It had started, like most accidents, with Natsu being an idiot.
"What's the worst that could happen?" he'd asked, grinning at Gray and bouncing on the balls of his feet. They were standing out in a field near Gray's house, down by the river, far enough away from the town that nobody would get hurt too badly even if it all went wrong.
Which it probably would.
"You could explode," Gray suggested, crossing his arms over his chest and staring Natsu down. "Or implode." Freed, who was standing nearby and studying a magic scroll intently, snorted.
"We're not going to implode," Natsu grumbled, looking to Sting and Rogue for support. Rogue just rolled his eyes, but Sting grinned at Natsu from his spot where he was reading over Freed's shoulder.
Gray sighed. Part of him wanted to call this off. A mysterious scroll from a curio shoppe owner who'd been paying them for their latest quest wasn't exactly something that screamed 'safe.' But the look of childish excitement on Natsu's face was enough to hold him back from saying anything. For now. Gray also trusted Freed, who had gone over the spell several times and hadn't found anything that was likely to go totally awry.
"Not seriously, anyway," Freed had said. "At worst they'd probably just end up with sharper teeth. Or tails, maybe."
The idea of Natsu bouncing around the apartment with a tail was already giving Gray a headache.
"C'mon, Snowflake," Natsu teased, bumping Gray's shoulder with his. "You're just jealous that you don't get dragon powers."
"You already have dragon powers," Gray insisted, ignoring the jab. He refused to admit that the spell did sound intriguing – some sort of dragon magic amplifier that might help the Slayers unlock a new well of power.
"We could try it on you," Natsu said, expression turning thoughtful. "I mean, you are a Slayer. Not a Dragon Slayer, but sti—"
"No way," Gray said, shaking his head. "I can kick your ass without sharp teeth or a tail."
Natsu snorted, bumping Gray again, who pushed him away and turned to Rogue. "I still can't believe you're going along with this."
Rogue shrugged. "You try to say no to that," he said, pointing at Sting, who was grinning and poking at the scroll. Gray nodded; Rogue had a point. Sting's enthusiasm was equal to – if not more – contagious than Natsu's.
"All right," Freed said, running their finger down the scroll one more time and looking up at Natsu. "It seems straightforward enough. But I accept no responsibility if this goes wrong. Or if Erza decides to get angry about it later."
Gray saw a flicker of hesitation cross Natsu's face, but it was gone almost before it appeared. The grin resurfaced and Natsu raised his eyebrows at Sting and Rogue. "You guys ready to be dragons?"
"You're not going to be dragons," Gray insisted, but nobody was listening, so he sighed and stepped back behind Freed.
"All right," Freed said, scrawling a few runes in the air as they walked in a circle around the three Dragon Slayers. "Don't step out of this protection circle until I'm done the spell." Freed gave Natsu a stern look, and Natsu pouted. Before Natsu could argue, Freed stepped back and started reading from the scroll.
As soon as Freed started speaking, a bright, electric energy began to crackle around Natsu, Sting and Gray. The grass around them whipped back and forth in a wind that seemed contained to the protection circle, and all three of them scrunched their noses up at the same time, as if they had smelled something unpleasant.
The sparks of light grew larger and jumped between the Dragon Slayers as Freed kept reading. Eventually the grass began to tear out of the ground, ripping up clumps of dirt to swirl around and fill the circle and obscuring the three of them in a cloud of black and white.
A roaring sound began to build in the field and Gray winced, covering his ears as pressure began to build around him. It rose quickly, culminating in a sound like a thunderclap, and then the windstorm disappeared.
Natsu, Sting and Rogue were gone.
A flash of panic filled Gray's chest and he quickly looked around the field and then back to the containment circle. When the runes disappeared, movement caught Gray's eye and he frowned.
It took him several seconds to realize what he was looking at, and he immediately burst out laughing.
"Oh my god," he whispered, stepping forward and crouching down. "I am never going to let any of you live this down."
Three baby dragons sat in the center of the circle, all looking mildly dazed. The red one was obviously Natsu – he looked a bit like a tiny version of Igneel, but rounder and more wide-eyed. Sting, who was much fluffier than Gray would have expected a dragon to be, lay on his back, tiny feet kicked up in the air, staring up at the sky in bewilderment. Rogue had already managed to get his bearings and was sitting on his haunches, head cocked to the side as he stared at Gray with bright red eyes.
"Rogue?" Gray asked, reaching out tentatively to the tiny dragon. He was barely bigger than Gray's hand, which he sniffed at uncertainly. His tail flicked back and forth a few times and then he headbutted Gray's fingers, apparently satisfied with his inspection.
"Holy shit, you're adorable," Gray murmured as Rogue stood up on his hind legs and put both front paws on Gray's hand. He rubbed his face against Gray's thumb, then climbed up into the palm of Gray's hand and sat there, staring at him curiously.
"Well, that's… unexpected," Freed said, crouching down next to Gray. Sting, who had finally rolled over, shook his head and let out a tiny sneeze. The force of it knocked him backward again, which caught Natsu's attention, and Natsu immediately pounced on him, pinning him to the ground. Sting growled at him, nipping at Natsu's neck before kicking him with his hind feet and rolling over until he was on top.
