Caging a Wild Animal

by BatCatTheArtist

Summary:

This time however, Tommy initiated the conversation. “So what do you do all day when you’re not staring at random people in bars? Got an actual hobby, or is this just your ‘thing’?“

“I work in my father’s company.” Wilbur responded cooly, eyes fixated on the blond. Rich asshole.

“Huh. So why are you here then? Doesn’t seem like the kind of place you rich types would hang out.” Curiosity took over any unsettling feelings he previously had about the taller of the two.

Luckily for him, Wilbur seemed more than happy to share. “I kind of get bored from all the other snobs… I always enjoy going to smaller, more local areas. It’s a lot more interesting to me.”

“So why come back here-?” Tommy pressed on, not realising that he walked back over, the only thing separating the two was the counter between them.
 

or

 

D Tier hero Tommy catches the eye of 3 of the strongest villains. Hero or not, how strong can one person's will be before they accept their new reality? Tommy won't allow himself to fall.

Then why was it getting so dark around him?

**PLATONIC RELATIONSHIPS - DON'T BE WEIRDOS**

Notes:

whoops my hands slipped :)

been reading a lot of dark sbi fics lately, so I felt super inspired...

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

Chapter 1

"-- last seen-... -ester street with the m--.. "

Tommy hit the top of his radio, a grimace lacing his expression, brows furrowed in annoyance. "C'mon, stupid old thing…". The radio buzzed, random, out of context words hissing out of it.

What Tommy would do to just go a day without something of his breaking.

Of course, he could just replace it, but it didn't seem worth it enough to do so. He had his phone to tell him what was going on. Unfortunately for him, that also meant he had to wait for the damned thing to charge.

He kept the radio regardless, the item being one of the constants in his life. The others were a small, matted and well loved stuffed cow and 3 raccoons that had recently started following him everywhere.

 

Tommy was just barely a D tier hero. Barely managing to get his hero licence and often causing more trouble than he's worth. The worst part was, he was so clearly young. Now, that wouldn't be bad in of itself, if it wasn't for the condescending attitude he received from every hero he encountered.

But that wasn't even the worst part, no.

The worst part was the villains. Obviously, he didn't expect any better of people who's life's mission was to terrorize the city. But it still made his blood boil whenever the fucks told him to 'run along, kid'.

He was no kid . He was goddamn Mellohi , the greatest superhero to ever exist, and whoever said otherwise… well he had a giant, glorious fuck you to say to them.

 

His phone finally switched on, and Tommy excitedly shifted to the edge of his bed where he sat. His apartment was not the nicest thing in the world, but it was his… and they allowed pets so how could he complain? 

Rent was cheap enough, and the landlady was an old woman with a forgetful personality. Sometimes she'd invite him for tea, mentioning how he 'looked so much like her grandson '

He couldn't complain. It wasn't the best, but it was for sure not the worst. A one bedroom apartment, one bathroom, with a main living space that combined the kitchen and living room.

Plus, he had a balcony. That's where he would often enter from after a day of kicking ass.

Or ass kicking him.

 

His costume was modelled after a raccoon, the creatures being one of his favourite animals, the affection for them increasing after Fundy, the barista at a local coffee shop he frequented, told him that their name in dutch was 'wasbeer' which meant 'washing bear'.

The little shits with their funny little fur around their eyes that resembled masks. Their cute paws that rinsed anything given to them, he smiled at the thought. That's probably why he didn't think much of the 3 raccoons who started following him.

Henry, Harold and Harvey respectively. Named in the order he found them. They quickly became a part of his brand, joining him on hero missions as scouts. He learnt to communicate with them somewhat, and understand their body language.

They were his best friends. Only he could tell them apart, each had a distinct personality in Tommy's eyes. Each held a special place in the young hero's heart.

 

Henry, the first one that appeared. The one that would often climb up his back, resting on his shoulders. The one that gifted him a stick once with red yarn wrapped around it. The teen cherished that stick. Henry was definitely the clingiest of the three, but also the most protective.

Whenever a villain came too close, Henry would hiss and snarl, but hide regardless when the fight truly began.

 

Harold was the next to show up. Unlike Henry, Harold had darker fur and bigger ears. The patches of darker fur around his eyes were peppered with lighter, white hairs. Tommy would often joke that Harold was the old man of the group.

Harold was a hoarder, and a compulsive thief. Often he would gift Tommy his findings, looking up at him innocently. Tommy always accepted his gifts, how could he say no when the little thing would cling onto his pant leg, chittering softly.

 

Lastly, but certainly not least… Harvey. Beloved Harvey. The shyest of the group and the smallest too. Despite having sharper teeth, poor Harvey jumped at any sign of danger and at any loud noise.

During thunderstorms, Tommy distinctly remembers holding a shivering Harvey close, whispering how it's 'going to be alright'.

 

He loved his raccoons… they weren't pets to him. They were family.

Tommy's only family.

But things quickly changed.

It all started on a day like any other. Tommy patrolled the streets with a confidence like no other…

Well, maybe that was a bit of a lie, he was actually creeping in the back alleys of tall buildings, one earbud in, connected to his phone.

He listened to the boring police reports. Something, anything… anything that stuck out.

He wanted to do something.  

Henry chittered in his ear, nudging his cheek with his own. Tommy idly patted the furry creature, quietly listening.

Quietly waiting…

Something… he thought, anything.

 

"We've got a two-eleven in progress-! I repeat, a two-eleven"

Tommy's heart lurched forward, his hand shaking in uncontrolled restlessness. Two-eleven… a robbery.

Where? Where?!

"Two-eleven! Down St. Craft street-!"

Tommy instinctually slouched at the street name. His eyes narrowing in annoyance.

 

St. Craft Street was one of the safest places in the entire city of Esempi. Who was dumb enough to steal something in a place riddled with heroing agencies?! 

Not only that, but due to the amount of heros that would most likely be at the scene, Tommy wouldn't even be able to shine!

Groaning, he grabbed a metal pipe that was tossed away. With a bit of hesitance on his part, the pipe fazed away, with a slight flash of light.

Safely in his inventory for further use.

 

It only took Tommy about 7 minutes to reach the outskirts of the scene, taking back alley shortcuts to get there faster. But it was still too slow, he was always too slow.

The scene was packed. Heroes, police, reporters, journalists and onlookers alike.

The thief had already been caught, and Tommy silently cursed to himself. Unfortunately, his secret observation was compromised.

Harold snuck out from behind him, ever curious to get a closer look. Once the raccoon was close enough, well… the ever bald, annoying hero 'C4' immediately spotted him, along with his much kinder partner 'Neimki'. The self proclaimed 'Team Rocket'.

 

C4 glared at the raccoon, his nose wrinkling slightly in either disgust or annoyance. "... Mellohi." He muttered, grabbing some other heros' attention.

Now, Tommy may be borderlining D tier, but that didn't mean he wasn't somewhat known around town.

Unfortunately, he was mostly known for his fuck ups instead of his successes,

and he's had many fuck ups.

 

In the mind of other heros, he just got in the way. But that would never discourage the teen. No matter how many concussions he received from overpowering villains. No matter how many times he, himself, had been saved by other heros.

Being a hero was one of his constants. Something that would never change.

 

Harold by-passed C4, and inched closer to the tied up thief. What was he stealing anyways? What could be so important as to be stolen in broad daylight, in the most hero-filled street in the city?

Was it desperation? Or just plain idiocy? Maybe even a little bit of too much hubris?

Now that is an issue Tommy cannot relate to.

 

Tommy opened an app on his phone, which connected to tiny cameras hidden in his little friends' accessories. He just had to sit back and let Harold do the work for him. The best part was, none were the wiser of the animals being a secret, moving surveillance system.

Harold stood at the edge of the threshold between the press and lesser heros, and the actual crime scene.

"- stolen what appears to be jewellery from a local jewellery shop" a reporter spoke in a loud, clear voice, staring into the camera pointed at her. She glanced down, spotting Harold who scrubbed his face before placing a paw past the police tape.

Tommy used the camera to pan towards the woman, the news camera now pointing directly at his raccoon. Everyone who knew about him, knew his raccoons. It was the dead giveaway that the rookie hero was nearby.

"In an unsurprising turn-" the reporter couldn't help but laugh softly, it didn't sound mean… but it did sound oddly mocking. "It seems like a certain raccoon hero has shown up late to the scene." 

Harold snarled in response, before officially passing the police tape. Tommy narrowed his eyes, staring at the shaky camera. He now could see the tied up man, laughing maniacally.

 

"You don't know who you're messing with…  " the man cackled. " Long live the syndicate" 

With a struggle, he dumped a thin vile of something down his throat. How'd he even get his hands untied?

"Someone stop him-!" A hero called out, a little too late. The laughter grew in volume and pitch before abruptly cutting off, his body swayed before falling limpy onto the ground.

He was dead.

 

Harold bolted, but not before someone spotted where the creature ran to.

The animal jumped into Tommy's hands, who hugged it tightly, but not too tightly. His brain was too muddled by what he just saw that he didn't notice the person who joined him in the alleyway. 

"... Late to the scene again are we, Mellohi?" 

Tommy stiffened, looking up. There stood still as a statue, was Sam, chief of police. 

"Sorry, Sam, but big men have big men business, I can't always be there immediately. Don't got a teleportation ability, innit?"

"Mh.. what is your ability again, Mellohi? Other than being a general nuisance?"

Tommy forced a smile, letting his companions climb onto him. Henry at his shoulder, Harold snuggly fitting into his half-opened bag, and little Harvey on his head.

With no response from the other, Sam shrugged and started walking out the alleyway, simply saying "stay out of trouble, raccoon."

Tommy silently cursed him out, but on the outside he remained straight-faced.

 

The day came to a close, for most at least. Unfortunately for Tommy, he had work.

Like, actual work.

 

His inability to properly perform heroism (at least in the eyes of the government) have forced the teen to seek a livable wage elsewhere.

After going from job to job, with only slightly forged legal documents, he finally managed to find a place willing to take him.

His shift was every other day in the late evenings, in some random bar that stood in the deeper parts of town. Not the most secure location, but Tommy was willing to take what he could get.

He's been working there for the past few weeks. His shifts were mostly alone, sometimes he'd have a co-worker. A woman with split dyed hair, half black half blond. He didn't talk much with her however. Tommy found her voice annoying .

The people that occupied the bar were… unnerving to say the least. But he kept his head down and served them as best he could.

After he quickly arrived home, changed and kissed each of the pets on the head, he headed to the bar, entering it as quietly as he could manage. Jazz emanated from the worn speakers, only a few heads turning to look at him as he passed by.

He hoped today would be a quiet one. He was oddly tired despite doing barely anything that day.

 

A man entered through the doors, Tommy glancing up for a moment to see who it was. The man wore a warm yellow sweater, and black jeans that screamed expensive . His hair was a chocolate colour, curly but well kempt. Round glasses were well balanced on his nose and he wore a relaxed expression. 

Or at least, Tommy thought he looked relaxed.

The man walked up to the bar where Tommy stood, who quickly pretended to be doing something important. Nope he was definitely not staring, don't mind him.

 

"Hello" he greeted, in a somewhat posh, British accent, his voice a tad deep.

"Hello, how can I help you?" Tommy said in the most even voice he could manage

A smile formed on the man's lips as he stared at the younger teen. "Blue Angel, please." 

 

Time passed and the man got his order and sat down. However Tommy quickly realised that… is he-? Is he staring at me?

He was! The annoyingly taller man was staring directly at him. When they made eye contact, instead of looking away like any other person would do if they were caught staring, he smiled at him, like a creepy fuck who's going to end up on some sort of watch list-! If he hasn't already.

Tommy sent the man a death glare, wordlessly wording his opinion on the taller without directly saying it. Fuck off.

His shift continued, hours passing by until he realised that the man from earlier, who still hadn't left might he add, was walking up to his bar counter again.

Assuming he wanted another drink, Tommy got up. He ordered at least 4 different drinks in the time he spent creepily staring at Tommy, which varied from alcoholic to just simple soft drinks.

He would no doubt need the longest piss ever when he was finished, Tommy mused to himself as the man's smiling face reached his counter.

 

"Hiya, sorry to bother you again-"

"No you're not" Tommy dullfully added, not meeting direct eye contact with the chocolate brown eyes of the other man.

The other chuckled at Tommy's snarky response, but didn't comment on it, simply requesting another drink that had a weird name.

Why did so many alcoholic drinks have weird names anyways? Tommy wondered to himself as he mindlessly prepared the drink. He could feel the man's gaze burn a hole into his back.

"Can you cut it out-?!" Tommy finally snapped, turning around to make eye contact with a smirking face. 

"What do you mean-?" The man responded softly, his voice had a weird… tone to it. But Tommy brushed it off.

"What I mean is.. you keep fucking staring at me-!! What are you? A wrongun??" 

The man burst into uncontrollable laughter, before straightening up and simply saying "My name is Wilbur."

"Like I give a shit"

"Yours?"

"Fuck off."

With that, he shoved the drink into Wilbur's hands, turning back around to pretend to be busy. He felt Wilbur's eyes cling to his back for a little longer before the feeling subsided, looking back, Wilbur had reclaimed his seat which stood across from the bar.

Tommy still directly in his line of sight.

 

What the fuck?

Chapter 2

Notes:

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

Birds chirped outside, the draft from an unseen opening causing the sleeping boy to shiver slightly, tightening his shut eyes. The only thing that could possibly drag Tommy out of bed was a goddamn hurricane. 

His stomach growled in protest, so despite his earlier claim, Tommy did in fact drag himself out of bed. As soon as he started getting himself to… How did Fundy put it again-? Seize the day , or some shit, Henry scurried after him, mirroring his every movement.

At home he didn’t have to be Mellohi, as cool as being that hero was, he could just be him… he could just be Tommy. At home he didn’t have to live up to some arbitrary expectation people had for him, and his companions loved him regardless, fully and unconditionally. That’s why he always preferred animals over people. 

He stared down at his slightly scarred hand, stretching and flexing the stiff joints. He lightly cringed at the discomforting click his fingers made as he bent them, but didn’t think too much of it after a few moments.

He looked at himself in the mirror, putting on his bravest, most confident smile.

Today, Tommy Kraken Danger Innit, You are going to catch yourself a bad guy.

 

The blond teen adjusted his coat as he silently manoeuvred his way through the quiet, dirty alleyways. Tight, dark and abandoned spaces were where Tommy- no… Where Mellohi truly shined. Quiet as a mouse, some would say. But those some are idiots, Tommy thinks to himself, because he’s had a mouse or two in his apartment before. Those fucks are ANYTHING but quiet. He would go as far as to say that, if he and a mouse were to have a silence contest, he would win.

He was dragged out of his mouse-filled thoughts by the sound of voices. Voices coming from up ahead in fact. It wouldn’t be weird if he wasn’t literally in the back alley of some grocery store. Maybe the person was lost-? No… people. Definitely more than one person, judging by the overlapping voices.

With a slight bit of effort on his end, he climbed up one of the walls, hiding behind it. Henry was the one who took initiative by climbing onto a trash can, laying in wait for the voices to show. Tommy took that as an opportunity to duck his head down, utilising the camera attached to his furry friend to get a good look at who was coming their way.

Please be a bad guy, please be a bad guy. A part of his mind begged, while the other, smaller part of his brain reprimanded him for wishing that crime would occur. It’s not completely his fault, he’s been wishing for a moment to prove himself more than just someone who got in the way.

Much to his disappointment… it was just a few workers, completely ignoring and going past the grocery store. Well shit, now I just feel bad. 

 

The chilly day continued onwards, Tommy settling into a corner of the more abandoned areas, there he’d already laid out blankets and pillows. This is where he’d usually sit and wait for reports to come in. Comfortable but not close enough to his actual home to make him feel anxious about his real identity leaking. Not that he thinks anyone would care… but he cared.

Harvey lay down by his side, while Harold and Henry kept a sharp look out. Tommy stared emptily at the ground, time feeling like it was almost- slowing down. Seconds turned into minutes… and minutes turned into an hour. His hand warily grabbing his phone, and finally opening up the radio. He closed his eyes, and just-

Listened.

Anything too big he crossed off, he just needed something simple. Just one victory to make his day, just one success to show people, to prove that he was worth something.

 

‘CAWW’ 

 

Tommy’s eyes snapped open, looking up to spot a crow, sitting atop a nearby cardboard box.

“...The fuck are you looking at?” he sourly asked the bird, who just stared at him with beady black eyes. Groaning, he tuned back into what the radio was saying. 

Nothing of value, that much was obvious to the raccoon hero. Annoyed at the apparent lack of anything, he got up onto his feet. He thought it would be best to simply look out for crime, no point in sitting around waiting for a petty theft to be reported when he could be resolving a crime that had yet to be found. 

He took a step forward but… something was wrong. Extremely wrong.

 

Something didn’t feel right, like his safe corner had been overtaken by something dark or sinister. He tried to brush it off as the cold getting to him, turning to move towards one of the exits of the area.

His phone fell out of his hand, screen smashing when it hit the ground. But he couldn’t bring himself to care, as his legs grew weak. Fear overtook him like a tsunami, afraid that he might fall from the wave crashing in.

There, stood blocking his exit, was none other than Lovejoy. One of the top most dangerous villains in the city… if not, the whole country.

 

Tommy felt like he was going to be sick. He staggered backwards, tripping on some imaginary rock and fell down on his back, hard. His head fell against the floor and he groaned as dizziness overtook him and his vision.

A soft chuckle came from where Lovejoy stood. It terrified the boy to his very core. A chitter caught them both off guard, and panic surged through Tommy’s body tenfold as realisation struck him.

Henry, Harold and Harvey… Lovejoy could hurt his beloved raccoons.

Tommy heard footsteps come towards him, the click of boots against the concrete bricks made his anxiety spike. He was supposed to be a hero. Why the fuck was he still on the ground?! Why was the world spinning so much? Why’d he have to go break his phone?! 

Fuck up after fuck up… No wonder everyone thought he was a joke.

 

He saw the shadow come closer, and he squeezed his eyes shut. This had to be a dream, some fucked up nightmare. He didn’t know where his raccoons were, he really hoped they hid somewhere.

“Mellohi, right?” Lovejoy’s velvety smooth tone rang out, somehow louder than Tommy’s racing heartbeat.

Tommy didn’t answer, covering his eyes with his arms. He felt like a child. A young, scared child, that's all he was. A soft noise was heard above him, almost similar to a gentle coo. 

“Open your eyes, gremlin.” He heard Lovejoy hum, practically hearing the smirk on his lips. The blond shook his head childishly, squeezing his eyes even tighter.

“Pfft.. no-?” His voice sounded… almost fond. It was weird. He was weird. 

 

Tommy carefully pulled down his arms, and slowly opened his eyes. Stood above him was a man who he heard had wiped out whole teams of heroes with his mere voice. Turning the heroes on each other and revelled in their ever increasing discord. But here he was, smiling down at him. It had the air of friendliness, but held something darker just beneath the surface. Tommy stilled, his hands shaking as his eyes dumbly followed what the villain above him did.

“Are you alright, little raccoon?” He asked, almost gently, but the blond teen wasn’t that stupid. He knew who was speaking to him, plus… he’s not little, he is in fact quite large in fact.

He slapped hands over his mouth. He said that aloud. Lovejoy paused, tilting his head ever so slightly to the side. Before letting a soft snicker out, moving closer into Tommy’s personal bubble. 

“Alright, Alright… you’re not a little raccoon then… A large raccoon.” The villain smiled, humouring his strange outburst. Tommy shifted back, Lovejoy’s eyes carefully following him.

“Wh… What do you want-?!” 

“What? Can’t a guy just have a walk through a random alley?” Lovejoy smirked, taking another step forward. Tommy followed his movement, shifting backwards the same amount, not allowing the distance to close.

 

He knew, if Lovejoy wanted to, he could easily kill Tommy. Right then and there, then it would be bye bye Tommy-!! However it seemed that the tall man before him had other plans that didn’t involve killing the small, helpless rookie hero.

Well- Tommy wasn’t small nor helpless, in his humble opinion, but he could understand why people might see him like that.

Lovejoy opened his mouth, as if to start speaking. He seemed incredibly annoyed by the sudden interruption of a phone ringing. It couldn’t have been Tommy’s, since it was shattered on the floor a few feet away from the both of them. The villain practically pouted as he answered the phone, simply muttering “I’m working, Ichor.”

Tommy’s blood ran cold. Ichor, the blood god himself. He learnt a while ago, half listening to a podcast that villain Ichor named himself after the name for the blood of greek gods. Ichor, the golden blood of the gods.

Lovejoy, one of the most dangerous people around, was talking to Ichor, another very dangerous person. Something clicked in the back of his mind, his fuzzy and dazed brain finally reeling itself in. 

 

Tommy scrambled to his feet, making a mad dash for the second exit. He just hoped that his companions were close behind, or well hidden.

He ran, ran as far as his legs would allow him. His heartbeat thumped loudly in his chest. He was stopped dead in his tracks by a very strong grip. Tommy cried out only to be met face to face with…

Sam. It was Sam. It was just Sam. 

Tommy could never be more happy to see his stupid face.

His mouth was moving but Tommy couldn’t hear anything. His uneven wheezing barely managed to settle as he tried, tried so hard to listen to what Sam was saying to him. Yelling at him. He felt like crying but big men don’t cry. He knew that well enough.

 

“-llohi-!” 

Tommy’s eyes refocused, and finally met Sam’s concerned gaze. When did they enter the police station-? He swore that they were just outside.

“...Yeah-?” he responded, his voice coming out small and raspy. He hated feeling small.

“Holy shit kid. You scared the hell out of me. You weren’t responding to a single thing I was saying”

"Sorry big man, I uh…" he glanced around, all eyes were on him. "... Sam- I saw something."

The chief narrowed his eyes a bit, but didn't say anything, urging Tommy to continue.

 

"I saw… Lovejoy. He was right next to me-!"

To Tommy's horror, Sam laughed. Straight up laughed at him, like this was the funniest thing he's ever heard.

"... seriously, Mellohi? So you've gone from being a nuisance to straight up lying?" A few chuckles could be heard from other officers, Tommy was speechless.

Well, he wasn't speechless, but definitely shocked out of his mind. Nothing could make the one and only Mellohi shut up.

"I'm not lying!!" He growled, trying his best to ignore the voice crack that surfaced. Sam didn't seem convinced, rolling his eyes. His previous smile that formed dropped almost as quickly as it came.

"Mellohi. A villain with a high calibre such as Lovejoy wouldn't just randomly appear out of nowhere." Sam sighed, his eyes following Tommy as the young hero got up from the bench he was sitting at.

"Not to mention that I doubt a D tier hero would get out of an encounter with him alive" Another cop piped up, causing Tommy to scowl at him. 

 

"Sam, please… I know what I saw" Sam didn't respond for a moment, before grabbing onto Tommy's hands. Why were they shaking so much? "You gotta believe me"

"What I believe... is that you should go home for today, kid. You probably saw something that spooked you, I really doubt it was anything too bad though. I don't want you being all jumpy and getting in the way of things."

Tommy's expression turned sour, and he turned away from the chief. 

"Fine." He practically snarled, before storming out of the police station, who needs Sam anyways? He's a bitch and Tommy didn’t need his help.

He's a big man, he's not scared of anything or anyone! Especially not someone like Lovejoy. He bets that the villain is a bitch too.

Tommy headed home, the only things on his mind were the fact that he had no idea where his raccoons were. The thought that the villain might have harmed them made him sick to his stomach.

He was too scared to go back to the alleyway, and he couldn't check his cameras since he dropped his phone. Plus, even if he did have it, it had completely shattered its screen.

As soon as he entered his apartment, he sat down on the floor, not caring that it was a bit dusty. Tommy wasn't sure how long he sat there, but at one point he was forced out of his mind by the sound of chittering coming from his balcony.

Struggling onto his feet, he walked over and opened the sliding door. Three dirty raccoons ran in.

His raccoons.

 

"Triple H!!" He smiled brightly, pulling the trio into a hug, uncaring for the dirt getting over his clothes. He was going to shower and change anyway.

Harold dropped something into his hand. His broken phone, proof of his interactions with Lovejoy.

"... urgh… What do I do? I can't afford a new phone.-" 

He groaned, walking back over to close the sliding door when-

 

'CAW' 

 

Tommy looked up, making eye contact with the black bird sitting on the balcony railing. No way that was the same crow, right?

"... Hello-??" He opened the door a bit more and the fucker just flew in . "Excuse you, king, but this isn't your home" Tommy couldn't help but laugh.

The bird cawed again, tilting its head to the side. Harvey shifted away from the chair that the bird perched on.

"Are you hungry, big man?" Tommy asked, as if the bird could possibly talk back. What would a bird say if it could speak? What would he say if he was a bird that could speak?

 

Walking into the kitchen area, Tommy took out a slice of bread from a loaf that he stored above the microwave. He placed most of his food in secure containers to avoid ants, geckos and any other critters that could be roaming his home from getting into it.

It also stopped his raccoons from taking snacks they're not supposed to.

He pulled the bread apart into smaller pieces, not wanting the small bird to choke or something. He placed the food onto a paper plate he had, and put it onto the table. 

"Here- have some of this!" He said, unsure if he could nudge it closer. The bird answered his question by fluttering over and pecking the breadcrumbs. 

 

Tommy sighed in relief, smiling softly "Eat up big man! I don't know why you followed me, but more power to you. Girlboss and shit."

It cawed again, quickly devouring every single crumb that was on the plate. A few moments passed, the two staring at each other before it flew and landed on his shoulder. 

"Woah-! Ah, I love ya too boss man."

 

It wouldn't hurt to keep a lonely crow… right?

Notes:

I wrote most of this yesterday, and finished it today... I lack all patience so you guys get another chapter really close to the previous one. :))

Hope you all have a good day and stay safe.

Chapter 3

Notes:

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

Stay tuned for art of our favourite raccoon boy at the end of the chapter, also drawn by the amazing Ted :)))

He didn’t go out on patrol the next day. Call it paranoia but Tommy was still shaking a bit from his encounter with the villain, not even managing to sleep properly. His new crow friend, one he affectionately referred to as ‘little fucker’, stayed the entire night, much to the teen’s surprise.

The day progressed, and Tommy used his old laptop to order a pizza. He would’ve used his phone but the thing was still broken. He considered going to get it fixed, but the idea of the amount it might cost made him immediately change his mind. He could at least wait until he got his check at the end of the month, see what he had to pay and then consider if he can afford to fix his shitty phone.

It reached that time of day when Tommy realised, shit he still had work today. Biting his nails idly, he got up and finally decided to get properly dressed. He doubted his boss would be happy if he missed a day. The guy was a weirdo regardless, so Tommy definitely didn’t want to get on his bad side. But then again, most people who were associated with his job seemed to be creeps.

 

He entered the bar, and got behind the counter. Today he was working alone but it wasn’t all that bad, it wasn’t like the place had many customers. Mostly regulars who kept to themselves, with the occasional new person that joined.

Speaking of which, just then someone entered the bar, catching Tommy’s eye. It was the same fucking person from two days ago. This time he wore a white button up, brown vest and jeans. The brand name on the vest was a sure sign of his clothing choice being pricey. Why the hell was a rich-bitch asshole in some rundown bar? Again?

“Hello!” the taller man greeted with a friendly smile, what was his name again? 

“...Hello.” he responded back, forcing himself to keep a somewhat calm tone to his words.

The brown eyes stared at him, the smile warm and gentle, his name was on the tip of Tommy’s tongue… Will- Wilbur.

 

“How are you today, gremlin?” Tommy scowled at the nickname, narrowing his eyes. 

“I was doing fine until you walked in. Order or get out.” He didn’t have time to make small talk. Well, he did but he didn’t want to.

Wilbur snickered softly before ordering a random drink off the menu. Tommy went to prepare it before the man started talking again, much to the teen’s annoyance.

“So what's a kid like you working at a bar?” 

“Not a kid, and none of your business.”

“Sure.” Wilbur’s smile never faltered. Tommy wanted to punch the guy in the face, but just passed the glass to the older man. But instead of going to a table, he chose to sit down at the bar, in front of Tommy.

This time however, Tommy initiated the conversation. “So what do you do all day when you’re not staring at random people in bars? Got an actual hobby, or is this just your ‘thing’?“

“I work in my father’s company.” Wilbur responded cooly, eyes fixated on the blond. Rich asshole.

“Huh. So why are you here then? Doesn’t seem like the kind of place you rich types would hang out.” Curiosity took over any unsettling feelings he previously had about the taller of the two.

Luckily for him, Wilbur seemed more than happy to share. “I kind of get bored from all the other snobs… I always enjoy going to smaller, more local areas. It’s a lot more interesting to me.”

“So why come back here-?” Tommy pressed on, not realising that he walked back over, the only thing separating the two was the counter between them.

 

“I found your attitude funny.” Wilbur admitted, smiling softly, his hands moving closer to the blond’s. Blue eyes shrinked and Tommy instinctively yanked his hands away. “Ah-.. Sorry.” The brunet apologised, but his face had an unreadable expression on it.

“It’s fine, just don’t touch me, asshole.” Tommy growled, letting out a long breath he wasn’t aware that he was holding. “Fucking prick, gonna end up on some fucking watch list if you keep this up.”

Wilbur laughed, eyes wrinkling up slightly as he smiled. “Sorry, sorry!” He apologised again. It was honestly nice to have someone to talk to, someone that didn’t automatically dismiss him or see him as annoying. Even if it was some rich jerk he barely knew.

 

Wilbur kept coming back. It had been almost three weeks since his encounter with Lovejoy and Tommy managed to round up enough courage to head back to his alleyway. No evidence of it, nothing to prove it happened. It pissed Tommy off to an insane degree.

His phone rang. Wilbur had been kind enough to gift him a new one. Despite Tommy desperately wanting to reject the kind gesture (how did he even know Tommy broke his?), he felt bad just saying no after he already spent money on him.

