Chapter Text
“There- There’s a what in my bathtub?” Wilbur asked, Tommy was sure his mouth was wide open, probably in a half smile out of just bewilderment , but it wasn’t like he could tell. Techno seemed bigger now, somehow, and he stood like a brick wall between the shifter and his brother.
Tommy couldn’t see the details of his face, mostly because his vision blurred in and out of focus several times, and Tommy was trying to stop himself from crying out of fear. He realized his breath was picking up, but he could do little to clear his mind as thoughts rushed in.
He was going to be kicked out . Wilbur was going to realize he was a monster and be disgusted with him, just like Dream had, but Tommy didn’t think Wilbur was as merciful as Dream-
Dream wasn’t merciful.
Tommy opened his eyes (when had he closed them?) to a soft touch on his shoulder, which he immediately flinched back from.
“-ey, kid? You’re alright, copy my breathin’.” There was a pink blur crouched in front of him, his voice was rumbly and soothing almost, a blissful monotone that was easy to follow.
Tommy tried his best to copy his breaths, they came in gasps at first and the air would rush too fast out of his nose, but Techno (Techno?) didn’t get mad, he just restarted the breath so Tommy wouldn’t have to catch up.
They sat like that for a minute or two, and the quiet, still presence of Wilbur slowly made itself known over the time, over the shoulder of Techno, and Tommy was almost soothed as he spoke.
“Is he alright?” He said quietly, staring in Tommy’s general direction. Instead of answering, Techno chuffed , which seemed to immediately calm the Phantom a bit. Then he stared at Tommy with an eyebrow raised.
Tommy sucked in a breath to speak but dissolved into coughs before he could even try.
It had been a while since he’d talked, he realized, and when he did get something out it sounded rough .
“I- I’m sorry-” he started, clearing his throat a few times, “I can leave.”
“Woah, wait-” Wilbur spoke, only to be cut off by his twin.
“You aren’t goin’ anywhere, kid. Where did you come from?” Techno questioned, his face was unchanged, still a single eyebrow raised.
“I…” How was he supposed to explain this? He couldn’t just lie to them, they deserved better than that, but they would surely kick him out if they knew the monster he was.
Wilbur was too kind to be lied to (even if that was what he had been doing for months, he didn’t deserve it then, and he didn’t deserve it now).
“I’m Theseus.” He choked out, closing his eyes to spare himself from the disgusted looks on their faces. “I’m really sorry for- lying to you n’ all.”
“Oh.”
Oh ? What did that mean?
Tommy slowly squinted his eyes open, to find both faces in front of him settled in pure confusion, but behind Wilbur’s was something soft, some form of sympathy. Tommy had never been looked at like that his entire life.
“Sorry- You don’t need to kick me out or anything, I’ll just leave.” Tommy was praying they would just let him leave, hoping that they didn’t decide he was too disgusting to be let off scotch-free.
“No- Wait-” Wilbur rushed out, a hand rose to his hair and he took a deep breath before continuing, “You’re Theseus?”
“Yeah but-”
“But- Why- What ?” Wilbur ran a hand down his face, and his eyebrows pinched together like he was looking at some sort of puzzle he could solve.
“Why were you pretendin’ t’ be a dog ? Techno asked, his mouth slightly open in confusion as well.
“Because-” Because he was loved like that? Because he didn’t want to be Tommy? Because then Wilbur would still cherish him? “Shifters are well disliked. When they caught me- I couldn’t just leave .”
“People don’t like shifters?” Wilbur clarified, the confusion lightened on his face, but it was still very present.
“I’ve never heard that before.” Techno added, perfectly bouncing off of his twin.
But- it was commonly known. Shifters were monsters , disgusting, feral, unpredictable. All the things the common person hates. How could people not dislike them?
“Oh,” Tommy responded dumbly, trying to collect his thoughts.
“Who told you that?” Wilbur questioned, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder, leaning over him a bit.
Dream , “I-” but Dream was a liar . “I don’t know.”
There was a silence as the pair studied Tommy, clearly aware of his lie, before Techno sighed and stood.
“Listen, as much as I love interrogatin’ you in this bathroom, maybe we should move somewhere else.” and with that, he grabbed Wilbur’s shoulder lightly and moved him towards the door, clearly expecting Tommy to follow.
So the blonde stood, trying to balance himself on the slick bathtub, and followed after the pair nervously.
They ended up in the living room, and if the atmosphere wasn’t so tense Tommy would've laughed at the familiarity of it all.
Wilbur was on the couch, in his usual spot, and Technoblade occupied a chair to his right. Tommy sat on the other end of the couch, his knees brought up to his chest and his arms wrapped around his stomach tightly. The pressure of the action calmed him, slowed the ringing in his ears.
