Archive of Our Own ^beta

When Wilbur was young and things were different, he would sometimes wonder what it would be like to time travel. He’d sit on a park bench and close his eyes, pretending to open them to find he was two hundred years into the future.

The future was boring, of course, because he hadn’t actually time traveled, but Wilbur would pretend to see flying cars and superheroes flying through the air, fighting villains.

Of course, back then, superheroes seemed like the paragons of truth and justice, who could do absolutely no wrong at all.

Now, they made Wilbur feel sick.

It’s funny how the most defining moment of Wilbur’s life started in such an inconsequential way. Laughable, really.

The worst day of Wilbur’s life started with Tommy jumping on top of his bed, singing an obnoxious song.

“La la la I’m Wilbur and I love to sleep!” he sang. “Oh, Wilbur, tell me how much you love sleeping!”

Wilbur groaned, trying to push Tommy off of the bed. Tommy leapt off of it before Wilbur could injure him, which Tommy supposed was a good thing.

“Great, you’re awake!” Tommy said cheerfully.

Wilbur sat up and rubbed at the sleep in his eyes. Tommy could be as cheerful as he wanted, but Wilbur most certainly had not wanted to be awake at these early hours in the morning.

“What’s with the fanfare?” Wilbur demanded. “I had an alarm ready. I don’t need you to act as a stand in.”

“Well, you see,” Tommy said. His face was lit up with excitement. “I saw something incredibly poggers outside of the apartment, and you need to come with me and see.”

Wilbur frowned. “What?”

Tommy groaned. “That would ruin the surprise!” He grabbed Wilbur’s arm with both hands and tried to drag Wilbur out of the bed. Being both bigger and stronger, Wilbur resisted with ease, but that didn’t stop Tommy from digging his feet into the ground and continuing to pull.

“Alright, alright, I’m getting out of bed,” Wilbur sighed. He wrangled his arm away from Tommy’s grip and got out of bed, running his fingers through his hair. “Children.”

“I heard that,” Tommy said sharply. He gave Wilbur a pouty face. “Do you not love me?”

“Oh, hush.” Wilbur headed to the kitchen, searching the fridge for something to wake him up. He didn’t find much of note, but he pulled out a slightly bruised apple and bit into it.

“Why are you eating apples for?” Tommy sounded downright despairing now. “You have to look out the window!”

“Fine, fine!” Wilbur almost threw the apple in exasperation, but that was his breakfast. Nothing could cause him to waste a breakfast, even if it was as simple was an apple. “You said it was on the fire escape?”

“I didn’t say that, but that’s where it is!” Tommy grabbed Wilbur’s hand, and this time Wilbur didn’t resist as he was led to the back of their living room to the window leading toward the fire escape. Wilbur peered through the glass.

“What am I looking for?”

“Look!” Tommy pointed slightly to the left of where Wilbur had been looking, and Wilbur’s eyes followed the direction of Tommy’s finger.

Sure enough, a gray cat stared back at Wilbur, it’s yellow eyes piercing through Wilbur’s soul.

It was unnerving, but he wasn’t going to tell Tommy that. Tommy loved cats. Well, Tommy loved practically every animal. When he was younger, he was constantly trying to name pet spiders, even though Wilbur would tell him that under no circumstances were they going to have hordes of spiders living in their home.

“Does it belong to anyone?” Wilbur asked.

Tommy shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “Not anyone living here. This place doesn’t exactly allow pets.”

This was true. Tommy had been devastated at first, and then, Wilbur reminded Tommy they didn’t have the means to afford a pet anyway.

That hadn’t actually cheered Tommy up all that much, but it made him more willing to move into the apartment.

“Great,” Wilbur said. The cat was still staring at him, and Wilbur broke the stare to look at Tommy. “Well, enough of that. Do you have any plans for this Saturday?”

Tommy nodded. “I wanted to meet Tubbo and Ranboo at the movie theater, if that was alright with you.”

“That’s fine with me, just stay safe,” Wilbur said. “I have to go to work, so I’ll walk with you for a bit.”

To Tommy’s credit, he didn’t screw up his face and protest against the declaration. The streets weren’t exactly the safest they could be, with villains and superheroes fighting and wreaking havoc on the best of days. It was better to have a buddy while walking from place to place.

“Fair enough,” Tommy said. “Don’t hold me up too long, though.”

Wilbur rolled his eyes. “You were the one who woke me up at an unholy hour. Give me a moment to get ready.”

Wilbur took the final two bites out of his apple and threw the core into the trash. He used to eat the core, but Tommy went on a tirade about cyanide and apple seeds. Wilbur had stopped so that Tommy could stop worrying that Wilbur was poisoning himself.

Wilbur pulled on some proper clothes and quickly brushed his teeth before meeting Tommy at the door. He combed his curly hair with his fingers, but he knew hardly anyone was going to be able to tell the difference if he had brushed it. It always manages to return to a tangled mess.

“Ready to go?” Wilbur asked.

Tommy nodded. “Waiting on you.”

They exited their apartment building and started walking down the busy sidewalks. In the distance, Wilbur could hear fighting, and he wrapped his arm around Tommy’s shoulders, holding him close.

“You’re such a worry wart,” Tommy muttered, sounding embarrassed. Wilbur didn’t particularly care.

“Let me have this,” Wilbur said. He glanced at where the sounds were coming from, and he could see a hero flash through the air for just a minute. “God, I hate this city.”

“I know you do, Wil,” Tommy said. “I know.”

They crossed a couple of intersections, and the sounds were getting louder. Wilbur’s anxiety grew as he realized that soon he’d have to separate from Tommy to get to his workplace.

“I’ll be okay, Wil,” Tommy said. His voice was reassuring, but that didn’t stop Wilbur from clutching onto Tommy all the tighter. “I haven’t died yet. Won’t start now.”

Wilbur closed his eyes and nodded. “Right, right, of course—”

A nearby explosion rocked the area. Tommy and Wilbur both ducked down, and when they got back up again, Wilbur saw who he presumed to be the villain running straight toward them.

“Get out of the way!” the villain snarled. Their face looked beaten up, and it was clear they were trying to run.

All the other pedestrians were scrambling to move, and Wilbur reached to grab Tommy and yank him out of the way.

Instead, the villain grabbed him, and Tommy let out a strangled scream.

“Tommy!”

“Sorry, kid,” the villain said, holding a strange ball of energy close to Tommy’s head. “I need a shield.”

Wilbur growled in fury, and he ran toward the villain. “Get your bloody hands—”

The villain raised the ball of energy closer to Tommy, and Wilbur froze.

“I’m going to leave, and when I’m safe, I’ll let the kid go, deal?”

There wasn’t much of a choice, and Wilbur and Tommy looked each other in the eyes. Tommy’s blue eyes shone with panic, but he was clearly trying to keep it together for Wilbur’s sake.

“It’ll be okay,” Tommy was mouthing.

