Archive of Our Own

In life it is considered normal for children to be born into loving families.

Of course, not every family was perfect. Sometimes there would be fights, in other times there might be a rift in the family resulting in an estranged relationship. But in most cases, there is still that love that keeps them together, keeps them whole. A family bound together by blood.

Tommy wasn’t as lucky.

From the young age of five Tommy was placed in the foster system, holding a cow plush in one hand and the other gripping his brothers, whose name was Wilbur. Together the brothers arrived at the foster home with nothing but the clothes on their back, left abandoned just like the other children that lived there.

Unlike his brother however, Tommy never really remembered much about his parents. Both of them having always been absent in his life. Wilbur on the other hand did remember, had known what they were like the seven years before Tommy himself was born.

Normally, he doesn’t try to pry when it came to information about their parents, he knows better than to open healing wounds. The one thing Tommy did ask however was what had happened to them. What had been the change that made it so they could no longer stay in that place that wasn’t quite home but was at least a house.

“They ran off.” was all he was told.

They didn’t pass in some tragic accident, didn’t get attacked by any of the rouge vampires that lurked around in the shadows, they weren’t even kidnapped or anything. They just left. Decided to up and abandon their children with no remorse, never looking back.

And the two brothers agreed to forget about them, that they didn’t need them.

As time went by Tommy and Wilbur were placed from house to house, many looking for the perfect child to adopt. Of course, there were many struggles the two faced from both the system and foster parents as well. Many wanting to split the brothers up, taking one and leaving the other behind.

No matter their attempts to change his mind or the honey filled words that spoke of family, Tommy never took it and picked his brother before anyone else. Together the two of them made a vow, that they didn’t need to have any parents, that they can survive on their own.

It was just them against the world.

Or at least, until Wilbur turned 18.

Out of all days, Tommy remembers that one with much clarity. He was 11 then, cheeks still round with baby fat and looking at Wilbur with red eyes as he buried himself into his brother’s arms. Birthdays weren’t meant to be miserable and yet he dreaded what would happen tomorrow, when Wilbur will have to leave the building while he has to stay in the foster system. Alone.

“This won’t be forever.” Wilbur had whispered to him, rubbing a hand against his little brothers back. “Tommy, I need you to look at me.”

Not wanting to ignore his brothers request, Tommy had reluctantly looked up with puffy eyes, tears still spilling down his cheeks. With so much care, Wilbur cupped his face, a determined look in his eyes.

“I’m going to come back to get you.” he says, “It’ll take a long time, maybe even a year but I’m going to get you out of here.” he finishes, the silent promise dancing in the air between them. “But why a year? Why would it take so long?” Tommy whispers with a light hiccup and his brother grimaces.

“Because I need to find a home for us and a good job. I need to show the system that I’ll be able to provide for both of us and that means it’ll take a lot of money and time before I can take you out of the foster system.” Wilbur replies. “I know it’ll be hard, but I promise that when I have the chance, I’ll come back to get you. I promise.”

“….m’kay.” Tommy mumbles with a sniff, leaning into the hands that still cup his cheeks. “I’ll wait for you.” he says looking up at his brother with an angry pout, “but you better give me all the ice cream you have!”

A breathy laugh. “Sure Toms.” Wilbur says ruffling the others hair, “anything for you.”

The next day, Tommy stood at the entrance, trying his best not to break down crying again with his social worker standing next to him. He watched as his brother began to leave the building, a bag on his back and a phone in his hand.

He watches as Wilbur turns around for the final time and sends him one last wave, a sad smile on his lips. Tommy sends a small one back as his face begins to scrunch up, biting the bottom of his lip to stop the tears from forming in the corners of his eyes.

And then just like that, Wilbur was gone. Leaving the foster system permanently.

If only Tommy knew back then that he wasn’t going to come back.

The first year without Wilbur didn’t faze Tommy. He understood that his brother wouldn’t be able to get him out in a year, that he still needed more time. But it didn’t help the loneliness that he felt now that his brother was gone.

It was scary, begin alone. For a long time, he had Wilbur there to keep him company, to protect him from things that were too big for Tommy to tackle. Now however, his brother wasn’t there to keep him entertained, wasn’t there to stop or heal the bruises forming on his skin.

But despite that, Tommy didn’t give up. He still clung to the hope that Wilbur would come to get him, will take him away from this place.

Then one year turned into four and it wasn’t until Tommy had turned was 15 when his hope wavered, when he started to let doubt sink in and take over his undying love and loyalty.

It started when he had to leave another foster home. This one was different from all the others, belonging to a sweet old woman that wanted company and to take care of someone with the little time she had left.

She would tell him stories about the vampires that roomed the city after Tommy admitted that he didn’t know much about them. Apparently, she too had been an orphan along with her sister or at least until her sister had also aged out. Then she became a vampire hunter, wishing to protect the city.

“Eventually the vampires decided to distance themselves from us humans.” she told him from her place on the couch, “and I decided to retire after that.”

“What about your sister?” Tommy had asked with wide eyes. The woman looked back at him with a sad smile, crows feet showing in the corner of her squinted eyes.

“I’ve never seen her since the day she left.”

After that, the woman had passed. Illness had taken her, and Tommy was sent back to the group home without a single goodbye, not even to see her funeral. Their discussion however still plays in his head, how her sister never came for her, and he couldn’t help but start to doubt Wilbur.

Eventually as another year had passed, Tommy forgot about Wilbur, choosing to let go of the fruitless hope that his brother will one day come back. Instead, he spends his time with two new friends he made in the foster system, their names being Tubbo and Ranboo.

Tubbo was the definition of chaotic. He always had a feral grin plastered on his face whenever he went on his rants about topics he liked. It was more comforting for Tommy when it was an expression that was aimed at others, threatening those that would dare to hurt his friends.

For Ranboo, timid and shy was what Tommy had thought of him. He was the type of guy that stood in the corner of the room and was awkward whenever someone talked to him and had a spine of a chocolate éclair because he was that much of a pushover. For better or for worse however, that timidness soon melted away and he became more open, had more sass.

Let’s just say that Tommy lost his shit when the same guy that never swore gave him the finger.

Truthfully, he would say that it was the best year of his life, even compared to the days when he still had Wilbur. No longer was he alone in an old crumbling bedroom that had once held two, no longer did he have to bandage his wounds on his own. It made the bad days’ worth it, knowing that Tommy had friends by his side, and that they had him.

Of course, the world just wanted to bring him down again.

Freshly 16, Tommy was walking down the streets back towards the foster home. He was given permission to venture around the town for a bit, just exploring and looking at different shops. He thinks after this however, they won’t allow it again.

