Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

After the day he just had, Wilbur needed a drive.

He didn't care if it was against company policy to use the police cars after their shifts, if worse comes to shove he'll give his badge in the next morning.

Wilbur had come to the conclusion that being an officer, in many more ways than one, sucked. The training sucked, his co-workers suck and the coffee machine in their break room only had servings with soya milk in it. Agony, absolute agony. If he had the excuse to run off into the countryside and find a girl to frolic in the fields with, he would have slammed his gun on his Lieutenant's desk and stuck him the finger months ago. Too bad he lives with him, being his brother and all. Techno would call him lazy and a coward, go on a rant about how it was their dream since they were kids, but it's not like he could understand.

It's not like Wilbur wanted to have his hand in a war.

The revolution had been getting out of hand as of late. Most of their rallies were peaceful protests, ones that would only escalate into something more by the authorities that were supposed to bring peace. And yes that meant Wilbur. He didn't want to stop any marches, not when they were being careful as to not step over any boundaries, but he sadly had a job to do and he knew that the higher-ups were sending orders to exterminate the threat right there and then. At least his supervisors had some sort of empathy to let them give out warnings before using force.

Today was different, however. Today marked one for the history books. He had never seen so much destruction in l'manberg before. The place was a complete mess. Cars flipped over, nearly all stores with broken windows, all caused by some idiot who couldn't keep his gun in his pants. Luckily there were no casualties, from both sides... Apart from one of course.

But that didn't matter now. At least here, by the pier, it was quiet. L'manberg's beaches, though not the prettiest with all the plastic and metal waste scattered within the pebbles, at least had the decency to know when to be peaceful. Wilbur had been driving along the coast for the better half of an hour now, eyes half on the road, mind in the middle of nowhere. He didn't care if it was unproductive, his mind was anyway near constructive right now.

Oh wouldn't it be nice to just move to the badlands, he thought, or kinoko, or the mountains. Hell, he was even considering Las Nevadas as a better option. L'manberg was the capital of The United Essempi, of course, if there was going to be an uprising, it was going to be here.

Wilbur tapped his figure vigorously against the steering wheel, engulfed by the silence. Usually, the radio would be on, or one of his old CDS would be playing on loop, but not today, he couldn't today. In retrospect, it would have given him some sort of distraction, but Wilbur was more concentrated on the sound of his car rolling over little stones on the pavement than some funky tunes he used to listen to back in school. So silence it was.

He could have driven for the whole night like that, him, his car, and his self-pity. His grumpy roommate would be annoyed as usual but who was to say that Wilbur didn't annoy him anyway. But he was nearing the worse parts of the coast, drug addicts and gang violence was the craze around these ends, and frankly, he didn't want to find any crime that he would have to inevitably control. He slowed down the vehicle preparing to U-turn, if this car was seen by any thugs he would get attacked within the second so no point staying longer than he should.

Just as he was about to turn, his eyes caught sight of a figure at the end of the nearest pier and something in his body just... Told him to stop. He hadn't seen anyone outside for the entirety of his drive, assuming everyone was in fear of today's altercation. It remained unmoving, but it was there, taunting him, at least he took it as a taunt. He stared at it for a while, unable to decide if it was even there in the first place, it was small enough in the distance that Wilbur could have mistaken it as a smudge in his glasses. No one was on the piers this late at night, not anyone sane or mentally well at least.

He could have driven away right there and then, call it 'not-his-problem' and get home to techno's awful cooking ( by that he means yesterday's microwaveable ready meals), but he just kept staring, letting his mind thinks the worse. He shut off his engine with a big sigh, damn him and his savior complex, that's the one part of him that wanted to be a cop.

It was cold when he opened the door, the icy wind giving him a good ol'smack in the face as soon as he stood, his brown curls launching backward in retaliation. If that wasn't enough reason to get back in the car, Wilbur was expecting a meteorite to hit him right there and then. Nonetheless, he stepped forward, passing all the trash and homeless people that laid across the dock's entrance.

The wooden boards creaked under him like it pained them to be stood on, this was certainly one of the older quays. All the light posts were all the way near the base, but further and further near the edge, it became increasingly more difficult to see. But Wilbur wasn't insane, at the end was a small but lanky figure half leaning over the barrier that kept them from plummeting into the cold ocean. The closer he got, there were more details, like the fact that they seemed to be a boy though it was hard to make out. He was wearing a white and red t-shirt, one that didn't look exactly comfortable in such weather. He was wearing shorts too, highlighting his awkwardly long legs. though he was lanky, it was clear that he was young, considering his proportions and that he was clearly smaller than Wilbur, which wasn't very hard, to be honest. A kid out at this time near the raging ocean? Bound to be trouble. Wilbur didn't want to have a dead kid on his hands as the final cherry on top after that disaster sundae of an afternoon.

"Hey, you should know better than to be near the coast at night. You won't want to be swept up by the tides. Pretty nasty way to go if you ask me." Wilbur shouted from where he stood, the wind softly hitting his uniform as he had his hand close to his Walker-talkie, preparing for the worse. The figure didn't even flinch at his voice and Wilbur was scared that he might have 1. Impeached a deaf guy or 2. Have a moody teen with an attitude on his hands. Wilbur really didn't want to be dealing with this so late at night.

"Are you ignoring me?" He shouted once again, only this time with a bit more impatience to his tone. Once again, the figure didn't turn, and Wilbur wasn't going to shout for the third time. Fuck the composed and negotiable officer act, his shift was over, he was up to here with playing the nice guy. He stomped forward, making sure his footsteps were dramatic enough for even a deaf person to notice its vibration. Still, he didn't turn. Wilbur could feel a scowl on the bottom of his lip, and he reached arm's length from the figure. He hesitated for a moment, before grabbing the shoulder of the figure and swiftly turned them around to face him, ready to give the kid a piece of his mind.

What he noticed first were those glowing cyan eyes.

"Oh shit.... you're a Bot." Wilbur stumbled back. Great, just what he needed, a fucking Android. It was the exact thing he wanted to avoid, after what happened, he couldn't stand looking at any of their uncanny valley faces. Ever since Z.A Robotics started issuing their first robot designs, the world knew it was going to go to shit. I mean, humanoid Androids roaming around the place doing human's bidding? It was asking for trouble. Z.A robotics was always one to go above and beyond, voice-activated fridges, auto-piloting cars, hologram TVs, things that became everyday luxuries in l'manberg. But the introduction of Robots was never as welcomed and if it wasn't the Androids rioting, it was the humans for their consumption.

When more and more became rogue, it was hard to be surprised. Z.A robotics said it's a malfunction in their coding, Wilbur thought they were full of shit. Nothing becomes sentient without the creator wanting them to be. Wilbur never hated Androids, he was just indifferent to them, he didn't need one and he certainly wouldn't get one, but who could say that they should just stop existing, definitely not 'Mr-grumpy-cop-who-only-survives-off-his-fuel-of-coffee' over here. Though he did find it funny that the Androids were able to protest better than humans. Android protests were calm and peaceful, whilst humans were quick to start attacking any Androids that pass them in the street. Hypocrites considering they were the ones who made them.

On closer inspection, this Android certainly had young features, he was in fact only a little smaller than Wilbur and he wondered if he was one of those creepy pretend children models, though he had never seen any that lookalike to the face before him. His piercing blue eyes were able to light up its features. He had a rather defined jawline with a small butt-shaped chin at the end. His hair was a bright golden blond, it's bouncy and almost fluffy curls made his head look ten times bigger than it was. His face was still, looking through Wilbur as if he wasn't even there. It was no debatably an Android, but Wilbur knew you would have to look twice during daylight. There were two ways you could tell them apart from civilians, their glowing eyes being one thing, the serial code on their necks that glowed the same color being the other; this one saying T0-33y 1n41t.

Wilbur sighed. Just a fucking Android wasting more of his time. His obligation as a cop was to report any stray Androids roaming around after their curfew, he really didn't want to be a police officer right now. He tapped on his watch which shone up to project his notepad, taking out his stylus to start writing down the necessary information. "Ok, well I'm sure you know what I'm about to say, Z.A androids are not permitted to be out this late without their owner. You either tell me your registration code and owners name or I'll take you in for custody-"

"Tell me, do you think the stars know that we look at them?" The Android stopped him dead in his tracks and Wilbur did the hardest double-take of his life. The Android was now staring at him with a curious glance, his expression changing from nothing to one of sorrow. It was an expression that almost looked human, Wilbur turned his notepad off.

"Excuse me?" He asked hesitantly, not quite sure if he was hallucinating or not. The Android just hummed and turned back to look at the sky, twinkling stars fading in and out between the clouds.

"Do stars burn brightly so we can admire them? Do they have their own goals and desires? Or are they just playing to their natural routine, completely oblivious to our existence? Stars have complex cycles like humans. They're born, they work, they burn out and stay like a faded memory." It continued, beginning to trace the stars as if he was playing connect the dots, or maybe he was connecting the constellations, Wilbur wasn't quite sure. What he was sure however was that those weren't the words of a regularly programmed Android, this was definitely a rogue model. Wilbur's hand itched towards his walkie-talkie once again, it's protocol, it was his job. But damn him and his curiosity, that's the part of him that wants to run away. Instead, he just walked closer, leaned over the barrier with him, never taking his eyes off it as he slumped his shoulders against the railing. He had nothing better to do, better see how far technology was getting.

"We can still see stars even once they have died. Sure it's because of the whole 'speed of light' thing but I like to think they want us to remember them." The robot sound uncharacteristically sad for..... well a robot, like it was genuinely having a mental crisis over the existence of stars, Wilbur found it kinda funny.

"I'm not sure about all that, but they certainly don't have minds, it's nothing but gas." He chuckled, after all, Wilbur was a man of realism, faith avoided him, there was nothing staring down at them, not even stars. The Android retaliated and chuckled back, Wilbur stilled like a statue.

"Everyone has a mind. Humans, animals, plants, fungi, cells, microorganisms." The boy turned to him. "Androids."

Wilbur felt something in his heart beating out of its chest and flashes of memories of today came flooding back to him.

It was a small demonstration, nothing more than usual, there were a lot more Androids but they were still not doing any harm. But for once, something changed, the leader of the group showed himself for the first time since the first few protests. His name was Theseus. He was the so-called 'prophet to the rebellion', The first Android to have ever awakened. Wilbur had never seen what he looked like, no one had, he always had his skin projection removed, showing only his endo-skeleton and his bright blue piercing eyes. He carried out peaceful protests with a few others who had 'awoken', Wilbur had to stop a few of them along with his peers. He wasn't doing anything wrong, and public opinion was in favor of him too. Things were starting to look up, and it seemed that he was finally getting through to the l'manberg higher-ups.

That was, until today when he finally was about to declare progress for their independence, some dumb idiot sent a bullet through the leader of the rebellion's head.

Wilbur watched it from the sidelines, of how the Androids rushed to their leader with great agony in their voices. They sounded like they were grieving. The shooter was never caught and the Androids began to go on a rampage. Buildings were half collapsing and civilians were attacking back, Wilbur watched a couple set an Android on fire. He heard it scream for them to stop. It was full-on fucking civil war and Theseus was pronounced 'discontinued' in the early afternoon.

Wilbur shook the thought out of his head, he must have been lost in his mind for a while considering the Android went back to look at the stars. He coughed, feeling the awkwardness and bile rise in his throat. They are just machines, they can't cry in pain. He told himself, but the cries of thousands of Android rung in his blood for longer than it should have.

"What's your name?" The Android asked, finally moving its concentration back up to him. Wilbur looked away and up at the stars, they were bright and visible which was surprising considering the heavy light pollution that l'manberg has. If he kept looking at the stars, he could pretend the person asking him questions was actually alive. "Wilbur....... officer Wilbur soot."

"Tell me officer Wilbur Soot, why are you listening to an android in the middle of the night on a pier?" Nevermind. The Android was making fun of him, and for a second Wilbur choked on his thoughts. What a cocky little shit. Wilbur didn't blame him, this situation was just as ridiculous as it made it to be. Anything for a distraction right? Wilbur threw his head back and laughed, loudly.

"You know? I'm not actually sure." He said whilst wiping a tear out of his eye. He must look like a mad man.

"Are you going to turn me in?" There was an air of confidence in the Android's question, and Wilbur looked down at his emotionlessly smug face, his lagoon blue eyes sparkling with a mixed bag of emot-.... It was probably just the stars' reflections.

Wilbur sighed, rubbing the back of his next. "Nah," he smiled, "can't be asked. It's not my problem for another.... 11 hours." He glanced down at his watch as if that was going to change anything, making seem like it was out of his own laziness. Even Wilbur could feel the sigh of relief that left the robot body, can robots even sigh? It made him chuckle.

"So what's your name?" Wilbur nonchalantly asked, playing with the edge of his aluminous badge that stuck close to his chest. It gave him an uneasy eye as if he was questioning why on earth was he asking a robot for their name, probably so he could arrest him on a later date. But to the robot's surprise(?), Wilbur shot him one back, one less serious and 'cop like but more in a 'breaking-the-ice-with-a-machine' kind of way. It seemed to hesitate for a moment, a name of the tip of its tongue. It looked like it was trying to make one up on the spot and Wilbur didn't blame him if he wanted to hide under an alias, Wilbur would take anything other than calling it 'the Android' for when he inevitably tells the story in future years.

After a while, it looked back up at the sky, a subtle smile across his premature face.

"Tommy." Tommy ( apparently) settled on, and for some reason it made Wilbur want to smile too.

They stayed like that in silence for a while, neither seemed up for conversation. But the stars above were a good distraction and Wilbur found himself trying to count all the ones he could see. It wasn't awkward, nor comfortable, but nonetheless, Wilbur knew that two very different worlds had suddenly just collided and Wilbur didn't mind staying around for a little while longer. Apparently, Tommy didn't feel the same.

"Well then." He said abruptly, pushing himself off the barrier and into an upright position. It started the man, the sudden severity in his voice making him feel like he scared away an injured animal. Wilbur watched as the Android's whole body changed into one less relaxed like he was fighting the urge to collapse right there and then.

"It was a pleasure meeting you officer Wilbur Soot. Let's hope our paths never meet again." He spoke, his voice sounding too calm compared to the twitching in his eyes. He gave a quick salute and looked as if he was debating whether or not to actually leave. After a second of hesitation, he ran off, the wood under him squeaking loudly when encountering his footsteps.

Wilbur blinked a few times, before feeling mildly infuriated. To think that he came out onto this pier to save a potentially suicidal kid from drowning and all he got was a trippy encounter with a know-it-all rogue Android before getting rudely ditched in the middle of the ocean. He watched it scurry into the distance, hopefully wanting the Android to trip over the creaking boards on his way out.

Wilbur shoved his hands deep into his pockets and scoffed as he walked back to the car. "Prick."

Still, Tommy's words rang in the back of his mind on the way back to his apartment and suddenly the stars above him felt like little eyes watching him. That night, his human-like expressions haunted him in his dreams, the way he seemed so sad, the way he seemed to joke and get anxious. Something in those eyes unnerved him and he didn't know quite what.

But at the end of the day, it didn't matter. There were millions of Androids in Essempi, at least it was a guarantee that he will never have to see that annoying brat face ever again, he'll forget about him soon enough.

He ignored how his gut said otherwise.

Chapter Text

It's been 5 months since the incident and Wilbur couldn't believe how quickly shit hit the fan.

It was now an everyday occurrence to see Android violence on the street. Every day there was a new call in for Bot violence and Wilbur had to watch their kind sweep the streets covered in multicolored blood on his way to work.

Seems like summer wasn't the best time to have a revolution, everyone was out enjoying the sun, which meant everyone was either a suspect or a victim in this city devolved into chaos. You'd never know when the next attack would be and it made Wilbur, for once, consider carrying a gun around.

It wasn't the best for Wilbur especially, considering he had been stuck in a mile-long traffic jam in the city summer head for most of his morning, caused by a couple of Android deciding to have their joint suicide in the middle of town center in early rush hour. He didn't care that he might have his head on a stick when he gets to work for being late, he wasn't exactly aiming to be early, to begin with, he just didn't want to be in that damned vehicle for another second. He slammed his car door with annoyance, finally in their precinct's private carpark, 1 hour in traffic or 2 hours late to his job, he could call it his personal best.

When he went through the doors of the station, the refreshing hit of the air conditioner cooled down the sweat in his brow. That was about the only technologically advanced equipment in that damned building, apart from the hologram computers that ate way too much into their budget, to begin with. Wilbur found it funny how the crime had never been higher in l'manberg before and yet the police force barely had any money to fix their filing cabinets or afford ACTUAL FUCKING MILK. Wilbur was considering paying out of his own pocket just so their floor could have an actual plunger for the bathrooms, but he opted to do his business in any cafés he passes on his way to work anyway so he didn't really care. Wilbur looked up at the noisy dispenser of breeze, they don't have an air conditioner in their flat, even though they could definitely afford one, techno's just stingy.

When he scanned his ID and begrudgingly passed the barriers, the aforementioned pink-haired man stood outside of his office, arms crossed and his face equally as pissed off. He was wearing a suit that had an 'every-five-minutes-I-iron-my-clothes-because-the-wrinkles-could-show-weakness' kind of vibe and he proudly let his badges hang from the side of his chest. His hair was long enough to hit the bottom of his back and it was immaculate and smooth, Wilbur's hair didn't even touch his shoulders and yet he couldn't even effectively comb his hand through it due to all the knots. Techno was tall, the same height as Wilbur to be exact, but he wore his height with pride, and the tight muscles around his body looked like the only thing that weighed him down from his gigantic inflated ego. Wilbur was hunched back and could be snapped in half like a stick at any minute, his insecurities packed all inside him as if he could implode. It was hard to believe they were brothers.

"Sergeant Soot, could you come into my office please." He didn't even need to shout for his voice to resonate within the whole department. What once was a polite buzz of morning chatter quickly turned into silence as their Sergeant and Lieutenant locked eyes. Wilbur didn't have a chance at a quirky, snarky reply as techno quickly turned around and entered through his office door with a dramatic slam, keeping it unlocked for Wilbur to follow. Wilbur grumbled under his breath, he hated his new position as a sergeant. Three months ago techno promoted him and ever since then it's been hell. Wilbur wasn't the greatest at the whole leadership role but in retrospect, he just did the exact same work as a regular detective, mainly because he didn't want to do any of the nitty-gritty paperwork. Sergeant was just a title he didn't work for, but Techno thought it would be a good idea to give Wilbur some sort of responsibility. Little did he know that would be his downfall.

Tension was quickly sliced away by a snicker that resonated from across the room. A beanie jovially moving up and down and a scarred face mocking Wilbur from his desk.

"Ooh looks like Soot is gonna get a telling off from his ol'big bwother." Quackity charismatically howled like a hyena, his feet up on his desk as he spun a stylus on his middle finger, flipping him off. Quackity had the elegance of a street rat. He was a grimy cop, did deals that Wilbur would have reported in another life. He got the job done, of course, more than Wilbur could ever do these days, but his reckless abandonment of morals had given him an edge that no one would trust, not anymore at least. Not today Quackity, Wilbur wanted to lunge forward and stick that electro pen up his nose, but last time he did that it cost him one of his strikes, so he pushed back the craving into a deep scowl.

Wilbur just huffed and walked towards his meeting, letting quackity's snide remarks fall onto deaf ears. He looked around before heading towards his fate, glancing around to the break room to see a blond tuff of hair peaking from the door, which was weird because there weren't a lot of golden-haired officers around their department. He sighed, right now wasn't the best time for a distraction, quackity was right, time to have a chat with dear ol'brother.

He opened the door and waltz in like he wasn't just debating whether or not to run away that very minute. He shut the door and leaned against it, eying his brother who sat back in his old leather chair with his arms once again crossed. "What do you want now Tech?"

"Don't Tech me. This is the 10th time this month you came to work late!" Techno grumbled behind his tired scowl, not daring to move his body as a power play, Wilbur thought it made him look scared. Techno nodded to the old foldable chair that sat across him but Wilbur just shrugged, his hands deep in his trenchcoat pockets.

"What can I say I have a busy home life." He smirked. Techno was unimpressed

"We live in the same apartment." He huffed, massaging the bridge of his nose in frustration, Wilbur couldn't help but smirk more.

"Yea my roommate is such a pain, keeps nagging my ear off when I get home." Wilbur was definitely one for sarcasm, rolling his eyes and dramatically slapping the back of his palm against his head. Techno was not so humorous.

"I'm serious will! You can't keep doing this! Do you want your job or not?!" He slammed his fist against his clean and tidy dest with a gentle thump, Wilbur knew that if he wanted to do true damage, he could've. Techno had that look in his eye that Wilbur couldn't help but look away at. Disappointment, in a way he used to it, but it didn't mean that it didn't hurt.

"Not like I have a choice either way." The tired man clutched onto his arm and looked down at the ground like a little child, and it was clear that Techno regretted his choice of words.

He huffed and leaned back against his chair. He slipped off his blazer and stood up, placing the now-folded garment on his seat. He propped himself up against his desk, looking down at the floor with a face of contemplation. Wilbur knew that Techno was done playing the Lieutenant act, he always did this when he shouted too much, now he was being his brother. Wilbur pretended like he didn't notice, instead found himself looking at all the certificates and little memorabilia around the pristine room even if he had seen them all over a million times before. His heart always hurts when he doesn't see any pictures of them together.

"Do you know why I'm a higher rank than you?" Techno finally spoke up, his voice airing of confidence, like he was about to give Wilbur the best pep-talk of his life. Wilbur had heard it all before.

"Because I strive to be the best version of me."
"because you strive to be the best version of you, yeah yeah I get it. Doesn't make you any less of an asswipe." The retaliation didn't help Wilbur's case.

"Wilbur please, I'm trying my best here. You're my brother above anything else but as your Lieutenant, I'm gonna have to ask you to pull your weight a little bit, your precinct can't work without a leader." Techno was tired, Wilbur knew that. He would come home with bags full of papers and files that he would insist on finishing before sunrise. He was a better man, he worked hard and he deserved even better than what he got. But just because they were related doesn't mean that Wilbur had to be like that too. There had always been comparisons, and Wilbur thought that maybe back in the day, he had that same passion and drive as Techno did. But life is unpredictable, sometimes that passion just snaps, sometimes plans change. 'Pulling his weight' as Techno called it, wasn't something he felt he could commit to anymore. He wasn't the ambitious leader Techno wanted him to be, because he wasn't Techno and never will be. Wilbur isn't even sure who he is anymore.

Techno could read him like an open book and sighed with his head hung low. He stood back up and reached for a file that had been left untouched in the middle of his desk. Wilbur was startled by the sudden impact of the file suddenly implanted into his chest.

"I'm assigning you as head of all cases to do with rogue Android suspicious activity. The rest of the files are already on your desk." Techno tried to look him in the eye with an unmoving determination but Wilbur's eyes were looking down at the sheets of paper in disbelief. Oh hell n-

"Nononono you can't do me like this! You know I don't work well with Bots!"Wilbur shot his head up with a pleading face. Can't the world give him a break, this was the last thing he wanted to do! Android cases were the one thing he just couldn't care less about, he was so done with all of the 'hype', at the end of the day they were not his area of expertise. Techno wasn't budging however, he walked to his desk to prepare for his next meeting like he was ignoring Wilbur's childish whines.

"Come on! why not get Quackity onto this! You know he would love to get his grimy little hands on a case like-" Wilbur continued, getting more and more frustrated at Techno's unwillingness to listen. The pink-haired Lieutenant slammed his fist against the desk, harder this time.

"Because I want you to actually see the importance of our job for once!" He shouted, his eyes wide from anger. Wilbur stumbled back onto the door, not scared but just surprised by Techno's sudden outburst. Techno breathed heavily for a second, before glancing at the window to only compose himself, Wilbur wouldn't be surprised if they had a not-so-subtle audience listening in. Techno slumped into his seat, head immediately in hands. Wilbur did feel bad for making him stress out, made him feel more like a failure, but Techno took his time to cool off and strained a smile back towards his brother.

"You are a great cop Wilbur. I just hope that one day, once you rekindle that spark of yours, you might become a good one again." He spoke softly, and after the outburst, Wilbur knew it was an apology. Even as kids Techno had always been careful as to not upset Wilbur, speaking softly and sharing his toys. As a child Wilbur would wear his emotions on his sleeves, the tiniest things could have set off a thousand different emotions at once. But Wilbur wasn't a child anymore, he could take it.

Wilbur hummed in acknowledgment, knowing full that Techno could see the bubbling frustration growing inside of him. No point fighting it now, once Techno's mind was set on something, it was bound to be done. Wilbur turned to leave, ready to go sulk somewhere in the department's designated smoking area until Techno spoke up for the last time.

"Oh, and before you leave, we have a new intern. He's here for the work experience so I've assigned him to follow you around for a little bit, so be nice. He's waiting for you in the break room."

Oh, you've got to be pulling my leg. An intern? Now he had to babysit? What kind of cruel existence did Techno want him to have ?!

"Great way to add insult to injury." He venomously shot his way, but Tech wasn't listening, already set on his work and Wilbur took the message. The conversation was over. Wilbur couldn't believe his luck and before he left, he graciously stuck the middle finger hidden in his coat pocket.

The chatter kept up when he walked through the office, but it didn't mean he couldn't feel all eyes on him. His desk was the furthest away from techno's office window, against his brother's wishes. It was covered in papers and files, some from many cases ago, the organization left the party before the shots came out. There were empty coffee cups, protein bar wrappers, and packets of open chips littered around the place, but the man couldn't find it in himself to tidy up, so home sweet home I guess. Wilbur threw his bag under it and slammed his body against the peeling leather seat that was practically begging to be replaced. He slammed his head up with a dramatic groan, watching the ceiling fan aimlessly spinning around despite the air conditioner doing its job.

"Rough day?" A gentle voice said with a chuckle, it was calming and kind, it made Wilbur ease into his crusty seat just a little bit. He didn't need to turn around to know who it was. "Rough year." He replied whilst spinning his chair in her direction without looking down.

"You say that every time." Niki giggled under her breath, a sympathetic glance as she looked away from her computer. She was, how some would say, the complete opposite of the policewoman vibe. She had short bright pink hair that was often curled outwards at the end. She had big brown glasses that Wilbur only sees her wear when she is stuck on desk job duties. When not in uniform, she would often wear colorful but practical clothing which she always looked super comfortable in. She was always polite and honest and could easily bake a real mean cake when she wanted to. But just because she didn't fit the police stereotype didn't mean she was any less badass. Niki, Wilbur, and Techno were all very good friends, all three of them starting in the academy at the same time. Niki was a little younger than Will, but that didn't make her any less tough. Wilbur watched her single-handedly take down criminals without breaking a sweat, tackling them on the ground without a second's notice. Not only that, but she was crazy good at filing reports, never leaving even the smallest of details undocumented. It surprised Wilbur that she remained only as a detective, rather than climbing up the ranks as she deserved. But from what he could gather, she rather liked where she was now and promotions didn't seem to be in her best interest. Wilbur would have done the same if he had the choice.

"And every time it becomes a little bit more true." Delicately whined, slamming his cheek onto his resting fist as he pouted towards Niki, who only acknowledged the childish nature with a careful but supportive smirk.

"You ready for your next assignment?" Niki turned back to her work but still kept an ear out for Wilbur's response, who stretched his legs and arms out like a daddy-long-legs.

"I see... Techno briefed you then?" He said through a yawn, feeling his spine crack into place. Of course, Tech would get Niki to babysit him, does he forget that they are the same age?

"He's just worried about you will." Niki didn't look back up to him this time, Wilbur played with the sleeves of his trenchcoat. "When isn't he worried."

Niki peered up again for just a second and gave Will that look as if she was psychoanalyzing him. He hated when people did that, examining him like he was a rabbit for testing or a teen with a troubled home life. Wilbur didn't need people to point out that he looked like shit, that he acted like shit, and how he smelt worse. It makes him feel dead, like a rotting corpse walking around aimlessly trying to find that electricity that might get his heart pumping again. He was a ghost of what he used to be. Niki once said that if he felt more like a ghost, he should call himself 'Ghostbur'. He was laughing at the time, but it didn't feel like a joke anymore. Ghostbur was who he was, a joke turned into a sad reality, Wilbur must have disappeared halfway into hell right about now.

Niki quickly shifted her expression when she noticed Wilbur uncomfortably squirming under her gaze, replacing that thinking face with a comforting one. "Want me to get you a coffee? I don't mind doing it for you just this once." She laughed.

The thought of coffee made Wilbur chitter, his body reminding him that he already had 8 shots of espresso when he woke up, if he had any more his bowels will explode. Just as he was about to politely decline, his eyes drifted back towards the break room, the somehow glowing blond tuff of hair back into view. 'We have a new intern. He's here for the work experience so I've assigned him to follow you around. He's waiting for you in the break room' ohhh right... Intern.

"No no.. it's ok, I have things to get in the break room anyway." He returned half of his attention back onto Niki but nodding his head towards her, eyes still fixated on the door whilst getting up. Niki gave him a quick but kind acknowledgment and went back to her job, the buzzing from her hologram keyboard being only a distant noise as he got further and further away. He didn't know why, but he felt... Strange, like something wasn't right. He walked closer, his feet sounding louder than they should have. Somehow he could sense that in the break room, there was more than just an intern.

He stood adjacent to the door, looking through the medium-sized crack that barely revealed its insides. There was a guy in there, humming a tune that Wilbur did not recognize. He could hear the rustling of paper as the figure inside moved around. There were small but clumsy footsteps going around the place, like a kid looking around a candy store. There were subtle laughs that could be heard, and Wilbur felt a pang of familiarity to that rough childlike voice. He couldn't take it anymore, before his brain popped with questions, he slowly opened the door.

The figure jumped back, startled by the noise, he stood tall, but not tall enough. He wore casual clothes that actually looked fit for summer. He had light golden hair flopping down his forehead. And big surprised cyan eyes staring back at him.

. . .

Oh for fucksak-

"YOU!!" Wilbur shouted with a venomous growl in his throat, pointing a finger at that snotty brat's face like he had just solved a Scooby-doo mystery. The kid jumped back, looking around with a nervous grin as if anyone was there to save him, it was just Wilbur and him alone. "Me?!"

"YES, YOU LITTLE SHI-" Wilbur was ready to attack right there and then, hovering way too close to the blond, pushing him into the table as he waved his arms around in defense.

"Hey big man, can you lower your voice down a bit-" Tommy tried to calm him down but Wilbur was having none of it.

"Don't big man me brat! You know exactly who I am and I know exactly what you are! What is an andro -" Wilbur was about the snap, but Tommy, without a shadow of a doubt, covered Wilbur's mouth before he could finish that final word. "Don't." It almost came out threatening if he didn't look like a fucking child, Wilbur was debating whether or not to lick his hand away, but he guessed that Androids didn't get grossed out by that kind of shit.

Tommy removed his hand and slid away from Wilbur's oppressive grasp, moving to his side whilst rubbing the back of his neck. A nervous persona I see. "I don't think I have properly introduced myself. Errr...Ayup! My name is Thomas Innit... But you can call me Tommy." He held out his hand as the man was going to shake it. He scoffed like Wilbur didn't know half that stuff before... and what kind of alias was Thomas Innit? He really was a child.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Wilbur seethed through his teeth, bringing his words into a threatening whisper. If Tommy was going to play a character, so was Wilbur, time to play the big bad scary cop. Tommy bristled at the questioning and mentally started to avoid eye contact from Wilbur's deathly glare.

"Well, I wanted to get to experience the life of a detective! I've always loved detective stories you see, and I-I thought the best way to do that is to apply for-." He sounded like he was reading off a script, no doubt that he was. Wilbur waved his hand around trying to get the kid to stop rambling utter bullshit.

"Yeah yeah stop with the charade, why are you really here? We both know rogues don't help find other rogues." Wilbur leaned back with his arms crossed, now it's his turn to analyze the gremlin. He looked much different in the daylight. His eyebrows were bushy and unkempt, and his hair was equally as wild, it almost looked like a bird's nest. His eyes were much less glowy, but Wilbur could definitely see that unnatural shade of lagoon blue still present. Wilbur looked down at his neck, it was covered by a bandana, that's one way to hide an Android code. But to Wilbur's closer inspection, his registration number seemed to have gone as well. He must be covering it with some sort of skin patch that rogues use to hide their identity, the bandana was probably just a security measure.

Tommy's shoulders relaxed as he stared back at Wilbur, challenging him. "I don't quite know what you mean officer Soot." He snakily smirked....... The officer Soot reference being a dead giveaway. So he just admitted to being the Android. Great, now to take him to Techno and show him that-

"Emergency!! All officers to the Briefing room!" The speakers went off and suddenly an Android in disguise was the least of his problems. Shit, the alarm is never activated unless it's a serious emergency. Wilbur practically leaped from his position, panic mode activated. He was ready to run straight out of the room until Tommy made it very clear that he was going to join.

"You stay here." Wilbur held out his hand in front of the boy's chest, shoving him back a bit. Tommy scrunched up his nose like a kid having a tantrum. "We both know I'm not gonna do that."

"I thought you Androids were made to follow our commands." Wilbur scoffed, giving him a side-eye as he turned to the door, Tommy only laughed. "I am not here to follow your commands. I'm here to follow you, remember?"

Fucking gremlin, he muttered under his breath, but he knew he wasn't going to tame him that easily. He was wasting precious time. With reluctance, he headed out the door, making no effort on holding it open for the kid following behind him. They rushed to said Briefing room that was across the other side of the main office room, which was already swarmed with officers like an active beehive. Techno was at the podium, not looking as stoic as he usually would.

"We've got a 10-23 and a 10-54 !! The suspect broke into a Z.A Robotics store and is demanding a small sum of cash and all Androids sold there to be free. There are hostages, we speculate some of them are injured or worse." He called out as the reluctant duo walked in, not bothering on taking a seat and just standing by the doorway. Tommy stayed close behind Wilbur trying to get a better look, to which Wilbur would try to shrug him off if he got too close. Just as Tommy was peeking over his shoulder, a herd of policemen pushed out of the room once more, quicker than they came in, it felt almost cartoonish. Wilbur swore at anyone who bumped his shoulder, bearing in mind that he most likely had to work with them later that mission. He turned to follow the bustling crowd until he felt a firm, rough hand on his shoulder, which spiked upwards at the sudden contact.

"Wilbur you're in charge of this one," Techno spoke with pride, and Wilbur's shoulder slowly fell back down as he scowled to himself. "Oh, you've got to be kidding m-"

"Take the squad car and the kid out, your men are already waiting, we are prepared for any backup necessary." Techno didn't let him fight, there was no room for discussion. He nodded toward Tommy as mentioned, who stilled and gave the brothers a nervous smile. Of course, the Android would have to come, Wilbur didn't want to spend another second with that annoying golden-headed anomaly.

Techno turned Wilbur around to face him, placing both of his hands delicately on both shoulders. "Will you be ok? I can come with you if you wan-" Wilbur swatted off the hands that were itching to comb through Wilbur's knotted locks. " I'll be fine Tech, it's still my job remember?"

Techno flashed a questioning glance, but then nodded."Just... Be good."

Be good he said. That's supposed to be the easy part. Wilbur hurried out of the room without a second word exchanged with his brother and the scrawny impostor behind him.

Time to be a police officer.

