Work Text:
I'll make you okay
And drive them away
The images stuck in your head
----
It took 19 years, but Tommy was starting to learn how to slow down.
It was an adjustment, after spending so much of his life in the fast lane. He was pretty sure he was enjoying it, though.
He moved in with David a few weeks after they got together, mainly because Tommy was technically homeless. It wasn’t much of a change though, because he’d been sleeping there anyway.
More often then not, Tommy would wake up on David’s chest. David’s breathing would be calm and light, and the sun would peek between the curtains, and there was nowhere he would’ve rather been. That was when Tommy was most at peace with himself and the world.
Then there were the days he’d wake up in a cold sweat, his breathing ragged, panicking after some sort of nightmare, about things he didn’t really remember, things he didn’t want to remember.
David said he should see someone about his nightmares, and he was right-he usually was. But Tommy was known for a few things and talking about his issues wasn’t one. So, he kept it bottled up, much to David’s concern.
He was still working on letting people in.
It was a month after the argument with his brother, and he still hadn’t talked to him. He only really talked to David, and he was okay with that. He’d almost forgotten about it until David came home one day.
“You really should talk to him,” David said, snapping Tommy out of his video game induced trance. He sat up from the couch where he’d spent most of the day, switching between different games while he waited for David to come home from work.
“You’re right, as usual.”
“You think you’d listen, considering how often I’m right.”
Tommy sighed, collapsing back onto the couch and pausing the game.
“It’s complicated, okay? I said a lot of shit I didn’t mean.”
“So you’ve told me. He’s still pretty upset, I guess.” David had set his stuff down and joined Tommy on the couch. Tommy groaned.
“I know, I know, I know. I’m pretty good at royally fucking things up.”
“I thought this was a case of you keeping things in again.”
Tommy gave him a look. David raised his eyebrows.
“Just saying. Not the best coping mechanism.”
“I’ll talk to him. I just need a bit or something.”
“Or something?” David asked, stretching out and laying on Tommy.
“I don’t know. I’m emotionally challenged or something.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“And yet, you still put up with me.”
“I’ll deal with it.” He said, kissing Tommy on the nose.
“Did I ever tell you I love you?”
“Pretty often. I don’t think anyone would believe me.”
“You’re probably right.”
“Always am, Aren’t I?”
----
Have you tried apologizing
Before you start to drown?
----
He went the next day after David went to work.
He still wasn’t good at saying hello, though. Billy and Teddy didn’t answer when he knocked, so he let himself in, phasing through the door. The house was quiet, and all the lights were off. He went to go and leave, planning to come back later.
“What have I done to be graced with your presence?” Tommy jumped.
Billy was sitting on the kitchen counter, little flashes of blue around him. He’d cut his hair, and there was a different air about him. Tommy didn’t want to know what had happened to him.
“Didn’t know you were home.”
“I wasn’t.”
“Oh.” There was an awkward silence and Tommy shuffled his feet.
“So did you break into my house for a reason, or were you just gonna stand around?”
“I came to apologize.”
Billy was not expecting that. “Oh.”
“Yeah.” Tommy took a breath, mentally cursing himself.
“I said a lot of shit I didn’t mean. I’m, uh, not really good at talking about things. Never have been. I usually just sort of, keep it in I guess and then I blow up. It wasn’t supposed to be an attack, but I stopped thinking and sometimes I think my mouth goes faster than my brain. Basically, I’m sorry.”
Billy looked taken aback. He was quiet, and time felt like it was standing still. After what felt like an eternity, he hopped off the counter, pulling Tommy into a hug. Tommy felt like his brain was short-circuiting.
“Uh.”
“I didn’t take you for the apologizing type,” He said, pulling away.
“I’m not.”
“I figured. So what posed you to say sorry this time?”
He froze. He was not telling his brother about this yet. “Don’t worry about it.” Billy raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t press any further.
“Anyways, you seem busy, so I’m not going to bother you anymore. See ya.” He took off, not giving him chance to respond.
----
He was passed out when David came home, sprawled across the bed. He looked peaceful, so David left him alone.
Tommy’s peaceful slumber didn’t last long. He started to thrash in his sleep, fighting something that wasn’t there. It took all of David’s strength to make sure he didn’t hurt himself.
He woke up in a panic, breathing heavily. It took him a minute to figure out where he was, looking around wide-eyed before he found David. Tommy didn’t say anything, placing his head on David’s shoulder and curling into him, shaking.
This wasn’t the first time this had happened, and David had learned not to ask. He didn’t say anything, pulling Tommy in closer, rocking gently.
They stayed that way for a long time, and David thought, worried about what it could be. He knew Tommy’s relationship with his birth parents was rough, and that he didn’t talk to or about them. He knew he’d been sent to a weird juvie, where they did experiments on him. He knew about patrinot.
And yet, he felt like he knew nothing at the same time.
