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Space had always seemed so far away on Earth, like a myth or a fairytale you were told at bedtime as a small child. The sparkling stars and the glowing moon, all the planets we couldn’t even see, just didn’t seem real . perhaps that's why it all seemed so surreal when he first woke up after having been taken.
The aliens that had taken him, and a handful of other humans, hadn’t thought far enough ahead to imagine that their drugs might not work the same on humans. And ended up having to deal with a dozen angry humans waking up in the middle of transporting them into what looked to be cages.
It had been chaos, and Tommy had gotten knocked over and fallen into a room he suspected was some type of the alien equivalent of a closet. The door had closed right in his face and refused to open up again, no matter how hard he pounded on it or screamed for help.
He didn’t know how long he was in there, only that when the door finally opened his throat felt like it was on fire and black spots were dancing in his vision.
A soft surprised sound made him turn his head sluggishly, in the door stood something akin to a humanoid pig. Its eyes were soft, pupils dilated beyond what seemed normal, it was also letting out a bunch of soft Chuff-Chuff-Chuff sounds that Tommy had no idea what meant. Perhaps it was sick? Perhaps it was gonna kill him?
It- He hadn’t thought. He had gently scooped Tommy into his arms and held him close to his chest, purring softly when the boy nuzzled into his neck.
It had taken him time, a lot of time. To trust the three aliens after the pig brought him back to their ship, for the first three weeks Tommy refused so much as to even look at them. The Language barrier didn’t help either but at least he caught onto the fact that the blue-fish fucker was named Wilbur, the Bird-guy was named Phil, and the pig’s name was Techno-no-blade. (What the actual fuck?)
But things got better, they learned, and adapted to each other. Even though the language barrier is still there they’re working on it, and Tommy trusts them. They’re his family , so it isn’t a surprise he’s ended up in the situation he’s in right now.
Wilbur’s long claws scratched gently behind his ear, taking utmost care to not leave as much as an indent in his skin. Tommy wasn’t worried though, and went completely boneless in Wilbur’s lap, practically collapsing into his chest.
The alien let out a thrill that he had come to recognize as laughter, tucking Tommy under his chin and softly humming. They’d figured out quickly that Tommy liked Techno’s rumbling purr, and Wilbur had been jealous so he had come up with his own way to create vibrations that usually worked just as effectively, and had the alien grinning like he had just won the lottery when Tommy snuggled closer to feel the vibrations better.
Techno and Phil were in the nest too, Phil sat beside Wilbur so he could drape a wing over both of them, crooning softly at Tommy when he peaked up at him. Techno was sat right in front of Wil, not that he seemed to notice considering his entire focus was on the boy in the alien's lap. His pupils were blown-out, hand softly holding Tommy’s like he needed the physical touch to stay tethered, as if holding Tommy’s hand was the only thing that kept him from floating away, kept him grounded.
It had been overwhelming at first, the way they all looked at him with such adoration and love. No one had ever taken care of or even cared for him in the first place back on earth, and here he was, with a group of aliens that he knew would do anything if it meant keeping him safe.
Perhaps space wasn’t so bad after all, he thought closing his eyes and letting his rest against Wilbur’s collarbone. He was out before he even noticed the soft voices cooing and awing over him.