Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Thomas needed a job. Not because he needed the money, he had plenty of that. No, what he needed was something to do with his time.

Ever since his parents had died and he inherited their money and estate two years ago, he had become rather reclusive. He was a loner by nature, only having a few close friends throughout high school, and now that they were off at college he was rapidly slipping from introvert to sad and lonely hermit.

Recently, his best friend Joan had visited him during break, and seeing Thomas’s current lifestyle, had begun to worry for him. Word must have spread to all Thomas’s friends because now they were all worried for him and saying to get out more. To leave his large, empty house and meet people, talk to people, date people, work with people, anything involving people. According to his friends, video chatting with them wouldn’t cut it. Thomas cares about his friends and he trusts them. He values their opinions and decides to take their concerns to heart.

And so Thomas needed a job. Because if you think he was about to get a membership card to the gym you have another thing coming. Alright yes, he could stand to lose his couch potato chub but if he was going to torture his body he intended to be payed for it.

Everyone in town knew that Benny’s was always hiring, it didn’t matter if you lacked work experience. Which was good, because Thomas didn’t have any. Although Benny’s was generally manual labor, such as loading and unloading merchandise, Thomas applied anyway. He was kind of hoping he wouldn’t be hired so he could tell his friends he had tried the most likely place to hire him and been turned down. Maybe then he could go back to re-watching ‘The Office’.

He was hired within the week.

************************

It was only the second day of work that Thomas truly realized his mistake. Firstly, he was not built for constant heavy lifting. His growing aches and pains were testament to this fact.

The second issue was the centaurs. Benny’s had centaurs working for them. Now the centaurs themselves weren't the problem. Thomas had nothing against centaurs, quite the opposite in fact. The problem with Benny’s owning centaurs was that they didn’t pay them.

See, centaurs were seen as nothing more than clever animals, even though anyone with half a brain could see that they were no such thing. The fact that they were literally half human should have made it obvious. Despite this, the majority of people saw and treated centaurs as though they were simply another breed of horse. Albeit a far less common one.

There were those who sought for centaurs to have human rights but they had made no difference as of yet. Thomas would know, considering his friends and he had been advocating since freshman year of high school.

Therefore it shouldn’t be hard to see why Thomas was so upset that Tuesday night. A large part of him wanted to quit while the other part argued that he should stay. His quitting wouldn’t help the centaurs so maybe he should stay, even if just to ensure there was no abuse going on. He tossed and turned the whole night through and by morning, he had made up his mind.

He would continue to work there while applying for other, centaur less, jobs. In the meantime he would keep a sharp eye out for anything suspicious, seeing as Benny’s was proving to be a shady workplace.

It didn’t take long for Thomas to second guess his choice to stay, only four hours in fact. He regretted it because the lack of sleep and heavy boxes were proving to be a bad combination. Just as he was considering dropping his crate and driving home, he heard a loud and angry voice.

“Move you dumbass beast!” A burly man, (if Thomas’s memory served right he was a manger) was furiously yelling at a large centaur. A LARGE centaur. He was probably eight feet tall, possibly taller. The hair upon his head and tail were a matching color of dark brown while the rest of his coat was black.

“As I have told you, repeatedly, this quantity of cargo is too substantial for any one centaur to move.” Replied the massive centaur.

Thomas knew that centaurs could obviously talk but he couldn’t say he had ever heard one before now. The other centaurs he had seen had all been submissive and quiet, as though the thought of talking held no appeal to them. By the stubborn and frustrated look on this one's face it was clear he was not of the same opinion.

“Don’t you dare fucking talk back to me you damn animal. When I tell you to pull something you pull it.” The manager was turning red in the face as one hand reached for his belt.

Now as frightening as the large, angry manager was, his anger paled in comparison to the large centaur's. He was by far the tallest and largest centaur Thomas had ever seen and, frankly, Thomas didn’t think angering him was a smart idea.

The centaur leaned down a bit to yell back at the manager. “A task much easier accomplished when actually feasible!”

While his height was enough to intimidate just about anyone, if it didn’t manage to do the trick the look of pure wrath most certainly would.

And yet the manager didn’t even hesitate to slap the centaur directly across the face. Thomas’s eyes blew wide open. He glanced around to see if anyone else was as shocked by this as he was but no one else was even bothering to watch the shouting match.

The centaur shot back up and Thomas could tell even from across the warehouse that he was barely holding his anger in check. He looked as though he was vibrating with it.

“Don’t you ever talk back to me again. You fucking got that? Or next time it’ll be this.” The manager pulls out what Thomas thought to be a taser from his pocket. The centaur nods stiffly.

“Now get the fuck back to work.” The manager stalks off without a backward glance. Thomas is left staring, unaware he is partially blocking a loading ramp.

“Didn’t even make it till noon.” One of his coworkers chuckles. Thomas jumps as the voice sounds right behind him.
“Jensen owes me a drink” His coworker continues chuckling to himself. Thomas finds his voice.
“Who didn’t make it till noon?” His coworker looks at him funny before nodding his head towards the centaur, who is struggling to pull a heavy, over packed cart.
“That giant over there. The ‘taur is awful tempered and gets himself in trouble at least once a week. If the stupid thing had a brain it would have shut up by now. Save itself from trouble.” He shakes his head as though he thinks it a terrible shame.

Thomas looks back to the centaur who is painstakingly, slowly dragging the cart across the ground. He is only getting a few inches at a time and the cart’s so heavy the wheels are starting to warp a little. It doesn’t look as though the centaur was wrong when he said it was too much weight.

A bell's ring echoes throughout the warehouse, signaling the morning shift is over and Thomas wilts in relief. Thomas had always thought the bell signaling the end of class was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard but his aching body leads him to think otherwise.

The coworker pats Thomas on the shoulder. Thomas’s shoulder doesn’t appreciate it.

“Whelp, I’m gonna go get lunch, you coming newbie?”

“Uh, I’ll be there in a little bit. I just want to finish this last load.” Thomas gestures to the few remaining crates. Like hell he does.

“Pff, knock yourself out man.” With that the rest of his coworkers leave the warehouse. Thomas checks to make sure he’s alone. Certain he is, he hops off the loading dock and works his way towards the centaur.

The centaur is glaring at his feet and straining at his harness to move forwards. Upon hearing Thomas approaching his head shoots up. There is a red mark on his face where he was hit.

Thomas falters. Maybe this was a bad idea, the guy looks like he’d rather be alone. Or killing someone. Also he’s over two feet taller than Thomas. Yeah, this is a bad idea.

As Thomas is moving to turn about face and get the heck out of there his eyes fall back on the red marring the centaurs face. Again he hesitates.

“Did you want something?” Snaps a sharp voice. It pierces through Thomas’s thoughts like an arrow. His eyes shift over to the centaurs blue ones. While there is anger still residing in them, there is also a smidge of curiosity.

“I, um, I guess I wanted to see if you wanted any help?” Thomas stutters, suddenly aware it could be taken as an insult. Or maybe he’s just paranoid. The centaur looks into his eyes but doesn’t seem to find whatever he’s looking for.

“Why?” The larger of the two crosses his arms defensively, though to Thomas it seems more aggressive than anything else.

“Because I want to help? There is no way that cart is making it all the way to the dock.” Thomas tries to look less frightened than he is.

The centaur glances back at all the crates and then to Thomas, who is trying to make himself look sincere.

“If you truly wish to be of assistance I will not hinder your doing so.”

“Cool, let me go get a dolly.” Thomas runs off before the moody centaur can change his mind.

The centaur watches him leave and wonders as to whether the newbie is truly intending to help or if this is an elaborate prank. ‘Only one way to find out.’ He decides.

Thomas hurries back pushing a dolly. Neither says anything as he begins to remove the top crates and set them down on the dolly. It’s hard work and Thomas can’t understand how the centaur was able to move the cart at all.

“This is crazy. They seriously wanted you to move all this by yourself?” Thomas grunts as he struggles with one of the heavier crates. The centaur is unable to help seeing as he is harnessed to the front of the cart and unable to turn about.

The centaur huffs. “It is preposterous,” He agrees. “Asking any centaur to pull more than three times their weight is ill advised.”

“This is three times as heavy as you?” Thomas gasps. This guy is probably around 2,500 lb. So all these crates have to be-

“No. These crates are five times my weight.” States the centaur matter of factually.

Thomas gapes. Is this guy an ant? No wait. That sounds dumb. What else is super strong?
“What? Is there a reason you are making an odd face at me?” The centaur looks confused.

“Nothing! I’m just impressed.” Thomas quickly turns back to loading his dolly. As it turns out the crates were just the top layer. Underneath them is a large amount of sacks.

“Dude, I’m gonna take these to the dock and come back for more. If I put anymore on this thing I wont be able to push it.”

The Centaur nods and goes back to pulling the cart. Being a few hundred pounds lighter allows him to move it a little bit easier but he’s still only gaining a few inches every minute.

Rushing back Thomas studies the sacks. After testing one’s weight and discovering it weighs far too much for him to lift alone he settles on pushing the sack off the cart and onto his dolly. He is fully absorbed in his work when he hears the centaur clear his throat.

“While I appreciate your assistance I feel I must inform you that you are under no obligation to do so and if you continue to assist me you will miss out on your break.”

“Well you’re missing out on your break too, but at least this way we might both get a few minutes of it.” Thomas grunts as he pushes off another sack. What the hell are in these anyway?

“I do not receive a break.”

“What?”

“I said I do not-”

“No no, I heard. Are you saying they seriously don’t give centaurs any breaks? At all?” Thomas has stopped pulling in favor of staring at the centaur.

“No. I said that I don’t receive breaks. As in only me. I’ve been told I’m too…. Talkative, amongst other things, and that the extra work will serve to prevent that.” The centaur scowls as he speaks.

“So you don’t get a break? They just make you work all day?” Thomas’s anger shows as he forcibly shoves a sack off the cart.

The centaur lifts a single eyebrow. “This upsets you?” His eyes narrow. “Why?”

“Dude, they are illegally overworking you because they don’t like you talking. That’s all kinds of wrong.” Thomas flops down on the back of the cart with a huff.

The centaur looks deep in thought. “I talk too much. This does not offend you?”

“Offend? Why would that offend me? You don’t even talk all that much. Heck you should meet my friends. Some of them could talk your ear off.” Thomas hops down and starts pushing the dolly past the Centaur and towards the docking bay.

“How could talking remove one's ear?” Thomas turns to see if the Centaur is being serious. He is. There is no trace of anything but confusion on his face.

“It’s an expression. It means someone talks so much that other people get tired of listening to them and wish they were deaf….I guess. I never really thought about it.” Thomas leans against the dolly while speaking. It’s a good excuse to take a break without revealing just how out of breath he is.

“I suppose that makes sense. Though it is much less complicated to simply say someone talks too much. Regardless, I must thank you. You are quite an extraordinary human.”

“What? I’m not extraordinary. I just explai-” The centaur holds his hand up, effectively halting Thomas’s words.

“Not just that. You offered to help me when you are under no obligation to do so and with nothing for your personal gain. You are, in fact, losing your valuable break time and assisting with a substantial amount of cargo. I am at a loss as to why you are doing any of this. I have never before met a human who did not put their own well being above that of another human. Much less that of a centaur.”

“Uh, I’m just being a decent person?”

The centaur shakes his head. “This is more than decency. Even a decent person would still not converse with a centaur, much less a centaur in physical labor, and yet you have been conversing with me for the past eighteen minutes.”

“Okay so maybe I’m being nice. My Momma raised me right and all that. And anyway, I do expect something out of this.” Thomas smiles up at the centaur.

“What? I do not remember you saying you wanted something in return.” The centaur looks worried and kicks his hind leg restlessly.

“A name?”

Silence.

“You wish to know my name?” The centaur is frozen and stares at Thomas with an equally confused and surprised expression.

“I’ll start. I’m Thomas Sanders. Nice to meet you.” Thomas holds out his hand with a smile. The centaur continues to stare at him. Thomas is starting to doubt himself.

The centaur finally snaps out of his stupor and he hesitantly shakes Thomas’s hand.

“My name is Logan. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” There is a hint of a smile on his face as he shakes Thomas’s hand. Thomas echoes it.

“Same here.” Thomas straightens up and looks at the clock on the far wall. Well, we should get a move on if we want that 10 minute break. What do you say, Logan?” Thomas settles himself behind the dolly and starts pushing.

“Indeed” Logan braces his hooves and with incredible effort begins to drag the cart forward.

Chapter Text

As it turns out Thomas and Logan do get their ten minute break, albeit Logan insists on going back to work afterwards even though no one is back from lunch yet. Thomas surmises Logan is worried of being caught so he doesn’t argue when Logan goes back to dragging heavy carts across the warehouse. Just sitting and watching kind of makes Thomas feel like a lazy jerk, so he starts back on his own work too.

The rest of the week goes by without a hitch and Thomas keeps a sharp eye out for Logan. He rarely sees him more than once a day but whenever he does he tries to smile or give a small wave to him. Logan never openly acknowledges him but Thomas is certain Logan’s shoulders relax a little each time.

The weekend comes and goes far too quickly for Thomas, who’s aches and pains are only just starting to ebb away. Regardless monday rolls around and Thomas begrudgingly heads into work whilst wondering what possessed him to start off working full time. His mood is only worsened when he sees the cold and wet weather that lasted his entire weekend has still not relinquished its hold.

He just returned from lunch break when he spotted Logan standing outside the warehouse. Thomas bites back the ‘hello’ on his tongue and tries to stealthily work his way towards the entrance where Logan is, hoping to get closer and maybe talk a little.

As he nears Logan he hears angry yelling. It’s the manager again, whom Thomas has learned is named Ted. Ted is yelling at Logan and waving his arms around in frustration. Nothing new. What is new is that Logan is quietly taking it. His head hangs down as he silently allows the manager to ramble on.

Upon getting closer Thomas notices that Logan isn’t standing at his full height in that commanding way of his either. Instead his shoulders are slumped and his hair and shirt are all rumpled. None of which is normal. From what Thomas has seen so far, Logan takes good care of himself. Always prim and proper. Yet here he is looking as though he was recently dragged out of bed.

Thomas’s concern is only heightened when Logan begins to cough, deep, chest rattling coughs. His arm is wrapped protectively around his stomach. He looks miserable.

His coughing fit only angers Ted more and he reaches his hand for his belt, whilst yelling what Thomas imagines must be threats. Thomas tries to look innocent and steps out into the drizzling rain where Ted is yelling and Logan is still coughing.

How he wishes he could openly stand up for the obviously sick Centaur. But Thomas has been around enough Centaurs to know that openly advocating them in public tends to backfire on the Centaurs. He doesn’t want to get Logan in trouble. Well, more trouble.

“Hey boss, I noticed you stuck out here in the rain. Is there anything I can do to help?” Thomas fights to keep his eyes off Logan and on Ted even as he catches Logan glancing up in his peripheral vision.

“What the hell are you doing out here Sanders. Go back to the loading dock.” Ted pulls out his taser looking thing. “I can handle this useless fucker.”

Judging by the way Logan tries to shy away from Ted’s reach Thomas is nearly certain the taser looking object is, in fact, a taser. Logan is still strapped to a cart and it prevents him moving away from Ted’s advancing footsteps. Thomas panics a little at the frantic look in Logan’s eyes.

‘Think, think, think! I’ve got to stop Ted.’ Thomas suddenly springs back to life.

“Wait sir! You can’t use that on him!”

Ted slowly turns to regard Thomas with all the burning hate he’d been directing at Logan just seconds before.

Thomas puts his hands up in an attempt to defuse the situation and swallows nervously.

“Its raining sir, electricity travels through water. It might taze you too.”

It’s utter bullshit but Thomas is hoping Ted is too ignorant to know that. As it turns out Ted is.
He puts his taser back into his utility belt and turns back to Logan. Thomas rushes to reflect Ted’s attention back on himself.

“If I may, the rest of the men are headed home since we’ve finished with work early today. I’m stuck here since I don’t have a ride for another hour, if you’d like I can take over with the Centaur.”

Ted hesitated as his love for punishing Logan and desire to go home early fight it out. He sighs.

“Think you can handle this Centaur?”

“Absolutely. My parents owned a Centaur farm when I was growing up.”

Ted gives a resigned huff and fishes out his taser before handing it to Thomas.

“He’s a nasty son of a bitch, feel free to use this if you want.”

With that Ted turns around and heads off towards the parking lot. Where Thomas’s car is parked, waiting for him. ‘It’s just going to have to wait some more.’ Thomas decides as he turns to get a good look at Logan.

He looks worse up close. There are bags under his eyes and he’s pale and shaking. His shirt is thoroughly soaked and sticks to him like a second skin. Thomas instantly feels awful for him. Thomas has only been standing in the rain for five minutes and he’s already cold and wet. Logan looks as though he’s been out in it all day.

“C’mon Logan. Lets get you back to the stalls.”

Thomas reaches a hand out to guide him but starts when Logan stumbles back, tripping over his own feet.

“W-wait!” Logan gasps. His voice sounds painfully rough and the frantic look in his eyes is back. Thomas follows his line of sight and realizes Logan is staring at the taser. In Thomas’s hand. The one reaching towards Logan.Thomas drops it with a start.

“Whoa dude! I wasn’t gonna taze you!” Thomas slowly raises his hands in a pacifying manner towards Logan. “I’m just gonna help you get back to your stall. Not to be rude but you like all kinds of awful.”

Logan starts to calm down, though he still glances at the muddy ground where the taser is.

“Oh.” His hands go up to rub up and down his arms, trying to warm them a little.

Thomas looks at him critically. For some reason Logan is only wearing his usual thin blue shirt. Nothing else. He should have a rainproof horse blanket or at least a regular raincoat.

“Here take this.” Thomas quickly shrugs out of his jacket and hands it towards Logan.
“Wha- I can’t take this. I- I’m-” Logan is cut off by another coughing fit.

“Take the damn jacket Logan.” Thomas shoves it into his hands. Logan stares at it as if he’s never seen one before but finally gives in and puts it on.

“Alright let’s go.” Thomas starts for the large building hidden behind another warehouse. Long ago the stalls were a warehouse too, but it's been renovated and now houses Centaurs.

Logan doesn’t protest and falls in step just behind Thomas. Who feels weird to be leading someone to their own home. If he didn’t feel the pressing need to get Logan somewhere warm and dry he would have slowed down to walk side by side with Logan.

It seems to take forever but they finally reach the stalls where they stop just outside the doors.

“Alright let's get this thing off you.” Thomas walks to Logan's flank and starts to undo the buckles that keep Logan harnessed to the cart. Logan attempts to undo the ones wrapped around his front but his fingers shake too much for him to get a grip. Thomas finishes his and bats Logan’s hands away to unhook the last buckle.

He is disheartened to see the that the straps have left seemingly permanent marks across Logan's skin.

The cart falls with a heavy, ringing noise that Logan flinches at. Finally free of his burden Logan seems to sag even further. It seems he’s used the last of his energy to pull the cart across the courtyard. Logan sways a little as he nears what Thomas assumes is his stall.

“Whoa there, just a little further and you can lay down alright?” Thomas coaxes an exhausted Logan into the stall. As soon as Logan enters the stall he painfully collapses to his knees in a coughing fit. Thomas walks back out to look for a cloth to dry Logan with.

After a little hunting Thomas finds some care supplies a few stalls over. All of which are empty. It’s a huge building, with one long hall across the length of it. Down at the other end Thomas can see a Centaur poke his head out to peak at him. There is the faintest sound of voices drifting down.

Why is Logan all the way on the opposite side of the building? There’s a good ten stalls separating him from the nearest Centaur. Loud coughing breaks through Thomas’s musing and he hurries back into Logan's stall. It’s entirely empty save for the Centaur laying in it.

Thomas drops to his knees by Logan's side and shuffles to make sure Logan know he's there. Then he slowly lowers his hand onto Logan’s heaving side.

“Take deep breaths okay?” Thomas gently rubs the towel across Logan's ribs. Logan opens his mouth, most likely to tell Thomas something but instead begins coughing again.

Thomas keeps on rubbing while Logan continues coughing. Logan’s panting for breath when his coughing finally lets up.

“Thomas” He clears his throat. “Go on and head to your home. I am quite capable of drying myself off.” He attempts to take the towel away from Thomas.

Thomas pulls the towel out of his reach and hands him a second one.

“I know for a fact you can’t. Even the most flexible Centaurs can’t reach their hind legs, and you don’t look like you’re in any state to be moving around anyway.” So saying Thomas reaches for Logan's back leg.

“Regardless, I insist you head home” Logan pulls his leg away from Thomas.

Thomas sits back.

“Logan, You’re going to get seriously sick if you aren’t dried properly. Besides, how are you supposed to dry yourself when you can hardly breath?

“I don’t need he-” Logan is starting to look upset but Thomas doesn’t notice.

“Yes you do. You can’t do it and you know that. So I’m going t-”

“NO! I DO NOT NEED YOUR HELP LIKE I AM SOME HELPLESS, STUPID ANIMAL!!”

Thomas flinches back violently at the sudden outburst. Logan coughs again.

“Logan… I don’t think you’re an ani-”

“Yes you do.” Logan sounds tired and defeated, like all his anger has just melted away. “You all do. To humans I’m nothing more than an object of transportation. A machine.” He gives another cough. “ A broken machine.” He murmurs turning away from Thomas.

Thomas clasps his hands together and tries to gather his thoughts. It’s clear Logan believes what he said.

Thomas contemplates the best choice of action. Logan has repeatedly refused his attempts to help. He can’t force Logan to accept it. ‘I mean I could do it anyway, Logan seems to tired to stop me, but wouldn’t that be treating him like an animal? Logan can make his own decisions. Good or bad.’ Decided on respecting Logan’s wish, Thomas stands.

“Okay. If you really would rather be left alone then I’ll go. Just… can I grab you anything before I leave?”

Logan looks up, a small expression of surprise on his face. His eyebrows draw together and he shakes his head cautiously.

“Alright then.” Thomas steps outside the stall. “Do you want me to shut the door?” He gestures to the large solid doors attached to the front of Logan’s stall.

Logan looks a little exasperated.

“Yes. Seeing as they must be shut in order to be locked.”

Locked? Thomas shakes his head. If Logan wants to lock others out of his stall then that’s none of Thomas’s business.

“Sure man. Thomas tugs on the heavy doors and slams them shut. Only then does he register what Logan meant. There is a huge padlock hanging from the door handles. Logan wasn’t saying he wanted to lock Thomas out. He was telling Thomas to lock him in.

A full minute passes while Thomas stares dumbly at the lock. Logan’s voice breaks through his thoughts.

“You may go ahead and lock it.”

“Logan, I can’t just lock you-”

“Please Thomas. If I’m not locked in we shall both suffer the consequences.”

It’s only the hint of desperation in Logan’s voice that convinces Thomas to lock him behind the heavy doors. Thomas lingers by the doors, still hesitant to leave Logan all on his own. He remembers how he agreed to leave if Logan wanted him too and forces himself towards the exit.

It’s clear Logan doesn’t trust humans and Thomas isn’t about to give him anymore reasons not to. Besides, Thomas had a lot to think on. And a lot of laws to look up.

Chapter Text

Thomas arrives to work the following day with a lot more knowledge regarding animal abuse laws. Unfortunately laws regarding Centaur abuse fall in the gaping grey area between human and animal abuse. This means laws regarding Centaurs are unclear at best.

So far Thomas has seen Logan slapped, overworked, neglected and threatened with a taser. As far as the law is concerned, unless the physical abuse leaves a lasting mark it’s considered a form of obedience training. Thomas hasn’t noticed any bruises on Logan and its most likely if there were any they would be blamed on Logan’s working in a warehouse.

Overworking is even harder to prove. The most that would come out of pushing the matter would be Logan possibly getting a 30 minute break. Though the sheer size of Logan was the biggest hindrance. What is considered too much work for such a large horse? Pointing out any neglect would be denied or somehow turned on Logan, Thomas was sure of that.

As for the taser, Thomas had looked into that first. Apparently it was a ‘Centaur buzzer’. It was a mandatory requirement that any company with Centaurs had to have at least one. It’s intended purpose was to stun and/or subdue a Centaur should they become violent. There was an adjustment setting for the voltage, so it could be used on any breed of Centaur, no matter the size.

However most people simply lowered the voltage and used it as a cattle prod, event though the lowest setting was still enough to knock any human off their feet.

So here Thomas was, at work, ready to find even the smallest of flaws and exploit it. What he needed was proof. Lots of proof of lots of questionable activity. He was hoping to speak with Logan again to see if there was any abuse Thomas wasn’t aware of. It might not do anything but Thomas had to try.

****************

The end of the day has come and gone and still no sign of Logan. Thomas even saw two other Centaurs pulling the large cart Logan usually pulled. Thomas was a little worried but after overhearing Ted grubling about ‘dumb sick animals’ he realized Logan must have been to sick to work and got the day off.

Thomas was relieved Logan wasn’t out again today, it was raining harder than ever. He did note that the other Centaurs were wearing proper rain gear though. He was starting to think Logan was the only Centaur being abused here.

The next day comes and once again Thomas can’t see Logan anywhere. He isn’t too concerned until he hears two manager’s discussions as he walks by.

“I’m telling you it’s better if they each have their own cart. Sure the big cart holds more but this way we have a Centaur for each warehouse.”

“I guess that makes sense. I’ll have the boys take the cart to storage then?”

“Don’t bother. I doubt we’ll ever find another beast stubborn enough to pull that thing around.”

Thomas’s heart drops like a stone. What happened to Logan? Why would they get rid of his cart? Thomas can’t hear over the blood rushing through his ears. He stumbles his way between chaotic warehouses towards the stalls.

The closer he gets the more frantic he becomes and he’s in a mad dash by the time he makes it to the doors. He rounds the doors and rushes towards Logan's stall. The large doors are unlocked and open just wide enough for Thomas to poke his head through.

Thomas holds his breath as he looks in and for one horrible moment he sees nothing. Then his eyes adjust to the dark, musty room and he could make out a large, black body against the farthest wall.

“Logan?!” Thomas forgets the number one rule of ‘never startle a Centaur’ as he dropped to his knees by Logan's still form.

“Logan. Oh my god. Can you hear me? Logan?” Thomas settles one hand on Logan's lower rib cage and the other on his shoulder.

Logan doesn’t respond but Thomas can feel him breathing slowly and with no small amount of difficulty. He’s on his side with his legs sprawled hazardly. His front half faces the floor and his entire body is dripping with sweat. He looks as though he is nearly dead.

Thomas isn’t sure if he is going to break down crying or have a panic attack. Or possibly kill something. Kill something. Someone? Yeah. That's what he’s gonna do. He’s gonna go out there and kill the bastards that let this happen.

“T-thomas?” Logan attempts to lift his head.

“Ohmygosh Logan! Are you alright?!”

Logan attempts to push his human torso off the ground.

“What are- I thought you already left?” Coughing starts and Logan’s entire frame shudders under the onslaught. Logan lays back down in defeat.

Thomas isn’t sure what Logan means by ‘already left’ but he has a nagging suspicion.

“Logan. I haven’t seen you in two days. I heard you were still sick but then this morning they were talking as if you were leaving or...or.”

Thomas can’t finnish his sentence. Because the managers were discussing the cart, not Logan. They spoke as though Logan was already gone. Logan had, in the very real meaning of the term, been left for dead.

Thomas’s previous anger returns twofold. His hands curl into fists as he gets to his feet.

“Hang in there Logan. I’m coming back and then we are leaving this place.” Not staying to see Logan's reaction, Thomas steadily marches his way towards the overseers office. The actual owner himself works there and Thomas intends to speak with him.

By the time Thomas has reached the office his anger was wavered down from ‘brutally beat someone’ to ‘slowly and patiently turn their life into a living hell’. Which is just a well since Thomas hasn’t been in an actual fight in his entire life. His first and primary concern though, is to get Logan out.

Thomas marches directly towards the owner's office, where bold lettering announces the name ‘Benjamin’. Thomas throws open the door while the secretary flutters about behind him.

Benjamin's head shoots up, shocked, before his mouth opens to say something. Thomas beats him to it.

“How much is the Centaur?”

Silence. Thomas holds Benjamin's eyes.

“Did you just barge into my office to try and buy one of my Centaurs?”

“Yes. How much?”

Benjamin settles himself back in his chair and waves the secretary out.

“Depends on which one.” He drawls.

“The one dying in the stalls.” Thomas spits at him.

Benjamin laughs.

“That one? You must be one of those Centaur rights idiots.” He shakes his head. “At least go get a Centaur worth saving, that one’s been a thorn in my side since the day I bought him. If he wasn’t such a damn monster I’d have sold him off years ago!”

“How. Much. Is. He.” Thomas’s temper is starting to wriggle loose.

“Hah! You’re just as stubborn as that Centaur. Maybe you’ll be able to break him after all, he’s al-”

“Seven thousand.”

Thomas smirks at having finally shut the man up. He watches Ben’s eyes widen in surprise and then narrow in greed.

“You joking? You know how much I’ve spent on that Centaur? And now I’m just supposed to let him go for seven thousand?”

“I thought you’ve been wanting to sell him for years?”

“IF he wasn’t so strong-”

“He isn’t. Not anymore. Right now he’s laying in a stall too weak to lift his head.”

“Nothing a little medicine can’t fix. The vet is already on his w-”

“No he isn’t! You fully intended to leave him there to die in there! And now you have the gall to tell me my offer is too low?”

“I-”

“No. These are your choices, sell Logan to me for seven thousand, a ridiculous amount of money for a half dead Centaur or pay someone to drag his body away.”

The owner sits there speechless before gathering himself together.

“He’s still my property and I want nine thousand for him.”

“Eight and nothing more.” Thomas is leaning over the desk to look Benjamin in the eye. After a short staring contest Benjamin huffs.

“Deal. I’ll have the paperwork at your place by friday.”

“Done.” Thomas pulls out his wallet and rips out a check. He slaps it on the table and snatches a pen. He’s scribbling away when Benjamin's voice startles him.

“So his name is Logan.” He rubs his chin looking lost in thought. Thomas stops writing.

“You….you didn’t know that?”

“Its not like I fuckin cared, why would he need a name? Besides, Centaurs have this stupid thing where they don’t tell thier names to anyone. Some sort of ‘rite of passage’. But one does tend to get curious over eight years.”

Thomas ponders this as he silent hands Ben the check. They shake hands and Thomas turns to walk out.

“By the way Sanders,” Thomas turns to see Ben chuckling. “You’re fired.” Thomas can’t help but laugh a little with him.
***************************

Getting Logan out of the stalls and into a trailer proves to be one of the hardest things Thomas has done to date. He ends up paying six coworkers a hundred each to help him move Logan. They end up using a small forklift to get Logan to his feet, where they balance him enough to get him into the trailer. Two of them nearly get crushed when Logan stumbles to the side.

Currently Thomas is driving towards the stables he has sitting on his property. He wasn’t lying when he once said his parents used to own a Centaur farm. There hasn’t been a Centaur on the Sander property for over five years tho.

Thankfully the stables are still in usable condition. Like all Centaur stables, it is built to allow Centaurs to be loaded directly from the trailer into a stall. Thomas backs up to the nearest stall and quickly hops out of his borrowed truck.

“Hold on a few minutes Logan, I’m gonna clean this stall out first okay?” He’s been talking to Logan the entire fifteen minute ride but still has yet to receive an answer. It seems Logan is in that half awake, half asleep mode.

Thomas quickly sweeps out the stall and clears out any cobwebs before staring at if critically. He doesn’t have any hay so he tries to think of a substitute bed. Mom. Mom was obsessed with quilting and knitting.

Thomas checks on Logan and then runs off towards the house. It doesn’t take long to find one of his mother's many blanket stashes. He loads them up into his childhood wagon and starts back to the stables. There he arranges them into a Centaur sized bed.

It isn’t the comfiest thing but Thomas is sure it's more comfortable than the handful of hay Logan had in his last stall.

Now to the hard part. Moving Logan again. How the heck is he supposed to move a few thousand lb horse alone? It's not like he owns a forklift. He walks up to where Logan is resting his arms over the side of the trailer.

It looks like he’s fallen asleep. Thomas is loath to wake him but the doctor Thomas called should be here any minute.

“Logan, I need you to wake up man. We need to get you into the stall so the doctor can look you over.” Logan blearily opens his eyes to look at Thomas.

“Doct’r?” He slurs.

“Yep. Do you think you can stand? I swear this is the last time.” Considering Logan was unable to stand less than an hour ago Thomas isn’t holding out much hope. However, Logan is a lot more responsive then he was before.

Logan coughs and then takes a huge breath. He flexes his fingers and then braces his arms on the trailer. He slowly attempts to get his front legs under him and after a few tries he succeeds. Logan is gasping for breath by this point and his legs are shaking.

“Doing good Logan, you just have to walk a few feet and you can sleep for as long as you like.” Thomas is hoping his words of encouragement will help. Really he’s just trying to feel like he isn’t as helpless as he is.

Logan heaves himself up and nearly collapses entirely. He huffs, looks down at his shaking feet and scowls. He takes another breath and clearly throws his all into another attempt. This time he makes it to all four feet.

His legs shake violently and Thomas fears he won’t be able to manage the few steps into the stall but Logan surprises him by steadily working his way off the ramp. As soon as he’s off the ramp Thomas directs him to the makeshift bed.

Logan slumps down with a sigh of relief.

“Here.” Thomas drapes a heavy quilt over Logan's quivering form. He has no doubt Logan would be arguing that he could do it himself but Thomas speaks before he can.

“I’m gonna help you Logan. Like it or not. This has nothing to do with you being a Centaur and everything to do with you being half dead. You can yell at me when you get better okay?”

So saying THomas tucks the blanket around Logan's form and resolutely ignores his scowl. Logan might have tried arguing anyway (his stubborn streak ran deep) but before he can the doctor peers into the stall.

“This the Centaur?” He doesn’t wait for a response before walking in and setting down his bag. He looks Logan over critically. Logan looks all kinds of grumpy and upset and he would have been intimidating if he weren’t in such a sorry state.

“Yeah, this is L- the Centaur.” Thomas remembers what Ben said about Centaur names and stops himself mid sentence.

The doctor hums in acknowledgement and starts pulling his things from his bag.

“How long has he been like this?”

“Um, I’m not sure. He was coughing real bad two days ago but I didn’t see him again until a few hours ago.”

The doctor raises a questioning eyebrow at Thomas.

“I only just brought him here,” He gestures to the trailer still parked in front of the stall. “ He was at Benny’s before.”

The doctor nods and turns back to Logan, who seems to have zoned out again. Thomas paces anxiously while the doctor proceeds with the rest of the exam. Ten minutes later the doctor stands to his feet.

“Definitely Influenza. Both his respiratory systems are infected and he is severely dehydrated. I’m going to start him on an I.V. but there's no saying if he’ll pull through.” The doctor makes his way towards where his van is parked as he speaks.

Thomas is nearly frantic at the thought of Logan not making it.

“Is there anything I can do? Does he, like, need a special medicine? I assure you I can afford it.”

“The medicine is in the I.V., all you can do is make sure he stays warm and eats and drinks properly. He’s a big Centaur, one of the largest ones I’ve ever seen. He’s likely still got some fight left in him. Chances are he’ll be alright.”

The doctor steps up into the back of his van and starts pulling out an I.V. stand and bags of what Thomas assumes are a mixture of saline and whatever medicine it is that Logan needs.

“You keep all that in your van?”

The Doctor laughs.

“Not usually, but from what you described on the phone, I made a few assumptions.”

He hands Thomas some of the clear bags containing liquid and walks back to the stall while pulling the I.V. stand. Afterwards it only takes a few minutes to set everything up and get the I.V. in Logan.

Logan has fallen back asleep and only awakens long enough to register the I.V. being inserted before closing his eyes again. The doctor instructs Thomas how and when to change the bags and then is on his way leaving Thomas alone with the sleeping Centaur.

Thomas isn’t all that keen on leaving Logan when he’s in such bad shape so he plans out what all he wants to grab from the house before settling in the stall for the night. He ends up spending the night anxiously monitoring Logan's uneven breathing while pretending to read.

Chapter Text

Thomas awakes the next morning with a start, unsure of when he fell asleep. He frantically checks on Logan. To his immense relief Logan is breathing easier and is finally sleeping peacefully.

Thomas decides to let Logan sleep on and make him eat whenever he next wakes up.

Thomas spends most of the morning looking over his parents assets. Most of their money is tied up in other companies or savings. To be honest, Thomas doesn’t understand most of it. He supposes he should have had his parents lawyer explain it to him but at the time he had been too upset over his parents' death.

So here he is, trying to make sense of numbers and names he doesn’t know the meaning of. With an exasperated huff he closes his laptop. He’s been putting this off for...well, two years. What’s a few more hours? Not that he’ll know what he’s doing then either.

Thomas rubs his forehead trying to push off an oncoming headache when he gets an unsettling feeling. Like he’s being watched. Thomas turns to see Logan quietly regarding him. Studying him.

“You’re awake?” Thomas smiles and sets his laptop beside him so he can shuffle on his knees towards Logan. There is no reply and Thomas notes how Logans eyes are glazed over a little.

Thomas reaches out to feel Logans forehead like his mother once did for him. It feels burning hot and Thomas quickly retracts his arm. The Doctor mentioned Logan’s previous fever would most likely worsen and that if or when it broke Logan would be on the road to recovery.

Thomas readjusted the blankets on Logan and stood up to bring him some food. Thomas had had the sense of mind to online order food last night. Mainly food that was easy on the stomach. It had been delivered earlier that morning and Thomas had painstakingly made a vegetable soup he found in an abandoned cookbook lying around his kitchen.

He had taste tested it, decided it wasn’t the worst soup he had ever tasted, (A close second though) and set it on a low burner to stay warm.

Now Thomas dishes some up and hurries back to the stable. He had been hoping if he went fast enough maybe Logan would still be awake but no such luck. He shook Logan gently and then harder when Logan didn’t wake up.

“C’mon dude, this stuff doesn’t stay warm forever you know.”

Logan opens his eyes with a groan and mumbles something that sounds like a complaint. Thomas holds the bowl under Logans nose in hopes the smell (kinda good) will grab Logan’s attention.

It works and it isn’t hard to convince Logan to eat after that. He falls asleep halfway through so Thomas just sets the soup aside and straightens up the blanket on Logan's shoulder.

Still feeling useless Thomas start trying to think of all Logan is going to need once he’s better again. Thomas’s parents might have owned a Centaur farm but really they just rented out the stables. Thomas is in the dark as to what all a Centaur needs.

He ends up google-ing it.

*********************************

Logan ends up sleeping for the rest of the day and Thomas gets more and more worried with each hour his fever doesn’t break. As the night drags on the fever gets worse. Thomas has changed out the blankets twice now, soaked through with sweat.

Logan tosses about restlessly and Thomas stays close by his side. (though out of reach from his hooves, which twitch at random) Thomas stays vigilant all through the night until about four in the morning. When Logan starts to settle down.

Thomas checks and is ecstatic to see the fever is gone. If he wasn’t so exhausted he might have done a ridiculous dance. As is, he falls asleep almost instantly, relieved to no end that Logan is in the clear.

*************************************

It's half past noon when Thomas awoke by a quiet “What the hell?”

Thomas sits up with a snort and looks around blearily. He relaxes some when he sees it’s still just Logan and him.

“You’re awake?” Thomas asks through a yawn.

“Unless this is an elaborate dream then yes, I do believe I do appear to be awake.” Logan shifts to sit up straighter.

Thomas smiles upon hearing this. When was the last time he heard Logan say anything? Thomas has been talking to Logan nearly nonstop for two days. Mostly out of nerves, but this is the first time he has gotten a response.

“How are you feeling? Are you in any pain?”

Logan looks perplexed.

“I feel as though I was hit by a large blunt object. What is going on? Where are we? Why are you here?” That last question almost sounds like an accusation.

“Oh, um, you got sick. Like super sick. As in Influenza in both sets of lungs or something.”

“And we are?” Logan gestures to their surroundings.

“Oh, we’re in my stables,. Or my parent’s stables I guess.” Thomas shakes a little as all the pent up nerves and stress of the last two days begin to hit him.

Logan looks even more confused.

“I’m in your stables? Why? I would remember if that happened. How is it tha-”

“I bought you!” Thomas blurts. It’s been bothering him. How Logan will react to Thomas legally owning him. Would he be mad?

“I bought you and I didn’t even ask you but you were so sick and they were gonna sell your cart and then Ben wanted a shit ton of money but he doesn’t deserve it cause he was gonna let you die and then the Doctor said you might but you didn’t and why doesn’t anyone know your name?” Thomas is panting by the end of his rant. Wild eyes staring into Logans.

Logan stares at Thomas.

“I-” Logan swallows and starts again. “I’m afraid I didn’t catch any of that. Could you repeat it? Slower? And in depth?” He looks so confused and lost. Thomas feels his nerves start to flow away. He takes a deep breath.

“You remember the night when I walked you to the stalls?”

“Yes.”

“Well after that I didn’t see you at work for two day. Then I overheard the managers talking about how they were gonna scrap your cart and I thought something bad must have happened to you. I went to the stalls and you were sick. Really sick.”

“They were going to scrap my cart?” Logan asks, eyebrows pulled together.

“Yeah. Logan….They though you were going to die. Hell, I thought you were gonna die.”

“I see.” Logan seems to be thinking this over carefully and Thomas worries this might be too heavy a topic to be having right after waking up.

“Logan I can explain later if this is bothering you.”

Logan waves him off.

“I am not bothered. I was clearly ill seeing as I recall none of this. It was logical for them to assume I would die. Although I am perplexed as to why they would want to scrap the cart. It was a well made, heavy duty cart. Surely they would have some use for it.”

“Wha- Logan! Are you being serious right now? They legit left you for dead!”

“I am always serious.” Logan retorts sharply. The fierce look Logan is giving Thomas is enough for Thomas to drop the matter. For now.

“Well it bothered me. So I bought you from Benny, brought you here and called a Dr. who set all that up.” Thomas gestures to the I.V. stand.

Logan has frozen and is staring straight at Thomas. It’s silent for a full two minutes while Thomas waits for Logan to process whatever it is that put that shocked look on Logan's face.

“You mentioned earlier but I didn’t think you actually…” A look of confusion passes over Logan's face. “You bought me?” His voice is nearly too quiet to hear.

Thomas is starting to think he would prefer it if Logan was mad then whatever this was.

“I bought you.” He confirms just as quiet. “The papers arrive today.”

Logan still hadn’t moved.

“I’m sorry Logan.” Thomas runs a hand through his hair. “I shouldn’t have taken you away from your home. God, I didn’t even let you say goodbye.”

The full weight of what he has done hits Thomas like a truck. He bought a Centaur. He bought Logan. He bought a fully sentient being and in so doing destroyed the life Logan had been living the past eight years.

Thomas is on the verge of tears when Logan speaks again.

“Say goodbye? To whom? Why are you so distraught Thomas? I am not angered if that is what you fear.”

“You aren’t upset?” Thomas peaks out of his hands. He tries to discreetly wipe away tears.

“I wouldn’t say that.” He huffs. “For the first time in eight years I have no idea what is going on or what I am to do and this upsets me greatly. However I am impartial to having left Benny’s.”

“Oh.” Thomas leans back against the wall. They both sat in silence for a considerable amount of time before Logan saw fit to end it.

“So what do I do now Thomas?”

“You’re asking me?”

“You own me Thomas. I assume you have a reason for that.”

“Not really, no.” Thomas admits. “I just wanted to get you out of there. I never wanted to own a Centaur. Hell, I promised myself I never would.”

“I see.” Logan looks downcast by this.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

“What?” Logans entire face scrunches up in confusion and Thomas laughs. He hopes it doesn’t sound as hysterical to Logan as his laugh sounds to him. He’s still kind of reeling over the past twenty four plus hours.

“It's a way of asking what someone is thinking.”

“It is implying that one would sell their thoughts? For a penny?”

Thomas laughs longer this time. Logan crosses his arms in frustration.

“The lack of logic in that phrase is astounding. Whatever the case I was wondering as to where I will end up next. It is most likely another warehouse.” His face falls again and Thomas’s laugh dies in his throat.

“A warehouse? You wanna go back to working in that again? Heck I was only there for about three weeks and I’m never working in one again.”

“I don't see what else someone would want me for.”

“Someone els- Logan I don’t plan on selling you.”

Logan looks up surprised.

“You said it yourself that you have no need for me. It is only rational that you would sell me and get your money back.”

“What? I didn’t get you out of there just to put you into another warehouse with a different name!”

“Then why did you buy me?” Logan snaps. There’s the anger. Thomas knew it would come sooner or later.

“I told you. I wanted to get you out of that awful place.”

“FALSEHOOD!” Logan yells. “I am a Centaur! All anyone sees us as good for are tools to assist their personal gain! It is preposterous to suggest otherwise!” Logan sits up straight and Thomas can see the fire burning in his eyes. He is clearly expecting a fight.

Thomas gets to his feet calmly. Logan seems a little wary.

“Despite what you think, there are people out there who care about your well being without wanting anything back, Logan. Maybe you’ve never met or seen one but we exist. Thomas walks towards the door.

“It’s fine if you don’t believe me though. You don’t trust me and I don’t blame you. But I’d like to prove you wrong. If you’ll give me a chance.” Thomas runs a hand through his hair. It’s greasy and has pieces of hay in it. He scowls. “I’m gonna go inside for a bit. Feel free to look around the stables if you need anything.”

Thomas makes his way out of the stall and heads towards his house. He desperately needs a shower, (maybe two?) and more importantly sleep. Logan will be fine on his own for a bit.

Thomas mentally goes over his to do list. Step one: shower. Step two: sleep. Step three: get Logan to trust him.

****************************

Chapter Text

****************************

Logan gets better in stages. First he stops sleeping for days at a time. Then his appetite returns. A week later the Dr comes to check on him and declares him ‘healthy as a horse’. Logan was not amused. It would seem he doesn’t like puns.

Per the Doctors advice they spend the day after his visit outside. Thomas brings his laptop. He’s supposed to be managing his parents company/stock market. He hasn’t been making much progress. He still hasn’t figured out what any of the numbers or charts mean and he’s starting to think he never will.

“You had better not be buying more things.” Logan trots up to where Thomas is sitting balanced on a fence.

When all the things Thomas had ordered online for Logan arrived it had become clear that most of it was bullshit. Centaur body wash? Hoof shiner? Yeah… No more sleep deprived shopping for Thomas.

“I’m not buying anything. I’m looking over these stupid charts and shit. NONE of it makes any sense!”

“Charts? What are they for?” Over time conversation between the two has become much more relaxed and casual.

“Heck if I know. My parents were involved in all these companies and research teams and I’m supposed to have been managing it for like, two years, but I still can’t make any sense of it.”

“May I?” Logan reaches for the computer.

“Knock yourself out.”

It hadn’t been too shocking to discover Logan was smart. Thomas had figured from the way he spoke that he must be clever. What he didn’t expect was that Logan was some kind of genius. Thomas had yet to find a problem that stumped him.

“You are most likely confused because this chart is just part one of twenty. Where the other nineteen are I am unsure.” Logan makes to hand the laptop back but Thomas stops him.

“You understand it?”

“Yes.”

“They aren’t just the result of someone face smashing a keyboard?”

Logan looks baffled. “No? Why would someone type with their face?”

Thomas isn’t listening. He’s busy wondering why he hadn’t thought of this before.

“Logan. I will pay you to figure this out for me.”

Silence.

“What?”

“You want to do something around here right?”

Thomas and Logan have purposefully been avoided the topic of why Thomas bought Logan and what Logan’s new ‘purpose’ is. Logan won't accept Thomas’s answer for the first question and Thomas doesn’t have an answer for the other one.

Thomas thinks he might have the answer now.

“Logan, what do you say to being my accountant?”

“Your account- Thomas I have no training in that field. I am unqualified for it.”

“You understand this thing! What other qualifications do you need?”

“Thomas, I don’t even have a high school degree.”

“Well I do and I’ve spent two years looking at that chart and gotten absolutely nowhere.”

“Thomas this is highly unprofessional.”

“What, hiring someone smarter than me to figure out stuff I can’t?”

“Thomas.”

“Look. You’re smart. I’m….not as smart. If you can help me with this I see no reason not to.”

“Thomas, you are not being realistic. Why are you even suggesting this instead of hiring an actual accountant?”

Thomas looks away, trying to find a way to explain. He takes a deep breath. “Because my current accountant is my Uncle.”

Logan raises an eyebrow. “I see no reason why that would be a problem.”

“I don’t really trust him.” Thomas runs a hand through his hair. “He kinda forced me into hiring him when my parents died. I’ve tried to ask him how all this works several times but he just blows me off and tells me he’s got it under control. He runs everything without me and I haven't been consulted for any of it. I’m pretty sure he plans on sending me packing as soon as he can.”

Logan hums. “That is unfortunate. But surely another accountant-”

“I don't trust them Logan! The second I hire someone they go running to my uncle or he recruits them. I want someone I know. Someone I trust.”

Logan blinks. “And I fall in that category?” He looks shocked.

Thomas sighs. “Yes Logan. I trust you. And I certainly trust you more than a random accountant.”

Logan looks thoughtful. “Yes, I can see why that would make sense. Seeing as you own me it would be nearly impossible for me to work for your Uncle behind your back. Not to mention incredibly foolish. I can see why owning your accountant would be most effective.”

“What? No, I meant that I actually trust you. It has nothing to do with my owning y-”

Logan carries on. “Of course no matter how conveniently this may be there is still the matter of my not having a degree. Also I am a Centaur. Telling anyone as much would most definitely hurt, if not destroy, your reputation.”

Thomas holds up his hand. “That shouldn’t be a problem. See, I’m not required to have an accountant. I just need one to help me keep up with all this. So technically you could stay behind the scene and no one would need to know. I would make the changes but you would be telling me what actually needs to be done.”

“How can you trust that I know what to do? I’ll say it again. I am not trained or qualified.”

Thomas stops and thinks for a moment. “How about this. I hire a qualified accountant and give him the same work as you. Then we can compare. If you and him have the same results a month later then I’ll switch to just you. I could probably get my hands on some kind of official test to determine if you would qualify too. If you still wanted to that is. Either way, are you willing to give it a shot?”

Thomas wouldn’t be pushing this except that he can see Logan actually wants to try it. If there is one thing he has learned about Logan in the past week it’s that if Logan disagrees with something he shuts it down. Immediately.

Logan hesitates.

“Fine.” He concedes. I suppose that is a valid plan.”

“Awesome.”

*******************************************

As it turns out Thomas was right. Logan is a great accountant. In fact he had the same results as the professional but within half the time. Thomas tried to pay him double for that but Logan flat out refused. In fact, Logan refuses to be paid at all. According to him he was ‘simply earning his keep’.

They fought it out and Thomas eventually gave in. Mostly because he found a loophole. If Logan was working for his current lifestyle, then damn it, Thomas was going to ensure it was a good lifestyle. Nice room, nice clothes, a fancy computer. (‘you need it for work so yes, it is essential’) Logan wasn’t very happy about it but neither was Thomas so they both learned to live with it.

And so weeks passed and Logan and Thomas settled into a routine. Logan did his thing with accounting and gave Thomas lists of all the people and
businesses to contact (and what to say to them) in an attempt to catch up on two years worth of neglected work. It would seem his Uncle only bothered with the richest, most profitable companies and had ignored all the rest. As of yet, Thomas hadn’t spoken with his Uncle about any of this. And his Uncle had yet to notice.

It was now three months since Thomas had bought Logan and they had grown to be quite comfortable in each other's presence. Somewhere during the second month when they had had to pull several all nighters they had gone from coworkers to friends.

It was mid way through the third month when a wrench was once again thrown into Thomas and Logan's lives.

It started on a Saturday. Thomas was meeting with the owner of one of the many private companies his parents had been benefactors towards. Logan had come along, via cargo trailer. (basically a large four wheeled trailer with no roof or walls, just wooden railings.)

“Sorry I had to park here Logan, you gonna be good to wait here?”

“Of course Thomas. It should be educational to watch the on goings of the fair from this vantage point.” Logan was referring to the traveling fair they were currently parked behind. The only place to fit Thomas’s truck and the trailer was back with the loading trucks for the fair.

“Alright then, have fun. I’ll be back in a little bit.”

“Do not forget to mention that funding will be dropping next year due to the new taxing laws.”

“Got it. Thanks Logan.” Thomas hurries off towards the predetermined meeting point, the notes Logan gave him tucked away in his briefcase . Logan was left alone in the trailer. Logan is attempting to decipher what could possibly cause children to be drawn to what is clearly overpriced entertainment.

He is leaning towards it being a combination of both light, music and simple ignorance when he sees an ill kept and rather round man come storming around a tent, hidden from the view of the circus goers.

Logan's eyes widen when he sees the man is dragging with him a young man. No. A Centaur? Logan gasps. It's a Centaur but instead of being part draft horse (like Logan) he is part pony. A Shetland if Logan had to guess. His hair is a golden blonde and curls about his face. Logan can just make out a few freckles.

Logan watches raptly. Naturally he knows there are other breeds of Centaurs but he hasn’t personally seen man and he definitely hasn’t seen one so small. The little pony stands nervously twisting its hands. It looks raptly at the ground and seems to be biting its lip.

Logan can practically smell his fear. The man gets up in the little Centaurs face.

“Clair said you were speaking again. Is that true?” He hisses low enough that Logan strains to hear. The pony keeps wringing his hands and takes a step back. He doesn’t answer.

“I’m only going to ask one more time. Were you speaking again?” The man grabs the Centaurs arm and squeezes it tightly. The pony squeaks and gives a panicked nod.

The man jerks hard on the pony’s arm, forcing him to step closer to where the man is leaning over him.

“You dumb bitch. You’re too stupid to learn aren't you?” He says it like a statement instead of a question. Logan's scowl deepens and he can feel his anger rising up.

“P-p-please” The little Centaur begs. “Clair walked off again! I had to tell the kids how to get on so they could ride. I’m sorry!” Logan looks closer and he can see a small saddle on the pony. He must be one of the fair attractions.’

“Shut up!” The man shoves the pony back where his legs give out. Forcing him to look up at the man.

“You know what happens when you fucking talk midget.” He pulls something out of his pocket and advances on the shaking Centaur.

Logan is on his feet before he knows it. He is only mildly relieved to see it isn’t a Centaur taser.

“S-sir please don’t! I had to speak! A kid could have been hurt!” The pony is trembling violently.

“Open.”

“I won’t speak again! I’m sorry! I never should have said anything! I’m just a dumb pony!” Said pony has his hands up in a futile attempt to ward off the man.

“Damn right you are. Now open your mouth or I won’t take out till we leave this fucking town.” The man is holding some kind of mouth-guard looking thing. Except it looks metal. And sharp.

Logan is starting to see red.

“Hey Logan! You won’t believe what happen- what’s wrong?” Logan whips his head towards Thomas who starts a bit under his furious gaze.

Then a muffled cry breaks through the silence. Thomas and Logan whip around to where the man is forcibly putting the metal object into the Centaurs mouth. The Centaur has tears streaking down his face and is weakly trying to push the man off him.

“What the hell?” Thomas whispers under his breath.

“I’m going to kill him.” Logan murmurs lowly. Thomas has no doubt that Logan will, or at the very least, maim this man. Thomas wants to help him. The Centaur laws Thomas had looked up three months ago pop up in his mind.

Whatever the man just put in the pony’s mouth is most likely illegal but being a traveling fair means by the time any official get around to looking at a case the fair will be far, far away. Thomas is going to have to go about this differently.

“Hold up Logan. If we do one wrong move this pony will be gone for good. Let me handle it okay?”

“What? Did you not just see what that man did?!” Logan waves his arm towards where the man has released the pony and, Thomas notes, is watching them. Right then Thomas knows that this man’s cruelty goes deeper than even his greed. Money won’t be enough.

“Quiet!” Thomas snaps as harshly as he can manage. Logan rears his head back and stares in shock. Thomas makes eye contact and silently begs Logan to play along. Once Thomas is sure Logan isn’t about to scream at him (which he totally deserves) he walks up to the man who has been watching their interaction.

“Centaurs am I right? Always talking out of turn.” He forces a smile at the man. He smells even worse than he looks.

“Damn strait. How’d you get yours to respond like that? That things a beast!”

Thomas shrugs and prays he looks relaxed.

“It's a hobby of mine. What about yours? He any good?” Thomas hates himself for how the Centaur immediately shrinks and gives a whimper.

“This bitch? He can’t shut up to save his life. If it weren’t so expensive I’d have had his voice taken years ago, you know what I mean?” The Centaur looks ready to faint of fear and Thomas can see Logan in his peripheral vision. He only has a few seconds before Logan tears into this guy.

“How much is he?”

“What?”

“I said how much is he?”

The man laughs. “What the hell would you want a defective pony for?”

“I told you. Breaking Centaurs is my hobby.”

The man smirks. Thomas wishes he wouldn’t. His breath is even worse now.

“You think you can break this one here?”

Thomas gestures back to Logan. ‘God I hope Logan looks like he’s been broken and not still like he’s gonna go on a murdering rampage.’

“I already broke the largest, why not the smallest?”

The man laughs again. “I like you kid. I’ll make you a deal. Twenty Five thousand and he’s yours.”

It’s an insanely high price and the man knows it. The pony is probably worth Fifteen. Not that Thomas minds but he can’t blow this by being too eager. ‘Don't look desperate, don’t look desperate.’ Thomas chants internally.

“Twenty and you have yourself a deal.”

The man’s eyes blow wide. Then he gets a slimy grin on his face. “You got yourself a pony. Make sure he gets what he deserves yeah?”

Thomas nods. “He will, let me go grab my check book.”

****************************************************

Chapter Text

Thomas rushes to the passenger seat of his truck and tears a check out as fast as he is able. Thomas tries to slow himself as he walks back. It's a serious fight not to look at Logan as he does.

“When do you wanna come back for him?” The man asks as he looks over the check.

“I’ve already got a trailer here, might as well do it now.”

The man glances over at Logan. He seems to come to the conclusion that Thomas can make it work and shrugs.

“I’ll go grab his papers then.” He walks off to a nearby trailer and Thomas tries to steady his shaking hands. He is never going to get used to the buying and selling of sentient beings. When he bought Logan his anger had carried him through. This time he’s more scared than anything.

Thomas looks the pony over. The poor thing is shaking like a leaf and has dried tear tracks trailing down his face, which looks to be scrunched up in pain. He’s staring resolutely at the ground and Thomas prays nothing will go wrong.

It seems like forever but as soon as Thomas sees the man returning with his horrible grin it's suddenly not long enough. The man hands Thomas some crumpled papers.

“Here you go kid. Have fun breaking him. Wish I could watch.”

Thomas studies the papers and they are definitely the correct ones. Thomas is literally holding this Centaurs future, his life, in his hands.

“Pleasure doing business with you.” Thomas chokes out. He tries not to wince at the handshake.

“Not so fast kid.” Thomas’s stomach plummets straight to his feet.

“You bought a pony. Not a t-shirt.” He gives Thomas a wink. It takes Thomas’s brain a while to realize the man means the t-shirt the Centaur is wearing. It showcases the fair's name in fancy lettering.

“Oh.” Thomas manages to gasp out.

“I’ll be taking that midget.” The man holds out a smelly hand towards the pony who shakily pulls off his shirt and hands it to the man.

The man gives one last unsettling smile. “Keep the muzzle, you’ll need it. Now I’ve got to get going. Let people know the pony ride is closed and all that. Good luck to you kid.” With one last sneer to the pony he leaves.

Thomas nearly falls over as soon as the disgusting man is out of sight. “Oh my gosh it’s over..”

Thomas promptly throws up.

Logan is out of the trailer in an instant. He rushes up the pony and lowers himself to be face to face with him.

“Let me see what’s in your mouth.” Logan demands. The small Centaur immediately pulls away while shaking his head wildly.

“It’s made to inflict pain when you open your mouth, correct?”

The pony nods. Logan gently reaches for the pony again. “Pull your lips back.”

The pony does as he’s told and Logan studies the contraption that runs along his teeth and into his mouth.

“I see.” Logan murmurs. “To be removed it must be pinched in two exact positions or else it will tear at the gums and roofing of your mouth.”

Logan reaches in and pinches the metal carefully.

“Open your mouth.” He tells the pony.

The pony does with a whimper and Logan carefully retracts what looks like a torture device out of medival times.

Thomas wipes his mouth on his sleeve. “What the fuck is that?” He rasps.

“It pierces the mouth in multiple places and unless one continually bites down it will dig these thorns in deeper.” Logan tries to sound impartial but Thomas can detect the anger and horror underlying his words.

“We...we should get rid of that thing.” Thomas gasps.

“Indeed.” Logan sets it down on the pavement before him.

Then Logan rears himself fully into the air, balancing on his back legs. Thomas and the pony stumble back. Logan comes crashing down with the force of several thousand pounds and his large hoof lands directly on the metal contraption.

It breaks with a loud crunching sound and Thomas momentarily imagines it to be the previous owners head. Logan was truly a force to be reckoned with. He dusts himself off as though the metal had somehow contaminated him.

“There. It is dealt with.” He deadpans. With that he walks away and back to the pony. “Are you bleeding?”

The centaur jumps a little at being addressed after such a show of power. He shakes his head no.

Thomas walks over to face the pony too. He doesn’t look like he is hurting anymore but his arms are wrapped around his chest in a protective manner. Oh yeah. His shirt.

Thomas rapidly pulls off his jacket and holds it out to the smaller centaur.

“Here. Put this on.”

The pony stares at him wide eyed but makes no move to take the jacket. Thomas feels guilty. Of course the pony doesn’t trust him. Not after all those horrible things he said. Speaking of..

Thomas swirls about to face Logan. “Logan I am SO sorry for telling you to shut up. I know how you feel about that and I never should have said that. I should have found some other way but I wasn’t thinking clearly and kind of panicked.”

“It is alright Thomas. I’ll admit I was initially shocked and upset but I now understand you had worthwhile intentions. However, should you like we may discuss it at a later time.”

Logan then turns to glare at Thomas. “But never do it again.” He adds fiercely.

“Promise.” Thomas makes a cross over his heart. He then turns to the pony who is watching their interaction, puzzled.

“I didn’t actually mean any of what I said. I was trying to get you away from that man without him hurting you more. I’m sorry.”

Now the pony looks down right flabbergasted. He opens his mouth to speak and promptly closes it with a wide eyed look.

“You may speak, should you have anything to say. As you can see I am far from ‘broken’. Logan makes quotation marks when he says ‘broken’.

“Yeah, you can talk all you want.” Thomas and Logan wait to see if the pony will say anything. It’s clear he is nearly bursting with questions. There seems to be an internal battle raging in the centaurs mind.

“You really mean that?” He asks quietly.He hunkers down as though awaiting a blow.

“Every word.” Thomas offers the jacket again. The centaur takes it this time.

“I suggest we continue this conversation back at home. This place makes me uncomfortable, as I imagine it does to our companion as well.” Logan is looking around as though someone may attempt to jump him. Not likely.

“You can say that again.” Thomas agrees.

“This place makes me uncomfortable? Thomas are you having trouble hearing? That is most concerning in a person of your age.”

Thomas laughs, only slightly hysterical.

“I’m good Logan. Let’s get going.” With that Thomas lets down the ramp to the trailer. In Logan’s previous haste he had completely forgone the ramp and jumped over the railing instead.

Now Logan trots up the ramp and turns around.

“What are you waiting for? Do you have something you wish to do before we depart?” He’s looking at the smaller centaur.

Oh yeah, Thomas didn’t even think about that. He doesn’t think the pony has any possessions though, considering he couldn’t even keep the shirt on his back.

“Instead of answering, the pony walks up the ramp and settles down beside Logan. It's a little cramped but not too bad.

Thomas latches the ramp back up.

“Alright, let's get this show on the road!”

“Thomas, we are leaving the show. Not taking it with us. How would we even do that?” Logan says in exasperation.

Thomas can just make out the pony smiling.

**********************************

Thomas listens to the pony and Logan talking on the trip home, but he only catches words here and there. It’s a forty minute ride and Thomas does his best not to speed in impatience. He is semi successful.He keeps glancing over at the papers in the passenger seat and tries to settle his heart's frantic pace that comes from the knowledge that he has, once again, bought a Centaur.

So much for his ‘I’ll never be one of those people who sell and buy centaurs’ policy. He can’t say he regrets buying Logan or this new centaur though. They had needed help and buying them had been the only way. Thomas just hopes his friends will understand. He still hasn’t told them about Logan. Just mentioned he had hired and befriended an accountant.

Now that there are two centaurs it won’t be long till he has to confess. Speaking of two centaurs. Thomas if gonna have to clean out a second stall. And dig out more of his mother's blankets. Logan didn’t use all that many any more though. Thomas had bought a king sized mattress padder and ,although Logan had originally said it was too soft to sleep on, Logan had quickly fallen in love. Not that he would admit it.

Note to self: buy another mattress padder. And shirts. Lots of shirts.

When they arrive at home Thomas drives the truck directly up to the stables. Logan lets down the ramp and he and the pony start down.

“I’m gonna get to work on a stall, wanna show him around Logan?”

“That sounds satisfactory. What do you say?” Logan turns to the pony, who is looking far less nervous. The pony gives a slightly strained smile.

He nods and is careful to avoid Thomas’s eyes as he and Logan walk past him towards the fields.

The nice thing about Sander Farms is that, for one, it isn’t a farm. It's more like a ranch. The fields are more like a meadow and go on for miles. Logan had taken to going on morning strolls and Thomas sometimes joins him. Not that he can keep up with Logans fast trot. He just jogs behind.

That's where Logan is headed now. Good. Thomas gets the feeling this pony hasn’t seen any meadows, or at least never ran in one. Logan hadn’t.

Thomas heads into the stalls and debates where to put the small centaur. He’s stuck between next to Logan or across. He finally decides on across. According to Logan, at Benny’s he’d been placed, far away from the other Centaurs as a form of punishment. Some sort of isolation tactic. Logan had insisted it hadn’t mattered because none of the centaurs had liked him anyway. Thomas still isn’t sure if Logan’s terrible social skills are a side effect or the cause.

Mind made up Thomas goes off to find his cleaning supplies. Logan likes to keep the place somewhat clean so they have plenty.

It’s almost two hours later when Logan leads the centaur into the stable. Thomas glances to the stable doors and notes it’s nearly dark out. When did that happen? Good thing he had just finished the stall.

It had been thoroughly scrubbed out and Thomas had put together a hay bed Logan had once shown him how to make. It was basically a bed sheet stuffed with hay. Thomas had put a bunch of quilts and fluffy blankets on top and even stuck a pillow or two as well.

“Hey guys. Great timing. I just finished up.” Thomas turns to the pony. “Did I miss anything? I’m not sure what you’re used to.”

The pony looks into the stall with wide eyes. He opens his mouth but only a squeak comes out.

“I believe that means he likes it. At least I think that’s what it means. I’m not one hundred percent certain, more like eighty five.” Logan looks down at the centaur. “You do like it, do you not?”

The pony nods. Thomas is pretty sure he had tears in his eyes.

“Great! Like I said though, let me know if I missed anything.” Then Thomas turns to Logan.

“Do you wanna get started on dinner or should I?” Thomas and Logan had taken to having dinners together. They rarely ate the same food but the company was nice. Thomas figured tonight he could deal with just salad.

Logan looks thoughtful for a minute. “I suppose you had better. I don’t believe he is comfortable being left alone with you yet.” Logan gestures to the other centaur. Fair enough. Thomas nods and heads out. He doesn’t miss the slightly horrified look the pony gives Logan.

As Thomas removes large stalks of lettuce from the freezer he thinks about how to gain the pony’s trust. It will clearly be harder than it was with Logan. For starters Logan had talked with him from the get go. Thomas is relieved to have Logan here to help him. The pony seems as though he trusts him.

Thomas is mildly curious as to whether the small Centaur has told Logan his name yet. It would be pointless to ask though. During Logan’s first week with Thomas, Thomas had asked why centaurs withheld their names. Logan’s reply had been-, “I’m not entirely sure why. I do know that it is an ancient tradition. It signifies trust. Even we centaurs don’t tell each other our names unless we’ve known one another for a bit.”

Thomas was rather honored that Logan had trusted him with his name within their first meeting. He’s not even sure the other centaurs at Benny’s had known Logan’s name.

Thomas is quite certain it won’t be so simple to learn the pony’s name. ‘Patience.’ He thinks. ‘There isn’t any rush.’

Thomas adds in the last of the apple slices and carries the large salad bowl into what Logan and he had deemed the dining room. It’s actually just a large empty storage area they stuck a table in. He stares critically at the salad bowl. ‘Is it enough?’ The centaur is comically smaller than Logan but he still might eat a lot. Even if he doesn't, Logan eats enough that he might need another, albeit smaller, salad anyway..

Thomas shrugs and heads back to the kitchen. The more the merrier right? Salad doesn’t make the best leftovers but so long as there are apples involved Logan will gladly eat it anyway.

************************************************************************************

“Do you truly find the room satisfactory? If not I’m sure Thomas or I could find something more to your liking.” Logan isn’t entirely sure why he is asking. He’s rather certain the pony has spent his life living in roughly the same conditions that Logan once did. He is starting to think that the pony’s anxiety is catching. As impossible as that is.

The pony looks at the room again and back at Logan. “It's great.” He whispers. Logan hasn't been able to get more than a few words for every two sentences he says. And nothing above a whisper.

“There is no need to fear speaking here.” Logan does his best to sound comforting. It really isn’t something he’s good at. And that's compared to his other social skills. The pony seems to appreciate it nonetheless, even if he doesn’t seem to believe him. “Thomas truly doesn’t mind. As you can see I speak quite freely. Thomas has never told me to stop. Well, baring today. Though I can not entirely blame him.”

Logan is still a bit sore about that. He knew it was only to get the poor pony away from that awful man, but it still hurt. Still brought up too many memories. Memories of a time (try three months ago) when people only valued him for his size and strength. When his thoughts and (occasional) feelings were ignored and looked down upon.

Logan shakes himself out of his head. “However, you should do as you please. You are free to remain silent just as much as you are free to speak.” The Pony looks a little surprised at this.

“Okay.” He murmurs. Logan isn’t sure if that is to signify that the Centaur will speak or that he won’t. He doesn’t get the chance to ask before he hears Thomas shout across the stables.

“Dinner is ready! I’d say get it while it's hot but yanno’... salad.” Logan rolls his eyes. “Come along.” He ushers. He tries to slow his usual gate as the pony trots alongside him. It had been a bit of a struggle whilst showing the pony around. Logan was nearly twice the pony’s size, and his legs were far longer.

Logan was glad he had the practice of slowing to walk alongside Thomas. Though they rarely walked anywhere, so it was still rather new. ‘Just pretend you’re pulling that damn cart.’

Logan’s mood significantly dropped, as it always did when he thought of Benny’s..

The pony tries to make up for Logan’s long stride by trotting faster but he seems to be tiring. Considering the day he’d had it wasn’t surprising. Logan can sympathize. Upon entering the dining room he sees that Thomas is just as tired as the two of them. He seems to still have some residing guilt as well.

“So… are you guys hungry?” Thomas tries to smile but it falls short. Logan settles himself down on the ground facing the table. This way he is roughly the same height as Thomas when they both sit at the table. (give or take a foot) The pony comes up awkwardly to stand by Logan. He’s still a little shorter but not by too much.

Thomas blinks himself out of a temporary stupor. (He’d been wondering if Centaur chairs were a thing and had then gone off on a tangent that ended with him contemplating the pros and cons of buying a therapedic back pillow.)

“Just dig in. I made a lot so no worries.” When no one immediately moves Logan takes initiative and begins piling a plate. He passes it to the pony and works on making one for Thomas and then himself.

This leads to them awkwardly eating while trying to avoid eye contact and listening to the symphony of their combined chewing. It's awkward as hell. Even if only the pony and Thomas are aware of it. Logan seems oblivious.

“Did the meeting with Mr. Parkson go well, Thomas?” Logan asks.

It takes Thomas a bit to remember what Logan is referring too. ‘Oh yeah! The whole reason we went into town today.’

“It went well. He actually wanted to know if we were interested in joining this new company plan he’s working on.”

Logan looks intrigued. “What did you say? Did he specify the plans?”

Thomas shakes his head. “No, he didn’t give me details. He just asked if I was interested and I told him I’d have to ask you.” Logan looks deep in thought. Thomas turns his attention back to the pony.

The pony seems to have zoned out. He’s pushing around an apple slice on his plate while gazing blankly at the table. Thomas clears his throat loudly causing both Centaurs to start from their respective thoughts.

“I’m pretty tired so I'm gonna head to bed now.” He stretches and sort of wanders his way towards the door. ‘This is so damn weird. Am I supposed to give a speech? Ask him about his day? At least I knew Logan a little when I bought him.’

“Wait!” Pipes up the pony. He flushes pink as Logan and Thomas both immediately turn to face him.

“I- uh…” The pony quickly starts trying to pull off Thomas’s jacket. His rushed movements caused his arms and hands to get stuck in the jacket.

“Woah, uh… hold up. You can keep it.” Thomas says before the pony can get himself too worked up. “Seriously, it’s yours. I don’t need it. I have plenty, in fact you’d probably fit my shirts, I could go grab you something to sleep in real quick-”

The small Centaur quickly begins shaking his head. He’s stopped trying to escape the jacket and is now just standing with his arms all tangled up. He keeps opening his mouth as though to speak, but always closes it. He finally turns a pleading look to Logan.

Logan seems confused but turns to address Thomas. “I don’t think he wishes for you to bring him one of your shirts. Also I believe he is stuck.”

Thomas almost smiles at that and walks over to the pony. He wordlessly pulls out one arm from where it’s wrapped around the other and helps the centaur free himself. The pony seems embarrassed but accepts the help without pulling away, although he does flinch a little at the first touch.

“There. You just hang on to that. Tomorrow we’ll deal with getting you some shirts. Maybe you can use one of Logan’s tonight or something.” Thomas doesn’t miss the skeptical look Logan gives the pony. He seems to be comparing their sizes.

Now free’d, the pony backs away and shyly grins at Thomas in thanks. He still looks uncertain but Thomas deems it as progress.

“Whelp. I’m gonna hit the hay. Sweet dreams you two.”

“I was under the impression you had a mattress?”

The pony and Thomas snicker.

***************************************************

Chapter Text

***************************************************

Thomas wakes early the next morning. He feels refreshed and happy even as a nagging sensation tells him he shouldn’t. He feels as though he should be upset over something. In fact, Thomas distinctly remembers feeling guilty and worried before falling asleep.

Thomas starts on his breakfast after determining to talk to Logan and see if he’s forgotten something. Memories from yesterday suddenly hit Thomas like a sack of bricks to the face. He very nearly drops his coffee.

‘Oh my God, I bought someone yesterday. I bought him and he’s sitting in the stables right now!’

Thomas nearly trips over his own feet trying to get out the door. He doesn’t have a plan beyond ‘make sure this wasn’t a fever dream’, so when he rushes out of his house only to see Logan and the pony walking around the nearest field he instantly freezes on the spot.

Definitely not a fever dream then. The pony is there doing his best to keep pace with Logan and huffing with the effort. Logan seems to take notice and slows down. Thomas decides to go back inside before either spots him.

Now that he can see that he has, in fact, bought a pony, he needs to have a plan. He can’t go about this the same way he did with Logan.

Originally Logan and Thomas had fought. A lot. They had argued relentlessly. They just couldn’t seem to agree on how Logan was to be treated. Regularly Centaurs were expected to do whatever sort of work their owner wanted and in return they receive free food and housing. Centaurs did not get a say in this. They were slaves. Simple as that.

Thomas did not think of Logan as a slave, he did not want a slave and Logan wasn’t exactly keen on being one either. This should have meant they were in perfect agreement but it turns out their opinions on what constituted as a slave differed. Thomas wanted to treat Logan like anyone else would be treated if they lived with him. Logan seemed to take this as an insult and Thomas couldn’t figure out why.

It was during one intensely frustrating fight, after three days straight of arguing, that Thomas had finally understood. They’d been arguing back and forth for quite a while and Logan had been furious. He had finally stood and shouted at Thomas that he was “Not a pet to be pampered”. Thomas started to understand him after that.

It was then Thomas saw that Logan didn’t really understand friendship or kindness. Logan only saw exchange. As a slave Logan had done what he told and received food and housing in return. Logan wasn’t able to comprehend that Thomas wanted to give all that for free.

In the end Thomas realized it wasn’t about what he thought was fair. He needed to do what made Logan most comfortable. In Logan’s case that was giving him a job. Thomas couldn’t jump from ‘owner’ to ‘friend’ without hurting and confusing Logan. Thomas decided to try an employer and employee status instead and it had worked. Over time, Logan and him had become friends. They had just needed that stepping stone to get to that stage.

Thomas thinks it would be reasonable to make similar arrangements with the pony. Provided it’s what the pony wants. But how is he supposed to know what the pony wants? He doesn’t think the pony will stand up for himself any time soon. What if the pony is upset with Thomas? After all, he did drag him off with no warning. What if the centaur doesn’t want to be here? What if he’d had people he knew at the fair? What if Thomas had just forced him away from his family?! What has he done!?

Thomas freaks out. It takes him all of two minutes to race into the stables where Logan and the pony have returned from their walk. It’s only after bursting through the doors that Thomas remembers the number one rule his parents tought him regarding Centaurs. Never startle them.

He figures out why when the pony starts hard enough to knock himself right off his feet. He tumbles to the ground with a yelp while Logan jolts violently backwards, bumping up against the wall. Thomas finds himself relieved they are on the opposite side of the room and that he is not within range of either’s hooves. ‘Centaurs are super jumpy. Got it.’

“Thomas!” Logan exclaims while glaring at him. He has a hand over his heart as though to stave off a heart attack. “What are you doing charging in like that?” He’s trying to compose himself but the nervous shuffling of his feet gives him away. The smaller Centaur has backed himself against the wall by Logan (keeping his distance so as to not get stepped on.) and is staring in alarm at Thomas.

Thomas, still wracked with guilt, tries to deescalate the situation. “Sorry! Sorry, I didn’t mean to burst in like that! I didn’t mean to scare you guys.” He holds his hands up placatingly and takes a few steps back. ‘I really need to get a grip and think things through more.’

Logan brushes off his shirt and clears his throat. “No harm done. I suggest you avoid startling Centaurs in the future though. It could result in a serious injury.” That Thomas would be the only injured party goes unsaid.

Thomas gives an uneasy smile. “Yep, no more slamming doors. Got it.”

The pony pulls himself to his feet, using the wall for assistance. Thomas winces. The poor guy is never going to feel safe here if Thomas can’t get his act together.

“So?” Logan asks. Thomas blinks stupidly. “So what?” Logan huffs. “So what is it that had you barging in here like some sort of senseless barbarian?”

The smaller centaur stares at Logan horrified. He seems to calm down when he sees Thomas ignoring Logan's insult. To be honest Thomas is used to it. Logan doesn't pull his punches.

“Oh, right. Well I was wondering if I could talk to…..you.” Thomas gestures at the pony. He hadn’t been sure how to address him but he was pretty sure ‘The Pony’ would be insulting and he certainly wasn’t going to take his previous owner’s approach.

The pony straightens his shirt as he composes himself. The shirt is clearly borrowed from Logan but fits rather well, other than how long it is. Logan’s torso is a good bit longer so the pony has it bunched up at his waist. He clears his throat. “Okay.”

Thomas sees how he keeps glancing at Logan so he asks Logan to stay. Not to say he didnt originally plan on asking him anyway. “I do believe that would be most beneficial.” Is Logan’s response.

The three settle down at the table. Both Centaurs look at Thomas expectantly. Thomas can’t help but feel as though he’s been thrust onto a stage without having read any of his lines. Which is a very accurate comparison now that he thinks of it.

“Right.” Thomas clears his throat. “So I wanted to clear up some things and maybe ask a few questions, if that’s alright.” The pony shifts a little but gives a small nod.

“Did..” ‘Deep breaths Thomas.’ “Did I take you away from your friends? Or your family?” Thomas blurts out. He looks up, eyes pleading. Where before his tongue felt like lead, it now feels like a feather. A feather caught in a hurricane. It seems to have a mind of it’s own and he finds himself unable to stop his stream of words.

“I didn’t mean to but I didn’t even think to ask you about how you felt. I was in such a rush to get you out of there that I never asked you if you even wanted to leave. I mean sure I thought it was the right thing at the time but what do I know? I don’t know anything about Centaurs! I don’t know anything about you! I’m just like all those other people. Treating you guys like you can’t decide things for yourselves. You must hate me! I wouldn’t blame you cause I'm terrible andIshouldhaveaskedbutIdidn't-”

“Thomas.” Logan waits for Thomas to quiet down. “You are rambling. We can not understand you.” Logan looks a little concerned. Thomas pulls himself together. He looks up from his previously flailing hands to face the pony. The Centaur’s face has softened and he’s got this kind look in his eyes. That isn’t what Thomas expects to see.

“It’s alright. You didn’t take me away from anyone.” The small Centaur says softly. Comfortingly. Wait. Is he trying to comfort Thomas?

“I was in a- a bad place. You-” He takes a deep breath. “You did what you felt was right. Thank you.” The pony’s hand twitches towards Thomas as though to touch him but he pulls it close to his chest instead.

Thomas and Logan are both surprised at the pony’s comforting words. The poor guy has been constantly nervous and frightened (almost entirely thanks to Thomas) and here he is trying to comfort him. Thomas brings his focus back to the pony’s actual words.

“Really? There wasn’t anybody there you wanted to see again? Say goodbye too?” Thomas finds it simultaneously relieving and sad. He’s relieved that he didn’t just separate the Centaur from his family or friends. It makes him sad that the pony didn’t have any to say goodbye too.

“No.” The pony conferms. Thomas deflates.

“Oh thank heavens. I’ve been terrified I stole you away from your family all morning. It’s kinda why I barged in here.” Thomas looks sheepishly at his feet. It really was good to know the pony didn’t have any ties to the fair.

“Look man, I’m sorry all this happened so fast. I can’t imagine how you must be feeling right now. I mean, only yesterday you were working at a fair and now you’re sitting in this big empty barn with just me and Logan.” Thomas thinks Logan looks a little insulted at that.

“I imagine our company is preferable to that of a repulsive, cacafuego, corpulent, poor excuse of a man he was with before.” Thomas and the pony stare at Logan and then each other. ‘Did you understand that?’ Thomas mouths to the pony. He shakes his head.

Resolving to google ‘cacafuego later, ‘How does he even know words like that?’ Thomas continues.

“Right. I agree, I think. Anyway, I was trying to say that he must be shocked by everything that’s happened lately.” Thomas addresses the pony again. “I’d like to put your mind at ease a little. I promise you that you’ll never have to worry about being sold again.” Thomas hesitates. “Unless you want to be.”

The pony nodds. “Okay” He looks Thomas in the eye. “So what do I do here?”

“Huh?”

“My job. What do I do here? I’m- I’m not really good for much. I’m sure I can’t do whatever it is Logan does. I’m not very strong…” The pony looks away and rubs his arm.

Thomas decides to let Logan correct him about his job later. Instead he focuses on the question he’s been asked. “Anything you are particularly good at? A hobby or something?”

“Uh.. besides giving rides to kids? I usually just gave rides but sometimes I would cook or sometimes bake. I’m not great at it or anything but it was fun to try making new things. Besides that I didn’t really do-”

“You can COOK!?” “You know how to make food?!” Thomas and Logan yell simultaneously. Thomas is leaning over the table and both his and Logan’s eyes are wide open.

The pony draws back, startled at the yelling. He tries to answer but only a squeak comes out. He settles for a hesitant nod.

“Can you make more than salad?? Or sandwiches?”

Another nod.

Thomas is ecstatic. “You're hired! I mean, if that were something you wanted to do….” ‘Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes..’

The pony looks between Thomas and Logan and gives a confident nod. “Okay.”

Thomas barely stops himself from giving a celebratory dance. ‘No more microwaveable meals!’ He isn’t even sure of the last time he had a home cooked meal. Of course there is no guarantee the pony will be any good at cooking but Thomas really doesn’t care. He’ll buy a cookbook.

It was only a few minutes after the pony agreed that Thomas remembered the stables didn't have a kitchen. Why would they?

Thankfully there was an old breakroom the stable hands once used and the oven and fridge still worked rather well. Since the room was not made with Centaurs in mind Thomas decides to create a kitchen in the ‘living room’. By living room he means the large empty space holding only a large table with one chair. It looks pretty sad.

With a little help from Logan (okay, a lot of help), Thomas moves the oven, fridge and kitchen appliances into the far corner. After staring at the sad little set up he orders some cabinets and counters online. In the end the kitchen still looks drab but both Centaurs seem uncomfortable with him spending any more money so Thomas holds off on buying more stuff. ‘Baby steps’ He tells himself. ‘We’ll get there one day.’

************************************

Chapter Text

************************************

It’s been nearly a week and Thomas is relieved to see the pony has begun to relax. The delivery men had come three days ago to install the kitchen counters and cabinets but their presence had really bothered the pony so Thomas had paid them extra to work double time. The small Centaur still doesn’t talk all that much and sometimes he’ll go an entire day without so much as a word but he doesn’t tense up whenever Thomas is around anymore so Thomas isn’t too worried. Progress in being made whether he chooses to speak or not. Thomas thinks the ponies silence is more out of habit than anything else.

To both Logan’s and Thomas’s delight, the pony turns out to be a fantastic cook. Better yet, he seems to genuinely enjoy it. In addition he has taken to cleaning. Thomas informs him he doesn’t have to but the pony is persistent, which is probably for the best, Thomas hadn’t realized just how filthy the stalls were until the pony began to clean them. Who knew the walls were brown? Logan and Thomas had been under the impression they were a dark grey. Apparently not.

The days continued to pass peacefully and it had now been roughly two weeks since the pony’s arrival. It’s now Saturday Thomas and Logan are sitting at the living room table together ,looking critically at Logan’s apple computer. They have been trying to decide which company they should stop supporting. Logan has already decided actually, it’s Thomas who is dragging the process out.

“Are you sure ‘Industrialized Zink’ isn’t worth keeping?” Thomas asks.

“The name is ‘Industrialized Iron’ and the answer to that is yes. This company is hardly worth the Ten Thousand a month. You should most definitely cut your losses.” Logan states impatiently.

Logan has been pushing the matter for an hour now. He’s shown Thomas all the charts and statistics. He’s taken the time to explain them thoroughly and he can’t understand why Thomas is so reluctant to cut off a company that so clearly doesn’t have a use anymore.

“Thomas, continuing to work alongside this company is as effective as throwing money down a drain. It is utterly pointless and equally wasteful. While the decision remains yours, as always, I see no reason to continue such a useless venture. I recommend cutting off support.”

Thomas sighs. “I hear you-”

“I should think so, I’ve been talking to you for an hour.”

“-I guess I’m just feeling a little guilty after dropping that last company. Most of these companies worked with my Mom and Dad for years. It’s kind of hard to let them go. My parents worked so hard to get companies on board with their business and here I come along and kick them all out.” Thomas runs a hand over his face.

Logan is looking confused now. “You are basing your business decisions off of your emotions? You do know they are only chemicals your brain produces? They are entirely unreliable and I can not fathom how these feelings could possibly be significant enough to interfere with what is best for your company. It is ludicrous.” Logan is annoyed now. So is Thomas.

Before he can defend his feelings and tell off Logan for his judgemental attitude the pony jumps to the rescue. He comes clomping over from the kitchen with his hands on his hips.

“Logan! How could you say that?” He scolds. “The heart feels what it wants and it’s always important to listen to it. Don’t let him get to you Thomas. You are entitled to your feelings no matter how unreasonable Logan thinks they are.” He gives Logan a nasty look.

Both Thomas and Logan are stunned. This is the most assertive the pony has been since they met him. And of all people he is defending Thomas?

The pony looks genuinely upset and hasn’t noticed Logan and Thomas’s staring. He seems to be waiting for Logan to give a response. Possibly an apology.

However, before Logan or Thomas can respond, Thomas’s cell phone begins ringing.

“One minute.” Thomas says, while pulling it from his pocket. He glances at the screen and immediately wishes he’d left it in his pocket. He didn’t think he had reacted visually but he must have since both centaurs are looking at him funny.

“Is everything alright?” The pony asks. Thomas is touched. It’s starting to look like this pony is a really nice guy. When he isn’t scared half to death that is.

Unfortunately, Thomas feels his panic rushes back in, wiping out all traces of good feelings. The phone is still ringing. Is it getting harder to breathe in here? It feels like it is.

“I’m fine.” Thomas lies. “I just need to take this real quick. I’ll, uh, I’ll be outside.” He hurries through the doors as he answers the call.

“Hi Uncle Owen.” He forces as much positive energy into his voice as he is able. He sounds pretty fake and his friends would probably laugh but his Uncle doesn't know him all that well so maybe he won’t notice.

“Thomas! Nice of you to pick up!” It sounds like an accusation.

“Haha, yeah… I just had to step outside for a moment. What’s up?” Thomas crosses his fingers, hoping against hope his Uncle has called just to say hi. He’s never done that before but Thomas still believes in miracles.

“Oh, I just have a little surprise for you.” His Uncle’s voice is sickenly sweet. “Mind coming out to your driveway?”

Thomas’s brow furrows. Drive way? Gift? What is going on? ‘I don’t like this. This is all kinds of weird. Should I tell Logan to call the cops if I’m not back in twenty minutes? No. That’s crazy. He’s my Uncle. It’s not like he’s ever threatened me, he’s only ever been a jerk. Though he does give me a bad feeling whenever he’s around. Like a snake waiting in the grass. Either way I should probably check the driveway.’

Thomas realizes it doesn’t matter since Logan doesn’t have a phone anyway. With a resigned sigh Thomas walks towards the driveway, slowly.

“I’m headed there right now. Should I be looking for anything? Something in the mail?”

“Oh no, you’ll know it when you see it.”

Thomas doesn’t like that answer. He doesn’t like any of this. Most importantly he’s starting to lose faith in miracles.

“Alright. I’m he-” Thomas rounds the house and stops dead in his tracks. His Uncle. The driveway. A car. His Uncle's car. His Uncle is in the car. No, his Uncle's whole family is in the car! ‘Is this some sort of punishment? What did I do to deserve this?’

********************************************

“Thomas! Good to see you boy!” His Uncle hops out of the car and goes up to clap him on his shoulder. Has Thomas mentioned his Uncle is big? No? Well he is. And his hands on Thomas’s shoulders hurt.

Thomas tries to come up with something to say but finds himself speechless. His Aunt takes over for him. She’s never at a loss for words in all the time he’s known her.

“Oh Thomas! It’s been ages since I last saw you, I feel like it’s been years!” She dramatically rushes over to hug him as her husband steps back to make room. Thomas stiffens.

“Yep.” Thomas tries to stealthily wriggle away. Oxygen, he needs oxygen! “The last time we met was the funeral.” He says while gritting his teeth. He manages to break free of her grip but only because his young cousins start yelling. “MOOOM! Lea hit me!” “Did not! You’re a liar.” “ Mommy I want a soda!”

Thomas cringes at their high pitched voices. He remembers those voices. How could he not? They were the only things he could hear all throughout his parents funeral.

His Uncle wraps an arm around Thomas in a shoulder hug while his wife rushes to their kids aid.

“So Thomas, how have you been? Sick of living in this big house all by yourself yet?” Thomas tries not to show how much that question hurts. Of course he was sick of it. Two years of being almost entirely alone? He had been depressed for the better part of the last two years. To be honest the only thing that had really dragged him out of his funk was meeting Logan and- Logan! The pony! No one knows he owned Centaurs! If his Aunt found out she was sure to tell everyone via facebook. Thomas’s friends couldn’t find out like this!

Thomas breaks free from the ‘man hug’. (His Uncle’s words, not his) “The house is fine. I’ve been keeping myself busy lately so I don’t really notice it anymore.”

And he doesn’t. Mostly because he hasn't spent much time in it lately. He spends most of his days in the stables. Even if he doesn’t have a reason to be there he still goes over to hang around. He even moved in an armchair and everything. It’s nice just to be in the presence of others, even when you’re all doing your own thing. Thomas tended to just watch tv shows on his phone but still, company is company. The pony and Logan don’t seem to mind either. (Otherwise he wouldn’t do it.)

Of course Thomas isn’t about to tell his Uncle that he spends most of his time hanging around two Centaurs though. He hopes his Uncle will drop the subject. His Uncle doesn’t have a choice when his two unruly children come rushing up to whine at him.

“Daddy, Mommy won’t let me have a soda! She’s being mean!” “Daddy why are we here? I want to go to McDonalds!”

That’s all Thomas is able to make out of their whining before it all blends together. His Uncle leans down and gives them the same fake smile he always gives Thomas.

“Now, now, kids. What did we say? If you can be good your cousin Thomas will let you play on his Xbox. You want to play on it don’t you?” His children carry on yelling. Their father stands, ignoring them. He turns his attention back to Thomas.

“You still have that Xbox right? We promised the kids could play on it. I’d hate to disappoint them.”

Thomas tries to smile back. “I don’t know. I probably have it tucked away somewhere. Did you guys wanna-” Thomas chokes out the next words. “-come on it?”

‘What are you doing!?’ Thomas screams in his mind. ‘Tell them to go away!!! Be assertive!’

Oh, how Thomas wishes he had the same courage Logan does. To stand up for yourself even if you knew it wouldn’t end well. But Thomas isn’t Logan and he doesn’t stand up for himself. Instead he just invites a family he despises into his home for reasons he isn’t even sure of.

‘Damn it.’

Chapter Text

***************************************

As soon as Thomas invites his family into his home his Aunt lights up like a Christmas tree.

“That would be splendid! Oh, I haven’t been in your parents home in what must be ten years!” Thomas’s Aunt is all too eager to walk up the porch and try to open Thomas’s front door. It’s locked and Thomas feels relief flood over him.

“Here, let me run around to the back and unlock the door for you. I should probably warn you, it's a little...messy. I haven’t exactly kept up with the cleaning lately.” ‘Or at all’

Thomas just has enough time to hear his Aunt’s horrified “Why don’t you have cleaning service!?”, before he rushes around the corner of his home. He doesn’t bother to try and answer her. He’s worried if he lingers his Uncle will insist on coming with him and he desperately needs to tidy up. And fast.

Seriously, what were his Aunt and Uncle thinking? Showing up uninvited? It wasn’t like they were passing through town and thought ‘Hey, doesn’t Thomas live out here? Why don’t we drop by and visit him?”. They lived five states away! Thomas doesn’t live anywhere near a tourist attraction.

Even if they had been passing through, Sanders Farm was nearly forty minutes out of town. No. This was definitely a planned visit. Thomas just wishes he’d been informed of said plan. Instead, here he is, frantically throwing stray hoodies and shirts into a closet whilst blowing on anything he passes that looks too dusty. He runs out of breath.

He finally decides that his Aunt and Uncle will simply have to make do with his dirty, stuffy house. They were the ones who didn’t think to give him a heads up anyway.

Thomas is still doubting his decision as he opens the door.

“Hey, come right on in.” He smiles weakly. His Uncle laughs loudly. “There you are! I was starting to think you got lost!” He claps Thomas on the shoulder again (OW) and follows his wife into the house. Thomas looks at his cousins. “Uh, you guys coming in?”

Lea’s response is to stick her tongue out at him while her brother starts making monkey gestures. Thomas fights off a scowl. “You guys can’t stay alone out here. It’s a big place and it’s easy to get lost. Why don’t you come on inside?” The monkey gestures continue.

Thomas turns back to his Uncle in hopes he will tell his children to get inside. No one is there. Thomas feels his heart leap in his throat. He doesn’t want his Aunt and Uncle roaming around his house without his supervision but he can’t just leave his little cousins by themselves. Not in good conscience anyway. He wasn’t lying when he said they could get lost. Sanders Farm consisted of several acres and the nearest neighbors were quite a few miles away. There were all sorts of wild animals and heavy machinery around and he couldn’t just let a five and seven year old roam around without supervision. That and the barn. Under no circumstances can he let his family enter the barn.

‘Okay, asking nicely doesn’t work. Not that I thought it would. Warning them of danger didn’t work either. I really need to stop Uncle Owen and Aunt Patty so I guess it’s time for the last resort. Bribery.’

Thomas casually walks back inside. “That’s a shame. I guess I’ll just have to play with my Xbox by myself.” He makes sure to speak loud enough for them to hear. A few seconds pass and he’s starting to think they didn’t hear him when two small bodies force their way past him and nearly knock him off his feet. Thomas grabs onto the door and scowls after them.

He shuts the door and hurries after them into the living room where they’ve already set about ruining it in their hunt for his Xbox. He ignores them in favor of finding his Aunt and Uncle. He walks in on his Aunt rummaging through his kitchen drawers and….looking in cookie jars? He tries to keep his shock from his voice as he speaks. “There you are Aunt Patty, I see you found the kitchen. Say, do you happen to know where Uncle Owen is?” She doesn’t have time to answer before a voice booms from behind Thomas.

