Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He needed to run.

He needed to find them .

What was he thinking?! Leaving his crew alone in a shady marketplace, in one of the most infamous backwater planets this side of the galaxy.

Tommy had remembered the message Command sent him a few weeks ago, saying something about how he was ‘behind his quota’ and how even though he was young, he needed to step up to the challenge and ‘hurry on to his next assignment’.

Tommy had deleted the message shortly after, and took pleasure in it too.

He had never truly wanted to kill, he didn’t even want to be an impostor. It was more a matter of how corrupt the Cre’vek government was, and how well impostors were paid. Civilian life on his home planet was terrible, and he was ready to do anything to get out of that hell hole.

The Academy he trained at was nice, and he passed most of his classes with flying colors. Maybe it was because he had no friends, and thus all the time in the universe to study, but Tommy quickly came to rise as one of the Academy’s most gifted students, second only to the Dream Team.

One of his stronger subjects was mimicry, the art of blending in with other species to avoid detection. It was how he was able to hold his human form for so long, crafting and perfecting it to fit his personality. It was how he spent so long on board Phil’s ship, the S.B.I . 

He kept running, darting into different alleyways that led off from the shady market. If he didn’t find his crew….he didn’t want to think about what would happen if he didn’t find them.

Moments earlier, his communicator had buzzed with an incoming message. Tommy assumed it was spam, or maybe Wilbur calling him to ask which kind of curtain he thought would be best for remodeling the ship (it had gotten some nasty damage after a run-in with Cre’vek police. Tommy would rather pretend he didn’t see the guts of his species plastered against the walls of his new home, but his crew was more important to him anyways). 

The message was ignored, until he realized that Wilbur went curtain shopping weeks ago, and Tubbo had programmed all their communicators to not take spam messages. 

“INCOMING MESSAGE: 

Hey Tommy, Command noticed you’ve been slacking in your assignments, so they sent me to help you out with your crew. They told me you landed in the port I was stationed in, so I figured I’d take care of a few of them for you. See you soon   :)”

This was bad.

Tommy heard a loud commotion from a few streets down, followed by some human screams. He swiveled his direction on one heel, pushing past crowds of disgruntled civilians and scammers. 

The entryway of a secluded alleyway loomed over him, and it didn’t take a second thought for Tommy to run straight in, fear for his friends safety clouding his rationality.

The alleyway smelled horrible, and it was dimly lit, with old broken boxes and trash bags littered everywhere.

Backed into a dead end, the crew of the S.B.I.- his crew, was cornered by a figure he knew all too well. Everyone’s head turned to the new visitor, and he quickly did a headcount to make sure they were all there.

Tubbo was protectively pushed against the wall by Wilbur, Phil in front of them both, with Techno guarding them.

“Ohh, look who finally decided to join in on the fun! How are you doing, Tommy? Been good since the Academy?”  Tommy looked up to the speaker.

Dream was the top student at the Academy, getting perfect scores on almost every subject you can imagine. From long distance throwing to human anatomy, there was a reason he was the teachers pet and star pupil.

And Command had sent him here. 

To kill his family.

There will most definitely be bloodshed tonight.

“Hello Dream ”. He said bluntly, not caring for pleasantries at the moment, more focusing on how to get between his crew and Dream without giving away his disguise as an impostor.

That was another thing he conveniently forgot to mention to his crew. He wasn’t human. And never was. How are you supposed to bring that up in a conversation?! 

‘Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you guys I was secretly an alien sent to kill you by my corrupt government! Haha no hard feelings!!!’ Yeah no, he’d be thrown out of the airlock in less than a second!

His original plan after his schooling was to hitch a ride on a human vessel, maybe escaping to one of their outposts on the other side of the galaxy, and far away from the Cre’vek. But as luck would have it, you start getting attached to people you spend close quarters with. Albeit, the first few months on board were rough, as Tommy had yet to get the hang of his new form, and of course the stress of meeting new people. But soon enough, Tommy had grown attached to Tubbo, the only other teen on board, and they were causing chaos within the hour. By the time his ride was supposed to be over, he made up some excuse about how the sorry excuse for a crew needed more hands to help out. 

He looked back fondly on those bonding moments. 

The nights spent in Wilbur’s quarters, listening to the man pluck at his weird human instrument (he would never admit it out loud, but out of all the genres of alien music he’d heard, Wilbur’s music was by far his favorite). 