Chapter Text

When they arrived at the scene, they could already see why it was such an emergency. There were glass shards sprinkled around the ground from left to right, and a semi-circle of police vehicles surrounded the perimeter of the giant entrance for the Z.A robotics store. From what they could tell, each window was systematically shattered beyond repair, highlighting the Z.A signature colors of green, white, and gold that decorated the inside. The road was completely blocked off from civilians, but Wilbur's ears rang from the ever-so- annoying sound of clicking that came from the camera shutters, news reporters and journalists stood idly by waiting for any sign of drama.

Even if it was mid-afternoon, it was still way too early in the day for Wilbur, he really wished he took Niki's offer for the extra coffee, despite the crime against humanity that is soya milk. Once his men were out of the squad car with him, all suited up and ready for action, he walked through the holographic police 'crime scene' tape and moved to the front lines, where an officer was looking behind his car barricade and into the store.

"What's the situation," Wilbur asked, not bothering to introduce himself. He dug through his pocket and showed his badge, knowing that he didn't exactly look like the kind of guy that would be a sergeant. The Officer hesitated, but once seeing the man's rank he fixed his posture, professionalism seeping through the sweat in his brow. It made Wilbur scoff at the formality of it all.

"He's holding a woman at laser point. Every time we attempt to get close, he threatens to slice her head off. A few officers could see a few individuals unconscious, we are unable to determine if they are dead or alive." The young man explained and Wilbur had a chance to look at the situation more closely. Stood inside the store was a male-looking, ginger-haired Android holding a laser dagger incredibly close to a woman's neck, who was crying and begging for mercy. The Android was wearing a red and white checkered uniform that made the very threatening robot look like a candy cane or a gingerbread man, the regular pattern and odd-looking hat-to-match insinuated that he was most likely a culinary model. He had his skin removed, the silver endoskeleton reflecting his glowing red eyes. He stood in front of the front desk, and Wilbur could see the server tied up and leaning against the back wall, shaking in their boots. Wilbur also took note of the bodies lying prone that were positioned themselves around the feet of the criminal, none of them had any visual or noticeable injuries so Wilbur's best bet was that they were in fact unconscious.

"And the demands are just cash and a few bots free?" Wilbur evaluated again, tucking his chin into the crux of his hand. All this trouble for a small prize pool? That can't be it. That being said, this isn't the kind of demonstration that suggests this man was doing it for greater justice. Most Androids fight for their rights in, albeit, more expressive ways, never letting themselves be the obvious bad guys. This seemed almost....scared, unplanned like he was trying to run from something. Why would an android need money? Unless it's to help him escape the city or to pay off some sort of robot debt. Wilbur really had no clue, but what he did know was that it just didn't sit well right.

The officer didn't seem to think as deeply as Wilbur did. "It's asking for independence for himself and for the Androids he'll 'free', sound like something in his code gave him a god complex. He even removed his skin projector like Theseus." He mocked. Wilbur looked up with wide eyes, almost hopeful."Is it Theseu-?"

"No," Tommy spoke up, interrupting the man. Wilbur almost forgot that the brat was behind him, he rolled his eyes as he turned around to the child. His body was tense as he stared holes through the crime scene. "His model and registration number don't match, L4-2AR BE4M. He's a model designed to work in bakeries, the laser he has is modified from the quick ovens that most bakeries use." He continued, pointing out the weapon's badly made engineering. Wilbur shot him a look, was the kid trying to reveal he was a bot? There was no way he got all that just by looking.

"Huh, how can you tell?" He provoked, squinting his eyes as he leaned against the police car. Tommy flustered under his piercing gaze. "Oh uh... I've been studying Androids for a while now and ....ur... I just recognize its face from my local bakery that's all."

Really believable story there, kid. Wilbur would have made fun of him if they weren't in the frontlines of a hostage situation. "Any other relevant information." He asked casually, like the plot for his Robo-murder wasn't still fresh in his mind. If they were going to have an Android that's able to scan the suspect from far away, he might as well use it to his benefit just this once. Tommy stared ahead once again, and Wilbur could metaphorically and literally see the cogs moving inside his head, trying to scrounge out any information that framed necessary.

"No... Nothing else." He hesitated, looking nervous. That was obviously a lie, Wilbur thought, but did he care? Not entirely, all he needed to do was to help save the hostages, nothing more, nothing less.

"Alright then, get me a microphone." He brought his attention back to the young police officer, who stilled at the attention and sharply nodded at his command, muttering a quiet 'yes sir' under his breath. When he left, Wilbur couldn't help but stare at Tommy. He stood there, watching the crime scene with a wary eye. His hands clenched and unclenched, playing with his fists like an actual child would do. He bit the inside of his mouth and scrunched up his nose every few seconds as if he came to a conclusion only to find a dead end. He was analyzing, probably finding details that Wilbur wouldn't have seen even on a second looking. Fucking Androids, doing his job better than he ever could.

The officer returned a moment later with a headset and a microphone pack that he had to speak into. Wilbur thanked him and hooked himself up and tapped the mic a couple times as a test, the sound coming out the speaker of the back of the pack. He just wanted to be in bed.

"This is sergeant Wilbur Soot! I'm gonna have to ask you to come out with your hands up. No sudden movements or force will be used! You are surrounded !!" He swore he sounded like every detective TV show out there, he was unsure if he said those words because it was mandatory or if he was just reciting the new episode of Queens 88. The Android inside didn't move, the laser dagger still firmly hovering under the crying woman's throat.

"If you come out peacefully we will not harm you! Just come out and let's talk about this !" Wilbur tried again, sometimes being calm and patient does the trick. Unlucky day because Wilbur was neither calm nor patient. After a few more minutes of waiting for a sign of submission, he abruptly whipped off the headset and planted the pack into the chest of the officer standing by. "I'm going in."

"Is that wise sir? I mean, we don't want to aggravate it anymore and any advances we made turned him hostile." The young man tried to reason, but Wilbur was already halfway strapping on the negotiator's chest plate, which, bearing in mind, wasn't bulletproof. Frankly, the idea of walking up to a deadly situation and getting laser stabbed to death wasn't exactly what he wanted to do on a Monday afternoon, but most likely none of these amateur cops had the balls enough to do what was necessary. Didn't stop him from having a nervous shake in his limbs, damn the lack of coffee in his system.

"Let me go in." Just as he was about to holster his gun as security, Tommy's scratchy voice stopped all of his movement. Both Wilbur and the officer looked at him as if he had grown two heads.

"What ?!" Wilbur shouted, a lot more aggressively than he should have when talking to a supposed minor. The officer shot him a concerned glance and Wilbur just waved him off, to which the man went back to looking at the threat ahead. Wilbur grabbed Tommy's arm and yanked him to the side, away from anyone's earshot.

"Are you crazy?" he whisper shouted, venom in his eyes are tongue.

"There might be a chance he will negotiate with me." Tommy whisper shouted back, his arm still firmly placed in Wilbur's grasp, much more oppressive as it seemed.

The older man just used his free hand to slab his palm against his forehead. This Android is a lot dumber than you would think. "Do you know what the definition of 'work experience' is kid? It means all you have to do is observe! Techno will have my head for this!"

"It's worth a try, have you got any better ideas?" Tommy challenged, finally able to jerk his arm out of Wilbur's arm in defiance. He seemed so sure of himself like he forgot that Androids could be damaged too.

"I'm not letting an 'intern' waltz into my crime scene Tommy, it's my responsibili-"

"What's the worse that can happen, I get damaged? You and I both know that it's wiser for someone like me to go in rather than these cops." Tommy shot him a serious glare, practically begging for the man to get the bigger picture. Wilbur thought for a moment. It was a complicated situation that was true to form, a lose-lose for Wilbur. Even though he might know the truth about Tommy, everyone else didn't, and the media would most definitely twist the truth and tell the world that 'L'manberg's Sergeant happily let his intern get killed during a standoff !' But if he didn't let Tommy go, some ballsy police officer would take his place and get either themselves or the woman killed, and the world would blame Wilbur for not trying to do anything about it. Then again, at the end of the day, it's better for an Android to be only damaged rather than losing a human life. Something about that thought still didn't sit well with Wilbur however.

Nonetheless, the benefits outweighed the consequences, so after a hard 30 seconds of internal debate, Wilbur grumbled to himself in defeat. Techno was so going to take his coffee machine privileges back at home. "Fine but if you fuck up, your 'death' is on me. just..... don't push it or anything."

"I won't die," Tommy said almost instantaneously. His eyes interlocking with the man, who quickly looked away once he felt a burning sensation in his chest. Maybe keeping his coffee privileges wasn't worth it.

Wilbur reluctantly removed the negotiator vest and handed it to Tommy, even helping the child strap it along his body, noting how it seemed to sag around his shoulders due to being too big. This was a bad idea, Wilbur knew that, but sometimes in order to save human life, he was prepared to make sacrifices. Tommy took the headset and placed it around his ear, holding the microphone with a shaky grip, Wilbur could have said he looked scared. Before the boy set off, Wilbur placed something firm in the child's grip, who looked apprehensive at first. But Will played it off as if it were Sergeant's orders and something relaxed in the boy's shoulders, a steely determination furrowing in his brow with a nod. Tommy stepped forward, squeezing past the cars that acted as the barrier. The officer standing by gave Wilbur a judgmental glance but the man simply couldn't take his eyes off the Android heading into danger. He didn't know why, but his body was ready to jump in if anything turned sour.

Tommy stepped closer carefully as if trying not to scare a wild animal. He tip-toed with trembling legs like a newborn calf and had his arms up in the air where they were visible, showing that he was visibly unarmed. The cries of the woman grew louder as the Android drew his laser closer to her neck soon after seeing Tommy trespassing, the scalding hot pressured heat bubbling so close to her hair it could set on fire. Tommy reeled back, raising his arms higher. "Don't worry!! I'm not here to harm you !! I just wanna talk!"

Wilbur watched with a curious eye as the Rogue Android seem to bristle at the sound of Tommy's voice, the light dagger in his hands loosening a bit. He looked surprised like he just saw an old friend at a high school reunion for the first time. Tommy took the rogue's shock as an entrance opportunity, walking deeper into danger, trying to avoid the maze of shattered shards of glass. He squeezed past the broken door, only barely dodging the sharp edges of the glass, and stood face-to-face with the Android, Wilbur could almost hear a western soundtrack and a tumbleweed rolling past as they stood as still as statues.

It was clear that Tommy was saying something, seeing the boy's expressive arms and jaw doing their work, he looked way too casual to be negotiating at a crime scene. Wilbur couldn't hear what they were saying, they were just out of reach, he wondered why the microphone wasn't working, damn brat must have forgotten to turn it on.

"What is he saying?" Wilbur mumbled under his breath whilst instinctively scratching the stubble on his chin, god he really needed to shave. From what he could tell, Tommy must bring saying something that was metaphorically getting under the Androids skin, as the rogue seemed to twitch and grow most sporadic as time went on. Wilbur cursed at himself for not being about to tell what Tommy was saying, another question in the long line of them prepared for his integration with this mysterious robot boy. The world stood still for minutes on end, and Wilbur was deep in thought as he absentmindedly observed the interaction in front of him.

Maybe if he was paying attention more, he would have seen the moment before it became all too much for the rogue in question, because without a seconds notice, the robot aggressively abandons the woman by pushing her onto the ground and immediately goes for Tommy, laser dagger firmly in hand and a bit too close to his stomach. Tommy fell on his back, the baker Android now on top of him with the laser now somewhere in the body of the child.

"SHIT! Quick get someone to-" Wilbur commanded from the top of his lungs, suddenly throwing himself over the car bonnet to apprehend the Android before he could cause more harm, he wasn't quite sure why he wanted to do that. But something in his body told him to move, for once in his life his body moved before his mind and he was willing to put himself in dange-

Bang.

He stopped running closer, a ringing in his ears at the sudden gunshot, and watched as the body on top of Tommy went limp, the screaming of a woman was much richer with relief. Wilbur stood as still as he could, a breath at the end of his throat. He watched with bated breath as  Tommy rushed to push the body off of him, gun still in hand, Wilbur's gun to be exact, the one he placed in his hand. If Wilbur didn't feel relief wash over him, he'd be lying. The press was going to have a field day with this one.

Tommy was clutching at his side as he tried to stand, and considering a flood of police officers were beginning to swarm the scene, Wilbur took his opportunity to run over to the boy.

"What the fuck happened in there?" He sounded more concerned than he should have, but he just assumed it was the adrenaline from the gunshot still ringing in his head. Tommy looked up at him, his eyes squinting with a dazed look. "Don't worry..... I didn't hit any of his vital parts..... you can reboot him back at...... at the station." He hissed as he took a step closer, Wilbur stood there paralyzed as it seemed like the Android was in-

"Jesus kid let me see your-" Wilbur reached towards the hand that Tommy was using to cover his damaged hip, almost expecting to see bright blue blood pooling out of his hand. He stumbled back when he peeled the hand away.

"......Wound." He was shocked when he saw a red thick liquid pouring out instead. 

-pain. Tommy looked like he was in pain. No, he was in pain. He hitched as if the oxygen in his lungs wasn't going through the right way, his eyes twitched as if he was fighting to stay conscious. He held his wound, his red-soaked wound, like his life, depended on it. Androids were supposed to bleed the same color as their eyes, fluctuating between colors like green to ones as vibrate as purple. Never red, red was too human for Androids. And yet here it was, an Android bleeding the same color as a human. And Tommy was most definitely an Android, he wasn't hallucinating any of that. Wilbur wasn't crazy, he was a prick for sure but he wasn't insane !!

"Don't let a paramedic touch me..... I can handle this myself." Tommy hissed, his blue, very bright blue eyes staring at him. Wilbur stared back, all Wilbur could do was stare back. He had so many questions, so many fucking questions. It was starting to piss him off. He shook away his trance and grabbed Tommy's wrist, who shuddered at the touch like he wasn't expecting it.

"We are done here for today," Wilbur said coldly and he pulled the arm around him mindlessly, being uncaring about the limp in Tommy's step.  "Officer Soot what are you doing ?"

"Shut the fuck up and come with me, I'll get you fixed up."

————

The sun was setting, and the peach and orange sky twinkled in the mirrored ocean. They were on a bench on one of the many nearly abandoned piers, no one would be out here at this time, nothing but the pigeons and seagulls fighting over the leftovers in Trashcans. It was mostly silent, apart from the repetitive sound of the waves crashing against the pebbled beach and the occasional sound of Tommy hissing and metal clanking whilst Wilbur was fixing up the gaping hole in his side. It wasn't the pier they first met at, that would be too cliché, just one of the older ones closest from the crime scene, at least that way Wilbur would have some peace and quiet without any questions on why he was sewing up a kid in the middle of the street.

"I didn't know you could do stitches." Tommy quietly spoke up, his voice raspy and hesitant, being the first to speak since they left the destroyed Z.A robotics store. Wilbur didn't seem much for conversation, his eyes dead as he focused on the stitching at hand, flinching whenever he accidentally hit the metal underneath.

"Sorry.... About back there. I know that's gonna be a pain in the police reports." Tommy tried to continue, if robots could sweat he would feel a bead falling down his forehead from how awkward the silence felt. Tommy wasn't giving up, however, even if Wilbur looked far from willing to give in. "Maybe I could-"

"What is your deal, huh?" Wilbur interrupted, pulling out the needle and looking Tommy dead in his robotic soul. Tommy seemed to bristle at that, especially how venomous Wilbur sounded. "Wha?"

"What are you trying to accomplish? Suddenly showing up in my precinct as an intern......risking getting damaged on your first mission." Wilbur threw his hands up in the air, letting the needle and thread dangle from the wound. He ran a hand through his greasy hair, being the one to sweat up a storm due to the tension of their situation, but he didn't care. Wilbur's mind was swirling with thoughts and feelings he just didn't know how to deal with. Too much stress all into one day, too many questions that he knew won't be answered any time soon.

"You bled red..... you..... you looked in pain." He continued, now looking at Tommy who squirmed under his gaze. "But you're a bot! I know you are a bot! That night... I saw... your eyes and code and...... I'm...... I'm not crazy am I?" He just didn't get it, everything he knew about Androids had just been swept under the rug by this scrawny little kid who suddenly waltzed into his life unannounced. He knew robot mechanics, he knew how to identify one out of a crowd. But if he didn't know Tommy was an android ahead of time, he wouldn't have even blinked an eye and that thought terrified him. He felt like the boy was more human than Wilbur.

Tommy just stared holes through the man's head, and Wilbur had to hold back the urge to shake the boy until he gave up answers. Instead, he solemnly sighed and hunched back into the bench, his head tilted upwards to look at the sky and nothing else. At least the clouds were still reliable. The creeping silence returned once more, and neither of them spoke or moved an inch, Wilbur admiring the sky's colors and Tommy admiring the ocean that mirroring them.

Tommy seemed like a good kid, Wilbur thought that that's why he's so frustrated. If he was just some Android doing a half-assed job at pretending to be human, he thinks he would be able to handle it better. Tommy, from the moment he met him, didn't and never felt like an android. If he was an actual kid, maybe Wilbur would have been able to shrug him off as some brat with a loud mouth and an ego problem. Something about him drew Wilbur in, and after the 5 months of practically avoiding Androids like the plague, it made him feel like he was right back where he started.

"I won't tell your secret if you don't tell mine." Tommy once again spoke up, his voice barely at a whisper.

"What secret?" Wilbur looked back up with a sigh.

"That's you are wicked good at stitching." The boy subtly chucked back as he poked at the half-done stitching on the Left of his abdomen. Wilbur sat back up, pushing back his intrusive thoughts to return to the job that he started.

"That's not necessarily a secret.... I've fixed people up in the past." He commented, a smirk pulling at his lips for a millisecond before pushing the needle through the skin once more.

"Then give me a secret... You know mine it's only fair." Tommy shrugged and Wilbur could feel his body wince when he put the needle in a second time.

"Don't get cocky with me brat. I should turn you in right now." Wilbur snakily remarked, stopping once more to flash him a less scary glare than before. Tommy flashed a grin back that made him look younger, more mischievous than before. "Will you?"

"You know I'm starting to think I should." Wilbur was even unsure himself if it was meant as a threat or not. Tommy cowered at the remark, losing that cocky act in a matter of seconds.

"Wait no i-"

"But I won't... Not when I've got nothing better to do. Besides you could be useful."

The older man finished up the stitching, taking out the scissors from the med-kit and snipping it near the base. Tommy poked around it more before Wilbur slapped his hand away, making the child pout at rude action, cupping his hand in the other whilst Wilbur laughed, actually laughed. Maybe, just maybe, it's worth having the kid around, just to learn more about the anomaly that was 'Thomas Innit'.

"If you are gonna be my intern, you are gonna have to work for it! If you do a good job I won't tell anyone your little secret." Wilbur stood up from his seat on the bench and placed his hands on his hip, facing Tommy with a shit-eating grin. "That means coffee runs, filing reports, writing reports... et cetera and et cetera. All of the work I don't want to do!" He looked a little bit too happy to be instilling labor into a supposed minor.

"I'm suddenly regretting this." Tommy deadpans, the night slowly creeping in making his eyes unnaturally glow like before. Wilbur couldn't help but smirk evilly, reaching his ultimate Disney villain arc. "Oh, you should !! I'm gonna make your life a living hell!" He ceremoniously declared.

"Urrggggggg you're gonna kill meeeeee." Tommy whined, throwing his head back as he dramatically slapped the back of his hand against his forehead.

"That's right! You haunt me so I haunt you... Now that's fair." Wilbur finally smiled, laughing at the way Tommy had a flair for the dramatics like he did. They giggled together for a moment like teens in a school hallway until Wilbur's watch lit up with a new message. Techno threatening him with dishes duty if he didn't return home that instant. Wilbur couldn't help but shrug it off, Techno always ends up doing the dishes anyway, considering the half-ass job Wilbur would provide.

"I've gotta run," Wilbur said finally, pulling at his trench coat for it to wrap it closer to his cold body. "Techno's wondering where I am. You can go and do... what's ever you Android children do. So long Robo-gremlin!" He saluted, watching Tommy nod with clarity. He didn't waste another second before making his way to the pier's exit, not bothering to turn back to check on the child he left behind, he needed a well-deserved fucking rest after the shit he had just been through.

Tommy watched the man hop into his car, start it up, and drive away, following the coast for a little while before turning a hard right into the city. He sighed, feeling the pressure in his chest return as he looked back at the shimmering water below him.

"If only you knew."

Chapter Text

"I'm baaaack!!" Wilbur shouted as he slammed the door of his apartment. 

The bright lights hurt Wilbur's eyes. It looked like one of those apartments that were on the cover of a fancy furniture magazine, with people sipping cocktails in front of big glass windows showing the view of the city. It was a clean as one too, Techno had always been a neat freak when it came to anything he had to work or live in for more than an hour. It wasn't anything like OCD, he was just a pompous jerk. They lived in one of the richest apartment buildings in L'manberg, it was a 60 story high building that sat in the direct centre of the capital, they had only managed to snag such a luxurious apartment due to Techno's wide renowned reputation as a prestigious lieutenant. 

The floors were all made from squeaky marble and the walls were either painted pitch black or bright white, there were no in-between. The corridor was littered with new age modern contemporary art pieces leading up to the living room with an attached kitchen. It was directly split between the white marble faucet, cupboards and dining counter on the left and the black couch, coffee table and 85" widescreen TV on the rogue. They had a balcony, a way too large balcony displaying the purple and blue lights of the city below, the stars above not even standing a chance of outshining the bustling shimmer that l'manberg's light create. 

Even if Wilbur found his apartment plastic as all hell, it was good to be back home at least. He kicked off his work shoes as soon as he walked through the door, opting to throw his work bag (which was practically empty apart from a few candy bar wrappers he hadn't removed yet) Against the wall. He was about to remove his trench coat before he could hear heavy footsteps getting closer and louder. 

"WILBUR !!" Techno screamed, bolting his way through the corridor to reach Wilbur's side, throwing his arms around the lanky man and checking for any signs of any injury, even the tiniest scratch could send him into a rampage. "Are you hurt ?! What happened ?! Is everything ok ?! I swear I'll never put you on a last-minute mission ever again-"

"Tech I'm fine !! It all worked out!" Wilbur practically had to scrape Techno off him, pushing away his brother's hovering body as he removed his coat, finally letting the yellow sleeves of his jumper see the light of day, well technically it was nighttime, but you get what I mean. 

"So you're not hurt?" Techno gave him an apprehensive eye, still scanning his brother's entire body with a careful shake in his usually steady hands. 

"Nope," Wilbur reassured, cupping his brother's hands in his own tightly, expressing an unusually happy smile. Techno stopped hovering around and relaxed his shoulder as he returned a subtle grin..... before yanking his hands out and attacking Wilbur with a headlock. 

"THEN WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING ?! PUTTING A CHILD IN DANGER LIKE THAT !! YOU COULD HAVE KILLED OUR INTERN ON THE FIRST DAY HE STARTED WORKING !!" He screeched, pulling on Wilbur's head and ear as he slowly pulled them both out of the corridor. Wilbur whined and tried to escape from Techno's grasp, but his weak scrawny arms could do no damage compared to Techno's beefy biceps that wrapped around his neck. The pink-haired Lieutenant kept rambling on about 'how it was company policy to not let interns into direct danger!' and how Wilbur was 'Being reckless with human life!', which obviously made the man scoff under his breath, Tommy isn't exactly human life, granted Techno didn't know his secret. 

"Jeez, can you not be lieutenant Techno right now?" Wilbur wheezed out the best he could whilst Techno was still had him by his throat. "You are gonna kill me at this rate! Plus your voice is giving me a splitting headache."

Techno thought about it for a second, debating whether or not a dead brother in his hands would be worth it or not. After a few more seconds of considering places to hide bodies and Wilbur's face actually turning blue, he at go abruptly before storming off to the kitchen to clean something to blow off some steam. "You are cooking tonight...." he groaned under his breath. 

"Takeaway it is !" Wilbur declared with a cough, knowing that when it was 'Wilbur's turn to cook', it usually ended up with a pizza box of two, Wilbur wasn’t great in the kitchen... He was living proof that someone could in fact burn water. 

Techno scoffed back, returning to the dishes he had already cleaned twice over, not directly disagreeing. Wilbur took that as a yes and slammed his body into the rather square and ridged cough in the middle of the room, never getting used to the sofa without pillows ( Why would a sofa be without pillows ? He swears interior designers are demons in disguise.) 

He used his last amount of energy to shout towards the Z.A voice-controlled virtual assistant to order the usuals and turned on the screen in front of him, which was already set on a boring documentary channel about all of the animals going extinct, which was a real bummer to his buzz. 

Wilbur never wanted an Android, the idea made him feel squeamish. Think about it. A humanoid machine walking around listening to your conversations, doing your bidding, not even caring if you returned proper manners or not, just an eternal servant following you everywhere. Wilbur never was a conspiracy theorist, but even the idea of the government extracting information through the eyes of domestic robots could send a chill through his spine. But here he was, having an Android doing all of his unwanted work, only for the price of not exposing its secret. Would that make him a hypocrite? Maybe… but hey it wouldn’t be Wilbur if he didn’t take the lazy way out. 

Maybe he should have been a little bit less easy to buy his silence, especially if he was in charge of all the rogue cases from now on, but in his defence, this way he could keep a better eye on Tommy if he closely worked with him rather than locking him in a jail cell or deactivate him, so he was still technically doing his job. 

The truth was his curiosity overweighed his duty. Sure, maybe he was a little bit interested in why a scrawny Robo-child with curly hair was so determined to help in the police force that was supposed to take his own kind down. But who was Wilbur to judge? It was nothing more than nosiness. 

"So where'd you find the kid?" He said as he flipped through channels, listening to the sound of static and the sound of Techno aggressively cleaning a bowl waiting for the pizza to get there. Techno didn't answer, only stopping to look at the back of Wilbur’s head, a look of confusion on his face loud and proud. "Ya know... Tommy? where did you find him?" Wilbur asked again. 

Techno sighed. "Thomas came to me." He said whilst going back to the dishes. "Practically begged for the job. I think he's just a Cop fanboy. He's a nice kid though, seems eager."

"Oh please... He's nothing but a snarky brat." Wilbur chuckled, reaching a show about a guy critiquing the worst restaurants in L'manberg, he liked the man's funny accent. Techno stopped cleaning and instead headed towards the couch, the sounds of women crying on-screen being completely ignored as he smirked. "Ah, I see... So you're fond of him then huh?" 

Wilbur wasn't eating or drinking anything, yet he still felt like he choked on something in his throat. Fond? Are you kidding me, it's been only one day and already the little shit had given him headache after headache-

"You and I both know that you wouldn't be asking about him if you weren't the slightest bit intrigued," Techno smirked harder, judging by techno's face, Wilbur was easy to read. But still, it didn't prove anything, the brat was still just a bunch of nuts and bolts with an attitude problem, nothing more nothing less. 

"Doesn't mean I like him," Wilbur mumbled under his breath as he crossed his arms and scrunched up his nose like a child. Techno could only find himself laughing. "Mhmm, sure Wilbur."

Wilbur was quiet after that, flicking through channels and trying to find the ones that weren't re-runs or sad documentaries. When the pizza arrived, Wilbur gulped down each slice like a starving child on the streets, barely taking breaths in between. Techno would occasionally remind him to chew and breathe, but Wilbur didn't release how hungry he was once his mouth finally came in contact with the first greasy bite. He didn't tell Techno, of course, otherwise, the Lieutenant would whip out another 15 slide presentation about the importance of regular meals (not like he hadn’t listened to it all the other times he got lectured). Techno was now the one to flip through different channels, resting his chin against his palm whilst flipping through the static. 

The news came on, and techno stopped. In the middle of the screen, big bold letters read 'THE DEATH OF THESEUS', with News anchors standing in front of the park in the town centre, the exact point the notorious rogue leader got assassinated. Techno seemed invested in the conversation on screen whilst Wilbur absentmindedly listened in, the two reporters were having a debate whether or not Theseus' death was in vain. Wilbur glanced over to his brother, who sat forward on his seat with his jaw cupped in his hands, seemingly in his ownworld. 

"Exactly 5 months since he's been gone," Techno spoke, he was too distracted with whatever was swirling in his brain. 

"Did we ever find who did it?" Wilbur leaned back into the couch, slamming his piece of pizza back into the box, this whole conversation about Robo-death ruined his appetite immensely. 

"Beats me...." Techno shrugged. "But whoever it was must have realised how close Theseus had gotten. We were finally gonna have peace between bots and humans and....."

Techno was strange, Wilbur thinks Techno knows that he is. For being a hard-headed Lieutenant, you would think that he would be completely against the rogue Android movement. It was the opposite, he supported them wholeheartedly. Even if he came across as an unempathetic asshole, he surprisingly could see people in those machines, could see the pain in their eyes whilst they demonstrated. When Theseus began to rise, Techno followed his beliefs, albeit behind closed doors. Sure, he would send out incompetent men to his rallies just so it wouldn't actually disrupt their protests, but that wasn't illegal. Techno wouldn’t shut up about him when they got home, quoting his most recent mind-blowing speeches whilst Wilbur would just sit and like the man rant about his newly found hero. Theseus had once famously stated that: "blood is blood, no matter who bleeds it." Techno could empathise with that, even if he wasn't supposed to. 

He sighed, not being able to find the right words. "I don't know. Now we are facing a war that could have easily been prevented. All because the androids have no one to turn to."

When Theseus died…. Techno just seemed to give up. Not in the same way as Wilbur once had, he just seemed more, distant. Wilbur couldn’t mention androids without Techno immediately wanting to change the subject. Techno wasn’t just sad over the leader’s death, he truly lost hope for peace in L’manberg, Wilbur had noticed his terrified and distant eyes at meetings. As a Lieutenants stayed strong, as a person he slowly crumbled, moral was hard to come by in this twinkling plastic city. 

Wilbur stared at the screen perplexed, which was now showing old clips of demonstrations. Theseus was supposedly a charismatic guy, he always had a stoic aura of hope about it. At the time, Wilbur just thought he was some Android with a superiority complex, now he knows he was much more. Rogue bots lost all hope,  or they were throwing all caution to the fire and jumping off roofs just for scare tactics. Both Wilbur and Techno knew that it won’t be long until worse comes to shove, the androids will get desperate and stage a violent uprising. 

Techno looked hesitant whether or not he should say his next sentence…. He picked up his slice of pizza with a tremble in his wrist. "I heard a new leader is orchestrating from behind .” He finally settled on. “He’s... Not as peaceful as Theseus. I might be wrong and it might all be rumours but I heard he's not exactly pro-equal rights. He’s more of an... Exterminate all humans kind of Android."

"Probably just some threat an Android made up. I wouldn't worry too much. Besides, every Android wants to become the next Theseus." Wilbur rolled his eyes and waved his hand in dismissal, even he knew that nothing could cause more of an impact than Theseus had done. 

Something in the deep recesses of Wilbur’s mind told him that maybe that was the world’s last chance for redemption, the last chance to achieve peace between AI and humanity. Because he knew deep down that the more and more technology evolves within L’manberg, and the more Theseus’ ethos devolves into history, the bridge between the two worlds got even more decrepit. 

"I admired his ethics.” Techno declared, leaning back into the stiff couch. “ Theseus I mean. I think the media did too. It's a shame we're never gonna get an android like that again." 

Though his brain agreed, for some reason his gut was telling him otherwise. "Way to be optimistic."  He ate another slice of pizza. 

———

"HE KNOWS YOU’RE AN ANDROID ?!"

If Tommy had sensitive hearing added to his programming,  he would have covered his ears at how loud that voice was. 

"We met before I got the job. How was I supposed to know!" He reasoned, clutching onto his cloak. He sat in a circle with his subordinates with the light dimmed, only being able to see his own defensive face as the rest of them sat with their cloaks over their heads. He couldn’t see the others’ facial expressions considering they all had their hoods up, but he knew they were one of shock and fear, I mean he did just basically say that their entire months of work had been compromised. Tommy cringed in his seat at a pair of red and green eyes staring at him with vibrating anxiety. 

"Oh god, this whole plan is going to fail !" His low voice quivered. Tommy always thought he was too much of a scaredy-cat to be in the meeting, even though he know he had every right to be. 

Look, in Tommy’s defence, he truly didn’t know Wilbur was going to be working in the exact precinct that he would be infiltrating. Maybe he should have seen the signs when they first met, that he was obviously a police officer in a city with not many precincts in it, to begin with, but Tommy was barely able to think properly that night, he called it a learning curve. 

Anyway, he was let off Scott free considering. If it was any other officer that actually took his job seriously, then they could have been in serious trouble. Luckily it was sergeant Wilbur Soot…. The guy who shows up 5 hours late every day at best and has a coffee addiction….. yea they will be fine. 

“What’s the big deal? He promised not the snitch!" Tommy pouted, leaning against the cold metal seat behind him whilst crossing his arms like a toddler deprived of vanilla ice cream. After all, he was still so new to all of this. He understood their concern just a little bit, but they could afford to remove the sticks up their ass. Like seriously?! What was the worse that could happen- 

"Do you realise what he would do if he found out about this?” The one with dark green eyes spoke with a careful but stern voice, smoke coming out of the recess where his mouth should be in the darkness, he was always kind of intimating in meetings. 

-….Ah.Tommy shivered. Ah yes of course that could happen.  If his cover was blown to him of all people….. Let’s just say that Tommy would be a little bit more than just ‘operational. Tommy was less inclined to fight back after that. 

The Android with brighter lilac eyes compared to the scared ones scoffed from his spot, who had been impatiently tapping at the edge of the circle metal table around them. "This is why we didn't want you to be the one to do this job! Your life is at stake, we need you to-"

Tommy jumped up from his seat. "I don't think you understand! I need to do this!! He needs to hear the information straight from the horse's mouth... If I sent someone else he would know, he's got eyes everywhere." He started hastily.

Tommy hated that it was true, but it wasn’t just that, I think the others could tell that it wasn’t just that either. Tommy could lose this, he needed something, anything. It was more than just an undercover mission to Tommy. 

He stared directly at the hot pink eyes in front of him, her fiery passion and kindness seeping through the darkness. If anyone was going to give him a chance, it was her. She sighed calmly, "You are our only hope, Tommy. Please... please just don't get killed, you've only got 2 life bags lef-"

Our only hope. He hated that, he hated being told that. He hated being reminded. He can tell from their eyes. How they hovered over him like he was some chosen one. How they were waiting for him to do the next big miracle. 

He hated it. 

At least Wilbur didn’t treat him like that. Even if Wilbur knew the truth, he still treated him like he was…..

Human. 

"I'll be ok. I think... It's going to be easier now." Tommy spoke as his hand hovered aimlessly over the stitching on his abdomen, thinking about how it barely hurt whilst Wilbur carefully sowed his skin shut. Something in that touch made him smile, even though he wasn’t quite sure why yet. 

The others didn’t seem nearly as convinced. They shuffled within themselves, all holding back protests and worries from this whole ideal. But Tommy didn’t care, he just needs to be ready for filing paperwork, regular boring small talk and a rather intense coffee round tomorrow. 

It made him excited…. He had a chance to be…. human. 

Chapter Text

For a house covered in snow, it sure was warm.

The fire was on, overpowering the central heating that was also in operation. The fire was always the last resort for the frost to not come through the wooden bordering. It was understandable bearing in mind how the walls were qui te  flammable. Usually ,  the fire was saved for drastic occasions, this may have been one of them.

Wilbur can't remember if the situation was drastic at all, he didn't think it was because he distinctly remembered how calmly his mother combed through his hair, her fingertips rhythmically twirling each strand like she was painting a starry night sky.

They sat by the window that showed the white world outside, the snow must have only been 3ft tall, but to Wilbur ,  it looked like a tsunami of Glitter coming to take him. That's why he liked it here, tucked by the side of his mother as she braided and unbraided parts of his silky brown locks.

