Work Text:
1,
Tommy practically ran into the library, math had been too much for him today. How the fuck did any of this make sense to the other kids? He should have known he was to stupid too take math three as a fucking freshman. God why was everything so loud? He could hear every foot step every sigh, every word said and it was too fucking much.
He dove into the little corner he had basically claimed for himself, burrowing himself into the sides of the wall as if that would protect him from the noise. Putting his hands over his head helped slightly, but that meant he couldn't eat, but that was fine, he would just throw out his lunch like usual- so that mother and father thought he ate.
He shut his eyes and curled into himself more, dulling his senses was helping thank god. He could hear more and more people coming into the library, it was lunchtime after all. His head started to hurt from how hard he was pushing on his ears.
Eventually it was quiet enough that he could calm down. He could still hear the murmur of students chatting and eating- and he distantly could hear Mr Watson showing some of his peers some books, but it was dulled. For a while he let himself drift.
It must have been a while, because eventually the talking stopped and he heard someone settle in front of him. It was quiet enough now, he was able to open his eyes.
In front of him was Mr Watson.
Him and Mr Watson had, well, grown close since the start of the year. It was nearly halfway through the school year and Mr Watson was probably the only adult he trusted.
Tommy had started helping out at the library more often, coming during lunch and whatever periods he could convince his teachers to let him go. At first it was just a way to get him to focus, shelving books allowed him to do something mindless and calm down. But eventually he had started coming to be able to talk with Mr Watson.
Tommy's dad had left a while ago, moving to another city to be closer to his new job. Tommy's mom and Tommy himself would be joining him at the end of the school year. Mr Watson had filled a hole that had honestly been there even before his dad left.
His dad hadn't always been the most present, or the best dad. Neither had his mom but she was at least a bit better. They didn't hit him a lot so he knew it wasn't that bad.
So he started coming to the library more. Chatting with Mr Watson about books- which had been his main escape since he was a kid. He got to ramble with Mr Watson about Star Wars, which, as it turns out, the man had a huge love for. He even introduced him to some of his favorite youtubers, like MatPat, Technoblade, Markaplier and WilburSoot. He started hanging out at the front desk more, instead of shelving, he checked books in and out, and was able to talk with Mr Watson.
Strangely enough during their geek outs and pretend lightsaber battles, Tommy began to trust Mr Watson- had even started to think of him as a dad.
Tommy snapped back to reality as he realized that lunch was over, and he needed to get to his next class. He tried to get up, but as soon as he left the corner he started to get anxious, he was vulnerable and they could hurt him and it was quiet here it wouldn't be anywhere else and-
"Hey kiddo, sit back down for a sec- okay?"
Mr Watson's voice was calm and soothing and Tommy trusted him. He slumped back into the corner- feeling an insane amount better as he did so.
He slowly met Mr Watson's eyes, seeing nothing but slight worry and fondness in them.
Mr Watson spoke again "So I noticed you were kinda out of it when you came in Kid, and I left you alone- which I think was the right decision because you seem better now. Can you speak?"
Tommy tried to open his mouth and force something to come out, he couldn't though, and so he shook his head.
"Okay, do you feel comfortable here or do you wanna go to the sensory room?"
Tommy couldn't imagine leaving the library right now, this was the only place he felt safe. He shook his head again. Realizing Mr Watson may not know what he meant, he held up one finger and nodded.
"Assuming that means you wanna stay here, I'll email your teacher for this period and let them know you are helping me out right now with some very important library stuff, stuff only my head library assistant could do okay?"
Tommy felt a slight grin overtake his face and he nodded. Mr Watson had been talking a lot but his voice was different from everyone else's, and so it didn't hurt his ears.
Mr Watson sat up, slowly as if he wasn't trying to startle Tommy.
"Alright Tommy, I got some work I got to do- let me know when you are feeling better k? I'll be here till the end of the day just so you know. If you need anything just wave."
