They Rely On Hope. What Do I Rely On? - Tommyinnit Adoption AU

Chapter 114

TW: Mentions of abuse, death

This time, when the door opened, Tommy was ready. This time his muscles weren't decimated from dehydration. This time the Masked One didn't stand a chance.

Tommy launched himself at the Masked One, slamming his fist into the man's stomach again and again. Once he knew the Masked One would be winded enough not to yell a warning, Tommy dashed outside, ready to find some way to escape, only to come face to face with two more Masked Ones. Fuck.

He felt a hand grip his wrist harshly from behind, and the two Masked Ones jumped into action, gripping his shoulders and dragging him back into his cell where they held him against a wall.

"Do not touch me again. I will tell you if it is your place to fight. Right now, it is not. I was going to give you food, but it's clear you do not want it," The man snarled, before turning on his heel and leaving.

Tommy ignored the way his stomach grumbled at the thought of food. He ignored the way he was thrown to the floor as though he were a disgrace, he just simply accepted that today was another day in this cursed dark cell. Tommy had gone far longer with no food before. He was used to it.

Tommy leaned against the wall, watching the door warily, and let himself fade into a restless sleep. He knew he would wake up at any sound, so he would be ready for whoever came next, but he needed all the energy he could get.

This time, when someone came, Tommy didn't attack. He was ready, ready to defend himself, ready to run if given the chance, ready for anything, but he was also ready for food. He knew he needed it, and he knew he risked not getting any if he fought back. It didn't stop his fury at them all for hurting Tubbo, but it did let him control that fury enough for it to only come out through his ragged breaths.

"Are you ready to behave?" The Masked One asked, and Tommy, as much as he hated doing it, nodded his head. He needed food, and that meant, he would appease them. For now.

"Good, let's get you fed. Your fight is only two days away after all."

Tommy shook slightly at the thought, but he followed the man. As he walked outside, the two guards, who had changed over a few times since his attempted escape, stepped in behind him, making sure he did as he was told.

Tommy wanted to slam his fist into their guts, wanted to make them scream, but he knew if he let himself do that, he'd die in that cell, and he refused to lose like that. Tommy had lost far too many times in his life. He was sick of losing to monsters. He was ready to fight. He was ready to survive. He was ready to win.

"Don't do anything stupid, just get your food and eat it," The Masked One leading Tommy instructed, snapping him harshly out of his thoughts.

Tommy nodded slowly, not arguing. Not until he had his food. He didn't have any plan on continuing this appeasement once he had eaten, but for now, it would work.

When Tommy stepped into the cafeteria, all conversation dropped as all eyes turned to him. He froze, terrified and uncertain of what to do.

All of the Masked Ones around the edge of the room had all gripped their weapons, clearly tense. The kids however, had a mixtures of different expressions. Some looked worried, others confused, others surprised, others happy. It was bizarre to see all the emotions and have no idea why they are feeling any of it. He didn't even fucking know why they had noticed him at all.

Tommy felt a jab in the small of his back, and he stumbled forward, before catching himself and walking towards the counter. The guards could not be bothered with Tommy's panicked confusion.

"Name?" The person behind the counter asked, seeming to be the only person to not know him.

"Tommy-" He started before getting a hard blow to the back of his head, reminding him of the correct answer, "Theseus."

The person looked up, clearly recognising the name, before hiding her interest, and simply sliding a plate across to him without a word.

Tommy had no idea what the hell was going on, but he found his way to an empty table. It was not the time for him to join The Survivors. He knew he was not one of them. Not after his attack. Not anymore. He had been, but now his words to 17 were true, he was a Loner. That much would not change.

Tommy could do many things, he could run and hide and protect himself far better than most, but more importantly, he knew his place. It was not his place there. Not his place with those who didn't want to fight. No. He was here, alone and ready to get someone killed if they so much as mentioned Tubbo's name. Tubbo did not deserve to have his name desecrated by these monsters and Tommy would do whatever he could to stop them entirely.

Tubbo was not theirs to hurt. Tubbo was not theirs to use. Tubbo was not theirs to destroy. Tubbo was not theirs to torment. Tubbo was not theirs to train. Tubbo was not theirs. Not in the slightest. Tubbo was Tubbo. He was himself. He was a person. A real person, with a real brother who couldn't stand losing him. And yet they had killed him. Monsters.

Tubbo had been so much, but he would never be theirs. He would never fucking lose to them. Tubbo may have died, but he didn't die as one of theirs. They had not owned him and they never would. They wouldn't own Tommy either. They would regret the day they hurt Tubbo, and they would regret ever meeting Tommy.

Words: 1000

A/N: I was bored, so i was like "hey I should use Scatterplot's incorrect quote generator (for anyone who doesn't know, its a great website where you enter names and then it generates a random quote) I used it, intending to come up with a random story from when Tubbo and Tommy were kids to give u guys some recovery fluff, and... uhh.... I got this:

Tubbo: What's up guys? I'm back.
Tommy: What the- you can't be here. You're dead. I literally saw you die.
Tubbo: Death is a social construct.

The irony of this random luck and the fact that my sister has been insisting she doesn't believe Tubbo is death and wants to think he survived (she's wrong and I've TOLD her that, but she wants it anyway)

Anyway, the fluff I promised:

Tommy: Hey Tubbo can I get a sip of your water?
Tubbo: It's not water.
Tommy: Vodka, I like your style!
Tubbo: It's vinegar.
Tommy: Wh-Wha-
Tubbo: It's vinegar, COWARD.