Chapter Text
“No! I’m not thirsty!”
Gordon had been tired all morning. Coffee hadn’t done much to remove his lack of sleep, but it was enough to function at least. He had been kept up with constant blending and chopping, but he was too lazy to stop it. There would often be a pause of silence and just as the sleep began to overtake his worn out mind, it would begin again like nothing happened.
Tommy had been making random almost-mad-science-esc soda combinations all night, but he looked perfectly fine. No bags under his eyes, no bloodshot eyes, nothing. In fact, he was as chipper as ever. Gordon was concerned with Tommy not being affected with the lack of recharging, but that wasn’t it.
As soon as he woke up that morning, he was expecting a mess. Ingredients strewn across the kitchen tops and machines left unplugged. Stains he was sure he had to clean up. He didn’t want more mess by leaving it to any one of the Science Team to clean up. But instead of an absolute pile of chaos, the counters were clean. It was almost as if he had imagined it. But he absolutely hadn’t. As soon as he sat down on the worn couch stained with unmovable marks of soda being spilt and pizza grease, Tommy appeared out of nowhere and ‘Begged Mr. Freeman to try his new-and improved Sunkist Extravaganza!’. Just a mear whiff made Gordon uneager to try such a strange liquid. It was sour and savoury smelling all at once. He watched as it fizzed and popped in the small plastic cup covered in party-like decor.
“Please Mr. Freeman!! I-It’s good, trust me! I tried it myself!!!” Tommy begged, shoving the cup back into Gordon’s face and making puppy dog eyes. Sunkist flicked one ear at the ruckus Tommy was making, before moving his head over and going back to his nap.
“Tommy I said I’m not thirsty” Gordon sighed, turning back to grab for the remote with dreary eyes “And for the last time, call me Gordon. I’m not your teacher” he sat back up and smiled, leaning back on the couch and closing his eyes for a moment.
Tommy looked almost deflated at his friend’s refusal. “B-but I want to share it with you!” he sat down next to Gordon and slumped over, glaring at the wobbling reflection in the orange liquid “It’s no fun if I’ve only tried it...” he looked away.
Gordon felt a pang of sympathy for Tommy. He didn’t want to defeatedly drink up Tommy’s creation, but he wasn’t going to deduce something as horrid without evidence. He offered his hand out, watching as Tommy’s face lit up like a street light when it detects the dark as he sighed. He shoved it into Gordon’s hand, the liquid sloshing slightly up the side of the cup and Gordon hesitated for a moment. Did he have to do this?
Gordon took a deep breath in and pushed the cup up to his lips, taking a quick swig on the liquid. He wasn’t going to be a fucking pussy over a drink. If Benry found out, they weren't going to let him live it down. Not in a million fucking years.
The taste made his face screw up, but he resisted the urge to let it show. Hurting Tommy’s feelings was like asking for his ass to be kicked into last year by anyone. He forced down the disgusting concoction, licking his lips and having a crooked smile spread across his face as he looked back at Tommy. He wasn’t sure if Tommy could light up more than he already had at Gordon accepting his request to taste his creation, but alas, he was wrong.
He was sure Tommy could be mistaken for the sun at this point, his smile was so wide it was like it was all he could see. Gordon sighed in relief that his distaste wasn’t apparent, but he felt that if he kept it up, he would have to try more of Tommy’s creations. And he hated that thought. He had to think of something to get Tommy out of his proximity without hurting his feelings. Maybe asking one of the members of the science team to try them? No, no. They were way too honest. They would tear the poor guy’s heart in two. But he couldn’t sit here feeling his stomach twist into knots every time he took another sip of something absolutely not meant to go together.
Then he felt a lightbulb go off in his head.
“Tommy, I’ll tell you what-” he got up slowly, pausing slightly as he scanned the room, before he moved towards a bookcase. He scanned the shelf, throwing a few books around haphazardly and the pages flying open for a few seconds before shutting with the impact. Gordon mumbled to himself, scowling slightly through his glasses before he exclaimed “Aha! Found it!” He picked up a small box off the top shelf, having to stand on his tippy-toes to even reach it. It was a cyan colour, shiny and almost looking brand new, adorned with a small lock and handle of a silver colour. He shook the box for a moment, but only the silence of it’s empty inside rattled back. Grabbing a key nearby, he held the box and it’s key out to Tommy, who looked back with curiosity and confusion.
