-Rehabilitating a Child Soldier-

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"Come on boys! We're going to be late!"

"We hear you, Bad!"

Tommy blinked, staring into space as Sapnap yelled down to his father. He was wearing a crimson sweater, similar to the one Bad was wearing a few weeks prior, in order to look nice. In fact, today was the first day in literal weeks that Tommy had taken the time to brush out his messy, blonde hair, attempting to tame the knots that had begun to form.

Of course, he did all of this with a purpose. 

See, Puffy was having a Christmas party over at her house that Bad had helped plan. And if that wasn't reason enough, it was also Tubbo's birthday! On the eve of Christmas Eve! The only reason he cared enough to put effort into his appearance was the fact that it was his best friend's birthday.

He still hadn't figured out what to get him... but seeing as the sun had already set, it seemed like he had already passed the deadline for that.

"Come on Tommy! We're waiting on you." Skeppy called, with a hint of impatience in his voice. Even without seeing it, Tommy knew that Bad had whacked Skeppy with his oversized tail in a scolding manner. 

But even then, Skeppy being impatient was expected, and it actually didn't get to Tommy like some other peoples' impatience did. Tommy even let a smile slip to himself thinking about it. A sad smile, but it was a smile nonetheless.

Sorry Tubs... He thought to himself. Guess I'm going to need to make this up to you some other time...

With that in mind, Tommy quickly snagged a small, woven bag that he had packed for the night before bolting out of his room, flinging the bag over his head so that it hung securely over his chest before he joined the others.

As soon as he entered the main room, Bad looked down at the three much smaller beings before him, almost as if to mentally take a headcount before scooping all three of them up.

"Annnd, you go there!" He directed as he placed Skeppy on his shoulder, "And, you two can sit here." He finished, placing both Tommy and Sapnap inside one of the lolls of the scarf he was wearing. It was incredibly cozy, but still something that Tommy needed to adjust to if it was going to happen frequently.

At least when the demon exited to building, the icy chill was countered by the warmth radiated by both Bad and Sapnap. Tommy couldn't help glancing over to Skeppy, who he knew was sitting out in the cold.

To his surprise, the diamonds that usually covered a very small surface area of his body were almost rapidly crawling up his neck and over his jaw to make their way onto his face. It momentarily stunned and mesmerized Tommy as he watched Skeppy become more shiny and reflective.

And just as it had happened, it abruptly halted, leaving only a small section of Skeppy's face the same dark skin when compared to the almost blue crystals. His lips had parted ever so slightly to allow the tip of his tongue out of his mouth before it had been crystalized, and he had shut his right eye before allowing it to be frozen as well... The only piece of him that wasn't made of diamond was his left eye and a patch of skin around said eye...

Other than that, he seemed to shimmer like the snow glowing in the firelight of the dark evening. He seemed completely relaxed, as if this was normal to him... and maybe it was. he even allowed his left eye to shut, giving his entire trust to Bad and his ability to maneuver with him resting there. The moonlight created extra shine when reflecting off of his face... 

Tommy quickly shook his head, snapping his gaze away from Skeppy as he felt Sapnap's eyes burning into the back of his head. It was an incredibly uncomfortable feeling, and it made him shuffle slightly off to the side and away from the teen. Tommy quickly took a mental note about how intimidating Sapnap was when he was in close proximity, and then spent the rest of the short walk looking anywhere but towards him.