“So,” Wilbur started, looking vaguely in Tommy’s direction (Tommy noticed how Wilbur's gaze shot right over his head, like he thought Tommy was taller than he was), “I am not going to just kick you out, I mean, you're a child-”
“I’m not a child .” Tommy couldn’t stop himself from speaking, though the bitter tone it was meant to be paired with fell short of even angry .
Techno snorted, but still said nothing as he flicked his eyes to Wilbur.
“How old are you, then?” The phantom asked, there was no teasing tone to his words, no room for jokes. This wasn’t a question he could dance around, and Tommy scolded himself for forgetting he was in the wrong here.
Tommy brought his town down, looking onto the couch, “13,” Wilbur winced “I think.” The blonde muttered, not even risking to glance at either of them.
“Wha-” Wilbur ran a hand through his hair before placing it over his mouth.
“What’s your name?” Techno asked, and Tommy realized he had fully forgotten to introduce himself.
“It’s Tommy-” he muttered, “But you can call me Theseus if you-”
“Do you have anyone looking for you?” Techno interrogated, his face still insufferably neutral, spare for the single eyebrow raised.
Dream was Tommy’s first thought. He didn't think Techno was talking about that though, he was probably asking about family or friends. Which-
“No.”
Techno studied Tommy, taking note of his hesitation, and Tommy rushed to correct his mistake. The least he could do was tell the truth.
“Well, no friends or family, no.”
“You can't just leave it like that, kid.” Techno sighed, sitting back in his chair. Tommy wanted to leave it like that, though.
“Don't push him too much, Tech.” Wilbur, Tommy's savior , scolded.
“Wil-” Techno was exasperated at this sitting up and leaning towards his brother, “He was posing as your dog for the last few months! The least he owes us is a story.”
Wilbur, ignoring his brother, turned to Tommy then, “Is it the same person who told you shifters were bad?”
“He-” Tommy breathed out a shaky sigh, he could barely think about Dream, talking about him was worse. “Yeah.”
WIlbur made a vague face of disgust, “Shifters were widely hunted, maybe 20 years ago, but now most people accept them with open arms.”
“Most people?” Tommy couldn’t stop himself from asking, it had been too long since he was able to ask questions about the real world and not fear being lied to.
Wilbur scowled, looking away slightly, but nodded. “Some people aren’t too open to hybrids or shifters, but luckily we live in a place with a hybrid-heavy population-”
“But there aren’t a lot of shifters? Why?”
“Kid, they were hunted. There just aren’t a lot left.” Techno emphasized, he looked solemn at the information being shared as well, though it was hard to tell with his generally neutral air.
Tommy sat with that for a second, vaguely realizing his hands were shaking. Dream had lied to him- he knew Dream was a liar, why did he never think he lied about that?
If he wasn’t hated, was he still a monster?
Was he ever a monster?
-= =-
Apparently, there was a child in Wilbur's bathroom.
Which wasn't a normal occurrence. People didn’t just find kids in their bathrooms.
Right?
Now the kid sat on Wilbur's couch, not five feet away from him, and even being blind Wilbur could tell the kid was freaking out. He picked up on the way his breath grew unsteady, on the slight shake he felt through the couch.
Wilbur was conflicted too because well-
This was Theseus . The dog that lit up his life, made it better by just listening and being there. Wilbur didn’t want to lose that. But this was a real person, Tommy , not some overly smart animal. He had feelings and wants (and a shit ton of fear, if the two panic attacks he's had in the last ten minutes were anything to go by), Wilbur couldn’t just keep him here. Not if he wanted to leave.
“Do you want to leave?” Wilbur found himself asking, leaning back on the couch.
The kids' breathing stuttered, and the trembling stopped.
“What?” Tommy breathed out, and he sounded so, so tired. Wilbur’s instincts screamed at him to do something about it, but he pushed them back.
“Wilbur,” Techno suddenly said. Wilbur heard him stand from his seat, “let’s go talk in the kitchen?” His brother's usual monotone voice couldn’t hide his feelings from Wilbur, and the Phantom stood and nodded at the pure worry that came out with the sentence.
“Do you need anything, Tommy?” Wilbur asked, noticing the tremble of the other had picked up again.
There was silence, and Wilbur waited patiently for Tommy’s answer, giving him the time to recollect his thoughts.
“Yeah,” Tommy rasped, shifting on the couch, “Water? If that’s okay?” He muttered the question, like he was scared of what would come with rejection. It made Wilbur's heart sink.
“Of course, love.” He said, and he ignored Techno muttering something about ‘getting attached’.
Once Wilbur and Techno entered the kitchen, Wilbur immediately went to fill up a cup with water while Techno stayed at the entry of it.