Tommy nodded, and tried his best to flash a grateful look Mr Watson's way. The man smiled back down at him and left, which, thankfully was just what Tommy needed right now.
Slowly but surely Tommy was able to come out of the haze he had been in since the end of math. A lot was blurry but he was better now. He still felt uneasy as he stood up but he was at least able to move away from the corner without feeling like throwing up.
"Mr Watson?" Tommy called out.
The man looked up from his computer and beckoned Tommy over.
"Hey there Toms, glad to see you are doing better! You feel like you can go to class now? I can walk you there if you want!"
Tommy smiled at Mr Watson, the librarian really was awesome.
"Yeah Mr W, I can head back. Thanks for letting me chill here. It would be pretty awesome if you could walk me back though? Not that you need to or anything- seriously don't feel obligated too-"
Mr Watson chucked "Kid calm down, I offered and it'll give me a break from this boring paperwork. Grab your stuff and we'll head out."
Tommy ran over to grab his backpack and sprinted back to Mr Watson. They headed down the halls in a comfortable silence. Tommy stopped outside of the gym, which was his next class (he had missed 6th period sadly).
"Alright Tommy this is your stop, I'll see you tomorrow kiddo."
Mr Watson started to turn to leave but before he could Tommy leapt forward and pulled him into a hug.
"Thanks Mr W, I really mean it. You helped more than you know." Tommy said quietly, still hugging the elder.
He pulled away, blushing slightly and turned towards the gym. He didn't hear Mr Watson say anything- had he fucked up?
Deciding to risk it he turned around and shouted "Bye Mr W! See you tomorrow!"
Mr Watson had a fond grin on his face and what looked to be slightly misty eyes.
"Anytime Tommy! See ya!"
2,
"No! You are so wrong Mr W- Anakin's braids were clearly the best hairstyle."
Mr Watson playfully glared at Tommy before dramatically shaking his head.
"See kid that is where you are so wrong- think about how annoying a braid would be in a battle! Whipping around and hitting you in the face- way to impractical."
Tommy sighed- slumping down into his chair before giving the teacher a huge pout. Mr Watson just grinned back at him before letting out a big whoop and exclaiming that he had won this battle.
"Fine fine, you make logical sense. But BESIDES for Jedi braids are the best and you can't change my mind."
Mr Watson sighed, slumping down in his chair just as Tommy had done a second before.
"Okay kiddo, mind exclaiming to me why you are so adamant on this? And you can't even braid your hair- it's way too short."
Tommy grinned- Mr Watson was in for it.
"Well for starters it's basically an upgrade from a ponytail- and it looks way cooler. It's also a really fun way to hit people if they get too close! And it keeps your neck cool. Plus there are so many different braids you can do, and if you leave them in for a while you get really curly hair which is sooooo much more fun then normal boring hair. And for your information I did have long hair during covid- and it was awesome and I braided it everyday so shush old man."
Mr Watson made an exasperated sound "Tommy I am only 39 I'm not that old yet! And I didn't know you had long hair!! Kiddo you must have looked awesome- why did you cut it? How long was it?"
"Well it was halfway down my back? So pretty long. Funnily enough I started to grow it out for Halloween- I was going as Padwan Anakin. I really liked it so I just kept not cutting it?"
"Anyway during the first semester of online classes my grades got really bad. I was staying up late and wasn't turning in assignments. My parents found out about my missing assignments and went through my computer and found out I was staying up really late. They got really mad and at one point my mom was pulling my hair really hard. My dad was actually scared she was gonna rip my hair out and so he ran to the kitchen and grabbed some scissors and cut most of it off before she could rip it all out. That was the end of my long hair sadly- it was cool when I had it though!"
Mr Watson just looked at him, mouth slightly open.
"Tommy-" He started, before cutting off.
"Kiddo that's not okay, how bad did they hurt you? I'm here if you need to talk."
