Chapter Text
When Tommy woke up, he found that the sun had set, his bedside clock said 7:53pm, and he was cuddling a certain red dragon.
He was filled with confusion, then realization, then an overwhelming amount of guilt and embarrassment, all right in a row as his memories came flooding in, despite being a bit blurry.
He roughly scrubbed at his face, throwing the dragon across the room before feeling guilty and pulling himself out of bed to pick it up off the floor, setting it on his bed before feeling a sudden wave of hatred at himself and eventually deciding on setting Harold on the top shelf of his closet.
“Stupid” he muttered to himself, tugging slightly at his hair out of frustration. Why couldn’t he just be normal? Why couldn’t he just stay the right age?
Refusing to face his family, Tommy returned to his bed, ignoring the way his stomach grumbled uncomfortably at the fact that he was missing dinner. He curled in on himself under his blankets with his back to the door, staring at his window and zoning out as he watched the night sky.
Suddenly there was a soft knock on his door. It opened slowly and the light from the hallway cast a shadow of a person on Tommy’s wall.
Tommy quickly froze, trying to hold as still as possible as the person in his doorway moved closer.
“Is he awake?” Techno whispered, a new shadow appearing in the hall light.
“I don’t think so. I’m not sure,” Wilbur whispered back, voice sounding from right beside Tommy’s bed.
Tommy’s breathing began to pick up, thinking about how much Wilbur must hate him. Thinking about how disgusted Techno must be. He tried to keep his breathing even, but as his thoughts got louder, so did his gasps of air.
“Tommy? Toms?” Wilbur set a gentle hand on Tommy’s shaking shoulder.
Tommy shook his head, wheezing as his desperate breathfuls of air didn’t seem to reach his lungs.
“Sorry Wilbur.” He whispered, his gasping getting louder.
“No, no sweet thing. Nothing to be sorry about. You’re okay.” Wilbur quickly sat next to Tommy on the bed, helping the boy sit up. “Just breathe with me, Bud. In through your nose, out through your mouth. You’re okay, I promise.”
Tommy’s breath caught in his throat, his lungs spasming and tears springing to his eyes.
“I can’t. Wilbur I can’t.” He gasped and choked, one of his shaking hands finding its way to Wilbur’s shirt, and grasping the fabric.
“You can. You can, Tommy. Just breathe with me. You’re doing just fine.” Wilbur took an exaggerated breath, rubbing a hand on Tommy’s shoulder comfortingly.
Techno quietly made his way over as Wilbur helped calm the younger boy down.
“You’re okay,” he muttered softly, sitting on the other side of Tommy and patting his knee. “You’re alright, Tommy.”
Tommy finally began to breathe, eventually getting a full breath of air into his lungs, and he quickly felt all the energy in his body melt away.
Giving a tired sigh, Tommy leaned his head onto Techno’s shoulder, relaxing into his older brother’s hold.
“I’m proud of you,” Wilbur whispered, kissing the top of Tommy’s head, and combing down his ruffled hair. “You’re alright.”
~~~~~~~~
Within five minutes, Phil was at the door as well, knowing full well that it shouldn’t take Wilbur and Techno so long to check on a sleeping child.
“Is he alright?” Phil whispered, creeping into the room quietly.
“‘M ‘kay.” Tommy slurred tiredly, not opening his eyes or lifting his head from where it was resting on Techno’s shoulder.
“Hey Toms,” Phil said softly, pausing for a second. “Are you..” he looked to Wilbur, “is he.. Little?”
“I’m not.” Tommy rubbed his eyes roughly and sat upright. “I’m not regressed and I promise I won't be again.”
“Tommy, it’s alright to be small if you want to be.” Wilbur said.
“It’s not actually!” Tommy responded, waving his hands in an aggravated gesture. “It’s not alright, and I don’t want to be small! It’s just something that happens when I’m being weak and stupid.”
He grasped at chunks of his hair again, pulling roughly and closing his eyes tightly.
“Hey, stop that.” Techno murmured, reaching out to gently unclench Tommy’s fists of hair, and bringing Tommy’s hands to rest on Techno’s lap.
“Toms, bud, it’s not stupid or weak to regress. I love you sweetheart, it’s okay to be small.”
Phil leaned over Wilbur in order to reach Tommy and press a kiss to the side of his head. “We love you kiddo.”
Techno didn’t say anything, but he gently squeezed Tommy’s hand three times, a silent “I love you” that Tommy returned, weakly squeezing back.
“I’m sorry,” Tommy whispered.
“For what?” Wilbur asked.
“For slipping, and then for causing such a big deal. I don’t mean to be a bother.”
“You’re not bothering us Toms, it’s okay to slip. You and your emotions are never a bother.” Wilbur said, Techno and Phil nodding in agreement.
A comfortable silence settled on the group for a few minutes before Tommy started to feel a familiar haze wash over him.
“No, no, no.” He muttered, pulling his hands from Techno’s grasp in order to rub his eyes harshly, trying to push the fuzzy feeling away as his thoughts began to feel staticky.
“What’s the matter?” Phil asked.
“‘M feeling fuzzy.” Tommy muttered, shaking his head angrily.
“Fuzzy?”
“‘M tryin’ not to slip.”
“Don’t resist it kiddo, it’s alright to slip. I’m very excited to spend time with little you!” Phil set a hand on Tommy’s knee, rubbing it gently
“I taught both Phil and Techno all about this stuff while you were napping, Toms. I wouldn’t have explained it all to them if we weren’t willing to help you.” Wilbur cradled Tommy’s head to his shoulder. “Go ahead and slip darling, it’s okay. You’re alright, and we love you.”
Tommy whined quietly, hiding his face in Wilbur’s chest for a bit before his body language eventually began to relax ever so slightly. His muscles began to loosen, and a hand came up to grasp weakly at Wilbur’s shirt.
“You okay sweetheart?” Wilbur whispered.
“Mhm, I ‘kay, Wilby,” he mumbled.
“Okay,” Wilbur wrapped his arms around Tommy and gave a gentle squeeze. “I love you.”
“Wove you too,” the little responded, flashing a smile before turning to Techno, “an’ ‘ove you Techie!”
Techno smiled as Tommy grinned and clapped his hands together excitedly.
Then the boy turned and remembered Phil sitting at the foot of the bed. He gasped with joy and crawled over, plopping himself into Phil’s lap and hugging the man.
“Hi Dada,” Tommy mumbled happily, giggling when Phil wrapped his arms around the boy and kissed the top of his head.
“Hi kiddo! I love you.”
“I ‘ove you more!” Tommy giggled again, smiling brightly.
Phil gave the boy a gentle squeeze, “I love you most.”