All He Knew Was That He Had To Run

by orphan_account

Summary:

Dream escapes prison. Tommy has enough of it and he leaves. A few years later, SBI come to find him.

Chapter 1: A Few Years Ago

All he knew was that he had to run.

Tommy had been running almost since he’d learned to breathe. But now, especially, he needed to go. He had to pack his bags and leave. Leave the small, beautiful world he had created for himself, and go. He refused to be stuck with Dream again. Refused to let that fucking green teletubby get to his head.

As soon as those alarms went off, he started packing.

It was only a few things; he needed to keep himself light. His discs, Shroud, the sweaters he shared with Tubbo and Ranboo, and a thin chain necklace with a bow and arrow charm on it, gifted to him by Wilbur. Of course he had his weapons and armor, and definitely packed some extra food, and clothes. He had everything he could afford to carry, stuffed in his burgundy backpack that Techno had given to him as a gift a while ago. As a last minute thought, he threw an enderchest inside it before forcing the zipper closed.

It was time to leave.

Leave Esempi behind, leave his old life behind. He thought it was fine pretending he was fine, but he couldn’t do that with Dream out and on the loose. Tommy needed to go. The alarms had been blaring for twenty minutes now, twenty minutes too long. Making sure Shroud was cozy, Tommy said a swift goodbye to his home, his world, and ran.

It was exhilarating; running away like this.

Adrenaline pumped through his every vein. He felt like he was flying, as he was sprinting through the trees. He went west from his house, where the bench was looking out on. The space was filled with hills and some newly planted trees, but he knew he would soon find the untouched parts of the world. Places where his old life couldn’t find him.

His steps were rhythmic, his arms pumping forwards. Lungs burning, sweat forming on the back of his neck and forehead. Still, he did not feel tired. He didn’t really feel anything except for the rush of finally, finally running away. The boy had been meaning to do it forever now.

This was the final straw.

Dream getting out was the final straw.

He ran. And ran and ran until the moon was high in the sky. It was only then that he finally collapsed with exhaustion. Sweat was dripping off his pale skin, and his classic red and white t-shirt was soaked. His pants were uncomfortably wet on him too, so he quickly jumped in the nearby river that was just begging to be swam in.

Tommy didn’t really swim. He floated.

This wasn’t exile. The air wasn’t salty, there was no beach. It was just plain forest. He left by choice.

He left by choice.

Tommy had to keep reminding himself of that.

The water was a nice change from the sticky, salty liquid. It was cool and fresh and relaxed his strained muscles. He fully submerged himself for a few seconds, and then resurfaced. His entire body, including his grimy clothes, were wet with fresh water. Fish swam by, and he smiled at the different types, they seemed to trust him.

When he was ready, Tommy pushed his weary limbs one by one out of the river and sat by a tree, drip drying until the water had evaporated enough to change into new clothes. While he waited, he thought out a plan. It wasn’t all that hard to carry out, he’d just follow the river until he either came across a good spot or another village. Then, he would live. Actually live. And not be surrounded by the fear that Dream would find him.

He could finally heal.

It wouldn’t be easy, especially on his own, but he could heal. He knew the nightmares that were already starting to go away, would soon go away completely. The crawling paranoia that someone was watching him, waiting for him to mess up so they could punish him might vanish. That stupid fucking smell of gunpowder would leave him the hell alone. Tommy could heal. On his own. Away from everyone of his past.

And maybe he would be able to finally keep some of his pets too. Oh! And listen to Cat without thinking Dream would appear and take it from him.

Prime, wouldn’t that be nice.

He was mostly dry now, and the old clothes weren’t dripping. He changed them, and instead of a red and white t-shirt, it was now a turquoise sweater with some funky dudes on them, and a new pair of loose gray sweatpants. The sweater was another present from Wilbur.
He missed Wilbur.

Not the man that came back from revival. Or the one from Pogtopia. Wilbur Soot, the leader of L’manburg, the one who used to run experiments on people for fun. The one who was kind to Tommy, who endorsed his pranks and behaviors. Who jokingly asked Dream to go on a date with him to Pizza Hut.

The new Wilbur, the one with the white streak in his hair, the one who came back from revival and swears he’s 42…he’s a dick. He’s bossy and aggressively competitive. He manipulates and hurts. Hurts Tommy, hurts Tubbo. Wants to turn Ranboo into a puppet. The new Will…hurts.

He missed his brother.

