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Tommy shook out his wings, sneezing when the dust that rose in clouds from the feathers tickled his nose. He was sweeping the floor of King Dream’s palace for the third time that morning, trying his best to make sure that everything was pristine for the ball later that day.
Sure, he didn’t have much to do, but he prided himself on doing it to the very best of his ability. He had never met Dream but the head cook, Niki, always praised him and made sure that he was paid well for his work – not that he could spend any of his money, though.
He rarely went into the market because of the restrictions put in place for minors. He could only leave the palace without supervision when he was eighteen, which was over a year away. Still, the days he went into the town with Niki were some of the best days in his memory. Not that there were many distinct childhood memories of his – he was born in the palace and grew up there after his mother died in childbirth. He never knew his father.
So, he stayed in the palace. It was boring, but not awful; he was treated well and given more than sufficient sustenance. He had friends and entertainment and plenty of breaks from the work he had to do.
He glanced down the corridor he had been cleaning (he hadn’t been trusted to clean the main hall) and wondered what it would look like that night when the guests arrived.
It wasn’t too hard to imagine – this was one of many balls and parties Tommy had served at, but it was definitely the biggest so far. Tommy had been overhearing rumours all week that the Antarctician royal family was at the palace, and he would be lying if he said that he wasn’t intrigued by them. They held the most powerful country in the world and were noticeably some of the greatest leaders. Some even said that they were better than King Dream himself.
He jumped at the sound of footsteps, realising that he had been standing and thinking for almost ten minutes and turned to apologise to whoever was behind him.
*******
“Hey Tommy.” Tommy felt his body relax as Niki smiled at him. At least he knew that he wouldn’t be in too much trouble for slacking off.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to get distracted. I was just thinking of big man shit, you know?”
Niki smiled at him, “Don’t worry about it. You’ve done a very good job in here.”
Tommy felt as if his chest was about to burst with pride from the compliments. Niki continued smiling and it didn’t take much for Tommy to realise that he was beaming back with a matching glow.
“Speaking of which, you should get ready. Dream wants you to serve the guests again.” Tommy nodded; he had been expecting that. They usually got the younger servants to walk around offering drinks to the guests.
He was about to turn and leave Niki’s side to return to his chambers but was quickly struck by a thought.
“Hey, do you know who’s attending?” this was his perfect chance to find out if King Philza, Queen Kristin and their family were really at the palace. Niki didn’t know everything that occured in the palace, but she had a far higher status than Tommy so knew a whole lot more than he did.
She frowned, though, “Well, King Eret is attending, I heard tha Duke Quackity may be there as well as Lord Seapeekay. Other than that, I think it’s just the usual guests.” Tommy tried not to show his disappointment. Okay fine, he just really wanted to know about the Craft Family. Then, a small smile fell on Niki’s face as if she sensed Tommy’s mood, “I did hear rumours that Queen Kristin and her family will be there as well. I would tell you to keep it a secret, but it appears that most people already know.”
Tommy grinned again and laughed along with her. “Yeah, I always knew that Dreamy was awful at keeping his mouth shut.”
Niki laughed loudly, sounding surprised, but quickly dulled it and poorly covered her amused grin with a disapproving glance, “What have I told you about speaking wrongfully of our king?” It was hard for her to be taken seriously when laughter still elevated her speech and Tommy wasted no time in replying with a similar tone,
“That I should only ever do it in private.”
Niki snorted quietly, shaking her head slightly.
“Get out, you deranged child. You still need to get ready.”
Tommy pulled his body up straight, energy thrumming through his veins at the knowledge that he could see the Antarctician royal family and his animated movements reflected that. He gave her a mock salute, “Ma’am yes ma’am!”
She didn’t even have time to reply as he was running down the corridor to the door with her yells to not mark the floor chasing him.
