#thomas perspective

 Thomas let out a similar noise as he found himself thrown off of Virgil and landing at the foot of the bed. He groaned as he laid there for a moment. It hadn’t hurt too bad, but if he wasn’t sure about that bruise before he was now.

“What the heck was that?!” Virgil scrambled to his feet, panicked at he tried to find the tiny thing on his bedspread again. His eyes locked onto it, and Virgil was relieved he didn’t have to deal with the paranoia of it going missing. 

 Thomas lifted up his head, eyes going up and locking with Virgil’s. Oh, this wasn’t good. He had to get out of there! Thomas pushed himself up all the way, now standing on the uneven ground he did his best to make a run for it. He wasn’t sure where he was trying to run to, he just knew he had to get as far away from the human as possible.

Oh geez, it’s fast. Thinking quickly, Virgil looked around for something to catch it. Spotting a cardboard box on his desk, he dumped the contents on the floor before turning it over on top of the creature.

 Thomas stopped when darkness fell over him. He blinked as his eyes adjusted quickly and frantically looked around. He put his hand against the wall, recognizing the material as cardboard. And a rather sturdy piece of cardboard at that. 

 Thomas put his head in his hands. This was it. Virgil had caught him. 

 ...Was this where it ended for him?

Virgil took a deep breath. He could do this. Adults took care of creepy things in their houses all the time. 

Slowly, Virgil lifted the box up to check if it was still there.

 As light flooded back and chased away the darkness, Thomas once again caught a glimpse of the human. The borrower backed away, shaking with every step.

Virgil’s eyes widened, only now getting a proper look at what had fallen onto him earlier. It was some sort of...little person, no bigger than his hand.

“...no way.” Virgil spoke in a quiet breath, reaching his hand out to grab it.

 Thomas’ eyes widened as he saw Virgil’s hand coming towards him and without thinking, he put his arms out in front of him and yelled, “No!”

The yell startled Virgil so much that the human yanked his hand back, dropping the box back down as well.

Virgil held his hand close to his chest, looking almost contemplatively at the box. “...you talked.”

 Thomas winced, no longer able to see Virgil but hearing him loud and clear. He had spoken, hadn’t he? Broke one of the borrower rules...well, several at this point.

 Thomas sighed, maybe if he kept this going, he could convince Virgil to let him go?

 ...At the very least, maybe Virgil wouldn’t kill him. “Uh...yeah.” He called out, hoping it was loud enough for Virgil to hear.

Virgil lifted the box with both hands this time, completely revealing the tiny as he stared wide eyed down at him. “You just did it again.”

 Pushing back his fear, Thomas nodded. “Yeah, I can uh...do that.” The borrower said, a bit lamely.

“I.. who...what are you?” Virgil tossed the box aside, inching closer to the bed as he sat on his knees. 

 Thomas bit his lip. It might be a bit too much to tell Virgil what he was. But telling Virgil his name should be fine, right? “You can call me Thomas?” It came out as more of a question.

“Thomas.” Virgil tried it out for himself, before realizing he should introduce himself. “I’m Virgil.”

 “I kno-” Thomas stopped himself, realizing that could go over badly. “I mean uh, cool.” Thomas bit his lip and looked off to the side, feeling a little awkward.

Virgil frowned, squinting suspiciously down at Thomas. “...why were you on my bed, Thomas?”

 Thomas tensed at not only the question, but Virgil’s gaze and tone. “Um, I didn’t mean to be! I mean, I hadn’t planned on falling on you or anything I just kind of...slipped.” 

Virgil looked up and around his bed, spotting the vent just above his head. Virgil turned back to Thomas, looking annoyed. “Were you spying on me?”

 Panic settled inside of Thomas and he took several steps back. Should he lie? It was technically true, but Virgil seemed very annoyed right now. Which was just one step away from being angry and an angry human was the worst kind to be around. “I, uh…” Thomas trailed off before getting another idea.

 He turned around and started running again.

“Hey!” Virgil all but launched himself onto the bed as he grabbed Thomas up with no hesitation this time. He glared down at Thomas, bringing him up to his face. “You were spying!”

 Thomas struggled within Virgil’s grip but of course it was useless. The fingers surrounding him weren’t going to give in. “Okay, okay! Yes, I was, but I didn’t mean anything bad by it! I watch everyone in the building!” Thomas’ eyes widened when he realized saying that wouldn’t exactly help his case. “I-I mean, well, I do but again, not in a bad way. I do it for uh...survival.” Thomas couldn’t stop shaking. Why couldn’t he have just kept his mouth shut.

“Survival?” Virgil repeated. “What are you talking about?” After all, Virgil was just your average college kid who ate too much ramen and didn’t get enough sleep. There was nothing especially extraordinary about him, which made the idea of a mini person watching him through the vents all the more creepy.

 Well, now Thomas had a choice to make. Should he reveal that sort of information? Or die keeping it to himself?

 ...Yeah, he was gonna go with that first option.

 “Okay. I...live inside the walls of this building. I borrow things from humans in order to survive and I watch all of you so I can see if it’s safe for me to...get things. It’s-we’re not supposed to be caught, it’s dangerous.” Thomas pushed against the fingers again to make that last point.

“So, let me get this straight.” Virgil’s voice went dangerously calm. “Not only have you been stalking us, you’re also a thief as well.” He gave Thomas a slight squeeze.

 Thomas gasped as the grip got tighter for a second. He looked up at Virgil with pleading eyes. “I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, just please don’t kill me!”

“Why shouldn’t I?” Virgil growled. Of course, looking down at Thomas Virgil knew he could never, ever do it. Virgil was too much of a wuss to even kill a spider. And he understood that sometimes people down on their luck occasionally felt the need to turn to a life of crime.

That being said...this was Virgil’s home. His safe space. The idea that someone had been trespassing and taking his things was deeply unsettling to Virgil, and he wanted to ensure it never happened again.

 Thomas’ eyes widened and he found his struggles ceasing. He’s actually going to kill me. Thomas had been hoping Virgil wouldn’t be like that, he had seemed nice enough but...of course you could never know for sure. Humans acted differently towards his kind because they saw them as lesser beings. Some treated them like pets, others like pests. I guess I’m just a pest to Virgil.

 With downcast eyes, Thomas just barely held in his tears. “I-I don’t know...I just don’t-don’t want to die…”

Virgil paused, realizing he might have gone too far. He felt Thomas shake in his hand. “Aw, hey, come on…” Virgil winced, bringing his other hand up to try and awkwardly pat the top of Thomas’ head.

 “Ah!” Thomas tried his best to duck as he felt something come in contact with his head. He didn’t want this to be it. He didn’t want to die! “No, please! I’ll do anything, please don’t kill me!” Hot tears fell, staining his cheeks.

“Calm down!” Virgil held Thomas as far away from his body as possible, looking frantic. Oh no, what do I do… “I’m not going to kill you!”