Memories of him and Wilbur popped up as he fell into an uncomfortable, nightmare-filled sleep. His mind supplied him with night terrors Tommy had to reluctantly accept. Realistic night terrors that twisted his memories and made him unsure of what was real and what wasn’t.

He always awoke with a gasp. A gasp or a scream. It was uncomfortable, but at least he didn’t have neighbors who could hear them back home. Well, back on Esempi lands. It wasn’t home anymore.

Tommy sat up and stretched out, letting out groans as he did so. Stretching, especially after running however many blocks yesterday, felt so damn good. Clicking his mouth, he stood up and glanced around. When his stomach rumbled, he got out two carrots and an apple and munched on them, as he started to walk along the river bend.

There wasn't much happening. Just birds chirping and squirrels arguing. Tommy kept his eyes open to spot some animals. Maybe a cow or even some deer. He hummed a quiet tune and thought about what his next great novel should be about. Maybe How To Sex 5? That would be great.

It was a few hours later that something popped into his way.

An abandoned orange cat. It was small and ragged (ragged in the way Tommy was during exile. Clothes torn, ribs poking through, hair long and gross), and god damn adorable.

“Hello,” he said in a high pitched voice. The blond slowly got on his knees. The cat hissed quietly, clearly scared of the new development in its life.

“I’m not going to hurt you darlin, I promise.” He held his hand out for its pink nose to smell. With clear distrust in its eyes, it cautiously sniffed his hand. Tommy pulled his hand away slowly and slowly, making sure the cat could see his movement, grabbed some raw chicken he had wrapped up. Slowly, he unwrapped it, cut some of it up, and held it in his hand for the cat to take.

Quick as a flash, it snagged the raw chicken from Tommy and set it down to munch on it, eyes on him the entire time.

“I’m…just gonna hang here, is that okay?”

And so he did. He leaned against a tree, feeding the cat his chicken until it didn’t prance up to the food. Instead, it slowly came up to Tommy, sniffing and watching his every move. While Tommy was excited about this, he didn’t make any sudden moves. He stayed looking up at the clouds as the cat sniffed around his shoes and tickled his ankles with its whiskers.

And then, without any warning at all, it flopped into his lap. It stretched out its limbs and quickly curled up in Tommy’s lap. Tommy quickly checked the gender, and it turned out to be a girl. She had white paws that seemed soaked in mid and a pink nose that was also a bit dirty.

“How ‘bout Socks? That a good name for you?”

She just curled into herself further, and Tommy accepted that as a yes it was good enough for her. However, he was in a bit of a predicament now, Socks was fast asleep on him, and it was only evening. He could’ve covered more ground, but he figured Socks was more important. Besides, he was still tired from the night before.

And so, Tommy found himself falling asleep against the tree with an orange cat in his lap.

~*~
Well, in the morning, it was not only an orange cat, but a black and white one, a siamese one, and a tortoiseshell all sleeping against him. And when Tommy woke up, the four did too. All stretching out and then looking at him expectantly for some food.

Huh, guess he had a clan of cats now.

“Um, good morning everyone. I assume you all want some food?”

They all tilted their heads. “Right, that I can give you.”

He split the chicken up evenly, and all gave them equal parts. He then checked the genders, and found that the siamese was the only one who was a dude. And then, he gave them all names.

“Tortie you’re Patches, tuxedo you’re Clementine, and siamese you’re Bruno. That all good with everyone?”

The cats meow’d differently, as they ate their food. Tommy accepted that as a yes and quickly packed his backpack up again. “Gonna need to get some salmon for you lot, hm? I mean, I know chicken is definitely not the best meal for you guys. Good thing there is a river literally right there. But I’ll do that later. We should get a move on. Anyone want a ride?”

So it ended up with Tommy carrying three of them in his backpack and Socks in his arms. It was a pretty interesting sight.

But they covered a shit ton of ground. And, just as Tommy was about to rest for the night, he spotted a village. He basically ran over to it, even as his feet were killing him and he was kind of starving.

As he arrived, he noticed it was bustling with people still. He asked for directions to the resident inn of the village, and when he arrived, he noticed it was cozy. Tommy asked for a room and paid for two nights with his emeralds Techno gave him. The key was dropped into his hand, and the blond made his way to the room.

It was warm. The room was small but warm. They really knew how to make it a home away from home. There was a bed in the back corner, a bookcase filled with books, a brown nightstand, and even a window. He walked over to open it, and was met with the nice, cool breeze. He let the cats out, and set Shroud (in his small aquarium thing) on the nightstand. The spider was interested in the new place, as were the cats. They sniffed around and decided to all sleep on the red bed.

