Archive of Our Own

Tommy hummed along to a Los Campesinos! song he didn’t remember the name of, swaying to the tune as he fixed up his bedroom.

Two long months of living in the medbay so that Leo could keep a closer eye on his injuries, and now Tommy was finally back to having his own space again.

The first thing he noticed upon stepping into the bedroom was just how little personalization it had. There were no assorted knick-knacks scattered across the shelf, no posters or photos taking up the space on his walls.

It was a perfectly well and nice room, but it didn’t have nearly enough things in it to make it feel like it was his.

So Tommy was doing what little he could to fix that. His first order of business would have been to put Captain Snuggles beside his pillow, but Raph had already sheepishly asked for the bear plush back before Tommy had gone to his room. 

Seeing as that was off the table, he made do with what little he had. 

He put the parlor palm in the corner of the room, set the hover stroller from Donnie down against the foot of his bed in suitcase form, nabbed some tape from Mikey and, after a quite frankly rather excessive amount of time spent deliberating, taped his photo from L’Manberg up on the wall.

It took even longer for him to convince himself it was safe enough to put Wilbur’s journal on the shelf.

Not having those items in his inventory made his heart pound, but it was probably safer to leave them in the lair anyway.

His room was still bland as all hell, but with enough time and liberation of other people’s items, he knew it’d start to feel like a proper home.

With nothing left to adjust, Tommy wandered back over to his bed. The picture from L'Manberg's glory days smiled back at him.

He reached out to poke Tubbo's face, a wistful frown pulling on his mouth.

"Hey, Tommy-"

Tommy whirled around with a shriek, fumbling to pull out his communicator and pause the music.

Raph stood just outside the doorway, one hand frozen in the middle of a wave.

Tommy cleared his throat and ran a hand over his head, lightly tugging an ear in place of the curly hair that had been replaced by significantly shorter fur post-mutation, "Hey- uh, hey, Raph. What's up?" He asked, swiftly moving on from his somewhat embarrassing initial reaction.

A fondly amused smile upturned the corners of Raph's mouth as his hand dropped to rest by his side, "Just checkin' in on you. Me and the boys were curious if you wanted to join us on a trip topside. What do you say-"

Tommy was rushing out the bedroom before Raph even finished speaking, "Where we headed, big man?” He asked with ears perked and a spring in his step.

Raph shrugged, walking with him down the hall, "Nowhere special, just doing the regular patrol route. We were thinking about giving you a crash course on ninja-ing around the city undetected now that you're a mutant."

An intrigued trill rolled off of Tommy’s tongue, "Is it nin-ya time?" He tapped his fingertips together and hunched his shoulders like a conniving little crime boy.

Raph chuckled, “Yeah, it’s ninja time,” he agreed as they stepped into the living room where the other turtles were waiting while Splinter watched a show from his old recliner.

Nearly the second Tommy entered the room, he was ambushed with a surprise hug from Mikey, "Yay, you're joining us on patrol!" He cheered, rubbing his cheek against Tommy's.

Tommy stiffened at first, heart skipping a beat from the unexpected attack, but quickly found himself relaxing into the contact. He nodded emphatically, “Mhm, Raph’s gonna teach me how to be a nin-ya." He swept his hand out in front of him as he uttered the word ninja, intentionally mispronouncing it yet again.

Mikey dropped out of the hug and took Tommy by the hand, “Ooh, and I can teach you some of my sweet razzmatazz!” He exclaimed excitedly, pulling Tommy towards the ladder to the surface with a level of strength that was still objectively terrifying coming from such a short person.

It was a slightly strange experience to climb up to the surface with the turtles seeing as the only two times he'd gone up this way were in a dissociative daze and by sneaking out on a hover stroller respectively.

He kept that thought to himself as they all piled out onto the street.

Tommy raised his arms over his head in a big stretch, looking at the starless night sky above.

He squinted, it didn't look particularly cloudy out- he could see the moon just fine, "Why aren't there any stars?" He half asked, half puzzled quietly to himself.

Someone walked over to stand beside him, "That would be the light pollution, It's caused by the excess light from streetlamps and the like. An unfortunate staple of any big city," Donnie explained.

Tommy glanced briefly over at him with a flicker of surprise before turning his attention upwards again, "Oh… That sucks." Stargazing was one of the only things he could do during the long nights of his exile.

Finding the few constellations he actually remembered and knowing they were the same as back in L'Manberg had been a very small, but no less integral, piece of comfort back then.

The sound of the manhole cover being dragged back over the lair entrance had Tommy tucking those memories away and resolving to look at the night sky as little as possible.

He cleared his throat and turned to face the rest of the group, "Alright, boys. Where to first?" 

Leo took the lead, jabbing his thumb at the nearest alleyway, "How familiar are you with scaling buildings?" He asked, smirking playfully as he backed into the shadowed alley.

With an energetic bounce to his step, Tommy was quick to follow after him, "I'm sure I've climbed a build or two in my days," he reckoned, though he'd almost certainly had plenty of blocks like dirt and cobble to act as scaffolding.

Mikey ran ahead, springboarding off the lid of a closed dumpster and pulling himself up onto the roof with gymnastic flair and a cheery trill, "C'mon, Tom! You got this!" He encouraged from the rooftop.

Tommy hopped between his feet and shook out his hands, eyeing Mikey's route with sharp determination, "I am the greatest DreamSMP member!" He shouted for personal motivation as he took a running start at the dumpster.

He vaulted up and transferred the momentum into a vertical leap, arms outstretched and reaching for the roof.

His forearms caught the ledge and Tommy scrabbled with both his hands and feet to haul himself the rest of the way up, concrete scraping against his palms and the soles of his feet.

Mikey sent him a beaming grin when Tommy was standing on the rooftop a moment later.

Leo, Raph, and Donnie all got to the roof with annoying ease once he was safely up- though Donnie was using his battle shell as a jetpack, so Tommy kind of considered that one to be cheating.

Leo gave him the briefest of cursory look overs, "Not bad. Technique could use some work, but we'll make a ninja of you yet." He clapped Tommy on the shoulder.

Tommy rammed his shoulder against Leo's in friendly retaliation, "Better watch out, I'm gonna surpass you. I'll soak up all of your teachings like moss and then I'll out-ninja you every day of the week," he claimed, standing straighter and puffing up his chest.

All it took was a gentle shove from Leo for him to deflate back to his normal posture with a laugh.

"Yeah, okay, don't go getting too far ahead of yourself," Leo teased, reaching up to ruffle between Tommy’s ears roughly.

Tommy ducked and batted Leo's hand away with a wordless shriek that got a chuckle out of Leo.

Tommy retreated to hide behind Raph, flipping Leo off with both hands now that he had the absolute unit that was Raphael acting as a barrier. No more hair/fur ruffles! Tommy refused to be younger brother coded anymore!

With the exception of Mikey, of course. Tommy tried to be a man of his word whenever the circumstances allowed it.

Raph twisted around to look at Tommy, eyes landing on the dual flipped middle fingers with a heavily disappointed, "Boys."

Tommy clasped his hands behind his back and flashed an innocent grin, "Whaaat? We're just messin' 'round," he insisted, tail swaying lightly back and forth.

But then Leo raised his hands and shook his head, "No, Raph's right, we're on patrol now, we need to take this seriously," he said as he unsheathed one of his katanas and waved a tiny portal into existence.

Before Tommy thought to question what he was doing, Leo stuck a hand through the small portal.

A hard shove to the back sent Tommy stumbling into Raph with a startled yelp.

Shooting Leo a dirty look, Tommy tucked himself under Raph's arm to shield himself from anymore sneak attacks, "You're an ass," he scowled as Leo stamped his foot against the roof in his fit of laughter.

Raph pat Tommy consolingly on the head, "Leo-"

Leo cleared his throat and waved Raph off before he could finish what he was saying, "Yeah, yeah, serious time now, I got it, big brother." He smiled reassuringly, and this time there were no portal shenanigans involved.

Tommy was still a little suspicious, but he trusted Raph to deliver a disappointed enough look to dissuade Leo.

Though all of his distrust was swiftly forgotten about when Donnie's arm started beeping.

