Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A week ago, Tommy would say that his life was pretty normal, all things considered. Yeah, he was emancipated at age sixteen so that he didn't have to deal with shuffling around through any more foster homes, and he never finished high school, and he was living alone, but- really. That was all normal stuff.

He worked two jobs, anywhere from twelve to fourteen hour days, with only one consistent day off every week. He went grocery shopping every few days and usually got the cheapest available options, even if they made his stomach hurt after a while. He lived on his own, with only a couple of friends he had made online throughout the years. Normal adult things, for a normal almost-adult.

Until quite suddenly, he was waking up in the middle of the night to an excruciating pain in his back. He had been lucky, as he stumbled to the bathroom to find a mirror and figure out what the hell was going on. Apparently it had been a good decision that kept him from turning his bed into a mess, when the skin of his back was torn, and wings emerged.

Tommy had passed out from the pain then, and woke up, horrifyingly, in a puddle of his own blood.

At the very least, he wasn't bleeding anymore at that point. He endured the agony of water sliding down his back to take a shower, not daring to wash anything with soap and make the pain even worse. He'd called into work, and taken an entire week off for medical reasons, and no one questioned it when his voice sounded like it had been torn to shreds. He was pretty sure he had been screaming when the wings emerged, so it made sense.

He had stayed inside for that entire week, thankfully he had enough food to last him a while. For the first few days he was forced to go without shirts, his back too sensitive for him to even tug a blanket over himself. Those were the worst nights, because his apartment had shit insulation and it was cold as fuck outside, leaving him shivering with either cold or the agony of trying to stay warm under the blankets that he owned.

Eventually though, thankfully, he healed. It seemed to go pretty quickly too, faster than he would have expected for something as big as wings bursting from his back, but he wasn't about to complain about that.

No, what he was going to complain about was the fact that he started feeling fucking weird. There was a sense of anxiety crawling through his bones that he couldn't understand, something that had him throwing open his window, cold be damned, to drown out the feeling with the sound of the city outside. The sounds of life outside seemed to sooth the feeling, whatever it was, at least for a time. Tommy huddled into a blanket beside the window, feeling miserable as he tried to figure out what he was going to do with these new wings of his.

They were still tiny, covered in fluffy white down, not of much use for anything yet. Tommy didn't know shit about birds, really. He knew weird fun facts about penguins and he knew that peregrine falcons were the fastest animals in the world, but nothing very useful beyond that. Avians were rare, and there wasn't even much information online about them, and after an hour or two of scrolling through Google and finding the same few tidbits of information reiterated on fifty different sites, he finally gave up. He would just have to figure it out on his own, he supposed.

So, at the end of his week alone, he shoved his wings through holes that he cut in one of his lesser liked shirts and slipped a hoodie over that as well, hiding them well enough. He just had to get through work, and he'd be fine.

He had barely stepped behind the counter and clocked in when the bell at the door rang, and the sudden silence in the coffee shop made the tension skyrocket. Tommy stepped back from where the work aprons were hung to get a look at what was going on, before he too froze in place.

The sight of great, dark wings greeted him, an immediate giveaway to who the others might be. Siren, Blood God, and the Angel of Death.

What were they doing in a small coffee shop like this? Was life seriously just trying to fuck with him this much, presenting him with some of the worst villains in the city? Fuck, if he died here he was going to make it his mission to fight God in whatever afterlife he ended up in.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen," the Angel spoke in a calm voice, smiling slightly under the dark veil he wore to cover his face. "If you'll all move along to the back of the shop, we'll finish up our business here quickly."

And despite his kind-sounding words, when people hesitated for a moment too long, the Angel waved a hand, and the Blood God grabbed the nearest person by the hair and started dragging them along. That got the others moving pretty quickly at that point, shuffling into the storage pantry under the villains' directions. A few people were already crying, but not Tommy - no, he found himself… oddly mesmerized by the Angel.

He couldn’t tear his eyes away from those dark wings, like living shadows that had settled against the man's back. The Angel of Death was an avian - damn, if Tommy's small wings hurt as bad as they did coming in, he hated to imagine what those monstrously sized wings had been like. But it also faintly reminded him of something, a fact that he had found on one of the less reputable looking sites during his search the other days.

Avian imprinting. Newly manifested avians would imprint on the first fellow avian they saw, and-

"Stay down, mate," the Angel crooned, and Tommy choked on whatever sound was trying to crawl up his throat. There was a knife pressed to the base of his neck, not hard enough to risk breaking skin but close enough to be a threat. "Keep these others from moving too, okay? We don't want to hurt anyone."

Tommy faintly nodded, leaning himself back against the wall with the others. He was sure that he looked like a fool, shaking, his pupils blown as he tracked every movement of the Angel.

His mind was screaming in joy, while his conscious brain was - well, just screaming.

Flock, flock, flock- was pitted against I might die here, please don’t let me die. It was a rather uncomfortable situation to find himself in.

But then the Angel stepped away, and the baby bird in him forced him forward to follow, even as Tommy stifled the noise that once again fought to leave his throat. The villain didn't particularly like that though, the Angel again stepping closer, this time the knife at his throat slightly digging into his skin, just shy of making him bleed.

"I thought I told you to stay down?"

"Sorry," Tommy gasped, staring up at the dark veil with wide, terrified eyes. "Please, just don't-"

The villain hummed, but this time a hand came up - fingers ending in sharp, black talons - and patted the teen's head. "Alright, mate. Just follow directions, and no one needs to get hurt."

So Tommy watched, and fought every instinct that told him to move forward and tuck himself into the curl of the villain's wings, as the Angel joined Siren and Blood God at the back wall of the shop. The three quietly talked amongst themselves, discussing whatever it is they might be doing, until finally the Blood God raised a hand and set it against the wall.

All of the hostages watched as red energy raced around Blood God's arm, out towards his palm, and seemed to simply deconstruct the wall in front of him. It literally took itself apart, crumbling brick by brick until a hole stood in the wall, big enough for all three villains to step through together.

With a glance behind them, Siren gave a quiet laugh and finally spoke, words dripping with power.

"Don't move or speak for the next ten minutes. Then walk out the front door and wait until the police come."

