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It was just past two am when Tommy made it to the house. It was an ugly, over-lavish thing and he immediately hated it.
He crept along the side of the house, careful not to step in any soft dirt like an amateur. There were motion sensor lights on the back porch but no further defense measures so he ignored them when they flicked on, the back door was a gaudy mess of glass and wrought iron but the lock was fairly simple and after a few quick minutes the door swung open.
The house was silent and dark and Tommy wrinkled his nose at the smell of leather polish and over pungent flowers. How many fucking flower bouquets does one dickhead need? He thought as he passed the ninth vase of lilies on his way to the office. That door was also locked but he made quick work of it and ducked into the dim space.
He stayed crouched by the door as he mentally runs over the rest of the directions, of course this guy has a secret weapons stash hidden behind a bookshelf. He hummed lightly as he counted his way down the shelf, three up, eighteen across, he pulled out a copy of War and Peace and a click sounded within the shelf and slowly it swung open.
Unlocking the safe took a bit more work but this guy was obviously so confident in his status that he didn’t put much thought into security. Tommy gave a low whistle at the rack of weapons, mostly silver, he remembers his client mentioning he was involved with hunters. The knife he had been sent to retrieve was laid in the bottom of the safe, it was netherite with a massive opal inlaid in the handle and Tommy carefully scooped it up and wrapped it before shoving it into his backpack.
He relocked the safe and closed the bookshelf and crept out of the office.
The back door was within sight when he heard something click off to his right and he dove behind the kitchen table just as a panel along the wall swung open and dickhead himself stepped out, Tommy could see wherever he had come from was dark and obviously some kind of basement and the man didn’t bother closing it as he walked right past Tommy and deeper into the house.
The curiosity swelled as the sight of the secret door just hanging open, Tommy knew he should leave it alone but he couldn’t help it, he crept across the dark space and went down the stairs. He emerged into the most stereotypical creeper basement with a metal table and drain included, there was even a cell along the far wall and Tommy couldn’t help but scoff. A deep growl resounded in response to the sound and Tommy froze, he pulled out his flashlight with a quick glance towards the door and snuck over to the cell.
There, tucked into the corner was possibly the scariest person Tommy had ever seen, he was hulking and scarred and his eyes glowed red in the dark. He realized with a start that the man was in fact a werewolf as he once again snarled at Tommy’s approach and bared a set of gleaming sharp canines.
“Shhh” Tommy urged, lowering his flashlight and crouching down, the man bristled and Tommy saw the lump behind him was another person who peaked over his shoulder at the sound. “Why the fuck are you down here?” Tommy couldn’t help but ask and the scary dude only huffed another growl in response.
Tommy stared at him for a second before making his decision, “Okay I’m gonna get you out please don’t attack me,” feral wolves had gold eyes so Tommy was fairly confident neither of them were gonna mindlessly hurt him.
They both watched him in some sort of bewilderment as he dug out his tools and began picking the lock, occasionally casting glances over his shoulder at the door; he whooshed out a breath when the door unlocked and stepped back. He pulled it a few inches and when it didn’t squeal he opened it all the way. Neither one of the wolves had moved and the big one had stopped growling so Tommy approached them slowly.
“I’m just gonna undo the manacles okay? I’ll be real quick” he felt like he was soothing a wild animal more than a person and the lack of answers was not helping. The big dude growled when he touched the manacle on his wrist and Tommy scrambled back.
“It-it’s okay, he won’t hurt you” Tommy whipped his head up when the smaller guy spoke and nodded a bit before creeping closer again. The big guy let him remove the manacles without further protest and shoved Tommy away as soon as he was free. He seemed to be the only one manacled so Tommy moved out of the cell to give him space as he scooped up the other guy who winced before turning back to Tommy.
The side of his shirt was ripped and bloody and it was hard to see in the dim light but it looked like his side was badly burned and Tommy winced in sympathy. He looked like he wanted to speak but Tommy beat him to it.
“We should probably go, I don’t know if that guy is coming back” the big guy nodded and followed behind Tommy as he crept up the stairs and looked around before hurrying over to the backdoor, they made it out into the yard and across the street before Tommy stopped. Now that the danger was passed he honestly wasn’t sure what to do.
