Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Thomas liked helping people. He liked seeing people happy and spreading kindness no matter who you were. Which was partly why he decided to volunteer at the local tiny shelter. That and his friend Joan actually worked there and had invited him to come hang and help them out.

Thomas loved it there, so much so Joan had asked him why he didn’t just apply. Thomas explained that while he liked helping out, he was too busy for it to be a full time job. He already had that with his theater and chemical engineering careers.

Even so, Thomas made it so he helped out at least once every other week. He just loved seeing tinies going home to new families that would love and care for them. Even if sometimes it felt…off somehow. Though Thomas could never place the feeling.

And then came the day that four tinies came in at once.

Thomas was manning the front for the moment while Joan was out taking care of something else. So he was right there when a lady came in and practically slammed a box down in front of him. He jumped and looked at the lady, confused.

“Um, hello ma’am. What can I help you with today?” The lady huffed.

“Is this where I can drop off these pests?” Thomas blinked and furrowed his eyebrows.

“I’m sorry, do you mean tinies?” The lady groaned.

“Whatever you want to call them, is this where I can leave them?” Thomas simply nodded and handed the raging woman the paperwork to sign. She signed it quickly and shoved it back in his face.

“Finally caught these little buggers. Took me forever but I did it.” Thomas didn’t much like the tone of her voice. Or how she was talking about the tinies. The lady huffed.

“Anyway, thank you for taking them off my hands. Honestly, it would have been so much easier if I could have just disposed of them, but no. I had to drive all the way here and…” Her mutterings faded as she walked out the door. Thomas stared after her in silent horror and disgust.

He suddenly felt very protective over these tinies. And he hadn’t even seen them yet.

Just as he was about to open the box, Joan came back in. “Hey Thomas, someone drop another tiny off?” They asked. Thomas nodded and motioned to the box.

“Yeah, but the lady was really rude about it. She called them pests and said she wished she could have just killed them!” Thomas said, still not even believing what he had heard. Joan just looked at him with a sad smile.

“I hate to break it to ya buddy, but we get more of those types then you think. You’re only here once every other week, I’m not all that surprised you haven’t run into one of them before.” Thomas blinked.

“What?” Joan sent him another sad smile.

“Not everyone is as kind as you Thomas.” Thomas smiled at the compliment, but frowned again when he looked at the box. Joan noticed his gaze.

“Why don’t you go ahead and check up on them and I’ll stay in the front.” They suggested. Thomas nodded and smiled in thanks before he carefully grabbed the box, taking it into the back room.

He set the box on the table gently and bit his lip as his hands hovered over the lid. He wasn’t sure why he was so nervous. This wasn’t his first time with a tiny. Although, it was his first time without Joan being in the same room, he realized. Still, he knew how to do this.

He lifted the lid and peered inside.

The human was surprised to see four pairs of brown eyes looking up at him. Though the lady’s ramblings had told him there would be multiple, he hadn’t really been expecting more than two. And, as he scanned the tinies over, they all looked very similar to one another and around the same age. Brothers then? It was a possibility.

“Hello there.” He greeted softly, knowing wild tinies especially were more timid than others. The four of them stared up at him with different ranges of fear. From wariness to full on terrified and it made Thomas’ heart ache that the fear was directed at him.

“My name is Thomas. What are yours?” Thomas asked, hoping to ease them in with a friendly conversation. The tinies glanced at each other, before the one in a weird white costume that strangely resembled a prince outfit-Thomas was pretty sure it was taken from a doll-stepped forward a bit.

“Um, G-Greetings! I’m Roman.” His voice was boisterous and loud, but Thomas still picked up the clear shaking in his tone. Thomas did appreciate his bravery though and he smiled.

“Nice to meet you Roman.” The tiny nodded at him and turned to the others with a look as if to say ‘back me up here.’ The one with a little sweater around his shoulders stepped forward next. Wearily, he met Thomas’ gaze.

“I’m Patton.” He said with a big smile, despite how nervous and afraid he was. The one with the tie spoke next, fixing it as he did so.

“Logan.” He stated simply and clear. He seemed the most calm, but his eyes gave away how scared he really was. Thomas turned his gaze to the last one, who was huddled in the corner trying to make himself even smaller, wrapped up in his black and purple hoodie. He was about to say something when Patton stepped in.

“That’s Virgil, he’s um…shy?” Patton explained. Thomas raised an eyebrow, but didn’t push for Virgil to talk. Instead, he smiled softly at the four of them. Hoping to outwardly convey that he wasn’t there to harm them.

“Well, it’s nice to meet all of you.” Thomas picked up a clipboard on the nearby table and wrote down the names of the tinies. He had to finish with the check up so he could settle them in.

“I’m gonna ask you a few questions alright?” He asked, repeating what he always heard Joan say. They always told him a tiny’s first check up should be hands free, unless in the case of an emergency.

“Are any of you injured?” He asked first and the others simply shook their heads. Thomas checked a box, thankful they weren’t in pain.

“Okay and you were all wild tinies, correct?” The four winced at the question, but nodded. Thomas bit his lip before checking another box.

“Are you guys related?” The others glanced at each other with, for some reason, sad eyes. Patton spoke up.

“We’re brothers.” Seems like he was right then, Thomas thought as he wrote the information down. Thomas started scanned over the paper, making sure he had asked everything when he saw a question at the bottom. Reading it, he couldn’t remember Joan ever asking it, but if it was on the paper he was sure he was supposed to.

“One more question, what kind of owner do you think would suit your needs best?” He looked away from the paper to smile at them, but frowned when he saw they were all looking away from him. All except for Virgil, who was staring at him with hard eyes.

“What kind of owner? How about one that doesn’t exist! That’s the best ‘owner’ you could give us too.” Virgil snarked at him, ignoring his fears and panic for a brief moment. His brothers and Thomas looked at him with wide eyes and Virgil seemed to realize what he had just done.

“I mean…I um…” He curled back in on himself and seemed to tense as if he was bracing for something. That hurt Thomas. It hurt even more when the others braced themselves in front of him, as if protecting him. They looked up at Thomas, as if daring him to do something. Thomas just stood in there, shocked and sad.

Maybe he wasn’t supposed to have asked that question after all.

Thankfully, it was at that moment that Joan entered the room. They sent him a questioning look, asking how everything went.

“Hey Joan, I’d like to introduce you to Patton, Roman, Logan, and Virgil.” Joan stepped closer, peering into the box and giving a small wave.

“Hey guys.” They looked back at Thomas. “Are they ready to be settled in?” Thomas nodded and Joan picked up the box gently. But before they could leave, Thomas stopped them.

“Is it possible to put them in the same container?” He asked. After finding out they were brothers and seeing them be so protective with each other, Thomas didn’t want them split apart. Joan gave him a sad look, but nodded. They then entered the back and Thomas was left to man the front once again.

***

“Hey Joan? How…How probable is it that those four tinies will be adopted together?” Thomas asked a few days later, once everything was set for the four to be put up for adoption. Joan sighed.

“Close to impossible. Sorry Thomas, but most people can’t handle more than one. Most likely they’ll be adopted by different families.” Thomas felt his body slump at Joan’s answer. Over the course of these past three days, Thomas had made sure to come in to help with the four tinies. He even called in to his actual work, because he couldn’t get the four of them off his mind.

The four barely talked to anyone but each other, but Thomas was still able to learn a few things by just watching them. For example, he was right to think they were all very protective of each other. Especially of Virgil, which made him think he was the youngest of them. They also had a thing against humans, which Thomas was coming to understand. He would be that way too if he had been caught by the lady that had brought them in.

Still, the thought of them being separated felt wrong to Thomas. They were family, brothers. They should be sticking together.

Thomas had also come to realize that the idea of any of them leaving felt wrong.

He went to the back and looked through the small window to see into the shelter. From there he had a fairly clear view of the four tinies. Despite their fear for the situation, they still seemed to be having the best time they could have. Poking fun at each other and just enjoying the others company. Thomas smiled softly and let his gaze wander to a nearby table.

A piece of paper caught his attention and Thomas picked it up, scanning it over. After realizing what the paper was, Thomas sent one last glance to the tinies before grabbing a pen and filling the paper out. He then ran out to Joan and practically slammed the paper in front of them. Joan looked at him in confusion and read over the paper. Understanding flickered in their eyes and they smiled.

“You sure about this Thomas.” They asked, but Thomas knew it was just for courtesy’s sake. Thomas smiled wide.

“I’m sure.” Joan grinned.

“It will take a few days, but I can’t see why you wouldn’t be approved.” Thomas sent a glance toward the shelter.

“I can wait.”

Chapter Text

Thomas was at home, asleep, when Joan called. Bleary eyed, Thomas groaned as he reached over and grabbed his phone off its place on the nightstand. He answered it with a mumbled hello.

“Thomas! It came back and you were approved!” They practically yelled through the phone. Thomas blinked, mind still not fully caught up with him.

“Approved?” Thomas repeated, confused. He could just see Joan rolling their eyes.

“The tinies? You can take them home today.” That finally kick-started Thomas’ mind and he sprang up in bed with a wide grin.

“Wait, seriously!?” Thomas asked, excitement showing through his voice.

