¿ǝɹǝɥ ʇǝƃ ı p’ʍoɥ

Saturday could not have come quick enough. The majority of the week Tommy had had consisted of hanging with his best friends to destress, trying (and failing) to avoid Purpled, trying (and failing) to get a read on how Dream had anything to do with this, and forgetting about homework because he was so caught up in everything else. So finally going home for two solid days sounded awesome to him.

As always, Phil welcomed him home Friday evening with a warm hug and well made food, asking about how Tommy’s classes had been and chatting about what he’d sold that day. Phil had two jobs, one that consisted of some boring office work, and one that allowed him to explore and adventure. Mostly, Phil liked to mine, and on days when his sons were busy he’d go out to the forests and caves outside of town and bring back valuable crystals that he’d sell to a little crystal and witchcraft store in town. Since Phil was getting them himself, the owner of the store could buy and sell them cheaper than big retails did and make a better profit. Also Tommy was almost certain his dad had a crush on the woman in charge, but he wasn’t touching that with a 10 foot pole. At least he got to keep some of the prettier rocks his dad brought back.

Soon enough, Techno was home from grading papers and Wilbur was home from whatever musical he’d been helping put on at the campus. The four of them ate a peaceful (by their standards) dinner before retreating to their rooms. Tommy hadn’t even fully undressed before passing out on his bed, the stress of the week and the many implications he’d been presented weighing on him heavily.

He was so glad to be done with that for a few days.

~~~

Tommy was beginning to learn that unfortunately, he did not have any better luck dealing with his school issues at home.

He stared at his ceiling, having woken up between 1-3 hours ago and having done nothing but eaten a breakfast bar.

Without any work to distract him, Tommy began to think about everything again. Purpled, Dream, the vial, Perseus. Without anything to distract himself, he found himself trying to put the pieces together, make it make sense. But he couldn’t. There wasn’t a way in the world that a transfer student an a guy way older than Tommy could know what he was. Not unless they went to Tommy’s old school and knew him when his powers were fucked up, but neither of them could have.

If only there was someone who knew something. Someone who maybe could have some information from when he was younger…

maybe his brothers knew something?

Good enough, he supposed. Talking to either of them would be leagues easier than sitting and overthinking everything on his own. So he jumped out of bed and went to Wilbur’s room. He was the oldest (though not by much), so logically, he would remember the time Phil brought Tommy home best. Maybe he’d have some key detail!

~~~

“Nope, sorry Toms.” Wilbur said, leaned against his doorframe.

“C’mon, anything? Like, something weird I had on me? Some weird marking? Wearing something weird?”

“You were wearing dad’s hoodie when he brought you in. Or, tied in dad’s hoodie, more like. He found you naked and alone, surviving like a wild animal. Had to keep you tied up just in case you would try to attack him. But I don’t remember too well; Tech and I were a little too busy making sure dad wasn’t gonna bleed out to notice anything odd about the kid he brought back.”

That, Tommy knew. Phil had had his number of encounters with wild animals in his time searching through forests and caves. He had the scars to prove it, too; thick jagged lines and teeth patterned punctures littering his skin. One specific scar seemed to bother Phil especially, on his right forearm where it almost looked like a chunk of flesh had been removed. He kept it covered most of the time, with hoodies or a compression sleeve he wore on hotter days. He kept it covered so often that Tommy hadn’t even registered that it was the scar he got rescuing Tommy himself until years after it had happened.

Apparently, Phil had been coming home from a mining trip when he stumbled upon a kid running from a coyote. He stepped in and managed to save Tommy at the expense of the coyote getting a hold of his arm and tearing a chunk out of it. Well, that was the story he told his two eldest, anyway, so that’s what they told Tommy when he eventually saw a glimpse of it for the first time and was too embarrassed to ask Phil directly.

“Anything else weird?” Tommy relented, making Wil chuckle. “What, that wasn’t weird enough for you?” Tommy rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. Other than the general ‘mysterious missing kid’ shit I don’t remember, were there any other reason to suspect I was…different?”

“…are you doing ok?” Wilbur asked, face full of concern. “Why are you asking about all this now? You never cared to know this stuff before.”

‘Because I wasn’t worried about anything hunting me before.’ He thought.

“What, a guy can’t be curious?” Was what he said instead, hoping his joke-y tone could make Wilbur worry less, and it seemed to do the trick. “I guess. I’d talk to Techno, though. He might know better than me.” Wilbur shrugged, and Tommy sighed.

“Fair enough. Come on, let’s go interrogate to see if he remembers anything.”

~~~

“Not even a little.” Techno responded from his place on his bed, not even looking up from where he was hunched over his laptop. “Just what Wilbur remembers. Dad was hurt, you kinda just sat there staring as we got him the first aid and he disinfected it.”

“I mean, we did just kinda sit with you for a bit.” Wilbur added, wandering into Techno’s room and dropping himself at his desk (why Techno chose to do his work on his bed and not at the perfectly available desk was beyond Tommy). “Dad didn’t want us to help him wrap up his arm cause there was so much blood, so we all kinda just sat there while he was washing off in the bathroom. I guess it was kinda weird that you were just silent.”

“That’s true, I guess.” Techno shrugged. “But to be fair, you were a kid who’d just been attacked by a coyote, you were probably in shock. But you didn’t leave that state for a while. It took you a while of being with us to start talking, and you haven’t stopped since.”

Tommy sat on the foot of the bed between his brothers and socked Techno in the arm, who didn’t even flinch as he continued. “You wanna know my honest thought at the time? I always kind of assumed you’d had bad parents. You were malnourished, wouldn’t talk, and didn’t know anything a basic school would have taught a 8 year old. You didn’t even know your own name.”

Techno had finally looked up, meeting Tommy’s eyes, a rare moment of readable and genuine emotion on his face: pity. Tommy didn’t have words for that, so he looked to Wilbur, who had the same look. Techno glanced to him, eyes begging that he add his opinion, and Wilbur cracked, sighing.

“At best, I thought you were kicked out or ran away from an abusive house who didn’t teach you anything. At worst, I assumed you lost your memory to trauma from said abusive house.”

“Oh.” Tommy whispered, voice cracking a bit. “I mean, I guess that’s a fair guess. I probably would have assumed the same.”

Truth be told, he never thought about what it must have been like for them. They were all too well aware that Tommy didn’t retain a single memory from the first 9 years of his life, not even Phil rescuing him. To be honest, they weren’t even sure that’s how old he was. They assumed he was 8 when Phil found him and at some point he’d been in their care for so long that they just decided he’d probably be 9 at this point. Again, he couldn’t remember. He just knew that the first few months with the Crafts were blurry at best. But his first solid memories were at home, with them. He didn’t remember a life without them, but they remember having to watch over a random child while fearing that their dad would bleed out from a while animal attack. They remember teaching him to read and write, and he just…doesn’t. It sucks for him, but it must suck for his brothers, too.

They sat in silence, not a single one of them willing to unpack what had just been said.

“I mean, there’s the meat thing, too.” Techno added, and Wilbur shot up, clearly grateful for the subject change.

“Oh yeah! The meat thing! The first thing dad said when he brought you in was ‘don’t let him eat meat.’ Like, he dropped you on the couch, told us not to feed you until he got back, and locked himself in the bathroom.”

“Wait, what? Why??” Tommy sputtered, the previous uncomfortable atmosphere of the conversation almost forgotten.

“Don’t know, all I know is that after dad bandaged his arm up he made you pasta and told us that you’d be staying for a while. You’ve been vegetarian ever since, as far as I’m aware.”

“Well, yeah, but…” Tommy trailed off. Now that Wilbur mentioned it, he really didn’t know the last time he’d eaten meat, or if he ever had. He’d never questioned why it was just ingrained in him to avoid meat products. He’d always assumed it was his love of things like cows and chickens, but…had Phil really pushed that on him on purpose?

“We don’t know anything about that, though. He never explained it to us.” Techno said, cutting off Tommy’s inner monologue. “If you want more information on that, you gotta go to Phil.”

Well, that wasn’t a bad idea.

~~~

“Dad?” Tommy questioned, creaking Phil’s office door open. His dad sat on his computer, t-shirt on and a familiar sleeve over his right arm, headphones on and humming something before he saw his youngest at the door. “Oh hey Toms! What’s up?” He asked, dropping the headphones and pushing his chair away from his desk to better get a look at Tommy, who hadn’t moved from the door.

“Ok, so, this is going to sound really odd, but…did you have any idea what I was when you found me?”

Phil’s face shifted from neutral to confused. Tommy continued. “Like, was there any way you could have known I was…whatever I am? I mean, you found me, so I was just wonderi-“

“I’m sorry, Tom. I wish I knew, but I don’t.” Phil cut him off almost abruptly, though his face and voice showed genuine apology. “There wasn’t anything or anyone around for miles when I found you, and you didn’t have anything on you at all, let alone anything identifiable.”