One by one, the people around Tommy froze up, until he felt his own body go terrifyingly still, barely able to breathe around the tension in his body. He watched as the villains disappeared through the hole in the wall, his instincts wailing at the loss of the Angel's wings. But they didn't come back, and there was no explanation of what their plan was.

~~~

The police eventually came around and interviewed everybody, Tommy included. Unfortunately he had to call out of his second job yet again by the time he was done there, and when he returned to his apartment the events of the day started to catch up to him.

He found himself crumpling to his knees, hands held over his mouth as he let out quiet, mortifyingly pathetic chirps. They sounded needy even to his own ears, calling for a flock that wasn't there in his tiny apartment. It was physically painful, trying to twist himself into a small enough curl that he could fill the empty void of loneliness that tried to swallow him up.

Tommy had always been fine on his own - he had never needed anyone else, he fought hard to make sure that he was self-sufficient and didn't need to rely on anyone. He filled the few aches of loneliness that he usually felt with interaction with his friends online, and it was fine. Now he felt the coldness of his apartment with devastating clarity, shivering on the floor just a few steps inside the door.

Not even the nest that he tried to make helped, too few soft things, not enough blankets or pillows to properly build it. He couldn’t make it feel quite right, even when he broke and decided to add all the shirts and pants he owned to the pile.

Eventually, he slumped into the sad nest and fell asleep with a sad warble leaking from his throat.

~~~

The stupidest thing, really, was that Tommy couldn't even really stop himself from doing this. It had been weeks now, barely getting by, scraping rock bottom as he lived through every day feeling like his heart had been pulled from his chest. He'd been trying hard to make sure that he kept up on all his payments despite the time he had missed when his wings manifested, but the stress of it almost became secondary to the hollowness that came with being alone.

He was just so lonely, a physical ache in his chest and desperately muffled chirps in his throat. It was more than just a want - whether he wanted to or not, he needed his flock - so now, here he was. Chasing villains through the city night after night, without so much as a plan for when it inevitably would go wrong.

Whenever he heard that the SBI gang was active, he was nearly up and out of his apartment, wings tucked beneath his jacket, before he could even think. It was his only chance to be even remotely close to the villains, the Angel that his instincts screamed for. The stupid baby bird in his brain was becoming harder to ignore, slowly but surely.

But even despite that, when he finally came face to face with the Angel, the baby bird wasn't enough to keep him from feeling the absolute terror of facing a villain.

The Angel stared at him, head tilted in that bird-like way of moving that he had. Tommy had to keep himself from mimicking it, clenching his jaw as he barely dared to breathe under the man's gaze.

"Hm. I thought I was imagining it at first, but no - you've been following us, haven't you, little one?" The Angel's voice seemed more curious than threatening, but Tommy knew better. Even as the villain reached out with a hand - the baby bird sang at that - he stepped back, away from such a deadly hand.

They stayed locked in place for a moment that seemed to drag on for ages, despite lasting only seconds. Tommy stood, fighting between logic and instinct, watching the Angel watch him - before he turned and ran.