Glancing down at the caller ID, he couldn’t help a soft smile from forming. ‘Bitch Boy’. Wilbur was calling him. He and Wilbur had grown a sort of friendship, where the taller would come each day when Tommy had his shift and they would just… talk. It could be about anything and Tommy would still enjoy it. 

He liked listening to Wilbur talk about music, he was just so passionate about it, how could he possibly hate it? Eventually, Wilbur invited Tommy to go to a coffee shop together, his treat he said. So Tommy went with him and Wilbur got him hot chocolate and a donut. They talked and Wilbur laughed at his jokes like he always does, and ruffled his hair.

 

Wilbur made Tommy feel safe.

 

He accepted the call, placing the phone up to his ear. “Hello Will!” he greeted, wondering why the guy was calling him instead of simply just texting. 

“Toms! I was hoping you’d pick up, are you free later today?”

“Uh.. yeah I should be, why?”

“I want you to meet my brother!”

His… brother-?

Tommy knew Wilbur had a brother. In fact, he knew a lot about said brother. It was one of the topics the other talked and rambled about the most. But he never expected to meet the guy. But Wilbur was nice and he trusted him, so… Why not?

 

He agreed to meet up with the two later that day, so Tommy headed home to try and look at least a bit presentable. But there was only so much the blond could do with limited funds and supplies. Wilbur had tried several times to offer him money, but he would more often than not refuse. As kind of a gesture as it was, Tommy needed to take care of himself, and not take advantage of his richer friend.

He pulled on his favourite red and white jacket, and checked the time. He had 30 minutes to get to the restaurant they wanted to meet at. The name alone made Tommy nervous, sounding too fancy for a simple meet up.

 Wilbur reassured him that it was going to be alright, but he was still unsure.

 

The boy reached the restaurant, taking a bus most of the way there and then walking the rest of the way. It was way too fancy for him, bright golden colours and a goddamn red carpet . The security guard eyed him suspiciously as he walked up to him and Tommy was half tempted to just bail then and there. He lingered for a bit, and just when he was about to consider calling Wilbur-

“Toms!” Tommy looked up at who called his name. From inside the restaurant, Wilbur walked over, smiling softly at him. The taller brunet glanced at the security guard before sternly saying “He’s with me.”

Relief washed over the younger and he gave Wilbur an appreciative look. The older of the two simply grabbed the other’s hand and led into the building. Walls, floors and ceilings. Each and every surface made Tommy’s eyes widen in shock at how expensive and big everything was. 

Wilbur laughed in kindhearted amusement at Tommy’s awe, continuing to lead him deeper into the restaurant. The blond teen looked up and asked “Where are we going, Will?” 

“Private area, don’t want random people staring at us. It’s better for privacy too, my brother isn’t a big fan of crowded places.”

Private area. Private area. Tommy knew Wilbur was rich but… A private area in an already expensive restaurant, all for a simple meeting? It made no sense to the young hero, but he didn’t voice any of his thoughts aloud, choosing to instead wordlessly follow the older man.

 

The two eventually reached a closed off area with a large body guard standing in front of the entrance to another room, blocked off by a set of large, polished spruce doors. Wilbur nodded at the large man, who moved out of the way, allowing the two to enter the room.

Wilbur closed the door behind them, giving Tommy a moment to glance around the room. In the far end of the room, midcenter to the wall stood a booth with comfortable looking brown leather seats. There sat a tank of a guy, scars going down his face and appearing on his equally huge hands. If Wilbur was a skyscraper of a man, his brother (Tommy remembers his name being Techno from his many conversations with Wilbur) was a goddamn mountain. 

“Hullo.” Techno greeted in a monotone voice, his pink hair tied up in a loose bun with a few strands falling over his face. Tommy assumed he had some sort of mutation ability, considering he had tusk-like teeth protruding from his bottom lip. The blond teen gave a nervous wave as the bulkier man slowly closed his book, placing it aside.

 

Now Tommy didn’t want to stereotype, but he definitely didn’t expect a big guy like him to be a reader. That's on him, he’ll go reexamine his biases. “Techno-!” Tommy tensed up as he felt Wilbur place his hand gently on his shoulder, instinctually pulling away. The guy always had to be so touchy, it was a bit weird but Tommy definitely grew somewhat used to it the longer he knew him. That didn’t mean he liked it any more than he did before, however.

The brunet led Tommy to the booth, urging him to sit down before sliding in next to him, effectively trapping the blond between the two brothers. Despite what he did just a few moments ago, Wilbur placed his arm around Tommy affectionately. “Tommy, this is my brother Techno! Techno, this is Tommy!”

“Hullooo!” Techno simply responded, in almost the exact same cadence as before. His red eyes looked at him with deep intensity, as if analysing his every movement. It almost reminded him of how Wilbur first stared at him, back at the bar, or when… Lovejoy-

He forced himself out of his mind, placing the most genuine smile he could muster on his face. “Sup bitch boy, Will’s told me a lot about you.”

“TOMMY!!” Wilbur shouted, half reprimanding him, half laughing at what he said. “That’s so rude, be nicer.”

“I wasn’t nice when we first met, Will, I wanted him to have the genuine Tommy experience!”

“Wilbur’s told me a lot about you too.” Techno drawled, his eyes never once leaving Tommy, it was getting really weird the longer it went on.

“Did he tell you how cool and badass I am and how he looks up to me?” Tommy smirked, false self confidence being shoved to the surface. He hoped at least to make the bigger man laugh.

“No, he told me how much of a trash-child you are.” Techno said slowly, temporarily shifting his eyes from Tommy to Wilbur. Both held equally unreadable expressions, but Tommy was never good at reading body language and faces regardless so maybe it was just him.

“Well I’ll have you know, I am not in fact a child. I am a man, a big man. I’ll even go as far to say I am the biggest man to ever grace this damn earth.” 

Techno paused for a moment, before letting out a soft chuckle and ruffling Tommy’s hair. That was a success! But also, apparently the entirety of Wilbur’s family needs to learn a thing or two about personal space. But he didn’t mention anything about it in the moment, smiling slightly at the positive response.

 

The night went on, and a waiter soon came to take their orders. That’s when Tommy got a look at the prices and nearly passed out from shock. Wilbur assured him that he was going to pay for everything, and turned to the waiter and ordered a shit ton of food, some of which Tommy didn’t even recognise the names of. He even took the liberty of ordering the drinks for them, somehow knowing Tommy wanted a coca cola. 

They talked more, and then the food arrived. Tommy had to say, looking back he probably shouldn’t have eaten as much as he did. But Wilbur kept urging him to, saying it would be a waste if he didn’t eat as much as he wanted, still adding on to leave room for dessert. The insane fucker wanted to order more food. 

However if Wilbur wanted to pay for his food, Tommy more than gladly was going to eat it, and by gods did it taste amazing. He wasn’t even sure Wilbur and Techno even ate a fraction to the amount he did. But they never seemed mad at him, every now and again passing affectionate head pats, shoulder rubs and ruffling his hair (they really liked doing that) it was mostly Wilbur doing all the touching, but Techno got in on it a little more later into the night.

By the time the desert came, Tommy felt like crying (Not that he would, big men don’t cry over something as simple as chocolate cake). Then Wilbur said “It’s all yours Toms! I’m not a big fan of something this sweet anyways”. Tommy’s eyes widened, before looking at Techno, who nodded.

With a bit of hesitation, and more urging and affectionate touches (He really needs to talk to them about personal bubbles) he finally said a metaphorical fuck it and dug into the sweet dish. He finished quite quickly, laying back and yawning as the rare fullness made his eyes feel heavy. Tommy was no longer paying full attention to what the other two were talking about, just letting their gentle voices wash over him, lulling him to sleep.

For the first time in so long, he felt so safe.

 

 

=================

Introducing, Mellohi! Aka Tommy :D Amazing art drawn by my very good friend Ted :)))

Poor raccoon child has no fashion sense D:

Notes:

If you enjoyed Ted's artwork, check out their commissions page on their instagram :))) support them as they've supported me!

check em out here

Chapter 4

Notes:

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

The first thing Tommy felt as he stirred awake was once again the chilling breeze from a still undiscovered draft in his walls. His eyes slowly opened and his mind sluggishly tried to remember what happened the previous day, since he didn't recall returning to his apartment.

Thinking for a bit longer than he would have liked to admit, he remembered the last thing happening was him falling asleep, in the restaurant, with Wilbur and his brother. Holy shit, how did he get into his apartment?!

He looked around and spotted on his bedside table a very cleanly written note, in handwriting he'd recognise anywhere. Wilbur.

'Good morning Tommy! (Or whenever you wake up) please call me at your earliest convenience! Lots of love, - Wilbur'

He groggily read the note, Harold nudging his way into Tommy's bedroom, chittering gently to indicate that it was breakfast time. The teen elected to call the older male after he fed his raccoons, since he didn't want to keep them waiting.

 

Once he fed each of them, he picked up his phone (which was gently placed on his nightstand, connected to its charger) and dialled Wilbur's phone number. It hummed momentarily but just as always, Wilbur always picked up extremely quickly.

"Hello Tommy!" He responded cheerily, too energetic for so early in the morning. Checking the time it was actually almost 2 pm, but Tommy was too much of a big man to care about what his clock had to say.

"Mornin' Wilb…" he yawned, scratching his neck idly. "Do you know how I got into my apartment?"

"Don't you remember-? You agreed to let us drive you home! You're the one who gave your address after all."

 

Tommy went silent for a moment, thinking intensely. Did he do that? He was so tired yesterday, he wouldn't be surprised if he forgot a few details of the later parts of it. But it made sense since Wilbur wouldn't have known where to take him, or be able to get into his apartment without Tommy so he took his word for it.

"Oh okay… hope my place wasn't too messy when you got in."

"Nonsense, it was perfectly fine, Toms. You passed out as soon as you hit the pillow so we decided to leave you a note and let you rest."

That also made sense, to Tommy at least. He was glad he had Wilbur to make sure he got home safely because considering he didn't remember any of this, he must've been super tired.

"Mh, Thank you Wilby." He hummed, rubbing his eyes. 

"... anything for you, Toms" 

Wilbur's voice sounded a bit weird as he said that, but maybe that was just the phone connection distorting it.. He said goodbye to him and closed the call, before laying on his old couch. By then, his pets had finished their food and were gathering around him, letting out their usual chitters and yips.

 

He lay there for a bit before getting up and stretching. It was time to do some heroic shit.

He got ready, pulling on his red and white tee, along with his black turtleneck and red hoodie. He tugged on the straps holding some of his secret weaponry and then grabbed his trenchcoat. 

He grabbed his mechanical raccoon ears and tail. He had a deal with a vigilante mechanic, Purpled, to make them for him. In return Tommy gave him information about shortcuts and secrets he managed to get a hold of, as well as testing out some of his more experimental creations. The best part about them is that once he put them on correctly, they responded to both his will and emotions. They were realistic to the point where people thought his ability was raccoon mutation.

Once they were securely connected, he wandered to his bathroom and placed on his face paint. Dark black circles around his eyes, not big enough to block out the bags that started forming under them. He didn't know when they started forming, but he always insisted that his eye bags were designer. “Oh Tommy, you are ahead of the fashion industry” He chuckled to himself.

Tommy tugged the hair tie out that was holding his messy dirty blond hair into a high ponytail, redoing it to be lower and looser and making sure the hair covered his actual ears. He whistled and his raccoon trio climbed up and onto him, Henry claiming his spot on his shoulder, Harold hanging onto his head and shy Harvey clinging to his arm.

He gently nudged Harvey into his half open backpack and pulled it onto his back. Letting out a deep sigh and switching his phone to vibrate, he opened his balcony door and climbed down an old pipe.

 

Now on the ground, he looked around the alleyway and headed for one of his shortcuts. Mellohi is on the move.

 

*----*

 

"It's been over a month since the bone chilling death of a thief that was caught just outside the bakery on St. Craft street after stealing jewellery from a local jewellery store. Police have yet to find the culprit's identity and-"

Wilbur turned off the tv, rolling his eyes. All the newscasters did was spew the same garbage, and when they didn't have a new story they just puked up whatever old news they could find in an attempt to make it relevant.

He reclined back in the armchair he sat at, idly tracing circles on his knuckles. 

 

"Will." A gruff voice called out, drawing the brunet's attention. 

"Tech, what's up?" He smiled at his brother. Despite not being biologically related, he grew up with the other, and were at such a similar age that their father often called them twins.

"Phil says that the crow spotted Tommy leaving his apartment in his hero costume." He simply responded, his red eyes gleaming in something Wilbur would describe as want . So similar to how Techno looked when he craved blood, but different. Protective. Possessive.

"You wanna meet him, Techie?" Wilbur smirked, already managing to guess his brother's response. "Don't scare him, he's just a baby"

"I'll try my best." Techno seemed satisfied by the brunet's response, and left the room. Wilbur guessed that he was heading there immediately, which made his heart soften. He was so glad the rest of his family adored Tommy as much as he did, on the drive home he and Techno kept petting his hair and watched over him.

It took a lot of convincing and self control on his part to not just grab the kid then and there.

Not yet… It was too soon. He needed more trust in them, more dependency. 

Not yet, but soon. Wilbur was excited for that soon, and in the meantime, he would watch over his favourite scruffy boy. The human embodiment of a cute little raccoon.

 

*----*

 

Tommy jumped over a crack in the paved back allies that belonged to a bunch of stores. Apparently they were going to be torn down and replaced with one, much bigger shop. It was a bit upsetting, since one of those stores sold hand-grown flowers. He talked to the store owner before who gave him a bouquet of alliums after Tommy scared away a thief.

Who steals from a flower shop anyways?!

"You see, H-squad" Tommy started saying to his raccoons, and like the polite boys they were, they listened intently. "You cannot step on the cracks, that gives you bad luck and then you lose the game."

Henry hopped down, and jumped over a crack, looking back up at the blond. "Good job, Hens!" Tommy cheered, earning excited chitters from the small creature.

He hopped over another crack and then stumbled a bit, losing his balance. "Shit-!" Tommy landed on the ground, whining in pain but managing to catch himself mostly on his hands. He got up on shaky legs, patting down his pants. His knees were for sure going to bruise, especially considering that it wasn't the first time he's fallen on them.

 

"Careful, little one." A deep voice echoed from behind him. Tommy whipped around and froze, feeling all the air being sucked out of his body.

No, this can't be happening.

"What's wrong, Theseus? Cat got your tongue?" Ichor chuckled darkly, talking a step closer. The boar skull covering his face was stained with old, dried blood. Worn but strong armour cladding his body, and weapons strapped to his side and back.

"I-I…" he shakily pulled out a dart gun he recently received as a trial gift from Purpled. "Stay back! I'll-..."

Ichor took another step forward, no hesitation in his movement. Powerful confidence lacing each slight shift in his position. "You'll what? "

"I'll shoot you, bitch!!" Tommy stuttered, face burning at the voice crack that managed to form in the last word. This isn't the time, puberty.

"... I wouldn't do that if I were you, Theseus." The mountain of a man simply chuckled darkly. He wasn't huge like Techno. Wilbur's brother was big in a gentle way, awkward yet kind touches that made Tommy feel safe. Ichor on the other hand, was terrifying, and he knew it.

"Who-? What?!" He didn't know who this Theseus guy was, but whoever they were, they definitely weren't him. That also meant this rule didn't apply to him, so he pulled the trigger anyway.

 

The dart shot out, but to Tommy's horror, it bounced off his armour.

"Purpled, your guns are pieces of shit-!!" Tommy whimpered-... complained. He complained like the big man he was.

Ichor walked closer to him, crushing the metal dart that fell to the floor under his heavy boots. What was with villains and boots? Was there some bad guy only boot sale he wasn't aware of?

Blue eyes locked with red ones, and he could feel his heavy breathing grow faint. Holy shit, he was going to die. He was going to fucking die.

Tommy was too young to die! He had so many women to marry, and so many neighbourhood dogs to pet!! Who was going to tell the dog who lived across the street that he's a good boy if the great Mellohi was dead?!

The young hero squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for impact. A swing of an axe perhaps, maybe a slash of a sword. Ichor was a big fan of sharp weaponry after all. Maybe he would get pay back for Tommy shooting him and use a real firearm on him. 

 

Something was touching him, gently threading itself through his hair. Tommy opened one eye ever so slightly, then the other. Ichor was petting him. "Relax, Theseus. I have no intention of harming you."

Tommy forced himself backwards, luckily managing to free himself from the villain's grasp. "Wh-!? Don't fucking touch me, you piece of shit!" He yelped, fear overtaking the anger and humiliation of being pet like some dog.

He glanced backwards, eyeing a wall that led to a main street. He could hop it and get away. Ichor made a move to get closer, seemingly not bothered by Tommy's shouts, adjusting his bloodstained mask.

The raccoon hero bolted, and scrambled up the wall and falling down the other side, his raccoons closely following behind. He took a deep breath, before biting the bullet and daring to look back over the wall.

 

Ichor was gone, nowhere to be seen.

 

He yanked his head back down and ran off without looking back a second time. He just hoped that he didn't anger this villain enough to warrant being chased after.

Did Lovejoy tell Ichor about him?! He was on call with the guy before Tommy escaped, he could've told him to go eliminate the hero. Coward, Tommy snickers, too scared to face him.

 

Tommy wandered back to more populated parts of the city, managing to spot a fight between some villain and a group of heroes, including one of Tommy's personal favourites: Captain. She was the coolest, most badass hero while still being the kindest.

She often talked about her children in interviews, saying how they needed to make the world a safe place for newer generations. She was an advocate for women's rights and for keeping the planet green.

She was the coolest.

He ducked into a nearby alleyway and let out a long sigh, rubbing his forehead with his thumb and index finger.

"What is my fucking life?"

Tommy arrived home and took a long shower. He may be perpetuating the idea that he was just a human embodiment of a raccoon, but he actually really liked showering. He just barely got the opportunity to do it properly, it was just so expensive to get proper things to do so efficiently. 

Getting out, he dried himself and got changed. He wore a warm, loose grey shirt and sweatpants and then pulled on his favourite raccoon hoodie. It had ears and a tail sewn onto it and it was the cosiest nightwear he had. Tommy quickly tugged on a pair of warm socks before he opened his freezer and grabbed a frozen meal, simply chucking it into his microwave for 10 minutes. He barely looked at exactly what it was, but considering how hungry he was getting, it didn’t exactly matter to him.

He went to sit down on the couch before he heard cawing coming from his balcony. Tommy paused for a moment, before padding over to the sliding door. Looking through he saw the same crow from before, which made him smile slightly. It was probably hungry, and came back because Tommy fed it before, but the blond didn’t mind.

 

Tommy pulled the door open, and the crow cawed and flew inside, landing on the same perch as before, one of his dining table chairs. “Caw to you too, little fucker.”

Just like last time, he grabbed a slice of bread and broke it into smaller pieces, placing the plate of bread close to the bird. It fluttered down and also like last time, ate it quite quickly. Once it was done, it hopped closer to him, cawing again.

“You still hungry, big man?” Tommy asked, hesitating with putting his hand too close to the bird. It cawed again before nudging his hand, and trying his best not to cry over this small thing, Tommy petted the crow.

“... I am the king of crows” Tommy declared to himself, smiling giddily.

After rubbing its head for a bit, the crow pulled away and cawed one final time before flying out of the open balcony door. Tommy shivered and finally went to close the sliding opening and sat back down.

 

Five minutes until his food was ready. It wasn’t going to be as good as the food he got during his outing with Wilbur and his brother, but it was for sure edible (and only slightly past it’s expiry date). He closed his eyes and hugged his knees to his chest. It was getting so cold lately, he missed the warmth of summer. Most days other than the few summer months were cold, and due to his broken heating it was a bitch to stay warm, and that wasn’t even mentioning the draft he has yet to find the source of. 

Henry climbed onto his lap, and Tommy pulled him close. If he was a cat, he would be purring from the warmth emanating from the small, furry animal.

Beep, beep, beep.

He let out an exaggerated groan, gently nudging Henry off his lap so he could get up and pull out his food from the microwave. “Aw fuck-! ” he yanked his hand back. Surprisingly enough, when things are placed into the microwave, they become hot. 

He grabbed a kitchen towel and pulled it out, placing it onto the counter. Looking down, it looked the opposite of appetising, but Tommy wasn’t picky. He ate it regardless, only slightly burning his tongue in the process, and feeling a bit sick afterwards.

 

On second thought, maybe he should’ve double checked that expiry date.

Notes:

How is this child still alive?

 

anyways, time for me to shout out my friend Ted again :))) they have a superhero fic of their own and they recently updated it!

go show em some love, it also stars Tommy as a main character! find it here !

Chapter 5

Notes:

Now that I officially finished my previous multichapter fic, Learning to Move Forward, I can now fully focus on this :))

Anyways, take crimeboys.

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

It was dark when Tommy woke up. Each and every part of his body shivered and it was a chore to breathe. His stomach churned and he felt his gut twist.

He had fallen asleep on the couch after eating the possibly expired freezer meal, already feeling sick in the aftermath of said dinner, so it wasn't all that surprising that he woke up feeling like literal shit.

He shakily got off the couch and staggered to the bathroom, sitting down on the freezing tiles next to the toilet. Tommy took in deep, laboured breaths, trying to focus on not throwing up.

Saliva filled up his mouth, and he gagged. By the time it was over he felt chills overtake his entire body, a headache rising to the surface. Tommy sat there for a few moments, heavy breathing filling up the quiet room.

Around 5 minutes passed, and nothing else seemed to be coming up, so he carefully rose to his feet and flushed down the bile. He brushed his teeth, leaning his entire weight on his hand since he wasn't confident in his legs being able to.

He reached his bedroom and crashed down onto the mattress, whining softly to himself. Who would have thought that his actions have consequences?

 

It was 1 pm when Tommy got out of bed, but not because he slept. After gagging up all his dinner, he spent hours in bed trying to get even a wink of sleep, to no avail. His stomach still hurt and his head decided to join in on the party by hurting too. 

Over the next few hours he did multiple trips to his bathroom floor, puking his guts out. So saying that he didn't sleep well was an understatement.

His phone rang, and he frowned as he checked who was calling him. Wilbur-? 

 

"...Hello?" He rasped, trying his best to not sound like he's had the worst night of his life in at least a few months.

"Tommy-?! Are you okay? You sound sick." Of course Wilbur immediately noticed, as annoying as he could be, the older man got very worried about him for the smallest things.

"Ah- it's nothing… I think I just ate something expired yesterday, puked my guts out last night" Tommy explained casually, it wasn't like this was the first time this has happened to him. Although it was the first time since meeting Wilbur.

"Expired?! Why would you eat something expired, Tommy?" Shit, Wilbur sounded very concerned. He had to fix this, he couldn't have his friend worried over nothing.

"I didn't have anything else to eat Will, plus it was only a month past it's date, so it wasn’t all that bad." 

 

It was dead silent for a few moments, to the point where Tommy thought they might have lost connection. "...Wilbur-?"

"Where are you currently?" The older said, his voice steady and unreadable. It made Tommy slightly nervous if he were to be honest with himself.

"At home-? Haven't gone anywhere today… "

"I'm coming over." Wilbur's tone left no room for argument, but Tommy tried to anyway.

"Wait Wil-" Tommy's eyes widened, Wilbur hung up on him. He cursed loudly, and looked at his three raccoons who gathered around him protectively.

"Alright, Triple H, you guys may need to go wander 'round town for a bit-." The last thing he needed today was for his secret identity to be found out.

 

By the time he heard a knock on his door, Tommy was once again dry heaving over the open toilet. Apparently, his body didn't get the memo that his stomach was empty, he didn't even hear his door open.

Suddenly a hand was on his shoulder making him jump. "Fucking hell-!!" Tommy yelped, falling back against the toilet, banging his already throbbing head.

"Sorry-! Didn't mean to startle you." Wilbur said apologetically, kneeling down in front of the smaller boy.

"Wilbur-? How did you get in?" Tommy asked, confusion clouding his tired expression.

"You left your door unlocked Toms-! You're lucky it was just me, you really need to be more careful" the brunet sighed, petting the blond's hair gently, his other hand holding onto Tommy's.

 

Wilbur was just as physically affectionate as always, but this time Tommy didn't pull away, warmth emanating from his palms. Nails scratched at his scalp and his eyes fluttered closed, his breathing calming down.

"Poor thing… have no one to take care of you." The hands gently pulled away and then lightly wrapped around him, picking him up and taking him out of the darkness of the bathroom.

"It's so cold here too… No place for someone to be sick." Tommy lay his head against the crook of Wilbur's neck, eyelids growing heavy as the older's voice droned on, bringing him comfort.

"Would you mind if I took you home, Toms? Take care of you until you shake this illness?"

Tommy clinged tighter onto the brunet, tiredly whining. A few moments of silence passed, Wilbur wrapping him in something . He couldn't even understand what Wilbur was saying to him anymore, but it didn't matter to him, he just relaxed himself in the taller's embrace.

Wilbur practically cooed, placing a gentle kiss to the blond's head. "Dumb child, eating expired food. It's a wonder you're still alive."

 

He felt Wilbur shift slightly, and he took out his phone, the sway of the taller man walking making keeping awake a very difficult task. "Tech… yeah I got him, he fell asleep in my arms." What was he saying? Tommy couldn't make it out, though he supposed it didn't matter.

Shivers wracked through his body, and he let out a pitiful sob, and Wilbur shushed him gently. "It's okay Tommy, Big brother Techno is coming to pick us up."

Tommy's eyes closed completely, and Wilbur suppressed a gentle laugh. He was so pliant like this, just calmly resting in his arms. No doubt if Tommy was completely aware, he would never let Wilbur do this. Too prideful to accept too much physical affection, or agree to be taken care of.

That was fine by the brunet, it just made moments like these a lot more rewarding. He wandered through the apartment, frowning as he noticed dirty dishes in the sink, dusty floors and cracked walls. 

Tommy was wearing a cute raccoon hoodie, shame he never told him about it, but Wilbur figured that it was embarrassing for the teen. Walking into his bedroom, he spotted the same old cow plush that he saw the last time he was in the other's apartment.

With only the slightest moments of hesitation, he picked the cow up. What was important to Tommy was important to him, after all.

A ping from his phone drew the brunet's attention, smiling as he saw who the message was from.

"Time to go home, Tommy"

 

*----*

 

Warmth and heaviness. That was the feelings Tommy awoke to. He felt like he was laying on the softest surface possible, like a fluffy cloud, or those meadows he saw in those nature documentaries. 

He yawned and rubbed his eyes, opening them to be met with a room that was definitely not his own. In a bed that was not his. It looked more like a nest than a bed, mountains of blankets and pillows covered him and lay around him. Next to him lay his stuffed cow Oswald.

Okay, now he was even more confused.

 

Maybe it was his slightly panicked mind, combined with his sick brain messing with his emotions, but he started crying. He couldn't stop it, realising it was happening just as the dam broke.

He was a big man, not some scared child-! He had to get a hold of himself. But instead, Tommy just cried harder. The headache that subsided, returning in full force while his nauseous stomach decided it had been too long since he last threw up, causing him to gag.

He swallowed down the bile that rose up, he couldn't look weak here, wherever here was, he didn't know… but it didn't matter.

The door opened, bright light shining into the dark room, stinging his eyes. Tommy sniffled, panic rising through the roof until he saw who it was.

It was Wilbur.

 

"Tommy-!! Are you okay? I heard you crying." Wilbur sat down on the bed-nest thing he was laying on, gently nudging Tommy to lay back down.

"I… where am I? I'm so confused…" he rasped, trying to settle down his unstable breathing.

"I went to visit you in your house so I could take care of you. But it was so cold there, and your blankets were so thin… so I asked if I could take you to my place for a bit, just until you shake whatever you caught."

Tommy blinked, thinking back a bit, he did remember Wilbur coming into his apartment. He felt bad for agreeing to this, worrying that he may be taking advantage of his friend's kindness.

 

"Aw, Will… you didn't have to do this-!" Tommy laughed weakly, a bit embarrassed that his outburst was seen by the brunet. By a bit, he meant very embarrassed. He was already fighting an uphill battle to get respected by older people around him, by any legal document he was just as much of an adult as the rest of them. Crying like a toddler definitely wasn’t helping him nor his bruised ego.

But Wilbur didn’t seem to look down at him in a condescending way, only a bit of pity. It was still annoying to have that thrown his way anyways. It reminded him too much of how older folk would stare at him when he was still on the streets, looking in pity yet never doing anything. But the older wasn't like those other people, he knew Wilbur. 

Wilbur was kind, and he cared about Tommy.

 

Speaking of Wilbur, he seemed to smile at what Tommy had said, but shook his head. “Stupid child.” nothing but fondness filled his voice. “You poisoned yourself because you ate spoiled food. No doubt you wouldn’t be able to take care of yourself enough for you to recover properly.”

He gently moved blond curls out of the teen's eyes, a cold hand connecting against the other's feverish forehead. "It's any wonder how you managed to take care of yourself for this long."

Tommy’s eyes fluttered closed, sighing contently at how amazingly cool the palm felt against his overheated skin, barely even acknowledging the fact that Wilbur had called him a child, something that would usually set him off.

"Techno was also worried about you… and my dad." That brought Tommy back to semi consciousness, confusion once again filling his expression. 

 

"Your dad?"

"Yep, I brought you to my house, and I live with my dad and brother. My old man was very concerned when I called him about bringing you home"

Tommy frowned, worry now replacing the confusion, sitting back up. "Ah- I don't want to be a bother… if I'm stressing your dad-" 

"Toms" Wilbur interrupted him, pulling Tommy onto his lap and wrapping arms around him to securely hold him there. "He was worried about your health. You're still a kid."

"I'm 18-" he pouted, which was a lie. He actually just recently turned 16, but people didn't need to know that.

 

Wilbur hummed in response, burying his face in the blond curls. "Please stay, Sunshine. Just until you're better, for my sake."

