this world we have built is burning down around us | Dream SMP Time Travel Fic

time heals all wounds (except when it only leaves them to fester)

When Eret said an hour, he really hadn't taken into account the fact that he'd be dealing with TommyInnit.

"Stop cussing, and calm down. You're tangling it because you're flailing."

"You're pissing me off!"

"Still flailing."

"Fuck you!"

Eret heaved a sigh, reaching over to grab the blond's hands, keeping his grip just long enough to still them before taking them back. "Undo what you have, and we'll start again. I'll sit here with you all day if I have to, Tommy, I can promise you that, but you won't get much of what you want to do, whatever it is, done if it's past noon by the time you manage to finish this."

Theseus scowled in his direction, bandages twisted and crossed discomfortingly across his forehead, but obeyed, undoing his mess and irritatingly untangling the sad lump. "This is bullshit."

"Just follow my instructions, ask for clarification if you need it, and pay attention to how you're going about it in the mirror. You're fine."

"I know I'm fucking fine!" Gnashing his teeth, the blond started to tug, and Eret winced, hoping Theseus wouldn't tear the fabric. "I've wasted enough of your goddamned time, just fucking go! I know you have better shit to deal with than babysitting some whiny fucking pain in the ass who can't even stop himself from throwing a goddamned temper tantrum over a couple fucking bandages!"

"I said I had plenty—"

"Yeah, you fucking said that over an hour ago, and we know fucking well that you weren't planning on being here any longer than that." Glancing backwards, eyes narrowed, the blond's face lost some of its harsh bitterness as he met Eret's eyes in the mirror. The king wondered what he saw there, because the blond suddenly looked slightly wistful, too. "I can figure this shit out myself, Big Man. It was nice of you and shit to try and help me, but I can take it from here."

There was no defensive anger anymore, not where Eret could see, and so he wasn't quite sure how to reassure Theseus. "You're not a pain in the ass," he argued instead, because it felt like the next best guess. Theseus quirked an incredulous eyebrow, daring the king, and Eret chuckled. "Okay, you kind of are. But Tommy, you're also stuck in the past and trying to...save the world or something all by yourself, and now you're stressed out. If anybody's mad at you, it's not me."

Theseus was silent for an un-Tommy-like length of time, but it was not for too long. He seemed to be carefully deciding what he wanted to say, struggling with what he wanted to say. "I'm not a fucking hero, Eret," and oh, did the king's formal name coming from a man once and still too Tommy make goosebumps prick his skin, "and I never fucking wanted to be, no matter what the fuck everyone else seemed to think or want from me. This Tommy—your Tommy—maybe he thinks he's like a hero; maybe he thinks he could be one. But he's just a selfish kid too attached to a couple pieces of plastic because they're more consistent in bringing him joy than his own absent father and distant oldest brother. The only other godforsaken thing he has is another brother who'll eventually spiral into a madman and a friend who'll turn his back on him for a piece of land, and maybe he doesn't know that yet, but it doesn't matter because what he does know is that they'll leave one day, even if he doesn't know when or how."

Eret's mouth felt dry. That explained the "brother" thing more, then, though his identity remained unfathomable. "I'd tell you not to think like that, but it's a poor lie when talking to someone who's lived it, huh?"

Theseus blinked, head finally turning to stare at Eret through something other than a reflective piece of glass. He smiled, then, humming a puff of laughter than told Eret his honesty was appreciated. "I'm trying to make a point here, Big Man, alright? And the point—fuck, I can't even remember any fucking point of all this bullshit. The fucking point is, is that I'm not a hero because I'm too selfish, and I'm okay with that, sometimes. But ya' know what that means, Big Man?"