The Angel didn’t follow.

~~~

Gradually, it got worse. Tommy didn't know how long an imprinting was supposed to last, but didn’t birds like, grow out of it eventually? He tried to look it up and see how long it's supposed to last for avians, but the information he found was as sketchy and scattered as his first round of searching.

At some point, he broke. After a long day at work, he came back to his apartment and laid in the sad, underwhelming nest that he made of his bed, and cried. Everything had simply been too much, too overwhelming. It hurt to be alone, but the Angel was terrifying, and who knew what he would do with a new avian that accidentally imprinted on him.

He managed to hold out for a few weeks before he broke and headed out to follow the villain again. This time he found the Angel at the top corner of an apartment building, standing, apparently waiting, and Tommy settled just out of sight below him. It eased something in him, his baby bird feeling better with his flock overhead, watching over him. Every once in a while he could hear the Angel's voice drift down to him, too far to hear words, but enough to hear the calm and soothing tone.

It was enough to have him closing his eyes, relaxing despite the shivers that ran through him because of the cold night.

Until, at least, it seemed like the villain finished whatever business he had been on in the area and dropped from the building, swooping away without a glance back in Tommy's direction. The boy watched the villain go with a sense of dejection, a frustrated chirp building behind his teeth before he stubbornly swallowed it back and stood up.

Coming out at night like this was stupid, honestly. It stole hours from what little rest he already got outside of work, and his coat wasn't nearly thick enough to effectively keep out the chill of winter. But the call of his flock wouldn't allow him to rest either way, and the emptiness of his apartment grated at his nerves in a way that made the cold preferable to being within those blank walls.

So caught up in his despair over being left by the Angel, he didn't notice anything amiss until snow crunched underfoot just behind him. Tommy, on instinct borne of one too many abusive foster homes, threw himself forward to avoid the grab that was aimed for the back of his jacket. Just in time, too, as he glanced back and came face to face with the Blood God.

Spitting out a curse, Tommy forced himself to move faster, dodging out of the way of the villain once again before taking off down the street. He had long legs, had always been known as a runner - for just a moment he hoped that maybe he could outrun the Blood God himself.

That hope didn't last long, thumping footsteps quickly gaining on him as the boy’s body flagged, too many skipped meals and nights without enough rest catching up to him. Tommy tried to dodge from the villain again, but unfortunately his worn-down shoes were no match for the heavy cleated boots of the Blood God when it came to gripping the wet snow under their feet. He slipped, scrambling, before the villain grabbed him and he found his face slamming against the wall of the nearest building.

Tommy was stunned, the impact and the pain smarting through his face leaving him winded for far too long of a moment, before he felt himself being shoved downwards and into a seat.

By the time he had shaken himself back to focus, he was in a car. His hands were still being restrained by the Blood God, forcing the boy to sit awkwardly, but as he turned his head to the driver's seat he found Siren staring at him from the rear view mirror.

"You sure you got the right one?" The third villain spoke, a cruel little smile playing at his lips.

"Yeah, I’m sure. Now drive."

And really, this was the moment where Tommy should have been kicking, screaming, trying to get out of the Blood God’s grip. He should have been trying to cover his ears and yelling over whatever commands that Siren tried to give him, but…

It had been weeks. Far too long since he had seen his flock - too long since he had really gotten close to the Angel like his stupid baby bird wanted. His instincts, despite how terrifying the situation should’ve been, made him almost relax in the Blood God’s hands, stay quiet and still, and Tommy hated it. But… he was also just so tired.

It had been weeks of precious little sleep, the constant void of something missing, stress and hunger and the growing twinge in his wings all piling up on him. And now, with the promise of seeing the Angel… he couldn’t even the will within himself to be scared. He was just exhausted, and in the warmth of the car he unexpectedly found his head tilting back against the seat, his eyes drooping.

He was actually pretty sure that his nose was bleeding, as the adrenaline wore off with the continuing crash of his energy. The pain in his face made it harder to ignore, some of the metallic, salty liquid running down his throat with his head tilted back which felt gross. Still, he couldn’t bother raising his head again to stop it.

Not until the Blood God pushed his head up a little, startling a little cough from Tommy, gurgling with the sudden shift in posture. But he cleared his throat, the villain giving a low hum before the car fell silent again.

It remained quiet, just the sound of tires on the road, until Tommy found his eyes blinking open as he was dragged out of the car. It wasn’t comfortable, and he twisted around - or tried to, the Blood God’s grip was still harsh around his wrists.

"Oi, dickhead- I can move on my own," he spat, apparently a tiny bit more energized after his micronap in the car.

The villain just huffed behind his mask. "I’m not letting you go, little stalker. Come on."

This time, Tommy put up a bit more resistance, pulling at Blood God’s grip. "Fuck off!"

It really didn’t seem to do much more than slightly inconvenience the man, as Siren stepped closer and shoved a bag over his head. He was suddenly blinded, and Tommy thrashed his head around with a shout as a rope was tightened around his neck. For a second he thought that he might be strangled, but it seemed like Siren only pulled enough to make sure the bag wouldn’t let in any light from the bottom.

Then he was being dragged along, even as he cursed and shouted and squirmed in the grip that held him steady. The Blood God didn’t even need two hands to keep him still.

He pulled Tommy a little closer, speaking next to his ear in a growl. "Stay quiet, kid, or you’ll only make it worse on yourself."

"Fuck you, bitch-" this time he was cut off with a blow to the head. He knew that it was barely more than a cuff around the ears, a warning, but it jolted him enough to make the pain in his face spike, and… well, for now, he went quiet.

He still struggled, of course, even if it wasn’t as hard as it had been, but by now the villain had proved himself more than capable of keeping the teen in place. They led him up flights of stairs, how many he couldn’t be certain, and when the bag was pulled off of his head he was in a plain white room with only a single door.

Tommy was then pushed into one of the two chairs in the room, as Siren pulled up the other.

Eyes flicking around, he very quickly came to the realization that this was probably some sort of fucking interrogation room. Or maybe a very plain torture chamber - there were some old blood splatters on the floor in one corner that made Tommy feel rather queasy. Maybe… maybe being so calm on the car ride here was more misguided than he had originally thought.

"So," Siren said conversationally. "I’m going to ask you some questions."

"Go fuck yourself," Tommy spat in return.

The villain’s grin widened under his mask, as his voice filled with an echo of power that wasn’t there before. "Until I tell you that you can stop, you’re going to answer our questions directly and truthfully."

Tommy couldn’t entirely feel the direction sink in, but - Siren’s power was less like mind control and more like an unwilling hypnosis. It was one thing that made him so terrifying, he could simply tell people to forget something, and he would have a walking sleeper agent at hand for weeks until the group made their move.

So he wasn’t sure if it had actually worked, until the villain spoke again.

"What is your full legal name?"

For a moment, Tommy felt like he could resist - there was a twitch of surprise on the villain’s face, before he blurted, "Thomas Danger Kraken Innit," and knew that he was screwed.

Siren gave a cackle at that. "Really? That’s your legal name?"

"Yeah, do you have a problem with that, dickhead?"

"It sounds like an overeager ten year old gave you your middle names," the man said with a lingering chuckle, before settling back into his more serious tone. "And, Thomas Danger Kraken Innit, who hired you?"

"Uh… Starbucks and Local’s Grocery?"

At that, both Siren and Blood God paused, their confusion obvious. They shared a glance, before Siren leaned towards him.

"I mean, who hired you to follow us?"

"No one," Tommy answered, his head swimming. "I wasn’t hired by anybody."

"Then why have you been following us?"

He glanced between the two villains, horrified that he was actually going to have to answer the question. There had to be a way around it, right? "I- I just wanted to get close to the Angel…"

At that, Siren groaned, hanging his head. "Ugh, so you’re just some sort of weird groupy?"

"No," Tommy said vehemently.

Which seemed to be the wrong answer, as the villain narrowed his eyes at him. "Then why-"

