Wilbur was awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of fabric moving around. His eyes shot open and he looked over at Tommy's bed to see what was going on. Tommy had sat up, his dull, blue-gray eyes staring ahead of him at nothing in particular. Wilbur stood up and went over to his brother, watching carefully but unsure what to do.
Slowly, Tommy stood up from the bed and started to walk. His footsteps were sloppy, his balance nearly failed him with every step, but he walked in a straight line. One... Two... Three... Four... Five... After taking six steps, he stopped in his tracks, turned to the next direction, and continued on. Tommy's room was about twelve by fifteen feet so there was plenty of room to do this, Wilbur had cleaned Tommy's room not long before he disappeared so there wasn't anything really out of place.
Tommy finished his six steps in that direction, but when he turned again he could only go one step before there was something in the way. Tommy's desk and trash can were in the path Tommy was going to walk. For an entire month Tommy's movement was limited to the confines of a six by six room and he walked around the edge of that room every day as something to do rather than sit there with his thoughts.
Tommy didn't really understand that he wasn't trapped down there anymore, hallucinations were something he had dealt with on more than one occasion in the past month. Frequent dreams of him being rescued and carried home only to wake up to the same dark room every time, they made it hard to tell what was and what wasn't real. The dreams were so vivid, he could almost feel the warmth of someone carrying him away from that hellhole. He stopped trusting his senses after being fooled by things like that so many times.
Not believing the items in front of him were real, Tommy tried to walk but stopped again when his foot made contact with the trash can. Contact. It made contact. It made noise. He felt it hit his shoe then heard a slight sound as it moved ever so slightly on the floor. All of his dreams of being rescued had one thing in common, he could never interact with things, things interacted with him.
Tommy crouched to be on the same level as the trash can and shakily reached a hand out to it. The metal can was cold to the touch, nearly empty but there was some paper in there, and it was real. Tommy picked up the trash can, hands violently shaking, and he hugged it. For the first time in about two weeks, he felt something... He felt... happy. He was so happy that something he saw was real. Then he thought of things he saw earlier, Wilbur teleporting into the room via enderpearl, Phil holding his hand, Techno saying something, Wilbur carrying him through the forest. Was that all real too? Tommy looked up from the trash can he was still hugging and saw Wilbur standing to his left with a concerned look on his face.
It took every ounce of self control Tommy had to not leap up and run to Wilbur, he wasn't completely sure Wilbur was even real at that point, so instead he tried something he hadn't done in a while. He took a slow, deep breath, then tried to speak. "w-... wil-by?" Tommy's hoarse voice cracked as he tried to get the word out. It was barely intelligible, but it was enough.
Wilbur's eyes visibly teared up as he slowly approached Tommy, sitting on his knees to be level with the boy. "Yeah, Tommy. I- I'm here." He said, smiling at his brother while trying to keep his voice steady. Tommy dropped the garbage can and reached out a hand to his brother, Wilbur met his hand halfway with his own, carefully holding his brother's hand. Tommy's eyes welled up, he could feel the warmth of Wilbur's hand, it was real, he was real. Tommy threw all caution to the wind, he latched onto his brother and he cried.
To describe Wilbur as surprised would have been an understatement but he didn't hesitate to hug Tommy back, holding back tears of his own. Techno had heard the noise and hurriedly went to investigate, when he looked into the room he saw his brothers kneeling on the floor hugging each other as if they were scared to let go. Techno was confused, but relieved to see Tommy moving again.
He's ok!!!
Toms is alive again thank god
e
why r they crying
join them
Should someone see if Dadza's awake?
Protect the child
Give them some space, they've had a rough month.
ew emotions
Hug them
Techno decided he'd be better off not interrupting the moment and watched from the doorway, trying not to get emotional. Phil had apparently also been awoken by the sound of crying because he opened the door from Wilbur's room and looked at Techno with concern, to which Techno shook his head and pointed into the room. Phil didn't seem to understand what Techno was trying to tell him so he went and looked into the room. Phil felt his heart both melt and break when he saw his kids hugging and crying.
