They Rely On Hope. What Do I Rely On? - Tommyinnit Adoption AU

Chapter 96

Tommy stumbled into the room, scanning for danger as he did so. Around the edge of the room there were Masked Ones, who were clearly watching everyone carefully. Throughout the room there were long tables filled with kids of varying ages. In front of each person was a tray of food which, from Tommy's guess, looked like porridge, although he couldn't be sure.

He found his way towards the place that looked to be serving food. Voices hushed as he walked past, and Tommy could feel the eyes piercing into his skull, but he simply looked ahead, not making a sound. He didn't know if they were looking at him because he was new, because he was stupid enough to protect another kid, or because he had gotten Dream sent to prison. He had no clue how fast rumours traveled in this place, but he ignored the looks anyway. It didn't matter.

"Name?" The man serving food asked gruffly when Tommy made it to the front of the line.

"To- Theseus," Tommy said, correcting himself before he could say the wrong name. He was Theseus now, he had to be sure to remember that.

"No rations for you by order of Mask 34 for interrupting their training," The man growled, moving onto the next person.

Tommy didn't argue, it wasn't like he was hungry, he had eaten enough yesterday to keep him going for a week at least. Still, he sat down at a table, far from any other kids and quietly stared forward, waiting for Mask 17 to return and tell him what to do.

"Tommy?" A voice asked from behind him. Tommy's head whipped around, trying to work out how this person knew his name, and if their use of his name would get them both in trouble.

"Freddie?" Tommy asked in stunned amazement as he met the eyes of a kid he hadn't seen in years. They had both been shuffled around a lot, and by chance, had ended up in the same group houses multiple times. When Freddie had disappeared completely a few years back, Tommy had guessed that either he had gotten lucky and found a loving family, or he hadn't survived. Either way, Tommy hadn't thought they would meet again.

"Wow... I haven't heard that name in a long time," Freddie sighed softly, "It's Badlinu now, what name did they give you?"

"Theseus."

"It must've be a few years since I got here, by this point I've lost track of time," Freddie sighed, "Honestly I thought you would be brought in here much sooner, apparently they've been trying to get you here long before then they even noticed me as an option."

Tommy stared at Freddie in surprise, what did he mean they had been trying to get him for a while? Tommy had never even heard of them before.

"Yeah, apparently you and Tubbo kept getting moved to different houses before they could bring you in, I guess you got lucky, Puffy is the best social worker out there after all. Where is Tubbo by the way? Did Puffy have to split you up?"

"Tubbo died five years ago," Tommy said softly, realising that the last time he had seen Freddie, Tubbo had still been alive.

"Shit, Tommy, are you ok? What happened?"

"Suicide, guess the stupid system got too much for him. When I found him, he was already dead," Tommy said quietly, doing his best to detach himself from the words. The reality of them always hit hard, but he knew there was no bringing Tubbo back.

"I'm so sorry Tommy, I- Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Tommy said and he knew Freddie would know it wasn't true, but at least he probably wouldn't press further.

"Have you met Drista?" Freddie asked after a long silence. It was clear he didn't know what to say about Tubbo, and he wanted to move on somehow, Tommy didn't blame him, in fact he appreciated it, so he didn't mention it.

"Yeah, she was in the cell they put me in when I got here."

"When I first got here she was still a Masked One, she was one of The Eight Blood Masks actually. The drama about the kid she helped escape was probably the best entertainment the entire time I've been here. That and the panic when The Blood God escaped. I'm pretty sure Drista was behind that one too. The Masked Ones were furious, which was funny, until they took it out on us, but hey, still funny, I'm glad he escaped, he wouldn't have lasted here much longer without his brain breaking."

Again, 'The Blood God' stuck with Tommy, he was sure he'd heard the title somewhere before, but, for the life of him, he couldn't remember where. He didn't have time to think about it for long because Freddie quickly continued.

"I heard you stood up for Finley when her Masked One was being a brute again. 34 is pretty cruel, and he doesn't hold back based on age. You're lucky you only lost food privileges. It's pretty clear you haven't changed much since we knew each other, always throwing yourself on the sword to defend other kids."

"It was how we met after all," Tommy nodded. One of the older kids in a group home had been picking on Freddie, and while Tommy was new to the system, that didn't stop him landing a solid punch to the bully's face. It did result in Tommy's nose getting broken in retaliation, and then getting kicked out, but still, it had been worth it.

"I know you want to help, but you can't do that here. It only makes things worse for everyone. All the Masked Ones will take any excuse to train their fighter even harder. You interrupting them didn't just lose your food privileges for today, but also earned Finley a lot of bruises. This place is not one for kindness. Please be careful."

"I will," Tommy promised.

Words: 1000

A/N: again, sorry for the late update, but hey, this chapter is great, yeah? Bet u never saw that coming muahahaha