Wilbur shook his head. He wasn’t going to let Tommy go. He couldn’t let Tommy go. He might never see him again

The villain was backing away from the rest of the crowd and into a darkened alleyway. Wilbur’s mind raced as he tried to figure out some sort of way to save Tommy.

The hero had finally caught up to them, using a grappling hook to land next to Wilbur. They accidentally brushed shoulders, but Wilbur hardly noticed.

“Sorry,” the hero said, not even looking in Wilbur’s direction. Wilbur knew they weren’t actually all that sorry.

“That’s my brother!” Wilbur shouted hysterically. “You have to save him!”

“Not another step closer!” the villain shouted. “Don’t get any closer.”

The hero took a step, and Wilbur wanted to throttle him. “You’re bluffing,” the hero said. “If you kill the kid, you have no more hostage.”

“You really want to test that?” the villain growled. He took another step back.

“Sure.”

The hero took another step forward, and Wilbur screamed when the villain pressed his hand against Tommy’s face.

Tommy screamed, and suddenly, an explosion lit up where Tommy and the villain had been standing.

Wilbur could still hear screaming, but Wilbur was the one doing it.

The flames of the explosion disappeared, leaving two bodies in the wake of the smoke. Wilbur couldn’t’ care less about the villain, and he ran toward Tommy’s body, cradling him in his lap.

“Tommy, Tommy, Tommy,” Wilbur gasped. His voice was frantic, and he ran his hands through Tommy’s soot covered and bloodied hair. “Hang in there, Toms.”

Tommy gave Wilbur a broken smile. “Love… love you.”

His body went limp.

“Tommy?!” Wilbur couldn’t breathe. “Tommy, you have to wake up, Tommy!”

The hero grabbed Wilbur by the shoulder, trying to pull Wilbur away, but Wilbur snarled.

“Get your hands off of me!” Wilbur clutched onto Tommy all the more tightly. “Tommy, please, you can’t leave me, you’re all I have left, please.”

Tommy didn’t respond.

Wilbur’s world was crashing and burning all around him, but there was so much to think about. What about Tubbo and Ranboo? They were probably waiting for Tommy at the cinema right now, waiting for him to show. And Wilbur would need to call his job, and arrangements would have to be made for the funeral, and, god, Wilbur would do anything to just go back. He should’ve taken a different route, should’ve pulled Tommy away sooner—

Wilbur curled himself over Tommy’s broken body and rocked back and forth.

He would do anything for a second chance to make this right.

“La la la, I’m Wilbur and I love to sleep!”

Wilbur’s eyes flew open in a frenzy, and he sat up immediately. Tommy, who was indeed jumping on Wilbur’s bed, made a noise of surprise and stumbled backwards. Wilbur reached out to help him, but Tommy quickly regained his balance and hopped back down to the ground.

“Welcome to the land of the living, Wilbur,” Tommy said. “How are you?”

Wilbur stared at Tommy. His body was whole and full of life. He wasn’t dead. It was all just a horrible nightmare.

“Had a terrible dream,” Wilbur said. He got out of bed and pulled Tommy into a hug. “It sucked.”

“Oh.” This wasn’t the first time Wilbur had nightmares, and Tommy knew better than to ask about it. Instead, he hugged tightly back. “I love you, Wilbur. You’re safe now.”

“I know.” Wilbur pulled himself out of the hug. He didn’t want to make Tommy feel uncomfortable. “Why’d you wake me up anyway?”
            “Oh!” Tommy’s eyes lit up. “I saw something super awesome outside out window, and you have to see it too!”

A small feeling of dread filled Wilbur. “Oh?”

“Yeah!” Tommy took Wilbur’s hand and led him straight to the living room window. Wilbur’s eyes instantly landed on the gray cat, and it stared at him again.

Again? No, what had happened before was just a dream, right?

Please, let it just be a dream.

“Oh,” Wilbur said. “It’s a cat.”

“It’s a cat!” Tommy placed his hands on his hips and beamed. “What should we name him?”

“Is it our cat to name?” Wilbur asked. “You know how this apartment feels about pets.”

“We can still give it a name,” Tommy said, his voice defensive. “It will be the cat’s secret identity while it lives on our fire escape.”

Wilbur sighed. “Fine. Uh, how about Nuisance?”

Tommy rolled his eyes. “Wilbur, that’s a terrible name.”

“You asked me to name it!”

“His name is now Fred,” Tommy said. “Hello Fred.”

Fred was still staring at Wilbur. Wilbur looked away.

“Are you going to the movies with Ranboo and Tubbo today?”

Please say no, please say no—

“Yeah, actually.” Tommy furrowed his eyebrows. “I don’t remember telling you that, actually. How’d you know?”

“I overheard you mentioning it to yourself,” Wilbur lied with a shrug. His heart was racing, and he was beginning to realize that maybe his nightmare hadn’t been so fake after all. “Why don’t I come with you, yeah?”

“Well, your job is on the way,” Tommy agreed. “Let’s do it.”

They left a little earlier than last time, and Wilbur held tightly onto Tommy’s hand as he took a detour.

“Why are we going this way?” Tommy asked. “This is super out of the way. You might as well get some public transportation if we’re going to walk this much.”

“I have my reasons,” Wilbur said vaguely, trying to get Tommy as far away from the fight as possible. He could still hear the sound of explosions, and every time he did, Wilbur shuddered.

“Are you alright?” Tommy asked. “Is it because of that fight over there, because I’m pretty sure that’s well out of the way of our normal route—”

“No!”

Wilbur’s voice came out harsher and more panicked than he had planned, and Tommy’s expression was stunned.

“Sorry,” Wilbur said. He ran his hand over his face. “Let’s just… take the long way, alright?”

Tommy nodded quietly. He must’ve seen something in Wilbur’s eyes, because he didn’t even make a smart comment about Wilbur shouting at him.

They continued walking, and Wilbur resolved to make sure Tommy made it safely to the movie theater before he went to work. He’d be a few minutes late, but it would be worth it if it meant that Wilbur knew Tommy was safe.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Tommy asked. “You’ve been acting really strangely.”

“I’m just… worried.” It was technically true. “Don’t worry about—”

A chain of explosions were getting nearer and nearer, and Wilbur squeezed Tommy’s hand. He stood, completely frozen, as he watched the villain run forward, more than happy to wreck whatever havoc possible.

“Wilbur—”

Wilbur sprinted away, dragging Tommy with him. Tommy wasn’t unreasonable, ad he was more than happy to be running away from an explosive happy villain, even if he didn’t know the full of what was going on.

But Wilbur didn’t run fast enough.

A ball of energy landed in front of Wilbur, and Wilbur couldn’t back away fast enough before the fiery blast went off. Wilbur was pushed backwards, and his hold on Tommy slipped. Searing pain filled his whole body, and he landed on the concrete painfully.

“Tommy?” Wilbur groaned. He pried his eyes open, trying to think from the pain. It was nearly too much for him to handle, but he had to find Tommy. He had to find his baby brother. “Toms?”

Wilbur turned his head, and he saw Tommy lying a few feet away from him.

Not moving.

