Phil didn't want to believe his son was dead. He couldn't. He knew he had to save him. And so, despite the approaching snowstorm, he, Karl, and Quackity set out in the giant's footsteps. They both followed at his side, boots sinking deep into the snow.

The Giants footsteps were already fading, snow filling them in as the wind howled louder with every step, but Phil did not slow. He believed that Tommy was still alive...and if not, at least he would get his revenge.

Karl glanced at the towering trees and then at the massive footprints ahead of them, his grip tightening around his weapon. “You know a few arrows and swords aren’t going to do much against a giant,”

he muttered. Quackity reached out to gently squeeze his hand. “We’re not there yet,” he said quietly. “Let’s not decide how impossible it is before we have to.”

The wind screamed between the branches. Phil didn’t answer. He just kept walking.

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

Sapnap was wandering through the forest, quite close to the human village, looking for some useful supplies. But as he was leaving, he heard rustling in the bushes and a child's voice screaming something.

"STAY BACK!” the kid yelled, voice cracking halfway through the sentence. “I’LL-I’LL KILL YOU, YOU STUPID MONSTER!”

Sapnap froze. The boy couldn't have been more than eight. Maybe nine. Golden messy hair that was like a beacon in this snowy forest. The sword trembled in his hands, but he did not let go. He stood resolutely, ready to fight. Sapnap towered over him. He crouched.

The boy backed away a little, but didn't run. He raised his sword a little higher, as if it might help him somehow.

“I'm not scared of you!” he shouted.he absolutely was. The snow was now starting to fall more and more. The wind was picking up, bending the tree branches loudly. Sapnap looked up at the sky. It was slowly but surely getting dark. Then he looked back at the boy and sighed.

“You can't stay out here” he said.

"I didn't say I'd stay. You're standing in my way” The boy snapped back immediately.

“I was going somewhere” the boy continued. Sapnap looked behind him. The path he had come on had already been swallowed up by a thick layer of snow. They were quite far from the village. “Where” Sapnap asked.

The boy opened his mouth. Closed it. "Doesn't matter,” he said, loudly. “I know where I'm going”

The wind got stronger, almost beating Tommy down, it looked like he would hold on, but his feet slipped on the freshly fallen snow. Sapnap quickly caught him. The child froze, eyes wide with fear. His sword was on the ground, next to Sapnap's hand, on which Tommy now lay sprawled. Sapnap let go of him, careful not to slip again.

"You'll freeze,” he said. “or get lost. Or both”“I'm not lost” the boy shot back. Snow gathered on his shoulders now. On his hair, and on the little wooden sword, still on the ground.The wind screamed. The boy looked past Sapnap, into the trees, into the white void that the coming storm was forming. Then, he took a step closer to the giant.

"Fine,” he muttered. “I'll go with you”Sapnap blinked. He didn't intend this at all....but he couldn't leave the child here to freeze to death.“But,” the boy added immediately, picking the sword from the ground, and pointing it at him, “you don't get to boss me around”

“It's until the storm's over. And then I'm leaving” They stared at each other for a moment before Sapnap answered. “....Fine”

The kid nodded “Good. my name's Tommy by the way!” he said cheerfully.

Sapnap smiled. “mine’s Sapnap” Sapnap held out his hands to him, Tommy, still a little scared by the size of him, carefully climbed into his palms, gripping his sword tightly. Sapnap got up and gently pressed him to his chest to keep him from the increasing wind, and set off on his journey to his cave.

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Snow came down in thick, blinding sheets, the wind screaming so loudly it drowned out their footsteps. Even Phil was starting to feel it now, the creeping fear that the forest might win tonight.

Then Quackity stopped.

“Phil,” he said sharply, pointing ahead.At first, it looked like nothing more than a hill buried beneath snow. But then Phil saw it, a faint, flickering glow coming through something that could be a window.

Light. Someone was in there. They didn’t hesitate. They found a small hole that they, except for Phil, easily squeezed through. Phil's large wings made it quite difficult to get through, but fortunately he managed. They were enveloped in a pleasant warmth, rubbing against Phil's frozen wings.

The inside of the cave wasn't something he would expect. it wasn't dark or damp. The stone walls curved smoothly, opening into something….homely.

Fire cracked from a nearby fireplace, illuminating a large bed, or rather a nest made of piles of straw and cloth, shelves and wooden furniture far too large to belong to any normal man.and there. by the fireplace. Phil's breath hitched.

Tommy sat on the floor in front of the fire, wrapped in a thick blanket that nearly swallowed him whole. Hair’s still messy as always. He seemed...unharmed.and in his hands there was a massive piece of something brown and crumbly. A biscuit. Or at least….something similar.

“Tommy” Phil whispered and came closerthe boy froze mid bite, he looked up slowly.

“Oh- hi dad!”

Phil crossed the room in a second, Karl and Quackity following him, making sure that the giant was nowhere nearby. He dropped to his knees, hands gripping Tommy's shoulders, checking him everywhere at once, just to be sure he was real, and unharmed.

“you scared us half to death, mate” Phil said, his voice slightly cracking.“do you have any idea-”

Tommy grinned “I've made a new friend!” Karl let out a shaky laugh behind them.

"We need to go” Phil said after a moment, already tugging gently at the blanket “We don't know when that thing could come back. We'll talk later, okay?”

Tommy hesitated.“I dunno,” he muttered. “it's warm here. And he said I could stay”

Phil paused “he?”

That was when the ground trembled.Heavy footsteps echoed from behind the door. The warmth of the room suddenly felt very, very small.Phil stood up, instinctively pulling Tommy behind him. Both Karl and Quackity reached for their weapons. and then, the giant stepped into the room.The giant stopped when he noticed the three armed men, and Tommy peeking from behind one of them.“So you in fact got lost” Sapnap said toward Tommy. Tommy frowned

“Hey-”Phil swallowed. Every instinct screamed at him to run, to fight, but his body refused to move.“We're taking mine son home” Phil said firmly. Sapnap looked at him. His eyes narrowed, not in anger, but in calculation. “No,” Sapnap said simply.Karl stiffened and Quackity’s grip tightening on his sword.Sapnap raised one of his massive hands, Palm open. A gesture meant to calm, though it only emphasized how easily he could crush all of them if he wanted to.

“Not because I wanna do something to y'all,” Sapnap continued. “But because the storm has gotten way worse”

The wind still loudly howling outside, banging on the door, like it was about to break in.

“You will not make it back to village” Phil hesitated. He looked towards the door, then back at Sapnap. Sapnap's voice softened.

“You are all welcome to stay,” he said. “Until the storm passes” he added.

An offer. One that did not felt like a choice.

“And if we refuse?” Quackity said, still ready to attack at any moment.

“Then I will still not let you leave,” he replied. “i will not watch four people walk to their death.” Silence settled heavy over the room. suddenly Tommy tugged on Phil's sleeve.

"Dad” he whispered. “he's really friendly, don't worry” Phil sighed. They had no choice. He lowered his weapon and signaled the others to do the same.

“Fine,” he said "thank you…for letting us stay”

Sapnap nodded, and moved slowly to settle himself on the far side of the fireplace, folding his legs beneath him. For a long time, no one spoke. Then Tommy shifted in his blanket.He leaned forward, squinting at Sapnap like he was trying to solve a puzzle.

Then-“If I bit you,” he said thoughtfully, “would my teeth break?”

Phil inhaled sharply.

Sapnap stared at him. “…Please don’t test that.

”Tommy grinned. “Okay.” He shifted again, the blanket slipping off one shoulder as he crawled a little closer to Sapnap.