“I’m right here, bucko. Just thought I’d get reacquainted with the old place. Such a-” He runs his fingers over the dusty kitchen counter and makes a face. “-lovely home.”

Thomas can feel his anxiety shooting through the roof. He doesn’t want them here. He doesn’t want his Aunt going through his kitchen or is Uncle going around doing who knows what. He doesn’t want his loud, horribly behaved cousins here either. He doesn’t want-

A loud crash echoes from the living room. The kind of sound that only comes from glass shattering on the floor. Thomas is filled with horror. The living room. Most of his parents' prized decorations were displayed in the living room. How could he have forgotten that?! Thomas pushes past his Uncle and rushes towards where he heard the glass break. He is horrified to see his father's ceramic globe spread across the floor in too many pieces to count. His cousins are nowhere to be seen.

Thomas feels his legs shake and he grabs onto the wall for support. He barely notices his Uncle come up to inspect the damage until he speaks.

“I’m sure you can fix it.” He says.

Thomas stares dumbly at his Uncle who is currently crouched down beside hundreds of glass shards.

“It’s ruined.” Thomas rasps.

“Oh honey, don’t be dramatic, you know how kids are.” His Aunt comes up behind him and looks indifferently at the ex-globe. “They don’t know any better. It’s just what kids do.”

It takes Thomas a full minute of staring between his Uncle and Aunt to determine his next course of action. He pushes away from the wall and steps back to face the both of them.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to be in my house right now.”

He gets interrupted by his Aunt. “They are only children, these things happen. You left them unattended so really you only have yourself to blame.” She gives him her best condescending look. She’s very good at it. “I don’t know what you expected, leaving them all alone. Poor darlings were probably frightened. Being alone in a big house like this. You can’t possibly think this is their fault.”

‘Yes I most certainly can, Karen.’ Thomas thinks bitterly. What he says is. “It doesn’t matter. Like you said, these things happen. I’d just like to make sure they don’t happen again-” His Uncle tries to interrupt but Thomas powers on. “It’s a beautiful day outside anyway, we should take advantage of that.” His Uncle finally manages to but in.

“That sounds all good and fine Thomas but you told the children they could play on your Xbox. It wouldn’t be right to deny them that just because they broke some silly vase.” ‘Silly vase?’ Thomas thinks furiously. ‘What, you mean that globe my Dad bought in Europe and managed to bring back here without a single scratch? You mean the glass globe that survived a trip across the actual globe but couldn’t make it five minutes in the same house as your kids?’

“I have plenty of things they can play with in the yard so let's all head outside.” Thomas begins ushering his relatives towards the back door while blinking back tears. ‘This is not the time to cry. You need to stay strong right now. You can cry over this later. In bed when you’re trying to sleep for example.’

“Wait! Where did Lea and Leo run off to? They must have been frightened by the noise of the glass shattering. My poor, little dears!” His Aunt tries to escape past Thomas back into the house.

“I’ll get them. Why don’t you relax? I’m sure it was a long drive here, you must be exhausted.” Thomas doesn’t wait for a response as he shuts the screen door in her face and rushes back inside. ‘Now where are the little shi- runts?’

Another crash echoes through the house. But this time from upstairs. Thomas feels his temper rise in response. Don’t get him wrong, he likes kids. What he doesn’t like is out of control, destructive, spoiled and entitled children. There is a difference.

He dashes up the stairs and is not so much shocked as he is horrified to see his cousins tearing apart his room.

“What are you doing!?” Thomas yells, rushing in to save his computer console from grubby little hands.

“Where is your Xbox? You said we can play on it! I’m gonna get Mommy and tell on you!” Cries Lea as she knocks over a stack of books. Thomas rushes over and pulls her away from her next target, his TV screen.

“Stop it. We are all going outside. Your Mom and Dad are both there and you can whine all you want.” Thomas is too upset to bother holding back his frustration any longer. Instead he grabs Leo with one hand and Lea with his other and gently begins to pull them out of his room. They both scream. “Let go! You said we can have your Xbox!” “I don’t want to go outside!!!” They both struggle violently and Thomas is forced to let go or risk them getting hurt trying to escape. He puts his hands on his hips. “No. No Xbox for you-” “But you promised!” “You’re an asshole! I’m gonna tell Mommy and she will make you!”

Thomas steps between Lea and his guitar, where she’s been trying to pull out a string. “I said that before you broke my stuff. Now get out. You’re not allowed in here. We’re all going outside and if you don’t I’ll call your Dad.” Thomas pulls out his phone to emphasize his point. He’s hoping his Uncle is less enabling and that Lea and Leo will actually listen to him.

They stop dead in their tracks. “You can’t do that!” Leo screetches. “You’re a fucking asshole!” snaps Lea. Thomis is alarmed at how easily and viciously she is cursing. He tries not to let it bother him as he scrolls his contact list and brings up his Uncle’s name. “One last chance you guys. Get out of my room or I’m calling your Dad right now.”

His cousins full on scream and then run out. Thomas shakes his head in an attempt to regain his hearing, then looks in dismay at his room. He is snapped back to the present as he hears his cousins slamming his screen door and crying to their parents. ‘At least they are out of the house.’ He thinks.

“Thomas get down here!” His Uncle bellows. Thomas cringes and makes his way down the stairs, but not before closing his eyes and counting to ten. He still isn’t prepared for the drama currently playing out on his porch. He doesn't think he ever will be.

His Uncle doesn't even bother with his infamous fake smile. “There you are. Now I know you’re upset about that broken vase but you agreed it was an accident. Besides, I’m sure that ugly thing wasn't all that expensive anyway. You can just buy another.” His Uncle rolls his eyes before Thomas can tell him how nothing on earth could ever replace the sentiment of that globe and plows on. “You promised the kids they could play on the Xbox. So let them go in and play. It won’t hurt anyone.”

Thomas looks his Uncle in the eye, or he tries to anyway. He is still intimidated by him and can’t seem to move past it.

“I think it's for the best we all sit outside. Besides, I have a bin out here with tons of cool stuff for your kids. I’m sure they can find something fun to play with in there.” Thomas walks over to a wooden storage bench and digs through it. He’s trying to ignore his crying cousins and his Aunts attempts to comfort them. She seems to think telling them how they did nothing wrong and calling Thomas a jerk and meanie will deescalate the situation.

He pretends he can’t hear them. Instead he pulls out a ball, a frisbee and- oh, what’s this?. Thomas pulls out a remote controlled helicopter from the storage bin. It probably cost him a hundred dollars when he bought it and his cousins are sure to ruin it but he doesn’t care. Anything to stop the screeching and wailing.

Thomas sets the helicopter on the table. “Here. Play with this.” He doesn’t care if they use it as a baseball and launch it into the sun. Just so long as they leave him alone.

His cousins turn to glare at him but then their eyes fall on the mechanical toy. They squeal and race each other for it. Thomas ushers them towards the back yard as they yell and fight for the controler.

“There.” He drops heavily in a wooden rocking chair. “Now everyone is happy.” He isn’t. But he supposed this is the best it can be while these particular relatives are with him. Better them sulking on his back porch than destroying his house.

His Aunt is glaring at him so he averts his gaze towards his cousins. He continues to do so until the uncomfortable silence becomes too much for him. Thankfully (Or maybe not.) His Uncle breaks the silence before he has to.

“So Thomas. You told me you've been keeping busy lately. Mind sharing what it is you do nowadays?” Thomas does mind. He minds very much. He minds because he has spent most of his time figuring out how to run his company so that he can eventually fire the man currently sitting across from him. He unsurprisingly isn’t keen on telling this to his Uncle.

“Oh, you know. Just been fixing up the old place. The stables have all but fallen apart.” That much is true. Thomas has been making as many repairs as Logan, and the pony will let him. They still don’t like him putting so much effort into their home. It seems to make them uncomfortable whenever Thomas tries to improve their living situation.

Thomas’s Aunt looks disgusted. “Why don't you just hire someone to do it for you? You can definitely afford it.” It’s a funny trait of hers. Bringing up his financial situation whenever she can.

Thomas shrugs. “I think it's fun. Besides, it gets me out of the house and has the added bonus of giving me a work out.” His Uncle gives that plastic looking grin again. Or maybe he hasn’t stopped making it. Hard to say

“Well I’m glad to hear it. You could use a little exercise.” Thomas blushes self consciously as his Uncle stares pointedly at his stomach. Oh how he hates being around this family.

“Haha, yeah…” He laughs weakly. His Aunt opens her mouth, probably intending on agreeing with her husband, when she suddenly shoots up in her seat in delight. “What's this? Thomas you didn’t tell me you own a Centaur!”

Thomas’s stomach drops even lower than it had when he’d heard the globe break. He can feel the sweat already beading on his forehead. “Oh yeah.” He squeaks. “I forgot.” ‘Damn it Logan. I was so close.’

His Uncle laughs. “Thomas, Thomas, Thomas, you always were full of surprises. And here I thought you were a hopeless cause with all that ‘Centaur rights’ nonsense you used to go on about. How many Centaurs do you own?”

Thomas is certain he must be paler than a ghost. This is bad. This is so bad. The cat is out of the bag. His Aunt is going to post this all over social media and word will spread and get to his friends, who will find out he’s been hiding this all along, in the worst possible way. His life is over.

His Uncle squirts as he tries to get a better look at Logan. “Why isn’t he in his stall? At the very least he should stay in the barn. You aren’t doing that free roam thing are you?”

“Yes- I mean no, I mean he’s, uh, he’s allowed to walk around.” Thomas wishes Logan would stop coming closer. Unfortunately Logan doesn’t seem to have noticed Thomas isn’t alone. He’s focusing on the ground and ends up halfway between the barn and the house before he looks up and finally sees them. He’d most likely been watching out for that gopher hole the Pony had spotted yesterday. They hadn’t gotten around to filling it so both Centaurs have been extra cautions when walking around that area.

Logan falters, unsure of how to proceed. Thomas isn’t sure either. Regrettably Uncle Owen beats them both to any sort of decision.

“Hey you!” He calls to Logan. “Come on over here. Let me get a look at ya.” Thomas is further horrified as his Uncle stands up and approaches the wooden fence that encompasses the backyard. Thomas doesn’t think it could get worse until he sees his cousins jump up and run to join their father. Now it can’t get worse.

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Chapter Text

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Logan isn’t sure what to do. The man has given him an order so he should obey right? But that man doesn’t own him. Thomas does. Then again this man is presumably Thomas’s guest. He doesn’t want to make Thomas look bad. Besides, he’s only been told to walk closer. That’s not so bad right? That was what he’d come to do in the first place.

Logan slowly walks closer, hoping this is the right course of action.

*******

Thomas is both relieved and disappointed.

“Oh well, it isn’t like this day can get worse.” He murmurs under his breath. ‘I should stop thinking that. The universe seems to take that as a challenge to prove me wrong.’ Thomas hops to his feet and hurries towards his Uncle and the approaching Centaur. His Uncle whistles loudly. “Wow, you got yourself a fucking beast.” ‘So that’s where Lea’s cursing comes from. Also, RUDE.’

Logan doesn’t seem happy with this declaration either. Thomas imagines Logan feels the same as Thomas does when his Uncle mentions Thomas’s weight.

Thomas clears his throat. He opens his mouth even though he isn’t sure what to say. Then Aunt comes rushing over and tries to pull her kids away. They screech and whine.

“Come away kids! Don’t stand so close, it might kick you!” She turns sharply to Thomas. “How dare you let him roam around all by himself. There are children here! Is he even trained!?”

Both Thomas and Logan are taken back. Trained? What is he, a wild beast? He’s a Centaur, not a fucking dog! Thomas glares at her.

“He’s not a fucking animal. He’s not gonna run around attacking people!” Thomas has his hands clenched in fists. He no longer sees a reason to hold back from cursing in front of his cousins.

His Aunt gasps and covers her children's ears when she is interrupted by Logan.

“If by ‘trained’ you are implying that I will not cause bodily harm to anyone, baring self defense, then yes. I am trained. Though I find that to be an inaccurate and somewhat offending description. I believe ‘non threatening’ or ‘of standard temperament’ best fit this scenario.” Logan states this in a calm collected manner. He is completely composed and doesn’t seem at all upset. The same can not be said for Thomas.

Thomas’s Aunt and Uncle who are taken back. Thomas isn’t sure if they are more surprised at Logan’s vocabulary or that he knows how to speak at all. Either way they seem speechless. ‘About time. I haven’t been able to come up with anything to say since they got here. Lets even the odds shall we?’ Sadly, good things aren’t known to last in Thomas’s experience and his Uncle and Aunt find their tongues a minute or so later.

“Well I never!” “How dare you speak to my wife that way!” Thomas thinks his Uncle would have slapped Logan had he been tall enough and Logan closer. Instead his Uncle puffs out his chest and stomps right up to Logan, who seems a bit worried at this reaction.

“I did not intend to insult your wife. I am not even sure as to what I said that you find offensive but I assure you it was unintentional.” Logan does actually seem a bit apologetic, although Thomas knows he will not directly apologize. He never does. Logan hadn’t been aware of just how often he insulted and put down people until the pony had made a habit of pointing it out to him. Still, it’s a rare day when Logan is willing to acknowledge he’s made a mistake and rarer still for him to admit it aloud.

But Thomas’s Uncle and Aunt don’t care in the slightest. Thomas thinks that even if Logan had begged for forgiveness they would still rant and rave at him so it is no surprise when they begin shouting abuse and slurs at Logan.

Thomas tries to calm them down. “Uncle Owen, Aunt Patty, please! Lo- He wasn’t trying to insult you. Calm down!” Thomas is dismayed when his Uncle and Aunt continue shouting over him. They probably can’t hear him over their own voices.

“You are just a dumbass animal! You should only speak when told to!” “How dare you speak to me! You should be punished!” Then his Uncle and Aunt turn their focus on Thomas, giving him whiplash. “Well? Are you going to let him disrespect your Aunt like that?”

Thomas scowls. Since when did Logan owe anyone his respect?

“Even if he WAS insulting you, and trust me you would know if he was, I still don’t think he should apologize because YOU insulted him FIRST. Seriously, who asks someone if they are trained?” Thomas is ready to tear into his Aunt and Uncle about how terrible they have been this entire time when he is interrupted by the squeal of hyperactive kids. ‘Seriously, are these kids on a sugar only diet or what?’

Thomas reluctantly moves to see what Lea and Leo are yelling about this time. Thomas and Logan are equally horrified when they manage to make out what the kids are saying as they jump about. “A PONY! MOMMY, THERE’S A PONY IN THE BARN!!” “CAN WE RIDE IT?! I WANT TO RIDE THE PONY!”

Thomas looks over to see that, yes, the pony has left the barn. He’s only a few feet out of the doorway but he’s still notably a pony. For the first time Logan is looking truly worried. “Thomas I do not believe-” He tries to speak but gets cut off again by Aunt Patty.

“SHUT UP! I’ve already told you not to speak! Are you too much of a retard to understand that much? You fucking-” Thomas shoves past his Aunt, cutting off her words.

“No Lea. Don't climb the fence. Stay over here. You too Leo.” Thomas tries to gently pull Lea off the fence. She clings tightly. Her and Leo’s screams alert their parents who finally notice their children. They also notice the pony. “You have a pony too? How dare you try and hide it! The children could have been playing with it all along!” “A pony? Seriously? Let me guess, you couldn’t control the big bastard so you tried again with a small bitch.”

Thomas would be furious if he wasn’t so preoccupied trying to keep his cousins from charging over the fence and harassing the pony. Logan has him covered in the anger department. “Don’t speak of him that way. He has done absolutely nothing to you. It is incredibly judgmental of you to speak of someone you have never met. Also, he is male which turns your definition of him being a bitch null and void. If you intend to insult at least do so correctly.”

“Why you fucking-” Thomas’s Uncle hops up on the bottom rung of the fence and tries to slap Logan. Logan takes a single step back and Owen nearly falls off the fence and onto his face. Thomas snorts. Then, out of nowhere, Thomas feels a sharp pain in his hand. He yelps and releases Lea to check what hurt him.

Teeth marks? Lea bit him? ‘How dare Uncle Owen and Aunt Patty accuse Logan of being a wild animal when they are raising such little monsters. Monsters. Plural. I have two cousins. Where is Leo?! Thomas tears his gaze away from his throbbing hand only to see Lea and Leo rushing the pony while their mother shouts encouragement.

The pony balks as they charge him and looks incredibly frightened. He waves his hands a little while shaking his head no in an attempt to discourage the children from approaching but Lea and Leo charge on. Thomas’s head is spinning from the chaos that has been the past hour. He isn’t sure when to look, this has gotten entirely out of control and he has no idea what to do.

His Uncle is still screaming at Logan and Logan is responding in kind. His Aunt is alternating between telling Thomas to go get the pony’s saddle and telling him how irresponsible and selfish he’s been. His cousins have reached the pony and have started to pull and scratch at him. The pony is clearly terrified and trying to back away from them.

Thomas is torn on whether to pull Logan and his Uncle away from each other before his Uncle manages to punch him (Or Logan loses his temper and hits first), or whether he should pull his cousins off the pony first. In his split second hesitation his Aunt has unlatched the gate and is hurrying towards the pony. She is digging through her purse as she goes and pulls out something large and metal.

Later Thomas will find out it was a makeup case she accidently pulled out while looking for her phone, but in that moment of complete chaos it looked somewhat similar to that horrible mouth piece the pony had once been forced to wear.

The pony panics. He stumbles backwards frantically as fast as he can.

Now remember how Logan had been trying to find that gopher hole earlier? The pony found it. His back legs slip into it and throw him to the ground. He gives a loud cry of pain that halts every one in their tracks.

‘That. Is. It.’

Chapter Text

‘That. Is. It.’

“GET OUT!” Thomas screams. He rushes past his Aunt and bodily shoves her out of his way when she tries to stop him. He runs to the pony. The pony has his arm covering his eyes and is crying. Thomas turns around to face his horrible family.

“Get the fuck off my property. Go right now and don’t you ever come back!” His Uncle has run over to help his wife up and turns to glare up at Thomas. “How dare you assault my wife!”

“I don’t fucking care!” (Later Thomas will feel terribly guilty but at this particular moment, no, he really doesn’t care.) “I want you off my land in the next five minutes or I’m call the police.”

“You’re Centaurs have harassed and attacked us and you want US to leave?! Those fucking animals should be put down! We’ll sue you for this!” His Aunt screams this while pulling her fussy children close. Her husband opens his mouth to join it but Thomas speaks first.

“Good! I’ll see you in court!”

Thomas turns his back on his family to address Logan. “Logan, can you help him into the barn? I’m going to walk my family to their car. I don’t trust them to go by themselves.” Thomas glares at his Aunt and Uncle. He’s so upset he doesn’t even register he’s used Logan’s name. Logan simply nods from where he’s kneeling by the pony. He doesn’t point out Thomas’s mistake.

Thomas starts waving his hands in a ‘shoo’ motion while walking towards his family.

“Come on. You guys have overstayed your welcome. Actually you were never welcome in the first place.” His Uncle opens his mouth but Thomas just glares at him and he closes it. His Uncle and Aunt make the wisest decisions they've made all day and silently sulk back to their car. Their children follow less quietly but don’t try to fight their parents grips on their hands. Thomas follows them and crosses his arms while watching them pile into their $70K car. He stands right outside the drivers window, glaring at his Uncle.

Once his Uncle and Aunt get in the car they seem to find their tongues again, or maybe they just aren’t as scared now that they can make a quick get away.

“I’m very disappointed in you Thomas.” His Uncle says.

“Back at you.” Thomas replies.

“Don’t come crawling to us if you ever need help. You’ve officially burnt that bridge.” His Aunt snarks. “I want McDonalds!” Leo yells. “You’re a fucking faggot!” Yells Lea. Thomas barely keeps himself in check.

“Get out.” He repeats.

His Uncle shakes his head in faux dismay. “I hope you realize you have lost your family today. I can only imagine how disappointed your parents would be.”

Too far.

“Uncle Owen,” Thomas says lowly. “I don’t ever want to see you or your family again. If you try to contact me ever again I will sue you for however much you’ve stolen from my company over the years. You’d better pray I don’t change my mind and sue anyway. Now get out.” His Uncle pales and his wife sputters. Thomas turns away and walks back into his house without looking back. Based on his Uncle’s reaction, he knows he was right to suspect his Uncle was embezzling money from his company.

He hears their car drive off and takes a deep breath. He slumps against the door, fighting off tears. He really just wants to jump in bed and dramatically cry Disney princes style but the day still isn’t over. He needs to get to the barn. The pony could be seriously hurt.

The thought spurs him back to his feet and he grabs the emergency kit from the kitchen before half jogging to the barn. He doesn’t have the energy to actually run. He finds the pony and Logan in the pony’s room. He knocks lightly on the door and waits for permission to enter.

He has never been in eithers room since they moved in. He isn’t about to invade their privacy like all their previous owners had. Their room is their safe place and Thomas respects that.

Logan looks up at the quiet noise and gestures for Thomas to come in. The pony is laying on his side with his face squished into one of his many pillows. Thomas leaves him be and faces Logan instead.

“Is his leg broken?” He asks Logan.

“No but he most likely bruised a few ribs when he fell. I can not say for sure since he has been unwilling to communicate with me.”

Thomas just nods. Makes sense. The poor guy isn’t likely to start speaking again anytime soon. “I should probably call a doctor right?” Thomas asks this quietly. He doesn’t want to alarm the pony.

“I am not entirely sure that is a good idea. To subject him to another stranger at this time is likely to cause him more stress than is healthy. I suggest we get his some ice and allow him time to settle. Unless he should he show any signs of more complex issues tonight or tomorrow I see no reason to involve a medical professional.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Thomas says. He gets to his feet and does his best to stand steady. Man, is he tired.

“I’m gonna go fill in that hole. Are you okay to stay here with him?”

Logan nods. “Are you certain you remember where it is?””

“Positive. I have the whole damn thing is burned into my mind. Couldn’t forget if I wanted to.”

Logan nods and walks out to go collect some ice.

Thomas shifts from one foot to the other. He is hesitant to leave but he's aware the pony probably wants some privacy, or at the very least to be away from humans.

Thomas forces himself to leave the room and heads over to the storage closet to get a shovel. As much as he'd like to leave the physical labor for tomorrow he is determined to follow through. Today could have been SO much worse. When a Centaur breaks a leg it tended to be extremely difficult to set. Not to mention how long it took for a Centaur leg to finish healing. Add all the physical therapy needed afterwards and it could take up to a year to get a Centaur back to normal.

Thomas exits the barn and walks strait towards the hole. He lifts his shovel and begins to fill in the pit with the surrounding dirt. His movements are vicious and sharp. He's stabbing the ground more than shoveling it. He hadn't realized he'd needed to burn off so much steam.

Thomas does his best to smooth out the ground once the hole is filled and then drags the shovel back with him to the house. He isn't about to walk all the way to the barn again.

Once Thomas enters his home he finds himself overwhelmed with fatigue. He drops the shovel (that he hadn't realized he was still holding), and walks up the stairs. He ignores the broken glass from the broken globe, making a mental note to clean it later, and shoves his bedroom door open. It's a mess. His things are everywhere and there are significantly more clothes on the floor than what there had been that morning. To be fair there had been quit a bit that morning.

Thomas elects to ignore that too and falls face first into his bed, the pillows rushing up to meet him. He would have screamed into his pillow if he'd had the energy to. Instead he closes his eyes and allows sleep to claim him. He trusts Logan to get him if anything goes wrong and he simply doesn't have the physical or mental energy to do anything else.

Tomorrow, he'll do it all tomorrow.

Chapter Text

************************************

It’s been four days since the disaster that was Thomas’s family. To everyone's relief, the Pony seems to have only mildly sprained his leg. It had been swollen the whole first day but Thomas had been assured (by a Dr. he called because ‘Damn it Logan this could be serious and no, I’m not panicking.’) that it didn't sound like anything serious and so long as they kept an eye on him the Pony should be back on his feet in no time.

Now that Thomas knows the Pony is alright Thomas has put all his efforts into damage control. Mainly his reputation. Right now he's typing away on his computer, trying to prepare a speech to his friends to explain why he owns two Centaurs. So far he has-

Why you shouldn’t kill me. - A formal apology by Thomas Sanders.

1. I’m sorry
2. I literally don’t know how this happened
3. I’m too young to die
4. We’ve been friends for years
5. Remember that one time I let you eat the rest of the Doritos?

That’s about as far as Thomas has gotten when Logan walks up to him. He sets down his computer and turns his full attention to Logan, thankful for a distraction.

“What’s up?”

Logan looks upwards in confusion. “The roof?” He looks back down to squint at Thomas. Trying to determine why Thomas would ask such a ridiculous question.

“No, I mean ‘what’s up’ as in ‘what are you up to’?”

“Oh, I see.” Logan has one eyebrow raised but just shakes his head and continues. “I have been pondering the dilemma of his- (he gestures to the pony) inability to speak when under pressure. I am concerned it may one day cause a serious issue.”

Thomas nods. “I am too but what can we do about it? It isn’t like he’s doing it on purpose. You’ve seen how frustrated it makes him. He can’t help it.”

“I am aware. That is why I have come to the conclusion that we need another method of communication.”

“Another way- you mean like a notepad and pen? That didn’t work, remember? His hands kept shaking and it just upset him even more.”

Logan huffs. “I am not suggesting the notepad again. It was impractical anyway. What if he should forget it? To carry it around would be a hassle.”

“It was your idea.”

Logan speaks over him. “What I mean is we should learn sign language.”

‘Sign language?’ Thomas stops to think about it. It does make sense. “I guess that could work. Do you know sign language?”

“I do not but I don’t think it will be too difficult to learn. I taught myself to read although I assume it would be far easier to learn with an online training course.”

“Taught yourself- It might be easy for you Logan but I took four years of Spanish in high school and I only remember how to say ‘cat’, ‘lamp’ and ‘hi’. Oh, and ‘uno’ though I don’t think that one counts.” Thomas runs a hand through his hair. “Still, I think you may be onto something. Sign language could work.” He looks up at Logan with a smile.

“I say let’s give it a shot. Y’unno, if he wants to.”

Logan and Thomas look over to where the pony is moving about the kitchen. Now that he’s back on his feet he seems happy. He actually looks calmer than Thomas has possibly ever seen him. ‘Sign language sounds like a good idea. I think he’ll think so too.’

************************************

Thomas and Logan wait till dinner to bring it up. At first, the pony seems surprised at the idea -probably because of Logan’s blunt delivery- but then he smiles wide.

“You’d learn sign language? For me?” He looks so touched Thomas can’t help but smile with him.

“Of course we would. It’s the least we can do. We want to help you. Besides, if it wasn’t for you Logan and me would have starved to death by now. ”

“That is a gross exaggeration Thomas. We would have survived.” Thomas nudges Logan in his lower rib cage.

Logan sighs. “Thomas is correct -however rare that may be-”

“Hey!”

“-in that we would both like to assist you in this manner. In fact we-” Logan’s eyes widen in concern.

“Thomas, is there a reason he is crying? I did not think this would be upsetting to him but I suppose my calculations may have been off.”

The Pony wipes at his eyes. “I’m alright, Logan. I’m just happy. You guys have gone so far out of your way to make me comfortable and I really appreciate it.”

“So you are crying? How does that make sense?”

“It's just what people do.” The pony says, wiping the tears from his eyes.

“I have never done such a thing.” Logan counters.

“He means people who aren’t emotionally constipated.” Thomas snickers whilst trying to discreetly rub his eyes. The Pony’s emotions are so catchy!

“What- what are you- How does that sentence even make sense?!” Logan says, throwing his hands up.

The pony claps his hands in excitement. “Lets learn sign language right now!”

*******************************************

Chapter Text

*******************************************

Logan, Thomas and the pony get right to work learning sign language. They spend most of their evenings studying and practicing together. Naturally, Logan is miles ahead of the other two but that was to be expected.

Seeing as Logan already has the basics down he becomes their default teacher. They still watch tutorials online but any and all questions are directed at Logan.

Three days after first choosing to learn sign language, all three friends sit in the living room practicing. Thomas sits in his chair. (The comfy one he dragged in a few weeks prior. So what if there was grass and dirt all over the bottom of it and he took two hours to get it there. It was a small price to pay for comfort) The Pony and Logan sit across from him, perfectly content on the cement floor. So they say, Thomas is going to get a rug anyway.

They’ve been practicing how to finger spell for thirty minutes now and Thomas isn’t sure much progress is being made.

After Logan walks Thomas through his hand positioning (again), Thomas gives it another go. He speaks as he slowly signs.

“My name is Thomas Sanders. I’m twenty two-” He doesn’t get farther than that. Which was a shame considering that was the farthest he’d ever gotten.

“You’re twenty two? I was under the impression you were younger.” Logan interrupts, surprised.

“Younger as in I have a young face or..” Thomas doesn't bother to finish his sentence. He knows what Logan meant. Thomas is offended. Not surprised, but offended nonetheless. “Never mind. Yes, I am twenty two. How old are you?”

“Twenty three.” Huh, Thomas had thought he was older than him by maybe four or five years, give or take. He says as much. “Really? I thought you were like, twenty five or twenty seven. You’re only a year older than me.”

“Yes, well age can be an inaccurate measure for ones-” A squeal cuts him off. The pony is practically bouncing on his knees and a wide smile splits his face.

“You’re both just little babies!” He coos. He has his hands bunched up by his face and is wiggling in excitement.

“Wha-?” Starts Thomas.

“Babies? I just said I’m twenty three!” Logan says, flabbergasted.

“How old are you?” Logan and Thomas ask simultaneously.

“Twenty five!” The pony still looks delighted.

“What? You’re only two years older, how does that make me a baby?”

“Seriously? I thought you were younger than me.”

The pony doesn’t give Thomas or Logan a response. He just keeps smiling and squealing.

“I don’t understand. How could you possibly see me as a baby? I am a full grown adult!” Logan is obviously still confused but Thomas thinks it's kind of cute how delighted the pony is. Though to be fair, the pony is almost always cute.

The pony has already proven how much he loves to care for other people. He always gives Thomas a throw blanket when he sits in his chair, even when it’s only slightly chilly. He makes Logan wear a jacket when he leaves the barn and gets worried if Thomas or Logan says they aren’t hungry. He’s got this ‘parent’ vibe about him, so the pony being so happy about being the oldest isn’t all that surprising once Thomas thinks about it. To be honest, though, he really had thought the pony was much younger. He looks closer to being twenty than twenty five. Hell, he could pass for 17 if he tried hard enough.

“I guess you’re the oldest then dude Congratulations. Just don’t let the power go to your head.” Thomas chuckles.

“Power? Thomas what are you even talking about?” Logan's confusion has turned to frustration.

“Don’t worry about it kiddo.” The pony says, while barely holding back a laugh. Thomas doesn’t even try. The look on Logans face was possibly the funniest thing he’d ever seen. Logan was angry but too confused to even know how to react. For a split second he’s speechless and just sputters nonsense. Thomas hasn’t ever seen that before and he thinks it’s hilarious.

Thomas eventually manages to calm himself down and cuts off Logan’s sputtering. “Don’t worry about it Logan. We’re just having fun. Don’t take it so seriously.”

Logan glares at them both. “I don’t believe I will ever understand either of your senses of humor. It is entirely nonsensical.”

“That’s what makes it fun, Logan. Anyway it’s your turn.” Thomas says.

Logan decides to let it go and releases a long sigh.

‘My name is Logan.’ Unlike Thomas he signs without speaking. Possibly as revenge since he knows Thomas will struggle to keep up. ‘I am twenty three. Therefore an adult.’ Thomas doesn’t quite catch that last part but he doesn’t have to to know what Logan meant.

Thomas rolls his eyes as he turns to watch the Pony. The pony brings up his hands and starts signing. Like Logan he doesn’t speak along.

‘I am twenty five.’ He hesitates for a moment but then gives a smile and continues. “My name is-’ The pony slowly spells out his name. Thomas shoots to his feet.

“Oh my gosh! Your name!!” The pony nods with a smile. “Your name is Gatton!”

The pony (Gatton?) stops, confused, and shakes his head ‘no’.

“Thomas that was a ‘P’ not a ‘G’.” Logan clarifies.

“Ooooh. Yeah, that makes more sense.” Thomas says, a thoughtful look on his face. Then he’s smiling again. “Patton. That’s a really nice name. It suits you.”

The po- Patton grins. “Thank you. I figured it was about time I told you. After everything you’ve done for me I know that I can trust you now.”

Thomas clutches a hand over his heart. His feelings right now are becoming a little overwhelming and Thomas almost wants to cry. He feels so honored and blessed to have been given the trust of these two centaurs. Centaurs who had only ever been abused by humans and yet somehow saw something in Thomas that they found trustworthy, despite his being human. Knowing a centaur’s name came with a sort of power and Patton had just given his to the person who could abuse it the most.

“Thank you Patton.” Thomas says, raspy voice betraying his emotions. Patton just opens his arms with a big smile.

“Bring it in kiddo.”

How could Thomas refuse?

“And again with the crying.” Logan mutters. “Why would you cry when you are happy?”

“Don’t worry Logan.” Patton gets a mischievous glint in his eyes. “You’ll understand when you’re older.”

Thomas bursts into laughter and Logan just yells in frustration.

***************************************

Chapter Text

***************************************

This is it. The day of reckoning has come. Thomas’s sins have finally caught up to him and denial has ultimately failed him. Now that he thinks about it he shouldn’t be as surprised as he is.

The end is thrown into motion by a single text.

‘We need to talk.’ - Joan

The text is rapidly followed by one from Talyn but this one has a photo attached.

‘WTF’ - Talyn

The photo is a screenshot of what can only be Aunt Patty’s facebook page. On it she has a post describing that horrible afternoon when she, her husband, and their crotch goblins had invited themselves over. Even though the post is about 80% lies, from what Thomas can see through the blurry picture, his Aunt does mention Patton and Logan enough times and in enough detail that it’s clear that at least a centaur of two were involved.

Thomas knows he should have spoken to his friends sooner and he truly had planned to but he just hadn’t been able to make himself do it. He now curses his cowardice. ‘Why past me? Why?’

Thomas has only just read the texts when his computer rings with a zoom call meeting. Both Talyn and Joan are in it. With a deep breath Thomas joins. He tries not to wince but does so anyway when he sees their faces.

It remains silent for quite some time before Thomas gives into his nerves. Besides, what does he have to lose?

“Okay! I know! I know! I’m sorry, I should have just told you guys.”

“So it’s true? You own a Centaurs?!” Talyn gasps, it’s clear they had been hoping otherwise.

Thomas avoids eye contact. “I’m sorry, it’s true.”

Joan glares viciously at him. “Are you sorry for not telling us or because you FUCKING BOUGHT SOMEONE!?”

“Thomas, what the hell is going on?” Talyn looks like a mixture between angry, betrayed and disappointed.

Thomas flounders for an answer. What does he say? How can he explain this? Thomas is still panicking when he hears hoofbeats. ‘Oh no. It’s Logan.’ (The two Centaurs make distinctively different sounds when they walk. Patton's hoof beats are light and quick whereas Logan's are heavy and drawn out.)

Thomas glances up and half shuts his computer screen, ignoring his friends‘ protests. He really wishes they had called when he was in his room and not in the barn. Unfortunately he is in the barn and Logan is approaching the table, looking at his own computer. He probably has something business related to tell Thomas. Is it just me or does Logan have the actual WORST timing?

“Hey, uh, Lo- er-um, do you mind- uh, coming back later? I’m kinda having a- well you see-”

Joan and Talyn have had enough.

“THOMAS! If you don’t get back on right this second I swear I’m hanging up and never speaking to you again!”

Thomas hopes Joan is bluffing but he doesn’t think they are. There is nothing his friend group is more passionate about than defending people’s rights, it’s how Thomas met over half of them. And yet Thomas still bought two people. He’s taken away their right in every conceivable way. Thomas wants to at least explain himself before losing his friends forever, even if he isn’t sure he deserves to.

“No, please don’t guys! Let me explain! I didn’t- I didn’t mean to-” Thomas quickly lifts his computer up.

“ What, you just ‘accidently’ bought two Centaurs?” Talyn snarks.

“Well not accidentally-”

“Fuck! Thomas what happened to you man? Do you seriously not care about other people anymore? Was this all just a joke to you?!”

“No!”

Thomas looks away. This isn’t going well. He doesn’t know what to say to defend himself. Guilty though he may feel, he still believes he did the right thing. If he hadn’t bought them, Logan would be dead and Patton would still be suffering horrible abuse day in and day out.

He’s thought, many times, that maybe he should have called the Centaur Cruelty Prevention instead of taking the drastic steps of buying Logan and Patton. But the CCP would never have gotten there fast enough to save either of them. No, Thomas is sure there had been no other way and if he had to do it all over again he would still do it the same.

If only Thomas could put all his thoughts into words. He is still thinking through this dilemma, his brain going at hyper speed, when he sees Logan’s face appear behind his on the screen.

“Gah! Dude don’t scare me like that!”

“I apologize. Although I am not sure how you did not notice my presence. I did not think it was possible for me to be stealthy.”

“Yeah well I’m kind of distracted-”

“Who’s the new friend Thomas?” Joan phrases it as an accusation. “Did he have anything to do with you becoming a slave owner or was that all your idea?”

“Does he think buying and selling people is okay too? Is that it?” Talyn asks. They sound furious but there is a clear undertone of hurt to their voice. “Did you ever even care? Were you just pretending all that time? Or you just change your beliefs to match what your friends think?”

Thomas is losing whatever chance he’d had to convince his friends that he isn’t a monster. That he was never faking and that he has always cared and always will. He never betrayed his convictions. Not really. ‘That's it!’ He thinks. ‘All I have to do is explain how I-’

“Of course I believe selling and buying Centaurs is okay. Is it not a daily occurrence?”

‘Damn it Logan!’

Talyn and Joan are practically shaking with rage when they hear that. They unleash their wrath on Logan.

“How fucking dare you! Centaurs are just as human as we are! They deserve to be treated with the same amount of respect as the rest of us!”

“You’re sick man. I’d normally give you a piece of my mind but right now this is about Thomas, not you. Thomas bought centaurs and nobody made him do it so you stay out of this. It’s none of your fucking business.”

Logan glares back defensively. “It most certainly is my business! If anyone has no say on this topic it is most certainly you. If you truly think I should have the same rights as that of any human then do not tell me how my being bought by Thomas isn’t my business.”

“You fuc- what?” “Hold up what did you say?”

Logan doesn’t answer, he just picks up the computer and raises it to show the rest of his body.

“Seeing as I am one of the centaurs in question I do believe I should have a say in this conversion. Unless you are as hypocritical as you have accused Thomas to be.”

There is only silence on the other line. Thomas holds his breath.

“You’re the guy Thomas bought?” Asks Talyn quietly.

“Yes. There is one other but I believe he is sleeping.” Logan squints. “Although it is possible he is only pretending to sleep but I am uncertain. He confuses me.”

There is a moment of confused silence before Talyn takes a calming breath.

“Okay Thomas.” They say tersely. “I want you to explain. I’m gonna give you the benefit of a doubt, you’ve been one of my closest friends all my life and I honestly can’t believe you’d do something like this.”

“Same.” Joan says stiffly. “Tell us why you decided to buy this guy and, apparently, another one. I’m assuming you had a reason.” Talyn and Joan seem more upset and betrayed now that their anger has faded somewhat.

Thomas snatches up the opportunity to explain and clings to it like a life line.“I do! I do have a reason!” Thomas takes a moment to try and reorganize his thoughts.

“Um, okay. So I know how awful it is, what I’ve done but I wasn’t planning to but then I met Lo-this guy-” Thomas’s words speed up and start to blend together.

“-and he wassick andmybosswas horribleandthenwesawthatstupidfair-”

“Thomas.” Logan raises his voice to be heard over his rambling. “We can not understand you. It may be best to slow down.”

“I have a better idea. How about you tell us what happened?” Talyn gestures to Logan.

“Me?” Logan says surprised.

“Yeah. I want to hear it from your perspective.”

“Well I.. Thomas?” Logan looks to Thomas who just waves his hand at him.

“Knock yourself out man.” Who knows, maybe this way will be better. Thomas can hope right?

Logan clears his throat. Thomas remembers how Logan used to be punished for talking back and just speaking in general. He realizes Logan has never been asked to speak before in his entire life and certainly not to more than one person. Does he have a fear of speaking?

“We shall start at the beginning then.” ‘Yeah no, Logan’s gone full professor mode. No fear of public speaking there.’

“I met Thomas when he began working at Benny’s Warehouse. I do not know why he chose to work there out of all the other available jobs he could have chosen, or why he chose to pursue a job in the first place, considering his sizable inheritance, however, had he not he would never have bought me. Therefore I will overlook this significant oversight in common sense.”

“Gee thanks.” Thomas quietly grumbles. This may take a while, Logan likes to be thorough. Thankfully Logan speaks quickly and efficiently as well so it tends to balance out. Usually.

“Although I am uncertain as to why this matters, it was only under extreme circumstances that Thomas chose to buy me. Though to be fair, I do not remember most of it.”

Joan interrupts. “Why don’t you remember? Didn’t you have a choice in the matter?”

Logan snaps back, irritated at being interrupted. “Of course I do not remember. I was unconscious during this time.”

Thomas drops his face into his hands, groaning. “And now I look like a kidnapper.”

“You are not a kidnapper Thomas.” Logan scoffs. “You brought me through legal means. How would you even kidnap me in the first place? How would you sneak me out? It is doubtful such an attempt would go unnoticed.” Thomas groans again.

“Please just finish the story.” He says, not daring to meet the eyes of his friends. He can feel their combined judgment even through a screen.

“Yeah.” Pipes up Talyn. “I want to know why Thomas bought an unconscious Centaur who couldn’t even stand up for himself.” Thomas buries his head further in his arms.

Logan huffs. “You may be right in that I was unable to stand up for myself, literally and figuratively, but I am able to do so now and I can say with full clarity of mind that I am grateful Thomas bought me.”

Talyn and Joan look skeptical. Thomas can sympathize. It can be hard to tell if Logan and Patton say things because they mean it or if they’re just saying what they think Thomas wants to hear. Logan never did much of the latter but Patton had consistently when he first arrived. It had taken Thomas quite a while to realize Patton wasn’t playing nice out of fear anymore. As it turned out Patton genuinely likes making people happy, he doesn’t play nice, he is nice.

However, Logan has never appreciated when people do not take his words seriously. He says what he means without any input from the opinions of others. Consequences be damned.

“I do not suppose you will ever experience pneumonia in two sets of lungs but I assure you it is quite common for those suffering it to lack lucidity. Thomas had no hand in my lack of conscious.”

“So you were sick when Thomas bought you?”

“Guys he wasn’t just sick. He- They were gonna- His cart…”

Thomas runs his hand through his hair. He hates remembering those terrible days, when he wasn’t sure if Logan was going to make it or not. Trying to decide what to do if he lived. Trying to decide what to do if he didn’t-.

“I was not simply ‘sick’. I believe the most common description would be ‘dying’, and I would have had Thomas not intervened when he did.” Logan straightens his shoulders. His hands holding the computer stay perfectly still. He is somehow perfectly composed, even though this is the first he’s talked about his near death experience. He sounds and is acting like he’s only talking about the weather.

“My previous owner did not consider me to be worth the cost of whatever medicines I required so Thomas bought me in order to provide them. Therefore even though I may not have been aware that I had been sold, I assure you I am quite content with the outcome.”

Talyn and Joan stay silent. Muling over this story. Thomas isn’t sure how they would have responded since, at that moment, Patton chooses to show himself from around the kitchen counter.

“You never told me all that!” He gasps. “That’s so horrible! You poor babies!” He comes trotting over, looking distraught. “I didn’t know you both went through so much. I’m so sorry that happened to you. I can’t imagine how frightening it must have been!” He gushes.

Logan scoffs and shuffles away to avoid Patton’s hug. “We’ve been over this before, Thomas and I are NOT babies. Also I was unconscious. It was not frightening at all.” Patton ignores his protests and gives his best attempt at a hug. He can just reach Logan's lower chest.

Logan scowls. “For heaven's sake! It was months ago! Why would it still upset me?”

Still ignoring Logan’s protests, Patton moves on to Thomas. Thomas gladly accepts the hug. He could use one right about now.

It’s silent for a moment before Joan clears his throat quietly. “So who’s this?” Oh, Thomas had just about forgotten they were there.

Both Talyn and Joan are rather speechless at the whole spectacle they’ve been witnessing. Who can blame them? Thomas, Patton and Logan do make a rather odd trio.

“This is Pa- er” Thomas wracks his brain, trying to think of something to call Patton besides his name or ‘the pony’. Logan helps him out.

“This is the other Centaur.” Logan gestures to Patton who gives a tiny wave. Now that Patton has him emotions a little more under control, any confidence he might have had begins to die. Thomas is touched that Patton’s desire to comfort him and Logan overrode his fear of new people, even if just for a bit.

“Right. So how did you end up with Thomas?” Talyn asks Patton. Both Talyn and Joan seem to have completely calmed down. Something Thomas is eternally grateful for. Maybe Logan’s impromptu arrival was a good thing after all.

Patton looks around flustered and frightened. He'd clearly forgotten Joan and Talyn were there. He begins signing to Thomas and Logan, asking if he actually has to speak with them. Thomas shakes his head no.

“He does not wish to speak to you.” Logan declares. Talyn and Joan are both a bit taken back by the blunt statement. Patton looks horrified.

“Oh, okay. No pressure. I just wanted to know if it bothers you that Thomas bought you.”

“I can assure you, again, neither of us minds in the slightest. Quite the opposite.” Patton nods in agreement with Logan.

Thomas smiles a little. No matter how many times he'd told himself he had done the right thing by buying them, he had never felt entirely at peace about it. Now, hearing Patton and Logan confirm it, Thomas finds the lingering guilt he hadn’t known he still had slowly fading away.

Joan processes this for a moment. “Thomas?”

“Yeah?”

Joan takes a slow breath. “I shouldn’t have attacked you like that. I still don’t know what the fuck is going on but I should have had you explain first.” Joan is quick to add, “I’m not saying I agree with all this but it looks like it’s a lot more complicated than I thought.”

“I’m sorry Thomas.” Taylin says. “I got so mad I didn’t even stop to think there might be more to the story then you just up and turning on everything we believe.”

“Joan, Talyn, you guys don’t have to apologize. I’d have done the exact same thing a few months ago.” Thomas gives a weak smile and gets two equally weak ones in return.

Talyn looks at her phone and sighs. “I have a major test in a few so I’m gonna have to go. Before I do, I’m glad I got to meet you two. Can I get your guys’s names?”

“No.” Deadpans Logan . Patton nudges his lower rib cage, signing to Logan to say it nicely.

Joan frowns. “Do you guys not have names?” They sound alarmed.

“No, no, no.” Thomas waves his hands. “They have names. They just don’t tell them to people. It’s a- it’s a cultural thing. Or maybe some kind of…. tradition?”

Talyn frowns too. “Oh. I’ve never heard of that.”

Logan scoffs. “Perhaps it is best not to join a cause for Centaurs when you are ignorant-”

Patton nudges Logan again and signs at him. 'Hush! Don’t be rude, they’re just trying to do what they think is right. There’s nothing wrong with that.'

“Thinking or feeling as though you are right hardly makes that truth.” Logan argues.

“Guys. Can we debate later?” Thomas asks. Patton and Logan reluctantly stop. “Well, thanks Joan, Talyn. I’m glad you guys care enough to confront me about this. I know we- I haven’t answered all of your questions but I need to go too. Can we get a rain check on this?”

‘Rain check?’ Logan mouths in confusion.

Joan and Talyn nod. “I’m still confused about what the hell is going on but Joan is right. There is definitely more to this story so I’m going to try and keep an open mind.”

“So am I.” Agrees Joan.

“We’ll talk later, okay Thomas?” This time it doesn't sound like a threat. Well...maybe like a warning. A slightly aggressive warning.

Thomas nods. “Yep. Talk to you guys later.”

“Bye, it was nice to meet you two. I hope we can talk again sometime.” Talyn calls before logging out. Joan leaves right behind them. Thomas collapses in his chair. He laughs like a maniac.

Logan and Patton back away as though he is a maniac.

“Thomas? You doing alright there kiddo?” Patton asks.

Thomas gives two thumbs up. “All good Pat, just relieved.”

“Do you usually become manic when relieved?” Asks Logan.

Thomas just keeps laughing.

Chapter Text

*********************************

Thomas glances casually over his laptop. Patton is still in the kitchen. That’s ok. Thomas can be patient. Patton will move eventually. He just has to play it cool, it will all be worth the wait. Thomas goes back to his computer whilst glancing at Patton out of the corner of his eye. Two minutes later (Thomas is keeping track.) Patton straightens up, dusts off his hands, and exits the kitchen. Patton has barely left the room when Thomas is jumping to his feet and sneaking into the kitchen.

Thomas rifles through the cupboards. Then the top shelves. ‘Damn it. Where are they?’ Thomas tries under the sink next but to his utter dismay there isn’t a dorito bag in sight. He’s been looking for the family sized dorito bag he bought last week, for four minutes now and he is running out of time. He has to find them before Patton comes to the kitchen to make lunch.

In the past week, Patton had become very strict about snacking before meals. Thomas had disagreed vehemently against cutting down his snacking until Logan had joined Patton, saying that snacking was generally unhealthy and should be limited to fruits or vegetables. After that Thomas had given in to Patton’s idea, afraid they might both take Logan’s approach and gang up on him. Less cheesy goodness was better than no cheesy goodness.

He slams the last shelf door closed and stands with a huff. Fine. He’ll ask for help. If he’s lucky Logan won’t tattle on him. It’s a big if but desperate times call for desperate measures. He waves at Logan to get his attention. Logan looks up from across the room and raises an eyebrow in question.

‘Where are the doritos?’ Thomas signs. Logan just squints in confusion. ‘What?’ Logan signs back.

Thomas drops his head back with a groan.

This ‘quiet hour’ thing is killing him. Last week Logan had informed Patton and Thomas that they were- “not progressing in sign language at the speed with which most people do”- and that he didn’t think they were getting enough practice. He proposed they dedicate an hour of each day to not talking to ensure they practiced. Thomas is almost positive Logan made the whole thing up to get Thomas and Patton to talk less. They had discovered a mutual love of puns and Logan was endlessly frustrated by it. Still, Thomas had to admit it was a good idea.

Thomas tries asking Logan again. ‘Where are the doritos?’ Logan still looks confused.

Thomas checks to see if he is spelling ‘doritos’ right. He thinks he is but maybe not. He pretends to open a bag and mimes eating a chip. Then he gestures to the kitchen. He thinks he made a pretty good impression but unfortunately Logan doesn’t see it. Logan is looking at Patton who’s just walked in.

‘Damn it.’

Patton is smiling but it freezes over when he sees Thomas in the kitchen. His eyes narrow in suspicion. Thomas swallows heavily. ‘I was looking for something.’ Thomas signs.

Patton squints even more. “What?” Patton quickly puts his hands over his mouth before signing instead. ‘Can you say it again?’ ‘I wanted-’ Thomas tries to think of an excuse. ‘-water.’ He doesn’t know if Patton is buying it or not because Logan speaks up instead.

“Thomas we don’t know what you are saying. You’re too far away.”

Now Thomas is the one confused.

“What do you mean?” He asks.

“Guys! No speaking remember? It’s still quiet hour!” Patton reminds them.

Logan ignores him. “Thomas, how are we supposed to know what you are saying when you are that far away? We can’t see what you are signing.”

Thomas glances around. Is he in a shadow or something? “Logan I’m not that far away. Are you telling me you can’t see my hands?”

Patton gives up on quiet hour and focusses of Thomas’s hands with Logan. Thomas spells out his name. (the first thing he could think of.)

“Kiddo, Logan’s right. You’re too far away.” Patton agrees.

Thomas wants to let this go as just a trick of the light or something, since both Centaurs are saying he’s too far to see, but he has a nagging feeling something else is up. He raises his hand and holds up three fingers.

“How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Thomas don’t be redicu-” “Two.” Logan looks at the smaller Centaur in surprise. He squints and looks harder at Thomas’s hand. “I see three.” He says.

Thomas holds up four. “How many now?”

“Still three.” “Five?” Logan and Patton look at each other confused before Logan speaks.
“Patton can’t you count?” Patton glares at him. “Of course I can! I just can’t see him clearly from this far away!”

“It is clear he is holding up three fingers. Can you not see that?”

“Logan, I’m holding up four.”

An awkward silence falls. All three look between each other. Logan clears his throat.

“Be that as it may, I still believe you are simply too far away. Patton and I cannot see you from this distance and I’m not sure why you are taking this so out of proportions.”

“Because you guys should be able to see me. I’m not that far! Here, I’ll prove it. Patton hold up your fingers.” Patton holds up two fingers. “Two.” Thomas says confidently.

“That doesn’t prove-” “Now you’re holding up four.” Logan’s eyebrows draw close together.
“Are you implying that our sight is impared?” He asks.

“Oh! You mean like glasses?” Patton asks. “I used to have glasses. But they- uh, they broke. I haven’t actually worn any in years.” Logan and Thomas are surprised at this information.

“You knew you needed glasses?” Thomas asks. Patton wrings his hands a little. “I’d actually forgot I ever had any. It was a long time ago. I haven’t had any since I was sold to the fair.”

“Well I think it’s safe to say you still need them. Logan, did anyone ever say you needed glasses?”

“Anything regarding me would have been discussed with my owner, not me.”

That makes Thomas mad. “So he knew?”

“Possibly. The last time I was examined was when he first bought me so my sight might have digressed since then. Also, what makes you certain I need glasses anyway?”

“Logan,” Patton says. “If you can’t see any better than I can and I needed glasses then I’m pretty sure that means you do too.”

“I’m aware, Patton, but holding up fingers from across the room doesn’t provide concrete evidence. It is possible there is light interference or something of that nature.”

“Which is exactly why I’m getting you guys an appointment with an Optometrist. There’s the one I always go to so we can just go there.”

“Opta-who?” Patton asks.

“He means an eye specialist.” Logan clarifies. “Thomas, we do not need an Optometrist. A Centaur vet would work just as well. Patton and I would not be allowed in an Optometrist’s office anyway.”

“Yeah but a vet,” Thomas nearly snarls at the word. “- wouldn’t know what exact prescription to give you. They couldn’t tell us much more than we already know. Hell, I bet they just have a box of glasses and you try them all on till you find one that works a little.”

“That’s how I got mine.” Patton confirms. ‘Damn it I was making that up.’ Thomas thinks.

“See? What’s the point in getting you guys glasses if you still can’t see right?”

“That is a valid point,” Logan concedes. “- but we will still not be allowed to enter the building so I don’t see another way.”

“Course you don’t! That's because you need glasses!” Patton snickers.

“One could come here?” Thomas suggests, ignoring Patton’s quips. Then he thinks it through more. “Naw, they’d still need those machines or whatever.”

“Machines?!” Patton looks alarmed. “Why would they need machines?”

“I have no idea but they always use them so they are probably important.” Thomas says. “I’ll ask Joan and Talyn if they know any Centaur friendly places. Who knows? Maybe there’s one in town.”

Logan rolls his eyes. “I seriously doubt it.” He doesn’t protest it though so Thomas takes that as permission to go ahead. It isn’t like it will hurt to check.

“I’m gonna get started on lunch.” Patton says, moving to the kitchen. “I was thinking of making sandwiches. Oh, and Thomas,” Thomas faces Patton just in time to catch a bag of doritos from hitting his face. “Stop snacking before meals.”

“Where did you even hide that?! I looked everywhere!” Thomas blurts without thinking. He shrinks back at the disapproving look Patton shoots at him.

“I mean, yes sir! No more snacking before meals. Got it.” Thomas slinks back to the table and hides his face behind his computer screen in shame. He racks his brain, trying to think of where Patton could have possibly hidden the chips. He’d been sure he looked everywhere. The fridge maybe?

********************************

Thomas is texting Joan and Talyn to ask about possible doctors when a thought occurs to him. It’s hardly the first time he’s wondered this but he no longer feels like it might be insulting to ask.

“Hey Patton.”

“Yeah?” Patton looks up from where he is making cookies.

“Why don’t Centaurs tell people their names?”

Patton looks thoughtful. “Well, I guess it’s so we can choose who we want to let close to us. If we don’t want to be friends with someone we don’t tell them our names and that's that.”

“Oh. That makes sense, but is it something you do with everybody or only humans? Or is that rude to ask?” Thomas says on second thought.

“Oh, no. We do it with everybody.” Patton assures him.

“So what if two Centaurs meet and only one ever gives their name?”

Patton shrugs. “That happens sometimes. It’s a little awkward but not usually. Most people know better than to expect a name in return.”

Thomas nods and ponders what Patton had said. He is still thinking about it during dinner.

“What about nicknames?” Thomas blurts out, catching both Centaurs off guard.

“Excuse me?” Logan says, eyebrows up in confusion.

“He’s talking about our names.... I think.” Patton says.

“Yeah, me and Pat were talking about it earlier and I didn’t think to ask about nicknames.”

“What about nicknames?” Logan questions.

“Is it rude for people to use a nickname for you if they don’t know your name yet?”

“Yes.” Says Logan. “It defeats the purpose of withholding a name. With a nickname you can refer to a person as though you are familiar with them. For as long as you do not know another person's name you must retain a respectful distance.”

“Oh.”

Patton still seems to be thinking through the question. “I suppose if you already know that person's name and you just wanted to use the nickname for when you’re talking to other people, it wouldn’t be so bad.”

“Really?” Thomas is intrigued. "You're saying if I had nicknames for you guys I could use it when talking to other people?”

“Not quite.” Logan says. “It differs based on personal preference. Personally I would not mind, provided the nickname was something I approved of and whomever you were speaking with would not address me as such.”

Patton nods in agreement.

Thomas is a little excited now. Maybe he won't have to struggle so much with names anymore!

“Would you guys mind if I use nicknames for you when I’m talking with Joan and Talyn?”

“I don’t mind.” Patton confirms.

“Neither do I, provided the name is satisfactory. However, I do not wish to be referred to with a literal name. Perhaps something else?”

Thomas stops to think about that. “A nickname that isn’t a name… okay. I can do that. Can it describe you or should it be random?”

“I see nothing wrong with a description.”

“Smart!” Patton yells.

“I think that would turn into ‘smarty’.” Thomas says. “Which sounds more like an insult.”

“Okay, what about Wise?”

“Maybe intelligent?” Thomas tries.

“Clever?”

“tall?”

““Black? -Wait, no, uh….like your hair….?”

“No colors Pat. What about…..heavy?”

“Thomas!”

“Sorry! Sorry! I don’t know where that came from, I was trying to say strong!”

Logan doesn’t look very flattered with any of their attempts. “You are both ridiculous.” He grumbles.

“Joy kill.” Thomas mutters under his breath.

“What was that?” Patton asks.

Thomas isn’t sure if Patton actually heard him or not so he plays dumb. “What? I didn’t say anything.” He is quick to divert the conversation. “So Logan, did you like any of the names we said?” Thomas seriously doubts it.

Logan rubs his forehead. “I personally find each of them, at best, annoying. How are any of those names logical?”

Patton and Thomas freeze. They look at each other. Thomas feels a grin creeping up on his face to match the one on Patton's.

“Logic!” They both yell, startling Logan.

“What?”

“Logic! It suits you. Like, a lot.”

“Yeah! You’re always so logical and down to earth. It fits perfectly!”

Logan looks thoughtful. “Logic.” He says, testing the name out. He looks momentarily excited before switching back to his usual, calm state. “It will suffice.”

“Yes!” Thomas fist pumps. It would be easy to remember too, since it was so similar to Logan’s actual name.

“Now that that is settled, I believe it is time for Patton’s turn.” Logan and Thomas both scrutinize the Pony. There are so many words to describe him that Thomas isn’t quite sure where to start.

“Well if mine is to be Logic I suppose we could go with something similar.” Logan suggests.

“That’s a good idea. Let’s see, if you are a logical person then Patton is a…..” Thomas racks his brain. Still too many words.

“Sensitive person.” Logan surmises.

“What? No. That sounds mean.” Thomas argues.

Patton squints. “Being called sensitive isn’t a bad thing Thomas. If more people cared about others this world would be a much better world.”

Logan rolls his eyes. “Yes, but caring is not always in your, or others, best interest. Emotions are flawed.”

“You say that like emotions are a bad thing! They’re how we know right from wrong!”

Logan frowns and Thomas groans. Not this again. They seem to have this argument every few days and it never goes anywhere. They just circle around each other and neither ever gives in. It’s pointless.

“Guys, focus. What should Patton’s nickname be?”

Clearly Logan is not quite ready to let the matter drop.

“Right and wrong are most often based entirely on a person's individual moral standpoint and therefore often clash with the moral guidelines of others.”

“Morals? What’s that mean?” Patton asks.

“Mo-ral or Mo-ral-i-ty: Principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.” Logan recites.

“Logan did you just quote a dictionary?” Thomas asks, flabbergasted.

“Yes. I’ve been reading my way through it again.”

“Wha- you’re reading- hold up, did you say again?” Thomas says in bewilderments. ‘Who in their right mind reads through the dictionary of their own free will?! TWICE?!’

“I like that word.” Patton says, oblivious to Thomas’s state of shock.

“You should.” Huffs Logan. “Since you are always getting on my case about how I’m not following your ‘code of conduct’.”

“That’s because you’re rude.” Patton says.

“So what if I’m rude? I don’t see why that is a bad thing. In fact, I’m usually just being honest. Isn’t that a good thing?” Logan makes finger quotations when he says ‘good thing’.

Thomas has an idea. He knows the perfect name. It suites Patton and has a somewhat catchy ring to it. It has nothing to do with interrupting the arguing. Absolutely nothing.

“What about Morality?”

Logan hesitates. “What about it? I just gave you the definition. Did you not understand it?”

Thomas waves him off.

“No, I mean what if we call Patton Morality?”

Logan and Patton both open their mouths to disagree but then they hesitate.

“It’s kinda catchy.” Patton says.

“It’s most certainly accurate to his personality.” Says Logan.

Victory! Thomas is a genius and now he is free!

“Awesome! It’s decided then. Logan is Logic and Patton is Morality. Boom. We’re done. I’m gonna go call Talyn and Joan. See you both later!”

Thomas rushes out the door before Logan and Patton can stop him. He smiles to himself as he half jogs to his house. Logic and Morality. Oddly enough they seem to fit.

*****************************

Chapter Text

*****************************

“Alright everybody. I’m sure you’re all wondering why I called you here today.” Thomas says in his most professional voice.

“Cut the bullshit, Thomas.” Joan sighs.

Thomas pouts. “Fine. Whatever. I wanted to ask if you and Talyn know of any centaur friendly doctors around here.”

Talyn looks concerned. “Why? Is one of them sick?”

“No, but it turns out they're both blind as bats. I wanna take them to get their eyes checked but I don’t know where to go. None of the places around here are willing to let them in, not to mention how difficult it would be to fit in the one guy, he’s like eight or nine feet and nearly twice as long as the other guy is.” Thomas runs his hand through his hair. “I honestly don’t know what to do.”

Joan and Talyn hum in sympathy.

“That does sound like a problem.” Joan agrees.

“Lucky for you you’ve got two awesome friends to help you out.” Talyn pulls out their phone. “I know some people who might be able to find you a doctor close by. What makes you think they need glasses anyway?”

“Well, we were practicing sign language, cause we are all learning it, but neither one of them could see my hands from across the living room. Then the one said he used to wear glasses so I’m pretty sure they both need them.”

“Used to?” Asks Joan.

“Yeah, he said they broke. I guess no one ever got him a new pair. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if his asshole owner broke them on purpose. He was a serious dick.”

Joan and Talyn shuffle uncomfortably.

“Thomas, doesn't that bother you?” Joan asks. “Saying ‘owners’ and all that? It’s like you’re calling them slaves.” Talyn nods in agreement. “It’s seriously unnerving.”

Thomas knows his friends have a good point. He hasn’t been ignorant to how casually he’s begun to refer to ‘owner’ and ‘vets’ and other such things.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be insensitive or anything.” Thomas says. “But I've had to change how I think and talk about a lot of things since they moved in. It makes them uncomfortable whenever I try to talk about them like they should be treated the same as humans. I dunno, maybe it just rubs it in that nobody else treats them like that. I’m pretty sure they know how they were treated before was messed up but it's like it’s a taboo to say it outload or something. I’m just trying to make them comfortable. If they prefer I say ‘vet’ instead of ‘doctor’, ‘stall’ instead of ‘bedroom’ or even ‘owner’ and not ‘fucking bastard’ then I won’t fight them on it. I don’t treat them any different than I would anyone else but I stopped talking about how everyone else should too.”

Talyn shakes their head. “It’s really sad they feel that way…”

Joan seems confused. “It actually bothers them when you talk bad about their old owners? Even the fucked up ones? I don’t know if I could keep quiet about how disgusting it is that people treat centaurs so horribly, it makes me so mad just thinking about it!”

Thomas shrugs. “You don’t live with them.” He points out. “They’ve got a lot of stuff I don’t understand but I’m trying to. Oh! Speaking of! They gave me nicknames I can use around you guys!”

“Nicknames?”

“Yeah! I figured it was getting confusing since I’m not allowed to use their actual names around you both so I asked if I could use nicknames. They said we can if it's just us. But if you are talking to them then you can’t call them that.”

Joan squints. “Is that supposed to make sense?”

“It’s so you can’t be anything more than an acquaintance unless they want to become friends. Or something like that. I honestly don’t really get it but it’s important to them so what the hell?”

“So you know their names?” Talyn questions.

Thomas preens. “Yep. But we came up with some nicknames so I don’t slip up. You have NO idea how hard it’s been not to.”

“I believe it, you can’t keep a secret worth a damn.” Jokes Joan.

“What names did they pick?” Asks Talyn.

“Logic is the tall one and the short one is Morality.”

Silence.

“Logic and Morality?” Asks Joan and Talyn simultaneously in disbelief.

“It’s an inside joke.” Thomas says, smiling to himself at the memory.

“Works for me.” Talyn shrugs. Joan’s forehead crinkles in confusion.

“So let me get this straight. We can call them Logic and Morality when we are talking to you but never with anyone else? Not even if we’re talking to them? And out of all the nicknames they could have chosen they went with ‘Logic’ and ‘Morality’?”

“Yep.” Thomas pops the ‘P’.

It’s silent for a moment.

“Alright then. Logic and Morality it is.” Joan states, shrugging their shoulders.

Talyn shrugs as well. “Okay then, who are we to judge? Besides I had other things I wanted to talk about. I know we already got the rundown on how you three met but I have a few questions.” Talyn says. They pull out a notepad full of what Thomas assumes are questions.

“Uh, sure. What did you wanna know?” Thomas swallows hard and tries to calm down the anxiety Talyn's words had sparked in him.

“For starters, how long have you known them?”

“I met Logic-” Thomas stops to think. It feels as though they had met years ago. “I guess it's only been four or five months but it feels like it forever ago. I met Morality a month ago. Actually it was probably two. I’m not actually sure to be honest, these past few months have been a blur.”

Joan looks hurt. “It’s been that long? Seriously dude, why didn’t you tell us?”

Thomas can’t keep eye contact any longer. The pain in his friend's eyes is too much for him to bear.

“I was scared.” He admits. “Well, first I was so busy it didn’t even occur to me to mention anything but then when things did calm down I just didn’t know how to bring it up. Like, ‘Hey! Guess what? I bought somebody!’” Thomas takes a moment to recompose himself. “I was planning on telling you guys, for heaven's sake, I was writing out a whole speech for you but then my Uncle and Aunt visited and I completely forgot about it.”

Joan and Talyn look disgusted. “Your Uncle Owen and Aunt Patty?” Joan guesses.

“Yeah, those ones.” Thomas confirms. “They showed up out of nowhere and started destroying my house-” Thomas begins counting on his fingers. “- arguing with Logic, trying to physically fight Logic, burst my eardrums, search my kitchen for God knows what, attack Morality and nearly break his leg and then call me a faggot. Not necessarily in that order.” Thomas says all in one breath. He gasps for air.

Thomas’s friends look horrified.

“How long did they stay with you?!” Talyn shriek's.

Thomas drops his head in his hands. “An hour.”

Talyn silently fumes while Joan sputters in rage.

“THE FUCK!? I don’t even know where to start!” Joan finally shouts.

“I know, I know. After that I was just trying to do damage control! Oh, and fire my Uncle. Which is why I think my Aunt held off posting about it for so long. I think she worried I might actually sue them. I sorta told them I would.”

“Yikes.”

“Just to be clear, you want to fire your Uncle? The one who’s been running your entire company for the past two years? I totally support that, yanno, since he’s a dick, but isn’t that gonna hurt your company?” Talyn asks.

“Actually no. Well, I mean -sorta? At least not by much. Me and Logic have been doing some digging behind his back for months now and we’ve got a pretty good grasp of what's going on. His contract doesn’t end till next year though so we can’t do anything yet, which is fine since we aren’t quite ready to take that step.”

“Hold up. You’ve actually been working for your company? The one you’ve been ignoring for two years?”

“Did you say Logic was helping you?”

“Yep.” Thomas puffs his chest proudly. “I’m a competent adult.” He hesitates. “Er.. Logic is. I still don’t understand most of what’s going on. He’s been keeping tabs on it and I just follow his lead.”

“He has a degree?” Joan says in shock.

Thomas is aware Joan was referring to a college degree but Thomas is equally aware Logan didn’t so much as graduate high school. (By no fault of his own. Thomas isn’t sure how much education is legally required for centaurs to have but he’s certain it doesn’t include a degree. They’re supposed to be able to read, write and understand basic math. Beyond that no one really cares.)

“Uh….No. No degree. Frankly I don’t think he actually needs one? At least not for what he’s been doing. He’s kind of a genius. And I am not saying lightly.”

Joan snickers. “Compared to you, everyone's a genius.”

“Ha Ha.” Thomas snarks as Talyn laughs. “I'm serious, guys. He knows what he’s doing.”

“Okay, Thomas. We believe you.” Talyn assures him. Then they squint at him. “But don’t think you’ve distracted me from the rest of my questions.”

Thomas sighs. “Yeah, yeah, go ahead.”

“Why did you really buy them?” Asks Joan. “There’s a shit ton of stuff you could have done before resorting to actually buying them.” Talyn scowls for a moment, upset with Joan's interruption, but doesn’t stop them since they want to know the answer too.

Thomas sighs. This again. “Guys, there was seriously nothing else I could have done that would have gotten Morality or Logic away from their abusive owners. By the time someone got around to checking for abuse, Logic would have died and Morality would be in a completely different state.”

“I remember Logic mentioning he had pneumonia or something but was it really that bad?” Asks Talyn.

Thomas nods and swallows hard. “He couldn’t stand and he was slurring his words when I found him. They’d locked him up in his stall once he got sick and I had to buy him just to get him to a vet since they refused to pay for one. The vet wasn’t even sure Logic would make it.”

“That's so horrible.” Says Talyn.

“They really wouldn’t call a doctor?” Asks Joan in disbelief.

“If he had been any of the other Centaurs they owned I’m sure they would have but they hated Logic. Once they realized just how sick he’d gotten I think they must have decided to cut their losses and be done with him.”

It really is hard for Thomas to talk about this. It’s unbelievable that anyone could treat another person like that. And the fact someone decided to step back and allow Thomas’s close friend to die, locked away in a cold stall and completely alone, hurts more than Thomas can put into words.

“I don’t know that I’d have gotten over myself enough to buy him if it hadn’t been for that.” Thomas admits. “It took Logic nearly dying for me to realize that how I feel about buying him isn’t as important as how he feels about being bought. He’s stuck as a slave and whether I buy him or not it doesn’t change that. At least he’s safe with me.”

“A wrong thing for the right reason.” Murmurs Talyn.

“Well that’s certainly one way to look at it.” Says Joan.

Thomas’s friends look as though they don’t quite agree with everything Thomas’s reasoning but Thomas isn’t bothered by that. He knows he did the right thing, and while he values their opinions, at the end of the day Thomas will do what he believes is right, regardless of what others say.

The conversation moves on.

“So if that’s how you met Logic then how did you meet Morality? Did he work at the same place?”

“Morality was a totally different story.” Thomas says. “He used to work at a fair and they were pretty awful to him. He wasn’t allowed to talk and he still doesn’t unless it’s me or Logic. Actually the last time you guys saw him was the first time he’s talked around anyone besides Logic and me. It’s why we’re learning sign language, so we can understand him in case something happens.”

“You are learning sign language?” Says Talyn in disbelief.

“Dude, you flunked Spanish.” Reminds Joan.

“Yes, I am, and I’ll have you know I’m getting really good at it too.” (This is a lie but Thomas isn’t about to admit that Logan is right and he has a ‘disturbing lack of skill regarding languages’.)

Thomas decided to power on through his friend's lack of faith in his intelligence and continues with his story. “Anyway, I bought him literally five minutes after meeting him.”

Talyn and Joan quickly stop picking on him and Thomas hurries to finish his explanation.

“He was being treated so horribly that Logic might have beat his owner to a pulp and I would have helped him. That guys was a fucking piece of work. He literally took Morality's shirt so when I bought him he wouldn’t even have the shirt on his back.”

Joan and Talyn seem stunned at the prospect of someone being so cruel and Thomas finds his emotional state deteriorating rapidly. The fact such as a sweet and innocent guy was treated so horribly and cruel breaks his heart. The fact that someone as clever and independent as Logan was valued only for his ability to lift heavy objects and was tossed aside the second he couldn’t anymore enrages Thomas. It’s been far too easy for Thomas to forget what trauma his friends have been though when he sees them act so normal everyday. Talking about it now is somewhat shocking to Thomas. How could he ever have forgotten? Patton and Logan probably remember it everyday. Thomas is torn away from his thoughts when Joan’s voice pierces through the silence.

“Thomas, if you ever need help with anything, even if it isn’t related to Morality or Logic, please let me know. I can’t believe I ever doubted you and said all that horrible stuff. I’m sorry I did, can you forgive me?”

Thomas is about to answer when Talyn jumps in.

“I...I can’t believe you went through all that. No wonder you bought them. And we were so horrible to you! Thomas I’m so sorry.” They say.

Thomas is surprised by how many emotions suddenly flood him. He’s ...angry? Yes. Thomas is angry at his friends. He hasn’t realized it till now. Hearing their apologies sparks something bitter in him. ‘Damn right they should apologize.' Sure Thomas had said he would have done the same thing, but would he have? Thomas trusts his friends. He knows better than to think they would go off and buy someone for no good reason. Do his friends not feel the same way? He wants to forgive them, to say it’s all fine and move on, but deep down he’s hurt. He doesn’t want to sweep all this under a rug and pretend it never happened. Thomas is torn.

“I- I need to- I’m sorry I gotta go get-” Thomas stutters over his words. ‘Where is Logan’s constant interruptions when you need them?’ Naturally Logan can’t interrupt since Thomas is in his house but it still would have been nice.

“I need to go. Dinner is coming up soon and I promised I’d help Morality with it. I’ll let you guys know if something comes up or whatever. Gotta go, bye!”

Thomas ends the call as fast as he can and tries to push the hurt expression he’d seen on Joan and Talyn faces, from his mind. He walks out his back door and slowly ambles his way towards the barn. He wasn’t lying about helping Morality but he may have stretched the truth on how close dinner time was but whatever.

He needs the time to think.

Chapter Text

**********************************************

Thomas checks his GPS one last time before he studies the building in front of him. ‘Yep, this is definitely the place.’ It’s one of the many buildings within the ‘Glenville Centaur Care Center’.

Talyn and Joan had managed to find what seemed to be the only Centaur focused facility within the state. It was both a hospital and rescue center. Thomas had called them three days ago and been directed to Dr. Sheldon, who had agreed to look both Centaurs over.

It had been hard to convince Logan and Patton (mainly Logan) that it was a simple exam to ensure they were healthy. Thomas wasn’t sure what they were worried about but he did his best to assuage their fears.

“It’s just a check up. To make sure you guys are fine, I just want to be sure. Besides, you guys really need glasses.” Thomas had told them.

Now that Thomas is pulling into the parking lot he is starting to feel anxious too. He’s in a Centaur Rescue Center and he isn’t sure how to feel about it. Mainly because he isn’t sure how Logan and Patton feel about it. There are a few Centaurs ambling about and he’s wondering if Patton or Logan have missed being around others of their own kind.

Thomas wonders if he’s doing the right thing by keeping Logan and Patton with him. Sure he was doing the right thing when he bought them, but is it right for him to keep them? This is a place full of qualified people who specialize in injured, neglected and/or abused Centaurs. They can help Logan and Patton far more than Thomas can. The two Centaurs have been entirely isolated whilst living with Thomas and he’s wondering if he shouldn’t let them live here. Sign them over to the rescue center so they can be helped by people who actually know what they’re doing.

Thomas resolves to watch Logan and Patton closely while they're here and ask them how they feel about the place later. For now he hops out of his truck and walks to the back of it to unlatch the back of his trailer. He puts down the ramp for Logan and Patton and they both slowly walk down it.

Logan and Patton look all kinds of nervous. They look about suspiciously and stick close to one another.

“C'mon guys. Dr. Sheldon’s office is in here.” Thomas tries to sound as calm as possible for their sakes. He leads the way to building B and opens the giant doors to let both Centaurs in. The waiting room is large and spacious, clearly built with centaurs in mind. All three friends stare around them with wonder. None of them have seen a room intended to fit Centaurs that wasn’t a barn.

Thomas notes several large bean bags spread about the room and in between chairs. They are in various sizes but they are all bigger than any Thomas has ever seen. They’re all long too, more of a line than a circle. They honestly look like mattress sized beanbags. Thomas realizes they’re meant for Centaurs and he’s taken back by the genius of it.

Patton seems to figure this out at the same time as Thomas and he rushes over to jump on one. He smiles with glee. Patton shuffles his knees a bit until he’s comfortable and then looks up at Logan, who’s been watching Patton critically. Patton pats the beanbag beside him in silent invitation.

Logan just scowls at it and opts to stand stiffly nearby. Patton looks to Thomas instead. Thomas shrugs, because ‘why not? It’s a massive bean bag’, and gives a mighty leap to land on the one beside Patton.

“Woah, this is awesome.” Thomas says. He stretches and tries to relax some.

“I know! I didn’t even know they made these things. What are they called?” Patton asks while poking his seat.

“It’s called a beanbag but I’ve never seen one so huge before. I think these were made to be Centaur sized.” Thomas says while glancing over at Logan. Logan isn’t normally this quiet.

Logan is stiff as a board. He keeps glancing between the front doors and the hallway in an anxious way that suggests he’s expecting a three headed monster to charge through them at any moment.

All three jump when the hall door opens and a woman steps out. She holds the door open while ushering a man and another Centaur through. The man thanks her, exchanges a few words and then walks out the front door with the Centaur in tow.

Patton, Logan and Thomas are all torn between staring at the Centaur and then the woman holding the door.

As soon as the man and the third Centaur leave the lady walks over to address them.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Sheldon. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She holds her hand out to shake Logan's but he just stares, flabbergasted. She smiles kindly and waits patiently. Logan finally snaps out of whatever stupor he’d been trapped in and he gives her a brief, formal hand shake. He looks all kinds of unsettled.

Satisfied the Dr. walks to where Patton is doing his best to blend into his beanbag. She bends down and holds her hand out again with a sweet smile. Patton hesitated before giving her the quickest handshake Thomas has ever seen. He essentially pats her hand with his for a split second and then immediately drops it to curl farther into his seat. He avoids eye contact.

The Dr. then faces Thomas, who has pulled himself to his feet. (not without difficulty, the beanbag had sucked him in and he’d ended up rolling off in the most undignified manner) The smile she gives him a much less sincere one.

“And you must be Mr. Sanders.” She says cooly.

Thomas cautiously shakes her hand and fights not to wipe off the disdain he feels crawling from her hand to his. Had he looked that stupid in the chair?

She clears her throat and heads back to the hall door she’d come from. She holds it open.

“Shall we get going then?” She asks.

The three friends look to each other hesitantly, unsure whom she is speaking to.

Thomas shrugs his shoulders and the three walk to the Dr., who squints at Thomas. Thomas freezes, foot hovering over the carpet.

“Not you.” She says. The bite in her words sting. “I see my patients alone. They deserve privacy.”

Thomas immediately sits back on the beanbag. “Of course. I didn’t mean to-”

“Then should you not be seeing the two of us separately?” Logan interrupts.

“I wouldn’t want to leave one of you out here alone. You can both come in.” She says with another smile. Thomas imagines Logan is fighting back the urge to correct her again. ‘How could they be alone if Thomas is out here too?’

The Dr. is giving Thomas the distinct feeling that she doesn't like him and the scowl she throws his way solidifies that feeling. Logan is raising an eyebrow, looking unimpressed with her as she does. Patton doesn’t notice the looks on either of their faces from where he is nervously standing by the door, positioned so Logan is between him and the doctor.

The Doctor turns back to the door and her voice is once again cheery as she speaks. “Alright then! Let's get going.” She gestures for them to walk ahead of her but neither Centaur moves. Patton begins signing to Logan in quick and jerky movements. Thomas can’t see what Patton is saying but Logan is nodding along in agreement.

Logan clears his throat. “My friend and I would both be more comfortable if Thomas were to accompany us.”

The doctor blinks in surprise. So does Thomas. “You want him to come too? Are you sure?” She asks, doubt evident in her voice.

“Yes. I am quite certain.” Logan’s voice is strong but Thomas can see him anxiously shuffling his feet. Patton isn’t able to hide his nerves nearly so well but he still manages a small nod.

“Okay then…... if you two are sure.” The Dr. hesitates for another moment but when neither Centaur changes their mind she seems to accept their decision and turns so she’s facing Thomas.

She isn’t looking at Thomas as coldly as she had before. She seems a little intrigued actually. “It seems like they want you to come along.” She doesn't have to say anything more because Thomas is already on his feet and hurrying over to stand besides Patton.

Once Thomas has joined them the Dr. leads the way to a large examination room. Just like the waiting room, it is clearly Centaur sized.

The room is big enough and the ceiling tall enough for Thomas to feel like a small child forced to go to the doctors again. He has an old, nearly forgotten urge to hide under the examination table. Except there aren’t any here. Because what sort of table would hold up a Centaur? Also, why would they need to be elevated in the first place?

“Alright, who would like to go first?” The Dr. is busy setting up a projector as she speaks.

Patton and Logan make eye contact and after a split second of hesitation Logan speaks. “I will go first.”

The Dr. nods and once she has the projector set up to her liking she motioning for Logan to walk up beside her.

“Alright, just stand behind the red line and tell me what the smallest letter you can see is. Oh- I’m sorry, can you read?”

Thomas winces a little. Logan clearly is upset at the question but he manages to hold his opinions to himself, otherwise they may never leave.

“Yes.” Logan grits between his teeth.

“Good.”

The Dr. then goes on to swap out screens and have Logan read out letter after letter and even though Thomas isn’t as close to the projector as Logan, he can still see just how many mistakes Logan is making once the letters become smaller.

The Dr. goes on to have Logan do all sorts of tests. One if particular includes shooting a puff of air into his eyes and it scares all three of them half to death. Even though they’d been warned.

Once Logan’s eye exam is over the Dr. gives him a bunch of papers and asks him to fill them out. Then she repeats the entire process over again with Patton. Thomas is curious about the paperwork but he leaves Logan to it in favor of comforting and translating for Patton.

Once Patton is done the Dr. Sheldon goes to hand him the same paperwork but Logan grabs it away.

“That is not necessary.” Logan says firmly.

The Dr. looks up at Logan in surprise. For some reason she actually accepts that and takes the papers back.

“Okay then. That’s about it. I’d like to talk to each of you individually before you leave though.” The Dr. says.

Thomas had somewhat expected this so he just does as he’s told and leaves the room. Patton and Logan both stay since Logan is needed to translate and Dr. Sheldon doesn’t seem to mind talking to both of them at once.

Thomas isn’t sure what they end up talking about but it only takes five minutes or so and then his friends are walking out. Patton looks nervous and upset, and while he had been continuously nervous since arrival, he definitely seemed more so now.

Logan is clearly upset too but Thomas can see that his emotions are rooted more in anger as opposed to fear, like Patton.

“Are you guys okay? What happened?” Thomas asks in concern.

“We are fine Thomas. I believe we are just tired and would both like to leave as soon as is appropriate.”

Thomas nods. He gets that. He can’t wait to be home either. He’s assuring them they will leave soon when the Dr. exits the examination room.

“Mr. Sanders. May I speak to you for a moment?”

Thomas nods and follows her back into the room. He motions for Logan and Patton to wait for him in the sitting room.

“I have two prescriptions for glasses I’ll be sending in, they should arrive sometime soon and I can call you once I have a date.”

“Okay sounds good. So there was nothing else wrong right?” Thomas asks, worried by her behavior.

“I didn’t perform a full physical, and neither of them are sure if their shots are up to date, but from what I saw I can tell you that the shorter one is suffering from a good bit of anxiety, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. They said he can talk but he's too nervous. I assume this is true?”

Thomas nods.

“If that’s the case then he’s otherwise fine. The taller one is perfectly healthy too, although his scars aren't likely to fade.”

“Scars?!”

The Dr. looks a bit confused. “From the harness straps. I suppose they aren't all that noticeable, not if you aren’t looking for them. He informed me that you weren’t the one who harnessed him but if you ever decide to maybe try to use some padding. Other than that nothing stood out to me, though I’d like to do a full examination at some point.”

Thomas nods. He really hadn’t noticed the marks left behind from the heavy harness Logan used to wear, not since the night he’d helped Logan remove his harness and cart all those months ago. He’d noticed them then. It occurs to Thomas that that had been the last time Logan had ever worn one. He would have thought the hair would grow back in but apparently it never would. Not entirely. Thomas supposed he didn’t notice because there was enough surrounding hair to cover up any blemishes without them being obvious. He wonders if Logan has noticed this and if it bothers him or if he’s so used to them he doesn’t even remember they're there. He thinks it would be rude to ask.

The Dr. interrupts Thomas’s musing when she hesitantly continues.

“Mr. Sanders, how much experience do you have with Centaurs?”

“Uh, none before four months ago. Why? Am I doing something wrong?” Thomas is horribly worried. ‘I knew it. I fucked up something.’

“No, nothing like that.” She thinks for a minute. “I’m not going to lie Mr. Sanders. I had a very different opinion of you when you first set up this appointment. It’s clear I was wrong though. They seem to both trust you and I can’t say how rare that is. I want you to know if you ever need help with them, be it physical, mental or even legal, please let us know. We have resources and people who would love to help.”

Thomas is taken back. He’s not surprised that she didn't originally like him. He’d figured out that much on his own. No, he’s actually surprised that she’s gone from mistrust /disdain, to ‘I’ll help you in anyway I can.’.

“I really appreciate the offer and I’ll definitely call if I need help.” A thought occurs to Thomas. “There is one thing actually.”

The doctor looks intrigued by his tone of voice. He sounds slightly like he’s hatching an evil plan.

“Where can I get some of those beanbags?”

****************************************

Chapter Text

****************************************

Nice as the doctor was, all three take a breath of relief as soon as they exit the building. Thomas inhales as much as he can to take in the sweet smell of the outdoors. (That is to say the lack of strong smelling cleaning products all clinics have.) Thomas opens his eyes to see Logan and Patton making a beeline straight to his truck. It’s clear both Centaurs are eager to leave too.

Logan is putting down the ramp, with Patton trying to help and mostly getting in the way, when a large vehicle, pulling a Centaur carrier, comes screeching into the parking lot. The tires have only just stopped spinning when three people come flying out the back. Two of them run towards the emergency entrance and the third begins pulling out the trailer ramp.

A panicked voice carries out from within the Centaur carrier.

“No, no, no! I can still race! This is a minor setback, just a flesh wou- HOLY HELL THAT HURTS! Oh God! Has that been there the whole time!?!? Is that ME!? Legs should'nt bend that way. MY LEG SHOULDN’T LOOK LIKE THAT!!”

The man pulling the ramp out quickly drops it and rushes back inside the carrier as it begins rocking a little. The voice carries on.

“This is- This is bad. Oh my God, that's my leg. It shouldn’t look like that. OH MY GOD THAT’S MY LEG!!!!”

They can now hear another voice attempting to calm the first. Thomas assumes it’s the man from before.

“Calm down! You’re going to make it worse. Stop moving!”

Thomas sees movement in the corner of his eye. He looks and sees Patton cautiously making his way to the trailer. Thomas isn’t sure if he should stop him or not.

The first voice has drowned out the man's attempts to calm the situation. The panicked voice gets simultaneously louder and higher in pitch. Logan is wincing and his hands twitch upwards. Thomas has his jacket clenched tightly in his hands and is biting his tongue to stop himself from doing something. He isn’t sure what he would do, he just knows it wouldn’t be helpful. He almost wants to grab Logan and Patton and - ‘Where is Patton? Wasn’t he just here?’.

Patton has made his way right up to the ramp and is poking his head in. He gasps. And then he runs in.

“Pat!”

“What are you doing?!” Yell Logan and Thomas. They look to one another and then rush after their friend.

Patton’s voice breaks through the pained rambling from before.

“Oh you poor thing!”

Thomas and Logan round the trailer to see Patton standing by a wild eyed Centaur. The Centaur is laying on his side and has himself pressed up against the trailer wall. He’s breathing unevenly and it’s clear he is in pain.

Patton grabs his hand and pulls his gaze away from what Thomas guesses is a broken leg. (If all the yelling was anything to go by.)

“C’mon kiddo, focus on me okay? Try to breathe. That’s it. You’re okay.” Patton’s voice is calming and soothing and seems to bring the Centaur back from the verge of a panic attack.

The Centaur is now looking at Patton, flabbergasted, eyes still wide. The man pinning his leg is looking just as surprised.

“Who are- what’s- is this-?” The Centaur stutters. Patton just continues patting his hand.

Logan leans down to whisper to Thomas. “Patton is behaving as though he knows this Centaur but I do not believe he does. Is this a social interaction I am unaware of?”

“No. I think it’s just a Patton thing.” Thomas whispers back. Thomas is a little worried Patton is going to get himself in trouble but the man beside him only looks relieved. Thomas supposes that makes sense. It hadn’t looked like he was having any success in calming the Centaur down and being in an enclosed box with a panicking Centaur is a terrifying prospect.

The man throws a blanket over the broken leg which draws the Centaurs attention back to it.

“But- But my leg! It’s broken! I can’t race like this! I don’t want to become a- What if I-?” The Centaur starts breathing heavy again and Patton grabs his face to force eye contact.

“Nope. We aren’t thinking about that right now, kiddo. We are going to take deep breaths and stay calm until the doctor can help you. It’ll be alright. The doctors here are nice. I just met one and she was really kind so I’m sure they won’t hurt you.”

As Patton is speaking the two men who’d run in the emergency room come rushing back out with three more men and an enormous stretcher.

“Back away.” One yells as they reach the trailer. Thomas hurries in and pulls on Patton's arm.

“C’mon man, we need to get out of the way.” Patton is resistant until he sees the men and the stretcher. Then he allows Thomas to lead him away.

The other Centaur panics again.

“W- wait! Don’t go! Their going to-? What if- I can’t just-!” The Centaur pulls back further in the trailer as several people clamber in around him.

“Alright you. We’re gonna get you up onto this stretcher okay? Now you can’t move your front legs so try to hold still.”

Thomas, Logan and Patton stand far enough to be out of the way but close enough to see the unfolding drama. Patton is wringing his hands and Thomas winces at the look of pain that pinches the injured Centaurs face.

The Centaur continues to babble but he can’t be heard over the directions the men are calling to each other. Thomas has no idea how they plan to get the Centaur out without him using his legs. Thomas can’t tell just how big the Centaur is but he is a good bit bigger than Patton for certain. Which means he is probably double his weight.

The three friends watch the men struggle to find handholds out of range of panicked and very twitchy hooves. No one can seem to figure out how to lift the Centaur when he has one side pressed up against the wall, especially in the small, enclosed trailer. Had the Centaur been in a calmer state of mind he’d have most likely been able to help but he looks as if he’s barely restraining himself from fighting against them. ‘Restraining’ may not be the right word in this situation. Thomas is pretty sure the Centaur would be instinctively fighting back if he wasn’t too confused and blinded by pain to know how. He has his arms around himself and gives sharp gasps whenever someone jostles him hard enough to move his leg.

The men seem to settle on pushing more than lifting him. They lift what and where they can to try and alleviate the pain of the Centaurs skin being pulled and scratched by the trailer floor but there is only so much they can do. Thomas and Patton wince a little more with each cry of pain the injured Centaur gives. After a few moments of struggling the men manage to bring him to the edge of the trailer, where a few of them jump out of the truck to get better leverage.

The stretcher is supported by sturdy looking wheels and they’ve pulled it up against the back of the truck so that it’s level. The men have begun attempting to push the Centaur off the truck and directly onto the stretcher, which would have worked better if the Centaur hadn’t been longways. Unfortunately the truck is too narrow to extract the Centaur sideways and the men are forced to prop his human half and front legs on the stretcher while rearranging themselves to bring out his lower (and far heavier) half.

The three onlookers are disturbed to see that a broken leg is most definitely not the only injury on the poor Centaur. His whole front is scratched and, in some places, torn up. It sluggishly bleeds around the dirt and grime that is ground into his whole body. Thomas wouldn’t be surprised if his leg isn’t the only broken bone he has. He might need stitches too. Thomas shudders to think of the state his leg must be in for everyone to be overlooking the rest of his injuries like this.

The Centaur yelps as the men try to push him further onto the stretcher. “Wait! Stop, stop, stop stop!” The men stop when they realize the Centaur isn’t budging from his spot. It looks as though whatever material the stretcher is made of does not have the same give the trailer floor did. They aren’t able to push or pull him. More than one of the men curses and as they step back to reassess the situation.

That’s about the time Logan moves. He walks confidently to the truck and stands over the Centaur with a calculating look on his face. Everyone looks at him in surprise but he’s ignoring them. He grasps just under the Centaurs two front legs and lifts.

“I suggest you all lift the lower portion on his body now.” Logan says.

Logan's deadpanned voice breaks through the shocked silence and the men quickly move to obey. With the Centaur not laying flat on his side they are finally able to reach their hands under him and, in a joint effort, they heave him off the truck. Neither Logan or the men are able to lift the Centaur more than a few inches off the ground but it’s all they need in order to slide him entirely out of the truck and fully onto the stretcher.

Five of the men quickly rush the Centaur into the Emergency Entrance and the remaining one walks around to the front of the truck with the keys in hand.

“Welp. That happened.” Thomas says, staring at where the Centaur and the men have disappeared into the hospital. After all the noise the silence is a little unsettling.

“Oh, that poor kid!” Patton says, shuffling his hooves and wringing his hands.

“Indeed. His injuries did look painful.” Logan agrees.

What do you think happened?” Asks Thomas. He’s still a little dazed from the sudden start and then sudden lack of chaos. Everything had happened so fast. It hadn’t been more than ten minutes.

“He fell.”

The sudden, unfamiliar voice startles them all. Logan and Patton jumping noticeably more than Thomas. They look and see the sixth man, preparing to close the trailer door.

“He was racing and he tripped. Tore himself up real good. Don’t suppose he’ll ever be racing again.” Says the man as he pushes in the ramp.

“Yeah, he seemed really concerned about that.” Patton observes.

“He should be.” The man huffs. “He’s of no use to anybody if he can’t race. Shame. He was good at it, probably could have kept going for a couple years.”

The man shakes his head as though he’s personally disappointed and goes back to shutting the trailer doors. Thomas tries to digest what he said. ‘Not good for anything else? What will happen to him then?’ It’s a disturbing thought.

Chapter Text

******************** two weeks after the doctor appointment *********************

When Thomas stumbles upon a gun in the living room he only has one thought. ‘Patton and Logan must never know.’ In order for Thomas to keep this discreet he is going to have to play it cool. ‘Must not show emotion. If Logan can do that all the time then I can do it now.’ It’s flawed logic but oh well.

Patton gives a cry of triumph. “I got it! Colonel Mustard in the library with a bowtie!”

‘What?’

“Patton there are no bowties in CLUE. Let me see that.” Logan reaches for Patton’s card. “This is a rope. How did you think that was a bowtie?”

“Cause it has the little loops at the end. Doesn’t it look like a bow tie?” Patton pulls out the little metal piece and examines it.

Logan sighs. “I suppose it does if you were to squint your eyes but a bowtie would not fit with the theme of the game. It would be rather difficult to strangle someone with a tie, though not impossible I suppose.” Logan looks thoughtful.

Thomas, who has been quietly examining his own cards, speaks up now. “Pat I don’t think you got it right. Can you check the envelope?”

Patton is rifling through the cards while Logan is straightening his sherlock hat. The victory hat. When Thomas was a child and played this game with his family they had crowned the victor of every game with a sherlock hat and so far Logan is the only one who’s worn it. This is their fifth round. Thomas thinks he’s getting attached.