Tommy’s ears swiveled in Donnie’s direction a second before his head did, eyes locking onto the flashing purple screen on the teen’s forearm.

Donnie tapped it and the screen changed. Whatever he saw, it brought a vaguely annoyed look to Donnie’s face, “Well, it looks like the mutant silverfish are back at it again. Trashing a convenience store this time! What do you say, boys? Shall we stop messing around and go do our hero thing now?” He pursed his lips and raised his brows questioningly at the rest of the crew.

Silverfish? Tommy suppressed a shudder. Silverfish were just the worst. You break one wrong block and suddenly they’re everywhere, nibbling on your feet and making awful high pitched noises.

At least Leo seemed excited. He snapped his fingers and pulled out his second katana, “You know what? That sounds like exactly the kind of baby mission we need to show Tommy the ropes. Where are they at, Don-man?” Leo leaned into Donnie’s space to peer at the screen.

He narrowed his eyes, humming thoughtfully, "Hey, that's not so far from here. Oh, dudes- I just had a totally genius idea. Why not instead of portal-ing there- boring- we teach Tom a thing or two about running around the city, huh?" Leo suggested, stepping away from Donnie and resting his blades against his shell.

Mikey clapped, "Ooh, good thinking, Lee! C'mon, Tom, I'll show you how to jump the gaps!" He ran up to Tommy and dragged him out from under Raph's arm with no regard for Tommy’s panicked sputtering as they rapidly approached the edge of the roof.

"Wait, wait, wait-" Tommy tried to plant his heels, but he was no match for Mikey's unfaltering enthusiasm.

He tried looking to Raph for help, but the bigger mutant only watched on with an encouraging smile as Tommy was bodily thrown to the next building by Mikey.

A shrill scream escaped Tommy as somehow managed to land on his feet, eyes blown wide and fur standing on end.

He whipped around when he heard the others land on the roof behind him, "Oh my god, do not throw me between buildings. Are you trying to fucking kill me?" Tommy could feel his heart pounding away in his chest.

Mikey reached out to brush non-existent dirt off Tommy’s shoulders, “Nah, I’ve got good aim,” he insisted casually, completely glossing over the fact that he just threw someone nearly twice his height.

Tommy took a deep breath to ground himself before responding, "Okay, well, it really freaked me out when you did that and I didn't like it." Look at him communicating his problems like a badass.

This is what Mikey's little seminar was about, right? Explaining when something upset him instead of just freaking out and getting mad about it?

Mikey's face glowed with pride, "Thank you for telling me. I won't do it again, promise!" He slapped a hand over his heart with an earnest nod.

Tommy felt his shoulders slump with what he hoped to be very subtle relief. He gave a small nod back to Mikey before taking a few light steps back and looking at Donnie, “Heading this way, right?” He checked, pointing behind himself.

"Affirmative. And may I suggest we pick up the pace before the silverfish wreck everything?" Donnie tapped his wrist as if he had a watch on.

Leo shot Donnie a friendly fingergun, "Yes, thanks for keeping us on track, Don-" he switched his attention to Tommy, "-what do you say, Tom? Feeling up for a second try?" The question was full of lighthearted levity, and Tommy somehow found that he didn't doubt for a second that Leo would open a portal for him if asked.

Tommy only hesitated for a second before solidifying his determination with a nod.

And with a loud declaration from Mikey of, "Race you there!" They all took off running across the rooftop.

Tommy lagged behind at the first jump after he made the mistake of looking down.

They weren't exactly on a skyscraper, but it was high enough that Tommy really didn't want to be up here.

But he already told the turtles he could do this, so Tommy ignored the discomfort rooting deep in his gut and did his best to keep his eyes on the rooftops as he jumped the gap and pushed himself to catch up with the turtles.

Turns out Leo really wasn't lying when he said the convenience store was nearby. As Tommy was just starting to get used to running across rooftops when Leo raised a hand to signal for everyone to stop.

Mikey hopped up onto Raph's shell and Tommy was tempted to do the same. He didn't though, instead standing beside Leo and peering over the edge of the building.

It wasn't hard to figure out where the silverfish were. The affected store had shattered windows and several light grey critters running about inside.

The mutant silverfish were… Kind of cute? They looked like exactly the type of buggy little pricks Tommy would keep as a pet. Like Shroud, the spider that he'll never get to see again.

"How aggressive would you say they are?" Tommy asked, not taking his eyes off the mutant silverfish.

Donnie was the first to answer, "I wouldn't classify them as anything more than persistent pests."

Raph chimed in almost immediately afterwards, "Oh yeah, they're really fun to fight though. I can smash them all I want and they just duplicate!" He pounded his fist against his palm in emphasis.

Tommy started searching for the safest way down, "They duplicate when you kiss them?" He was being purposely obtuse. 

"No! Smash as in punches! With my fists, not my mouth! I don't kiss bugs!" Raph insisted defensively.

The overhang above the door a little more than half the way down the building they were standing on shouldn't be too hard to get down to safely.

Tommy sent a sly grin Raph's way, "Hey, king, I don't judge. If you wanna make out with bugs in your spare time, that's fine. I accept you," he assured the big lad with a gentle pat to the bicep before hopping down and landing in a crouch on the overhang.

He bit back a laugh at Raph's sputtering and jumped the rest of the way down, jogging over to the convenience store currently occupied by the mutant silverfish, "Hello! Aw, hello, little guys," Tommy cooed, already hopelessly endeared by their big pink eyes and tiny claws.

There were three of them in the store, all tearing through packaging and gorging themselves on food. The one closest to Tommy hissed before shoving a whole chocolate bar in its mouth, wrapper and all.

Tommy raised his hands passively, taking slow steps closer, "It's okay. I'm a friend, I'm a friend," he assured the silverfish.

He stepped carefully around the broken glass- he would like to be officially injury free for at least a full day.

The closest silverfish hunched over in a defensive crouch, backing up into the ransacked shelf.

It was scared of him…

Tommy bit the inside of his cheek, he knew what he had to do. It was just a question of whether or not he had the strength to do it.

Swallowing whatever meager amounts of pride he had left, Tommy shut his eyes and focused on getting smaller.

His body went tingly and weird for a second and then Tommy felt horrifically short.

He reopened his eyes at the sound of loud chattering.

The mutant silverfish- now slighter bigger than Tommy- was tilting its head and leaning curiously closer.

Eager excitement building in his chest, Tommy let out a friendly trill, sitting down and waiting somewhat impatiently for the critter to find its courage.

The silverfish remained still for several painstakingly long seconds before springing forward with a loud squeak that made Tommy jump.

Before he had the chance to run off, the mutant silverfish circled him, tugging on his ears and tail. An act that was annoying, but ultimately harmless, so Tommy allowed himself to settle. This was fine, it wasn’t going to hurt him.

The other two mutant silverfish eyed him from the back of the convenience store, though it would seem they cared much more about the bags of beef jerky than the raccoon in their midsts. 

Now fully confident in his safety, Tommy turned around to figure out where the turtles were throughout his endeavors.

They were right where he left them.

Tommy waved at them with both arms, a wide grin on his face, “Look! I made a friend!” He called out, unfalteringly optimistic even when said friend apparently decided to start gnawing on his head.

The warm breath was incredibly uncomfortable on the ear that was fully in the silverfish’s mouth at this point, but he also used to get bit way harder by Wilbur back in the day, so... Well, he figured this was a perfectly acceptable price to pay for undying loyalty and friendship.

It was also objectively hilarious to watch how the turtles’ expressions all changed.

Mikey held a sort of awkward positivity to him whereas Raph’s face fell into a state of immediate distress. Leo looked… Concerned, but it appeared less about Tommy’s safety and more so for Tommy’s sanity.

Donnie had a very unconcerned grin, sticking both thumbs up encouragingly, “Looks like you’ve got this one under control!”

Raph looked at Donnie like he was crazy, "Under control? His head's in its mouth! That's it, I'm going down there." Raph jumped all the way down to pavement with Mikey still perched on his shell.

The second Raph started walking towards Tommy, the mutant silverfish stopped biting his head in favour of wrapping all four arms around the raccoon’s head and hissing. 