“Do you ever get bored?” he asked.

“Bored?”

“Yeah. Like-” Tommy gestured vaguely. “When you’re just here. All alone. Do you, like, talk to yourself?”

Sapnap hesitated. “…Sometimes.”

“Same,” Tommy said immediately. “Dad says it’s weird but I think it helps you think.

”Phil opened his mouth, then closed it again. Quackity snorted softly, leaning closer to Karl. “he got a point.” Karl hummed in agreement, eyes never leaving Sapnap, being more curious rather than afraid now. Karl leaned back against the wall, letting out a long, shaky breath.

“I can’t believe we actually made it,” he murmured, eyes on the fire.Quackity settled beside him, brushing a hand over Karl’s. “Yeah” he said softly.

Karl’s hand twitched where it met Quackity’s. Quackity rested his head on Karl's shoulder and closed his eyes slightly. Outside, the wind still howled loudly, snow piling higher. Inside, the fire flickered, casting long shadows across the walls. For a moment, everything felt… okay. Sapnap quietly watched them from the other side of the fireplace, letting the humans have their moment. His expression softened slightly, though he didn’t move closer, yet.

“He’s… surprisingly nice,” Karl said softly. “For something that scary" he chuckled nervously

Taglist: @poprockpanda @brick-a-doodle-do @local-squishmallow @dingbatnix

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Cold

Why did the walls always have to be so damn cold? 

Tommy’s mind couldn’t help but linger on the thought, as the Borrower shivered making his way through the maze that was the inside the house walls.

Human Beans invented heaters AGES ago for the insides of their houses to keep warm, so how was it that the inside of the walls were still always so flippen freezing? 

Would it kill them to think of the little guy freezing their butt off just once?

Well no, maybe not. But it certainly would Tommy. 

As much as the young blonde would love to cuss at the home owner for not giving him a proper source of heat, the Borrowers code quite literally FORBID them from ever telling a Human of their existence. Not to forget the fact that it would mean doom for a borrower if they ever did. All the horror stories of Borrowers being squished or experimented on from the elders to go off being proof enough.

Death by Human Beans?

HA! Absolutely NOT!

That’s exactly the reason why he is trying to get supplies for the Winter to warm himself up, before it gets even colder! 

Tommy grumbled to himself as he ducked and weaved past forgotten cobwebs about how it was such a pain to be in this position in the first place. He’d had a perfectly fine home in a tree nook in the forest that had always remained nice and cosy warm during the colder months. 

Even if that meant he’d been living on his own, Tommy had been happy living as an Outie borrower for as long as he could remember. Well at least he had, before some tall, pretentious brunette freak decided his home would be the perfect tree to cut down and drag all the way back to his stupid freezing cold house. 

But it gets better, because even though the main part of his home was actually still intact under the now stump, the Bean still took the top half of the tree- 

With Tommy still inside it! 

They flippen took HIS house and wrapped it in a net; effectively trapping the poor borrower and then strapped it to the top of their car and drove hours and hours to a Human Town with him hanging on for dear life.

And that’s not even the worst part because not only did the flippen Bean steal part of his house, but then they had the audacity to cover the tree's dying corpse in fancy decorations and shining lights. 

Like seriously WTF?!

A Bean kidnaps him from the only place he’s ever really known and covers his once thriving residence all merrily in ornaments, while he’s forced to flee his only real known place of safety with nothing but the clothes on his back, and the few supplies he did have stored in the upper levels of his now dying home. He hadn’t wanted to leave, but it was the only choice he really had. 

Stay in the tree and get caught, or try and survive in the Beans' walls until Winter passes.

He chose the latter of course- (It’s not like staying would have helped him anyways) 

Getting down from the top of the tree had been, well- less than a fun time for the Borrower. The big purple bruises across his back were a throbbing reminder from his impact on the floor at times, but he managed. 

Instead, Tommy had started to navigate his temporary ‘soon to be home’ in the walls getting an idea of the layout and where the best places were to borrow from. He just had to make it through the Winter and then he could go home. Trying to get back to his nook now would be impossible with all the snow cover on the ground, but he’d get back to the forest even if it killed him.

Which might be the case soon if he doesn’t get some new clothes and heat source quick.

That was the main issue with being kidnapped after all. You only have what’s on your back and well, Tommy hadn’t exactly been expecting to get yoinked away in his scrappy T-Shirt and shorts. He had proudly made them himself with the few scraps of fabric he’d managed to find from some Beans that had been passing through years ago on a camping trip, but the fabric was light, and not made to be worn in such cold conditions. 

He’d only meant to go up and check what the heck the loud thumping outside his tree was like any normal person. He was expecting a deer or maybe a bear using it as a scratching post, not a Bean cutting their house down and taking him along with it. You don’t exactly have time to think about putting on proper clothing when your everything is at stake.

So that was step one: Find some material and make some clothes- a jacket the top priority.

Tommy is very thankful that he had his borrowing bag on him, that he still has his self made needle and some old thread so he at least didn’t have to start from nothing. Finding the material hadn’t been too difficult to locate either. When he first scouted the place, he discovered pretty quickly that the Bean had a habit of leaving stuff all over the place, so borrowing supplies hadn’t been difficult to do without being noticed. It’s how he found the most perfect fluffy woollen red sock to make a coat and blanket from. He would already have it now though if the Bean hadn’t come back before he could swipe it.

The Borrower had tried to come back for it later, but the Bean had decided it was time to clean their room up because he had some guests coming for this thing called ‘Chris-mass’- whatever that was- and the sock was gone.

So instead he grabbed what he could and made his way back to the walls with just enough fabric to make a new pair of pants and some crackers for dinner.

But it still didn’t fix the whole freezing situation.

What Tommy really needed was a candle. 

To a Human Bean it may seem to be an insignificant source of light, but to a Borrower it could literally be the difference between a warm nights sleep and becoming a Borrower popsicle! But that was easier said then done because all the usual spots Beans would normally keep candles, were replaced with flippen electric ones!!!! 

What’s wrong with fire on candles!? Why would you want a fake candle that just flickers and produces less light than a real one?

That or something for a bed. At least that way he’d have a comfortable place to sleep and trap his own body heat.

He really wishes he could have taken those socks…

As if this Bean wasn’t bad enough, not only did they lack the materials Tommy so desperately needed, but they wouldn’t shut up talking into the black box (a fone he thinks it’s called from memory) to other Beans with how excited they were about them coming to stay for the Hole-lid-days and spend time huddled together by the fire or something dumb. 

“Come on Dad! Let me host. If you let me host, I’ve got the coolest surprise planned for you and Techno I swear!! Plus don’t you want to come and see me?” 

Lucky prick. Got a Dad and a brother…

Now don’t get him wrong, Tommy is a big man, if not the biggest man to ever exist and he doesn’t need anyone. But he also couldn’t help but long for someone to share the cold season with like the Beans did. It had been so long since he’d seen another Borrower like himself and though he’d never admit it, living alone did get a little bit lonely sometimes. It would be nice if just once he could share a night cuddled up close to a loved one, and just bask in each other’s company. 

But Tommy didn’t have time to be sentimental about things he’d likely never have.

He needed to find a way to stay warm and get warm now.

But the universe decidedly hated Tommy because, tonight was apparently December 24th-

Chrisymiss Eve.

Tommy had been here about a week or so and in his short stay still wasn’t 100% sure what this whole Khrislermas was, but it appeared to be a BIG deal to the Beans. 

Apparently, all the Beans get together whether it’s family or friends to spend time together and exchange gifts. It’s about being thankful for what you have or whatever and something about showing how much you love someone by giving and receiving presents. 