The sun was setting as he speeded walked down the street, the phone in his hand telling him that he was past curfew. Sweat was beginning to run down his face as he half ran, muttering colourful curses in his head.

His panic is soon put on pause however, when he catches sight of something from the corner of his eye.

Across the road was a bar, packed full of people with a couple of groups chatting to each other outside. It was a normal sight, considering that it was currently a weekend. What was not normal however was the familiar face Tommy saw in the crowd.

From the distance, Tommy catches sight of two red eyes no longer the warm brown tones he once saw. Soft sweaters and maron beanies traded in for slightly more formal attire, a newly brought trench coat draped over his shoulders.

From the distance Tommy saw Wilbur. However, he wasn’t alone.

Next to him where two strangers, both who appeared to be having a conversation with him. It seemed like a good one, with the smiles on their lips and the occasional laughs that are let out from a joke that Tommy can’t quite hear.

Similar to Wilbur, the strangers were also wearing formal attire, with a glass full of liquor in their hands. Though what caught Tommy’s attention the most were their red eyes along with the four-pointed emeralds all three of them wore. All matching, bound together.

A coven.

His brother is a vampire. Wilbur is a vampire and has created a family without Tommy.

He made a family and Tommy was left behind. Forgotten.

Distantly he thinks something had cracked within him, but the pain is all drowned away from the numbness he feels washing over. There’s ringing in his ears, taking over the loud chatter from the bar, as he stands there and stares at the one person he had happily thought of as family.

Truthfully, Tommy couldn’t really recall much on what happened afterwards. He briefly remembers making his way back to the foster home, feeling nothing but overwhelming numbness. He remembers at one point someone standing in front of him, talking sternly as they point a finger at him. Probably a worker telling him off for being late.

Then he finds himself laying in his bed, sheets pulled over his shoulders and still wearing the same clothes he wore that evening.

And it’s only then that Tommy cries. Frustrated, angry and tears leaking out of his eyes, letting out quiet sobs that sound just as painful as the heartbreak tearing at him from the inside.

Through his misery and grief Tommy could only think of one thing; that Wilbur lied. And that’s what broke him the most.

Things become a blur after that day. He was unsure whether it had been hours or days since his walk through town. All Tommy knew was that he never left his bed, no longer finding the motivation to get up for once.

Unfortunately for him however, Tubbo and Ranboo had noticed his absence and knowing them they wouldn’t leave their friend alone. He ended up waking from a doze to his door being practically ribbed open and a weight draped over his lying form demanding where he had been.

So, with a croaky voice, Tommy explains what happened. He explains how he found his once beloved brother, how that same brother was now a vampire and making a new life with a coven.

“He left me.” is the last thing that Tommy manages to choke out before going quiet, no longer having the energy to keep talking.

After that he goes back to his numb daze, lying awake with open eyes and yet not quite there anymore. His friends, however, don’t allow that. They bug him, coxing him to sit up and eat, lightly push him out of bed to use the bathroom. At one point Tubbo had threatened to drag Tommy into the bathroom and push him in the tub, clothes and all.

No matter how difficult it was, Ranboo and Tubbo always stayed by his side. Even going as far as to sleep in his room, dragging their mattresses and dumping them on the floor.

Despite how the world was crumbling around him, their actions soothed the ache in Tommy’s chest. A small warmth replacing the pain at the reminder that he wasn’t completely alone in this world.

Tommy cared very much for his friends, so it made him happy to know that they thought the same.

“We should get emancipated.” Tubbo pipes up one afternoon.

The three of them were all crowded around the bed that Tommy continues to lay in, the sheets draped over his chest with an arm covering his eyes. Sitting on the foot of the bed was Ranboo, his knees folded upwards so he could lean his textbook on them. Then there was Tubbo sitting on the floor with a laptop on his lap with his back leaning against the wall.

At the sudden suggestion, Ranboo glances up from his work while Tommy shifts his arm, revealing an eye so he could look over at the other. “emancipated?” Ranboo questions getting an enthusiastic nod from Tubbo, “how come?”

“Well, I don’t know about you two but I’m a bit fed up with going to different homes and just adults in general.” the other says letting out a dramatic sigh and flopping back against the wall.

Playing along, Ranboo lets out a loud sigh, looking into the distance. “Yeah, I’m a bit sick of adults too.” he says sombrely.

“Fuck adults.” Tommy abruptly chimes in with a mumble, causing the other two to jump slightly. His voice is still a wreak just like the last time he’d talked, croaky and weak. He lets his arm slide off his face and begins to sit up with a huff, bed hair falling over his eyes as he looks between the two. “What does emancipate mean and how do we do it?”

“It means getting out of the foster system early, we’re still underage but will be able to live independently and won’t have to go to foster homes anymore.” Tubbo explains as he begins to type on his laptop. “It might take a bit since we’ll have to prove that we are actually capable of being independent but considering all three of us got roughly two years until we turn 18, it probably won’t be much of a hassle.”

“Are you thinking that all three of us do it? Leave the system together?” Ranboo asks, shifting his legs to lay flat on the bed. “Well yeah, I was thinking if you guys are cool with it, that we could share an apartment together like roommates.” Tubbo replies, glancing up from his laptop to look at his friend’s reactions.

“Yeah, that sounds good.” Ranboo answers with a grin before looking at Tommy, expression softening a bit. “What do you think?”

“I- umm…..” Tommy says, unsure on how to reply.

A part of him screams at him to say no, reminding him how horrible it went with Wilbur. It screams that to trust them could result in getting hurt again and that he wouldn’t be able to handle another heartbreak.

Afterall if his own brother, the only one he would happily call family left him, then who’s to say that Tubbo and Ranboo won’t do the same?

And yet….

Tommy was tired. Tired of moving from house to house, of sharp pains resulting in discoloured skin and houses that are barely liveable. For once he wants to live in a house- a proper house that he can call his own.

Then there was also the idea of living with his friends, living with Tubbo and Ranboo. He could imagine it, waking up in the morning in a place full of noise, replacing the silence he grew up hating since Wilbur left.

And if they all end up leaving together like Tubbo suggested, then it would also be less likely for them to break their promise, to disappear from his life.

“….Alright.” Tommy agrees with a nod, the corners of his mouth tilting to create a small smile. “Let’s do that then.” He says watching as Tubbo and Ranboo beam at him

------

His phone buzzes for the third time in a row, most likely the same person that called him the previous two times considering how it kept ringing frequently.

As his ringtone continues to sing, Tommy lets out a groan, leaning back against the couch and pressing the palm of his hands against his eyes. “Come on, it’s my day off .” he loudly whines into the empty apartment, Ranboo and Tubbo having gone out to do their shopping.