“I’m gonna go grab some salmon for you guys, stay here please. I think I’d have a panic attack if one of you went missing.”

Why was he already so attached to these cats he’s known for not even a day?

Socks meowed in return, and flopped her head down on Patches back. “Alright.”

He grabbed his emeralds, and left to wander the village. It was kind of small, despite the amount of people. The boy found the fish stall fairly quickly and bought ten, figuring he would take some on the road. Besides, they were pretty cheap too.
He wandered around a bit, finding the cartographer and snagging a map from him. He grabbed a few books from the bookstore, and went to get himself some food as well. On his way back, he spotted a music store. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to go and look at it?

The place was filled with instruments all over. Guitars, violens, even fucking clairents! Instantly, he gravitated towards the guitars, seeing a really pretty dark one he would love to get. He checked the price, and hey, it wasn’t that much. Besides, he could get a case and carry it on his back. But… then he saw a violin.

It looked kind of like the one he saw Techno play when Tommy was living with him.

Sure, maybe he didn’t know how the hell to even play it. But, it wasn’t like he couldn’t try. Likewise, it wasn’t too much.

So, maybe he got two instruments (and books of music to help him learn them) for absolutely no reason other than the fact that they reminded him of his brothers. Maybe he did, so what?

He was on the way back to the inn, excited from getting his instruments and supplies, now. It was kind of a handful, but nothing he couldn’t handle. Yes he almost dropped the violin, but it didn’t break so that’s all that matters. Tommy made his way up the stairs and to his room. He placed the violin and map down, and dug the key out of his pocket to unlock the door. When he did so, he picked up the things and entered.

Tommy was shocked to see that all four cats were still asleep on the red bed.

They woke up the sound of him walking through, but then all but Patches fell back asleep, who clearly smelled the salmon on him. He sat the violin and guitar down, placed the map and books on the nightstand, and then started to cut up four even pieces of fish on the floor. Patches kept trying to snag hers early, but Tommy gently blocked her every time she did. The cat probably saw this as a bit of a game, as her tail was swaying in a rhythm, playfully.

Tommy smiled. “Alright guys, dinner time.”

The cats were awake and standing by him as soon as he finished, and the blond slid the small plates over to them. As they munched, Tommy sat back on his knees and sighed. The sun was just over the horizon as Tommy figured he should pick up the guitar and learn on it.

It was well into the night when Tommy stopped playing.

The cats were fast asleep on the bed, yet again. Tommy’s fingers hurt from keeping them down on the strings for so long, and his brain hurt from staying up so late. He set the instrument down, changed into some new clothes, and promptly fell asleep.

~*~

Tommy didn’t really intend on staying in that village for a week. But he did. He couldn't help it. Maybe it was the friendliness of the villagers, or maybe it was the first time in a long time he had felt safe, but he knew he couldn’t leave. And, anyways, it was a good distance from his past.

So, he decided to let himself stay here.

He asked the mayor if he could build himself a house, and when that got approved he started working right away. It’d been a while since he had built an actual house and not just a hole in a hill. Maybe it was a little funky looking, but it adds character! Tommy absolutely adored his little home. It was perfect, oak wood and cobble. His favorite building materials ever.

Tommy and his cats settled down for a bit. They stayed in most nights, just hanging around as the blond practiced either instruments or read some books. He found himself having fewer nightmares with his cats sleeping next to him. Instead of night terrors that messed with his memory, he simply didn’t have any dreams.

It was peaceful.

The kind of peace Tommy could live with forever.

~*~

Tommy met Kristin two weeks after building his permanent residence.

She turned out to be the owner of the music shop. A nice woman, with black hair and who usually wore really fancy dresses. Tommy learned a bunch about her in the span of a few hours. She could play every instrument in that shop, minus the drums. She was living the single life happily. She sewed with some friends around town, and said next week she would start working on a cloak for Tommy, who refused as soon as she said it would be free of charge. (She said she wasn’t going to make it, but Tommy had a sneaking suspicion Kristin would still make it.)

Tommy learned that Kristin seemed to be the definition of kindness.

It kind of became a routine for him to come in with the violin and get some help from her, as he seemed to struggle on his own. She taught him a few songs on the guitar. (One sounded vaguely familiar and when he asked where she heard it, she said just somewhere she’d rather not remember). Kristin even let him on the drums sometimes.

And when Tommy would be shitty on himself for messing up a single note, she would always grab his hand and reassure him it was fine.

