A/N - Have Raccooninnit. This isn't about Phil or Sam if you were wondering from the title. Also thanks for 1K reads!
TW: Blood
Tommy had heard a lot of sounds outside his tent at night, but never this sound. He was accustomed to the owl's hoots and the occasional howl of a wolf, but it startled him to hear a sound he only ever heard from one thing. Himself.
The chittering was, without a doubt, coming from a raccoon. A baby, too, it sounded like.
Tommy had changed a lot during exile; he had become more closed-off and anxious, but all his fear and insecurity flew out the window because the little animal's sounds called out to Tommy's raccoon side, and he had to go make sure the kit was okay.
He hurried outside and tried to locate the sound's origin. A few minutes later, he spotted stripes coming from behind a bush and crept over. He let out low, calming chitters that the kit responded to with chirps of their own. It sounded like the baby was asking for help, so Tommy took that as an invitation to approach.
He gently grabbed the raccoon's body and immediately cringed. It felt wet and warm, and Tommy hoped it wasn't blood, but he wouldn't be able to see until he got back to his tent and lit a torch.
He cradled the baby in his arms, and it nuzzled its head into his chest. This awakened a deep, paternal instinct in Tommy and he was overcome with the need to protect this kit. His kit. (Edit 9/11/22: Don't do it. If you're looking at the comments and thinking of doing it, don't. For me. Please.)
After he got into the tent, he lit a torch and looked in dismay at the kit's body. It had a deep gash along its small side and the blood from it stained its beautiful fur. Upon closer inspection, Tommy discovered it was a she. He had a little female kit bleeding out in his arms.
He immediately set to work gently but efficiently patching her up. At some point, she fell asleep and Tommy hoped it was from exhaustion and not blood loss. He made a little makeshift nest of wool for her next to his bed and gently placed her inside, afterward laying down to sleep.
Thankfully, the next morning he was woken up by padded feet walking all over his chest, then let out a small humph as the animal walking around plopped itself down heavily, forcing the air from his lungs.
He opened his eyes to see the kit smiling happily at him. She went to nuzzle his face, and Tommy took it as a thank-you for last night.
They chittered back and forth, sending messages between each other that only they could understand.
In English, he blurted, "You need a name, little one!"
She chittered excitedly as if she had understood what she said.
"Bertha?"
She nipped his finger and he hissed at the pain, playfully glaring at her before continuing.
"Sandy?"
This didn't earn him a nip, but she didn't like that one either, chirping in disapproval.
"Clementine? How does that sound?"
This time, she chirped happily, apparently enjoying her new name.
He giggled softly at her antics, and nearly teared up at how much he had already grown to love her in the little time they had spent with one another. His new companion gave him renewed vigor because he had something to protect.
Tommy was certain that Dream wouldn't approve of Tommy's adopted kit, and he knew he needed to do something. Maybe he would go back to L'Manberg, and they would let him in if they saw how much he'd changed? No, he couldn't trust anyone there after what they did. Even months later, he still felt a pang in his chest thinking about the people who had left him behind.
This left Tommy with one option. His family. It wasn't one he liked, but Phil might let him stay if he saw Clementine. Technoblade, Tommy was not excited about seeing, but he would make that sacrifice and more to protect his daughter.
With that decision, he fashioned a chest carrier for Clementine and packed a bag. She looked at him in confusion, but after telling her they were going on an adventure, she ran around in a circle excitedly and tore out of the tent when he said it was time to go.
And then their journey home had begun.
(A/N, skip if you're not interested)
I read a really good Raccooninnit story on AO3 the other day, and it inspired me to write this. Fatherly Tommy is very OOC but honestly, I'm okay with that for this one. I'm planning on writing another request sometime today or tomorrow, and I also want to make a part two of this! I think I want Technoblade to find Tommy and Clementine in his house, but that's what happened in the fanfic I read on AO3, and I don't want to copy, so I'll only do that if I can write it differently enough. If I can't, I can try to come up with another scene for a part two because I really like Raccooninnit. Let me know if you have any ideas. Hope you enjoyed!