Tommyinnit Oneshots

My Baby Brother

Sam stared out across the mall, eyes covered in goggles sweeping the area. His daughter, Hannah, sat at his left, munching on her pretzel bites. When Sam saw what he was looking for, he nudged Hannah's side to get her attention. She giggled and squirmed away from his grasp, but jumped to her feet to half stumble, half run to stand beside Sam's chair. The creeper hybrid nodded towards two people placing Christmas decorations in the window, toys lined up beside a wooden Santa and plastic reindeer. Hannah clapped in delight, grinning brightly as she remembered the festive holiday coming.

"What do you want for Christmas, rosebud?" Sam asked with his own pleasant smile. He didn't care about the holiday or the gift giving, but Hannah was young enough to enjoy the 'magic' of Christmas. Sam may have been stubborn, but his will crumbled at the idea of making Hannah happy. He would have done anything for his daughter so long as she said the word.

"Hmmm... I want..." Hannah placed a finger against her lips as she gave it some thought. What did she want? She had everything she needed. Maybe some new gardening tools? Hannah wondered if she was finally old enough to get the big kid kind. Hannah was about to ask when she saw a kid smaller than her grab her cup of pretzel bites and run off with it. "Hey!" She cried as she followed, Sam stumbling to his feet to get back his daughter.

Hannah chased the kid all the way to the last storefront, where he ducked into the doors. Hannah looked around before spotting his blonde hair weaving between the women's clothes section. Hannah chased after him, cornering him in a long hallway. The boy dove into an empty shelving, body pulled tight so the shadows would whisk him away, out of Hannah's attention. It didn't work because Hannah leaned down on her knees before him.

Hannah had been upset, but now she felt the anger dip away. This wasn't some petty thief. It was a small kid, probably half her age, with muddy hair and torn clothes. He was missing one shoe, and the other foot had the sole of a shoe strapped onto it with duct tape. He growled menacingly at Hannah as he pulled the cup of pretzel bites to his chest, keeping them safe like that was all he cared for. Hannah hadn't been expecting someone so broken. She felt stupid for being mad.

"Hi, I'm Hannah," She spoke softly to put the boy at ease. He flinched back instead. "It's okay. You can have the pretzel bites. In fact, we can get you one just for yourself. I've already eaten some of those, so it might not fill you up." Hannah slowly lifted her hand, and the boy stared at it, eyes flickering between the palm and Hannah's face. Hannah kept reaching a hand out until her arm was extended to the boy. Hesitantly, his arm flinching back ever so often, he grabbed Hannah's hand, allowing her to pull him forwards.

"I'm Tommy," He whispered as his feet hit the ground, curling up with his knees pressed to his chest. Hannah gave him a smile, opening her arms without moving. She was offering a hug but not forcing it if Tommy didn't want it. He glared up at her before edging into her grasp, his hold light so he could flee whenever he needed to. Hannah closed her arms, keeping her own touch barely perceptible so she didn't spook him.

"Hannah!" Sam said as he finally found his daughter. He stopped when he saw a flash of blonde hair huddle behind Hannah, pushing her in front so Sam couldn't see who it was. Hannah gave her father a half hearted smile, lips quirking up as she kept a hand behind her. Unbeknownst to Sam, Tommy was gripping Hannah's palm like a lifeline, squeezing so hard that she was scared it would bruise.

"That's my Dad, Tommy. He's nice, I promise. His name is Sam," Hannah whispered behind her, moving out of the way slowly so Sam could see who she was hiding. Sam walked forwards with a gasp as he saw the fragile child that wanted Hannah to protect him. "Dad, this is Tommy. I think he's just hungry. That's why he took my pretzel bites. Can we get him some?"

"I think that's a wonderful idea, sweetie. Tommy, do you need help standing?" Sam asked softly, keeping his movements slow and voice quiet. Tommy squirmed where he was, looking away as he came to his feet. With how tall he was, Sam would have said he was maybe 3 or 4. With the way his knees buckled immediately, Sam would say that he was older but suffering from malnourishment. Tommy refused to let anyone help him, pushing himself onto his feet again and again until he managed it. Hannah was by his side the entire time, offering warm smiles and reassurance while he gripped her hand. Sam watched with parental worry, waiting for something to go wrong.