A\N: This is inspired by liron-aria's story Legacy, in which Tommy is called 'dragonkin'. To me, 'dragonkin' means, well, an otherkin-someone who doesn't identify as human but identifies as a dragon\whatever. So that's what I wrote (and, in a world with magic, it turned into Tommy being a dragon). For any actual dragonkin out there, I'm sorry if this doesn't read right; I'm a faekin myself, not dragonkin, although I did try to find what I could. Enjoy!
When Hayley found him, she stopped dead.
It was the first time she'd ever seen Tommy's dragon form (true form). She knew, of course. He'd spilled his secrets to her more than once. She knew he'd been born human, but something in him was also dragon, and Rita had shown him how to work a shapeshifting spell, hoping he would use his dragon form against the Rangers. She knew he had. That the act of using it against them had led him to almost forswear magic until Zordon's death had triggered a transformation, and Tommy had realized that if the Z-wave hadn't 'cured' it, it probably wasn't evil. Tommy had refrained from mentioning that he'd spent almost a week as a dragon after that, finally able to feel the pure joy of his true body, but Hayley had gathered the implication anyway.
But she'd never seen it. Tommy was too shy to show her.
Now, after Anton Mercer's island had exploded, Tommy was hiding in the woods near their university, in the shape of a dragon and with precious gemstones curled in a taloned fist.
Dragon and woman watched each other for a long minute. Then, slowly, Hayley approached him. Tommy reached out with his wings, curling one around her and pulling her closer. Hayley heard…something, from him, and she knew dragons communicated telepathically, but she didn't understand the thoughts he projected. A cave full of treasure; a sense of preciousness; love, fierce as only a dragon could make it.
Hayley laid her hand on Tommy's side. Tommy sighed and closed his eyes. Stay. He asked.
Hayley nodded and gently leaned against him. Tommy's wing curled even more around her, and she was surrounded by heat and scale and leathery wing. It was surprisingly comfortable.
They stayed together, Hayley curled against Tommy and the precious Dino Gems curled in his fist, until the sun began to set. Hayley yawned and Tommy blinked, then dropped the Gems and began to shapeshift down. "Hayley, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were tired—"
Hayley waved him off. "I'm fine. You okay?"
Tommy looked at the Dino Gems for a long minute. "My brain says 'hoard'." He confessed. "But…not entirely. Like they're only part of what I'm looking for."
Hayley frowned. "I thought you only kept fossils."
"Information." Tommy told her. "Anything with potential for discovery. But this doesn't feel that way." He paused. "It feels like you."
Hayley considered that. Tommy joked that Hayley was his princess sometimes. It went deeper than that, Hayley knew, but Tommy didn't have the words for it. Hayley didn't either. "More people. The Gems are looking for Rangers, maybe that's who you're sensing."
Tommy nodded slowly. "Maybe I can protect them. Keep this from happening until after they're eighteen."
It was false hope, Hayley knew. The Power chose teenagers so that it could use puberty to alter their bodies, making them stronger and faster than the average human. It wasn't likely to just delay a fight until its chosen warriors were of legal age. But she nodded anyway. "Maybe."
They walked back to their dorms together.