Tommy squawked at the new awkward position his neck was put into, "Wait, wait, he's a friend, a friend!" His attempt at damage control was met with an angry chitter and then the silverfish proceeded to pick Tommy up.

He was tucked under the silverfish's two right arms. The mutant silverfish gave a sharp squeak before turning tail and scurrying off with Tommy in tow.

The other two silverfish gave loud squeaks of their own and joined in on the great escape.

"I'll rescue you, Tommy!" Raph declared, no doubt running after them.

The funny thing was that all it would take for Tommy to prevent this unexpected kidnapping would be to shift back to his humanoid form.

But that might scare his new silverfish friends- also, the fact that he was being kidnapped by silverfish was fucking hilarious and Tommy didn't want to ruin that by being a shapeshifting killjoy.

And as such, Tommy was perfectly content with being carried through the streets of New York like a sack of potatoes.

He was hauled through several narrow passageways between buildings that the turtles couldn't possibly hope to fit through. Tommy was sure the trip back home would be a veritable pain in the ass- but at least the turtles actually had his number this time.

Might as well just treat this whole thing like a fun little getaway with his quirky new silverfish friends.

They were in some random back alley when Tommy heard sniffing.

"What's that I smell? Hm, yes, mutant silverfish and the gamey aroma of raccoon," a British man with a seriously freakish sense of smell mused, sending a fur raising chill down Tommy's spine.

The silverfish all scrambled to back away, but the one holding Tommy couldn't move quick enough to avoid the giant mutant pig man who practically appeared in the alley to grab them both with one iron-clad hand.

The air was crushed from Tommy's lungs while his silverfish friend squeaked in terror, biting at Pig Man's metal glove to no effect.

The pig regarded them with a grunt, "Ah, yes, you two will do nicely. I'm thinking raccoon stew and fresh cornbread with a side of silverfish filet topped with a sprinkle of paprika to unleash the flavor," he detailed as he left the alley and started towards the open back of a white van.

Real fear coursed through Tommy’s veins as the kidnapping situation suddenly felt a lot more serious, “Stop, stop, stop, let- let go of me!” He needed to change back.

Pig Man ignored his shouting, humming pleasantly as he got into the back of the van and shut the doors.

He couldn’t fight back like this, both Tommy and the silverfish were fucked if he didn’t change back right now.

Tommy closed his eyes, tried to focus on being big again and he- he couldn’t.

Between the tight squeeze around his lungs and the silverfish’s panicked squeaking, Tommy felt like he could barely form a coherent thought- much less change forms!

But Tommy refused to give up that easily. He managed to weasel his arms out and planted his palms firmly on the cold metal gauntlet, “Let the fuck go of me! I’m not dinner, you- you- you rat bastard!” Come on, transform, transform, transform.

Pig Man tsked and swung open one of dozens of cages lining the interior of the van.

A growl formed in Tommy’s throat, he wasn't going to be eaten by this cringe idiot.

All of his stubbornness accumulated into one last desperate attempt to shift forms as a vitriolic snarl twisted on his muzzle.

The weird tingling returned at the same time that Pig Man tried to throw him and the silverfish into the cage.

Tommy’s shoulder slammed painfully into the cage's open door, but he was finally big enough to fight back.

Pig Man gave an affronted grunt, "Oh, now that’s just rubbish," he grumbled, raising his hammer with a deep scowl.

Thinking fast, Tommy pulled the metal tray out of his inventory and lifted it just in time to block what would have been a devastating blow to the head.

Despite the throbbing in his shoulder and the fear still in his heart, Tommy grinned, "Yeah, get fucked, idiot," he hissed as he pushed the hammer aside and darted around Pig Man, sights set on the doors.

Pig Man's metal gauntlet clamped around the base of Tommy’s tail milliseconds before he reached the handle.

He let out a sharp yelp as he was yanked roughly back into Pig Man's grasp. His panic was suffocating, forming an insurmountable lump on his throat, "No, no, no, no-"

The silverfish launched itself at Pig Man's face with a furious squeak, clawing his face with six sets of claws.

Tommy's tail was let go and he didn't hesitate to follow the mutant silverfish's lead, jumping up onto Pig Man's back and locking his legs around the pig's neck.

The mutant silverfish clambered off of Pig Man and clung to Tommy's back as the teen whacked their captor over the head with his tray hard enough to dent the metal.

Pig Man made a sound halfway between a shout and a squeal, staggering on impact.

Tommy didn't risk sticking around any longer, retiring the tray to his inventory and jumping off the pig's back in a straight shot for the exit.

There was no tail grabbing this time and Tommy all but barreled through the doors, running out onto the empty street.

"Oi! Come back with my dinner!" Pig Man shouted after them.

The silverfish hissed loudly in response- and honestly? Tommy couldn't have put it better himself.

Tommy's eyes worked overtime trying to find an escape route. Everything looked the goddamn same! It was all grey concrete buildings and alleyways leading to dead ends.

He could feel himself beginning to lose his cool again, "Shit, shit, shit, come on," Tommy muttered under heaving breaths as the pads of his feet were rubbed raw by asphalt.

The approaching rumble of an engine was the only warning Tommy got before the white van swung around to cut him off.

“Shit!” Tommy swore loudly, ears pinned back against his skull and metal tray back in his hands while the mutant silverfish hissed defensively from its perch on his shoulder.

The van dipped under the weight of Pig Man stepping out of it, hammer in hand, "No more running, matey." He raised his hammer high.

There was no time to run, the most Tommy could do was brace for impact and hope the busted tray would hold for one more hit.

A katana flew through the air, and in a flash of electric blue, Leo was in front of Tommy, blocking the strike with both katanas, "Do you ever get tired of trying to eat people?" He quipped with a thinly veiled edge to his tone that made even Tommy’s fur crawl with unease.

Pig Man grunted, "I'm sure I can find a place on the menu for you, turtle."

Raph and Donnie landed on either side of Leo while Mikey landed beside Tommy.

Mikey clapped his hands together, "Ooh, I wonder what he has in mind this time!" He squealed, oddly enthused by the pig man's homicidal tendencies.

Tommy made sure to give Mikey an appropriately appalled look, "Why are you acting like this is a cool thing. It's not. He tried to eat me and my new pal here. He is a raging psychopath!" He exclaimed, waving his dented metal tray towards said psychopath.

The rest of the team was engaging Pig Man in combat, but Tommy had a significantly more pressing verbal battle to fight.

Mikey tilted his pressed together palms sideways with a small hum, "He's a little… Eccentric at times, but Meat Sweats is one of the greatest chefs of all time and my personal cooking hero- even if he does try to eat us sometimes. He taught me everything I know!" He praised with stars in his eyes.

"His name is Meat Sweats?" Tommy physically recoiled with a disgusted grimace.

"Well, Rupert Swaggert, but have you seen him? Meat Sweats totally fits," Mikey snickered.

Tommy looked over in time to watch Meat Sweats take a punch to the face, courtesy of Raph.

Now that Tommy was able to actually look at the prick, he could totally see why they called him Meat Sweats. With nebulous stains on his apron and loud breathing that Tommy could hear from about a dozen blocks away.

Tommy nodded slowly, "Yeah, he's a bit fucking… Hench, but in a neg way, you know?"

The silverfish chittered agreeably from his shoulder. It then clambered up higher to gnaw harmlessly on the top of his head again.

Mikey cooed, "Aw, how'd you do that, man? They're usually so violent." He risked a finger to poke at the mutant bug's face.

Claws dug into Tommy’s skin as the silverfish drew back from Mikey's finger with a hiss.

Tommy suppressed a wince and put the metal tray away so he could grab the silverfish off his head, "Fish love me, women fear me." He pat his little buddy on the head.

Mikey made a face, "Is that how that saying goes?" He puzzled.

Tommy looked up in thought, squinting at the starless sky until he came to the conclusion that he had no idea. Except in classic TommyInnit fashion, he feigned full confidence and nodded, "Yep. Pretty sure that's how it goes. Why else would-" he paused, pondering the silverfish gnawing on his wrist, "-Clive here be so happy in my arms?" He asked, poking his tongue out at the newly named Clive.

Clive's long antennae twitched, tickling Tommy’s forearms.

