Tommyinnit Oneshots

The Mirror is A Shackle

In some ways, Puffy had known Tommy for a long time. She had certainly known of him. It was recently that Tommy came to her with the intention of getting therapy. This allowed Puffy to know Tommy on a personal level. Puffy would have kept their relationship professional, but ever since Puffy showed him an ounce of kindness, Tommy had adopted Puffy into his immediate circle. As his therapist, Puffy was already part of his support system, but now that they were something akin to friends, Puffy had more responsibility. Puffy didn't mind, however. Once someone got past Tommy's initial prickliness and ill-mannered joking, he was a lovely person to converse with. They never had deep conversation, but that didn't mean they never had meaningful ones. Even outside of therapy, Tommy would confide in Puffy, telling her some of the things he found important in the world. One thing that Puffy had noticed was Tommy had the mentality of never giving up on someone. It wasn't a bad idea in theory, but this was the train of thought that led Tommy to staying in toxic relationships. Still, Puffy found it an admirable philosophy.

When Puffy had asked Tommy what made him want therapy, he didn't give her a straight answer at first. He laughed it off. Puffy took note of this, but didn't press the issue until Tommy was ready. He did eventually tell her. Tommy explained that he was in a depressive slump for a little while with nothing to distract from it. No matter what he tried, he always felt like he had failed majorly. Tommy told Puffy that even his relationships with close friends like Tubbo and Ranboo made him feel terrible afterwards. It wasn't the slump itself that brought Tommy. No, he came when he realized that his "pet" spider Shroud was a shifter. When Shroud had morphed into a baby when Tommy wasn't looking, Tommy realized that he had to change some things. With a pet, all Tommy did was feed it and occasionally throw a few compliments. Since it was a Mob, Tommy wouldn't ever get too close, but he would sometimes reach through the net that held Shroud to pet his creature. A child, however, required a lot more than a pet did. Shroud needed attention and guidance. Tommy thought about sending Shroud to an orphanage, but Tommy realized that he couldn't bear to let Shroud go. So, Tommy decided to clean up his act. Puffy had hugged Tommy tightly after his confession. While she knew about Shroud's existence (before and after he became a baby), Puffy didn't put the clues together that Shroud was the reason Tommy wanted to be better.

Tommy invited Puffy to come over one day to meet Shroud. Puffy happily scheduled her next day off for a visit. Puffy approached Tommy's house to see the blonde playing with Shroud in the front yard. The house was no longer made of dirt but now converted back into the smooth stone that Tommy usually had it. This time, however, there was an effort to make it homier. There was flowers growing in potted boxes attached to windows. Puffy noticed that there was a better shape configuration to the house to make it look less like a boxcar and more like a real home. There was even an archway entrance with a welcome mat in front of the door. Tommy had a smaller yard fenced for Shroud, and the baby had several toys that it could play with while lounging in the sun. At the moment, Tommy was sitting in the sand with Shroud in his lap, the baby waving a bright yellow, plastic shovel in the air instead of scooping dirt with it.

Shroud looked at Puffy when she entered. He dropped the plastic shovel into the dirt. Shroud tapped Tommy's knee with his hand. When Tommy gave Shroud his attention with a smile, Shroud pointed at Puffy. She waved at the two of them, leaning down onto her knees in the dirt. Tommy congratulated Shroud on being observant before pointing at Puffy in a way that Shroud could clearly tell what he meant. "Shroud, this is Captain Puffy. Say Puffy?"

"Putty," Shroud repeated, sort of. But he sounded so confident that he had the name right that Puffy nodded along with a bright smile. Tommy ran a hand through Shroud's hair before handing the toy back to Shroud. The shifter's attention was immediately grabbed, and he was back to making his shovel dance in the air. Tommy had showed Shroud what shovels were for, but Shroud was having more fun playing with it the way he was so Tommy let it be. It wasn't like Shroud needed to know how to use a shovel yet.

