Chapter Text
Tommy wakes up to a yell. Not a knock or his door opening, a yell. It's different, it's new. Nothing ever changes here. Every morning he wakes up to white walls and chemical smells. Every day he wakes up when a scientist enters his room, he goes to testing, gets breakfast, goes back into the room, and gets dinner. That never changes.
Until now apparently. The door is thrown open as three scientists enter, dragging a boy with them. The small wings on Tommy's back fluff up with stress. He doesn’t know this boy. He has never met anyone new before, and by the anguished screams, the boy doesn’t seem happy, and when people aren’t happy it never ends well for him.
While the boy is distracted, Tommy slowly crawls out of his nest and under the bed. He studies the boy from the safety of the enclosed space. The scientist forces him away, slamming the door shut right in the boy's face. Leaving Tommy alone with the newcomer.
The boy is bigger than him, with curly brown hair and round glasses. He is older than Tommy as well, he doesn’t act older though. He screams and flails around, something Tommy did when he was a kid and didn’t want to go to testing. He had stopped that now, but this boy had apparently not learned that big boys don’t argue yet.
Tommy can only watch as he yells, throwing himself against the door, trying to pry it open. “Fuck you all!” The boy screams. “Where is my brother?! Where is he?! You are going to regret this! My Dad will kill you all! Just wait and see, you should have never messed with the Angel of Death!” The boy's voice is loud, hurting Tommy's ears.
He screams some more, words Tommy doesn’t understand. It feels like hours before the boy gives up, slowly falling limp on the ground in defeat.
Tommy stops breathing, tense and rigged as he watches the boy carefully. If the boy moved his head to the side he would see him. Tommy’s safe spot would be discovered and the boy might still be angry. Tommy stays frozen, pushed up against the corner.
Tommy's curiosity blooms when the back of the boy's shirt moves. Like there was something there. A small gasp leaves his throat when two wings push through small holes. This boy has wings like him! Two large brown wings. None of the scientists had any strange features like that, it was only ever him.
The gasp draws the boy's attention, his head shot towards Tommy as he covers his mouth with his hand, staring wide-eyed as he realizes he just revealed himself. The boy stares at him for a moment before taking a deep breath.
“Holy shit!” The boy exclaims, scrambling up. Tommy's heart starts to race as he presses himself as far away from the opening as he can. His back hits the corner, but he isn’t far enough. The boy creeps closer like an animal stalking its prey. He sticks his head under the bed, into Tommy's safe space. Tommy yelps as he tries to push farther from the boy.
“Hey, it's alright! I won’t hurt you!” The boy talks loudly, far louder than the scientist's hushed tone. “What are you doing here bud? They shouldn’t have a kid here.” He says. Tommy doesn’t really know what he is talking about because he himself doesn’t look older than eighteen, and Tommy is smart enough to know that's when you're not a kid anymore.
Tommy sees the boy's hands reach toward him, trying to pick him up. Tommy reacts on instinct, biting down on his arms. He doesn’t even realize what he did until he tastes the iron in his mouth.
“OW! What the fuck kid?” The boy exclaims, drawing his arms back quickly. Tommy's eyes go wide as he shoves himself deeper under the bed.
“Don’t do that! You're not an animal, people don’t bite.” The boy scolds. A scared chirp leaves Tommy’s throat, the scientists never like it when he bites. To his surprise, a small trill rings through the room in response.
Tommy zeros in on the noise, slowly pushing himself away from the wall as it continues. The sound is calming in a way he has never experienced before. It’s soft and soothes his mind, as if someone told him life will never have hardships again.
“You are just a little fledgling,” The boy's voice is sad as he speaks. “It's alright, you are going to be fine.” The boy scooches back a bit sitting crisscross applesauce in front of Tommy. “My name is Wilbur, you can come out if you want, I promise I won’t hurt you.” Wilbur’s voice is honey filled, like the sweets that he gets once a year. Tommy stops trying to sink into the wall, but he doesn't come out.
“Do you have a name?” Wilbur asks.
“Tommy,” His voice is scratchy but Wilbur smiles anyway.
“Well Tommy, it looks like we are going to be roommates for a while. Do you want to come out?” Wilbur asks. Tommy shakes his head. “That's alright you can stay there if you want, as long as I am free from your teeth for a bit” Wilbur laughs a little, but Tommy flinches back at the mention of it.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to.” He whispers. Wilbur smiles, shrugging.
“It's alright, I used to bite my dad all the time when I was your age, it's just something avians do.” Wilbur explains. Tommy nods seriously.