“So uhh-”
“Why” he startled at the deep voice, the big guy was staring at him.
“Why? Why what?”
“Why help us?” Tommy wasn’t really sure what to say.
“Cause you were in a cage in a creepy murder basement?”
“What do you want?” he pressed a growl creeping into his voice.
“Nothing! Really I just wanted to help, I doubt that guy had you in a cage for a good reason..” he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
Nobody spoke for a moment and Tommy decided he should probably end this, “Okay! Uh this was fun but I gotta go, good uh good luck” he gave a salute and spun around to walk away.
The sun is peeking over the horizon when he makes it back to his apartment, the knife was dropped in a mailbox to be retrived by the client and he sends a message to confirms its retrieval, he decides against mentioning the murder basement and the werewolves. He trudged up the stairs to his apartment, cursing the broken elevator for the hundredth time as he dragged himself inside. He shed his sweater and shoes and collapsed into his bed with a huff. He was out before he heard the front door crack open.
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Something clatters outside Tommys room and he shoots up, the numbers on his alarm clock tell him it’s eleven but he still feels blurry with sleep. He stumbles out of bed and grabs the baseball bat from behind his door. The house is quiet but in a purposeful way, like when you drop a glass and stand frozen afterwards as though to hide from the sound you made. He steps carefully down the hall making no noise and ducks his head around the corner before immediately recoiling. Lounging on his grubby little couch as though they own the place, are the werewolves, the smaller one is laid down while the terrifying one sits facing the hallway, obviously waiting for Tommy to come out. He lowers the bat and steps around the wall.
“What the actual fuck” he all he manages as he stares at the pair, the smaller one has the decency to look sort of sheepish.
“Wilbur is injured, we needed somewhere to camp for the night” the bigger one told him, not a hint of emotion on his face.
“So you followed me home? I can’t really help with the injury thing, I'm not a medic.”
The smaller guy, Wilbur laughs, “no we know, it was too far for us to walk home and Techno refused to sleep in the open with me hurt so he decided to follow you home” Tommy guessed that was logical if not creepy as fuck.
“Okay so you're gonna leave now? Not to be rude but you are technically trespassing and I’m not feeding you” he probably should be nicer, he is not gonna beat Techno in a fight, he seems unperturbed though.
“You got a phone? I’ll call someone to come get us and we’ll leave” Tommy feels slightly terrified by the way Techno has just been staring at him for the entire conversation and he tightens his grip on the bat.
“Yea sure… one sec” he backs down the hallways and ducks into his room, he grabs a random burner phone and shoves a battery in it before returning to the living room. Techno is gently helping Wilbur sit up and Tommy sets the phone on the milk crate table and backs up. Techno scoops the phone up with a quirked eyebrow then moves away to make a call.
“ So... why you were in that dude's basement?” Tommy asks Wilbur after a moment of silence and he flinches internally at the way he closes up.
“It’s a long story, he’s-yea long story kid” he doesn't say anything further and they return to silence.
“Dad's coming” Techno states as he walks back into the living room and Tommy actually flinches this time. Techno stops for a moment before gently setting the phone back on the table and sitting down, “why were you in his basement?” he asks, Tommy shrugs.
“Just a job” he offers before heading into the kitchen, he sets the bat on the counter and fixes himself a coffee, keeping an ear out to the werewolves talking quietly behind him.
He heads back into the living room and sits on the floor seeing as the couch is the only other seating, he picks up the burner phone, removing the sim card and breaking it before putting a new one in and messaging Quackity about picking up his payment, this job paid pretty well and he was looking forward to all the ramen he was gonna buy later. He glances up to see Techno watching him and he frowns and tucks the phone away.
“You live alone then? Seem pretty young to me” Tommy scoffs
“I’m 19 dickhead, a perfectly reasonable age to be living alone.”
“And stealing very expensive weapons from sadistic millionaires is a perfectly reasonable job then?” he counters and Tommy bristles.
“That is none of your business so fuck off.” Techno opens his mouth again but Wilburs smacks at his face from where he is dozing on his shoulder.
