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“Hey, who wants hot dogs?”
Lying on the ground, Tommy raised a hand. With a smile, Wilbur strode over and handed him an aluminium-wrapped hot dog. “Thanks.” He mumbled. Next to him, head on Tommy’s chest and the upper half of her body on his lap, Pog wagged her tail.
“You weren’t getting a choice.” Wilbur replied. Above them, there was a massive bang . Ranboo yelped, teleporting to the side. Arms pinwheeling, he fell back. Tubbo casually reached over and snagged him by the back of the hood, then pulled him back upright like he didn’t weigh anything at all.
“Thank you. I’ll take a hot dog, please.” Ranboo said. Reaching over, Tubbo grabbed two from Wilbur, then shoved one into Ranboo’s hands and dropped down by Tommy. “Uh, thanks, Tubbo. Thanks, Wilbur.”
“Mhmm! There’s crisps and sodas and stuff over by the fire pit, so just remember to take care of yourselves. And eat. ” He shot a particular look Tommy’s way. Sending him a thumbs up that turned into a pair of middle fingers, Tommy started eating.
“Can you get me some Coke?”
“I will get you a Coke. I will not get you cocaine.” Pulling the foil away and scrunching it into a ball, Tommy chucked it at the back of Wilbur’s head. He moved and caught it. Then, he turned and shot Tommy another look. “Be nice and behave.”
On Tubbo’s other side, Ranboo had managed to get himself on the concrete without falling over, a feat in and of itself. Glancing at Pog, he cleared his throat and then turned back to the food. His tail wrapped around Tubbo’s wrist, and Tubbo patted his tail once before eating his own food.
Eventually, Tommy clicked his teeth at Pog, moving her to the other side. Tucking his hoodie underneath his head, Tommy took a few slow breaths and then stared up at the sky. It wasn’t even all that dark yet, no one could see fireworks. Still, some of them were being set off. Every time, all three of them would jump or flinch. Tubbo clawed at the side of his face. Shaking his head, he sniffed and ran his free hand into his hair every so often, ruffling some of it out. Meanwhile, Ranboo just kept shifting, looking up at the sky every so often and sounding off a lot more often than he normally did.
“Hey. Y’all alright?” Dream asked, striding up with Wilbur at his side. In his arms, he had a couple water bottles and some dog treats. He dropped the treats off at Tommy’s side.
“Mind giving her one for me?” Holding up his hands, Tommy smiled weakly as they shook. With a nod, Dream pulled open the bag, held out a palm with several treats in it. “Pog, jacket potato time.”
Lifting her head, Pog carefully lapped the treats from Dream’s hand. Reaching up, he gently stroked the dog’s head. Then, he wiped his hand off on his jeans and unscrewed the bottle caps and opened the sodas for all three of them. As he did, he muffled the sound as much as possible. Wilbur, meanwhile, was offering Tubbo some ear plugs and chatting softly to Ranboo.
Both of the adults sat down with them, waiting the whole while until they’d finished eating. By then, a lot more fireworks had gone off. “Alright, Toms.” Slowly, Wilbur helped him sit upright with Pog lying beside him. Dream helped both Tubbo and Ranboo upright. “We’re going to get you three back to the hotel. Come on.” Gently, he patted Tommy’s shoulder. Then, he offered his arm to Tommy.
Linking their arms, wrapping Pog’s leash over his shoulder, Tommy let Wilbur guide him. There was another set of fireworks going off, and he almost leapt out of his skin. Pausing, he glanced over at Wilbur. “Sorry.” He mumbled.
Rubbing his back, Wilbur smiled softly. “It’s alright, sweetheart. We’ll get you back.” His hand went a little too close to the back of Tommy’s neck. Fingers tightened around his neck, he could feel a pinch in his shoulders. His shirt was rubbing against his back and skin, scratching at it. Shrugging, he swallowed. Pog alerted, licking at his palm and fingers.
Immediately, Wilbur dropped his hand.
They kept walking, Tommy and Wilbur’s arms still linked. It was a good thing Wilbur kept a hold on him. As more fireworks went off, Tommy’s breathing quickened. His eyes were burning.
Glancing around, he paused. Everything was sort of…weird. Shaking his head, he stumbled slightly. Dream’s hand snapped out and grabbed onto his hoodie.
“Thank you.” Tommy forced out. Nodding, Dream let go of him. Once they got to the hotel room, Wilbur quickly guided him to the bed and tapped it. Jumping up, Pog reared up, front legs meeting Tommy’s shoulder and pulling him onto his back.
Sucking in a breath, he stared up at the ceiling. Wilbur stroked his hair. Then, hurriedly, he shook his head. “Not okay?” Shaking his head, Tommy sucked in a rasping breath.
“I can’t breathe.” He forced out. Outside, there was a burst. Outside, he knew that there was just fireworks. It was just fireworks. He was fine. He was totally fine, he was safe.
“Hey, hey, Tommy—“
“Wilbur.”
Pog’s teeth locked around his wrist, muzzle shoving into his palms and moving them away. Gasping, he jerked his head around. Scratching at his neck and jaw, Tommy sucked in a few more uneven breaths. He saw the others moving around, Wilbur sitting across from him on the bed. Quickly, Dream pulled Tubbo and Ranboo away.
He couldn’t move. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t move. Rolling onto his side, Tommy gasped. Outside, two massive fireworks went off. I can’t breathe. I can—I can’t breathe. Pog’s teeth gently caught his hands and shoved between his arms when he grabbed at his hair.
“Wilbur, Wilbur I can’t—I can’t breathe.” He forced out. Wet heat rolled down his cheeks, and he tried sucking in another breath. “I can’t—Wilbur please, please —“
Next to him, the bed sank down. He could see Wilbur sitting beside him, a desperate look on his face. For a moment, Wilbur reached for him, then hesitated. “I know, Tommy. It’s okay, it’s going to be okay. Just let Pog handle things, she’s tasking. Everything’s going to be fine.”
Staring at him, Tommy opened and closed his mouth a few times. He couldn’t say anything. There wasn’t anything he could say.
Dimly, he knew why this had happened. He didn’t—no, he didn’t want to think about it he didn’t want to think about he didn’t he didn’t he didn’t—
Pog’s weight shifted onto his chest and suddenly she was licking his face. Gasping, Tommy buried his face into her fur, held onto her collar. And he cried. A lot.
Eventually, he did calm down.
Wilbur helped him to the floor, gently. Let him lie there with Pog while he had Tommy’s head in his lap, stroking his hair. Dream returned with Tubbo, Ranboo, and some hot chocolate.
“Here.” Dream said. Smiling, Tommy took the cup and set it by his head. Tubbo laid on his left, Pog moving gently to his right. Then, Ranboo settled down on Tubbo’s left.
“Thank you.” Nodding, Dream went and settled down by Wilbur, sharing hot chocolate with him, too.
“I’m tired.” He laughed softly. Humming, Tubbo smiled next to him.
“Fuck yeah.”