Techno was probably asleep like he usually was, he seemed to like the confinements of his room much more those days. Dad was especially not around, it was a given and it made Wilbur sad, but he knew his father's job was important, though he never really knew what his job actually was.

So tonight it was just him, his mom, the flames and the snow together at once. And as Wilbur slowly and surely drifted into different thoughts and feelings, he remembered feeling content with that for the most part.

"Mom?" He asked with his voice thick with drowsiness as he clung to her side. She didn't jolt nor react, even the hand didn't seem perturbed by the sudden whimper after what felt like hours of silence.

"Yes, dear?" Her voice was as smooth and warm as the flames in the fireplace that licked the logs it was encased in. It was like her dictation was one of a song and dance, playfully dancing around his eardrums like a moonlight waltz. Maybe a young Wilbur wouldn't have put it like that, he would have just called it pretty, but something about her voice stuck to his mind like a catchy melody.

"What do I have to be when I grow up?" He quietly asked again, fiddling with the fabric on her gown, she did not stir.

"Have to be?" She faintly chuckled, though there was a hint of apprehension in her delicate voice.

Wilbur kept his hand firmly encrusted on the purple silk he laid his head upon. "Yea like..... what am I going to do?... what is my future going to be like?" Wilbur continued, lifting his head to look at his mother's lilac eyes. She looked at him with an emotion a child could not understand and suddenly he felt judged under her gaze. Of course, she wasn't doing anything malicious but Wilbur distinctly remember his cheeks feeling warm as she stared into his soul.

"Do you think your life is already predetermined, Wilbur?" She asked delicately.

"Pre-de-Tormand?" Wilbur cocked his head to the side, confused and stumbling over the word. His mother suddenly looked down with a softer, more sympathetic gaze, he  used  to that one at least. "Wilbur... You are still only young. You have the opportunity to grow and learn and change before you need to worry about what you,   quote on quote, 'have to be'."

Wilbur stopped to notice how the frost around the edges of the window started to creep around the glass, condensation from the heat inside making it just thick enough to draw a perfect smiley face.

"But Wouldn't it be easier if it was all planned out ahead of time? Then I won't have the responsibility. I don't want to grow up." He pouted as he absentmindedly stared outside rather than soak in the warmth of the cabin, trying to see the furthest he could. The cold didn't scare him  as  he should, and sometimes the warmth felt suffocating, by his mother it was  a  perfect balance, it was alway s  perfect around her. Gently she pulled him out of that trance and cupped the side of his cheek, forcing him to look into her eyes.

"Some people do believe that their lives are already scripted by ones greater than what we imagine." She started, Wilbur was too young to know what she meant. "But Wilbur, life is about adaptation. It's one big rollercoaster that changes at different loops. It's unpredictable. You grow, you break, you heal and live. You change a little bit at every moment you are alive, I would say that it is a blessing."

Wilbur didn't seem very convinced.

"I don't like change. I don't want to ever change." He crossed his arms, pretending he wasn't just sinking into her always perfectly warm hands.

She quietly chuckled before pulling him closer to her chest. "You won't to me. You will always be my little boy."

Wilbur looked up at her with glistening eyes, reading her as she read him to see if there was any facade. "Promise?"

"Promise." There was none.

And even though he remembered how warm and safe he felt that night.

How the flames felt so close and yet so untouchable.

How the snow-covered the world from his innocent eyes whilst it tried to creep in.

How his mother's eyes seemed to soothe his soul from any threats. 

It pained his heart every second he remembered more,

because he couldn't recall what she looked like,
her scent, the sound of her laugh,
he can't even remember her name.

Wilbur was ten at the time.

His mom died a year later.

———

"You're late," Quackity said loudly from behind his newspaper.

"Oh really? I didn't notice." Wilbur spat back sarcastically as he rushed to slam his work bag under his desk with spite.

10 minutes since he walked through the door and he already wants to say to hell with it and call in an early break.

He threw his trench coat over his swivel chair without even sitting down, trying to cut through the mountains of leftover trash and old doodle pages on his desk. Quackity glanced over to the frantic looking man, watched through a curious eye as he seemed to have a little bit more pep-in-his-step than what he was used to. He flipped the page, using his good eye to skim through the betting section.

"One hour earlier than the usual," Quackity remarked with a sarcastic surprise. "Something's gotten you excited." The words sliding out through his teeth as he flashed a teasing growl. It was true though, Wilbur was an anomaly all by himself. For someone who was brothers with the
Lieutenant, Wilbur never showed up on time, it wasn't a surprise for him to still be 4 hours late. But unlike the usual 5 ? Wilbur must be going through something riveting. Quackity could tell that Wilbur knew this too, as he quickly bristled in the place with a few crumbled up pieces of paper tightly squeezed in his hands, caught like a child with his hand in the biscuit tin ( as the lanky ass bastard would say.)

"There weren't any demonstrations this morning. No traffic, no problems. Get your head out of your ass Quackity and focus on your job." He sulked, slamming the trash into the bin beside him, Quackity couldn't help but roll his eyes. Sureeeeee real good excuse.

"Whatever you say, man, just statin' the obvious." The scarred faced man shrugged with spite, adjusting his oversized newspaper to make that dramatic and overly loud paper noise, he knew Wilbur hated the rustling.

The tall sergeant mumbled under his breath. He wasn't excited for jack-shit and he stood by what he said, traffic had been pretty damn standard. But maybe Quackity did have a little bit of a point, even if he didn't want to admit it.

No, he wasn't excited, that one for sure, he was just intrigued to see how the days would follow after yesterday's events. I mean a robot trying to be a detective? To Wilbur, it all sounded something straight out of a comedy show, and he didn't even watch them that often. He just had to see how this colossal clusterfuck will play out.

As expected, Tommy wasn't in the main office area, but Wilbur wasn't really surprised, the last thing he wanted was to bring attention to himself. He wonders if anyone else knows about Tommy's existence, not even in that way that he is a robot, just know that he is there, has anyone interacted with him. Wilbur could help but laugh at himself for such a thought. Yeah right, Tommy was his torment, nobody else's, he couldn't escape that easily. He huffed and slammed his hands in his coat pockets, this was gonna be a long day.

When creeping closer to the door of the break room, Wilbur wouldn't be lying if he could faintly hear the sound of humming, quiet enough to sound like the sounds of the pipes messing up again. It was irritatingly rough yet high pitched, already Wilbur knew who it belonged to. He peeped in through the crack of the door. Tommy was sitting by the coffee machine with a pile of paperwork by his side, scribbling away at the documents under him. Wilbur watched from the doorway as he opened the surprisingly silent entrance, resting against the frame with his arms crossed as the secret robot in front of him remained obliviously humming some basic tune.

"Are we always gonna meet in the break room?" Wilbur broke the melody with an obvious cough, causing the boy to jump in his place as he had just awoken from a fitful daydream. He turned around and his face immediately changed from looking scared to a cheeky but nervous smile.

"What can I say, big man, it's my office. Come take a seat." He said sarcastically, watching the man leaning against the wall with pride. The young boy nodded towards a seat next to the community dining table, fixing his posture as if he was a company CEO that was about to fire his next employee. Wilbur could feel the edges of his lips turn but he fought against it, only being able to scoff his way before walking in. "Yea yea yea, shut it, kid."

In further inspection, by that I mean Wilbur looked up from the floor for once in his life, he could see that Tommy had two piles of paperwork on either side of him, and as Wilbur got closer, Tommy half mindlessly placed a new piece on the tallest pile, meaning that he was nearly complete with most of his work. Wilbur couldn't help but be impressed, even if he was just a robot doing his job.

"What you got there?" He asked leaning against the counter.

"Your unfinished paperwork actually." Tommy nearly instantly replied, whipping out a new fresh sheet to work on from the smallest pile. He studied it for a second, completely oblivious to Wilbur's careful and judging side-eye, only snickering to himself as he started writing. "Finished signing them off now..... You have a lot of incidents with bad-mouthing other officers don't cha?"

Wilbur could feel the heat rise to his cheeks. "Aye mind your business!" He spat with embarrassment, letting his mop of hair sag down."I don't need you judging how I do my job. If you continue like this I'll get Tech and-"

"A-and I Forgot to mention I stopped off at the coffee shop down the road and got you a double espresso." Tommy stumbled as he reached over to get the cup of coffee that was neatly tucked in the corner, probably to guard it against anyone getting their greasy mitts all over it. He practically shoving it in Wilbur's face and the man examined it for a moment, still sceptical.  He looked back and forth between the drink and the child. He must have been here pretty early for him to be able to do all of that in one morning, regardless if he was a walking talking machine. Colour him impressed if he did all that just to get on Wilbur's good side.

"..... no soya milk?"

"No soya milk."

Wilbur huffed. "You live another day."

Tommy physically relaxed as he slumped into his chair and Wilbur would only be half-lying if he didn't feel fondness in his chest. But nonetheless, he had a job to do, whether or not he actually wanted to do it or not he got up from his leaning position on the counter and sat by the table that was made from plastic, like one of those big round ones from kindergarten. "So... If you are gonna be useful around here... let's actually make a dent on cracking this case." He said through a yawn, cracking his aching back using the chair behind him. "Run me down everything we know about androids."

Tommy physically stilled, relaying his options, and then sternly nodded, finally standing from his makeshift desk by the counter to check the door. Tommy promptly locked it, he seemed much more paranoid than he usually would let on, Wilbur just watched from his seat as his robot of an intern started carelessly pushing off the packed lunches and books that were taking the space on the surface in front of him.

What Wilbur wasn't expecting to happen next was to see two bright beams that suddenly shot out of Tommy's eyes lighting up the table with a hologram. Wilbur almost fell from his seat from the fright, the light itself being bright enough to blind an unsuspecting toddler. The hologram started to load up, displays popping up with countless of information regarding androids, Tommy remained very still. Wilbur was stunned, this was the most Android he had ever seen Tommy, at least he knew he wasn't crazy.

"In 2057 Z.A Robotics released the first lines of android." Tommy began, showing up an old photo of a bunch of people in suits that Wilbur did not recognise. "They were originally prototypes for casual servants for the Upper class. It was only in 2060 when they started developing their programming and creating new models designed for manual labour, aka retail, waiters, mechanics and eventually Surgeons." As Tommy spoke many different articles and pictures highlighted themselves on Tommy's eye-lazar-screen-thing, headlines and frames that this time Wilbur had seen way too many times before. The day androids were released into the public was a day that history will cling onto with its iron fist. He was old enough at the time to feel weirded out by the whole thing, but he would have thought that he would be used to it by now. Wilbur was born in 2049, back when the world made sense he would say, but now in 2073 everything felt like it was falling apart, and Wilbur was still not used to the concept of metal walking around.

He leaned back in his chair unimpressed, crossing his arms like a 7th-grade teacher who had just found one of their students had put gum under their desk. "What I meant was what we know about their manufacturing, child."

Tommy stifled, regardless of the flashlights coming out from where his eyes should be. "Oh right... umm," he fumbled around as he looked through his files for the right images. It was weird seeing him basically sort out his own brain like a Nan trying to find where the internet is on her desktop. Wilbur swore he could see files labelled 'IMPORTANT' and 'DATES FOR...' .... Wilbur wouldn't be surprised if it was porn, teenagers his age would have porn on their computers, let alone in their brain. Wilbur wasn't going to pry. Tommy instead settled on a file with some complicated name, clicking on it only for it to showcase many diagrams of Android anatomy.

"The way you can differentiate between androids and humans are 4 different traits." He continued after clearing his throat. Wilbur was a little perplexed for the reason behind a robot needing to clear his airway if he literally didn't have one, but you know what, this wasn't the weirdest thing about this conversation, Wilbur was mature enough to move on. "Number 1. The bright colours of their eyes. An androids eyes are never the same shade as a normal human. You guys get natural blues, greens, browns and greys whilst they have bright blues, greens, reds, purples, oranges, any colour of the rainbow. Some can even mix and match to imitate Heterochromia."

That is true, Wilbur knew this as fact. Wilbur use to be so confused on why they gave androids such unique and quirky eyes for machines, but now he knew it wasn't just for aesthetics, it was for security. Now you can see any Android in the street just by looking at the brightly coloured eyes, and that goes for all androids. Though you would have to do more than a double-take when looking, this applied to Tommy as well, even he couldn't escape how unnaturally bright his cyan eyes looked under a certain light.

"Number 2. The serial codes on their neck. They are basically an indication of what their model is followed by the individual number. They glow in the same colour as their eyes and their blood." Tommy scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "That's the third thing. The blood. Unnatural colours that match their motif. Pretty self-explanatory."

That was only half true. Wilbur knows that androids have serial codes that flow on their necks, the only problem was that Tommy does not. Wilbur knows that androids bleed the same colours as said serial codes and eyes, Tommy does not, he bleeds red, as if human. Wilbur knows that other androids don't have this problem, he's seen it all before. So what's with Tommy? What makes this squeaky child robot with an attitude problem so special. Wilbur was completely perplexed, and he would be dammed if he didn't get the answers eventually.

"Fourth and final, the barcodes on their shoulders. They are sold as products so of course, they would have a mark on them deeming so." Tommy said finally, pointing at the example on his hologram.

"Do you still have yours?" Wilbur asked half-heartedly, knowing full well that the sneaky bastard would most definitely have every way of concealing his identity under control. This was the one time he hated he was right.

Tommy lifted up his sleeve to reveal a perfectly squeaking clean shoulder. "Makeup my friend. Does wonders especially on synthetic skin."

"And your serial number ?" Wilbur pointed at the neck with curiosity.

"Covered by a state in the art skin covering tape. Made by tub-.... I mean a friend." Tommy stuttered, trying to not reveal too much information, Wilbur could see right through it, luckily he was too lazy ( and in too deep) to care. "Uh-huh..... a friend......" Wilbur mocked. Like the kid would have friends.

"Anyway !!" Tommy shouted uncharismatically as he tried to change conversations. "In terms of their mechanics, it's simple really." The boy zoomed in closer to the Android diagrams to reveal some more intricate parts of its mechanics. "Their biocompartments are relatively known. The heart pumper for Sanguis around the body, which is the chemical that powers the androids that acts like their blood."

Sanguis is one of those chemicals that nobody knows in the right mind where it came from. Sure it was an original substance that was created to power Android, apparently working in the same way as burning coal except it can conserve nearly infinitely, but it was never published to the public as a stand-alone invention. L'manberg only caught sight of it when Z.A robotics started releasing a few handbooks for the anatomy of these machines and suddenly Sanguis was a chemical to be feared. Wilbur found it a little on the nose. I mean who calls their new deadly renewable fuel after the literal Latin term for "blood", a little heavy-handed if you ask him. It reeks of evil corporation vibes.

Tommy wasn't going to stop to talk about sketchy naming devices however, he zoomed into the diagram of the Android skull, its x-ray now showing an Abundance of wires on a circuit board.  "There is basically a computer in their brains. All connected to the internet giving them free rein to all information that they have access to look at, theoretically they don't have any more roaming rights than a normal civilian."He spoke quietly, pointing at the centre was a box-like motherboard residing in the middle. It somewhat resembles a brain but at the same time... Not in the slightest. But these were all things that were already world renown, of course, Wilbur would know that androids are literally PCs with legs, he didn't need to catch up.

"Anything we don't know Tommy?" Wilbur asked with the elegance and patience of a ferret, and judging by the shift in Tommy's face, he knew the boy was dreading that question. As an Android himself, it's no surprise that he wouldn't want to spill the beans about every nook and cranny of his creation, but Wilbur and Tommy knew that the only way to help androids and humans on the streets as if they worked together, as cringy as it sounds. Tommy had to be honest.

He struggled in his mind for a second before slouching over in defeat. Now zooming deep into the diagram androids chest, revealing something hidden near the back. "Androids have a security system in case they are ever severely damaged." He spoke quietly,  in a hushed tone like he didn't want people listening in. "We are programmed like humans in which if something is jeopardising the sanguis flow in our body, we can shut down."

The eye hologram started highlighting certain parts in the chest, parts that Wilbur was sure he had never seen before. Tommy looked like he was holding his breath before saying what he wanted to say. "Luckily Z.A robotics came up with a solution. Essentially we have three get out for free cards. Three secret blood bags inside of us filled to the brim with reusable sanguis. If we get damaged and all of the blood is spilt, we switch to another one of the bags. We can't refill our bags with more Sanguis because every model has a unique variant of the chemical tailored to our model and code, meaning we can't get extra. We only have three."

So androids have three do-overs? They can get damaged and just come back like it is nothing? It almost sounds like they have-

"Three lives," Wilbur said amazed under his breath.

In the grand scheme of things, sure it wasn't that spectacular. I mean androids aren't as squishy and unfixable as humans when they get hurt, they can get replaced, fixed, upgraded. But to know that they have a limit just as much as a human would? That's got to be the biggest nerf in existence. Wilbur thought they were endless beings, but maybe they weren't as untouchable as he thought.

Wilbur looked up at Tommy and would be lying if he didn't suddenly feel something akin to worry. After all, yesterday he quite literally placed himself in a dangerous situation willingly at the Z.A Robotics store. Maybe if Wilbur knew what he knew now, he wouldn't have been so quick to throw Tommy into gunfire.

"And how many lives do you have?" Wilbur asked carefully. He sat up in his seat with caution and watched how Tommy's hologram eyes quickly snapped back into his head as if the question caught him off guard.

Wilbur could sense that maybe that question struck a chord, as Tommy stared back at him, his cyan pupils back to normal, with nothing but pure fear.

He shook it off, however, laughing nervously as fumbled with crossing his arms. "Take me to dinner first big man... Bit of a personal question."

And that was the end of that, Wilbur wasn't going to provoke. Though a part of Wilbur really wished he did, because that look of terror only solidified the fact that there was something more to this robot child in the break room.

Wilbur shifted uncomfortably in his seat, leaning forward as he rested his chin in his hands. He reflected on all of the information gathered so far. Androids are rather complicated beings and have no doubt been manufactured to be intense yet stable. They have contingency plans and damage control abilities that are all in place to ensure the safety of humans and themselves. Yet here they were, in the midst of a countrywide epidemic with robots and humans killing each other alike left and right. For a robot so tight-knit with its construction, how could such a thing as consciousness be missed in the mix-up?

"So what causes the androids to go rouge?"Wilbur asked as if he was going to get a straight answer. Tommy just looked at him weirdly and shrugged, digging his hands into his own shallow looking pockets.

"Beats me. We don't know if it's a fault in programming or a sudden urge for them to wake up. Either way, they feel emotions, whether it's a simulation or not." He said as he leant against the counter, seemingly dismissing the question too quickly.

Wilbur was for once wasn't going to let it go, however. By all accounts, it doesn't make sense. They must have something. Some sort of code or whatever androids operate on that causes them to go haywire and no better example than the most famous rouge of all.

"And we know for sure that androids like Theseus weren't just programmed to go against humanity like that?" He questioned further, not paying attention to the way Tommy froze at the name.

"I-..ur-"

"So what was Theseus trying to accomplish? Was he trying to uprise the government? Spread awareness? Fight for Android rights? Or was it all three?"

Wilbur stood up from his seat, creating his own imaginary hologram as he stared holes into the table. No one knows what Theseus' origins were, what his preexisting function was or even where he was before his big break. Which could only mean one thing. It was Wilbur's job to investigate. Tommy stirred even more.

"Theseus was clearly an influential figure, I wonder if that plays into his old function, though I'm not quite sure what it was but I guess we are gonna have to find out. Whatever he was doing he was good at gathering people to his side, do we know if androids are somehow about to make other androids go rouge-like some sort of virus-"

Wilbur was finally reaching some sort of motivation limit, he was finally using his 'big-boy-brain' ( as Techno would put it) for once. He swiftly swivels his body to face Tommy, excitement and energy finally flowing through his veins, though it may just be the coffee.

That excitement drains however by the despair in the other's eyes.

"Tommy?" Wilbur muttered.

The young Android just stared straight ahead, like he could see something that Wilbur couldn't. It didn't look like he registered Wilbur's call, but his rapid blinks and dishevelled body said otherwise. For a split second, Wilbur could only see the android in him, could see how perfectly still Tommy looked and remembered how no normal human could look so much like a doll. Maybe it brought the man back into reality, maybe that realisation stung a bit more than Wilbur wanted to admit. Wilbur was about to try and touch Tommy, shake his shoulder or something that could apparently wake him up, but he found he didn't need to.

It almost looked like Tommy rebooted in a way, going back to moving around and jittering like he normally would. He grabbed onto his arm like any anxious teenager would and immediately steered away to avoid eye contact.

"It... Ummm... doesn't matter now right? He's gone and... we need to find a way to stop androids from killing themselves on the streets. Theseus is in the past, we can't bring him back... ever." Tommy finally settled on, for some reason going back to his mountain of paperwork as if they were more interesting.

"Yea but-" Wilbur tried to continue.

"Just...Drop it." Tommy wouldn't let him.

Wilbur knew that he was in every right inclined to not actually drop it, this is still his job and he is still a Sergeant. But by way Tommy seem to plea to move on, beg for this conversation to end, by the way, Tommy's eyes seemed to twitch and his arms started to shake with something that was indescribable, Wilbur did the unimaginative and ..... listened.

This wasn't the end of the conversation, Wilbur was too stubborn for that. He was just putting a pin in it, he would come back to whatever that was for sure. He was doing it for himself anyway, that energy burst was truly a 5-second rush and now the stuffy smell of badly made lunches in the break room was starting to make his nose itch. If he told you that it wasn't because of the way Tommy's trembling body was for some reason making his chest hurt, he would be lying.

"Alright then." He announced with a clap, way too lightheartedly in contrast to the former conversation. "Let's go on patrol."

Tommy whipped his head around with a face insinuating that Wilbur had just said the dumbest thing known in existence, already completely abandoning his teenager robot angst. "Patrol?"

"Yes, patrol." Wilbur irritatingly huffed half-heartedly. "You know when you get in a car and go around-"

"Yea I know what patrolling is... Why are we going patrolling? You never go patrolling, you're a sergeant?!" Tommy said whilst abandoning the paperwork in favour of crossing his arms in amusement.

Ok, Tommy might metaphorically have him by the balls there, but ehh..... it wasn't completely unheard of for Wilbur to patrol, sometimes he needs the nice and cosy neutral zone between slacking off and getting a payday. Patrolling often does the trick.

"Yeah well I wanted a change! Can't help if I want to spice things up a bit." He said before taking one last swig of his actually nice tasting coffee before adjusting his jumper and grabbing his keys. Tommy just stood there perplexed, wondering whether or not if he had heard correctly or not. Wilbur was ready to leave the door and took note of Tommy's static confusion.

He looked dumb standing like that, like a goldfish, no thought behind those eyes. It made Wilbur's lips quirk upwards for a second.

"Come on before I regret it. I'm technically not supposed to let you out of the precinct after yesterday's little situation. If you don't wanna be stuck doing more paperwork I recommend you hurry up." He said playfully, already halfway out the break room before finishing his last sentence.

Tommy hesitated, looked back once at the volcanic eruption that was paperwork and decided .... Yeah fuck that. He immediately booked it out the door with him. "Yep on it !!" It seemed even robots got bored of mundane paperwork.

And with that Wilbur grabbed his signature coat from his desk and made his tale-tail exit, with Quackity shouting some dumb remark, Techno watching from his office with a huff, and a bright young robot following behind.

Chapter Text

If there wasn't traffic in the morning, it was bound to happen later. That's why Wilbur wasn't surprised to be sitting in traffic on a main road, surrounded by beeping idiots shouting out their car like their words were able to split the traffic wide like some prophet.

The two sat there in almost silence. The radio was on, a very low volume, just some random station playing some generic pop songs that Wilbur didn't have the energy to care about.

The police car smelt as if spoiled milk and gym socks had an incest baby born out of wedlock. There were old snack wrappers, rotting half-eaten burgers and plentiful empty coffee cups, half of them weren't even Wilbur's. It's the community car, meaning that the whole goddamn force uses it, yet most of them, Wilbur included, don't have the decency to clean after themselves. Tommy's nose scrunched up, he might not be sensitive to such smells but even he knew how utterly disgusting this all was. He might not be programmed to be able to throw up, but he was sure that if he stayed in there a minute longer, he was gonna start coughing up nuts and bolts.

Wilbur was oddly quiet, for Wilbur at least. Had his eyes on the road rather than everywhere they were not needed to be, that wasn't very Wilbur. If Tommy didn't know any better, he would say he looked nervous, awkward even. Not even the normal awkward where he would shove his hands into his trench coat pocket when he was fed up with making conversation, just... awkward.

Tommy found it funny, he only knew him for a little over a day and a half and yet he felt like he already knew Wilbur's little characteristics like he would a folk tale. It's either Tommy's technology really was that advanced, or Wilbur was just that easy to read.

"Question." Wilbur finally asked after making about a metre of progress through the traffic, coming to a complete halt once again.

"Shoot," Tommy said as he carefully picked at his silicone fingernails.

"Do you eat food?"

"Excuse me?"

"Do you eat food?"

Tommy cocked his head to the side amused. "Are you really asking an Android if they eat food?"

"Do you?" Wilbur reiterated, not backing down even a bit.

The traffic moved forward, and the light was green long enough for Wilbur to make a turn. Only thing was that when he swerved to the right, he was met with only more traffic. Wilbur sighed.

Tommy watched the action with a side-eye. Contemplating.

"No, I don't."He settled on.

He looked out his window and for some reason, he could sense a burning feeling in his centre, though he wasn't completely sure what it was. He ran a diagnostic check, his operations were working just fine and all of his systems were functioning as they should be.

Tommy thought he might just be anxious. Being out in the open in the midst of the big city always makes him cautious, he doesn't want to be caught, especially not by him.

"Can you eat then?" Wilbur started up again, hand on the gear stick as they moved forward.

"Yes." Tommy sighed.

Wilbur whipped his head around surprisingly fast, Tommy thought that he should have his eyes on the road. "Wait really ?!"

Tommy leaned back into his chair, it made this sort of rubbery, squeaky noise as he did so, definitely fake leather at least. "If you are wondering if I can physically eat, then yes." He spoke as he picked at a bit of the seat that was broken like an open wound. "We can chew, we can swallow, we have a little lining around our throats connecting through our body so nutrients can't fall out and rot inside us. And we can digest using Sanguis which acts like stomach acid. By all accounts, we can do it."

There was silence once again after that, Wilbur sipped his coffee as they sat still in the vehicle. Tommy picked the bit of fake leather off the seat and played with it in his hands. He didn't think it's awkward anymore, at least Wilbur wasn't radiating it. He looks like he finally had something off his chest as if his questions about Tommy's ability to eat rested on the fate of the universe.

Tommy thought it was nice, to be able to think about the mundane as it was life-threatening. Humans are very stressed creatures. Tommy envied it.

Ah, maybe he did know what that burning sensation was after all. Jealousy, unfiltered and uncontrollable jealousy. Tommy could have slapped himself in the face with how stupid he felt. Jealousy is a very dangerous emotion for a robot to have. He wondered if he programmed him this way out of spite.

He was sure he didn't have it before he was rebooted.

"Can you taste?" Wilbur's voice woke him up from his existential dread, and suddenly Tommy felt very aware of his surroundings. He needed to focus, he can't lose sight of his plan.

"I haven't tried." He admitted truthfully. No, he hadn't tried, he told Wilbur he hadn't eaten before, and that means ever. It's just not on the bucket list, sue him.

Wilbur seemed to look sad at that, he eyed Tommy with something akin to sympathy.

"Do you want to?" He asked carefully.

Tommy looked away, rubber fake leather in hand as he watched people have angry fits in the confinement's of their cars, the honks and angry shouting being the only indication of their existence in this sea of vehicles. "The idea of having mushy food slowly going down my throat pipe is enough of a turndown. I think I've eternally lost my appetite."

And hopefully, that was that. Food was a no-no and Wilbur had literally no way of asking any more questions about it-

"So... Do you shit?" Wilbur asked with all seriousness that took Tommy completely off guard.

"What the fuck !!" He screamed, feeling his Sanguis rush to his face. Shame that his blood was bright red because he was blushing like crazy. Wilbur snickered at the reaction, seeing how flustered Tommy got, it couldn't help but make him smile, even if it was a genuine question.

But that was gonna have to wait, because as he watched Tommy get more and more flustered over time, in the corner of his eye he could see a bright blue figure sneak his way into an alleyway, not before checking the streets to make sure he wasn't being followed or watched. That was concerning, to say the least. Sure Wilbur could just chalk it all up to some dude wanting to have a piss in a discreet location, but what kind of cop would he be if he let something suspicious slide. He sighed and placed a hand on Tommy's shoulder to get the bundle of circuits to calm down before literally blowing a fuse.

"Shh rain check on the poop talk." He said quietly, ignoring how Tommy mumbled to himself that they were, in fact, not going to continue this conversation. "We've got a crime."

He let go of Tommy's shoulder and returned to the wheel. He made a quick U-turn, despite the complaints of the other drivers around him, and parked opposite the alley he saw the suspicious individual head continue to stalk through the abandoned street.

Wilbur got out of the car, and Tommy felt inclined to follow, even if he didn't have a clue what was going on.

The alley smelt like piss, that was sure. There were trash bags and leftover helium tubes scattered across the damp rubble that was on the ground. Pretty stereotypical alley if you ask Wilbur, one you would see on TV.

Tommy could see rats and other creatures run across into different hidy-holes whilst they carefully trampled through the gross and dark corridor of trash, he could see some sort of animal with stripes dig through a rubbish bin making an ungodly amount of noise. Tommy loved animals, cows and sheep were his favourites for some reason, but this is not the kind of animals he was expecting to see in life, he guessed anything could live in L'manberg.

Tommy stayed close behind Wilbur, making sure he wasn't in the way, yet still beside him to calm that lanky man's nerves. Wilbur had his gun out. He wasn't going to give Tommy a gun, not unless he really needed it, for now, he will be the frontline.

They came across a crossroads of some sort, there was hushed chattering in one of the streets. Wilbur poked his head around and immediately whipped back.

Guess he found what he was looking for.

He peaked back more carefully, Tommy did the same, peeking from behind his shoulder.

It was three guys, one guy in a blue jumpsuit of some sort stood in front of some dark clothed, shady looking people. It was too dark and too far away to make anything else out, but Wilbur and Tommy could see the group of men nodding their heads, to which the blue man handed a briefcase built from thick leather with bright golden corners on each edge. The whole thing screamed dodgy.

"Looks like a chip dealing," Wilbur whispered using the smallest amount of breath possible, knowing full well that the silent exchange in front of them would be able to hear a booming voice like his.

Chip dealings are not uncommon these days. And no, we are not talking about potato chips ladies and gentlemen, computer chips, integrated circuits if you will. Bear in mind that these chips do not commit the same function as the ones you would find in a normal CPU, nope, more like a hard drive can contain some hardcore, digital drugs.

You see, In the grand age of technology, VR sets are as common as pokemon cards. Most are botched and old and some are the work of engineering gods. VR was now able to simulate worlds beyond people's wildest dreams in a safe and somewhat affordable way. One minute you will be living in the dingy depths of the L'manberg and the next you will be chilling by the beach or fighting in an MMO.

Problem is, same with most forms of escapism, it can get a bit... Addicting. People would buy the top dollar for simulated experiences, and with any successful product, it grows into something dangerous.

Some chips are so good at simulating real life that people started using them as a means to get their buzz on. I mean, who needs harmful toxic drugs when you could have the exact same thing just virtually. Truth is nothing is harmless, as now it seems people are so committed to the high that they refuse to remove the headset, keeping themselves in a coma until they feel like they have had enough. Addicts never have enough, they'll die before they stop, that's what makes them addicts.

Some chips were banned from public consumption, keeping them away from kids and the vulnerable. The world had come full circle, inventing something to move away from hardcore drugs, only for it to be even more hardcore. Chip dealings were the new Heroine smuggling, Wilbur wouldn't know which one he  preferred.

Tommy squirmed beside him, trying to get the best look from behind the tall cop. "Could not be anything illegal? A lot of safe chips are super expensive or something. The man could have just wanted to find a cheap one for his child or something." He tried to reason. But judging by the shady nature of it all, Wilbur wasn't buying it.

"Nothing is innocent if it's happening in an alleyway Tommy, it's the first rule of police work." He scoffed, placing a firm but slow hand on Tommy's somewhat cold shoulder as if he was a coach in a football match.

"I have a feeling that that's not in the handbook." The boy said quietly, brushing off Wilbur's hand with a subdued smirk that Wilbur could see from the corner of his eye, debating whether or not it was worth punching the side of the robots arm, just in case it would hurt.

The man in blue started to walk in the opposite direction deeper into the alleyway, the two men now going inside a door beside them that Wilbur did not see beforehand.

Wilbur sobered up from the banter fast. "Shut up and keep a lookout. We need to stay on this guy's tail."

Tommy huffed but did what the older man said, after all, he might be a prick but he is still his superior. Wilbur's hand hovered over his back pocket, Tommy assumed his gun was there. Tommy shivered at the fought of a gun, of bullets shooting close to him. Maybe the day before was a mistake, his abdomen wasn't prepared for a second round, maybe this time Tommy will actually watch from behind.

Wilbur scouted the area just for the all-clear and then signalled Tommy to follow him. They stayed close to the wall, tiptoeing through the rotten alleyway as to not make a peep.

The guy in blue made a turn, so did they. The guy in blue kept straight, so did they. The guy in blue stopped for a break, they hid behind a wall. Right, left, stop, go. Left, right, stop, go.

With anything, it didn't take long for their potential criminal to get a hint of what was going on. In a sudden burst, he started to burst through the alleyways like a video game character on a mission.

"Quick he's running!" Wilbur shouted, now pulling out his pistol and having it firm in his grip.

Tommy sprinted as hard as his cogs and machinations would let him, he followed behind Wilbur's hip even though he was less fluid and graceful as the man. Tommy sighed at how even Wilbur was able to run with more grace than a highly complicated robot. They moved in unison, watching how the man in blue kept on jumping through traffic and climbing up rails that the cop duo was able to fly past effortlessly.

The criminal made a sharp turn to the right, and when Wilbur was about to do the same, he was suddenly impacted with a huge bag of trash slamming into his body. He collided with the ground with an irritated 'oof', the wet and grimy ground now intertwined with his fingertips.

Just as the man in blue was about to make his grand escape, Tommy tackled him into the ground like a bear... Or a rabid raccoon. The man tried to use all of his strength to struggle, but Tommy pinned his head to the ground and had a hand on the back of his arm which was twisted in an obviously uncomfortable position.

"Well done Tommy!" Wilbur said as he slowly got up from his embarrassing fall, rubbing and cracking his back as if being hit was his plan all along.

Tommy flashed him a genuine proud glance before returning to his captive with eyes of fierce determination. Wilbur stumbled back a bit. He looked like a wild animal, a carnivore catching his prey. Will wondered if this was the kind of environment that Tommy was built for.

The man squirmed under Tommy's grasp, but the kid wasn't giving up that easily. I'm one fell swoop, Tommy was about the flip the man on his back, trying to get a better look at the dealer's face. All of the predatory persona flooded from his body, the colour could have drained from his face...... he almost looked scared.

All Wilbur could see, was Tommy flinching back as his shoulders sagged with something indescribable mixed with surprise.

"Connor?!" Tommy's voice cracked.

"Tommy?!" The blue man's voice squeaked.

"Blue hedgehog?!" Wilbur tried.