*******
By the time he was back in his chambers he was out of breath and had been yelled at for running by about five different servants more important than him. Being one of the least important members of staff came with its upsides though – one of which being that very few people ever bothered trying to punish him, even if they yelled.
He took a while to pull on the clothes that he wore to serve guests at every event – it was always a shock that such a simple suit could be so uncomfortable.
His chambers were small, on the bottom floor of the palace and shared with one other servants called Jack Manifold. It was lit with a large-ish window and a few candles and had a small wardrobe in the corner. The stone walls were either terrifying or incredibly comforting depending on the shadows light tossed at them. Every time you looked at the stone bricks you saw something new.
When he was ready, he was unsure of what to do. He knew that he was expected to be in the kitchen by four, but that wasn’t for another half hour. He had a painting he wanted to finish but that would just distract him, and he’d be late. He didn’t need to preen his wings, that had been done in the morning. He supposed that he could go to the library… he had a book he needed to give back and Duke George should be there as well due to the ball he was attending.
That was decided, then. He picked up the book that Karl had leant him and started on his way through the twisting corridors of the palace up the library.
It was a long way to the library; he had to go to go all the way to from the ground floor to one of the highest towers and by the time he got there he was beginning to wonder if he would get back to the kitchens in time.
When he pushed open the door the library tower he was greeted by Karl and George who were yelling at each other.
“I didn’t mean to leave it there!” George yelled running past Tommy, flashing him a grin on his way.
“That doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay the price of your actions!” Karl called back, rushing to follow with a large book poised ominously in his hands.
It didn’t take long for Tommy to start laughing, watching the men run around the spacious tower with matching grins on his face. The chase ended with George on the ground with Karl pretending to hit him with the leather-bound book.
Finally, after watching the scene, Tommy spoke up, “Guys, as hilarious as this is, I need to return this.”
“Ah,” Karl called, looking away from George, “nice to see someone who actually cares about the state of the library books.”
“I apologised!” George called, clambering to his feet.
Karl apparently chose to ignore that comment, quickly grabbing the book from Tommy’s hands. “Thank you!”
Tommy nodded, smiling slightly. He didn’t know either person very well, both of them having far higher rank than him, but he always enjoyed their company, nonetheless. Everyone in the palace had to admit that the pair could be hilarious.
“You serving at the ball tonight?” Karl called as he put the book on a shelf.
“Yeah. I’m just so epic that they enlisted me for help.” Tommy nodded.
“Well we’ll see you there,” George said, smiling slightly at him.
“I should be going,” he said, backing out of the room, “have to go and get ready for the ball and shit.”
Karl’s eyes lit up, “I’ll be watching to see if you’re as amazing as you claim to be.”
“Trust me, I’ll be epic. After all, I’m Tommy Innit, the best caterer in all of existence!”
He wandered out of the library, the two’s symphony of goodbyes seeing him off. He was still grinning as he made his way through the palace. That was, until he heard a clock ticking in the corridor ahead of him.
Crap. He needed to be in the kitchens in two minutes and was ten minutes away.
He frantically began sprinting down the corridor as if his life was on the line – and judging by how unhappy the cooks would be at his tardiness, it very well could be.
He barely registered where he was running, just focusing on getting through the castle as soon as possible. He barely even noticed the man in front of him and subsequently went crashing to the ground as he hurtled into his chest.
He looked up, blinking the light from his eyes and scowling – couldn’t the guy see that he was in a rush?
The scowl quickly fell off his face, though, when he saw that the man was huge.
He was dressed in a way that told Tommy that he was a guest, with a long cloak and clothes that bore the comfort and stitching that only the highest of nobility could afford. His hair was long and pink and the expression on his face was an uncanny mix of deadpan, confusion and shock.
Tommy didn’t have time to stare, though, and he was quick to stumble to his feet and call,
“Move out of my way, bitch!” before he ran off again, on his way to the kitchen.
He skidded to a halt, thoroughly out of breath and legs burning, about two minutes after he should have been there – a new record for him.
