was compared to it! Man, I bet that dragon’s horrified it got shown up twice!” Aizawa stared at him in amazement, his smile vanishing, and it took Hizashi a few moments to rethink it over… Oh. “Wait, the wyvern was courting the ugly dragon?”

Aizawa nodded, and it was impossible to miss the sparkle in his eyes. “It’s very rare for a wyvern and a dragon to court. What we saw was a once in a lifetime experience.”

Hizashi swallowed and looked towards the tree line, but all that greeted him was the darkness beyond. “This whole quest is a real ‘once in a lifetime experience’...” Thankfully the curse mark hadn’t grown, despite the recent chaos. “What direction is the cure?”

The slayer removed the dragon-tooth necklace and held it by the thin cord, and together they watched as it pointed to the north-east. “We’re not too off course,” Aizawa confirmed as he slipped it back on. “We should keep moving. We’ve already lost a lot of time.” Hizashi nodded and went to pull himself to his feet, but was stopped by Shouta’s hand on his shoulder. “Hizashi… Thank you … for telling me. I don’t think it’ll change your mind, but… You’re not like him. What he did to your mother was unforgivable, but what you did to him was self-defence: not murder.”

“…There were two extra lines to the poem,” Hizashi said gently as he picked up his lute. His fingers ran down the strings, creating a dim note, and his melodic voice soon joined the tune.

 “Serpent with a tongue of sun,

Hoarder of the hearts you’ve won.

Your father’s curse is your curse too,

Embraced disgrace be your undo.

A notch for you, the tears they’ve lost,

Your voice of sweet became the cost.

In a place of fear you’ll find,

One who’ll save you with their bind.

A ring of teeth shall set you free,

When life is lost: your lover’s fee.

Not just lust and not just sight,

Once love is your true guiding light.”

Shouta looked at him questioningly as he released his shoulder. “‘Your father’s curse’…?”

“…Sleeping around, and being unable to love,” he said, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. “I take after him more than I’d ever like to admit…”

“Hizashi…” The blond stopped him by shaking his head.

“Let’s just go. We have a curse to break.” They had a quest to continue, and he couldn’t let the past distract him anymore. Aizawa opened his mouth to argue, but seemingly thought better of it. An unhappy nod signalled an understanding and the topic was buried, as their loved ones had been so long ago.

Chapter Text

Chapter Eighteen

Love and Wanting

“I can’t stand their pity,

‘He’s broken,’ they say,

Because, though they’re pretty,

Cupid won’t fly my way.

They think that I’m broken,

But I’m just immune,

To pain that’s unspoken,

In all but a tune.

I feel not a tear,

Or lover’s sweet kiss.

No promise I hear,

So there’s nothing to miss.”

- The Poem of a Wanderer

About a day or so had passed, and things were looking up for the duo. During the night, they no longer travelled in silence, and even though Shouta had been so used to being alone, this was actually … nice.

“So, this guy comes up to me,” continued the blond, his voice over exaggerating every syllable, “and he’s like twice my size, and he says something like: ‘Bet you ten gold you can’t outdrink me!’ Little does this guy know, I’m already four beers down, so of course I’m already drunk off my face, but since I was drunk I figured why not !” As he talked, his hands moved. It was amusing to watch, and just as exaggerated as his voice. “In any case, apparently since I started out drunk, even by the eighth beer I wasn’t acting any different and they thought I was sober! Let’s just say I woke up in a ditch the next day with the worst hangover, but ten gold richer!”

Aizawa grinned. “Maybe he took advantage, and the ten gold was him paying for your ‘service’.”

Hizashi gasped in horror. “I think I would’ve noticed that!”

He snorted, but the jovial air was contagious. “Once had a girl hit on me. I’d had a few too many, and her hair was tied up weirdly - thought she was a guy. The next moment we were kissing, and she put my hand against her breast...”

The blond looked beyond amused. “And so you manned up, told her about the mistake, and civilly went your separate ways?”

“I ran ,” he admitted with a cool grin. “Never ran from a dragon before, but dragons don’t have breasts.”

Hizashi laughed at that, a genuine sound that made his chest thrum with delight. “Oh my god! So much for the brave dragon slayer! Your record’s been tarnished though, Mr. Never-Ran! Blue fire too scary?”

“That dragon’s already got enough on its plate if it’s trying to court a wyvern. They’re not as territorial as dragons, but they’re somehow even more egotistical.”

The blond dug around inside his bag and soon procured the book on dragons. “Think it’ll say anything about them in here?”

Shouta rolled his eyes. “No, that book is garbage. I could write a better book…”

Well, maybe not… Even though he could write in his original language, he’d never been great at it. Written smarts just never came naturally to him. He was mightier with a sword than a quill.

“...Why don’t we camp now?” asked the blond, catching him by surprise.

“We’ve got hours until the sun rises,” he pointed out. “We don’t have time to waste.”

Hizashi shrugged and glanced away, as if he was embarrassed. “It’s just … I promised I’d teach you how to read, but we haven’t had any lessons in ages. Let’s rest early tonight. We’ll be better for it.”

The blond had a point, but not for that reason. They’d be passing by a town soon, so it was better to break here so Hizashi would have time to turn dragon and then human again before they got too close. There was a stream here too, and the duo were about due for another rinse down, while the trees were spaced apart to offer enough room from his companion’s dragon form.

“...Fine,” he said with a nod, “we’ll camp here tonight.” Aizawa started by building a fire and Hizashi sat against a tree, strumming his lute as he waited for him. “Okay, let’s see how bad this book is.”

Aizawa settled beside the blond as he picked up the finely bound book and opened it. They revised the alphabet and some of the words he’d managed to pick up, before Hizashi started to read it through with him.

While most of the information was harmless, some of the lies the book spouted made his blood boil. A dragon would die if it touched snow, dragons were afraid of seagulls, and the worst one of all: dragons would kidnap virgins. All lies…

At some point, their legs pressed together, but neither noticed enough to pull away from the touch.

Aizawa was about done with the annoying book, even though he could manage to read a lot of the simpler words now. “This writer knows nothing about dragons,” he summarised with an annoyed huff. “He’s spreading misinformation. If a dragon is living away from people, it’s no harm to anyone and should be spared.”

Hizashi looked at him, and Aizawa’s brain threatened to stop functioning when he realised how close they were. The two had been so enthralled in reading the book, they were practically cuddling into each other's side. He almost pulled away, but a small voice in his head convinced him this was nice, and he couldn’t find the will. Hizashi would push him away if this was uncomfortable for him… right?

“...What if there was a sanctuary?” Aizawa stared at him in confusion, and Hizashi continued. “You know, like a place where dragons could go and be safe. I know it would be weird for the territory thing, there’d have to be a way around that. You said they’re smart; if they thought it would help them be safe from hunters, then you could protect some of them.”

“...I’m a dragon slayer, Yamada: not a dragon protector…”

The blond swallowed and offered him the book. “Then inspire others to protect them… Write a proper book that isn’t full of lies. Convince the listeners out there that dragons are really freaking cool and complex and not just monsters!” Shouta hesitated. There was no way he could write that well… It was almost like Hizashi read his thoughts, for he stared intently into Shouta’s eyes and said, “I’ll write it with you.”

The slayer’s mouth hung open in shock. “... You’d do that…?”

Hizashi nodded, but his eyes glanced slightly lower, to Aizawa’s lips, and the look didn’t go unnoticed. “Yeah…”

The blond was even closer now, and he didn’t need to be a detective to figure out why. Slowly, their faces were nearing, as if they were each pulled forward by some invisible force. Shouta was about to close the distance, when Hizashi’s hands grabbed his shoulders and wrenched him forward to rid the gap for good.

Their lips locked together. He pressed a hand to Hizashi’s cheek, but then moved it up to brush through his beautiful blond hair. His soft scent filled his nose, this time without the nauseating pheromones to detract from it, and he once again found himself thinking about how perfectly they fit together like this. A tongue ran over his lip, and Shouta was more than happy to deepen the kiss as he opened his mouth and let Hizashi’s tongue explore.

They sat like that for a short while, tongues entwining, saliva running down their chins, until Hizashi pulled away briefly. For a worried moment, he thought it was over, but then the blond moved into his lap and kissed him again. Wait, was he wanting to do more than just kiss…? No, probably not, he was just getting closer…

*** Aizawa was forced to remove his hands from the blond’s long hair so he could hold his hips to support him, and the kissing grew messier and messier as his head grew clouded. Hizashi’s tail rubbed against his leg, creating an odd but pleasant sensation, and just as he was about to break away from the kiss, the blond rubbed their hips together. He groaned in pleasure and felt the bard shiver. Wait, he was planning to do more?

The slayer broke away from the kiss briefly, his breath coming out in short pants, and he was about to tell the blond that they shouldn’t do this, but then he caught sight of his face. His lips dripped with excess saliva, bottom lip slightly swollen from sucking, and his face was red with heat. What caught him most, however, were his piercing emerald eyes.

Although his pupils were round, his gaze reminded him of an animal staring down its prey.

Then Hizashi Yamada was kissing him again, and any argument temporarily died. Their hips moved against each other, and soft groans of pleasure filled their mouths. It continued like that until one of the bard’s hands squeezed at his chest, and then pulled away in surprise. Shouta blinked, head in a lustful daze, and his eyes stared at Hizashi’s hand.

“...Right, forgot,” the blond said, voice a mixture of husky and light-hearted, “no breasts…”

Shouta internally winced. Was Hizashi doing this because he was needy, or because he shared his feelings? He’d been hoping for the latter, but… They should stop this now, before feelings got hurt - before he got hurt - but…

The slayer pulled the other half of Hizashi’s robe away, so his torso was completely bare, and leaned forward. His mouth wrapped around his left nipple and his hand toyed with the right, catching the blond completely off-guard. A high-pitched moan tore from his throat and his legs squeezed Shouta’s hips. Claws tried to dig into his back, but were stopped by his cloak and his leather doublet beneath, although the attempt certainly spurred him on.

-o-

His right nipple was pinched between strong fingers while the other was rolled beneath an expert tongue, earning moan after moan from Hizashi. He’d never been on the receiving end of something like this before, but it felt amazing . Hizashi had never realised how sensitive his nipples were, but wow, Shouta knew what he was doing.

He could already feel a damp patch of pre-cum in his pants, but that wasn’t the only place… His entrance felt tingly. While the slayer was teasing him, Hizashi moved forward and kicked off his shoes and pants, but didn’t bother removing the robe from around his waist. By the time Aizawa stopped, there was already a bruise forming beside his right nipple, but he didn’t mind - it had felt too good to be a concern.

“Zawa~” He took the slayer’s hand in his and moved it to his slick entrance, rocking his hips against him. “My body wants you~”

An odd look crossed Aizawa’s face, almost like a moment of … hurt ? “Yamada,” he said, voice sounding conflicted.

His breathing hitched. Was he going to tell him to stop? He didn’t want to stop now. What had he said that’d caused such a reaction? Hizashi was desperate for more, and he knew Aizawa wanted his body just as much as Hizashi wanted his. Of course if he’d told him to stop, he would’ve instantly stopped, but…

The bard swallowed and moved so his face was at the slayer’s crotch. He nuzzled against the tent he found there, earning a sharp inhale from the other man, but he wasn’t stopped. One slight tug at the hem of Shouta’s pants and the length sprung free, larger than he remembered.

A wave of startled pleasure ran through him. This had been inside him - had felt good inside him - and he wanted to feel that again. He wrapped a hand around the shaft and shivered when he felt how hot it was. So, he’d never done this with a man before, but how different could it be to going down on a woman? Besides, Hizashi knew what he liked, so he could stick with that…

He ran his tongue up the length of the shaft and gently pushed the skin back. The top was already glistened with a bead of precum, and for a moment he hesitated at the thought of tasting another man’s seed, before he decided he was too needy to care.

He ran his tongue over the slit, tasting the saltiness and finding it wasn’t as unpleasant as he’d expected. However, a hand came down and stopped him. “ Yamada, ” forced out Aizawa, although he wasn’t pushing him away.

Hizashi frowned up at him, his moustache tilting with the expression. “We did it before…”

“Cause the mark would’ve grown,” Shouta justified.

He trembled and his chest ached a little, although he wasn’t sure why. “You’re not attracted to me…?”

Aizawa’s eyes widened a little in shock. “Hizashi … You’re beautiful… ”

“Then what’s the problem…?” The slayer stared at him. It looked like there was a lot he wanted to say, yet he said nothing. Hizashi swallowed. His entrance was now throbbing with need, so he took to rubbing his tail against it. It brought some relief, but he needed something inside him soon… He noticed the way Aizawa’s eyes shifted to the sight and hungrily watched, and the length in his hand twitched. Hizashi grinned devilishly. “Your body wants me~”

The man was clearly in a losing battle. He finally managed three simple words. “ I want you... ” What was intended to be a clarification was misconstrued for a confirmation, and Hizashi felt elated at his victory. Even so, Aizawa didn’t move his fingers to his entrance; he sat and watched, as if awaiting some sort of response.

Well, if he wasn’t going to prepare him…

Hizashi slipped his tail up and slid the tapered tip inside, moaning lowly at the feeling of being gradually stretched. He looked up at Shouta, who seemed genuinely caught off-guard by the enticing sight, and the dick twitched against his palm. The blond resumed his quest to pleasure the man, running his tongue up and down his hard length, paying special attention to the slit at the top. He earned more salty precum for his ministrations, but knew he could milk a lot more.

Hizashi opened his mouth wide and stuck out his tongue, slowly sliding the tip across its length until it was partially in his mouth. He was careful to not catch it with his teeth (especially his fangs) as he sucked the tip, earning himself a groan from Aizawa. The blond continued to stretch himself with his own tail, the scales easily sliding in and out of the slick entrance, and his thighs were quickly becoming a sopping mess. He didn’t know if his body had a limit to the amount of lubricant it could produce, nor did he really care to put too much interest in the thought.

He struggled to find his sweet spot though, and he wished it was Shouta’s fingers inside him, stretching him out and making him feel good. In response to the thought, he took more of the length inside his mouth and ran his tongue over the underside as he bobbed his head. It was certainly a different sensation to what he was used to, to have the thick, hot shaft stretching his mouth, but he didn’t find it unpleasant at all, even as precum continued to turn his tongue salty. A hand squeezed his shoulder, a silent signal that Aizawa wouldn’t last long if he kept up the ministrations, and Hizashi pulled away from the length with a satisfied popping sound.

The slayer grabbed his face and pulled him into a dirty kiss, and the bard was eager to return it as he slid the tail from his entrance. It had felt good, but the tapered tip hadn’t filled him enough … but something else would.

As they kissed, Hizashi hovered his hips forward, and finally pressed his dripping entrance to the tip of Shouta’s large, hard length. He tried to pull away from the kiss briefly, intending to ask if it was okay to continue, but the slayer made his desire clear when he grabbed Hizashi’s hips and wasted no time in sinking him down on his length.

The blond moaned blissfully into the slayer’s mouth. Fuck it felt amazing as his length immediately pressed against his sweet spot. It was dizzying to know the huge length he’d struggled to fit in his mouth was now completely inside him, filling him with its width, but the thought made his own length twitch. Hizashi trembled, knowing he should wait a moment until he was used to the sensation, but he’d never been a patient man.