A mixture of his own pain and despair came out in a strangled cry, and Wilbur tried to crawl closer to Tommy, uncaring of the agony it caused him.

“Toms, Tommy, I’m coming, please don’t die again…”

But Tommy didn’t listen, and Wilbur collapsed on his face before he could get close enough to hold him.

God, Wilbur had… Wilbur had a second chance, and he had completely wasted it. He needed another opportunity, another chance to fix things, to make them right—

“La la I’m Wilbur and I—”

“Tommy!”

Wilbur sat up, and before Tommy could bounce away, he pulled Tommy into a tight hug. Tommy made a startled sound, but he didn’t resist the embrace. Instead, he fell to his knees and leaned into it.

“What’s up?” Tommy asked. “Another nightmare?”

“Something like it,” Wilbur murmured. He ran his fingers through Tommy’s hair and tried to breathe. The searing agony from before was gone, but that didn’t mean that Wilbur couldn’t feel the phantom pain on his skin. “Hi.”

“Hi, Wil,” Tommy said patiently. “Let’s go eat something, yeah?”

Instead of leading Wilbur to the cat, Tommy took Wilbur to the couch in the living room and sat him down. Wilbur let Tommy drape a blanket over him and thrust a cup of warm coffee in his hands.

Last time, Wilbur hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for breakfast. Maybe that was why he wasn’t fast enough.

Wilbur’s hands shook but he forced himself to stay steady. He was holding a mug of coffee. He couldn’t let himself make a mess on his couch.

Wilbur took a sip of the hot drink instead. It was bitter, but the bitterness helped Wilbur to focus.

“Thanks,” he said. “You didn’t have to make me this.”

“it was no problem,” Tommy shrugged. He looked at the clock on his phone and jumped. “But I might be late to hanging out with Ranboo and Tubbo, gotta run—”

“Wait!” Wilbur blurted out.

Tommy stopped. “What?”

“Can you stay home today?”

Tommy frowned in confusion. “Why?”

“There’s uh.” Wilbur tried to think of a reason Tommy would accept. “There’s been some active villain fighting in the area. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I’ve walked down the street during villain fights before and gotten out of it just fine,” Tommy said. “And besides, what would you know. I’ve been with you all morning, and—”

“Tommy,” Wilbur pleaded. “Please.”

Tommy looked as though he wanted nothing more than to protest until the moon was high in the sky, but he slumped. “Fine, fine. I’ll text Ranboo and Tubbo and tell them that my brother is a worrier and wont’ let me leave the apartment.”

“You’re going to make me sound like the evil step mother or something.”

“You are an evil step mother.” Tommy’s voice was still irritable, but Wilbur knew a joke when he heard one.

“No going to the ball for you, Cinderella,” Wilbur said exhaustedly.

“That’s CinderTommy to you,” Tommy said as he texted his friends. His tongue stuck out of his mouth as he concentrated. “And I’ll have you know that I have a fairy godmother who is going to make me the coolest carriage in the world.”

“I believe it,” Wilbur said. “come on, sit with me.”

Tommy huffed and sat down next to Wilbur as Wilbur finished his coffee.

“I am not very happy with you,” Tommy informed Wilbur.

“I know.” Wilbur stared down into his empty mug. “Sorry.”

“it’s fine.” Tommy’s expression brightened. “Oh, I should take some pictures of the cat for Tubbo and Ranboo! Have you seen the cat?”

Wilbur feigned ignorance. “Cat?”

“Yeah, come on!”

This time, Wilbur was not dragged to the window, and Wilbur just followed Tommy to the very familiar window. The cat stared at Wilbur again, and Wilbur glared at it. Stupid cat.

“Don’t be mean, Wil!” Tommy’s voice was reproving. “It’s adorable.”

“He’s demon possessed,” Wilbur joked. “Why does he keep staring at me?”

“You’ve only just met him,” Tommy said dismissively. “The next time you see him, he’ll be staring at me, and you’ll be so jealous because you never realized that you couldn’t be the center of attention, and then you’ll come crying to me like: mememe I’m Wilbur and I love cats all of a sudden—”

“You will never catch me saying that,” Wilbur said. “Cats are evil.”

“Just you wait,” Tommy said. “One of these days, you’ll admit how amazing cats are.”

“Fred is always evil and I always will hate him, and nothing you can try to say will change my mind,” Wilbur said. “So, there.”

“Fred?” Tommy asked. A sly grin came over his face. “Oh my god, Wilbur. Did you name the cat? After everything you said about evilness, you named the cat Fred?”

Wilbur blushed, but he wasn’t going to explain the situation to Tommy and potentially make things worse. Besides, now that Tommy was staying at home, some of the tension inside him was beginning to relax. Maybe they’d make it out of this after all.

“Fred is a very evil name,” Wilbur protested.

“How?”

“It’s… boring.”

Tommy gasped affronted. “Fred is not a boring name!” he turned toward Fred and tapped the glass. “Don’t listen to him, Fred!”

“He can’t hear you or understand you.”

“You’re going to keep hurting his feelings.”

“I can’t, because—”

“Lalalala, I’m Wilbur and I am a terrible person!”

Wilbur rolled his eyes but stopped trying to argue. Sometimes, it was best to just surrender before you embarrass yourself completely.

“Fine, fine, whatever.” Wilbur turned away from Fred and headed to the kitchen. He needed something to eat.

“I’m going to go say hi to Fred,” Tommy said. He pulled open the window and climbed down onto the fire escape. Anxiety returned to Wilbur.

“Be careful,” Wilbur said. “I really don’t need you falling.”

Tommy rolled his eyes. “No need to worry so much, Wil,” Tommy said. “I’m going to be the best balancer on the planet, you will cower before my, Fred, wait!”

Fred had leapt up onto the railing of the fire escape, staring at Tommy suspiciously. Tommy reached toward Fred, but Fred leapt away, presumably on a lower level of the apartment building.

Tommy leaned over the side of the railing, and Wilbur’s heart picked up in speed.

“Tommy, get away from that edge!”

“I’m fine, Wil—”

It was as though someone had pushed Tommy over. One minute, Tommy was leaning over the railing, trying to see Fred. The next moment, he was gone.

Wilbur was tired of screaming for his baby brother, but he wasn’t going to stop now. He ran to the fire escape and looked down, praying that something had miraculously saved him.

But miracles weren’t real, or they didn’t want to smile upon Wilbur, because Tommy had not been saved.

Wilbur stumbled backwards and let out a keening wail. He had done everything in his power to keep Tommy safe, and Tommy still died?

No, no, Wilbur shouldn’t have let Tommy do something as dangerous as go onto the fire escape. It was foolish. He should’ve told Tommy not to.

If he had another chance, he’d say that. He’d say that, please give him another chance—

“La la la, I’m Wilbur, and I—”

“Don’t go on the fire escape!” Wilbur blurted out before his eyes had even opened.

“What?” Tommy leapt off the bed as Wilbur sat up. “Where’d that come from?”

Wilbur shuddered. “Nightmare.”