“Did I act odd?”

“I’d say any child left alone to fend for themselves in the woods is going to act odd, but I don’t think you added odder than to be expected.”

“What about the meat thing?”

Phil went silent at that, face dropping to something completely unreadable. “What about it? You always liked animals, you cried when I told you that cows got killed, so I stopped making you food with meat.”

“That was after I started talking, which was way after you found me. Wil and Tech said that the first thing you told them was ‘don’t let him eat meat.’ Why?”

Phil went silent, very purposefully looking past Tommy as he started wringing his hands. After a few seconds of processing, he answered. “We’d just found you. We didn’t know what you could or couldn’t eat, allergen wise, and we couldn’t ask, so I just made safe food. Then you decided you didn’t want to hurt animals.” He said quietly, something off from his usual tone of voice.

“…you’re lying.” Tommy said, not certain by any means but suspicious enough to accuse. Phil’s breathing quickened and he began to fiddle with the seam of the sleeve that hit his wrist.

“Why would I be lying?”

“That’s what I’m asking.”

“Well I don’t know what to tell you, then, because that’s the truth.” Phil concluded, turning his attention back to his computer. “Now I’m sorry, but I have a lot of work to do so-“

“No, no no no, you do not get to opt out of this conversation. You’re keeping something from me.” Tommy stepped into the office, closing the space between him and Phil.

“I’m not keeping anything from you-“

“Bullshit!”

“Tommy!” Phil snapped, standing from his chair and slamming his hands on his desk to meet Tommy at eye level. Instinctively, Tommy grew a few inches taller, not backing down from his father. Phil didn’t back down, either.

“What’s gotten into you? Why this, why now? What’s so important about the vegetarian thing?”

“It wasn’t important until I learned that I didn’t choose it, I was conditioned into it and my own father won’t tell me why!”

“Because I didn’t-“

“Whatever you know about me I have a right to know! You can’t keep things about what I am a secret from me because you don’t trust me!”

“I’m do trust you!”

“So what is it, then, fear?” Tommy lurked closer to Phil’s desk, steadily growing taller. “Are you afraid of me? Are you afraid of what I’ll do if I get a taste of meat? You think I’ll attack someone? Go fully fledged cannibal?” Anger clouded his emotions as he grabbed the sides of Phil’s desk, looming over him and shouting. “Tell me, Phil. Tell me what’s so horrifying about me that you won’t even tell my brothers!”

“I won’t scare you with that!!” Phil screams back, matching Tommy’s volume and intensity before slamming both hands over his mouth, eyes comically wide. Tommy freezes, and shrinks down so fast he almost gives himself whiplash.

“You do know something.” It’s not uncertain anymore. Phil has screwed his eyes shut and made no move to remove his hands from his mouth. Tommy knows he’s realized he can’t deny it anymore, so he’s resigned himself to just not answering at all. They both know what he just admitted to. Tommy feels tears sting in his eyes as clarity crashes over him like a cold wave.

His own father had been lying to him for as long as he’d been in his custody.

He stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind him and muffling Phil yelling after him. He went up to his room and slammed the door, locking it as he collapsed on his bed, half screaming and half sobbing into his pillow.

~~~

Tommy wasn’t sure how long he’d spent in his room crying and ignoring any knocking on his door from his family. He figured it had been a few hours since Wil had come by and invited him to lunch, but he’d ignored it.

Suffice to say, getting a random text inviting him to a sleepover was the best possible distraction he could have asked for.

Tubbo💥: ‘hannah is hosting a study slepover at hers. purpled will be there so no pressuer, i can tell her your sick.’

Me: ‘what times it start?’

Tubbo💥: ‘in like n hour’

Me: ‘can you get me there’

Tubbo💥: ‘Ran’s driving me there, if you come ovre to mine they ca npick us both up’

Me: ‘be there in like 10’

Tubbo💥: ‘bet’

Tommy closed his messages with Tubbo and reluctantly opened his texts with his father.

Me: ‘hannah is having a sleepover tonight, i’ll be back sunday’

Crowfather💚: ‘Okay. I’ll tell your brothers. Text me if you need anything.’

Crowfather💚: ‘I love you, Tommy.’

Tommy closed his phone without answering and instead dragged himself off his bed, wiping the wetness from his cheeks as he grabbed a bag off his floor and began to shove clothes and toiletries into it, before grabbing his backpack as well. He slipped his bedroom window open and climbed down his roof to the ground with the skill of someone who had years of experience sneaking off to his best friend’s house. He didn’t really know what a study night implied, but whatever it was, it was a hell of a lot better than dealing with the tension in his house.

~~~

Hannah’s house, as it turns out, was pretty awesome. She’d set up her whole basement with blankets, chairs, snacks and fairy lights to have a good “study environment.” And sure enough, everyone else he’d expected was there; Niki, Jack, and (unfortunately) Purpled. He found he didn’t mind it as much as he thought he would have, though it was likely because he and Hannah were keeping to themselves. Apparently Niki and Jack had general english stuff to work on, and Hannah and Purpled had very quickly grown bored of actual work and decided that teaching Purpled how to play Mario Kart would be much more entertaining. Ranboo, Tubbo, and Tommy found themselves in a corner separate from the other four, with Tommy very quietly updating them on what had gone down at home.

“So Phil knows something and kept it from you?!” Tubbo whispered, palpable rage in his tone. Ranboo’s eyes were wide and looked just as angry as Tubbo sounded. “That’s fucked, man.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m here, home’s just a tad suffocating right now. I don’t even know if dad told Wil and Tech yet, and god knows i don’t want to.” Tommy sighed, not looking either of his friends in the eye and kinda not wanting to exist at all right now.

“Well, we’re here to get your mind off it.” Ranboo said, tone forcefully cheerful. “Do you have actual homework or did you just come to get out of the house?” “The latter.” Tommy admitted. “Being around Purpled is easier than being around Phil right now. That’s how you know it’s bad…actually, that isn’t a horrible idea. D’you think Hannah and Purpled would mind us joining them?” Tommy asked, gesturing to the corner where Hannah was cursing Purpled out for only just learning how to play and already wiping the floor with her.

Ranboo and Tubbo shared a glance before shrugging and answering simultaneously, “As long as you’re cool with it” and “I’d be down” respectively.

~~~

By the time everyone went to bed, Tommy had managed to win in mario kart more than Purpled, who was in close second. No one else was even close, which was impressive given that Tommy had been playing for as long as he could hold a controller and yell at his brothers, and Purpled had learned 4 hours ago.

Maybe it was the weird Dream-provided drugs.

Either way, this was the most comfortable Tommy had ever felt around him, which was a step up. He didn’t feel great by any means, but he supposed having his close friends around while doing something familiar and fun helped ease the part of his mind telling him that danger was just in his periphery at the other end of the couch. Whatever the case, Tommy could almost ignore his fear of Purpled when it was overwhelmed by competitiveness and the mock rage he felt when Purpled won again. Almost.

All that aside, Tommy was fairly certain that at least one person here would be going to bed with a sore throat. After he and his friends had joined, Niki and Jack had come over as well and all hell had broken loose. Niki was in an actual shoving match with Tubbo trying to get him to mess up, Purpled was infuriatingly calm, and Tommy was pretty sure Jack had actually lost money betting that he would lose, it was chaos. They only agreed to stop when Hannah’s parents came down and, very politely, told them all to shut the fuck up and go to bed, pointing to the basement’s ground level windows that showed the backyard. Freshly shaved grass, a few bushes, and absolutely no sunlight left. Yeah, he supposed it was fair that they wanted some peace and quiet to sleep.

Without all the Mario Kart induced adrenaline in his system, Tommy found that he, too, wouldn’t mind getting some sleep.

So everyone found sleeping arrangements, whether it was on beanbags, couches, or sleeping bags that Hannah had laid out beforehand. Tommy found himself a blanket and found a spot curled up on a beanbag, doing his best to fall asleep. He was absolutely exhausted.

But he couldn’t.

Something, some nagging instinct in his brain told him he wasn’t safe, like he was living through the minecraft ‘you may not rest, monsters are nearby’ mechanic. He glared at Purpled, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

‘predator’

Bastard.

Why couldn’t his body recognize he was safe? The fucker was out cold, he hadn’t so much as twitched in the 20 minutes that Tommy had been staring at the ceiling.

But something was keeping him awake.

He shifted, trying to roll over to get more comfortable (as if that would do anything at this point), and ended up facing the window.

He swore he felt his heart stop.

From the darkness of the bushes in the yard, there were eyes. Two pinpricks of teal light, slitted pupils at the center of each. At first he thought it was just a wild animal, until-

‘predator’

Something deep in his bones pinged, rattling him. That wasn’t an animal. He didn’t know what it was, but it wasn’t safe, he wasn’t safe-

He sat up as he felt his breath quicken, heart pounding so fast he thought it would give out. He looked to the window, eyes blurred from the lack of oxygen he was taking in and from the panicked tears welling.

Nothing.

There weren’t eyes anymore. Maybe the creature had left, maybe it had closed its eyes to hide itself, maybe there was never anything. Had there even been eyes there?

‘predator’

‘predator’

Whether or not the eyes had or hadn’t been there, Tommy was losing his shit. He was panicking, he felt like he was going to die. He thought the instinct was bad just hanging around Purpled, but this? This was suffocating, all encompassing fear. It infected his senses, it blurred any and all rational thought he may have.

Which was how he found himself trying to shake Tubbo awake. He needed an out, he needed to feel safe. He needed his friend, his family. Tubbo didn’t stir. Tubbo slept like a rock on the best of days, but after the exhaustion of hours of gaming? Tommy’d have better luck trying to wake the dead than wake Tubbo.

Which was how he found himself kneeling over and shaking awake the only other person in this house he considered family.