Puffy had stayed the whole day. She mainly played with Shroud. The therapist part of her brain was actively making sure that Shroud was performing all the right tasks for his age. When Tommy put Shroud down for a nap, Puffy received a tour of the new house. Tommy had made the ceilings higher because sometimes Shroud would climb the walls or ceilings. Tommy had sealed up most of his basement area, getting rid of all the dangerous things. He kept an underground garden along with a few chests filled with necessities, but Puffy couldn't find any weapons, golden apples, or potions in the mix. Tommy did show Puffy his secret vault that he hired Sam to make that kept his valuables and all armor that Tommy owned for emergencies. Back in the main room, Tommy had a work station set up where he sowed clothes. He usually made them for himself or Shroud, but Tommy wouldn't refuse a request if a villager asked for something. With that source of income and the garden outside, Tommy was self sufficient. He was able to take care of himself and Shroud.

It was after this visit that Puffy went to Eret in hopes of officially having Tommy as Shroud's legal guardian. Even though they weren't king anymore, Eret had the most legal authority on the Server. They were considered something of an impartial judge. Since she was a former knight and a woman of honor, Eret took Puffy's word for it. They went to Tommy to ask what Tommy wanted to do. The blonde nearly cried (though he would deny it) at the idea that Shroud would be his son. Even though Tommy had been taking care of Shroud, until they were recognized, Shroud could be taken or even killed without repercussions. The gods would only deliver divine justice if someone like Eret put it into proper documentation. When Tommy asked Shroud, the shifter seemed overjoyed, even though he probably didn't understand completely.

The process had been running smoothly until Tommy asked for it to stop. Out of the blue, Tommy sent a letter that he wanted Eret to stop the process. Eret dispatched Puffy to find out why, and she found that Shroud wasn't living with Tommy anymore. Tommy had given Shroud to an orphanage at the nearest village. Puffy had been angry at Tommy for doing that. It was cruel to do that to a child. This went against the ideal Tommy had told her, the one about never giving up. One look at him, though, curled up in his child's bed, clinging to Shroud's favorite stuffed animal with bloodshot eyes told Puffy there had been a reason. So, Puffy say down at the foot of the bed, hands in her lap as she waited for Tommy to gather himself.

When he didn't react in the slightest, Puffy pulled Tommy into her lap. She ran her fingers through his hair until he caved. Tommy let out a sob as he sat back up. He looked anywhere but Puffy as he calmed down. When he was done crying, an emptiness overtook his features. Tommy finally looked at Puffy with a neutral face but eyes screaming in pain. "I almost hit him, Puffy. I had gotten mad. Not even at him. I had just... I got mad, and he started babbling to me, and I couldn't take it, and I raised my hand... he didn't even flinch. He stared at me confused. I wish he would have flinched. Because if he doesn't... he doesn't think I can hit him. Puffy... what if I'm becoming like Wilbur?"

Puffy took that all in with widening eyes. The last question hit her right in her heart. Puffy was his therapist. She knew the kind of influence Wilbur had over Tommy. Puffy lost her breath when Tommy looked at her with glassy eyes and asked, "What if I'm just like Dream?"

Puffy pulled Tommy into a hug. She held him as tightly as she could, hoping that she could somehow block everything away. She couldn't, though. Tommy was hurting. Shroud probably was, too. Puffy didn't know how to fix this situation. She couldn't just return Shroud to Tommy. What if this happened again? What if Tommy wasn't able to stop himself? Puffy knew that, but she also knew how good they were for one another. Puffy sighed into Tommy's hair. "I'll up your therapy hours... or you'll come in more than just one day. We will find a way to work put your aggression so this never happens again. If it does, I'll have Shroud permanently removed from your care."

Tommy sobbed even harder as he mumbled gratitude. Puffy shushed him as he finished sobbing. Tommy and Puffy went to find Shroud. He had been waiting for Tommy to come back. Tommy smiled sadly, pulling Shroud into his lap. They had a serious (as serious as it could be) conversation about what Tommy almost did. Shroud seemed to understand with Tommy's dumbed down terms, and Shroud accepted Tommy's apology. With that done, Eret was able to complete the process. Shroud was Tommy's son.

——

Either I'm writing more Shroud content or I'm making a new one-shot book about the DSMP "2nd generation" (all the kids)

Also! If you've been watching Empires SMP, I have a new story out called Escaping Corruption that is about Tommy in the Empires SMP, becoming Shubble's kid in the Undergrove