Though he hardly registered that because then he saw Raph sprout glowing red mystic arms that stretched an unnatural amount as he swung Meat Sweats around and flung him straight into the side of his stupid white van.

"Holy shit- did you see that, Mike? That's fucking sick!" Tommy cheered, unable to contain his exciting bouncing at the glorious sight of the pig prick getting his ass handed to him.

Mikey had a proud grin on his face, "That's my Raph."

Leo appeared in front of them alarmingly fast considering Tommy was ninety percent sure he didn't even teleport this time, "Alright, show's over-" he clapped his hands together, "-time to skedaddle before Meat Sweats gets up and decides to chase us all over New York," he urged them along towards an alleyway.

Which got some squeaky complaints from Clive, but Tommy personally didn't have to be told twice.

There didn't seem to be much in terms of a way up when Tommy stepped into the alley.

Except he forgot he was with a bunch of fucking parkour artists, because the turtles immediately proved him wrong by climbing up a pipe and also wall jumping.

Tommy stared blankly up at them. And then, pouring salt in the wound, Clive- the bastard- hopped out of his arms and scaled the brick wall with apparent ease before scurrying off to who knows where.

"How?" Was the most eloquent thing Tommy could put together at that moment.

Rounds of laughter met his baffled state.

Tommy shook his head, "No, but seriously, guys- how can you just climb up a ten block wall like that? It's just unfair at this point." He made sure to droop his ears and pout pathetically to gain sympathy points.

Leo cupped a hand around where his ear would be and leaned forward in an exaggerated show of listening, "What's that? Uh, sounds like a skill issue," he teased, quickly dissolving into more laughter.

Screw the sympathy points, it was obviously time for a new tactic.

Tommy’s ears flattened in annoyance, "Your mum's a skill issue, dickhead," he shot back with a scowl.

Admittedly, a pretty weak comeback. Really falling back on lame schoolyard insults with that one.

But in his defense, Leo's smug mug didn't deserve Tommy’s well thought out insults anyway.

Donnie rolled his eyes, disks similar to the ones both on Tommy’s stroller and Shelldon flipping out from his battleshell, "What was that you said earlier about skedaddling?" He asked Leo, half rhetoric, half teasing.

He hopped down from the building without waiting for an answer from Leo and grabbed Tommy’s wrists, "Welcome to Donatello express, please keep senseless flailing and screaming to a minimum because I will drop you," Donnie warned (jokingly?) as he flew Tommy up to the roof with the help of his tech shell.

Complying with Donnie's instructions for fear of being dropped, Tommy clamped his mouth firmly shut until his feet were firmly on the roof. A simple, "Thanks," was all he said upon being dropped off beside Mikey, idly rubbing his wrists where Donnie had been holding.

Leo threw an arm around Tommy's shoulders, "Okay, okay, what do you say we get out of here for real?"

Raph grinned, "Yeah, and then you can finally be taught how to ninja by the pro," he chimed in, jabbing his thumb against his chest.

Mikey punched Raph in the arm, "I think you mean I'm gonna be teaching him. Brrap!" He somersaulted away in a with self-produced sound effects.

He glanced back over his shoulder when he landed on the next roof, "Race you guys to the mall!" Mikey hollered.

Leo immediately lurched forward, almost causing Tommy to faceplant thanks to the arm still around his shoulders, "Wha- hey! That's cheating and you know it, Mikey! You didn't even count down from three!" He quite literally pushed Tommy to the side in his haste to catch up to Mikey.

Tommy stumbled with a cursory shriek, but thankfully managed to avoid completely toppling over.

In the short time it took for him to recover, everyone else was already well on their way to leaving him in the dust.

"Oh, for fuck- no respect these days," Tommy fell into indistinct grumbling as he started chasing after them.

As soon as he got over the general exasperation at the massive lead the turtles had on him, parkouring across the city of New York started getting fun.

Slightly anxiety inducing- but fun and exhilarating nonetheless.

The only downside was that this race was fully rigged against him since he didn't know where the hell they were going.

And also running barefoot across solid concrete was decidedly much worse than running barefoot through a field or forest. 

Okay, so two downsides.

A big boxy building surrounded by at least a couple hundred blocks of empty parking lot came into view. Its whole design was boring aside from a raised section of the roof made from glass panes.

Instead of changing directions, the turtles all jumped right down to ground level, racing towards the big building.

Tommy stopped outright at the edge of the roof, much more hesitant to risk such a big drop. You know, because he valued his bones being intact.

There wasn't much in terms of a safe way down from the building he was on. No convenient midway ledges to hop down to this time.

Tommy stared nervously at the street that was definitely way more than four blocks down. 

He didn't understand how they could take such big drops as flippantly as they did. Didn't it hurt?

The boring little interrogation Donnie put him through a while back came to mind. He'd seemed perplexed about quite a few things Tommy viewed as normal world behavior- like floating blocks.

Maybe fall damage worked differently here?

Tommy stepped up onto the edge of the roof and took a deep breath as he tried to convince himself it was safe to jump.

The rest of the world faded out as the pavement more than twenty blocks below quickly became the only thing his eyes could see.

It would almost certainly be enough to kill him if this were the DreamSMP.

Morbidly detached impulse brought Tommy just that little bit closer to the edge.

He felt like he wasn't breathing properly anymore. Was the air getting thicker?

He didn't take the last step over, despite the quiet urge that clung to his bones, Tommy’s feet remained solidly rooted on the lip of the roof.

"Scared of heights?"

Tommy didn't move despite the way Leo's voice behind him made his heart leap out of his chest.

Some level of clarity returned to Tommy's mind as he made note of the fact that Leo must have portalled over when he took too long to follow after them.

His mouth felt dry, Tommy still couldn't tear his eyes off the pavement below, bathed in the yellow light of a streetlamp, "No. Just don't trust myself around them anymore," he said quietly, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt.

Tommy couldn't exactly see what kind of face Leo was making, but it only took about a second before he was speaking up again "Well then what do you say we step away from the ledge and take a portal down, mhm?" Leo grabbed Tommy by the wrist and pulled him back without waiting for an answer.

Not that Tommy would complain. It was a relief to have his line of sight forcibly broken like that. 

And just like that, the air came rushing back to his lungs, "Sounds like a plan, G," he agreed on an exhale, making every effort to keep his voice steady and normal.

Leo sliced a katana through the air with his free hand, summoning a bright portal primed and ready for transportation.

But when Tommy made to step through, he was stopped by Leo's hand slipping down to squeeze Tommy’s, "Hey, you know you can talk to me, right?" He asked quietly.

Ah, fuck, Tommy was pretty sure his eyes were watering. He squeezed Leo's hand back and looked away, blinking hard until his vision cleared, "Yeah, I know." And he wasn't quite able to stop his voice from wavering that time.

Leo bumped gently against his shoulder, "Alright, just making sure. Now are you ready to go trespass on city property after hours?" The excitement was audible in his voice, Tommy didn't even have to look to know exactly what kind of grin was creeping onto Leo's face at that moment.

Tommy cleared the lump from his throat, "Fuck yeah, I'm always ready for crime. Dirty crime boy." He let go of Leo’s hand so that he could link their arms together as they stepped through the portal.

They were graced with Mikey's voice before they were even fully through the portal, "Finally. You guys were taking so long I was starting to think we should head in without you," he admitted with shameless honesty.

Raph nodded, "Yeah, are you scared of heights or something?" He asked, unknowingly mirroring Leo's exact assumption.

Tommy flattened his ears sideways and leveled Raph with a look that projected complete and utter annoyance, "I am not scared of heights, that was like- a thirty block drop. I am not insane," he pointedly emphasized with a slight shake of his head.

Donnie raised a brow, "Eh, jury's still out on that last one," he ribbed with a small teasing smirk.

A highly exaggerated frown took over Tommy's face, "Why are you bullying me? Leo, tell him to stop bullying me or I'll cry." He wrapped both of his arms around Leo's and continued to pout at Donnie with false discontent.

Instead of validating Tommy’s claims of brutal bullying from Donnie, Leo used his free hand to push Tommy’s face away, "No, I actually think he has a point here," Leo joined in on the teasing with a sideways grin.

