Chapter Text
Thomas was now two years old and Morality still hadn’t thought much of who, or more what , he was. He tried his best to push those types of thoughts away, because all they did was mess with his brain and confuse him even more. Honestly, he was perfectly fine with how things were right now.
Especially in moments like these, when it was just him and Thomas. The little two year old was currently coloring and talking adamantly to Morality. He listened with rapt attention. Ever since Thomas learned to talk, he was almost non-stop and the things he said were almost too cute for Morality to handle.
Thomas was currently talking about a show he had been watching, Sesame Street, a show that Morality also loved to watch with Thomas. Mostly for the cool, colorful puppets, but the learning stuff was cool too. He was in the middle of talking about Elmo when his mom walked into the room. Causing Thomas to pause and focus on his mother.
“Hey honey, who are you talking to?” Thomas’ mom asked and Morality tensed. Thomas, however, wasn’t fazed by the question at all.
“My friend!” Thomas waved over to Morality’s general direction. The trait lifted his hand in a wave, even though he knew the mom couldn’t see him. Though, a tiny bit of hope rised up inside him when the mom seemed to look right at him. It was quickly squashed, however, when Morality realized she was looking past him. He let out a little sigh.
“Aww, you got yourself a little imaginary friend Thomas?” She reached down to ruffle his hair before taking a seat on the couch. The word had made them both pause, but for different reasons. Thomas got up, abandoning his crayons and going over to his mom, head tilted.
“Imaginary friend?” The mom blinked before chuckling.
“It means, you have a friend only you can see.” She bopped him on the nose, causing him to giggle. “You must have quite the imagination to make yourself a friend, huh?” She smiled at her son.
“Now, how about we watch some Sesame Street?” Thomas cheered and climbed up onto the couch next to his mom while she turned the TV on. Morality found himself staring at the mom, a sense of panic overtaking him.
It was obvious as to what she was suggesting. He was imaginary, meaning he wasn’t real . She didn’t think he actually existed. But, he...he couldn’t just not be real. He certainly felt real, but then again, only Thomas could see him. And he lived in his mind half the time. But he could still interact with some things! That had to count for something .
Right?
The rest of the day passed by in a blur. Morality’s thoughts racing, becoming even more panicked. By the time bedtime rolled around, he almost felt ill with how much this was all affecting him. But he had a bedtime story to tell, so he did his best not to let his feelings show. It was easier said than done, but Morality liked to think he managed.
Once he was finished with the chapter, he shut the book and set it back on the bookshelf. He sighed and looked down at Thomas, fully expecting him to be asleep. He was surprised to see the young boy staring up at him with wide eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Thomas asked and Morality winced before trying to cover it up with a fake smile.
“Nothing kiddo, I’m fine. Just go to sleep, okay?” He started to sink out, but something wrapped around his arm, stopping him. He looked to see Thomas with his two arms around his one. He was being looked at with pleading eyes and Morality’s smile dropped. He couldn’t lie, especially not to Thomas.
“It’s...about what your mom said earlier. The whole imaginary friend thing.” He swallowed the lump in his throat when he saw Thomas’ eyes sparkle.
“Oh yeah! You’re my imaginary friend!” Morality winced and Thomas stopped and gave him a confused look. Morality looked down. He knew Thomas hadn’t caught onto what his mom had been saying, not like he had. But it still hurt.
“I’m not...I’m not imaginary.” He muttered softly, but he wasn’t even sure if he believed his own words. This whole thing was making him less and less sure and he hated it. He hated the feeling in the pit of his stomach, how his head hurt when he thought about it. He had to be real.
He had to be.
He didn’t even realize he was crying until he felt Thomas reach up and wipe a stray tear of his away. And now Thomas was looking at him with worry filled eyes.
“Da? What’s wrong with imaginary?” Morality blinked and the usual feeling he got from being called Da didn’t show.
“Nothing kiddo, it...it just means...” He paused. “If something is imaginary it means it isn’t real…” He trailed off again, looking off to the side. He really hated feeling like this.
“But…” He heard Thomas start and he focused back on him. “But you are real!” Thomas jumped up in bed and Morality was almost floored with the confidence of which Thomas had said it.
“You’re real.” And then, Thomas was hugging him. Morality froze for only a second before his own arms wrapped around the kid. He held on tight and more tears started to flow. Thomas seemed to notice because he pulled away enough to see his face.
“Why are you still crying?” Thomas asked, still worried. Morality laughed and pulled Thomas back into a hug, of which the boy returned.
“Don’t worry kiddo, these are happy tears.” He heard Thomas give a little ‘Oh!’ before suddenly being hit with a wave of happiness and relief. The hug lasted a few more moments before Morality pulled away.
“Alright, it’s time for bed for real this time.” Thomas groaned, but plopped back down into bed. He was getting ready to sink out, before he felt something snag his shirt. He looked down to see that Thomas had grabbed it.
“Yeah, kiddo?” He smiled and Thomas pointed to the book Morality had put away.
“One more chapter?” Morality looked from Thomas to the book before letting out a little laugh. He went over and grabbed the book again.
“Alright, but this is the only time.” Thomas nodded rapidly, happy to get more story time. Morality started the next chapter, with a little extra fire in his heart.
Because he was no imaginary friend
He was real .