The Trick to Falling in Style

Stay

Tommy walks across the rooftop. He uses a cane to support most of his weight before he finally gets to the edge. He leans against the parapet, sitting on the edge of it. He throws his legs over the side, letting them hang off the roof. He props the cane up on the parapet from the other side. It slides along the parapet until the handle is pressed against his side. He doesn't push it away as he takes a deep breath. Cold air swirls into his mouth, shooting down his throat. Although the cold does make his fingers tingle, he finds it a lot more refreshing than the air conditioning unit inside the tower.

"You're going to have to do better than that if you want to make a break for it," A voice calls out behind him. Tommy doesn't flinch because he isn't surprised. When he turns his head behind him with a soft smile playing on his lips, he already knows who he's going to be looking at. Out of everyone, Wilbur has always been able to read him best. If anyone were to know where he would go, it would be Wilbur because time and time again, Wilbur will always be there to find him.

"I'm not running. Not this time," Tommy calls out. For once in his life, he's telling the truth. He will always feel the urge to run from things that are scary or too hard for him, but he resists the impulse as much as he can. He knows how easy it would be to let the wind catch him as he leaps from the association's headquarters. He knows that he could get pretty far before someone goes looking for him. He could survive a few weeks before someone actually finds him, too. But Tommy doesn't do that. He doesn't make a move to flip off the building because he's tired of running. For once in his life, his want of staying is greater than his instinct to flee.

"Good," Wilbur hums approvingly. He hops on the parapet beside Tommy, facing towards the exit door instead of the cityscape like Tommy. Wilbur doesn't look in either of those directions, though. He looks at Tommy with a smile on his face. Tommy isn't sure the last time he's seen Wilbur this happy. "I'm assuming that Ponk hasn't given you clearance, though?"

"Ponk can suck it. I'm tired of being cooped up," Tommy groans audibly. Wilbur laughs, and Tommy frowns at him. "I will fucking tie you to a bed and leave you there. I am not kidding. I'll even tie Ponk up with you so you have some company."

"I know you aren't, but you have to remember that your tying skills are shit," Wilbur reminds Tommy. He isn't entirely wrong. Tommy is about as good at tying knots as he is untying them, and he sucks at untying knots. Wilbur doesn't need to bring that up, though, so Tommy punches him in the arm. Wilbur winces, grabbing the part of his arm that Tommy hit. Once the momentary pain subsides, Wilbur is laughing again. "You are a fucking child."

"Shut the fuck up, old man. I can't hear you over all the gray hairs," Tommy insulted him, reaching to grab Wilbur's hair. Wilbur leaned out of the way, grabbing Tommy's wrist. Tommy tried dragging his hand out of Wilbur's grip. They began to wrestle on the parapet. They only stopped when Wilbur leaned too far back. His eyes lit up with panic as he grabbed Tommy's forearms with more strength than Tommy thought he was capable of. Tommy giggled under his breath as he pulled Wilbur back up to a sitting position. "Relax, old man, no need to go all 'I've fallen and I can't get up' on me. I won't let you fall."

"That's very reassuring when you are the reason I am actively falling off the roof," Wilbur says. Tommy rolls his eyes, and they leave the conversation there. Tommy hopes that Wilbur knows that despite their grappling match, Tommy wouldn't actually let Wilbur fall. Not only would he have to deal with Phil's lecturing about safety, he would miss Wilbur if he died. He doesn't think he'll ever say that out loud, but Wilbur must know on some level. Tommy hasn't run off yet, so it must be clear how much he wants to be there- how much he wants them to be there with him.

"You should probably go back to your room," Wilbur remarks with an earnest expression on his face. Tommy frowns at him, more than a few cuss words on his tongue. Wilbur puts his hands up in defense before Tommy can say anything. "Don't look at me like that. You know that you aren't going to be getting a lot of alone time up here. Ponk will be here any moment to collect you. Even if it's not him, I can name at least twenty other people that will have your ass for not being in bed when you're still healing. I hope you haven't already forgotten the beating Beau promised you if you left her again."

"I haven't left. I'm just taking a moment," Tommy bristles at the word choice. He hasn't forgotten, mainly because Beau reminds him every day when her and Billzo came to help expedite Tommy's recovery. She was angry at him for going beyond the walls to Clara without her, but she's long-since gotten over being angry for that. She's now more concerned with keeping him alive, and usually as an afterthought, with her and everyone else. It's not a baseless concern, but Tommy is tired of people looking at him like he's going to run. When he eventually does, he'll come back. It's one of the few promises Tommy is determined to keep no matter what.

"It's okay if you're a little overwhelmed. I know that... all of this must be... difficult," Wilbur said, waving his hand in the air as if that encapsulated everything that made Tommy overwhelmed. It didn't, but it was the closest estimate they were going to get.

"Yeah, no shit," Tommy whispered back, but his voice wasn't full of the anger he was commonly known for. His voice felt a little broken, and Tommy supposed that was only a reflection of himself. He had his family back. He was making strides in improving Logstedshire's lot in life. He was going to be Dream's sidekick until Kamikaze and Ender graduated from their apprenticeship programs. Shubble was going to help him patrol Logstedshire like she was going to. He was allowed to stay with Phil, Techno, and Wilbur, and he knew for certain that Phil was willing to have a conversation about adoption whenever Tommy was ready to have it. He had gone out of his way to make up with everyone he pissed off. He was back home in a lot of ways.

But it was so damn hard. It was hard to mix Vermillion and Tommy together to produce who he was now. It was hard to look at his hands without seeing the corruption or blood. It was hard to look at Phil without remembering his own misguided father. It was hard to close his eyes without seeing Clara smiling cruelly at him. It was hard to sleep at night when all his dreams were consumed by his mistakes and regrets. More than anything, it was so hard to stay. Everyone wanted him to stay, and they made it abundantly clear. They forced Tommy to have the hard conversations. He wanted to run more than anything, but he stayed. He stayed, and he allowed parts of Tommy to merge with parts of Vermillion. He stayed, and he continued to look hands knowing that he did what he had to do. He stayed, and he held tightly onto the good memories of Henry without dwelling on the bad. He stayed, and he closed his eyes because he knew she wouldn't be there when he opened them. He stayed, and he went to bed knowing that no matter how many regrets he has, he can make up for them. He stayed, even when it was hard.

"We're all here for you, Toms, and if that thought is too... big for you, all you have to remember is that I'm here for you," Wilbur promises, grabbing Tommy's hand. The blonde squeezes it, smiling softly. He leans into Wilbur's shoulder, staring at the sun beginning to rise above the walls in the distance. There was a lot to do. More apologies that needed to be said, and to be earned. More time spent healing his weakened body. More time getting reacquainted with who he wanted to be and who he was when surrounded by people that loved him.

All of that could wait for a few more moments because the air was cold and Wilbur was warm. His leg hurt but his heart was at ease. He was staying.

—

Thank you for reading! I certainly had a time writing this book. Make sure to check out my other works, and get ready for I Love You (Don't You Know), another Tommy superhero AU!

One more thing, I couldn't find a way to fit this in, but I want everyone to know that Tommy made up with MD, Mamacita, and Nook, too. He didn't tell them he's Vermillion, but he does forgive Mamacita for what she did.