The closeness, the domestic feeling of it all. He just felt so safe.

 

How could he say no?

 

"Okay…"

"Thank you, Toms."

Notes:

Fluffy sickfics to make me feel something

Chapter 6

Notes:

Tags have been updated, reread them please just in case anything might trigger you :D

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

He didn’t know at which point he fell back asleep, all he knew was that when he woke back up he was once again alone. Now, despite him feeling like literal shit, that never stopped him in the past from causing a bit of havoc. He knew Wilbur somewhat well, but he has never been in his house before. That made him extremely curious, so despite his better judgement, he climbed out of bed.

That was also when he realised that he was still wearing his raccoon hoodie. He silently cursed to himself, embarrassment rising to his cheeks. Groaning in annoyance, he continued to sneak towards the door, listening closely to any sound that may indicate that someone was coming close.

He slowly pulled down the door handle and opened the door. Slowly and carefully he snuck out, closing the door behind him, sighing in relief at the lack of squeaking coming from said door, unlike his own doors in his house.

 

Looking around, he found the room was one of a few in a hallway. One door had a guitar graphic on the door, as if painted onto it. Another, had a painting of a pig that had tusks… a boar perhaps? These two were right next to each other, the guitar door directly in front of the room Tommy resided in. The final door, the one next to the one he came out of, had a weird heart symbol on it. He swore that he’s seen it somewhere before, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

He frowned, and quietly snuck past the doors and down the hallway. It led to a large opening with twin staircases leading to the downstairs area, and another hallway on the other side, past the stairs, with even more doors. These didn’t have any symbols on them however. 

Downstairs or doors…. Downstairs or doors, Tommy pondered to himself, thinking intently. Curiosity got the better of him, and he snuck towards the doors on the other end of the area. Putting his ear against one of the doors, smirking at not being able to hear anyone on the other side. 

 

He pulled down the handle. It didn’t budge. “Fuck…” He whispered to himself, the door was locked. Who locks doors on the inside of their house? What if you lose the key? He groaned and headed to the next door, once again checking if anyone was inside. Nothing.

He tried the door, and much to his delight, it easily opened. Looking inside, he saw a bunch of boxes, random furniture, old paintings and lots of shiny things on tables. His excitement peeked, there were a few things Tommy loved. The main things that came to mind were cows, raccoons, probably moths too. But when it came to objects, he adored shiny things. It didn’t matter if they were real or not, if it sparkled, it immediately caught his eye. 

He walked in, quietly pulling the door closed behind him and then walking deeper into the room. His head was starting to pound as his body begged for him to go back to sleep, but he ignored it. Nothing could stop the great Mellohi, not even sickness. The amount of times he’s gone out to fight criminals while having the flu was proof enough of that.

He ran his fingers lightly over one of the green jewels that was placed on a soft piece of fabric. It was pretty, but he didn’t know what kind of gem it was, he couldn’t even name more than 5 gems off the top of his head. He liked it anyway, even if he didn’t know which one it was.

 

He continued looking around, opening drawers and looking through cabinets. It took all the self control not to grab one of the gems from the tabletops. Everything even mildly interesting grabbed his attention, that was when his eyes lay on a feather on one of the tables in the back. It didn’t look real, a chrome sheen to it that shifted the black colour blue and purple. The edges felt soft and it was nice to touch, he wanted to take it so badly. He hesitated, before picking it up and pausing in his actions to reconsider.

He really shouldn’t be stealing from Wilbur… But it was just a feather. He frowned, fighting with his own mind on what to do. “It’s nice, isn’t it?”

Tommy screamed, turning around and backing himself into a corner before he saw who was talking to him. His eyes travelled up and came face to face with another man. He had shoulder length, blond hair and blue eyes. A bit of stubble on his chin and wrinkles at the corners of his eyes showing the signs of ageing. He wore an expensive, fancy but comfortable looking green robe, gold accents of feathers populated the bottom half of it. He also wore comfortable looking slippers.

 

"Hey mate!" The man smiled. "Sorry for startling you." He sounded sincere, but the smile never left his face.

"I-" Tommy frowned, realising he was still holding the feather and panic surged through his body. "I wasn't stealing-! I swear, I was just looking."

"It's alright, I believe you." He chuckled, lightly placing his hand on Tommy's head. It took a moment to realise but the physical contact made it increasingly obvious.

This was Wilbur's father.

 

"Dad-!! Did you find hi-" Wilbur ran into the room, before making eye contact with Tommy, then looking at the man. His eyes then travelled to the feather and then back to his dad.

"Found him, Will, don't worry…" He said, turning back to Tommy. "I'm Phil-! Wilbur's dad… sorry this is how you met me, mate, not the best first impression I know."

"...Hello, Phil." He noticed the wings on his back, how did he not see them before? They were folded but he could see the familiar shine to them. "Is this your feather?"

"Yep!" He chuckled. "If you like it, you can keep it. Wilbur told me how much of a human raccoon you were." He once again ruffled his hair.

 

Tommy yelped as Wilbur picked him up, immediately struggling against his grip. "What the fuck, Will?! Put me down-!"

"Toms, you're sick. You're going to make your condition worse if you are up and running around." Wilbur said, annoyance clear in his tone.

"But I'm bored, Wilbur. I'm a growing boy, I have to run, explore, discover and shit!" Tommy complained. “I have big man business to do, I don’t have the time to invest in being sick, I’m too cool to be in bed all day.”

 

The brunet rolled his eyes, but the amused smile on his face betrayed him. “Dumb child.” he stated simply, taking him out of the room. They walked back down the hallway and into the room. Wilbur deposited Tommy onto the bed, pushing him to lay down. “You’re bored, Toms?”

“Fuck yes.” Tommy quickly responded, noticing Phil and Techno enter the room and close the door behind them. 

“Then take some meds for me, and then we can do something. Okay?”

Medication? Why would he need meds for food poisoning? He supposed they probably knew more about sicknesses than him, so he nodded in agreement. 

 

Wilbur smiled at him, patting his head. Just like he usually did, Tommy pulled away. He quickly learnt that Wilbur’s entire family was extremely physically affectionate. Which would be alright if Tommy didn’t feel uncomfortable with too much touching, which was even more ironic considering how touch starved he sometimes felt.

Sometimes the touches made him feel safe, sometimes they made him want to shrivel up into a corner.

The duality of man, Tommy muses to himself.

 

Wilbur walked back towards him. When did he leave in the first place? He didn’t even notice. He was holding a cup of some dark liquid with a slight orange tint to it. “Here, drink this.” The taller said softly, handing him the cup.

Tommy sniffed it, face wrinkling up in disgust. It smelt horrible. "What the fuck is this, Will?" He looked back up at the brunet, who tilted his head slightly.

"Meds." he responded simply. "It's gross but it will make you feel better. I'll let you wash it down with something sweet if you'd like."

The blond pouted, giving Techno a glance "Is your brother trying to poison me, Tech?"

"Yeah." The gruff voice snickered, earning an annoyed shove from his brother. 

Tommy groaned, knowing he wouldn't be able to get out of it. "Can I have coke, Will?" He received a firm nod from the older before pushing his hand which was holding the cup closer to him. 

 

“Drink, Techno will get you the coke.” 

One sip and Tommy gagged, it tasted so bad. But Tommy was tough, he wouldn’t be bested by a cup of… something. He forced the rest of it down, unable to help the pitiful whine. The taste alone nearly made him throw up again.

The cup was taken from him and another was pushed into his hand, the familiar sound of fizz filling his ears. He chugged the coke down, hoping it would rid the taste from his mouth. It helped a bit, but the vile aftertaste still lingered in the back of his throat.

 

“It should take effect in a little bit, Toms. You want to watch something?” Wilbur asked gently, his hand once again finding its way to the blond’s hair.

“There’s no TV, Will.” Tommy murmured, his stomach feeling weirdly warm from whatever he just drank.

“I have a tv in my room.” Phil spoke up, closer than he was moments prior. “Any movie in particular you want?”

“Moana.” Tommy laughed softly. “It’s a great movie.”

He barely reacted when he was once again picked up, this time by Techno. He was taken out of the room and into the room with the strange heart symbol. That must mean the other two rooms were Wilbur’s and Techno’s. 

 

Phil’s room was painted with light green walls, a high ceiling with several perch-like areas, high up on the walls. Considering Phil had wings, it kind of made sense to Tommy. There were tree-like pillars holding up the room, several plants and black birds painted onto the walls. There were a few sofas, a work table, and a large tv hanging down from one end of the room. On the other end was a nest-like bed, big enough to probably fit at least 5 fully grown people, with multiple blankets, pillows and other soft items.

He was placed gently into the nest, Techno sitting down on one side of him, and Wilbur on the other, who didn’t hesitate when wrapping his arm around the younger. But Tommy was quickly getting so tired, he didn’t even have the energy to shove him away.

Phil grabbed a remote from the mantle of a fireplace that was underneath the hanging tv, walking back over to sit next to Wilbur. He fiddled with the remote and tv for a bit before finally the movie started playing.

When did he light the fireplace? Tommy didn’t remember him doing that. Each moment between blinks grew longer and longer. 

 

He barely got through 15 minutes of the movie before falling asleep, lulled by the fuzzy images on the screen, Wilbur’s gentle strokes of his hair and all three of their body heat.

Notes:

In response to me writing the line ' "But I'm bored, Wilbur. I'm a growing boy, I have to run, explore, discover and shit" Tommy complained “I have big man business to do, I don’t have the time to invest in being sick, I’m too cool to be in bed all day” '

My friend Ted wrote to me in dms, and I quote 'he knows investing in the "sleep" stock markets would be detrimental to his wealth'

 

anyways, follow me on twitter, I tweet random things I think about and sometimes updates and cryptic hints about fics :) here!

Chapter 7

Notes:

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

More art by them at the bottom :)

A phone ringing was what pulled Wilbur out of his sleep. It also seemed to have stirred both Techno and Phil since the two of them shifted, Phil yawning and Techno rubbing his eyes.

Much to Wilbur's delight, the small boy between them stayed asleep, taking a particularly deep breath in and pushing closer to the brunet's body, trying to leech off of his body heat.

 

"Who's phone-?" Techno grumbled, annoyed at being woken up, he barely got enough sleep as is.

"Tommy's." Phil noted, off the bed and grabbing the mobile from the desk drawer. They had taken it with them just in case, but now Wilbur was regretting said decision.

"The caller ID says 'boss'... " The oldest man said aloud, Wilbur cursing to himself.

"Shit, that's right… Tommy has work. I completely forgot. God, the kid's gonna be pissed if he loses the job, he's so desperate to be independent…"

 

"I thought we were keepin' him, Wilbur." Techno rumbled, possessiveness lacing his words despite his monotone delivery.

"Not yet, it's too soon… I want him to trust us first. The sickness was just an opportunity I didn't want to miss out on, he never let's me hug him like this." Wilbur admitted sheepishly, getting up and onto his feet.

"Time for Lovejoy to convince his boss to give him the rest of the week off. If Tommy wakes up, tell him I went to get him a gift."

"Alright."

*----*

 

Fuzzy, unintelligible words were being passed above him, Tommy wanted to go back to sleep. A dull monotone voice responded to a higher pitched, gentle voice. The monotone voice said something again, earning a laugh from the other.

The blond whined, reaching for a pillow to cover his eyes. A softer laugh was heard along with a deeper huff of amusement, a warm, large hand gently placed on his back.

 

"Mornin', Tommy." Techno rumbled, his words almost completely going over his head. 

"How do you feel?" Another voice asked, Tommy managed to identify Phil’s voice, still relatively unused to hearing it.

"Like shit..." he groaned, his voice muffled by the pillow he buried his face into. A few moments passed, the hand unmoving from his back, but still there. A calming anchor to show there was someone there, even if he couldn't see them.

“Wilbur went out for a bit, so you’re stuck with us until he gets back.” Phil murmured softly, something moving the pillow off of his head. Tommy whined, moving his head to the side and finally opening his eyes. He spotted Phil sitting next to him, but didn’t see Techno. Turning his head to the other side he saw that the larger man was the one who placed his hand on his back.

 

“I don’t feel sick anymore.” Tommy said softly “When Wilbur gets back, can he take me home?”

Techno’s expression was unreadable, his heavy hand moving to pat the blond’s head. “Wait until Will gets back. He’s getting you a gift.”

That caught Tommy’s attention and he sat up. “Gift? What gift? What is he getting me?” 

Phil laughed, it was a nice laugh. It made Tommy want to laugh too. “I don’t know, mate. I’m sure it’s something nice though. But if you’re feeling better, you think you might be up to eating something?”

 

The younger thought about it for a moment, before nodding warily. He felt bad about asking for so much, but if they were anything like Wilbur, they wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Techno moved to wrap his arms around the blond, picking him up. “I can walk, asshole!” Tommy growled, trying to struggle out of his grip, however it seemed that his ears didn’t work, because he proceeded to ignore him and carry him out of the room.

The teen didn’t make it any easier for him, continuing to curse him out and demand to be put down. “You may feel better Tommy, but I’m still unsure of it.” The older said gruffly, placing him down finally onto a chair in what Tommy assumed to be the dining room.

It was insane that people actually had a separate area to eat from the kitchen, the rich fucks. “What do you want for breakfast, Toms?” Phil asked gently “We can make pancakes or waffles, or something else if you want it.”

 

“...Waffles-” He responded hesitantly. If they were willing to make him breakfast, he wasn’t going to complain. 

“Alright, I’ll call the chef to make that for you.” 

Tommy’s eyes visibly widened, a combination of horror and confusion filling his expression at once. Phil burst into loud laughter, petting him on the head. 

“I’m kidding- I’ll make it for you.”

“You’re an asshole, Phil.”

 

When Wilbur came back, Tommy was already halfway through his second waffle. He had to admit, Phil was good at cooking. Homemade waffles tasted ten times better than the frozen ones he bought from the store, either that or Philza Minecraft, which was apparently his full name, was a god among men when it came to cooking.

“Hey, Sunshine.” Wilbur ruffled the blond’s hair, smiling fondly at the younger. “I got you a gift.”

Tommy raised his head, swallowing what he already had in his mouth before speaking “What is it?” his eyes landed on a wrapped object that Wilbur placed on the table. It was square, so it was difficult to guess what it was exactly. He hesitated until the brunet nudged the gift closer.

“Let the boy finish eating first, mate...” Phil scolded, patting Wilbur’s shoulder. 

“Sorry, sorry… I wanna know if he likes what I got him.”

Tommy murmured something, mouth half full of more waffles. Wilbur laughed softly. “Stupid child.”

 

Once he was finally finished, Tommy excitedly grabbed the box. “Can I open it now, Will?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

He practically ripped off the wrapping paper, to be met with a box. A bit confused, he pulled off the lid and peered inside. In the box was a soft, stuffed animal of a raccoon. The fur fabric looked soft to the touch, so he reached inside and took it out.

“Awe, Will…” His voice was oddly soft, but he didn’t realise it. “Thank you- Raccoons are my favourite.” He laughed, smiling up at the taller.

“I know Toms, I knew you’d like it.”

 

“Ah- That reminds me… Wilbur, Can you take me home now?” He asked “I have work tomorrow…”

A few moments of silence before Tommy cursed loudly “SHIT-! I missed work yesterday-!”

“That's what I wanted to tell you-” Phil spoke up, handing Tommy his phone, earning a confused expression. “We called your boss to give you the rest of the week off. He agreed!”

“He did-?” That was strange, his boss never gave him a day off. He was already not working the full week, so it kind of made sense that he wouldn’t. Maybe his boss agreed because Wilbur’s family was rich or something?

“Yes! So, we can take you home… But you have to promise me to take it easy for the rest of the week.” Wilbur said sternly. “Oh, and before you go home, we’re taking you shopping for proper food. I refuse to let you eat spoiled shit again, idiot child.”

 

“But- Wilbur!” he tried to argue, he didn’t want to take it easy, he had hero-ing to do. 

“No, I won’t have it. We’re going to pay for the food and everything, you have nothing to worry about.”

With a sigh and a roll of his eyes, Tommy agreed. “Fine- annoying fucker.”

The brunet smiled softly, hugging him gently “I’m so glad you’re here with us, gremlin.”

 

Why was he always so weird? Tommy supposed it didn’t matter, he was glad to finally have someone who seemed to care about him.

It was almost like having a family.

 

*----*

 

Going shopping with Wilbur’s family was a bizarre experience. They entered the large grocery store, one that Tommy has never been in himself. According to Phil, they had high quality food and a large variety of said food. One look at the pricing however, made Tommy’s wallet want to cry.

Everything that looked even remotely interesting to Tommy, Wilbur didn’t hesitate to add to the cart. Phil focused on essentials, adding items like milk and eggs. As for Techno, surprisingly enough he was encouraging Wilbur’s raiding of the shelves. The cart was a mountain of items by the end, and the final price at the till made the boy’s heart nearly stop. “That’s way too much, Will. I can’t let you spend this much on me.”

 

“Hush, child. We’re happy to buy these things for you.” 

“I’m not a child-” His voice wasn’t convincing, but he tried his best to keep up the illusion.

 

When they drove back to Tommy’s apartment, the other three seemed to hesitate before Phil unlocked the back doors of the car. “I don’t know why you guys are being dramatic about this, it’s not like this is the last time we’ll see each other.” Tommy scoffed, as Techno started hauling out the shopping bags, handing one to Phil and another to Wilbur, keeping the last two to himself. 

Tommy simply carried the items he’d brought to Phil’s house. Oswald his worn cow plush, his mobile phone and his new raccoon plush. He’d figure out a name for it soon.

They entered the apartment and Phil frowned more, unpleased by the state of the apartment. Tommy on the other hand, was excited to be home, laying down on the squeaky, old couch. He’d found this one thrown out in some back alley. A good wash and it was practically good as new.

 

“Home sweet home.” he murmured into the couch’s blue fabric, closing his eyes contently. 

“Tommy, I’m emptying your fridge from what it already has. Pretty much all of it is expired or shitty quality.” Phil’s voice echoed, the younger blond humming in response. 

 

Time seemed to slow down, the rough material of the couch was grounding in a way that the nest-like bed back at Wilbur’s house couldn’t ever be. His time in the family’s house was like a dream, but it was time for him to wake up, return to the real world. He knows he can’t stay there, as much as one part of his mind wishes to.

A weight appeared on his side, arms coming to pull him up and onto a lap. Wilbur. The brunet tucked the teen’s head into the crook of his neck, resting his face in blond curls. Gentle hums emanate from the stiff chest of the older man. “I enjoyed having you around, Toms. Hope we can do it again soon.”

 

Tommy laughed, a smile forming on his face “Hopefully I’m not sick this time, eh? Don’t want to be a burden, innit?” 

“You’re never a burden to us, Tommy.” Wilbur mumbled into his hair, blue eyes meeting brown ones. “You’re a joy to have around, even if you’re a little shit at times.”

The teen went silent for a moment, before hesitantly asking “... Can you guys stay, for a little bit? I don’t want to be alone right now.” his voice wavered as he spoke, internally cursing himself for ever asking the question. Of course they don’t, they have a lot more important things to do other than stay with some random kid.

 

“Of course we can, Sunshine.”

What? 

“What?” Tommy sounded dumbfounded “Really?”

“We’ll stay for a bit, kid.” Techno said, his voice somehow coming out softer than usual, sitting down next to the two of them, placing his hand on Tommy’s arm. Another anchor, another reminder. 

 

They were so touchy. Tommy wanted to hate the touches, but he didn’t. 

 

“Thank you.”

--------------

 

Tommy in his raccoon hoodie, drawn by the ever talented: Ted!

He is embarrassed. No one else was suppose to know about this hoodie. Now everyone knows D:

Notes:

Follow me on twitter for random thoughts and fic updates :) link!

Chapter 8

Notes:

I'm so tired, enjoy chapter :,)

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

To say that they were all losing patience was an understatement, Wilbur and Phil were holding up better than Techno was however. On the outside he was as stoic and expressionless as ever, but on the inside it killed him each time they had to leave Tommy alone.

Logically, Tommy was completely safe, probably the safest kid around, considering they were constantly monitoring him via several methods. But that never stopped him from worrying about the kid, he still took part in heroism which meant he could still get hurt.

The voices in his head sang each time his scarred hand ran through the messy blond hair, knowing, seeing that he was safe. Nothing could harm him if Techno was around.

 

Wilbur teased him about his worry and Phil gave him a gentle, knowing look, reassuring him that Tommy was fine and they needed to wait longer.

Techno didn't want to wait longer, but he did. The last thing he wanted was for Tommy to hate them. But a few voices echoed thoughts that it wouldn't be that bad, as long as he's safe. Safe in the heart of their base, in their nest.

 

Today, Wilbur had convinced Tommy to go to the shopping district with them. It was a difficult thing to convince the kid to let them spend more money on him, but it wasn't like they didn't have the cash to spare.

The blond was waiting awkwardly outside his apartment building, but luckily relaxed as he saw the car come into view. Wilbur climbed out of the passenger's side and hugged the teen, Techno choosing to stay put, hands steadily resting on the wheel.

Tommy entered the backseat, and Wilbur returned to his place beside Techno. The two chattering to each other as the car carefully pulled out, back onto the road.

 

"Tech?" Tommy called from behind him, despite not being able to see the kid, Techno knew those baby blue eyes were fixated on him.

"Yeah?" He responded smoothly, barely even thinking twice.

"What are we getting from the shopping district?"

"Whatever you want, and probably whatever Wilbur's lack of sensible spending wants."

Wilbur let out a dignified noise of protest. "Rude."

"Truth hurts, Wilbur." He responded dryly, a slight smirk on his face. A laugh came from Tommy, and the voices echoed cheers inside his head.

 

It only took about 10 minutes to get there, Tommy only whining an ' Are we there yet? ' once, which was a win in Techno's book. Wilbur took Tommy's hand immediately when the kid exited the car, and nudged the scarred man to be on the other side, which was fine by him.

Tommy never noticed it, but they always surrounded him in some sort of protective bubble. If a person they deemed a threat came too close, they'd make sure that this person would back off.

May the blood god have mercy on those who attempt to harm something of theirs. Techno snorts at the thought, knowing that the god certainly won't. 

 

The first place they stopped at was a bakery, grabbing some food to eat on the go. Tommy was messily eating a donut when they passed by a clothing store. 

"Hm…" Wilbur hummed thoughtfully, glancing at what Tommy was wearing as the blond finished his pastry, Techno fighting the urge to help clean up, instead offering a napkin which he thankfully accepted.

When Wilbur deemed him clean enough, he tugged the confused teen into the store. All in all, they managed to find several pieces of clothing Tommy liked or Wilbur thought matched him, Techno giving his input whenever his twin nudged him or Tommy asked.

He bets that Wilbur slipped a few extra ones into the pile without the teen noticing, getting distracted by the shiny jewellery near the front of the store. Raccoon child, the voices echoed fondly.

 

Finally, out of the claustrophobic store, Tommy sat down in front of a fountain in the middle of the district centre, putting his hand into the cool water. When Wilbur got close, he splashed a handful of it onto the taller man, bursting into chaotic giggles at the shocked gasp he received.

That was until he got soaked in return, Techno putting a stop to their play fighting before any of them fell into the fountain. "Wanna make a wish, Tommy?" Techno asked, his red eyes shifting to look at the much smaller teen, over a foot shorter than him, holding out a small silver coin.

 

"A wish? I'm not a child, Techno." He responded with a pout, but when the other didn't make an effort to move, he took the coin anyways. He mumbled something softly before tossing it inside.

"What did you wish for?" Wilbur asked, running his fingers through the younger's hair, untangling a stubborn knot gently. 

"Can't say, it won't come true if I do."

"Child." Wilbur responded, nothing but affection filled his tone. Tommy nudged him in annoyance, but there was no bite to it. 

 

It was a nice day out, but now Techno had to once again let Tommy return home. Out of his direct line of sight, out of arm's reach. His voices cried in protest, some urging him to go check on the kid later in the night.

He'd done it before, Tommy was a pretty heavy sleeper. 

Tommy hugged them each goodbye when they dropped him off outside his apartment, clumsily holding onto the shopping bags and assuring them that he could handle it on his own.

 

The drive home was silent. The longer they went without their brother coming home to them, the thinner their patience was getting. All it took was for Phil to say that it was okay, they could go bring him home , then Techno would do it in a heartbeat.

Tommy didn't belong in that rat nest of an apartment, with drafts and leakage in almost every corner, mold practically welded into the plaster of the wall.

That night, when they recounted their day to their father, Phil gave him a knowing look. Like he could read his mind, which knowing the man, was probably true.

Phil had the most self control, but just like the brothers, he was losing it quickly.

 

*----*

 

Tommy had a lot of fun at the shopping center, but that was no surprise. Every outing with Wilbur and Techno was fun and exciting even if they insisted on spending money on him.

He's been getting more used to their frequent touches and affectionate glances. A part of his mind even considered a few times to tell them about Mellohi.  

But he pushed that thought into the back of his mind.

 

He walked into his apartment to be greeted with his 3 raccoons, along with Little Fucker, the crow that ended up sticking around. It sometimes left, even for days at a time, but it always returned. When did it, it always had some shiny gift for him, which he gladly accepted.

Tommy set the bags on the side of his couch, going to pet his trio. They'd learnt to recognise Wilbur, Techno and Phil's footsteps, hiding when they came up to their door, which Tommy was very thankful for, since they barely ever warned him before they showed up.

 

*----*

 

Being Mellohi was still fun and fulfilling, but it kind of got overshadowed a bit when compared to what he now did as Tommy. His time with Wilbur’s family was fun and they cared, while the way people treated him as Mellohi made him feel… insignificant, useless, worthless.

But he shoved those feelings down to the back of his mind, being Mellohi was just as important as any other hero existing, if not more. He was the single most talented hero, in his humble opinion.

Listening to the radio, he heard reports of a robbery once again happening in St. Craft Street, this time deciding to not bother heading out there. He was even farther than he’d been the first time it happened, and he really didn’t feel like getting shit on by Sam or someone else. 

Instead, he decided to sneak around in the back alleys once again, his raccoon trio clinging onto him in different spots. Maybe he could stop a random petty crime, just anything to give him an ego boost.

 

"Hello, little raccoon." 

Tommy yelped and spun around, nearly tripping on air. Behind him stood Lovejoy, who he hadn't seen since his first encounter a few months ago. 

He was terrified, yes, but he couldn't just run away … right?

He tried anyway.

 

Until a heavy weight grabbed him and pinned him onto the rough floor.

"Hello, Theseus."

Ichor. Tommy felt like he was going to cry.

 

"LET ME GO, YOU FUCKING BITCH -!" Tommy growled, clawing at the ground like a feral animal. No way was he going to die like this, taking it like some weakling.

He heard Lovejoy chuckle darkly, and the sounds of boots clicking against the brick floor. A hand ran through his hair, the villain rubbing the raccoon ears of his costume.

"Hands off bitch-!" He whined- no, he growled, like the man he was. His voice once again gave away his fear with a sharp voice crack.

 

An almost soft rumbling tone came from Ichor, while a croon came out of Lovejoy. "Tiny, little raccoon. So far away from its nest." The siren villain purred, crouching down in front of Tommy.

"Hiding away from the big crimes, hm? That's a very smart choice." 

Tommy didn't want to listen to the man’s annoying rambles, but every time he so much as struggled or shifted, Ichor's grip tightened warningly.

"How about we play a game, Theseus." Ichor said gruffly, not a shred of tone giving away what he was thinking or feeling. "If you can make it to where we first met, before we catch you… we'll let you leave alive."

 

Well it wasn't like he had much of a choice otherwise, so he nodded nervously.

Ichor released him, but Tommy bolted before they could even consider doing a countdown. He took shortcuts, taking sharp turns and jumping over or sliding under objects, hoping to throw off the villains chasing him.

He knew they were close behind, even if he couldn't bring himself to turn around, he heard the blood god's heavy footsteps practically nipping at his heel.

He couldn't hear Lovejoy, but the villain was known for his silent approaches. Never seen until it was too late, never heard until his siren's song was sung.

 

His lungs screamed for air, and he had a stitch in his side. He didn't know how much farther he could run.

He wasn't going to make it, he needed to stop, his legs hurt so bad.

 

The entrance to his back alley was in sight.

He was going to make it. A last rush of adrenaline forcing him forward, he scrambled over the wall, falling onto the concrete below him. In pain, and shaking with overexertion, he dragged himself to his corner.

He was panting loudly, his throat felt dry and his sides burned. Tommy closed his eyes, trying to regulate his breathing, until he heard soft laughter.

Lovejoy. 

 

"Aw-! Well done, little raccoon. I'm so very proud of you." 

Tommy opened his eyes, and his heart dropped.

Ichor and Lovejoy stood before him, and in the blood god's grip… were his beloved raccoons.

 

"LET THEM GO, ASSHOLE-!" Tommy shouted out, the sentence broken halfway as he coughed, throat still dry and body heavily dehydrated.

Much to his surprise, Ichor did, letting the trio run to their owner.

"You beat us in the game, Theseus. We are people of our word." The mountain of a man explained, voice as monotone as ever.

 

Lovejoy however, stepped forward, unbothered by not only Tommy hissing at him, but his raccoons too.

Without even a sliver of hesitation, the siren villain combed his fingers through the blond's hair. "Hope we can play again."

Brown eyes connected with blue, and the villain smirked.

 

"Sleep."

Tommy obeyed.

*----*

When he woke up, he was still in the back alley, but now all alone.

 

He needed to tell Sam.

 

-----------------

What's this? Sleepy Bois Inc.'s canon height in this au! :D

Notes:

Follow me on twitter for fic updates, sneakpeaks, and random thoughts :) link!

Chapter 9

Notes:

The trap has been set.

 
(New tags added)
Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

He knew exactly where he was going, memorising the way to the main police station with ease. Sam needed to know, who knew what could happen next? He was extremely lucky to get out of that situation alive, next time he doubted luck would be on his side.