 Thomas froze, slowly looking up at Virgil with tears still falling. “W-What?” Was this some sort of trick? A lie? “B-But…I-you-the spying...and-and...”

“Yeah, I know, but…” Virgil groaned, rubbing his free hand across his face. “Look, I’m still mad about that stuff, but I’m not going to kill you over this. So just...calm down. Please.” Virgil really didn’t know how to handle other people’s emotions. Or his own, for that matter.

 Thomas bit his lip. “Y-You promise? This isn’t some trick and you aren’t just going to kill me anyways?” He knew humans to be cruel and loved to play what they thought to be jokes, but was really just a cruel form of torture.

“No!” Virgil made a face at Thomas’ suggestion. “Ugh, no. I’m not trying to deceive you or anything, I promise. Really, I may act scary but I wouldn’t hurt a fly.” This also had to do with the fact that flies tend to fly fast and Virgil was an inherently lazy human, but he didn’t mention that.

 “O-Okay.” Thomas didn’t know why, but he believed him. It was true, that out of all the times he had watched Virgil, the one time he had seen him interact with a fly had been of opening a window to let it out.

Roman entered Virgil’s room, humming a tune to himself as he gathered the posters from the closet. As Roman was just about to leave, however, he spotted something out of the ordinary.

“Helloooooo, what’s this?” Roman came over to inspect the cage further. Had Virgil gotten another hamster and not told him? But...why was a blanket stuffed inside? Roman frowned, trying to peer through the bars for any source of life. Upon the first glance, Roman didn’t spot anything, but on the second glance...Roman gasped, posters falling out of his arms in surprise.

 No, no, no, no, no, no, not again! He didn’t move from his ball, but he could hear from the gasp that Roman had realized he was in there. 

 ...This wasn’t going to be fun.

Roman quickly took the roof off the structure, removing it so he could get a better look. Noticing the creature was still curled up in a ball, Roman wasted no time in scooping it out into his palms.

 “Ah!” Thomas yelped, as he was scooped up. He was unfurled from his tight ball and now lying down on Roman’s hand. Thomas tentatively looked up at the human, a look of fear on his face.

“Woah.” Roman gazed in awe down at the tiny...thing. Tiny person? Why on Earth was Virgil keeping a tiny person locked up in a cage inside his bedroom? “Who are you?” 

 Thomas gulped. Now he had another choice to make, essentially the same choice as before. Should he speak to this human? He already had a deal going on with Virgil, so his best bet would be to stay with him...unless Roman was willing to let him go. But Thomas had the sneaky suspicion that would not be the case.

 “I'm...Thomas.” He decided to answer. 

“Thomas, it’s...certainly interesting to meet your acquaintance.” Roman paused, looking at the setup before him. “My name is Roman. Now would you kindly explain...why exactly I find you locked in a...hamster cage in my best friend’s apartment?”

 Thomas bit his lip. “Um...he...thinks he’s helping me?” Thomas answered. “He said it was temporary, though I’m not sure what the alternatives are,” Thomas admitted. Obviously, Virgil would want to keep him trapped still. So whatever Thomas decided would just be some glorified cage.

“Hmm.” Roman raised an eyebrow. “Well, he certainly seems to be doing a poor job of it.” Roman began walking away from the desk, posters forgotten.

 “I’ll say,” Thomas muttered, agreeing with Roman completely. He wobbled a little as he realized Roman was moving. “Uh…?”

“Clearly someone else would be far more suited to assisting you,” Roman said, eyes practically shining as he clearly has designated himself for that role. “I, of course, would be more than up to the task!” Roman all but dashed out of Virgil’s apartment, heading up to his own room on the 5th floor.

 Thomas yelped as Roman basically took off running out of Virgil’s apartment. Oh no, this wasn’t good at all. “A-Actually, you would help me a lot by um...letting me go?” Thomas asked, deciding to give that a chance.

“Yes, of course, just a moment.” Roman barely paid him attention, coming into his own apartment. “Ah, home sweet home.” With a blissful sigh, Roman headed into the bedroom.

“Aaaaand...there!” Roman let Thomas go onto the bed.

 Thomas looked around at his new surroundings, now on top of Roman’s bed. With Roman looming over him. He shivered. “Uh, thanks, but I actually meant, like, letting me go, go. As in, back to my own home and...yeah.” Thomas fidgeted with his sleeves. He hated not knowing how Roman was going to react. At least with Virgil, he could guess how he would react to some things.

“Oh, come on.” Roman sat down on the ground, leaning forwards on his bed to get a good look at Thomas. “Surely you don’t want to go back to Virgil so soon. The guy can be an absolute bore.” Roman made a fake yawning motion to demonstrate.

 “Uh, no actually, I meant my-I meant my real home. In-In um…” He debated for a hot second if he should reveal that or not, before deciding it might help him more if he did. “In the walls.”

“In the walls?” Roman reeled back as if repelled by the notion. “How ghastly! Why, even Cinderella’s mice were not fully confined to such a fate.”

 Thomas winced. “It’s uh...really not that bad.” He defended.

“Oh, how modest of you.” Roman rustled Thomas’ hair. Truly if Thomas were bigger he would pinch his cheek. “But Thomas, worry no longer. I am certain I can construct a suitable abode fit for a prince of your stature.”

 Thomas flinched away from the touch, gasping in fright. He had not been expecting the human to do that. “B-But…”

“Oh, I’m sure I have some spare materials lying about in my workspace.” Roman scooped Thomas up once more, heading over to his desk that was a mess of half-finished ideas and various crafting scraps.

 Thomas yelped as he was taken by surprise yet again by Roman scooping him up. He was much more grabby than Virgil that was for sure. At least Virgil offered his hand to him near the end there.

 Okay, so Roman wasn’t going to let him go. Which meant his best bet was to still get back to Virgil somehow. “Uh...W-Won’t Virgil be mad once he notices I’m not there?” 

Roman ignored the question for a moment in favor of placing Thomas on the desk near his own arm. Roman cleared off a space in front of himself, pulling out a clean sheet of paper and some pens. 

“What Virgil doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” Roman answered finally. “Besides, he’s not meant to be back until 3. That leaves me plenty of time. He said he was looking for a new cage, and you’re clearly in need of a more ideal living space. It’s a win-win!”

 This was literally the last thing he wanted, being discovered by another human. At least Roman was planning on giving him back to Virgil...he hoped. Either way, Thomas was gonna be on the lookout for a chance to escape. Since he was no longer confined it would definitely be easier to. Especially if Roman became too focused on whatever he was doing. So Thomas stood there and waited.

“Now, where should we start?” Roman asked, turning to Thomas.

 “Um,” Thomas had no idea. He wasn’t really looking forward to planning out his own prison. But he had to think of something if he wanted to distract Roman enough to try and get away. “We can start with...shape?” Thomas shrugged.

