Work Text:
Tommy does not even remember when it first started. He was young, he is sure of that. At first it was just quick moments. Hardly enough time to even know what was happening before he was back in his body. His mom told him he just had a very vivid imagination. His dad just told him he was day dreaming again.
But Tommy was sure he was in his backyard one moment and someplace else the next.
He just learned to live with it as he got older. He never knew what happened to his body. Or what happened to the person whose body he was taking over. But he really didn’t spend much time thinking about it either.
The first time Tommy really remembers being ‘away’ was when he was ten. He really wanted to know what it would be like to be a doctor. He was in his room playing and he was thinking about the doctor book his mom read him earlier. Suddenly Tommy was not in his room anymore. He was standing in a room with some kid covered in blood. The nurse was yelling at him and he had no idea what to do.
When Tommy blinked he was back in his room with is mom standing over him yelling his name. That was the longest he has been in someone else’s body. And he was sure he did not want to be a doctor when he grew up.
~*~
As Tommy got older he learned to control it a little bit. That just meant that he could slow his breathing to get some place safe before it happened. He could never stop it from happening, but he could delay it a bit.
Tommy saw a lot of things when he went into someone’s body. Some of the things he saw as he got old frightened him. Like the time he ended up in a safe haven for abused women. That was one of the most emotional times he ever had.
One time he was giggling so much he couldn’t even contain himself. He was higher and everything was fuzzy. Apparently he was in someone’s body that was higher than Tommy had ever been in his life.
But mostly Tommy saw things. He went around the world and saw things that most kids never got a chance to see before they were eighteen. He was glad for the little glimpses around the world that he got from swapping bodies.
~*~
Tommy learned to live with it. He never could really figure out what triggered it. Sometimes when he let his mind wander about what it would be like to go somewhere or be someone it would happen. Sometimes, it just happened.
He kept his secret from the world. Too scared to tell even his closest friends about the swap for fear that they will look at him like he was insane. He was not dreaming all this like his parents told him when he was young. Maybe it was their doubt that but the fear in him, but either way he was keeping this a secret.
Well, at least that was the plan.
Then he met Adam and got hired to be in his band and everything in his life changed. Tommy felt the pull to Adam immediately. It was something he had never experienced. Tommy panicked at the thought of swapping bodies for the first time ever with someone he knew. Even when his hormones were raging in high school he never swapped bodies with someone he knew. He was so grateful for that.
But Adam changed everything.
Adam became part of Tommy’s world faster than either one of them ever thought it would happen. Tommy needed Adam. He need his friendship, he needed arms around him. Tommy was content to stay cuddled up with Adam talking about anything and everything for the rest of his life.
Tommy was still on edge when he was around Adam no matter how much he tried not to be. He did not know was he going to explain it to Adam when he was suddenly not here.
~*~
It was a few months before Tommy had to worry about it. He had felt it happening and was able to hide away. Keep the time away from his body short somehow. He was old enough to have some control over the time, but it all depended on the stress in his life. And tour meant stress.
The first time he woke up in Adam’s body was brief. He was in and out before Adam could even register what had happened. It was just as they were waking up; Adam just wrote it off as a dream.
The second time was after a show. They were at some bar and some twink was rubbing all over Adam. His Adam and Tommy was not going to stand there and let him. It was still fast, but long enough to get the twink to back off.
The last time he ended up in Adam’s body was when Tommy was feeling alone and missing Adam. He was gone for the day doing interview after interview. Tommy didn’t know what wrong that time but it was longer than he had ever been in someone else’s body.
When Tommy returned to his body, after stumbling through a really tough interview, he knew his secret was out. But if he had to share it with anyone, Adam would be his choice.
Adam had a million questions about what had happened and Tommy finally learned that whenever he left his body he really was swapping with the other person.
Tommy knew his life was never going to be normal. But when he was sharing everything with Adam normal is never expected.