The excuse was wearing thin, but this entire situation was a nightmare, and it was an excuse that at least made sense.

“Oh.” Tommy’s face went sad, and he slumped. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine.” Wilbur pulled himself out of bed and ran a finger through his hair. “Just… don’t go onto the fire escape. And, please, don’t go out today.”

Tommy gaped. “But I wanted to go to the movies with Tubbo and Ranboo—”

“Too bad,” Wilbur snapped. His voice was harsh, but his panic was worse. He massaged his chest and tried to calm the frantic racing of his heart. “Sorry, that was mean. There’s been more villain activity recently. I don’t want us going out today.”

Tommy’s expression was confused, and Wilbur supposed it made sense. Wilbur had never forbidden them from leaving before.

“But don’t you have work?”

“I’ll call them and say that something’s come up,” Wilbur said. “They’ll understand.”

“No, they won’t,” Tommy said.

Wilbur sighed. “No, they won’t.”

Tommy was still frowning as he followed Wilbur into the kitchen. Wilbur wasn’t sure he’d have the stomach to eat anything, so he started restlessly organizing the fridge, making sure everything was in a perfect position.

“You shouldn’t skip your job because of a nightmare,” Tommy said. “We need the money.”

“It’s not because of a nightmare,” Wilbur said. He tried to keep his voice even with Tommy. Tommy didn’t know what was happening, and it was unfair of Wilbur to expect him to. “It’s not safe out there, trust me.”

“You don’t normally act like this.”

“This has not been a normal weekend.”

“But it just started?” Tommy still looked desperately confused, and Wilbur wanted nothing more than to tell the truth. But he didn’t want to burden Tommy with anything, especially not something Tommy couldn’t exactly fix. As a general rule, Tommy avoided death. “Did something happen on Friday?”

Nothing had happened the day before. Wilbur and Tommy had stayed up watching a cheesy horror movie, and then they had gone to bed. There had been nothing of note when it came to heroes and villains, and it would make sense that Tommy was so confused over Wilbur’s change in attitude.

“No, I just…” Wilbur took a deep breath and shut the fridge door. “Trust me on this. Please.”

“Alright.” Tommy glanced at the window. “You wanna meet the cat?”

“The cat whose name isn’t Fred?”

Wilbur said it in such a way that sounded like an inside joke, and Tommy gave Wilbur a confused glance. Wilbur felt a pang in his chest at realizing that he was having so many moments with Tommy that Tommy would never remember.

Then again, Tommy didn’t remember the horrible trauma of dying three times either. That was good. Wilbur wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

“Fred is a good name,” Tommy said.

“No, no, no, we are not naming the evil cat Fred,” Wilbur protested.

“You haven’t even met the cat yet!”

“All cats are evil.”

Wilbur let Tommy show off Fred to him, and Fred was still bloody staring at him. Wilbur gave Fred a glare that he actually meant this time.

“No getting Tommy killed,” he hissed at Fred.

“Fred couldn’t’ get me killed if he tried,” Tommy said.

Wilbur closed his eyes and very much did not think about Tommy toppling over the railing of the fire escape.

“Look, I know Fred is your new best friend, but don’t go visiting him out on the fire escape, alright?” Wilbur said. “I don’t need you falling.”

“I’m not stupid, Wilbur,” Tommy said. “I wouldn’t fall off the fire escape.”

“No, you won’t, because you won’t be going onto the fire escape,” Wilbur said cheerfully.

Tommy stared longingly at Fred. “Do you think the landlords will figure it out if we let him in?”

“No cats in my apartment,” Wilbur said. “Leave Fred be.”

Tommy sighed but nodded. “Let me text Ranboo and Tubbo about not being to make it.”

Tommy pulled out his phone and did exactly that, and Wilbur sat back down on the couch. He still wasn’t hungry for anything, and he dug the tv remote from between the couch cushions.

“You wanna watch something?” Wilbur asked.

Tommy shrugged and sat down next to Wilbur. “See if any cooking shows are on.”

“You like cooking?”

“I am a cooking con-nois-seur,” Tommy said. “I know everything there is to know about cooking.”

“Then, why are we watching cooking channels?”

“So I can mock how terrible everyone is at cooking, that’s why,” Tommy said. “It’ll be amazing. Trust me.”

Wilbur rolled his eyes, but he flipped to the food channel like Tommy asked. Tommy did indeed mercilessly correct people who Wilbur was pretty sure were professional chefs and could beat Tommy in a cooking competition easily.

It was still funny to hear Tommy talking about the correct way to roast a steak, though, as though he had been doing it for years.

“I’d not let any of these people work at my restaurant.”

“You don’t have a restaurant.”

“One day, Wilbur,” Tommy said. “I will have the most renown restaurant ever, and you won’t be invited to the opening ceremony, because you’re annoying.”

“I’m hurt,” Wilbur said dryly.

“You should be.”

Wilbur laughed. Things were actually working out this time. Tommy wasn’t chasing cats on fire escapes, they were far away from any villain and hero fights, and Tommy was safely situated on the couch.

Things were looking up.

Wilbur got to his feet. He thought he might actually be able to stomach some food now, and Tommy would be fine for a few minutes without Wilbur sitting next to him. Wilbur pulled the same bruised apple from before from the fridge and bit into it. it tasted slightly better than Wilbur remembered.

There was a thump behind Wilbur, and Wilbur spun around, his heart racing.

Tommy was collapsed on the floor, looking as pale as death.

Without hesitation, Wilbur sprinted to Tommy, jumping on top of him checking his pulse. There was nothing there, and Wilbur frantically tried to do cpr, trying his hardest to put life back into Tommy’s lungs. He called emergency services, praying they’d be able to do something.

They couldn’t.

Tommy was dead, and nobody had any idea why.

Wilbur wanted to sob.

Instead, he did what he was growing a habit to do whenever Tommy died, which was something never would have thought he’d think before.

One more chance. Please, one more chance.

“La la la, I’m Wilbur, and I love to sleep!”

Wilbur didn’t get up immediately this time. instead, he lay perfectly still, his eyes still closed. The air didn’t want to enter his lungs, but he forced it through anyway.

Tommy was alive, for now. For some reason, Tommy didn’t seem to stay that way. Wilbur didn’t understand what he was doing wrong. He was keeping Tommy safe. Why did Tommy have to collapse all of a sudden?

“Wilbur,” Tommy was moaning. He had stopped bouncing on the bed and instead began shaking Wilbur violently. “Wake up, wake up, wake up,”

Wilbur reluctantly opened his eyes. It wouldn’t do any good to let Tommy think that Wilbur was the one who was dead, even if Wilbur would really like to just sleep more and pretend that none of his problems existed.

“Hey,” Wilbur groaned.

“He lives!” Tommy cheered. “Come on, I have something to show you.”

“Is it a cat that lives on the fire escape?” Wilbur asked.

“Yeah! How’d you know?”

“I saw it last night,” Wilbur said, rolling over. He really didn’t want to get out of bed. “Named him Fred.”