“Of course Patton got it wrong. It was Mr. Green in the kitchen with a candelabra. Patton how could you have gotten all three clues wrong? How could you possibly be so den-”

“Ahem!” Thomas glares at Logan.

Logan falters. “I mean- That was an adequate guess. I suppose, though I do suggest getting more facts before attempting to solve the murder. It has only been two turns.”

Patton pulls the cards from the envelope. “But you got them all right!”

Thomas is about to point out that his and Patton’s intelligence isn’t on the same scale as Logan’s (hardly anyones is) when his phone starts buzzing in his back pocket.

“Hold up guys let me go get that. You can set up the next game if you want” Internally Thomas is hoping neither of them wants to. He’s getting sick of losing before he even has time to get into the game. Thomas puts the phone to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Hi, is this Mr. Sanders?” Asks a female voice.

“Yep. Thats me.”

“Wonderful. I was calling to let you know that both your Centaurs glasses have arrived and that you can pick them up at any time.”

“Finally!” Thomas yells. He remembers himself and is quick to apologize. “Uh, Sorry. I mean, I’ll pick them up tomorrow.” Thomas gives an apologetic smile even though she can’t see him.

“Tomorrow it is.” The voice hesitates. “Uh, Mr. Sanders, may I ask you something?”

Thomas hesitates. That doesn’t sound good. “Suuuure, go ahead.” Both Logan and Patton stop putting away the game (‘thank heavens’) to watch Thomas curiously.

“I was wondering about your Centaurs. I remember you mentioning something about them being rescued?”

“Not rea-” Thomas remembers how he had met Logan and Patton. It was kinda like a rescue wasn’t it?

“I guess they are.”

“I thought so. This isn’t how we normally work but I was wondering if you were open to fostering a Centaur for a few weeks.”

“Fostering?” Thomas didn’t expect that.

By this time both Logan and Patton are standing beside Thomas to try and hear his conversation. They seem to know when someone is talking about them and are shamelessly eavesdropping.

“Yes. We have a Centaur here who was recently injured and none of our normal homes are able to take him.”

Thomas turns his phone on speaker.

“You want to know if I can foster a kid?” He asks, flabbergasted.

“Oh no! He’s an adult, it’s just he can’t walk right now and we haven’t been able to find anyone willing to take him in. I thought since you already had two rescues of your own you might be able to house him for two or three weeks. We would move him out as soon as we found someone else to take him.”

Thomas isn’t sure what to think, much less what to say. He looks at Logan to see him mirroring Thomas’s own face of confusion but when he looks at Patton he sees a pair of blue, watery, puppy dog eyes boring into his own.

“Of course you don’t have to decide right now. I can give you his file tomorrow when you come for the glasses and you can call us back once you’ve decided. He doesn't have to be moved till Thursday.”

Thomas thinks for a moment. It sounds like a good plan, he really doesn’t think it will work out though. Since it’s Monday he wouldn't have much time to prepare for a disabled Centaur. ‘But how can I turn down an injured person? Besides, it isn’t like it’s permanent, just a few weeks.’

“That sounds good. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Thomas hangs up and the Centaurs are immediately upon him.

“Who was that?” Logan demands.

“The doctor, she was saying your glasses have arrived.”

“Never mind those,” Patton waves him off. “Are you going to take in that poor Centaur?” His eyes are wide and pleading.

“I don’t know Pat. She said he can’t walk right now and I don’t know how we would deal with that. Do they even make wheelchairs that big?”

“I do not believe they do.” Says Logan. “Caring for a disabled Centaur would impede upon our lives. Not to mention our schedule.”

“Ah, yes. The sacred schedule. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.” Thomas is trying to focus on the main topic at hand but he is sorely tempted to abandon it in favor of explaining just why he doesn't need his eating and sleeping habits monitored.

“What do you mean? What is wrong with it?”

“Hey! Schedule later, injured guy now.” Patton says, hands on his hips. (that is to say where he would have hips had he been human. It had the same effect anyway.)

“Right, sorry.” Thomas apologizes. “I don't honestly know what to do about that. I think we should look at whatever ‘file’ she was talking about and decide from there. It’s not like we need to decide tonight.” He stops as a thought occurs. “Unless you guys don’t want to of course. I wouldn’t make you live with a stranger if you didn’t want to.”

Logan shrugs, non committal, while Patton gasps.

“Of course not! He’s completely welcome here. Right Logan?” Logan opens his mouth to interject but Patton powers on. “Can you please take him? What if no one else does? The poor guy can’t even walk and now nobody wants him, it’s not his fault. If you take him in I promise I’ll take good care of him and do all the work, you wouldn’t even have to do a thing!” Patton is begging now.

Thomas is reminded of himself, as a kid, begging for a dog and making all sorts of promises to try and convince his parents to let him have one. (He’d been given a gold fish instead and, as his parents predicted, got sick of caring for it within a week.) Of course this situation is nothing like that and Thomas is certain Patton actually would do all the work. With a great big smile too.

“It’s not about whether I’d be willing to help care for him. Of course I would. I’m just saying we shouldn’t agree without knowing what we are agreeing to do.”

“That certainly wasn’t your original tactic when buying us.” Logan huffs.

“And I don’t regret one second of it. You guys are great. But that’s my point. I have you guys to think about too now.”

“Kiddo, if Logan and me didn’t want another Centaur here we would have already told you.”

“‘Logan and I’.” Logan corrects automatically. “But Patton is correct. Besides, should he prove to be too much for us to handle you could always return him. You would not be buying him so it is not permanent.”

When stated like that it sounds all kinds of messed up but Thomas considers it anyway. “Good point. So does this mean you guys are open to him coming to live with us?”

Logan shrugs and Patton nods eagerly.

“I guess it’s settled then. Ya know, unless his file says he’s a psycho or something.”

********************************************

BREED: Thoroughbred

SEX: Male

HEIGHT: 6’7

DESCRIPTION: Auburn colored coat and hair.

THREAT: None. Safe around human and Centaur children.

CARE: Needs regular assistance in standing and walking.

-------------------------

“Huh, not much info on here is there?” Thomas passes the paper up to Logan, who holds out a hand to study it. They’ve stepped outside the main office at the Centaur Care Facility to discuss if they are going to bring the Centaur home with them.

“It would seem so.” Logan agrees.

Patton wrings his hands. “Does this mean we won't take him?”

“Not necessarily, I didn’t see ‘homicidal maniac’ anywhere so there’s that. I’m just worried about how we’d help him walk. You have no idea how hard it was to get Logan on my trailer when he was sick. I don't want to go through all that again, if he fell on me, I’d be toast.”

“Firstly, not being a homicidal maniac is hardly evidence of a sound mind. Secondly, it is highly unlikely these particular people would ask you to care for a Centaur without providing, or at the very least telling you, the best way to care for him. That said, what does being crushed have to do with toast?”

“It means he would be doomed, like a piece of toast.” Explains Patton. Logan just frowns harder, trying to think of how that explanation makes any more sense.

“I have no idea why people say that. I just know they do.” Thomas says as he also attempts to find the reasoning behind that particular phrase. Logan tends to make him do that a lot. Who knew so many expressions were complete nonsense?

“I do not know why this file is considered to be of use. It only gives a vague physical description, one I doubt would be of any use since auburn is a rather common color for Centaurs.

Patton sighs. “Does this mean we aren’t getting him?”

Thomas tries not to show his frustration. There is so much responsibility in this decision and it’s stressing him out. Thomas would become responsible for Patton and Logan and a disabled Centaur. Thomas feels as though he is playing with other people's lives (isn’t he?) and it’s terrifying. Then again, Thomas has Patton and Logan to help him this time. He doesn’t have to make this decision on his own.

“Alright. Let's vote. All for bringing the guy home say ‘I’.” Thomas says. Patton's hand shoots to the sky.

“ME!” He yells.

“You are supposed to say ‘I’. Logan huffs.

“Logan said ‘I’!”

“What? No, I was correcting you. I was not voting.”

“So is that a no?” Thomas asks.

Logan sighs and rolls his eyes. “I don’t have enough facts to say whether this is an advisable decision but I suppose we can take him in. If only because we can return him if he causes issues.”

That’s good enough for Patton and Thomas so they both hurry back into the building.

“So we thought it over and we’ve decided to take the Centaur in.” Thomas tells the secretary.

She squints when he says ‘we’ but otherwise looks thrilled.

“Oh wonderful!” She says. “I was seriously worried no one would take him in.”

She pulls out a decently sized packet of papers and hands them to Thomas.

“You’ll need to sign these. I’ll go tell Bert to get him ready to leave in an hour or two.”

“Two hours?” Asks Thomas.

“Will you need longer?” The secretary hesitates with the phone.

“Um.” Thomas had been under the impression they could take the Centaur with them now but maybe not.

The woman squints behind Thomas, who turns to see Logan walking through the doors.

“I assumed you didn’t have the room.” She says, pointedly looking from Patton to Logan.

Oh, that made sense. Thomas feels a little stupid. Oh course he wouldn’t fit. It was a tight enough squeeze fitting Patton and Logan on his open trailer, much less a third guy.

“Oh, right. Uh, I guess a hour or two is good.”

The woman nods and goes back to calling Bert.

“Is everything alright Thomas?” Patton asks. He’d been too nervous around the secretary to come close enough to hear her and Thomas’s conversation.

“All’s good Pat. I just gotta sign all these and get you guys home.”

Patton grins, excited now that the process has started. Logan walks over to stand by and read over Thomas’s head.

“Are those the forms?” He asks. Thomas nods and hands him a stack.

With Logan directing him, Thomas has all the papers signed in under five minutes and he is quick to hand them back in.

“I’ll be back in an hour or so.” He says. Then he and Patton bound out the doors and back to the truck with Logan following behind at a calmer and significantly less bouncy pace.

Chapter Text

***************************************

Thomas had dropped Logan and Patton off as quickly as he could and was on his way back to the facility. Patton’s contagious excitement has started to wear off but Thomas is surprised to find his nerves have yet to make an appearance.

Patton had assured him that a clean room would be ready for the Centaur by the time Thomas made it back and Thomas didn’t doubt it, he’s pretty sure there will be a warm dinner waiting too.

When Thomas arrives he’s directed to park in front of a barn that somewhat resembles an infirmary. Within moments he’s talking with one of the workers and being drowned in information.

“So he’s gonna be needing these twice a day to help with the pain. You shouldn’t need anymore than this but don't hesitate to call us up if you do.” Says a man who’d introduced himself as Bert.

Thomas nods and accepts the bottle.

“Oh, and don’t go passing those out. The dosage is only for a Centaur of his exact weight and breed. Could probably kill a human so I suggest you keep them far from your medicine cabinet.”

Thomas pales a little and nods again. He’ll take the man's word for it. But he does have some other questions that have been burning in his mind. Also the list Logan had made for him, saying Thomas would probably choke up without it. Thomas had disagreed but he’d taken it to make Logan get off his back, now he pulls it out and tries to discreetly look at it. Logan won’t find out but it’s the principle of it.

“Hey, so I’ve been wondering how is he gonna get around? Cause the last time I had to help get a centaur to his feet I nearly got crushed.”

The man looks a little concerned. “It isn’t too hard since he’s gotten the hang of his wheels but I thought you’d at least have some help. I really wouldn’t recommend trying on your own.”

“I’ve got help.” He assures the man. He’d ask more questions but, frankly, his nerves are starting to get the best of him. Just like Logan had said. At least he knew the Centaur had some sort of transportation. Besides, this time he’ll have Logan to help, instead of the reverse. Just like how Logan had helped those men lift a centaur the other day and- oh. It occurs to Thomas that the Centaur he’s about to meet is probably the same one he’d seen that day.

Thomas might have asked but then he hears what must be the Centaur coming. At least he assumes that what the squeaky wheel sound is.

Thomas is proven correct when the somewhat familiar Centaur comes rolling onto the loading dock. He looks worlds better than he had when Thomas had first seen him. Thomas is intrigued to see an odd sort of, well, wheelchair isn’t quite the right word for it. It actually reminds Thomas of the little wheelchairs they make for cats and dogs with paralyzed hind legs. It’s strapped on directly behind the guys front legs and there are four wheels supporting him. Two underneath and two acting as support on either side. Overall it seems to work great and the Centaur seems well adjusted to it.

Bert speaks up. “You won't have to help him walk any, he’ll just need help getting it on and off. Otherwise he shouldn’t cause you much trouble.” Bert leans a bit closer to whisper to Thomas. “He is easily startled though. Oh, and he talks. A lot. Not sure how you feel about that.”

Thomas just shrugs. He doesn’t think he’ll mind, although Logan might be another story. On the bright side Patton will have someone else to talk to when Thomas isn’t around. (Which is basically only at night but still.) Overall Thomas doesn’t think it will be much of an issue.

The Centaur wheels himself over, using the front leg that isn’t in a massive cast and his hind legs to push the ‘wheelchair’ closer. He doesn’t seem too happy to be using it but wheels forwards confidently anyway.

“Hello there!” The Centaur says, a confident smile fixed firmly on his face. “You must be the one who’s housing me.”

Thomas is a bit shocked by the Centaurs confidence. He is nothing Logan or Patton. Or Thomas for that matter.

“Uh, yeah. That’s me.” Thomas shakes himself out of his temporary stupor. “I’m Thomas.”

Thomas reaches his hand up to shake the centaurs hand and once again marvels at the height difference. True, this Centaur isn’t nearly Logan towering eight-some feet but he’s still tall enough for Thomas to strain his neck looking him in the face.

Thomas decides to break the silence, mostly for his own peace of mind. He feels like he’s going to lose it if he has to stand in silence much longer.

“Uh, shall we?” Thomas gestures to his truck and before Thomas knows it the Centaur is in the trailer, Bert is saying goodby and Thomas is in the front seat driving home. ‘Huh. That happened.’

Since Thomas is in his pickup and the Centaur is on his open trailer Thomas can’t actually see the Centaur. However there is a small window that opens between them and Thomas is pretty sure they can talk that way. So long as the wind isn’t too loud.

Because he can’t think of a reason not to, Thomas goes ahead and slides open the window and the Centaur must notice because a few moments later Thomas can see him stick his head right up against the window, peering inside.

“Hey,” Thomas starts. “So I figured I might as well explain stuff now before we get back so Pa- uh, no one startles you.”

The Centaur nods. “Carry on then.” He says with a smile. Smirk? Thomas can’t actually tell from his position. He fights the urge to peer over his shoulders.

“Well, I guess I should first warn you that there are two others you’ll live with. Don’t know how you feel about roommates. Not that you’ll be sharing a room or anything! You’ll have your own space and all, it's just there are two other centaur who live in the barn too. But no worries! It's a big barn and all so it’s not like it will be cramped.” Thomas clamps his mouth shut to stop the flow of words. He still can’t see the Centaur but he can feel his gaze boring into his head.

The Centaur gives a thoughtful hum of acknowledgement and crosses his arms to fully lean against the window.

“I’m sure the roommates will be fine. I grew up with the absolute worst and I doubt anyone could be as bad as him.”

“Oh, well don’t worry. These guys are really nice. They’re actually pretty excited to meet you, we don’t see other people very much. Actually, I think you might have already met them.”

The Centaur quirks an eyebrow curiously. “Really? When? Are they racers?”

Thomas snorts. “No.” He wants to laugh at the idea of Patton trying to race against a professional. “It was, like, a week ago. When you first arrived at the shelter. You were still in the trailer and we were all there. The short guy and the tall one?”

The centaur furrows his brows. “I think I remember, but I wasn’t quite feeling like my normal fabulous self.”

‘Fabulous?’ Thomas thinks.

He doesn’t end up with the time to question it since he realizes he’s already pulling into his own gate. It’s funny how much one can do on autopilot, he muses as he pulls up to one of the stable doors. He pulls into the opposite end of the barn but it happens to have the biggest entrance. Big enough that, once he opens the doors, (Not an easy feat.), he drives his truck straight on through and only stops once he nears Patton and Logan's rooms. He doesn’t dare drive all the way up to them. Patton would have a fit if Thomas got tire tracks all over the barn floor. Well, technically he already has, but so long as it stays south of Logan and Patton’s room it’s fair game. That half of the barn has still remained untouched by any of them.

Thomas hasn’t even parked his truck when Patton is trotting down the hall towards them, the clacking of his hoofbeats lighter and quicker than usual, full of excitement.

“Logic!” He yells. “They’re here!”

Logan pokes his head around the corner and then follows Patton down the hall.

“I’m right here, why are you yelling?” Logan huffs. Patton ignores him and excitedly trots over.

Thomas throws his truck into park and hops out to lower the ramp to his trailer. Patton is still smiling broadly while Logan is looking on in mild curiosity.

“It’s great to meet you! I’m your new stall mate, your room is next to mine!” Patton says, bouncing on his feet. He doesn’t seem to have a problem speaking to the new guy but Thomas isn’t sure if it’s because it's because he’s another Centaur or if it’s because they are in comfort of Patton's own home. Then again, he’d had no problem comforting the Centaur the last time they met so maybe it's because of the first?

“A pleasure to meet you.” The Centaur says, as he tries to get down the ramp without rolling away. He manages, albeit clumsily, and wheels over to Patton to shake hands.

“I take it you are my other stall mate?” He asks Logan.

Logan finally pulls his eyes away from the ‘wheelchair’ that he’d been curiously studying this whole time. He holds out his hand to greet the new guy.

“Yes.” He simply says.

“I’m gonna go move the truck. You guys wanna show him around?” Thomas says awkwardly. He feels like he’s intruding just by being there. It’s probably for the best that he gives them some space. Right? Thomas isn’t quite sure. The new guy didn’t seem to mind Thomas’s presence at all but it could be for show. Either way, the truck does have to be moved so he might as well do it now.

“Of course.” Logan replies.

After that all three Centaurs head down the hall, chattering somewhat loudly and Thomas starts up his truck. He’s morbidly curious what they are saying about him (because there is no way the topic of their owner won't come up) but after that visit to the eye doctor Thomas is certain it won’t be bad.

‘I can’t believe I’ve got three centaurs living with me now. And all so wildly different. This is going to be interesting.’

Chapter Text

************************************

Dinner goes surprisingly well and Thomas feels almost like they’re just having an old friend over for the night. The Centaur gets along rather well with all of them and Thomas is pleasantly surprised to find that the Centaur doesn’t seem to mind Thomas’s presence at all. Maybe he just doesn't have hard feelings towards humans. Well, at least not towards Thomas anyway.

“So let me get this straight.” The Centaur is saying. “None of you has ever seen the Centaur Races?” He sounds incredulous.

I’ve heard about it, especially in high school, but I’ve never really watched any sports... Or had anything to do with sports.” Thomas admits.

“I overheard a good bit regarding the races, mainly other people betting on them. However, I was not kept up to date with them and I certainly never saw footage of it.” Logan says.

“Sorry kiddo, I never heard anything about it.” Patton says apologetically.

The Centaur shakes his head in disbelief.

“How is that even possible?” He mumbles to himself.

Thomas isn’t quite sure what to say. He actually feels bad that he’s so ignorant to what has undoubtedly been a huge part of this Centaurs life.

The Centaur seems a bit put out. “Well I assure you it’s a big deal.”

The ‘I’m a big deal’ goes unspoken.

“I was on my way to the big leagues and if that Dragon Witch hadn’t tripped me I’d be on my way to Chicago right now!”

Patton gasps in horror.

“Language!”

“What?” The Centaur asks. “Oh, no I said ‘witch’ as in a -um, a sorcerer. Yanno, ‘Dragon Witch?’”

None of the other three look any less confused.

The racer huffs. “Oh, come on! Surely you know about the ‘Dragons’?”

“Oooh” Thomas gets it. Logan nods too but Patton looks confused as ever.

“It is the name of the largest racing team.” Logan explains.

“Second biggest! The ‘Royals’ are actually much better.” The other centaur insists. It isn’t that big a leap to assume he is a ‘Royal’.

“Oh.” Says Patton. Then he looks more upset than he had when he’d thought someone was cursing. “You mean you were tripped by a witch?”

Logan sighs. “There are no such things as witches, Morality. He is referring to her racing name. At least this is what I assume?” He turns to the racer for confirmation.

The injured Centaur nods. “Yep.” He scowls and grumbles quietly under his breath.. “Though I think ‘bitch’ is more accurate.”

He says this quietly enough that Patton isn’t able to hear and Thomas is thankful for that. He’s been scolded a few times by now and seeing Patton so disappointed, even if it isn’t directed at him, makes Thomas feel terrible.

Patton is still upset though. “Did she really trip you? Why would she do that?!”

The Centaur crosses his arms. “She knew I was faster so she sabotaged me. Where's her honor? Where’s her pride!?” He’s working himself up and doesn’t seem to be asking any of them for an answer. He’s just venting.

Logan looks like he might answer anyway so Thomas nudges him and shakes his head. He doesn't know what Logan was planning to say, only that it wouldn’t help and would probably make everything worse.

The conversation dies from there and a few minutes later Thomas is helping Patton put away the dishes. And he suddenly remembers.

“Oh my gosh I forgot to give you guys your glasses!” He dumps the plates into the sink and rushes out to his truck. He snatches the cases off the passenger seat and runs back to the barn. He tries to hide his puffing as he walks over to where Patton and Logan are waiting. The other centaur is watching curiously from off to the side. Maybe Thomas should start exercising a bit more.

“Here you guys go.” Thomas hands the cases over and both centaurs accept them, somewhat warily.

Patton slides a black pair with round frames onto his face and blinks in surprise.

“Woah.” He says.

Logan watches Patton’s reaction before putting on his own. Once the rectangular glasses are on his face he reels a bit. His eyes are open wide with shock.

Patton is twisting his head around in delight.

“It’s so clear! Isn’t it cool-” He startles a bit when he sees Logan. “Wow, you look even taller!” He says.

Logan’s eyes are the size of dinner plates and he looks like he’s still reeling. “I feel taller.” He says. Then he scowls a little. He clearly isn’t happy about it.

Patton is suddenly excited. “Hey Thomas! Hold up your fingers!”

Thomas laughs and holds up two.

“Two!” “Two.” The centaurs say simultaneously.

Patton is dancing in a little circle when suddenly he stops and squints at a wall.

“How long has that been there?” He glares at the far wall where an obvious black spot stands out. Upset his clean walls (which were not easy to clean the first time around) may not be as clean as he’d thought they were, he marches over to it and leans close to study it.

A scream rings out and Patton falls over himself trying to get away.

“SPIDER!!”

The noise scares the other three and, apparently, frightens the spider too. It goes racing along the wall and chaos erupts.

Logan had jumped hard enough when Patton screamed that he seemed to have momentarily lost his balance. He tries to walk towards the spider but quickly stops to stare at his feet. Clearly the glasses have changed his depth perception. Meanwhile Thomas, who is also frightened of spiders, is trying to keep the eight legged monster within his sights by spinning around, which is made much more difficult with Patton clinging to his shoulders.

The third Centaur, upon Patton’s screaming, had jumped hard enough to nearly dislodge his wheelchair and is now grabbing at the kitchen counter for dear life. His hand is grappling around blindly as he struggles to grab a cup without taking his eyes off the spider.

Logan gets his balance back (mostly) and starts looking around for a substitute spider killer.

“Someone get a shoe!” Thomas yells.

All three centaurs stop to give Thomas a ‘really?’ look. It occurs to Thomas that the only pair of shoes within a hundred yard radius are on his own feet.

Logan doesn’t get a chance to call Thomas out on his less than intelligent remark because the new Centaur finally manages to get his hands on a cup and swings it towards the spider.

‘Finally! Someone caught-’ Thomas’s eyes widened. He is more than a little surprised when the spider flattens under the base of the cup.

“Uh, you were holding the cup the wrong way.” Thomas says after a moment of silence.

“Is it dead?” Patton whimpers.

“What do you mean the cup is the wrong way?” Asks the Centaur.

Thomas blinks. “You know...to catch it?”

“Why would he wish to catch it?” Logan asks. He turns to address Patton. “You can open your eyes, it’s dead.”

Thomas isn’t sure how to answer that. But he isn’t the only one confused.

“Did...did you want the spider?” The Centaur asks, flabbergasted. “I assumed we were trying to slay it.”

“Darn tootin we were.” Says Patton, surprising Thomas.

“Seriously? I thought you’d be upset if we killed it. You were devastated about that grasshopper last week.”

Patton straightens his shirt. “No. That creepy crawly death dealer got what it deserved.”
All three are silent a moment before Logan deadpans. “It was a spider.”

“That's what I said.” Insists Patton.

“Well fear not.” Says the other Centaur. “I will slay as many creepy...deathy…..bugs... as you need me to.”

Logan rolls his eyes. “Well unless you have anything else you’d like to scream about-” He seems particularly sore about being startled so bad. (Which, unfortunately, came with being a centaur. They just had a tendency to be jumpy.). “-I believe I will retire for the night.”

“I think I’m going to too.” Agrees Thomas. This has been too much excitement for one night.

“Uh, before you do, you wouldn’t happen to have any of those painkillers would you?” Asks the injured Centaur. Thomas notices the pinched look on his face.

‘Jumping that hard must have seriously hurt.’ Thomas thinks.

“Of course, I totally forgot. Sorry.” Thomas says, quickly extracting the medicine bottle from his pocket. “Here, the guy said not to share them or something but that’s a no brainer. The instructions are on the back.” Thomas says, feeling a bit stupid for stating the obvious.

The Centaur looks completely shocked to be handed the orange bottle.

“You want me to keep it?” He asks in surprise.

“Uh, yeah? It’s yours.”

The Centaur blinks but he accepts the bottle nonetheless. Now that Thomas has been reminded of the Centaurs injuries he realizes that the next step before bed is going to be getting the Centaur out of his ‘wheelchair’. How the heck are they gonna do that?

*****************************

Chapter Text

*****************************

Once the Centaur is ready to settle down for the night, because he wouldn’t be able to move till morning when someone came to help him, Thomas follows him to his stall.

“So what did you do to get this off before?” Thomas asks hesitantly. He’s glad Patton is here with him because Thomas is too awkward to try and figure this out on his own.

“Usually I used a handrail to hold myself up while somebody took the straps off.” The Centaur says.

Thomas and Patton look around.

“We don’t have a handrail. Would a chair work?”

Logan steps into the room. “He would have to lean too far down. He needs something level with his arms for support. And he won’t be able to hold himself up for long.”

The Centaur huffs, miffed at Logan's doubt in his strength but he notably doesn't deny it. Strong or not, no Centaur can support their body weight with just their arms.

A moment later sees Thomas and Patton on either side of the Centaur while he and Logan are locking arms.

“On the count of three.” Says Logan.

The second Logan reaches ‘three’ Patton and Thomas start unclasping belts and releasing the straps that hold the wheelchair in place under the Centaur.

Even with Thomas and Patton moving as fast as they can both Logan and the Centaurs arms are shaking by the time they’ve pulled out the wheelchair from underneath him.

“Clear!” Thomas yells, like some kind of wanna-be surgeon.

The Centaur wastes no time in lowering himself to the ground. He hisses as his cast is jostled and then drops his weight so he’s completely sitting down, uninjured leg tucked under him. It isn’t a very graceful process, especially with Logan having to drop down with him to keep his grip on his arms, but thankfully the entire ordeal is over without any accidents. Thomas calls it a success and rolls the wheel chair to lean against the wall, then goes to stand in the doorway with Logan. They both watch as Patton peppers the Centaur with questions.

“Do you need anything, kiddo? Another blanket? Pillow? Oh! Do you want water? I can get you a glass.” He babbles, fussing over the injured Centaur.

“All good, padre.” Says the injured Centaur.

Patton’s eyes light up like Christmas lights and he grins widely.

“Alright then.” He says. He seems to have been pacified with the simple statements. Thomas is sure the use of a paternal phrase had something to do with it. The other Centaur seemed to have caught on to their little dynamic rather quickly. Not that Patton was subtle or anything.

“Farewell till tomorrow.” States Logan. He doesn’t seem all that sincere but Thomas thinks he’s mostly just annoyed that yet another person is going along with Patton’s parental role.

Thomas just nods to Logan as he leaves. “Thanks for the help man. There’s no way we could have done that without you.” He says.

“That is true. I suppose I’ll be here tomorrow for the repeat.” He doesn't seem to expect an answer and Thomas is left wondering if they can’t come up with a simpler way to get the wheelchair on and off. Surely they can work out something.

He decides to sleep on it and says his good nights. He sees Patton is still hovering and Thomas grabs his arm gently.

“Come on Morality. Let the poor guy sleep.”

“Oh, of course! Sweet dreams, don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything. My stall is right next to yours so I’ll be able to hear you.”

The Centaur nods and sets about propping himself up. Thomas has to tug a little more on Patton’s arm before the short centaur follows him out of the stall.

“See you tomorrow Pa- Morality. Dang it, this is gonna drive me nuts.”

“Sorry kiddo.”

“No, no, I’ll adjust.” Thomas is sure he will but he’s really going to have to be careful and watch what he says. No matter. Whatever it takes to make his friends more comfortable he’s in.

***********************

The first day with the new Centaur had passed surprisingly easy. He didn’t seem fazed by Thomas’s continuous presence in the barn. (And Thomas had made sure to ask Logan and Patton if the Centaur had said otherwise in private just to be sure. They had assured him that he truly didn’t mind.) In fact the Centaur took to chatting with Thomas quite easily. And with Patton. And even Logan. Actually the guy seemed to love talking with anyone. He was like the poster child for ‘extrovert’. He also seemed to have sparked the chatty side in Patton. Not that he’d been particularly quiet before, he just seemed to have more energy. And he wasn’t the only one.

Unfortunately for the injured Centaur he was even more energetic (More so than anyone Thomas knew) and it was clear being in a wheelchair was killing him.

“Ugh! Are we sure this thing will get stuck outside?” The Centaur asks for the hundredth time.

Thomas tries to be sympathetic. “Well they both said the ground wasn’t smooth enough outside and honestly if you did get stuck I don’t know how we would ever get you out.”

Deep down Thomas is glad to have an excuse to skip out on their regular morning strolls. It had been a bit difficult to convince Patton that, ‘no seriously, I don’t mind. I’ll stay and keep him company. You go on ahead.’- but in the end Thomas had gotten out of exercising and was now keeping the Centaur company at the barn door. The Centaur was staring at the outdoors longingly.

“It feels like I haven’t run in years!” The Centaur bemoans. “I haven’t gone this long without a leg routine since I was three!”

It’s a funny thing to say, Thomas thinks. ‘What does he mean when he says he did ‘leg routines’ when he was three?’

Thomas doesn’t voice his thoughts and instead tries to change the subject. It’s clear the poor guy is bummed out. Maybe they can do something to cheer him up?

“Do you wanna do something? Maybe we could-”

An alert pings on Thomas’s phone. He pulls it out and gasps in surprise when he sees it.

“Yes! They came!” He turns, excited, and starts to rush for the other barn door when he remembers why he’s in the barn in the first place. The Centaur is looking at him in confusion.

“What’s here?”

Thomas grins. “Have you ever seen those Centaur bean bags?”

*****************

By the time Logan and Patton come back from their walk, Thomas and the Centaur have pulled out all five bean bags and spread them about the living room.

Logan raises an eyebrow. “What’s this?”

Patton gasps in delight. “Styrofoam!” He stomps on a packing peanut and it crackles under his hoof.

Thomas pauses atop his chair, from which he was about to throw himself onto the largest bag.

“Oh hey! You guys are back!” Thomas jumps and lands with a loud ‘whump’. “Look! We’ve got bean bags!”

Were the bean bags made and bought, with centaurs in mind? Yes, but if anyone thought that would keep Thomas from buying one of the world's largest bean bags for his own enjoyment as well as his friends, then they had another thing coming. Besides, buy four, get one free!

Thankfully Logan doesn’t seem upset with Thomas for buying yet another thing for them. He seems amused instead.

“I can see that. And you bought five because?”

“Duh, giant bean bags. What other reason do you need?”

Patton seems to only just notice the giant, black, leathery bags on the ground and he gives a happy squeal. He abandons the packing peanuts he’d been previously flattening and goes to jump on the one beside Thomas.

“See? He likes them too.”

Logan just shakes his head and walks off to the kitchen but Thomas is rather certain he saw a smile before he left.

“Not that I doubt your taste in decoration but why is one hot pink?” Asks the newest Centaur.

Thomas looks over from where he’s been sucked into his seat and sees the injured Centaur poking said bean bag with his good front leg.

“Buy four get one pink.” He says simply.

Patton and the other Centaur accept this as perfectly reasonable and they help Thomas drag the surprisingly heavy bags to place them around Thomas’s arm chair.

Now Thomas had already known the main room was pathetically empty but somehow it looked even sadder now. To be fair, it was a massive room to furnish. It was big enough to be a living room, kitchen and dining room, and Centaur sized to boot. Which meant that a huge dining room table, human sized armchair, five massive beanbags, and even an open, fully furnished kitchen didn’t make much of a difference. The kitchen was the only furnished part of the entire barn and that was only because Patton and Logan had deemed it a necessity and not a ‘luxurious waste’. Even their bedrooms were empty, only boasting a bed. (Not that Thomas had been looking but he couldn’t help but notice when he passed by.

Thomas (again) resolves to introduce some basic furniture into the centaurs' lives. For now he supposes he’ll have to make do.

**************************************************

Chapter Text

**************************************************

Not even two hours have passed before the wheelchair bound Centaur is pacing back and forth again. He’s rolling from one side of the room to the other and the squeaky wheel is starting to drive Thomas just a little bit insane. He thinks he isn’t the only one bothered since Logan left twenty minutes ago and Patton is looking a good bit stiffer and clanging about the kitchen a whole lot louder than normal.

Thomas racks his brain for a way to ask the Centaur to stop pacing without sounding like he’s giving a kindly worded order. Perhaps if he suggests something else to do?

“Anyone up for a movie?” Thomas tries.

“Movie?” Asks the Centaur in surprise.

“Yeah, I have a huge stash back at my place and we could always drag one of the tv’s out here.”

“You mean like, an actual movie? With characters and a story and all that?” The Centaur asks just as Patton questions. “What’s a movie?”

Thomas is utterly horrified. Surely this is a joke. A really bad joke all three centaurs are in on.

“Have you- have you guys never seen a movie before?”

The Centaur and Patton shake their heads and Logan approaches behind them with a confused expression.

“Of course not. How would we? More importantly, why would we? Aren’t they a waste of time? You are only staring at a screen and somehow gaining amusement from it. There is nothing to be gained. Unless you are watching a documentary, in which it is possible to learn something, though it is rarely of use. You mainly learn fun facts.”

“Woah woah woah, you did NOT just dis movies without ever even seeing one.”

A thought strikes Thomas.

“Holy shit, does that mean you don’t know about Disney?!”

Two of the centaurs shake their heads but Patton hums a bit.

“I’ve heard of it. A lot of the kids would talk about it and sometimes the parents would threaten not to take them there. What is it?”

“Only the greatest thing on earth!” Thomas exclaims.

“I highly doubt that.” Says Logan as he crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow.

“Hold up, is it a place or a movie?” Asks the wheelchair bound Centaur.

“It’s a franchise.”

None of the centaurs seem to find that answer helpful so Thomas tries to elaborate, which is difficult since he isn’t sure how much they know about theme parks and movies.

Once Thomas has finished thoroughly confusing them he decides to just grab a tv and show them some of the classics. (Read: all of them) No one seems to have a problem with this and Thomas is actually a little upset with how little they seem to care. Clearly they aren’t impressed by the idea of movies.

Determined to blow their minds, Thomas sets off towards his house. He has decided they should take his living room tv and he’ll replace it with the one in his room. The living room one happens to be the largest and, more importantly, the only smart TV. He hesitates outside the barn when it occurs to him that he can’t carry it alone. Thomas is sure one of his friends would be willing help but on consideration, Thomas realizes Patton is his only option. Logan is too big to fit through the door and the other Centaur isn’t able to leave the barn. Even if he could, Thomas doesn’t think he’d be able to fit inside very well either. Sure Thomas’s house is roomy, with large open spaces and high ceilings, but it doesn’t matter much when someone is about eight feet long.

With that in mind Thomas cautiously approaches Patton. He isn’t sure about how Patton might respond to being asked to enter a house for what is most likely the first time. Some part of Thomas knows it’s a big deal and that it would be very much like Patton to pretend he doesn't mind when it truly bothers him so Thomas resolves to watch his reaction very closely.

“So Patton,” The injured Centaur is nowhere in sight so Thomas supposes he can use names for now. “I was wondering if you’d be willing to help me carry the tv out here.”

Patton smiles. “Of course kiddo!”

Thomas feels like he should clarify. “It’s in my house. Is that alright?”

Patton freezes. So many emotions flash across his face that Thomas isn’t able to identify any of them. Once Patton seems to have comprehended his request his face settles on cautious.

“You mean go inside? Your house? Isn’t that- I mean I’ve sorta-.” Patton gestures to his hooves, which are shifting restlessly.

“That’s not a problem. I mean, I don’t care but if you want me to bring it to the door so you don’t have to go inside that’s totally fine.” Thomas is wondering if he shouldn’t have suggested that in the first place and avoided making Patton uncomfortable. Only, Patton doesn't seem to be upset. His face is practically glowing with curiosity.

“No need kiddo, I’ll help you inside, so long as you are okay with it.”

Thomas relaxes. “Oh, good.”

Patton sets down a measuring cup, (it looked like he’d been preparing to make something.) -and stands beside Thomas to go to his house. Thomas wishes he’d cleaned at some point this month.

*******************************************************

Once Patton and Thomas reach the house Patton is practically radiating with curiosity and Thomas can’t help but wonder if Patton has ever been inside a building that wasn’t a barn. No wonder he and Logan were so hesitant about Thomas bringing in new things. They’d probably only ever been around bland wooden stalls and dirty cement floors. With the exception of a warehouse in Logan’s case but, honestly, the two look about the same.

Thomas opens his back door, (he hasn’t used the front one since his family visited and- hold up, had he even locked it?) and Patton curiously sticks his head in. He takes in the room with wide eyes and cautiously moves so his feet are right in the doorway, pointedly still outside.

“Wow, are you sure you want me in there?” He asks.

“Of course.” Assures Thomas. “Mi casa es su casa.”

Patton stops from where he’s been absently rubbing his hooves on the doormat and looks up in excitement.

“I didn’t know you knew French!”

Thomas stills and blinks. “I don’t. That was Spanish and before you ask I don’t know that either. I just know the saying because people use it a lot. It mean ‘my house is your house.’”

Patton looks as though he doubts Thomas’s sincere use of the phrase but he takes a slow step inside anyway. He walks in a few steps and then circles back so he can face Thomas.

“Alright then. Which one is a tv?”

Thomas is momentarily taken back by the question and it takes a minute before he remembers it’s a legit question and requires an answer.

“Oh, uh, it’s this one.” Thomas approaches it and starts disconnecting the cords. He carefully places them on the couch so they don’t get mixed up with the other miscellaneous chargers he has laying about the house. He hasn’t gotten ridden of them since he’s sure they belong to something and he’ll probably need them again one day. Probably.

Patton tilts his head and looks at the tv, intrigued.

“So that's a tv.” He says. It seems like he’s going to elaborate but he stops there. Thomas just nods and shifts so he can get at the last cord. Patton shifts around anxiously.

“So I think we can just lift it and carry it out. Shouldn’t be too difficult.” Says Thomas.

Patton squints at the back door. “Do you think it’ll fit?” He asks.

Thomas takes a closer look. It would if they turned it but the combination of a swinging screen door and an abundance of stairs made a bit of a hazard zone.

“Maybe we should use the front.” Thomas agrees.

Patton nods and waits while Thomas tries to pull out the last cord but to Thomas’s disgust it’s screwed in and isn’t coming out without a screwdriver.

“Ugh.” Thomas groans. “I’m gonna have to get a screwdriver. This might take a bit. You can look around or whatever, maybe open the front door ahead of time?”

Patton hesitates but Thomas misinterprets it and waves a hand at him.

“I don't need help. The door is that way, to the right.” He says.

Patton nods and slowly walks to where he’s been directed. Once he’s out of sight he lets his head swivel around as he takes in the sights. So many colors! There are couches and tables and even windows!!

Patton spies the door and makes his way towards it, head lifted to take in a painting of what he thinks are coffee stains?

Something crunches loudly under his hoof and Patton shrieks and jumps away. What was that?! Oh, my gosh did he break something?!

Patton’s chest feels tight and he closes his eyes to fight against his panic. He doesn't remember bumping anything, how could this have happened?

*******************

Chapter Text

*******************

Thomas is nearly finished with a particularly pesky screw when he hears a startled shriek. He jumps to his feet and hurriedly traces the sound to Patton, who’s standing in front of the house door and staring at his hooves. Glass liters the ground. ‘Oh’ Thomas thinks.

I didn’t break it!” Patton gasps. His eyes are wide and he looks terrified.

“It’s okay-”

“I mean- I didn’t mean to, I didn’t even see it! I’m so sorry! I’ll fix it, don’t worry oh my gosh I’m so sorry i’msososorryIdidn’tmeantoplease-”

Thomas raises his hands in a calming motion but Patton flinches. Hard.

Thomas is nauseous. ‘Oh my gosh Patton thinks I’m going to hit him.’

With a deep stuttered breath Thomas slowly backs away. “It's okay Patton.” He chokes. “I know you didn’t break it. It’s alright. It-” Thomas’s voice breaks. “It was broken before you got here.”

Patton is breathing hard and his eyes are glazed but he blinks and they clear a little. He stares at Thomas with wide, frightened eyes, body curled up defensively.

Thomas feels himself break down. Patton is terrified. There are glass shards strewn across the hall and it’s all Thomas’s fault. Patton had thought he broke it and that Thomas was going to hit him for it. The glass has been there for months and Thomas hasn’t cleaned it and it's all his fault. He should have cleaned it. He shouldn’t have frightened Patton and the glass is still there.

“Thomas?” A quiet voice asks. Thomas looks up from his limp arms and tries to blink the tears from his eyes. Patton is still standing there, still skittish, still scared but mostly he looks worried. For Thomas. And suddenly Thomas can’t take it anymore.

He cries. He isn’t sure when he started, all he knows is he can’t stop and it hurts.

He doesn’t see or hear Patton move but there are warm arms pulling him into a gentle hug and he hears Patton's hushed voice whispering gently to him.

It makes him cry harder.

“What’s the matter kiddo?” He gently rubs Thomas’s back. “You’re alright. It’s okay.”

Thomas tries to force himself back under control. This isn’t right. He isn’t supposed to be the one who needs comforting right now. Thomas sniffles and tries to pull away but Patton is having none of it.

“What’s wrong Thomas?” He asks again.

“N-nothing.” Thomas rasps.

Patton gives a warning squeeze and shakes his head. “It’s not nothing. Are you upset about the glass?” Patton swallows hard. “I really am sorry. I can try and fix it?”

Thomas shakes his head and Patton lets him pull away this time.

“No Patton. I’m the one who’s sorry. You didn’t break the globe. It’s been broken for a while and I should have cleaned it up a long time ago.”

The last of Patton's fear fades and is replaced with confusion. “You’ve had glass just laying on your floor? For months?”

Thomas sniffles again in defeat. “Yeah.” He doesn’t know what else to say. His emotions are still boiling over and his eyes itch with barely restrained tears.

“I- I meant to clean it up Pat. I really did but I just couldn’t. And now I scared you and- and-”

Patton sees a second break down coming and gently leads Thomas towards a small decorative bench. Thomas is initially resistant but Patton's gentle hand on his back leads him on.

“Thomas, why-”

“It was a globe! It was a stupid, ridiculous globe and it had all the continents in the wrong spots and-” Thomas drops his head in his hands. “It was my Dads. He- oh Patton it’s so stupid!”

“No it’s not Thomas. It sounds like this globe was important to you.”

Thomas shakes his head. “It was my dads. He got it when he was traveling in Asia. It had all the continents messed up, Australia upside down and everything, but my dad loved it. He thought it was the funniest thing ever. Probably because of how much my mom hated it. She couldn’t stand it, thought it was the dumbest thing she’d ever seen. They used to argue about it all the time.”

Thomas elaborates before Patton gets the wrong idea. “Not like, actually fight over it. More like teasing each other about it. My mom would try and hide it out of sight and my dad just kept moving it to the most obnoxious places he could think of.” Thomas is barely able to speak around his tears now. “A week before they died he put it here so it would be the first thing my Mom saw when they came home.”

Thomas dissolves into tears and the house hauntingly echoes of his body wracking sobs. Patton says nothing. He just stands quietly by and gives Thomas room to breath. It’s a few minutes later, when Thomas is calming down, that he softly speaks again.

“Thomas,” Patton tilts his head to make eye contact.

Ashamed to have someone see him in this state, falling apart over a pile of glass, Thomas avoids his eyes.

“Thomas, look at me.” Patton quietly prompts.

Thomas is too tired to fight him so he lets his head fall back enough to see Patton's face. He has a sorrowful look in his eyes and his hand comes to gently rest on Thomas’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

Thomas shakes his head. “It’s just glass Pat.” He rasps.

“No kiddo, it isn’t. It was a memory of your parents and it isn’t stupid to be sad it broke.”

Thomas tries to disagree. “It was just a globe. And it broke months ago, when my Aunt and Uncle came and knocked it over. But I still didn’t- Why couldn’t I just- Why can’t I just clean it?” Thomas is crying tears of frustration now.

“Thomas, it isn’t that simp-”

“No! It’s glass! I shouldn’t be upset about that. I shouldn't even be upset at all! I haven’t been through what you guys have. I had a great childhood! I didn’t have to work or- or get told not to talk all the time. I didn’t have to worry if someone would sell me, I was fine!” Thomas breaths deep and his anger seeps away, replaced by exhaustion.

“I am fine. I’ve got it all. I’m rich, I own my own house, I have great friends, I own a goddamn multimillion dollar company. Why am I- why am I still so-?” Thomas’s brain is jumping from one thing to the next and he can hardly keep up. “They died over two years ago. It’s been two years and I still expect to hear my mom singing when I go downstairs.” He admits. “I still think I’m going to hear my dad tease her about her cooking and see her throw a rag at him whenever I walk into the kitchen.'' Thomas is too tired to cry anymore. He can hardly hold his head up and Patton gently tilts it to rest on his stomach as he hovers above him. He is silent and Thomas only knows he’s there from the fingers gently carding through his hair. A few minutes pass before Patton breaks the silence

“Thomas you can’t compare pain. It doesn't work like that.” Patton tells him softly. “Even if someone has it worse that doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to hurt too. It doesn’t matter why someone is sad or hurting, what matters is that they are hurt. And for the record, your parents dying is a big deal too.”

Thomas squeezes his eyes tighter. “Patton, I just- I don't know. I don’t know what I’m feeling.”

Patton squeezes tighter. “That’s okay. Feelings aren’t as clear cut as Logan tries to make them. They’re messy and confusing and-.”

“How do you do it Patton?” Thomas interrupts. “How do you all deal with losing so much? You were basically born a slave and yet you still go around smiling.”

“Thomas-”

“No seriously. Losing my parents was the worst thing that ever happened to me but you didn't even have any and you’re still handling it better than me!” Thomas stops for a moment. “Did you have parents?” He’d never asked, he’d just assumed since neither Patton or Logan ever mentioned having a family. Could he be any more selfish?

“Thomas, this isn’t about-”

“But did you?” Thomas insists.

Patton sighs and his fingers still in Thomas’s hair. “No. But it’s different for me. You lost the two people who’d been with you since you were born. The two people you could always rely on. My parents were sold so long ago I don’t remember them. It’s a different kind of pain, what didn’t really hurt me devastated you. We can’t compare our losses. We don't all react the same and we shouldn’t judge each other based on that.”

Thomas is silent.

“Thomas, you’re allowed to still grieve. It doesn’t matter what else everyone thinks or does. They aren’t you. There is no deadline to feel better. There is no right or wrong way to feel.”

Thomas is still silent.

“If you want I can clean it for you.” Patton offers.

Thomas breaks free from his thoughts. “No, I should. I need to- I’m supposed to.”

Patton pulls back and looks Thomas in the eye. His next words are somehow stern and yet comforting. “It’s okay to let other people help.”

“I need to, Patton. It’s my feelings right? I need to work through them. I need to work through my issues on my own.”

Patton hums. “Well, it’s true no one else can work through your feelings for you but that doesn’t mean you can’t let anyone else carry the load with you. Like me. Not talking around people is a me thing. I’m the one who needs to work it out but you and Logan decided to learn sign language to help me along. I want to be able to talk with other people someday but I can’t get there alone. I know you think you need to handle this on your own so you can move on but sometimes too much is too much. If it’s too much to clean the glass then I’m happy to help you.”

Thomas is back to crying. ‘At this rate I’ll flood the house.’ He thinks absently. He’s still trying to process Patton’s words. What was it he said? No deadline for feeling better. What a funny thought.

Thomas takes one more heaving breath. He lets it out slowly and then looks up to meet Patton’s eyes.

“Okay.” He rasps. “Patton- could you- can I-” He takes another deep breath. “Can you help me? With the glass?”

Patton smiles softly. “Anytime Thomas.”

*******************************

Chapter Text

*******************************

The wheelchair bound centaur LOVED movies. Disney in particular. Where Logan was mildly impressed and Patton was delighted, the third centaur was completely over the moon. Thomas had found a truly like minded friend. A friend that now had a nickname. It had happened right after the first movie, when Patton, Logan, Thomas and the new centaur had been discussing their various opinions on it. Thomas had decided to go through movies in the same order they had been released because he felt like it gave a greater appreciation for them and he didn’t see a reason not to.

“The characters were certainly intriguing, mainly their design, but the names left much to be desired. Sneezy and Dopey? Not to mention the prince, who didn’t even have a name.” Logan criticizes.

“Maybe dwarfs use nicknames like us?” Patton suggests.

“Possible, but what are we to call the prince? Prince?”

“It’s Prince Charming, thank you very much.” Thomas says, voice overlapping with the injured centaurs.

“And what’s so bad about Prince?” He huffs.

“Nothing.” Patton insists.

“Prince is a title not a name.” Insists Logan.

“Uh, agree to disagree.” Huffs the third centaur. “I think Prince is a perfectly dashing nickname.”

“Title.” Argues Logan. “Our nicknames are descriptors. There is a difference.”

“Unless you are ‘princely’.” Thomas throws in.

“Thank you!” The injured centaur huffs.

“Is that a thing?” Asks Patton.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Of course.”

Logan glares at the other two. “No. It isn’t. It is a title that has been given to hundreds upon thousands of men throughout history who only had one thing in common with each other.”

The three wait for Logan to finish but he doesn’t so Patton takes it upon himself to finish Logan’s sentence.

“They had great hair.”

Thomas and the other centaur nod wisely while Logan sputters.

“No! They were the sons of Kings. What could their hair possibly have to do with being a prince?!”

“No, no. Morality has a point.” Argues Thomas.

“Prince William is nearly bald and he’s not yet reached forty.” Logan counters.

Thomas is stumped for an answer. Logan has him there.

“Well I’m sure when he did have hair it was fantastic.” Says the wheelchair bound centaur.

“You are oddly defensive over those called Prince.” Logan accuses.

“Well of course I am, it’s my name.” The rest stare at him in surprise and after a moment the centaur rolls his eyes. “Of course you don’t know, I forgot none of you watched the races. My racing name is ‘Prince’, that’s what everyone calls me.”

“Oh.” Patton says. “That’s a cool name.”

“Oh! I get it! Cause you’re a ‘Royal’.” Thomas says, remembering what the racing franchise who owned the centaur was called.

“Yep. What better name for the son of King than Prince?”

This spikes Logan’s interest. “King? You’re the son of King?”

Prince puffs up. “So you have heard of me!”

Logan huffs. “Not you specifically but I most certainly have heard of King.”

“Typical.” Grumbles Prince.

Thomas thinks hard to remember his high school days. He’s certain he’d heard that name floating around.

“That’s the guy with all the records in racing right?”

“Technically there are two Kings. King Sr. was a racer back in the 90’s. He was the one who broke all those world records. You’re probably thinking of King Jr, the one who races now.”

“Wait, shouldn’t he be called Prince then?” Patton pipes up. “Yanno, instead of Jr.?”

Prince shrugs. “There are only so many royal titles to go around.” He says.

Patton and Logan both look as though they disagree but Thomas just ignores them. Prince is right. What will they call the future generations? Duke? Duchess? Best to stretch those names out as long as possible.

“Sorry we were arguing about your name man.” Thomas says.

“Prince.” The centaur corrects. “Call me Prince, like I said, everyone does. I don’t mind.”

“Oh. In that case call me- Thomas…” Thomas blushes, realizing how stupid he sounds but the centaur just laughs and Patton snickers.

“Will do Thomas.”

A few moments of silence pass before Patton blurts out- “Do you want a new one?”

“What?” Asks Prince, thrown off guard.

“A new nickname.” Patton clarifies. “You didn’t get to choose Prince right? Did you wanna choose one now?”

Prince hesitates. “What, like a new name? I really don’t mind Prince, everyone uses it.”

“Which could be a potential problem.” Muses Logan. “ Surely you do not always wish to be identified as a racer.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Snaps Prince. “That’s what I am.”

Patton holds up his hands. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to say there was anything wrong with Prince. I think it’s a great name. I just wanted to know if you had a different one you wanted too.”

Prince relaxes, dropping his defensiveness. “Nothing comes to mind.”

“I assume you would want something that describes you and not your racing lineage. Something more creative.” Suggests Logan

“I think ‘creative’ is a good description all on it’s own.” Thomas offers, thinking of all the ideas and suggestions Prince had come up with over the weeks. Ideas that mainly revolved around their biggest issue. Height. Patton and Thomas were hopelessly short in comparison to both Logan and Prince and this had caused more than one argument. Mostly because Logan tended to absently set things down on ledges or shelves a good two or three feet higher than either Thomas or Patton could reach. It wasn't intentional according to Logan but Thomas is absolutely certain Logan is lying and he sometimes does it when he's feeling particularly petty.

Even though Thomas had suggested it he hadn't thought Prince would take him seriously so he's surprised when he sees Prince looking thoughtful. “Creativity.” He muses. “I like it. Alright, let's go with that. Call me Prince or Creativity.”

Patton grins. “Alright Princey!”

“Do not call me Princey.”

**********************************************

Over time Prince’s love for movies only grows and grows. Thomas and Princey (because the name Princey had stuck and eventually Prince stopped trying to fight them on it) could go on forever about movie plots and the development of characters and never grow tired of it. Of course the Centaur hadn’t actually seen all that many movies, since there are only so many you can watch in three weeks, (at least when Logan and Patton were around to stop the binging) regardless, words could not describe how happy Thomas was to have a new friend who shared his favorite hobby. (Logan argued it wasn’t a hobby but he backed off at the backlash he received from both Thomas and Prince.)

Even better was the fact that Creativity loved to sing! And he was good at it too. Thomas had heard him humming and occasionally singing to himself but since they had started watching Disney (and let's be honest, most of them are musicals in one way or another), the Centaur had begun singing in earnest. All he had to do was hear a song once and he had it down pat. Thomas didn’t take long to join him and Patton sometimes sang along too, but he seemed nervous when he did so it wasn’t very often. The only one who refused to sing was Logan. To say he was unimpressed with the constant noise would be a bit of an understatement. He clearly wasn’t a fan of singing. Or maybe he just didn't like theirsinging but since he didn’t seem to be mad so much as annoyed, nobody let him damper their spirits. Thomas is grateful for that, he hadn’t realized how long it had been since he’d last sang. He hates to admit it but it’s probably been since his parents died. He’d forgotten just how much he loved it. It felt good to sing again.

Unfortunately this doesn’t mean things had been going completely smooth. With every day that passed everyone grew just a bit more tense. They push through it to enjoy the day but it’s an unspoken fact that they're all thinking about how Creativity will be leaving soon. Thomas isn’t sure when and he’s far too scared to call the shelter to find out. He wants to enjoy this time that they do have without knowing the day it all ends.

It’s only natural that Thomas has considered buying Creativity. In fact he’s begun to desperately want to. He’s certain the rest want that too but then he remembers what Creativity had told him. Unlike Patton and Logan, Creativity is considered a ‘big deal’, he’s the PRINCE for crying out loud. Thomas knows the only way it could ever work out is if Creativity wasn’t able to continue racing but that would devastate him. Racing seems to be Creativity’s passion and he’s been in firm denial that he might not be able to anymore. As much as Thomas hopes he still can, Thomas hasn’t forgotten what that man had told him the day he first met Creativity, broken and torn up in a trailer. The man had seemed certain that Creativity’s racing days were over. What if the man was right?

On Tuesday, a full eight weeks since they had met Creativity, the four friends are no longer able to ignore reality. Thomas received a call and he knows, even before he answers, that this is it. Thomas feels his heart drop and he’s devastated when the woman on the other end confirms his worst fears. She works for the Glenville Centaur Care Center and she tells him that Creativity’s owner will be coming to pick him up on Wednesday.

“Tomorrow? So soon?” Thomas sputters.

“I’m afraid so.” The woman sounds a bit miffed and Thomas reasons that this short a warning isn't common procedure.

Thomas numbly agrees to have Creativity ready and ends the call. He slowly makes his way to the barn where his friends are unknowingly spending their last day all together.

As soon as he enters the room everyone's face falls. Thomas doesn’t need to say anything.

“When?” Asks Creativity., his voice laden with a sad sort of acceptance.

“Tomorrow.” Thomas whispers quietly. “They’re gonna pick you up at ten.”

If possible everyone's face falls further.

“Oh.” Squeaks the Centaur.

******************

Chapter Text

******************

After the grim news of Prince's approaching departure, everyone sits about quietly. The room is full of suffocating, depressed silence. After an hour Thomas isn’t able to bear it any longer and he stiffly leaves the room with a mumbled excuse. He walks down the long hall towards the far end of the barn. It’s dusty and stifling but still he finds it better than being in the living room. Thomas slinks down to lean against an empty stall door. He takes a deep breath (and immediately regrets it because dust) and tries to think. Surely there must be a way to keep in touch with Creativity. But where will they send him?

Thomas’s mind is reeling with desperate ideas when a telltale squeak alerts him that Prince is approaching.

“Thomas?” The centaur asks cautiously.

Thomas clears his throat the best he can. He shouldn’t be so upset around Creativity leaving, after all, Thomas is the lucky one. He’ll be staying here with Logan and Patton. Creativity is more likely to be all alone.

Prince sighs when Thomas doesn’t respond. “I suppose this is our last day. I feel like maybe we should do something.” He hesitantly suggests.

“Yeah, sure. What did you have in mind?”

The centaur looks down at his hooves. “I don’t know. I just- I just want to stop thinking about tomorrow. I mean, what if-? I know I can still race but… what if? What if they don’t give me the chance? What do I do then?”

“Creativity, you can do more than race, There’s more to you than that.”

The Centaur shakes his head. “No, you're wrong Thomas. I was made to race, that’s why I was born. It’s my purpose.”

Thomas opens his mouth to disagree but the centaur cuts him off.

“My father was King Sr.”

Thomas is silent as he tries to digest that so Creativity keeps going.

“You know, the guy who died fifteen years before I was born, King Jr. would be my half brother I guess. What I’m trying to say is I really was made for racing. That’s why I was born.”

Thomas is speechless. “Your Mother-?”

Creativity shrugs. “A surrogate. She was just supposed to carry to term and then they would take whatever kids she had and raise us. In return they would give her a comfortable life somewhere quiet. That’s how I was born. I’ve been training my entire life so that one day I could be a racer.” Creativity has tears in his eyes by now. “Thomas I don’t know what I’ll do, what they’ll do, if I can’t race.”

Thomas stands so he can hug his friend. He might not be as good at comforting as Patton is but he’s going to do his damn best. He isn’t able to speak, not with the emotions running through him right now but he pats as close to Creativities’ back as he can reach while they both shake. Creativity isn’t crying but it’s a near thing.

“You are worth so much more than that.” Thomas says once he’s regained his voice. “It doesn’t matter what they think or why you were born. No one gets to tell you who you are.”

“But-”

Thomas interrupts what he is sure is another bout of denial. “Dude, I’ve never seen you run in my life and I still think you’re an awesome guy. You’re fun to be around and Patton and Logan think so too, don’t let Logan fool you. He’s just emotionally constipated but I can tell you with absolute certainty that he’s going to miss you just as much as the rest of us.”

The centaur sniffs and then huffs in amusement as Thomas’s accurate description of Logan. He slowly pulls away from Thomas and rubs at his eyes.

“It will be nice to know that there are people out there who like me. You know, the actual me.”

Thomas smiles. “And don’t you forget it, Creativity.”

“Actually... it’s Roman.”

Thomas stops, his heart feels just a little bit lighter.

“In that case, don’t you forget it, Roman.”

The Centaur- no Roman, smiles and Thomas joins him to walk back to where Patton and Logan are still in the living room. Seeing Roman and Thomas a bit cheerier seems to lift Logan and Patton’s spirits as well.

Too soon they find themselves going to bed. They’ve stayed up a good three hours longer than usual chatting about mundane things Thomas can’t even remember but no one bothers to mention it. As the four of them help lower Roman to his bed, because they never did find a better way to remove his wheelchair, Thomas realizes he’s going to miss this too. Sure it’s a pain and tends to scare him every time Romans legs start to shake but Thomas is going to genuinely miss it.

He’s going to miss a lot of things.

**********************

Morning comes too soon and even with only four hours of sleep Thomas still rushes over to the barn at seven sharp. He isn’t sure when Roman’s owner will be showing up and he wants as much time with the four of them together as possible.

He isn’t surprised to find all three centaurs are up as well. Patton’s eyes are swollen red and it doesn’t look as though he’s slept at all. Logan is fairing a little better but the rings under his eyes confirm he didn’t get much sleep either. As for Roman, he looks, well, broken. Like something in him has died.

Unsurprisingly none of them are hungry and everyone picks at their food. No one speaks. Thomas desperately wants to say something but for the life of him he can’t think of what. What does one say at a time like this?

Patton makes a half hearted attempt at lightening the mood. “Hey Logan.”

Logan jolts upright, blinking himself back to full consciousness.

“Did I ever tell you about updog?”

“What’s updog?”

The genuine confusion in his voice is what does it for Thomas. He and Roman share one look and burst into laughter. Patton beams and Logan looks- actually he looks more relieved than upset. He gets a weird glint in his eye and turns so he’s facing Patton.

“Do you know what the definition of a will is?” He asks.

Patton is thoroughly confused. “What?” He isn’t answering the question so much as expressing confusion over the left field question.

“How do you not know this? It’s a dead giveaway.”

Stunned silence falls but then a smile cracks through Logan’s stoic façade and everyone loses it. Once Roman regains his breath he joins in.

“I once buried someone alive.”

“Woah, that escalated.” Thomas snickers.

“You buried someone alive?” Patton says, unsure if this is the beginning of a joke or a confession.

“Yep. It was a grave mistake.”

Laughter follows and then Logan tries to tell them about how they used to put string in coffins and attach them to bells in case people were still alive but his history lesson is quickly shut down and Thomas ends up lying and telling a horrified Patton that it was just a bad joke. Patton is happy to accept this and the puns continue.

They can’t last forever though and eventually Thomas gets a call asking him where to pick up Roman. He directs them and then hangs up. He awkwardly pockets his phone.

“We should probably say goodbye before they get here.”

The centaurs nod but no one seems to know how to start. Logan is the first to bite the bullet.

“It has been a pleasant few weeks and your presence will be missed.”

It’s an incredibly impersonal farewell but it’s also very Logan.

“Back at ya’ teach.” Roman says with a weak smile.

“It won’t be the same without you.” Thomas admits. “I’m really gonna miss you.”

Patton is crying already but he struggles through to give his goodbyes.

“I'm gonna miss you so much! You’re such a special person and I’ll think of you everyday! Things won't be the same without your singing and come here!” Patton stretches up to hug Roman around his waist. He catches the other centaur off guard but he steadies himself quickly and returns the hug. Patton's two front feet are off the ground in order to reach but he stubbornly hangs on anyway.

Patton blindly reaches out to grab hold of Thomas’s shirt and then roughly drags him into the hug as well.

“Group hug.” He says, voice muffled from where it's pressed between the two others bodies.

Logan figures out where this is going and quickly gets out of range.

“Come on Logan. You know you want in.” Teases Roman.

“No.”

Thomas snickers. “Emotionally constipated say ‘what’.”

“What?”

The three crack up again.

*********

Chapter Text

*********

The hug only lasts a few more moments before they all hear an approaching truck. Dragging themselves apart they solemnly head towards it.

Three men are there and two set about lowering the ramp to what is an actual centaur carrier and not Thomas’s sad excuse for one. This trailer has walls, a roof and the ‘Royal’ logo on the side.

None of this makes him feel better.

One man in an expensive suite approaches Thomas and catches him off guard. He’d arrived in a shiny black car that Thomas hadn’t even noticed.

“Are you Mr. Sanders?”

Thomas swallows hard and accepts the offered handshake. “That’s me. You Prince’s owner?”

“I’m his handler.” The man corrects.

“Oh.”

“I’d like to thank you for keeping him over the past two months. He can be a bit difficult sometimes and I’m sure it’s been hard on you since he isn’t able to walk.”

“Uh- It was no problem. Really.”

The man doesn’t seem completely convinced but he nods anyway.

“I know it isn’t policy but I’d like to pay you for everyth-”

“That isn’t necessary.” Thomas quickly cuts him off. “I really, really didn’t mind.”

The man nods in acceptance. “In that case you have my sincere gratitude.”

“Martin?” Roman cautiously approaches the man, interrupting whatever else he’d been about to say.

“Is this- I am still going to-? You know I can still race right? They- they didn’t say-”

Martin confirms Roman’s worst fears with five simple words. “Your racing days are over.”

Roman sputters. “You- you haven’t even given me a chance!"

“Face it Prince.” Martin says softly. “There’s no changing their mind. As far as your owners are concerned you're done and no amount of fussing is going to change that.”

“B-but I’m only twenty two! I- I’ve still got plenty of fight left in me! You know I didn’t trip!” Roman pleads.

“Too bad. You blew it Prince, you know how this goes. You’re headed to the farms tomorrow.”

Thomas has never seen Roman so pale before, not even when his leg had been a mangled mess.

“NO! You can’t! I’m- I’m not- you don’t want me there! It's useless, there’s no point! I’m gay! And- and I’ve got- uh, bad genes! What if-? You don’t want me!” Roman begs. If he was able to drop to his knees he would have but the wheelchair holds him up. Martin rolls his eyes.

“Quit being dramatic. You’re going. Now get in the truck.” Martin gestures at the truck. “I did not miss this.” He mumbles under his breath.

Roman shudders and takes a step away. Clearly he doesn’t want to go in the truck. Thomas can’t hold his tongue anymore. He doesn't know what the hell anybody is talking about but Roman is terrified and Thomas needs to help him somehow.

But what can he say? He can try and tell them that Roman can still race but he isn’t qualified to judge that. Determined or not Roman can’t control whether his leg will fully heal and no matter what Thomas says he knows it won’t make a difference. But still he has to try.

“Sir,” Thomas pulls Martin aside. “You said he can’t race right? If that’s true then I’d- I want to buy him.”

Martin stares at him to see if he’s serious. Then he actually laughs. He sounds genuinely amused but, although it stings, there isn’t any malice to it.

“Kid, do you know this centaurs lineage? He’s worth his weight in gold whether he can race or not. He isn’t going to be sold to anyone.”

Oh yeah, Roman was the son of the ‘Royals’ best racer wasn’t he? Not only that but a deceased racer, it wasn’t like his father would be having any more kids.

Thomas still can’t give up. “But how much-”

The man holds up his hand. “Look. I’m not even his owner. I’m his handler, which means I can do everything but sell him. You’ll have to go straight to the top if you want to buy him but I can guarantee you wont get anywhere because he isn’t for sale. It isn’t about the money. It’s about the name.”

Thomas nods miserably. He hears sniffling coming from Patton while Logan restlessly moves from hoof to hoof.

Martin gives Thomas a sympathetic look and then walks over to Roman, who looks like he’s on the brink of either crying or running.

“Please.” Roman begs. “Don’t send me to the farms. I know I can still race.” His voice is quiet and hard to hear but Martin acknowledges his request with a shake of his head.

“Get in the truck, Prince.” He says, voice soft but firm. Roman shudders but this time he obeys. Thomas is able to make eye contact one last time and then Roman is in the trailer and the doors are being shut.

The look in those eyes is going to haunt Thomas.

******************

Things are… different afterwards. The smallest part of Thomas wishes he had never agreed to take in Roman when he knew it was only a temporary thing, but the lion's share of him is forever grateful he had.

Just like before, the days pass uneventfully and Thomas, Logan and Patton do their best to keep their spirits up. It takes about two days for Thomas’s curiosity to overwhelm him and he finds himself going to Logan to find out just what Martin meant when he said Roman was ‘going to the Farms’.

“‘Farm’ is a term people use to describe where Centaurs stay once they have become too old to work or are disabled. It is also where most centaurs are born and raised.”

“Oh. Then why would they send Roman there? He's not actually disabled.”

“They probably intend for him to father children. It is common for highly desired Centaurs to be sent to farms in order to breed.”

Hold the fucking phone. At Thomas’s look of horror Logan quickly continues.

“Not like that, nothing is forced. Sometimes two centaurs are highly-” Logan searches for the right word. “-encouraged to couple with each other in order to produce the desired heir but it is entirely up to them.” He says all this as though it makes it better somehow.

“Then what do you mean ‘strongly encouraged’?! Roman is there right now! We have to go get him!”

“Thomas we can’t. There is nothing we can do. And as I said before he will have a choice in the matter, nothing happens without his consent.”

Thomas is having trouble breathing with all the horrible thoughts his mind has come up with based on what Logan just said and Logan notices this and halts Thomas’s internal crisis by further explaining himself.

“By encouragement I mean should both parties be willing and the coupling prove successful both parents will receive a more luxurious lifestyle. On rare occurrences they will be moved to a ‘Free Roam’ Center.” Seeing Thomas’s looks of confusion Logan sighs and clarifies. “Free Roam Centers’ are places where centaurs are allowed to live with minimal human interference. They are allowed to provide for themselves and are mostly left to their own devices. From what I’ve heard, this is the most common reward for providing the desired amount of children asked of you.”

“Reward? So you’re saying if a centaur has enough kids, with the specific person their owner wants them to, then they get to live with other centaurs and no humans?”

“Yes.”

Thomas isn’t quite able to wrap his mind around this new information. “That's...barbaric!”

“It is not. I find it rather similar to when humans pay one another for sperm or egg donations.”

“Yeah but we get money not freedom! You can't compare those!”

“Thomas." Logan sounds fed up. "It isn't freedom, it-.”

“It doesn't matter Logan! That's just- that isn’t okay.”

Patton walked over to stand by Logan. Thomas knows he’d been listening from the kitchen but from the look on his face it seems as though he feels the need to join in now.

“It's not like Logan is making it sound. That isn’t how most centaurs are born.” He says. “It’s extremely rare that anyone would even care who you have kids with. You’d have to be, like, the fastest or strongest or something, which is why they want Roman there. They’re hoping he’ll meet someone nice and decide to start a family or agree to be a donor.”

Logan rolls his eyes and sarcastically mutters something about 'families.'

Thomas doesn’t really know how to process this. Roman had told him about his mother being a surrogate and how Roman was born with the sole intent of being a racer but somehow he hadn’t really understood what that entailed until now. This whole conversation raises so many more questions, things he never thought to ask before.

“Are you guys actually allowed to raise your kids?” He asks, out of some sort of morbid curiosity.

“Should you be on a farm, yes. That is if you wish too. If not there are plenty of elderly centaurs or centaurs who are currently between owners who may be willing to step up as a guardian until the filly or colt is of age.”

Thomas really doesn’t want to know the answer to the next question. “And if you aren’t on a farm?”

“Then it is up to the owner. But even then a foal cannot be separated from their parent, be that the mother or father, until they are old enough.”

“How old is ‘old enough’?”

“If the parent is sold before the foal is ten then they must be taken as well, after the age of ten a foal must remain where they currently reside. A centaur must be fifteen to be sold individually…. or pass for fifteen anyway.”

“That sounds like a mess.”

Logan hums. “It is easy for things to become complicated. It isn’t uncommon for someone to be overlooked, for instance I was thirteen when I was first sold. Of course I could easily pass for fifteen at the time so there were no issues.”

“No issues?” Thomas is momentarily speechless. “That’s too young to be sold and- wait, was that when you were sold to Benny’s? Did you start working-

Logan gives Thomas a look that has him screeching to a halt. ‘Okay. Sore topic. Duh.’ Sometimes it was hard to remember that Logan actually did feel things and that, while he seemed completely stoic about some of the horrible things he’d been put through, there were still some things he definitely didn’t want discussed.

Thomas is about to apologize but a thought occurs to him at random. He isn’t sure why this particular bit of information sticks out to him but for some reason it seems important.

“So if you were going to bribe someone to be a surrogate for a really unique centaur-”

“Not a bribe.” Patton interjects.

“-then the mother would have to be a big deal too right? You guys said centaurs are only ‘encouraged’-” Thomas makes quotation marks as he speaks. “- under special circumstances.”

“Yes?” Logan says cautiously, uncertain where Thomas is taking this.

It’s stupid and honestly doesn’t really matter but Thomas grabs his phone and begins typing anyway. ‘Prince Royal’s heritage’- He googles.

He taps on a link and scrolls until he finds what he’s looking for.

“It doesn’t say who Roman’s mom is.”

Patton looks up from the cookie tin he’s filling. “So?”

“Well if his heritage is such a big deal then shouldn’t his mother be too?”

Logan hums. “A little odd I suppose. I don’t see why that matters though.”

Thomas nods. It probably doesn’t.

*******************************

Chapter Text

***********************************

The previous conversation has long since died and an hour later Thomas finds himself still scrolling through pictures of racers absently. It's making him miss Roman all the more but he’s gotten a bit caught up in the interesting genealogy of racers. A surprising amount were originally from the Middle East. He shouldn’t be so hung up on Romans heritage but he just can’t shake the feeling that it’s extremely important and- oh. That’s why. At some point Thomas had ended up on the ‘Dragons’ web page after getting caught up studying ‘Storm’s’ legacy. Apparently ‘Storm’ was ‘King Sr.’s greatest rival. The two were neck and neck all throughout their racing careers and it was still widely debated on who was the better racer.

Thomas taps on a family reunion photo of the ‘Storm’ and his descendants. There are easily thirty centaurs in the frame but Thomas can’t pull his eyes away from one in particular, nearly hidden within the crowd.

“Guys? Come look at this.”

Patton and Logan must hear the undertones of urgency in Thomas’s voice and they hurry to stand by him as Thomas holds out his phone.

Patton squints at the photo and points to the matching shirts the centaurs wear.

“Aren’t they Romans enemies?” He asks. The purple and yellow ‘Dragon’ colors stand out brightly against the bland background.

“Competitor.” Logan corrects. “Thomas what are we looking at?”

“Her.” Thomas zooms in on one female in particular and both Centaurs suck in a breath. They know that face. She has Roman’s exact facial structure and it’s nearly unnerving how similar they look.

“This is a picture of Storm's descendants. He was the Dragons best racer to date. He went against the King Sr. seven times and beat him in three of those races.”

“If this Centaur is a Dragon then why does she look so much like Roman?” asks Patton.

Logan looks closer. “I believe it's he who looks like her. This photo was taken twenty six years ago. Thomas what is this?”

Thomas looks back at what can only be described as a female version of Roman.

“I dunno. But it sorta looks like Roman is a descendant of Storm. There is no way those two aren’t related.”

“So Roman is a Storm? Then why is he racing for the Royals instead of the Dragons?”

“Because the Royals are the ones who own him. But why the hell would the Dragons sell him to somebody else? And why the Royals of all people?”

“But Roman’s Dad was King Sr.” Patton points out.

“Yeah, but whoever owned his Mom is the one who would get him since he had to be sold with her as a kid. Which means he should belong to the Dragons. I just don’t get how the Royals got him instead. And why doesn’t anyone know about this? Wouldn’t they want everyone to know he’s related to two of the biggest racers ever? Why hide it?”

Logan frowns. “I believe I see where you are headed. You think he was illegally bought and wish to use this as coercion to buy Roman do you not?”

Thomas pauses. He honestly hadn’t known where he was going; he'd sort of been going in circles. Trust Logan to come up with blackmail. Huh, Thomas didn’t know he had it in him. But what if there is a small chance that this was all true? If Roman truly did used to belong to the Dragons then it was almost certain that something illegal had happened.

Thomas doesn’t normally support this sort of thing but, damn it, he’s going to hire a private investigator. It’s crazy and just shy of desperate but Thomas supposes he is too. If it all turns out to be in Thomas’s head then no harm no foul. But if not….well, it probably won’t end with Roman living with them again but it would definitely change the playing field.

“I’m not sure what all this means.” Thomas admits. “But mark my words I’m going to find out.”

*********************

Three weeks later Thomas is staring at a piece of paper in shock. He was right,? He can hardly believe it but it looks as though he truly had hit the nail on the head! Roman was illegally bought. More than that he was technically illegally conceived too.

The female Centaur from the photo, who went by the racing name ‘Rowena’, had been a racer a mere two months before a severe injury forced her to retire. She was from a strong lineage of racers, the most notable being Storm, who was her father. This would have made her a bigger deal but she was one of Storm’s fourteen children and, once she lost her ability to race, no one cared much. She’d been sent to a farm owned by the Dragons where she’d been entirely forgotten. According to the paper Thomas holds in his hands, the man who ran the farm had been bribed into handing her over to the Royals where she’d stayed at one of their remote farms for a little over two years. In that time she had apparently had a child and, although the records weren’t entirely clear regarding the birth, there was supporting evidence that Roman was her child. Roman had been under a year old when she had been sent back to the Dragons farm while Roman had remained with the Royals.

To sum it up: Roman didn’t only belong to the Royals. He belonged to the Dragons and the Royals. And the Dragons didn’t even know it!

Thomas isn’t sure if this is better or worse because now he is faced with a serious dilemma. What does he do now that he knows? He can only think of two options.

One: He tells the Dragons what he knows and how they technically own Roman. Chaos ensues and Roman is caught in the middle.

Option two: He uses this knowledge to black mail the Royals into selling Roman to him. Chaos ensues and Roman is caught in the middle.

Thomas can’t decide and it’s killing him.

“I’m not the right person to be making these decisions.” Thomas moans to himself.

“What was that kiddo?” Calls Patton from the kitchen. He’s been somewhat obsessively baking since Roman left but neither Thomas nor Logan has mentioned it since he’s just trying to keep busy and it’s relatively harmless.

“Pat, Logan, I have something I need to tell you guys.”

Neither centaur can hide their worry at Thomas’s words. They cautiously approach him, undoubtedly imagining the worst.

“And that is?” Prompts Logan.

“I-'' Thomas looks back at the paper.

“I hired somebody to spy on Romans owners and they don’t actually own him!” He blurts, thrusting the paper at them.

Patton takes it in confusion. Logan leans down (way down) to read over his head.

“What does that mean?” Asks Patton softly.

“It means we have knowledge no one else does. In other words we have leverage.” Says Logan, immediately catching on.

Patton still doesn’t seem to understand so Thomas clarifies.

“We can black mail Roman’s owners, Patton. If people knew about this it would ruin them, they basically stole Roman from their competitors.”

Patton suddenly looks desperately hopeful.

“You mean- you mean Roman might be able to come back home?”

Thomas looks at Logan to see if there is an obvious solution he isn’t seeing. Logan remains quiet, thinking.

“It’s dangerous for us to mess with this.” He says finally. “The fact that no one knows even after all these years says they have been guarding this secret very closely. I do not know that we want to entangle ourselves in this.”

Patton looks utterly devastated and Logan seems to notice.

“On the other hand-” Logan slowly continues. Thomas’s face lights up with hope.

‘Please know something I don’t.’ He internally begs.

“-they have no use of Roman now that he is not a racer other than hoping he may one day sire children and from what we witnessed he does not intend to do so. In all likelihood they will acquiesce to our demands and sell Roman to Thomas-”

Logan stops as though a thought just occurred to him and looks at Thomas.

“That is what we are demanding, yes?”

Thomas nods.

“Then in that case they will most likely give in so as to avoid the scandal. They don’t have as much to lose as they once might have.”

Patton looks desperate. “So is that a yes or no?”

Thomas and Patton both look at Logan hopefully. Logan seems momentarily unsettled to have both his friends looking to him for a decision, specifically the human who owns him, but then he shrugs it off. Who else would they ask?

“I say it is worth an attempt. Worst case scenario Thomas is sued but he has the resources to cover that angle.”

Ah, yes. Being rich. Sometimes it really comes in handy. Like when you want to blackmail some of the most powerful people around so you can buy your friend.

******************

Chapter Text

******************

They’ve done it. The letter has been sent and Thomas is vibrating with nerves. It had been unanimously decided that sending an actual letter gave a more serious impression than a virtual one. It gave more substance according to Logan. Unfortunately it also took longer to arrive.

Somehow the days manage to crawl by and as the days pass Thomas gets more and more anxious. How will the Royals react? Was this a good idea after all? What if the letter just made them really mad? At this point he half expects an assassin to take him out in his sleep. But the Royals wouldn’t stoop that low….right?

Thankfully, no one snipes, stabs, strangles or in any other way kills Thomas in the nights that pass. A week later and Thomas is getting a call from the Royals lawyer. He is told a time and place to meet so they can ‘discuss this unfortunate misunderstanding'. Naturally Thomas squeaks out a pathetic ‘okay’, hangs up and goes racing to find Logan and Patton.

As it turns out, ‘discussing unfortunate misunderstandings’ actually meant ‘How the hell did you find out and what do we have to pay you to keep your mouth shut?’. Once Thomas had made his stance clear and shown that his silence could not be bought, the lawyer had agreed to draw up some paperwork in regards to Roman’s ownership.

Smart as Logan is, he still doesn’t know all the ins and outs of the law so Thomas hires an actual lawyer to make sure they aren't getting screwed over. And he’s glad he did since the original paperwork they gave him not only required Thomas’s silence regarding the matter (which he wasn’t against) but also gave the Royals Roman’s children if he ever had any.

Thomas doesn’t know how any of his friends feel about having kids someday but he’ll be damned if they get torn apart so some greedy company can try and make another million bucks off of them.

After a furious rant from Thomas, the paperwork is corrected. It had been nearly two months since Thomas had first sent the letter but Thomas is finally instructed to meet at the courthouse and sign the final papers. The Royal’s representative isn’t there anymore when he arrives but his lawyer directs Thomas where to sign and then leads Thomas to the parking lot where a centaur trailer is waiting. Thomas really needs to buy one of those. His own trailer was never meant to carry anything besides heavy machinery. One of these days he’s going to get himself arrested.

“Now that the paperwork is signed he’s all yours.” Thomas’s lawyer says. He stands off to the side as the trailer driver hops out and opens the back doors. The lawyer is making Thomas nervous just standing there watching him but he’s supposed to be there as some sort of witness so Thomas is stuck with the nauseous feeling he brings.

Or maybe that’s just nerves? But why would Thomas be nervous about seeing Roman again? It’s only been what, three months? That’s not so long right? It isn’t like he’s frightened! Haha ha haha!

Yeah, no. He’s terrified. Thomas can’t remember the last time he slept through the night. So much has been going on that Thomas hasn't been able to calm his mind down for more than a few hours at a time. Thomas can only hope things will start to look up now.

The man has lowered the ramp and a familiar squeaking sound breaks Thomas from his thoughts. ‘Who would have thought I would miss the sound of a squeaky wheel so damn much?’ Thomas muses.

Roman comes carefully rolling out of the trailer and at first he doesn’t notice Thomas at all. He’s staring at the ground and rubbing his hands along his arms in a depressed manner.

“I am so not going to miss that sound.” Grumbles the driver. “That’s your new owner over there so look alive.” He says to Roman.

Romans eyes go huge. Clearly he hadn’t been informed that he was being sold. His head shoots up and he gasps when he sees Thomas. Thomas feels a grin split his face in response.

Roman takes a cautious step forward. “Thomas? Why are you here? What’s going on?” His eyes widened. “Did you- did you buy me?” He asks quietly.

Thomas laughs, feeling better than he has in months.

“Yes!”

Thomas would have said more but he’s caught in a crushing embrace. He wraps his arms as far around Romans upper torso as he can and just hangs on.

He did it! Roman is theirs and he never has to leave again! Roman is coming home!

Roman, being the emotionally charged person he is, is crying. Also being the wanna-be macho guy he is he tries not to show it. Thomas hardly cares whether he’s crying or not. He probably is.

The driver ignores them and closes back up the trailer, the lawyer scribbles something down and then he’s gone too. Thomas realizes they are alone and free to go.

“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe this worked! You’re really here! Patton and Logan are going to be so excited to see you!”

Roman pulls back with a smile. It nearly slips off his face as doubt floods in. “Did you really buy me? Is this one of those foster things again or is this legit?” He sounds so hopeful.

Thomas has never been so happy to tell someone he owns them. “It’s permanent. Like, Royals
couldn’t take you if they tried.” He doesn’t think this is the place to explain why that is but he definitely intends to tell the full story later.

Roman beams. “You’re amazing.

“Actually I’m an extortionist.”

************************************

If Thomas thought he’d be able to sleep once he finally bought Roman he’d been sorely mistaken. Instead he spends the next two days too excited to do more than doze for a few hours and then race back to the barn. He’s starting to think he should just move in.

On the third day, however, it all catches up to him and he ends up sleeping a full thirteen hours. He could have possibly kept going but Patton started to get worried and called his phone at around mid afternoon, waking him up.

Patton has been a bit clingy and overprotective lately, which had been driving Logan up the walls. Thomas and Roman don’t really mind that much and have been taking the brunt of it for him, which mainly involves asking Patton for help with something whenever he looks like he’s approaching Logan.

Surprisingly Roman didn’t actually need all that much help anymore. Roman told them the cast had been removed almost two weeks ago and that he had the all clear to start walking again. The wheelchair was more of a precaution and the wheels had been lowered so it wasn’t actually holding him up anymore. Because Roman could actually stand on his own now it meant it only took one other person to help him take the wheelchair on and off.

Patton had laid claim on this particular duty and he would chatter happily as he undid all the little belts and clasps Roman couldn’t reach. There was a lot of chatting nowadays and sometimes it almost felt like Roman hadn’t left at all. Roman had made it glaringly obvious that he preferred it that way. Any attempt to ask about the last three months was met with denial and if you kept pushing it, hostility. So instead they would say things like ‘While you were out’ and ‘Before you got back’. Thomas isn’t sure that this is helping them in the long run but right now he thinks they all deserve to have some peace.

And it is peaceful all the way up till Roman asks Thomas how he’d managed to buy him. Thomas and Logan are both surprised it took this long considering it had been three weeks. Despite this it still seems like too soon to Thomas, who is going to have to explain the less than ideal circumstances behind Romans birth.

Thomas is trying to find a delicate way to break Roman’s world view. It isn’t as easy as it sounds so Thomas decides to start off simple.

“So you’re kinda Storm’s grandson.” ‘Way to go Thomas.’

Roman is staring at Thomas blankly.

“I’m...what?”

There’s no going back so Thomas just keeps going. “Your storm’s grandson. You mom was his daughter and the Royals took her so they could get the best of both blood lines but it’s illegal so they tried to cover it up.”

Roman gapes at him. There’s a long stretch of silence before he speaks.

“Are you telling me my mother was a Dragon!?”

Thomas runs a hand through his hair.

“Yes? I found a picture online and dude, you look exactly like her. We all got suspicious so I hired a private investigator to find out what was going on and it’s true.”

“My- You mean- I’m related to Storm? A Dragon? As in my mortal enemies? And no one knows because I wasn't legally allowed to be born?”

“Well, not born per say, it's just that your mom wasn’t a Royal so technically you would belong to the Dragons. Or I guess both of them?”

“This is- no. That’s unbelievable. Preposterous! There must be some mistake!” Protests Roman.

“I already hired someone to prove it. It’s how I bought you. I threatened to tell everyone unless they sold you and they agreed so it has to be true. I’m sorry Roman, it’s fucked up.”

“But- but how could that possibly happen?! I mean, are you absolutely sure?”

“You wanna see?”

Roman nods so Thomas pulls up the files on his laptop. He clicks through it and finds the first photo he’d seen of Roman’s mother. Roman grips his shoulder tightly and Thomas winces.

“I- I guess she sort of looks like me. But how come no one noticed?”

Thomas thinks this is a massive understatement considering how similar the two are but he lets it slide under the circumstances.

“She wasn’t a big racer so no one recognized you. Unless you looked like Storm, why would anyone ever question it?”

Roman slaps Thomas’s hand away when he tries to continue scrolling. Thomas want’s to snap at him for that but the look on his face tells him not to.

“Is that Storm?” Roman asks, pointing to the elderly centaur in the photo.

“Yeah?”

“So if I looked like him everyone would know?”

“Well maybe not everyone would notice right away but someone would figure it out sooner or later.”

Roman swallows hard.

“So, hypothetically, if I had a white stripe in my hair like him they wouldn’t have kept me?”

Thomas frowns at the somewhat odd question but he nods.

“His hair.” Roman murmurs. Then he screams. “HIS MOTHER FUCKING HAIR!?!?”

Patton and Logan come rushing into the room, startled at the yelling. Thomas is pretty scared too. He’s never seen Roman so angry before, generally he gets into short lived fits that never escalate beyond a slightly raised voice. Roman is loud when he’s excited but never when he’s angry.

Roman’s chest heaves for a moment. After a moment of furious glaring and tensing up his fists like he’s going to hit something (or someone), Roman blinks and notices his audience.

“I- I just need- I’m-” Roman doesn’t finish and straight up runs out of the room.

Logan, Patton and Thomas stare at where he’d disappeared in shock. ‘What just happened?’ Thomas thinks.

“Uh, kiddo, what was that?” Patton asks Thomas.

“I- I told him about his family. About how he’s Storm’s grandkid. I knew he’d be upset but-”

“Do not fret. This is Roman we are speaking about. He’s just processing this in his usual over the top way. I’m sure he will be back to normal by the end of the day.” Logan assures them.

And yeah, Logan has a point. Roman does tend to be dramatic and considering how much he disliked the Dragons it was undoubtedly a huge shock. It was best they leave him be, he would get over it sooner rather than later.

Except he doesn’t. Roman spends the next four days by himself, avoiding any contact with the other three. He looks upset whenever Thomas manages to spot him and Thomas thinks he might have been crying at one point or another. Once he does go back to normal, by silent agreement, Logan, Thomas and Patton don’t mention any of what happened.

That isn’t to say Thomas forgets though. He just can’t help but think the whole thing was uncharacteristically off.

*********************************************

Chapter Text

*********************************************

Thomas is woken by a loud, persistent ringing. He shoots up in bed to see his phone is buzzing with an Amber Alert, warning him of severe flooding downtown. Thomas looks out his bedroom window and, sure enough, the rain from earlier that day has not only continued but gotten far worse. The rain pounds on his window pane hard enough Thomas almost fears it will shatter the glass, causing the wooden frame to give way and flood his room. Thomas tries to peer out the window but the pouring rain and utter lack of light makes it impossible for him to see anything.

Just then, lightning tears through the sky and hardly a second passes before Thomas hears the deafening crack of thunder. Thomas shudders at the noise. Had he really been sleeping through that? There is another flash of lightning and it allows Thomas a quick glimpse of the fields separating his home from the barn. He is horrified to see they’ve already begun to fill with water.

Thomas doesn’t have time to get himself worked up before his phone starts ringing again.

The name ‘Logic’ lights up his screen. Thomas snatches up his phone and holds it to his ear.

“Logan! Are you guys alright?!”

“We are fine Thomas. Though if this storm persists we may experience some flooding.”

“Yeah, no kidding. I’ve never seen a storm so bad in my life.” Thomas is having trouble hearing Logan's voice over the pounding on his window so he moves to walk down stairs. It wasn’t like he was going back to sleep anyway.

“Right!?” It’s Roman's voice now and Thomas can hear the uneasy and nervousness in his voice. Thomas can’t imagine any of the Centaurs are a fan of the deafening thunder. Heaven knows Thomas isn’t.

“Roman give that back!” Logan yells in the background.

“Thomas did you finish reading all the flood warning?” Roman asks.

“Uh, not yet.” Thomas quickly scrolls through his messages.

‘FLOOD WARNING: IF YOU LIVE DOWNTOWN OR NEARBY ANY RIVER YOU ARE ADVISED TO MOVE UP HILL IMMEDIATELY. ALL THOSE OWNING ABLE BODIED CENTAURS ARE ASKED TO HELP IN THE EVACUATION OF THE FLOODING AREAS.’

The message goes on to ask anyone willing to help to meet up at the city hall, whether to bring supplies or just a helping hand.

The part where the text asks for the owner and not the actual Centaurs to help rubs Thomas the wrong way. How horrible was that? Asking someone to volunteer others to assist in what is likely to be a dangerous rescue mission.

“Thomas are we going or what?”

Thomas is a bit startled by Romans question. “You guys want to?” He asks, flabbergasted.

“Of course!” Patton’s voice is muffled but still audible.

“I have assisted in flood relief before.” Logan says.

“Of course I want to help save people!”

Thomas blinks in surprise. How did he end up with such caring friends?

“All right then. We should grab some stuff first though.”

“Naturally.” Logan must have taken his phone back. “Thomas you grab however many blankets you have in your house, Patton go get food supplies and water bottles if we have any. Roman, hook up the truck and then go help Thomas. I’ll go block our doors.” Logan has taken command with ease and everyone scurries to obey him.

Thomas is snatching up blankets and jackets while wondering what Logan meant by ‘blocking our doors’. He’s surprised by just how many blankets he owns.

Thomas soon has too many blankets to hold and he runs to the back door to pile them there. He then rushes back up to his mothers stash. He pauses for a moment, filled with nostalgia. How long had it taken his mother to make all these?

He shakes himself out of it. His mother would have been proud to have her hard work go to use. Thomas hoists his pile high and dumps it on the larger one by the back door. He hears a knocking and quickly opens it. He can just make out Roman through the dark, standing on his back porch and soaking wet. It seemed his rain jacket didn’t make much of a difference in this sort of rain.

“Roman!” Thomas yells over the wind. He glances back down at the pile by his feet. “How are we gonna get this to the truck without it getting all wet?”

“I can’t hear a thing you’re saying but I brought a tarp!” Roman yells back.

He pulls out a tarp from under his arm and leans down to scoop up the blankets with it, shielding them from the rain. He straightens and looks around.

“Is that everything?” He calls.

Thomas glances back and scans the room. “Yeah that’s it.” He steps into the freezing cold and pulls the door shut behind him. He barely manages to lock it without the door flying open again but eventually he does and then he and Roman run back to the stables. When they run though the lowest parts of his field the water reaches up to Thomas’s mid calf and Thomas wishes he owned boots. His poor sneakers will probably never be the same.

As they draw nearer Thomas sees what Logan meant when he talked about blocking the doors. Logan had brought several sand bags (that Thomas didn’t know they had) and he'd placed them to surround the doors in case the water kept rising, which it looks like it would.

Logan has finished with the barn and he’s lifting a few to balance on his back. Then he lifts three more in his arms and starts out into the rain.

“Where the heck are you going?!” Thomas yells at him.

Logan looks over his shoulder. “To your house of course.” With that Logan disappears into the dark and Thomas finds himself being shoved towards the kitchen.

“Go help Patton.” Romans says as he rushes to put his load into the truck.

Thomas obeys and walks in to see Patton scurrying around, grabbing different bags and dumping them in a basket. He sees Thomas and relaxes a little.

“Oh good, you made it. Here, go ahead and bring this to the car.” He hands Thomas a package of water bottles and then goes back to rummaging through drawers.

Thomas once again obeys and walks to his truck, which he’d thankfully parked in the barn. He’s a bit surprised to see Roman is nowhere in sight.

He drops the bottles into the footwell of the passenger seat and tries to listen for where Roman might be. He really can’t hear anything over the pouring rain pounding against the roof above his head. He hadn’t realized just how much he relied on the sound of loud clomping hooves to find his centaur friends.

“Roman?” He calls.

“Over here Thomas!” Roman calls from further down the hall. “Do you have any size five saddles?”

“Saddles?” Thomas rounds the corner to see Roman in a storage room, rummaging through harnesses and saddles and all kinds of things Thomas doesn’t recognize.

“Yes, a saddle. I think it might come in handy. Though we probably won't be able to find one the right size for Logan.”

“I don’t think he’d wear it anyway.” Thomas answers truthfully.

Roman just shrugs and keeps digging. Thomas takes the hint and starts to search too.

“A size five? How can you tell the difference?” Thomas asks in frustration.

Roman doesn’t answer, since, at that moment, he pulls out a saddle with an excited whoop.

“Got it!”

“Thomas! Roman! We gotta go!” Patton yells.