*******
Technoblade stared at the corridor the boy had just disappeared down, a frown on his face and body tense.
The boy was interesting; he had sworn at Techno without a moment’s hesitation despite clearly being a low-ranking servant. He couldn’t be any older than sixteen.
But what was most interesting about him were the wings that grew from his back, rows of golden feathers that stood out in an annoyed manner that caused those on Techno’s own wing to fluff up. He had never seen a fledgling before since he and Wilbur grew up – let alone one with the bright golden feathers on Tommy’s wings. Chat was going crazy in his head; yelling at him to protect the boy as if he were flock.
He wanted to follow the boy, to run after him and shield him from the dangers of the world, but he didn’t seem to be able to move.
This was ridiculous. Techno was an expertly trained fighter, and yet a teenager could stop him from even moving his legs.
However, it took less than a minute to be able to walk again, though his feather were still fluffy behind him. He found himself scowling at his wing, unsuccessfully trying to get it to lie flat again.
Finally, he walked out of the corridor, all thoughts of going to the library pushed from his mind as he went to find his flock.
He wandered around for a while until he found himself at the rooms that he and his family had been given, pushing open the door to the main living space and seeing his parents and brother. The room was painted sky blue with a luxurious chandelier in the centre and sofas scattered around, as well as desks and bookshelves lining the walls. Artwork worth hundreds was on the walls; it didn’t take much to know that this was the best suit they offered guests.
“Hey mate,” Phil called, looking up at him with a small frown, “I thought you were going to the library”
Techno shrugged, not sure how to tell them about the fledgling, his words sticking in his throat. “Got side-tracked.”
Wilbur raised an eyebrow, glancing at him from the sofa he was seated on over his book. “What by?” Curiosity was evident on his face – though he knew perfectly well that it didn’t take much to distract Techno.
Techno did his best to shrug, walking over to the sofa and sitting down beside him. A silence fell over the four as the others waited for Techno to give them an answer. Finally, the silence got too much.
“There’s a fledgling at the palace.”
The effect was instantaneous on Phil, whose eyes widened, and jaw went slack,
“What?”
“There’s a fledgeling in the palace.”
“A fledgling? Here? Where?” Kristin demanded, leaping to her feet and moving towards him desperately
“I don’t know. I saw them on the way to the library – they looked like a servant. Couldn’t have been much more than sixteen.”
Wilbur had stood up by now as well, “Can we go find them?” his eyes held the same wild qualities as Phil’s.
“I don’t know,” Techno admitted, “he ran away and I’m not sure where he went. We might see him around the palace though, especially with the ball tonight.”
Phil had begun pacing around anxiously at this point, his movements thrumming with anxiety, “But can’t we go find him?”
Techno sighed, “Phil, you can’t just adopt any avian you happen to come across, you know.”
Phil nodded enthusiastically as if he hadn’t even heard what Techno had said, “I know. I just want to see him. Where is he?” techno did his best not to roll his eyes as he saw how dilated Phil’s pupils were.
“I’ve told you; I don’t know. He ran off before I could say anything.”
Phil slumped over, a despondent expression on his face. He didn’t need to say anything for Techno to understand the downcast resignation.
“Hopefully we’ll see him tonight.” He spoke with the same dullness that masked his face.
Techno nodded, “Hopefully.”
*******
Niki frowned at him as she saw him,
“Tommy, I didn’t expect to see you just yet. I thought that you were going to get here far later than you did.”
Tommy grinned through his panting and snapped finger guns at her,
“You underestimate me, Niki. You should know that I am the best man ever by now.”
Niki tried to roll her eyes but ended up laughing again. “Okay Tommy. Come over here, I need you to help me prepare the drinks.”
Tommy followed her, trying to think of what to say, running through the lists of obscure conversations he kept in his mind,
“So, Niki, what do you think of milfs?”
Niki blinked at him, “What are you on about?”