“What is a dad?” He asks, wanting to understand what Wilbur is talking about fully. He scoots away from the wall a bit more. Wilbur looks taken aback by the question, blinking a few times before he answers.
“Well, it's someone who cares about you and takes care of you. Usually, it's a man. And they raise you.” Wilbur explains, Tommy blinks at the man trying to understand.
“So like the scientists?” Tommy asks. Apparently, it was the wrong thing to do as Wilbur’s face lit up in horror.
“No, no nothing like them. Usually, a dad is someone who loves you. Who tucks you into bed at night and helps bandage your scratches. They are kind and caring, and always there for you.” Wilbur explains more. Tommy's eyebrows pressed together, the scientist wasn’t really like that. Some were nicer than others but nothing like what Wilbur was describing.
Tommy wiggles close to the entryway of his little hideout, almost all the way out. “You know you really look like my dad,” Wilbur tells him. “Just like a small version of him.”
Tommy slowly comes out from under the bed at that, watching Wilbur with wide eyes. “Shit, you really look like a tiny version of my dad!” Wilbur exclaims, looking at Tommy's small black wings.
“What does shit mean?” Tommy asks. Wilbur seemed really smart if he knew so many big kid words. Wilbur's face turns to horror as his hands flail out.
“Don’t use that word!” He says panicked. Tommy tilts his head at him.
“But I like how it sounds, shit, shit, shit,” Tommy repeats smiling at the shocked look he gets from Wilbur.
“No no no no, Dad is going to kill me,” Wilbur whispers, dragging a hand across his face as he sighs. Tommy giggled, making Wilbur sigh again.
“Where is your dad? Does he work here? Is he a scientist?” Tommy asks. What if he was one of the mean ones? One that never talked to him when he took him to the lab. Or worse one of the people who tested on him. One who didn’t stop despite his screams and protest.
“No, gods no he would never work for a place like this. But he will get us out. Once I find my brother we can leave alright?” Wilbur talks slowly. What he says confuses Tommy. Why would he ever leave? What more is there outside the lab than evil?
“Why would we leave?” Tommy says, asking only one of the many questions that spiraled through his mind.
“Tommy, this place isn’t good. It's not good for any kid to grow up here, you should know that.” Wilbur’s arms fly around as he talks as if that would prove anything. When Tommy doesn’t say anything a look crosses Wilbur's face, one he can’t decipher. “How long have you been at this facility?” He asks.
“Forever and ever,” Tommy responds with a small smile. His smile falls quickly at the alarmed look on Wilbur’s face. “Is that bad?” He asks hesitantly.
“A little,” Wilbur responds hesitantly. “But we will fix that. My dad saves and he will come and save us I swear it. You’ll come home with us and I’ll show you everything there is to see.” Wilbur finishes and the conversion lulls for a minute before Tommy realizes he has something new to ask.
“The sky!” He exclaims excitedly that he remembers to ask someone. “What is that?”
Wilbur stares at him, blinking slowly. Tommy curls into himself more. He has been asking bad questions recently. The scientist has talked about it before, talked about it being pretty this morning, how nice it was last night. He has wanted to know what it was, and why it changed with the day. But whenever he asks, the scientist shuts him down and tells him he doesn’t need to know. He wants to though, he wants to know so badly. He wants to know what's outside his small room, outside the four walls that surround him. He might be safer in here, but he doesn’t know yet if safer is better.
“The sky…” Wilbur starts slowly, struggling to find the words to describe something so vast. “The sky is something that rests over the top of us. It changes color as the day continues but it's almost always blue. Sometimes it might be gray, or orange, purple, pink, or black, and sometimes it can even be green. It has large fluffy white things in it called clouds that carry water across the world.” Wilbur explains. Tommy listens intently, soaking up every word. He nods along with what the boy says and only talks when he is finished.
“I think I would like to see that someday.” Tommy mumbles.
“I swear to you that you will,” Wilbur promises just as easily. “As soon as we find my brother we can leave, you can see the sky and all the other amazing things there are out there. I’ll show you it all.” Tommy smiles softly at the declaration.
“What's your brother like?” Tommy asks. Switching topics. Wilbur never got to answer, as the door is swung open slamming against the wall. A sense of familiarity hits Tommy as the scientist drags another person into the room screaming and flailing.
This person looks a little older than Wilbur. He has long pink hair that's tied back in a very messy braid. He is a bit shorter than Wilbur but far more muscular. A large scar runs across his nose. The door slammed shut as quickly as it was opened, leaving the three of them alone. Light pink dusted wings rest gently on his back.