It’s been about two years since the trio had decided to try and get out of the foster system and just as Tubbo had stated, it wasn’t really hard to do- or at least for him and Ranboo that is. Tommy was unfortunately a year younger than them and had a rough time when he was trying to leave the system, the judgemental pricks-

At least now he’s turned 18, finally free from the hellhole Tommy spent most of his childhood in.

With a sigh, he pushes Tubbo’s laptop off his lap and gets off of the couch, heading towards the kitchen counter where his phone is charging. Just as he grabs it, the ringtone stops, giving him the time to check his notifications and see that- yep there’s been three missed calls from the same number.

‘It’s probably my boss.’ Tommy thinks as his phone starts to ring for the fourth time, the same number on displayed. Normally when it came to his contacts, he tries to avoid adding them to his phone, much to the annoyance of his boss who has to call more than once in order to get him to pick up

Truthfully, he doesn’t think it’s really his fault considering the amount of times he’s had to add then delete the contacts of his previous bosses.

With another sigh, Tommy answers the call, pressing the screen against his ear. “Hello, Tommy here.” he says into the phone, having to bite back from saying ‘ayup’ like he normally does. With how insistent the caller wants him to pick up Tommy doesn’t want to piss them off even more.

And also having to explain to Tubbo why he got fired on his day off of all things, if this is his boss.

From the other side of the call, Tommy hears the faint breaths of the caller, the only thing the phone picks up as the seconds tick by. However, just as he’s about to press the button to hang up, the person finally speaks.

“….Tommy?” Says a familiar voice coming from the phone.

Immediately, Tommy stops, his thumb mere inches from the red button before he freezes. That-…. that shouldn’t be possible. How does he-?

Silently, he looks down at the number displayed on the screen, the timer under it ticking away, telling him how long the call has been going for. Tommy distantly wonders if it could be counting something else as well.

“Tommy?” the voice says again, less hesitant this time. “Are you there?”

“…..Wilbur?” Tommy asks, his voice faint and weak as he stares at his brothers number. For once he wishes the caller was his boss, at least it would be better than this.

“Y-yes its me.” Wilbur replies, letting out a small breathy laugh and through the speaker Tommy can hear the smile in his voice. It makes him sick. “How have things been? Are you doing ok-“

“How did you get this number?” Tommy interrupts, voice cold and straight to the point.

“Oh, I- uh…” Wilbur says, sounding startled from the lack of emotion in the others voice. “I went to the foster centre and when they mentioned that you weren’t there anymore, and I asked if they could give me your number.” he explains.

‘Probably thralled them’ Tommy thinks to himself, recalling the different abilities that most vampires have. Though if Wilbur was telling the truth, then he isn’t really surprised considering their past negligence. “Ok then, why are you contacting me?” Tommy asks, leaning against the kitchen counter behind him.

“Well, I wanted to let you know that I’m ready to take you in. I’ve got a new house and a job where the pay is high enough that I can provide for the both of us.” Wilbur says and Tommy can once again hear the smile in his voice, how it seems to grow wider after each sentence. “So I was thinking that maybe we could catch up and you can finally move in-“

“Stop.” Tommy shouts, interrupting Wilbur again. “Just stop.”

It’s a cruel joke, a sick disgusting joke that the world is playing on him. Just when he’s finally happy, has found even a crumb of stability in his life the world spits on him, raining him with misfortune. Giving him karma for even daring to find any sort of peace.

And frankly Tommy is fucking sick of it.

“I know that you’re a vampire Wilbur.” he says in a cold voice. “Tommy what-“ Wilbur tries to say but Tommy swiftly cuts him off. “Don’t try to fucking lie to me. I saw you two years ago laughing it up with your buddies in a fucking pub- which by the way, how’s the coven? Was it worth it, leaving me behind?”

Tommy then lets out a bitter chuckle, rubbing a hand against his forehead. “Even if I didn’t know about that, what did you expect? That I’ll say yes and ignore the fact that you’ve never contacted me in seven years? Your too late Wilbur, I’ve moved on. I ended up getting emancipated two years ago and I already have a home for myself, found some great people who I wouldn’t trade for the world.”

“I’m sorry, but I think it’s for the best if we just continue on our separate ways. You go back to your family, and I’ll stay here with mine. Goodbye Wilbur.”

“Wait- Tommy-“ But before the other can say anything else, Tommy ends the call, his phone going back to his home screen. As the silence lingers, he watches as the screen turns off with a hollow feeling in his chest.

Much to his despair however, the phone suddenly flickers to life again, his ringtone blasting into the silent room and causing him to jump. The same number- Wilbur’s number flashes on screen and this time Tommy immediately declines it, swiping a finger on the red button.

Once call goes away, Tommy taps into his contacts and gets up his recent calls. He ends up having to decline another call before he manages to block Wilbur’s number, relaxing at the lack of a third call. Letting out a tired, empty sigh as he then drops the device onto the counter, pressing both hands against his face.

It takes all of his willpower for Tommy to not chuck his phone at the wall as he grabs it again and shuffles out from the kitchen, going back to his spot on the couch. He can no longer find the motivation he had before to continue his work on the laptop, or really anything at all.

He feels empty, just as miserable as he had felt the last time, he saw his- brother….? Should he even call Wilbur his brother? Tommy doesn’t even know anymore.

He just wants to collapse in his bed and never get up but knows that Tubbo and Ranboo would no doubt worry about him. So instead, he lays down on the couch, listening to the quiet mumbles coming from the TV.

Eventually however, he hears his phone let out a small ding, a sound the device makes whenever he gets a new message. He grabs it, finding the message coming from another unknown number. After reading the text stating that ”This is Wilbur-“ and to “please message me Toms-“ he immediately blocks them, deleting the message completely.

No doubt Wilbur was attempting to contact him again using a friend’s phone and Tommy assumes it may have been his coven buddies when he receives another message an hour later, the same words copy and pasted from the previous ones. Swiftly he blocks that one as well before Wilbur has the chance to spam him with calls again.

After that, the apartment was silent.

Tommy doesn’t know how long he continued to lay on the couch, eyes staring at the TV and yet not quite listening as the words fly over his head. He’s only brought back to reality by the sound of the apartment door opening, the familiar chatter of his best friends as they walk in.

“-like imagine ruling the world with an army of bees- oh hey Tommy!” Tubbo greets looking over at the couch as he dumps a heavy bag of groceries onto the table with a loud thump. “Have you finished using my laptop?”