“What do you want t’ do?” He asked suddenly, though Wilbur didn’t move from his position at the sink.
“With him?” a grunt of confirmation, “To be honest? I wouldn’t mind if he stayed here.”
“Wil, you barely know the kid.”
“Actually,” Wilbur turned to him suddenly, the cup (now fully) firmly in his hand, “I know him more than you think. Sure, I thought he was a dog before, but he still showed himself.” Wilbur felt his smile soften at the thought.
He remembered thinking how expressive the dog was, how he matched Wilbur’s personality almost perfectly. Like when Wilbur would make jokes about him being ‘just an itty bitty puppy’ and the way the Golden Doodle would nip at his fingers. Or when Wilbur would have nightmares and somehow the dog knew just what to do to wake him up and comfort him.
When someone on the street bumped into him, and started berating him about it, Theseus growled and barked until they backed off when he noticed Wilbur getting more anxious about the situation.
That was all Tommy . The scarred, anxious kid that sat on his couch. The thirteen-year-old kid who thought he was hated being him . It made Wilbur angry , but more than that, it made him want to help. Help Tommy, just like how Tommy helped him.
“Wilbur,” Techno cut off his internal monologue with a hand on his shoulder, “That kid is extremely traumatized, this is goin’ t’ be harder than takin’ care of a dog.”
“I fucking know that, Techno.” Wilbur said, scowling at his brother, “I felt the way he trembled, heard the way his breath picked up at the thought of a random man who’s looking for him. I understand what I'm getting into,” Wilbur paused, “As much as I can, at least.” he muttered, walking past Techno and trailing his hand against the counter and then the wall, entering the living room.
“Tommy?” He asked, listening in the silence for the kid, though it was disturbingly quiet (like he was trained to be that way).
“Here.” The boy croaked from the couch, and as Wilbur got closer he began to hear the way the blonde trembled.
“I got you some water,” he said, placing it on the coffee table and sitting back in his spot. He heard the creaking of the floor as Technoblade entered the room.
After he heard Tommy take a few sips of water, he relaxed back on the couch.
“Are you alright?” He found himself asking, trying to school his expression into something soft.
“...what?” Tommy muttered. He sounded like he was astonished by the question.
“Well this has to be pretty stressful,” Wilbur started, sitting up a bit, “I want to know if you're okay.”
“I…” Wilbur waited for the younger to collect himself, keeping the soft expression on his face.
But then, Wilbur felt the tension in the room thicken as Tommy’s breathing hastened, and he straightened his spine.
“What do you want from me?” Tommy asked, with much more fight than he had a second ago.
Wilbur waited for a second before answering, “I want to help you, Tommy.”
“Why!” The shifter exclaimed, Wilbur felt him sit up and he heard Techno’s chair creak, “Why do you want to help me? I'm not some- some charity case for you to work on!” Then, more muted (broken), he whispered “I'm not an animal.”
“Of course you're not an animal, kid.” Techno soothed.
“Then- Then why keep me?” The kid sounded broken, tired of his own confusion.
“I’m not keeping you, Tommy.” Wilbur insisted, scooting towards the blonde an inch, “You are your own person . I’m just saying that you can stay, if you want.”
“ Why ?” Tommy repeated.
“Because,” Wilbur paused, thinking it over for a second, “Because you helped me, Tommy.”
“...what?” Tommy choked out.
“Before I got you,” Wilbur spat the word out, he hated that he had bought Tommy, like he was something to be owned. “I was in a horrible place. I wouldn’t get out of bed, I hated asking for, or getting, help.”
“You’re like sunshine.” Wilbur smiled, thinking of fond memories of Tommy snuggled up next to him on the couch.
The sunshine for his rainy day.
-= =-
Sunshine .
Wilbur had called him sunshine .
Tommy had never been called something positive before. Sure, Theseus had. Theseus was a smart, sweet dog.
Tommy was a monster . He was unruly and overbearing.
Now he was sunshine.
He wondered if that canceled out the other things. If he was sunshine, could he still be a monster?
“..Oh” Tommy breathed, hugging himself tightly around his stomach. Wilbur looked so- so fond of Tommy.
Tommy had never been looked at like that before.
“...you want me here?” He whispered, he wasn't sure Wilbur could hear him but the phantom beamed at him.
“Yes,” he repeated, nodding excitedly, “I still want you here, Tommy.”
Tommy had nowhere else to go. It was either the streets, constantly on the run from Dream, or here.
Tommy liked it here.
“Okay.” He said, nodding to himself.
-= =-
Technoblade left soon thereafter, insisting that Wilbur call his dad later today and explain everything that had happened, and call him if the Phantom needed anything. Wilbur practically shoved him out the door.
