Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

To say today was going badly was a vast understatement.

Tommy sprinted through the corridor as fast as possible, trying to evade the senior hunter tailing him as swiftly as he could. Dodging behind objects, dashing around corners, the ol’ TommyInnit Big Man Style.

Now, don’t get him wrong, if he has to run any more, his legs might just give out from under him with how much they’re burning. His breathing is ragged, his sides are in pain, but he keeps running to avoid the severely worse circumstance where he would be caught. He needs a solution, and fast.

Tommy dashes around a corner and spots his escape. Finally, salvation from this workout.

A few boxes are piled up with armor and weapons, definitely too heavy for one person to carry or move by themselves. They seemed to be stacked in just a way where if he were to hide behind and hit them, they’ll fall on top of whoever is behind him and block them from running after him any longer. A brilliant plan! Tommy was the biggest, poggest man ever for his genius brain.

A plan so great that the person tailing Tommy understood immediately what he was going to do once he turned towards them.

“Tommy, those are expensive-!” Was all he heard before dashing through the small opening and hitting the edge of a box with his shoulder hard. The box made a horrible creaking noise of metal and leather before falling behind him and creaking a horrible chorus of clashing metal. Tommy covered his ears and waited for the guard to give up.

“Ugh, Tommy this is going to be a pain to clean. I hope you know I’m not helping.”

“That doesn’t sound like surrender, bitch!” Tommy heard a loud sigh.

“Fine, I give up. Oh, how you have bested me.” The deadpan sarcasm didn’t phase Tommy as he whooped and cheered for his victory. “Now get out of there and start cleaning this up, George would be angry if he saw.”

“Now you’re just simping,” Tommy grumbled as he shifted from his position. The guard laughed behind the wall in a wheeze resembling a teapot, denying what Tommy said profusely, however Tommy wasn’t paying attention. He was more paying attention to just how tight the space he was cramped into was, his breathing hitching and getting faster and faster the longer he waited.

Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it.

He cursed under his breath as he found a small hole to fit through to get out. It was a tight squeeze that made his shoulders burn, his left more so, but he was out of the small space in no time. Tommy was able to breathe again and muttered “See, I’m a Big Man” under his breath.

“You are a big man, now help me start cleaning.” Tommy turned to find Dream picking up pieces of armor and laying them into organized piles to put away. He grumbled and made his way over to start stacking them back into the box they were originally put in. The box was on the floor instead of stacked on top of the others, but he reasoned no one would notice.

After getting the box situated, Tommy felt a hand ruffle through his hair. He closed his eyes and scrunched his nose in annoyance but didn’t lean away as he let Dream mess with his hair.

“Training was going well until you decided to run off,” Dream said with a fake disappointed tone.

“A tactical retreat!” Tommy piped up.

“Uh huh, and then a tactical clean up with it?” He eyed Tommy and patted his head a few times before taking his hand away from his hair.

Tommy pretended to not be disappointed and huffed, “Well I was continuously getting knocked down anyways, I needed a win in something-“

“so you decided to make a workers life more difficult?” Tommy sputtered.

“WE CLEANED IT UP, YOU MOTHERFU-“ Dream laughed and turned away, making his way back to the training room. Tommy paused for a moment and sped after him, rambling about his other duties and training he’s been going through.

“Sam is coming back from his mission at dinner.” Through the annoyance of being cut off, Tommy registered what Dream said. Sam was coming home from his mission in the Antarctic Empire! Tonight! Tommy cheered and started rambling about the new information.

“Do you think he got any information? What if he got a nasty scar like you? Do you think he’ll take me on his next trip-“

“Tommy, no,” Dream cut him off once more.

Tommy whined and yelled, “WHY NOT?”

Dream heaved a sigh as they turned the corner down to the training area.

“Sam may be talented enough to go by himself, but he will not take you with him. You’re way too young-“ “I’M 15 THAT’S BASICALLY AN ADULT” “-and we care way too much about you to put your life in danger. That inexperience can pay the price of your life. You know of Quackity’s scar, right?”

Dream tilted his head towards Tommy, the ever smiling mask turning to face him more head on. After a brief pause, Tommy realized he wanted a response and hummed a “yes”. “Well that happened when he took a mission with 4 other trained professionals. His stealth mission was to gain information on the Head General and report back but-“

“He got caught and lost his eye, I know, but Sam has gone on a ton of solo missions and came back unscathed! Why can’t I go with him? He’s clearly more experienced and we both know how bad Quackity is at hand to hand.” Dream sighed and faced away from Tommy, opening the door towards the arena.

“Fine, ask him, don’t pay attention to those who care about you, but you already know the answer he’s going to give.” The phrasing made Tommy pause, but he realized Dream gave him permission to ask Sam so he cheered.

“Thanks Dream! I’ll make you proud!” Dream tutted and walked away towards the weapons on the wall.

His mask seemed to scan over a few items before landing on the axe towards the right most side of the display. He walked over to it before taking it off the wall. Since Tommy assumed he was going to practice with it, he made his way over towards the seating area to relax. He was about to pull out his Nintendo Switch and boot up Animal Crossing: New Horizons before he saw a shadow over him. Dream had come over with the axe in hand, towering over Tommy from this position. Tommy swore he could feel Dream’s disapproving gaze behind that mask and shivered.

“Come on Tommy, if you want to go out on a mission to the Antarctic Empire you need to show you can handle yourself.” Tommy felt how sore his muscles were but ignored them in favor of showing Dream how much of a big man he is.

“Get ready to get your ass kicked!”

They both chose to ignore an hour earlier before the chase when Dream was beating Tommy to the ground every match.

After a few rounds, and a lot of ass-getting-kicks later, Tommy found himself wrapping his rib cage and arms to help them heal from bruising. “You didn’t have proper form for your feet. You’re too wide, which makes your form weaker overall and gives a chance for your opponents to attack you easier.” Dream was rambling on about Tommy’s mistakes when fighting, but he tuned them out after some time. At some point during the ramblings, the door to the training room opened and Sapnap and Quackity came through.

Sapnap held his hands over his mouth and shouted at Dream from the door, “HEY DREAM, GEORGE WANTS YOU!” Dream immediately perked up his head and made his way across the large sized room, leaving a snickering Tommy and Quackity behind.

Before long, Tommy felt an arm wrap around his shoulders that dragged him to the side, a smiling Quackity right beside him.

“Oh Dream! I just don’t know what to do with all of these super important documents!” Quackity sarcastically drawled in a horribly done British accent.

Tommy snickered before replying, “Why George! I would love to help you with these super important paperwork! In fact I would love to help you with any work you have!”

The snickering kept going before Sapnap joined in with his own high pitched and fake British tone, “Oh Dream, you know, I have so much work that I require some relaxation.”

Quackity gave a hysterical cackle before adding, “Why George! I know the perfect way! Why don’t we go to your quarters and take off our armor?”

“Oh Dream! That sounds delightful. Why don’t we remove our outer garments as well?”

“Oh why George, why don’t we just take off all our clothes and have a nice relaxing bath altogether?” Their cackling could be heard a few halls down, their mischievous retelling bringing laughter from all three.

It took a bit for their hysterics to die down, all of them content to joke in the training area until needed elsewhere. They only stopped when mealtime turned around, gaining an energetic Tommy that bounced down the halls.

“Sam’s back from the Empire! Do you think he brought anything back, Big Q? Do you think he got any information? New scars?” The man chuckled as he and Sapnap walked down the halls hand-in-hand.

The last question made Sapnap turn sadly towards his fiancé and trace his other hand down the newly healed jagged scar that ran down Quackity’s right eye and cheekbone. His normally dark brown eye had turned a startling near white, and the light pigment of the scar tissue looked harsh against his darker skin. Quackity leaned into his hand before huffing “I’m fine” quietly.

He turned to Tommy to reply to his last comment before finding the kid to have rambled on more questions. “Do you think he has any new weapons? Any new clothes? Money? Do you think he’ll take me on his next mission?” The boy kept rambling as the fiancés chuckled good-naturedly behind. Eventually they made it to the mess hall where the fiancés met up with their third. The two raven haired men were tackled into a hug by a light brown mop of hair covered in striking neon green and purple swirling colors.

“Karl!” They both cheered while they laid on the floor. The brown haired man by the name of Karl snuggled further into the hug with the affirmation from both of his fiancés. Tommy rolled his eyes at the love stricken men before making his way over to the lunch line for food, allowing them a moment to catch up during their break.

Tommy guessed working solo as George’s hairdresser and makeup crew was draining, especially with how strict and harsh George’s opinions are. All the others have been fired or quit with George’s demands, but Karl has been working with him since the beginning of his reign.

Tommy suddenly felt more respect for Karl for dealing with George.

The line for food wasn’t too long, and Tommy was able to grab a plate of what he thought was an attempt at a sandwich. It tasted like cardboard anyways, but it gave him energy to keep training so he dealt with it.

Normally he would eat quickly to get back to training or hanging out with friends, but Tommy lingered far more than he normally does, watching the entrance to the area like a hawk. Finally, after what felt like forever of waiting and being surrounded by 3 lovey-dovey idiots, Tommy finally caught a glance of green hair.

It was easy to identify Sam since he was taller than most people around him, his green hair, golden armor, and trident in hand helps too. Tommy rushes from his spot to hug interrogate Sam and welcome him back. Dark black eyes watched helplessly as a golden haired boy came barreling into him.

“SAM!” Tommy cried, drawing the attention of few, others of which having gotten used to the child’s screams. “Tommy!” Sam replied as enthusiastically as he could. His demeanor was tense, but relaxed upon receiving the hug. “You left me forever, bitch! Finally realized you couldn’t stand being away from my presence?” Tommy snarked.

A hand came up to run fingers through Tommy’s golden hair.

The boy hummed and snuggled into the hug tighter. It was too long since Sam had been around, so sue him, he was going to get the best hug ever.

“Yep, I missed you. Brought some stuff back too that I thought you would like.”

Tommy peaked in interest and removed his face from the mechanic’s chest.

“Some stuff?” He asked, questioning and confused note to his voice. The vagueness of Sam’s confession did not elude him. The traveling mechanics hummed.

“Got my projects in the Antarctic Empire done before I had to get back and had spare parts to make you something.” By this point Tommy had removed himself completely from Sam’s chest and was looking up with awe at Sam.

“You finished your mission in enemy territory and decided to stay to make me something? What if they noticed? What if they got mad and caught you? What if you were held captive-“

“Tommy, Tommy. I’m fine, they had no idea. They thought I was still working on my project, so now let me give you your present.”

Present. Now Tommy was truly filled with energy, bouncing on his toes and his eyes betraying his overflow of emotions.
Sam gave a fond laugh before reaching behind him and bringing out a small pole. The fading of bouncing feet almost made Sam burst into laughter.

“Is it… a metal rod?”

Sam didn’t bother replying, instead holding it out to a very confused child. Tommy held it up, and hit it against Sam’s chest rather weakly. Simply testing the weight. Nothing happened, and Sam chuckled lightly, trying to hold back his amusement. Tommy glared up at the offending man, stabbing him with the end of the thick stick of metal.

“That’s not how you use it,” Sam says with an amused tone.

“Well yeah, you still haven’t told me how it works,” Tommy drawls while tapping the metal stick repeatedly against the green haired man’s chest.

“Think of it as a puzzle,” Sam replied, fully expecting Tommy’s reaction of hitting against his chest harder.

“Why can’t you just tell me, you fuck? Seriously, you just got back and are making me do work instead of spending time with you. You truly are a wank-stain. Fucking wanker bitch ass. That’s what you are Sam, a fucking wanker,” Tommy said with no real heat in his voice.

He stopped the tapping to inspect the piece given to him. It was created by Sam so he knew it had some function. Being one of the best engineers in the world at the moment— exempting the multiple renowned engineers from Hermitcraft like King Etho, Mumbo, Doc, Tango, Impulse, Zedaph, Iskall, or Xisuma because they refuse to do projects outside of their nation and that’s not poggers— Sam was known to create items that can advance science beyond what was thought possible.

Tommy went through a list of recent inventions Sam had been creating to try and predict what he had made for him.

Definitely not a bomb, since Tommy has been restricted from the Bomb Advancement Wing after the Color Incident.

Not a robot from what he could tell. No AI speaking to him or having been turned on. It wasn’t a prosthetic, which was one of Sam’s strengths of creation.

There was one other thing it could be, but Tommy didn’t think Sam trusted him enough to have made it for him. Tommy looked up wide-eyed at his pseudo-father figure.

“Did you make me a weapon?” The corners of Sam’s mouth twitched up into a smile, the front row of his teeth showing slightly.

That was all the confirmation Tommy needed before hugging Sam again. “Thank you” spilling out of his mouth over and over again. Tommy had always wanted to be given a weapon, to be trusted with something that can protect others. He wanted one to be able to defend himself or to work alongside Dream and the other hunters. He hadn’t been trusted by this point. Seen as not old enough to be able to handle it.

It was with this train of thought that Tommy pulled his head away from the hug to look back up at Sam. The simple mutter that came from him in the loud room almost drowned out the noise, but Sam still heard, “Why?”

Sam smiled even wider. “Well your sixteenth birthday is coming up isn’t it?”

The puzzle pieces in Tommy’s mind came together about the mysterious present, and he did realize that he almost forgot his birthday was coming up. Sam continued on talking as Tommy came to his internal conclusion, “I know I have to go back to work on an international project in the Antarctic Empire soon and would have missed it, so I wanted to give you a gift before I left.” Tommy was confused.

“You’re going back soon? You just got back though!”

“…I am technically a type of ambassador for the Greater Essempi, so I work a lot with other nations. It just so happens the Antarctic Empire has many of the resources I need for my projects, so it’s a win-win situation for both countries to allow me to work between them all the time.” Tommy pondered this for a second before continuing questioning.

“Isn’t it dangerous to work between two enemy military-heavy nations?” Sam huffed lightly.

“Yes, but again, they both need me and I need resources from both of them so they have to make an exception with me. The Antarctic Empire keeps me at a distance by only interacting with me for resources or projects, and the Greater Essempi keeps me at a distance by keeping me out of meetings and country plans for the most part.” Tommy raises his eyebrows in a questioning glance. Sam sucks in a small breath and ruffles Tommy’s hair. “They’re supposed to keep me out of meetings, and for the most part they do. They just involve me in a lot of meetings to run ideas for projects. I am a war engineer afterall. Defense and offense, not really for the progression of science.”

“Oh.” Right, Sam made weapons and machines to harm.

To be honest Tommy did not really pay attention to what exactly Sam did before. He knew Sam made weapons for the soldiers here, and helped develop weapons for other countries, but hearing him say “war engineer” put into perspective his work. Tommy forgot Sam did dangerous work. When he thought of “engineer”, he thought of people like from Hermitcraft who created contraptions that help citizens and further productivity in domestic relations. Not… war, death, and hurting others. Especially since he worked between two countries that are at war with each other.

Tommy was going to stop thinking of that now.

“So you got me a metal rod for my early birthday?”
Sam either did not notice the topic change, or ignored it. Instead his eyes crinkled and he chuckled lightly again.

“We just talked about how I make contraptions to help protect people. Come on, your sixteenth is when you’re allowed to start going on missions as a junior hunter with a mentor. Maybe you’ll get to go on a mission,” Sam finished off with a wink. Tommy’s eyes twinkled.

“Will you take me on one of your missions?” The question was breathed quietly, and Tommy was surprised that he could hear himself so clearly.
Quickly turning around, Tommy could see the dining area cleared out. His cheeks burned but he looked back at Sam with determination in his eyes. “Answer the question, bitch.”

Sam quirked an eyebrow before replying, “Now why don't you ask Dream for permission? He is the head hunter and technically your boss while you’re training.”

Tommy bounced on his feet a few times. “He already gave me permission!”

“Are you sure?” There was a condescending note to Sam’s voice, but Tommy didn’t notice, nodding his head rapidly up and down. “What were his exact words?”

Tommy paused for a moment, remembering, before answering. “He said to ask you, I’m pretty sure.”

Sam hummed. “I’ll speak to him about it, it is your birthday coming up after all. It will probably have to be approved by King George though.”

Tommy blached. “King George? I forget you’re so fucking formal, man. He’s chill with being called just George while not in a professional setting.”

Sam had a tight lipped smile and nodded to Tommy once, once more petting his head.

“Sure Tommy.”

And then he left.

There was a heavy weight in Tommy’s hands, and he looked down to remember he was given a metal pole.
Tommy brought a hand up to his own head to pat it briefly, trying to remember the weight of Sam’s hand on it. He ruffled it three times while talking to Tommy. Three! Tommy didn’t know whether to feel patronized or giddy about the fact. Rolling the cylinder in his hands, Tommy walked off towards the training area.

The metal was heavy, and something would click a certain way when held at an angle. It sounded like a pin dropping to Tommy, and he kept repeating the dulled thudding sound by rotating the rod that way over and over again while making his way across the hallways.

At some point he realized he walked past the training area and was heading towards the bunking area. Tommy rationalized that he heard too many people training in the area and decided it would be best to go to sleep and inspect the new gadget he was given by Sam.

Nodding and agreeing with himself, he hummed as he entered his sleeping chambers by muscle memory. It was a small bunk in the corner, but since he was the youngest and the only minor currently, he was in a separate chamber from others. Which wasn’t normal, but there have been lessening entries to the hunter organization in the Greater Essempi anyways, so it wasn’t news. Tommy just happened to join very early in life.

Dream said it was “Due to him being the smallest and not wanting Tommy to get his ass kicked in the middle of the night”. Quackity joked Tommy was Dream’s favorite. Which left a fuzzy feeling in Tommy’s chest that he refuses to dwell on currently, instead opting to sit on top of his bed and mess with the device he was given.

He continued to shift the object back and forth to hear the pin move around, but that was the only sound emanating from the item. He then checked it for any ridges or seams along the surface, finding none. Humming a more frustrated sound, Tommy tossed it in the air and let it rest on his covers. He’d figure it out later, he needed to rest now.

He went to the restroom to wash up before getting back to bed, remembering about the gift once he had to get under the covers.

How did he forget about his birthday?

Normally he keeps track of the minute of when his next birthday is. One day closer to when he can be an official, full fledged hunter. One day closer to when people stop calling him a kid. How did he forget?

Maybe it was the fact everyone became less and less enthusiastic over the years, maybe it was the fact that he never got parties any more, maybe it was the fact they told him birthdays were for children and that they grew out of it long ago.

Tommy knew they meant well, but it didn’t hurt any less.

He should be grateful.

Tommy decided to thank Sam again in the morning for his gift, even if he still didn’t understand it. Maybe then he’ll be more considerate and take him out on his very first mission.

A very important mission, mind you.

One into enemy territory.

Hybrid territory.

Tommy has seen the huge scar on Quackity’s face, the few on Dream’s face that he hides behind a mask carefully, the ones that litter Sam’s back, Eret’s eyes. He knows hybrids are dangerous, but the Antarctic Empire is so mysterious. There have been uprisings of hybrid countries in the past, those who say they were open to hybrids of any kind, but none were as powerful and as long lasting as the Antarctic Empire.

Hypixel said they allowed hybrids, then were conquered by the Antarctic Empire when it was revealed there were hybrid fighting rings and hybrid trafficking. Out of the conflict came the Empire’s new war general. The Blood God.

Dream said he once faced the head general one on one and lost, but was able to come away alive due to the Blood God’s respect in fighting.

“Respect” Dream had whispered lowly to Tommy one night while he curled into a ball crying. Watching over him with judging eyes, waiting for him to get his act together. “Respect that we could fight each other on roughly equal ground. That we were of the same power. That’s why he didn’t slit my throat. He has honor, and I have honor to.” Tommy remembered that night being very cold.

Honor doesn’t make you human, though. The other hunters made sure he knew that. The Blood God was still a creature to fear and to take down.

There were higher hopes for L’manburg when that country came around, but then corruption by a ram hybrid led to devastation and the downfall of the country. The ram hybrid, who Tommy is pretty sure based on rants by Quackity, was named Schlatt and was an alcoholic. Tommy didn’t understand Quackity’s ramblings after due to his incoherent sentences but he semi-understands that the Antarctic Empire blasted the nation to the ground, and came out with a new head of relations. The Siren.

Tommy feels a bit of anger realizing he doesn’t know the names of anyone working within the Antarctic Empire. He knows their titles, the nicknames given by the people, but doesn’t know their names. He thinks maybe Quackity may passively know the Siren’s, afterall he must have been a prominent figure in L’manburg before it all went down. Quackity must have been happy to stop having good relations with that country, finally able to put down “the good delegate of the Greater Essempi” that had to sit in a room full of hybrid leaders. He only ever heard of bad stories with L’manburg anyways.

Did they even have names? Tommy wasn’t taught much of hybrids, only that they used to be human and were cursed to an eternity of animalistic savagery until they were killed.

“We are saving them” Dream had told him, one of the few memories where he ran his fingers through his hair. They were sitting in the middle of an old room, the concrete had been burning Tommy’s knees, but he stayed where he was to feel Dream’s hand through his hair. It was comforting, even if his knees didn’t stop bleeding the next day, he would say it was worth it. He could get through the pain in his legs if he could stay there longer. “They are savage, possessive, and evil. We are benevolent in killing them.”

Tommy did not argue with Dream…

…

What was he thinking about? Oh right, the Angel, the Blood God, and the Siren. The rulers of the Antarctic Empire. Right.
Gosh, why was his head feeling fuzzy? Does he usually fall asleep this quickly, or was he just now realizing with his rambling mind? He needed to get his thoughts in order. Where was he in his thoughts… Uh-

The Angel of Death was the original ruler of the Antarctic Empire. He was rumored to be gracious on the battlefield, to be kind to his people, but cruel to those who dared to oppose him. There were rumors he had a human queen that died by the brutality of his nature, and that he stabbed his own son, but no one has been able to testify to this. Only rumors of these evils shadow him. Conquering lands that were falling apart, only to set them back up stronger than ever under a hybrid ruling.

Humans were allowed within Antarctic lands, but everyone knew why. They would turn humans into hybrids. Drag them into their savage and animalistic nature. Sam goes out on the outskirts, keeping safe and well away from the monsters at all times. Living in one of the outer towns that humans reside in safely. Same as how there were the outer towns of the Greater Essempi that housed some hybrids. They were rare, but they kept away from the inner cities and populated areas that actual citizens lived in. The hunters go out secretly under disguise into the inner cities of the Antarctic Empire to try and kill off the creatures in the crowds, maybe even one of the rulers in the Empire, but they are persistent. They are possessive and savage and unnatural. Tommy is safer here, and is better off here. How dare he not feel grateful, look what happened to Eret, they trusted hybrids and look where she ended up. Dream was always right, he can’t end up like Eret or his kid, never will he be taken and turned into a beast. A freak of nature.

Tommy felt something rise in his throat, it felt like a stone that could not come out, that could not escape. Something hot and wet fell down sideways across his eyes and nose bridge, landing on his blankets and pillows. He brought one of his hands up to wipe at his now stinging eyes.

Tommy was crying, thoughts spiraling. Why does this happen when he’s alone, why is he always alone, why don’t they stop, please just make them stop-

Tommy went to sleep with salt on his cheeks, having passed out from emotional and mental exhaustion and holding his present from Sam close to his chest.
What he didn’t realize was that the gift shifted in his panic, and was curled up next to him, purring and providing comfort in his nightmare ridden night.
Sam Nook was activated and working to do his job.

Protect Tommy. At all costs.

Chapter Text

Tommy woke to a dull thud in his head. Not too unusual for passing out from mental breakdown. What was unusual was that he woke up warmer than normal. He had the same blankets, sheets, bed, and moldy room as per normal, but his arms and chest were significantly warmer. That, and his dreams were pleasant.

Tommy was not used to dreams. He was used to nightmares, mostly of the horrors that happened to the people around him. The stories Dream has told him about. All of them add up to not having fun times at night.

Yet Tommy had a good night's rest. He woke up warm and refreshed.

He swore in his dreams he had a pet that he held throughout it, but there’s no way that could be real.

Could it?

Tommy shook that thought from his head, done by literally shaking his head to try and dispel it and then worsening the pain in his head.

Tommy bit the bullet and looked down at his warm arms. The stick that was gifted to him sat warmly against him. Tommy froze.

Did Sam give him a weapon that heats him up during his sleep? Was that safe?

Realistically he has been tasked with creating weapons and devices of harm, so Tommy comes to the conclusion that no, this is not safe for me to cuddle with- but his chest still feels tighter than it did previously, from knowing Sam made mechanisms to try and help him. Protect him when Sam is not available or around. Tommy feels his throat tighten and that's when he decides to throw his blankets off and start the day. Going through his morning routine was easy, muscle memory pulling him through even if he was daydreaming of other events. By the time he got dressed, he remembered to slide his new weapon that he still did not know how to use into his jean loops. Branding his normal white and red striped t-shirt, Tommy-BigMan-Innit was ready to take on today. Looking over at the calendar, he was confused why today he had no classes or training courses assigned. Suddenly, as if the metal rod could read his thoughts, it began to feel warmer. Tommy looked down at it to realize why he doesn’t have anything scheduled for today.

It was his birthday.

How could he forget? Why is he so forgetful lately? Was it a new trend? It wasn’t anything new but Tommy refuses to acknowledge that he is anything less than the perfect Big Man he is.

Psyching himself up, Tommy wondered if he should do anything fancy to tip the guys off that today was special for him. After deliberation, he decided against it and strode out into the main corridor to make his way to the dining area for breakfast. He wondered if Dream remembered since Sam did.

The food was decent today, maybe a forteller of greater things today. A soup without harsh chunks or unnecessary crunches. Tommy was able to enjoy it all without forcing it down, which was nice.

Even though he didn’t have any training or classes planned today, he still made his way over to the training area he used to maybe watch someone else. Hopefully catch a few of the guys who would remember it’s his birthday. Although Sam arrived yesterday, with how busy his schedule was he probably already was packing to leave. Tommy tried not to feel too disappointed or guilty that he wouldn’t be able to thank Sam further for the warming gift on his birthday, nor could he interrogate further what it did.

Entering the training room, no one was there. It was still early however, so Tommy reasoned he could wait and play on his Switch until someone came around to talk to.

Tommy was decorating his house’s main room when the door to the training room opened again. He didn’t lift his head at first, but became curious when no footsteps or voice could be heard.

The door opened inwards, and Tommy was on the other side of the door, so he couldn’t see whoever opened it. Frustrated, Tommy saved and closed his precious game that he got a few years back, mourning the loss of his favorite music, and called out to the person who opened the training room door.

“AYUP, BITCH! COME IN, NO ONE ELSE IS HERE!”

…

No one responded, and Tommy felt a chill down his spine. He carefully removed himself from his seat, making sure to not make a sound and to carefully not let his footsteps echo. The metal rod started to heat up, and Tommy kept one hand on it as he advanced towards the ajar door.

“Hello?” He called aggressively and loudly. “Answer me, you dumb prick!” Still no response, but Tommy barely registered a soft snickering that sounded awfully reminiscent of three fiancés. Tommy took a soft, relaxing breath, and eased the tension in his shoulders.

Suddenly feeling a lot more confident, Tommy released his hand from the metal pole and relaxed his stance. He still did not want them to know he caught on however, so he kept yelling at them as he approached.

“If you don’t answer, I’ll have to stab you with my Big Man sword!” He heard a snort at that and continued, “Fuck you! I have one, fucking asshole! Sam gave it to me last night when he came back as a protective measure, so hands out and where I can see them, bitch, or you’re losing them.” He heard shuffling and a bit of confusion, but ultimately a sigh and a pushing sound.

What Tommy first saw was a navy beanie and raven hair before Quackity’s face came into view, a smile on his lips. “Ayyyy, mi amigo, no me apuñales por favor.” His eye rolled over Tommy’s body before landing on the piece of metal by Tommy’s hip. “Mis amores, he lied. Sam gave him a pole of metal, not a fucking sword.”

A soft “Thank Primes” was muttered before Karl came into view, Sapnap following behind. Sapnap snorted as soon as he saw the object held close to Tommy.

“Come on, you know Sam. It’s probably some kind of compacted weapon that will protect him if he’s in danger,” Sapnap snarked as he made his way over.

Karl looked wide-eyed at Sapnap, turning his head and torso to face the man behind him, “I’m just glad that he didn’t have it activated. I didn’t know if it was a joke or not.” Both Quackity and Sapnap laughed.

“Olvidamos, you don’t train with him to know how he talks, mi amor,” Quackity said with a small sigh and light laugh. “Tommy would come running straight for us if he actually had a sword.”

“But you were still scared of what he was doing!” Karl defended.

“Although he didn’t have a sword, we still didn’t know what he had, love.” Sapnap draped his arms around Karl’s upper body as he talked. “Couldn’t be too careful. Don’t want our heads bashed in on this special day.”

Tommy’s chest lightened.

“You remembered?” The hope in his eyes was unmistakable. The joy in his voice carried and imbedded itself into the three men’s chests. Warming all three of them, and leaving a hush in the room. The ever-hanging light that came from Tommy rested peacefully above them all. There was a slight hesitation before Quackity decided to joke confidently,

“¿Qué? Remember what?” Although he had a smile in his eyes, and he was trying to hold back a laugh, Tommy was focusing on the words he uttered.
The crushing of innocence and child nativity that the three men saw in Tommy’s eyes dimmed a bit of light in those sparkling sky eyes and they saw him sigh slightly, looking away from the three.

“Uh, nothing. Don’t worry about it. Sorry, Big Man-“

“Tommy, Tommy. It’s your birthday, amiguito. Well, you aren’t so little anymore-“ “It’s your sixteenth! That’s like the most important one!” “How would we ever forget?”

The three voices clashing over each other made it hard to discern what was being said, and Tommy slightly covered his ears, scrunching up his face, but the overlapping talk stopped and the three men were looking at Tommy with something akin to pity.

Quackity spoke up first.

“Sorry Toms, I shouldn’t have joked about something like that. I know Dream and George have expressed how birthdays are pointless and that they shouldn’t be celebrated, but it’s such an important stepping stone in your life!”

Sapnap rushed in to add to the excitement, “You’re allowed to legally register as a hunter now! You’ll be a junior hunter, isn’t that awesome?”

Karl was nodding and clapping excitedly between them, bouncing up and down on his feet. Tommy mimicked the bouncing with his own energy and whispered “junior hunter” a few times under his breath.

Meanwhile Quackity laughed at Sapnap’s input.

“As if he weren’t already training to be one? I’m sure you’ll quickly be the top of the class and graduate fast, Thomás. Getting a few mentors will also help in getting an official position quickly.”

Both Karl and Tommy shared a giddy look before Karl started chanting “Junior Hunter! Junior Hunter!” For every syllable. Tommy joined in immediately, bouncing on his feet and both raising fists into the air with their excitement. Quackity joined in at a lower pitch to annoy them and Sapnap laughed before joining in at an even lower pitch.

They both started a lower-pitch war, the chaos that emanated from the four being felt through the excited air.

Eventually Quackity had enough of the low pitch and suddenly switched to a very high pitched “Junior Hunter”, electing giggles out of both Karl and Tommy. However, Sapnap didn’t back down, and started doing his best high pitched version. This battle could barely be heard amongst the laughter coming from both Karl and Tommy, the former helplessly rolling on the floor from amusement while the latter was trying not to fall with how much his lungs were producing coughing laughs. The two giggling child-like figures sent both Sapnap and Quackity into hysterics, with Quackity’s high pitched laughter and Sapnap’s lower voice joining the fun.

A few minutes went by before anyone recovered from the hysterical laughter.

Tommy wiped a stray tear falling from one of his eyes and smiled contently. “That was a great birthday gift.”

The message was mostly for himself, but all the three fiancés perked up at it.

Karl was the one to speak up first, “You think that was our present for you?”

Tommy’s eyebrows shot up and there was a smile on his face before remembering he was confused and needed to act like it so he furrowed his brows and hoped that portrayed his questioning.

Luckily it did since the three looked back at each other, starting to have a silent conversation. Tommy dropped the expression to focus instead on trying to decipher what they were saying.

Quackity looked at Sapnap with what Tommy thinks was a look of questioning and excitement. Sapnap glared back, shaking his head in what Tommy knew as “no”. Then Quackity looked towards Karl, a look so quick Tommy wasn’t able to pick up, and then they both faced Sapnap with wide eyes, lips in a pout form.
Sapnap looked shocked, and took a step back, Tommy realizing he didn’t expect them to team up. His face was swiveling between them, but eventually he closed his eyes tightly and shook his head. Both Karl and Quackity looked more defeated but didn’t stay like that for long. They both straightened their backs, and started to glare at Sapnap while he opened his mouth to speak.

“That wasn’t our gift to you, but we can’t tell you it yet. It isn’t our place,” he glared at both Quackity and Karl as the last sentence left his lips, no doubt still trying to argue between the lines, and with something Tommy couldn’t read. “However, we are allowed to tell you that Sam was able to push back his quick departure to meet up with you in George’s throne room.” Tommy’s eyes lit up like Christmas lights, sparkling and twinkling at the former’s name. His eyes scrunched a bit before he opened his mouth to question, but it seemed Karl was able to decipher what he wanted to ask before he could voice it. “He asked that you pack up some essentials. You’re apparently going to go somewhere for your sixteenth birthday.”

It eluded Tommy why he needed to pack essentials, but nevertheless his excitement brought him to his quarters where he started packing. Karl, Sapnap and Quackity were all working around the room to help him. It took a bit longer than was probably necessary. That was with Karl trying to pack beauty supplies and way too many clothes apparently not fit for the occasion, with the way the others would stop him and put in heavier clothing, and with the other two shoving things in that Tommy thought wasn’t necessary.

Like really? How many blankets did he need to bring? And jackets? He only had a few, and they were fairly light since he was required to stay inside if it ever snowed.

Tommy tried packing a few more things he found necessary. A stuffed animal, his good pair of shoes, these music disks he really likes, the gift Sam made him, the list could go on. Sapnap and Quackity tried to stop him from putting in a few items, saying they weren’t “essential”, but Tommy argued they were more essential than the other items in total. Karl sided with him after seeing him argue for a bit, and they were carefully tucked away in a separate pouch from the rest. Safe and out of reach for anyone who would try to search through it.

A few times Tommy tried to ask why he needed to pack basically his entire belongings, but none of the three gave straightforward answers. There were vague “you’ll sees” or “that would ruin the fun”. Eventually Tommy decided to stop asking and instead rambled about how amazing music was.

“It’s great to dance to, vibing is essential in morale. You should implement dance lessons into hunter routine-“

When his room was officially packed into a large bag, they moved onto the bathroom quarters, where they brought a tinier bag to fit everything into. Tommy saw some issues with this, and voiced his complaints.

“Hey, I’ll need those when I go to brush my teeth tonight!” No one answered him, and they continued to pack his shit. Tommy git a little agitated and shouted “You fucks!” Quackity laughed loudly and gave a “oooooo he’ll see, he’ll see, he’ll see.” His repeating words quelled Tommy for a bit and they eventually packed everything important that belonged to Tommy.

Tommy gave a light “It feels like I’m packing to move”, a bitter and scared undertone in his voice. The three lovers immediately washed down his worries, saying he’ll be so excited once he found out about his big surprise for the day. Tommy was still anxious, but trusted his friends for the time being.

Once the job was finished, there seemed to be a collective wash of energy over the three fiancés, and they started to usher Tommy to George’s throne room in a haste. Tommy remembered they said that Sam would be there to say bye to him before he left, so he started to hurry his way through the halls. In no time they arrived at George’s throne room. It was rarely used, but today was a different occasion. When Tommy set foot into the area, he was hit with the reminder that he only came in here a few times.

First, when he was brought here by Dream to live under his care. It was the best day of his life, he would never forget it, and he would forever be grateful to Dream. Once, when Dream was promoted to Head Hunter, he was allowed to attend the ceremony. He remembered it being very crowded and he ended up overreacting and cried on Dream’s shoulder later in a much quieter room. Another time when Dream needed Tommy to run a message to George when he was so busy, and a final time when Quackity and Sapnap snuck him to get a faster route towards the kitchen. The prestige of the room never stopped being glamorous for Tommy. The tall columns of shining and swirling white quartz, bedazzled with small jewels and diamonds that ran along the elegant walls, and long lengths of fabric draping from a high unknown source to beautifully flow down and help create a grandiose atmosphere. Tommy knew there were windows somewhere on the ceiling, with how sunlight flowed into the room and hit the sparkling jewels and silks that were found around the room, but he could never find the source when looking up.

Some laughter near the front of the room drew Tommy’s attention back to the present. There, next to the throne which no doubt had George sprawled across it, Sam was looking fondly at him, laughing at Tommy’s distracted gaze.

Tommy realized he had been staring at the expensive environment again and blushed fiercely. He made his way over towards Sam, hanging his blushing head and letting his eyes wander the sparkling floor and expensively soft carpets. When golden feet met his view he looked up towards Sam, his eyes resting comfortably on the impressive Trident he held. It glowed and shined gorgeously in the magnificent lighting. Tommy had the urge to touch it, but held himself back, having been taught that were not good manners and was inappropriate. Sam continued to rest his gaze on Tommy, a smile on his lips and clear joy in his posture.

Eventually, a throat cleared and Tommy looked over to the throne to see George. He was laying across the plushed armrests and was watching them expectantly. Tommy’s eyes glazed over the impressive throne as the King of the Greater Essempi spoke up.

“Took Sapnap long enough to find you. I sent him out at breakfast-“

Tommy heard an embarrassed cough from behind him, along with two sources of giggles near the coughing noise, but he didn’t turn to look at them. Instead his eyes wandered the shining material of the throne that helped compliment George’s soft features. The intricate features and carvings in diamond and gold outline stories and enchantments, helping to protect George if someone were to try and hurt him while he sat upon the throne. It had soft, plushed cushions that he knew came from Dream insisting they be added since George fell asleep on the throne so much.

“I have been informed you’re finally of age to get a senior mentor. I had thought Dream insisted you would become a hunter, but whatever.”

Tommy’s gaze finally met George’s. He really saw why he was the King. A glimmering crown of jewels resting among healthy brown hair, styled to perfection by a man standing behind him. His heterochromia eyes didn’t take away from his beauty at all, if not magnifying it. The brown and blue eyed being stared down impassively and huffed, turning away towards Sam.

“Dream approved of this?”

“He said as long as I said yes, as I've been told. I definitely approve of it.”

A tsk and then George said, “Well that’s settled then. I don’t have time for this and you need to go already. You have dwindled long enough. Be safe in your travels, we don’t need our expert to disappear in enemy territory.”

“I’m always safe. I’ve always come back thus far. I’m sure they’re much less likely to attack when I have an apprentice with me.”

Tommy’s eyes shot towards Sam’s black ones.

“You have an apprentice now?” It was much gentler than Tommy normally spoke in, but held as much power as yelling would have.

Sam smiled wider, if that was even possible. George scoffed irritably.

“No one told the child?” His smooth British voice strengthened patronizingly when he said the last word, but Tommy knew not to fight when Dream wasn’t there to help mediate George’s moods.

Biting his tongue, Tommy shook his head. Karl piped up “It’s supposed to be a birthday surprise!”

George further scoffed at the sentence but relented and raised his hand to order everyone out of the room. Tommy turned towards Sam, wanting to say goodbye to him before he left with his new apprentice before he took the large bag from Tommy’s grip and started walking out the room. He blinked and looked at his possessions being carried by Sam, and it suddenly dawned on him what was happening.

He was Sam’s new apprentice. Sam was leaving to go back to the Antarctic Empire. Tommy… Tommy was going to the Antarctic Empire. Tommy was leaving the Greater Essempi for the first time, and he was visiting the enemy country.

A smile found its way onto Tommy’s face. It stretched wide and proud, making his cheeks hurt, but he ignored it in favor of racing after Sam who had already disappeared around a corner of a hallway. Catching up to him, he ran in front of Sam and turned to walk backwards and talked animatedly to the senior war mechanic.

“Are you really fucking- is this really- there’s no fucking way- you’re shitting me- THIS IS FUCKING REAL?” The disbelief coming out of him was potent. Tommy couldn’t believe Sam was taking him. To the Antarctic Empire. The most dangerous country for him to travel to.

Tommy’s train of thought made anxiety spike up in him. Same seemed to read Tommy’s expression and replied calmly, “You’ll be safe. I’ve done this so many times between the two countries. They know me and my work. They won’t see you as a threat and should leave you alone. The town I stay in is far from any big cities, meaning it’s mostly made up of humans and has a few kids around your age staying as well. There’s also some really good bakeries around since it’s a farming town.”

Tommy whooped and cheered at finally being allowed on one of Sam’s missions. Sam chuckled and continued telling Tommy about the upcoming trip.
“You’ll still technically work under me. Get me food, organize some tools, maybe send out letters or messages to who I need, obviously no one that can hurt you, and it’ll take about a month for me to finish up this commission I was given at my lab.”

Tommy gasped. “I’M FUCKING GOING TO SEE YOUR LAB?” The screaming harshly scraped at his adolescent vocal cords, leaving any outsiders to cringe lightly. Sam laughed heartily and replied with, “Yes, yes you are.” Tommy screamed “HOLY SHIT” before basically vibrating along the walls to get to the vehicle that would take them away. His child-like energy was released from a lanky still-child body in ways that made it obvious to any outsider he was ecstatic for what was to come.

“The ride is long, and I’m sure Sapnap helped pack some of your stuff up, but the Antarctic Empire is in, you know, the Arctic, so we’ll have to get you warmer clothes. The forge is hot so you can mostly stick to it while we get your clothing arrangements sorted.”

Tommy was trying to listen to Sam’s rambling, but it was very hard with how fast his brain was working.

He was going to see Sam’s lab. He was going to see Sam’s lab. Holy fuck, he was going to see Sam’s lab. This is the most poggers day of his life.

Tommy was buzzing with excitement when they finally opened the grand front doors to the SUV that waited for them. It was slightly different than the ones Sam normally took. It was bigger, and had more room to store possessions in. Sam walked around to the back to drop off Tommy’s bags then opened the door for the struggling teen, not before laughing at Tommy’s awkward lingering near the ride. Look, Tommy never rode in a car before. Sue him.