It was one of those days where he couldn’t, in his own eyes, get anything right. He let out some tears, and dug his fingernails into his palms. Kristin saw this and softly grabbed his hands.

“Tommy, it’s okay. You’re okay. I’m not disappointed, I’m not annoyed. In fact, I’m proud of you for making it so far today. I’m so, so proud.”

Hearing those words, Tommy let out even more tears. “Thank you, Kristin. So much.” He mumbled out. His voice was wet with emotion, and he let out a sob.

“Oh Tommy…” Kristin stood up and so did Tommy. Then she brought him into a hug, and despite the height difference, it was so comforting. He sobbed into her shoulder, and relaxed into Kristin. She whispered comforting words and rubbed his back like what a mother would do.

He felt weak doing this. But he also felt so…free.

He realized then he was actually free. That this wasn’t all some messed up dream. That this was real and he was here, letting everything out into kind of a stranger’s shoulder. No more Techno or Phil. No more Wilbur or Dream. Just Tommy.

Just Tommy.

Chapter 2: A Few Years Later

A few years passed. Tommy had heard of what was going on in Esempi lands. Las Nevadas had finally opened its big casino. Apparently Dream had gone missing, and Wilbur was in Pandora’s Box for some reason. Snowchester had finally made its way onto the maps, and Tubbo seemed to be thriving from what Twitter (the newspaper) had seen. Kinoko Kingdom was apparently left alone by Quackity, so it was thriving. It seemed everything was better without Tommy.

And instead of being insecure about it, Tommy was accepting of it.

He had known for a while he was the main cause of problems in his past, it's why he was sent to exile, “to be taught a lesson” or something. But it was fine. It was fine because he had Kristin and Lizzie and Mumbo and even Grian, despite him being against the swearing thing.

Tommy was 22 and thriving.

He hadn’t had a single nightmare since he was 19. His panic attacks were few and far between, and he could actually tell what was real and what wasn’t. Not to mention his body had changed. Instead of being the scrawny 16 year old, he was built. But not huge, just strong and lean. Mumbo had helped him build a parkour course and he used it every day, unless his limit was reached.

The blond helped around town for money, quickly becoming Hermit’s favorite teenager. He even was able to play a few gigs on a few different instruments for the town. Kristin had become his mother figure, basically. Lizzie and Joel were the chaotic aunt and uncle. Mumbo really was his father figure, often spending time with him in the gadget store to either bother him or just keep him company.

TommyInnit really was thriving.

So were his cats.

He estimated his cats were about five, since they all seemed to be nearly kittens when he first got them. They were spoiled as hell, that’s for sure. Bruno seemed to have grown a bit of a belly, Clem was obsessed with the toys Tommy sewed for them, Patches and Socks were simply the sunggilest of them all, practically jumping on Tommy every time he came home from a day out.

He was living the peaceful life he always had craved when Wilbur and him built L’manburg.

The blond was out right now, hanging out with Kristin when something completely unexpected happened.

Wilbur stepped into the store.

Yes, that’s right. Wilbur Soot.

His older brother, who was probably around 29 now, the one who was supposed to be in the most secure prison ever, walked into Kristin’s music store. He held himself differently, slouching to make himself shorter. The white streak in his hair was ever prominent, but it was shorter now. His brunette hair was shorter, and he wore round glasses, with a yellow sweater similar to Ghostbur’s. He also had a dark red beanie on.

The woman must’ve seen his demeanor change and she looked to where he was looking now. Her eyes widened at the sight of the brunette.

“Go into the back. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.” She muttered, not looking at Tommy, keeping her eyes on the older.

Numbly, Tommy nodded, and made his way into the back. He leaned himself against the wall closest to Kristin and attempted to listen in.

“Hello, how may I help you?” She asked in her customer service voice.

“Um, well, I kind of just wanted to look around. I don’t really have any money, but music has always been like a thing of mine, so I-I hope you don’t mind?” He sounded nervous. Why did Wilbur, the strong one, the one who’s never faltered, sound nervous.

“Oh yeah! Go ahead and look around, you can even play some stuff. Just don’t break anything.”

“Awesome.” Tommy could hear the genuine smile in his brother’s voice. “Also, there wouldn’t happen to be a blond teenage boy wandering around town would there? He’s my brother I lost a few years ago. I caught wind of him being around here.”

How would Wilbur know that he was around here? Shit, was Dream back? Has Dream been watching him?!

“He had gray-blue eyes, right?”