"How old are you, anyway?" Blood God spoke up this time, earning himself a glare from Siren. The former didn't seem to mind the other's offense all that much, instead keeping his masked gaze on Tommy, who shrunk under it.

And again, despite his hesitancy and desperation to keep quiet, the words were pulled from him, quiet but clear. "I'm sixteen…"

With that answer, the two villains went still, seeming to be absorbing that fact. Because yeah, Tommy was tall for his age, and while he still looked young, he looked more eighteen or nineteen instead of his true age.

The Blood God set a heavy hand upon Siren’s shoulder, and the two stepped away from the boy, facing away with their heads tucked close as they whispered to each other. For a few moments it was quiet enough that Tommy couldn't make out the words, but as he strained to listen, the villains seemed to grow slightly louder.

"You know he'll be pissed if he finds out-" Siren hissed, cut off by the Blood God.

"Then we don't have to tell him. You heard him, he wasn't hired by anyone, we just put him back where we found him and be done with this, and he doesn't have to know."

"But the kid has been following him, what happens if he notices? You weren't exactly gentle in grabbing him, you know."

"That was before I knew he was a kid, now let's just grab him and go," the Blood God said firmly.

And then they turned back to Tommy, who was unbound and staring at them, and their words sunk in after a moment. They were going to let him go. They weren't going to hurt him - bloody, possibly broken nose aside - and they were even going to get him back to where they had first picked him up, which was in all likelihood closer to his apartment.

Which was all well and dandy, excellent, really, everything that Tommy could've hoped for in this situation.

His stupid baby bird brain did not agree with that.

"W-wait," he stuttered, without thinking. "I-"

"Don't worry, we're not going to do anything, just going to get you a ride home," Siren said, placating now.

Tommy shook his head, beginning to shiver as his mind warred with itself. He wanted to leave, go back to the safety promised in his apartment - he wanted to stay, wrapped up in dark wings, a flock to watch over him. It was a terrible state to find himself in, mind battling instinct as he pushed himself away from the two villains until he nearly fell and stumbled from his chair, back pressed into the corner of the room.

"Come on kid, don't be difficult now," the Blood God huffed, stepping toward him as Siren stayed a step back.

"Don't scream," the other villain commanded, though the noise that was threatening to escape Tommy's throat was far from a scream.

Blood God got close and he tried to dodge, but he had quite literally cornered himself. The man caught his arm easily, once again pulling Tommy close to restrain him, but this time the boy thrashed, trying to escape by whatever means possible.

"Stop," he panted, trying to kick at the villain's legs, unable to raise his voice. "Let me go, I just-"

"No, we're getting you out of here, now calm down and stop-" the man grunted as Tommy threw his weight back, elbow digging painfully into the villain's stomach. "Alright. Fine. Siren, get the bag."

Despite the not-inconsiderable struggle Tommy was putting up, the Blood God barely struggled with picking up the squirming boy in a bridal carry, stepping towards the door. Siren was there, with the black bag that had previously been secured over Tommy's head, and at the sight of it, his instincts finally went truly berserk.

He let out a startlingly loud chirp, a call for help, calling for his flock to come and save him. It made Siren falter, and he did it again, only for the villain to spit a curse and set a hand over Tommy's mouth.

"Stop making noise," the villain directed, and though it didn't stop Tommy from biting the man's hand (earning him a hiss and a "fucking gremlin child"), the command choked back those loud chirps, and whatever other noises he tried to make.

Silence settled for a moment, before the Blood God spoke up. "Do you think he…?"

Then there was a thump just outside the door, and Siren barely got out a quiet "fuck" before the door was flung open, revealing the Angel in all his glory, blue eyes blazing with his black wings mantled defensively. His eyes swept through the room, tension lining every ounce of his body, before slowly relaxing.

That was when Tommy realized that the Angel's face wasn't covered by his usual hat and veil. Instead he exposed blonde hair falling around his ears, swept out of the way of striking blue eyes. Honestly he could've been Tommy's dad, though maybe he was a few years too young for that.

"Siren, Blood God," the Angel said slowly, looking between the other two villains. "Why do you have my kid? Did you rough him up? His nose looks like it was busted!"

"... there was a bit of a misunderstanding," the Blood God started, before Siren let out an explosive sigh.

"We were trying to make sure this kid wasn't a threat to you!"

"He's just a kid, Siren, look at him." The winged villain again looked at Tommy and gave a little coo. "Just- god, look at him, he's so thin."

Blood God, still holding the boy, gave a low sound of warning. "Angel, no."

The Angel of Death then looked up at the Blood God and pouted. "Aw, cmon. He's been following me around for weeks, I was almost worried when he stopped. Are you okay, mate?"

The last question was directed at Tommy, who stayed frozen in Blood God's arms, unable to answer because of Siren’s command. Thankfully the villain seemed to understand, shooting a glare at the culprit of said silence, who sighed and glanced at the captive boy.

"Touch your fingers together," he said, and Tommy's hand obeyed before he could think. And the moment he did, the chirps were back, spilling out of him with desperate force.

It was an odd, almost funny, wonderous thing to watch the Angel's pupils blow out, eyes wide as an answering warble came from the older avian. It was a moment where the villain gave no hesitation, no confusion, instinct taking hold of him just as surely as it had with Tommy. The man stepped closer, reaching out to the boy - but then the Blood God stepped back, and the warble turned into an almost hissing sound, low and rattling, an aggressive warning.

"Angel, don't do that, come on-"

"Give him to me," the Angel commanded, blue eyes boring into the masked face of the villain holding him, and Tommy gave another little chirp. He wanted to be held, he craved it, the closeness of his flock. Nothing sounded better than to be wrapped in those dark wings and given the chance to rest.

There was a pause, the two villains staring intently at each other, before the Blood God sighed, and shifted Tommy in his grip. Carefully, the Angel took him, his lanky frame apparently barely even a problem to the villain as the man gave an adoring coo. In return, Tommy carefully buried his face in the man's shoulder, his chirps finally dying out as he sunk into the feeling of being held.

"Oh, mate. No wonder you were following me around, you must've been so alone…" Slowly the avian lowered Tommy to the ground, cradling the boy in his lap, wings coming to cover them together. "Where are your parents? You should've imprinted on them…"

Tommy shook his head, recognizing that he was going to have to answer, but - he didn't want to think about it. The loneliness that he had grown up with, the quiet void that he tried and tried and tried to fill up with his brash noise and chaos.

Thankfully the Angel didn't push at the moment, simply running his hands through the blonde's curly hair with another comforting coo. "I'm sorry- were you alone for the entire thing?"

A nod, and the villain gave a quietly wounded noise. But he didn't ask any more questions after that, only murmuring little assurances for a few minutes until the older avian looked up at the other two.

"Wil, Tech, would you get things cleared please?"

Sounding exasperated, Siren scoffed. "Angel, we can't just keep him-"

"Wil, I can't just let him go right now. He's been alone for far too long already, that can already fuck up a new avian."

"But-"

"Wilbur." The Angel's voice turned into a warning, low and forceful.

Thankfully, Siren - Wilbur? - finally seemed to relent, huffing quietly. "Fine. C'mon, Bloody."

Two sets of footsteps made their way out of the room, but Tommy was content to stay half laying here on the floor if it meant that the Angel would keep running his talons through his hair. It sent his head into a nice fuzzy space, full of nothing but fluffy safety and comfortable contentment.

Time passed like that for a while, floating and soft, inconsequential as Tommy was cocooned in darkness and held kindly, for the first time in far too long. He wasn’t sure if he remembered ever being held like this by any of his foster parents, not even the relatively nice ones. If they weren’t the ones hitting him, it was like they treated him like glass, ready to shatter - or maybe explode - at the smallest hint of touch.

They didn’t realize how much Tommy wanted the affection, no matter how much he might grumble. He wanted a hand ruffling kindly through his hair, a proud hand patting his shoulder, arms around him for a hug that felt safe enough to sleep in.

He wanted fingers carding through his messy wings, preening them and teasing out the loose feathers and dirt.