Tommy was rambling the entire time, marveling at all the intricacies and the excitement of it all. Sam didn’t seem to mind, and certainly did not stop him, so Tommy didn’t quit talking. Sam would place his hand on Tommy’s back to guide him, or gesture his hand in a certain direction to lead Tommy, maybe even pointing at certain spots to rest at, but eventually they settled in the cushioned vehicle with no breaks of silence found. Sitting in the SUV felt weird in of itself, since Tommy never had a reason to be able to be in one before, so immediately he decided to check everything within sight. Running his hands over the material, pulling at any straps to see if there were secret compartments (there were a few with small gadgets and papers), and overall appreciating the design of the compartment they were in. The design over the material was the Greater Essempi emblem overlapping in varied colors of green and white, the normally estranged and eccentric smiley faces not phasing Tommy nor Sam. It was the same branding they saw Dream walk around covering his face with anyways, so it wasn’t as if it could be weirder. Dream was such a simp for George.

At some point Tommy felt his entire body lurch forwards. Beyond his own violation he flew into Sam’s personal space. Sam’s arms reached out to help stabilize Tommy and the unknown contact made his stomach lurch even more. Some loud yelling and cursing from the younger boy made itself apparent to anyone around, and Sam quickly contracted his hands once Tommy was able to settle himself back down into his seat.

“Sorry big man, I didn’t know that would happen.” Tommy chuckled weakly, brushing a hand sheepishly behind the nape of his neck. Sam waved him off however.
“It’s your first time in one of these, I should have warned you knowing you wouldn’t know how they start off rocky. Or I could have given you my seat since it’s steadier here-“

“But you sit there?” The questioning lilt to Tommy’s statement made Sam pause to consider. Tommy has seen him depart on multiple occasions, and he always puts his back towards the driver, so it felt obvious he would sit where it was familiar. Sam chuckled playfully but didn’t push further, allowing Tommy to continue sitting where he was. Instead, as he crossed his arms over his chest, he cocked his head and one of his thumbs towards the window.

“Why don’t you watch the scenery as we pass? The passage between the Antarctic Empire and the Greater Essempi is always beautiful. Once we get past the dark oak forest on the southeast side of the Greater Essempi we’ll stop for a bit to change into warmer clothes before continuing. Feel free to nap whenever, I do it all the time myself when I get sleepy enough.”

With that, Sam tips his head onto the softly padded walls and closes his eyes. He isn’t asleep, but the resting and relaxed pose allows Tommy the time to think of what to do. Listening to Sam, he decides to look out one of the windows bordering the cabin they inhabit. They were still on the palace grounds, but Tommy could already see the border gates of the estate in the distance. They were edging the outer parts of the palace, and it would be the first time since he was six that Tommy would step outside from the inner lands of the Greater Essempi. He started bouncing in his seat, his excitement and nerves showing through. If he were to look back at Sam, he would see black eyes slightly opened to watch the child with fondness and content, relaxed and peaceful in his observation of childlike glee.

The gates were tall, imposing, obsidian walls that were thick enough to fit two adult-sized people beside each other in, and passing through them made a shiver run down Tommy’s spine. He didn’t stop staring at the black and yellow striped boundaries as they faded into the distance. It was starting to settle in, the fact that he was outside the walls for the first time in years. The sky looked the same, and it was still the same trees, bushes and greenery that he was used to, if not as well kept up as on palace grounds. The air smelt the same as well, no noticeable difference, but there were fields.

Fields of wheat, lavender, grass, flowers, so many hills of rolling colors. It was absolutely beautiful, and Tommy could not believe he had never seen them before, with being so close to the edge of the inner lands. Tommy swore he saw dozens of new species he had rarely seen scampering around in the castle. Birds of duller colors were loudly cawing and were unbothered flying in the sky. Rabbits, chickens, and even some majestic cows.

“Tommy, you’ll break the window if you keep pressing your face up against it like that.” Ignoring Sam’s words, Tommy continued to press his nose harshly against the glass, fogging up the once clear window. He watched the beautiful creatures he rarely got to see mingle and exist about. Cows were the most poggers animals ever, and Tommy had always wanted one to keep around at all times. Maybe a small one, a rare red mushroom type that would be his companion forever and ever.

Maybe he could ask for one on his 18th birthday, George does have access to exotic animals afterall.

The ride ended up going for much longer than Tommy anticipated. It was by the time the sun was almost at its peak that Tommy started to tilt his head to the side dramatically. Somehow, Sam knew Tommy was tired and draped a coat he brought along overtop Tommy as to better cover the boy in the increasingly cold temperatures. Tommy didn’t notice when the windows were dimmed with advanced technology he wasn’t privy to and the interior became darker, for his eyes were already straining to keep open. His eyes were more often closed than not. He didn’t know if it were a dream or reality when he felt a hand affectionately run through his golden locks, almost possessive in their grip.

A dark voice spoke out lowly towards the unconscious boy, “Don’t worry, you’ll be safe with us. I know they’ll love you too.”

Chapter Text

When Tommy awoke again, he was being shaken lightly by a familiar figure. He groaned and tried to roll over, thinking it was Sapnap or Quackity trying to arouse him from bed, but he ended up hitting his head on a wall of some sort and groaning out in pain more. A chuckle was heard, and Tommy was able to recognize it as not Sapnap or Quackity, so he blinked open his eyes to try and identify the figure.

It was dim in the interior somehow, and he had half a mind to question that before his eyes landed on a large shadow shape in front of him that was blocking the opened door to the SUV.

The SUV? Oh right, he was traveling with Sam towards the Antarctic Empire.

Tommy shot forward from his seat and rubbed aggressively at his sleepy eyes, forcing himself more awake. The figure in front of him, that he could now identify as Sam, chuckled harder at the innocent display.

Once Tommy deemed himself awake enough, he squinted towards Sam’s shadowed figure once more. Only now could he realize there was more to his figure than was normal. There were two thick shadowy contraptions extending from the man’s lower torso, and he had an industrial style black face mask covering the lower section of his head. It was hard to tell anything beyond that it was made of metal in the lighting, and that it glowed an eerie green from within.
Sufficient to say, Tommy was taken aback and screamed. Very masculine. The scream was so very masculine. The most poggers scream from a very grown big man you could ever hear. At least that’s what Tommy decided as he scrambled back weakly in his spot to get away from the Not Sam figure in front of him. The creature picked up on this panic hastily and immediately held his hands in a placating gesture in front of him to try and appease the boy. Except it didn’t work since Tommy could see four arms come into his vision, now being able to realize the shadowy blobs on the side of the torso were, indeed, limbs.
Tommy’s breath was quick, and it wasn’t getting better, only worse. His ears were ringing slightly, and the figure of Not Sam tried to help calm Tommy down.

“Hey Toms, it’s okay, it’s just me, Sam. This is my disguise, don’t worry about it. Look, they detach, see?” To show his words were true, the Not Sam brought his upper hands to work at the base of the limbs coming out of his torso. In no time, he was able to click the parts into place and successfully detach them from his side. Now he only had two sets of arms, and this calmed Tommy greatly.

It’s a disguise, to make him look more hybrid. He blends in. They won’t hurt him.

Tommy decided in his panicked state that Sam was a genius and fucking scary.

“Holy shit man, you had to fucking- fucking like, wear that shit as I woke up? What the fuck man!” Tommy let a bit of anger seep into his voice. He was irritated from being woken up into a panic attack, but there never was any venom that made itself known. Sam huffed, and Tommy could feel him rolling his eyes.

“Remember that stop I told you about? We’re right on the border of the Antarctic Empire, we need to get you in warmer clothes and get your sorted to blend into the environment.” Tommy blankly stared at the figure of Sam in the door. His eyes had more adjusted during this and he could see most of Sam’s outfit was metal. Tommy didn’t remember Sam carrying so much metal on him, but he knew he made devices for himself to more efficiently work in his pseudo-forge and lab, so he must have had compacted them in his luggage somewhere.

How fucking heavy is all of that metal on him? It seemed like it would hold him down, but in reality he held his hand out and guided Tommy out into the open air. He stumbled for a bit and had to close his eyes as they were blinded by the sun. It was only when he started ascending in steps that he questioned why the air wasn’t chilly anymore.

If they were on the border of the Antarctic Empire, why wasn’t it cold?

Looking around, he saw high walls of shimmery gray surrounding them, and up above sunlight poured in harsh rays that made the flooring below them shine yellow. One of Sam’s hands came to run through Tommy’s hair, and he had no doubt the lighting was making it shine like pure gold.

“We’re underground? Is this like a fucking volcano type shit or…?”

“It’s a small hot spring that is right next to the dark oak forest trail. We’re in a small mountain currently, and there’s a hot spring in an adjacent room warming us up currently.” Tommy’s line of sight went from marveling at the ceiling to analyzing Sam’s face. He suppressed a surprised step back at seeing pure ink eyes with thin silver slits staring at his hair. Sam didn’t seem to register Tommy’s shock, and instead continued what could be compared to petting. Tommy’s face grew hot and a shiver ran up his spine, but he turned away to further inspect the shining walls which he realized contained rare ore. He assumed it was part of Sam’s disguise that kept the Antarctic Empire from keeping him out of borders with him coming from the Greater Essempi and all.

His suspicions were confirmed when Sam finally took his hand away from his hair and gave him part of his luggage. It was the smaller portion that held his clothing, and along with it all of his jackets.

“First and foremost we need you wearing warm clothes, then we need to prepare you for living a while around hybrids and people with hybrid traits,” Sam reattached his robot arms to the lower part of his torso, and they spun around to test they functioned. Tommy decided to partially unpack his possessions to gather warmer layers to wear.

“Will I be getting a disguise like you?” Tommy asked, curious as to whether he’ll be given robot parts or not. Sam laughed goodnaturedly and Tommy watched as all four of the arms reacted individually to his emotions, as if having the extra limbs were natural.

He would guess Sam had a lot of practice pretending to be used to them since he has to stay safe.

Finally after pondering a bit more, Sam replied to Tommy’s question.

“I don’t see you needing one, since most hybrids are attracted to gold and would thereby have the urge to protect you, and also you’re coming in with me, and I’m relatively trusted since they believe I’m a creeper hybrid.”

Tommy pulled over a hoodie overtop a sweater he previously put on and blinked owlishly.

“Creeper hybrid?” Tommy noted how Sam had onyx eyes and an extra pair of limbs, but now he paid attention to the face mask that he wore, which he realized resembled a slimmer gas mask on Sam’s face. The “hybrid” in question nodded, noticing his gaze at his pseudo-gas mask.

“The face mask simulates being a filter for oxygen that creeper hybrids are known to need in order to not blow up. I’ve been commissioned for a few in the past, so I made one to simulate similar functioning. As for the arms and eyes, they are traits creeper hybrids are known for.”

Tommy was still confused, fitting a smaller jacket overtop his much warmer outfit.

“Why a creeper hybrid?” There was a slight sigh, before an answer came.

“I wanted to pick one that allowed me to have extra limbs, as it helps in the lab. I also wanted one where people would be adverse to angering, and allow me to cover part of my face. Due to the mask, I don’t need to pretend to have fangs or something,” Sam shrugged and answered nonchalantly.

“So your green hair and trident helps?” Sam chuckled fondly but shook his head.

“I prefer the trident over other weapons. I made one for someone else first, and it was the size of a fork, but then I expanded it for personal use. It’s a custom one I made to help me essentially fly in rainy weather. As for my hair, that’s just natural. It’s more of a happy accident than anything.”

Tommy nodded along, satisfied with the responses. Looking down at his choices of heavier clothing, he rifled through them to find his huge puffy blue jacket. Tommy decided to keep questioning the fake creeper hybrid while he looked for it.

“What do you mean when you said most would want to protect me?” After a pause, Tommy looked up to Sam. In lieu of answering, Sam gazed at Tommy’s hair, and he swore the fake silver of Sam’s eyes dilated wider upon sight. Sam makes pretty accurate hybrid eye lenses, in Tommy’s opinion, if the shiver that raked his body meant anything.

“As I’ve stated before, most hybrids like gold and are protective of it. It even goes beyond what your attitude could ruin. As long as you keep them healthy and in sight, it should deter any hybrids from harming you, even the ones which aren’t attracted to gold. They wouldn’t want to anger any hybrids which are attracted to the metal.” There was a pause in speech and Sam looked eyes with Tommy. “You should probably get used to people ruffling your hair. Some people you’ll see that look like humans have hybrid traits and they’ll instinctively want to touch it.” In slight panic Tommy raised his own hands into his hair, trying to smother it so that his hands hid the vibrant locks.

“I don’t want random wankers touching my hair! What the fuck man?” Tommy irritably yelled. He was okay with Dream and Sam doing it, craved it even, but Tommy couldn’t stomach the idea of potential hybrids touching him like that randomly. He didn’t want them to go anywhere near them. By this point he abandoned searching for his blue jacket, and instead focused on Sam’s words. That reminded Tommy of a few more inquiries he had.

“Wait, some will look like humans?” Sam saw Tommy give up on his search and crouched down to help. His extra arms helping to sort through and even fold clothing along with his normal pair of limbs.

“Yes, when hybrids have kids with humans, which is rare but it does happen, it’s up to chance if they’ll get hybrid traits or not. If they don’t, then many traditional hybrids don’t really trust them. Of course, they are still technically part hybrid and may have similar urges or instincts, but overall they are only related to hybrids. Still, they aren’t accepted in the Greater Essempi or the main portion of the Antarctic Empire which is mostly hybrids. Same as to the ‘hybrids’ that are on the edge of the kingdom. You haven’t seen them, but they aren’t really hybrids. If you lived with them you would think they’re regular humans.”

“But they aren’t.” Tommy interrupted Sam’s speech. A warm, puffy jacket made its way into Tommy’s vision and he realized Sam was holding out the jacket he was looking for. He took it from the man and fit it over his horrendously minuscule amount of layers. The man in question sighed before continuing.

“No, they aren’t, which is why they are labeled as hybrids in the Essempi’s system, and why they are labeled as humans in the Antarctic’s system. They don’t really fit anywhere but on the edges of both kingdoms.”

Tommy nodded along with this new knowledge, being led from the now hot room back towards the car to continue their journey towards the small town Sam worked at.

“Seems a bit unfair, innit?” Tommy commented. Sam hummed in questioning. “I mean- they aren’t accepted by either society. If they’re so human, but are just related to other hybrids, then why are they still labeled as hybrids? Like I know they couldn’t possibly be more rowdy than some humans I know. Take Sapnap for example, he’s been accused of being as rowdy as a hybrid himself! But we know he’s fully human.” If Tommy were looking at Sam, he would see his full body flinch that took over the man, but it was quickly covered up with a hum before Tommy continued ranting, “and if they aren’t even considered hybrids by the Antarctic Empire, why do we exclude them? Kinda builds resentment doesn’t it, big man.” They had walked through a small tunnel that descended into the chillier open air. Tommy could see they were stationed on a plateau that overlooked a dark oak forest. It reached out all around him, but if he squinted he could slightly make out a clearing in the distance with smoke coming from the scene.

“That’s the town my lab is in. We’ll be there by nightfall, and then you can sleep there before adjusting to the place. I will probably be swamped with work immediately, so I’ll probably have to send you alone. I’ll send you to places I know and where they’ll expect you. Don’t worry, they won’t question you if you say I sent you.” Tommy’s head spun with the influx of information that he found crucial, and Sam seemed to register his internal panic, following with, “Don’t stress, I’ll go over all of this again in the morning. Just sleep, you’ll be safe with me. Let’s get you to your new home.”

Tommy’s chest warmed for some unknown reason, and he followed the now disguised Sam into the SUV. Even viewing the impressive machinery from the back was awestricking. Tommy, now not panicking, was able to see the intricate detail of the faux limbs, with symbols and detailed forgery lining the entirety of them. The SUV’s windows were not dimmed when Tommy entered the vehicle once again. They both ended up sitting where they sat on the ride there, except this time Sam sat closer to help stabilize Tommy when the car jerked forward again.
It was still unnerving to be so close to Sam while he was disguised. Tommy knew it was still regular good ol’ Sam, but everything he’s been taught was going wild with his void eyes that seemed to never stop staring at his hair.

Was he just paying extra attention since he was more aware of Sam in his disguise? Why did he have to make those fake lenses so realistic?

Tommy didn’t know whether he hated it or not, but he didn’t speak up in his discomfort. Sam wouldn’t do anything he was against, Tommy knew he was safe. It didn’t stop his mind from reeling, however. No matter how he tried to rationalize, his brain was screaming at him that there was a hybrid next to him. A dangerous one.

Eventually, he was able to focus his attention on Sam’s mask. The swirling colors and lights attracted his gaze and he wasn’t able to pull away after a bit. Although he knew it was fake, Tommy could almost imagine the mask filtering oxygen for Sam to breathe properly and stopping any sparks from harming people around. The disk like figures on either side of his mouth didn’t pop out fully like regular gas masks and the mesh in the middle was made to resemble a real creeper’s mouth. All in all, it looked cool, and definitely delivered the effect of “this is a creeper hybrid”.
Sam was a genius doing this to better blend into the hybrid nation.

An idea made its way into Tommy’s head, and by this point he didn’t repress the urge to ask.

“Can you make me a mask?” Sam in question blinked before putting his gaze on Tommy.

“What?”

“Can you make me a mask, big man.”

“Uh, well, that takes materials and time-“

“Sam, Awesamdude, poggest mechanic ever, inventor of the coolest weapons and machinery, big man, can you please make me a mask?” Tommy didn’t want to lose this argument and decided to widen his eyes and jutted his lower lip out. He was a big man that used puppy eyes strategically.
Sam, the evil man, turned away from the puppy eyes upon creation.

“Tommy, I’ve already said how you don't need a mask. What would it do anyways?”

“I could be a creeper hybrid like you! I could even have two cool arms as well. Imagine how fucking poggers that would be. We could be like family or some shit…”

Tommy trailed off, becoming less confident as his argument went on. There was now a pregnant pause in the room that neither wanted to address. Tommy shrunk into himself, internally cursing at himself for overstepping some unsaid boundary. Looking out the window, Tommy could see the smoke he saw atop the plateau much closer than before. Right over the horizon, about five more minutes away. They would be arriving shortly, and Tommy would be officially staying with Sam at his residence. Wringing his hands together, he continued to stare off into the distance, subconsciously shifting away from the faux creeper hybrid. Once he finally removed his presence from Sam’s side did the man sigh and move one of his real arms to rest along Tommy’s shoulders and draw him back to him.

“I can see about making you a mask, although it may take a bit with getting commissions and jobs done first. I’ll use any scraps I have to make you one.” The smile that made its way onto Tommy’s face was nothing short of a burst of sunlight. Sam huffed but continued talking. “Any requests?”

“Poggers disks.” There was no hesitation in the answer, but the response took a few moments to come.

“I- what?” Ah, hesitation, confusion, and curiosity. Tommy’s smile brightened innocently.

“The circles on your cheeks. They’re called disks. I want poggers disks. Like music disks. Maybe Cat and Melohi. They are the best, afterall, and I brought them so you can use them as reference. Oh! And I want the color to be red, because red is more poggers than green, no offense.”

Although Sam’s facial features were covered by the faux gas mask, Tommy could still feel the palpable confusion that came from the man. Tommy decided he may lose his sway on the man so he once again brought out his strategic puppy eyes. Sam was not able to turn away quick enough to deflect away from his attack and instead shut his eyes harshly. A long sigh came from the man, and Tommy watched in awe as the mask lit up to display a wide arrange of green light.

“Again, it may take a while-“

“THANK YOU SAM YOU’RE THE MOST POGGERS PERSON EVER!” Tommy interrupted with his shouting, pumping his fists up into the air and bouncing about. Sam huffed, but didn’t stop the child from enjoying himself, his excitement creating a positive energy in the once stiff atmosphere.
While Tommy was still celebrating, Sam looked out the windows and observed how far until they stopped. Humming, Sam turned back towards Tommy and called for his attention.

“We’re almost there. I would anticipate running inside and getting away from the cold as soon as possible. I will bring everything in, so don’t waste time lingering. Explore, but don’t touch anything. I’ll show you to your room once all our stuff is brought in,” Sam commanded. Tommy was still vibrating in his seat, ready to jump out and rush inside to finally be able to see where Sam worked. He was getting tired, as the short, very masculine and poggers nap from earlier in the day only put off his exhaustion from his mental breakdown the earlier night. The SUV rolled to a stop eventually in front of this medium sized building. It was much more minimalist than Tommy was expecting, and looked to be a simple box of concrete before being told that was the outer layer made to allow the lab to blend in with the other aesthetics of the town. Tommy made a move to rush inside, especially with how the Arctic wind nipped at his face, but realized he wouldn’t be able to feel comfortable without his emotional support items. Closing the door harshly back into place to keep out the frigid air, Tommy started to plot.
Not wanting to stay outside for longer than necessary, he used Sam’s words against him and ordered him to fetch his precious possessions before he ran into the building.

“Why do you need a stuffed cow to sleep with?”

“Henry is the most poggers cow and I will not allow you to slander his name. Now go get him for me, bitch.” Tommy smirked triumphantly when Sam left the car briefly to grab his items. His heart fluttered further when a mumbled “this is what I get for getting attached” was said under Sam’s breath.
Eventually, after feeling the arctic air two more times, Tommy was reunited with Henry and his gift from the previous day. Tommy stared agitated at the item.

“I still don’t know what this thing does,” Tommy stated while taking it into his right hand. Twirling it around, it still radiated some warmth. Tommy could almost imagine it giving him some of its precious heat during the night.

“Oh? I think you figured out a few mechanics of the gift, even if you’re not aware. It’s definitely been activated at some point during the time I gave it to you.” Sam’s eyes crinkled on the edges, the only expression that can be viewed above the mask. Tommy figured this was how he showed he was smiling. Tommy scoffed at the statement.

“So it’s just a heater?” The accusing question lent itself to a laugh and a shake of a head.

“No, but if that’s all it’s used for currently then it’s still doing its job. Go on in, kiddo.” The nickname made Tommy puff out his cheeks in fake irritation, but his face still burned red and his chest felt warm so he guessed he would not be opposed to Sam calling him that nickname again. Bracing for the below chilly air, Tommy made a mad dash across the small opening between the car and the front entrance before forcing the door open and slamming it closed behind him. His chest was beating harshly, and his breath felt wrong, but he was in the warm interior of the building now, so it was alright. Still feeling his breath roll around in his ribcage, Tommy spared the time to look around the front entrance of where he would be staying. It was obvious the main room was for display. Whoever walked in would be met with a minimally decorated room that had a counter towards the back. The only other door being blocked off by said furniture that raised slightly above Tommy’s belly button. He has no doubt Sam still makes an imposing figure from behind the counter.

There are a few papers scattered overtop, with words and numbers that make Tommy’s mind reel. Assuming they were for commissions or work, Tommy didn’t mess with them and tried to find a way behind the counter to gain access to the only door in the room. The vents available were too small to crawl through, which was a huge disappointment, but Tommy didn’t have the energy to make his way through them anyways.

Not being able to vent, Tommy looked for an opening on the slate of metal, gliding a hand across the surface to find a dip to pull from. There were no imperfections found, and Tommy was left standing awkwardly in the middle of the not-so-welcoming room. Tommy was such a Big Man, and did not give up, but he was tired and this was bullshit and Sam probably rigged the place to not be easily gotten into. Through the drowsiness that Tommy felt, he started climbing overtop the counter, trying to effectively climb over onto the other side. The counter was surprisingly slippery, and Tommy kept slipping back to his original position. Eventually the front door opened and Sam waltzed in with all of his things.

Tommy was currently sprawled across the counter trying to counteract the slipperiness of the surface, and when they made eye contact, Tommy became even more red than what the previous exertion colored his face. Breaking the slightly tense silence, Sam huffed a short laugh before bursting out into maniacal laughs. The red that was on Tommy’s face could run for being redder than a tomato, with how much it brightened. The blushing leaving his face heated against the slight chill of the stale air.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP, BITCH. IT’S SLIPPERY,” Tommy’s shouts rang. Sam’s laughter didn’t stop, but he continued to try to speak through it nonetheless. The sputtering lasted for a minute or two, and by this time Tommy had fallen back to the side Sam was on, cursing under his breath that his actions were in vain. This seemed to spur Sam’s joyful laughter on further, and Tommy was left lingering awkwardly.

After a brief moment of joyous laughter, Sam was able to control his breathing and made his way over towards the right side of the counter. It was next to some display shit Tommy didn’t bother investigating, holding some photos of people and friends. It was directly opposite the side of the wall length window, and had no visible indication of anything amiss. However when walking up to it, the counter gave a small hiss before parting and lifting itself to make room for Sam to get through. The sounds of machines and systems grinding made their way to Tommy’s ears. Once on the other side of the counter, Sam turned to face the stunned and speechless sixteen year old. He was still holding back laughter and Tommy thus decided he was a wrongun.

“WHAT THE FUCK?” Tommy shouted, uncaring if his voice carried across the room, since they were the only two people around. Sam tried shushing him nonetheless.

“You don’t-“ laughter “I forgot to-“ even more laughter “you literally couldn’t if you wanted to-“ a hacking sound.

Wrongun was the perfect title for Sam. That, and awful.

Tommy said as much.

“You’re awful and a wrongun.” Huffing and crossing his arms over his chest, he chose to ignore the now seemingly permanent blush on his cheeks. Sam laughed heartily before being able to properly explain.

“The- the counter is activated by my scanning. It only recognizes my biometrics since I forgot to put yours in. It also has anti-burglary protections in place. You couldn’t have gotten over even if you wanted to.” Tommy huffed.

“You just caught me on a bad day plus I’m tired, I bet I could get past your anti-burger protections any other day. I just turned sixteen, I have to let those big man muscles relax for at least one day. You’ve wounded me Sam, wounded me.”

The false-creeper laughed out loud again, before waving a hand in the hair seemingly unnecessarily, a low hissing sound emanating in the air. Looking back at the counter, Tommy could see it open the same way it did for Sam to pass through.

“Come back here so I can show you around the lab before you knock out for the night. I promise it’ll be quick. Maybe you can rest up and prepare to meet some of the kids who live around here in the morning.”

Excitement bubbled in Tommy’s chest. He could finally hang around people his age. Not older people who had to deal with him and try to keep up with his insane amounts of energy. He could finally not be the youngest! He hasn’t been around others his age in a while.

Something settled in Tommy’s gut. A low hanging pit that didn’t fade but instead grew heavier. He hasn’t made friends his age ever. He’s only consistently had the hunters and some other workers at the castle. Purpled came and left a long while ago with his older brother, Punz. Hired as an assassin for the Greater Essempi during a debacle which resulted in many casualties, including his only other confederate he considered a friend. Eret’s kid was taken and converted to a hybrid during the entire situation, and he hasn’t seen them since.

Dream… he told Tommy he would never be able to properly make friends, didn’t he? After all, Tommy passed the developmental age where he could properly learn to socialize. He will never be able to truly make friends his age, especially with how he failed being a good friend in all his previous arrangements.

Sam was a bystander in watching a fire light into an inferno in Tommy’s eyes, only just before simmering to a low spark with a grim shadow overtaking his features. To say concern was what Sam felt would be an understatement.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’ve seen and interacted with a few of them sometimes. They’re really cool, and would love to meet you. They’re little chaos makers, so you’ll fit right in. I promise. Just give it a go, alright?”

Tommy was too tired to argue, so he nodded his head before following Sam through the door he opened. The tour was relatively short. Sam showed him the kitchen and the dining area that had layers of dust settled on them, the room he’d be staying in and Sam’s own room, his walk-in closet and private bathroom… Tommy knew he would like it here. The ensuite was the final destination before Sam showed him the door to his room and the door to his massive laboratory.

“I would show you the lab, but there is lots of junk lying around that could hurt you while you’re tired and not paying attention. I can show you another time and have you start helping me out around it. My bedroom is locked for personal reasons, and yours can be locked from the inside also. However if there is an emergency, just knock and call my name. I’ll try to answer.” Nodding, Tommy was led back to his plain but new bedroom. He ceremoniously shoved off his shoes and then collapsed onto the bed before the door was even shut by Sam.

Huffing fondly, Sam closed the door softly and made his way through the house.

He needed to get a few things sorted before going to bed.

Chapter Text

Birds could be heard chirping as Tommy awoke. When arousing from slumber, there was a disorienting second where Tommy believed he was kidnapped before remembering he now lives in a new place. The air was slightly chillier than he was used to, and he burrowed himself more into the blankets. The set he brought and the set he was given made up to be rather warm, allowing him to stay toasty underneath and throughout the night. He wasn’t quite used to this, since, back in the Greater Essempi, he only had a few thin blankets for the underground area he slept in which got cold at night despite the warmer climate.

As he shifted around to further bury himself in the warmth, some of his hair got rubbed into his face and it became uncomfortable. Unfortunately, the rest of his body was comfortable, so he couldn’t dare use his hands, which were nice and warm where they were. He would have to suffer, or use his face to move around the hair so it wasn’t bothering him. At first, he tried to ignore the hair and went back to sleep, but after a bit, the hair became itchy and he had to move it out of the way.

Grunting in frustration, Tommy turned his head to the side, trying to get the hair out of the way. It didn’t move away like he wanted to, and he further hummed in annoyance.

Aggressively shifting his face back and forth, Tommy wanted the hair away. It didn’t go away however, and Tommy let out a defeated noise before using one of his hands to flick it away from his face, putting it back into the warmth of the blankets once the task was completed. Shifting to face the ceiling, Tommy took in a deep breath and felt his now slightly elevated heartbeat.

Well great. Now he was up. Humming in frustration and annoyance again, his throat warbled out noises to vent his frustrations at higher frequencies. It wasn’t like anyone could hear him anyways. He was just humming.

Glancing around, he realized he forgot to set up a clock, and he had no idea what time it was. He also came to the realization that it meant he had to get out of the comfortable and warm blankets to get to a clock.

Tommy debated whether or not Sam would be mad that he slept in before recalling how Dream once made a speech about “not being lazy” or whatever. It was a shit lesson that led to Tommy passing out for a day and a half, but it was a lesson he needed, so he slipped out of the warm embrace of the blankets in order to stop being lazy, he’s wasting time, Sam would be mad, you’re here to work, this is not vacation from training.

Shaking his head, he quickly raced to one part of his luggage he knew contained outfits. He riffled through them a bit before finding one of his comfortable red and white shirts. They were comfortable, stylish, and reduced the creeping feeling of helplessness and anxiety, so he wore it. He debated on what trousers to wear before going with a softer pair of jeans that were a sky blue, closer resembling his eyes. Shoving on his worn pair of sneakers, he made his way down the hall towards where he remembered Sam indicated the lab would be. He came across the door, which was conveniently close to Sam’s bedroom door, and knocked three times. He still didn’t know if he was allowed in.

There was a hissing sound that came from the door, and then a vertical line suddenly appeared through it. The locking system of the door seemed to finally release, and the vertical line widened considerably, until it hid behind the door frame. Watching in awe, Tommy stood stunned before Sam, who was looking at Tommy with what he could only guess was amusement. It was so hard to tell with his mask covering the lower half of his face.

After a second more of silence, Sam cleared his throat, rumbling “Are you just going to stand there?” With this, Tommy sprung into action.

“That’s the poggest door ever! What the fuck man how could you never have showed me that!? I demand recomp-reco, uh, recomposition?” Tommy winced at the end of his sentence, knowing that was not the word he was going for, but forgetting the real word and lilting off with a questioning tone to his voice. He gazed up worriedly at Sam, knowing making mistakes in speech wasn’t appropriate for an educated hunter.

Sam raised an eyebrow. “Retribution? Recompensation?” Tommy snapped his fingers.

“Yep, that one, Big man. You understand me.” Sam huffed fondly through the mask and shook his head lightly. Tommy felt warmth and safety bloom in his chest. He didn’t yell at him or hit Tommy for his mistakes. It couldn’t be the Sam with Dream but he wasn’t here.

Coming forward the stand directing in front of Tommy, Sam placed a hand in his hair and guided him back into the lab. Tommy complied, and not because of Sam’s guidance but because the lab was so poggers he needed to see it. Bundles of metal were laid all around the room, seemingly in chaos. Glancing at a few boxes, Tommy could see many more official looking metal clumps were stored away in boxes so that Tommy did not stumble upon them. He still tried walking over to them though.

“Tommy no. I specifically placed them over there in the boxes so you couldn’t mess with them. They’re commissions made from the Antarctic Empires’ materials and resources that I can’t just ask for everyday, so don’t touch them.” Sam more aggressively ruffled Tommy’s hair to emphasize his point, and in retaliation Tommy crossed his arms over his chest.

“How dare you insinu-insin, um, insist that I am only ever but a non-poggers person that messes with someone’s job and life work, potentially getting them in trouble with the government and getting them killed,” Tommy sarcastically snarked with a few mess ups in speech, waving his arms around in faux anger. Sam chuckled at the end, and Tommy knew he was safe to forget complicated words sometimes.

Sam didn’t continue conversation further, instead standing back to watch Tommy and let him explore the new area he was so excited to see. Taking the chance, Tommy walked around and let his eyes wander and linger, asking question upon question about the space he was in. Sam replied to as many as possible, only refraining when he wasn’t allowed to disclose some pieces of intel. Eventually, they made it to a workspace that had a robotic arm propped up on it. It intrigued Tommy, especially with all of the red, orange and gold fabric intricately laced around it. All too similar to the tattoos and symbols that laced both sets of Sam’s arms. Tommy’s eyes dilated upon sight, and Sam could swear the child started vibrating.

“Who is this for, Big man?” Tommy did not look away from the metallic arm to gauge Sam’s reaction, but he chuckled lovingly and came to stand next to the mechanical limb. He traced his fingers delicately over the contraption, seemingly lost in thought at first before shifting to Tommy.

His voice was quiet, almost too quiet. The soft tone that came from the man was almost too much for Tommy to handle so early in the morning. “A close friend of mine. They’re a doctor and baker who was mistaken as a threat during one of the hunters’ raids here. They lost an arm, and haven’t been able to work either job since.” Sam’s melancholy features made Tommy not question further what happened for the doctor-backer to lose an arm. Instead, Tommy shifted focus to the career aspect of the person.

“A doctor and a baker? Those are such opposing things, innit? Had to be bad at one of them,” Tommy teased as he snuck his way closer to the appendage. He just wanted a better look at all of the patterns and symbols. He wouldn’t provoke Sam by messing with something he held so dearly. Sam laughed lightly before replying.

“He only made lemon related treats.” Tommy’s head swiveled to Sam.

“I- what?”

Sam laughed harder at Tommy’s reaction and clarified. “You said he had to be bad at one of them. Ponk was one of the best doctors around before he was put out of an occupation. Plus, many local residents complained about him only ever making lemon related, or lemon containing, desserts.” Tommy’s face scrunched up.

“How could you only ever make one thing? Seems a bit crazy, innit?”

Sam rolled his eyes.

“How could you only ever wear one thing? Seems a bit crazy, right?” Sam shot back.Tommy suddenly remembered he wears red and white striped shirts exclusively, and blushed a bit at the jab.“Besides, he likes lemons and eats anything people don’t buy himself. He isn’t wasting them. He even has them locally grown. Pretty sure he has one in his backyard.” Sam raised a hand to tap at his chin in thought. He suddenly brightened up and pointed to Tommy. “You know, you could actually go to his bakery and go buy food. We both need some food in our system to wake us up. Pretty sure someone else is currently running the bakery now that he can’t keep up with demands, but she’s really sweet to meet too. I’ve heard that she makes really good pastries. Many here love her cooking.”

Sam lifted his hand from Tommy’s hair and walked over to a pile of paper on a corner desk. Rifting through it shortly, he pulled out a small stack of money. Making his way back over, he handed Tommy some of the bills.

“Go shower, then get something for the both of us. Your hair is so dirty it looks more brown than gold. It’s also very flat. The bakery’s currently under the name ‘Saline Solution’. I didn’t name it, don’t give me that look. I’m pretty sure some of the kids I was talking about are out at this time, so try and make friends by inviting them to get food with you. Don’t be rude, and stay safe. If I have to bail you out of jail already, I might have to hold you up in your room.”

The threat didn’t hold any weight, but Tommy felt like his limbs were being pulled down. Meeting new people, his age, and trying not to fuck up. Okay, he can do this. Tommy was hoping they weren’t out at this time, and instead took this day to miraculously not be outside. Ignoring Sam’s comments about showering, He did not want people randomly fluffing his hair, he made his was out of the lab and towards the front of the building.

Exiting the complex, Tommy wandered the streets for a bit, trying to find where this ‘Saline Solution’ bakery was. He asked a local in a white shawl and she said it was closer to the main plaza of the town. Which was semi-helpful, if only he knew where the main plaza was. He came past a jewelry store, two clothing stores, and a small shop for shoes, but then stopped in his tracks when he saw two people walking his way. They weren’t necessarily paying attention to him, but they were laughing and talking animatedly. The main thing that caught Tommy’s attention is that the shorter one looked young. Not in a creepy weirdchamp way, but there was slight acne on their face, and there was a jovial aura around them. The taller person that went alongside the was incredibly tall, taller than both him and Sam, and at first Tommy thought they were an adult with their height. He was proven wrong when they came closer and he could hear them though.

“Bossman, I’m telling you, if you stand up for yourself, then they won’t bother you.” It was a young puberty ridden voice coming from the shorter one.

“‘Standing up for myself’ in your words means trying to kill them.” And… whoa okay the taller one has a deep voice. It was softer and more hesitant, deeper and raspier, but still definitely young.

Are these really some of the kids in the area? And they’re talking about murder of all things?

“What they don’t know won’t hurt them, plus I think that helps with not bothering you.” A frustrated sigh came from the taller one and the shorter ones’ words. At the response, the shorter one burst into laughter. It was a sort of hiccuping kind that was infectious and good-natured. By this point, they were about to pass each other, and remembering that Sam wanted Tommy to bond with others, he decided to speak up.

“Is there a reason you’re talking about murder in the middle of the street? Kinda makes you sound like bitches, innit?” The shorter one paused and turned his attention to Tommy, eyes gleaming.

“And you’re someone who just made it known that you overheard us. Quick, Ranboo, kidnap ‘em. They know too much,” the shorter one said as they made a display of shoving Ranboo towards him. What kind of a name was ‘Ranboo’?

“Don’t you dare, Ranboob. I will fight you, and you’ll wish you were never born.” The shorter one cracked up more at Tommy’s butchering of the tall one’s name.

A sigh, then, “It’s Ranboo, and I already wish that, dude. He/they by the way. And this is Tubbo, he/him.” Tommy hummed while Tubbo grabbed onto Ranboo’s arm, pulling it towards him while Ranboo was distracted by the introductions. By the time Ranboo finished and was able to tell what was going on, it was too late. His arm was now linked to Tubbo’s by way of handcuffs. They pulled his own arm and had a clicking sound ring from the handcuffs. “WHY?” He sighed loudly, exasperated. Tubbo shrugged.

“It’s fun, bossman. Call it a social experiment.” Tommy laughed loudly at the unexpected answer, and found Ranboo’s suffering amusing. Tubbo turned to Tommy, “and what about you, bossman?”

“I’m Big Man Tommyinnit. Poggest man around! Uh, go by he/him.” Tubbo nodded, satisfied with Tommy’s answer.

“Well, Big man, we have a lot of stuff to do today, and you seem new. Want to join us?” Tommy hesitated at Tubbo’s invitation, glancing back at Ranboo who was desperately trying to escape while he answered.

“Uh, I’m supposed to go get food for my mentor at… Saline Solution? And if I take too long then I’m sure he’ll be worried about what happened to me. I would love to, but, ya know, duty calls!” Tommy laughed awkwardly. There was no reaction for a moment from Tubbo, Ranboo much too distracted by the handcuffs to be properly paying attention to the conversation, so Tommy fiddled with his birthday gift from Sam during the awkward lull in conversation. After a moment or two passed, Tubbo brightened up. While talking, he linked his free arm with Tommy and started guiding down the way he came. Tommy was glad the touch didn’t burn and Tubbo‘ s presence was nice.

“No worries, bossman! We can just go with you to Niki’s and then cause some mischief later. Who’s your mentor anyways?”

“Sam,” Tommy answered with no antics. Tubbo nodded, humming. At this point, Ranboo had given up trying to undo the handcuffs when they started getting pulled along by Tubbo, so instead he focused into the conversation.

“Sam?” They repeated, curiosity and questioning lining his tone. It was hard to tell anything with only their tones, as Ranboo was wearing sunglasses and a mask, but Tommy felt like they were very expressive with his voice so it was easier. “Isn’t he the creeper mechanic? I thought he only liked Ponk?” Tubbo elbowed Ranboo in the guts at the last line, the smile on his face not faltering.

“Word around town is that he brought back a…an assistant,” Tubbo emphasized greatly on the last word, nudging Ranboo in the side more, almost hesitating as if he didn’t know what word to use. Tommy felt that, and didn’t tease him for the misremembering, but didn’t understand the nudging.

“Why do you keep nudging him?” Tommy asked. Ranboo jumped a bit, but Tubbo kept up a smooth smile.

“They have memory issues.” The simple, blunt answer allowed Tommy to nod in understanding.

“Is the memory problems caused by anything? Should I avoid saying certain things?” Ranboo seemed to relax at Tommy’s words, and gave a relieved chuckle.

“No, nothing you need to worry about. Thank you though, most people don’t ask that.” Tommy nodded more, not understanding why people wouldn’t want to avoid hurting another person by asking a simple question. “I will say though, I have a memory journal to help remember, so if you see me take it out, I’m just recording things. Actually, I should probably record this-“ true to this words, Ranboo takes out a small leather bound journal from an inside pocket of his suspicious fancy jacket.

“Is there a reason you wear such a fancy jacket?”

“It’s just what he likes to wear, bossman. It’s like his. Know what I mean?” Tommy thought back to his own choice of wardrobe. Looking back at Ranboo, he could see them writing down rather quickly, seeming a bit anxious overhearing Tommy’s question. Tommy thought he looked scared of Tommy’s response, so he decided to lighten the mood.

“Oh, cool. I also wear like the same thing a lot. I have about five of these shirts that I wear as my go-to. I always feel weird not wearing them.” Ranboo once again relaxed at Tommy’s reassurances and Tubbo seemingly smiled harder.

“Glad you could relate, bossman. I think you’ll like hanging out with us. Want to hang out today?” Tommy was about to reiterate that he needed to bring back food to Sam before Tubbo finished his thought. “After you deliver the food, I mean. We can hang once you drop off food and then tell Sam that you’re with us. He knows Ranboo anyways, related to Niki we’re pretty sure. Second or tertiary cousins from the looks of it.” Tommy was confused by what Tubbo said and didn’t retain any of the new information, but nodded along anyways. Thinking about new topics of conversation, Tommy decided to try and break some ice between them.