“Leave him be, he saved our lives” he mumbled, he looked really pale.
“Do you uh do you need a painkiller or something? I think I have some Advil somewhere” he started to stand and Wilbur huffed a laugh.
“Doesn’t work on us, metabolism is too fast, thank you though.”
They sat in semi awkward silence for another twenty before Techno sat up straighter.
“Dad’s here, let’s go” he scooped Wilbur up and walked to the door, they offered another thanks and an awkward “sorry for breaking in” and then they were gone. Tommy stares at the door for a while before getting up to return to his room, he needed a fucking nap.
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It had been a week since the werewolf incident and Tommy had mostly put it behind him, he’d been working at a local cafe to make some extra money between jobs and had kept his ear out for any sign that there was an angry millionaire after him. Nothing had popped up so he was confident he was in the clear.
He was sitting behind the till, idly scrolling through his phone when the bell over the door chimed. He looked up and couldn’t help the sharp intake of breath when he saw Wilbur approaching the till. Their eyes met and Wilbur seemed to realize who it was and gave him a beaming smile. He looked better, his brown hair was clean and he was wearing a soft yellow sweater rather than the ragged bloody shirt he had on before. The smile didn't leave his face as he stepped up to the till.
“Hey! I didn’t know you worked here!” Tommy gave him a tight smile and moved to the cash register.
“Yea its a recent development, what can I get you” Wilbur rattles off some ridiculous monstrosity of a coffee and a hot chocolate and Tommy waves him down to the end of the counter while he makes the drinks. He sets them down in front of Wilbur and moves away to wipe the counter. Wilbur picks up the coffee but doesn’t move away from the counter and instead nudges the hot chocolate back towards Tommy.
“Is it wrong?” he asks, trying not to snap at him, he didn’t even try it!
“No no, it’s for you, it's the least I can do” he gives Tommy another bright smile and Tommy can see the edges of his canines glint in the light. Tommy mutters a thanks and scoops of the drink, it's warm on his tongue and he savours the rich sweetness as he stares out at the street.
“Are you… are you okay?” he asks quietly after a few minutes casting a quick look at Wilbur before looking away.
“Oh yea, we have a healer in our pack so she got me fixed up, there isn’t even much of a scar.” Tommy nodded and went silent again.
Wilbur finished his drinks and turned to Tommy.
“Well I have to go to work but i’ll come again, it was good to see you…Tommy” he smiled and left the shop. He almost asked how he knew his name then remembered the stupid name tag he was made to wear and closed his mouth. He went back to work, sipping his hot chocolate.
Tommy in unsurprised when Wilbur shows up the next day, he tries to be unimpressed but the company is nice and he buys him another hot chocolate. The third time he comes in is at the end of Tommys shift so when he clocks off they tuck themselves into a corner booth with a fresh hot chocolate and a plate of berry scones.
They sit in semi-awkward silence for a few minutes as Tommy tries to figure out what to say. Wilbur had tried to ask about his job again last time and he had shrugged the question off, he wasn’t ashamed of what he did but it wasn’t something he wanted to be public knowledge. He hadn’t gotten the courage to ask about the basement incident again. it was obviously a sore subject and Tommy couldn’t bear the idea of angering the first person he had befriended since he aged out of the foster system.
“So uh how’s your brother? Still incredibly grumpy?” he tries to joke and immediately cringes at himself, no shit Techno was grumpy he got kidnapped and his brother was hurt. Wilbur laughs anyway.
“He’s good, he worries about me going out on my own but I managed to convince him I’ll be fine, pretty sure there's a tracking device sewn into my sweater though” he laughs, Tommy hedges a strained laugh as well. “I’m sorry he was so mean to you, he acts like a hard ass but he was really worried about me, which I guess makes sense after he watched me get… you know, hurt.” Wilbur shrugs and stares into his coffee.
“Oh yea no that’s- it’s okay I get it, or I mean I don’t get it- I kinda get it, I didn’t get kidnapped though.” Tommy rambles for a second before taking a sip of his hot chocolate to stop the awkward flow of words. When he looked up Wilbur was smiling at him.
“You’re adorable” he sighs and Tommy squawks in protest, tossing a scone at Wilbur's face.