“What’s this for Mr. Free- I mean G-Gordon?” his voice shook, a little nervous of what he was supposed to do with this… box. Gordon smiled back, chuckling slightly “Well, when Joshua had to do a small job for his school to raise money for the roof to be fixed, he had this box in order to keep money in it” he opened the box with the key and showed the inside to Tommy. It had small little plastic compartments with small silver handles that snapped down or up when pushed.
“Why don’t you sell your… soda creations to people and make yourself some money? I’m sure other people will love them” he winced at the end of his sentence, sure that he was probably wrong. But anything to get Tommy’s mind off of making him drink any more. He was far from parched, to the point he didn’t even want to drink his coffee anymore. It was almost like the soda mix had cursed his taste buds.
Tommy paused for a moment, before his face was full of determination. His eyes were like stars as he smiled. “That’s a great idea!!” he looked over at Sunkist, patting his lap “Come on boy!!! Let’s go sell some soda!”. Sunkist’s ears pricked up at Tommy’s call and he stood up, a playful look on his face as his tail wagged back and forth rapidly. Tommy dashed for the door, box in under his arm and ran outside. But before he left, he peeked around the entrance again and called out to Gordon “Thank you Mr. Freeman!!!” he shouted, before shutting the door with so much force, it shook the house.
Gordon simply sighed, dismissing telling Tommy for the 1000th time not to call him Mr. Freeman. He wasn’t a teacher, or even any parental figure. At least not in his eyes. But, he was too tired to correct him. Maybe he would let Tommy just run off and have fun. He slumped back onto the couch and clutched the remote, pressing the large red button in the top right corner. And on came the usual news. He hesitated reaching for his coffee, before simply going over to the kitchen and tipping it down the sink. He watched the liquid leave the strong confines of his 'Scientist of the house' mug, scientist being scribbled over 'man' very poorly, before sighing sadly at his wasted efforts. He had lost all appetite for now.
Tommy had been sitting out on the front lawn for about an hour now. The neighbourhood was almost eerily silent, with the odd passenger of a car looking at this 37 year old man sat on the grass with a propeller hat on with as much confusion as anyone would. And Tommy would simply wave back in his childish demeanor, absolutely unfazed by the look on this strangers face which was anything but inviting. And they would simply drive off and Tommy would be alone on the grass again.
He sighed after a while, letting his head rest on his hand, which was propped up on his knee as he sat cross legged. Sunkist was lying nearby, his head flat on the floor. Tommy took his free hand and petted Sunkist gently, prompting the golden retriever to look up and stick his tongue out. This wasn’t working.
Tommy thought for a moment, hand still rubbing Sunkist’s fur without his knowing. What could he do to make people interested in buying his soda-combos? His amazing soda-combos at that?
"Ah, Hello Tommy!" Dr. Coomer's familiar cheery voice broke the awkward silence as he pulled into the drive. "Dr Coomer!" Tommy exclaimed back, immediately perking up and looking just as happy as Sunkist. Dr. Coomer slowly stepped out of the semi rusty green car, looking at Tommy over the roof of the car "May I ask what you and Sunkist are doing out on the lawn? Is it that good of a day?" he rounded the car, his Hawaiian shirt coming into view as he chuckled. Tommy shrank slightly "Well, n-no. Mr. Freeman said that I should sell my Soda-Combos but no one wants them! I even named some of them after my favourite beyblades!!! Everyone loves beyblades!!" Tommy made his famous puppy dog eyes and Coomer simply smiled.
"Well, I think you should make a sign! To show you are selling soda. It's very important that people know that you are selling soda." Coomer reassured, walking joyfully over to the boot of the car with a skip on his step. Dr. Coomer was by far the most cheerful out of the group, having a smile on his face and a cheerful tone in his voice. Tommy always wondered how he did it. I mean, he was cheerful himself but not cheerful all the time, and to top it all off, he was much wiser.