Oh yeah? Well jokes on them, because Tommy can cry on command.

Tommy wrinkled his expression as he drew out a high-pitched whine and pushed his head against Leo’s palm, thinking sad thoughts until his eyes started to water, "Why are you so mean to me? You hate me, you hate me," he cried his crocodile tears.

If only Philza Minecraft were here, he’d never stand for this shit (a blatant lie, he would almost definitely contribute to the light bullying).

A sneaky glance towards Mikey proved that his dramatics were at least working on someone.

Mikey looked appropriately sympathetic to Tommy's woes, "Guys, stop being mean. You're hurting his feelings!"

Leo scoffed, "Oh, come on, Mikey, there's no way you're actually falling for this right now. His fake crying isn't even remotely convincing, I could totally do better," he claimed in full confidence.

Tommy put a pause on his totally real crying and pulled his face away from Leo's hand, "No you couldn't. I'm the best at crying, stop being a hater," he scowled as he let go of Leo to shove him.

Well, tried to, anyway- Leo sidestepped the attempt, "You're the hater, I'm just saying the truth," Leo stated matter-of-factly, walking backwards up the few steps leading to the big boring building.

He looked at Donnie as he reached for one of the glass doors, "We cleared for entry?" Leo checked.

"Affirmative, the doors have been unlocked and all security feeds are on loop 'til five A-M," Donnie confirmed with a very slight upwards tilt to the edges of his mouth and self-assured pride resting on his features.

Raph fist bumped him, "My turtle. We can always count on you for getting into places we aren't supposed to be in," he praised with a grin as everyone filed into the building after Leo.

Tommy curiously scanned the interior upon entering, wrinkling his snout at the amount of empty, underutilized space, "What did you guys say this place was again?"

"A human mall!" Mikey chirped, grabbing onto Tommy's arm and beginning to drag him deeper into the unlit quote unquote mall.

Tommy didn't bother with resisting his fate, but he did want to inquire further about the building, "Yeah, okay, but like… What is it? Why's it so big? Bit unnecessary, innit."

Appalled would have been an understatement for the expression Mikey was making, "You don't know what a mall is? Hoo mama, what is up with your old world?" He was really making this seem like a big deal.

Which was ridiculous because who had the time and resources to waste on something like this when a simple cabin or cave would have been infinitely more pleasant.

Donnie cleared his throat, successfully garnering Tommy’s attention.

"Ahem, if I may- a mall is a large building containing various retail stores from which you may purchase all sorts of things from. A food court and or restaurants are also commonplace," Donnie stated, sounding a bit like he was reciting information from a dictionary.

Tommy’s brows pinched, "Seriously? So they just have a bunch of shit laying around?" That seemed rather dumb of the mall people.

Seriously, it was like they were begging for someone to come nab their shit. Specifically someone named Tommy.

Leo crossed his arms behind his head as he walked slightly ahead of them, "Yeah, pretty much- ooh, that store's got some fun things in it. Come on, check it out!" He ran off into a nearby store, quickly disappearing behind racks of miscellaneous objects.

Before Tommy had the chance to come to a decision on his own, Mikey was already eagerly dragging him in, "Oh, baby, you gotta look at the eagle cowboy," Mikey insisted- very confusingly in Tommy's opinion.

What the fuck was an eagle cowboy?

Mikey was practically vibrating with excitement as they entered the store, "Wait right here," he instructed firmly before weaving between shelves and dipping from Tommy’s view.

Things clattered and shelves shook as Mikey and Leo searched the little store.

While Tommy was waiting, eyes following the sound of footsteps pattering about- he heard Raph's heavier gait approaching from behind.

Tommy only looked over at him after Raph poked him on the shoulder, tilting his head questioningly.

"Me and Donnie are gonna go check out some things on the second floor. Shout if you need anything." Raph pointed upwards with both pointer fingers.

"Or text. Texting would also work," Donnie cut in.

To which Tommy said, "Don't worry, I have very strong lungs." Aside from his stunning good looks, he might even consider them one of his best features.

Not to brag- but he considered his above average lung capacity akin to having superpowers. The power to win any argument by talking louder than the opponent until they were intimidated by his superior lung size.

Donnie didn't look very impressed, "Trust me when I say that your lung strength was never in question," he muttered, perfectly audible in the empty mall.

Raph chuckled, "Well, you have fun with Leo and Mikey now, we'll see you later." He waved farewell as he and Donnie walked off.

Their footsteps were barely starting to fade when an exclamation from Mikey made Tommy jump a full block in the air with a shriek of his own.

"Found it! I win." Mikey burst out from the array of shelves with something cradled in his hands.

Leo appeared a moment later, "First of all- it wasn't a competition- second of all, I found something cooler, so if we were competing, I win," he countered, proudly holding up a small statue of an alligator wearing a pink tutu, feather boa, and heart glasses?

But wait, it got worse- Mikey shoulder checked Leo out of the way, “No way, nothing beats eagle cowboy-” a slightly bigger statue of an oddly dressed cowboy holding up an American flag while riding a bald eagle was shoved in Tommy’s face, “-look at it! Can’t you just feel the patriotic pride emanating off of it?" Mikey sighed dreamily.

Sure, if by patriotic pride he meant a horrific eyesore, "Literally why does any of this exist- is he wearing jorts? And thigh highs?" Tommy stared in shock at the American flag themed thigh highs on the cowboy.

Mikey stood up a little straighter, "Because there was an artist with a vision. Someone out there looked at a lump of clay and saw a masterpiece just waiting to be made," he gushed with reverent awe in his voice.

Personally, Tommy doubted that anyone could look at something so infested by the American flag and think masterpiece. But agree to disagree, he supposed.

Mikey and Leo seemed to like it at least.

That didn't mean Tommy wasn't still going to give both statues judgmental stares, "I just don't get what the point of them is." They weren't weapons, they didn't look like they could be used for anything, and they sure as hell weren't edible.

Leo shrugged, turning the quirky gator statue in his hand, "Do they need to have a purpose? I think you're just supposed to put it on a shelf and forget about it until spring cleaning comes around," he spoke nonchalantly, setting the statue down on a nearby shelf.

Tommy tried to curb his judgment, "Okay. Do they have anything else here? Preferably something a little less American?" He took a gander through the tiny store, finding that a vast majority of the wares happened to be equally as ridiculous, but all unique statues like the ones Leo and Mikey showed him.

Why were there so many? Who was actually buying these? They all looked like the kind of thing you laugh at once with a friend before moving on to get something else.

Leo’s head popped up above one of the racks Tommy was inspecting, "We can check other stores if you want," he offered.

Mikey hummed an agreement, "Yeah, I just wanted to see if they still had the eagle cowboy. Humans make a ton of other cool stuff though. Come on, I'll show you!" He didn't physically grab Tommy this time, but Mikey's excitement was still palpable as they explored the borderline liminal space that was the empty mall.

Over the course of the next hour (or possibly longer, it was hard to keep track of time in this place), Tommy had gradually accumulated a fair collection of things to call his own.

More than half of those things were plushies, all but one ridiculously soft moth plush having been stashed away into his inventory for safe keeping. He played with the wings as they walked, a quiet purr serving as a constant pleasant vibration through his chest.

Leo was flipping through a new comic book he'd picked up along the way, "We should probably go catch up with Raph and Donnie soon," he suggested, seeming in no real rush to actually do so.

Though now that Raph had been brought up, Tommy found himself wondering about something, "Hey, sorry if you already explained this before, but do all of you guys have powers? Leo, I know you do portals and teleportation shit, Mikey, you did… I don't know, but your nun-chucks were definitely weird and glowy that one time-"

"I can also make portals," Mikey interjected.

Tommy stumbled over his own feet in his haste to whirl around on Mikey, "You can- can all of you guys fucking teleport? What the hell?" If so, massively unfair.

Mikey snickered, but, terrifyingly, said nothing.

"What? No, that's- that's just not true, you're literally just fucking with me now." Tommy narrowed his eyes at Mikey, squeezing the moth plush in his arms.