“So what’re you doing for the full moon? Gonna chase some squirrels” he grins at Wilbur's offended scoff, desperate to move away from unpleasant topics.
“We don’t chase squirrels you gremlin, for your information we have a pack dinner and then usually the younger wolves will shift and go for a night run with dad since he’s the alpha.”
“That's cool, still sounds like you're going to chase squirrels” he laughed when Wilbur huffed and tossed the scone back.
“You should come to dinner at least. Dad wants to meet you and you’d get to meet the rest of our pack. I think you and Tubbo would get along, he’s a bit younger than you,'' Tommy isn't sure what to say for a moment.
“Oh uhh I’ll- sure I’ll think about it big man” he gave a crooked smile and turned back to his hot chocolate.
The next time Wilbur comes in Techno is with him and Tommy can’t help the jolt of nerves at his presence, he was not convinced that Techno wasn’t still suspicious of him. Wilbur buys his normal coffee monstrosity and Tommy can’t help but snort at the look Techno gives him. When Tommy goes to make their drinks Wilbur moves away to find a table but Techno stays at the counter.
“Are you coming this weekend? '' he asks and Tommy eyes him critically for a moment, his face is blank so it's hard to tell if he’s unhappy about the idea.
“Wilbur invited me” was what he settled on, trying to keep his voice neutral. “Not sure if I’m gonna come yet”
“I’ll come get you at five, bring a sweater it gets cold” he walks away before Tommy can respond and Tommy stares at him for a moment before returning to the coffees.
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The night of the full moon rolls around and can’t help but be nervous. He’d taken a job the night before so he didn’t spend the night overthinking but his nerves had made him sloppy and he ended up spending the entire night laying in a gutter hiding from an angry bank manager. That plus his shift at the coffee shop had left him running on about an hour of sleep and it definitely wasn’t helping his nerves.
At five he left his apartment building just in time to see Techno pull up in an unreasonably nice car. He slid into the passenger seat and tried not to cringe at the awkward silence that immediately settled over the car. Techno seemed content to sit in silence so Tommy watched out the window picking idly at his nails. After ten minutes or so, Techno broke the silence.
“Your… job you do, nobodies forcing you to do it? This is’t some blackmail thing” he keeps his eyes on the road, letting the question hang.
“No it’s- no nobody is forcing me, I pick my jobs and I get paid.” Tommy doesn’t add anymore, not wanting to get into the bleeding heart bullshit of his past.
“Okay kid, it’s none of my business i just wanted to make sure you’re safe” Tommy can’t help the embarrassed flush that rises.
“I’m fine… but thank you I guess” Techno hums and they return to silence.
The pull onto a gravel road and Tommy has a solid minute of thinking Techno may be taking him into the woods to murder him before the trees part revealing a massive wood cabin. There's a few people standing on the deck when they approach and Tommy feels a spike of nerves when they all turn to look at him. One man breaks away and comes down the stairs to greet them, he bumps his forehead against Techno’s before turning to Tommy.
“Hey mate I’m Phil, it's nice to finally meet you, Wilbur won’t shut up about you” Tommy hears Wilbur squawk in protest but keeps his eyes on Phil, he has a few inches on the man but the power coming off him makes Tommy want to run and hide and he was struggling to maintain eye contact.
“Tommy, its nice to meet you, uh thanks for letting me come” he offered not sure if there was some werewolf custom he was royally fucking up, Phil was the alpha and the last thing Tommy wanted to do was piss him off. But Phil just smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder and led him into the house. He was introduced to a few more people and he tried to keep track of all the faces and names but he wasn’t used to being around this many people. Ever since he aged out of the system he’d been on his own and before Wilbur the only person he ever talked to was Quackity when he was getting jobs or getting paid.
The whole “werewolves are very social and very touchy” thing was definitely not wrong as Tommy found himself being hugged and patted and dragged around to meet the entire pack. He tries to be friendly and allow the contact but he is out of his element and cant resist the sigh of relief when someone calls dinner and Tommy is able to squish himself between Wilbur and a tall quiet boy named Ranboo.
