Work Text:
Tommy has been a hero for the past five years.
And he has hated every second of it.
The heroes are strict. They have to be with him. They don’t want him stepping out of line. (The consequences would be disastrous.)
Tommy’s an outcast in the Guild. He notices the way the other heroes talk about him when they think he isn’t listening, sees the way they treat him differently, like he isn’t a proper hero.
Well, he supposes they would be right.
The rules are different for him. Stricter rules, harsher punishments, and on top of that Tommy isn’t even paid.
He hates being a hero.
But Tommy simply puts on a brave face and shoulders the burden.
He has to play the part of the hero. He has to follow the rules.
If he doesn’t…
Tommy needs to stay in line.
Out of all the rules, two of them are the most important, and must never be broken under any circumstance.
First rule: Never show your wings.
Tommy never understood that one at first. Having wings would be super handy on the battlefield. But the Guild thinks otherwise. They’re bulky, they get in the way. Besides, it would be a huge slander to the Guild’s reputation if the city were to find out they let a hybrid into their ranks.
So Tommy’s wings remain tied to his back, hidden underneath his uniform, only released from their binds in the safety of Tommy’s room.
Second, and most important, rule: Never engage with Noxious.
Tommy has never dared to break this rule. From what he’s been told, the villain started appearing not long after Tommy became a hero, and he is dangerous. He seems to have it out for the heroes personally, and the villain shows no mercy.
Tommy is happy to stay away from the villain if it means he can live another day.
Except, one day on patrol, Tommy is ambushed.
It happened so fast. One minute, Tommy is admiring the sunset as it peaks out behind the city buildings, and the next, Noxious is descending upon him like a predator would prey.
Tommy tried getting away from the bloodthirsty villain. Never engage Noxious, never engage Noxious circling his mind. But Noxious is relentless. Tommy has no choice but to fight.
“Leaving so soon, Theseus?” Noxious drawls, voice changer doing nothing to hide the venom in his tone. “We’re just getting started!”
Gee, functioning wings would be so helpful right now.
Tommy is forced to stay on the defensive as he blocks the villain’s attacks. Noxious is unyielding, stance calm and confident as vines and branches strike like snakes.
The sun has long since set. The multiple injuries Tommy has sustained throb in tandem with his heartbeat, and no doubt staining the white areas of his uniform red. That’s going to be such a pain to clean later. But no matter how much he tries, Tommy can’t seem to land a hit on the villain, who doesn’t even seem to grow tired.
Tommy sees an opening. He holds his bat tighter, and he jumps forward, drawing his arm back to swing.
Something long and thin wraps around his torso, catching him mid air. Noxious turns to face him, nonchalant. He’s so close Tommy can hear the air hissing out of the villain’s gas mask as he breathes.
The villain raises a fist.
Tommy’s vision white’s out as pain explodes in his jaw. Before he can regain his senses, the vine holding him throws him forward. He yells as he flies through the air. He hits the back of his head when he lands.
Tommy blinks, trying his best to stand up and keep fighting because he can’t die here. But all of the injuries making themselves known make his body feel like one big wound, plus the dizziness and his wings getting painfully squished as he lays there on his back. Tommy blinks, and Noxious is there, standing over him.
A vine wraps itself around Tommy’s neck, and he chokes, panic setting in.
Oh Prime, he’s going to die here. He’s going to die at the hands of the villain he was told to avoid.
Tommy can’t die! He can’t!
What will they do to Tubbo when he’s no longer there? When Tommy is no longer useful?
A boot settles on his chest, the pressure squeezing the air out of Tommy’s lungs as Noxious leans down so they are face to face.
“You heroes have taken everything from me,” the villain spits, seeming to take sadistic glee in the way Tommy struggles for air. Noxious tilts his head, deadly and condescending. “Let’s get rid of that mask, shall we? I wanna watch the life drain out of your eyes.”
Ice cold fear wraps around his heart. A panicked chirp is choked off by the vines around his neck as Noxious’ hand reaches for his mask. “Please,” he chokes out.