“Aw, I wanted to name him.” Tommy hummed. “Good name, though. Very kind of you.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure.” Wilbur sighed and sat up. “Man, I’m exhausted.”

“You look it,” Tommy agreed. “Sorry that you have to go to work today.”

“Actually… I’m feeling somewhat under the weather. I might take the day off,” Wilbur said. “Are you going anywhere today?”

“Yeah, actually,” Tommy said. He was looking at Wilbur with concern, probably trying to discern any symptoms of illness. “I’m gonna go to the movies with Tubbo and Ranboo, is that okay?”

Wilbur nodded. “Yeah, go ahead.”

Tommy leapt to his feet excitedly. “Really?”

“Sure,” Wilbur said. “Just stay safe out there. Steer clear of any fights.”

“I always do!” Tommy cheered. Some of the cheer drained from his face as Wilbur collapsed backwards into bed again. “Are you sure you don’t need company? I don’t want you to be lonely.”

Wilbur smiled. “That’s very sweet of you, Toms, but I think I’ll manage.”

“Alright, if you’re sure,” Tommy said. He skipped outside of Wilbur’s bedroom, looking like a cartoon character who was told that he could go buy all the sweets he wanted at the town fair.

Wilbur was beginning to believe he was living in a cartoon. Only a cartoon would put Wilbur in such a hellish situation.

A cartoon for adults, though. Wilbur couldn’t imagine the overlords of children shows would approve of the child dying over and over again thing.

Wilbur heard the door to the apartment open and shut, and he assumed that meant Tommy left. Wilbur rolled over and buried his face into his pillow.

Maybe Wilbur had been the problem, like a bad luck charm. Maybe Tommy will make it just fine as long as Wilbur wasn’t with him.

Tears burned at the corner of his eyes, but Wilbur was too exhausted to cry properly. Instead, he let a few tears slip down his cheeks before he got out of bed. There was no point in lying around. He’d just get extra worried about Tommy. He might as well try and be productive.

Wilbur didn’t pay the window that Fred was sitting next to any mind as he hurried around the apartment, cleaning every spot he laid eyes on. He even tidied up his own bedroom, which had truly been a sight to behold. Anything to keep him distracted. He texted Tommy, asking him if he had arrived safely, but he hadn’t gotten a response yet.

Nausea churned in Wilbur’s stomach. Had something happened? As much as he would love to believe that couldn’t be the case, the events of the same day repeating over and over again had been constantly working to prove Wilbur wrong.

Wilbur’s suspicions were concerned when a police officer came to his door.

One more chance, please.

Over and over again, Wilbur tried to get Tommy to safety. Over and over again, Tommy died one way or another.

Wilbur tried to find a way to the movie theater without getting caught in the middle of the fight. Wilbur even suggested that they go somewhere completely different in the opposite direction. They took various forms of public transportation, they even entered random buildings to hide, something that confused Tommy very much, but it never worked.

It was as though Tommy were destined to die.

In one loop, Wilbur had finally gotten Tommy to the movies. Tubbo and Ranboo were pleased to see that he had made it.

“You’re finally here!” Tubbo said. “You’re almost late.”

Tommy shrugged shooting Wilbur a glare. “My brother was having us take loops to dodge those villains.”

Tommy pointed behind him, and Ranboo and Tubbo grimaced at the sound of explosions.

“This isn’t a safe place,” Ranboo agreed. “Glad you got here safely.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Tommy sighed. “I’m so tired of safety.” He waved at Wilbur as they headed into the building. “You can go now! I’m safe!”

Wilbur waited until Tommy was inside the building before he turned around and went to his job.

His heart was lighter. Hopefully, that was what it took. Hopefully, Tommy wouldn’t drop dead, and nothing else would happen, and everything would be okay. Tommy was going to be fine.

A few hours later, Wilbur was interrupted from his job as a cashier at a burger place when his phone started ringing. He asked his coworker to cover for him when he saw it was Ranboo who was calling.

“Ranboo?” Wilbur asked, holding his breath. Please let this call be about how amazing their day was and how they safely got Tommy back home and thought Wilbur should know in case he was still worrying. “What’s up?”

Wilbur’s hopes shattered when he heard a sob on the other side of the line. “Tommy, he…” More sobbing.

There was a shuffling sound, and Wilbur himself was sliding to the floor, not caring that it was dirty and gross.

“It’s Tubbo,” Tubbo said. “WE were on our way home, and there was this car…”

Tommy got hit. Tommy got hit by a car that wasn’t checking the light. He was dead. Again.

“You’d better get over here,” Tubbo said. He sounded shaken, but he was clearly saving his emotional breakdown for another time. Wilbur could relate to that. He was beginning to feel the same way as numbness seeped into him.

“Wilbur?” his coworker, Technoblade, was giving Wilbur a confused glance. “Are you alright?”

“It’s my brother,” Wilbur said. “I need to… I need to go.”

Technoblade’s confused expression morphed into one of concern, but he nodded. “Yeah, go ahead,” he said. “I’ll explain to the manager that something came up.”

“Right.”

Wilbur hurried out of the restaurant, struggling to breathe. He knew that by the time he got there, there would be nothing for Wilbur to do but cry.

One more chance.

It was probably the thirtieth attempt when Wilbur gave Tommy the most detailed instructions possible on what route to take. He warned Tommy very vehemently about rogue cars and what to do if he saw a villain fight.

Wilbur had returned to the theory that he was a bad luck charm, and Wilbur was going to stay at home to prevent anything terrible from happening.

“If you ever feel in danger, what do you do?”

“I’ll go home,” Tommy sighed. “Or find somewhere safe to hide. This isn’t my first time going into the outside world before. You’re acting like I’m going to school alone for the first time or something.”

“I just have to be sure,” Wilbur said. “I have a bad feeling.”

“Alright.” Tommy still looked extremely confused and unhappy, but Wilbur knew he would find it within himself to forgive him if Tommy could just manage to make it through the goddamn day.

Wilbur pulled Tommy into a hug and buried his face into Tommy’s hair. “Stay safe out there. Love you.”

“Love you too, Wilbur,” Tommy said. “I’ll be alright.”

“I know you will,” Wilbur lied.

When Tommy left, Wilbur went to the window that Fred was still staring at him through. Sighing, Wilbur pulled open the window and climbed onto the fire escape. He sat down and stared out at the city, wondering if he’d ever manage to pull both him and Tommy through the loop alive.

Fred mewed at him.

“Shut up,” Wilbur grumbled. “You’re just a stupid cat.”

Fred didn’t look at all deterred by Wilbur’s words. As a matter of fact, he seemed encouraged by them, and he walked up to Wilbur, pressing his head against Wilbur’s thigh.

Wilbur glared at Fred. He hated the stupid animal. It was as though his presence was a bad omen.

Fred continued to brush his head against Wilbur’s leg, and Wilbur sighed. He scratched the back of Fred’s ears, and Fred purred.

It was a nice sound, admittedly.

