Chapter Text
Tommy wakes up alone. To the same cold white room. To the same chemical smell. In the same quiet, he always does.
He would have thought that yesterday was a dream if it weren’t for the small pile of feathers on the floor. New ones laid in the pile, telling Tommy that the brothers preened while he was asleep. Tommy flaps his wings, unused to the light feeling on them both. It felt as if he had been carrying dumbbells on them his whole life and he had just taken them off.
He flaps his wings again. This time one hits the wall, sending shooting pain through his back. It took less effort to move them now without all the dirt and muck that was apparently on them. He moves a little farther from the wall to stretch the.
The brothers must have been taken for testing, there's no other reason for them to be gone. So Tommy goes to the pile of discarded feathers grabbing one dusty pink one and a speckled brown one, messing with them as he sits at the door. Waiting for the brother to come back.
He sits there for hours with his head resting on his hand. Running his fingers through the feathers. Lying down on the cold tile floor. Time has never passed so slowly, dragging on like a snail as he waits. He wants to see the brothers again. Wants to talk about what's outside the lab. Learn more about trees and the little animals that live in them. So he waits.
A loud blaring fills his ears, making Tommy nearly jump out of his skin. Red floods the room as sirens pop out of the wall, screaming like there is no tomorrow. He looks around the room wildly, trying to find an explanation for the horrible noise and headache-inducing lights. He finds nothing. Maybe it was a test? The only flaw in that logic was the scientist never did tests anywhere but the lab.
With fear and confusion racing through Tommy's mind, he does the same thing he does every time things get to be too much. He hides under the bed.
Stuffing his pillow with him to block the world from view. The alarms don’t stop. They don’t stop as Tommy’s leg cramps up. Don’t stop when Tommy hits his head on the bed frame. Tommy is near tears as the wails continue. He just wants them to be silent. He wants Wilbur and Techno to tell him what they mean.
But no one comes. The only thing he hears beyond is the occasional yells and footsteps outside of his room. Tommy is alone as the room is painted red.
A slam at the door drowns out the sirens for a second. It makes Tommy flinch, causing him to hit his head on the bed frame again. His eyes go wide as he watches the door. Another bang, this time one that shakes the frame. Another, and another, one after the other until finally the door gives out breaking with a horrible bang.
Tommy stares in horror as a man falls to the floor with the door. Dust and debris spread across the room, making him want to sneeze. He holds it though. This man looks angry as his head swivels around, searching for something.
The man has blond hair tied back in a small ponytail. He wears clothing that Tommy has never seen before, something that drapes over him, pooling at the bottom almost like a dress. It's tied up differently and it has leg holes, unlike a dress. The man also wears an ugly bucket hat that is covered in green and white strips. The thing that catches Tommy's eye is the large black wings on the man's back. They scrape the floor with how large they are.
The man seems to find what he is looking for. His eyes catch on the pile of feathers that sit on the floor. Narrowing at Tommy's. The man bends down to pick up one of Wilbur’s feathers. Letting out a hiss as he holds it close.
Tommy can’t stop the small scared peep that leaves his mouth. He doesn’t want to die, and it's clear that this man is mad. Very very mad. He presses a hand to his mouth but it's too late, the man's eyes have already zeroed in on him.
Tommy doesn’t even realize what is happening as the bed is flipped away. Leaving him exposed to the open air. The bed clatters across the room as the man stares above him.
“Where are they!” The man yells. Tommy's eyes go wide as his breath picks up. The man gives a horrifying hiss that rattles his bones. He can feel his heart stop as the very ground beneath him shakes.
The man’s eyes go soft as he takes in Tommy's appearance before they hone in on one thing. His wings. The wings that look like a smaller version of the mans’. A disgusted look takes over the previous soft one as the man takes in his appearance. Tommy can only curl into himself more, wishing for the cover of the bed again. “What are you,” he hisses.
Tommy stares at the man in shock. He doesn’t know how to answer that. Doesn’t even know what the man is asking of him. Another scared chirp leaves his mouth. The man responds with another hiss, looking Tommy up and down.
Tommy can feel his heart skip a beat. He can feel his lungs squeeze desperately for air that they can’t bring in. He feels like he is going to die. His mind races, trying to think of an escape but he can’t find one. The man towers over him by at least two feet and his wings cage him in, making him press closer to the wall to escape them.