“Uh, so to get to know each other better as we make our way to Niki’s bakery. What’s your favorite animal?” Immediately Tommy regretted the question as soon as he was able to make out Tubbo’s manic expression and sensed Ranboo’s defeated and mournful aura. Both Ranboo and Tommy ended tensing up, the former due to experience and the latter due to reflecting the crushed emotions radiating off the taller.

“Oh ho ho, Toms. Didn’t you know, bees are technically animals? Let me tell you a little something about them-“

Tommy regretted this line of conversation.

They arrived at Niki’s about ten minutes later.

Ten minutes too late in both Tommy and Ranboo’s opinion, who had to sit through a rant about bees, their scientific name, facts and biological aspects about them. Tubbo was practically glowing when the trio stepped into the bakery. Tommy wanted to sit down, and chose the closest booth to sit at. Ranboo had a similar idea and sat down alongside Tommy, pulling Tubbo with them due to the handcuffs. They all were cramped on one side of the booth, but none of them moved to get up, all content to sit and build up energy once again.

Tubbo had gone quiet when the other two sat, and Tommy didn’t know what was going through his head, but he knew he probably wouldn’t want to know. After the conversation of making bees into drug weapons, Tommy did not want to adventure on the topic any more, instead deciding to wait for a new contention to arise. Looking around, he was able to see that the bakery was a cottage core aesthetic. There was strong wooden beams and stained glass lining the walls, with vines and flowers flowing down the windows of light. The atmosphere was lit up by a mixture of candles and lanterns, creating a cozy air around them. The smell of freshly baked bread and treats helped bring the trio into a sense of easier life, filled with delicious food.

After a bit of silence from the trio, Tommy watched as a pink haired woman came out from the back of the bakery carrying freshly baked bread. It smelt delicious and Tommy was tempted to just steal some before remembering Sam asked him to make a good impression. The other two’s heads also popped up, and Tubbo was the one to take the initiative to stand up and start walking over with Ranboo in tow. Not wanting to be left behind, Tommy followed, sticking close to the two kids his age. Tommy wanted to call out to the front person, but he didn’t know them and neither Tubbo nor Ranboo were speaking up so he followed their lead. Eventually, quite soon really, the pink haired woman looked up.

“Ranboo! And Tubbo! I see you handcuffed him again. Please tell me you at least have the key on you. Wouldn’t want the Bathroom Incident™ to happen again.” Both boys shuddered, and Tommy felt like even the implication was horrible. “I see you also brought someone new! Hello, I’m Niki! Welcome to my bakery, which has been handed over for the foreseeable future. Who are you? I don’t feel like I’ve seen you around before.” Tommy gulped and stepped from one foot to the other, swaying in place a bit.

“Uh, ayup. I’m TommyInnit. Sam’s new assistant.” Niki’s eyes gleamed in recognition, and a playful amused smile came across her face.

“Ah, I’ve heard about you. Glad to finally see you around,” Tommy liked to ignore how he had only arrived last night, “What did you come here for?” Tommy opened his mouth to respond but Tubbo beat him to it.

“Food! Delicious, sweet succulent food!” Bouncing on his feet in excitement, Tubbo leaned his weight onto the display window. He seemed to emanate a child in a candy store with his jovial attitude. He was buzzing like a bee and kept chanting “Sugar! Sugar! Sugar!” Right above his breath, more of a whisper than anything. Ranboo groaned at his antics.

“Why are you like this?” In response, Tubbo laughed like a goblin. Tommy decided to contribute to the food order after a chortle of laughter.

“I was told to get some pastries for breakfast. What’s the best shit here? It better not be anything with lemons. I’ve heard way too much about lemons from Sam today.” Niki’s eyes sparkled and she looked at Tommy with amusement.

“What if I told you everything here had lemons in it?” Tommy groaned loudly, and everyone laughed at his reaction. “Don’t worry, I’m not Ponk. I can make pastries with more than lemons. How about I give you a strawberry shortcake muffin and a lemon tart for Sam. The lemon tarts were made by Ponk, I’m sure he’ll love it.” Tommy nodded, but then stilled.

“Wait, I thought you were running the bakery because Ponk couldn’t work with only one arm?” Ranboo hummed at Tommy’s question while Niki packed some food for the trio.

“It’s harder for him to work with one arm, he can still do it. He only makes a few treats some days. The lemon tarts themselves are from two days ago. They were refrigerated so they’re still okay and Sam doesn’t mind. Can’t keep a bakery afloat with only a few treats every few days, though, so he let me take over until further notice. He thinks that he’s going to retire though, even when Sam finishes that project he says he’s been working on-”

“Oh, the robot arm?” Niki paused lightly and had her gaze shifted towards Tommy but continued packing up the treats.

“Yes. Though I didn’t know he would tell you about it. He’s very protective of Ponk.”

“Yeah, I got to see it.” Niki almost dropped the food as she started handing over some to Ranboo over the counter. “Looks real cool, innit. Some strips of red, orange and yellow throughout it. Looks like flames or some shit. Tons of symbols all over it. I want to touch it some day, maybe when he gives it to Ponk. Don’t really feel like touching it when I could break it.” Niki had a slightly strained smile at Tommy’s words.

“I didn’t know he trusted you around his lab so much.”

Tommy shrugged. “He showed me around. I haven’t been there without his supervision. Probably won’t ever be. He practically lives there anyways, if he lives anything similar to how he does back in the Greater Essempi.” Niki hummed while nodding, seemingly weighing a thought in her mind. Her eyebrows were slightly tense, but not judging Tommy or mad, more reflective than anything.

Tubbo spoke up at this point, with white powdery sugar all along his face and mouth stuffed with puffs, “Fon’t you neef ‘o ge’ back?” Honestly, it sounded very dumb, so Tommy looked at him with the most incredious look on his face he could muster. Ranboo sighed before translating for the shorter.

“He said ‘don’t you need to get back?’” Humming an “ohhhhh”, Tommy replied to the chaotic one’s question.

“Probably. I don’t really know how long I’m allowed to be out before he starts getting worried,” Tommy said while shifting in place. At this, Tubbo held out a slightly crinkled brown bag with a tart and muffin stuffed inside. The place where his hand was crinkling the bag was covered in powdery goodness, but Tommy didn’t mind as he took the small bag and handed Niki the money he was given by Sam. However, she waved off his extended hand.

“No need. Ponk gives Sam lemon treats for free. Consider the muffin a gift from me as a welcoming present and a birthday gift,” she said with a wink, adding, “You can pay next time anyways.” Blushing, Tommy thanked her before turning to Tubbo and Ranboo to leave. Both of them were staring at him in shock though. Well, Tubbo was, and Tommy assumed Ranboo had the same expression under his mask and glasses.

“It’s your birthday?” Ranboo asked. Tommy shrugged.

“Yesterday was. My sixteenth.”

“That’s awesome, bossman! Finally not an infant!” Tubbo added. Tommy huffed.

“Excuse you? I’ll have you know I am so poggers and am the biggest man! You are an infant in comparison!” Tubbo seemed to gleam at this. A dark, sadistic expression taking over his face.

“Oh Tommy. Don’t you know? Although I might be shorter than you, I am older than you. Respect your elders, you child.” The glee that come from his voice was tangible, but Tommy was too busy being offended to notice Ranboo scooting backwards.

“I AM NOT A CHILD!”

They were kicked out a bit later for their shouting and cursing, being told “it’s not good for customers” by an exasperated but kind Niki. Tommy could see how Ranboo and Niki were related, even if it was distant and they were completely different heights. Both were pretty quiet spoken but subtly scary. It was hard to tell with Tubbo around, however, who Tommy could confidently say scares the shit out of him with the way he speaks. He talked about making bombs for Prime’s sake! And NUKES!

By the time he got back to the lab, he had nibbled the top layer of the delicious muffin given to him by Niki, and was working on the fluffy goodness inside. The bag crinkled as he swayed it from up and down with his left arm. If anyone were to look at him, they would describe his walking style as rather childish, but he was a Big Man™ so it was a very manly walk.

He knocked on the lab door when he got to it with the hand holding the lemon tart bag, stepping back a bit to watch the door after he finished. On the way over, he was able to realize that it had become noon during his journey. Meaning the outing took a few hours. Tommy internally tensed in preparation for if Sam got mad when he met up with him. Instead of getting yelled at though, Tommy found that when the door opened, Sam gave a questioning lilt of the head towards the bag he held.

“What’s in the bag?” Snapping out of his head, Tommy hands out the treat.

“Niki packed a bag with a lemon tart made by Ponk. There’s also the money you gave me. Uh, Niki gave the food for free. Said Ponk gives you the tarts for free and the muffin was a birthday gift.” Sam laughed and took the bag with the tart and money inside.

“That definitely sounds like her. Much too altruistic. Will have to thank her next time I talk to her. Talk to anyone besides her? Make any friends?” Not knowing the tone Sam had, Tommy nodded.

“Meet up with a few weirdos. A tall bitch named Ranboob and a short Big Man named Tubbo. Uh, they said you may or may not know Ranboob because they’re distantly related to Niki?” Sam nodded.

“Yeah, I know Ranboo. Good kid, I’m happy you made friends with them.”

“They’re a bitch. Also, do you know why Niki knew I was here when I arrived last night?” Tommy asked.

Sam laughed and ruffled Tommy’s hair. “I thought I told you to shower?” Ignoring the question, he locked eyes with Tommy’s locks.

“Decided against it to spite you,” Tommy replied while trying to look angry at the ruffling.

A huff. “Of course. Wouldn’t expect anything else from you. At least shower before you go out again.” A confused noise left Tommy’s lips.

“I’m not helping you work?”

“Nope, your job is to keep me company from time to time and to remind me to actually take care of myself. Although I don’t know how much you’ll be able to fulfill the latter. I think you’ll remind me by not doing it yourself. But that also means that you need to take care of yourself by making and maintaining friends. Go out and bond with Ranboo and Tubbo. Go buy some more food from Niki’s. The money is yours to use so you could go somewhere else if you want, just try to stay with your new friends.”

Tommy nodded and started bouncing on his feet in excitement. He was given permission to go have fun!

“Thanks Sam! You’re the most pog ever! I’m going to hang out with some Big Man’s now!” Tommy yelled as he released himself from Sam’s grip and rushed out the lab doors, sprinting away toward mischief.

“Take a shower!” Sam yelled after him. Cursing Sam out, Tommy decided to take a small detour to quickly rinse out his hair and shampoo it. It was quick, it was easy, and Sam would be none the wiser that Tommy didn’t take a full shower. Checking the mirror, his now shinier golden locks gleamed at him and he continued to sprint out of the confines of the building towards the bakery he had now grown attached to.

Off he went back towards the bakery where he left his two new friends. Making friends was quite easy, guess Dream was wrong. Which… was a very weird train of thought. Hopefully Ranboo is holding up being handcuffed to Tubbo.

Chapter Text

Rushing out into the streets again, Tommy retraced his way back to the pastry shop.

Stepping back into Saline Solution, he should really tell Niki to rename the place if she permanently gets the bakery, Tommy looked around for a familiar short brunet and tall wanker. He saw Niki talking with a customer, so he didn’t interfere.

He only saw those two, until another male came out from the back. Like Ranboo, he covered most of his body and face, but his dark eyes were shown. The skin around his eyes was bronze chocolate and the mask that covered his face was stripes of red, orange, and gold. He was carrying a basket containing some treats, and he went straight to the front display case. He placed the basket atop the display and then opened it up with the same arm. Taking each treat one at a time, he placed them with the other lemon treats in the case.

It should have hit Tommy sooner, but it was only when his train of thought went to why he was meticulously only using one arm that he realized the man only had one arm. Ponk was shorter than Tommy thought he would be, due to how tall Sam was, but he could see how he went at life with a gentleness, carefully arranging each lemon treat into their respective place. He could see how the stripes of color on the mechanical arm Sam was constructing blended with his robes of striking fire. They draped down towards the floor and barely scraped the ground before ending. Quite different from the type of clothing Sam wears, but somehow complements well in aesthetics.

After a bit of time of staring, Ponk had eventually stopped stocking the sweets and noticed Tommy’s attention driven at him. Making eye contact with him, Ponk saluted Tommy with two fingers while nodding in his direction before going into the back, electing to not mention the lengthened attention.

Well that was… awkward, to say the least. At least Tommy has finally met Ponk? Somewhat? The interaction was confusing, but the only thing Tommy knew was that he had not found Ranboo and Tubbo again.

During all of this, Niki was still talking with the tall brunette bitch customer.. but she was his only way to know where his two friends went so he decided he needed to interrupt the two’s conversation. Bounding over, Tommy made a split second decision to shove the tall emo brunette out of the way seriously who wears a worn trench coat and a beanie? Horrible fashion choices by emos that should be punished before making his presence known to Niki.

“AYUP NIKI!” He shouted while smiling a bit too menacingly at his own antics. She seemed to be surprised and shocked at first, bewildered that the person Tommy pushed just fell. Watching the tall brunette closely for how he reacted. Or at least that’s what Tommy thought her expression meant, considering her eyes kept snaking back to the Emo Bitch Boy™ that Tommy shoved away with clear worry and a tensiness that wasn’t there before. It was odd, did she care for the Emo Bitch Boy™? Deciding to look back at said bitch boy, Tommy saw him still sprawled on the ground, clearly angry and fuming. Turning back to Niki, he decided to express his thoughts on the matter.

“Niki, are you seriously worried about a dickhead that is so dramatic they decide to continue sitting on the floor to stew in anger after being lightly pushed aside for other customers? I mean truly, so… prozomtruous for thinking they are better than others. It’s driving away business, innit?” The baffled expression does not leave, but Niki starts laughing at Tommy’s monologue. Especially at Tommy’s made-up word that gets a chuckle even out of the person on the floor.

“The word you’re looking for is presumptuous, you brat,” the person on the floor spat. Tommy could hear the anger in the voice seep away as his sentence went on, his voice was raspier and lower than Tommy would imagine for his lankiness, but not as deep as the tallest bitch out there, Ranboo. Tommy stuck out his tongue at the prozomtruous bitch.

“No, I meant to use prozomtruous. It has a nice ring to it, innit?” The dramatic Emo Bitch Boy™ had finally gotten up from his place on the floor and settled his weight onto the display case next to Tommy, never taking his eyes away from Tommy’s recently cleaned hair.

“Have you ever actually read a book? Or are you still on picture books?” Due to not having read ever, Tommy looked away from the tall bitch and ignored the snark reply. It seemed to anger the Bitch Boy™ more to ignore him than to answer his jabs. He opened his mouth to continue arguing with Tommy, but Niki opened her mouth first.

“So what will you be having, if you’re a paying customer as you so introduced.” Tommy’s eyes gleamed with mischief at Niki’s plan of attack, and looking at her face he could see that mischief reflected back in her eyes as well.

Clearing his throat, Tommy confidently responded, “Well I had the muffin last time I was here, so what else do you recommend besides lemon treats at this fine establishment?” Niki chuckled, and out of the corner of his eye Tommy could see how the tall bitch was still fuming, but trying to keep civil. What a dramatic wanker.

“Well, there is fresh bread I made. Multiple types of pastries, some have filling, some have powdered sugar on them, they’re all delicious. Macarons, puff pastries, éclairs, cupcakes, cakes, cinnamon rolls, cannoli, strudel, croissants, pies-“

“You’re doing this on purpose,” Emo Bitch Boy™ whined while splaying himself overtop the display case, evidently trying to catch either of their attentions. Both of them moved on without flinching.

“I feel like scones are not your cup of tea so I can give you some cupcakes that were made this morning. What flavor would you like? We have chocolate, vanilla, strawberry-“ a whine from the baby man that cried for attention, “blueberry, we do have lemon, there’s also red velvet, banana, coffee, peanut butter, carrot cake-“

“NIKIIIIII,” the Emo Bitch Boy™ shouted, effectively cutting off Niki’s words. She paused in her speech, and Tommy took it as his turn to rub it into the dramatic wanker that he isn’t the only one in the room.

“Could I try vanilla? The classics are always the best.” Niki once again took her eyes away from the lamenting drama kid and responded to Tommy with a nod and a laugh, the tensiness from before gone.

“This is horrible,” the Emo Bitch Boy™ grumbled while Niki got some vanilla cupcakes.

“Have you considered not being a prozomtruous prick?” Tommy curtly replied rather helpfully. Another wail from the man and a laugh from Niki. She walked behind Tommy’s line of sight to go to the register on the dramatic wanker’s side of the display case. The sound of a cash register was heard in the otherwise quiet bakery, and Emo Bitch Boy™ decided to face Tommy during the ringing up. His eyes scrunched together, as if he were trying to figure Tommy out. His line of sight kept going up to Tommy’s hair and then back down towards his ice blue eyes. Tommy would guess he had some hybrid blood in him by the action, but he wasn’t touching his hair like Sam warned so it must have been weak. He looked human otherwise, besides his horrible taste in fashion. His eyes were an earthy brown and his hair was made of rolling curls of brown.

“I don’t recognize you,” was all he stated. Tommy huffed at the sentence.

“I don’t recognize you either, you prick.” A frown graced Emo Bitch Boy™’s face at Tommy’s reply.

“You’re rather rude, aren’t you?” Tommy gasped mockingly and placed a hand over his chest.

“Me? Rude? Why, I’m an absolute angel I’ll have you know! The biggest man in town!” The prick rolled his eyes and scoffed, leaving Tommy to cackle with a manic grin.

“If you’re what you call the ‘biggest man’, then you should meet my brother.”

“Anyone related to you is a prick, so I’d rather not.” The Emo Bitch Boy™ chuckled but didn’t take the bait.

“He rather is a prick. So I don’t fault you.”

This is when Tommy decided to be a little shit. “I feel bad for anyone being related to you, having to put up with you must be such a chore. Maybe I should meet your brother and apologize for your existence,” he said casually as he could muster, hearing Niki being done ringing him up and walking over to the register while taking out his money. If he could see the man’s eyes, he would have seen the irises turn to slits before quickly reverting back.

He chuckled though, and replied even more casually, “I don’t think he’s going to be seeing you anytime soon.” Niki perked up in Tommy’s vision to glare at the Emo Bitch Boy™ behind him. There was a moment of silence while Tommy rifled through the stack of bills he had, trying to count out the appropriate amount, before the mystery man went on. “What I mean to say is that I want to spend more time with you before you inevitably embarrass me in front of my family.”

“Why the fuck would I want to hang out with you?” Tommy said with no real venom but confusion tangible in his tone. He started handing the money to Niki, but she didn’t take it, instead having a knowing smirk on her face.

“Well…” money came into his view, and was handed over to Niki. She took it with a small smile and handed the food to Tommy. “You can pay me back for buying you food, and maybe I can get you more in the future. Plus, I can show you how I am not ‘prozomtruous’ or however you say it.” Tommy stared at Niki for her betrayal, and she only shrugged giving a thumbs up to him. Sighing, Tommy turned back around and gave the man a dead stare.

“Are you so lonely that you spend your free time trying to buy out friends who are minors?” It was hard to tell Tommy’s tone and the man looked taken aback, but Tommy gave a small smile at the end and relief flooded the person’s shoulders. Niki doubled over from laughter and Tommy started laughing harshly. The man, although trying to play up being angry or even embarrassed, was clearly enjoying the tease as well.

“Well then all the more reason to let you get to know me. I’ll have you know I make so many friends.” The man posed his hands on either side of his hip and had a confident smirk to his lips.

“Uh huh, and where are they now?” Tommy said back, equally with a smirk of confidence. Niki better hold up after the betrayal. As predicted, the man looked towards Niki and gave what Tommy assumed to be puppy eyes.

“Niki, please don’t let him have this,” he pleaded.

“I’m sorry sir, are you here to buy anything else?” Her innocent and naive tone was completely betrayed by the absolute most gleeful smirk that came across her face, giving away her tricks.

“NIKIIIIIII.” The man fell to the floor in his dramatics, and Tommy couldn’t resist the jab.

“Are you also going to show me how you’re not this dramatic all the time? Or is this just your state of being?” The man in question pretended to be wounded and dying out on the floor, not giving a response to Tommy’s teasing. Not wanting to further deal with the man, Tommy turned to Niki to ask the question he wanted when he first arrived. “I actually came back to find out where Ranboo and Tubbo went. They invited me to hang out earlier and now that I’m free I don’t know where they went.” Both the man and Niki perked up.

“Oh, well I watched them head out East, and knowing them they went to the abandoned complexes. Just keep going straight forward from the bakery as you can and you’ll find them eventually. The place echos so feel free to call out to them once you get there.” Niki was so kind and helpful. The poggest woman ever.

“Wait, does that mean we have to reschedule when I can hang out with you?” Emo Bitch Boy™ actually sounded hurt by the proposition, and Tommy liked to think that calling him a theatre kid right off the bat wasn’t a bad read on his character. He was way too dramatic for the situation.

“Sorry Big Man, already have plans. Maybe we can reschedule it to never and I don’t have to see your ugly face again?” Tommy gave a sarcastic smile and started walking out the door to go find his two new friends. The man huffed but made no further push to interact with Tommy. Instead, he turned to face Niki and the door closed with a bell chime.

“He’s annoying,” was said in disdain by the dramatic theatre drop out. Niki scoffed and looked fondly at the place she last saw Tommy.

“He’s endearing,” was said so softly with fondness thick in her tone. The theatre drop out frowned and took a moment of pause to think of a comeback.

“I hate him,” he said in lieu of an actual response.

“He reminds you of yourself,” Niki said with confidence and inside knowledge of years of friendship.

“He hates me.” The statement was said with defeat in his tone, knowing the bakery worker knew him too well.

“Then change that by getting to know him too.” It was said with assurance, but the dramatic man had his doubts. Niki turned and bent down to fix up the counter display, making sure it was organized and neat. The man anxiously wringed his hands together and glanced back at where the boy disappeared earlier.

“I still don’t think I recognize him.” Niki giggled at the man’s softer, more confused, tone.

“He got here just last night. Don’t you remember that ‘assistant’ that Sam talked about bringing back?” The man got up off the floor, clearly interested in the conversation, sprawling himself along the display case again.

“Like the Fundy situation, right?”

Niki nodded and smacked the man lightly. “Exactly like the Fundy situation, now stop slouching on my display counter!”

Chapter Text

Footsteps pounded as Tommy made his way East from Saline Solution. He still needed to talk to Niki about changing the name.

Although it was chilly, as it always was in the Antarctic Empire, his body was sweating as he ran towards abandoned buildings. The structures around him went from cleaned and proper to graffitied and dirtier. Some of the art were murals of social and political conflict that flew over Tommy’s head, hybrids, humans and animals painting the sides of the buildings before blending into tags and cliché penises that are easily drawn by any immature brain.

As the tags and childish art became more common, it was also noticed that the structures became increasingly more destroyed and decayed. Cement became the more common substance of building and there were rusted iron pipes poking out of the walls seemingly everywhere. At some point there ceased to be trees and greenery found around the area, and dust appeared to be covering every square inch of the ground. Once tape could be seen lining the walls with “DO NOT ENTER” stretched across the yellow band.

Tommy’s footsteps started to echo around him and at some point a buzzing sound made its way to his ears. The humming was incessant and it wasn’t until he accidentally tripped and yelped in surprise that it stopped. Instead, a thudding noise echoed throughout the place, and Tommy felt goosebumps raise along his body. He definitely was being watched. Why did Niki send him off to die?

“Ayup, anyone?” He shouted, hearing his voice come back to him in a distorted sequencing. Only thuds answered his call. He tried again one last time to see if Tubbo and Ranboo were around. “Big Men? Tubbo! Ranboob! I was told you’d be here! If Niki lied to me then this will be the start of my villain arc!” In between sentences he had to pause to catch his own thoughts for what to say next, his voice crescendoing into a canopy of sound before dissipating. A light clincking of metal could be heard, and something rolled a few meters in front of him. Quickly looking down at the object, it was a round indented sphere with a certain important item not located on it. “Is that a fucking grenade!?”

Before he could duck for cover, Tommy raised his arms to cover his eyes as the gadget activated. An explosion rang out and Tommy felt the substance frame his appendages. He fell back onto the dusted floor and swiftly realized that besides the shock and bruises from the fall, Tommy hadn’t sustained any pain from the blast. Opening his eyes, he was met with the sight of goggles.

Tommy did not scream. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar. The echo of a high pitched noise was nothing but a figment of imagination.

The person above giggled and lifted the goggles from their face. Familiar blue eyes shown from below, once puffy brown hair covered in yellow dust greeted him.

“Ayup, bossman. Like my color bomb?”

“Your… WHAT?” Tommy quickly sat up and observed his surroundings. His entire front, both arms and outfit, was absolutely covered in a yellow pigment. The ground surrounding Tommy was covered in a similar substance in a radial setting. Stammering on the ground, Tommy saw a taller figure join them. “That-that grenade was yours? And you purposefully set it off on me!? What the fuck, man?” Laughter from two people met his ears.

“Tubbo likes to mess with explosives so we come out here where it isn’t illegal to destroy property,” he heard a deep voice answer him. Looking up he saw Ranboob completely clean and nervously watching the pair from afar. Tommy decided to try and change this by flinging some excess powder towards them. The person in question just side-stepped the flying color, and a frown settled onto Tommy’s face.

“You’re a bitch,” Tommy said. No one really knew if he was talking to Tubbo or Ranboo, but it was a valid statement nonetheless. Tubbo held his hand out for Tommy to use and get up, but being the petty Big Man he was, Tommy got up on his own. Yellow smeared across his pants as he shifted to get up, and as he sprung upwards a cloud of powder engulfed him. “Is this all you do out here, Big Man?” Tommy questioned as the dust settled. Both Ranboo and Tubbo shook their heads, with golden particles flying from Tubbo’s hair at the shaking.

“I do create actual bombs that I set off, I just wanted to scare you a bit, bossman. Start off small, you know?” There was a pause in Tubbo’s speech where he looked up at Ranboo for confirmation on something. A silent conversation was held right in front of Tommy, and although he was offended, it quickly passed when Ranboo nodded and Tubbo continued explaining, “Do you want to see one of my bombs set off?”

Hell yeah he wanted to see a bomb go off.

“Fuck yeah, Big Man! Show me what you got!” Tubbo gave a wicked grin at Tommy’s acceptance and gestured him farther into the rumble, Ranboo lagging behind.

“I got a few bigger ones in the works currently, but I do have some smaller ones ready to go. Once I have the bigger ones completed, Ranboo can go get you, that way we can watch them explode together. It will be like a huge bonding moment,” Tubbo rambled as he skipped along the destroyed ground towards his bomb-keeping location. Tommy groaned.

“Does Ranboob have to be there? They’re like a third wheel, innit?” Tommy sarcastically snarked. He wasn’t able to see Ranboo’s pointed expression towards Tubbo from behind him, but he could see Tubbo start cackling at his statement.

“Ah yes, of course, bossman. Didn’t know you were so clingy. Could have just told us.”

“I AM NOT CLINGY!” Tommy shouted with all of the bravo he could muster. His voice echoed around him tenfold as Tubbo and Ranboo doubled over in laughter, both giving vague statements of agreement to quench Tommy. Tommy huffed, but didn’t further shout at them both. They eventually settled down to chuckling and light giggles before continuing the trek to their base of operations. Considering he had already walked a considerable amount to get there, Tommy was questioning how far out it was. “Are we there yet?” He whined, high pitched and drawn out to annoy them much easier. Tubbo rolled his eyes, but Ranboo look towards Tommy and answered.

“We want where-we-keep-the-bombs and where-we-test-the-bombs safely separated. Don't want to accidentally set off all of them at once and commit a war crime.”

“You say that as if we shouldn’t commit war crimes,” Tubbo fired back from in front. He was leading them at a much slower pace, obviously catching up to where he kept his explosives. Ranboo sighed at Tubbo’s comment while Tommy chuckled.

“Yeah, we shouldn’t commit all war crimes possible. Piss off the higher ups here. What can they do against bombs, huh, bitch?” Tommy fired.

“They would kill us,” Ranboo replied calmly and knowingly, edging a tiredness that Tommy couldn’t comprehend. Tubbo decided this was when he was going to start being a problem and joined in on Tommy’s chaos.

“Well, what are they gonna do against nukes? Could set them off at the palace before they even have time to react. I have the spy technology needed. I can totally do it,” Tubbo stated chaotically confidently. The sentences were terrifying to Ranboo, but Tommy read him as joking.

“OH MY PRIMES, WE CAN BE SPIES?” A deep, deep sigh from Ranboo could be heard at Tommy’s side.

“Please don’t become spies and try to kill the Antarctic Royals. They have their monikers for a reason.” And… yeah Tommy forgot they were called the Siren, the Blood God, and the Angel of Death for a reason. Tubbo scoffed at Ranboo’s comment though.

“Once again, what would they do against a nuke? The Siren and Blood God are known to only be effective against people. A nuke isn’t a person.” Tommy gasped at Tubbo’s offending language.

“How dare you insinuate that the absolutely poggers nuke doesn’t have feelings!” Tubbo laughed at Tommy’s antics while Ranboo scoffed lightheartedly and rolled his eyes. A loud thudding from in front of Tommy drew his eyes to Tubbo’s form. He was on an elevated platform with a metal box being laid out in front of him. There were shaky tables set up with computers and wires running all over the place. Lights and screen flashed in a coding language Tommy didn’t understand. Slight whirring and beeping sounds met his ears as he heard a program being booted up by Tubbo’s typing. It all looked like a sci-fi movie.

“This seems like very expensive equipment to be just lying around in an abandoned area,” Tommy commented, watching Tubbo type furiously at the screen and backspacing a ton.

“They actually keep it abandoned back here because of Tubbo. They want him to have a space to explore and blow up away from others and away from actual property,” Ranboo’s voice called from slighting behind him.

“They?” Tommy questioned. Ranboo nodded while Tubbo cursed at the screen, clearly having typed something wrong. The backspace could be heard being abused on Tubbo’s keyboard, and Tommy felt bad for the inanimate object. Not waiting for Ranboo to answer, he instead confronted Tubbo with, “I’m going to need to call an abuse hotline if you keep treating your backspace like that, Big Man.” The response he got from said coder was a distracted hum and a snort from the tall fucker behind him. He shot a glare at Ranboo behind him for good measure. An arm suddenly snapped out in front of him and pushed him off of the raised platform. Ranboo gratefully rushed out as soon as possible and caught Tommy from below.

“I logged in!” Was shouted from above, a distorted echo surrounding the place. Tommy irritably glared at Tubbo from below, still being carried in Ranboo’s arms. Tubbo seemed to finally take in his surroundings and immediately started giggling at Tommy’s predicament.

”Oops, sorry for accidentally pushing you off.”

Tommy, in turn, struggled to be set free upon notice. Ranboo grunted but put Tommy down as gently as possible. To cover up his embarrassment, Tommy diverted Tubbo’s attention back to his monitor.

“Why did it take you like ten minutes to log in, you fuck?” There was faux irritation, but it was still filled with curiosity.

“It’s called dyslexia, you bitch,” Tubbo fired back. Standing still for a moment, Tommy processed what Tubbo said.

“The fuck is a ‘dyslexia’?” Tommy confusingly asked. Ranboo and Tubbo laughed.

“Means I can’t read or write the best, bossman. My brain does some funky stuff and mixes up the letters. To spite the world I make bombs with complex coding. I can also hack. Fuck the world and what it wants to make me.” The assurance and determination in Tubbo’s voice did not go unnoticed, and he turned back to the convoluted code on the screen. Tommy found himself nodding along and waiting for Tubbo to activate his bombs, or whatever he was doing. Tommy did not want to anger the short bean with explosives, thank you very much.

With a grin on his face, Tubbo finished typing something up and turned towards the duo behind him. “Now,” pressing the space bar on his keyboard, a rumbling was activated off to the side, “Let me show you what I call ‘Project Bumble’.” He agilely leapt off the raised platform onto the ground where a bunch of metal was scrapped together and facing upward. Upon closer inspection, and with the aid of the metal opening up, it revealed a long rocket-like object with radiation stickers covering the surface. Tubbo bounded over to the suspicious looking item with maniac glee and joy.

It was hard to read Ranboo’s thoughts but he seemed to be unaffected by Tubbo’s behavior. It must have been normal for the short genius. Tommy tracked back into reality with Tubbo dancing around the rocket in excitement, working over a few pieces and finishing up some typing off to the side. Looking up from the keyboard he had plugged into the object, he stared straight into Tommy’s eyes. “Where we landing, bois?”

There was a moment of silence before the trio broke into cackling laughter. Tubbo directed his attention back to Tommy, clacking away at his keyboard.

“Seriously though, where do you want this to drop? It can be anywhere within a two mile radius, but I would prefer at least half a mile out so my equipment doesn’t get destroyed and we don't have to worry about radiation poisoning when getting back to the town.” Tommy blanked.

“You’re allowing me to make the shots?” At his questioning, the two of them nodded their heads, Ranboo much more hesitant than Tubbo, who looked excited at Tommy’s hesitance. “Uh, I don’t know. Left?” He heard a soft snort from slightly behind him that he assumed came from Ranboo while Tubbo gave him a blank stare.

“No directional coordinates? Dude, how do I know where ‘left’ is? Left is relative!”

“I don’t know, man! Just go left! That way!” Tommy pointed to his left. Tubbo groaned in response.

“East! You’re pointing east!” Tommy chose to ignore how he didn’t understand what Tubbo said.

“Left, Big Man. Left.” Shaking in rage, Tubbo shouted in frustration at Tommy’s insistence.

“Fine! I’m not arguing with you! Let me just blow some shit up.” Once again typing away, Tommy watched as the rocket object was automatically turned and pointed to his left. “You ready?” Tubbo asked in excitement. Nodding, Tubbo turned back to his keyboard. “Okay! Back away a bit, stand clear of launching or you’ll have your head taken off! Launching in three… two… one-“ a loud, loud sound pierced the air. Tommy hastily covered his ears with his hands and winced at the noise, trying to watch the rocket-bomb. Smoke came out from under the explosive as it revved up. It billowed out and covered Tommy’s vision of Tubbo behind the metal. He was also covering his ears with what looked like soundproof headphones.

Where did that fuck get those? And how dare he not give them to him?

Tommy quickly got over his annoyance when he watched as the rocket shot off into the sky. It gave off a loud shwoop as it was released from its raised position, with a line of smoke following it in its arch. It flew very high into the sky, and Tommy wasn’t able to keep track of it once it went past a certain point.

He looked towards both Tubbo and Ranboo, checking their expressions. Tubbo was still looking up at the sky with open-mouthed awe and Ranboo seemed to be looking off into the distance to the left. Tommy decided since that was where it would be landing that he would look in the same direction as them. A sudden rumble was felt and a small boom was heard. It was quickly followed by a dust plum engulfing the sky to the left and a shock wave of noise pushing into the three delinquents. The sound hurt his eardrums and he felt as if the ground was being pushed out from under him. It was fucking awesome.

“Holy shit, man!” Tommy screeched. He didn’t think either of them could hear him, but he still screamed it anyway. The loud sound of the explosion went off for a while, rumbling the ground under them during the duration. At some point it was awkward standing around while waiting for the loud noise to die down, and they ended up staring at each other for a bit. Although it was still loud from the explosion, they laughed at their awkward silence. It was even funnier when they couldn’t hear each other’s laughter over the noise.

Eventually the noise died down and Tommy was able to take his hands off of his ears. Of course, he immediately started shouting at his new friends.

“That was fucking poggers!” He started jumping up and down and ran towards Tubbo, knocking him over. Tubbo laughed at his antics but joined in with the hugging tackling. At some point Tubbo reached out and dragged Ranboo into the tackle, leading to a three-way competition to see who was stronger. Although Tubbo may have been the overall victor, Tommy would like to think he had Ranboo beat out into third. As long as he wasn’t last. They got so distracted with messing with each other that they didn’t notice a new pair of footsteps until a voice broke out over them.

“Tubbo, what did I say about setting off your ‘Project Bumble’?” It was a female voice that spoke out over them.

They quickly detangled themselves from each other, with Tubbo bolting upright to stand up straight. Ranboo was quickly behind him while Tommy was still fumbling on the floor. He had the grace of an elk, fuck you.

“That I wasn’t allowed to designate a place to blow up with it. I didn’t even do it! Tommy chose! It was bonding, Uncle Puffy. Bonding,” said boy was giving the most innocent puppy eyes Tommy thought possible. His eyes were drawn wide, showing off his blue irises, and his bottom lip was left out pouting. He suddenly didn’t look like the explosive crazy teen genius he was hanging out with earlier. The woman, Uncle Puffy(?), shook her head at the display. Tommy watched as her long white and black curls bounced at the movement, and noticed the odd shape on top of her head that swayed with her action. He quickly realized it was a navy blue captain hat.

“I know you too well for the puppy eyes to work on me, Tubbo. You know this.” The boy sagged in defeat, immediately losing the image of an innocent child, instead scowling at the ground. Tommy watched as the new person tutted and put their hands on their hips, moving the long navy sailing coat out of the way. She looked like a pirate.

“I know. Does make it any less annoying, bossman.” ‘Puffy’ huffed good-naturedly and shook her head lightly. She held up one of her hands and gestured Tubbo over to her. The smaller boy took the initiative and allowed himself to be hugged gently by ‘Puffy’ before the loving act pulled apart. From here, Tommy could see how she was slightly taller than Tubbo, definitely shorter than Ranboo or him. He could also see she was wearing heels, so she was probably shorter than Tubbo normally.

“You know I’m looking out for ya kiddo. Your dad won’t be too happy knowing you set off one of your bigger ones, especially one that had such big consequences. At least you aimed it away from the town this time.” Looking around, the woman made eye contact with Tommy and tilted her head in curiosity. Although decked out in traditional pirate gear, Tommy didn’t feel afraid of this woman. “And who might you be? I recognize Ranboo, but I don’t think I’ve met you yet.” There was silence and Tommy took that as his cue to introduce himself. However, she did just berate Tubbo and then hug him lightly. He constitutes that as some real wanker behavior.

“Who are you? I don’t have to introduce myself to strangers! Uh, stranger danger and all that shit.” Tubbo snorted next to ‘Puffy’ and Ranboo seemed to be holding his giggles in, but neither interrupted Tommy’s back talk. The woman also found it amusing, as she joined in on the hysterics for a bit, laughing along to his aggression.

“Ah, quite the mouth on you, I see. Well, I guess that would be the more obvious way of doing it. I’m Tubbo’s uncle, Captain Puffy of the Antarctic Imperial Navy. Although that’s the much more proper title I’ve been given. I’m on vacation currently and am staying in Pogtopia at the moment. I use she/her pronouns but usually either masculine or androgynous titles. That’s why Tubbo here called me ‘uncle’. You can call me Puffy though, I don’t mind. While on vacation I’m also working as the practicing therapist of the town, so if you have any troubles you can come to me. No judgment at all.” Well… that was a way to introduce oneself.

“Uh, I’m Tommy, innit?” Tubbo once again snorted and Tommy shot him a glare. “I, uh, am also staying here for the time being. I’m working as Sam’s assistant,” a spark of recognition in Puffy’s eyes, “and met these two at the cafe Niki is working at,” Puffy’s eyes softened at the name, “Care to tell me who came up with that horrible name? I mean, ‘Saline Solution’ is such a dogshit name. You would think that they came up with something more appetizing. He’s so obsessed with lemons you would think he’d name it ‘Lemon Tree’ or some shit,” Tommy heard Ranboo mutter “Lemon Demon” under his breath at his admittance, “And I met some tall emo theatre reject that wore a similar coat to you but like much more beat up and destroyed- he was a bitch that I totally showed up by the way- Oh, now you need to tell me why you have like the same coat design as him, like really what a wanker-“

“Okay, I think that’s enough rambling for one day,” Tubbo butted in. Tommy scoffed mockingly at him.

“How dare you interrupt the greatest monologue by the TommyInnit. I mean truly, how rude.”

“I let you set off my favorite bomb.” Tommy nodded at Tubbo’s words.

“Touché.” Puffy laughed at the interaction between the two.

“Well that was one hell of an introduction. Glad to get to know you so well Tommy. I hope to see you in my office-“

“Wait what. What do you mean ‘you hope to see me in your office’!?” Tommy shouted. Puffy looked taken aback for a second before quickly recovering.

“Oh, apologies. I thought I remember Sam confiding in me that he would talk to you about going to therapy. Although based on your reaction I think that’s not the case?”

“No! Not at all! He never said anything about that shit. I don’t need therapy. I’m too much of a Big Man for that.” Puffy seemed to deflate at Tommy’s denial.

“Tommy, therapy does not mean you aren’t a Big Man. Even the biggest guys come into therapy. It’s a tool to help you process what’s happening around you. It is not you ‘giving in’ or ‘being a pussy’,” Puffy said, seemingly hurt by Tommy’s words.

“Who the fuck goes to therapy?” Tommy questioned.

“I do.” Turning his head, he looked at Ranboo who had a single hand raised. He seemed apprehensive of Tommy’s attention and was nervously messing with his suit. He didn’t make eye contact either, instead he was so nervous he never raised his eyes from the ground in front of him. Tommy took a few seconds to comprehend the new knowledge before turning back to Puffy and Tubbo. The former was watching Tommy with a softness of patience and understanding while the latter was glancing between Tommy and Ranboo, obviously nervous and anticipating Tommy’s reaction. It only took a few more seconds for Tommy to reach his own conclusion.

“Okay, I’ll go talk to Sam about… appointments tonight. Uh, thanks, I guess,” Tommy said awkwardly, refusing to make eye contact with any of them any longer. In his peripheral, Tommy could see Puffy stand taller and release tension from her shoulders. A relieved puff of airlift her lips.

“Glad you’re thinking about it. Remember that no one will force you into it and that it is judgement free.” Tommy only nodded in response, as he was too tired to respond with any verbal words. Puffy seemed to sense this, with her wanker therapist knowledge, and thus acted accordingly. “How about we all go home for today? It’s getting late and all three of you did some pretty hardcore stuff recently. Didn’t you?” She nudged Tubbo in the side, and he cackled. “You’ll be able to meet up with each other tomorrow, but let’s not worry anyone’s parents any longer.” Ranboo nodded at Puffy’s words, and Tommy decided he folded easily to pressure. Giving a wave, and shouting a goodbye, the four of them left the abandoned grounds to get home. The other three had to direct Tommy out of the unfamiliar area so he can start on his way home, but they parted once they got to the normal streets.