Techno’s monotone ramblings about all the different weapons in the ship’s armory, everything from spears to axes to even fishing rods!(fun fact: There's a good chance that Techno could overpower Tommy if he really tried, which scares Tommy to no end).

Running around the broken old ship with Tubbo, trying to see who can fix all the wires first(Tommy had won, but to be fair, he had inhuman speed so Tubbo was going to lose anyways. Even if he didn’t use it, Tubbo is just that slow). 

Long cry sessions spent in Phil’s arms, the Captain rubbing comforting circles into his back as Tommy blabbered about one stupid thing or another( ‘that cow was just too fuckin small Phil, it’s practically defenseless! *sobbing*’ ‘ I know mate, I know… ’)

And if he were to tell his crew about his secret, it would all be gone. He’d be thrown out of the airlock, and the last thing he would see was the disappointed and betrayed faces of his only friends. Tommy would rather die than see that.

Well, they were more than friends, at least to Tommy. Cre’vek were sometimes known for bonding with people outside of their hatch group, to the point where they would die for their chosen people. It was quite uncommon for Cre’vek to bond with more than one person, let alone 4 separate people, but Tommy was known for being out of the ordinary. Loud, brash, and a disdain for killing things, all things that the Cre’vek were not known for. Maybe he was hanging out with humans too much.

Phil spoke up suddenly, his voice steady but containing the barest hints of fear. 

“Tommy, I don’t know how you know this man, but he is not what he says he is. You need to run-“

He was cut off by a tentacle appearing out of Dream’s suit and constricting around his throat. It took all Tommy had to not tear Dream’s head off right then and there. The rest of the crew rushed forward to help, but one look from the Impostor to stop them in their tracks.

“God, would you just shut up! You don’t know anything about Tommy!” Dream then focused his attention on him.

“Look, I know it’s been a few months since we last talked, but Command sent me down to help you out with your assignment. I accidentally cornered them before I realized they were yours , but I thought I might have a bit of fun!” 

At the Academy, Dream had been notorious for being an absolute asshole. Of course, he never got in trouble since he was the school's star student, but Tommy had gotten the short end of that stick more times than he’d like to admit. 

Tommy spoke through gritted teeth. “Alright, you had your fun Dream, now let me take care of my crew.” Taking a step closer, he saw Phil’s eyes light up in concern, and decided to ignore it in favor of distracting Dream. “I don’t care what Command thinks, I can handle my own assignments, now please leave so I can deal with them.” 

Dream deflated a little at that. “Oh, but Tommy, I haven’t gotten a special case in ages, and they’re all in one place already! It would be so easy to take them out, and then we’d get a little snack after!” Tommy knew Dream meant to make that sound enticing, but the thoughts made him sick. He heard a few of the crew mates gasp from behind the Impostor. 

“Dream. They’re my crew. I get to do whatever I want with them. Now leave.” Dream hummed at that, and Tommy knew he was catching on. He thought Tommy was so much of a pussy to kill and eat something!(to be fair, he was, but this was different). 

“Come on, just let loose! I know you want to get rid of that itchy human disguise anyways. Give all your little ‘friends’ here a big shock, make them pay for what they’ve done to us.” At this point, the crew was looking thoroughly confused. Except for Tubbo, who seemed to be off on his own train of thought. Classic Tubbo moment. 

“Nah, don't really feel like taking it off,” he said, faking a shrug. Maybe if he got everyone out of this alive, he could convince everyone that it was an inside joke. Or something. 

“Take it off.”

“Dream, I already said I dont wa-”

“Tommy, take off your fucking disguise. Now .”

Tommy hesitantly took another step forward, and considered his options.

Dream was blocking the path between him and his crew, which meant he couldn't run in between them without Dream getting suspicious. He would definitely rather not take off his human disguise in front of the crew, but he didn't think he could convince Dream out of harming his crew without engaging violence, which was exactly what he didn’t want to do, since Dream would kick his ass. 

Maybe, if he could distract Dream long enough, he could get close and rip that fucker up from behind. 

Well, maybe not rip him up, but give his crew enough time to escape. 

Tommy really didn't want to do this, but he didn't think he had any other choice. He’d rather see his friends alive and well instead of dead, or eaten by a stuck up asshole who took pleasure in hunting down innocent people. 

