Ink Stains (MCYT Oneshots)

[R] It's Gonna Be Alright (Tommy & Tubbo)

(A/N: req as a pic. here have some clingyduo hurt/comfort ft reincarnation :3
if i represented anything wrong in here please lmk!!)

It was supposed to be a nice day.

Tommy and Tubbo were hanging out with some of their streamer friends. It was getting easier to differentiate them from their former selves, their 'SMP counterparts', but even so, sometimes they'd have nightmares or flashbacks that would remind them of... everything that had happened.

Today, Tommy looked much more subdued. He had insisted he would be fine, and while Tubbo didn't really believe him, he wasn't about to say anything against it. So, he kept an eye on him even as they chatted happily with their friends.

Wilbur seemed to be the one Tommy was afraid of, today. Tommy kept flinching every time they had to sit close together, and while Tubbo knew it wasn't this Wilbur's fault, it didn't stop his hands from clenching minutely, nor did it quell the rage that was forming.

As they all sat in Tommy's room, with Wilbur next to Tommy, Tubbo could see him becoming worse. The others started to notice too, but none of them wanted to break the playful and happy atmosphere around them.

Then, mid-conversation, Wilbur went to reach out to touch Tommy, probably to ask him if he was okay, and it all went wrong.

"No, no!" Tommy shrieked suddenly, loud and panicked, and it only took a second for Tubbo to realise. Tommy stumbled off the bed, and before anyone could move to him, curled up in a corner of the room with muffled screams escaping him as Tubbo stood up.

"Leave the room," Tubbo's voice left no room for arguments, as he pointed towards the door. "I- we'll explain later, but please, he's only going to panic more if you all stick around."

Wilbur still hesitated even as everyone else left, and while Tubbo knew he had good intentions, right now, he — or rather, the former Wilbur — was the trigger of Tommy's attack, and it wouldn't do good for Tommy if Wilbur stuck around.

"Please, Wilbur," Tubbo's voice was firm, and when Wilbur finally left the room, he sighed in relief, and slowly moved towards the still-shaking boy.

"Tommy, can you hear me?" he whispered softly, so as to not scare him. "Deep breaths, it's alright. It's just me and you here, and everything is fine. There's no one here who can hurt us. Can i touch you?"

There was a long pause, before Tommy jerkily shook his head, and Tubbo nodded. "Alright. Deep breaths for me, could you do that? Yeah, that's good, that's good, big man. Just continue doing that. Can you open up your eyes for me?"

Slowly, Tommy's eyes cracked open. His chest heaved with the breaths he was taking in. "Alright, look around the room. Can you speak for me, or do you not want to do that right now?"

Tommy seemed to think for a while, still shaking, but with the shudders having lessened, before he opened his mouth. "A little."

"Okay, that's good. Can you name five things you can see around?"

Tommy blinked. Carefully, Tubbo sat down just a few steps away from him. "I- I... I see you. The fan. Books. Chair. Bed."

"Good, that's good," Tubbo praised, and Tommy released a shudder breath. "Four things you can hear?"

"Y-your voice. Some whispers. The fan. Birds."

"Okay, you're doing great. It's alright, we'll be alright. Uhm, three things you can touch?"

"My- my pants," Tommy's voice cracked midway, but neither of them commented on it. Tommy let down his hands from his knees. "T-the floor. My shirt."

"Okay, that's good. Two things you can smell?"

"I- the leaves. And, uh, th' laundry."

"Right, just one more, can you continue speaking for that?"

"Mhm."

"Okay. One thing you can taste."

"My- my saliva, I think."

"That's great, Tommy, I'm proud of you," Tubbo gently said, and Tommy shuddered. He looked more stable now, though, so that was a good thing. "We're alright now. Everyone else is... outside, I think, but it's just us in here, and I know they aren't that bad to eavesdrop on us. You're okay, big man. I'm here. We're alive."

Tommy nodded. His eyes were still a little red.

"I..." he coughed, and blinked. "You can- you can touch me now."

Tubbo scooted forward until he was sitting next to him, and gently took Tommy's hands in his. He let Tommy lay his head on his shoulder, and only patted his back soothingly as his frame wracked with sobs, and he buried his head in his neck.

"We're alright now," Tubbo murmured, even though he knew they'd have to do so much explaining later, even though they might never be fully alright. "It's okay. I'm here, you're here. We're alive."

"We're alive," Tommy repeated, shaky and quiet.

And for now, that was enough.