Tommy hesitated before slowly getting off the criminal, his eyes wide with fear. Connor, who Wilbur now knew the name of, stood up with the same kind of shock, now revealing to Wilbur that he was in some strange blue hedgehog jumpsuit that wrapped around all of his body except his face, leaving enough space to see the man's unnatural yellow-ring like eyes. Wilbur's eyes twitched at the sight, and Android in a onesie? It was too early for the man to process this shit.

"What are you doing here man! Selling chips in an alleyway?" Tommy eventually hissed at Connor like he was a life coach that had just found the man-eating outdated fries outside a gym. Connor's shoulders sagged at the harshness of Tommy's dication, but he seemed all too familiar to it.

"It's been hard Tommy. I just need the money to leave, this is the only way an Android-like me can survive around these parts and any more." Connor whined, throwing his arms up in the air like a toddler.

Tommy was having none of it, crossing his arms and tapping his foot equally as dramatic as the blue guy in front of him. "This isn't the way to do it you sonic-knock-off-looking-ass, I could have shot you !"

Wilbur just stood there, blinking a few times perplexed. "I'm sorry why are we ignoring the fact that he's wearing a blue hedgehog costume."

Both of the androids turned around to look at Wilbur as if they forgot he was there in the first place. Connor Just kept side-eyeing Tommy, slowly shimmering behind him, not running away but hiding behind the blond, like the scrawny kid away able to defend him.

Tommy just sighed, pinching his nose in stress. "It's not a costume, it's a part of him." If Wilbur was uncertain the kid was able to feel exhaustion before, the way the boy's eyes drooped was enough to convince. He clapped his hands together, rubbing them before pointing them towards the lanky detective. "Wilbur meet Connor, Connor meet Wilbur. Connor is, or more accurately I assume was commissioned as a children's entertainment Android. Wilbur is some weirdo I work with now."

Tommy ignored the tiny insulted squeal that came from Wilbur from being called 'some weirdo' as Connor practically held all of his body onto Tommy's arm, yanking him down to the point of almost losing balance for a minute.

"Tommy it's been so long since I've seen you! I've been kicked out of at least 4 different abandoned flats just this month! 1 of them I got chased out by a guard dog, the mut nearly ripped my skin off." The blue man whined and ranted like a beaten-down uncle at a terrible family gathering. Tommy could see the little patch of 'fur' that clearly showed some sort of canine bite mark. Tommy gently evened out the balance and helped Connor up as if he was an old woman.

"I'm so sorry your restaurant got shut down, we were really trying to keep it together," Tommy said with just enough sympathy that mimicked a mom trying to take away said uncles whiskey bottle. Though Tommy did seem genuinely upset, patting the blue hedgehog man on the back gently as if he wasn't just chasing him down a few moments prior. Kind of reminded Wilbur that Tommy did, in fact, have a life outside of his 'internship'.

"It's not your fault." Connor sniffed solemnly as if mucous was actually up his metallic nose. "The owners just weren't very good at their job, or any job for that matter. After I went rogue, I had managed to have at least 3 rat friends near the end, that place was more of a pest buffet than anything."

Wilbur just watched from afar, baffled beyond a shadow of a doubt. Here he was, a rather dishevelled Sargeant, babysitting a robot that can disguise itself as his loud intern who is having a friendly conversation with a runaway criminal who is also a robot...... IN A BLUE HEDGEHOG COSTUME. Wilbur felt like he was about the pop a vein, and frankly, he's just about ready to accept it.

Tommy shared Connor another solemn look, before glancing at Wilbur who was standing there with a dumbstruck face. It must have sobered him up as Tommy's face twisted into one of shock and despair. Wilbur could have sworn Tommy's grip on Connor's arm suddenly became much tighter.

"Connor," he said with a low tone, "even though it's great to see you again, you must know that selling unregistered chips is a crime against L'manberg, we are gonna have to take you into custody."

Tommy sounded like an actual cop, he sounded like Technoblade. Wilbur didn't know if he should be proud or scared. With that seriously determined look he gave earlier, maybe Tommy really wasn't just trying to pretend to be a cop for security or something. God knows what a robot wants to do with the same force trying to destroy him. Maybe... Just maybe, Tommy was trying to help them.

"Woah Woah Woah Woah Tommy," Connor suddenly became very panicked, shifting his focus between Tommy and Wilbur. "you are a part of the feds? Since when?"

The young robot didn't hear him, his resolves didn't break even a fracture. Connor could have snapped a wire with how intensely he was staring him down.

"Tommy you know you can't do that man!! They'll reboot me !! I don't want to be reset !! I can sleep in the trash just don't take me."

Tommy took a step forward, the hand on Connor's arm even tighter.

"It's my job now, I'll make sure they won't harm you."

Connor tried to take a step back, Tommy didn't let him.

"Come on man you can't do this to me! What happens if Dream finds about this."

This time Tommy's demeanour did change, flinching at a name that Wilbur did not recognise.

In an instant, darkness was resonating from the boy.

"My affiliation with him doesn't affect my job, Connor." He said through gritted teeth.

Wilbur couldn't see Tommy's face, but he could see Connor's, and he was scared..... very scared. The robot gulped, and even though he was only a few inches smaller than Tommy, he shrunk under his gaze.

The funny thing about androids and the anomaly that is Rogue is that they wear their emotions on their sleeve. They are unlike humans where they can deal with so many feelings and thoughts at once and yet still remain impassive. Robots aren't supposed to feel, whether they should be allowed to or not is a different story, but by all accounts of nature, they just shouldn't.

Emotion isn't subdued, and like an animal, their panic is irrational and vulnerable. That's why they are so easy to spot a rogue. They are frightened of the unpredictable.

Connor knows Tommy, more than Wilbur does by a landslide. Wilbur would think that Tommy wasn't an opposing threat, scrawny motherfucker looked like he wasn't even able to snap a twig. Connor knew otherwise, he knew what Tommy was capable of, and he was scared.

It made Wilbur scared too.

"Alright, ladies... child... furry...." Wilbur stuttered, trying to relieve the situation and taking charge. He didn't want a fight to break out. His focus was the trembling in the hedgehog's ring-like eyes. He took a deep breath in. "Connor I think your name was? I'm afraid it's true. You are gonna have to come with us, we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

All Connor did was glance towards Wilbur, his attention was fully on the kid who had a grip on his arm.

"If your corporate I'll try and use as much of my power to ensure your safety. If you make a big scene, it is in my jurisdiction to use force. I am armed." Wilbur tried again, now stood directly beside Tommy. He was unsure at first, considering Tommy's silent but deadly demeanour, but he placed a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder.

Tommy didn't jump, but he did falter, like awakening from an intense trance. His shoulders slacked ever so slightly.

He looked back up at Wilbur. There was no deadliness in his eyes. He looked tired, really really tired.

"Wilbur." He muttered quietly. It was almost desperate, but Wilbur didn't know what for.

He could help but feel the sudden urge to get Tommy the fuck out of here. Something was going on that Wilbur did not understand but all he knows is that Tommy isn't taking it very well and something primal in Wilbur kicked in. Connor wasn't much of a threat, but if he tried anything, Wilbur knew he was ready for anything.

The fear on Connor's face was now morphed into something angrier and judgemental, gaining a fracture of confidence as he spitefully chuckled, making Tommy turn back to look.

"So you trust humans now Tommy?" He cackled. "You going against your own kind?"

Tommy, now with a little bit more pep in his step as Wilbur's comforting grip swayed him in the right path, took a deep sigh and returned to silent and withheld determination. "I'm sorry Connor, I have to do this, They made me."

Wilbur's pretty sure he is not 'they'.

They had reached an impasse. Connors innate instinct to survive and Tommy's fight to capture was too great, and Wilbur was stuck in the middle of it all. A standoff between machines. A standoff between..... people?

"Fine," Connor reached into Tommy's soul, scoffing at his situation. "then I'm not going down without a fight......."

Clearly, they underestimated Connor, as in a flash he swooped under Tommy's knees, pushing the boys falling body away from his. Wilbur caught Tommy before his head hit the ground, Tommy's stunning eyes staring back at him.

By the time they processed what was happening, Connor was already halfway through the alleyway.

"He's getting away !!" Wilbur screamed as if Tommy couldn't clearly see the blue figure slowly disappearing.

Wilbur helped him up and soon after the chase was on.

Connor kept making unnecessary turns and harsh directions, obviously trying to get Wilbur and Tommy off his tail. Wilbur was no athlete, but he could hold his own in a race, that was all he was counting on at that moment. Tommy wasn't far behind, close to Wilbur's hip, he moved quietly compared to Wilbur incessant cursing and heavy breaths.

"Why is he so fast ?" Wilbur asked through rushed gasps, watching as his pursuer scurried through the trash streets without a sweat.

"He used to be a training dummy for athletes until his gym shut down and he was converted into animatronic for a burger restaurant!" Tommy shouted after him, not a single fault in his voice other than urgency.

Wilbur would have laughed at such a fucking weird backstory that is. But now wasn't the time for laughing, it was time to catch that overly confusing and weird Android.

The chase continued with crazy lefts and very sudden rights. Wilbur was nearly close to passing out. Connor never attempted to cross through the busy streets, staying only in the deepest darkest parts of the alleyways. Wilbur was going to have to make an appeal for alleyways to be permanently discontinued if he had to if that's even possible.

It wasn't too long until Connor ran out of options, they came across a street that was blocked off through a high railing fence surrounded by squishy trash bags. He frantically tried to climb upwards, but he was slow enough for the two behind him to catch up.

"Quick Tommy get him !!"Wilbur was basically just stumbling around the place now, and he gladly let Tommy handle this from then on. Tommy practically zoomed past him like some terminator on robo steroids.

Connor turned back, a terrified look across his face, still only halfway up the railing.

Tommy was still running.

And from Wilbur's view, he was gonna get him. This ordeal would have been over.  Connor would be safely back at the station being questioned and threatened for his crimes. Wilbur would go back to his coffee machine and exclaim about that being enough work for the day.

From Wilbur's view, Tommy was gonna catch him as he ran with all of his might.

Until he didn't.

And Tommy slowed down to a stop, just barely in front of Connor.

And Connor took it as his opportunity to flee, skipping and tripping over the trash bags on the other side. 

And Tommy didn't move.

"Tommy?" Wilbur exclaimed through still thick breaths, stumbling over to the very still figure. "Tommy ?!! Why did you hesitate??"

By the time Wilbur had reached the boy's side, he could see his shoulders shake and quiver with panic. "I-....... I didn't-......."

Whatever kind of anger or disappointment he had before, Wilbur couldn't bring himself to be mad. He just stood there and watched his robot twitch and vibrate like he was about to explode. His original accusation quickly turned into one of comfort, as he placed his hand on his shoulder. "Are you... Ok?"

Wilbur didn't need an answer, he could see he clearly wasn't 'ok.'

"Hey...... hey, kid it's not that big of a deal ok?" He knelt ever so slightly to Tommy's level, he wasn't the most experienced at comforting people. He placed himself in front, trying to catch the boy's eye, to which he hesitantly gave. "So he got away big whoop, we don't even need to report it, we just went on a normal patrol, nothing more."

Wilbur literally had no clue what was going on. All of this, all of this entire experience, all of these new terms and new people was something that he was completely out of the loop for.

Who is Connor?
Who is dream?
Who is.......Tommy?

These questions were circling his head like flying stars after hitting his head. He wouldn't be surprised if this entire day was a hallucination caused by a concussion.

It was confusing, even to Wilbur, who stood there the whole time, it was confusing. But questions would have to be answered later. Right now he just needed to be there for-

"But isn't that against the rules?" Tommy asked through the tiniest voice he could muster. Wilbur just tried to keep his grip tight as to ground him, he almost forgot that the shoulder was cold.

"Let's just find the car again... ok? Techno is probably calling the whole state trying to find me." He reasoned, standing upright. He hesitantly led Tommy away, hand still on the shoulder, turning their back to the fence.

"How about we go get something to eat. I bet you would love a burger." Wilbur said quietly, not even realizing that he kept Tommy under his arm.

The Android just looked up with tired eyes, it was clear he didn't have it in him to refuse.

Chapter Text

Tommy didn't come in the next day. 

Wilbur, from the minute he clocked in at his usual 2-hour late cue, could instantly tell that the precinct had a less annoying atmosphere than usual. 

There was no incessant adolescent cursing or random new stacks of paperwork nicely tucked onto his desk. There were no suspiciously heavy footprints pacing around the place, or early morning coffee-runs leftovers. The breakroom door was wide open enough for Wilbur to see Niki eating a piece of cake that she no doubt baked the night before. Yep, Tommy was definitely not here. 

"Where's Tommy?" Wilbur asked as he slammed his bag onto his chair. He would have never thought in a million years that that would be the first thing he asks the minute he got to work, but frankly the idea of Tommy not being where he should be somehow unnerved him, like those 2 days prior suddenly meant nothin.  The question was open for anyone to answer, problem was that the room was pretty much empty, leaving only one other person to answer it. 

"The kids an intern." A rouge and unbothered voice said behind a newspaper, Quackity's feet up on his own mess covered desk. The underside was disgusting and filthy, Wilbur could feel his nose scrunch up at the sight of something dripping on the paper. "His work hours are flexible, called in sick."

The tall officer scoffed, Quackity's ever so friendly demeanour always has a way of making him feel physically ill. The smell of cigarettes filled the space quicker now that Wilbur was dragged into conversation by his own curiosity. "Called in sick? What do you mean he called in sick?" He said as if Quackity had just said the dumbest thing humanly possible. Tommy can't get sick, Tommy literally physically can not get sick.

Quackity finally moved the newspaper away from his face, revealing his trademark scheming scowl and badly adjusted beanie, all highlighted by the scar on his eyes showing the flesh and mechanism of his obvious glass eye. "God I mean exactly that Wilbur." He spat with venom. "What's so difficult for you to understand huh? The kid probably got a cold or something."

Wilbur could feel himself shrink back a bit, and suddenly he felt very isolated. Right, he was the only one that knows Tommy's secret, he would have thought he would be used to that by now. 

Quackity just scoffed and went back to his newspaper after not receiving any retaliation, probably looking through the betting sections in search for any deals to sink his unusually sharp teeth into. "What's with you and the kid anyways? You two in some sort of secret club ?"

Wilbur stood there for a second. Just quite literally a second. But it felt like hours upon hours of simultaneously imagining ripping off Quackity's head with just a simple pair of tweezers and also questioning his position in human and Android society. What is his relationship with Tommy? 

What happened yesterday was a lot to process. Connor wasn't a threat by any means, but he was much like Tommy, emotion riddled all over his cowardly face. It made Wilbur feel threatened. There was no doubt that there weren't a couple of moment where he felt like the anomaly in the situation. 

And Tommy was scary. Really scary. Wilbur doesn't know what his plans are, and to be fair he hadn't really been thinking about it as of late, but by all accounts it was clear that Tommy was not someone just messing around in the police force for shits and giggles. Wilbur had so many questions, so many feelings and so many fears and for once he was sure that the Android in pursuit was feeling the exact same way.  

He could confidently say that Tommy wasn't a bad guy, don't get him wrong. He ruled that one out the minute he risked his life in that hostage situation. But Tommy was still most definitely a key person of interest in the serious case that is rogue Androids, he could quite possible be the answer to help stop the bloodshed of both androids and humans alike. But Wilbur didn't know if he had the courage to find out how this small frail looking teen is  a part of that whole mess, Wilbur kinda just wanted to keep him as..... well, Tommy. 

He snapped out of his one-second trance and proceeded to see Quackity's severed head more clearly, finishing him off with a death stare as he moved his bag onto the floor and sat on his nearly destroyed chair. 

"I can't deal with you today Quackity." He turned his back on the one-eyed detective, trying to cut the conversation right there and then. 

"You seem to have taken a liking to him." Quackity however didn't seem so enthusiastic to stop. His smug yet sinister tone practically sang to Wilbur that he had lost his touch. The sergeant could feel a vein pulse on his forehead. He hated how everyone seemed to be telling him the same thing, it was Techno first, now this slimy weasel? 

"Oh, Quackity please do entertain me on why you think that, oh physic one." Wilbur spun around, trying to look cool despite his lagging old chair. He was on his tether and frankly, he was sure that Quackity had no evidence to back it up 

All the rat of a man did was smirk, a surprisingly cold and bitter smile. "You're not bored of him yet."

Wilbur despised that Quackity could read him like an open book, it seemed like everyone can lately. He hated that Quackity is right, he hated how everyone who told him that so far was right The mystery of Tommy was just too enticing. Sure he had only technically known him for 2 days but my god was Tommy just a walking talking scooby-doo episode. 

Maybe Wilbur was excited for something new happening for once, maybe Wilbur was just an a washed-out officer who was self inserting himself in a story that may or may not welcome him.

"Doesn't mean I like the little shit." Wilbur tried to disregard the obvious truth comment. But even he knew that he wasn't as sure of that as before. This whole conversation gave Wilbur a strange sense deja-vu, only it wasn't welcomed.

Quackity was eyeing him up and down, and Wilbur wanted to spit at the man for dissecting him like a frog in a science classroom, but Quackity just flicked at his nearly abandoned newspaper and continued reading with a condescending grin. 

"I know you better than you think." He said lowly, "We used to be partners after all."

Yep, Wilbur did not want to go there. The last thing he wanted to do was get a citation for assault in the workforce.

"Yeah... There's a reason we still aren't." Wilbur spat with hate. Quackity knows Damn well that it's not Wilbur's fault for that one, that slimy duck shouldn't have done what he did if he wanted to stay pally-pally. 

Wilbur opted that anything would be better than talking to his past, even with Tommy's disappearance. He gave Quackity one more death glare before walking towards the break-room, where Niki just about finished her slice of cake. 

———

Wilbur was suffering from a strong case of boredom. 

Today was a bust. He did nothing productive and in return made Niki do nothing also by talking to her the entire time. 

This was a low moment for Officer Wilbur soot.

He slumped his way out of the coffee store. It was about 6:00 pm and after failing miraculously at his job, he shamelessly banished himself to the back of his favourite cafe out of spite. 

After 2 days of pure excitement, it didn't occur to him that he didn't miss being unproductive. It was quite refreshing being wrapped in a mystery. It was refreshing doing his job for once. 

It was getting dark outside, the autumn air was closing in finally, and the lights were turning on quicker than usual. Wilbur knew he should just go back to the apartment, but Techno was probably heating some ready-made lasagna he bought two nights prior and to be honest, Wilbur was not about that life right now. So instead he walked about the city lights, watching people almost bump into each other whilst their hologram phone was too close to their faces, and the self-driving cars perfectly drone around the place like cogs in a machine. 

It all felt plastic. Technology was great and all but Wilbur use to love life in a busy street, the melodies of peoples days and inconveniences. He loved it when you could see people walking around in their unique way, not afraid to show the rusty browns and natural colours in their lives. He missed it when leaves use to fall by his feet so he could kick them under the weight of his boots. It felt organic and fresh and real, but this, the sound of  perfect robot footsteps, felt dull, everything lit up and plastered with white polished plastic and a bright and unnatural blue. The kind of blue in Tommy's eyes. It's funny really. Tommy manages to fit so well in this new world and not at all at the same time.

Wilbur kept on walking, swearing at himself for not taking his headphones to stroll to the sound of his tunes. By the time he had managed to avoid the hordes of people and the blinding billboards that were sure to give him a headache with or without his blue light glasses, he found himself standing in front of a park. Well..... a so-called "renewed park" to be exact. There were no leaves on the ground, the grass was that kind of synthetic, plastic stubble you would find at football matches, no flowers or let-loose weeds to pick. Even the trees weren't really real, they were genetically mutated so the leaves can't fall and the "bark" was quite literally uninhabitable to avoid any wild life moving in, the things were more plastic than natural. Wilbur's pretty sure that the Badlands claimed all the actual trees in United Essempi. Greedy jerks.

But it was dark, and everything looked a little more normal in the dark. If Wilbur squinted his eyes enough, he could almost imagine the trees swaying in the wind and the grass dancing along with it,  strands of all different shapes and sizes. It's not perfect, but it's better than the city and Wilbur was definitely not in the mood to go to the pier. 

Wilbur sighed but trudged in the park nonetheless. The somehow perfectly laid out rubble crunched under his feet as he searched for the best spot to sulk. 

There was a fountain in the middle, spraying what smelt like chlorinated water all around a polished marble casing. The smell was kind of irritating, but it was the best he could do, it wasn't like he could find a better spot-

"-And then I shot him back and everyone was saved. Didn't even get reprimanded or anything." A shrilling, annoying voice spoke with excitement. 

Wilbur knew that voice, Wilbur knew that voice far too well. He stopped in his Pursuit to the fountain, as he could see, in the distance, blonde hair poking out from a bench beside it. The same glowing eyes illuminated the air around him. 

Wilbur  could feeling his arms and legs shaking, using all of his might to not launch forward and ask the little shit where he had been? Why on Essempi would he snake out of work? What the fuck happened yesterday and that he sure as hell didn't look sick-

"Tommy that's dangerous, why on earth would you put yourself in danger like that?! You are supposed to stay low." -Wilbur was so concentrated on his questions, he didn't even notice the other figure sitting next to the blond. 

Wilbur froze, and instead hid behind the nearest "tree", just in earshot of the conversation. He prayed they didn’t see him.

"And I have been, boob-boy!! But innocent peoples' lives were at stake!" Tommy exasperated, waving his arms in the air like a child trying to justify why he broke the cookie jar. 

The other figure was tall, even for sitting on a bench. Wilbur couldn't get a good look at his facial features, but he could see a bright glow of red and green following where his eyes should be. So another Android huh? He couldn't see his mouth moving, Wilbur theorised he was wearing a mask. 

The taller guy gently put his head in his hands, "But now the cops have Laserbeam, Dream isn't gonna lik-"

"Dream isn't going to know because Laserbeam left the SMP ages ago!" Tommy leaned back against the bench,  the opposite to the other's hunched demeanour. "That was the first time I have seen him for a while."

"And what about Connor? He's still there." The tall Android pointed out, lifting his head ever so slightly to make eye contact. At least that was a name Wilbur actually knew... Though he was completely lost on everything else.

"Connor escaped and he's only really there for the security. If anything, that's good for us." Tommy shrugged, adjusting his usual red and white T-shirt. 

"It's risky." Ranboo whined, he was clearly unsatisfied with the blinds reasoning. 

"It's my job." But the blond didn’t back down. 

If this didn't prove that Tommy was up to something, Wilbur wasn't sure what would. SMP ?? That Dream guy again? These were things he's heard before and yet he had no idea what the fuck it all meant. 

But his mind raced to other things. Tommy seemed... Different, less tense. He was calm and even joking with the other, even if this mysterious second figure didn't find it very funny. For once he didn't seem uncomfortable in his own body. This was another side of Tommy he hadn't seen yet..... just, Tommy. 

Maybe this was one of Tommy's friends. 

The other figure sat up and threaded his fingers through his hair. Wilbur could even see in the dark that it was split in the middle, black and white now lacing his fingertips. 

"Tubbo hasn't been charging right ever since you've taken the job." The lanky Android said through a sigh and Tommy seemed to fidget at the name. 

"Tubbo needs to learn how to stop being so damn clingy all the time, not my fault he's emotional for a robot." He tried to laugh, flinging his arms around his body aggressively as if it really did annoy him that someone was worried for him. Everyone could tell it was fake. 

"It's not just Tubbo." The other Android said in a low sombre tone. 

From what Wilbur could see, Tommy paused and all of that confidence Tommy seeped out like honey. He shuffled towards the other, his delicate moment being noticed by the taller one who adjusted to his size. 

"Ranboo," Tommy half-whispered in the most delicate way possible. "you know I'll be fine right? I'm too tough to get caught."

Tommy held Ranboo's hand in his own, knowing that when the android is overthinking like this, this sort of contact helps calm them down. Ranboo's multicoloured glow mixed with his blue one, both staring at the ground trying to avoid eye contact. 

After a while, Ranboo chuckled solemnly, "You are also too reckless." 

"Hey!" Tommy semi-sarcastically barked back, he looked like a puppy who had just been sprayed with water for the first time. 

"I'm scared for you !!" Ranboo confessed, clutching on his hoodie that was part of his disguise to get there. "All of this, our mission, now this police work. What we are doing is hard as it is, I just don't want you to get hurt! I don't want to lose you."

He made eye contact with the blond, something he was usually very against. He looked into Tommy soul, trying to find any hesitation, any hidden pleading, begging for Ranboo to get the hint and help him escape his situation. He could have searched for hours, and yet Tommy did not falter. His strong resistant brow only twisted into one of concern for his friend and Ranboo realised he was worrying the boy even more. 

But even more Ranboo knew that Tommy was strong than anyone he could have imagined, maybe not physically but mentally. He really was too stubborn for his one good, if tommy says he’ll be fine, he will be, no point arguing. He will be ok, Ranboo had to believe he will be ok. 

"But you are right...... you are too lucky at getting out of sticky situations. Let's hope that luck doesn't run out." He settled, hugging himself tightly whilst feeling his friend's hands intertwine with his own. 

Wilbur could see Ranboo quiver, trying to stay strong for something he did not understand. Ranboo cared for Tommy, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Even from behind a tree where the officer stood, Ranboo was releasing such nervous protective energy that Wilbur couldn't help but feel sorry for the kid. 

Tommy stared right through the tall Android, but his eyes were one of genuine sympathy. He hated making people worried, he hated making people feel like their world rested on his shoulders. But it was his destiny the share the weight, it wasn't Ranboo's fault he was made for this. 

The blond carefully rested his head on the other's shoulder, an arm was delicately and loosely thrown over the other, using the tips of his fingers the circle the joint. 

"I've missed you, big man. We haven't hung out like this for ages. You are the only one who doesn't treat me like some sort of chosen one." Tommy spoke quietly. Wilbur, he never seen him so compassionate, never seen him so....... Ok. 

Ranboo was stunned for a moment, but then slowly lowered his head carefully onto Tommy's with a sad chuckle."It's not hard to think of you like that sometimes... After all, you are the one who found me."

"Think what you want, you treat me like a human." Tommy shrugged, inching closer just a little bit, practically digging into Ranboo's hip. 

"I treat you like a friend." He corrected, and Tommy finally looked up at ranboo, surprised by the honestly. Wilbur could feel how happy he was from where he stood.

"Best friends... With Tubbo of course." He said with the biggest grin he ever had. "Tubbo is gonna freak if he knew you came out to see me alone."

"For the sake of Tubbo... And our necks... I think it's best for me to not say anything." Ranboo could feel the smaller Android trying to explode him any minute now. 

Tommy burst into laughter. "That's something I can agree on."

And they sat there and continued to talk in this synthetic park. Talk about people Wilbur didn't even know and laugh at inside jokes that he will never understand. Maybe Wilbur was being... A tad creepy, but he would never regret experiencing such an organic moment in such a desolate waste land of plastic. Tommy laughed so freely, and so loudly and Wilbur did not doubt that this was who Tommy truly was. Wilbur couldn't even remember the last time when he looked so alive. 

After a few minutes or so, Tommy stretched his arms out to the now night sky, Ranboo still laughing at another one of Tommy's embarrassing stories. Tommy stood and Ranboo stop his giggling. 

"Welp, dream is gonna want his daily report soon, I probably should get going," Tommy said, whilst cracking his back, feeling all of the metal scrape together in his body as he did so. 

The multi-coloured hair robot looked down at his hands solemnly. "I want you to stay here." 

"I want to stay too." Tommy re-assured almost instantly, placing a hand on Ranboo's shoulder as he looked down from where he stood. "Tell Tubbo that if he doesn't charge properly I'm gonna roundhouse kick all the Sanguis out of his body."

Ranboo placed his hand over Tommy's. "Stay alive long enough for you to tell him yourself. Stay safe, please stay safe."

And that was that. Tommy slipped from Ranboo's grasp, suddenly heading in the other direction. Clearly, neither of them dared to utter the words 'goodbye'. 

Just as Tommy was about to disappear into the empty streets of L'manberg, he snapped around and shouted from the top of his lungs. "Oh !! I ate a burger the other day." And ran off without a care in the world. 

Wilbur and Ranboo were left where they resided,  one not even knowing the other one was there. Wilbur could have just left, Wilbur should have just left, but he was compelled to stay just for a second more. Just long enough for him to see ranboo take a sigh of relief and thread both his hands through his hair as reassurance.

"He's ok." He muttered to himself, saying it like a prayer.

And when it was Ranboo's turn to get up and walk away, still unaware of the spy behind the tree, Wilbur was left feeling... Something indescribable. Something that helped him surpass that creeping reminder that he had just listened in to a very personal conversation, something that made him feel warm. 

Wilbur might have called it hope.

The call of his apartment and techno's terrible cooking never felt so far away.

Chapter Text

"I'm just gonna come right out and say it. You are really shit at using a gun." Wilbur spoke with a mouth full of one of Niki's new cupcakes. 

Tommy snapped his head towards the adult, making an utterly offended squawking sound that made the child sound like a seagull. "Excuse me?"

Once again, they sat idly in the break room, Wilbur sitting at the table with a box of freshly baked delights, Tommy sitting on the table with his legs crossed with a new case file on his lap. 

Wilbur found himself now officially gravitating towards this community area, not even bothering to even check his desk, or make any new snide remarks at Quackity. He had practically sat all day beside Tommy ( who once again arrived early so he could get a head start at filing papers ) making weird conversation starters while the boy tried his best to concentrate. He never really succeeded. 

"You heard me, I saw the way your hands shook when you shot that Bot in the Z.A Robotics store." Wilbur continued as he swallowed a chunk of chocolate frosting down, flicking the crumbs off his figures, totally not aiming them at that blond head of hair. 

"I was stabbed and he was on top of me, did you expect godlike aim?" Tommy deadpanned, his eyes sinking from wide to squinted in a matter of seconds. That same tired look that really reminds Wilbur of Techno, he was starting to believe he attracts it. 

"Yeah maybe," Wilbur exaggeratedly complained, crossing his arms like a spoiled kid asking for ice cream , "if you wanted to join the police force so badly you should at least know how to work a gun.”

Tommy can feel his eye twitch."I'm an intern!!" He screeched as he flung a pen at Wilbur’s pigeon nest of a head.

Things have been weird since Tommy came back from his 'day-off-sick'.  It was very clear that his interaction with Connor had affected him deeply. He was quieter, more reserved, wanted to work through papers rather than talking to anyone. For some reason it was Wilbur’s objective to change it, it didn’t feel natural to have the boy sulk like that. This was the first time Tommy showed any signs of Tommy like behaviour.

Wilbur exhales a satisfied huff, feeling a smile tug at his lips. He stood up, wiping the crumbs off his usual yellow jumper, he can see from the corner of his eyes that Tommy is staring with disgust. 

"Ok then wise guy, show me I'm wrong. Come with me." The man said enthusiastically, putting on his most cheerful expression he could. He clapped his hands together and stomped towards the door, marching like a band at a parade. 

"Where are we going?” Tommy asks hesitantly, but Wilbur could hear him get off the table. It is abundantly clear that Tommy will follow no matter what... like a baby chick. 

Wilbur gave Tommy an evil-knowing look, nodding his head towards the now open door "You'll see." He said with a grin.

———

"Wooooahhh !! I didn't know this was down here !!" Tommy said slacked jawed and in awe, running into the empty space. 

Now granted, how was Tommy supposed to know that there was a shooting range in the precinct's basement? The thing was practically abandoned. 

The walls were a pale and pasty grey that looked like lazily slapped on concrete if you squint hard enough. The ground had this awful rubbery texture that made any shoes squeak for help when you took any step and the posters on the wall looked like they could very well be in a vintage store. 

The place was old, like 'old for their new futuristic technology' kind of old. Wilbur had seen new ones on TV, all holograms and simulations, some to help accuracy when a thug could be making a break for it. 

They often show the simulation looking like real people, real criminals running away, it made Wilbur cringe half the time, no wonder officers were desensitised to taking a life. 

But not in this facility, no sir, they had tin cut-outs in the shape of a generic man with so many harsh dents on the metal surface that it could break in any minute as targets. Sure it was more scuffed, but it's better than seeing imaginary bodies fall. 

"It's not really used apart from people needing to relieve some stress," Wilbur half-mindedly spoke as he fluttered away from the caking of dust on the light switch. "you wouldn't imagine how many trigger-happy officers we have."

"Oh, I can." Tommy chuckled as he looked at the pictures on the wall. 

It was a bunch of people he didn't recognise, save from this one guy with flowing blond hair that looks eerily familiar.

Wilbur turned on the light switch, and the ceiling light bulbs started to flicker with a warm glow. Lights these days are never warm, it's all LEDs and a bright cold white. 

Tommy could really tell this place had seen better days, he was surprised there were no raccoons down here, it would be a lovely place to live he thought. 

He stumbled towards the main sector, the weird desk that divided the room between the people and the targets. Attached to the wood was a long piece of string that was connected to a rather old looking pistol. It wasn't ancient-looking, but it wasn't like the sleek matte black design that Wilbur carried around in his pocket, it was more of a rusty metal colour, Tommy was sure it didn't look rusty back when it was in use. 

He held it shakily in his grasp, feeling the ridged edge of each corner. It was boxy-er than the new ones, felt more like a kids toy than anything, but he could see that real bullets were inside. 

He flipped it over, staring at the not expected 'Z.A' logo plastered on the grip, albeit, not the same as the current logo, more old and detailed. He didn't know that Z.A robotics use to make guns. 

Wilbur placed his hand on Tommy's shoulder, giving the boy a scare. "This is where we use to train our newbies. If you are gonna be stuck with me for a while, I want to at least make sure you aren't a liability." He smirks as he adjusts Tommy's grip on the weapon and lifts his arms for him. "Aim for the head."

Tommy gave Wilbur an apprehensive glare and when the man let go of the boy's arms, Tommy could see how much he was shaking. He could hear the officer behind him huff in amusement, seeing how his posture wasn't made for handling weapons, but Tommy just shook it off and did what he was asked. 

Before long, Tommy pulled the trigger, the bullet ricocheting against the far wall behind his intended target. He had missed by a long shot. 

His shoulder sank as he heard Wilbur hiss back a laugh. "Wow..... that was... Terrible." The man said with a patronisingly slow but cheerful voice, it was a miracle Tommy didn’t turn around and point the gun at the officer's head. "It's becoming increasingly more obvious that the only reason you managed to hit That Android was that it was 1 foot in front of you."

"Shut up !! I'm trying my best... let me just-" Tommy bit back, a snarl at the curves of his lips. He repositioned himself again, trying to ignore how his arms were shaking ever more with frustration and took the shot. This time it was dangerously close to hitting the lightbulb above. 

"This physically hurts to watch." Wilbur stated with a deadpan expression, though Tommy could hear the smile in his words.

Tommy dropped the gun and whipped around to face Wilbur, frustration now creasing his brows. Wilbur walked in closer with his arms crossed, amused. 

"Ok big man, oh gracious one, if you are so good, please show me how well you can-"

Tommy was so enthralled in his mockery he didn't even see Wilbur picking up the gun. He aimed at the tin head effortlessly and pulled the trigger, his whole body recoiling from his perfect shot.

"-...do."

Wilbur blew at the barrel of the gun as if smoke was coming out of it like an old western movie, he leaned over the desk, savouring that awe face that Tommy was giving him. 

"It's because you don't have balance." He said with all the smugness in the land. He placed a hand on Tommy's shoulder, bringing the boy back to reality. "Here, let me just-"

He readjusted the lanky body, adjusting his footing and posture, all with swearing coming from squealing adolescent whine. 