His pets could have died, his only family. Well… except-. 

Tommy shook his head, Wilbur was a very close friend, Techno and Phil too, but they weren’t family… or at least they didn’t share the same amount of affection he had for them. He didn’t blame them, he knew how much of a pain he could be. Sure, they never outright told him to fuck off, but it was only a matter of time.

 

He threw open the door and ran in, banging his hands on the front desk. “I need to talk to Sam, now!”

The person at the desk peered down at him, raising an eyebrow. “He’s at the crime scene, Mellohi. The place you didn’t think to show up to.”

Tommy groaned, biting at his nails before exiting the building. He really didn’t want to go there, but it had to have been long enough, maybe there weren’t as many people there? It was important enough anyways, the appearance of Ichor and Lovejoy, together no less , had to raise alarm bells in peoples heads.

 

It took ten minutes to get there, and he snuck through the nearby alleyway and peeked around the corner. Most people weren’t there, but there were still some people sticking around. The thief had already been taken, but other police officers were examining the scene. Tommy pouted, where was Sam?!

Harold jumped down from his shoulder, and ran into the crowd. Sniffing around, the animal managed to locate the chief of police quite quickly, avoiding people smoothly. Neither he nor Tommy was interested in sneering faces.

The large raccoon bit the end of Sam’s pant leg, tugging it. A bit of a struggle later, Harold managed to convince him to follow it to where Tommy was hiding.

 

“You’re even more late than usual Mel-”

“Sam this isn’t the time-!” Tommy didn’t even bother to try and cover the panic in his voice. His eyes were blown wide with underlying fear. Sam’s mouth closed, but his eyebrow rose suspiciously.

“What happened?”

“I saw them-! I saw Lovejoy again, he was with Ichor. They said they’d kill me Sam-!!” He quickly explained, even adding the fact that they chased him and managed to snatch his raccoons before releasing them.

 

Sam’s eyebrows furrowed, annoyance evident in his expression. “What utter bullshit, Mellohi. That’s the fucking biggest lie I’ve ever heard in my life. How desperate are you for attention?”

What?

The blond froze, wide eyes fixated on the man before him. “What-?! Sam I’m telling the truth-!”

“Uh huh, and the fucking tooth fairy exists. How old are you again, Mellohi?!” With that, Sam turned his back to him. “Stay out of the way, trash child, you will get people hurt.”

 

It stung. The insult stung badly. It wasn’t gentle teasing like Wilbur, it wasn’t affectionate like Phil, it wasn’t underlying pride like Techno.

He fought back tears, he was telling the truth. Why didn’t Sam believe him?! 

Tommy could have died, would any of them even care? Maybe then they’d believe him, if he did, the blond thought bitterly.

 

That day, he entered his apartment and crashed onto his couch in hard sobs. His body shivered with the mere force of them, and by the end of it, he felt empty. 

A few minutes passed, so he finally changed clothes, shoving his hero costume where he usually hid it. This time a little more angrily than he usually would.

Sitting on the floor, back against the blue couch, his finger hovered over Wilbur’s contact. He really didn’t want to bother him., but he needed comfort. What if he asked what was wrong? Would Tommy even be able to explain without giving away his identity?

He tapped the call button, placing the phone to his ear. The phone hummed a few times before his call went through, Wilbur always answered his call.

 

“Hello Tommy-!” Wilbur said, as cheerful as ever. His mere voice was enough to elicit a soft whine from the younger. “Toms? Are you alright?” 

“Can you come over, Will?” He whispered softly, his quivering voice giving away more than he probably wanted. 

There was silence on the other end of the line, before the brunet’s voice came through, now a lot more gentle “Of course, Sunshine, would you like the others to come too?”

“Yes.” he said, voice raspy, before adding an extra “please.” at the end of his sentence.

 

*----*

 

It took them less time than he expected to get to his apartment. The drive from their house to his back when they took him home was at least half an hour, this time it took them probably less than ten minutes.

Maybe they were nearby, there were a few shopping places close to where he lived, but none seemed like places rich people like them would shop at. He almost thought that Techno might, the guy not at all bothered by how fancy something was, but even he loved jewellery. Especially the golden jewels, even buying Tommy a few, always seeming happier when the blond wore them.

So he did, even if he didn’t fully understand the appeal, he liked shiny things too but that also extended to plastic made to seem shiny. He didn’t have the eye to differ between real and fake, but Wilbur’s family did.

 

A knock on his door was heard, his trio already left to go on walk to avoid being caught by them. He wished he could just show them to his friends, but the last thing he wanted now was to merge his two lives. The last thing he wanted was to give his friends another reason to hate him.

Tommy slowly got up on his feet, and opened his door, arms immediately wrapping around him. Long fingers already threaded themselves in his hair, pushing him to a thin chest wearing an annoyingly yellow sweater. Wilbur. 

He couldn’t stop himself before the flood gates already poured open, tears rolling down his cheeks. Wilbur gently hushed him, carefully managing to pick the boy up, and sitting down on the couch with the shorter one laying on his lap. The slow rocking was calming, he almost didn’t notice Phil and Techno entering his home, the door closing behind them.

 

“Toms, what happened?” Phil asked softly, wiping away tears from Tommy’s cheeks. He didn’t respond, whimpering softly. He didn’t want to explain, he just wanted to bask in his friend’s presence, relax against their warmth.

Techno sat next to the two on the couch, letting Tommy reach out and hold onto his hand. The older blond sitting on the other side, and carding his fingers through the boy’s messy hair. They cared about him, he felt so safe.

At some point, he’d fallen asleep, calmly listening to the consistent thumping of Wilbur’s heart, and the gentle touches of Phil.

 

*----*

 

Wilbur frowned as he heard Tommy’s breathing shift, telling him that the boy had officially fallen asleep. Tommy may not have felt the need to open up, but they had known the reason for his upset anyways. There was always a little friend in the sky keeping close watch over him, after all.

“Crying over the police not believing him…” Phil muttered darkly, unable to help the slight smile rising to his lips “It does make our job easier, if no one suspects anything. However you could have lured him away from the other crime scene in a much less traumatising way, boys.”

Wilbur smiled sheepishly “That was my bad, he was getting too close to other villains. I just didn’t want him to get hurt.” 

The older man rolled his eyes, but the smile didn’t leave his face, his fingers still tracing circles in Tommy’s hair. 

 

“When can we take him home?” Techno rumbled, red eyes moving from staring at the small boy on his twin’s lap, to his father. 

“Soon. Much sooner than I previously would have wanted.” The winged man replied “I think it's been long enough that we can work on his room. I know you two have been excited about that.” 

Wilbur let out a pleased purr, pulling Tommy closer to him. “Poor thing, has no idea what’s going to happen.”

 

*----*

 

When Tommy woke up, they had convinced him to go out with them, once again going to the shopping district. This time, they didn’t buy anything, they just hung out. Enjoying each other’s presence and joking around.

He never explained what was wrong, and they didn’t ask. He preferred it that way, never wanting to get into what upset him that much. Wilbur told him that he was always welcome to call them if he needed help or comfort, and if he were to be completely honest with himself, when they left he felt a weird sense of homesickness.

He still went back to being Mellohi the next day.

 

*----*

 

The next encounter he had wasn't with Lovejoy or Ichor at first. It was with someone much, much worse. 

It happened almost 2 full weeks later, a murder of crows practically blocking his exit from the abandoned parking lot of some run down pub. He thought that there was someone in trouble here, instead it was just a crow mimicking a human voice.

He’d been tricked.

Tommy swore that his day couldn't get any worse, how the fuck was he suppose to get through all those crows?!

Footsteps echoed behind him and he swivelled around on his heel, the breath being knocked out of his lungs when he saw it.

 

On the roof, sat a man with large black wings, dark clothing with black, chrome feathers poking out of almost every corner. Thanatos, named after the Greek god of death, looked down at him with piercing blue eyes.

Tommy was fucked. He was so, so screwed.  

Thanatos dropped to the ground, chuckling darkly, long strides that managed to reach the shell-shocked boy quickly and swiftly.

"Hello, little raccoon." He practically purred, before he looked up and behind him. Tommy dared to glance over his shoulder.

 

Fuck.

 

Ichor and Lovejoy fearlessly walked through the murder of crows, he was alone. So very alone.

"Look at me, Mellohi." Thanatos commanded, Tommy immediately making eye contact with him, not daring to disobey.

The god of death crooned softly, hand reaching to touch the blond boy, who shied away from the hand. It did little to discourage the villain, who chuckled softly in amusement.

"Hey, mate." he murmured, making direct eye contact with Tommy.

 

'Mate' ?

 

Tommy's eyes widened, taking a step back. A lot of technology was made to help heroes hide their identities, said advances were also adopted by villains.

Items they used to prevent people from recognising them, or their voices. Tommy himself couldn't afford such a thing, and Purpled never offered one to him. But what it didn't hide was what the person chose to say or how they chose to say it.

Tommy only knew one person who used that word, in that way, in that exact tone.

The items stopped you from seeing the pieces, it didn't stop you from putting them together once you had them.

Blond hair. Blue eyes. Black wings.

 

His heart dropped. If he was Thanatos, then that meant-

He turned around slowly, eyes fixated on Lovejoy. Please, his mind begged, please no.

He slowly pulled out his phone, and they let him. He scrolled through his contacts, tapping on Wilbur's, his eyes returning to stare at the siren villain.

Placing the phone to his ear, he frowned. Please no. His phone hummed and-

 

The sound of a phone vibrating echoed around the silent parking lot. Lovejoy pulled out his phone, a frown apparent on his usually confident face, tapping it lightly.

Please, no.

He placed his phone to his ear, and whispered "Hello Tommy."  

He heard it over the phone, and it echoed throughout his entire being. Horror striking each and every nerve in his body.

"Please, no-" his voice whispered hoarsely, "Don't tell me."

 

A hand was placed on his shoulder, and he screamed, his entire body forcing itself into high gear. He bolted .

He knew he wasn't going to make it. “ Tommy- ” He heard Lovejoy call out, voice more frantic than he expected it to be.

They knew where he lived. They knew his other identity. They knew everything about him.

Hot tears fell down his face, his heart aching from the betrayal. He thought he'd finally found someone who cared, some people that cared. A family.

 

No. They tricked him, they tricked him and lied to him and fucked with his head. They were worse than the heroes, at least they didn't pretend like they cared about him.

It hurt more than any bruise or beating he received in the past, and felt so much more permanent.

 

"Stop." His legs froze, Wilbur’s raw, shouting command still echoing in his ears.

The last chase was just a game to them, this time they weren't playing around.

He felt nimble arms wrap around him, before fingers once again ran through his blond locks. "Why are you running, Toms? I thought you enjoyed hanging out with me?"

"You-... you lied to me." He choked out, heartbreak lacing his words. 

"You lied to us too, Tommy… Never told us about Mellohi. "

" You knew." Tommy practically shouted, his feet still locked in place from Lovejoy… from Wilbur's ability.

 

Heavy footsteps came close, Ichor… Techno stood in front of him. "Sorry we had to hold back the truth, Theseus. We did want to tell you in a better way… but we got impatient."

Tommy whimpered, tears freely falling down his cheeks silently. "Are you going to kill me?"

He heard Phil laugh gently, the same laugh that Tommy would always find contagious, the kind of laughter that made him want to laugh along with him.

 

"No, mate. I would never dream of hurting you."

"What do you want from me, then?" He dared to ask, fear causing his still body to shiver and shake each time Wilbur retraced circles on his arms in what mimicked a comforting gesture.

Something he would have found comforting in the past, now left a bitter taste in his mouth.

 

"We want to take you home, Sunshine!" Wilbur declared excitedly, hugging him tighter. 

"What-?" His voice was barely audible, what did they mean take him home? "I'm not going home with you sick fucks-! I'm not doing anything with you ever again. "

He couldn't see Wilbur's face, but his grip around him stiffened. He wasn't happy with Tommy's response.

"I'm afraid, Theseus…" Techno rumbled, kneeling down to meet his eye level, "You don't have much of a say in the matter."

 

Despite the unwavering horror of what his words promised, the large man still touched him , running his calloused fingers through Tommy's messy hair.

"It's alright, mate, you're safe now. We won't let anything bad happen to you. "

Tommy stopped trying to keep his sobs quiet, breaking down completely. Wilbur hushed him gently, whispering gentle reassurance.

It was unclear how long they stood there, before Phil finally walked into view, Tommy's feet still firmly frozen on the ground.

 

"Time to go home, mate."

"Please, Phil… I don't want-" his words were cut off by Wilbur hushing him once again.

"Aren’t you tired, Toms? Go to sleep. "

The world went dark.

Notes:

The cage has been shut.

 

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Chapter 10

Notes:

TW: Gore, violence, bodily harm.
You all saw this coming. I am an author known for writing angst after all.

 

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

Crows cawing, laughter bubbling, hammering footsteps ringing in his ears. Tommy jolted himself awake, sitting up before he could even acknowledge where he was. His laboured breaths seemed to stir whatever monster had decided to stay with him, a strong grip snaking around his abdomen before he realised what was happening. 

Tommy let out a scream for bloody murder, but his captore seemed to be unbothered. Scarred hands ran through his knotted hair, a deep rumbling emanating from the large man seated behind him as he was pulled onto a lap. 

"Relax, Theseus, it's just me."

 

Just him? Just him?! If Tommy wasn't so scared out of his mind, he would have laughed in the taller man's face.

"You-" his voice came out shakier than he wanted, any false sense of bravery dashed in an instant. " You kidnapped me. " The words came out as a snarl, trying to tug himself out of Techno's death grip.

"We brought you home. " The words sounded gentle, but it felt like poison against the teen's ears. Bile burnt against the back of his throat, the urge to throw up on the man getting increasingly more appealing. 

"I have a home, and this aint it. " The response caused the grip to tighten possessively. 

"Gold left unpolished, a jewel thrown to the side to be trampled. Theseus, the people on the outside mistreated and underappreciated you." Tommy was gently turned around to face the monster that pretended to love him, but instead of hoping to see said monster…

 

All he saw was Techno. Caring Techno that tried to hide his affection but still didn't shy away from gentle touches. The person who brushed his hair out and taught him how to properly take care of his longer curls, tying them into a loose braid one cold night in his apartment.

He wanted to hate him, but one part of his mind associated the man with safety.

"You're with family now, my gold. No matter how much you try to push us away, we refuse to give up on you."

Maybe throwing up wasn't such a bad idea. It hurt to hear those sickeningly sweet words, knowing what it implied. 

 

"Fuck off, let go-! Stop touching me." He snarled, baring his teeth. The pink haired man simply snorted in amusement, ruby red eyes analysing every minuscule movement Tommy made.

"Feral little raccoon. It's okay, you'll settle down."

"I DON'T WANT-" Tommy's shout was cut off by the door of the room opening. Wilbur. 

His gut clenched, and he already felt the wet anger start to rise to the surface at a much faster speed as hot, salty tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, one blink threatened to let them spill.

 

Wilbur smiled lovingly at him, and the anger became scalding. He made his way to the nest and climbed into it, sitting next to where the other two were nestled. Without missing a beat, long fingers already threaded their way through blond hair, unperturbed by the animalistic growl he received from the younger.

"How is he?" Wilbur asked, eyes staring directly at Tommy despite the question clearly not being directed at him.

"Pissy." Techno grunted. "Growling like some rabid dog." 

The thinner man cooed gently, rubbing circles into the back of Tommy's neck to attempt to calm the boy. Instead, the blond once again let out an angry snarl, attempting to bite Wilbur's arm.

The villain's grip on the back of his neck tightened warningly, nudging away the boy’s face with careless ease. 

 

"You're in Phil's room, you know?" Wilbur hummed, shifting closer into Tommy’s personal bubble . He seemed unbothered by the younger's slightly distressed whine, which caused Techno to shift him in his grip so his legs were hanging off of Techno's thighs and his head was nudged to relax against the crook of the older's neck, rubbing his back comfortingly.

Terrifyingly comforting and gentle. It felt wrong, so very wrong. These people have killed so many people. Tortured hundreds, injured thousands, and here he was in Ichor's arms. Next to Lovejoy and in Thanatos' bed.

He once again felt sick to his stomach.

When Tommy didn't outwardly respond to the statement, Wilbur continued. "We can't use your room yet, hasn't been baby proofed."

 

Tommy bit back a snarl, trying to glare at Wilbur. "I'm not a fucking baby."

"Sure." Wilbur simply responded, the meaning behind the words left unsaid, but still obvious. Yes you are.

"We do have to go, Tommy. But I doubt you can be trusted alone. So how about you eat something and then go rest a bit more?"

The blond rolled his eyes. "Not hungry or tired. Fuck off." 

 

Wilbur apparently either didn't hear him or didn't care, Tommy could guess which one was true, because he left the room for about 5 minutes before returning with a plate of food.

It was a simple sandwich, but Tommy wasn't sure if he could stomach it considering how touchy his has been. He didn't trust it, frowning up at Wilbur who's annoying smile never once left since he got there.

"Eat, Tommy, don't make me force you." Wilbur purred, faux caring tone intertwined with his words.

The boy furrowed his eyebrows, disgust obvious in his face. "No fucking way, I'm not taking shit from you. I'm never trusting you ever again."

The smile dropped, and the brunet sighed in annoyance. "Alright Tommy, if you want to be difficult and act like a spoiled child, then don't get angry over me treating you like one."

 

His expression darkened, and Tommy felt his heart rate spike. "Eat, Sunshine."

His body moved against his will as he was force fed, by his own body, the sandwich. It tasted good, but there was something off about it. He had a good feeling he knew what it was. 

The siren villain crooned gently as the boy finished, his body shaking slightly. He realised now that, once Wilbur had called out his command, Techno had released him from his grip.

"I hate you." Tommy whimpered, the undertone of a growl etched into the edges of his words.

 

Techno pulled him back onto his lap, grip significantly less tight. If his limbs weren't starting to feel like jelly, he would've been able to bolt. But he physically couldn't bring his body to do anything.

Something cold was draped around him, along with another. Opening his eyes, ( when did he close them?), Tommy realised Techno had placed a golden pendant around his neck. A green gem lay nestled at the heart of it. He'd also placed another golden chain on him, and even slipped a gold bracelet on his slimmer wrist.

Tommy was almost completely passed out when a small crown was placed on his head, a small giggle and an amused huff coming from the twins when it fell off after Tommy shifted uncomfortably under all the weight of the gold.

 

"My gold." He faintly hears someone murmur, their voice having a weird tone to it. Everything felt so drifty and floaty, like a boat gently rocking in the waves, or a tree's branches swaying in a careful breeze.

"Our precious little jewel." He no longer could understand the words, the world fading from his grasp like sand. It was calm and the body against him was warm. Tommy yawned, distantly acknowledging the coos above him, and let himself finally drift.

Sleeping was better than confronting reality anyways.

 

*----*

 

The next time he woke up, he was alone. His stomach still felt all knotted, and his head was killing him, but he forced himself out of bed. Tommy had no time to spare, he had to get out of here. The false kind words and disgustingly soft touches were fucking with his head and common sense. 

They were criminals, murders, villains. They kidnapped him, tricked him and misled him for months, and like the touch starved idiot he was, he fell for it. Tommy tugged off the golden, glittering jewellery that Techno had adorned him with, throwing them onto the large bed. This was Phil’s room. Looking up at the high ceiling and perches, Tommy felt ill. Last time he was here, he’d been sick. Brought here and cuddled by the family he thought were good people.

The large windows that were lined with plants had their blinds drawn, but no light came through. It must be dark out, he absentmindedly thought. 

 

A window. An easy exit.

 

He carefully made his way to the window, nudging the forest green curtains aside. The moon shone high in the sky, a little over half of it visible.

Looking around, he couldn’t find a latch. A bit of panic rose to his chest, he had to find a way to get out. He couldn’t risk sneaking out, so instead he decided to something much, much more stupid.

Grabbing a heavy looking chair, his legs wobbling slightly, he threw it against the window. To his delight, the window shattered. Tommy laughed, but his celebrating was cut short when the door was slammed open. The boy didn’t even dare to peek over his shoulder and see who had found him, instead he jumped. He hadn’t checked how high he was off the ground, but it was too late now.

 

He landed on the rough ground with a cry of pain. But he was out, and he was alive. He could hear Techno’s snarl, but Tommy just covered his ears. If he couldn’t hear Wilbur, his power couldn’t affect him. The boy staggered to his feet with a whimper of pain. His entire body ached, and he was sure he’d broken something.

He could worry about that when he got back to Sam. Seeing his injuries, Sam had to believe him now. He could even check his system for the drugs Wilbur had force fed him. It was going to be alright, he could see his raccoons again, he could go back to being Tommy.

He was willing to give up Mellohi if it meant that he could survive the encounter with the three most dangerous villains in existence, the ones who claimed he was one of theirs. The ones who’s lies buried their way into his heart and into his ears like maggots, settling itself deep in his gut.

 

A strong arm slammed him to the ground, and he screamed out in pain and panic. “Theseus.” The gentle calm from before was long gone, nothing but anger could be heard in the blood god’s voice. Tommy let out a pitiful sob of terror, this wasn’t how this was suppose to go.

He was almost there, freedom was just beyond his grasp. Now, they were for sure going to kill him. This was the end of the line for Tommy Kraken Danger Innit.

But Techno just held him there, silence being filled by Tommy’s panicked and laboured breaths, and the rustling of leaves in the cold wind. Then Wilbur and Phil reached them, neither looked happy either.

 

“You idiotic gremlin child.” Wilbur practically barked, face only softening when Tommy visibly flinched at the harsh tone.

“I-... Wilbur-” He wheezed out, whining in pain as his ribs ached from the movement of his lungs. Unfortunately, the brunet wasn’t listening, bending down in front of him.

“You broke a window, jumped out and are surprised that you’re in pain? Yet you wonder why we treat you like a small child.” He reprimanded, anger dancing in the chocolate brown eyes. “What were you trying to accomplish?!”

 

Tommy bit his lip, but tears already started to flow down his cheeks. He’s half surprised he had anymore tears left to spill. “I was trying to LEAVE.” he snapped, returning the same anger back to the older man.

Phil smiled sadly, shaking his head. “Mate, you could’ve gotten yourself killed. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if that happened.” He also bent down, sitting beside his son. Something was very wrong in the way they were staring at him.

“If you keep being this reckless. You will end up permanently injuring yourself, or get yourself killed.” Phil continued, making eye contact with Techno, a strange look on his face. “We can’t have that. We’re willing to sacrifice a lot of things if it means keeping you safe and sound, here at the heart of our nest.”

 

Something was wrong. Tommy had to run. 

He couldn’t.

 

“Phil-”

 

“And Tommy-...” Phil continued, barely acknowledging the younger’s words, “If that means punishing you for endangering yourself, then I’ll do it.” 

Run, run, run. His brain screamed.

“I’m no saint, but I love my children more than the sun, moon and stars. I would kill millions if it meant keeping them safe.” He made direct eye contact with the teen, fear coiling in the pit of his stomach like a snake. “Protect them from everything, even themselves if need be.”

 

“Phil-! I-...”

 

“So, you must understand. What is about to happen is for your own good. A punishment, yes. But it’s to make you understand.”

Techno grabbed the back of his calf, bending it slightly. Tommy felt bile form at the back of his throat as he realised what was about to happen.

 

“ Phil-! WAIT PLEASE-!”

 

“If you hurt yourself, by running.” Phil rose to his feet, no longer looking at him. “Then we’ll simply take away your ability to run.”

Tommy’s screams of agony echoed around the forest as the stomach twisting sound of bones snapping filled the air. He lay limply against Techno’s chest, sobbing loudly and openly. His legs were mangled, twisted back until they snapped like twigs under the shear force of Ichor. 

They would heal, yes, but it would take a while to do so.

 

They could do whatever they wanted to him, no one would know and no one could stop them.

This time, he did throw up. Unfortunately it was on the ground instead of the pink haired monster that had the fucking gall to pet his hair and whisper how much he loved and cherished him after snapping his bones like they were nothing.

Wilbur hushed him, whispering how sorry they were, and how they were going to make it up to him. He didn’t give a shit. He was in pain, he wanted to go home, he wanted to lay against the rough surface of his stupid, stained blue couch.

He didn’t want false lies and promises of protection. He didn’t want fake love or care. He didn’t want any form of independence stripped away from him with the force of an entire army.

 

 

Most importantly, he didn’t want to be a part of the twisted, sick family that claimed to love him.

Notes:

Can't forget these three are still villains :P

 

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I'm also on tumblr but not as active :) but if you have questions, thats the best place to send em :D link!

Chapter 11

Notes:

Hello, hello. Chapter 11 is here :) uhhh something something, cryptid shit to hint at whats going to happen

read tags, since last chapter and onwards I'm putting the dark in dark SBI in bold italics, underlined in font size 90

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

They placed him in the other room after that. He fought against them the entire way, his mangled legs ached and hurt, and he felt so, so angry. Tommy felt humiliated, upset and broken.

Wilbur had the fucking nerve to pet him on the head and murmur how much he loved him before placing him in the nest like bed. The brunet had force-fed him some weird glowing liquid, it tasted oddly sweet but with a coppery undertone.

It numbed the pain in his legs, and made him feel floaty, tired and unfocused. Phil entered the room after that, crooning softly before sitting on the bed next to and pulling him onto his lap. 

 

Tommy sobbed, he cried and wailed. The avian curled his black wings around the two of them, whispering praises gently. The teen wanted to scream, hit him and struggle.

He couldn't. His body felt limp, and he was tired. His body was covered in cuts and bruises from the fall, from the glass, from running barefoot and stepping on sharp rocks and thorns. It had more from being shoved to the ground by Techno's deathly grip-

And from the leg breaking.

At some point, he’d passed out. It wasn't a peaceful drift, it was more akin to falling down a deep abyss, only to crash onto stiff concrete. He felt numb, but his body was uncomfortably stiff, and refused to relax.

He was aware of every shift and movement, even under the veil of sleep. His nightmares were filled with crows calling, branches snapping, and his own screams.

He blinked blearily, looking around the chilled room. He was alone, but he knew it was an illusion. He knew if he made even a peek, the door would slam open, he was being watched even when no eyes could be seen.

 

Eyes, eyes followed his every movement. He felt like he was suffocating, his heart hammered, ribcage feeling tight. Too tight, he couldn't breathe. Tommy's laboured and heavy pants echoed around the empty room.

He shoved the blankets off, it was too hot, too heavy, too much. Everything was too much.

There was a chain on his leg.

A chain that was attached to the heavy wall.

He was chained up like an animal.

All of a sudden he felt freezing, like the entire room had begun to fill with ice. He tugged the blankets around himself like a cocoon, shielding himself from anything outside it's comforting warmth.

A blanket wouldn't protect him from these monsters. They weren't the ones from under your bed, the ones you could keep safe from by calling an adult.

They were real, and they dragged him under. The siren sang his song, and Tommy was the idiot sailor that fell for it. He was drowning, he was trapped, he was caught.

Caught in a web, and they were the spider. Lured him in with the promise of love, and warmth.

Affection. Something he craved.

 

He felt like he was going to throw up, but he held it in. Swallowed the bile down, knowing that if they heard him, they would come in.

Shower him in faux love and care, trick his touch starved mind into thinking it was real. It wasn't, it wasn't, it wasn't. 

The mantra repeated like a chorus in his head, reminding him to not fall for it. Not again, he couldn't. He had to get out of here, he had to escape.

A disgustingly weak part of his mind wanted to give up, Tommy scoffed at the idea. He was no weakling, no child, not some animal needing to be taken care of.

 

He was still Mellohi, the hero. 

Heroes always beat the villain in the end, right?

 

Sleep returned to him like a nest of wasps.

 

*----*

 

The pain that washed through his slim body when consciousness returned to him made his entire body shiver with a hoarse sob, a gentle tut above him drawing his attention.

Someone shifted him around, forcing the teen to sit up, leaning against a large, warm, stiff chest. The arms wrapped around him, as he felt the cold feeling of metal against his skin. Rings.

Techno was holding onto him.

 

"Open wide, Theseus. Need to take your meds to numb the pain." 

Tommy huffed angrily. He didn't care how much his body hurt, he refused to listen to anything they told him to do. 

"Don't make me call Wilbur in. I really don't want to do that. Work with me, my gold."

He clenched his jaw, lowering his face down stubbornly, stiffening at the sigh from behind him. 

"Alright, suit yourself."

 

The shifting of blankets, then the sound of a dialling tone echoed around the room. Tommy still refuses to open his eyes. He wanted to go back to sleep, ignore everything and everyone. His stomach twisted, and he felt dizzy, muscles tightening from the throbbing pain that ran throughout each and every nerve in his body.

Techno spoke quietly, but Tommy didn’t bother listening. He knew who the man was calling, and why. He didn’t need to hear his stupid voice, nor the mumbles of Wilbur’s. The door slammed open. “If you keep throwing that door open, you’ll dig a hole into the wall.” Tommy grumbled, keeping up his somewhat joking persona.

His eyes were still screwed shut, but he heard the light footsteps nearing the bed. “Toms, open your eyes, please,” Wilbur asked gently. He could hear the voice of someone he used to consider one of his closest friends, someone he would once see as a brotherly figure in his life.

 

Tommy snarled.

“Please, Sunshine.” His voice was very close, a hand now lightly touching his head. Tommy yanked his head up and bit down.

Wilbur let out a yelp.

A growl was heard from behind him, before he heard Wilbur speak, “Open your eyes.” 

His eyes snapped open, glaring at the ground as if it had personally wronged him.

“Look at me.” 

 

Blue eyes connected with brown, and a smile spread across the brunet’s face. 

"Hello, Tommy." Sickening fondness could be heard lacing his words, it made the teen angry.

"I need you to take your meds… I hate to see you in so much pain." A hand returned to his hair, stroking stray locks back into place. 

"If you gave such a big of a shit about me, I wouldn't have broken legs." Tommy snarled, letting hatred fill his tone.