“Yep, as soon as you get down here they’re all yours.” Wide awake and giddy, Thomas jumped out of bed and started pulling out clothes to wear for the day.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes!” He hung up the phone and got ready in record time. He was in the car and at the shelter in under ten minutes (he may have exceeded the speed limit a tiny bit, but no one needed to know that). He ran to the front desk and to Joan, who had been waiting for him. Joan held up a hand, keys clanging against each other.

“You wanna go get them?” Thomas grinned, thanked his friend, and grabbed the keys before running to the back. He made it to the door but stopped short of opening it. He glanced through the window, towards the container holding the tinies. From where he was he could see that the four were already up and awake. Thomas smiled softly as he watched them for a few minutes. They seemed to be talking quietly among themselves.

Thomas took a deep breath, calming his nerves before pushing open the door gently. It was still early morning, so some tinies were still asleep. The ones that were awake however, he could feel their gazes on him. He was fairly used to that though and ignored it as he came upon the case holding the four tinies. His tinies.

He leaned down and gave them all a big smile. But it faltered slightly when he saw them back away, fear clear in all their eyes even if three fourths of them were trying to hide it. Thomas regained his composure and sent them a more gentle smile.

“Hey guys.” Thomas spoke, waving a little. He saw Virgil curl into himself more at his voice and he felt a pang of sadness shoot through his heart. His eyes went to Roman, who was standing tall, chest puffed out. He seemed to be in a protective stance, which was made more clear seeing how he was standing in front of Virgil a little to the right. Logan was glancing at him from the side, arms crossed and standing close on the left of where Virgil sat. And Patton?

Patton was right up front and center. He didn’t speak, but he did give a small wave back to him. His body shook though, only enough to pass off as being cold, but Thomas knew differently. He knew they were all scared. He hoped he could change that, show them they didn’t have to fear him. And he was gonna start by keeping them together and giving them a nice home.

“I’ve got some great news. You’ve been adopted!” Thomas staged yelled, still aware of the tinies trying to sleep. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but Virgil’s voice speaking out was not one of them.

“Which one?” Virgil spoke, loud and clear, surprising Thomas with the hint of bitterness he detected in his voice. The tiny was still looking down, gripping the sleeves of his worn out black hoodie tight. Thomas furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“What do you mean?” Thomas asked softly, subconsciously tilting his head a bit. Virgil took a deep breath before looking up at him with hard, yet tear-filled eyes.

“Which one of us are you taking away first? Which one of us is the first to be pulled away from his family, huh?!” Thomas stared at Virgil, wide-eyed and in shock as the others turned to look at him in horror and concern.

“Virgil!” Patton yelled and moved to sit next to him, putting his arms around the younger tiny. Patton was muttering to Virgil as he shook, most likely telling him that things would be okay, though Thomas couldn’t hear exactly. The human decided to put an end to this panic right away.

“No! No, none of you will be separated. You’re being adopted together.” Thomas told them, still being gentle but now also sounding excited. The tinies froze and looked at him in shock. But Virgil’s shock soon turned into disbelief.

“You’re lying, who would want to take care of four tinies?” Virgil spoke bitterly while Patton continued to rub his arm in a soothing fashion. Both Logan and Roman glanced from Virgil to Thomas, probably wondering the same thing. Thomas didn’t let the bitterness get to him and so continued to smile as he answered.

“I do.” He said simply. Virgil’s mouth fell open in shock, finally at a loss of words. They all were it seemed as they continued to stare up at him. Thomas waited a few moments to see if anyone would say anything, but when no one did he continued.

“I hated the thought of the four of you being separated. No one should be separated from the ones they love. And well…” Thomas paused as he rubbed the back of his neck, giving them a sheepish smile. “I didn’t care much for the thought of any of you leaving me either.” It had only been a few days, but Thomas had already decided he couldn’t go back to life without them. As cheesy and nonsensical as that may be.

He watched as the four of them took in what he said before Patton bolted up, taking a surprised Virgil with him and causing him to stumble. He would have fallen if Patton had not still been holding him. Thomas could still see the fear in Patton’s eyes, but those same eyes also held happiness and love as they locked onto each of his brothers.

“I told you everything would work out!” Patton exclaimed, bouncing up and down in excitement. The others gave each other mock exasperated looks, but it didn’t do much to mask the happiness they also felt at the thought that they would be able to stay together. Patton finally let go of Virgil, who placed his hands in his hoodie pockets as soon as he was free, and ran to the front of the glass container to stare up at Thomas.

“Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to us!” Patton said and Thomas gave him a soft smile. It seemed Patton was already starting to trust him with this action alone. The others, though happy, were still looking at him with mixtures of fear and apprehension. Thomas hoped he could change that.

“Of course. Now it’s about time we went home, don’t you say?” Without waiting for an answer, Thomas reached around and gripped the sides of the container, lifting it off the shelf and started walking towards the door. He heard some soft ‘whoa’s’ as he did so and looked down to see all four of them trying to keep their balance. Thomas did his best to keep it even.

“Sorry about that.” He apologized and went through the door and up front to where Joan was. They looked up at him as he entered and smiled when they saw the four tinies. Thomas placed the container on the desk and handed the keys back to them.

“Just need you to do one more thing and you’re all set.” Joan said and handed Thomas a piece of paper. Thomas knew what to do, didn’t even bother reading it since he already knew it by heart and went ahead and signed the bottom of the page. Joan rolled their eyes at Thomas’ quickness, but had a smile on their face regardless.

“Did you want to keep the container?” Joan asked and Thomas looked down at it for a moment.

“Probably a good idea, I’ll likely return it later on though.” Joan nodded and filed the paper away before turning back to Thomas with a smile.

“That’s it man, they’re yours.” Thomas grinned and thanked his friend with a promise of seeing them later before picking the container back up and heading out of the shelter and to his car. He placed the container and the four tinies in the passenger seat and started the car. He paused, took a deep breath, and glanced at the tinies as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“Don’t worry guys. I’m gonna take good care of you.” And with that, they were on their way home.

Chapter Text

Thomas drove a little slower on the way home, just to be on the safe side, what with the container full of tinies in his passenger seat. Still, it didn’t take him long to get home and he soon pulled into his driveway. He looked down towards the tinies as he unbuckled, noticing how they were huddled together looking around and glancing at him occasionally. Thomas sent them yet another gentle smile and picked up the container again, being careful with it as he got out of the car. He stood in front of his house, smiling.

“Welcome to your new home guys.” He said before heading on inside. He went straight up the stairs and into his room, where earlier he had set up a place for the four to stay. At first look it appeared to be four clear boxes stacked on top of each other, but closer inspection would show that each box was a miniature room. Stairs connected all of them together and Thomas carefully placed the container on it’s side at the top in order for the tinies to get out. They seemed hesitant, but eventually they all came out. Thomas put the container by the door, making a mental note to turn it back into the shelter when he had the chance.

“This is where you guys will be sleeping. I made sure each of you had your own room and everything.” Thomas explained. He pointed to his own bed a few feet away. “And that’s my bed, just in case you need anything during the night.” He grinned, rocking back and forth on the heels of his feet in excitement. He was just so glad they were finally here. He was about to speak again, when suddenly his phone rang. The tinies flinched away from the noise and Thomas sent them an apologetic look. He looked at his phone.

“I’m gonna have to take this. I’ll be right back, go ahead and explore your guy’s rooms.” And with that, Thomas left the room to answer the phone. As soon as he was out of sight, Virgil finally released the tension in his shoulders and turned towards his brothers.

“Alright, who knows how long we have. If we want out of here, we have to get going.” Virgil walked towards the edge, judging the distance with a frown. Being on four stacked boxes, they were pretty high up. Logan came up beside him, doing the same.

“It’s high, but we’ve climbed down higher with no rope. I’m sure it wouldn’t be an issue.” Logan said and Virgil nodded. If it meant getting out of there, he was willing to do anything. Even if the thought of climbing without rope made him anxious.

“I, of course, will go first. Just to make sure it is truly safe.” Roman announced going to stand at the edge as well. When he was met with no objections, he kneeled down to start climbing, but stopped when Patton spoke up.

“…Why don’t we stay?” Patton asked quietly. The other three were so ready to go, he knew he would be faced with objections. And just as he thought, Virgil moved closer to him.

“Pat…I know you think the human is good because he kept us together, but he still sees us as pets.” Patton lowered his head, knowing Virgil was right. But he wasn’t about to give up.

“I…I know, but it’s a lot safer here than outside and…” Patton paused for a moment. “I think we can change his mind!” Virgil stared wide-eyed at Patton before glancing at Logan with eyes that begged for help. Logan acknowledged him and stepped forward.

“While it may be safer here than outside, it would be extremely difficult to convince Thomas that we are more than pets. It is hard to erase years of bias.” Logan explained, but Patton just looked back at him with determined eyes.

“I know, but…I see something in him. I know we can change his mind about tinies. About borrowers.” He stood tall, the older brother in him coming out. Logan ran a hand across his face.

“Patton…” He started, but was cut off.

“I see it too.” Both Logan and Virgil turn to look at Roman in slight shock. Virgil frowned.

“You were all for escaping a minute ago.” Virgil remarked and Roman folded his arms, glaring at his younger brother slightly.