He breathed in deeply, and looked back at his crew, trying to meet their eyes and convey the most ‘I’m sorry’ look he could. He could see confusion and concern in their eyes, some more than others. Wilbur looked positively terrified, while Techno was as blank of a slate as ever. Knowing Techo, he was probably even more terrified than Wilbur, but that man was an emotionally constipated wreck for sure. 

Looking away from his crew, he slowly started letting himself unravel. 

Contrary to what others might think, Tommy actually felt more comfortable in his human disguise, compared to his regular form. Maybe it was because he rarely ever spent time in his regular form, but the lanky blond haired body he made for himself just seemed to fit better. 

Feeling the bone and flesh shift was uncomfortable, to say the least, but it wasn’t anything he wasn’t used to. His body started elongating, fingers turning into claw-like appendages, hair completely disappearing and being replaced by horn-like bone. His skin was slowly turning into that inky black that the Cre’vek were known for, and from experience Tommy knew his eyes were shifting from a boring blue to a more vibrant red. He hated every moment of it, because he could hear the strangled cries and gasps from the alleyway corner. 

All together, the transformation took less than 10 seconds, and Tommy took a few more to stretch out and let loose the muscles in his new body. He could feel Dream’s delighted gaze on him, sizing him up.

“…Wow, you really haven’t let loose in a while, have you? You look so skinny…” Dream finally let go of Phil, who fell gasping to the floor, and walked closer to examine his new form.

“Oh, suck it bitch boy, it’s been a while.” He retorted, voice a bit distorted compared to a few seconds ago. Tommy watched as Dream also changed form, getting rid of the lime green suit for his Cre’vek form. Dream shook himself off, but didn’t leave his place in between the crew and Tommy.

“Oh, it feels good to be back, doesn’t it Tommy?” He grunted as a reply, sneaking a few steps closer. 

Dream continued on. “Yes it does, and you’re just being an idiot. How long have you been with these humans? A few weeks? A month?” he mused playfully, but there was something sinister and predatory about the way he said it. 

“... about half a year…”

Dream sounded pleasantly surprised at that, as if he found it all hilarious. “Woah, half a year ?! I’m surprised you haven’t torn their throats out already!”

Tommy took another step closer.

He was almost a few yards away now. If he kept stalling, this might work. 

“What can I say? I've always been… patient, I guess.” He mused. Another step.

Dream snorted in response.

“You never struck me as the patient type, I must say. I know it’s been a while, but people don’t change that fast. Tell me, what’s gotten into you?” 

He didn’t respond to that, so Dream shrugged it off and turned his attention back to the crew.

“Alright, we’ll if you’re gonna act all weird at least help me with this bunch. The little brown haired one looks fun to mess with, I’ll admit, but I need someone to watch the others before I can get to it. Care to help?” 

Tommy stepped closer, and Dream didn’t wait for a response before another tentacle reached from his body and wrapped itself around Tubbo, dragging him closer.

The look on Tubbo’s face made something snap inside of Tommy. He lunged for Tubbo without a second thought, the only thing repeating in his mind was

  ‘Get him away get him away get Dream away get Dream away from him-“

There was a shout of surprise from both Dream and Tubbo as he snatched him from the impostor, doing his best as to not harm him with his claws or body strength. He felt frozen in place beneath Tommy’s arm, which broke his heart a little but there wasn’t time to think about that.

He carefully dropped Tubbo with the rest of the crew(they all flinched when he came closer, he’ll never be able to forget that) and quickly turned to face the psychopath next to him.

“Dream, I said no .” 

“Wow, I didn’t expect you to do that! You really want them that bad?” Dream moved closer, and Tommy bristled at the action, making himself bigger and hiding the crew behind him. 

“You wanna fight? I don’t think that’s a great idea over a few table scraps. Remember who’s the child here.” He mocked.

Dream looked back at the crew, and Tommy ran at him at full speed, throwing punches and biting and digging his claws in wherever he could. 

It barely took a second before Dream reacted, trying to wrap another one of those tentacles around his neck in a chokehold. Tommy tore at the tentacle’s underside, where he knew it was soft and sensitive, and Dream let out a howl before releasing him.

