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Wilbur was, to put it simply, exhausted. Today was a hard day at work, Tommy had been a pain to put to bed, and he stubbed his toe.
Overall, not the best of days.
Wilbur sighed as he flopped onto his bed. He would admit, it felt a bit empty without Tommy here. The boy had insisted on being a “big man” and wanted to start sleeping in his own bed.
Which was part of why Tommy had been so difficult to get to sleep. He had Wilbur come check the room for monsters 10 times, and made the man check the blankets for bugs repeatedly. All things Wilbur was willing to do, of course. But tiring nonetheless.
Wilbur took in a deep breath, taking in the scent of his blanket before tucking himself in.
Tomorrow was another day. More work to do, more meals to prepare.
Another kiss to give to Tommy on the forehead.
Wilbur smiled to himself. His little boy made it all worth it.
Wilbur let his eyes drift shut, sleep dragging him under.
-/-/-/-/-/-
Slowly, Wilbur’s consciousness began to return with the slight creek of a door. Wilbur hummed as he peeled open an eye as light shone on his face. A silhouette stood in the doorway, arms around itself in a hug.
“Dad?”
Wilbur forced himself to sit up, rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes. “Mmm… Toms? What’s up?”
Tommy dug his toe into the carpet. “Had a nightmare.”
Wilbur softened, lifting up the blanket. “C’mon, big man.”
Tommy threw himself across the room and into the bed, curling face down into the sheets. Wilbur smiled, rubbing Tommy’s back.
“Wanna talk about it?”
Tommy shook his head, whimpering.
Wilbur just leaned down, kissing the back of Tommy’s head. “That’s alright. Why don’t you come here, sweetheart?”
Wilbur lifted an arm, slowly pulling Tommy closer until his face was tucked into his shoulder.
The boy twisted his fingers into Wilbur’s loose t-shirt as Wilbur tucked the blanket around them.
“Y’know, it’s okay to stay here if you want, lovely. You don’t gotta grow up yet, if you don’t want to.”
Tommy sniffled, glancing up at his father. “But… but I wanna be a big man.”
Wilbur booped Tommy’s nose. “Even big men get scared. It’s okay. You can be a big man right here in my arms.”
Tommy gave a shaky smile, burying his face back into his dad’s chest as warm arms wrapped around him tightly. Wilbur wiggled around to get comfortable, placing his chin on top of Tommy’s head with a content sigh.
Wilbur hoped this could last a little longer. Sure, he got annoyed with Tommy kicking and moving around in his sleep, but he wouldn’t give this up for the world.
Tommy was his baby and as big of a man Tommy would grow into, he’d always be Wilbur’s little guy.