“…..Tommy?” he says when Tommy doesn’t reply or shift from his laying form on the couch. “You ok there?” Ranboo pipes up, walking around the kitchen counter to look over at him, a concern expression on his face.

“You good big man?” Tubbo asks when he also reaches the couch, crouching down to look at his friend’s face. At the lack of a confirmation, he reaches out a hand to take Tommy’s, rubbing a thumb against the back of his hand. The action sends a wave of warmth through Tommy’s chest, aware that the other wasn’t the type to provide much physical touch and he finds that he’s able to speak again.

“Wilbur called me today.” He mumbles out, face still slightly smushed against the arm of the couch. He watches quietly as Tubbo’s face changes from shock to a murderous look and Tommy feels a faint tingling as his hand is slightly squeezed.

“Wait, wasn’t he the one that never contacted you in years-?“

“I’m going to kill him.” Tubbo says darkly, talking over Ranboo’s mutters, a sharp smile forming on his face. Then he stands up, dropping Tommy’s hand and looking around to try and find where he’d placed his phone.

“Give me his fucking number, I’m going to call him.” Tubbo calls out, storming back over to the kitchen counter and snatching the device.

“I’ve already blocked him.” Tommy replies, gesturing towards his own phone lying on the coffee table. “He tried to message me using two other contacts, but I deleted and blocked them both.”

‘I also don’t want to risk him knowing that you’re my roommate or else he’ll probably try to spam you with calls as well.” Tommy adds in, watching as Tubbo drops the phone away from his face with a loud sigh.

“How did he even get your number and why was he trying to contact you anyway?” Ranboo asks, sitting on the other end of the couch and looking over at his friend’s curled form.

“I’m pretty sure he thralled the foster care people into getting my number.” Tommy asnwers, huffing out a small laugh before his expression turns sombre. “….He wanted me to come live with him. Said he was finally stable enough and we could live together like before.”

“So, I told him a knew he was a vampire and had a family. After that I told him it would be best for him to not contact me again.”

“Honestly, I would have just gone off at him, like who the fuck even does that to someone? With your own brother no less.” Tubbo tells him, grinding his teeth together in anger. “Well, it least for now he won’t try and contact you.” Ranboo says, looking over at Tommy. “Though if he does try to get in touch again, you’ll tell us, won’t you?”

“Yeah, I’ll let you guys know.” Tommy replies with a tired sigh. Satisfied, Tubbo and Ranboo move on to talking about the groceries they just brought and plans for dinner.

And the apartment goes back to normal.

------

Nearly two weeks has pasted after the incident, Tommy had all but forgotten the phone call he had with Wilbur. It was no more than a distant bitter feeling for him, wanting to move on from the situation entirely.

Things have pretty much been normal ever since then. He goes to work, does his shift, then comes back home to his friends. Tonight however, Tommy has the unfortunate pleasure of closing up the café for the night and while it’s nothing new, things feel a bit different this time.

It feels like someone’s been watching him, lurking in the shadows. It’s a feeling Tommy had first felt the moment he had stepped out of his apartment building, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck rise up and yet not knowing from where. It wasn’t until he entered the café, that he no longer felt eyes staring at him, that the anxiety faded a bit.

Staring out at the empty streets, Tommy doesn’t think that they would stick around for his whole afternoon shift, however he still feels uneasy.

Biting his bottom lip, he sends a quick text to his roommates group chat, telling them that he’s heading home now. Just as he’s about to press send he pauses, glancing out the window again before adding in his message that he’ll be turning his location on just in case.

After receiving two thumbs up, he then turns off his phone, pocketing it. Next, Tommy turns the lights off, looking back at the empty café before walking out the door and locking it.

The weather is cool tonight as Tommy walks down the street. Light wind blowing in his face and sends small chills down his spine. Quickly goosebumps begin to form on his arms and the small hairs on his skin start to rise. With a shiver, he buries his hands into his hoodie, fastening his pace.

Unfortunately, Tommy becomes too distracted to notice his mistake.

He doesn’t notice the sound of footsteps until their right behind him, loud against the pavement. He doesn’t notice the hairs on his neck rise again, mistaking the reaction to him just being cold.

Tommy doesn’t notice that he wasn’t alone until he feels two arms wrap around him in a strong grip.

He only manages to let out the start of a yelp before a hand covers his mouth, the other curling around his chest and pinning his arms together. Immediately Tommy struggles, trying to fight against the arms that begin to drag him to a nearby alleyway. His efforts, however, are useless and is unable to break free from the bruising grip.

Eventually, his captor stops and instead pushes him against the brick wall, back colliding with the hard surface and causing Tommy to lose his breath. He lets out a loud wheeze, nearly collapsing to the floor if it wasn’t for a hand gripping his neck, keeping him upright.

As he struggles to get his breath back, Tommy finally opens his eyes to look at the assailant. He lets out a strangled gasp, terror paralysing him as sky blue meets blood red. A vampire.

He didn’t look like anyone Tommy knew, no less someone he had seen before.

The vampire was wearing a long black coat, big enough to conceal most of his clothes. His stare was intense, pupils shrinking as he stares straight at Tommy. His lips were curled into a large grin, baring his fangs, the expression making him look like a rabid beast.

Or like a predator that has finally caught its prey.

“Well, what do we have here?” the vampire says in a low croon, leaning his face closer. The hand wrapped around Tommy’s neck shifts to his chin, holding him in place when he attempts to turn away. “You know I didn’t believe it at first when I heard that Soot had a younger brother, and yet here you are.” the vampire tells him, expression turning more gleeful each second.

“Looking at it now, you two do look alike. You both share the same curly hair and height; I wonder what would happen when I tell Wilbur that my coven finally found you.”

“F-fuck off.” Tommy manages to croak out, glaring at the other. “I don’t know who the fuck your talking about-“ he says but is cut off with a sharp hiss as the hand around his jaw tightens, claws digging into his cheeks.

“Don’t lie!” the vampire snarls. “I know who you are Thomas Soot. Your brother may have hidden you well but not well enough. He should have known better then to mess with my coven and now he’ll be paying the price with the cost of his precious little brother.”

Tommy finds himself shivering at the mocking coo the other makes at the last sentence, having no choice but to watch as the other let out a dark laugh. Much to his horror, he then watches as the vampire’s giggles tamper off, their eyes slowly meeting his.

“Looks like we best get going now. I don’t want to be here when the sun rises.” The vampire drawls.

“What are you-“ Tommy tries to say before the hand grasping his chin once again turns bruising. With squinted eyes he watches as the other hand, which had been gripping the brick wall, goes to grab one of his arms.