Eventually Tommy let go of Wilbur and the older let go of Tommy. Tommy looked Wilbur in the eyes and smiled ever so slightly, it melted Wilbur's heart to see Tommy's smile again. Wilbur picked Tommy up carefully, Tommy didn't resist, and carried him back to the bed. "I know you just woke up but you need more rest. You hungry? You don't have to speak, just nod or shake your head for yes or no." Wilbur was speaking quietly, but the other two managed to hear from the doorway.
Tommy nodded at his brother, both in understanding and as a yes for the food. Sometimes food was dropped into the room but it was never enough and it was pretty rare. Wilbur smiled slightly at Tommy then stood up to go get Tommy something to eat. He saw Techno and Phil at the door, he hadn't noticed them before but he felt grateful they were there, he didn't want to leave Tommy alone again. "Can you guys stay with him while I grab something from the fridge?" Wilbur pretty much knew the answer already but he felt obligated to ask. Phil nodded and went into the room, followed by Techno.
Wilbur hurried off to get the food, leaving the others in silence. Phil sat at the base of Tommy's bed and looked at his youngest, Tommy stared back at Phil with a slightly unsure expression, Techno sat at the desk that was near the bed. Tommy didn't remember all that much about Phil and Techno, he left with Wilbur when he moved out of their dad's house almost eight years ago.
Silence settled over them, Tommy couldn't really speak and the others were unwilling to start without prompting. Tommy must've gotten lost in his head again because before he knew it he was no longer sitting on his bed staring awkwardly at his father, instead he was in a completely black space. No visible walls, no visible floor, just and endless expanse. He was sitting on what felt like solid air looking at a blurry shape with no face. Tommy's expression lost the tired awkwardness, a slight glimmer of fear took its place. He looked away from this father and put his hands over his eyes, muttering something slightly under his breath. "It's not real, it's not real, it's not real..." He repeated.
Phil got worried and reached over to place a hand on Tommy's shoulder. "Tommy? You alright there, mate?" He asked, concern lacing his tone. Tommy moved his hands slightly so he could see Phil, he could see the room again, that much had passed, but Phil was still the faceless blur. Tommy rested his hands in his lap again and nodded at Phil, not able to look him in the eye, partially because he couldn't see Phil's eyes.
Taking the hint that Tommy didn't want to talk about it, Phil returned to his spot at the base of the bed. Wilbur came back not long after with some warm potato soup for Tommy. Tommy took the soup gratefully, he was careful not to spill any as he took the bowl. Phil decided to leave the topic of what happened until later when he calmed down more. Deciding to give the boys some more privacy, Phil stood up and went towards the door. "I'm going back to bed now, if you boys need me I'm right next door." Techno got the hint and stood up as well. "Night." Was all he said as he walked out of the room.
With those two gone, it was just Tommy and Wilbur. They're leaving me. I don't want to be alone. Tommy looked at Wilbur, silently pleading for his brother to stay with him. Wilbur watched their father leave then sighed. "It is pretty late, finish up your soup and we'll get to bed ourselves." Wilbur told Tommy, his previous exhaustion not completely gone after what little sleep he got. Tommy nodded and ate his soup, subconsciously eating a bit slow to make it take longer so Wilbur wouldn't leave him yet.
Eventually Tommy finished his soup and handed the bowl back to Wilbur who set it on the night stand. "I'll put it away tomorrow, for now let's get some sleep." Wilbur said as he sat down on the floor leaning up against the bed. "Good night Tommy." Tommy looked at Wilbur, slightly surprised. He was under the impression that Wilbur was leaving. Tommy was relieved that he wouldn't be alone again. He was pretty tired do Tommy laid down with one arm hanging off the side of the bed so it was touching Wilbur's shoulder. They fell asleep like that as quiet settled over the house again.