a series of sbi oneshots

so close yet so far

Tommy’s picking out his new gifts when someone puts a card on the counter as he goes to pay— a familiar arm wraps around his shoulders.

“I’ll get that, mate.” Warm breath tickles Tommy’s ear and he could cry with relief.

Phil grabs the bag, practically leads Tommy out of the tiny shop.

As soon as they’re out Tommy leans to Phil’s chest, clinging to the coat, shakily exhaling and deflating. Warm hands spread over his back, holding him firm and gentle.

“Missed me?” Phil chuckles, and in his voice there’s a dark promise Tommy knows all too well. He’s caught — and he knows it.

“Yeah,” Tommy whispers. “Missed you, dad.”

Phil drops his head to Tommy’s, deflating with the same relief Tommy feels coursing through him. “You have no idea how I’ve missed you, sweetheart. No idea how long I’ve waited to hold you again.”

“I think I can guess.” Tommy’s voice breaks.

Phil laughs— a little broken, a little dark. “Can you, baby? You’ve run off, you’ve known how to come back this whole time. I would burn down the world to keep you close, and you’d throw that away.”

Tommy shakes his head. “Phil—“

Phil grabs Tommy’s chin. “Try again.”

“Dad…” Tommy mumbles, eyes wet.

Phil sighs, slipping out his phone and typing a text. “Let’s get you to your brothers. We can’t go home just yet, but we have a room for the night.”

—

“ Child ” Wilbur snarls as soon as the door opens.

Phil lets go, and Tommy runs at Wilbur as soon as he does too. Wilbur scoops Tommy into his arms, spinning him around, arms vice like but Tommy’s are tight too.

“ Baby .” Wilbur cries, a smile on his face replacing the bared teeth. Tommy grabs onto Wilbur’s neck to be hoisted into his arms as he buries as close as possible.

“Wilby!” Tommy cheers. “Wilby, I missed you.” Relaxed arms turn tight again.

“We know.” Techno growls from behind them, announcing himself with a hand on the small of Tommy’s back.

Tommy tries to spin around to drink in the sight of his older brother, but Wilbur doesn’t let him. Tommy whines. “Tech—“

Techno plasters himself at Tommy’s back, pulling both Wilbur and Tommy into a hug. “Runt.”

“Techie!” Tommy whines again. “Wanna see you, misse—“

“Missed me. I know, Theseus.” Still, Wilbur twists around in the hug and Tommy can see his whole family. It’s… it’s amazing.

Phil raises the plastic bag, smiles on his face but eyes sharp. “Tommy brought us gifts.”

Wilbur deposits Tommy on the bed, sitting next to him and letting him flop his head into his lap. Techno sits close, Tommy’s legs thrown over him too. Phill pulls a little ceramic crow statute out. “Thanks sweetheart, I’ll add it to the collection.”

“The very large collection,” Wilbur laughs.

“So many crows from a little bird determined to fly away.” Phil murmurs, slipping the statue into his pocket.

Next, is a small notebook, clearly meant for Wilbur. Phil tosses it into Wilbur’s hands. “Thank you.” Wilbur smiles, pressing a kiss to Tommy’s hair.

Finally, Phil fishes out a pretty golden hair clip. Techno presses it to Tommy’s hair, rumbling with satisfaction when it glints in the light.

Tommy sits up, and Phil presses close, hands cupping Tommy’s face. “Now, little one. Isn’t it nice to give your gifts in person.”

Tommy smiles, eyebrows raised. “Course’ big man. Duh.”

“For something so obvious, you seem to have forgotten,” Wilbur hums, voice saccharine.

“You’re not your own, Theseus. You’ve forgotten that too.”

“… I can be both, cant i? Yours and mine.”

“Not,” Phil wraps a hand around Tommy’s throat, “If it means you fly away, little dove.”

Wilbur presses a kiss to Tommy’s cheek. “Leaving us olive branches, like that’ll save you. Absolve you.”

“… What’re you gonna do?” Tommy mumbles.

Techno circles arms around Tommy’s waist. “Keep you. Trapped, in a little golden cage, for a long time. And we’ll bring you little gifts from the outside world. But you’ll stay in one little room with one little bathroom. We won’t tell you how long it is.”

“Only when it’s time to sleep, wake, eat.” Wilbur chimes in. “Don’t worry, you’ll be nice and cared for. So well taken care of. We won’t ever leave you alone too long.”

“And you can see what it’s like, little dove.” Phil finally speaks. “What it was like for me to miss you. Your heart so close yet so far. You love your freedom, darling. And you love us. We’ll just teach you that your precious freedom is contingent on your good behavior. You’ll learn, we’ll make sure of it.”

Tommy’s breath hitches on a sob. “But you’ll let me out?”

“Eventually.” Phil confirms. “After a long while. You can walk around the house.”

“You can even look outside sometimes!” Wilbur laughs.

“And maybe, if you’re very, very, good, you can stand at the edge of the balcony. Not on it, of course. “ Techno smiles.

“So close, yet so far.” Wilbur sighs, full of mocking delight.

Tommy sobs, tries to hide in his hands but he’s thoroughly trapped. “ Please ”

“Aw, don’t cry baby.” Wilbur cooes. “I’ll show you pictures of the gardens sometime.”

Techno laughs. “And if you make a single move to run, we’ll strap your legs and arms up. You can take a walk around your room a day, and some time to shower and use the bathroom. The rest of the time, you’ll be nice and soft, exactly where you’re supposed to be.”

“You won’t know how long that lasts, either.” Phil rubs a thumb over Tommy’s tears. “But it’ll feel like years and you can have one limb back at a time. And your brothers over here can decide exactly if they feel like strapping you back up.”

Wilbur grins. “You’ll have to be extra good, won’t you Sunshine.”

Techno nods. “So sweet too. To make us feel like you deserve it.”

“And we might,” Wilbur whispers, “decide we like you better like that anyways.”

Phil brushes Tommy’s hair back. “If only you hadn’t run, little dove. We would’ve taken you wherever you wanted to go. But remember…”

“You are ours first. All that sweet freedom, ours too. Remember this lesson, Toms. The next one won’t be so kind.” Phil finishes.