“I know, but I hadn’t realized until Patton pointed it out. That yes, I too, see something in Thomas. I think Patton is right, if we could change any human’s mind, it is certainly his.” Virgil looked from Roman to Patton. They couldn’t stay, not with a human. He turned to Logan, his last chance to convince the others, but Logan seemed to be thinking over what the other two said.

“You both know I am no good at emotions or reading people.” Logan started off with and Virgil felt his heart sink, knowing where this was going. “But I do trust the both of you. If you say that we can change his mind then I say we give it a chance.” Patton and Roman grinned wide and turned to Virgil. Everyone’s gazes were now on him and he simply sighed and slumped his shoulders.

“Obviously I’m not leaving without you guys, so I guess we’ll try it your way.” Patton cheered at his reluctant agreement and Virgil couldn’t help the small smile. Patton always saw the good in everyone, he hoped it wouldn’t come back to bite him.

It was at this time that Thomas came back, putting his phone back in his pocket. He smiled when he saw them, the smile only slipping a bit when he noticed that they hadn’t checked out the rooms. Oh well, they were probably nervous. Thomas was sure they would check it out in due time.

“Hey, are you guys hungry?” It was almost noon, so lunch sounded like a good idea. He was answered with a few hesitant nods, causing Thomas to grin.

“Great!” Suddenly without warning, Thomas reached out and scooped all four of them into his hands. They all yelped with both surprise and fear. It really put into perspective how easy it was for Thomas to do whatever with them. All of them were nervous in the human’s hands, but none more so than Virgil. Who was close to having a panic attack. It was thanks to his brothers that he was able to stay grounded enough, to not let the attack consume him.

Thomas noticed their distress and tried his best to get to the kitchen as fast as he could. He set them down on the counter, muttering to himself on how he should probably find a better way to do that. It seemed like none of them liked him grabbing them out of nowhere. He would have to keep that in mind. He started looking around his kitchen, glancing at the tinies every now and again.

“What do you guys feel like for lunch?” Thomas asked. The brothers looked to each other, still getting over being held. None of them really wanted to speak up, but Patton knew if they didn’t, they would have no chance in convincing Thomas about them.

“Well, we could always go for some fruit!” Patton exclaimed, pushing away his nerves. He figured fruit was a good choice, since it was easy and the four of them almost never managed to get it. He looked to the others and was happy to be met with looks of agreement.

“Fruit? Sure.” Thomas said and opened the fridge, taking out all the fruit he had. He placed a box of grapes, strawberries, and bananas on the counter near the tinies. He would have put them on the table, but that would mean moving the tinies again and he was trying to avoid that for now. He opened up the boxes and peeled a banana for easy access, leaving them to eat as he turned on the oven to cook himself some macaroni.

Logan was the first to walk up to the fruit. He walked around, studying the fruit in its entirety. The others simply stood back and watched Logan do this. This was routine for them, whenever they found some food, Logan would look it over before declaring if it was safe to eat or not. Logan was pretty good at being able to tell and he had only ever been wrong once.

Patton didn’t really think they needed to do this now. Any food Thomas gave them was probably more than all right, but he supposed it never hurt to be too careful. When Logan was done he gave them a nod and Patton and Roman wasted no time in gathering up a grape and strawberry respectively. Logan grabbed a piece of the banana and started to eat, Virgil was the only one who didn’t move.

Patton noticed Virgil’s lack of eating and sent a glance towards Thomas. He was still busy preparing his own lunch, he wasn’t paying very much attention to them currently. Patton headed back over to Virgil, grape being held with both hands.

“Come on kiddo, you’ve gotta eat.” Virgil grumbled, but didn’t reject the piece of grape when Patton handed it to him. He followed Patton, going to sit between him and Roman and nibbling on his little piece.

Thomas turned away from his lunch, smiling when he saw all of them eating. It really was fascinating, watching them all eat something bigger than their heads, at least with Patton and Roman. Virgil and Logan seemed to have taken smaller pieces of the fruit, but that was fine as long as they were eating something.

Thomas turned back to his food, putting the macaroni on a plate and digging in right there near the counter. He was eating faster than usual, thanks to having to be somewhere pretty soon. He was so focused on eating, he didn’t notice how uncomfortable the tinies looked. They did their best to ignore the human, but just couldn’t help but notice the tiny sized bites Thomas seemed to be taking.

The four lost their appetites quite quickly after that, just in time for Thomas to finish up his meal. He placed the plate in the sink and then turned back towards the tinies. Noticing that they had managed to eat a good bit of food.

“Was it good?” He asked, trying to make some conversation. He only got a few nods in reply and had to hold back his sigh. He hoped they would talk to him eventually, but for now he had somewhere to be. He started to reach for them, but hesitated, especially after seeing them all flinch. Grabbing them hadn’t gone so well earlier, so instead, he held out his hand palm flat, for them to climb onto.

“All aboard.” He joked. The tinies glanced at each other, none of them wanting to get on the human’s hand willingly. Patton thought he would have to be the first one on, but surprisingly, Roman climbed on before anyone else. He glanced at the others to follow and Patton did. Logan was the next and Virgil was last after hesitating a few extra moments. Thomas smiled and carefully lifted his hand up, taking them back to his room and putting them on the glass tower that contained their rooms.

Thomas was happy to find that that trip had gone a lot smoother.

“Alright, I wish I could hang out with you guys more today. But I got a call from my director saying I was needed for a few things, so I’ll be back later tonight.” He picked up his bag, full of various things he may or may not need for the play. “Have fun!” And with that, Thomas was gone. Closing the bedroom door behind him.

It was silent among them, each of them glancing at each other and then back at the door. Patton looked below him, into the first room of the tower.

“Well…Why don’t we check out our rooms?” Not knowing what else to do, the others agreed.

***

Thomas didn’t get home until much later that night. The others had taken that time to explore their rooms. They were all pretty barren, but each had a little touch to let them know whose room was whose. It was really well put together, but Virgil couldn’t help but feel like he was still trapped, like back at the shelter. He sighed as he followed his brothers through each room, wishing they had gone with his idea to escape. It was unlikely that any human would change their views on tinies.

Thomas walked into his room, noticing that the four tinies were in the top most room. They seemed happy with the arrangement at least, causing Thomas to smile. He went over and gently knocked on the glass, getting everyone’s attention.

“I got you guys something while I was out! Come on up.” He motioned towards the top of the tower and waiting as each of them climbed the stairs up. Once all of them were chest level with him, he pulled some things out of the shopping bag he was carrying.

“For Patton, I got you this!” He held out the piece of fabric, waiting patiently for Patton to walk over and take it. His face lit up when he took a good look at it.

“Oh! Oh! I know what this is! It’s a…um…” Thomas chuckled at Patton’s excitement.

“It’s a onesie, pajamas for sleeping or relaxing in.” Thomas explained, helping Patton out.

“Yeah and it’s a cat one!” Patton was bouncing up and down, showing his brothers. Thomas noticed the fond smiles on all their faces and he was glad he had chosen right for him. He took out another onesie and held it out.

“This one’s for Logan.” Logan hesitated before carefully grabbing the fabric from between Thomas’ fingers. Logan looked at it and Thomas saw his eyes light up, though the rest of his face remained as stoic as possible.

“This is…adequate. Thank you.” Logan would have been perfectly fine with leaving things at that, but Patton ran up to him and pulled against the pajamas.

“Which one did you get?” Patton got a glimpse of the horn and gasped gleefully. “Aww, you got a unicorn one!” Thomas chuckled as Logan blushed and coughed into his hand.

“Yes well, anyway. Moving on.” Thomas took out another one.

“For Roman.” Roman seemed less nervous than the others and almost sauntered up to grab the onesie. He unfolded it and held it up to himself.

“…A lizard?” Patton guessed, trying to figure out what the animal was. Thomas chuckled and all eyes went to him.

“Close, but it’s actually a dragon.” Roman’s eyes lit up.

“A dragon! Of course!” He ran a hand over the front of it, the scales were soft, but still looked fairly realistic. Patton joined in, smiling wider than Thomas had ever seen him. It made Thomas smile just as wide.

“And last, but certainly not least. Here’s yours Virgil!” He held out the last onesie, waiting for Virgil to walk over and take it. But Virgil just continued to stand there, arms crossed and head turned away as to not look at Thomas directly. Thomas’ smile started to slip.

“Um, look it’s a bat one!” Thomas said, holding it open to show that it was true. Virgil still didn’t even turn his head and Thomas sighed. He went ahead and placed the onesie off to the side for Virgil to hopefully get later.

“Alright guys, it’s been a long day and I think it’s time for all of us to hit the hay.” He spared one more glance at Virgil before heading into the adjoined bathroom to get ready for bed. The tinies watched him go, before Patton walked over and grabbed the onesie.

“Why didn’t you take it?” Roman asked, walking over to Virgil. The youngest huffed.

“Look, food is one thing, but I’m not having some human decide what I wear.” He glanced at Patton and the bat onesie in his hand before turning and heading towards the stairs.

“I’m going to bed.” They watched him go and Patton gripped both onesies tight.

“I can see where he is coming from.” Logan said. “But he can’t keep this up. We all need new clothes eventually.” He folded his unicorn onesie over his arm and nodded towards his brothers.

“I’ll be heading to bed as well. Goodnight.” And Logan was gone. Patton looked down at the onesies and then towards the door that separated them from Thomas. He jumped when he felt an arm sling around his shoulder and looked to see Roman giving him a soft smile.