Walking home was slow, but Tommy enjoyed it. He used a lot of energy during the day and was pretty proud of himself for making such quick friends. He was questioning whether or not to bring up therapy sessions with Sam, however. It was obvious he had talked to others about bringing him. Too many people recognized him as Sam’s assistant without him having to introduce himself further. And based on Puffy’s conversation it was obvious Sam talked to others about setting up therapy appointments. With the Captain of the Antarctic Imperial Navy no less! Who else did he set up shit with for Tommy?

Tommy stewed in his anger as he opened up the building doors to get to Sam’s lab. He stomped his way through the living quarters and found no sign of Sam anywhere. Knowing the man well enough, he knocked on the lab’s door and waited in angry silence. Eventually, he heard the door hiss in opening and Tommy made sure to put on the angriest face he could muster. He was met with the shocked face of a faux creeper engineer.

“Tommy, did everything go alright with your two new friends? What happened?” There was only a second of silence before Tommy burst out at him.

“You set up therapy appointments without my knowledge? What the fuck Sam!” Said man immediately looked ashamed by the accusation, and that only churned the flames in Tommy. “What else did you talk to the town about? It’s clear you told them about me before bringing me! Everyone knows about ‘Sam’s new assistant’ as soon as I mention you, so they obviously have talked to you!” Sam put his hands up in a pleading gesture. All of his hands, including the false set settled on his lower torso came up to try and appease the steaming boy.

“Tommy, Tommy, I promise that there is a reason. It’s- it’s dangerous to just bring a new person without warning. Talking to them about you and getting them to anticipate your arrival means that they- uh- they are that much less likely to try and hurt you. The thing with Puffy was mostly because you’ve been without friends your age for so long and have been trained as a soldier from such a young age. The Captain knows what that’s like and knows that it has some serious consequences in the mind. She’s probably the best to talk about it with.”

“So you set me up with the fucking Captain of the Antarctic Imperial Navy? The Captain of the nation which is at war with our own? Captain of a fleet that is most likely made of full hybrids? When I’ve been practically raised by the Head of their warring nations guard? Do you understand how terrifying that is?”

Sam gave a tired sigh, but didn’t counter.

“I’m sorry Tommy. I should have talked to you first. I meant to, it must have left my mind. If you don’t want to go to therapy, you don’t have to. Even though I will highly recommend you take some sessions. She’s a good therapist, and completely breaks away from her title of Captain of the Imperial Navy. She’s- uh- she’s been known to help some soldiers on our side. She’s very self sacrificing and I promise she won’t judge. She already knows you’re from the Greater Essempi and doesn’t judge you for it. It’s not like you can control where you grow up.” That calmed Tommy down. It was his choice, and even Ranboo went to her. Even though he was a tall wanker, he was a good one, and Tommy has seen how kind he was. He could try what Ranboo did. Maybe not be an asshole to his new friend.

“Maybe later…” Tommy conceded. Sam nodded.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to. You’ll never be forced to. It goes against the entire purpose of it,” Sam said with such seriousness. Tommy felt something settle at the bottom of his stomach. He didn’t know if it was apprehension or anticipation. He stood there for a moment, standing in front of Sam in the laboratory’s doorway. Sam shifted and brought something out of the lab, and went besides Tommy, with the door closing behind the two. He pulled Tommy with him, and faced the interior of the living area. “You must be tired. You’re quieter than normal. How about we eat and then go to bed, hm? Get some treats to end the day.” Moving so he could see Sam’s hands, Tommy could see that Sam held a bag of food from Saline Solution. He must have gone out to get more while Tommy was with Ranboo and Tubbo. It was probably unhealthy they were eating so much from the bakery.

He found himself voicing his concerns to Sam. “You should buy some food from somewhere besides the bakery. I can cook if need be, I just need ingredients.” Sam seemed surprised by Tommy’s comment and gazed around the unused dining area. The dust that was settled onto the appliances wasn’t normal for a functioning arrangement to live in.

“You’re right, how about I go out to buy some tomorrow while you’re out. I’ll try to vary my diet. What do you usually cook?” Sam replied.

“Usually some simple soup. I’ve been trained to make a few different types of meals in case of emergencies though, so you could get me anything and I’ll probably be able to make something out of it.” It seemed Tommy’s reassurance led to Sam becoming tense. He tried to hide it as they ate in silence, but Tommy knew he said something wrong. After the awkward meal, Tommy rushed to his room to go to sleep. He would deal with the awkwardness after getting some rest.

Chapter Text

Waking up still felt surreal. Chilly air that was kept away by blankets is what greeted Tommy when he awoke. He stretched out a bit but fell back into the blankets almost immediately when his warm limbs were attacked by the frost of the atmosphere.

Deciding the cold was worse than whatever the day would bring him, Tommy kept under the sheets for much longer than he probably should have. He snuggled and rolled under the covers, allowing himself to be awake and warm in the safety of the layers. Eventually, some birds decided Tommy isn’t allowed to have peace and started to sing endlessly in the new morning sunlight.

Grunting angrily, Tommy sat up on his bed, still tucked under the covers. His neck got cold quickly, so he hooked the sheets over his head to ward off the chill. He dazed in and out listening to the birds chirp, letting his head roll forward and eyes shut.

It wasn’t that comfortable of a position and Tommy realized that if he wanted to get out of bed he would have to shock himself into the cold air. Mentally preparing for the freeze, Tommy loosened the layers around his warm body and got ready to dash out to the bathroom for a warm shower. Shifting his feet, he primed himself to spring from the bed for the optimal position to bound from the cold room. Counting down in his head, he went down from five.

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

GO

Pushing the sheets away, he flew from his position and let the cold air hit him. There was an immediate freeze that hit his body, but his eyes were on the bathroom door. One of his feet hit the floor, and his entire body was shook with the cold that seeped through his foot. Pulling his other foot forward, he realized a massive error in his amazing plan. His foot got caught in the blankets.

With a yelp, Tommy fell to the floor. He was luckily able to catch himself from face planting entirely, and braced his warm hands against the frigid floor. Now shivering from the shock of the cold, Tommy grit his teeth.

Well that wasn’t how he anticipated this to go. He now wishes he wore long sleeves instead of his classic short sleeves to bed.

Sighing, he felt his warm breath hit his now cold hands and used his knees to get up from the ground. He luckily did wear long pants to bed, so he didn’t have to deal with cold knees.

Shifting to view the blankets, he saw how one of his feet was twisted into the layers of sheets that were currently off of his bed. Groaning, he wrestled with the blankets to get them off of his foot. Eventually, he was freed and was now splayed across the freezing floor.

While resting he realized the longer he laid across it, the warmer it got. This led to Tommy resting on the floor for a while longer, trying to soak in any heat his body would allow. Eventually the loud birds, the bright sunlight, and a small frigid draft from under the door led to Tommy getting up and into the bathroom. It was even chillier, somehow, in the bathroom.

Turning on the shower, Tommy set the nozzle to high and got ready to clean himself. He set aside a towel from under the sink and brushed his teeth waiting for the water to heat up. At some point the mirror fogged up from the heat and Tommy realized there was stea, coming from the shower. Quickly turning the nozzle a little bit down so as to not burn him upon entry, Tommy went to clean himself. The dirt and minerals from Tubbo’s rockets yesterday felt great to get out of his hair and skin, letting them wash away into the drain and out of sight.

Sighing to himself, Tommy allowed his mind to wander on this lazy morning. He thought back to Tubbo’s uncle, Puffy, and her expectations of seeing him in her office. He couldn’t really blame her, Sam did deceive her and feed her lies.

But why would Sam try and sign him up for therapy? He didn’t really need it now, did he? He was a Big Man, who could deal with his emotions himself.

Stewing in his anger, Tommy thought back to Sam. It wasn’t right for Sam to make important decisions like that in Tommy’s life without talking to him or even warning him. And then saying he highly recommended it. What manipulation.

Sam’s a wanker, Tommy has decided. A total fucker. A bitch boy, if you will.

Turning off the water as it turned cold, Tommy exited the shower with his hair falling into his eyes. It was more dark brown than anything while water dripped from it. Snatching the towel from where he left it, Tommy dried himself off from his shower while his mind continued to mull over what Sam did. He didn’t feel like even trying to go to therapy after what Sam did, but he trusted Sam. It was probably for the best, right?

Groaning at his inner turmoil, Tommy left the bathroom to get changed for the day.

Not bothering to check what he was wearing, he slipped on whatever he got his hands on first. Shuffling his sneakers on, he was able to see himself in a mirror he had in his room. He was met with a relatively well rested version of himself, if only a little grumpy. Hair shining gold, a soft deep blue sweater that read “Sunday Club”, and dark jeans complimented his ice blue eyes well. Giving a soft huff and glaring at his own reflection, Tommy made his way out of his room.

Not really wanting to run into Sam, he cracked his door open a bit and peered out into the hallway. It was empty, and a shadow could be seen obstructing the light from within revealing that Sam was inside. Sneaking his way past the room, Tommy quickly looked around the kitchen and saw there was still nothing there and made his way out.

Getting outside, Tommy was glad he grabbed a sweater instead of his normal red and white t-shirt. Shivering a bit, he made his way to Saline Solution in hopes of finding Tubbo and Ranboo again. He really needed a way to reach out with them. Probably exchange numbers when he sees them again. Getting to Saline Solution, he was dejected to see that the bakery was closed.

Checking the date, it was a Wednesday. The bakery should have been open, and Tommy was a bit mad that he wasn’t informed sooner. Checking the sign on the door, it read that it was closed for the holiday.

“Today’s a holiday?” Tommy screeched. Looking around, he couldn’t find any indication of a holiday being celebrated. No banners, food, or people were placed about to indicate a holiday. Of the few people who were milling about and had heard Tommy’s screams, one decided to let Tommy in on the occasion.

“It’s November 16th, a holiday for one of the big three and their friends. Mostly celebrated in the inner towns. Not as widely out in these outer districts, but it’s still recognized.” The person wore a coat with a flag on it that Tommy didn’t recognize. It had red, white and blue stripes on the right side with a black semi circle on the left. Three yellow X’s followed in a line through the middle.

The person caught Tommy’s gaze on their outfit and they chuckled. “Uh, part of the holiday.” Tommy snapped his gaze back up to the person’s face. They had wild ginger hair caught under a black cap and freckles on their face, almost like that of a fox. Their face had a familiarity to it but Tommy had never met this person before.

“Why are you celebrating it if only the inner towns do? And who are you?” The fox-like person seemed to get fidgety at Tommy’s questions.

“Uh, I’m Fundy. He/him. Nice to meet you. And uh, I’m here on some… delegation business. Wanted to get a pastry from Niki but realized a little too late that she celebrates the holiday as well, so now I’m here. Can I ask who you are?” Fundy responded.

Tommy squinted his eyes at the man. “Delegation business? In one of the outer towns? That’s sus, fur boy.” The man in front of him sputtered, getting red in the face by Tommy’s name calling.

“Pogtopia is a well loved outer town though, especially for this holiday! Like everything here was named by Siren or some shit. I don’t know. Dude, I didn’t ask to be here. I just wanted to stay at home and forget about this day but it’s important or some shit,” Sus fur boy answered. Tommy hummed in disbelief but didn’t make further comments. Fundy sighed tiredly, “Look, can you tell me who you are? A name or some shit?”

“Do you know where a Tubbo or a Ranboo are?” Tommy instead inquired. The poor man in front of him gave a tired sigh.

“Probably at their bee farm? I know Tubbo loves his bees and will probably be celebrating the holiday there. If he even remembers it.” The last sentence was grumbled beneath the man’s breath in disdain, but Tommy discarded it. Instead he focused in on the information.

“A bee farm? Where would that be?” The man shook his head to dispel whatever thoughts he had before answering Tommy.

“Around where he lives. Close to where he has that explosion site. Uh, near the abandoned buildings. Has a graffitied bee on the side that no one touches. It’s on a side that runs down an old drug alleyway. Pretty sure people are scared to mess with him.”

Trying to take in all the information he was given, Tommy tried to make sense of where Tubbo would be. “So going straight from here?” Tommy asked, looking directly ahead of the building behind him. The Fundy guy also looked towards where Tommy stared off into the distance.

“Yeah, there should also be a glass dome of sorts on top of one of the buildings. That’s where the bee dome is. If you know him, he’ll let you in.”

“Thanks, Furry Boy!” Tommy said, scampering off. He heard noises of protests at the nickname as he raced off, but he paid no mind as he was on the search for a graffiti bee and a glass dome on top of one of the buildings.

There was a surprising amount of buildings with greenhouses on top.

So instead of relying on the glass dome, Tommy searched every alleyway he came across, looking for a bee. He ran past a lot of graffitied buildings again, and was able to notice more flags that were similar to the one the Fundy guy branded. There were a few that were the same, but instead of the variety of colors they were in all black with red accents. Those ones were crossed out.

Reaching the edge of the housing buildings, on the edge of the abandoned buildings, Tommy came across a wooden building that was adjacent to an alleyway. Taking a closer look, Tommy was able to see how there was a big and familiar black and yellow insect that had the words “Fuck Off” off to the side. There were more of those flags from earlier.

Tommy was starting to realize how many of those flags there were all over. Looking to the roof to make sure, Tommy could see a rounded out greenhouse above. Looking back at the alleyway, there were mysterious stains that filled the ground and walls. Remembering what the Fundy person told him, he instead walked up to the door and knocked.

Instantly his ears were assaulted with screams, banging, rapid thudding that made its way from the depths of the building towards Tommy, and a cat screech? Priming himself for whatever was coming towards him, Tommy took a small step back and raised his hands into a defensive position.

The door opened with a slam and Tommy had to raise his head to see a hybrid standing in front of him. Taking a harsh gasp and another step backward, Tommy stared at the prominent ram horns on the man’s head. They jutted out in sharp edges and curved forward towards him. The man wore a suit and a red tie, his skin was ghostly pale and he seemed rather tired and… drunk? He held a bottle in one hand but seemed to sway as they stared each other down.

The hybrid seemed confused at Tommy’s presence.

“Tommy?” It wasn’t the man who said it, but the voice came from somewhere in behind him.

It was young.

It was a bit worried.

It was Tubbo.

Shaking his head, Tommy looked back at the door frame to see Tubbo standing there instead of the ram hybrid. Startled, Tommy quickly looked around for a sign of the ram hybrid and where he could be, shoulders hunched up and ready to run.

“Tommy, are you okay, bossman?” Tubbo called out again, worry palpable in his voice. Looking over to him, Tommy could see bags under his eyes and his clothes rumpled. Instead of voicing his worries, for now he decided to call out Tubbo’s state.

“You look like shit.” Startled laughter came from Tubbo at Tommy’s statement, and Tommy was relieved to see some stress leave Tubbo’s figure.

“Yeah, bossman. Had a rough night. Come on in, Ranboo is up top with the bees,” Tubbo said while gesturing for Tommy to follow him.

Letting him lead the way, Tommy followed Tubbo up into his house and further up to his bee dome. Tubbo’s home was chaotic. With metal scraps and paper having math and coding sketched onto them everywhere plus pieces of food in every corner festering mold. Tommy could see the Tubbo in it though, with dishes in the sink, a lingering gaming console in the living room that was left on, and worn in furniture that was clearly cared for. It looked messy, but it was loved.

Eventually they got to a balcony Tubbo had in the back of his home with a fire escape that led up into the bee dome.

Climbing it, Tommy was greeted by the overwhelming, but not unpleasant, scent of flowers. There was a buzzing in the air, most likely from bees if Tommy has to hazard a guess, and a certain tall wanker who was watering some plants near the left side. There were some candles and a headstone in the corner that was freshly lit and maintained that Tommy decided to ignore.

“When did you have a bee dome, Big Man?” Tommy asked while looking around the beauty of the place. It was much more well cared for than his own home. Some fairy lights dangled from above and over some bushes which he guessed would light up when night fell, giving the place a magical glow.

“Ranboo and I made it a while back when I was going through some stuff. Ranboo wanted to cheer me up so he thought of this. I think it’s been two years now,” Tubbo explained while continuing to lead Tommy through the place.

He stopped by some vibrant flowers of different colors. Tommy could pick out roses and some poppies before his lack of knowledge failed him. Seeing Tommy’s confusion at the flowers, Tubbo decided to explain by pointing at some in front of him. “These are poppies, ones to the left are Forget Me Nots, and to the right are yellow roses. That’s lavender, aster, and astilbe over there by Boo, and there are some new gladiolus we planted recently. There’s some statice, lilies, and some red anemones over by the altar. Some peach roses are by there as well, I’m pretty sure. They should be at least. Oh, a hibiscus bloomed recently! Come and look at it!” Tubbo then dragged Tommy over to behind where Ranboo was, who was silently helping to take care of the plants. Behind him was a gorgeous purple hibiscus that looked to have just recently bloomed.

An audible gasp left Tommy’s mouth at the sight.

“It’s fucking beautiful,” he whispered. More like stage-whispered, but the intention was there. Ranboo chuckled a bit from where he was attending, so Tommy considered that a win. Tubbo just nodded along.

“We plant a new type of flower every two months, but this one has been the hardest to get to bloom. I’m glad you were here to see it. Glad you were also able to find us, didn’t really give you a heads up for the day. Kinda forgot you come from the Greater Essempi, so you would have no idea about The Fall.”

“Tha Fall?” Tommy questioned, “I heard from this Fundy dude that today was a holiday, but I wasn’t really told what it was about. Is that why you look so shitty?” A spark of recognition came from Tubbo at the name, but the end of his questioning led Tubbo to stare off towards the altar and a weight fell upon his shoulders.

“Yeah, today is for remembering. Some people believe it’s when Lady Death is at her most powerful and so they go to remember loved ones in order to speak to them, or see them. Others just take the time to heal from the damage of broken bonds.” Tommy tried to process the information.

“Uh, I’m going to guess yours is for healing?” A nod from both Ranboo and Tubbo. Tommy realized the quietness from them both was for mourning. “Who are you healing from?” He inclined his head towards the altar, but didn’t make a move to get closer. Tubbo huffed.

“My dad. Adoptive, by the way. He was mostly just drunk all the time. I have no idea how he was able to get the papers for adoption through.”

“Oh.” And that was all the comments Tommy gave. Instead he decided to look through the flowers and watch as the bees did their work. Silence wasn’t his strong suit, but there was a peaceful silence in the air that Tommy didn’t want to break. At some point, Tubbo went over to the altar and kind of just stood there, which freaked Tommy out a bit. Ranboo came over to the rescue however, and whispered to Tommy.

“Don’t worry, he’ll be okay tomorrow. This happens every year.” Tommy hummed. Ranboo squeezed his shoulder in consolidation. “Do you have anyone you miss or want to remember?” Tommy thought about it, but none of the people he knew were dead. Instead, he felt more grateful towards the new friendships he made. Humming again, he decided to speak up.

“Is there a hybrid who lives here?” Ranboo’s eyebrows knitted together and he looked at Tommy in confusion and slight alarm.

“No?” He answered, slightly panicked, and not all too convincing. Tommy thought to clarify.

“I thought I saw a ram hybrid in a suit answer the door. He looked pretty drunk though. Or he was drinking at least, if the bottle in his hands had anything to say. I would think I hallucinated it or something but it was so vivid and he was in such detail that I couldn’t get my mind off of it.” Ranboo hummed at Tommy’s admission.

“Any more detail on the person?” He asked. Tommy though back to the hybrid’s horns.

“Yeah, uh, his horns were curved forwards like pointing out towards me. It was quite scary as a first impression. He, uh, also had a red tie. And some pretty dope facial hair, actually, now that I think about it. ” Ranboo hummed again and nodded.

“Sounds like Schlatt.” Tommy gave a bewildered look at Ranboo, and he gave a wince before continuing. “Tubbo’s adoptive dad. That’s the altar for him over there, actually.” He pointed to where Tubbo was kneeling and whispering. “Guess Lady Death is with us today.”

Tommy blinked a few times at the news, and then sputtered, “You mean to tell me I saw a ghost?” Ranboo seemed confused at the reaction but nodded nonetheless. Tommy groaned at the news. “Great, I’m going insane.” Ranboo chuckled and shook his head.

“Today is always a bit chaotic. I once thought I met Lady Death through another god. She was nice, if what I saw was real. Very… motherly, if a bit confused at how mortals work.” Tommy stared at him incredulously and Ranboo seemed to stutter over his words more. “I- I mean I talked about it with Puffy and even she agreed was I saw wasn’t exactly normal for an individual and not completely abnormal for some religious stuff that goes on in the world. Plus, I even wrote it in my memory journal, which I don’t normally do in my sleep or something. The writing was normal and everything-“

“Ranboob, don’t worry, I’m not judging you. Just confused, Big Man. Uh, you brought up Puffy actually. How is it? Therapy, I mean,” Tommy’s hands shifted together in nervousness as he brought the topic up.

He was still processing everything from last night, so he wanted to talk to someone about it. Leaving the topic of hybrids and the Goddess of the Antarctic Empire and onto a topic that left him uncomfortable around his current guardian.

Ranboo seemed to understand and started to open up. “Oh, yeah. It’s helped me a ton. I know I’ve already told you about my memory problems. They used to be really bad to the point where I wouldn’t remember weeks at a time. Puffy helped with that though. She came up with the idea for a memory journal and taught me some memory exercises to further help. It was very scary at first, I was scared I would be scolded or told that I should have learned how to deal with it. She isn’t like that. She doesn’t think like that. Uh, it started with someone recommending me finding memory exercises… I- uh- don’t remember who, but I ended up going to Puffy since she knew some. It was done from there. I wanted to keep going, and she didn’t complain. So, yeah,” Ranboo ended off awkwardly, looking off at Tubbo who was now rearranging some flowers.

Tommy looked off where Ranboo was watching Tubbo. He was still in his own world, so Tommy turned back to Ranboo.

“Do you- um- do you recommend I take therapy with Puffy?” His hesitance was felt in the air, and Ranboo took his eyes away from Tubbo to look down at Tommy.

“There are a few things I am concerned about with that question but uh- well I would recommend therapy for everyone, but knowing that Sam just signed you up without your permission I would want you to find out yourself if therapy is good for you on your own. You shouldn’t feel pressured to do therapy, the entire point of therapy, in my opinion, is that it is for you and you alone. If you don’t want to do it, or if it wasn’t on your mind to ‘get better’ or something, then don’t let Sam just control your life. It’s your life, not his. Do it for you,” Ranboo said with a finality, confidence that isn’t normally his style leaking through into his words. Tommy let the confidence of his words and his convection run through him.

Yeah, it was his own life. Not Sam’s… But Sam is better at knowing about the world, so what if he’s right and Tommy does need therapy? There are many times where Tommy is wrong, and if any of Dream’s lessons taught him was that he was naive and didn’t pay attention to the world around him.

A hand found its way onto Tommy’s shoulder and he jumped a bit before looking at the offender. Ranboo watched him with worry and concern painting his features.

“Think about it more. No one will judge you. Even if you only take one session and decide it’s not for you, that’s okay too. Just don’t let other people’s opinion sway you.”

With this, Ranboo left Tommy to go join Tubbo, who seemed to be lost in his own garden, and guided him back towards the center of the room where more of the bees congregated. Tubbo held onto Ranboo’s hand tightly, his arms shaking lightly. This Schlatt fellow must have been pretty important to Tubbo, even if he was a hybrid and apparently a drunk father. Tommy went over to Tubbo and Ranboo, where the latter was trying to engage the former in being present.

Tommy took Tubbo’s other hand and squeezed. A soft squeeze back and a smile on Tubbo’s face was the reward he got. They stood in silence together for a bit, before Tommy tried to lighten the mood.

“You guys act like a married couple.”

This was apparently the right thing to do as immediately the tension through their conjoined hands went away and laughter erupted from the grieving brunette. It was light and airy, a relief that was felt through it.

“Tommy,” Tubbo motioned animatedly with his hands waving in the breeze, “you’re a little shit.” Laughter filled the sentence, and the only response Tommy had was to laugh heartedly.

“You held hands and shit! Plus Ranboo is acting all caring and shit, which is like totally what married couples do. You two act like a married couple. Admit it.”

“Dude, if I’m going to be shamed for being married, I’d like to actually be married so I can at least get a tax right off,” Tubbo countered. Tommy gasped and Ranbooo gave a startled laugh.

“How dare you, Tubso! Is all Ranboo is to you a tax right off? The horror!” He waved dramatically through the air and pretended to faint upon the ground.

“I feel like I should be a part of the discussion since I’m a part of this marriage discussion?” Ranboo added hesitantly.

“Join, and I’ll divorce you,” Tubbo said without missing a beat. Tommy laughed as Ranboo sputtered.

“How can you divorce someone you aren’t married to?” They asked incredulously. Tubbo huffed and looked away towards the bees in the yellow roses, gently holding a flower between his hands.

“Watch me, bitch. We’re getting divorced now,” was the only response Ranboo got. Ranboo sighed heavily, but there was no weight to it. In fact, it seemed they were much less tense than before. They must have been holding Tubbo’s grief with them. Tommy decided to store this new information as blackmail for later.

“Wait, who does the bee dome go to if you get divorced?” Tommy asked, remembering they built it together. Tubbo straightened up at the question.

“We have equal possessions because we’re married. What’s theirs is mine and what’s mine is mine.”

“I thought you just said we’re divorced?”

“Well now we’re married again. You can pay for the water bills and internet, right Boo?” Another sigh from the tall ravenette and a muttered “sure”. Tubbo went back to watching the bees and seemed to get lost in thought. A weight settled on his shoulders again, and Tommy wondered if he would have to lighten the mood again before Tubbo started to speak.

“I wonder if he would have liked for me to get married. Would mean he would have to stop paying for me, and he always did approve of getting out of taxes as much as possible. I don’t know if he would notice though. The heart attack was bound to hit him eventually but he didn’t fucking care about his health.”

Tommy laid a hand on Tubbo’s shoulder and the latter gave a tired sigh. “I know you don’t like hybrids too well, Tommy, but most are pretty decent. They’re like humans. Some good, some bad. I just happened to get the drunk one who leeched off of an orphan’s government pay to buy more drinks.” There was silence as Tubbo finished his sentence.

His gaze came away from the bees and went towards the altar, staring at the flowers that adorned the stone marker. “He was good, sometimes. He never let me touch a drop of alcohol. Said he didn’t want me to become him. Even had me promise him I would never become him or go near alcohol. Had said he wished I were his real son. In the biological sense, but he was sterile. Couldn’t have kids of his own. He told me once he was glad,’cause he was scared he would mess up. He told me the night before he passed that he regretted many things he did. That he wanted to be a good dad. He wanted to be there for me.”

Tears slipped down Tubbo’s cheeks, and Tommy and Ranboo moved to either side of Tubbo to comfort him. “He was trying to go sober. He had went 4 days without touching a drop. He was so proud of himself. He said he was going to fix everything. Fix himself, fix my situation. Just… everything.” Tubbo’s body was shaking with sobs, but he kept on.

His voice shook and his words were barely strung together, but Tommy tried to make sense of what he was saying. “The doctor said that due to his years of alcoholism, his heart was messed up and going cold turkey fucked with him. He was going to die soon anyways but that was the tipping point. He could never get better. He could never show the side of me he wanted to. All I saw were the bad parts, but those 4 days… I saw him, and I fucking wish Lady Death didn’t have to come for him. I know it’s selfish. She was doing her job, but some days- I just- I don’t know. I wish I could show him what I’ve done. I completed online courses. Finished my schooling and got a degree in coding and engineering which is basically unheard of for my age. I almost got valedictorian, if that fucking Brittany didn’t steal it from me.”

A choked laugh came from his throat. It was cold, defeated, and sad. “I can create something that destroys. I can create something that can fly. I can create whatever I want, but I couldn’t do it fast enough to save him.” A harsh gasp of an inhale came from the sobbing boy. It was a sound that tore itself into Tommy’s heart. Brokenly, Tubbo added “I wish I at least got to hug him and tell him that he did okay. I turned out fine.”

If Tommy focused, he would be able to feel the ghost of arms wrapped around all three friends. A whispered “You did. I’m so proud.” from an adult male’s voice that belonged to none of them. If guessing, Tommy would think the voice sounded American. The feeling was gone in an instant though. Lady Death could only do so much with the demands put on her that day.

Tubbo sniffled and turned away from Tommy to cry into Ranboo’s shoulder. Tommy didn’t feel mad by the action, if only relieved Tubbo was processing his emotions how he could.

Whispering, Tommy said “I think I understand the holiday now.” A sniffle, and then red rimmed eyes met Tommy’s sad ice blue.

A broken “You do?” Was heard by the trio. Nodding, Tommy hummed but didn’t elaborate further. That would be for another time when Tubbo wasn’t breaking down in front of him. There was already too much sap for the day. In lieu of an answer, Tommy decided to hug Tubbo from behind and squish him between him and Ranboo. It lent itself to a soft chuckle and an even tighter squeeze from the small brunette between them.

“Clingy” Tommy whispered for only Tubbo to hear. He snorted and smacked Tommy’s chest.

Chapter Text

They stood there for a bit, just allowing themselves to be in the tri-hug. Eventually though, Ranboo was the first to pull back from the hug. From Tommy’s limited amount of time with Ranboo, he noticed the taller was okay with physical touch but didn’t like a lot of it for an extended amount of time. Tommy and Tubbo however, were very pleased to continue hugging. After a minute or two of awkward silence, Ranboo pipped up.

“Are- are you just going to keep hugging?”

“And what about it, Big Man?” Tommy shot back.

Tubbo snorted and stage-whispered, “And you called me the clingy one.”

“Because you are! Look at you, can’t even stand a second pulled away from my amazingness.” Tommy elected to ignore how he was hugging Tubbo just as tightly back. Tubbo snorted again.

“If you say so, bossman.” Tubbo shifted so he was at least partially free to continue watching the bees while still in a side hug with Tommy, who didn’t mind. Tommy’s side burned pleasantly from the contact, and he was happy that Tubbo was chill with the physical touch. The bee dome was nice to stay at for a time, but at some point Tommy felt like he was getting stuffed by the humid heat of the greenhouse.

“Let’s leaaaveeeee,” Tommy drawled. “It’s so fucking hot and you already had a few hours of mourning. I want to go out and steal from people or some shit.”

Both Ranboo and Tubbo laughed at his antics. “So one of your pastimes is stealing from people?” Tubbo asked from beside him with arms intertwined, still not having let go entirely but not hugging Tommy’s side either. Tommy nodded in agreement with Tubbo’s questioning. Ranboo sighed in response.

“I have no idea if you’re joking or not admitting to having illegal pastimes,” he said in a defeated air. Tommy decided not to elaborate.

“You a cop or something?” He instead inquired. Ranboo groaned into his hands as a response.

“That shouldn’t be how this conversation goes!” He said in exasperation. Tommy shrugged.

“I feel like this is exactly how this conversation should go, boob boy.” Tubbo cackled beside him at his chaotic nature while Ranboo looked taken aback by the nickname.

“BOOB BOY—?” He exclaimed before being cut off by a clap from Tubbo.

“Well then, bossmen, let’s go out and engage in illegal practices. I want to get away from this depressed place. No drugs though, I already used to have a den in the alleyway next door. Don’t want to bother with that again,” Tubbo said while leading Tommy away by their interwoven arms with Ranboo following close behind.

They made their way onto the streets where Tommy was greeted with graffiti once again. They started off towards the left, or “West” as Tubbo liked to remind Tommy of, towards the center of the city-suburban town. He saw the two different flags from before graffitied in a few places, both the gold accented one and black-red one, and got to see how Ranboo and Tubbo reacted to them.

Well more like Tubbo, who shrunk away from the black-red flags but seemed to be boosted by the gold-accented counterpart.

It confused Tommy, but he supposed it had something to do with the holiday he didn’t understand and didn’t want to question at the moment. Tubbo still had not let go of Tommy’s arm, and Tommy liked to think that Tubbo just didn’t want to separate and not that he was keeping hold of the shorter boy with his own arm.

Eventually, they made their way to the front of Saline Solution, where Tommy learned that apparently the Siren had most likely named the bakery. Making that just one more reason to hate hybrids in general. Stopping right below the sign, Tommy had Tubbo pause on his left side while Ranboo lingered slightly behind to the right of him. Huffing at the name, Tommy turned his head so it swiveled between Tubbo and Ranboo.

“Well, men? Who is our target for our absolutely poggers display?” Tommy inquired. Ranboo groaned while Tubbo lit up.

“Do not tell me you came here with absolutely no plan—“

“That sounds like an amazing plan, bossman,” Tubbo interrupted Ranboo, who just looked at Tubbo in disbelief.

“You did not just imply picking a target is a plan—“

“Tell us where to go, Tommy,” Tubbo once again interrupted, choosing to avoid eye contact with a certain tall ravenette who glared menacingly. Tommy looked around at the people who were out on the streets. They were technically on the outskirts of the city-like center of Pogtopia, since that’s where Saline Solution was, but it also meant less people were around to be able to rob.

Tommy locked eyes on a young adult who looked to be minding their business. Brown hair was tinted green at the ends, which was a pretty bad choice but Tommy wasn’t going to judge. They didn’t have much muscle and had huge eyes scanning around the area looking for something, or someone. They were nervously wrangling their fingers and hopping a little on their feet. Their naive body language and actions, along with the pretty well off dress shirt and pants, made Tommy decide that’s who they were going for today. The perfect target.

“Let’s start small,” Tommy said, grinning and taking out the metal rod he still took around from Sam. It was a good weapon, okay? “There’s a guy at the end of this street, right outside that building complex made of glass with a sign ‘Las Nevadas’. Brown hair with green tips? Business casual? That’s who we’re jumping.” Tapping his birthday present a few times to hear the metal ring, Tommy let Tubbo and Ranboo slide into the shadows to watch but not be seen. “Watch ye ol’ Tommy Danger Innit, Big Man extraordinaire, steal this guy blind,” Tommy said with a confident air.

In reality, he had only done this with friends he knew wouldn’t be mad, mostly the fiancés, but he was confident he could take on this lanky fellow. Walking up to him, Tommy was unfortunately able to see how… sweaty the guy was. His skin was constantly beading up and looking moist. The points at which they were being soaked up by his shirt looked almost green.

In Tommy’s bright opinion, this guy needed a few showers a few months ago. Still, he persisted. Within a few meters of the man, he looked towards Tommy and waved, before actually registering how Tommy looked and gasping excitedly.

“Are you the one my boss told me about? Tommy of L’manburg? You’re just as my boss described!”

…

Okay, Tommy regretted taking this man on.

Luckily no one else was really around to hear the man, but it was still unnerving how he talked. His attitude was reminiscent of Karl Jacobs. Tommy really missed Karl.

He decided to play dumb. “Uh, sorry man. I don’t know what a ‘Le Man Burger’ is.” Okay, a bit too dumb, but he’ll roll with it. “I am a Tommy, which is unnerving for you to guess, but that’s not the point of this! Stick your hands up! I’m stealing from you! Do anything funky and I’ll whack you over the head with this cool ass metal stick!” Pointing said cool ass metal stick towards the estrange man, Tommy waited for the man to react. Unfortunately, the man was pretty eccentric and just kept smiling at Tommy. He quickly put his hands up at the warning and giggled at the action.

“This is a fun game, Tommy of L’manburg! What’s the next step?” The man called excitedly. Tommy… Tommy was confused.

“This-this isn’t a game. And stop calling me ‘Tommy of Le Man Burr’, call me just ‘Tommy’.” Tommy’s grip on his metal rod loosened, and the pseudo-weapon drooped towards the ground.

“Okay, Just Tommy! Well if this isn’t a game, then what is it? Is there no next step?” Tommy was completely baffled by this man’s behavior.

“What? No- just- UGH- give me your money!” The last part was shouted, and Tommy no doubt knew that Tubbo and Ranboo heard his exasperation.

“Oh, well there’s a problem, Just Tommy. I don’t have any money on me. My boss doesn’t allow me to carry anything of value. He said I ‘lose them too much’ and ‘don’t understand the importance of them’. Apologies, Just Tommy! I wish I could help you rob me.” Well this was a waste of a conversation, but Tommy needed to come away with something.

Looking at the man, whose shirt was basically completely drenched by this point ew, Tommy’s eyes decided to land on the man’s tie clasp. It was golden and had a few snowflakes patterning it. Pointing at it, Tommy drew the man’s attention to his own outfit.

“Why not give me that?” Tommy asked, exasperated. He didn’t want this conversation to go on any longer, this man confused him too much. The man in question looked down and had his face light up at the sight of it.

“Oh! That was a gift from my boss. He’s so kind and generous. It’s a symbol of where I work. Although I am unfortunately locked out of the place currently,” the man looked towards the building next to them having “Las Nevadas” printed on the door, “He said that if I remove it, that’s me quitting the job. And I don’t want to quit the job. Is that alright with you, Just Tommy?” The man looked back at Tommy with weirdly big puppy eyes. It was as if his face morphed to fit the size of them and to make the puppy eyes that more disturbing and effective.

“Ugh! Fine! But then what was the point of this?” Tommy argued, aggressively raising his arms up just to force them back down in anger. The man seemed to contemplate this with melancholy before brightening up again. He raised one hand and put it over his tie clasp before breaking off one of the snowflakes adorning it.

Handing it out to Tommy with a wide grin, the man didn’t seem phased by the breakage of his gift. Tommy hesitantly took the tiny golden snowflake, and not wanting to further interact with the man, spun around and ran back to Ranboo and Tubbo, both of which were watching with deeply disturbed faces.

“Was what just happened real?” Tommy questioned.

“I mean I think it was. That was very confusing,” Ranboo answered.

“Shut it, boob boy,” Tommy said back.

“I- what- you asked a question- I- HUH?” The amount of confusion Ranboo was displaying tripled, and Tubbo just snickered.

“I thought you said you were a master stealer or some shit.”

“Well I’ve never tried to steal from a weirdo like that!” Tommy defended, feeling very offended by the notation. Tubbo just hummed in disbelief, challenging Tommy. “Let’s try further into the city,” Tommy said, taking the bait. “I’ll still from some rich fucker or whatever.”

Tubbo scoffed and Ranboo hummed absentmindedly.

“There definitely aren’t many rich people here, and all of them you could technically count as rich are off celebrating the holiday,” Tubbo said. Tommy huffed.

“Then let’s go steal some food, I just don’t want to go back to the lab.”

And off they went.

The three of them made their way further into the city, west of Saline Solution, although Tommy would just say “backwards” and Tubbo would follow up by shouting “it’s relative!”

Eventually they made it to the city center, a huge community house stationed right in the center. The structure sat atop a man-made lake that was under reconstruction, and Tubbo had to inform Tommy that it had been under “reconstruction” for about two years, since Tubbo’s dead pops had been the elected mayor of the town for a bit and no one had re-elected.

“Isn’t that just inconvenient? Why wasn’t there a re-election?”

“No one here wants to run for mayor. Schlatt was a pretty awful one, so anyone who would doesn’t live here enough to be able to or does work outside the town. He was so bad they renamed this town just so his mark didn’t last. You can actually ask Sam about it, I know he had a feud a while back with needing to get supplies to the Antarctic Empire for a commission and Siren came over because Schlatt blocked exports.”

“Wait, they renamed this place?” Tommy found himself asking, feeling like there was more to be had. Ranboo nodded while Tubbo explained.

“Yeah, it used to be the country of L’manburg,” memories of Quackity’s rants suddenly flashed before Tommy’s eyes, “Then he went into office and renamed the place just ‘Manburg’. Lots of people got mad, and when he kicked the bucket they renamed the place Pogtopia. That’s actually what the black flag is. It’s the Manburg flag. The red, white, and blue one with gold Xs are the L’manburg flag, from before Schlatt came into power-”

“Wait wait wait wait, I thought the country of L’manburg was taken down by the Antarctic Empire? I thought it was at least like a decade ago, are you telling me it happened within the last two years?!”

Suddenly everything was falling into place.

Memories of Quackity’s rants of the country before it fell raced through Tommy’s mind.

He knew that Quackity had talked about how he moved to the Greater Essempi as the nation was falling. How Schlatt was corrupt, an alcoholic, how a friend had left and that Siren came out from the fighting. Didn’t he say it was built on the basis of a drug van? There was so much to the story missing though, and Tommy felt like he was severely uneducated throughout it all.

The three of them had slowed their pace to a complete stop by this point, pedestrians walking around the trio to get to their destination and thankfully ignoring them.

Tubbo and Ranboo glanced at each other. Ranboo pulled out their memory journal and flipped through it as Tubbo fumbled for a response.

“Well, L’manburg had technically fallen more than over a decade ago and had shrunk significantly when my adoptive father took office, Manburg itself just recently fell like two years ago. Uh- no one really talks about the Manburg phase and just attribute its downfall to when L’manburg fell and when Siren joined the Antarctic ranks since it basically was under the Empire’s control from that point on.”

“I thought the Antarctic Empire blasted the place to the ground though?” Tommy innocently inquired. Tubbo full on body flinched.

“That’s- that’s what today is symbolizing. November 16th. The Fall. The fall of L’manburg. The community house was actually rebuilt on one of the blast sites when they fixed most of the damages with water. I’m going to guess you haven't visited the ‘L’manhole’?”

Tommy shook his head.

Tubbo lit up at his response. “Well then, that’s our next destination, boys!”

Ranboo finally looked up from his memory book from a page he was reading in surprise and nervous shock.

“Are you sure we should go there? Wouldn’t-“ they look back down at their memory book to read over something, “Siren be there to commemorate today?”

Tubbo seemed to mull this over and then gave a sigh.

“Yeah, you’re right. We should probably head over there another time to show you. It’s a really cool place, with tons of vines and flowers and shit. Just not the best for the occasion.”

Tommy shrugged. “Fine by me, Big Man.” Tubbo smiled and bumped shoulders with Tommy.

“In the meantime, we can head back over to the greenhouse on top of my roof and watch the sunset. Maybe do some star gazing and study constellations. Boo, you have a friend who’s into constellations, right?” Tubbo inclined his head towards Ranboo but didn’t meet their gaze. Ranboo looked grateful at the action, and flipped through some pages to read up on information before replying.

“Oh, y-yeah. Kinda forgot about that. It would be good practice for the next time we meet up and talk to each other… Probably tomorrow actually.” Tommy stared at the tall ravenette in bewilderment.

“You have other friends, boob boy?” Tubbo snorted at the nickname Tommy gave Ranboo while he once again sputtered at the jest.