They both separated for a brief moment, looking at each other’s scratches and bite marks. To Tommy’s surprise and joy, Dream was sluggishly bleeding almost everywhere. The alien blood was so dark, it could easily be mistaken for black in the wrong lighting.

“Oh, you wanna do it like that ?” He muttered at Tommy between breaths. “Fine, we can do it the way you want to.” 

Tommy’s claws wrapped around Dream’s tentacles, and Dream’s feet raked up Tommy’s torso, sending him into excruciating pain. He bit Dream’s foot, kicking him off and slamming him into the alleyway wall with inhuman strength. Before he could get up, Tommy punched him in the face, slamming his head into the wall brutally, hard enough that Tommy winced. 

Dream grabbed the teen’s arm before he could make another punch, and yanked it downwards, kicking him across the alleyway. 

Tommy wheezed, trying to catch his breath against the wall. 

“You…. You fucking bitch… ” he choked out. 

He took assessment of his injuries while he was down. His stomach and torso felt like it was on fire, the blood around it making it feel sticky. His neck felt extra tender, which meant he’d probably get an impressive bruise later. If he survived. He had no doubts that Dream could kill him with no remorse, and report back to command about some horrible freak accident. 

He could feel a presence stalking towards him, and he opened his eyes.

“Now that I’ve knocked some sense into you, are you ready to actually do your job? Or am I gonna have to hold your hand like always?” He half-joked. 

Tommy felt something raw and ugly burst in him at that.

“Hold my hand? You’ve don’t absolutely nothing for me! I’d rather die by their hands,” he gestured to the crew, who were watching the whole ordeal unfold, “than even stand by you for a second.” He spit out with venom.

Dream sighed. 

“You hate me that much? That’s a shame, I really liked you. You had potential, Tommy.”

Dream stomped his foot on Tommy’s stomach, making him wheeze for breath. He could feel himself being lifted up by the neck, everything going dizzy. Oh fuck that hurt, that hurt so much. 

He was swung around a bit, he could hear someone chuckle at his limp, weak body, and then he was soaring across the alleyway. The impact against the wall knocked whatever air he had gained out of him. He could see stars dance in his vision, it took him all he had to stay still and not black out.

“Alright, now that he’s taken care of, where is he? The little brown haired one.” The sound of boots on concrete could be heard. A small scuffle, some grunts and shouts, and finally a whimper from… someone. Tommy wasn’t sure, but they sounded like they were having… fun! Maybe he could get up and join them, but he was feeling really tired. He’d join them after his nap. Maybe his head would stop hurting so much if he took a nap.

Someone else spoke, was that….Phil?

“I don’t know what you did to Tommy, but you need to give him and Tubbo to us before I call the police.” The threat sounded empty, even to Tommy. He would’ve giggled at how his captain's age was affecting his memory. Silly, silly Philza. Old Philza. Oldza! Haha, that’s funny….

Dream laughed, and he knew it was Dream because of how toxic and threatening it sounded.

“You think anyone’s gonna come for you here? No, now that your ‘crewmate’ is done rebeling, I’ve got you to myself now.”

Wait… why was he here again? Why was Dream here?

….

…….

……….. oh fuck.

Tommy fought to open his eyes, but he was glad once he did. Seeing Dream have a predatory hold on his best friend gave him a little bit more strength.

With one last agonizing push, Tommy threw himself at Dream, who had his back turned, and aimed for his throat. Both aliens let out a yowl of protest, but Dream was quickly silenced as Tommy ripped his throat apart. Blood was spewed everywhere, Tommy could feel Dream go limp underneath his claws.

They both fell to the ground. He could hear footsteps all around him, and voices too, but he couldn’t make out the words. 

As he lost consciousness, his last thoughts were that he was glad his crew was safe, but he hoped they were gentle when they threw him out the airlock.

----

Chapter Text

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Tommy came to his senses all at once. It was like someone threw a bucket of ice water at his face, making him jerk awake and take in his surroundings

There were beds around him, all clean and wrinkle-free. The walls were an ugly pale blue color ( thanks Wilbur ), with medical machinery pushed against one wall. Wait….

Was he in medbay?

No, that’s impossible. Why would Tommy, the impostor, the person sent to kill his crew, be alive and comfortable and warm in medbay of all places?