“...shape,” Roman repeated, one eyebrow raised.

 Thomas bit his lip. Was that the wrong thing to say? “Uh...yeah? Like the-like the shape of the cage you’re designing?”

“It’s not a cage.” Roman insisted, finishing his initial sketch to turn it around and show Thomas. “It’s a castle.” He grinned down at the little guy, clearly eager for his response.

 Thomas’ eyes widened. “Whoa.” The design Roman had created was extravagant, to say the least. And he had done so in such little time, Thomas couldn’t even think to escape. But the design was very much like out of a fairytale castle.

“Now, this is only a rough sketch, of course.” Roman turned his drawing back towards himself, frowning down at it. “And we’ll have to find the necessary materials, though I have some supplies here and I’m sure I could get more from the prop room. I’m just not sure what it’s missing...obviously bedroom, dining room, drawbridge, tower….”

 Thomas hummed, watching as Roman continued to mutter to himself as he looked down at the page. Biting his lip, he wondered if now would be a good time to try and leave. Was Roman distracted enough? He took a few steps back to start off, watching Roman warily.

“Is one zipline enough?” Roman asked aloud, not looking up from his page.

 Thomas blinked. “Uh, yeah.” What the heck was Roman designing? He couldn’t seriously think he would be able to build all of that. Thomas had to admit it would be a nice place to live in but that wouldn’t make him any less trapped. Despite what Roman said, it was still a cage.

 Roman seemed distracted enough though, so Thomas decided to take his chance. He didn’t immediately run but started walking towards the edge. Thankfully, Roman had a lamp on his desk as well, which he could use the cord to get down with.

“Oh, but two would look so perfect…” Roman sighed, putting his chin in his hand as he pondered it. “I’m gonna put two,” Roman said decidedly, adding to his sketch.

 As Thomas made it to the cord, he couldn’t believe it. He might actually make it out of there. With a smile, Thomas gripped the cord and quickly started to shimmy down it.

 Thomas finished his bite before replying. “Good morning.” He had decided that being polite and going along with Virgil for the week would help him better at the end of the week. Maybe Virgil would listen to him about still wanting to go home.

Virgil raised an eyebrow when he noticed Thomas munching on a cold ramen noodle. He wanted to offer Thomas some actual breakfast, but...well, all Virgil had to offer was just more ramen. He really needed to go shopping. 

“Do you drink coffee?” Virgil asked, bending down to unlatch the cage door.

 Thomas raised an eyebrow. “Coffee?” The name was familiar, but Thomas couldn’t picture it.

“Sacred bean juice?” Virgil joked. “Lifeblood of college students?”

 Thomas blinked. “...What?”

“It’s a drink.” Virgil chuckled tiredly. “C’mon, I’ll go make some and you can try it.” He set his palm down on the desk.

 Thomas looked down at the hand, knowing what Virgil was asking of him, but wondering if he could actually do it. He was surprised Virgil hadn’t just grabbed him. Maybe they were finally done with that at the very least.

 Thomas took in a deep breath and carefully walked forward. He stopped just short of climbing on, before doing so in a quick motion. He settled down in Virgil’s palm.

 He couldn’t believe he had just stepped into a human’s hand willingly. He really was stupid.

Virgil lifted his hand slowly, trying not to internally panic too much at the thought that there was someone’s life in his hands and oh god don’t drop him-

“There, easy.” Virgil, contrary to his internal attitude, maintained a carefree exterior as he deposited Thomas on the counter before focusing on starting the coffee pot.

 Thomas stepped a bit closer as he watched Virgil making the coffee. He suddenly recognized it. “Oh! That’s what that’s called? I always saw you drinking it, but I never knew what it was.” He suddenly covered his mouth, realizing what he had said. The last thing he had wanted was to bring all that back up again. He didn’t wanna make Virgil mad.

Instead of being mad, Virgil just snorted. It was kind of amusing to be thought of as ‘the guy who keeps drinking coffee’. 

“It’s basically an energy drink,” Virgil explained, pouring some into a mug of his own. “It helps keep me awake and...hang on.” Virgil glanced between the mug and Thomas, realizing they were almost the same height. He frowned, bringing a hand to his chin. “Okay, I may not have thought this through.”

 Thomas sighed in relief when Virgil wasn’t mad. He chuckled a little at that. “Don’t worry, I have a solution.” He rummaged through his bag before coming up with a bit of tinfoil. He started to mold it, matching what Virgil’s mugs looked like. Before long, he had a miniature foil version. “Ta-da!” He exclaimed, holding it up for Virgil to see.

Virgil leaned in, squinting to see what Thomas had made. “...how’d you do that?” Virgil said incredulously, impressed.

 Thomas shrugged, pulling the mug back to him. “Just molded some tinfoil, no big deal really,” Thomas said, laughing a bit.

“No big deal?” Virgil set his own mug down on the counter. “I certainly couldn’t do that. But go ahead, help yourself.”

 Thomas blushed, before coughing to cover it up and heading towards the mug. He had to go on his tippy toes to reach, but he managed to scoop himself a cup. Backing away a bit so he wasn’t in the way of Virgil grabbing his mug back, he took a careful sip.

 ...And immediately spit it back out. That was...gross. And he usually wasn’t picky. “It’s...um…” Thomas was having trouble finding the right words. He didn’t want to insult Virgil’s favorite drink after all.

“Oh, Oops.” Virgil’s smirk made it clear that was no mistake. He had just wanted to see Thomas’ reaction. “I forgot to add the sweeteners.” Virgil pulled out the coffee creamer- one of the few necessities still stocked in his fridge- and mixed it into his mug to turn the dark liquid a milky brown.

 Thomas glared at Virgil before rolling his eyes and dumping the pure black coffee back into the mug and taking another cupful. He took another sip, much more hesitant this time. However, he was pleasantly surprised to find it tasted a lot better. He could still taste an underline of bitterness, but all the sweeteners helped to balance it out.

 “That is a lot better,” Thomas admitted, taking another sip.

“Yeah, it’s better this way.” Virgil took his own mug back. “Just don’t go telling everyone I don’t drink it black. I can’t have you exposing all of my emo secrets.”

 Thomas raised an eyebrow, taking another sip. “Who would I even tell?” It wasn’t like he knew anyone else. There weren’t any other borrowers in this building and he was dead set on not talking to any more humans.

“Hmm, good point.” Virgil began taking a large swig of his own drink, already feeling more awake as the hot liquid all but burned his throat. 

 Thomas finished his cup, looking at the empty foil left in its place. “So uh...what’s on the agenda for today?” Thomas asked.

“Well, unfortunately, I’ve got class soon.” Virgil gave a glare at the clock as if it was the clock’s fault Virgil’s class schedule was so early. “And I’ve already skipped twice this week so I’ve got to go, but after I was thinking we can start figuring out a more...ideal living situation.”

 “Um...yeah, that sounds...good.” Anything was better than that cage, at the very least. He put his empty foil back in his bag.