Almost immediately, he moved his hips up and down, needily working the shaft against his sweet spot. Aizawa was focused on kissing him, seemingly content to let him do all the work with his hips. Why had Hizashi been so against having sex with men? He’d been missing out on so much pleasure! Even without the pheromones it felt great, and oil would’ve been a good lubricant prior to his dragon anatomy changes...

An odd thought crossed his mind: What if it only felt this good because he was having sex with Shouta Aizawa?

I want you.

The slayer pulled away from his lips so he could go back to teasing his nipples, and the sensation sharpened the pleasure inside him. Hands ran over his body, and although his own length was ignored, he was going to finish purely from the other sensations alone.

What he wanted most of all, however, was the one thing that would make this reach the pinnacle of pleasure…

“Fuck Shouta~” he moaned needily. “Bite me~” Hizashi moved his head to the side, offering the man the perfect place on his neck. A scar of teeth marks to let the world know how amazing Shouta was - how amazing they were together. Oh god, he’d never wanted anything more than that.

“Hizashi~” the slayer breathlessly moaned. He stopped biting his nipples, but didn’t move to his neck, instead choosing to tightly press his face against his chest. His hips thrust upwards, meeting the blond’s movement to create a sudden wave of pleasure. Several more sharp thrusts followed and Hizashi’s vision was painted over with white.

He forgot all about his unfulfilled desire to be claimed, for in that moment he genuinely felt like he already belonged to Shouta, and Shouta belonged to him. In that moment they were all they had and all they ever needed and Hizashi wanted nothing more and nothing less. They were complete.

His insides pleasantly burned with seed, and his robe was sticky with his own cum. Black hair pressed against his sweaty chest, with scratchy stubble outlining the man’s face, and Hizashi felt the urge to pepper his hairline with butterfly kisses. He managed to stop himself, although he wasn’t sure why he bothered. Why did that feel too intimate, even while Shouta was still buried inside him?

Shouta’s arms stopped squeezing him, yet he continued to hold him, and Hizashi felt lips gently press against his chest. However, when he spoke, his voice was quiet and … sad? “You do realise I’m attached to my dick, right…?”

Hizashi blinked in surprise, but Aizawa didn’t look up. “Huh?”

“…I’m not just a walking dick for you to use whenever you feel horny...” Unbridled emotion loomed behind the words, but Shouta didn’t raise his voice. “I don’t… want you to use me like that…”

Hizashi was confused. The man had claimed he’d slept around, so what difference did this make? If he was using him, then the opposite was true as well: they were using each other. “You said I was beautiful…”

Aizawa’s shoulders drooped and a heavy sigh filled the air. He stopped holding Hizashi and instead helped him lift his hips off his softened length. A mixture of semen and lubricant flooded from his insides, dirtying his thighs and running messily down his bare legs, and the slayer helped them both to stand.

*** “Does it hurt?”

There was a slight discomfort, but definitely no pain. He shook his head and Aizawa led him to the river so they could both get cleaned up. “Were you lying?” Hizashi asked, an odd grip of fear in his chest. “When you said I was beautiful…?”

“You are beautiful, Yamada,” he said, swapping back to his last name. “You’re the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen, but…” Hizashi waited with bated breath for all the typical insults: annoying, loud, selfish, shallow. Instead, Aizawa said: “You’re charming, and funny, and gentle and smart… I like being around you…” He sighed heavily and hid his face with one hand. “…Hizashi… I like you.”

He blinked, his chest feeling light at the simple words, but of course he was misinterpreting them. Of course Shouta Aizawa wasn’t really saying what he thought he was saying, because this was Shouta Aizawa, the man who hated bards, who hated him, who… “Do you like me, or do you … love me? ”

Shouta was silent, and that was all the answer he needed.

The blond waded alone into the river until the surface reached his waist, and he let the dark water carry away everything of their intimate moment. And yet…

His heart was beating fast, but not with fear. Hizashi was happy to hear those words, and that was what scared him. “… The curse …”

“You’re the smart one.” Aizawa turned his back to him as he stripped off his clothes so he could wash himself too. “Think about it.”

Right… The curse…

When life is lost: your lover’s fee.

Aizawa was the lover, and for his curse to be broken he would have to die, but… He didn’t know if he was in love. True, his chest felt light whenever the warrior said things like that, or when he smiled, or helped him, or…

He made his chest feel light, like he would be happy forever, no matter what darkness awaited them, but was that love? True he’d never felt the same way about anybody else, but...

Aizawa was the first person he’d talked to since becoming a dragon. He was the only one who’d helped him when everyone else had fled, and before meeting him he’d been so lonely. It was too much of a coincidence, for someone like Hizashi, who had never loved someone romantically before, to suddenly find the love of his life after being in isolation for three years… But...

“What about you…?” Aizawa asked, his voice practically a whisper.

The wall inside the bard crumbled at last.

Shit: Hizashi loved him.

Oh god, he was in love with Shouta Aizawa !

He was in love, but he was too scared about the reason behind it. Did he only love him because of the isolation? Did he only love him because the curse required him to have a lover? Was it because the dragon loved him? Or did he only love him because he was a desperate man who was so terrified of being alone, he was willing to fall for the first similarly tormented soul he’d come across?

...Or maybe he loved him because he was handsome, and because he was selfless. Shouta had a good heart, and Hizashi genuinely enjoyed being around him.

… Well, none of that mattered. He was madly in love with Shouta Aizawa, but if that meant Shouta would give his life to save him, then Hizashi Yamada couldn’t let that happen.

He’d rather die.

“Sorry,” he said, unable to look back at the dragon slayer, “I don’t love you.”

Shouta didn’t deserve to die because of his stupid curse.

*** (Read this for a non-sexy summary of what happens during the sexy scene. It's 100% okay if you're uncomfortable with sex scenes!)

Hizashi continues to kiss him, and it quickly becomes clear that he does want to do more. Shouta tries to tell him that they shouldn’t continue, but he gets distracted by how beautiful Hizashi is (although he can’t help but notice that Hizashi’s gaze reminds him of an animal watching its prey). Before he can voice any argument, however, they’re kissing again.

The kiss is interrupted, however, when Hizashi squeezes Shouta’s pecs and pulls away – for a moment he forgot Shouta was a dude.

Shouta is thrown off by this. He’s hopeful that this is because Hizashi returns his feelings, but now he’s unsure. He again thinks they should stop, before he gets hurt, but instead he pulls Hizashi’s robe away and continues.

The perspective swaps to Hizashi, who has absolutely zero concerns – he’s enjoying it immensely. However, things reach a tipping point when Hizashi tells Shouta: “My body wants you.”

For a moment, Shouta looks hurt, and Hizashi’s worried that he’s going to be forced to stop, but he isn’t. Unable to figure out why Shouta had such a reaction, he continues until Shouta puts a hand on his shoulder and says his name (although he doesn’t push Hizashi away).

Hizashi is confused, but pauses. He doesn’t understand why Shouta doesn’t want to have some fun, claiming aloud: “We did it before.”

Shouta tries to justify himself by telling him they only did it last time because the mark would’ve grown. At the admission, Hizashi’s a little hurt, although he doesn’t know why. Instead, he assumes Shouta isn’t attracted to him.

When he asks this, Shouta is shocked, and quickly tells him the truth: “Hizashi… You’re beautiful.”

Shouta still hasn’t pushed him away or outright told him no. Hizashi can’t understand why Shouta doesn’t want to sleep with him, especially when he’d been so receptive earlier. “Your body wants me~” Hizashi says.

Shouta, in a losing battle with his own self-control, admits: “I want you…”

What’s intended to be a clarification is misconstrued for confirmation, and things resume. (Hizashi’s tail is involved. Apparently he can control it quite well). Hizashi does hesitate at one point, planning to reaffirm that Shouta is okay to continue, but Shouta consents before the question is even asked.

Hizashi finds himself wondering (not for the first time) why he’d been so against sleeping with men for so long, but this is interrupted by an odd thought: what if he only likes doing this because it’s with Shouta Aizawa?

Shouta’s words ring again in his mind: I want you.

However, before he can reach an epiphany, he gets distracted again. Hizashi quickly decides that what he needs most of all is for Shouta to bite him and leave a scar of teeth marks on his neck. Thankfully, Shouta has enough sense not to bite him as they finish. Hizashi has the healthier urge to pepper Shouta’s hairline with kisses, but he stops himself – for some reason that feels too intimate, despite everything else they’ve just done.

However, the high doesn’t last long. Shouta clearly feels used, despite consenting, and he makes this clear to Hizashi, who is surprised. The dragon slayer clarifies that: “I don’t… want you to use me like that…”

Hizashi (as usual) is confused. Shouta had claimed to have slept around prior to meeting him, so why was this different? They were using each other. Hizashi is still convinced that Shouta only wanted to sleep with him because he’s beautiful. He can’t fathom any other reason for this turn of events.

Shouta, clearly down and unhappy with this, helps them both to stand.

(The rest of the chapter is okay to read. Either look for the three stars *** or find the next line, which is:

“Does it hurt?” )

Chapter Text

Chapter Nineteen

Two Idiots

‘Hunting dragons is not for hobbyists. The most successful hunters grow up in clans, learning it as a trade. Sometimes hunters will come together, even from differing clans, going by codenames that usually denote their role in a hunt. Beyond being raised with the skill, each person has their own reason for putting their life on the line in this way. Some want money, which is easy to acquire from the sale of dragon parts and hoard pieces, divvied up at the end of a kill. Some pursue fame, encouraging thankful villagers to spread the word of their good deeds. Others, however, have no other option.’

- A Complete Guide to Dragons by Eraserhead

Shouta wasn’t heartbroken.

No, that would’ve involved being hopeful about his feelings being reciprocated by the bard, and, well… he was a bard…

No, Hizashi was more complex than that , but it had been a fantasy nevertheless.

So no, Shouta wasn’t heartbroken…

But he was hurt.

“If your dragon hormones flip out again,” he said roughly, “I’ll help appease them. Thanks for the reading lessons, but I’m… I can’t anymore.”

“I wasn’t lying about helping you write a book,” Hizashi said quickly, as if he was surprised by his decision. “And I can still teach you to read. If you really don’t want sex then we won’t have sex – I promise.”

He shook his head. “I’ll save you from the curse, as I promised I would, and afterwards I’ll take you to the closest town, but I won’t be able to stay after that. I’m sorry if it sounds immature, but…” It would hurt too much, right? To be around the one you loved without your feelings being returned? Or would it hurt more to rid them from your life entirely…?

“Oh… Okay… For the best,” Hizashi said, his voice sounding odd , but Shouta didn’t read too deeply into it.

He moved into the river, but kept a safe distance between them as he washed himself down. His gaze was fixed on the reflection of the moon, and nothing else was said between them. As soon as he was clean, the dragon slayer left the river and pulled his clothes back on, determined to hunt them something to eat to help clear his mind of the unsavoury distraction.

“Aizawa,” the blond said, and he dutifully stopped. “I’m sorry…”

Shouta shook his head, but couldn’t bring himself to look back. “Please, don’t be. You can’t control who you love. I hope, one day, you’ll love someone, and I hope they love you back… You deserve to be loved.”

Hizashi was silent for a short while, but before Shouta left, he quietly said, “You deserve to be loved too…”

Shouta could say nothing more as he left the blond to his own devices.

His head felt crowded as he moved through the trees and unslung his hunting bow from his back. However, he was too distracted as he tried to find them some food, and the reason was stupid: he had hoped Hizashi reciprocated his feelings.

In fact, he’d been certain of it…

Had he been blinded by his own feelings? Had he been reading too deeply into nothing?

Now he couldn’t get the image of Hizashi from his mind. Oh… Okay… For the best. Had that been strange wording? ‘For the best’? No, Aizawa had been rejected and he needed to accept-

He stopped.

Well the curse’s clause is clearly a joke! Love? A lover? Complete and utter fiction! Besides, it sounds like it wants someone to die for me… ‘When life is lost’... No thank you. I’d rather die!

Shouta had to lean against a tree as realisation struck. Oh… Oh, he was an idiot! 

The bard grabbed him by his cloak and pulled him forward into a forceful kiss.

Just like with the dislike for bugs, Hizashi and the dragon’s minds weren’t so different, just…

He’d preferred him, a human, over another dragon, and he’d been courting him, and he...

Hizashi Yamada loved him.

A rush of joy thrummed through him, and his legs trembled as he decoded Hizashi’s thought process. That idiot…

Despite his arrogance, and egotism, even when they’d first met, the bard had been altruistic in other ways. Hizashi Yamada might’ve hurt the women in his past, but he knew the worth of a human life. And he…

Hizashi didn’t want Shouta to be the lover in the poem. He didn’t want him to die. If the dragon slayer had been in his position, he might’ve even done the same...

Shouta swallowed and looked up to the starry sky overhead. What was the right thing to do? He could be overthinking this. Maybe Hizashi really didn’t like him…

Shouta remembered the way the bard laughed, and a smile lit his face, but then he remembered the way he’d brashly dismissed the chance for more reading lessons. “ I’m the idiot,” he said with a sigh and scratched the back of his neck, his fingers trailing against his leather collar.

So then, what could he do? Talk it over with Hizashi? But what if he was wrong about it? He was horrible at reading people, and…

He wanted to stay with Hizashi Yamada.

Whether his feelings were reciprocated or not, he didn’t want to leave his life. Shouta wanted to keep learning how to read, and he wanted to write a book with Hizashi, and wanted to keep hearing his laugh, and his stories, and his songs, and wanted to wake up next to him and wanted to- …

And maybe Hizashi wanted that too…

Okay. If the bard had rejected him, even if it had been for a noble reason, he’d respect that. He’d continue as they’d been before, act like he really had had his hopes dashed, but he’d ask Hizashi if he wanted him to stay in his life. Maybe, even if he didn’t love Shouta, he’d want to stay with him, and that would make him content.

For now, he’d start by getting them some food. His chest felt lighter, despite the slew of emotions.

He’d stay with Hizashi Yamada for as long as he let him, no matter what.

-x-

Hizashi finished washing himself and pulled on his robe, but carried the pants and boots back to the campsite where the fire remained burning. The sun would be up soon, so there was no point in getting completely dressed.

There was a dull ache in his chest, and he hated himself for it. People were supposed to be elated when they realised they were in love, but…

Dammit, why hadn’t he met Shouta before all this? Would he have fallen for him even without the curse looming over them? Would he have even bothered to get to know him? Well, they both travelled around a lot… Maybe they would’ve talked, and decided to go to the next town together, and Hizashi would’ve played for him and Shouta would’ve eventually realised that-...

What? That he was a ‘great guy’? That he was ‘sweet’ and ‘caring’? The blond was none of those things…

...Was this why he’d been cursed? He’d hurt Shouta, and that hurt him, but how many others had he uncaringly hurt in the past? How many women had felt this exact same feeling for him, only to be shoved away with a cruel laugh? At least Hizashi knew his feelings for the slayer were reciprocated. How worse had it been for the others then, to know deep down he’d never love them back…?

How badly was Shouta hurting right now?

...He did deserve this curse.

His ears drooped low. He sat against the tree from earlier and picked up his lute. The notes came easily to him, as did the jagged words of the song he’d written in another lifetime.

“ The sorrowful flower stared up at the sun,

His hurt form as barren as stone.

