Chapter Text
Wilbur climbs out of the car and wonders why this purgatory has to be so pretty.
The view is beautiful, stunning green grass at his feet breaking off into a sandy beach, dark blue waves lapping at the shore. He can’t deny the fact that it’s a good place to work. Too bad he doesn’t want to be there even in the least bit.
He should be back with his company, building up his sales and working on his music, not stuck here on an island in the middle of nowhere with a father he had barely seen in years and a brother who hadn’t returned any of his calls since moving out.
“Well, it’s a lighthouse for sure,” Techno said dryly from beside him and Wilbur snorted, sending a light-hearted glare towards the pink-haired man, who pushed up his glasses, turning to look over to their father who was grinning. Wilbur frowned harder just to offset it. The man showing them around, with curly brown hair and sunglasses so dark Wilbur couldn’t even see their eyes, shifted uncomfortably.
“Uh yeah,” The man cleared their throat. “That’s what it is. I’ll show you guys around, but I have to be gone in just over an hour to catch the boat out, so we need to make it quick.”
“Of course,” Phil said, picking up his bag, gesturing for his sons to do the same. Wilbur rolled his eyes as he grabbed his. A single suitcase including everything he needed for the next six months of his life. Its almost depressing how easily he packed up his entire life. “Sorry we were so late; we ran into some trouble on the way here.”
Wilbur bristled slightly, because technically he was the trouble that caused them to be nearly three hours late, but you couldn’t blame him. He hadn’t wanted to come here anyways; they should have just left him behind instead of waiting for him and missing the boat out. Wilbur’s sure Techno and Phil would have had a lovely couple of months together without him fitting into the expression. The two of them had always gotten along so much better.
They were moving forwards, and Techno bumped his shoulder on his way past, shooting him a glare that clearly meant: Stop being a fucking child. Wilbur resented that glare.
The man, who Wilbur still hadn’t gotten a name from, unlocked the door to the small house attached to the lighthouse, turning on the lights as they all filed in one after the other. Phil and the man chatted easily, the man listing out the accommodations and other things. Wilbur didn’t care much. Techno had wandered off slightly, eyes roaming the interior and Wilbur just stood there, huffing silently to himself.
It was a nice house. He could admit that. Not big by any standards, but probably just enough for the three men. Barely. Wilbur could already hear the disagreements Techno and him would get in over space and crossed boundaries. Just like they did when they were teenagers, forced to share a bed in a shitty hotel because it was the only time they could see their father.
Wilbur looked over at Phil now, the other man pointing at different switches in some sort of box. Wilbur didn’t care enough to listen in to their conversation.
Instead he moved around the house, eyeing the decent sized kitchen with large windows on all the walls, the place flooded with bright sunlight. The cabinets were stained dark brown, offset by the eggshell white walls. It was oddly quaint, something he had never seen replicated in the big city he lived in.
Connected onto it was a smaller living room, a few beaten-up chairs scattered around the room, a bookshelf in the corner and an old tv attached to the wall. An old record player sat on an end table, shiny and new as if it was just recently washed.
“The place looks like shit,” Techno said from beside him and Wilbur turned to glance at his brother’s blank expression. But not even the years away could have dulled Wilbur’s understanding of his twin, Wilbur could see the irritation in the clench of his jaw, the twitch of his fingers. Wilbur felt it mirrored in his own scowl.
“I think it’s quaint,” Wilbur replies, Techno snorting and rolling his eyes. Wilbur felt mildly irritated by that, but he thinks he’s just irritated by everything these days. That knowledge doesn’t stop him from snapping slightly. “What? Have the halls of your fancy school made you pretentious or something? Too high and mighty for us commoners in our little lighthouse?”
Techno grinned at him, but it wasn’t a pleasant thing. The two of them hadn’t been pleasant for a while.
“Ah yes, the commoner who owns a million-dollar company,” Techno said dryly, hands clenching tighter.
“I fucking wish it was a million-dollar company,” Wilbur snorted. He was proud of what he made, the company he had built up using his bare and bloody hands. But it still had a ways to go. Which is why he should be back at headquarters instead of nestled here in the middle of nowhere. “But it’s nice to know you did a little bit of homework before coming to see me again. Tell me Techno, did you bother to check up on me before knowing we’d have to spend the next six months together?”
Techno was silent, staring at him with an expression Wilbur couldn’t place. He wasn’t sure he wanted to. The anger drained out of him for a moment, leaving him with the same hollow feeling deep in his chest that hadn’t gone away in a very long time. He doesn't let it shown on his face.