Tommy froze, he hadn't realized that was bad? Wasn't that normal? And sure his head really hurt for a while after and he hated how he looked for a good bit and he didn't tell his friends why his hair was short again because he didn't want them to worry but- surely it wasn't that bad?
"Tommy, I know you and your parents haven't always had the best relationship- and I get that, but kiddo have they ever physically or verbally abused you?"
Tommy,
Tommy didn't know what to do.
He could come clean, tell Mr Watson about the doubts he had been having about some of mothers and fathers parenting tactics, how they had hit him and left bruises a few times, how his dad got mad at his eating habits and told him he might as well go and kill himself. Or he didn't have to risk them getting angry, a big deal being made and nothing actually happening.
Tommy knew he was in denial about his parents, didn't make coming to terms with it any easier.
"Oh sorry Mr W, I must have made it sound a lot worse then it was, really I was fine and it was just a heat of the moment thing- my mom said sorry and everything was okay. And no my parents would never hit me, sure we have arguments but besides a bit of screaming at each other" Tommy forced out a laugh here "we never go further than that- seriously don't worry."
Mr Watson seemed to calm down a bit, but Tommy still saw a slight glint of suspicion in his mind.
"God Mr W you are such a dad- that's what I'm gonna call you from now on, oh this will be awesome omg- Mr W we can confuse so many people this is gonna be great-"
Mr Watson smiled at Tommy "Kay kiddo, if that's what you want- and you are basically my library son so it works."
Tommy felt so much joy fill him, Mr Watson thought of him as a son- that was insane!
They chatted a bit more about Star Wars before Tommy had to head to theater- on his way out of the library he called out "Bye DAD!"
He heard Mr Watson return a "Bye Son!" and he cackled at the confused looks the kids around him gave him.
3,
"Anyway so I watched the MHA movie and I noticed something- so during the fight with Nine, Izuku and Bakugou both have fire in their hands for a bit once Izuku shares his quirk. Anyway I thought that was kinda weird because sure one for all is metaphorically a torch and yeah but still it felt kinda odd. Anyway I went back through the manga and guess WHAT. One of the past users of one for all has a legit fire quirk- which may mean the Izuku could get the past users quirks. The one thing I couldn't explain was why Bakugou also had access to it- UNLESS the users were basically active part their spirits and able to basically manipulate one for all which makes sense because later one for all just go's right back into Izuku with any actual transfer needed because the past holders were just like oh Izuku's the rightful holder?? No that doesn't make a lot of sense. And I could be over thinking this and I dunno if that makes that much sense to you cause you don't read or watch MHA but think of how cool it could be if the past users could somehow control one for all beyond the spirit world. And think of how that could be used in future fights against Shigaraki- maybe one of the users could even possess Izuku and-"
Tommy cut himself off.
Oh fuck.
He was rambling again.
Mother and father always hated when he rambled and he always got annoyed talks or even yelling from them whenever he did and he really didn't want that from his pseudo dad which meant that he needed to leave and now.
"Ah sorry for rambling that must have been annoying and yeah I am just gonna head out lotta homework haha."
Tommy rushed out of the library, mentally kicking himself. He had fucked up really bad and Mr Watson wasn't gonna want him anymore and fuck his breathing was speeding up and he needed air and why wasn't he getting air-
"Tommy!"
His head snapped up and he flinched, Mr Watson's voice startling him.
Mr Watson looked really sad for some reason. Why was he sad? Shouldn't he be happy he realized how big of an annoyance Tommy was?
"Love, I need you to breathe in for me okay? Yeah there you go kiddo just like that. You are doing amazing Toms."
Tommy felt air enter his lungs again and was confused- Mr Watson had called him son, was he no longer mad? Or was he easing Tommy into the let down?
"Damm kid you are fast, definitely a bit outta breath, thank god I don't have to wear a binder anymore right?" Mr Watson said, clearly trying to get a laugh out of Tommy.
Tommy just looked at him, preparing himself for a lecture.
