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Tommy frowned as he stared out at the crowd from the side of the stage that was hidden by a curtain. He was gripping the curtain tight in one hand while leaning against the wall as his eyes scanned the crowd looking for either his dad or his Uncle, maybe he would even see one of his younger siblings running down one of the aisles or sitting on uncle Techno’s shoulders near the back of the theater.
But he didn’t see anything that he expected. He didn’t see his dad in the crowd, or his uncle, and he most definitely didn’t see either of his siblings. He swallowed as he felt the beginnings of tears welling up in his eyes. His dad said they would be here, his dad promised that they would be here. But Tommy didn’t see him. Tommy didn’t see any of them.
He backed away from the side of the stage, turning and finding Purpled watching him from a distance, a frown filled with nothing but concern on his face. It was hard to spot the concern on Purpled’s face, but Tommy had known them for several long and good years by this point and was able to spot it nearly immediately.
“I’m fine.” Tommy told them, though he was sure that Purpled didn’t believe him. “I’m going to check my phone, see if dad messaged me.” Tommy told him, though it was words falling on deaf ears. Purpled most definitely didn’t care about what Tommy was doing, or who he was going to message.
Purpled followed behind like a shadow.
Tommy ignored that for the moment, knowing it was born from a concern that Purpled held over how often Tommy’s achievements went ignored. Tommy saw no issue with having plays or recitals missed, his younger siblings were still young and Tallulah got sick really easily, and his dad once explained that Techno struggled with staying in one place for long, due to a long history of being trapped places.
Tommy relaxed when he saw his bag, a solid red with charms hanging off of the zippers, all gifts from his friends. He moved a little quicker, barely noticing Purpled disappearing from behind him as he knelt by his bag and opened it. Inside were all his textbooks and two changes of clothes since he was going to Ranboo’s house afterwards. He hummed as he spotted his phone, it having slid down the inside front of his bag. He powered it on to see a single message from his dad.
Father the Bird
Hey Toms, not gonna be able to make it tonight, Tallulah got really sick and Chayanne and Techno still just got back from their trip.
Good Luck! Break a leg! Or whatever it is you say
Tommy felt his heart drop and his face fell even further as he stared at the two text messages. He swallowed the lump growing in his throat, powering his phone back off and dropping it back into his bag. He zipped his bag and turned to sit with his back against the wall. They weren’t coming. They… His father promised that nothing would stop him from coming to see Tommy tonight.
“Tommy?” Purpled had walked up, silently, to Tommy again. “What’s wrong?” Tommy scoffed lightly, carefully rubbing at his eyes. They were burning with the set of tears that were beginning to build.
“They aren’t coming.” They meaning He. He wasn’t coming. Purpled sighed as they crouched down beside Tommy, a hand resting hesitantly on Tommy’s shoulder. “He promised that nothing would stop him from coming tonight…” Tommy uttered quietly, eyes watering and blurring his vision. He hoped he wouldn’t cry, having to redo the make up he was wearing would be a hassle, and he was almost sure that he was about to be called up by Sam to head out onto the stage.
“I’m sorry.” Purpled uttered quietly. Tommy knew that this was probably awkward for Purpled, and Tubbo or Ranboo were much better at handling emotions than they were. “But hey, at least you won’t have to see them tonight? We’re all heading to Ranboo’s after and you know Niki is absolutely going to gush about all our performances.” Maybe. Niki didn’t quite like Tommy most of the time.
“Yeah,” Tommy sighed, letting Purpled pull him up and hand him a bottle of water with his name written on it. “Thanks Purp.” Tommy swallowed slightly as he opened the bottle and took a drink. He could see Sam approaching quickly, a light in his eyes that only dimmed with concern when he saw Tommy and Purpled.
“Everything alright?” Tommy swallowed his water and capped the bottle again as he nodded.
“Yeah, yeah everything’s great big man!” Tommy nodded, shoving as much cheer and excitement into his voice as he could. He no longer felt like crying, and he knew that as soon as he stopped feeling like it, his face hid everything that could have hinted at it.
