The flowers that come with loving you are suffocating me.

This is it, isn't it?

It's the day after Tommy's birthday, and he knows it will be his last.

He can feel it.

Thankfully, it's the weekend, so he can die peacefully in bed.

Unfortunately, he may be dying, but he is still human, which means he is hungry.

However, fortunately for Tommy, as he checks his phone, he realizes that he has woken up later than usual.

Tommy's stomach growls, and he rolls his eyes while getting out of bed, breathing shallowly as he walks down the hallway.

He was barely able to walk down the stairs without falling.

He makes his food quickly and sits down at the table alone.

Tommy feels as if he is on death row, eating his one final meal before his demise, and once again, it is ramen of all things.

When he finishes, he places his bowl in the sink, and as he's leaving, he notices a sticky note on the fridge.

He squints with confusion as he walks to the fridge to look at the note hung up.

He cries as he reads what it says.

Hey Tommy! We didn't want to wake you, but we all went out for breakfast. Text us if you need anything! Also, Your brothers and I won't be home until a little later since we all have errands today.

Love, Phil.

Tommy's not even surprised anymore.

Of course, his family would leave him out. Why wouldn't they?

Can Tommy even call them his family anymore?

Families are supposed to love one another.

Families are supposed to care.

Families aren't supposed to kill each other slowly as he longs for their love.

Tommy felt the flowers blooming inside, their petals making their way up his throat.

He knew this would be the final time, so he didn't bother running to the bathroom. Instead, he walked weakly up the stairs to his bedroom. But before he could reach his bed, his lungs constricted, and he felt pain when gasping for air.

He fell to the ground and started hacking them up, putting the flowers and blood on full display.

And although their beauty was lost in the crimson hue, Tommy thought it was a sight to behold, and the flowers spoke a story that would never be told.

As he lay there curled around the fresh flowers and blood, he knew his time had come.

Tommy has a soul that wishes for his family's love and for it to wrap around him again, longing for the days when their love was apparent.

But his heart was now burdened with a cruel fate. He was aching for them to care, which seemed like a distant dream.

And oh, how Tommy yearns for their love as a tender embrace. He wants to feel its warmth again like sunbeams on his skin.

But alas, his heart will never receive such affection.

Once, love had adorned his days with hugs and laughs to fill his heart.

But now, his heart is filled with shadows, and his lungs are filled with flowers as he longs for their loving, tender touch.

And yet, Tommy's spirit wants to refuse this outcome. He wants his hope to return for them like a flickering flame that burns deep within.

He wishes their love would be revealed again like it used to be when he was adopted.

In some ways, he's bitter about this situation.

As he dies, he wants them to find him curled up on the floor and covered in blood and flowers.

And the blood is everywhere: stuck to his clothes, running down his mouth, and seeping into the carpet.

He misses Wilbur's singing voice and the laugh he made when he played a chord wrong.

He misses gardening with Techno and the way he would ruffle his hair after roughhousing.

He misses the way Phil would cook him breakfast in the morning and make his lunch and the way he would smile warmly no matter how badly he did on his report card.

He misses his family so much. He misses his brothers, and he misses his dad.

"I just want my dad," Tommy says while crying and choking on blood.

Tommy loves his family, even if they don't love him back, even if they are the cause of his suffering, the reason that is making him cough up blood and fully grown flowers.

Tommy will always love them.

Because that's what Tommy does.

He loves.

So, as he hears them open the front door with their laughter and smiles, he waits patiently for them to see what they have caused.

________________________

Notes: Uh oh, spaghetto's! :)  Oh yeah! This chapter is semi-inspired by "Can I allow myself, just once, a testament to my unshaken faith?" By Wilbababa on AO3!