Mr Watson seemed to understand what Tommy was expecting and started to head back to the library and into his office, but not before beckoning for Tommy to follow. Not wanting to get into anymore trouble Tommy hung his head and went with him.
Once in Mr Watson's office Tommy sat down opposite of his maybe no longer pseudo dad.
"Okay kiddo, I am just gonna say this once cause I am not always the most amazing at expressing how I feel. I am never, not ever, going to get mad at you for something like rambling. It brings me joy to see you talk about things you love and are excited about. You being happy makes me happy kiddo. And I am also gonna let you know that I will never hurt you. I saw you flinch out in the hallway and I won't make any assumptions besides the assumption that you will come to me if you need to, but please son, do know I will never, ever, ever hurt you. I promise."
Tommy felt slight tears fill his eyes, before getting up and pulling Mr Watson into a hug.
No adult had ever said something like that to him before. It was weird, but welcome at the same time. This was probably what having a real dad felt like, Tommy thought. And Mr Watson promised, he knew a lot of times adults didn't keep their promises but he trusted his dad. He trusted him and for the first time since he was 5, he felt safe in an adult's arms.
He knew though, that this would come to an end soon. He had 2 months left here. Two months left with Mr Watson, Tubbo, Ranboo, Purpled, and Bilzo- the only people he truly considered family. He had been ignoring this fact but for some reason this just made it a bit more real.
Tommy fought back the tears that felt ready to come out- he hated crying in front of other people and would refuse to do it because it made him feel way too vulnerable. His parents always hated that, because they wouldn't see him show any emotion when they were yelling at him. Which made them more mad and they would accuse him of not caring for them, saying he was selfish and such.
He hoped one day he would be able to trust someone enough to cry in front of them. For now though, just burrowing further into his dad's embrace was enough to stop the onslaught of tears.
"Thanks Dad."
"Always kid."
4,
Fuck.
Tommy was in gym.
Everything was too loud.
Not this again-
Tommy watched silently as Ranboo told the teacher that Tommy needed to leave.
He let himself be escorted out.
God everyone needed to shut up.
Too loud.
Where?
Library is Safe?
No.
Dad is safe.
Go go go go.
Get away from these people they are going to hurt you you need to get away and you need to get away now-
Safe now?
Kinda.
Still loud.
Better, in library now.
Calm down Tommy.
Tommy whimpered as he pushed himself further into the corner, it was starting to hurt and people were still loud. WHy were they so loud they needed to be quiet otherwise it would hurt-
"Man are you okay?"
Tommy didn't look up. Didn't know who that was. Who was talking to him? He didn't know this person. They needed to go AWAY-
Tommy flinched.
The person was tapping him. He needed them off he needed them not to touch him no get off-
Tommy stayed still.
He didn't dare move.
The person left.
Would they come back? He didn't want them to come back he didn't.
Tommy couldn't ground himself he could feel himself starting to be unable to breathe and he didn't want to die.
He pulled at his hair.
The pain brought him back to reality.
Thank god. He kept pulling on his hair he needed to calm down and he needed everyone to go away and leave him alone.
He stayed there. Pulling at his hair and trying to breathe. Eventually it helped. He heard footsteps approaching. He couldn't see who was there was the person back to hurt him?
Wait.
Those were the socks he had given his dad for his birthday. That was his dad. Tommy felt the air come back into his lungs. He wouldn't hurt Tommy right? Tommy could trust him.
He heard Mr Watson sit down on a chair just a few feet from him. They sat in silence for a bit, it was oddly comforting.
Tommy slowly found the courage to look up.
"Hey there kiddo. You a bit better now?"
Not quite ready to speak Tommy nodded.
The silence was back. This time it felt awkward. There didn't seem to be anyone else in the library and everything was quiet but it still wasn't right-
"So earlier today I was shelving and guess what? I found that book you hate 'Hot American Boyfriend' right? Turns out some sixth grader checked it out a while back, ya know I thought for a while you had burned it like you promised you would- not that I would be mad that book is absolutely horrible. Anyway,"
Tommy listened to his dad ramble about his day. His kind and soothing voice was just the thing needed to fill the silence.