“Come on Pat, let’s head off to bed.” Patton nodded and let Roman walk him to his room, which happened to be the top one. Roman bid him a goodnight and left to go to his room. Patton hesitated slightly before putting on his cat onesie. He really did love it and loved what the others got too, but Virgil’s words also got to him a little.

He sighed and placed the bat onesie on a chair and got into bed. He didn’t fall asleep right away, instead waiting and watching Thomas exit the bathroom and get into bed himself. The lights shut off and darkness surrounded them.

Patton thought for a moment. They had to get started on changing Thomas’ views and perhaps the best way to do that was to spend some one on one time with him. With a plan forming, Patton fell asleep with a small smile on his face.

Chapter Text

Thomas had left the others to sleep as he woke up and went down to the kitchen. This would be their first breakfast with him and he wanted it to be special. So, he got out a few eggs, some pancake mix, bacon, and of course the necessary pots and pans he would need. He was going all out today. And hopefully this would get them a step closer into trusting him as well.

Thomas was just turning on the stove when he happened to glimpse at movement coming from the floor. He was surprised to see Patton walking up to him, so surprised he even went to rub at his eyes. He kneeled down, giving Patton a confused look.

“What are you doing up so early? And how did you get here?” The second half was almost an afterthought as Thomas judged the distance from the kitchen to his room, not to mention the stairs that sat in the middle. Patton simply grinned up at him, hiding his fear well and trying to ignore the fact that Thomas definitely seemed a lot bigger from the floor.

“This is when I usually get up. I was the one who took care of breakfast for everyone.” Patton answered. “As for how I got here, I, um, walked?” He said, shrugging. That was mostly true, although there was some climbing involved. Especially with the stairs.

“What are you doing?” Patton asked and Thomas blinked.

“Oh, uh, I was actually just about to start making breakfast for all of you guys.” Thomas answered, though his mind was still on what Patton had said a moment ago. It made him wonder about their lives before the shelter. He wanted to ask, but figured it might be too early to get into something like that. Maybe when they started to trust him more.

Patton’s eyes sparkled and his grin widened. This was perfect and just what he had wanted. If he was good at any sort of human activity, it was cooking. And he had figured it would be a good way to bond with Thomas.

“Can I help?!” Patton asked, causing Thomas to startle a bit. He looked from his set up to Patton, sizing everything up.

“I’m…not sure if-” Thomas was cut off.

“I don’t mind, really!” Thomas bit his lip, before sighing. Nothing too bad could happen if he allowed Patton to help, right? As long as he gave the tiny some light tasks anyway.

“Alright, you can help.” Patton jumped up and down, excited that his plan was taking off. It wouldn’t have done any good if Thomas had refused him after all. Thomas moved his hand, going to reach for Patton. The tiny backed away and held up his hands.

“W-Wait!” Thomas paused, just short of actually reaching him. He let his hand drop to the floor as he looked at Patton with wide confused eyes. Patton let out a sigh of relief and he looked back up at Thomas to explain.

“Um, if you don’t mind, I’d like to take my own way up.” Thomas blinked but didn’t get the chance to say anything as Patton was already on the move. Thomas stood, watching with curious eyes as Patton made his way toward the counter. Thomas wondered exactly what Patton was going to do, thinking he would end up asking for a lift anyway. To Thomas’ surprise, Patton gripped the wood and started to climb up the cupboards.

Patton made sure he was extra careful making his way up. He didn’t have his hook and string with him. That had been taken the second they had been captured, but he didn’t necessarily need his hook. As long as the wood had enough grooves in it, he could climb it. Lucky for him, the wooden cupboards bordering the kitchen floor were old enough that little nicks had scattered across the wood. It was quite easy to climb up.

Thomas, for his part, didn’t really know what to do. A part of him wanted to grab Patton, to make sure he didn’t fall and hurt himself. But the other part, the part that he seemed to be listening to, wanted Patton to do this. To make it up to the counter by himself. Besides, Thomas judged himself close enough that he would be able to catch Patton in time if he fell.

It seemed he had no reason to worry though, as he watched Patton pull himself up onto the counter. He barely even seemed out of breath. Honestly, Thomas was sort of amazed at what he had just witnessed.

“I’d always heard you guys were good climbers, but actually seeing you?” He chuckled and shook his head. Patton looked at the human with a smile. Thomas seemed impressed, which was good. Not that Patton was trying to show off or anything, more of trying to show him that he-and the others-could be independent.

“Well, it’s a skill we kind of have to know.” He said, shrugging, causing Thomas to frown. He almost said something, but shook the words away and instead went right up next to the counter. He looked from the food and pans to Patton, wondering what kind of task he could give the tiny that wouldn’t be too difficult to get done.

“I’m…not really sure what you can do…” Thomas said, thinking aloud. Patton looked across the expanse of the counter, realizing that, for this meal anyway, everything would be way too big for him to even try and complete. He shrugged.

“I can just walk you through everything! Don’t know about you, but I know how to make a pretty mean omelette.” Thomas blinked and turned to look at Patton with a raised brow.

“How…um, okay?” He was going to ask, but was more curious to know how it would turn out. Patton grinned.

“Alright, well first you want to crack the eggs in a separate bowl. And you’ll need to get some spices out too…” Patton continued to explain, Thomas following his every step. When he was done, he plated the omelette, taking a good long look at it. It looked freaking delicious. Better than anything he had ever made, in all honesty. He took a fork and cut off a small end piece, giving it a little taste.

“Holy crap.” It even tasted better than things he had made in the past. He turned to Patton, who looked on with a smile. He seemed incredibly proud of, not himself, but of Thomas.

“Mind if I have a little taste?” Thomas blinked.

“Oh! Yeah, sure.” He cut off an incredibly small piece and let Patton take it off of the fork. The piece still seemed big in Patton’s hand, but he took a bite and grinned.

“Kiddo! This is amazing!” Thomas blushed at the praise. No one had ever commented like that on his cooking before.

“Well, it only turned out like this because of you.” Speaking of… “How did you know all of that?” Patton finished his piece before speaking. He gave Thomas a sad smile, knowing the question had been coming.

“Well, remember the lady who had brought us into the shelter?” Thomas winced at the reminder.

“Yeah, she didn’t seem very nice.” Patton nodded.

“She wasn’t, especially after she found out we were there.” The lady had found out about a month before they had been captured and had gone through a lot of different traps since. Some had even been lethal, thankfully none of them had gotten caught in one of those.

“But, she was a really good cook. I liked to watch her and I picked up a few things. Even though I couldn’t replicate it exactly, I tried my best to spice up the meals I made for the others.” Patton thought back with a smile, to the ways he had made their meals better. He had even risked himself a few times to get ingredients they wouldn’t normally borrow. He had gotten a talking to from Virgil about that, but Patton found the smiles they all had at dinner worth it.

“Wow.” Thomas was both impressed and put off by Patton’s story. Impressed that Patton had been able to get this good by just watching and put off by the lady herself. “Sounds like you really like to cook, huh?” Patton nodded vigorously, and Thomas figured it wouldn’t hurt at all to invite Patton to help on more meals in the future. He could definitely use the tiny’s help.

“Well, how about we get started on the rest of breakfast. You know how to make pancakes?” Patton beamed and the rest of the morning was filled with cooking and some nice conversation. As Thomas followed Patton’s directions, he felt something settle in his gut. He blinked at the feeling, wondering where it had come from. He definitely recognized it, the feeling of guilt, but what was there to feel guilty about? Thomas shook the feeling away, he’d deal with it later. Right now, he was cooking and having fun with Patton.

As the hash browns were sizzling, Thomas’ mind wandered and he looked at Patton with a curious expression. “Hey, Patton. What do the others like to do?” Patton grinned.

Chapter Text

 Thomas had been surprised when Patton told him that one of Roman’s favorite things to do was watch Disney. Apparently, the lady they used to live with had a niece, who would watch the movies whenever she was over. Roman had gotten sucked into them and Patton even mentioned a few times when he was almost caught because he was trying to watch.

 Thomas thought it was perfect though. He loved Disney movies and happened to have his own collection. If he had to bond with Roman over anything he was glad it was this.

 Thomas scanned over his collection, wondering which one would be the best to start with. He paused, biting his lip. He didn’t even know which movies Roman had seen or not. He hummed and stood up. Maybe it would be best if he let Roman pick out the movie. All of this was for him after all.

 Thomas moved away from the shelf and into the kitchen. He popped a bowl of popcorn and made some hot coco, putting some in a bottle cap so Roman could drink it easier. He still hadn’t gotten any tiny utensils or dishes. He’d have to do that soon.

 He moved into the living room and looked at the couch, judging it. His eyes fell to the floor and he got an idea. He placed the drinks and popcorn on the floor and went over to his closet. Inside were various pillows and a few blankets. Thomas grabbed three of the pillows and one of the bigger fleece blankets and started setting up on the floor. The couch would have been the obvious choice of course, but if Thomas did this right, he could make the floor even more comfortable.

 Once he was done, he stepped back to take a look at his work. He grinned. This was perfect, though his smile fell a bit. He hoped Roman liked it, it was only truly perfect if the one it was made for thought it was.

 Not wanting to waste anymore time, he started up the stairs.

