Tommyinnit Oneshots

Pinkie Promise

A/N - Introductions: Ethan is an OC, who actually belongs to me this time. No shipping, he's an 8-year old boy. Also, this is the American school system since it's what I'm familiar with, so Tommy is still in high school.

TW: Domestic abuse, substance abuse, panic attack

Tommy quite liked his job at the library. He watched over kids at the city's after-school program set up in the children's book section, and he couldn't be happier. Yes, it was a volunteer job, but there were snacks and Tommy quite liked being around kids, especially these ones who reminded him of himself. A good amount of the children in the program came here because there wasn't food at home, or it wasn't safe. Tommy had been in the program for almost eight years for those exact reasons, but he had aged out a few years ago and came back to volunteer. It gave him an escape from his father while feeling like he was doing something. Plus, it was going towards his community service credit he was required to have to graduate. 

On this particular afternoon, there were fewer kids than usual, which would have worried him if the librarian who ran the program hadn't told him that there was an after-school event happening. He was comforted by the fact that the kids were safe, so he got to work on some homework. That is, until he was approached by a new face.

"Excuse me?" Tommy looked down to see a brown-haired little kid standing shyly next to him, reluctant to meet his eyes. The blond smiled warmly at the child and asked, "What can I do for you, big man?" 

"Well, I just- I noticed your shirt and I... I wanted to show you that we're matching. Look!" The boy pulled on his own shirt, and it did, indeed, match Tommy's - they were both short-sleeved baseball style tees, except that Tommy's sleeves were red and the kid's sleeves were blue. "Well, would you look at that? We are! You sure do have good taste in clothing."

The boy smiled bashfully, meeting Tommy's eyes afterward. Being around mistrusting kids and being one himself, he knew this meant the boy was growing more comfortable with him.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"My name's Ethan! Are you Tommy?" The elder was surprised that Ethan knew his name until he remembered that he was wearing a sticker name tag. "Yep, that's me!" 

"Does the sticker mean you're like a camp counselor?"

"Well, sort of. The people who run the library trust me to watch over the kids, so I'm sort of a supervisor."

"Why?"

The teen thought for a moment, not expecting this question from the boy. 

"Well, I guess it's because I've been here for a while. All the adults here have known me for a long time, and because of that, they trust me!"

"That's so cool!" If there was one word Tommy would use to describe that, it wouldn't be 'cool'. But, if Ethan thought it was cool to be friends with a bunch of librarians, then he would gladly accept the praise.

Tommy abandoned his homework to help Ethan with his math. The boy was smart, so they got through it in twenty minutes, which gave them the rest of the time to play.

As Ethan opened up more, Tommy felt a special place in his heart begin to form for the little brunet, and it brought with it a faint worry. His mannerisms reminded Tommy of his younger self, and he could only hope that Ethan's home life didn't look anything remotely like his own.

That hope was crushed when one day, Ethan came to after-care with a bruised eye. Tommy wasted no time in getting the kid an ice pack and gathering his favorite treats from the snack table.