He can only watch in cold terror as the vampire moves his arm, baring his wrist and pulling it towards the others face. He is only given a second to take it all in before he lets out a strangled scream, white hot pain flaring through his wrist as the vampire bites down on it.

Uncaring of making things worse, Tommy begins to struggle again. With what energy he has left, he sends kicks at the vampire, clawing and tearing at the arms, try to at least do something. Unfortunately, the iron hold does not loosen. His efforts, worthless.

Then, after what felt like hours of pain, something cold starts to seep into his wrist, traveling up his arm. Slowly, the cold starts to numb his limbs, causing his eyes to drop and sapping the energy out of him. His attacks start to lesson until Tommy finds himself no longer able to stay standing, the hand on his chin being the only thing keeping him upright.

Fatigue washes over him, like a giant wave that he can’t even fight. Instead, he lets himself sink, letting them wash over him.

And by the time the fangs in his wrist are removed, he is already gone.

------

Back at the apartment, two friends look over at their phone, staring at the dot showing where their third is currently located. Silently they glance over at one another, exchanging looks.

Tommy hasn’t moved from that alleyway for the last thirty minutes.

------

Everything feels fuzzy as he slowly comes back to consciousness. It feels as though there is a fog in his brain leaving him disorientated and confused, like walking through molasses as Tommy tries to recollect his memories.

Instead, all he gets is a mild headache.

He lets out a low groan, moving his arms to cup his face-… except something stops him. With his eyes still closes, he feels something strong wrapped around his stomach, pinning his arms against his sides. He then finds that his hands are also bound together, clasped together behind his back and as well as his legs.

Shifting a bit, Tommy cracks open his eyes, taking in his surroundings.

And finds that he’s in a cell.

The floor that Tommy lays on is hard and cold, no doubt concrete along with the walls. The room itself is mainly empty, no sight of a bed or window in sight. Not even a fucking toilet. Looking ahead, he sees that there is no wall, instead there is a long line of steel bars, revealing a brick wall on the other side.

Considering the lack of a bed and a goddam sink, Tommy’s pretty sure he isn’t in a police jail cell. From what he can vaguely recall from last night, he’s certain that he had just been kidnapped, by a vampire no less.

With a huff, Tommy begins to sit up, putting his back against the wall and folds his knees close to his chest. Then with as much effort as he can, he tries to shift the ropes around his arms a bit, hoping to check the bite on his wrist. Pressing a thumb against it, he lets out a soft hiss as a small bit of pain flares up.

Thankfully he finds that the wound is irritated but not infected.

Thinking back to the stories that the old foster lady had told him, he’s pretty sure that the vampire who kidnapped him used his venom to knock Tommy out. Even now he can still feel it in his system, a foreign fatigue clawing at him with cold hands, quietly whispering for him to stop fighting and close his eyes.

He almost lets it, not wanting to be awake when his captors check on him.

Unfortunately for him however, he’s interrupted by a loud clang in the distance, followed by the sound of multiple footsteps.

Soon, Tommy looks up to see a vampire on the other side of the bars, looking back at him with a gleeful expression on his face. The vampire then turns his head to the side, looking at someone that Tommy cannot see.

“He’s awake.” He says happily, shuffling away for his companions to see and soon a group of them appear near the bars, peering down at him. One vampire in particular catches Tommy’s eye as they move to the centre, staring at him with piercing eyes and a sharp grin.

It was the same vampire who kidnapped him last night.

Tommy’s lips turn into a deep scrawl as he glares up at the group, saying nothing. “Well, well, I’m glad to see that your awake.” the assumed leader of the group drawls with a smirk, “I was getting a bit worried that I had used too much venom on you, but thankfully you seem alright.”

The “for now” hangs in the air, the vampire not needing to say it for Tommy to understand.

“Alright then, open the door.” he sighs with a snap of his fingers and one the members leaps into action, taking a bundle of keys out of his pocket and unlocking the steel door. Quietly the vampires stroll into the cell, the leader walking straight in front of Tommy and stopping near his feet.

“Now how about we call your brother now? I’m sure he’ll love to see you again.” he asks, the smile not leaving his face as he grabs out his phone. Silently, Tommy watches as the vampire taps on the phone, the device letting out small beeps as he types in a number. With a final tap, the phone begins to ring, the type of tune that comes from a video call and the vampire tilts the screen up to his face.

The device rings once, twice-

“What do you want.” A voice comes from the phone, immediately replacing the ringing from before. Despite callers their annoyed tone, the vampire lets out a wide smile as he stares at his phone. “Ah, Philza, I’m glad you answered.”

“If you are here to waste my time then I’ll be leaving.” The man on the phone- Philza, says with no amusement. “Ah, ah, ah!” the leader tuts, raising a finger to the screen, “Before you do, I might have something to make you reconsider.”

With a single wave of a hand, Tommy watches as one of the vampires standing next to him move. Quickly fingers are wrapped around his curls, and he lets out a loud yelp as they pull, forcing his head up.

“Who is that?” Philza asks, his cold demeanour shifting a bit. “Someone you might know.” The leader answers cryptically. “Why don’t you bring the rest of your coven here? In sure Wilbur would love to see who I have.”

A low curse comes from the phone, followed by a verity of distant sounds that seem to resemble walking. The sound is soon accompanied by muffled words that sound like names followed by a conversation that the device struggles to pick up. Some more walking and then a clear sigh.

“They’re here.” Philza states and Tommy watches as the vampire’s face turns into a dark smile. “Oh, that’s good. I’m glad your all here now.” he replies, opening his mouth to continue when a scoff comes out of the phone.

“What do you want now?” a different voice says which is quickly followed by hiss, someone muttering at them to be quiet and- wait, no. That’s-

“Well, I’m happy that you asked Wilbur.” The leader replies, his eyes glancing down at Tommy with a hungry look. He looks back at the device again, leaning forward as he presses a button. “I was wonder if perhaps you were familiar with this boy?”

From the phone comes the sound of movement, and then a gasp.

“TOMMY!” Wilbur cries out. It’s a fearful cry, full of anger and pure horror that Tommy has never heard and shakes him down to the core. He ends up bitting his lower lip to stop a whimper from coming up, trying to focus on the pain from his hair still being pulled as to not make any noise.

Staring down at the scene with a satisfied grin, the leader lets out a chuckle. “It seems my guess is correct. Here, let me just change the camera so that you two can both see each other.” He says, tapping the phone once again before crouching down to Tommy’s level and turning it around, pointing the screen to his face.

For the first time in years Tommy gets a close look at Wilbur, looking so different and yet just like the boy he once saw all those years ago.