“Milfs. Don’t you think they’re incredible? Ha, I know I do.”
Niki paused, a perplexed expression on her face, then she shrugged, seemingly deciding not to argue, “Alright then.”
Tommy nodded and grinning with the usual expression that showed the pride he pretended to hold in himself.
He didn’t even think about what he was supposed to be doing by now, simply going through the motions and allowing his mind to wander wherever it wished. Right now, that happened to be thinking about the man he crashed into earlier.
The guy had seemed interesting, that’s for sure. He carried himself like a royal but looked at Tommy as if they were equals. He dressed like King Eret did before they began wearing dresses more often except for the huge fucking cloak he was wearing; seriously, who goes around wearing something as warm as that in the heat of the palace? Tommy was already practically overheating in the minimal suit he was wearing.
And the look on his face was so… intrigued. He looked as if he had seen a ghost – Tommy may be pale, but he didn’t think that he was that much.
Maybe the dude just walked around looking like he had just seen something startling; Tommy had seen people with stranger resting facial expressions.
“Hey Tommy, I think you’re done now. You can go and join the rest of the staff waiting.”
Tommy jumped at Niki’s sudden interjection and then looked down, realising that he had polished all the glasses he needed to and then more. He nodded,
“Alright. Whatever you say, Big Man.” He put the cloth down and maneuverer his way through the tables and people as best he could, going to stand next to the other servants waiting to enter the main hall just before the guests were allowed in.
He found himself crammed beside Jack,
“Ayup Tommy,” Jack nodded at him.
“Ayup Jack,” Tommy replied easily, accepting the tray of drinks that Jack offered him and being careful not to spill the champagne in the delicate glasses. He thought he would no longer be terrified of holding the glasses after so much practise, but the job still came with a daunting anxiety that he could drop them at any minute; he wasn’t always the most careful with breakables.
“How are the wives?” He muttered to Jack, being careful not to be too loud – the higher-ranking staff didn’t usually mind them talking every now and again but too much noise would surely merit a scolding.
“Simply wonderful, as ever. I would ask how yours are, but I am well aware that you don’t have any.”
Tommy opened his mouth to start yelling but one look from Niki, who stood off to the side, reminded him to shut up. So, he settled for sending Jack a half-hearted glare. Jack grinned smugly back, barley having time to wipe it from his face before the door opened and they began filing into the main hall.
Tommy took up his position at the back of the halls, his wings shut so tightly that they were practically trembling from the strain and his shoulders stayed poised in the perfect posture he had practised so much for events like this. He held the tray in one hand, praying to whatever gods who may or may not exist that he didn’t drop it.
He knew it would be at least quarter of an hour before the attendants entered, but he made sure to keep himself perfectly poised anyway just in case King Dream or any of his family came in. At one point, Prince Foolish entered but his gaze swept directly over Tommy, so he saw that as a success.
Finally, after what felt like years of waiting, the first guest entered the hall through the main doors directly opposite Tommy. He quickly recognised Duke Sam followed by Duke Ponk. The two ignored Tommy, wandering somewhere out of Tommy’s sight.
A few more nobles walked in – they usually entered like this, with lower ranking nobles entering the hall first and then the monarchs. The Esempian royal family was always the last to make their grand entrance.
Tommy recognised some of the nobles from earlier years and other events. He saw Duke George again (who sent him a small wave) alongside Sapnap followed by Quackity, Shlatt, Bad Halo and Skeppy. One of the last people to enter was Eret, King of L’manberg who nodded at Tommy as she entered. Tommy smiled back at him slightly, though not enough to break his composure.
Finally, the Antarctician royal family entered, and Tommy would be lying if he said he didn’t stare. The King, Philza, wore forest green robes enriched with golden embroidery and emeralds that matched those on his crown. He was holding the arm of a tall woman dressed in a purple gown that reflected the yellow candlelight making her seem to glow golden. Their two sons stood on either side, one with fluffy brown hair and a plain suit and the other – fuck. It was the man from earlier. The one Tommy ran into.
