Where is Your Rider?

And as the stone founders underneath the sundered sea of red and reed

Tommy had, stubbornly as usual, insisted that he was good to return back to duty. Tubbo eventually agreed after enough showing off by Tommy just hardcore parkouring his way around their tiny apartment.

It was a simple mission, just recon on a group of individuals causing trouble. Just checking in on their gathering to see if they were any wronguns with the police on standby if things got sticky.

It should've been a simple mission, but Tommy somehow got himself stuck. Quite literally. He was wedged between a few collapsed boxes and a slab of concrete. Fantastic. He got their info and was about to leave when he got stuck.

His com was broken and he was stuck. Just hoping that Ranboo or Tubbo would get some help. Would come and help. Hopefully.

Eventually, he felt the boxes get lifted, but not by the people he was hoping. He wouldn't have even minded if it was the Sleepy Bois, but he didn't like the people who they were being lifted by.

"You okay, kid?" A woman with straight, long black hair and a stiff button-up shirt helped him up. He was far to familiar with these people. They looked like the people from the orphanage. Tommy froze and nodded. He was chilling under these boxes for fun, yup.

"Looks like the calls about an orphan kid was right. You got parents, kid?" Tommy shook his head, fear in his eyes.

"Okay, we're gonna get you someplace to stay. We'll figure out your paperwork tomorrow."

Tommy was dragged into a van by the woman and driven to a far too familiar orphanage. They were shocked when they found out they had his paperwork, that he was a runaway.

He was taken to his old room, sat in his old bed and peppered with questions about where Tubbo was. He wouldn't budge. He would escape this God-awful place and he would go back home. He would go back home.

***

Tommy looked out his window. It was raining today, and the orphanage was very leaky. There was a bucket in his room collecting rain. The drip drip dripping sound was comforting, given the fact that he had been in here for 2 miserable days pretending like this wasn't his living hell.

2 miserable days of missing the closest thing he had to family. He was writing a bunch of letters on the paper he was given, most of them addressed to Tubbo but a few were written to Ranboo. He hadn't gone down for a meal, all his food was brought up to his room.

He pressed his fingers against the cold glass, trying to get a better view. But a shitty view couldn't be fixed, no matter how hard he tried. His missed their apartment, with a less shitty view and not shitty people.

***

Ranboo and Tubbo were currently panicking. Well, Tubbo was panicking and Ranboo was comforting There was no way they could get Tommy out, they'd just be shoved into the system and could be separated. None of them wanted that so they just prayed that either Tommy was so stubborn that he would age out, or he'd escape.

"I don't like the idea of Tommy being there, Ranboo." Tubbo said again. Ranboo sighed, drumming a pencil against the table. They'd been trying to think of a plan to get Tommy out since they saw the car pull up to the orphanage.

"I know, Tubbo, but we don't have any sort of plan. I could try and talk to-"

"We're not going to anyone, Ranboo." Tubbo said stubbornly. "Not even the Sleepy Bois."

"But they could help us, they're adults Tubbo..."

"Exactly why we can't tell them!" Tubbo exclaimed, slamming his hands on the table. "They're adults and we can't trust them."