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Chapter Text

Tommy nervously wrung his hands as he paced the tiny room. He was thankful for the fact that he didn’t have to hunch over to walk or even have to crawl for once. Sure, he only had about two inches of space over his head, but it was more than he normally got, so he was thankful.

He had found rather quickly that most places apart from Earth were not suited for humans. Everything was small . Maybe, if he had known about this inconvenience he wouldn’t have volunteered to join an alien crewship all those years ago.

Tommy scowled at the thought of the past crewships he has been a part of. He’s been with many species but they only tolerated him for a month tops before “regretfully” releasing him from the crew, leaving him fumbling to find another crew or return to Earth. And at this point there was no way he’d willingly go back.

Right now he was waiting in an office at a landing dock on the last planet he was left on. He had managed to secure a position with a new crew and was waiting for them to come pick him up. Based on the comm interview they had it was a small and experienced crew, but it was their first time adding a new crew member since they formed. It seemed half of them were not pleased when the captain announced that they were having a new crewmate, let alone a human.

Humans were still a young species to the space community, and therefore a lot of aliens had yet to meet or even see a human in their lifetimes. Tommy found he was often invited to join crews only so the crew could meet a human. It felt degrading honestly.

The captain of the next crew, Captain Philza if he remembered correctly, hadn’t met a human properly, same with his crew, but he seemed to just want an extra set of hands on his ship. It was relieving to know he wasn’t being brought in to be ogled at… again.

A small knock sounded at the entrance of the door, a sound Tommy had learned to pick up quickly. He looked up to see the excitable hummingbird-like alien flitting around, a small tablet in one of her talons.

“Human Tommy! Your crew has arrived!” She flitted over to him and pressed against his cheek, making him laugh in surprise. “I’m gonna miss you! You better visit again! They better treat you right! I’ll fight them if they don’t! Do you have to go? Oh what am I saying? Of course you do! I just don’t want you to!”

Tommy reached up and stroked the strangely rough feathers on her neck, earning a happy trill from the secretary. “I’ll try, I’ll try! And if I get dumped, I’ll do my best to get dumped here again, just for you.”

Tommy walked out of the office, ducking to not hit his head on the heavy metal beams. The familiar buzzing of wings followed him as she let out a distressed chirp.

“No no no! No getting dumped again! I have high hopes! These are the ones! I just know it! They have to be your crew!” Tommy chuckled as he ducked into the landing area, sighing in relief at the much higher roof.

“We’ll see…” She didn’t seem to hear him as she continued moving towards the new ship. Tommy was grateful that the ship actually seemed pretty spacy. He got invited onto a small ship once, it was the one crew he had to leave without being dumped.

The hummingbird alien hovered by the door of the spaceship as the door opened. Tommy grinned and stepped forwards as Captain Philza flew towards the secretary. The two of them chirped out greetings in what Tommy knew was the common language among the avian aliens. 

Watching the two exchange idle small talk was interesting. Tommy was always in awe whenever he saw two aliens of the same species that had size differences like these. While the hummingbird alien could fit easily in the palm of one hand, it seemed Captain Philza seemed almost double her size, maybe bigger. Tommy figured he could hold him in two hands though.

Eventually the two of them switched to common, finally letting Tommy properly understand everything they were saying except for just snippets. He wasn’t quite well-versed on his avian yet, but he could understand some of it.

“While it has been wonderful meeting you, I think I and my crew would like to meet our new crew member. Is Tommy here…” The captain trailed off as his gaze settled on Tommy. Tommy grinned, keeping careful as to not show his teeth (he was not repeating the last incident) and raised a hand in greeting, taking a few steps forwards to properly greet his new captain.

It was painfully silent for a moment and Captain Philza studied him in what looked to be shock. Tommy’s face fell and he let his arm drop and the avian only continued to stare. They had comm calls, he knew what Tommy looked like. So it kind of hurt to see the captain staring at him like a strange new animal.

Eventually, Captain Philza turned to the secretary in what looked to be worry and panic. He glanced up at Tommy before leaning in and lowering his voice. The captain switched back to their native language as he whispered.

“ Are all humans that tall? I thought they were smaller! ” The hummingbird’s expression turned to be a bit annoyed, and she took a breath to retort, but Tommy beat her to it, annoyed himself.

“Is that going to be a problem, Captain?” He suddenly stood up straight with wide eyes, staring at Tommy in surprise. The captain let out a few stuttering chirps. “Yea, I can understand you. Might not be able to speak it, but I recognize the basics. If my size is going to be an issue, just leave me here so we don’t have to go through the trouble of finding another landing dock to drop me off at.”

The avian quickly shook off his shock, his features now replaced with worry. Tommy watched as the captain spread his wings and flew towards him. The human instinctively reached out two of his hands to be used as a landing platform, which the avian gratefully took, looking up at Tommy.

Tommy noted how his talons were even sharper than the hummingbird’s and he forced himself to hold back a wince as they dug into his skin. He’d have to invest in some new gloves and possibly some shoulder padding if Captain Philza decided he liked to perch all over him, like many avian aliens he’s met before.

“Not at all going to be a problem! I apologize if I sounded rude, that was not the case.” Tommy noted how the captain nervously left out the fact that he didn’t even think Tommy could understand him while speaking his native language, but he let it slide for the time being. “To be clear with you, I did know you were a bigger species. But I guess my crew and myself hadn’t done the right research because we thought you were approximately the size of our formerly biggest crewmate. And um…” The captain looked Tommy up and down in sheepish worry. “He may be only a little more than half your size, so we have to modify the quarters we set up for you.”

Tommy’s eyes widened at that. “Wait, I get my own room? You guys took the time to set up a room for me?” The captain looked distraught and shocked, and Tommy was positive he saw an underlayment of worry grace his features. His wings spread again and suddenly the alien was in his face, clawed hands gently grabbing his nose.

“Why in the cosmos does that surprise you?! Of course we set up a room for you! Why wouldn’t we-?” A saddened chirp sounded from behind them and the two glanced over at the hummingbird alien, now perched and fidgeting nervously. She gave the captain a pointed look and Tommy saw the realization dawn on Captain Philza’s face as he turned back to Tommy.

“The other crews you were a part of didn’t trust you, did they?” The avian’s wingbeats slowed a bit as Tommy glanced away and let out a small noise of confirmation. “This is why I don’t work with other crews, they’re bastards, all of them. Don’t worry mate, you’re one of us now.”

Tommy watched the captain fly away from his face and towards the ship, waving for Tommy to follow him. He couldn’t help but give the avian a hopeful smile as he followed and gave a small wave to the hummingbird before reaching the door of the spaceship where the captain was waiting for him with a giant grin on his face.

“Welcome to the family, mate.”

Chapter Text

Tommy sat on the floor of the spaceship, his nervousness returning tenfold compared to when he was just waiting for the ship. Philza, who was very insistent that Tommy not call him captain for whatever reason despite literally being the captain, told him he was grabbing the rest of the crew to meet him as they took off. Tommy figured someone else was doing liftoff before joining them, so he just waited.