“Great, awesome, ready to head out on stage then?” Sma asked, though his eyes darted to Purpled as he responded. Tommy knew, realistically, that Purpled’s expression did not tell Sam that everything was fine. Fine by Tommy, he just wasn’t willing to acknowledge it himself. Tommy set his water by his bag, offering a smile at Purpled who offered a tiny one in response, encouragement Tommy knew.
Tommy followed Sam afterwards, spotting that Ranboo had just come off with a look of thrill and anxiety. Tommy offered a bright smile at them, which seemed to ease their anxiety.
“You ready?” Sam asked, patting Tommy’s shoulder. Tommy turned his head and smiled brightly.
“Fuck yeah!”
“And there’s your one swear for the night,” Sam laughed quietly. “Break a leg!” Tommy smiled as he headed out from behind the curtain.
For the briefest second, the lights blinded Tommy, leaving him blinking quickly for a moment before his eyes adjusted and Tommy could see the crowd. For a moment, the quickest and briefest moment, he forgot his lines. And then he remembered them and he smiled as he opened his mouth to speak.
Tommy laughed lightly with Tubbo and Ranboo as Purpled smirked in amusement. Tommy had stumbled only two lines that night, which is what they were laughing over. The easiest lines too, which Tommy was a little embarrassed by, but he’d gotten into his groove afterwards.
Sam said that it was hard to tell that Tommy stumbled at all, just before they left for the night. And now they were piled into Niki’s car, all talking about their favorite parts of the night, and applauding each other on their performances.
“Well, I think tonight was an amazing performance for everyone, how are we celebrating?” Niki asked, Tommy tilted his head in confusion as he glanced towards Purpled and Tubbo, both being in the backseat with him; Ranboo was in the front with Niki.
“Oh, oh, can we go to that one cat cafe in the morning?” Ranboo asked. Niki hummed, eyes darting towards the rearview mirror as if gauging the reactions of the three in the backseat. Tommy noticed that her eyes rested on him the longest, only a few seconds longer, but longer nonetheless.
“If everyone is in agreement, then absolutely.” Niki said after thinking about it for a few moments. Tommy felt a little off kilter. He’d never celebrated a performance before, normally Niki only celebrated with Ranboo; and only after the other three had gone home.
“Oh, a cat cafe sounds like fun!” Tubbo chimed in, bobbing his head to the quiet music that was playing from the radio.
“Cats and food on a saturday… Sounds like a good time.” Purpled added, glancing towards Tommy.
“I like cats,” Tommy nodded, and Ranboo cheered quietly from the front seat. Tommy smiled fondly, letting his head fall against the window and smiling as everyone fell back into talking about their performances. Tommy was content to just listen, his energy disappearing almost as quickly as it had appeared. Besides, he could take a picture and post it online if he really wanted too. Sam had assured him there would be pictures and videos sent to Tommy if he wanted.
Tommy had actually taken him up on the all package offer, normally only accepting pictures of him and his friends. It always made his friends flustered when they saw that he’d been bragging about them and their performances.
A celebration post could also be a quiet jab at his dad if he felt like being petty.
He smiled as Purpled grabbed his hand, a friendly gesture as they talked about their favorite part, which was apparently when they and Tubbo were acting out a fight scene that ended in Purpled’s ‘death’. His second favorite being when Tommy, playing Purpled’s brother, mourned him. That one earned him a playful jab where Tommy knew he was absolutely ticklish.
Tommy was happy and content with his friends all laughing and talking around him.
Tommy smiled as he pet the kitten laying on his chest, he had one hand underneath his head and the other gently petting the purring kitten, who was then joined by a second kitten… and a third… and then a forth… and then there was an adult cat, maybe the momma cat, laying on his lower stomach, and he could see Purpled taking pictures out of the corner of his eye. Which was fair, since Tommy had been taking pictures of his friends all morning.
“You know, you’re a pretty alright kid,” Niki said quietly, Tommy blinked, looking over towards her as she sat nearby. She had two cats curled up together in her lap, and she was gently petting them.