“Don’t mind Techno,” He said, trailing his hand against the wall and heading to the kitchen, Tommy followed, “He’s a worrier, just like my dad.”
Tommy nodded, and Wilbur turned his head in Tommy’s direction.
“Tommy?” Wilbur asked. Right, Wilbur couldn’t see him nod, how had he forgotten?
“Yeah, sorry.”
Wilbur smiled, the same fond look, and continued walking, “Don’t apologize, I know you aren’t used to talking.”
Everything about this was so new, Tommy wasn’t used to any of it . He wasn’t used to having a choice, being understood, going unpunished. He feared he would lose himself in a way, he would forget his lessons and trip up too badly.
Wilbur made them lunch, he talked the entire time, just like how they used to. But now he made Tommy real food . It had been so long since he had a decent meal, and he was staring at the hybrid as he worked just to catch a glimpse of the meal he was preparing.
He navigated the kitchen perfectly, having braille labels for most things and asking Tommy for confirmation if he wasn’t sure. Tommy had done that before too, when he was Theseus, and he liked the familiarity of it all.
Wilbur said he wanted to help Tommy, like how Tommy helped him, but Tommy liked helping Wilbur. He liked feeling useful, he didn’t want pity .
As they ate, Tommy decided to test out the waters, see where the barriers of Wilbur’s kindness started.
A demand, “I still want to help you.” Tommy said, trying to push as much confidence into his voice as possible.
Wilbur looked up at him, considering him for a moment (Tommy tried to keep his breaths even, but by how WIlbur softened he knew he had failed).
“Okay.” He simply said, going back to eating his sandwich.
And- Tommy wasn’t expecting that. Wilbur just gave in, like he was fine with Tommy making his own demands.
“I don’t want you to pity me. Because- because I survived on my own and everything. I’m not some little kid.”
“Okay,” Wilbur repeated, not hesitating this time, “Though you are a child.”
“No- I am a Big Man .”
“Little baby man-” Wilbur teased
“I'm a whole thirteen!”
“Itty bitty-”
Wilbur was a bitch .
-= =-
Wilbur set Tommy up in the guest bedroom. It was bigger than the Phantom’s and even held a king-sized bed, while Wilbur slept on a twin. Tommy was left confused, he knew it wasn’t just a Dream thing to want the biggest room in your house. So why was Wilbur sleeping in the single bedroom?
“Shouldn’t this be your bedroom?” he found himself asking, not thinking of the question too much.
But something flashed over Wilbur's face, sadness- maybe even anger, before he schooled his expression and forced a smile for Tommy.
“Eh, I like the smaller room, it makes it easier to know where everything is.”
When Wilbur left Tommy there to get dinner ready, Tommy did what was natural to him living on the streets. He snooped.
There was a closet to the right of the bed, and inside of it was- women's clothing? Only a few tops, a dress, and some heels, but it was clear to Tommy that someone else had stayed in this room.
As he looked through more things, he found a picture at the very top of the shelf.
It was a picture of Wilbur, maybe two or three years ago, kissing a woman's hand. She had bright red hair, falling in waves a couple inches past her shoulders, and gills adorned her neck. She was in a red sundress and her smile was blinding.
Just as Tommy put the picture back, he heard Wilbur calling him for dinner.
-= =-
Living with Wilbur was weird .
He didn’t have a lot of rules, and even the ones he did have Tommy wouldn’t get punished for if he broke them.
Tommy was never allowed to openly shift with Dream, and he passed the same rule over to Wilbur. Because if he shifted, if he showed Wilbur who he really was, his stay here would be shortened. He knew Wilbur wasn’t as- as cruel as Dream, but he wasn’t willing to test where the kindness ended.
Tommy found himself having the same problem he did before he introduced himself as Tommy. He couldn't fucking sleep. And some fucking how, Wilbur knew.
“Tommy, just tell me what’s up and I’ll leave you alone… probably.” He was saying, as Tommy took a cup of water over to the couch.
“I told you, I’m fine .” Tommy snipped out, he was too fucking tired to deal with Wilbur nagging at him, and too tired to cover his annoyance.
“You’re not fine, you aren’t sleeping.”
“And how the fuck do you know that, bitch? You stalkin’ me or something? Fucking wrong’un.” Tommy tried to lighten the tense mood he had created, but it failed when Wilbur stood in front of the TV with a knowing look.
“It’s a phantom thing.” He said simply, “Now tell me what’s wrong.”
“No.”
“Tommy-”
“No, Wilbur! You don’t get to just- expect me to tell you my whole fuck ass life story because you’re letting me stay here! I’m not going to spill my deepest darkest fears on you just because you want me to! Yeah, I said you could help me, but some fucking things I need to figure out mys-”
Tommy was cut off when he turned to fully face Wilbur, and saw the completely shocked expression on the other's face.