Thomas rushes to the truck to start it and it suddenly hits him. How the hell is he gonna fit all three Centaur on his trailer?

His friends seem to have just noticed that too.

“How are we gonna fit?” Asks Patton.

“Pyramid?” Roman hesitantly suggests.

Logan rolls his eyes. “Absolutely not. I suggest Roman sits on the back of Thomas’s pickup truck whilst Patton and I ride the trailer.”

“Why do I have to sit on the truck? It’s so small!”

Logan scowls, upset at being questioned.

“Because I’m too large and you and I won't both fit on the trailer. Unless you happen to have a better idea I suggest you get in.”

Roman grumbles but climbs the trailer ramp. From there he leaps onto the truck bed. The large pickup truck gives a horrible groan and bounces violently. Thomas winces. Logan winces. Everyone winces.

“Uh, what’s the weight limit on this?” Roman asks.

“Two thousand? I think?”

“Well I guess we’ll find out. Right kiddo?” Says Patton, trying to sound light.

“I guess we will.” Thomas agrees. “Do we have everything?”

All the centaurs nod their heads.

“Alright then. Uh, you guys need a tarp or something to block the rain?”

“I brought three.” Says Logan, forever prepared.

Thomas nods and jumps into his truck, which is notably lower to the ground than before. Rain aside he’d best take it slow.

*******************************************

The sun has begun to rise as the four friends pull into the city hall parking lot. There are multiple people running about and as a whole it looks like complete chaos.

Thomas quickly lets Patton and Logan down while Roman just jumps to the pavement. It wasn’t like Roman had any other options to get off the truck anyway.

A man rushes over, startling them half to death since they don’t see him jogging through the rain.

“Are you here to help?” He asks, raising his voice to be heard.

“Yeah, we brought some stuff and we can help with whatever you need.” Thomas answers.

“Good. You two come with me.” He gestured to Logan and Roman. “You both can help inside.” He says waving at Thomas and Patton.

Roman and Logan nod but Patton and Thomas hesitate. Thomas hates the thought of leaving Patton alone with so much chaos and so many strangers around but by the looks of it, more people are needed outside than in.

Patton must have read his mind and he puts his hand on Thomas’s arm. He nods and Thomas knows Patton’s telling him it’s alright to go. Thomas takes a deep breath and nods back.

“I can help you guys outside, if you need me.”

The man huffs a laugh. “Kid, we need as many people as we can get. Part of Bretters street just caved in and we got a whole lot of people stuck on the other side. Water’s still rising too. If you’re willing then I ain’t gonna stop you.”

All four stiffen when they hear how dire the situation is. Bretters street was the main road and without it getting out of the now flooded downtown was nearly impossible. With one last look at their shorter friend, Logan, Roman and Thomas part ways with Patton.

Patton looks terrified but there is also determination in his eyes. Thomas can’t help but remember how he’d stood up for Thomas even when he hadn’t known him, back before Patton knew he could trust him. Patton’s desire to help other people pushed him through his fears and Thomas doesn’t doubt it will again today.

With that last thought Thomas finds his attention dominated by the rules and instruction the man starts giving him. Thomas is thrown a life vest and as he struggles with the straps, (His freezing fingers are just about useless.) he notices Roman is holding the saddle he’d brought with them. Thomas rushes with his jacket and then runs to help Roman strap it on. Roman has to direct him since Thomas hasn’t so much as touched a saddle before. There sure are a lot of straps.

“Are you sure a saddle is a good idea Roman?” He asks. Unconcerned anyone will hear his name over the wind and rain.

“I’m most likely going to be carrying a lot of people today Thomas, it’s better for them to have something to hold onto.”

Roman had a good point so Thomas drops the conversation. Besides, who is Thomas to say what others can and can’t wear? If Roman wants the saddle then Thomas will help him get it on, simple at that.

Once the last buckle is secured Thomas is dragged away and directed onto a small, inflatable raft. Two other men join him and without further ado they set off into the pouring rain.

******************

Chapter Text

******************

Logan has never been a fan of his height and weight but he has to admit it comes in handy at times like this. Logan, Roman and a few other centaurs are directed to follow the rafts as they float over the collapsed road and Logan finds himself at an advantage. Most of the other centaurs are forced to swim here and there but Logan manages without.

Once across the flooded road, the water goes back to being below Logan’s lower chest and level with Roman’s. The centaurs are quickly directed to find trapped people and bring them to the rafts, which sail quickly back and forth over the collapsed road. The street, which was the quickest way to the unflooded part of town, really had caved in and they were just lucky the water wasn’t still being sucked in through the gaping hole.

Logan heads off towards the worst flood areas, where he can still reach the ground and other centaurs can’t. He supposes he is most useful here. Logan is scanning the area when he spots a minivan pinned against a tree. The van jostles with the force of water crashing into it and the tree is the only thing keeping it from spinning away and down the street.

Logan thinks he sees movement from within it so he carefully makes his way to it. Just as he thought. There are people inside it. He taps on the window and a woman in the front seat lowers it slightly.

“Can you get us out?” She calls over the roaring water.

What a stupid question. Why else would Logan be there? Logan chalks it up to panic and just leans down to answer her.

“Yes. How many people are in there?”

“Six.”

“Six? That's inconvenient.” Mutters Logan.

He glances over her head to see three small, frightened children in the back. Then he notices the driver and a baby the woman is clutching to her chest.

Logan supposes it’s a good thing there are mainly children, since they are smaller, but he isn’t sure how well they can hang on. Oh well.

“Have the largest child climb out the back window.” Logan commands.

“Hell no!” The driver snaps. “I’m not trusting my kids with some retard centaur!”

Logan scowls. He’d had this same problem seven years ago when he first helped with flood relief and some elderly man had cursed him out and refused to leave his collapsing house. After arguing for twenty minutes Logan had finally pinned the man's arms and dragged him out anyway. The situation hadn’t been as dire then though and Logan isn’t about to argue with this man and waste valuable time.

Logan turns to the woman and levels here with a stern glare. “Lower the window.”

The woman doesn’t hesitate to do so and Logan moves to peer into the back where three pairs of frightened eyes stare back at him. Logan quickly determines the oldest of the kids (ten or eleven he thinks) and points to him.

“You first.”

“James! Don’t you dare get out!” The man yells.

“Shut the fuck up Mason!” The woman yells at the driver. She turns to the child and softens her voice. “It’s okay sweetie. Go with the centaur, he’s gonna get us out of here.”

The kid is shaking but he obeys and crawls through to the window. As soon as he’s in reach Logan snatches him up and twists to place him on his back.

“Scoot back and hang on with your legs.” Logan tells him. Logan then reaches back in to grab the kid closest to the window. He ignores the man's screaming and insults. He doesn’t have the time for this.

The frightened kid shriek's as Logan deposits him in front of the other child. “Don’t move.” He snaps. That kid sure has a high pitch, her scream is nearly identical with Romans, the difference being that Roman’s is far more annoying of course.

Unfortunately the last kid puts two and two together and scrambles away from Logan when he reaches in, despite her mothers calming words. Logan just sighs. This is stupid. The girl is about to be drowned and she’s afraid of Logan?

Logan resists banging his head on the roof of the car. What’s he supposed to do to get this kid to come closer to him when she won’t even listen to her mother? How can he calm her down? In other words, what would Patton do? Logan’s guess is that Patton would be soothing and reassure the child that ‘everything will be okay.’ and ‘it will all be alright’.

But Logan isn’t Patton. Logan turns and addresses the kid.

“Would you like to drown?”

The little girl's eyes widen and she shakes her head.

“Then come here.”

Never let it be said that Logan sugar coats anything. Not even for a terrified three year old trapped in a flooded car. Thankfully the kid is more afraid of drowning than large, strange men, and she cautiously crawls to him.

Logan picks her up and holds her where human hips generally are. There. He has all the children. Step one complete. Or not. He’d forgotten the mother was holding a baby. Damn it. The water was still rising and was starting to pour into the windows, even though they weren’t fully open.

“Hand me the child and crawl on.” Logan tells the woman. She quickly unbuckles herself and starts to hand over the baby when the driver grabs her arm.

“Don’t you fucking dare.” He growls.

She shakes him off and hands the baby to Logan. Logan moves so that she can climb on directly behind the children. He had originally intended for her to be in the front and the man in the back but he’s starting to think that won’t happen. He isn’t quite as nice as he was at seventeen and he certainly isn’t about to risk a family of five just to convince a racist man to stop being racist.

Logan is relieved that the woman isn’t taking any of his bullshit either. She just slaps his hands away when he tries to grab her again and carefully stands on the window sill. Then she cautiously slides over onto Logan's back, who is doing his best to stay still against the rushing water. He starts a mental countdown of two minutes. Then they’re out of here. Driver or no driver.

“What the fuck do you think you’re all doing!? Get the fuck off that bastard right now!” The driver screams.

“Mason just shut up and get on!” The woman yells back.

“Hell no! I’m not being saved by some goddamned-”

“As you wish.” Logan turns away to begin walking away. Maybe some motivation?

The whole family screams in horror. Several cries of ‘Papa!’ ring in Logan’s ears. The man quickly starts climbing over his seat.

“You’d fucking leave me?!” He yells.

“Isn’t that what you wanted? After all, I’m only a fucking bastard, what do you expect?” Logan snarks, voice raised to be heard over the water.

The man starts cursing under his breath but noticeably doesn’t direct any of it at Logan.

“As I thought.” Logan huffs. He moves alongside the car again and notes the man is dragging something with him. Is that a safe?!

“Mason for god’s sake leave the damn thing!” Yells the woman.

“No! This is my life's saving! We need this!”

“Whatever, just get on.”

The man tries but he can’t without his hands.

12...11...10...9-

“Here, give it to me.” The woman offers. The man hands it to her.

“Thank you. It’s nice to see you actually give a fuck about me.” He snarks.

And just like that the safe goes hurling off and splashing into the rushing current. Logan smiles. He likes this woman.

“What the fuck!?!?”

“JUST. GET. ON!” The woman screams.

“One.” Logan finishes his mental countdown aloud. “We’re leaving now.” He walks forward.

The man jumps and barely makes it. He starts screaming at Logan but shuts up once they all begin to jostle around. It isn’t exactly smooth sailing. Logan can’t see his feet and he’s in a bit of a rush. He’d waited far too long and he isn’t about to make that mistake again.

“Hey retard! Are you trying to throw us off?!” The man yells once he has his balance back.

“I should hope not. Because if you fall off that’s it. I’m not wasting anymore time on your moronic antics.”

No one says anything after that, not even the man. Possibly because he can sense just how serious Logan is.

All are relieved when Logan spots and nears a rescue boat. The water is significantly lower here and Logan couldn’t be more thankful for that. He isn’t a good swimmer and, frankly, he isn’t a fan of water at all. He prefers to see the ground when he walks. He’s picky like that.

Once the boat is close enough they bump it up against Logan to keep from floating away. One by one the children are lowered and once the last one is in the men tell the parents that there isn’t room for more and they’ll have to find a different raft. Chaos ensues.

Logan is possibly more upset than the whole family combined. He glares but continues walking anyway. Fine. He’ll put them down somewhere else and the boat can get them from there. Logan spots a large, raised platform, likely used for speeches and concerts, where it looks like people are being dropped off to wait for the boats. Several people seem to have used their own means to get there as Logan sees more than one crude raft.

“You’ll wait here.” Logan says as he approaches it. The water grows more still and shallow as he nears the platform and he picks up the pace. Once Logan is close enough, other people rush to help the two humans off him. The woman gets off first and the man scoots over, about to get off on his own. He’s clearly never ridden a centaur before and Logan smirks to himself, careful to keep his smile off his face. As the man prepares to frog-leap off, Logan sidesteps and sends the man tumbling backwards and into the water.

“Oops.” Logan deadpans. With that he walks away and back into the rushing waves, on the hunt for more trapped civilians.

This time he’ll only give people one minute.

******************************

Chapter Text

******************************

Roman has only just made it across the collapsed street when a man is directing him to go left. Roman had lost sight of Thomas a while ago but he can see Logan plowing ahead, going where the water will be deepest and the current strongest. Of course that’s not to say the water and current aren’t both deep and strong everywhere else.

The man continues yelling above the rain for Roman to follow his boat and Roman quickly moves to walk directly behind it. They continue for twenty minutes or so before coming to a somewhat empty street. There are only a few scattered houses and for a moment Roman wonders why they are there at all but then he hears yelling and he sees a small gathering of people sitting atop a single car, surrounded by endless water.

“You, Centaur.” One of the men in the boat yells to Roman. “Go ahead and carry those people over here. We can’t risk going into that current.”

“No problem!” Roman says, already working his way towards them. Finally he gets to do something! Once he’s closer he can see that it's a group of four teenagers. Two girls, two boys and all are soaked to the bone.

“Alright. Who’s going first?” Roman asks once he’s reached them. The teens look somewhere between fourteen and sixteen and it's clear they are trying to put on a brave front. Well, all but the one. She’s crying into her friend’s shoulder and seems utterly petrified. Roman doesn’t fault her in the least.

“Take the girls first.” One of the boys says as he bravely lifts his head. Roman likes this kid already.

“Alright then.” Roman moves so that he is parallel to the car. “Shall we, ladies?”

“Come on, Carina.” Says the blonde one to her crying friend. She pulls the other girl to her feet and then carefully steps onto the saddle. Boy is Roman glad he’d brought that. And Thomas thought it was useless. Ha!

The second girl joins the first and Roman slowly makes his way back to the raft. Careful not to jostle them too much.

Once the girls are safely deposited in the raft Roman goes back and carries one of the two remaining boys to the raft. He is significantly bigger and the two teens wont fit as well as the two petite girls had and Roman doesn’t feel like risking anyone falling off so he’s content to take an extra trip. The last boy is crawling into the saddle when the teens phone goes off. The kid answers it as Roman prepares to go across the current for a fourth time. It really doesn’t seem like the best of times to be answering his phone, in Roman’s opinion, considering the circumstances but whatever. Teens, am I right?

The boy suddenly yells. “You’re still in there?!” He’s clutching the phone tightly between his hands and his face is growing paler by the second.

Roman hesitates.

“Is everything okay?” Roman asks. Because it sounds like it isn’t. “Is someone still in the house?”

“It’s Mrs. Mortimer! She’s Katie's grandma and she’s stuck in her house!”

Roman snaps to attention, ignoring the men in the raft yelling for him to come over. “Where does she live?”

The boy points down the street. “At the end of this road.”

Not good. The road slopes downhill. Chances are, her house is completely flooded by now.

“What the fuck are you doing? Bring the kid over here! Let's go!” Yells one of the men, too far to hear their conversation and probably thinking Roman has lost his mind. Roman ignores him, he can feel his determination building. No elderly woman is dying on his watch!

“Which house?”

The boy shakes his head. “It looks like all the rest!”

Roman shuffles his hooves. “Uh, anything more specific?”

“We’ve got to go get her!” The boy yells. Well, that much was obvious and- hold up, did he say-?

“We? Oh, no. Not happening. I admire your courage but it’s too dangerous.”

“You’re not going without me.” The boy insists. “You don’t know which house to go to and Sheldon is too young to hang on, they’d both fall off!”

“Sheldon?”

“Her grandson, now come on, we have to go now!”

Roman is torn. He can’t just bring a teenager with him on what is most likely going to be an incredibly dangerous mission but the boy does have some valid points. How is he going to carry two people who can’t hold on by themselves? How is he going to find her house in the first place?

‘Uuuuughh.’ Roman internally groans. He doesn't like this at all.

“Fine! But hang on tight!” To the men Roman calls as loudly as he can. “Go on ahead! We’re gonna go get Mrs. Sheldo- uh, Mrs. Marti- a damsel in distress!”

The men are screaming at him now but Roman charges forwards anyway. Rushing down the street as fast as he is able. The water is rising at an alarming rate and he knows it's too fast for any sort of raft to attempt a rescue.

The boy clings on tightly to the saddle and then suddenly he’s smacking at Romans side, trying to get his attention.

“Over there! That one!” He yells over the water, pointing at a somewhat unsturdy looking house. Roman rushes towards it and stops at the doorway. It’s a tiny door and even if he could squeeze in he isn’t sure there’s room for him to turn around and get back out. He doesn’t have the time to mention it before the boy is hopping off his back and nearly getting swept away. Roman just barely manages to catch his arm and lift him so he can stand in the doorway where the current is weaker.

“Careful!”

The boy looks embarrassed. “I’m okay.” He glances back into the house. “I’ll go bring them out!”

He sloshes off before Roman can warn him to watch for submerged and potentially sharp debris. Roman nervously flits back between pacing and sticking his top half as far in as he can go.

“Did you find them?” He yells. He waits for a moment before he sees the boy leading an elderly woman down the hall. She struggles to walk and the boy is taking most of her weight and even dragging her a bit, which is made all the harder by the toddler he has clinging to his back.

As soon as they get close enough Roman pulls the woman to himself and steadies her against his upper chest. The current had threatened to rush over the short woman's head as soon as she’d passed through the door. Roman looks at both the boys as they stand in the doorway and he carefully turns so they are facing his side. He bends his knees as much as he safely can and calls for them to climb on.

“Hold on tight!” The teen yells to the toddler. Then he tosses the kid up onto the saddle and climbs up behind him, legs shaking violently. He has exhaustion written all over his face.

Roman carefully lifts the woman into his arms and turns so he can face the current. It doesn’t look good. Cars have begun to freely float down what is now a stream and the water is high enough it reaches the lowest parts of his saddle. Looking back the way they came shows that they had gone way farther than Roman had first thought. It’s going to be a long trip.

“I want everyone to hang on as tight as they can!” Roman yells above the waves.

Then Roman takes the first step of what will be many, to safety. He hadn’t been anywhere near the city hall when he’d picked up the teenager and had strayed even farther to get the poor woman and her grandchild so he knows this is going to be rough.

And even though Roman is already feeling tired and sore and his recently recovered leg aches, he’s still determined. He knows how to push through pain and exhaustion, you could say he’s intimately familiar with it, having done so countless times before. He just needs to keep walking. Stopping isn’t an option for him, it never was. He’s a racer, he’s the Prince for god’s sake! He isn’t about to give up without a fight.

‘I can do this.’

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Chapter Text

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Thomas is carefully steering an inflated raft upstream for what must be the twentieth time. His raft had been assigned to ferry people from the park stadium back to the city hall. He’s only seen his friends once since they split up and that was when he saw Logan carrying two adults over to the stadium. He noted Logan looked upset and annoyed and Thomas is almost positive he purposely drops the man into the water. Besides that Thomas hasn’t seen anyone he knows and honestly? He’s feeling a little useless. He knows what he’s doing is vital and far from pointless but he wishes he could be doing more, like what the other rafts and Centaurs are doing. Then again they are risking so much to be going out into the rapid and gushing waters. Thomas can only hope his family is okay.

‘Family? Why did I start thinking of them as family?’

Thomas is shaken by the thoughts but he doesn’t have time to dwell. Another raft is floating up to them and everyone aboard has a frantic look on their face.

“We’ve got a kid.” The one man says. On look tells Thomas that, no, they don’t.

“He’s on the roof but we can’t get him down!” Oh.

“That house is about to go under but he won’t listen to us. We can’t keep his attention.”

“We don’t have much time and we can’t find his parents, have you guys had anyone looking for their kid?”

Thomas and his raft mates stare as they try and digest the rapid flow of words. Thomas has met quite a few people looking for family members but no panicked parents as of yet. What are they supposed to do if they can’t get the boy down? It’s a fucking flood and the boy is on a roof, why would he not liste- Thomas gets a funny feeling. He feels like he knows what’s wrong.

“Is he deaf?” Thomas asks.

That gives everyone pause. “He might be, actually. There’s a deaf kid in my daughter's class.” One of the men in Thomas’s boat says.

“Right. I know sign language. I can go with you guys.” Thomas volunteers.

“It’s worth a shot. We don’t have long till that house caves in.” Says one of the men as he moves over to make room.

They have to be extremely careful to safely move Thomas from one boat to another but they manage and then they are on their way. Once they arrive in the worst flooded part of town, Thomas can see just how bad the situation actually is. There is another boat full of people trying to convince a small boy to jump to them but he just keeps shaking his head and has his pajama clad body scrunched up into a tiny ball. He looks petrified and Thomas can definitely sympathize. The poor kid is absolutely soaked from the rain, surrounded by strangers and roaring water and sitting on the roof of his home. Who wouldn’t be scared?

Once they are close enough Thomas starts waving his hands to get the kids attention. The child glances at him and Thomas quickly starts signing before he can look away.

‘You need to come with us. We are going to take you to-’ Thomas doesn’t know the word for ‘safety’ so he improvises. ‘- a place warm and good. We can find your family.’

The kid unfurls a little, closely watching Thomas’s hands.

‘Please come. It’s scary here and I want you to be warm and happy.’

Thomas deflates, relieved, when the kid slowly moves his hands to sign back.

‘I’m scared. I don’t like boats. They move too much. I can’t swim.’

The house creaks and shifts, nearly throwing the kid off balance. The child gives a cry of fear and the boats pull away a bit to keep from being crushed by one of the collapsing walls. Thomas gestures for the kid to jump and just as the house begins to cave in just as the boy closes his eyes and jumps, plunging into the water. In an impressive show of reflexes, one of the men on Thomas’s boat shoots his hands into the freezing water and pulls the boy out and onto the raft.

The child cries hysterically and Thomas quickly pulls him over to hug him close. Both boats waste no time in racing away from the collapsing home and Thomas looks over his shoulder just in time to see the whole thing cave in, parts of it rushing down the road which has now become a river.

In an attempt to not dwell on what a close call it had been, Thomas busies himself calming the child, (Mostly by thinking: what would Patton do?) and he doesn’t even notice till one of the men points out that they are almost to safety. Once they reach the city hall, people on the shore quickly pull the boy away, promising to look for his parents. The little boy screams and cries, trying to cling to the one person who can communicate with him and Thomas is reluctant to let him go. But he has too.

Thomas quickly starts to sign.

‘Go to the short centaur. (a mixture of the sign for ‘horse’ and ‘man’’) He’s nice. He can talk to you.’ Thomas repeats that as his raft floats away, the boy’s cries fading under the roaring water.

Once they’ve got a system going again and most of the adrenaline rush from before has faded, Thomas is feeling pretty damn proud of himself. Logan would be proud, he’d remembered sign language all on his own! Had he been learning it for months? Yes. Should it have been easy to remember? Again yes. Did Thomas give a fuck? NO. Thomas remembered sign language in the heat of the moment and that’s what mattered. Thank God the boy was deaf and not Hispanic, knowing how to say ‘lamp’ and ‘I don’t speak Spanish’ wouldn’t have done much good. Or heaven forbid ‘Hasta la vista, baby’.

When that morbid thought enters Thomas’s brain he actually giggles, causing an elderly woman to raise her eyebrow at him. Thomas quickly turns away as he mentally chides himself for laughing. It’s a horrible thing to laugh at, especially while trying to rescue people from a flood, but Thomas gives himself a little slack. He always gets like this when he gets too stressed, morbid and dark things suddenly seem funny. The key is to keep it to himself. He doubts his family would approve and-

There it is again. Family. Thomas doesn’t have a family. Not anymore, not really. Sure he has some relatives he keeps minimal contact with but they aren’t who he was thinking about just now.

Roman. Patton. Logan.

When did those guys become his family? He hasn’t even known them for a full year! They didn’t- They aren’t- Just how!? It’s disturbing to Thomas. He doesn’t really want more family. He doesn’t have the greatest track record when it comes down to it. All his relatives are either awful and the ones who aren’t are… well...dead.

But then there are the three centaurs he’s somehow become so close to. Thrown together by chance and yet, in a way, they’ve become their own little family. Even though it’s not in the way Thomas is used to. It feels like more of a ‘brotherhood’ kind of thing. It’s just the way they all interact, somewhere along the line they’d skipped past the ‘fun friend’ stage and directly to the ‘I’ve known you all my life’ stage. They might as well have, Thomas feels like they know him so much better than most people and he likes to think he knows them pretty well too. Sure he doesn’t know all that much about their pasts and they don’t know all that much about his, but somehow it doesn’t matter. Because it isn’t about who they were but who they are. Someday Thomas wants to know what shaped them into the people they are now but till then he’s content just knowing them as they are in the present.

Thomas wonders what his friends think of him. Do they view them the same way? He knows that they genuinely enjoy his company but what if they don’t feel that...closeness? They’ve probably never had a family before have they? Patton said his parents died when he was young and Roman never knew his at all. Thomas isn’t sure about Logan but he knows he doesn’t consider himself to have any family. Do they even know what a family is? Does Thomas?

What sort of weird family did that make them then?

Thomas finds his mind consumed with questions as he tries to puzzle out the relationship between him and his friends. It isn’t till Thomas is taking the second to last trip across the flooded road that the most important question breaches the rest.

Does it matter?

This is who they are. Three centaurs and one human who technically owns them. For a multitude of reasons that should make Thomas the odd one out but it’s never felt that way. He feels accepted, safe and comfortable with them. He’s always been an introvert who preferred his room to the outside world but now he spends nearly all his time in the barn with three other people. It’s such a change from when he’d spent almost every second of the past two years alone inside his bedroom.

People say he rescued Patton, Logan and Roman but the truth is, they saved him. While he got them away from the people who wanted to hurt them, his friends had rescued him from himself. Thomas is self destructive and he knows it. Thomas needed people to ground him.

Patton brought Thomas out of his never ending thoughts with his soothing and playful banter, always there with a hug and a smile. Roman drew him out with excitingly new and creative ideas, somehow always getting Thomas excited with him even when said ideas were comically awful and destined for disastrous results. Logan was always there for him as a steady rock, never changing and certain when Thomas wasn’t. In the times Patton and Roman failed to pull Thomas from his shell, Logan was there to rip him forcefully out. Thomas wonders if any of them know they do this or how much it means to him.

He doubts it. This is just who they are and Thomas is unbelievably lucky to have ever met them. He wants to repay them, give them the life they’d been denied since birth for the crime of being born a centaur. They are his family now.

And he’s okay with that.

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Chapter Text

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Patton was doing fine. In fact, he was doing great! Everything was fine and he was perfectly okay. At least this is what he told himself.

The truth was he was terrified. After bringing in the supplies from Thomas’s truck (Which were quickly whisked away from him) Patton wasn’t sure what to do with himself. He awkwardly stood there until some lady came up and shoved a pile of blankets into his arms.

“Pass these out please.” She said as she rushed away. Please? That was new. Although Patton would have passed them out anyway he finds himself feeling much lighter to have been asked. And nicely too!

But even though he feels calmer, Patton still can’t bring himself to speak. He has to tap people’s shoulders to gain their attention so he can hand them a blanket and he gets more than one glare for it.

Patton is still dutifully passing them out when he feels a tugging on his tail. That, however, isn’t new. Patton turns around with a smile already in place. A child! Happy as he was to be out of the fair he has missed working with children. Even if half of the ones he’s met were rough, spoiled little things.

This one, thankfully, just looks curious. As she should be. She only looks two or three and he surmises she is young enough to not know better than to yank on peoples tails. Unlike some children who thought it was funny and would jerk on any tail they saw just to see if its owner would react. Those kids were lucky if they didn’t accidentally get kicked from frightening a centaur. Patton, however, is used to such things and hasn’t accidently kicked anyone since he was little. Thank heavens for that. Who knows what his owner would have done to him if he had. Why, he’d probably-

The toddler gives his tail another sharper tug and brings him out of his spiraling thoughts. She looks up at him and smiles around her pacifier. Patton smiles wider and crouches down.

“Hello there.” He whispers quietly.

The girl giggles. She opens and curls her fingers in a toddler wave. Patton glances around.

“Where’s your mommy and daddy?” He asks, voice still quiet. Children, he can speak too. If just barely. The girl just giggles again and reaches for his tail.

“Oh, no. Not again missy.” Patton says, lifting her in his arms. He straightened up to his full height (which is still shorter than most of the people here) and tried to spot a worried parent. Unfortunately there’s been a mass flooding and most people look worried. The little girl's arm shoots out to point to a man, busy on his phone.

“Dada.” She gurgles around the pacifier.

Patton starts off towards him, careful not to bump into anyone. As he gets closer he can hear the conversation her father is having.

“I know, I know. But it’s just for a few nights. We’ll be gone as soon as I find somewhere else to stay. We won’t bother you at all, you won’t even know we’re there!” He looks frustrated and runs his hand through his hair. Patton recognizes that as what Thomas does whenever he’s stressed or nervous. Poor man.

“Look, you know I wouldn’t be asking if I had any other choice Mom, but my house just went down stream. I’d call that an emergency!”

Patton really doesn’t want to interrupt what seems like a very important phone call but the little girl has no such qualms.

“Dada!” She squeals.

“Hold up.” The father stares at his little girl, confused. He glances at a pile of blankets by his feet and then back to his daughter. “When did you-?” He looks panicked but then takes a deep breath. “Of course you did, nevermind. Baby, you know you can’t just wander off like that.” He says, reaching for her.

She screeches and clutches at Patton, patting his chest, as though to say, ‘Can’t you see what I've found? This is mine now. How dare you try and separate us!’

Patton awkwardly stands there, wondering if he should hand her over or what.

“Sorry about her.” The man apologies. “Can I ask you to watch her for a bit?” He sounds so stressed and Patton can see dark rings under his eyes. As if Patton would ever say no.

Patton nods and gestures to the far end of the gym. The man nods. “Sure, go ahead and take her, I’ll be along as soon as I can.”

Now while people would normally rather die than let a random stranger walk off with their kids, Patton has never encountered this problem. Possibly because people knew he couldn’t sneak off with a kid and not get caught, being a centaur and all, but it was more likely because Patton didn’t look remotely threatening and he radiates calming and peaceful vibes, not that he knew about that last one.

Whatever the case, people had always been comfortable leaving their kids alone with him and Patton finds himself with two more children by the time he makes it to the far, less populated, corner of the gym. Patton grabs a few extra blankets from a nearby table and settles down with the children. He wraps them up in what Thomas once called a ‘blanket burrito’ and watches in amusement as they struggle to break free. One gets about halfway out before giving in to the comfort of the ‘burrito’ and slipping off to sleep. The other two escape and celebrate their freedom by playing tag. The toddler mostly just waddles around but the other child doesn’t seem to mind. Patton watches carefully and clears his throat loudly whenever they stray too far.

At one point, a mother comes over and asks Patton to hold her child for a few minutes as she deals with her distraught toddler. The child she hands him is a tiny infant girl and Patton finds himself smiling as she blinks blearily up at him. When her little green eyes fully open Patton feels ice flood his veins. He’s not prepared when the memories he’s repressed for so long burst behind his eyelids. They come too fast and in too great a number for Patton to hold them back and he’s helpless in their onslaught.

This tiny girl- she looks so much like-

No. Patton pushes violently away from the thoughts and memories as the name that sits on the tip of his tongue begs to be spoken. He’s been down this road before and it’s only ever brought more pain. It’s best to forget.

And yet-

Patton stares into her green eyes and is powerless to resist the memories that flood him. She reminds him so much of his baby.

When it came right down to it Patton had never been an actual father, not in the literal sense. But that isn’t to say Patton was never a parent. He’d taught her to walk, smile and so much more. Maybe he wasn’t the one to actually create her but Patton had still loved that little girl as though she were his own. He still does and no amount of years seemed to change that. But no, those times are long gone and she is no longer Patton's. She never was.

Patton realizes he’s crying and he quickly adjusts the baby to free his arm so he can wipe at his eyes. He is both devastated and utterly relieved when the girl's mother comes to retrieve her. Eventually he manages to calm himself and push aside the painful memories to dwell on them later. This isn’t the time. Besides, Patton has plenty of other children to focus on right now.

Twenty minutes and quite a few children later, and Patton has become accustomed to being ignored as people intermittently drop off and pick up kids so he’s surprised to find himself being addressed.

A soaking wet woman with an equally soaking wet child walks up to him.

“Hey, this is Ryan. His parents are still waiting for the rafts and I wanted to leave him with you till they get here.” Says the woman, as she drips water onto the floor.

The boy shuffles his bare feet and Patton is certain there are tears flowing down his face along with the water from his hair. The boy's eyes are red and he shivers in his pajamas, which aren't out of place since most everyone here is in their sleep clothes. It seems very few had the time to change before fleeing their homes.

Patton is quick to accept the boy and he’s barely even nodded his head before the woman is jogging back outside. Patton smiles at the kid and pats the floor beside him. The kid sniffles and then carefully sits atop one of the abandoned burritos. Patton takes it to wrap it around him and he hopes this kid will go to sleep like most of the other children. He hadn't even finished drying the boy's hair (The kid had himself curled in a ball so Patton had taken it upon himself to dry him) when another dripping boy came skidding around a group of people. He’s clearly panicking and there’s a man rushing behind him to catch up. The boy spots Patton and then frantically runs to him. To Patton’s surprise he begins signing as fast as his little fingers can move.

‘Don’t let them take me!’, He signs.

Patton's eyes widen and he opens his arms just as the kid throws himself at him. The man who’d been pursuing the boy looks just as surprised as Patton is.

“Do you know him?” The man asks, bent over to catch his breath.

Patton shakes his head.

The man glances at all the other kids. “Are you watching them?”

Patton nods and the man nods to himself. “Alright, mind watching this one? They said something about him being deaf.”

‘I’ll watch him.’ Patton signs.

The man blinks but then he nods. “You know sign language. Good. Look I don’t know where his parents are but since you’ve got some sort of nursery going I’m sure they’ll find him soon enough.”

Patton just nods again and the man takes one last gasp for air (all this running around was clearly catching up to him) and then jogs back outside. Patton looks back at the shivering little boy and gently runs a hand through his soggy hair. He smiles.

Now he has twenty three kids.

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Chapter Text

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It’s nearing noon and Thomas sags as they sail away from the stadium. The raft behind them has the last two people and now they are all floating across the street for the final time. Thomas looks around and is amazed at how much the water had risen since they’d started nearly five hours ago. The flood is still rising but it has finally stopped pouring buckets, although Thomas overhears someone say it won’t last. He hopes that person is just a pessimist and not a meteorologist.

When they reach the city hall the raft is pulled out of the muddy water but when Thomas tries to stand he nearly falls back down. His legs are stiff and his whole body is numb, having stopped shaking hours ago.

Thomas manages to catch himself and then carefully starts his trek up the hill to city hall. He gets to the gym doors (Why the hell is there a gym attached to the city hall?) but then hesitates. Where are Logan and Roman? There are a few centaurs making their way up to the gym but Thomas isn’t able to make out his friends among them, then again, it was hard to tell with so many centaurs for them to blend in. All the centaurs stop at the doors and Thomas can hear arguing.

“Why the fuck would we let them in? Just leave em’ outside!”

“What are you talking about? That’s inhumane!”

“Inhumane, ha! They aren’t human, dumbass! Not to mention they smell. Have you ever smelled a wet centaur? Worse than a wet dog that shit on itself.”

Thomas knows that voice. It sounds like- no, is that-?”

“Ted?” Thomas rounds a soaked centaur and sure enough, it's Ted. And Ted is blocking the doors. Honestly Thomas wouldn’t expect anything less of him.

“Dude, get out of the way and let them in. They deserve it more than your sorry ass. Have you even done anything?” Thomas snaps. This is one of the guys who had nearly worked Logan to death. He’s a nasty, entitled asshole and now he wants to leave half a dozen exhausted centaurs outside, soaking wet, and in the freezing wind. And after all the lives these guys had helped to save over the past five hours.

“If it isn’t that centaur loving bitch.” Ted laughs, turning to Thomas in surprise.

The man Ted had been arguing with uses Thomas as a distraction and starts to open the doors.

“Close that fucking door Carl!” Thomas’s previous coworker yells, pulling at it. Then, since he isn’t able to let go of a chance to egg people on he turns back to laugh at Thomas.

“Heard you bought the dead guy. The stupid bastard was a complete waste of space even at his prime and there you were, a trust fund bitch, buying his dead carcass. I hope you got your money's worth making him into a rug!” The man laughs.

Thomas has never been a violent man but Ted has always brought out the worst side of him. He seems to have the same effect on everybody because the centaurs all look furious and more than one steps forward. But before Thomas or the other centaurs have a chance to actually do anything a hand shoots out and lifts Ted straight off his feet.

“It would seem you have not yet learned when to keep your mouth shut.”

It’s Logan. A very, very pissed Logan. He looks tired, upset, cold and completely done with everything.

“However I do believe I know of a way to effectively cool your temper.” Logan says as he turns and walks straight towards the fenced in swimming pool, still holding Ted by his shirt.

The man is screaming curses and kicking his feet helplessly but Logan doesn’t falter. Once Logan reaches the fence he lifts the wiggling man, one hand holding his belt, the other his shirt collar, and then chucks Ted a full fifteen feet and directly into the pool. He tears straight through the pool cover with a loud, high pitched scream that rivals a little girl’s. Actually it sort of sounded like a pig? Yeah, a pig. A young female pig. Logan storms back to the gym and walks through the doors the other man had finally managed to open now that Ted was out of the way.

Ignoring the flailing arms and screamed curses, everyone walks into the barn. Logan doesn’t bother to give a second glance at Ted but Thomas does and he can’t stop smiling. Once he’s inside Thomas is handed a towel and a blanket while somebody else goes and passes a few out to the centaurs. Thomas walks over to where Logan is grumpily drying his hair.

“Have you seen Princey?” Thomas asks, deciding not to bring up what just happened. It’s probably better if he lets Logan cool off first. Speaking of, he was freezing!

“No. I assume he will be arriving in a moment. He is probably assisting in the last of whatever it is that needs doing.”

Thomas tightly wraps the blanket around his shoulders. His shivering has returned now that he can feel his limbs again and when Logan sits down Thomas joins him, leaning against a wall to keep himself upright. He looks around the gym curiously before he feels a prickling sensation on the back of his neck.

Thomas looks up to find a small group of centaurs whispering amongst each other while staring at him with wide eyes. Thomas is unnerved until he realizes they aren’t actually looking at him. He follows their line of sight to Logan, who is oblivious to the attention he’s receiving. Thomas looks closer at the huddle centaurs and he thinks he recognizes the tanner one. Oooh. They work at Benny’s, don’t they?

It occurs to Thomas that they didn’t know Logan was still alive until just now. Wow. It’s been what? Six months? More? The last time they’d have seen Logan he would have been dying in his own stall. No wonder they look so shocked.

They haven’t been sitting there long when a soggy Ted comes storming in. His face is a bright red and if he weren’t so wet Thomas thinks you would be able to see smoke coming out his ears.

“YOU MOTHERFUCKING BITCH!” He roars at Logan.

Logan ignores him while Thomas snickers at his bedraggled state.

“You should have died the first time around, you useless sack of horse meat! How FUCKING DARE you!”

“Can we help you with something?” Thomas asks. “Get you a towel?” He snickers again.

“You! You’re just as useless as these abominations are!”

More than one centaur looks insulted (hellooo, they just spent all day saving people) and Thomas starts to defend them but Ted doesn’t let him. He turns back to Logan with an intimidating snarl but when Logan doesn’t react he continues ranting, clearly he’s out for blood.

“You always were a piece of shit! Ever since the day we bought your sorry ass you’ve been nothing but trouble! I don’t know why we sold your fucking father instead of you. We should have just let that bastard kill you.”

Thomas jolts upright. ‘What?’ Thomas is suddenly reminded of the fact that Logan and Ted have known each other for far longer than he has.

Forever unruffled, Logan shrugs. “Your mistake. The true travesty here is that, despite your abundant miscalculations, you have yet to learn from any of them.”

Even with his mind reeling, Thomas smiles. It’s great seeing Logan actually stand up for himself without having to worry about the consequences.

“I’m going to fucking kill you! You fucking son of a-” Thomas follows Logan’s lead and tunes him out. He idly rubs his towel between his fingers while trying to count the wrinkles on his left thumb.

It’s right about then that the man who’d opened the doors (Carl was it?) comes sauntering over, arms piled high with blankets, Thomas recognizes one of his mothers quilts among them.

“Ted,” Carl says in exasperation. “What are you yelling about now?” Thomas zones back in.

“The fuck do you mean ‘what am I yelling about’!? You saw what this bastard did to me!”

“You deserv-” Thomas is cut off by the other man.

“What are you talking about? All I saw was you jumping into the pool like a maniac and screaming like a little girl the whole time. A dumbass move if I ever saw one.”

Ted sputters and Thomas (along with several other centaurs) nearly laughs. Ted doesn’t seem to have a response and after sputtering for a full minute he finally goes storming off.

The man and Thomas smile at each other before the man goes back to handing out blankets to the centaurs. Thomas is glad he isn’t the only human out there willing to stand up for centaurs.

Thomas sighs, and even though he is sore as hell, he drags himself to his feet.

“I’m gonna go find Morality.” He says. “Maybe he knows where Creativity is.” Thomas doesn’t want to be that person but he’s really starting to get worried. Nearly everyone is inside at this point and it’s troubling that Roman isn’t.

****************************

Chapter Text

****************************

It isn’t that hard to find Patton, mostly because he’s surrounded by at least twenty kids. Almost all of them are sleeping or just sitting around quietly playing. Despite the area being overrun with children this particular corner of the gym seemed to radiate peace and Thomas feels a little bit calmer just being there.

Patton glances up from where he is making a child giggle with ‘peek-a-boo’.

“Thomas!” He exclaims. Face flooding with relief.

“Hey Pat.” Thomas says, picking his way through sleeping children to sit near Patton. There are too many children leaning up against Patton to get very close but Thomas manages to plant himself reasonably near him.

“What the heck happened here?” He asks, gesturing to the small army of children. He isn’t surprised per say but the fact that Patton has somehow managed to acquire nearly every child within the gym is still quite impressive.

Patton glances around as though only just now noticing how many children he’s gathered.

‘I don’t know. I started off with one.’ He signs, brow furrowed in confusion.

Thomas laughs a little.

A moment later a man walks over and scans the mass of children. Patton lifts his hand and points to two little red headed boys snuggled together under a pile of blankets. The man nods and goes to gently wake the children, with a quiet thanks he then leads his sleepy kids away. How the heck has Patton been keeping track of who's kid is whose?

Thomas enjoys the silence for a few more minutes before getting back to the reason he’d come in first place, besides checking to see if Patton was okay, that is.

“Have you seen Creativity by any chance?”

Patton shakes his head. ‘You don’t know where he is?’

Thomas glances across the gym where he knows the other centaurs have gathered.

‘He’s probably with Logic by now. Just wanted to know if you’d already seen him.’ Thomas has switched to sign language by now so as not to disturb any of the slumbering children. Despite this Patton is still able to pick up on his undertones of worry and fear.

‘I’m sure he’ll be here soon. Roman is a fighter. He’ll be alright.’

Thomas nods and stiffly gets back to his feet. He’s only barely got his feet under him when a distraught couple come rushing to him and Patton and start scanning the children.

“Is he here!?” Asks the frantic woman.

“Wha- who?”

“Our son! Louis! He’s fourteen, with brown hair and blue eyes. Have you seen him?” The mother asks hopefully.

Thomas looks at Patton who shakes his head.

The man who had approached with her wrings his hands in panic. Out of the blue he spots someone and loudly calls. “Carina! Over here, is Louis with you?!” The teen girl he’d addressed freezes and then bursts into hysterical tears. Two other teens come to stand on either side of her, one gently rubbing her shoulder and both worried faces.

“He- he went off with some centaur!” Carina sobs.

The other teens jump in and start babbling.

“He was on the centaur and then the centaur just ran off with him! He said something about Sheldon or damsels for something.”

“They went down stream!”

“We tried to wait for them but the current was too strong!”

The parents look absolutely terrified. “When?!”

“I don’t know!” Carina cries in distress. “It was hours ago! No one’s seen him.”

Thomas swallows hard. This wasn’t good. “What color was the centaur?” He asks but he doesn’t need to, he already knows.

“He was brown?”

“A chestnut I think. Sort of red.” Two teens respond.

Thomas is starting to freak out. “ With a red and white shirt?” He squeaks.

“Yeah, oh my gosh do you know him?” Asks Carina. Patton’s hand shoots out and grabs Thomas’s in a panic. Thomas squeezes back.

“Is he your centaur?” Accuses the man. He’s simultaneously terrified and furious. It isn’t a good combination. Thomas really can’t focus on that though because they are talking about Roman! Roman would never run off with someone no matter-

-he would never run off with someone without good reason! But why wouldn’t he be back by now? Everyone else was. Not to mention Roman was fast,.

“Your centaur ran off with our son!” Shriek's the woman. A few people turn at the noise and several kids wake up with a start. “He could be killed!”

“So could Roman!” Snaps Thomas, too upset and worried to notice his slip up.

“What’s going on?” Logan’s voice asks. People are parting like the red sea around him as Logan makes his way through the crowd. Logan's height is intimidating on the best of days but his current bedraggled and grumpy state has bumped him right up to threatening.

‘Roman is missing.’ Signs Patton in a panic.

Logan instantly looks worried.

“Are we sure?” Asks Logan. “Maybe he is speaking with someone outside?”

“I hope so. Prince's leg only just healed.” Thomas remarks

“He’s injured? You mean an injured centaur ran off with my son in the middle of a flood!?” Gasps the worried mother. The poor woman looks sick.

“He didn’t kidnap him! He would never endanger anybody!” Snaps Thomas. He shouldn’t be yelling. He shouldn’t be arguing at all but, just like the missing teens parents, Thomas is starting to become overwhelmed with fear.

“We need to send somebody after him!” Yells the father.

“It isn’t advisable that anyone return to those waters. They were still rising at an alarming rate when we left.”

“But Logic, he might be stuck!” Thomas says, because he agrees with the worried parents' reasoning.

“Then how are we to find him?” Counters Logan.

The rising voices stir several more children awake and Patton is doing his best to do damage control. ‘Go find one of the men who’s still out there and ask if they’ve seen him.’ He signs in choppy motions.

Logan doesn’t notice Patton’s signing but Thomas does and he repeats the suggestion but by now the tension is too high and everyone is too stressed to be following any reasonable advice. Things only escalate from there and Thomas forgets all about Patton’s suggestion.

Their argument is broken up when an even larger commotion breaks out across the gym. There are calls for a doctor and despite what that implies Thomas feels his hopes go up.

The four adults and three teens look at each other before they all break into a run across the gym. Poor Patton looks torn but he stays where he’s seated. He’s the only one who knows what kid goes to what person so it’s safest if he doesn’t leave them.

As Thomas gets closer to the noise he’s able to make out more of the jumbled yelling.

“I think she’s having a seizure?”

“Everybody, please back up! Give them some space.”

“Prince!” Thomas gasps, pushing his way through the gathered crowd.

Relief doesn’t even describe how happy Thomas is to see Roman in the center of the curious bystanders. The feeling is quickly whisked away when Roman doesn’t react to Thomas’s voice and continues to lay sprawled dramatically on the gym floor.

Roman has definitely looked better.

“Oh my gosh! Are you okay!?” Thomas gasps as he rushes to Roman’s side. No one attempts to hold him back as all the attention is on an elderly lady a few feet away.

To Thomas’s immense relief, Roman responds this time. If giving a half hearted grunt counts as responding.

“Prince, can you hear me?” Thomas asks, flopping to his knees besides the centaurs head.

Roman flops his head to the side and slowly opens one eye. He looks exhausted. He says something Thomas can’t quite make out.

“What was that?”

“I said,” Roman’s voice is a little stronger. “Why the fuck are there so many printers?”

Thomas blinks. ‘What?’ Was Roman hallucinating? Roman’s hands flops around in a pathetic attempt to wave him off.

“Forget it.”

Thomas happily does. In the split second of silence Thomas is suddenly aware of all the frantic activity happening around them. People have finally backed away to allow a medical team to surround what looks to be an elderly woman.

Off to the side Thomas sees the couple he and Logan had been arguing with desperately hugging a teen boy. Oh good. They’d found their son then.

Hold up. Where was Logan?

Thomas glances around and after a moment he sees Logan’s head standing above the crowd. With his vantage point Logan is able to see both Thomas and Roman and Thomas surmises Logan hasn’t moved because he doesn’t want to force his way through all the people.

“Ack!”

“Roman!?”

“No, no I’m fine. Just a cramp. Or three.” Roman says, front leg twitching. His face pinches and he groans. “I vote we move the entire town uphill so we never have to do this again.”

Thomas snorts.

They sit in silence as Roman tries to get his breathing back to normal and Thomas attempts to calm his nerves. Roman is safe. They are all safe. He takes a deep breath.

“Hey.”

Thomas and Roman both look up in surprise at the teen boy standing before them.

“Oh hey. You doing alright?” Roman asks. When Thomas notices the couple flanking him he realizes this must be Louis, the previously missing boy.

“They said Mrs. Mortimer is going to be okay, but they’re going to take her to the hospital just to be safe. Sheldon only has a few scratches so he’s staying with Katie’s family.” Louis says.

Roman sags in relief before quirking an eyebrow. “And you?”

Louis’s parents are notably silent beside him and besides immense relief, Thomas isn’t able to read their facial expressions. They are definitely looking at Roman funny. Are they mad? Thomas can’t tell. Sometimes he thinks he’s the only person in the world without a poker face.

The boy huffs. “I’m fine.” He says this with confidence but Thomas can see bruises already forming on his face and arms. They are probably everywhere else but Thomas can’t see them with his clothes in the way.

Louis’s parents open their mouths (most likely thinking the same thing Thomas is) but their son cuts them off.

“Are you alright? Did you get hurt?” He sounds really worried.

Roman looks gobsmacked. “Me?”

The boy rolls his eyes in usual teen fashion but it isn’t quite as effective when he’s sagging with exhaustion. “Yes you. I saw that thing hit you.”

“Uh-” Roman stutters for a minute before he seems to get over his surprise. Has no one ever asked him if he got hurt?

“I’m all good.” Roman glances down at his slightly battered body, small cuts and bruises beginning to form. “I’ve had much worse.” He says solemnly. He shakes his head and then he beams. “Besides, we saved Mrs. Mortimer and Sheldon didn’t we? What’s a minor flesh wound?”

The boy actually smiles as he leans into his father, clearly tired from standing. His parents take that as their que.

“Alright Louis, you said you’d see the nurse once you talked to him, let's go get you checked out.”

Thomas is surprised. The boy refused medical attention until he could speak with Roman? Roman looks surprised too.

“Later we can talk about what you did.” Louis’s father says. His son sighs.

Roman clears his throat and makes eye contact with both the parents. “Your son is a hero by the way. If it wasn’t for him none of them would have made it. I’ve never met someone so brave.”

The couple blink at him and then silently lead their son away. Thomas and Roman sit in the following silence before Thomas is forced to speak his mind.

“You’re a hero too, Roman.”

“Just doing my duty.” Roman sputters, blushing.

Thomas smiles. “Sure you were. Now let's get this saggy saddle off of you.”

**********

Chapter Text

*****************************

Once Roman is able to stand somewhat steadily, he and Thomas skirt around the edges of the gym towards Patton. At some point Logan had remembered the poor pony and gone to assure him that Roman was alright. Banged up, but alright over all.

Once the two friends make it to Patton's small haven they are quickly assaulted by the smaller centaur. He frantically checks Roman over, fussing about the scattered cuts and bruises. He’d no doubt tried to do the same to Logan but by the look on the tallest centaurs face it hadn’t gone over well.

Roman, unlike Logan, doesn’t mind in the slightest and just smiles while assuring Patton he’s alright. So far he hasn’t actually told anyone what had happened and Thomas thinks that’s a bit odd. Roman wasn’t one to give up the chance to tell an exciting story. Specifically one he had a main role in. They’d heard more than one story from his racing days.

Thomas figures Roman must be too tired and he casually goes to stand beside Logan. The poor guy looks like he’s ready to go home and has been since the second he’d gotten here. Thomas can sympathize.

It isn’t until a relatively small child pulls on Patton's tail that he leaves Romans side. After a moment of whispering back and forth with the child (because it seems Patton still can't talk in public) Patton grabs his hand and heads towards Thomas.

‘This is Ryan. He’s looking for his family but I don’t know who they are or where to look. Can you help?’

Thomas looks around at the crowd. How the heck are they supposed to find anyone like this? Thomas doesn’t even know what Ryan's parents look like. Thomas had found Patton by following a trail of peaceful vibes and children whilst they had found Roman by going to the place with the most drama. Naturally he’d found Logan first since he was the only one where he was actually supposed to be. This kid's parents are a different story.

Thomas doesn’t mention his worries to Patton, the poor guy has enough on his hands.

“Sure thing Pat. Me and Logan are on it.”

Logan scowls down at Thomas. He clearly isn’t happy to be volunteered without being consulted. Thomas thinks he can suck it up. ‘It’s a lost kid. Have a heart Logan.’ He thinks to himself.

After wandering the gym at random and having no success, Thomas comes up with a different plan.

“Do you think you could lift him, Logan? Just so he can look around for his parents? It would only be for a minute.” He says, hoping Logan won’t put up a fight.

After a moment of Thomas trying to mimic Patton’s puppy dog eyes Logan finally sighs and leans down to take the boy from him and lift him high.

“Two hands! Two hands!” Thomas shrieks as Logan holds the boy high above their heads.

A few people overhear him and stare at where the kid is sitting on the palm of Logan’s hand. Thomas had underestimated just how large Logan’s hands were. He doesn’t seem to have any trouble keeping a good grip, especially with how effortlessly he’s holding the boy up. With the same ease one might use to lift a football. No, on second thought, Logan had tossed Ted like he was a ball, this kid probably didn’t even register. The thought somewhat terrifies Thomas.

‘Don’t be ridiculous. Logan is the least clumsy of us all.’ Thomas reminds himself.

“Logic! Don’t drop him!” Thomas gasps anyway.

Logan finally lifts his other hand so that both are supporting the boy and even though Thomas is certain he only does so he will stop panicking, Thomas is still relieved.

Logan is clearly insulted that Thomas thinks he would drop the boy but says nothing as he moves the boy in a slow circle, twisting him till he has scanned the whole room.

“Do you see them?” Logan asks, even though he doesn’t sound like he’s all that interested in the answer.

Ryan suddenly lifts his legs with an excited squeal. “Uncle Josh! Uncle Josh! Over here! I’m up here!!” He waves his arms wildly and Logan shifts him for fear the boy will try and jump down. It would be a long fall.

“RYAN!?!” They can hear the voice even from all the way across the gym.

Not even a minute later a man, Josh, Thomas presumes, forces his way through the surrounding people. Once he reaches the open space they are in (because people tend to give Logan a wide berth) he quickly runs to Logan and wilts in relief.

“Oh my gosh, you’re okay!”

Logan wastes no time in handing the kid over as though he were one of Patton’s raisin cookies that no one liked and always tried to pawn off on each other. Josh pulls Ryan (who, for the record, was not an unwanted cookie) close and Thomas is touched at the heartwarming reunion.

“Aw.” Roman coos as the two hug. He must have come over while Thomas was distracted.

Logan just turns away in disinterest.

Thomas expects the man to walk away now that he has his nephew, but instead he begins squinting up at Logan in suspicion. ‘Oh great.’ Thomas thinks, afraid he’s going to try and start some sort of fight. For some unfathomable reason people were always picking fights with Logan. Technically it made sense, considering how insensitive and oftentimes rude Logan could be but even then Thomas still can’t follow their logic. Insulted or not Thomas would have thought picking a fight with an eight foot tall centaur was a bad idea. Thankfully, the look on Josh's face stays harmlessly curious and he only further tilts his head up to study Logan's face better.

“Do I know you?”

That- isn’t what Thomas expected. Logan looks down at the much shorter man in surprise. He clearly didn’t expect that either. The tall centaur leans down a bit and scrutinizes the man and after only a moment his eyes widen. He looks like he’s been shot.

“I do not believe so-” Logan stutters.

“Oh my gosh! You were that kid who stole my math book!” The man breaks into a grin and Logan gets a deer caught in the headlights look.

“Uh-” He stutters.

“You what now?” Thomas asks, flabbergasted when Logan doesn’t immediately deny it. Instead, Logan looks embarrassed.

The man starts laughing. “This guy tricked me into giving him my school book when we were kids.”

Logan blushes. Logan fucking blushes.

“It was a fair trade.” He argues weakly. Thomas can’t believe what he’s hearing. The sputtering behind him says Roman’s can’t either.

“Not according to my Mom.” The man huffs in amusement. “So did you like it?” He asks.

“Like what?” Asks Logan, completely thrown off his game, he looks like he wants to bolt. Thomas and Roman are still reeling too much to say anything.

“My math book. I could never figure out why you wanted it.”

“Uh-”

Roman suddenly starts laughing. “Oh my god you stole a book? From a kid?”

Logan glares at him but says nothing.

“He didn’t technically steal it. I did agree to trade it.” Josh says, looking back up at Logan. “Fair and square.”

Logan is refusing to make eye contact with anyone but he happens to glance down and stares in surprise when the man holds his hand out.

“I’ve got to go but it was nice to meet you again. It’s a small world.”

Another time Logan might have corrected him about the size of the world but at the moment he seems too thrown off to do anything besides lean down and shake the man's hand.

A moment later the man and his nephew are gone and the three friends stand in shocked silence. After a moment Roman speaks.

“Sooooo, you stole a-”

“Don’t.” Logan growls.

“I can’t believe-”

“Stop.”

“You’re not getting off the hook that easily.”

“Roman.”

The walk back to Patton is filled with Thomas and Roman trying to pry the story from Logan but he’s like a steel strap and they don’t get anything more than a ‘shut up’. Which is pretty low coming from Logan what with his love for vocabulary. Normally he’d tell them to ‘cease their incessant yapping’ or something. He must really have been thrown off his game.

The topic is eventually dropped as the three of them busy themselves passing out supplies and helping as is needed. Roman ends up flopping down on the ground after a few minutes and aids Patton in watching over the children. It doesn’t look like he has the energy to stand for long.

Even though they’ve dropped the topic, Thomas finds his eyes tracking Logan's every move as he questions everything he knows about him. For the second time in one day Thomas is reminded that he doesn’t actually know all that much about him. Sure he knows who Logan is now, but when it comes down to what made him this way, Thomas doesn’t know all that much. Thomas thinks that maybe he will, one day, but another part of him doubts it. Logan is a private person, especially when it comes to his past.

But private or not, Thomas is so finding out the story of the stolen book. Every time Thomas passes Roman, the ex-racer gives him a look that says he 100% agrees. He also looks as flabbergasted as Thomas has been feeling. It looks like he’s questioning everything too. Good. Thomas hates being the only one out of the loop.

Eventually the four friends run out of ways to be helpful and Thomas decides to collect whatever blankets of his are still around and head on home. One look says the three centaurs support his decision.

Twenty minutes later and they are all packed up in Thomas’s truck (and does it creak even worse this time or is that just Thomas?) and headed on their way home. Once Thomas has pulled into the barn he breathes a deep sigh of relief. Finally, they’re home. This has been way too much excitement for one day and Thomas hopes that that was the last of it. He’s had enough drama to last till at least the end of the month and/or his lifetime.

Thomas lets down the ramp for Logan and Patton and then cracks his back with a yawn. Time for some well deserved peace and quie-

“So did our residential Brainiac really steal a book?”

“He what?!”

“Roman!”

*********

Chapter Text

*********

After an hour of trying to convince Logan that- ‘we won’t tell anyone, promise. But seriously, did you really steal a book from a child?’ Logan snaps and announces that he is going to smack anyone who doesn’t drop the subject then and there. They stop after that. Thomas isn’t sure if Logan was serious or not, (he looked like he was) but he has come to the conclusion that Logan will be taking this story to his grave and there is no point pushing it.

Oh well, more's the pity.

After Thomas has given up he finds all his exhaustion creeping back in and realizes that he might not even make it across the field from the barn to his house if he stays even a moment longer. He’s running out of steam at an alarming rate and doesn’t know how much longer his legs are going to support him. Roman seems to be in the same predicament since he is still laying sprawled on the ground beside Thomas’s truck showing no signs of moving any time soon. He’d nearly collapsed while jumping down from the bed of Thomas’s truck and had flopped down in an attempt to make it seem like that was his plan all along. It didn’t save his dignity as he had no doubt hoped it would but Thomas isn’t judging. He’d rather like to join him.

“Well, I don’t know about you guys but I’m going to bed.” Thomas announces.

“It’s three p.m.” Logan protests.

“But we got up at four.” Points out Patton.

“You did?” Thomas certainly didn’t.

“Yes.” Logan glares at Roman. “Some people are apparently scared of thunder and some people also have incredibly high pitch.”

There is a story there and Thomas knows it but at this particular moment in time Thomas is too tired to care.

Whatever, I’m going to bed.” So saying, Thomas whirls about (too fast, now he’s dizzy) and marches towards the door with only a slight wobble.

“I like your pajamas by the way.”

“Hm?”

What’s that supposed to mean? Thomas idly glances down, does a double take and shrieks, mortified as he looks down at his ‘Lilo and Stitch’ pajamas.

They’re covered in mud and who knows what else but still manage to boast their vibrant pink and blue colors with pride. Thomas’s tired brain slowly starts to comprehend what that means. He’s been wearing this all day. He’s been wearing his fucking Lilo and Stitch pajamas all day!!!

“Have I been wearing this the whole time?!” He gasps.

“Yeah, pretty much. Thought you knew.” Shrugs Roman.

“Of course I didn’t know! I’d never wear my pajamas in public!”

“Oh. Well you were.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me!?” Thomas yells in frustration.

“I thought you knew?” Patton says, seemingly confused at Thomas’s horror.

“WHY WOULD I-'' Thomas takes a deep breath. “You know what? Never mind. As of right now none of this ever happened. In fact this whole day never happened!”

“Of course it did. We just lived it.” Logan argues.

“Nope! Never happened!” Thomas interrupts, to Romans amusement.

“But it did happen.” Patton says in confusion.

“La la la la~ not listening!” Thomas clamps his hands over his ears in toddler fashion and makes his way out the doors. As far as he’s concerned this whole day sucked. Time to go rewrite his memories and make it so he was wearing something else. Anything else.

Deep inside Thomas isn’t embarrassed so much as he is sad. Those were his favorite pajamas.

**********************

Three days later and it’s still raining. It had stopped temporarily that first day but ever since then it had been a steady downpour. Thankfully the flash flooding had tempered down and, while quite a few more people ended up having to evacuate over the past few days, it hadn’t been nearly as severe as the flooding before. Water was rising but not as quickly, giving people time to prepare. Despite this they were still getting flood warnings every few hours and Thomas is sick to death of it. The three centaurs had silenced their phone after the third alert but Thomas doesn't have the luxury since he actually has people who call him. Besides each other, Thomas is the only other name in the centaurs contact lists. It’s sort of sad but at the moment Thomas is too jealous to really care.

He’s about to bitch about it (again) when Roman comes rushing into the living room. No one pays him much attention, since running around and making dramatic entrances is sort of his thing, but that changes when he speaks.

“There's a guy in our stables.” He blurts

“What?!” The other two centaurs start and Thomas jumps to his feet, heart pounding.

“I said there is a guy in the stables!” Roman is waving his hands, voice going higher in pitch as he emphasizes each word.

“Is he armed?!” Thomas asks in alarm. ‘Who the heck would rob a stable?’ Ponders the rational part of his mind.

Patton jumps behind Logan at the prospect.

“What? No, he’s a centaur. Actually I think he’s hurt. I was just checking to make sure the roof on the south side wasn’t leaking-”

(The roof had never leaked before but Roman had been antsy and restless ever since he’d recovered from his rescue mission so he’d been ‘just checking’ everything.)

Roman continues, voice panicky. “-and I saw something in the corner of one of the stalls so I checked it out, cause it didn’t use to be there, I would know since I’ve been-”

“Roman.” Logan interrupts his spiraling explanation with one agitated word.

Logan’s sharp tone brings Roman out of his senseless rambling. “Right. Anyway there is a centaur in one of our stalls.” He hesitates for a moment. “I think it’s a kid.”

The other three suck in sharp breaths of surprise and Patton steps out from behind Logan.

“Where are they?” He demands.

“This way, I’ll show you. They didn’t see me so they should still be there.”

Roman leads the two centaurs and single human down the long stretch of hallway before veering off to the left. With every step the floor grows dirtier and the air stuffier. They still don’t use this side of the barn and it shows.

Roman stops in front of a relatively small storage room. He jerks his head in it’s direction and stays put.

Thomas, Logan and Patton cautiously peek around the corner and it looks as though Roman was actually right. (Thomas didn’t exactly think Roman was lying so much as just exaggerating in his usual fashion.) But sure enough there is a centaur curled up in the corner and he appears to be fast asleep. His coat is a midnight black along with his hair and both are equally splattered with mud. His skin is frighteningly pale where it peeks out from under his oversized jacket and Thomas is alarmed to see he’s completely soaked to the bone. He couldn’t have been there for long.

“Holy shit.” Logan murmurs, and if Thomas hadn’t already been stunned speechless at the sight before him, Logan cursing definitely would have done the job.

Instead Thomas just finds himself agreeing with the sentiment. ‘Holy shit indeed.’ He thinks.

“You weren’t kidding.” Murmurs Patton out loud.

“Of course not!” Hisses Roman. "Why would I joke about something like this?"

“But how did he get here?” Whispers Thomas. “There isn’t a centaur center for miles and no one around here owns centaurs. Not to mention it’s completely flooded outside!”

“Do you think he walked?” Asks Roman.

“Not important!” Patton snaps quietly.

“Agreed, the immediate problem is what to do from here.” Says Logan.

Thomas intends to verbally agree but the centaur chooses then to wake. He (Thomas notes he’s a boy despite the somewhat feminin features) -lifts his head with a groan and rubs at his forehead. His face is young and pale with dark bags under his eyes but he looks more like he’s in his late teens or early twenties as opposed to being a small child. Thank heaven for that. As he sits up he sways and his arm shoots out to support himself against the wall. His hand slips and he ends up slumped against the wall either unable or unwilling to move. He whimpers, he doesn’t seem to have noticed them.

Patton steps forwards, likely overcome by the need to help, and the centaurs head snaps up. His eyes go wider than Thomas has ever seen anyone's go and he stiffens immediately with a gasp.

He flies back to plaster himself against the wall as a cry tears itself free from his throat.

“Don’t hurt me!” He gasps frantically.

The others all startle at the panicked plea.

“Wha- we’re not going to hurt you.” Roman says in confusion. This gains him the young centaurs attention and the centaur looks even more horrified to see Patton isn’t alone. Hold up, did that mean he was talking to Patton? Did this guy think Patton was going to hurt him?

“Please, please don’t- don’t- oh god, please don’t hurt me.” The centaur whimpers. He struggles to his feet, legs shaking violently and Thomas isn’t sure if it's from fear or exhaustion. He really isn’t looking good. Logan quickly puts a stop to the panicked movements. Or he tries to anyway.

“Do not be alarmed. No one here intends to harm you.” He says, but even as he speaks the smaller centaur starts breathing harder.

“Just stay away- d-don’t, I’m sorry-” The centaur starts gasping for breath. He’s got his arms wrapped protectively around his chest as it heaves beneath his ratty jacket. His whole body shudders violently with every breath and Patton tries to approach him again.

“It’s alright kiddo-”

“Wait! Please! Don’t- don’t- please.” Thomas can hardly make out what the centaur is saying in between his panicked breathing and he doesn’t get the chance to because, all at once, the centaurs whole body begins to sway. He looks confused and dizzy and before anyone can react he’s crumpling to the floor.

“Oh my gosh!”

“Is he okay?!”

Patton and Roman rush to the fainted centaur’s side while Thomas and Logan stay back, stunned.

“He fainted.” Patton gasps, feeling the younger centaurs forehead when he still doesn’t move. “He has a fever, we need to get him somewhere warmer.”

“I concur.” Says Logan. “Fever or not, we definitely cannot leave him here.”

The fainted centaur groans quietly and his legs twitch. Roman wisely backs away while Patton stays stubbornly put.

“Wha-?” The centaur slurs. His head flops as he moves it in jerky motions and he blinks hard.

“You’re okay.” Patton soothes in a soft and quiet voice. “You’re just sick. We’re gonna get you to a bed so you can rest, okay?”

The boy jolts at his voice but it doesn’t seem like he’s able to pull away. He still tries.

“Ssstop.” He slurs again, voice heavy and exhausted.

Patton ignores him and turns to face Logan, Roman and Thomas.

“We’ll put him in my room. Go on ahead and pull out some extra blankets and towels.”

Thomas and Roman nod while Logan hangs back

The younger centaur stiffens and tries again to get to his feet but ends up collapsing back to the hard cement floor. Patton tries to grab his arm to support him but the centaur pulls away violently, slamming his body against the wall with a painful thud. He starts breathing hard again and Patton quickly puts his hands in the air, showing he isn’t a threat.

“It’s okay kiddo. Just take your time. When you feel ready we’ll help you get somewhere warmer okay?”

Logan is squinting suspiciously.

“I’m not sure he can understand you. He appears to be in very poor physical condition.”

Patton nods while keeping close watch over the younger centaur as he sways again. After a few minutes the Centaur seems to steady himself but Patton notes that his eyes have glazed over. It doesn’t look like he’s going to be awake much longer and Patton really doesn’t want him falling asleep out here where it’s filthy and damp.

“Don’t fall asleep yet kiddo. We got to get you to a bed, remember? Come on, let's get you to your feet.”

Logan takes a step forward to help but the boy’s breath hitches so he steps back. Patton cautiously reaches his hands out and helps support the sick centaurs weight as he struggles to his feet. As per usual, Patton is accepted as the safest and least threatening out of the five of them.

“That’s it. You’re doing good. Let’s go somewhere dry okay?”

The boy doesn’t nod but he doesn’t pull away either, which Patton takes as agreement. He leads the centaur towards his room as he clings to Patton's arms for support. Logan cautiously leads the way, ensuring Patton doesn’t walk into anything since he’s only paying partial attention to his feet. Halfway there the boy stumbles and blinks in rapid succession, eyes clearing. His eyes widen and he gives a small whimper. His eyes shoot rapidly from Logan to Patton and his pace somehow manages to become even slower. He rips his hands away from Patton.

“Kiddo?”

After a minute the boy gives a full body shudder and keeps going, head down and lips pressed tight. Logan and Patton can’t help but wonder what just went through his mind.

Even with the boy’s cooperation, it’s still a struggle to make it across the barn. They manage to get the centaur to Patton's room not a moment too soon and the centaur willingly collapses on Patton's bed. Roman hands Patton a pile of blankets and then he, Thomas and Logan hoover anxiously by.

The sick centaur blinks slowly as he stares at the blankets and pillows beneath him. He looks confused. After a moment he lifts his head and fear fills his eyes as he takes in the other occupants in the room. He shrinks into himself and tries to get further away from them.

“Please don’t hurt me.” He whispers, voice still full of fear and now a twinge of pain.

Patton notices his growing distress and banishes the others from his room immediately.

“I’ve got this.” He tells them before shutting his door in their faces.

**********************

Chapter Text

*****************************

It’s silent and Thomas finds his mind reeling with the sudden turn the night had taken.

Another few minutes of silence pass before Roman breaks the tension.

“How do you think he got here? Do you think he walked all the way from wherever he was?”

“It’s most likely, considering his condition. But if that is the case then he is almost certainly a runaway.” Logan says.

Thomas feels his stomach drop. He hadn't thought that far ahead.

“Runaway!? Why would he do that? Doesn’t he know what happens to runaways?” Hisses Roman. “Also, why would he choose now to run away? It’s like, the worst possible time! He’s more likely to drown than get anywhere. Talk about an anticlimactic escape attempt.”

That’s when Patton exits his room, paler than a ghost. “Thomas, we need to call a vet. Now.”

Thomas opens his mouth to remind Patton that the phone lines are down but an unfamiliar voice interrupts him.

“NO!”

Patton startles as the young centaur starts pushing his way past him and out of the room. “I’ll go. Don’t worry, I’m leaving. Don’t call anybody.” His voice is raspy and his arms are clutching his chest. Thomas notes that he’s shirtless now and as the centaur nervously shuffles around him Thomas feels his stomach turn. His body is covered in bruises.

The bruises cover him like colorful freckles, each a different shade, ranging from a light yellow to dark purple. Each mark varies in size, with the largest one nearly covering this shoulder. More disturbing is the size and shapes some of them have, the most notable are the bruises on his upper arms, multiple small ones are scattered there and they look like fingerprints.

Thomas doesn’t have time to process any of this when a second later the boy’s back is turned to him and Thomas feels the air being punched out of his lungs.

Angry red stripes overlay each other on his back, stretching to cover it almost entirely. The gashes are raw, flayed and most of them are bleeding, the red standing out sharply against the centaurs pale skin.

The centaur is walking as fast as his legs will take him and he’s hunched in to make himself as small as possible. Like this, he nearly makes it past them and, presumably, out the doors, using the surprise factor to his advantage.

Once the shock wears off and Logan processes that the injured centaur is trying to leave, he quickly steps in to block him.

“You can’t leave in this condition.” He states. The younger centaur snarls (hisses? It sounded like a hiss) at him and they all reel back in surprise. Roman shifts his stance to cage the centaur in, further blocking him from the door but then he catches sight of the younger centaurs back.

“HOLY FUCK WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!”

The centaur shrinks even more, frozen on the spot. He is still long enough for Patton to reach him, worry etched into his face.

“No, no kiddo. You need to lie back down. You’re sick and hurt, you shouldn’t be walking around.” He reaches a hand to gently place it on the boy's shoulder but the frightened centaur freaks out, shoving Patton away hard enough he stumbles and nearly falls.

“No!! Don’t touch me! Stop it! I’ll leave you alone, I swear, just don’t call anyone and. don’t. TOUCH. ME!!”

Patton stumbles back and Thomas’s breath catches at the outburst. The young centaurs' eyes are wild and he’s breathing hard. No one moves, unsure of what to do.

After a moment of suffocating silence the centaur seems to process what he’d just done and instead of his breathing picking up like before, this time it stops completely. No one is sure what to expect from him now and they’re all equally thrown off by his next move.

The centaur drops. Unlike during his fainting episode earlier, his legs instantly tuck themselves beneath him and he drops his torso towards the ground as well, leaving his upper body stretched out, hovering above the ground with his head hanging low. His arms come up to clasp behind his back and then he freezes. They can hear his breath stuttering but he doesn’t move a muscle.

Thomas just stares in shock. ‘What the fuck is happing?’ The centaur had just adopted the most vulnerable position possible and now he was hardly breathing. Thomas looks up to see his friends’ faces. Roman looks as baffled as Thomas feels but neither Patton nor Logan look confused. Patton only looks horrified and Logan absolutely stunned. Did they know what was going on?

After a moment Patton speaks. “K-kiddo?”

The boy doesn’t so much as blink.

“Kiddo?” Patton says louder, tilting down to try and see his face.

“You know he won’t respond, Patton.” Logan says, taking the boy's jacket from Patton and carefully draping it across his back. Sure enough the boy doesn’t react, even as the jacket settles heavily on his torn back.

Roman shakes his head, trying to clear his thoughts. “Is- is he- he can’t possibly- did he just default?” He sounds flabbergasted.

It unsettles Thomas that they’re speaking about the guy literally right in front of him.

Patton must be unsettled too because he speaks next. “We should- um, probably give him some space.” He gestures to the hall and takes a few steps back.

The two other centaurs glance down at the frozen boy and then nod. They move to follow Patton and Thomas stares at them in surprise.

“What are you guys doing? We can’t just leave him here!”

Logan leans down and sets a hand on his shoulder.

“Trust me, he isn’t going anywhere.”

Thomas is baffled enough that he follows without complaint.

“So to clarify, that is his default position?” Says Roman, still sounding confused.

“I think so.” Patton murmurs.

“What?” Thomas has absolutely no idea what they’re talking about. “What’s going on? What is he doing-” Thomas gestures to where the boy hasn’t moved. “-that for? Is he okay?”

Logan sighs and Patton twists his hands nervously. Roman looks away, staying uncharacteristically out of the conversation.

“Kiddo, he-” Patton clears his throat. “He’s waiting for his owner.”

“His owner?”

“Yes. And he isn’t going to move until his owner tells him to.”

Logan sighs. “Obviously his owner is not here so as of right now, he is, in a word, stuck. ”

“Can’t he stop? Can’t we just, you know, tell him his owner isn’t here?”

Patton sets a soft hand on Thomas’s shoulder. “Right now he isn’t going to listen to us. He’s on default Thomas.” He says this as if it explains everything. It doesn't. Thomas is just as perplexed as ever.

“What are you talking about? Can’t we just say his owner is on his way or something? Tell him we want to help until he comes?”

Roman jumps in. “Thomas, do you know what default is?”

“Uh-”

“Oh. I didn’t think of that.” Patton says before explaining. “Default is what we’re trained to do if we get lost or stolen or basically if we don’t know where our owner is.”

“He’s supposed to do that? Why the heck would he-”

“It’s mental conditioning.” Logan interrupts. “He has been conditioned to await his master's instruction and he will not move until then. All things considered I highly doubt anything anyone does to him would move him from his current position.”

“But if we explain-”

“Thomas.” Logan snaps, he sounds upset. Really upset. “He can’t think. Not like this. We triggered him and now all we can do is fulfil whatever his default requires. His seems to be quite….severe.”

Thomas looks back at the centaur, frozen on his knees and body splayed out. The exact opposite of what he’d been before, when he’d tried curling himself into a ball. Was he really stuck?

“So he’s been brainwashed?” Thomas whispers, trying to understand.

Roman and Patton make a face and are about to disagree but Logan speaks up first.

“Yes.”

Ice floods Thomas’s veins even as Patton speaks.

“Logan, don’t call it brainwashing.” He scolds. “It’s just simple rules we’re supposed to follow.”

Logan nods his head toward the kid. “Not for him.”

The four friends turn as one and look at the boy. Despite all their talking he hasn’t moved so much as an inch and the sight is more unsettling than when he’d been begging and crying.

“So what do we do?” Asks Roman. “I’ve never- I’ve never seen anyone default like that, I don’t think he even did it on purpose. It just- happened.”

“If he has been indoctrinated to an extreme extent, which all evidence currently supports, then we will be hard pressed to find a solution.” Logan musses.

“He’d probably obey Thomas though, right?” Asks Roman.

“Why do you think he’d listen to me?”

“Well, you might not be his owner but you’re still a human. Maybe it’ll be enough?”

Logan shakes his head with a sigh. “You know as well as I do that he will not obey a stranger.”

A horrible thought occurs to Patton and he tears his eyes away from the boy to Logan in fear. “You don’t think he has a- oh my gosh, do you think he has a codeword?”

“Oh shit.” Roman hisses and Thomas realizes just what that might mean. What if the boy wouldn’t respond unless he heard a particular phrase?

“Is that even a thing? Can people do that?” Thomas sputters.

Logan looks back at the boy sadly. “I don’t know. I dearly hope not.”

“Well at least we know he isn’t waiting for one specific person.” Thomas says, desperately looking for a bright side.

The three centaurs look at him in confusion.

“Well, you said he isn’t allowed to move and when he’s like this he can’t really see anything so he’s probably waiting to hear something.”

Logan looks impressed. “Good deduction Thomas.” Then he frowns. “Although that does support the theory of him waiting to hear a particular phrase.”

“So what, are we gonna just say random words and hope we get it right?” Asks Roman.

Patton lifts his head bravely, blinking away tears Thomas hadn’t even realized were there.

“He may be conditioned, or b-brainwashed, but right now he’s hurt and confused too, that’s probably why he defaulted in the first place. I don’t think he can understand a lot of what’s going on right now so if Thomas orders him to do something, there’s a chance he’ll do it just because Thomas is a human.”

Logan sighs. “It is highly unlikely but, unfortunately, that seems to be our only option.” He agrees.

Thomas nods, trying to pull his mind back on track. “Okay, so I’ll tell him- er, order him, to let us help him and we all pray it works?”

Patton and Logan share a look.

“Thomas, I know you hate to…”

“You did do it before and I know it bothered you but-”

Thomas knows where this is going and he sighs. “I have to be mean, don’t I?”

Logan nods slowly, relieved Thomas figured it out on his own. “We need to give him the impression that you either work for his owner or that you are his owner. As it is, I’m not certain he will accept you as an authority figure right now.”

“And his owner is mean?”

“Aren’t they all?” Mumbles Roman.

Why did that sort of hurt? It wasn’t as though Thomas considered himself to be their owner.

Pushing his semi petty feelings aside, Thomas straightens himself out. He shouldn’t have to go nearly as far as he did when he bought Patton. That time he was trying to relate with a narcissist. This time he just has to seem demanding and mean. Probably threatening? Yeah, the boy was terrified someone was going to hurt him and, right now, Thomas needs to use that. He doesn’t need Logan to tell him that if this doesn't work, the centaur probably isn’t going to move until they either find his owner or, more likely, the boy collapses. He needs to get this right the first time. Thomas has seen one person nearly die of pneumonia and he never wants to see that again.

‘Come on, Thomas. Put those acting classes to good use.’

Putting on his game face (which kind of sucks but whatever it’s not like the guy can see it), Thomas stomps over to the centaur. His steps nearly falter when he sees the centaur start shaking but when Patton sets a hand on his back he continues. The stomping might seem a little over the top but Thomas is trying to ensure the centaur hears him coming and that the footsteps belong to a human. The poor guy has had this whole time to stew in his head and who knows what he’s thinking by now.

Thomas plants himself directly in front of the centaur and looks down- and tries not to cry. The boy is TERRIFIED. He’d clearly heard Thomas coming and his body is shaking so hard it looks painful. The jacket laying across his back has slipped off one shoulder and his pale skin seems to cling to the bone, giving it a clear outline. When did this boy last eat? How long has it been since he was properly fed? He just looks so small.

Thomas swallows thickly. He can’t do this. He can’t make this boy think he’s going to hurt him. The guy has been through enough. Why scare him even more?

Thomas hears a horrified gasp and he sees Patton clasp his hands over his mouth, staring in horror at something on the boy's right side that Thomas can’t see from his angle. It must be bad because Patton looks at Thomas, eyes wide and gestures his hands in a ‘hurry up!’ motion.

Alright. Here goes.

“You.” Thomas snaps, voice as low as he can get it. He hopes the boy will know he’s talking to him because he has no idea what he’s supposed to call him besides ‘you’.

Thomas needn’t have worried. The centaur seems to immediately know he’s being addressed and he quakes, hands fluttering and nearly unclasping. Thomas does his best to ignore that.

“Listen up, I’m only telling you one time.” Thomas snarls, staring determinedly at a pebble on the floor and pretending that’s who he’s talking to and not the traumatized centaur before him.

“You’re gonna get up and go with this p-pony here.” Oh, gosh. Thomas hadn’t ever called Patton a pony aloud. Was that insulting? Thomas keeps his eyes down, he couldn't possibly look at his friends right now. He doesn’t know if he’ll ever be able to look them in the eyes again. He must sound so much like their old owners right now.

Everyone waits a beat to see if the boy will move. He doesn’t. It isn’t enough.

‘Okay, kick it up a notch.’ Thomas willfully shoves all his thoughts and hesitations aside. If he has to do this then, fuck it, he’s going to do it. No more half ass-ing it. He is not letting this boy collapse on his stable floors for a second time.

“DID YOU NOT FUCKING HEAR ME?!”

All four centaurs jump.

“I SAID GET TO YOUR FUCKING FEET.” Thomas snarls viciously.

There is no hesitation as the boy scrambles to stand. Patton moves to help him but Thomas throws out a hand to stop him.

It looks painful as the boy forces himself to stand and for a moment Thomas is thrown off. The guy looked young and somehow, Thomas’s mind had twisted that into him being small. He isn’t. He’s not actually much shorter than Roman is. But even though he isn’t all that much shorter, he’s still thinner, frailer and slighter. He looks frighteningly fragile.

‘No. No thinking.’

“You see that centaur?” Thomas growls, pointing to Patton. The boy blinks at him and Thomas repeats himself, voice hasher.

“Do you see him!?” Thomas takes a threatening step forward.

The boy frantically looks over and meets Patton's frightened eyes. He nods.

“You’re going to go with him, and you’re going to do what he says. You fucking got that?”

The boy nods in rapid succession but still stays put, Thomas realizes he’s waiting to be dismissed.

“Well? Go on!” Thomas yells with a wave of his arm. Patton snatches the boy's arm and hurriedly pulls him to his room. The door shuts behind them with a loud thud. It’s dead silent.

Thoughts slowly trickle back into Thomas’s mind while his brain frantically tries to block them out. He doesn’t want to think about what he just did. Slowly he looks and and sees Roman and Logan staring at him with wide, horrified eyes.

Thomas’s lower lip wobbles and his eyes blur, blocking his view of his friends. Images of Patton’s terrified expression flash through his mind and Thomas slowly sits down. Tears start to break free and he buries his head between his knees.

Awful doesn't begin to describe how horrible Thomas feels right now. How could he do that? How could he scream and curse at a sick and terrified boy? Only a monster could treat another person that way. Thomas realizes he must be a horrible person deep down.

“No you’re not, Thomas.” Roman says, dropping to the floor beside him.

Thomas didn’t realize he’d said that out loud but now that he has he can’t stop.

“I am though! I scared all of you! I terrified him Roman! I terrified Patton! I -I”

“You broke through his years of conditioning and got him to accept help.” Logan says. “It was necessary.”

“I didn’t break his conditioning, Logan! I used it against him!”

Roman hesitates. “Actually… you used it for him. I think you’re the first person to ever do that.”

Despite Logan and Roman’s soft assurances Thomas doesn’t feel better.

********************

Chapter Text

********************

Once it’s clear that Patton won’t be leaving his room anytime soon, Thomas goes back to fretting with Logan and Roman in the living room. He’s managed to push aside the worst of his self loathing for the time being and he does his best to find comfort in how neither Logan or Roman are treating him any different.

“Seriously? I thought there would be at least one missing case. I mean, we checked the whole state!” Thomas flops back in his chair in frustration. He and Logan had spent the last hour looking for a missing centaur notice online but they still haven’t found any. It doesn’t help that their internet is spotty and constantly going on and off. Damn this weather.

Logan sighs. “It is extremely rare for a centaur to run away. It is utterly pointless, where would you go? It is not as though we can hide. On top of that there are severe consequences for runaways once they are caught.”

“Worse than what's on his back?”

Logan hesitates. “I can’t say. He’ll probably be sent to a training camp, depending on how old he is. At the very least he will get a GPS implant.”

“A what?!”

Logan looks up from the computer screen. “A GPS tracker? Any centaur that runs away receives one.”

“They can do that to you!?”

“Of course they can.”

Their conversation stumbles to a halt when Patton exits his room, pale and shaky.

“Oh my gosh, Patton. Are you okay? Is he?” Thomas rushes to his side but Patton jolts away with a squeak. There is a long stretch of silence before Patton shakes his head a little and gives a shaky, guilt ridden grin.

“Sorry, I’m alright kiddo. You just- uh, startled me. I think I’m going to sit down now though.” So saying Patton collapsed onto the nearest beanbag. He drops his head into his hands before jerking them away. They have splotches of bright red on them and Patton shakily tries to stand back up.”

“At ease Padre. I’ve got you covered.” Roman says and holds out a packet of disinfectant wipes.

“I assume the blood is his?” Logan asses.

Patton nods. “Yeah. It’s mostly from this big cut he had on his flank, it looks like someone took a knife and just started-.” Patton moves one hand in a stabbing motion. Roman visibly shudders and Thomas feels his stomach give a lurch.

“Did he have any more open injuries?” Logan asks in concern.

Patton shakes his head. “Just that one and the ones on his back. They were awful, Logan! They were all over and I think they’re from-”

“A whip.” Agrees Logan. “Is he asleep?”

Patton nods but Thomas and Roman are still struck silent with horror. A whip?! Someone had whipped him?! In hindsight it should have been obvious but Thomas’s mind still can’t quite compute it. Roman looks like he can’t either.

“It is for the best that he rests but when he wakes we will have to ask who his owner is. Then once the storm is over we can return him to them.” Logan muses aloud.

“We can’t do that!” Sputters Patton. “Look at him! They hurt him!”

“How do you know it was them?” Asks Roman curiously.

“Well...I don’t. But I just have a feeling.”

Logan gives a long suffering sigh. “Patton, we have been through this. We cannot base our actions off of our feelings. He has an owner and must be returned to them.”

“We can’t give him to someone who would teach a foal to default like that.” Hisses Patton.

Thomas slides over to Roman while Patton and Logan start to hash it out.

“Why did Patton say a foal?” Thomas asks after a minute.

Roman looks down at Thomas. “Oh, a foal is what we call a young centaur.”

“No, no. I got that. But why is he calling this guy a foal? He’s not that young is he?”

“He isn’t.” Roman assures him. “Patton is talking about when he was taught to default. We’re all trained as foals.”

“So they brainwash you as ki- foals?”

Roman scratches his head. “No? It isn’t brainwashing for most of us, I didn’t even know that was a thing, to be honest. I was taught to stay put, stay quiet and ignore everybody else until my handler found me. If a Cop came then I’d be allowed to speak with them and follow them somewhere else while they called my owner. Because of that, they had me study what Police badges and official Royal handlers I.D. cards look like until now I can authenticate just about any badge ever made in under a minute.”

Thomas raises an eyebrow curiously. That sounded like a lot of effort for the extremely low chances of a centaur getting lost. Roman sees his somewhat dubious look and further explains himself.

“I was big stuff, remember? My owners were worried someone would try running off with me so they took a lot of precautions. Technically, I’m not allowed to stop defaulting unless I see a badge but obviously it’s different now that you own me, if you came then I’d just stop and go with you.”

Thomas is extremely relieved to hear that. He doesn’t have a badge of any sort and he has no idea what he would do if Roman just ignored him.

“So just to be clear, you guys aren’t all brainwashed?” Thomas says, wanting to be absolutely certain. Just the thought of his friends being brainwashed in any way is horrifying.

“Nope.” Roman says, popping the ‘p’. “It’s just tests as a foal where they purposely lose you in public and watch to see what you do. As long as you keep your head and do what they told you to do then everything’s fine. If you don't, they punish you and try again until you obey without thinking about it.”

“That’s a relief.” Thomas sighs. Not the part where people purposefully lost children in public, that was pretty fucked up. It was just nice to know his friends wouldn’t all bow down and freeze if they got too overwhelmed.

“It’s the law Patton!”

Logan’s voice breaks up Roman and Thomas’s quiet conversation.

“It’s cruel!” Is the response. Thomas isn't quite sure what they are referring to at this point but either way it looks like it’s getting out of hand.

“Woah, woah. Maybe we all should settle down.” Roman suggests.

Patton and Logan both take a deep breath and deflate.

Glancing at the clock Thomas isn’t surprised to see it’s one o’clock in the morning. He feels exhausted so it seems about right.

“We should probably go to bed.” He says. “We have a lot to figure out tomorrow and we can’t do anything right now. We might as well get some sleep.”

The three centaurs nod and Thomas starts towards the door, grabbing his jacket as he goes. Roman grabs his arm and stops him.

“Thomas, I feel like you should probably spend the night over here.” He says slowly.

“What? Why?”

Roman looks pained. “You know why.”

“Besides,” Patton pipes up. “The water outside is probably up to your knees.”

Logan nods. “It would be a good idea to stay the night.” He agrees.

Thomas is too tired to argue and doesn't really see a reason to. He decides to go along with it, although he really isn’t looking forward to sleeping on his arm chair. Maybe he could use one of the beanbags?

“Alright.” Thomas yawns. Intending to fall onto the nearest beanbag and pass out Thomas walks back to the living room.

“Where are you going?” Logan sounds flabbergasted.

“To bed.” Thomas grumbles, tired of being stopped.

“Out here? Don’t be ridiculous.” Huffs Roman. “You can crash with me.”

Thomas hesitates. He really doesn’t want to sleep in the living room since it’s the largest room and therefore the hardest to heat. The temperature had drastically dropped over the past few days and the stalls were made with this in mind and tended to stay warmer.

“Are you sure?” He asks, because he still feels the need to, even if he’s sure Roman won’t change his mind. At least he’s desperately hoping he won’t.

“Of course. We can make you up a bed and you’ll be good to go.”

“Pft. Don’t bother.” Thomas says as he grabs onto the nearest beanbag. (the bright pink one)

“Give me a blanket and I’m all set.”

And that’s the story of how Thomas spends the night curled up on the world's largest pink bean bag with a blanket and a roommate who apparently talks in his sleep. If Thomas hadn’t been so tired he’d have probably been pissed, but, frankly, the only thing keeping him up is the worry he feels for the new centaur. A horrifically abused and frightened centaur.

That and the self loathing. That plays a pretty big factor too.

It’s a long night.

******************

Chapter Text

******************

Morning comes and Thomas is instantly assaulted with memories of the previous night. He shoots up in his beanbag and struggles to escape it. The sad excuse for a mattress had adjusted to fit Thomas’s body perfectly and escaping isn’t easy. After another minute of flailing a hand grips Thomas’s arm and pulls him forcefully up. Thomas yelps as he’s flung forwards and into something solid.

“Oops, sorry.”

Thomas realizes he has his face pressed up against Roman’s stomach and he quickly pulls away, trying to rub the sleep from his eyes.

“Dude, I think you nearly dislocated my arm.” He whines, moving his shoulder about to try and loosen it.

“Sorry.” Roman repeats. “I guess you’re a little more fragile than I thought, no offense.”

Thomas takes great offence.

“Oh, good. You’re up.” Says Patton, sticking his head in the door and interrupting anything Thomas might have said in his defense. “I’ve got breakfast on the table so help yourselves.”

“Thanks Pat.” Thomas says, looking around for his clothes before realizing he’s still in the ones from yesterday and all his other clothes are back at the house.

With a shrug Thomas walks out of Roman's room and into the hall where he finds Logan reading in front of Patton’s room, positioned as though he’d been there for a while. The door is cracked open just enough for them to hear any movement inside but not enough to let in more than the smallest sliver of light.

“Whacha’ you doing Teach?” Asks Roman.

“Patton and I agreed it is best not to leave the boy alone but I don’t wish to frighten him when he awakens. This seemed to be the best option.” Logan explains.

That makes sense to Thomas so he just nods and then follows his nose to the kitchen. If he’s going to deal with a young, injured runaway this early in the morning then he’s going to do it on a full stomach. Thomas shoves a warm bagel in his mouth and sighs, he wishes he knew what to do about this whole thing. Is there some sort of procedure he’s supposed to follow? Finding out where the boy came from would probably be step one. It wasn’t like they could tell by looking at him.

‘I guess we’ll just have to wait for him to wake up and tell us.’

It’s almost as though Thomas’s thoughts summon the boy because the next thing Thomas knows there is frantic yelling coming from Patton’s room.

“Who are you?!” It’s the new centaur. Thomas swallows half a bagel unintentionally, jumps to his feet and then rushes to Patton's room where he finds his three friends gathered in the doorway. From behind them, Thomas studies the centaur, who has curled himself up in the corner of the room. For someone the size of a horse he’s surprisingly good at appearing small. Thomas thinks this is intentional, the poor guy undoubtedly feels threatened.

“How did- where am I?” He gasps. “What am I doing here?” His arms flail for a moment before wrapping tightly around his midriff. He has his hoodie wrapped tightly around himself and his knuckles are pale white with how hard he’s gripping it. To be fair, all of him is pale, his pitch black hair and coat are a sharp contrast to his ghostly white skin and give him a sickly appearance. Or maybe he is just sick?

“Uh, we were kinda hoping you could tell us that.” Roman says slowly.

The boy is silent for a moment, eyes darting suspiciously between them. After a moment he speaks.

“I- I don’t kno-” His eyes fly wide open in remembrance. “OH SHIT.” He yelps and immediately starts struggling to his feet.

Thomas jumps back at the flurry of motion. “Woah-”

At the sound of his voice the centaurs' eyes fly to him and he halts, noticing the human for the first time. He stops breathing for a moment before he starts whispering something under his breath, eyes never leaving Thomas’s face. At first Thomas can’t understand him but as the boy continuously repeats himself Thomas can begin to make out the words.

“I’m dead. Oh my god, I’m dead. I’m so fucking dead.”

Now, this isn’t Thomas’s first time hearing someone say this. Thomas has heard plenty of people say this before, in fact, he’s said it himself many times. This is different. This guy is serious. Thomas can’t tell if the boy thinks he’s already dead or that he’s going to die soon but neither is good.

The whispered mantra slowly grows in volume even as the boy shrinks back into himself. He slides back down to his knees and stares in their direction, eyes unseeing.

This time Thomas recognizes the signs of an approaching panic attack.

“Guys, stand back and give him some room.” Thomas says, taking a step back himself.

“He might make a run for it.” Argues Roman. Thomas has no idea where he got that impression.

“Dude, step back.” Thomas repeats, voice sharper. “He’s having a panic attack.”