The formal clothes that Tommy had last saw Wilbur in had been changed to a more casual pair, wearing a familiar yellow sweater he knew so well, a trench coat draped over his shoulders.  His hair was the same as ever, curly with the fridge drooping a bit near his eye.

His face however was the biggest change, his face still young as the day he left and yet so different. There was an age look in his eyes, a pair of wire rimmed glasses resting on his nose.

Thinking back to their last conversation, it was so easy for Tommy to say no to Wilbur, to easily cut contact just like the other had done. However, looking at his brother now he doesn’t think he would have done the same if they had talked face to face. He wouldn’t have been able to handle seeing the heart wrenching expression that he currently sees on the screen.

For the first time in his life, Tommy watches as Wilbur crumbles. Fear and horror on his face, the same expression one would make at watching their loved one suffer.

And for the first time in years, Tommy wants nothing more than to be in his brother’s arms and hold him close.

“Touching, isn’t it?” the leader says with a drawl and Tommy breaks eye contact to look at him with a dark glare, baring his teeth. Unfortunately he finds his jaw once again grabbed in an almost bruising grip, the hand pulling his hair being the only thing stopping Tommy from biting it.

“Well, now that I’ve caught all of your attention, I would like to discuss a few issues that your coven has caused mine as of lately.” He continues, fingers slowly squeezing Tommy’s cheeks enough that he can’t stop the look of pain spreading on his face. “I ask that our covens meet tomorrow night so we can smooth things out and hopefully leave our differences aside.” the vampire requests, though everyone can tell that it’s more of a demand.

Fuck, Tommy is pretty much being used as a hostage, isn’t he? Like he obviously knew that before but to witness it just makes it all feel so much worse, that his life is in the hands of these vampires that he doesn’t even know.

“Alright, will the meeting be held at your mansion?” Philza questions, voice still cool and calm. In the background Tommy is able to pick up Wilbur’s panic mutterings from the phone, accompanied by a new voice trying to calm him down.

“Yes, that would be good.” the leader replies, as he finally takes his hands off Tommy’s jaw and begins to stand up. “Thank you for listening to my request. I hope we will be able to smooth things out and that no drastic actions will need to be made.” he says, finishing off with a large grin, fangs in full display.

“Then we will meet tomorrow, have a goodnight.”

“I look forward to it, goodnight.”

Then with a tap of a button the video call ends, plunging the cell into silence. Immediately, the leader vampire’s face falls, the grin turning into a scrawl as he turns off his phone and pockets it. With a flick of a wrist and Tommy’s hair is finally released, his head moving down to rest on his folded knees as his scalp pricks painfully.

After a couple of seconds, he then shifts his head a bit, uncovering one of his eyes to glare up at the leader and catching his eye.

“For your sake, let’s hope they do as their told.” the leader tells him as he turns away, the other members flanking behind him as they all file out of the cell door. With a loud clang, one of them closes the door, locking it.

“You, guard the cell.” The vampire orders, pointing at the one holding the key. After receiving a quick nod, the then group leave the room, finally giving Tommy a semblance of peace.

Letting out a small huff, he buries his head back into his knees.

With a small shaky sigh, Tommy tries to doze, hoping that the hours will pass by quicker.

------

There are no windows in the prison cell, meaning that Tommy didn’t know how much time had passed. Maybe it was morning or maybe he managed to sleep through most of the day, either way the fear of possibly dying as long since faded away and he’s now left feeling nothing but boredom.

Unfortunately, he isn’t really the type to stay quiet, to get loss in his head as he waits for something to happen. So, Tommy does what he does best; he talks.

He curses, yelling out insults from left to right, he tries to make up conversation and once that doesn’t work, spews out random things from the top of his head. His guard, however, did not seem to be pleased about his rambles and Tommy eventually found himself with a gag shoved into his mouth, the rag firmly tied against the back of his head.

After that all he could do was let out small grumbles, resting his head back against his legs in a vain attempt to go back to sleep. Like honestly, he doesn’t care that he’s pretty much making himself venerable in front of a dangerous vampire, he just wants this fucking torture to end-

Bang

Swiftly, Tommy picks his head up from his knees, glancing around the room. He ends up not being the only one as the guard’s head snaps over to the direction where the door must be, his lips pressed into a thin line.

The room is silent, the only sound Tommy could hear being the distant thumps of his own heartbeat as he strains his ears. At first there is nothing, no sound of a commotion or an argument coming from upstairs. A minute goes by, followed by another, and then-

Bang

Another loud noise comes from above, quickly followed by the sound of yelling and thundering footsteps. The noise overlaps so much that Tommy isn’t able to understand what the commotion is about in the first place and why everyone seemed to be panicking.

His eyes draw away from the ceiling when he catches movement from the corner of his eye and he looks down to see the guard staring intently at the door, making uncertain steps towards it. He suddenly freezes however as the sound of a loud boom echoes through the room, the sound of a door colliding with the wall which causes Tommy to flinch.

“S-sir?” the guard says uncertainly as the lead vampire from before storms into the room.

“Give me the keys and go out and help the others.” the leader orders, raising up a hand with the palm up. Swiftly the keys are placed in his hand and Tommy watches as the other vampire runs out of the room, closing the door.

The sound of keys jingling together brings Tommy’s attention back to the cell door, staring as the other opens it, this time not bothering to close it. Fear rapidly starts to claw at his chest as the vampire strides straight towards him, a hand wrapping around his neck and causing him to let out a chocked noise. He watches with wide eyes as the other hand comes up to rip out of his mouth and chucked against the stone floor.

“I fucking warm them, didn’t I?” the vampire hisses, staring straight at Tommy’s face. “I warned them of the consequences if they tried to pull something.” he says, bring his face close to the others, a cruel smile on his lips. It’s the type of manic look of someone who’s far too gone to care anymore.

“No matter. Whether I die or not, at least they’ll be able to hear your dying screams before you die.”

And with a painful grip, Tommy’s head is tilted to the side and a pair of fangs bury themselves into his neck.

Immediately, he lets out a cry of pain, of pure agony as they tear into him. He feels blood seep out of the wound, running down his neck and onto his clothes. This time he’s able to feel the foreign feeling of his blood being drained, the venom immediately being pushed into his system and freezing his veins.

It’s so much worse than the bite on his wrist, so much more painful that he finds he doesn’t have the strength to at least fight back. He also pretty sure that the fact that he hasn’t eaten today is making everything worse, sapping his energy away.

Tommy let out another loud sob as he feels the fangs move, going deeper and ripping his skin.

Fuck, he doesn’t want to go out like this. He doesn’t want to die knowing that his two best friends- his brothers, would never be able to find him and potentially blaming themselves for his death. He doesn’t want to die, alone like he has always been.