“...Do you want to go to class with me?” Virgil decided to put out the offer, despite the fact he thought it was a horrible idea. After all, he had nowhere to put Thomas, and there would be loads of idiots surrounding them on all sides constantly.

 “No!” Thomas shouted, before wincing. “I mean, um, no thanks. I’ll just...stay here.” He did not want to go somewhere where there were hundreds of humans, nuh-uh, no thanks.

“Yeah, no problem.” Virgil nodded quickly. “I didn’t think it was a good idea, but I thought I’d offer. Letting you choose and all.”

Virgil gave an awkward cough, looking back at the bedroom door. “Of course, that means more time in...uh…”

 Thomas deflated. “Right.” It beat going to Virgil’s school though, at the very least. “That’s...fine.” Not really, but Virgil already knew how he felt about it.

“I’m sorry.” Virgil winced in sympathy. He really wished there was another way. “But I promise, as soon as I get home we’ll get rid of it.” He set his palm down on the counter, once again waiting for Thomas.

 Thomas only nodded, walking onto Virgil’s palm, a little less hesitant than before. He hoped whatever new accommodation they came up with was better than the old hamster cage.

Virgil set down his coffee mug so that he could use both hands to keep Thomas safe as he walked back to the bedroom. He set his hands down on the desk, making sure the cage door was still open.

 Thomas stepped off and looked back up at Virgil before sighing and walking into the cage. Again, better not to fight against it for a better chance at being let go in a week.

“...I’ll be back soon,” Virgil promised, feeling bad for the little guy. “Just a few hours, tops.”

 Thomas just nodded.

Virgil sighed, closing the cage door. He gathered up his backpack, stuffing the last of his notes into the bag. With one last pitying look thrown Thomas’ way, Virgil headed to class.

 Thomas stood up as the bowl was set down in front of him. It smelled so good, he had to admit. At first, he had been thinking about not eating as a form of protest but...he was hungry. And this might be his only chance at finally having warm food.

 Giving in, Thomas did what he saw the humans do and blow on the food before grabbing a noodle out. He took a bite, eyes closing in pure bliss. It was just so...nice. His insides actually felt warm.

Virgil smiled slightly over the lip of his own bowl, glad to see Thomas enjoying it.

 Thomas continued to eat until he found he couldn’t eat anymore. Huh, this must be what if felt like to be full. He looked in the bowl, only to see he had maybe eaten only a third of it. There was still plenty to eat for later. 

 Opening up his bag, he made some room before grabbing a noodle and rolling it up, placing it inside.

Virgil paused, his utensil halfway to his lips. “...what are you doing?”

 Thomas froze, forgetting he had an audience. “...Nothing.”

“Oh my gosh,” Virgil said in realization. “You were just ‘borrowing’, weren’t you? When there’s literally more food still just sitting in front of you.”

 Thomas winced. “I-It’s a force of habit, okay?” Thomas bit his lip. “And it’s for...just in case.” Just in case Virgil decided to change his mind and he wouldn’t be getting any more meals.

“Whatever.” Virgil just sipped more of his own ramen, fighting the urge to roll his eyes again. He didn’t care if Thomas took a few noodles, it just felt stupid.

 Thomas sighed in relief but decided not to take any more noodles. He closed his bag up before heading towards the far corner of the cage and sitting down.

“...are you still hungry?” Virgil asked, watching the borrower sulk off. He hadn’t meant to drive Thomas further away. 

 Thomas simply shook his head, gripping the strands of his bag tighter subconsciously. He was thankful for the food, sure, but that didn’t negate his current situation. He was in a cage, after all. Trapped with a human that saw his actions for survival, crimes. A full belly was not worth all that.

Virgil took out the saucer, closing the cage door before bringing both sets of dishes back into the kitchen. He scrubbed them off, trying to think about what he should do next. What was one supposed to do with a borrower, anyways? 

Virgil didn’t want to do anything that would upset Thomas further. He seemed to have done that enough already. Virgil sighed, drying out the bowls as he put them back in the cupboard. Why couldn’t Thomas see that Virgil was just trying to protect him? 

Virgil walked back into the bedroom, feeling unsure of himself but trying not to look it. He casually took a seat back at his desk, resting his hands in his pockets. “Sooooo…” Virgil’s sentence petered off, realizing he had nothing to say.

 Thomas gripped the nearest bar, looking at it sadly. “...There really isn’t anything I can do to get you to let me go?” Thomas asked, not looking at Virgil. There was no hope in his voice because he already knew the answer. But he felt the need to ask anyway.

“Aw, c’mon.” Virgil winced, curling in on himself slightly. “Don’t be like that. It’s not going to be terrible, I promise.”

 Thomas hummed in a tone of disagreement and finally let go of the bar. He brought his knees to his chest and started picking at the fabric of his pants. Not going to be terrible...Thomas didn’t understand why Virgil couldn’t see things from his perspective. How things were already terrible.

“...Look.” Virgil tried to reason with him, hating to see Thomas so depressed. He glanced at the clock. “It’s late, okay? How about we get some sleep, and in the morning we can find a compromise.”

 A compromise? Thomas had to wonder how that would be possible, considering the two of them wanted very different things. But he nodded anyway. It wasn’t like arguing with the human would do him any good. Virgil might have said he wouldn’t hurt Thomas, but he was not willing to push it.

“Good.” Virgil nodded in relief. This was good. At least Thomas seemed willing to listen. Otherwise, this would be difficult. Virgil began to gather up his school supplies that had been scattered earlier, clearing off his bed. He couldn’t work on homework right now even if he wanted to; instead, Virgil glanced back at the cage, wondering what he should do about bedding for Thomas. 

“Uh...one sec.” Virgil retreated to the living room, looking for the smallest blanket he could possibly find. Even folded up it would be difficult to fit through the cage door, but Virgil reasoned he could just lift the roof off temporarily.

With this in mind, Virgil returned to the bedroom. He set the blanket down on the desk, opening the cage door.

“Could you step out for a moment, Thomas?” Virgil requested.

 Thomas blinked, looking from Virgil to the blanket and then at the open cage door. Hesitantly, he stood up. Gripping his bag tight, he slowly made his way to the front, before stopping for a moment. Was this a test or some cruel trick? Would he be punished if he stepped out? Would he be punished if he didn’t?

 These thoughts had him frozen at the door of the cage.

Virgil blinked. “I meant all the way.”

 Thomas winced and he stepped all the way out, moving to the side and away from Virgil. He watched curiously, wondering why Virgil had wanted him out of the cage all of a sudden.

Virgil leaned over, focusing on the latches holding the plastic roof in place. As these came undone, Virgil set the apparatus to the side. Then Virgil picked up the folded blanket, carefully shoving it into the bottom of the cage.