Roman still looks confused but he shrugs and steps back. Logan steps away but Patton hovers, clearly torn. When the younger centaur digs his fingers into his hair and pulls at it with a low whine, Patton slowly lowers himself to his knees so he’s shorter than the panicked centaur. (not that he’d been much taller to begin with)

“It’s okay kiddo. You’re alright, no ones going to hurt you. Just breathe. No ones going to touch you.” Patton adds, since that seemed to be a major fear of the boy’s last night. The scattering of bruises across his pale skin makes it rather obvious why.

The centaur wheezes another breath, his whispered mantra having been cut off by his gasping. As his body begins to sway a tear makes its way down his cheek and he pulls harder on his hair. Thomas wants to help so bad it hurts but he knows, with utmost certainty, that if he moves he’ll make things worse.

“Oh my god I’m dead.” The boy whimpers again.

“No, no, no. Keep breathing okay? We won’t hurt you. You’re- You’re not dead, okay? Just focus on breathing. We’re going to back away alright?” As Patton speaks he gestures for everyone to back up further.

The three obey and soon they are backed up outside the room to the other end of the hall, still in sight but too far to be much of a threat. Even from this distance Thomas is still able to see the centaur as he struggles to regain his breath. His chest heaves as he curls up further into his body like he’s trying to hide in himself.

Patton keeps up his quiet instructions to ‘breath’ and after a few long and painful minutes the centaur starts to calm down.

“There you go kiddo, you’re doing great.” Patton praises softly.

The centaur gasps in between shaky breaths. “Don’t call anyone. Please don’t, please.”

Patton tries to calm him but the boy’s begging just picks up.

“I’ll do anything! I’ll- you can-” The next words out of his mouth shock them. “You can do whatever you want, you can hit me or kick me o-or- anything, the whip, it’s fine. I won’t- I won’t run or fight, I’ll do anything you want just please don’t call them!”

The three other centaurs look just as confused as Thomas feels. Did the centaur just tell them it was okay to hurt him? No one is sure what to say to this turn of events and the boy seems to take this as a refusal. His begging petters off and he seems to be frantically thinking, eyes full of desperation.

“I’m- I’m- oh god. D-don’t call-”

Thomas decides to put a stop to this before the centaur can have another panic attack or, heaven forbid, default again.

“We aren’t calling anyone.” Thomas states firmly.

Roman, Patton and Logan all swivel to him in surprise.

“Not right now anyway.” Thomas amends. “We just want to help you, but we need to know how you got here.”

The boy’s breathing becomes a little steadier at Thomas' assurances. He avoids eye contact before quietly speaking.

“Do you work for him?”

What is Thomas supposed to say to that?

“Work for who?” Roman asks, flabbergasted.

“I don’t work for anybody. This is my barn, we found you here last night.”

For whatever reason this seems to calm the smaller centaur down. After a moment he speaks.

“I don’t know what to tell you.”

“How about where you came from?” Says Logan.

“I don’t know.” Before anyone can argue this the boy continues. “I don’t know where I was before. I- I don’t even know what state I’m in.”

‘Ooookay. Interesting.’

“So you don’t know where you are?” Patton asks softly. The centaur shakes his head and continues to avoid eye contact.

Roman squints his eyes curiously. “How come you don’t know where you were? Didn’t anyone tell you? What kind of people own you?”

“The human kind.” Snarks the centaur before widening his eyes and clamping his mouth shut in horrified silence.

Thomas raises an eyebrow in surprise, that came out of left field.

“Are you owned by an individual or a company?” Questions Logan, trying to get back on track.

“I’m- I’m-” The centaur seems to be at a loss for words despite the fact that it’s a simple question.

Logan tries again. “Who is your owner? If we can contact your owner directly we may be able to avoid bringing in the law.” Logan tells him.

The boy is suddenly grabbing his head and squeezing his eyes shut. He looks like he’s in pain. A split second later he has them open and is looking Logan dead in the eye.

“I don’t know.” It’s such an automatic answer that it takes them all by surprise.

“Were you sold recently?” Asks Roman in confusion, because how could the guy possibly not know who owned him?

“I don’t know.” The boy repeats, tone completely neutral.

“It’s a simple question.” Logan says, growing frustrated. “There is nothing for you to gain by feigning ignorance.”

The boy must think otherwise because he only repeats himself. “I. don’t. know.”

Patton takes an educated guess at the source of the boy's stubbornness.

“Were they the ones who hurt you?”

Something indecipherable flickers in the boy's eyes but whatever it is disappears and he doubles down but this time by refusing to speak.

For some reason that seems to really get on Logan’s nerves. “Fine then. Retain your silence. It won’t matter once your mark is scanned.”

The boy looks horrified and his hand flies up to cover his left ear. Seemingly satisfied, Logan turns around and leaves the room. Thomas has no idea what his deal is but he doesn’t put much thought into it. He’s more curious about what Logan meant when he said the boys ‘mark’ would be scanned and why that made him cover his ear.

“What I think he meant to say, is that we can’t really help you if we don’t know what’s going on. If you tell us who your owners are we might not have to call the police.” Patton soothes.

“Look, I’ll just leave, okay? You-” The boy swallows hard. “You don't have to call anybody.” He slowly pulls himself to his feet when Roman stops him by leaning against the door frame.

“And why would we do that? You broke into our barn.” He reminds him. “You want us to, what, pretend we never saw you?”

The younger centaur adjusts his jacket on his shoulders, unable to hide his wince as it drags across his back. “I’ll leave.” He repeats. “You can just-” He waves a hand. “Go back to usual.”

“But-”

Like the night before the young centaur twists his way around them, startling Roman enough that he steps out of the way.

“You can’t leave.” Thomas says. The centaur freezes in his tracks. Thomas doesn’t notice and continues on. “It’s still flooded outside and you’re just going to get lost. And sick. Besides, where are you even going?”

The boy whimpers and drops his head. It occurs to Thomas that he didn’t stop entirely of his own will. He didn’t default again, did he?

Roman squints at him and tilts down to whisper in Thomas’s ear.

“He’s accepted you. ”

“What do you mean?” Thomas hisses back.

“I mean, he’ll do whatever you say. He’s treating you like you’re his owner. Just tell him to stay in Pat’s room.” Roman shrugs when Thomas looks at him in horror.

“Not forever. Just until the authorities arrive.” He says, misinterpreting Thomas’s horror. “He might run off otherwise.”

Thomas wonders if this is true. Would the boy actually obey him? He did the night before but he hadn’t exactly been thinking clearly then. Now that he knew Thomas wasn’t his owner would he still listen to him? If he did then why?

Thomas sighs and runs a hand through his hair. He turns to address the stiff centaur, still standing in place.

“Look, don’t leave okay? Just- just stick around till we can get this all sorted. If you leave then things are just going to get worse.” And Thomas is certain that is true, although he doesn’t know how.

After a moment the boy nods numbly and retreats back to Patton’s room. He doesn’t lift his head and looks utterly defeated. It’s a sad sight but somewhat relieving. What would they do if he hadn’t listened? Would they have to force him to stay? Lock him up? Thomas shudders and is relieved that that isn’t necessary. Relieved but simultaneously disturbed. This is the second time centaur had obeyed him when he clearly didn’t want to and Thomas is uneasy with that sort of power.

No one really has any more questions for the young centaur after that. Well actually, that’s not true. Thomas is nearly bursting with questions. It’s more like no one sees a point to asking any more. The young centaur is silent, nearly to the point of being unresponsive, and Thomas knows that talking to him would be pointless. Even Patton leaves, trotting off to make something the boy will hopefully eat. It’s a possibility he’ll refuse. He’s been difficult in every other way so far.

Hell, they haven’t even confirmed if he was a runaway or not.

Roman and Thomas pace restlessly in the halls. Thomas worries if he stops moving he’ll explode. His mind races in circles and he moves on autopilot. The third time Roman nearly steps on him Thomas decides there isn’t enough room for the both of them and settles with a sigh on Patton and his nearby step stool. (yes, they had their own designated ladder, it was a necessity when living with 6-8 foot tall roommates.)

“What was Logan talking about when he said we’d just scan the guy's mark?” Thomas asks, hoping he can get at least one of the questions off his mind.

“Hrm?” Roman glances up from his hooves.

Thomas clarifies. “Logan said they would scan his mark and then find his owners.”

“What about it? It’s just his mark.”

“His what?”

“You know, mark.”

“Roman, I don’t know. I wouldn't be asking if I did.” Thomas says, growing frustrated.

“Oh…. I guess that makes sense.” Roman concedes. “Our mark is the little tattoo behind our ear.” As he speaks he pulls his left ear forward and leans down to show Thomas a little barcode permanently etched there.

“You… have a tattoo?”

Roman straightens. “Well yeah, we all do. It’s the easiest way to keep track of which century is owned by which human. It’s some sort of online thing I think, we’re all put in the system when we are born and that way there aren’t any mess ups.”

“So…. they give you all a tattoo and when they scan it it tells who you are?”

“Basically. They used to tattoo numbers but it was too easy to tattoo over them so they switched to these.”

Thomas thinks this through. “So even if this guy won’t tell us who his owner is we can still call someone to find out and give him back?”

“Yep.” Roman confirms, popping the ‘P’.

‘Alright, sounds simple enough.’

It seems like all Thomas has to do is call the authorities and let them take it from here. They’ll know what to do.

Right?

And if it was his owners who beat him, it isn’t like they would let him go back to an abusive owner. They’d never do that.

Would they?

Thomas…doesn’t know.

HOLD UP. A sudden realization hits Thomas.

"Patton has a tattoo!?" He shrieks.

********************

Chapter Text

********************

Every time Thomas sees the boy quietly pass by (and he is very quiet), images of his torn back rush through his mind. It clearly bothers the young centaur as well since he does his level best to never turn his back to them. Or maybe he thinks they’ll sneak up on him? He did give them permission to beat him after all. Thomas wonders if the boy still thinks they will. The way he looks at them says he probably does.

To Thomas’s immense relief the phone lines are back up only an hour or two after the attempted (and failed) interrogation. Finally he can do something!

Thomas doesn’t call the police. Well, he originally does but he’s quickly transferred to the division that specializes in centaurs, or the 'American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Centaurs (otherwise known as the ASPCC. Thomas thinks it’s a ridiculous name but whatever.

Since it didn’t happen to be an emergency (Thomas disagrees but that’s what the secretary told him), someone had the great idea to put him on hold for TWO HOURS.

Once someone finally spoke with Thomas, they told him that a social worker of sorts would be dropping by to scan the centaurs mark within the next two to three days. Thomas internally freaks out as he wonders what he’s supposed to do with the centaur for days? Since Thomas is an anxious fool with no social skills he doesn’t voice any of his concerns and instead gives a weak-

“Are you sure no one can come sooner?”

“Sorry.” The secretary apologizes (He doesn’t sound very sorry). “None of our agents are available this week. Even if we could send someone out we won’t be able to remove the centaur for at least ten days.”

Thomas withholds a groan and nods to himself. “Okay. Just, uh, let me know when you can send somebody.”

The secretary agrees and is just about to hang up when Thomas hears someone yelling in the background.

“I’ll do it!”

He hears the secretary sigh. “What are you still doing here? This isn’t your division.” He says.

“I’m qualified.” The stranger argues.

“But-”

“I’m qualified and bored to death, Phil. I’ll handle this one.”

Thomas figures that the person is either yelling or very close to the phone because he can hear their conversation loud and clear. Then he hears shuffling and then a new voice is speaking to him.

“Are you still on??”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Oh good! Never mind waiting for a week, I can be there in a few hours. Sound good? Great! I’ll see you soon!”

The strange man has hung up before Thomas can even point out he hasn’t told them his address. Thomas blinks dumbly at his phone for a while before it begins ringing. It’s the secretary.

“Sorry about that.” He says in a gruntled voice. “Emile can be a bit much. Unfortunately, he is the only person we can send out right now, will today work for you?”

Thomas isn’t able to say ‘yes’ fast enough. He does not want to wait two to three days. What the hell is he supposed to do until then? A ‘bit much’ or no, at least someone is coming over. Thomas gives his address, thanks the secretary and then hangs up. Thomas is more than happy to hand over all responsibility to the ASPCC. This is leagues over Thomas’s head and he’s grateful someone who knows what they're doing can take control,

While Thomas waits for the eccentric social worker to arrive he fills in Roman, Patton and Logan on the situation. They debate telling the other centaur and eventually Thomas settles on telling him to stick around the living room since someone would be coming over. It’s vague but Thomas thinks the centaur will panic less than if he tells him it’s a social worker. Thomas just hopes that won’t come back to bite him. Truth is he still feels guilty for making the call in the first place when the young centaur had begged him not too. He knew he would have had to either way but Thomas has never seen someone beg so desperately and certainly not to him. Thomas pushes away the lingering guilt and focusses back on the clock. It shouldn’t be too long now.

Sure enough, fifty three minutes later, (Yes, Thomas has been counting.) a monstrous black pick up truck is pulling up beside the barn doors.

When Thomas first sees the social worker he’s taken back. With a truck that size he’d sort of expected someone- different. Instead of the burly and grizzled man with a foot long beard Thomas had envisioned, the man who exits the vehicle is just about the exact opposite. He’s slightly taller than Thomas and has frazzled brown hair. He’s got a light tan cardigan on with a pink tie underneath and a large pair of glasses perched on his nose. He looks…. childish, not to mention he’s way too perky.

Even though the guy isn’t threatening in the slightest it’s only natural that Thomas becomes a stuttering mess instantly. He’d like to blame his horrendous social skills on his two year long hermit stunt but the truth is he hadn’t been much better before.

Thankfully the man, who introduces himself as Emile Picani, isn’t put off in the slightest and smiles all throughout his introduction. His cheery disposition puts Thomas at ease and he finds himself relaxing for the first time since Roman told him there was a stranger in the barn.

Once the two humans are finished discussing what little Thomas knows about the assumed runaway, they look around for the boy and find him lurking in a corner, staring intently at Picani with distrust. Which is the same way he looks at everyone.

It’s a little odd to Thomas that, for the first time, the centaur is no longer focusing on him. Apparently, Thomas was no longer considered the most threatening in the room. In Thomas’s honest opinion that title would go to Logan, purely because of his height and natural ‘resting bitch face’. Whatever the case, the youngest centaur pays the other three centaurs no mind as he focuses on the two humans across the room.

When no one moves Picani breaks the silence. “Do you mind coming over here so I can check your mark?” He says this softly and gently but he might as well have screamed it for how the centaur reacts. He instantly gasps and starts shaking, positioning himself so that Thomas’s chair is between him and everyone else.

He doesn’t try to run though, oddly enough the boy just keeps glancing at Thomas. And Thomas has no idea why.

A memory flits through his mind. ‘I’m not even sure he’ll accept you as an authority figure-’

That’s what Patton had said back when the young centaur had defaulted. But the centaur had obeyed him back then and then later, Roman had said the young centaur would do whatever he told him to do. Did that mean he saw Thomas as some sort of authority? Was he waiting for Thomas to tell him what to do?!

Thomas notices that now everyone else is looking at him too. It seems they had all realized the same thing. ‘What even is my life? I don’t want that kind of control over somebody.’

Out loud Thomas tries to sound confident. “Go on ahead and let him check. It won’t hurt you.” He hesitates. “Right?” He directs that last part at Picani, who shakes his head.

“Not at all. This is just a scanner, see?” Picani holds up what looks like that weird thing cashiers used to scan groceries. He twists it around and pulls the trigger, letting out a red beam of light.

The boy watches all this with rapt attention, vibrating with nerves. Thomas notes that the other three centaurs are staying suspiciously quiet.

“Alright then, let's have a look at your mark shall we?” Picani tries again.

The centaur is shaking harder and looks absolutely petrified. He keeps glancing frantically between Thomas and Picani but he does move this time. He slowly approaches on unsteady legs and a moment later he’s standing before them, a panicky mess. Picani moves forwards slowly, ensuring the boy sees him coming.

“I- uh, I mean- there isn’t-” When the young centaur starts speaking Picani steps away, giving him room and allowing the boy to speak. For a moment the centaur looks like he’ll say nothing else, but as soon as Picani moves his hands to proceed the boy jerks his head back and yelps.

“I don’t have one!” He blurts.

Thomas blinks in surprise and glances at Picani but the other human doesn’t look phased.

“That’s okay, I still have to check though.” Picani says.

The boy hesitantly nods and this time moves his head lower, shakily pulling his ear forwards to give them a perfect view of pale white skin.

That….isn’t right. Roman had said all centaurs had them, hadn’t he? A quick check behind his other ear shows that the boy truly doesn’t have a mark.

When no one speaks the centaur starts shaking again. “I’m sorry! I didn’t- I- I'm sorry!”

“It’s okay.” Picani assures him. “It isn’t up to you whether or not someone gives you a mark. Like I said, I just had to check.” He’s surprisingly calm about the whole thing. Maybe this has happened before? Thomas really has no idea how this works. He’d never even heard of a mark until a few hours ago.

The centaur nods. He doesn’t look like the words comforted him much but at least he isn’t freaking out. His calm lasts right up until Picani finishes his next sentence.

“I have to ask you some questions now. It wont take very long but it’ll have to be in private.”

Thomas doesn’t like the sound of that and clearly neither does the centaur, who instantly stumbles back.

Thomas tries to intervene. “Does it have to be alone?”

Picani nods. “Sorry, it’s procedure.”

Thomas glances back at where the other three centaurs have been keeping their distance but are clearly trying to eavesdrop. He knows they’re too far to hear the conversation but it’s obvious they can tell something is wrong.

When Thomas still baulks Picani pulls him aside and speaks quietly enough they can’t be overheard by the young centaur who is still standing there, shifting and shaking in intervals.

“I know this makes you uncomfortable but trust me, it’s necessary.”

“I don’t see why.” Thomas says stubbornly.

Picani sighs. “I’ve been doing this for nearly twenty years and I can tell you with utmost certainty that he isn’t going to give me a single answer, at least not an honest one, for as long as you are in the room.”

“But why?”

“Because he doesn’t know how you’ll react. If I were to get mad, which obviously I won't, but if I did get mad about something he said, he knows that I can’t actively hurt him because I’m leaving soon. He lives with you so he’s going to closely watch what he says to seem like he’s worth keeping around.”

Thomas sighs. He isn’t sure if that’s true but he does know that twenty years is a long time to do one job. Long enough to know what will and what won’t work. Besides, this guy would never hurt him, right? Thomas seriously doubts it and, if Thomas is being honest with himself, he knows that sticking around isn’t going to make any difference. The teen isn’t going to feel comforted having Thomas there, it’s just a fact. Thomas thinks that maybe even his other centaur friends wouldn’t want him there if they were in a similar position.

“Yeah, okay. Just- try and be gentle, okay? He panics really easily and I’m pretty sure he’s sick. He fainted yesterday.”

Picani gives a comforting smile and nods. “Of course. Don’t worry, Thomas. He’ll be fine. It won’t be long and you can wait right outside the room.” The knowing look in Picani's eyes says he knew Thomas was already planning to do just that.

***********

Chapter Text

***********

Once the social worker and the young centaur are left on their own in the large and empty living area, Picani discreetly looks the centaur over. You can tell a lot by someone's appearance and posture and Picani has had lots of practice translating body language.

He can see right away that the boy isn’t nearly so timid and submissive as he seems, he’s only playing his part. That isn’t to say the centaur isn’t scared though. Fear is most certainly present but Picani sees enough stubbornness in those eyes to know that the centaur can and would push through it if he deemed it necessary.

Picani acts accordingly.

“You’re a long way from home.” He states casually.

The centaur blinks. “What?” He asks before he can stop himself, caught off guard by the simple statement. He’s probably worried Picani knows where he came from.

Picani continues as genuinely as possible. “I imagine you were walking for quite a while before you got here. I’m impressed.”

The centaur scowls instead of cowering, just as Picani predicted. For whatever reason, the centaur isn’t scared of him, just like other centaurs aren’t. It was partially because Picani is about as far from intimidating as a person can be but, truth be told, Picani's presence alone was enough to put just about anyone at ease. It was part of the reason why the man was so good at his job.

Picani continues on, taking a seat and gesturing for the centaur to do the same. “Considering you don’t have a mark, I’m going to guess you’ve never run away before, you’re not normally a trouble maker, are you?” He guesses.

The centaur is quiet for a moment but when Picani doesn’t continue he finally breaks.

“I’ve never run away before.” The centaur confirms. “I overreacted. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left.”

Picani internally relaxes, the centaur had admitted to running away, which was a good first step. Not that there were any other plausible explanations to how he got there but still, admitting the truth was key in situations like this.

“I wouldn’t call running an overreaction.” Picani counters. “I’m pretty sure most people would run away if someone hurt them.” It's not entirely true, specifically for centaurs but Picani's mainly trying to keep the conversation going.

“No.” The centaur disagrees softly. “I was disobedient. I ran from punishment and that was wrong.”

“What was your punishment?”

“Um-” The boy hesitates, clearly trying to decide how much he should tell the social worker.

Picani waits patiently. It isn’t like he doesn’t already know, Thomas Sanders had already filled him in on the multiple injuries the centaur possessed, Picani is just asking to see what answer the centaur will give him. More importantly, if he’ll continue to defend his owners.

“Physical.” The centaur finally stutters. “Physical discipline for disobedience.” He hurries on before Picani can comment. “I deserved it though! I- it was a fitting punishment and I earned it.”

“I see.” Picani says softly. To the boy's surprise and relief he doesn’t ask for specifics about the punishment nor details about what the centaur had done to deserve it. Instead he asks-

“Are you punished often?”

The centaurs' eyes widened as he debated between saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’. He’s clearly getting worked up as he frantically weighs the consequences of either answer. To say ‘Yes’ would admit to being a troublemaker, which was not a good thing for any centaur, saying ‘No’ sounded too much like a lie, which made him seem even more like a troublemaker.

He settles for neither. “Sometimes.” It’s phrased as a question and said so quietly Picani can hardly hear it.

“That’s okay, I’m not upset. Everyone gets in trouble sometimes.” Picani assures him. “Let's move on. I’m told you’re not sure who owns you or where you were. How old were you the last time you were sold?”

The boy almost looks dazed at the sudden change of direction but he doesn’t protest it. Instead he shrinks in on himself and attempts to stutter out an answer but with no success.

"Take you're time." Picani encourages.

The young centaur takes a deep, calming breath and, although it doesn't seem to make much of an impact, it does allows him to speak.

“I haven’t ever been sold. B-but we moved a lot so I don’t know where I was.”

Picani can see that the centaur is telling the truth, although he’s clearly avoiding what were probably important details. Still, it’s enough for Picani to know he’s on the right track. The centaurs owners hadn't sold him. Yet.

The centaur, however, seems to think he’s in trouble. “I’m sorry. I didn’t- if I knew where-”

Picani holds up his hands to halt the boy's stuttering.

“That’s alright. I was just curious.”

To be perfectly honest Picani isn’t looking for answers right now. He’s looking for reactions. Picani already has a good idea of how things went down and all he really needs the boy to do is confirm his theory. Picani just needs to know how far the boy is willing to go in order to defend his owners.

“You know,” He starts conversationally, breaking the boy from his thoughts. “There are laws about how people can treat their centaurs. They were made to protect centaurs just like you. Anyone who breaks these laws loses the right to own centaurs. Do you know what those laws are?”

The boy looks slightly intrigued. Probably. It’s hard to say what he’s feeling since he still looks like he’s overwhelmed with anxiety. Since he doesn’t answer Picani continues.

“Withholding food or shelter and physical abuse are the most important ones. Whipping counts as physical abuse big time.”

The boy's eyes widened. It’s unclear if this information surprises him or scares him.

“No matter what they do, they aren’t going to get you back. They broke the law and, once we catch them, they’ll most likely go to prison. I know these kinds of people, if they’ve been treating you this badly then they’re probably doing other stuff too.”

Picani waits for a reaction and he gets one, the boy immediately looks terrified.

“NO! No, they didn’t do anything wrong! I never said that! They just- they were- I was in the wrong and I needed to be punished, I should-” The centaur frantically wracked his brain for an appropriate punishment. “I should be sent to a training camp!” He blurts.

Picani freezes.

‘Oh, no.’

This was worse than Picani had thought. Much worse. He hasn’t heard a centaur say something like that in all his twenty years doing this job. No, that’s not right, he’s heard it once before. In one very, very, bad case. Quite possibly the worst case he’d ever had. The case had dragged on for over a year and the centaur who had been trapped at the center of it all had said the exact same thing. Picani hasn’t seen that sort of desperation since.

No centaur in their right mind would ever suggest training camp, they would do anything to avoid it. Picani has witnessed them go through terrible abuse in the desperate hope it will keep them out of the training camps and all with good reason.

When Picani looks the centaur in the eye he can see that the suggestion is literal and doesn't come from ignorance. The boy is trying to convince Picani that he is at fault and not his owners. That’s actually how it usual goes but not this extent, not at the risk of training camp.

“You don’t need to go to training camp and you’re not in trouble.” Picani says gently. “Whatever they did is not on you and nothing you say about them is going to get you in trouble.”

The centaur doesn’t look as though he believes that and Picani doesn’t blame him in the slightest. Courts often found centaurs guilty for their owners actions.

Far too often a crime would be committed by a centaur under the orders of their owner and centaurs always took the brunt for that. But even when that wasn’t the case and the centaur wasn’t involved in the slightest, centaurs were always dragged down with their owners.

That was mostly thanks to lawyers, who had long since learned that the more blame they could pass off on the centaur the easier the owner, their client, would get off. The most infamous example would be the Burnham case.

Picani blinks, realizing he’s been silent too long. Thankfully the young centaur doesn’t look unsettled by the silence, most likely caught up in his own thoughts as well.

“What can you see?” A muffled voice says, breaking the silence.

“What’s happening?” Whispers another, slightly higher pitched voice.

“I don’t know! They’re just sitting there.” Responds a third voice, which Picani recognizes as Mr. Sanders.

“The door is not nearly as sound proof as the three of you assume.” Gripes a fourth voice.

The fourth one is correct and Picani raises an eyebrow before glancing at the centaur beside him to see his reaction.

He looks panicked and Picani groans internally. This is why he didn’t want anyone else in the room, it was one thing for the centaur to talk to Picani but it was another thing entirely for him to speak in front of the human housing him.

Picani knows the 'peeping toms' wouldn’t have been able to hear anything he or the centaur have said but it doesn’t look like the young centaur cares. He shoots to his feet and immediately stumbles, trying to get his balance back and failing.

To Picani’s alarm he sways before the blood visibly drains from his face and then he’s collapsing like a puppet with no strings.

“Oh my gosh!”

“Is he okay?!”

The doors burst open as everyone barges through to rush to his side but the centaur regains consciousness before they can reach him. At least that’s what Picani assumes since the centaur is immediately in motion. The movements look intentional, versus spasms, and when a distressed whine escapes the young centaur it confirms that, yes, the boy is awake. He’s awake and he's curling up in an attempt to protect himself from a perceived attack.

The four eavesdroppers quickly halt their moments as they realize they’re frightening him and Picani watches sorrowfully as the boy tightens his arms around his head, anticipating a blow. Picani hates this part of his job, it hurts to see someone so frightened and know there isn’t much you can do to help.

If the boy's gut reaction to sudden movement was to assume he was being attacked and try to protective himself then there was little doubt in Picani's mind. This was bad.

But that didn’t mean Picani is powerless. Bad was Picani's expertise. Honestly, it was a good thing Picani had been the one to show up since this way he could probably weasel his way into the case, if not be put in charge of it. That is if he can convince his boss to let him off his forced vacation early. His roommate would be thrilled to get him out of the house and he'd finally be able to do some good again.

Picani looks at the young, terrified centaur and feels his determination grow.

Yep.

He is definitely getting this case.

Chapter Text

It’s been four straight minutes and the youngest centaur hasn’t moved from his position, his arms still clutched protectively over his head. The silence is stifling and everyone shifts anxiously. Thomas wonders how long it will take for the centaur to realize they aren’t going to attack him.

The answer is seven minutes total before the centaur seemingly deems it safe enough to lower his arms. His wide, skittish eyes flicker between each of the room's occupants before settling on Thomas. His body sags with fatigue and the bags under his eyes look darker and more pronounced. Everything about him screams exhaustion.

The other three centaurs pick up on this and they, along with Thomas, glance at Picani, silently asking if he has what he needs.

“Why don’t you get him to bed.” Picani suggests, answering them in his own roundabout way.

As soon as the words leave his mouth, Patton gives a sigh of relief and then the smallest centaur begins the process of coaxing the younger
one to his feet. The centaur doesn’t move a muscle, simply staring at Thomas. Thomas catches on faster this time and gives a nod of consent.

The boy takes a deep breath and sluggishly struggles to get his feet under him. Once again, Patton is giving the boy a few feet's worth of distance since, like before, his breathing picks up whenever the pony draws near. It’s sad to see him so on edge again.

It takes a moment for the young centaur to steady himself enough to get all four feet beneath him but once he does he obediently follows Patton. He doesn’t look like he has the energy to resist.

Once he and Patton have disappeared down the hall, Roman, Logan and Thomas all turn to the social worker in search of answers. The man looks deep in thought, unbothered by their intense staring.

“Has he defaulted before?” He suddenly asks.

Thomas startles. “Um, yeah. When we first met him.”

“Did you say anything or did he do it on his own?”

“On his own.”

“And you ordered him to stop?”

Thomas looks away guiltily. How did the man know? Does that mean he knew how Thomas got him to stop? How he’d yelled and cursed at the poor centaur? Does he think Thomas is abusive?”

“I- uh-” Thomas knows it’s a pathetic excuse and that he should own up to his actions but he finds he isn't strong enough to admit that just yet.

“I had to.” He mumbles.

Picani nods as though that makes perfect sense. “Thought so.”

Thomas doesn’t know if that’s a good thing or bad thing.

“That's why he’s obeying you. It’s pretty easy to trigger a centaur when they’re defaulting.” Picani says simply, as though that explains everything.

Roman and Logan nod along, seemingly understanding. Thomas, however, is freaking out. He made the boy do that? It was his fault the centaur wouldn’t do anything without his permission? Did he truly frighten him so much that he had taken away the boys' free will? What has Thomas done?! How could he!?

“Calm down, Thomas.” The social worker says softly, not missing his fellow humans' silent panic. “It’s not permanent and it won’t last long. I’d give it a week, maybe two at the most. He’s a little out of it but he’ll come back to his senses soon.” Picani gives a wry smirk. “And you’ll probably have your hands full when he does.

Thomas can’t really see the centaur intentionally giving them a hard time but he hopes Picani is right. Anything would be better than his current fear and terror. However, something Picani said sticks out to him.

“I’m sorry, did you say two weeks? I thought you were taking him?”

“Once I can get some of the paperwork sorted out we’ll come pick him up and get him out of your hair. Unfortunately he’ll have to stay here until then. We’ll reimburse you of course.” Picani adds as an afterthought.

Thomas withholds a groan. Being reimbursed in the least of his worries. No offence to the centaur but he really doesn't want to keep him here, like, at all. What is he supposed to do for him? Do with him? Thomas isn’t qualified for any of this. Thomas’s hesitation must show on his face because Picani is speaking again.

“I am sorry about that. There isn’t really anything I can do though. These sorts of things take time and, unfortunately, a lot of paperwork. I’ll be pushing to get it through as fast as possible but it still might take a while.”

Thomas nods, aware that he really doesn’t have much of a choice and will just have to deal with it. He curiously looks over to Logan and Roman. How did they feel about it? They would be the ones living with him after all.

They look-

Odd.

Thomas hadn’t noticed till now but they are each standing four or five feet behind him and look uncharacteristically- submissive? Thomas really can’t think of a better word for it besides maybe obedient. They each resembled a child who’s been told to be on their best behavior except more extreme, as though this was their natural state. Roman gives off the impression that he’s quietly waiting to be told what to do and willing to take anything anyone doles out on him. It was strange seeing the loud, boisterous centaur so subdued. Logan seems to be slightly struggling with the façade but he still looks disturbingly submissive. It’s not a good look on either of them.

Looking closer, Thomas can tell they are listening intently but despite this, neither seems intent on adding their input to the conversation. Now that Thomas thinks about it, they haven’t said anything this whole time either. What was up with them?

Thomas resolves to ask them about their strange behavior later, since asking it now, in front of the social worker, would probably end poorly, considering he was most likely the cause of said behavior. Thomas tucks away these thoughts and gets back to the matter at hand.

“Since he doesn’t have a mark can you still find his owners?” Thomas asks. He would certainly like to give those bastards a piece of his mind once they were caught. Who did they think they were, hurting someone like that?

“Unless they come to us looking for him it’s going to take quite a while before we find them.” Picani says. “And I’m sure they won’t, since it’s illegal to have an unmarked centaur.”

“How could he not have a mark?” Roman blurts, apparently baffled enough to break his silent streak.

Logan squints back and forth between the two humans, equally surprised but still determinedly quiet.

“It’s most likely his owners didn’t want to put anything permanent on him that might lower his value, people are often reluctant to mark centaurs that look like that. I think it’s safe to say they were planning to sell him for his breed.” Picani says absently, he must have seen this sort of situation before.

And for once, Picani's reasoning makes sense to Thomas. Objectively, the centaur is, for lack of a better word, beautiful. Even while terrified and bedraggled. His hair and coat were a shiny, midnight black and his pale skin offset that. He had ‘feathered feet’ where his hair grew longer around his hooves to the point that they covered them completely and they floated gracefully after him when he walked. His tail was long and glossy, despite the lack of care, and his entire body was lean and delicate. Even though the only movements he had made so far had been panicked and jerky, he still moved with undeniable grace. It’s like he couldn’t help it. He just moved so fluidly.

Overall, he'd most definitely make quite a sight once cleaned up and if someone were collecting unique looking centaurs then Thomas doesn’t doubt they would buy him based on his looks alone. But what Thomas doesn’t understand is why his owners decided to whip him. If they wouldn’t even mark him why would they whip him when it would almost definitely leave scars? Wouldn’t that lower his value too?

Thomas’s eyes blow wide. “That’s why he ran away.” He whispers.

Everyone looks at him curiously.

Realizing he’s put himself on the spot, Thomas tries to elaborate. “His owners whipped him and he’ll almost definitely have scars now. If they were keeping him to sell him to the highest bidder because of how he looks then they wouldn’t do that, right? So that means that they don’t plan to sell him anymore and-.”

“That makes him fair game for abuse.” Logan murmurs in understanding, he speaks so quietly that Thomas nearly doesn’t hear him.

It’s silent as everyone digests this but eventually Thomas snaps out of his dark thoughts and he turns to Picani. The man's face says that he had already known everything Thomas had just said but he looks impressed with his deduction all the same.

“You’re not gonna let his owners get away, right? You’ll hunt them down?”

“Of course. Not registering a centaur is a serious offence, so he’s probably part of the black market.” Picani absently adjusts his glasses. “It would explain why no one’s mentioned his mark, well, I guess I should say his ‘lack of a mark’.”

That… definitely isn’t what Thomas was expecting.

“Wait, what? Did you say the black market? Where did you get that from? You only talked to him for like, five minutes.” Roman questions, once again startled enough to speak. He glances between Thomas and Logan to confirm what he’d just heard and the larger centaur gives him a harsh jab with his elbow.

While Thomas isn’t quite sure what the whole elbow nudge was for (He assumes it was Logan's way of telling Roman to shut up), he does have to agree with Roman. It seemed a little far fetched considering all they knew was that no one had registered the centaur. How the hell did Picani jump from ‘unregistered centaur’ to ‘oh, he must be part of the black market’?

Picani nods, completely serious. He doesn’t give an explanation at all and Thomas tries to put this together. Surely he knew what he was talking about.

“So, if he’s in- er, was in the black market, then what happens to him while you guys investigate?” Thomas hesitates. “You are gonna investigate right?”

“Definitely. As for where he’ll go, it’ll all depend on who gets assigned to the case. Once the investigation starts, he’ll be considered evidence, which makes him government property. He’ll probably be put on a farm or maybe be fostered out, though I think a farm is more likely. They’ll want to keep him close to see if he knows anything or in case he tries to run again.” The older man explains.

Even though Thomas doesn’t technically need to know any of this, since he’ll have nothing to do with it once the centaur is gone, he's finding himself strangely invested in where the centaur is going to end up and what Picani just said does not ease Thomas’s concerns. He doesn’t have much faith in ‘farms’. Sure Logan and Patton seemed to think they were fine but considering Roman wouldn’t even acknowledge he’d ever even been to one, Thomas thinks that maybe some of them were pretty bad. Since the centaur wouldn't be able to be sold for his looks anymore, Thomas worries about what that means for him. When Roman lost the ability to race competitively, he’d been thrown away like garbage. What would happen to the boy?

“You make it sound like no one cares where he ends up.” Thomas says.

Picani looks sad. “Unfortunately, most people won't.”

“But he’s the victim here! There laws are there to protect him, shouldn’t they at least be concerned about him?”

Picani sighs softly. “Mr. Sanders, I’m going to level with you. All those laws were made only to get the activists to back off and help secure more votes for politicians. The truth is that people can break almost all of them so long as they say the centaur was disobedient.” The seriousness in Picani's voice tells Thomas this is true.

Thomas is horrified. He looks back at Roman and Logan for confirmation and he is further disheartened to see that they don’t look surprised in the slightest. They already knew that, didn’t they?

“Our saving grace here is that our centaur friend was never registered.” Picani says, sounding much more cheerful about it than he should.

“But that means you can’t find his owners. How does that help?” Romans asks, making Logan facepalm. He doesn’t even bother trying to silence him this time.

Picani smiles. “Because that is a law the government actually cares about. His owner might be able to wright off the beating and whipping as a reasonable punishment but there is no excuse he can make for not registering the centaur. I’ll be using that in the case”

Thomas blinks. Huh, that was an odd way of doing things. It was sad that there would most likely be no repercussions for beating the poor centaur but at least this way his owner would still be arrested. Hold up, did Picani say-

“Wait, did you just say you’ll be using it in this case? I thought you were a social worker?”

Picani scratches his head. “I am. Was. Well, technically I still am, since I still have my license, but you could say I'm a bit- overqualified.”

Thomas waits for him to elaborate. He doesn’t. This guy was low key driving Thomas insane. Couldn’t he elaborate at least a little?

“So….you’ve done stuff like this before?”

“Well I certainly don’t see unmarked centaurs often but he isn’t the first. As for him being related to the black market, it’s more common than you think. It’s rarely more than just a small side operation though, mainly people selling centaurs on the sly. They were probably going to sell him to some rich guy for his private collection and he just happened to run away first.”

Thomas tries to put his thoughts in order, shifting through the overload of information.

“So to sum everything up, no one cares that the centaur was abused and the only reason you’re going to even try to arrest his owners is because they didn’t register him?”

“Not me!” Picani sounds horrified. “Of course I care! What they did to him was inhumane and down right horrific. But it’s like I said, most people just don’t care and that limits what I can do about it. The only reason my superiors will agree to open a case at all is because the centaur wasn’t registered. I’ll be doing my best but, case or no, the centaur himself is going to be the last thing on their mind.”

Thomas scowls. How ridiculous was that? To throw away the victim in favor of catching the abuser. It sounded beyond messed up to Thomas. He’s gratified to see that the social worker felt the same.

But how was it that no one else cared? Was centaur abuse really that common that the authorities wouldn’t bother to prosecute the abusers? According to Picani, the only thing the government would care about was whether the centaur was registered or not. Did they really not care about anything else? Thomas ponders over this as he walks the social worker to the door.

“So his mark is that big a deal, huh? I didn’t even know marks were a thing till today.” Thomas admits.

Picani raises an eyebrow. “Does that mean your centaurs didn’t have theirs updated when you bought them?”

“Uh-” Thomas freezes. He didn’t think of that. Holy shit, that was bad wasn’t it.

“I’ll take that as a no.” Picani chuckles. “Well that’s technically a felony so I suggest getting them registered as yours pronto.”

A felony!?

“Absolutely!” Thomas stutters. ‘Oh my god, I am so lucky I got the chillest social worker to walk this earth.’

It seems that was all the confirmation Picani was waiting for and he whirls about, heading out the doors in a flourish.

“Oh! I nearly forgot!” Thomas calls. He could slap himself. “Does he have to stay here the whole time or can I take him to a vet?”

Picani actually does smack his forehead. “Oh course! I forgot to take the pictures!” He glances down at his watch and sighs. “Tell you what. You bring him to a vet tomorrow and I’ll have someone waiting to document it there. We’re gonna need proof of his condition and we should do it before his bruises fade.”

“Okay.” Thomas supposes it makes sense. The more evidence they got, the better.

“Does it matter who I take him to?”

Picani shakes his head. “No, if they are an official centaur vet then they’ll know the drill. Just call our office first to let us know who you’re going to see and we’ll take it from there.”

Thomas nods. It’s nice to have someone else tell him what he should do when it comes to centaurs. He’s been winging everything since the day he bought Logan and he’s starting to think the stress is going to kill him before he can even hit his fifties.

Thomas walks the social worker to his car and just as the man is about to climb in, (It’s a somewhat comical sight, he looks so out of place besides the huge truck), Picani halts and turns back to Thomas.

“You don’t really have to but if you can, try and see what you can get him to tell you. The more we know about his situation the sooner we can solve it. You don’t need to push him or anything but a simple question here or there, his age for example, would help a lot. “

Thomas hesitantly agrees. It sounded… like a horrible idea. Asking questions that morning had gotten them absolutely nowhere besides on the centaurs' bad side but maybe Picani had a point. If asking a question here and there helped the boy’s case then it’s in his best interest that they at least try.

Thomas still thinks it’s a bad idea though.

**************

Chapter Text

*********

“Woah, what are- where are you going?” Roman asks, shocked to see the new centaur outside the safety of Patton's room. It’s been a few hours since Picani had left and everyone’s been trying to give the boy some space to recover. Roman had been under the impression he was asleep.

“Uh, I’m- I was just-” The dark haired centaur stumbles over his words, terrified eyes never leaving Roman’s face.

“Were you looking for the bathroom?” Roman ventures a guess.

“Yes!” The centaur says, relief flooding his voice.

“Oh, then you’re going the wrong way. It’s down the hall and to the right.”

“O-oh okay.” The centaur shrinks into Patton's borrowed hoodie and quickly turns back the way he came.

Contrary to popular opinion, Roman isn’t entirely oblivious. The younger centaur had been acting shady and guilty and Roman is almost certain he’s up to something. Roman slips around the corner and out of sight. Sure enough five minutes later and the centaur is headed his way again.

There really isn’t any doubt in Romans mind as to where the boy intends to go this time.

“Where are you going?” Roman says, voice accusatory and firm.

The shorter centaur jumps and shoves himself against the wall, hands clamped over his mouth to stifle a shriek. Roman feels a little bad for that, he didn’t mean to scare him. Maybe he should tone it down?

“I’m not- I wasn’t going to-” The centaur’s eyes flicker frantically from Roman to the barn doors directly behind him.

“You’re trying to leave, aren’t you?” Says Roman, careful to drop some of his intensity.

The younger centaur starts breathing harder, chest rattling with every breath.

“Just let me go!”

Roman is stunned when the smaller centaur darts his way around him, he’s on the brink of tears and he jerks hard on the barn's heavy doors. Roman can’t imagine how much it must hurt to be straining his back like that and he’s alarmed the boy is even trying. The doors are horribly heavy and don’t move easily but still the boy goes on. Roman is pretty sure he isn’t thinking clearly and he can’t seem to take a full breath if his gasping is anything to go by.

“Stop! You can’t leave!” Protests Roman. He tries to pull the centaur away but he shrieks and jumps when Roman’s hand gets close to his shoulder.

“I have to! You don’t understand! I have to go before they catch me!” The centaur is full on yelling by now. “They’ll- They’ll kill me for this! I can’t- I can’t go back! I can’t.” He breaks down, sinking to all four knees. “I’d rather die out there. I’d rather die than let them- then become-” His face is in his hands and Roman can barely make out his words.

The centaur’s words break off as he begins gasping harder for breath and clutching his chest. His gasps for air simmer into whimpers of pain. Roman sees his growing distress and tries to calm him (although he has no idea how, he can't even get close). Roman never gets the chance to figure is out because before he knows it the boy’s eyes are rolling back in his head and he collapses.

“Shit!” Roman rushed forwards, worried the smaller being had hit his head but too scared to touch him for fear he'll injure the younger centaur. The ex-racer frantically digs around for his phone and calls Thomas.

“Come to the back door, quick! He’s fainted.”

*************

Thomas, Logan and Patton all arrive at the barn doors to find Roman crouching over the boy's crumpled body.

“He was trying to leave.” Explains Roman in a rush . “I tried to stop him and he started freaking out and the next thing I know he fainted!”

Patton rushes forwards but Logan nudges him aside, kneeling down, Logan grips one of the centaur’s limp arms and feels for a pulse.

“He’s alright.” Logan gets back to his feet, moving so Patton can squeeze back in. “But I find it extremely concerning that he has fainted twice in such a short amount of time.” Logan tells them.

“You think he’s sick?” Thomas asks.

“Possibly.” Logan musses.

“Guys, he feels hot. I think he has a fever.” Patton says in concern.

“Probably why he thought going outside was a good idea. The heat’s getting to his head.” Grumbles Roman.

Thomas is getting more and more worried. “He isn’t getting up, we really should get a vet now.”

“Can’t.” Roman reminds him. “It's night and the closest place it hours away. No vet is gonna be there so late.”

"Not to mention your trailer is incapable of traversing what are undoubtedly flooded roads." Logan adds.

“Yeah, but they could tell us what to do!” Protests Thomas.

“What we need to do,” Patton says sternly. “-is get this kid back to bed. If he wakes up with all of us surrounding him again he’s just going to panic.”

The silent ‘again’ is loud and clear.

Logan nods in agreement and Roman and Thomas grudgingly accepts this.

“I see your point-" Roman says. "-but just how are we going to move him? He might be smaller but he’s still heavy.”

“Weight is not the issue.” Logan assures him. “It’s a matter of how to lift him.”

Thomas agrees with Logan, he hasn’t forgotten when Logan lifted Roman up at the clinic to help get him on a stretcher. The problem here is that there is no way for Logan to fit his arms around this centaur. They need to carry him, not just lift him.

“We could roll him onto a blanket?” Suggests Roman. Patton glares at him.

“What? We could use it to drag him to your room.” Insists Roman.

“Or we could use a tarp and lift him in it, like a hammock” Thomas points out.

Logan nods. “That is a good idea.”

“Seriously?” Says Roman. “I thought you said all my ideas were bad.”

“They are. I was referring to Thomas’s.”

Roman gasps, affronted, and Thomas preens. Meanwhile Patton is getting impatient.

“Then get a tarp! Hurry before he wakes up!” Snaps Patton, he’s got the boy's head resting on his front knees and is gently smoothing his wild hair, likely unaware he’s doing so.

Following his instructions, Roman goes to fetch a heavy duty tarp and then Thomas and Logan help him lay it out. It turns out that the hardest part of the whole ordeal is rolling the centaur onto the center of the tarp. It wouldn’t be so difficult if Logan and Roman could help but their movements are limited when they have to bend so far down. Neither can reach the centaur from their height and when they get down on their knees they aren’t able to shuffle around like Thomas can.

Thomas hates that every time he leans over to reposition the boy he spots a new bruise. It isn’t like he’s looking for them or anything but when Thomas lifts a limp arm over his shoulder to try and pull him forwards the centaurs jacket slips up and he can’t help but glance down. Thomas’s breath catches. Those look like- boot prints? Dark bruises stain the skin along his ribs and, yes, now that Thomas sees them up close he can confirm that they resemble the imprint of a boot. It’s- that’s just-

Thomas shakes his head hard. ‘Focus. Right now we just need to get him to Patton’s room. We’ll deal with that later.’

Overall it takes them a good twenty minutes to get the centaur back to Patton's room. Thomas is relieved (and somewhat amazed) that the boy hadn’t woken up but it also fills him with fear. He thinks if anything would wake you up it would be four guys rolling you around on a cement floor and yet the centaur hadn’t so much as fluttered an eyelash. That’s probably not a good sign.

This more than anything convinces Thomas to get him to a doctor. Flooded roads and late hour be damned.

As the evening wears on everyone is practically vibrating with anxious nerves and they take turns checking on the young centaur. Patton hadn’t wanted to leave his side at all but, in a joint effort, they had finally convinced him it was for the best that he took a break every so often.

Even though Thomas had wanted to wait till the boy was fully lucid to tell him they were going to take him to the doctor he’s starting to think they need to just go anyway whether he was lucid in the morning or not. If it wasn’t night, Thomas probably would have right then and there but, since he can’t, Thomas settles for scheduling an appointment with the same Doctor he’d taken Patton and Logan to see. He trusts her to know what she’s doing and to treat the centaur with some level of respect. At the very least she won’t be mean.

Three hours slowly dragged by before the unconscious centaur showed signs of waking. He does so slowly and Roman (who was the current look out) hurries to inform everyone else. They watch as the young centaur opens and closes his eyes repeatedly before they manage to stay open. To everyone’s relief he doesn’t seem alarmed at their presence, simply sitting up and rubbing at his head.

“What happened?” The centaur rasps.

“You, um, fainted.” Roman says, awkwardly rubbing his neck. Thomas is pretty sure Roman feels guilty for that, since he was there and, from what he’d told them, had escalated the situation. It wasn’t entirely his fault but he was still involved. It was that or he felt bad for dragging the poor guy around the floor. Thomas sure does.

“Oh.” Mumbles the centaur, surprisingly calm. He doesn’t ask anything else, seemingly content not knowing how he got from the barn door to Patton's room. Thomas is grateful he won’t have to explain, he knows that wouldn't go over well.

After that, everyone sits in awkward silence, no one quite sure what to say.

Roman is the first one to crack, unable to bear the silence.

“Okay! I think we all got off on the wrong hoof, like, multiple times.” He says. “I think it’s about time we introduce ourselves don’t you?” He looks at Patton for backup.

Patton nods over enthusiastically. “Definitely. Let’s start over. I’m Morality.” He holds out his hand but the centaur flinches back. “Oops, sorry. I- uh-”

“It’s fine.” The boy mumbles, burying his hands in the pouch of his hoodie and looking away.

Roman jumps in before the awkward silence has time to settle again. “I’m Creativity, or you can call me Prince. Either works.”

The boy gives a tiny nod to show he understands and continues to avoid eye contact.

“You may call me Logic.” Logan says, in his usual polite and professional way.

The boy nods again and Thomas thinks it’s a little odd that he hasn't looked surprised by any of their less than common nicknames.

“And I’m Thomas.” Thomas says when Patton gives him a ‘go on’ look. He wasn't really sure if he should introduce himself at all. He knows his presence is undoubtedly the most unsettling for the centaur and he isn’t even sure if he should be there. He’d brought it up earlier, asking if he should leave, but Roman and Logan had shut him down, saying his presence was necessary to keep the boy in check.

After a moment of silence, where Logan, Patton, Roman and Thomas nearly call it quits, the boy speaks up. His voice is quiet but clear.

“I’m Anxiety.”

“Uh-” Roman blinks, Patton and Logan look confused.

“Do you mean you’re anxious or that your name is-”

“People call me Anxiety.” The boy says, a little more firmly.

“Okay.” Thomas says, hoping he sounds casual, but he can’t help but think of what an awful name it is to call somebody. Logic, Morality and Creativity were all positive descriptors but Anxiety- well, it seemed more like a jab at him than a name. But the look the young centaur is giving them practically dares them to disagree so Anxiety it is.

‘Learn his nickname. Check.’

Thomas is pretty sure this isn’t the sort of information Picani had in mind but it’s nice to know the cen- Anxiety was willing to communicate.

'He’s surprisingly chill when he’s not freaking out. Now all we have to do is not scare him. How hard can it be?’

*****************

Chapter Text

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After the awkward introductions were over everyone had sort of wandered off to bed. Patton had insisted that Anxiety stay another night in his stall and, as a result, the eldest centaur was staying with Roman.

And thank heavens for that. Thomas was not spending another night in Romans stall. Sure it was neat and clean (Roman didn’t have enough belongings for it to be cluttered anyway) but it was the sleep talking that got to Thomas. The previous night hadn’t been so bad, since Thomas had been too exhausted and upset to care, but he’s sure that won’t be the case tonight.

It’s unfortunate that he has to stay the night in the barn at all but- well, after that last escape attempt they sort of needed all hands on deck. Considering Thomas was currently the only person the cen- Anxiety was sure to listen to, it was just common sense that Thomas stuck around.

Logan ends up offering for Thomas to stay with him, although he does warn Thomas that he isn’t likely to be there for the majority of the night. According to Logan, he didn’t sleep much. Thomas isn’t sure if that’s true or if it’s because Logan doesn’t want to stay in the same room as him. That or maybe Logan was planning to keep watch on the youngest centaur? Honestly there was more than one possible reason for Logan to stay awake. Then again, Logan could just be telling the truth. Who knows.

Thomas had gratefully accepted Logan’s offer and then chose to make himself a bed from blanket and quilts as opposed to sleeping on the beanbag again. If Roman nearly dislocated his arm pulling him from his makeshift bed, who knew what would happen with Logan. That and the beanbag hurt his back. A lot.

Thomas ends up making some sort of monstrosity with the blankets that resembled a nest more than a bed and as he looked at it critically it occurred to him it wasn’t all that far off from a beanbag. Thankfully, Patton had passed by and noticed his dilemma. Turns out Patton was a pro at making beds. As in he could create one from a stacks of blankets in under a minute. Once that was settled, all the lights had been turned out and Thomas had flopped onto his stomach to try and get some sleep. Unfortunately, Thomas, who never slept well when not in his own bed, woke several times throughout the night and, true to his word, Logan wasn’t there the majority of the time. When he was there, however, Thomas was relieved to find that he didn’t sleep talk or snore.

The next morning started off surprisingly well, with Anxiety acting as Patton’s silent shadow and avoiding contact with anybody. Thomas could not have possibly been more relieved. Sure Anxiety still looked, well, anxious, but at least he wasn’t hiding or outright panicking. This new found peace lasted right up until breakfast was over and Anxiety saw Logan and Thomas hooking the trailer to the truck.

“No, no, no! Don’t, please don’t!” He gasps.

Thomas hates that they have to anyway, although, to be honest, he isn't sure what it is they’re doing that is causing Anxiety so much distress. They haven’t even mentioned a Doctor yet, maybe he was just scared to leave?

“You’re hurt man, you need to see a doctor.” Thomas tries, hoping to put him at ease. Maybe he thinks they’re going to abandon him somewhere?

“I don’t! I’m fine!” Anxiety gasps, looking disturbed at the very idea.

Patton steps in to calm the boy down. “It’s gonna be okay kiddo, I’ll come too.” He says softly.

Even though no one had actually discussed who all was going, Thomas is glad to hear Patton say that. It doesn’t seem to comfort the boy all that much though.

“I don’t need to see a doctor! I don’t! I’m fine. It’s nothing!” Anxiety pleads desperately.

“It really isn’t.” Thomas gently contradicts, he's almost surprised that Anxiety is arguing with him. Maybe Picani was right after all. “You need to get all those cuts- (it’s such a poor description of the boys mangled back but Thomas feels like maybe it’s a more sensitive term) “-checked out. What if they get infected?”

“I’ll be fine! They- they aren’t all that bad a-and I’ll-” Anxiety backs away as though afraid the others will begin to close in on him. Upon silent agreement, everyone takes a step back instead. This puts them in a somewhat awkward position, with Logan and Thomas beside the truck, Anxiety against the far wall and Patton standing between them.

Roman was, unfortunately, the worst positioned, having just walked in and completely unaware of what was happening. It put him right beside the young centaur and, once again, between him and the only escape route. Thomas waits nervously to see what Anxiety will do.

The answer is- have a nervous breakdown.

“I- I’m so sorry! I won’t- I’m sorry!” Anxiety whimpers, apparently under the impression that seeing a doctor was some form of punishment. He keeps looking back and forth between Thomas and the trailer, as though not sure which one he finds more threatening. Thomas wracks his brain for something to say that might calm Anxiety down.

“We’ll come right back.” Thomas promises, hoping Anxiety won’t take that as a bad thing. "I'll try and make it was quick as possible. You just have to see the Dr., let her do her thing and then we're out of there."

Thomas isn't 100% sure Anxiety hears him, since he has a dazed look on his face and just keeps whispering something under his breath. When something vibrates in Thomas’s pocket it nearly gives him a heart attack. When did Thomas get so jumpy? Thomas rolls his eyes at himself and reaches into his jacket for his phone. It was probably a text asking him to confirm the appointment or something. When Thomas, hand searching his jacket, takes an unconscious step forward Anxiety stumbles away with a yelp.

“No, no, no! I’ll go! I’ll go! I’m sorry! Please, don’t drug me!” Anxiety shrieks. That makes everyone freeze, Thomas’s phone slipping from his grasp. Drug him? Why on earth did he think they would drug him? Where did that even come from?

“What, like, put you to sleep?” Roman looks just as confused as the rest of them. “Why would we do that?”

“You- I-” The boy now looks just as confused as they do.

Thomas tries to understand what’s going on. “Have- have people been drugging you?”

“I-” Anxiety doesn’t look like he knows what to say.

“We do not intend to sedate you.” Logan states, taking charge when the younger centaur still doesn’t speak. “We are not even in possession of narcotics and I fail to see a need for them in this particular instance anyway.”

Patton joins in, voice choked. “Kiddo, no one is going to drug anybody, we just need you to get on the trailer. It’s only for a doctor’s visit, I promise.”

Everyone waits for the young centaur to move and, after a small eternity, he does. He skittishly shuffles his way to the truck, while giving everyone a wide berth like he expects them to shout ‘just kidding!’ and then stab him with a needle at any moment. Naturally no one does, so instead it’s just awkwardly quiet while Anxiety reluctantly climbs the ramp and onto the trailer where he shrinks in on himself and hides his face within the hood of his jacket.

After a split second of hesitation, Patton climbs in beside him, doing his best to keep as much distance between them as possible. Anxiety doesn’t acknowledge him, only shuddering silently when Patton accidentally brushes against him. With his hood up and his hands covered by his sleeves, Anxiety is engulfed almost entirely in black, no sign of his pale skin anywhere to be seen and, for some reason, it makes him look even smaller. It was ridiculous, considering he was sitting besides Patton, a pony, who was at least a foot shorter both horizontally and vertically.

Thomas is certain it was intentional. Anxiety was most likely trying to make himself a smaller target. Or maybe he was hoping to shrink into the background so that everyone forgot he was there. Considering the circumstances, that was never going to happen. Anxiety was basically the only thing anyone had been thinking about since they’d met him. All Anxiety is really doing is making himself look- well, frail was a good word for it. Anxiety might be larger than Patton was, but he was definitely thinner (unhealthily so from what Thomas remembers), although it wasn't very obvious when he was hidden by the thick material of his jacket.

Today he’s wearing his own hoodie, that is to say, the one he’d shown up in. That first night Patton had taken it to try and clean it up, since it had been covered in mud, probably a bit of Anxiety’s blood, and who knew what else. Since then Anxiety had been wearing a borrowed hoodie of Patton's. However, it didn’t seem like Anxiety had been fully aware of that. Thomas’s best guess is that Anxiety had been too stressed or maybe too sick, to realize he didn’t have his personal hoodie with him. Whatever the reason, the centaur hadn’t realized it was gone until late last night and Anxiety had worked himself into a frenzy once he realized it was missing. Thankfully Patton had understood the boy's nonsense rambling and gone to fetch his jacket before the centaur had another panic attack.

Thomas figures the jacket must have some sort of emotional attachment for Anxiety, since there was no other reason anyone would ever keep around such a ratty hoodie. The jacket was torn and poorly stitched together but that didn’t seem to matter to Anxiety. He’d calmed down quickly once his jacket had been returned and he had yet to so much as unzip it. The way he’s currently clutching it and rubbing the hem between his fingers says it’s probably a comfort item.

Well, anything that helped him stay calm was a plus in Thomas’s book.

Now that both Anxiety and Patton are on the trailer, having Logan or Roman come along is no longer an option and Thomas doubts either would be able to help anyway. Instead he asks them (out of ear shot of both Patton and Anxiety) to clean out a stall for the newest centaur, preferably the one besides Logan’s room and across from Romans. Thomas’s hope is that, being so close, the larger centaur would hear Anxiety if he tried to leave or if he needed help. If last night was an accurate example of Logan’s usual sleep pattern then he was the most likely to wake up. (or already be awake to begin with.)

Thomas has no idea if it will be necessary, considering Anxiety wouldn’t be hanging around for long and all, but at least this way Patton would get his stall back. Not that the sweet pony would ever complain. Thomas is certain that Patton would do far more than give up his stall if he even thought it would comfort someone else. Just like how he was going with Thomas back to the Dr. even though he’d been so terrified last time.

Sweet as the gesture was, Thomas can’t help but wonder if Patton's presence would even help. So far Anxiety didn’t seem frightened of Patton, and that definitely couldn't be said of the others, but that didn’t mean Anxiety felt safe around him. But maybe just the fact that Patton was a centaur would help, since at least this way Anxiety wouldn't be surrounded by only humans.

Well, at the very least, Thomas doesn’t think it will hurt to have Patton come along. Actually, Thomas wants him there. Thomas does not want to do this alone. Patton might not be able to help Anxiety but he definitely helped Thomas.

Thomas hops in his truck, takes a deep breath, and turns the key. Thomas tries to comfort himself with the same things he'd told Anxiety.

'We'll be in and out.' He promises himself.

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Chapter Text

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Thomas feels more and more like the worlds biggest asshole with every step Patton and he take towards the clinic. Poor Anxiety follows them like a man to the gallows. His head hangs low in defeat but, from under his shaggy bangs, Thomas can see a pair of wide, frightened eyes darting this way and that.

The three of them walk into the same building Thomas had taken Patton and Logan to so many months ago and as Thomas looked around it seemed to him as though it were almost yesterday. That had been the day they had first met Roman, even if the ex-racer didn’t remember it. Not that Thomas is surprised, Roman was pretty distracted at the time.

As Thomas pushes open the doors he feels a different sort of nervousness than he had felt the last time around. He knows what to expect from the doctor this time (he’d specifically asked for the same one) but he has no idea how Anxiety will react to anything. Anxiety has had a wide range of responses so far and Thomas isn’t sure if there is a pattern or reason to them or it was a random toss of the dice.

Thomas just hopes Anxiety won't try to run. One look in Anxiety’s direction tells Thomas it isn't likely, the centaur just looks resigned. He clearly is expecting the worst but ever since they had gotten him to board Thomas’s truck, Anxiety hadn’t done anything besides quietly obey. Gone was the stubborn, argumentative boy. He didn’t react to Patton’s soft assurances or Thomas’s attempted commentary and conversation starters. Anxiety just followed them, withdrawn and silent. Thomas supposes it’s better than the alternative.

As they enter the waiting room Thomas is surprised to see that it isn’t empty. He probably shouldn’t have expected it to be, considering he was in a hospital and all, but Thomas had kind of expected things to go the same way they had last time. Apparently not.

Soon as they walk through the door all eyes snap to them and, although most of the room's occupants turn back to what they had previously been doing, Thomas is dismayed when many continue to linger. On Anxiety, to be exact.

Thomas glances back, wondering what they’re all staring at, but he doesn’t see anything besides a young, anxious centaur trying to hide in his hoodie. And maybe that’s what they’re looking at, Thomas supposes. After all, not everyone has become used to this sight. It’s really sad to think that Thomas has.

Thomas can’t help but feel jittery and in an attempt not to begin pacing, he plops down on the only available seat. As luck would have it, it’s right next to two large bean bags and Thomas gestures for Patton and Anxiety to follow. Patton shakes his head when Thomas offers him a seat and instead stands nervously besides Thomas’s chair. Actually he’s partially behind it and Thomas is pretty sure he’s being used as a makeshift shield. If Thomas remembers right, Patton tended to do that a lot with Logan and since the larger centaur wasn’t here Thomas supposes he’s now the makeshift shield by default.

Thomas is happy to be anything Patton wants if it makes him feel better. Unfortunately he doesn’t think he can do the same for Anxiety. The quiet boy makes his way over and settles down beside Thomas, leaving the human shook. Anxiety is so close! While he’s still very clearly not touching him, Anxiety has positioned himself to be closer to Thomas than Thomas thinks he has willingly been to anyone up to this point. Oddly enough, Anxiety has forgone the bean bag and is settled on the ground, where he folds in on himself and stares determinedly at his hands.

“You have two very well behaved centaurs.”

Thomas jumps as the man beside him speaks. After a moment Thomas realizes the man was addressing him and he stutters.

“I- uh- I mean, yeah. Th-thanks.” Thomas groans internally. ‘Thanks? What the fuck, Thomas?’

The man hums and, to Thomas’s relief, the short lived conversation dies. As the silence stretches Thomas can feel his hackles rising. He tries clearing his throat but it doesn’t do any good because the man just won’t stop staring at Anxiety. The way the boy is avoiding eye contact and shrinking further says he knows it too.

Thomas is about to snap at the man (because what the fuck, how rude can you be?) but he’s interrupted before he can.

“I have to ask, where’d you buy him?”

Thomas hesitates. He doesn’t know how to answer that. He’s pretty sure the man is talking about Anxiety and playing dumb isn’t going to get him anywhere but what is he supposed to say? ‘I found him in my barn and now I have to keep him until the police can find his owners?’

The man takes his silence as a refusal to answer. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude.” He apologizes.

Thomas highly doubts his sincerity.

“I just couldn’t help but notice what a unique breed he is. Did you get him from a private dealer?”

Thomas has no idea what to do. He wishes Logan were here, he always seems to know what to say. Well no, that’s not quite true. He doesn't always know what to say so much as he always has something to say. Right thing or wrong thing, Thomas just wishes he could think of something.

“I uh- it’s sort of… complicated. H-how I got him, I mean.” Thomas mumbles. He really hopes the man will drop it.

The man just laughs instead and Thomas feels Patton flinch at the sound.

“Isn’t it always? I work on a farm, I do a lot of selling myself actually. I’ve seen a lot of unique centaurs come through but I’ve never seen a breed like that, I imagine he wasn’t cheap.” The man sits forwards in his chair, peering around Thomas for a better look at Anxiety. “What breed is he anyway?”

And now Thomas understands. That’s why people are staring. Thomas and his friends aren’t the only one’s who’ve never seen a centaur like Anxiety. It looks as though no one has. Thomas begins to wonder whether Anxiety is an extremely rare breed or if he’s actually a one of a kind. Maybe the doctor will know? Speaking of, why isn’t she here yet? What’s taking her so long?! Thomas can’t stand talking about people in front of them and to be talking about their breed of all things?! That was like talking about someone’s race or something, worse even! Was it? No, wait, what? Was it worse? Did it even compare? What was it again? Was it- hold up, did he- how come- what was Thomas thinking about again?

Thomas is dragged out of his bewilderment when the door opens and Dr. Sheldon pokes her head out.

“Mr. Sanders?”

Thomas breaths out in relief. He jumps to his feet, trips over his chair and nearly takes them both down but Patton snags his arm before that can happen. The chaos startles Anxiety who just barely catches the chair before it can fall on him and Thomas feels his face burn as he hears more than one person snicker. Thomas collects himself and thanks Patton before attempting to cross the room to the waiting Doctor without further making a fool of himself.

To Thomas’s surprise, Anxiety gets up right as he does and, again, stays unsettlingly close to him. Thomas knows it isn’t for the same reasons Patton is and that begs the question, why is he so close?

“Please come with me.” Dr. Sheldon says, graciously ignoring Thomas’s clumsy walk. Gosh, Thomas hopes she doesn’t think he’s drunk or something. It isn’t likely she does (or in the realm of possibility) but Thomas is feeling a little paranoid right now.

Once they reach the examination room Thomas realizes the hardest part is yet to come.

Anxiety won’t go in.

Anxiety has his head in the doorway but he stays firmly planted in the hall. When Patton notices this he quickly heads over and speaks quietly to him. Anxiety still doesn’t move. He’s eyeing all the utensils, scales and it doesn’t look like he likes what he sees.

“Kiddo, it’s okay.” Patton pleads, voice quiet enough that Thomas has to strain to hear him. “I was scared too but she isn’t going to hurt you. She’s just going to make sure you’re healthy.”

Anxiety tears his eyes away from the room to land on Patton. “I’m alive aren't I? What more do they fucking need?” He hisses back.

It takes a bit more pleading from Patton before Anxiety allows himself to be led into the room and Thomas uses that time to quietly explain as much of the situation as he can to the doctor. It’s inevitable that it will happen but Thomas still asks her to avoid directly touching him as much as possible. She simply nods and then calmly directs Anxiety to step on a pressure plate on the floor, which Thomas learns is actually just a very, very large scale. The Dr. doesn’t look very happy with whatever he rang up as but she’s good about not letting Anxiety see her facial expressions.

She then checks his height, width and length, something Thomas didn’t realize they did. Any questions she asks Anxiety are answered with clipped, one worded responses and thankfully she doesn’t push for anything more. To Thomas’s surprise she asks Patton how he’s been doing as well. It catches the smaller centaur off guard but he recovers quickly and gives a shaky but genuine smile accompanied by two thumbs up.

Dr. Sheldon performs a very basic version of the vision tests she’d put Patton and Logan through but since Anxiety seems to be able to see the charts just fine she doesn’t even bother trying to get him near the machines.

Once all the basics are covered she moves on to the more serious matters.

“Mr. Sanders says you’ve had some fainting spells recently. Can you tell me about them?”

Anxiety pales and his hands start shaking. “It was nothing.” He mumbles. “I was probably just dehydrated or something.”

Thomas hates to be that person buuuuut- “You fainted three times in under three days.”

Anxiety’s eyes widen but he says nothing more, although Thomas thinks he might have shot him a dirty look on the sly.

“Three times is a lot.” Dr. Sheldon agrees. “Do you ever get dizzy when you stand or move too fast?”

Anxiety hesitantly nods.

“I thought so. We’ll take some tests later to see if you’re anemic but I think it’s very likely you are. It would explain why you’re so pale too.”

Anxiety...relaxes?

When the doctor sees Patton and Thomas’s confused faces she explains. “Anemia is when you don’t have enough iron in your blood. It’s a pretty easy fix though.”

Thomas just nods, he’d already known that since his Mom had been anemic so that isn’t why he’s confused. It’s just- why did hearing he’s anemic make Anxiety relax? Thomas doesn’t bother to ask him since he doubts he would get any answers so instead he just stands by quietly and ponders what he's seen so far.

Something isn't right. Anxiety shouldn't be so- well, whatever this is. It doesn't make sense to Thomas that Anxiety calmed down when the Dr. suggested anemia as the cause of his symptoms. Sure, anemia was common and could often be countered by taking increasing iron intake so it wasn't like it was a scary diagnosis but something just didn't seem right to Thomas. He realizes why when he sees Anxiety deflate in relief every time the Dr. turns her back.

'That's it.' Thomas thinks. The timing was off.'

Anxiety had relaxed before he knew what anemia was. Odds are, Anxiety has never even heard of iron deficiency, so for all Anxiety knew, he could have just been diagnosed with some lethal disease. So why hadn't be been worried or curious?

Anxiety was hiding something. There was something else he was worried about other than his general fear of humans and hospitals. Something Anxiety was worried the Dr. would discover. Thomas has a feeling that, whatever it is, the Dr. had missed it.

Chapter Text

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Because Thomas can’t prove his suspicion that Anxiety is hiding something, much less say what it is, he keeps his mouth shut and stays a silent spectator. Maybe if he watches closely enough he’ll figure out what Anxiety is up to. Unlikely but who knows.

“Alright, I’m going to need you to pull your jacket to the side.” Dr. Sheldon says, turning around to face Anxiety.

The centaur jolts and pulls away as though someone had lunged for him.

“You can keep your shirt on.” Dr. Sheldon assures him. “I just need you to move your jacket out of the way so I can put this over your heart.” She holds up a stethoscope.

Everyone waits as Anxiety holds still. He seems to be debating something and his eyes have a frantic look to them.

“My heart?” He asks quietly. He seems really creeped out at the prospect.

“Yes. I’m just going to put this-'' She holds up her stethoscope again. “-on your chest and listen to your heartbeat. You can keep your shirt on.” She repeats.

The centaur still hesitates.

Thomas sees Patton open and close his mouth but it doesn’t seem as though he can bring himself to speak aloud. The way he’s shifting his weight and twisting his hands shows that he’s far more nervous than he’s been letting on and Thomas feels bad for him, wishing he could do more to help.

Finally, after a long tense pause, Anxiety nods and pulls his hoodie aside. He uncurls enough for the Dr. to gently place the stethoscope atop his chest but he’s still shaking. He has his face ducked down and Thomas can only just make out the pained expression there. He doubts it’s caused by the cold utensil.

A few seconds tick by and the Dr. frowns. She moves her stethoscope around every so often and concentrates. Meanwhile, Anxiety looks like he’s just been strapped to the electric chair and is awaiting his inevitable death. His body sags with dread instead of the stiffness of his previous fear. Thomas finds it odd because, even though this is the closest the Doctor has been to him so far, it doesn’t look like that’s what’s bothering him.

Dr. Sheldon finally pulls away. She squints at Anxiety in concern while he tries his best to look elsewhere. His breathing is speeding up.

“I’m going to listen to your other heart.” She states. It takes Thomas a moment to remember that centaurs have two hearts.

Dr. Sheldon moves around to position herself by his side and Anxiety gives a full body shudder when she places the cold utensil on his lower rib cage. He does his best to twist his upper body so he can keep her in his sights but gives a pained gasp and quickly gives up. Thomas realizes he probably just aggravated his torn back even further. That’s going to have to be addressed soon.

Thomas and Patton share a concerned look as the Dr. pulls away from Anxiety with a frown.

“Have you been experiencing chest pain?” She asks the centaur seriously.

Anxiety swallows hard. His nod is barely perceptible.

The Dr. looks concerned. “How long have you been fainting and having chest pain?”

Anxiety finally meets her eyes. “A while.” He sounds as though he’s admitting to some horrible crime even as he shrugs in an attempt to downplay it.

Patton and Thomas share an equally surprised and concerned look. The fainting spells weren't new? And what did the Dr. mean when she asked if he had chest pain?

“How long is ‘a while’? Haven't you ever been to a vet before?” Dr. Sheldon sounds troubled.

“I-” Anxiety hesitates. “I haven’t.” He states simply, ignoring the first question.

“Your owners weren’t concerned about your health?” The Doctor presses.

Anxiety simply shakes his head.

Thomas and Patton, once again, share a look and it’s clear that Patton is just as disturbed as Thomas is. On closer inspection, Thomas thinks that Dr. Sheldon might be upset too. She must have come to the conclusion that Anxiety isn’t going to share any more details though because she once again moves on. (Although Thomas sees her scribbling something down on that little chart she’s been carrying.)

“We can discuss this later, okay? I see you have a bandage on your flank.” Dr. Sheldon says, nodding towards said white patch. “May I see it?”

She’s referring to the fist sized bandage taped onto Anxiety's flank. It’s Patton’s handiwork from the first night they’d met Anxiety and, to be frank, it doesn’t look very…..professional. According to Patton, the younger centaur had allowed him to clean and bandage the wound as best he could without complaint but, after that first night, he hadn’t let anyone near it. Thomas is pretty sure he’d only let Patton touch it in the first place because Thomas had ordered Anxiety to follow and obey Patton only minutes before. Thomas wonders if the Dr. will have more success getting Anxiety to cooperate then they have.

‘It’s about time the Dr. moved on to the real reasons for the visit.’ Thomas thinks. Honestly, Thomas isn’t sure why she’s put it off this long in the first place but he’s sure she has her reasons. She was probably trying to leave all the touching for the end of the visit so they could leave immediately after.

Unfortunately, the instant the words ‘may I see it’ are out of her mouth, Anxiety is back on alert. He doesn’t miss a beat in his response.

“No.”

“Is it deep?” Dr. Sheldon presses.

Patton nods even as the Anxiety shakes his head. The doctor's face says she believes Patton versus Anxiety but she goes along with the boy anyway.

“Even if it isn’t deep I still need to take a look at it and make sure it isn’t getting infected. How long has it been since you got it?”

Anxiety seems to have realized that the conversation isn’t going to be dropped anytime soon so he begrudgingly answers.

“Four days.”

“What’s it from?”

Anxiety stutters to a halt at the question, eyes wide in terror. He doesn’t answer.

“Look Honey, we can go at your pace, but I’m going to have to check it before you leave.” Dr. Sheldon says, more gentle than Thomas has ever seen her so far.

Anxiety still shakes his head before burying it in his hands, fingers threading through his messy locks.

“I have to make sure you’re okay.” The Dr. gently urges.

“It doesn’t matter how I got it. I’m fine. It doesn’t even hurt, it’s just a stupid cut.” Anxiety mumbles, slowly lifting his head to meet her eyes.

The Dr. levels him with an unimpressed look and Anxiety glares right back. After a tense moment Patton steps up.

“Anxiety, I think you should let her look at it.” It seems to be taking everything Patton has to be speaking aloud, even if he’s barely audible but Thomas is touched all the same. Patton always surprises him with how much he cares.

And maybe Anxiety can see how difficult it is for him, or maybe he’s just getting tired of fighting, but either way he gives in. He crosses his arms to clutch at his chest and wordlessly turns so his right flank is facing the Doctor.

He flinches with every soft touch she gives and as she pulls the bandaging aside he sucks in a sharp breath, wincing with pain.

His skin beneath the patch is torn and an angry red. There are three or four deep puncture wounds and, although Thomas certainly isn’t an expert, it sure looks like stab wounds. Just a lot messier, like someone had been moving the knife around. It’s horrendously painful looking and it clearly hasn’t been healing right, if at all. It looks…..really bad.

Thomas has to question why he’s even looking in the first place. It isn’t like he needs to see it. He turns away to see Patton and it’s clear the pony is asking himself the same question.

“This is a stab wound. How did you get it?” The Dr. asks, poking and prodding at it. She seems to conclude that whatever had happened was not an accident because she continues with- “Who did this to you?”

Anxiety has his teeth clenched in pain. “I did.” The centaur says tensely.

‘What the fuck?!’ Thomas doesn’t have time to process what that would mean before Patton is debunking his story.

“You can’t reach that far.” Patton whispers, eyes watery and voice choked.

Patton is right, the wound is too far back for Anxiety to do anything more than graze it with his fingertips.

“We just want to help.” Thomas says, hoping to diffuse the building tension. “Was it your owner?” He guesses. Upon second thought that was probably not helping.

“No.” Anxiety snaps, eyebrows coming together to form a scowl.

The Dr. must prod a little too hard because Anxiety jolts. Dr. Sheldon straightens up and walks away to rummage through one of the many cabinets lining the walls.

“Well the skin is too torn for stitches so the best we can do is to keep it patched up and try to avoid infection.” She turns to Anxiety with a stern look. “You’re going to need help with that because your friend here is right. You can’t reach it on your own.”

Anxiety flushes under the attention, clearly upset at being called out on his lie. Thomas really can’t understand why he would try and take the blame for something so awful in the first place.

Dr. Sheldon sighs and Thomas can immediately tell he isn't the only one confused and frustrated. “Look, I get that this is a touchy subject but I need to know how this happened.” She says.

“No one did it, it was an accident.”

“And I suppose the whip marks on your back were an accident too?”

Anxiety pales, unaware she’d been informed of his other, more serious injuries. “It- it’s not like that. They aren’t the same- nobody- he didn’t-” Anxiety stumbles over his words before clamping his mouth and eyes tightly shut and turning away.

“Whoever did this to you was sadistic and cruel and there is no point in trying to protect your abuser. People don't 'accidently' stab other people.” Dr. Sheldon states firmly, hands on her hips.

"I wasn't stab-"

"You have four identical lacerations all in the same place, don't tell me it wasn't intentional. I know what an accident looks like when I see one that-" Dr. Sheldon's wild gesture towards Anxiety has his flinching back. "-is no accident."

Thomas tries to deescalate things. "You don't have to tell us today. Technically you don't have to tell us at all, although, sooner or later, Picani is bound to ask and you'll have to tell him."

Dr. Sheldon doesn't look happy with that and glares at Thomas. Thomas gets the feeling she doesn't usually deal with this sort of thing, if ever.

"I'm serious." He tells her. "There isn't any-"

“I told him to!” Anxiety suddenly bursts. “I told him to do it, okay?!”

Everyone is struck speechless.

"Please stop- stop arguing." Anxiety begs. For the first time it seems like he's trying to deescalate the situation. To his dismay the doctor seems to catch onto something, her face paling.

“You were taking out your tracker.” She whispers, voice stricken.

“N-no!” Anxiety gasps but the look on his face betrays him.

Patton’s hands fly over his mouth, eyes wide and horrified and it all clicks into place for Thomas. They must implant trackers into centaurs flanks, where they couldn’t reach them. This meant that when Anxiety ran away, he had gotten someone to cut it out for him. No, cut it out of him.

Whatever Anxiety had gone through had been bad enough that the centaur had willingly allowed someone to mutilate him and had gone through what must have been unimaginable pain just for a chance to escape. Desperate no longer seemed like an accurate description for Anxiety.

Anxiety’s head whips around as he takes in all their expressions of horror and shock. His breathing escalates again and he backs away as though to escape but quickly realizes there isn’t anywhere for him to go. Everyone is between him and the door, leaving him backed up against a wall. Instead of trying to push his way through, Anxiety suddenly clutches his chest and whines in pain.

The Doctor approaches in alarm and Anxiety gasps, mouth opening to speak but seemingly unable to. He throws his hand out, as if to hold her back, and nearly trips himself as he stumbles away. Thomas hesitantly steps forwards, unaware if he intends to join the Dr. or pull her away, and Anxiety simultaneously finds his voice.

“Stop! Stop-stop-stop-stop-” Anxiety begins panicking and, in his panic, begins to thrash. Patton grabs Dr. Sheldon's arms and yanks her back before Anxiety accidently kicks her. Although he's not nearly as close to Anxiety as the Dr. had been, Thomas is still forced to jump back from his flailing arms and hooves. He’s not quite quick enough. Luckily, Anxiety’s hoof only just manages to clip his leg but Thomas gives a yelp of pain all the same. That hurt.

When Anxiety hears Thomas and sees him clutching his leg, he realizes what he’s done and goes into full on hysteria. He’s desperately trying to get his legs under him but he’s shaking too much to have any success. His begging is unintelligible at this point and, based on the look in his eyes Thomas is absolutely certain Anxiety is currently reliving a vivid and traumatic flashback.

Later Thomas knows he will think of dozens of ways he could have handled the situation but, in the heat of the moment, he can’t think of a single thing to do. He tries to speak, unsure of what he will say, but he never gets the chance to be heard.

Anxiety gives a cry of anguish and falls forwards, for one horrible moment Thomas thinks he's fainted except he catches himself before his upper torso can reach the ground. His legs are tucking under his body and Thomas feels dread settle heavily in his stomach. Anxiety is defaulting again.

***********

Chapter Text

***********

Even though Anxiety has adopted the majority of his default position, there is one notable difference from the last time. Instead of folded behind his back like before, this time his arms are wrapped protectively around his head. Thomas only knows he’s defaulting and not simply cowering from the way his torso is vulnerably stretched out and the spaced out look he had glimpsed in the boys eyes.

Dr. Sheldon looks at Thomas in horrified confusion, the only sound being Anxiety’s harsh breathing and pained whimpers.

Thomas explains to her the extent of his knowledge on defaulting, which isn’t much. “It’s- um. He’s- uh, defaulting? He did this once before and they said he was trained to do it when he gets triggered? Or something?”

“I know a default when I see one and that is not it.” Dr. Sheldon says, visibly unsettled by what she sees. Thomas supposes that, in her line of work, she has witnessed many defaults from dozens of centaurs. Of course, all of them would have been intentional or at the very least, coherent. Despite the certainty of her tone, Thomas can tell that she’s not quite convinced of her own words.

“Can you get him to stop?” She finally asks.

Thomas shakes his head. He isn’t doing that again. Not ever. Besides, he doubts it would work in this situation anyway. Anxiety seems more lucid than last time. ‘On second thought, would that make him more likely or less likely to obey?’ Thomas wonders. He decides that it didn’t really matter because Thomas isn’t going to try either way.

Unfortunately that means he’s just awkwardly standing by, trying to think of other ways to help and watching as Dr. Sheldon tries to get Anxiety's attention. She calls to him, snaps her fingers, waves her and even hesitantly pokes him. Unsurprisingly, she is unsuccessful, even the poke fails to gain anything more than the slightest flinch. Growing frustrated, the Dr. puts her hands on her hips.

“Stop being difficult. I know you can hear me.” She tells Anxiety, her voice accusatory.

Thomas is about to step in and defend the centaur but it isn’t necessary. Dr. Sheldon turns away from Anxiety and walks over to a speaker on the wall and presses the little button there.

“I have a code blue in room 14.” She says into the speaker.

“Who are you calling?” Thomas asks. ‘What’s a code blue?’ He wonders.

“It’s our procedure to call for back up before giving centaurs a sedative.” Dr. Sheldon calmly explains.

“You’re going to sedate him!?” Thomas shrieks, momentarily forgetting to keep his voice down.

“No.” Gasps Anxiety. “Nonononopleasenononono-” He continues to whimper this mantra under his breath and Thomas remembers how frightened he’d been of being drugged earlier that morning. Thomas realizes that, unlike the last time Anxiety defaulted, this time he seems far more aware of what’s going on around him and that only confuses Thomas more. If Anxiety can hear and understand them, at least to some extent, then why won’t he move? He knows his owner isn’t there so what is he waiting for?

“It’s for his own good.” Dr. Sheldon tells Thomas. “All this stress isn’t good for him and I’m worried it’s putting too much pressure on his hearts, which didn’t sound good to begin with. Unless he can calm down on his own I’m going to have to take extreme measures.”

Even as she speaks the Dr. is pulling a needle kit from a drawer and ripping it open. Clearly she doesn’t have much faith in Anxiety’s ability to calm himself. Thomas isn’t sure he does either. If the centaur were having a panic or anxiety attack then Thomas knows it could easily take up to an hour for him to calm down but defaulting was unknown territory for him. Not that they had an hour to spare anyway.

Thomas still thinks sedating him is over kill but he really doesn’t know what else to suggest. Not to mention Thomas isn’t Anxiety’s owner. He’s pretty sure he doesn’t get a say in this. Thomas braces for a bunch of people to come flying in and take over the situation like some sort of swat team (like on TV) but nothing happens.

“So, is anyone coming or….?”

“It might take them a while.” Dr. Sheldon informs him. “If he calms down before then then I’ll call it off.”

Thomas feels a pang of pity for Anxiety, who will now have to wait an undetermined amount of time just to be forcibly sedated. Something he is clearly terrified of. Unfortunately (fortunately?) Anxiety seems to have zoned out again. He has stopped his whispered pleas and is staring intently at the floor in some sort of daze. Thomas doesn’t think he can hear them anymore.

It’s a little surprising to him that Patton hasn’t done anything but a glance behind him tells him why. Patton looks petrified. He’s nervously wringing his hands and nearly vibrating with nerves. Thomas feels bad for bringing him, even if the pony had been the one to insist on it. It occurs to Thomas that while Patton may be entirely at ease around Thomas that in no way carried over to other humans. It was clear that Patton still carried the traumas of his past and that Thomas was the sole exception.

It’s heartbreaking.

Dr. Sheldon breaks him from his thoughts by approaching Thomas without warning.

“While we wait, let's have a look at that leg of yours.”

The leg that Anxiety had accidently kicked, and then defaulted over, throbs in a reminder that it is still there and that, yes, it still hurts. A lot. How Thomas had forgotten about it in the first place is beyond him because, now that he has noticed it, it’s all he can think of. Thomas follows the Drs. lead and hops up on a nearby counter, considering the room doesn’t have one of those weirdly sheeted examination beds.

“Hm.” The Dr. Sheldon leans down and pokes the dark bruise on Thomas’s shin and Thomas jolts with a quiet yelp.

“It looks like you chipped it.” Dr. Sheldon states, unconcerned.

“He broke a bone?!” Patton squeaks, once again overcoming his fear with concern for others.

“Not quite. He chipped it.” Dr. Sheldon corrects before turning to address Thomas. “It’s going to be very tender for a while but it’ll heal on its own.”

Thomas wilts in relief. “Really? So I don’t have to, like, get it fixed?”

She shakes her head. “No, the broken piece will dissolve and the bone will grow back in by itself. There will be a little bump for a while but don’t worry, that’s just the chip dissolving.”

Thomas shudders at the visual his mind provides before glancing over at Patton. Hoping he won’t worry now that they know it’s not serious. Surprisingly Patton looks like he’s just solved some sort of puzzle.

“Ooooh.” He whispers under his breath. “That’s what those were.”

Thomas doesn’t have the time to linger on that chilling sentence since the Dr. keeps talking, not having heard Patton’s quiet revelation.

“You got lucky Mr. Sanders, that could have been much worse.”

Thomas nods in agreement. He knows that much. Even though receiving it had hurt more than Thomas had thought was possible, now it’s only a dull ache. The kind you get from a deep bruise.

It’s while Thomas is hopping down from the counter that two nurses come walking in the room. They don’t seem to be in any rush but their eyes scan the room with thorough caution. They skip over Patton and quickly settle on Anxiety. The halt to their movements tells Thomas they aren’t expecting what they see. Even so, neither seems to dwell on it.

“Everything ready Doc?” The larger of the two asks. He’s of considerable size and Thomas realizes that the assistants are there to restrain Anxiety if he gets violent. Unlikely but Thomas understands the logic behind it.

‘On the topic of logic, I wonder if they’ve ever had to restrain someone as large as Logan.’ Thomas wonders silently. He supposes it’s possible and finds himself grateful that this is Anxiety they’re dealing with and not Logan. Not that he thinks Logan would ever need to be sedated but- well, Thomas has seen Logan angry and it’s a frightening thought to imagine the massive centaur ever losing control.

Thomas is aware that his thoughts are straying and he’s self aware enough to know that he’s just trying to distract himself. He just really wants to tell the nurses to back away from Anxiety and insist that he doesn’t need to be sedated. He must have been terrified of it for a reason. What if they just made it worse?

Unfortunately, there is nothing Thomas can do except stand by and count his blessings that no one has asked him to help. Instead the medical staff ignore him completely and start discussing whatever it is they plan to do. Once they have their plan in place both assistants step on either side of Anxiety and reach down to pull him upright.

Even though it’s pretty clear Anxiety isn’t going to try and fight them, the two assistants each take one of his arms and hold it in a firm grip.

Anxiety snaps out of wherever his mind had zoned out to but the look in his eyes says he wishes he hadn’t.

“Oh god, no. Please no, pleasepleasepleasepleaseno-'' Anxiety is trembling so hard that the men actually have to tighten their grip on him just so he doesn’t shake from their grasp.

Neither of the medical staff acknowledges his begging and Thomas wonders if they even hear him. How could anyone ignore such pitiful begging? Maybe they had heard it before, maybe they’d been trained for this or maybe they just didn’t care.

A tiny part of Thomas wishes he didn’t care, wishes he could ignore it just as easily as the staff do. He wishes he could just stand by and not feel like his chest was slowly closing in on his heart.

If he didn’t care, maybe it would hurt less.

Alas, Thomas does care and, although he had already known as much, watching Anxiety be sedated is a horrible experience. Anxiety is fully aware of what’s going on but he doesn’t move away. It’s like he can’t. He doesn’t fight when one of the assistants grips his head to push it to the side and pulls the collar of both his shirt and jacket to the side. He merely shakes harder (which Thomas didn’t know was possible) as the nurse displays the pale skin of his neck, which seems to be Dr. Sheldon's target. Anxiety gasps and nearly pulls away as the needle pierces his skin but does nothing more. Besides continuing to beg. He’s begging a lot and his voice has become so hoarse it’s hard to understand him.

Patton and Thomas both stand by helplessly and teary eyed as they watch Anxiety slowly succumb to the drugs. Although Anxiety clearly fights it, his body begins to droop and eventually the two of the assistants are helping to lower him to the floor. Anxiety drowsily tries to fight them off, apparently less submissive when drugged, but he doesn’t manage to do more than swat weakly at their hands before his head drops to his chest and he’s out cold.

It’s disturbingly quiet now that Anxiety is out and it feels underwhelming how suddenly things had calmed down. Thomas almost thinks the silence is more disturbing than the chaos had been. Seeing Anxiety so still just didn’t seem natural.

The mood is broken by one of the assistants, now certain Anxiety won’t be waking anytime soon, begins the difficult process of removing Anxiety's jacket and shirt. It is no easy task, adjusting the centaurs limp arms and maneuvering his dead weight, but eventually Anxiety’s naked body is sprawled across the floor. He’s so still and pale that he actually looks dead. Thomas finds it beyond disturbing and glances away.

He can’t seem to look away for long and returns to being a silent spectator as Dr. Sheldon inspects the gashes all along Anxiety’s back. She’s considerably paler when she stands to fetch more bandages. Before she starts to patch anything up, Dr. Sheldon first sends one of the assistants off to fetch a camera and then the evidence taking process begins.

Thomas feels violated on Anxiety’s behalf. He knows the reasons behind it are entirely medical and legally necessary but he still finds it appalling how they are touching and taking pictures of Anxiety without the boy’s consent. Thomas has no right to judge though. Hadn’t he been manhandling Anxiety just the night before? Either way it’s still disturbing to see. It isn’t till it’s all done and over with, that it occurs to Thomas that he probably shouldn’t have been watching in the first place.

Oops, well it was too late for that. It had been one of those things where something was so horrible Thomas just couldn’t look away. Thomas still feels bad though. In an attempt to give Anxiety a little bit of his dignity back (and appease some of his own guilt), Thomas asks if they can put back on his jacket once they’re done. Unfortunately Dr. Sheldon tells him they need to let the bandages across his back fully dry without the threat of them catching on his clothes.

Once Anxiety has been properly patched up Dr. Sheldon tells them to stay there and wait out the drugs in his system while she goes back to checking other patients in a different room. Thomas and Patton can’t agree quickly enough. Finally Thomas can try and process all that had happened that day. He feels like he's been on a rollercoaster for the past five hours.

'When will the drama end?'

********************

(Never. The drama will never end. I'm sorry Thomas.)

Chapter Text

********************

Anxiety is slow to wake, nearly taking an hour to move so much as a muscle. When he does, Thomas sets down his phone and is immediately on guard. He has strict instructions to alert one of the medical staff when Anxiety wakes but he wants to give the guy a little privacy to process things first. He deserves that much.

Thomas is hopeful that Anxiety won’t try fighting them when he wakes up and remembers what happened but he keeps his distance regardless, specifically making sure he’s out of range of Anxiety’s hooves. With difficulty, Thomas is able to convince Patton to do the same, citing that the younger centaur probably wouldn’t appreciate waking to find someone so close to him. Still, Patton is hesitant to back away.

Thomas is proven right though, because the first thing Anxiety does upon waking is jolt and push himself as far away from them as possible. His movements are clumsy and sluggish and he’s clearly still suffering from the effects of the drugs, blinking repeatedly as if he’s trying not to fall asleep. After a tense moment where no one says anything and just stares at each other, Anxiety loses his fight for consciousness and passes out once more.

Patton and Thomas wait anxiously, not saying a word and unsure of what to do. It’s a relief when Anxiety wakes a second time ten minutes later. He looks a little more lucid now and his movements are slightly less labored. (Slightly.)

Anxiety looks frightened but mostly confused as his eyes flicker between Thomas and Patton.

“What happened?” He slurs.

“We- uh. I mean, you sorta panicked so we had to-” Patton is cut off by the other centaurs' gasp.

‘Looks like he remembered on his own.’ Thomas muses. He’s startled when Anxiety starts to cry, tears slipping down his cheeks. Patton glances at Thomas with an expression of horror before slowly moving forwards.

“K-kiddo, please don’t cry.” He begs. “We didn’t want you to get hurt.”

If Anxiety hears him he doesn’t acknowledge it, clutching at his bare chest and shuddering.

“Where’s my jacket?” He whimpers through his tears.

Thomas feels even worse now. He knew they should have put his jacket back on him, with or without the Doctors permission. He can only imagine how frightening it would be to wake up naked with two virtual strangers after being drugged against your will.

Patton wastes no time pulling out Anxiety’s jacket and passing it over. Once Anxiety has it he surprises them by not putting it on but instead clutching it to his chest and burying his face into it. Thomas can hear his muffled whimpers even through the clump of fabric and he runs a hand through his hair worriedly. He feels like he’s intruding on a private moment but he’d feel even worse leaving Anxiety to cry all alone in an empty room.

Once the whimpers begin to die down, Patton takes a few cautious steps closer. Moving slowly so Anxiety will hear him coming.

“Do you wanna go home now, kiddo?”

That seems to trigger something because now Anxiety is straight up bawling, gasping with the force of his sobs.

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted.” He whispers to himself.

That's- possibly the saddest thing Thomas has ever heard.