What the fuck was Kristin doing?

“Yeah, actually.”

“He passed by like five years ago. Scrawny one, hope he’s okay.”

Oh thank you Prime.

“Oh, okay. Just-um-thank you. If you see him again, tell him his brother misses him. A lot. And…and it’s been difficult without his sunshine around.”

Oh Prime he hasn’t heard that in forever.

“Will do!”

He heard the bell chime, signaling Wilbur left. Tommy waited a few moments before stepping back into the store. Kristin whipped around to him and practically ran to give him a hug. He numbly returned it, not really sure what to think.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m…not really sure what to think.” He replied honestly.

“That’s okay.” She rubbed his back as they sat in silence for a moment. “Do you wanna keep going with the violin or are you gonna head home?”

“I think I’ll head home. Thanks Kristin, for, you know, being you.” He replied, gathering his stuff.

“No problem Tommy. I’m a message away if you need.”

“As am I. Any big men make trouble for you, an even bigger man is right here. See ya later!”

His walk home was filled with looking over his shoulder, making sure Wilbur or hell even Dream weren’t following him. He glanced into Mumbo’s shop, making sure the old man was okay. Then into Grian’s material shop, also making sure he was okay. He stopped by Lizzie and Joel’s to say hi, and then he finally went home.

The blond was relieved to find that the four cats were still there. Clem was playing with Patches, while Bruno and Socks were grooming each other. He smiled at their antics, and went to prepare himself dinner, as well as the cats. Going through the usual routine of putting the steak in the furnace and cutting up the salmon, Tommy felt himself relax.

Just because Wilbur was in town, did not mean that Dream was anywhere nearby.

He repeated that over and over in his head. He was fine.

Did Wilbur actually miss him?
He missed the supposed sunshine Tommy gave off. Tommy guessed Wilbur missed his old self. Which, to be fair, makes sense. When he was 15 and younger, he really did just radiate sunshine. And, well, trouble. Tommy and Tubbo were constantly making trouble together in Esempi, just before it became big. Dream didn’t actually mind then, he even played into some with the two teens.

But when Esempi became bigger, Dream became stricter.

Which, fair enough. If someone wants their country to be taken seriously, then they’d have to take it seriously.

A ping on his communicator knocked him out of thought. It was Kristin.

A piglin hybrid with pink hair just came in looking for you. Was that Techno?

Techno was here too?!

Um, yeah. And the guy with blond hair, black torn(?) wings and blue eyes is Phil, if he ever stops in

Was his old family here, looking for him, for a reason?

Noted.

Did they miss him? Or did they owe Dream a favor? It was probably a favor, Tommy reasoned. Why else would they want him back? They broke him again and again, they were still getting into trouble. Hell, Wilbur escaped from Pandora’s box, probably with the help of Techno and Phil. There was no way they wanted him back so they could apologize. Or have him back in their family. They made it completely clear it was better without him.

Clem rubbed her face against his. “Aw, did you see me thinking too hard again, girl?” He questioned, scratching her lower back.

“You’re such a pretty kitty. Yes you are.” He mumbled. And when Patches got jealous and jumped up he laughed. “Okay Ms Egotistical. You’re both beautiful, how’s that?”

~*~

The second time Tommy ran into another old family member, was when he was in Mumbo’s shop. He was simply messing around with a broken compass, when he heard the bell chime. He spotted the pink hair, and swiftly made his way into the back, leaving Mumbo confused. Techno asked the same thing Wilbur did, and Mumbo must’ve connected the dots because he gave the exact same lie Kristin did. And then Techno left, and Tommy waited a few more moments before stepping out.

“So that was the infamous brother, huh?”

“Yeah. He was the one who blew up L’manburg both times.”

“Ah. Quite the charmer he was.”

And they left it at that. Tommy went back to messing with the broken compass, and Mumbo went back to fixing some sort of gadget. The two mumbled conversations, and just hung around in each other’s presence for a few more hours. Until Tommy decided to go visit Grian and bother the man because it was funny.

So he hung around Grian’s for a bit, and when it seemed the man was clearly not in the mood for Tommy’s shit, the blond left to go home and practice the violin. He did after all have a gig at Alyssa’s pub later, and he was not in the mood to get a lecture from her.

~*~

A few hours later, the young adult had made his way to Alyssa’s and was currently setting up. Seemed to be pretty packed tonight, but Tommy didn’t really care. He usually tried not to look at the crowd so as to not psych himself out. When he was done, he glanced to Kristin and gave her a smile, which she returned. Then the lights dimmed a bit more, and he was on stage.