The thought struck him like a bolt of lightning, and immediately his small wings tried to flare outwards - only to immediately be stopped by his jacket. The constricting feeling made his heart jump into his throat as his instincts suddenly screamed trapped, caught, pinned. But the Angel holding him seemed to notice quickly, giving a kind warble that settled his fear just as quickly as it had come.

"Aw, nestling - let’s get you out of this jacket, have you been hiding your wings? I’m sure that’s uncomfortable," he crooned gently, helping Tommy pull off the restricting fabric, leaving him in just his shirt, his small wings able to stretch now. "Oh… they’re so small, you’ll be a perfect little glider."

Tommy glanced up at the Angel, who was busy staring at his wings, a grin on his face. Distantly, he thought that it was odd to see such a simply happy expression on a villain, but his bird instincts were still overriding his smarter train of thought. His wings just fluffed up a little more, pressing into the hand that settled on one of them.

And oh, if he thought that having the Angel’s talons running through his hair, it was pure, warm bliss to have them running through his feathers.

The boy physically melted, head sinking back to the man’s chest, a pleased warble leaving him. The Angel simply chuckled and continued on with his movements, gently preening through his feathers as Tommy continued to float in that simple, instinct-filled spot of safety.

Eventually though, the door opened again, and the hand in his wings paused.

"You’re really going to keep him?" Blood God spoke, apparently alone this time.

"Yup," the Angel chirped happily, ignoring the way that Tommy grumbled as his ministrations paused. "He’s all mine now - my little nestling."

Logically, Tommy knew that he would be upset about the Angel claiming him in the morning. He knew that, even as he curled his limbs in closer and let the villain carry him into a space that looked much more like a home. But that care was set aside for the moment, as he was laid in a proper nest, one that was properly filled out with soft blankets, shining trinkets tucked into the very edges.

Any concern of villains and his place among them melted away as he was again tucked into the cover of soft black wings, a kiss pressed to his hair, and the Angel asked for his name.

"‘s Tommy," the boy answered, sleep now pulling at his eyelids, listening to the soothing coo that whispered out of the older avian.

"Precious, Tommy. Sleep, you’re safe here," the Angel whispered.

Tommy, despite whatever concerns might follow in the morning, closed his eyes and slept.

Chapter Text

Tommy, in all his infinite wisdom, had fallen asleep in the goddamn nest of the SBI. Literally. How he had been so stupid, even when controlled by his instincts, he honestly wasn't sure. Usually he had at least some sense of self preservation, not whatever the hell had gotten him here.

It started with him slowly gaining a sense of consciousness, comfortable for the first time in weeks. Slowly rising through the layers of grey limbo between him and the waking world, reluctant to leave his sleep. But unfortunately, there was a gnawing hunger in his gut that demanded attention.

The first bit of true awareness came with the realization that he could hear someone breathing next to him. Then it was followed by the knowledge that he could feel other people – multiple, concerningly – laying on either side of him. Breaths coming steadily, in and out, sleeping still despite the hitch in his own lungs.

Tommy carefully opened one eye, seeing nothing but the wall of a dark room, barely enough light to see coming from the window. As he peeked his head up, he saw the sleeping forms of Siren and Blood God on either side of him, and internally cursed his stupidity.

Neither of them were wearing their masks, and he quickly snapped his eyes away from their bare faces before he could register more than brown curls and long pink hair.

He had to get out. Now, before it was too late.

Baby bird be damned, no matter how much he really, really wanted to stay within the nest that he was currently in. With a growing sense of dread, Tommy pushed himself up, careful to not jostle or move either of the villains on either side of him. Thankfully it seemed that they had at least given him enough room to be comfortable, which now gave him the opportunity to escape. He just- had to get to the door, he bet that the window was barred or otherwise inescapable at the moment.

And yet, as his feet touched the ground, he nearly collapsed.

Embarrassingly, as he set a hand on the doorknob, he found his eyes burning with tears. As much as he logically knew he had to get back to his apartment, away from these villains, he didn't want to. He couldn't- every bit of instinct in him cried out in despair at the thought of leaving the nest, running from such a place of safety. He couldn't leave his flock behind, not again, not when he had just gotten here.

Desperately choking down the sound that tried to escape from him, he opened the door just a crack, being greeted with a hallway. He could hear someone, probably Angel, messing around in what he assumed to be a kitchen – he could smell the food cooking, making his stomach grumble quietly.

No. He couldn't stop, he had to leave, no matter how much his baby bird demanded that he curl up in the nest again.

He had a nest at home.

Tommy forcefully decided to ignore the voice in his head that called his nest tiny and sad. It was a great nest, anyone who said otherwise could fuck off. Even his dumb baby bird instincts, because his nest was great, even if it was a bit more sparse and cold and less fluffy than the one behind him.

Fuck.

Biting the inside of his cheek, Tommy crept out of the door, taking things one step at a time.

Slowly, he made his way down the hall, until he reached two open entryways. One, he could see, led to what he sincerely hoped was the front door of this place, through what Tommy assumed to be the living room.

The other opened up into the kitchen, where he could hear the Angel of Death cooking breakfast. He hadn't dared to fully peek inside, but he could hear and smell the sizzling bacon. His stomach clenched unhappily, wanting desperately to be filled after who knows how long. Back at his apartment he had started to run low on both food and funds with which to buy anything… maybe it wouldn't be so bad to stay here?

Nope, no, absolutely not- no way, not ever. He just had to peek through the doorway and make sure the Angel's back was turned so he could book it to the door and get out. Easy.

Slowly, ever so carefully, he slid closer to the entryway, praying that the villain wouldn't immediately spot him. It was bad enough that he had willingly let villains kidnap him, he didn't need the villains to keep him. He had shit to do, his own life to live, he didn't need them butting in any more than they already had with this whole instinct-driven fiasco.

He held that thought in mind as he finally peered around the corner, one eye barely far enough to see as more and more of the kitchen area opened up before him – until he spotted the Angel.

The man's back was indeed facing him, which was a good and bad thing. Good, because for the moment the villain couldn't see him. Bad, because the moment that Tommy saw his wings, his instincts went fucking wild again.

Before he could even hope to swallow it back down, Tommy felt a strangled chirp leave him. It was a pathetic little cheep of noise, barely enough to be heard, but it seemed that the Angel caught it just fine.

Immediately, the man turned around, looking rather surprised when he saw Tommy half hidden behind the wall separating them. He tried to duck away, but it was barely a waver backwards as his eyes fixated on those big black wings, his own down-covered ones fluffing up in response. His mind was chanting flock, flock, flock even as he knew that this man was dangerous. The Angel of Death could kill with just a touch, body burning and withering away in mere seconds like the world's deadliest poison. He was a villain, for fucks sake, there was every reason for him to be terrified in this moment.

But even as fear made his throat constrict around another chirp, his instincts still crooned as the Angel stepped forward.

"Oh, fledgling, you shouldn't be out of the nest-"

"I'm not- I'm not your fucking fledgling," Tommy spat, an immediate refusal. "I need- I need to go home- I have work soon, you can't just fucking keep me here, dickhead!"

Angel frowned, wings fluffing up and for a moment Tommy was worried that maybe he'd pissed the villain off – fuck, he needed to watch his mouth around these three – but then a quiet warble fell from the man and Tommy froze. It was a sad sound, pleading, coaxing, and he found himself taking a step forward before he could hope to stop himself.

And yet, he still reeled back as if he had been burned when the older avian reached out to him when he was close enough to touch.

“Stop- fucking back off-”

“Tommy, you should just go lay down, breakfast will be done soon-”

“Fuck off! I don’t need breakfast, I need to go home!” His breathing was getting faster now, panicked, shaken and hating the way that his instincts screamed against everything he did. He had to get out of this apartment, but his feet wouldn’t move in the way he wanted them to-

Another warble came from the villain, an attempt at comfort, and Tommy felt tears rush into his eyes as he gritted his teeth. He bit his tongue harshly enough that he tasted iron, trying to break himself out of his instinct’s control as he shook.