“It doesn’t matter,” Techno said after a moment, his voice low, dangerous. Wilbur’s reminded that no matter how close they were as kids, which admittedly wasn’t that close, they still hadn’t talked in almost five years. Wilbur didn’t really know his brother anymore. “The fact is that we’re both stuck here, and we both don’t want to be. So we can try to at least be civil, for her.”
For her. The words feel like a knife to his chest and he squeezed his eyes shut, ignoring the blinding flare of grief that welled up inside of him for a second. He shook it off, pushing it out of his mind. It never truly worked, so he simply tucked it away into the corner of his mind still dedicated to her.
Two months ago his mother had left his house, despite his insistence that she stay to avoid the downpour outside. It was an innocent thing. She had wanted to get back home so that she wouldn’t be late for her yoga in the morning. He remembered laughing at her stubbornness, the way she wouldn’t give in to any of his offers or bribes. He had waved her off with a smile, content with having spent another night with the only member of his family that seemed to care.
Two months ago he got the call from the hospital. It was an accident. A truck going just a bit too fast approaching a red light, unable to stop in time due to the slick roads and heavy rain. His mother on the other side, jerking the wheel in an attempt to get away. It hadn’t worked. Wilbur was barely even able to take comfort in the fact that she was dead on collision. She hadn’t needed to suffer.
A month ago he had sat in a funeral home staring at her dead body all dressed up. Beside him stood a father he hadn’t seen in eight years, practically a stranger. Wilbur hadn’t been able to remember much about him in general, other than the few holidays they had spent together and the long plane flights Wilbur went on for the opportunity to see his dad a few hours a day for a week before he needed to go home.
On the other side was a brother who had ignored every phone call and message he sent in the past five years, disappearing to some fancy school to become a scholar. Techno had made himself a name, both in the academic circle and his fancy fencing club. Wilbur knew because his mother would spend hours talking about him. Because even if Techno could never return one of his calls, he replied to every single one of their mothers.
Two weeks ago he had been sitting in his office when his father had come in. His father, who even in their shared grief hadn’t said more than a couple sentences to him. Although that had mostly been Wilbur’s fault, his anger and grief driving everyone away. But his father had come to him at work to announce that he had signed all three of them up for a six-month job as lighthouse keepers in the middle of nowhere.
Something about coming together as a family. About making an effort to fix their broken ties so that the next time they saw each other wasn’t at the next funeral.
Wilbur himself wouldn’t have minded if that was the case. He had spent many years putting his broken relationship with his brother and non-existent relationship with his father behind him. He had been fine with his mother, the shining light in his life.
But she was gone. And Wilbur knew that she had wanted nothing else for her family to come back together, had spent years trying to glue together the broken pieces, keeping contact with them all in a vain hope that one day they could be a family once again. So Wilbur was here for her, was willing to make an attempt to honour her memory.
He could withstand six months in this horrid place, of stilted conversation with two men he may have loved years ago, if only because it was what she wanted.
He wouldn’t be happy about it, and he sure as hell wouldn’t be making it easy for anyone else, but he’d do it.
He didn’t bother responding to Techno. They both knew the answer to his unspoken question. He turned and walked upstairs, throwing his suitcase onto one of the beds, claiming the smallest room for himself. It felt the most like his small apartment tucked into the corner of the city. It was a decent looking room, a soft yellow colour with light blue curtains covering the window. He opened the blinds wide, grinning when he noticed that he gave himself a view of the ocean, the beach right in his line of sight.
He sees something shift and for a second he thinks he can see the shape of something moving off the rocky cliff into the ocean, but he can’t get a better look at it, so he decides it was just a bird or something.
“Wil!” He heard Phil call out from below. “We’re going to the lighthouse to learn the ins and outs, you gotta come with.”
Wilbur debates being a child and ignoring him, but he knew that if he was going to stay here for the six months he’d actually have to learn how to work that bloody light. The man had said that it wasn’t exactly a three-person job, but there was plenty to do around here to keep them busy. This wasn't just a fun little vacation.
Wilbur thought it was kind of stupid for three men to be taking over the work of one, but he didn’t say that, instead choosing to walk back downstairs to where the others waited for him. He said nothing as they walked outside, the man listing off the various chores that they needed to do.
