Tommyinnit Oneshots

Gifted (Part 7)

Tommy stared at the sky with a forlorn expression. He was standing in a yard with the sun casting shadows on his face. He has his hands closed around the hem of his shirt with a light grip that could fall away at any second. The wind tussled his hair before letting it fall back over his eyes. Tommy wasn't in a state of thoughts. He was focused on what he could sense. The cool winds across his arms, warm sun on his face, the smell of grass mixed with dog poop, and the gaping blue sky that stretched for miles above Tommy's head. Some distant part of him that never really spoke before wondered if L'Manberg was under the same sky. Was Dream and Techno carrying the MCC team to victory? Was Phil out in his garden while Wilbur strummed his guitar? Was Purpled, Ranboo, and Tubbo playing silly games together? Was Captain Puffy and Sam sipping tea at the local bakery owned by Niki's distant relatives?

"Tommy?" Someone asked. The boy blinked as he lowered his face. A tear slid down his cheek, but he wiped it away as he rushed back to the house. Xavier Dalca, or as XD as most people referred to him as, had (graciously) decided to take in Tommy. He wasn't bad for the most part. XD was merely distant. They lived in such a small space, but Tommy felt like he was on another plane of existence. They had awkward smalltalk at meals, and never communicated other than those two times a school week and thrice on weekends. XD was a conservative man, so what little space they did have was bare. There's wasn't any photographs or paintings of other places. No memorabilia with a story to be shared. There wasn't even a crack in the paint with some elaborate story about how XD was an international spy or superhero. XD was the normality Tommy had craved since he discovered his powers, but he was the averageness that Tommy had come to loathe.

XD and Tommy lived in a motel room style house. Tommy walked inside after wiping his shoes off on the welcoming mat. Tommy reached his arms to the ceiling above his head in order to stretch his muscles. XD tapped the stirring spoon against the pot to get Tommy's attention. The blonde nodded with a strained smile. He went to the cupboards. He pulled out two plates and two cups. Tommy walked past XD to grab the utensils. Tommy went to the table in the corner of their small living room. Tommy set the table as XD came into the room with a pot of steaming food. XD put the pot on the table. Tommy pulled one chair out from underneath the table. XD slid down into that seat as Tommy settled into his normal seat. XD lifted the lid off the pot to release steam into the air. XD placed food on his plate before handing Tommy the spoon and prongs. Tommy placed mashed potatoes, green beans, and pork chops on his plate. He dropped the spoon back with the mashed potatoes and the prongs by the pork. Tommy nodded a thanks at XD. Tommy used his fork to start eating. XD did the same with his own plate.

It was so ordinary, it made Tommy physically sick. If he was at Phil's house, he would already be arguing with Wilbur while throwing green beans at Techno who would fleck mashed potatoes at him with a blank stare. Phil would sigh at them but have the biggest smile on his face. If it was lunch, Ranboo would be trying to eat his food peacefully while Purpled used his head as an armrest, scoping out the room with an apple in hand. Tubbo would build something elaborate with his food that Purpled would somehow ruin but make better at the same time. Those memories made Tommy feel even worse about his situation. Why was he thinking about those... those traitors?

Tommy knew why, though. Tommy was used to chaos, whether he liked it or not, and there was never a guarantee that Tommy benefitted per say, but this was level zero circumstances. Nothing happened. Nobody was kind or mean or generous or greedy or friendly or antisocial. Everybody Tommy had met from XD to his schoolmates were the most boring people Tommy had ever met. They didn't have motivation or aspirations. They had been seized by a dull grayness that made it impossible for Tommy to deal with them. Or, maybe, the betrayal of the people he thought would love him had done psychological damage. Tommy didn't want to think that way. While he had known Tubbo for years technically, he had known the others for a month. Tommy had learned from a young age that attachment would eventually kill him. Tommy figured his stubbornness would lead him to a fight he couldn't win. Instead, Tommy was stuck with an unrequited love because he couldn't see the signs. Tommy had seen the red flags. He had stared them down with that feeling of hatred in his gut. Tommy had ignored those red flags. He looked at the color red billowing in the wind, and he told himself it was flower petals because he had been stupid and naive.