“I- yeah, I do. He doesn’t come around much but I know he’ll be around tomorrow. He- uh- doesn’t like others either, so it means I won’t be hanging out with you. Sorry. It’s no fault of you, he really just doesn’t like hanging out with others and he’s said that he’s chill with me hanging around so I just want to-“

“Ranboo, boob boy. You’re fine. Hang out with your nerd friend. Tubbo and I will just hang out!” At Tommy’s attempt of a reassurance, Tubbo grimaced.

“That actually reminds me that I need to go do my job.”

Tommy turned to Tubbo and gave an indignant huff, “Job? What job? I didn’t know you had a job!” He braced his hands on either side of his hips in annoyance. Tubbo frowned

“Well I only work once a week due to child-labor laws, but technically the work day would fall on today and obviously I was let off today. I need to make it up tomorrow though, and send some stuff in. You said Fundy told you where I was? He’s technically my coworker/boss. Don’t ask, it’s awkward both ways,” Tubbo stated, as if the sentence wasn’t absurd.

“You work with furry boy?!”

They eventually made it back to Tubbo’s housing after a heated discussion of if Fundy was a furry or not. In a world of hybrids, no human looked as fox hybrid-like as that man Tommy ran into. “Confirmation bias” Tubbo supplied. “I have a furry-dar” Tommy helpfully fired back. Ranboo just looked to be in pain and uncomfortable through the entire discussion.

Getting into the greenhouse, Tubbo showed a sectioned off glass door that allowed the three of them to lay across a dry uncovered cement floor that clearly showed the horizon and sky. From the height, one was able to see the entirety of the abandoned buildings to the right (”I swear to Lady Death it’s EAST”), and rows of building complexes towards the left that condrigate towards the center of Pogtopia. The sun was low upon the buildings and was fading behind where the community house would be.

Rays of golden light bathed the trio on the roof and made the three adolescents shine against the dark pavement. Watching the setting sun together, the three of them huddle up to keep warm in the arctic wind. Hues of pink, red and purple eventually fade until there is just a sparkling void above them. Tommy noticed he could see splashes of colors and everywhere he looked there were sparkles of light.

Turning to Tubbo on his left, Tommy opened his mouth to question the brightness of the stars. Chuckling, Tubbo replied with, “Yeah, there’s no light pollution, bossman.” At the confused face of Tommy, Tubbo explained, “Light pollution comes from like lights on lampposts or from man made lights down where we are. Since we’re on the edge of the building complexes and sitting on the edge of the abandoned places, like no one likes to keep their lights on. And we don’t have street lights cause no one goes out at this time anyways. It’s easier to see without them anyways.”

Staring at Tubbo, he could see what he meant. The moon was out and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, this allowed the moon to shine brightly onto all of them. There wasn’t a huge shadow anywhere around them, in fact any. The corners and edges had a blue iridescent glow and his friends seem to also glow in the dark. Their eyes especially were shining out against the night. Tubbo’s normally honey brown eyes seemed to glow a more golden hue and Ranboo’s eye, from what he could see of his left eye, glowed a more red in the dark. It was funny to see both of their seemingly similar brown eyes emit a different color. Tommy wondered if his blue eyes were shining alongside theirs in a mysterious light.

Tubbo had been staring straight into his eyes as he deduced what Tubbo had said, and blushed sheepishly. He hoped any discoloration on his skin wouldn’t show in the lower lighting. Nodding and turning back to the night sky, he mumbled, “Yeah, it's beautiful, Big Man. I was unfortunately never allowed out past sundown in the Greater Essempi and have no windows in my room. There were a few times I’ve been able to look at the sky, but usually it just looks like a void with a few sparkles here and there.” There were hums on either side of him.

“I’m also used to having a void as a sky, but I used to never get sparkles at all. It sucked,” the input came from Ranboo to his right, and Tommy looked towards them in sympathy. Patting Ranboo’s left arm, Tommy allowed himself to vibe in solidarity. They all sat there for a moment before Tubbo continued the conversation.

“You never got windows in your room, bossman?” Shaking his head, Tommy didn’t make eye contact with the more unnaturally colored eyes for a bit.

“Well, Dream didn’t want the other hunters to hurt or pick on me, so he put me in a more isolated room. That meant it had to be smaller though since I was the only one, and away from everyone else. Meant that I got a renovated closet of some sort. I was much more prepared for a hurricane than the other guys though!” Both seemed alarmed at Tommy declaration.

“A renovated closet?!” Tubbo screeched in horror. Tommy chuckled.

“It was a rather big closet, Big Man. Think it was for armor and weapon storage or some shit before they got their shit sorted. I had room to walk and shit,” Tommy added with a wince and a voice crack. He wasn’t making it very believable that he was well taken care of.

“In isolation?” Ranboo asked in a ghost of terror. Tommy chuckled nervously.

“It was only for sleeping. I got to hang out with others sometimes during the day.”

“Sometimes?” The two others butted in.

“Well some days were just solo training days! They’re busy, man! I was never allowed to go on missions so some, and only some, days I was left to my own devices! They got me a switch too, so I wouldn’t be as bored. Animal Crossing. It’s like a vacation day or some shit. You know, away from all the crazies?”

“Why do you not sound confident in your own words?” Tubbo inquired, pressing closer to the boy. Tommy leaned away a bit from the eyes that glowed like radiation.

“You’re making this shit scary!” Tommy exclaimed, back now pressing against Ranboo from how close they were.

“Animal crossing?” He heard a deeper voice say from above. Turning his head away from Tubbo’s golden eyes, Tommy looked upwards at Ranboo to fully take in his form during the night. He immediately noticed a difference. His left eye as he noticed before still glowed an eerie red but his right eye, which he never noticed was lighter, seemed to glow a more green.

“I never noticed you had two different colored eyes.” Ranboo full on flinched at the observation.

Okay, that probably wasn’t the best way to talk with someone, especially when they normally wear sunglasses to block their eyes out in public.

Quickly trying to recover, Tommy stuttered, “I-I mean they look great. The lighter green glow bit looks real dope and the red eye looks terrifying- BUT IN A GOOD WAY- like no one would mess with your shit. Like- like they would be so intimidated, and you know you should show off your eyes more, I never knew how cool they were and I feel robbed of finding out this way and-“ a firm hand was placed over his mouth. Crossing his eyes to glare at the hand in offense, he realized it was one of Ranboo’s gloved hands. Pulling their hand away lightly, Ranboo sighed.

“Thanks Tommy, you’re fine. Don’t worry about rambling. I know what you mean. Uh- I wear my glasses for different reasons but- yeah. Thanks. My eyes are brown and blue by the way, but- uh-“ there was a great hesitation to his words, and Tubbo decided to join in.

“Lady Death must be doing it.” The casual drop of religion weighed a bit on Tommy’s shoulders, as he forgot that the Antarctic Empire prayed mainly to Lady Death while the Greater Essempi prayed to Exde during the conversation. In fact, out of the entire empire, he’s pretty sure Pogtopia especially hated Exde. They luckily both prayed to the Prime God, which was a uniting factor that helped Tommy settle in, but the difference in main deities left Tommy a bit bewildered. Tommy whipped his head around, facing Tubbo. The latter just shrugged. “I mean, you did see an apparition of my dead adoptive father being drunk, so clearly she is doing her business, and nighttime is known as her most powerful time. So, eyes glowing, I guess.” Tommy nodded, trying to accept his new reality. He was in Lady Death’s domain now, so it would be unwise to bad mouth her.

“Does that mean my eyes are glowing too? How cool do they look?” Both Tubbo and Ranboo shared a look that Tommy couldn’t decipher before looking back at him.

“They look dope, man!” Ranboo said suddenly, confirming Tommy’s excited question.

“Absolutely poggers!” Tubbo cut in.

Tommy grinned widely.

“FUCK YEAH! Let’s go, bee boy!” Ranboo snorted and then proceeded to laugh in hysterics.

“What kind of a name is ‘bee boi’?” They asked as they tipped over in laughter.

“Tubbo’s kind! Now it’s boob boi and bee boi,” Tommy explained with a wide grin.

Tubbo gasped. “We need to get you a nickname! It’s only fair! What about Benjamin?”

Both Ranboo and Tommy looked at Tubbo in confusion.

“I don’t think you understand nicknames that well, Big Man,” Tommy tried to explain with a saccharine smile.

Tubbo huffed before angrily replying, “Well then you come up with something!”

“Big Man. You two should henceforth only call me by my superior title of ‘Big Man’,” Tommy said in the most posh manner he could come up with, even laying a hand upon his heart to convey his message. The other two burst into laughter.

“Okay, raccoon boi,” Ranboo said in response. Tommy squeaked in mock defense.

“How dare you call me an animal! Raccoons are the most poggers creatures ever but I am not one!”

“You’re a feral child. You sneak snacks from us. Food. Money. Anything you can get your grimy hands on-“ Tubbo added on, ticking off the reasons one at a time on his fingers.

“Stop! I’m not a raccoon!” Tommy shouted in his super superior ‘Big Man’ voice.

“You play animal crossing. Do you kin Sam Nook?” Ranboo asked in his most deadpan voice possible.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” There was a pleasant heat coming from Sam’s gift on his waist, but he paid no mind as he lightly pushed Ranboo off to the side. “Sam Nook is poggers and I will not take this slander.”

“It’s concerning you kin a con-man,” Tubbo added dejectedly.

“Why are you two like this? Why are you ganging up on me? Poor Tommy Innit! Ganged up on by Bee and Boob!” Tommy playfully quipped, although the joke didn’t seem to land the way he wanted it to.

Immediately he heard a sniffle from the tall bitch to his right and turned to see Ranboo dual-colored eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“That- that was a really cute duo nickname drop.”

“OH MY PRIMES, you’re such a hopeless romantic!” Tubbo yelled, before thinking on what he said and nodding. “Although being the Bee Duo is rather cool.”

“Bee duo?” Ranboo asked.

“You two, stop flirting. I was enjoying the moment before you made it sappy with your marriage shit,” Tommy grumbled, crossing both of his arms over his chest.

“We still aren’t married?” Ranboo said in confusion, sitting up properly.

“Boo, dear. Shut up,” Tubbo deadpanned. At Ranboo’s confused noises, both Tubbo and Tommy shot into laughter.

“Don’t we need to continue our interrogation of Tommy though?” Ranboo asked in hesitance, clearly not knowing if he was going to be harassed for speaking. In turn, Tubbo started grinning maniacally and turned onto Tommy who had taken on a face of surprise and betrayal.

“Boob boy! You betrayed me!” He said in feign mockery while dramatically falling back and laying an arm over his eyes. Tubbo laughed like a psychopath throughout.

Turning to face Tommy fully, Tubbo grasped the lanky boy by his shoulders and made eye contact.

“I agree with Boo, it’s time to interrogate you on the enemy country. First question is… are you a spy?” Tubbo asked in a deadpan while looking directly at Tommy.

Tommy sputtered. “What?”

“Are. You. A. Spy? I will unleash my bees upon you if you do not concede valuable information,” Tubbo said with such seriousness. Making this direct eye contact, Tommy became very aware that his eyes glowed gold in a nuclear symbol.

Yeah, Tommy is terrified of Tubbo.

“No?” Tommy said in a heavily questioning lilt.

“Okay!” Tubbo took it at face value with a happy expression overtaking his features. Taking his hands off of Tommy’s shoulders, Tommy scooted away quickly and had himself pressed much closer to Ranboo.

“How’d you get with Dream anyhow? I thought he was the King’s personal guard or some shit. That’s what we hear over here.” Tubbo decided to lay down as he asked his question, shifting around to get comfortable on top of the moonlit concrete. The rooftop was unsurprisingly chilly when Tommy followed Tubbo in laying down. Shivering a bit, Tommy answered his new friend.

“He took me in when I was young. I owe him everything for getting me off the streets. Uh- don’t remember much, kinda fuzzy, lots of pain. But! I remember how warm it was when he took me in. He says he had to defend me from some hybrids which is why he tried to install in me all of the dangers that come with them as I grew up. They had given him some nasty scars in the past, and on a few other friends around us as well. So, yeah, I don't really have the best relationship with them.” There was silence for a bit as the other two processed Tommy’s words.

“Were you lonely? You talked about being roomed separately from others,” Ranboo asked in a small voice, almost a whisper.

“A bit, yeah,” Tommy replied just as quietly, watching the blinking stars in the sky. “I made friends with a few other established guards, but Dream is often doing boring work with G- King George and Sam was always on missions or in his lab, and like I could hang out with the fiancés but they’re all busy doing their own work, and I’ve heard I’m annoying. Plus it gets awkward at some points when they get all mushy with each other… I usually just play Animal Crossing in my room or in the private training area Dream has.” There was a band of white, greens and purples in the ink-like sky off to the left. Tommy wondered what the colors were, and what each star was called. It looked like spilt milk in the sky, so he hazard a guess that it was the “milky-way” portion of the world. Hearing a huff from his right, Tommy turned his head in the direction of Ranboo who was also staring at the sky, raising an eyebrow in question to the reaction. It was Tubbo who responded however.

“Were there no other kids your age? Like it must have been so lonely.” There was something that Tommy pinned as pity in Tubbo’s voice.

Defensiveness raising in his voice, Tommy spat, “I said a bit. Not all the time. Dream is cool, and so is Sam. They didn’t do anything wrong. Dream hung out and dealt with me the most, he taught me everything I know, including all there is to know about this place. The ‘Antarctic Empire’ and all that fancy diplomatic shit. Look, you can back talk and shit talk me, but don’t shit talk Dream. He gave me everything, he’s the reason I’m alive.” There was venom in his voice that Tommy didn’t mean to be there, but he couldn’t take back. Immediately, he wanted to take his words back, but the tense silence in the air snapped his mouth shut.

In a whisper that was barely above their breath, Ranboo said, “We should probably go to sleep. You have work tomorrow, right Bo?” The softness to his tone didn’t go unnoticed, and both other boys took their initiative to let the tense air dissipate.

Gaining confidence, Tommy found he was able to speak again.

“Yeah Tubso. Staying up late seems kind of counter-productive, innit?” Tommy teased with a yawn in his throat. The other two soon followed with a yawn of their own. Through their clear exhaustion, none of them were able to move up from their position on the now warmed cement. Instead, Tubbo ended up snuggling into Tommy’s side. Tommy ended up not minding it even though the touch burned him, but he guessed the burning kept him warm in the Arctic air. Ranboo had more hesitantly curled up into Tommy’s side for warmth, but after a bit all three teens were safely cuddled up beneath the stars, out like a light.

Tommy could swear against the faint flickering of the stars, as his eyes weren’t able to open any longer, that he felt something wrap around his waist from his right. Feeling around, it was rather soft, so Tommy just left it be. He could also swear the moon and stars dimmed in their glow, almost as if Lady Death were turning off the lights for her children to fall asleep more peacefully.

Chapter Text

Startling with a jolt, adrenaline pushed through Tommy’s veins. Blinking rapidly in the morning sun, he looked around to see a big bird resting in the corner of the roof, glaring at the three of them from its nest. Tubbo and Ranboo also had been woken up rather suddenly, so most likely the bird had been what had woken him up.

Small glimpses of dark rooms, flowing green fabric, and blossoming pain on his back were the only remnants of a nightmare Tommy had. Turns out talking about how he fell into Dream’s hands had spurred on some unconscious issues.

Rolling his back, Tommy was able to feel how no bruises lingered, no aches or pains being made known. To fully settle into reality, he ended up stretching his legs to prove he could run if necessary. The other two were stretching out also, as Tommy was able to hear groans of relief with a good stretch that was felt from sleeping on cement for the night. Feeling better, Tommy was able to wipe his eyes of any remaining drowsiness and yawned along with it. Opening his eyes, he saw Tubbo repeat his yawn in a tired way. Only his mouth was visible from where his hair had covered his eyes, a mess of curls that looked rather befitting the shorter friend. Ranboo was stretching out his lanky figure off to the side and Tommy gave a small, light laugh when he compared the tall person to a stretching cat. He whispered “Catboo” beneath his breath and repeated it a few times in his tired state of mind. Luckily, the other two were much too lazy to hear or try to reciprocate what he was muttering.

Another angry caw sounded, and all three jolted at the bird that was sitting in the corner.

“Better move out then, don't want the angry crow to caw at us again,” Ranboo said with a huff, the first one of them to raise from the ground. Two groans of anguish could be heard. “Come on, we shouldn’t have fallen asleep here anyways.”

“But I’m comfy,” Tubbo groaned, drawing out the end of his sentence and making a statement by face planting onto the surface of the roof. A roll of uncovered dual-colored eyes.

“There is no way you are comfortable on a cement roof. Let alone one that has been claimed by a crow.”

As if on cue by the tall bastard, the bird caws. Tubbo grumbles in response while Tommy stands up for the first time that morning. Groaning, he balances himself against Ranboo for stability. Chuckling, Ranboo helps support the newly awoken chaos maker. While Ranboo helped Tommy, Tubbo had also taken the time to get up.

Together, they had finally been able to take on the day. Once the other two were stable enough, Ranboo let go of Tommy and lightly shoved Tubbo. In response, he was given a silent death glare. Gulping, Ranboo spoke up.

“You have work to get to, man?” Tubbo’s eyes widened, and suddenly energy found its way into his body.

“Oh my- Fundy is going to be so upset with me and complain. Ugh, the complaining. Bye bossmen!” With a wave, Tubbo disappeared into the apartment complex below, leaving only Tommy and Ranboo on the roof. Fidgeting a bit, Tommy glanced at Ranboo to see he was awkward as well.

“So, you’re also busy today? Do you need to leave now?” Ranboo startled a little at having attention directed towards him, but answered nonetheless.

“Uh, my friend is very punctual, but he’s also good friends with Niki. So we normally meet up at Saline Solution. Maybe we can uh- wait out there for a bit until he gets there?” Ranboo asked with little conviction in his voice.

Tommy nodded along to his line of reasoning, starting to make his way down the complex so as to start their journey to Niki’s bakery. Along the way through Tubbo’s living space, Ranboo darts off towards some cabinets and opens them hastily. Quickly, he pulls out some money hidden within the compartment. Raising an eyebrow, Tommy watches Ranboo make his way back to his side. When Ranboo was close enough, he saw Tommy’s questioning language and shrugged.

“He steals my money and hides it where he thinks I don’t know.” Humming, Tommy looked at the difference between the high quality outfit Ranboo wore and the average apartment that Tubbo resided in. It wasn’t a far guess to say Tubbo took money from Ranboo, especially since they had a conversation about Tubbo marrying for tax evasion just yesterday.

Making their way back out, they headed off towards Saline Solution.

Tommy was glad that after yesterday, he was more able to recognize the symbols that adorned the side of the apartment buildings in graffiti. The flags that he was exposed to yesterday were still shown on the walls, and it was fun trying to count them as they moved through the streets. The scenes and characters that he kept seeing everyday still flew over his head, but they looked cool nevertheless.

Eventually they made their way to the small bakery on the edge of the middle of Pogtopia, the doors open and active. Although Ranboo easily made his way in, Tommy stopped at the head of the door.

Of course this had to happen. Readying himself, Tommy prepared to create chaos.

At Tommy’s hesitation, Ranboo turned around to question why Tommy hadn’t yet entered. Upon seeing his body language, he tensed up and started to try and shut Tommy down. A shout half formed, left his lips, but it was already too late.

“My mum, for whatever reason, forced me to buy ice cream at this ungodly time of day-“ Sprinting forward, Tommy tackled the Emo Bitch Boy™ at the counter who was in the middle of a conversation with Niki. Stumbling off a sentence that had started as quickly as it stopped, the drama reject was tackled to the ground. A groan from the newly tackled man, laughter came from Niki behind the counter, and a tense gasp from Ranboo.

“I am so sorry, I didn’t know he would be this way- I- we- just wanted to wait here before your brother arrived—“

“Ranboo, Ranboo. It’s okay, Tommy has done it a few times now.” A harsh “I shouldn’t be used to it!” came from the man and child below.

A relieved breath of air from the tall ravenette. “Thank you, Niki.” The woman chuckled.

“Almost went into full panic attack mode didn’t you? No need to be so formal, you’re here to meet up with his brother, no?” Ranboo just nodded, and Niki hummed in affirmation. Zoning back into the child and man on the floor, Ranboo was able to pick up a mess of conversation that had voices weaving over each other.

“You fucking knocked my breasts—“

“Why the fuck do you say breasts—“

“Because you gave me tiddy-pang you fucking child—”

“I’M NOT A CHILD—“

A rough cough from Niki who watched alongside Ranboo, and the two boys looked towards their audience. The man on the floor blushed a bit at the embarrassment but shoved Tommy off of him to get up, ignoring the squawk of protest and wiping himself of imaginary dust.

“So sorry about this insolent racoon—“ the Emo Bitch Boy™ was interrupted by a screaming kid on the floor.

“FUCK YOU, ONLY RANBOO AND TUBBO CAN CALL ME THAT—“

“Anyways, sorry about that display, Ranboo. My brother should be around in a bit. I was sent here earlier by my mum to get some ice cream, you know how it is.” Some skittering, and suddenly there was a presence that lumped into the man. Tommy had decided to be extra annoying and barge into his personal space. Ranboo cringed at the contact that he witnessed.

“Tommy, personal space, man,” Ranboo said while inching away from Tommy, as if terrified of unwanted contact despite the amount of space between them. Both Emo Bitch Boy™ and Tommy shrugged, both seemingly not minding the contact.

“I’m just doing it to annoy him,” Tommy said.

“I don’t mind the physical touch, rather nice actually,” Emo Bitch Boy™ added with a playful ruffle of Tommy’s hair. With his addition, Tommy seemed to change his mind and back off, moving away from the man and towards where Ranboo stood beside the counter. The latter of which moved a bit off to the side when Tommy approached. At Tommy’s actions, Emo Bitch Boy™ seemed to deflate a little before contorting to a face of indifference and continuing his business. “Anyways Niki, what flavors of ice cream do you have available again?”

Tommy perked up. “Ice cream?” Ranboo groaned and buried his face in his hands, while Niki, who had stood off silently watching the entire time, laughed goodnaturedly. The Emo Bitch Boy™ huffed.

“Yes, ice cream. My mum asked me to buy some, no racoons allowed.”

“I already said you’re not allowed to call me a racoon!”

“I’ll figure something out,” the man said in reply, turning towards Niki who had fetched a small menu.

“Obviously we have lemon flavor, but we of course have the classics like vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry—”

“Strawberry please!” Tommy spoke up. Both Ranboo and Emo Bitch Boy™ turned towards him. The former with the emotion of bewilderment and the latter with amusement.

“Tommy seriously did anyone teach you manners—“

“It’s okay Ranboo, I told him I’d pay for treats in the future. The child likes to push his luck. On that note, I need to get you—“ the man turns to glare at Tommy, “out of here before my brother arrives.” Something clicks in Tommy’s mind.

“WAIT BOOB BOI YOU’RE MEETING UP WITH THE PROZOMTRUOUS BITCH BOY’S BROTHER?” The scream may or may not have been needed, but Tommy felt it was necessary. “I can finally apologize for the bastard’s existence!” A startled laugh came from Niki as she came out from the back, holding a strawberry ice cream and what was assumed to be a vanilla ice cream in her hands and putting them on the counter to grab.

With an annoyed huff, the man went to grab and shove a spoonful of vanilla ice cream into his mouth, muttering “thanks” to Niki and paying for the two treats. Grabbing the strawberry ice cream, he turned back only to hear Ranboo trying to dissuade Tommy from impulsively meeting his brother.

Well, that wasn’t happening yet. Shoving the ice cream into the child’s view, the man watched as ice blue eyes lit up in glee. The racoon-like child snatched the ice cream and shoved a portion into his mouth immediately, groaning at how wonderful the treat tasted.

“You’re lucky I had money for two, you chaotic little shit,” the man said with fondness in his voice.

“I feel like that title is reserved for your dad to use on you,” Niki piped up, snickering at the scene before her. Tommy looked every bit like a spoiled 5 year old who got their way and was enjoying their rewards of manipulation.

It seemed the Emo Bitch Boy™ couldn’t keep his thoughts to himself when he supplied, “You’re a child.”

“I’M NOT A CHILD YOU FUCKING PRICK!” Tommy’s voice was muffled by the sheer amounts of ice cream within his mouth.

“A gremlin, then,” he responded, fondness evident in his tone.

Yeah, Tommy really hated this guy.

Watching this, Niki decided to add adoringly, “Waschbär ist ein crime boy.”

Emo Bitch Boy™’s expression lit up. “The trash panda is a crime boy? Niki, I feel that describes the gremlin perfectly,” Emo Bitch Boy™ said with a wicked grin. Calling out to said child, Emo Bitch Boy™ spoke a short “Tommy” to get his attention. Tommy glanced up from his investment in the now cleaned ice cream bowl that he finished shoving into his mouth with Ranboo snorting at his antics.

Gulping down the rest of the ice cream, Tommy replied with a muffled “Yeah?” The drama reject placed his hands upon Tommy’s shoulders and pulled him in closer. Ranboo, although not being the one affected by this, leaned away as if he were the one being touched. Tommy however seemed to not mind the touch and looked up in confusion at the bastard’s face.

“Wanna do crime, Tommy?”

“Nope!” Ranboo cut in quickly, prying the Emo Bitch Boy™’s hands off of Tommy’s shoulders and pulling Tommy back, the latter glaring up at the underside of the sunglasses on Ranboo. “No, no no nope! Not going to be responsible for this! No no no no—“

“Ranboo, I will blackmail my brother into keeping you away if you do not let me have this,” the other tall bastard deadpanned. Tommy looked back down to catch the serious look on the Emo Bitch Boy™’s face. Ranboo, although having his face hidden, looked very much confused and for some reason scared. Tommy didn’t understand the nerves, for he was the Great Tommy “Big Man” Innit and therefore this bitch boy had nothing on him. “Now if you’ll excuse us, I seriously don’t want a run in with my brother, he likes keeping separated from the family when he hangs out with friends.”

The Emo Bitch Boy™ started walking out of the bakery and opened the door, holding it open as an invitation for Tommy to join. Tommy’s mind supplied ”eh- why not? This seems fun” and he wiggled out of Ranboo’s hold. Once freed, he jogged over to the tall brunette that hid his hair under a maroon beanie and walked through the door.

Ranboo felt a bit lucky that Tommy didn’t immediately turn around to see how much the tall brunette’s eye dilated.

Turning back from his position on the sidewalk, Tommy watched as the door finally closed behind the Emo Bitch Boy™, almost as if sealing his fate of hanging out with him today. The bastard had a wide grin on his stupid face that Tommy wanted to wipe off desperately.

“You look like a bitch, Bitch Boy,” Tommy instead responded. The taller one just laughed.

“Still calling me stupid names?” He responded lightly.

“Well, one, you deserve it, but also it’s not like I know your real one,” Tommy sassed back easily. Emo Bitch Boy™ startled a bit but continued walking.

“Wait, I never introduced myself? Toms, I’m basically a stranger! Why did you agree to this? Also how could I forget to tell you?” It seemed to Tommy that he accidentally decided to hang out with an anxious bitch.

“Dude, chill. I also never asked. I’ve just been calling you Emo Bitch Boy™ in my head,” Tommy snarked. The Emo Bitch Boy™ sputtered.

Although Tommy laughed, the tall brunette seemed to slump. Taking a bit of time to calm down, Tommy was starting to question what got the theatre drop out to go into such a quick depression. Seeing Tommy’s confused expression, the tall bastard asked, “Do you really hate me?”

…

Huh

“Uh, no?”

“You don’t sound very convinced,” the tall brunette pouted even more. Tommy’s brain kind of shut down for a bit.

“Wha- I am so convinced. I’m a very confident and wonderful person, just so you know. Extremely humble and kind- the biggest man you’ll ever know. Fuck you.”

The tall bastard laughed wickedly, folding in on himself and cheeks going red. It was a deep laugh that spurred Tommy onto laughing along as well, even though it was at his own expense. By the time they settled down somewhat, their cheeks were red and their stomachs hurt.

Wiping a tear from his eye, the tall brunette only said a singular word after the chuckling fest.

“Wilbur.”

“What- I mean okay? …Benjamin? Are we just listing bad names?” Tommy was confused. The man huffed.

“No, gremlin. My name is Wilbur. Wilbur Soo- uh- Craft to be fair.” Tommy narrowed his eyes at this ‘Wilbur’.

“That’s a dog water name. Who the fuck would name their child that? Also don’t think I didn’t notice that slip up on your supposed last name.” Glancing away with a low breath of air, Wilbur answered quietly.

“Well, my mum was the one to name me, so if you have any issues you need to talk to her. And I kind of picked up the last name relatively recently. It’s only been like a year and a half. Used to kind of resent it, then uh- some stuff happened and now I’m back with it.” Wilbur was cringing at getting around the details, but Tommy could see it was a sensitive case so it let it be.

“Well, as vague as that was, glad to finally know your name, Wilbur.”

Said man nodded. “Glad for you to know too.” They walked a bit through the streets, looking at the art on the East (“it’s forward”) end and even going through some shops in the central area. At some point, Tommy brought up how yesterday he learned what the flags meant and Wilbur lit up with glee. That was when Tommy learned Wilbur was a fucking geography nerd and knew every flag that could possibly be made. He ended up being given a small history lesson on all the flags by Wilbur, learning of the colors and their meaning between the more colorful one and the black and red one.

Apparently, as Wilbur said, the blue stood for freedom, the red for the blood spilled for their country, the white for peace, and the yellow and black to denote the “wall” that separated L’Manburg from “the greater grounds”. Tommy tried asking more about the “wall” and “the greater grounds” (because what the fuck does that mean?), but Wilbur seemed to not like the line of questioning so he dropped it. The Xs were apparently representative of the three mother countries the founders came from, which was also not further explained by Wilbur.

Tommy was starting to not like Wilbur keeping things vague.

Then Wilbur started explaining the Manburg flags and his voice took on an edge that Tommy was able to notice straight away. This time, however, Wilbur was able to point out three variations of the Manburg flag that went through redesign. One with a purple stripe instead of blue, one that was just a black flag with a simple red X, and then finally landing on the familiar obsidian flag last. Apparently, Schlatt had taken down the walls and had renamed the country from L’manburg since they would “take no L’s”. He also liked the colors of black and red more since he apparently only wore a black suit with a red tie at all times. When Wilbur talked about him, Tommy was able to remember the apparition he saw yesterday and internally agreed that the hybrid was off his rockers when it came to decisions.

With Wilbur’s stories and explanations, Tommy was able to feel how Wilbur clearly had been a part of the revolution and war, although his stories declined as Wilbur moved away after Doomsday. Wilbur kept rambling about the intricate ways they had to scrap for cloth to make uniforms, how they had many different languages they worked around.

He also talked about hybrids.

Of all Tommy was told about L’manburg, the most salient part Dream told him was that it was a nation built up by hybrids, and then fell just as easily to them before being officially taken over by the Antarctic Empire. But… there were many things Tommy was learning about that contradicted what Dream told him.

Apparently it wasn’t just hybrids that fought humans. It was both humans and hybrids alike that were being persecuted by the Greater Essempi, so they fought for the freedom of their own governance. Children had fought in the war, and had died. Having been betrayed by a close friend for the Greater Essempi and then apparently having been all been for naught when the country had backstabbed the traitor further and made them blind. Wilbur said they took in their kid though, since they were so young and didn’t deserve to deal with the backfire of the conflict. The stories sounded familiar but off. A different perspective that allowed for a grander flight of ideas.

Wilbur answered questions Tommy had.

Wilbur was able to talk about how other people felt.

Wilbur didn’t force people to be either ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

Wilbur talked about how much he wished it never happened.

Wilbur regretted choosing violence.

Wilbur… was much different from Dream.

Dream said they all deserved to suffer.

Dream said there were only angry hybrids ready to tear apart their enemies.

Dream said to not ask questions.

Dream said to just trust him.

Dream said there was no such thing as innocent people getting caught in the crossfire.

Dream said he would do it all over again.

Dream said that the war was against another nation.

Dream… was wrong.

Dream lied.

Tommy didn’t know how to think. Eventually they had stopped by a run down building that had its glass windows blown in. Graffiti filled the walls, floors, and ceilings. Tommy could see figures of the Greater Essempi being depicted as harming the citizens that rested in the area, confirming what he now knew. He could also see new graffiti that showed the Antarctic Empire taking over as the long-lasting hybrid empire it was, bringing relative peace to the land.

Tommy was finally able to understand all of the art now.

Tommy wondered why Sam worked in such a history packed town.

Turning to look at Wilbur who sat near some glass and looking over some graffiti of the Antarctic Empire figures, Tommy posed a question into the air.

“You said that L’manburg was a nation. Why is it just this town then?” Wilbur laughed, and got up from his spot near the depiction of Siren, turning to face Tommy.

“It’s not the only town. This just used to be the capital, so a lot happened here. A lot documented and a lot planned, a lot started too. There’s other cities like Manifold Land, Snowchester, the Underground, Logstedshire, and a new place called Las Nevadas that are deeply rooted with L’manburg. Also, if you haven’t noticed, Pogtopia is a rather large town with a north, east, south, and west side with the center area of the Community House. As far as I know you have only explored the East side. As the country was going down though, its cities fell with it. This was the last city, and thereby the least remnants of the nation. Uh, the other cities technically still exist. Pretty sure Manifold Land got renamed to something else and is like an embassy, but yeah.” At Tommy’s confused glance, he further explained. “By the mountain range off to the far northwest. Near the small port of the Badlands? It’s known for its volcanoes and hot springs.” Tommy hummed at the new information.

“I thought Las Nevadas was like a club or something,” Tommy muttered. Wilbur coughed a laugh.

“What? Where did you get that?”

“Yesterday I went to the Community House with Ranboo and Tubbo, there was this club with a sickly looking fellow out front with the sign reading ‘Las Nevadas’. He was a weird fellow. Real sweaty.” Wilbur hummed in thought before responding.

“Las Nevadas has some outposts all over. It’s like a subunit of the Underground. Many, many different paths and connections. It’s like gambling land, so don’t sell any information or take anything from those lands. It’s a trap for everyone.” Tommy would guess Wilbur’s tone had bitterness, but that didn’t feel right. There was a hidden meaning and understanding that was one sided with Wilbur that Tommy didn’t want to get into.

“I feel like my head’s going to explode from information,” Tommy said with a groan. Wilbur chuckled, and placed his hands on Tommy’s shoulders. He started to push Tommy in a new direction.

“Well, if we’re on an information journey, then you need to see where it all ended. Have you seen L’manhole yet?” Tommy shook his head at the question.

“Tubbo and Ranboo actually told me about it yesterday, but they said Siren would be there and they knew I was antsy about hybrids so we never went.” Wilbur paused.

Tommy was going to ask why he seemed so confused and then he asked aloud, “Antsy about hybrids?” The confusion made sense.

“Oh yeah, uh, since I come from the Greater Essempi, I’ve kinda been raised that all hybrids are like horrible beasts that will rip out my throat on sight.” It may have been an exaggeration, but seeing Wilbur’s face of horror was worth it. “They really don’t like hybrids over there. I’ve- uh- I’ve been learning I guess. I know that there can be child hybrids, which is a new fucking revelation for me. There are also varying levels of how ‘hybrid’ a hybrid can be. Um, I know I know more, I just can’t think of shit.”

Wilbur hummed at Tommy’s explanation, taking his hands off of his shoulders to instead walk alongside him as they make their way over to the L’manhole.

“Well, good thing you didn’t go, I guess. During the November 16th celebrations usually the founders go full hybrid mode,” Wilbur rattled while looking at the graffiti they passed by. Tommy’s brain short circuited a bit.

“Fu-full hybrid mode? What the fuck does that mean?” There was an edge of panic in his voice, and his voice totally did not crack. The idea of a hybrid being able to go ‘full’ was not vague as shit and did not scare Tommy one bit. He was a Big Man, hybrids didn’t scare him. Hybrids can go fuck themselves.

Wilbur chuckled a little before explaining, “Hybrids can sometimes suppress their traits, especially with the help of an enchanted accessory. But they normally take them off to commemorate the battle, and wars, and the end of a nation. Meaning that most definitely you would have seen many hybrids in full glory if you went, which by your words would not be ideal.”

The landscape changed as they walked away from graffitied buildings and out towards the edges of dense forests.

“Where are we going?” Tommy asked, watching as crumpled concrete turned to bright greens. Wilbur pointed from where they came from and towards where the Community House would be behind them.

“Well we came from the east side of Pogtopia, which is currently behind us, and are going away from the center area upwards. So I guess you could say we’re going northeast to L’manhole.” Tommy grumbled under his breath how bullshit ‘north’ and ‘east’ were, but Wilbur seemed to know what he was doing.

Wilbur seemed to catch onto the muttering however, and started to tease him for it.

“Does the babyman not know directions? Can’t understand basic functioning? You have dyscalculia, DTD, or some shit? Hm?” His tone was light, and he was clearly poking fun at Tommy, neither invalidating the conditions nor Tommy’s reluctance to understand.

“I don’t even know what half those words mean you fucker!” Wilbur laughed at Tommy’s childish accusations.

“Well, no time like now to learn.”

“We’re going forward, you fucker. There is nothing else to learn.” Immediately Wilbur turned around and started walking backwards, somehow keeping up with Tommy. Probably with the help of his long ass legs. He then gave Tommy a knowing look even when he was being cryptic as shit. “The fuck kind of point you trying to make, fucker?” Tommy instead asked. Wilbur gave a huff, still using energy to go backwards but now bouncing as if skipping.

“I’m going backwards.”

“I- OKAY?” Tommy did not understand this man. Wilbur laughed softly, not able to give a full one on account of, ya know, walking backwards.

“Aren’t we going to the same place?” Tommy nodded and replied with an affirmation. “But you’re going forwards, and I’m going backwards. Doesn’t make for good directions if I only gave directions based on someone’s orientation. I need a universal one that is based on the land, not on an individual.” Half of the words he uttered did not make sense in Tommy’s mind, but he couldn’t think of a good retort and Wilbur sounded like a smart fucker.

“Fuck you, I’m still going forward. You just did this to spite me, you wanker.” Wilbur actually laughed this time, a full one that made his face red. He lagged behind to catch his breath and then reorientated himself before quickly catching up with Tommy in a small jog. During this, Tommy had slowed down to let Wilbur breathe a bit, smiling like a mad-man for getting him to chuckle.

“Well, gremlin child, we’re almost there anyways. And hopefully I never have to get directions from you in the future.” Tommy gave a small “fuck you!” In response, ending with Wil punching Tommy in the shoulder and the latter cackling at his chaotic antics. They kept walking for a bit until the forest around them started to wilt and turn gray. The further they went, the more dead the greenery became. Ash and soot started to flow through the air, thickening it and making it harder to breath. The path they went along dipped in small explosion sights, leaving scarred land and rubble in its wake.

Tommy’s nerves started to light up, and he stumbled in following Wilbur. Nothing good ever came from explosions and holes in the ground. Shaking, Tommy cleared his throat a bit to make sure it didn’t falter before speaking up.

“Wher- Where are we going? This seems like recent of some shit. None of it has been covered over by the plants even though it’s been like forever. And it’s not like I’m scared or some shit- but explosions are real, ya know? Real and loud. So like, are you taking be to get kidnapped or—?” Wilbur had stopped walking forward, standing between two empty spots of land which showed gray rubble in the pattern of a burn mark.

“Well, during the Fall, this place was blown to bits and it somewhat recovered. It was- um- it was taken much further during Doomsday though. That was the day the Antarctic Empire took over. Uh- you’ll see it when we get there, but you know the prime path?” Tommy nodded. “Yeah, you’ll see an abandoned path that just cuts off that leads back to the center of the place. All the way back to the Community House. Um- it has been somewhat taken over by greenery. There’s vines and shit. It’s just harder for stuff to grow since they used wither warfare—“

“THEY USED WITHERS?!” Tommy screeched. Wilbur winced but nodded.

“Uh, yeah? I mean Te- the Blood God of the Antarctic Empire is known for coming up with new war formations. He decided to use withers during Doomsday. He also had an army of dogs. There’s… um, you’ll see it but there’s also an obsidian grid that runs over the place in the sky. It was created by the Greater Essempi’s highest guard Dream. He lighted and rained down TNT over the land until it reached bedrock. I heard there was a massive battle between the Blood God and Dream during it. Withers versus TNT. PvP master versus PvP master. The Blood God came out victorious, however. That’s why the last remnants of L’manburg fell under Antarctic Empire rule. He and… Siren renamed the place Pogtopia due to the change in power. Uh, no one really minded as much as when Mayor Schlatt renamed the place since Siren was one of the founders of L’manburg and named the place himself. He gave a whole speech on there being a new age of freedom that day too. Rebirth and the evolution of a new era—“

“Yeah yeah, change or some shit. I heard about the Blood God and Dream battle. The Blood God gave mercy or whatever out of respect.” Wilbur tilted his head towards Tommy, who had relaxed somewhat by Wilbur’s explaining.

“You heard about it? I know you’ve mentioned Dream a few times.”

Tommy winced. “Uh, yeah. I did live in the Greater Essempi for like all my life. Uh- I was training to be a… guard so I got to meet him a few times. He- uh- he told us some stories of hybrids. Liked to go into detail about the Blood God especially. How brutal he was and how his mercy doesn’t show humanity but instead sadistic power. Um- yeah.” Both of them kind of watched each other. A tense silence in the air.

A crow cawed, and Wilbur relaxed. “Hmm, well glad that you learned something, even if it was extremely biased. The L’manhole isn’t that far from here. It seriously looks better than it sounds. Some vines and flowers have grown resistant to the withering in the ground and have thrived. There was also a bridge that was installed recently to walk across it. It’s rather cool.”

Wilbur turned around to continue going forward, and looked over his shoulder towards Tommy’s more shy form. Extending a hand, he allowed Tommy to have a form of stability to lean against when he was so clearly uptight about the environment. Tommy gave a large breath in, looked at the unfamiliar trees and forest marking how there wasn’t sand beneath his feet. Closing his eyes, he focused on the animal sounds surrounding him. Ignoring the familiar smell in the air, he opened his eyes to Wilbur’s deeply curious ones, holding something dark within the irises. Guiding his hand out as if it were detached from his own body, he grasped Wilbur’s extended one tightly and allowed himself to be ushered forward. He ignored the smells of gunpowder and the ringing of explosions that came to fester in his mind.

He wasn’t there. He wasn’t watching. Wilbur isn’t him.

There was a buzz in the back of Tommy’s mind that begged to take over, but instead Tommy kept bumping into Wilbur and laughing when he pushed back with a smile.