 Thomas tilted his head in confusion and almost wasted his time watching what was happening, before realizing that...Virgil was distracted. And Thomas was no longer confined in the cage. Now was his chance!

 Thomas started by backing up slowly, keeping his eyes on Virgil as he did so. Once he was halfway across the desk, he turned and started running towards the desk lamp. If he could just make it over there, he could climb down the cord and get into the walls. He just needed Virgil distracted for a few more seconds.--

“Aaand there we go.” Virgil stood up from his handiwork. He looked over to where he had left Thomas, only to see that Thomas was no longer there. Eyes widening, Virgil spotted Thomas making a break from it further along the table. Virgil lunged forwards to grab the borrower.

 “Ah!” Thomas yelled as he saw Virgil’s hand incoming. He had just barely been able to dodge the hand by turning a sharp right and left again. His running picked up, he was so close.

Virgil all but threw himself onto the table, now slamming both arms down in front of Thomas to create an impassable barrier.

 Thomas screeched to a halt but still managed to run into Virgil’s arm. He shook as he quickly backed away, but then froze when he realized this meant Virgil was right behind him. Welp, he was sure to get punished now. 

“Geez, would you stop that?” Virgil huffed, panting slightly from the exertion. If Thomas kept running off Virgil might actually have to work out. And Virgil hated work. Not taking any chances, Virgil moved his arms closer to himself to trap Thomas in a more secure area.

 Thomas backed away as the arms came closer and he braced himself to be grabbed once more. Because Thomas was sure it was to happen any second now. He still didn’t look back at Virgil’s face, scared to see any anger again.

When it seemed Thomas was done trying to run, Virgil took the opportunity to grab Thomas up. The human grunted, pushing himself off the table to stand once more. 

“You know, I was trying to make things a bit more comfortable for you.” Virgil said a bit irritably, lowering his hand into the cage and letting Thomas drop onto the blanket.

 When Thomas dropped onto the ground, back into the cage, he barely took notice of the blanket, or even Virgil’s words. He was still waiting for something to happen because he had tried to run. That had been so stupid of him. He should have just stayed where Virgil told him and then the human wouldn’t be mad like he was now.

 Thomas curled up, still bracing himself.

Virgil grabbed the roof, clicking it back into place on the cage. He then crouched down, looking at Thomas through the still open cage door. Virgil winced internally when he saw Thomas was back to curling up on himself. 

“Well?” Virgil asked with an expectant tone.

 Thomas flinched before slowly looking up after a few seconds of nothing happening. “W-Well, what?” Thomas asked.

“Is it comfy?” Virgil asked. “I dunno what you’re used to, but it’s the smallest blanket I’ve got. I could probably find you a smaller...something for a blanket, but we’d have to be creative with it. Not really my thing, but it could work.”

 Thomas unfurled himself and finally took notice of his surroundings. The cage floor and been entirely replaced by a blanket. A rather comfy blanket, if Thomas was being honest. Actually, it was probably the most comfortable thing he had ever sat on, other than the human’s bed. Definitely more comfortable than his makeshift bed at home.

 “...Yeah.” He answered simply. “It’s...It’s nice.”

“Why are you all so obsessed with this life of scraps and stealth and secrecy?” Virgil gave a small exasperated laugh. “I mean yeah humans suck, but some humans suck less.” Virgil thought fondly of his own friends. “If you’re gonna live off of taking human’s things anyways, why haven’t you ever tried to go straight to the source? Partner with a human and cut out the middle man.”

 Thomas looked at Virgil incredulously. “Seriously?” He waved around him at the cage he was being held in. “We were scared of this exact thing happening. Being trapped, being killed! And there are no ways to judge which humans might help us without either of those two things happening because humans always act differently towards us than with other humans because…” A few tears filled Thomas’ eyes and he looked down. “Because we’re smaller and apparently that makes us less equal.”

“Woah woah woah.” Virgil frowned, once again feeling unsure in the face of emotions. “That is not true. Just because you’re like- what a few inches tall?- doesn’t mean that you’re not a person too.” A person you’ve trapped in a hamster cage. Virgil winced. 

“I know I’m not being the best ambassador for humanity with this thing.” Virgil gave a glare at one of the cage walls. “And you know what? Okay, maybe you’re right. Locking a tiny person up is kind of... unfair. But I only brought it out because you keep trying to run off.”

 “And there’s a reason I keep trying to run. See, you wouldn’t keep another human locked up, would you?” Thomas actually thought he was getting somewhere. Maybe, if they kept talking and things continued to go in this direction, maybe this could even end in Virgil letting him go.

“Well, that’s where things are different.” Virgil tried again to explain his side of things. “You’re not another human. And that’s perfectly fine, you’re still a person of course, but you’re not acting like a member of society or whatever. I would help another human reform, turn their life around, and I want to do the same to help you. Except the difference is, a human would accept the assistance instead of trying to get away constantly.”

 Thomas’ shoulders slumped. So much for being let go. “Why won’t you just listen to me?” He was sure Virgil would listen to another human, at least more than he was listening to him.

“I’m trying to, Thomas.” Virgil insisted. “That’s why I was talking about compromising. I mean, I get it, you’re already pissed at me for keeping you here. But I want to at least make you less pissed at me by figuring out what you think is best. Apart from the whole leaving thing. Like the cage, I get it, it sucks. We can find something better together tomorrow.”

 “So...you just plan on me staying with you...forever?” Surely Virgil wouldn’t deal with Thomas for that long. Which meant, eventually, either Virgil would let him go...or…

 Thomas shook his head, not wanting to think about it.

“Uh, forever’s a long time.” Virgil hadn’t actually given it much thought. He was mostly trying to take this one mistake at a time. “I dunno what’ll happen to us down the road, heck I don’t even know my major.” The further Virgil thought about it, the more Virgil was unsure. What would Virgil do with Thomas over break, especially if Thomas was still adamant about leaving? Virgil winced at the thought of Thomas still being that torn up about this in months.

“How about we aim for the semester?” Virgil suggested. “And then we’ll go from there.”

 Thomas looked up with a sad frown. “...I don’t really have a choice, do I?” He felt like curling in on himself again.

“Well, I want you to have some choice in it.” Virgil pressed on, leaning forwards slightly. He was almost desperate to keep Thomas from shutting him out again. “I don’t want you to sulk through this semester all depressed. Come on, really, what’s a reasonable amount of time for you to stick around here? From a borrower perspective.”

 Thomas forced himself not to wince as Virgil used the term for his kind again. He thought for a moment, he had to think of something to say. “...A week.” Even that seemed too long by his standards, but it was better than the entire semester. Which Thomas knew to be months long. And he figured Virgil wouldn’t take one day as an answer.

“A week.” Virgil thought about it. He could work with a week. And certainly, if it made Thomas happier, Virgil was more than willing to agree.

“Alright, a week it is.” Virgil gave a small nod, slowly sticking out his index finger towards Thomas in lieu of a handshake.