It wasn’t until the Angel brushed his hands up and down Tommy’s arms that he finally broke, trying to pull away. It was like a physical fight within himself, two halves of himself trying to pull away from each other, tearing the whole in the process. But now the villain had hands on him, gripping, and finally the boy broke as he sobbed.

“Let- let me go-” Tears tracked down his cheeks, dripping from his chin even as he bared his teeth in an attempt to seem less pathetic. “I wanna go home-”

And yet, it seemed like his distress only made Angel more insistent on holding him tight, and between the way his instincts held him in a vice grip and the extended lack of proper food and exercise, Tommy had no way of breaking out of his grip. He was useless, only able to sob and cry, shrill chirps beginning to bubble out of him that made the Angel pull him even closer.

“Angel?” Siren’s voice came from behind him, and Tommy was just barely able to twist around enough to catch a glimpse of the glance that he and Blood God shared. “Hey… ah, fuck, Angel’s pretty deep in his bird brain, huh?”

Blood God grunted and stepped forward, and Tommy gave a quiet whine before finding his head buried against Angel’s shoulder with a firm hand on the back of his neck. A hiss rattled out of the older avian, great black wings mantling in a motion that screamed protection, love, safety while Tommy was held so closely to the villain. In his grip, Tommy’s baby bird keened at the show of protectiveness.

The other two villains, on the other hand, did not seem so impressed. Another glance between them, and Blood God waved a hand at Siren, prompting him to do something.

Power laced in his words despite his hesitant tone, Siren spoke. “Angel, let Tommy go and stand still until I tell you to- Tommy, come here.”

Another rattling hiss of anger rose from the older avian, but even he didn’t seem to stand a chance against Siren’s power. It got him free at the very least, though his baby bird went berserk at the thought of stepping away from his flock, even as his feet moved of their own accord.

He was scooped up by Blood God, entirely off his feet – the moment that he left the ground, Tommy thrashed in his hold with a loud chirp that echoed off the walls.

It made the villain behind him warble in response, sounding pained, and Tommy sobbed again.

Siren and Blood God wanted to get rid of him – the way they had been intending on the night before, apparently – but Tommy could only feel dread at the thought. Away from his flock, away from the soft nest he had been pulled into the night before, away from the safe and comfortable curl of dark wings-

Away from villains and the blood staining their hands, away from the danger that they presented in a thousand different ways.

Blood God carried him away, back through the hall that Tommy had just navigated, through a different door than he had stepped out of. Instead of the room with the nest that he had woken up in, he found himself being set down in a different nest entirely – instead of the side walls being built up like what he felt was right, it was just a mound of blankets and pillows thrown together. Still, it was better than what he had initially had, the sad, meager bundle of soft cloth that was his own bed.

As the Blood God sat down in the nest, Tommy held close to him still, he got the feeling that this was the villain’s own bed.

It only made him cry harder, as the man holding him ran his fingers through his hair. His nails gently scratched over his scalp, the attention tempting Tommy to melt, wanting so desperately to relax. But his mind was a constant, acidic cycle – his instincts crying out for Angel, his flock, as his conscious thought shied away from the avian, glad that Blood God had carried him away, terrified of the villain that now held him. There was no escape from it, not even as Tommy again tried to pull himself away from the pink-haired villain.

“C’mon kid, deep breaths for me,” the man murmured.

It came as a surprise to Tommy, as his breath suddenly came in a great gasp – he hadn’t even realized that his breathing had stopped. “I- I- please, I just-”

“Shhh. Just calm down for a second, you’re okay.”

“I want to go home-”

A low hum left the villain, and Tommy held his breath for a precious second to try to get his lungs to stop shuddering like they were, listening to the considering note in the Blood God’s voice. “You will kid, I promise. We’re all just kind of stuck together for the moment.”

Tommy whined, hiccuping in distress. “Wh- what does that mean?”

“You saw Angel hissing at us, right?” Again, Blood God ran his hand through Tommy’s hair, and he shuddered at the contact. He wasn’t sure if it was a motion of fear or contentment. “You’re both a bit stuck in your instincts right now. If you leave, you’re going to be miserable, and Angel’s bird brain won’t stop looking for you until he gets you back into the nest. So we’re at a bit of an impasse right now. We just need to wait until the imprinting passes, and then you can go home.”

Tommy- well, he couldn’t really argue with that. It terrified him, but his instincts, his stupid baby bird brain, was elated at the thought.

He was so tired. Exhausted, really, even though he woke up barely ten minutes ago or something. “H-how long will it take to pass?”

At that, the villain went quiet, before shrugging. It moved Tommy’s head slightly, he hadn’t even realized that he had laid his head down on the Blood God’s shoulder until the movement was made. “I dunno, kid. Not much is known about avians, y’know?”

“How can you-” Another sob hiccuped out of him, frustrated tears welling up anew in his eyes even as he wiped at his face in annoyance. “How can you not know-? The Angel is an avian, he should know-”

“Avians are rare, Tommy. I’m not even sure if Angel had another avian to imprint on himself, I wasn’t exactly around when he manifested. The guy’s old as hell.” The villain chuckled at his own jab at the man, patting Tommy’s back gently. “But he might know. We’ll ask him once Siren gets him calmed down enough that he won’t sink into his bird brain so much and freak you out again.”

It wasn't an answer that he was particularly happy with, but-

Well, he didn't have much of a choice, did he? Siren, Blood God, the Angel of Death, versus a single powerless civilian that was imprinting on one of their own. Tommy couldn't even say that he wanted to leave, with his instincts going haywire. Even just the thought made a sad warble leave his throat, burying his face into the shoulder of the villain with the miserable noise.

The man stiffened for half a second, and Tommy followed suit, thinking that he had done something wrong – maybe cuddling up to a villain wasn't the smartest idea. But Blood God only relaxed again, letting out a soft huffing noise, continuing to run his hand through Tommy's hair.

"Is that good enough for you, kid?"

Tommy huffed, almost growling at the guy before deciding that he actually didn't want to invite death into the room so early. "M' not a kid. I can take care of myself, yknow."

"Hm. Seems like, emancipated so young. You didn't answer, though."

"You- how did you-" Tommy pried his head off of the man's shoulder, pulling back to stare at the villain.

The pink haired man stared back, impassive, as he gave a shrug. "You gave us a name, Siren was talking aloud while he was researching."

"Fucking creepy- you're all wrong'uns, what gives you the right to look me up like that, huh?"

"We're villains, kid, I don't know what you're expectin' from us," Blood God pointed out. "And you've been following Angel around for weeks, giving us good reason to check out your background."

Tommy scowled at the man, before looking away with a petulant frown. The anger and nerves helped to wash out some of the anxious jitter that came with his instincts still calling for him to seek the Angel out. Instead, the shake that threatened to show in his hands came from the thought that villains now knew who he was. They knew that he was emancipated, young and alone – though if they knew that much, they probably knew that he didn't have anything to offer them, right?

So once his imprinting faded away enough for him to leave, they wouldn't need him. They wouldn't bother him again… right?

He hoped not, or Tommy would stab the shit out of them if they ever tried to get into his apartment. It might be a shit hole, an all-around awful place to live, but it was his place. He didn't work two jobs, bite and scratch and claw his way into an adult world for nothing.

So he huffed, turning his face away as he reluctantly curled into the Blood God's arms, setting his cheek against the man's shoulder again. "Fine, whatever. Fuck you, bitch."

A warm hand patted the back of his neck, giving it an achingly gentle squeeze that Tommy didn't know how to decipher.

They sat there for a while as he nearly fell asleep on the villain, until the door opened. He looked up once more, to see the face of Siren, giving him a tired smile.

“Sorry about that, kid-”

“I’m not a fuckin kid, come on man!”

Blood God simply patted his back, which made Tommy realize that he was in fact being held like a child by the man. His cheeks burned as he quickly scrambled out of the villain’s lap, glaring at both of the men in the room, daring them to say anything.