He wasn’t there. He wasn’t watching.

Tommy looked over to Wilbur’s face and noted how at ease Wilbur became once they started walking again.

Wilbur wouldn’t hurt him. He isn’t there to teach Tommy a lesson. Tommy was safe.

And Tommy allowed himself to smile freely, feeling safe and comfortable while walking through battle worn ground towards a large obsidian grid in the sky.

Chapter Text

The company during the walk was nice.

Wilbur continued to share stories of his life to Tommy. From tidbits of talking about his girlfriend Sally, to his days spent on the road, and of his home with his family. Apparently he never really got to see his mother, only really hearing from her every once and a while.

Last night was one of the only nights where he got to actually see her… and she asked him to go get ice cream. His brother, who was currently hanging out with Ranboo and certainly was not making a swirl of jealousy form in Tommy’s stomach, was much more reserved and quiet, mostly just there to make fun of Wilbur but not engage in his antics. His father, apparently, was rather busy and was often away doing work. He loved them all dearly and always made time for them, but Wilbur knew not to take up too much time from his ”important business”. Tommy decided to still call him a prick.

They also talked about someday getting Tommy to go meet them which he refused immensely.

“Didn’t you say, and I quote, that ‘it’ll be a long while until I see them’?” Tommy asked curiously. Wilbur scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“That may have been a bit of my possessive side coming out. I’m much more chill about letting you see them in the future. I still want to have my solo ‘Tommy Time’.”

“Fucking Tommy Time?” He asked incredulously. Wilbur hummed. “You need to get some reality check, man. I still have barely even known you for long.”

Wilbur, in response, opened his arms out wide and spun a bit, dramatically calling out, “That’s what this is for, isn’t it? A day out for the Crime Boys! Bonding with the feral child!”

“Stop calling me a child, you prick!” Tommy shouted. Wilbur laughed freely. “Stop laughing at me, dick!”

Wilbur continued to laugh, but it didn’t feel condescending so Tommy started to laugh alongside him.

The scenery changed once the semi-dead tree line spread apart. Broken wood gave way to burned chards. They weren’t normal burns either. They had purple edges that seemed to actively glow brighter when anything alive went near.

Two bunnies that slipped out of a bush to hop across the path in front of them showed Tommy the effects of the burns. The older one stayed very clear of the holes while the smaller one stepped close to the edge of the purple marks. The purple itself seemed to glow and stretch before a slight sizzling sound filled the air. The younger bunny whined in pain before quickly bounding forward in a panic to get away from the pain the dark mark left.

Tommy winced when he saw a bit of red staining the fur of the back foot. Wilbur seemed to notice where Tommy’s attention went to and put an arm around his shoulders to pull him into a side hug.

“The rabbit will survive, don’t worry. It needed to learn to avoid them. It won’t happen again. Remember to not touch it with your bare skin though, don’t want you burning yourself.”

“Why are the burns like that? Is it from the withers?” Tommy had heard of wither warfare, mainly from Dream, but he never knew the effects of them after years had gone by.

“Yep. Pure wither dust from the creatures can seep into the ground and not leave for years. As you can see, direct hits from the wither last even longer. They mostly just burn a bit, but don’t purposefully like lay in it for long. I do hope you have self-preservation.” Wilbur steps over the mark easily, not activating any withering effects or making the burn mark glow whatsoever. Tommy, in comparison, tried to carefully tread around it and also avoid the dead bushes on either side of him, but ended up having the mark glow ominously when his foot hovered close by before continuing forward. Tommy repressed a shiver at the magic still seeped into the dirt and quickly followed after Wilbur who had gotten a bit ahead before stopping at an edge of sorts.

Upon reaching him, Wilbur turned towards Tommy rather dramatically with a wide grin upon his face. Spreading his arms out wide and spinning a bit, careful to not accidentally fall of the edge, he declared loudly, “Welcome to the L’manhole! A place of great history and terrible betrayals! Of war and devastation! Behold!” Although Wilbur was making dramatic gestures past the cliff’s edge and laughing hysterically, Tommy was too entranced by the sight before him to pay him much mind.

The large crater itself spanned at least a kilometer wide and created a vague oval shape. Debris from fallen structures crawled out from the jagged landscape to showcase the havoc the wither creatures placed upon this once habites land. Surprisingly, besides the places of direct hits from withers long since killed, there was vegetation growing back. Flowering vines and plants spanned the area and created a serene picture to the ravaged place. There was even a source of water at the top resembling a lake that flowed as a waterfall towards the bottom of the pit. It cascaded down the carved walls and helped foster different life on various levels.

Squinting at the bottom of the abyss, Tommy thought he could make out water and some coral surrounding was looked like speckled black ground, and saw fish and mushrooms growing happily around.

“It went all the way down to bedrock.” Tommy jumped at the unexpected voice close to his right ear, but relaxed after realizing it was Wilbur being a bitch. Only raising an eyebrow, Wilbur continued on talking, as if answering unasked questions. “The speckled rock at the bottom? Where the aquatic life is? Bedrock. The last and most indestructible layer between the overworld and the void below.” Okay… maybe he was answering unasked questions. Tommy would need to interrogate Wilbur to see if he could read minds.

Tommy hummed in affirmation, not knowing how to continue that train of thought. Although the layers of different plants did intrigue him.

“How do the plants—“

“Toms, look up at the grid.”

Alas, he was cut off by Wilbur’s meddling. Rather reluctantly, Tommy lifted his head, still having his question on the tip of his tongue but letting it die once observing the hanging abomination floating in the sky above.

“From there, Dream rained TNT down using a ‘duo-pling glitch’, I still don’t know what that is, and Te—“ a cough, “the Blood God spawned about twenty withers on that platform.”

Wilbur directed Tommy’s attention towards a small, almost indistinct hill that sat at a good angle from the hole. He paused to think about the good view not only the Blood God would have in the beginning, but also the advantage, no matter how slight, was given by the upper ground.

Tommy shivered with the thoughts of what it must have looked like to the poor people living here before. Turning to Wil, Tommy took the time to place the expression he wore. He ended up with the idea of ”bittersweet reminiscent” before deciding to open his mouth and be annoying.

“Weren’t the Antarctic Empire and the Greater Essempi enemies though? Weren’t the Blood God and Dream specifically rivals? Why did they want to decimate this place anyways? What harm was it causing?”

Wilbur hummed, taking in Tommy’s questions and stopping his paragraph of inquiry in its tracks. “To help and answer all of your questions: Yes. Yes. Because. Political, emotional, and maybe a bit of personal reasons. Honestly, who knows with them.”

Honestly Tommy already forgot his questions and in what order they were, so Wilbitch was still unhelpful.

“Mind repeating any of that into english?” He roughly so kindly asked. Wilbur huffed and rolled his eyes before ruffling Tommy’s hair affectionately.

“You gremlin! Pay attention!” Even though he was yelling, Tommy felt the curl of affection in his voice clearly and it made him braver to yell back more insults.

Eventually, Wilbur led Tommy down a level or two into a more cave area in the walls that seemed to have revenants of explosion marks on the walls and banners of blue, gold, white, and red lining the linear path. Wilbur seemed to grow more somber as they traveled, but Tommy was able to joke about the “awful view of the action” which got a smile out of the older man. They reached an area that looked to be a tomb, and Tommy was too afraid to speak due to the quietness that permitted the atmosphere.

At some point, Wilbur had gone up and observed the rotting flowers and gems of blue that dotted the upper mantel of the grave. When Tommy felt brave enough to step forward and join him, however, he was already stepping back and leading the way out of the area.

They came back up to the shining blue sky after a couple of minutes, and walked towards the wooden bridge that went from one side of the hole to the other. Tommy skipped across with no feelings of weariness and coaxed Wilbur into racing him to the middle where there was a larger viewing platform. Looking down, Tommy saw something he completely missed before. In the middle of the hole, an unmistakeably large and ”fuck off” energy L’manburg flag flew. The winds created by the updrafts and the winding air currents of the hole made it lift and descend with no specific pattern.

It breezed almost lazily before catching a burst of wind and snapping into place before gently falling again. It was rhythmic and almost therapeutic in a way that both Tommy and Wilbur watched in a daze for a bit. Time passed lethargically as the two made idle chat watching the view below. Inching slowly as shadows and highlights bounced and reflected off the intricate walls of the L’manhole.

Only when a bright burst of light hit Tommy’s eyes did he realize how late it was getting. Golden hour had begun and it showed by bathing him and Wilbur in blinding yellow. Wilbur also seemed to notice as he gave a groan and stretched from where he had sat himself on one fo the given chairs. Comparatively, Tommy was sat on the floor and gave a hiss towards needing to move and avoid the horrid light of the setting sun.

Eventually, both made to rise and stretched fully, knowing they had lives to get back to.

Tommy paused while looking at the misunderstood history surrounding him.

“I still feel like there’s so much I’m missing.” He blurted.

“Oh! There is!” Wilbur said with way too much glee in his voice. “Guess you’ll have to stick around me so I can explain! I am, afterall, so far your best source of information.”

How he talked was oh-so similar and oh-so different. Tommy found himself leaning into the interaction.

Nodding, Tommy smiled a little. “Guess I’ll have to see your ugly mug again, bitch boy.” Wilbur scoffed and lightly hit Tommy in the shoulder.

“Gremlin child,” he muttered fondly, a light sparkle in his eyes. A quick and short complaining noise came from Tommy. In response, Wilbur watched Tommy under the golden hues of the sun. ”Golden gremlin,” he fondly murmured beneath his breath.

They stood there for a bit longer in silence, enjoying each other’s presence.

Eventually Tommy yawned and Wilbur watched with mixed emotions. Affection, slight annoyance, care, love, and deep, cruel possession. They were the only two out there at the time, so Tommy didn’t get to see the blatant and frankly terrifying set of emotions on Wilbur’s face.

When Tommy stopped yawning and had the chance to see his emotions, Wilbur decided to distract him with his own self-image.

“You don’t help your stance on ‘not being a child’ when you have a goldfish face and yawn like a baby fawn.” Tommy sputtered.

“WHAT THE FUCK, MAN?” Tommy screeched, ruining the peaceful atmosphere. “I do not look like that! I look manly and poggers, you fucking git.”

“Uh huh, and this ‘manly’ and ‘poggers’ child needs some sleep.” Wilbur paused to sigh dramatically and lay a hand atop his forehead. “Alas! This is where we part ways and go on with our lives! ‘Tis true sadness to part with what once was, but it shall come bearing fruit in thyn future. Mayhaps we meet again to continue on this twisted path of fate. To where our journeys diverge now out of need. Yours off slumber, and mine of duty. There shall come a day when—“

“What the ever loving fuck does any of this mean?” Tommy asked in the midst of Wilbur’s ranting, quite confused. “And do you ever shut the fuck up?” Wilbur didn’t acknowledge the question and went on with his tangent.

“True family shall meet a new addition in due time! For it is inevitable and shall come to be. However until then we must part and go about our missions of great importance to come upon our next adventure. ‘Til we meet again, golden haired child.” With the end to his rambling, Wilbur dramatically rolled his hand from his forehead into an elegant bow that dipped to far below his knees. Tommy laughed loudly at the theatrics, even though he didn’t understand what Wilbur had said.

“This is dumb. I’m not even tired!” Another yawn betrayed Tommy and he secretly vowed to serve consequences upon his body by not sleeping for a week.

“Yet your body says differently. Slumped shoulders, bags under your eyes. I mean seriously, it’s obvious.”

“You quite literally have that but worse,” Tommy said with a pout and a scrunch in his nose that pulled at his face. Wilbur rolled his eyes while turning away and making his way back to solid dirt.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m an insomniac. But how do you explain the yawning then?”

“Look here Wilbur, I may not know what an in-sum-nack is, but I do know that yawning just means I find you boring and is completely irrelevant to how tired I am.”

“Is that so?” A head tilt accompanied Wilbur’s question, and Tommy wondered why he felt so much smaller.

“Y-yeah. So fuck off, I’m staying out here longer.” A pause. “And I also require you to be my friend and talk to me more.” Primes, he sounded like a fucking five year old! There’s no way Wilbur would agree to that, and Tommy found himself kicking at the ground uselessly.

They had made their way to grass again and had switched directions towards where Tommy remembered the town to be, once again avoiding the burn marks that glowed brighter with the dimming sun.

A bit of time passed, and a drawn out breath of air is what came out of Wilbur next. Almost as if the fight was slowly leaving him through his airways. He studied Tommy with his piercing eyes before straightening himself up.

“How about this? I bring you back to wherever you currently reside, then I go out and do my business. That way we have more time to talk, you can go get dinner and get back safely.” Tommy raised his eyebrows at Wilbur’s suggestion.

“Why the fuck would I want you to know where I live?” A flash of indignation sweeped Wilbur’s features but it left so quickly that Tommy could pass it off as his imagination.

Wilbur shrugged nonchalantly, body language relaxed and open. “Well if we are going to make this a regular thing, then its smart for me to just pick you up straight from where you eat and sleep, no?”

Tommy huffed, giving in. “Okay, fine, sure. You can see where where I’m currently living.”

Walking forward, he heard a second pair of footsteps following him from close behind, and he resisted the urge to turn around and bother Wilbur while walking backwards.

…

A soft noise of inconsistent steps that meant the person kept changing paces flowed into Tommy’s ears.

…

‘Twas his resolve until Wilbur decided to be a git.

Turning around sharply, Tommy began to walk backwards haphazardly as they both made their way through the town and towards the buildings Tommy recognized. Heading further south, not that Tommy knew that, they finally reached the building Sam’s little laboratory was in. Turning the corner to the now familiar street, Tommy hastily turned back from walking backwards, ignore the way his body protested the awkward and unnatural position for that long, and sprinted towards the front of the place. Wilbur had stopped for a moment of surprise before following Tommy towards the doors and thus through the entrance when he gestured him inside.

“You… you live in Sam’s lab?” Wilbur questioned Tommy, who had now safely closed the doors and locked them which flipped the sign from “open” to “closed” on the front window automatically.

Tommy shrugged. “Not exactly? I do live with him. It’s how I got here, but I live in the living area he has. Not like he uses it, but I have my own space and basically my own kitchen.”

Wilbur seemed to consider something in his mind for a moment before speaking up.

“I thought you were… hesitant towards hybrids?”

Oh yeah. Sam’s a double agent. So in Wilbur’s eyes, as he’s a part of the Antarctic Empire, Sam has them fouled into thinking he’s a creeper hybrid.

“Uh- yea?” Tommy replied unhelpfully. He cleared his throat before deciding to be more decisive and cover for Sam. “I mean, I’ve been around him since I was a kid” technically true, as he was still a kid “and he always had cool gadgets for me,” his latest birthday gift came up in his mind “It was just easier to think of him as a super advanced scientist instead of a hybrid, you know?” That was more of a stretch, but Wilbur didn’t need to know that.

Wilbur studied Tommy’s face for a moment, and having his piercing gaze on Tommy made him squirm a bit. He felt like a child being scolded by his parent! Luckily, he seemed to buy Tommy’s excuses and backed off the topic of Sam being a hybrid. That, or the fact Sam came strutting out to the front also helped take the attention off of Tommy. Either way, he was grateful.

Actually, seeing as how the two eyed each other down made Tommy think that not having attention on him was worse.

Giving a loud and obnoxious cough, the two turned towards Tommy who directed his attention to Wilbur.

“Thank you Wilbur for walking me home, however now I will go rest and you can go on with whatever work you had to do that I oh-so horribly distracted you from this morning.” He made a shooing motion with his hands to indicate that Wilbur leave then, but to his utter dismay the bitch didn’t move. In fact, he argued against it.

“Um, actually, I needed to pick up some… equipment from Sam for my dad.” Wilbur rubbed the back of his neck nervously, seeing Tommy shoot daggers at him.

“Oh, well isn’t that convenient?” Tommy sarcastically snapped back. This is when Sam decided he was going to be a problem to.

“I can back him up, unfortunately. I was expecting him all day, but I can see what got you held up. Glad this wasn’t so strained in a time sensitive manner and that Wilbur could afford to skip his duties for the day.” Tommy may or may not have giggled innocently at the word “duties”. Wilbur crossed his arms on his chest to help glare at Sam.

“Well my chores were also interrupted by my mother this morning, which my father was aware of, so he shouldn’t be surprised with how her errands usually go.” This seemed to satisfy Wilbur as an appropriate response to Sam’s agitation and relaxed back into an open and languid body language. He bordered on “cocky” and Tommy wondered if he purposefully practiced this type of stance as to further irritate whomever he talked to.

It definitely worked on Sam, as one of the pairs of arms he had now crossed over his chest in an aggressive and defensive manner. Tommy noted it was the lower ones that were made of metal. For some reason, that made it more intimidating.

Tommy hesitantly looked between the two before making up his mind and walking to stand behind Wilbur. Before having eh chance to turn and see what Tommy was up to, Wilbur was shoved forwards towards the counter in a rather aggressive manner.

“Well then do your shit, man! We literally walked all the way over here for you to do whatever it is you need to do, and if I didn’t also need to come here you would still have to come in eventually. So suck it up and just do what your job is or whatever.” Wilbur grumbled at Tommy’s rather inspiratory speech while Sam had a look of pride wash over him.

“That sounded pretty responsible, Tommy.”

“Shut the fuck up. I am not doing any fucking chores,” came Tommy’s immediate response to that observation. Sam chuckled and Wilbur had a brief smile cross his face before forcing itself back into a scowl.

“Isn’t that what I brought you here to do?” In lieu of a response, Tommy shifted big puppy eyes towards Sam. He had to lean a bit to the left in order for Wilbur’s body to not be in the way, but his expression was still clear as Sam gave a large sigh. “Fine, we both know that was a cover to get you out of the Essempi for once on your birthday.”

Tommy bumped his fist in the air as celebration. Wilbur at this point had spun on his feet a bit to get a good look at Tommy behind him and was making a surprised face towards the child. Tommy, in all of his “responsible” glory, stuck his tongue out at the stare. Wilbur just rolled his eyes.

Heaving a sigh, Wilbur muttered out a “fine” before turning back once more towards Sam. At this, Sam gave a decisive nod and motioned for Tommy to leave. In stubbornness, Tommy stood right where he was and folded his arms over his chest. Sam narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. Wilbur saw this and sighed aloud before saying, “Tommy we literally came back cause it’s your bedtime. Go rest, you child.”

“I’M NOT A CHILD!”

“THEN STOP ACTING LIKE ONE AND GO TO SLEEP WHEN YOU YAWN.”

Tommy huffed loudly into the air before aggressively storming behind the counter and towards his area of the place.

Oh, he’ll show Wilbur whose the REAL child! It was obviously him and not Big Man TommyInnit! He didn’t need sleep yet! He was a grown man!

Getting to the door, Tommy was able to see into the kitchen from where he was and managed to find something glistening on the counter. Going over towards it, he realized that there was fresh bread wrapped in plastic on the counter. Feeling curious, he opened the cabinets and fridge to find them fully stocked with necessities and a few rarer commodities like some popsicles and coke.

A wave of gratitude flowed through Tommy to see that Sam had taken care to actually stock the pantry and kitchen like he said he would. Along with the wave of gratitude came some inspiration, and Tommy checked the time before starting to pull out ingredients. It wasn’t that late into the day. The sun had only just set! And even though Sam had restocked the kitchen, Tommy doubted he ate a proper meal all day.

Cracking his knuckles, Tommy wasted time while Sam was sorting out whatever chore Wilbur had by cooking some good food. Repeating his actions from before, he opened the fridge and pulled out some fresh vegetables from inside to set them on the counter. Cleaning his hands and then washing off the ingredients, he also sorted out some pantry ingredients and dairy products to use in a broth of sorts. Pulling out a cutting board and a knife, he went at the vegetation with a trained elegance. In no time, the food was cut, sliced and added to a now boiling pot of homemade broth.

After adding spices he knew from Quackity, Tommy set a timer for around half an hour and sat at one of the chairs offered a little out of the kitchen section. Tommy assumed it was a small dining area of sorts that attached to the kitchen.

Sam would like soup, right?

With Tommy’s years of knowing the man, he never really knew what Sam liked to eat and just assumed he would appreciate the cooking. He did buy these ingredients afterall, so Tommy thought Sam couldn’t be too against them.

While he waiting for the soup to cook, Tommy pulled out a treat from a marked box in the pantry. It was a lollipop; and cherry flavored as Tommy found. Luckily he was able to finish it before Sam saw it and before the food ended its cooking time.

Taking out two bowls, Tommy filled both of them with the steaming creation and set them on the dining area he had sat at before. He then moved to go to the front to check on Sam… and maybe to also see if Wilbur was still around.

Peeking his head out, he was meet with the figure of Sam leaning over the counter with his head in his hands. He didn’t looking to be grieving but instead resting for a moment. Wilbur was nowhere in sight, so Tommy guessed he had gotten what he needed and left.

“Sam? Big Man?” Tommy called. Sam lifted his head from his hands and looked towards the doorway Tommy was leaning out of. A bittersweet smile graced his features and Tommy wondered if he misread Sam’s posture from before. Quickly, almost as if it didn’t happen, the emotion eased into a genuine smile and Sam straighten his demeanor to regard Tommy.

“Yes, Tommy?” He made his way over to the boy and stood about a foot away from him. Reaching out a hand, he started shifting his clawed hand through Tommy’s curls. Taking a moment to restart his brain and enjoy the feeling of skin ruffling his head, Tommy gapped like a goldfish. After a few seconds he was able to shake his head and look up determined at Sam. In return, Sam only raised an eyebrow.

“I- uh- made dinner. I assumed you hadn’t eaten anything of sus-tuh-nence and therefore you needed a good, proper meal. Which I made. I made soup.” He gulped at his awkwardness. “Yes.”

He didn’t realize how awkward his speech could become when he had someone staring down so intensely like Sam was, but here Tommy was, wishing he could go hide in a hole.

Realizing this was not Big Man behavior, Tommy straightened his spine and redirected his focus from the wall to Sam’s line of sight. The burning on his face was merely a facade, a fabrication by those trying to take him down!

Sam, out of all of this embarrassment, merely chuckled and shook his head lightly.

“You’re right, I haven’t. What kind of soup did you cook?”

“Uh, ones with the vegetables in them. If I get rid of all of them in one go, then there’s only the good stuff left for later.” Sam huffed lightly at Tommy’s train of thought.

“Well okay. Lead me to the food you so graciously created.”

Together they walked to the kitchen where Tommy then directed him to the small sitting area housings the bowls. The food was still warm, and they enjoyed it in relative peace.

Relative being that Sam dealt with Tommy’s ramblings of the day and going out with Wilbur. Sam just hummed and nodded, seeming to take interest in any activity that Wilbur had with Tommy.

“And so basically he’s blackmailing me into hanging out with him. I would consider him a wrongun if he wasn’t so great with stories.”

“You feel safe hanging out with him alone?”

“I mean, yeah. Had today to prove it, innit? If he wanted to do any weird stuff he had his chance. Barely anyone knew where we went and he could’ve lied this morning or like misdirected and shit. Instead he took full responsibility and like showed me around all these cool places. Walked me home too! I should really teach him to abandon his friends in the dark more, his kindness will be abused to often.” Tommy shook his head as if he were talking about Wilbur having a terrible disease. Sam fought the urge to smile. “But anyways, he’s pretty chill, and I’m rather curious how else we’ll interact.”

Sam hummed before speaking. “He’s rather attached to you.”

Tommy blinked.

“I mean, you could argue that. But not anymore than I. We’re both curious of each other, and we match each other’s energy. It’s no wonder we click so well. And besides, I’m much more attached to Tubbo at the moment.” Sum hummed and there was a darker undertone that Tommy chose to ignore.

“He just isn’t one for attaching easily is all…”

“Really Sam, he’s fine. Only like 4 years older and I don’t think he’s a wrongun.”

“I don’t mean- yes Tommy, he isn’t a child trafficker, I was talking about—“

“What? What’s a child trafficker?”

“I—“ Sam paused before taking a breath. “We just misunderstood each other. Let me start over, I am just worried because when Wilbur makes attachments, he makes attachments. He won’t let you go once he does. He’s rather possessive.” Sam’s eyes gleamed with a possessiveness of his own, and Tommy considered Sam a hypocrite.

“Oh.” He found he didn’t mind Wilbur all that much in that sense. He’s been told most of the adults who took care of him were like that. Dream, he waws told, was much more possessive than Sam, as Sam was okay with sharing as long as he got his own time and didn’t share those moments. Dream, on the other hand, would actively separate and detach Tommy from others in order to have him all alone.

At least, this is what Karl and Quackity had to say on the matter, and Quackity was used as an example of a possessive person on his own! It was during those rare moments where Quackity was around the area and Sapnap was away on guard duty. Usually during Tuesday lunch when Quackity made them all burritos.

Shrugging, Tommy looked Sam in the eyes. “Well, it is what it is, Big Man. We’ll figure it out as we go along, and if I ever have any fears I’ll go to you, or even Tubbo. Now, what is a child trafficker? I’m still not over that. Is it a type of wrongun? What does it do?”

“Nope. Not having this discussion. Thank you for the food, now let’s clean up and go to bed. I’m tired.”

The rest of the time was spent with Tommy begging Sam to know what a child trafficker was before being sent to bed with empty promises of telling him in the morning. Luckily, the last thing on Tommy’s mind when he woke up was what a “child trafficker” was.

Chapter Text

Flashes of color came to the forefront of Tommy’s vision. Reds, golds, whites, vivid bright greens, fading in and out of place. They came along with memories and voices, but they were too fragmented to make up anything. Small whispers of doubt said in his friends’ voices attacked his ears.

“You’re useless.”

“I expected better from you.”

“You’re so worthless.”

“I thought you cared about being good.”

To say Tommy felt awful was an understatement.

In the current state he was in, it was hard to remember if they were real or made up by his brain. Mostly, he felt they were clipped together from a source that was blurred in his mind.

Concentrating, Tommy tried to push through and clear up the vision, but all he ended up with was a growing headache and the feeling of something grabbing out to pull him back.

Being conscious of it made it worse. It felt as if the shadows themselves were coming up to grab at his limbs to pull away from the blurry figure in front of him.

He didn’t question where this figure came from. He only knew that these stupid chains were keeping him away from the truth! He knows Sam never said he was useless. He knows Wilbur never said he was worthless. So stop whispering them into his ears!

His frustration built as the image stayed blurred. All he got was an amalgamation of green blobs and echoed laughter coming from the figure. The noise was distorted, and he knew it sounded nothing like the person that his brain was keeping from him, but the feeling of the laugh was all that mattered. A condescending chill that weighed heavily on his shoulders. He felt trapped, and had the sudden urge to apologize heavily to try and save himself— save himself from what?— and he scrambled away from the messy visage of a monster.
A sense of déjà vu hit Tommy, and his brain scrambled to fill in the pieces. Suddenly, familiar but not-the-same walls appeared around him. The environment, although he couldn’t see why, was wrong wrong WRONG and his breath quickened tremendously when a shadow came to the doorway. A familiar figure stood there, in the same outfit they were always in. The expression presented to Tommy only hid their true intentions underneath.

“Tommy.”

He made the mistake of flinching.

“You messed up your form again.” Oh right, they were training. Yes, he remembered now.

The room spun, even with Tommy and the person staying still. Looking down, Tommy saw he was bleeding quite profusely. Vaguely, he wondered if he would pass out from blood loss or be able to convince his mentor that he was good enough for the medic. He knew to never voice his concerns though, that would just make him angrier and less likely to help. Maybe if he was quiet and was good then he would deserve the medic. This was just punishment for not paying attention.

Tommy was glad he couldn’t remember the pain.

The shadows were dancing around his mentor’s face. His expression didn’t change, and Tommy didn’t doubt that his emotions did either.

Tommy bent his head down and didn’t make a sound. Let his mentor decide if he deserved an answer. Or anything, for that matter. Tommy fucked up, hugely. He didn’t need a reminder, he could see his blood seeping out of him, slowly bringing him closer to passing out.

Tommy did feel incredibly sleepy, but his anxiety and adrenaline kept him wide awake. It felt as if the shadows that were also swarming his mentor were keeping his limbs locked in place. He felt phantom tendrils creeping up and gripping at his arms, seeping into his skin and burrowing their way into his very bones.

Tommy distantly realized he was shaking, which wasn’t new, but definitely not recommended in this situation.

A distant huff met his ears and his arms were able to twitch in their confides before being stopped.

“Come on Tommy, you know this is the regular punishment, and pretty light for that.” Tommy nodded, head feeling fuzzy. It was very light. Afterall, Tommy couldn’t even feel it. Usually it would be made to give him the most amount of pain possible, that way Tommy would truly never repeat the mistake again.

Looking back down at his arms, his vision grew even fuzzier at the red it was met with. At some point, Tommy forgot what it once was with his sight so obscured. Was it blood?…Or was it juice? Maybe soup? What if it was fabric?

Tommy’s senses were dulled to the point where any of these could be true. Pushing himself to make clear of the situation, Tommy tried to piece together what else was around him. Green was all he could come up with. He remembered that he needed to be scared of something. Was he scared of the green? Why was he scared of green? Sam was green. Sam was nice and good. He took Tommy on an adventure he desperately wanted. Away from… away from the kingdom he grew up in.

Yeah. That’s what it was. Tommy focused on the red flooding the bottom of his vision.

He could suddenly feel the texture of the cloth in his arms. It came more into focus as time came on and he could more properly see the stitching and thread lines. His mind supplied him that it was a cloak to help keep him warm in cold weather.

The gift sent tears into his eyes. He looked up towards the green figure, Sam, who had a soft smile on his face. When Tommy pulled the cloth further into himself, Sam’s smile became that much more genuine and his eyes somehow became even more soft towards the boy on the floor. Tommy realized he must have fallen when overwhelmed with positive emotions.

“T-thank you Sam,” he was able to stutter out. A wash of content and praise fell over him, and he registered Sam running his hand through his hair. Tommy hummed in appreciation and leaned into it, falling forward into the mass in his lap. He ended up falling through the fabric and his eyes were shocked open by a buzz under his skin.

…

Peeling his eyes open fully, Tommy felt small crusts of sleep junk edging on the ends of his eyes. A slight scowl spread across his face as he got a bearing of his surroundings. The buzz under his skin he could now identify as anxiety, probably from revenants of a nightmare. There were also dried tear tracks along his face, but they were older. That meant he ended the dream nicely, at least.

Tommy shakily stayed in place as he tried to piece together the fragments of his unconscious to get a glimpse at what the night gave him, but was much too aware of the shadows in the peripheral of his vision.

Taking a deep breath in, Tommy kept repeating to himself how monsters weren’t real and that he was safe. Safe in Pogtopia. Safe with Sam. Safe in his bed. Safe. Safe. Safe.

A few minutes in and still very anxious and shaky from the nightmare, Tommy started to try and count down from ten to slow his heart rate down. It worked after a bit and Tommy was able to comfortably huddle under his blankets with Henry in his arms.

Stuffing his face into the cow, although not great for his breathing, greatly helped his anxiety, and he was more able to regain small amounts of his dream.

He remembered being terrified of shadows, and feeling crowded in. Then remembering green and Sam at one point. Something about a cloak? Anyway, Tommy was able to discern that whatever he dreamed of to make him cry in his sleep would most likely plague him if he were to slumber again. He wasn’t going to be able to sleep anytime soon.

With this knowledge, he slowly got out from under the warm blankets and tucked Henry under his arm to grab his birthday staff as protection before leaving his room.

At first, he hung around the kitchen for a bit. Tommy was able to make a small hot chocolate, but was unable to find any marshmallows to add to the delicious treat. He thought about bothering Sam to find comfort, but decided against it when voices in the back of his mind supplied “don’t bother him. He has better things to do, like sleep”. In response, Tommy gave his brain two middle fingers, but still kept away from Sam’s room to not feel like a burden. When curiosity got the better of him, Tommy was planted right outside Sam’s lab doors.

Tommy knew that the doors weren’t locked, since Sam trusted that Tommy wouldn’t do something stupid. However, Tommy felt that was his fault and stepped up to try and open the door.

The system used to open and close it was still a mystery, even if Tommy knew it was unlocked.

Actually, maybe that’s why Sam never locked the lab. No one else knew how the fuck to get in.

That still didn’t deter Tommy, and he ran his hands over the lining of the door, maybe hoping for a latch or handle. It was all smooth metal, and there was no keypad to be seen next to the door.

Huffing, Tommy took a step back and looked at the lining on the door itself. The intercrossing of the lines matched up with how it opened, so Tommy assumed there wasn’t anything to do with that.

A hum settled in the air as Tommy thought about what could open the door.

Sam was pretty crazy when it came to inventions, and he would probably have hooked it up to something he made. A remote of some sort.

Tommy was hoping with all his luck that it wasn’t just a sensor for only Sam himself installed onto the door.

Okay okay okay, what inventions are lying around and can potentially be used as a remote for the door?

Tommy first started looking through the kitchen, but Sam himself basically never goes in there besides to fill up the pantry so it was a bust. Tommy’s own room wouldn’t work, and Sam was sleeping in his quarters… so Tommy was feeling a bit put out on this.

Returning back to the door, Tommy tried to think of anything Sam had made that would be outside the lab or his room.

As if by divine intervention, his metal birthday stick fell out of his pocket and hit the floor with a loud bang, startling Tommy and definitely not making him jump high into the air with a loud shriek.

With a racing heart, Tommy wondered how Sam was still asleep.

Maybe he made soundproof doors?

Tommy would definitely need to test it later… somehow. For now though, Tommy picked up the metal rod and held it up to the door. There was a slight hum that came from the device before the doors to the lab slid open in its intricate design.

Still not knowing if the doors were soundproof, Tommy muttered a quiet “fuck yeah” before making his way into Sam’s lab.

Upon entering the room, lights flicked on overhead, temporarily blinding Tommy with their artificial brightness. The doors quietly shifted closed behind him, giving off a slight hum and a puff of air that couldn’t be seen. Turning to huff at the now closed door, Tommy ran a hand through his hair and thought about what to do next.

He was still blinking wildly from the adjustment of lighting, and stumbled forward a bit to delve deeper into the mysterious room. Reflections of light caught his eyes at almost every angle, and when his eyes finally adjusted he realized it was because of all the shiny metal laying around.

Taking in a breath of awe, Tommy hesitantly walked through the rows of well-kept-for metal that was hanging and laying around, ready to be used and given purpose. None of it was rusted or dulled, besides some smaller works which Tommy recognized as standard Essempi weapons. However, everything else was stuff Tommy had never seen before. Weapons, gadgets, metal masks, machinery that shone in a multitude of metallic colors. Tommy could easily spot the netherite material that laid around the room, intricately detailed and carved with enchantment runes, shining with an ominous blue-purple glow. Tommy hastily decided to stay away from those parts as to avoid accidentally chopping off an arm.

Looking at color schemes alone, the bright green of the Essempi in the standard weapons complimented the more rustic bronze and brass it was welded with. The netherite pieces were complimented with purple and blue accents, so they blended nicely. However, the shiny golds and steel with light blue accents is what stole Tommy’s attention.

It was obviously the most abundant of every other color scheme, and the light blue and white with the lighter colored metal made it look like diamonds from a distance. There were a variety of pieces hanging on the walls, haphazardly strewn across the floor, and piled atop some of the many desks. They seemed to be the most detailed, and often the netherite pieces or work was surrounded by the color scheme. Obviously, whoever used that color scheme was a big demander for Sam.

Tommy spotted a box with various metal waste off to the side of a close by desk. From the looks of it, the metal was either rejects or defunct. Either way, Tommy felt confident enough to mess with them.

Striding up to the semi-waste bin, Tommy rifled through the pieces there. Most was of this white mesh structure that had light blue and gold accents around it. Pulling out a few, they resembled each other quite a bit. Based upon this, Tommy concluded they were rejects of the same model. Looking up at the nearest desk confirmed it when there was a more intricate and finely crafted shaft of a creation resting on top. It was a hollow object that seemed to replicate what an arm brace would be. The familiar form of support armor with small protrusions spanning from where the wrist would be. It seemed Sam was still working on that area.

Watching the armor for a bit longer, Tommy could make out a small sheen of blue highlighting the bearing, and turned it over to see enchantment runes spanning it. Since it had a light glow effect, Tommy deduced that the enchantments were low. Nestled between the runes however was an Antarctic crest. Suddenly, the light blue color scheme with white and gold accents made sense, and a jolt of knowledge swept through Tommy. Glancing around again, Tommy realized just how much of the lab around him was in dedication towards Antarctic Empire commissions.

Not wanting to fuck with whatever the Antarctic Empire commissioned Sam for as “armor”, Tommy set the junk back into the trash can.

Walking around a bit more, unfamiliar colors caught Tommy’s eyes. A break from the light blue, white and gold, and different from the bright green and bronze that entered his vision every now and then, sitting innocently on a desk near the back wall, was an amputee arm in red, orange, and yellow.

The fiery colors drew Tommy in closer, and before he knew it, he was standing in front of the piece of work. There were blueprints off to the side clearly labeled “replacement arm”, and Tommy was struck with a mix of unclarified emotions. Instead of focusing on them, Tommy raked his eyes over the attachment.

The arm itself was made from a darker metal. Maybe obsidian or netherite based on hue. Definitely made to be unbreakable. Stripes wrapping around the limb in the form of bandages or cloth like fire stretched all the way from the shoulder attachment down to the wrist. It was clearly well cared for, intricately made even in its more simplistic design, and looked to be almost completed. It seemed some wiring still needed to be done, if the amount of wires and written coding by the arm was anything to go off of.

Not wanting to get caught with his fingerprints on the well-looked-after piece, Tommy made sure not to touch anything within five feet of the object. Catching his eye, however, was a bulbous black figure in the trash a few desks off. It was crude and obvious in design, not hiding itself at all with the way it leaned out of its confides. Perhaps the trash was overflowing and it was sticking out so obtusely? Anyhow, Tommy went to pick it up and examine it.

Picking it up from the trash to look at in the fluorescent lights, it seemed to be an awkward oval shape that could vaguely represent a human head. The material was definitely a mix of basalt, polished blackstone, and crying obsidian. The purple vein-like structures seem eerie and more organized than should be possible. They ran through the edges and forms of the figure, giving it more of a human head shape the longer Tommy looked at it. The Nether-made object was warm to the touch, and its function was still befuddling Tommy. Not caring of its purpose, Tommy poked around the skull-like creation trying to see what it did.

Honestly, Tommy should of thought about why it was in the trash.

All too soon, a buzzing sound emitted from the black skull, and an artificial shriek of something completely unnatural made its way to Tommy’s ears. Stumbling back and dropping the thing, Tommy stared wide eyed as the thing started to fucking levitate and open its eyes. Inside of the eyes was a purple glow, one that Tommy attributed to the crying obsidian it seemed to be made of. Small particles of something started to pour out in small increments from the mouth area, which had opened up to reveal a fucking mouth with teeth.

Tommy would liken the mystery particles to sand, but it was brown and seemed to writhe on the floor as if alive. The skull, that had now fully focused on Tommy, bobbed up and down lazily and unsteadily while still shrieking loudly.

Fear laced Tommy’s system, and he took frightened steps away from the monster that faced him.

Fire-hot pain from Tommy’s pockets made him look down to see his birthday staff fucking transform into a striped cat creature that deflected a purple burst of whatever the fuck just came out of the black skull’s mouth while Tommy wasn’t looking back onto the now sentient creature. The skull-like thing took the hit hard and ended up putting itself out. The eyes flickered in and out for a few seconds all before collapsing onto the ground and into the brown sand that moved by itself.

Not knowing what to focus on, Tommy looked from the staff-turned-fucking-raccoon thing defending him to the now sand-swallowed-mass-of-black. If Tommy didn’t know any better, he would say that was a wither skull. But that was only one fucking skull and there are supposed to be three. So really, Tommy was just lost.

A large, dark green figure came from the front of the room in a hurry and enveloped Tommy in a hug.

Startling, Tommy realized Sam must have been woken by something and rushed over to check over him. Slowly, Tommy was able to process that Sam was trying to talk to him, along with two different but still steady hissing noises that he assumed came from the raccoon figure and from the mask over Sam’s face.

“ou’re alright. You’re okay. Let’s never activate weapons again— actually, let’s never go into my lab unsupervised again. You’re safe. I’m not mad. You’re just a kid. You were curious. I should have locked the door. At least you took Nook with you—”

Honestly the ramblings were throwing Tommy off. The rushed sound of Sam’s voice, as if he were consoling himself instead of Tommy, helped to ground him. There was no longer a second line of hissing coming from below, and Tommy didn’t have the energy to check what happened to the raccoon figure. His voice still hadn’t come back to him yet, so he continued to listen to Sam ramble.

“-at if you got hurt? What if Nook hadn’t activated? Oh stars above what would I tell either nation? That a kid died under my care? That you d-died? I would never forgive myself—”

Okay, Tommy was done letting Sam ramble. Pushing lightly on the comforting arms surrounding him with a grunt, Sam paused in his self-deprecating rambling to assess the boy in his care.

“Tommy. Tommy, oh Tommy. Hey there, bud. Are you okay? Hey kid, are you hurt? You gotta talk to me. Come on, I need to know you’re okay—”

“I’m fine! Primes, Sam, give a man a minute to fucking speak! The thing didn’t hurt me. Can’t hurt such a big man like myself. The raccoon thing— Nook?— helped me. I’m fine. Sorry for worrying you. I’m good, Big Man.”

A deep sigh came from the mechanic. Shoulders untensing, but still set. A somber emotion came into Sam’s eyes as he looked at Tommy, flashing with something darker as his eyes flicked up to his hair before coming back down to his crystal blue eyes.

“Still, I wished you were more careful.” One of his hands came up to run through Tommy’s hair. Tommy took it with grace as Sam seemed super worried, and stopped himself from leaning into the touch.

“Excuse you, fucker! Careful is my middle name!”

“Oh, is it now? Just the other week you were talking me how ‘danger’ was your middle name?”

“Yeah! They both are! I’m Tommy Careful Danger Kraken Innit!”

A huff of amused laughter. “Kraken?”

“I’m just so pog that I needed a middle name to suit me and my pogness.” A slight pause before Tommy felt confident enough to speak up. “Hey, what was that thing anyways? The thing that was like a wither skull but not?”

Silence weighed heavily down, but Tommy didn’t feel the weight as much with Sam running his hand through his hair in a gentle manner.

