Chapter Text
Tommy was late coming home.
In hindsight, he probably shouldn't have stayed back to talk to that new teacher. But he couldn't help it, he was just so nice! He'd never had a teacher –or anyone, really–be so kind to him before, so used to being called the 'problem child' of whatever classroom he's thrown in.
And yeah, once he gets to know Tommy, at all really, the kindness will surely go away, but Tommy would bask in it while it was here.
It was –weird. Being treated with so much care, talked to with so much gentleness he had never heard before. It was all very strange and nerve-wracking, on edge wondering when it was all gonna stop. Wondering why Mr. Soot even bothered with it in the first place. It was all so unsettling and wonderful –something he was so completely unused to, yet longed for more than anything.
He shook the thoughts away, focusing on the sidewalk at his feet, watching his ratty sneakers step one in front of the other.
Shoot. He was already seven minutes late, Dream was not gonna be happy about that. He hated when Tommy was late.
He walked faster.
He thought back to the time he was twenty minutes late coming home from school.
He started running.
By the time he made it to his front door he was twelve minutes late and the door was locked —something his guardian liked to do when he got home any later than he was supposed to, that way Tommy couldn't sneak past him.
He cursed under his breath and knocked gently on the door with shaking hands. He kept his head bowed, fingers picking at the band-aid on his thumb nervously.
He heard the couch creak as Dream stood up, followed by footsteps Tommy could immediately tell were angry. He shrank in on himself, trying to look smaller –Dream always preferred a smaller target.
Tommy held back a flinch as the door unlocked and swung open with a flourish, he lifted his chin but didn't make eye contact. He knew the drill by now.
"You're late," Dream stated matter-of-factly.
Tommy nodded wordlessly, letting his arms fall to his sides, loose and defeated.
Dream stepped aside, ordering, "Get in here"
"Yes, sir"
Tommy walked carefully through the door, eyes trained on the peeling walls straight ahead. Dream loomed close behind him, he seemed a bit tired, and Tommy clung to that observation, it could mean the slightest bit of salvation for him. He could only hope the exhaustion meant a lazy punishment.
Dream moved slowly beside him, exhaustion clear in his posture, Tommy could only guess it was a long day at work. The man turned to him and reached up to grip his face, hard enough to bruise, Tommy bit back a wince.
The grip tightened momentarily as Dream studied his face, scowling as he dug his nails into the boy's jaw.
"Well?" Dream spat harshly, "Let me hear it," he ordered, finally releasing Tommy's face.
Tommy took a gasping breath as his jaw ached something fierce. He shrunk in on himself and did as told.
"I lost track of time talking with a new teacher and -and I left late. I'm sorry, sir"
Dream eyed him for a moment longer, gaze icy as he looked at the frightened blond boy in front of him. Tommy held his breath and glared at the floor under his ratty sneakers.
The man finally took a step back, "You're lucky work was a bitch today," he said lowly, "don't let it happen again," the 'unless' was left unspoken, but Tommy heard it loud and clear, "You're dismissed"
Tommy slumped, "Thank you, sir" he murmured quietly, cautious, before turning and booking it up the stairs to his room.
He closed the door carefully behind him and tossed his school books onto his bed with a blanketed thud. A pillow fell off the mattress but Tommy didn't bother to pick it up.
Tommy sighed deeply as he let himself slump into his desk chair. He closed his eyes and reached up to feel for marks on his chin, opening his eyes back up and wincing as he felt nail marks bleeding down his jaw.
The boy wiped at it with the back of his sleeve carelessly and pulled his homework off the top of his books, huffing at how much there was.
'At least I don't have any broken bones this time,' he thought bitterly.
He grumbled a bit as he wrote down some answers on his algebra paper, and scowled at his English homework. He always hated English.
He heard Dream turn on the TV downstairs and plop himself onto the couch. He let his head fall back as he sighed in pure relief, before biting back a groan as he glanced back down to the papers in his lap.
He wiped his face again and glared at the red smudge staining his sleeve and homework.
Off to a great start.