He had fucked up. He hadn’t got enough sleep, it was his own fault, and now he had just yelled at Wilbur. The kindest person he’d known, his savior . This was where Wilbur’s kindness ended, Tommy knew. This was why he was insufferable, because he was loud and abrupt and selfish -
There were hands on his arms, tugging his nails from his skin, before moving to enclose him into a hug. Through the rushing of his thoughts in his head Tommy heard soft reassurances coming from the person's mouth.
“I’m here, sunshine. It’s okay, breathe with me.” It was Wilbur.
And Tommy tried, He tried to earn that nickname, to earn the hug. He found that he didn’t need to, though, because every time a breath came out too quick or stuttered, the arms only held him tighter.
He was tugged to the couch, and he clung harder to Wilbur while the phantom-hybrid sat with his legs up on the couch and Tommy lying on top of him. Tommy tucked his head under Wilbur’s chin, trying to slow his breathing while listening to the other exaggerate his own.
As the ringing in Tommy’s ears subsided, and he got a few breaths in without them stuttering again, he acknowledged the feeling of Wilbur running a hand through his hair, scratching lightly at the nape of his neck.
“Wilb’r?” He asked, slightly exhausted by the panic that had just left his body.
“Hey, Toms,” Wilbur spoke gently, “You with me?” Tommy nodded into the elder's chest.
They sat there for a few more minutes before Wilbur broke the silence.
“What just happened?” He whispered, there was no weight behind the question.
Wilbur waited for Tommy to say something, and though the silence was deafening for him, Tommy could hear the other's heartbeat underneath his ear.
“I’m scared.” he finally answered, and Wilbur hummed a question as he waited a few more seconds. “I’m scared to shift.”
“Why, love?”
“Because then you’ll see how much of a monster I am.” He admitted, and Wilbur's breath hitched.
“I will never, ever , think you are a monster, Sunshine,” he assured with a firm voice.
“There’s-” Tommy considered if he wanted to say this, if he wanted to spoil his time here. Wilbur deserved the truth. “There’s this little tug in the back of my brain, begging me to shift. And I try to ignore it- I try to be human, but then it messes with me in other ways.”
“Like stopping you from sleeping?” Wilbur asked, Tommy nodded. “Love, you aren’t human, that’s what makes you so beautiful.”
“What?”
“You shouldn’t try to be human, because you're not. You have special gifts, gifts that give you abilities no one could imagine having, and those don’t make you a monster ,” he spat the word out, like he was disgusted by the taste it left on his tongue, “They make you Tommy . My Toms, my Sunshine.”
Tommy felt silent tears roll down his cheeks, wetting Wilbur’s t-shirt, but neither seemed to care.
“That tug?” Wilbur continued after a minute of silence, Tommy hummed for him to continue, “It sounds a lot like my instincts. Y’know how I knew you weren’t sleeping? There was a tug in the back of my brain, telling me someone was sleepless.”
“So?”
“ So , it’s extremely harmful to suppress those, Toms. I want you to shift, I want you to be yourself , and ‘yourself’ is not a monster.”
“How?” Tommy croaked. “I’ve- I’ve never been myself.”
“Yes, you have.” The phantom left no room for argument. “You’re fiery, you bite back. You don’t like the quiet, you love the color red,” Wilbur placed a hand on Tommy’s head, “That is all you .”
There was silence for a moment, then, “...I’ve never been those things before,” Tommy admitted, “I’ve always been what he wanted me to be.”
“What did he want you to be?” Wilbur whispered quietly. Tommy liked that there was no expectation hidden in the question, no need for an answer.
He did anyway, “Obidient,” he spat, “Quiet, human , normal.”
“That sounds boring.” Wilbur scowled, and Tommy gave a huff of a laugh at that.
“His name is Dream,” He whispered, afraid saying it any louder would summon him, "I don't ever want to see him again.”
“He’ll never touch you again, Sunshine.” Wilbur promised with no hesitation. “And I will never, ever expect you to be those things. I promise I will never punish you. You are your own person.”
“My own person.” Tommy parroted, and a hand brushed through his hair like a confirmation.
-= =-
“Hey Wilbur?”
The man hummed. Tommy’s head was placed in his lap as the other was listening to a new song his favorite band put out. After the whole panic attack/mental breakdown incident, the two had come closer. Tommy was more open to being clingy around the other, smacking him whenever he teased Tommy for it.
“In my room,” That was another thing, Wilbur insisted it was his room, not just one he was staying in, “There was a picture in the closet, of you and a woman with red hair?”