A deep breath in, and “Well, it is technically a wither skull. Or, a prototype of an artificial one. The Angel actually wanted me to invest in wither efficiency. Instead of using 3 heads, what if you only needed one? What about using more common material instead of hard-to-harvest wither skulls? Honestly, it was a bust right off the bat when even the Blood God was against it. He was right, with the amount of energy needed to feed it, the weakness of having only one head and not three, on top of just an unstable set up… it was doomed to fail.

“I could never figure out how to compartmentalize the soul sand in the skull anyways, and trying to configure the crying obsidian into its shape is just as taxing if not more so than netherite, so being able to get off that project was great.

“Luckily, the duo didn’t give me a hard time on it and instead paid for materials towards Ponk’s arm. I think they felt bad for the shit that came from the project. It was much harder to—” a deliberate pause in thought, “it was harder to work on other projects and keep a low profile with such an innovative system. They don’t want Essempi to harass me about more dangerous weapons and I don’t want to deal with the political fallout, so they kind of just let me relax for a bit. That’s actually how I was able to stay for a while in Essempi to go get you. I was planning on doing it later, but the opportunity arose and the Antarctic Empire was more than willing to accommodate—”

“Wait, you wanted to take me with you for a while? I was gonna have to wait longer?” A crease in Tommy’s brow grew as he processed Sam’s words, “Big Man you’re making it sound like you aren’t very neutral between the two nations. Do you favor the Antarctic Empire?”

“I wanted to take you out of there for a while. Essempi isn’t the greatest with kids—“ Sam thought of the amount of poverty that affected young children in the kingdom, but Tommy thought of brigh, lime green, “but I couldn’t just take you without warning. I’ve been setting up this compromise with Dream about creating a prison system in exchange and I was working on the wither project as a compromise with the Antarctic Empire until that failed. I was able to compromise under other circumstances, and I think it worked out, if Siren’s report is anything to go by.” Both grew sour expressions at the mention of the prince.

“But then what about all this Antarctic weaponry you have set up? There’s barely any Essempi colors.”

“Well, we are stationed in the Antarctic Empire, so of course this base is more biased. Normally I wouldn’t even have any Greater Essempi things laying around, but I don’t actually have a real lab in the Essempi. I usually stay at the palace and work in the forge they have. Recently it’s been cleaned out in favor of the Pandora Vault compromise, so all the small stuff they normally ask for I need to make here.”

Tommy hummed in understanding before looking down where he last saw Nook. All he saw was the inconspicuous metal rod he had gotten on his birthday.

“So… Nook? I’m going to guess he’s based after the fucker called Sam Nook in animal crossing? Clever pun, but horrible delivery. Do I need to give him bells to sustain himself?” Tommy liked the laughter Sam gave. It made him feel so warm. Like a blanket being rested over his shoulders and chest.

“Yes. His full name is Sam Nook. I know how obsessed you are with that game and wanted to get something to protect you with. Decided on a small defense bot. He activates when your cortisol, adrenaline, and norepinephrine levels raise to a certain height. Or- uh- you’re ‘stress levels’ raise too high.”

“That was the most nerdy shit you’ve ever said. Never speak to me again. You’ve been canceled.”

“Can I at least ask what you were doing in the lab at midnight? It’s my job to look after you, you know.”

Tommy huffed in irritation, trying to ignore the warmth he felt at Sam’s words. “Fine, I guess you can speak. If you must know, I couldn’t sleep. Was woken by nightmares ‘n shit. I’m a big man though, they’re normal. Just felt like exploring, ya know?”

“They’re… normal? What did you have nightmares about?” Sam’s eyes widen with a new emotion swimming across his eyes. Tommy felt a pit grow in his stomach when he realized with was deep rooted worry.

Tommy shrugged, looking down at the ground, focusing on the birthday staff.

“Just normal shit. Ya know like people you love berating you for being a bother or like being worthless. Other shit like memories you’d rather forget about because of how much they hurt. The normal.” The arms around him had gotten more and more tense as Tommy talked, seeming to try and squish the words out of the thin boy.

“N-normal?” Sam asked in a voice that was an octave higher than usual. The arms by this point were bordering on hurting, so Tommy shifted a bit to loosen the hold. Luckily, Sam seemed to get the memo and lessened his grip on the poor child. However, Tommy still processed what he thought Sam was implying.

“Big man I know for a fact that having nightmares every night is like a common occurrence. I’ve talked to a shit load of others and they also have had nightmares at night, so I know that ain’t abnormal—”

“Tommy, Tommy, no. I wasn’t saying having nightmares is abnormal— although still concerning and we’ll find something to do about that another time— but the content of said nightmares is what I’m worried about. Just- do you believe what the nightmares tell you? Do you- is there- the memories, uh, do they hurt you- I mean- like—” Sam took another deep breath in to center himself, and Tommy idly wondered how the mask he wears has kept up with the hissing effect every time, “Is there a possibility, that even if I royally fucked up by not asking for your consent the first time, that you could maybe try speaking to a professional about this? I’ve heard that they help with that sort of thing. Maybe talking to Puffy— or anyone you need!— could help you sleep better? Can you- can you please try?”

Tommy felt like he was missing something, since he doesn’t know why Sam got so caught up with him having nightmares on his memories, but the pure desperation in his voice threw him off. There was a pregnant pause in the air as Sam waited with baited breath over Tommy’s decision and Tommy had to fucking process if he wanted to go to a fucking therapist.

“I’m not a fucking baby. I can handle my own fucking problems.” Tommy’s traitorous mind went to Ranboo who admitted to going to therapy in confidence to him.

“Therapy is for everyone. It’s okay to not know how to deal with something. You were never told how to handle it. It’s okay to ask for help. And she’s a professional. She’s worked with the likes of Angel, you know?”

Tommy gasped and shot his eyes up to meet with Sam in awe.

“AND LIVED?”

Sam chuckled.

“Technically the Angel of Death was a client. Would be pretty wrong to kill his sea captain who was just trying to help him. The only reason that is public knowledge is due to Angel promoting Puffy in the network when she retired as their naval officer.”

Tommy gaped at Sam.

“Holy shit, she is the biggest, most pog woman ever.”

“What?”

“I need her as my therapist now.” He needed to ask how terrifying the Angel of Death was!

“I-it was that easy? I- okay, you know what? Yeah, sure. I’ll set up an appointment right away.”

“FUCK YEAH!”

“But! In the meantime, why don’t we get you back to bed? You’ve been leaning onto me throughout this conversation.”

Okay, as much Tommy would hate to admit, he was tired of standing and his eyes did droop with exhaustion. A yawn came out of him with the realization, and falling even more into Sam’s hold felt like a no-brainer.

“Then you’re taking me to bed, dickhead.”

“Okay Tommy.” Well, at least Tommy didn’t have to put up a fight. He didn’t know if he could put up a proper one with how heavy his limbs became.

Sucking up his ego when Sam picked him up like a Big Man and not a child, Tommy rested his head on Sam’s shoulder and lazily let his mind sway to the beat of his guardian’s footsteps.

It was only when he was laid in bed again and tucked under soft covers that Tommy even realized he spent that entire interaction not caring about the two extra limbs attached to Sam that carried him there.

Chapter Text

Tommy woke up.

Tommy woke up well rested and warm.

Tommy felt cared for and loved.

Tommy felt a wave of gratitude and decidingly-not-labeled positive emotions swell up inside him.

He was going to make this everyone else’s problem.

“SAM!” Tommy shouted as he skirted around the hallway corner to the kitchen. Behind him, the lab door opened to reveal a creeper hybrid. Tommy was too focused on creating a mess of the kitchen in the name of “pancakes” to notice him however. “SAM!” He yelled again.

“Yes, Tommy?” Said creeper hybrid asked, cleaning off some type of oil probably from his job on both his real arms and the faux limbs as he watched the raccoon-like boy navigate the various ingredients at his disposal. Somehow, even though he hadn’t started cooking yet, flour was everywhere.

“WHAT’S A CHILD TRAFFICKER. YOU STILL HAVEN’T ANSWERED ME, FUCKER.”

“First, I’m right here. And second, I feel very under prepared for answering that question.”

“YOU. ARE. A. PUSSY.”

“Let’s not use female genitalia as an insult.”

“YOU’RE RIGHT. THEY ARE POG. QUEENS. THE BIGGEST. YOU ARE STILL A BITCH.”

“Do you have to be yelling?”

“YES.”

“Okay.”

“YOU STILL HAVEN’T ANSWERED MY QUESTION.”

“It was way too early in the morning for this. What are you making?”

“YOU’RE LUCKY I’M SO POG I’LL LET THAT SLIDE. I’M MAKING PANCAKES.”

“… that glob of dough on the counter is ‘pancakes’?”

“WELL IT’S NOT GOING AS EXPECTED, BUT YOU’LL STILL EAT IT RIGHT? I MADE IT JUST FOR YOU!”

“Tommy, I am not eating that poison.”

Time to switch tactics and bring out the big guns.

“W-what? Wait, no, seriously I am trying to make them for you. Are you really not going to even try them?” The warbling in the voice at precise moments! Perfect! Now onto stage two!

aaaand puppy eyes are a go!

“I- um, no. You’re kind of burning them on the stove currently and it looks too burnt to be edible.”

Stage three activated. Bringing tears to the eyes… Repeat, bringing tears to the eyes. Over.

“Wait, Tommy, yeah I’ll try some. Just a bite or two—”

“WOOO! FUCK YEAH!” The three stages of emotional manipulation! Works like a charm!

“I regret everything.” But Sam still going to eat the damn pancakes, so how much did he reallyyy regret? That being said, Tommy felt no remorse.

The counters were covered in flour and raw egg remains. The stove was splattered with mysterious glumps of some sort of previously edible dough, burnt to the point of non-identifiable. In front of Tommy, were two ovals of black sitting and steaming ominously on a ceramic plate. There was a probably-expired substance running over the proclaimed food that was supposed to resemble syrup but fell short due to the unnatural hue, along with a glob of a white viscous solid that seemed to be boiling on top of the overcooked batter. Maybe butter? The color was off by like three shades, so Sam didn’t take any guesses and definitely did not want to attribute its similarities to anything else.

Tommy was bouncing up and down as he brought the plate full of the monstrosity towards the small dining area off to the side. He sat it down along with a fork, butter knife, and a half used napkin. Stepping back to watch Sam closely, Tommy looked on with eyes full of mischief disguised as anticipation.

Honestly, it was Sam’s fault for having a soft spot for the boy. That was his downfall, and Tommy was going to make sure he knew that.

Sitting hesitantly into the seat provided, Tommy’s eyes sparkled as Sam took the cutlery into his hands. Making his breath slow and shallow, his left faux limb came up to open his mask and stayed ready on the close button. Tommy commended Sam for doing anti-panic exercises but didn’t think it would stop how awful his cooking was. His right faux appendage seemed to be tense in his lap, but neither moved beyond adjusting to the precarious positions.

Nobody breathed as Sam cut into the ash-like food prepared on the plate. The sound of dust breaking apart was the only thing permitting the air. Scraping a scrap onto his fork, along with the probably expired syrup and mystery butter to hopefully soften the blow, Sam brought the horror towards his mouth.

Slightly, ever so slightly, Tommy took a breath inwards in anticipation. His eyes just drowning in mischief and the power that he holds in the situation. If only Sam were looking to see that, instead of watching the aforementioned food to see if it moved. Whatever he was looking for didn’t happen, since whatever would have been alive was definitely dead now, and he closed his eyes before shoving the piece into his mouth.

Immediately, he spit the poor excuse for consumable food out and closed the mask quickly before coughing profusely. The whirring of the mask came to an all time high, and Tommy would be concerned under the pretense of Sam being a creeper hybrid if he didn’t know it was a disguise. Instead, he laughed long and loud, letting tears of joy flow down his cheeks as Sam recovered from the attack on his senses. At some point Sam tried getting out of the seat to maybe get a glass of water, but quickly realized he was superglued to the chair.

And that’s revenge for the therapy bullshit he tricked Tommy into agreeing to!

This, of course, had the response of another round of laughter from the golden haired child as the adult in the room groaned on the ground. The seat was stuck in a precarious position out in the air as it continued to stay stuck on Sam’s ass.

Instead of waiting to see how this entire debacle would fall out and the anger that could come, Tommy quickly cleaned up a few things in the kitchen before heading out the front door with a loud “I’M GOING OUT TO SEE TUBBO AND RANBOO, BYE SAM!”

Shouted words from the aforementioned guardian were lost to the wind as the door closed behind Tommy with a BANG and he had to remind himself that Sam pulled some bullshit that deserved some revenge. How dare he make Tommy feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Who did he think he was? The fucking Angel of Death? Tommy listens to no bitches!

A small shiver went throughout Tommy’s body as small whispers made themselves known in the back of his head. Whispers of how bad he was, how Sam was going to be mad, how he made so many mistakes— He elected to ignore them and continue on towards Saline Solution… he almost forgot how awful the name for the bakery was.

Upon arrival, Tommy threw open the door to the establishment and loudly exclaimed into the open “Niki! You must change the name of this fine establishment to be anything but the bullshit name Siren gave it!”

A few patrons milling around looked at Tommy with bafflement,and Tommy was able to recognize a familiar brunette and pinkette at the front counter who turned towards Tommy with his entrance.

Amusement sparkled in both of their eyes, but Niki seemed to have worry seated underneath and Tommy didn’t want to decipher whatever the fuck dark emotion crossed Wilbitch’s face.

Strolling up to them, Tommy confidently placed his arm atop the counter before quickly losing his stance and having to stumble to regain balance. Niki chuckled lightly from where she was while Wilbur busted down into deep laughter. Red crawling across Tommy’s skin, he quickly tried to gain his rhythm back.

“Fuck off, you bitch boy! Emo theater dickhead that never gets any women! You’re just jealous of my wives! My many many wives! You cannot handle the absolute magnetitude of my poggness!” People were quickly leaving and leaving money where they got up from. Tommy thought it was a little early for rush hour but didn’t question these busy people. Maybe he overreacted to his fail in confidence?… nahhh

“I-it’s ‘magnitude’, you absolute child,” Wilbur replied with. Clearly not distraught over having no wives. Or being reminded he has no wives. Rude prick.

“OI! I’m not a child! You bitch! Fucker! Shit stain!” Tommy listed off, not wanting Bitch Boy™ to gain the upper hand.

“Oh, shit stain is a new one,” Wilbur commented with an ambiguous emotion. Honestly, Wilbur didn’t make sense and was very hard to read.

“Shut the fuck up, wanker!” Was what Tommy said in response. Not letting Wilbur get another word in, Tommy turned to the head baker and look directly into her eyes. “Clementine.”

Niki visibly recoiled and blinked. “I- what?”

“Clementine,” Tommy said sagely while bobbing his head up and down. “Much better than fucking ‘Saline Solution’. Honestly? Would clock Siren in the face for that name. In fact, if I ever meet him, that’s what I’ll do.” Niki held a very confused and baffled face before making eye contact with someone off to the side. Tommy assumed it was Wilbur and decided to look through the assortments of food presented at the front till.

A heavy sigh came from the baker before she asked, “So what would you like today, Tommy?”

Not knowing how much cash he grabbed to pay for sweets, Tommy patted his back pockets and pulled out the crumpled bills to count.

…

How much can 2.45 buy him?

An arm slung around his shoulders and pulled him close to a yellow sweatered chest, his nose hitting the sternum of the person he was pulled harshly into. Before Tommy could process what the fuck just happened, he inhaled a strong scent of smoke and cedar. After the buzz of fucking cigarette smoke left his nostrils, he started pushing against Wilbur to let go of him.

“Stop it, gremlin. I wish to pay for your food this morning so allow me to do so.”

“You don’t need to fucking strangle me.”

“It is a form of affection, feral raccoon. Never heard of a hug?” Wilbur’s arm that wasn’t currently around him came up to run through his hair. With disgruntled grumbling, Tommy allowed the mildly embarrassing form of affection. Once you got over the smoke smell…it felt nice, okay?

“Then I want the most expensive fucking thing here.”

“Wait what—” clearly, this fucker didn’t think ahead.

“I’ll get that right for you,” Niki bemusedly said, immediately going to the back to get the most expensive platter of breakfast she could whip up, and ignoring Wilbur’s look of betrayal.

“I’m already regretting this.”

“Should have thought twice today, bitch. I woke up and chose violence. Just this morning I forced Sam to eat burnt pancakes, superglued him to a chair, and destroyed his kitchen before leaving to commit more crime.”

Instead of sighing or tensing up at the admittance of various horrible things Tommy did to Sam this morning, Wilbur bent his head back and laughed. Like a fucking wanker.

“Ah, I should know what I signed up for, choosing you,” Wilbur muttered under his breath, but it wasn’t quiet enough to escape Big Man Tommy Innit.

“Excuse you? Choose me? Fucking what, you think you control me? Think again, bucko, because I will make your life a living nether.”

“Trust me, I already have a living nether as a brother, a living end as a father, and a living void of a mother. The thing you are is living sunshine.” It was said very bluntly, as if it were fact and Tommy should just… accept those kind fucking words. Which… no, Tommy was not feeling any emotions towards those words. Anyone who said he was can shove it. And anyone who pointed out how his eyes got misty clearly needed to get their vision checked.

Luckily, only Wilbur remained in the store, and he thankfully didn’t point out the sudden emotions welling up inside Tommy.

To counter the emotions, Tommy chose to redirect Wilbitch’s attention somewhere else.

“You said you have a living void of a mother? Do you not see her much? Sounds like a shit mum.” Wilbur seemed to grow panicked at that.

“No, no. She’s great. She’s busy a lot with work and, you know, hangs out with my living end of a father? Void and end? They match? Haha?”

“Did you just laugh in question format?”

“Did you just fucking say ‘question format’? Look, I have no idea how else to say how cool she is. No one messes with her when she’s around. She’s so loving, I just know she’ll love you. Really Toms, she’s a good mum. I can’t wait for you to meet her.”

Tommy paused. Did… did Wilbur believe he’ll be in Pogtopia long enough to meet his mum? He assumed Wilbur traveled to Pogtopia and that he and his brother came out every now and then, either for work or for fun… did they live close?

“Do you live nearby?” It was blunt, but Tommy didn’t know what emotion to put behind it.

“No.” Said with no hesitation.

Well then how would Tommy meet up with her when he doesn’t know how long he’ll be staying or how far she is?

Tommy couldn’t voice his confusion, since as soon as he opened his mouth, Niki popped out of the back with a plate full of a variety of sweet succulent treats.

“Right on time, Niki! I could hear the gremlin’s stomach grumbling from here.” Wilbur said with a bright smile on his face. Niki gave a thin one back that turned more genuine when she shifted to Tommy and held out the dish. Even though the sweets smelt delicious, Tommy made sure to scowl and direct it towards Wilbitch.

“It’s your fault for fucking grabbing me and holding me so fucking close,” Tommy grumbled, which turned even more unintelligible as he shoved one of the sweets in his mouth. It was a small bread figure that was super soft and basically melted in Tommy’s mouth. “Oh my Prime.” It was so good!

Tommy didn’t even bother with the idea of Wilbur not being able to pay for any of the food, since he did offer and Niki seemed more than confident that he would fall through.

Sure enough, Wilbur was handing over some cash to Niki, with brightly colored bills Tommy was sure more than enough paid for the food.

The smile Niki gave after was much more genuine and sure. Her eyes held an emotion in them that spoke of assurement, as if a silent agreement had been met. Not Tommy’s problem, so he just continued to stuff his face full of the delicious food in front of him. There was chocolate!

Once Tommy was getting to the end of his bowl of treats, the door to the bakery chimed once more and some people entered. While Tommy was busy stuffing his face, both Niki and Wilbur turned to the newcomers. Niki brightened up immensely, but Wilbur seemed to turn sour before hiding it under a clipped smile.

“Tommy!” He heard from the door. That’s when he decided to turned to see who entered, and ended up barreling into the shorter figure there.

“Tubbo! Ranboo!” Tommy shouted, hugging the shorter brunette and smearing powdered sugar all over his fluffy hair. He remembered how he hadn’t finished all the treats yet, and voiced that towards his friends. “Oh! I have some food you can have! I was able to trick Wilbur into buying me a shit load of these sweets!”

At the mention of his name, Wilbur perked up before dropping back down at the processing of what Tommy said.

“You didn’t trick me, I offered, and it was supposed to be all for you.” If Tommy had to put an expression onto the grown man, he’d say the bitch boy was pouting.

“Well too late, bitch! Sharing is caring! Ever heard of that before?” Take that for the surprise hug, fucker!

“It’s not the same.” Oh, he was definitely pouting now.

“And grabbing me is hugging? Seriously, how delusional are you?”

“Oh, he’s very delusional,” Tubbo piped up from where he was stuffing his face full of sugary puff balls.

Well, it sounded more like “Oh, hesf ‘ery ‘elu’a’al” but everyone knew what he meant even when his mouth was full.

Nodding very sagely at Tubbo, Tommy continued to insult the man. “Truly, you are a wrongun. The worst of the kind. How am I expected to even associate with you? Fucking wanker bitch.”

“What does that even mean?” Ranboo asked in a very confused voice off to the side. Tommy looked over to see he was speaking to Niki privately in the back. He wondered what they were talking about.

“Wouldn’t you like to know, boob boy?” Wilbur continued to cackle at Tommy’s aggression. As if to explain his attitude and aggression, Wilbur spoke up.

“Didn’t you guys hear? The gremlin woke up today and chose violence. Apparently destroyed Sam’s kitchen and his ego, somehow surviving the entirety of it.”

Niki started laughing as she made her way to cleaning the tables out front, finding great amusement in Tommy’s shenanigans. Niki was such a big woman. However, Ranboo seemed terrified while Tubbo sported a mischievous grin.

“Good job, bossman! See this is why I made friends with you,” Tubbo enthusiastically replied to Wilbur’s comment. There was a small whisper of “I am very afraid” that came from the taller one next to him, but everyone chose to ignore him. Bouncing on his feet, Tubbo exclaimed, “You know what? I have a few smoke bombs and mini explosions for you. Wanna try them out?”

“Fuck yes I want to try them out! You don’t need to ask me that, Tubso,” Tommy said with his equally mischievous grin.

“Please do this when I am not with you guys, so I am not liable for whatever happens between you two and whatever crimes Tommy commits,” Ranboo said, leaning away from the duo of mischief makers.

“Oh come on, boob boy! Everyone loves a little chaos! You’re just pretending not to like it!” Tommy said in response. “Yeah!” Came from the shorter brunette, making Tubbo the best hype man ever.

“Oh! This actually reminds me. Ranboo, I already asked Niki this, but next time my brother is in town can you ask him to stick around for a bit? I have no idea when you guys and my dad do the book club thing that you refuse to let me in on, but when you have, like, one-on-one days can you ask him to stay? Just a bit?”

“Stop using us to do your work! Do it yourself!” Niki piped up from where she was.

“I thought you lived far away?” Tommy pipped up, choosing to mirror Tubbo in the amount of sugar coating his mouth. Taking a breath, he added “Did you lie to me? Big man TommyInnit?” Before shoving the final bits of the sweet into his mouth. He didn’t actually care. No way. Why would he care about Wilbur lying about how far away his family is?

“Okay, first off I said that about my mum who is usually unavailable because of a health condition and must be kept somewhere else, you bastard. The rest of my family frequents here well enough. We have connections here and grow rather attached to people we enjoy, if you haven’t noticed.” Okay the look he gave Tommy was way out of line, and totally uncalled for.

“I notice everything, bastard!” Tommy said with too much confidence.

Tubbo cackled evilly and ended up chocking on a piece of sweet lodged in his throat. This then started a series of events where Ranboo started panicking and trying to use the heimlich menouver, which wasn’t working because of his panicking; and there was a voice in the back of Tommy’s mind that said maybe screaming at the Boo Bitch wasn’t helping but Tommy ignored the bitchy voice. Then Niki ducked and rolled over the fucking counter—which made her infinitely cooler in Big Man Tommy’s books— and then properly started aiding Tubbo in dislodging the piece blocking his breathing. Wilbur, being the bitch that he is, just had massive round eyes of surprise and was frozen in place. Honestly, what was going through his mind to look angrily at Tubbo—who was chocking because he was a sigma male while Tommy was an alpha male—and looking panicky at Tommy? The fuck? What kind of bastard was he? A child trafficker? Is that why no one would tell him what one was? Sam did seem very reluctant to tell him. Maybe it was an insult? Honestly, someone needed to tell Tommy.

Eventually, the piece stuck in Tubbo’s throat launched out with a weird bleating noise which Tommy summed up to being natural for chocking. He’s only ever heard Quackity chocking and he made squawking noises he since then repressed, so clearly Tubbo is the normal and sane one.

While everyone tried to recover from the impromptu dying session— and in Tubbo’s case regaining his normal coloring instead of blotched patches of red and purple— Tommy recognized the perfect opportunity to expand his expansive knowledge and to insult a certain Bitch Boy™.

“So Bitch Boy-” Tommy paused for dramatic effect and to make sure Wilbur knew it was him he was referring to, “are you gonna explain how you were completely useless you were? What are you? A child trafficker?” Wilbur immediately doubled over in a coughing fit. Both Niki and Ranboo looked at each other in alarm and Tubbo had a very malicious grin stretched across his face, so obviously Tommy correctly guessed the word was an insult. “What the fuck? Are you choking now? Are you trying to get pity points? Ain’t gonna work, fucker.”

“Tommy…” Ranboo started. “Do you- is he, like, you know- um- I mean-” With all of their stuttering Niki took over.

“What he’s trying to ask, Tommy, is do you exactly know what child trafficker is or-“

“MALAPROPISMS!” Screamed Tubbo. “I knew that I knew the word! Give me 20, bitch!” He outstretched his hand towards Wilbur, who had semi-recovered during the time Ranboo and Niki were interrogating Tommy.

“The fuck is a mal-prop-ism?” Tommy looked towards Ranboo and Niki for an answer, where the former was hiding behind the latter.

“It is a literary device used for when a word is misused in place of another, usually in comedic effect. That was a clear example, but our bet was on the gremlin’s mispronunciation of words—which is still spoonerism, so fuck you-” Wilbur batted away Tubbo’s grabbing hands.

“What kind of nerd is Wilbur for knowing fucking spoonerism?” Tommy asked, scandalized.

“Most likely learned it from his brother, Tech, and then loved how weird the word was so he remembered it.” Niki spoke up, her voice like a whisper but still held.

“What kind of name is Tech? Wilbur! Why do your parents hate their children?” Wilbur gave a long suffering groan in response while trying to battle off Tubbo from his wallet.

“Why did I choose this life?” The tall brunette bemoaned.

“Wait until he hears the full name,” Niki whispered to Ranboo, who was openly cowering behind her still. Both giggled at the future chaos.

“I still haven’t been told what a child trafficker is! Sam refuses to tell me, you guys refuse to tell me, so every single one of you are bitches,” a beat, “except Niki.”

Niki nodded. “Thank you, Tommy.”

Wilbur seemed to perk up at that, and all-but-gently shoved Tubbo to the ground before dashing over to where Tommy stood.

“Well you see, dear-piece-of-sunshine-that-likes-to-make-my-life-miserable,” there was no breath taken and Tommy wondered why he seemed so enthusiastic and also wondered what the fuck he just said, “a child trafficker is a horrible bastard like Sam and Dream.”

“I- what?” Okay, now Tommy was confused. If it were an insult then Dream would make sense because obviously those of the Antarctic Empire wouldn’t like someone from the Greater Essempi. However, Sam didn’t make sense. Was it just for adults? He didn’t include Ranboo who was somewhat of a wet towel at the present. The bastard was unfortunately growing on Tommy. So what the fuck did child trafficker mean?

“Wilbur, please, keep your jealousy to yourself,” Niki spoke up from her position. “And Tommy, a child trafficker is someone who…” she pauses to think and looks between Tommy and Wilbur, scrunching up her nose all the while. “Any description I think of just feels like it won’t go down well. Just know it’s for bad people.”

“So wankers?” Tommy asked.

“Exactly like wankers,” Tubbo piped up, grinning like a loon. He thrived off chaos.

“So Wilbur is a child trafficker?” Ranboo choked and Tubbo laughed loudly, both ended up coughing from their fits of surprise. Niki looked between conflicted and amused, ending somewhere looking a bit constipated. Wilbur had a very blank look on his face, and didn’t retort. Probably from not being able to defend himself hanging around children a lot, the wanker. He had quickly grown to hang around Tommy a lot, like the fucking creep he is. Thinking about it, Wilbur was weird. “Sometimes I feel like Wilbur will kidnap me one day.”

That was apparently the perfect thing to say as everyone doubled over in laughter. Well, besides Wilbur who was developing more of a sour expression and shouted, “I’M NOT FUCKING CHILD TRAFFICKER!” But Tommy wasn’t counting him at this moment. The laughter was contagious and Tommy even ended up laughing even though he didn’t know what he said to incite comedy.

It was taking a while for everyone to calm down, and Tommy was still laughing when Wilbur pulled him out of Saline Solution— which Tommy hoped Niki would rename to Clementine, Siren be damned.

The tall bitch was mumbling about “chaotic children” and how he wasn’t a child trafficker and was instead just “unfortunately emotionally attached”, but Tommy couldn’t piece together what else he was saying.

They seemed to just be walking around nonsensically, which Tommy was genius-ly able to deduce when they kept circling to the front of the bakery. Tommy assumed Wilbur just wanted to cool off from whatever bothered him during the conversation. During their wanderings, they also came across Las Nevadas again.

Looking at the structure reminded Tommy of the strange worker he met before, and he distantly also remembered the gold snowflake that sat on his night stand.

Tommy also remembered how the strange sweaty person had known his name.

But there was something else to it as well.

Shifting to Wilbur, who wore a sour expression towards the building and was quickly directing them away, Tommy questioned what he heard that day.

“Hypothetically, if someone called me ‘Tommy of L’manburg’, what the fuck would that mean?” This seemed to snap Wilbur out of whatever stare down he was in as he turned to Tommy with a confused expression.

“Uh, like under what context?”

“Like… introductions I guess? I don’t know, man. I was just fucking called ‘Tommy of L’manburg’ which makes no fucking sense. I was raised in the Greater Essempi during the entire fall out and shit so it’s not as if I was a citizen.” Wilbur seemed just as puzzled as Tommy on this.

“It is strange. And they just called it out of the blue?”

“Yeah! Weird, innit?”

“Who… well, I think I have an idea of who but I am just making sure— who said this to you?”

“Uh, some real sweaty guy who apparently worked at Las Nevadas.”

Wilbur hummed, pondering on something. His gaze raked over Tommy’s face looking for something the younger boy did not know of. He looked Wilbur directly in the eyes with as much venom as possible to assert his clear dominance. After a few moments, the darker expression cleared from the brunette’s face before Wilbur clapped his hands together, startling Tommy.

“Welp! Not like we know what the fuck he meant, so let’s just get a move on.” Quickly, Wilbur walked away from the place they stopped in and off in another direction. With Tommy scrambling to catch up to the taller man, he didn’t know of the new anxiety and inquisition swarming throughout the brunette.

Tommy, as the ever gracious person that he is, decided to change topics.

“So your brother’s name is Tech? What kind of name is that? They named you Wilbur and then decided that they actually hate both of their kids so they named him Tech?”

Wilbur chuckled.

“Well, the details are a little lost. I like to say we’re twins and he’s only three minutes older. My dad likes to say that I’m older, by a few months if his insistence is anything to go by. He personally says we aren’t even twins, which is bullshit cause he can’t get rid of me that easily, but he says that he’s older by years. Which is too much in my humble opinion—”

“Why is there so much discourse on your ages? Are you all that old that you don’t remember?” Wilbur hummed at Tommy’s intrusion.

“It’s because we were both adopted, which is the reason behind our names. Well, Tech was definitely adopted and my dad calls me a ‘blessing’ so it’s up for grabs. My dad says we came into their lives together, and my mom insists we came separately—and yes, before you ask they are both really old but don’t you dare insult my mum— and none of us know how old any of us are, so we just sort of assumed our ages ever since. We used to look exactly alike before the bitch dyed his hair the same as Niki, so then I cut my hair in pettiness so now we are very distinct. Even before we changed our hair, our personalities and voices would give us away. I’m apparently ‘too emotional’ for him, but he’s a fucking emotionless bastard so take what you will.”

“Are you seriously going to spend this much time complaining about your brother?” Tommy interjected.

“Well I was actually hoping that you’d meet up with him very soon. Which is why I asked Niki and Ranboo to ask for him to hang around when he comes, since I know my own method wouldn’t work and I wanted to introduce you two. That, and I know he wanted an update on what Sam was working on and if Tubbo was content here.” At this, he paused and ruffled a hand through Tommy’s hair. A shouted “hey!” And quick movements from the blonde to evade the hand were the response. “Sam did say he would compromise with someone worth it. He definitely fulfilled his deal.”

Tommy should have been alarmed at Nook heating up in his pocket, or about how Wilbur said “someone” as compensation for something, but that wasn’t what the brilliant Big Man was worried about. Instead he was still wondering why no one answered his direct questions.

In fact, Tommy was still wondering what a child trafficker was and why no one would give him a straight answer.

Chapter Text

Something had become obvious to Tommy as he had walked around Pogtopia with Wilbur.

Well… maybe a few things.

He did learn some observation skills from Dream, even if he always sucked at applying them.

One of the things he noticed was that there were no hybrids at all. Everyone was human, as far as Tommy could tell.

Which, don’t get him wrong, was great, but he was expecting at least a few people to be more hybridesque.

But nevertheless, he saw no claws, ears, fangs, or… anything. When Sam said most people in Pogtopia would be more human-like, he didn’t realize that Sam would be looking like the only fucking hybrid around.

He thought back to his first impressions of Wilbur and how he originally thought the drama reject had some hybrid blood in him, but it may have been from Wilbur not recognizing him since he was new. So his weird attitude could be excused. Just Wilbur being a bitch. Maybe Ranboo? But the height could just be good genetics. And maybe that could explain why they are so much taller than Niki. Oh, and his dual colored eyes. But George also had that, so it wasn’t really a hybrid thing was it?

Of course, Ranboo could appear more hybrid behind his mask, but based on how they acted, Tommy could also excuse that as insecurity.

Honestly, the most outrageous thing would be Niki’s hair color, but Tommy had seen some blonde roots showing at some point, so clearly a dye job.

So this outskirting city they were in was filled with very normal people— Tommy elects to ignore Tubbo— and the person who brought him here was the most prominent figure of “hybrid”-ness there? It’s weird. Very weird. Almost as weird as Wilbur and his existence was.

Like… Tommy knew that Wilbur didn’t live around here, as made clear by both Wilbur’s reasoning and others’ information, but he also said that he lived far away— or at least his mother lived far away… which he saw often?— and nobody refuted it, so how the bloody hell does Wilbur commute so quickly and where the fuck is his transportation? From what he and others had said, his other close family members also visit often. So what the fuck? It’s clearly not a solitary thing.

Was Wilbur just a very rich fucker who had a private jet used everyday? Because that could maybe explain why people also avoided them. Don’t want to mess with the rich fucker who very clearly laid claim to Tommy as he threw an arm around him while they walked and glared at anyone who came close. The weirdest part was that it worked, and people backed off.

What was Tommy not getting?

Wilbur was a very unassuming character, with a very pathetic build. Tommy didn’t want to brag, but even if he was the worst at fighting— as Dream loved to ever so helpfully remind him— he was still trained by Dream and he was fairly confident he could win a fight against the bitch.

He was just so lanky, almost unnaturally so.

Tommy would say it was unnatural if he wasn’t so lanky himself.

And really.. did the fucker have like an agenda or something?

Throughout the impromptu trip, which Tommy kept trying to get out of or disappear back into Saline Solution whenever they rounded on it, Wilbur would get so… fanatical over the dumbest stuff.

He would light up and pull Tommy over to some absurdly soft sweater appearing in the window in order to buy it for him, along with so many other soft things.

He would force Tommy to endure waiting in line for a very sugary cinnamon roll that had stuck to the roof of his mouth.

He would drag down Tommy with a bunch of… things that had just caught Tommy’s eye, but then Wilbur being the ponce he was immediately just bought the damn things. So now Tommy had a bunch of bracelets, anklets, rings, shiny rocks, and other assortments of jewelry that shone spectacularly.

Tommy protested anything Wilbur bought— obviously— but the bastard just brushed it off! Said “My dad is just like this, so don’t worry I’m used to it” and other shit like “You deserve something nice” like the fucker he is.

And Tommy knows there’s some ulterior motive that Wilbur has for all this stuff. He just knows it.

Tommy refuses to owe anyone anything.

When Tommy used that was a defense, Wilbur just scowled and bought a large album of some band off the shelf before thrusting it into his hands and declaring that Tommy could do whatever he wanted with it, as it was all his with no “takesie backsies” as Wilbur said.

How did this fucker expect to carry so much? Actually, scratch that. How did he carry so much?

Now here was Tommy, having gotten back from the long walk with way too much in his arms, spreading everything out along the floor.

It… was rather overwhelming.

Tommy has no idea how he had let this happen, and he had no clue whether to be angry at Wilbur for dragging him through all of this and forcing him to carry all of it… he also didn’t know if he should be grateful for all of these gifts.

There was the ABBA album he got, which was currently out and playing softly in the background while Tommy hummed to it and riffled through everything. The treats and candy he acquired from the vendors colored his tongue and was currently building a sugary plaque on the crown of his teeth. He had piled every stuffy he was bombarded with onto his bed in no particular order, so some were falling to the floor haphazardly.

Right now he was sorting through clothes, or at least trying to. He got very distracted by actually wearing the offensively soft outfits, and then pulling them right off only to put on another, similarly fluffy, outfit. Honestly, Tommy felt like he was in paradise.

The layers were certainly helping against the more frosty temperatures of the southern winds, and apparently all paired well together… or as Wilbur claimed. Tommy honestly didn’t know if he should trust the wanker or not. His instincts were swooning in joy while his guts, also known as his more rational side, were saying to not keep any of the gifts as they were used to manipulate him.

Tommy was choosing to indulge for once in his life and semi-ignore his gut. He would not outright trust Wilbur for this admittedly nice gesture, but he would keep all of the presents to himself for sweet pleasure. He also will simply refuse to be guilt-tripped by Wilbur’s perusal of purchases. Easy.

Finding a new blanket in the midst of the clothes, Tommy crooned before wrapping himself in the warm material. It was a new favorite of his, baby blue with magnificent cows decorating the pleating. At the time of spotting it, Tommy had immediately burst in excitement from seeing his favorite animal spanning the soft cloth. Wilbur had poked fun at him for a bit before admitting his favorite animal was a blue sheep and then falling victim to Tommy’s constant teasing the rest of the afternoon. Taking a whiff of the fabric, Tommy could still smell the smoke that came from Wilbur holding onto the blanket for the duration of the shopping trip.

Tommy was stopped from consuming the rest of the small bits of sour candy he had by a knock on his bedroom door. Turning towards the sound, Tommy found Sam looking around his room in sheer bewilderment and mild hesitance. Shoving more candy treats into his mouth seemed to remind Sam of the creature occupying the room and he swiftly turned towards Tommy before flinching slightly away from the horrendous sight of an brightly colored overstuffed mouth.

Crunching for a few moments before swallowing the pieces of candy, Tommy gave a continuing motion with his hands.

“Got something to say, big man?”

“I- uh-“ there was a pause as Sam collected his thoughts. “Where did all of this come from?”

“Wouldn’t you like to bloody know?” Tommy said in response, subconsciously mimicking Wilbur’s speech pattern. Some candy bits fell out of his mouth, which was a horrible loss that Tommy remedied by picking them off the floor and shoving them back into his mouth.

Sam looked at him in slight discomfort before taking a big sigh and soldiering on. Honestly, it was the only right response.

“Well, the original meaning behind my visit, even though I wanted to avoid you at all costs after this morning, was that I set up a time for you to meet with Captain Puffy. Only if you’re still up for it though.”

Tommy cringed away from the reminder of the pushed therapy before remembering who the clients of the said therapist were.

“I can’t to meet her and ask her about stuff!”

“Stuff?”

“Yeah, stuff! Only big men can know what said ‘stuff’ entails!”

“I- well- okay. Anyways, the appointment was scheduled about three days from now, if that’s amenabl- um, I mean, alright? It would be right after lunch, and won’t take up much time. She did say to leave the rest of the day open though. Mostly for emotional reciprocation. Besides that the day would be yours. You didn’t have anything planned in your schedule, right?”

Tommy kind of wanted to be petty and say he had something scheduled, but they both knew he would be lying as his schedule was kind of nonexistent at the current moment.

Instead, he just shook his head at the pseudo-creeper, which left the man to nod and start to leave. Actually, this brought up his questioning from before.

“Hey Sam?” The said faux hybrid truned back around with very clear hesitance. “Why are you so… hybrid-y while like no one else is? Like Ranboo is the closest I can think of, but even then he isn’t really that hybrid-y.”

Sam looked a bit confused at Tommy claiming Ranboo wasn’t a very hybrid-y person.

“Well…” Sam started very slowly, as if trying to break bad news to an unconsolable child, which he wasn’t, “since we are closer to the border than other places, there’s much more diversity in the variation of hybrid types and concentration. And because of the proximity to the border, it leads to more hybrids covering themselves or their traits more often than not when wandering about. Because I am considered a recluse, and because I work in a very unpredictable environment, it would be suspicious to cover my more obvious traits if I do claim to be a very prominent creeper hybrid.” There was a pause before he continued. “It’s actually why Ponk wears so many layers while out and about. He doesn’t actually wear that many layers when he’s hanging around the house or tending to his lemons trees. Especially nowadays when it’s harder to pick out and put on an outfit. I can’t speak for Ranboo but I do imagine they do not wear a mask and glasses to bed-” Tommy snorted. “And Tubbo does descend from a ram hybrid. On top of that, Wilbur is a very known hybrid.” At this, Tommy startled.

“What do you mean the wanker is a known hybrid?! Why did no one tell me?” Sam blinked at Tommy’s cry.

“You didn’t know?”

“No one told me, fucker!”

“I know for a fact he has literally told you he lives more inner city that Pogtopia. He only visits here. Only registered hybrids are allowed further in. I thought Dream taught you that?”

“No! He did not!” Tommy cried in indignation. “I’m starting to wonder if the fucker taught me anything useful!”