"Ok now keep your body even, arms loose but level with the rest of your body... Aaaanndd." Wilbur propped the gun into the boy's grip, aiding his arms to stay straight. He stepped back, urging Tommy to do the final step alone. He pulled the trigger, the bullet hitting the cut out perfectly in between where the eyes should be. The adjustments paid off and the room fell silent as the sound of the shot still rang in their ears. 

"Ayyy now you got it !! How did that feel?" Wilbur exclaimed with pride, patting Tommy on his shoulder, albeit with a hard slap. 

Tommy didn't move, and only then did realise that Tommy was now back to shaking, the gun rattling in his grip. 

"It felt..... bad." He said at almost a whisper, shakily placing the gun down with his trembling figures.

Wilbur didn't think androids could shake. Not in the way that Tommy was in that moment. If he didn't know any better, he could have said that Tommy was 5 seconds away from self-destructing, blowing up this practically ancient room to smitheries. 

But sadly Wilbur knew Tommy just a little bit better than before, and he knew he had to prepare for mystery diving whenever this Robo child was feeling angsty. He found himself not minding nonetheless. 

"Can I be honest with you," Tommy sighed as quietly as before, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed, hugging himself. "I hate the idea of using guns, or any weapon. It just... Brings up bad memories."

His eyes surveyed the gun hesitantly, he carefully patted his hair over his forehead hesitantly, his other arm still holding his body tightly. "Guns take people away, they don't bring them back. If I were to help someone, I would want to do it without violence."

Wilbur nodded slowly." That's not always gonna be the case," he said quietly, matching the blond's tone. "sometimes you'll be backed into a corner and you would have no other choice."

"I know...." Tommy bit the inside of his lip. "That's what scares me."

Cogs started turning in Wilbur's head, analysing whats the best approach in this situation. He'd been tiptoeing around Tommy for far too long, he wondered if he could take a chance. 

"Have you....." he sputtered out slowly, hesitating over his choice of words. "Have you taken someone's life ?"

Tommy flinched the hardest he could have, his eyes growing exponentially wide as he did a double-take on Wilbur's serious face. 

His initial surprise caused Wilbur to think of the worse, thinking he might possibly have a dangerous Android on his hands. But Tommy quickly calmed down, though hugging himself even tighter than before. 

"No." He said quickly, and Wilbur knew he was telling the truth. 

But it couldn't be it, there was more, there was so much more to this. The room felt like it was getting colder and colder by the minute, the grey concrete walls closing in. 

Tommy looked like he was holding his breath before saying what he wanted to say. "Luckily Z.A robotics came up with a solution. 

Essentially we have three get out for free cards. Three secret blood bags inside of us filled to the brim with reusable sanguis. If we get damaged and all of the blood is spilt, we switch to another one of the bags.

We can't refill our bags with more Sanguis because every model has a unique variant of the chemical tailored to our model and code, meaning we can't get extra. 

We only have three."

"Three lives," Wilbur said amazed under his breath.

And he felt bile rise at his throat. 

"... have... Have you been taken away from people?" Wilbur stuttered.

This time, Tommy began to shake, head held low and fingers digging into his skin so hard, he could have drawn blood. 

"Many times," Tommy whispered, voice strained. 

Wilbur was on the verge of tears and he wasn't sure why. It was stressful for sure, but stress for what was just at the edge of his tongue. Maybe Wilbur knew deep down what Tommy meant, maybe he was trying to Sheild himself from the truth, the hidden world of Tommy that Wilbur was desperately trying to explore. But Wilbur bit back his thoughts, too scared of the conclusions he might take. 

Tommy just meant that he was taken away from his friends, he's probably just from one of the other sectors like kinoko or Navadas and was taken to L'manberg for some reason. 

Even Wilbur wasn't fooled by his denial thoughts.  

Wilbur was about to reach over,  hold Tommy close to his chest and run as far as he could. Run to Badlands, or Kinoko kingdom or even fucking las Nanadas if worst comes to shove. Just run, not ask anymore questions, not trying to solve any thing else, Just run and live and not look back. Tommy was worth the trouble, Tommy was worth the new life. Wilbur was desperate to get out anyway, tommy gives him a reason. 

"What kind of therapy session is going on here." A voice called from the doorway. 

Wilbur jumped out of his skin, goosebumps pricking at his hair. There at the door was Techno leaning over the support with an amused look, his hair loose braid that was casually swung over his shoulder. 

"Jesus Tech," Wilbur sighed, eyes down avoiding Tommy, that burning sensation still fresh in his chest. "you scared me."

"What scares you the most? My presence as your Lieutenant or me holding you in a headlock as your brother?" Techno said with a huff, pushing himself forward to wrap his arm around Wilbur tense shoulders. 

Wilbur looked up at the clock, it was after hours, no wonder he was was unprofessional. 

Wilbur pocked at Techno side, knowing full well that he was ticklish there. "Probably the fact that you're an old man and you still dye your head pink." He said half-heartedly, despising the fact that Techno let out a loud laugh.  

"We are the same age !!!" He said through chuckles, taking his lanky brother into the headlock he promised. 

Even though Wilbur was stuck flailing his arms from freedom, he was somewhat welcome for Techno's distraction. He had been so stuck in his head, he was gonna have so many cups of coffee to make up for it.

Tommy hesitantly stepped into the scene, arms plastered to his side, and his back unusually straight. His awkwardness caught Techno's eye, letting Wilbur's head go in favour of returning the same awkwardness. 

"Uhhhhh, hullo, Tommy was it ?" He said with a little wave, his smile just big enough to see his lower canines that were much larger than the rest, Wilbur likes to call them tusks. 

" Lieutenant," Tommy said just as ridged as his posture. 

The pink-haired man huffed an amused sigh, subtly waving his hand. "Techno is fine, I'm not one to be so formal with my brother's friends."

Wilbur knew how much he hated being only called lieutenant in general. It's fine as a title, not as a name. 

"what are you two doing down here anyway," Techno said rubbing the back of his neck, Wilbur could see the untouched brown roots around his neck, the parts he couldn’t quite reach when dyeing. 

Tommy's shoulders relaxed, but he was still kind of wary, Tommy had rarely interacted with the detectives and officers in the precinct, especially not anyone higher up. Though technically Wilbur was a higher rank, they all knew he didn't act like it. 

Tommy pointed at the gun, face and voice deadpan, "S-Shooting pog."

He immediately regretted it because that was technically his first words to his mega boss, and his first decision was to flaunt a very unprofessional word in the mist of his stuttering. nonetheless he kept his face straight, trying not to die in the inside. 

Techno, however, found it quite amusing, side-eyeing his grumpy brown-haired brother. "Oh yeah? did Wilbur show off his iNcReDiBle GuN sKiLls ?"

"Technoooo," Wilbur whined, knowing exactly where this was going. 

"He likes to fight the fact that I'm the one who taught him." Techno continued, wrapping an arm around an apprehensive and frankly unstable Wilbur. 

"Technoooooooooooo." He whined louder. 

Techno smushed his face against Wilbur’s cheek, laughing at his twin's pain. "And that he admires me soooooo much."

"Techno Blade Craft,” Wilbur Shouted with a half-hearted shove, his cheeks as pink as the man’s head. “If you don't shut up right now I'm gonna shove my foot so far up your-"

"You're name is Technoblade?" Tommy barked out suddenly, confusion all over his face.

Wilbur had kinda forgotten Tommy was there for a second, the room going silent as he snorted at the discovery. Techno gave him a side-eye that could cut glass, and he stopped instantly. 

The pink-haired man sighed, though there was no distaste in his actions. "Techno... Blade... There's a space in the middle.” He said as he raked his hair back. “It's my middle name." He explained, but Tommy didn't seem too convinced. 

"What kind of middle name is Blade." He half snorted, though the question was still very much serious.

"A cool one." 

Tommy couldn't help but yelp out a laugh. 

He looked much more comfortable,  His usual cocky grin back plastered all over his face. "I'm gonna ignore that comment The Blade, and ask you to show me your gun skills right now." He demanded and Wilbur couldn’t help but smile at the passion in his eyes. 

Techno seemed equally as enthused. 

"Oh alright then,” he said with a smug grin, secretly absolutely loving the attention that wasn’t immediate fear. “Only because you asked so nicely."

Techno reached for the gun and positioned himself in a way that only screamed that he was no amateur. Tommy could see the immediate difference between Techno and Wilbur. Wilbur was cocky and skilled, but Tommy wasn’t blind to the fact that the man was very concentrated in his aim, shaky as he reached for the right spot. For Techno it was like second nature, the gun looked made for his hand and he lifted it with no shake or hesitation. He looked up as the target, not even needing to adjust his aim, and shot, straight through the head of the tin made mannequin. The sound of metal clanging filling the empty room.

Techno’s body didn’t recoil, he gave Tommy a smug glance whilst his arm was still high in the air. Wilbur just scoffed, rolling his eyes, show off. 

But Tommy was enamoured. "Teach me !"

Wilbur squawked aggressively, doing so many double-takes between Technk and Tommy his head could fall off, "B-But I was teaching you!”

"You are a terrible teacher,” Tommy stuck out his tongue like a child. Scooting away from l the man despite his ever growing frown. “I want The Blade as my master."

"Please stop calling me that," Techno whispered quietly as he scratched the back of his neck once again. He felt like a kid in the middle of his parents arguing. 

Wilbur swung over to look at his traitor brother right in the eye. "I'll never forgive you."

"How is this-" techno started as his arms defensively waved in front of Wilbur before the man jumped to attack, but Tommy did it first, putting himself between the brothers, kicking Wilbur out of the conversation. 

"Techno you are the coolest man alive!” The blond said louder, jumping in his spot with excitement. 

"Haha, thanks, kid." Techno blushed once again, feeling flustered from all the excitement. 

"Have you forgotten I'm here?" Wilbur cried, feeling so defeated by his brother once again.  

"Nope." Tommy just grinned, whipping his head over the brunette with an evil tint in his eyes. "But it's funnier to see you suffer."

Though Wilbur was truly hurt from the sudden dejection, he couldn’t help but feel a little better to see a bit of playfulness from the kid. He’d be lying if he wasn’t feeling warm inside seeing his two closest people interacting, and enjoying each other’s company. 

He didn’t ask what Tommy meant earlier that evening. He didn’t think it was time to know. They spent the rest of the time talking and practising how to shoot, not caring about the progress or lack thereof. They were just having fun, making fun of Wilbur and admiring Technos skills. 

The idea of running away can wait, right then, everything was calm before the storm.

The mystery of Tommy dying out for just a few hours, and the joy of having him around growing just a little bit more.

Chapter Text

It was a regular Tuesday. Everything had been moving so fast that Wilbur didn't even realise that it's been a month since Tommy joined the precinct.

Android business was hard, harder than he expected, but more importantly, it was boring. Once you've seen one android publicly killing themselves as a so-called message, you've seen them all.

Tommy seemed unaffected though, just kept joking around as nothing happened. Wilbur was glad that the Connor situation seemed to be behind him.

They spent their days either in the break room, (Tommy now called it their secret hideout, whether or not people would walk in regularly to grab their coffee) or going out on patrol, Wilbur letting Tommy explore any food he felt like trying.

Wilbur would never admit it, but he did actually like having the little shit around sometimes, and he would definitely not say he forgot he was a robot most times.

It just felt like him and Tommy against the world, Wilbur and his weird robot sidekick. It was nice for Wilbur to have someone to enable his quirkiness. They were weird together, a couple of wrong'ens' as Tommy would put it.

This time, Wilbur and Tommy were lounging around at Wilbur's desk for once. Wilbur aimlessly sketching on a spare piece of paper and Tommy fiddling with a couple of files, not really sorting them like he was supposed to.

Suddenly, the door from Techno's office exploded open, shutting down any chatter in an instant.

Techno was sometimes unaware of his own strength, and he looked hesitantly with a growing blushing face around the room full of prying eyes. Wilbur would have openly mocked Techno to his face, but he decided maybe it wasn't the greatest time.

"Wilbur, Tommy." Techno coughed out, adjusting himself to be professional. "Can you come in my office please?"

Wilbur could see urgency in his brother's eyes and before Wilbur could come up with a snarky quip, Techno just turned around and shut the door behind him.

Tommy jokingly hissed. "Wonder what we did this time?" He laughed, dumping the files on the desk with a huge thump. After the shooting range, Techno and Tommy seemed to be getting on a lot more than Wilbur thought. It was more often than not that Wilbur would show up late and find Techno and Tommy chatting it up in the break room, sharing conversations about random things like snow, the art of war and polar bears. Tommy hadn't seen snow before, and Techno half-jokingly said he would take him up to the mountains one day, now Tommy couldn't stop talking about it to anyone that would listen.

Wilbur just shrugged and stood, sweeping away the crumbs of sweet treats from his jumper. Tommy hopped off the desk and followed behind Wilbur, both hesitantly stepping towards the office with eyes piercing behind them as others stared. The chatter in the room eventually started again.

Wilbur lightly knocked on the door. With no answer he pushed it open anyway, both he and Tommy poked their head through the crack. "What's was the prob, doc ?" Wilbur asked hesitantly, eyes eyeing at a stressed-out Techno with his hand's knee-deep in paperwork. They stepped through cautiously, standing by the edge of the desk with the door firmly shut.

Techno just sighed, head in his hands. "We've had several calls from multiple households stating that they have experienced some weird broadcast on TV that happened yesterday at around 7 pm." He lifted a sheet of paper detailing all of the reports that were coming in, his eyes screaming that he hadn't had a rest for quite a while. "People said that there were various disturbing images and sounds, gave kids nightmares apparently."

Wilbur and Tommy shared a look, both of their eyebrows cocked with confusion. "What's that got to do with us?" The older one asked.

"People suspect that it's an android's doing," Techno said, frustration at his tongue.

Tommy scoffed, crossing his arms in annoyance. "Of course they would." He huffed under his breath.

"Some people believe it's a sort of warning for a coming upcoming terrorist attack." Techno continued, swivelling in his seat to stand, cracking his back. "You know how the public can get. All theorists."

Wilbur and Tommy shared another look. "Well is it a warning?"

"It's your job to find out." Techno sighed, raking his hand through his hair. He looked like he was five seconds away from a mental breakdown. He nodded his head upwards as he walked closer to the two in front of him. "Manifold has been called in, he's waiting upstairs."

Wilbur seemed to react to the name, only to sigh back and turn his head to the door, making an exit before any further comments being made. Tommy was about to do the same but Techno placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, ignoring how unusually cold it felt.

"Pre warning you Tommy," he whispered with a lighthearted chuckle. "Manifold can be a bit..... temperamental." Tommy just gave him a nod with a huge grin on his face, only to go back to Wilbur's side shortly after.

If Wilbur wasn't mistaken, there was a definite warmth in Techno's voice and face when he spoke to Tommy, one that Wilbur knew all to well. And surprisingly Tommy shared it back, though it was more admiration than anything.

Nevertheless, they both headed towards the IT department upstairs. Tommy had never really been up there before, but from passing conversation and from a tour way back when, he was pretty sure it was just dark rooms filled to the brim with over complicated and highly unjustifiable PCs surrounding a few desks.

He always imagined wires hanging from the ceiling, and that the IT staff just used it to swing place to place. He also liked to think that all day they just play games and talk on social media about... I don't know, IT problems. It didn't sound too bad of a job, it made him reevaluate if he should have applied for an internship with them instead.

The silence in the elevator was loud, the usual music that felt like a dental waiting room was off, it was just Wilbur, Tommy and that weird stain in the corner that will never be explained.

Tommy looked up at the floor indicator, watching it slowly go up. "So who's manifold?"

"Just some guy we repurposed into our IT maintenance team." Wilbur shrugged, digging his hands into his pockets. "He use to be a hacker."

He could feel Tommy just looking at him with shock. "Wait really? You let a hacker be a part of your defence team?"

Wilbur looked back at him with an evil smirk. "I let you be my intern."

The robot was too stunned to speak. Wilbur could hear a faint ok you've got a point under the younger's breath, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

When the elevator finally stopped moving, the doors opened up abruptly to darkness. The whole block seemed to have been shrouded in shadow, the only thing that beamed a bit of light was the small blinks of lights coming from meter high computers. Circuits boards and wires were poking out from anywhere they can sprout from and it smelt like old fast food bags, which you could see in every corner.

Maybe Tommy wasn't completely crazy when he thought they swung on the wires after all.

"Manifold!" Wilbur called out, seemingly unconcerned by this electronic wasteland. "Where the fuck are you?!"

There was a clattering noise coming from the far left, followed by various swears and insults. Tommy couldn't even tell if there was even a person inside that hellscape or not.

"Ah, I'm coming you cock. Just give me a fucking minute." Finally, a rough and rather aggressive voice shouted back, not long before some more clattering, shouting and swearing happened once more.

Tommy shuffled closer to Wilbur instinctively, and if Wilbur noticed, he didn't comment on it.

To be fair, Tommy had every right to be nervous. If anyone was going to spot that he wasn't human, it would definitely be some sort of tech wizard who works with computers every day. Not only that, he was a hacker, if he found out, could he find out everything about him? Tommy preferred not to think about that at that moment.

He nervously chuckled, "Damn this man sure has got a potty mouth." He tatter totted on his feet, trying to not look too suspicious.

"Tommy you look about 14 and you literally spout out every known curse every time you open your mouth," Wilbur said quickly with a smile on his face. He could feel Tommy's nervous energy but he didn't want to make him feel like he had any reason to be, Wilbur just joked around like normal and he totally did not have the urge to put his arm around the boy.

Tommy did his classic parrot squawk, looking ever so offended."There is a lot of slander going on right now, for as you know I won't take kindly to-" he shook his head aggressively, before hearing the clattering get louder and closer.

"Alright, I'm here Wil, ready to work on this  video?" Out from the darkness, stood out a figure wiping away dust from his blue and black striped jumper. The first thing Tommy noticed was the metal plates..... coming straight from his skull. What sprung out were cables that seemed to intertwine each other before falling back into the plate. His head was completely shaven, leaving Tommy to see the metal surface gleam with the lights of the blinking lights behind him.

His left eye was blue and the right was red and he had these glasses that were more like holograms that were being projected from said eyes. His skin was pale, nearly translucent, apart from the thin sliver of red and blue blush right under his eyes.

Tommy just stared in front without any emotion, the silence was almost deafening...... almost.

"So what's wrong with your head?" Tommy asked abruptly, leaving both Jack and Wilbur shocked.

"TOMMY !!" The latter screamed, ramming the boy with the end of his elbow despite the boy's whining.

"What ?! I didn't realise he was an Android !! I wanna know about his head." Tommy responded whilst rubbing his now sore stomach, pointing at the aforementioned skull.

Jack just stood there perplexed and Tommy could see he was trying to find the right words. "I-I'm not an Android you cock!!" He screamed. "I'm human like the both of you."

Tommy scanned the enraged man one more time, quirked an eyebrow and sarcastically scoffed. "Oh please, I thought I was being obvious but-"

"Tommy !" Wilbur hurriedly interrupted him, his eyes full blow wide that practically said shut the fuck up. "He is actually human."

Tommy reeled back a bit, "Wait...really?" He took another look at jack, and yes he could see the blemishes in his skin that no android would have, could see how the red in his cheeks were much more natural than his own. He could see that around those metal per of his head, the skin bumped up like something squishy, and his eyes were not constantly analysing everything in the room, there was not a single thought apart from embarrassment and rage. Yep, he was definitely human, to say the least.

"You mother fucker, YES I AM HUMAN! Fucking hell, can you not hear the MAN in Manifold." The bald man squawked back, equally as bird-like as the not be known android in front of him.

Tommy shook off his disbelieve as he crossed his arms, "That still doesn't answer what happened to you head MANifold."

He wasn't even trying to be provoking, but it seemed that Jack was naturally angry whenever Tommy open his mouth. "You insensitive prick !! I was in an accident, alright?" He said as patted down at the metal on his head, the stubble around it poking his palm.  "My parents paid good money to patch me up. I'm a walking talking cyborg, now will you please shut the fuck?!"

They stared each other down for a hot minute, Wilbur sweating from trying not to laugh behind Tommy.

"Your voice is annoying," Tommy said with a smirk, only infuriating jack even more. This time Wilbur did in fact burst into laughter.

"Wilbur if you don't take this gremlin child away I'm not gonna let him live to his twenties." Jack strained through gritted teeth as Wilbur howled with a mighty roar of hysterics. 

"Just ignore him jack," the chuckling man said through his breaths. "he hasn't had his baby powder today."

Tommy immediately kicked the man in the shin, causing Wilbur to crumble to the floor more in a mixture of laughter and pain.

"For fuck sake. let's just see this stupid ass video." Tommy said as Wilbur started to collect himself.

"Yeah well, it might not be as stupid as you think?" Jack huffed as he walk to the back of the room, to which Tommy followed suit and Wilbur soon after. "Whoever broadcasted it knew what they were doing. There is no IP address, no location to follow. This video just appeared and vanished as if nothing happened."

Jack stopped in front of an illuminated computer scream, the monitor paused in the middle of a video. The man scrolled it to the beginning, and when it started playing, the sounds of distorted  noises and random images really did catch Tommy off the guard.

"Wow It really is just a bunch of images and sounds, how is this at all related to androids?" Wilbur said from behind the boy, pushing past to closely inspect the flashing light in front of his eyes, He didn't even flinch at how sporadic the flashing was, Tommy was at least glad to know he wasn't epileptic or anything.

Jack paused the video and slammed his body in the chair adjacent.  "Encoded messages. I've already started cracking some sort of code... I think. This shit is too confusing, only a robot would make something so complex."

Tommy nervously coughed behind them.

Jack swivelled the chair to face Wilbur, who was still fascinated by the paused screen in front of them, "I did already find something out however, thought it only asks more questions." He stated rather upbeat.

He quickly touched the screen, and all coding components started to project themselves like a hologram. "You see, I could tell these sounds weren't just random weird screeching, they have a pattern." He pulled at a bit of text and expanded it to show a file hologram, he placed it in a software that Wilbur or Tommy had not heard or seen before.

"So clever of me started playing with it and found that if I put it in a spectrogram," Jack explained with pride as the file started loading. "It makes this."

When the file finally loaded in, what erupted on screen was quite... Unique. It looked like a normal sound file, with its sporadic shaped lines, except it was less sporadic. In fact, it shaped words, a long string of words that made perfect running sentences.

Tommy cocked his head to the side, immediately catching the style the words were shaped in. "It's a poem?" He asked, looking to Wilbur for confirmation.

Wilbur was entranced with a smile that Tommy couldn't quite put his figure on. He kept re-reading the words over and over again in his mind with a familiarity that Tommy had not seen before. "Not just a poem, A Dream within a Dream by Edgar Allan Poe." He whispered with enthusiasm.

Tommy would have loved to have made a nerd joke because Wilbur actually knew the poem like the Emo he was. But instead, his mind focused on something, and he stilled after Wilbur finished the title. "A...d-dream?" He said quietly, feeling his fingers tremble.

Wilbur could hear the apprehension in Tommy's unusually quiet response. He wasn't stupid, the word dream obviously triggered something. Wilbur had heard it as a name that night when he saw Tommy and Ranboo talking in the park, it's most likely another friend... Or an enemy.

"Honestly, I don't think this solves anything. I think it's just there for effect." Jack said as he played around with the audio file with his fingertip. Though yes it was most likely put there intentionally, Wilbur could definitely rule out the idea of this being any clue of some kind. More like a message for someone. He didn't want to think who for.

"Yea, I'm more interested in the images, it must mean something." Wilbur flicked the side of jack's metallic head, causing the man to get a little agitated as the screen wavered from the surprise.  But he bit back his tongue and proceeded to get the full video back in full view.

It flashed past as fast as the eye could see, the screeching, though now they knew was disguising the poem, was still very much present. Jack played it on loop, and each time you could see reoccurring images flash into view. When no one was looking, Tommy tried to scan each and every image that passed, snipping them in the bud and analysing them at the moment.

Wilbur was struggling to even differentiate the images apart. He felt dizzy with it all accumulating, and he would be lying if he didn't find it all a bit too overstimulating.

"Is it really just random ?" Wilbur said as his eyes felt like they were about to spin outside of his skull.

Jack just nodded, ready to turn it off and call it a day.

Tommy finally took charge and took a step forward to the screen, cutting jack from changing the tab. "Maybe it's not as random as you think."

He paused and skipped the video to the first frame. Tommy enhanced the image, making it much better to see from its added darkness.
"The first image is a Violin," he stated and proceeded to grab a piece of paper under Jack, to which the man looked at him perplexed, and quickly jotted a big capital V.

He skipped to the next frame. "The second is the painting God the Father by Cima da Conegliano, so I'm going to go with just God." He stated, messing with the pen in hand before writing down a big G next to the other letter.

Wilbur could see what Tommy was doing, though it was a long reach for anything to come out. Wilbur leaned over the desk next to Tommy, his chin on the palm on his hands. "I didn't know you were an art expert."

"It's in my data-" Tommy deadpanned before stilling as quickly as possible. "Research. It was a study in college."

Wilbur tried his best not to laugh out loud, Tommy just covered his face in frustration and embarrassment, hoping Jack was too thick to realise what he was about to say. "Anyway! The third one is," he skipped to the next image. "Gravestones?"

Before Tommy could write the letter G, Wilbur it grabbed his shoulder. "9 gravestones to be exact."

Tommy nodded and instead wrote the number 9 next to the code.

This continued for 5 minutes, with Tommy stopping each frame to find a new image of something Cryptic hiding in the shadows. It went from being a picture of an old Target used for shooting, a Bone hidden in the dirt, an X-ray scan of someone's broken leg, a Knight standing outside of a castle and lastly (and most surprisingly suspiciously) image was just of an equals sign with a black background.

"So what if we added the first letters together, would that make a code?" Jack says as he played with a stapler that was just minding its business on the desk.

"VG9tbXk=...... got any ideas?" Tommy said carefully, scratching his head in confusion, it's certainly not a word, nor can it be jumbled up to make a word. It's obviously a code, but surprisingly enough Tommy wasn't very good with codes, it was a part of his program that was scrapped in production.

Wilbur banged his head against the table. "Literally none no." He said through a yawn.

Jack leaned back on his chair, cracking his back, Tommy could hear each section individually crack in chorus. "Welp I guess that's all we can do today. I'll spend a few more hours or days playing with any cyphers I can remember but for now, I think you guys should head out, I'll let you know if I find anything."

Wilbur stood straight, rubbing the back of his head. He could feel the bags under his eyes grow heavier by staring at the screen for the better half of an hour.

"Thanks, jack, you've been a real help." He muttered under his breath, placing a hand on Tommy's shoulder as a signal that it was their to leave.

"Don't mention it, fella," Jack yelled out with his unusually booming voice, "now get out before I deck you in the face for that time you unplugged my glasses." He switched to all seriousness.

Wilbur scoffed light heartily, "You are never going to let that go are you."

Wilbur practically pushed Tommy out of the jungle of wires and into the elevator, both of their eyes ( camera eyes ?) had to readjust to the bright yellowish light inside. Jack seemed to disappear into his surroundings, the only thing showing was his project-glasses still illuminating around his eyes. He waved until the doors shut.

Jack was an unusual fellow to Wilbur. He had known him for a while and Wilbur even played a part in his arrest way back when. It was Techno who convinced Jack to work for the precinct, using his usual charm to entice the boy in. That was the thing, jack was really young when they found him, Techno always had this belief that young people still had room for rehabilitation, which was different to Wilbur's instant mentality of a lost cause. Wilbur was still young, for fuck sake he was only 25, but he still had a lot of learning to do, because Jack was definitely a very useful asset, and a good person.

Tommy didn't speak or move next to him in the descending elevator, Wilbur almost forgot he was there. Almost.

"Hey, Tommy are you ok? You're very quiet for...." Wilbur tried to find the right words. "You."

Tommy still didn't move, he was very downcast, one could even say he looked scared.

Wilbur thought they had passed the point of Tommy needing to be scared of him. I mean they had spent a lot of time together, if Wilbur wanted to rat him out any time soon, he would have.

Still, it was very clear that Tommy still didn't trust Wilbur, at least not completely. Wilbur forgot he has something to hide, and there are sure more secrets he was keeping than just being a robot.

"Have you heard of the new Android rebellion leader?" Tommy finally spoke up, finally a bit more fidgety.

Wilbur didn't like lying. He was a brutally honest person at best, and a right fucking pretentious asshole at worse. He knew who the new leader was, he had witnessed his commands first hand. He knew what android lives meant to him and how he sent them to get slaughtered just to get the world's attention. That's at least what his followers say, Wilbur didn't believe it for a second, it must be a weird twisted form of entertainment.

But if Wilbur opened his big mouth, he might not get Tommy to let loose. Wilbur wanted more information, it was his hubris.

"I've heard of him yes..... don't know anything else though." He said through his teeth, rocking in the heels of his shoes.

Tommy hugged himself. "He's dangerous... Like serious levels of danger." He gulped as his grip tightened a bit. "He's nowhere near as empathetic as... T-Theseus."

Tommy seemed to close into himself just a little bit as he said that name, Wilbur pretended not to notice.

Tommy took a breath. "There's a reason he's not a public figure. He can get away with a lot more than anyone would care to think, even androids don't understand." He got more agitated, maybe even angry. There was a glint in his eyes that shouted resentment. "They would rather die for his cause, not even knowing if his cause is the same as theirs."

"Sounds like a charmer." Wilbur chuckled, crossing his arms with hidden discomfort.

Tommy finally looked up. "Wilbur he's hurt people." He pleaded.

Fear makes Tommy look so young, it made Wilbur's skin crawl. Fear wasn't a Tommy thing, it shouldn't be a Tommy thing. Wilbur held back his questions because Tommy wouldn't be so scared if the guy just hurts people. Maybe even worse than that. Nonetheless, Wilbur heard something completely different.

Wilbur, he hurts  me.

"Then if he hurts people we have to take him in," Wilbur said with determination, it took Tommy by surprise.

"It's not that easy," he said almost immediately, still shrouded with fear, "literally no one knows what he looks like except-..." Tommy stopped himself before he could continue, subtly reaching to cover his mouth.

"Except who Tommy?" Wilbur squinted his eyes.

Tommy avoided eye contact, his hand hovering over his lips like a mask. "T-the close circle he has around him...... they are called the SMP."

Tommy's half laboured breath caused a large amount of stillness, and if Tommy was human, Wilbur was half expecting beads of sweat to fall from his forehead with the amount of stress he was experiencing.

"They named their alliance after the country." Wilbur semi-sarcastically coughed, furrowing his brows in confusion.

Tommy looked frustrated, but somewhat understanding of the confusion. He slammed his palm Against his forehead. "No not Essempi... the SMP. The Simulated-Minds Protest... It's really dumb." He drawled, even seemingly mocking it himself.

"They are dr-...the leader's team of highly threatening androids." He continued, combing his fingers through his hair. "Even if you saw him, they would be there to cover your tracks."

So a group of dangerous mafia-like robots sending others to their deaths? To be honest, Wilbur was kind of expecting that already. I mean in that day and age, anyone was ready to follow someone who promised Utopia, but paradise was never the aim for organisations like this SMPiss or whatever. The aim was control, and even androids fighting for their lives are clinging for a shred of it.

"So..... why are you telling me this," Wilbur asked with all seriousness, all of his body and lumps surrendered to the suspense, full attention on the head of blond hair.

"Because I'm saying we need to be careful." Tommy replies with a voice that hitched like he was in pain."We need to tread lightly on things like this. We can't let them have any suspicions that we are investigating them. They have eyes everywhere!"

The elevator stopped and the creaking and shuddering of the metal box shook as the doors opened wide. Neither of them stepped out.

Tommy and Wilbur's eyes interlocked, both filled with a concoction of fear and determination. Wilbur didn't know which drove him more.

Tommy did trust him, he would have never thought he would have opened up to anyone like this when he first went undercover in a police precinct. Wilbur was different, he presented himself to be a completely incompetent police officer from the get go, but he also showed that he cared about things, whether he liked it or not. That can go a long way in their world.

Without any warning, Wilbur placed a delicate hand on Tommy's shoulder, only tightening the grip after the boy flinched in return.

Tommy forced himself to make eye contact once again, ignoring the weight of Wil's hand that was firmly grounding him.

"Information will not leave this precinct Tommy, I promise." Wilbur spoke slowly and quietly, like he was trying to cement his words in that very elevator. "We are just a Sergeant and his yellow-tailed intern. You have nothing to worry about. You are safe with me."

Wilbur knew Tommy didn't truly believe what he was saying. There was still a gargantuan boulder of terror on his back, but his eyes sparkled with the smallest amount of hope. Tommy knew his hole was too deep to climb out of, but there was still sunlight university keeping him sane.

He would never admit it, but this precinct, these new faces, Wilbur was that light, and he was sure as hell going to tell Ranboo that he had nothing to worry about.

"Thank you, Wil." He said quietly, not ashamed to linger over that eye contact.

When they were ready, they went back to their usual shenanigans. Tommy wrote his next report, going on about gossip he heard around the department, whilst Wilbur listened, doing nothing else in particular. If he didn't know any better, there was a definite weight off of Tommy's shoulder and that was enough for him.

They stayed close together for the rest of the day, yet Wilbur somehow had never felt so far away.

Chapter Text

Wilbur was bored. Again. 

He was sat at his desk,  hand firmly pressed against his cheek, surfing through various websites, mainly about anteaters. He hated anteaters.

Wilbur was sooooo bored. 

He couldn't be asked to go annoy Quackity, or talk for hours with Niki, or even discuss what to  cook later with Techno. 

Wilbur was bored of being bored. 

He absent mindedly day dreamed, mostly about fields of daffodils and daisies somewhere in the meadows of the badlands. He thought about carving a home next to the many mushrooms that sprouted in kinoko kingdom. He even thought about finding the tippy-top of the highest peak in the mountains of the Antarctic empire and Wilbur had always hated to cold.

He wished the other states would be so gracious to share their beauties, but then he also thought that l'manberg probably would kill anything natural in it's path. Wilbur was not even born when the land split into 5 states centuries ago. They decided to put the borders up, and of course Wilbur would end up in L'manberg, the ugliest. Though yes they were the most technologically advanced, they lost the privilege of blue skies and clean oceans ages ago. 

And when his mind eventually came back to the dark dingy streets of l'manberg, and how the everything felt like plastic to the touch, he thought about the bright blue eyes that now always seem to plague his mind. 

Tommy always seemed like L'manberg encapsulated into a body. With those big blue eyes as bright as every billboard and that synthetic touch that felt as natural as the fake grass and gravel under it. 

Yet tommy was also, by all reason, none of that aswell. As even thought the strands of his hair felt like one of a dolls and his gaze is always somewhat analytical, he was not NOT alive, probably more alive than Wilbur had ever felt in his whole life. 

Well that's not entirely true, Tommy reminded him of his younger self, curled up to his late mothers lap, looking at the frost creeping in from outside whilst he felt so incredibly warm. He thought that that's what Tommy must feel all the time, warmth in his tiny metal shell. 

Wilbur thought about all of the other androids aswell. Shipped out in mass production with perfect replications of you everwhere. You see your face out on billboards and working in shops whilst you're a slave to whoever bought you as someone to hold their bags. Not much of a life, Wilbur understood why they would go rogue. Seeing that everyday? If Wilbur saw another version of himself his head would explode. 

Wilbur raised his head from his palm, suddenly staring straight through his computer screen. 

