Oh, Hello

Trees

The sun was rising on Tommy's first real day of freedom. The boy had cried his heart out the night before under the cover of darkness and stars. When he had fallen asleep, he had dreamed of a better life, a better time even, where he was loved and surrounded by those who cared for him. He was tired when he woke up, and he desperately wanted to sleep again, but the gentle warmth that once surrounded him began to grow to uncomfortable heat. As the blond sat up, his legs shook from below him. Right, he was still hurt.

His arm was still broken, and his wrist wasn't doing any better. It was a wonder he was standing since his legs were so battered. His left ankle ached every few seconds, so he may have nagged that on something while climbing to his current location. Taking in his surroundings, Tommy's first coherent thought was how loud it all was. There were cars and trucks and motorcycles below him, all having horns that sounded loudly in the open yet closed air. There were people walking and chatting, some shouting, others singing, but all were loud. Tommy covered his ears with a soft whine.

It was so loud.

Things were never this loud with Dream. Maybe he should go back? Why was he out here in the first place?! He should be home with dad! Dad was safe and warm and kept him quiet! Tommy sniffled softly as tears began to fall again. He was crying, and he didn't know why! He ignored the memories that fronted. He ignored the memories of Dream hurting him. He ignored the memories of Dream starving him, of Dream beating him. He only wanted to remember his dad. He only wanted to remember his dad and nothing else. He just wanted to be home again.

A sob tore itself from Tommy's chest, not unlike the night before, and he had to cover his mouth out of fear of being caught. He saw some people below look up, but no one paid much attention to him. No one cared, just like how he had been told. No one bothered to find him. Dream hadn't bothered to find him. Dream was always so safe, so why had he left? Dream had done nothing but care for him, so why did he leave?

Tommy curled in on himself, his thoughts whirling around his head. He felt dizzy and too warm. His hoodie felt heavy and his vision swam before him.

Then there was a voice.

"Holy shit, kid! What the hell are you doin' up here?!"

A blur of red was before him, and he couldn't stop the hands that gripped his arms. With a whine, he let the stranger sit him up. When had he laid down? He couldn't remember laying down, or closing his eyes. When had he gotten up here? Why was he here? He couldn't remember anything. Oh god, he couldn't remember anything-

Tommy's thoughts were cut off as the stranger tilted his head back, gently resting his blond head in someone else's arms.

"I need you... open... mouth, ok...?"

Tommy weakly opened his mouth, too tired and weak to care. A cool liquid was poured in as a result, and Tommy was forced to swallow it so he didn't choke. Coughing lightly, Tommy groaned before grasping whatever the men had given him.

It was water.

Tommy grabbed the bottle and happily drank the rest, whining again when he ran out. A laugh sounded from above him, and Tommy watched the man in red pull out a second bottle, opening the cap before handing it to the child. As Tommy drank more water, his head began to clear more and more.

When he pulled away from the bottle, he heard a second chuckle from directly behind him. Jumping back, Tommy felt panic rush through him as he watched the two men try to corral him back into their arms. The blond growled, brandishing the scissors he had used the night before. Why had he needed scissors? He didn't usually use them for anything other than trimming his hair, and even then that didn't warrant them being on his person when he leaves the house. Had something happened? Did something happen to Dream? Was Dream in trouble? Was Dream dea-

Tommy's thoughts were once again cut off as the man wearing red offered a small piece of food. Or at least, Tommy thought it was food. When the blond had grabbed it, the men seemed to brighten, but when he brought it to his mouth, they seemed to grown concerned. Glaring at the two, he brandished his crooked teeth. "What the fuck are you two lookin' at?"

The man in red- no, he was wearing orange- looked at the man in the light blue overalls. The man in orange turned back to Tommy with a small smile. "Well, uh, I'm Deo." 'Deo' gestured to the other man, "This is Wisp. We were coming to check out what was making noise up here, and we kinda... found you? You seemed pretty out of it, we're thinking it was the heat, so we gave you some water to rehydrate you..."

'Deo' and 'Wisp' - Tommy doubted that those were their real names - looked at him expectantly. He growled again, holding his small bag to his chest. "Well, what the fuck do you want?"

"Your name would be preferred." 'Wisp' said, a playful (?) smile on his face.

Tommy frowned. Dream had always told him not to give his name to strangers. Strangers could take him and hurt him. Dream would always tell him of how his own brother, Tommy's uncle, had been taken and was never seen again. "Theseus."

'Deo' raised a brow. "'Theseus'? That's your name?"

Tommy nodded. It was his first name, but these men didn't need to know that. Deo nodded before he stood from his kneeled position. "Well, Theseus, do you have anywhere to go?"

Tommy thought of his home. He ignored the painful memories that told him home wasn't safe. Home had been his home for his entire life, and Dream had been his home for as long as he could remember. If home wasn't safe, that meant that Dream wasn't safe, and that simply wasn't true, was it? Tommy shook his head. He saw Deo frown before the brunette stuck out his hand.

"How 'bout you come with Wisp and me? We had a few friends who live in this old factory. We could clean out a room for ya!"

Tommy thought about this for a moment -no he didn't. He didn't have to think about it. Anywhere was better than with Dream or on his own.- and he nodded his head, taking Deo's hand. When the blond was standing, he saw that Deo had a few inches on him, but Wisp seemed almost the same height. He laughed in his mind at the realization and slowly began following the two down the stairs.

Tommy ignored the feeling of hope that began to worm its way out of the box he had shoved it in. Tommy ignored the way his heart swelled up at the thought of being cared for. He ignored it all and he kept a straight face. Dream had told him he was worthless. Dream had told him he was unlovable, so why should these strangers love him? Why should anyone love him? Tommy was cursed to be unloved and alone for his life, that's what Dream had proven to him. That's what Peace and Whisper and Death had proven to him when they turned their backs on him. That's what his mother had proven to him when she had left him behind to stay with Dream.

Tommy ignored it all because that's what he does best, so why stop now?

---

That completes the first installment! I will post the second book after it is finished on Ao3 (My name over there is the same as my name here :D) 

Playlist for this series: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5oshDuXE0rzcR8eR9bm5iF?si=dba862b40954457a

I also have a Twitter!! I am @GlitchesAreFun, so you can follow for updates or reblogs of art that I find--