He looked longingly at one of the chairs. They looked terribly comfortable but they were all a bit small for him. Philza said they were going to make a pit stop and get some furniture more suited to Tommy’s size, and the human couldn’t be more thankful. But at the same time, he was itching to have some furniture his own size again, it has been much too long since he’s had anything like that.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when a buzzing noise seemed to rapidly approach him until he was suddenly face to face with a small bee-like alien. Tommy hadn’t met this kind of alien before, he had only read about them while doing research on different alien species. Two sets of fragile looking wings buzzed behind the tiny alien and four arms fidgeted excitedly in front of them. Their pale yellow skin was even adorned with black tiger stripes. Tommy was in utter awe at how small they were, they were closer to the size of the hummingbird alien, so even smaller than Philza.

They suddenly thrust a hand out, keeping the others close to their body, obviously trying to contain their excitement and failing miserably.

“You must be Human Tommy! I’m Tubbo! I’m an Apian!” Tommy reached out and gently grabbed Tubbo’s hand, earning a relieved sigh. Tommy looked quizzically at the apian, earning him a guilty smile as he pulled his arm back. “In my research I found that humans shook hands as a greeting, but I wasn’t quite sure if it was right… glad it was!”

“Handshakes are a good greeting among strangers, you did good research.” Tommy grinned as the buzzing seemed to get louder as the apian’s smile grew. He watched their little antenna flicker as they flew a quick, excited circle in the air with an excited buzz before positioning himself right back in front of Tommy again.

“Among strangers? Oh, you humans have different types of greetings too! You have to teach me one of these days, ok?” Tubbo flipped himself over to be hovering upside down in front of Tommy, earning a chuckle and nod.

“Interesting. You’re… bigger than I thought you would be.”

“Hah! Who’s small now, bitch!”

Tommy froze as new voices sounded behind him and a loud smack sounded after the second voice stopped speaking. A glance at Tubbo showed the bee alien, who had already put himself in an upright position again, still smiling like this was normal, so Tommy stood up and turned towards them. Both aliens in front of him immediately shut up, and stared up at him in awe.

“Oh wait, why is he so tall? Phil said nothing about him being this big!” The strange lizard-like alien spoke up with some annoyance in his tone, earning himself a second smack from the bigger alien beside him.

“He can understand us you know, stop being rude.” The lizard alien grumbled and crossed his arms across his chest.

Studying the two new aliens, Tommy realized just how much bigger he was than everyone else on the ship. Phil had mentioned Tommy being nearly twice the height of the biggest alien on their ship, and he was fairly certain the boar-like alien was the closest in size to Tommy. He was covered in fluffy pink fur that looked like it was standing on end as he examined the human. Tommy swallowed nervously as the red eyes scanned over him, his own eyes landing on the cracked tusks on either side of his face. Tommy idly registered that there were two little horns on top of his head by his large, floppy ears. 

If he didn’t look so terrifying and not covered in scars, Tommy would’ve tried cuddling with him in a heartbeat. But he’s barely spoken and Tommy is fairly certain that this man could kill him in a heartbeat.

“Don’t worry about the lizard brain over here, he doesn’t know how to be polite. I’m Technoblade, but uh, call me Techno.” Techno fidgeted with his hands for a moment, trying to figure out what to do. Tommy was about to speak up until Tubbo stage whispered over.

“Stick out your hand and let him grab it!” Techno nodded and stiffly reached out towards Tommy, leaving a hooved hand in front of the human. Tommy smiled softly at Techno. He was only trying to properly greet him, maybe he wasn’t too bad. Still scary though.

Tommy reached out and grabbed the offered hand, shaking it slightly before pulling back. “It’s called a handshake by the way, a common greeting among human strangers or general acquaintances. Also a formal greeting.” The boar nodded, seeming to take mental note of what Tommy said. He gestured towards the lizard alien who was still very pointedly not looking at Tommy.

“This here is Wilbur, he’s not normally this grumpy. He’ll probably open up by tomorrow.” Tommy nodded, his grin faltering slightly.

Wilbur looked annoyed that Tommy was even here. He was definitely one of the crewmates that was against having Tommy join the crew. He wasn’t sure who the other was, but he was sort of happy he couldn’t tell. 

He looked strange too. Wilbur seemed to have blue and slightly transparent skin, making Tommy wonder if he would be able to see his insides. That would be so cool. But if Wilbur’s obvious disgust for him and the metal looking plating covering his body said anything, he wouldn’t even have the chance to see. The large black markings under his eyes were fascinating though, hopefully Tommy would be able to ask what their purpose was since it looked like they were the only black markings on his body.

Finally, slitted and unblinking eyes glanced at him and Wilbur sneered. Tommy reeled back from the nasty look. That was unprovoked.

Techno growled at Wilbur and took a step towards him. “Wilbur, can’t you be polite for two seconds? He’s our-”

“I know. And frankly I don’t care. The only good thing about him being here is that someone is finally taller than you.” Wilbur looked Tommy dead in the eyes with a venomous glare. “I hope Phil gets sick of you quickly.” 

That felt like a sword to his chest. Tommy looked to the ground, slight tears building up in his eyes. Normally it took longer for people to gain a disliking for him. 

“WILBUR! WHAT THE FUCK?!”

Wilbur stared at the angry Techno and Tubbo before shrugging and walking off. All Tommy did was stare at the floor and fiddle with his hands, trying hard to not cry. He didn’t fit in anywhere, he knew that. But being told that they were waiting for him to be dumped? That hurt.

Suddenly, a small weight pressed against his cheek and a buzzing filled his head. He glanced to where the pressure was and saw the small bee alien snuggling up close. Only a few seconds later and there was someone patting his thigh, and he glanced down to see Techno trying to pat him awkwardly, in what Tommy assumed was supposed to be a comforting touch.

Tommy sniffled and wiped his nose with a finger. “Thanks.” He only whispered the word but the two of them definitely heard him as Tubbo pressed closer and Techno leaned against him in what Tommy assumed was supposed to be a comforting gesture among his own species.

The three of them stayed like that for a few minutes that honestly began feeling like an eternity until wingbeats approached the room. They all looked up to see a happy Phil chirping as he entered the room, only for his face to fall as he saw the sight before him.

Phil’s expression immediately filled with anger as he realized what may have just happened. He quickly changed to a sharp and sickly sweet smile. Tommy realized why Phil was captain. He might be small but this was the scariest person on this ship by far. 

“Which one of you little shits did this?”

Silence followed for a moment. Tommy glanced at Tubbo and Techno, both of whom were also obviously terrified of Phil’s current anger.

“W-wil told Tommy he ho-hoped you would get sick of him quickly.”

Phil’s angry grin grew.

“Oh, did he now?” Phil took a deep breath and turned to the corridor, his wingbeats seeming to pick up in his agitation. “I’ll be right back.”

Phil quickly flew out of the room and down the corridor that Wilbur left through. The three of them relaxed before immediately tensing up again as a sharp yell sounded through the hallway.

“WILBUR! WHAT THE FUCK?!”

Chapter Text

The three of them stayed in the common area for a while after Phil left to confront Wilbur. Tommy felt horrible. He has been on this ship for only an hour and one crew member already wants him gone.