Dinner was a delicious but loud affair and Tommy sat in silence for the most part observing, the homes he grew up in were always loud but it never had the friendly warmth that dinner with the pack did. He knew he was an outsider and this was not a permanent thing but he couldn't help but cling to the moment.
“So Tommy I know you're not a werewolf but would you like to join us for the moon? “ Phil asked when the noise died down and Tommy cringed when all eyes turned to him.
“Oh uhh sure? I’d - I’d like that I think” he stuttered. Wilbur immediately wrapped his arms around Tommy’s shoulders and most of his head.
“Yes!” he shouted directly in Tommy's ear “it’ll be so fun I promise” he gave another squeeze before letting go, Tommy tried to glare at him but it broke into an awkward smile and he turned back to his food. When the meal finished everyone split off to clean up and Techno pulled Tommy through the house and back out the front door, he handed him a fluffy blanket with a pointed look at his thin fraying sweater before showing him to a circle of chairs out in the yard.
“Some of us will go hunt for a bit with Phil but most of the older wolves will stay here, if you get too cold feel free to go back in the house” Tommy nodded and Techno immediately began shifting into an absolutely massive red wolf. He shook himself out before plodding over to where a few others had come out of the house. Phil gave him a pet on the forehead and smiled at Tommy before shifting in a gold wolf and taking off into the woods, a group of wolves at his heels.
Tommy had been so focused on them he startled when something thumped on the table beside him. He noticed it was a mug of hot chocolate and smiled up at the woman who had set it down, Puffy maybe? He wasn’t sure but before he could say anything she shifted into a sleek white wolf and stretched before sinking onto a bench beside him. A few others joined them but Tommy couldn't tell who was who in their wolf forms.
The wolves seemed content to just lounge until the younger ones came back so Tommy cuddled into his blanket with his mug and listened to the sounds of the forest. A few times a chorus of howls would rise up from the woods and the wolves laying around him would join the chorus for a moment and Tommy couldn’t help but grin at the sight.
Eventually the hunting party came back and Tommy had about four seconds to set down his now empty mug before a lanky brown wolf that had to be Wilbur was half way in his lap and licking at his face. He shoves at Wilbur's face until he moves away but he doesn't go far, he starts tugging at Tommys sweater and the blanket wrapped around him until Tommy stands and starts shoving him to where all the wolves have congregated into a pile on the lawn.
Before Tommy can so much as protest he is shoved into Techno’s side and Wilbur flops down across his legs. He looks around the pile of wolves and makes eye contact with Phil who stalks over to bump his face against Tommys before curling around Wilbur and laying his head on Techno’s front leg. Tommy reorients his blanket so he’s covered and lays down letting Wilbur throw his head over his chest. He tries to stay awake but the warmth and steady heartbeat under his back and on his legs lull him to sleep. He’s awakened some time later by a human Techno scooping him off the ground and carrying him into the house, he is laid into a bed and covered with a blanket before he drifts off to sleep again.
The next morning he is met with a flurry of activity, the wolves all working in chaotic tandem to make a monstrous pile of breakfast, Tommy stands groggily in the doorway watching before Phil comes over to rescue him.
“We burn a lot of energy on full moons so everybody is pretty hungry in the morning, just sit and I’ll get you some coffee” he deposits Tommy into a chair and disappears into the kitchen before returning with a steaming mug and a bouncing Wilbur trailing behind him.
“Tommy! Dad said I wasn't allowed to wake you up, did you sleep good? Did you have fun?” He fires off and Tommy just stares at him for a moment before nodding and taking a sip of his coffee. Wilbur seems satisfied and runs back into the kitchen. Eventually everyone piles into the dining room to eat and once again Tommy is surrounded by a cacophony of noise and life and he smiles into his cup. After breakfast when he’s been suitably hugged and patted and Phil had given him a slip of paper with his number(for emergencies), Techno drives him home and gives Tommy an affectionate albeit awkward head bump before basically shoving him out of the car. Tommy can’t help but wilt a bit when he steps back into his chilly, silent apartment, the change settling heavily over him. He tried to shove it off and get ready for work but he was too aware of the silence and he started humming just to break it.