Leo rolled his eyes and batted at Mikey, "No, we don't all make portals. And Mikey's portals are different from mine anyway- one, because they're cross-dimensional- two, because he's not allowed to make them for a long time because they take a lot of energy." He poked Mikey square on the forehead with a stern look.

But then Leo's attention was back on Tommy, "Hey, didn't I tell you about this already though? Y'know, whenever we-"

Tommy impulsively chucked the moth plush at Leo's face to shut him up before he could tell Mikey about their little trauma sharing session.

And then he screamed because he didn't consider the consequences of this action, "No!" He lunged to snatch the plushy up off the filthy ass floor.

He scrunched his face unhappily, ears going back. He could feel the dust clinging to the plushy's soft fabric, "Ohhh, now she's all dusty," Tommy whined, licking his palm and rubbing at the parts that had made contact with the ground.

Leo huffed, "Serves you right for throwing it at my face," he snarked like a moody jerk who didn't catch Tommy’s plushy before it hit the ground.

Tommy didn't dare stop his efforts to clean the moth, but did spare Leo a withering glare, "Fuck you, I’ll have you know that I can fuckin- I can basically see with my hands now. This is awful. Her fluff is now uckers and gross because you didn’t catch her, have some sympathy, man." He shook the moth plush in Leo’s direction, its feathery antennae drooping pathetically.

His frustrated ranting didn’t have the intended effect, as instead of becoming instantly apologetic and offering to wash the moth for him, Leo became curious, “Hold on, you can see with your hands?” He tilted his head, staring at Tommy’s hands like they were foreign objects.

A short growl left Tommy's throat, "That's not the point right now. The point is that my plushy is all dusty and that upsets me greatly," he grumbled, his tail flicking with undisguised agitation as he discovered that the cost of removing the dust was soggy fabric.

He'd basically just traded one problem for another. Great.

His frown deepened, he waved the plushy in a half-baked attempt to make it dry faster.

Fully absorbed in his efforts and relying solely on Leo and Mikey in his peripheral vision to stay on course, Tommy didn't realize they were walking onto something until all of a sudden the floor was made of lines and moving.

Tommy went stiff, ears shooting up and attention snapping to the floor that turned out to be rising staircase, "Woah, what the fuck is this shit?" He asked as he spun warily around to watch the ground floor get gradually farther away.

And it wasn't even made with redstone- if Donnie was to be believed, that is.

Someone crossed their arms on top of Tommy's head, soon followed by Leo's voice, "Uh, an escalator?" He said obviously, like that was a normal thing everyone knew about.

Tommy threw his head back to hit Leo square in the chest, "Stop being a dick," he scowled.

Leo coughed lightly on impact, "I'm not! I was just answering your question," he claimed insistently, harmlessly whacking Tommy over the head with his comic book and stepping away as they reached the top of the escalator.

Tommy followed closely after him, "No, you were being a jerk. It's the tone- tell him, Mike." He turned to Mikey for help.

Only for Mikey to freeze and put his hands up, "I'm not getting involved in this!" His eyes drifted past Tommy and something akin to relief settled on his face.

Mikey went up on his tippy toes and waved exuberantly, "Hey, over here!" He called out.

Tommy turned around, spotting Donnie and Raph making their way over.

Raph was waving back, a plastic bag held in his off hand, "Took you guys long enough-" hid eyes fell to the moth plush in Tommy’s hands, "Aw, I see you got a little cuddle buddy of your own. It got a name yet?" He asked, voice edging dangerously close to endeared cooing.

Good question…

Tommy held the plushy up in front of himself with a thoughtful hum. An old, mostly forgotten memory popped up.

It had been during exile, possibly in the Nether. He couldn't remember if there was someone else with him or not, but he distinctly remembered saying that if he had a pet moth, he'd name it, "Clementine," Tommy half mumbled.

He pat the moth plush on the head with a satisfied nod. Yes, that name felt right.

"An hour and forty-five minutes and all you three got was a stuffed animal and a new comic book?" Donnie remarked, sounding almost unimpressed with their haul.

Now that just wouldn't do.

Tommy straightened up with a smirk, "Oh, sweet Donatello, these idiots are so easy to steal from, of course I have more." He then proceeded to reveal the true extent of his spoils.

Three more assorted plushies appeared in his arms alongside a white water bottle with the words sounds gay, I'm in printed on the side, and a brightly coloured communicator-sized plastic box he found that played music and sound effects whenever he pushed any one of its few buttons.

Raph gave him a scandalized look, "You stole? Leo, why did you let him steal?"

"I didn't! I made sure to leave money for everything he took- everything I saw him take, anyway-" Leo narrowed his eyes at Tommy’s loot, "-hey, where did you find a Gameboy? We didn't even stop at any electronics stores." Leo grabbed the cool plastic box right out from Tommy's arms.

Tommy squawked in offense, but was rendered unable to retaliate on account of the six other objects still in his arms, "Don't touch my things, man! Steal your own shit," he grumbled, holding his scavenged goods protectively closer.

Leo’s expression dipped into confusion before quickly changing to pure delight, "This isn't even- is this a baby toy?!" He exclaimed with an undertone of laughter in his voice.

Annoyance ticked in Tommy’s chest. He sent his things into his inventory and snatched the cool box back, "No, it's a me toy. Because it's mine now and I like it. Look, it makes noises." He pressed one of the buttons and the toy sang up to the number ten, complete with a whole background jingle.

It was awesome and not something he would be accepting criticism on.

"See, and this is why I keep forgetting that you're older than me," Leo pointed out.

Tommy ignored him, pressing another button and this time getting an "A is for apple," from the device.

He started spam-clicking the buttons, snickering quietly to himself as the device struggled to keep up with the inputs.

He heard someone clear their throat and then Leo was speaking up again, "Cool, well how about we put that away for now, and then you can play with it again later, mkay?" He compromised in a tone that would be more befitting of someone talking to a stubborn toddler.

Tommy inhaled sharply, turning his narrowed eyes on Leo, "You're patronizing me now," he accused flatly, "Don't." He put the toy back into his inventory and promptly started wandering off to explore the upper floor of the mall.

His attention was almost immediately grabbed by mannequins modeling various types of clothing.

Tommy jogged over with an intrigued trill as he grabbed at different shirts and jumpers, checking the textures and then discarding them again with little regard for all of the folds he was actively undoing.

Upon finding something he liked- a soft beige jumper that looked like something Wilbur might've worn before L'Manberg- Tommy quickly slipped it on over his head. He purred appreciatively at the cozy feeling it instilled in him. 

The only thing missing now was Wilbur’s familiar scent- preferably before his cigarette smoking arc.

Mikey looked him over, having walked over at some point, "Looks good on you," he complimented amiably.

Donnie grabbed two different jackets off a clothing rack, "Does anyone else feel a fashion montage coming on?" He asked with an air of mirth in the way his brows raised and the corner of his mouth upturned slightly. 

His suggestion was met with an unimpressed glance from Raph, "As long as there's no traps involved this time," he conceded wryly.

Ah, Tommy sensed a story behind that one.

Leo and Mikey both nodded, Mikey more absentmindedly as he was already sifting through clothes several blocks away.

Tommy bit back a yawn, padding over to the jeans section and snorting incredulously when the first pair he picked up happened to be torn to shit at the knees, "This is dumb, why would anyone want trousers with holes in 'em? You'll fucking... You'll scrape your knees up well good with this shit," he remarked with bland disapproval.

Leo grabbed a pair, "Well sure, if you think about it that way it seems weird, but I happen to think they look great on me-" he pulled on the ripped jeans, "-but honestly, what can't I pull off. Yo, Donnie, pass!" He raised a hand in Donnie’s direction, snapping his fingers twice.

A dark brown jacket was lobbed across shortly afterwards- definitely aimed more for Leo's head than his hand- but it was easily caught regardless.

Leo shrugged it on over his shoulders, "Alright, now someone tell me where the mirror is around here." He looked around, casually adjusting the cuffs of his sleeves.

His plights were quickly solved by Mikey popping out from a clothing rack, arms full of different clothes, "Found the changing rooms over this way." Mikey jerked his chin to the left over his shoulder.

And when Leo made a beeline for the aforementioned changing rooms, Tommy didn't think twice about trailing after him.