He has never seen another 'Tommy model' walking on the streets. He had never seen another 'Tommy model' EVER! 

He knew Tommy was special, but he just thought that it was because of his rather unique personality for a robot. He never even realised how there are absolutely NO models of him, he would have seen them by now, he lived in the city where every type of android known to man would have some sort of advertising poster by now. 

And there is no denying that androids all look the same. He only saw the back of him, but even Wilbur could see Tommy's friend ranboo was a rather common android model that he would see as cabin crew, electricians or waiters, all because of their freakishly tall height. Wilbur had even seen Connor's face as retail workers and fast food cashiers way before he met him, granted now Wilbur can't see those lifeless glances without imagining an exaggerated blue hedgehog suit. 

But never once has seen Tommy outside of Tommy. Not once as he seen his face as any type of labour worker, bus driver, road worker or heck not even a garbage man. 

Nothing, Tommy was just Tommy. No wonder everyone thinks he's human. 

Wilbur shakily hovered his hand over his keyboard. He was in a state of denial. Maybe he was just exaggerating, maybe there are some of his own kind? Maybe he's just super rare like a trading card of something. He chuckled to himself nervously, typing out a question.

'TOMMY model ?' No results 

'Tommy innit android?' No result 

'TO-33y 14n1t android model?' No results 

No luck. 

'Blond haired kid model?' No results 

'16 year old android model? No results  

"Blue eyes and red blood in androids."

1 result. 

A large stack of papers fell into his view. Startling him to instinctively lean back. 

"There ya go!" A squawking voice bellowed behind him. 

Tommy was behind Wilbur, with his hands on his hips and a face full of pride. 

"You little shit!" Wilbur shouted back, his hand on his heart, like he was trying to calm how fast it was beating. "You scared the shit out of me!"

Tommy just openly cackled in his face, his michievious face lifting up into a proud smile. Wilbur just huffed, arms crossing as he pouted. 

Tommy leaned over his shoulder, trying to get a good read at what was on his monitor. "What were you looking at big Dubs ? Boobs and women?"

Wilbur's brains suddenly switched on and changed tabs, hoping that it was quick enough for the android not to see. "No nothing nothing!" He said in a hurry and tried to change the subject, "What even is this stuff anyway." 

Tommy immediately forgot his curiosity and started to grin from ear to ear. 

"Every single one of your case reports completed."

Wilbur forgot what he was doing aswell, "Shut up, really?" He said with his mouth hanging wide. 

"Don't hold back your applause, I know I'm great." Tommy exaggerated as he flicked back his imaginary hair. 

Wilbur stood up, hands raking through each paper, seeing the confirmation stamp on each one. "No way." 

"Yep way!" Tommy almost shouted back waving his fists around, "All signed off and ready to go!"

Tommy seemed even more excited than Wilbur did but he's always been expressive. So expressive that Wilbur could see his simulated skin crinkle unnaturally when he grins too wide. Wilbur wasn't all that great at showing what he was truly feeling, but internally Wilbur was bursting with joy and pride. 

"You fucking legend, I can't believe it." Wilbur exclaimed, pulling Tommy into a side hug, shaking him hard enough to expect to hear nuts and bolts rattling in his chest. Tommy just wheezed out a bright laugh, his cheeks turning a unnatural red. 

"What can I say, I'm the biggest man ever." He said through a smile, and Wilbur couldn't be more proud. 

Though Wilbur knew deep down that all of that work, all of those papers and report issuing, that should have all been Wilbur's job. Tommy only had to do it because if he wasn't there, it would have never been done. If it didn't remind him that he sucked at his job, he didn't know what would. But the least he could say was that he was thankful. 

Tommy slithered his way out of Wilbur's grasp, and tried to explain some sort of logic he had whilst organising each folder, Wilbur wasn't really listening. 

It's been nearly a month and half since Tommy joined the precinct, and even in that short amount of time, he had managed to worm his way into everyone's hearts. Interns are usually in the background, quietly working as to hope for a good recommendation in the future. Tommy wasn't that, he was an earthquake of noise and more, but he was so unbelievably present that it made the precinct shake with excitement. And even though before they all felt like cogs in a machine, tommy brought a sledgehammer and smashed  it all down, and it was definitely more for the better than for worse. 

"Hey Tommy? Are you doing anything tonight?" Wilbur could feel the words fall out his mouth like butter, so natural yet thick, and not the good kinda thick. 

Tommy turned around from raking his fingers through his pride and joy of paperwork, his eyes almost scanning Wilbur's face for any signs of deceit or malice. 

He grinned, "Probably talking to all my wives." He answered in his jokingly gruff voice. 

"Just answer the question, you fucking gremlin." Wilbur face palmed as he hid the grow smile on his face. 

Tommy took a second to think but with that expression on his face, Wilbur was sure that there was not a single thought behind those eyes. It made Wilbur want to get a goldfish, he had one when he was a child, maybe the trauma of it killing itself by jumping out the tank while he was asleep would have gone by now. 

"Uhh.... Probably not, why?" Tommy finally  asked with all sincerity. 

Wilbur smiled once again, "Well tonight is the precincts annual bowling nighhhhhhtt......" he prolonged.  

"Oh?" The android said with a curious grin. 

"And you've become quite the team player-"

"Oh yes I have-"

"And you have every right to be there. You are practically a full time employee." Wilbur said through Tommy's running commentary which finally made the boy stop, goldfish eyes still bright and wide. The little cogs in his brain were finally turning. 

"You're kidding." He said almost breathlessly, like Wilbur just punched his stomach leaving him windless. 

The lanky man started to sweat, "It's up to you.... But I know Tech would be happy if you're there... it'll be fun!" He said through a nervous chuckle. He doesn't know why he is so nervous, it's just an invitation to a bowling night for fuck sake, this isn't like a skydiving trip in the mountains. 

Yet at the same time, the idea of Tommy saying, 'you know what? I'm good, I've got BooRan or whatever his name is to hang out with, I don't need you'  had put a knot in Wilbur's stomach. He has always been like that from the start.

"Yeah! Ok, yeah I will !" Tommy almost shouted with so much enthusiasm it could have burst an eardrum. And just like that, Wilbur's anxiety all washed away. 

"Awesome!" He shouted back accidentally and shoved his hands into his pockets to rummage around for a piece of paper that Techno had given him an hour prior. 

He shoved the paper into Tommy's chest, "Here....the address. Be there by 7:30 and don't be late!" He said as he ruffled his hand through Tommy's still synthetic feeling hair.

"I feel like I should say that to you." The younger said though his squawking laughter. 

"I suddenly regret this."

"No you don't!"

——— 

The bright neon orange and pinks that buzzed above Wilbur's head was loud in his ear. He watched as the puddle's from that day's rain for earlier started to dissipate and how occasionally a drop suffering disrupts its calm. It was late, the sky now a misty dark blue. 

7:39.... Tommy was late. Wilbur kinda knew this was gonna happen, punctuality isn't exactly the young boy's strong suit, but he had always hoped that one day the boy would learn the meaning of time, especially when he's literally a clock built into a child's body. Today was not that day, and Wilbur was getting cold. 

People walked passed him like he wasn't there, sometimes alone, sometimes in pairs and there were occasional big crowds of kids rushing to the nearest club to see if they could sneak in. Wilbur could imagine Tommy in one of those crowd, swearing and sqwarking at the security guard for asking for his ID, only to eventually be given the boot. 

It's always loud in L'manburg city, the neon lights attract people like moths, and the endless of new entertainment buzzes around every corner. It's never a dull moment, at least to someone who was normal. 

Wilbur, frankly, would like to stay in his quiet mid-town parks, even if the plants were fake. It's the best he can get to home, or the landscapes of the badlands. Mundane is Wilbur's safe space, even if his heart was craving for adventure. 

"Wilbur!" The sounds of heavy footsteps stomping on puddles became louder and louder in his ears, sure enough a lanky figure came barrelling towards him, sloppy and rushed movement showing urgency.

"I told you to not be late !" Wilbur exclaimed, as tommy quickly approached him, not breaking a sweat or gasping for air, though he still looked tired nonetheless.

Tommy looked up at him with a deadpan look as his scanned Wilbur expression. "It's 7:40." He stated blankly. 

"Yea.... Ten minutes late is absolutely unexeptable." Wilbur stated right back at him, ruffling the blond hair despite it feeling damp and soggy like hay left in a field. 

Tommy swatted Wilbur's hand away from his head l, staring up at him with a sarcastic grin. 

"And why are you out here at 7:40?" He said in his usually mocking tone. Wilbur could feel like bright blue eyes scan him down even more, a small but cheeky grin growing on his cheeks. 

"Because I... got here at 7:35."Wilbur sighed, admitting defeat, which only result on an even bigger grin from the other. 

"You are the personification of hypocrisy."

"I will put you in a car crusher and use your parts to make a new coffee machine."

"OooooOoooh noOoOo don't!"

Wilbur grabbed Tommy's head roughly, rubbing his palm on his head, ruffling his synthetic hair all over the place. Meanwhile Tommy squealed, kicked and pushed to escape from Wilbur's grasp, to no avail. 

"Shut up and come inside," Wilbur said whilst releasing the blonds hair from his grasp. "everyone is already here."

———

The place reeked of popcorn and sugar. Everything smelt like the sweat of countless of teens that came to this an establishment during school time, every surface sticky from grimy fingers. The crashing of bins and the cheering of winners filled the room, echoed by the large establishment and the star patterned carpet looked like it hadn't be clean in nearly two decades. The whole building looked like it was from a distant time, when video games were played with joysticks, not headsets. Neon lights where placed in every corner, almost as if to conceal the cracking walls underneath, the walls were no longer genuine, probably decorated with various artwork and posters way back when, only to be hidden by the same lights from the town surrounding it. 

Wilbur could feel a headache coming in, a sharp pounding at the side of his temple building up from all of his senses attacking him. His nose scrunched up as he walked on the sticky ground. This place was suppose to be charming,  it was anything but. Techno would never have chosen this place if he didn't know any better, Wilbur knew that he wasn't given the chance to choose any another establishment. Tommy wandered around him, mouth agape. Tacky to Wilbur is treasure to Tommy. Wilbur subconsciously stood by his side, one, so the child wouldn't get lost, but two, because if any anchor left him, he would run away without a shadows of a doubt. 

"Wilbur! Tommy! Over here!"

Maybe he still had a chance to escape. 

Claiming two of the bowling lanes, which were so polished it made Wilbur's eyes hurt, were all of his coworkers joking and laughing, wearing casual outfits that Wilbur was not use to. Techno was stood, waving to get the two boy's attention. Tommy fell for it and immediately ran to the group, Wilbur felt a great sense of separation anxiety, he followed soon after.  

"Tommy !! Mi Pollito!! I didn't know you were going to be here!" When Wilbur arrived, Quackity already engulfed Tommy in a large and suffocating hug. Wilbur crossed his arms, if he hugged any harder he might let a wire get loose inside the child. 

"Big Q.... Me gusta!" Tommy shrieked, his voice muffled  inside Quackity's embrace. 

The small scarred man let out a huge hyena laugh, letting go of Tommy in the process with a big grin, "Me gusta, tommy."

Quackity took second take of Wilbur, who stood there awkwardly with his arms still firmly intertwined. His large smile faded, Wilbur could feel his heart sink to the ground. 

He remembered a time when Quackity use to smile at him. 

"Quackity." Wilbur flatly greeted . 

"Wilbur." Quackity returned with venom. 

Any wrong move and this bowling night was going to turn into a cat fight. It's not fair for the rest of the team, Wilbur buried his hatred deep, much like he buried his hands so deep into his pockets it could have broken in a hole. 

"I didn't know you became all pally pally with him." Wilbur said nodding at the boy next to Quackity, who stood there like a goldfish not even understanding the animosity these two men shared. 

Quackity scoffed, placing a hand on Tommy who beamed with glee. "Wilbur, you know you're not the only person he shadows. He works with me in the mornings sometimes."

Tommy squealed as Quackity ruffled his hair, much like Wilbur does time to time. Quackity did not break eye contact with the tall, lanky coffee addict. "You know... when you aren't there?" He spat. 

Wilbur could feel his eye twitch. He knew what game that stinky cop was playing. Quackity knew his problem with intimacy, of course he knew. He was trying to make Wilbur jealous. Jealous of what ? Of not having to listen to that squeaky robot ramble ? Instead he should thank him! he shouldn't come into work more often. Lies. Wilbur wasn't jealous, seriously, he would never be so possessive of someone. But the problem was that Quackity was teasing him, Quackity knew that Wilbur hasn't been close to anyone since him. He wasn't going to play into his manipulation. 

"Choke on a duck Q." Wilbur spat. 

"Did you mean dick?" Quackity spat back quickly with a insincere cackle.   

"I meant what I said feathers for Brains." Wilbur could feel his teeth clench, this always happens, every goddamn time. Wilbur was tired of the fight, he was done with the pain. But that man is still one of the only people that can make his feelings feel raw. He doesn't know why he still fights. Quackity opened his large weasel mouth, but before he could utter a word, Techno's large frame stood between the two. 

"Wilbur stop arguing with Quackity already." Techno faced his brother, his expression both still and warning. Wilbur and Techno were the same height as each other, being twins does that two brothers. But with Techno's large build compared to the Wilbur's shrivelled shape, it made the former seem 10 feet tall. Wilbur stepped back, feeling Techno's warning face. But it didn't stay long, as the pink haired man quickly turned around with a subtle smile plastered on his face. 

"Tommy, how have you been?" He tried to say with his hand outstretched, pretending that whole fight didn't occur. Tommy, still being as naive as ever, simply grinned awkwardly. 

"Good! Thank you for letting me be here." He stuttered, on the verge of sweating if he could. Quackity snaked away behind him going back to sit down with the others. 

Techno returned the awkwardness with a small chuckle. "No no don't mention it, I'm glad you are here! You are part of the team now, I want to make you feel welcomed."

Wilbur looked over his brothers shoulder, trying to get a glimpse of the conversation. He could see the shock in the android's face. Tommy's chaotic energy quietly died down, trying to hide the fact that he was playing with his fingers by picking at his fingernails. He was flustered. 

"I'm just an intern." He spoke, trying to dumb down what techno said, as if it was a desperate to separate himself. Wilbur looked at Everyone else who were semi-listening in to the conversation. No one else could see it, hell he didn't even think Techno could see it. But Wilbur did, Wilbur always saw it.

"You are more than just an intern kid." Techno huffed, placing his hand on the kid's shoulder. Tommy stiffens at first but then relaxes when he sees Techno's expression. Pride, Wilbur could tell it was pride. Tommy smiled back, a subtle but genuine smile, Wilbur didn't know that was possible. 

"Here, let me introduce you to someone." Techno coughed, pulling Tommy in gently and brought him closer to the rest of the group, who stopped their conversations. 

Techno brought Tommy to a woman sat closest to the bowling ball dispenser, who was laughing away with Jack next to her. Tommy noted how her hair was split in the middle with a cream white on one side and a deep Rich brown on the other, it reminded him of a close friend. When she turned Tommy noted the freckles all speckling all over her face, like a constellation rich with humanity. Her face was kind and soft, but her hands seemed to have been places, it cemented her as someone of upmost importance, as she has seen and done everything. Lastly, her eyes were as soft as her features, baby blues and all, but when Tommy was able to see all of her profile, he saw her right eye replaced with a bright yellow one, with the pupil straight horizontal as a line, like a ram or sheep. It didn't take a genius to know that she wasn't born like that. 

Techno coughed, his hand still delicately rested on his shoulder, "This is Captain Puffy, she is the chief of police in L'manberg."

Tommy quickly did a double take. Oh fuck, the chief of police? He was going to start sweating Sanguis at this point.

The captain let out a heartily laugh, positioning her body to give them both her full attention, "Just Puffy is fine. Hello Tommy, it's nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

Tommy's jaw nearly fell down to the floor. Eyeing the two brothers as Wilbur slowly approached the conversation. 

"All good things I promise!" She chuckled, smiling brightly at the new trio, her eyes fell on Wilbur and Techno respectively, her face warming up at their presence, almost motherly....almost, "Techno and Wilbur have taken a liking to you."

Tommy could feel the two men squirm next to them, almost flustered, Techno quickly removed his hand off Tommy's shoulder. The young boy looked at them, and he could tell they were both in a state of denial. Wilbur looked the most nervous, it was kind of endearing to see, that tough and rough persona gone for a split second, Tommy couldn't help but smile . 

"That's a bit weird champ." He said through his cheeky grin, Wilbur made eye contact and scowled, hiding his chest by crossing his arms. 

"I hate you and your made up language."Wilbur spat, trying to hide his disgusted smile on his face.

Tommy squealed with laughter whilst Techno's hand slid off his shoulder. Puffy smiled widely and Wilbur could feel her kind eyes scan him for a sec. She's always had been very close with the twins, when things got tough at first, during the days of them both starting off as new and impressionable officers and she was just their Sergeant, she was their emergency contact when the two were over their head. They didn't need her that much anymore, but she was sure she was still at the top of their contact list. She was always happy to help, but it made her solemn some days,    She knew it's been hard for them both since their only support went away… since he left. 

"Anyhoo!" She quickly changed her thoughts, returning her gaze on the intern, "I hope you have a great time, this place use to be my favourite hangout spot before they tried to modernise it. I'm sure you've met Jack." She said with a smile, inviting the man on her side who was preoccupied with shoving greasy fries into his mouth until he heard his name. 

Tommy laughed nervously, extending his hand even more awkwardly than before. "Jack !! It's good to see you again!" He said through a forced smile. 

Jack narrowed his eyes looking intensely into Tommy's eyes with despite. It didn't stop him from shoving even more fries down his half-robot gullet. 

"If you make one comment about my head, I'll Yeet you like one of these bowling balls." He pointed his greasy finger up at the boy, scowling, and all the boy could do was quiet down his awkward laugh, clearly embarrassed. 

"Noted."

Wilbur couldn't help was giggle behind him, despite everything it seems everyone just gravitates to him. He can be friends with everyone without breaking a sweat. Wilbur was kinda of jealous of that, every interaction he has with another human-being feels like it's draining his life force. But Tommy isn't a human being is he? I guess he can get away with it. 

Techno clapped his hands enthusiastically, "Ok, I think everyone is here !! Are we ready to get started ?!" He said loudly, looking around at the group. 

There was a small roar of excitement, and Wilbur and Tommy watched as they each start crowding around the machine, setting up for the match. They both didn't really know what to do with themselves, one being a robot and the other being an antisocial pessimist. Nonetheless, they joined and started entering their names off the board. 

The blade, Big Q's choice of name not Techno’s, was the first to go, and of course it was the most perfectly executed Strike imaginable. Tommy had his mouth wide open whilst everyone booed as they knew exactly who was gonna win the game... again. 

Cpt.Puff’s, also another one of Quackity's creations, go was next. She swung as hard as should could, and almost broke the lane at how hard the ball fell. No wonder she was the Chief of Police, nonetheless she scored a solid 8 at first, and then immediately scored a perfect spare. 

MANLYfold, jack chose his own name, preceded to talk a big game, doing stretches and a runner up before throwing, and then get the bowling ball in ditch on both of his attempts, he stayed quiet for the rest of the night. 

Tommy and Wilbur both played half heartedly, not without any enjoyment. Tommy knew that if he played at the best of his abilities, he'd score a perfect score, and though some people were doing well, he would be doing too well for someone his age. Therefore, to avoid any questions, he just played as anyone else would. 

Wilbur on the other hand, knew he sucked at bowling, so he gave up trying it his all during his turns and preferred to just sit  and observed, as he passively sucked on a slushy Techno so lovingly forced into his hand. 

Wilbur watched on the side lines, watching the people he knew for so long scored and celebrated at their momentary bliss. Wilbur remembered a time when he would celebrate with them, but alas he had lost the will to cheer, he just kind of  stayed there, watching, as if on the other side of a thin glass. 

And then entered Tommy, so new in so many ways. He stuck out like a sore thumb, and it was like no one else saw it. That synthetic wig like hair, those bright blue eyes with way too small pupils, the heaviness of his walk. They saw none of it, but Wilbur saw it all. His life has changed so much since they met. He didn't know what Tommy had planned, but Wilbur knew he had excepted the fact that he might never know. At that moment, the waters were calm, that's all Wilbur ever wanted. 

It was Tommy's turn yet again and he attempted to look like he was struggling with his positioning. He had a mischievous look in his eyes, if everyone else was giving it his all, he could indulge in a bit of showing of just a little bit. He threw the ball, and hit an incredible strike, leading to the uproar of his peers, cheering for him as he looked surprised at his accomplishments. Wilbur smiled to himself looking down at his drink. If Tommy could indulge in a bit of competition, he guessed that he could indulged in a bit of fun. 

Suddenly tommy appeared right in-front of him, "You aren't being very talkative." Tommy showed up practically falling on Wilbur's side with excitement, "Cat got your tongue?" 

Wilbur scoffed and pushed the young android off his shoulder with a smirk. "For once no.... Just taking a mental picture." He said through a smile, looking towards his brother who didn't have those tense shoulders on guard for once. Though he didn't want to admit it, he enjoyed seeing everyone relax for a bit. 

"I can legitimately take a picture if you want." Tommy whispered next to him, a cheeky grin plastered across his face. 

"You cocky little shit." Wilbur shouted whilst rough-housing the boy’s blond hair, pushing his head away aggressively. 

Tommy squawked as usual, struggling to remove Wilbur’s scrawny hands off his head. He kicked him on the shin, causing the taller man to let go and feign an injury. Tommy just laughed at Wilbur’s fake cries. 

"And why have you decided to join me in the antisocial corner, huh?" He said through fake critted teeth, he leaned back pretending to breath out the pain. 

Tommy’s chuckles subsided, as he leaned back like Wilbur did, he rested his head on the headboard of the old diner-like seats. "I didn't want you to be alone, you're the one who invited me."

Wilbur paused and looked at Tommy’s sincerity. He couldn’t help but feel a little bit touched, as much as Wilbur could in all honest opinion. 

"You're like a puppy arent you ? You just keep following me around everywhere." Wilbur chuckled under his breath, trying to play it off as a joke. Tommy smiled and saw Wilbur’s hesitation, he played along with Wilbur’s delusions. 

"For as you know I am an independent boy who don't need no man thank you very much." Tommy said as he crossed his arms, earning a small laugh from Wilbur. 

They stayed like that for a moment, but only for a moment. The others still celebrating each others small victories behind them as Techno yet again scored another strike. In that small amount of quiet between them, Wilbur pondered at how things would have felt if Tommy wasn’t there. Maybe like every other year, he would have sat in the so-called anti-social corner alone, fake smiling everytime Techno was reminded of his presence and checked on him. He was in so much denial it almost become like a drug. Of course Tommy coming into his life has changed it for the better, but he was a weak man, and only the strong can admit their true thoughts. 

"You know, I still don't understand why you became an intern with us, I don't understand what you are planning." Wilbur said, rolling his head to face the robot child, who was looking at the ceiling before making eye contact, a strange confused expression plastered on his face. 

 Wilbur smiled to himself, listening to the sounds of his friends, the sounds of strangers, his own breath."But I'm glad you did... you're a good friend Tommy." He finally admitted, he felt like a weight was lifted off his chest. 

Wilbur could hear Tommy nervously shuffle his way to sit up, he looked …. Guilt ridden."Wilbur I-" he didn’t have enough time to process Tommy’s reaction, because it all came to a hault.

"Tommy?" A voice interrupted, and suddenly the world turned cold. Tommy froze in fear. 

Wilbur slowly looked up, his neck creaking as he turned his head towards the new figure. He saw a man. A man with regular looking dirty blond hair, green eyes and a smile. He wore a casual green hoodie over his slender but small body but he bent over the duo like he was 7 feet tall. There was something about him that sent shivers down Wilbur’s spine. Those glassy eyes weren’t filled with any emotion that he recognised, and that smile was too large to be genuine. The man was staring right through them, staring into their soul like he was looking from a magnifying glass. It felt like a dark cloud was looming above them. 

"Tommy what are you doing here?" The man said in a calm but cold voice, trying to feign worry in his tone. Wilbur once again looked at the boy in question, his whole world feeling like slow motion as the boy was frozen solid, his eyes wide and unmoving. His cyan eyes were glowing uncontrollably, his fear clouding his better judgement. Tommy just stared up at the man, his lip quivering with words he couldn’t say. Something was wrong, Wilbur knew something was wrong. 

"Dream I-" no words could leave his mouth, the man… Dream…….. dream….didn’t change his expression. "What are you-"

Dream quickly interrupted, "George and sap told me you didn't come home today, I went out looking for you."

His eyes suddenly shifted to Wilbur, sending even more shivers down his spine, "Who's your friend?"

Wilbur didn’t like how this guy was looking at him, almost judging, calculated and … threatening. He gulped under the gaze of those unmoving frozen eyes. 

That’s when it was clear that Tommy awakened from his fear paralysis, rather than just staring in shock. He went from a dear in headlights to visually upset. "No one, don't-"

"I don't think we've met. I'm Dream," the man introduced, leaning down a bit lower to get at their sitting level. He slowly extended his hand out, acting as a warm and friendly greeting, it was anything but.  "I’m his caretaker." 

Wilbur couldn’t even process sound at this point, he didn’t even know if sound around was even being made, the world fell silent and all he knew was Tommy’s shaking figure next to him, and the man with a wide smile. 

"His-" he couldn’t even process words, all Wilbur could do was look at Tommy, who was staring at the ground. His caretaker? That’s a lie, Tommy didn’t need a caretaker if he is an android. Wilbur felt a chill on his shoulders. Does that mean this guy knew he was an android aswell? You would think that knowing that someone else knew Tommy’s secret would be kind of relieving, but truth be told Wilbur felt more isolated than ever. Who is this guy?

Wilbur looked towards Tommy once again. If robots could have panic attacks, it looked like Tommy was about to go through 8 of them. This guy was not what he claimed, and Wilbur knew something needed to be done. He needed to run, he needed to get him out of there, he needed make sure Tommy was safe-

"Is everything ok over here?" Techno’s voice rung in his head, he sharply looked up, to which his brother had an suspicious but unimpressed look across his face, he held a half melted slushy in his hand. Dream stood up straight again, not even making eye contact to the newcomer of this very uncomfortable scene. 

"Oh you have a whole party? Why didn't you tell me this Tommy?" Dream cocked his head to the side unnaturally. From knowing Tommy, Wilbur was sure this… this thing, was a bot, he looked so human but his mannerisms were not, and the way his eyes did not blink nor his smile change screamed Android.

"Uhhhh well, ello, my names Techno and-" The pink haired lieutenant tried, emphasis on tired, to act normal, he swivelled on his heels like an awkward teenager at a family gathering. But this Dream guy was having none of it, he seized the conversation as soon as he opened his mouth. 

"Mhm that's great. Tommy! I think it time to go home now, right?" He said in a passive aggressive tone, a tone that Wilbur very much didn’t like. 

Wilbur finally had the courage to stand up, as per usual he was way taller than this unwelcome guest. "Tommy is with his friends, he is more than capable to-" 

It was at that moment when Tommy finally stood up next to Wilbur, and slowly walked to Dream’s side, like a soldier marching to his doom. 

"Tommy?" Wilbur called out in a soft tone, almost like a person trying to lure in a stray kitten. Tommy didn’t even look up, his hair covered his eyes as Dream put an oppressive hand on the boy’s shoulder. It wasn’t like the way Techno or Wilbur did it, not in the slightest, that hand was controlling and possessive. Wilbur was holding everything back not to rip it off that shoulder. 

"We'll be seeing you." Dream said with a final smile, his eyes finally shutting to highlight his twisted grin. Tommy did not say anything, did not look up once, did not signal for help in the slightest. It was like he was a toy that had a set of instructions to follow. When Dream led him to the exit, he did just that, with no emotion or personality shining through. Wilbur watched in fear, as they were about to leave through those old rackety doors, Tommy finally turned his head slightly, those bright cyan eyes connecting with his dark misty brown ones with sorrow. It wasn’t a call for help…. It was an apology. 

‘I’m sorry.’

Wilbur never felt so paralysed in his whole entire life. He felt a bubbling of emotions rising in him and all it told him was to take just a single step, but he just couldn’t. Why couldn’t he ?  He’s a policemen, he’s a Sergeant. Theoretically it is him that should take that single step into danger. But the truth was that in that single moment, it was like he forgot how to even walk. 

He should save him. He has to save him. 

Wilbur felt a hand on his shoulder, which suddenly woke him up from his nightmare. He knew exactly who’s hand it was, and he could feel himself trembling. 

"Techno he didn't look ok, I need to-" he tried to spur out, but Techno was quick in his response. 

"You don't need to do anything Wilbur. That's his guardian. It's out of our hands."

"But he-"

"Wilbur, stop." Techno finalised. 

Wilbur couldn’t even look back, he didn’t need to. He didn’t need to see his coworkers either still playing their silly little game, oblivious to the danger at hand, or their confused and worried faces. He didn’t need to see if Techno was equally as shaken, or as stoic as ever. He didn’t need to see a bowling game in a shitty bowling joint… without Tommy. 

He took a breath. Whatever that was…. Whatever dream maybe. 

He was definitely a threat. 

Chapter Text

"GODDAMN IT !"

Wilbur slammed his head against his desk.

His neck straining at his frustrated resting position. 

"Still nothing ?" Niki swivelled her seat to face him, still tearing apart a small cupcake she baked that morning. 

"Nope." He sighed, raking his fingers through his hair whilst still cementing his forehead on the cold surface. 

It was the end of the day, plenty of officers were packing up their things for the day and in the back there were a couple of cheers, as a group of the police lads starting heading towards the nearest bar. Wilbur and Niki were still firmly placed into there seats, and Wilbur wanted to wait until the very end of the day, hoping to see a familiar annoying robot. 

It’s became a habit of his to absolutely destroy his forehead against cold surfaces since Tommy decided to not show his face for four days. On those four mornings he waited eagerly for any sign of his intern, hoping that he would just casually waltz in pretending nothing had happened. Wilbur settled with even a single text, just to let Wilbur know that he was ok. But Tommy was radio silent, and it made Wilbur worried. 

Niki sighed, looking back at her monitor with a guilty look on her face, "I'm sure he's ok Will, maybe he's just grounded or something." She dismissed carefully. 

Wilbur, who had his head too far into the clouds, just sighed, "Yeah that's kinda what I'm dreading."

His encounter with Dream was…. Something. He only heard his name once, in passing conversation with Tommy and that Rogue android Connor, but he already knew that his man was a threat. So when Dream out reached his hand and introduced himself to him, it was like Wilbur’s blood had ran cold. He thought he’d have time to at least theorise who this mysterious figure was, but instead the man just showed up, and made himself the enemy before even throwing a punch. 

Wilbur hated him, he absolutely hated him. He didn’t think that such a small figure could leave such an impact, and make him feel small. 

Most of all he was worried about Tommy. He didn’t know what Dream was capable of, he didn’t know if Tommy was truly safe to go with him that night. Truth was he didn’t know anything, and that scared Wilbur beyond any shadows of a doubt. He was terrified of the unknown, and there was so much unknown when it came to Tommy… and now also Dream. 

"He's a lot tougher than you think you know." Niki said, breaking Wilbur out of his trance. She spoke with such conviction, almost like she knew exactly what she was talking about, like she knew where Tommy was in that exact moment. It was amazing, how Niki knew so much and Wilbur knew so little. 

He chuckled semi-sarcastically, pushing his thick fringe out of his face, "Please Niki don't worry about me. It'll be fine if he just responded to his damn phone."

Niki smiled as she slowly started to pack the rest of her things into her bag, "Well... would you like to come over for after work coffee? I have your favourite blend! I can make cookies." She attempted to reach out a welcoming hand. 

But Wilbur resisted. "I appreciate it Niki, I really do, but not today. Maybe next time ?"

Niki wasn’t entirely surprised, this happened every time she tried to work her way into Wilbur’s life, she didn’t understand how Tommy could do it. Wilbur looked at the ceiling with a moping look in his eye’s and she knew that there was no way to break his spirit when he was like that. Wilbur may be a lazy ass once and a while, but when his mind was focused on something, it consumed him. 

She light-heartedly sighed, a defeated look on her face, "Well , I'm heading out in that case. Look after yourself Wilbur." 

Wilbur looked up from his shrunken state and watched Niki stand from her chair, all of her things ready and packed. He interlocked eyes with her, and she flashed a kind but tired smile. She waved goodbye and off she went, now making the precinct cold and empty. 

Wilbur felt guilty for rejecting Niki’s offer, it wasn’t like he didn’t want to hang out with her, not at all, he longed for the times when he use to go to the various parks with her, drinking coffee and eating her baked goods during their breaks and mornings. Niki joined the precinct after Wilbur did, very similar to Tommy, she waltzed in and made it her home. She become one with the family on her first day, as soon as everyone everyone’s lips even grazed her famous strawberry cupcakes. 

Wilbur smiled at the memory, but felt his cheeks fall as soon as the thought left his head. He use to be so young, so enthralled in his work, and he didn’t realise how numb he he started to feel in recent years. He would have blamed it on the death of Theseus, when all hope was lost in L’Manberg, but even he knew that his apprehension started way before that. When did he lose his spark? When did he lose the ability to care ? 

But he didn’t, he knew deep down he never lost any of them. They just laid dormant… until Tommy arrived. 

He heard a ping on his phone, and Wilbur frowned thinking it was Techno begging him to come home like he had been doing for the past few days. He lifted his head from his desk, finally leaning his back against his old leather seat that he had been glued to. 

He thought about his argument he had with Techno after they left the bowling hall, how Techno stayed quiet and nonchalant about the whole thing, and Wilbur was seething with worry and rage. When they got home, it become a whole screaming match between the two brothers. 

“It’s our job to help people in need and all you did was watch!”

“Wilbur there was nothing that could be done!”

“What ? Like when you watched Dad leave ?!”

“DON’T YOU DARE SAY THAT WILBUR, THAT WAS YOUR FAULT!!” 

…. He didn’t like thinking about that night. 

Wilbur slammed his hand against his face. When will this nightmare end, why won’t Tommy even message him back ? He just needs to know he’s ok, that’s all he needs. 

He looked down at the phone through the cracked between his fingers. 

… fuck it. 

Wilbur grabbed his phone and quickly went to  Tommy’s messages, trying to ignore the hundreds of messages he had already attempted to send. His fingers shakily typed out the one word he needed. 

Wilbur:  pier? 

He placed his phone down. His leg bouncing all over the place. This was it, if he didn’t reply in 5 minutes, he would give up, and wait for that robot piece of shit to show his face someday or not. 

He sighed, feeling stupid. He was ready to throw in the towel right there and then until. 

Tommy:  8pm. 

Wilbur quickly looked at the clock. 7:45. 

He ran out of the precinct without even turning off the lights. 

———

His eyes caught sight of a figure at the end of the nearest pier and this time he knew why his body told him to stop.

Just like the night that Theseus died, the icy winds from the sea smacked Wilbur’s head as he stepped out of the car, however, Wilbur had no intention of getting back into the car any time soon. 

He felt the water in his eyes freeze, his body shiver on impact, his lips slightly quivering in fear. 

Deja-vu, the night that started everything, happening all over again. This time he knew what he had to do, rather than walking aimlessly into fate. He had one chance, and he wasn’t going to waste it. 

He locked the police car and before he knew it, he  ran, his feet hitting the old creaking wooden floorboards beneath him. Even if they broke under his weight, he didn’t care. It was like every time his legs leaped, Tommy got further and further away, like those dreams when you can’t move. But he pushed past it, even if the cold air hurt his lungs, he probably should have started bringing his asthma pump to work more often. 