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The next few days droned on, Wilbur had been busy so Tommy just slept and worked and tried to ignore the new hole in his life. He’d gone to see Quackity looking for work but he was having issues with some client dispute so Tommy ended up sorting orders for three hours which was objectively worse than laying on his couch. He does get a job though so it was at least worth it, he takes the file of information home and spreads it out on the floor to read over.
It’s a fairly straightforward theft so he just writes out details and had just started going over the floor plans when there was a knock at his door. He starts shuffling the papers into a pile when the door springs open and Wilbur waltzes in. The smile on his face drops slightly when he sees Tommy on the floor surrounded by paper but it snaps back after a second.
“You do realize you're supposed to wait for people to open the door right? This is trespassing” Tommy snarks as he scoops the last of the papers up and puts them in the kitchen. Wilbur shrugs and follows after him. Just as he turns to face him he is scooped into a bone crushing hug.
“Uhhh you good?” he asks after a second of being hugged too long in complete silence.
“Yea, just missed you” Wilbur gives him a smile and lets go, he flops down on the couch and Tommy frowns.
“Okay? Missed you too big man” There's a beat of awkward silence then Wilbur begins enthusiastically telling Tommy about work and his pack and the seagull he saw that morning and Tommy sinks into his side and listens. He occasionally inserts an insult or answers the odd question but for the most part just enjoys the company.
Wil orders them dinner and continues to ramble and eventually ends up sprawled across the couch with Tommy’s head in his lap. He goes quiet for a few minutes and Tommy feels himself drifting to sleep. Wilbur chuckles and scoops him up, depositing him in bed with a quiet goodnight before shutting off all the lights and leaving Tommy to sleep.
His job is the next night and once again he finds himself crouched in a bush watching as his mark gets into his car and drives off. Quackity informed him he’d be at a dinner for a few hours so he’d have lots of time to get in and pull files off of his computer and take the hard copies out of his safe. Tommy had no idea what he was stealing but that was pretty standard, from what he had gathered this guy was part of the hunters guild so probably something related to being an intolerant dickhead.
Getting in is easy, he slips in through the kitchen door and spends the next hour moving files off the computer onto a hard drive and finding the matching papers from the safe, he tucks everything into his pack and shuts down the computer.
On his way back to the door he sees the stairs leading to the basement and his mind flashes to Wilbur and Techno, chained and bloody.
Surely it wouldn’t happen again, that dude was just a psychopath. Except the papers Tommy found were all about werewolves and what seemed to be the process of inducing feral states and Tommy couldn’t just leave without checking. He shuffles his feet for a moment before cursing and heading down the stairs, he has some time.
The basement proves to be fairly boring, concrete and bare with a work bench covered in tools and a row of storage shelves. Curiosity appeased Tommy turns to leave when something catches his eye. The wall in front of him was unremarkable, blank plaster and a shelf of paint cans and dusty boxes, but the concrete was scratched like the shelf had been moved away from the wall repetitively and the wall along the side had a wider seam between boards than it should.
Tommy crept over and slowly dragged the shelf away from the wall, he felt along the seam and felt his hard jump when it came away and a door swung open. The room beyond was dark and smells like rot and iron, he creeps inside and feels a wave of deja vu when something growls from the dark. He pulls the door mostly closed behind him and grabs his flashlight, shining it ahead shows a cage and in the cage a man, bloody and hunched in the corner, his lips peeled back from his teeth. Tommy can’t see his eyes in the darkness but he creeps forward anyways.
“I fucking called it” Tommy breathes, more to himself but the wolf growls again.
“Shh hey, I'm gonna get you out okay? Just-okay, just one sec” Tommys hands shake as he slowly pulls out his lock picks and begins jiggling the lock. The man hasn’t stopped growling and is steadily getting louder and Tommy glances up at him nervously. He stares for a moment, looking for a hint of gold in the wolf's eyes but there's nothing so he keeps working.
The lock pops open and Tommy just begins to pull the door when he is slammed backwards. He lets out a strangled sound when he feels sharp claws wrap around his shoulder, tearing through his shirt and into his skin. The wolf pins him to the ground and snaps at his face, Tommy throws his arm up to protect himself and screams when the man bites down hard on his arm, he has a solid moment of believing he’s about to die when the werewolf freezes.