Just by thinking about it made tears build up in his eyes. It wasn’t fair! Every crew he had joined had at least one crew member like this. And Tommy was positive this was going to end up just like every other crew he tried to join. And he thought he’d have a week before anything like this would happen. Guess he was wrong.

Tommy just knew that Wilbur would convince the others to throw him off of the ship. He would easily be able to convince them to dump him off at the next landing station. It would save them some currency as well anyways. Phil wouldn’t have to bother buying new furniture and fixing the room to be more suited for Tommy now.

Tommy felt Tubbo shift on his face and move to drape over his nose, wings constantly letting out a barely audible buzz. He glanced down at Techno who had long since moved onto Tommy’s lap after the human had sat down and was currently fast asleep and huffing as he shifted in his sleep.

How long would it take for these two to feel absolutely disgusted that they did this? That they literally cuddled with a human who was basically a giant to them? Tommy knew how strong he was in comparison to most aliens and he was positive this crew knew as well. So why in the world were they this close, this comfortable, to him already? Tommy was still basically a stranger to them, a giant, dangerous stranger, and these two’s first instinct was to cuddle and comfort him?

It made him pause and think about everything. He knew Wilbur would try and get him thrown off the ship, hell, he was probably trying right now. But he also has realized that the others are so dumb they were wiling to immediately trust a dangerous stranger. Tommy would never hurt anyone- scratch that, he can and has but only if they were an active threat- but how were these two supposed to know that? How was Phil and Wilbur supposed to know that? They just assumed he would never do anything, but what if he was someone else? Someone more violent?

His eyes hardened in determination as he decided the best course of action. He would fight to stay on the ship. No matter how hard the lizard alien tried to get him off of the ship, he would just fight back. He couldn’t leave the others alone. If they were truly this trusting, then Tommy isn’t quite sure how they’re all alive right now.

He’d even protect Wilbur. Sure, Tommy was positive that Wilbur hated his guts and he’s only had a few minutes of interaction with him. But he was part of the crew that Tommy was now a part of. 

Tommy would be the bigger man, there was no way he’d stoop to Wilbur’s level.

—

“Phil! You can’t be serious! You can’t put me on babysitting duty!”

Tommy watched from the hallway with wide eyes as Wilbur and Phil were having an intense argument. Phil was hovering right in front of the lizard alien’s face with an accusing finger pointed directly between his eyes, clearly angry with Wilbur.

“This is not babysitting duty! We can’t risk anyone attempting to steal our ship again, you know this.” Wilbur let out a displeased hiss and looked towards Tommy, narrowing his eyes as he locked eyes with the human. Tommy shrunk into himself, not wanting to make this any worse than it already was.

“Then why can’t you just take the human-”

“His name is Tommy.”

Wilbur snarled and looked back at Phil, disgust all over his face. “Then why can’t you just take Tommy, ” he sent a sharp glare to said human before returning to Phil, “with you? You’re getting stuff for him for Cosmo’s sake!”

Phil muttered under his breath in what sounded to be in his native language, before answering the lizard alien. “I have said this a few times already, Wil. It’s a stretch already to take Techno in. This place isn’t suited for larger species. We have to go in and place orders for furniture for him to pick up in the neighboring system and while we’re here we may as well restock on food.”

Wilbur didn’t respond, looking down to the ground, clearly angry. He clenched his claws a few times before looking up at Phil, angry disappointment written all over him.

“Fine, but you better not take forever. I don’t want to be with him for too long.”

Phil sighed and flew towards the ship entrance where Techno and Tubbo were waiting for him. “Please try and get along with him.”

Tommy watched Phil disappear from view and quietly hoped the three of them wouldn’t take too long. He spared a glance towards Wilbur and flinched when he saw the lizard’s angry glare trained on him.

They stayed locked in a staring contest for a bit, Wilbur glaring and Tommy looking and feeling like a deer caught in the headlights. Eventually, Tommy sighed and tried to relax himself. Wilbur was one of his crew members and he had to find a way for them to get along.

After all, how could he protect Wilbur if he didn’t trust Tommy?

Tommy stood up and walked towards Wilbur, slouching so he wouldn’t tower over him too much. He noticed that Wilbur’s expression changed slightly, but he couldn’t tell why. He looked to the side nervously and fiddled his hands.

“Um, I…” Wilbur looked up at him expectantly, obviously annoyed that he was trying to even make conversation. “I think we got off on the wrong foot.” Tommy stuck out his hand with a hopeful smile. “So let’s do introductions again! I’m Tommy, and I really want to try and get along. I think we can be good friends!”

Wilbur stared at the outstretched hand before scoffing. “We aren’t doing this. Especially since I wasn’t wrong. I still stand by what I said.”

Tommy’s grin faltered and he slowly retracted his hand, pulling it into his chest with a slightly hurt expression. 

“But, I just-”

“Oh shut it.” Tommy took a step back in surprise. “I don’t want to hear it. I’ll be in my room, don’t bother me.”

Wilbur turned and began walking to leave with a dismissive wave. Tommy pondered his thoughts for a moment before taking a breath. 

“Why the fuck do you hate me so much?”

Wilbur froze. Tommy could practically feel the tension in the air and could almost see the thoughts swimming throughout Wilbur’s head.

“It’s none of your business.” It was spoken so quietly that Tommy barely heard it. Wilbur’s voice wavered as he spoke, a hidden emotion laced in the words.

Tommy didn’t try to stop Wilbur as he left to his room, noticeably faster than before.

Chapter Text

Keeping himself entertained was not easy. Tommy still wasn’t quite sure where everything on the ship was yet and what he was allowed to touch. And if Wilbur was going to be a grump then he was no help to Tommy either.

He honestly wanted to become friends with Wilbur, he really did. But Wilbur was making it so hard. Tommy knew that there had to be a reason Wilbur didn’t like him. It must be really bad for Wilbur to have reacted like that when he asked.

Tommy let out a sigh. Thinking about it wasn’t going to help him out. He wandered out of the common area of the ship. Sure he had been given a mini tour after introductions to the crew and the first incident with Wilbur, but maybe he could find some new places or even hiding spots he could use.

He aimlessly wandered through the corridors, running his hand along the walls as he whistled an old tune he remembered from back on Earth.

Earth. It’s not a place he thought of often, that’s for sure. He passed one of the windows and paused, looking out at the infinite terrain of foliage before him. There were so many strange plants, the trees looking like a mutated and oversized version of daffodils with strange green fruits hanging off of them. Orange vine-like tendrils snaking up the stems, some even dangling off of the petal like leaves on the strange trees.

As strangely beautiful it was, it wasn’t Earth. He remembers his first planet he visited after leaving Earth, a strange and barren planet known only by its assigned code, D-37. D-37 was one of the many deserted planets that held civilization long ago, but the only thing remaining on its surface was a single station for ships trading goods or crewmates. It’s where he was passed off to his first crew.

Tommy grimaced at the thought. He learned the hard way that lying through his teeth to get into space was the worst decision of his life. He was surprised that they believed him though. Apparently he looked the part he was attempting to play, otherwise he wouldn’t be here today. He let out a small breath of a laugh, wondering what those officials did when they realized the truth. It was too late now but still, their reactions had to have been priceless.