"Of course they're already fighting," Gray said, rolling his eyes as he brought Rogue closer to his chest. Rogue took the opportunity to quickly clamber up Gray's arm and sit onto his shoulder instead, wobbling uncertainly before digging tiny claws into the fabric of Gray's shirt. Gray winced at the sharp pinpricks of pain, but Rogue settled and rubbed his head against Gray's cheek.
"Knock it off, you two," Gray said to Natsu and Sting as he petted the top of Rogue's head with one finger. He reached out and grabbed Sting by the scruff of the neck, lifting him up to eye level and giving him a reprimanding look. Sting's hind legs curled up to his stomach and he made an indignant squeaking noise. "Yes, you," Gray said, laughing.
Freed reached out for Natsu, who scrambled to his feet and immediately nipped at Freed's fingers. Before Gray could chastise him, Freed scooped up Natsu and put a finger under his chin so he couldn't bite.
"They don't seem to be able to understand us," Freed said, studying Natsu curiously. Natsu growled at him and Freed laughed. "I guess you got your wish," they said to Natsu. "You're definitely a dragon."
Gray pushed himself to his feet, tucking Sting into the crook of his arm and scratching the top of his head to appease the mildly irritated sounds he was making. Sting immediately relaxed and the squeaks turned to a quiet, near-purring noise.
"They're tiny," Gray commented as Rogue shifted on his shoulder and nuzzled his cheek. "Are baby dragons really this small?"
"I'm not sure," Freed said, keeping a firm finger under Natsu's chin as they accepted Gray's hand to help them stand. "We don't really know anything about dragons – I don't think anyone alive has ever seen a young one." Natsu swiped a paw out at Sting as soon as he got close. Gray flicked him on the nose and frowned at him.
"Stop that," he said as Sting growled at Natsu, then cuddled closer to Gray's chest. "You're a pain in the ass no matter how big you are." Natsu rubbed a paw over his nose and managed to look indignant. "Oh, don't give me that look," Gray said. Then he looked up at Freed.
"So… how long do you think it'll last?" It suddenly struck Gray that the transformation might be permanent, and immediately the panic was back. Freed shook their head, pulling the scroll out of their jacket pocket and unfurling it with one hand. Natsu looked at it curiously, trying to bat it with his paw. Freed nudged him away, then looked down at their jacket.
"Here," they said, tucking Natsu into the chest pocket. Natsu's eyes widened and he scrambled for purchase, eventually ending up with both paws over the edge of the pocket and his head resting between them. The tip of his tail poked out as well, flicking back and forth as he snuffled uncertainly.
Gray felt a pang of affection rise in his chest, and he reached out carefully to Natsu. Natsu looked at him warily but didn't bite, instead sniffing his finger as Rogue had and eventually bumping it with his head.
Sting squirmed in Gray's arm, whining and rubbing his head against Gray's chest. Gray looked down at him and chuckled. "You're jealous, aren't you?" he asked, but when he tried to take his hand away from Natsu to pet Sting instead, Natsu growled and latched onto his finger with both paws.
"Dragons are very possessive," Freed commented, still scanning the spell. "They might not understand what we're saying, but they know that you're important to them."
Gray's cheeks flushed with heat and he looked down at his feet. The four of them had only been dating for a few weeks – it had been a bit of an accident, really. They'd been sent together on a quest to the mountains that had ended up being a trap for Gray's Devil Slayer magic, and when the fighting was said and done, they had all realized that the bond they'd formed was stronger than just guild mates, or even friends. It was something more – more intense, more fulfilling, more loving.
Nobody knew yet, though.
Nobody except Freed, apparently.
"Oh," Gray said, and Freed glanced up at him, eyebrows raised.
"Laxus told me," Freed said after a moment. "Something about scents."
Gray groaned, glaring down at Natsu. "You're all ridiculous," he muttered. "Smelling people is creepy." Natsu sniffed at his hand again and he rolled his eyes while Freed hummed in agreement.
"It takes getting used to," Freed said, rolling the spell back up and tucking it into their coat. Freed and Laxus had been together for several years now, but they were both private about their relationship. "The possessiveness can get irritating, although being human probably makes it easier to curb that instinct. These three… well, right now instinct is all they have."
Natsu nuzzled at Gray's thumb and wriggled in Freed's pocket, eventually pushing himself far enough out that he could scramble into Gray's palm. Then he took Rogue's cue and made his way up to Gray's other shoulder, making a happy chittering sound as he nipped Gray's ear.
"That hurts, you little bastard," Gray grumbled, swatting at Natsu half-heartedly. He looked back at Freed. "Seriously, how long is this going to last?"
Freed shrugged. "It's not permanent," they reassured Gray, "but I have no idea how long the effects will take to wear off. I can do some research back at the Guild, but for now…" Gray could tell Freed was trying to hide a smile. "For now, you're stuck with them."