Eventually he started laughing and nodding or sending disapproving looks.
Mr Watson seemed encouraged, happy Tommy was engaging with him.
Eventually his dad ran out of words.
But Tommy's better now.
"Ya know the saying those who can't do, teach?"
Mr Watson looked surprised at him talking, but just rolled with it.
"Course I do kid- where on earth are you going with this?"
"Well if that statements true I feel bad for sex ed teachers."
The absolute shock on Mr Watson's face caused Tommy to burst out in laughter- oh god his expression, Tommy needed a photo of this.
Mr Watson sputtered a few times before letting out a small laugh of his own.
"Good god Toms never say that in front of another teacher you will get detention kiddo."
"But I'm right Mr W! It must be so sad and I feel really bad for them-"
Chuckling again at Tommy's response Mr Watson leaned back, he had a fond expression on his face- one that Tommy was slowly getting used to.
(Of course he would never get fully used to it. Tommy would leave before he could and never be able to collapse on the floor in laughter again with Mr W giving him his disappointed dad look, and no not going down that path right now no sir.)
"I-
I won't say you are entirely wrong. Let the fact that Coach Basey is single be an example."
Tommy felt shock fill him for a second, whAT-
"Haha Uno reverse kiddo."
"Wait what do you mean?? Mr W what do you know please tell me you know me and Tubbo have an ongoing bet come onnnnn."
"Oh hell no I am not getting into this now." Mr Watson said as he stood up and jokingly ran away."
"Daddddddddd!" Tommy cried before grinning, standing up and running after him.
They playfully teased each other till the bell rang. Gym was Tommy's last period of the day so he needed to go grab his bus.
He gave his dad a short hug before running back to the locker rooms. At least he wasn't embarrassed about giving the man a hug anymore. Tommy needed affection but abso-fucking-lutely refuses to ask anyone for it so the first time Mr W had given him a ruffle on the head felt like a fucking godsend.
(Mr W definitely didn't notice how touch starved Tommy was, he definitely didn't start pulling him into side hugs more, giving him a pat on the shoulder when he felt especially proud of this kid. You saw nothing)
(It definitely also didn't mean a lot to Tommy because he was replacing bad memories with new, good ones. Nope.)
Tommy grinned all the way back to the house, his smile not leaving his face till he got off the bus.
5,
It was the last day of school.
Tommy had felt the first half of the day saying bye to all of his friends. They laughed, they cried, they sang Hamilton to annoy his social studies teacher for the millionth time. He didn't feel sad though. He and everyone else would be meeting up at the park after school, and he had all of their contact information so he could call or text them whenever he wanted.
Once there were only two periods left he knew he had to go through. Had to go say goodbye to the one person he never wanted to leave.
(Tubbo watched Tommy leave. He didn't know the extent of the blond's home life but he knew enough. He would never forget the one time Tommy called him and asked him to tell him that the bruising on his arms was real and that he wasn't going insane.
Tubbo knew that Tommy and Mr Watson had grown close. Him and Tommy had an amazing time telling people that they were brothers but that Mr Watson was only Tommy's dad. They were always so confused and it was absolutely delightful looking upon their confused expressions.
Tubbo also knew that this was going to destroy Tommy. He had finally found an adult he could trust only to be yanked away from him. Tubbo knew he couldn't just kidnap Tommy and make him stay, if only it was that simple. Sadly there was nothing he could do.)
Tommy ran to the library, ignoring the few teachers that bothered to call him out for running. It was the last day of school bitchs you need to fucking chill.
He entered the library and almost kicked his dad's office door down before diving into his arms.
Mr Watson seemed to get it and just held onto Tommy for a while. Neither saying anything.
Tommy felt tears slip down his cheeks.
"I don't wanna go dad."