But he was scared. D-37 wasn’t home and his first crew was not family. He was expected to be a perfect crewmate, which led to him being dumped at the nearest station only two days later. He remembers crying that day. It was not a fun memory to relive.

And sometimes Tommy still looks out the window when he visits a new planet, in awe of the unique scenery. And sometimes he bitterly wishes it was Earth. He misses the pale blue sky and the green ankle high grass and the asphalt roads running through cities.

He’s not sure he’ll ever see it again. It’s the only reason he’ll occasionally regret his decision to come out here. He misses Earth.

But not the people. Never the people.

Suddenly, a loud crash sounded from somewhere in the ship and Tommy immediately tensed and whipped to the noise. His eyes widened as he realized the direction it came from. That wasn’t where Wilbur’s room was. That wasn’t Wilbur.

As soon as Tommy realized the potential severity of the situation, he scrambled towards Wilbur’s room, taking care to be as quiet as he could be. He was silently panting for breath as he reached Wilbur’s door and he all but punched the button to open said door.

A startled Wilbur whipped to glare at Tommy, eyes narrowed in irritation.

“I thought I told you not to… Tommy?” 

Some of the irritation seeped out of Wilbur’s face as he began to notice how out of breath Tommy was and how scared the human looked. He could feel a small twinge of terror creep inside of him as Tommy look relieved to see him here.

Like he wasn’t expecting to actually see Wilbur in his room.

Tommy wordlessly walked towards Wilbur with poorly concealed panic in his eyes and reached out to cup his hand around Wilbur’s head. Tommy didn’t miss the way Wilbur’s eyes darted to the hand that was the same size as his head with some worry in his expression.

Tommy looked over Wilbur, looking for something that Wilbur wasn’t sure of what it was.

“What are you-?”

“We need to hide. Now. ”

Tommy stood up to full height as a crash sounded from in the ship, definitely closer than it was earlier. Wilbur whipped his head towards the noise, eyes dilated into slits as he finally began to realize what was happening. Two gravelly voices could be heard approaching, raising the panic in the two shipmates.

Tommy quickly scooped Wilbur into his arms and scanned the room before his eyes landed on the closet. That would do.

Wilbur didn’t have a chance to protest before Tommy flung it open and set him inside. Tommy gave Wilbur a small, nervous smile.

“Just stay here ok?”

Tommy began to close the door when suddenly Wilbur flung his clawed hand out and gripped the door. Tommy looked down at the lizard and was surprised to see an unreadable expression on his face.

“You are not fighting them alone. If you die or even get hurt, Phil is going to fucking kill me. We defend this ship together, you hear?”

Tommy froze in surprise and stared at Wilbur like he was crazy. The two of them glanced out of the room in a panic as footsteps seemed to grow closer. Wilbur grabbed Tommy’s clothes and pulled the human closer to his level with a snarl.

“Together. We fight together.” Wilbur only whispered and kept an angry expression on his face, but Tommy could easily hear the fearful waiver in his voice. He wanted to argue for the lizard to stay here, that if he was scared he didn’t have to help. But Tommy had already figured out how headstrong this alien could get, he wouldn’t just listen to Tommy. Especially not Tommy seeing how much he hates him.

Tommy stood up and nodded to Wilbur. “Fine. But they’re close. Let’s get them out of here.”

Tommy slowly made his way back to the door of the room, Wilbur trailing quietly behind him. The two peeked out of the room to see two aliens currently rummaging through the storage closet, complaining about the lack of valuable possessions.

Tommy had to keep himself from snickering at the two aliens, he was smart enough to know that the valuable junk weren’t generally kept in those closets on crewships like these. Amatuers. Even Tommy could do better.

Tommy was going to make a move until Wilbur suddenly scurried out from behind him and ran at and tackled the closer alien to the ground. They let out a surprised yell as they fell to the ground, their horns making a sickening sound as they hit the ground. They were bound to have cracks at a minimum after that fall.

He watched in amazement as Wilbur kept the ram-like alien pinned to the ground, using his body weight to hold them down and tightly holding their damaged horn to the ground. Wilbur hissed as they let out a bleat and tried to swipe at him, applying more pressure to the horn and earning another crack at the pressure. Tommy hadn’t realized quite how strong Wilbur’s species was until now, he could probably take an alien a foot taller than himself with enough willpower.

The other ram-like alien let out a cry and immediately began running towards Wilbur to knock him off of their companion. Tommy narrowed his eyes and quickly pushed himself off of the doorframe and quickly placed himself in between Wilbur and the second ram. 

At the sight of Tommy, their eyes widened and they immediately began to try and stop themselves, only making themselves trip and fall forwards from their own momentum, right at Tommy’s feet. They were quick to flip over and get back to their hooves to try and make a break for it, but Tommy grabbed a hold of their clothes and lifted them into the air. They weren’t exactly light but Tommy’s held heavier aliens before.

Tommy tsked. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret now, just give us our stuff back and you two can scamper off.” Tommy was glad that the ram alien in his grip had much less fight than the one Wilbur was holding, though their fearful bleats were pulling at his heartstrings. He’d rather not hurt anyone but these two were going to steal from the crew.

“Yo! Lizard boy! Tell your fucking pet to unhand my friend and we’ll leave without a fight. We ain’t gonna mess with no human guard dog of yours, promise.” 

Tommy froze. He watched as the ram he was holding earnestly nodded along with their buddy’s remarks, stuttering out vague agreements. Tommy slowly turned to face the alien that Wilbur was holding down and locked eyes with them, their expression growing more fearful by the second. He missed how even Wilbur had froze and stared at the alien in shock, in pure disbelief at what they said.

“What did you call me?” 

Tommy’s words came out slow and calculated. The ram immediately blanched and tried backpedaling, stuttering out a vague mess of apologies and pleads to Wilbur to protect them. None of the apologies were remotely close to being directed towards Tommy.

Tommy narrowed his eyes and brought his gaze over to Wilbur. “Get off of him Wilbur. I’ll finish this.”

For the first time, Wilbur listened to Tommy and scurried off of them with no hesitation. He watched as the lizard quickly pressed himself into a corner, out of the way. Good, can’t have Wilbur getting caught up in this.

The ram on the ground took a moment to realize what was happening. He tried to get up to his feet to run but as soon as he was standing, Tommy threw his companion at him and knocked the two back to the ground.

They both stared at Tommy who was now standing right above them, glowering at the two robbers.

“You chose the wrong ship to rob. Nobody messes with my crew or calls me a fucking pet. Nobody. ”

Tommy wrung his hands, ready to fight the two aliens in front of him. But then he glanced back towards Wilbur. He hadn’t noticed earlier but the lizard looked terrified. Of Tommy .

He sighed and brought his gaze back towards the two rams on the ground. He wordlessly stuck out his hand, making a small grabbing motion. The two thieves quickly scrambled to grab their bags full of stolen goods and all but shoved them into Tommy’s arms.