The cold night air stings against his tear stained cheeks as his remaining protection is stripped away.
Tommy squeezes his eyes shut, not wanting the villain to be the last thing he sees in his final moments. Instead, he sends a silent prayer to his friend as he prepares for the final blow.
I’m sorry I wasn’t able to protect you.
But the final blow… never comes.
There’s a choked sound from Noxious as the pressure against his chest disappears. The vines around his neck loosen, and Tommy gasps for air.
As Tommy struggles to catch his breath his wide eyed gaze turns to the villain standing a foot away. Noxious stares at him, the eyes of his gas mask blank as ever, but his rigid stance and slack shoulders betray his shock, the calm and confident appearance completely gone.
Noxious holds Tommy’s mask in a slack hand, before it falls to the ground with a thud.
“...Tommy?”
It’s said in shock and disbelief, so quietly and broken. You wouldn’t think it was this feared and dangerous villain who said it.
But Tommy’s heart jumps all the same, eyes blown wide in shock and fear. He tries to sit up, to get away, but a dizzy spell renders the action useless. When he recovers he gasps out “How do you know-”
How do you know my name?
“It can’t be,” the villain is saying, just as quiet. “No. It can’t be. This-” a hysterical laugh. “This must be some sort of sick joke.”
Noxious takes a step forward, seeming to ignore the way Tommy tries to jump back in fear.
“But no,” Noxious says, borderline desperate. “How are you-? But they said- You… You’re supposed to be…”
The villain stops his rambling as he stares at the hero before him. A few long moments pass, atmosphere tense, before Noxious slowly brings his hand up to his face…
There’s a click, hiss, before the mask falls away.
Tommy stops, and stares, eyes wide and jaw slack.
The face of his best friend stares back.
Tommy can’t believe what he’s seeing. The blood loss must be making him hallucinate. But still, he can’t help but gasp out his friend’s name. “Tubbo?”
How? How is this possible?
There is a miniscule twitch of Noxious’- Tubbo’s? - eyebrows, and he swears he catches his eyes glaze over with tears before he blinks them away.
“Tommy,” he mutters, and that is undoubtedly Tubbo’s voice, no longer hidden away by the voice changer. “I’m here, I’m here.”
All of this is too much for Tommy’s mind to take. The blood rushes to his head, and he blinks a few times before passing out.
He wakes for a few moments, finding himself in Noxious’- Tubbo’s- Noxious’ arms as the villain carries him over the rooftops. Tommy closes his eyes, and darkness greets him.
Tommy wakes slowly and in pain.
He shifts, letting out a slow breath. Ugh, he feels like shit. He almost doesn’t want to open his eyes, half heartedly hoping he’ll go back to sleep.
He’d best get up though, before someone comes to drag him out of bed.
So, reluctantly, Tommy opens his eyes.
…And is startled when he realises he doesn’t know where he is.
He’s in a small, dimly lit room, laying in a bed he doesn’t recognise. His arms, legs, and torso are covered in white bandages (way better quality than the Guild would allow), though whoever treated him decided to leave his uniform on.
His mask is gone, he realises with a pit in his stomach.
And his uniform shirt has been cut open to allow his wings to stick out.
…
His uniform shirt has been cut open to allow his wings to stick out.
Tommy sits up in alarm when he realises this.
Someone’s seen his wings. And they know what he looks like.
Only then does Tommy notice he’s not alone.
Someone stands on the opposite corner of the room, back turned to him. Though at the sound of Tommy shifting in bed does the person turn around.
The events from the night before hit Tommy like a brick.
Tommy stays in shocked silence as his long lost best friend, his Tubbo , seems to gather himself from his thoughts. He wipes at his red eyes before approaching Tommy, letting out a sigh of relief.
“You’re awake,” he says.
Tommy can only stare. “...Tubbo?”
Tubbo has changed a lot since he saw him last. His dark brown hair is longer, wilder, and the little stubs that were his horns are now fully grown, curling around each of his ears. There’s also some sort of burn scar on his right cheek that definitely wasn’t there before.