But Dr. Coomer was right of course. How would people know he was selling soda without a sign? Dr. Coomer rummaged through the boot, before he held up a small rectangular piece of cardboard that was slightly worn at the edges. It was almost like he reached through a portal or it popped into thin air at will. But Tommy wasn't complaining. He held the cardboard in his hand like it was fucking gold . He kept staring at it for hours until Dr. Coomer interjected, causing him to look up.
"I'm sure Gordon has got some pens-" he looked up at the sky for a moment "-But you better hurry before it gets dark" he added quickly, before going back to gather something else from the boot of the car in the drive. Tommy didn't wait to see what else Dr.Coomer had. Instead, he dashed inside yelling a short "Thank you Dr. Coomer!!" in his usual cheery demeanour as he disappeared around the door frame.
Tommy scribbled away with permanent markers of different colours. Green, blue, red, orange and back to green. He even did an almost photographic image of Sunkist at the bottom right corner, some small yellow triangles coming off of the immortal dog. When he had been scribbling for what felt like hours, throwing away pens that had run out, he held up his sign and glared at it. It wasn’t just markers now: Glitter, gel pens, random stickers, even macaroni he had seen on the kitchen side and taken for his sake. He wasn’t aware that was for dinner. But that didn’t matter.
Jumping down the stairs sign in hand, he opened the door again and just as quickly shut it behind him. Sunkist had decided to stay inside this time, tired from… well whatever Sunkist even did. He was a dog, but what did he even do besides be immortal and sleep? Well, immortality must be a work out for sure. Beggars most certainly cannot be choosers in this scenario.
The sun slowly dipped behind the houses as Tommy let out an exhausted yawn. No one had come to buy his soda. A few children much smaller than him came to marvel at his amazing craftsmanship, but their parents immediately dragged them away. He sighed, looking at the sun blaze almost out of view. Was this a waste of time? Was he better offering it to Benry?
“Hey!! Mister!!” a small voice called out, high pitched and… child-like.
A small blonde haired girl skipped up to Tommy, who has been sat still for so long he left an imprint in the grass with his shoes. Her little pigtails swayed in the wind as she hummed until she had reached him. Slowly, she pointed to the sign and smiled. “You are selling SODA?!” the little girl’s eyes lit up like fireworks on Guy Fawkes Night.
Tommy felt the happiness rise in him as his cheery voice returned “Yes!!! I am!-” he leant forward, elbows pressed into the lawn “Is there anything you’re looking for?? I have a soda for every occasion. And I mean EVERY” his eyes sparkled with glee as his smile was spread across his face like butter. The small girl paused for a moment, thinking and making humming sounds. And then she continued, perking up again.
“I’m going to this party, but I’m just not in the party mood you know? Do you have anything to fix it Mister?” Tommy felt important being called ‘Mister’ for the first time. He only regulated ‘Mister’ to Gordon, also known as Mr. Freeman to him. Tommy paused, and then turned to rummage behind him. The small girl peered around, only seeing Tommy making the effect to seem more mysterious. In reality, the cup was in his hand the whole time and his silly fake rummaging caused the liquid to spill slightly onto the grass.
Finally, he brought the soda cup in front of the girl, watching as she stared at the plastic party cup. She didn’t speak for a moment, almost entranced by the sighted, before she held it in her hand. “What’s it called?” she asked, her eyes not leaving the soda mixture in her small worn hands.
Tommy stood up, the size different more apparent now as he loomed over her. He rolled up his lab coat sleeves and spun his propeller hat… propeller. He made a dramatic pose and exclaimed “I call it: THE SUNKIST EXTRAVAGANZA!!!” he huffed and puffed for a small moment, almost worn out by the amount of enthusiasm he put into his introduction. Quickly he added a small “Working title” quietly and did some small jazz hand motions in the air, chuckling.
He sat down again, thumping down on the grass and looked up to see a pair of beady eyes staring back in absolute awe. “Woooooaahhhhh!!!!” was all she said, staring at Tommy for so long he started to feel slightly uncomfortable. But she was a small impressionable child after all. “Oh I almost forgot” she added, rummaging around in her pockets before she pulled out a small bracelet. It was littered with different colours, charms and was knotted in a hypnotic way. She held it out and Tommy cupped his hands around it as she gave it to him, dropping it gently. He stared at it in awestruck silence, eyes glistening.