Tommy struggled to think of anything reasonable enough to explain it. What if they wanted him healthy when they killed him? He didn’t think Phil was that heartless, but then again, he had tricked them all for months on end. Phil wasn’t called ‘The Angel of Death’ by his peers for no reason, that’s for sure.

Tommy wouldn’t hurt any of his crew though. He wouldn’t fight them if they wanted him dead. That’s fair, right? He’d been a threat to them, right under their noses for the entire time they knew him. It’s only fair they had the last laugh. The thought made Tommy’s heart hurt and his eyes water, but he knew what he was signing himself up for when he got attached.

Tommy tried to sit up but winced when pain shot through his entire body. He looked himself over, finding that he hadn't changed back into his human form. He decided against fully changing back, at this point, it might aggravate his wounds. 

Slowly, he reconstructed his human form. Not all the way, that would hurt like a bitch, but enough so that he looked at least semi-familiar. His eyes shifted to a dull burgundy, and his hair took on a lighter shade of blond. His skin was still as pale as it was before, but if you looked closely, you could see a hint of pasty gray. The horns were the hardest to get rid of, so he left them on. They were pretty, and Tommy was quite proud of how shiny he kept them. Even if his crew wouldn’t like them, they were a part of him, and there’s no point in hiding them now anyways. 

After the process was complete, Tommy tried standing up. That was a mistake since his torso and back started flaring up in pain again. 

After a minute spent hunched over in pain, regaining his breath and taking in his surroundings, he could hear a commotion outside the door and down the hall. He panicked at that, still not ready to see his crew while in his half-form.

Looking around, he spotted an easy escape.

The vent!

It was perfect! An adult human couldn’t fit down there without contorting themselves, but Tommy could do it just fine. He scrambled over to it, ignoring his pain for the time being, and started unscrewing the cover with his claws.

Once all four screws were out, he carefully lifted the cover-up. It was dusty and dark inside, but Tommy could see comfortably enough.

Slowly lowering himself in, he changed his form slightly to fit the vent better. He bit back a whimper of pain, but it would be worth it for a few more minutes of safety.

Once he wedged himself in, he carefully placed the vent cover back on and pocketed the screws. 

He placed it back in the nick of time it seems. The sound of metal sliding on metal filled the air, and two footsteps walking side by side could be felt.

“-Seriously Phil! It tastes great, I’m telling you! We need to get some next time we stop there, you'll love it.” Wilbur spoke as he walked through the door.

Phil sighed. “No, and for the last time, we are not buying sand to eat! I don’t know what they sold you, but that wasn’t sand-“ Phil cut himself off, and Wilbur continued to argue.

“It absolutely was sand! And I bet Tech would agree with me too-“

“Wil, shut up!” He ordered, voice wavering a bit. “Look, Tommy’s missing!”

Tommy's body tensed up at that. He had hoped they weren’t going to throw him out so soon, but they must’ve entered medbay to fetch him.

“Oh fuck, you’re right!” He could hear Wilbur flit around a bit, searching under the beds and behind the shelves before Phil gave him instructions. 

“Wilbur, send a message to Techno and Tubbo, make sure they get down here. I’ll check the scanners to see which direction he went.”

“On it.”

A buzzing sound could be heard, followed by the small chime of a communicator sending a message and footsteps. 

This was bad for Tommy. He didn’t want to worry them, but he also didn’t want to be seen right away. What could he do? Maybe he could live in the vents forever, living off of the dust bunnies and the random space rat that happened to cross his way. That wouldn't be too bad.

Everyone walked back into medbay at once, and Phil explained the situation while Wilbur took over the job of checking the door sensors.

Techno, for once in his life, didn't sound like an emotionless robot. “What do you mean he's missing? We're on a spaceship in the middle of the void, there aren't any ways out.”

“Don’t worry Tech, he can’t have gone far. Once Wilbur is done checking the sensors we can set up a mini search party for him.” Phil replied calmly.

“Yeah, uh, about that….” Wilbur trailed off and Phil groaned in exasperation. 

“What is it Wil, we don’t have time for games-“

“Tommy never left the room.”

“……what? That’s impossible, he’s obviously not in the room!”

Tubbo spoke up, and Tommy had forgotten he was even there. “Oh, I think I know where he is.” 

Tommy could feel the vibrations of footsteps above him, and moments later the vent cover in front of him was removed. Shit , he forgot to put the screws back in place, that was a dead giveaway. 

