Chapter Text
Tommy was a hybrid, a moth to be specific. At the moment, he was still technically just a caterpillar, dragging himself through elementary school whilst enduring the relentless teasing of his older brothers. Tommy loved anything dirty and muddy outside even before his traits began to manifest, so it was no surprise once a pair of fuzzy green spikes (like antenna made of celery, Wilbur insisted) appeared, he could hardly ever be found inside willingly.
The entire Craft family was insect hybrids, their father sporting a strong set of dragonfly wings that made him look like a fairy when flying. Their mother, a beautiful milky-colored albino ladybug. “Papa says when he first saw Mama, he thought she was the moon!” Techno whispered, leaning down and telling a newborn Tommy all about the important parts of their family. When Techno and Wilbur had manifested their traits, Techno burst forth one morning a proud bright pink as their Dad gasped over his orchid mantis coloring. Wilbur had stalked out of their bedroom sulkily, flicking the brown and bright orange striped antenna poking up out of his mop of curls.
“Wilbur!! Look at you two, your traits came in on the same day!” Their father cried joyously, pulling Wilbur in for a hug as well. All the excitement in their house was enough to rouse the sleeping toddler in the nursery, and he was soon toddling out sleepily to greet the new day.
“Hi, Tommy! Did you sleep well, sunshine?” Phil asked, leaning down a bit further to scoop up the tot. “Papa… where did Wilby ‘an Techie go?” Tommy asked, rubbing his eyes and looking around in confusion.
The twins snorted in unison, before greeting their brother out loud so he’d understand what had happened overnight. Over breakfast, Phil had dug around in an insectology book and showed Wilbur that he was no ordinary caterpillar- within a few years he’d metamorphosize and become a “Goliath Birdwing Butterfly.” Tommy couldn’t understand the majority of those words, but he thought the bright green and black butterfly in Dad’s book was really pretty. (Wilbur had beamed when Tommy told him that he thought so.)
As for Techno, his brown hair had changed to a vibrant pink. Tommy thought that he looked paler too, Phil said it was something about how sunlight affected him now, kinda like Mumza! If you squinted and looked reeeaal hard, Techno had two long and thin antennae that sprouted out the top of his head like little blades of pink grass! Tommy liked to bat at them and watch them sway, but only when Techno was asleep since he always caught him when awake. (Truly a masterful strategy, and Tommy never noticed the way his brother’s eye cracked open when he snuck in.)
“Papa? When will I get my traits?” Tommy asked, sitting at the dinner table that night and munching on his messy plate of what used to be a taco. “Well, that’s a tough one. It can depend on what class of hybrid you are, and especially on what specifically you’re going to be. The other thing is, now that your brothers have manifested, there’s a lot of hormones hanging around.” Phil mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
“You’re only six, Tommy.” His mother smiled, soothing words easily pouring from her mouth. “There’s no need to rush, we know you’ll be a hybrid- and an insect as well most likely.” A soft kiss and loving fingers running through his hair sent Tommy off to dreamland, tucked in his soft nest of blankets and stuffies.
“He’s not going to be like us, Phil,” Kristen whispered, laying in bed awake that night. “What- dear, I trust you in every way, BUT, there’s no indication that there’s anything wrong!?” Phil yelped, quickly bringing his voice down after a jab to the ribs from his wife. “Mother’s instinct. We’re taking him to the doctor tomorrow, first grade be damned.” She told him, planting one last goodnight kiss on his cheek as they went to sleep.
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“Open wide please; say “Aaah.” Hmm, Mhm. Mmmmm…” The man with the white coat on hummed as he looked down Tommy’s throat with a tiny flashlight. Phil stood anxiously to the side, watching the examination nervously. “Well? Is something wrong?” he asked, edging in closer as the doctor puzzled over his child.
“Yes.” The tall man said simply, before continuing to look. Phil was about to explode with terror and frustration when the tiny light in the doctor’s hand snapped off and he looked at Phil solemnly. “He’s developed too early. The glands necessary for insects to produce growth hormones are very small, and he’ll manifest traits much earlier than usual.” The father stood there in shock, looking down at his wide-eyed child in concern.
“So… most standard treatments can’t apply because of how young he is, there’s a couple of surgeries for example a gland transplant or reconstruction, but the risk is much higher than the reward in these cases. You could lose your hybrid features entirely.” The doctor prattled on, busy removing his exam gloves and typing up a report on a tablet to notice how he was scaring his patient. When he turned to face the father-son duo, he was greeted by a stunned dragonfly and a silently crying first grader.
“Er- it’s alright, you’re going to manifest. And, from the looks of your gland’s shape you’re gonna have wings!” He tried desperately to console the family, catching Tommy’s attention with the comment on wings. “...r-really?” he sniffled, rubbing a tiny fist into his eye.
“Yes! Here, why don’t you look at some of these pretty wings you could get?” the desperate doctor asked, shoving a large pamphlet over to the blonde, before approaching the still father. “Well… sir, there are some necessary treatments if we’re to keep him from breaking his body in this process.” the man said under his breath, breaking Phil out of his trance.
“Anything. Anything you can do for us- for my baby, please.”
“Of course. The first thing to do will be to put him on hormone-induced growth suppressors, otherwise, he’ll have adult-sized features trying to sustain themselves on a child’s body. The main side effect is that Thomas won’t grow much beyond the size when he begins them.” Noticing Phil's reluctant expression, the doctor continued. “It’s that or remove the hybrid entirely. Because of how the glands run their hormones through the entire body to keep everything in check, it’s impossible to target only the animal- or insect, in this case.”
Phil let out a massive exhale, looking over at the already small for his age bug boy on the exam table. “When would he need to start taking hormones,” he asked, voice flat as he questioned the expert in the room. “He’s six, right? At the rate he’s going we have about a year before things get bad. Six months would be optimal, or else they could mutate. Call back a few months before his birthday, we’ll get a prescription going.” Placing a strong hand on the father’s back, the doctor nodded. “Take care.”
Phil nodded shakily, taking his youngest child's hand and exiting the clinic somberly. Tommy was unaffected by the grey mood his father was emitting; far too busy exclaiming over all the butterflies and moths he'd seen on the chart.
“I could be green!! Or maybe purple, no… Orange. Mhm, I've decided. I'm gonna be the biggest orange butterfly ever!” he exclaimed, hopping along the pavement excitedly.
“Ooh, a monarch butterfly?” his father humored him, smiling sadly at his ball of sunshine.
“Yep! A big maw-nark!” The younger said, enunciating the word carefully.
The two insects headed home, one ecstatic to be catching up to his brothers, the other afraid for his baby. Later that night, a mother wept in fear for her youngest and the inevitable troubles he would face as he grew in mind but not body. That moment cemented itself in time when the two parents, as well as their 15-year-old twins, vowed to protect the child who slept peacefully across the house as he lived in a world that changed while he could not.
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No one heard the hushed whispers of grief, and no one saw the delight spread across the eyes of a possessive mantis, protective ladybug, overbearing dragonfly, and obsessive butterfly as they realized they’d never have to give up their sunshine.
Tommy slept on, not a care in the world besides how soon he’d get to show off his new wings to his friends in first grade.