“Now leave our fucking ship.” Neither hesitated and both of the rams quickly scrambled to their feet and ran out of the ship as fast as they could. 

As soon as the two were out of sight, Tommy dropped the bags with a sigh. That was a lot. And they now would have to put everything back and check for anything broken on the ship. Based on the crashing from earlier there was at least something broken.

But right now Tommy had bigger worries. He nervously glanced over to where Wilbur was still standing in the corner, his gaze locked onto Tommy. He could see Wilbur trembling, and Tommy was positive it was from a mixture of fear and adrenaline. 

If Wilbur wasn’t scared of him before he most definitely was now. Tommy wasn’t sure if he could ever truly be friends with Wilbur now.

Chapter Text

Tommy glanced down nervously, not wanting to look Wilbur in the eyes any longer. He stared down at his now shaking hands, his own adrenaline starting to fade as he started to snap back into reality at what he just did.

Sure, he’d defend his crewmates again without hesitation. But he never wanted to be the reason any of them were scared. And Wilbur looked terrified.

He felt the tears begin to build up, but Wilbur was still here. If the lizard alien saw him cry that would only give him a reason to make fun of him for being a crybaby. And if there was one thing he learned on Earth it was that nobody wanted to be friends with someone who cries.

He reached up and tried wiping the tears away before they fell and turned around to the hall. “I’ll be in my room.”

Tommy kept his head hung as he began walking back towards his room. He paid no mind to the shaky sigh coming from Wilbur.

However, he did freeze at the sudden and quick pattering of clawed feet on the ground. Before Tommy could react, a small weight suddenly pressed against his legs. He glanced down in surprise to see Wilbur reaching around his legs and giving him a hug, much like a young child will do to surprise their parents.

Tommy stayed frozen, not daring to say or do anything. He wasn’t too sure on what Wilbur was doing but he didn’t hate it. He sniffled a bit and quickly reached up to wipe his eyes again.

In response, Wilbur only tightened his grip on Tommy’s legs. Tommy could feel the alien trembling, which further heightened his confusion on why Wilbur was latching onto him. 

“Wilbur, you-”

“Thank you.” 

It was barely even a whisper, but Tommy heard it anyways. His lip trembled as the tears threatened to fall at any moment. He tried biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself from crying but he could feel it building up, the dam beginning to collapse. He wanted to respond but was scared he would start crying instead.

This wasn’t right . Wilbur hated him. So why was he hugging him? Why was he thanking him? Why ?

Tommy’s legs shook and he felt Wilbur let go and take a step back. As soon as Wilbur did so, Tommy’s legs collapsed beneath him and he fell to the floor, tears now in free fall. He tried to quickly wipe them away, sniffling as he tried to stop the tears but they just kept falling.

He heard the soft clicking of Wilbur’s walking approach him once more and Tommy quickly tried to hide his face. An arm suddenly came into his vision and he looked up to see Wilbur hesitantly reaching out to Tommy. Finally, Tommy got a good look at Wilbur’s expression.

He still looked scared, but he began to notice how worried Wilbur looked. Wilbur looked genuinely upset that Tommy was upset. That didn’t make much sense to Tommy with how Wilbur has treated him but he wasn’t going to pass up this seemingly once in a lifetime chance.

Wilbur must’ve understood just by looking at him, because next thing Tommy knew, the small lizard alien had wrapped him up in a more proper hug. Tommy rested his head on Wilbur’s small shoulder and wrapped his own arms around the small alien. He buried his face into Wilbur’s neck as he continued to softly cry.

Tommy melted further into the hug as a hesitant hand began to rub his back. He nestled his face further into Wilbur’s shoulder, ignoring how the metal-like plating on his shoulder dug into his cheek.

“W-why?” Wilbur let out a question hum, prompting Tommy to continue. “Why are you comforting me? You sh-should be scared of me…”

The hand rubbing his back stopped for a moment before Wilbur pulled away from Tommy. Tommy whined as the touch started to disappear. Wilbur continued holding onto Tommy’s shoulders, much to Tommy’s relief, keeping the human at arms length and studied his face before responding.

“I.. I am scared of you.” Tommy looked down in shame. The tears that had begun to stop were threatening to spill over again at the confession. He knew Wilbur was scared of him but it hurt even more to hear it directly from the source.

Wilbur stuck a clawed hand under Tommy’s chin and made the human face him once more, a sad and resigned expression on Wilbur’s face.

“Tommy, I’m not scared of you in the way you think I am.”

Tommy’s face morphed into confusion. Wilbur brought a clawed finger up and wiped a stray tear away before pulling completely away from Tommy, suddenly looking a lot more guarded like he normally was around Tommy.

“I just… look Tommy.” He looked Tommy dead in the eyes, a strong sense of seriousness in his eyes, making Tommy go rigid. “I don’t hate you. And now I can see you care for this crew. But this is my family. I’ve been with these three for a large portion of my life. So, don’t take my family from me, and maybe one day, you’ll be a part of my family too. And Phil would kill me if I didn’t try to accept you into the crew, so we’re stuck in this situation. Got it?”

Tommy stared at Wilbur with wide eyes, processing his words. He wasn't truly scared of him? He didn’t hate Tommy? A small grin graced Tommy’s lips and he had to fight back the urge to lunge forwards and grab the smaller alien into a hug. Wouldn’t want to destroy what progress they made today after all.

Tommy nodded in agreement after a few moments of silence. “I think I do Wilbur. You’re not too bad when you aren’t being an asshole all the time, you know?”

Wilbur bristled and quickly got up to his feet, stomping down the hall with an annoyed yell over his shoulder. “I am not an asshole, you little shit!”

Tommy watched in amusement as Wilbur angrily stomped away. Once Wilbur was out of sight, Tommy stood up on shaky legs and went to the kitchen to grab a spare notesheet. The events that had just occurred were extremely tiring and he just needed to take a nap at this point, but if Phil and the others returned while he was sleeping he didn’t want them to be too confused. 

He quickly scribbled out a short message explaining that they were nearly robbed and that was why there were two bags on the ground with a short reassurance that he would try putting everything away properly when he woke up from his nap.

He set the note on top of the bags before slinking off to his sleeping quarters. He let the door slide shut behind him and was quick to flop face first onto the bed. He wiggled around for a few seconds, getting a bit more comfortable, before allowing himself to drift into the sweet feeling of sleep. Hopefully Phil wouldn’t panic too much when they all got back.

—

When Tommy woke up from his nap, he probably should’ve expected panicked yelling. His only point of confusion was that Phil didn’t come and wake Tommy up after reading the note.

He rubbed at his eyes with a yawn and rolled out of bed, walking into the common area where the commotion was coming from. Tommy froze at the entrance as he saw Phil flying in front of Wilbur’s face and was berating him for not contacting him directly after the robbery took place. Wilbur was panickily waving his hands in front of himself, trying to defend himself, but it wasn’t working too well as Phil just panicked more.

Tommy stepped into the room, quickly earning two pairs of eyes suddenly on him. He walked over with a nervous gulp and stood right by Wilbur, looking apologetically down at Phil.