***

 The four tinies were all in Patton’s room, just hanging out and talking with one another, when Thomas came in. Everyone’s attention immediately went towards the human and Virgil pressed himself into Patton more, who was rubbing comforting circles on his back. Thomas came up close and smiled at all of them.

 “Hey guys.” He said with a small wave. His eyes glanced at all of them, stopping when he got to Roman. Roman noticed and tensed slightly, confused as to why he had Thomas’ attention.

 “Can I help you?” Roman asked, with as much confidence as he could muster. Virgil’s breath hitched, what made Roman think talking to the human like that was a good idea? Surprisingly though, Thomas just chuckled.

 “I actually have a surprise for you downstairs.” He said, pointing behind him towards the general direction of the door. He grinned. “I think you’re really gonna like it.” Since Virgil was still pressed into his oldest sibling, he heard the quiet chuckle and he looked up to see Patton grinning up at Thomas.

 “Oh.” Roman said, suddenly nervous. He liked surprises well enough, but the thought of being with the human without any of his brothers was the slightest bit nerve racking.

 “We-well we’ll see about that, won’t we?” Roman said and headed over towards the ladder. As he climbed he caught a quick glance at his brothers, but his eyes focused more on Patton, who was grinning and giving him an encouraging thumbs up. Seeing that Patton wasn’t worried extinguished some of his fears and he made it to the top of the tower.

 “I guess we will.” Thomas chuckled, he was excited to spend some time with Roman. He laid out his hand, palm up and waited as Roman climbed on. Roman settled in the center of Thomas’ palm, taking a seat.

 “I wouldn’t wait up for us.” Thomas said to the others, winking at them as he left the room with Roman, closing the door behind him. As soon as he was gone, Virgil straightened and jumped off the edge of the bed. He started to pace.

 “What does he mean by that? Where is he taking Roman? What is happening-!?”

 “Whoa, kiddo! It’s okay, calm down.” Patton interrupted him. He pulled him back to their previous position, both of them sitting on the bed with Virgil curled up in Patton’s side. Patton rubbed his back as Virgil tried his best to control his breathing.

 “It is strange, though.” Logan spoke up from the chair across from the bed. “Why would Thomas suddenly have a surprise? And why only for Roman?” Logan questioned. Patton giggled and Virgil moved away just enough to lift his head.

 “I wouldn’t worry too much about it Lo.” Patton said, the grin from before having never left his face. Virgil shifted slightly, narrowing his eyes at the oldest.  

 “What do you know?”

 “Nothing!” Logan and Virgil exchanged a look.

 “I highly doubt that.” Logan said, crossing his arms. Patton shrugged.

 “It’s all part of my plan to get Thomas to understand. You’ll see.”

***

 “Wha-what is all of this?” Roman asked the second he saw the set up. Thomas was only halfway down the stairs, giving him an almost perfect top down view of things like blankets, pillows, and food. Thomas finished down the stairs before answering.

 “This is your surprise! We’re having…” He paused for dramatic effect, something Roman couldn’t help but notice and relate to, since he liked doing his own fair share of dramatic pauses. “A Disney movie marathon!” Thomas revealed, grinning and waiting excitedly for Roman’s reaction.

 Roman blinked, then blinked again. He…couldn’t have heard that right. “I’m sorry, did you say Disney?” Thomas nodded and that was all Roman needed. His face broke out into a large grin and suddenly he couldn’t sit still.

 “You can’t be serious! This is-how did you even find out?” Roman asked, curious. He hadn’t said anything about Disney in Thomas vicinity.

 “Oh, Patton told me. He said if I wanted to get to know you better, than I should have a Disney marathon with you.” Roman chuckled, Patton did know him well. Of course, it wasn’t like his love of Disney was a secret or anything.

 “Well, he is definitely right about that.” Thomas kneeled down and set Roman on one of the pillows on the ground before standing back up and heading over to his Disney movie shelf. Roman, for his part, was so focused on the prospect of watching Disney, he didn’t so much as flinch as Thomas stood up.

 “So, what movies will we be watching?” Roman asked and Thomas hummed, turning back around to look at Roman.

 “Well, I figured I’d let you choose. Since I’m not sure which movies you have and haven’t seen.” Thomas turned back towards the shelf and scooped up a large number of movies, kneeling back over with Roman and setting them all out so Roman could look and choose. Roman stared in awe at the large amount of movies laid before him. He had no idea there were that many Disney films.

 “Well, I’ve, uh, only really seen three of these.” He said, a bit embarrassed to admit it. He considered himself a Disney fan and didn’t even know ¾ of the movies in front of him.

 “Oh?” Thomas looked down at all the movies. “Which ones have you seen then?” He asked, knowing it would be easier to figure out what movies to watch that way.

 “The lady’s niece always watched the same three movies over and over again, um, Frozen, Tangled, and Brave.” He pointed out the movies as his eyes glanced over them. He paused for a moment, before continuing. “I-I didn’t know there were this many Disney films…” He admitted, with a slight blush. Thomas was gathering up the three movies Roman had pointed to, when he looked up and noticed Roman’s embarrassment. He gave him a comforting smile.

 “Hey, it’s okay if you didn’t know. That just means you get to experience all of them for the first time! And let me tell you, I would give anything to go back and watch these with a clean slate.” Roman looked up at Thomas.

 “Yeah?” Thomas grinned.

 “Oh yeah. And the movies you’ve seen are great, but wait until you see Aladdin.” He held up the movie and sent Roman a wink. Roman looked at the movie Thomas was holding, then back down to all the movies laid out before him. Like a switch, he went from being a bit embarrassed, to full on excited. Thomas was right, there were so many Disney movies to watch and experience, Roman couldn’t wait.

 “What are we waiting for, then? Let’s get this marathon started!”

***

 “You know, it’s strange.” Roman spoke up, after the credits of their fifth movie started to roll. Thomas hummed and looked down at Roman, popping another piece of popcorn in his mouth.

 “What is?” Roman tossed around his own piece of popcorn, the food being slightly bigger than his head.

 “This. Being able to watch a movie all the way through in one sitting and actually being able to hear and see everything. I mean, do you know how long it took me to get through the three movies that lady’s niece would watch? Literal years.” Roman chuckled and took a bite out of his popcorn. Not to mention, he never did get refreshments like this before either.

 Thomas’ smile slowly turned into a frown and his eyes went back towards the screen. Literal years? To watch three Disney movies? Thomas couldn’t imagine it, he would find it torturous. But Roman…Roman hadn’t exactly had the choice to just pop in a movie whenever he wanted. Instead, he had to rely on collected snippets that one day he was able to put together into a complete movie.

 The thought made Thomas…sad.

 And something else he couldn’t quite place, but that he did recognize from before, when he was talking with Patton.

 He didn’t get to dwell on the feeling for long however.

 “Are we going to watch another movie?” Roman asked, pulling Thomas away from his thoughts. He looked back down at the tiny and smiled at the excitement that was still in his eyes.

 “Sure, I think we can do one more.” Thomas stood and put in The Little Mermaid after some thought. He sat back down and pressed play.

 The movie wasn’t even halfway over when Thomas decided to glance at Roman and found the tiny fast asleep. He smiled at how peaceful he looked and with careful and quiet movements he turned off the movie.

 He thought about moving Roman and bringing him back up to the room, but he didn’t want to wake him up on accident. So instead, Thomas made himself comfortable on the floor, which wasn’t very hard with all the pillows and blankets. He looked at Roman one last time before closing his eyes and falling asleep himself.

Chapter Text

 The movie night with Roman had gone great. Better than Thomas could have hoped for. It hadn’t even been a full day, but Thomas could see the difference in how Roman acted whenever he was near. It seemed Roman was finally getting used to him.

 Two down, two to go.

 As Thomas packed some things into a small bag, he thought back to what Patton had told him, just a few days ago. How one of Logan’s favorite things was space. But also how he rarely got a chance to see the night sky. Well, Thomas was going to fix that. He zipped up his bag and slung it over his shoulders.

 The four tinies were in the living room, watching a Disney movie together, and so that’s where Thomas went. He scanned the couch, seeing Logan sitting in-between Patton and Roman. Roman seemed to be chatting on about the movie in question, having already seen it with Thomas the night before. Patton was listening intently, eyes going back and forth between the movie and Roman.

 Virgil was off to the far side, technically next to Patton. He was watching the movie with wide eyes, but when he saw Thomas standing at the base of the stairs he tensed and threw his hood up. Thomas sighed, but it was to be expected. Hopefully he would be able to show Virgil he really didn’t mean any harm.

 But that was for another time. Right now, Logan was Thomas’ main focus.

 Speaking of Logan, he seemed a bit bored and maybe even a bit annoyed as he tried very hard to ignore the chatter flying over him. Honestly, Thomas could relate, not liking it when people talked over movies he was trying to watch. Even if Logan didn’t seem all that interested in the movie to begin with.

 Patton and Roman didn’t notice Thomas until he had picked up the remote and paused the movie.

 “Wha-? Hey! Who paused the-oh hello Thomas.” Roman started out annoyed but it faded as soon as he realized who it was.

 “Thomas! Whatcha up to kiddo?” Patton greeted, noticing the bag around the human’s shoulders. He actually had a feeling he knew what Thomas was up too, but decided to play along for everyone else.