A head popped down from the vent opening, revealing Tubbo. 

Tubbo, who was staring right at him. Looking for all the world like the cat who caught the canary. 

Needless to say, Tommy freaked out . 

He thrashed around wildly, hitting his injuries on the sharp metal in an attempt to back away from the opening. He could hear shouts of alarm but it sounded muffled and far away. All he could think was he needed to hide, to get away get away run run run now-

Tommy kept backing himself further into the vent until he was in the junction between Electrical and Security. Tubbo’s head was no longer visible in the vent opening, so he let himself breathe for a minute before everything came crashing down again.

In, and out again.

In, and out again.

In, and * THUNK *

Tommy’s head snapped up, looking around the dusty circulation system. 

There was Tubbo’s head. Then his torso. Then his legs- oh fuck he was climbing into the vent. 

Tommy sat, transfixed at the sight of the teenager wiggling through the passageway with a dingy old flashlight between his teeth.

Logically, it made sense. If there’s a dangerous monster in your vents, you would send someone down to take care of it. Preferably someone small, agile, and a smooth talker.

But did it have to be his best friend of all people?

Tubbo continued to wiggle his way over, making an occasional grunt or muttering a curse word after getting his clothes stuck on metal.

After a moment, Tubbo stopped his army crawl several meters in front of Tommy. A few seconds passed where neither said anything, only staring. One was wondering whether or not he should book it down to electrical, never to be seen again. The other was Tubbo, so who knew what he was thinking. 

Tubbo cleared his throat. “Uhm, hey big man. How’ve you been?” Tubbo started weakly. He would have laughed at how awkward the introduction was. 

Tommy said nothing though, owlishly staring at Tubbo. 

Maybe this was all a trap. Maybe Wilbur and Phil were hooking up traps in security and electrical, waiting for him to bolt away and eventually get caught. They were smart, and he wouldn’t put it past them to send Tubbo in as a diversion.

“Uhm…do you wanna, I dunno, come out of the vent? We can talk about it in medbay if you want?” Tubbo saw the way he tensed up, and quickly added, “only if you want to! I can send everyone out, it’ll be just the two of us, yeah?”

Well, he’s already been caught, there’s no need to run. 

That was one of the first things they taught him at the Academy.

 If the odds are against you, give in. Give up. Just let go and don’t give them any information. Tommy never followed these rules. Maybe it was the optimistic, happy-go-lucky, hardy nature of the humans that convinced him, the way they talk so passionately about liberty and fighting back, but he’s learned that giving up is a coward's way to die. 

‘I guess that makes me a coward, then.’ He thinks, barely nodding in Tubbo’s direction. The teen immediately seems to vibrate with positive energy, smiling to himself as he scoots back towards medbay.

He carefully followed Tubbo, letting him take his time scooting back to the vent. Once Tubbo maneuvered himself out of the airway( seriously, how did he do that?) Tommy pulled himself out, avoiding both the sharp metal edges and the eyes of his crewmates. 

Tubbo unceremoniously ushered Wilbur, Phil, and Techno out of the room, their pleas of ‘no wait!’ and ‘give us a second let us talk to him-‘ fell on deaf ears. 

Once they had all been informally banished from medbay, Tubbo motioned for Tommy to sit on one of the beds and busied himself with glancing at Tommy’s injuries, then collecting the appropriate medical equipment. 

Tommy didn’t believe this for a second.

Tubbo just removed everyone from the room for his own personal comfort , and now he’s preparing to take care of his injuries with a fond scowl on his face like nothing had gotten in between them at all.

He unconsciously fidgeted with the ends of his clothes while hunched over on the bed, his claws making little holes in the fabric. 

Now that he thought about it, he should check his injuries too. The little scuffle in the vent had opened up some stitched wounds. He gingerly pressed the back of his hand to a long cut on his leg, grimacing when dark sticky blood came back. He wiped it on his medbay gown( when did he change into a medbay gown? Was he unconscious?)

Tubbo, in an attempt to fill the silence, started making a combination of humming and beatboxing while he collected the supplies from the various cabinets. It was remarkably calming, and Tommy found himself tapping along to the beat. Tubbo finished collecting and preparing the supplies and set down the tray next to Tommy. 

