Tommy POV:
Tommy didn't know how long he cried for. He didn't know how long it took for the panic to subside, all he knew was that Eret was still here and Eret didn't seem angry. She seemed somewhat sad, but not angry.
"You feeling a little better?" Eret asked, her voice gentle, not forcing a reply, simply offering a potential space to talk.
"Yeah," Tommy replied hesitantly, moving from her lap to sit next to her instead. She let him move, relaxing her hug to just a small side hug.
"Well I have some good news," Eret said, and she sounded almost tentative, as if not sure wether she should say it or not. Tommy tilted his head, encouraging her to finish, so she did, "Your guardian was arrested by the police. You're safe now."
Oh... That was... good? He wanted to think it was, but at the same time, Puffy would be here soon enough to take him away from the only people who had ever seemed to care about him except Tubbo. Tommy didn't want to lose them, but he knew he wouldn't get a choice in the matter. He just hoped it took Puffy a day or two... he doubted it would. She'd probably be here before the day was up. Then he'd be alone again. Probably in a house as bad as the rest.
"Thank you," Tommy said, because he didn't know what else he was supposed to say. Help? Don't make me go? No, he couldn't say any of that, so he was stuck. He wondered how long he had. If Dream was going to prison, not long, that was one of those things that made Puffy show up straight away. Well it would take at least a few hours with the drive.
"Do you wanna go see the others or stay here? They're in the other room."
Tommy didn't know what he wanted. He was ok with going to see them, and he was also ok with not. He probably only had a few hours left with them though, so maybe he should make the most of it.
"I'll go see them," Tommy decided after a few seconds of hesitation.
"You don't have to if you don't want to," Eret reminded him, but Tommy nodded, standing up. He did want to. He didn't want to be taken away and not have anything to remember them by. He knew it was dumb, knew that if he stayed longer they may well hurt him and leaving was probably the safer option, but he could pretend that they would never hurt him. He could pretend until they did and maybe Puffy would take him away before they hurt him and he could keep pretending forever. Yeah... that would be nice...
Eret gave him a small smile and lead him outside, to where the group were waiting. The room was silent, no one saying a word. Wilbur was sitting on a chair with his head being forward pinching his nose, while Ranboo, Conner, Purpled were huddled in a group on the floor with Fundy watching over them. Sally was sitting next to Wilbur, rubbing his back gently. Niki was pacing, and Jack was glaring at her, clearly annoyed by said pacing. Karl was drawing, but he seemed stressed in a way he normally didn't when he drew.
Almost as soon as Tommy walked in, everyone's head's shot up, and then Sally tapped Wilbur's head, forcing him to bend it forward again. Tommy didn't have time to question that before being engulfed by a hug from Niki.
"Oh, Tommy, I'm so glad you're ok," She said, the tension flooding out of her. Tommy felt her tear seep into his hair, but he didn't say anything. He didn't know what to think, but before he could think about it, Niki was being pulled off him and Jack was giving him a hug.
"Are you ok?" He asked, his hug looser, more nervous, but when Tommy nodded, it tightened for a second before he let go and Ranboo dove in.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, Tommy," Ranboo whispered, as though pleading for Tommy's forgiveness. Tommy didn't know what for, but he didn't know if he was allowed to ask either.
"It's ok," Tommy decided, settling on the safest option. It wasn't even a lie, it was ok.
When Ranboo finally moved away, Karl was standing in front of him.
"Can I give you a hug?" He asked gently and Tommy nodded. With that, Karl wrapped his arms around him, engulfing him in a light hug, "I'm sorry I couldn't do much to look after you, but I promise you're safe now."
"Thank you," Tommy whispered and Karl gave him a smile and let go, moving so Sally could hug Tommy. She copied Karl's example of asking, and Tommy accepted. He would've accepted for all of them, and while he did appreciate them asking, he knew the desperation in the hugs. He remembered it from the times Tubbo or he had ended up in the hospital after a particularly bad one. They would be terrified that they had lost the other, and those hugs were the ones they needed to desperately reassure themselves that the other was alive. He hadn't needed to hug Tubbo to know when his brother was gone, but he remembered the relief of his brother's arms wrapping around him.
One by one, everyone gave him a hug, each quietly checking he was ok and then letting go, giving room for the next. Wilbur was the last to come, but his hug, even one armed, was the strongest one there.
"I'm ok," Wilbur said, answering Tommy's unasked question, "Are you?"
"Yeah, I'm ok," Tommy replied and maybe just maybe it wasn't a lie. Sure his rib still hurt like hell, and the hugs hadn't helped that, but he didn't feel so alone. He felt like maybe one day he would find people like this that could keep him. Maybe.
Words: 1000
A/N: have you guys liked the switching POVs? I mainly did that because Tommy was specifically not involved in the action, cuz the group wanted to keep him away (and he needed to be away) but when Tommy is around it'll probably be Tommy POV :] Also don't question why Karl is an artist in this fic, I don't know, he just is. I think it's from the mcyt teachers cosplay series on TikTok (highly recommend) cuz he was an art teacher in that, and from then on he's just been an artist in my head? Idk- XD