His growling stutters and he pauses. Tommy whimpers when the wolf leans in and sniffs his arm and neck.
“What-” he starts then cuts himself off and whips his head up, Tommy hears the sound of boots on the stairs and suddenly the man releases him, he moves off Tommy and darts out the door. Tommy hears a shout of panic, a snarl, a bang and then it is silent. He waits for someone, the wolf or the hunter, to return but nobody does.
Tommy gave himself five minutes to sit in the dark and breath, the house was silent and eerily still. He knew he was bleeding from multiple places and he needed help but he felt frozen to the floor, stuff with shock and adrenaline.
After an eternity of listening to his own breath he hauled himself to his feet, the bite on his arm burned and he didn’t want to look at whatever mangled mess his shoulder was, he grabbed his back pack with his good arm and crept up the stairs, there was a trail of blood across the foyer and a large window was smashed out. Tommy hurries back to the kitchen door, desperate to escape from the house, he wasn’t sure if the hunter or wolf were dead but he wasn’t sticking around to find out.
He scrambled out the back door and across the yard, he worked his way along the back fence trying to find a gate giving literally zero shits about the mess of blood and footprints he was leaving behind. Finally he managed to get out of the yard and he began jogging down the road away from the house, he made it a few blocks before the numb burning in his arm flared with a horriific new heat and he collapsed to the ground with a cry.
The pain was all consuming and he desperately ripped his sweater away from his arm and shoulder trying to alleviate the pain. When he finally saw his arm his heart dropped into his stomach. The bite on his arm was inflamed and thin black lines like veins branched out from it up his arm to the mess on his shoulder. Tommy didn't know a lot about werewolves but that seemed like a very bad thing.
Unable to think beyond the burning pain Tommy wrenched his cellphone out of his backpack and scrolled to the brand new contact he never thought he’d use, pressing it to his ear with a trembling hand. It rang itself out and he sobbed, desperately he redialed and held it up again. Finally it went through and he sobbed again at the groggy hello he received.
“Phil? I’m so sorry I don’t know what to do” he broke off on another sob “I- I need help, please”
“Tommy?” he sounded much more awake now, “where are you? What happened?”
“I’m in Nor-north Heights, I- I don’t, I don’t know what to do” he sobbed harder as the pain spiked and he flopped onto his back on the grass. “I got bi-bit and it hurts and please Phil please I don’t know what to do”
“Okay pup just breathe, where in North Heights, are there any street signs?” Phil sounded so calm and Tommy could hear him talking to somebody on the other side. He rolled onto his back, biting back a whimper at the pain and tried to remember where he was.
“Hill-hillside? I can’t really see, ther-there’s a park with a statue” he hiccuped.
“That’s good okay we’re coming, you said you got bit, bit by what Tommy, are you bleeding?” he continued and Tommy locked onto the cadence of his voice.
“There was a wol-wolf but it wasn’t his fault, he was hurt and I scared hi-him but it hurts and there’s weird lines and I don’t know what to do '' Phil shushed him when he started sobbing again.
“You got bit by a werewolf?” Tommy hummed an affirmative, “okay and you said there are lines, are they black around the bite?” Tommy hummed again and flinched when Phil swore.
“Okay starlight were almost there, you’ll be okay I promise we’re coming” he kept offering mindless reassurance and Tommy focused on the sound of his voice as the pain rolled over him.
After what felt like forever he was blinded by headlights and Phil was rushing to his side. He turned Tommy onto his side and immediately pulled his sweater back to look at his shoulder. He hissed under his breath and Tommy couldn’t stop himself from shoving his face into Phils stomach.
“I’m sorry, thank you thank you” he mumbled, clawing at Phil’s side with his good arm.
“Shh you’re okay Tommy, let's get you home, you're gonna be okay” he petted Tommys face, gently and scooped him up, walking back to the car where Techno waited. He tucked into the back seat with Tommy against his side and Techno started driving, they were quiet except Phil occasionally offering reassurance whenever Tommy whimpered. The pain had leveled out somewhere between awful and mind numbing and Tommy’s eyes had blurred with exhaustion and shock. He kept his head dug into Phil’s side and tried not to cry again.
