𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐘 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄. ranboo (complete)

𝐋𝐈𝐕. TOMMY

❝ PRETTY FACE ❞
October 18th, 2021

REAL LIFE — TOMMY!

TOMMY KNEW HIS OWN FEELINGS. Maybe not better than anyone, but he knew himself better than he knew other people, and that had to count for something. He didn't know Theo better than anyone, and he definitely didn't understand Theo's feelings better than Theo did. Maybe it had taken Tommy a bit too long to accept that, but here he was, finally: able to admit that he and Theo weren't good for each other.

In a romantic sense, anyway. As best friends, Tommy and Theo were amazing; they understood each other, looked out for each other, and were encouraging to each other when they could be. As best friends, they could rule the world, but as boyfriends things would be weird. Besides, Tommy was fairly certain he couldn't do long distance, and there was no way Theo was moving to the UK without Techno.

Tommy wasn't sure when his feelings for Theo subsided enough for him to realize that he and Theo were better off as friends. Maybe it was the morning after the lie detector vlog, when Tommy had woken up and his first thought hadn't been about Theo. Or maybe it was a week later, when Tommy went to visit Tubbo, Ranboo, and Theo and was able to watch a movie contently while Theo and Ranboo cuddled, not feeling the heavy weight of heartbreak on top of his heart for the first time in a while.

Maybe it was when Wilbur asked him how he was doing, and for the first time since starting his sexuality-crisis-journey, Tommy responded, "I'm great."

Because he was great. He is great.

He doesn't have a label for himself yet. He's not sure he ever would, but Freddie and Eryn tell him he doesn't need one to be himself. They tell him they're proud of him and hug him until he's crying, and Tommy wonders how he earned the right to have such amazing friends.

Tommy likes boys. He also likes girls. Maybe he likes every other gender, or maybe he only likes those two, or maybe Theo was just the exception. It doesn't matter—label or not, Tommy reckons he's pretty great either way.

That's what Wilbur tells him, anyway, and Tommy would always listen to his older brother.

"Are you playing Minecraft while talking to me?" Wilbur asks, pouting as he receives too little of Tommy's attention.

Tommy rolls his eyes. "I need to get my levels up! I have a fishing rod to enchant."

"You're so lame," Wilbur says fondly. Tommy smiles.

Tommy and Wilbur know how to sit in comfortable silence. Wilbur can work on new songs for Lovejoy and Tommy can play Minecraft without swearing. Tommy's pretty good at Minecraft, really—on stream, it's more fun to mess up, to have something to laugh about, but when he really focuses he's a good player.

"Didn't you have something to tell me?" Wilbur suddenly asks, catching Tommy's attention. "You said it was important."

"Hm?" Tommy thinks for a moment, switching to Discord to check his messages with Wilbur. Right, he asked Wilbur to call him to tell him something, but then Wilbur started talking about Tommy coming to a Lovejoy practice and Tommy had gotten distracted.

"Everything alright?"

"Oh, yeah, I just wanted to tell you that I'm unlabelled," Tommy said, shrugging. "I found out that I can be that. Or queer, whatever. Either term works. I just wanted you to be the first person I officially come out to or whatever."

Wilbur smiled brightly at him through the screen, making Tommy beam back instinctively. "I'm proud of you, Tommy," Wilbur said genuinely. "I'm glad you figured yourself out."

Tommy felt his ears burn. Wilbur knew how much Tommy craved validation, and he always told Tommy how proud of him he was, but this time it felt different. Better, even. Tommy had technically come out to people before now, and they'd all said they were proud of him, but when the words were said by his older brother, they were different. There was no condition. Wilbur was his brother, and Tommy was his.

"I also don't like Theo anymore," Tommy said. "Well, romantically. Obviously. I realized that it wouldn't work out and I'm glad I didn't ruin our friendship over it."

Wilbur stared at him with such a fond look that Tommy felt like he was going to cry.

"I'm proud to be your brother, Tommy," Wilbur said, softly, like he was afraid of saying the words. "I love you."

Tommy quickly blinked as the words washed over him, making him feel warm, and smiled at Wilbur brightly. "I love you, too. And I'm glad I'm your brother."

When he was a kid and he saw the way Eryn interacted with his older brother—always arguing, the older child always insulting Eryn—Tommy told himself that he was glad he was an only child. When Freddie talked about how his sister got married and moved out without a goodbye, Tommy assured himself that he would never be that type of sibling if his parents had another kid. When Wilbur talked about his brother and the worry he felt over the relationship that the other was in, Tommy made a promise.

A promise that his older brother wouldn't have to worry about him, too.

For a while, Tommy had been teetering the edge of breaking that promise and keeping it. He was glad, now, that he had kept it.

And he was glad to be a younger brother, no matter what his past self said.