Tubbo has grown up.
(Just like Tommy has)
The brunet dons a lopsided grin, and it’s so familiar, so Tubbo, that Tommy nearly cries right then and there. But the expression is tinged with sadness. “Hey, bossman.”
Bossman.
It’s been so long since he’s heard his voice.
Without thinking, Tommy tips forward, into Tubbo’s waiting arms, and holds on tight, not wanting to ever let go.
Tears spring up in Tommy’s eyes, and he weeps, burying his face in his friend’s shoulder as he sobs. He feels Tubbo do the same.
“Oh Tubbo, Tubbo, Tubbo.” Tommy says his name like a mantra. Oh Prime, please do not let this be a dream. Please let this be real. “Is it really you?”
Tubbo lets out a sob. “It’s me, Tommy,” he says, voice cracking as he squeezes tighter. “It’s me.”
They stay like that for a while, both sitting on the floor next to the bed as they hold on to each other, both weeping for the years they spent apart.
Eventually though, once their tears are spent, they pull away, holding each other at arm's length. Tommy peers into Tubbo’s teal eyes, and Tubbo stares back into his blue. Relieved and bittersweet smiles rest on their faces.
Tommy has a million questions. You’re a villain now, how did that happen? How did you get that scar?
But most pressing-
“How did you escape?” he whispers.
Confusion freezes Tubbo’s face, and he frowns, head tilting to the side. “Huh?”
“After the heroes caught us,” Tommy elaborates, frowning at Tubbo’s confusion.
But then he stops as he realises.
Tubbo escaped. And he never came back.
Tommy stands, hurt and grief bursting in his chest as he steps away.
“You left me.”
Tubbo’s eyes go wide, standing up as well. “What?”
Tommy suddenly feels like he can’t breathe. “They said they’d kill you if I don’t behave but you… You were already gone.”
“No, that’s not what happened-”
“Why didn’t you come back? Why did you leave me with them?!”
“I would have never left you! If I had known-”
“Do you have any idea what they did to me-”
“I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!”
Everything stops. The room goes deathly silent.
A single tear rolls down Tubbo’s cheek. “I thought you had died,” he chokes out.
Tommy feels frozen in place. “What?”
Tubbo swallows thickly. “You were the only one caught that night,” he says, voice soft but empty, eyes trained on the floor. “I tried to sneak into the Guild so I could break you out, but they… they intercepted me.”
Tubbo swallows again. Another tear falls. “They told me not to bother. Gave me… Gave me a handful of bloody feathers… Your feathers. They told me you were- you were dead, and I… I believed them.”
Tubbo takes a shaky breath, hands balling into fists. Vengeful anger simmers beneath the surface. “That’s why I became a villain,” he breathes. Exhale. “Because those heroes. Need. To pay.”
Tommy is silent for a few moments longer before he speaks, just as soft. “They told me you had been captured too, that they were keeping you somewhere else. They told me… to do exactly as they said, or you’d be-” A sudden wave of emotions cuts him off. Fear, worry, regret, grief. Anger. Tommy breathes. Inhale, exhale. “I should’ve known.”
The heroes used his friendship with Tubbo as a fucking bargaining chip. Tubbo had never been captured to begin with, yet they held it above Tommy’s head like a fucking guillotine, because they knew that whether their claims were true or not, Tommy would never risk his friend’s life.
And because it was Tubbo, Tommy never once questioned it.
Tubbo steps towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t beat yourself up,” he says. His face twists with regret and guilt. “But I promise, I never would’ve willingly left you behind. If I had known…”
“I know, Tubbo,” Tommy says with a sigh. “I know the truth now. I’m sorry I doubted you.”
“It’s ok,” Tubbo replies. “I’m just glad you’re alive and ok.”
With everything calmed down, Tommy is reminded of the dull ache from his injuries. He gestures to the bandages on his arms with a small laugh. “Well, mostly ok,” he jokes.