Wilbur barely paid attention, just enough to retain the most important information. The man, who Wilbur learned was named Eret, showed them everything they needed to know. It was fairly simple, all things considered. Their jobs were a lot more complicated than simply turning on the light, but that was fine. Wilbur liked the work, it would give him a good distraction, an escape.
Eret showed them how to work the light and the other small things in the lighthouse, teaching them how to use the radio and how to gauge the wave heights based on a tall rock a little ways out, bright white lines painted onto it. Their jobs included reporting the wave height and the weather to a nearby radio station and wildlife conservation, and apparently that was also their go-to people for any problems that arose.
Once Eret had listed out all the tasks concerning the lighthouse they led the family outside, because apparently there were more things on top of that.
“You have ownership over the two cottages over on that hill,” Eret pointed to two smaller houses tucked away on the hilltop, around half the size of theirs.
“What about that one?” Techno asked, nodding towards a third house on the other side of the hill, smaller and neater than the others, the siding a dark brown compared to the white of the others. It was a decent way away, but still in their line of sight.
“That’s private property,” Eret sounded hesitant, shifting uncomfortably. Wilbur suddenly got a lot more interested in what they were saying. “It’s owned by a very private man who doesn’t like people poking around. I advise not going anywhere close to there unless you want a lawsuit.”
They sound weirdly serious, the kind tone that coated all their other words dropped as they turned to look at Wilbur, lips pressed into a frown. Wilbur still couldn’t see their eyes, but he watched as the man nervously swallowed, hands twisting around each other. Something about that house made Eret nervous. He glanced over at Techno who gave him the same look. So they both agreed, strange.
“Anyways,” Eret was smiling again, shaking their head slightly. “You’re in charge of those houses and it’s upkeep. If something goes wrong, you’re expected to fix it some way or another. There’s also a drainage pipe that empties out over the sea, sometimes there gets to be a build-up of plants in front of it that you’ll need to clean up. But it doesn’t happen very often, you’ll probably only have to do it every few months.”
They pointed to where Wilbur assumed the pipe was, turning to Phil and listing off the location of a few different tools and when to use them. Wilbur was bored again, following them around as they finished the tour. His eyes kept sneaking back to that one house, private and tucked away. He wondered if someone lived there. There wasn’t a car in sight, but that didn’t really mean much.
“Remember,” Eret said as they wound up back at the lighthouse, Eret packing up their car for the trip. “The town is three hours away, so only go there if you desperately need something or are very bored. Not worth the trip otherwise, but everyone’s nice there. I live there most of the time, so maybe you’ll see me around. Otherwise, the radio is your best bet if something goes wrong. I should be heading off.”
“Thanks for coming out to give us the tour,” Phil said, shaking their hand. Techno and him did the same, Wilbur giving the other man a sharp smile that they returned.
“Of course,” Eret shrugged, opening the car door before pausing, laughing slightly. “How could I forget, there’s tons of wildlife around here, so don’t be alarmed, but be careful. They are wild animals, no matter how cute. I’ve never had a problem, but I also leave out a can of tuna every Friday, so I think they’re all just fond of me.”
Wilbur laughs slightly, and the man gets into their car and drives off a few seconds later, leaving the three men alone. Instantly the atmosphere became a thousand times tenser. Wilbur wondered how it was possible for three members of the same family to be so bad at interacting with each other.
“Well,” Phil said, voice horribly cheery. It made Wilbur’s skin crawl, thinking about how his father thought this was a good idea, that they’d all just become a happy family because they were forced to spend time together. Like the last 26 years of his life hadn't happened. “Should we start to settle in? I could make us some food for dinner-“
“I’m going to unpack,” Techno interrupted, leaving without another word. Wilbur was almost impressed at his abruptness. Turns out Techno, despite being fairly close to their father- or at least a million times closer than Wilbur, was pissed at Phil as well. It was almost amusing.
Phil’s shoulders dipped, his smile faltering and falling into a sad frown. Wilbur hated that the most, how defeated his father looked, like it was their fault for making him so sad. If he hadn’t wanted something like this, then he should have made more of an effort before everything went to shit. Phil turned to him, their eyes meeting. Wilbur hated the spark of hope in them. Or maybe he did. Maybe he enjoyed stamping it out.
“Will-“ Phil tried, lifting up a hand but Wilbur shook his head, turning away and letting out a slight sigh. A little pity wouldn’t do anything to change Wilbur’s mind. Their father, no matter how pure his intentions seemed to be, had dragged both of them out of their busy lives to try and repair a relationship that had never really existed in the first place.