“I know it’s not much of a payment , I don’t have any money you see...” he deflated for a moment, before returning to her usual perkiness she had had with her throughout their whole interaction. “...BUT!! It’s a valuable thing I give to those I find special ”
Tommy let the word ‘special’ run through his mind over and over again, like a broken record. But the good kind. He looked up after a while, and smiled again. But much wider this time.
He held out his hand, giggling “Pleasure doing business with you!!”. The small child returned the gesture with a small nod, doing a small business-like handshake with this random stranger.
“Judy!! Judy!!! You’re gonna be late”. The small child’s eyes snapped open, almost like she snapped back to reality. “Oh! That’s my mum! I better go” she pointed over her shoulder at her mother not to far away, hand cupped around her mouth as she called out. Judy ran down the hill, liquid sloshing around, but paused and looked back. She smiled, adding “Thank you!!!” Tommy gave a huge wave, watching the girl run to her mum and immediately jump up and down for joy, obviously talking about her new item. The mother’s head perked up and Tommy gave a thumbs up, spinning the propeller on his hat. He watched them walk away, before they disappeared over the hill and out of view.
Tommy returned his attention to his ‘payment’, the small bracelet. He looked at the bracelet, and at his wrist, then back at the bracelet. He slowly slipped it onto his wrist, careful to not ruin it, and his eyes grew wide with amazement. He felt so special! Someone gave him a FRIENDSHIP BRACELET!!! He squealed with delight on the lawn, smushing his face slightly as he grinned, before a familiar voice interrupted him.
“Tommy!! Dinner’s on the table, you’d better get inside before Gordon rips my head off” Bubby’s voice shot through the cold as Tommy looked up, still grinning. “Oh- Ok!!!” he quickly grabbed the sign. But as soon as he turned around so the sign was in Bubby’s line of sight, he grimaced. “You’d better hide that from Gordon” he added quickly, pointing at the colourful piece of cardboard with his pointy, almost witch-like fingers. “Why is that?” Tommy asked, cocking his head to the side as his propeller swivelled slightly with the motion. Bubby paused for a moment, thinking. “W-we wouldn’t want Gordon getting any-” he sighed “ ideas ”
Tommy nodded, hiding the sign behind his back. Bubby rolled his eyes, noticing that the sign was still pretty noticeable, but he wasn’t going to cause a ruckus over a childish sign. He motioned Tommy towards the warm confines of the house with his head, moving around the door as Tommy walked in, skipping slightly as he shut the door as soon as Coomer, Gordon and Benry greeted him from outside.
Gordon’s eyes snapped open at the loud amount of shouting and high pitched screaming coming from outside. He fumbled for his glasses, finally getting them in his grip that was loose from the tiredness and he adjusted them so they were straight on his face. He heaved himself up slowly, watching the blinds flicker up and down from some sort of force. As he used his fingers to part a gap in between the spaces of the blind, his eyes widened at a sight. It left him speechless.
A whole crowd of children were on his lawn, cheering and screaming. And there he was at the edge of the crowd. Tommy.
Gordon grabbed what he could, fumbling for a shirt and ruffling his hair as he rushed downstairs, not hearing Dr. Coomer’s “Hello, Gordon!” as he passed him on the stairs. Dr. Coomer simply gave a small shrug as he continued onwards and upwards.
Gordon bust open the front door, smack his face with it slightly as he opened it so quickly. All the children looked up at the grown man standing in the doorway, some pausing as they were handing Tommy random objects. Tommy eventually looked up just as puzzled as he followed the other children’s gazes.
There was a bit of eerie silence, before Gordon pinched the top of his nose, moving his glasses as he sighed. He held his hands out and breathed out slowly “What. Is. This?” he looked at Tommy, eyes weary and his vision wasn’t at its peak as he paused with every single word. He wanted his message heard. But it didn't matter.
Tommy smiled back, putting down the small donation he was given and picking up as small bit of soda.
“Just selling some soda, Mr. Freeman!! :) “
It was way too early for this.