Tommyinnit Oneshots

Gifted (Part 3)

Wilbur felt his lungs burning as he raced down the streets, his skin slicking with sweat to make his sweater cling to his skin. His face was turning a red color as his eyes scanned the surroundings for where Tommy could have gone. He didn't know what Tommy's habits were, or what he was thinking about as he ran. Wilbur didn't know if the person who caused that explosion was following them.

        Eventually, Wilbur's eyes cut across to see Tommy, his armor stripped away to reveal his white and red shirt. He was leaning down, trembling arms pushing against the metal railing that kept people from falling into the river below. Tommy had his eyes trained on the water, his body a mere leaf in the autumn winds. "Tommy... Hey, buddy, what are you doing here?"

        "I didn't... it wasn't my... I'm sorry, okay?" Tommy stumbled over his words, the sounds clashing in his throat, apologies and explanations and yelling that he was fine all caught up in a lump that settled in Tommy's throat. Wilbur didn't know what any of it was for since it wasn't Tommy's fault and it would be okay if he wasn't fine.

        "There's nothing to be sorry about. It's all fine, Tommy. No one got hurt, and we can fix the fence. It's okay to be scared, y'know? I probably would have ran if a tree just exploded," Wilbur comforted, pushing across the road. Wilbur made careful and light steps towards Tommy, keeping his eyes trained on the boy. Tommy occasionally glanced at Wilbur, but he mostly stared at the roaring river below them that was obnoxiously loud. Wilbur wanted to tell the river to shut up, but he knew that the river wouldn't understand and an angry tone would make Tommy more on edge.

        "It wasn't my fault," Tommy repeated to himself. He glared at the water, a snarl pulling on his lips. "I'm not scared. That was an act of pure self preservation. I don't get scared."

        "That's alright, too. It doesn't matter if you were scared or not because both are perfectly reasonable responses to the situation. I'm not here to condemn you, I want to bring you home. Dadza is worried," Wilbur let honey seep into his voice.

Tommy's gaze became unfocused at the mention of Phil, so Wilbur knew that he wasn't getting anywhere. That was fine, it had been a few days since Tommy and Phil met so Wilbur didn't expect Tommy to run into his arms at the mention. "Tubbo is worried. He's still there. You may not be scared, but I think Tubbo was. He wants to know that you're safe."

        Tommy looked over at Wilbur, hands lifting up from the railing. Wilbur held back a smile, he didn't want Tommy knowing what he was doing. "We can walk back together, and see Tubbo immediately. He'll see that you're okay, and he won't have to worry so much anymore."

        "He should care more about himself sometimes," Tommy muttered as he walked towards Wilbur getting far from the railing. Wilbur couldn't hold back when he exhaled deeply. Tommy gave him a funny look before scowling. "I wasn't going to jump. I'm not that stupid. Reckless, maybe, but not stupid. I was there because..." Tommy trailed off without explaining himself. Wilbur would have argued, but Tommy seemed so certain that he wasn't there to fall that Wilbur believed him. Maybe Wilbur just wanted to believe Tommy, and didn't want to face the truth of the situation. Wilbur thought he was better than that, but even as he loosely gripped Tommy's hand, he didn't consider why Tommy was there. He chalked it up to coincidence.

        "Okay," Wilbur reassured quietly. He didn't let go of Tommy's hand the entire way to the house. Tommy wouldn't look at him, looked anywhere but him, but he didn't pull away from Wilbur's hand. Whenever his breathing picked up, Wilbur could feel Tommy squeezing his hand. There was some pattern in the grip that Wilbur vaguely recalled as Morse code, but he wasn't skilled enough to remember what it stood for. He could save it to his memory to look up later.

"Tommy! Wilbur!" Phil said as he ran down the stairs. Tommy shifted behind Wilbur with wide eyes, but he was dragged into a hug by Phil regardless. Wilbur tried remembering what 'it's okay' was in Morse code, but Wilbur got it wrong. He didn't instinctively know he got it wrong. It was Tommy's barely restrained giggling that told Wilbur he didn't say the right thing. Still, it helped Tommy relax into the hug.

