-Rehabilitating a Child Soldier-

Stormy Seas

Why is it that it's always raining when Tommy's life takes a turn for the worse?

Because icy, December rain pelted both the sea and the boat, as moderate waves lapped that the edges of the tiny, wooden fixture, threatening to capsize it if not handled properly.

The weather, despite being in the winter season, had not made the shift to snow... which meant that ice was practically hailing down from the swirling, dark clouds that occasionally rolled with thunder, taking great pleasure in blocking out the sunset... That would have at least nice... even if the water had been restless with waves, sailing off into the sunset would have at least been bearable...

Instead, Tommy had to accept the mixture of salt and fresh water seeping into his clothes and shoes... freezing him and causing violent tremors of shaking as he tried to warm himself up. Normally, the cold wouldn't bother him, much less cause him to shiver so fiercely... But the inch and a half of water pooling in the bottom of their bot and had pretty much flooded his shoes at this point had thrown him off... 

Soggy socks wasn't exactly the best way to start exile... especially ones soaked in ice water... At this rate, he'd have frostbite before they even made landfall...

He pulled his hood tighter around the head by the drawstrings... an attempt to further shielding his hair from the rain. The blue hoodie only did so much... But it was enough to make him not hate his life.

He fixed his eyes ahead of him, focusing on the person in front of him... 

... Skeppy was pissed... He didn't understand why the fifteen year old needed to be sent away... but Bad had shut him down before he could cause a scene...Tommy was pretty sure he had heard Bad whisper something about this being the best compromise for everyone...

But Skeppy on the other hand... Knew that Bad was pocketed by Dream. He had no idea what Dream's goal was, nor did he blame Bad for trying to keep the peace... After all, Bad owed Dream a favor, and he was almost certain that the mask-wearing twenty year old had cashed it in for this... he just didn't know why... Bad loved his kid... He wouldn't just send him away for no reason...

None of this affected Tommy though... he was more upset about Tubbo's blatant betrayal when it came to the authorization of his exile... in fact, he didn't even consider what Bad had done a betrayal... He was certain that his parent figure only wanted the best for him... and that this definitely could have turned out worse... and for that, he was grateful for his dad. 

But instead of thinking too deeply about all of this... he instead fixated on something else... like how Skeppy was piloting their boat, and sitting in the freezing rain... after giving Tommy his hoodie after seeing how cold he was getting...

All of his dad's arms and back were made of diamond... crackling after ever row of the oars. 

Tommy had learned it was a way that Skeppy's body preserved its heat, that way he didn't freeze to death, even in super harsh conditions. He had actually learned about Skeppy and his resilience against the elements... by turning fulling into a diamond statue... he didn't need to eat or drink... or sleep or breathe... It really was incredible...

But what Tommy was really paying attention to was the way the diamond plates shifted in order to constitute movement... since diamond is a solid and Skeppy would be completely stiff if he was just completely diamond... The plates shifted around in order to make moving possible... But watching it was cool because it was like the shimmer that glinted off of him was running along his body instead of remaining stationary.

It was so interesting that Tommy was able to distract himself from the fact that Dream was a few meters ahead of them in his own boat. Originally, Dream was supposed to take Tommy... and the two of them would have shared a boat... But Skeppy didn't let that slide. He wanted to accompany them himself, to help them set up camp. Tommy was looking forward to the second half of that plan, where Bad would also come help when they got a portal set up.

Tommy, once again, didn't blame his other father for not tagging along. As much as he loved him, he knew that boating Bad over would be a nightmare on its own, without even considering the fact that the freezing rain would send Bad into hibernation... just like any cold weather if he was left out for too long...

He was like a fucking lizard. Him and Sapnap both.

"Skeppy!" Dream called back to them, ignoring Tommy's presence despite it being his own punishment. "I think we're going to dock at the next shore. We're far enough out now."

Skeppy just nodded, uncaring whether or not Dream actually saw. 

After a minute, he just spoke back to the child in his boat, keeping his voice low so that they could keep their conversation slightly private.

"How are you holding up kiddo?"

"... F-Fucking cold as h-hell..." Tommy's lip quivered as he stuttered, wrapping his arms tighter around himself in an attempt to ease the the shivering.

"Sound like it. If I turned around, I'd expect your lips to be as blue as me."

"... F-fuck off Skeppy..."

"Hey, don't be mad at me. Bad is going to meet us there when we set the portal up. Besides, I'm going to stick around to help you set up camp." Skeppy grumbles, less than pleased about the situation.

"I... I fucking h-hate this..."

"Believe me, I get it. I'm not even the one in trouble and I'm fucking miserable."

"Why... W-Why are you the o-one piloting me o-out..? You c-can't swim..."

"... Because the last thing you need is to be alone right now... And Bad tried to be the one bringing you out... He's a mess Tommy. He doesn't like the idea of you being so far away..."

"I-I figured..."

"Land ho!" Dream called over them before Skeppy could get another word in, which seemed to piss him off more as his tail flicked in annoyance.

Nonetheless, he allowed Dream to direct him into a bay on a completely untouched shore. And once they got into semi-shallow water, Skeppy hopped out of the boat and began to wade through the chest high water that was filled with icy shards. He didn't even flinch, and proceeded with pulling Dream's boat over to the sand, making sure it wasn't going anywhere, before returning and grabbing him and Tommy's boat.

Tommy looked on in a nulled awe as he was pulled onto shore. And once the boat was securely in the sand, his father-figure helped him out and quickly hustled him over to the treeline, which at least provided some cover from the rain. Dream followed over much more casually, as if he couldn't feel the frozen rain trickling down his back.

...Tommy wouldn't be surprised if he couldn't... fucking icy bitch...

"Skeppy," the masked man cheerfully grabbed for his attention, "would you help me set up a tent?"

The diamond parent slowly turns his head to look at the man that demanded for Tommy's exile... his glare sharper than most knives.

"... I'm going to build my son a fire first. It's not much of an exile if he dies on the first night."

"Hmm... good point. Well, I'm off to collect some resources. Do whatever you think is best, old man."

"I'm not old, you dumb fuck!" Skeppy yells back at him, his anger fading into offense as Dream turned away with a grin, walking off. To which Skeppy rolls his eyes before turning back to his kid, who is definitely suffering from hypothermia.

"Listen kid... I'm going to make us a fire and then... I smuggled some of Bad's hot chocolate mix, does that sound good?" He gently asks, trying to bring some sense of comfort to his soaked, freezing child.

And Tommy just shakily nodded... unable to make his frozen lips say that it sounded like the best fucking idea he has ever heard...