He was, however, a little surprised when Mikey intercepted him.

"Here, try these on." Mikey dumped several articles of clothing into Tommy’s arms.

Tommy let himself be ushered towards one of the changing rooms, but fully stopped in his tracks when he noticed Leo using his phone like a torch to admire himself in the mirror.

Leo posed in front of the mirror and whistled, "No shoes, no shirt, but I'd still get service with these looks." He winked at his reflection.

Tommy couldn't help his snort, "You look like a fucking wanker," he corrected before retreating into the changing room with a snicker.

"I have no idea what that means, so I'm taking it as a compliment!" Leo decided.

Awfully bold of him.

Donnie's voice jumped in, "Trust me, Nardo, it's not," he readily informed Leo otherwise.

"Well I'm taking it as one anyways," Leo persisted primly.

Tommy tuned them out, choosing to ignore the continuing chatter as he set the clothes Mikey gave him down on the small wooden bench protruding from the wall.

Hands now free, Tommy followed up by taking off his shirt and jumper in one go.

Movement from the corner of his vision made his heart leap into his throat. He just barely managed to tamp down on his instinct to scream as he realized an instant later that it was just a mirror.

Tommy stilled, the reflection in the mirror freezing all the same.

And as he stared into the mirror, Tommy came to the uncomfortable realization that he couldn't recognize the person staring back at him.

Tommy raked his eyes over the fur-covered stranger that couldn't possibly be him. It wasn't- that wasn't really him, was it?

It didn't look like him. It looked like a raccoon hybrid- mutant, with his trousers on.

The only thing really tying the person in the mirror with him was the tuft of white fur atop his head. Which was a slap to the face in its own right.

How cruel that the only thing other than his seldom-changing outfit was a stark reminder of the time he got beat to death with a fucking potato.

He couldn't even see his scars through all the stupid blond fur. 

Ha, never thought he'd miss his scars of all things. 

It just… it felt almost insulting somehow. Like the universe had taken one look at him and decided that he could be boiled down to one horrific experience. Left him with the white hair and then brushed off the rest like it never happened.

Tommy had never wanted to rip out those glaring strands of white more than he did now.

A sudden knock on the door startled him away from any rash decisions.

"Almost done in there? I wanna see you in the outfit I picked out," came Mikey's muffled voice. 

Tommy shook his head firmly, turning his back on the mirror, "In a minute!" He called, scrambling to get into the loose shirt and cardigan lying on the bench and swapping his usual trousers for jeans.

With one last deep inhale to settle the brewing anger, he twisted the doorknob and prayed that his flat expression would be mistaken for exhaustion.

"How do I look, G?" Tommy asked upon exiting the changing room and stepping into the slightly jarring bright light provided from Donnie’s tech shell.

Mikey's first response was to partway button up Tommy’s cardigan. But his second response after stepping back was to bean at him, "Oh, baby! That's right! I still got the touch. The artistic swagger!" He self-congratulated with an OK sign.

Leo- who was wearing an entirely different outfit at this point- leaned over Mikey's shoulder to inspect Tommy with narrowed eyes, "Hmm… Yes, yes, that fuzzy red cardigan does make him look like less of a dumpster creature," he complimented, cheekily backhanded as it was.

Donnie followed suit with a sly look that Tommy could only partly make out due to the floodlights over his shoulders, "Yeah, you could almost be fooled into thinking he doesn't have rabies."

Fucking- Tommy was going to kill that prick one of these days.

But for now he settled on glaring deeply at Donnie with flat ears, "I don't have rabies, you fucking knobhead," he seethed.

Raph chuckled and planted a broad hand on Tommy’s head, "Sorry, Tom, but you are kind of… You know," he implied vaguely.

Tommy twisted his neck to gape at Raph, "Raph. Raph, you are supposed to have my back here, what the fuck. I haven't even bit you yet! I- I think?" Fuck, has he bitten Raph before?

In all honesty, very possible. Tommy didn't exactly keep track of who he bit or how many times.

He just knew that Leo had wholly deserved it every time Tommy had snapped his teeth at that quippy dumbass.

A grin halfway between incredulous and amazed grew on Raph’s face, "Hold on- you don't even know if you've bitten me before or not?"

Embarrassment burned on Tommy's face- it was way too late for this shit, he didn't have the mental fortitude to defend himself properly right now.

But fuck it, he was going to try anyway, "Listen, you can't fucking expect me to remember the difference who I've bitten and who I've thought about biting, okay? Fuck off, dickhead." Tommy pushed Raph's hand off his head and then proceeded to put way too much effort into not immediately wrenching it over to his mouth to bite down on.

That would not help his point in the slightest.

Tommy's compromise was to pull out his cool noise making box to shove into his mouth instead.

Except when he bit down on the plastic, a resounding crunch filled the air as his teeth pierced straight through it.

He tore the thing out of his mouth with a rapidly sinking heart.

Horror filled Tommy at the sight of the carnage created by the simple act of shutting his jaw. 

His recently discovered, but no less beloved toy was all but torn in jagged halves. The only thing holding it somewhat together was a mess of multi-coloured wires.

A low whine was pulled from his throat at the sight of his shattered love, "Ohhh, I can't believe I broke it. Oh, this is fucking horrid," he warbled, sinking to the floor in a state of utter despair.

Leo crouched down in front of him, "Oh no, that's- that's awful," his attempt at sympathizing was severely undercut by the silent laughter shaking his shoulders.

Tommy hunched further, curling in on himself and hugging the wrecked toy closer in the process, "You're making fun of me," he muttered.

Two hands grabbed Tommy's shoulders, "Hey, no, no, no, I'm not making fun of you, I- we can get you another one," Leo hurriedly assured.

Tommy’s gaze didn't budge from the spot between his feet, "I don't want a new one, it's not the same," he muttered shortly.

"Yes it is. They are literally all manufactured to be virtually identical," Donnie corrected unhelpfully.

Sharp frustration stabbed Tommy's chest and he directed a harsh glare Donnie’s way, dominant hand flexing instinctively, "No, they're not. Because I picked this one out, it's mine, you stupid fucking-" Tommy stopped himself the second he realized what he was doing.

His breath faltered momentarily, heart skipping a beat. He scooted backwards, shrugging off Leo’s hands, "Sorry, misdirected anger," he apologized quietly, turning all of his anger and frustration inward on himself.

Because he was lashing out at people who didn't deserve it again. He had to get a fucking handle on himself before someone got hurt.

Silence was heavy in the air for a tense few seconds before Raph decided to break it, "Uh, Raph can tell you're having a rough time right now. Do you wanna go back home?" He asked gently.

Tommy somehow managed to pin his ears flatter against his skull. Great, they were treating him like a child again.

Not that he was doing a good job at proving them wrong. He was throwing a fit over a baby toy that he himself broke. What kind of mature adult did that?

He wrapped his arms around his drawn up knees and hid his face, "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm like this," he mumbled miserably into his knees.

"Hey, it's okay, we're not mad, right guys?" Raph's pointed look at his brothers might as well have been audible seeing as Tommy didn't even have to look to know it was there.

Mikey and Leo spoke over each other in their attempts to agree as quickly and vehemently as possible.

Donnie added on with an awkward, "Yeah, what they said."

While Tommy appreciated their efforts, it wasn’t their anger he was afraid of.

He muttered a halfhearted thanks anyway, "I'm gonna go grab my things if that's alright," he told them, putting the broken toy into his inventory as he stood up and slipped away into the changing room.

Tommy didn't move at first, standing with his back to the closed door and putting a little too much effort into keeping his breathing steady.

He looked down at his trembling right hand, hating himself for the knowledge that the only reason he hadn't pulled a sword on Donnie back then was because he didn't have one.

Tommy closed his fist with a sharp exhale. Maybe… Maybe it would be better if he didn't take Leo up on his offer to find Tommy a new sword.

It would certainly be safer, he thought, mind infested with the memory of attacking Wilbur in a counterproductive fit of terrified anger at the thought of losing his older brother.

"Yeah," he whispered to himself, shoving his current outfit into the dredges of his inventory and starting to tug on his usual clothes.