And then he did die with but one last song,

‘‘‘Twas better to be all alone…’”

He frowned, yet his fingers didn’t stop playing the tune on the fine strings. Hizashi had been alone, and now… He swallowed and closed his eyes and played on as he wrote a new ending for the flower...

Hizashi was smiling by the end of it, although the ache hadn’t vanished. He heard a rustling in the nearby bushes, and he thought Shouta had returned, so he excitedly stood, only to be greeted by an unfamiliar face.

The man was a simple farmer, judging by his outfit and pitchfork, and he must’ve been drawn by Hizashi’s voice, but he froze at the sight of the horned-bard. “Yo,” the blond said with an awkward grin, “do you know where the Recovery Spring is? The one that heals-”

The sun took that moment to broach the horizon. As his body was bathed in morning sunlight, he managed to fling his robe and lute away before they were damaged, which might’ve been a traumatic enough sight for the farmer had he not then seen the blond man shift into a dragon !

The brightness faded. Hizashi bowed his large head, questioning how the farmer would react and-

The man held the pitchfork up, brandishing it like a spear. “Monster!” he cried, waving the rusted tips at him. However, Hizashi was more affected by the fear on his face. “Get back!”

The dragon obeyed, his ears flat against his mane of feathers. Despite the threat, he managed to retain control of himself. However, the farmer moved closer and continued to wave the pitchfork around. Was he planning to attack him?

The stranger only stopped when an arrow sunk into the dirt at his feet. He leapt back in shock. From the bushes emerged Shouta, his bow in hand and several dead rabbits tied to his belt. “Get away from him,” growled the slayer.

The farmer looked relieved. “Quick sir! You need to kill this monster! I’ll-”

Shouta strode forward and put himself between the dragon and the stranger, his back to the golden beast. His bow was dropped and his sword was drawn in one fluid motion. “I said get away.”

The farmer looked terrified. He wobbled back several paces, glanced a few times between the dragon and the slayer, and finally bolted from the clearing. The retreating footsteps faded into the distance, soon subsumed by the soft crackle of the fire.

Shouta’s shoulders visibly slumped as he turned to him. “Are you hurt?” he asked, eyes searching for any fresh wounds.

Only then did Hizashi realise his mighty dragon body was trembling. He shook his large head, but there was a knowing look in Shouta’s captivating eyes. The slayer sheathed his sword and held up his hands. Hizashi understood the signal and shakily lowered his head enough so the man could take his jaw gently between his palms. Comforting arms wrapped around his snout as Hizashi’s monstrous face was pressed to Shouta’s chest, and he could hear the rock of the human’s heart - it beat faster than he thought it could.

One of Aizawa’s hands slipped up and gently smoothed his golden feathers, and he felt his own ‘Dragon Fruit’ hammer against his ribcage, in sync with the sound of gentle humming. He wanted to cry, but he didn’t even have tear ducts in this form. Man, he didn’t deserve to be loved by someone like Shouta… 

But he wanted to be.

Fine, after he was cured by the Recovery Spring - once there was no reason for Shouta to die for him - he would confess to the slayer. Hizashi was determined to become someone who deserved Shouta Aizawa’s love.

He pressed his face close to Shouta’s chest and soaked in the compassion, but the moment soon passed. “We should go,” the slayer said gently, “before he decides to bring a mob here, or worse… We’ll go a bit out of the way, since we’ve gotta give the town some space, especially if you’re in dragon form.”

The dragon was weary, but couldn’t fault the logic behind the plan. He nodded his large head and Shouta released him, although there was a remnant of sadness in his eyes. Right, once his voice was back, he would sing him the new ending of the song! That would help cheer him up!

Their bags were gathered, the fire was extinguished, and they were quickly on their way. Skirting around the village was easy enough, although they were both already tired from lack of sleep. Shouta didn’t say anything - not that Hizashi could’ve replied in dragon form.

Eventually they found a different place to camp, and the golden beast let his heavy body drop to the dirt after taking a moment to light a fire for them. His mind was warring between sleep and hunger, but the scent of roasted rabbit made the latter succeed.

“You’re not a monster,” Shouta said at last, as if he needed to hear it… Maybe he did need to hear it. “I once said I thought you deserved this curse … Don’t think I ever admitted I was wrong.” Hizashi’s ears perked at the words and the man scratched the back of his neck. “You don’t deserve this curse. I also … Even if you don’t like me in the same way, I … don’t want to lose you… I want to be friends, even after this… if you do too…”

The dragon stared at him, but the man’s attention was focused on cooking their meal. He was handsome in the light of the fire, with his different-coloured eyes and his rough stubble and his tied hair, yet his shoulders were tense as he waited for his answer.  Hizashi put him out of his misery by nodding in agreement.

He didn’t want to lose Shouta either.

The slayer visibly relaxed, but simply nodded as well and finished cooking the rabbits. Hizashi wolfed down the food as soon as it was ready, and although it wasn’t enough to sate the appetite of a dragon, it was enough to stop the itch of hunger. Shouta glanced around, probably looking for a place to sleep, and the beast whined at the back of his throat. The slayer glanced at him curiously as Hizashi pulled his heavy body up and moved to his side, slumping back down behind him.

“Yamada…” The man didn’t look too thrilled about the offered closeness, but the name was the only hint of complaint as the dragon’s tail gently nudged him back against the feathers of his leg. Shouta surrendered. He sat himself against the soft, golden feathers, and Hizashi moved his head into his lap. A ghost of a sad smile twitched the slayer’s lips, and his fingers tenderly brushed over the dragon’s mane. “...If you really want to keep teaching me how to read,” he said, his voice quiet, “then I’d be grateful…”

Hizashi nodded against him and closed his heavy eyes. All he could smell was the smoke of the fire and the earthy scent of the man he loved. The last sound he heard before sleep took him was Shouta playing the protective song on his panpipes.

-x-

The sun had already set by the time Shouta woke, meaning the bard was already in his human form. It might’ve been easier had one of them woken beforehand and moved, but the exhaustion had weighed too heavily on them and … well …

A naked Hizashi was sound asleep in his arms.

While it would’ve been nice to lay there like that, stroking the long blond hair and feeling him breathe against him, Shouta didn’t waste any time in carefully pulling himself away. It would’ve been wrong to do that sort of stuff with someone who possibly didn’t share his feelings, especially without their consent.

He found Hizashi’s robe and carefully draped it over his sleeping form while he brought out some of the remaining rations for breakfast. The Recovery Spring couldn’t’ve been too far from here… He removed the dragon tooth necklace and let it dangle on the fishing cord. For a moment it pointed at him, but then shuddered and rotated to point north.

Soon their journey would end, except…

Hizashi wanted to stay with him, and that filled him with hope.

Shouta heard his companion stir, and he gathered a serving of rations for him. “Mornin’. We’ll move as soon as possible,” Shouta told him as he brought him the food. Hizashi yawned and sat up as he rubbed the sleep from his emerald eyes.

“Thanks,” he murmured as he took the food and sleepily ate it. “Oh, I wrote some new lyrics for that flower song. Wanna listen?” There was a hesitation in his tone, a fear of refusal.

Shouta raised an eyebrow, but as much as he did want to listen to it, he had to be logical. “We’re too close to town, and I doubt we’re out of danger just yet. We should be as quiet as possible.” The blond’s ears drooped. Shouta swallowed. “But once we’re clear, I’d … like to listen.”

Hizashi’s ears instantly perked again, and he devoured the breakfast with far more zeal, but Shouta turned his attention to the dark horizon, his senses on edge.

A human had seen a dragon, and Shouta Aizawa was all too familiar with how that story ended. In fact, he usually played the starring role. A mob of peasants wasn’t what he feared most, because…

When it came to dragons, it was best to hire a professional.

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty

A Place of Fear

"In a place of fear you’ll find,

One who’ll save you with their bind.

A ring of teeth shall set you free,

When life is lost: your lover’s fee.

Not just lust and not just sight,

Once love is your true guiding light.”

They left the proximity of the town, and then some. It took several hours for Shouta to be satisfied with the distance, and only then did he deem it suitable for the duo to take a short break to rest their legs. As Hizashi set down his worldly possessions and stretched his limbs in the moonlight, Shouta quietly said, “Let’s hear the new ending.” Hizashi’s head snapped around in surprise. Shouta’s face felt a little warm at the attention, so he added, “I think we’re far enough away.”

Hizashi beamed, his sharp canines shining. His arms instantly took up his lute and readied himself to play. “Okay, so this is the new ending!” Music filled the small clearing, expertly played, and Shouta closed his eyes as he listened intently.

“ The sorrowful flower stared up at the sun,

Her hurt form as barren as stone.

And then she did die with but one last song,

‘Twas better to be all alone…’

Then her withered form,

consumed by the earth,

Was watered by

tears from above.

The sun she still shone,

Despite the sad loss,

The soil, the sunshine and love.

Yes that one flower

Once born of a seed,

Never knew what

Then would become,

For from her cold corpse

An array of blooms,

Other flowers,

Oh how that they sprung.

The years they went by,

Filled with love and with loss,

As sun flowers bloomed

And then died,

Until that sad hill

Was barren no more,

Now a garden

Of blossoms reside.

On that far away hill, their shapes are so tall,

With beauty and sweetness and grace.

Together they bloom, the flowers of sun,

Together, a beautiful place.”

He looked up at Shouta once the song was finished, and he honestly didn’t know how to react. If he hadn’t already been so taken with the blond, he probably would’ve fallen for him right then and there.

“Hizashi…” he started and tried to search for more words, but before he could…

Someone was clapping . The sound was slow and rhythmic and sarcastic. “Bravo, bravo,” called the voice of a stranger, and Shouta was instantly on his feet. “Oh, Eraserhead… How the mighty have fallen… Quite literally.”

No, this man wasn’t a stranger… He knew this man.

A fellow dragon slayer stood in the clearing. “Power Loader.” 

His face was covered by a dragon skull, and he wore a pair of gloves with a sharpened dragon claw at the end of each finger. His outfit was covered in scales, but his chest was bare. Even so, he was free of scars: he was good at what he did.

“What’s this little curiosity you’ve found here, Eraserhead?” Aizawa hadn’t heard his slayer name for a long time. Power Loader gestured at Hizashi, and the blond quickly stood, sensing the danger. “A hybrid?”

“Cursed,” Shouta said lowly, “but he’ll be cured soon.”

“Really?” One clawed finger rotated in a spiral, as if he were tracing Hizashi’s tattoo in the air. “Looks like he’s close. Y’know, this is awkward, ‘cause I was hired to kill a dragon that spooked a farmer. Said a slayer was under its hypnotic control… Should’ve suspected it was you, Eraser. You’ve been a weird one since you lost Loud Cloud.”

“He isn’t a dragon, and he didn’t hurt the farmer,” growled Shouta.

“As I said: awkward. I’ve gotta bring back a Dragon Fruit, or else I ain’t gonna get paid. Got a bit of a deadline too. When’s his next change?”

“You kill him before the curse finishes, and it’ll jump to you.”

Power Loader grinned sinisterly. “Then I’ll have to give it a reason to finish.” His stance widened and he readied his claws.

Shouta drew his sword.

“Hey,” Hizashi said behind him, voice wavering slightly, “we can just talk this-”

“Stay back,” he warned, making sure he stood between his love and Power Loader. “I’ll protect you, but you need to stay you.”

“Touching!” called the other slayer as he lunged for Shouta. The dragon claws glistened in the moonlight.

A painful sound rang out as claws met sword. Shouta’s blade was strong enough to deflect the attack, but his feet skidded across the dirt. The mere force behind the attack had been incredible, especially for someone with Power Loader’s smaller stature. Right, his Quirk. He had a lot of force behind his fingers. It made his use of dragon claws all the more deadly, and the gloves were fireproof: perfect for slicing open a dragon and harvesting its heart.

The senior slayer lunged again, and while Shouta was able to parry his first hand, he had to dodge the second. The claws sliced into a nearby tree, but rather than get stuck in the thick trunk, Power Loader was able to pry out a chunk of wood and flick it away like it was nothing. “You’re good, Eraserhead, but not compared to me. Now, maybe if I was fighting you and a dragon…”

Shouta swung his sword at the man’s arm, intending to harm without killing. Power Loader parried it with his claws and lunged again. This time, Shouta managed to dodge. He grabbed the man’s extended arm, and successfully twisted him into the dirt. His knee pressed against Power Loader’s shoulder to keep him pinned. Shouta breathed a sigh of relief. Good, this was actually-

He looked up at Hizashi and his stomach sank.

The blond had taken to leaning against a tree. His eyes were staring back at him, and yet they were unfocused and…

One eye had a rounded pupil, while the other was a menacing black slit. His teeth gnashed together, constantly shifting between human and dragonoid. The tree groaned where claws dug into it.

Hizashi Yamada was struggling to retain control. “Hold on, Zashi!” Shouta called out. The tattoo was expanding before his eyes, slowly but methodically, and he thought he spied scales glittering on his body. Wait, but it was still night ! “Go! Find the place! I’ve got this!”

Hizashi didn’t go - he couldn’t. All the blond could do was shut his eyes and concentrate on keeping the dragon back.

In the panic, Shouta had completely forgotten about-

Power Loader rolled without warning. His arm was freed from Shouta’s grip and thrust upwards.

Agony punctured his side.

Shouta’s body felt momentarily weightless, as if he were swimming through air, until he hit a nearby tree. His body dropped to the ground and everything swam with pain. It was hard to breathe.

He had no time to regain his senses as thick, clawed fingers grabbed him by the hair and wrenched him up, only to slam his face into the trunk. Bursts of light dotted his vision. He felt the tell-tale trickle of hot blood from his forehead and his mind swam with pain and fear.

Then he heard it, and his fears were realised: a roar.

“Not long now~” cooed Power Loader in his ear and he instantly released him. Shouta fell to the floor, his body aching, bleeding, and when he managed to look up…

The golden dragon stood in the clearing, although the moonlight dulled the colour of his scales. Blood dripped from his jaws, bubbling and frothing around his teeth. His eyes were emerald voids. His pupils were gone.

Feral.

The mark continued to spread.

There was still time.

The dragon lunged at the older slayer, jaws gaping wide, but Power Loader slapped his head away like it was nothing. Moments later, however, Hizashi’s thick tail caught the slayer by surprise. He landed a blow on Power Loader’s side and sent him tumbling through the dirt.

As Shouta pulled himself back up, he noticed it: the dragon was readying a burst of fire.

No!

Despite the pain he was in, Shouta activated his Quirk. His head throbbed with agony, but he was successful. The dragon was taken aback when its flames vanished, and green voids fell on him.

He wouldn’t let Hizashi Yamada kill.

“Hizashi,” he croaked, “come back!” Shouta reached out a hand for him. The dragon had gone feral, and he was in no condition to fight a feral dragon. His mind filled with images of a large grey beast with pupil-less eyes. The blood from his forehead rolled down his chin and dripped onto the scar that covered half his throat. “ Please,” he begged. He couldn’t do it again. He couldn’t go through any of that again. “Hizashi… I need you. We’re together.”

The golden beast stared at him. For a moment, he thought all was lost, but then…

From the emerald voids appeared rounded pupils as the bard returned to his senses. The tattoo stopped spreading. Shouta’s heart was beating so hard, but he couldn’t give up now: Hizashi was fighting with everything he had, and he had to do the same.