Wilbur flinched at the tone, frowning more. "Oh Toms, you didn't give us much of a choice. You put yourself in danger by trying to run, you jumped out of the window-!" 

Tommy laughed humorlessly. "Didn't give you much of a choice?! YOU FUCKING KIDNAPPED ME, WILBUR." 

 

Techno's grip tightened, gentle rumbling coming from his chest. "Don't shout, Theseus. We're right here, we can hear you." As if he was scolding a misbehaving child. 

"I fucking hate you. All of you ." Tommy continued, seething, "And I'm never going to forgive you, ever."

"That's okay," Wilbur pulled Tommy into a hug, ignoring the boy's struggles, "Because despite that, you're still my baby brother, and I love you." 

The brunet gently pulled away after a few moments before looking Tommy in the eyes, "And as your older brother, it's my job to take care of you." He took a cup from the bedside table. The medication. 

 

" Drink. "

 

Tommy obeyed. He couldn't do anything to force his way out of the choking hold that was Lovejoy’s siren abilities.

Hot, angry tears rolled down his cheeks silently as he swallowed the thick liquid. It was gross. Sickly sweet in a way that made him gag.

"Don't worry, Theseus." Techno murmured from behind him, Tommy almost forgot that he was seated on the man's lap. "You'll settle down. We're your family after all."

Tommy wanted to knock himself out, let sleep take over him and allow his imagination overtake the scary reality that faced him.

 

In the end, Wilbur and Techno stayed with him for at least a few hours. Tommy forced his eyes to look at anything but the two men, eyes landing on an ornate vase near the large windows.

"What flowers are those-?" He murmured to himself absentmindedly.

"Oh, those? Those are Snapdragons!" Wilbur answered excitedly, the teen had no idea what the villain was so happy about. The flowers themselves were pretty, colourful and large. It gave the empty room something nice to look at, other than the twins’ ugly faces.

“That’s a dumb name.” He dolefully responded, his own voice sounding foreign to him due to how empty it sounded.

 

*----*

 

He jolted awake, his face feeling hot and sweaty as he threw off the blankets. He was alone, when did he even fall asleep? He had to have been sleeping for at least a little bit, since the sun was no longer shining from the partially covered windows, the moon now high up in the sky.

He couldn’t walk, he couldn’t move, and it sucked. Sucked so much. 

Tommy's eyes shifted to the bedside table, crawling his way to the edge of the bed. Reaching out his hand, he opened the drawer underneath it. Inside, he saw a sharp needle and a hairclip.

Useless to some, but he’d take what he could get. His finger’s brushed over them, and they disappeared. He hoped that, if he could make it to their kitchen or wherever they keep their potions, he could nab a health pot. His injury was severe enough that it would take too long to wait out the healing process.

Until then, he had to figure out an escape plan.

 

He’d find his way back to his raccoons. He’d get out of this.

He was fine. Everything was fine.

He was so lonely. Why did he still crave their warmth despite everything they did?

 

*----*

 

The next two week passed like a blur, as if an unstoppable train was whizzing by him, daring him to take a step forward onto the tracks.

Each day they would wake him up, give him the medication and then cling onto him for most of the day. Each day, he'd pass out, and wake up in a cold sweat, the moon high in the sky.

Each day he'd stare at the Snapdragon and envy it's freedom. The freedom in simply being a mindless plant, unable to feel pain.

Halfway through the second week he realised maybe it wasn't as free as he convinced himself. Trapped in a vase, in the same room he was trapped in.

The snapdragon was just as stuck as he was.

 

Wilbur never stopped being kind to him. Techno read to him stories, and held him close. Phil would coddle and fret over him, help him shower and get changed each day.

Their kindness was choking, because deep down; this was all he ever wanted. A family to love him, and care.

But not like this.

Not in exchange for his freedom, in exchange for his passions.

 

It was near the end of the third week when he relaxed in Techno's hold as the taller man braided the messy blond hair.

It was near the start of the fourth week when he smiled at Wilbur again.

It was the middle of the fourth week when he returned Phil's affectionate hug.

It was near the end of the fourth week where his mind started to feel confusing and contradicting.

 

*----*

 

"You've been so good lately, Toms!" Phil said one day, drying his hair.

"As good as the little shit can be," Wilbur joked as he searched through the drawers added to the end of the room, filled with clothes for Tommy.

Some of them he recognised, they must've taken them from his apartment. 

 

"I think you've been good enough that we might be able to take you out of the room soon." Phil continued, kissing the top of his head.

"Really-?" He couldn't help the slight twinge of excitement that bubbled up. "But I can't walk, Phil."

"I know, I know… We can get you a wheelchair. I can cart you around, it will be fun!" Wilbur laughed, walking back over and placing the clothes on the bed.

Tommy tilted his head slightly, "Aren't wheelchairs like, expensive as shit?"

 

The brunet snorted softly, ruffling his hair and earning an annoyed groan from Phil, who just finished sorting out the messy locks. "There isn't an amount of money we wouldn't spend on you, if it would make you happy or make your life easier."

There was that confusing feeling again, warmth from Wilbur's kind words despite him knowing well that the request to leave, something that Tommy would much prefer, would be denied. 

"Alright… whatever." He responded dully, biting down on his knuckle. Phil swatted away his hand, scolding him gently.

"Don't bite yourself, Tommy."

"Whatever you say, old man." Tommy couldn't help the slight smile that rose to his lips from the laugh he got from Wilbur, along with the annoyed, yet fond expression Phil wore.

 

It was the start of the fifth week when they finally let him out of the room.

A part of him still wondered if anyone had noticed that he was gone.

A part of him wondered if Sam noticed. A part of him wondered if Fundy noticed.

If anyone noticed, if anyone cared.

 

No one cared.

No one, except for his new family.

Notes:

The research for this fic is going to get me placed in some sort of watchlist I'll tell ya what

 

follow me on twitter for updates, sneakpeaks, random thoughts and other stuff link!

Chapter 12

Notes:

you've all been asking for it. Enjoy.

 

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

The first one to notice Tommy’s disappearance was his landlady. She knocked on his door, hoping to invite the boy over for tea again. When she got no response, she elected to call him instead. It was extremely early for someone to be already out of the house, but the boy was pretty young, she wouldn’t put it past him staying over at a friend's house.

The phone hummed for an extended period of time, before being taken to voicemail. This concerned the lady, Tommy always answered her calls or at least called her back within a few minutes of the phone being disconnected.

But she brushed it off, he’d call back soon once he realised he had missed a call. Right?

 

*----*

 

The first one to notice Mellohi’s disappearance was Niki, or Neimki as she’s known to the public. She and Mellohi had always gotten along, but never truly hung out properly. She was always too busy and Jack, known as C4, always dragged her away from conversations she’d have with him if they went on for too long. Crime after crime over the week, not a single hint of the raccoon hero showed.

Not even a striped tail which sometimes wagged mischievously as he hid in alleyways, thinking he was completely out of sight, not even a single appearance from his lovable sidekicks. Nothing. 

 

*----*

 

Two weeks passed. Sam had to be honest, Mellohi never took this long before when it came to bothering him. He often showed up at his station, baring a bright smile, always ready to tell him another story.

‘Sam-! I saw a huge fucking cat the other day. I swear it was the size of 10 buildings.’ He told him once. Of course, Sam humoured him, and Mellohi proceeded to intricately describe how the cat had crushed a building under its paws.

A different day, Mellohi ran up to him, and said “SAM-! SAM! A villain is after me!” Of course, Sam immediately followed him out, but found nothing. Later on, Mellohi sheepishly admitted that he may have been startled by a shadow.

 

Despite everything Mellohi tried to do, he was still a kid, no matter what age was listed on his hero licence. 

But it had never taken this long, maybe he should try calling him… Mellohi pretty much always answered his calls, answering with an excited ‘Hello, Sam!’ or ‘ Ayup, big man-!’ 

Mellohi didn’t pick up.

Nor did he pick up any of the calls after.

 

Something fearful twisted in his stomach, a faded memory of the last time he talked to the raccoon hero.

‘I saw them-! I saw Lovejoy again, he was with Ichor. They said they’d kill me Sam-!!’

‘What utter bullshit, Mellohi. That’s the fucking biggest lie I’ve ever heard in my life. How desperate are you for attention?’

‘What-?! Sam I’m telling the truth-!’

‘Uh huh, and the fucking tooth fairy exists. How old are you again, Mellohi?! Stay out of the way, trash child, you will get people hurt.’

He’d been angry that day, he’d taken it out on the blond.

 

Sam dialled the phone number again, eyes staring at the cold tiled floor of his office.

He got sent to voicemail. 

 

*----*

 

“Sam-?” A voice called, drawing the police chief’s attention.

“Yes-? What is it, Foolish?” 

“We just got a report from this old woman, apparently one of her tenants has gone missing.”

Finally, something to get his mind off of Mellohi.

By the time he was finished, and had written down all the details he needed, he had decided to call in a favour from a friend to help him investigate the apartment. 

“Hello-?”

“Neimki! How are you?”

“I’m doing alright… Is there anything you need, Sam? You only ever use my hero name when you need me for work.”

“Yeah, need your help. Some person went missing and I might need an extra pair of hands.”

 

*----*

 

Niki had invited one of her other hero friends to aid them at the scene, a fox hero by the name ‘Vos’ which apparently meant fox in dutch. The three entered the worn apartment, Sam cringing at the smell. “Fuck… It stinks of wild animals here.”

 

Vos gave an experimental sniff of the air, his eyes narrowing in slight confusion. “Weird. That’s a weird smell.”

Vos had an ability which heightened his sense of smell, hearing and eyesight. He even claimed it made him faster, but he never really exercised enough to support that claim. He’s taught himself to be able to differ between smells, and recognise certain ones. He was often like a human sniffer dog.

 

“What is it, Vos?” Sam called, examining the sliding door of the balcony.

“It smells of raccoons here… like a very strong smell. Like a colony of raccoons just set up shop here for months.” The fox hero explained, even if it made no sense. This apartment had to have been lived in by the guy, who was apparently called Tommy, up until his disappearance. Which was at most two weeks.

Unless this Tommy kid, and he did look like a kid judging from the photos his landlady shared with them, was hiding raccoons in his apartment, it just made no sense for the boy to have the scent pretty much staining every surface of his home.

 

“Guys…” Niki called out, her voice wavering but horror stricken. She’d found her way to the boy’s bedroom, her eyes landing on an overturned pile of printed pictures. She picked them up and slowly flipped through them, eyes scanning each photo, hoping they’d lead to answers. “What happened to you, Tommy?” She mumbled to herself, before her eyes landed on one of the pictures.

It was Tommy, yes. But on his back, on his shoulder, in his arms. Three raccoons. Mellohi’s Raccoons.

Sam and Vos entered the room, and she shakily handed the chief the photo. His eyes visibly widened, and his grip on the picture tightened. “Mellohi? This is Mellohi’s house?!”

“That would explain the smell.” Vos unhelpfully piped up, sensing that Sam wasn’t having the best reaction to this revelation.

“No, this doesn’t make sense. I talked-... I talked to him. Not too long ago, I talked to him.” Sam said, his voice giving away his uncertainty. Fear. Horror. 

 

Mellohi pleaded for help, and Sam failed him. 

“None of us have seen him in almost, what three weeks? Maybe more-” Niki said hesitantly, placing a hand gently on the shaken man’s shoulder. “You couldn’t have known-”

The chief laughed humorlessly, turning to meet his friend’s gaze, “Niki-” He used her real name, “Niki, I could have stopped this.”

She paused, her hand lowering down back to her side. “We’ll find him, I promise.”

 

“What if it’s already too late?”

 

*----*

 

"Sam, would you like to present the fall award ceremony?"

The man paused before glancing up at who was talking to him. Hanna looked back, frowning ever so slightly. Sam had been acting weird ever since he returned from a missing person's apartment, making it his mission to find this kid.

While Sam was dedicated to his job, he's never been this obsessive over it, nor this secretive.

 

"Who's asking?" He dully responded, eyes flicking back down to his papers.

“Jacobs.” She admitted carefully, not meeting eye contact with her superior. Sam simply snorted in response, rolling his eyes. 

“Then he won’t take ‘no’ for an answer, would he?” 

“Either that, or he’ll forget he asked you and ask again-”

Sam groaned, rubbing his temples with his thumb and index finger, “Fine, tell him I accept- No, write him a letter. He’ll forget anything that's not written down.”

 

It won’t be that much of a set back, it’s happening in four months after all. He could find Mellohi in four months.

He could find Tommy.

 

*----*

 

“Sit still, Theseus.” Techno scolded as he carefully watched the blond roll back and forth in the wheelchair. 

“I don’t know if you know this, Techno, but a wheelchair isn’t meant to be still.” Tommy scoffed, proceeding to roll forward again. They had put limits on where he could go, barriers set up at entrances so his chair couldn’t get through. It was very annoying to say the least, but at least he didn’t have to stay in the bedroom anymore. Especially considering the most recent addition to his room was bars on the outside of his windows.

They claimed it was to prevent him hurting himself again, but despite claiming that and having a broken pair of legs, the trio of villains still placed the chain around his leg whenever they left him in the bedroom on his own.

 

They still force fed him, they still refused to let him see the news or listen to the radio. But, despite all that, they were kind to him. Wilbur would tell him endlessly how much he cared about him, calling him his little brother. Techno would call him his ‘gold’, read him stories and give brief yet affectionate touches whenever possible. Phil would comfort him whenever he woke up with nightmares, and cook his favourite foods.

It was fucked up how much he still saw them as his family, he wanted to hate them so badly, and he does. He does… 

He just had to keep reminding himself, what they did, who they are, what they could do. Wilbur and Techno weren’t his brothers, Phil wasn’t his dad, no matter how many times they claimed it to be so. They were fucked up and delusinal and Tommy wasn’t going to let himself fall.

He couldn’t let himself fall. He was just giving a bit, so they’ll take their guard down.

 

Then he’ll escape.

 

He’d run to Sam, like he always did whenever he thought there was trouble, real or not, and Sam- He’d…

He would-

Honestly, who was Tommy kidding? Sam wouldn’t believe a word he said. 

But he let himself believe this fantasy, who else could protect him if not the heroes?

 

He was a hero.

Was. Now he’s just a scared child, all the time alone with his aching body and reeling head has given him plenty of time to reflect.

Well, for the most part Tommy sees everything that has happened to him as not his fault at all. But, even if Sam would’ve listened to him in the first place, what could he possibly do against Lovejoy? Or Ichor… or Thanatos. 

Dangerous, unmovable tyrants. Alone, they’re already enough to cause huge amounts of damage, but together? Tommy shivers at the thought. If Phil was willing to hurt someone he claimed to care about, him, then the things the avian would do if someone would try and get in the way of his goals-

 

He’d probably kill Sam, without thinking twice about it. 

The thought of Sam’s blood on his hands because Tommy tried to get him involved made him sick. The thought that if anyone even tried to help him, they would most definitely be risking their safety, made him feel vile. 

 

*----*

 

The day they messed up. That happened two weeks after they first let him out of the room.

They’d told him ‘Be good Tommy-!’, leaving him to watch TV in the living room. They’d put some weird parental control that only let him select specific channels, along with a mountain of DVDs. Old man with old technology, Tommy snickered. 

That day, he’d started hearing weird… chittering noises, coming from the kitchen. He couldn’t go into it, a barrier blocking his chair from getting through. When complaining about it, Techno had given him several snacks, saying it would last him until they got home so he could eat ‘proper food’.

 

The chittering was followed by clinking of glass. Okay, now Tommy was freaked out. He was more than defenceless in his current state, he had basically nothing in his inventory to aid him except for a few things he’d stolen from Wilbur just to piss him off.

He turned his chair around, to face the kitchen, back against the TV. More clingling, more banging.

 

Until-

 

“...Henry-?”

Notes:

Official Poster, Made by the ever talented: Ted :D

HOPE YOU LIKED THE FUNNY HAHA POSTER :DDD Ted blew it outta the park with this one, my silly sketch to show him the idea is NOTHING compared to what he ended up doing! enjoy!! :DD

 

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Chapter 13

Notes:

And freedom tasted so sweet.

 

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

Tommy froze. No, it couldn't be. It couldn't be Henry.

He was going to pinch himself before the raccoon ran over, jumping onto his lap and licking his face. 

"Ew- Henry-!!" He pet the small, scruffy animal. It looked like he hadn't been clean in a while, which was probably true since Tommy wasn't around. "I missed you too, buddy."

The creature nuzzled its face into his shirt, chittering and yipping. To his shock, Harold and Harvey came barrelling in. But that wasn't what shocked him the most.

 

They had a health potion.

They stole it from the kitchen.

"Oh you smart bastards ." Tommy laughed, ecstatic as they two jumped into his lap placing the potion in his hand.

Barely a moment of hesitation, echoed words of people telling him to 'Be good Tommy.' 

Wilbur's loving gaze, Techno's warm embrace, Phil’s adoring comforts.

 

Tommy chugged down the potion, biting his lip as warm magic overtook his body, making him feel like putty. Then it was over, and he dared to look down at his formerly mangled legs.

He got off the chair.

He could walk. Tommy could walk.

"I-", there it was again. That annoying hesitation. Why was he even thinking about it?! He should be bolting out that door, not wasting time.

 

He needed to get out of here, but he felt frozen in time. If he left, he'd leave the only semblance of family he ever had. He'd leave it all behind.

But, they didn’t love him, he had to remind himself. Listen to yourself, Tommy, He practically snarled to himself.

Then, he ran.

 

He knew where the door was, he'd been in the house before this point, back when he was sick.

He ran to the door, but of course it was fucking locked.

A smile arrived on his face, dark and sinister. He didn't learn to pick locks for no reason, the hairclip and needle reformed into his palm.

Within minutes, the door swung open with ease. 

 

The breeze felt amazing, the smell of fresh air filling his lungs. He had to start running now if he had any hope of making it.

Thank the gods that he was such an amazing man that he remembered the way from the drive from before, he soon made it to the main road.

Holy shit, holy shit. 

He knew where he was. He knew how to get to where Sam was.

He was free.

 

Tommy's mind was swimming with excitement, but a voice in the back of his mind begged him to go back, back to his family. It was too loud for Tommy's liking, so he shoved the thought to the back of his mind.

He didn't need them. He didn't need anyone.

Tommy was fine on his own, he was fine before Wilbur, before Lovejoy. 

He lived alone, worked alone, dealt with things alone. 

With his raccoons by his side once again, he bolted in the direction of the police station.

 

To Sam.

To safety.

 

Away from his captors.

Away from his… no. The idea was once again thrown away from his mind.

 

*----*

 

"Sam-!" He banged on the police station, it didn't matter that he wasn't wearing his hero costume anymore. He didn't feel like a hero anyways.

He was weak, he couldn't even protect himself.

 

He forced his way into the building, his raccoons electing to stay outside, making eye contact with the person at the desk. A person who in the past would scoff and roll his eyes now stood with a shocked expression.

"Holy shit. It's the missing kid-!"

Tommy was extremely confused. Yeah, he was missing but he didn't expect anyone to notice or report him to the police.

 

Sam walked into the room, and the two made eye contact. Tommy didn't even hesitate to run over and hug the man, half surprised when he returned the gesture.

"I'm taking the kid to my office, alright?" He heard Sam call over his head, before a gentle hand led him into a room he'd been in plenty of times.

But not in his civilian form.

 

"Sam-" he began, after being sat down in a comfortable chair, the older man staring down at him as if he'd seen a ghost.

"... Mellohi."

Tommy froze, looking up to make eye contact with the man. "Wh-?"

"I went to your apartment… Your landlady reported you missing, I'm honestly surprised that the smell alone didn't give away your identity beforehand." Sam laughed gently, a sad smile tugging at his lips.

"I'm glad you’re okay. But, what happened, Mellohi? Tommy? I need the truth, the whole truth."

 

The blond hesitated, glancing up into dark brown eyes.

"I was… kidnapped. I told you before, Sam. They were following me-. They broke my legs when I tried to run Sam, I-" a voice crack interrupted his words, eyes stinging from salty tears forming, "I'm… so scared. I don't even want to be Mellohi anymore."

His voice grew frantic the longer he spoke, a pained expression filling the police chief’s face.

This wasn't Mellohi’s idiotic rambles, this wasn't Mellohi just seeing things.

This was a terrified child. He looked somehow younger without his costume, dark circles under his eyes showing the endless sleepless nights he had.

"I promise you, Tommy. I won't let them get you." He knelt down, his hands settling on the younger's shoulders. "I swear on my badge, my honour, my everything. I won't let them take you."

 

A sob escaped his throat, letting the man tug him into a hug.

He didn't want to tell him… he didn't want to tell Sam that-

He missed them. Tommy missed them so much .

It hadn't even been a day, and he felt homesick, for a place that wasn't even his home.

For people that weren't his loved ones. For people that hurt him.

 

But Sam hurt him too, and now he was promising to protect him when he could have prevented this in the first place.

 

*----*

 

Sam called a bunch of heroes over, by the time the sun had long since set, the police station was swarmed. During that time, Tommy had brought in his raccoons, who decided to hide away from the heroes as they entered.

Unfortunately, this meant that Sam had to tell them what happened.

Tommy recognised a bunch of heroes, all who knew Mellohi. 

C4, Neimki, Vos, Captain and more.

He even spotten the infamous Happyduo, vigilantes that most people just called heroes despite neither having proper licences. They were just so likeable and nice, no one ever questioned them.

 

"Hey everyone. I'm so glad you all came on such short notice, but something big has happened that requires a lot of hands on board."

"Oh, of course Sam!" Captain says kindly, eyes curiously glancing at Tommy who quickly looked away. "What's with the kid?"

 

" That's what I wanted to talk about. This kid went missing almost two months ago."

A hush went over the room.

"This kid… is also Mellohi."

Dead silence.

His raccoons jumped onto the couch where he was sitting.

The Mellohi they knew would crack a joke at how quiet everything was, or say 'take a picture, they last longer.'

All they saw was a tired, scared teen.

 

"Mellohi-?" C4's obnoxious voice spoke up, and Tommy practically pouted. 

"Yeah. What's it to you?" His eyes travelled up, Henry hissing when one dared to step closer.

His mind was going haywire, homesickness growing tenfold the longer he sat here.

It was so cold. He missed the warmth of the blankets, Wilbur’s singing, and Techno's reading. Hell, he even missed how Phil would fret over how the blankets weren't tucked around him correctly.

"What happened?" Captain's voice echoed around the room, the silence louder than any spoken word.

"Got 'napped." He dully responded. He wasn't sure why he was being so hostile, but he really didn't feel like dealing with people's bullshit today.

He just wanted to sleep on his shitty blue couch.

He just wanted to go home and forget life existed.

 

Luckily for him, Sam was there. He explained everything, from what happened before he got kidnapped, to what Tommy told him hours prior.

He wished someone would say something. He wished they'd stop giving him pitying glances.

Tommy didn't need their fucking pity.

Knots twisted in his stomach once again, he wished he could erase the gentle memories of the villains that took him out of his mind.

 

The more he revelled in the fond memories, the more he craved to be in their adoring arms once again.

Wilbur didn't look at him with hatred.

Techno didn't give him pitying glances.

Phil didn't shove him away whenever Tommy wanted to talk to him.

 

He wanted to go home.

He wanted them. He wanted them.

"Sam… Can I go out to get some air?"

"Sure, but please be careful. Do you want someone to go out with you so you feel safer?"

"No. I'm fine."

 

As he passed by Sam's desk, a coin that lay there disappeared into his inventory. 

*----*

The moon was high in the sky, and Tommy's mind and judgement was clouded. The cold nipped at his exposed arms as his raccoons ran after him.

He entered the telephone booth.

His mind and hand was on autopilot, the coin sliding into the slot and falling down with a clink . Tommy knew the number off by heart.

 

Beep,

Beep,

Beep-

 

Click.

 

 

"Hello?"

"Hi, Wilby."

"Tommy?! Where are you, I-"

"I-", he hiccuped, cursing silently to himself for crying like a baby over the phone.

"I ran away, Will… but I-" he paused, was he really about to do this?! Throw away his chance at freedom.

No. He had no chance. 

He might as well go home now before he upset them more.

 

"I miss you. So fucking much."

Silence, then a gentle coo.

"Awe, Sunshine… it's alright. I already forgive you."

"Really-?"

"Of course. You called me on your own, I'm so proud of you."

Warmth invaded his chest from the comment. He made Wilbur proud.

 

"You want to come home, Sundrop?"

No, no, no.

"Yes."

"Alright, Toms. Sit tight, we're on our way."

"Th-"

 

He stopped, head turning to the side.

Sam stood there, wide-eyed. The parade of heroes trailing behind him.

The man forced the door open, panting loudly.

 

"Tommy… What are you doing?! Who did you call?!"

He didn’t know what to say.

Notes:

Yet it all came crashing down.

 

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Chapter 14

Notes:

Act 2.

 

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Dyamind! Leave him alone, he is just a child…" 

The voices around him felt floated, barely acknowledging when the man in blue yanked his arm as he was pulled inside.

"He called a villain. He has lost his mind. " 

"Enough Dy." Captain snarled, sitting by Tommy and gently pulling him into a hug. "Tommy-... Mellohi. You have to help us, what did you tell them?"

 

The calm words barely managed to wriggle through the thick fog of his mind, contracting words and panicked thoughts filling his ears like earmuffs. Blocking out all noise.

Tommy's eyes focused on the ground, yet unseeing.

"-eathe! Breathe, Tommy. Deep breaths for me."

Holy shit he was hyperventilating. Holy shit, holy shit.

 

Tommy forced in a sharp inhale, letting out all the air moments later. Comforting words flew over him, almost loving, Like Phil.

He did another, suddenly realising the warm arms around him. Like Techno.

"It's okay Tommy. It's okay, you're safe." Gentle words. Like Wilbur.

Tommy leaned into the embrace, another deep breath tugging at his burning lungs.

 

His eyes refocused, eyes travelling up to see Captain right next to him, arms around him. A spike of panic travelled through his tired limbs and he pulled away, shifting back until he hit the armrest of the couch he was sitting on. On the backrest of the couch lay his raccoons, watching him intently.

"Give him space." Captain called out, her voice holding an air of authority.

"It's getting late… We can't leave him here at the station." Vos spoke up, voice yippy and nervous. 

"He can come stay with me." Sam said quickly, without hesitation, Tommy looking up in surprise.

 

"What?"

"I owe it to you, Tommy. I really do."

"But- I called them…"

"I know. Gods, they fucked you up didn't they? What did they do to you?"

What did they do to him?

He genuinely didn't know.

 

"I'm tired." The entire day he'd been running on fumes, and he had long since run out, it was too much for him. Far too much.

 

*----*

 

He didn’t know at what point they'd arrived at Sam's house, but they did. Tommy smiled slightly at being surprised by a large white dog, happily jumping up in an attempt to lick him.

"Ah- sorry, that's my dog, Fran." Sam apologised, gently pulling the dog down. 

Tommy was just happy to have something to get his mind off of everything. His raccoons were clinging onto him tightly, and eyeing their surroundings.

 

"Are you okay with taking a shower Mel-... Tommy?" 

He nodded, before adding "I don't have clothes, big man."

"That's fine, I'll lend you some of mine."

Sam was being very nice to him, he wondered how much of it was out of moral obligation or out of pity.

 

The night went on.

The longer it went on, the more antsy he was getting. He'd been staring at the popcorn ceiling of Sam's guest room for the past hour.

Until.

 

'CAW'

 

Tommy's entire body froze, and he slowly turned his head to the open window. He opened it earlier when he felt way too hot.

A crow sat on the windowsill.

Little Fucker.

 

"You." He snarled, getting up and walking right to the crow. "You're-... you belong to Phil. Don't you?"

The crow cawed, almost apologetically.

He couldn't bring himself to be mad at the animal for long, sue him, he's weak.

The crow and his raccoon trio passed some caws and chitters between them, before the bird focused on Tommy.

 

"Are you here to take me home, Little Fucker?"

It cawed, bobbing its head up and down. 

"Are they here?"

It repeated the motion.

"... Outside?"

Yes.

 

Fuck.

 

"Okay. I'm…-" He whined, looking at the door to the bedroom. "Okay."

He couldn't believe he was doing this bullshit, but he dug his grave already, he might as well lay in it. 

Tommy bit the inside of his cheek and decided he didn't want to chance confronting Sam face to face, and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the nearby table.

 

'To Sam.

 I'm sorry. I can't take it anymore.

 I don't know what the fuck they did 

 to me… but i genuinely miss them

 so fucking much. I think- it's for the 

 better? So yeah… goodbye, Sam.

  ̶M̶e̶l̶  Tommy'

 

He paused, before placing the note on the bed where it could easily be found. Walking back to the window, he raised himself up to place his foot on the windowsill, Henry already closely behind him.

It only took a few minutes for Tommy to climb down the side of the building, his raccoons clinging onto him. He'd done it so many times in his old apartment, he supposed it would count as old as he wouldn't be going back anyway, that it was basically second nature to know how to do it.

Once he reached the floor, the crow landed on his head, cawing quietly. A shadow of more crows flying overhead leading the young hero to where a dark car sat, waiting. It looked ominous from how it was shrouded in darkness, crows littering it's roof and circling around the empty streets that surrounded it.

 

He knew they were waiting for him, and he stopped walking for a moment. The dark windows gave nothing away to who was in the car, but he knew where each sat.

Phil would be driving, always ready to take charge with an excellent sense of direction. Techno seated in the passenger's seat, far too big in height with a heavy build to fit in the back. Then finally, taking the backseat, always ready to swing an arm around the teen, would be Wilbur.

Tommy took a deep breath, and took more steps forward, yelping when the back door was suddenly thrown open and he was quickly tugged into strong, yet slim arms.

Wilbur.

 

He couldn't even help how he relaxed into the hold, not bothering to focus too much on how the brunet's face wore a dark smile as Tommy contently pushed his face into the warmth of Wilbur's obnoxiously coloured sweaters.