The drive back was quick and all too soon Tommy was scooped out of the car and carried inside. Wilbur met them at the door.
“Is everyth- Tommy!?” he half shouted and Tommy cringed away from the sound. “What happened? Why- what” he sputtered before Techno dragged him away from Phil and Tommy and into the kitchen. Phil kept walking deeper into the house and Tommy tucked his face into his shoulder, dizzy from the bright lights and movement. He was set down on something soft and felt Phil pull off his blood soaked sweater and his shoes before coming to sit beside him.
“Tommy, can you hear me?” he nodded, trying to focus his eyes on Phil's face. “I need you to listen for a second okay? That bite on your arm is a turning bite, it’s too late to stop it but I can bite over it so the turn goes faster, it’ll only hurt for a second then you’ll be asleep.”
He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He was turning, Tommy was gonna wake up a werewolf tomorrow. He shook his mind away from the thought and focused on Phil again. Faster sounded good, the pain felt like it was boiling his bones and he had stopped trying to smother the whining sounds he’d been making for the past hour. He let himself relax and nodded at Phil who smiled slightly. He readjusted Tommy so he could reach his arm and brought it up to his mouth.
Tommy couldn’t help but squeeze his eyes shut when he felt a warm breath over the still bleeding wound on his arm. He whined at the aching sting of Phil biting down but it was over quickly and he felt a rush of something that immediately made him go lax and most of the pain fled him. The door creaked open and Tommy could see Wilbur crawl onto the bed to spoon up behind Tommy.
“We got you sunshine, go to sleep” he murmured and Tommy did just that.
---------------------------
“Okay now really lean in to it”
“Why do you keep saying that! Lean in to what, huh? I’m not skiing you dickhead”
Tommy sits on Phils bed with Wilbur and Tubbo who have been trying to teach him how to shift for the past hour but frankly are shit at explaining, Tubbo was apparently hoping if he just shifted back and forth a million times Tommy would catch on.
With a groan Tommy flopped onto his back, since waking up he had spent most of his time in this room getting used to his new senses and “bonding” with his new alpha and pack which mostly meant getting cuddled and hugged almost constantly. The new instincts in his head loved it so he begrudgingly (not begrudgingly) endured the attention.
Phil and Techno were off apparently trying to locate the wolf that had bit Tommy; he'd panicked when he first heard this, frantically exclaiming that it wasn’t his fault but Phil calmly reassured him that either way they needed to find him and make sure he was okay. Tubbo and Wilbur had volunteered to sit with him which left them here, Tubbo had exhausted himself with his multiple shifting demonstrations and Wilbur was basically just ranting about wolf mojo so Tommy tuned him out.
He closed his eyes and tried to focus, he felt his breathing and the rustle of his shirt and the sound of his blood pumping through his veins, he felt around in the new thread of instincts in his mind and tried to push it forward.
Shift he told them and suddenly he was changing, it didn’t hurt, rather felt like standing up to fast and getting the spins, he opened his eyes and while he was still on the bed he immediately knew he had done it, he tuned back in to Tubbo and Wilbur both yelling incoherently and was crushed into a dog pile hug. He managed to get out from under them and looked down at himself, his fur was a tawny blonde, similar to Phil but darker, his turning bite was still visible on his now front leg and when he swivelled around to look at the vanity mirror he saw himself, a wolf. He was dragged out of his reverie when the door opened.
“Dad! He did it! He’s so cute!” Wilbur gushed, once again dragging Tommy into a hug. Phil looked stunned for a moment before his face broke out in a grin and he walked across the room to drag Tommy into a hug.
“I’m proud of you pup” he murmured and if Tommy could cry he would have, he moved back and Tommy yelped when he was tackled to the bed by a red mass, Techno immediately curled around Tommy and began grooming his ears and cheek. Wilbur and Tubbo shifted and curled around them and with a huff Phil joined them, he shifted into his golden wolf form and curled around his children.
Techno finished cleaning Tommy’s face and he settled in, Tommy stared at the pile of rumbling fur around him, his pack, his family and couldn’t help but smile.