Tommy thought it was actually quite a nice thing the Beans did and wished that Borrowers had something similar themselves in their culture. However, there was one thing he still didn’t quite understand about this whole holiday thing.

Who the heck is Santa Claus?

He’d been taking some more crackers the Bean had left out from the kitchen while this ‘tv show’ played on the Bean's big Black box that was talking about this Santa guy. Apparently, he was some elusive, big fat man, dressed all in red with a big white bushy beard, who climbed down the Beans chimneys, and left gifts for all the little boys and girls of the world. He had this list too that knew if you’d been naughty or nice and would leave the good children gifts and the bad children coal in their stockings. 

Children could write letters to Santa or he’d visit and children could sit on his knee and ask him for a gift they would like and he would deliver the toys to children all over the world on Christmas eve when everyone was sleeping, only to have disappeared by daybreak.

Tommy hadn’t thought much of this Santa at first- not when it was just another Bean to avoid. That was until he learned two very important details.

1- Santa delivered presents to ALL children of the world. 

And 2- Santa wasn’t meant to be seen by Humans either.

So not only did this Santa guy literally just give out free gifts, but Tommy literally had a way to get exactly what he needed for the winter!

All he needed to do was talk to Santa and he’d be saved! 

Now you might be thinking: But Tommy, you said it yourself. Santa isn’t meant to be seen by anyone so what makes you the exception? 

Simple.

Borrowers aren’t meant to be seen by Beans and neither is Santa.

Which means just like Borrowers, Santa must not want to be caught (which if he thinks too hard about it makes sense since he literally breaks into houses but anyways) and unlike with Beans, there is no rule that says Borrowers can’t see Santa!

All he has to do is wait for Santa to visit Crystamas eve, and then he can ask for his gift! Santa probably even knows what he wants, being made of magic and all! He just never knew Santa existed so he’s never asked for his gift before! 

If he were a more greedy Borrower, he could ask for so much more to make up for all the years he never got a gift, but that would probably put him on Santa’s naughty list. And while coal would be good, Tommy doesn’t exactly want to burn the house down with him inside it. So this was his best shot to get exactly what he needed. 

The hard bit though, was waiting for Santa to arrive. That meant not only having to be out in the living room where the fireplace was, but also meant he had to wait for the Bean to fall asleep. Which really meant that it would be AGES before Santa would come because the Bean of the house was terrible at sleeping at night. 

The man literally had no sleep schedule and would stay up till terrible times in the morning before drifting off. Normally that wasn’t much of an issue for the Borrower having observed this early on, but right now it was very much a hindrance because it could be hours before they went to bed. 

It also seemed that they wouldn’t be sleeping anytime soon, because the amount of energy and excitement the Bean had displayed the whole day about his family coming home was overwhelming. He’d come home at one stage with this big bag of stuff talking on the black box about how his super cool surprise was coming along and how it would be awesome since they let him host Chrimpmas- whatever that meant. 

Tommy had hoped with the excitement of the holiday they’d have been ready to pass out by now, but he couldn’t be more wrong with the amount of commotion he could hear from down the hall- and that’s through the walls. 

At least he could observe everything going on from his place on the bookshelf. It was right next to a small crack in the wall he could just squeeze through, but it gave him a good view of the living room but also enough cover from prying eyes unless he made his presence known. However, being out of the walls had one difference the blonde hadn’t accounted for.

Heat.

The fire had been lit and was keeping the whole room nice and toasty warm compared to the harsh bite the walls somehow managed to keep. The whole atmosphere made him almost want to curl up and fall asleep. It had been so long since he’d been able to just enjoy the warmth in the air and not be shivering to keep alive.

Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt if he had a nap before Santa arrived.

Just a quick one….

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Tommy was awoken to a rather loud THUNK as the Borrower shot up from where he had fallen asleep atop the shelf. 

It took the blonde a moment to realise where he was and not panic about being out in the open before his eyes settled upon a figure. 

Sprawled out across the floor in a heap of red and white was the jolly big man himself.

Santa Claus.

The one and only.

“Santa!” Tommy yelled excitedly as he hurriedly manoeuvred to stand. “Santa you came!”

Santa’s head snapped up from the floor alarmed, as they pushed themselves to stand and take a defensive stance.

“Who said that?!” they shouted, looking around wildly panicked. “Show yourself!”

Tommy giggled to himself. Santa was so silly. 

“Up here Santa! I’ve been waiting for you.” The blonde waved as the man's head turned and their eyes fell onto his small form. 

Tommy grinned at the magical man taking him all in. 

Just like the figure on the big black box, Santa wore a big red coat with white fluff lining the ends of his sleeves. A big black belt was strapped around their waist, fastened with a fancy golden buckle and sturdy black boots on their feet to keep out the snow. Their head was adorned with an oversized big red hat, with a giant white fluffy pom pom on the end, and they had a long white beard that travelled down their chest. And last but not least was a pair of gold rimmed glasses perched on the tip of their rosy red nose which accentuated their big brown eyes that were staring at him in wonder. 

Huh. 

He could have sworn that Santa's eyes were blue.

“I can’t believe you came! I wasn’t sure if you would since I never sent a letter but you must have known anyway cause here you are!” The little borrower stated excitedly as Santa removed his glasses, and rubbed his eyes in disbelief. 

“I’m so glad you’re here! I really need my Crimpmess present.” 

“I’m sorry you’re what?” the man’s eyes furrowed in confusion as they processed what the younger had said.

“My present!.” Tommy rolled his eyes. “You know, the whole reason why you’re here.”

Santa didn’t exactly seem like he knew what was going on. Right now all he was doing was staring and Tommy was getting a bit annoyed. 

Was that not why Santa was here? To deliver his present like the show had said?

Tommy huffed annoyed he had to explain all this. Wasn’t this like his job? He should know!

“I’m sorry,” Santa began slowly as if trying to process. “I didn’t actually know you were here.”

“Why else would you have come then?” Tommy crossed his arms unimpressed. “I’m the only kid here, but don’t tell anyone else I said that. I’m a big man! The biggest ever!”

This finally seemed to warrant a different reaction from the older, as they looked the boy up and down unimpressed by this so-called ‘fact’.

“A big man huh? You look more like a child. What are you- 12?”

Tommy feigned a gasp, grasping his chest offendedly. “I’ll have you know I’m 14 and the biggest man alive! I’m only a child for the purpose of getting my gift tonight and tonight only!”

Santa couldn’t stifle a laugh as he watched as the small child stomped his foot in a mini tantrum at being called 12. It was endearing in a way but he still wasn’t sure how to proceed with a tiny child standing on their bookshelf.

“Well whatever you say I guess, but I still I didn’t know you were here.”

The blonde shrugged before moving closer to the shelfs edge. “Ah well it doesn’t matter. You’re here now so I’d like my gift please! You have it right?” 

“If I didn’t know you were here, then how would I have your present with me?” Santa asked.

Well he did make a good point. It’s not like he sent Santa a letter and he hadn't met him to tell him like other human bean children had until now. 

“Oh right. Guess I better come sit on your knee and tell you what I’d like than.” Tommy stated matter of factly, as the small Borrower moved to the edge of the shelf and stabbed his hook into the wood, quickly jumping off to descend on his rope to the ground.

“Wait, DON’T DO THAT!” 

The blonde yelped in surprise, moving instinctually to protect his ears at the sheer volume the man shouted, in turn losing his grip on his rope, quickly plummeting down to the ground below. Santa lunged forward with an outstretched hand as the boy slipped down the rope at a rapid speed, catching him before any real harm could be done. He semi slammed into the wall, clutching his hand to his chest as they did so before quickly unfurling their hand.