"Oi, clingy shits, can we go inside before I fucking freeze to death?" Tommy said as he pushed Phil away, taking his hand away from Wilbur. Tommy went up the steps two at a time until he was on the porch. He twirled around to see if he was being followed. Phil and Wilbur shared a look before they followed Tommy into the house. The blonde was standing at the window in the living room that looked outside to the broken tree. Techno had his reading glasses on in the reclining chair with a lamp turned on beside him.

"Alright, Big Men, what happened in the corner as Casa de Craft? Trees don't just... y'know... explode."

There was something about the way he said it. The words were fine enough, but it was a knowing tone like he expected- almost wanted- to be lied to. Techno raised an eyebrow at Tommy, and Wilbur wanted to cover his brothers face immediately. Techno wasn't concealing the suspicion he had very well. Techno never did. Techno was half the reason newcomers didn't stick around in that town.

"Bug infestation. They ate right through the support until a strong wind came to blow the tree down. We're lucky nobody got hurt," Phil said. Wilbur and Techno knew he was lying. They knew their father's lying ticks. Tommy, however, didn't know any of that. He simply nodded with a frown, looking out the window at the remaining tree. Techno's suspicious look got worse.

"Tommy! How about we turn in for the night? We can visit Tubbo tomorrow, bright and early, to let him know you're okay!" Wilbur clapped his hands to get Tommy's attention. The blonde looked over at Wilbur, his gaze passing Techno's without a second thought. Tommy gave a halfhearted, fake smile as he nodded slowly. Tommy muttered something with a wave of his hand, walking past them all. Wilbur vaguely heard 'shower'.

"The hell, Techno? Are you trying to scare him off?" Wilbur whisper-yelled once he knew Tommy was out of earshot.

"You get attached too easily. Would you wrap your naive little brain around the fact that he may not be a good person? For all we know, he could he a spy working for the Mob. He could have planted whatever made the tree explode," Techno retorted with a snort.

"Or, here's just a thought, he could be a normal," Wilbur argued with a pointed glare at Techno. The pinkette rose to his feet like being bulkier made him more intermediating. Wilbur was still the taller of the two, and a low hum was coming from his lips.

"That may be worse, mate," Phil's voice cut through the staring contest the boys were having. "We all know that if he's ordinary, he can't stay here. Wil, you can't get attached the quickly. We've had him for a week, and he hasn't shone any signs. We'll have to send him back soon."

"That's not fair. We can't say that this is his home when nobody thinks it is. We can't care about him like we are, and then send him away because that will fuck him up more than he already is. We all know that he isn't in a good state of mind, right? He disassociates, for crying out loud! He's been abandoned before," Wilbur said, looking between the both of them.

Techno opened his mouth to say something, but Phil raised a hand to stop the pinkette from talking. "Wilbur, we all care about him deeply. It's that love we have for Tommy that makes this decision all the more important. It's too dangerous. We have no idea what the Mob will do if they catch wind of Tommy being here. I think Tommy would rather be abandoned than dead."

"I found him at the bridge. He looked seconds away from jumping off. I think Tommy would much rather be dead than abandoned," Wilbur snapped as he ran up the stairs. Everyone in the house could here a bang followed by rough guitar music. Phil sunk down onto the couch, placing his heads in his hands.

Techno sighed, sitting beside him. He rubbed Phil's back. "Don't worry, Dad, I'll find some way to keep Tommy here. If not for his sake, then Wilbur's."

"I think you like the boy more than you want to admit," Phil whispered with a light laugh with edges much darker than the tone implied.

"Nonnegotiable. I hate all orphans," Techno huffed. Phil laughed even louder as he pulled Techno into a side hug. It was going to be a long night, wasn't it?

1) do we know what's going on? I'm trying to subtly call it out, y'know: show, don't tell

2) do we want a part 4?