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Tommy plucked at the strings carefully, the soft sound echoed throughout the house. It was a slow tune, but beautiful nonetheless. A small smile made its way onto his face and he sunk into a familiar pattern.
He sat on Wilbur’s bed, a thick, light brown blanket underneath him, his shoes near the door where he had kicked them off quickly after arriving home from school. His bag was next to them, a dull red backpack with scrapes and holes in a range of sizes, quite literally falling apart at the seams.
He began to sing along to the little tune. One of Wil’s.
“We all move on
Some faster than others
We all know~
We all sacrifice
In a Bath late in the evening,
Building up sorrow~”
The guitar rang out slightly louder now, his voice was still quiet, almost a whisper.
“But I can’t say that I
Wasted my time
‘Cause I’m built by you
And I can’t say that I
Am glad it is over
‘Cause that wouldn’t be true”
“So, thank you”
“Oh, thank you”
His voice was building now, the fear of being heard slowly dissipating from his bones as he continued to play.
“We both remember that day in the summer
When you were sat on me
And we cried, oh, how we cried
In that moment, we’ve never been so happy”
The guitar got louder still, more aggressive. His voice grew more steady as he strummed with confidence.
“And I can’t say that I
Wasted my time
‘Cause I’m built by yo
And I can’t say that I
Am glad it is over
‘Cause that wouldn’t be true”
“So, thank you”
“Oh, thank you”
“All I can say is “thank you”
His voice grew on that line, then quieted as he sunk in on himself, the last couple of lines quiet as he whispered them into the stillness of the air around him.
“But I can’t say that I
Won’t miss you”
The guitar played still, fading off into silence as the song ended.
“I don’t think I taught you that one, sunshine”
Tommy’s head snapped up to the doorway and he froze when he saw that Wilbur was stood there, leaning against the doorframe, casually. He blushed, embarrassed. His breathing picked up slightly.
“Um.. You didn’t”
He said it quietly, hesitant and scared that he would be scolded (or worse, hit) for touching Wil’s guitar without permission. It wasn’t the worst thing he had done in this house without consequence, but he knew how much the guitar meant to Wilbur and he had used it anyway.
“It’s okay, sweetheart, it was good”
“Oh. Thanks.”
Wilbur walked over to the bed sitting down next to him, the bed dipping under the new weight. Tommy’s put his head down, now staring at the grooves and marks in the guitar, focusing on scratches in the wood, rather than Wilbur’s actions. Still waiting to be told off.
“Seriously, Toms, that was amazing. I didn’t know you could play like that, especially since you’re self-taught”
He sounds genuine as he says it, prompting Tommy to look up at his face. They make eye contact and Wilbur can see the hesitancy and fear in Tommy’s eyes.
“You’re not mad?”
“Sunshine, why would I be mad? I’ve just heard the most amazing music ever in my life, coming from the most amazing person ever in my life. I could never be mad at you for that dear.”
“But I took your things without asking first and I know how much you love your guitar. I could have broken it”
Tommy feels like he might cry after admitting it. Thinking that Wilbur just hadn’t noticed the issue and now that he was aware, he would get punished.
Instead, he was pulled into a hug. His eyes widened at the sudden movement and he tensed up. Wil just hugged him tighter, the embrace secure and comforting.
Tommy doesn’t know how long they just sat there, hugging, but slowly he began to melt into the arms of his brother, returning the hug as best he could.
After a while, Wilbur spoke into his shoulder.
“I will never be mad at you for that, sweetheart, never. Not even if you break something. As long as you aren’t hurting others on purpose I will never, ever be mad at you. Even then, I know you would have a reason. Toms,” he pulls back from the hug, looking Tommy in the eyes as he speaks, holding him by the shoulders,”you will never, and I mean never, make me mad enough at you to cause you any pain on purpose, whether that be emotional or physical, okay? I promise you that.”
Tommy looks away, squirming under Wilbur’s intense gaze as it burns into him.
“Okay?” Wil asked.
“Okay” Tommy replied.
“Now, let’s get you some dinner, I think Phil’s been shouting for a while”
Wilbur pulled away completely, a sugar-sweet smile on his face as he ruffled Tommy’s hair softly and stood up and walked towards the door, leaving Tommy squawking as he tried to flatten his hair back down. He turned to look back at him, fondness clear on his face.
“Love you, sunshine”
“I love you too, Wil”
Tommy smiled back.