“Now don’t get too hasty Phil! Wilbur did lock up the ship properly, I promise!” Phil gave Tommy a deadpan look and flew up to be eye level with Tommy now.

“Then how was the ship broken into, Tommy? Defending him on this doesn’t look good on you. Don’t be lying to me.”

Tommy let out an offended gasp and put a hand to his chest. “Phil, Wilbur locked the ship up. I promise.” He paused before looking at the Avian with wide eyes and a wide mouthed smile. “Wait! You were supposed to set up the security alarms before you three left! And they didn’t go off!”

Phil was about to retort before his face fell and his wingbeats slowed as he realized Tommy was right. Wilbur looked up at Tommy in shock as the human was now trying to hold in his laughter. Tommy could tell Phil wanted to argue but didn’t really have a good excuse.

Tommy couldn’t believe his new revelation though. If those alarms were properly set up before they went shopping, none of this would’ve happened. They wouldn’t have been almost robbed and he wouldn’t have… he wouldn’t have had the chance to bond a bit with Wilbur.

He glanced down at the lizard alien who was still staring up at him in shock. He gave Wilbur a small smile, and in response, Wilbur changed his expression to disgust and scoffed, averting his gaze from Tommy.

Perhaps things wouldn’t be too bad.

Chapter Text

Tommy groaned as he finally woke up, having fallen asleep rather early the night before. He was absolutely exhausted after everything that had happened and just needed a good sleep. He would be even better once he had a properly sized bed. The one he currently had left his legs hanging over the edge, it wasn’t the most comfortable thing ever if he was honest.

Tommy went to sit up to go on with his day before falling right back down onto his back, an unknown weight resting on his stomach. Confused, the human lifted his head to see what was laying on top of him.

There, sleeping soundly on his chest, was Techno, curled up on top of Tommy and softly snoring. Tommy tried to hide a giddy smile, finding the sight adorable. Techno even had his tail loosely wrapped around Tommy’s arm, something he probably should’ve noticed right when he woke up, but he just crossed it off as he was too tired.

As much as Tommy wanted to leave Techno there to rest, they both had to get up to eat before doing some basic chores around the ship. Tommy moved his hands to grab Techno and move him off before pausing at a sudden chuffing noise coming from the alien laying on top of him.

His eyes widened in shock as he realized the situation. Tommy knew for a fact that the chuffing was often a sign of contentment or being relaxed among Techno’s species. So Techno was comfortable. Laying on Tommy’s chest. Great.

Tommy sighed as he flopped back down into his bed, defeated by the fact there was someone sleeping on his chest. It felt like whenever a cat would fall asleep on his lap. Actually, it was exactly like that.

Tommy closed his eyes. If he couldn’t move then he would just try to go back to sleep. Besides, Techno’s weight on top of him was rather comforting. A nice weight to ground him and remind him he had a crew who accepted him now. Well, mostly. They were getting there.

But as he began to drift off again, the sound of wings beating entered his room. Before he knew it, small hands were smacking his nose, making Tommy groan in annoyance. He opened his eyes again to see Phil staring down at him, seemingly unimpressed.

“You two sleepyheads need to wake up and eat breakfast. There’s things to be done on this ship!”

Without lifting his head, Tommy brought a hand up to gesture at Techno, a look on his face as if the reason he hadn’t gotten up yet was obvious. Phil glanced over towards Techno, a look of extreme confusion crossing his face as he turned back to Tommy.

“Yes? Techno should be up too. What does he have to do with you not waking up though? Just move him, I’ll wake him up.”

Phil flew back in confusion as Tommy’s eyes immediately widened and he shook his head in sudden urgency.

“But it’s illegal to move him! So we can’t move him, or wake him up!”

Phil brought his now clasped hands up to his face and took a deep breath, seemingly trying to calm himself. Tommy just continued staring at Phil like he was crazy.

“And why, may I ask, would it be illegal to move Techno? There are no laws that deem this illegal, Tommy.”

Tommy narrowed his eyes at Phil. “It just is. Can’t move him. He’s chosen me and now I must stay until he wakes.”

Phil groaned and flew over to Techno, landing on his head. Tommy immediately began to protest and Phil leaned over and began smacking Techno to wake him up. His protests were met on deaf ears however, as Phil continued trying to wake the sleeping boar up.

Tommy watched in defeat as Techno’s eyes blinked open, the alien finally waking up. Techno stretched his hooved hands out and gently pressed on Tommy as he stretched before freezing as he realized where he was.

Techno snapped his gaze up to an apologetic Tommy, a surprised noise escaping him as he scrambled back, suddenly muttering out incoherent apologies to Tommy for breaking into his room and sleeping on top of him.

Tommy sent Phil a withered glare before wordlessly sitting up and sliding out of bed. He leaned down and wrapped his arms around Techno’s middle. Techno went quiet and limp as Tommy lifted him into the air, hugging him to his chest.

“We’ll go get breakfast now.”

Phil watched in total awe as Tommy effortlessly carried Techno out of the room. He quickly shook off the shock and was quick to fly after them, perching himself comfortably on top of Techno’s head as he was carried to the dining room.

Tommy just carried the two smaller aliens to the dining room. When he got there, he noticed Tubbo and Wilbur were already sitting down at the table. Tubbo was eating some strange goop Tommy had never seen out of a bowl and Wilbur seemed to be talking to somebody on his communicator, loudly talking to the person on the other end.

Tommy quietly walked in, only Tubbo noticing them all entering the room, as the small bee alien covered his mouth, trying not to laugh at the sight of Techno being carried like a doll. Tommy just set Techno down on his feet before walking over to the table, grabbing some food for himself before sitting down and starting to eat.

A few moments later, a confused Techno and still in shock Phil joins the group. Everyone wordlessly eats their food, save for Wilbur who was still talking on his communicator.

“-mean it? I’d have to ask first, but it would be amazing to see you again! And it would help with everything I just explained to you as well.”

Tommy raised an eyebrow in confusion but decided not to pry. It wasn’t his conversation and he wasn’t going to make Wilbur any more standoffish, they made progress and Tommy was not willing to jeopardize that.

Phil however, didn’t seem to mind, instead putting his bowl down and clearing his throat, gaining everyone’s attention, including Wilbur’s.

“I take it that you’re talking with your brother? What do they want to ask?” Wilbur visibly perked up, his tail slowly waving behind him.

“Oh! You’re back! I know we’re stopping at Nova Port in the Arcturus region right? Well, he’s nearby and can be at the port when we’re picking up the stuff you ordered. And well…”

“He actually wants to join the crew? I thought he had a diplomatic job.”

Wilbur grinned brightly, obviously excited that Phil hasn’t shot him down yet. Tommy just ate, too confused to actually chime in.

“Yea! They’re done with all of their past missions and feel the need for a change, so can they? Can they join?”

Tommy didn’t miss how Phil narrowed his eyes, seeming to study Wilbur. It almost looked like Phil was searching for a hidden meaning behind all of this, or something Wilbur was hiding.

Eventually, he let it go with a sigh and a wave of his hand. “She can join, we’ll set her a room up before we get to the port.”