He hesitated when he grabbed the soft beige jumper, mouth pressed thin, "I'll fight with words instead of swords, like L'Manberg was supposed to be." He put the jumper on over his shirt, smoothing out the fabric with his palms.

Rubbing his eyes tiredly, Tommy gathered the courage to leave before Mikey could start getting too impatient.

Everyone was out of their cobbled together outfits and murmuring amongst themselves when Tommy stepped out.

Leo noticed him first, flashing a friendly smile, "Hey, you keeping that?" He pointed, presumably referring to the jumper Tommy was wearing.

Tommy nodded, on the fence about speaking for a moment, but eventually doing it anyway, "Yeah, I like it," he said quietly.

"Cool, let me just-" Leo slid over, plucking a tag from behind Tommy's neck with a small snap, "-Fifty ninety-nine? Yeesh, clothing can be expensive. We'll pay, like, half of that." He chucked the tag aside and turned his head to give Donnie an expectant look.

Donnie sighed dramatically, verbally saying the action as he did so. A robotic arm popped out of his shell just long enough to deposit a few rectangles of green paper into his hand.

Tommy stared curiously at the papers, "What's that?" He asked as they started walking for the store's exit.

His question got him yet another round of surprised looks that meant he just asked about something incredibly normal to them.

Donnie once again stepped up with an explanation, "This is American currency, also known as USD, money, dollars, or the green. More specifically though? This is the thirty dollars we're using to make us seem less like common crooks." He went behind a desk and shoved the money into a drawer as he wrapped up his informative spiel.

Tommy blinked, "Oh… What's it good for?" Scrap paper didn't seem particularly useful.

It couldn't be used to make armor or weapons, definitely wasn't anything you could build with either.

Raph scratched his head with a slightly puzzled expression, like he thought it might've been a trick question, "Uhh, for... Buying things?" He answered slowly.

Tommy huffed, this somehow felt like the eagle cowboy thing all over again in a vague sort of way, "But why? What makes it so valuable? It's just paper," he reiterated with an incredulous wrinkling of his snout.

Raph's face went blank, as did Leo and Mikey's.

They all simultaneously turned their head towards Donnie hopefully.

He rolled his eyes, but conceded with their wordless request, "True, it is just paper, but it's paper that's been assigned monetary value by the government."

"Techno would hate that," Tommy remarked, letting himself be amused by the image of Technoblade's affronted 'heh?!' If he ever found out about government approved paper money. 

Mikey hopped onto the escalator to the ground floor and turned around to tilt his head at Tommy, leaning an arm against the guard rail, "Well then what did you guys use for buying things in your old world?"

Tommy stepped on after him, "I dunno, diamonds, iron, favors? We didn't really have shops though, you know? Nothing like this, that's for sure-" he gestured widely at the mall they were traversing, "-If you want something, you either make it yourself, or steal from someone else," he finished with a shrug.

Leo barged onto Tommy's step, "You guys regularly used diamonds as currency?"

Tommy leaned back to reclaim some semblance of personal space, "Mate, I literally just said we constantly stole shit from each other, we didn't regularly use anything as currency," he reminded dryly before covering his mouth with his palm to suppress a yawn.

They all filed off of the escalator, Donnie had a hand to his chin, "Interesting, diamonds must be easier to come by there. Even after the interrogation, there's still so much that never came up…" He was mumbling to himself, apparently deep in thought about the economy of the DreamSMP.

Nerd, Tommy thought, looking away with a miniscule smile at the knowledge that Donnie had no idea that Tommy was actively making fun of him In his head.

All in good fun, of course. Donnie still might not be his favourite roommate, but he was steadily working his way into Tommy’s good graces. It helped that he'd been very non-judgmental whenever Tommy got confused about some aspect of this world.

Tommy was the first to leave the mall, hopping down the steps. He quickly remembered how much he disliked walking barefoot in this stupid fucking city when the parking lot asphalt dug into the pads of his feet.

How far away was the lair again? Twenty minutes? Thirty? It was a little hard to judge since he got mildly kidnapped in the middle of their excursion.

All he knew for sure was that he wasn't looking forward to the trip back.

Solutions…

Raph and the others walked past him, obviously expecting Tommy to follow.

Raph… Who was buff as hell… Who jumped off a building without any hindrance despite having Mikey perched on his shell earlier...

A metaphorical light went off in Tommy’s brain, the solution to his problems was right in front of his eyes this whole time.

"Raph, big man, my G, favourite after Mikey." Tommy jogged after Raph, ignoring the wildly suspicious looks he was getting from literally everyone.

Raph stopped walking and half turned to face him, "Uh… Yes, Raph is me, I am Raph," he confirmed, pointing at himself.

Tommy sagged his shoulders with a dramatic huff, "Raph, can you carry me back? The hard unyielding ground hurts my feet," he complained, folding his ears back and pouting with big, pleading eyes.

Raph didn't even hesitate, "Sure!" He turned so that his shell was facing Tommy and took a knee.

Tommy straightened, blinking at Raph, "Oh, seriously? You'll actually carry me? Like, for real? You don't mind?" He double checked, hesitantly reaching out to touch one of the spikes on Raph’s shell.

He'd kind of expected to have his complaints brushed aside as dramatic exaggeration for some reason.

Raph looked back at him over his shoulder and flashed a reassuring grin, "Of course! You weigh almost nothing, this is easy stuff for Raph," he claimed, a little smug.

The flippant attitude did wonders for the weird hesitation Tommy had been plagued with. He felt himself relax, "Thanks, king." He clambered up onto Raph's shell with a yawn.

He shifted around trying to find a position that felt both comfortable and safe. 

While Mikey had looked right at home on Raph’s shell earlier, Tommy couldn't quite shake the feeling that he was about to fall, especially when Raph stood up.

"Everything okay back there?" Raph checked up on him before he did anything else.

Tommy didn't answer for a moment, taking the time to adjust his grip and press himself more firmly against Raph’s shell, "Yeah, 'm all good to go back here," he confirmed, now fully ready for the journey ahead.

Raph nodded, "Cool, then hang on tight!" He shouted as he started running without another word of warning.

The unexpected speed made Tommy screech, more out of habit than anything.

It didn't take long for him to get used to it, closing his eyes and appreciating the wind in his fur.

He should hitchhike on Raph's back more often.

---

Tommy was half asleep and yawning every other minute by the time they got back to the lair. It was only the knowledge that he would fall off if his grip loosened that kept him awake.

"Is he sleeping?" Leo asked in a volume that could just barely be considered a whisper.

Flicking an ear in his direction, Tommy reluctantly forced his eyes open to glare tiredly at Leo, "What time is it?" He mumbled back, blinking lethargically. 

Leo poked Tommy right between the eyes, "Late," he answered nonspecifically.

Tommy grumbled wordlessly, pulling his head away from Leo and gnawing on the ridge of Raph's shell without really thinking.

Raph chuckled, the sound sending odd vibrations through Tommy's teeth that made his jaw instinctively tighten.

"Think I'm gonna get him to bed before he decides to take a chunk outta me. G'night, love you guys," Raph quietly dismissed his brothers.

Though Tommy was only half listening, finding it progressively harder to keep his eyes open. Something that only got more difficult when Raph started walking, the steady swaying of footsteps lulling Tommy further into his sleepy state.

Before he knew it, he was being rudely poked on the cheek.

"Alright, Tommy, this is your stop, time to get off now," Raph whispered.

Tommy nearly gave in to the impulse to hiss at the hand poking him and then proceed to never let go ever- but on second thought, beds were way more comfortable then a spikey shell.

He still made sure to whine his complaints during the clumsy descent to his bed, of course.

Tommy stretched out on his bed, getting comfortable with a lengthy yawn as a steady purr started up from his chest, "Goodnight, love you," he mumbled, pulling one of his several new plushies from his inventory and wrapping his arms around it.

He frowned when Raph didn't respond right away, "Y'have to say it back, it's the rules," Tommy informed Raph with exhaustion-slurred speech.

There was a quiet huff of air, and then…

"You're right. Have a good sleep, Tom, love you too," Raph said softly, followed by the sound of his retreating footsteps.

Satisfied with his response and still purring quietly, Tommy finally let himself fall into the gentle clutches of sleep.