But to Tommy’s dismay, Tubbo’s face falls, guilt taking over his expression. “Prime, I’m so sorry about that.”
Tommy just waves him off, moving to sit down on the bed. “It’s fine. You can sure pack a punch, that’s for sure!" he exclaims, rubbing at his bruised jaw for emphasis. "I can see why the Guild is so scared of you.”
Tubbo joins him on the bed, sitting beside him. His expression smooths over with a small smile. “Still, does anything hurt?” he asks. “I can get you some more pain meds if you need?”
Tommy shakes his head. Sure, there’s a little bit of pain, but it could be a lot worse. “I’ve been through worse,” he says with false bravado. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
But perhaps that was the wrong thing to say as he watches Tubbo’s face morph into sadness. “Worse?”
Tommy hides a wince.
For barely a moment, Tubbo’s eyes dart to Tommy’s back before flitting back up to his eyes, expression pained.
Ah, that’s right. He’s seen his wings, then.
His ragged, clipped wings, with bald patches scattered about. His once bright red and white feathers now look dull and lifeless.
Tommy sighs, letting his wings relax from their wound up position.
“Tubbo, I…”
Tubbo looks so sad, eyebrows tilted up in anguish and mouth downturned in regret.
“What did they do to you?”
Tommy crosses his arms, suddenly feeling defensive. “They didn’t want me flying away, y’know?” he says, as if it were obvious. He turns away. “Besides, they grow back.”
And then the process starts all over again.
Tubbo only frowns more as his gaze drifts down to the unkempt feathers. “When was the last time you took care of them?” he asks, worried.
Tommy purses his lips.
To be honest, Tommy barely even looks at his wings anymore. He doesn’t like the state he’s let them fall into.
Tubbo seems to take his silence as an answer. He sighs, pain and sadness filling his expression. He looks at the wings again, and Tommy has to resist the urge to pull them behind his back, out of sight.
“Do you…” Tubbo begins, suddenly seeming hesitant. “I mean… Could I… preen them for you?”
The question is so unexpected that Tommy feels the breath knocked out of him.
He doesn’t want anyone touching his wings. All that brings is pain. But it’s Tubbo. He’s only ever been gentle with him. And it’s been so long…
But Tubbo is already backtracking. “I mean, I won’t if you don’t want me to. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable-”
“Please,” Tommy breathes, almost desperate.
“Huh?”
Tommy thrusts a wing in Tubbo’s direction, almost smacking him with the appendage. Tommy’s eyes are screwed shut.
“Yes,” he whispers. “Please, just- I-”
Tubbo seems to understand what Tommy is trying to say. He nods, as if he was given the most important and delicate task in the world. “Ok,” he says, just as quietly.
They rearrange themselves, Tommy sitting cross legged on the bed, facing the wall, and Tubbo takes his place behind him.
Tommy loosely spreads his wings, trying his best to hide the way they shiver.
But Tubbo doesn’t do anything, not yet. “I won’t do anything if you don’t want me to,” he stresses. Hesitant, giving him the choice to back out.
Tommy huffs. “I’m fine , Tubbo,” he says, hiding the way his voice shakes. “Just… Remember how you used to.”
Tubbo chuckles. “I’m a bit out of practice,” he says. “Just tell me if anything hurts.”
Tommy hums in response.
A hand ghosts over his left wing.
Tommy forcefully shuts out the memories of cruel hands roughly grabbing his wings, holding him down as he struggled, someone approaching him with those big sheers-
But no. Gentle, familiar fingers card through his feathers, loose feathers falling to the ground, and Tommy feels bliss.
His muscles go slack as he closes his eyes. It’s like the nicest massage in the world, but ten times better. Relaxed and pleased chirps spill from his mouth, but he doesn’t notice, too caught up in the feeling of his feathers getting straightened out as the old and loose ones fall away. The dull ache that was constantly there, that he had learned to ignore over the years, finally subsides.
He hears Tubbo chuckle fondly behind him. “You really needed this, huh, boss man?”