~~~

Ranboo was shaken away at a very inconvenient time of night.

“Whuh-“ “Ranboo, you have to hide me.” Came a trembling, whispered voice. They opened their eyes and were met with damn near glowing bright blue ones: wide open, almost animalistic, and terrified. Ranboo knew that voice, they knew those eyes, and suddenly they were very, very awake. “What’s wrong?” They whispered, sitting up and seeing Tommy kneeling right in front of their sleeping bag on the verge of tears.

“Sorry, i’m sorry, i just- i saw- i-“ he hiccuped, tears now pouring down his face. Ranboo shushed him, afraid that if he cried any louder he’d wake up any of the bodies sleeping beside them. “Deep breaths, Tom, what happened?” “Eyes. Eyes in the window, they- it- like with Purpled.” His voice dropped, eyes darting over to the sleeping form on the other side of the room before focusing back on Ranboo. “Predator. It was a predator. I can’t see it now, but I- I can feel it. I know. I can’t be here.”

“It’s ok, everything will be ok. Let’s just leave-“

“No!” Tommy’s voice cracked. “No, it’s still out there, it’ll get me. I need to hide, and I need to hide here.” He pleaded, digging his hands into their shirt, fists clenching right above their stomach. Ranboo paused, putting together what he wanted. “Are you asking for what I think you are?”

“I’m sorry. It’s just, Tubbo’s dead asleep, and I know you hate this, but I-“

“Hey, hey, it’s alright. You’re going to be fine. I’ll…I’ll do it. But just this once.”

“But you hate this, you said it yourself. I’m sorry, this isn’t important-“

“Yes it is, you’re important. Nothing’s gonna be able to get to you without going through me first, ok?”

Tommy nodded, hurried breaths slowing as he began to shrink. Ranboo glanced around, eyes lingering on Purpled just a few seconds longer than everyone else, to make sure no one was awake to see this. Quickly, they brought their hands under their now small friend and held him up to their mouth, feeling him crawl in quickly. They took a few deeps breaths and began to coat him in spit, not entirely sure that they knew what they were doing. After all, the last time they’d had Tommy…in them was years ago, and they hadn’t even realized it until he was already swallowed.

They began to lick Tommy, trying desperately to remember what they’d seen Tubbo do in the past. Lick, tilt head back, swallow. Probably. They hoped.

They felt the weird sensation of Tommy’s fluttering heartbeat against their tongue, and tried to ignore how weird that felt. God, this was so fucking weird, everything about this, and how anyone could enjoy this baffled them. Tommy he understood to some extent: he got instincts to do this, and Ranboo had accepted that a long time ago. Humans, and therefore Ranboo, did not have those instincts.

No, it was Tubbo who was the freak here.

Belatedly, he felt Tommy push himself back towards the throat, seemingly ready to go down. Ranboo steeled their nerves, pushing their friend against the hard palette of their throat to prepare to swallow. This was for Tommy. Tommy, one of their best friends who was scared right now. Tommy, who was trying to ignore a fight he had with his father earlier that day. Tommy, who had swallowed Ranboo down so many times when they got overwhelmed, so now it seemed only right to return the favor-

they swallowed.

Oh god oh fuck they were not prepared for this.

They swallowed more frantically, trying get Tommy farther down their throat only to realize that might’ve been stupid because now they couldn’t fucking breathe. Great. Awesome, actually. They were fine, their vision definitely wasn’t blurring at all.

It took a few more desperate, deep swallows before they finally felt something drop into their stomach, almost immediately feeling the rise and fall of Tommy’s breathing against their internal organs. Jesus fuck this was so weird.

They placed a hand over their mouth as they felt him sit up and move around, trying to breath calmly as every instinct in them urged to spit Tommy right back out.

“You alright? You’re breathing kinda heavy.”

Ranboo went to respond verbally before remembering that they were surrounded by other people, most of whom definitely didn’t need to know what was going on right now. Instead, they opted to pull out their phone and message Tommy on discord to assure him that yes, they were alright. Still hated doing this, but that was not a thought that needed voiced at the moment.

Memory Boy They: ‘Yeah, I’m fine. I’m gonna go back to sleep, try not to move too much if you can. No offense, it makes me kinda nauseous.’

They felt two taps back in confirmation, and were mildly horrified as they slowly lost the feeling of Tommy inside of them, quickly beginning another message.

Memory Boy They: ‘Tom what the fuck is happening why what and how can’t I feel you anymore please fix that it’s freaking me out’

Very suddenly, they felt Tommy again. Probably not taking up more than 1/3 of their stomach, but at least that was something. “Calm down, Boo. You’re not even messaging in full grammatically correct sentences.” Tommy joked weakly, voice even quieter than before. “I thought that feeling me in here freaked you out? I figured you’d prefer it if I was too small to notice.”

Memory Boy They: ‘I’d rather know where you are and that you’re ok. I don’t like the idea that you’re just in there and I can’t tell. Idk why but that’s so much worse.’

“Oh, I can stay like this, then. More comfortable for me anyway, if you don’t mind.”

Memory Boy They: ‘I don’t. You can also get bigger if you want, I don’t mind as long as you’re not taking up, like, all of the room in there.’

Another two taps from inside, and slowly Tommy grew until he was taking up about half of the room in their stomach. Still unnoticeable from the outside, but now a much more solid weight in their gut. It didn’t take long for him to find a comfortable position, and Ranboo felt as their breath evened out and he fell asleep. They laid on their back, staring up at the ceiling with one hand over their stomach.