 “I’m actually here for Logan.” Said tiny looked up at him curiously. Though, in all honesty, he had been expecting something like this after Thomas had had a movie night with Roman. But he still had no idea exactly what would transpire for his surprise.

 “Oh?” Logan asked, eyebrow raised. Thomas smiled and knelt down near the couch, close to where Logan was sitting. Logan stood up, not wanting to be looked down on even more than he already was.

 “I might have planned something for the two of us. Only if you’re willing to come along of course.” Logan hummed in thought, sparing glances towards his brothers. Like when it was with Roman, Patton’s face was stuck on a huge grin and he was giving him a not so subtle thumbs up. Roman, too, didn’t seem nearly as apprehensive to a surprise as he had been the night before, though Logan knew the reason why that now was.

 Virgil, on the other hand, still looked incredibly worried. The tiny trusted his brothers, Patton most of all, but he still couldn’t bring himself to trust the human who had bought them. Who still looked at them as pets.

 He sent Logan a look portraying this, and he knows Logan got it, but his brother still turned back towards Thomas and nodded.

 “I’ll partake in whatever you have planned. I’m sure it will be better than sitting here and listening to Roman babble on about Disney.” Logan smirked a bit as Roman made a few offended noises behind him. Thomas chuckled and went to lay his palm flat out on the couch near Logan for him to climb onto.

 Logan looked at the hand for a moment, before walking over and climbing on. To Thomas it seemed like he did so with no hesitation, but to his brothers, it was clear he had. But Logan wasn’t one to show too much emotion, and that included things like apprehension.

 Logan sat down in the center of Thomas’ palm, looking up towards the human and nodding in a way that told him he was ready. Thomas smiled and lifted his hand up, placing it against his stomach. He then carefully stood up, being very cautious of the tiny now in his hand.

 “We’ll be back pretty late, so is there anything you guys need before we go?” Thomas asked, looking down at the remaining tinies on the couch. Patton took it upon himself to answer for all of them.

 “Nope! We’re all good here Thomas!” Thomas smiled and messed with the strap of the pack he was wearing.

 “Alright, then we’ll be off!” Thomas suddenly lifted the hand Logan was in higher, causing the logical tiny to tense. When the hand stopped near Thomas’ shoulder, he immediately knew what Thomas was getting at. Being very careful, because he did not want to fall from this height, he moved from the hand onto the human’s shoulder. He gripped the fabric underneath him and shifted until he was more or less comfortable. He watched as the hand fell away.

 With Logan now on Thomas’ shoulder, the human started towards the door, unlocking it and opening his home to the setting sun.

 “Have fun you two!” Patton cried, having jumped up and was now at the edge of the couch waving at them. Thomas smiled and waved back, while Logan simply raised his hand in a goodbye. Patton could tell, even from where he was, that Logan was nervous. Even if Logan would never admit to it, he did feel just like everyone else. But Patton wasn’t worried. He fully trusted in Thomas and believed that eventually he would see what was right.

 The front door shut with a small click.

 “I’m worried.” Roman and Patton turned to look at Virgil, who still had his hood up and was just staring at the door.

 “Aww!” Patton exclaimed before throwing himself onto Virgil, hugging him close. “It’s okay kiddo, Thomas isn’t that kind of human. He just…” Patton trailed off, thinking. Roman beat him to it.

 “He just has a little trouble seeing us as actual people still.” Patton noticed Virgil grit his teeth and tense and bounced back in.

 “But he’s getting there! You’ll see, pretty soon, he’ll see us as people. We won’t be pets anymore, Virgil. I promise.” He said softly, confidence dripping from his voice. Virgil couldn’t understand why Patton, and even Roman, believed this. Virgil wishes he could. But humans were humans. And Virgil couldn’t allow himself to get his hopes up.

 He just hoped that Patton and Roman wouldn’t be too crushed when it never happened.

***

 A cool breeze passed by them as Thomas walked to their destination. Thankfully, there were little to no humans out and about at this time of night. One of the things Logan absolutely despised about the shelter were all the humans who went through just to gawk at them. As if they were nothing more than novelties. And that was the last thing he needed right now.

 The tiny looked towards the horizon, at the setting sun. It was almost gone now, a few more minutes and their side of the world would be plunged into darkness. But Logan had to wonder, what was Thomas planning on doing so late at night?

 Thomas continued to walk with a grin on his face. He was so excited for this. Just like Logan, he too, enjoyed looking up at the night sky. But this would be the first time he actually went stargazing, and he just couldn’t wait.

 “You doing okay up there?” Thomas asked, reaching a hand up and gently nudging the tiny with a finger. Logan flinched, but quickly composed himself.

 “Yes, fine.” Logan answered. “But where are we going, especially at this time of night?” Logan felt Thomas chuckle, his shoulders vibrating underneath him.

 “You’ll see, we don’t have too much farther to go.” Thomas said, focusing back on where he was walking. Logan hummed and paid extra attention to their surroundings as they moved.

 It was about ten minutes later when Thomas stopped. The sun had fully set at this point and the darkness hung around them like an old friend. The only source of light was from the moon above. Logan looked around, realizing they were in some sort of clearing. Most likely in a park. What confused Logan, was the sheer amount of nothing that surrounded them.

 Perhaps Thomas was simply taking a break?

 “Here we are!”

 Or not.

 “I’m…not sure I understand.” Logan said, continuing to look around and find something, but to no avail. Logan felt Thomas chuckle once again, and just like when he had been poked, he saw Thomas’s hand rise up toward him. This time, however, it didn’t simply touch him, but grabbed him around the middle and took him off the shoulder.

 Logan bit back a yelp as this occurred, thankfully once he was at chest level, Thomas opened up his hand. Allowing Logan to sit in his palm. He looked up to see Thomas smiling.

 “Don’t worry, you will.” Thomas bent down and set Logan down on the grass. He then dug through his bag and brought out a rather large cloth blanket. He moved several feet away from Logan before setting it flat down on the ground. He took a seat on it and then patted a spot next to him, looking at Logan.

 Logan pursed his lips, but walked to where Thomas wanted him. He stepped onto the blanket and mirrored Thomas, sitting criss-cross. Logan looked around, mind racing.

 “Are we having a picnic?” The tiny asked, but Thomas shook his head.

 “Close, but not quite.” As Logan thought some more, Thomas shifted until he was lying down, hands behind his head. Logan had scooted back, weary of the human’s movements. He continued to look around and even thought about looking through Thomas’ bag, which wasn’t too far away. But decided against it, as Thomas would probably stop him.

 Thomas waited for Logan to match his position, to lie down and finally realize why they were there, but Logan didn’t. He stayed seated, eyes moving from one direction to the other. There was also something in those eyes. Something that Thomas couldn’t quite place.

 Thomas shifted again, so he was laying on his side, head resting on his arm. “Logan? What’s wrong?” Thomas asked, voice gentle. Logan stiffened, but quickly forced himself to relax.

 “Nothing. I’m fine. I just can’t think of any reason why you would bring us out here, so late at night, when there is absolutely nothing here.” Honestly, the lack of knowing was driving him crazy. Thomas blinked, before a soft, teasing smile played at his lips.

 “Logan, the reason we’re here is right in front of you.” Logan blinked and stared.

 “What?” Thomas chuckled.

 “Yeah, I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out yet.” That only made Logan more frustrated.

 “I have looked everywhere, so unless I am blind I-” Logan was cut off when Thomas placed a finger underneath his chin and forced him to look up. The contact was unwelcome, but Logan soon forgot all about it when he finally got a look above. At the night sky.

 There were so many stars.

 “Now do you see why we’re here?” Thomas asked, voice both soft and teasing. Thomas took his hand away, letting Logan nod.

 “I-yes.” Logan stuttered, captured by the stars. Thomas chuckled and rolled back on his back. He turned his head to look back at Logan.

 “It might be easier on your neck if you lay down.” Logan blinked and teared his eyes away from the sky. A light blush spread across his cheeks, but he nodded and moved to lay down. Once again mirroring Thomas.

 “I’ve never seen so many stars.” Logan murmured, awestruck by the sheer clarity of the night. “At least, not in person.” Thomas glanced over, a soft smile gracing his lips. Logan looked so relaxed, peaceful. It was a welcome sight.

 “Yeah…Oh! That reminds me, I brought something to make this a bit more interesting.” Thomas sat up and rummaged through his bag, taking out a rather thick book. He opened it up and look from the sky and back down, turning the pages until he finally found what he was looking for.

 “Alright, so see those bundle of stars?” He said, pointing. “Those are-”

 “Ursa Major.” Logan answered, cutting Thomas off. Thomas was shocked and looked at Logan with wide eyes, but the tiny apparently wasn’t done yet.

 “And that one not far from it is Ursa Minor. Ursa Major actually comes from the Greek myth of Zeus and Callisto. Callisto being a human Zeus had taken a liking to. Of course, Zeus’ wife didn’t like this and when Zeus saw her approaching he turned Callisto into a bear.” Logan said as Thomas double checked everything in the book. “He ended up leaving her like that and she ended up dying by the hand of her son Arcas. Zeus then, to keep Arcas quiet and not tell Hera, turned both him and his mother into Ursa Minor and Ursa Major respectively.” Logan finished and all Thomas could do was stare.