“Oh my prime! Kid- kid are you alright?” Santa said frantically checking over the boy he now held in his palm. 

Tommy shook his head, dizzy from the sudden force that had rammed into him only moments ago. He tried to steady himself grabbing, onto the nearest thing his hand could find as he begun to regain his bearings.

Oh he was going to ache tomorrow…

“As soon as the world stops spinning, yeah.”

Santa sighed in relief as Tommy allowed himself to regain focus. It was then that he really took note of where he was. 

Normally, if a Borrower was sitting in the hand of someone almost 100x his size, he would be kicking and screeching to get away. But this was Santa Claus’s hand and Tommy felt only wonder. 

It was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. The thing he had grabbed onto was apparently Santa’s thumb and it was almost as big as his head! Even if it was a bit weird sitting on the leathery texture of their skin, the warmth radiating beneath him was heavenly, and the way the man’s fingers curled slightly over him protectively felt nothing but comforting. 

Santa hadn’t moved since he caught Tommy mid air, and was staring at Tommy as if they would disappear. They seemed stuck on what to do next, but also amazed he was sitting there at all.

“You alright there big man?” Tommy raised a brow confused at why the man would act this way. Santa was literally made of magic and had flying reindeer for goodness sake! A borrower existing surely was no cause for such amazement? There were surely way more interesting magical things to see than a lowly Borrower like him. 

(But then again, he was a pretty poggers Borrower if he did so say that himself, so staring could be justified for that reason)

This finally snapped the old man out of their wondrous stupor, as they squinted their eyes open and shut with a quick shake of their head. 

“Uh yep. All good um. Let's- go sit down. Yeah- yeah, let's do that.” Santa said, confirming more to themself than Tommy.

Santa brought the boy protectively to their chest to brace them before they moved away from the book shelf, smoothly walking over to the couch where the old man sat down ever so slowly to not jostle their small passenger. The second they were bending down to sit though, Tommy was launching himself off Santa’s palm for his knee as the bearded man frantically tried to stop them in their escapade.

“Kid, would you stop doing that? You’re going to hurt yourself!”

“Pfft please. This is nothing compared to how I got down from that tree over there.” The boy grinned as they pointed to the far corner of the living room.

The man's head followed to where the boy was pointing, the Christmas tree displayed proudly in a large pot tied with a red bow, small lights flickering on and off in changing patterns.

“Tree? You mean the Christmas tree?”

“Yep!” Tommy stood proudly popping the p. “I had to get down somehow and my hook would have gotten stuck in amongst the branches if I had tried to abseil down. So I did what any logical Borrower would do and jumped.”

“You jumped?!” Santa’s eyes widened, as he looked back and forth between the boy and the top of the brightly decorated tree. He grimaced, imagining the boy throwing themselves from the upper branches like they had done only moments before onto his knee. 

What was with this kid and being so reckless?!

“You jumped from the top of the Christmas tree!? Why were you even there in the first place?”

Tommy rolled his eyes, crossing their arms in front of their chest. 

“It’s all that stupid Beans fault.”He huffed annoyed. “He just came waltzing into MY forest, decided to be very rude and put their grubby hands all over MY house wrapping it up in some ugly net, only to cut it down with me still in it!”

Tommy didn’t notice the way Santa’s brows furrowed and their expression changed to one of horror as he continued to ramble on.

“They literally kidnapped me, Santa! They’re so lucky that the main part of my house is under the tree’s trunk and not the higher branches because I swear I would have murdered that Bean in their sleep by now if they had!”

Tommy was very pleased to have finally gotten to vent some of his frustrations to someone other than his internal self, but now he was finished he had a good chance to register the other’s reaction.

Santa looked horrified.

His eyes seemed glossed over as if he was holding back tears, and one hand slapped over their mouth, the other gripping their wrist tightly in an attempt to ground themselves. 

Uh shit. He hadn’t meant for that to happen…

“Uh but don’t worry Santa!” Tommy was quick to add. “ I wouldn’t actually do that. That would be a bad thing to do and put me on the Naughty list! I promise I won’t actually murder anyone!” 

Phew, that was a close one. He couldn’t jeopardise his only hope with a silly joke!

Santas’ face had yet to change and Tommy subconsciously started to fidget feeling nervous to how the older was reacting. Maybe he had blown it and now he was on the naughty list. Another glance at the old man's face seemed to confirm those fears.

He’d blown it.

His one shot at survival and he practically threw it all away with a vent. No wonder he ended up all alone.

“Please don’t put me on the Naughty list Santa. I need my gift.” Tommy spoke timidly. “I didn’t mean it.”

“I- no. No you’re not on the Naughty list.” Santa dragged his hands over his eyes a few times strained. “I'm just trying to process. It’s more of the whole kidnapping thing. ” 

If Tommy had been paying better attention, he may have noticed the few stray brown curls poking out from under the man's hat, but he was more thrown by their following question as the magical man continued on.

“If you were in the tree, why didn’t you say anything?”

Tommy drew a deep breath, before sighing as the boy shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Because Santa, Beans aren’t supposed to know that Borrowers like me even exist.”

“Beans?”

“Human Beans Santa. You know, big people like you, but not magical and stuff.” The Borrower explained. “There’s no way I could tell the dumb Bean he was cutting my house down! Do you know what Beans do to Borrowers like me?” 

“Um no?” Santa fiddled with his hands as he looked away, eyes downcast to avoid the youngers gaze as they continued.

“They get rid of us. To them we’re just pests or things to be used.”

Tommy hugged himself tightly, anxiety pooling in his chest for the first time that night. He wished it wasn’t true, but Beans just held far too much power for their own good. Their greed often outweighing their need to do good without reward. 

“I’d rather risk jumping out of a tree than ever fall into the clutches of a Bean.” 

“But how do you know that?” Santa suddenly said, muscles tensing as they clenched their hand into fists. 

Tommy flinched at the sight of hands so close. Closed so tightly that he couldn’t help let slip the thought of himself in the mercy of their grasp, begging to be freed like all the stories had said of the Borrowers trapped in agonising pain. The man noticed his discomfort, and immediately loosened their fists, moving their hands away and under their thighs so as to not startle the boy any further than they already had.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Santa said with a sense of guilt.  “But I just- How do you know that though? Who says that they would have hurt you if you had just made your presence known? You wouldn’t have had to jump or gotten hurt.”

Santa turned away sheepishly, whispering sadly. “They could have helped you.” 

Tommy swallowed hard, his shoulders sagging as he observed the sad look Santa had as they stared at the Christmas tree. It was obvious they were blaming themself for what had happened. He was far too kind for that.

“Santa, it’s not your fault.” the boy sighed, “Every borrower is taught this from birth. It’s a known fact that Beans are all cruel, power hungry beings. They always want more and just take, take, take.”  

“But what if this ‘Bean’ didn’t know.” Santa shot back, causing the Borrower to falter. “What if you had said something? They would have stopped and left you and your house alone? How do you know they wouldn’t have helped you?”

“Because Santa,” Tommy turned and faced the man head on. “That’s just how Beans are. To them, we're just another thing to take and control.” 

Tommy wanted to believe Santa, he really did, but it was hard to just ignore years of being brought up to beware Human Beans and their cruelty. He’d seen it even from when Beans had once come into the forest with their fire sticks, and took down a friendly deer. It was unnecessarily cruel and was all the convincing Tommy needed to deem all Humans bad.