“Maybe I’m being unfair to you,” Wilbur sighed. He stroked Fred’s back, and Fred climbed into Wilbur’s lap. “You’re just a cat. It’s not like you can control any of what’s happening.”

Fred continued to purr as Wilbur petted him.

“I just want to keep Tommy safe,” he whispered. “Please. I just want him to be safe.”

The cat stared up at Wilbur as though it understood all of the words Wilbur was saying, even though it was a ridiculous thought. Wilbur gave him a bitter smile, and Fred mewed again.

“You remind me of Tommy, weirdly enough,” Wilbur said. “You’re both so tenacious.”

Another meow. Wilbur imagined it to be a smart comment.

“Don’t use that tone on me.” Wilbur sighed. “And now I’m talking to cats.”

Fred continued to purr.

“Well, I guess you aren’t too bad.” Wilbur started. “Tommy can never see us together like this.”

Fred cocked his head at Wilbur, looking almost confused. Wilbur re-entered the apartment. He had a reputation to keep, after all.

A few minutes later, he got a call from Tubbo.

By the thirty-fifth loop, Wilbur was getting desperate. He pulled open his laptop and began looking up ways to fix this issue.

Not that it had been something to often come up in the real world.

Stuck in time loop how to save loved one always dying, Wilbur searched.

Not at all surprisingly, most of the results were about movies. Apparently, Wilbur was living a trope that one website called Time Loop Fatigue. Wilbur was most certainly fatigued, that was for sure.

Wilbur dimly remembered reading some fanfictions with this plot point, now that he was thinking about it. In most of the happy ones, the way to fix it was just to tell someone they were in a time loop.

Wilbur wasn’t sure how that was going to help in his case, but he supposed it was worth a shot. He didn’t want to burden Tommy with the truth, but if it worked, it worked. If it didn’t, Wilbur wouldn’t try it again.

“Tommy,” Wilbur said as Tommy got ready to go out. “I’m in a time loop.”

Tommy laughed. “Ha ha very funny—”

“Tommy.” Wilbur said. “I’m in a time loop.”

Tommy frowned, and they stared at each other for a long moment. “You’re… you’re joking, right?” Tommy asked. “Time travel isn’t real.”

“People thought superpowers weren’t real before too,” Wilbur pointed out. “Now look at us. Half the population is running around with fancy powers.”

“Super powers, sure,” Tommy said. “But time travel? You’re pulling my leg, right?”

Tommy tried to grin. Wilbur wondered what he was expecting? Did he think Wilbur was going to laugh about how he had nearly gotten Tommy to believe him? Did he expect Wilbur to sigh and say that it was worth a shot?

Whatever it was, Wilbur wasn’t about to do it.

“I’m not lying,” Wilbur said. “You’re going to movies with Ranboo and Tubbo. You plan on laughing at the new horror movie about killer unicorns. There’s a cat that you woke me up to show me, he’s gray. Sorry for not showing interest by the way, I’ve been pre-occupied.”

Tommy frowned. “Well, you’re right about all that, but that doesn’t necessarily prove we’re in a time loop.”

“Please,” Wilbur said desperately. “Trust me on this.”

Tommy frowned, but he nodded. “Alright, Wil. I trust you.” Tommy sat down next to Wilbur on the couch. “Why are you in a time loop? What sort of time loop is it?”

“It’s…” Wilbur bit the inside of his cheek. “You, Tommy. You keep dying.”

Tommy’s eyes widened. “What?” he whispered.

Maybe this had been a terrible idea, but Wilbur couldn’t stop now. “I’ve been trying to save you so many times now,” Wilbur admitted. “But no matter how many times I try, you keep dying, and I… I don’t know what to do.”

“We should hide,” Tommy said. Fear was evident in his eyes. “We should just hide all day. That would help, right?”

Wilbur didn’t say that he had already tried that. He didn’t want to scare Tommy more than he probably already had.

“Wilbur?” Tommy asked. “That will help? I don’t want to die.”

“It’ll help,” Wilbur said. Maybe telling Tommy was all that it took to prevent tragedy. Maybe it would be alright.

They sat in Wilbur’s bedroom, the door locked and the window blinds closed. They sat on Wilbur’s bed and curled up next to each other, watching YouTube videos on Wilbur’s phone.

“I’m going to be okay, Wilbur,” Tommy muttered. “It’s going to be okay.”

Wilbur’s arm was around Tommy’s shoulders, and he pulled Tommy closer to him. “You’re going to be okay,” he repeated.

They both needed comfort.

Wilbur was suddenly reminded of a time ten years ago, when Tommy was six and still afraid of things like thunderstorms. One night, Tommy had ran into Wilbur’s room while Wilbur was staying up and reading beneath the covers.

“Wilbur!” Tommy had cried. “Can I read with you?”

Wilbur had scowled. “Why don’t you read in your own bed?”

The thunder cracked from outside, and Tommy yelped, hiding underneath Wilbur’s bed. “The monsters are coming for me.”

Wilbur frowned. “The monsters are not coming for you, Tommy,” Wilbur said.

“Yeah, they are!”

Wilbur really just wanted to ignore his little brother and get back to his reading, but Tommy crawled out from under the bed with a scowl.

“I’ll tell if you don’t let me read with you,” he said.

Wilbur sputtered. “You wouldn’t.”

Tommy took a deep breath and opened his mouth to shout for their parents.

“Alright, alright!” Wilbur said hastily. “Get in here.”

Tommy crawled into Wilbur’s bed and curled up against him, looking at the pages of Wilbur’s book.

“What are you reading?”

“Big kid stuff,” Wilbur grumbled.

“Can you read it to me?”

“I don’t want to.”

Tommy readied himself to shout, and Wilbur sighed in defeat. “Fine. Fine. Whatever.”

Tommy beamed, and Wilbur began reading the pages of his book out loud to Tommy. Tommy didn’t ask any questions, but occasionally he flinched into Wilbur’s shirt at the sound of thunder.

“The thunder isn’t going to get to us, is it?” Tommy asked.

Wilbur shook his head, giving Tommy a smile. “Of course, not,” he said. “We’re perfectly safe.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Tommy fell asleep eventually, and Wilbur fell asleep on top of Tommy, and their parents took a picture the following morning.

Things had been simpler back then.

“Wilbur…” Tommy said slowly. “Do you control the time loops?”

Wilbur frowned. “I don’t know,” he said. “I suppose I do. I keep wishing for a second chance.”

Tommy buried himself deeper into Wilbur’s side, and he closed his eyes, looking sick. “Do you think… do you think I’m just destined to die?”

Wilbur shook his head firmly, dropping his phone to hug Tommy. “Of course not,” he said. “You’re not destined to die, Toms. I won’t let that happen.”

“I just…” Tommy buried his face into Wilbur’s chest. “I don’t want you to spend the rest of your life trying to save me. You should be able to live your life too, you know.”

“But what’s my life without you?” Wilbur whispered.

“Still yours.”

And Wilbur broke down.

They both sobbed into each other’s arms, clutching each other as though the world were about to end. With the way things were shaping up, it might have been.