Wilbur let out a happy hiss. “Thank you Phil!” He immediately brought his communicator back up. “He said yes! We’ll have a room set up for you when we pick you. I owe you one, see you soon!” A faint reply was heard from the communicator before it clicked off and Wilbur set the communicator down on the table and began eating his food, not seeming to care that it was room temperature now.

Tommy just wondered what he had just listened in to, slightly hung up on the fact that Wilbur said he owed his brother one. Like, what was he doing that Wilbur felt the need to say that? It didn’t make sense, but Tommy really didn’t want to pry into something that wasn’t his business.

However, he would be crewmates with Wilbur’s brother soon apparently, so hopefully he wouldn’t hate him too… wait.

“You have a brother?! How come I didn’t know?”

Wilbur paused to shoot Tommy a small look of annoyance as he took another bite of food.

“I don’t think that’s important. Besides, why would I tell you anything anyways?”

“Wilbur! One, don’t talk with your mouth full and two, stop being rude!” Phil’s wings were now fluffed up, the avian obviously agitated at Wilbur’s rude behavior.

Wilbur just rolled his eyes at Phil and opted not to look at either Phil or Tommy as he took another bite of food. “Then tell Tommy to stop being so invasive with his questions. He’s being rude too.”

Tommy looked down sadly, playing with the rest of his food in the bowl. He was trying not to be rude, he just wanted to know about Wilbur’s brother.

“He literally asked you a simple question, boss man. You were most definitely not this hostile when I found out you had a brother, what makes it different with Tommy?” Tommy looked up as Tubbo began defending him, shooting the small apian a grateful smile, which was returned with a happy buzz.

“I- I mean- I just- Ugh!” Wilbur let his head fall to the table with a dull thud. “...ow.”

Tommy couldn’t help but snicker at Wilbur’s actions, to which the lizard alien turned his head to glare at him. That only caused Tommy to break out into a full out laughing fit.

Wilbur tried to look annoyed but couldn’t hold back the amused smirk playing at his mouth before hiding his face against the table as he began to laugh at the absurdity of this all.

Eventually, everyone at the table was laughing, food all but forgotten on the table during everyone’s amusement.

Chapter Text

Tommy stared out of the window in his room, wringing his hands together as he watched the beautiful colors zip past the ship. To say he was nervous was an understatement.

He was originally excited for this pit stop as they were picking up the ordered furniture that was sized better for Tommy. He couldn’t be more excited for furniture his own size! He didn't have to worry about too small seats anymore and could have a proper sized bed.

But this was also the same Nova Port where they were picking up Wilbur’s brother. And Tommy… wasn’t sure if he was quite ready for that.

Wilbur still didn’t like him. He knew that and was well aware of that. They made some progress the other day but it was far from perfect.

So what the hell did he tell his brother?

Tommy could only imagine Wilbur had fed his own hatred of Tommy to his brother. His species was known for being extremely close to family, even going as far as to sacrifice themselves to keep the rest of the family safe. So rationally, Tommy knew Wilbur’s brother would be much like Wilbur. 

A knock sounded on his door, forcing Tommy to collect his thoughts and stand up. He took one more glance out the window and noticed the ship slowing down and the yellow and orange atmosphere of the Arcturus region growing brighter around them. They must almost be at the port.

Tommy rested his hand on the door lock, listening to the quiet click before it slid to the side, revealing Techno shifting back and forth on his hooves. He perked up as the door opened, poorly concealing his excitement at seeing Tommy as he pretended to look apathetic.

“Phil wanted me to collect you, we’re almost at the port and you may have to help load some stuff on the ship.”

Tommy smiled down at Techno and stepped out of his room, letting the door slide shut behind him. 

“I figured that would be the case. Let’s not keep him waiting! We got some cargo to pick up!”

Tommy continued unconsciously fiddling with his hands as they made their way to the ship’s loading dock, feeling the ship shutter as they touched ground at the loading port. Techno followed wordlessly, occasionally glancing over at the human.

The two of them made it to the dock and both stood there awkwardly, waiting for Phil to open the doors so they could load up the ship. Tommy felt his hands begin to clam up and he began fidgeting more, occasionally scratching at his skin in an attempt to distract himself.

He was so out of it he didn’t notice Techno walk away for a moment, only registering the boar left as soon as he heard his returning footsteps. He glanced down at Techno in confusion only to startle as Techno suddenly placed a small, cold object in his hand. Tommy stared at the boar with wide eyes, trying to figure out what was going on but Techno just pointedly ignored it.

Tommy lifted the object to his face and gasped as he realized it was a familiar red gemstone. He twisted it around for a bit, trying to confirm that it was real, before looking back down at Techno, mouth agape.

“Did-did you just hand me a ruby?! Where- why- what is going on?” Techno finally looked back up at Tommy and reached up, forcefully closing Tommy’s hand around the gem and pushing it towards the human. He huffed happily as Tommy kept it close to his chest and patted the human’s leg.

“You looked lost, so I got you a gem. Simple.”

Tommy just stared at Techno in pure confusion as the boar just went back to standing next to Tommy and waited for Phil to open the door, acting like nothing strange just happened. Tommy glanced down at the gemstone and studied it for a moment before realization dawned on him.

He smiled softly and carefully tucked the precious gem into his pocket, making sure it was secure. Couldn’t go and lose a gift after all.

A few moments later, familiar, quiet wingbeats approached, making Tommy and Techno turn around to face the incoming avian. Phil stopped in front of Tommy and landed in his now outstretched hand, getting himself comfortable. It seemed like Phil quickly took a liking to be held by Tommy, but he wasn’t complaining. He was just happy the small alien had so much trust in him.

“Change of plans! There’s a group of Shades here to load the ship, they were all paid to come help since it was big furniture and they knew we were mainly a smaller crew. So we’re gonna go find Wilbur and his brother… and Tubbo because he fucked off somewhere and I geniunely don’t know where he went.”

Any nerves that Tommy had managed to calm came back full force. He squashed down the nervousness however and reached his hand into his pocket, the coolness of the ruby oddly soothing. He wasn’t sure that Techno gave it to him to be utilized like that, but it was extremely helpful regardless.

“Don’t have to tell me twice, didn’t wanna do work anyways- Techno?” Tommy startled as Techno suddenly latched onto Tommy’s free hand. He didn’t miss the slight trembling of the boar as he held onto him. Before he could ask again what was wrong, Phil spoke up.

“Shades just make him nervous, don’t worry. There was a particularly tall one that scared him half to death when they met. His best friend’s boyfriend actually. He thinks it’s embarrassing but honestly I don’t blame him, they are a slightly creepy looking species when you meet them for the first time. But anyways, go on and head out. Wilbur said they were meeting at Gate N-4. I have to stay to help direct the Shades on where to put stuff.”

Tommy nodded and shifted his hand around, making Techno whine a bit before he gently grabbed his hooved hand. Techno froze but let himself be gently pulled forwards as Tommy made his way off the ship.

Tommy paused for a moment to stare in awe at the aliens who he could only assume were the Shades. They were tall to say the least, even taller than Tommy. As he scanned the shadowy looking aliens, he determined he came up to the shoulders of the shortest one, which was rather insane knowing how small most other species looked compared to him.