Thankfully, Siren let it go, only slightly smirking as he leaned against the doorway. “Well, Angel should be chilled out enough now, so… let’s take this slow, shall we? Tommy, breakfast is ready in the kitchen, if you think you’re up for it?”

“... I’m fine, bitch,” he said, keeping up his glare even as his stomach cramped in displeasure.

Siren only raised an eyebrow at him. “Uh huh. You look like you’re starving though, and I think that Angel will actually go full bird brain if you don’t get fed, so why don’t you at least have some toast?”

“Fuck off.”

“... you’re like a stubborn toddler.” Siren sighed, as Tommy sat up with a scowl.

“Fuck off, dickhead! I’m not a child-”

“Then stop acting like one, and come eat,” the villain hissed, staring him down. “I really don’t want to keep using my powers on you and Ph- fucking Angel, so if you’d make this easier on all of us…”

Looking exasperated, the man waved an arm out of the door, motioning towards the kitchen. The reminder that the Angel of Death himself had fought against both of his closest allies for Tommy was… something. He wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

It also reminded him that he was in fact dealing with three very dangerous villains, even if one of them was basically incapacitated by instincts at the moment.

So for now, he carefully stood up, swallowing down the sad little warble that threatened to leave him as he stepped out of the Blood God’s nest. Even if it wasn’t an avian nest, it was better than nothing, and more comfortable than his own besides.

He was surprised though, when Siren led the way back to the room that he had woken up in, instead of the kitchen. There, the Angel was already waiting, looking a little sheepish. Behind him, the Siren and Blood God left to go get the actual food for breakfast, leaving him to settle into the nest.

“Tommy,” Angel cooed softly as he led him closer – and the young avian couldn’t stop the way that it made him relax, allowing the man to pull his head against his chest. “Sorry for freaking you out, mate, I didn’t mean to.”

The boy only grumbled, hiding his face in the dark curl of the villain’s wing. Carefully, one hand reached out to brush through the black feathers, and Angel gave another adoring coo.

“... Bloody said that I’m basically stuck with you guys until the imprinting stuff goes away,” he muttered after a few moments.

That pulled a hum from the Angel, as a hand came up to run through Tommy’s hair. He stiffened at the touch for a second, but then sharp talons just barely, gently scraped against his scalp and he melted. “He did, did he?”

“Yeah,” he whispered, before a soft warble forced its way out of his throat.

It got an answering noise from the villain, and his fingers curled into soft black feathers. Not quite pulling, but it felt nice to just be able to… touch.

“I’ll have to teach you how to preen your wings,” the Angel said, his other hand carding through the soft down of Tommy’s own feathers. “They must feel pretty uncomfortable mate, how long have you been hiding them?”

Tommy shuddered as the door opened and the other two villains returned, the nest shifting as the room was flooded with the scent of food. “Um… pretty much since they came in, I guess?” His stomach growled loudly, making Siren snort.

But Angel only stilled, his hand curling possessively in Tommy’s hair, stopping him from sitting up. “And how long has it been since they came in?”

He paused to think, his face still tucked against the man’s chest. Why did he sound so… upset? Yeah, it had been uncomfortable to hide his wings, but-

Well. People had used lesser things against him, finding ways to hurt him, for their own cruel reasons. It was something that he had learned in foster care, to never show anything that could be used against him. It was a survival instinct.

“Nestling,” the Angel hissed, pulling Tommy closer against him. “How long?”

“It- it’s been maybe a month and a half now, I guess?”

A hurt noise left the man, wings shuffling and closing in around them in agitation. Behind him, Blood God sighed.

“Angel, stop, you’re going to freak him out again.”

“Tech-”

“No,” Blood God cut him off with a stern warning. “Come on, he needs to eat, he’s clearly hungry.”

A moment passed, then two, and finally the older avian released him with clear reluctance. “Sorry, mate,” he murmured into Tommy’s hair.

It just made the boy duck his head and look down as he shuffled a comfortable distance away – not that it was very far, his instincts making it harder to do so than should be reasonable. Stupid baby bird.

They ate in a tense, but not uncomfortable sort of silence. The moment that he put food in his mouth, it seemed like Tommy’s stomach roared to life and reminded him of all his skipped meals.

Luckily, it didn’t seem like the villains had any problem with giving him seconds, when his plate was cleared. Blood God just put another stack of pancakes on his empty plate, complete with some apple slices that he dipped into a pool of syrup.

But once that was finished off, Tommy found himself perhaps a hair over-full for the first time in recent memory, leaning back into the nest with a groan.

“So,” Angel said softly, smiling down at the blonde boy. “Since it seems like you’re going to be staying with us for a while, I think that we should probably give some introductions, huh?”

That made Tommy’s fluttering eyes snap open with purpose once again as he stared at the villain. It seemed like he wasn’t the only one that was shocked, as Blood God was giving him an incredulous look as well.

“Angel-”

“I’m Phil-”

“Angel,” Blood God stressed. “You can’t just tell the kid our names, it’s enough that he’s seen our faces-”

The Angel of Death gave a soft croon that did nothing to settle the other villain. “I think that we’re fine, mate. He won’t do anything, and who would believe a random kid knows the leaders of the Syndicate, anyway?”

Wait, what?

“How do you know that he won’t?” Blood God shot back, eyebrows pulling together in frustration. “If he’s insistent enough-”

But Angel- Phil?- just glanced towards Tommy with a smile. “He’s just a kid, Tech. I don’t think that he ever wanted to get dragged into this, and if he does go to the heroes, he’s just going to be dragged deeper in.”

That… was true. If he told the heroes, and managed to somehow convince them that he wasn’t just some dumb prankster pulling their leg, he would probably be pulled into some sort of witness protection. Then he could kiss his emancipation goodbye, he’d be shipped off to who knows where, and…

He’d probably have to cut off all of his ties to what friends he had. No more Niki at the bakery in the grocery store, no more of the deaf neighbor that lived across the hall… no more online friends. And wouldn’t that suck?

But also-

“I thought the Syndicate was just a myth?” He blurted, looking between the three villains in front of him.

It made Angel chuckle quietly, reaching over to run his hand through Tommy’s hair once more, though this time the boy forced himself to lean away from the touch. “It’s regarded as a myth to most, yeah. The heros have been trying really hard to keep it under wraps, as to not panic the public. It wouldn’t do to let people know that villains were setting up their own organization, huh?”

“So why are you letting me know?” Tommy nearly squeaked, face flushing with color as his voice broke with his nerves.

“Same reason as before. Even if you tell people, you’ll just be another conspiracy theorist.” The winged villain shrugged and let his hand drop. “So, as I was saying… my name is Phil, this is Techno,” a nod towards Blood God, “And Wilbur,” a nod towards Siren.

Tommy glanced between the three of them, before fully sinking into the nest, curling up with his wings tucked close to his back. “You’re all fucking crazy.”

Siren snorted. All in all, it seemed like he was pretty unshaken by the fact that his coworker had just sold out his name, almost like he had been expecting it. “Says the gremlin that was following around one of the scariest villains in the city for nearly a month.”

He snapped his gaze over to the brunet bitch and glared. “Fuck off, bitch! Just because my stupid fucking baby bird wouldn’t leave me along-”

“Aww, look, he admits that he’s just a little baby bird,” Siren cooed mockingly.

“I an not!”

“Little-”

“Fuck off-”

“Baby bird, little fledgling, just a nestling,” he went on, grinning.

With a growl, Tommy shuffled out of his comfortable position and threw himself at the villain, consequences be damned. Phil would probably protect him, anyways. Probably.

As it was, he didn’t really have to test it, as Blood God grabbed him around the middle and hauled the boy into his lap. Which just sent Siren into a round of laughter, clutching at his sides as he leaned back, while Phil was letting out little worried warbles.

Tommy thrashed in the Blood God’s grip, but he found it just as impossible to escape as he had the night before.

“Aw, little baby is having a tantrum-”

“Wilbur,” Blood God growled. “Stop antagonizin’ him. You’re going to give Phil a heart attack.”

“You’re just upset that you have to babysit.” The brunet sat back with that stupid fucking grin of his, and god Tommy had never wanted to kick someone more.

But, it seemed like that it might have been the wrong thing to say to Blood God as well, as he paused, considering.

And then he released Tommy entirely.

“On second thought kid, go ahead.”

Tommy grinned, and this time when he lunged, Siren went down with a shriek.