“Is it alright if I take a look at your wounds, big man?”

Tommy said nothing, only nodding slightly. The confirmation was enough for Tubbo, and he got to work. 

Tubbo kneeled and examined the long shreds on his legs. That bastard Dream couldn’t even die properly, he just had to make himself a nuisance after death too. Wait, is Dream even dead? Tommy passed out before he could see the results of his handiwork.

“Tubs is Dream…..?”

Tubbo looked up from applying the gauze. “Oh yeah, you took care of that bitch, you barely needed any help from us! I think Phil called an old friend to take care of the body, but I wasn’t allowed to listen to the conversation…” he trailed off, lost in his thoughts. 

He couldn’t believe it. How was Tubbo being so calm about this?! He literally just murdered someone in front of them, what kind of sick game was this….

He can’t take it anymore. 

“Tubbo, just….. stop it. Please.”

Tubbo looked up from the disinfectant bottle and met his eyes with concern. “Whaddya mean? It’s not like I can leave these cuts ope-“

“No, I mean just stop dragging it out.” He spoke through gritted teeth. “You don’t have to do this, I’m going to be gone either way so it doesn’t matter.”

There was silence. Tubbos' face morphed into something unreadable, even for Tommy. The silence that followed was mind-numbing, and he wondered vaguely if he overstepped any boundaries he didn’t know about.

Finally, Tubbo spoke again, his words laced with caution and disbelief. “….Tommy, what do you think is gonna happen to you after we’re finished here?” 

Jesus, why did he have to drag it out! Tommy already knew what was going to happen, it’s the same story every single time. 

“Don’t fuckin play dumb with me! I’m…. I’m not like you guys.” Tubbo flinched back at the cold tone. 

‘Served him right ’ Tommy thinks bitterly.

“I’m not like you,” he continued. “Or like Wilbur, or Techno, or Phil. I’m from a different god-damn planet where their evil government is so insecure about themselves that they have to send literal children like me to keep their fucking power in place!” He was almost yelling at this point, near hysterical. Tubbo stepped back when he continued shouting.

“So please, can you just stop!? You don’t have to do this, I’m dead either way. Lock me up in the comms room or something until you can throw me out the airlock for all I care! But this whole game of pretending to care for me is just cruel.” He curled in on himself, a sob escaping him. The wounds on his chest and legs flared up but he didn’t care at this point, he finally said it! He said it to Tubbo and oh no Tubbo’s gonna tell the crew oh no they’re gonna make it even more painful I’m sorry, please-

Something hard slammed into Tommy, almost knocking the wind out of him. It took him a few seconds to realize that it was Tubbo hugging him. 

Tubbo was hugging him like he was going to float away and never come back. Tubbo was starting to shake like a leaf, hands grasping onto Tommy’s shirt and hair with a grip stronger than death

Tommy was stunned in place, too scared to do anything more than squeeze his best friend just as tight.

After a few minutes, Tubbo pulled back but didn’t let go of Tommy. 

“You’re a bitch, you know that?” Tubbo sniffed, eyes red and sniffling now and then. Tommy started giggling at that, of all things. Whether that be from high-strung emotions or otherwise he couldn’t say.

Tubbo moved to hug him again, and this time Tommy fully returned the gesture. “Oh shut up, dickhead” he muttered back.

“But did you actually think we were going to kill you? You know we love you, Tommy, right?” He pulled back again to look into Tommy’s eyes, full of seriousness.

“Well, I’m literally humanity’s worst enemy, Tubbs.”

“And you’re my crewmate! You're our crewmate!” He cried out, a hint of hurt in his tone.

Tommy shifted on the bed so he was leaning against the wall, his horns softly bonking on the plaster wallpaper. 

“I dunno, it's just… I didn't know what to think, ya know? It’s complicated.” He deflected weakly.

Tubbo pulled himself up onto the bed and curled up against Tommy, his back to the wall. “We have all day, big man, and I’m listening.”

Tommy sighed. “I guess… it’s just I was so worried about losing what I had with you guys?” He struggled for the right words. 

“I didn’t have a life before I met you guys. It was just training and lies being spoon-fed to me. When I came aboard, it honestly felt like a dream come true.” Tommy started nervously fidgeting with the edge of his clothes again.