Last time they had done this, it had been completely out of their control. They hadn’t known how Tommy had gotten eaten, how to get him out, what was happening. But it had also been in the middle of broad daylight, and Tommy was an incredibly active person, which was a recipe for disaster. But this, with Tommy asleep and peaceful, wasn’t…the worst. Besides, he had just been so scared. Ranboo had never seen him like that. Tommy had been a safe space for them so many times at this point, and being able to provide that in return, even just once, was nice. They curled slightly in on themselves more as they fell asleep, the frightened image of one of their best friends still fresh in their mind as they subconsciously tightened the grip on their stomach.

~~~

Purpled waited until he saw Ranboo’s breathing even out, a hand still over their middle. It had been about 10 minutes since they’d put their phone down, and he was fairly certain they were out cold. He sat up slowly, looking them over carefully to make sure they were fully asleep. The last thing he could afford right now was them waking up to see that he’d heard everything.

‘Tubbo’s dead asleep, and I know you hate this,’ Tommy had said, and Ranboo had known what he was implying. They’d even swallowed him, despite whatever grudge Tommy implied they had.

Purpled could work out two things from that; 1: at least two people knew about Tommy, them being Tubbo and Ranboo. 2: Tommy knew what he himself was capable of on at least some level.

For now, though, that wasn’t Purpled’s main concern.

He slowly stood up, carefully tip toeing over the sleeping bodies around him and made his way over to the window. He was just tall enough to reach up and unlock the latches, before effortlessly hoisting himself up to it and pushing himself outside. There was a reason he only ever wore the same few purple hoodies (besides what Punz called “his brand”), and that was because he had more muscle than a normal teenager should have (and more than a few extra scars).

Perks of being a merc, he figured.

He slid himself onto the dew covered grass, careful to shut the window behind him as he looked out to the number of bushes that surrounded the house. He felt eyes on him that made the hair on the back of his neck raise.

“I know you’re still here.” he said, voice even and only just loud enough to be heard by someone a few feet away.

No response.

Then, a rustle.

Purpled’s eyes were drawn to a bush a little to his right, one of the bigger ones around him. Reflective teal slits glared back at him from behind the branches.

‘predator,’ his instincts rang.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize he could see me.” the creature responded guiltily. “I didn’t even realize which one he was, by the time I did, he’d already-“

“That’s enough.” Purpled snapped before taking a deep, deliberate breath. “It’s- It’s fine, for now. We don’t have a time limit. But we can’t exactly get him tonight, now. Two of the humans know, and one of them has him hidden inside.”

“Like, inside, inside?”

“Exactly.”

“Huh. So he-”

“Apparently. Just, head home for tonight, ok? I might have another plan.”

Purpled didn’t receive a verbal response, but the bush shook again and suddenly the presence of a predator nearby began to fade, and he knew the other had left. He opened the window and slowly lowered himself back down into the basement. Again, he may only be 18 and a half, but the upper body strength he built as a mercenary over the past few years of his life wasn’t to be underestimated. He closed the window and made his way back to his sleeping bag, pulling out his phone and opening discord to a specific server he hadn’t needed to use in a while.

257-Perseus: ‘Mission failed tonight. @039-Charybdis I need you.’

065-Icarus: ‘Well that sucks. Good luck next time ig.’

039-Charybdis: ^reply @257-Perseus ‘yk i’m free whenever. where n when.’

257-Perseus: ‘Don’t know yet. Probably sometime in the next few days. I’ll keep you updated. Keep your notifs on.’

039-Charybdis: ‘🫡’

065-Icarus: ‘@257-Perseus Purpled don’t torture the poor kid jesus christ’

257-Perseus: ‘I won’t, dw. He’ll probably be fine.’

065-Icarus: ‘Probably.’

039-Charybdis: ‘probably.’

257-Perseus: ‘Both of you please kindly stfu. I know what I’m doing.’

039-Charybdis: ‘good luck getting Dream off your ass if you traumatize him.’

065-Icarus: ‘Lmao.’

065-Icarus: ‘Seriously tho please don’t traumatize him.’

257-Perseus: ‘Going to bed and shutting my phone down now, good night assholes.’

Purpled shut his phone down completely, initiating a restart so that if those two still wanted to message and someone at the sleepover happened to wake up, at least no one would see it by accident.

He laid back down, staring at the ceiling and just…thinking. He’d thought he had a solid plan for tonight, but now he needed the beginnings of a new idea. An idea he may be able to pull of within the next few days, if he was lucky.

Purpled closed his eyes, trying in earnest for the first time all night to actually fall asleep. Now that this mission had backfired, he may as well actually go to bed like everyone else.

As he began to fall asleep, pieces of a new plan began to come together in his head, something that may actually work if he timed it right. Something risky and prone to failure, but if he put all of his pieces in the right spots, would work.

Tommy had come up with a simple enough plan: get Ranboo to eat him. But it was turning out to be easier said than done.

He and Tubbo had spent a while trying to come up with a way to somehow get Tommy down their taller friend’s throat as a joke. He’d never eaten Tommy despite the numerous times he’d seen Tubbo do it, and had never expressed any interest in ever doing it at all. Hell, Ranboo had at one point straight up refused to eat Tommy. Which led the clingy duo to where they were now: listing the least noticeable and fatal ways for Tommy to end up in Ranboo’s gut. Have Tommy get in his mouth while he slept? No, Ranboo might choke and either spit him out or die, neither being the wanted outcome. Hide in food? No, Tommy’d get chewed. Liquid? No, he’d be seen to easily or drown. But, ice cream seemed to work. Ranboo didn’t chew that, and Tommy could still be hidden and not drown! It was perfect!

***

Looking back, it was not perfect. Tommy knew from experience how hot stomachs could be, so he’d made sure to wear lighter clothes, which he was now regretting. He was fucking freezing! It had somehow completely slipped his mind that ice cream was, yknow, cold. So he sat shivering under 2 scoops of strawberry ice cream, waiting for Ranboo to put him in his mouth and finally give him warmth. God dammit, why was Ranboo so slow? He’d have eaten a whole goddamn thing of ice cream by now if he was normal sized-

Tommy’s thoughts were cut off by freezing metal touching his back, and he barely suppressed a surprised yelp. He felt himself get lifted up almost nauseatingly fast, and he barely had time to press himself into the ice cream more to keep out of Ranboo’s sight. Finally, fucking finally, he was put into the hot mouth and felt the metal get pulled out from underneath him. Now all he had to do was wait.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long. He though that Ranboo would have felt his weight in his mouth, but apparently he was too small to be felt at the moment. It wasn’t long before he felt his feet enter the throat behind him, sucking him down the narrow tube that led to Ranboo’s stomach. Part of Tommy’s brain wondered if it would take longer to reach the organ since Ranboo was so tall. The other part was entirely focused on keeping him still, knowing that one wrong flinch could alert Ranboo that something was up. Soon enough, he was dropped into the hollow organ, landing in a pile of somewhat melted ice cream. He didn’t mind to much, since it was much warmer but not as overbearingly hot as it could be. Now he just had to wait.

***

Ranboo finished eating his ice cream and set the empty bowl down only to look back at Tubbo and receive the most mischievous, excited, shit-eating grin he’d ever received. Ranboo almost immediately shrank back under the gaze as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise. “What’s going on, what did you do?” Ranboo asked, genuinely scared if the answer. “Oh, it’s not what I did,” Tubbo responded, “it’s what you just did.” Ranboo chose to ignore the cryptic answer and turned on the tv to distract himself.

An hour later, he paused the tv and turned to Tubbo, still somewhat stuck on what the weird look could have been for, but now concerned for another reason. “Hey, didn’t Tommy say he was coming tonig- oh no there’s the look again.” Ranboo said. “Hm? What look?” Tubbo answered, very much aware of the fake innocent expression he wore. “That face. You did something. What did you do and what does it have to do with me.” Ranboo was starting to become more anxiety ridden then confused, but Tubbo’s grin simply widened. “Well, it doesn’t have to do with you so much as it has to do with Tommy.” was the only answer Ranboo got before Tubbo unpaused the tv, turning the volume up louder every time Ranboo went to clarify something. Eventually, Ranboo got fed up. He pulled up discord and turned off the tv, much to Tubbo’s annoyance, and had to call 3 times before Tommy finally picked up.

“Ranboo? Sorry, I was taking a nap, what’s up?” Tommy yawned. “Oh, ok. That makes sense I guess. Tubbos acting weird and you said you’d be over today so I just didn’t know where you were.” Ranboo replied, sighing in relief. At least, until he heard the next sentence. “What do you mean? I’m already at your house.” Tommy groggily responded. Ranboo froze. ‘What was that supposed to mean?’ “So…are you, like, at the driveway or something??” Ranboo asked, standing up off his couch to pace in frustration. Tommy just responded sounding more confused but thankfully at least more awake now. “Wait, wait. Have you not figured it out yet? Has Tubbo not told you? Or at least given you a few hints or something??”