“Ha ha, hey everyone. It’s me, everyone’s favorite, prime, I don’t even know what to call myself anymore. Anyways, it’s everyone’s favorite violin-guitar-drums-trumpet player!” He paused as the audience respectfully clapped. “Anyways, I’m gonna be playing the violin’s part of Cafe 1930, because as much as I love it on guitar, it’s absolutely beautiful on violin.” The audience once again clapped.

He closed his eyes, and started playing, imagining the notes in his mind. Along with the notes, he thought of kingdoms. Kingdoms going to war and the king losing someone close to him. The piece was done before he got to finish his story, and the roar of applause hit him like a truck. Tommy grinned.

“Thank you. As always, I’m Tommy. Shout out to Kristin for being there for me literally every time I needed help. Yeah, go get some instruments from her!” He said, grinning. He left the stage and stretched out his fingers.

Just as he was about to head over to Kristin, brown eyes caught blue. Brown eyes that looked shocked, hurt even stared into his scared blue ones. Tommy gulped, and as Wilbur started making his way over, Tommy ran to the back exit, snagging his cloak on the way. The familiar feeling of adrenaline rushed around his body, and as he burst out into the night, he didn’t even register it was raining as goosebumps popped up into his skin.

All he knew was that he had to run.

Running. He was always running.

Holy shit, will he ever stop.

Can his past stop catching up to him.

Tommy didn’t register the tears flowing down his cheeks along with the rain. His violin was getting damaged, but he would worry about that later. The red cloak Kristin refused to take pay for was keeping him from getting completely soaked, but it wouldn’t work if he had to stay away again.

Prime, he didn’t want to leave. He really didn’t want to fucking leave.

Tommy wove himself around the streets of Hermit. He didn’t really bother to look back, he could hear the footsteps trying to keep up with him. The uncomfortable choke of him holding back sobs was taking hold of his throat and suddenly he was struggling to breathe. And then he tripped over a damn rock and crashed to the ground.

His instincts told him to get up and run.

But he couldn’t exactly listen to them right now. All he heard was his heart beat and the footsteps approaching him. The blond curled into a ball, sobbing into his knees. He registered the sound of someone sitting down next to him, and just cried harder.

“Hey sunshine.”
Here Wilbur and Tommy were. Two supposed brothers, sitting next to one another, in the pouring rain. The pattering of rain was loud, but nothing was as loud as the blond’s sobs.

“Please don’t take me back. Please don’t give me back to Dream. I…can’t go back.” He cried, collapsing onto Wilbur. He cried into Wilbur’s shoulder, as the brunette rubbed circles into his back.

“Oh sunshine…I-I swear we weren’t…he just told us where to go. We don’t even think he knows exactly where you are. His admin power let us find you.”

“Then why are you here, Will? You hate me. You all do. Techno and Phil destroyed our home. You-you used me and Tubbo. I can’t go back with you, I can’t.”

Will sighed. “Just-why don’t you come back to the inn with me. We can talk then. It’s raining, and your violin is getting ruined.”

The entire time the instrument had been under Tommy’s cloak, attempting to stay dry. He didn’t really want to get a new one, it was his first and his favorite. “Promise to not kidnap me? I have people at home I have to attend to.” He mumbled, attempting to be light-hearted.

It succeeded because Wilbur let out a snort, “Promise.”

~*~

And then Tommy found himself sitting in the inn’s main lobby with his old family. Techno hasn’t really changed, the gold earrings ever present. His hair was longer now, like how it was right before he dueled Dream. He had that damn braid in, Tommy has long forgotten to put in his hair every day. He looks the exact same.

Phil did as well. Well, maybe that’s because he’s immortal and Tommy hasn’t really seen his old father figure change anything drastic. He has a small brain in his short blond hair. His wings seemed to have repaired themselves as well, someone must’ve figured out how to fix them from November 16th.

Wilbur had a small braid in his hair as well. He was wearing a blue sweater and his round glasses.

It was interesting and, well, awkward sitting with them.

“So, uh, hey guys.” Tommy was holding himself strong, his posture had changed since he started playing instruments, he knew this because Kristin constantly reprimanded him if he didn’t sit straight up. Just became sort of a habit, he guessed. He knew his hair was longer now, not really to his shoulders, but curlier at the top and that damn white streak was still there.

“Hullo.” Techno replied, mild shock evident in his red eyes.

“Hi mate.” Phil had his head tilted, like he was calculating something.