Tommy ran into the Crown Prince of the most powerful kingdom in the world. And he hadn’t even apologised. Fuck. Shit. Tommy was going to be killed.
He found himself averting his gaze, pinning his wings tighter to his back. Suddenly the room felt far too hot. He barely even noticed Lord Antfrost taking a drink from the tray in his hands or the look that King Philza trained on him.
He looked up at them again after a few moments and noticed something he hadn’t seen before. The family – all of them had wings. Tommy had heard rumours of some royals having wings, but he hadn’t believed it until now. And yet, here they were directly in front of him with deep black wings that turned into a midnight blue wherever the light hit them, looking like the night sky; the very opposite of the gold wings that adorned Tommy that Niki said looked like the rising sun. The twins only had one wing each, he noticed, on opposite sides.
Suddenly he couldn’t draw his eyes away from them, entranced by the feathers on their backs.
He watched as the family walked down the stairs, all in perfect time with each other, and wandered over to stand by Queen Eret and Duke George. He was too busy staring at them to notice the Esempian royal family’s entrance until Prince Foolish wandered over to talk to Eret.
It was time for King Dream to make a speech then, which it was customary for everyone to listen to attentively, but Tommy still couldn’t pull his eyes away. Niki might be mad at him later, but all thoughts to do with that were blocked out by the loud buzzing in his ears.
Finally, one of the royals caught sight of him – the prince with the brown hair. His reaction was near instantaneous, an awed look clouding his eyes as he stared back. The brown eyes jolted Tommy back to reality and he hurriedly looked away, trying to ignore the way his wings were fluffy again as if he were a fucking fledgling.
He stood up slightly straighter and tried to push away the warmth that coloured his cheeks as the prince nudged his brother and pointed at him. Tommy tried to ignore the family who was now doing the same to him as he had been doing to them; they were probably thinking of getting him fired for first being rude to the prince and then staring at them – the very pinnacle of rudeness.
He tried to calm his breathing, though the shaking of his hands must have been evident even as Dream’s speech drew to a close and the nobles’ applause rang throughout the room. Tommy tried desperately not to look at them, though their muttered conversation and glances at him were making his job acutely difficult.
Finally, the music started up and people made their way either to the dancefloor or to mill around and talk idly to the others. The family moved away; no longer staring at Tommy but still throwing the odd glance at him that he pretended not to notice.
People occasionally took a drink from the tray Tommy was holding as they passed him. Thankfully he wasn’t shaking anymore, but his wings were still held tightly together and feathers standing up.
Finally, the tables were set out and the guests were seated to eat. Tommy could finally move around to lay the food on the table, however, with a building feeling of dread, he realised that the royal family was seated at the one he was serving.
Still, he forced his head up and walked out of the kitchens with the food. He kept his head held high, avoiding eye contact with any of the people seated at the table as he placed the tray down, leaving as quickly as possible to grab another.
When he returned again, his hands were properly shaking. He was barely able to place they tray down before stumbling backwards slightly. God, Niki wouldn’t be happy with him. He was usually so professional while serving – it was especially bad around a royal family who he had already made a fool of himself in front of.
If Dream were to find out about his mistakes – which he almost certainly would – he would be fired on the spot for making such a mockery of him.
With his head bowed and cheeks burning, Tommy turned to walk over to the position he would have to remain at for the rest of the night but was held back by a voice.
“Mate, are you alright?”
Tommy started, whipping his head around to see that it was King Philza himself who had spoken. The royal was smiling, and his pupils were slightly more dilated than looked natural. Tommy had to bite back a chirp of greeting as the man’s wings caught his attention.
He simply nodded, not risking speech.
The man’s smile widened slightly, holding the warmth of a hundred suns. “Okay. Your wings are beautiful, by the way.”
