Us Against the World

Distress

While Tommy has a crisis in a secluded cave, Toby stands alone in the forest staring up at the arrow which had struck the tree. His mind swarms with thoughts, his hands clenched onto his shirt and breath held. I don't want to breathe. Maybe if I hold it long enough this won't be real- I won't be here and I'll still be home. His hands rise to his head, pressing against his temples to massage away the pain. It throbs in his skull, making him wince with every head-involved movement he makes.

He freezes as he hears rustling in the far left direction of him. Turning his head slowly to avoid pain, a tired Schlatt emerges from the trees. His eyes are cast downward and his hair blowing towards Toby in the wind. His glazed eyes lift to view Toby. The sight of him makes Schlatt grin. 

"Hello, Toby," Schlatt begins. "So, have you come around?"

"I'm still not fully convinced I should trust you," Toby strains himself to sound as if he wouldn't shit himself any given second.

"Oh Toby, you shouldn't!" Schlatt exclaims laughing. He quiets down after a brief moment and continues. "You don't understand why I'm here for you, do you?"

Toby just stands in place waiting for Schlatt to continue. Seeing as Toby gives no answer, he goes on.

"I'm here because I see how they treat you, Toby. I see how they belittle and disrespect you. You're tired of it Toby! Oh so tired of it- isn't that right? And you want- you want to get back at them. You want them to see that you're strong." As Schlatt went on talking up Toby, he slowly moves towards the younger man making sure to keep his tone persuasive. He reads each bit of body language that shows from Toby and internally applauds as he sees him warming up to his idea.

"You seem to be enjoying the idea of revenge, Toby," Schlatt smiles slyly, watching as Toby snaps from his engulfment of the thoughts and stutters out a response.

"No, it's alright I understand, Toby. I know. It's only human to want revenge. It's human to betray. Plus think about it Toby- if you don't betray them first, you stand the risk of them betraying you. Tommy isn't a very trustworthy boy, is he Toby? He would hurt you in a heartbeat- he does hurt you. So, join me, Toby. Join me and show them you can be powerful. You can show them what it was like being seen as inferior. Pathetic and weak."

"Yeah... yeah," Toby exclaims, being pumped from Schlatt's own energy.

"That's it Toby! You want the power. You want to show them what it was like being ridiculed and hurt by them. You want them to feel it, don't you?"

"Yeah Schlatt, I think I do." Toby stands in silence with his thoughts for a moment. He looks up at Schlatt and asks,"What do I need to do?"

Schlatt guffaws with joy when he hears Toby say that sentence and explains his plans to the younger.

---

Tommy quietly steps in long strides along the dampened ground completely lost in thought. What was all that? Whose is it? Is it Dream's or Schlatt's? What if- His thoughts are cut off by the sound of a sharp and shaky exhale. His eyes widen as they lift to see Toby sat at the base of the stricken tree with his head in his hands. With the quiet atmosphere looming behind him, Tommy could almost perfectly hear Toby muttering words to himself. Alas, they're just quiet enough for him to not be able to distinguish what's being said.

Tommy weighs his options and decides to step closer to be within earshot of his best friend's self-directed words. As he creeps closer, he realizes Toby's repeating the same two words as if he's a broken record.

Then, just as Tommy begins to relax, he finally notices the tone of Toby's voice. It's laced with anguish and fear. His mind focuses in on the negativity he senses, almost afraid to know the cause of Toby's distress. Self hatred practically drips from each small gasp between words as well, causing Tommy to shiver. 

"I can't I can't I can't I can't I can't I can't I can't I can't..." Toby continues on and on as Tommy feels concern growing in himself. Can't what? He sits in his place not wanting to get closer and risk being noticed by Toby. He shudders as Toby doesn't stop, apparently doing his best to convince himself not to do whatever it was he was thinking to. Toby slowly quiets, his breaths becoming slower and sniffles being heard. Deeper concern settles onto Tommy's shoulders as he considers approaching Toby.

Suddenly, he simply goes quiet. No sniffling, no words, not even a slightly loud breath. Tommy squats beside a tree he'd been standing near and waits to see if any movement happens. A couple minutes pass by and Tommy cautiously walks to Toby's place on the ground.

"Toby?"

No response is heard as Tommy looks closer and sees his eyes closed. What a moron, Tommy thinks to himself. He places his hands on each side of Toby's head and lifts it attempting to wake him. Toby's eyes crack open looking at Tommy, and he slightly jumps at the sudden presence in front of him.

"Ah, sorry Toby," Tommy mutters. "Let's go home, yeah?"

Toby groans and rises, using the tree as leverage. Watching Toby, Tommy looks up at the arrow and grabs hold of it pulling it from the trunk. Toby watches as he carries it along, wondering his reason for doing so. A thought zips across his mind for only a moment: Did he see?  Is he trying to make sure we don't meet again?  Toby dismisses it as he sees Tommy half trip and the arrow slices into the side of his left arm.

"Aw fuck!" Tommy yells. Toby approaches, pulling out a small bandage from a pocket. "Do you just carry bandages around?"

"I get hurt a lot."

"Yeah, you would," Tommy responds blatantly and wraps his injury in the provided bandage.

The two slowly make their way back to Tommy's house, Tommy keeping his attention on Toby almost the entire time. The house is dark when they arrive, and they quietly enter. Techno emerges from the hallway in a wary manner, a small weapon in hand. Tommy announces his and Toby's presence and Technoblade retreats to his old room where Tommy assumed he was talking to their father as he heard voices.

"So, why were you sleeping in the forest?"

The both of them enter Tommy's room and the older boy settles into the spare bed sighing. He then answers with a yawn, "I was just making my way back and got really tired." Tommy holds back a disbelieving scoff and simply hums an acknowledgement. He lays into his own bed and allows sleep to pour over him.