“I try, sometimes.” Tommy responded, shrugging as carefully as he could. A fifth kitten joined the pile, courtesy of Purpled, who was ignoring Niki for the moment. Tommy flinched slightly when a paw smacked him in the face. “Hey, that’s not fair!” Tommy laughed lightly. He got smacked by the kitten two more times, with Purpled taking pictures and Tubbo and Ranboo laughing at him. Even Niki was laughing quietly at him.
“We are all sharing pictures after, right?” Tubbo asked, taking a drink of his hot chocolate he insisted on getting. It was nearly summer, so Tommy couldn’t fathom why someone would want to drink something hot. But Tubbo insisted.
“Definitely, I want-” Ranboo’s eyes lit up. “Niki, could you take a picture of all of us?” Ranboo had been laying on their stomach, with a couple cats lying stretched out over their back. Tommy realized after a moment that they were all group together in a small circle, with Niki just outside of it.
“Oh, I’d be willing to take a picture of you all!” Tommy looked and found that another small group of people had come to also play with the cats. Niki smiled, offering her phone with the camera already up.
“Thank you so much!” Niki smiled sweetly, and the woman happily took a picture of all of them grouped together, with all the cats taking turns either jumping from person to person, or swatting at them, or the cats and kitten just curled up together. Several pictures had to have been taken before the phone was passed back to Niki.
“What are y’all celebrating?” The woman asked.
“The four of them had an amazing performance last night that I felt deserved an equally amazing celebration. They chose that Cat cafe.” Niki offered, and the two women had gotten into a conversation together. Tommy barely heard that the woman’s name was ‘Puffy’, he was more interested in laughing as Purpled had a cat curled up in their hair.
Tommy got his picture, which would absolutely be his new contact photo of Purpled.
“I’m home!” Tommy called out quietly, not wanting to wake Tallulah if she was napping off whatever cold or fever or whatever it was she’d gotten. He smiled as he saw Chayanne come running into the room, the eight year old had a look of excitement on his face.
“Tommy! Tommy! Tommy!” Tommy caught Chayanne in a hug when the younger threw himself at Tommy.
“Hey Chayanne, how was your trip with Uncle Techno?” Tommy asked, releasing his brother and taking his shoes off.
“It was so cool! Did you know that fish can swim up waterfalls? I didn’t! I got to see it too!” Chayanne exclaimed excitedly, Tommy tilted his head as he exaggerated his response slightly.
“Really? Oh tell me all about it!” This was easy, this was normal, this was familiar. That, and he was genuinely excited for his brother, getting to explore with their uncle. He remembered the trips he’d gotten to take with Techno, typically it was to colder places, but that was okay. He could handle the cold, and it was some amazing memories for Tommy.
“Okay so-” Tommy followed Chayanne to the living room, where his uncle and his dad were talking quietly. For the briefest moment, Tommy saw the quiet annoyance in Techno’s face that melted away as Chayanne started talking about their trip.
“Tommy?” Tommy looked up from his homework, finding Tallulah leaning against his doorway, eyes downcast as she shivered.
“Hey, ‘lullah, you okay?” Tommy asked, pushing from his desk and staring worriedly at Tallulah. Tallulah was five years old, and really small for her age. She got sick easily, which is why he usually understood when his dad couldn’t make it to Tommy’s performances or recitals. He too, would have skipped his own performance if it meant taking care of Tallulah.
“Can… Can I lay in here?” Tallulah asked, rubbing her eyes slightly as she swayed.
“Of course, can I ask why?” Tommy asked in confusion.
“Dad’s fussing over me again… and Uncle Techno and papa are fighting.” Concern flashed through Tommy, though he moved and picked Tallulah up when she lifted her arms. Now that he was closer to the door, he could hear words being exchanged between his dad and uncle.
“Let’s get you laid down, it’s quieter in here, huh?” Tommy asked, and Tallulah nodded. Her room was much closer to where the two adults were arguing, he could understand her wanting to be somewhere quieter.
Tommy moved towards his bed, pulling back the blanket and laying Tallulah down, smiling as she grabbed his stuffed moth with a smile on her face. He tucked her in and kissed her forehead.
“Get some sleep.”