“I’m going for a walk,” Wilbur muttered under his breath, stepping away and heading towards the beach without another thought. Phil said nothing behind him, and seconds later he heard the door to the house close once again.
Maybe he shouldn’t be so harsh, maybe he should give his dad another chance, but in reality, Phil had never really been his father. Maybe for the first five years of Wilbur’s life, but after that he was just another face. His job took him around the world constantly, his time back at home rare and short. Wilbur and Techno were pretty much raised by their mother, who never seemed bothered by her husband’s absence.
Wilbur knew she had to be, the sad look on her face whenever Phil left again was enough to tell him that, but she put on a brave face for them. Phil was pretty much a stranger, if not for the stories their mother told them about him he would’ve been nothing more than a family friend.
Phil would sometimes fly them all out to see him at his newest stationing. Wilbur remembered long plane rides and shitty hotels, for only just a few hours of his father’s time, since he was still busy even with his family there. The visits stopped when he was fifteen. For some reason Techno still went, Wilbur never invited. He tried not to be bitter about that, but he always failed. The last time Wilbur had seen Phil had been when he was seventeen on his wedding night, his father showing up despite Wilbur not even thinking he read the invitation.
It was a good night, but Wilbur was drunk for most of it, high off of the joy of what he thought was a happily ever after. He barely even talked to his father, even if he was by their mothers’ side the entire night. He was happy enough to see her smile as they danced together.
The morning after the reception he found out that his wife, a beautiful girl named Sally that he had been dating ever since he was fifteen, had broken down and run. Not even her best friend knew where she went and Wilbur never saw her again. His father had left before even hearing the news and his mother had held him as he cried.
It’s funny how the best nights are always followed by horrible mornings.
Wilbur stood at the top of the hill, staring down at the waves. He knew the ocean, had grown up in a seaside town, but he never pictured it to be this beautiful. The blue was so deep, beautiful and shifting as the waves lapped at the sandy shore, so unlike the dull grey water and rocky beach he had back at home.
He wandered along the face of the hill, walking towards where it sloped down and merged to the beach. It was a decent looking place, not too big, more of a cove than anything. Private, the way everything out here was. The nearest people were almost three hours away, and that was just a small town, barely two hundred people living there. They truly were in the middle of nowhere. Techno could probably get away with murdering him if he really wanted to.
He walked down the beach, his feet sinking into the sand and he knew he’d spend hours trying to get it out from the cracks of his shoes. He should have taken them off, but he was wearing socks and it was just way too much of an effort for a quick look.
He stopped a few feet in front of the waves, watching them lap up against the shore, the soft sound making him smile. It was almost peaceful, and Wilbur could almost forget the reason why he was here.
His mother would have loved this place. She always talked about moving somewhere quiet out by the sea. He understands why as he stared out at the tranquil ocean. There was something about the wide open ocean that made you and your problems seem so much smaller.
He turns away, walking back up the beach, wandering along the rocky shoreline that made up the island. He walks out onto a small cliff made of rocks that tilted down into the ocean, the area rocky and jagged compared to the soft beach. He got the best look of the ocean out there though, watching as the sun started to dip in the sky. They had gotten here later than they should have.
Leaving an entire company on less than a two weeks warning was hard, especially since he had just come back from his break due to his mother’s funeral. It was still a small enough company that him going missing for a while wasn’t the worst, and he could work mostly from out here depending on how strong the wifi was, but he’d still rather be out there.
But he wasn't. He agreed to come out here, for some reason, and now he had to deal with that. Either way he was late leaving work, explaining to his secretary the exact steps to take while he was gone. He had been only five minutes late to catching the boat and had to spend two awkward hours sitting beside his fuming family waiting for the next ride out.
And now he was here. And now he was lonely.
No lonelier than usual of course, and he doesn’t really feel any different from any other night. The view had upgraded through, the only view he had at his apartment was over a busy street. Some nights when he looked out he could watch a homeless man fight a shopkeeper over a single bottle of water if he was really lucky.
And now he was here in the middle of nowhere staring out at the sea. Upgrades. He stares at the water, frowning when he sees a large shape under the water shift, leaning further over the cliff to get a better look. There was a large rock beside him, and he leans against it to peer over the side easier, carefully shuffling his feet against the rockface. There was a small incline below him, leading to two tall rock walls in a narrow ravine that led out to the ocean. He leaned a bit further, trying to catch sight of the shape again to see what was shifting under him.