Ranboo looked back up to Tubbo, who just sat watching the conversation happen. “Tommy asked if you’ve ‘told me’ yet, and I’m kind of scared to figure out what that means.” “Oh you’ll see, bossman.” Tubbo replied. And just like that, Tommy hung up. Great. “You know, this is actually nerve wracking, knowing you two. You better not have done something stupid.” Ranboo sighed, flopping back on the couch. “That fully depends on what you qualify as stupid.” Tubbo shrugged. “I think it’s perfectly normal, though you’ve showed a bit of a differing opinion on that statement in the past.” “Why are you being so cryptic right now??” “I just thought you’d be able to guess it by now is all. Maybe Tommy could make it a bit easier for you.” Tubbo yelled emphasizing the last few words as he nonchalantly leaned closer to Ranboo’s midsection. Ranboo was only a few seconds away from putting it together when he suddenly felt something growing inside him. He shot off the couch and grabbed at his stomach as the growing stopped, a horrified look on his plastered on his face. He head Tubbo snicker from behind him, and vaguely registered that he was holding a camera, but his mind was now focused entirely on every minor movement in his gut. How could he have not noticed before? How small was Tommy a few seconds earlier? How small do you have to be to be in someone’s belly completely undetected? Well, it didn’t matter now, since he was already in there. “Jesus, finally! Took you long enough, Boob!” And oh great, Tommy is audible now.

“How did you get…in there?” Ranboo asked, still staring down at where his hands rested on him stomach. “Ice cream. It was cold as hell, too, I’ll tell you that. Mostly gone now, though.” “W-Why would you do that?! Something bad could’ve happened! I could’ve killed you!! Do you know how easy it would have been for me to accidentally bite you in half?!” “Who the fuck bites ice cream?” Tommy replied nonchalantly. “I think you’re missing the point here.” He could feel Tommy shrug from where he was leaned against his stomach, and winced at the movement. How did Tubbo put up with this? Just knowing where Tommy was was stressing him out, but knowing that Tommy was completely at his will was worse. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt Tommy, he was one of his best friends, he wouldn’t even consider it, but knowing that something could happen to his from where he was was…not fun to think about. Ranboo didn’t even realize he’d been increasing the pressure on his stomach until Tommy called out to him. “Hey big man, you’re kinda squishing me here!” Ranboo pulled his hands off his stomach quickly, as he continued to stare down at his stomach, the panic on his face becoming clearer with every breath.

Tubbo stopped his recording and set his phone down as he walked closer to Ranboo. “Are you ok, Boo? You look…distressed, to say the least?” “Maybe because I am?” Ranboo replied quickly, turning to glare at Tubbo. “Maybe it’s because I didn’t have an option but to swallow him and I never wanted to in the first place because it’s uncomfortable and weird and-“

Ranboo got cut off as he felt movement from inside him again, but somehow different from before. Instead of just the haphazard moving that Tommy had been doing earlier, he felt him rubbing at the front of his stomach, making his breath hitch. The internal massage felt…way better than he would have guessed. Actually, looking back on times when Tubbo had swallowed Tommy, he had seen the shorter boy laying back with a hand over his stomach looking completely at peace on multiple occasions. He could only assume that this was why. As he was still wrapping his head around the feeling, Tommy spoke out. “Sorry, Ranboo. Honest. Me and Tubbo knew you didn’t want to do this and we staged it anyway. You can spit me out if it’s really making you that uncomfortable.”

Ranboo sighed and placed a hand back over his stomach, sitting back down on his couch and motioning for a somewhat confused Tubbo to join him, which he did. “It’s alright, as long as you two don’t do this again. I don’t want to have to be the one to tell you morons when something is a bad idea, but apparently I have to since you two clearly can’t figure it out on your own, because this was a really bad idea. Tommy, you’re really lucky that nothing went wrong and Tubbo’s lucky that I’m a nice person who’s not gonna try to get him back for this.” Ranboo said, glaring at Tubbo at the last bit, at which Tubbo mumbled out an apology and stared down at his lap. “Ok, so, does that mean I have to get out or not?” Tommy asked after a few moments of silence. “Were you listening to anything I just said?” “It’s a yes or no question, Ranboo.”

Ranboo groaned and put his face in his hands. “Fine. I guess you can stay in there.” “Hell yeah!” Tommy mumbled as he moved to find another comfortable spot to lay down. “I wouldn’t celebrate yet,” Ranboo interrupted, “you’re only staying in there right now because I have literally no clue how to get you out.”

He felt Tommy freeze and saw Tubbo’s eyes widen. And despite them being unable to hear each other, they both had the same simultaneous reaction;

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Nothing was free in the Colony.

If you wanted something, you traded or you worked for it. Rarely were things given freely, and for Tommy it was always the latter. 

It’s often why he ended up in precarious situations, such as borrowing lemon grass, despite it being the most dangerous plant to borrow from outside (he has no idea why cats were so frequent around that damn plant.) Most Borrowers would give up and deem it as an unnecessary risk, but whenever he needed something, it seemed to be the one item he got requested for the most. Definitely didn’t have anything to do with trying to get rid of him. 

Not at all…

He’d had many close calls with cats over the years, but time and time again he managed to get the job done and despite getting the requested plant, he was still met with the same response.

“Oh. You got it? Here’s your apple slice then.” He’d be told as he was handed the measly morsel of apple. “Waste of resources.”

He’d pretend he didn’t hear that last remark. 

One time he’d asked for an apple slice whilst he’d been sick and desperately needed the food, but couldn’t go borrowing for it himself. He’d been given the apple slice and told he had three days to get three sprigs of lemon grass as payment or else. The lemon grass plant was at least a day's trip out and after two days of recovery, Tommy finally made the trip and was back a day late. Upon his return, he was given a bright red mark across his face for his tardiness and found his little alley home wrecked.

In short, if you wanted something, anything at all, there was always a price to pay and if it was Tommy wanting it, the price was high. He learned quickly it was easier not to want anything and get it himself, then go high risk with slim reward than to get it from others.

He’d rather be caught by a Bean than die for a bite of apple. 

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*  ･ ｡ﾟ☆ : ☽ .* ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*

Phil was not expecting his day off to pan out this way.

He’d been working a lot of overtime the last few weeks and his Boss had said to take one of his normal work days off while things were slow, and he’d happily obliged. He had been so busy the last few days keeping an eye out for Tommy, that he’d slacked off on the shopping, and now they were in desperate need of a restock. The very rushed sticky note written by Techno as he headed off to school to ‘Buy more potatoes or else’ was as good a reason as any to go this morning. 

The last thing he had expected to come home to was Tommy on his kitchen counter. 

Ignoring how he got into the locked house in the first place, the kid was perched on the countertop like a deer in headlights. Scared out of his mind and frozen still. It was that same look Tommy had given him when they’d first met and it made the old man’s heart ache. He needed to approach the situation with caution and care. 

“I uh- um.” Tommy stuttered as he inched away from the man.

“So do you want to explain this or-” 

Phil raised his hands to gesture to the mess without thinking, but instinct came and reared its ugly head causing Tommy to yelp and scramble back off the counter and to the dining room floor below, taking out a chair with a loud crash as he fell. Horrible pain bloomed across the boy’s back for the second time that week and this time, the Borrower didn’t have the will to get away. Somehow despite the smaller distance, this hurt ten times worse than when he fell off the shelf. 

“Tommy! Are you alright?!” 

Phil dropped the bags he was holding unceremoniously to the floor as he followed after the poor kid, concern etched onto his face as he crouched down next to the sprawled out mess that was Tommy. 

The chair had flipped and knocked off one of the propped up photo frames on the nearby dresser, which had smashed apart into six bits of wooden frame, but apart from that, nothing else appeared to have been affected by the accidental calamity. As for Tommy himself, the kid had winded himself from the fall and seemed momentarily stunned. 

“Shoot Tommy, I didn’t mean to frighten you like that.” Phil apologised as he checked to see if anything looked broken but didn’t dare move the boy. “Are you okay? Can you move?”

Tommy gave a wheezed, “I think so,” as he struggled to sit up. He was still worried about what Phil was going to do to him, but right now the throbbing in his back and the concerned look on the Human Bean’s face was more than enough to cease all other thoughts at this moment. 

“Ow. That hurt like hell.” Tommy wheezed as he propped himself up onto his elbows, wincing as his back twinged at the movement. Phil sighed in relief as he helped the boy sit up. If he was moving okay, then he was probably just bruised. 

“I bet it did mate. How about you stick to standing on the floor next time you’re over, okay?” He chuckled as he helped Tommy up off the floor, the boy nodding in agreement. 

“Let's get you over to the couch.” 

“No, no I’m alright.” Tommy assured, gently pushing himself away from Phil to get some distance. 

‘If you mess up, never be in range of the one who is upset.’

 “I’ll get out of your hair and leave-”

“Tommy.” Phil cut him off calmly, but the boy flinched. “You just fell off a table and flipped a chair. It’s okay to not be okay.” 

Tommy glanced at the chair and the mess he made and grimaced, moving around Phil and into the kitchen. That was bad. Really bad. 

“Sorry about that.” He whispered, looking away and bracing for the worst. “I didn’t mean to.”

“I know mate. It was an accident. It happens. Now come on, take a seat on the couch and let's talk.”

Even though Phil said it softly, there was a sort of edge to it that gave Tommy no room to argue, but the Borrower was left dumb founded. He’d been caught and there was no way out of it, but Phil didn’t sound all that mad. If anything he was more concerned for his well being than the mess on the floor. That’s not how this was supposed to go. He’d messed up, and now he was supposed to deal with the consequences or run and hide. Though the hiding didn’t really work out for him last time.