 “How-How did you know all that?” Thomas asked. Logan smirked.

 “My brothers and I used to live in a library and I spent most nights reading various books, including ones about space.” It had been Logan’s idea, of course, to live in the library. He loved the knowledge he was able to consume while there, but there hadn’t been enough food or supplies to borrow and so eventually they had moved. Thomas’ eyes got wider.

 “You were actually able to move the books?” His question caused Logan to chuckle. Something he hadn’t heard from the tiny before.

 “Heavens no. But they did have computers that were a little easier to handle. And that happened to have every book online as part of a digital library.” Thank goodness for that or Logan wouldn’t have been able to read anything.

 Thomas blinked. “That’s…amazing.” Thomas murmured. Of course he knew tinies were intelligent, that was a given. But he had no idea they were so smart. At least, Logan was, but Thomas wouldn’t be surprised if the others knew a few things Thomas himself didn’t know.

 And there was that feeling again.

 He was wondering when it was going to show up this time.

 He still had no idea what it was and he decided then to talk to Joan about it later. But for right now he pushed the feeling away and focused back on Logan.

 “You’re really smart.” Logan felt heat rise to his cheeks and coughed into his hand to try and hide it. He honestly never expected to hear that from a human.

 “I-er, thank you.” Logan stammered, before focusing back on the stars above. Thomas did so as well and they laid there in a comfortable silence, though it didn’t last long. Soon, Thomas was listening to Logan go on and on about the different constellations, the planets, and just space in general. Thomas listened with rapt attention, having no doubt that everything Logan was saying was nothing but true.

 It was two in the morning when they decided to head back. Logan once again found himself on Thomas’ shoulder as they walked, but Logan felt a little more calm. A little more at peace with Thomas. He could now see what Patton and Roman saw.

 A human that could-no-was learning. 

Chapter Text

 For the life of him, Thomas couldn’t think of anything to do with Virgil. When he had asked Patton, even he admitted he wasn’t sure. Unlike with Logan and Roman, or even Patton himself, he didn’t really have a thing he liked. At least, not one that any of them knew of. The only thing Patton could come up with was Virgil liked being around his family. Which was great, Thomas related to that, but it wouldn’t help him to bond with the tiny.

 Thomas tried settling on something a bit generic, but still fun, but when he tried to get Virgil to come with him he refused. Not even his brothers encouraging him to go made him move. Thomas had eventually sighed and left the four of them alone, thoughts swirling around his head. He put on his jacket and decided to go on a walk.

 The walk had led him here, to Joan’s house. Thankfully, they had been home at the time and let Thomas in with nothing more than a questioning gaze. Thomas waved to Talyn in the living room and they all sat as Thomas started to explain everything.

 “-and I started hanging out with them one on one, to get to know and bond with them. And I think it worked, at least with Roman, Patton and Logan. Virgil still refuses to do or go anywhere with me, unless he’s with his brothers. Not to mention, I keep getting this feeling whenever I hang out with them. It’s familiar, but I can’t quite place it and it’s annoying the heck out of me.” Thomas said, sighing and running a hand through his hair. He noticed Joan and Talyn giving each other a look and Thomas glanced between the two of them.

 “What?” He asked, wondering what he was missing. Talyn made a motion with their hand, as if to say ‘you take this one’ to Joan. Joan sighed.

 “Thomas, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I’m pretty sure what your feeling is guilt.” Joan stated bluntly. It caught Thomas off guard, but as he thought about it, he realized Joan was right.

 “But…why? Why am I feeling guilty?” Thomas asked, not understanding. He was treating the four as best as he could…right?

 “Thomas, what are Roman, Logan, Patton and Virgil?” Joan asked, seemingly out of nowhere. Thomas could only stare at them.

 “What?” Joan rolled their eyes.

 “Answer the question Thomas.” Thomas frowned, but did as told.

 “They’re tinies.” Why was Joan asking him this?

 “Anything else?” Joan asked again with an insistent tone. Thomas bit his lip, the obvious answer, the one society gave, was on the tip of his tongue. For some reason, it was hard for him to say it.

 “…P-Pets?” As soon as he answered, he was once again filled with that horrible feeling, of which he now knew to be guilt. Joan picked up on it.

 “You feel guilty, don’t you?” Thomas nodded. “You wanna know why?” Thomas nodded again, leaning forward in anticipation.

 “Because you just gave me society’s answer. The answer that’s been engraved into your mind since you were little. That tinies are pets. But they aren’t.” Thomas eyes widened and suddenly he knew where Joan was going with this.

 “They’re people.” Joan’s words and Thomas’ sudden realization, shocked Thomas into a frozen state. Of course. Of course, tinies weren’t pets, they were too smart, too human to be given that status.

 “I’m a horrible person.” Thomas admitted softly, hands holding his face. “No wonder Virgil wants nothing to do with me.” It was a miracle the others went along with him…or maybe Thomas was seeing compliance in the place of fear. The thought hurt his heart.

 “You aren’t a horrible person.” Joan said, Talyn nodding in agreement. “You just needed a little push in the right direction. Even we took a while until we realized the truth. Don’t beat yourself up about it.” Thomas sighed.

 “I just-how could I have ever even thought that.” Now that he saw them for who they really are, it was a wonder he even entertained the thought that they were pets. Joan shrugged.

 “Society man, it’s bull****”

 “And hey,” Talyn finally spoke up. “I think you’ve always known, you just had to realize. That’s why you felt guilty.” Thomas hummed. His chin rested on his hand as he thought. He stayed like that for several moments of silence, Joan and Talyn both being respectful and allowing him to think and process things.

 “I think…I know what I have to do.” Thomas finally spoke. “But first…do you guys think you could help me with something?” Joan and Talyn exchanged another look, this time of confusion, but nodded.

 “Great.” Thomas smiled sadly. “Here’s what I was thinking.”

***

 When Thomas came home, he was greeted with Roman, Patton, and Logan all sitting on the couch watching a show. He stopped at the sight and wondered how they even got down there by themselves. Before remembering that tinies were more than capable. Of course.

 He looked around the living room, but couldn’t see any sign of Virgil.

 “Hey guys.” He greeted, taking his jacket off. The others turned towards him, Patton waving in his own greeting.

 “Hey Thomas! Where have you been?” The oldest asked and Thomas bit his lip.

 “Just over at Joan’s house. You remember them right? From the shelter?” He watched the others nod, Patton’s face even lighting up.

 “Oh yeah! I remember them! They were really nice to us!” Thomas chuckled and hesitated before sitting down on the opposite side of the couch. The others gave him a bit of a weird look, but went back to their TV show. Thomas watched with them, but he wasn’t taking anything that happened on the screen in. Instead, he was lost in his own thoughts.

 Tinies were people. Tinies were people. The thought replayed in his mind and he hated himself a little more whenever it did. He glanced at the three tinies, sitting on the couch with him, entranced by the television and the show playing. Roman and Patton were talking adamantly about it as well, and even Logan piped up every now and again with his own thoughts.

 It was such a human thing to do.

 Patton helping him cook and revealing himself as the caretaker of his brothers.

 Roman’s love of Disney and his in depth explanation and analysis of the plot and characters.

 Logan’s fascination with space and his vast knowledge of not only the stars but many other things.

 No wonder Thomas felt guilty for seeing these complex and amazing people as pets.

 And then there was Virgil.

 Shy, anxious and only wanting to protect and be with his family. He pushed all of Thomas’ efforts to get to know him away, because Virgil knew Thomas would never know any of them fully. Not until he realized they were a lot more than pets.

 And Thomas had an inkling, that unlike the others, Virgil didn’t think that was ever going to happen.

 He had to speak to all of them eventually, but he needed to speak to Virgil first. He had to right this wrong and…

 Thomas, with his mind made up, stood from the couch abruptly. Causing the other three to jump with surprise.

 “Have you guys seen Virgil?” He asked, turning towards them. The three exchanged a look.

 “Stormy Knight is up in your room, last we saw him.” Roman answered. Thomas’ gaze drifted up the staircase and he nodded. Perfect, speaking to Virgil alone was the best way to go about this anyway. He thanked them and then started on his way up towards his room.

 When Thomas was out of earshot, the three brothers turned to each other. “Should we have maybe…tried to stop him? You know how Virgil doesn’t want to be alone with him.” Roman said, eyes glancing from the staircase to the others. Patton shook his head.

 “I don’t think so. I think Virgil-and Thomas-both need this. Besides, didn’t you notice something different about him?” His younger brothers blinked at him.

 “Patton, what are you talking about?” Logan spoke, confused. Patton gave them a soft smile and shook his head.

 “Never mind, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…”

***

 As Thomas came up to his slightly ajar door, he ran his thumb against the soft fabric tucked into his pocket before taking a deep breath and walking in.

 In only took him a moment to find Virgil in his room in the tower, watching a YouTube video on the old IPod he had given to all of them. Virgil’s eyes were on him as soon as he entered, aware and tense as Thomas closed the door behind him and stepped closer. Virgil paused his video and the room was plunged into silence.

 He wasn’t quite sure what to say, or how to even start this whole conversation off. He couldn’t simply start out with the gift, Virgil would never accept it. He sighed, rubbing a hand through his hair. Virgil continued to stare at him with a wary look.