Santa nodded sadly in some kind of understanding, but Tommy couldn’t understand why Santa looked so hurt. It wasn’t his fault the Bean took him and his home, but he seemed so convinced that hiding and not asking for help had been the wrong thing to do. 

He thought they were the same, that if Beans caught him on Christmas Eve, then something bad would happen to him like it would for Borrowers. That’s why they had to stay a secret. Why no one could know they were here. 

But Santa wasn’t a Borrower who lived in hiding unknown. The Beans knew about the jolly, present giving man that only appeared in December. 

He could live among the Beans and it would be fine if he asked for help. Everyone liked Santa. He didn’t take things just to survive. He gave toys and gifts so he would have no worries about the repercussions of taking a paperclip just to get around. He wouldn’t have to worry about Beans hurting him if something went wrong. He would just use his magic and be fine.

It was Santa’s choice to stay hidden as an extra precaution to protect that same magic. 

“But you’re different from the Beans Santa.” The boy perked up instantly remembering why he was doing this in the first place. “You only come out of hiding at Christmas and everyone knows who you are! You only hide to keep your magic safe from Beans so they can’t have that too!” 

The man gave a small smile as the boy continued to ramble, pacing back and forth on his thigh as he did so.

“But I don’t understand why you give children presents when they already have so much!” Tommy stopped, his lips pursed together as his voice dropped to a whisper.

“Unlike me.” He confessed quietly, lifting his head to meet Santa’s sympathetic gaze. 

Santa was staring at the young boy again, leaned forward in concern listening as the blonde  continued to share his story.

“It's why I need my gift Santa.” Tommy wringed his hands together with a nervous glance to see Santa’s reaction who nodded in approval, gesturing for him to continue. 

Tommy steadied himself.

Now or never.

“I was brought here with basically nothing. Forced to move into the Beans walls or risk being seen. I’ve barely been able to get anything for basic survival and the walls are freezing!” 

Tommy shivered remembering the way the air had nipped at his nose as he struggled to keep warm. Clutching himself tightly in a poor attempt to retain any kind of body heat. The one time he went up stairs without his coat and of course he gets kidnapped.

He needed this. 

More than anything.

.｡❅*⋆⍋*∞*｡*∞*⍋⋆*❅｡.

Wilbur had just wanted to have the perfect Christmas.

It was his first time hosting and had decided he HAD to go all out.

More decorations than his little house needed both inside and out, homemade hot chocolate from scratch and had promised his Father and brother a very special Christmas surprise if they let him host.

Their first ever living Christmas tree and a surprise visit from the Big man himself- Santa Claus.

He’d done a bunch or research into the best spots to go where he could get a tree and quickly had been recommended from several sites about the fir trees in Logstedshire, and quickly made the trip out to find a tree.

What the websites failed to mention, was that said fir trees might be inhabited and the home of tiny people that are terrified of Human Beings. 

So if you asked: No, Wilbur was not having a good night realising he had kidnapped a child that was deathly afraid of him and only okay right now because he thought he was the real Santa Claus. 

In a way, it was a good thing the kid hadn’t realised yet, because if Wilbur had never dressed up in this silly costume, he probably would have never known about the child freezing to death in his walls.

The child was so cold despite their lively spirit when he’d caught them after they launched themself off the top of the shelf. The fact it wasn’t the first time they’d thrown themself from such a height made Wilbur sick knowing had they not been lucky, could very well not have made the long fall. But the fact the kid had been struggling, terrified and afraid in his walls when he could have helped had the guilt eating him away as the boy rambled on.

They were so sure of themselves with the cruelty of humanity too that they had him so on edge. If the blonde knew he was really the guy that had cut his tree down, he very much doubted they would be this enthusiastic. He was talking about how much he needed his gift- the gift he still had no clue what it was, but just hearing the little blondes tale, and seeing how thin his clothes were had Wilbur making a very long list of things he needed to get to help the kid out. 

A kid which he still doesn’t know the name of.

The boy's eyes had brightened, as he bounded up and down on the balls of his feet eagerly, talking about what this gift would mean for him. He was actually quite endearing despite their seemingly dire situation.

“If I tell you my gift, then you can give it to me now and I’ll actually have a chance to survive the Winter!” He explained excitedly, grining.

Wilbur pushed down his anxiousness for the boys well-being. They had already suffered enough from his mistakes. He didn’t want them to suffer any longer than they had by them accidentally discovering the truth.

“What’s your name kid?” Wilbur mentally slapped himself  that he hadn’t asked sooner.

The tiny boy chuckled to himself as they crossed their arms. “Oh come on Santa, you know my name don’t you? You have a list with every child's name on it.”

Ah- right. Santa did have that Naughty and Nice list didn’t he? Curse Santa for having to live up to magical standards.

“Uh- I came here in such a rush, I um- ah must have left my list back at the North Pole.”

“So?” The boy argued, raising a brow. “You’re magic. Don’t you just know?”

Did he say endearing earlier? How about difficult for making him use his brain at 9pm at night. (Shut up. Don’t judge him for it)

“Well you know there’s like 2 Billion kids in this world and I see them all in one night. You don’t expect me to remember every name without my list do you?”

The kid hadn’t seemed to account for this, and thought it over before shrugging in agreement. 

Oh thank goodness for kids being young and naive. 

“I guess that’s fair. But you’ve got a s*** memory in that case Big Man. Getting old.” 

Actually, make that an annoying gremlin.

“I think if someone wants their present, they should be more careful about insulting their elders.” Wilbur teased with a chuckle. The boy rolled his eyes with a groan. 

Okay, an endearing gremlin then.

“Fiiiiiiiiine.” they drawled letting their arms drop to their sides before extending their hand up in greeting. “The name’s Tommy.”

Wilbur carefully lifted his arm up and slowly extended his pinky finger out for the boy to take in an oversized handshake. 

“Nice to meet you Tommy.” His finger dwarfed the boy entirely, his pinky finger only slightly shorter than the boy's total height, but nevertheless, Tommy took the tip and shook it lightly.

“Now, why don’t you sit down and tell me what it is you’d like for Christmas?”

Wilbur couldn’t help but smile at the little boy excitedly sharing in exact detail what he wanted. What the Borrower wanted wasn’t even that difficult to get, and he knew exactly where to find it. Tommy continued to ramble on for a bit longer about what he had been doing since coming here and Wilbur made mental notes of the few places where Tommy talked about entrances in out of the walls for future reference.

He was going to have to look out for Tommy from now on and if he wanted a shred of hope in getting him to trust him as Wilbur, he was going to need a plan.

“So could I have my gift now? I would really love it now and you still have a lot of other houses to visit tonight right?” Tommy asked innocently.

Wilbur really didn’t want to stop talking to Tommy. Tommy trusted the magical Santa Claus; not regular Human Being Wilbur Soot. He knew that if he let Tommy go now, it was unlikely he would see the kid again, but if he didn’t leave as Santa now, they would most likely get suspicious, realising he was a fake and panic. 

Wilbur sighed as he brushed a stray hair of fake beard from under his cheek.

“I- yeah I guess so. Best get you to bed then too.” 

“Awwww but I’m not sleepy yet!” The blonde pouted. “This is normally when I’m awake so it would be a crime to make me sleep now.”

“Well good little girls and boys go to bed when they’re told if they want to stay on the nice list.”

“You’re not the boss of me!” Tommy stuck his tongue out in defiance and Wilbur had to bite his to stop himself from bursting out loud laughing. 

This kid was going to be the death of him he swears.