He had always been a curious person. Even as a child he would get into trouble for exploring places where he shouldn’t have been. His mother always said his curiosity would be his downfall.
Turns out it was taking quite the literal turn this time, as his foot gave out from under him and he went tumbling down the cliff face.
He tucked his head to his chest and raised his arms to protect it from the little rocks flying past him as he flipped, slamming into the ground with an aching huff.
He lay there for a minute, splayed out on the sandy floor, water soaking his clothes and arms still wrapped protectively around his head in case any more rocks were going to tumble after him. None did, and carefully he lowered his arms, hissing at the small scrapes on his bare skin.
He sat up, shaking himself off and mentally doing a check to make sure nothing was injured. He was a bit sore, small scrapes littering his skin, but he didn’t hit his head and it wasn’t that far of a fall for it to break anything. His heart was pounding, his breathing ragged from the shock of the sudden fall.
He looked up at the small drop, huffing annoyingly. It was too tall for him to be able to reach and pull himself back up. He turned towards the ocean, eyes scanning the sharp rocks that protected the narrow crevasse that he had fallen in. Even if he was able to swim out, the chances of the strong waves smashing him into the rocks were way too high for him to feel confident about his chances.
So rock wall it was.
It was less than ten feet tall, maybe twelve if he was being generous. It probably would have caused more damage if it was a straight down drop, but the entire thing was curved. He was lucky he had slid down it instead of just falling. He can think about how close of a call that was when he was out of here, his shoes were soaked and it was very uncomfortable. This was the cherry ontop of an already shitty day.
He tries to get any type of purchase on the wall, but the cliffside falls apart in his hands, rocks tumbling through his fingers before he could get a proper grip. Even if he jumped he couldn’t reach the top enough to pull himself up, and the incline was too steep to run up.
He was pretty screwed. Just his luck.
He heard something shift behind him and spun around, seeing a head pop out of the water. A seal was watching from a few feet away. Wilbur stared at it with wide eyes, the animal not moving closer than the entrance, body hidden by the water. Was that what he was trying to get a look at before he fell? Was it going to attack him? Were seals violent?
“Shove off,” He said, sounding much more confident than he thought he would. The seal huffed at him, sending water spraying slightly before it ducked down and swam away. Wilbur let out a soft sigh, turning back to the cliff face. He hadn’t expected that to work.
He tried again to jump up and find some kind of handhold on the wall, but falls right back down, his back aching with protests. Great. He was going to have to wait until either Phil or Techno wandered outside looking for him. He could risk the ocean, but he’s watched enough movies to have a healthy fear of strong currents and sharp rocks, and judging by how fast the waves were crashing against those rocks, well Wilbur didn’t want to risk it.
He could swim, but had never tried in tides like that. The beach was a lot calmer than this section of water and he figures sitting here in misery was better than impaling himself. He wasn’t fond of the idea of dying his first day here. He wasn’t that upset at the situation.
Suddenly there’s a branch thrown over the top of the cliff, hanging down towards him. Wilbur stared with wide eyes, not expecting something to happen. He sees someone’s head pop over the side of the cliff face, sandy blonde hair peering down at him.
“Grab the branch you fucking twat,” A young voice called down and Wilbur didn’t hesitate any longer to debate the weirdness of the situation, grabbing onto the branch and using it as leverage to pull himself up the cliff, the other person tugging him up as he went.
It was a struggle, filled with many swears and Wilbur started to sweat with effort, but eventually he was up over the top, collapsing in a heap on the ground, chest heaving. He was way too out of shape for that. He turns to look at his rescuer, blinking at the stranger that he saw.
It was a child, no older than fifteen, with curly wet blonde hair framing a youthful, unimpressed face. He looked like he just came back from swimming, his hair sopping and clothes damp like he had hazardously thrown them on, but that didn’t make much sense because Wilbur had just been staring at the ocean and hadn’t seen any sign of anyone. Not to mention that no one was supposed to live out here.
“Stay off the fucking rocks you moron,” The kid huffs, and Wilbur barely gets time to bark out a laugh before the kids standing up and practically running away, disappearing back towards the beach. Wilbur shot up, calling after him but the kid is long gone. He stumbles to his feet, walking over to where he disappeared, but there was nothing there. No trace of the kid at all. What the fuck had just happened?