“I love you, Wilbur,” Tommy said between sobs. “Never forget that.”

“I love you more,” Wilbur whispered. “You have to promise to never forget that.”

Tommy died in the next hour. Mysterious causes again. Wilbur wailed.

“La la la, I’m Wilbur, and I love to sleep!”

Wilbur ignored Tommy. There was no hope. Nothing Wilbur could do was going to change anything. Tommy would just keep dying, and Wilbur would keep waking up to him singing.

And was that so bad? Couldn’t Wilbur just try to make the most of these constant loops. He could spend an infinite amount of time with Tommy. They could be immortal.

In his heart of hearts, Wilbur knew that would never work out. Tommy would never remember what they did. Wilbur would always have to witness his little brother’s death.

There was no fixing this. No putting Wilbur’s broken pieces together. No saving Tommy.

Wilbur was tired of it.

“Wilbur, wake up!” Tommy shook Wilbur. “Please?”

Wilbur only made a groaning sound to indicate he was alive. He tried his hardest to fall back asleep. Doing anything sounded like too much work.

“Come on, Wil.” Tommy’s voice was becoming sad. “I want to spend time with you.”

“I want to sleep,” Wilbur murmured. “I love you, Toms. I love the cat. But I’m tired.”

He was so tired.

“The cat? You know about the cat?”

Wilbur rolled face first into his pillow so that Tommy wouldn’t see his tears. “I’ll be out in a minute,” he lied. His voice was muffled by the pillow, but at least it hid how choked it was. “Leave me alone.”

“Fine.” Tommy sounded hurt, but his weight left the bed. The door open and shut, and Wilbur was alone.

What was even the point anymore? Maybe Tommy was right. Maybe Wilbur should just give up on looping and try to move forward—

No. Wilbur balled his hands into fists. He didn’t have a second chance to save his parents, but he had infinite chances to save Tommy. He wasn’t going to waste it. He wasn’t going to let his brother die just to make himself more comfortable. Tommy still had so much life ahead of him.

Wilbur forced himself out of bed. He was just going to act like this was an ordinary day. Maybe things would go differently this time. Maybe he’d be able to save Tommy.

He entered the living area, and Tommy looked up at him. He still looked hurt from before, but Wilbur recognized worry too.

“You good?” Tommy asked.

“I’m fine,” Wilbur lied. “What were you going to show me?”

“Well, the cat that you already know about and apparently love.” Tommy grinned, looking like he was scheming something. “I didn’t know you liked any cats.”

“Fred is an exception,” Wilbur said. “And yes, the cat’s name is Fred. Don’t go making a big deal out of it on me now.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Tommy said. He was clearly lying; he probably dreamed of it every single time he went to sleep. “Fred the cat who you love. Oh how times change.”

“Indeed.” Wilbur went to the fridge. He didn’t want another apple, but he had probably sampled most appropriate breakfast foods from there.

Wilbur pulled out some ice cream from the freezer. Tommy raised his eyebrows.

“Ice cream?”

“It’s a special occasion,” Wilbur said.

“And what’s the special occasion?”

“You have discovered my love for Fred the cat.”

Tommy nodded. “That is pretty special, I’ll admit it.” His eyes were hopeful. “Does that mean we can adopt him?”

“You do remember that I am not in charge of the no pet policy, right?”

“Oh.” Tommy’s entire body sagged. “I forgot.

“Clearly.”

Wilbur ate the ice cream straight from the cartoon not wanting to bother with dishes. He’d probably loop anyway, and then it would be uncontaminated again. Besides, Tommy didn’t seem to care. As a matter of fact, he looked as though he were storing the information away so that he could do it himself.

Tommy was a menace.

“Anywhere you have to be?” Wilbur asked.

Tommy explained for the billionth time that he wanted to go to the movies with Ranboo and Tubbo. Wilbur said that they’d walk together.

Wilbur was just going to play this out like the first loop. Maybe all it took was to grab Tommy’s hand in time.

“Let’s go,” Wilbur sighed.

Dread filled Wilbur as they walked down the street, and he flinched at the sound of the explosions. Tommy was clearly worried for him, but he didn’t say anything.

Wilbur was glad. He was tired of making up lies about why he was always behaving differently.

Of course, fate was a cruel mistress, and Wilbur found himself staring at Tommy being held hostage once again.

The hero landed next to Wilbur, and Wilbur grabbed their hand before they could do anything.

“Don’t you dare step forward,” Wilbur hissed. “My brother has died more times than you can count to your carelessness, and I refuse—”

“Get your hands off me!”

Wilbur felt the blood drain from his face as he saw Tommy try to fight off the villain.

“Tommy, wait—”

An explosion. Wilbur shut his eyes tightly. He didn’t scream this time.

Wilbur got ready to start another loop, but the hero grabbed Wilbur by both shoulders.

“Don’t loop!” he commanded.

Wilbur opened his eyes and stared.

“Pardon?” Wilbur asked.

Wilbur could only see the hero’s mouth. The rest of his face was covered by a smiley face mask. His mouth was pursed in a thin line.

“You have my power,” the hero said. “Or something similar to it, at least.”

Wilbur frowned. “I don’t have powers.”

“You just said you were time looping.”

“I actually said that my brother died a ton to your carelessness—”

“It was implied.”

Wilbur felt dizzy. He hadn’t expected this at all. “So, you know about the loops?”

The hero looked up at the staring crowd. “Let’s find somewhere more private to talk.”

A few hours later, Wilbur found himself in a fancy office in a fancy building. The hero, whose name was Dream, gave Wilbur a cup of coffee, and Wilbur reluctantly took a sip of it.

It wasn’t bitter enough for Wilbur’s tastes. He put it on the desk and glared at Dream.

“Alright,” Wilbur said. “We’re here. We’re in private. Let’s talk.”

“Fine.” Dream leaned backwards, his arms crossed. He wasn’t wearing the mask anymore. “So, you seem to believe you have no powers.”

“Correct.”

“Well, you’ve either developed a power very similar to mine, or…”

“Or what?” Wilbur snapped. “I’m sorry, I have no time to waste here.”

“Okay, okay, fine. I think you might’ve copied my power,” Dream said.

“Copied…” Wilbur frowned. “Didn’t you heard the part where I said I didn’t have any powers?”

“Well, a copying power is subtler, especially if you don’t know you have it. Usually it’s activated by touch. Did you touch me at all before you looped for the first time?”

Wilbur frowned. It was so long ago that he could barely remember, but…

“Yeah,” Wilbur said. His eyes widened. “You bumped into me. I didn’t think anything of it.”

“And then when your brother died, you instinctively started a loop,” Dream said. “That means you probably have my power.”

“Alright?” Wilbur wasn’t sure why this was relevant. “Is there some secret that I’m missing.”

“Yeah, there is.” Dream ran his fingers through his hair, looking distraught. “Look, you can’t use loops to save lives.”

Wilbur scowled. “Why the hell not?”

“It never works,” Dream said. “In order to save a life, another life has to be lost, so unless you kill someone, it won’t work.”