His side was aching terribly, but he didn’t let it stop him. Adrenaline would have to be enough. He would save Hizashi Yamada, no matter what.

Power Loader was up as well, and he glanced between his two rivals with a savage grin. “Cute - I love a challenge.”

“Too bad,” murmured Shouta as he readied his sword. Blood ran from his lips, but he barely noticed. His head was tolling like a bell. “We’ll be quick.”

Hizashi lashed again with his tail, and although Power Loader dodged it, Shouta was ready. He leapt forward and swung his sword with all he had left. It was just enough speed to nick the villain’s bare chest.

Power Loader leapt back and snorted. “That all you got?”

Shouta nearly fell to one knee, but he managed to remain standing, albeit with a shaky stance. He’d done all he’d had to...

The enemy slayer stilled. “W-What?” Power Loader was the one who collapsed first, dropping to one knee and then to the floor.

Shouta was breathing heavily. Why was he hurting so much? No, he had to stay focused. “Paralysis poison,” he explained slowly. “Always on my blade…” Power Loader was lucky he’d only nicked him – the poison was intended to drop dragons. A higher dosage would’ve killed him outright. Shouta moved forward and pressed the edge of his sword to the enemy slayer’s throat. “Spared your life today… Remember that…”

Power Loader’s lip twitched with a scowl, but the raven-haired man was more interested in checking on Hizashi. He turned in time to see the dragon’s form shrinking down to his human shape, although there was no glow, and the sound that accompanied the transformation was akin to the cracking of bones. The blond collapsed but was up before Shouta could reach his side.

“Shouta,” croaked the bard. His warm hands were instantly on his wounded face, trying to wipe away the blood. Even so, all the slayer could do was stare at Hizashi’s curse mark in horror.

It was so close to covering his heart...

“Zashi,” he said roughly. The blond looked into his eyes, questioning, until Shouta pulled off his green cloak and draped it around his naked form. “Wrecked your clothes…” The blue Nippon robe that Shouta had lent him at the start of their journey was now in irreparable tatters across the dirt, as were his pants and shoes.

“Sorry, I’ll find more once-...” He looked down and noticed the curse mark too. His face paled, but Hizashi managed to turn his attention to the enemy slayer. Good – if Hizashi thought more about it or started panicking, it would end him. Power Loader was a decent distraction. “We can’t leave him here.”

“It’ll wear off,” he murmured. Talking was more difficult than usual, but he guessed he was simply out of breath. “Nothing dangerous here. Safe ‘til free…”

The blond nodded and looked towards the way they’d been headed. “We have to go.”

Shouta couldn’t’ve agreed more as he pulled himself away and left Power Loader paralysed where he lay. There was no time for a break as they grabbed their things and ran. They should’ve been close to the Recovery Spring by now.

Even so, as Hizashi hurried ahead, Shouta paused when a wave of dizziness disorientated him. His legs nearly gave out. Strange. He coughed into his sleeve, but found the fabric came away red . Why was there so much red? Wait…

He pulled off his glove and felt at his side. His fingers came away slick with warmth. Red, red, red.

A wave of agony hit alongside the realisation.

Power Loader had punctured his side.

His leather jerkin hid how deep the wound was, and his shirt underneath had soaked up most of the blood. Shouta nearly lost his footing.

“Shou?” asked Hizashi as he glanced back.

No, he couldn’t let him realise how injured he was! They couldn’t do anything for it right now, and one more dip would spell the end of Hizashi! Or … would it…?

“Tough fight,” he murmured as he hid his wounded side and a wince of agony. If he’d had Shirakumo’s dragon scales, he would’ve been unharmed by the blow, but… No, there was no time to dwell on what-ifs.

“...Okay.” The bard must’ve been too preoccupied by his own welfare to notice anything truly amiss. Shouta swallowed unhappily and headed onwards, hoping his strength lasted until the end. His mouth tasted of bitter iron.

-x-

Hizashi was terrified. Dammit, his mark was so close to covering his heart! Thanks to the interruption, they couldn’t even take a moment to rest. Shouta looked ghostly pale, but he guessed it was thanks to the head-pummelling, paired with exhaustion.

He couldn’t stop thinking about the fight, of how his own fear had been subsumed by the dragon’s rage. The sight of Shouta being attacked had sparked something animalistic in him. He’d fought so desperately to keep the beast at bay, but he’d lost… Except…

It had still been him.

Hizashi had wanted to destroy Power Loader. He’d wanted to tear him apart with his fangs, or had wanted to disintegrate him with his flames. The slayer had smelled of dead dragons, and… Shouta had saved him.

Even though Shouta Aizawa had smelled of dead dragons too, he’d also smelled of warm rain and gold treasure and his words had called to the human in his soul.

I need you. We’re together.

Hizashi had heard his voice and that red eye had been his guiding light back through the fury.

The trees ahead grew weird without warning, drawing him back to reality. The colour of the leaves drastically shifted from a soft green to an otherworldly lavender, and the scent that wafted from between the unmoving branches was akin to incense. Nothing could be heard from within: no animals, no birds, no people.

“This must be it!” cried Hizashi happily. Shouta was lagging behind, but he hadn’t told the bard to slow, so he hadn’t. “Come on! We’ve made it!”

Hizashi fell back and grabbed the man’s gloved hand to pull him through the tree line.

This was it! They were so-

The two stumbled into a clearing and stopped.

Before them was a perfectly round pool with luminous fireflies flitting above its mirror-like surface. The purple trees towered above, branches dripping with pink wisteria blooms. Around the edge of the spring were ghostly white mushrooms, which formed a ring of what almost looked like teeth. The scent was powerful here, and it soothed Hizashi’s heart. Tears pricked at his eyes.

His curse would be broken! He’d have the curse broken, then he’d be able to tell Shouta how he truly felt, and they would be happy together!

Without warning, a ball of brilliant light rose from the centre of the pool, although the surface remained undisturbed. “Ah,” said a female voice, “it’s been so long since I’ve had any visitors, dearies… Especially two at once!” It hurt to look at the ball of light, but Hizashi didn’t shrink away. “Welcome to the Recovery Spring!”

The light darkened enough so they could see the beautiful- … Well, the woman’s form within.

She was a small granny with grey hair tied in a neat bun and luminous robes that accentuated a pair of beautiful fairy wings.

“I am Recovery Girl, the guardian of this place. Only those who are in dire need of healing are able to enter this fae forest and offer their sacrifice to bathe in the spring.”

At first Hizashi was shocked by the word ‘sacrifice’, but another part of the introduction raised a concerning flag. “Only those in ‘dire need of healing’?” he repeated back, confused. “I mean, I got in cause of the curse, but Shou isn’t-”

Thump.

Hizashi turned in shock, the green cloak swaying as he moved. Shouta was on the ground, trembling, and the bard’s eyes widened. “Shou?” His gaze slipped lower and his heart skipped a beat. The slayer’s white undershirt was soaked with so much blood that, as it pressed into the ghostly grass, excess pooled around him. He was struggling to get back up, but he’d already lost too much liquid life. “Shou!”

Shouta Aizawa was dying.

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty-One

Sacrifice

“All magic comes at a cost. Like with a chemical reaction, there cannot be an output unless there is first an input. The difference comes in the abstract nature of the cost and the wildly chaotic result, leading many to view the payment as more of a sacrifice. Magic does not take more than it needs though. Whether it’s a precious heirloom, only valued for how sentimental it is to a person, or a kiss, siphoned for its romantic properties, a spell will never produce something more or less than what it’s given.”

- A Complete Guide to Dragons by Eraserhead  

Thump.

Hizashi turned in shock, the green cloak swaying as he moved. Shouta was on the ground, trembling, and the bard’s eyes widened. “Shou?” His gaze slipped lower and his heart skipped a beat. The slayer’s white undershirt was soaked with so much blood that, as it pressed into the ghostly grass, excess pooled around him. He was struggling to get back up, but he’d already lost too much liquid life. “Shou!”

Shouta Aizawa was dying.

“Shouta!” Hizashi was at his side in moments, rolling him onto his back while helping to steady him. He finally noticed the deep wound in his side and his realisation was amalgamated with horror.

During the fight!

Shouta swallowed, and blood flowed from his lips like drool, but he smiled. “Made it,” he croaked, his voice so quiet he could barely hear it, despite the silence.

“Shou… You’re… You’re…”

The slayer grunted and moved some hair from Hizashi’s face. “Doesn’t matter… You’ll be free…”

Hizashi opened his mouth, but before he could say anything more, the fairy spoke.

“You both carry mortal wounds,” she said unhelpfully, “and yet-”

“Heal him! ” Hizashi cried, the flowers shaking from his Quirk, although the pool’s surface was unaffected. Shouta was dying in his arms, and this was all he could do. “Please! He’ll die!”

Recovery Girl glanced between the pale dragon slayer and the coiled tattoo on Hizashi’s chest, and a delicate frown crossed her wrinkled expression. “To use the Spring, a treasured item must be sacrificed. I can sense only one item treasured enough to pay the toll. Items that are worth a human life are difficult to come by.” Her hand stretched out. She pointed directly at Hizashi’s jade necklace. “In exchange for that treasure, one may bathe in the Recovery Spring and be healed.”

Hizashi trembled. He’d have to sacrifice his mother’s necklace? And … if Shouta was healed in the water, then his curse would remain, but if Shouta didn’t he’d-

The slayer took his hand in his, his grip soft yet shaky. “Don’t need to,” he said quietly, catching him by surprise. The man pulled Hizashi’s hand against his forehead, in the same way Nemuri had, and he closed his eyes. “This is … cure.”

In a place of fear you’ll find,

One who’ll save you with their bind.

A ring of teeth shall set you free,

When life is lost: your lover’s fee.

Shouta shivered and opened his eyes again - his beautiful eyes of black and red. “You’re fearful... this our ‘bind’: our predicament .” He nodded at the mushrooms. “‘Ring of teeth’, and I … lover…” Shouta held his hand tighter, although his grip was weakening. “My death’ll ... break curse … without necklace …” He was smiling. “...M’kay with that… Love you… I love you...” 

That’s what love is: wanting someone to live on, even if it’s without you.

Tears slipped down Hizashi’s cheeks like twin drops of rain. “Shou… I love you too… I love you... ” The blond wouldn’t hesitate anymore. He ripped his necklace off and squeezed Shouta’s weakening hand. “I love you, and I can’t let you die.” He turned to Recovery Girl before Shouta could stop him. “ Save him.”

Recovery Girl nodded and instantly vanished.

His jade necklace slipped from his fingers as it floated through the air, and he watched as it disappeared beneath the surface of the pool. The water turned a brilliant green, and the ring of mushrooms parted.

“Z-Zashi,” stammered the dying dragon slayer, but there was no time for words. Just like the necklace, invisible forces lifted Shouta into the air, and Hizashi had to let go. He watched as the slayer was unceremoniously dropped into the pool and, unlike before, the surface was broken. Water rushed against the sides and Shouta’s head disappeared momentarily, until he quickly reappeared, spluttering.

Hizashi stood and pulled the cloak tightly around him as he waited with bated breath. The green light grew stronger for a moment, so bright it made his eyes ache, before it faded entirely.

Shouta dragged himself from the pool, coughing up a few mouthfuls of water, and the bard hurried forward to help him out, and…

The blood was gone. Not only had the wound healed completely, but even the doublet and shirt had been repaired.

The scars on his cheek and neck weren’t gone, but they were … subtler. Had some of his other scars healed too?

As soon as he was free of the pool, Hizashi grabbed the man and pulled him into a desperate embrace. Shouta was initially taken by surprise, but moments later he was wrapping his arms around him and holding him so tightly it hurt.

Hizashi cried again as he held him. Even his tail wrapped around Shouta’s waist for the extra closeness. “Couldn’t let you die,” the bard sobbed, voice trembling. “I love you … I love you so much, Shou, and I … couldn’t lose you...”

Shouta shivered against him and nodded, pressing his face into his long blond hair. “I’m sorry … I’m sorry you had to make the choice… I love you too.”

“The curse…” There was no way to cure it now… but he didn’t regret it. If he had to make the decision again - a million times - he’d never change his answer. “It’s over…”

Hizashi would succumb and Shouta would kill him. That was now their fate, and-

“...I asked you before,” the slayer said, “whether you’d let me stay with you. Zashi… I meant it.”

Yamada pulled away in surprise, yet he refused to take his hands from Shouta’s shoulders. “...What?”

Aizawa pressed their foreheads together. “In your dragon form, you’re still… you. It might be a different version of you, Zashi, but it’s you , even when you dip. Don’t you see? The dragon’s mind isn’t some stranger - it’s your mind, but without your human knowledge and instincts keeping you bound. The bugs? The egotism? Preferring a human as a mate? The dragon is you... And I… I’ll stay with you, no matter what form you take.” Hizashi stared at him in complete and utter shock, but he continued. “I’ll protect you, make sure you never hurt anyone … You won’t go feral, because I’ll be your humanity, and…” He swallowed and held him closer. “I’ll be your Bond.”

Something inside of Hizashi grew lighter, as if an enormous weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “Shou…”

Instead of replying, Shouta wrapped his arms around him and held him close. “If you want me, of course…”

“But… You’d never… We’d never… You’d be stuck with me, in a life without-”

“I know what I’m signing up for,” he said quickly. “It isn’t a sacrifice: it’s what I want... Will you have me ?”

Hizashi shivered and couldn’t resist the urge to kiss him. His heart was hammering so fast as their lips connected, and he teared up when he realised how little time they had left to do things like this. Once his curse was complete, even if he lived, they could never do things as simple and soft as this again, but… Hizashi held onto his lover for dear life. “Gladly…”

-x-

They stayed like that for a time, embracing beneath the wisteria until the scent grew too much. As if pushed out by some magic force, they left the tangled trees, but when they emerged they were surprised to see a nearby town. It wasn’t just any town, however, for beyond the rows of neat buildings in the distance was a familiar, dilapidated shack.

The two were somehow back at the town of the witch doctor, Nemuri Kayama.

Together they turned to look back, but the trees that now towered behind them were not the same as the ones they’d passed through only moments ago. Fae magic was weird…

“For the best,” said Shouta. He held Hizashi’s hand tightly in his. “At least we’re away from Power Loader.”

“You’re sure about this, Shou?” the blond asked, and there was an uncertainty in his melodic voice.

Shouta had agreed to become his Bond. It wasn’t something he’d agreed to flippantly, for he knew the sacrifices that came with the decision. He could never be with anyone else, and when the blond finally changed permanently, it would mean he couldn’t be with anyone at all since a sexual relationship would be impossible.

He’d have to stay with Hizashi. He’d have to protect him from anyone or anything that might try to hurt him, and he’d have to protect others from his lover as well. There was no telling how the blond might change after his final transformation.

No more conversations either, although that would be okay. As long as they were together, he wouldn’t get lonely, and he would ensure the dragon was never lonely either. They could make a nest together, away from society, and they could live out their days together like that. Aizawa would eventually die first, and Hizashi would quietly let himself follow. Despite the sacrifices, their lifetime together would be a happy one.

No longer would Eraserhead wander, slaying dragons, but that would be okay, because he’d still be fulfilling his job. By staying with Hizashi, he’d be saving people nevertheless, even if the only two he ended up saving were him and his love.