 Thomas flinched back as Virgil’s hand came towards him, scared to be grabbed again. But when he saw that Virgil was simply holding his finger out for a handshake, Thomas relaxed a bit. After some hesitation, Thomas grabbed Virgil’s finger and shook it. 

 While it still might not be ideal and might not end how he wanted it to, it was still his best bet at freedom. So he would just have to go along with it for now and keep an eye out on any and all escape opportunities. 

Virgil looked down, feeling the slight movement of his own finger as the borrower shook it. That’s so weird. Trying not to make it even weirder by lingering, Virgil pulled his hand back out of the cage. 

“Well, now that that’s settled, I think it’s best we actually get to bed,” Virgil suggested.

 Thomas nodded, yawning as if on cue. He was exhausted. But his mind was still racing with everything that had happened. Very weird state to be in. He hoped he would at least be able to get a little bit of sleep tonight. He had a feeling he would need it for tomorrow.

Virgil snorted slightly at the tiny yawn. “G’night, Thomas.” Virgil closed the cage door, feeling slightly guilty about it as he climbed into his own bed and turned off the light.

 Thomas watched the cage door close with sad eyes but knew there was nothing he could do about it. “...Goodnight.” He called back, after a moment of hesitation. He took off his bag and laid it down off to the side, before laying down himself. He curled up onto the blanket and closed his eyes.

“Oh yeah.” Virgil gave an evil grin, opening up the cage door one-handed with practiced ease and tossing Thomas inside.

 Thomas yelped and groaned as he found himself face down on the cage floor. But he quickly stood up, looking at Virgil. “Virgil, please.”

Virgil simply closed the door, looking a bit smug about how conveniently this was working out.

 “Virgil!” This wasn’t good. He ran to the door, putting his hands on the bars and trying to open it. But it was indeed locked. “You can’t just keep me here!”

“Why not?” Virgil shrugged. “You admitted to being a thief and a stalker. Some jail time seems more than appropriate.”

 Thomas deflated. “I-I did it to survive.” Thomas tried weakly.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean it’s right.” Virgil pointed out, sitting down at his desk chair. “You could’ve asked for help when you fell on hard times. I mean, you probably don’t eat much anyways. I would have helped you out.”

 Thomas blinked. “We...We can’t just ask humans for help! That would be crazy.” Thomas shook his head, backing away from the door and Virgil. “It’s the whole reason why borrowers are so secretive! If a human sees us or catches us, we’re done for! You may not be one of the humans who wants to kill me, but…” Thomas motioned around him at the cage. “You...you did trap me in here.”

“Yeah, because you stole from me first.” Virgil reminded him, crossing his arms. He narrowed his eyes. “What exactly did you take?”

 Thomas pursed his lips. Well, he was already in this deep, why not go deeper? “I just took things like paper clips, bits of tinfoil, crumbs left out, maybe a cracker or chip or two...t-things you wouldn’t miss if they were gone. That’s all.”

Well, Thomas was right about one thing. Virgil certainly didn’t miss them. He hadn’t noticed anything going missing around the house.

“You know…” Virgil leaned forward, folding his hands under his chin as his arms rested on his knees. “...it’s interesting how you call yourself a ‘borrower’. Guess we can add liar to your list of crimes too, huh?”

 Thomas took a step back. “W-What? I’m not lying.” Also, he had just realized he had revealed the name of his kind, which was also a problem, but not the biggest one right now.

“Oh really?” Virgil raised an eyebrow. “So you’re just ‘borrowing’ all that stuff? When were you planning on putting it back, huh?”

 Thomas winced. “I didn’t come up with that name! It’s just-I…” Thomas took a deep breath. Honestly, whoever had come up with their name either didn’t understand the term borrowing or had a sense of humor. In either case, it wasn’t helping him out now. 

 “Look. I’ll leave. I’ll find somewhere else to live, somewhere where I can’t spy or take things from you. Just please let me go and you’ll never have to deal with me again.” Thomas proposed, heart pounding with nerves and hope.

Virgil certainly liked the sound of that. But, Thomas was also kind of growing on him. Now that he knew Thomas wasn’t able to do any of those personally invasive things, Thomas just looked kind of...sad. Helpless. Alone.

“Nah.” Virgil shook his head, keeping up his villainous act. “I don’t think you’ve really learned your lesson yet, Thomas.”

 Thomas shook at those words, his hope gone. He felt numb. All of this could have been avoided if he hadn’t made such a stupid mistake. Now he was trapped, with a human that would likely be punishing him for things he had no choice but to do.

 He found himself falling to the floor, curling up as he hugged his knees. 

Virgil froze, watching Thomas curl up on himself. Whoops. Maybe he went a little too far again.

“Uh...Thomas?” Virgil knocked on the bars to get the borrower’s attention.

 Thomas tensed, but kept his head down and braced himself. He didn’t want to see it coming, whatever Virgil was going to do.

“Thomas.” Virgil snapped his fingers in front of the cage. “C’mon, snap out of it. I’m not gonna hurt you, remember?”

 The snap of Virgil’s fingers caused him to jump and made him look up. “You said you wouldn’t kill me...you never said anything about not hurting me.” 

“Ugh, fine.” Virgil rolled his eyes, only slightly annoyed. “I’m not going to hurt you. Okay? Are we cool now?”

 Thomas frowned. “...Will you let me go?”

“No,” Virgil answered coolly.

 Thomas winced at how quickly Virgil had answered. “Why? Wouldn’t it be better for me to leave the building and then you never have to deal with me again?” 

“Look, Thomas.” Virgil sighed. “Would that be convenient? Sure. But then you’re just gonna go rob some other unsuspecting stranger.”

 Thomas himself was starting to get frustrated with this. “Because that’s how I survive. Would you rather I die? Because that’s what's gonna happen if I don’t do that or if I even try to ask a human for help.” 

“No, it’s not!” Virgil insisted. “Because I’m gonna help you.”

 Thomas froze. “Wait, what?”

“You seem very determined to either commit crimes or die.” Virgil pointed out. “And I don’t want you doing either, to be honest. So I’ll just help you myself. You just ask me for something and I’ll get it.”

 “...But I don’t want that!” Thomas cried, even if the prospect of having everything he needed right then and there was amazing. He never wanted it like this. “I don’t want to be here! I don’t want to be in this cage!” Why couldn’t Virgil understand that?

“That’s temporary.” Virgil waved his concerns off. “Without it, you’d just go running off on me. Don’t even try to deny it.”

 “I won’t! But put yourself in my shoes. Wouldn’t you try to run away if the giant who captured you trapped you inside a cage? And made you think they were going to kill you, even for a second? Not a great first impression.”

“Okay!” Virgil put his hands up in defense. “I didn’t make a great first impression. I seldom do. But to be fair, you didn’t do so great yourself. You fell on me while I was studying because you were spying on me to decide when to steal my stuff. Put yourself in my shoes for a moment.”