Wilbur stiffened at that. His fingers, once tapping along to the beat of the song on the arm of the couch, stilled and Tommy felt his own shoulders tense wondering if he screwed up.
The phantom-hybrid calmed himself quickly, though, and all that was left was sadness and longing as he looked down at Tommy.
“Sally,” He said softly, running a hand through the younger’s hair who pushed into the touch. “She was my girlfriend, a few years ago. She-” Wilbur looked off, gathering himself to continue speaking.
“She died, no one could tell me why.” He paused again, and Tommy could see the glassy look in his pale eyes.
Trying not to think too much about it, Tommy sat up. Wilbur looked in his direction at the sudden movement, and Tommy felt his magic swallow his body whole, changing his anatomy from a human to dog.
The now GoldenDoodle crawled into Wilbur's lap, laying his entire upper half across his legs, and a sad smile reached the man's lips as a single tear escaped his eye.
“I bought her a ring and everything,” A sad grin stretched across his face, “She was perfect, in every way she could be. A merling hybrid, just as stubborn as the sea.”
Wilbur spoke of her like he spoke of Tommy. Fond and loved, perfect .
Tommy nudged his nose into Wilbur’s stomach. He was never good at sentimental words, never good at the whole empathy thing, but Wilbur got a dog for a reason, and Tommy wasn’t going to give up that job now that he was more (he ignored how that was the first time he thought of himself as more ).
Wilbur scratched at his ears, letting silence settle the room, the song had ended a minute ago.
“She was a lot like you, I think.” He said, staring off again, “Stubborn to a fault, Bright. But she was more like fire, you’re more like sunshine.”
They sat there for a majority of the afternoon, Tommy enjoying being scratched while comforting Wilbur, and Wilbur happy to see Tommy shifting in front of him openly, along with asking questions.
-= =-
“Wilburrrrr,”
“Yes, Tommy?” The brunette drawled from the kitchen table, he had one earphone in and was listening to his laptop as he clicked around, trying to email his boss back.
“It’s fuckin’ cold man! Why is it always freezing in here!” Tommy complained, draping himself over a chair across from Wilbur.
“I didn’t even notice.” Wilbur said simply, he wasn’t really paying attention and Tommy groaned at the lack of interest. “Fine! Fine! Gremlin child. Go get a sweatshirt from my room, I’ve got a few in the closet.”
“Weird ass motherfu-” Tommy began to grumble as he walked up the stairs.
“It’s a Phantom thing, Tommy!” Wilbur shouted after him.
“ It’S a PhAnToM tHinG , mi mi mi-”
Tommy stepped into Wilbur's room and immediately shivered more . How the fuck was it so much colder in this room? He opened the closet to Wilbur’s absurd amount of clothes, and plucked a sweater out of the bunch (If he took two, and stored them in his room, no one would notice).
He walked down the stairs quietly, trying not to disturb Wilbur as he answered his boss's email with the text-to-speech option, and sat down on the chair he was draped over a minute ago.
“-nd I can get those over to you later this week, comma, there’s only a few more things that need to be adjusted, period.” Then he continued to click on a few things with his mouse.
“Wilburrrrrrr.”
“Yes, Tommy?” Wilbur said with a sigh.
“You have a shit ton of yellow and blue in there, those like your favorite colors or something?” Wait shit- “Wait-”
“Yeah, I mostly like blue though.” Wilbur said casually.
There was a beat of silence as confusion dawned on Tommy, “How did you figure out your favorite color?”
Wilbur raised an eyebrow, “The same way everyone does? I just kind of looked at it and was like ‘yeah’?”
“I don’t want to like- gen-er-a-lize you anything-”
“You are definitely not using that word right.” Wilbur interrupted.
“But can’t you like- not look at a color?”
There was a beat of silence as Wilbur looked at Tommy, and Tommy stared back, worried he had offended the man, before Wilbur burst out laughing .
“Prime and XD above-” He breathed out, holding his stomach as he doubled over with laughter.
“Wh- ha- What!?” Tommy sputtered.
“Tommy-” Wilbur giggled, using his hand to cover his mouth, “I wasn’t always blind! Blind people can have favorite colors!”
“WHAT???” Tommy sobered, standing from his chair, “Wait- I knew blind people could have favorite colors- YOU WEREN’T ALWAYS BLIND???”
“No!” Wilbur laughed, standing from his chair and going into the kitchen to fill his cup of water. “I mean, I’ve been blind for- like- 15 years? But not since I was born.”
“Oh.”
Wilbur snorted, “Yeah, oh .”
Later the night, while the two lazed on the couch watching a show, Tommy snuggled further into Wilbur’s side.
“Wibbles?”
“Yes, Tommy?” Wilbur drawled for the third time this day, a fond smile sat on his lips as he angled his head over to the blonde.
