Chapter Text
Tommy often found himself moving from place to place in the city. Nobody liked dirty kids eating food out of the dumpster behind their establishment. It drove off business, and they certainly didn't like when sometimes those dirty kids would steal things off their shelves and run off without paying. But Tommy didn't really have much of a choice, he did what he had to to survive.
"Fuck you, bitch!" he shouted, running away from the gas station man with a can of soup in his hand. The man was old, so he wasn't able to catch him very easily. This was one of the reasons that Tommy stole from him when he did.
The taste of cold soup was rather refreshing despite the fact that it was unheated. After all, he had earned that soup, and it was rather delicious as far as soups went. Tommy ended up being in a new alley this time while he was sipping on his soup. His last spot he no longer went to since a gang took over and decided that was the area they needed to use as a place to have a shootout. Gang violence was not poggers.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something shuffle, and turned to see a box move around a bit. Out of the box popped a head of curling brown hair. "What the fuck?!" Tommy shouted, clutching his chest.
"Hello." Said the voice as a soft round face popped over the top of the box. The boy looked to be about his age, and significantly less dirty.
"The fuck you do that for?" Tommy asked him.
"Did I scare you?" Asked the boy.
"Fuck you! I'm a big man! Big T never gets scared."
"Big T?" he cocked his head.
"Yeah, big man Tommy Innit. Big T, the biggest man. Who are you?" Tommy accused side-eyeing him harshly.
"I'm Tubbo, nice to meet you!"
"Okay bitchboy. Is this your alleyway?" Tommy didn't want to get into a fight with another homeless kid. That usually resulted in him having less things, or being hurt. Then again, that Tubbo kid didn't look like he knew how to fight. Tommy could probably take him.
"I mean... Not technically." Not technically. What did that mean. "My father owns the apartment behind me, but we don't really own the alleyway. I'm just using it today."
Why in the ever-loving-fuck would he decide to be outside in the cold February air when he had a perfectly good home behind him. Unless... maybe his family didn't like him too much either.
At his confused look, Tubbo continued. "My father got drunk again and kicked me out. Told me not to come back until tomorrow." Ahhh. That made more sense.
Tubbo probably was smart enough then to stay by his house where it would be safer to stay than out in the wild of the streets. "Well, I'm going to stay here tonight, Bitch."
"Okay! It's much better to be out here with company than without!" The boy said even as it started to get colder and darker out.
As a werewolf, Tommy typically ran a little hotter than the average human, but even he was shivering in the air. By the looks of it, Tubbo wasn't doing much better. He actually seemed to be shivering a lot harder, but that figured for someone who was at least used to living in four walls with some element of heating. Tommy decided to move his way without saying anything. Tubbo looked at him in confusion. "Scoot over, Bitch."
Tubbo slid over slightly and made some room in his overly large box. Tommy climbed in and leaned against Tubbo's side. "How are you so warm?" Tubbo asked snuggling close to Tommy.
After that, Tommy would find himself coming back to Tubbo's alley as he had called it. He and Tubbo became quick friends and Tommy would keep him warm whenever his dad kicked him out for the night. In exchange, Tubbo shared what food he could sneak past his dad with Tommy. Tommy was slowly realizing that he had started to trust Tubbo.
As winter started to get harsher, one day the city called for a lot of snow, and Tommy quickly realized that he would have a hard time staying warm that night. There wasn't really anywhere he could go. Schlatt, Tubbo's dad would never let him bring a homeless kid into his apartment, but luckily, Tubbo hadn't been kicked out of his house on one of the coldest nights of the year. Unfortunately, that meant that Tommy was going to be cold tonight, very cold.
Tommy really didn't want to do this. It was a last resort. He didn't really think he would survive otherwise. So, he left his stuff in Tubbo's alley and transformed into his wolf form.
It was slightly warmer with his fur instead of just clothes. He was still a small wolf (he was not a pup and refused to be called such, he just hadn't hit his growth spurt yet) and therefore would not run as hot as an adult wolf would. But it was still warmer than being in his human form. And besides, his fur was nice and fluffy to block the snow from hitting his skin.
Although tonight seemed to be a bad night in general. He wasn't able to stay in Tubbo's alleyway. Some wild dogs ended up catching his scent and chasing after him. It took him a long time to lose the dogs. He was so tired, and he really just wanted to sleep, but he didn't know where it would be safe to sleep. He was in a part of the city he wasn't really familiar with. He wandered around for a bit, and before he knew it, it was already becoming morning again.
Through his exhausted brain he barely noticed the people mulling about around him. he certainly didn't see the panicked faces or phone calls. He didn't see the screaming little girl. And he certainly didn't see the tranquilizer dart come flying at him only to hit him in his flank. Fucking needles.