“Where are my boys!?” The man shouts at Tommy, venom spreading through every word. Tommy shrinks into himself more, hiding his face in his knees trying to hide even though he knows it won’t work.
“Dad!” Wilbur's voice yells out. Relief fills Tommy before he realizes what was said. This is Wilbur’s dad. The one he spoke about so fondly. Talked about how he loved Wilbur and Techno, and how he would do anything for him. And he hates Tommy. Wilbur said his dad was kind, but he wasn’t to him. Maybe Tommy didn’t deserve his kindness. Maybe he should never have gotten his hopes up. He should have known nothing would come of it.
Tommy scrambles away as Wilbur tackles his dad, Techno close behind. Their dad scoops them up, holding them tightly as he steps away from Tommy, almost shielding his sons from him. He watches as they embrace, filled with a warm love that Tommy must not deserve. He watches from afar as they smile and cry at the same time. Hugging. Tommy still doesn’t know what it feels like, or why they do it, but it looks nice. It seems warmer than any of the cold he has grown up in.
The brothers hadn’t noticed him yet. He is hidden from their view by their father's wings, so he makes a split-second decision. Slinking away towards the bed that had been thrown from the wall. He hides under it as the family whispers to each other.
The tears start to pour as he watches Phil guild his sons from the room, Wilbur and Techno boasting about how they got away from the scientist while the alarms were going off. Tommy just hides as he silently cries, knowing this might be the last time he sees anyone but the scientists.
Wilbur stops dead in his tracks, causing his dad to stumble in order not to run into him. Tommy slaps a hand over his mouth worried that Wilbur stopped because he heard him.
“Wait! Where is Tommy?” Wilbur asks. Peering beyond his dad to look around the room. His frown deepens when he doesn’t see the boy. “I swear this was his room, was it not Techno?”
“No, this was the one. Why is the bed off the wall anyways?” Techno points to the bed as he talks, Tommy wiggles deeper behind it. He doesn’t care if this is the boy's dad who they talked about so fondly, he was mean, really mean. “Did you see him, Phil?” Techno asks, looking up at his father.
“Who’s Tommy?” Phil questions looking at his boys with a puzzled expression.
“He is the little boy in this room. He says he has been here for his whole life, we promised we would get him out.” Wilbur explains. A worried look crosses over Phil's face.
“They have kids here?” He sounds almost angry, making Tommy flinch back.
“Yeah, just the one I think. You know he kind of looks like you.” Techno muses, Phil's eyes grow wide in horror at his son's last sentence.
“The clone you mean?” Phil's voice hardens again, as he tries to continue walking. Techno pulls him back.
“Tommy is not a clone. He was a sweet kid.” Techno argues.
“Yeah, he has never even left this place. I promised him I would get him out. Where is he?” Wilbur stressed, looking around the room.
“That was a child? Not just an experiment?” Phil speaks quickly as his eyes search the room, looking for something, looking for Tommy.
“Of course he was. He is a sweet kid too, you will love him, Dad.” Wilbur tells him. Phil's face drops into one of shock. “What… what did you do?” Wilbur asks, watching his father carefully.
“I didn’t know… I thought it was just an experiment, not a real child.” Phil tries to explain himself.
“What did you do,” Techno says, his words are sharp.
“I yelled at him. I didn’t know. I thought he had hurt one of you, he was alone in a room filled with your feathers.” Phil says.
“Yeah because we preened him, no one else had in his life,” Wilbur yells back, ripping himself from Phil's grip to look around the room.
“I’m sorry.” Phil’s voice is quiet.
“Tell that to Tommy, not me!” Wilbur shouts as he walks behind the bed. It doesn’t take long for Tommy to be found. Pressed close to the wall as he stares at Wilbur with large eyes. I found him!” Wilbur calls out. “It's alright Tommy you can come out,” He tells him. And Tommy does, he knows Wilbur won’t hurt him, even if he deserves it.
“Tommy I am so sorry I didn’t realize.” Phil rushes towards him apologizing.
“It’s ok,” Tommy mumbles, hiding in Wilbur's wing as the man steps closer.
“It’s not, but I will make it up to you.” Phil declares.
“Let's go see the sky, Toms,” Wilbur whispers.
For the first time, Tommy sees the outside world. He sees the sun and the trees, the birds and the moon. He feels the wind play with his hair and hears the soft buzz of the bugs. And for the first time, he sees the sky, the great expanse of blue and fluffy white clouds that had been resting over his head the whole time.