𝘖𝘏 𝘈𝘕𝘈 - 𝘛𝘖𝘔𝘔𝘠𝘐𝘕𝘕𝘐𝘛

twenty-seven.

there was always a weird empty feeling he experienced when he was without his friends. maybe it worsened each time they left him alone; he didn't keep track.

a bright light greeted tommy's eyes as he awoke from a restless slumber, working its wonders on managing to nearly blind his sight. he never remembered falling asleep but figured he'd take whatever chance at a short nap he could get, head lifting to reveal he was back in his bedroom, a feeding tube inserted through his nose, and a heart rate monitor beeping soundly in the background.

"shit," he muttered, voice catching in his throat to elicit a wave of unpleasant coughs. as he handled regaining his composure, the door was opened with a gentle knock.

"tommy?" a nurse greeted after entering. he remembered the woman introducing herself during dinner but couldn't quite seem to place a name on her face. to avoid another coughing fit, he remained silent, aside from offering a small nod.

"great, you're awake. how are you feeling?"

"i- um," he cleared his throat, "i'm alright, yeah. could i have some water? my throat's a bit dry." the nurse provided a short shake of her head before moving to check his heart rate.

"sorry, hon, we have specific times when water and snacks get handed out. next rounds aren't until another half hour," she explained.

before tommy could respond with a dejected 'oh, alright,' she was continuing.

"you did sleep through visitation, however, so you'll have a brief one in here. your visitors are waiting in the day area right now, i'll bring them in after i leave."

his head quickly picked up at her words, "my friends are here?" he repeated, almost unsure if he heard the woman correctly. after she gave a nod, he was excitedly sitting up on his bed. didn't help that he was the slightest bit dizzy and, at that moment, saw two versions of the nurse instead of one, but who was he to admit it in fear that he couldn't see wilbur or tubbo when they were already sitting in the same building as him.

"no offense, but can you leave?" he tried in the nicest way possible, "i really, really missed them."

"of course, i've gotten your vitals so you're all set. don't move too much, though, don't want you going down on us again," she smiled, which was unenthusiastically returned. the door opened and a couple of voices were heard - two of which he recognized, that only added to the boy's eagerness - and soon enough, in popped a short brunette and a taller man with hopeful expressions.

"tommy!" tubbo immediately yelled, rushing to the boy's side and wrapping his arms around him. he made sure to avoid the feeding tube when he tightly returned the embrace - or, as tight as he could, what with his weak limbs - sighing once his head rested atop his best friend's shoulder.

"hey, big t."

"we missed you, man!" the boy smiled as they pulled apart, moving so that wilbur could give his own greeting. tommy made sure to mutter a quick 'hey, bitch boy,' to the musician as they hugged, consequently reciprocated by a gentle hum of 'hello, gremlin child.'

"how are you feeling?" wilbur perceptively questioned after eyeing the machine hooked up to the teen. he figured he shouldn't have expected much from the first day, but the fact that tommy was already on another feeding tube did hurt to see.

"yeahh, not too great, big man," he awkwardly chuckled whilst motioning towards his set-up, "today was a bit rough." wilbur nodded as tubbo sat down on the end of his bed, causing the blond to scoot his legs over some.

"well, you've got us to talk to now! we'll make today better," he happily chimed. tommy offered an appreciative smile to his friend as he began to fill them in on his hospital stay up until their visitation.

-

the forty-five minutes of conversation time between the three seemed to go by faster than they realized. after tommy had explained how his day had gone so far, they spoke about everything from tubbo's newest bee keychain (he clipped it to his backpack - liked the way it jangled when he walked) to jokingly devising a plan to break the blond out in time for any future dreamsmp wars.

"i refuse to fight the green bastard without my right-hand man," wilbur confessed, nearly managing in getting tommy to smile, had he not quickly finished his sentence with "you're always great bait to use when he goes and kills you repeatedly. very funny to watch."

"you always know what to say to make me feel better, prick," tommy spat out as his friends shared a laugh.

upon the nurse opening the door with a hurried 'two more minutes, i'll let you say your goodbyes until i have to walk you guys out,' the three glanced at each other with small frowns, tubbo being the first to move and pull the blond into another embrace.

"i'll come visit soon, okay? wilbur's taking me back home today, but i'll be back on the weekend," he explained. tommy hummed in acknowledgment against his shoulder.

"be safe, man. have a good drive back home, and don't sing too much hamilton without me. i'm a psychic, you know, so i'll call you with a hate message prepared if i find out that you did. hashtag 'tubboiscanceled' will be trending," the younger warned as his friend laughed, pulling away with a nod. he imitated it and smiled.

"alright, i guess it's your turn now, big w," tommy faked a sigh as he met eyes with the older man. wilbur scoffed at his hoax of an action.

"don't pretend like you didn't miss me, tommyinnit," he joked as he hugged the boy, laughing once it was returned with a short mumble of 'technically, i was happy when i saw tubbo come in, not you, so eat that, bitch.'

"take care of yourself until i visit again, alright? i, and everyone else cheering you on, believe in you." it was nice to hear, tommy promptly told himself.

"thank you, wilbur," he smiled as the brunette started towards the door. it was opened, and he gave one final wave to his friends - which they easily returned as if first instinct - until they were gone and the beeping of his heart monitor was tuning in again, reminding him that he was just another boy sitting in a hospital, hooked to machines, body cold and weak, left alone to get better on his own.