He glanced at the electrical socket, throat tightening when he saw his little pile of Borrowings out in the open. Noticing Phil was distracted picking up the bits of photo frame from the floor, Tommy quickly grabbed the electrical socket off the wall and haphazardly shoved the pile into the gap, before closing it with a soft click, praying Phil hadn’t heard him. 

“Tommy, couch.” Phil said sternly as the blond quickly grabbed a glass to fill with water as an excuse. 

“Yep, just getting a drink.” He replied as he filled the glass and made his way over to the middle couch. Phil deposited the broken frame into the bin and then joined the boy on the recliner opposite him, sitting down with his knees apart and arms resting upon them.

“So, do you want to explain to me how you got into my house?”

“Well,” Tommy started before taking a long sip of his water to buy himself time to think. What was he supposed to say in this situation? 

Ah yes you see Phil, I live in the walls and decided to come out and take your stuff without asking and it just so happens I can grow my size at will to do that. Yeah, that was basically a signed death warrant right there. He downed the whole glass without coming up with an answer whilst the silence stretched out and now he was starting to panic. 

“Well you see big man, I was in the area and thought being the incredibly handsome man I am, I’d come pay you all a visit, but the door was open and when I realised you weren’t home, I was going to go and come back later, but then there was a mouse and I freaked out and jumped on the counter and then you came home and now we’re here.” 

Was it a great lie? No. Not in the slightest, but it’s all his mind could really supply at the moment so maybe if he believed it enough, the Bean would too? 

Phil didn’t look super convinced. 

The elder didn’t reply, but it didn’t take a genius to know Tommy wasn’t telling him the whole story. His gaze flickered to the skin on the boy’s neck that wasn’t covered by Wil’s old T-shirt. It was concerning that Tommy seemed to still be wearing the borrowed clothes, but it was really the purply yellow bruise poking out that worried him. Even if the boy had just fallen off the counter, that bruise was old and not there the last time he saw them. He knew he said he wouldn’t push for answers, but Phil had to know what was going on with the kid. 

“Tommy, you’re not okay, are you?”

Phil knew that living alone wasn’t for everyone, and a stubborn kid at sixteen was no different. Although it didn’t explain them showing up in his house, or the bruises, there was something about the boy that just told him that Tommy wasn’t some master criminal just waiting to strike. 

He’d seen the boy's vulnerable side, and even now hunched up on the couch, Phil wouldn’t believe that Tommy was playing some long master mind game to rob him blind. He’d been thinking this over for days now and he was almost sure that something or someone was responsible for the state this child was in. He needed to know for certain that if someone was hurting Tommy, that they’d meet justice for their despicable acts. 

“I know you said you were alright living alone, but if that’s not the case and someone is hurting you, you know that’s not okay right? No kid should have a bruise like that on their neck.”

“Not a kid.” Tommy mumbled back.

The way Phil was looking at him right now, Tommy knew the way he answered was going to determine how they moved forward. He’d told Phil he lived alone and was doing fine, but Human fine and Borrower fine were two different things. He didn’t look like a Bean would and certainly didn’t live like they did. It was fair to think as such, and he didn’t want to outright lie to Phil about why he was like this, so maybe he could use that? 

“Are you being abused?” Phil asked almost pleadingly.

“No. I’m not.” Tommy stated as he folded his hands in his lap and Phil visibly relaxed.

“I know the bruise looks bad, but it was an accident. I was trying to reach something off a high shelf and lost my balance and fell. But I- I know just showing up in your house is really really bad, but the door really was open and well, I just wanted to see if anyone was home since you said it was okay to come over and well- I was hungry…”

Phil’s gaze softened and Tommy took that as his cue to drive it home.

“I don’t exactly have a lot at home or anyone else I can ask for help, and you said I could come over whenever. I didn’t think you’d miss a cracker or two and then I was going to leave.”

It wasn’t a lie. He really had to come do all those things. He just had to hope it was enough of an answer for Phil to not question him further. 

Phil’s mind was swirling a million miles a second. This kid. This wonderful sweet innocent kid was all alone, and had just wanted something to eat and had taken a couple of crackers no less. Clearly, Tommy was just doing what he could to get by. He may not be ready to tell him everything yet, but a kid just looking for somewhere safe to go and needing help really cemented the idea in his mind that wherever Tommy was living was not truly a safe place to be, and he wanted nothing more than to keep him here safely out of harm's way. 

“Well ignoring the unlocked door, you should have waited till someone was at least home so I didn’t get jumpscared by a surprise visitor, but I believe you.” Tommy physically relaxed as Phil continued. “I did say you were welcome anytime, just maybe next time wait or let me know you’re here yeah?”

“Sure big man. I can do that.” Tommy replied, running a hand through his hair and then scratching his neck. 

“What’s your number, and I’ll add it to my phone.” 

“Yeah so funny story, I uh- ha ha, actually don’t have a phone.” 

Phil stared dumbfounded. A teenager? In this day and age not having a phone? Then again, the kid was essentially in rags when they met…

“Well I can fix that. We can head out and I’ll buy you one.”

“Oh you really don’t have to do that!” 

Phil shook his head and stood from the couch as Tommy insisted it wasn’t necessary. 

“Nonsense! If you’re going to come visit more often it wouldn’t hurt to have a way to contact us.”

“But-” 

“No buts, I insist. We can go out and pick one together as soon as I put these groceries away.”

Phil began to unpack bags and store grocery items away, while Tommy continued to argue he didn’t need a phone. Considering how hard Wilbur and Techno had begged him for a phone when they were younger, it was rather humorous to see the complete opposite and outright refusal from Tommy. He ended up handing Tommy a new packet of BBQ crackers that he munched on with a reluctant thank you. 

He couldn’t wrap his head around why Phil would want to give him a phone, especially after finding him hiding out in his house. He thought he’d figured Human Beans out, or at least Phil mostly speaking. Why would he just give him such a prized item? After a few minutes or so, almost all the bags were empty, bar one from the hardware store. 

“Ah yes.” The Bean said as he reached into the bag. “Better do that before we go.” 

Tommy nearly choked when he saw what Phil was holding. A pack of small wooden rectangles, with a shiny metal bar and small pressure plate right in the centre stared sinisterly back.

Mouse traps.

“You said you saw a mouse before, did you see where it ran off to Tommy? Need to set these up before we have an infestation. They got into the garage a few days ago and knocked a paint can off the shelf that went everywhere. Nightmare to clean up.”

One look at the boy and he was sheet white. Now the pegs and containers made sense. Subconsciously, Tommy covered the small patch where he knew there was paint on the shirt with his arm. He’d been careless when escaping in the garage and they knew. Thank goodness he wasn’t wearing the jeans today or they’d be a dead give away. 

“They ran into the garage.” He blurted out far too quickly. “Or- er, at least I think they did. I didn’t really see when I jumped on the counter, but it’s definitely living there.”

Phil raised a brow at Tommy's insistence, but shrugged and thanked him as he began to set up the mouse traps. Mouse traps were a horrible and painful way for a Borrower to die, and he’d heard far too many stories of Borrowers losing whole limbs or being snapped in half, dead from one bad Borrow. Rule number one with mousetraps; DON’T BORROW FROM THEM. 

He warily watched everywhere Phil placed a newly baited trap, making a mental note of their position. He’d have to be more careful in future and ensure to leave the traps undisturbed to keep his presence hidden.

Once he was done, Phil ushered Tommy out the front door and into his car, ignorant to the boy's inner turmoil before jumping into the driver's seat. They drove mostly in silence, just letting the music on the radio softly fill the cab as they drove. Phil didn’t mind. After a minute or so of driving, Tommy had his head pressed against the window staring wide eyed out the window at the world passing by, whilst Phil fondly stole an occasional glance.

Soon they made it to the Mall and before even going near a phone store, Phil ushered Tommy into a clothes store. Despite the boy's protest, he needed a new wardrobe and Phil was quick to reassure he didn’t mind getting him more clothes. But Tommy, being Tommy, didn’t exactly make it easy, but with some gentle persuasion Phil was able to get Tommy three sets of new clothes that actually fit, and a nice new red hoodie that, despite the boy denying that he didn’t need it, definitely had been staring and didn’t argue when Phil put it through the check out. 

After that, they went off and got a cheap phone–the type just for phone calls–and popped Tommy onto the Craft’s family plan. Though he really wanted to fight it, Tommy couldn’t help the longing that bubbled up inside his chest as Phil typed his name on the fourth slot. He didn’t deserve any of this, but Phil went to the trouble of getting him all these nice things. Watching him enter his phone number on the black device felt like the greatest gift he could bestow him. Beans don’t just give their phone number out to just anyone and Tommy just didn’t feel deserving of it at all.

“Hey Tommy, what’s your last name? I need it for the phone plan details.”

“Phil, I can’t accept this.” He quietly uttered, but Phil didn’t hear him.

“Sorry, what was that Tommy?”

“I said I can’t accept this! Any of it!” Tommy stressed and Phil's head snapped onto him. “I haven’t done anything to deserve it.” 

‘Waste of resources.’ rang in his head. He didn’t deserve it. He couldn’t accept this and lose it all later. Not from Phil.

“Toms, really, it’s no problem at all-” Phil reassured as he went to place his hand on Tommy’s shoulder, but the blond knocked it off like it burned and shouted.