Wilbur extended his hand to the Borrower, keeping it steady as he waited for Tommy to climb on. He’s still a little huffy at first realising there was no room for argument, but climbs on anyway, sitting down in the middle of Wilbur’s palm bracing themself before he moves.

The brunette curls his fingers over the boy slightly, bringing his hand to his chest protectively. He tries not to linger too long at how it felt to hold an entire person in one hand for the second time tonight before moving to stand. 

Steadily, Wilbur makes his way over to the book shelf and cautiously raises his hand up for Tommy to climb off of. He sets his hand down on the wooden surface and Tommy takes no time in hoping off to stand, waiting expectantly for his promised present.  

“Okay I need you to close your eyes just for a second.” Wilbur asks the boy who quickly covers his eyes with his hands, only to peak out from behind his fingers seconds later.

“I mean it Tommy. Keep them closed.”

“Ugggghhhhh Fineee!” the boy said huffing, but relented nevertheless. 

Wilbur quickly whirled around and crouched down beneath the Christmas tree, snagging a gift from the floor and hastily tearing the gift tag labelled- Technoblade; from the gift before setting it next to the small borrower child. 

“Okay, you can open your eyes now.” 

Tommy removed his hands and squealed in delight, quickly reaching down to hug the gift. 

“Oh thank you Santa! You really are the most poggers man ever!!!” Tommy spoke rapidly, smiling so much his cheeks hurt. “Well after me of course, but only by a little bit!” 

Wilbur chuckled as he gazed affectionately at the blonde hunched over the brightly wrapped gift. “You’re welcome Tommy. I’m glad you like it.”

The boy quickly stood, and started hauling the gift to the crack in the wall, as they tried to shove the gift through. Unfortunately while the crack had been enough for Tommy to squeeze through, it wasn’t quite wide enough to let the present go in without getting a tad scrunched up and paper torn. 

“Um, Tommy? Is there perhaps a bigger entrance I could take this too?” Wilbur suggested, cringing slightly as the boy gave another hard shove on the gift, intent on getting it through no matter what.

“It’ll fit. Just gotta keep pushing it in.” 

After a few more attempts, the boy did in fact give up and relented their efforts allowing Wilbur to pull the now crumpled present back out from the crack, instructing him to take it to the kitchen and place it behind the toaster, assuring him he would get it before the Bean woke up explaining how the electrical socket actually came off as a secret entrance.

He offered to take Tommy over to it too, but the stubborn boy refused, insisting that he had done enough and needed to hurry up and deliver presents to the other children before the night was over.

Taking one more long look at the boy, Wilbur watched as Tommy disappeared through the crack into the walls, the sound of tiny footsteps pitter pattering away before Wilbur himself quietly crept back to his room before he removed the Santa costume and flopped down onto his bed. 

He’d just met a tiny child.

A tiny child trying to survive in his walls.

That was deathly afraid of him.

Quickly Wilbur shot up from his bed snatching his phone from the night stand; a plan forming in his mind. The screen read 9:31 pm before he hastily unlocked it and dove into his contacts, quickly stopping on a profile of a girl with light pink hair, dialling their number shortly after.

The phone rang twice before a woman answered on the other end.

“Hello?”

“Niki? Hey! How’s the holidays going?” Wilbur asked as he grabbed his coat and gloves from the wardrobe.

“So I need a favour…”

.｡❅*⋆⍋*∞*｡*∞*⍋⋆*❅｡.

Tommy awoke warm for the first time that week.

He opened his eyes blearily, almost willing himself to fall back into dream land before his eyes snapped fully open. Tommy rubbed his eyes a few times, eyes going wide trying to comprehend that this was real and not just a dream as the thoughts of the previous night played through his head.

He was in his Christmas present: A brand new pair of bright red, fluffy woollen socks- the most perfect bed ever and exactly what Tommy had asked for. He had basically run to get his gift as fast as possible, before hauling it back through the walls to a space close by the bookshelf; the space seemingly much more homely after last night's introductions. 

He hugged the woollen fabric tightly, smiling as he remembered the soft smile Santa had as he watched him go and how kind and gentle he had been with him the entire time.

The Borrower was so pleased and grateful that he had been able to meet the Santa Claus, and would cherish the magical night forever.

He stayed snuggled in his new bed for a little while longer before his stomach grumbled in protest that he should go and have something to eat. Albeit a little grumbly, his hunger eventually won out and Tommy made his way through the walls back to the kitchen so he could gather some food before the Bean woke up.

Stealthily, he removed the electrical socket, expecting to make it a quick supply run; stepping out into the open before freezing in surprise.

Laid out in a neat pile behind the toaster was a small stack of brightly wrapped gifts all wrapped in different coloured and patterned paper, and right in the middle, an envelope with his name written in gold cursive. Tommy smiled brightly, as he eagerly ran forward to the awaiting stack of gifts, quickly grabbing a gift reading the label. 

To: Tommy From: Santa

Tommy denies that he cried that day. 

That he took each gift home and opened each one oh so delicately, afraid if he didn’t they might just disappear, happy tears trailing down his cheek as he opened a gift revealing a beautiful, blue knitted sweater- and in just his size. 

His tears didn’t cease as he opened the other gifts revealing several new pairs of warm winter clothes, new rope and hooks for climbing, some tea candles with a tiny piece of flint and steel to light them, and the tiniest iced cookies he had ever seen. He could actually hold this in one hand like humans did and he had a whole bag of them!!! His prayers had been answered and he couldn’t be more thankful.

Soon, the only thing that remained was the envelope.

He dried his face as best he could, doing his best to not smear any tears or snot onto the pristine surface as he opened the envelope, revealing a card with a picture of glitter candy canes decorating the front. 

Settled back into his new bed, Tommy opened the card and read the message inside.

Dear Tommy, It was lovely meeting you and getting to know your story. I figured you might  like some extra gifts as well to help you be more comfortable in Wilbur’s walls. I think you should try talking to him.  You might be surprised. Sincerely, Santa Claus

P.S- He’s not as scary as you think.

Tommy’s smile became puzzled as he reread the last few lines.

Who the heck was Wilbur?

Was that the name of the Bean that lived here?

Oh come on, that's not fair! How come Santa knew Wilbur’s name but not his!

He grumbled a little bit at the thought, but his mind kept drawing back to the last line of the card.

‘He’s not as scary as you think.’

“Hmpf, you keep saying that.” Tommy grumbled. 

What was with Santa’s insistence on this?

As much as he wanted to be annoyed at Santa for putting forward such a ridiculous idea, Tommy decided to drag himself out of bed and to the book shelf crack. The Bean had gotten up not long after Tommy had made it back to his new home, but he’d been a tad too distracted to really care about how slow and heavy they had been trudging about this morning unlike their usually poised self.

Currently, said Bean was sitting on the couch, the exact same spot he and Santa had been last night, absentmindedly staring at his hand.

How could Santa think this guy was any good? They had kidnapped him unknowingly, almost let him die from hypothermia unknowingly, destroyed the top of his home unknowingly and Santa still thinks they won’t hurt him?

Okay so maybe it wasn’t their fault all those things happened just because they didn’t know he was there, but that doesn’t mean they’re not still very capable of hurting him for having to do all those things. But then again, Santa knew who was naughty or nice. And he wouldn’t ask him to do something that would endanger his safety if this ‘Wilbur’ guy wasn’t a good person right?

Tommy observed the Bean a little longer, as they ran their thumb over their palm. Their normally neat curly hair was all over the place and he could have sworn there were black bags under their eyes from lack of sleep. They suddenly turned their head and were staring straight at his crack by the book shelf. The Borrower was certain they couldn’t see him from the couch, but ducked back just slightly in case.