Before he knew it, he was stood behind the boy. His Cyan eyes illuminating the air around him like before, his synthetic hair flowing in the wind, standing perfectly still like a statue. He was wearing his signature red and white t-shirt, but this time with white king sleeve underneath, he didn’t want to think about what that meant. Last time, he hated that he saw an Android, this time he longed for it. 

Nether of them uttered a word for moments on end, but they both knew they were both revelling in each other’s presence. After such a dramatic exit at the bowling alley, this felt like ripping open a sore wound. 

It was Wilbur who picked at it first. 

"So you gonna explain anything ?! Or are you gonna stand there all night like some statue?" He asked through bated breath. Nether of them moved.

Wilbur felt hurt, he felt like he had no control, he wanted to reach out but he couldn’t, he didn’t know how to. What did Wilbur want ? For Tommy to cry and beg to save him? To shout and tell the man to go away? To stay silent? He didn’t want anything like that at all, he just wanted Tommy to respond. 

He took a painful breath, the cold wind stinging his lungs, "Talk to me, what's going on." He pleaded for any reaction. 

"I can't." Tommy spat out, finally revealing his scratchy tired voice. Wilbur wasted no time responding back. 

"Why?” He called out. 

"I just... can't." Tommy responded with more sorrow in his voice, if Wilbur didn’t know any better, he would have thought he was shaking. 

"You know what ? ‘Can't’ isn't a good enough excuse.” Wilbur stepped closer, finally feeling a bit of anger boil in his blood. “I know that you have our own thing going on but for fuck sake wether you like it or not I'm a part of this now-" 

"That's what I'm trying to stop !!" Tommy screamed, finally revealing his sad glowing Cyan eyes as he looked behind with anguish. Bright cyan tears were flowing down his cheeks, they lit up his skin as they trickled down his synthetic skin. Wilbur didn’t even know that was possible, another cruel discovery he found about androids. 

Tommy’s face was scrunched with fear and sorrow, his lip quivering only slightly as he starred at the man with pain. Tommy was in pain. 

Wilbur was left speechless yet again, which resulted on the two broken boys staring down the other, not knowing what to do. 

Tommy scoffed and turned back around, looking back at the sea below him. His hair was going crazy in the heavy wind around them. Tommy was leaning a bit too close to the rail. 

"Hey what are you doing?" Wilbur stammered, and before he knew it, Tommy had climbed on the unstable rail, standing on it with perfect balance. 

"Tommy get down that's an order!" Wilbur felt his heart drop, and just like last time, felt his hand itch towards his phone, ready to call Techno in any second. 

The young boy didn’t move, just stared into the empty void of the dark cold ocean. 

"I am your superior, and I'm ordering you to get down!" Wilbur screamed, his phone finally in his hand. 

Tommy finally turned his head around and acknowledged Wilbur’s cries, "Why do you care? It's not like the fall will hurt me." He said in a mocking manner. 

"I think we've already established that it would, but that's not the point just get down!” Wilbur continued, lowing his phone now that Tommy was now communicating. It was the time to get angry, he just needed Tommy to get down as quickly as possible. 

The young boy scoffed and swivelled his whole body to face him. He seemed to calm down for only a second, looking down at the old creaking frame, he seemed to laugh at the pathetic wooden structure. 

"It's more the water that could do worse, a limb could fall off." He said semi-jokingly, testing the frame by giving it a couple of stomps where he stood, Wilbur was frozen stiff with fear.  

"Get down Tommy!" He begged, taking a wimpy step closer. Tommy may be talking but that didn’t mean he had stopped ignoring Wilbur. 

"It isn't a small pier,” he continued, a twisted small smile on his lips. “but I would say we are about 20 meters above the water,. If I fall, it would cause some serious damage. Clog up all my components, I bet you it wouldn't take to long to rust."

Wilbur could feel bile rise in his throat but he pushed it back down. He wasn’t listening, he was in complete self destruct mode, if the boy even had a mode like that. 

What had happened between back then at the bowling alley, when he was joking and laughing like a normal human, to now, feeling more robotic and analytical than he ever had. Wilbur half hoped it was the Pier’s control, maybe something here changes his coding. But he knew that wasn’t true. It was Dream, it was always Dream. 

"Why are you doing this, where has this come from?" He asked his voice no longer projecting like before. He just didn’t understand, he couldn’t understand. Tommy’s face twisted into a satisfied but ever so malicious smile. 

"Because I am trying to drill something into you." Tommy tried to say with spite, finally replying back to Wilbur. Though Tommy would have liked to have sounded more hateful, the truth was that he was equally as scared as the human in front of him. 

The air around them stilled, and it was like the ice held back from it’s own hateful rage to lend Tommy it’s fury, but all the boy could do was keep it inside, like he had been doing for so long already. 

Their eyes interlocked, both has terror encapsulated in their pupils and both tried to save face. 

"Wilbur,” Tommy said without breaking eye contact. “we do not share the same flesh. Even if the fall could hurt me, the reality is that I can get up again. I am an unmovable machine. You'd snap in seconds.” He spat at the man below him. Though Tommy had the height advantage by standing on the rail,  Wilbur never felt so small, Tommy’s words were higher than his figure.  

“But humans can swim and all I'll ever be able to do is sink. Androids might be superior in every way possible in your eyes, but the things you can do, I can't even imagine of trying."

Tommy looked like he was in pain, serious pain. Wilbur could sense there was never true hatred, not once since he arrived. But Tommy was trying to push away with broken wrists, Wilbur could see through his teenage angst from where he stood, could see all the pressure that he kept bottled inside trying to burst out. Wilbur, even though he knew better than anyone else, still had no idea what was going on inside that rather large blond head. He wasn’t trying to fix Tommy, he just wanted to be there for Tommy. 

Maybe being there for Tommy is by letting him vent that frustration out on him. 

Those cyan tears became more prevalent after that, they fell like Tommy would have fallen off the pier, it was like his irises were pouring out, the colour draining from a forever regenerative source. 

 Tommy’s face twisted into desperation, "Don't think you have any idea what I'm fight against."

Wilbur understood. 

He didn't know, he would never know. Even if all the mysteries were revealed at any given time, if he knew all the twist and turns in that androids life, he would never know what Tommy was fighting.

He related. He thought about Techno, and how he always expected Wilbur to be like him. His brother had all the best intentions and it wasn’t like Wilbur was doing it out of spite. Techno just didn’t know what Wilbur’s battles were, just like Wilbur didn’t know Techno’s… and now he didn’t know Tommy’s. 

What can you say to the fallen? How can you stop someone from falling mid flight? Wilbur was only … human, he didn’t have all the answers. It was like he had forgotten the barrier between them both, it was much higher than he had thought. 

"Tommy I-..." Wilbur stuttered. The world’s noise slowly came back around them, that artic wind now louder and stronger, yet neither of them moved.

Tommy had said all he needed to say, he didn’t even have the energy to be angry anymore. 

Wilbur saw the solemn fragile body in-front and couldn’t help but feel his guts twist, he just needed to confirm one more thing. One more answer before giving the boy a rest. 

"Dream is not a good guy is he." He said, the statement rolling of his tongue in a serious tone. He took a step closer to the edge. 

Tommy could only shake his head. 

The sergeant shivered, "He's not your caretaker either."  He took another step.

"No.... Not in the way you think." Tommy replied instantly, again looking into Wilbur’s eyes as he was getting closer. Tommy no longer looked at him with artificial hatred, just sadness.

Wilbur now at arms length, looking up at the boy on the rail with determination licked across his face. "Who is he?”

Tommy paused, looked down at the ground like he was searching for the right words to say, like he didn't even know that answer. 

The world stood still,  but it still howled it’s mighty wind. 

Wilbur searched for any sign of communication, he didn’t let his eyes travel anywhere else, he didn’t care if on the untrained eye it was creepy, he just needed to know his friend was ok. 

Tommy looked back up, his eyes were more dull than before, finally finding the right words. 

"Someone I'm not ready to fight against."

Wilbur’s breathing hitched. For the first time in a long time, he had to hold back his tears.

"Ok.... That's ok, you don't have to." He rasped like all of the air was sucked out of his lungs. The boy stood still over him, his feet still deeply rooted on the board of the rail. He looked down, his face filled with denial, his expression said it all. He knew that Wilbur’s words were genuine, but he knew he couldn’t listen. Wilbur could tell that the boy had the world on his shoulder’s and all of that pressure and misery came from one little thing. 

Tommy had to stop dream. 

Wilbur didn’t believe in destiny, but he believed in Tommy, and he knew that Tommy couldn’t feign any emotions that even so touch his heart. That young android had to be the end of the scariest man that Wilbur had ever met. 

And Wilbur couldn’t find it in himself to protest. 

"Not yet, you have time." Wilbur squeaked. He finally reaching out, making contact with the boy, he softly held onto his forearms for comfort. tommy was as cold as ice, and Wilbur felt scared that if he stayed out any longer, all of Sanguis would freeze inside him.

Tommy looked down at the man’s hands, and watched how he slowly rubbed his thumb against his skin, as if he was trying to warm up the body with his natural body heat. 

"Tommy i have no clue what's going on with you…and…and I can't promise I'm not going to look for answers but please, let me at least.... be there for you." The older man finally said in a confident tone, he felt like that was the only thing he was confident on. 

Tommy didn’t agree, didn’t shout, didn’t move a robot muscle at all. But he didn’t say no, and that’s all Wilbur needed and wanted. He finally smiled for the first time this evening. 

He slightly held on a little tighter, "It's getting cold, I can feel pieces of ice smack my forehead." He spoke calmly as he urged for Tommy to get down. 

But Wilbur had learnt from his mistakes, and realised he needed to let Tommy get down on his own. 

He let go, and watched Tommy’s eyes faulter from the lack of contact, maybe he did feel the  cold. Wilbur stepped back, and watched how Tommy’s eyes went from being that cold emotionless robot to just Tommy. He was always a clingy bastard. 

Wilbur smiled,  "You not coming ?"

The young boy thought for a moment, looking down at his forearms. "I'm not ready to go back there."

"You can come back to my place if you like? we have a very lovely couch that has your name all over it." Wilbur expressed.

"Have you forgotten I'm an android?” Tommy’s big cyan eyes looked into Wilbur, looking like a puppy about to be adopted it. 

The older man smirked. "Never...."

And finally Wilbur found the courage to reach his hand out. 

"Get down tommy. We don't have to be in the cold."

the young boy stepped down.

Chapter Text

"Wilbur?"

"Yea."

"There is a kid on our couch."

"I know."

"Tommy is on our couch."

"Yea, I know."

Techno stared at the living room with a fresh pot of coffee in his hand. He had just woken up, the sleep still holding the skin around his eyes, subtle blurry vision still consuming his vision.

There on the couch was a child curled up in a ball, a flimsy blanket tossed over his small frame. Tommy looked like he hadn't moved for a while, Techno could already see the child sized dent under him. He was still like a rock, he couldn't even tell if he was breathing.

Techno whipped his head towards Wilbur, who was sloppily eating his toast at the pristine countertop, Techno could feel fear and anger bubble onto his face. He hated feeling angry, he was told that he turns into a perfect shade of pink, almost blending into his hair.

"Oh, if you're so great at knowing things, how about giving a shot at explaining." He said through gritted teeth, pointing at the sleeping body.

Wilbur yawned and shoved more of the toast in his mouth, "Jeez Tech it's a bit early, isn't it? Can't I have coffee first?" He spoke with his mouth half full.

Techno would throttle him if he wasn't his brother, and even at this point the bloodline would not be able save him.

"Wilbur our underaged intern is on our couch, sleeping in wet clothes in our living room. If you don't tell me why he is here right this instant, I'm gonna file for kidnap charges." The Lieutenant hissed, walking up the Wilbur and standing over the sitting sleepy man.

Wilbur interlocked eyes with his pink haired brother, slowly shoving more of his breakfast in his mouth. Techno was screaming internally, waiting from his brother to stop being so stubborn and actually cooperate on something really important. Techno could see his brother hesitate as he chewed, trying to think of the right words to say.

For people that share the same face, you would think Techno would be able to read Wilbur's face, but he hasn't been able to do that for a long time.

Wilbur swallowed and settled, "He needed a place to stay."

Techno pulled back; Wilbur sounded serious. But he always sounded serious when it came to Tommy. He took a step back to fully absorb his brother, to see if he could read anything of what he meant, to read 'in between the lines' as some may say. Still, nothing.

"Is that it?" He asked, speaking with less frustration as before.

Wilbur put his last bit of toast back onto the plate with a huff, "Yes that's it. That's literally it. I found him by the pier, he looked like he needed a place to stay."

Now it was Wilbur who was getting overwhelmed, more than Techno would have ever expected from him simply asking why there was a literal child on their couch.

Techno finally managed to read through the lines this time, 'drop it'.

Techno rubbed his eye bags with a grunt and slowly moved up to combing through his hair, "He's not even scheduled to come in today, what's your plan now? Mister know it all."

Techno finally decided to sit down across from Wilbur, grabbing a slice of toast from his plate he made before discovering the boy.

He tried to take a bite,

"He could stay here." Wilbur interrupted, looking up with hope.

Techno dropped his already cold toast.

"Like hell he can stay here!" He hissed once again, getting a headache from the weird pacing of their conversation.

The hope in Wilbur's eyes diminished, and he looked at his brother with utter disappointment, and disgust. The groggy man started to poke at his half-eaten bread, making shapes in the jam so he could avoid making eye contact. He looked so bitter, and Techno felt a sting of guilt in his stomach.

"What? Like when you watched Dad leave ?!"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT WILBUR, THAT WAS YOUR FAULT!!"

Wilbur stumbled back, tears streaking down his face.

"You know full well I don't remember anything from that night!" He screeched, Wilbur's scratchy voice ringing in Techno's ears, suddenly regretting his words.

"It was you who was able to stop him."

Techno shook the bad memory out of his mind before he had the urged to go cry in his room like many times before.

Techno hated that look Wilbur gave him, disgust, sadness, disappointment. Though they were at each others throat, all they ever wanted was the make the other proud.

Techno sighed, "Look Wilbur it's not like I have anything against Tommy, quite the opposite, but we need to remain professional. His carer is going to be worried sick." He tried to reason, avoiding another conflict.

Wilbur took the hint and took a breath to calm himself. Techno got the sense that it wasn't for him, but for Tommy.

Wilbur finally fully woke up and looked up at Techno's eyes with worry and anger, but not towards him, towards something much for malicious.

"That man was not his caretaker." He scoffed.

Suddenly the sound of shuffling interrupted the brother’s hushed conversation. Tommy finally rose from his slumber.

"Mornin'." He said through his groggy sleep voice, and both men stalled as they eyes fell about the boy with messy morning hair.

"About time you got up." Wilbur said first, half joking trying to pretend their conversation before never happened. Techno observed how Wilbur loosened up at Tommy's presence, seemingly relieved that he woke up. Techno felt left out of the shuffle.

"Sorry King, mans got to have his beauty rest." The young boy said, stretching out his long lanky limbs. Tommy flicked his hair as a joke and Wilbur scoffed out a satisfied laugh under his breath, now finally picking up his food so he could finish it.

It was then Tommy seemed to realise that Techno, his boss, was also there sat in front of him. He tensed up.

"Oh, hey Techno...." he said through a cough, trying to hide his joking persona under a serious one. "Thank you for letting me stay here for the night."

Techno huffed, already feeling guilty for being so apprehensive of the boy being able to stay over, especially since he seemed so grateful. The older man scratched the back of his neck in frustration.

"Well, I wasn't exactly given a choice." He spoke under his breath, but was loud enough for Tommy to lower his head a bit and Wilbur to shoot him a poisonous glance, "But you're welcome, did you sleep alright?"

Tommy nervously chuckled, "Like a rock. It was nice to recharge." He stalled for a second, "Recharge my brain metaphorically that is, need those strong bones to keep working am I right boss?" He stuttered, that nervous chuckle getting more and more intense.

Tommy was a weird kid.

Techno exhaled, "Well I'm not you boss right now because you’re not working today... so what's your plan."

Tommy's smile dropped and he slowly began to fiddle with his hands, Techno felt his heart pang.

"Oh right.... I don't want to be in your way, I'll head out soon." He said quietly, shifting his body to start fixing himself up to go.

Wilbur looked at the boy with a knowing sorrow, his eyes said a thousand words, none that Techno truly understood. He didn't even know what brought him here, how he appeared during the night, how Wilbur found him. That was all their business. All Techno knew was that there was an altercation with his 'caretaker', that Tommy disappears for a few days and here he was. Techno wanted to ask, to demand even. He was the Lieutenant of L'manberg's precinct, he should be able to help, it was his duty. Yet here he was, out of the loop and not knowing what to do.

For once Wilbur had more control than he did.

Techno was only in his 20's but he could feel potential wrinkles get more pronounced by the second, "Look kid, if you want to stay here for just a little bit longer, just say the word, but you're gonna have to explain why." He crossed his arms, trying to compromise with the runaway boy.

Tommy stopped trying to 'pack his things,' (by that just making sure he had his phone, wallet, and keys to his.... Home) and slowly looked back at Techno, he could see Wilbur internally panic in the corner of his eye. Tommy opted to not say anything.

"What about that guy back at the bowling alley? he's probably waiting for you; don't you want to go home?" Techno continued to pry, trying to get any answer or explanation.

"I don't have a home." He young boy spoke in a low tone.

Not the answer Techno was expecting.

"But he was your caretaker, right?" He asked again. Wilbur tensed up beside him.

"I still don't have a home." Tommy retaliated calmly, back to fiddling with his thumbs.

Techno looked at Wilbur, for any sign of further information, but he just found his brother looking at him with a deep sadness, his head hung low.

They were hiding something from him.

"You're not going to give me any more than that are you?" Techno settled on, trying to massage his brain with his fingers so he didn't have a migraine or the rest of the day. Techno got migraines a lot. Wilbur's special trait was that his self-hatred and loathing debilitated his work, for Techno it was his migraines, screaming pains in his head that was able to make him unable to think clearly, he was not about to miss work because of something so small like this.

Tommy looked guilty, sitting uncomfortably on the couch, almost as if he knew he didn't belong there. Techno never wanted to make his intern feel like he was unwanted, clearly the boy didn't need that after whatever happened to him. Tommy was a good kid, he was super helpful at the office, and he brought such a good energy to the precinct, Techno was just as attached as anyone else, but he knew he had to stand his ground as his superior.

But at his own home, he knew he didn't need to be the Lieutenant in this moment.

"Stay if you need, you’re not trapped here either, but you can stay." He said as his final decision, going back to his cold but burnt piece of toast.

Tommy's face lit up with glee and appreciation, "Thank you." He said quietly, sinking back into the couch with relief. If he really, really didn't want to go back, who was Techno to refuse someone in need.

He smiled and nodded sincerely, happy to have that inner turmoil disappear as he sat with the fact that Tommy will be staying for just a little longer.

Techno whipped his head round to face Wilbur, who was taking several gulps of his coffee.

"Right, you on the other hand, still have to work. Get ready." Techno spoke with his arms crossed and a smirk, looking up and down at his brother who looked way scruffier than he usually did.

Wilbur pouted and semi-slammed his mug onto the counter, "But I haven't finished my cofffeeeee." He whined, feigning puppy eyes, though it made him look more like a strangled Chihuahua.

Techno shot him the glance, Wilbur hated when Techno shot him... the glance. He groaned and threw his head back like a grumpy teenager, "Fine, fine I'll be ready in a sec." He whined once more, dragging his own body to get up from his seat.

He slowly walked towards the corridor where his room was, but as he passed Tommy, he shot a genuine smile, to which the boy returned the look. Wilbur went off into his room, to probably make another coffee in the secret coffee machine he hides in his room. Tommy chuckled to himself, it was nice seeing Wilbur in his everyday life, he found it hilarious.

Techno got up to start cleaning the table, removing Wilbur's crumbed filled plate and placing it in the sink behind. Techno had always been a clean freak, making sure that their beautiful white walls and counters were always as a spotless as the day they moved in, it gave him peace of mind. As he was about to start the washing up, he remembered Tommy and all of the signs of something serious going on in his life, he was unaware of his situation, whatever it could be. He might not have eaten for a while. Techno realised he hadn't even offered breakfast to the child; he was never really good with hospitality.

"Ummmm..." he started, catching Tommy's attention who was just admiring the artwork on the walls, "Anything you want for breakfast?"

Tommy smirked, "I've never had pancakes before?"

"What is this, a BNB? Toast or cereal child?" Techno scoffed tenderly, taking a plate out of the cabinet.

Tommy squealed out a laugh, "Toast."

Techno hummed and took out the bread as well, he was gonna make the best piece of toast of his entire existence, even though he didn't know that Tommy didn't need to eat.

Tommy proceeded to analyse every single decoration in their apartment, though to be frank there weren't many. He spotted the random surrealist art, where one or two circles were spread around the page and that was it. There were the occasional landscape of the land of the Antarctic Empire, and from judging how many there were compared to cheap looking artworks and random clippings of newspapers, Tommy theorised that the brothers probably grew up there. On top of the synthetic fireplace, there was a small picture of Wilbur and Techno when they were much younger than they were now, both were holding graduation certificates, and both were dressed in those ridiculous outfits. Tommy could barely tell the two apart, the only difference was Wilbur's glasses and Techno's much longer brown hair.

Encompassing both of them was a figure holding them in a tight but proud hug. What Tommy was interested in was the fact that his head in the picture was torn off, the only thing he could see was the edge of a green and white striped looking hat.

Tommy didn't know the reason, nor did he want to know, he could tell that was not a conversation ready to be talked about. But Wilbur and Techno both looked so young and hopeful, it was actually Wilbur being.... Happy.

"I hope you know; Wilbur doesn't just go around picking up stray kids often. I'm starting to think your special Tommy." Techno interrupted Tommy's line of thought, he flinched and followed Techno’s voice. Techno placed down a plate at the counter with a fresh piece of toast, beckoning for the boy to come sit.

"Special how?" Tommy asked, as he hesitantly got up from his comfy position on the couch. Techno already pulled out a chair for him, it was one of those tall chairs where your heals barely touch the ground. Everything in their flat was black, white, or grey, the couch and chairs were all a light absorbing black, and the stool that Techno brought out for Tommy to sit on was more like an art sculpture than anything anyone would sit on. Nonetheless Tommy followed Techno’s subtle instructions and sat down in front of his plate.

"I don't know, that's what I'm trying to figure out." Techno spoke quietly, there was compassion in his voice, but also suspicion, and any suspicion made Tommy nervous. He shoved the toast in his mouth, Tommy was still uneasy about eating, but he needed to avoid any more of Techno’s reservations, so he tried to bite down as hard as he could ignoring that it was only his second time ever experiencing what eating felt like.

Techno, not knowing any better, assumed that he was chewing so hard because he hadn’t eaten for ages, it made him worry just a little more. Who is this child that he had invited into their lives? Is this really the same boy that wowed him in his interview for his internship? The kid that he had helped at the shooting range? The kid that had cracked at Wilbur’s tough shell?

It was incredible.

"Wilbur might seem like a miserable ass, but he’s got a kind heart. Wilbur can get disconnected with reality sometimes, thinking about the doom and gloom of the world." Techno said with a subtle smile plastered across his face, pouring a glass of water for the boy.

He looked towards the figure across from him, and saw his face coated with crumbs as he finished his slice of toast. He chuckled as the young boy felt embarrassed, trying to wipe his mouth with the brim of his T-shirt.

"But I think, sometimes he needs a rock to hold him down. You might be the rock he's been looking for."

Maybe Wilbur just needed a bit of silliness in his life, that why he was so drawn to Tommy. Techno wasn’t able to read his brother like he used to, but he knew that they both had to grow up way faster than they should have. Techno use to be fine with that, forever being the independent one. But he knew that Wilbur was slowly being left behind, too grown up for his own good and not feeling comfortable in his new old skin. Maybe Tommy gave him that release from that scary world, giving him escapism, letting him heal. This was all just hypothetical, maybe it was nothing like that at all, but that idea made Techno feel a little happy, because Tommy could give Wilbur something Techno never could, a brother.

Tommy looked up at him with a little bit of surprise, but mostly, appreciation. He glanced backed down at his empty plate with gratefulness.

Techno suddenly felt flustered from showing so much genuine emotion, he rubbed the back of his neck, "I hope that doesn't sound creepy at all kid, I’m just worried for my brother is all."

He quickly picked up Tommy’s plate and started washing it under the sink, the sound of rushing water filling the uncomfortable silence. Techno felt guilty for unloading his personal issues to a kid that had just made an emotional connection to his brother. Tommy had caught him at a really reflective time in his life, Techno felt obligated to be truthful.

"I haven't really been there when Wilbur needed me the most. There's a small number of things I regret in life, and that is one of them." He admitted, feeling the water cleaning his hands from his regrets.

Techno closed his eyes tight, "I don't want to make the same mistake again."

The sounds of rushing water held the air around them, and Tommy stared holes onto Techno’s back. he wanted to say something, say anything to make his boss feel better. He felt like a parasite in their home, but he couldn’t help but feel so grateful for Wilbur coming into his life.

"I do agree, Wilbur is a miserable ass." He said, smirking into his glass. He didn’t actually drink the water presented in front of him, he didn’t really want to corrode his metal inside, but to avoid questions, he just pressed his lips against the glass to pretend.

Techno softly chuckled as he turned off the sink, "Isn't he just."

"But he's kinda cool I guess." Tommy admitted, also kind of embarrassed to say those words out loud. At least Wilbur wasn’t in the room, otherwise he would never have opened his mouth.

Techno huffed proudly in agreeance, "I mean there's a reason why he has that dumb nickname."

Tommy stopped his train of thought, and cocked his head to the side in confusion, "Nickname?"

The larger man finally turned around and stood back at the counter, drying the plate with a cloth. He rested his elbows on the surface, smiling at Tommy’s fascination but also surprised that he didn’t know what he was talking about.

"Has he not told you about it? When he was young in the precinct, they called him 'the man that does not bleed'." He said through a whisper, as if he was teasing his brother who was still in the other room.

"Not really a nickname if you can't say it quick." Tommy deadpanned, putting his lips back on his glass of water.

"But it's true! That was his legacy, still is in a way. No one at the precinct has seen him get hurt or bleed once during his time there. That's why he's so good with stitching, had to do it for everyone else." Techno chuckled with a prideful laugh.

Wilbur use to be a pro, so much so that at their first year of joining the police force, Wilbur was excelling way more than Techno was. Wilbur was his role-model, until it all came crashing down. The one thing that reminded him of his brother’s glory days was remembering that he still hasn’t seen him get hurt, and the times where Techno would come home from a tough day out on the field and Wilbur was ready with the first aid kit.

Wilbur may be the shadow of his former self, but he was still his brother, and whether he liked it or not, he was always proud.

"Have you seen him bleed?" Tommy hesitantly asked quietly.

Techno felt a chill down his spine, he stopped drying his plate. he felt like he had just sank all the way back to the pit.

"You know full well I don't remember anything from that night!"

"It was you who was able to stop him."

Techno could only hear his father’s screaming in his ears and the migraine coming back.

It was Tommy’s sad and apologetic eyes that kept the older man in reality, and he tried to shake the memories out but like always, they lingered.

"Just once kid, but that's not a story I think either of us are willing to share any time soon." Techno said quietly, back to rubbing the plate so hard it started to feel hot.

Techno just wished he could have done more, if he could go back, he would have done so much more. Tommy looked up to him with guilt written all over his face once again, trying to find the right words to say.

"You're a good brother, Wilbur really looks up to you." He settled on. No nervousness, no awkward joke to get him out of his own predicament. He was fully confident in his final choice of words. 

And even though Techno still didn’t quite believe him, he appreciated it.

"Thanks Tommy.”

Techno was fully aware that the glass was still completely full. 

Chapter Text

The buzzing from the lights above him was going to drive Tommy crazy.

There he sat, Infront of the most notorious Leader of L'manberg's Police force, Lieutenant Techno Craft. Tommy was in his office, the walls covered by newspaper clippings and certificates, the light a pale yellow that was looming over him. He watched the man skim through his forged paperwork, he had never been so nervous before in his whole short life. He tried to balance his fear by bouncing his leg up and down like the speed of light.

The Lieutenant tapped his pen on his lips, his finger raking through the kid's application.

Tommy was going to die. At least he felt like he was about to die. Maybe it was a bad idea coming here, it was probably a bad idea to have this plan in the first place. He just rocked up at the doors of the police building, handed his application and expecting to run away soon after, waiting to hear a possible call. He wasn't expecting to accidentally run into the lieutenant by accident, and for him to usher the boy into his office.

This was too much for anyone to bare.

Techno stopped looking through the paperwork and looked up to face Tommy, his expression as stoic as the moment he met him.

"So, your application says it's your dream to work in the police force. How'd that come about?" He asked casually but keeping his face as unmoving as before.

Tommy gulped his nervousness into his stomach and tried to give a brave face. "Yup! It's been my dream since I was a small child. It's what I've kinda always hoped I’d be in the future." He semi-stuttered through his sentence, if a robot could sweat, he would be rusting.

Techno hummed neutrally, "Do you know why?"

Tommy calmly smiled, "My Father was in the police force at one point, but he retired ages ago." He was only half lying in a way.

Techno seemed to perk up from that, resting his head on his enclosed knuckles, he was intrigued.

"I see.... We'll I'm sure you know that being an intern doesn't mean you get to go out on the field. It's mainly just paperwork here in the office." He spoke once more. He knew that usually interns expected to be more hands on in internships like this, rather than just getting everyone coffee.

But Tommy didn't seem to mind, if anything he lit up at that news. "That's totally fine by me Big Man, any way to get one step in this place is good enough for me."

Interesting.

Techno huffed semi-pleased, and once again flicked through the boy's application. "As you know we do have many applicants each year, and we always prioritise people with more experience."

Tommy sank down in his chair, this wasn't looking good.

"And it says here that your Sixteen. At such a young early age I'm a bit worried about you working somewhere like... here. Especially with what's going on." Techno said in a low and hushed toned, being honest was his best policy. The world right now was cruel, he couldn't have any more casualties.

"What can you bring to this precinct?" He finished, looking at the boy with a hopeless gaze.

"Myself." Tommy pretty much answered immediately, like he didn’t even need to think about it. Techno was surprised.

He lifted his eyebrow in confusion, the boy finally got rid of his nervous stare and replaced it with determination.

The young boy took a big breath, "You're right, I'm too young to sign up for any internship. But I want to help, there are people suffering out there."

He looked to the side, where the bookshelves and trophies were placed, "Human or not."

Techno was stunned, and for the first time since the beginning of the interview, he showed an unreadable but expressive emotion on his face, Tommy would like to think Techno agreed with him.

"If I'm able to help the police by making their lives just a little easier, they can focus more on what's going on out there. That's my way of helping, and.... Even though I may have no experience, I've always been a real quick learner." Tommy smiled, sounded as determined as before, maybe even a little more. He just wanted to help, he had to help, it was his duty.

"Are you aware that you won't be able to save everyone." Techno asked hesitantly, tapping his pen on his desk.

Tommy took one last breath, whether or not he needed to breathe at all, "I am. Please give me a chance to prove myself."

Techno and Tommy interlocked eyes, and the older man knew they both shared a common goal. Despite Tommy being young and naive, who was Techno to turn down someone who just wanted to help.

Techno's gazed softened, "Hmm.... You're a real convincing kid Thomas." He said with a smirk, and Tommy loosened his shoulders.

"Tommy is fine Sir." He  said, smiling as Techno wrote something quick on a sheet of paper off to the side.

Techno smiled contently, "Well then Tommy, when can you start?"

Tommy sighed a breath of relief; he had done it.

Welcome to the group.

———

"And that's when I said-" Tommy screeched through a cackle, as he and his two new temporary roommates stepped out of the elevator. He was telling a story of that one time he wrestled a pigeon for a piece of bread, nether of the two brothers were surprised.

"We're here you little shit no more gobbling." Wilbur light-heartedly groaned, pushing the young boy with his shoulder. The young one stuck his tongue out as they stepped into the office space.

When Techno and Wilbur finished work the previous day, Tommy was still there, sleeping (or powered down) on the couch like they had found him that morning. Wilbur was quite relieved that the young boy didn't leave during the day, after that second night in the pier, he didn't want Tommy to be alone.

They did in fact find the flat more spotless than they had left it that morning, all dishes polished and put back exactly where they were supposed to be. Even the white marbled ground had a certain shine to it that it didn't have before. So, they opted to let Tommy stay just one more night, for his hard work, for his hard work of course.

Tommy was as lively as ever, telling them random stories or making jokes like he normally would.

He pulled a face at Wilbur, "Well I'm sure Techno would like to hear it, wouldn't you big man ?" He insisted, lightly elbowing the pink haired man's side. The taller man carefully pushed Tommy's elbow down, looking into the crowd of the precinct.

"Actually, I think it can wait." He said quietly, and Tommy cocked his head to the side, confused from the sudden unwillingness to participate with the bit. He looked onwards, and tried to search for the thing that stopped his playful teasing.

He stilled, and in the middle of the room, slightly leaning on a desk underneath her, was Captain Puffy herself, flicking through some papers in one hand and drinking an ice-latte in the other. She looked serious, her mix-matched eyes frowning with discontent.

Techno and Wilbur straightened their posture quickly taking deep breaths before stepping forward. Tommy was a bit confused, the last time he met Puffy she was so welcoming, so something serious must be going on. He mimicked their actions and followed soon after.

"Puffy! Good to see you at the precinct." Techno welcomed, a fake plastered smile all across his face. Puffy slightly startled as Techno greeted her, his brother and their new intern quietly tailing behind him. Once she realised who they were she flashed them a tired smile, it looked like she hadn't slept for a long time.

"Glad I can be here but.... this isn't a catch up I'm afraid." She whispered, a comment purely for her lieutenant.

He exhaled with determination, stepping forward Infront of Wilbur and his sidekick, "Would you like to come into my office to discuss it further." He declared, fully in a state of professionalism that Tommy hadn't see for the past two days.

The captain agreed, and they both headed towards the aforementioned office, before shutting the door behind them, and closing the blinds. They really didn't want anyone to listen further into their conversation.

"What's going on?" Tommy asked Wilbur, in an almost panicked way, something must be really serious if the two heads of the police force were chatting in secret.

"I don't know, but Puffy rarely comes to visit, it might be serious." Wilbur was equally as confused and scared as Tommy. Techno usually includes him in any secret conversations, he would try to make Wilbur care more by including him into work that was out of his paygrade, Wilbur liked to call it free labour. But this hasn't happened for a long time.

Nonetheless, they headed to the break room. When Tommy was there he would hardly ever go to his desk, Tommy still didn't have his own to sit at, so they often spent the whole day in the break room without even realising, basically converting it into their own personal office. They settled down, claiming the table with different documents and laptops, there were no windows so it was perfect to hide everything in the room, and people hardly came in now that they had invaded the space. Tommy knew that no one would come in, at least not often, so he'd just casually use his own database to research, either sitting there perfectly still, digging through documents through his own mind, or even holographically.

Wilbur stuck to his laptop, it wasn't like he had a Nasa computer in his mind, just a regular human mind with no cool holographic capabilities. They sat down to get started, ready to look for any clues and leads that might have popped up during the night.

Suddenly the door was flown open, both Wilbur and Tommy were startled. Techno came in with a dejected huff and went to lean against the not-as-polished counter as they one they had at home.