And he doesn’t want to go with the knowledge that he’ll never be able to see Wilbur again, that the last conversation they had together was of Tommy yelling at him. That they never got to reconcile after all these years.

With a shallow breath, Tommy finds himself going limp and the hands holding his shoulders preventing him from collapsing. The room sways and goes fuzzy, the noise coming from out the door becoming completely muffled, as though cotton was being stuffed into his ears.

Slowly, Tommy’s eyes start to droop, sleep calling for him. However, just he starts to embrace the darkness, another loud sound catches his interest, louder than normal. From where he blankly stares at the cell bars, he sees a group of blurry silhouettes race into the room.

One shape in particular immediately speeds forward in a blurry of pink and Tommy distantly feels the fangs being pulled out of his neck as the blur wrestles the vampire away. The hands keeping him upright are also ripped away and without any support he collapses against the hard ground with only a small grunt.

With his eyes closed, he listens as the cells seems to erupt with noise and it feels like a hammer is hitting his skull, creating a painful headache. The sounds of yells and shouts seem to echo through the empty cell, the scuffle of a fight breaking out close by.

He finds himself on the verge of drifting away, hoping that unconsciousness would bring him relief from the intense pain on his neck when a pair of hands lift him up. The movement unfortunately sends waves of agony over his body and Tommy isn’t able to stop the cry of pain he lets out.

The hands at least, are gentle. Carefully they guide his body to rest against someone’s chest, his head resting on their shoulder. With some shifting, they tilts his head enough to bare his bleeding neck to them and a cloth is placed over it with a bit of pressure.

Tommy thinks that the person holding him is trying to say something, feeling the vibrations they make as they speak. Then suddenly a hand his placed on his cheek and he finds himself leaning into it, the touch seeming to chase away the ice in his veins.

With a great deal of effort, he manages to briefly crack open an eye, looking up at the owner of the hand. A blurry face is what greets him. They stare down at him with red eyes, that appear almost brown from the dim lightening, accompanied by a pair of wire rimmed glasses and a set of curly brown hair.

It’s Wilbur, who holds him, his hand coming up to rub against Tommy’s cheek and under his eye in a soothing motion.

His expression appears more distort compared to what Tommy had seen on the phone, catching sight of the tears building up in the corner of the others eye. The sight sends a pang through his heart- fuck- he wants to comfort his brother, tell him that everything is ok, but his tongue feels as though it’s made of lead, like his mouth is stuffed full of cotton.

With whatever smidge of energy, he has left, Tommy raises a shaking hand and watches with half lidded eyes as Wilbur’s hand leaves his cheek to grab it in a soft grip.

Sluggishly, he tries to squeeze his hand as much as he can and receives a squeeze back. Together, they continue to go back and forth until the venom coursing through his veins overwhelms him and he finds that the small distraction is not enough anymore.

Wilbur seems to notice this as well, his mouth moving vigorously but the words too muffled for Tommy to properly hear them. With one last blink, his eyes close, lids too heavy to keep open. The action triggers the muffled voices in the background to rise in noise, shouting and pleading for something that Tommy doesn’t bother to understand.

Instead, he lets the call of sleep take him and once again drifts.

------

Tommy sleeps fitfully, fading in and out of consciousness.

Most times he wakes up from an ache in his neck, the red-hot pain agonising enough that it startles him awake, leaving him disorientated. Then just as quickly as he wakes, a frosty claw pulls him back under the waves, freezing his limps as he is pulled into unconsciousness.

Slowly, as the cycle continues, Tommy tries his best to piece everything together. One thing he manages to figure out is that fact that he seems to be running a fever, noticing that a cool cloth is regularly placed over his forehead which thankfully doesn’t worsen the terrible chill in his veins.

Another discovery he makes is the fact that he is never alone. There was always one person watching him, though occasionally there were others, all of them chatting with each other.

Most of them are familiar. Tubbo with his slightly oversized green shirt typing away on his laptop, Ranboo with his familiar spilt coloured mask who would either have a book in his hands or would be leaning over to stare at the laptop screen.

Other times however, there are strangers that Tommy doesn’t recognize. A blond-haired man dressed in green robes with a green and white bucket hat and another man with long pink hair, normally holding a book in his hands.

And then there was Wilbur, who seemed to stay by his side the most.

He was pretty much all over the place, doing a variety of different things each time Tommy managed to crack open an eye. Sometimes he would have his familiar and well-loved guitar playing melancholy songs. Other times he would be holding Tommy’s hand, sometimes gently squeezing it or pressing it against his forehead.

There were also moments when Tommy caught him sleeping in that same chair, his hands crossed over his lap or still having their hands clasped together.

Eventually, things begin to change though once the fever finally breaks and the venom once again begins to leave his system, mainly that fact that Wilbur barely comes to see him anymore. However, Tommy is pretty sure the other sometimes visits, especially after he had been stirred awake one night to a soft kiss on his forehead, opening his eyes and catching the sight of his brother’s sweater before the bedroom door was closed.

“Do you want me to drag him in here?” Tubbo had asked when he finally brought it up.

“No, I- that might make things a bit awkward if you force him.” Tommy says, his thumb brushing along the bandages wrapped around his wrist. Apparently, from what Philza- or Phil said, it was healing quite well, while his neck still needed to be checked on by Techno, the man who had tackled his captor to the ground. “I just-….. I don’t know, I just want to have a somewhat normal conversation with him.”

“Then your best bet will probably be at night.” Ranboo pipes up, looking up from his phone. “Maybe pretend to be asleep or stay awake until he comes it.” He suggests.

“Hah, when he opens the door you could just say ‘I’ve been expecting you’ like one of those creepy masterminds who dramatically pats their cats.” Tubbo adds in with a small chuckle, getting a smile out of Tommy.

“Yeah maybe.” he says, still rubbing his wrist. He pauses however when a thought enters his head and he looks up at his two friends. “Actually, I never asked, how did you two find where Wilbur’s coven was?”

“Huh? Oh right.” Tubbo says, taking his eyes off his laptop and closing it. “Well since your location was still on, Ranboo and I tracked it down after you didn’t move from that alleyway for a whole forty minutes.”

“Then when we got there, we found your phone and after waiting for- what? I think a couple of hours, assumed that you were kidnapped, and our immediate suspect was Wilbur. So, I unblocked him from your phone and called him asking ‘hey, where the fuck is my friend?’ and found out a rival coven kidnapped you. Then we decided to all team up to save you.”

“Let me guess, you did some hacking?”

