-Rehabilitating a Child Soldier-

First Snow

The darkened sky gave way to crystal colored clouds. The way the dim light highlighted his warm breath in the cold air made him both shiver and feel numb at the same time.

Tommy had no idea how long he had been sitting on the edge of the frozen fountain, just waiting for something, anything, to happen. Or, you know, for the frostbite to kick in and maybe give himself a reason to stay inside for the next few weeks.

Just to be coddled.

...Just to feel cared about...

It was pathetic. They would be so disappointed if they saw what he had become.

A baby...

Warm tear threatened his sticky, frozen cheeks in waves. But he had already cried enough tonight.

...Over nothing...

He lifted his ridged arm to attempt to rub the icy glaze off his face with his light sweater's sleeve, stifling any looming tears in the process.

Do you think I could die if I sat here long enough..? He pondered, looking down at the boots that he had been gifted as he stiffly kicked his legs.

He wondered if death was cold and dark... what would it be like to lose everything?

Would I get to see him again?

In a split second, he found himself yanked from his thoughts and dropped right back into reality, where he flinched at a thick, woolen blanket was dropped over his shoulders.

He quickly looked over to see Skeppy sit down beside him, wearing a comfortable looking robe as his tail flicked a bit. Portraying some feeling that Tommy couldn't read.

The diamonds that normally flecked his skin had spread significantly, covering a vast majority of his visible skin. His hands were like fifty-fifty, but his entire neck was made of the crystalline substance, trailing up his jaw and threatening to take over his cheeks.

Tommy watched a warm breath pour out of his mouth, whilst he silently offered him a steaming mug.

Upon inspection, Tommy realized that the messy glass contained hot chocolate and marshmallows. And realizing that meant that he carefully pried the glass out of Skeppy's hand and immediately took a long sip, not caring about how it burnt his tongue.

He made himself comfortable, snuggling into the blanket. He had only now realized how cold he was on the freezing December night.

After a moment of pure silence, only interrupted by the pauses of them taking sips from each other their mugs, Tommy turned to the adult sitting beside him.

"...Why...?"

"Hm?" Skeppy's response was curious, but calm, as he looked down at the kid who was wearing a serious look.

"Why did you do that back there?"

Skeppy blinked for a moment, before sighing, mostly to himself. Turning away to stare at his half empty cup.

"You know, kiddo, I'm not good with people. I don't relate to feelings and emotions like the rest of you do. I may not act like it sometimes, but I am a very logical person who struggles with my relationships because I can be too blunt, or say the wrong things, or be insensitive, or, well, be more of a series of actions rather than a series of thought." 

He paused, looking back at the small child. After a moment, he sincerely placed one of his hands on Tommy's shoulder, his expression softening before he continued, 

"Yeah... I can be a real dick sometimes. But that doesn't mean that I don't care about anyone besides myself. I love my family and my home, even if I have a hard time expressing it. Figures you and me are a bit similar there. We would do anything for the people we love. But there is a fine line there, and let's face it, you're a kid, Tommy. Most of the stuff you're doing shouldn't even be your responsibility... What I'm trying to say is... You don't have to be alone anymore. And when push comes to shove, I've got your back."

He ended his rant with a warm, awkward, but still goofy and lighthearted, grin. There were no lies, no pretending... It was real. The smile was real. The words were... real.

Skeppy was expecting some kind of small acknowledgment, like a  nod, or a snarky comment from the fiery boy, maybe about being cheesy...

But in a flash, he suddenly had a tiny child wrap its arms around him, gripping tightly and snuggling into his chest. For a moment, he was too stunned to so anything. But... it came so naturally, just like it did when they had Sapnap.

With a moment's notice, he rested one of his arms around Tommy as well, returning the gesture while setting his mug down on the ledge. Afterwards, moving his other arm to pull the blanket up over Tommy's shoulders.

As a few flakes began to fall from the sky, he softly smiled to himself, getting comfortable on the quartz ledge.

...Something told him that he was going to be there a while...