Mr Watson let out a noise of acknowledgment, before slowly rubbing Tommy's back.
Tommy burrowed into his dad's chest further.
"I don't wanna leave you dad. I can't"
Tommy felt Mr Watson start to pull away and quickly trapped the elder in his arms again.
"Hey kiddo calm okay? I just want you to look at me."
Tommy sniffled and wiped his tears with his sleeve before looking up.
"There we go buddy."
Tommy gave his dad a slight smile.
"Look son, it has been an absolute delight getting to know you. Your curiosity and passion are something I truly admire. The way you question things and take time to think deeply gives me hope for this generation."
(He got a slight laugh outta Tommy.)
"I don't think this world knows what an incredibly brilliant person they have in you kid. You have been an amazing library assistant, and your willingness to always help out is insane. More importantly, however is how caring you are. You have made me smile on days I felt particularly down and you have no idea how grateful I am that you came into my life."
"I can't believe we are already at the end of the year, it seems like just yesterday you were that determined, bright eyed freshman who looked at everything just like it was brand new. I am so glad we have gotten to bond over all things library, all things Star Wars and all things FNAF. Even though that game scares the absolute shit outta me Kris loves it."
"I am going to miss you kiddo, I really am. Even though we always played off the dad and son bit as a slight joke I want you to know that I really do love you as if you were my own."
"You are going to do amazing things kid, I can't wait to see it and I know you won't disappoint me- you couldn't even if you tried. And I will always be here, just a 3 hour flight away. And we will email and keep in touch I promise."
"I love you son."
Tommy pulled his dad back into a firm embrace.
"I love you too dad."
It took a while but Tommy pulled away, giving his dad a small smile as he did so.
Tommy didn't know what he would do without this man.
He didn't know who he would go to when things got too loud or when he needed to ramble. Didn't know where he would go and be sure he would get some affection when he was down. Didn't know if he would ever find a place like this again, one that made him feel safe just by looking at the books on the walls.
He didn't know a lot of stuff.
He did know one thing though. He wanted to end this day on a happy note.
So he grinned and pulled up the first Star Wars movie on his computer.
"I am walking home today- so one last time for old time's sake?"
Mr Watson ruffled his hair and grinned.
"Course Toms. I'll go grab the popcorn."
So for the next few hours they laughed, talked shit about some of the timeline mistakes, fanboyed over the amazing world building and threw popcorn at each other.
Tommy knew this wouldn't last, but as he looked over at his dads/teachers smiling face he took a mental photo, so even if this moment wouldn't last- at least the memory would. And for now that was enough for Tommy.
1.
4 months later.
It was the start of the fourth week of the new school year.
Phil Watson sighed.
He missed his kids.
Wilbur, his oldest son, had left to study abroad after taking a gap year. He missed his little musician.
Techno, his middle kid had gone straight off to college after they finished high school, pursuing a degree in writing. Phil knew they would do great things, and they always made sure to call him and Kristen every week.
But most of all he missed his youngest.
He had met Tommy while he was still sad over his two babies leaving the nest. The kid had filled the hole in his heart that had been empty since Wil and Tech left.
But overtime Tommy carved out a new place in Phil's heart, he truly did love the kid. Even Kristen had met him once and she loved him.
But he was worried. He and Tommy had been emailing each other every day since the start of the summer. Tommy hadn't missed a single day, that was, until last Friday. He had spent the entire past few days worried out of his mind for his younger son.
Phil knew that Tommy had a less than ideal home life. From what little things Tommy had mentioned he knew that his parents weren't the best. It killed him though, knowing he couldn't do anything unless Tommy told him what was really going on, and even then the courts may not listen to them.
Kristen didn't have the best relationship with her parents as a kid either, and as soon as she met Tommy she told Phil she saw a lot of herself in him.
So it was safe to say that Phil was worried.
His kid was hours away, he had no way to get to him since he had no idea where he was and Phil had no idea if Tommy was even safe. The situation was less then ideal.