He knew what he was sacrificing by Bonding with Hizashi Yamada, but he also knew what he would gain.

Shouta squeezed his hand. “I’m sure.”

“Should we … check the necklace?” he asked as he gestured at the dragon tooth around his neck. “It points at the cure, so maybe there’s a different-”

Before the thought was finished, he pulled off the necklace and dangled it. The tooth swung in a circle for several discerning moments, until it eventually stilled. The tip of the fang pointed directly at Shouta, and even when he moved it, the necklace followed.

A ring of teeth shall set you free,

When life is lost: your lover’s fee.

The curse wanted his blood, but it wouldn’t receive it. Shouta put the necklace back on while Hizashi glanced away. “Come,” said the slayer, “let’s go to the inn. We deserve a bath, and to sleep in a bed one final time.”

The blond looked back in surprise, and then glanced up. Time must’ve moved strangely in the Recovery Spring woods, for the night above felt new and fresh. They had plenty of time until the sun next rose.

“Shouldn’t I hide my horns? And tail? And claws? And-”

Shouta cut him off by shaking his head. “I’ll protect you if they do anything. Besides, Fukukado figured you were cursed already.” Hizashi nodded but pulled the green cloak tighter around his body. Together they headed into the town, but they didn’t run into anyone until they headed inside the inn.

Fukukado glanced up from the desk at the sound of the door’s small bell, and her grin stretched from ear to ear. “Aizawa!” she called out. “Marry me!”

“No,” he instantly dismissed, before adding, “we need a room.”

“Well you two should get a room !” she instantly retorted with a wild laugh.

Shouta rubbed his temples. “That’s literally what I just asked for…”

The woman looked at Hizashi and tilted her head this way and that, until she pointed at his horns. “Curse?” The man nodded without hesitation, and she beamed brightly. “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you! It’s unusual for Aizawa to have company!”

The two men glanced at each other in confusion. “We’ve met before,” Hizashi said slowly, “remember? I had my hair all slicked up and-”

She laughed loudly. “Impossible! I’d never forget a face, especially one as silly as yours!”

The blond was miraculously silent. Aizawa was the one who asked, “When’d you last see me?”

“Haven’t seen you for a few months,” she hummed. “It’s been torture!”

Woah! You need another bath? You kids are crazy! I’m guessin’ you want another bed ‘n bath combo - not like you to stay two nights in a row, Shouta!

Realisation hit like an arrow. His eyes glanced to the corner of the counter where a candle burned: a candle Hizashi had moved to a different table when they were last there. The placement of it was identical to where it had been before-...

Fairy magic. When they’d left the woods, not only had they been transported to the town: they’d been transported back to just before they’d reached the town. He looked to Hizashi and, judging by the amazed expression, he’d realised the same epiphany.

“A bath and a room,” Shouta requested, and the innkeeper wasted no time in dashing off to fill the tub with hot water. As soon as she was gone, he said to the blond, “Think we were sent back to change things?”

Hizashi exhaled and shook his head. “No… We never encountered ourselves before, so…” He looked back to him. “I have no regrets. If we only have this time left, I’d rather spend it with you.”

Shouta couldn’t resist the urge to capture his lips in a quick kiss. He had no regrets either: not anymore. When they pulled away, he tenderly ran his gloved fingers through Hizashi’s golden hair. “Are you scared?”

The bard leaned into his touch, his moustache tilting up as he smiled tenderly. “I’ve been scared for three years, Shou… Probably even long before I was ever cursed… But I’m not scared anymore. I trust you, and… I’m sorry I hurt you. I should’ve told you the truth about how I felt, but-”

“I know. It’s okay - I figured it out.”

“Really?” Shouta nodded. Hizashi smiled and ran his own clawed fingers through the man’s soft black hair, and as he did the bard sang a gentle tune.

“Your eyes, my love, books of wonder,

Thick volumes that encompass time.

The sights you’ve seen are surely splendid,

But your eyes are what encompass mine.

To stay in your sight is all I’ve wanted,

Wanted longer than I’ll ever know.

Yet in your chapters of umbra and ruby,

My love, I see our forms aglow.”

It was Shouta’s turn to smile. “Are you trying to woo me?”

Hizashi laughed and took his hand in his. “Am I that obvious?”

“Well, it’s working.” He leaned forward and captured the bard’s lips in another firm kiss. Arms wrapped around him and they held each other close. Despite the sombre dread that came with their failed quest, Shouta was happy.

Fukukado soon returned to inform them that the bath was filled, and they wasted no time in heading inside the steamy room. The air was scented with lavender again, and Shouta closed his eyes for a few moments to soak in the warmth.

“This’ll probably be my last hot bath,” Hizashi said gently as he pulled off Aizawa’s cloak - he wasn’t wearing anything else.

“Then let’s make it a nice one.” Shouta had a lot more layers to remove before he could bathe, so the bard stepped into the hot water first. His tail wagged happily, but his ears were flat against his head. “We can Bond later tonight,” Shouta added, “so you can enjoy. Can you last?”

Hizashi sat down in the water as Shouta pulled off the last layer of clothing. “I’ll last,” confirmed the blond. “I can’t promise forever, but I can guarantee tonight.”

Once Shouta was naked, they both glanced him over. There was no wound, nor scar, where Power Loader had stabbed him, and although his other scars remained, they’d softened in appearance. Shouta climbed into the hot water. Typically his scars burned upon first contact with the heat, due to the nature of dragon wounds, but the temporary pain never appeared as he sunk into the water.

Something brushed against his leg, but it didn’t take him long to recognise it was Hizashi, moving to his side with a bar of soap. “Massage?”

Shouta grunted his confirmation as he took the soap and placed a tender kiss on the blond’s neck. “Turn around.” He obeyed and as he did, the slayer came face to face with the small scar on the centre of Hizashi’s back. He couldn’t help but frown, but he set to work on massaging him, working diligently to remove any muscle knots. Hizashi leaned into his every touch, and his tail wrapped tightly around his leg.

Shouta leaned down and lightly kissed around the thin scar on Hizashi’s back, and the blond shivered against him. “That’s … not necessary…”

“I know,” he said softly, but kissed a few more times before he resumed massaging him, working his strong hands firmly over Hizashi’s body, making him sigh with relief as muscle knots were kneaded into relaxing.

“My turn,” Hizashi eventually said, already turning in his arms. “This time, I get to massage you.” Although he’d rejected the last time the blond had offered, he didn’t this time. Shouta nodded and turned around to reveal his back. 

Hizashi’s fingers were calloused from years of playing string instruments, but his palms were smooth, and the dichotomy was enough to make him close his eyes and lean into the touches. He was slightly taken aback by the sensation of something rough and tapered running over his legs, but Hizashi’s tail wasn’t exactly unpleasant against him.

The blond worked over his scars and even placed a kiss on each, a mirroring of the way Shouta had kissed the scar on his back. “Now that’s not necessary,” Shouta said as he ran his fingers over Hizashi’s exploring tail.

“They look different.”

“The pool,” he said as he shrugged his large shoulders. “It didn’t get rid of ‘em, but it eased ‘em.” Hizashi nodded, his hair brushing over Shouta’s skin as he continued to kiss the scars. “You should’ve mentioned you’d been wounded…”

“Should’ve,” he agreed. Hizashi’s arms wrapped around him, and Shouta’s back pressed against his chest as they embraced tightly. “I’d be dead if not for you…”

“You were in that situation because of me…”

Shouta gently kissed the arm wrapped around him. “I’d rather this.” Hizashi held him tighter, and they sat in silence for a time, but it wasn’t awkward - they felt complete. Something rekindled in his memory, and Shouta Aizawa silently took a bar of soap from the side and eyed it carefully. “No cure…”

“Hm?”

Shouta swallowed and used his nail to carve the same phrase he’d found days before in this same bathtub. Of course he carved it in his native language of Nippon, even though it wasn’t spoken around her, and he finally realised what had been so familiar about it…

It was his own writing.

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty-Two

 Bonding

“A man of nature came one day, to end my suffered streak,

His heart as wild as disarray, demeanour strained and bleak.

His eyes they brimmed with mystery, a beast of darkest night,

Coal and ruby won’t stray from me; they fill my life with light.”

- Hizashi Yamada, the Greatest Bard of All Time

Hizashi stared over his shoulder, his expression unreadable. “...You knew?”

He shook his head. “I found this when we were here, but I didn’t know who’d left it… Showed it to Nemuri, but she didn’t have anything to say. Didn’t wanna scare you…”

Hizashi’s arms grew tighter around him. “You knew all along … but you didn’t give up.”

Shouta snorted. “Wasn’t gonna trust a bar of soap…” He placed it face down where he’d found it - where he would find it. Tomorrow, he and Hizashi would arrive here, unknowing of the fate that would befall them, and… He was okay with that.

He had Hizashi, and he’d love him, whether he was a human or a dragon, and the Shouta who arrived tomorrow would eventually realise the same.

They stayed like that until the water grew cold, and Shouta turned to gently kiss his lover on the forehead.

“Come,” he said softly, “let’s go.” The blond nodded and the two stood and dried off. Shouta tenderly wrapped his green cloak around Hizashi’s shoulders before he pulled on his own clothes, although he knew he’d be taking them off again shortly.

They left the bathroom. Fukukado turned to them with a grin. “All clean! Your room is the second one up the stairs. Enjoy!”

Shouta simply nodded, hoping to not engage her in more conversation, as he guided Hizashi up the stairs. The room they found waiting for them was clean and spacious, with a large double bed, neatly made. While they’d bathed, she must’ve gone up to light some candles for them so they could see in the dark. Her jokes might’ve been lame, but Fukukado ran a good inn.

“One bed?” Hizashi questioned, a grin playing on his lips as he shut the door behind him.

“She probably meant it as a prank...”

“Either that,” Hizashi said slowly, “or I have her seal of approval.” Arms wrapped around him from behind, and a tail wrapped around his leg. “In either case, I ain’t complaining. Room enough for both of us~” purred Hizashi, his hands moving up to tug at Shouta’s jerkin. “And I think it’s only fair that we’re both naked this time.”

The dragon slayer turned in Hizashi’s arms and instantly caught him in a kiss. He wasted no time in parting the bard’s supple lips with his tongue, revelling in the taste of his mouth as he teased him. Hizashi trembled against him and met him halfway with the kiss, tugging fiercely at his hair.

An aggressive urge rushed through him. Although there was no dragon in him, Shouta felt a possessiveness to claim the beautiful, smart, loving creature as his own. He shoved him firmly against the wall and kissed him fiercely, earning a pleased whine from Hizashi.

Shouta’s un-gloved hands explored every inch of skin he could, easily parting the green cloak so he could feel Hizashi’s soft chest. In return, the blond pulled more firmly at the slayer’s clothes, all but demanding for them to be removed. The thought of their naked bodies rubbing together was enough incentive for Shouta to follow through.

He parted their bodies briefly, but not their lips. Shouta continued to ravage his mouth while his hands undid the clasps of his jerkin. As soon as the leather was on the floor, Hizashi was tearing at his white shirt. Before he needed to add several more patches to the ragged blouse, he grabbed Hizashi’s wrists and pinned him back to the wall again, grinding their hips together.

“Shou~” gasped Hizashi as he broke away from the kiss to breathe. Shouta felt something snake up the front of his shirt, and he couldn’t help but shiver at the sensation of scales on his skin. However, the sound of his blouse tearing wasn’t pleasant as Hizashi used his tail to rip through the front. The two halves hung loosely against his revealed chest, now in need of replacing rather than fixing. Shouta tried to give his lover an annoyed look, but the blond looked too playfully pleased with himself. “Shouldn’t we use the bed?”

Without any more prompting, Shouta scooped him up bridal-style and carried him proudly to the bed, even while Hizashi kept him busy with another ravenous kiss. They fell together onto the clean sheets, with the slayer above the bard as he continued to explore his mouth with his tongue. He pulled off the remains of his shirt, but left his golden bracelet on.

Hizashi’s eyes looked him over hungrily, and his hands trailed up his muscular chest and then down his equally muscular arms. However, his pupils turned a little higher, and his fingers hesitated. “May I?” he asked. Shouta was confused at first, but then Hizashi moved his hands carefully to his neck, gently brushing over the collar. “May I remove it?”

Shouta tenderly cupped Hizashi’s hand in his. The hand was raised to his scruffy cheek and the slayer placed a meaningful kiss on the centre, before nodding once. Hizashi swallowed, but took the time to brush some of Shouta’s dark fringe from his face and caress his stubbled jaw line, before his attention returned to the collar. He carefully unbuckled the latch.

It came off easily. Shouta had forgotten how heavy the leather-covered metal was. As it was taken away and placed to the side, it felt as if a weight had been taken from him. Hizashi’s fingers trailed the scar that practically was the right side of his neck, where the feral Shirakumo’s teeth had torn into him.

It was a blasphemy to bonding marks, made with the desire to kill rather than the desire to love. It was a mark that had tried to tie him to death, rather than life, but Shouta felt the need to ask the question. “...Is it a Bond?”

Hizashi leaned up from the soft mattress and placed a tender kiss on the scar’s centre. Even so, Shouta couldn’t feel his lips. “No,” he answered, voice low. “It’s a neck wound made with a dragon’s bite, but it isn’t a bond.” Hizashi pressed his face into the nape of his neck, and Shouta could feel his warmth. “Will you be okay with another scar?”

Shouta snorted. “Sure - since you asked so nicely.”

Hizashi nodded, turning his attention to the left, unscarred part of Shouta’s neck. He placed a kiss and the slayer shivered at the pleasant sensation. “It’ll look nice here,” he said lowly, an unmistakable growl in his tone, but he didn’t bite him yet - that would come later.

Shouta leaned down and ran his tongue over Hizashi’s neck, finally settling on a spot as he pressed his lips down. “Right here.” He sucked on the spot where his neck met his shoulder, earning an involuntary gasp from the blond.

*** “F-Fuck~” Hizashi moaned, leaning into his lips.

“You’re sensitive,” Shouta said, a tinge of amusement in his tone. “Thought you were the expert on sex.”

Hizashi flushed red. “Little outta practise…” Shouta’s hand slipped down and ran up his length, earning a shuddering moan from the man beneath him. “W-What’s with that look?”

“Thought you preferred breasts,” Shouta said, shrugging his shoulders while trying to mask his smirk. Sometimes he could be a tease… “I know you’ve noticed I don’t have any.”

The blond shivered but lifted his hands to playfully squeeze Shouta’s pecs. “These are p-pretty good too~” He grinned, his moustache tilting upwards. “Not as squishy, but they’re attached to you, s-so they’re automatically better~” He bucked his hips, but made an unhappy whine when Shouta let go of his length.

“Sappy.” He kissed Hizashi’s chest and steadily pecked his way down his supple body, until his lips reached his firm shaft. “You weren’t too bad last time we did this, but I can do better.”

“Better at-” Hizashi cut himself off with a gasp as Shouta ran his tongue over the tip of his length.

-o-

Hizashi’s back arched as Shouta took the head of his erection into his mouth and sucked, while his tongue continued to play with the slit. He tried to buck his hips, to have more of himself slide into the hot orifice, but the slayer’s rough hands kept his pelvis pinned to the mattress.

He imagined grabbing Shouta’s hair and making him take more of his length in, but knowing the slayer, it wouldn’t’ve been effective. Instead he clawed the bedsheets and moaned. Much to his disappointment, Shouta pulled away. “Not like you to be so obedient.”