Tommy found himself freezing up even more, narrowing his eyes at the king to try and catch the faintest glimpse of deceit only to find nothing. A smile unwillingly creeped onto his face to match the king’s – one of the first avians he had ever seen complimented his wings. His wings were his pride and joy – one of the only things he liked about himself. They weren’t large enough to fly yet, but he hoped that one day they would be.
Everyone’s in the family before him definitely were.
“Do you want to sit down?” the brown-haired prince asked, beaming at Tommy as if he were everything good in the world.
Tommy wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, but he knew that you don’t turn down a royal’s offer. Hopefully he could make up for running into the other prince earlier if he was polite enough. Though, honestly, manners were anything but his strong suit.
He seated himself anyway, sitting on the edge of the chair and maintaining perfect posture like he had been taught. When Philza’s smile widened he found the struggle to keep down the chirps becoming even harder.
“I’m Wilbur,” the prince spoke again before gesturing to the others, “this is Phil, Kristin and Techno. What’s your name?”
Tommy swallowed, wishing he didn’t have to answer. He knew he did, though, and said “Tommy.”
“That’s a nice name.” Tommy found the corners of his mouth creeping up at the second compliment he had received.
“You work here?” The queen – Kristin – asked.
Tommy nodded, finding it easier to speak now that he didn’t think that they were about to get him sacked, “Yeah. I’ve lived here my whole life. It’s pretty nice here.”
Wilbur tipped his head to one side in a very birdlike gesture, “Huh. Do your parents live here too, then?”
Tommy shook his head, “Nah. Parents are dead, I never knew them. I was raised in the palace.”
Phil’s eyes widened, though he didn’t look particularly upset by the news, “I’m sorry.” Despite his words, a glimmer of hope seemed to shine in his eyes.
After that, conversation began to flow far easier, and Tommy found his wings beginning to relax and his smile widen.
The royal family turned out to be interesting – apparently up until now they thought they were the only avians in the world and were pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong. Wilbur was a musician – he had been playing the guitar all of his life and had written – according to Phil – some of the most emotional songs he had ever heard. Techno was a fighter, possessing swordsmanship people thought to be only capable of those training for twice as long as he had. Phil and Kristin were writers, words easily flowing from the quill they held that were beautiful enough to move entire nations of people.
As they spoke more, Tommy found his gaze creeping back to their wings. He wondered what it would be like to be wrapped up in those, to be shielded from all the wrong in the world by the black feathers. He barely even noticed Wilbur inching closer and closer to him until his wing brushed against Tommy’s.
A startled chirp pushed its way out of Tommy’s throat from surprise at the contact.
Immediately he flushed red, embarrassment creeping up his neck at the noise he had tried so hard to supress.
“Sorry,” he choked, “I didn’t mean to-”
“Don’t apologise,” Techno cut over him, frowning, “you shouldn’t have to be apologetic for chirping. Most avians do it.”
Tommy looked down anyway, trying to push the tinge off his face and gnawing on his lips.
“Seriously, it’s okay.” Techno said obstinately.
Wilbur moved away slightly and hurriedly tried to pick up conversation again.
“Tommy, what’s your favourite thing about living here?” Tommy didn’t miss the pointed glance he sent at his brother.
“Uh, probably my friends. They’re pretty poggers. Not as cool as me, but I guess they’ll do.”
The group spent the rest of the evening talking together, Tommy’s duties forgotten. He didn’t eat anything as he wasn’t permitted to eat in front of the guests, but the bubbly conversation that filled the air distracted him from his hunger.
Before he knew it, the ball was over, and guests were being called out of the room so the servants could clean it.
“Tommy, do you want to join us for a walk around the gardens?” Kristin asked.
Tommy ruefully shook his head, “Sorry, no-can-do Big Man. I gotta help deal with the hall.”
“Well we hope to see you around the palace, yeah?” Techno asked, though he didn’t sound very demanding.