It was Sam’s turn to snort with very little grace. His mask started to whirl from the action. “Wouldn’t doubt it. He loves keeping people out of the know so he has more power. Pretty sure that when I proposed this adventure for you to George that he assumed I’d only keep you in the lab and not let you out of my sight. That was the main reason he was okay with you leaving his training. An absolute miscalculation on his part.” Soft puffs of laughter escaped Tommy at the realization, bordering on slight hysteria.

“So he didn’t approve any of this?” Tommy flapped his hands around in the air as if to encapsulate his predicament. Sam shrugged nonchalantly in response.

“He barely lets you interact with even adults who agree with his ideals in an environment he controls. I wasn’t going to just leave you there to suffer.”

“I wasn’t suffering. Just bored.”

Sam muttered “The denial is strong in this one” under his breath before exhaling loudly and getting his mask to whir again. “Well either way you’re doing better here, right?”

Tommy puffed in rage towards the obvious slight against his life-long mentor before it escaped him in the sight of logic. Well, it definitely was nice to socialize with others, especially those closer to his age… but Big Man Tommy isn’t going to admit that.

Definitely not pouting, Tommy gave way to a semi-agreeing sound that bubbled in the back of his throat roughly. Sam chuckled lightheadedly as a response.

“I’m serious though. How have you been faring? I may not understand your actions this morning but I can understand that you were happy. I never got to see you so open before. I see you got a lot of… soft and shiny stuff? What’s that about?” Tommy huffed at Sam and wrapped the blanket currently around him tighter before bothering to reply.

“Well, I don’t know. Just woke up and chose violence. Usually with Dream I don’t have enough energy to cause any real chaos. The closest I got was with Big Q but even you banned me from hanging out with him too much. With all of the gambling and addiction—“

“Yes Tommy, I understand you had a connection with Quackity that not many approved of. But what about now?”

“Well, Wilbur, the ever wanker he is, took me out shopping today. Kinda just bought anything I looked at for more than two seconds. Sometimes even bought stuff he just wanted to get me. It worked out though, and I made him promise I didn’t owe him anything in return! So jokes on him, now I can keep all this shit.”

There was a brief moment of silence for Tommy to shift a bit before posing his question. “On the topic of Dream bashing—“ that earned a snort from his guardian “he always told me all hybrids are evil and bad… but, as much I hate to admit it, Ranboo is very obviously chill. So is Ponk and Niki. I’m of course ignoring Tubbo because if I call him ‘sane’ or ‘normal’ I feel like I’ll wake up without a tongue, but everyone else is pretty decent… I guess what I’m trying to ask is if hybrids are actually bad? L-like you have made such realistic appendages even- for even faking being a creeper hybrid thing, and I just wanted to know if like- you know- if I’ve just been seeing things wrong cause Dream’s a bigger wanker than Wilbur and—“

“Tommy, Toms, hey just take a deep breath. Yeah, just like that. Remember in the lab? In and out. In and out. Here, follow my breathing.” Tommy distantly realized he had been ranting and was breathing rather erratically at the topic change.

It took a few minutes for Tommy to calm his breathing, and in that time Sam had never wavered from his side. A constant presence to make sure he was still breathing properly.

A wheezing breath escaped Tommy before he collected himself and moved a bit away from Sam. At this dismissal, Sam backed away further and hunched down to remain at Tommy’s level.

Waiting a moment more, Sam finally replied to Tommy’s recent anxieties that he had been dismissing.

“I would like to be very clear that the Greater Essempi is one of the few nations in the world that spread anti-hybrid propaganda. In my position, I have to work between the most anti-hybrid nation, and the most pro-hybrid nation in the world. During my travels and studies, I get to understand and see a lot. A lot of bad, but a lot of good too. I-“ a deep breath “I may have been lying to you a bit. I couldn’t openly talk to you about it while we were in the capital because if Dream caught wind there would be no way to get you here. I would also probably be executed on the spot but aside from that… I am a hybrid Tommy.”

Hot white anger rose up in Tommy.

“What?”

It was soft, deceptively so, but his low tone betrayed how much this meant to him. Sam took a shaking breath before continuing on.

“Just… listen? I honestly don’t hide it very well, but you’ve always been good at ignoring red flags—“ okay rude “but I am an actual creeper hybrid. I have to wear very strong suppressants while I am in the Greater Essempi, which is why I’m never there for very long. The suppressant are very expensive, hard to make, and very painful so I rather would like not to wear them.” Tommy looked at Sam’s second set of limbs in obvious bafflement. “Okay, those are fake. Mine got ripped off during a skirmish when I was younger. Rather painful, that. Luckily I am a brilliant engineer and was able to create a second pair. There are actually other undercover or suppressing hybrids that live in the Greater Essempi. Either because they simply don’t know they have hybrid ancestors or have little enough blood where they can pass as full human, they can survive.” Tommy gave a fearful rise at the word ‘undercover’ which Sam caught and was able to answer. “The undercover ones don’t have malicious intentions towards humans. A lot of hybrid trading and abuse goes on in Essempi grounds, so many spies or agents are sent to help others.” Sam’s eyes flicked to Tommy. “And that’s probably all you can handle today on that particular topic.”

The rage Tommy felt earlier had died to a simmer with Sam’s explanation, but he was still angry that Sam kept it from him for so long.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Sam searched Tommy’s eyes for something and nodded at what he found.

“I didn’t know how far into the propaganda you were. You were, after all, basically raised by Dream who is a widely known anti-hybrid figure. I wanted to tell you eventually when you weren’t freaking out about hybrids at every mention of the word. It’s been only… what, a week or so? You’ve already created close friends and relations with known and prominent hybrids in the town without freaking out about them, even when you found out. You mostly freaked out at the fact that you were kept out of the loop. I really just needed to make sure that you were open to the idea of hybrids being okay.”

“Is there anyone else I know that is a hybrid and I don’t know of it?”

“Yes, but they either don’t know themselves or it’s their secret to tell.”

“How are you so sure they’re a hybrid when they don’t know themselves? Wouldn’t they know themselves best?” Sam gave him a stinging look.

“I said earlier that one of the jobs of an undercover hybrid is to get those who are suppressed hybrids out before they get exposed in the Essempi and are hurt because of it. So other hybrids, who know they are a hybrid, would have to trust you and reveal it themselves if they wish. Which is where we are now. Ranboo, Tubbo, Ponk and Wilbur would- should have no reason to hide their status from you, as most know of this besides you.”

“What.. hybrids… are they? I know Tubbo has some ram in ‘im but that’s all I got.”

Sam gave him an empathic look.

“Ranboo and Niki are cousins on the hybrid side of their family. They are both some percentage of Ender, Ranboo obviously more so with his height. Niki has at least fifty percent of her as human while Ran has a little less than ten percent. At least that’s what I’m pretty sure their makeup is. I needed to know a while ago what percentage a few residents here were for some project but it was over a year ago and my memory isn’t that great. Tubbo is actually a satyr, or I guess you can call him a goat hybrid. He’s a specific type that’s easier to hide even though most of his genetic makeup is creature, funnily enough. Ponk’ s creature makeup is technically not a creature but a plant. Of course, I bet you have no idea what sort of plant he is. It’s not like he has an obsession or anything—“

“HE’S PART BLOODY LEMON?” Tommy cried. Sam started roaring laughing and Tommy followed not a few seconds later with his own bright cheer.

“It’s rather rare to have any percentage plant, but it happens in a few cases. Ponk’s one of those cases. All it really does is make him taste—“ Sam stopped very abruptly and a blush started rushing up his neck before stammering his way through “I- uh- well he smells very citrusy and is rather flammable. We constantly have to keep him away from fire. Not that hard, considering he and I despise it with a passion.”

Still having a flush that stretched from his face to his neck, Sam switched the center of focus towards Tommy.

“So, back to these new things…”

Sam’s eyes roamed Tommy’s figure and the assortment of items cluttered on and around him.

“You… wanted most of this stuff? Without you having to give anything in return and without any prior prompting?” Tommy nodded. Sam heaved a great breath. “Okay okay this is great. It’s just a fixation. It’ll pass—“ he was definitely talking to himself with how low his voice was “his brother hangs with Ranboo all the time and they’re still here. You’re fine.”

“Uh, Sam? You good, big man?” A huff. A sad? glance. A nod. And a departure. “Well that was rude.” Tommy commented to himself before rifling through his new things again. The sun was starting to set and it cast all of the room into a wash of golden light. His new jewelry also glowed and reflected sparkles of refraction onto the walls.

Next thing Tommy knew, it was night time. Slowly blinking to get crust out of his eyes, as if he hadn’t blinked in a while, Tommy looked around the now not glowing room. Honestly, wasn’t it supposed to be golden hour and not golden second? Yawning for the first time, Tommy finally took notice of his exhaustion and glanced woefully at his bed. Oh, to not need sleep and just bath in his new things! With a great big heave of his breath, Tommy ungracefully shoved his plushies around on his bed until there was a Tommy sized hole in the middle.

Tommy was so lucky that Sam got him a wide bed.

Once this task was completed, he gently took off all of his new jewelry and placed them in an assorted pattern on his bed; because where else was he supposed to put them? Finally, still wrapped in his cow blanket, Tommy breathed in deeply and relaxed in the smell of safety and comfort.

Dozing off, only Sam was able to hear the soft trill of snores that came from the sleeping blonde. Of course, the only response he had was to close the door so there was no draft into his room.

Walking down the hallway towards the still decimated kitchen, Sam pulled out his communicator and pressed the call button.

An audible *click* of the line being picked up and accepted before a smooth voice answered.

“Greetings Sam. Did Tom like the presents?” Came the voice of Siren. Sam sighed.

“Yes, although I believe you went a bit overboard, however that wasn’t why I called.”

“Oh?”

“While talking with him about the presents, he asked if hybrids were not actually evil. I told him how both his new friends—” a slight crackling from the other side of the phone, “were obvious hybrids, and how most of the people he has made connections with are known hybrids. He didn’t freak out beyond just not being told sooner. He’s officially out of Dream’s anti-hybrid influence.”

“Oh, really?” Grim satisfaction crackled through the line “You would think that the child practically raised by the bastard would be extremely anti-creature in general.”

“Tommy has a golden heart.”

“A perfect reflection of his hair, I say.” The voice lilt at the end into a sing-song cadence.

“I also may I have been rather encompassing on how many people he’s encountered who are hybrids. He knows you’re a prominent hybrid now. Not which kind though.”

“What do you mean he knows? The entire point is that he doesn’t know! What are you trying to get at with this? He needs to trust me!”

“He’ll be more betrayed when he realizes that you’re a hybrid, especially a known hybrid, and you just didn’t tell him. And you laid your possession on a bit thick today. It’s simply easier for him to think it was your instincts than him needing to repay you.”

“Ah, I just couldn’t help spoiling the gremlin! I’ve been trying to suppress my instincts as much as possible to gain his trust and not scare him away. I have been doing so much! You can ask Ranboo, he’s more reliable of a source than Tubbo or Niki in my behavior. But it’s so hard! I’m a deeply possessive hybrid whose absolute shite at boundaries—as I’ve been told constantly by my close family. But they normally don’t mind! Tommy does! He loves the attention but it is just so attentive and aware of it. Does it even matter if I lay it on thick? Did Tommy even notice or does he only know because you pointed it out?”

Silence…

A smug “Thought so” came through into the trashed dining room from Sam’s communicator.

Sam decided to divert attention. “I also told him what undercover hybrids do. I didn’t directly tell him that he had been pointed out by some, or that I invited him here because of that, but he knows they exist.”

A crackling hum from the device. “What sort do you think he is?” It was phrased as Siren already having an answer himself, but wanting to see what Sam had to come up with.

“Quackity swore up and down he was a type of bird, and he’s a duck hybrid so I trust his word on that. Don’t you agree?”

“I’m sure you saw all the jewelry and nesting stuff I bought for him today. He was repressing so hard it was adorable. I’ve only ever seen my father do that when on diplomatic business that couldn’t be interrupted by instincts.”

Sam decided to ignore the queasy feeling of Siren comparing Tommy to family.

“I personally think he’s a parrot. Bright colors, hangs out in the sun a lot, annoying voice that mimics— perfect fit.”

“You honestly think tropical describes Tommy?” Sam accused. Siren hummed a non-committal hum.

“I could be wrong, but definitely something that flies and definitely something eye-catching in the sun, the little sunlight that he is.” Okay Sam is definitely trying to ignore the warning alarms blaring in his head from the last comment.

“Well, maybe if I told Tommy what hybrid you are he would be more receptive to you?”

“No.” Harsh. Cold. Final. There was no arguing that without consequence.

“You are aware that he will find out eventually and feel betrayed.”

“I’ll lay it down slowly myself. I still need to gain trust and not scare him away. He’s extremely wary of my family, which is why I ganged up with my mum to convince Techno to come down early and meet Tommy tomorrow. With the meeting going well, he’ll be more inclined to the idea of family.”

“You’re… very sure of the meeting going well. Is Techno going to wear suppressants to not scare Tom?”

A rare snort from the uptight prince. “Absolutely not. They either don’t work or turn him mute. Plus, I already warned Tommy that he has pink hair, so his other traits will seem less drastic in comparison. Oh, and make sure that Tommy cleans his hair tomorrow. He doesn’t know that Tech is coming around so soon and I want him to make a wonderful first impression.”

“You’re using his piglin instincts against him. I don’t suppose he’ll be happy about that.”

“He’ll get over it.”

“Neither will Tommy like that you didn’t tell him about the meeting beforehand.”

“Au contraire, I’ve already told him that I want them both to meet up, and I even publicly asked both Ranboo and Niki to ask him to stay around in front of Tommy. So, if anything, I just blame it on Tommy being dense—because he is, Tech being quick and punctual—because he is, and they still meet up! Plus manipulation is basically my job description of being in the syndicate.

“And you know what? I hate how our group is called the Syndicate. It has such negative connotations with Tommy! It’s probably throwing him off more from trusting my family and for seeing all the good that we do. Really, the ‘Syndicate’, how over-the-top evil does that sound? Why do we ever let Techno name things, he’s rather shit at it. I just got by with making him not name it some other Greek thing, but still ended up with dad choosing this demonized group name—”

Aaaaaand Sam officially tuned out Siren. He waited a few minutes with Siren ranting about how awful the Syndicate name is and why they should immediately change it to something sweeter for dear Tom when he interrupted.

“Why does Tommy need to trust your family anyways? I thought he was just a fixation you had, like Techno has with Ranboo.”

“Oh Sam no no no no! I planned to bring Tommy back to the castle and make him my little brother.”

…

WHAT!?

“Ah.” Honestly, the fact that his voice didn’t break was astounding and saved him from showing his weakness to the piranha that was the person he was speaking to. It was a damning statement that the prince just uttered.

Taking a deep breath away from the microphone so Siren didn’t hear his nerves, Sam continued to ask questions.

“How would that work out? The rest of your family is immortal, yes? Tommy isn’t. He’ll grow up and die eventually. Your fixation with him will also die out in time.”

A growl. A primal growl echoed from the communicator that Sam was holding. One based on instincts and the urge to kill whoever uttered the disgusting words if Sam wasn’t safe in his kicthen.

“I guess we’ll figure that out when we get there, won’t we, Sam?” The tone of voice was dangerous. Siren may be holding back his instincts to search out Sam right now, but if he answered wrong then he would retract the mercy he has already shown with allowing Sam to question his authority.

Taking a gulp, Sam replied steadily, “Of course, your grace.” He had trained too much hiding his fear from the overzealous anti-hybrid Dream to have a waver in voice.

Fearing to leave Wilbur in a bad mood, he decided to switch topics.

“Tommy is not available in three days, just so you know.” WHY DID HE BRING UP TOMMY? “An appointment.” As if that would save him! “So you… unfortunately… can’t hang out with him that day.”

Muttering came through then. “I will be working with Tech in one of the militia cities up north in two days and won’t be coming back for another three, so I would be unavailable anyways.” A pregnant pause, before a more steady voice asked, “What appointment?” It was said curiously. Deceptive in the sense that only a few seconds ago he was growling possessiveness down the mic.

“Ah.. um.” Oh fuck everything. This is Tom's privacy which he is very attached to but Siren is directly asking about it! “It is for Tommy’s health, and therefore part of his privacy to speak about. That is all I will say.” Did that throw off Siren’s curiosity?

“What do you mean for his health? Is he injured? Hurt? What doctor is seeing him?” Siren asked in a serious tone, with panic lacing underneath.

“A checkup,” Sam said, “nothing to worry about. The Essempi didn’t regularly check in on him, so he has an appointment now. No need to panic.” and no need to ask who he’s seeing. Please stop asking questions he’s obligated to reply to.

“You still didn’t answer my question on who’s seeing him.”

“A medical professional. An expert in their field.” That should keep him satiated.

“An expert in regular check ups?” Shit.

“It’s Tommy’s privacy. I will not betray him.”

“Who is Tommy seeing?”

“Captain Puffy.”

Siren used his voice. That low-ocean dwelling son of a bi—

“Dammit, that means I can’t get information out of them without dad figuring it out and getting mad.”

“You not only betrayed patient confidentiality on the guardian’s side, but you were willing to betray patient confidentiality on the Health Professional? Wilbur are you INSANE?” Sam was getting mad. Extremely mad. His harsh breaths were making the mask fixed on his face whirl in desperate action.

“There’s only one thing Puffy does. Why does Tommy need therapy?” Siren asked, unperturbed by Sam’s anger.

“Wilbur understand one thing about me. If you continue this line of questioning I will tell Captain Puffy myself what you’ve done and how you’ve used your voice against me to learn about one of her new patient’s privacy. I will not be answering anything more and you should be grateful that I haven’t speed dialed the Captain already.” Siren fell silent on the other line. “For all this shit you’re going on about wanting Tom’s trust, you’re doing a lot of crushing it into the ground yourself. Maybe it’s not ‘The Syndicate’ putting him off, but you. Have you thought of that? That you’re destroying Tom’s trust behind his back?”

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, and I don’t give you permission to share any information we discussed in this call. I hereby state that it’s locked as a royal secret.”

“You’re an asshole.”

“And you’re a creeper who got attached to a plant.” Anger spiked again in the hybrid. Horrible flashes of madness that forced his mask to heat up exponentially to keep up with filtering so he doesn’t explode.

“He isn’t the type to forget a slight against his trust,” he ground out himself, before abruptly hanging up.

Dropping his head onto a still messy counter, Sam breathed deeply as he regained his composure.

Siren was a master at subtly, or not-so-subtly, getting under people’s skin. Especially if he felt like he had been slighted. Petty, bratty, and everything the prince encapsulated as the political relations royal.

He had just casually brought down Sam’s entire future with one phone call. It was Sam who brought Tommy over, not Quackity. Sam, because he built a connection with the chaotic child and had already passed the tests that the Empire required to adopt. Sam, because he was seen as the more responsible adult to bring Tommy into the hybrid fold, even if it was Quackity who was his assigned undercover hybrid. Sam, who risked and is currently risking his position with the Greater Essempi for this child. Sam, who Tommy already sees as a familial figure.

And isn’t that just sad? Daydreams and hypotheticals of watching Tommy grow up with him and Ponk. Of relaxing in a back garden, helping Ponk gather his frankly horrid amount of lemons. Of Tommy being a kid and just watching him run around with other kids his age. He already had Ranboo and Tubbo, but Sam hasn’t been out of his forge much to watch himself. To see that fast-but-strong connection he hears about.

He was going to make it up to Ponk. Rekindle his relationship. Maybe get a dog. Tommy would love a dog. Maybe name the dog Fran. Yes, that was a good name. Being able to watch Fran and Tommy run around and play, carefree. Not under Dream’s tutelage, which would have ended in disaster if he stayed any longer. He already was repressing so many hybrid instincts and characteristics because of wanting to be human. To be ‘normal’ as Dream instructed him.

He wanted to, was planning, to raise Tommy himself.

But it seemed the Siren had other plans.

Now, instead of letting Tommy work out his problems with the Greater Essempi with Puffy, Sam would also need to teach him how to work with the bullshit that would be the Antarctic Empire.

Chapter Text

Waking up to a knock on the door was a rather weird experience for Tommy in Pogtopia, but he was rather used to it back in the Greater Essempi so hearing the familiar sounds was all it took for Tommy’s eyes to shoot open and land on the doorframe where Sam stood smiling at the teen.

“I didn’t interrupt a good dream, did I?” The creeper hybrid asked. Shaking his head, Tommy shot back a smile of his own, feeling at peace in his room filled with new things.

Grinning while he stretched, Tommy took inventory of the shit scattered about his room. He couldn’t really see all of his new shit, but for some odd reason he just instinctively knew that none of it had been touched. It was a nice feeling.

A hum came from the doorway.

“10 for Piglin.” Tommy looked away from his items in his bed towards Sam, who had spoken the words.

“What?” Tommy asked, confused. Sam wasn’t looking at Tommy though. “Is most of that jewelry gold?” “Um, yeah?” Tommy answered to Sam. A nod from the creeper.

Tommy gave a very confused smile that lazily stretched his face due to his grogginess. “Um, okay, big man?” Tommy blinked, mind powering on. “What’s with the Piglin shit? What are you on about?”

Sam shifted in the doorway, eyes moving a bit frantically before settling on some gold jewelry nesting around Tommy’s bed. “Was just talking to myself mostly. Answering a question from my boss last night. Nothing to worry about.”

“Booo,” Tommy said, dragging himself out of his bed, “That’s dumb. Tell your boss of yours that you’re dumb as well.” Shuffling across the floor towards Sam, Tommy looked into the unnaturally slitted eyes of Sam. For some reason, even though he was still getting used to even seeing Sam’s eyes this way, he knew that they were filled with affection for him.

…It felt nice. Being loved.

Tommy was studiously ignoring the growing heat on his face.

“Get out of the way Big Man, I want food from the kitchen.” Sam scrunched his nose up. “You need a shower. You smell like smoke.” Tommy let out an indignant noise.

“Excuse you!? That is not the proper response when someone tells you to fucking move you piece of shit—” Logically, Tommy knew that the smell might have come from his very new, very explosive and gunpowder happy friend, but he ain’t a snitch.

And clearly, Sam wasn’t listening as he put one of his real hands on top of Tommy’s head before softly petting— which coincidentally was when Tommy stopped complaining and tiredly leaned in. He just got out of bed, okay? Give him a break. He was still booting up.

“And remember to wash your hair. It’s dirty.” Why did Sam sound remorseful and reluctant? What the fuck? What kind of tone is that? “Also it’s frosty outside today. You’ve had it easy for a while but the cold front has finally pulled in, so please wear a hoodie and some layers. Cover yourself.” Tommy heard the silent ask to cover his to-be newly washed hair while walking around in a city filled with hybrids.

Actually, thinking of hybrids—

“Hey Sam?” There was a hum from the taller man. “Your eyes and mask, they seem hard to… hide. How do creeper suppressants actually work? Like how do you not blow stuff up without your mask? I hear it whirr like all the time you breathe.” His voice became smaller as he kept asking questions, but he didn’t stop. Tommy was curious after all. Alas, his mouth got the best of him and a soft “You said they hurt?” Came out of him.

Flashes of lessons on hybrid dynamics and how pointed questions lead to angry hybrids from Dream— guilt, shame and fear crashed through Tommy as he suddenly realized how truly invasive his questions were. He still vividly remembered the training lessons on how a hybrid would punish him if he stepped out of line from Dream. “Actually, don’t answer that. I’m sorry, those were bad questions. They came out wrong. You don’t need to answer any of them. Really, Sam, I’m sorr—”

A gentle hand scratched through Tommy’s hair. His backtracking stuttered to a stop.

A sigh came from masked lips, and the whizzing of machinery picked up. “Tom, don’t ever feel bad for asking questions. Curiosity should be encouraged. So be curious. I’ll tell you if I can’t or don’t want to answer something, okay? This is a safe space, and you will not be punished or taught a lesson—” there was a bit of anger in his voice and Tommy didn’t know how to interpret that “—for genuinely wanting to know more. I hope we can come to an arrangement where you feel safe and secure but I can push for your well-being even if you don’t like it. Like the shower I asked you to take, yeah? Your safety and security will not change no matter how much I get upset or angry at you. That includes necessities like food, clothing, and even your things or your time with friends. I hope I proved that last morning. You will always have a place to come back to that will accept you, okay?”

Tommy still felt a bit of shame and something else fluttering through him, but he gave a meek nod of understanding. Just step back from time to time during the month he’s staying at Pogtopia if he crosses a boundary and Sam will take care of him. It sounded easy enough.

Sam hummed positively this time. “Good. And to answer your questions: yes, my features are very hard to hide. The suppressants I use are crafted very specially for me, by me if that helps. They are very powerful but very draining and exhausting to wear. I disguised mine as different things, depending on what I can get away with. I have ankle cuffs that I normally wear, a cuff that I disguised as a rather bulky watch, some pairs of glasses that I wear if I’m around paper that I say are reading glasses, and sometimes I also wear a cloth-like mask if I can get away with feeling sick or contamination issues. The cloth-like mask is a lesser version of the mask I wear now and definitely not as good quality, but combined with the other suppressants works just fine. Usually I have to breathe very carefully, and even use the excuse of being asthmatic to get away with some oral suppressants to help.”

Heavy whirring from the mask indicated a large sigh.

“I won’t lie and say I’ve gotten used to it. They all hurt, especially that oral one. That one hurts a lot because it quite literally works to change the chemistry in my lungs and it feels like constant chest pain and like I’m breathing fire. But besides that, my eyes feel a sharp stinging pain if I don’t pair my suppressants with the glasses and my skin and muscles become as weak as normal humans. It feels rather draining because my body isn’t supposed to be that way but I need to do it if I am to work with the Greater Essempi.”

”Why did you-” Tommy trailed off.

“Why did I start working there?” Tommy nodded. “It’s a weird story that actually stems from when Ponk lost his arm. When- When I- uh, actually I don’t want to go into details about that. Just know that it was a necessary evil, alright kid?”

Tommy nodded under Sam’s heavy hand. Sam ruffled his hair further in response. Tommy took that as the cue that he got as much out of Sam that he could for the time. Now it was time to escape into the town!

“I want to go now,” Tommy huffed and moved further out into the house.

“Not before a shower,” Sam called, stopping him in his tracks. Tommy immediately started half-assing an arguement on why he did need to because he really didn’t smell that awful using his ”Trust me Sam I’m an innocent child and so believable” puppy eyes. When Sam started pushing Tommy bodily towards his bathroom, he instead switched to cussing out his family line. “I know, I’m awful, but I would argue that my boss is worse.”

“It’s funny when you call your boss a wanker,” Tommy said while smiling slightly up at Sam.

“Then I’ll call him that more.” Sam’s eyes crinkled down at Tommy in the form of smiling back.

“You should call him that next time you two talk.” Tommy’s smile turned sly, his eyes bright in mischief.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Sam laughed.

“Thanks Sam.”

“No problem, Tommy.”

And suddenly Tommy was alone in his bathroom. The moment passed and Sam went to the somehow still standing kitchen to get breakfast ready while Tommy took a shower. He made sure to wash his hair and grimaced a bit at all of the dirt and debris that fell from his and down the drain. Maybe he really did need a shower.

Coming out of the bathroom, Tommy decided to wear a nice bright blue hoodie with colorful font on the front reading “Sunny Day” and had small cows on the sleeves. He also tried on some of the new khaki trousers that Wilbur got him and was mildly surprised at how comfortable they were.

Trying to finger comb his hair, Tommy emerged from his room and headed towards the kitchen where Sam was setting up bacon and other meats. Tommy raised an eyebrow at the food but didn’t comment and watched warily as Sam’s head shot up once realizing Tommy was in the room.

His eyes zeroed in on Tommy’s freshly cleaned hair and dilated. His fists clenched around the cooking utensils they held. He didn’t move from his spot though, so Tommy felt safe enough to approach the table of food.

Filling his plate, Tommy realized that if he wanted some bacon he would have to get up and move closer to Sam, as he was still standing like a statue. Was this incredibly strange and a bit startling to Tommy? Yes. But Sam was still Sam, even if he was technically a hybrid, so Tommy had nothing to be afraid about, if he would just stop being a little whimp— Mentally taking a breath, Tommy got up and quietly drew closer to the stash of bacon.

Unfortunately, something about being close enough to be within reaching distance snapped Sam out of his stupor and his hands quickly shot out towards Tommy’s head. Stilling in panic, Tommy waited in anticipation as Sam’s hands hovered in front of his face, shaking. It was clear that he was at least resisting his instincts, and forcefully trying to not scare Tommy, which he appreciated. Even if it was definitely not working. But this was Sam, and Tommy shouldn’t be scared.

Tommy was having a lot of conflicting thoughts at the moment. He would describe it as a constant screech in his brain that wouldn’t turn off while Sam’s clawed hand hovered in front of him.

Slowly, as to not startle Tommy further, Sam slowly let one of his hands glide forward and through Tommy’s hair while the other one loosely grabbed the hoodie and pulled it up. A weird mix of a purr and a hiss came from the creeper’s mouth, but it was quiet enough to not scare Tommy. Slowly, he relaxed under the ministrations.

The more the hoodie was pulled up— and Tommy was very aware of that meaning the more of his hair is covered— the more Sam regained his ability to speak. Though, Tommy noticed his speech wasn’t really coherent.

”It’s cold outside. Hoodie up.” “Mmmm shiny, safe under hoodie.” “He didn’t say that he had to show his hair, only to clean it.” Actually, the last snippet sounded more coherent, but also more concerning for Tommy at the same time. No matter what Sam was saying, he seemed rather smug like he outdid a puzzle and was rebelling against the system. Maybe he was. It’s not like Tommy fully understood hybridity in his newly upturned world. Tommy let him do what he needed while he silently ate bacon.

After a solid minute of petting Tommy’s head while the hoodie was hiding all of his hair, Sam’s eyes finally shrunk back to normal and his noises ceased. Tommy finished his bacon at this time and thought it was best to leave.

Clearing his throat, Tommy caught Sam’s attention.

”If your instincts are calm enough, I’m going to leave now.” That was a safe thing to say to a recently instinct-heavy creature, yes?

Sam cleared his throat. His checks turning a darker shade out of embarrassment. ”Ah, yes. Right, okay. Sorry about that, it’s been a bit since your hair has been really clean and I haven’t used my suppressant at all. I didn’t freak you out, did I?”

”Nah big man, I felt completely safe. Confused, but safe.” Tommy found that he wasn’t lying. He really did feel safe around Sam, even when his hybrid-ness came to a forefront. “I’m going to guess I should keep my hoodie up?”

Sam nodded, cheeks darkening further. “That would be wise. Unless you want strangers to do what I just did?”

Tommy snorted. “Absolutely not. I’ll keep the hoodie up, I promise.”

Sam smiled and nodded. “Well, you better head off then. Back to the same place to meet up with Tubbo and Ranboo?”

”Yep! Gonna see what adventures we get up to this time! Bye, Sam!”

“Bye, Tom.”

And he was off.

Stepping outside, Tommy made sure to pull the strings of his hoodie tighter to make sure his hair was completely covered before strolling towards Saline Solution. Honestly, by this point Tommy was wondering if he could face Siren without flinching at his surely hybrid features and telling him that he’s a fucking wanker at naming things and that he should never name things again.

During the walk, Tommy took note of how the weather has gotten colder, but not by much. It was rather surprising how decently warm it had been while being in Antarctica Empire territory.

Tommy guessed that the good temperatures was why Pogtopia turned into one of the few agricultural areas for the Empire, as they usually imported food from Kinoto Kingdom. Walking up to the now familiar front of the bakery instantly made Tommy feel energized, but he stopped short when looking at the name.

In big bold dandelion yellow overtop the red font of the original name “Saline Solution” was the word “Clementine”. What the fuck?

Blinking, Tommy decided today was just going to be a “What the Fuck” Day and stepped inside, also deciding to deal with that headache later. Who decided to graffiti Siren’s personally named place? If word got back, Tommy was gonna be executed or some shit.

Now off the street and feeling safe enough to pull off his hood, Tommy spots Niki and Tubbo behind the counter speaking in hushed whispers, seeming a bit confused if their body language was anything to go off of. Small bits of “fox situation” and “new brother” made it to Tommy’s ears but they made no sense so he just ignored them.

”How do, Tubso and Niki!?” Tommy spoke loudly. Niki and Tubbo startled away from each other, sending wide-eyed looks towards Tommy. Upon laying their eyes on Tommy, their gazes shifted to slightly concerned— and okay, now Tommy was a bit wary. Sam was acting a bit off this morning and now them?

“Di-did you shower?”

…Why that rude son of a—

”YES! Of course I showered! I’m not a fucking slob, Tubs! I look fabulous now! All nice and clean like a real man!” To accentuate his point, Tommy ran a hand through his hair. Snuggly, he added, “I even cleaned my hair!”

”We can see that,” Niki said despondently.

”Why did you decide to take a shower now!?” Tubbo panicked, shouting glances to the door leading to the back. Suspicious.

Tommy shrugged. “Sam got tired of me smelling like gunpowder.“ Cue winces from both Niki and Tubbo, though Tommy could tell it was for different reasons. Even if not knowing what those reasons were. Taking a guess, Tommy tacked on, “Guess I got too much on me from that demo stuff, yeah?” Tubbo gave a nervous chuckle and a halfhearted “yeah.”

Seeing the unenthusiastic responses from both Tubbo and Niki, Tommy decided to keep talking to fill in the awkward atmosphere. Which was always the go-to solution that worked one hundred percent of the time.

“Ya know, I think his boss pissed ‘im off ‘cause he was way stressed this morning, and like I haven’t been with him long but I know him enough to know he was stressed.” Tubbo and Niki seemed to be panicking more with what Tommy was saying… WHY!?

”I’ll just- go get some food for you, yeah?” Niki squeaked before bolting out of the room. Tommy turned to Tubbo in outright confusion. Tubbo gave a semi-apologetic look before shooting a glance at Tommy’s hair.

”You should probably put your hoodie back on— because it’s drafty in here! And it looks cooler!” Tubbo rushed to add in his panicked state.

Confused but unwilling to stress out his new and strange friend even more, Tommy wisely complied with his demands and pulled the hoodie back over his hair. Tucking a few strays underneath the lining of the hood. Maybe there was a gold-inclined hybrid in the back?

Tubbo gave a soft, relieved sigh before catching sight of something outside the windowed door. Tommy did not like the fact that blood drained from his face because what the fuck could possibly be scaring Tubbo this bad?

Before Tommy could turn around fully to see who came in, he was barreled down by someone even taller than him and the smell of gunpowder, smoke, and cigarettes filled his nose.

”Gremlin child!” An affectionate bitchy voice called.

”Bitch boy!” Tommy called back in the same high and sickeningly sweet voice. “Rude fucker, wanker, no bitch loser who can never compare to the sheer magni-magnatude of my manliness—“

Wilbur absolutely clung to Tommy with a near painful grip. Tommy let out a small grunt but Wilbur didn’t let go so Tommy physically shoved him back a bit and off of him. It seemed to dislodge Wilbur enough for Tommy to finally get a good look at him and…

“You never learn that grabbing people is not a form of hugging?” Okay those are definitely hybrid eyes. “It’s extremely rude!” They practically glowed an iridescent golden blue with slits for pupils. “I’ll sue you for being such a bitch!” And the texture of his skin… was scaly? What the fuck—

Tommy couldn’t think of anything else to rant about while examining Wilbitch. The hitching of shoulders and tension that lined Tommy’s body did not go unnoticed, but Wilbur’s smile simply tightened and grew in size.

”Tommy! I’m so glad that Sam let you out of his dungeon. Why, I was worried I’d have to go fetch you myself!” His posture screamed that he was not lying and definitely would have tracked Tommy down but held back. “I’m happy that he was smart enough to let you out. Haha…” WHY WAS EVERYONE ACTING SO WEIRD!? “I’m also super excited for you to meet my brother! I’m sure you remember, the one you insulted the name of because I called him ‘Tech’? Well, I was able to get him to come back to Pogtopia early so you could meet him quicker! Isn’t that amazing?”

Oh, his family is here. Was that why he was showing prominent hybrid traits? Hybrid families usually showcased closeness and trust through their more noticeable traits, at least that is what he remembered from his lessons about hybrid familial bonds. They were pretty scattered and hushed if he got them. Yet he also remembered how Wilbur said both he and his brother were supposedly adopted… or this “Tech” definitely was at least. Well, they surely grew up together, so the bonds could definitely have formed…

Tommy forced himself to release tension from his body in the face of Wilbur’s more obvious hybrid traits. Wilbur was still Wilbur, like how Sam was still Sam. Tommy was trying to wrap his mind around the rapid shift in his worldview and would like a gold-star, thank you. It was hard to pin down what he was, but Tommy was guessing part fish. That would fit with the family dynamic. All they would need is an over-world land hybrid and it would complete the set. Void mother, end father, ocean son, nether brother— wait, fuck, NETHER—

Hiding his hair seemed like a top priority at the moment.

Tugging on the strings attached to his hoodie to more securely hide his hair, Tommy stared at Wilbur’s more… intense attitude and posture. He still, very idiotically, followed after Wilbur when he motioned towards the back door. Even more stupidly not pulling away when Wilbur draped himself over Tommy and covered him in that smoke-gunpowder-drowning? smell. Tommy was always a little stupid when it came to physical attention. Tommy sent a polite middle finger to his gut-instincts.

Wilbur seemed to be leading Tommy down some hallways, passing by stairs leading up and open doors that he was able to see behind. Tommy was able to spot a storage room, kitchen, a restroom for what he assumed was employees, more storage, a freezer at the back of one, a break room, and one room that held a bunch of electrical equipment and pipes. He guessed the latter room was for maintenance.

During this walk, Tommy tried to hold conversation in order to relax his nerves at meeting what he assumed would be a piglin, as that was the most common nether hybrid type.

“What’s with the name on the front of the bakery? I’m not complaining about the name change, as it is the superior name for this establishment. Much better than fucking ‘Saline Solution’ but wouldn’t Siren be mad about the name change?”

”Siren actually approved of the name change. In three days construction will take place and it will permanently be altered.” Wilbur tried putting a hand under Tommy’s hoodie to scrap through his hair but Tommy batted the hand away. Wilbur pouted. The wanker.

”WHAT? Siren!? Since when did he do shit? And does he know I exist? Wait, did he fucking let someone from the Greater Essempi rename a place he personally named? What the FUCK is happening!?” Talking about Siren was definitely not helping Tommy’s nerves.

Wilbur raised an eyebrow. “Of course he would know about you. The royal family did have to approve of you to let you into their territory, so they know your height, age, appearance, residence, and your personality.”

Tommy was confused. “My personality?” He once again batted away a hand from Wilbur, who grumbled in defeat and then laid his head on top of Tommy’s.

There was an audible sniff and then Wilbur reeled back.

“Why do you smell different?” He hissed.

Tommy blinked. “I showered?” Wilbur deflated and then brightened.

”So you washed your hair?” No one should be that excited about hair washing.

”Yes, you wanker bitch boy. I do know what hygiene is.”

”Could have fooled me,” Wilbur smirked. He looked at the hoodie hiding Tommy’s hair and opened his mouth to speak but Tommy beat him to the punch.

”No, you’re not gonna see it, ya wanker.” Wilbur pouted again.

It was only now that Tommy realized they had stopped at a dead end of a dimly lit hallway. Or, it would have been a dead end, if not for the closed door positioned directly facing the end of the hall.

Tommy eyed it with great suspicion. He was rather far from the front of the building now, and it would be awkward to try and maneuver around Wilbur to run. He would say it wouldn’t be hard, as he had trained with Dream for these types of scenarios, but Wilbur was a semi-unidentified hybrid and Tommy did not want to test if Wilbur had super speed at the moment. Wilbur’s glowing eyes pinned on Tommy in the dimly lit hall was enough to deter him from trying to flee.

A reprieve from the building tension between the two came in the form of the door opening. Ranboo stepped out and closed the door behind them before turning back around and freezing at the sight of both Tommy and Wilbur standing there.

”Um… hi?” Ranboo nervously said while wringing their hands together. His red-green eyes met the floor in a show of deference towards Wilbur, which Tommy guessed came from just coming out of a room with Wilbur’s brother and not wanting to show aggression. Either way, Wilbur still seemed pissed about something, with the way his shoulders tensed when Ranboo came out.

”You can leave now.” The tone was one Tommy was unfamiliar with. It was cold, coming from Wilbur’s mouth, and slightly off-putting like Wilbur wanted to do something more commanding but was holding himself back for some reason.

“I- uh, he wanted to say- uh—“ Ranboo fumbled, trying to get a message out for Wilbur. The glowing eyes narrowed onto the nervous teen and Ranboo got even more nervous. “W-well, uh, he was a bit b-busy with, um, training b-but then you asked h-him to c-come back so soon, um, so he, uh, wa-wanted to wo-work on some pa-paperwo-work—“ It seemed the more Ranboo talked, the more nervous they became, which made him stutter more, and in-turn it annoyed Wilbur further. Eventually, he interrupted the taller hybrid.

”Ranboo, I do not care whatever message he sent you out with, as he should know you don’t have a strong enough backbone to form a coherent enough sentence to even make sense, and I already told him I wanted to meet up with him. So he could either tell me to my face that he doesn’t have time for his brother or at least have the decency to not send you.” Tommy gaped at Wilbur for this uncharacteristic behavior while Ranboo seemed to bow his head more and accept the fact that Wilbur just told him to shut it and leave. He may not be the closest with the Ran-Man, but it wasn’t as if Tommy was about to let that slide! Tommy took a deep breath, ready to absolutely annoy and embarrass Wilbur for the shit he just pulled.

”You fucking bitch, cut it out woncha? Boob boy was just delivering a message so you don't have to be so much of a wanker about it. You being all mean and intense just threw the tall fucker off. Seriously… and you wonder why your brother talked to them instead of you?”

Now it was Ranboo gaping at Tommy while Wilbur held an expression that Tommy labeled ‘constipation’.

”Wow, you actually brought someone who has brain cells and calls you out? You’re right, I will get along with him.” The voice was unfamiliar, deep, monotones, somehow sarcastic, and very amused. Tommy looked behind Ranboo towards the door and saw a large figure standing behind the ender hybrid. It looked to be that they opened the door to see what the yelling was about. Looking towards the figure’s face, Tommy was able to make out glowing red eyes before his body froze in fear.

His mind flashed with images of pain, suffering, blood, war, determination, victory, so-much, too-much— He blinked his eyes away and looked down.

Ah. So this was Wilbur’s brother. What a terrifying conclusion.

The intensity across the family was consistent, at least.