Anxiety had spoken quietly enough that Thomas knew he wasn’t supposed to hear so he tries not to visibly react. It’s a struggle not to cry at the heart wrenching words and Thomas’s eyes itch from the effort. As Anxiety continues crying it takes everything Thomas has not to join him but Thomas needs to see clearly in case something happens and he needs to call for backup. Poor, emotional Patton doesn’t stand a chance though. He cries freely into his hands and Thomas wraps an arm around his shoulders, trying to give him some support and comfort, pained that he can’t do the same for Anxiety. There was no way touch would have any sort of positive effect on the frightened centaur. Patton, however, seems to think otherwise.

“Kiddo- Anxiety, can I touch you?” Patton quietly asks, trying to keep his desperation from bleeding into his voice.

Anxiety’s head shoots up in fright.

“I mean, can I hold your hand?” Patton clarifies quickly, realizing his meaning might be misinterpreted by someone who was already terrified of touch.

The fear leaves Anxiety’s eyes and he looks from Patton’s offered hand down to his own. He looks almost as though he’s confused.

After a minute of silent debate Anxiety holds a shaky hand out. He looks away, as though he’s embarrassed, and jumps when Patton gently takes his hand but he doesn’t pull away like Thomas thought he would.

“There we go kiddo, just try and relax, okay?” Patton soothes, gently petting the slender hand. “We can take as long as you need and then when you’re ready we’ll head back to the barn.”

Anxiety squeezes his eyes shut and nods his head. He must take comfort in Patton's gentle ministrations because it only takes him around five minutes to completely calm down. Once his breathing is back to normal, Thomas goes to fetch one of the nurses. (Was that what they were called or were they considered vets too? He isn’t sure.)

Thomas manages to find a passing woman sporting a nametag and makes the (thankfully correct) assumption that she’s a part of the medical staff. She comes and checks to see if Anxiety is having any negative side effects from the sedative and, once she’s certain he isn’t, she declares him ‘fine’ and leaves the room. Thomas isn’t sure if she’s gone to fetch the Dr. or if he’s supposed to be following her so he ends up awkwardly stepping in and out of the room, torn between staying put and running to catch up.

Eventually the nurse returns with Dr. Sheldon, who seems relieved to see Anxiety once again calm- if not a little standoffish. She approaches Anxiety with a cautious air and relaxes when he doesn’t panic or lash out.

“Can you stand?” She asks the young centaur.

Anxiety quickly nods and struggles to his feet. With how much he wobbles Thomas doesn’t think he could take a single step without falling flat on his face but the centaur remains firmly on his feet, seemingly by sheer stubbornness.

Once Anxiety is a little steadier on his feet, Dr. Sheldon leads the way out the back doors and around the building, successfully avoiding any people on their way to Thomas’s truck. A glance behind him tells Thomas that he isn’t the only one who appreciates the lack of spectators. They must look quite the sight. A sad four person parade. Patton is hovering nervously behind Thomas’s left shoulder and Anxiety is shakily keeping pace on his right, careful not to fall behind but equally cautious of keeping out of touching range.

Slowly but surely, a calming and peaceful air settles over the four as they make their way towards the parking lot. Thomas feels himself unwind a little, it was hard to believe that only two hours had passed by. All that excitement and the day wasn’t even close to over! It was surreal.

They reach Thomas’s truck after a short walk and Dr. Sheldon pulls Thomas aside while Patton and Anxiety situate themselves on the trailer. Thomas is disappointingly forced to come back down to earth and away from his straying thoughts. (like, if Thomas goes back to bed when he gets home (the current plan) should he pretend to restart the day when he woke up as if nothing had ever happened or should he pretend it was tomorrow? Or maybe he should just sleep until tomorrow??)

“I have here a couple pamphlets I’d like you to read over when you get the time. Your centaur is in very poor condition and these should help you get him healthier.”

Thomas forces himself back into the moment, mentally pressing pause on his internal debate of how long to sleep once he gets back. Thomas just nods and accepts the papers. He doesn’t bother correcting her that Anxiety isn’t actually his centaur.

“The wounds on his back and flank weren’t his only problems.” Dr. Sheldon continues. “He’s underweight. Very, underweight.”

Thomas isn’t terribly surprised by the news. Having seen the centaur bare for what was now the second time had given Thomas a pretty good idea of his physical state. Thomas didn’t need Dr. Sheldon to tell him Anxiety was underweight, it showed in the stretch of his skin across his ribs. He looked frightfully frail, his naturally slender body made thinner from the lack of food, or at the very least, a lack of healthy food. Thomas is leaning towards the first option though.

“So… what’s the next step?”

“The pamphlets will tell you a proper centaurs diet and, so long as you follow it, we should be able to get his weight back up. As for everything else, we’ll have to start from scratch since he's never been to a vet before. I won’t lie, I’m concerned about his condition. He’s underweight, malnourished, and his hearts didn’t sound good.”

At the panicky look on Thomas’s face the Dr. continues.

“That isn’t to say there’s something wrong with them, it could be something minor. The important thing is that we find out sooner than later. Have his fainting spells been getting closer together?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t known him long enough to say what’s normal for him.” Thomas tells her. He ponders over what he’d seen during the past few days. “For what it’s worth, he didn’t seem surprised whenever we told him he fainted so maybe it’s normal for him? He only fainted when he got too worked up though.”

Dr. Sheldon nods thoughtfully. “Hopefully, as things settle down his fainting spells will decrease. If they don’t or he gets worse, I want you to call me. Otherwise I recommend we set an appointment for two or three weeks from now.”

Thomas is relieved. Good. He won’t have Anxiety by that time so he won't have to go through this horrible experience again. Absolutely no offense to Anxiety, but it had been a traumatic experience and Thomas wants nothing to do with any of it. Maybe Picani would take Anxiety the next time. The weird but nice guy would probably have an easier time controlling Anxiety anyway, what with that calming aura of his. He’d be more successful than Thomas at any rate. Besides, now that Anxiety knew no one would hurt him, maybe it would be easier the second time around.

‘As if. We pinned him down, drugged him and then took a fuck ton of pictures of his body without his consent. I doubt he’ll go half as quietly next time.’

But again, not Thomas’s problem. In fact, Thomas is going to call Picani up as soon as he gets the chance and ask him when he can take Anxiety. Thomas isn't the right person for this.

*************

Chapter Text

*************

They arrive at the barn without so much as a peep from either Anxiety or Patton. Thomas is the only one to make a sound and even then all he had said was ‘You guys all set?’. He’d waited till he two nods, started up his truck and drove them all home.

It’s still awkwardly quiet as Thomas parks the truck and lets down the ramp, not making eye contact with either centaur. His current plan is to get both centaurs situated in the barn and then sneak off to spend some alone time in his house to either forget the whole day or go over every second of it in vivid detail. He’s already begun the involuntary process of reliving the past two hours when a loud voice breaks his train of thought.

“Welcome back!” Thomas hadn’t even noticed Roman walking over but he’s happy for the distraction. He gives a grin, feeling himself relax.

“Hey.”

“Sooooooo…” Roman squints his eyes at them in an attempt to read their moods. “How did it go?”

Patton quickly mimes zipping his mouth while Thomas waves his arms wildly from behind Anxiety, gesturing for Roman to keep quiet. Funny how the second they needed it, they all forgot sign language.

The good news was that Roman understood the language of flailing and jumping around like a maniac and the ex-racer clamps his mouth shut. He moves to the side, giving Anxiety more room to pass him even as his eyes burn with curiosity.

Before Anxiety can leave the room- (where he was headed Thomas has no idea) -Roman gestures for him to wait.

“Logan and I got you set up in the stall beside Logan, it’s the one across from mine.” Roman helpfully instructs.

Anxiety hesitates but then nods, he turns to Thomas.

“Do you want me for anything?” He mumbles.

Thomas has no idea if he’s talking about right this second or just in general so he goes with the first option.

“You’re good. Go ahead and check out your roo- stall if you want. We’ll come get you if we need anything.”

Anxiety nods and makes a quick escape. Thomas has the renewed urge to make his own escape but he pauses when he sees Romans curious gaze. Thomas sighs.

“They had to sedate him.” Thomas explains. “He freaked out and defaulted again. In short, things went terribly.”

Roman looks concerned. “He defaulted again?”

Patton nods. He still hasn’t broken his silent streak and Thomas wonders if it’s because he can’t or if he just doesn’t have anything to say. Thomas hopes it’s the latter, seeing Patton so quiet and reserved was a sad and unnerving sight.

Before Thomas can decide if it’s worth mentioning (He’s leaning towards no) -a sudden thought occurs to him.

“Hold up- did you say Logan’s name in front of Anxiety?” Thomas asks. And here he thought he’d be the first one to make that mistake.

Roman shrugs. “Well yeah, since this is our home and he isn’t staying for long it’s fine. So long as he doesn’t use our names without permission then it doesn’t matter.”

“And if he does?”

“If he has any sort of manners then he won't. Everybody knows better than to do that.” Roman says confidently, he doesn’t seem worried about it so Thomas takes his word for it. If his friends weren’t concerned then why should he be? Besides, this way Thomas didn’t have to worry about slipping up.

With one less thing to worry about, Thomas elects to get the fuck out and go back to bed. He’s always had a tendency to stress nap and he is long overdue. Thomas excuses himself and makes the trek back to his house. He’ll let Patton decide if he wants to tell Roman and Logan about Anxiety’s tracker implant or not. Thomas knows he’s going to have to tell Picani and he’d rather not have that conversation twice.

*********

After waking up from his impromptu three hour nap, Thomas decides to ‘man up’ (as his Uncle would call it) and he calls Picani. Maybe he could take Anxiety soon? At the very least he could tell Thomas what to do. The man isn’t nearly as helpful as Thomas had hoped.

“The Doctor was worried about his hearts huh?” Picani muses, overlooking how Anxiety had had his tracker forcibly removed.

Thomas just rolls with it. “Yeah, she said she didn’t like the sound of them and she wants him to go back for more testing.”

“That's good.” Picani mumbles.

“What!?”

“No, no! I didn’t mean it like that!” Picani hurriedly assures him. “I meant that I can use this to keep him out of training camp for a little longer, hopefully long enough for me to keep him out for good. On the flip side, it’s going to be harder to home him than I thought.”

Thomas withholds a groan. That is not what he wanted to hear. It is the last thing he wanted to hear.

“I really am sorry you're having to put up with this Mr. Sanders.” Picani apologizes, although he doesn’t sound nearly as sincere as Thomas thinks he should. “I’d take him in myself if I legally could.”

“Yeah, okay.” Thomas says, trying not to sound upset. He isn’t sure why Picani can’t legally take in Anxiety but he supposes the man knows best. It sounded like Anxiety was going to be in a legal mess and Thomas had enough of that just trying to get Roman.

“Oh! I did schedule somebody to come around and make sure your centaurs marks are updated and signed in your name. Does tomorrow work for you?”

“Oh, yeah- uh, tomorrow works great.” Thomas tries not to sound like he had forgotten all about updating his friends' marks. He isn’t sure he succeeds considering Picani chuckles in amusement.

“Alright then. He should be over around noon.” Picani says.

“ARE YOU TAKING A WORK CALL?!”

Thomas startles when he hears yelling on the other end of the phone.

“Shit.” Picani mumble frantically, he sounds guilty, as though he’s been caught with his hand in a cookie jar.

“Uh, is everything okay?” Thomas feels the need to ask. “Is this a bad time to call?”

Picani sighs. “It’s nothing, just my roommate.”

“Just your roommate.” Huffs the other voice sarcastically. “Gurl, I’m the only reason you haven’t worked yourself to death.”

“Remy-”

“Nuh-uh, don’t you ‘Remy’ me. You know the rules, Emile. Off.”

Picani sighs again but he doesn’t argue. “Sorry, I have to go. Did you need anything else?”

“No.” Thomas says. In truth, he does have a few more questions but he feels like he shouldn’t be interfering with whatever ‘rules’ Remy was referring to. Thomas almost feels guilty leaving Picani to the wrath of his roommate but Thomas has enough problems of his own as it is. Picani is officially on his own.

***********

As Picani had said, a government official shows up the next day armed with a computer and one of those weird scanners Picani had had. Since the man didn’t have any business with Anxiety, considering there was nothing to scan, the young centaur had elected to stay in his room, thus avoiding the stranger while also giving Thomas one less thing to worry about. Thomas was worried Anxiety would have another meltdown, especially after the day he’d had yesterday, so letting the centaur hide away seemed like the best course of action.

The man, who introduces himself as Martin Peterson, sets up his computer and an unholy amount of cords while Thomas stands besides him, wondering why his friends are standing all the way across the room.

“First?” Martin calls to them and Roman comes trotting over quickly, as though he’s done this a million times.

Roman doesn’t hesitate to lean down but he does give the handheld scanner a long suspicious look. Suspicious look aside, Roman doesn’t fuss.

“Tag?”

For a moment Thomas thinks Martin was speaking to him but before he can say that he has no idea what a ‘tag’ is, Roman is speaking.

“2398753893”

Martin nods as though Roman has answered correctly and taps once on his computer.

“When was the last time your mark was updated?”

Roman thinks for a moment. “A few days before I was sold to Thomas, so a few months ago?”

Martin hums and then waves Roman away. “Send over the pony.” He says.

Roman nods obediently and hurries off.

Martin turns to address Thomas. “This one was already updated so he’s all set. I’ve got all his records here and I’ll email them to you when we’re done here. I’ll send the other two to you as well.”

“Sounds good.” Thomas says right as Patton trots over.

He looks a little nervous but, over all, doesn’t seem very frightened. Since he is shorter, Patton doesn't have to lean down and instead just turns his head when told. He gives a quiet squeak when Martin’s fingers make contact with his ear and Thomas startles in alarm.

‘His fingers are cold.’ Patton signs sheepishly.

Thomas relaxes. So far so good. If they could get through this with the worst thing being cold fingers that would be fantastic.

“Tag?”

“2847502890” Patton rattles off. It’s surprising for two reasons. First, because Patton had a horrible memory, he still couldn’t remember Thomas’s phone number and he’d known it for months. The second reason was because Patton had spoken aloud. Thomas can only assume his response was so ingrained into him that he’d spoken automatically. Patton seemed a little startled with his fast response himself and he began to tremble.

“Do you know the last time your mark was updated?” Martin asks him, frowning at his computer screen.

Patton shakes his head.

“Who was your last owner?”

Patton opens and closes his mouth but doesn’t answer. He clenches his fists and tries again but he just can’t seem to speak, his fear is simply too great. When Martin looks up and sees this he rephrases his question, which Thomas is truly grateful for.

“Was it Adam Miller?”

Patton nods in relief.

“Your past owners have been Bernice Anderson , Clint Campbell, Alice Garcia, Even Harris, and Adam Miller. Is that right?”

Patton pales but nods.

“Are we missing anyone?”

Patton shakes his head.

“Alright, you’re good to go.”

Once Patton has scurried away Martin starts clacking away on his keyboard.

“I’m updating his profile to say he’s yours since it hasn’t been updated for a while. It’s funny, he’s got one of the longest lists of owners I’ve ever seen for someone his age.” Martin remarks casually. “Doesn’t say here why but it might be in his files if you want to look through them later. If you find anything concerning just message Picani.”

Thomas nods. He isn’t one hundred percent sure what ‘files’ Martin is talking about but his guess is it’s all the information Patton’s past owners have gathered about him throughout his life. Thomas wonders if they will be detailed or if it’s just a list of his past owners with maybe a few medical files thrown in.

He might have asked but Logan walks up right then. Although this situation wasn’t nearly so serious as the one’s before Thomas still has to wonder why Logan has such terrible timing. It wasn’t like it was the poor guy's fault, he wasn’t doing it intentionally. It just seemed to happen a lot, like some sort of bad karma.

Logan reaches the two humans quickly, awkwardly fiddling with his shirt. Thomas is confused to see that, while neither Patton or Roman seemed to mind having their marks scanned, Logan looked shifty. When he was instructed to lean down so his mark would be within reach, Thomas thinks he is actually shaking. He had definitely hesitated before quickly leaving down to obey.

Maybe it had something to do with the additional tattoos directly below his barcode. Thomas sees that there are two very noticeable black dots that trailed beneath his mark in the direction of his neck. Martin doesn’t seem terribly surprised to see them but Thomas can see the way he tenses up. Logan similarly stiffens but neither says anything.

Thomas wracks his brain but he’s pretty sure no one had ever mentioned anything about having additional marks. As far as Thomas knew they only had the one and yet Logan was sporting three. Thomas is certain it isn’t normal, considering Patton and Roman hadn’t had any.

“Tag?” Martin asks. He sounds a little more firm than he had been with Patton and Roman.

“3336894395” Logan says. He seemed oddly submissive.

Martin nods and types away before lifting an eyebrow in surprise. He studies Logan for a moment before turning back to his screen and then waving Logan away.

Logan very nearly runs, his long legs making him all the quicker.

It’s silent for a moment with the only sound being the clacking of a keyboard. The silence is broken when Martin turns to face Thomas.

“You keep your taser with you, right?”

Thomas blinks in surprise. “My what?”

Martin looks to the ceiling as though looking for guidance. “Picani was right.” He mumbles, barely audible. “You need to get one.” He says louder.

“Why?”

Martin levels him with an incredulous look.

“I don’t need one.” Thomas insists.

“All centaur owners are legally required to have one.” Martin says. “You’ve got four centaurs and one of them has two strikes. You need to get yourself a centaur taser pronto.”

First off, Thomas had three centaurs and he did not nor did he intend to own another. Secondly, what did Martin mean when he said one of them had two ‘strikes’? What was a strike? Was that what those extra marks on Logan were? Were they a bad thing? If Martin's tone of voice was anything to go by then they were definitely not a good sign. Not to mention how oddly Logan had behaved. It definitely sounded like it was something Thomas should know about and he plans to look it up later.

As for the centaur taser, Thomas supposes if he’s legally required to have one then there isn’t a point in fighting it. It wasn’t as though he had to keep it on him, much less use it. He’d just stash it somewhere so he could prove he had one and then he could forget all about it. He would definitely hide it away from Logan, Thomas knew how scared the large centaur was of tasers and Thomas can only assume that Logan was tasered before to give him such a fear. Not that Logan had admitted to this, it was just something Thomas had picked up from observing Logan over the months he’d had him. In the beginning, Logan had startled every single time Thomas pulled his phone out of his pocket, only settling once it was clear Thomas held a phone and not a taser. It was the main reason Thomas had bought a bright red case for his phone, making it easier to recognize it for what it was (A harmless cell phone) After that Logan had calmed down significantly.

Plan in place Thomas nods to both himself and to Martin. “Okay, where do I get one?”

“Just take some signed ownership papers to an electronics store or a gun shop and they’ll help you out. It’s not very difficult.”

Thomas nods. It was a little concerning that centaur tasers were sold at gun shops (and electronic stores? Seriously, what? Did those even have anything in common?) -but by this point Thomas is past questioning centaur related things.

After a more thorough explanation of where and how to get a taser Thomas bids Martin farewell, the man promising to send him Roman, Patton and Logan's files. Thomas isn’t sure if he’ll actually bother to read them but Martin had made it seem like something he had no choice in, which was starting to seem like the new usual. Whatever, Thomas would figure it all out later, for now he was content to leave things be.

*******

Chapter Text

A few hours after Martin left Thomas checks his emails and sees that the man had already sent him the files on his friends. Thomas hesitates before clicking on the top one, the email with a rough description of Roman as its title. He doesn’t actually want to see it but by now Thomas has realized that not knowing what the files say could potentially come back to bite him later on. If Thomas wants to come across as a legit centaur owner (which he does when it comes to the law) -then he needs to keep on top of what was generally expected of him. It terrified Thomas to think that, legally, his friends could be taken away if he was found lacking. It’s this haunting fear that drives Thomas to read the files.

Romans file had seemed like the best of the three to start with since Thomas doubts he has anything to hide and, from the way Martin had looked at Logan and Patton, Thomas suspects that they might. Well, Thomas doubts Patton has any dark secrets but Martin had seemed surprised by the amount of owners Patton had had through the years and Thomas is a little hesitant to look into why that might be.

Thomas has absolutely no idea what to expect when he first opens the file and he’s surprised to see there is almost nothing in it besides vague descriptions of Romans attitude and physical health throughout his life. Considering he’d once been a big time racer, Thomas had assumed the ‘Royals’ would have kept closer tabs on him. Then again, Romans entire existence was illegal so maybe they had a secret one hidden away. As Thomas scrolls down he sees that, although the file wasn’t very large, each and every twenty two years of Romans life had been documented with short descriptions of him. Thomas skims the list until his eyes land on the description of Romans behavior from the ages of eight to ten. Whereas every other year Roman had been described as highly obedient and motivated, those few childhood years were disturbingly different.

**************

2398753893- age seven: Highly energized and motivated. Obeys without question and excels in training.

2398753893- age eight: Has become temperamental and disobedient with occasionally violent outbursts.

2398753893- age nine: Continued disobedience. Shows signs of depression with increasing bouts of hysteria.

2398753893- age ten: Has begun to show signs of depression with occasional outbursts. Medication discontinued after causing dangerously erratic behavior.

2398753893- age eleven: Obedient and easily managed. Highly motivated and social. Excels beyond expectation in training.

2398753893- age twelve: Obedient and easily managed. Highly motivated and social. Continues to excel beyond expectation in training.

*******************

Thomas rereads the paragraphs multiple times as though an explanation would suddenly appear but none does. In every year before and after those few years, Roman was only ever described as obedient and highly motivated, with the only negative being the occasional comment about him being easily excitable, which was phrased as more of an annoyance.

Thomas scrolls down but nowhere does anyone mention a reason for his friend’s drastic (albeit temporary) -change in attitude. The only page that remains in Romans file is a short list of all the illnesses and physical injuries Roman had suffered throughout his life and, since nothing stands out besides his racing accident, Thomas doesn’t bother to study those.

Instead, Thomas closes the file and sits back to ponder the new information he has on Roman’s life. Obviously, Thomas wasn’t going to ask him about it. He still firmly believes it isn’t any of his business and apparently it legally wasn’t either, since there hadn’t been any explanation included in the files. Whatever had happened was between Roman and- well, it was nobody's business but Romans.

Thomas shakes his head to redirect his focus, aware that he’s spiraling. He still had two more files to go after all. Thomas decides to look at Pattons next. Surely his file would make more sense.

As Thomas starts to read he immediately notices that Martin hadn’t been kidding earlier when he said Patton had been sold a lot. It isn’t that Thomas thinks it’s a bad thing, it was just surprising is all. Who in their right mind wouldn’t want Patton? What Thomas finds more disturbing is that since it wasn’t listed how many times he had been sold until after he was over the age of fifteen, that meant that Patton had been sold five times in under seven years. Technically six times, since Thomas now owned him.

‘I swear on my dead body that it’ll stay at six.’ Thomas promises himself. Patton must have moved a lot throughout his life and the poor guy deserved a little stability.

As Thomas studies Patton's file further it becomes clear that there is far less information on him than there was on Roman. In fact, he was missing entire years where there was absolutely no information on him at all. What years he did have listed seemed horribly inaccurate. At this point, Thomas isn’t even sure they were talking about Patton. Maybe Martin had sent the wrong file?

**********

2847502890- age fifteen: Continually lies and steals. Very disruptive and disobedient. Punishment ineffective.

2847502890- age sixteen: Continues to lie and steal. Troublesome behavior escalating. Punishment ineffective.

2847502890- age seventeen: Manipulative and a chronic liar. Punishment ineffective.

2847502890- age eighteen:

2847502890- age nineteen:

2847502890- age twenty:

2847502890- age twenty one:

2847502890- age twenty two: Difficult and unresponsive. Shows signs of depression. Is unfit to work with children.

2847502890- age twenty three: Disruptive and disobedient. Recommend full or partial laryngectomy or similar voice removal method.

2847502890- age twenty four:

**********

Thomas stares at his computer screen blankly. To think he’d thought Romans file had been strange. Who the hell thought Patton was manipulative? And a liar? Patton didn’t lie and he certainly didn’t steal, his nickname was Morality for fucks sake. Even more shocking was that Patton was described as ‘unfit to work with children’. Um, what? Patton loved kids. Patton was great with kids. Back when there had been that horrible flood, Patton had created a small army of children within just a few hours and all he’d been asked to do was pass out blankets!

Thomas is dying to know who had written such ridiculous things about one of the kindest people he’s ever met. What the hell were his past owners taking and just how high were they on it when they wrote all that? Also, why were so many years of his life missing? How come his file was last updated two years ago?

It seemed that the only time Patton had been regularly updated was throughout his childhood and it’s those descriptions that convince Thomas that he really is looking at Patton’s file since, from the ages of one through fifteen, Patton was only ever described as obedient and cheery.

The huge contrast is boggling and Thomas closes Patton's file even more confused then when he’d finished Romans. Absolutely none of the file had made any sense and Thomas dreads reading Logan’s. If Patton had been described as difficult and disobedient then Thomas doesn’t even want to know what people thought of Logan.

Logan hadn’t exactly been…what was the word for it… happy? Nice? Obedient? Well behaved? Well, the point was that Logan had had a bad reputation at Benny’s. When Thomas first met him, Logan had already reached the point of arguing with the managers to their faces. Hell, people were making bets about how long he could go without getting in a fight. He was aggressive, angry and the furthest thing from submissive and Thomas is sure his file will reflect that.

Knowing it’s best to get this over with quickly, Thomas opens his file anyway and, as Thomas had both suspected and feared, Logan's files were a mess.

***********************

3336894395- age fifteen: Stubborn and difficult to work with.

3336894395- age sixteen: Stubborn and occasionally defiant. Difficult to work with.

3336894395- age seventeen: Had a violent conflict with a fellow centaur. Multiple injuries on both sides. Received two black marks and additional punishment. Recommend reduced exposure to other centaurs.

3336894395- age eighteen: Behavior improved, seclusion effective.

3336894395- age nineteen: Temperamental but obedient. Easily cowed.

3336894395- age twenty: Occasional, nonphysical outbursts and defiance. Increased workload curbs aggression.

3336894395- age twenty one: Stubborn, temperamental and defiant. Additional punishment required.

3336894395- age twenty two: Defiant. Difficult to manage. Shows increasing hostility. Usual punishments prove less effective.

3336894395- age twenty three: Extreme defiance. Has become aggressive although confrontations remain nonphysical. Outbursts increasing. Recommended punishment is centaur tazer, other punishments ineffective.

******************

To be honest… the file was pretty much exactly what Thomas had expected. Still, a good surprise would be a nice change of pace.

Thomas sighs, he really doesn’t like how many times he’d read the word ‘punishment’ in Logan's file. It had been mentioned quite a few times in Pattons too and Thomas hopes that, for once, his imagination is worse than reality. That said, Thomas doesn’t intend to find out. That is definitely too personal to ask.

Unlike Patton and Romans file, Thomas had understood most of Logans and the only thing in it that surprised him was the mention of a violent fight with another centaur.

Logan getting in a fight? Thomas can admittedly see that happening. After all, Logan had been young once. Maybe his temper had gotten the better of him? Heaven knows puberty was rough. Thomas imagines the fight must have been bad to have it included in his file, not to mention he’d gotten two ‘black marks’ in one go.

Of course, Thomas has no idea what that actually means but it sounded like a big deal.

“What are they anyway?” Thomas muses to himself. Exiting the file, Thomas takes a quick trip to google where he learns that the extra tattoos Logan had were called ‘black marks’, commonly referred to as a ‘strike’. The ever so reliable internet tells him that centaurs would receive a strike for every violent outburst or, to be specific, every fight that ended with someone else injured. Seven strikes and you were out. Thomas feels a chill run up his spine when he reads that particular phrase. What was ‘out’ supposed to mean? It sounded serious and yet no matter what website Thomas searches he can’t seem to get a clear answer.

Thomas has a terrible feeling that he knows what it meant though. When he googled, ‘seven strikes’, ‘end of the line’ was paired as a synonym. Which was, quite frankly, terrifying because Logan had two. Logan was still young, only twenty three, and he had two strikes against him.

Thomas knows right away that this was going to be a problem. Thomas is almost surprised Logan never mentioned them, considering how seriously he took Thomas legally owning him. It seemed likely that the large centaur was self conscious of his marks, they were probably what had him so nervous earlier. That considered, it was most likely that Logan knew what would happen to him if he ended up with seven marks.

At the very least Logan knew how he got them, which Thomas has a sinking feeling he’s supposed to know too. As his owner Thomas was probably required to know what had happened but as a friend it didn’t really seem like any of his business. After all, Logan hadn’t told Thomas about his strikes and a part of him suspects Logan never intended to. Thomas can’t really blame him, he supposes it would feel similar to having a criminal record. Actually, now that Thomas thinks of it, that was a pretty good comparison.

Not to mention phrasing it that way made it seem a lot less serious. Of course, humans didn’t have a certain amount of run-ins with the law before being ‘out’ but the concept was sorta the same. The real question here was just how serious a crime did you have to commit to be given a strike? Did it have to be something specific? Did it depend on the owner? These were questions Thomas couldn’t answer and, to his immense frustration, he cannot find concrete answers on the internet to satisfy his curiosity.

‘I guess I’m just gonna have to ask Logan. I definitely can’t ask Patton or Roman without potentially giving Logan away. I’m not sure they know about Logan’s strikes and it’s not my secret to tell.’

Although he knows he could, Thomas doesn’t want to ask Picani, partially because the man was already confusing as fuck and partially because he doesn’t know if Picani knew Logan had them either. What if that made it illegal for Thomas to own him? Was having a black mark or two common or did this count as a ‘big deal’?

Yeah, Thomas would rather ask Logan. At least that way he can make sure Logan wouldn’t be agonizing and waiting for the other shoe to drop. Which Thomas is pretty sure he is. It would be best if Thomas found out the truth from him and then let the centaur know his genuine feeling on the matter. Mainly that Thomas doesn’t intend to let this change a thing. Logan had had those strikes since the moment Thomas had met him and just because Thomas knew about them now didn’t mean it would change how he saw him. Logan wasn’t dangerous and Thomas didn't believe for a moment that the current Logan would start a fight.
.

.

.

.

-At least not with any of them. Now that Thomas is thinking about it Logan had gotten pretty close to fighting with his Uncle….but still! Thomas’s Uncle had literally tried to hit him and Logan had only stepped back so technically he didn’t fight him. Of course there was the time Logan had bodily thrown Ted across a parking lot….. but he landed in the pool! And Thomas knows Logan was aiming for the pool so it wasn’t like he was trying to hurt him. Logan was just scaring him is all. What was tossing a grown man fifteen feet across a parking lot in the grand scheme of things anyway?

….yeah ok. Logan had anger issues. And maybe he wouldn’t hurt anyone now but according to his file he had in the past so Thomas is just going to have to accept that Logan may be, generally speaking, just a little bit dangerous. Denial isn’t going to get him anywhere (it definitely hasn’t so far).

Thomas gives a deep sigh and runs his hands through his hair. If Logan had two strikes then Thomas is undoubtedly required to know why. The real problem was how was he supposed to bring that up?

‘Hey, so I noticed you have two strikes. Does that mean you only have five left till you’re ‘out’? Could you clarify what that means?’

No, he definitely shouldn’t lead with that. Maybe Thomas was overthinking this? It was still a possibility that one of Logan’s previous owners had given him two strikes for no other reason than pure spite. Except the file had stated that Logan had fought another centaur and that both of them had been injured as a result. The vague description left too many gaps and provided Thomas with far more questions than answers. Thomas doesn’t like to admit it but he does have a tendency to be nosey. From the moment he’d seen Logan’s strikes he’d wanted to know why he had them.

Thomas wants to know. He really wants to know. Also, he does not want to know. Not at all. Thomas doesn’t want to know what pushed Logan to the point of injuring someone else nor does he want to know how badly they were injured.

It’s a bit conflicting…….

Chapter Text

In the end Logan saves Thomas from his conflict by bringing the subject of his marks up on his own, although he doesn’t seem as though he genuinely wants to.

Logan and Thomas are alone in the living room, everyone else doing their own thing, when the large centaur approaches him. There is an air of caution that surrounds him and it instantly has Thomas on edge.

“About my marks, I should explain.” Logan grits out, bypassing all small talk in order to jump straight to the point. He clearly wants this over with and Thomas immediately knows that he’s been agonizing over it just as much as Thomas has. Probably more.

Even though Thomas had intended to bring the subject up on his own, now that it’s happening he can’t help but want to change his mind. It’s clear whatever had happened was deeply personal and, legalities be damned, Thomas doesn’t want to force Logan to share.

“Woah Logan, you don’t have to tell me.” Thomas interrupts, having decided he doesn’t really care all that much about the law after all.

“Yes. I do. You are my owner and it is your right to know. I should have informed you earlier and I was deceitful for not doing so upon first being bought. I sincerely apologize and I will do whatever you wish to rectify my disobedience.”

Thomas is increasingly unsettled by every word that leaves Logan’s mouth. He knew Logan would take this seriously but not to this extent. Did Logan expect to be punished? By Thomas??

“Seriously dude. I mean it. You don’t have to tell me.” Thomas insists.

“I do.” Logan snaps. His eyes widen and for a moment he almost looks fearful as he shrinks in on himself and hangs his head. It doesn’t make him look smaller per say, but he does look more submissive.

It's so wrong. Thomas couldn’t possibly feel more disturbed. It’s as though he’s back to square one with Logan, possibly even worse. It was like Logan had forgotten all about their friendship and everything they had been through together and it was devastating.

Thomas knows he needs to pick his next words carefully. It’s clear Logan isn’t taking this lightly so neither should he. Thomas is beginning to believe that the best option would be to play along. Not to the point of being demanding or mad but maybe just enough for Logan to work through whatever this was so they could get the whole thing over with and go back to normal.

Accepting that this conversation is happening whether he likes it or not Thomas decides to embrace it…. kinda. Mainly he feels that he should keep the conversation going, if only because standing by quietly seemed to be freaking Logan out.

“Alright. Go ahead. Tell me what happened.” Thomas tries to sound as understanding as possible as he desperately hopes he’s making the right choice.

Logan relaxes a little before he takes a deep breath and starts. “When I was seventeen I was involved in a physical altercation which I instigated.” Logan finishes with a wince and he waits for Thomas’s response.

-Which was not coming anytime soon because Thomas had absolutely no idea what he just said. Logan rolls his eyes when he sees this, wince disappearing as soon as it came.

“I started a fist fight.” Logan states bluntly.

Thomas discreetly clears his throat and asks. “You started it?” The files hadn’t been that specific.

Logan hums noncomitantly. “I did not throw the first hit but I did intentionally instigate it.”

Thomas isn’t sure what he’s trying to say and Logan sees it on his face.

“I started it.” He grumbles. “I said his wi-” Logan scowls at the ground. “Well anyway, I said some things I knew would escalate the situation and- well…I suppose I goaded him on.”

That- well, that wasn’t all that surprising. Logan tends to say a lot of insulting things without even thinking about it, Thomas can only imagine what horrible things were said for Logan himself to consider it goading someone on.

Thomas bites his tongue in an attempt to keep silent. As much as he doesn’t think it’s his business, what he really wants to ask is if Logan won the fight. He really can’t imagine a scenario where the large centaur didn’t but by now he’s learned not to make assumptions. After all, he hadn’t ever thought Logan would have not one but two marks against him either. The horrible thing is that Thomas knows Logan will answer him if he asks. If Thomas asks Logan for his exact thought process during the fight Thomas fears that Logan would force himself to answer. And the centaur would hate every moment of it.

Logan has started shifting, growing more and more uncomfortable with every moment Thomas stays silent, so Thomas tries to keep the conversation flowing, even though he isn’t sure where to go with it without asking anything too personal.

You have two marks…. did you get them at the same time?” It’s a stupid question because Thomas already knows the answer but either Logan doesn’t know that or he’s decided to humor him because he answers anyway.

Logan nods. “I-” He seems to be at a loss for words, instead taking off his glasses to fiddle with them in the pretense of cleaning them.

Thomas tries to backtrack but Logan barrels on.

“I received them at the same time.” He confirms. “The incident was… intense enough to justify two marks verses the usual one. The additional punishments were severe in order to discourage a repeat incident.”

When Thomas says nothing Logan continues.

“It is not something I would repeat.” Logan assures Thomas, as though that were a concern. But then he hesitates.

Logan

Freaking

Hesitates

“-Baring the possibility of meeting the same centaur again, in which case I cannot guarantee things would remain civil.”

‘Hold the fucking phone.’ Thomas thinks, mind whirling. Had Logan just admitted he would fight the same guy again?! Did his marks mean nothing to him? Either his punishments hadn’t fazed him or he simply hated the other centaur enough that he was willing to go through them a second time.

Thomas has absolutely no idea what to say to that. It was bizarre because Logan was acting as though his marks were a big deal- to Thomas. The way Logan spoke said he hadn’t taken his punishments to heart, that Logan was more worried about what other people thought of his mark as opposed to what they meant for him. It was concerning. Thomas wondered if that was why Logan was given ‘additional punishment’. The file had stated that Logan had received ‘additional punishment’, with Logan himself calling them ‘severe’. Thomas isn’t sure what Logan considers a severe punishment and some part of him says that he shouldn’t ask. There are some things Thomas doesn’t need to know.

‘Like this whole conversation.’ Thomas thinks bitterly. It really wasn’t fair that Logan was telling him something so personal out of a warped sense of duty.

Thomas can’t maintain eye contact anymore and tries to hide his face by pretending to check that they’re still alone.

To his horror they’re not.

Thomas nearly jumps out of his skin when he sees Anxiety, which prompts Logan to quickly twist around. For a long moment the three of them just stare at each other, Anxiety flicking his eyes rapidly between the two of them. It’s deathly quiet and Thomas swears he can hear his own heartbeat.

How the fuck did Anxiety get there without either of them seeing him?! How did they not hear him? Oh no, did he hear them?! Of all the conversation for him to overhear Thomas can’t possibly think of a worse one! Thomas desperately hopes Anxiety hadn’t heard enough to realize they were discussing Logan’s strikes. Thomas can only imagine the panic that would send young centaur into.

“How much did you overhear?” Logan asks, following the same trail of thought as Thomas and sounding as deeply unsettled as Thomas feels.

“You started a fight and got two marks.” Anxiety states bluntly.

Thomas and Logan both flinch but Anxiety waves them off, completely shocking them.

“Relax, I already knew you had them. It was like, the first thing I noticed about you.”

Thomas and Logan startle at that.

“And you didn’t panic because-?” Thomas blurts without thinking.

Anxiety raises an eyebrow sarcastically. “I did panic.” He bluntly reminds them.

Thomas doesn’t even process what the young centaur said because he’s still stuck on the fact that Anxiety was just snarky.

Logan gets over his shock first. “But you are no longer disturbed?” He sounds hesitant. Doubtful.

Anxiety scoffs and absently fiddles with his hoodie sleeves. “Why should I be?”

When neither Logan or Thomas respond to that, Anxiety huffs and continues.

“I’m not stupid. There are two reasons centaurs get a strike. To warn other people they are dangerous or to tell the centaur they’re on thin ice.”

Logan opens his mouth to comment but Anxiety cuts him off.

“You said you got in a fight? As in hitting each other?”

Seeing no way out, Logan grudgingly nods.

“Well, then you either showed some restraint and didn’t hurt anyone too badly or they felt the whole thing was justified.”

“Justified?” Logan and Thomas question together, somewhat baffled.

“If it was self defense or you were seriously provoked then you can usually wiggle your way out of an extra strike. Logic got two anyway but that's just to point out that, although he didn’t do a lot of damage, he totally could. Basically, your size automatically gives you two.” Anxiety sounds so certain it’s like he’s quoting something. Also, he was talking a lot. This was undoubtedly the most Thomas has ever seen him speak and he didn’t even seem nervous about it.

But what Anxiety is saying actually makes a lot of sense.

“So do you think they were a warning or a punishment?” Thomas asks curiously.

“Fifty/fifty.” Anxiety says confidently, albeit quietly. “One to warn others and one to warn you.”

Logan doesn’t look like he knows what to do with this information. He finally settles on starting another topic altogether. “For someone without a mark you seem quite knowledgeable regarding them.”

Anxiety immediately hunches his shoulders defensively. “I overhear things.” He mumbles.

Well, Thomas will give him that. Anyone with the skill to sneak around in complete silence probably overheard a lot they weren’t intended to.

“Do you intend to tell the others I am marked?” Logan asks, which confirms Thomas’s suspicions that neither Patton or Roman knew Logan’s secret.

Anxiety shrugs, burying his hands in his hoodie. “I don’t see why I should. Everyone has secrets, a skeleton or two they keep in the closet.”

Logan practically chokes on air and Thomas glances up to see an expression of complete horror on his face.

‘Ah, another expression he’s never heard of.’ Thomas muses, watching as Anxiety grows more and more confused at Logan’s reaction.

“Logan, Loooogan.” Thomas waits till Logan’s baffled eyes meet his own, seemingly hesitant to lose sight of Anxiety.

“It’s an expression Logan.” Thomas explains once he’s certain he has the centaur’s attention. It’s silent for a moment as Logan processes this.

“Oh. I see.” Logan stutters.

At this point Anxiety looks a mixture between amused and baffled. “I didn’t kill anyone.” He deadpans.

“Exactly, it’s just a-”

“-And if I did I wouldn’t be stupid enough to hide the body in a closet.”

It’s Thomas’s turn to doubt him now.

Whatever it was that had given Anxiety the courage to be both snarky and deadpan with Thomas and Logan (not to mention strangely cryptic), it seemed to be wearing off and the centaur is once more shrinking into his hoodie. Before Logan or Thomas can assure him he hasn’t crossed any lines, Anxiety is cautiously backing out of the room.

“Sorry, I didn’t -I’ll just -sorry.” He whimpers before fleeing. Although Thomas feels the need to follow him, neither Logan nor Thomas move, certain Anxiety would assume they intended to punish him if they did. Thomas is pretty sure his best move from here would be to continue on as usual until Anxiety eventually realized he wouldn’t get in trouble for voicing his opinions. Snarky or not.

Thomas turns back to Logan, wondering if this means their conversation is over. He’s surprised to see that, even now that Logan knows Anxiety wasn’t serious about the whole ‘skeleton’ thing, he still looked frightened, sort of shifty.

Looking for something that might comfort him, Thomas decides to risk speaking his mind. “I think Anxiety was right.”

Logan snaps out of whatever daze he was in.

“What do you mean? About what?”

“About the fight being justified or whatever, if you really tried to hurt him they’d have probably given you more marks.”

“I did not tell you I held back.” Logan argues.

“Didn’t you? Even if he started hitting first it couldn’t have been a fair fight.” Thomas points out.

Logan scoffs. “Who said it wasn’t fair?”

Thomas isn’t sure whether he should answer that or not. Logan was well aware of his size, did he really not see why he had the advantage?

Logan glances at Thomas and then pauses, looking terribly nervous. “Thomas, how many details did my file contain regarding this incident?”

“Um, not a lot. Just that you got in a fight and that someone got hurt.”

Thomas can see the tension unwind from Logan’s shoulders.

“I see. In that case I find it necessary to inform you that the centaur in question was in no way at a disadvantage, hence why he did not receive any severe injuries. I was not holding back anymore than he was and if we hadn’t been separated-'' Logan trails off.

Thomas just nods when he doesn’t continue. That the fight was evenly matched is somewhat surprising to Thomas, he’d been mentally going through the other centaurs he’d seen during his time at Benny’s and trying to parse who could possibly hold their own against Logan but none had come to mind. They were all big to be sure but Logan had at least a foot in height on almost all of them.

“If I am completely honest, I am still surprised they sold him as opposed to me.” Logan suddenly says.

Thomas frowns. If Logan had started it then why did they sell the other centaur?

“They sold him because of the fight? I thought you said he didn’t start it?”

“Although he did not start it, he was an equal participant. It was clear the two of us could not continue in the same work space and-” Logan fiddles with his glasses. “-as far as I can figure, they decided that I was the more valuable out of the two of us, although I am certain they regretted that decision.” Logan says, and is it just Thomas or did Logan sound the tiniest bit smug about it?

Thomas just nods because what else can he do? He hasn’t really known how to feel about this entire situation since he first read Logan's file and after this conversation with Logan, he’s even more conflicted. Thomas had thought (hoped) that Logan would explain how it was an exaggeration and he hadn’t been that involved. Now, he knows that Logan started the fight by saying things he isn’t willing to repeat and, oddest of all, Logan shows no remorse. Whatever Logan had fought the other centaur over he still held it against him.

Thomas sees no alternative other than to accept that he may never know the whole story. Because, now more so than before, Thomas still believes that everyone should be allowed their secrets. If Logan wasn’t going to volunteer any more information then Thomas was happy to drop it. At the end of the day Anxiety was right. Everyone had their skeletons in the closet and Thomas knows deep down he’s no different.

He may not know much about Logan’s past but he knows who Logan is now and that's enough for him. He’ll just carry on as usual and pray to God they never meet that Centaur again.

Chapter Text

As the next two days slip by, Thomas finds himself questioning whether or not he’d just imagined the entire conversation Logan and he had had with Anxiety. Whatever it was that made Anxiety feeling like sharing his thoughts that day, it was clearly a fluke.

Anxiety was back to never voluntarily speaking and avoiding them all like the plague but, to Thomas’s great relief, the boy was notably less jumpy around them. Not to say that he was around them a lot. He was still very clearly sick and spent a large amount of his time sleeping in his new stall. Even when he was up he didn’t always seem to be entirely aware of his surroundings.

When he was feeling well enough to be out and about, the newest addition to their home mainly tries to blend into the background while following Patton. From a distance of course. Patton will ask him for help every once in a while and this seems to keep the boy at ease.

It’s still awkward though. The difference between when Patton and Roman moved in as opposed to Anxiety was that, while Patton and Roman had slid seamlessly into place as though they’d always been there, Anxiety….didn’t. He stuck out like a sore thumb, there was a mutual wariness between them all and it was safe to say he didn’t trust them. Thomas thinks Anxiety is still waiting for the other shoe to drop. He still flinched at sharp noises and any sudden movements near him were a no go but, when he was fully lucid, he was notably less jumpy than before. It was mind boggling to Thomas that Anxiety was calmer now then he had been before the fiasco at the Dr.s. At the time, there had been no doubt in Thomas’s mind that Anxiety would sink further into himself after having been forcibly sedated but it seemed that was not entirely the case.

Thomas has mainly noticed the difference when, as per the Dr.s instructions, Thomas starts each day by going through the awkward process of bandaging Anxiety’s back. He’s sure that Patton or even Logan would have been a much better choice but Dr. Sheldon had been very insistent that Thomas be the one to bandage it. Maybe she thought the centaurs weren’t capable?

If that was her reasoning then it was very, very flawed and thus Thomas had made the executive decision to have Patton help out. It was mostly because Anxiety freaked out badly whenever he was left alone with the human but it was also because Thomas didn’t know what the hell he was doing. Sure, the Dr. had given him detailed instructions but Thomas still constantly worries about whether he’d tied the bandages too tight or if he’d left them too loose. Anxiety wasn’t any help in that department either. He didn’t give his opinion even when asked and the only reaction Thomas ever got out of him was the occasional gasp of pain. Those quiet gasps weren’t common though and Thomas can only assume that’s thanks to the pain medicine Dr. Sheldon had sent them home with. Thomas sometimes wonders if it’s a high enough dosage though, considering how much pain the centaur seemed to be in even while taking them. Not that Thomas found it surprising that Anxiety would still be in pain, considering the state of his back, which Thomas was now quite familiar with.

The horror at the sight of Anxiety’s back hadn’t quite worn off but the shock had. Thomas now knows what to expect and by the second day he’s beginning to allow himself to take a closer look at the wounds. There were seven lashes, each of varying lengths and depth and the one that curled around to stretch along Anxiety's ribs seemed to be the most painful, if the increased frequency of his gasps were anything to go by. Thomas finds himself apologizing over and over again until it doesn’t sound sincere even to his own ears. He isn’t alone, with Patton apologizing and nervously babbling throughout the lengthy process.

The hardest part about bandaging Anxiety’s back was finding an angle to reach it. For starters, Anxiety had to be sitting in order for Thomas or Patton to even reach it but the main issue was that the only way to face the gashes head on would be to sit on Anxiety’s lower half. Something Thomas knows with all certainty is out of the question. It was clearly hard enough for Anxiety to let them touch him, especially somewhere vulnerable, but for Thomas to be entirely out of eyesight and sitting on him? Yeah, that would be asking too much.

With that in mind, Thomas and Patton had settled for standing on either side of the young centaur and passing the bandages back and forth. It was definitely not the right way to do it and Thomas is certain Dr. Sheldon would be mad, but Thomas and Patton had decided to stick with it anyway. Thomas knows that by not taking more time and by only doing the bandages once a day that Anxiety will probably have more severe scarring but, as it stands, Thomas is more worried about the mental scarring. All that really mattered was making sure the wounds stayed clean and that Anxiety didn’t work himself up into fainting again in the process.

It’s to everyone’s relief that the youngest centaur hadn’t had another fainting episode. Yet. Thomas suspects there have been a few close calls (He can’t help but notice Anxiety occasionally swaying or leaning on walls) but so far the centaur had managed to remain on his own four feet.

Thomas just really hopes he stays that way so they don’t have to move up the Dr.s appointment. Even though Picani is still being evasive about when he’ll be taking Anxiety off Thomas’s hands, Thomas is still hoping it will be soon enough that he won’t have to attend the next medical exam.

He is slightly concerned, however, that Anxiety might not take the separation well once Picani does find someone to take him. Anxiety is by no means attached to any of them but he still seems to have latched on to Thomas as a substitute owner. Or something like that anyway. What he means is that Anxiety was still obeying Thomas’s every word.

If Thomas suggests he join them to eat then he does, even if the strain of standing nearly has him passing out.

Thomas is trying to watch his words, he really is. It’s just so hard to know what will and what won’t trigger him. Thomas can phrase things like a question all he wants but Anxiety seems to always take it as a direct order. Like earlier today.

“Why don’t you sit down?” Thomas had suggested after spotting Anxiety sagging against a wall.

To both his surprise and frustration, Anxiety hadn’t even hesitated to sit right then and there, smack dab in the middle of the hallway. For fear of making the situation worse Thomas had sort of scuttled back the way he came and hoped Anxiety wouldn't panic when he realized Thomas hadn’t actually meant right that second. It turns out this was a mistake because two hours later Roman is asking him why Anxiety is just sitting in the hallway.

Horrified, Thomas had rushed to the hall to inform Anxiety that he was free to move around as he wished. Anxiety seemed hesitant to believe him but eventually got to his feet and shuffled out.

After that Thomas has had enough. Yes, Picani had told him this might happen and yes he said Anxiety would eventually stop but Thomas would rather hear it from a centaurs mouth, so to speak. So the next time Anxiety is napping he corrals his friends and confronts them.

“Why does Anxiety obey me?” Thomas instantly starts. He has no intention of dragging this out. He wants answers and then, immediately after, solutions.

The three centaurs look taken back and look at Thomas with varying levels of confusion.

“Because you’re human? He has to obey somebody.” Roman finally ventures.

“He literally ran away. Clearly he doesn’t.” Thomas argues.

Logan scoffs. “I doubt his escape attempt was premeditated. I’m rather sure it was a spur of the moment decision that he possibly regrets, although that I cannot say for certain.”

“But why is he obeying me?” Thomas repeats, trying not to let his frustration turn into anger.

“It’s not personal Thomas, it means his masters were controlling enough that he doesn’t know how to function without one, at least not when he is this stressed. Once he feels better I’m sure he’ll stop.” Patton assures him.

“Master?” That was a new term for Thomas. Come to think of it, didn’t Logan use that term when talking about Anxiety before? “Don’t you mean his owner?”

Patton shrinks away at the question so Roman answers for him. “It’s the more extreme side of being owned. Most people don’t use that term anymore but the more controlling owners do. They uh- they don’t act like, um, they don’t act like owners do.”

“Have you ever had one?” The words are out of Thomas’s mouth before he has the time to stop and realize how insensitive the question is.

Logan and Roman don’t seem upset but Patton stiffens like someone just threw a bucket of ice water on him. The small centaur doesn’t need to say anything, Thomas can already guess his answer. Logan speaks up before Patton can try and stutter out what Thomas knows will be a ‘yes’.

“I have met many people who fancied themselves to be my master but I can’t say they ever made a significant impact on my behavior.” Logan states. “Controlling owners or not, I would not have submitted to Thomas before I knew him to be my owner and I doubt any other centaur would have either. Patton is right, whatever is driving Anxiety’s obedience is almost certainly fueled by his injuries and confused state of mind.”

Thomas sighs in defeat, if his friends were saying the same thing Picani had said then they were all probably right. And they all seemed to think it wouldn’t last much longer and Thomas is inclined to believe them. He’s already seen that Anxiety has a bit of a rebellious side to him, there’s no way he could stay submissive for long. Which might actually become a problem when Thomas and Patton try to bandage Anxiety’s injuries in the future. He wasn’t putting up a fuss for now but then again they always did it first thing in the morning and Anxiety always seemed less clear headed then.

Oh well, one problem at a time. For now Thomas is just going to have to keep watching what he says and hope not to screw anything up too badly.

****************

As it turns out, Thomas isn’t the next one to freak out Anxiety. It was, in fact, triggered by Picani.

It started when Picani had called Thomas to set up another meeting with Anxiety. Thomas hadn’t really known why, but he was rather certain he didn’t get a say in the matter so he’d agreed and Picani had shown up that very afternoon.

“I thought you got everything you needed last time?” Thomas questions the man as he descends from his massive truck.

Picani chuckles. “Definitely not. Unfortunately we need a LOT more information, last time was just about getting the ball rolling so to speak.”

Thomas stares at Picani incredulously. “So what have you been doing?” He blurts unintentionally.

Picani sighs, as though suffering a great burden. “Paperwork.” He laments. “You have absolutely no idea how much paperwork these things involve. The past few weeks were more or less just me trying to get the okay to move forwards with this case.”

Thomas stops walking. “Wait seriously?”

“Well, I mean, first I had to write the report and send in my submission and while I was waiting for that I obviously went through all the TMR files to find any leads in the FRCF division- not to mention trying to keep Brad out of this, which is really difficult cause his desk is right next to mine and-” Picani is startled out of his never ending sentence when his phone begins loudly ringing from his pocket.

He pulls out his phone and glances at the screen then rolls his eyes and hangs up. Thomas only just manages to glance the name ‘Remy’ on the screen followed by an emoji coffee cup and a pair of sunglasses.

Odd.

“So! Does he know I’m coming?” Picani is suddenly asking.

“Who? Oh! Yeah, I told Anxiety a few hours ago and he didn’t freak out nearly as bad as he did when we went to the doctor so I think that’s progress. At the very least he did faint.” Thomas tells him.

Picani smiles. “That’s good. Have you learned anything else about him since the doctors visit?”

“Uh, well we tried asking him some stuff yesterday and well…..”

*************Logan pov******************

Why everyone voted for Logan to be the interrogator was far beyond him. Sure he’d remember what to ask but wasn’t everyone always saying he was too rude with his delivery? And yet they’d all agreed to make him the interrogator.

With a defeated sigh, Logan slowly enters the young boy's room. Since he’s trying not to frighten Anxiety again he sinks to his knees a few feet from the bed. His height is intimidating at the best of times and that’s the last thing he’s going for right now. Unfortunately, even when they are both sitting, he still towers over the other centaur. He receives a glare for it. Or maybe it's for being there at all.

“We have questions.” Logan tells him bluntly.

Anxiety doesn’t respond except to redouble the force of his glare.

“How old are you?” Logan starts.

“Twenty.” Is the terse response.

Huh, older than he thought but Logan supposes it could be true, although he really has no way to confirm this. That and he’s a terrible judge of age. He himself looked twenty at sixteen and he’s never been one to pay attention to how others look. For all he knows the kid is even older than he says. (And yes, he still is going to call him a kid in his head because it fit for whatever reason.)

With one question down Logan moves on to the next one. “Do you have any known allergies?” He asks. He doesn’t have to ask to know who’d written this question down.

Anxiety looks baffled and when he doesn’t answer Logan determines the answer to be a no. If the kid did have any then he’d have to tell them himself later.

“Is the fainting normal for you or only since you became sick?” Logan asks next.

“Why’s it matter?” Snaps the younger centaur.

Seriously? What was up with this kid? Sure it would make sense that he didn’t want to answer any personal questions or something related to his trauma but was he really going to lie about something as stupid as his own physical health? They knew he was sick, there was no hiding that so what was with all the secrecy?

Logan really can’t hold back anymore. He finally asks the question that’s been tormenting his mind since the moment he’d seen Anxiety. It just made no sense. It was stupid. Not even Roman would dream of it.

“You do know what happens to runaways, yes?”

The centaur shakily nods. “I know.” He whispers.

“Yet you still ran away?” That’s what’s been bothering Logan. He knows what abuse is. He’s seen it. He’s experienced it. He’s experienced a lot of it. But no matter how bad it got or how much he suffered, Logan had never considered running. Not as a defenseless colt and not as a threatening adult. Running was not an option and every centaur knew that.

“You will almost certainly be sent to training camp.” Logan tells him.

“I fucking know okay!? So fuck off!” Anxiety explodes before Logan can comment further. The smaller centaur grips his hair hard, taking in shaky breaths and Logan decides to beat a hasty retreat before the centaur can work himself up anymore. Patton and Thomas are going to kill him although some part of him wonders what else they expected from him?

As soon as he leaves the room Patton, Roman and Thomas pounce on him and pepper Logan with questions.

“What happened?” Curiosity.

“Why was he yelling?” Accusation.

“Did he tell you anything?” Desperation.

Logan just sighs.

********

“Lets just say we didn’t learn anything.” Thomas says as he leads Picani to the barn. It’s true, Logan hadn’t gotten any answers beyond ‘he says he’s twenty’ and that had been far from satisfactory. He’d also pissed Anxiety off so bad the self proclaimed twenty year old had alternated between sulking and stomping everywhere. (Unless Thomas was nearby, in which case he didn’t dare to stomp)

“Alright then.” Picani says, thankfully not asking what had happened. The man was either oddly trusting or he simply knew too much. Either option was a little frightening.

Chapter Text

It was time for the second ‘interview’, so to speak. Picani has been preparing for this for a while now but the paperwork had pushed it off far longer than he would have liked. Sure cases like this weren’t in his job prescription anymore but Picani wanted this one. He was invested!

Picani hasn’t seen a case this interesting since- well it had been a while. By interesting he meant both the case and the people involved. It was an odd bunch the runaway had stumbled upon and to say Picani was intrigued would be an understatement. There was clearly no rhyme or reason for Thomas to have any of his centaurs, much less one of the largest he’d ever seen, and that wasn’t even considering he owned the Prince!

There’s a story there and Picani knows it but his priority is the runaway. There was obviously a lot more to his story than what meets the eye, despite what Picani’s superiors thought. Thankfully he’d won that particular argument. Now all Picani had to do was prove he was right and get some actual information. If his hunch is right then it won't be easy, He suspects that the kid is going to become very difficult very soon.

Picani immediately knows upon seeing him again that his first impression was correct and that the boy's faux submissive state was now wearing off. That was good. It was always so much easier to talk to people when they talked back.

Thomas shows both Picani and Anxiety to an empty stall, save the small table and chair he’d clearly set up. The human then sheepishly promises that he and the other three centaurs will not be eavesdropping this time and that they intended to stay in the living room. Which Picani notes is close enough for them to hear any yelling or shouting should they need to interfere. As opposed to being insulted, Picani actually finds it rather touching.

Once Thomas has gone and Picani has himself situated at the table he jumps directly into business mode.

“I would like to ask you a few questions.”

The look Anxiety levels with him tells Picani exactly how he feels about that.

“What do you want to know?” The scowl on the younger centaurs face says he doesn’t really care. Most likely because he doesn't intend to answer regardless of what Picani asks. Which, you know, fair. It’s not like they know each other. All this kid knows is that Picani is related to the government somehow, a certain amount of caution is to be expected.

“Let’s start simple.” Picani says with a smile. “Is there something you want me to call you?”

The young centaur doesn’t answer but Picani just smiles warmly. “I’m Emile Picani but everyone just calls me Picani.” He says.

The centaur doesn’t look impressed but Picani didn’t expect him to be. What he was aiming for was Anxiety’s interest, which he now has. Usually it was harder than that to catch an abused centaur's interest but then again, this centaur is young. Which brings Picani to his next question.

“How old are you?” He asks, since it doesn’t seem like the smaller centaur is going to answer his first question. Besides, what was the harm in asking his age?

“What’s it matter?” Growls the centaur, growing more and more agitated. And frightened. There is definitely fear under his mask of anger.

“Are you old enough to be sold?” Picani isn’t backing down on this one. It’s an easy answer and by this point the boy was being ridiculous. Maybe the centaur is aware of this because he huffs and picks at one of his fingernails.

“I’m twenty.” He mumbles.

'Bullshit.’ Is the first thought that flits through Picani’s head. Aloud he only hums in faux agreement. Anxiety was probably younger by only a year or two so he doesn’t see a need to push it. Frankly, he’s just happy to have gotten an actual answer. Albeit a false one.

But still, progress!

“Alright then, let's move on." Picani says while still remaining gentle. “Do you feel safe here? Has anyone tried to hurt or coerce you?”

The boy looks genuinely shocked to be asked this but recovers quickly. “No, I’m fine. Everyone here is really nice and-” He breaks off with a confused frown.

Picani senses that he won’t be finishing that particular sentence and continues on. “In that case I’ll move on but if that ever changes you can tell me, okay?” Picani actually waits for a nod of confirmation before moving on.

“Now you already said you don't know where you came from but do you know what your owners did for a living? It might narrow it down.”

The boy actually laughs at that, leaving Picani more than a little befuddled.

“They do everything.” He says with a sharp grin.

Picani takes close note of the term ‘they’, implying that Anxiety was not owned by one sole person. “Anything in particular?” He tries.

The boy just shakes his head. “We moved too much.” Is all he says so Picani just nods along.

“Do you know why you moved so much?” Picani asks. In his experience, anyone who would go to the trouble of repeatedly moving a centaur was usually up to no good. Which the boy then confirms when he answers with-

“Sorta, but I don’t want to get them in trouble.” He finally admits.

“Oh, they’re already in trouble.”

“They are?” The boy sounds so surprised to hear this, it’s almost comical. After all, he himself was evidence of their crimes and cruelty.

“Selling centaurs without marking them is a federal offense.” Picani says instead so the boy won’t find a way to blame himself.

“Obeying the law isn’t their top priority.” Says the boy bitterly. It doesn’t seem like he’d intended for Picani to hear that but the social worker has a sharp ear. And, yeah, Picani had been getting that impression

“Oh, I’m sure they do other illegal things.” Picani agrees.

“I didn’t say that!” The centaur suddenly gasps. “I never- they aren’t- I would never-”

“You didn’t.” Picani agrees. “But it’s okay for you to tell me the truth.”

“No. it isn’t.” The centaur snaps back. “It wouldn’t do anybody any good, least of all me. If my owners find out I so much as told you I speak English I'm as good as dead.”

Picani overlooks the ‘dead’ part for now, this isn’t the time to address it. “They don't want you speaking to me?” He says instead.

“I’m not supposed to speak to anybody.” The centaur says with a growing sense of panic, seemingly only just remembering that.

“You’re not supposed to run away either.” Picani points out, softening his words. Anxiety blinks, processing that.

“I know you’re scared. You have every right to be. But you need to know that no one is going to hurt you now, no matter what you say.”

This puts an end to the boy's short-lived silent streak.

“This isn’t what you think it is.” He whispers. “I’m not afraid they’ll hurt me. I’m not afraid of pain.”

“Then what are you afraid of?” Picani asks gently, although he’s pretty sure he already knows the answer. He’d still like to hear it confirmed.

The boy is silent, hiding under his bangs.

“The border.” He finally whispers.

Sorrow fills Picani's heart. He’d thought as much. He hates that he was right.

“I promise you,” Picani says with all the sincerity he’s capable of. “I won’t ever let that happen.”

The boy looks at him with a desperate hope clinging to the corner of his eyes. After a moment he breaks eye contact and drops his head in his hands. “I don’t want to talk anymore.” He whimpers.

The man nods sympathetically. “Alright, then I just have one last thing. I’m going to show you some pictures and I want you to tell me if anyone looks familiar okay? I just need a yes or no.”

Anxiety shudders but he desperately wants to leave so he nods. The man pulls out a binder with twenty or so different photos within.

“This one?”

The boy glances up quickly and shakes his head no.

“Alright. What about this one?”

This is followed with five more photos before the boy has a reaction. A big reaction.

Picani holds up a photo of a kind, friendly looking man with a happy smile on his face but Picani doesn’t get to ask whether the man is familiar. Anxiety PANICS.

“NO!” He screams. He pushes himself back against the wall and his eyes dart wildly from the picture to the door. His fingers twitch but he makes no other movements. His breathing is instantly labored and his knees start to buckle. Still he stays firmly in place. His mouth opens several times as though to speak but nothing comes out but a quiet whimper.

Picani intends to end the session right then and there but he isn’t able to say a word before one of the centaurs from earlier is bursting through the doors.

“What happened!?” Roman gasps. “I heard screaming.”

************

This is the final straw for Anxiety. He’d thought he was going to faint until the other centaur had come crashing in but there is just something too familiar about this loud centaur. He knows someone just like that. Loud, boisterous, reckless and even with similar coloring and build. It’s too much for the young centaur to take in. His fight or flight instincts kick in- (or in his case: fight, flight or faint instincts.) - and he finds himself darting around the other centaur and fleeing down the long stretch of hallway. In the corner of his eye he sees what might be more people, possibly human, possibly centaur but it doesn’t matter to him. He knows they can be equally dangerous.

Maybe there’s yelling behind him but he isn’t sure. He thinks someone might have tried chasing him but he’s too frightened to check. He’s too frightened to do much of anything but run. Despite having been kept to only one side of the barn he has a pretty good layout of the place and, most importantly, he knows where all the exits are. He heads for the second closest one in hopes of avoiding anyone trying to cut him off. Now he definitely hears yelling and somehow his battered body manages another burst of speed.

This centaur is no fool though. He won’t be able to outrun the two largest centaurs. Running simply isn’t his strong suit and that loud one had the build of a racer. No, he’d definitely lose a race. But stealth? That he can do and he does it damn well. Time to get the fuck out of here.

Chapter Text

***************

“Where’d he go?!”

“What happened!?”

“Is he alright?!”

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t kno-”

“SILENCE!”

Logan’s booming voice has everyone coming to a halt. Specifically Roman, who’d been about to run past Logan in pursuit of the young centaur when Logan had gotten a firm grip on his arm to halt him. Thomas almost thought Logan had pulled Roman's arm right out of its socket with how hard Roman had been forced to stop.

“Tell. me. what. happened.” Logan demands, turning to face Picani.

Picani, for his part, looks frazzled. “He recognized him.” He murmurs. Then he straightens. “We need to find him.” Picani says in a calm but urgent tone. “We can’t let him be on his own right now. This isn’t your regular case of abuse and if he leaves I can guarantee no one will ever see him again.”

Shocked and frightened by such a serious statement from someone who definitely knew what he was talking about, the four others freeze in place. Roman snaps out of it first.

“Alright, then we need to split up. Logic and I are the fastest so we’ll head outside and see if he’s out there. The rest of you check the barn and guard the doors. Call us if you find anything!”

“Be gentle!” Patton begs. “He’s not thinking clearly and if we keep scaring him he’s going to get himself hurt.”

Everyone nods and then they take off, Patton and Thomas awkwardly bumping together before changing direction and running down separate halls.

To be entirely honest, the four friends are somewhat surprised that Anxiety had run instead of cowering this time and it has them all out of sorts. Then again Anxiety was a runaway. They should probably stop underestimating him.

***************************

Patton quietly trots down one of several abandoned halls within the barn. He pokes his head in every stall and storage room he comes across but so far there haven’t been any signs of life. Okay, that’s a lie. There are definitely some mice around here, probably lots of bugs too, and spiders. Oh gosh there were definitely spiders!! Something clatters by Patton’s back hooves and he shrieks. An empty glass bottle rolls harmlessly across the dusty floor. Gross.

Now that Patton is looking down he notices the faint brush lines through the dirt on the floor. It looks like someone took a small broom and randomly swiped at the floor every few feet. Patton crouches down to get a closer look. Nearly covered by the brush stroke is the faint outline of a hoof. Had someone been trying to cover them? It was either that or a centaur with feathered feet had rushed by. In retrospect it was most likely the latter.

Certain that Anxiety is nearby, Patton carefully takes in his surroundings. There isn’t much to see, he’s in an old storage room now and crates and boxes litter the floor, casting long shadows. Patton turns his phone light on since there aren’t any windows to let in what little light is left of the day. Patton tips his head and studies the crates and boxes.

“Just how many spiders do you think could fit in those?” He muses to himself, backing away. His tail brushes something and he swirls around with a shriek. Thankfully it isn’t the world's largest spider and only a stack of crates. He’s shining his light up at them for a better look when a pair of glowing eyes blink back at him and Patton stifles a scream. He might have made a run for it but a second glance shows that the eyes are only reflecting the light and not actually glowing. (that and didn’t spiders have eight eyes, not two?)

“Kiddo? Is that you?” Gosh Patton hopes it is. If it isn’t, Patton thinks he’ll have a heart attack.

Whoever it is doesn’t answer him but the eyes blink in acknowledgement. Then they disappear and a low, distressed whine breaks the silence.

As Patton’s eyes adjust further he can see the faint outline of what he’s now certain must be Anxiety. Somehow, he’d gotten up and in between several of the largest crates and his frail body shudders as he hides his face in his hands. When he still doesn’t say anything Patton tries again.

“Kiddo? Could you come down, please?” Patton has no idea how he got up there in the first place and he just hopes he isn’t stuck. That would be a serious issue.

Surprisingly the young centaur nods and cautiously begins his descent. With Anxiety preoccupied, Patton rapidly fires off a text to Thomas, letting him know he’d found the young runaway on the east end of the barn and to give them a few minutes of peace.

“I’m sorry.” The boy whispers once he’s standing before Patton.

“It’s okay kiddo, we know you didn’t mean it. You were just scared-”

Anxiety continues as though Patton hadn’t spoken. “I’m so sorry. I just- I can’t think straight, It’s like, it’s like everytime something happens I end up doing fucked up shit before I even know I moved.”

‘Language’ Patton thinks.

“Is that how you ran away?” Patton asks instead.

Patton is surprised to see Anxiety shake his head no. “I didn’t run away because of the beatings and the whipping, I can handle a little pain.

‘Little?’ Patton thinks with no small amount of horror.

“I- I’m broken.” Anxiety whimpers.

“Aw, kiddo, you’re not-”

“No, I am.” Anxiety insists. “We all were but they- no one would buy us, we were unsellable and that was the whole point so-” Anxiety breaks off with a shuddering gasp. He’s fighting for each breath now and, worried he’ll grow more distressed, Patton finishes for him.

“So you ran away.”

Anxiety shudders. “No. Well I mean yes but- it’s just- he said he’d sell me to- and I couldn’t- Ihad to run. I don't want to-” Tears flood Anxiety’s eyes faster than he can wipe them away. “I can’t be sold there.” He blurts, losing his fight against his tears, which flow freely down his cheeks now.

Patton stays quiet, unsure of how to help. It doesn’t seem as though he needs to speak though, in fact, Patton thinks it’s for the best that he doesn’t. After all, Anxiety is still here talking to him and not running or fainted on the ground. Surely that counted for something?

After a long silent moment, the younger centaur stops breathing so harshly. His tears slow and he drops his head in his hands with a soft groan. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m just so tired.” He admitted.

“Oh, kiddo, that’s okay.” Patton’s assures, heart breaking. “I know you don’t really know me, or any of us for that matter, but I promise you we don’t want to hurt you. We want to help you.”

Anxiety starts to shake his head but Patton powers on.

“It’s okay that you don’t believe me, a year ago I wouldn’t have believed me either but you know that human who keeps hanging around us? His name is Thomas and he bought all of us so he could get us out of really bad places, even though he didn’t need us. He really, really wants to help but if that’s too hard for you to believe then just believe me when I say he won’t hurt you.”

The younger centaur shrinks further in on himself. “Everyone does. Everyone wants to hurt me.” He starts off in a whisper but his voice grows stronger and more certain with every word. “Humans can’t be trusted. We can’t trust them or they’ll hurt us. Not just humans, centaurs too.” His eyes have taken on a foggy look and he sounds as though he’s rehearsing something. “I can’t trust anyone. Not even him. Especially not him.” He blinks and meets Patton’s eyes. Patton can see the war raging behind his eyes.

“I can’t trust you.” It’s hard to say whether he’s trying to convince Patton or himself.

“Give me a chance?” Patton gently holds out his hand. “Not everyone is the bad guy.”

Tears break free again and then the Anxiety is sobbing. Gut wrenching and bone rattling sobs that shake his frail frame as he digs his blunt fingernails viscously into his arms.

Patton has never wanted to hug someone more in his entire life and it is absolutely killing him that he can’t right now, he feels the need to comfort him right down to his very bones. The very last thing he want's to do is put Anxiety into a panic though so he keeps his distance.

“Sshh, it’s okay. You’re alright now, you’re not on your own anymore.” Patton whispers. It’s not enough by a long shot but Patton hopes it might do some good. Even if just a little.

********************************

Roughly twenty minutes have passed since Patton found Anxiety in a storage room and Patton feels the growing need to return, with Anxiety, to everyone else as soon as possible. It had taken poor Anxiety the majority of the twenty minutes to stop crying and now that he has, Patton intends to get moving. This half of the barn was old, deserted and in general just gave off bad vibes. It would be better if they joined the rest where it was brighter and cleaner and this needed to be done before Anxiety fell over. He seems to be embarrassed and frustrated, all overlaid with a great big dose of exhaustion.

It’s surprisingly easy to convince Anxiety to follow him but maybe that spoke more to Anxiety’s exhaustion verses his trust in Patton. Either way, he followed Patton, slowly but surely.

Patton sends a text to Thomas to pass along, telling him that he’s taking Anxiety to his room and to clear a path for them. Patton doesn’t know how Anxiety will react to anything at this point and he’s not willing to take any chances. His only goal is to get the young centaur to his bed where Patton is certain he’ll pass out.

Anxiety proves him correct when he collapses on the bed and falls asleep in under a minute. Once Patton is certain he isn’t faking it and that he won’t be waking any time soon, he quietly leaves the room to meet back up with Thomas, the social worker and his two fellow centaurs, who are all waiting for him in the living room. He feels bad but he still bolts the stall behind him. (Thomas had removed the locks on the other stalls but they had yet to get around to Anxiety’s)

“How is he?” Asks Thomas, nervous and worried.

“He’s alright. He said he didn’t mean to run and he’s pretty scared about what we’ll do to him. I tried to convince him no one was going to hurt him but I don’t think he really believed me.”

“Did he say anything about the picture he saw?” Asks Picani.

Patton shakes his head but then remembers something. He quickly starts signing, unable to speak now that he’s seen the other human is still there.

“He says Anxiety mentioned that he and several other centaurs were being held so as to be sold to the highest bidder but that they never were due to various problems which rendered them undesirable.” Translates Logan, albeit with much more professional wording.

Picani nods in understanding whilst pulling out his phone. He instantly begins typing while muttering to himself. “If I knew Shaw I probably wouldn’t be very open either.”

“Who is Shaw?” Thomas asks.

Picani startles, as though he’d already forgotten they were there. “Oh- uh. He’s nobody.”

Patton doesn’t believe that for a second but before he or anyone else can protest Picani frowns and continues.

“Scratch that, you guys will probably need to know.” Picani stops his rapid typing, something he had somehow maintained up until this point, and makes eye contact with each of them in turn. There is a frighteningly serious look on his face that hints that they won't like what he says next.

“The picture I showed our young friend was of Kevin Shaw, who we’ve been trying to track down for thirty years. He runs all the human and centaur tracking on this side of the USA and your friend there recognized him.”

Chapter Text

Everyone stares at the social worker in stunned silence and Thomas almost asks him if he’s joking. He might have even laughed if the look on Picanis face hadn’t been so serious.

“Anxiety is owned by a crime lord?” Thomas asks breathlessly.

Picani has already resumed typing and his answer is somewhat distracted. “Well, I can’t say who his actual owner is for certain or how they’re involved but this young centaur has definitely seen Shaw before, probably in person, which is more than just about anyone else can say.”

“Woah, woah, woah, are you seriously saying that Anxiety knows a crime lord? Like, he’s seen him face to face?” Roman gasps.

Picani hums in confirmation, still rapidly tapping away at his phone. “This is the first direct lead we’ve had in almost seven years.” He says distractedly.

Thomas is so on edge at this point that he nearly jumps when Picani’s phone starts buzzing a few seconds later.

“Sorry, I have to take this.” Picani says smiling apologetically as though anyone would be offended. He quickly makes his way back to the stall he’d spoken with Anxiety in and his voice fades out of earshot, which was undoubtedly the reason he left in the first place.

Thomas is nearly shaking with the need to do something. He wants to ask Picani so many questions but he wouldn’t dream of interrupting him right now. Thomas can’t even imagine who’s calling him but he suspects it’s someone incredibly important. Probably the FBI, he’s pretty sure crime lords fit into their department.

Holy shit, what has he gotten himself into??

*************

To say everyone is a little bit nervous when Picani leaves would be a massive understatement. It would be more accurate to say they were all in varying degrees of shock and panic. Thomas himself would consider his feelings to be an even fifty-fifty between the two.

Or he would if he could think anything besides- WHAT THE FUCK!?

Seriously though, what the fuck?! What is he supposed to do now? The fucking mafia? He’s housing someone on the run from the MAFIA?!? Was this even real life? How is this his life? Is he having some sort of bizarre dream? If he is having a dream could he please wake up now?

“Well…..that happened.” Roman finally breaks the silence and Thomas’s increasingly panicked train of thought.

It seems to snap everyone out of their thoughts.

“So what happens now?” Patton wonders aloud.

“I think our first step is clear.” Logan states confidently.

“Is it?” Thomas can’t help but ask.

Logan raises an eyebrow at him. “I should think our first course of action would be to increase our home security. To keep both Anxiety in and his pursuers out.”

“Do you really think anyone is gonna come after him?” Squeaks Patton.

Logan shrugs. “Picani seems quite knowledgeable on the subject so he’s most likely right if he says Anxiety is safe here. Regardless, I know I for one would still appreciate the extra precautions.”

It was true that Picani had insisted that the startling news they’d received didn’t change anything for Thomas personally. The man had confidently told them that Shaw didn’t know where Anxiety was and, Picani seemed certain, didn’t care to find him. Regardless, Thomas is still lowkey terrified.

Roman, Patton and Thomas are all quick to nod in agreement to Logan’s suggestion.

Thomas isn’t sure anything short of an armed bodyguard is going to relax him at this point but that's probably only because he’s watched too many mafia movies. This is real life and if Shaw wanted Anxiety back it wasn’t likely he’d endanger his entire operation by using a show of force to get him. If he even did try to take Anxiety it would most likely be a quiet kidnapping and as such, something a few, reasonable, safety measures could prevent.

Thomas feels himself calm down at these thoughts. This means that all he really needs is to calm down and then (and only then) start a shopping spree.

It’s with Logan and Romans help (and Pattons approval) that Thomas orders several home security devices to be delivered pronto. It’s mostly simple stuff, security cameras and better door alarms but Thomas is hoping that it’ll be enough to set everyone at ease. A good nights sleep would be fantastic.

Unfortunately no amount of alarms are going to hinder Thomas’s worry for Anxiety. Ever since the talk with Picani he’d somewhat spiraled. It is clear to anyone with eyes that Anxiety doesn’t want to be around them anymore, but they don’t dare leave him alone for fear he’ll make another run for it. Thomas feels like a prison guard and he hates it.

It’s disheartening to have Anxiety so on guard again. It felt like for each step forward they took two back.

Even though the four friends agree Anxiety should stay for the time being, no one is quite sure what to actually do with him. Things had been going so well and now they were back to square one. Anxiety isn’t speaking to anybody and he’s back to twitching and flinching when anyone gets too close, aka looks in his general direction. He’s anxious and jittery and in turn has everyone else on edge. Roman has taken to pacing again and Thomas has never been more grateful he doesn’t need his wheelchair anymore. If he’d had to hear that damn wheel squeak for the past two hours he’s sure he would have lost it.

It’s a relief when all the security equipment arrives and gives them something to do. Mostly it ends up with Roman and Thomas installing them and Logan trying to figure out how to set them up digitally. Thomas isn’t sure if they were complex or just plain difficult but it takes Logan over three hours to connect them all to Thomas’s phone and by the time he finally has he’s practically ready to toss them all in the trash.

No one had argued when it was suggested that Thomas have everything directly linked to his phone since he’s the only one who didn’t sleep in the barn and he figured that would give him both the time and safety to alert authorities should it be necessary. (Not to mention his home already had a lot of security on it so it was already the safest place.)

The first night after installing them immediately proves that this was a mistake. Thomas isn’t sure how he was never aware of it but, apparently, a lot more happened at night i the barn then he’d initially thought. He’d originally set the cameras to be motion censored so they’d alert him if anyone tried sneaking in (or if Anxiety tried to sneak out) but it’s clear now he’s going to have to find a different setting. Mainly because the early hours of the morning pass with his friends constantly going in and out of their rooms.

As it turns out both Logan and Roman were utterly incapable of spending an entire night within their own stall. At first Thomas thought they were just on guard after all the drama of recent but when a week passes and Thomas is still being regularly awoken by their nightly activities. Whatever those were. Thomas changes his assumptions when he notes that they look no different from usual in the mornings.

Okay, that and he spied on them a little. Sue him, he was concerned.

Thomas’s current (and he’s certain, correct) theory is that both Logan and Roman had to be utterly exhausted in order to fall asleep. More accurately they had to be physically exhausted. Thomas has been woken multiple times by Roman leaving the barn at three A.M. and coming back an hour later nearly shaking with exertion. The one time Thomas had gathered the courage to follow him he’d been greeted by the sight of Roman running laps around the field. On closer observation he wasn’t just running, he was racing.

By the looks of it, he didn’t do it for fun either. Roman looked drained from beginning to end but he never stopped till his legs were shaking too hard to continue. Besides this, each and every night, (and he did get up at least once a night, even if only to get water), Roman never failed to look in everyone's room and make sure they were all there, like he was worried he’d wake up to find them gone. He even checked on Anxiety, which was a little surprising.

Logan, on the other hand, was a little harder to understand. Mostly because he didn’t go outside and strayed off to the far side of the barn where the cameras only covered the exits. Thomas’s curiosity gets the better of him and, after searching, he discovers that Logan was stacking crates in one of the abandoned storage rooms. Thomas had no idea he had so many crates and boxes tucked away within his barn and he hadn't the slightest clue what could be in them. Maybe saddles? What he does know is that whatever was in them was heavy. Thomas figured that out because he tried to lift one and couldn’t budge it an inch.

Thomas isn’t willing to actively spy on Logan so he ends up checking the room each morning to see what Logan was doing with them. (Which seemed to be a better alternative that to, say, asking him what he was doing) At first he thought Logan was simply moving them out of the way to clear a path but, as the days pass by, Thomas realizes Logan is just rearranging them.

One day they were lined up against the wall and the next they were stacked in an impressive pyramid. The day following that the crates were placed in a seemingly random pattern around the room. Eventually Thomas realizes they are stacked to look like the numbers 194 from above. The next morning it’s 195 and the time after that it's 196. From there it goes back to the pyramids. The next week it picks up again at 201.

Thomas realizes that Logan is counting the nights he rearranges the crates and that he’s been doing this for a long, long time. Actually, he’s been doing it almost every night since Thomas got him and Thomas never had a clue.

Patton, on the other hand, got up far less often than the other centaurs did, only leaving his room once every few nights, maybe once a week. When he did, he’d pop his head in each room to check on the others. Once, he checks on Roman and the ex-racer isn’t there. Patton rushes as fast as he can out the door where he sees Roman racing around outside. Patton deflates in relief and then goes back to bed, from this Thomas deduces that Patton is aware of Roman, if not Logan's, nightly habits. Thomas can only imagine how badly the small centaur must have panicked the first time he’d found Logan or Roman missing. He doubts it’s happened more than once or twice though because, somehow, the centaurs are nearly never awake at the same time.

It’s kinda weird.

Screw that, it’s a lot weird. Like seriously, what the fuck is everyone constantly getting up for? Sure Thomas knows what they’re doing but he can’t even fathom why,. Can they just not sleep? Are they all insomniacs? Is Anxiety the only one who isn’t or is he just staying in his room? Are they even sleeping at all? Was this some sort of ingrained behavior or natural?

Well, whatever their reasons, one thing is for certain. Thomas is changing the alarm system. His friends might be part nocturnal but that doesn’t mean he is. If Thomas keeps getting his sleep interrupted he might just start going insane. He’s more than a little curious how they haven’t.

Maybe it was a centaur thing? Actually that was very likely. It might even explain the nap thing they all seemed to have going. At one point Thomas used to think he was a nap person but his centaur friends put his napping habits to shame. It was less about how often they napped and more about the positions he’d found them napping in.

For starters Thomas has seen all three centaurs asleep on their feet by now.

The first time he’d seen Logan sleeping while standing he hadn’t realized the centaur wasn’t awake and had given the both of them a heart attack upon accidentally waking him. In Thomas’s defense, Logan really did look awake, his arms were crossed and his head was down but Thomas had figured he must have been looking at something, how was he to know Logan slept standing up?!

It was freaky. Thomas has absolutely no idea how he does it and he made a mental note to ask whether or not it was a centaur thing or a Logan thing.

He doesn’t end up asking though after stumbling upon Patton and, later, Roman in the same state. That seemed to confirm that sleeping standing up was a centaur thing….. Well it would except for the fact that Anxiety never did. There are a few possible reasons as to why but the most likely is that Thomas isn’t sure that Anxiety has the stamina to stand for that long without consciously trying to. It’s quite possible he’d collapse. And this is still taking into account that the naps were rarely more than twenty to forty minutes at a time. Close observation showed Thomas that these odd naps didn’t just happen anytime, only when the centaurs had nothing else going on, which implied that the naps were premeditated and not just spontaneous or side effects of a poor sleeping schedule.

Then again Anxiety was the only one who didn’t nap and he was also the only one who spent the entirety of each night in his stall. Which begged the question, who was the odd one out? Did Logan, Patton and Roman all just have terrible sleep structures or was Anxiety the one with sleeping problems?

Uuuuugh, centaurs were complicated.

************

Picani calls the next day bearing both good and bad news, both to Thomas’s chagrin and relief.

“Well we have good news and bad news.” Picani starts. “The good news is our centaur friend won’t be going to training camp anytime soon.” Picani says this and he sounds so relieved over it that Thomas makes a mental note to ask someone what actually happens at training camps. But for now-

“And what’s the bad news?” Thomas asks in resignation. It isn’t as though he doesn’t already know.

“Weeeell, finding someone willing to take him in might have gotten just a liiiiittle harder.” Picani admits.

Thomas isn’t even all that disappointed this time. For one, he’d already anticipated this response and for two- well, Thomas isn’t sure he can just hand Anxiety over and go back to normal anymore. Thomas is invested now. Obviously the plan is for Anxiety to eventually leave, but Thomas would at least like to know that the young centaur goes somewhere safe. There won’t be any need for Picani to talk to him once Anxiety is gone and in that case Thomas will be completely out of the loop.

“So he’ll stay with me for now.” Thomas says, with far less resentment than he’d previously had. “Is it normal for you to leave runaways with the people who find them when you’re looking at their case?”

“Not even a little.” Picani laughs, stunning Thomas.

What was THAT supposed to mean???

“What-”

“Oops, I gotta go. I’ll contact you in a week or so, if anything happens in the meantime let me know okay?”

“Huh? But what about-”

Thomas is cut off by a loud buzzing from Picanis end of the call.

The bastard hung up.

Thomas isn’t sure if the man is growing on him or if he hates his guts.

Thomas finally puts his phone back in his pocket in defeat. He has so many questions but clearly none would be answered by Picani.

What Thomas is most curious about right now is what a training camp is. The name had seemed self explanatory but everyone talked about it like it was some horrible taboo. Thomas would just look it up on the trustworthy internet if the internet were in any way trustworthy. Thomas understands now that just because it said so on google or wiki, didn’t mean that’s the way it actually was. Mostly in that the internet spoke of what something was intended to be or what people wanted you to think it was. Sure, Thomas would get the official term for a training camp but Thomas wanted to know what they actually were, not what they were supposed to be.

And there was a guaranteed way to find that out.

“Hey Logan, can I ask you something?” Thomas asks, having caught the large centaur alone outside.

“You just did.” The large centaur points out.

Unimpressed, Thomas continues. “What exactly are training camps? I mean the name made it seem obvious but the way Picani talks about it you would think it’s…. Well, I don’t know but it seems to be his biggest concern about Anxiety.”

Logan hums thoughtfully. “So I’ve noticed. It makes sense, I have never been to one but Benny’s did send a centaur to Training Camp a few years back. After…. after that they have not done so again.”

“Oh?” Thomas says, hoping he will elaborate.

“It- it did not have the -effect they desired.” Logan stops and thinks. “Well no, I suppose they got their point across. It would be more accurate to say that they did not get their expected outcome.”

“Is it okay if I ask why?” Thomas asks, voice fighting to remain neutral. He’s actually a bit frustrated at Logan's round about and wholly unsatisfactory response. It says something that Logan is being vague and not his usual direct self though. It usually means the subject is sensitive for him.

Logan shrugs but his tense shoulders belie his attempts at normalcy. “I believe their plan was to send the most difficult centaur to training camp and make an example of him. The intention was to have him come back and display perfect obedience to discourage any misbehavior from the rest of the centaurs. They only succeeded in the latter.”

Thomas doesn’t even have to ask before Logan is barreling on with his tale, which Thomas is getting the impression he’s been holding in for a long time.

“He was gone for over a month and when he came back he was-” Logan pauses in thought.. “-broken, lost. I do not actually know how to describe it. At that point in time I had heard stories of what happens in training camps but I thought they were mostly rumors and horror stories to keep centaurs in line but-” Logan rubs his nose anxiously and shuffles his hooves in an uncharacteristic show of nerves. “Whatever happens in there must have truly been terrible to have broken someone with a spirit as strong as his.”

Thomas finds this intriguing. “So you don’t know what happened?”

Logan shakes his head. “As I said, there are only rumors, he never confirmed nor denied any of them. More accurately he didn’t speak to us at all. As I said, he was broken, or something like it at least. After, the other centaurs were terrified of training camps but I never had much fear of being sent myself, even though it was routinely threatened.”

Thomas nods solemnly, the whole story sounded horrible. It was no surprise that the other centaurs were terrified. If Logan could only describe the unfortunate centaur as broken, then Thomas can only imagine how different the other centaur had been. Of course Benny hadn’t wanted to send Logan to training camp, his fighting spirit was part of what made him so strong, to break him would make him essentially useless to Bennys.

“They were scared you wouldn’t be as useful like that other centaur.” Thomas says knowingly.

Logan shrugged. “Or worse.” Thomas blinks in confusion so Logan continues.

“He killed himself.”

Chapter Text

Thomas is staring at Logan in open horror.

What Logan had just told him was beyond tragic. The centaur who was sent to training camp had committed suicide?

If Logan notices Thomas shock he doesn’t care as he continues on with the tale.

“After that unfortunate turn of events they never sent a centaur to training again but the whole experience was so frightening to most that I don’t think Benny’s considered it a total loss.”

“Not a total loss?! Somebody died!”

Logan glares at him. “Yes. He did. And now others will not make the same mistakes he did. It served its purpose. To lose one centaur in the name of keeping the rest in check is considered a rather reasonable and effective plan. I don't know why you are so shocked. You were there when the same was attempted with me, as I was to become their second example.”

“B-but, you- he-” Thomas is at a loss for words. What Logan is implying- no what Logan is saying, is that his death would have been used as a motivational story about why centaurs shouldn’t behave like he did. Who is Thomas kidding? It probably already was being used that way. Hell, no wonder the other centaurs had been so shocked to see Logan during the flood! They were all convinced he was dead!

“Regardless-” Logan continues as though there had been no interruptions. “I never feared Benny’s would send me to a training camp for as long as I was of use. Besides, they found other ways to motivate us without sending anyone to training again.”

Thomas suspects that tasers had come into play when attempting to ‘motivate’ Logan. The large centaur definitely had a serious fear of them. Which was perfectly reasonable if Benny’s had been using them as a form of punishment. Thomas has never been tasered but he’s seen videos (he had once -alright more than once- gotten sucked into the void that was youtube and somehow ended up watching an ‘epic fail’ compilation of people getting tased.)- and the one thing all the videos had in common was that it looked extremely painful. (that and they were all incredibly stupid)

Knowing that someone had used such a horrible device on Logan, undoubtedly multiple times, is horrible. Thomas can’t help but remember how frightened Logan had been way back when they first met and Logan thought Thomas was going to taser him. He must have some serious trauma related to them.

And yet Logan speaks as though he were the lucky one. And without knowing what actually happened in training camps, maybe he was.

It was a very disturbing thought.

‘Did all that happen recently?” Thomas can’t help but to ask.

“No, this was long before you came to work there. I was probably sixteen at the time. It was-” Logan stops with a far away look in his eyes.

When he says nothing else Thomas knows the conversation is over. There were many words that would accurately fit the end of Logan’s unfinished sentence, ranging from horrific to tragic and anywhere in between. Thomas thinks that, for Logan himself, it was most likely traumatic. No one, not even the self proclaimed ‘emotionless’ Logan, could go through such an experience and come out the other side unscathed.

Logan seems to consider the conversation done so Thomas willingly drops it. Since there's no reason to stay in the barn Thomas heads back to his house but that night he can’t help but dwell on his and Logan’s conversation. It made sense now why Picani was so determined to keep Anxiety out of training camp. The man probably knew exactly what happened in them, hence his determination to keep centaurs out. Thomas could ask him for details if he really wanted to but Thomas doesn’t want to know anything more about training camps anymore. Oddly enough he’s found himself taking Logan's stance on the whole thing. He now knows they were essentially legalized abuse (possibly torture) camps and he’s content to leave it at that.

The next morning Thomas feels a little better about the whole thing. Like Picani, Thomas too finds himself deeply relieved that Anxiety will be able to avoid the training camps. Anxiety had clearly been through, what likely totaled to, years of abuse, the thought of anyone putting him through more was horrifying.

Speaking of Anxiety, Thomas had expected him to stay hidden for at least a week after Picani's last visit but that didn’t seem to be the case. When Thomas had entered the barn, fully expecting Anxiety to still be hidden away in his room, he had instead been greeted to the sight of Anxiety calmly setting the table. Under Patton's soft directions of course, since it didn’t seem as though the young had ever done something so domestic as setting a table before.

The fact that Anxiety wasn't hiding from Thomas was surprising and the fact that he could maintain eye contact even more so. In fact, Anxiety had approached Thomas directly after breakfast of his own free will to ask him a question. All by himself! It was too bad Thomas hadn’t had an answer, even if he really should have expected the question, considering it was something each of the other three centaurs had asked him before.

“What do you want me to do?” Anxiety asks, twisting his jacket sleeves nervously.

Thomas doesn’t know what to say. Mostly because there isn't anything to do. Logan took care of finances, Patton had all the household duties and Roman took care of everything else, leaving Thomas to bounce between all three. Thankfully, Thomas would only have to think up some random chores for him to keep busy until Picani took Anxiety off their hands. Still, what was Thomas supposed to say? He could technically continue helping Patton but there weren't enough chores to keep the two of them busy for long. If Patton weren’t so thorough he’d have probably run out of things to do ages ago.

Thomas stutters and racks his brain for an answer before it hits him. Yes! He finally has an excuse! Thomas bites back an evil laugh and tries not to smile too wide. He can finally upgrade his friends living space and say it was all to keep Anxiety busy! It’s so clever!

Thomas has been thinking about this for a long time so he knows exactly what he wants to do first.

“Well, there are a lot of renovations that need to be done and we could really use the help. Do you know how to paint?” He asks.

Anxiety doesn’t look like he’d expected that. Which, fair, the guy had undoubtedly lived in a barn his whole life. The chances that he’d ever painted something were rather low. Still, Anxiety nods.

“I’ve painted a little before.” He says.

Thomas isn’t sure how much ‘a little’ is but it couldn’t possibly be less experience than Thomas has since he hasn’t painted anything ever. How hard could it be though? You get paint, you get a brush and viola! There is a nagging sensation in the back of Thomas’s head saying that isn’t how it works but he pushes it aside.

‘Not now internal Logan!’

“That’s great cause we really need to paint the living room.” Thomas says with a slightly too large smile. Patton, Logan and Roman were sure to disagree about whether a paint job was actually necessary but Thomas is determined not to lose this chance.

