Duchenne (DSMP Superhero AU)

Chapter 6

Tommy woke up, staring at the ceiling. It was pitch black in the room and he wasn't sure what had woken him. A small squeak from the foot of his bed caused him to jump up, putting on Seirin's old mask as his eyes narrowed.

Someone who looked like Wilbur stood at the end of his bed. His eyes were fully white and he hovered slightly off the ground. It was glowing light blue as it stared at him, tilting its head to the side.

"Tommy?"

Tommy frowned, taking the mask off. At least it wasn't one of the vigilantes coming in unannounced.

"Wilbur? What are you doing near the Syndicate?"

"Wilbur" giggled, floating closer to Tommy.

"I'm not Wilbur Silly, I'm Ghostbur! And this is where Wilbur lives."

Tommy's breath caught in his throat as he stared at the ghost.

"You're the ghost of Wilbur? Is he... Wait no, you said he lives here."

Tommy paused, processing the last part of his sentence.

"He lives here?"

Ghostbur giggled nervously, floating over and hugging Tommy lightly. Tommy leaned into the touch, not quite hugging Ghosbur. The tension in his shoulders relaxed.

"Never mind me, I thought I was in a different house. What are you doing in the Syndicate's house?"

Tommy sighed.

"They "saved" me from Dream."

Ghostbur frowned, pulling out of the hug and sitting on the bed in front of Tommy.

"You don't seem very happy about that."

"Well of course I'm not! Clay is the only person I can trust..."

Tommy gripped the bed sheets tightly, tears gathering in his eyes.

"What about Wilbur?"

Tommy looked up at Ghostbur, confusion flickering across his face. Ghostbur pressed on, a gentle smile on his face.

"Don't you trust him? You seem much happier around him than around Clay."

Tommy shrugged.

"I dunno... He's fun to be around but I only ever see him at the coffee shop."

Ghostbur hummed absentmindedly, considering Tommy's words.

"I think you should go see him. We're working tomorrow after all."

Tommy nodded, smiling softly at Ghostbur.

"Thanks buddy. Uhm... Does Wilbur know you're here?"

Ghostbur shook his head.

"Not yet, when he wakes up I'll send him my memories. Unless... you don't want him to know everything?"

Tomy considered this. While it would be great for Wilbur to come save him from the vigilantes, it might also be dangerous. Not to mention, the news could have gotten hold of the fact that Huios was captured by the Syndicate and put two and two together.

"Can you just not show him where I am? I think I'm safe with these people though."

Ghostbur nodded, grinning. Tommy let out a sigh of relief. Dream would kill him if he let his identity slip to someone who he had told Tommy was dangerous. Ghostbur saw the sigh and glanced around the room, his gaze landing on the smiling mask on the bedside table. His white eyes widened and he glanced back at Tommy. His gaze softened though as he saw Tommy tearing up, opting to pat his head instead.

"Do you want me to stay for a little while?"

Tommy nodded, hugging Ghostbur's side tightly. He fell asleep like that, cuddled up to the side of the ghost.

--<>----

Seirin woke up with a pounding headache. He groaned as he sat up, putting on his mask and massaging his temples. He whimpered under his breath, not wanting to get up.

"What the fuck was that ghost doing last night... ugh..."

He stayed lying there, staring up at the ceiling and feeling sorry for himself until Thanatos wandered in.

"Hey Seirin, you gotta get to work soon."

Seirin groaned and rolled off his bed, landing on the floor with an "oomph!" Thanatos scoffed, picking Seirin up and helping him stand. Seirin dangled in the air for a solid five minutes before the pouding in his head had died down enough for him to stand. Some of Ghostbur's memories had returned to him, just enough so that he knew that the ghost had been with Tommy all night. He didn't seem to remember any wounds on Tommy so maybe Clay had gone easy on him.

Thanatos put a hand on Seirin's shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"You alright? You can skip work if you want to."

No, Seirin couldn't do that. Ghostbur had told Tommy to visit the cafe last night, and Seirin needed to be there for the scared kid. He shook his head, smirking at Thanatos even if the older couldn't see it.

"I'll be fine, I need to check up on Tommy anyway."

The pig man nodded and left, letting Seirin change. Ten minutes later, Seirin stood at the front door, grabbing a snack from the table. He was halfway out the door when a quiet voice called out from the stairs.

"Seirin? Where are you going?"

Seirin turned to see Huios with his old mask on, and a red and white shirt that was a couple sizes too big. Huios's eyes were narrow with suspicion.

"Oh Huios, I'm just going to work. You know, I need to have a civilian life too."

Huios grunted and sat on the bottom step, fiddling with the bottom of his shirt.

"Whatever. I need to go meet a friend for civilian stuff as well."

Seirin nodded, waving to him.

"Well, I'll see you after my shift. Make sure you tell Thanatos or Icarus when you're going and when you'll be back so that we can save you if anything goes wrong."

Huios nodded, waving back to Seirin. He sighed and stomped up to Thanatos's room, knocking on it.

"I'm going out to check on a friend, and I'll be back before lunch."

Thanatos grunted, not saying anything that sounded like he couldn't go so Huios left the house. He walked down the street, noting the nice houses and waiting until he was far enough away from the house to take off Seirin's old mask.

Tommy took a deep breath of fresh air, wandering along to the cafe where Wilbur worked. It was nice, being able to take a break from wearing a mask 24/7. He did have to keep an eye out so that he wouldn't run into Clay or Dream, but he knew a lot of good hiding places in this city. He pushed open the cafe door, the bell jingling cheerfully. Tommy grinned as he entered.

"Hey Wil! You here, old man?"

He heard Wilbur scoff as he walked around the coffee machine to see Tommy.

"I'm not-"

He stopped as he saw Tommy, instantly recognising the shirt he had leant to Huios. Tommy froze as well, the clothes Wilbur was wearing identical to what Seirin had been wearing when he left. Under their breaths so that no one would overhear, they questioned the other.

"Huios?"

"Seirin?"