“How-” He started, tensing a bit. Wilbur ran a hand through the shifter's hair, and hummed encouragingly. “How did you lose your vision?” He whispered.
Wilbur didn’t tense or stop the hand running through his hair, he didn’t falter as he answered the question.
“When Phantoms are young,” he stared, dragging Tommy deeper into his side, “Our skin is very sensitive, to the point where going outside while the sun is out is life-threatening. The skin thickens over time, and now the worst I’ll get after an hour in the sun is a light sunburn, but back then it was different.”
Tommy nodded along, letting the warmth of Wilbur’s presence wash over him, “Most of the kids at school understood, most of them didn’t even care. I had a few friends who even stayed inside during recess to play with me. But one kid, Jared , constantly made fun of me.” He pressed a kiss to the crown of Tommy’s head.
“He had a few lackeys, I don’t even know their names now, but they would torment me at school. Calling me names, but that’s all it really was. Until one day, they decided they had to do more.
“Jared came over and asked me, he said, ‘How bad do you want to see the sun?’, and I told him to leave me alone. The teacher told me to be nice, and said that Jared was just trying to make friends. So I went along with it. When I reached the school doors I told Jared I couldn’t go any further, that the sun hurt me.
“He and his lackeys laughed at me, before Jared began tugging at my arm. I wore long sleeves and jeans that day, luckily, but the boys still dragged me into the sun.
“It- It hurt, really bad, like I was being burned alive. The three of them held my face up towards the sun directly, telling me they’d let me go if I just glanced at the sun. So I did.”
They sat in silence for a bit, just listening to each other breathing as the sun set outside.
“I’m sorry.” Tommy said, eventually.
“There's nothing to be sorry for, love,” Wilbur reassured, pressing another kiss to his hairline. “Jared’s rich parents paid for all of my medical bills, and he was forced to do community service work for a few years after that.”
“That’s bullshit,” Tommy mumbled, “Should’a arrested ‘im or som’thin” he slurred, his eyes drooping closed.
Wilbur chucked, pulling the blonde against his chest and humming softly.
“I’m proud of you for asking, love. I’ll never be mad at you for being curious.”
Tommy was out before he could respond.
-= =-
“No- Wilbur I’m coming down sometime this week. Either you choose a day or I show up at random.” Wilbur’s father spoke into the phone, the brunette could hear the fond tone he was speaking in and rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, Whatever. Just come down tomorrow, I don’t have work.” He said, leaning back on the couch. He could hear Tommy messing around with something upstairs.
“Tomorrow sounds great, mate.” He said, and Wilbur heard a bag crinkling on the other side of the phone. “Oh! Wil! I was cleaning out the cabinets the other day and found a bag of dog treats from when I dog-sat Bad’s dog a few months ago. I was gonna bring them down so Theseus could have them. We could invite Techno, too, make a family dinner out of it.”
Wilbur froze- fuck. He forgot to tell Phil that Theseus was actually Tommy.
He was not excited for Techno’s rant about how he ‘knew you wouldn’t remember, Wil.’
“Wil?” Phil spoke over the phone.
“Sorry- yeah. That sounds good.” He was so fucked.
Wilbur told Tommy not to answer the door.
Tommy was going to do it anyway, because Wilbur was taking too fucking long.
But when the shifter opened the door, the first thing his eyes caught on was blonde hair. After a slight moment of panic, he realized it was just Phil.
“Uh, hey mate?” He said, looking at Tommy with an eyebrow raised.
“Hi!” Tommy chirped, opening the door further and walking back into the house, where Wilbur could be heard upstairs cursing as he rushed out of the bathroom.
“Dad!” He exclaimed, running down the stairs and barrelling into a hug with his father.
“Hiya mate,” Phil replied fondly, patting his back a few times before releasing the hug.
“Tommy. I told you not to open the door-” Wilbur started.
“You were taking too fuckin’ long!” Tommy threw his hands into the air, falling back onto the couch from where he was perched on the arm of it.
“I wasn’t- It was like 10 seconds!”
“10 seconds too fucking long, bitch!” He said, sitting up.
“Why must you go against everything I say?” Wilbur ran a hand down his face with a sigh.
“Uh-” Phil uttered.
“ You encouraged this Wibbles!”
“No, I-”
“ Mi mi mi- I’m Wilbur! I want you to feel comfortable- ”
“Wilbur?” Phil tried to interrupt.
“I don’t sound like that, child.”
“I am A BIG MAN-”
“Itty bitty-”
Phil cleared his throat loudly then, Wilbur and Tommy suddenly falling silent.
“Wilbur, who’s this?” he asked simply, shooting a smile towards Tommy.
Wilbur froze where he stood, and Tommy took on a look of confusion.