“He is like that,” Wilbur whispered. The sound of his voice has the new guy's head shooting toward them. Tommy dives away as the man sprints at them, running straight at Wilbur. Tommy yells out as Wilbur is tackled.
“Techno!” Wilbur shouts as the two sit on the floor. Tommy stands above them staring with wide eyes as he tries to figure out what to do. He jumps on the man, trying to drag him off of Wilbur. It doesn’t work, he could have guessed that with the man being almost three times taller than him. But it does draw his attention away from Wilbur.
The man, Techno apparently, shoots off of Wilbur, throwing him across the room. Tommy lands with a thud. Watching fearfully as the man stalks towards him, staring at him like a snake ready to attack.
“Wilbur hid!” Tommy screams, peering around the man to see Wilbur sitting almost shell-shocked by the wall. Tommy lets out a small scared chirp as the man takes a step closer.
“Techno stop, it's alright. Tommy, this is my brother, Techno.” Wilbur says quickly standing. Techno’s shoulders drop at that, turning back to Wilbur.
“But he jumped at me?” Techno says his eyebrow scrunched together.
“You were attacking Wilbur!” Tommy defends. Both of them give him an odd look. Leaving Tommy standing there, arms spread out.
“He was hugging me,” Wilbur replies, his own eyebrows quirking up now. Tommy lets out a small ‘oh’ staring at the man who just threw him across the room. A small silence covers the room like a blanket.
“What's that?” Tommy asks.
“A hug?” Wilbur questions, his voice raises an octave as if he is surprised that Tommy doesn’t know. Tommy nods. Wilbur opens his mouth to respond but never gets the chance.
“Who’s the kid?” Techno interrupts. “And why does he look exactly like Dad?”
“This is Tommy, and we are not sure but I said the same thing,” Wilbur answers smoothly. Tommy gives the man a hesitant wave, looking towards Wilbur for reassurance.
“Why are his wings so bad?” Techno speaks bluntly. Tommy can only stare at the man in horror. He didn’t think his wings were bad. They weren’t shiny like Wilbur, or put together like Technos but they were his. They were itchy for sure and a little stiff, but nothing he couldn’t deal with.
“Techno you can’t say that!” Wilbur exclaims. Pushing his brother lightly away from Tommy. Wilbur sits next to Tommy, giving a quick glance at his wings. Tommy tucks them closer to himself. “Tommy, when was the last time you preened them?” Tommy pulls his wings closer to him.
“I… I don’t know what that means.” Tommy answers quietly. He pulls himself closer as if trying to hide from their view. The room is taken over by an awful quiet. It's similar to the one in the lab. The one that they dive into when the test goes wrong and their anger builds slowly but surely.
“Preening?” Techno says it again as if that will make him understand further. Tommy stares at the man, a scared look on his face. Will they be mad that he doesn’t know what that is? Was it something to do with his wings? Or was it something else?
“Preening, like hygiene for your wings. Like brushing your hair or showering, just for your wings.” Wilbur explains. Tommy shakes his head. “It gets all the dirt and dead feathers out.”
“Feathers die! Does that mean I’m sick!” Tommy panics bringing his wings out to inspect them. They are crooked and a little messy but they don’t look dead. Can his wings die before him? Can his wings fall off?! The panic worsens the more he thinks. He really doesn’t know anything about wings, which is even scarier when they are attached to him.
“No no it's healthy I swear, it's just like how sometimes your skin dies and flakes off,” Techno tells him.
“Skin dies!” Tommy exclaims. Staring at his arms as if his skin will peel off and wither away in front of his very eyes.
“Jeez kid, how about Wilbur just preens your wings now? I bet they're pretty uncomfortable like that.” Techno talks.
“What will happen?” He asks. Staring at his wings. Will it hurt? Is it nice? What does it entail?
“I will just drag my fingers through his feathers and pick out the dirt and broken feathers,” Wilbur explains softly. Tommy nods slowly, processing what that means. It would be nice to get rid of the soreness that has been ever-present in his life.
“Alright… that sounds ok,” Tommy speaks softly. Slowly Tommy spreads his wings turning his back to the man. It was anxiety-inducing but he didn’t complain. Wilbur's fingers brush over his feathers. Tommy tensed for a moment before he sunk into it. It was nice. It felt like the weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
Tommy felt his eyelids get heavy. It felt as if bricks were weighing him down. Slowly he is lowered to the ground and a pillow is placed under him as he grows more tired.
“We will get you out of here alright,” Wilbur promises as Tommy dozes off.