-Rehabilitating a Child Soldier-

Small Things

Christmas was rapidly approaching, and its presence was very evident in the Badlands. Ant had been stopping by with news for the adults, and while Bad may have been more sleepy than usual, he was definitely involved in some holiday planning.

The holiday spirit had a death grip on the quartz manor, but for Tommy, the looming date was filling him with a sense of dread.

As far as he could tell, Sapnap had been actively ignoring his presence in the house and going out of his way to avoid Tommy, which, you know, actually wasn't that big of a deal to the kid. In fact, he never even liked Sapnap to begin with, so he supposed that it was actually a blessing that they were on the same page in that regard.

However, Bad and Skeppy had been very kind to him for the last month. Bad had been making some of the best food Tommy had ever eaten, and Skeppy somehow found a way to have an indoor snowball fight!

Tommy was really starting to warm up to the place. It had melted away at his timidness, and he was even starting to feel like himself again, not just the shell of what remained before!

But that begs the question: What do you get for the people who basically saved your life? The people who allowed you to stay in their safe, warm house, and gave you a purpose after you had be discarded in the ruins of your former nation... A reason to live, even after you have lost so much... How do you repay that?

It was a bit much for a ten year old to be thinking about.

But the anxiety had Tommy in a suffocating grip, refusing to release him, regardless of the internal agony the child was left to face.

... He had gotten good at bearing the pain...

"Skeppy!?" Tommy called out as he pulled his snow boots on, "Can you tell Bad that I'm going out?! I will be back before dinner!"

"Got it, kiddo! Try not to lose your shit!"

"Wow! Fuck you too!"

"LANGUAGE YOU TWO!!!"

The exchange gave Tommy a tiny sense of belonging, making a smile prickle on his face, even as his stomach twisted and turned.

The crunchy snow just made the feelings intensify, as he exited the manor.

He had only taken a few steps before he was forced to duck, as a snowball was hurried at his head.

"HEY! Watch it, assho-" He cut himself short as he realized it was the dream team staring back at him. 

George, the arrogant sixteen-year-old, was clearly the one who had thrown it. The look behind those signature goggles was almost daring Tommy to finish that sentence. The level of apathy that was bared in that face made the surrounding cold feel colder.

He had enjoyed it. Just like everything else the color-blind king ever did.

He enjoyed watching the struggles of others, but never actually doing anything to help.

Sapnap and Dream were both looking at him blankly, though, Sapnap's tail was flicking back and forth with annoyance. Dream was just eerily staring at him, studying his every movement without a second though.

Tommy's sentence inevitably fell short, succumbing to the taunting looks of the older children as he shuttered away, eager to get out of their sight. He began to shuffle off, ignoring anything that the older kids were doing or saying, as he brushed any residue of that stupid snowball off of his coat, despite the fact that it didn't even hit him.

Looks like your aim is still bad, huh Gogy? Tommy thought to himself, before questioning if he even had the right to think like that. After all, he was the one who lost the duel...