Hizashi bit his lip and shot him a pleading look. “Shou~” His tail caressed his lover’s cheek, but the slayer did something unexpected: he turned his head and caught the tip of his tail in his mouth. A moan tore from his throat as Shouta sucked and kneaded the scales with his teeth. There was the sound of ripping as Hizashi’s claws shredded the blanket.

He could feel liquid running from his heat, unchecked, until a finger prodded at his entrance. Hizashi tried to slide his tail deeper into Shouta’s mouth, but the man’s teeth bit hard to stop him. He gasped in a mixture of pain and pleasure. Why did this feel so amazing?

More fingers slid inside him easily, thanks to the amount of slick his body was producing. The pleasure was overwhelming, to the extent where tears blurred his vision. “Shou~” he sobbed out, and the slayer immediately stopped his ministrations.

He released his tail at last, but it continued to tingle with sharp pleasure. “You okay?” Shouta asked softly as he kissed away his tears. The fingers were removed and soft hands tenderly combed his hair.

“Too much,” he managed to say between breaths. “Over … st-stimulated…” His body was wracked with needy trembling. Shouta hadn’t even been touching his other sensitive areas, and yet…

“Sorry,” he said as he gently put their foreheads together. “Need some time?”

“Little,” he admitted. The tingling was subsiding.

Shouta nodded and gently kissed him on the forehead. “Take your time. I’ll finish getting undressed.”

Hizashi nodded back and the man pulled away. He heard the clacking of a belt and the ruffle of clothing. The blond gently touched his tail, only to gasp in rekindled pleasure. Shouta had overdone it with the bite marks, but he didn’t blame him for it - dragon magic was a mystery, even to the dragon slayer.

He felt eyes on him and turned to meet Shouta’s gaze. The man stood off the bed, completely naked, but was fixated on admiring Hizashi’s sprawled body. The blond offered a seductive grin. “See something you like?”

Shouta returned the grin. “Something I love.”

His heart sped up. “Sappy…” Hizashi opened his arms for him, a signal that he was ready for more. Shouta crawled onto the bed and into his embrace, pressing their lips together in a chaste kiss. The blond closed his eyes and let himself melt into the man’s warmth - although he was certain his own body was far hotter than Shouta’s. He kept his tail to the side, where it wouldn’t be an issue, and wrapped his legs around his lover’s hips. “I love you, Shou…”

The man nuzzled his cheek. “Love you too.” He pressed the head of his length as Hizashi’s prepared entrance. “Ready?”

“If you are.”

Shouta answered by starting to slide inside. Hizashi always forgot how large the slayer was, but he certainly wasn’t complaining at all. He moaned as his lover filled him with his length. “Too deep?”

Hizashi shook his head and pulled Shouta into another sloppy kiss as his hips rocked against him. The slayer’s tongue was thorough in its exploration, even as he started to thrust in and out of his entrance. His mind grew foggy with pleasant pleasure as Shouta pressed against that spot inside him. He moaned into the kiss and clutched at the man’s back with his nails.

Sensing no discomfort, Shouta’s pace steadily increased. His thrusts were long and hard and aimed perfectly at his sweet spot, and Hizashi’s moaning grew continuous. The slayer broke from the kiss so he could nip at his ignored nipples, and Hizashi instinctively curled his tail. He practically screamed with pleasure as the sensitive bitemarks were stretched. His body tightened around Shouta and the man above him gasped in pain and then shuddered out a moan.

“C-Claws~” Shouta growled out. Only then did Hizashi realise his nails were buried in his back, and he quickly released him. As soon as he did, however, the dragon slayer went all out.

His hips slammed against his. The wet sound alone felt taboo, and Hizashi was surprised to find how durable his body was. Shouta was slamming full force into his sweet spot, and yet he felt no pain whatsoever - only intense pleasure, this time on the good side of too much.

“Shouta~” he cried out, on the verge of finishing. However, a firm hand grabbed his length and denied him his climax. He stifled a disappointed moan as he wrapped his legs tightly around Shouta’s waist. His claws were running down the man’s already-scarred back, but Shouta didn’t try to stop him this time. There was so much sweat and heat and slick between them.

“Together,” he growled out as he needlessly stroked Hizashi.

They’d reach the pinnacle together: the pinnacle that would come from biting. He wanted that more than anything. A perfect mark for a perfect man.

Everything happened at once. Shouta groaned as he finished, filling him with delicious heat, as he simultaneously released his length. Hizashi climaxed with a sharp gasp, and was almost immediately assaulted by the desperate urge to bite Shouta. The drive was more powerful than it had ever been before, and his mouth lunged for his unguarded throat without thinking.

*** Hizashi’s teeth sank into the unscarred flesh on the left side of Shouta’s neck, and tight arms wrapped around him. The human didn’t retreat from the pain - he returned it. A mouth wrapped over the place where Shouta had left a hickey earlier, and teeth burrowed into his flesh.

He realised quickly why Shouta hadn’t instinctively retreated - there was no pain. Complete and utter bliss clouded his mind.

The feeling of Bonding with Shouta Aizawa was indescribable.

He felt complete, as if a part of him had been missing his entire life and he hadn’t truly noticed until now. Their love was palpable. It sparked the air like magic.

They were perfect together, as if they’d been made for each other.

For a moment, he thought he saw an image of a young boy passing through his old village. A child he’d almost had a crush on, who he’d been too shy to approach, although he’d seemed the coolest person he’d ever seen. Although he’d forgotten what the traveller had looked like, now he could see him as clear as that day so long ago.

A boy with tied up black hair and different coloured eyes and a wooden sword at his waist.

Through turmoil and strife, you shall find true, unconditional love – the love you nearly had so long ago. Together you will be the sun and moon, and your life will be filled with music and song. Individually you are strong, but together you can move mountains and change everything.

Slowly the image faded as the taste of blood grew nauseating. He pulled his teeth from the wound, and Shouta followed his example. They shared a gentle, loving gaze in the tender silence.

“Zashi…” he said softly. The blond leaned forward and licked at the wound he’d caused, instinctively trying to clean it, although the blood was making him queasy. Shouta pulled away from the ministrations enough to kiss him. It was a simple kiss, and yet it held so much behind it. Their bodies were still linked together in their tight tangle of arms and legs, and it took them both grievous efforts to separate.

Shouta hurried off the bed and Hizashi watched unhappily, his tail swishing. No longer was it oversensitive, thankfully, although he hadn’t wanted his lover to leave his arms. He was far from satiated, especially now they were bonded.

Shouta returned shortly, however, with his medical pouch. Hizashi’s unhappiness subsided as the marks on their necks were quickly treated. The candles that had lit the room when they’d arrived had mysteriously extinguished at some stage during their love making. “It’s dark,” he said quietly as he offered his neck for Shouta to treat.

“I can see fine in the dark,” the man said gently as he dabbed the bite with water to clean off the blood. “Dragon magic probably extinguished the candles.”

“We’re bonded,” Hizashi said, giddy with the knowledge. He felt lighter than usual, although whether that was from the sex or the bond was anyone’s guess.

“I saw you…” Shouta turned around so Hizashi could help him with the claw marks on his back. “We were passing through your village to sell some wares… You were helping a woman hang out sheets… Your hair was short.”

Hizashi nodded along and pressed against his back after treating the scratches. “What happens now?”

“We have tonight,” Shouta said as he leaned against him. “Tomorrow, we can start searching for some territory, away from people, with a cave large enough for your ‘amazing’ hoard.”

He nodded and tenderly wrapped his tail around Shouta’s waist. “Then let’s make the most of tonight, my love…”

The night was long, yet not long enough. They inevitably fell asleep in each other’s arms for what might’ve been the one and only time, with a promise to wake and leave before the sun stripped them of this hard-won ease.

Neither knew what the daylight would bring.

*** Non-Sexy Summary of Sexy Scene:

Shouta makes a comment about how Hizashi is sensitive, but Hizashi claims he’s out of practise. Apparently in a teasing mood, Shouta points out that he thought Hizashi preferred breasts, but the bard happily concedes that the slayer has some pretty good pecs, mostly because they’re attached to him (he’s a sap).

There’s a perspective swap to Hizashi, and everything goes smoothly until Shouta starts biting Hizashi’s tail. The blond has a very strong reaction to this, and eventually they have to pause as his body is over-stimulated. Shouta is tender with him and uses the opportunity to kiss him a little and to finish getting naked.

Hizashi’s body finally calms down, although his tail is still oversensitive if touched. He notices Shouta looking at him and tries to look seductive as he asks, “See something you like?”

Shouta, ever the king of sappy, replies: “Something I love.”

They hug and kiss a little more, and quickly share ‘I love you’s before they continue. Things go more smoothly this time, although Hizashi can’t stop himself from scratching Shouta’s back with his sharp claws. They plan to finish together, and the urge to bite Shouta grows more and more intense, and Hizashi’s instincts finally win as he lunges forward with his teeth to bond them together.

(The rest of the chapter is okay to read. Either look for the three stars *** or find the next line, which is:

Hizashi’s teeth sank into the unscarred flesh on the left side of Shouta’s neck, and tight arms wrapped around him. )

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty-Three

A Dragon Protector

Shouta woke first with Hizashi still in his arms, their bodies tangled together amongst the dishevelled sheets. Unlike the last time he’d woken with his lover in his arms, there was no sense of guilt, and he only pulled his sleeping Hizashi closer to his chest. Shouta’s hand moved up to his face and ran over his warm cheeks. A soft sigh escaped Hizashi’s lips, but he didn’t wake up, even as the slayer’s fingers brushed through his long blond hair, and then trailed the length of a horn.

He couldn’t resist the urge to smile. For some reason, he’d never realised how golden Hizashi’s hair was in human form, but the sight of him now, with light reflecting across it, was as mesmerising as his golden dragon.

His mind dwelled on the day ahead and what it would entail. They’d leave the town and venture south, towards the mountains. There were some dragons in that area, but the area was far from humans, so they weren’t typically hunted. He and Hizashi could go there and find a cave before the curse finished spreading. They could build a nest and spend the rest of their days together, and with time Shouta would learn more about dragon body language. Maybe, one day, it would be like having a human conversation…

Despite how nice that sounded, there was a sadness there too. He’d never finish learning how to read, and he’d never be able to write a book with Hizashi, but they’d be together, and that would be more than enough.

Shouta’s fingers brushed against Hizashi’s inhuman ears, and they instinctively twitched beneath his touch. It was cute enough to bring a warm smile to his face. He knew they should get up and go, but with the light creeping in through a crack in the curtains, Hizashi looked so-

…

Shouta stared in amazement. Wait… He couldn’t say anything as he hurriedly untangled himself from his lover and stood up, accidentally waking him in the process.

“Shou...?” Hizashi asked with a yawn as he stretched on the bed, akin to a feline. “Is it time to go?” Without giving any warming, Shouta pulled back the curtain, filling the room with bright morning light. “Ow! Fuck!” Hizashi hissed as the yellow light hit him and he was forced to shield his emerald eyes. “Some warning next-” He cut himself off as realisation struck.

Shouta stared at his lover, his lips parted in awe.

He’d never seen Hizashi Yamada lit by the garish day before, but he looked so unimaginably beautiful … He looked just as amazing and golden as his dragon, and the sight alone made his heart swell and his eyes blur. “The curse,” Shouta managed to say, but was too stunned for anything more.

Hizashi frantically patted his body down, as if he were trying to guarantee it wasn’t an illusion. Despite the sunlight that danced over his skin, he remained human . Unmistakable joy lit his eyes, but was damped when he touched the horns on his head. Hizashi turned to look at his tail, waving it around with further dismay. He still had his inhuman features, but…

The mark on Hizashi’s chest: it had changed. Throughout their journey it had been a black burn, growing like a cancerous disease across his skin, but now the colour had faded to a shade akin to his skin colour, albeit a tad darker. It now resembled an extensive birthmark, rather than a curse.

“Hizashi…” Shouta rushed forward to him, his hands replacing his to press against skin as he closely examined the changes of the mark. Hizashi’s chest was smooth and warm. Even beneath his fingertips, nothing changed.  This was… “The curse is…”

“We broke it…” The blond’s voice was barely a whisper. Shouta looked to Hizashi’s beautiful human face. His emerald eyes were wet with unshed tears, born of complete and utter relief. His lips were formed into an uneasy smile, as if he were caught between happiness and uncertainty. “I… I think? What if we didn’t? What did we do? Why now? What did we do?”

Shouta was just as confused as the blond, until his eyes dipped slightly lower and…

The bite mark on Hizashi’s neck had already healed, leaving behind a ring of small possessive scars. When he felt at his own neck, Shouta discovered that the same was true for his own bonding mark…

“We bonded,” he said, voice a mixture of incredulous and confused.

Slow realisation dawned over his lover’s face. The lyrics of the curse came flooding back.

“In a place of fear you’ll find,

One who’ll save you with their bind.

A ring of teeth shall set you free,

When life is lost: your lover’s fee.

Not just lust and not just sight,

Once love is your true guiding light.”

“But,” Hizashi whispered, the tears finally starting to roll down his sunlit cheeks. “What about your life being lost? You’re alive!”

Shouta pulled his lover into his arms. He could feel the new tether between them, yet he simultaneously didn’t feel any different. It was as if this link had existed since the moment he’d been born. “I don’t know…” He shook his head, his hand running comfortingly over Hizashi’s back, but his eyes caught sight of colour on the bed sheets.

A few drops of darkness were dotted on the white. When they had bonded, their teeth had drawn-

“Blood,” Shouta whispered, then repeated it more loudly. “ Blood .”

“Blood?”

“It didn’t want my life… It wanted my blood. ”

Hizashi stiffened in his arms as he had the same realisation. “ Blood…” His expression was one of uncertain thought. He sniffled, but Shouta sensed the joke before Hizashi even made it: “Or maybe it meant your super sexy bachelor life. Cause, you know, bonds have to be a life thing…”

Shouta snorted and ran his finger around the bite mark on Hizashi’s neck. “It’s like a wedding ring…” Hizashi balked, and he was worried he’d said something wrong. The dragon slayer scratched the back of his neck. “I mean, a bond’s kinda like marriage, so maybe it has something to do with that?”

“Marriage?” Hizashi asked, face paling a little more.

Shouta offered him an unamused look. “You knew bonding would be a forever thing, right?”

Hizashi nodded, and a rosy red appeared across his cheeks. “Yeah… I just… never really considered it like marriage before…”

“Regretting it?”

Hizashi laughed as he wiped the tears from his cheeks and wrapped his arms around Shouta, clinging tightly to him. “No way… I love you, Shou… Bonded. Married. As long as I get to be with you, then I’m happy with whatever name we give it.” His embrace tightened and he laughed, a miraculous sound. “Shou… Shouta… I’m cured!” His voice cracked on the word and a fresh slew of tears rolled from his eyes.

Shouta nodded and buried his face in golden hair. An inhuman tail wrapped around his waist, but the addition of the extra limbs was far from the forefront of their minds. Maybe if they’d cured it sooner, he would’ve lost the horns and ears and claws and tail, but too much time had passed. The curse had been too close to consuming its prey, and there were consequences for barely escaping the jaws of fate.