The Bean simply sighed as a small smile graced their features. Tommy was right about the black bags. Bean did not look like they had slept at all. 

He thought back to what Santa had said. 

I think you should try talking to him.

They certainly didn’t seem dangerous. Maybe they really weren’t bad like the Jolly man said?

But was it really worth taking the risk and talking to this guy?

Before he could dwell on it for much longer, the door bell sounded and Wilbur snapped his head to the sound before standing and stretching; their limbs popping and cracking slightly from their limited use. Before he left the living room, the man stopped and stared at his crack once more. Tommy didn’t dare breathe as they simply smiled and shook their head, before exiting and headed towards the front door.

Tommy allowed himself to exhale as the sound of footsteps got further away.

“Weirdo.” Tommy muttered to himself as he pushed himself back from the crack and began to head back to his bed for a well deserved rest.

He’d think about what Santa said, and just maybe he’d talk to this- Wilbur. If not, he hoped he'd meet Santa again so he could thank them in person.

Once he was back in his bed, Tommy quickly slipped in snuggling down, allowing himself to drift off to the chatter of beings much larger than himself from beyond the walls.

“Wil! So good to see you! It’s been ages!”

“Hi Dad, thanks for letting me host. I’m so glad you and Techno could make it!

“So are we, but you look like shit mate. Up late again? Wouldn't be related to that surprise you were telling us about?”

“You could say that…” 

.｡❅*⋆⍋*∞*｡*∞*⍋⋆*❅｡.

Tommy never did meet Santa Claus again.

The card proudly on display in his new home, a secret hope he would one day and a constant reminder of what Santa had asked him to try.

And maybe one day, Tommy would finally take up the old man's advice and go and speak to Wilbur, and discover perhaps they may have been right.

Maybe then he’d finally have a friend to keep him warm during the holiday seasons and to rely on like he had wished. 

One that seemed to always know just what he needed despite never telling them, and was very insistent about never wearing Santa costumes.

No matter how many times a little boy begged….

 ˗ ˏ ˋ ★ˎˊ ˗   ༺𝓜𝓮𝓻𝓻𝔂༻༺𝓒𝓱𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓶𝓪𝓼༻  ˗ ˏ ˋ ★ˎˊ ˗  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That was a lot of words....

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING TO THE END! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it and it means a lot you read all the way through <3

Tag List: @local-squishmallow @brick-a-doodle-do @justarandomsloth @veryfunkycheesecake @munchkin1156 @kayla-crazy-stuffs @da3dm @eiscreme135 @orchid-harmony @the-tiny-lurker @colossal-red @nobodywritingao3 @nata2343 @bad-author777 @crazyfoxgirl10

And cue rant: Honestly you guys have no idea just how much you all mean to me an in this community and the impact you've had on me in the last year alone. I could not be more thankful for being apart of this and getting to know you guys. Getting so back into writing has been really good for me and rekindled something I love so I can't thank you enough.

And even though I know I've been a little quieter online, I'm still here lurking about and working on projects. A lot has happened in the last few months alone and I'm quite happy that I'm limiting myself to be a bit more healthier with my online habits.

Anyways thanks so much if you read this far!

Thanks to my Beta readers @a-xyz-s squishy and munchkin for reading this for me, and I wish you all a very safe and wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Tommy proudly came home from his little haul, he placed his findings on the ground and inspected every item—A decent amount of clean fabric, and even a few fruits—He thanked the gods he lived on the outer part of the city, so he could forage for food on the plants.

(He misses the food humans made though-)

He sat down in content, having already eaten on his outing. He quickly fixed up his area and snuggled underneath his covers for warmth, the night was spent with eerie silence, yet nonetheless, the borrower slept comfortably that night.

As the sun rose, rays of light beamed down onto the rundown streets of the once-populated city—it was still fairly populated, just not with the living—The borrower still slept soundly in the walls of one of the apartment buildings, Tommy was not a light sleeper in any way; that's when his instincts kick in and warn him if anything happens while he's sleeping.

His eyes blinked open, as he let out a groan while rolling out of bed. The blond grabbed his satchel and his items; he was planning to go to the inner city, risky yet necessary.

The young blond began to head out of his little cavern, he peeked out of the semi-opened window, and saw vast empty streets; he hurriedly started to run across the empty streets, still hiding under objects in case of any unexpected interactions, he knew better than to expect the streets were going to be this empty along the way.

He passed by a few of those mindless creatures, luckily none seemed to pick up on his scent; which was their most highly sensitive sense. As he neared the core of the city, groans became more apparent to his ears.

Tommy could do this! He was a big man, never mind that he was trembling.

Tommy dashed across the streets, nearly getting stepped on in the process; the blond yelped as he almost tripped over a tiny pebble. As he quickly regained his stature he spotted a store not too far away, the blond grinned widely as he began to sprint towards the store. The door was slightly ajar which worked in the blond's favor.

He rushed inside and he was instantly met with rows and rows of looming shelves, albeit it was a bit messy; it seemed that there was still edible food on the shelves. He immediately started to search for crisps; one of the few human foods he had the luxury of tasting, he eventually found the aisle that kept the junk foods.

The teen was practically drooling at the sight as he spotted one of the few crisps he tasted before. The borrower; despite his small stature, was strong enough to carry the lightweight bag back to his home, he however chose to open one of them to munch on.

His taste buds practically melted as the taste brought him nostalgia, he cherished the moment as he got lost in the taste. The blond kept scarfing down the food, as the teen continued with his actions; he was completely oblivious to the door creaking open.

He was snapped out of his trance as he heard a loud grumbling groan looming over him, he was met with the grueling face of the creature; the borrower screamed in terror as he tried scrambling away falling off the shelf in the process. The creature stumbled about, chasing the borrower knocking over the shelves, chaos brewed as the blond dodged objects.

His heart pounded in his chest, the rush of adrenaline pushing him to run faster and faster. He barely grasped the fact he ran face-first at a wall, he scrambled to the sides; not realizing he backed himself into a corner.

He turned around, registering that a shelf had fallen atop the mindless creature, it hissed and growled as it slowly broke itself free. Other shelves and various items blocked his way, he wasn't in great shape to climb any of them as well, that's when it dawned on him.

Shit...

He's done for.

His eyes watched intently as it wiggled itself out of its awkward position, the blond took a shaky breath; the entity roared as it reached out an arm, the sudden act forced him to instinctively shut his eyes and prepare for the worst. His ears felt like it was about to burst; all he could hear was loud ringing.

And then nothing.

He tried grasping onto the wall behind him, but his hold faltered as he dropped to his knees. The borrower trembled as he sensed a shadow loom over his wobbly frame. Incoherent words made their way to his ears, words that boomed, so much so that it sounded cold and terrifying.

Their words blurred together until he was met with a huge hulk of a man with a terrifying boar mask. His voice returned to him as he started spewing out curses or sentences like 'get the hell away from me!' The teen was nothing short of frantic as suddenly another figure came into vision, the new person was shorter than the man with a boar mask but was still significantly taller than him.

That didn't stop him from swatting and cursing at them until the man with golden locks like him spoke in a deep yet loving tone.

"Hey mate, we're not gonna do anything, but you look pretty shaken up-" The taller was cut off by the borrower's bold mouth. "Oi just back off man, I can take care of myself!" He retorted and stubbornly flipped him off.

"We still have to take these supplies back to our base, how about you think about it?" As the teen turned back around the two men already sheathed their weapons and began grabbing items, he wanted to protest as he watched them take away mostly all the food, yet his mouth snapped shut.