“BUT IT IS! You don’t just give someone all this and expect nothing in return!!! That’s not how it works! You have to earn what you get and even then it’s never enough! I could never repay you for any of this!” 

Phil smiled, brow pinched sadly as tears began to well up in Tommy’s eyes as he stared at his shoes. 

“I just- I don’t deserve it. I never have and never will.”

“Tommy, I don’t know who ever made you believe you weren’t worth basic necessities, but I need you to know everything I got you are normal things everyone needs. You don’t have to work for it or do anything to just have some clothes.” 

The older man gently raised the boy's chin, and wiped his tears away. 

“You are worth it.” 

“Please, I can’t-”

“You can. It’s a gift. No need to give anything in return.” 

Tommy shook his head in response and Phil sighed. This kid was going to be the death of him.

“If it really means that much to you, how about you come for lunch this Saturday? I know Wilbur’s been wanting to see you just as much as I have and it would mean a lot to me if you came around for the afternoon. How about that?”

Tommy sniffled and nodded. “I can do that.” 

He wanted to do more, but there wasn’t very much he had to offer. At least this way he could offer his time and pay it back that way. This was his goal as it was anyway and even if it was selfish, at least he wasn’t just taking the clothes and phone with no payment. 

“Good, now dry those tears and I can drop you back at the park yeah? You probably want to head home right?”

Tommy nodded, sniffling as he wiped his arm across his face. 

“Okay, come on now.” 

Phil slowly began to lead Tommy back to the car park, but just as they were about to leave the Mall, Phil spied a store that piqued his interest and briefly asked Tommy to wait whilst he did one last job. He ducked into a red store with a big gold key on the front glass window, and after a few minutes, returned with something in his fist which he gently placed into Tommy’s hand. 

It was a single red key with a metal feather on the keychain. 

“Next time you want to come over and no one’s home, now you have a way to get in.” Phil smiled as Tommy inspected the key like it was made of glass. “Just next time, leave a note or text me so I know you’ve been over okay?”

Tommy twirled the key and feather in his hands, before meeting Phil’s gaze and smiled.

“Bet.”

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*  ･ ｡ﾟ☆ : ☽ .* ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*

So.... Tommy's got to go to lunch now. How could anything possibly go wrong? :3

I figured I should probably get one more chapter posted this year so much here you go! No more cliff hanger to wait on for a bit lol.

Thank you to my lovely beta readers @munchkin1156 and especially @dingbatnixfor who helped me on the flow of this and the up coming chapters. You have been a HUGE help with getting this to sound just right and I love and appreciate you both so much! /p

TAG LIST: @bag-o-gummies @brick-a-doodle-do @justarandomsloth @veryfunkycheesecake @kayla-crazy-stuffs @da3dm

Link to tag list for future tags :3

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Things had been quiet in the Craft household. 

Normally that wouldn’t be a bad thing, but for the Crafts it was considerably unusual. Wilbur and Phil had been spending a lot more time out and by the park the last few days, much to Techno’s dismay from what he’s heard through the walls- grumbling about them skipping out on his homemade breakfasts, the big softy. If he had to gander a guess, they were most likely out looking for him. 

(It’s kind of hard to ignore Wilbur’s sad whines when he’s complaining about not seeing him.)

It had been a couple of days since the garage incident and Tommy had been semi bed bound whilst his back healed. He was a lot tougher than most Borrowers back in the colony; conditioned from their unnecessary bullying rough housing, but even he wasn’t immune to the full impact of falling the Borrower equivalent of twenty feet. 

Some ‘wise’ borrower once told him that if a Human Bean fell that height, they’d die, but Borrowers were built differently and could survive falls higher than that. Bone density or something? You don’t pay much attention to the finer details when you’re dangling off a tree branch for dear life, whilst three of your own kind mock you. 

He remembers the glares he’d received after dragging himself back through the colony, his hands bloodied red and wrapped in strips of his own tattered shirt; ignoring the whispers that somehow, the ‘Trouble Child’ had miraculously survived a hundred foot drop.

‘Useless boy. Should have just let go.’ 

He grimaced at the thought. When the pain got too much, cuddling Henry at least made it somewhat bearable. The cow plush was of great comfort on his first night home and a welcomed distraction. At least it wasn’t so bad now to the point he couldn’t get up and move about a little bit. Sure his back still hurt like crazy, but a man's gotta eat. Unfortunately when you’re hurt, supply runs aren't exactly simple and supplies were getting low. 

His last big supply run had been two weeks ago. The trip when he got trapped in Phil’s bag was meant to be his mid week restock, and the supply of crackers he’d borrowed had most likely either gone off, or been eaten by bugs or other critters from where he’d left them back in the kitchen. Doing a restock would be incredibly difficult considering that his good borrowing equipment had fallen out of Phil's bag long ago. All he had now was his old rusty paperclip hook and his spare hip lamp that was on its last legs.

Regardless of their condition, he needed food now or he’d run out by tomorrow night, and having no rations was dangerous. Not only because he could starve, but because who knew when he’d get more. Starvation was a painfully slow death and not something Tommy wanted to experience. 

A supply run would have to happen today or risk missing eating altogether, and while Tommy had survived on small rations before, it would do his back no good if he didn’t get enough energy to heal properly. Especially if he wanted to see the Crafts again anytime soon.

A new battery for his hip lamp was high on his priority list. Tommy's spare had run flat and the boy had not found a replacement of the right size to borrow in a while, so traversing the walls at night was less ideal, as it would be pitch black. Sure he had the safety lines, but by no means did that mean the higher levels to the kitchen were completely safe lightless. 

At least during the day, the cracks in the wall were illuminated by sunlight. Less likely of a tripping fiasco and plummeting to his death is always a plus in big T’s books. Batteries were normally kept in the top drawer closest to the living room, but unless it was open, he wouldn’t be able to get one, so here’s hoping Wilbur was on the dishes this morning.

It seemed it was to be another risky borrowing trip. 

Objectives:

-Food

-Battery

-New borrowing equipment

Food must come first above all else decidedly, and he must not be swayed. Having all this time to himself to think and listen to Phil and Wilbur missing him made him want to get better quicker so he could go see them again, so he had to recover fast. 

Tommy waited till the cracks in the walls were at their brightness, before starting on his way to the kitchen. It was roughly mid-day and the twins were at school, whilst Phil had left for work late that morning. The fond father of two would usually leave a note for the boys on the kitchen table if he wasn’t going to be home until late, which made it the Borrower’s prime indicator for an occupied/unoccupied household on week days. 

Traversing the halls was second nature to the Borrower, as he travelled up shafts on staple ladders and over nail bridges all the way to the kitchen. He’d never get tired of the thrill of starting another borrowing trip- no matter how much his back ached in protest. It wasn’t long before he made it to the old kitchen electrical outlet that his suspicions of his borrowed crackers were confirmed to be nowhere insight. He sighed as he brushed the remnants of crumbs away to prevent attracting any more uninvited guests. 

‘Just as well I’m going out then.’ The blond thought to himself as he kicked a crumb into the darkness below.

Peeking out of the slots to check the coast was clear, Tommy noted all three phones were missing from their charging ports by the kitchen window, and spied a single messily written sticky note from Phil laid innocently just next to it. Satisfied with his surveillance check, Tommy popped the electrical socket out and emerged onto the kitchen counter. It was strange thinking about how only a few days prior, he’d been sitting at the Crafts’ table, eating pizza with his world totally flipped. Now he was back to three inches tall, the world was its much more familiar self, with tall ceilings and oversized appliances dwarfing his size. 

“Welp, best not waste time.” The borrower stretched his back gently and warmed up his legs and arms before rubbing his hands together menacingly. “It’s crime o’clock.”

He grabbed his hook from his belt, and swung it up to one of the high shelves which led to the dry goods in the pantry. The small hook flew high and clinked against the wood, catching on the edge. Tommy gave it a couple of tugs, testing to make sure its grip was sound. Satisfied with its hold, the blond grabbed onto the line and began to ascend up the side of the cupboard. He was a bit stiff after the break from borrowing, but his back seemed to be holding up for the time being, and that was good enough for him.

With practiced ease, Tommy pulled himself up onto the lowest shelf and detached his hook, before winding up his line. If there was a good amount of food here, he may need it to lower it back down. Slipping in and around glassware, the boy made his way to the back of the shelf and entered in through the gap to the pantry cupboard.  

It seemed like it was his lucky day! Several new packets of nuts and crackers had been freshly opened, perfect for borrowing large amounts yet appear unchanged. They were all closed with peg clips, but it was nothing that Tommy hadn’t encountered before. Normally only one or two were sealed since the Crafts were a bit lazy with closing food back up properly, but for a change, everything was either unopened, clipped shut or in a container.

Tommy shrugged it off, not over thinking it. He was quick to snap open a packet of trail mix and start stuffing his bag with the different nuts. Whilst snacking on one in the process (oh it was so good after eating nothing but stale crackers for a week), he finished filling one bag and moved onto collecting a stack of crackers, tying them together with a bit of twine to strap to his back and bring down. He closed the clip back up best he could- though not as perfect as the others- and hoped no one would notice. Although if they did, it would probably be chalked up to Wilbur’s laziness. 