“Hi Tommy.” Wilbur seemed tired.

“So, uh, what did you want to talk about?” Tommy tried to seem nonchalant, it was difficult. He knew Wilbur saw right through his lies since he was just crying on his shoulder in the rain not even thirty minutes ago.

“Let’s get straight to the point, yeah?” Phil said, “You left us, Tommy. We figured it was something to do with Dream getting out. So, we gave you a few years, and then we decided to find you.”

“Bullshit. I did not leave you. You all left me. Phil, you left me when you decided to blow up my and many others' homes. Techno left me when he pulled the withers out. And Wilbur left me when we got exiled. We haven’t been a family in years.” Tommy replied sharply. He noticed that the Inn’s owner was keeping a close eye on him. Tommy was grateful for that.

“Again with the damn L’manburg shit. Get over it, Tommy. It was just a place.” Techno muttered.

Tommy rolled his eyes. “I’ve been over it for years now. L’manburg was a great place with great memories. But I’m over it. Decided there were more places to make memories.” He paused, trying to figure out his next words. “I brought it up to make you all realize we are not family anymore. You never cared about me. You used me and made sure I stayed weak. I’m done trying to be a family with you guys. I have a family here.”

There was a pause.

“Wilbur, aren’t you supposed to be in Pandora’s Box?”

Tommy saw the brunette flinch. “Um, yeah. My sentence was 20 years, but they figured it was too long. So they, um, broke me out.”

“That place was supposed to be inescapable. How?”

“The same way we broke Dream out, underneath.” Techno replied.

Tommy nodded, and then actually heard what Techno said. “I’m sorry, you guys were the reason he got out?” Venom seeped into the blond’s voice.

Phil cringed. “Damn it Techno.”

“What? Might as well put it all out in the open. He was going to find out already. I’m just surprised he didn’t know from Twitter. ”

Tommy sighed and looked down. His brain was filled with confusing thoughts he hasn’t had since exile. “What do you even want from me?”

“We want you home.” Wilbur replied, placing a hand on Tommy’s. The blond looked up into the brunette’s caring eyes. The ones that reminded him of L’manburg Wilbur. Tommy’s demeanor shifted a small bit.

“That is not happening.”

Techno gave Phil a look, and Wilbur seemed to sadden a little bit. “Why not?”

“This life is simply better.”

“You’re being selfish Tommy, come home with us. We’ll protect you; we promise.” Phil said.

Tommy let out an exasperated noise and glanced towards the Innkeeper, who was watching with their eyebrow raised. “That’s why I refuse to go back. You call me selfish when I have been nothing but selfless towards the entire place. I fix up the creeper holes, build a hotel Jack Manifold took over, I’m there for people because others haven’t been there for me. I gave up my life just to make yours better. I’m tired of being selfless. It gets draining. I’ve been letting myself stay here as a selfish act. It’s better for me.”

Techno and Phil gave him a shocked look, while Wilbur gave him an understanding look. “Can I at least stay with you? If I return…I’ll probably get thrown back into Pandora’s Box.”

Tommy sat back in thought. Wilbur’s thumb was making circles in Tommy’s knuckles. If Wilbur was humbled by being thrown in prison, maybe he would be the one from before. Maybe, just maybe, Wilbur would be his brother again. He did miss him a lot, it's why he took up guitar in the first place. He took up violin because he missed Techno. But…maybe not so much anymore. Techno was still the put-himself-first guy, the same one who probably owed Dream a favor again. To put it simply: Technoblade was still an immortal asshole. So was Phil. There was no way he was going back with them.

However, if Wilbur stayed, maybe it wouldn’t be that bad?

Tommy could tell the brunette is different but the same. The tired eyes he had back in L’manburg. Wilbur’s presence was familiar too. It wasn’t the same it had been when he was trying to compete with Quackity. Or when he called Dream his hero. No, it was the calming, stable presence Tommy had always adored.

See, Tommy radiated sunshine. But to him, Wilbur radiated moonlight.

The dim light that Tommy had always seemed to thrive in. Calming, steady light that was never too harsh on his eyes. Wilbur was the moon to his sun. They were brothers. Big bro and little bro. Maybe it changed for a couple years, but now it is back. Tommy had his brother again.

“Yeah, you can stay with me, Will. The other two need to leave.”

He heard Phil making a noise of protest, but Techno beat him to it. He stood up. “You’ve matured Theseus. We’ll see you when you want us.” Techno gave Phil a look, which made the older blond stand up and follow him to their room.