“Thank you, Tommy.” Tallulah smiled, Tommy ruffled her hair and moved back towards his desk. He smiled softly when Chayanne slipped into the room, tears in his eyes. He motioned towards his bed, and Chayanne carefully joined Tallulah, who only turned to hide against Chayanne.
“Tommy!” Tommy looked up quickly, noting that his dad’s voice was much closer than before. He sighed, staring at his unfinished essay, and decided he would finish it tomorrow. He glanced and found both kids staring worriedly at the door.
“Lay down.” Tommy murmured, both kids nodded as Tommy got up and walked towards his door. Slipping out of his room, he shut his door and walked down the hallway.
“Tommy!” His dad called again, and there was a hint of anger in his voice. Maybe also despair? Tommy didn’t know, his dad’s emotions confused him on a good day, nevermind a bad one.
“Yeah?” Tommy jogged down the stairs and found that his dad and Techno were in the kitchen.
“Tell your uncle that he is overreacting.” His dad sounded stressed. Tommy’s eyes widened, he hadn’t been dragged into a fight since he was eight years old. That was well before they even had Tallulah, and soon after they’d gotten Chayanne.
“What? I don’t even know what’s going on.” Tommy responded, annoyance on his face. He knew it slipped into his voice. Techno’s face softened, momentarily, before he was arguing with Tommy’s dad.
“I told you, you shouldn’t be bringing him into our disagreements, Phil.” Techno hissed. It was unnerving to hear his normally stoic uncle sound, in other words, pissed. “Tommy, did you know that I offered to watch Tallulah so he could see your performance?” Techno turned towards Tommy.
For the briefest second, Tommy felt his heart drop. His dad, his father, had decided to break his promise to Tommy.
“What?” He could hear the heartbreak in his voice.
“Tallulah got sick, Tommy knows this!” His father exclaimed, sounding annoyed. “I needed to take care of my daughter.”
“And I offered to watch her for the two and a half hours you’d be gone, Phil.” Techno shouted, Tommy flinched back. It was silent for several minutes after that. Tommy had been staring at the ground, before looking up to see horror on Techno’s face, and shock on his father’s.
“You said you would be there.” Tommy’s voice sounded… weak. It wavered as he looked at his father. “You said that you would be there. No matter what, you promised.” Tommy’s voice cracked part way through his statement.
“Tallula-”
“No.” Tommy shook his head. “You told me that Tallulah got sick, yes that was fine. What’s not fine is telling me that Uncle Techno didn’t want to take care of her so you could come watch my last performance of the year.” Tommy shouted, surprising himself as much as he surprised his uncle and his father. He swallowed as he looked away.
“Tommy-”
“I’m going to my room. By the way, you woke up Tallulah, both of them are in my room to lay down.” Tommy walked away. He ignored his father and uncle calling out after him. He ignored the shouting that started after he’d run up the stairs.
He made his way back to his room and found Tallulah standing at the door, crying. He noticed that she’d gotten sick in his bed, and sighed. He offered her a comforting smile.
“Hey, what are you crying for?”
“I made a mess…”
“That’s okay, messes can be cleaned up.” Tommy assured her, picking her up and noticing that Chayanne had tried to start cleaning it himself. “Chayanne, I can do that,” Tommy assured as he sat Tallulah on his desk chair.
“I… don’t feel well…” Chayanne murmured.
“Okay, well, sit by Tallulah for now. Let me clean that up.” Tommy assured him. Chayanne nodded and Tommy set to cleaning everything. He’d only managed to make it to the bathroom for two buckets and come back. Just in time for both kids to throw up in them. He rubbed their backs and held back their hair. Both would need baths, but that was something Tommy could do in a little bit.
He had to make sure nothing stained first.
“I’m sorry,” Tallulah cried slightly, after heaving in a large breath of air.
“No, no, don’t be sorry little butterfly.” Tommy assured, “you either, little lion.” Tommy laughed lightly as Chayanne stuck his tongue out at Tommy. He was clutching the bucket tightly though. He let Chayanne choose some music to put on to distract them, even ignoring that they put on a youtube video as he set to cleaning.