“You guys were so caring and nice, and whenever I slipped up or said some stupid shit, you were always there to help. It was amazing, and I think I would almost die a thousand more times for a chance to get that again ....” He trailed off.

  There was also the other reason he was so upset, but that wasn’t really important right now, right?

Tubbo looked up at him.“Tommy, I can literally hear the gears turning in your head. Spill it”

‘Dammit Tubbo, you and your mind-reading abilities

He sighed. “Alright, fine. So Tubbo, there’s this, uh, there’s this thing that we Crev’ian’s do when we find someone we care about. We kinda, Uhm, ‘claim’ them as our own. It’s like, you would do absolutely anything for that person, no questions asked. They’re like a best friend, but better I guess.” 

“It’s pretty rare for a Cre’vian to bond with a different species because there isn’t a cultural equivalent. I haven’t been on the ship long enough to figure out if there's a human equivalent, but I think I bonded with all of you. And I think that’s why I was so scared of ruining what this is.”

There, he said it, now he can bask in his shame for bonding with people who can’t even bond with him back-

Tubbo spoke up. “Tommy, are you saying you think of us as your family?”

Tommy hadn’t heard that word before, it was foreign to him. 

“Family? What’s that?”

Now Tubbo was the one fidgeting. “It’s kinda like what you described. Family is usually the people related to you by blood, but it can also mean the people you’re closest with, who you want to spend your time with.” 

Tubbo looked like he wanted to say more, but the sound of a metal door sliding opening filled the air. Tommy tensed up yet again, staring at the door slowly moving openly.

Phil peeked his head in, eyes full of worry. 

“Is everything alright in there, kids? I heard some yelling earlier, and I didn’t know if-“

Whatever else Phil was going to say was cut off as the door was yanked open. Phil was thrown to the side( the poor old man, his back is probably thrown out now- ) and all Tommy could see was a flash of a yellow jumper before Wilbur was in his face, hands on his shoulders and taking him all in like he was going to suddenly die right then and there. 

“Toms! I’m so glad to see you, did Tubbo kill you yet?  Are you dead? You don’t look dead so we’re good- hey can I hug you? You almost died for us Tommy please can we hug you I love you so much you’re an idiot-“

“Wil stop it, you’re gonna give him the alien equivalent of a heart attack” Techno popped out from behind Wilbur. His facial expression was left blank, but the way his body sagged with relief at seeing Tommy said enough. 

“Boys, you’re both going to give him a heart attack, give the kid some space mate!” Phil scolded, stepping into the room and towards the pile of children. He turned towards Tommy, a loving smile on his face.

“Toms, are you ok? I understand that this can be a lot, but we’re here for you.” He spoke gently.

Tommy bristled, putting on an air of false confidence. “Of course I am Phil! I’m the great Tommy Innit, I don’t get scared-“

Tubbo interrupted him. “Tommy thought we were gonna throw him out of the airlock because he isn’t human” 

A beat of silence, then everyone exploded.

“You thought WHAT-“ 

“-Oh Toms, I’m so sorry-”

“-Woah kid, calm down there it’s ok-”

The sudden onslaught of positive emotions filled Tommy with a warm fuzzy feeling, making him nearly dizzy

‘They really do care about me, huh’ he thinks as he’s dragged up onto his feet and being guided towards the kitchen area of the ship. 

“Watch his injuries, kids!” Phil said as he walked past them, probably running ahead to prepare something for everyone to eat. 

Everyone sat down at the dining table, chatting together while Phil insisted on making them some breakfast to all eat together.

“We’re gonna eat like a family” Phil remarked as he stirred some foreign vegetables in a pan, the savory smell hitting Tommy wonderfully.

Tommy glanced behind him into the dining area. Tubbo and Wilbur seemed to be roughhousing over who got to sit next to Tommy during breakfast. Techno sat near the kitchen entrance, an air of amusement in him as he watched the boys scuffle.

“Pfff, nerds.” He muttered as he flipped through the pages of some worn out human book.

“Like a family.” Phil said, as he corralled the kids into their respective seats(Tubbo somehow won the fight, so Wilbur sat next to Phil, quietly fuming) and set down delicious looking plates of food in front of everyone.

“Yeah,” Tommy softly remarked, a smile at his lips as he watched his friends chew loudly and light-heartedly scream at each other.

“ Like a family.”