That made… that made a lot of sense actually. It explained why Tommy died even when he was safely at home. It explained why no matter what Wilbur did, somehow Tommy managed to die.

But Wilbur couldn’t rightly kill someone. He couldn’t kill the villain, who Wilbur still didn’t know the name of, because the villain seemed to die anyway. And Wilbur couldn’t kill someone who was innocent.

“What about me?” Wilbur asked. “What about self-sacrifice?”

Dream’s eyes widened. “What?”

Wilbur stood to his feet. “My brother is the most important thing to me,” Wilbur said. “If that means I have to sacrifice myself so that he can live a full and happy life, then I’ll do it.”

“Do you think that’s what your brother would want?” Dream demanded. “You really think his life is going to be full and happy without you?”

“You don’t know anything about my brother,” Wilbur snarled. “I don’t want to live in a world without Tommy, and Tommy should have a chance to spend more time with his friends. I could never live with myself if I knew that there was a way to stop him from dying, and I refused to take it because I was too afraid of dying myself.”

Before Dream could say another word, Wilbur restarted the loop.

Here was the issue. Wilbur was afraid.

He was too afraid to commit suicide. Too afraid to do the deed to himself.

“Tommy,” Wilbur said that morning. “I want you to stay home, okay?”

They had the age-old argument over movies and friends, but Tommy finally acquiesced. “Fine. Whatever.”

Wilbur frowned. He didn’t want to spend his last moments with Tommy like this. He didn’t’ want Tommy to be angry at him.

“Come on,” Wilbur said. He went to the fire escape. “Let’s sit.”

Tommy gave Wilbur a strange look, but he followed Wilbur and sat down next to him on the fire escape. Fred sat down between the two of them, and they both stroked his fur.

“Didn’t take you for a cat person,” Tommy said.

“Things change. His name is Fred by the way,” Wilbur said lightly. He nudged Tommy’s shoulder. “You certainly have.”

Tommy made a squawking sound. “What’s that meant to mean?” he demanded.

“Oh, nothing,” Wilbur said vaguely. “I’m just proud of you.”

Tommy looked up at Wilbur with wide eyes. “Really?”

“Really.” Wilbur smiled. “You… you’ve grown up so much.”

Tommy’s face flushed and he looked away. “Where’d this come from?”

“I just wanted you to know how much I cared about you,” Wilbur said. He pulled Tommy into a hug and kissed the top of his forehead. “Remember that, alright?”

“Wilbur, nothing bad’s about to happen, right?” Tommy asked softly. “You make it sound like you’re going to go to a war or something.”

Wilbur shook his head. “No, nothing like that. It’ll be fine, okay?”

Tommy nodded into Wilbur’s chest, and Wilbur pulled away. “I’d better get to work,” Wilbur said reluctantly. “See you later, Tommy.”

It was a lie.

“See you.”

“And get back inside.”

Tommy huffed, but he went back inside and shut the window behind him.

“have fun at work,” Tommy said.

Wilbur barked out a laugh.

As Wilbur walked to his job, his heart hammered. He took the same route he had taken with Tommy, and he watched as the fight got closer and closer to him.

Wilbur didn’t want to die.

But he wanted Tommy to live.

The villain took Wilbur hostage. Dream tried to call his bluff.

There was a bright light, searing pain, and Wilbur was on the concrete, gasping for breath.

The world was closing in on him.

But Tommy was alive. Wilbur knew it.

He closed his eyes and smiled.

“Hey, Wilbur.”

Tommy sat in front of Wilbur’s grave. Fred sat next to Tommy as Tommy placed down new flowers in front of the stone.

It had been two years since Wilbur died, but it still hurt. Tommy still thought about what he could’ve done differently. He could’ve insisted that Wilbur stay home. He could’ve been there with him.

Sometimes, Tommy wondered if Wilbur knew what was going to happen. If Wilbur somehow had a hunch that he was going to die. He had certainly talked like he was about to die He had no proper reason to insist Tommy not hang out with Tubbo and Ranboo.

Wondering didn’t change anything. Wilbur was still dead.

Tubbo’s parents had been kind enough to adopt Tommy for the rest of his teenage years, and they were also happy to adopt Fred the cat too. Tommy didn’t know why, but the idea of leaving Fred behind was devasting. He hadn’t known the cat for long, and yet he had a strong connection to him.

Fred nuzzled his head against the gravestone, and Tommy smiled.

“You paying your respects too, bud?” he asked.

Fred meowed.

“Anyway.” Tommy took a deep breath. “I’m hoping you’re doing alright, in… well, wherever you are. Tubbo thinks you’re watching over me, but I’m not entirely sure what the point of visiting this grave is if you are so, whatever.

“I turned eighteen last week. We had a big party. You would’ve been impressed.”

Wilbur didn’t’ say anything in response. Of course, he didn’t. he was dead, and Tommy was talking to a stone.

“Fred says hi,” Tommy said lamely. “Love you.”

Fred looked up at Tommy expectantly, and Tommy picked him up. His furry body was comforting, and Tommy hugged him tightly as he walked back to Tubbo’s car. Tubbo was waiting for him outside the door.

“That was quick,” Tubbo remarked.

Tommy sighed as he climbed into the passenger’s seat. “I couldn’t figure out what to say.”

“I’m sure he would’ve appreciated it even if you told him he was a terrible chess player.”

“Dude, he beat me every time I played chess. It was embarrassing.”

Tubbo made an innocent face. “Then, how come I kept beating him?”

“Two options.” Tommy made a two with his fingers. “Either you are a chess genius, or Wilbur was going easy on you.”

“Makes sense.” Tubbo started driving home. “I go easy on you all the time.”

Tommy sputtered. “Hey!”

“Just telling the truth, man.”

“The truth hurts,” Tommy moaned sadly.

“That it does. That it does.”

They laughed, and Tommy’s chest felt lighter. He thought Wilbur would be happy to know that he was still able to laugh. Wilbur always did put Tommy’s happiness first.

Sometimes, Tommy wished Wilbur had taken more opportunities to be selfish. He had done so much for Tommy, and Tommy had hardly done anything for him.

“I can hear you overthinking from here,” Tubbo said. “What’s on your mind?”

“I just…” Tommy sighed. “Do you think I was a burden? To Wilbur, I mean?”

Tubbo’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re kidding, right? Your mere presence was enough to make Wilbur’s day.”

“You think?”

“I know it, dude. Maybe you never noticed, but whenever you entered a room his eyes would light up.” Tubbo mimed light near his eyes. “Like Christmas lights.”

Tommy chuckled.

“Seriously, though,” Tubbo said. “He loved you, man. He loved you a lot.”

“You’re right.” Tommy closed his eyes. “I was being stupid.”

“Don’t put yourself down,” Tubbo scolded. “But yes, I do tend to be right about a lot of things.”

Tommy smiled and didn’t respond.

“I just wanted you to know how much I cared about you. Remember that, alright?”

Tommy remembered.

And he would never forget.