“If we’d bonded sooner,” Shouta whispered, “you wouldn’t’ve had to sacrifice so much… Your necklace...”

Hizashi shook his head and ran his hands over Shouta’s stubbled cheeks. “ ‘Not just lust, and not just sight’ … It only worked because we loved each other.” He leaned up and their foreheads were pressed together. Shouta stared deeply into dripping emerald eyes, and the simple sight of them nearly brought him to tears too. “I love you, Shou. I love you. I’m… I’m sorry I’m not perfect, but-”

Shouta cut him off by forcing their lips together. Hizashi instantly melted against him, but he didn’t hold it for long as the slayer drew back slightly. “Hizashi… You’re perfect, whether you’re a dragon, or a human, or a human with some dragon ‘extras’. I don’t regret this. I’d do it all over again, if…” He paused, and laughed a small, incredulous sound. “ This is why… Tonight, our past selves will come here, but we won’t need to warn them because…”

“They’ll cure it too,” Hizashi said, his fingers running over the bonding scars on Shouta’s neck - it felt nice. “They’ll find each other, as I found you…” Their kiss resumed, starting intense but gradually growing more and more playful. They parted again, and Hizashi grinned up at him from where he’d been pressed into the mattress. “And you still wanna stay with me? Even if I’m not a cool, golden dragon?”

Shouta put on a faux expression of thought as he deliberated on his (obvious) answer. “And have to hear your cheesy songs all the time? Still wanna stay. Wherever you go, I go too.” He leaned down and kissed the bonding mark on Hizashi’s neck, earning a small gasp. “And wherever I go, I know you’ll follow. Don’t have to be alone anymore - neither of us does.”

Hizashi shivered beneath him and pushed Shouta’s fringe away from his face. “Good… I’m gonna teach you to read, and we’re gonna write a book about dragons together, and…” He pulled Shouta down so they could put their foreheads together. “I’ll go wherever you go.”

“No more quest for a nice cave to settle in?”

“...I never said that … I mean, why don’t we-”

Before Hizashi could finish, the door opened.

Shouta pulled away and held his body between Hizashi and the intruder, but as soon as he saw who it was, he relaxed.

A trail of blood ran from Nemuri Kayama’s nose as she stared at them from the doorway, her hat lopsided. “Don’t let me interrupt,” she said as she shut the door behind her and leaned against it. “Keep going.”

Shouta rolled his eyes and used the blanket to cover Hizashi’s lower body, even though he was probably the least embarrassed between them. “Why’re you here?” the slayer asked as he stood to find his pants in the strewn clothing piles.

“Felt a curse being broken,” she said with a shrug, “ and I can tell whenever you’re nearby, thanks to those panpipes. It’s a little weird though, because I currently have Tensei tailing you elsewhere… Got some magic after all?”

Shouta shook his head. “Went into a Fae forest. Transported us a few days into the past. It seems to be a reoccurring thing, and we never ran into us before.”

“Oh, timeline reality jump,” she said with a beam. “Those are fun!”

“Something we should be worried about?” asked Hizashi.

“Na, as soon as the other versions of you go into the Fae forest like you did, you’ll be the only versions in this timeline, so you won’t have to worry about hundreds of you walking around.” She turned to the blond and held out her hand, palm almost engulfed by her sleeve. “We haven’t met yet! I’m Nemuri Kayama!”

Hizashi didn’t take her hand, and Shouta was almost proud of him when he said, “Last time you shook my hand, you nearly broke my wrist.”

“Spooky!” she gasped. “Not everyday you meet someone who’s already met you before! Got a name, or should I just call you Shouta’s boyfriend?”

“You don’t already know my name?”

“How could I?”

“Because your raven was- is following us!”

She snorted. “How could I find out your name from a raven? ”

“But… you…” The bard exhaled as he surrendered. “Hizashi Yamada, the greatest bard of all time.”

“Pleasure to meet you! I think you’ve got a story for me,” she said with a devious smile and a glance back to Shouta, “about how Mr. Never-Finding-Love-Again is now miraculously in love and bonded forever to a bard... Even if he is a sexy bard.”

Shouta’s pants were successfully back on. “It’s a long story…”

“I’ve got time!”

He rolled his eyes and pulled on the rest of his clothes as he saw Hizashi already reaching from his lute.

“Ran into a dragon,” Shouta said before he could grab it - they didn’t have time. “Turns out they were a cursed bard, and-”

“Picture this!” Hizashi ran his fingers over the lute strings and stood up on the bed, despite still being completely naked. A rush of protectiveness rushed through Shouta, and he moved to tie the blanket around Hizashi’s waist, even as he continued to strum the lute.

“To wake up with a curse one day, was quite a cruel surprise.

And so my voice was whisked away; away with each sunrise.

In dawn’s sweet wake a dragon lies, with scales of molten gold.

A breath of fire to scorch the skies, of ancient stories told.

The three long years of sacrifice, forever left their mark,

I’m glad I took the sweet advice, of nightingale and lark.

In my boredom my music sang, the bard could not be lost,

Ideations of joyous pang, by day my voice the cost.

A man of nature came one day, to end my suffered streak,

His heart as wild as disarray, demeanour strained and bleak.

His eyes they brimmed with mystery, a beast of darkest night,

Coal and ruby won’t stray from me; they fill my life with light.

Although the hunter sought to end, the years of pain and strife,

Before his sword could stab and rend, he chose to spare my life.

We journeyed long through day and night, with one clear goal in mind,

And so my soul re-joined the fight, to free us from our bind.

Although the curse was spreading true, we heroes held on fast.

We would see the journey through, and return to days long past.

Women would weep at my return, to see my face a shine.

A lady’s heart so quick to burn, yet dark hair mine to pine.

And so our path led ever on, our feet matched pace to pace,

Through fire and pain and splintered song, our love came face to face.

When lover’s fee was paid with blood, with rings to bind our fate,

A barrier to stop the flood, to sate the curse’s state.

So now we’re at our story’s end, the trials of sword and lute,

A story of how hearts can mend, to tame the Dragon’s Fruit.”

Nemuri applauded as the song came to its end, and even Shouta couldn’t keep himself from staring at his lover as pride thrummed through him. The bitemark on his neck felt pleasantly warm, and he wondered if some of his own emotions had grown a tad more instinctual…

And then Hizashi turned to him and grinned and Shouta couldn’t bring himself to mind at all. “How’d you like the ending?” asked the blond as he hopped off the bed, sheets still trailing from his waist.

“Still not over,” Shouta said with a shrug, resisting the urge to touch his lover in front of Nemuri. “Still far from over.”

“Of course!” Despite Shouta’s resistance, Hizashi apparently had no qualms with brushing against his side playfully. There was something in the movement that reminded Shouta of the golden dragon, probably in the way he held his chest up, like he knew how amazingly beautiful he was. “You’re stuck with me now, dragon slayer! I’m gonna teach you how to read and write, and together we’ll write a book about dragons.”

Shouta blinked in surprise. It sounded perfect, but was it too perfect? What if his curse hadn’t really been cured? “Nemuri,” he said as he turned to her, “can you do a quick test for us?”

“I can answer that already,” she said with a sigh. “Dragons are completely monogamous, so unfortunately any chance for a three-way has-”

“ Nemuri,” he said again.

The witch doctor snorted and pulled a leaf from the poppy branch on her hat. “Don’t worry; I know how pessimistic you are. I’ll check to see if the curse is really cured.” She stepped forward and ran the feather over the spiral that encircled Hizashi’s chest. Shouta saw the goose bumps rise on Hizashi’s skin, but the bard said nothing as they waited for the final verdict.

Nemuri closed her eyes and ran her palms over the leaf, deciding whether they were truly finished or…

She smiled, although there was some sadness to it. “Love is your true guiding light… The curse will not spread anymore. Although you’ll never be truly dragon, you’ll never be truly human again either. There’s magic in your blood now, and that will never be gone.”

Hizashi nodded slowly and closed his eyes, as if he were concentrating on something. “Together, we’re the sun and moon, and life will be filled with music and song. Individually, Shouta and I are strong, but together we can move mountains, and…” The blond opened his beautiful emerald eyes and turned them to him. His smile was wide. “And we can change everything.”

“What’re you suggesting?” Shouta asked, and Hizashi didn’t hesitate to take his hand.

“We agreed to write a book together,” the blond said excitedly, “but there was something bigger we talked about.”

Shouta’s eyes grew wide. “I told you already. I’m a dragon slayer: not a dragon protector.”

“And yet you were going to protect me,” Hizashi said, effectively silencing his debate. “I was going to turn into a dragon, and yet you were going to protect me and let me live. You don’t need to protect me anymore, because now I can help you protect them ! We could find a place, with a tonne of land, and we could set up a sanctuary for dragons to live without being hunted!”

“It’ll be impossible…” Shouta said softly.

Hizashi only squeezed his hand tighter. “Together we can change everything. ” He grinned, and Shouta knew he’d follow that smile to the end of the world.

A dragon protector… He liked the sound of that…

Chapter Text

Epilogue

Five Years Later

Shouta didn’t want to get out of bed. The sheets were comfortable and warm and smelled of his lover, even though when he rolled over, he found himself alone. He sighed and stretched, wondering whether he should remain in the cocoon of blankets, or whether he should venture out to greet the day.

His hand moved up to the left side of his neck, where he felt a ring of scar tissue beneath his fingertips. A soft smile lit his face as he felt a warmth bloom in his chest - his lover wasn’t too far.

Shouta pulled himself from the bedsheets and found himself some clothes to wear, before he trailed through their home. It wasn’t especially large, but it wasn’t too small either, with strong walls made of stone and wood. It was cosy and warm, and they’d built it together (albeit with a lot of help).

As he walked through the familiar surroundings, half asleep, he almost tripped over something. Thankfully his reflexes were still sharp, and he managed to catch his balance and send an annoyed glance at the offender: a small doll.

Shouta sighed, unable to stay angry as he picked up the toy and carefully placed it on the dining room table, beside two open books. However, his attention was quickly captivated by the sight beyond his window.

In the sunlight of morning stood a beautiful, golden dragon, with a mane of brilliant feathers and eyes of piercing green. Shouta smiled at the sight and couldn’t help but lean dreamily against the windowsill. The dragon appeared strong and healthy but possessed two areas where the scales were discoloured. The largest was on the dragon’s underside, where a darker gold disfigured the scales, forming a shape reminiscent of a dragon’s head. Its jaws were wide open, with a line of flames spiralling from between its teeth. While it had once filled them both with horror, it was now something beautiful, and Shouta often found himself admiring it.

However, he admired the other mark even more…

At the base of the dragon’s long neck was a slight discolouration, the area far smaller than the one on his underside. It was in a circle and was more akin to scarring than a simple shift in colour - a bonding mark. Shouta always felt a buzz of instinctual pride whenever he saw it.

The golden dragon was none other than Hizashi Aizawa: his lover, his husband, and his bond.

And…

From the woods that surrounded the house emerged a second dragon. They were small, yet long, with white scales, white down feathers and red eyes. The small albino dragon hurried around the golden one’s avian legs, playful. Their tail ended in a fan of snowy feathers that grew haphazardly through the soft down, and atop their head was a single horn.

Eri: their adopted daughter.

Her scales and feathers were patchy in places, where they’d once been pulled out by her previous ‘carer’, but they’d re-grow with enough time.

The small dragon nearly knocked Hizashi over, but he was quick to press their snouts together in a sign of affection, before he backed away. His serpentine neck reared back, and his jaws opened to allow a burst of golden flame to sear the sky. Shouta had to shade his eyes from the vibrant light, but it was over as quickly as it’d begun.

Hizashi closed his jaws and turned to face Eri, expectantly. She hopped around and held her head back and opened her jaws and … a small spark emerged.

She closed her jaws, and although she hadn’t produced any flame, Hizashi was quick to shower her with praise and affection, nuzzling her and preening her unkempt feathers. Eri looked proud of her accomplishment.

Finally, the two parted and Hizashi backed away again to give himself some space.

A golden light filled the air and Shouta watched as the golden dragon shrunk down into the form of his human lover.

Hizashi Aizawa stood in the clearing, his long blond hair waving in the wind and his grin plastered in place. Shouta’s attention turned to the other dragon, but she seemed to have more trouble shifting than Hizashi. She scrunched up her snout and crimson eyes, yet nothing happened.

Hizashi knelt in front of her and reassuringly ran his fingers through her feathers, preening as he went. His mouth moved, but Shouta couldn’t hear what he said. His loving smile never disappeared. Eri nodded her head and concentrated again, and finally the yard filled with a white burst of light.

When it cleared, a young human girl sat in the clearing. Small scars ran across her body, in the same places where her scales had been removed in dragon form, yet they’d slowly been healing in the year they’d had her. Her large red eyes opened and Hizashi instantly put their foreheads together.

In human form, Eri had long white hair (that now required brushing), the small horn on her hairline, white dragon ears, and a small white-scaled tail that wagged behind her. As the two embraced, their tails twirled together, and the love was so strong that Shouta felt it radiate across the mark on his neck.

He moved away from the window at last so he could grab the two dressing gowns from beside the front door and head out to join them. Hizashi looked up at him, his golden ears flicking, although he must’ve known he’d been watching the entire time. “Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” called the bard.

“Daddy!” the girl chirped as she pulled her head from Hizashi’s chest, and instantly broke away from his embrace so she could race to him. “Did you see? Did you see?” As the six-year-old raced to him, Shouta caught her in her dressing gown and hugged her tightly, even as he wrapped her up in the silken folds.

“I did,” he said warmly as she giggled and helped pull the gown on properly. He ran his fingers through her hair to neaten it and the six-year-old quietly purred at the attention. “You’re getting better at shifting.”

“Do I get a dressing gown too?” asked Hizashi as he headed over to join them. “Or do I have to keep being naked?”

Shouta looked him up and down, and pretended to deliberate on the decision, until Hizashi stuck his tongue out at him. He snorted and threw him the blue gown, and it was quickly wrapped around his handsome body. “Get anything for dinner?”

Hizashi nodded and gestured to a small shack at the back of the area. “Deer. Eri’s getting better at tracking! I’ll leave you to butcher it though.”

Shouta nodded and straightened up, lifting Eri up in his arms. “We’ll have to survey the current deer population, to make sure the population’s growing enough to feed the dragons.” Hizashi nodded, and just as the comment was made, they heard something above.

They looked up to see tan scales and red wings high in the sky, as the wyvern flew overhead. It performed several spins and flips and twirls in the air, the acrobatics truly a marvellous sight. Eri giggled as she watched, but Hizashi and Shouta rolled their eyes.

“Hawks is being a show-off again,” Hizashi murmured as he tied the dressing gown closed.

Shouta snorted. “Look who’s talking…”

Hizashi pouted. “You callin’ me a show-off?”

“Yes,” he said as he moved to his side so he could plant a quick kiss on his cheek, “and I love you. And I’m sure Dabi appreciates Hawks being a show-off too.”

Hizashi melted a little and wrapped his arms around him, with Eri cuddled between them. “Fine,” he conceded as he gave them each a kiss on the forehead. “But I have plenty to show off~”

“You do,” Shouta conceded as he pulled away and carried Eri inside the house. Hizashi was quick to follow. The fireplace was already going, the flames golden. He placed his daughter down in front of it and fetched her doll, while Hizashi went to the chicken coup to fetch some eggs for breakfast. “How was the forest?”