~~~

After a few days with the villains, he had to admit that… it wasn’t all that horrible, honestly. Wilbur was forever a bitch, and while he didn’t mind Techno all that much, the guy was still intimidating. And of course, most of his time was spent tucked under Phil’s wing, even if the guy was horribly clingy.

It wasn’t Tommy, of course not.

Even if his baby bird was constantly pushing him to get close, to take shelter under big, dark wings, curl into the warmth of the feathers-

Phil was the clingy one. Of course he was.

But really, overall it wasn’t that bad. Except for the fact that he was probably going to get fired from both of his jobs after all of these no-call-no-shows, and lose his apartment, and whatever money he would have after this would probably have to go towards finding a new place to rent, if he even could.

If he ignored all of the stress from the outside world, he was fine. Peachy, even. For now he was intent on enjoying his time having access to free food, free wifi, and no work to worry about getting to.

It was great, totally.

They had even let him message his friends online, which was nice. It was one of the rare moments that all three of them were on at the same time – usually Ranboo was online in the middle of the goddamn night, and Tubbo never seemed to have a consistent sleep schedule, damn time zones.

> Big Man: Bee boy!

> RanBoober: Tommy??? Where have you been??

> Tubbee: You hve about fieseconds to expalin before i stael your kneecaps, asshole

> Tubbee: We werre WORRIED

> Big Man: Hah yeah, sorry about that,,,

> Tubbee: You just diasppeared for like two weeks without a word???

> Big Man: Just kinda got kidnapped, no problem

> RanBoober: Tommy, seriously

> Big Man: By villains, no less

> Tubbee: Thas it, im gonna strankgle you

> RanBoober: If you were kidnapped by the villains, why would they let you go?

> Big Man: Because I am simply too awesome for them, clearky

> Tubbee: Seroisly, where have you ben??

> Big Man: …

Well, never let it be known that Tommy didn’t try to tell them.

> Big man: Well

> Big man: My friends, it turns out that I am not entirely human

> Tubbee: Tommy what does that mean

> RanBoober: ?????

> Big Man: I am, in fact, an avain

> Big Man: *avian

> Tubbee: WHAT

> RanBoober: WHAT

> Big Man: I got bird wings and shit

> RanBoober: Wouldn’t you know that way sooner???

> Tubbee: BIRB BOUY

> Big Man: I dunno man, there’s fuck all online about avians, it’s fucking shit

> Tubbee: BIRD BOU

> Big Man: I’ve spent the last while following around some other avian dude in the city cause instincts are bullshit

> RanBoober: That sucks, man

> RanBoober: Sorry, I’ll be back later, got stuff to do

> Tubbee: BIRD BOY

> Big Man: FUCK OFF, I KNOW

> Tubbee: HAHAHA

After that it seemed like Ranboo disappeared from the conversation, and Tubbo kept laughing at him with every ping of a message, but Tommy smiled to himself. It was nice to have some sense of normalcy, even though he was currently stuck watching movies with the city’s most dangerous villains.

Just as Phil had said, his friends hadn’t exactly believed him – not that Tommy had really been trying, anyway. He didn’t really want to worry his friends, since it seemed like he wasn’t really in danger.

Though that didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to keep an eye on his temporary roommates.

On one side of him, Phil was shuffling as he settled into a new position that allowed his wing to just brush against Tommy’s side, with Techno on the man’s other side, face buried in his phone. Wilbur had taken over the loveseat in the living room, letting his lanky limbs sprawl out over the chair like a lazy octopus.

The three were supposedly watching Tangled – not Tommy’s first choice, but it was a good movie regardless. Not that any of them were really focused on it, anyway, with Techno and Tommy on electronics, Phil dozing off, and Wilbur scribbling something down in a notebook.

Still, Tommy was a little annoyed when the scene was disrupted – Rapunzel was about to see the floating lanterns, for fucks sake!

But then a tear in fucking space and time seemed to open up in the living room, and a startlingly tall figure stumbled out, breathing heavily. A screech echoed from the tear that had opened up, before the new person waved a hand and it shut once more.

And the new person looked up, making eye contact with Tommy.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding.”

The blonde had to agree with that sentiment, honestly.

Standing before him, taller than he had ever imagined, face covered by a familiar plain black mask… was Ranboo. A friend that he had only ever seen over the rare video call when they played Minecraft or something together online.

And he was standing in the living room of the Syndicate leaders’ apartment.

“Fuck,” he said, and he really meant it this time.