Tommy twitters in response.
They easily fall into old habits. Tubbo starts at the tip of the wing, slowly working his way to the right. Tommy’s back is where the worst of it is, since he can’t reach it by himself.
Tubbo’s hand ghosts over a bald patch where white feathers should be. “Did they… also do this?” he asks tentatively.
Tommy is silent for a moment. “No, that was… that was me.” He shrugs. “Stress, innit?”
Tubbo’s usually cold heart cracks at the thought of all of the pain and suffering and loneliness his best friend must’ve gone through without him.
No one is going to hurt Tommy ever again. Tubbo will make sure of it.
Tubbo is gentle and careful where he preens. A few of the clipped primaries fall out, leaving gaps where new pin feathers will grow.
A feather on his back is removed, a particularly annoying one that had been digging into his skin for ages. But once it’s gone, Tommy fucking melts.
Tommy coos, and Tubbo has to catch him when he suddenly falls backwards.
A blissful smile rests on his face.
Is this what heaven feels like?
Tubbo laughs, gently pushing him back up. “I haven’t even gotten to your other wing yet!” he exclaims. “Don’t fall asleep on me now!”
Tommy grunts, blinking as he sits up. “S’rry,” he slurs, dormant instincts already starting to take over.
Now that one of his wings has been preened, the other one feels achy and gross. Tommy ruffles his feathers with an impatient chirp.
Tubbo laughs. “Yeah, yeah, I’m on it.”
Everything is nonexistent during those next few… however many minutes they sit there, all worries and troubles melting away. All that matters right then and there are each other, two best friends who were treated unjustly by the world around them, who have finally found each other after years apart.
When Tubbo is done, the last few feathers falling to the ground, Tommy’s hands twitch with the need to reciprocate.
“There! All finished, boss man!” Tubbo announces with a smile. “How do you feel?”
In lieu of an answer, Tommy twists around, pupils blown and arms outstretched as he reaches for Tubbo’s horns, gently scratching at the areas around them in his way of “preening.”
“Oh.” Tubbo giggles. “I forgot about this.”
Tubbo lets his friend’s instincts do their thing, and once he’s done Tommy flops down face first onto the bed next to Tubbo, eyes closed.
Tubbo smiles down at his friend, hand reaching out to gently pat him on the shoulder. “You’re safe here, Toms,” he promises.
Warmth blooms in Tommy's chest at the words.
The room grows quiet, the two friends basking in each other’s company after so long of being apart, content to sit in silence.
Before long, Tommy is the one to break the peaceful silence.
“Hey Tubbo?” he murmurs.
Tubbo honestly thought Tommy had fallen asleep. “Yeah, Tommy?” he replies, just as soft.
“You remember the dream we had? When we first became vigilantes?”
Tubbo is quiet as he thinks. “That was forever ago,” he hums. “You mean about wanting to make the world a safer place?”
“Yeah.”
“What about it?”
Tommy rolls over onto his side. “I don’t know, just thought about it.” He groans, wiping his face with his hand. “Oh, fuck, what happened, man?” he wonders aloud, past memories flashing across his mind. “How did everything go so wrong?”
“The heroes,” Tubbo grits out. “That’s what happened.”
Tommy lets out a wry laugh.
“We were naive, back then,” Tubbo says. “The world can’t change with just the two of us.”
“...There’s no harm in trying though, right?” Tommy asks, ever the optimist.
Tubbo huffs in amusement. “In any case, the Guild has to go.”
“Couldn’t agree with you more.”
But none of that matters now. They quietly laugh as they think about past lives and simple times, before they were forcefully separated all those years ago. The room falls into a peaceful silence as they simply cherish the time they are spending with each other.
“I’m not going to let anyone take you away from me,” Tubbo says, a sworn oath.
“And I won’t let anyone hurt you,” Tommy says, a promise.
And as they lay in each other’s company, stars shining in the city sky outside, they wonder what new dreams, a new life, awaits them.