He was about to move on, not wanting to make the aliens uncomfortable with his staring until he was startled by a small blue figure suddenly barreling towards them, slamming into Techno and knocking him down. Tommy yelped and quickly went to help Techno before stopping himself as he took in the scene.

While Techno looked startled to have been tackled, he seemed oddly content with what looked like an excited Jeweloid sat on top of him. The pale blue skin of the alien was covered in giant chunks of what appeared to be bright, translucent blue diamond. Tommy had seen Jeweloids before, but none seemed to be this energetic. They tended to be more lethargic and stern, not energetic and rowdy. And despite their small stature, Tommy knew from a fact how strong they were, their gem covered claws looked big for their small bodies but man did these aliens know how to use them.

“Techno! I knew it was gonna be you guys, with you telling me about your new human brother! And Bad didn’t believe me. Where is he? I have to meet him.”

Tommy froze as the Jeweloid, who definitely knew Techno, referred to Tommy as Techno’s human brother. His brother . He was so caught up in his own shock and embarrassment that he didn’t notice Techno’s eyes widening and his face turning pinker as the Jeweloid looked around, locking his gaze on Tommy with an excited look.

The gem alien scrambled off of Techno, earning a pained grunt from the boar as he quickly ran up to Tommy, sticking a sharp hand out.

“You must be Tommy! Name’s Skeppy, I’m Techno’s beeeeeeeest friend!”

Tommy blinked at the small alien now dubbed Skeppy before squatting down and gently taking their outstretched hand, wincing as the sharp hand dug into his skin. It wasn’t the first time he’s had contact with a Jeweloid though, so it was fairly easy to ignore the pain for the time being. He gave the alien a small smile, carefully hiding his teeth so as to not threaten him.

“That’s me! Nice to meet you-”

“GEPPY! WHERE ARE YOU?! YOU BETTER NOT BE- oh hi, Techno!”

Tommy watched as Techno’s eyes widened and he visibly flinched back as an abnormally tall Shade came into view. Tommy watched in awe as the tall alien stepped closer, a happy look plastered on their face as their tail waved behind them. They had to be at least two feet taller than himself, they were huge!

Techno just stood there, frozen in shock (or maybe that was fear?) as the Shade just walked past him and towards Tommy and Skeppy. They gave Tommy an apologetic grimace before leaning down and grabbed a particularly large diamond on his back before lifting him into the air with ease. He watched in shock as Skeppy just shrugged and went limp, letting himself be picked up like a baby kitten.

“So sorry about him, he gets excited easily. Now come on Geppy, we’re supposed to be doing a job!”

Skeppy just happily waved at Tommy as the Shade carried him away. “Bye Tommy! Till next time!”

Tommy just sat there and watched as the two strange aliens disappeared from sight. Slowly, he stood up and walked over to Techno, offering an outstretched hand which the boar gratefully took. Techno used Tommy’s hand to pull himself to his hooves, but didn’t let go, tightly gripping onto the human’s hand.

“Sooooo, was that the Shade the Jeweloid is dating? The one that scares you?”

Techno nodded and took a deep breath. “Bad. That’s his name. Skeppy is my best friend and he’s dating Bad. I don’t want to be scared but… he’s so tall .”

Tommy reached over a ruffled Techno’s fur on his head, earning a soft chuff as the boar leaned into the touch. He sure as hell didn’t blame Techno for being scared, if Bad was tall to Tommy then he was massive to Techno.

“Yea, he was pretty tall. How about we just head to the gate and go meet up with Wilbur and his brother?” Techno nodded at that and began pulling Tommy along to the gate. Tommy just followed wordlessly, examining the port in awe.

He actually hadn’t been into the Arcturus Galaxy before so it was all new to him. The dusty orange and yellow sky was mesmerizing to look at, as were most galaxies with stardust in the atmosphere. He’s just glad nothing was on the surface. Those stuffy suits you had to wear when traversing through stardust laden planets were the worst. Humans couldn’t breathe that stuff in, it supposedly causes health issues, though Tommy had never actually heard of a case yet.

The thick vine-like foliage that curled around everything was beautiful too, in its own strange way. The red vines curled around anything tall enough to climb and always seemed to end with endless curls on the edges. Some violet stalks rose from the ground in the distance as well, the tall pillars of foliage reaching into the bright sky above and the tops hiding behind clouds of stardust.

Before he could take in any more of the breathtaking sights, Techno began to slow down as they reached a platform. Tommy belatedly noted that they had already passed through the gate, he must’ve been too engrossed in the scenery to realize what they were doing.

In front of them stood two lizard aliens, happily chattering with a mixture of hisses and clicks. Tommy froze. One of them was the familiar alien of Wilbur, the other was a slightly more purple version of the alien who hated him.

They looked nearly identical, the only differences being their coloring and that Wilbur’s brother had a bit less plating over their body. They even looked the same age. Nobody mentioned that they were twins.

Suddenly, all of Tommy’s nerves about meeting Wilbur’s brother hit him full force again. He began trembling and averted his gaze, instead opting to stare at the sunset colored horizon instead. His free hand snaked into his pocket and gently grabbed at the cold ruby sitting in his pocket, the chilliness of the gem being slightly comforting.

Techno gently patted Tommy’s leg and gave him a small smile. Tommy slightly relaxed and shot a thankful look, happy he had Techno there and it wasn’t just him and the other two.

“Eret! Long time no see!” Tommy tensed up as Techno called out to who he could only assume was Wilbur’s brother. He watched warily as the purple alien turned towards them and clasped their hands in happiness.

Tommy kept still as they approached and gave Techno a quick hug. They seemed friendly enough but hadn’t acknowledged him yet. He was just hoping Wilbur didn’t make them hate him already.

“Techno! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I am glad to see you are doing well though!” He turned towards Tommy and gave a small grin. “And you must be Tommy, the human! It’s wonderful to meet… you?”

Tommy tensed up as he trailed off, his face slightly falling and an unknown expression crossed his face. Oh Prime, he already hated him didn’t he? Wilbur already made his brother hate him. He was doomed to be hated by this family wasn’t he?

Eret suddenly shook it off and gave Tommy a grin again, as if none of that never happened. Though Tommy could still see the slight confusion in their expression, throwing his thoughts off once more. He’d be better off ignoring it for now though, no need to work himself up right now.

“Good to meet you too! Wish I could say I’ve heard a lot, but someone doesn’t like sharing information with me.”

Tommy watched in shock as Eret rolled his eyes and glared at Wilbur, who looked offended at the look. Wait, what in the world was happening?!

“Yea, he’s a straight up idiot. He’ll come around. Just be warned, the lizard brain gets clingy once he warms up to people.” Eret laughed as Wilbur began sputtering out angry protests, and Tommy couldn’t help but chuckle too. Eret leaned in and gestured for Tommy to lean down before loudly whispering, “He’s proving my point, he just won’t admit it.”

Tommy couldn’t help himself as he let out a loud laugh, not noticing how Eret and Techno looked at him fondly. Or how Wilbur stared at him with a small smile, glancing away in slight shame.