 “Virgil…I’m…I’m sorry.” Thomas finally spoke, breaking the silence and causing Virgil to be confused. Thomas noticed and continued. “I’m sorry for not seeing you as people a lot sooner.” This caused Virgil’s eyes to widen in shock and he opened his own mouth to speak.

 “Wha-” Thomas cut him off.

 “No, I, I need to get this out.” Thomas sighed. “I don’t know why I didn’t see it before, it’s so obvious now. All four of you, all tinies in general, your treated and kept like pets when you shouldn’t be. You are amazing, intelligent, creative, kind, and brave creatures. You are so much like us, but we treat you less than because you’re smaller.” Thomas shook his head.

 “And that isn’t right.” Thomas spoke with a sigh, head low.

 Virgil couldn’t believe what he was hearing, in all honesty. Never had he thought that Thomas-that any human-would see his kind as people. But here Thomas was, apologizing to him over it.

 Before Virgil realized what he was doing, he was on top of the tower and spoke. “You…you weren’t that bad.” Virgil admitted softly. While Thomas had still seen them as pets, he was still actively trying to become their friend and do things the others enjoyed. Virgil supposed he couldn’t really fault the human for that.

 Thomas was surprised to see that Virgil moved and even more so when Virgil spoke. But his surprise quickly left, only leaving behind one of self-loathing. An expression Virgil was all to familiar with.

 Thomas shook his head. “Virgil. I saw you all as pets. It’s no wonder you wanted nothing to do with me. I’m…awful.”

 Man, Virgil couldn’t help but think. He’s worse than I am. Virgil wanted to speak up, but didn’t know what to say. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Thomas actually saw them as people now.

 He didn’t get a chance to get something together though, before Thomas spoke up again.

 “I wanted to give you something.” Thomas said as he stepped a little closer. Virgil stepped back at the approach, but only slightly. Thomas reached into his pocket, pulling out the little bundle of fabric. “I’ve noticed that your hoodie is kind of worn and…thought you could use another one.”

 He placed it in front of Virgil and the tiny’s eyes widened. The color, a black with splashes of purple, caught his attention first. It caused him to step forward and pick it up. Like Thomas had hinted, it was another hoodie. One that was stitched together, but in a clean, aesthetically pleasing sort of way. The fabric was soft, something Virgil couldn’t help but notices as his thumb trailed over the pattern. And there was even a tiny zipper on both sleeves, something Virgil couldn’t help but think was intentional.

 Unlike with the onesie Thomas had tried giving him several days ago, this practically screamed him. Like it was made with him specifically in mind. And no one else.

 “This is amazing.” Virgil breathed out, his voice soft and full of awe. Thomas was surprised, but no less happy Virgil liked it.

 “You like it? I…got the idea while over at Joan’s place and them and Talyn helped me make it. They even signed their names on the stitching somehow.” It was still a wonder his two friends could stitch anything that small.

 At the new info, Virgil searched and sure enough, found the names Joan and Talyn stitched into the fabric. Virgil, too, was amazed a couple of humans were able to manage something so small.

 “You guys made this for…for me?” Thomas nodded a small, sad smile appearing on his face.

 “Yeah, like I said, I thought you could use another one, seeing as how the hoodie you always wear has, um, has seen better days.” Thomas spoke, hoping his words didn’t sound like an insult to the hoodie Virgil himself most likely made. He took a deep breath.

 “And…I figured it might be better for you to have it for when you guys leave.” That snapped Virgil out of his awe and he looked up at Thomas with wide eyes.

 “What?” Virgil managed to get out despite his shock. Thomas, for the first time since coming into the room, met Virgil’s eyes.

 “Well…I don’t want to keep you here against your will. You guys should be able to decide where you want to live, not…not have some human decide for you.” Thomas’ eyes left Virgil’s once more and he looked down at the ground. Silence fell over the two.

 Virgil’s mind raced with everything that just transpired. He held onto Thomas’ gift, his new hoodie, like a lifeline as he stared at the human in front of him. But Virgil knew, right then and there.

 Thomas was good.

 Honestly, Thomas had never been like other humans. Virgil had just been too anxious, too fearful to see it. He really had never meant them any harm and treated them like anyone else he would want to become friends with. It was these thoughts that made Virgil realize, perhaps deep down Thomas had seen them as people. He had just needed an extra push. A push that he had very clearly been given.

 Virgil looked back down at the hoodie before stripping himself of his old one and putting the new one on. Thomas had been right, he had had that hoodie for years now and it was worn and falling apart. He never could get rid of it though, for sentimental and comfort reasons. But when he put on the new hoodie? Warm, soft, so comfy, nice, grounding-

 Well, Virgil came to the decision that he was never taking it off.

 The tiny once again looked up at Thomas. “Take me out to the others.” Virgil spoke, causing Thomas to snap his head up. Thomas was surprised to see Virgil already have the new hoodie on, even if he had said that he liked it. But his surprise quickly disappeared when he realized what he said.

 Thomas nodded, trying to keep an emotionless face. Virgil probably wanted to tell his brothers so they could leave as soon as possible. Thomas held out his hand, palm up, allowing Virgil to get on on his own time.

 Virgil, despite deciding Thomas was a human worth trusting, still had to steel his nerves in order to walk onto the open palm. But he did, carefully taking a seat and waiting for Thomas to move.

 Once Virgil was settled, Thomas slowly lifted his hand and then started on his way downstairs. As he came down the stairs, the other three turned their gazes onto Thomas and then slowly down at his hands to see that he was carrying Virgil. Both Logan and Roman were shocked that Virgil would allow Thomas to carry him. Patton, while also shocked, was also happy and smiling at the sight.

 Thomas came over to the couch and kneeled near it, letting Virgil get off his palm and to his brothers. It was then they noticed his new hoodie.

 “Whoa! Where did you get that hoodie! It’s fabulous!” Roman spoke, as they all rushed over to Virgil. Patton looked to him in a silent question and Virgil answered by holding his arm up. Allowing Patton to run his hand over the sleeve.

 “It’s so soft!” Patton exclaimed, causing the other two to follow suit. Nodding in agreement.

 “It is most certainly quite the hoodie, I must admit.” Logan spoke, pulling his hand away along with the others as Virgil dropped his arm.

 “Thanks, Thomas and his friends made it for me.” Virgil said, motioning behind him at the human. Thomas, with all attention on him, gave them a small smile. But on the inside, he was just waiting for Virgil to drop the news that they were free to go.

 Thomas wasn’t going to stop them from leaving, but he was going to miss them.

 “Speaking of…” Virgil started and Thomas sighed. Here it comes. “Thomas, mind telling them what you told me?” At Virgil’s words, the other three turned their questioning gazes onto Thomas. Thomas blinked, was Virgil really going to make him say it. Again? Well, he did still have to apologize to them after all. And it was the least he could do.

 “I…I’m sorry for not seeing you as people sooner.” He heard a gasp, but he wasn’t sure which one of them it came from. He kept his eyes down. “And it’s not right to keep you here against your will. You’re adults, people who can make their own decisions. So…I guess what I’m saying is that you guys are free to go. I won’t keep you here any longer.”

 Silence fell across the room as Roman, Logan and Patton took in what Thomas said. Virgil allowed them to process it before walking closer to them and keeping his voice low so Thomas wouldn’t be able to hear.

 Thomas looked up when he heard voices and saw that the four were talking to each other in a sort of huddle. He couldn’t make out what they were saying, but he had his guesses.

 “You are positive Virgil?” Logan asked softly. Virgil nodded.

 “Yeah…what can I say. Guess I was wrong about him.” Patton couldn’t hold back a squeal. They all shared nods of agreement and then turned back towards Thomas. Thomas deflated, waiting for them to tell him that they were ready to leave.

 Virgil took a few steps towards Thomas and smiled.

 “I think we’re going to go ahead and stay.” It took a moment for Virgil’s words to fully process, but when they did, Thomas’ eyes widened with shock.

 “Wha-What?” He must have heard that wrong, right? His question was met with a smirk and then Roman stepped forward.

 “Why of course. I mean, we got a good thing here. Don’t have to worry about food or danger and we get to do some pretty awesome stuff.” Roman listed off. Thomas could only stare.

 “But-” Logan cut him off when he too stepped forward.

 “Please, Thomas, even you must realize how much work it would take to move. And how dangerous. It would simply be safer and far more pleasant to stay here with you.” Logan sent him a smirk as well.

 “I-” Finally, Patton stepped forward. Hands over his heart as he stared at Thomas. Thomas realized with a jolt that it was the same look he gave to his brothers.

 “You’re not a bad person kiddo. In fact, you are one heck of a greatone!” Patton smiled. “We want to stay with you Thomas. Really.” Thomas’ eyes scanned over all of them, watching as they all nodded along to what Patton said.

 Tears pricked the corners of his eyes and Thomas laughed as he went to wipe them away. “Guys, I-I don’t know what to say.”

 “You don’t have to say anything kiddo…but…” Patton held his arms out. “A hug would be awesome!” Thomas chuckled and looked to all of them to make sure it was okay before scooping them all up and holding them against his chest.

 As they hugged, Thomas once again apologized. “I’m so sorry I ever saw you as anything but the great people you are.”

 The four brothers turned to each other and smiled. “We forgive you Thomas.” Virgil spoke for all of them. He then chuckled. “Welcome to the family.”