He was snapped back to reality by a foreign sound.
Tommy was crying. Hard. And he didn’t cry. Ever.
He was whispering something, too fast and too quiet to understand. David didn’t say anything. He just held him, running a hand through Tommy’s ghost white hair. There was a quiet in the air, the only sound was that of his sobs.
“I hate them.” Tommy’s voice cut through the silence.
“Who?” David asked, a little unsure. He was glad Tommy was talking.
“Fucking birth parents,” He muttered, the spite obvious.
“They treated me like shit whenever I lived with them. It was like nothing I did pleased them, y’know? They wanted this perfect, well-behaved son, and instead, they got me, an ADHD mess who couldn’t do anything right. And they hated anyone who was different than them. Mutants, LGBT people, anyone who wasn’t a straight, white, person was ‘wrong’ to them.”
Tommy took a breath, sitting himself up before continuing.
“When I turned twelve and my powers showed up, I freaked. I hid it for as long as I could, but when you accidentally blow up a cup with your bare hands, you can’t hide it very long.” He shuddered.
“I had a black eye for a week. The number of times they told me I was nothing but a worthless, good for nothing mutant was…” He trailed off, trying to hold back a sob. He took a few breaths before continuing.
“And then I accidentally blew up the school, and I thought I’d finally be able to get away from it-from them. Then I get there and at first it just seems like a weird juvie, y’know? Then they started doing experiments on me, seeing what I can do, if I could develop more. Human weapon.” He took another breath. “And then there was the cell- that fucking cell. It was torturous. There was this… power dampener in it or whatever, and anytime I tried to use mine, it hurt. It hurt worse than anything”
Tommy wiped his face. “Before that-when I was moving between houses after the divorce- I thought it couldn’t get any worse. I thought I couldn’t… couldn’t’ hate myself anymore, want to die any more than I already did. And then they tried to turn me into a weapon- running tests, performing weird, intrusive surgeries. I was treated like, like I wasn’t human. Like I was something worse.”
He collapsed back into David’s chest, sobbing heavily. David held him tight, rocking him gently, trying to calm him down. Eventually, Tommy’s sobs dwindled down to the occasional sniffle.
“’m sorry for dumping that on you,” He said, voice muffled.
“Don’t be. I’m glad you talked to me.” David said, gently rubbing his back. “I’m always going to be here to listen.”
Tommy nodded. “… tired.”
Most of his sentence was lost in David’s shirt, but he understood. He laid them onto the bed gently, brushing Tommy’s hair out of the way. His face was red and tear-stained, and he looked completely exhausted, despite the fact he’d been sleeping not long before.
Tommy yawned, closing his eyes gently. David leaned over, gently placing kisses on the freckles that lined Tommy’s face. He didn’t say anything, but he smiled a little bit. It didn’t take him long to fall asleep, his breathing still off slightly. David watched his boyfriend sleep for a while before he drifted into sleep next to him.
Tommy woke up before David, much calmer than before. Tommy watched him sleep and figured no one could make him happier. David woke up, yawning.
“Hey,” Tommy said, voice still heavy with sleep.
“Feeling better?” David asked. Tommy nodded. David put an arm around him, and Tommy shuffled closer.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you.” His voice was quiet.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you or-or my mom, or my brother, even if he’s a pain in the ass.” Something hit him like a brick.
“I haven’t told mom yet.” He sat up in a flash. “About us I mean. If that okay with you.”
“If its what you want. You can tell her tomorrow, though. Why don’t we go get some dinner?”
Tommy stopped for a second, thinking. “Okay. Race you there.” He said, a grin spreading across his face.
----
Tommy was up and ready to go by eight, which was not normal.
“Nervous?” David asked.
“Yeah.” He didn’t sugar-coat his answer.
“It’ll be fine. From what I’ve heard, she’s one of the nicest people.”
“She is. I’ve just never done the whole coming out thing.”
“You don’t have to, you know.” David put a hand on Tommy’s shoulder.
“I want to.” Tommy stood up, taking David’s hand. “Ready to go?”
“Yep.”
David wasn’t shocked when they arrived at Wanda’s house less than a second later. That was just how Tommy was. He put David down and took in a breath before knocking.
The door opened a few seconds later. David knew who was going to answer the door, but he was still unsure of what to do when the Scarlet Witch answered. Tommy grabbed her in a hug almost immediately.
“Thomas, who’s your friend?” She asked, and her voice had a soft accent to it. Tommy let go of the hug, grabbing David’s hand.
“This is David. He’s my boyfriend.” His voice was more confident than expected. “I’m bi.”
Wanda gave them a knowing sort of smile. She didn’t say anything, but she ushered the two of them inside.
They spent the next few hours over there, and Tommy was calm, happy. He knew this was just the beginning and that there was more to come, but he was happy, for the first time in a long time. He had his family-his real family-and he figured with them at his side, he could do anything.