Eri hugged her doll and smiled at him as she rambled on about her morning. He sat behind her with a hairbrush and started to lovingly untangle the knots in her hair. Unlike Hizashi’s hair, hers always became messy and tangled after a transformation, but he didn’t mind brushing it for her. She quietly purred with contentment.

Eri had only been a part of their family for a year now, but it was hard to imagine life without her. Although she had a lot of similarities to Hizashi’s curse in the way her abilities worked, their stories were vastly different.

Eri’s mother had been cursed while still pregnant with her. She’d given birth to the girl, but she’d been unable to cure herself before turning completely feral. A slayer had eventually killed her mother to protect a town, leaving the baby dragon orphaned, too young to fend for herself. However, the slayer hadn’t killed her, as Shouta would’ve once upon a time. Instead he’d sold her, believing Eri to be a normal (valuable) baby dragon.

The man who’d bought her had slowly sold off her scales and feathers, even after he’d found out she was a hybrid who could swap between being a child and a dragon.

By that stage, Shouta had formed a network of dragon protectors, having already accomplished the feat of making the selling of dragon parts illegal. A large part of the change had come from the king of the land, All-Might. After he’d read a copy of their Complete Guide to Dragons, he had changed his stance on the creatures.

If a beast was still terrorising an area, or if a dragon had turned feral, it was legal to kill it, but if a dragon was away from people or could be swayed to leave the area, then death was a last resort.

The selling of dragon parts, especially Dragon Fruits, was now illegal… But there was still a black-market trade for the parts.

A black-market dragon slayer had grown curious about their competition and had investigated, initially believing the pieces to be counterfeit. When they’d found Eri, however, the cruelty of the discovery had been enough for the dragon slayer to have a change of heart.

That dragon slayer had been Power Loader.

The man had contacted Shouta immediately, and they’d raided the place together. Eri had been successfully rescued from their cruel clutches. Ever since then, Power Loader had been one of the loudest voices in support of change, and despite their rocky start, Shouta now considered him a friend.

They’d planned to have Eri raised by one of the dragon families in the sanctuary, but when they’d discovered she was a hybrid, Shouta and Hizashi had immediately known where she truly belonged.

They had imagined it would be a slow, arduous process to earn her trust, but she had taken a shine to them almost immediately, especially when Hizashi had shown he could shift between being dragon and human as well. After only a year with them, her health had improved exponentially, and she was learning to control her shift with Hizashi’s help.

Eri finished rambling about her morning just as Shouta finished brushing her hair, and Hizashi had good timing too as he entered with some eggs and some vegetables from their garden. “Man, those chickens hate me,” he complained as he set the basket down. “You’d think they’d be used to me by now.” Hizashi flicked his tail unhappily as he pouted.

“They like Eri,” Shouta pointed out, only earning an accusing glance from his lover. “You two get dressed. I’ll cook breakfast.” That made Hizashi brighten up.

“Can do!” He moved over to Eri and instantly picked her up, cuddling her close. “What do you wanna wear today, sweetie?”

“The red one!”

“The red one it is!” Hizashi carried her to her bedroom and Shouta started preparing everything for breakfast. He cut up the vegetables, fried some eggs, fried some salted fish and added some additional pickled vegetables. It all made for a hearty meal.

As he prepared their breakfast, his eyes wandered to the dining table, where two handbound books sat open beside an unlit candle. Hizashi had been up late last night…

Shouta served up breakfast and sat himself down beside the open books, although he didn’t start eating without his family. One of the books had pages that were filled with words from this country, and Shouta felt a thrum of pride as he glanced it over, for he could read every word he saw. The page of the other book was only half finished, yet this copy was unique to the others they had produced over the years, for this one was translated into the language of Nippon.

“Sorry it’s taking so long,” said the voice of Hizashi. Shouta looked up to see them both enter the room, their dressing gowns now replaced with handsome clothes. The blond must’ve caught him looking over the books. “It takes a bit longer to translate as I go.”

Shouta shook his head. “Take your time. I know how hard you work. You know I want to help in any way I can.”

“Just keep being you, and it’ll be finished in no time.” Hizashi sat Eri down in one of the chairs and sat across from Shouta, reaching out for his hand, which he happily supplied. Warm fingers brushed over his skin, and Shouta’s eyes dipped slightly down, to the necklace around Hizashi’s neck.

While once the blond had worn a necklace with a jade ring at its end, he’d been forced to sacrifice it to save Shouta’s life. However, now he wore a different necklace, with another circular ring at its end, although this one was made of gold: a wedding ring.

After they’d broken the curse, Hizashi had retained the ability to shift into his dragon form, this time at will. Wearing the ring on a long necklace rather than his finger had been a logical choice. Hizashi’s hand ran up to Shouta’s wrist, where a gold bracelet sat - the same bracelet he’d first received from Hizashi, back when they’d first met. It was now his wedding ring.

“This book’s especially important,” Hizashi said with a warm smile. “I know it’s been a long time since you last saw your parents, and it’ll be the first copy of our book in another country. I just … hope your family reads it.”

Shouta nodded and squeezed Hizashi’s hand. “They will. It’ll take time for a family of dragon slayers to change their minds, but it’ll plant the seeds for change. Mother and Nezu are excited to see the sanctuary - and Eri too.” She was already devouring her breakfast, but their daughter offered them a grin at the mention of her name.

“Which is why I want this copy to be perfect,” Hizashi said with a sigh as he glanced over the unfinished book. “Nemuri needs to hurry up on that printing press invention she keeps talking about. I think Emi’s distracting her… Oh! We should invite them over soon! We haven’t seen them in yonks!”

“We saw them last week.”

“Exactly! Yonks!” Shouta snorted but didn’t reject the idea. Their hands parted as they started eating as well.

-x-

The day was uneventful for Shouta. He butchered and salted the deer before he stored it in an ice box near the house - a woman with an ice Quirk came around once a week to bring them more ice.

After he washed up with some water from their well, he went inside to grab his cloak, only to have Eri come running over to him. “Me, me, me!” she said happily as she grabbed his leg and hugged him.

Shouta smiled and ran a hand through her hair - it was already looking messy again. “You wanna count the deer?” She nodded eagerly. “Okay - go grab our cloaks.” His daughter released his leg and hurried off to fetch the clothing, while Shouta moved to the table where Hizashi was working on translating the book.

He didn’t interrupt his careful work, but he couldn’t resist the urge to rub Hizashi’s back. His lover smiled but didn’t look away from the pages as he continued to write, and Shouta leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. A golden tail brushed over the ex-slayer’s leg, a return of affection, and then Eri came hurrying over with a bundle of green.

Shouta pulled away from Hizashi and helped Eri with the cloaks, first donning his own and then helping to button hers. Although the blond had been concentrating on translating, he couldn’t resist the urge to look up and smile. “You always look adorable in your matching cloaks.”

Her cloak had been modelled on Shouta’s, so even the clasp was the same. Shouta grinned. “Just wait ‘til we cover up with dirt.”

Hizashi’s happy expression instantly dissolved. Instead, he screwed up his face in distaste. “We just cleaned that dress… Fine. Bath night.” With that said, he turned back to his work, tailing flicking, and Shouta led Eri outside.

He crouched down and picked up a handful of dirt. “Where do we need it?”

“Hair! Armpits! Shoes!” She grabbed her own handful, eager to do it herself.

“Good girl.” They smeared themselves down, dirtying their clothes and hair in the process. Once finished, he pulled Eri onto his back, and she clung on tightly as they started into the woods. He didn’t need to remind her to keep quiet to not spook the deer.

Mating season was approaching, so he expected to find a dip in the deer population as the alphas sought to provide for their potentially growing families. They could bring in more deer or livestock if they needed to, but they didn’t want to over-balance the food chain too much.

The dragon sanctuary wasn’t too crowded for the moment, with fourteen dragons and one wyvern totalling the population, but there were babies on the way, and it wasn’t so strange for ex-dragon slayers to bring in dragons they’d subdued. They were already talking of opening a second sanctuary in the east, closer to the border, but they’d have to ensure the people of Nippon would allow it so close to their land. It was integral to spread their message as far as possible, to protect as many dragons as they could.

For now, however, the ‘Shirakumo Dragon Sanctuary’ was the only one of its kind.

It wasn’t easy being a dragon protector, but he found it far more rewarding than being a dragon slayer. As a slayer, he’d been able to protect the citizens, but as a protector he was able to save the citizens and the dragons as well.

Eri pointed ahead silently, to some deer tracks in the dirt, although they were trampled by large dragon footprints. He silently squeezed her hand to praise her keen eyes as he knelt beside the prints, but he could easily recognise the perpetrator by the size: Dabi was hunting.

The burned dragon had calmed a lot since mating with the wyvern, although Shouta knew better than to disturb an alpha dragon while it was hunting. He simply estimated the number of deer based on the footprints he could see and moved on to a different area.

It took a while to finish surveying the population, and by that time Eri had fallen asleep on his back. There seemed to be a decent number of deer remaining, so he saw no need to have more brought in just yet.

Shouta debated whether he should check up on the dragon families, but according to Eri, she and Hizashi had already checked on them that morning, so he decided to head home.

He was careful not to jostle Eri too much as he deliberated on what he could do for the rest of the day. He could do a bit of gardening in the vegetable patch, or he could fix up some of the thatching of the roof, or check the perimeter of the sanctuary… Well, he already knew what would be waiting for them when they returned.

As soon as they arrived home, Hizashi came outside with towels, a washing board, and a displeased expression. However, when he noticed Eri was asleep, he melted a little. “Bath time,” Hizashi said as he approached them. “Come on Eri - wakey wakey.”

She yawned as she opened her large eyes, but she smiled at the sight of Hizashi. Eri held out her arms for him, and despite how dirty she was, the blond was quick to take her and hold her tightly. “We counted deer!” she said sleepily.

Shouta took the washboard and headed for the river with his family in tow.

-x-

Eri was falling asleep at the dinner table, and Hizashi couldn’t keep himself from smiling gently at the sight. He offered Shouta a look, to silently tell him that he’d tuck her into bed after they finished up, and his husband nodded in understanding. The bonding mark on his neck felt warm.

As soon as they finished, Hizashi picked up Eri and her doll. “Come on, sweetie. I think you’re ready for bed.” She yawned and didn’t argue as she cuddled in close, and the blond carried her to her bedroom while Shouta cleaned up.

“Papa,” Eri said softly.

“Yes, Sweetie?”

She yawned in his arms. “Lullaby?”

He laughed gently and answered by humming something soft and sweet as he entered her bedroom. Eri was tucked beneath the sheets with her doll, and Hizashi sat down on the bed as he stroked her hair and started to sing her a lullaby.

“Sleep my little dragon, do not be afraid,

Your gold is kept safe, from villains and raids.

The sun she is asleep, so you should be too,

Until you smell dawn, the morning and dew.

Dream of shiny trinkets, and treasure and gold,

Or dream of my arms, my embrace, my hold.

If you ever need us, we shall not be far,

For you are our home, our daughter, our star~”

Eri was asleep before he’d even finished. He placed a kiss on her forehead and carried the candle out of her room to let her sleep in peace. Shouta was still washing up the dishes in the washing basin, but Hizashi couldn’t resist the urge to wrap his arms around him from behind and hold him close. “Hey you~” he purred as he nuzzled the back of his neck, inhaling his warm scent.

“You’re gonna make her materialistic with songs like that,” Shouta returned, but there was a teasing note in his tone. He leaned back against Hizashi but continued washing up.

“Something’s been on your mind,” Hizashi said, more softly. “You know you can tell me anything.”

Shouta’s torso deflated a little beneath him as he exhaled. “Nothing really to talk about. Just been thinking about writing another book… One about this place. It’s more incredible than I ever imagined.” Hizashi could hear the undercurrent of excitement in Shouta’s voice. “Some of the dragons have formed completely new family groups, without even being the same types. I was worried about sectioning off all different slices of territory, but for the fifteen we have we only have three territories, and of those territories only one is owned by a single pair.”

“Dabi and Hawks don’t like sharing with others,” Hizashi said with a grin. “I’ve tried convincing them, but they’re stubborn. The others are all happy to share though and are willing to accept other dragons to protect them.”

Shouta nodded eagerly. “It’s never been documented before. Even the different types of dragons - a lot of them are just lumped together, but there are differences that we’ve never noticed before.”

He loved it when Shouta turned into a dragon fanboy. His tail wrapped around his husband’s leg, and he peppered kisses over the back of Shouta’s neck. “Okay, Babe. I’ll finish translating this copy for your dad, and then we can start on a second book. We’ll save even more dragons.”

Shouta finished washing up and turned in his arms so he could hold him close. “Ever mentioned I love you?”

Hizashi hummed and tilted his head. “Never enough~”

“I love you.” Shouta leaned forward and kissed him, and Hizashi purred with happiness. When he’d been a young boy, he’d never imagined his life could be like this: a loving husband, a beautiful daughter, and a home of their own.

“Love you too, Shou.” He pressed into him, partly to feel more of his warmth and partly to cover him with his scent. Shouta was his, his, his~

“Let’s get some sleep,” his Treasure said as he brushed some golden hair from his face.

“I should do some more translating,” Hizashi said, but was then picked up by strong arms.

“Tomorrow,” Shouta said, already carrying him towards their bedroom. Hizashi didn’t struggle.

“Tomorrow,” he agreed as he was placed onto the bed. Clothes were stripped, and soon enough they were cuddled together. The mattress was soft and smelled heavily of them, just the way Hizashi liked it. “Enough deer?”

“Yeah, but we’ll check again after mating season. Eri’s good at tracking.”

“Course she is - you taught her well.” Hizashi placed several butterfly kisses on his neck and wrapped his tail around Shouta’s waist. “But do you have to cover yourselves in dirt?”

“We could cover ourselves in crushed up bugs, if you’d prefer?” Hizashi gagged and Shouta snorted at the reaction. “Love you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said with a pout, but a quick kiss from his lover made him relax. These past five years were only the first step, and they’d have the rest of their lives to protect and save others, whether they were humans or dragons or caught in between. “Will your parents like me?”

Shouta ran a hand through his hair and pressed their foreheads together. “Course, and they’ll love Eri too, and everything we’ve achieved together. None of this would’ve been possible without you.”

“Or without you…”

“Sleep now,” hushed the man. “Tomorrow’ll be another big day.”

A hand tenderly stroked his hair, brushing through strands and slipping over his inhuman ears. Hizashi nodded and he buried his face into the crook of Shouta’s neck. He smelled like the woods outside; he smelled like the rain; he smelled like their house…

They’d both wandered for so long, but they’d managed to find each other through it all. Not only that, but they had a daughter too, and both were determined to protect her for as long as they were able.

Their bond was strong. They’d never be alone again.

Hizashi fell asleep in Shouta’s arms.

This was victory.

This was home.

‘This book on dragons is dedicated to my bond. Without them in my life, I never would’ve had the courage or ability to write this. I’m not good at poetry, like you are, but I’ll do my best for you:

I knew you needed saving, that day we first met,

Your mark was so clear; your deadline was set.

And yet with our journey, I soon came to see,

We both needed saving: cursed you and cursed me.

My past had been tainted, as yours had been too,

But this guide is complete, because I have you.’

- A Complete Guide to Dragons by Eraserhead

The End