 Thomas grit his teeth and turned away. He would try to argue, but it didn’t seem like Virgil was really listening. Besides, Thomas could...maybe see his point a little, but his situation was still worse.

“...yeah, that’s what I thought.” Virgil took Thomas’ silence as agreement. “Look, let’s just...both agree that we’ve screwed up in the past, and continue forwards on a clean slate.”

 Thomas glared up at Virgil. “Not sure how we can do that when you’ve already messed up my whole life.” The borrower murmured, starting to curl in on himself again.

“Now you’re being more dramatic than Roman.” Virgil rolled his eyes. “I didn’t mess up your life, okay? I’m fixing it.” Now be grateful. Virgil kept that last bit to himself.

 Thomas continued to look down and pick at his clothes. Virgil would just continue to ignore him if he tried to speak again.

Virgil stopped mid-chew, surprised that he was being addressed. He quickly swallowed his mouthful of bread so that he could speak again. “Yeah?”

 Thomas fidgeted with his clothes, looking down as Virgil’s attention was suddenly all on him. “...Back when you first found me...that whole compromise that we made...were you really going to let me go at the end of the week?” Thomas knew it didn’t matter now. But he still wanted to know, for whatever reason. Simply curiosity, maybe?

Virgil blinked, surprised by the question. “Of course.” Virgil answered honestly. “I mean...I thought that by then you’d change your mind and stick around, but...yeah. I did.” Virgil turned away from him slightly. “I figured it would suck trying to keep someone around who didn’t want to be there.”

 Thomas nodded slowly, surprised by the answer. “Oh...that’s good to know.” At least trying to go back to Virgil in the beginning had been a valid choice on his end. “...Are you still mad that I spied on you guys?” He asked, trying to hold in a wince at the fact that he actually brought it up.

“No, I mean, not really.” Virgil ducked his head, looking embarrassed. “I get it now. I just was kind of thrown off by the whole borrower falling on my head thing. Kinda made me paranoid.”

Patton by this point had stopped eating his own lunch, looking back and forth between his two friends and feeling like he was missing a lot of important context clues.

 “I guess I get it. I mean, I would be paranoid if that happened to me too.” Thomas chuckled.

“Thanks.” Virgil smiled briefly, only for it to turn into a frown. “Doesn’t really excuse my behavior, though. I’m sorry I was such a jerk about the whole thing. I’m not exactly a “people person”.” Virgil put up air quotes to emphasize his point.

“I will physically fight you.” Patton’s voice was quiet, looking over at Virgil sternly.

 Thomas, having heard Patton’s loving threats to Virgil before, ignored him. “Thanks, that….that actually means a lot, that you realized that.” 

“Took me long enough.” Virgil let out a soft snort.

 Thomas chuckled. “Uh, yeah.” Thomas couldn’t help but think what would have happened if Virgil had realized sooner. Well...he never would have met the other humans or consider them...friends. Thomas smiled. “I guess one thing came out of all of this.” Thomas smiled. “You know, after all the bad stuff passed. I...I don’t feel lonely anymore.” 

 And it was true. For the first time since he had left home all those years ago, he didn’t feel alone.

“Awww!” Patton cupped his hands together, tilting his head to the side as he looked down at Thomas fondly. “That’s so sweet!”

 Thomas felt a small blush on his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s true though. I wish there were other borrowers around but...well, I’ve been on my own for a good 10 years now and haven’t seen another borrower since moving out of my family’s place…” Thomas looked down, sad at the thought. It made Thomas question if there were even that many borrowers left.

“Oh no…” Patton said softly, looking distraught at the thought.

“Why didn’t you stay with your family then?” Virgil asked, raising an eyebrow. 

 Thomas shrugged. “Independence? I didn’t know that I wouldn’t meet anyone after I left. And I couldn’t go back, my parents deserve their time by themselves.” Not to mention he wasn’t completely sure where they even were. It had been ten years after all.

“Don’t worry, we’re here for you Thomas.” Patton gasped excitedly. “Oh my goodness, we can be your family!”

“Pretty dysfunctional family…” Virgil muttered.

 Thomas blinked, looking at Patton. “You would...want to be my family?” Friends, sure, but family?

“Of course!” Patton looked at Thomas earnestly. “We care about you, kiddo.”

 Thomas furrowed his eyebrows. “Why?” Thomas couldn’t help but ask.

“Why?” Patton tilted his head, confused by the question.

“Because Patton cares about everyone.” Virgil rolled his eyes fondly.

“Oh, c’mon, Virgil.” Patton teased. “You know you care about this lil’ guy too!” Patton reached over and tousled Thomas’ hair.

 Thomas yelped as Patton suddenly touched his head, the sudden action surprising him. “P-Patton!” 

“Oh, sorry.” Patton pulled back sheepishly, but a grin was still on his face. 

“Look-” Virgil turned to Patton, looking stern with his hood up. “-if Thomas is really gonna stay with us, you can’t do stuff like that.”

 “At least warn me.” Thomas said, finding that he didn’t actually mind the actual action, just the suddenness of it.

Patton nodded, but his grin only seemed to grow at Virgil’s glare. “I knew you cared.” Patton said teasingly.

“...Whatever.” Virgil huffed, sinking back slightly in his chair.

 Thomas couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Come on Virgil, just admit it.” The borrower teased, stepping closer towards him. 

Virgil sank further into his hoodie, shoulders raising up to his ears as the human curled in on himself.

“...can’t it just be like, an understood thing?” Virgil muttered, his voice starting to be muffled by his hoodie.

 Thomas chuckled. “So you're implying that you care about me.”

There was a slight laugh from the usually stoic emo. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

 Thomas felt himself grin. “I can work with that.” His smile suddenly got a bit more shy. “I guess, I uh...I care about you guys as well.” Thomas admitted, looking between the two humans.

“You mean it?” Patton’s gaze was soft, his eyes sparkling. Virgil even leaned slightly forwards.

 Thomas nodded. “I do.” He said softly, a smile to match his tone on his face.

“Oh!” Patton reached out for Thomas excitedly, pausing in mid air moments before Virgil would have stopped him anyways. It seemed he was finally learning. “Can I hug you?”

 Thomas stepped back a bit but then blinked. He smiled. “Sure.”

With a small excited squeal, Patton scooped Thomas up and gently pressed him to his chest, twirling slightly around the kitchen. “Oooh, this is gonna be so much fun! You can join us for game nights and movie nights and sleepover nights and-”

 As Patton began to ramble on, Thomas smiled, snuggling into the hug. These humans were now his family.

 And Thomas wouldn’t have it any other way.

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

 Thomas came out of the walls, finding that he was now under the couch in Roman’s apartment. He could hear the humans above him talking and laughing with one another but Thomas didn’t feel any fear. Instead, he walked out into the open and used his hook to climb up the coffee table. As he made it to the top, he turned and faced the humans. “Hey guys.”