It doesn’t look as though Anxiety thinks it’s necessary either but unsurprisingly he keeps his thoughts to himself, something Thomas is sure the other three centaurs wont. It’s fine though, Thomas is almost certain he can convince them. After all, he has an excuse now, and an admittedly good one too. Anxiety really does need something to do. The only reason he hadn't been given something sooner is because he'd been so sick. This is the best idea Thomas has and he doesn’t really know what else to tell him should this fall through.

Well, he’ll figure that out if it comes to it but he doesn’t think it will. He just needs to approach this the right way. He’s pretty sure he should start by getting the okay from Logan. He will definitely be the hardest centaur to convince and getting everyone else to agree first would only make him feel ganged up on, which is something Thomas would like to avoid. Logan didn’t take confrontations well (or calmly) and Thomas doesn’t want him to feel pressured.

With all this in mind, Thomas waits until he and Logan are once again going over his business accounts, something the other centaurs (and Thomas) have no interest in and usually try to avoid by proximity.

“Sooooo, Anxiety is asking me what he should do and I’m thinking we could fix up the living room.” Thomas starts. It’s best to throw it all out there, Logan didn’t appreciate subtlety so what would be the point?

Logan immediately looks like he’s fighting back a glare as he sets down his pencil. “Thomas, as I’ve said before, our living situation is perfectly adequate. We do not need renovations. It would be a waste of your money.”

“Aha!” Thomas crows, startling the large centaur. This is where Thomas has Logan. “Two things.” Thomas says, holding up his fingers. “One: It won’t cost hardly anything if we do all the work ourselves. Two: It would keep Anxiety from feeling useless, which you know is important.” (after all, hadn’t that once been a serious issue for Logan? It would be hypocritical of him to argue with that.)

“You would still have to pay for whatever tools and supplies are necessary to ‘upgrade’-” Logan makes quotation marks. “-our living situation. Which, may I repeat, is not necessary.”

Thomas sighs. How come Logan always had to be so stubborn? “Logan, you of all people know I can afford it. I swear, we won’t do anything drastic.”

“I very much doubt your version of ‘drastic’ and mine are even remotely similar but, in the name of humoring you, what is it you plan to renovate?”

Now Thomas had thought about this many times before and he’s pretty sure he’s come up with something that was a perfect blend of cheap and simple- (Logan's biggest arguments) and still be something that would, at the very least, make the place look more like a home than a poorly furnished warehouse. Which is what their ‘living room’ currently resembled, what with the rough cement floor and walls that were, for some reason, wooden planks hidden behind some sort of thin plywood. It gave the impression of a half finished house. Of course, replacing the walls would be out of the question but Thomas is pretty sure he’s found a loophole.

“We can paint the walls!” Thomas says with as much enthusiasm as he can muster and only just holding back from making jazz hands.

Thomas isn’t sure what reaction he expected but it certainly hadn’t been Logan just staring at him in confusion.

“Paint…. the walls?”

“Yes! We can paint them a lighter color since it’s always so dark here, or we could paint it to look like wooden planks!”

“Thomas-”

“Before you disagree, hear me out.” Thomas barrels on. “We wouldn’t have to buy anything. Roman found a whole bunch of brushes and buckets in one of the back rooms and we can do all the painting ourselves. It isn’t anything too dramatic but it would make the place look less like a-” Thomas barely chokes back the word ‘barn’. That would definitely not go over well. It was a barn and to insinuate otherwise would definitely set Logan off again. It’s likely Patton and Roman would be upset too so instead Thomas flounders about for a word before simply giving up. Whatever, finished sentences were overrated anyway.

Logan sighs. “You really feel that strongly about this?”

Thomas thinks he should be asking Logan that but-

“Yes. It won’t cost anything and it’ll keep us all busy.”

The way Logan's shoulders slump tells Thomas that he’s won. They are finally updating the barn! And all it took was a couple of month and a runaway. Still, it was progress.

“Fine.” Logan grumbles. “I suggest getting Patton and Roman aboard this venture of yours first though.”

Thomas nods because he’d already planned to do that. After all, he was going to need their help and Thomas didn’t want them to feel like they had no say.

Like Logan, when Thomas brings it up to Patton and Roman they both look thoroughly confused.

“Paint the walls? Why?” Patton asks.

“Because it looks so drab.” Thomas explains.

Patton and Roman don’t look convinced.

“And it’ll keep Anxiety busy.” Thomas tacks on, hoping to sweeten the deal.

“Oh! Then yes!” Patton agrees.

“It’s your barn.” Says Roman with a shrug.

Thomas isn’t sure he likes the second answer but he decides to accept it anyway. It was true after all. Plenty of landlords updated their property without their tenants having a say and Thomas reasons that this isn’t all that different. Surely asking to paint the living room wasn’t crossing any boundaries.

Of course, nothing is ever perfect and, to Logan’s chagrin, the endeavor ends up costing more than Thomas had thought. Which is because, after a little research, he’d learned that they would have to cover the walls with a thin layer of plaster first, because painting over plywood was ‘ill advised’ and apparently would look terrible. Which is kind of hilarious because that’s exactly what had been done to the walls and they really do look terrible. Clearly someone hadn’t taken the internet's advice and had painted directly on the thin ply wall boards instead of covering them first in a layer of mortar.

Thomas is relieved to learn that this was something they could still do themselves, albeit far slower than a professional. In fact, Thomas doubts Anxiety will still be around by the time they get to the painting, although it didn’t really matter since plastering the walls would still be keeping Anxiety busy and that was the main point.

And they were busy. While Logan had initially tried to stay out of it, as he’d stated before, he changed his mind quickly after watching Roman and Thomas make some sort of horrific slime with the mortar. Logan quickly corrected it by adding in more of the strange white powder and not sticking it in the microwave as suggested by Roman. (That was what had convinced Logan to interfere.)

Everyone is relieved when Logan joins them but they don’t mention that it’s because of his height and not the extra set of hands. As the only one here who can climb a ladder, Thomas is doubly glad Logan joined, since he will be cutting down quite a few feet that Thomas would have otherwise had to plaster alone. Still, Thomas is likely to end up doing twice as much work as everyone else because he is both the only one who can comfortably reach the floor as well as the only one who can climb ladders.

Shortly after Logan took over and not long after Roman left to sulk, Roman found a solution to the 'overworking Thomas’ dilemma. In the form of a small forklift, which Thomas hadn’t known he had. It really was incredible how much machinery Thomas had tucked away in the back of his barn. And boy is he grateful for that, the centaurs may not be able to climb a ladder but they could definitely ride a forklift. Now all he had to do was convince one of them to do it.

Thomas asks and is quickly shot down.

“No thanks, I hate heights.” Roman says immediately, leaving no room for debate.

“I am not convinced it could hold my weight for such an extended period of time.” Logan says, eyeing the heavy duty machine with distrust. “Or at all.”

“They have before.” Thomas points out.

Logan looks at Thomas in confusion. “When?”

Thomas belatedly remembers that Logan hadn’t really been conscious when he and several employees of Benny’s had lifted Logan with a forklift in order to get him onto Thomas’s truck. Thomas had thought Logan would have remembered at least a little though. Then again the centaur had pretty much been at death's door, it wasn’t unreasonable that he wouldn’t remember anything. Thomas immediately regrets bringing it up in the first place.

“Uh, it was-” Thomas runs a hand through his hair awkwardly. “At Benny’s” He mumbles.

Logan’s expression shutters and then quickly goes blank. “I see.”

Before things can get more awkward, Anxiety cautiously raises his hand to interrupt. “I don’t mind heights.” He says.

It catches Thomas off guard. “You don’t?” Maybe it was unfair but Thomas had started to think Anxiety was scared of everything.

Anxiety shakes his head though, confirming that Thomas heard him right.

“It’s not a problem, I’ll do it.”

Thomas studies the centaur. He isn't sure if Anxiety is just saying that because he thinks he has something to prove or if he legitimately doesn’t mind but there isn’t a way to tell besides letting him have at it. If he started panicking then they would toss that idea out the window and continue with the original plan. Make Thomas do it all. Gosh, Thomas hopes Anxiety isn’t lying.

******

An hour in and it is immediately clear that this will be a way bigger project than Thomas originally thought. On the plus side, the considerable differences in height between the friends is finally being put to good use.

Everyone lines up by height, spaced out a few feet apart from each other, and gets to work. Thomas is at the front of the line, working from the floor up and leaving off as soon as Patton can comfortably reach it. From there Patton spread the plaster up the wall up to Roman, who continued up to Logan with Anxiety starting where Logan left off and then finishing at the roof. It was unbelievably effective. It was also unbelievably tiring.

Even with five people working at once progress is slow. They spend about five hours on it the first day, pausing for lunch, and only manage to cover one wall. The shortest one at that. Still, Thomas thinks they are getting the hang of it. While everyone else cleans and puts away the tools Thomas finds himself, once again, focusing on the floor. He, somewhat bitterly, scrapes off all the dried out plaster that had accidentally ended up on the ground and wonders to himself when he had become the shortest in his friend group. Sure Thomas had never been what most would consider tall, but he’d never thought of himself as short before.

In the past, the duties of ‘shortest friend’ had been placed exclusively on Talyn, with Thomas playfully teasing and cooing at them in turn. It was a lot less fun to be on the receiving end and Thomas is seriously considering apologizing to Talyn. It was a relief to him that Patton generally received the most attention, being short and a centaur. That and he was always cute, short or not. But being a centaur still meant Patton wasn’t as flexible (another thing Thomas had never considered himself to be) and that meant Thomas ended up being the one to constantly lean down for others. Logan or Roman dropped something? Ask the conveniently nearby Thomas to get it. Although to be fair, Logan never asked him, Thomas usually offered to get it and then did so anyway before he could refuse.

Thomas scrapes off the last of the plaster and straightens with a groan. He tilts his head back as he straightens and then groans even louder. Someone missed a spot! And judging by the height, Thomas thinks he knows who. With a sigh, Thomas stretches up in an attempt to smooth a spot Roman had missed.

“Woah, Thomas, did you just get taller?” Roman gasps, eyes are wide as baseballs. When had he come over?

Thomas thinks for a moment in confusion before realizing what Patton meant. “Oh. I’m on my tippy toes.” He explains.

“You’re titty what now?”

“NO!” Thomas shouts as he may or may not blush. “I said my tippy toes. As in the tips of my toes.”

“You can do that?” Roman says, staring in fascination at Thomas’s feet, who is suddenly foot conscious.

Thomas glances down at his own sneaker clad feet and wiggles them around. “Um..yeah. My feet…. bend.” He stutters lamely.

Roman looks horribly disturbed. “And they aren’t broken?”

“No. It’s kinda…how people are born?”

“So kinda like mini knees in your feet?”

The mental image that thought supplies Thomas with is something straight out of a fever dream. In an attempt to escape his disturbed thoughts Thomas studies Roman's own legs and- wait

“Roman, you can bend your hooves too, why are you so weirded out with my feet?” Thomas accuses. Of course Thomas isn’t referring to Romans actual hoof, which certainly could not bend. Thomas was referring to just above his hoof where centaurs and horses did, in fact, have something similar to an ankle. Thomas has no idea what the actual term for it is though, he wouldn’t have even known it was a thing if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes.

Roman glances down. “Well sure I can bend them a bit.” He says demonstrating. “But I can’t make myself taller.” He looks excited. "Can you imagine? That would be so cool!"

"Roman, it only makes me a few inches taller."

"You could say it only gives you a foot." Patton giggles, coming over to help Thomas gather the scattered tools.

Thomas finds himself chuckling at the horrible pun. It didn't even make a ton of sense but Patton's giggles are contagious.

"Patton, did you know humans could do that?" Roman asks the pony once he's stopped laughing at his own joke.

"What, stretch on their toes? Yeah, I knew, although the first time I saw a foot bend I thought it was broke." Patton laughs. "Gosh, sometimes I really wish I could do that." He says wistfully.

Unfortunately for the pony, the only way for him to gain any height was by rearing up on his hind legs, something Thomas has never seen him do. In fact, the only centaur he's ever seen rear up is Logan and that was when he was crushing that horrible mouth piece Patton had had when they first met him. Thomas isn’t sure if there’s a real reason behind them never rearing or if it's a simple lack of a need to do so. Except for Patton of course but now that he and Thomas have their own designated stool it hardly seemed worth mentioning.

Live and let live as Thomas always says.

Chapter Text

It's been four days since Picani had left and, although the social worker had called that one time, no one was really sure what was going on. Thomas had assumed that Anxiety would have been interviewed at least once by now but so far nothing. Logan and Roman had both expressed confusion over this as well.

For the first time Thomas decides not to wait around for the social worker to fill him in and to take matters into his own hands. He calls Picani, which goes about as well as all his other interactions with the man goes, that is to say it’s confusing.

It starts off with his call nearly going to voicemail, with Picani only picking up at the last possible second.

“Huh? Wuzzup?”

Thomas is startled to hear the man slur his words. He almost sounded drunk.

“Uh, is this a bad time?” Thomas asks, glancing at the clock. It’s only 2pm.

“What? No, no this is- uh- this is fine. Sorry, who is this?”

Thomas actually rolls his eyes at that. “Thomas Sanders.”

“Oh!” Picani suddenly sounds much more alert and Thomas realizes he sounded more tired than drunk. “Of course, I answered out of habit and didn’t open my eyes in time to see who was calling.”

“Were you asleep?” Thomas questions.

Picani just laughs, sounding somewhat nervous. “What, on the job? Of course not. Anyway, what were you calling about?”

And now Thomas has to put his confused and jumbled thoughts into a cohesive sentence. Which, to be blunt, he sucks at. “I was wondering what the heck is going on?”

‘Great job, Thomas. He’ll definitely know what you’re talking about.’

“Oh, you mean what have I been doing since I last called and when is anybody coming to ask your centaur more questions?”

Thomas is too surprised to answer but Picani just carries on anyway.

“Well that all depends on how long it takes for me to convince a higher up to look into our case.”

“They don’t care or they just don’t believe you?” Thomas asks, unsure of which was more likely.

The man yawned before continuing. “A mix of both, the hardest part is getting anyone to believe a centaur.”

Thomas doesn’t find this as hard to believe as he once would have.

“It’s like this,” Picani starts. “There are several government agents that have infiltrated different trafficking or drug dealing rings, but the hard part is finding out whether they are connected to Shaw or not. From what we know the man almost never directly deals with his organization and usually just passes along his orders. Which makes it even more shocking that your centaur recognized him, because it means he showed up in person.” Picani’s rambling is once again broken by a yawn and Thomas has to wonder when was the last time the man slept. “If we can get your centaur to I.D. a few more faces we’ll know which agent is on the right track but, like I said, it’s hard to convince the FBI of that.”

Picani seems to realize he’s getting too lost in details and he chuckles. “But you don’t need to know all that.

Thomas is pretty sure he wasn’t allowed to know all that either. It looked like once you got Picani talking he just kept going. Thomas is tempted to use that to find out more but he’s also worried it would get him in trouble. It would definitely get Picani in trouble.

“Okay, so what do I do?” Thomas asks.

“There’s nothing you can do at the moment. I’ll handle the big wigs, you just need to make sure the young centaur feels safe and that he doesn’t try to run again. I assume he’s getting less docile? Not to menti-” There's a sudden, loud beeping sound. “-oops, sorry I got to go. Did I answer all your questions?”

Thomas manages to give a hum and then Picani has hung up. Thomas isn’t upset this time, the man clearly had a lot going on and he also had a really good point too.

As previously predicted, Anxiety had become less docile with each day that passed, which was both relieving and frustrating. For the most part Anxiety hadn’t been too difficult but he was beginning to show what seemed to be a very stubborn side to him that Thomas hadn’t really expected. It was now very clear to all whether he wanted to do as told anymore, with him either scowling or occasionally arguing back. But, as of yet, Anxiety still did whatever was asked of him. Which means Thomas still has to closely watch what he says. Thomas wasn’t the only one either, everyone else was carefully watching their words as well, worried they might trigger something.

And there are triggers. Simple things. Things that didn’t make any sense. Like how asking Anxiety’s opinion on literally anything had him stumbling to a halt and helplessly floundering for words. Logan was the first to redirect his questions to a simple yes or no answer. Such as changing ‘how did you sleep?’ to ‘Did you sleep well?’ or ‘Is there something you need?’ to ‘Are you hungry?’ or ‘Did you need me to explain something?’ And so on until he got a ‘yes’. Patton had caught on quickly and soon after called a private meeting regarding it.

It went well, more or less.

~

“So you guys have probably noticed how uncomfortable Anxiety is when we talk to him, specifically when we ask a question.” Patton starts.

“Naturally.”

“Uh-huh.”

“What?”

Everyone ignores Roman.

“Well I think we need to stop giving him so many options.”

Thomas frowns. “What do you mean?”

“Well,” Patton explains. “I think we’re overwhelming him with options.”

Logan nods. “I recommend limiting his choices to two.”

“How would that help?” Asks Roman. “It’s not like we’ve been asking him questions about rocket science or anything.”

“Because kiddo, he’s probably never been asked that kind of stuff. Sometimes I still have trouble when I have too many options.”

Thomas is a bit surprised to hear this but, when he thinks about it, Patton pretty much always followed everyone else’s lead. He did let them make most of the decisions, didn't he? That wasn’t to say Patton wasn’t assertive, he just preferred not having to make decisions. From a minor ‘what movie should we watch’ to something like redecorating his entire home. On second thought maybe he wasn’t all that assertive. Thomas resolves to pay more attention to that. He doesn’t want to steamroll Patton just because the poor guy wasn’t used to having a choice.

“Okay, so I guess we’ll just ask less questions and try to avoid too many options.” Thomas agrees.

Everyone nods (Except Roman, who just shrugs.)

They try that and find that Anxiety avoids them slightly less. Apparently he had really hated being asked questions. That or he just hated being talked to. Both were likely scenarios.

Another trigger seemed to be compliments. It didn’t even have to be a compliment, he would even react poorly to an innocent comment. Anything that showed someone had noted something in particular about him. For instance, Patton had once told him ‘You look like you slept good-’ and Anxiety had. freaked. out.

Thomas isn’t sure if it was because Anxiety hated having someone's direct attention on him or if it was because Patton had mentioned his physical appearance.

Now THAT was the true trigger. Like, the major one. Anxiety was extremely self conscious about his looks and not in the way most people (such as Roman) were. Anything negative was accepted with a shrug or sassy come back but a compliment? You might as well have threatened to slit his throat.

A simple ‘looking good’ was enough to guarantee no one would be seeing him for the rest of the day. Thomas never knew something as simple as a compliment could cause anyone so much distress and fear.

The good news was that avoiding giving Anxiety compliments wasn’t hard. Thomas felt sort of bad about it but where he found it easy to compliment others, he just- never really thought to with Anxiety. Maybe it was because of his almost constant scowl or maybe it was how he always looked like he’d just pulled an all-nighter or three but, for whatever reason, Thomas’s gut reaction when he saw him wasn’t to say anything positive. It was usually something along the lines of ‘feeling okay buddy?’, ‘Did you sleep, like, at all?’, ‘ Can I get you an aspirin?’ or ‘Do you need medical attention?’.

Those never went over well either but at least Anxiety didn’t disappear like he did when it was something positive. A part of Thomas thinks that Anxiety consciously chose to appear the way he did. Not in the ‘I don’t give a fuck’ vibe he gave off but more like he was going for the half dead look intentionally to keep others away. Either way it isn’t Thomas’s business so he just does his best to not comment on Anxiety’s looks at all.

If only Roman would get the memo and stop picking on him. Luckily (unluckily?) Roman’s comments tended to fall on the negative side, which Anxiety responded better to. And he did respond now days. While Roman was quick and creative with his comebacks, Anxiety tended to take a more ‘Logan like’ approach. He was good at twisting insults back on the person who made them and it really threw Roman off. Thomas wishes he could say that Roman backed off after that but, if anything, it only seemed to spur him on.

Patton usually put a stop to any ‘creative banter’ Roman started (and he always started it) and thanks to him it never got nasty. Thomas isn’t sure if it would have anyway. He thinks that Anxiety would back down before it became heated but he’s starting to see a stubborn side to the boy that makes him unsure. Anxiety wasn’t the determined type like Roman nor the solid stubbornness that was Logan. Anxiety was the type to give up on just about anything no questions asked, but when it came to making him do something he really didn’t want to?

Thomas is pretty sure he would have better luck forcing a starved bulldog to let go of the world's juiciest steak than make Anxiety do something he was dead set against. Like letting Patton and Thomas continue bandaging his back for instance. He’d shut that down hard a week ago and, honestly, without physically forcing him down, there was nothing anyone could do about it. It was then that Thomas first catches a glimpse of who he thinks Anxiety really is under all his fear and uncertainty.

The few things Thomas has seen so far pointed towards a sarcastic, clever and deeply observant boy. Unfortunately, most of this was buried deeply beneath some serious PTSD. Under different circumstances, Thomas would be trying to convince him to see a professional therapist, even if just to diagnose him, but he knows it would do more harm than good to suggest that now. Thomas has often thought that all four of the centaurs could benefit from some form of counseling or another but he knows better than to mention it. He knew they would see it as him telling them they were crazy or broken or something and that’s not taking into account that centaur psychiatrists didn’t even exist.

Another (totally not relevant) reason is that Thomas feels too much like a hypocrite to even suggest it. He knows that he could benefit from some psychiatric help himself. Being locked away in your house for two solid years, only leaving once, maybe twice a week, wasn’t a good sign of mental stability. To be fair, Thomas had tried counseling after the accident that took his parents lives but he’d given up when the first person he tried ended up being an insensitive asshole. Like seriously, that dude made Thomas feel like he was crazy just for grieving his parents. It was horrible and needless to say Thomas hadn't returned.

Thomas should probably give it another shot though, he has been told it’s normal to go through more than one person to find somebody who fits well with you.

‘Maybe I should try ag-’

“What’cha thinking about Thomas?”

Thomas startles and nearly falls off the fence he was sitting on. Roman snorts, reaching out a hand to catch him.

“Don’t go falling for me.” He snickers, effortlessly lifting Thomas back on.

Thomas grips tightly onto the wooden plank beneath him and tries to steady his breathing.

“You’ve been spending too much time with Patton.” He accuses.

Roman shrugs. “Actually I haven’t been hanging out with him much at all, lately. He’s so focused on Anxiety all the time.”

Thomas knows what he means. Truth is he’s been worried Patton is going to burn himself out with how much he worried and cared for the youngest centaur. He probably only hadn’t because the boy kept turning him down all the time.

“Yeah, I know. Things have really changed, haven’t they?”

Roman nods, sitting down with a loud ‘whump’ and resting his arms on the rail beside Thomas.

“Yeah. I mean, it's not all bad, it’s just a lot, you know?”

Thomas nods in agreement and they both sit in companionable silence for a few minutes.

“To think I was in competitive racing a couple months ago.” Roman reminisces. “It feels like it's been years.”

“Dude, not even a year ago I was a hermit who only left my house once a week max.” Thomas counters, finding it hard to believe himself.

“Wait, what? Why? How’d you get Logan then?”

“Uh-” Thomas doesn’t have a short answer for that. To be honest he’d sort of assumed Logan, or Patton at least, would have filled Roman in by now. It would seem the centaurs weren’t very open about their pasts even with each other. Thomas had always assumed that, as the only human, he was left out of those types of discussions. Now it looked like Thomas was in the loop just as much as everybody else. Which was somewhat sad whilst also relieving.

It meant his friends weren’t leaving him out of things due to mistrust towards his human nature, they just simply didn’t…trust…anyone?

Roman once again snaps Thomas out of his thoughts.

“You don't have to tell me. In fact, forget I asked.” He says, reminding Thomas he'd asked a question.

“No, Roman, it’s okay. It’s just a- it’s just a really long story? I guess the gist of it is I went into a bit of a…-slump, after my parents died. Eventually I got a job though and that’s how I met Logan.

“Oh.” Roman looks away and a solemn air surrounds the two.

“Losing family is hard.” Roman says, startling Thomas out of his thoughts.

Thomas agrees full heartedly but he doesn’t really know how to respond to that so he just hums in agreement.

“I mean, I know losing friends is awful too and all but there's something- I don’t know. It feels different.” Roman rambles. “Like, family is generally made up of people who have known you since birth and friends are people you meet after, so like, there’s a power imbalance. In a way there are some things that only your family will ever know or truly understand about you. Not to mention how many of your early memories and experiences were made with them or because of them.” Roman’s words are starting to blend together. “But then when you lose them it’s kind of like you lost a part of you? Like all those memories and all those adventures just got torn in half? Kinda like you got torn in half?”

“Roman?” Thomas can’t help but interrupt, concerned for Roman, who seemed to be getting lost within his own spiraling thoughts.

Roman jolts at the sound of his name. He stares at Thomas for almost a full minute with a far away look in his eyes before blinking hard and turning away with a fake laugh.

“Haha, forget it. I was just rambling nonsense again, you know how I am. Always talking, never thinking.” Roman tries to chuckle but it almost sounds more like choking.

“Roman, don’t-” Thomas was going to say something along the lines of ‘don’t try to brush this off’ but he rethinks it after seeing the look on his friend's face.

“Don’t sell yourself short.” Thomas says instead. “Just because you talk a lot doesn’t mean nothing you say matters. You’re plenty smart and I like hearing what you have to say.”

Roman actually looks a little startled at this but then he smiles, genuinely this time, and laughs. “Well, you’d be the first, but thanks.”

A peaceful silence falls on them once again and this time neither feels like breaking it.

Chapter Text

*************

Thomas is sure to check that he is alone before whipping out his phone and bringing up ‘home depots’ official website. He’s mostly worried that Logan will realize what he’s doing and make him stop or if anyone else saw him- well they were likely to report him to Logan.

Honestly he’s not doing anything wrong, it’s just he’d promised Logan they wouldn’t have to buy any paint for the living room (which they had nearly finished plastering) and the short of it is this-

They need to buy paint for the living room. No, Thomas hadn’t lied when he’d said they had plenty of paint and painting supplies scattered throughout the storage rooms in the barn; the problem was they had yet to find any in the right color.

Thomas is particularly fond of the idea to paint the walls to resemble wooden planks, which would give the room a more modern ‘rustic’ appearance. Partially because he thinks that design is cool and partially because it would still resemble a barn enough to keep his friends comfortable.

Personally Thomas didn’t used to be a fan of modern home designs. The magazines his Dad always picked up had pictured homes that looked more like a cabin or (ironically) a barn, which he always thought was dumb. Having spent so much time in an actual barn now, Thomas is starting to see the appeal. It was simple, a little bland and exactly what his friends needed.

All this to say, they needed to buy paint.

Thomas is broken from his secret shopping spree by loud whooping from down the hall.

“GUYS! GUYS! WE’RE ON THE NEWS!”

Initially Thomas can only assume the worst but when Roman rushes out of his room with a grin from ear to ear he relaxes.

“Who’s on the news?” Patton asks.

“The centaurs from the flood! Look! That’s Logan in the back!”

This catches Logan’s immediate attention and soon everyone but Anxiety is crowded around Roman’s phone. (Which he was holding down so Patton and Thomas could see.)

Just as Roman had said, there’s a reporter on screen speaking in a mike and behind her Thomas can see Logan. He has his back to the camera but is recognizable by both his shirt and how he towers over even the other centaurs.

“That’s so cool!” Patton squeals.

Then the screen changes to show the same reporter in what is clearly a later interview outside the same gym they’d all taken refuge in that night. She speaks with a few different people before turning to speak directly to the camera.

“And now we have here with us the youngest hero of the night. This is Louis Armstrong, who bravely declined rescue until he had ensured his elderly neighbor and her four year old grandson were both saved from the flood waters that destroyed their home.”

“Oh! Oh! I know that kid!” Roman yells. “He and I were the ones to go off and get the old lady and little boy out of their flooded house!”

Indeed Thomas thinks he does recognize the boy as the one who’d come to thank Roman for his help.

“Do you think they’ll mention you?” Patton asks.

“We’ll find out if you all stop talking.” Logan huffed.

They all tune back in just in time to hear the female reporter say- “-on a brave rescue mission with a centaur who, apparently, didn’t know how to swim.”

It’s silent for a moment before everyone explodes.

“Didn’t know how to swim?”

“HOLY FUCK ROMAN CAN YOU NOT SWIM?!”

“That little snitch!” Roman shrieks. “He promised not to rat me out!”

“Roman! Are you saying you went on that whole rescue mission, in a flood, and you don’t know how to swim?!” Thomas repeats.

“It didn’t seem important at the time!” Protests Roman.

“You did not think swimming was a necessary skill when you were in a flood?” Logan doesn’t look impressed.

“I’m a runner, not a swimmer, alright? What do you want from me? Besides, the kid taught me how. I’m basically a pro now.”

“How are you still alive?” Logan asks, clearly bewildered that Roman had made it this far in life despite his terrible decision making skills.

“Ok, look. You guys are blowing this way out of proportion-”

“Dude, you could have drowned!”

“But I didn’t!” Roman insists. “I figured it out just in time so everything is hunky dory-”

“You almost drowned?” Patton asks. Even though he speaks quietly everyone immediately pauses. Maybe it’s because of the genuine distress in his voice or maybe it’s the tears in his eyes.

“Uh-” Roman hesitates. “No? Hahaha, of course not. Phhhh- as if- I’m the prince, of course I didn’t.”

Thomas grows more and more horrified the more Roman blusters on because the more the centaur talks the more and more obvious it is that he’s lying.

Had they really come so close to losing Roman that night?

Roman finally stops rambling and crosses his arms with a huff. “Let's just watch the news okay?”

They do since no one is really sure what else to say and after a moment Thomas is forgetting all about it. Instead he is horrified to catch a glimpse of his brightly colored, pajama clad self, running around in the background of two or three of the flood videos. At one point the news focuses on the gym that had temporarily housed all the flood refugees and they all cheer to see a close up of Patton and his small army of children.

Thomas is a little disappointed that they never see Roman in the background at any point, however, Roman insists he doesn't mind since he’s ‘been on the news enough before, even if you losers never saw it’. Thomas thinks it’s bullshit though, Roman had done something genuinely heroic and he deserved to be recognized for it.

Apparently Louis, Romans fellow hero, thought so too, because when they focus back on him, the teen boy insists on giving most of the credit to Roman. Funnily enough Roman is doing the same.

The reporter, to Thomas’s chagrin, keeps trying to change the subject and is all around doing her best not to mention centaurs, specifically Roman at all. And Louis isn’t having it.

“If that centaur hadn’t taken me to find Mrs. Mortimer and Sheldon then neither of them would be alive today.” Louis says insistently.

“Yes, it was incredibly brave of you-”

“He was the one who did all the swimming and while he was holding Mrs. Mortimer. I just had to sit still and make sure Sheldon didn’t fall off.”

“Very heroic of you-”

The reporter starts gesturing for the camera to turn but Louis cuts her off again.

“I fell off once. The centaur came back to save me. He didn’t even know how to swim and he still came back to try and save me from my own stupid mistake. If the centaur is out there watching this, I just wanna say thanks. You saved my life.”

“Back to you Brad!”

The camera switches off to show the newscaster in the official headquarters who fumbles a bit to pick back up the conversation. None of the friends are listening to him though.

Thomas doesn’t really know what to say after hearing Louis’s heartfelt thanks, he looks up at Roman to see that the centaur has turned a rather fetching shade of red. When Roman notices he’s being watched again his waves his hand dismissively even while his blush gives him away.

“Pssshh, kids these days, am I right?”

It’s hard to think of a response to that. What do you say to someone who refuses to acknowledge that what they did was heroic and brave and that they deserve to be praised for it?

************* Later that day *************

Thomas casually checks his phone to see if the paint he ordered had been delivered yet, (He still has no idea what he’s going to tell Logan so he’s planning on hiding it until he thinks up a good excuse) when a ‘ping’ alerts him to a new message. He does a rapid double take when he sees it’s from Joan. The past two weeks Joan and Talyn both had been incredibly busy and haven’t talked to him hardly at all. They hadn’t been able to do their biweekly video chat and that had been majorly bumming Thomas out.

‘Go check ur front door. Me and Talyn sent u something’ The text says.

Thomas shoots to his feet. A package? From Joan and Talyn? Yes! He doesn’t bother grabbing his jacket as he scurries out the barn door. Patton is probably going to get on him about that later but meh.

Mood significantly lighter than it has been in- well, since the youngest centaurs arrival- Thomas whistles to himself as he makes his way across the yard. He’s started singing to himself and is halfway through ‘Love is an open door.’ when a booming voice joins in.

“Love is an open DOOOOOOOOR!!!”

“Joan!?” Thomas startles in disbelief. Joan and Talyn are beaming at him from his front driveway, Joan's crappy little car parked poorly behind them.

“Oh my go-” Thomas gets cut off as Talyn jumps him.

“Thomas!” They yell, Joan joining in the hug.

“Oh my gosh! You guys! What are you doing here?!” Thomas would be bouncing on the balls of his feet but his friends' tight grips are currently weighing him down.

“We came to see you man! We’ve got some time off so like the good friends we are, we came down to leech off of you!”

“But I thought you were both swamped with work? You guys haven’t even had the time to talk for a week!”

Talyn laughs, releasing Thomas’s neck. “That’s because I was worried Joan would ruin the surprise.”

“No, I was worried you would ruin the surprise. Everyone knows I’m the fucking best at keeping secrets.”

Talyn and Thomas share a look before all three of them burst into laughter.

“I just can’t believe you guys are here. How long can you stay?” Thomas gasps. “Is it already fall break?”

Talyn just starts laughing. “No silly, break isn’t for at least a month. Joan and I just missed you.”

“Yeah, so we rearranged our schedules and worked it out so we can spend two nights here, after that we’ve gotta book it back to campus.”

Thomas feels his eyes welling up. What did he do to get such incredible friends? Joan and Talyn had both been his rock over the past few years and now Thomas had somehow made even more friends and-

“Oh my gosh! The rest! I can’t wait for you guys to meet them! You’ll love them!”

“Yes!”

“Of course I wanna meet your roomies dude.”

With that the three make their way towards the barn but with every step Thomas grows more and more jittery. He’s excited and nervous and he couldn’t hold still right now if his life depended on it. He hasn’t introduced Patton, Logan or Roman to anyone he knows yet and he has no idea how they’ll react. He knows they’ll be polite but still…..

“Okay, okay. I think we should just review some stuff real quick first.” He says.

Joan and Talyn slow down to match Thomas’s pace until the three of them are standing just shy of the barn doors.

“Uh, I guess the main thing is to not use any names.” Thomas starts. “Not even the nicknames I use, unless they tell you otherwise. Which they might, I don’t know. Oh, and don’t worry if Morality doesn’t speak at all, he’ll just use sign language and we can translate for you.”

Well, Logan could. Thomas was still behind him and Patton in sign language, with Roman even further behind than Thomas. Thomas liked to call Roman his ‘flunking buddy’. Patton didn’t like when they called themselves that and Logan declared they would never get better if they were already accepting defeat. Thomas is pretty sure Anxiety thinks it’s funny though. Not that Anxiety had room to judge them. He didn’t know sign language either and he hadn't done much to learn it.

“No names, got it.” Both Joan and Talyn confirm.

“Oh and, uh, maybe try not to curse? I don’t know but I’m starting to think it really bothers Morality more than he lets on…”

“Oh shit, uh I mean. Try not to curse, will do.” Joan stutters. Thomas somewhat doubts Joan will be very successful but he decides to let it go in favor of more important matters.

“Let me just let them know you’re here.” Thomas says. Joan and Talyn both nod and stay where they are just outside the barn doors where Thomas knows they will patiently wait for him to come retrieve them.

“Hey guys?” Thomas cautiously steps into the barn. Only Logan and Roman happen to be in the main room but Thomas is sure Patton can’t be far.

“What’s up Thomas?” Roman asks from where he’s… messing with the light switch? What is he doing?

“Roman, stop flicking that. I just told you it would electrocute me.” Logan snaps. He’s in the corner, clearly trying to change the light bulb to one of the tall standing lamps they have scattered around the room. Of course, where Thomas usually had to reach above his head and blindly screw in the lights, Logan was looking down and screwing the light in from above, which was much, much easier.

“Why are you guys changing the lights?” Thomas asks.

“Logan said looking down on the white lights all the time was giving him a headache so I figured we could try replacing them with these yellow balls I found.” Roman explains.

“They’re called bulbs Roman, it literally says so on the box.” Logan huffs while giving the lightbulb one last twist. To Thomas’s shock and horror the whole thing shatters in his hand.

“Damn it!” Logan growls, seemingly undeterred by the glass.

“Logan, just let me do it already, we’re starting to run out of lightbulbs.” Roman says.

That’s when Thomas notices the trashcan full of shattered glass lying innocently by Logan's hooves. Just how many did he break?

“Never mind that for now, we’ll get it later. Logic, Creativity, I have someone, well two someones, I’d like you two to meet.”

The use of their nicknames immediately catches both centaurs' attention and they stop what they’re doing without complaint.

"Like a social worker again?" Roman asks cautiously.

Thomas finds himself hesitating. Sure, he never introduced any of the centaurs to a friend before but were they really at the point that a social worker was the first person to come to mind?

"Nope." Thomas declares. "It's my two friends, Talyn and Joan! I've told you about them, remember?"

Roman instantly lights up. "Your friends? Joan and Talyn are here? Right now?

"Yeah! And they want to meet you guys. I promise they're genuinely nice and if they make you uncomfortable you can ask them to leave. Or you can ask me and I’ll tell them, if you’d prefer.”

Logan doesn’t acknowledge this but Roman nods.

“Got it.” Roman says. “Joan is the friend you were telling me about, who likes music, right?”

Thomas nods.

“Then I’m sure I’ll get along with him fine.”

For the first time it occurs to Thomas that he might have to give the centaurs instructions the same way he had with Talyn and Joan.

"Ok, first off it's They/Them, they're both nonbinary” Thomas corrects.

Logan looks utterly baffled. “They are both what now?"

"They- you-" Thomas has no idea what to say but he settles on, "You've never heard of non-binary?"

“No.”

"Is it a cult?" Roman blurts.

"Is it a- WHAT!?"

Roman shrinks back and Thomas tries to backtrack. It was a preposterous thing to say but he's starting to think Roman legitimately didn't know any better.

"No no no, it's- look, it isn't a cult, ok? Not even close. Nonbinary means you aren't a guy or a girl, you are just non-binary."

"That isn't possible." Logan declares and Thomas has heard that so many times he almost gets mad on instinct. It's the genuine confusion in Logan's voice that prevents it.

"Ok, I don't really have time to- I guess explain right now but I will later okay? For now though please just respect that Joan and Talyn are called they/them and not he or she?"

Logan and Roman could not possibly look more confused but they both nod in agreement. (A little surprising for Logan, who normally pushed for answers first.)

"Of course Thomas." Roman says hesitantly. "I'm sorry I offended you? Them?"

Thomas just nods in agreement. He's definitely going to find out why Roman thought being non-binary was in any way similar to being in a cult but for now he's just going to focus on the present.

"Ok, I'm gonna bring them in, is that okay?" He asks, just to be sure.

Logan nods. "Please do. We promise not to offend them."

**************

Chapter Text

Thomas almost thinks to give Joan and Talyn a heads up that Roman and Logan (and most likely Patton as well) have never heard of nonbinary (Or that whatever they had heard of it was far from reality) but he decides against it. The chances of Roman or Logan accidentally slipping on pronouns was highly unlikely. If they could avoid using their own names on the regular, what was a couple of pronouns to them?

Thomas goes to fetch his human friends and the next thing he knows they’re stepping inside. When Talyn and Joan both walk through the massive barn doors they instantly freeze in place.

“Holy shit, they’re huge.” Thomas hears Joan whisper under their breath.

It’s a sentiment Thomas can fully understand. Even if he’s grown used to it by now, he’s still occasionally caught off guard by the sheer size of centaurs. Especially Logan’s height. After all, it was one thing to say someone was eight feet tall but it was a totally different thing to see them in person. Logan quite literally towers over all three humans and it’s a rather humbling experience to suddenly feel child sized in comparison.

And yet there's something deeply hilarious about his friends' reactions and Thomas can’t help but start snickering.

“So-” Thomas giggles, trying to reign himself in. “This is Joan and Talyn.” He gestures to each in turn and they both give awkward waves that just make him giggle harder.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Roman says gallantly. “Welcome to our- well technically Thomas’s- that is-” Roman starts again. “Welcome to the barn!” He grandly finishes.

“Thanks man.” Joan says with a grin, having gotten over their shock halfway through Romans stuttering.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Talyn says to Logan, clearly doing their best to make eye contact.

“Ah, yes. I do believe I met you when you were conversing with Thomas over a zoom call.” Logan says with, shockingly, no malice.

Talyn winces. “I think we got off on the wrong foot. Can we start over?” They ask sincerely.

Logan is flabbergasted at this and just stares at them. “You wish to meet for the first time...again? That is not possible.” he glances at his fellow centaur as if to confirm he isn't alone in this mindset.

“They mean pretend the first time never happened.” Supplies Thomas.

“Oh.” Logan seems to contemplate this for a moment before settling on his response. He takes so long that Thomas genuinely fears he'll refuse. “That is acceptable.” He finally decides and reaches a hand down to Talyn. “I am Logic. It is a pleasure to meet a friend of Thomas for the first time."

Talyn reaches up (and Thomas means up) to shake his hand but they look confused. “Uh, does this mean I can call you that or…?”

“You may call me Logic.” Logan confirms. He looks over to Joan. “You as well.”

“Cool, uh thanks? Do I thank you for that?” Joan says awkwardly.

Logan just huffs and Thomas shrugs. To be honest he still doesn't know how to react. Patton and Roman had both had somewhat dramatic name reveals but Logan's was the most chill ever. With how easily he had told Thomas his true name it was almost curious he hadn't told Talyn and Joan.

Thomas feels a little smug that he didn’t.

The feeling fades, however, when Thomas catches Joan and Talyn looking around the barn curiously. He’s known them both long enough to know they are trying to hide their shock and dismay at how empty and lifeless it seems inside. After all, they haven’t even finished putting the plaster on the last wall yet.

Joan and Talyn would have been horrified to see it not even three months ago, before Thomas had moved in the tv and monster sized bookshelf. which were pretty much the only furniture in the massive room. Well, along with the table and of course-

“Holy FUCK that is the biggest bean bag I’ve ever seen!” Joan gasps, forgetting the ‘no cursing’ rule in the face of their excitement.

Roman actually laughs at that. “That’s what Thomas is always saying.”

“Well he’s right.” Talyn says, coming closer to peer down at Joan, who’d flung themself to sprawl across the nearest bean bag. “These are massive.”

“A bit of a waste of money.” Logan grumbles but when he sees the bewildered look Joan and Talyn send him he backtracks. “Although I suppose they are worth it.”

“Darn right.” Thomas says with a grin, happy to hear Logan finally admit it. He’s been trying for a while but Logan had remained stubborn up till now.

It’s at that moment that Patton trots in. He instantly halts and takes a moment to study the room before signing- ‘Who’s this?’

“Morality!” Roman says with a smile. (He seems almost oddly cheery right now and Thomas can’t figure out if it’s genuine or not.) “Look! It’s Joan and Talyn, Thomas’s childhood friends!”

Patton does his best to give a wave and a little smile. Then he turns to Logan and signs something so fast Thomas doesn’t even catch it. In turn, Logan just nods and then Patton’s smile turns more genuine.

Thomas suddenly realizes he’s going to have to introduce him because Patton won't be able to.

“Joan, Talyn, this is Morality, the only reason no one here has starved to death.” As Thomas says this he squints at Logan, hoping the large centaur won't argue the logic of his sentence. Thankfully Logan just rolls his eyes.

Joan and Talyn both wave back with smiles.”

“Hey.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Neither approaches the pony, which Thomas appreciates. Patton has remained by the door he’d entered through and Thomas gets the impression he doesn’t intend to get any closer. He’s proven right only a moment later.

‘I’m going to check on Anxiety.’ Patton signs to him.

Oh yeah, Thomas had forgotten poor Anxiety was here. Shit, he hoped they hadn’t frightened him.

“Oh, that’s a good idea. Be sure to ask him if- I mean, we can move outside if he wants. Actually guys, let's just do that.” Thomas says, getting to his feet and grabbing his phone. He‘s rather certain that if Anxiety walks out of his room to find a couple human strangers there, they are going to trigger him big time. The barn was supposed to be his safe space and Thomas is loath to intrude on that.

Joan and Talyn look confused at the sudden change but they comply and follow Thomas’s example, getting to their feet and heading outside. Logan simply nods in agreement and makes his way towards the door behind them.

Roman, however, is clearly less than excited. “Ugh, seriously? There’s what? Five of us and one of him. Why does he get the whole barn to himself?”

Thomas tries to respond but Logan beats him to it.

“You know perfectly well why. Our combined presence is undoubtedly a source of great distress to him while leaving the barn is but a minor inconvenience to us. Considering his condition it is insensitive that you would so much as suggest we stay. Unless you wish to further decrease his health.”

Roman looks properly reprimanded but a pout remains on his lips. Thomas means to scold Roman as well because, damn it, that guy can be incredibly insensitive sometimes, but then he catches Joan and Talyn eyeing him. Oh no.

“Are you guys talking about Mor- I mean, the um..” Joan stumbles for words and Thomas takes pity on them.

“No, we’re not talking about Morality. It’s a new guy and he’s not very fond of new people. Er- people.”

Roman snorts. “That’s one way to put it. He doesn't even like centaurs either!”

“You have another centaur.” Deadpans Talyn. It isn’t a question and it’s filled with hurt and disappointment. Talyn, and Joan as well by the looks of it, are upset that, yet again, Thomas hasn’t told them about getting another centaur.

“Hold up.” Thomas says, determined to redeem himself. “I couldn’t tell you guys. Like, legally. I don’t own him, it’s more like a witness protection thing.”

Logan hums. “That is the best way to put it.” He agrees. Then he turns to address Talyn and Joan. “There is only so much we can say in order to ensure his safety but it is of paramount importance that no one learns of his whereabouts, not until his previous owners are caught and the investigation is settled.”

“Yeah, and from the looks of it that isn’t going to be anytime soon.” Roman grumbles.

Joan slowly looks from one centaur to the other. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Did you say witness protection program?” Talyn chokes.

Thomas runs a hand through his hair. “You could say Anxiety is from an….abusive situation.” That was the understatement to end all understatements but, honestly, Thomas doesn’t feel like starting on this topic.

Roman must not feel the same. “He’s a runaway from the black market.” He says eagerly.

This seems to stun the two humans.

“O-oh.” Talyn stutters.

“Dude, I am so confused. First you’re doing some sort of rescue thing and then you were fostering and now you’re in the witness protection program?!”

“Uh, Yes?” Thomas groans and runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t understand how this keeps happening to me.” He admits with a groan.

“You have a large heart and like helping people. That and you legitimately stumbled upon most of us.” Logan points out

“Or in this case, he stumbled upon us.” Roman muses.

“Literally.” Thomas mumbles. Talyn must hear him though because they give him an odd look. And it isn’t the only odd look going on either. By now Thomas has noticed how Joan keeps side eyeing Roman and Roman notices too.

“Why do you keep looking at me? Is there something on my face?” Roman asks, patting his cheeks and sounding slightly horrified at the possibility.

“Oh, sorry no. I just- I just feel like I’ve seen you before.”

Roman lights up like a Christmas tree. “Really?!”

Taken back by his reaction Joan fumbles for words and Talyn takes their chance and studies Roman too.

“It is not surprising. You most likely recognize him from-”

“Ah buh buh buh, let them figure it out.” Says Roman excitedly.

Put on the spot, Joan desperately racks their brain. “Um, you were on TV right?”

“Yeeees.” Says Roman, practically vibrating with excitement.

“Uh, are you-?” Joan claps. “I knew I recognized you! You’re that racer! You’re, what was it, Prince right?”

“Yes! Finally!” Roman crows. “Someone with some class!”

“Oh yeah, I totally see it now.” Agrees Talyn.

“Seriously? You guys watch the races?” Thomas asks in disbelief.

"Dad does sometimes.” Talyn says. “Thomas, why didn’t you mention he was the Prince?!”

“I didn’t think you’d know who he was! None of us did!!”

“You seriously didn’t know who he was?”

Thomas throws his hands in the air. “No! I never watched the races okay? Sue me!”

Logan raises an eyebrow sarcastically. “I thought suing people was your thing?”

Roman and Talyn snort while Joan laughs with abandon.

“Hey! I didn’t sue! I just, sorta…... threatened to.”

‘Are we talking about how Thomas sued Prince’s old owners?’ Patton signs whilst trotting outside to join them.

“Ugh!” Thomas drags his hands down his face as Patton walks over to join them, confused why no one is answering him.

“Actually we were discussing how Creativity was a racer. Joan and Talyn recognized him from the television.” Logan says, either taking pity on Thomas or just growing bored of the conversation. Probably the latter.

"Yeah, Thomas never thought to mention that 'the racer' was actually the Prince this whole time!" Joan goads teasingly.

"Oh for Pete's sake." Thomas mumbles.

"But prince, weren't you- oops! Sorry!" Talyn gasps. "I didn't mean to use your name, er, nickname."

"Oh, you can just call me Prince.”

“Really?” Talyn asks, eyes wide.

Roman looks amused. “Of course, it’s my racing name after all, everyone called me that.”

“Hold on.” Joan interjects. “I thought Thomas said your nickname was Creativity?” Joan immediately claps a hand over their mouth and Thomas almost wants to laugh. It’s honestly just so nice to see how hard Joan and Talyn are trying to be respectful over the centaurs names. The two had been struggling to avoid saying their nicknames without prior permission and Thomas is well aware of how difficult that is.

Roman isn’t offended, as Thomas knew he wouldn’t be. “Oh, Creativity’s just a name we came up with on our own. Ya know, since everyone else got to pick theirs and I didn’t.”

"Well, we assume everyone chose their name. I have my doubts about Anxiety.” Logan mumbles, unfortunately loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Who?” Talyn asks.

“The new centaur, that’s his name.” Roman explains.

“His nickname is Anxiety? As in that's what he wants to be called?” Talyn asks in disbelief.

It had taken a few days for Thomas to feel comfortable referring to the boy as Anxiety even in his own head, never mind aloud, so Thomas can’t blame Talyn and Joan for having the same struggle.

“That’s what he said.” Thomas says with a shrug. “If he wanted to change it he probably would have when he first introduced himself.”

“I’ve heard worse.” Roman adds. “Besides, isn’t there a human nickname that's literally just Dick?”

How long had Roman been waiting to bring that up?

“Okay, I feel like you’re misinterpreting that.” Thomas says. “It’s supposed to be short for Richard.”

“Then should it not be Rich?” Logan argues. Thomas honestly can’t believe they’re having this argument right now. To his chagrin Joan joins in.

“Naw dude, that would def get you bullied in school.”

“And what, ‘Dick’ wouldn’t?” Thomas counters.

“Let me get this straight.” Roman interrupts. “Are you saying that there was once a time where being called Dick, as an actual name, was less offensive than ‘Rich’?

‘Can you please stop saying-’

Patton’s signing is cut off when there is a sudden, loud shriek from inside the barn. It breaks Thomas’s heart that he’s heard it often enough that he can recognize it as coming from Anxiety.

Roman moves first and books it back to the barn when the scream is quickly followed by a shrill cry. It’s a sound Thomas has never heard anyone make before and the moment he hears it, all three centaurs recklessly race off. Thomas and his human friends rush after them as indecipherable yelling starts.

As Thomas draws nearer to the doors he’s able to pick up on some of the yelling and none of it sounds good.

“What is the meaning of this?!” That’s Logan.

“Who the hell are you!?” That would be Roman.

“DON’T FUCKING TOUCH ME!!” And there’s Anxiety.

Thomas and his human companions burst through the doors and Thomas halts where he’s standing, trying to take in what he’s seeing.

He first looks for Anxiety, who he finds cowering back behind their monster sized bookshelf. His skin is so pale he almost looks translucent. Thomas’s gaze is drawn away when he sees Logan rush sharply towards Roman and grab him in a steel grip, trying to keep him still.

“I said WHO ARE YOU!?” Yells Roman, taking a threatening step forwards despite Logan.

This is about the time that Thomas notices what is probably the first thing he should have seen. There are two humans standing in the kitchen and they do not look happy. They also look a little frightened.

“Don’t you talk to me like that!” Snaps the tall, brunette woman. “Where is your owner?!”

Thomas doesn't even think before stepping up. “Right here. What’s going on and who the hell are you?”

He knows he sounds mean and accusing but for heaven's sake they’d freaked out Anxiety. What had they been doing to him? Thomas is thankful to see Patton rush to comfort the poor boy, allowing everyone else to put their full attention on the intruders.

“We’re here on behalf of Centaur Services. We were doing our inspection when your centaur attacked us. I should warn you about what happens to feral centaurs.”

Anxiety attacking someone? What a joke.

“Inspection? And just who gave you the right to ‘inspect’ this barn without Thomas’s permission?” Asks Logan, voice cold.

“This does not concern you.” Snaps the other human.

“Like hell it doesn’t.” Joan snaps. “This is their fucking home.”

“And who are you?”

“Stop it!” Thomas yells, trying to get back on track. “We’re asking the questions. Now answer Logic. Who gave you permission to come here?”

The second human (a smartly dressed man) answers him. “We received an anonymous call concerning the state of your centaurs. They said your centaurs were wild and out of control, clearly they were right.” The man says, glaring at where Logan and Roman are looming aggressively. Thomas doesn’t blame them really, someone did just break into their home despite all their security measures. In hindsight maybe they shouldn’t only turn those on at night.

“The scrawny one is absolutely feral!” Snaps the angry woman, having decided to keep the argument going.

He’s not feral!” Roman snaps. He and Logan look absolutely furious and Thomas surmises that this must be a serious insult. Heck it’s an insult to humans too!

“He kicked me!” The man says, showing off what will likely be an impressive bruise on him arm. As of now there was only a quarter sized blue spot.

“If he really wanted to kick you you wouldn’t still be standing!” Roman yells back. He has a really good point too, a solid kick from any centaur was almost guaranteed to break bones, potentially fatally. Thomas is overwhelmed with relief that no one was hurt but then he remembers how Anxiety had been screaming. Holy shit did these two hurt him?!

“A violent centaur is completely unacceptable!”

“You got what you deserved.” Snaps Thomas. “What did you do to him and what do you think you’re doing running around on my property and harassing people for no reason?! Seriously! Joan, call the cops.”

“Already on it.” Says Talyn, holding their phone to their ear.

The two strangers try to back track.

“It’s our job! We’re allowed to be here!”

“I don’t see no warrant pal.” Joan glares at them.

“We don’t need your permission to be here.” The woman insists.

“We’ll let the police decide that.”

Thomas sees the man fumble with his back pocket and pull out a wallet. Out of the corner of his eyes he spots it when Logan stumbles back in fear before it's clear the man holds only an innocent wallet and not what Logan probably feared was a taser.

"We have our badges right here.” The man huffs. He flips the wallet open to reveal a shiny badge and when he moves to flip it shut and put it away, Thomas steps forwards and snatches it.

“Hey!” The man gasps.

Thomas ignores him and passes the badge over to Roman, whom he remembers once telling Thomas he knew all official badges like the back of his hand. He’d be able to tell if it was legit or not. The look on the supposed ‘inspectors’ face says it’s probably not.

“I’ve never seen this before.” Roman confirms.

“As if a centaur would know-”

Roman cuts the woman off before she can finish.

“I’m a racer, of course I know the difference between a real and fake badge and this-” Roman waves the badge carelessly. “-is made with the cheapest plastic I’ve ever seen. What did you make this with, an egg carton? Not to mention the eagle is facing the wrong way.”

To say Thomas is pissed to hear this would be an understatement. For real, what was happening?

Chapter Text

*********

Patton is careful when approaching Anxiety. He knows by now that the kid has twitchy hooves when panicked and he’s not really in the market for a record bruise or busted bone.

“Woah, woah, kiddo, calm down. It’s just me, okay?” Patton soothes as he slowly settles besides Anxiety.

“I said don’t- don’t touch-”

“It’s okay, I’m not gonna touch you. You remember me, right? It’s Morality and- woah! Okay let's sit you down.” Patton cringes as he breaks his word and grabs hold of the Anxiety’s arms to steady him. As much as he understands and respects where the other centaur is coming from when he says not to touch him, he still can’t stand to watch the boy injure himself by fainting again. Anxiety is swaying and he seems too woozy to be upset at Patton’s touch. Instead he grips tightly onto Patton’s wrists and tries to steady himself. Patton bends his knees and gently lowers the boy with him.

“There we go. Let’s sit down for a bit, okay?”

Anxiety’s head flops forwards and Patton takes it as a nod. Once he seems sturdy enough on his own, Patton cautiously removes his hands. For a moment Anxiety is hesitant to let go but then he snaps out of it, the spacey look in his eyes disappearing.

“Don’t touch me.” The Anxiety hisses, snatching his hands back.

“I’m sorry kiddo, I won’t do it again, I promise. But I think we should go somewhere else right now, don’t you?”

Surprisingly, Anxiety shakes his head.

“Why not?” Asks Patton, who would very much like to leave. All the yelling is bringing up some very unpleasant memories.

“It’s not safe. How do we know there’s only two?”

“What do you mean? Only two what?”

Anxiety’s voice takes on a deeper and darker tone that sends chills up Patton’s spine.

“What if those two didn’t come alone?”

Talyn overhears this from where they are standing nearby and they urge the police to come as quickly as possible. Patton is shaken and he shifts about even more nervously than before.

Meanwhile Logan, Roman, Thomas and Joan are still duking it out with the two trespassers.

“Look, I don’t care who you guys think you are but you can’t be here and the police are on their way so quit yelling at me.” Thomas snaps.

“Fine then, we’ll leave. But you haven’t heard the last of this Mr. Sanders." So saying, the man swirls around to leave, the other trespasser hot on his heels.

Patton shudders. When had Thomas told them his last name?

“Oh I don’t think so.” Roman says, moving so he’s blocking their way.

They quickly whirl around only to find Logan blocking the only other exit.

“If you are illegally trespassing, and I'm positive you are, then you can bet your ass I’m pressing charges. And I want to know who called you.” Thomas states as firmly as he can.

“That's confidential.” The man says, taking a step back.

"How can that be confidential if you guys aren't even legit?" Joan scoffs.

Thomas suddenly pales and he whips about to Anxiety quickly enough to startle him and Patton both.

“Do you recognize them?” Thomas blurts, and Patton is suddenly terrified that this might not be a simple miscommunication after all.

Anxiety briefly looks them over, still cowering behind both Patton and the bookshelf. He shakes his head no and mumbles something so quiet it's inaudible. Patton leans over.

“What was that, Kiddo?”

“M-maybe we should call Picani.” Anxiety hesitantly whispers.

Logan, Roman and Thomas all look at each other, surprised that they didn’t think of that.

********

Thomas is deeply unsettled by how long it takes the cops to show up. Yes, he knows his home is isolated and nearly forty minutes from town but come on! What if there was ever a serious emergency? What if it were someone dangerous who broke in and not, what Thomas suspects to be, two fake social workers?

By the time two cop cars pull up beside the barn Thomas already has the beginnings of a headache from all the yelling. Ever since the two trespassers realized no one would let them leave they had steadily gotten more and more loud.

This was not how Thomas wanted his friends first time meeting each other to go.

Luckily Picani showed up not five minutes after the cops did, even though he'd been called significantly later than them. Thomas thinks this has less to do with the police's response time and more to do with Picani's, who had spent the last half of the call already driving.

Despite what must have been a speedy exit, Picani doesn't look the least bit different from normal. That is to say he's dressed like he's going to a desk job but his hair and glasses give away his slightly frazzled disposition.

Honestly Thomas doesn’t know why Picani even wears a suit to begin with. It’s not like it made him look more professional. The pink tie saw to that.

"Who's the absent minded professor?" Joan whispers in Thomas's ear.

Thomas doesn't have the time to explain Picani's odd presence in his life before the man himself is talking to him. (And for the record, 'the absent minded professor was a PERFECT description for Picani.)

“Hey Thomas, fancy seeing you here.” Picani says with a smile. Thomas has no idea how the man is finding any humor in their current situation and it probably shows on his face. The man chuckles regardless.

“Okay, how about you explain everything to me again, just like you did the first time on the phone. Officer Molly is gonna take it as a statement so we can get the ball rolling pronto.” He says, gesturing to a police officer beside him.

Officer Molly nods along to what the social worker said and then addresses Thomas herself.

“Go ahead and tell me everything from the beginning. When did you first notice the trespassers?”

And so Thomas launches into the story, careful to stress just how unwelcome the trespassers were and that he was certain they were frauds. Which Picani was quick to agree with, although Molly gestured for him to keep quiet. Thomas finishes his story with an explanation that, although there were no obvious marks on Anxiety, something had been done to make him scream, which was something he hadn’t done before, not even during his traumatic doctor's visit. Unfortunately Anxiety wasn’t forthcoming with any information so they were still uncertain of what the intruders had actually done to him.

When Thomas is done with his lengthy tale, officer Molly asks him, “Is there any reason someone would fake an investigation that you can think of? Anything they might be looking for? Or maybe someone is trying to intimidate you?”

And that's the thing. Thomas does think he knows who sent the fake social workers. “There is one person who might have done it.” Thomas admits hesitantly.

Joan looks at him incredulously, unaware Thomas had any suspicions at all.

“It could possibly be my Uncle? He’s super pissed at me right now and he particularly hates my centaurs. I don’t think it’s impossible for him to pull something like this. But there isn’t any proof or anything. It’s really just a hunch.”

“Can you give us his name?”

Thomas reluctantly does. He really doesn't like pointing fingers but- well, he just has this feeling. Besides, if he’s wrong then no harm no foul, right? It’s not like his Uncle could hate him more so what was there to lose? And if Thomas is right…..Thomas isn’t sure if that would be better or not. He doesn’t want to lose more family but…well, they’d already burnt that bridge hadn’t they?

Thomas is assured by the officer that they won't be bothering his Uncle unless they are certain he’s involved so Thomas decides just to let them do their thing and shoves the whole thing from his mind.

Picani makes it a point to catch Thomas later, when the officers are both busy talking with their new prisoners, and it’s Thomas accompanied by Joan, Talyn, Roman and Logan. Patton and Anxiety having long since escaped to their stalls.

“I’m not doubting you.” Picani starts. “But to be sure we’re covering all our bases, are you sure you can’t think of anyone else besides your Uncle who currently has it out for you?” Picani presses.

“No one else even knows I have centaurs.” Thomas replies simply.

“Dude, your Aunt posted the whole thing on Facebook, remember?” Joan points out.

Oh, Thomas had forgotten about that, but still- “Yeah but I’m pretty sure you and Talyn were the only ones who saw that. Everyone else has her blocked or thinks she’s crazy.”

“She is crazy.” Joan mumbles under their breath.

“You don’t think this is connected to Anxiety, do you?” Logan asks, addressing the social worker for what was the first time.

Picani shakes his head. “No, definitely not. This isn’t their style. For one they don’t know where he is and for two they’d have hired better actors.” He said confidently.

“It couldn’t be my old owners… could it?” Roman hesitantly interrupts.

Logan shakes his head. “I sincerely doubt they would dare to breach the contract so brazenly. Their lawyer made it quite clear that they would no longer have anything to do with us.”

Picani looks intrigued by this turn of conversation and Thomas desperately hopes he won’t ask what they’re referring to. If anyone had it out for Thomas and they discovered what really happened when Roman was bought -yeah, Thomas needs to keep the whole ‘black mailed a powerful corporation’ under wraps. The first step to that is to stop talking about it in front of a damn social worker!

“HAHAHA! Of course not! Hahaha!”

‘What am I doing?! I said act natural, damn it!'/ Thomas thinks in a mild panic. Thankfully Picani doesn’t bother to ask what happened to Thomas’s sanity and just moves on.

“Okay, in that case it sounds like this was an intimidation tactic employed by your Uncle. Has he said anything to you recently?”

Thomas shook his head. “No, he hasn’t said a thing to me since the last time I saw him and that was a couple months ago.”

Picani nods thoughtfully. “Well unless our two wanna be actors decide they want to spill the beans then there really isn’t anything we can do about your Uncle at the moment. If he does decide to contact you let me know and we’ll see if we can’t get you a ‘cease and desist’ order.”

“I can still press charges on the frauds though, right?”

Picani nods. “You can, but only for trespassing. They’ll be getting in a lot more trouble for impersonating law enforcement but beyond giving a statement it shouldn’t involve you much.”

Thomas nods in satisfaction. It isn’t the best outcome and he’s really hoping they’ll be able to officially link this to his Uncle, (Assuming he’s involved and, come on, of course he is) -but having his Uncle's lackeyes arrested, and possibly jailed, seemed like a good deterrent at least. Better yet, his Uncle won’t be able to harass him about it without incriminating himself.

Thomas is just getting ready to ask if Picani needs anything else when he’s interrupted by Picani’s ringtone, which seemed to be the current number one hit pop song. It was both surprising and, at the same time, fitting.

Picani glances at his phone before his eyes widen a little and he’s quickly answering. It’s hard to say if the phone is on speaker or if the person on the other end is simply loud but either way Thomas can hear the entire conversation clearly.

“Remy? Is something wrong?”

“Yes. Cierra is a raging bitch.”

Picani is silent for a moment before dropping his head in his hand. “You do know I gave you this number for emergencies only right?”

“This is an emergency!”

Picani sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Is it about ‘Drama in New York?”

“‘Drama in New Orleans’, and yes!” (Thomas isn’t positive but wasn’t that a tv drama?)

Picani gives a defeated sigh. “This is gonna take a minute.” He informs Thomas.

Not really sure of what to do and more than a little curious about where this is going, Thomas motions for Picani to continue.

The man turns to the side, as though this will somehow make his conversation more private, and then carries on with the somewhat ridiculous conversation.

“I thought Cierra was your favorite character?”

“Not now, the fucking bitch.”

“What did she do?” Picani sounds genuinely curious now and Thomas is a little bit too.

“Only cheated with Melissa's husband.”

“Was she the one with cancer?”

“YES!”

“I thought they were best friends?”

“They were!!!”

“And Ciera slept with Melissa’s husband? Why would she do that?”

“Goddamn it Emile, aren’t you listening to me? Ciera’s a cheating bitch!”

“Yesterday you said she was your spirit animal.”

“Um, no I didn’t. Don’t make shit up.”

Picani looks amused at the snarky (bitchy) response.

“Anyway, when are you coming back? You promised to bring caffeine and I’m going into withdrawals.”

“Now who’s making things up?” Huff's Picani.

“Girl, you know that's the truth.”

Picani just sighs and rolls his eyes. “Okay, okay, I should be home in an hour.”

“An hour?!”

“Yes. You know how long it takes the barista to get your order right.”

“The old one knew it by heart.” Remy grumbles.

“It’s not my fault you got us banned.” Picani scolds.

“Ha! They lost their most valuable customer with their intolerant bullshit, I practically funded the whole place.”

Picani hums in agreement. “That you did.”

The weird call ends after that and Picani carries on as if nothing had happened but Thomas is a bit distracted. Mostly because it sounded like Picani’s roommate had called him, via an emergency number, just so he could bitch about the tv show he was currently watching. And weirder was the fact that Picani was totally into it, knowing each of the characters by name even though it sounded like he’d never watched the show before.

Thomas is starting to think that Picani’s roommate might be just as weird as the man himself.

********

Chapter Text

***************

Things finally calm down once the cops and Picani leave, each promising to keep Thomas updated. Once they left, Joan and Talyn had both retired to Thomas’s house. Thomas intends to join them once he’s certain everyone is alright, which he suspects they are. All four centaurs are sitting in the living room, quietly doing their own thing and Thomas is grateful for the silence. Sweet, sweet silence.

It doesn’t last long.

“You lied to us.” Says Roman, suddenly turning on Anxiety.

Thomas turns around curiously. What is Roman going on about? A quick glance at Patton and Logan shows that they are waiting on Anxiety’s answer as well. Anxiety is hiding in his hoodie and shifting nervously and looks like he’s weighing the pros and cons to running. Thomas is shocked when Logan joins Roman to add in his own accusations.

“Why did you not tell us you were still a colt?”

Anxiety glares back defensively. “I am not a colt.” He hisses.

“Oh really?” Snaps Roman. “Cause that sound you made says otherwise.”

“Kiddo calm down.” Paton says, patting Roman’s side. He then turns so he too can face Anxiety. “He’s right though, you didn't need to lie to us.”

Anxiety’s glare falters. “I didn’t-”

Logan cuts him off. “We all heard you. I had my suspicions before but that confirmed it.”

Thomas can’t keep quiet anymore. He really needs to know what’s going on. “What do you mean he lied?”

“He lied about his age.” Roman says, he sounds offended at the notion. “He’s still a kid.”

“I am not a foal.” Anxiety snaps again, voice growing lower and angrier.

“You whinnied.” Logan says flatly. Anxiety blushes a bright pink while still maintaining his glare.

“Uh, he what?”

“He whinnied. Adults can’t do that.” Patton tells Thomas.

This really doesn’t clear much up for Thomas but he assumes they are referring to that odd noise Anxiety had made when they were running to the barn. But just how did that make Anxiety a kid?

“Look, I’m not a colt. I’m- I’m sixteen, alright? Nearly seventeen.”

Thomas runs a hand nervously through his hair. A teenager? He has a teenager now? The three other centaurs look equally upset.

“I didn’t tell you guys because I knew you’d treat me differently if you knew.” Anxiety continues when no one says anything.

“Well duh!” Says Roman, flailing his arms.

“Well I don’t want you to treat me differently! I don’t need it! I’m not some- some-” Anxiety momentarily seems to be at a loss for words. “I’m not some innocent little foal who needs your protection. I don’t need you guys sugar coating things or trying to censor what you say. I’m not a colt.”

“You fear we will be demeaning towards you?” Asks Logan.

“Aren’t you already?” Anxiety snaps back. “I’m not made of glass, I won’t break. I might not look like it but I can take anything you throw at me. Literally or figuratively. I honestly don’t give a fuck.”

Thomas is at a loss for words. Alright, so maybe they have been tiptoeing around the boy (and he really was just a boy wasn’t he?) -but Thomas didn’t mean to seem like he was doubting Anxiety’s maturity, he just didn’t want to be insensitive. No one wanted to trigger him. They did that enough by accident.

“Ok, you know what, hold on. Let me just-” In a startling move, Roman grips the hood of Anxiety’s jacket, pulls it out a bit and then sniffs his neck???

Thomas isn’t the only one flabbergasted. Infact, Anxiety is so shocked by this turn of events he doesn't even react for a full three seconds.

And then he does.

Anxiety gives a high pitched shriek and swirls out of Romans reach, his face a furious red.

“Y-you! How dare- I can’t believe-”

“Roman!” Patton sharply cuts off Anxiety's babbling.

“What? I was just checking.”

“Y-you!” Anxiety points a shaky finger at Roman whilst backing up slowly. For once he doesn’t seem afraid so much as insulted and deeply embarrassed.

“And just what were you checking, exactly?” Logan asks, crossing his arms and leveling Roman with a very unimpressed look.

“Fuck you!” Anxiety yells at Roman before booking it out of the room.

“Roman, what the hell was that about?” Thomas is so confused.

“Oh come on guys! I was just checking if he was telling the truth!” Roman protests.

“Roman, if anyone was still scenting him their scent would be long gone by now.” Logan says.

“I know that.” Roman crosses his arms defensively. “It still doesn’t hurt to check though. Besides, you can learn more than that."

Thomas can’t even find the words to explain that, yes, yes it totally could hurt! They were just lucky Anxiety hadn’t gone into a panic attack or defaulted!

"What else could you possibly have learned?" Logan argues.

Roman shrugs. “He’s definitely started puberty so he’s got to be at least fifteen.”

“Wait, why fifteen?” Thomas asks. Because that's definitely what he should be focusing on right now.

“Are you saying humans start puberty before they’re fifteen?” Logan looks an odd mix between baffled and horrified.

“Um, yes? Humans usually start at thirteen or fourteen but we can start puberty at ten or eleven, sometimes younger.”

Even Patton looks shocked by this.

“But that can’t be- they still smell like kids!”

“Patton, starting puberty doesn’t automatically mean you're not a kid anymore.” it takes Thomas way too long to catch onto what Patton was really saying. "Hold on, you can smell humans?"

“Well yeah, humans might not smell as strong as centaurs but they still have a scent.”

“People have scents?”

“THAT’S what’s so weird about Picani!!”

Everyone jumps at Patton’s sudden exclamation.

“Must you yell-”

Patton doesn’t let Logan finish, ignoring him instead. “He doesn’t smell like a human!”

Thomas scratches his head in confusion, unsure of what to focus on through the rapid twists and turns of their conversation. “What, does he smell like a centaur instead?”

“No. I mean- well, no. He doesn’t.”

Roman joins in before Patton can elaborate. “You’re right! I couldn't figure out what was off before but now that you mention it his smell is so muted that he barely smells human!”

“I’m lost. What do you mean ‘smell human?” Thomas asks.

Thankfully, Roman takes pity on him and explains. “I mean, humans all have their own distinct smell but on a fundamental level they all smell like humans, ya know? But Picani doesn’t. His is- dulled somehow.”

It’s sufficient to say that, no, Thomas doesn’t know. Thomas cannot, nor has he ever been able, to identify people based only on their smell. The best he could do was try and guess whether they wore deodorant that day.

Which begs the question- “No offense guys, but are you sure humans don’t just smell like deodorant?

“No, because then certain people would smell the same but I’ve never met two humans who smelled alike. Similar sure but not the same.” Roman insists.

“Not to mention children do not wear antiperspirants.” Logan points out.

“Yeah but they use lotions and stuff.” Thomas argues, mostly because the idea that centaurs had such a strong sense of smell that they could distinguish people through it alone was somewhat off putting.

“Babies smell very strongly.” Patton assures him. “I can tell the difference between baby powder and baby scent.”

Romans eyes widened with horror. “They make powder out of babies!?”

Thomas just sighs while Patton giggles.

“No silly, it’s a white powder humans use to keep away diaper rash.”

“Ooooh, haha. I knew that. Obviously I didn’t think humans make powders out of their own kids, that’s preposterous. Haha!”

Thomas rolls his eyes at Romans blatant bluffing only to see Logan looking utterly baffled.

“What is a diaper?”

And really this whole conversation is getting too weird for Thomas. First he finds out that centaurs have such a great sense of smell that they can literally identify each other with it, then he finds out they can smell fucking puberty of all things and now he might have to explain what a diaper is to Logan.

Thankfully Patton is able to pull things back on track. “I’ll explain later.” He tells Logan before turning to address Roman. “As for you, Roman, that was still very rude. You should apologize to Anxiety.”

“Oh come on it wasn’t that bad-”

“Even I know that’s rude.” Logan interrupts.

Romans response to this is to grumble under his breath and Thomas seriously doubts there will be any apologizing, which sort of kills the conversation and allows Thomas his escape.

******************

Since Patton is rather well aware that Roman won’t be coming to apologize on his own, he decides to do his best to smooth things over himself. He isn’t sure Anxiety will accept an apology coming from him (or Roman for that matter) but he’s hoping to at least show that he doesn’t feel differently towards Anxiety for lying about his age.

Well, he does, but that’s mostly just his gut instinct trying to kick into overdrive, which it’s been doing since the moment he met Anxiety, all that’s changed now is that it knows it was justified in the strong parental instincts.

Still, Anxiety isn’t going to appreciate Patton getting all paternal on him now (or anymore than he already is, anyway) -so Patton needs to play this cool. He doesn’t want to push Anxiety away, even if Roman seemed determined to do so.

Patton knocks on Anxiety’s stall door and enters when he gets a sullen- “What do you want?”

“It’s me.” Patton says, gently opening the door. “I’m sorry kiddo, Roman shouldn’t have done that. You know he wasn’t trying to be creepy or anything though, right?” Patton asks. He’s rather worried about that. Anxiety was so on edge all the time, clearly still afraid of touch and the last thing Patton wants him to think is that Roman was… well, honestly Patton isn’t sure what Anxiety will think of Roman for that stunt.

What Roman did, that is to say, scenting someone without permission, wasn’t generally considered creepy so much as it was just very invasive and more than a little boundary breaking.

It was almost like running your hand through someone's hair. It’s nice if you knew them well but freaky if you didn’t.

“Kiddo, I’m so sorry Roman did that to you. It was very messed up” Patton repeats when Anxiety doesn’t answer.

“It’s not that big a deal.” Anxiety grumbles. “I’m used to it, he used to forcibly scent me a lot.”

Patton makes a disgusted face at the information. Who used to forcibly scent him?

“I mean it wasn’t… creepy or whatever. He just-” Anxiety hesitates so Patton attempts to fill in some of the blanks.

“Who was it who kept scenting you?” Humans didn’t scent each other so the ‘he’ Anxiety was referring to must’ve been another centaur.

“Whenever me and my guardian were separated he’d always make me let him scent me the second he got back to make sure no one had- so he’d know if anyone….. hurt me while he was gone. I hated it.”

“Your guardian should have been the one protecting you.” Patton says softly.

Anxiety laughs almost wildly. “He was though! That was his way of making sure no one messed with me. He had to pretty much sit on me to do it cause I kept trying to run and he can’t smell for shit but everyone knew he did it so they never messed with me when he wasn't around.”

Patton has no response for this because all he can think is that shouldn't it have been the other way around? Guardians weren’t supposed to use scents to know who touched their kid. They were supposed to leave their own scent on their kid so people wouldn’t touch them in the first place. Foals were supposed to be scented regularly so everyone would know whose kid belonged to who. Why did his guardian only use it to see who touched him without his knowledge? It made no sense.

***************

Chapter Text

***************

To be entirely honest Thomas doesn’t feel like heading back to his house right now. Maybe he’s too wound up by all that had happened or maybe he was just hesitant to leave his centaur friends alone. Maybe both? It’s fine though, there’s no pressing need for Thomas to head to the house, Joan and Talyn will be fine without him for a while. In fact, being introverts, they probably needed the time to decompress too. Not that Thomas is decompressing, per say. As per his new usual, Thomas is asking more questions and, naturally, he chooses to ask Logan. The largest centaur seemed to not mind (or possibly enjoy) supplying answers and as of yet had always had them.

“So how come you guys were so certain Anxiety was a kid? And how come he admitted it?” Since it was Logan he was talking to, there was no need for sugar coat things. Blunt and brutal, that was the Logan way.

"He knew he could no longer lie. We knew his age for the same reason centaurs are only sold alone once they have reached the age of fifteen.” Logan tells him. “That’s when we begin to lose the ability to produce any foal sounds.”

“Foal sounds?”

“Yes, young foals tend to be nonverbal, relying entirely on trills and whinnies to communicate. A centaur may not say their first words until the ages of four or five. As they age the noises lessen and gradually a centaur will lose the ability to make them entirely. It’s highly uncommon for a centaur to retain this ability beyond the age of fifteen but it does not surprise me that Anxiety has. I get the impression that he was nonverbal for far longer than the average foal.”

Thomas thinks that through. “So you’re still considered a kid if you can make those noises?” How was it that he knew so little about centaurs?

“Not necessarily, but should anyone overhear you make them you will most certainly be treated as one. Being sold into the workforce while you are still able to whinnie or trill is almost certain to hinder the productivity of all surrounding centaurs. We can’t help it. We will instinctively respond to any call of distress without regard for consequences. Centaurs are extremely in tune to foals and we are very protective of our young. You may not have had reason to notice but Centaur foals are rare. It isn’t often that one is born. The births are complicated at best and lethal to both mother and child at worst.”

Out of everything he’s said so far Thomas thinks that makes the most sense. That would definitely count as a complicated birth, what with having six limbs and all.

However, Thomas is still hung up on one thing. “If Roman sniffed Anxiety to see how old he was-”

Logan cuts him off. “What Roman did was pointless. A centaur’s personal scent will take on a more complex smell once they reach puberty but that only tells us he is older than fifteen. Which was already clear.”

“Yeah but that's what I’m stuck on. If you guys don’t get puberty until you’re fifteen, when do you stop being a teenager?”

Logan looks confused so Thomas elaborates.

“Like, humans start puberty way younger which means we finish it way faster right? When do centaurs consider each other to be adults?”

Logan thinks for a moment. “I’m not entirely sure.” He admits. “My childhood was far, far from the usual for a multitude of reasons but from what I’ve heard and seen I’d say you become an adult somewhere around twenty one or twenty three?” He nods to himself. “Yes, I’d say our puberty hormones level out during the early to mid twenties. That is when a centaur becomes fully mature.”

Thomas is quiet as he processes this. It was only a few years difference from a human but that age gap was still both startling and disturbing. Mostly because that was exactly where Roman fit in. If Logan was right (and he usually was) then Roman was, for all intents and purposes, still a teenager. Which actually made more sense than he thought it would. Not to be offensive or anything but Roman wasn’t exactly the most mature of them all. He did act more like a teen than a full grown adult.

A thought occurs to Thomas. “Hold up. Logan you’re only twenty three, does that mean you still count as a teenager then?”

Logan awkwardly smooths out his shirt. “Well I wouldn’t say a teenager exactly. More like a -like a very young adult.”

That’s exactly what a teenager would say!

The look Logan gives him dares Thomas to say his thoughts aloud so he keeps that bit to himself and wishes Logan a good night. (after Logan recommends to him that they keep the security cameras on at all times instead of only at night. Which Thomas 100 percent agrees with) After turning the cameras on via his app, Thomas heads back to his room where Talyn and Joan are waiting for him. Probably with questions of their own.

It’s been a long day.

Unfortunately it isn’t over yet. Thomas doesn’t even make it to his back door before he’s running into Roman, who was in the field that separated the barn and house.

“You good?” He asks when he sees Roman is racing as opposed to running again. There was a distinct difference but the most notable was his temperament. Roman only raced when he was upset.

“Me? I’m fine. Just peachy.” Roman says in a very convincingly light tone of voice.

Thomas isn’t fooled though. “Really? Cause you look upset, and you were definitely upset earlier.”

“What, the kid was lying to us, that didn’t upset you?”

“Not that.” Thomas corrects him. “Earlier, earlier, when those fake inspector guys were here.”

“I wasn’t upset.” Roman argues.

“Dude, I thought you were gonna punch that guy.”

Roman gives in and sighs deeply, realizing Thomas doesn’t intend to drop the matter. “I’ll admit, I overreacted.”

‘Woah, that’s new, he admitted he was wrong?’ Thomas thinks in surprise. He’s not sure what he expected from this conversation but it wasn’t that.

“It just- it scared me.” Roman continues. “I’ve never- you know, heard a foal before, not since I was one too anyway. It was just- I don’t know how to describe it. It was such a strong feeling, I’ve never felt anything like it before. It was like I had to help, I didn’t even think about it.”

“You just ran off without thinking about it? Because you heard him whine- er, whinny?”

Roman nods. “It was sort of like an adrenaline rush but the bad kind. Well, it wasn’t bad, per say, it just caught me off guard. It brought out such a strong emotional response. I’d have gone to help either way but that noise, I felt like someone had died.”

Thomas mulls this over. It did sound unsettling when put like that.

“Do you think it’s always like that?” Thomas wonders out loud.

Roman shrugs. “That was a distress call so probably not. I’ve heard that a content or happy trill can basically put you on a high. I’m pretty sure it’s an exaggeration but it isn’t like we’ll ever find out from Anxiety.”

Unfortunately Thomas agrees with him. Anxiety has been utterly terrified for the better part of his time with them and yet this was the first time he’d trilled which leads Thomas to believe that he rarely did so. For Anxiety to unintentionally, or even less likely, intentionally trill around them -well it would probably be over something extreme and Thomas can’t imagine it would be under positive circumstances.

***************

Thomas collapses face first on his bed and he can hear Joan roll over to face him.

“So that was….. A lot.” They say.

Thomas just groans.

“Is everyone okay?” Talyn asks. “Anxiety seemed really freaked out.”

Thomas twists his head so as not to suffocate.

“Yeah, he’s alright. I think he’s mostly pissed at Princey right now. I doubt we’ll see him tomorrow.”

“Why’s he mad at Prince?” Joan asks.

“He smelled him. Or something. Dunno. Apparently centaurs have great senses of smell and Prince was trying to confirm his age but it’s super offensive or something. Oh! Which brings me to the fact that Anxiety isn’t even seventeen yet.”

Talyns eyes widened in alarm. “He’s sixteen?”

“Dude, he’s practically a kid!” Joan gasps.

Thomas swivels his head back to continue suffocating. “Yep.” He responds in a muffled tone.

It’s silent for a moment, each human lost in their own thoughts.

“So what are you gonna do?” Asks Talyn softly. “He’s just a kid. What about his parents?”

Thomas finally pulls his face out of his pillow and rolls to face the ceiling.

“He’s considered an adult to them.” Thomas frowns. “Well, no. He’s considered an adult by the law since he’s over fifteen. Logic, Morality and Prince were all really upset when they found out how young he is and I’m not really sure what it’s gonna mean going forward. As for parents, I’m not sure he has any? None of the others do.”

“Thomas-”

“Its just- everything is totally backwards!” Thomas explodes. “Humans call them adults when they’re fifteen and that’s when they are separated from their families but centaurs still think of them as teens till they hit their twenties!”

“Till twenty?”

“Yes! Logic says they mature slower than us. They don’t even get puberty until they’re fifteen! Which isn’t, like, totally crazy but it changes things, you know? Why the hell would you take someone, who just hit the most confusing and frustrating part of their life and then tear them away from everyone they know and love!?"

Neither Joan or Talyn has a response for this so they all sit quietly to contemplate the unfairness of life.

It’s silent for a very long time.

“Did you guys know foals are nonverbal?” Thomas says once he can’t bear to sit in silence any longer.

“They are?”

“Yeah, they just make sounds and everyone around them knows what they mean. That weird sound Anxiety made was one of them. Some kind of call for help if I had to guess.”

“That's kinda cool.” At the look Talyn shoots Joan they quickly continue. “I meant the nonverbal part, sheesh.”

“It kinda is,” Talyn admits after a moment. “How do you think the adults understand them? Is it a language?

Thomas shakes his head. “The way Logic put it it sounds more like they just know. But I don’t think he’s ever heard a foal before now so I don’t know if he’s right.

“How could they just know?” Joan questions aloud.

“They’ve got a lot more instincts than we do.” Thomas says. That is something he’s sure of now. There were several things that stood out as inhuman amongst centaurs and their uncanny instincts were one of them. They had a lot stronger regular senses too he was learning.

Like the whole smelling thing. That was just-

Weird.

**********

Chapter Text

The next morning Joan, Talyn and Thomas all head down to the barn again. This time with donuts as a peace offering.

They are a huge hit to say the least.

“Oh. My. God.” Roman practically inhales his first donut. “These are incredible. What did you say they were called again?

“They’re donuts.” Talyn says, offering one to Patton who cautiously takes it. He doesn’t seem as if he knows what to think of Thomas’s human friends and, while he’s been nice and polite, Patton hasn’t said a word. In fact, he hasn’t been signing either. He’s just been…quiet. It was funny to Thomas (and by funny he meant absolutely anything other than funny) -that Patton was scared of someone as small and harmless as Talyn.

Thomas wonders if it’s the fact that Joan and Talyn are human or that they are Thomas’s friends that has Patton so nervous. Maybe he just wanted to make a good impression? Thomas genuinely hopes that’s the only reason for Patton’s unusual wariness.

Joan takes a long look around the main room before approaching Thomas with their phone out.

“Dude, this room would be so perfect for that one vine I was telling you about.” Joan says, tapping at their phone to show Thomas a vine in a similar looking barn.

“What’s that?” Roman asks curiously, peering over Joan's shoulder to see their phone and loudly munching on his donut.

“Vine? It’s an app.” Joan explains. “You make short videos and other people can watch them and follow you if they like them.”

“Cool!” Roman seemed to have come to the conclusion that anything new introduced by Joan or Talyn was a guaranteed good thing. The donuts probably helped. “Thomas isn’t that cool?!”

“Yup.” Says Thomas, trying not to sound bitter that his human friends already have such a good track record at introducing things. Why did he always get in such a fight whenever he wanted to introduce something? The best Thomas ever seemed to get when introducing new things was apathy.

‘Or maybe they just aren't scared of you anymore and that’s why they are willing to express different opinions to yours.’ Thomas’s brain supplies. Thomas decides to take it as fact. After all, it made sense. None of the centaurs had ever disagreed with Thomas until they got comfortable around him, even Anxiety was only just starting to do so. Well, Logan had immediately but he, unlike the others, had never been afraid to voice his opinions.

Such as now.

“Why would you make videos just to be watched by others? Sounds like a waste of time.”

Patton startles and Roman stares at Logan in disbelief. Thomas just sighs.

“Remember our agreement about why movies aren’t just a waste of time?”

“We never agreed.” Logan grumbles.

“Yes we did. You said that, and I quote, ‘when not watched in excess they are not always a waste of time’.” Thomas says, speaking quickly to stop Logan’s protests. “Well it’s the same with vine. People do it because it’s fun and that’s the only reason they need.”

“But how is it fun?” Logan insists.

“I’ll show you.” Joan offers.

“Yes!” Roman agrees in excitement. Also in relief, both he and Patton had looked absolutely horrified throughout the previous conversation and there had been a notably tense vibe during it. Maybe the centaurs were more nervous than they were letting on.

As it turns out, Logan doesn’t actually want to be proven wrong (shocker), so it’s just Roman who joins Joan in making a vine video. Although that leads onto a whole other conversation on its own.

“Are you sure it's okay to film me? I am a centaur after all. People have been shut down for less.” Roman points out. While he seemed to want to be in the video, this was now his fourth excuse of why he shouldn’t be.

“No worries man. No one following me would care if you’re a centaur and if they do then, frankly, I don’t want them following me.”

Roman doesn’t look convinced. “Yeah but I don’t wanna make you lose followers or get you kicked out or something.”

“If it makes you feel better we don’t have to show that you’re a centaur?” Joan offers.

“What, you mean pretend to be human?”

“No pretending so much as just never mentioning you aren't a human. It’s not like your lower half needs to be on the screen and from your waist up you pretty much look human.”

“Falsehood.” Logan interjects.

“Um… how so?” Joan asks, looking to Thomas as if he would somehow know. Unfortunately for Joan, Thomas has no idea what Logan’s talking about. Thomas is far from the ‘expert all things centaur’ he had foolishly started to think he was.

“Well for one, I don’t have any pointy teeth like you do.” Roman says when Logan doesn’t answer. (he’s too busy staring at Joan as though he can’t believe they haven’t noticed the differences between humans and centaurs.)

Thomas forces himself into an upright position on his beanbag. “What? Wait, you mean canines? You don’t have any at all? Here, smile.”

Roman obliges with a toothy grin and, sure enough, all his teeth are perfectly flat.

“Huh, what do you know… well it’s not something I ever noticed so I doubt anyone online will, not unless you’re doing close ups of your mouth.” Thomas says, settling back down in his seat.

“That and my ears.” Roman agrees.

Thomas’s head shoots up again. “What’s wrong with your ears?”

“Well as far as centaur ears go mine are pretty rounded but it’s still pointier than a humans.”

“How did I never notice that?” Thomas asks in befuddlement.”

“Well, centaurs often hide their ears. It’s… a sensitive topic.”

“How so?” Joan asks.

“Well, you might get bullied. Not all centaurs are accepting of pointy eared ones.”

“Wait, centaurs can be racist?” Thomas gasps.

“Of course.”

“No, I mean, with other centaurs?”

“Of… course?”

“But- but you’re all centaurs!”

Roman rolls his eyes. “And you’re all humans but you still have issues with different colors.”

Well Roman has him there!

"So you guys can be racist too. Is it like with human's then? Yanno, with different races?” Joan asks curiously.

“Well, our coats vary so much that I haven’t really seen anyone care about different skin colors. Not that we have a lot of variety with that to begin with. It’s mostly just different stigmas for different breeds.” Roman explains haltingly.

“You don’t sound very certain.” Joan notes.

“Yeah well, that’s ‘cause I was pretty much only surrounded by other racers so we were all the same breed. I definitely heard a lot of racist comments about other breeds but I never actually saw anything in person. The biggest stigma I personally saw would be the ears.”

“Why would anyone care about their ears?” Joan asks.

Roman shrugs. “Eh, I was always told pointy ears were a sign of poor breeding.”

“Actually, all centaurs once had pointed ears.” Logan snaps. Thomas hadn’t even realized he was listening. “It was humans who tried to breed them out and, in turn, caused the stigma.”

“Yes, well, I never said I thought there was anything wrong with them. Heck, even I got teased for being a little pointy.” Roman says in his defense.

Logan takes a long, critical look at Roman’s visible ears.

“You consider those to be pointed?”

Roman feels the tips of his ears, which are indeed pointed at the tip. “Well, they’re not very pointy but a lot of other racers' ears were almost completely round so they stood out.”

Logan actually scoffs at this and turns around.

For the first time it occurs to Thomas that he’s never seen Logan’s ears. Even when he’d had his mark scanned Logan had mostly hidden them behind either his hair or his fingers. Had Logan been consciously doing so? Was he embarrassed by them? It was hard to imagine another centaur bullying Logan and even harder to think of him feeling hurt by it but….. Well, Logan was a kid once, wasn’t he? It wasn’t unreasonable to assume his insecurities from being bullied as a child had carried over until even now.

Thomas wonders what shape Patton’s where. Unlike Logan’s, his ears weren’t intentionally hidden beneath his hair, his golden, curly locks were simply too wild and fluffy to tame. Huh, on second thought, did he need a haircut? No, his hair was about this same length when Thomas first met him. Come to think of it, Logan and Roman’s hair hadn’t changed either. Did they cut it themselves? Thomas has no idea.

Thomas is curious as to the shape of Anxiety’s ears as well but he's well aware he may never find out. And not even because Anxiety didn’t trust him. It’s just that the kid had so much hair. Were it well kept Thomas thinks it would probably be as glossy and fine as his tail is. (Thomas has noted the strong similarity between the two in centaurs) For whatever reason though, Anxietys hair was not well kept and generally did whatever the fuck it felt like doing. It wasn’t very long at the moment but Thomas would be willing to bet that Anxiety had twice as many individual hairs on his head than anyone else in the room.

Oh well, everyone’s ear shape was a question for another time. For now-

“Well if you want you can just cover your ears and keep your mouth closed and no one will be the wiser.” Thomas says, offering the only solution he can think of.

“That will be the day.” Logan grumbles, probably referring to the ‘mouth closed’ part.

Thomas just rolls his eyes and leaves them to it. Besides, when he’d rolled his eyes he’d noticed something very interesting.

“Talyn, is that what I think it is?” Thomas asks in amazement as he walks towards them.

Talyn grins cheekily. “Maybe.”

“Oh my gosh, I had almost forgotten about those!” Thomas gushes, moving to his friend's side to see their wrist.

“I found it last night in your room. I must have left it there at some point. I’ve been wondering where it went. I thought it was lost forever” Talyn explains.

Thomas grins and playfully pulls at the rubber friendship bracelet to let it snap back in place on Talyns wrist.

“Ow!” They fake whine, pulling away with a grin.

“Baby.” Thomas teases. “But seriously, how come I never saw this? I can’t believe it was in my room this whole time. Do you think Joan’s is in there?”

“No, I lost that when we went swimming, remember?” Joan calls from across the room, where they are trying to angle their phone camera just right.

“Oh yeah, We were so sad, you even cried.”

Joan laughs. “I thought it meant our friendship was over!”

Thomas smiles at the decade old memory. He, Talyn and Joan had all made friendship bracelets back in fifth grade and it was safe to say that Thomas had nearly forgotten all about them.

“It’s really ironic that I found this.” Talyn tells Thomas.

“How so?”

“Well, I’ve really gotten into making them again recently.” They explain.

“It helps them to have something to with their hands when they’re studying so they’ve been making friendship bracelets galore.” Joan explains.

Talyn looks proud. “I’ve got one that stretches across my whole dorm room.”

Thomas is impressed.

“I actually brought a kit with me.” Talyn looks thoughtful. “Say, any of you guys wanna make some with me?” They ask, addressing the centaurs.

“Uh, make what?” Asks Roman, as though he hadn’t been listening in from the start. He and Joan seem to have finished their video, that or they’d decided to finish it later.

“Bracelets.” Talyn says anyway. “The ones I have are pretty much just rubber bands you tie together but they’re still fun to make.”

Roman just shrugs. “If you want us to.”

“You don’t have to.” Talyn stresses again.

Thomas isn’t convinced that Roman believes her.

“No, no, we’ll do it.” He says.

Talyn looks at Thomas who just shrugs.

“Okay then. Let me just go grab it.” They say, headed to the door as they speak.

Before the awkward silence truly has a chance to settle, Joan turns to Logan.

“So you really don’t like movies?” They ask.

Logan shrugs. “Why would I?”

Seeing as this will be the start of a looong discussion Thomas takes the chance to pull Roman aside.

“You really don’t have to do it if you don't want to.” Thomas reminds Roman. “You don’t have to obey them. Not Joan or Talyn.”

“I know. Just you.” Roman says.

Thomas’s blood runs ice cold.