He was jolted back to reality when the library doors burst open.
"Oh sorry! We are closed right now due-"
Only then did he realize who it was.
"Tubbo? What are you doing here?"
As much as Phil liked the kid, he wasn't a big reader and normally only came to the library to grab Tommy.
But Phil took in his appearance and felt his worry increase tenfold. Tubbo was flushed, like he had run here. His eyes were red and he looked like he hadn't slept for days.
"It's Tommy. Have you heard from him at all? Anything at all please Mr Watson I need to know."
Phil felt his heart stop.
As soon as Tommy's name came out of Tubbo's mouth it was like everything stood still.
Was Tommy okay? What had happened? Did Tubbo know something about what happened to his kid?
"Mr Watson please!"
Phil could hear the desperation in Tubbo's tone.
"I haven't heard from him for a few days now. He last messaged me on Thursday. Tubbo what is it? Did something happen?" Phil didn't want to believe that something bad had happened, but he knew from the look on Tubbo's face that what happened to Tommy could be nothing good.
"He's missing Mr Watson. No one knows where he is and if he would contact anyone it would be you but he hasn't and I don't know what to do."
Missing
His kid was missing.
No no no that wasn't supposed to happen Tommy was supposed to be safe and happy at his new school. He wasn't supposed to go fucking missing.
"Fuck I have to go to lunch, let me know if you get anything from him please" Tubbo said, practically begging. "anything would help at this point. I'll talk to you later."
Phil could only nod.
Tommy was gone. Phil didn't even know where to start. He assumes authorities have already been contacted. But he needed to go out and look for his kid.
His Tommy who was missing.
Phil tried to think logically for a moment. What was the most likely scenario?
One, Tommy had been kidnapped.
Two, He had run away.
Three, His biological parents had done something.
None of these situations were ideal. Fuck he needed his kid, needed to hold him in his arms and make sure he was safe, he needed his son-
Phil had to leave he had to get out of the library he needed to go look for his fucking kid. He quickly typed up an email, letting the principal (Or ms buttrub as Tommy called her) know that he needed to use up one of his sick days and that he would email her tomorrow if he couldn't come in.
Completely out of it Phil got into his car and raced home. He kept looking out his window, hoping to catch a glimpse of blond hair and blue eyes.
Nothing. No Tommy to be seen. Where was his kid???
He ran into the house, not knowing where he was going.
"Phil? Love why are you home?"
He looked over and there was Kristen. Oh thank the gods.
"Kris, he- fuck, Tommy-"
Kristen's face instantly went sour before she put on a calm facade, she slowly grabbed her husband's hands and lead him over to the couch where they both sat down.
"Phil, what is it? What happened to Tommy?"
"He, he's missing Kris."
Once Phil choked out those words he collapsed onto his wife.
Tommy was gone. He couldn't protect him, couldn't help him. He didn't even know if he would ever see his kid again, ever listen to him ramble or ruffle his hair. He never even got to meet Wilbur or Techno. Wil would have spoiled him endlessly and would have been so clingy and Techno would have loved nerding out with Tommy about Greek myths. Both of his other kids had spent time in foster care, they would probably understand Tommy better than Phil could. Phil could practically see them as a family. But Tommy would never get that. Because Tommy was missing.
Phil sobbed.
It seemed like hours before his cries let up, and Kristen had silently let out a few tears too.
(She had only met the kid once, but she saw so much of herself in him- and he was so bright too. She had instantly understood why her husband loved this kid so much, and in the forty minutes they talked she became insanely attached)
Phil leaned his head on his wife's shoulder, exhausted.
"We will find him. I promise Phil, I swear. I can take a few days off work and you could call in sick. We can start at his house, look for a note maybe or some kind of clue as to where he could have gone. We will find him Phil."
Phil nodded, god he loved his wife. She made this seem not so impossible, and-
His train of thought was cut off.
His and Kristen's head both snapped up.
The doorbell rang.