“Of course.”
Even as he brought dishes and cups in from the tables Tommy was still beaming. If he caught Niki giving him a knowing grin a few times neither of them mentioned it.
*******
Tommy found himself spending more and more time with the Craft family as their stay at the palace progressed.
He started spending time with the twins in the library on his breaks, inching slowly further to Wilbur or Techno until he was leaning against the man with a large wing draped over his body. In moments like those it was impossible to stop himself from making an array of bird noises, though he was no longer as embarrassed since most of the time the other was doing the same.
He listened to Wilbur’s music and Phil’s tales of lands far away, he watched Techno show him fighting techniques far too advanced for him to ever learn, he began learning how to knit with Kristin’s guidance.
Occasionally, he even allowed them to preen his wings for him, watching them comb through his feathers and pluck out any damaged ones – not that there were many since he couldn’t fly.
But far too soon their visit was coming to an end and with every day that passed the ball of dread in Tommy’s stomach grew larger. He still hung out with them whenever possible, but a bitter feeling accompanied it like the first signs of cold autumn breeze wafting through summer’s bliss.
Finally, the day came for them to leave.
Tommy woke up on the sofa in the living room that attached the individual rooms they slept in, one of Wilbur’s wings draped over him. He struggled to think for a moment, trying to figure out why such a sour feeling accompanied such a sweet moment.
Then, the realisation came crashing down on him.
They were leaving.
The people he was starting to see as family were leaving and he may never see them again.
This was all for nothing.
He felt tears prick his eyes and a wet coo fall from his lips as he wrapped his hand around the feathers of his brother’s wing.
Wilbur’s eyes opened slightly, “Toms?”
Tommy did his best to hide his face, not wanting Wilbur to see his tears. The pull in his chest drew him to the family and the thought of that being severed hurt as much as carving his heart out would have.
“Tommy, what’s wrong?” Wilbur asked quietly, his eyes shining with gentle care.
A sob tore itself from Tommy and he wrapped his arms around Wilbur, longing to hold on and never let go.
As if on cue, Phil walked into the room and a loud caw bounced around the walls as he saw Tommy crying in Wilbur’s arms.
“What happened?” He demanded, wild eyed, lifting Wilbur’s wing slightly to see the boy underneath it. “What’s wrong?”
Tommy couldn’t stand it anymore – he could tell them, couldn’t he? He could trust them.
“You’re leaving,” he gasped, too distraught to care about how embarrassing this would normally be for him, “I might never see you again.”
Tommy heard Wilbur take a sharp intake of breath and Phil freeze.
They stayed there for a moment.
Two moments.
Three.
And then,
“Oh,” Phil whispered.
Wilbur’s arms wrapped tighter around Tommy, and he moved them into a sitting position.
“Tommy, no.” Wilbur used the same hushed voice Phil had.
Phil leaned down, running one hand through Tommy’s wing.
“I though we’d already asked for you to go home with us,” Phil whispered, “I’m so sorry, Toms. I never meant to upset you.”
Tommy drew his face away from Wilbur slightly, the movement sending the world spinning around him.
“You-” he gasped, refusing to believe what he had just heard, “you want me to go with you?”
Wilbur’s hand ran through his hair, “Of course we do. You’re flock, Tommy. But only if you want to be, of course.” He said the last part hurriedly like he wanted Tommy to ignore it.
Tommy stared at them in shock, turning to face Phil, “I- I really can? You’re not joking?”
Phil looked at him intently, as if he was trying to force the idea into his head, “We would never joke about that.”
It took a moment for another sob to be torn from Tommy’s throat – though this was for a completely different reason – and he hurled himself into Phil’s arms.
“Yes. Please let me go with you.” He gasped, sobbing again as he clung to Phil like he was life itself.
His head was buried in Phil’s shoulder, but if he had been looking at his face he would have seen a smile even brighter than it usually was.
He was going home.