"Welcome back home, Sundrop. We missed you so much."

The younger simply made a noise of acknowledgement, closing his eyes as a hand gently led him towards and into the dark car. His raccoons scrambled into the seat on the other side of him while Wilbur entered right after and securely slammed the door.

Tommy would be lying if he said he didn't jump at the loud noise. Techno let out a soft huff, letting him know that the brute was aware of him being there.

Phil didn't turn around either, but one look at the rear view mirror, and Tommy could see piercing blue eyes stare right back at him.

 

The drive home was silent at first, shifting in and out of a comforting state to a bone chilling one. He was terrified, to say the least, of what they might do to him.

His fear might've been obvious, since Wilbur tugged him gently into his embrace, "Relax, Toms. I told you, we aren't mad at you."

"But-"

"However." Phil spoke up, and Tommy's jaw snapped shut, eyes looking at the blond in the front seat. "We were extremely worried about you, Hatchling."

Guilt bubbled around in his gut, a sore and conflicted expression rising to his face. Henry nudged his hand with its muzzle, Tommy allowing himself to scratch the animal behind its ears.

 

"Sorry." He mumbled, Wilbur forcing his hand down when he started idly biting his nails.

"It's alright. I'm just so happy you called for us." Pride? Phil sounded… proud.

The rest of the journey morphed into something more comforting as he relaxed himself into Wilbur's warmth. It was fine, they weren't mad at him. 

"Sleep, Tommy."

 

It wasn't a command, but he obeyed.

 

*----*

 

When he woke up, he wasn't in the guest room. Instead, judging by the tall ceiling alone and oversized bed, he had to be in Phil's room. The window had long been fixed, drapes of curtains keeping away the bright light of the morning.

Gentle snoring made him aware of the three fuzzy creatures sleeping around him. A smile tugged on his lips.

They were safe. He was safe-.

A voice in his head, one who used to be a lot louder but now was a mere dull buzz behind his ear.

 

You trapped yourself again, you're back where you started.

Shut up.

You're weak. You're no hero.

Shut up.

 

A knock on the door dragged him out of his thoughts, Harold's ear twitching at the noise and one eye opening slightly. 

"Tommy-!! Tom, Tom, T-"

"Oi! Shut up, bitch boy!" 

Wilbur laughed, opening the door finally. Usually they'd just walk in, so it was nice that they knocked first this time. The tall brunet made his way over to the bed, sitting down next to him. Harvey shifted away from him nervously, never one to stay too close to strangers.

"Are you hungry, Toms?" That put him immediately on guard, each time they fed him before it always involved some form of drugging. Usually, they'd always bring the food to him, but Wilbur had no tray with him.

 

Confusion filled his expression and Wilbur snickered, not hesitating with pulling Tommy into his arms, picking him up in one fluid motion. "Hey-! Put me down."

"You're not eating here on your own, Sunshine."

Tommy knew exactly where he was taking him, despite the only time being there was when they fed him waffles that one time. Speaking of which, the familiar smell of batter permeated through the hallways as they got closer to the dining room.

His raccoons were left in the bedroom, he hoped they wouldn't cause too much trouble. 

 

They entered the dining room, and he was gently placed down on a comfortable chair. Techno was seated across from him, seemingly completely engrossed in an untitled book. It was leather bound, the brown of the hide washed out with a tint of red.

"Good morning, Theseus." He said idly, not taking his eyes off of the yellowed pages.

Were they not going to mention how he ran away? Weren't they going to punish him?

They were acting like it never happened.

 

"You should've seen him Techno, all cozy with his raccoons. Adorable."

Tommy snorted, annoyed. "Was not. We are big men, me and triple H."

 

There was a beat of silence as Wilbur slid into the seat next to him, texting someone on his phone. Tommy tried to take a look at the contact name, but was nudged away by Wilbur with an amused smirk.

The only thing he saw was the last letter. Either it was a 'T' or it was an 'L'.

 

"Manners, Toms. Don't read other peoples messages." He laughed, but he didn't seem mad.

"Who're you texting?" He asked as casually as he could.

"A close friend of mine, I know you're very lonely so I'm asking them for some help in that regard."

Tommy rolled his eyes. "I'm a big man, Wilbur. I don't need a playdate." 

This time it was Techno's turn to let out an amused huff, but before Tommy could comment on it, Phil walked in.

 

He placed a plate of waffles in front of him, ruffling his hair and then moved on to hand the other two their own items.

Wilbur simply had a glass of-...

"Are you drinking wine in the morning, Wilbur?!"

"It's actually almost two P.M." the brunet laughed as Techno got his mug of black coffee. Phil sat down at the head of the table, Tommy at one side and Techno on the other.

Phil didn't have anything to eat.

"Drank your prune juice yet, Phil?" Tommy smirked, eyeing the older man.

Wilbur choked on his drink and burst into laughter, while Techno couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

"Little shit." Phil rolled his eyes, a frown on his face but amusement evident in his tone.

 

It was so calm, so nice. It was just like before…

Before he found out who they actually were. He joked with them, they joked back. Everything was going to be alright.

It wasn't enough to scare away his loneliness. While he was now allowed to wander the house, the front door was locked and all windows had bars on them.

Despite at least one of them hanging around him at all times, he wanted something more.

 

Sure he had his raccoons but…

He missed the banter he'd have with other people.

He was sure his head was fucked up in some shape or form, considering he felt so safe around the people claiming to be his family. He felt safe in their arms and their embrace, he wouldn't want to leave but…

He did still want to go out.

He missed the outdoors, he missed how good the air felt as he jumped from building to building.

But he never voiced his fears. Never uttered how loneliness licked at his skin like flames, burning his insecurities up like an oil fire.

"Tommy? Do you want to come with us to meet an old friend?"

Notes:

A scene from ch.10 drawn by Ted

It might be too big or too small, idk I'm posting this on my phone in a location with no access to a pc. So you guys tell me.

And for those who are coming from the three musketeers server, no... the friend isnt the person i hinted about ;P its someone else.

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Chapter 15

Notes:

Shorter chapter today :))) but still a good one! :D

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

Old friend?

 

"You have friends, Will?"

Phil burst into laughter, Tommy smirking at the annoyed expression on the brunet's face.

"Yes, Tommy, I have friends."

"Wow, would have never guessed considering how often you hang out with me." Tommy laughed, but honestly he was excited. It was a nice change to leave the house finally. 

"You're such an annoying child." Wilbur groaned, eyes turning to glance at his brother who was seated right next to the younger blond.

 

"It's an old friend of Wilbur's. Personally, I'm not a big fan of him, but he does have a son around your age." Techno spoke in his usual monotone drawl.

"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me. A playdate?! I told you, I'm no child and I don't need to 'go play' with random kids." Tommy got off the couch, but was yanked back by strong arms, now firmly seated on Techno's lap.

"You've been inside for too long, Theseus. We'll all be going, so we don't want to leave you on your own." We don't trust you was left unsaid.

 

"... when are we going?" 

"Few days. We thought we'd give you a heads up because I knew you'd be an annoying child about it." Wilbur said thoughtfully, sitting next to the other two  already finding his hand carding through blond hair.

"You're bothering me, Will. Stop touching me."

Apparently, 'stop touching' in the Craft family meant 'continue' since Wilbur seemed to completely ignore everything that Tommy was saying. In fact, he seemed to do it with even more enthusiasm.

 

"What if I don't like this other kid, huh? What if they're a wrong'n?" He challenged, another, much larger hand joining in on messing up his hair.

"I'm sure you two will get along just fine."

Tommy really doubted that claim, he barely got along with anyone, let alone people his age. Even his would-be friendship with Purpled was shaky at best, and mostly a work based acquaintance.

He didn't even like Purpled that much, he was a selfish jerk who was way too into aliens for it to be healthy. Not to mention a worse sleep schedule than him, he still remembers receiving messages from the guy at four in the morning.

But he knew he didn't have much of a say when it came to him going or not, so he just idly nodded.

Acceptance was easier than tiring arguments.

 

*----*

 

That night, in the room formerly known as the guest room which was now more of Tommy's room since he was officially staying with them, he aimlessly stared at the ceiling. He seemed to blink in and out of consciousness, every time he checked the clock it seemed to both move too fast but also too slow. Sleep tugged at his eyes but his brain stayed hyperaware, every miniscule noise forcing him back to awareness.

“...Fuck.” he cursed, Henry’s ear twitching at the sudden noise. “What do I do, H squad?” Tommy eyed his trio of raccoons. If anyone could offer him unbiased advice, it would be them.

Harold blinked slowly at him, and the blond sighed dramatically, “No, Har. I cannot commit arson. Not yet at least, Wilbur doesn’t trust me with lighters.” The raccoon nudged his chest with it’s muzzle, Tommy snickering as he rubbed the animal’s ears. “Fine, arson once we get the lighter.”

 

His raccoons always offered him the best comfort, his stay was dramatically improved once they started staying with him, he was glad his new family didn’t try to kick them out or even question them. But to be fair, Phil had an entire murder of crows scattered everywhere, so he supposed they were no strangers to wild animals in their home.

Tommy’s eyes shifted to Harvey, the most reasonable one of the trio, in his opinion. “Thoughts, Harv?” 

Harvey chittered.

“No, not on the arson. On what I’m gonna do when we go meet…-” Tommy paused. He actually didn’t even know the kid’s name. He didn’t know anything about them, Wilbur told him nothing, so Tommy had nothing to go off of.

 

The kid could be anyone, and Tommy had no way to know if he was as creepy as Wilbur, Techno and Phil could be sometimes. It was the kid of one of Wilbur’s friends, which meant that they could also be a villain.

In fact… It was highly likely that they were a villain. But who? Which villain? 

Running down the list of villains he knew in his head, a few fit the bill of being old enough to have a kid or mature enough to adopt a kid. But they also had to be friends with The Siren, so that made it much harder to choose which villain it could be.

‘Go sleep.’ his mind hissed at him, 'No use in worrying over shit you can’t control.’ 

In the end, he barely slept, still staring at the ceiling when Wilbur knocked on his door the following morning.

“Tommy?” Wilbur called, sitting on the bed next to the blond’s laying form. 

“What d’you want, bitch boy?” 

“You look like you haven’t slept.” Worry laced his voice, it was starting to piss him off how often he heard that tone from people.

“Cause I didn’t. Head too loud, thoughts too much.” He explained sparingly, too exhausted to properly express how he was feeling.

 

Within seconds, he was gently pulled up to a sitting position and shifted around until he was resting against Wilbur’s chest, the brunet’s cheek resting in blond hair. 

“Mh… Scared about meeting my friend?” His brother’s- his friend ’s tone was gentle and calming, almost immediately putting his mind at ease.  “C’mon, Toms. Talk to me.”

“Not scared… Just-” Tommy sighed, his ego aching when he even considered admitting he was afraid. “ Concerned. ” Was the word he settled on.

Wilbur seemed to accept it, hand now running itself through golden hair. “Now, Now. There’s no need for that. You know if anything were to go wrong, we’d be here to protect you.”

Tommy hummed idly, and that was where the conversation left. He didn’t want to focus too much on his fears, but as the day came closer the more anxious he got.

 

“Tommy, put on something warm, we’re going!” Tommy’s eyes snapped up to meet with Phil’s, fear coating his face. The avian visibly softened, lowering himself down to be seated at eye level with the younger. “There's nothing to be worried about, my little dove.”

‘Nothing to worry about’ did little to lessen his fears.

 

*----*

 

Now while the location was scary, the drive was very fun for Tommy. These were parts of the city he had never stepped foot in, and Wilbur kept telling him random facts about the place they were going to.

“In the late 1800s, this place used to be called L’Manberg! But then, in more modern times it was changed to Manberg. You know that reminds me-”

“Wilbur mate, you’re gonna talk his ears off.”

Tommy frowned as his eyes made eye contact with the buildings that came into view. They were all huge, massive structures in a place Wilbur claimed to be a neighbourhood of families?!

What kind of families lived here? Fucking rich cunts, thats what Tommy thought.

 

“What’s your friend like, Will?” He called, eyeing the taller man as he hummed thoughtfully. 

“He’s a bit of a jerk, but he’s fun to drink with.” Came his reply, which did little to calm the teen’s ever increasing anxieties.

Phil pulled into a road off to the side that landed them onto a gravel path which led up to a large home on a hill, flowers decorating the hill everywhere. Tommy glanced at them, frowning as he tried to identify the plants, with little luck.

 

The car stopped. 

 

Wilbur climbed out, motioning for him to follow suit, which he did with a bit of hesitation on his part. Phil and Techno were already out of the car, So the brunet grabbed Tommy’s hand and all four of them headed to the large front doors.

Everything was just so big. 

Techno sighed openly, before pushing the doorbell. He seemed as happy as Tommy was to be here, which was not at all. Moments of silence, and then the door opened.

Standing before them was a man with large curved horns, goat ears and glancing down had matching goat hooves. He wore a messily put suit, and he was lazily looking at them before his eyes landed on Wilbur and a smile tugged at his lips.

 

“Will.” He snickered, the taller returning the smile.

“Schlatt. How are you?”

“Why so formal? Come in, I’ve been waiting for you.”

 

*----*

 

Schlatt sucked, but Tommy found him funny so he could overlook how much of an asshole he could be. When they entered the house the goat immediately took them to the kitchen, pouring 4 glasses of wine, winking at him saying “When you’re older, you’ll get some too.”

Techno denied the drink though, earning an annoyed look from the former. 

It was weird that the brute declined it though, Tommy has seen him drink alcohol before and he has seen him drink wine before. It was strange but he didn’t think too much about it as the goat handed him a cup of coke. 

“Thanks, big man.”

 

He didn’t want to bring up his kid, or at least he assumed it was his kid considering all the little tidbits he gathered from the other three. Tommy really didn’t want to meet the kid.

Eventually, the four of them left to go talk in another room, leaving Tommy free to explore the house. Wilbur warned him that the door was locked and they would know if he somehow got outside, so he immediately scratched that from his list.

He tried door after door, most of which were firmly locked, and those who opened were mind numbingly boring.

Walking around a bit more, he eventually happened upon a painted door with flowers crudely drawn onto it. Trying the knob, he found himself in a room filled with flowers of all shapes and sizes. Large ones, small ones, ones with thorns, ones that curved around things like vines. It left Tommy in absolute awe. The room was colourful, smelt nice and didn’t reek of alcohol like the rest of the house.

 

Humming filled the hallway, and he froze as the sound of the door behind him creaking was heard.

Tommy swivelled around, coming face to face with a short boy. Familiar horns grew off of his head, smaller than his fathers but still quite large. Brown hair that was lighter than his dad’s covered one of his eyes.

One brown eye connected with two blue ones.

“Hello there! My name is Tubbo! It’s a pleasure to meet you finally.”

Notes:

The secret character was Tubbo ;P

"oh, but BatCat!" cry the people of the server "Tubbo doesn't have a Y in it!!! you said the name had a Y!!!"

His real name is tobY >;)

anyways: character sheet pog

He's blind in one eye, the toxic symbol eye contact is what he wears over that blind eye :)

 

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Chapter 16

Notes:

Short-ish chapter, since I felt a little iffy. Enjoy regardless.

 

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

The two boys stared openly at each other, 'Tubbo' bearing an overexcited smile. It was a silent staredown before Tommy scowled, "Bitch, stop staring at me."

The goat boy burst out laughing, the one brown eye visible fixated on him. "Sorry, boss man, I'm just happy to meet you!"

"How do you even know about me?!" His tone was almost accusatory, half surprised when Tubbo rolled his eyes- well, his eye, -a smile still wide on his lips.

"Weird thing to be saying while standing in the middle of my conservatory." 

 

Tommy glanced at the flowers littering the floors, desk spaces and hanging from the glass ceiling and then back to the short boy. "You grew all this-?"

"Yep! I love flowers because they're pretty and attract bees!" He explained, fully walking into the room and shutting the door behind him. "As to how I know you, my dad's been hammering on and on about you-."

Tommy cackled, smiling widely, "Shit, really? My uh… guardians have been talking about you nonstop too. They actually want us to be friends."

A few beats of silence passed before Tommy added "Uh, I'm Tommy-!" It was awkward but Tubbo didn't seem to be bad, so let a smile rise to his face.

 

Twin smiles now on their faces, Tubbo said something that excited Tommy to his very core. 

"Hey, Tommy…"

"Uh- Yeah, Tubbo?"

"Let's go break some shit."

 

*----*

 

Tubbo was cool, that was an opinion that solidified within the first 10 minutes of meeting him. He was funny and shared his sense of humour, and best of all, he offered him to go cause havoc.

They stole objects from formerly locked rooms, Tubbo giggling about stealing keys from his dad, they laughed and joked and talked for hours. Time seemed to both speed up, yet slow down.

Finding someone who he genuinely enjoyed being around, treating him as an equal and a friend. It was grounding . Grounding in the same way as his old blue couch. 

Tubbo, despite only knowing him for no more than 20 minutes at the time, felt like a safety net.

 

"Holy shit-" Tommy brushed his fingers over one of the stones embedded into a silver locket, "That's fucking cool as shit, Tubs."

Firm nods in response, the shorter boy nudging his head into his side gently, which Tommy found out was a sign of affection. 

Weird but a bit endearing.

 

Tubbo loved bees, Tommy learnt that extremely quickly. He also loved creating gadgets and showed off one of his personal projects. 

"It's not there yet, but these will let me fly!" Tubbo smiled, the one brown eye visible wide with excitement. Tubbo had a weird pupil, resembling a goat's, but unlike Shlatt's which made him unnerving; Tubbo’s was more endearing.

Tommy's fingertips brushed over the thin, mechanical bug wings. "You really are a bee boy, ya know that, Tubs?"

He laughed, so did Tommy.

 

They raced down the hallway, Tommy claiming to be faster. Unfortunately for Tubbo, not only was the blond faster but he also hit his side on a protruding beam, almost falling to the floor.

"Ow-"

Tubbo’s hair was stupidly long, always covering one of his eyes, and he constantly had to nudge it out of the way of the other. Tommy did notice the slight bit of scar tissue poking from where his hair did end, so he understood there was probably a reason for that.

He wouldn't pry, he doubts Tubbo wanted to show his scar if he went as far as to grow out his hair so he could cover it. What the goat did tell him however, was the fact that he was blind in said eye, so it didn't matter if the hair covered it or not. He couldn't see through it regardless.

 

Tubbo had jewellery hanging from his goat ears and horns, but one charcoal black, chrome ring on his left horn caught his eye. All the rest of his jewellery was golden with silver accents, so this one stood out.

"What's with the black ring, Tubbo?"

"Oh! My partner gave me that."

"Partner?"

Apparently Tubbo had some bitch named Ranboo as a partner. The goat explained that they were 'platonic soulmates', but also made jokes about wringing him dry of his cash, so it still confused Tommy beyond comparison.

 

By the time the sun was setting, Tommy was sure that this was the happiest he's ever been in a long time. He finally had a friend.

Friend, friend. Friend.

Fuck, that felt good to say.

Tubbo was his friend… at least he thought so.

 

"I-... are we friends, Tommy?" Tubbo suddenly asked as they sat on beanbags in the conservatory, the two sipping on cups of hot chocolate they grabbed from the kitchen.

"Mh… Yeah, I'd say so." Tommy responded casually, earning a happy giggle from Tubbo who placed his mug aside before hug-tackling the blond.

"Ah- fucking hell, Tubs, warn me next time ya clingy bastard." He couldn't help but smile too, rubbing the brunet's back as he used his other hand to place his cup on the floor next to him.

Their laughter was cut off by knocking at the door, before it was slowly pushed open.

 

The four adults walked in, differing expressions of amusement and excitement. 

"Hey kids, having fun?" Shlatt snickered, walking over to ruffle his son's hair, much to Tubbo’s indignation. 

"I see that your little playdate went well." Wilbur chuckled.

"Not a playdate. Playdates are for little kids; we're big men." Tommy huffed, Tubbo echoing him with a "Yeah-!"

 

*----*

 

Tommy was a bit disappointed when they had to leave, he didn't want to say goodbye to Tubbo, and it seemed that the other boy shared his sentiment.

"You'll see each other again soon mate, I promise." Phil chuckled, patting Tommy on the head as the two teens clung onto each other. Tubbo’s grip was so much stronger than his, to the point where it hurt a little bit, not that he'd tell the boy that. 

What Tommy quickly learnt though, Tubbo was strong. The goat could raise the young hero above his head and do like a hundred squats, he was fucking buff as shit even if he didn't look like it due to the puffy clothing he wore.

 

"But-!" Tubbo tried to argue, pouting more as Schlatt tugged the boy away, with a bit of difficulty due to the smaller having a deathgrip on Tommy.

Wilbur gently touched the two on their shoulders. "You'll see each other again very soon, don't worry. Let go. "

They did, matching scowls on their faces. "Tomorrow?" Tubbo asked, looking directly at his father.

"Tomorrow. You can even bring Ranboo along."

A smile rose to the younger goat's lips, glancing at Tommy. "Tomorrow!" 

 

Today Tommy made a friend.

Tomorrow Tommy will meet him again, along with another boy.

 

Why is he happier with people who control his every action over being free to do as he pleased?

Was he even free before?

The scariest part was that he never missed being Mellohi, a month into his capture he'd already come to terms that he's no hero.

An identity he put all his heart and soul into, thrown to the wayside, swept under a rug and tucked into a closet.

 

For what? A bunch of villains?

A bunch of villains who seemed to care for him more than anyone on the outside ever did.

He's excited to see Tubbo again, the boy having given him a yellow rose as a parting gift, straight from his own conservatory.

It smelt nice, and made him remember,

 

Oh yeah, I have a friend now.

Notes:

Yellow Roses.

 

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Chapter 17

Notes:

Okay, so ya girl has some explaining to do, but if you follow me on twitter you'd know a biiiit of why it took me 21 days to update despite me usually only taking at most a week between updates.

Basically: My brain was being a bitch, so I took a few days, then I felt guilty about not updating, but that made me not wanna write. The longer I went on without writing though, the more guilty I got, but then that made me not wanna write again,,, rinse, repeat.

But thanks to my incredible friends, I'm feeling much better now! Thank you so much for your patience, now on with the show <3

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

The sound of crows. It was such a distinct sound, one all could recognise. It was a sound commonly associated with death, misfortune and misery. That noise was what haunted Tommy’s deepest nightmares and subconscious. He would always wake up, panicked and heartbeat quickening in pace, but unaware of what scared him. Tommy could rarely remember his nightmares, but he could always remember the sound of the crows.

He never feared crows, but each time they reappeared in his dreams, he knew it wasn’t the birds he was afraid of. It was the same reason that the moments he did remember were filled with soft humming, the clinking of metal against solid ground and heavy panting.

Tommy’s eyes snapped open, his body frozen for a second before his mind caught up. He was in bed, he was alone and he was safe.

 

No you aren’t.

 

Henry was laying on a pillow beside him, Harvey snoozing against his leg while Harold was at the foot of the mattress with his belly showing. The teen forced himself to get out of bed, stretching out his aching limbs, remaining quiet to not wake up his companions. For the first time in a while, he seemed to have some time alone in the morning without one of the other three entering his room minutes after he woke up.

He finally managed to pick out his own clothes, get dressed and lazily brush his teeth without them practically hovering over him and his every movement. It felt nice, nice to finally be alone in daylight with just him. Listening to songbirds instead of the endless caws he’d hear echoing in his subconscious.

Tubbo was coming today, that he remembered, and he was bringing a friend along. It was weird, jealousy already clawing at him at the thought of his new friend having other friends, but he shoved it down. That was always how he lost people in the past by being too clingy or overly affectionate, and while Wilbur and his family seemed to be endeared by those qualities, they were a definite minority in that regard. 

 

There was a gentle knock at his door, Henry glancing towards it for a moment before lowering his head back down. It creaked open, Wilbur standing at the entrance baring a big smile. "Good morning, Toms! You excited?"

It was too early to be energetic, but he smiled anyway. "Fuck yeah, Tubbo’s coming over, right?" Tommy would be lying if he said he wasn't excited. 

Wilbur's smile widened, spreading his arms out, "C'mere, Tommy." 

He wasn't using his power, but the teen had a feeling he wouldn't be happy if Tommy ignored him. Tommy closed the space between them, Wilbur closing his arms around him, resting his chin in blond hair.

 

"My baby brother, my sweetest little raccoon."

"Not a baby, Will." They've had this conversation countless times, but it always ended the same way.

"Yes you are, my little baby brother."

 

He yielded.

 

"Whatever, Wilbur, fucking weirdo."

 

*----*

 

It was two in the afternoon when Tubbo arrived, a tall man in tow. He had pale skin, with his hair split dyed black and white. On the white side he had white spots dotting his cheeks and under his eyes, with similar dotting on the black. One black and one white horn sprouted from his head, a two tone tail dragging on the floor behind him meekly. Despite being tall as shit, he was slightly hunched over, hand intertwined with Tubbo’s.

The goat pulled his hand out of the tall man's grip and ran over to hug Tommy. 

"Tommy-!! It's so great to see you again!" 

"Clingy bastard, it's barely been 24 hours." But Tommy bore a similar smile, just as excited to see Tubbo again.

 

The hunched over person walked closer, waving awkwardly. "Oh yeah-! Tommy, this is Ranboo! My platonic partner."

"Ello, Ran boob ." He wheezed, his smirk widening at the pout the taller boy suddenly wore. 

"That's not- that isn't my name." Ranboo practically whined, Tubbo’s expression turning mischievous as he made eye contact with the blond.

"Okay, meow meow." The goat said simply, glancing up at the two toned boy.

"No-!"

 

*----*

 

Okay, maybe Ranboo wasn't that bad, but Tommy will be damned before he told the man that. Despite seeming like the walking embodiment of anxiety, the tall fuck was pretty funny and had a lovable attitude.

The only gross thing was whenever Ranboo would call Tubbo pet names, like 'Honeybee' which was his go-to. The goat wasn't as mushy or consistent with his show of affection but it still happened every now and again. But for his sake, they promised to not do it too much around him, which he appreciated. 

Tubbo and Ranboo were the only two who seemed to treat him with respect. They didn’t see him as Mellohi, nor did they see him as some child. They saw him as an equal, as a friend, as Tommy. 

 

Ranboo’s horns and ears were also bejewelled, albeit not as eccentrically as Tubbo’s were. They were more silver than gold with purple, green and red jewels being the most prominent items embedded into them. The only standout one was a golden ring on his horn.

‘Oh-! Tubbo gave me that one.’ Ranboo had said, a happy smile wide on his lips.

 

They talked and joked for hours, at some point they even just lay against the foot of Tommy’s bed and basked in the comfort of silence. Tommy at Ranboo’s left and Tubbo at his right. The boy’s tail curved around his partner, slinking over Tommy’s lap and curled protectively back around to rest behind the blond, gentle purr-like sounds emanating from his chest.

The gesture felt like safety, which was probably why he didn’t immediately shout and try to shove the tail off of him. By the time the two left, with a big hug from Ranboo and an affectionate headbutt to his side from Tubbo, something strange settled in Tommy’s gut.

Happiness yes, but it wasn’t the feeling overtaking his mind when he was left alone in his empty room. His need for freedom seemed non-existent, his craving for independence not even a footnote in his mind any longer.

 

They've fucking tamed you.

Caged and collared like some pet. 

 

The dark voice in the back of his head felt like it was blasting its thoughts at full volume into his ears. 

You know they're not who you want them to be.

 

But did he really want to leave?

Trading your freedom for a false family that hurt you and treat you like property.

 

After all, he now had Tubbo and Ranboo.

Idiot.

 

He had no one out there.

Stupid idiot.

 

No one cared.

Sam cared.

 

Liar.

 

 

His mind plagued him with contradicting thoughts and conflicting memories. 

Phil always cooked his favourite foods, yet he chained him up to the bed.

Wilbur always joked, laughed and watched movies with him, yet forcefully drugged him.

Techno always held him close when he had nightmares and gave him endless words of encouragement, yet snapped his legs like twigs.

What was right and what was wrong were melting and morphing into each other, mixing around like dark blood droplets falling into a perfectly clear lake. It swirled around, turning the pure water red, until the lines between good and bad was a mere pink, stained puddle.

 

"F… fuuuuuck. " He lay down, sprawled out on the bed, sheets cold to the touch except for specific spots where his raccoons had laid down previously. 

Henry padded over, laying right on his chest, his wet nose gently sniffing his cheek. "Henry, you're the wisest man I know. What should I do?"

The chubby animal licked his nose, a blank expression on his face, and yipped softly. The blond nodded thoughtfully, "hm, hot take as any, young man. But I can understand where you're coming from."

Tommy squished the raccoon's cheeks, sighing softly. "You are truly the wisest man to ever walk this earth, Hens."

 

A moment of silence passed, his eyes drifting from the animal laying on him, to the tall ceiling. “But I don’t know. I don’t even miss being Mellohi, I just-... I miss being able to do what I wanted, go where I wanted, see who I wanted.” a stinging feeling pricked at his eyes “I don’t miss Mellohi, I just want to go back to being Tommy.”

I’m not the person they want, I’m not even the person I want. 

He laughed emptily, salty tears building up in the corners of his eyes, growing so big that his vision was blurred. Tommy blinked, the hot liquid rolling down his cheeks silently. For the first time, his breakdown wasn’t loud. He didn’t shout or scream, wail or sob. He just mindlessly stared at the plafond above him, counting each groove and indent as tears wordlessly spilt down.

 

Tommy fell asleep to the sound of his quiet sniffles and hiccups, a field of black dahlias filling his unfocused vision, some reaching just below his shoulders. Thorns from their petals scratching at his bare arms, but it wasn’t painful, more like rough fabric rubbing against him than actual thorns.

Then the haunting caws, an endless cacophony, rustling of feathers drumming in his ears. Make it stop, make it stop. The caws, the distant humming, grinding of metal against concrete. 