“Thomas!” They all greeted with varying levels of over enthusiasm. 

“We were just picking a film for the evening.” Logan explained. “Would you like to choose?” 

Roman held a few dvds up for Thomas to inspect, looking eager.

 Thomas hummed, looking between all the movies. None of them looked familiar, of course, but he chose the one that looked good to him. “How about that one? Toy Story?”

“Ooh, I love that one.” Patton snuggled up into the couch some more. “Nice choice!”

“Hey Thomas, I saved you some popcorn.” Virgil smirked, leaning over to hand Thomas a kernel. “Princey was trying to hog it all.”

“How dare you accuse me of such a thing!” Roman gasped.

 Thomas chuckled. “Thanks, Virge.” He said as he grabbed the piece of popcorn. He turned around to sit and face the screen there on the table.

“Thomas, would you care to join us?” Logan asked, putting his hand down to allow the borrower the chance to join them on the couch. The other humans looked down at him expectantly.

 Thomas blinked before smiling. He should have expected they would let him sit by himself. Which Thomas was thankful for. Thomas answered by stepping onto Logan’s hand.

Logan smiled at him, pulling his arm back and resting it between himself and Patton. 

“Glad you’re here, kiddo.” Patton said softly as the intro music began to play.

Roman and Virgil both looked shocked at this turn of events.

“Yes, Thomas.” Logan nodded, relieved someone finally understood. “He’s a little person...thing that I found at school and-”

“Borrower.” Virgil interrupted. “He’s a borrower. You say you found him at school?”

“He was just wandering the halls.” Logan affirmed.

“That’s weird, I left him in a classroom…” Roman frowned to himself.

“If you thought he was going to stay there you really are an idiot.” Virgil gripped Logan’s shoulders, staring at his friend with determination. “Where is he now?”

“I came up to you first, remember?” Logan deadpanned, looking annoyed. “One moment he was under my care, the next he simply...disappeared.”

“He does that.” Roman nodded solemnly. 

“I’ve been combing the entire building for him but have found no trace of him.” Logan sighed. “No one in the lobby except the two of you have even heard of Thomas.”

“Well, he’s supposed to be a secret.” Virgil muttered irritably.

“Never fear, my friends!” Roman stepped between them, throwing an arm around their shoulders. “Together, I am sure we can find him!” 

The three set about searching for Thomas. Finding nothing on the first floor, the group moved up to the second floor. 

“Remember, subtlety is key.” Logan muttered. Virgil sent a glare at Roman. The drama king ignored both of them, knocking on the door.

“Patton, are you in there?” At the sound of Roman’s voice, Patton’s eyes widened. He glanced between Thomas and the door, getting an idea.

 Thomas’ eyes widened, recognizing the voice behind the door. “...Oh no.”

Patton scooped Thomas up, eager to show him off. He rushed over to the door, throwing it open to reveal the surprised faces of his three best friends in the whole world.

“Guys, look what I found!” Patton grinned, holding Thomas aloft for all to see.

 Thomas tensed as he saw not just one but all of the humans at the door. Staring right at him. Overwhelmed by having four humans surrounding him, all Thomas could do was shake.

The four humans were quiet for a moment, although for very different reasons.

“Patton, inside!” Virgil hissed, looking around to make sure they were alone. 

“Wait, huh?” Patton tilted his head in confusion, letting his friends walk past him into the room. Virgil shut and locked the door behind him, always paranoid.

“Hello again, Thomas.” Logan looked relieved, giving Thomas a nod.

“Thomas!” Roman cried happily, pulling Thomas from Patton’s hands. He twirled around for a moment with the borrower in his hands. “Oh, thank goodness you’re alright!”

 Thomas groaned, feeling dizzy and not just from the sudden grab and twirl around. He looked up at Roman and then glanced at the others. This was bad. This was very, very bad. 

“Roman, you’re making him ill.” Logan frowned, grabbing Thomas into his own hands.

“How do you know what’s good for him?” Roman pouted.

“That’s my opinion.” Logan explained.

“Now now, kiddos, no need to fight!” Patton laughed nervously, taking Thomas back.

“You’re all acting like he’s some sort of doll.” Virgil glared, snatching up Thomas himself.

“Oh, like you’re innocent, mister hamster cage.” Roman sneered, his reflexes just fast enough to grasp Thomas by the back of the shirt as Virgil attempted to dodge out of the way. 

 “Ah!” Thomas yelled as he found himself without a surface beneath him. Not wanting to fall, he clung to the fingers above him, pulling his knees up.

“Roman, be careful!” Patton warned, glancing at Thomas nervously. 

Logan snatched Thomas out of the air, glaring at Roman. “What is wrong with you?”

“I was being careful!” Roman insisted, reaching for Thomas again. 

“No you weren’t-”

“Please, calm down-”

“What gives you the right-!”

“I know what is best for him-”

The four’s squabbles began to intermingle, Thomas being tossed between them like a game of hot potato.

 “STOP!” Thomas suddenly shouted, overwhelmed by all the yelling and being passed around.

Miraculously, the humans all froze, staring down at Thomas. The borrower was still mid-pass, cupped between Logan and Patton’s hands while Roman had a hold on the back of his shirt and Virgil was making a grab for his arm. 

 As everyone froze, Thomas took a second to breathe. But his breaths soon turned shallow and sobs started to escape him. “Just stop! Please! Please…” He cried into his hands.

“Ah…” Logan looked unsure of how to deal with this, and allowed Thomas to tumble fully into Patton’s hands. Virgil and Roman released their holds as well, looking like scolded school children.

“Oh, kiddo…” Patton looked almost as upset as Thomas, hugging Thomas to his chest once again. 

 Thomas struggled as soon as he realized where he was. He found himself pushing against the chest once again. “NO! Put me down!” He didn’t want to be in any one else’s hands. He just wanted away.

“B-but…” Patton blubbered for a response, not understanding.

“Ha! See, I told you he doesn’t want the rest of you.” Roman said triumphantly, scooping Thomas back up.

 Thomas grit his teeth, tears still falling. “NO! I don’t want any of you! PUT. ME. DOWN!” He was done with all of this. He just wanted his life back.

“Roman, put him down.” Logan instructed. “We are clearly overwhelming him.”

“Aww, the poor babe.” Tears continued to collect in Patton’s eyes, but he wiped them away.

“But, what if he runs off again?” Roman looked down at Thomas worriedly.

“Set him on the coffee table.” Virgil shrugged. “He’s not that fast, if he runs we’ll catch him.” 

So Roman did as the others instructed, setting Thomas down on the coffee table. Each human chose a side, surrounding the borrower.

 Finally glad to be put down on a solid surface, Thomas curled in on himself. Letting himself catch a breather as he ignored how the humans surrounded him. He started crying harder as he realized he was still very trapped and that the humans still didn’t see him as his own person.