“And I did some fucking hacking” Tubbo replied with a feral grin and from next to him Ranboo lets out a sigh, giving him an amused look. “Honestly I’m glad we did team up or else we might have lost you.” he says, looking back over at Tommy and giving him a smile.

“Anyway, good luck with Wilbur, hopefully it all works out for you two.”

“Yeah, hopefully.” Tommy says with an annoyed huff and promptly flops back onto the bed, glaring up at the celling.

In the end, Tommy does the first option and pretends to be asleep.

He takes the time to find a comfortable position, focusing on relaxing his breathing before he hears the bedroom door open with a light creak. Keeping his eyes shut, Tommy listens as the door closes with a click followed by the sound of light footsteps heading towards the side on the bed and sits down on a chair which lets out a low groan.

Seconds pass, the room completely quiet besides Tommy’s calm breathing. He’s about to open his eyes when a pair of cold hands clasp one of his, lifting them up. The chair groans again and he suddenly feels his knuckle brush against something cool, Wilbur letting out a soft sigh.

Blinking open his eyes, Tommy finds Wilbur leaning over the chair, pressing his forehead against the others hand. He looks tired.

“You know it’s a bit of a shitty move to avoid me.” Tommy mutters into the air, rising one of his fingers to flick the others forehead. Unfortunately, Wilbur doesn’t act surprised or flinch like Tommy thought he would, instead continuing to hold his hand like nothing happened. Bitch.

Eventually, Wilbur releases his hand with another sigh, leaning back into the chair as he stares down at the other. “I thought you wouldn’t want to see me.” He says softly, a fucking pitiful excuse.

“Well yeah, I’m still fucking mad at you but considering what I’ve just went through, I’m pretty sure I deserve a fucking explanation.” Tommy tells him, sitting up and shifting so that his back is against the wall.

“Do you want me to start from the beginning?” Wilbur asks and receives a nod. “Alright.”

“After I had left the foster system, I stuck to my promise. I found an apartment for myself and a decent job to start off. For the first-year things were quite slow, I had struggled to pay rent on time, and I knew the place I lived in would be too small for the both of us, but that was all I was able to afford at the time.”

“Another year passed, and things were getting better, I found a job at a café and was able to work overtime most of the time and for once I was saving money rather than losing it. The third year however was when things had changed. During one of my night shift I ended up meeting Phil and Techno and they soon began to be regulars.”

“At the time I didn’t know what they were, it wasn’t until I ended up getting attacked by a vampire that they then revealed themselves.” Wilbur explains, a faraway look in his eyes as he stares at the wall behind Tommy, bring a hand up to rub the side of his neck.

“Turns out I was on the verge of death, so they gave me a choice whether I wanted to die as a human or be given a second chance and live as a vampire. I chose the second one.”

“It took a while for me to adjust after that from both being turned into a vampire and having to deal with my life flipping upside down. Then, as if things weren’t hard enough turns out that I was a part of a powerful coven and if I were to take you out of the foster system, you’ll only end up in danger.”

At the last sentence, Wilbur lets out a bitter chuckle, looking down at his hands before burring his face in them. He stays like that for a bit, the only movement being the slight shake of his shoulders. It’s only after a minute goes by that he moves again, taking a deep breath and dropping a hand to look over at Tommy with a sad smile.

“There’s nothing that I regret more than choosing to leave you behind.” He says with a breathless laugh. “Each day was fucking agony, knowing that I’ve pretty much left you for the wolves, that I would probably never see you again because I didn’t want to drag you into the mess I chose to be a part of.”

“….Then why did you call me that day?” Tommy asks quietly, keeping his eyes down while his hands fiddle with the blanket over his lap. It’s soft, even more comfortable than the one he has back at his apartment.

“Honestly, I don’t know how they knew, but one day we had gotten word that someone found out that I had a younger brother. Techno’s thinks it’s because we never changed our last names, that someone wanted to get dirt off me and somehow made the connection.” Wilbur responds, voice just as quiet and sombre.

“When I heard that, I knew I needed to find you, that you would be safe if you stayed at the mansion. I can see now that it was stupid of me to expect you to go through with it, after what I’ve done.”

“….I- I’m sorry.” Tommy whispers, pressing his lips into a thin line as he clutches as the quilt, nails digging into the fabric. Guilt hits him as he remembers their phone call, how he acted towards Wilbur.

“Why are you apologizing?” Wilbur asks in concern, “This isn’t your fault-“

“But it is.” Tommy stresses, whipping his head up to look Wilbur. “You were trying to save me and I fucking cut you off and didn’t give you the change to even talk-“

“Tommy.” Wilbur interrupts, reaching over to hold one of Tommy’s hands in his own. He then drags the chair over, moving closer and staring straight into the others eyes. “Tommy, I don’t blame you for what happened,  it’s not your fault.”

Gently, he squeezes their hands and Tommy instinctively does the same back. “You were angry and had every right to be. You were mad, you were hurt, and it had been seven years since we had last saw each other. I don’t blame you for not wanting to hear me out because why should you? When I had hurt you so much, when I left just like our parents had done.”

A small, chocked sound manages to come out of Tommy as he listens, and he bites his lip to stop another coming out. Breaking eye contact with Wilbur, he lowers his head, knowing that he’ll probably break into tears if continues to stare at the sad expression on his brother’s face.

Wilbur like the asshole he is, however, doesn’t let him hide. Instead, he lowers himself enough for Tommy to still see him in his vison and places a hand against his back, rubbing it in a comforting motion.

“You’re a fucking idiot.” Tommy mutters out, tears running down his cheeks. His nails dig into Wilbur’s hand in a death grip.

“I know.” his brother admits softly and cautiously pulls him into a hug.

“You owe me so much fucking ice cream.” Tommy adds, earning a chuckle from Wilbur. “I do, don’t I?”

“I want seven buckets.” Tommy demands with a glare and this time the other has to stifle a loud laugh. “Seven buckets of ice cream?!”

“Yes, one for each birthday you missed.”

“Fine.” Wilbur relents with an amused huff, his cheek resting against Tommy’s curls. “I’ll try to convince Phil to buy them.” he says.

“What are you, five?!” Tommy asks in a loud whisper, not wanting to wake up everyone in the middle of the night with his shouting. “I thought you were an adult, why do you need Philza’s permission to buy fucking ice cream?”

“Adult my ass.” He grumbles not, stopping the smile growing on his lips as he feels Wilbur shake his shoulders in more suppressed laughter.

“I missed you Toms.” Wilbur says when he had finally calmed down.

“….Missed you too, Big Dub’s.” Tommy quietly replies, holding his brother tight.