Satisfied with his haul, Tommy slipped back out of the pantry and carefully lowered his bag back to the kitchen counter below, before descending himself. He loved a good rope slide down, but was mindful not to go too fast in case he lost control, and slammed into the ground like the last couple times he’d been too eager. Don’t need to add aching legs to a stuffed up back.

Once down, the blond was quick to gather up his goods, before hauling them back over to the electrical socket and popping them inside. 

“Mission one accomplished!” The boy stated proudly to himself, going as far to give himself a hi-five at the achievement. 

Hey, if no one’s around to hi-five him, he’s not about to leave himself hanging.

With item one crossed off, Tommy made his way over to the appropriately named ‘Junk Drawer’ of the kitchen and got down on his hands and knees to peer over the edge. “Please be open, pleaseeeeee.” 

As much as Tommy had hoped, it appeared luck was not on his side this time, as the drawer was closed firmly shut. If it weren’t for the inch of overhang by the counter, the blond was sure he could have wedged it open with his hook, but the lip of the drawer wasn’t close enough that he could reach it and slip through. No battery for him today. 

“Rats.” The boy snapped his fingers across his body in frustration. “Come on Wilbur! You do almost all chores badly, but the one time I need something, you do it right.”

Pushing himself back up from the counter grumbling, Tommy stretched his back out carefully, rubbing at a sore spot on his rib when it ached. He looked around to see if there was anything left out worth borrowing, and grabbed a stray elastic band for later, but besides that nothing in particular seemed to catch his eye.

Glancing over to the kitchen's clock, he noticed the big stick and little stick were almost both in line with the 12, which meant he probably had at least another three or four hours before the twins were expected to be home from school. With at least one item ticked off his list, it probably wouldn’t hurt to look around for some new borrowing equipment. 

He turned around and spied the lone sticky note from Phil. Not that he had any idea what it said, every time there was a sticky note, Phil always arrived home super late. Something about an emergency at work and no one else available to fix it- seemed to be the usual excuse for his lateness. The Borrower tried to recall a time when that hadn’t been the case, but his mind came up blank. 

“Yeah, plenty of time.” The boy shrugged, swiping the air for good measure.

Tommy waltzed over to the other side of the kitchen counter so he was overlooking the dining and living room. The dining table had bits of paper and stationery left out littered over the surface, no doubt some project Wilbur had started and left on the table half finished that would eventually make it to the Bean’s bedroom. He could probably find some more paperclips and springs there from some ball point pens. 

Checking out the rest of the living space, everything seemed to be the usual. A TV set in the far left corner table, with a big bookshelf up against the left wall next to it, displaying a library of books and the odd family photo or trinket in the mix. The right wall had another three shelved cabinet, with double doors below it for storage, and further up towards the kitchen was a glass sliding door that led out to the back garden. 

The third shelf at the top was where Tommy liked to watch movies with the Crafts from, even if the angle he watched hidden from wasn’t the greatest with needing to remain hidden. There was an easy access point, from a badly patched hole in the wall that made it Tommy’s go to viewing space. The Beans' heads usually got in the way of his viewing but, hey it was better than nothing.

The big double windows on the back wall let in an enormous amount of natural light, giving the quaint space a soft glow. Above the TV to the left, were a multitude of hung pictures of Phil, Wilbur and Technoblade; all three of them one big happy family. He often liked to imagine himself amongst the pictures, being a part of the experience. His favourite being the one of Phil taking a selfie, whilst the twins had fallen asleep on top of each other on the couch. While it wasn’t the best picture on the wall amongst fencing shots, concerts and high quality photos, the image of the two falling asleep on each other so peacefully, knowing you were safe, warm and watched over was everything to the Borrower.

What he wouldn’t give to experience love like that.

“Soon.” He whispered; a promise to the home itself. 

He’d be back here and able to walk its halls in record time, pick up items he’d never been able to in a million years, but most importantly, enjoy the company of people who didn’t outright hate him. His eyes caught on Phil’s work bag, the fraying threads of the hole in the bottom just barely visible from his vantage spot. 

To think he learned of this unique attribute all from falling out of a bag. This ability to change his size at will, truly was a game changer. All the possibilities it presented, no longer having to hide in fear and instead walk amongst the beings he once feared. If he could master the ability, that is…

Having had some time to think it over, his Shifting ability being connected to a fight or flight response made sense. What didn’t make sense was why it was only now that it had presented. There had been many times Tommy could recall where his instinct had been to run or hide that Shifting should have kicked in before but hadn’t. The most logical conclusion he could come to, was that he must have come of age or something; kind of like how some heroes don’t get their super powers until they grow up.

With that in mind, mastering this shifting was probably for the best. If the few superhero movies he’d listened in on had taught him anything, it's that if he couldn’t control his power, then the worst would come. The elders' warnings of Borrower law flashed in his mind. 

‘A Borrower is quiet; never heard and never seen. We keep to the shadows and only take what we need to survive. Staying hidden is a necessity and should you ever be caught, you must leave immediately or risk all Borrower kinds’ safety.’

Well, it would be a while before anyone came home and it was kind of a necessity to keep his size shifting a secret to protect his kind, he reasoned. As a half Borrower/Shifter/Bean- whatever the heck he was, it would do no one any good if he magically became big and burst out from within the walls. The logical side of his brain screamed at him that it was a terrible idea, but the longing growing inside of his chest eagerly pushed it as brilliant. If he’s to spend more time with the Crafts, he’d have to do it sooner or later right?

With that thought in mind, Tommy smiled to himself as he placed his gear down and moved to the centre of the counter, closing his eyes as he focused. The warm tingling flooded his senses as he willed himself to grow bigger, feeling the way energy flowed through his expanding body, his limbs lengthening and form broadening. When he opened his eyes, he was staring at his feet and only an inch away, his now miniscule borrowing gear.

Crouching down to a double kneel, the blond pinched his tiny hook and lamp between two fingers, marvelling at just how small they were now cradled in his palm. Insane to believe that when held at his Borrower size, it fit so perfectly in his grasp, only to now be rendered completely useless at this size. He couldn’t even turn his lamp on if he wanted to, the switch impossible to flip with these sausage sized fingers of his. Wait, the lamp!

Carefully, Tommy set his hook and lamp off to the side and then peered over the edge of the counter. Grasping the little handle, the boy tugged open the drawer with no effort at all, revealing a treasure trove of bits and bobs. It was the Borrowing jackpot, from matches to pins, to string and most importantly-

“Batteries!” 

Tommy started pulling out everything that looked of use to him, making a little pile of Borrowing gear, a great big grin slapped across his face as the pile became a small mound of items. He’d never taken so much stuff all at once in his life, and he wasn’t about to squander that opportunity now, screw the ‘only take what you need’ rule! There was so much stuff in here, no one was going to notice if he took three paperclips with him!

As Tommy rummaged through the cluttered junk drawer, the creak of the front door opening and closing escaped the boy's notice, the Borrower entranced with his haul of items. It wasn’t until he felt the sudden sensation of being watched that he froze, his hand hovering over a tangled mess of rubber bands as he lifted his head and was met with Phil standing in the hallway, holding four or five grocery bags haphazardly by their handles, silently watching him and  looking thoroughly confused.

Neither of them spoke as they remained frozen. How had he not heard Phil enter? Had he really gotten that distracted? It was at this realisation that it dawned on Tommy just how bad this looked from Phil’s perspective. 

He was not supposed to be here.

Human Beans don’t just appear in kitchens when the front door is locked and no one is home. The only people that do that were criminals, and considering he was caught rummaging through Phil’s things- whilst kneeled on top of his kitchen counter no less, certainly did not help his case in the slightest.

“Um Tommy,” Phil broke the silence, and Tommy’s eyes blew wide like saucers. “Why are you on the counter like that?” 

Well crap.

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*  ･ ｡ﾟ☆ : ☽ .* ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*

Hehe cliff hanger. The chapter got too long so I had to split it lol. I've been making Tommy panic a lot haven't I? WELL I AIN'T STOPPING NOW!!! Thank you to everyone who's been reading and so patient waiting for me to post. I am very excited to share what's coming and I know you're all going to love it!

Thank you to my lovely beta readers @munchkin1156 and especially @dingbatnixfor who helped me on the flow of this and coming chapters. You have been a HUGE help with getting this to sound just right and I love and appreciate you both so much! /p

Next chapter will probably be posted next month, as I want to space the uploads apart for a while so I would love to know your theories about what you think might happen next!

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