Wilbur just shook his head and walked back to his home for the next six months, practically slamming the door open. So sue him for wanting to be a bit dramatic, he had just spent fifteen minutes knee-deep in rocky water trying to get up a cliff, he was allowed to be a bit crabby.
Techno looked up from where he sat on the couch, a book in his hand. He levelled him with an unimpressed look, eyes scanning up and down, taking in Wilbur's soaked clothes and red, irritated skin.
“You look like a mess,” He commented, flicking the page in his book over. “Have a nice walk?”
“Oh fuck off,” Wilbur rolled his eyes, slipping off his shoes and tearing off his wet socks, balling them up to put in the wash. Wherever that was. He should have paid more attention to the tour. “I fell down a cliff if you really want to know.”
“Already?” Techno asked, raising an eyebrow. “That must be a new record.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Wilbur grumbled, throwing the balled socks at him. Techno batted them away easily, shooting him a glare but closing his book and giving Wilbur all his attention. How lucky of him. “It took me forever to get out of there, thought I’d have to wait for you or Phil to come help me.”
“How did you get out?”
“You’ll never believe me,” Wilbur huffed, thinking back to the strange chill that showed up out of nowhere. “A kid. Honest to god, just this random teenager showed up, pulled me out, called me a moron, then disappeared.”
“Good on him,” Techno snorted, but he didn’t look overly convinced at the story. “Are you sure? The dude showing us around said that no one lived here. The closest person lives hours away.”
Wilbur shrugged, collapsing onto the chair. He was probably getting it wet but he didn’t care that much. It would dry.
“Maybe he lives in that spooky house we’re not allowed in,” Wilbur shrugged. He was still puzzled as to how the boy just disappeared. He would have had to go past Wilbur to get back to that house, but he had just gone back down to the beach and disappeared.
“That’s a possibility,” Techno hummed, a strange look in his eyes. “I almost want to go check.”
“Neither of you are going near that house unless you want a lawsuit,” Phil said from the doorway, Wilbur startling at the interjection. He hadn’t seen his father enter, but there he was, leaning against the doorframe and smiling. “Eret told me that he’s not someone you want to mess with.”
“The kid helped me out though, I should at least properly thank him,” Wilbur argued, slouching down further into the chair.
“And you can if he ever shows up again, but Eret mentioned nothing about a kid living here,” Phil shrugged. “We have plenty of time to figure it out without bothering that man. And get off the chair Will, you’re going to give it water damage. Get changed, dinner’s almost ready.”
Wilbur really hated being talked to like a child when he was twenty-five years old, but rolled his eyes and listened either way. His clothes were sticking to him and it was starting to annoy him either way.
Overall, this was a pretty shitty day. He left his apartment to live in the middle of nowhere for six months with a family he could barely tolerate, and then fell down a cliff and was now covered in small cuts. He missed his mom. He missed his normal life.
He fell asleep later that night and dreamt of sandy blonde hair and the barks of seals.
______________________________________
Tommy felt his heart thumping deep inside his chest and forced himself to breathe. He shouldn’t have done that.
God, Dream would kill him if he finds out what he’s done, if he knew what Tommy had risked. Dream had specifically told him to stay away, he would be furious to know that Tommy was coming even close to them. But he couldn’t help it, the brown-haired human was stuck and Tommy himself had been trapped in that little death trap too many times not to feel any kind of sympathy.
He had seen the human’s frustration, and Tommy had just wanted to go out for a swim since Dream would be taking his pelt again soon, and the only thing worse than one human stuck in his space was three of them being noisy and scaring him off. So yeah, Tommy shed his skin and went to help the man and he only slightly regretted it.
It was a bit of a struggle, because his muscles were already cramping up in the way they did when he changed outside the preferred time, but he went and he helped and managed to drag the man up the incline. And he hadn’t even thanked him, not that Tommy really gave him the time. He knew the longer he stayed there the more dangerous it got, so he practically ran away the second the human was safe, grabbing his pelt and slipping it back on before escaping to the sea.
His skin was buzzing with nervous energy. He had not only gotten close to a human, but talked to him. He hadn’t talked to any humans other than Dream. Well, there were some of Dream’s friends, but they hadn’t been over in years. It was just him and Dream normally. Tommy knew there was a reason for that, knew that he had just placed himself in a deeply dangerous situation simply because he was bored, but he couldn’t help it. It was exciting.