“What?” The blonde said, standing up.
“Let’s go to the kitchen-” Wilbur tried, but Tommy walked towards him.
“No no no, you don’t get to just not address this.” He said, grabbing Wilbur’s arm, “You didn’t fucking tell him?”
“Tell me what?” Phil said, and Tommy would’ve laughed at the confusion set on his face.
“Oh my prime!” Tommy exclaimed, laughing, “You didn’t fucking tell him!”
“Tommy-” Wilbur tried again.
“No- No. Answer him Wil, Who am I?” Tommy took on a teasing tone, this whole situation being hilarious . He just knew when Techno got here early he would start bragging about Wilbur forgetting.
Wilbur mumbled something, and Tommy held back a laugh behind his hand.
“What was that?” Phil said, genuinely confused.
Wilbur cleared his throat and stood straighter, forever a theatre kid, “This, father, is Tommy.”
“And?” Tommy prodded.
“ And , he was also Theseus.”
Silence, for a few seconds, as Phil looked from Tommy to Wilbur in extreme confusion.
“ What .” is all he said, before both Wilbur and Tommy burst out laughing.
“ Wilbur . I told you t’ do that when I left!” Techno was saying, stirring a pot of potatoes on the stove.
“I- I was so caught up with everything-” Wilbur tried to defend.
“It’s that brain of yours,” Tommy said, sitting on the table and kicking his feet loosely as he watched the three work in the kitchen. “Were you dropped on the head as a baby or some shit?”
“Wha- No!”
“Actually-” Phil said, grabbing something from the fridge. Tommy burst out laughing at his objection. “I can’t remember which one of you it was but one time, one of you just dived off the couch.”
“It was definitely Wilbur. I would never .” Techno bragged.
“Oh mate- you definitely would . You were convinced you were immortal.” The avian was now pouring some sort of sauce into the pot Techno was stirring.
“Oh yeah! Technoblade never dies .” Wilbur mocked.
“ The Blade .” Tommy mused, getting up from the table.
“The Blade.” Wilbur agreed.
Tommy walked over to Techno and Phil, standing beside the former and grabbing the spoon to taste some of the soup. As he reached for the spoon, though, he saw Phil’s eyes snap to his arm.
His arm, which had his burn scar marred over most of it. Luckily, the man didn’t seem to have a staring problem, because he looked away quickly and continued cutting some carrots on the counter.
The soup was delicious , and Tommy made it known; “Holy shit! This is fuckin’ good - Wil, you gotta try this!” He rushed over to the man, grabbing onto his arm and dragging him to the soup.
“Okay! Okay! Gremlin child.” The brunette said, ruffling Tommy’s hair before grabbing the spoon Tommy placed in his hand. He felt along the edge of the pot, dipping the spoon in and picking it back up to his mouth.
“Techno and Phil’s potato soup always tastes this good,” he said, smiling at Tommy and backing up as Phil moved over to place the carrots in.
“Really!?” Tommy said, turning to Techno who just nodded with a small smirk set on his lips. “It’s been so fucking long since I’ve had soup in general!” He turned on Wilbur, “Bitch- You gate-kept this from me!”
“No, I didn’t. Those two won’t let me touch the stove top at all.” He said, raising his hand. There was a burn scar tracing from between his middle and index finger, down to his wrist.
“That is not the only reason he’s banned from cookin’.” Techno drawled, stirring the soup more. Phil snorted next to him.
“How many times did he set the fire alarm off?” The avian asked.
“It wasn’t even that often!” Wilbur tried to defend.
“It was at least ten,” Techno continued, ignoring the brunette entirely.
“So that’s why you only make cold foods.” Tommy related.
“Trust me, kid, that’s a good thing. The few times he was able t’ make somethin’ it was either burnt or raw.”
“You’re just over-exaggerating now.” Wilbur grumbled.
“No no, Wibbles, The Blade would never over-ex-agg-er-ate.”
“Tommy, what does overexaggerate mean?”
“Uh-”
“Don’t answer that, Tommy, not without a lawyer present.” Techno objected.
“I plead the fifth!” the blonde exclaimed, beaming up at Techno who smirked back.
“Alright- alright, Dinner’s done. Stop picking on Wilbur,” Phil ordered, muttering “You little shits.” as he placed the pot down on the table.
As the family ate, Tommy by their side, he felt warm. There was nothing to be earned. Things were given without anything in exchange.
Tommy felt safe .
Author speaking here: This is my Dog, Lucy. To be completely honest, she help with inspiration for this fic and I want to share her with yall! She's a very smart dog who gets jealous and anxious at all times, and I love her with all my heart. (I do have another dog, but she always gets the spotlight. It's Lucy's turn.)
