Chapter Text
Tommy loved this house, and the people in it. Phil was kind and wise beyond his years, and his son Wilbur would jokingly tease him during meals and show him his latest songs, and help him with any homework he had. He had been with them since he was nine, and he had recently turned twelve just a month ago.
Which is why he didn't understand why he had to go back . He didn't get why just because Wilbur somehow wound up with an extremely fussy baby, it meant he had to leave. Tommy knew they had occasional issues with paying the bills, but they always got through it. So why was this different?
They said that it would hopefully only be temporary, that they'd be able to come get him again once they managed to get back on their feet. He couldn't take his things with him back to the group home, but they promised that they'd leave his room as it was, and that if he did get adopted by someone else then he'd be able to get his stuff.
He would also miss Tubbo, who lives just next door. He met the other boy when Wilbur had taken him over for a visit with Tubbo's older brother Shlatt. Tommy and Tubbo had become quick friends after that, and when they were finally allowed to have their own computers instead of having to steal time on their older brothers, they exchanged contact info through different video games they got and discord as well so they could still have fun playing together when they couldn't visit each other.
He didn't want to leave, but he supposed his luck had run out. Tommy knew when he landed in this house that it was too good to be true, he just wished it could have happened earlier on so that maybe it wouldn't hurt as much.
---
That was five months ago.
Now Tommy was being ushered around by adults a lot, especially toda. He was just tired and wanted to go back to his room and sleep, but apparently he had to be present for this specific paperwork.
Luckily he was able to go soon enough, wait for this new foster family to come pick him up. He didn't pay attention to when they'd be arriving and quite honestly couldn't care less, he would be coming back to this place soon enough. Nobody ever seemed to want to keep him around for long.
Maybe it was because he was loud and brash and rude, he wasn't sure when he became like that, maybe it was always just a simple fact about him. He'd sometimes wonder if that was actually why they got rid of him, that they had been tired of him being there for a while and were just waiting for an excuse. Or if it was because of them, if it was because he didn't want to stay long enough to get attached like that again. If that was what it was, he supposed it worked.
He stomped up the stairs as soon as he could go, giving a small wave to the boy he shared a room with as he tossed his bag on the floor. Ranboo was a nice enough guy, they got along well and had yet to get into a serious argument. They'd occasionally sit up late and talk in hushed whispers, Tommy hanging over the railings of the bunk bed as he told jokes he knew were stupid.
They'd also occasionally exchange stories of places they'd stayed at, though that was typically Tommy, as Ranboo had some issues remembering things sometimes. It wasn't really an issue though, Tommy always had enough words for everyone in the room.
He climbed up the bunks ladder and flopped down on the mattress, god he was so fucking tired. Hopefully these people could handle him, either that or maybe by some saving grace the next time he was in this god forsaken building Phil would be the one that would pick him up. It was wishful fucking thinking though.
---
Four months. That's a new record for him at this point. In all honesty he was surprised, sure the people were nice, but he could always see the glares they'd shoot his way when he got too loud or excited over something. He'd definitely been in worse places.
Three days was the fastest he'd been in and out of a place, though honestly that one wasn't really his fault, the people there were absolutely batshit in every sense of the word.
Tommy sighed as he climbed the steps and opened the door to his room. It was empty of his usual roommate or any of his belongings, which honestly he shouldn't be surprised about, he was gone for quite a while. He knew Ranboo wasn't always going to be there when he got back, the guy was too nice to actually stay there for as long as he already had. Doesn't mean he wouldn't miss the company though.
He'd just have to wait until the next person or whatever with a savior complex decided he "needed help" and try to take him into their home, only for him to rain as much absolute hell as he could muster upon them.
It didn't take long, all things considered. Just a week and he was sitting in that office room once again, bag filled with all the things he deemed important, awaiting the arrival of some guy he didn't pay attention to the name of.
When the guy finally showed up, the first thing Tommy noticed was how fucking tall he was. The next thing he noticed was the guy had green hair, which could honestly mean one of three things;
1: The guy was a complete and utter douche, 2: He was one of those "cool with the teens" people who try way too fucking hard, or 3: He was actually pretty chill, and somehow managed to actually be a good parent without being overbearing. That last one was extremely unlikely.
"Hey," the man waved a greeting as he sat down, "you must be Tommy right? I'm Sam, it's nice to meet you." Tommy didn't bother with a verbal answer, opting to instead just nod.
Sam seemed to think about some way to keep the conversation going, "You know, I actually have a son who's a bit older than you. I just recently adopted him actually." Great, so either he'd be meeting someone who's going to feel threatened by his mere existence, or someone who understood the struggle. "Honestly he's been going on recently about how the house is somehow 'too quiet', as if he's not constantly bringing his friends over and causing a ruckus." Sam laughed in a way that seemed fond, and shook his head reminiscing over the antics of his son.