He was just in a field- where, where, where?! 

 

Large black wings blocked out the sun, like a dark mark in the sky. Caw, caw, caw. 

A dark smile that promised him the world. Caw, caw, caw.

Broad shoulders, stained, sharp steel, called him ‘their gold’. Caw, caw, caw.

Black feathers instead of petals, the black dahlias swarmed with crows, the same way his thoughts are swarmed with dread.

 

That night, just like any other, he dreamt of crows. It’s a sound he’d always remember, and a sound he’d always fear.

Notes:

OKAY SO, thanks to my unplanned break, I also missed this milestone, considering we're already close to 50K hits.

BUT TO CELEBRATE 2K KUDOS, our beloved Ted has drawn, under my request, this amazing piece:

as always you can follow me on twitter for updates, sneakpeaks, random thoughts, as well as polls to determine future stories and events link!

Chapter 18

Notes:

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

with also some minor help from my writer friend: Fabled, Love ya to death man <3

and also a big, big thank you to all the kind love and support I got from my friends even if I took such a long time to write this chapter <33. I will be name dropping now <3

Big love to my friends:
Orange, despite me betaing for your fic, you still help me out a ton, and despite being american you're very funny.
Cherry, my arson buddy, stop being so afraid of me >:), you make me cry with your affection
Cu, you helped me out more than u can imagine, my partner in crime
Void, you're just the most supportive person out there, im not even kidding.

Kat, even if I know you wont read this when it's released, I love u still /p

and SO, SO many more.

I can not even begin to put into words how you've all inspired me and helped me out, and i'm so sorry if your name didn't appear here, Im so tired while writing this author's note, pls forgive me and u can dm me if I forgot man ueueu

 

anyway. On with the show. Big announcements at the end.

Flowers were a powerful thing, one with many meanings. Even the same type of flower could mean multiple things, depending on the situation, time of day, colour, relation with another.

One of Tubbo’s personal favourite flowers were buttercups, the flowers themselves shared many interesting memories for the brunet.

 

They were classified as a weed, a toxic one at that. Despite how many times he remembers making flower crowns using them when he was younger, the yellow colour reminding him of the golden jewellery his father wore. 

His father used to have this business friend, one that would make his dad upset. He wasn't sure why they were called a friend if they made his father so angry.

The friend one day asked him- no, demanded of him, in a sickenly sweet voice to get them something to eat while his father went to get his adult juice.

Tubbo prided himself in his cooking skills. So what if a few buttercups happen to fall into the batter?

His father's friend never bothered either of them again.

This started his odd fascination with flowers, which transitioned down into his obsession with apians, specifically bees. His weird behaviour didn't exactly garner him many friends, especially after the accident.

He was lucky to have met his best friend, and platonic soulmate. Ranboo.

Ranboo was different from the others. He didn’t find him weird or scary. After the accident, he was the only one who didn't look away. He comforted him, hugged him and held him close.

They promised each other they'd never be apart. 

 

Until his father started talking about a new kid. 

 

He didn’t know it yet, didn't know that Tommy would become his new best friend. But now that both him and Ranboo knew the kid? They'd protect him with their life.

Tubbo has very direct interests. He loves shiny jewellery, explosions, poisons, bees…

But when it came to people it was an even shorter list. The top two at the moment? Ranboo and Tommy.

He was familiar with the Crafts before. His father was extremely close with Wilbur and had a light friendship with Phil.

The only outlier was Techno, who didn't seem to like him all that much. But at the very least he was nice to Tubbo himself.

 

When he learnt they had a younger son? That got him excited. Surely the son of a family of villains would be a blast to hang out with-

and it was.

 

*----*

 

Water spilling out of a watering can.

The hum of chattering newscasters from a hanging TV.

Gentle breeze coming from an open window.

It was a pretty calm afternoon, all things considered. Tubbo had no real plan for the day, so he was just idly doing chores around his living space. After many arguments with his father, the old fuck finally agreed to give him his own seperate area of the house. It was the only place that didn’t reek of cigarette and one that he could decorate as he pleased with all the flowers he could possibly think of.

 

He got a message from Ranboo earlier, it was the usual text he’d expect from the guy.

‘Good morning <3, did you take your meds today? Drink water? Put cream on your scar?’

He swears to himself, how can a person be that caring and work for villains at the same time? It blew Tubbo away each time he remembered that fact. 

 

Ranboo technically worked undercover, acting as a double agent of sorts. He supplied Thanatos’ and Cabro’s organisations with insider information, and that was how he met Tubbo in the first place.

Schlatt, under the alias of ‘Cabro’, requested him to get details on a few of the new recruits that have joined the City’s ‘Top 100’ ranking. It was a good idea to know who the rising heroes were and to know how to properly deal with them. Best that there weren’t any unwanted surprises.

That was how they met, and they’ve been closer than close ever since. 

 

During his time over at Phil’s house, hanging out with Tommy, he learnt a few strange things. He learnt this earlier too, when he first hung out with the blond at his house. 

The first thing was: Tommy didn’t have a cellphone. Or to rephrase, he wasn’t allowed a cellphone. It was-... weird. Strange that Phil of all people didn’t allow one of his sons, who was 16 might he add, a cell phone. 

Wilbur told him it was for anonymity, something about Tommy being irresponsible, but Tubbo wasn’t stupid. He saw the look Tommy had on his face, there was something else going on, but for some reason the blond refused to tell him.

 

Maybe his father told him he couldn’t say, Tubbo’s own dad pulled that same bullshit on him in the past. So paranoid about being found out despite being so filthy rich he could buy and sell any hero he could think of.

Tubbo learnt to be numb to many things due to his father’s… occupation. 

Death being the main one. In fact, Tubbo saw death as quite a pretty thing. An art form. There were so many horrific ways in which a person could die, so many ways a person acted in the face of danger. 

Ranboo once told him that he should try therapy. His father refused.

‘What’s wrong with you? Nothing is wrong.’ where his exact words. He could always do it behind his father’s back, but if he did, he couldn’t depend on the old man’s credit card.

 

There was a knock at his conservatory’s door, catching his attention. Putting down his watering can, he made his way over to the door, and opened it cautiously. He didn’t know what he was expecting to see, but three suited men was definitely the last thing he wanted.

“Your father is requesting your presence in his office.” Said one man, dark sunglasses preventing the boy from seeing where his eyes were looking.

“ Oh? Well then. Tell the old fuck that if he wants to see me so badly, to either message me, or to get off his sweaty ass and come here himself.” Tubbo responded flatly, his one working eye glaring daggers at the trio.

“I understand your upset, but he demands you come to see him.” The way he was speaking, simply chafed Tubbo's nerves. Slow and careful, as if he was talking to a young, idiotic child.

“I don’t give a single fuck.” Tubbo slammed the door on their faces. It wasn’t the first time his father demanded him show up, always one to show off his son’s achievements to impress guests. It somehow pissed him off more than the way his father’s underlings spoke to him. 

 

It didn’t surprise him when less than thirty minutes later, he got a very angry message from his father. Unfortunately for the old bastard, Tubbo left the house fifthteen minutes prior after messaging Ranboo to pick him up. 

He’s sure his father could figure out how to entertain his guests without involving him.

 

*----*

 

Tubbo prided himself in managing to avoid the heroeing world as much as he possibly could, he never got close to large crowds who flocked to where the next big fight was happening, which happened a surprising amount. It shocked him how willing people would be to get into danger just to see their favourite hero.

He got it, understood the love for danger, the good feeling you get like fire licking at your skin. The rush of adrenaline when you do something you shouldn’t be doing. But that wasn’t why people were risking their lives. Last time Tubbo got too close to a battle a hero was having, he ended up losing vision in one of his eyes, and scarring half his face.

At least that day, his father actually did pay attention to him for a long period of time. That hero who caused the accident wasn’t around anymore too, not ever since his 15th birthday, where his father gave him one of his favourite gifts.

 

Sometimes he thinks back on those memories and reconsiders trying to seek therapy, but then again, how was he supposed to tell some poor bastard that his father is one of the most dangerous villains around.

After he left his house with Ranboo, they headed down to the shopping district. Tubbo hadn’t been there in a few months, so he thought it would be fun to see what was new. Walking by the flowerbeds, he frowned at how terribly the Oenotherae were being taken care of. Underwatered and wilting from too much sunlight, it made him upset just looking at it. His eyes travelled up, zeroing in on a ripped missing poster. 

 

“Huh…”

“What is it, Bee?” Ranboo asked gently, tilting his head to the side ever so slightly. 

“I wonder who’s missing…” He idly hummed. It wasn’t like he paid that much attention to the news. It was mostly background noise whenever his phone was out of battery so he couldn’t put a show on instead. 

“It’s hard to tell, the bottom half is completely ripped…”

 

It looked like something sharp had pulled at it violently, claws, talons or something similar to them. 

“Fucking weird. Who does missing posters anymore, anyways?”

“Whoever’s looking for this-... person? Pet?” Ranboo narrowed his eyes, trying to analyse it further, but there wasn’t much to go off of.

“Ah, whatever. We’ve got better things to worry about. C’mon Ran, let's get donuts and sit by the fountain.”

 

*----*

 

When he got home, his father shouted at him, angry that Tubbo didn’t show up to the meeting. He wasn’t having any of the old man’s bullshit though, so he shouted back. It was loud and aggressive, all who were close enough to hear it kept their heads down. The last thing an underling wanted was to piss off their violent leader after he fought with his just-as-aggressive son.

Tubbo ended up saying things he might regret later, but then again… thinking back on what he told him?

 

‘You fucking worthless-... The rare times I ask you to do something you fucking embarrass me by not showing up.’

‘How about you get a fucking dog instead then, old man? You’d probably pay more attention to it anyway, you piece of shit.’

 

He doesn’t regret stealing Wilbur’s phone number though. If he couldn’t contact Tommy himself, he’d simply have to get a middleman.

The phone rang a few times before finally he picked up.

 

“Hello?”

“Hey, Wilbur. It’s me, Tubbo!”

“Tubbo? How’d you get my number?

“Not important Bossman, can I meet up with Tommy?”

Silence before a soft sigh was heard. “Meet up with him?”

“Yeah like, the mall?”

“No.”

 

Tubbo frowned. Why wasn’t Tommy allowed at the mall? Was he grounded or something?

 

“Uh, then can I come over?” he tried carefully, tapping his foot.

“I’d have to ask my dad.”

“Ask? Aren’t you like thirty?”

“I’m twenty four.”

“So…?” He urged, restless. He hasn’t spoken to him in a few days and he missed joking around with the guy. 

“Fine then, you can come over.”

Tubbo smirked, nodding despite the fact that Wilbur couldn’t see it. “Got it, Bossman. I’ll head over now then.”

He wondered what Tommy was up to in the days that they hadn’t seen each other. Tubbo sighed to himself, grabbing his bag before heading to the door taking one glance at his conservatory to make sure he didn’t forget to do anything.

Eyes drifted to petals on the floor, looking back up he realised that they must’ve fallen from his aconitums. He’d have to remind himself later to clean those up.

 

For now, he had a friend to meet up with.

Notes:

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Now that self advertising is over, its time for something a biiiit more serious? I usually hate being serious in authors notes, just cryptic or silly. However, last chapter I got my very first 'weird comment'. Now, that doesn't mean it was a hate comment. Those i've gotten before, and I don't give a shit about them. This one however, and I won't get into details, was very.... weird. It made my uncomfortable so I'm putting it out here now, and it will probably be stated at the end of each chapter now.

If you are being a fucking weirdo in my comment section. I will delete it. No ifs, buts, or whys. I don't care if you didn't mean it maliciously, don't be a weirdo.

So here are my official Comment Rules, things that will get your comment deleted.:
> NSFW
> Shipping
> Being a general weirdo
> 'You should've written this instead' type bullshit

Thank you.

- Author BatCat.

Chapter 19

Notes:

I once again took a month to write a chapter. I am so sorry XD
its a bit short too but eh, whatever.

anyway...

enjoy :)

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

Wilbur surprised him one day, with Tubbo coming over to hang out with him. Tommy wasn’t sure why Tubbo kept coming but it was nice. Nice to have someone else to talk to.

Tubbo clearly didn’t know who he was before all of this. To him, Tommy wasn’t the scrawny kid that worked at some unknown bar and lived in a shitty apartment, nor was he ‘Mellohi’, the fuckup sorry excuse for a hero. Instead he was ‘Tommy’. Phil- Thanatos’ youngest.

He didn’t know that Tommy was kidnapped, he didn’t know his legs were broken shamelessly because he tried to run, he didn’t know that he cowardly called back for them because despite all the fear they cause him daily, he’s more terrified of being alone again. Being without the constant warmth they suffocate him with.

 

It was nice to know that he stuck around because he wanted to, not because he felt bad or thought it was funny to give him some strange sense of hope. Hope that he might’ve found some kind of friend that he could fully rely on. Ranboo was a similar yet different case. He thought the guy was nice but it was hard to tell if he just stuck around because of Tubbo.

If one were to leave, Tommy had no doubt the other would too. He didn’t blame them either, his situation left no one to blame but himself. He got attached to strangers, and now he was suffering the consequences. The blonde was never good at those things, never thinking his actions through.

“Tommy!” Tubbo pulled him into a deathgrip of a hug when the brunet entered his room. “It’s great to see you again! I missed you, man.” 

Tommy forced a smile, despite how awful he was feeling. His mental health felt like it was deteriorating the longer he spent in his captors’ nice, clean and somewhat calm home. The bedsheets and pillows were too soft, their words too sweet. It trickled into his ears like honey and made him feel like he was drowning in syrup of good feelings.

“Hey there king, how are ya?” He asked, trying to keep the focus off of him. 

“Tom, you wouldn’t believe the fucking shit day I’ve had. My dad’s a fucking jerk.-”

 

So he just listened. Listened to Tubbo vent for what felt like hours, and it probably was. He didn’t mind though, he liked listening to the boy talk. Talk about what was happening in the outside world, what he saw that day, laugh about how Ranboo got startled by a loud noise, and discuss flowers.

Tubbo was a weirdo, but the good kind. He talked about strange things but it didn’t surprise Tommy all that much. After all, his father was a villain who had villain friends and Tubbo’s only other friend up until now was Ranboo who seemed to bend to the brunet’s every whim and will.

And besides. He preferred Tubbo over any of the others.

 

Godsforbid if Tubbo found out the true nature of his situation. 

 

*----*

 

“Hey Tubbo!” 

“Hey, Ran. What's up?”

“You know I was going through hero backlogs. It had to be reorganised and I spotted that there was like, an entry blanked out.”

“Blanked?”

“Yeah. It’s weird since not many other people have access to those, only high-level personnel.” Ranboo paused, Tubbo counting the seconds of silence until his partner started speaking again. “Even dead heroes don’t get removed from this. Unless they’re disgraced, but then their information is just transferred elsewhere. Not removed.”

“Is this a conspiracy I smell?” Tubbo asked excitedly, unable to stop the smile from forming.

“Don’t get me wrong, Tubbo. I’m sure they had a good reason. I just think it’s strange…”

“Do you think you will be able to look into it without suspicion?”

“I can try.” Ranboo sounded hesitant, but the brunet had full confidence in his skill.

“Great. Stay safe, Boo.”

“Always do.”

 

*----*

 

Ranboo could admit to himself that this situation was beyond puzzling. As soon as he noticed, he knew that he had to relay it to Tubbo, who would also no doubt find it just as intriguing. They don’t ever, ever remove a hero’s information. Even if they’re dead, they’re simply marked as such. Even if they go rogue, switch sides or even retire. Information is never, ever deleted or blanked out.

He knew he had to find out who this hero was. Most of the data had been completely erased, except for the officer who marked the hero as ‘MIA’. 

“...Sam, Chief of police?” He murmured, narrowing his eyes as he read the text. Now that just opened up a whole other can of worms. He needed to contact someone who knew a lot of heroes. Trying to dig for a hero that someone powerful clearly didn’t want people knowing about would be dangerous and searching websites that held nothing but blanks was a waste of time.

 

Ranboo scrolled through his contacts, smiling when he finally found what he was looking for. It rang a few times until finally someone picked up.

 

“Hello-?”

“Good afternoon, Purpled.”

“Ranboo. Why are you calling?”

“Do you know of any heroes that went missing recently?” If this hero really was missing in action, then Purpled had to know. 

“Hm… confirmed missing or rumoured to be?”

“Either or works.”

“Well, there is one hero. I actually worked with him for a bit. Helped me test out my tech.”

“Oh? Who is it?”

“Some raccoon hero named Mellohi. He went radio silent months ago, haven’t heard a word from him nor seen him do anything at all. Not even his little pets were seen.”

“Little pets?”

“Three raccoons. Forget what he called them though, they had similar names-... all beginning with the same letter.”

“I-... Thank you, Purpled. That’s very useful.”

“Cool. You can send me payment through paypal.” 

 

*----*

 

Ranboo didn't know what to think. Nothing made sense until it did, and when it did everything clicked into place. Three raccoons, Thanatos having a secret third son, a disappearance of a young hero.

The second point was honestly the most damning. Thanatos couldn't shut up about his sons. Always talking about something they did that he was proud of even if it was the most mundane.

That-... and Tommy had three raccoons.

 

He was extremely conflicted. He- he should tell someone, but who could he possibly tell other than Tubbo? 

Does he even want to help some hero? Maybe it was better for him anyway, the other three seem to treat him as their own. Then again, the details about him being completely disconnected from ways to call for help say otherwise.

Does Tubbo know already? Does Cabro know?

 

No, if Tubbo knew he'd tell him. Tubbo told him everything , even things Ranboo didn't want to know, the gruesome and the gross-

and Tommy was their friend.

But he was a hero, a captured one at that. Ranboo didn't want to get in the way of a possible plan Thanatos could be cooking up but- 

He was just a kid. Just like him and Tubbo. Young people who were and are currently being used by people in power. Tubbo knew it, he knew it, and Tommy possibly knew.

 

With a decision made, Ranboo pulled out his phone and dialled his partner.

Just as always, Tubbo picked up rather quickly.

 

"Hey Ran. What's going on?"

"Tubbo… I have some news about the blanked out hero."

"Really?! Did ya find who it is? Conspiracy?!" Tubbo sounded excited, he was always one for drama. Unfortunately he was unlikely to like the news Ranboo had.

"I know who he is…"

"He?"

"Do you know who Mellohi is?"

"The name rings a bell…"

"I- I know why we never heard about Tommy existing."

"Ranboo? What the hell are you implying?" He could hear the nervousness dripping off of his partner's voice.

"Mellohi went missing months ago. He was known to have three raccoons, just like Tommy."

Tubbo was dead silent on the other line, so Ranboo continued.

"You know Thanatos doesn't shut up about his children. Why haven't you heard anything about his youngest before? Him beginning to talk about Tommy lines up with Mellohi’s disappearance."

" Fuck… Does- is that why they-?"

"Yeah…"

 

*----*

 

It was another two weeks until he was allowed to meet with Tubbo again. It was annoying, because permissions had to be approved by one of the other three. From what he understood, Tubbo had constantly asked to meet up with him to the point where Wilbur got frustrated from the constant calls.

“You could just give me my own phone again.”

“Not going to happen, Toms.” Phil said, in an annoyingly gentle and loving voice. It made him want to punt him directly out of the nearest window.

Luckily, this time he was allowed to go to Tubbo, instead of him coming to Phil’s house. It was nice to have a change of scenery, to not continuously see the same walls and halls. Wilbur told him that once he settles down, they’ll let him leave more.

What a pile of bullshit.

 

When he entered the house, Wilbur and Techno flanking him from behind, he wasn’t immediately greeted by Tubbo. To be fair, he was probably working on some sort of techy bullshit on his side of the house him and his father shared. Shaking off the two following him, he headed down the hallway. If his memory served him correctly, he should be able to find his way to wherever Tubbo was.

He went from one room to another until he heard a familiar voice down the hallway talking to another very familiar voice. Ranboo and Tubbo.

Tommy didn’t know that he was here too, but he supposed it wasn’t all that bad. The overanxious beanstalk was actually surprisingly funny. 

 

Walking further down, the voices became more prominent, until he finally reached the door they were coming from. Freezing for a moment, curiosity took over and so he cautiously placed one ear to the door.

 

“How was I supposed to know they kidnapped him?!” Tubbo.

“That’s the thing. I don’t think anyone was supposed to know. A lot of people put a lot of effort into ensuring that.” Ranboo.

 

What?!

Kidnapped? Know?!

Are they talking about-?

Do they-?!

 

“We can’t do anything… You know that, right? Bee?”

“I know.”

 

Tommy slammed the door open, anger and betrayal fueling him. He was fuming. For once, for once he thought he might’ve found someone who liked him for him. Not because they pitied him or were forced to. He thought Tubbo didn’t know, a part of him didn’t want Tubbo to know. Someone who wasn’t a part of this, contributing to his never-ending, living nightmare.

But no, of course not. Tubbo knew, he knew all along. 

He knew and did nothing. 

 

“Tomm-” Tubbo began saying, but he wasn’t listening. Tears brimmed, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t.

 

“You knew?!” 

 

 

For the first time since Tommy had known him, Tubbo looked… scared.

Notes:

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and:

THINGS THAT WILL GET YOUR COMMENT DELETED
> NSFW
> Shipping
> Being a general weirdo
> 'You should've written this instead' type bullshit

Chapter 20

Notes:

sorry for the semi short chapter. Writers block has been kicking my ass.

still a good chapter though, I think. Hope it was worth the wait.
Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

"Tommy…"

"No. I don't want to fucking hear it." 

 

He was angry. So very angry. Of course he couldn't trust the child of another villain, he was just as bad as the rest of them. No, no he was worse.  

Of course, it only made sense. Schlatt probably asked Tubbo to be friends with him, to convince him to get comfortable. The worst part? It was working.

 

"I swear we didn't mean to deceive you, Tommy…" Ranboo said meekly, flinching at the death glare the blond sent back.

"Shut the fuck up, Ranboo. You and I know you're only here because he is here."

" Enough Tommy. I know you're mad at me, but you have no right to shout at Ran. He didn't do anything wrong." Tubbo snarled back.

"You're right. Both of you did shit wrong." He accused. His emotions were getting the better of him, but the dam broke, and everything was now spilling out. "You knew and you did nothing."

 

An inhuman growl came from Tubbo, startling Tommy who stared wide-eyed at his former friend. 

"Tommy. Genuinely? What the fuck do you expect me to do." He took a step closer to the blond, "I am as powerless as you are. I can't do anything even if I wanted to help."

“I…” Tommy paused, his rebuttal stuck in his throat. “You’re the son of a powerful villain-!”

“Yes… and? That means nothing. Tommy, we didn’t know you weren’t their actual son until a week or two ago.” Tubbo sighed, rubbing his temples with his thumb and index finger. “We didn’t want to tell you because how were we going to? ‘ Oh by the way! We know you’ve been kidnapped but we can’t do anything, anyways want to play Smash bros?’ ” 

 

"So you thought it better to lie to me?" 

"Yes… we had to do digging to find out and it was accidental…" He had to calm down. Tubbo had a point, now that he explained himself.

"So… Schlatt didn't tell you?" 

"No."

"And you really are my friend?"

"Yes, dumbass."

 

His face felt warm from embarrassment, refusing to make eye contact with the goat hybrid, jumping when a large hand lightly but hesitantly rested on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw that it was- Ranboo.

"We're not mad at you, Tommy. We understand that you're upset, you feel cheated and lied to. But we don't know how to help you."

"So… Tommy." Tubbo began, taking a step closer, "What do you want to do? What do you want?"

 

What does he want?

The last time someone asked that-... was back when he was Mellohi.

But- Wilbur was the one who asked it that day.

It felt different this time. Not like he knew it back then, what befriending Wilbur would mean for him.

 

"I want-"

What does he want?

A wise person once told him, vengeance does nothing but hurt…

 

He wants-

But the person who told him that, did nothing to stop Thanatos from wrapping his sharp talons around his throat, claiming him as his own.

Sam did nothing.

So what did Tommy want?

 

"I want… revenge."

 

*----*

 

“If we want to do this, it will all have to happen here.” 

 

The three were sitting in Tubbo’s bedroom, The goat himself sitting on a swivelling office chair, Ranboo on his bed while Tommy paced back and forth, thinking aloud to the two.

“I can’t do it anywhere near Wilbur and the others. They’ll know something’s up. You two have a lot more freedom than I do, so I’m depending on you.” The blond made direct eye contact with his friend, two eyes meeting one. He nodded. 

“Aye aye, king.”

“I’m still unsure though, Tommy. I mean…” Ranboo nervously started, keeping his eyes fixated on the soft carpet that lined Tubbo’s bedroom floor. “We aren’t meant to be heroes, and honestly I don’t think you’re either…”

“What-?!” Tommy frowned, narrowing his eyes.

“ What I mean is… why are you picking a side when both hurt you?”

 

Tubbo scoffed, “Ran, as much as you have a point, there's only two sides of this coin. One or the other.” 

“Alright. Are you a hero then, Tubbo?” Ranboo asked directly, eyes now snapping up to meet with his friend. 

“No…”

“But you’re not a villain?”

“No.”

“Then what are you? I think we shouldn’t need to pick either. All have hurt us in different ways. We will be freeing Tommy, yes, but how long will that last if people don’t have something to fear?”  

 

Tommy hummed, fidgeting with his hands, the whole side debate tired him to no end. There were never ending arguments that came from both ends. If you asked him even a few months ago his opinion, he'd say that the heroes were always right. No matter what.

Now, he wasn't so sure. Everything he's experienced had muddled good and bad together, he couldn't tell right from wrong anymore. 

Mellohi the hero was dead though. That much was true.

 

"I don't want to be a bad person…" he mumbled, sounding weaker and more tired than he intended. 

"No one wants to be a bad person, Tom." Ranboo replied comfortingly. "It's all a matter of circumstance."

"But we won't get anything done being a saint." Tubbo cut in, "So in this case, Boo has a point. We need to take a stand against everyone. Or at the very least, against villains and heroes."

"... you're right." His mind was set, he knew what had to be done. "You two will help me though, right?"

 

"We already said that we will, Tom. You won't be alone this time, we will stick by you." 

"Alright. Thank you."

 

*----*

 

It took a month and a half of planning and scheming, splitting the work between the three of them. Tommy came up with the plan, Ranboo designed and created their costumes while Tubbo built their tech.

On Tommy's end, it was extremely difficult to do much without risking suspicion from Phil, Wilbur and Techno. But slowly and surely, they got through it. Tubbo said he was more than willing to join him on the streets, but due to Ranboo's position, he took up a different job. He opted to aid them behind a screen, which was still an invaluable asset.

His escape will be soon.

But this time, he will exit the cursed building more changed than before. Because this time, he wasn't Mellohi the hero.

 

No-

and this time, he had allies.

 

The return of Mellohi, yes. But also, the rise of Vespid.

 

The villains that will shake the city and bring those who have wronged him to their knees.

Notes:

The boys.


(the bee thing in the top left corner is a bomb ;P)

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and:

THINGS THAT WILL GET YOUR COMMENT DELETED
> NSFW
> Shipping
> Being a general weirdo
> 'You should've written this instead' type bullshit

Chapter 21

Notes:

Surrrrprissssseeeee :)

minor tag edits btw

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites with help from betareaders Fabled and Cucu, who also happen to be my lovely mods on my server.

The night of his escape was dangerously familiar. Almost a mockery of that fateful night where his legs were snapped like useless twigs. It was nerve wracking, terrifying, exciting. It gave the blond an odd form of adrenaline, the kind he used to get whenever he was Mellohi.

He was Mellohi though, albeit a different kind of Mellohi. Some could see it as if he was corrupted, and maybe he was. But the way he saw things? The only ones who truly gave two shits about him were more villainous than heroic, in actions at least. Their loyalty however, and their friendship they offered? 

Priceless. 

 

Tommy was grateful to have those two as his newfound friends and allies. Of course, he couldn’t forget the HSquad. His most trusted trope of furry creatures. He knew, he just knew they would do anything to keep him safe. But so would he.

They meant the world to him. 

So of course, he asked Tubbo to make them matching goggles so they could have cool outfits like he did. To be fair, the brunet didn’t need that much convincing, if any. He seemed just as excited to place the protective goggles onto the creatures as Tommy was. Which was extremely encouraging.

Ranboo was the one who aided his escape that night, his odd teleportation ability coming in extremely handy. It worked in odd ways, and wasn’t the most reliable. But that night, it was a life saver. Bars on the windows or not… did barriers really matter if you can just teleport right through? No. No they did not.

 

“You can drive? ” Tommy asked as they entered the battered pickup. 

“Yep.” Tubbo snorted, “Put on your seatbelt. I may be against the law but I’m not against safety.”

“Yeah yeah, I’m gonna. ” Clicking his seatbelt closed, he huffed slightly as Henry relaxed onto his lap, the other two sitting on either side of him. “Why am I in the backseat again?”

“I’m driving and Ranboo is freakishly tall.”

“I’m not freakishly tall! I’m just slightly above average height…” The meek man pouted, still having to crane his neck downwards slightly to fully fit, and even then his horns scraped the top of the vehicle. 

“Quiet Ran, I’m concentrating.” Tubbo stuck his tongue out as he struggled to start the car, before slowly and quietly making his way down the gravel road with the headlights turned off.

“How can you see anything? It’s so dark… Wait- Tubbo?!”

“What?”

“Aren’t you blind in one eye??”

“Yes-?”

“ Then why the fuck are you the one driving?!” 

“I’m not fully blind, Tom. I can see just fine out of the other one.” The brunet responded, annoyed. “Plus. I stole this car so I am the one who gets to drive it. So stop complaining or I’ll leave you on the side of the road!”

“You wouldn’t-!”

“Test me and find out.”

“Stop fighting you two. Tubbo, focus on the road- Tommy, uh do anything but argue with Tubbo.” Ranboo interjected, crossing his arm like a disappointed parent.