Was it that bad if he decided to go with them?

He was lost in thought until the familiar voice asked again, "Hey kid we're leaving, you sure you don't wanna come with us?" He was met with silence as Tommy blankly stared up at him. The man sighed as he turned to walk away.

He came to an abrupt stop as he heard the borrower's voice, now sounding smaller and rather...weak.

"Wait..."

The fast pitter-pattering of tiny feet sped down the hallway, nearly silent compared to the conversation and giant footsteps from the humans all around him.

Tommy didn’t know what to do. First, he was trapped in the brown-haired human's pocket for what felt like forever. Then the guy started petting him like an animal. He is not an animal! 

And he did not nearly fall asleep with those giant fingers caressing his back.

He is a big man, the biggest man, and big men don’t relax at some giants touch.

Now he just had to find somewhere to hide until all the humans went away and he could get back to the walls where he belongs. Tommy continued running against the wall, in a small hidden space near the gigantic heavy doors that humans kept walking through. No human could see him there.

The huge door slammed near him again as more humans walked out. He clutched his sensitive ears. Humans were too loud.

A shoe bigger than him slammed down just inches from his hiding place as he covered his mouth to suppress a squeak of fear. 

Even a big man like Tommy would admit that running so close to humans was terrifying, and he didn’t know what to do. There was nowhere to go.

So Tommy did the only thing he could think of. He curled into a tiny ball right on the floor in the shadows, where he hoped no human could find him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wilbur.”

Wilbur winced in surprise at how stern Techno’s voice was over the phone. He had received a call from his twin not long after he lost his sunshine and nearly jumped out of his skin when his phone rang in his pocket.

“Heyy Tech, just got out of my exam. I think it went well personally, but I could have done better on the essay honestly-“

“Wilbur. Stop talking.”

Wilbur knew his attempt to change subjects was futile, and he knew exactly why Techno had called.

“So… what are you calling for?”

Wilbur tried to ask, smiling innocently while talking, even though he knew Techno couldn’t see his facial expression.

“A few minutes ago, I came home to check on the creature we found, and it’s not here.”

Techno waited for Wilbur to speak but kept going when the other end of the call stayed quiet.

“I looked in the cage and it wasn’t there, Wil. So, either it escaped, or you brought it to class after we agreed you wouldn’t. Judging by the silence, I’m guessin it’s the latter?”

“…alright, yeah, it was me… I just thought it would be nice to take them out for a while!”

“Well, you said you were done with your exam, so come back here. I wanna see the little thing again.”

This time, Wilbur paled at Techno’s response. He couldn’t go back to the apartment empty handed…

Now he was on a time limit.

And a very short one at that.

…he just hoped his sunshine was close by.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tommy didn’t know how long it had been since he hid. It felt like forever, but it couldn’t have been more than half an hour. 

He couldn’t see any good openings to run or get into the walls. The constant foot traffic calmed down, but there were still a handful of humans standing and talking. Too risky to move yet.

One of the humans that was in a pair started walking away. His white hoodie was hard to look at under the bright lights, but the shiny necklace around his neck was mesmerizing.

Tommy watched him disappear down the hallway before turning to look at the other guy who was just standing there on one of those glass rectangles that humans love.

After a few minutes, the guy—who was wearing a bright green hoodie, who does that?—still hadn’t looked up and seemed oblivious to his surroundings.

Tommy had a choice.

He could stay in his little corner, curled up for who knows how much longer… or he could try to make it under the door he was next to.

He needed to see if there was a way out.

Tommy held his breath as he uncurled his body, keeping his tail wrapped around his leg tightly.

He slowly inched to a stand and started to shuffle closer to the door.

He took shallow, silent breaths, even though his body wanted to hyperventilate.

As more minutes ticked by, he got closer and closer to his destination. He could almost touch the wood of the door.

Then the human sighed.

Tommy couldn’t help the full body flinch he reacted with… when he opened his eyes, large green ones stared right back.

The human stepped forward and was close enough to grab him in seconds, so he ran, bolting for the crack under the door even though he knew it would be pointless.

His escape plan was foiled as the human noticed where he was running and swept him off the ground and into a giant fist… the third one he’s been in since the alleyway.

Tommy, so desperate for an escape, screamed as he was lifted higher, tears rolling down his cheeks while he struggled.

“Wha…? Hey, hey, hey, little guy, relax.”

The human's eyes widened at his struggles. 

Good. He caught him by surprise. A better chance of escaping.

Tommy continued to squirm and fight against the hand he was in until the other giant hand came up and restrained Tommy. 

He was completely trapped, pressed against two palms with just his head to move. His limbs were completely stuck in place.

Still, his squirms continued for a few moments more before it just became too much for him. Tommy had been so close to escaping all the human monsters, but it was all for nothing now.

Tommy couldn’t help it when he muttered one word in fear;

“Please!”

In an instant Tommy froze in the humans hold.

He had just spoken.

No borrower was ever supposed to speak to a human. He broke the borrower code.

Tommy closed his eyes, tensing up while he waited for the human to do something to him. All of the scary stories he was told about breaking the borrower's code came to the front of his mind. What could the human be planning to do with him?

“It’s alright, little guy… you’re safe.”

Tommy opened his eyes in surprise. Those huge green eyes were still looking at him, but now they seemed… softer, more welcoming.

He was confused. Why did the human look like that? They were supposed to look mean and scary! 

His head tilted slightly as the hands around him loosened. Now Tommy was sitting in the giant's palm, mouth agape as his body relaxed from tiredness.

“My name is Dream… do you have a name? Or should I keep calling you little guy?”

Tommy wasn’t sure what to do, he can’t speak to a human again… but he had already talked before. 

The human knows he can talk… what if he gets mad that Tommy won’t?

“T-…Tommy.”

“Hm, Tommy? That’s a nice name. Can you tell me why you’re here all alone, Tommy?”

What could Tommy say? He was alone… but he couldn’t tell the human, Dream, that. 

But he was also running away from someone too…

Maybe, if the hu- Dream thought he was trying to find someone, then he’d let Tommy go… 

It was risky, but Dream looked like he could be tricked.

“I.. I’m lost… I lost my human. I can’t find him anywhere..”

Dream looked at him with a mix of confusion and pity… it was working.

“Your human? Like… your friend?”

“Uh… yeah.”

“Well.. what does he look like? And what’s his name? I can help you look.”

Great. Now he was stuck with this human while he looked for the one he didn’t want to find.

“He has… brown hair, and brown eyes… and a yellow hoodie. And his name is… um..”

What was that humans name again? The pink haired one said it so many times, but he could barely hear over his heartbeat…

Wil… Wil-something. He still couldn’t remember… he would just have to make it up then. He was too far into this now.

“Wilby… his name is Wilby.”

“Alright.. let’s go find.. Wilby then!”

Tommy was lifted higher into the air as Dream stood to his full height. He clasped at his tail anxiously while he was cupped against Dream’s chest. Tommy hoped he’d never have to get used to this…

Tommy watched Dream walk the length of the entire hallway in seconds, faster than Tommy’s tiny legs could cross in hours, like it was nothing, while he looked for Tommy’s human.

Tommy could only hold his breath and hope ‘Wilby’ had already given up looking for him and left.

He didn’t want to be put right back into the hands he tried to escape from so hard.

Then he saw that brown-haired beanpole crouched on the ground, and once he felt the chest he was leaning against breathe a sigh of relief, he knew he was done for.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

hope you enjoyed! (Told you there would be another main character)

I wonder how poor Wilby will react when he sees his sunshine in Dream’s hands?