Tommy didn't really say much, though eventually the last few bits of paperwork were being signed and he was being ushered out the door. When they got to the car that was waiting out in the parking lot, Sam looked to him, "I hope you don't mind being in the backseat, Quackity always insists on riding shotgun no matter what."
Okay, so either this guy has a really fucking weird name, or a very bad choice in nicknames. Though to be honest, he's met quite a few people with odd names in his life. He'd just have to ask at some point, he thought as he opened the back drivers side door of the dark colored minivan, honestly he couldn't tell if it was green, blue, or black.
He sat down and pulled the seat belt over his shoulder, tossing his bag down on the seat next to him. The guy in the passenger seat turned to him, he had a dark hair and was wearing a beanie, and seemed to radiate energy.
"Aaayyyyy! Tomás! Nice to finally meet ya man!" He reached a hand back towards Tommy.
The guy certainly seemed nice enough, and the high energy he seemed to have made Tommy feel just a little bit more at ease as he shook his hand, "Most people say that Big Q, and most quickly change their minds."
"Well, you're going to have to do a lot to get Sam to dislike you, trust me. I gave up trying after I switched his shampoo out for hair dye and wound up turning him green for a week. He just laughed it off then started actually dying his hair!" Okay yeah, that was a pretty big feat, if it was to be taken at face value.
Sam laughed at the story as he got into the car, "That certainly was a difficult thing to explain at work, I'll be honest with you." He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.
Throughout the entire ride, Quackity bounced between stories and telling jokes. Honestly it was much better than all the times he had to sit through a drive in silence, there was an almost severe lack of tension and time seemed to pass by much faster than usual. He even worked up the courage to shoot back his own quips and jokes from time to time.
Eventually they pulled up to a house, it seemed to be pretty big, looked like it had two stories and an attic. There were a few potted plants out on the front porch as they walked up, and he could hear some barking from inside.
"Oh right! I forgot to tell you about Fran, she's pretty friendly, and will probably ask you for a lot of attention after she gets used to you." Sam explained as he unlocked the door. That was fine, Tommy liked dogs well enough.
Fran was large with fluffy white fur that had some splotches of brown and grey. Honestly she looked more like a wolf than a dog. Sam glanced over, "Hey Quackity, can you show Tommy around for me?"
Quackity gave a two finger salute and grabbed Tommy's hand, dragging him along, "Sure thing! Come on man lets show you where you'll be staying." He led Tommy around the house after they dropped his bag off in his room, which didn't have much in it in terms of furniture, though it was quickly explained that that was due to them wanting Tommy to be able to choose what he wanted.
"-over there is the other bathroom, and up here …" Quackity led him over to an area with a pull cord coming out of the roof, "is the attic. Honestly I've been wanting to turn it into a cool hangout zone, just been having a bit of a tough time getting Sam to help me out." An idea seemed to hit the older boy, "Hey! Maybe you could help me with it! Obviously not right now but if you feel up to it at some point we can bring all the boxes down to the basement and start filling it with cool shit."
Tommy nodded, it certainly sounded like a neat idea, though he wasn't sure he'd be around long enough to actually see it come to completion. Then again, half the stories Quackity told him were about some of the stupidest shit he's ever heard of someone doing, so maybe he had a chance here.
"Well Big Q, it has been nice but I am quite frankly, tired as all fuck at this moment in time. So I believe I will retire to my designated sleeping zone for the time being." Tommy explained as he bit back a yawn.
He walked with Tommy back to his room, "Oh yeah, sure thing man. Me or Sam will come get you when dinner is ready if you aren't back up by then."
"Thanks, see you then I guess." Tommy pushed the door closed as Quackity walked away down the hall, throwing a quick wave over his shoulder as he went.
Tommy flopped face first down in the bed, not even bothering to unpack his shit yet. He was fucking exhausted, though today had been far less stressful than he expected.
Now he needed to rest, maybe come up with some sort of trouble to cause. He hadn't bothered with trying to annoy them yet, mainly because he just didn't have the energy, but also because he'd been in places where the people despised him for simply existing.
They didn't seem like that kind of household though, so he'd just start off annoying then and slowly work his way up from there. Better to cause problems on purpose instead of being good and then making some huge mistake.
A little nagging thought told him that he didn't want to do that, that he shouldn't try to make these people hate him when they've already been so nice. But he refused to get attached that fast, just because someone acts kind at first doesn't mean they'll stay like that.
He couldn't take that chance, not yet. Not again.