"What's the Situation Tech." Wilbur asked curiously, seeing Techno's distress as a really bad sign.

Techno sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to crack the stress that lingered in his muscles, "Apparently it's gotten worse out there. More attacks, more suicides. People are getting restless. Governments from across the borders are starting to get worried."

Wilbur and Tommy shared a worried glance at each other, scared of what's to come.

"Oh shit, what are they trying to do." Wilbur further questioned, pushing his laptop aside to give his full focus and attention to his brother.

Techno's debated if he really wanted to say the truth, the apprehension was smeared all over his brow.

He sighed one more time, finished the last stretch of his neck and stood fully up, "They are trying to take over the case. Trying to get the Essempi military involved."

Tommy gasped immediately, "They can't do that!" He stood up, nearly making the chair that was under him fall by the sudden movement.

Wilbur also stood, unease all over his body expression, "They'll hurt people Tech."

"Human or not."

Tommy was surprised by his protectiveness, under a couple months ago Wilbur would have done anything to get off this case. Tommy would have liked to ask why the sudden change of heart, but he already knew the answer.

Techno was quite pleased by this sudden uproar of determination, surprised all written over his face. Wilbur looked genuinely angry; he was filled with passion that has not been released for a very long time. Techno’s gaze softened, he couldn't take this case away from Wilbur if it meant seeing his brother's strength of enthusiasm return, "I agree, that's why we need to hurry up and find a way of solving this crisis."

Tommy glanced at the paperwork spread across the table, all of the rejected appeals sent to the ones in charge, "But the head of state won't budge, they just want to sweep everything under the rug."

"I know, it’s gonna be tricky but we need to find a way to resolve this thing." Techno spoke with more hope than before, searching on his holo-watch. He flicked through images, multiple different pictures of different crime scenes and suspects that were obscured due to Techno scrolling very fast.

Eventually he landed on one. "We need to find the new leader of the android revolution."

Tommy stilled visibly. In the picture was a hooded figure, he was stood in the middle of a gathering, probably an illegal congregation for Rogue Androids. You couldn't see his face, due to him wearing a mask. The mask only covered the lower half of his face, but his eyes were covered from his hair. On the mask was an innocent smiley face, which sent shivers down Wilbur’s back. Who would have thought that a smiley face could bring such sense of dread, in any other day Wilbur would have thought it was pathetic, but for some reason all of his body alerted him to danger. This Android was danger.

"We'll get on it Techno, I promise." Wilbur declared. He was stern and insistent, just what Techno wanted to hear.

"Good, I’m trusting you, Wilbur." He smiled calmly, reaching out to give Wilbur’s arm a little shake.

Wilbur lightly pushed his brother’s hand off, "I know."

Techno sighed contently, "Right, I need to go over some things with Puffy whilst she is still here. If you need anything let me know." He said, before backing away slowly towards the door. He gave the two boys a nod, before heading back to his office.

Wilbur exhaled sharply, trying to push off the pressure on his shoulders by using his breath, Techno only wanted the best, and so did Wilbur, but it was a lot to take in all at once, he didn't want to get burnt out.

He glanced at Tommy, who looked uneasy from all the information. If the Essempi military starts implementing all of their forces into L'manberg, it would mean the irradiation of all Androids. Of course, Tommy would be shitting bricks, especially when there was nothing he could do as a simple intern in a precinct. Wilbur would try his damn hardest to fully invest himself in this case, because Tommy was relying on him.

Wilbur clapped loudly, waking up Tommy for his petrified gaze, "Right, where do we begin."

It took Tommy a couple of minutes to regain his thoughts, but he quickly shook away the despair in his stomach to focus on the task at hand.

"Maybe we could go out on the street and ask if civilians have seen anything suspicious lately? Any new crimes they've witnessed or something like that?" He muttered still visibly upset, trying to think of ways to get information without getting noticed.

Wilbur shook his head, "True but people are so secretive lately, and they'll throw any android under the bus if it meant getting rid of them." He said quite clearly, Tommy sank into himself. All this doom and gloom about androids were obviously upsetting him.

Through the look on Tommy's face, Wilbur knew it was hard for the robot boy. His shouldered slumped, feeling a sense of shame for talking about the boy's literal existence being destroyed. He should have chosen his words more carefully.

"Sorry Tommy.... I don't mean to upset you." He said in full sincerity, placing a delicate hand on the boy's shoulder. Tommy initially tried to hide his flinch, but Wilbur noticed and grabbed on a little tighter.

"I'm fine, I promise." Tommy declared with no confidence, he was trying to avoid the subject, but he didn't try and remove Wilbur's hand, "Maybe we could interrogate recent androids that might have come in? They'll definitely have information."

Wilbur agreed, but there was no way he wanted to put Tommy in that position, especially if Tommy in a previous life were friends with any of them,

"Ok here is the plan. How about you go out and ask for any civilian statements from the café down the street, and I'll go and look at the archive for any androids that might have info. Not bad to spread our ground a little more." The older man offered, maybe giving Tommy fresh time for himself will not be as uncomfortable as interrogating old friends.

Tommy didn't seem opposed from the idea if anything he was a little bit grateful. He smiled and relaxed under Wilbur's grasp finally. "Seems fine by me, I'll head out now."

Wilbur let go, and Tommy gave him a smirk before heading towards the door, he never really brought anything with him, he didn't need laptops or physical paperwork. All he ever brought with himself was whatever could fit in his own two pockets. He didn't even have a coat.

Wilbur frozen slightly, it was the middle of Autumn, and the temperature was getting considerably colder. People would be suspicious of a kid walking around in just a t-shirt.

"Tommy?" Wilbur stopped the boy before he left the breakroom. The young boy turned around.

Wilbur handed him his jacket, a long brown trench-coat that he had been wearing every single day this year, even when it was hot. Wilbur knew Tommy didn't get cold, but he convinced himself that the icy wind might have a chance of causing his robotic parts to go stiff.

Tommy looked down at the offering in Wilbur's hands, he chuckled lightly as he accepted the gift and put it on slowly. Wilbur stifled a laugh, a coat that usually ends above his knees, drenched Tommy to go over his. But it was a good fit however, and that's all Wilbur needed, at least people wouldn't suspect a thing.

"Stay safe gremlin." Wilbur light-heartedly spat, roughly ruffling the boy's hair to mess it all up.

Tommy squeaked out a laugh like he normally would, managing to get Wilbur's hand off his head, "Right back at you Mr Miserable."

And with that, after a couple more thoughtful glances, Tommy set out to the café, earning a couple looks from his superiors who notice the coat trailing behind him protectively.

Wilbur smiled, laughing at awkward walk of his robot companion, laughing to himself imagining what weird questions he might as an innocent bystander. But Wilbur couldn't sit around all day whilst Tommy went surveying, he needed to do his job.

Sadly, he knew exactly what to do... and exactly who to find.

This might be my only chance.

Wilbur left without even cleaning up his mess on the counter, wasn't like anyone was gonna find it anyway.

Lazer Beam jolted to life, piercing red eyes illuminating the room. He struggled against the chair he was strapped to, rocking tirelessly to escape his entrapment.

"Fuck where am I ?!... hey!" He screamed in a panic, trying to escape. The strips were woven with Titanium, they were used a lot on androids due to them being much stronger than the average human, they were good for containment, especially when an android had gone rogue.

The room was cold and dark, the walls only a dark grey metal with a table set in the middle, it was bolted to the floor so no one would be able to flip the damn thing.

Wilbur sat on the chair opposite the rogue, he was calm and collected whilst the other kept thrashing around.

"Android registration: L4-2AR BE4M. You were arrested by the L'manberg state of police, you are being held at the L'manberg Precinct." He announced, watching as the android got his bearings as the man spoke.

Wilbur would never forget that day, the day Tommy appeared at the precinct and immediately saved a dozen hostages on his first outing.

"Let me go!" Lazer Beam screamed, no longer squirming around like he knew he had no chance of escaping.

Most importantly, this guy knew Tommy, knew him way longer than Tommy let on. Wilbur knew Tommy was secretive, he would force this guy to spill.

"I'm sergeant Wilbur Soot Craft, I'm here to ask you some questions." Wilbur hadn't said his full name in a while, always opting for just 'Wilbur Soot', his middle name.

"I'm not telling you SHIT, until you let me go!” Lazer Beam gave him the deadliest of death stares, Wilbur would be scared if he didn't know he couldn't physically hurt him.

Furthermore, Lazer Beam must have known who this leader was. Even if he had left the organisation like Tommy had said to his friend that one night, he still had info.

"That won't be possible, it's best if you corporate." Wilbur continued his corporate speak, the android got more and more pissed off by the second.

"You humans always think you have authority over us, I'm sick of it." He spoke with poison lacing every word, looking deep into Wilbur’s soul.

"What brought you to commit those acts at the Z.A robotics store, putting those hostages in harm’s way." Wilbur wasted no time; the android’s anti-human ramble wasn't gonna do it for him.

Lazer Beam screamed out in rage, "You were selling us like merchandise! You are selling living beings like fast fashion!"

Wilbur stifled, he hadn't been able to look at a Z.A robotics store the same, it almost escaped his memory. He decided not to respond.

But Lazer Beam had a sickening smug look in his eye, and not saying anything might have been Wilbur's downfall.

"Imagine how you would feel if Tommy was sold like that." He said with a sickening smile. Wilbur got sickening goose bumps.

Wilbur pushed past his professional disguise, and felt true raw anger, "Leave our intern Thomas out of it."

Lazer Beam giggled, a far departure from his panicked wild animal persona he had before, "You know what he is right? what's he's made of?"

"I said shut it." Wilbur muttered through gritted teeth.

The android’s eyes glowed a malicious bright red, "But do you know who he is ?"

Wilbur couldn't say anything. He was so violently angry he was shaking. Who he is? He's Tommy. that's all he needed to know. Right?

Lazer Beam seemed to revel in Wilbur's lack of control. Those eyes were piercing into the Sergeant’s soul, if felt so unnatural, unnatural for an android at least.

"The new salvation has control over him, he will see how we do eventually, he did once." Lazer Beam screamed through a crazed laugh, he leaned closer to Wilbur, like he was hurling his words like throwing stars. Wilbur couldn’t hear this bullshit any longer.

"I said shut it tin can!" He shouted whilst slamming the table with his fists, "If you’re not able to say anything useful, I'll have you shut down and sent at the very back of the evidence locker!"

Lazer beam’s insane cackle died down, settled back into his sharp smug grin, “Doesn't matter, I did what I could do."

Wilbur was finding it increasingly impossible to handle an arsehole like this. How are you supposed to interview a person that had fallen down the rabbit hole. Wilbur thought that maybe Lazer Beam was way more involved with the SMP organisation than Tommy thought.

"Tell me about your Leader." Wilbur demanded, which only got an uncaring stare from his captive.

"The salvation will build an army so big that your little police force won't be able to do anything, it's already in motion." The Android continued on his holy-than-thou speech, and Wilbur could feel his blood boil. His control slipping through his grasp.

He can't let anyone get hurt; Puffy, Niki, Techno... Tommy.

The android chuckled, "You don't even know that your closest ally will be the one to burn you to the ground." Lazer Beam taunted, back to screeching with laughter.

"I SAID SHUT IT!" Wilbur screamed louder than he knew he could. He had bitten off more than he could chew, it was a mistake coming to this lunatic.

Wilbur lunged forward towards the rogue, who was still howling with madness. He quickly powered the android off, watching the body slow down it’s rambling into a quieter more neutral state, an emotionless husk like how he found him in the Storage room.

The interrogation room feel silent, only the subtle sounds of Wilbur's angered breaths filled the space around him.

"But do you know who he is?"

Wilbur let out a large shriek of frustration, slamming his fists against the table once more in rage.

All of that control lost, and for what, he gained nothing but questions.

Who he is? He's Tommy that's all he needed to know. Right?

Wilbur had just started to feel content with his new life, now he was left with doubts. Doubts that crept into his head like a parasite.

"I'm sorry Connor, I have to do this, they made me."

"All of this, our mission, now this police work? What we are doing is hard as it is, I just don't want you to get hurt! I don't want to lose you."

"You are the only one who doesn't treat me like some sort of chosen one."

"... have... Have you been taken away from people?"

"Don't think you have any idea what I'm fighting against."

.
.
.

Who is Tommy?

No... no he couldn't get into that right now.... It's not time... he couldn't do it.

He got up quickly, not even bothering to acknowledge or take the android body back to storage room, and rapidly left the scene.

His breathing got heavy, and it took the last of Wilbur's strength not to break down in tears. He needed to stay strong, he wasn't going to throw a tantrum because he didn't get an information.

He took a large breath in. He just needed to process whatever the FUCK just happened. He needed to get to his desk.

He walked through the precinct, his feet felt heavy. He stepped with no purpose, he felt lost and confused and most importantly.... Scared.

When he turned the corner, he saw Tommy already stood at his desk. He was writing something a piece of paper, Wilbur's coat still wrapped around his body.

Wilbur felt ill and felt guilty for feeling ill. For the first time in a while, he looked at Tommy……and saw a machine, like he didn't know who that was in front of him. But when the boy looked up and Wilbur caught a glance at his cyan eyes, his innocent wave beckoning to come over, Wilbur could see his friend once more.

He hesitantly joined Tommy's side.

"Hey king! Any luck?" The android boy asked enthusiastically.

Wilbur could still feel his heart pound out of his chest, "No... it was a... umm...dead end."

Tommy could sense there was something wrong, and Wilbur could tell he was getting a bit worried. Wilbur tried to hide his discomfort through an obvious cough, fixing his position as to avoid Tommy from asking questions.

"What about you? Any intel at the café?" Wilbur asked awkwardly, trying to look down at the piece of paper in Tommy hand.

As soon as Tommy realised that Wilbur was trying to get a peak, Tommy slammed the piece of paper against his chest, "No..... no nothing at all."

"You know what he is right? what's he's made of?"

Wilbur furrowed his brow.

Tommy coughed as well, trying to avoid speculation much like Wilbur did. "Listen big man, I need to head out. Big men like myself have to run a few errands if you get me." He said hesitantly removing Wilbur's jacket and placing it on his desk. It was like he could feel the unknown tension plaguing Wilbur.

"But do you know who he is?"

Wilbur moved closer and frantically placed his hand on Tommy's shoulder like he did before, stopping him from leaving too quickly, "Tommy I-.... Look I need to talk to you about-"

Tommy interrupted, lightly shrugging off the others hand from his shoulder, "Sorry king, I'll talk to you tomorrow, and I promise I'll research from... home." He said… clearly lying through his teeth.

Wilbur tried to say more, tried to get the boy to stay, but he just left without saying a word, like he was rushing to get out. "Ok then... bye." Wilbur muttered, knowing full well Tommy would not be able to hear it.

Wilbur could feel his body go all tingly. What was he supposed to do? What did he want to do? He had spent so long knowing that he couldn't understand Tommy, but he did WANT to know more.

Techno was at the doorway of his office, leaning against the rail with a mug in his hand, "Where is he off to?"

Wilbur didn't even know how long his brother had been there, and he didn't care to turn around.

"I don't know." Wilbur mumbled, looking down at his coat that was carelessly placed in his desk.

He wanted to do something... he had to do something. He didn't want his only true friend to keep slipping out of his fingers.

Wilbur grabbed the coat.

"Wilbur where are you going?" Techno worryingly asked as his brother started putting on his jacket hurriedly.

Wilbur slung his bag over his shoulder, "Gonna do some field work, I might be back late."

He rushed towards the door. Ignoring Techno's questions or pleading.

He was gonna find out who Tommy was, even if it hurt him.

———

He stood in front of an abandoned office building, the walls and windows basically half torn to shreds. Wilbur was out of breath, heaving from running around the abandoned streets of L'Manberg. It had gotten dark, the grey clouds now struggling to keep it's daylight.

This can't be the place, can it?

Wilbur knew what he was doing was wrong, but desperation could cloud any man's mind. The precinct gave Tommy a company phone, just to keep all of the files in one place and to have easy communication with everyone on the team, but what Tommy didn't realise was that there were trackers on every single one. Wilbur never the tracking app before because he respected the boy's privacy, but today was a stepping stone and he was gonna do something for himself.

He stared at the abandoned building, feeling doubts and hesitation cloud his judgement. No way Tommy would come here? It was an utter shithole. But the tracker didn't lie, and Wilbur could feel something pull him in.

The outside had all sorts of damage decorating its walls. The top left of the building was caved in, and everything else was covered in vines, Wilbur wasn't even sure how he was going to get in.

He noticed a very small hole was carved out next to one of the shattered windows, it was like a secret entrance, like that wasn’t suspicious. Wilbur had to take a chance and go through it.

The inside wasn't much better, it was a miracle the building was still standing. Large grey chunks of concrete dashed everywhere, and bits of wire poked through every hole it could. There was no evidence of any interior design whatsoever, must have corroded through age, Wilbur wouldn’t be surprised if the building had been abandoned for longer than he had been alive.

"Fucking hell this place is fucking crumbling down." He muttered out loud, hearing the echo travel through the building. He had never felt so truly alone.

Why would Tommy come here of all places? Was this his home? Was this what he meant when Techno asked if he even had a place to stay? The questions fogged Wilbur’s mind; he didn’t even know where to start. He would have called out Tommy’s name if he wasn’t so distrustful about this whole thing.

He heard some shady racketing from the other side of the building and though normally he would have chalked it up to being a wild animal, he had a feeling it was just what he was looking for. He traversed carefully, following the path that looked the least likely to collapse under his weight. He ducked his head through every nook and cranny he could squeezed his body through. He noticed the path was getting darker and darker, he didn’t even realise he started to travel underground into the basement.

The place smelt like dust and mold; Wilbur could feel his eyes water from how many flakes of dirt were entering his airways. He wanted to turn back, maybe this was stupid, he was putting his life on the line just out of curiosity.

The basement was less destroyed than the surface, it still had most of its structural intent, Wilbur could even say it looked a little cleaner by comparison.

But a polished shithole was still just a shithole, and it was getting cramped and cold; Wilbur was 5 seconds away from calling it a day until-

"We need to act fast!" He heard a voice echo through the walls, and Wilbur frozen still. That was definitely a voice, not one he recognised but now he knew he wasn’t alone. He continued slowly and noticed a small pocket of light glowing from the other side of a decrepit gap in the wall.

Wilbur hid behind the unstable barrier, now close to the light to listen in.  

"I know… we can't have the army destroying our progress, we are so close." A deep growling voice resonated through the room. There were many different hums of agreement, like there was a whole group right behind the border.  What did he walk into, some kind of cult?

There was shuffling for a second, Wilbur didn’t dare look, "Tubbo have you tried getting into their system?" the same voice asked.

"I tried but I couldn’t get more than what I already had. They are upping their security." A different, more high-pitched voice replied. The voice sounded purely analytical for someone that also sounded quite young.

Tubbo? Wilbur swore he had heard that name before.

"They might be onto us, good god we’re screwed." A whiny but low voice quivered, sounded as anxious as a mouse in a trap.

Wilbur definitely recognised that voice… that was that Android Ranboo that he saw at the park with Tommy…were these Tommy’s friends? That would mean that-

A new voice took control of the scene, "We're not screwed. We're trying to find a solution at the precinct, we just need to act fast if we want to stop them at the banquet."

Wilbur felt his blood run cold. he didn’t even process any information that came from that sentence, but he knew exactly who that voice belong to, how could he not. Wilbur lifted his shaky hand to cover his mouth.

"No... No it can't be." He whispered to himself, not even realising he had said it out loud.

The room fell silent, Wilbur held his breath.

"There's someone here." The first voiced called out. The sound of a screeching chair made Wilbur flinch; they knew he was there. He was in deep shit.

"Who's there !?"  The voice called out once again, this time a lot more aggressively.

This was it, Wilbur had no choice, he had to face the heart break on the other side of the wall. He already knew what he was going to see.

Wilbur revealed his hand through the gap, making sure it was visible enough to show that he meant no harm.

A bunch of chairs screeched following Wilbur’s action, like they were all standing in defence.

"Come out slowly."

Wilbur did what he was asked, slowly creeping around the corner, his hands high in the air. In front of him was a group of hooded figures, all sat around a makeshift table made out of broken debris. They all stood defensively, apart from the one at the head of the table, who stood still like a dear in the headlights.

 Wilbur stared at the man at the other end of the table, he finally felt anger and betrayal rise in his throat.

The other hooded figures slowly looked towards their leader, who slowly pushed down his hood.

"Wilbur?" Tommy called out in despair.

Chapter Text

They stood parallel from each other, the others in the room were dead still. 

Tommy was the only one with his face uncovered, his expression written with shame and fear. 

Wilbur felt paralysed by anger, his eyes welling up with frustrated tears. He couldn’t allow himself to cry, not in front of Tommy, he wouldn’t give him that privilege. 

Tommy, the Android kid that had blown open his heart with a new worldview, his first true friend ….. was in front of him with a whole new side of him that Wilbur never thought could happen. 

"What is this Tommy?" Wilbur stammered out,  trying very hard not to shout. His hands were still raised. 

Tommy looked petrified, he didn’t dare break eye contact. All of his hard work was crumbling at his feet. 

"Wilbur I can explain.” He also stammered. Both of them couldn’t find the right words, both of them feeling their hearts, robotic or not, twist in pain.

A sarcastic chuckle escaped Wilbur’s lungs, "Ohh you better start explaining because at the moment….it seems like I'm standing in front of a cult."

He was laughing at himself, he should have known, he DID know. He was suspicious of Tommy on day 1, it was his fault for getting attached to a walking-talking red flag. 

Tommy seemed mildly offended, but held back to save his skin, "It's not a cult! It's not anything. I-"

"Don't lie to me, Tommy!” Wilbur spat, lowering his hands slowly, “Is this what you've been doing? Sneaking around to meet with suspicious people ?!"

Tommy looked hurt, but not hurt enough for Wilbur’s wrath. 

"Tommy, why did you bring a human here?!" The aggressive voice was directed towards the scared boy. Wilbur could see the vocal android had bright green glowing eyes and smoke coming out from under his hood, he was still in a defensive position, ready to strike if Wilbur ever stepped out of line. 

"Oh, so it's an Android cult... I should have known." He mumbled under his breath, smiling wickedly as a cover for the pure dread that was trapped in his throat. 

"For the last time, it's not a cult," Tommy whined, it was reminiscent of the way he would whine when Wilbur would tease, but he wasn’t teasing anymore. 

"Tommy get him out of here!” Another voice croaked, a feminine voice echoed through the broken walls. Her eyes were glowing pink, and Wilbur felt sorrow. 

"Wilbur is a friend guys, I trust him.” Tommy’s voice quivered like he was unsure of what he truly saying. through his panic, he looked at everyone trying to calm the negative energy through the room. 

Wilbur laughed loudly, Tommy looked up at him with anguish. 

"A friend? Oh buddy 'friends' don't lie about their little robot terrorist group meetings! I should have known you were just using me for something.” Wilbur was now shouting. Tommy could feel his little robot heart break. 

"Wilbur your not letting me explain." He desperately tried to reach out, he just wanted Wilbur to listen. He didn’t want to lose him. 

But Wilbur was too far gone in his rage. He didn’t owe Tommy anything, not anymore. 

"Why should I let you explain ?! You're nothing but a dirty android supremacist. I should report you this instant." Wilbur’s vocal cords felt like they were on fire, his brain no longer had any control over him. His soul felt burnt.

He didn’t need an explanation anymore, what sort of information can clarify this? He knew Tommy was hiding something, why should he give the boy any closure now that he got caught? 

Wilbur whipped out his gun from his holster. He didn’t think he would need it, but look at him now. He held it up at the group, knowing that they would be ready to attack back if they needed to. 

Everyone gasped, especially Tommy, who recoiled from the sudden movement. 

"No Will please." He begged under his breath, he could feel his glowing cyan tears well up in his eyes. They were glowing uncontrollably. 

"He's gonna blow our cover, Tommy! He's just like all the rest." A new voice shouted, his eyes were a dark blue.  Everyone seemed to have taken a step back, the scary green-eyed figure was even more defensive. 

"If you don't get him out, I will." He said, smoke now getting more concentrated from under his hood.  

Wilbur laughed manically, "Oh I'm not leaving until I get every piece of evidence so I can send you all to scrap."

"No Wilbur put the gun down please…” Tommy muttered under his breath. 

Everything was falling apart. Everyone started to scream or argue. The world felt like it was spinning out of orbit. Tommy no longer had any control. Wilbur was still pointing that horrible gun at him. 

"That's it, I'm getting him out one way or another!” The blue-eyed android shouted once again, with shouts of agreement from all of the other hooded figures. 

"I'd like to see you try tin can." Wilbur seethed back.

He was so close to pulling the trigger, the androids were so close to attacking.  Every second that ticked all of the noise around him felt louder and more painful. 

Wilbur didn’t know what to do, he wanted to pull the trigger, he wanted to run, he wanted to grab Tommy and beg him for this to be a prank. 

He knew it wasn’t, and the android cult was now screaming and stepping closer to the human to snuff him out. 

Wilbur felt his arms shake as they got closer and closer, they were gonna kill him! He frantically waved his gun around, trying to scare off his attackers. He felt his finger slowly press down on the trigger 

"THAT’S ENOUGH!" But Tommy’s booming voice stopped it all. 

Everyone looked at Tommy, who still stood at the other end of the table, he was hunched over with his hands over his ears. 

He looked at them all with a terrified scowl, his once cyan eyes now a deep malicious red. 

Tommy’s eyes were……red?

His voice wasn’t his own, it wasn’t Tommy’s voice whatsoever, it sounded deeper, more serious…. Not tommy. Like a demon had taken over his body. 

He looked like a wounded wild animal seething with a mixture of rage and fear. 

Wilbur stood frozen, watching the red from the android's eyes slowly disperse as he came to his senses. Those same cyan eyes now looking at Wilbur with just fear, like he got caught once again. 

Everyone was halted like there were a painted framed moments before disaster. No one dared to move.

The two boys just stared at each other, like they were both strangers, like these past few months meant nothing. 

Wilbur couldn’t take it anymore, and without a second notice, he sprinted out the same way he came from. 

"QUICK DON’T LET HIM ESCAPE!" The green-eyed android screamed, grabbing his weapon of choice, which was a poorly made trident scrapped from random pipes and wires. Before he could charge to the escaping man, he felt a small hand on his shoulder. 

Tommy stood there sternly, finally moving from his place at the table, "Don't go... I'll go after him."

And just like that he rushed out at lightning speed. 

———

Wilbur didn’t care if rubble was crumbling around him, he ran and he ran fast.

He got up if he tripped, and he carried on when he bumped into walls. He could hear Tommy calling out his name behind him, trying to pretend the boy wasn’t there. 

"Wilbur please come back!” Tommy asked as he effortlessly ran through the decrepit building. He was right behind Wilbur, maybe only 3 meters beyond. But Wilbur didn’t give up and rushed like an abandoned fawn. 

"Up yours traitor !" He breathed out, climbing up broken walls and pushing away random bits of rubble to obstruct Tommy’s perfect pursuit. 

Tommy jumped over them like a superhero in an action movie, of course, a robot would be able to get through an obstacle like a breeze. 

"I'm not trying to hurt you !" Tommy screamed, trying to reason with the runaway man. 

Wilbur was nearly completely out of breath, stumbling around like he didn’t even know where he was going. "And why should I believe that!” 

Tommy could see how much pain the man was in, he didn’t want any of this to happen. He should have told the truth, he should have been honest, if Wilbur was so chill about him being an android, why wouldn’t he be so chill if Tommy told him he was- 

Tommy could tell that Wilbur was near the exit, but as the man was trying to head towards the one exit, a large bit of rubble was threatening to fall on top of him. 

Tommy sprinted faster. 

“WILBUR LOOK OUT.” He screamed, and Wilbur looked up, finally noticing the ceiling holding on by a thread, it was about to fall on him if he kept this pace, and he couldn’t find himself to stop. 

He was going to get crushed. 

The large bit of ceiling began to fall. 

Suddenly a huge force knocked him through the hole at lightning speed, making him slam into the ground outside. He could hear the ceiling collapse, and all of the dust from the collapse was making his asthma act up even more. 

 Through his coughing fit, he could feel Tommy on top of him, hugging him tightly, almost encapsulating him. 

He had no energy left, he couldn’t fight anymore. He certainly couldn’t run when his lungs felt like they were filled with dust. 

Tommy had caught Wilbur in his trap. 

Wilbur tiredly pushed Tommy off him, trying to not have any contact with the boy. 

Tommy let go. 

"Wilbur stop.... Please... enough." He begged, both still on the ground as Wilbur tiredly tried to shuffle away. 

"I trusted you, Tommy…. I Believed in you.” Wilbur cried out, the betrayal starting to sink back into his heart, “ I didn't want to believe you were just another mistake that came into my life and guess what... I was wrong, I always am."

Tommy stayed silent. 

Wilbur felt every emotion bubble up to his throat, he couldn’t take the pain anymore. It was like his brain had stopped thinking and his heart had taken control. He couldn’t hold back the tears like before, "You're just like all the rest. An android trying to take over the world and all that bullshit. I didn't want it to be true. I should have known."

He stopped trying to drag his body away, and cried into the concrete pavement, "I should have known."

Tommy still didn’t say anything, he didn’t even move. This was Wilbur’s chance to escape, to run away and hide and never see his dumb android face again. 

But he just couldn’t, he just couldn’t run. He was hurt and he was mourning the loss of a friend. He needed closure if this truly was the last time he would ever him. 

Wilbur turned to face Tommy, feeling the wind around them swirl. 

"Who are you really, Tommy?" He demanded to know the answer. 

The silence was deafening, like even the universe wanted to know the answer.

Tommy finally stood up, his cloak stayed on the ground revealing his signature red and white t-shirt and his android marks that were usually covered by a skin patch. 

His cyan eyes were connected to the brown ones on the ground. 

He took a large breath……

"I am Theseus," Tommy said.

And the wind came to a stop and the world stood still.

Wilbur howled out loudly. 

"Ha ha, that's a fucking good one. I thought you were done with all this lying." He said manically. What a joke, of course, he wasn’t Theseus, Wilbur was there when he watched the android leader die. He watched as he was shot in the-

Tommy hesitantly lifted his hair and revealed his forehead. 

Wilbur stopped laughing. 

There in the centre was a wound. A bullet wound.   It was like a hole that his synthetic skin couldn’t comfortably sit around. It was in the same place where Theseus got shot. 

Wilbur felt his blood go cold. 

He couldn’t be…. 

"You..." Wilbur stuttered, and Tommy dropped his hair back to cover his wound. 

He was Theseus. 

"You're right, I'm not really Theseus.” Tommy said solemnly, letting all of his secret run out of him, “But when he died... people…..really bad people, wanted to use him as a pawn. They took his body and built from it a new android, all the same components and parts all squished into a new, smaller, weaker body."

Wilbur could see the pain in his eyes, he felt numb but felt Tommy’s pain, he could feel Tommy’s pain. 

Tommy continued shakily, "I... don't share any memories with Theseus. I don't even remember the friends he may have made along the way. But what I do remember, a bit too clearly, is the feeling of piercing metal entering my skull."

He placed his hand over his forehead, and Tommy’s eyes poured with glowing cyan tears. Every word was laced with truth. There was not a single thing Tommy was lying about. Wilbur no longer felt like running away. 

Tommy came back to Wilbur’s level, kneeling down almost like a plea. There was so much sorrow in his face, and he wept into his hands like the world was on his shoulders. In a way… they were. 

"They made me keep the scar as a trophy,” he wept, “as a symbol of who I used to be….Who I will never be. There is never a day when my forehead doesn't sting."

It was so tragic Wilbur almost couldn’t believe it. Maybe he didn’t want to know who Tommy was if it meant hurting him so badly. 

But Tommy didn’t want this life, and Tommy never asked to be put on this pedestal…. He never asked to be made. 

"Who... who did that to you?" Wilbur stuttered out… but he already knew the answer. 

Tommy gave him a pained look, "Dream... It's always dream" He wept harder. 

That confirmed it. Dream, the android that is at the centre of it all…. Was the person he had been searching for this whole time…

He was the new Android leader. 

Tommy wiped away his tears, sniffing loudly despite not needing to, it only made him look more human. He finally looked human again. 

"There... that's me.” He said as he chuckled out a sorrowful laugh, almost ashamed of the person he had become, “I'd love to tell you more but the truth of the fact is…..  I don't even know who I am or why I was created. But now all I'm trying to do is to make sure no one, human or android, gets hurt like I did ever again." 

Wilbur could feel his throat clog up, “How is that even possible, I saw you the day that Theseus died…..”

Tommy chuckled again, even more defeated than before, “Androids work quickly I guess, his body was shipped out and taken apart. I was built immediately……sloppily. I ran away as soon as I could.”

Tommy looked on once more, smiling sincerely towards the shocked man. 

“You were the first human I had ever met…. The first person that was ever nice to me.” He said quietly…. And Wilbur knew it was the truth. 

"You were the last person I would ever want to hurt. I thought keeping you hidden from this would keep you safe, but I was wrong, and I'm sorry." Tommy looked at his hands like they were the hands of a criminal, he hated the decisions he made, he hated the path he had chosen. If he had been honest from the very start none of this would have happened. That was what he had told himself. His life was truly hanging on by a thread. 

"But I hope you know Wilbur, all those jokes and moments we had…. they weren't fake.” He spoke calmly for the first time since this whole ordeal as the memories soothed him in some way, “I joined the precinct just to blend in and get info. Once I was done I would leave it untouched. but I stayed because of you, you made me want to become a detective with you."

Wilbur didn’t want his rage to subside inside him, he still wanted to be bubbling with rage. But all he could do was focus on the pained face of the boy in front of him. Was he still angry? Yes of course he was, furious even. But Wilbur surprisingly wasn’t a cold heartless monster, and even in his fury, he felt sympathy. 

Tommy was Theseus…. Theseus was Tommy. Everything that had ever happened was connected to him. He was the one who was supposed to save the Android race, and in another life, he failed. Now Tommy was expected to try all over again. 

Tommy stopped his crying the best he could, his eyes were glowing so brightly they could light up the whole street. 

"Please Wilbur, I know this is selfish of me, but please come in and let me explain.” He handed out his hand, quiet and undemanding, “I don't want to lose someone I considered my big brother." 

Wilbur couldn’t explain it, but it felt like their hearts were beating as one. Both wanted Wilbur to just reach out his hand. 

This was his most important decision yet. He knew either option would drastically change his life. He could either go back to the way the world was before Tommy, dark and grey and miserable, or he could be a part of something he had been trying for weeks to get rid of. 

Either way, he would lose…. That is what it felt at that moment.  He thought about Techno, he thought about the precinct…. He thought about his dad. 

Wilbur sighed,  "Ok…… ok I will … but you better explain everything."

Both Tommy and Wilbur himself were shocked by his answer. Tommy’s bright glowing eyes relaxed. 

"Thank you, Wilbur," Tommy said with utmost sincerity. 

Wilbur grabbed Tommy’s outreached hand, both of them standing up finally. But Wilbur knew the storm had calmed, but there was bound to be a typhoon waiting for him. 

Wilbur quickly brushed off Tommy’s hand, digging his own frozen hands into his pockets.

"Don't thank me... You still need to prove to me you aren't a terrorist." He spat. He was still angry, Tommy needed to prove himself before he gained his trust back. 

Both of them, android and human, walked back into the abandoned building. Not expecting that the new chapter of their lives was just about to start.