“Roman-” Thomas starts, uncertain what to say. Was he being serious right now? Did Roman really think that? “Roman, you don’t have to obey me either.”

Roman gives a half scoff half laugh. “Sure, sure. You’re just my owner is all.”

Thomas has no idea if he’s being sarcastic or not.

“Dude, seriously. I mean it. If I ever tell you to do something you don’t want to do you just need to tell me. I don’t want to be the boss of you. You’re my friend.”

Roman shrugs a little. “Well yeah, we’re friends but still…” He doesn't finish his sentence and Thomas tries to wrack his brain for a way to convince Roman that he means what he’s saying. Thomas is drawing a blank.

“Okay, I’m back.” Talyn announces, waltzing into the barn with an arm full of boxes. “Who’s ready to make some bracelets?”

“Me!” Roman says, seemingly relieved to have a change of subject.

Thomas is loath to let the topic go but he drops it for now. Forcing Roman to continue the conversation would be the exact opposite of what Thomas was trying to tell him.

Roman eagerly sits at the table as Talyn dumps the boxes on it.

“Okay.” They say. “I’ve got them separated by color except for that box because it came mixed and I’m too lazy to sort it.”

“You divide them by color?” Thomas asks, peering into the color coded boxes.

“Yep. No judging!”

“I’m not judging.” Roman assures them. “Now, how do I make one of those cool bracelets?”

Talyn is halfway through explaining the process to Roman when Patton hesitantly slides up alongside Thomas.

“What did I miss?” He whispers.

Thomas has to fight not to show how badly the pony startles him. It was so weird with Patton being so quiet. He must be even stepping lighter than normal because Thomas hadn’t even heard him coming.

“Here, first you use this.” Thomas tells him and begins showing him the mechanics behind friendship bracelets.

Patton takes to it quickly and Thomas can see his growing delight with each tiny rubber band he connects. Roman on the other hand, was struggling. His hands were a little too large to comfortably handle the rubber bands and he kept accidentally snapping them. Thomas can tell he’s getting frustrated from the intense look on his face that darkens each time he accidently snaps a band. He’d apologize endlessly the first time one snapped and it took a good bit of convincing on Talyn's part to calm him back down. Now he’s getting worked up again and Thomas knows he needs to do something before the centaur explodes.

“Pst.” Thomas hisses at Roman, who startles and looks at him in confusion.

“Watch this.” Thomas says with a smirk.

“Oh, no.” Talyn groans, already knowing what Thomas intends to do.

Thomas takes a rubber band, stretches it and then aims at Joan, who is still deep in conversation with Logan discussing who knows what. Thomas lets the rubber band fly and-!

It misses by a mile.

Talyn snorts and Roman just looks even more confused.

“They fly?” He says, attempting to guess what Thomas was showing him.

Thomas huffs and Patton joins in the giggling.

“No- well yes, but I was trying to hit Joan.” Thomas explains as he takes another rubber band and stretches it carefully. This band flies a few feet closer to Joan but still misses by a long shot.

“You still suck at this.” Talyn snickers.

“You do it then.” Thomas huffs.

Talyn takes him up on it and shoots another band at the oblivious Joan. This one misses too.

“Prince, you wanna try?” Thomas offers.

“Oh no! I couldn’t- that is to say-” Roman looks at Patton as if for help. Thomas isn’t sure why but Patton must know because he just signs back one word.

‘Logan’

A wide grin stretches across Roman’s face and he too grabs a rubber band.

“Take this, Teach.” He mutters under his breath and lets the band fly.

With perfect accuracy it nails Logan in the neck. Logan startles so bad he partially rears up and that startles Joan into jolting backwards, which in turn trips them and sends them sprawling across a beanbag.

“What the hell?!” Logan snaps, his hand flying up to check his neck.

Roman is laughing pretty hard right now and Thomas is trying his best not to.

“Wow, good aim.” Talyn tells Roman and gives him away, not that Logan couldn’t have figured out who shot him on his own.

“R- Prince what was that?” Logan snaps, so thrown off he nearly slips on Roman’s name. (Something Thomas has never seen any of them do.)

“Relax Teach, it was just a rubber band. See?” Roman says, shooting another one, somehow, directly into Logan’s hand, who snaps it shut on instinct. Logan then looks down at the tiny, innocent looking rubber band laying in the palm of his hand.

His scowl darkens. “Why did you target me?” He asks.

“Well I couldn’t hit Joan.” Roman says with a roll of his eyes.

Thomas is a bit baffled that he would say that and even more so that Logan seems to have accepted it.

“Then I must encourage you to refrain in the future.” Logan tells him before noticing Joan, who is still stuck on their back. Logan looks momentarily startled and confused before he looks a little sheepish. He’s probably embarrassed for scaring Joan so bad.

“Do you require assistance?” He asks Joan.

“No, I’m okay.” They say, still sprawled in an undignified heap. “It’s actually kinda comfortable down here.”

Logan shrugs and walks over to peer over Patton’s head, where the pony has already made three bracelets. A blue one, a red and gold one, and a purple one. The one he was making now was a light teal color with bits of pink mixed in. Patton seemed to have the method down perfectly, his bracelet making skill already far past Thomas’s, who was still working on his second which was bafflingly crooked. How could rubber bands be crooked?

“Wanna try?” Talyn asks Logan.

Logan looks at Romans pile of at least half a dozen broken rubber bands and then shakes his head no. “It would not be wise. Nor do I feel an allure.” He says simply.

Talyn nods. “Suit yourself.” They say.

Thomas is sure if Logan did try it would be a catastrophe. Roman was struggling because his hands were larger than average and his strength likewise. Logan’s hand size put Romans to shame and the mental image of him trying to manipulate tiny little rubber bands was very humorous.

The mental image of how frustrated he would get was less humorous. One angry centaur was enough, not that Roman was angry anymore. Shooting Logan in the neck seemed to have put him in high spirits.

“Hey Prince, how’d you shoot your rubber band like that?” Joan asks, struggling to crawl their way out of the beanbag. “Your aim was incredible.”

Roman just shrugs. “I used to do this a ton as a foal and I figured out the best way to shoot them. You use your thumb, like this.”

So saying, Roman begins to teach Joan the art of (accurate) rubber band shooting. Thomas is just glad their target is the tv and not a living being. Or Thomas for that matter.

“Should I be concerned?” Logan says, startling Thomas.

“Concerned about what?” Thomas asks.

“About that.” Logan says, gesturing towards Roman and his student.

“Probably.” Thomas admits. “If you want my advice, I suggest you learn how to shoot them too so you can at least get revenge.”

Thomas didn’t actually expect Logan to take his advice to heart but it seems the large centaur does because he goes over to join Joan and Roman.

It seemed the bit about revenge was too good to pass up.

Thomas grins as he watches the three and then turns to see what everyone else was doing. Talyn and Patton were both quietly making the rubber bracelets together, which was actually super sweet to see. Patton still wouldn’t say a word but he didn’t seem to mind Talyn's presence anymore, which was a win in Thomas’s book.

Thomas had always assumed that Talyn and Patton would get along well and he’s glad to see that they do. Thomas smiles to himself. Everything was finally going smoothly.

****************

Chapter Text

Miraculously things continue to go smoothly for the rest of Talyn and Joan's stay. On the second day Joan and Talyn are there, they end up dragging Thomas out into town. In part, to give the centaurs some time to themselves but mostly to ‘reintegrate Thomas back into society’.

What it actually does is remind Thomas of why he left it. The only direct human interaction Thomas has had in the past few months has been Dr. Sheldon and Picani, neither of whom probably counted. Of course Thomas regularly keeps up with his friends via text and zoom but it still wasn’t as good as being in person. It’s safe to say that, while not exactly thrilled to be out and about, Thomas greatly enjoys both Talyn and Joan's company. It’s actually the first day he doesn't see any of the centaurs all day since he bought Logan and it’s a pretty weird feeling. Some might say it was unhealthy to put so much time and effort into all four centaurs but Thomas is pretty sure he gets just as much out of it as they did. It was about more than just the friendships he’d cultivated, seeing and helping the four centaurs also gave him a sense of purpose. Not only that but he’s finding that a lot of his old passions have been slowly coming back to life as well. Thomas finally truly feels alive again for the first time since the tragic accident that stole his parents from him.

Joan and Talyn both note the improvements in his general health and attitude too and they seem to be thrilled for him. It’s safe to say the three friends have a blast, revisiting all their old hangouts (and getting kicked off their old school property for looking ‘shady’, oops) and just in general hanging out.

When Joan and Talyn leave the next day it’s on a bittersweet note and yet Thomas had unexpectedly found himself feeling very validated during their goodbye.

“Yanno Thomas, I think I get why you didn’t tell us when you got centaurs.” Talyn muses.

“Actually, yeah.” Joan agrees. “I didn’t get it at first but now that I’ve met them…”

“It’s more complicated than it sounds? Thomas suggests.

“Yeah.” Is all Talyn says.

“I just sort of assumed they’d act like normal humans but-” Joan trails off, not sure how to complete their thoughts. Thomas gets it though.

“That’s the thing guys.” Thomas says. “They’re not human. Like, at all. They aren’t a horse, human hybrid or anything of the sort. They’re an entirely unique species with their own culture and everything.” Thomas thinks for a moment. “And a lot of weird habits.”

“How much of that do you think is natural versus how they were treated?” Joan asks.

“I dunno. I think a fair amount of it is trauma and the different ways they’ve learned to cope with it. Hell, I haven’t seen Morality this quiet since I first met him.” Thomas notes.

“I never did ask,” Talyn starts. “How come he never talked? Is he really that-”

“Scared of us?” Joan finishes when Talyn stops.

“I don’t think so.” At least Thomas hopes not. “I think it’s only because you're human and he can’t actually help it. He just can’t talk if he doesn’t know you.”

“But he can with other centaurs?” Talyn asks curiously.

“Centaurs never threatened to have his voice box removed.” Thomas bluntly informs them. Poor Patton, if the past few days have shown him anything it’s that Thomas needs to pay more attention to their sign language lessons. While Logan didn’t mind playing translator, it wasn’t fair to him or Patton that no one else could keep up with sign language.

Joan shudders. “Well, I don't blame him then. If anything could convince me not to talk ever again, that would be it.”

Thomas nods. He doesn’t blame Patton either. He hasn’t even mentioned the metal mouthpiece Patton had once been forced to wear. Patton had plenty of reasons to be afraid of talking, Thomas is just happy Patton still talked at all! Thomas’s world would be a good bit less bright without Patton's usual chattering or casual humming.

It’s with an air of thoughtful silence that Joan and Talyn climb into their car. Talyn starts up the car and Thomas says his final farewells, having made them promise to let him know when they made it safely back to campus. Thomas has a great deal of anxiety about that which Joan and Talyn thankfully understood.

The car has only moved a few feet before it comes to a halt again.

“Oh, and Thomas.” Joan calls, half their body outside the passenger seat window. “Don't forget to teach them about the internet!”

It’s a totally random thing to say and momentarily stumps Thomas. But then he smiles. The topic of the internet must have popped up between Joan and either Logan or Roman. It’s an entertaining thought.

“I promise I will!” Thomas calls back in amusement. As if he’d ever let the four centaurs loose on the internet without warning them first.

Joan pops back in the window and a moment later the car reverses. Joan sticks their head back out and gestures for Thomas to come closer. Thomas, who is terribly confused, walks closer.

“Thomas, you actually get what Joan is saying right?” Talyn calls from the driver's seat.

Thomas nods. “Yeah, don’t worry, I’ll explain the dangers of the internet before showing it to them.

Joan groans. “Duuuuuude.” They run a hand down their face. “Thomas, you gave them all phones months ago. Do you really think they haven’t been on it yet?”

That gives Thomas pause. He’d given Logan, Patton and Roman each a phone when he bought them but beyond teaching them how to call and text he hadn’t done much else. Mostly because they kept trying to give the phone back and insist they didn’t need it. Thomas had figured that the more they knew it could do the more likely they were to insist it was too much. However, just because he never saw them use the phones didn’t mean they never used them. While Patton had most likely set it somewhere and forgotten about it, the chances that Roman and Logan hadn’t explored the phone's features by now was almost zero.

“Shit, what have I done?” Thomas whispers to himself.

Talyn laughs and Joan just pats Thomas’s shoulder.

“Just make sure to tell them today, okay?” They say.

Thomas nods. Oh, he’ll tell them today alright. In fact, he’s gonna tell them right now! Well, after Joan and Talyn leave that is.

**********

Thomas decides to start his ‘intro to the internet’ seminar in the best way possible. With an apology. He’s gathered Logan, Roman and Patton together and Anxiety is almost certainly somewhere within ear shot. He’s not too concerned about educating Anxiety since he hasn’t given him a phone yet and he’s not sure he’s going to. After all, Anxiety won’t be here forever and he doubts whoever he goes to would let him keep a phone. But mostly he’s not concerned because he’s rather sure Anxiety is going to be listening in. It seemed the kid had a knack for listening in on other people's conversations.

Either way Thomas starts his speech.

“It has occurred to me, well it occurred to Joan and they informed me, that you guys probably know nothing about the internet. In which case I just set you guys loose on it with absolutely no warning. And for that-” Thomas inputs as much sincerity into his voice as he possibly can. “-guys, I am so sorry.”

Patton gives a halfhearted shrug. “That's okay. You wouldn't have to tell normal people so it makes sense you forgot. I just…avoid it.”

“What warning would we need? I think it’s pretty simple really.” Roman says while Logan looks at him in bewilderment.

“I, for one, would have appreciated a heads up to the insanity that is called ‘the internet’.” Logan states, making quotations on the word internet.

That’s exactly what Tomas feared he’d say.

“Well, I promise I’m gonna try and make things right. Let's start with what you guys know, what websites have you been on?”

All three centaurs look at Thomas with various looks of confusion.

“A website is something like google, or twitter, or tumblr or stuff like that.” Thomas explains.

“Oh, then all of them?” Roman suggests.

“Roman, I guarantee you have not been on all of them.” Thomas tells him. “There are literally millions of websites.”

“Oh. Then, like, four.” Roman corrects.

Logan facepalms and Thomas assumes that means he was, at the very least, slightly more informed than Roman.

It’s at this point that Thomas decides to consult his notes. Yes, Thomas had, for once, come fully prepared for this conversation. He wanted to be sure he left nothing out so he’d done the logical thing and googled what to tell them.

He’s not about to tell them that his source material was gathered from ‘how to prepare your child for the internet’ though.

“Ok, first off is google. Google is a search engine where you can type any question you have into it and it will find you an answer. It isn’t always the right answer, but it’s usually pretty accurate. For instance-” Thomas pulls out his phone. “What temperature is considered freezing?” He says as he types.

Thomas then turns his phone around to show Logan, Roman and Patton. Logan looks disinterested so Thomas assumes he’d already discovered google on his own. Roman and Patton however look a mix of flabbergasted and delighted.

“I can ask anything?” Patton asks.

“Yes, but again, don’t expect it to always have the right answer.” Thomas says. “Anymore questions?”

No one says anything so Thomas moves on.

“Ok, second thing, don’t click on pop up ads.”

“On what?” All three centaurs ask.

For a moment Thomas debates showing them one via one of his many less than legal anime sites but considering how graphic the pop up ads usually were (not to mention pointless for a gay man) he decides against it.

“A pop up ad is an ad that- no, wait. An ad is an advertisement for something, yanno like, buy this shampoo, get that refrigerator, that kind of thing.

The three centaurs nod hesitantly along.

“So a popup ad is one that just appears on your screen even though you didn’t ask for it.”

“And you aren’t supposed to click on it?” Roman asks.

“Never.” Thomas says firmly.

“Even if it’s free?”

Thomas groans. Clearly Roman had encountered, and seemingly fallen for, popup ads already.

“Ok, look. Nothing on the internet is free.”

“But-”

“No, seriously. If it says it’s free then it’s lying. It’s called a scam.”

“How is that a scam?” Logan asks this time.

“Cause then it asks for your information and steals all your money.” Patton suddenly says.

Everyone turns to him in surprise and he shrinks in on himself.

“I- I heard someone say it once….” He mumbles quietly. Thomas takes pity on him and continues on.

“He’s right. They’ll trick you and steal from you. Either your money or your identity. Which is why you never give away any information about yourself.”

Roman raises his hand. “Question!”

Thomas nods for him to continue.

“How can they steal your money? Can’t you just not tell them where you live?”

“How would that-”

Logan cuts Thomas off. “Money has an internet presence now. If you buy something online then it translates into real dollars and you lose actual money.”

“So there’s two types of money?” Patton asks.

“Yes.” Logan stops and thinks. “Kind of.” He corrects. “They are connected. Spending one spends the other.”

Thomas sighs. This is so much harder than he thought, Joan and Talyn were so right. This is a conversation he should have had with them ages ago. Speaking of Joan and Talyn-

“Roman is the internet where you read that nonbinary is a cult?”

“Haha, whaaaat?”

Thomas will take that a yes.

“That leads me to the third thing.” Thomas says. “Don’t believe everything you read. Anyone can put anything on the internet so most of it is just someone's personal opinion and not a fact.”

“So some people think nonbinary is a cult?” Roman asks.

Thomas sighs. “Probably, but I’m willing to bet whatever article you somehow found was just somebody trolling.

“Trolling?”

“Trolls are real?!”

Thomas sighs again. “No, Patton, trolls aren’t real. That's what we call people who get on the internet and start fights on purpose for fun. They’ll say stupid things they know people won't be able to resist arguing about and then they’ll mess with you.”

Roman looks like he’s having an epiphany. “So people don’t actually believe the world is flat?”

Thomas actually wishes that it was just someone trolling. “Actually some people do believe that. Although it's possible whoever you were talking with was a troll. I don’t know, if all they wanna do is argue than just block them.”

“Block?” Logan asks. It’s clear he’s trying to keep up with their conversation but Patton looks as though they lost him ages ago. He’d been intrigued at the idea of real live trolls but had checked back out once it was established that they were still made up. Thomas may have to go through this again with him later.

“You can usually block someone if you’re chatting with them on an app. If you can’t figure out how, then bring it to me and I’ll show you. Speaking of apps, you guys should probably be careful which ones you use. If you wanna know what its purpose is just ask me, I don’t mind.”

“Can we not just google it?” Logan asks.

“Again, google will just tell you what the app was supposed to be. I can tell you what it’s actually used for.

“Then what’s the point of it?” Logan grumbles under his breath.

Thomas just moves on, unwilling to get further into it with Logan. “Alright, last thing.” Thomas is sure to make eye contact with each centaur before continuing. (Roman has to nudge Patton to get his attention though, since he seemed to still be zoned out)

“If you guys get into trouble, have questions or literally anything, come get me. Please. The human world is a crazy place and honestly, the internet only made that worse. I’m seriously happy to help in any way I can so please don’t be afraid to bring any issues to me.

Patton, Roman and Logan all nod reluctantly.

“Okay.”

“Sure thing.”

“If you insist.”

They each say in turn.

This serves to make Thomas feel (a little bit) better and he decides to let things be for now. “Okay, well that was pretty much all I had to say.” Thomas admits lamely.

“Oh thank goodness.” He thinks he hears Patton murmur.

“Well in that case can you show me how to download that ‘vine’ app Joan was using?” Roman asks as both Patton and Logan wander off.

“Sure thing.” Thomas agrees, hoping he won’t regret this in the future.

***************

Chapter Text

***************

Thomas wakes up with a sense of dread already draped over him like a cloak.

To be frank Thomas has been dreading today for quite a while now. In fact, he’s been actively dreading it since the moment he realized Anxiety wasn’t going anywhere and that it would fall on Thomas to take him to see the doctor again for his second checkup. To say last time hadn’t gone well was putting it lightly.

Unfortunately this isn’t something he can put off. Anxiety’s back had been doing much better but now that he won't let them see it it’s hard to say what shape it was in. And of course that's not even counting the cuts on his flank or his severe malnutrition. On top of that was the whole heart issue Dr. Sheldon had been concerned about.

Actually, heart problems were the main reason for this visit. Apparently the doctor wanted to run some tests in addition to checking on his progress. Thomas has serious doubts as to whether Anxiety will let her take them but he’ll leave that up to the professionals.

He personally thinks Anxiety should though. Just this morning he’d fainted again, right as he was passing Roman in the hallway. He’d half fallen on him and then panicked about it when he came too. Of course Roman made things worse by insisting he’d always catch a damsel in distress and now Anxiety was mad at him again. (Which Thomas personally doesn't think is fair considering Anxiety is the one who fell on him.)

“So are you gonna tell Anxiety?” Patton breaks through Thomas’s thoughts as effortlessly as a knife cutting through butter.

“I will. I just can’t figure out how.” Thomas admits. “What if he freaks out? You were there last time, what if he won’t get on the truck? I wouldn’t even blame him!”

“We won't know if we don’t try.” Patton reminds him.

Patton had a point but Thomas is loath to admit that. However, past experience has shown Thomas that Anxiety was less likely to have a panic attack about something if he knew in advance it was coming. Sure he’d dread and panic about it but he wouldn’t have an attack, which was Thomas’s goal.

It really is for the best that they tell Anxiety about the next doctor's visit as soon as possible so he’d have time to come to terms before they left. That or he’d find a way to escape. It was hard to say what the teenager would do.

“Do you want me to tell him?” Patton asks when Thomas still doesn’t move.

“Yes please.” Thomas sighs in defeat. It’s nice to know he isn’t alone in this, at the very least he’s got Patton on his side.

It’s to Thomas’s surprise that Patton doesn’t tell the boy immediately either. He must tell him at some point though, because at three o’clock both centaur meet Thomas at his truck, where he’s setting up the trailer with help from Logan and Roman. (The dumb thing had rusting issues from all the rain a few weeks ago and had been getting harder and harder to manipulate) Thomas sets the ramp down and then turns to face all four centaurs.

“You guys ready?” Both Patton and Anxiety step forwards.

Just like last time, no one had discussed who all was going and Thomas was utterly relieved to see that Patton still intended to go too. Thomas doesn’t want to do this alone. And sure, Anxiety wasn’t exactly close with Patton, but he tolerated him the best out of everybody else.

Anxiety peeks out from behind his bangs, eyes settling on Thomas and eyebrows furrowed with worry.

“Do I really have to go?” He asks, voice shaking with nerves from either the thought of leaving or the fear from questioning Thomas.

“I’m sorry.” Thomas says. And he really is. He wishes they could just forget the whole thing but the bit about Anxiety’s hearts not sounding good could potentially be a serious health condition and the sooner they could get Anxiety diagnosed the sooner they could work on a cure. “We really need to be sure your hearts are okay.”

Anxiety hangs his head in defeat and shuffles his way towards the van. It’s a relief to see he’s not fighting them, even if he does look upset.

“I’m sure it’s nothing.” Patton attempts to comfort him. “Don’t worry about it okay?”

“Yeah, you’ve been through a lot recently so it’s not surprising that you got sic-”

Anxiety cuts Thomas off. “I have a heart deformity.” He blurts, staring determinedly at his hooves.

Thomas’s jaw snaps shut. The four friends' eyes widen as the words sink in. For a long moment no one speaks.

“So you have been to a vet before?” Logan hesitantly asks, shaken by the blunk statement.

Anxiety rolls his eyes. “No one would even think about buying me if they didn’t know what condition I’m in. They all brought their own vet and all of them said the same thing.”

“That your heart is-” Roman can’t finish the words.

“The Vets all said I have a heart deformity of some sort. They said- they said I wont-'' Anxiety takes a deep breath and steels himself. “They said I won’t live past thirty five.”

Thomas feels like his blood just froze in his veins.

WHAT!?

Patton is paler than a ghost and Thomas is only a shade behind him.

“So to clarify, your heart is….broken?” Asks Roman.

Anxiety shrugs. “One of them is.” He has his hands buried in his pocket and his eyes hidden beneath his hair but his voice is calm and even.

Logan’s brow furrows in thought. “Assuming it is the minor heart that is problematic then it is possible to survive on only one heart.” He muses.

Anxiety shakes his head. “Not mine. They're both fucked up. It’s why I keep-” He waves a hand in a weak gesture. “-yanno, fainting.”

Is it just Thomas or is this the calmest Anxiety has been all day? They’re talking about his death for fucks sake. Why the hell is he so calm? How is he so calm? Thomas feels like he’s going to have a heart attac- uh, poor choice of words.

Patton looks like he’s going to cry any second. “You- you mean- you’re d-dying?”

Anxiety just shrugs. “Technically, everyone is. I’ve just got a shorter deadline. Besides, I’m not concerned about the die soon part. I’m more worried about what happens in the meantime. A lot can happen when you’re-” He trips over his words. “In that many years.”

Thomas genuinely doesn’t know what to say. What’s the proper response to someone telling you they wouldn’t make it to their forties?

No one else knows what to say either. Anxiety looks more and more uncomfortable until he wordlessly pulls his hoodie over his head and practically sinks into it.

It’s then that Thomas realizes that this new information might change the nature of their doctor visit (by a lot) so he quickly leaves the room and pulls up Dr. Sheldon’s number.

“Hello? Mr. Sanders, is something wrong?” She sounds terribly confused to be hearing from Thomas only an hour before their scheduled visit.

“Kinda.” Thomas decides on being blunt. “We just learned- that is Anxiety just told us- he actually has been to vets before and that they all told him he had a heart deformity.”

“He said they told him he has a faulty heart?”

“Yeah. He said it’s deformed, so like, he was born that way. He said the doctors told him he wouldn't live past thirty five.”

Thomas can’t see her but he just knows the Dr. is frowning.

“I was worried it might be something like that.” She admits.

“Is there anything you can do?” Thomas asks, voice pitifully hopeful.

“Well that depends entirely on the deformity. I’ll have to do several scans to know what I’m working with.”

“So I should still come in?”

“Yes, I won't be able to schedule all the scans yet but I should be able to get at least one done. Not to mention I still need to see his wounds.”

Thomas nods to himself and the phone call doesn't go much longer than that.

A tiny part of Thomas wonders if Anxiety didn’t just say all that in an attempt to not go back to the doctors. If he had, he was about to be sorely disappointed.

“Okay guys. We’re headed out!” Thomas announces, walking back into the room.

“Seriously?” Anxiety asks in a very deadpan voice.

“Yep! Doctors orders.” Thomas tells him.

Patton climbs readily aboard the trailer and, with a sigh, Anxiety follows.

It’s a quick drive (okay, more like forty nerve racking minutes of driving) to the centaur center Dr. Sheldon's office was located at but thankfully they don't have to wait long to see her.

To Thomas’s relief, Dr. Sheldon jumps straight into the reason for their visit the moment they reach the examination room.

“Let’s get a look at your flank and back and then we’ll start on your hearts. Turn to the side please.” She says this as though she has no doubt Anxiety will listen to her and, surprisingly, he does. He lets her poke and prod at his flank and Thomas knows by the look on her face that she isn’t pleased.

“Is something wrong?” Thomas asks her.

“It’s not infected but it’s taking longer than it should to heal. You still bandage it daily right?”

“Uh-” Thomas doesn’t know how to tell her that he hasn’t bandaged it in probably a week now. Anxiety refused to let Thomas or Patton touch him anymore so they hadn’t even seen the cuts for quite a few days now. Thomas feels like telling her this wouldn’t be fair to Anxiety though. The kid didn’t want anyone touching him and Thomas can’t find it in himself to blame him.

“We did -uh, I mean, I did my best.” Thomas says instead, remembering at the last moment that Patton wasn’t even supposed to be helping him.

The way Dr. Sheldon looks at Thomas tells him she probably doesn’t believe him but Thomas honestly doesn't care. She’s not the one who has to deal with Anxiety’s meltdowns or the guilt that came whenever the boy refused to leave his stall for entire days at a time.

“Alright, let's see your back.” She says after properly patching up his flank.

Anxiety hesitates and Dr. Sheldon crosses her arms.

“Do you want a repeat of last time?” She asks him. “I can still call for assistance.”

Thomas is horrified that she would bring that up and Anxiety takes off his hoodie and shirt lightning quick.

“That’s better.” The Dr. hums. She then gets to work checking the multiple lashes over. They were definitely more shallow than the ones on his flank and as such, took less time to inspect.

“At their current healing rate, only a few of these should scar, the rest should fade within a year or so.” Dr. Sheldon tells him. “If you’d have been more careful with your movements they’d have probably scarred less.”

Anxiety just shrugs rebelliously and Dr. Sheldon backs away with a roll of her eyes.

“Alright, now for your hearts.” She says, pulling out her stethoscope.

Anxiety doesn’t try to stop her this time and just lets her set the stethoscope directly on his chest. Thomas is disturbed to see that he can still count most of Anxiety’s ribs. It didn’t look like the kid had gained any weight at all.

Like last time, Dr. Sheldon frowns as she listens to his heart. After a moment she moves to his lower ribcage (which also showed too many ribs, now that Thomas is looking for it) -and listens to his other heart.

“The vet said you wouldn’t live past thirty five?” Dr. Sheldon asks in a troubled voice.

Anxiety nods. “They said both hearts would give out. Possibly sooner.”

“What did they put you on?”

Anxiety looks up in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Did they put you on anything?”

“What would- oh, you mean like a medicine? Why would you give medicine to someone who’s going to die young? Medicine is expensive.” Anxiety’s confusion seems to have loosened his tongue.

“Well the medicine is to make sure you don’t die young. That’s why.”

Anxiety just shrugs. “No, I was never on anything.”

“Did they ever put you on a diet of some sort? Cut out certain foods?”

Anxiety snorts. “Cut out foods? Yeah, you could say that.”

Thomas heavily suspects Anxiety just means food in general.

Dr. Sheldon catches on too. “Kid, you need to take this seriously.” She scolds.

That has the odd effect of making Anxiety angry.

“Take this seriously? It’s my fucking heart and my life. I think I’ll decide whether I’m serious enough about it or not.”

That shuts Dr. Sheldon right up and she quietly finishes up her inspection. It’s silent as she puts away her stethoscope before she turns to face Thomas and begins speaking.

“I’ve scheduled an ultrasound for today but to get a better idea of his heart's condition we’re going to have to do an x-ray or an MRI too, although we won't be able to do that just yet.”

“Why not?” Thomas asks in confusion.

“Those are a much bigger deal than a simple ultrasound. They take weeks, at best days, to schedule in advance. Not to mention you’d have to get the okay from the Centaur Protection Program.” She tells him.

Thomas opens his mouth to argue further but Dr. Sheldon cuts him off. “If you want to discuss it more you’ll have to go through centaur services, not me. What I can do right now is an ultrasound so we’re going to do that. And while I set it up, why don’t you go through these?” Dr. Sheldon hands Anxiety a packet of papers that Thomas finds vaguely familiar.

Anxiety hesitantly takes them and watches Dr. Sheldon leave the room before turning his attention to the papers. He hasn’t even flipped past the first page before he flushes a beet red.

Thomas startles as the pack of papers goes flying past him, only half landing on the counter and the other half fluttering on the floor. Anxiety makes no move to pick them up. In fact, he won’t even look at them. Or at Thomas, for that matter.

What was on those papers? Thomas suddenly remembers something, an old memory floating to the surface. Those wouldn’t happen to be the same papers Logan threw away, would they? Back when Thomas had taken Patton and Logan to have their eyes checked Dr. Sheldon had given the larger centaur a stack of papers as well. Whatever was on them had made Logan so mad and he’d straight up refused to let Patton even see them.

Seeing as it would be rude to leave the papers scattered across the floor Thomas decides to pick them up himself. And if he happened to see what was written on him then, oh well, it was just a side effect of doing the right thing, right? Regardless, Anxiety doesn’t try to stop him (although he’s still a furious red) so Thomas casually goes about picking up the stray papers.

Thomas’s first glance at the paper in his hand makes his spine stiffen. Was this a questionnaire on Anxiety’s sex life? Thomas’s first reaction is to feel a flood of embarrassment -both on his behalf and Anxiety- but the feeling is quickly followed up by anger. These questions are...detailed. Inappropriate to say the least. He one hundred percent understands the impulse to throw them.

There are things here that Thomas is certain no one has any business knowing besides you and your sexual partner. What even was this? Why the hell would anyone need (or want) to know whether someone else liked- Thomas can’t even finish the thought. Just- no. No wonder Logan threw this away. Bless the large centaur for sparing poor innocent Patton.

Speaking of, Patton is staring at Thomas and Anxiety in confusion.

“It’s just a bunch of dumb questions.” Thomas tells him, trying to will away his blush.

The pony looks skeptical but he nods in agreement anyway. He clearly doesn’t believe him but Thomas doesn’t have it in himself to explain further.

The Dr. walks in a few minutes later, she takes in the blank papers sitting on the counter and turns to look at Anxiety, who is glaring rebelliously back at her. Thomas is having trouble not doing the same. Dr. Sheldon seems to deem them not worth her time and just ignores the papers entirely.

“Ok, the ultrasound isn’t quite ready yet so I’ll take your blood while we wait.” Dr. Sheldon levels Anxiety with a skeptical look. “You aren't afraid of needles are you?”

The look of terror on Anxiety’s face says he totally is. A nudge to Thomas’s side alerts him to Patton trying to sign something to him.

‘He hates being drugged’ The pony reminds him.

Ooohhh, what if Anxiety wasn’t scared of needles so much as he was scared of what they put in him? In this case that would be good because drawing blood meant nothing was injected. Thomas isn’t sure Anxiety knows that though.

“Can you show him that there’s nothing in the needle before you stick him? He’s afraid of being drugged, not needles.” Thomas says. He isn’t certain about that last bit but he’s hoping for the best.

“Oh, yes of course. I’ll explain how it all works to you first okay?” The Dr. assures the teen.

Anxiety doesn't nod but he doesn’t run either so that’s as good a sign as any that he’ll cooperate.

And he does, sorta. Anxiety is nervously shaking all throughout the detailed explanation of what Dr. Sheldon intended to do but it’s hard to say how much the teen was listening to. It looked as though Anxiety had retreated into his mind a bit and was no longer fully aware of what happened around him.

Dr. Sheldon gives up on receiving a response after her second time through explaining and she goes ahead and uncaps the needle. This startles Anxiety but he doesn’t try to get his feet under him so she continues. (The Dr. had wisely had him sit down at the start of all this)

When the needle approaches Anxiety’s wrist the young teen whimpers and tries to pull away but Dr. Sheldon has a firm grip on his wrist that prevents him from going far. Anxiety doesn’t fight her further than that and the Dr. just murmurs soft encouragement while filling up a few vials.

Thomas isn’t sure if it was the sight of blood or the fact that Anxiety was now down a pint but once Dr. Sheldon is done, the centaur begins to sway. Before Thomas can call to warn Dr. Sheldon that Anxiety is about to faint, the centaurs' eyes are rolling to the back of his head and he’s collapsing.

Now that Thomas knows the cause of Anxiety’s fainting spells it has suddenly become that much more frightening to witness them. He watches Dr. Sheldon struggle with Anxiety’s upper body weight for a moment before snapping too. Thomas quickly runs forwards to help lay Anxiety fully down. When the centaur had first collapsed Dr. Sheldon had jumped forward to catch his upper half before it could hit the ground and now he was dead weight in her arms. Just like the night when they’d dragged him around on the floor so many weeks ago, Anxiety doesn’t immediately wake, instead remaining limp and unresponsive.

Just then an attendant knocks on the door. He’s pulling some kind of machine that seems to be more cords and cables than anything else.

“Uh, I have the ultrasound. Is everything okay here?”

Thomas has no idea what to answer. ‘Yes, he faints all the time.’ or ‘No, he usually wakes up by now.’

“I have it under control. Leave the machine there.” Dr. Sheldon says, settling Anxiety’s limp upper half on the ground. The attendant nods and leaves, albeit hesitantly. Anxiety stays positioned on the floor for a little over five minutes before slowly blinking his eyes open. Since the attendant had left it’s just Thomas, Patton and the Dr. waiting on him to gain consciousness.

Instead of looking afraid, Anxiety mostly just looks pissed. He straightens himself up (way too fast, he nearly falls over) and turns to glare at the floor as though it had insulted him.

“Alright then.” The Doctor says once Anxiety is sitting upright without swaying. “Let’s get this ultrasound done, shall we?” Her voice sounds a little shaky, like she’s doing her best to sound normal and only partially succeeding.

The ultrasound is a rather lengthy process that has Anxiety looking crankier and crankier with every touch. Well, maybe not so much cranky as freaked out. Thomas is not sure when he was last touched this much in a day, much less an hour. Definitely before Thomas had met him, that’s for certain.

Thomas thinks that the only thing keeping Anxiety from fully freaking out is the lack of skin on skin contact. The only thing really touching the teen was the little wand (covered in a gel that made Anxiety’s nose crinkle up in disgust.) -and Dr. Sheldon was even wearing gloves. (although that was probably to keep the goo off her own hands.)

But even without direct skin contact, Anxiety seemed to hate the constand rub and press of the wand against his skin. He was constantly directed to freeze, hold his breath and more as the Doctor attempted to get the best image of each of his hearts. By the time she is done Anxiety is shaking.

“Alright.” Dr. Sheldon says, standing and removing her gloves. “That’s all I have for today. I’ll have the images of his hearts sent to a cardiologist and I’ll get back to you with the results.”

Thomas nods and, once Anxiety has his jacket back on, the four of them make their way to the truck. Patton and Anxiety are settled on the trailer in record time and it’s then that Thomas pulls the doctor aside for a quick question.

“So you think his hearts aren’t incurable?” Thomas asks, desperate to know.

Dr. Sheldon's facial expression tampers his hopes but doesn’t kill it entirely. “It depends. We’ll have to do all kinds of tests to see what condition his hearts are in, although the ultrasound is a good start. His minor heart sounded pretty bad but his major heart sounds like it’s still going strong. It’s really going to depend on if we can save his minor one.”

“Can he live with only one?” Thomas asks, recalling how humans have been known to survive with only half a heart. Not to mention Logan had said something like that.

The Dr. sways her hand in a so and so gesture. “Not really, it’s for the same reason he keeps fainting. I know we call it the minor heart but it’s just as important as the major, maybe even more. His minor heart is what sends the blood to his head, more specifically, his brain. His major heart is technically able to do it but it causes a lot of strain on it and he’d likely have even worse complications than the fainting spells.”

Thomas nods in defeat. Still, she said it could work. That was something at least. Thomas shakes his head in an effort to clear his thoughts.

“When can we do the tests?”

“He’s considered government property. This is the last doctor's visit they’ll financially cover so an MRI is out of the question.” Dr. Sheldon tells him.

“I’ll pay for that.” Thomas offers.

“He isn’t your centaur, I’m not sure they’ll let you interfere.”

Thomas is baffled. “What, with his health? Why wouldn't they?”

“Because his future owners might disapprove, that's why.”

“That’s bullshit.” Thomas blurts without thinking.

“It’s reality.” Dr. Sheldon reminds him.

“Well what if I did get permission, what then?”

The Dr. levels him with a serious look. “It’s going to cost you.” She warns. “Centaur health care is expensive and it will cost you if you decide to move on with this. If it turns out we can save his heart then you’ll be paying a small fortune to fix it.”

Thomas nods. “I’m okay with that. How would you be able to schedule the scans?”

Dr. Sheldon puts a hand on his shoulder. “You are a good man, Mr. Sanders, but I’m worried you’re getting in over your head. This is about more than just money. It’s going to take a lot of time, effort and pain. I know you want to help but you need to think this through carefully.”

When Thomas opens his mouth to repeat himself the Dr. cuts him off.

“You need to think this over, Thomas.” She repeats. “I want you to research it and read up on what this might entail if his heart actually is majorly deformed.” She tilts her head to look him in the eye. When had he looked away? “No one would blame you if you don’t do it. It’s already unbelievably kind that you took him in the first place. If you want to keep helping him then I suggest you keep him with you, give him a life he wouldn’t get otherwise. With some medicines we could probably add a few years to his lifespan.”

Thomas blinks away tears that have come from seemingly nowhere. “I want to help him.” He says. He sounds weak and his voice cracks.

“You already have.” She assures him. “And you still can in other ways. For one, he needs to get his weight back up. He hasn’t gained more than four pounds since last time and that means almost nothing to a centaur.”

“I know but-”

“Thomas.” The Dr. cuts him off. “I know you are very concerned about his hearts but it isn’t going to kill him anytime soon. He’s come this far and I don’t think a few months or even years will change the end outcome much. Besides, let's say we knew exactly what was wrong and had a surgery that could totally fix it. We still wouldn’t be able to do anything given his current condition.”

She had…… a really good point.

“Okay, so you said his weight was the biggest problem?”

“Yes.” The Dr. says before launching into a description of pretty much everything wrong with him.

“He’s underweight, his immune system is at pretty much at a zero, I can say that much without even looking at his blood results, and he’s terribly malnutritional. Whatever his previous diet was, it almost certainly didn’t involve meat, which is something I see often. Centaurs may not like meat but they do need it, even if not a lot of it.

Huh, that was interesting. Considering centaurs didn’t even have canines Thomas would have thought they were vegetarians. Although now that he thinks of it Patton did make something with meat in it at around once a week. Actually it was exactly once a week now that Thomas thinks about it. Thomas had never really noticed since he wasn’t a big meat eater to begin with.

“So his weight is the main thing?” Thomas asks again just to be sure.

The Dr. nods. “Focus on that for now. Let me handle the rest. I should be able to get back to you with his lab and ultrasound results in a few weeks.

Thomas nods and, since that was the last of his questions, he bids the helpful Doctor a good day and hops into his truck. Despite everything, Thomas is actually feeling kind of good right now. All considered this doctors trip had gone much better than last time.

************

Chapter Text

************

“So what did you and the Doctor talk about?” Patton asks Thomas as soon as they reach the barn and find a moment alone.

“Oh, that. I was just asking her more questions about Anxiety’s condition. She said even if she could do a surgery right now to fix his heart, we’d have to wait for him to be healthier.” Thomas says, summing it up.

Patton is silent for a moment before quietly asking- “Would he want that?”

“What do you mean? Want what?” Thomas asks in confusion.

“I mean, do you think Anxiety would want surgery?”

“Who wouldn’t want a life saving surgery?”

“Him.” Patton says, gesturing to the teen, who’s across the room doodling something on a piece of paper. “And it wouldn’t be life saving, it would be to keep him alive longer. I don’t think he cares.” Patton admits softly.

That is a terrifying prospect. It was also very likely correct. What if Anxiety didn’t want them to put him through a surgery?

“But he-” Thomas hesitates. Who was he to force someone else to go through surgery? To speak nothing of the long and painful recovery that would follow. Thomas has been so careful not to order around any of the centaurs up till this point. He’d hate to pull rank for this. Not that Thomas is sure he can. He’ll have to ask Picani if he can even pay for the surgery in the first place. Maybe Thomas should wait until Anxiety is taken in by his new owners and make the offer to them? But even then, that would still be forcing Anxiety. And sure, the boy may still only be sixteen (nearly seventeen as he kept reminding them) -but it was his body and he should have some say in what happened to it.

Thomas knows what he wants to do but would that be the right thing? It wouldn’t be fair to put him through so much pain, going through test after test, being poked and prodded, in and out of hospitals for what might be years if he didn’t want to be healed in the first place.

Thomas supposes the only way to know if Anxiety wanted medical intervention would be to ask him.

But Thomas isn’t going to. First, he’s going to wait for the test results, (incase there wasn’t anything that could be done for him in the first place) -and then Thomas was going to carefully observe the boy. Patton didn’t seem to think Anxiety wanted help but Thomas is hoping that if he looks closely enough he’ll be able to prove the pony wrong.

Thomas knows he’ll have to ask Anxiety sooner or later but he’s pretty sure he already knows what Anxiety will say. There’s no way the young centaur would agree to more testing. He’s accepted his fate. Probably a long time ago.

At least that’s what Thomas thinks, but then he’ll catch the teen dragging himself out of his room at ten A.M. looking exhausted and half dead. He’ll see Anxiety sporadically wince and clutch his chest every few days and at first Thomas will think he’s used to this, that he’d be willing to spend the rest of his life like this, but then he’ll catch a glimpse of frustration. He’ll see Anxiety rubbing at his forehead while leaning against a wall, looking for all the world like he’d rather be dead than keep trying to stand.

And sometimes, every rare once in a while, Thomas worries that Anxiety might actually wish- that he might truly want- to die. Thomas doesn’t get that impression very often but he can’t help but notice that the teen is depressed. He knows with utter certainty that Anxiety hates his body, that much is undeniable simply from the way he acted. How much else he hates, Thomas doesn’t know.

And Thomas doesn’t know what to do about it. But he knows who to ask. There is only one person who is going to be able to look at this objectively, one person who will take into account everyone’s feelings without being demeaning and only one person creative enough that he could find a loophole no one else had thought of before. To be clear, they were three different people.

Thomas talks with Logan, Roman and Patton extensively on the matter but perhaps Thomas shouldn’t have been surprised when it was Picani who had given him the best advice instead. Which had been, in a nutshell, to leave the treatment of Anxiety’s health up to the young centaur himself. Sure he counted as a minor in Thomas’s book, but at the end of the day Anxiety had been acting as an adult for several years now. What had ultimately convinced Thomas to leave Anxiety’s health care up to him though was Picani’s simple reminder of what Anxiety truly was.

A runaway.

“You can’t tell me that kid won’t act in his own best interest when it actually comes down to it. Give him time. There aren’t any immediate solutions and I think a stable environment could be just as beneficial as any of those pills a doctor might give him.” Picani had said.

It was sound advice and Thomas had agreed to keep Anxiety away from doctors for the time being. If stress was the leading factor in Anxiety’s faulty heart and Doctors stressed him out the most it seemed a bit pointless to push the issue before he was ready. Maybe one day he’d be calm and trusting enough to go of his own will. They would just have to wait and see.

Along with his excellent moral advice Picani had also had some ideas about how to make Anxiety safer in the meantime. Mostly little things that Thomas honestly would have never thought of.

“The biggest problem with him fainting right now is the chance that he might hit something on the way down so I recommend you try padding some of the sharper ledges in the common rooms.”

“You mean like taping blankets to them or something?”

Picani snorts, amused. “While that would probably work, I suggest buying pool noodles and cutting them in half so you can wrap them around any sharp or pointing ledges.”

“And that works?”

“Absolutely.” Picani assures him. “The place may look a bit like a bouncy house at first, but you can always paint them to match the rest of the house.”

Huh. Thomas hadn’t considered that pool noodles could ever have a use outside of a swimming pool. To be frank, Thomas didn’t think they had much of a use inside a pool either. They were cumbersome, could barely support a small adult and hurt like hell when you were slapped in the face with a wet one. To know that they could be useful, not to mention be used for safety, was a shock all on its own. It’s so surprising that Thomas doesn’t even think to ask why Picani knows this.

“That sounds like a great idea! Thanks Picani!”

“No problem, Thomas. Just remember, don’t freak out everytime he faints. It’s going to happen no matter what and the more self conscious he feels about it the worse it’ll get. Just make sure one person is there for when he wakes up and otherwise treat it like it’s normal.”

Thomas nods even though Picani can’t see him. It looked like he’d be making a run to dollar tree to buy some pool noodles. At least they were cheap. Thomas doesn't know if Logan would have a problem with his spending considering it was for Anxiety’s well being but you could never be sure with the large centaur.

Speaking of spending-

“Thomas, what’s this?” Logan asks, lifting a paint can in the air.

“Oh that.” Thomas says, putting on his best poker face and trying not to panic. “I found some extra paint cans in one of the back rooms. It’s the color we need so we can finish painting the wall now.”

The look of extreme suspicion on Logan’s face nearly has Thomas cracking.

“You just happened to have the exact right shade of paint in your barn in unopened cans?”

Thomas lies through his teeth. “Yes.”

“Where.”

“What?”

“Which back room were they in?”

“The, uh, big one?” Lie with authority dammit!

“The one with the crates?” Logan asks.

Taking a wild guess that Logan was trying to trick him, Thomas shakes his head. “No. The one farther back, with all the tools. Roman must not have noticed them when he went through since they were low to the ground.” Thomas might actually be good at this lying stuff. He isn’t sure that it’s a good thing.

Logan clearly still isn’t falling for it though but eventually he just sets the can of paint down and walks away while shaking his head and muttering under his breath.

Victory!

**********

“Puleeeez kiddo?” Patton begs.

Once again he’s trying to convince the youngest centaur to join them on their morning jog. So far the centaur has always turned him down but Patton still hasn’t given up. Thomas can tell he’s been slowly chipping away at the boy's resolve but as of yet Anxiety’s held firm.

“You guys go on without me. I’m good here, I don’t really feel like running.”

“That makes one of us!” Roman says, booking it outside where Logan is waiting for them. Roman always woke up filled to the brim with energy and rarely ever had the patience to so much as eat before racing around outside.

Logan casually trots up to where Thomas, Patton and Anxiety are gathered.

“You do not have to run.” Logan points out. “It is simply a matter of exercising and getting fresh air. It isn’t healthy for you to stay in the barn all day.”

“Besides,” Roman pokes his head around the door. “When was the last time you saw sunlight? You’re like an emo version of Snow White.”

Anxiety scowls at all the attention he’s gained. “Fine, whatever, I’ll go, now would you all back off?”

Patton squeals with glee. “Yay!” With a happy little dance he quickly trots outdoors, Thomas and Anxiety following at a more resigned pace.

Thomas isn’t the biggest fan of their morning walks. He likes that he can hang out with all his friends and chat while doing something actually healthy but why does it have to be so early? Not to mention his friends happen to have much better stamina then him.

As per usual Roman takes the lead as he gallops off. Normally he’d have run a full lap by now and then join them for his second once they all got outside but all the fuss about Anxiety had somewhat messed with their schedule. While Roman races ahead Logan follows at a more controlled pace but, despite the fact that Logan isn’t really running so much as strolling, he still out paces Patton and Thomas so he usually ends up far ahead of them. Patton, bless his soul, stays back to walk alongside Thomas so he won’t be alone. Eventually Roman passes them and a little while later Logan does too. When Logan catches up he usually slows down to walk with Thomas while Roman tries to goad Patton into a race. Once Roman overtakes them a second time he slows down to a casual walk beside Thomas while Logan goes on ahead again.

This all happens before Thomas ever makes it a full lap. In his defense he doesn’t have four legs and it is a pretty big field. He appreciates how thoughtful his friends are as they, by silent agreement, take turns walking alongside him so he isn’t left on his own. As much as he loathes walking for nearly an hour every morning he loves to see his friends so carefree. Logan and Patton still seem amazed every time they get to run around in such an open space and Thomas knows it’s because they’d spent so much of their lives cooped up. Roman loved the fact that he could simply run for the fun of it, with no one timing him or telling him to straighten his posture. He’d also made several comments about the difference between running in a field full of dirt and mud (Another reason Thomas isn’t a fan) and running on the compact earth of a racetrack. Roman, while obsessed with looking his best, seemed to delight in the rougher terrain and doesn’t mind staining his hooves with mud. At least he doesn’t in the moment. Afterwards he does tend to complain.

Even with Anxiety tagging along not much changes in their routine, that is until Thomas completes his usual lap. By this time all his friends have completed at least two laps or more and they usually call it quits with him, today however, Patton doesn’t.

“Did you wanna go again kiddo?” He asks.

Thomas glances at Anxiety, who’d taken two laps, following Patton the whole way, and sees that his eyes are bright and alive. Thomas hasn’t seen him look excited or happy about anything so far but it looks like the run had brought something out in him. He definitely looks like he wants to go again.

Even still, the boy looks away and bites his lip nervously.

“I will join you Patton.” Logan says, and Patton smiles.

“What do you say kiddo, you wanna join us?”

After a moment Anxiety nods casually. “Sure.” His careless facade is betrayed by the excited look in his eyes but no one mentions it. A moment later and the three have set out to complete another lap, leaving Thomas and Roman behind.

“Didn’t you want to go with them Roman?”

“I thought I’d keep you company till you caught your breath.”

“Oh, no. I think I’m done for the day.”

“Seriously?”

“Your legs are nearly twice the length of mine, Roman. (Bit of an exaggeration but still) I just don’t have the stamina you guys do. I’m fine to wait here, honestly, you can go ahead and join them, it’s not a big deal.”

“What and leave you here on your own? Nonsense!”

“Roman, I don’t want to wa-aaaaAAAAHHHHHHHH!” Thomas screams as Roman scoops him up and takes off at a run. Thomas scrambles to find a handhold as Roman carries him princess style. He frantically manages to get a grip on his shirt and tries to cut off his own screaming. He fails.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

“Taking you with us of course.” Roman calls above the wind rushing past Thomas’s ears.

“Princess style?!”

Roman laughs as he slows down, catching up to the others quickly. “Well I didn’t think you'd ever ridden without a saddle before and you’re pretty light.”

“I’ve never ridden anything in my life!” Thomas yelps, clinging tighter. “Hold up, did you just say ‘pretty light’?!”

Roman has slowed to a walk. “Yeah? You’re only what? Three fifty?”

“What the fuck!? I’m one hundred and thirty!”

“Oh, no wonder you’re so light.”

“What the- that’s normal Roman!”

“For real? That’s all? I thought adults were heavier than that. You’re like, half Patton’s weight.”

“What’s half my weight?” Asks Patton, scrunching up his eyebrows. He doesn’t look nearly as surprised as he should be to see Roman carrying Thomas like some sort of terrified, oversized doll. Logan simply raises an eyebrow while Anxiety just looks confused.

“Thomas is! Here, feel.” He says, offering Thomas to Logan.

“Woah! No thank you!” Thomas yelps, fighting Roman’s grip. “We are not playing ‘pass the Thomas’.”

Roman shrugs and sets him down. Thomas’s cheeks are flaming. How the heck do these things keep happening to him?

“Okay, ignoring that the last five minutes ever happened, what were you guys all looking at?” Says Thomas, trying to regain what’s left of his dignity.

“Oh, we were trying to figure out what this sign is here for.” Patton says, gesturing to a ‘Hazard Zone: do not enter’ sign hanging crookedly from a tree.

“Oh that? I put that there to scare people away from our lake. I don’t know why I thought anyone would stray this far on our property or why they would want to swim there but that’s kid logic for you.”

“Hold up, you have a lake?” Asks Roman, sounding excited.

“Well, it’s not a lake persay, it’s really a river but it gets the deepest here and has a little beach so that’s what we called it. I haven’t been there in years.

“Let's go there!” Roman says excitedly, moving forward to pass through the thick underbrush.

“Woah, woah, we can’t go through there, the path’s all overgrown by now. Not to mention all the thorns and burs.”

“Ugh, I hate burs.” Mumbles Patton with a shudder. As the centaur with the longest and thickest coat it isn’t surprising.

Anxiety nods along with Patton. “I’m with Patton and Thomas, I don’t feel like pulling burs out of my tail and hair for the rest of the day.” He says, gesturing to his long tail and feathered feet.

“I echo their sentiment.” Says Logan.

“You’re all so laaame.” Whines Roman. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”

“Probably lost somewhere with your common sense.” Anxiety quips back.

‘Buuuuuuuurn.’ Thomas thinks as Roman sputters.

****************************************

Chapter Text

Loud ringing snaps Thomas out of his dreams and his free hand flails while the one trapped beneath his body twitches. Rolling over with a groan Thomas blindly answers his phone.

“Good morning Thomas!” Booms Roman.

Thomas groans louder. Mabe if he groans loud enough Roman will hang up and leave him alone. He doesn’t.

“Glad to hear you’re up! Now I know it’s a tad earlier than usual but we’re all waiting for you outside.”

‘Wait, what?’ Thomas sits up and looks out his second story window, he can just spot Logan’s upper half and the tip of Patton’s head over the terrace.

What are they doing over here?

Thomas is about to ask Roman but a glance at his phone shows that Roman had hung up on him!

“What the hell, Roman. Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s rude to wake ‘em and leave ‘em?” He grumbles to himself. With that Thomas tosses on his robe before hesitating and taking it off. It isn’t like his friends haven’t seen him running around in his PJ’s for hours on end in the pouring rain.

Yes, he is still salty about that.

Thomas opens his back door to a surprising and rather unusual sight. All four centaurs are there carrying various (and seemingly random) tools.

“Uh…”

“Thomas!” Patton says brightly before fumbling and nearly dropping his shovel.

“There you are!” Roman says impatiently.

“Yeah…. here I am. Roman what the hell is going on? What’s with all the tools?”

“We’re making a path to the lake of course!”

“We’re what?”

“Come again?”

Thomas is baffled and from the looks of it Anxiety hadn’t been in the loop either.

“What the hell, Roman.” Snaps Anxiety. “You could have told me that before dragging me out here.”

“I already told you this morning. Not my fault you weren’t listening.”

“What, when I was in the bathroom?”

“That’s just poor timing on your part.”

Patton cuts them off before they can get more hyped up. “We want to clear out a path to the lake and today seemed as good a day as any other.”

“Seriously? You guys want to clear it out? That could take hours.” Thomas warns.

“Ah, but think of the sweet, sweet reward!” Roman crows, splaying a hand out dramatically as though envisioning it.

“A lake?” Deadpans Anxiety.

“Yes! I used to run around in one when I was a foal, there’s nothing quite like it.”

“Says you.” Grumbles Anxiety.

“Have you ever been in a lake?” Patton asks him curiously.

“Well, no- but”

“Then you don’t know what you’re missing!” Says Roman excitedly.

Thomas tilts his head up so he can see Logan.

“And you’re down with this?” He asks, shielding his eyes from the early morning sun.

“While I am not nearly as invested in this ‘lake’ as Roman is, I do think it could be a beneficial project for us. It’s been a long time since any of us have spent a substantial amount of time in the sun and it would be beneficial to our health.” He hesitates when Thomas only raises an eyebrow. “Also, Roman wouldn’t leave me alone until I said yes.”

Ah, there it was.

“Well I guess if you all want to then I’m in. Just let me get changed.”

“Suddenly too good to run around in your pajamas?” Calls Roman behind him.

Thomas throws a glare over his shoulder and barely withholds the urge to flip him off. Instead he chooses not to dignify him with a response like the adult he is.

That and Patton was standing right there.

********

Five minutes later sees the single human and four centaurs retracing their steps from yesterday and seeking out the river.

“Oh, man. These look even thicker than yesterday.” Says Thomas, poking at a thick, thorny branch.

“That’s impossible Thomas.” Logan reminds him.

Anxiety, who had been sullenly following them, brushes his bangs from his eyes and tries to peer through the bushes. “So now what genius?” He gripes.

Thomas isn’t actually sure why he decided to come along, however, it’s a sure sign that he’s grown more comfortable with them since he’s actively choosing to be with them as opposed to being on his own. Something that he definitely wouldn’t have done a few weeks ago.

Patton sets down his shovel with a loud clang. “What’s the plan here kiddo?” He asks Roman cheerily.

“Well, I was thinking we could tie these ropes around the base of the bigger bushes and then pull them out. Then we can use the axe and confetti to get rid of the smaller ones.”

Thomas blinks. “Did you say confetti?”

“It’s called a machete.” Anxiety says, unimpressed.

“Then what is confetti?”

None of the centaurs seems to know this so Thomas takes it upon himself to educate them. “It’s chopped up pieces of colorful paper. People like to throw it at parties.”

“That sounds fun!” Patton gasps. “Is it like Styrofoam?”

“Not quite.” Says Thomas, aware that nothing could surpass Patton’s love for Styrofoam.

Logan clears his throat to get their attention. “Back to the issue at hand. How are we to reach the base of the bush in order to tie the rope in the first place?”

“Well, if we had someone short then said short person, not saying any names, could crawl under the bush and tie it to the base. You know, ‘cause they’re short.”

Roman blatantly looks at Thomas, who grimaces.

“What, crawl under that? The branches are too low! Not to mention spikey!”

“Not all of them.” Points out Patton, most likely relieved that he isn’t the shortest in this scenario.

Thomas isn’t comforted in the slightest.

*****************

And that’s how Thomas finds himself army crawling under thick bushes and thorny trees for an hour while Roman and Logan uproot them from a distance.

Patton is there mostly for moral support and Anxiety to give snarky comments. It isn’t helpful per say but at least he’s participating.

“Aw man, my coat’s going to be covered in these.” Thomas whines, pulling on a bur.

“So will ours, and our coats are substantially larger than yours.” Logan huffs, giving another sharp tug on the rope.

After that Thomas doesn’t complain about the burs again. He still complains about everything else though.

Two hours after they started, the worst of the bushes had been removed and tossed into an impressively large pile. Now that the centaurs can fit with Thomas into the little clearing things go much faster.

Logan and Roman are both struggling to find a way to pull out a large stump that sits directly in the middle of the path. Logically they should have just cleared the area around it but Roman seems to have taken it as a personal challenge and no one feels like arguing with him.

Since Thomas doesn’t have to tie any more ropes he’s taken a shovel and is busy digging up the smaller plants. Surprisingly Anxiety is helping him, despite his earlier complaints about the burs that still litter the ground. Patton is using a pair of shears to chop off all the thorny branches that dare stray into their steadily growing path. Originally Patton had wanted to help Thomas out with the second shovel but it turns out he couldn’t because it was a centaur shovel. Thomas didn’t even know he had one, or that they existed for that matter.

Along with the odd shape to the spade, the handle was much longer and since Patton was nearly Thomas’s height he hadn’t been able to use it either. Anxiety doesn’t have a problem though so he ends up being the one to use it, wordlessly digging up plants alongside Thomas.

After five minutes of studying the old tree trunk and thirty minutes arguing with each other, Roman and Logan seemed to have come to an agreement on how to pull it out. First, Roman had run off to fetch some stronger ropes, since Logan had nearly punched himself in the face when the last one snapped mid tug. Then they made Thomas wrap the rope around the trunk in some very complicated and twisty ways. Thomas had been annoyed when they’d both criticized his knot tying skills so he’d threatened to stop and after that they shut up and let him finish in peace. They both knew they couldn’t reach that far down without kneeling on the bur infested and thorny grass.

“You know,” Roman started off casually as he tied the ropes to loop around Logan. “This would be much easier with a harness. I’m sure there are some in the barn, I could go grab one.”

“NO!” Logan’s shout brings everyone to a halt.

“No harness.” Logan growls.

Roman nods numbly and the next few minutes are filled with an awkward silence till Patton cracks a joke.

“It’s crazy how many plants are here, it’s almost unbe-leif-able!”

Despite himself Thomas snorts.

“In fact, I think a lot of these are vegetables.” Patton continues on.

“How do you figure?” Asks Roman.

“Don’t they look ‘radishing’ to you?” Patton asks with a sneaky grin.

“Ugh.” Logan groans, rolling his eyes. “This is difficult enough without your puns.”

“You got this Logan, I’m ‘rooting’ for you.” Patton giggles.

“Don’t you mean you ‘be-leaf’ in him?” Thomas asks with a grin.

Patton starts laughing and Roman shakes his head, playfully scolding. “Okay, okay. That’s enough you too, lets stop before it’s too much for Logan to handle.”

“Don’t you mean too ‘mulch’?” Asks Patton.

“He most certainly did not.” Logan huffs.

“Logan probably just wants some ‘peas’ and quiet.” Thomas snickers.

“Cut it out!” Logan groans, more exasperated than angry. He gives one last mighty heave on the ropes and, with a loud groaning sound, the tree trunk is finally pulled free.

Once the tree trunk is finally removed and added to their makeshift wood pile, Roman grabs the machete and joins Patton in clearing out the rest of the path, which is steadily growing less overgrown. Thomas and Anxiety fill in the hole the trunk had left and Logan takes to stomping down the uneven earth. He looks lost in his thoughts and they don’t look like happy ones if his face is anything to go by. Not to mention how viciously he’s stomping his hooves. Thomas doesn’t mention it though and after twenty minutes or so he hears loud whooping.

“We’ve done it! I can see the lake!” Roman crows.

Logan’s head snaps up along with Thomas’s and Anxiety. They share a quick look before abandoning the shovels and racing down the path. Sure enough. Roman and Patton are standing on the open, rocky beach and smiling with pride.

“Sweet.” Anxiety smirks.

Thomas grins widely and quickly jogs over to stand by the water. It’s just like he left it. Well, probably, it sure used to look a lot bigger. Even so, the surrounding area is surprisingly spacious and even with the presence of four centaurs it doesn’t feel cramped.

Patton trots over to stand beside Thomas.

“How deep does it go?” He asks.

“One way to find out!” Says Roman, flying past to charge into the lake.

Water splashes everywhere and Thomas and Patton try to hide behind each other to avoid it.

Only once Roman is too deep to splash them does Logan approach.

“This is a nice area.” He hums, cautiously dipping a hoof in the waters. It looks like he’s testing the temperature but Thomas is pretty sure he can’t feel anything with his hoof. Weird.

“The water’s so pretty!” Patton crows, splashing a little with his front hoof.

There’s a sudden shriek and everyone quickly turns to face Roman.

“It’s slimy!” He yelps, frantically pulling at something under his shirt.

It only takes Thomas a moment to realize what he’s referring to.

“Roman, it’s probably just some seaweed.”

Roman calms down when he pulls a slimy sliver of green from his shirt. He gives a full body shudder and drops it.

“Isn’t seaweed only in the ocean?” Asks Patton.

“Not necessarily.” Logan corrects. “Seaweed is the term used to describe any large algae growing in either large bodies of water or on rocks below the high-water mark.”

“He was reading the dictionary again wasn’t he?” Anxiety whispers to Thomas, as the human joins him in the shade of a large tree where he’s comfortable settled on the ground. Anxiety has the right idea.

“Probably.” Thomas agrees.

Roman comes back out with his arms awkwardly held away from his body. His wet shirt clings to him tightly and he has a grimace on his face.

“I think I’ve got seaweed in my shirt.” He whines.

“You might want to take it off kiddo.” Patton suggests.

Roman shrugs. “It was sweaty anyway.” After tossing the soggy thing to the shore Roman glances around in confusion.

“Am I seriously the only one who’s gonna get in the water?”

“Isn’t it cold?” Asks Patton hesitantly.

“Not really. It feels great after working in the sun for so long.”

Logan and Patton don’t look convinced.

“Seriously? We spend hours getting here and no one is getting in? Anxiety, please tell me at least you’re getting in.” Pleads Roman.

“No, I’m not. In case you have forgotten I was tricked into this whole thing.”

Roman chooses to overlook that last bit. “Thomas?”

“Hell yeah!” Thomas starts pulling off his clothes and is absorbed with not tripping over his shoes when he gets a prickling sensation on the back of his neck. Thomas cautiously raises his head to find each and every centaur staring at him.

Now Thomas isn’t normally self conscious about his body but, damn, if he isn’t now.

Thomas hesitates with his hands on his belt. “Uh.”

Everyone else has the decency to look away.

“Sorry.” Says Roman, who can’t seem to stop glancing back. “I’ve just never seen-”

For some reason Thomas blushes. “I mean, I’m wearing swim shorts under my jeans. I wasn't going to get naked or anything.”

“I assure you, nudity doesn’t bother us at all.” Logan says.

“I kinda thought it was obvious…” Says Roman, glancing down at his own body.

For some reason this is the first time Thomas puts together the fact that Roman is, for all intents and purposes, naked.

“W-well it bothers humans!” Sputters Thomas.

Roman instantly looks worried. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t know, I’ll just put back on my-”

Thomas quickly cuts him off. “No, no, no. Not with you guys. I mean with other humans, yanno, we sort of- I guess- we don’t get-” Thomas is at loss for words.

“I think Thomas means to say that humans are self conscious of their bodies.” Says Logan.

“No- er, I mean most people are but- uh, it sort of depends on who’s watching? And where you are?”

Patton squints. “So you’re saying you only get naked with some people? And only in certain places?”

Thomas drops his head in his hands. “Oh my god.” His face is beet red. Okay, maybe he was a bit more self conscious about nudity than he thought. At least when compared to his centaurs friends.

Thomas takes a deep breath and carefully puts his thoughts into words. Yes he could tell them to drop the subject and he knows they would but Thomas feels like this needs to be addressed before it inevitably comes up again. In public.

“Okay, okay. Let me try and explain. Humans, at least in America, are taught from a young age to hide- well not really hide, I guess protect their bodies.”

“Protect?”

“Yeah, as some of you have noticed-'' Thomas is mainly looking at Roman. “Humans tend to be more ‘fragile’ (Thomas hates calling himself that) -than centaurs. We get cold easily and we have soft feet. Not to mention we don’t want to see people’s private parts everywhere we go.”

“Private-? What?” Patton asks, clearly confused.

Thomas realizes this is another thing centaurs don’t have to worry about.

“Ugh, human p-parts are a little more- external than centaurs.” Thomas quickly cuts off any questions. “And no I am NOT going into detail.”

Patton and Roman clamp their mouths shut.

Thomas mentally pats himself on the back. ‘Worst explanation of your life averted.’

“Anyway, humans don’t undress, completely anyway, unless they are with a doctor, a lover or sometimes a close friend. That and small kids with their parents ” Thomas carefully steers clear of locker rooms. He has no intention of going there.

“Ooookay.” Says Roman. “A little complicated don’t you think?”

“Humans are weird.” Anxiety mutters.

“Guys can we please change the subject?” Thomas begs.

Suddenly Patton beams. “Does this mean we’re your close friends?”

“Uh-” Patton made it sound like an honor to have Thomas undress around them and Thomas really doesn’t know what to do with that.

“Yeeees….. yes it does.”

Satisfied, Patton goes back to playing with leaves in the water and Thomas tries to forget any of this ever happened. He isn’t interested in swimming anymore so he settles himself down on the rocky ground. He doesn’t know if he can ever see this lake again without feeling the lingering trauma. God damn it, he had just wanted to swim, it wasn’t like he’d been about to go skinny dipping or anything.

Roman breaks his train of increasingly disturbing thoughts by sitting beside him and shuffling around to get comfortable. Thomas doubts he can, what with all the rocks and pebbles.

“So I know you asked us to drop the subject but I have to ask….”

‘No no no no no no-’

“What the heck is that?” Roman says, pointing to Thomas’s stomach.

‘Huh?’ Thomas glances down, confused. He doesn’t see anything.

“What is what?”

“Yanno, that- that thing.”

“What thing?”

“The hole in your stomach!” Roman says, exasperated.

Thomas stares at him incredulously as he understands. “You mean my belly button?”

“That’s what it’s called?”

“Of course-” Thomas freezes, staring at Roman’s midriff. “You don’t have one” He states bluntly. “How the fuck did I never notice that you guys don’t have belly buttons?!”

“Er-”

Then Thomas remembers. “Of course, that isn’t your main stomach. Yours is probably under you.”

“Wait, I have a- what was it? A belly button?”

“Yeah Roman. Everybody is born with them. It’s from the umbilical cord. The thing that attaches you to your mother before you’re born.”

“And it leaves a hole?” Roman sounds horrified.

“What leaves a hole?”

“Logan! Thank god! Please tell me you know what a belly button is.”

“You mean a navel?”

Thomas shoots to his feet. “Yes. Please do me a favor and explain it to Roman. I’m going to go drown myself in the lake.” With that Thomas takes off and leaves the two confused centaurs on their own. Fuck this, he is never explaining biology again.

Chapter Text

As soon as Thomas reaches the shoreline he beelines his way to the deepest area. Completely ignoring the frigid temperature as he dives head first into it. When Thomas finally surfaces, only mildly regretting his decision, he finds Patton staring at him from the shore.

“Did we make you that uncomfortable?” Patton asks him worriedly.

Thomas lets himself sink until only his head is above water.

“Kinda.” He admits. “But it’s not your fault, none of you knew any better.”

Patton still looks guilty and Thomas tries to think of a way to alleviate his guilt.

“You always worked with kids, right? Well human kids aren’t the same as human adults, kids don’t care about nudity half so much, if at all.” Thomas explains.

Patton nods. “It’s hard to argue with a kid about why they need to keep their clothes on when you don't even know yourself.

Thomas just hums in agreement. He supposes that would be difficult.

Thankfully Patton says nothing more and Thomas just floats in the freezing water peacefully. It’s nice and soothing but, after a while, the cold becomes too much for Thomas and he reluctantly wades his way back to shore.

Almost as soon as Thomas’s foot touches dry land Roman is on him.

“Wait, so you said that not everyone feels the same about taking off clothes-”

Oh God, why was Roman still going on about this?

“-but there’s something I’ve always noticed. Are the rules different for guys and girls?”

“Not really.” Thomas says, not giving the question much thought. He just wants this day to be over.

“Then how come guys take off their shirts but not girls?”

Thomas finally gives up. This conversation was bound to happen at some point and it might as well be now. At least they were all alone right now and there was no one to judge Thomas if he fucked it all up.

“The way I hear it, most people who are attracted to women find it distracting and it makes a lot of people uncomfortable in general to see women's chests.” Thomas explains.

“Their only purpose is to feed a child. How is that distracting?” Asks Logan.

“I never even noticed.” Patton says with a shrug.

Roman nods. “It’s completely natural. Centaur women take their shirts off all the time and no one even gives it a second thought.”

“Says the group of gay men.” Anxiety huffs in amusement.

Everyone freezes.

After a tense moment of silence Anxiety looks up and startles when he sees everyone staring at him. “What?”

“You, I mean- How did you-”

“How did I what?” Asks Anxiety in confusion, visibly unsettled by the sudden attention on him.

“But how did you know?” Blurts Roman. Thomas is similarly confused. He’d never mentioned his sexuality. Not intentionally, it just never came up. He’d guessed Roman was gay- yanno, since he said he was that time his owners took him away, although that might have been a desperate attempt to stay…. But Patton and Logan too? And Anxiety as well?”

Anxiety just raises an eyebrow. “Am I wrong?”

When no one says anything, Anxiety starts to look nervous.

“Sorry if I- I thought- I mean if I’m wrong then sorry but- it was sort of- obvious?”

Obvious? Thomas glances at Logan and Patton, who both look stunned but haven’t denied it. They were gay then?

“I mean, I don’t think you’re all gay but I know none of you are straight.”

“You know?” Logan questions. “How can you be sure?”

“What can I say, I was raised by gays, my gaydar is pretty damn accurate.”

“But how did you know?” Roman insists.

“Everyone knew, Roman. You’re the walking definition of a gay centaur.”

“Did you say you were raised by gays?” Patton asks, looking intrigued.

“Uh, I mean- he was gay, and, well, the other one was crazy but pretty gay too but it’s not like they were together or anything.” Anxiety wrinkles his nose as if repulsed by the idea. “And I wasn’t actually raised by them it was just- I mean- well what I meant to say is that I’ve been around gays a lot.” Anxiety finishes lamely.

‘Huh, what a terrible explanation.’ Thomas thinks to himself. Also- “Anxiety, what’s that on your hoof?” He doesn’t necessarily want to change the subject but he’s pretty sure he just saw whatever it was move.

They all look down to where something about the size of Thomas’s index finger is clinging to the hair surrounding his hoof.

“Get it off!” Anxiety yells, stomping in a panic and trying to dislodge whatever it was.

Thomas tries not to laugh, finally recognizing what he's seeing. “Hold still, I got it.”

Only once Anxiety completely stills does Thomas dare approach him and carefully pinch the tiny creature to pull it off.

“What the heck is that?” Asks Roman in disgust, coming over to peer over Thomas’s shoulder.

“Relax guys, it’s just a crawdad. I used to play with them all the time, they aren’t dangerous or any- OW!” Thomas flails his hand as it pinches onto his finger. His yell startles all the centaurs and they scramble back, Roman nearly tipping over into the lake.

Once everyone has their heartbeats back under control, Patton starts giggling. It’s contagious and soon everyone is full on laughing.

As Thomas finally starts catching his breath he finds that he still can’t stop smiling, even with his stinging finger. He’s just so happy. It was wild to think that only a year ago he’d been utterly alone, slowly rotting in his childhood bedroom. Who would have ever thought he’d end up here, with four of the weirdest yet greatest guys he’s ever met that have somehow worked their way into his life as though they were always meant to be there.

Even Anxiety.

He didn’t know everything about his friends, hell he still didn’t know Anxiety’s name, and yet somehow he knew them. And they knew him.

It’s pretty damn great.

**********************

Once everyone had gotten their giggling back under control it was unanimously decided that they should head back to the barn, where it was nice and warm. What had started as a somewhat chilly day had quickly become downright cold, or maybe that was just because Thomas had gone swimming in what felt like a frozen lake.

Once back inside Thomas settles down with a sigh in front of the fireplace with a relieved sigh. The ‘fireplace’ is actually just the TV playing a recorded loop of a firepit but some tiny part of Thomas’s brain insists that it actually is warmer besides it.

Of course, none of the centaurs had really understood why Thomas had put on that particular video which had led to quite the discussion. Thomas had tried explaining but they just couldn't seem to grasp why someone would intentionally ‘set their house on fire’ and no explanation could appease them. All four were firm on their stance that no sort of weather justified having an open flame inside a building.

As far as Thomas knows, none of them have any trauma surrounding fire but after seeing how uncomfortable the videotaped fire made them- (seriously, they kept staring at it nervously and couldn’t seem to look away for more than a few seconds tops) -in the end Thomas just turned it off and internally mourned the loss of his imaginary heat source.

Thomas supposes that answers the question of whether or not they should make a bonfire with all the bushes they’d pulled up today. Clearly they were best left to rot behind the dumpster.

“Thoooomaaas. Hello? Earth to Thomas?”

Thomas startles as Roman waves a hand in front of his face, his voice breaking him from his thoughts.

“Oh, sorry. Did you need something?”

“Not really, I just thought you might be having a stroke or something.”

“Why would I be having a stroke?”

“Perhaps because you’ve been staring at the wall for ten minutes now without blinking?” Logan points out.

“O-oh.” Thomas stutters. He quickly flounders for a change of topic. “I was just thinking. We should learn more about each other.”

The look on each centaurs face tells him they aren't thinking along the same line he is.

“Not private things guys, just tiny things, regular stuff. Like, I don’t know, favorite colors or music. We never talk about any of that stuff!”

“We talk about our interests all the time.” Logan argues, still somewhat defensive, although he’s visibly starting to relax.

“Well considering we didn’t even know none of us were straight until today I’d say Thomas has a point.” Roman states.

“Exactly.” Thomas agrees. “None of us met in a usual way so we skipped a lot of parts. We should play an icebreaker game or something.”

“Yanno, I think he’s right, Logan.” Patton says, elbowing the taller centaurs leg. (because that's all he can comfortably reach, Logan's poor legs tend to get elbowed a lot) “What game were you thinking Thomas?”

“Well, whenever I went to camp or something, we usually played two truths and a lie.”

“Lie?” Patton squints suspiciously.

“Yeah, you tell two true things about yourself and make up a third one that's not true. Then we all have to guess which ones are not true.”

“Sounds fun!” Roman says with a bright smile.

“Sounds simple.” Logan says suspiciously.

“It is.” Thomas insists to both. “Lets just try it and if anyone doesn’t like it then we do something else, okay?”

“Okay, but you start.” Logan declares. Thomas supposes that this is fair and nods in agreement. He’s somewhat surprised to see Anxiety settling in a circle like everyone else, even if he hasn’t said anything yet.

“Okay, I’ve been to Hawaii, I’ve been to Disney world, and I’ve been to Japan.” Thomas starts.

“Ooh! You haven’t been to Japan.” Patton guesses.

“Yeah, I’ve still technically never left the country.” Thomas admits. “Roman, you wanna try next?”

“Uh, sure. Let’s see….” Roman takes a moment to think. “I’ve run for twelve hours straight before, I once got beat up so bad I couldn’t stand for two days and I’m secretly a human.”

Everyone stares in a sort of horrified silence before Thomas finally finds his voice.

“On second thought, let's play a different game.” Thomas croaks.

Roman just shrugs as though it makes no difference to him. “Okay.” He says nonchalantly.

“I’m in.” Patton says, still trying not to stare at Roman in obvious horror.

Thomas, glad to have the support of at least two centaurs, quickly tries to think of a new game. Now he just has to get Logan on his side, since Anxiety still hasn’t said anything so he’s not sure what his stance is.

“Have you guys ever heard of ‘never have I ever’?” Thomas is about to immediately take that back, thinking the chances any of them have heard of the game are low but Roman stops him.

“Oh, oh! I know this one!” Roman immediately swirls to face the other three centaurs. “So it’s this game where you take turns saying ‘never have I ever’ and then you throw in something random and if anyone else in the group has done it they lose a point.”

“Yeah… what he said.” Thomas adds lamely, thrown off now that his thunder has been stolen.

“So the goal is to get other people out by saying shit you’ve never done?” Anxiety asks.

“Yep.”

“Thomas…. You realize you’re going to lose, right?” Logan asks hesitantly.

Thomas- had not thought that far ahead. Logan’s right of course. But on the flip side-

“Or I’m gonna win by a landslide.” Thomas stops to think it through though. “You have a good point though. How about we have to stick to obscure things? Stuff that doesn’t target specific people and isn’t tied to whether you’re human or centaur.”

“That might be a little difficult…” Roman mumbles as he sits besides Thomas to form a circle.

“Come on Patton, let's just try it. If it doesn’t work we can play a different game.”

“If you say so, kiddo,”

Logan huffs but sits down to complete the circle, surprisingly still on board.

“Okay, so what are the stakes?” Roman asks.

“What do you mean 'stakes’?” Anxiety sounds nervous.

Before Anxiety or Logan can change their minds Thomas clarifies. “There aren’t stakes Roman, you just do it for fun.

“But games always have stakes.” Roman argues.

“This one doesn’t.” Thomas insists.

“Roman, haven't you played this before?” Patton asks.

“Yes.” He says, crossing his arms defensively. “And when we played it, the loser had to do a dare made up by the rest.”

“On second thought I’m not that interested in this game.” Logan says, standing up quickly.

“Ditto.” Anxiety echoes.

“No, no, no, guys!” Thomas shoots Roman a desperate look.

“Uh- Oh! Wait! What if we all make the dare?” Roman suggests.

Both Logan and Anxiety hesitate.

“To make things more fair. We all write down a dare and put them in a hat and the loser picks randomly. Since you might lose and have to pick your own, no one will write down anything they wouldn’t do themself.” Roman compromises.

“I don’t know…” Anxiety hesitates. “How do we know you aren’t cocky enough to put something terrible anyway cause you think you wont lose?”

Roman huffs, offended. “I’m never cocky! And besides, I’ve never played this game with a human or even centaurs of separate breeds. This is nothing like the times I’ve played before, I might as well be a first timer too.” Roman takes on a slightly more serious tone. “Besides, I’ve been on the receiving end of enough nasty dares and pranks to never wanna do that to anybody.”

It’s a surprising thing for him to say and it seems to finally convince Logan and Anxiety into sitting back down.

“Fine.” Logan says. “Let’s write our dares and start the game.

Chapter Text

Thomas personally isn’t sure how he feels about being forced to do a dare if he loses the game so he’s just going to have to make sure he doesn’t. Who knew what kind of dares were being thought up right now.

For his dare Thomas is having trouble finding something that won't trigger anyone. All the stuff his friends and he used to do seemed too risky. He finally settles on ‘try that sour patch candy Joan brought’. It was supposed to be ‘extra, super, totally sour’ and, thanks to that title, no one had tried it as of yet. It was to Joan's great disappointment that no one had tried it with them.

Once Thomas has added his dare to the sherlock hat (The only hat they have on hand) the game begins, with Logan being voted to start first. Shockingly, he doesn't even have to think long, he must have been thinking of his earlier.

“Never have I ever left this state.” Logan says with the confidence of someone who knows he just got everyone out with one turn.

Sure enough, everyone groans as they take a monopoly card. (Which was their determined method of keeping score. Whoever had the most cards at the end was the loser) Roman was once a racer so it made sense that he had gotten around, what with all the different competitions each state held. Patton had been in a traveling fair and Thomas is willing to bet they didn’t stay in one state for very long. Thomas himself has mentioned going to both Disneyland and Disneyworld multiple times and who knew where Anxiety was from.

“Okay, my turn!” Roman says. “Never have I ever worn actual shoes.”

“Roman, that just excludes me!” Thomas points out.

“I know.” Roman says with a shit eat grin.

Oohh, it was on.

“Don’t be mean kiddo.” Patton says, although he doesn’t seem to have an issue with letting it slide this time.

“Who’s next?” Anxiety asks, breaking the glaring/grinning contest going on between Roman and Thomas.

“Thomas is next.” Logan says.

“Never have I ever broken a bone!” Thomas says triumphantly with a smirk.

Roman and Logan both grumble as they take another card.

“You broke a bone Logan?” Patton asks curiously.

“A broken fracture in my arm as a foal.” Logan conferms and Thomas is surprised when he doesn't stop there. “I have also broken eight ribs and three fingers.”

Wow. That was quite the list.

“You sure got hurt a lot.” Roman says, eyes wide.

Logan scoffs. “That’s just the bones.”

Thomas’s breath catches. What did that mean?

“What? What else did you get?” Roman asks curiously.

Everyone’s a bit surprised when Logan actually answers. “Let’s see, a dislocated shoulder, eight broken ribs, at least seven concussions-” Logan looks thoughtful as he ticks off his fingers. “-a fractured skull, broken arm, broken nose, three broken fingers and more black eyes than I can count.”

“Holy shit.” Anxiety breaths.

Patton looks distressed. “What happened?”

Logan shrugs. “Most were from a warehouse accident a few years ago. One of the shelving units collapsed on me.”

Thomas takes a sharp breath, horrified. “Logan! Those shelves are practically two stories high! And the amount of crates on them-” Thomas can’t finish. The shelves had thousands of pounds worth of goods on them.

Logan nods. “I’m aware. It could have been far worse, had it been anyone other than me it would most likely have been fatal.”

He says this with such casual indifference that Thomas really can’t tell if it’s faked or not. He isn’t able to focus on it for long though, because at that moment he catches Roman trying to put a card back.

“Roman! No cheating!”

“I’m not! I’m not! I was just-”

“I saw you.” Anxiety cuts in. “You were trying to put a card back.”

“Roman, don't be a sore loser.” Patton quips.

“It’s not fair! Thomas was specifically targeting me!” Accuses Roman.

“Am not!”

Yes. Yes, Thomas is but he’s not going to admit to it.

“Thomas, didn't you break a bone too?” Patton hesitantly asks.

Thomas blinks in surprise. “No, I’ve never broken one.”

“Patton is right Thomas. You chipped your bone that one time, remember?” Logan says.

Horrified, Thomas does remember. “Surely that doesn’t count!” He protests while carefully avoiding mentioning how he chipped it. Thomas isn’t sure Virgil remembers and he doesn’t want to trigger anything.

“It totally counts.” Roman insists, seeing his chance for revenge.

“Oh come on!” Thomas whines. Figures. Of course he would get himself out on his own turn. If he didn’t want to end up eating a bag of sour patch kids all by himself he was really going to have to up his game. But first to survive Virgil’s turn.

“Never have I ever cut my own hair.” The youngest centaur says confidently.

Huh, that wasn’t what Thomas expected. It seems to have worked however because Patton, Roman and Logan all take a card.

“You guys cut your hair?” Thomas questions.

“How else would we keep it this short?” Asks Roman simply. He seems to be genuinely confused.

Thomas supposes that explains why each of his friends' hair hasn’t changed since the day he first met them. Meanwhile he seemed to get a new look each time he went to the barber even though he’d been asking for the same thing since tenth grade. (If it ain’t broke, dont’ fix it.)

“I’m more curious about how you’ve never cut your own hair. Even Thomas has cut his.” Logan addresses Anxiety whilst gesturing at Thomas, who is also taking a card.

“To be fair, I was five and it did not end well.” Thomas tells him. However, he is curious about Anxiety too.

“I never had to.” Anxiety says with a shrug. “My guardian always cut it before it got real long.” He scowls as he continues. “He said he didn’t want me to look like a girl or something.”

Thomas hums sympathetically. He too had hated not having control over his own hair length. (hence the makeover in kindergarten) However, he’d ended up making a deal with his parents to take better care of it in exchange for his desired length. He wonders if this is the first time Anxiety hasn’t had to worry about someone chopping his hair off without his permission. He does know they won’t make him, right?

“Well you don’t have to worry about that anymore.” Thomas tells Anxiety. “Go ahead and aim for Rapunzel if you want.”

“Yeah!” Roman says excitedly. “We could braid it or give you dreadlocks or something.”

Anxiety gives him an odd look but doesn’t end up responding so they continue the game. Next up, Patton.

“Never have I eveeerrrr- oh! Never have I ever seen the top of the refrigerator!”

Thomas isn’t the least bit surprised about that. If Patton had seen the top then there was no way he’d still allow them to store cereal up there without deep cleaning it first. As it was, no one really minded if the cereal box or bag got a small layer of dust on them and Patton hadn’t ever asked where it came from. Perhaps they should tell him?

“Nice one Pat.” Roman says. He sounds like he’s trying to be genuine but he’s clearly struggling not to be a sore loser so it comes off a little fake. At least he was trying.

Next up was Logan again, who seemed to be thinking his turn over very carefully. “Never have I ever eaten a popsicle.”

“What!?”

“Dude, why?”

Logan just shrugs Thomas and Romans exclamations off. “I don’t like cold things.”

“Yeah but they taste so good!” Patton insists.

“Right?” Thomas says, agreeing with Patton. “We gotta make you try one.”

Roman grumbles his agreement as he takes yet another card.

“Hold up, Anxiety, haven't you tried one yet?” He asks when he notices the younger centaur not taking a card.

“No.” The teen says simply.

“You know what?” Patton says, getting to his feet. “We are having a popsicle break. Right now.” So saying he marches right up to the fridge and begins rooting around in the freezer.

“Patton, I said I don’t like cold things.” Logan argues when the pony hands him a blue raspberry one.

“Try it.” Patton insists, handing Anxiety a grape one. The teen doesn’t argue and quietly takes it.

“You can have one whenever you want.” Thomas tells him. He suspects Anxiety was still too nervous to take food that wasn’t directly offered to him so he wants to stress that the popsicles were fair game.

“Whenever he wants? I thought it was one a day?” Roman protests. And yes, he had a point. They had made a deal to limit the popsicles to one a day simply because they ran out too fast otherwise. Thomas had assumed Logan and Anxiety were eating them too and the fact that they hadn’t been, really spoke to how bad his, Roman and Pattons self control was.

“Yes, okay.” Thomas turns back to Anxiety. “Correction. You can have one a day.”

That settled, the game continues, although Thomas notes that Logan slips Roman the remainder of his popsicle when Patton isn’t looking. It seemed he truly didn’t like cold things. The game continues on until they’ve gone around the circle three times and they’ve run out of uno cards to take. It’s decided that the game is over and now it was time to punish the loser.

Thomas feels his dread grow with each card he counts. How had he gotten so many?

“So…. how many do you all have?” Thomas finally asks when no one speaks for the better part of five minutes.

“Since no one else will, I’ll go first.” Logan finally says. “I have nine.”

“Me too.” Patton and Thomas say simultaneously.

Anxiety and Roman squint suspiciously at each other before Anxiety splays out his cards like a poker player.

“I have nine.” He says.

“Well jokes on you. So do I.” Roman snips.

After that there’s a moment of silence.

“So I guess we all lose?” Thomas finally asks. He’s not keen on this idea but it seemed like the only way to be fair. After all, none of them had foreseen them all getting the same amount of points. Really, what were the odds?

“I guess so…” Anxiety agrees hesitantly.

“What!? That’s not fair!” Roman argues.

“Actually it is the only feasible way to be fair.” Logan points out.

“We could say we all win.” Patton suggests, ever the optimist.

“What, and let all those lovely ideas go to waste?” Anxiety quips sarcastically.

Roman just groaned loudly and dramatically. “Fine. Do we all grab a card each or do the same one?”

“I vote we all do the same one.” Thomas pipes up quickly.

“Yeah!” Patton crows. “We’re all in this together! That way none of us feels left out.”

Thomas was thinking more along the lines of ‘misery loves company’ but Patton’s perspective worked too.

“Alright, it’s decided then.” Logan declares once no one else disagrees. He then pulls the hat to himself and reaches in slowly. “We all agree to do whatever the paper I pull out says, right?”

Roman just groans louder but Thomas knows he’s in. Patton and Anxiety both nod reluctantly and, having gained their approval, Logan carefully pulls out a card. He first studies it, then unfolds it, and finally reads it. Logan’s face instantly blanks and Thomas can see the regret in his eyes.

“On second thought, let us pick a different one-”

“Gimme!” Roman launches himself over to Logan and snatches the card from his hands. Initially Logan struggles to get it back but Patton's stern “Logan” has him surrendering.

“Aha! Now let's see what we have here!” As Roman speaks he unfolds the paper and swiftly reads it. His face instantly transforms into one of surprise. “Purple hair!? We have to dye our hair PURPLE!?”

“Who put that in the hat!?” Thomas blurts, mostly from shock.

No one actually answers and instead they all sit there, trying to digest just what they’ve done to themselves by playing this silly game. Surprisingly (or perhaps suspiciously) Anxiety was the only one who didn’t seem upset.

After what is probably five minutes the silence is finally broken with-

“Can we compromise and just dye our bangs instead?”

“Logan quit being a sore loser.”

“He has a point, Roman.” Patton says and Thomas suspects he’s just trying to get out of it too.

“Nope. This is happening. We all agreed.” Thomas insists. Like hell he’s doing this alone.

“It says we have to dye our hair. It didn’t say we had to do all of it.” Logan insists.

“No intentionally misinterpreting the dare.” Roman insists.

“And just where are we going to go to dye our hair?” Logan asks, finding a new angle to argue.

“We could do it here!” Patton crows in excitement. In a drastic switch it would seem he was starting to like the idea.

Roman flinches. “No offense Padre, but I don’t feel like letting you pour bleach all over my head.”

“That’s not how you dye hair.” Anxiety argues.

“Patton actually has a point.” Thomas says. “Talyn always dyes their own hair. I’m sure they could tell us how.”

“They dye their own hair?” Roman asks, delighted. “That’s incredible.”

“I assume they have lots of practice though, which we do not. It is in our best interest that we give up on this ridiculous scheme.”

Clearly Logan was still desperate to get out of dying his hair. Which was never going to happen, not on Thomas’s watch. And apparently not on anyone else’s either.

“Not gonna happen, teach.”

“Nice try Lo’ but you’re still doing this.”

Logan sighs in defeat. “Fine. Call Talyn.”

“What, now?”

“The sooner we get this over with the better.”

Thomas is’t sure how to break it to Logan that he’ll be stuck with purple hair for a few months and that dyeing it now won’t change that. Hold up, now there's a thought.

“Wait, does it need to be permanent?” Thomas asks.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, do we have to use permanent dye or can we do the temporary stuff?”

“Again, no intentionally misinterpreting the dare.” Roman says.

“He has a point.” Logan argues back. “The dare is rather vague, surely we can interpret it how we wish.”

Patton looks thoughtful. “Well, let’s just compromise a little then. How about we agree to just do the bangs like Logan suggested earlier?”

Roman sighs but Thomas and Anxiety both nod in agreement.

“Four out of five agree.” Logan declares. “We will use permanent dye but only on our bangs.”

Roman sighs louder but grumbles his agreement nonetheless. Thomas isn’t sure why he was so determined to take the dare to the most extreme lengths but he suspected it's simply the centaurs all or nothing nature at play.

“So, back to how to dye out hair in the first place.” Thomas says.

“We can ask Talyn, right?” Roman double checks.

“We can.” Thomas assures.

“Perhaps they can do it on us?” Patton suggests.

“Talyn is at college, they can’t just ditch to come visit again.” Thomas tells Patton as he brings up Talyns contact in his phone.

“Oh. College is like school for adults right?”

“Yeah.” Thomas the description is close enough to reality. Just then Talyn answers the phone.

“Hey Thomas.” They say.

“Hey Talyn, so I have a crazy request-”

*********

Chapter Text

*********

After Talyn had explained the process to dyeing your own hair, and given a list of what they would need, Thomas had ordered same day delivery on it all. Two hours later and they had everything they needed to dye their own hair. Thomas still has doubts, (so many doubts) but like it or not, they were ready to begin.

Roman volunteers to go first and so Logan, Thomas, and Patton all suit up with long rubber gloves. This is going to take all hands on deck. Well, all but Anxiety, who wasn’t keen on all the necessary touching it would involve.

It’s decided that they would all wait to look at a mirror until they could all do so together so once Romans was done they had immediately moved on to Logan, who was next. He’d declared that he wanted the whole thing done and over with and Thomas actually feels a bit bad for him. The poor guy was so clearly dreading this. Thomas is rather sure they are never going to convince him to play another game with them ever again.

It’s during the process of prepping Logan’s hair for the purple dye that Thomas confirms that his suspicions were right. Logan did have pointy ears. Very pointy, in fact, were his ears not always covered by his hair, there would be no possible way to mistake him for a human. More interesting was that Logan could flick them. And he did. A lot. Mostly because Thomas kept getting so much dye on them by accident. Logan was going to have purple ears by the end of this for sure so it was probably a good thing he usually hid them. Thomas too was going to be purple but that was mostly because whenever Logan flicked his ears some landed on Thomas. Thomas isn’t quite certain if it’s on purpose or not.