And he wasn’t even there for long. The brown-haired human would probably forget about him soon anyways. Tommy hadn’t fucked up that bad, and Dream wouldn’t even have to know. This could be a secret that he kept to his grave. It wouldn’t happen again and Dream would have no reason to be angry at him.
Unless he got back late, so Tommy swam a bit faster, ducking down further into the depths as he got closer to the little hidden cove just outside the house that he always went to. He flopped out of the water, carefully shedding his skin and holding in the small hiss of pain that came with it. It was closer to the right time of day, but changing twice in such a short time was always painful.
He shook off his hair, grabbing his fresh clothes from the ground and tugging them off. He had clothes tucked many places around the island, just in case. Which was good earlier, because from what Tommy knows of humans they don’t really like naked kids running up to them, even if they were trying to help.
He folds his pelt up into an easy-to-carry square, ignoring the overwhelming feeling to Hide it, please. Tuck it under a rock. Run far away and hide it somewhere where he will never be able to touch it again. Never be able to take it. Please hide it. Please don’t give it up. Annoying, unnecessary thoughts.
Tommy pushed those thoughts away the same way he did every single time he had come out of the water. He was practiced in ignoring his instincts, at neatly tucking them away into the back of his mind until Dream needed them to come out. He walked up to the house, sneaking in the back door and closing it behind him, locking it firmly. He ignored the way his mind howled at losing sight of the ocean. He was better than that.
“Tommy?” He heard Dream call out from the study and Tommy made his trek to the room, keeping his eyes glued on the floor. He knew the drill, had completed this time and time again. Dream was sitting at his desk, scribbling furiously at a piece of paper. He didn’t even look up as he held up his other hand.
Tommy’s hands shook as he handed off his pelt, swallowing thickly as he looked away, every bone in his body begging him to dart forwards and take it back, to grab his pelt and run as far away as he could. But he didn’t, because there was nowhere where he could go.
The ocean couldn’t accept him anymore. He had spent too many years outside of it to ever be properly welcomed back into its arm. And no other humans were as kind as Dream. If he tried to risk it he would be hunted down and caught. His pelt would be taken and he would never get it back. Truly he was lucky that Dream looked after him, that he gave Tommy all this freedom. Tommy would never leave, because he had everything he could ever want right here.
“Did you eat while you were out?” Dream asked as he stood up, walking over to the cabinet at the side of the room, opening up a safe and tucking his pelt away. Tommy stared at it desperately until he couldn’t anymore, the door closing with a mocking click.
“Yeah, caught a few fish,” Tommy shrugged, because he knew he was expected to eat whenever he went out. Save Dream the trouble of having to help him get his food. Dream hummed, making his way back to the desk, not even bother to shoot Tommy a glance.
“Good,” He hummed, flipping a page before looking up and finally meeting Tommy’s eyes. “Did the new keepers come in?”
Tommy felt his heart leap into his throat as he looked away from Dream, trying his best not to look guilty. There was no way Dream could know.
“Yeah, they did,” He swallowed thickly. “I watched them for a bit, out of sight of course. Three of them, just like you said there would be.”
“Okay, thank you Tommy,” Dream looked back down, shuffling papers around. Tommy’s shoulders dropped from where they were tensed up. “Stay away from them okay? Three keepers are much more dangerous than one, and you don’t know their schedules yet. Stay away from that part of the island.”
“Of course Dream,” Tommy nodded, even though he knew it was probably a lie. “I’ll stay close to the cove.”
“Good, you’re dismissed now,” Dream waved a hand lazily, going back to his work and Tommy pretended it didn’t hurt as he slipped from the room, walking down the hall to his room. It wasn’t anything special, really just a bed and a desk to the side, a few toys lying on top.
Tommy curled up on his bed, his body sore and tired from the day’s excitements. He can’t stop thinking of the brown-haired human, how kind he looked, the way he laughed when Tommy told him to stay off the rocks. Tommy wanted to see him again, he wanted to meet him, to see what humans really were like.
But curiosity kills. All it would take was one wrong move before he was being kidnapped and shipped to someone who wanted to sell him to the highest bidder. There was a reason why Dream kept him here, tucked away from every other human and away from those who could hurt him.
Tommy shouldn't want to interact with the brown-haired man, or either of his two companions that Tommy had seen. They were dangerous, they would hunt him down and hurt him just like Dream promised.
But he couldn’t help but wonder. And thinking wouldn’t get him killed.
He wasn’t going to pull a stunt like that again. As long as he told himself that, he could rest easily.