 

The ride overall was pretty calm, since it was quite the peaceful night. Not many cars were on the road once they reached it and not many people populated the sidewalks. Regardless, he didn’t dare open the window despite his mind craving the breath of fresh air. Fresh, free air. Not one from a barred window, not one from a backyard under a suffocating amount of eyes observing his every move.

Freedom. 

But not one where he was alone. This was a shared freedom. Him, his raccoons… and his friends. 

 

Ranboo seemed to be on high alert too, peering from side to side, gazing out of the side windows and the windscreen. His pointed ears twitched at every odd sound, even as distant as a dog barking and his head snapped in the direction. Tubbo kept his eyes on the road. Well- his eye. They would pass quiet conversation, giggling about this and that. But they never talked about where they were going. Tubbo seemed to know where they were going. So did Ranboo.

Tommy had no idea. But, despite everything within him telling him how wrong this went in the past. He trusted them. Trusted them with his safety. 

So they kept driving, the blond’s eyes flicking to the car’s digital clock. 2:47 am. They’ve been driving for an hour, give or take. He doesn’t remember the exact time they left but it must’ve been around 1:30 am. 

 

“Are we there yet?”

“A little longer.” Tubbo said, eyes glancing over at him via the rear-view mirror. 

“Where are we even going?”

“A hideout. One me and Ran found years back. I used to spend so much time there. Days, weeks… months. Just to see how long it would take until my dad realised I was missing.”

“His record is about 6 months.” Ranboo cut in bitterly.

“Damn. Honestly, I kind of wish Phil could forget about me.”

“A part of me wishes my father did too.” Tubbo murmured, seemingly distracted. “It’s safe there though. No one has found it over the years we’ve lived there and no one knows about it other than me and Ran. That's where we dumped the tech and costumes, better there than at my place where my dad could stumble over it.”

“Apparently, Schlatt went through Tub’s stuff a few times.” 

“Usually after you left.”

“I think they were making sure we weren’t up to something.”

 

Tommy wanted to both laugh and cry. “Lot of good that did, eh?” He snarked dryly. 

“Yep. They may think they’re three steps ahead of us, but we’re actually way beyond that.” Tubbo sounded confident, which gave Tommy something to hold onto. Whatever he couldn’t reach, the ram would help him reach. Figuratively speaking of course, considering how short the brunet was. 

“I wonder how long it will take them to realise I am gone.” He mused aloud. 

“Knowing Phil? We’ll give them three hours, tops.” 

 

Some more time went by in silence before Tommy once again broke it. “So… Who does this car belong to again?”

“Does it matter?”

“Not really, but I am curious.”

“I don’t know to be honest.” Tubbo giggled.

“You stole a car and didn’t even bother to check from who?”

“Why would I care?”

“I dunno, Tub, send them like- a thank you card, or a ‘I am sorry’ card.”

“I’ll be sure to mail them a gift basket, Tom.” 

“-and knowing Tubbo, he’s probably not sorry.” Ranboo added, Tommy catching the smirk that rose to the man’s lips. 

“True that, Ran.”

 

Finally, the car slowed down to a halt, Tubbo turning off the car and taking a deep breath. 

“We’re gonna have to ditch the car now and continue on foot.”

Exiting the vehicle, Tommy glanced around the area. He didn’t recognise it at all. 

“Where the fuck are we?”

“This place is pretty much abandoned, at one point they wanted to knock everything down and rebuild the place but-...they never did.” Ranboo explained. “From what I’ve read, the destruction around here was caused by some big villain attack years and years ago. I guess the place brought back too many bad memories to bother to fully fix it or rebrand it.”

“So instead, we took over one of the more stable buildings left here. That’s where we’re hiding.”

 

Tommy thanks all the practice he’s had climbing and jumping around places from his years of being a hero, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to keep up with the other two. Out of the three of them, Ranboo actually seemed to have the most difficulty following along despite being there before. 

They climbed, and ducked and jumped around, under and through broken and dangerous looking buildings, until eventually they entered one building that seemed a bit more intact. The inside of it was dusty, but none of them seemed all that bothered by it, too focused on walking deeper into the room. 

Tubbo made his way over to a crooked painting, nudging it aside to reveal a keypad. Tommy couldn’t see the best in the dark, so it was hard to see what code his friend punched in, but it didn’t matter as moments later one of the bookshelves groaned open. 

“We’re home.”

 

*----*

 

“I’m not sure about this, Tubbo.”

“It will look good, relax.” 

Tubbo had somehow convinced Tommy to let him pierce his ears. After all, both Tubbo and Ranboo had done it, so why shouldn’t he? Besides, one of the items Ranboo had added to the blond’s costume was a set of earrings that represented his partner in crime. A bee and a nuclear symbol, and on Tubbo’s part he wore neon green and purple discs that matched with Tommy’s costume.

They would match! So all he had to do was stop being a baby, sit still and let Ranboo do his thing. He knew what he was doing after all, claiming to have pierced both his own ears and Tubbo’s, claiming to be nicknamed ‘Mr. Steady hands’. 

Yeah, sure. He whimpered when the first needle went through, so what? Sure he’s felt worse pain but still. Tommy didn’t like how it felt. By the time both earrings were in, his lobes felt heavy and warm and he couldn’t help but keep messing with them.

 

“Wash your hands, dumbass, d’you want them to get infected?” Tubbo snickered, dragging Tommy over to the bathroom. 

“They can get infected?!” 

“Uh, yeah? They’re open wounds, Toms.”

 

*----*

 

“Tonight.” Ranboo murmured, “Tonight, the town is going to learn that they fucked up majorly.” 

Smirking, Tommy stood up from where he was sitting. “Then what are we waiting for?”

The blond had to admit it to himself. His new costume? So much better than what he used to wear. Not only was it comfortable and warm, it protected him so much more as well as coming with a ring that he can hook onto the harnesses he put on his raccoons. It would be so much more secure to jump around and climb. He wasn’t completely sure how his new gloves worked unfortunately. Tubbo had explained it to him, something about electro-what-have-you letting him stick and unstick to surfaces. Science babble he didn’t exactly care about.

All that mattered is that he looked badass now, and he had a grappling hook! How cool was that?!

 

The most impressive additions were the headphones that Tubbo had fashioned. Coming with raccoon ears attached to them, these apparently blocked out a certain soundwave which prevented Wilbur's power from working on him as long as he had it on. That, and it acted also as a way to communicate with each other from long distances, coming with a built-in microphone. 

Tubbo’s antennae seemed to work in a similar way to the headphones, which was cool.

 

“Why do you get the explosives?” Tommy whined as they prepared to exit the building.

“Because, I made them, so I get to use them. I’ll make some for you another time.”

Ranboo decided to stay, being their ‘eyes in the skies’ or their eyes behind the screen. It was probably for the better anyway, considering Ranboo’s position in hero society. 

They walked through back alleys until they finally reached an area Tommy recognised. 

 

Oh fuck. 

This was the place-

“Last time I was here… They surrounded me.”

The run-down pub looked the exact same as it did on that day, same with its parking lot. Tommy wonders if anyone was there to witness the incident, and if there was-... did they tell anyone?

Would anyone believe something like that?

Sam wouldn’t. Tommy knows that out of experience.

“Sorry. Let’s- Let’s keep going.”

He was back, but as a completely changed person. Hero no more. This city didn’t deserve Mellohi the hero.

Or maybe he didn’t deserve to be a hero. How could a real hero lose sight of what was right and wrong?

 

“Look alive. A police patrol, coming towards you.” Ranboo’s voice echoed in both of their ears. 

“Aye aye, big man. Should we hide, Vespid?”

“No.”

Tubbo climbed up the wall of the parking lot and out of Tommy’s line of vision. He sprinted after his friend, only to hear a loud boom from the other side. Scaling the wall and balancing on the top of it, he saw that Tubbo had already destroyed the police car, and was currently taunting the injured officer who seemed stuck under the rubble.

“Mellohi. Perfect timing. Ready for your first kill?”

“...My what-?”

Tubbo sighed dramatically, glancing over, “It’s fine if you’re not ready yet, man. I’ll just do it for ya.”

Before Tommy could even argue, Tubbo swung down his axe.

They left the scene soon after, Tommy’s hands physically shaking. Of course Tubbo would be fine with murder. But- shouldn’t he be fine with it too? That’s why they were here.

He couldn’t make the city pay without some casualties. Stupid moralty.

Tubbo didn’t seem to mention nor make fun of him getting cold feet which he was thankful for. It would definitely not help his currently spiralling mental state. Henry chittered in his ear, reminding him he wasn’t alone in this. He had tripleH.

He would always have them. That was a comforting thought.

Tommy lost all his constants. His radio, his apartment, his shitty job. But not them.

 

‘Caw’

Oh fuck-

 

The sound of powerful wings beating the air was heard around them- 

Shit, shit, shit. 

 

“ TOMMY WATCH OUT-” Tubbo shoved him aside, and moments later… Thanatos landed, and he did not look happy. More footsteps were heard, and out from the darkness walked Lovejoy and Ichor-. 

“Dad-?” Tubbo froze, eyes fixated on the fourth person. Cabro. 

“Tubbo. You’re in deep shit.” 

“How the fuck did you find us?” Tubbo snarled, mechanical wings buzzing.

“Ranboo.” Ichor said dully, “You left him on his own in that building after all.”

“ What did you do?!” The brunet looked like he was fuming, and Tommy-.

He was terrified. 

 

“Ranboo is perfectly safe. In trouble- but safe.” Cabro said a-matter-of-factly. Tubbo growled slowly, immediately going to tackle down the larger ram. He almost threw Cabro off balance, only to be slammed against the floor, letting out a sharp cry. “I do hate to hurt you, son. But you’ve caused us so much trouble.”

Cabro flipped Tubbo onto his stomach, grasping at the mechanical wings. “WAIT-. Dad, please don’t break them-!”

Without missing a beat, the fragile wings crunched under Cabro’s strong hold. “You may hate me for a few more years. Maybe forever. But someday you’ll learn that this was for your own  good.” he chuckled, “Plus, you’re a smart kid. I’m sure you’ll figure out how to rebuild these. You’ll have all the time in the world, being grounded and all.”

Tubbo sobbed, kicking and screaming as he tried to get out of his father’s grasp.

 

Tommy was frozen in fear. He needed to help. Help his friend-. Something grabbed his tail, yanking him back. The blond turned around and punched whatever had pulled on him, and stared down in shock.

He just punched Lovejoy-...Wilbur.

Lovejoy was on the ground, bloody-nosed, because of him.

Taking a deep breath he glanced behind him. Where were the other two?! Where did Tubbo and Schlatt go?! 

 

Ichor seemed set on grabbing his raccoons who had scattered off, and Thanatos was closing in, eyeing his son who still seemed a bit dazed. Tommy could not allow this, not today. He wasn’t about to let his raccoons be used against him. He knew they would do that. He had to avoid those unnecessary casualties. 

“Henry-! Harold-! Harvey-!” He called out, still making sure he could see all three villains somewhere in his line of sight as Lovejoy shakily got back onto his feet. “RUN-! GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE. ” He sighed, “I’ll be fine…”

Henry visually hesitated, but was pulled away by his ear by Harold who lightly bit it to draw his attention. They chittered at each other and they, along with Harvey, ran off in opposite directions, in an attempt to throw Ichor off.

They all disappeared into the darkness and the bushes. Leaving Tommy, now, officially alone.

 

Ichor slammed Tommy to the ground, flashbacks to that night as his ears rang. "Tech- please no-! Please not again."

The villain merely twisted one hand back, back until it hurt. Thanatos sighed, walking over and bending down so he could look Tommy directly in his eyes. "Why do you force us to hurt you, little dove?" His hand brushed through the blond hair affectionately.

"I don't force you to do shit." He felt out of breath, anxious and terrified. The crow villain chuckled, rubbing his cheek with his thumb. 

"You do. You even dragged Tubbo and Ranboo into this, who will be facing their own punishment, and you won't be able to meet them until we think you've earned our trust back."

"Tub and Ran? Phil… please don't hurt them-! This is all my fault, please, they don't deserve this." Tommy was pulled to sit on his knees, Ichor still stiffly and wordlessly holding onto his arms.

"Will you come home with us without making a fuss?"

 

If he doesn't fight back- then all this effort was for nothing. But if he does- then something awful could happen to his friends. Maybe Tubbo's scar was a punishment gone wrong? What if they do something worse to him… and Ranboo too-.

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

 

Huh? Tommy raised an eyebrow, what did they want him to say?

"Yes uh… sir?"

Wilbur cackled, finally also walking over and ruffling his hair. "No, stupid child. Dad. "

Oh.

 

"Yes, dad."

The dark smile on the villains' faces grew, a soft chuff from behind him. God he wanted to punch them again. Especially Wilbur.

Notes:

A storm is approaching.

 

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> 'You should've written this instead' type bullshit

Chapter 22

Notes:

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites with help from betareaders Fabled and Cucu

“We can’t just lock him in his room. Nothing will improve if we do so.” Wilbur sighed, glancing in the direction of the stairs. 

“You have a better idea? He won’t ever listen to us, no matter what we do. He’s still blinded by whatever bullshit those heroes fed to him.” Techno was sitting on the armrest of the armchair, glancing between his brother and his father. 

“I do, in fact. A plan.” the brunet smirked confidently, earning a huff from his sibling.

 

Phil, who was pacing back and forth, paused for a moment and turned towards Wilbur. “What is it, Will?”

“It might involve putting Tommy in a potentially dangerous situation, but the pros outweigh the cons, and I’ll be there every step of the way just in case.”

Techno narrowed his eyes, raising an eyebrow. “...Proceed.”

 

*----*

 

Sam wished he’d declined helping with the fall award ceremony. 

Working with a man that’s more forgetful than his grandmother was a gods-be-damned pain. Karl Jacobs, the man who offered him the chance to present all the awards during the event, would call at least 10 times a day to ask and re-ask the same questions. That man needed a receptionist to keep track of everything if he was that bad at remembering. But at least when it was over, it was over. 

The only thing worse than all the phone calls, was writing a speech. He was having a hard time being his easy-going self ever since the ‘Mellohi Situation’. The shock and horror of finding the room empty when he went to check on the kid, and only finding a note- it made his stomach drop. 

 

He hasn’t stopped trying to find the kid, but it was outright impossible. He knew who had him, he knew. But him trying to take down the top three villains, let alone find them in the first place? It was a daunting task that felt downright unachievable. Everyone else had given up on finding him, everyone other than him. 

He’d even put up missing posters, despite knowing it was a hapless endeavour.

 

He’d scrapped about fifthteen different ideas for his speech, rubbing his temples with his thumb and forefinger, and just as he was going to attempt another opening- his phone rang. Checking the caller ID, it read out ‘Green Idiot’, his friend was calling.

“Sam-!”

“Hey man.”

“You okay? You sound like utter shit.”

“Thanks. That’s very kind of you.” Sam responded dryly. 

“Are you still working on that speech?” His friend wheezed, sounding like a tea kettle through the phone. 

“I can’t figure out what to say.” He groaned, resting his cheek on his hand. 

“Maybe you need a break? Come over, we can play some video games-.”

“I don’t have time, and besides, you always beat me.”

“You’re just a sore loser,” he teased. 

“Maybe so, but the point remains. I don’t have time.”

His friend sighed dramatically, “Fineeee. Hopefully when this thing you’re doing is over we can hang out, if you’re not busy with that ‘secret project’ you’re always doing.” 

“Yeah. Hopefully.”

“I’ll talk to you later then, right?”

“Yeah we’ll talk, I’ll call you after the ceremony.”

“Alright-! Bye Sam.”

“Bye.”

 

*----*

 

Eventually he managed to get about halfway through writing a good speech, and decided to take a break. Sam needed to take a breather, go for a walk to clear his head. The past year or so was the most difficult he’s had in a while, and he genuinely feels selfish for thinking that way. After all, it wasn’t him that was in a life-threatening situation. It was Tommy.

Mellohi. 

Sure, the kid was a compulsive liar at times, but that didn’t mean he deserved this. Sam just wished he had listened to him in the first place, even if it made no sense at the time. If only he could go back. But there was no going back, and now he had to deal with the consequences of his own failure. 

But he had him. Had the kid in his house, Sam thought he was finally safe-. Instead the child opted to return to a group of villains. Who knows what lies they spewed, infecting his impressionable mind with bullshit. But maybe some of it was true, and if he’d only acted like a true hero, like a true ‘protector of the public’. Mellohi would still be Mellohi. Good at heroism or not, he brought no harm to anyone, and Sam should’ve seen that. He could’ve, he had the ability to help, help the kid grow.

Instead? Sam wasn’t even sure if the kid was still alive. 

 

Gods, he wished he was. He hoped he was alive and safe.

But the longer time went on, the less hope he had.

 

His missing posters for the young hero kept going missing themselves. Either that or the photo was more often than not clawed out and ripped. It seemed like someone didn’t want him being found or for the public to even remember he was taken at all. Sam will never forget, and he had a feeling he knew who was behind the destruction of the posters.

Sam turned a corner and headed for one of the local parks, eyes glancing over at a flower bed where a tree and a few black dahlias grew from. Last time he was here, he put a poster on that tree. Now it wasn’t there anymore. He wished that he’d brought extra to put another one on, but if he was being honest with himself, it would probably be destroyed too. 

Sitting on an old bench, he let out a deep breath. The air felt toxic and his mind was clouded. God he wished that he didn’t have to go to that stupid event. But even if he wasn’t presenting, he knew that him and a few officers needed to be there regardless. So either way, he would’ve ended up having to show face. But at least the second option would mean he wouldn’t have to appear on stage and read a stupid speech.

Maybe he should’ve taken up his friend’s offer to play a few rounds of a game with him, but logically he knew that he didn’t have time. He didn’t have any time at all anymore. 

Even when he did, he spent it trying to further his hopeless investigation and find Mellohi. Find Tommy.

Maybe he just didn’t want to be found. Maybe he didn’t want to be found by Sam. 

 

Sam wouldn’t blame him. He failed him. 

Mellohi wasn’t a bad kid. 

 

As his thoughts drifted he realised how much time had actually passed. He needed to return to the office so he could finish writing that stupid speech. 

 

Well, let’s get this over with.

Notes:

The storm is growing.

 

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> 'You should've written this instead' type bullshit

Chapter 23

Notes:

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

It was a day before the event, and Sam had just finished finalising his speech. He was trying not to think too hard about it, because if he did, he might panic over it. He’d been to events similar to this, but never quite at this scale and never as a main speaker. Sam just hoped that nothing would go wrong, since once this was over he could go back to doing much more important things.

It wasn’t like he didn’t believe the award ceremony was important, because it was. You had to commemorate heroes who work hard every day, show them some extra support especially those who were the best of the best. It was just that he thought there were things that were much more time sensitive and critical that required his attention a lot more than this. Then again, he was the one who agreed to it

But in his defence? He thought he would’ve been able to find Mellohi by then already. He thought he was much better than that, much more capable. 

He was wrong.

 

At least when this was all over he could call his friends and try to relax for a bit. He did promise after all, and he probably needed it. He’d been high-strung for a good long while, he needed something to alleviate all the built up tension.

 

*----*

There were more people in the crowd than Sam expected. He had to take a few deep breaths before finally managing to steal his nerves enough to get up and onto the stage. All eyes were on him, any advice Ponk gave to him about talking to crowds disappearing and leaving his mind empty. 

Another deep breath-  and then… “Greetings Heroes and Citizens alike,” He looked out over the crowd, spotting a bunch of heroes he recognised, “welcome to the annual fall award ceremony.” 

The spotlight was fixed onto him, drawing all attention towards him. He wished the earth would just swallow him whole. “Where we as a community come together to commemorate those who have fought for us-”, He kind of wished Mellohi was here, last year he was at the back of the crowd where Sam was standing. He felt bad for the kid because he couldn’t see anything and managed to help him stand a lot closer to where the stage was, making sure no one pushed him around. “- and our city, and kept it safe from injustice.” Not all injustice. No one could save the one person who was right there.  

 

He took another deep breath before proceeding, “Those heroes, tonight-”, A creaking was heard from above, “will receive-” something snapped, “an award that-”

A large spotlight fell down into the crowd from above, and the crowd screamed. Neimki jumped forward, managing to catch it before it crushed several people. “Holy shit-! There's someone up there-!” C4 shouted, who ran over to join his partner. Flashlights were taken out and pointed up above into the rafters, and the entire stadium stood still.

“Mellohi?” Sam asked shakily, shellshocked.

 

His costume looked different, but it was him. Sam knew it was. He stood on one of the support beams, wearing new goggles, one that blocked out his blue eyes. They shone neon green and purple and from the parts of his face Sam could see, he wore a blank expression. 

The raccoon hero cut down another light, only for it to be caught by another hero in the crowd, screams echoing around the large room. “Someone get him-!” Another shouted, and the chase began.

The kid climbed further up, exiting out of the window in the roof. A group of heroes ran out the door, Sam included. He had to be there first, he had to know what the fuck Tommy was thinking, what was Mellohi thinking. Had he really been that brainwashed that he became a full fledged villain?! Was this how much Sam had failed him? He had to know, he had to.

They chased after him, they ran and ran and kept on running. But this was so much more different to when Mellohi was on their team. They often forgot how fast the raccoon hero really was, jumping from rooftop to rooftop effortlessly, all while staying expressionless and quiet.

 

C4 was catching up though, Neimki running right after him. One final jump from one building to a lower rooftop and he tackled Mellohi, causing both of them to topple right off of the roof onto the cold pavement. The raccoon hero wordlessly kicked C4 off of him, flipping both of them around so that he was on top, wrapping both hands around his neck and squeezed. 

“STOP-! MELLOHI, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Neimki called out, quickly jumping down from the roof and yanking Mellohi off of her partner, grabbing C4 and immediately backing away. 

Mellohi groaned, leaning against the wall he was thrown into, adjusting his neon goggles. Then, he turned towards the two of them, and snarled. Sam finally managed to get close enough, followed by several police officers. 

 

“Mellohi. This is insanity-! What do you think you’re doing?! You used to be a hero.” Sam shouted, his heartbeat thumping loudly in his chest. 

“Used to.”

That-.... That wasn’t Mellohi.

All eyes turned to where the new voice was coming from, and Sam’s stomach dropped.

 

Lovejoy. 

 

The flamboyant villain smirked, walking right over to where Mellohi was standing and practically draping himself over the kid’s shoulders. Immediately, everyone’s weapons were drawn, except for Sam. “Hold it-! You guys could shoot the kid.”

“The ‘kid’ is working for Lovejoy.” One officer growled.

“He’s under Lovejoy’s control-!” Sam argued back, shouting over his shoulder, a shadow moving just in the corner of his eye coming from one of the alleyways drawing his attention for just a moment- but only for a moment. They immediately snapped back to the powerfully annoying man, with an even more obnoxious shit-eating grin.

 

Said powerful villain immediately moved to stand in front of Mellohi, practically shielding him from the barrels of guns directly pointed at him. “Now, now. No need to get violent in front of my baby brother.”

“Brother?!” Sam barked “You kidnapped him-!”

“We saved him, after you failed him. ”

Sam was fuming. They hurt a child and dare blame him? Tommy wouldn’t even be in this situation if they had left him alone in the first place. Everything would be completely normal and as it should be if they left him alone. 

 

Mellohi let out a soft whine, moving to rub his eyes by raising his goggles. “Will-? Where am I? What’s going on?”

“Shh, Tom. Don’t worry about it.” Lovejoy simply responded, a smirk growing wide on his face.

One of the officers moved their gun to point directly at Mellohi, but before Sam could shout at them to stop- a raccoon jumped out from one of the dark alleyways, biting down on the gunman’s hand. The man cursed before shaking his arm, smacking the animal to the ground and then-

 

Bang bang bang.

 

Three gunshots echoed around the open, empty street they all stood in.

 

 

“...Henry?...” Came a horrified croak from the former raccoon hero.

Notes:

The storm is so so loud, it's tearing things apart.

 

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> Being a general weirdo
> 'You should've written this instead' type bullshit

Chapter 24

Notes:

Proofreader and Editor: My good friend TedWrites

The gunshot rang in his ears, his heartbeat louder than ever before. His legs felt weak but he sprinted forward, ignoring all the shouting around him.

He knelt down in front of the motionless body of a creature that was more friend to him than anyone else, more family than anyone else. Meant more to him than the moon, the sun, the stars in the sky. Henry. One of his last remaining constants, prized beyond anyone could ever possibly understand.

This raccoon, this creature jumped out to save him, and he paid the price for it with his life.

 

People were talking around him but he couldn't hear, things were moving in front of him but he couldn't see. Tears blurred his vision, hot and salty, burning his eyes but he made no effort to wipe them away.

Two other creatures inched out from the darkness. "No-!" He croaked, this was too much. He couldn't lose the other two. They walked over, yipping at the motionless body before them, nudging it as if trying to urge it back to life. But it was hopeless, Henry's body just lay there.

Then, all at once he could hear. Hear a voice. Hear his voice.

 

"Mellohi-!" Sam shouted, panicked. The ringing in Tommy’s ears grew louder and sharper as something in his brain shifted.

Sam could’ve stopped this. He could have stopped all of this. He could've stopped that officer from shooting Henry. He did it, he was the cause of all of this. All his hardship, all his pain. Not Phil, not Techno, not even Wilbur. 

It was Sam. Sam, Sam, Sam.

It was his fault.  

 

The anger bubbled up like toxic waste in a muddy swamp, too difficult to escape and hide. 

 

' "So… Tommy." Tubbo began, taking a step closer, "What do you want to do? What do you want?" '

 

It was choking, it hurt so much but as his legs shook he got onto his feet, hands twitching as his brain reeled.

 

' "I don't want to be a bad person…" he mumbled, sounding weaker and more tired than he intended.

"No one wants to be a bad person, Tom." Ranboo replied comfortingly. "It's all a matter of circumstance."

"But we won't get anything done being a saint." Tubbo cut in.'

 

Words from the past echoed in his ears, as he turned to face Sam, who had tried to come closer to him, saying words that couldn't breach the muffled ringing in the blond’s ears. But Tommy didn't care to listen. Didn't care to even make an effort.

 

' "Mellohi. Perfect timing. Ready for your first kill?"

"... My what-?"

Tubbo sighed dramatically, glancing over, "It's fine if you're not ready yet, man." '

 

He was ready.

He was ready.

 

All at once he tackled Sam to the ground, snarling loudly, he couldn't even notice the sudden commotion around him, blocking out the way Wilbur took down the gunmen around him. It didn't matter.

First his hands went around Sam's neck, not bothering to make out what he seemed so desperately trying to tell him. He hoped Sam was begging for his life. The life he stole from one of his best friends, from his family. It wasn't enough, Sam trying to kick him off, to yank away his arms.

Tommy swiftly grabbed the knife from his belt, making sure to pin Sam down by sitting on his stomach and holding down his arms with his legs. 

Then he could hear. Hear as he brought down the blade.

 

"TOMMY-! DON'T!"

He didn't listen. Didn't listen just like Sam never did. 

Once. Twice. Three times then four. Blood splattered on his face, on his clothes and on his hands. Sam's blood.

Euphoria.

 

He laughed, and stabbed down again, and again, and again. The laugh turned into a cackle, gods he's never felt so alive, so good. He's never understood villains, but… now he does.

They weren't bad! It was them, the heroes. They ruin everything.

 

But after the high, came the fall. He could finally feel how much his body truly hurt, but before he toppled, Wilbur came to his aid.

He picked him up, up off the lifeless corpse of the former police chief. Lifeless like little Henry. Little Henry who deserved to be alive. So now neither were. An eye for an eye, a life for a life.

"Wilbur- I-..." He sobbed, voice raspy. 

"Shhh, Toms. I know. Henry didn't deserve to die, did he? You did the right thing." Wilbur hummed, hugging Tommy tightly. He felt like safety, like he would make the tight pain in his chest go away.

He buried his face into the soft cloth of Wilbur's costume, letting himself sob.

He ignored the bodies littered around them, he ignored the fact that Techno was now stood over them, he ignored the murder of crows surrounding them, on buildings and powerlines, on windowsills and sidewalks.

 

"I want to give him a proper burial, Wilbur." Tommy whispered, closing his eyes as his brother calmly brushed his fingers through his hair, scratching at the scalp and gently tugging out knots.

"We will. I promise."

and they did.

 

Out in the garden, they buried Henry. Placing his body into a wooden box where Tommy placed a few of his favourite things alongside it. A favourite sock, a shiny stone, a ripped piece of cloth from Tommy's old costume. But on the grave itself, next to the stone Tommy had chosen to mark the grave, he embedded the stick into the ground. The stick little Henry had gifted him, wrapped in red yarn. 

Then. Then Tommy sobbed. He sobbed and cried, wailed and screamed. Everything felt like pure agony and he felt nothing but grief. He held the other two close, for he knew they were sad too. 

It wasn't the end though. Sam’s death wasn't enough to make amends. No. He needed more.

So Mellohi will live on. Albeit a little changed, angry and fuelled by pure vengeance. Luckily for him, his family will be there to support him.

 

After all, they're the only ones who ever actually cared.

Notes:

Well? Was it worth it?

Stick around my account for my next big fic, 'and You'd be the Minstrel'. join my disc for updates regarding that, and if you're reading this on release. It should be out on saturday during the CAWA live reading :D

 

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and:

THINGS THAT WILL GET YOUR COMMENT DELETED
> NSFW
> Shipping
> Being a general weirdo
> 'You should've written this instead' type bullshit

Notes:

Hi hello, author BatCat here :)

This is a largely different story then what I usually write, but like it said in the top notes... I was feeling inspired after reading several dark sbi fics, so I wanted to write one of my own. But with that being said, all the characters here are extremely morally ambiguous, I do not agree with the bad actions taking or will take place.

Stay safe and read the tags carefully :D

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 25 of All My Personal MCYT Fics