They left the two brothers alone.

“You were amazing on stage tonight, by the way. I caught the whole performance.” Wilbur mumbled.

Tommy smiled. “Thanks, dickhead. C’mon, let’s go home.”

~*~

Tommy hadn’t realized how messed up Wilbur was.

The brunette never really slept, but when he did, it was night terrors. Tommy was by his side most nights, attempting to calm his brother down. He stopped when he realized Bruno had gotten himself attached to Wilbur. The tuxedo cat was always sleeping next to Wilbur when the brunette was asleep. He seemed to do the same thing he had done with Tommy a while back, just be a calming steady presence.
When Wilbur was awake, he seemed to have almost a lost look in his eyes most of the time. Like, he didn’t believe this was real. He tried to joke around with Tommy, but he always seemed too tired.

Tommy was playing his violin when Wilbur started playing with him on the guitar. He was a little shocked, but nonetheless, kept playing. It was Cafe 1930 again. And Tommy hadn’t realized how beautiful the song really was as a duet. Sure, Kristin played bits and pieces of it with him, but he never fully grasped what it would sound like.

When they finished, the two just looked at each other.

“Why’d you take up violin?” Wilbur questioned, setting the guitar down and picking up Bruno.

“I missed Techno. Well, the Techno before ever coming to Esempi.” Tommy admitted, setting down his violin.

Wilbur nodded. “And guitar?”

“I missed you. The Wilbur before our exile, before meeting the election even.”

Wilbur paused mid-stroke of the cat. “Why did you let me stay here, Toms?”

Tommy smiled, focusing on Socks, who had made her way on top of Tommy. “You were the Wilbur before, again. I saw it in your eyes. Plus…Pandora’s Box is not a great place to be in.”

His brother laughed loudly, and Tommy followed. “We are never having potatoes again. I cannot do that shit anymore!” Will exclaimed, laughing still.

“Oh Prime, I know right!”

It was then Tommy realized it really was Wilbur before the elections. Wilbur who ruffled his hair whenever he was proud of the blond. Wilbur who would sit around the campfire and play songs on his guitar. It was him. He really was back to himself.

Tommy then noticed Wilbur no longer had a braid in his hair.

Just like Tommy himself got rid of the braid.

The braid in their hair was something Techno had started back when this family first started to form. It started with him having his own long hair, and Tommy asking to braid it when he was like seven. At this point, he had no idea touching a piglin’s hair was sacred to them. So when Phil kind of freaked out when Techno accepted, he didn’t understand at all. And then Techno offered to braid a small strand of Tommy’s hair, and the blond accepted. Later, he noticed similar styles in his father figures and big brother’s hair as well. Since then, it had just become a thing for SBI.

The braid being gone made Tommy assume Wilbur was done with their shit as well.

Tommy really did have his brother back.

~*~

Kristin was a little suspicious of Wilbur.

Which, he means, fair enough. Tommy had told her everything he had done to him, so it would make sense she was not a big fan right away. But, within the two weeks of Wilbur living with him, she had loosened up a bunch, and was even starting to teach him how to play the flute.

When Tommy introduced Wilbur to Grian, Mumbo and Lizzie, since they didn’t know the entire story, they were a lot more excited to meet him. Wilbur got along easily with them and he and Tommy were easily able to do bits together and annoy the hell out of Grian.

The two of them quickly became the town’s favorite brothers.

Of course there were the bad days. The ones where Wilbur was on the verge of a panic attack all day everyday. Or the ones where his paranoia would get the best of him and he would have to stay tucked up with Bruno and Clem all day in bed. Tommy was there to help him through it all, although it did get somewhat annoying, but he couldn’t help but remember the days where he was like this.

The two of them were out right now, hanging around town. They had booked a gig at Alyssa’s together, and were letting out some nervous energy by joking around with some of the villagers. Currently, they were at the music store, messing around with some instruments, bantering as brothers do.

As brothers do.

Prime, it’s been so long.

He didn’t realize how much he missed the two of them just hanging around, bantering with each other. It felt like home.

Tommy was home.

He was home with his brother in Hermit, hanging around in Krisitn’s shop. He was home with his brother when they both were having bad days and just needed to hang around the house with their cats.

Home was never a house or L’manburg he learned long ago.

Home is with his brother.

TommyInnit and Wilbur Soot, the best brothers around.

Notes:

I literally wrote this in a few hours because of the brain rot i had omg

I'm quite proud of it so kudos & comments mean EVERYTHING!!