days went by slow in the dreamsmp after tommy and wilbur had been declared fugitives of their own previously-ruled land. they ran away, set up a base - called it pogtoptia (tommy remembered being especially proud after wilbur agreed with the name). despite their efforts to win back l'manburg, the two were driven away by the former members of it. schlatt took the 'l' out, made some dense joke about how they don't take any, and the flag was redecorated with obsidian. tommy remembered hearing wilbur weep to himself one night about fundy's betrayal, how he was the one to burn down their previous flag and construct the newest one.
unfortunately, a gradually crumbling leader only meant that the sixteen-year-old had to be the one with his head on his shoulders.
he took more action, whether it be to sneak out after wilbur fell asleep to talk to niki and tubbo about war plans, people his president couldn't trust, but tommy knew would never betray them, or to spend hours mining, rummaging through the nether for resources until it was left bleak and barren. he kept his guard up when people suddenly decided to switch sides, to come around and aid them on their quest to overrule schlatt. wilbur invited them with open arms, 'the more the merrier,' he'd say. it didn't matter to him when his plan was fixated on only one outcome: to blow up manburg.
he whispered his thoughts to the blond one night after tommy had found him creeping out of their base, explaining that he was going out to detonate stacks upon stacks of tnt he had placed beneath their past nation. it had shaken him to the core, the way the man showed no signs of compassion for the inhabitants of (l')manburg, for all of their friends. through a sturdy shield that prevented him from displaying his emotional distress, tommy tried with his president.
"wilbur, come on, big man. you don't want to do this."
"no, tommy, i do. l'manburg, manburg? it's all the same to me, i want it gone."
"you're being reckless, man! think of everyone, of- of tubbo, niki, you can't just-" he started, being quickly shut down before he could continue.
"can't just what, tommy? blow it all to shreds? they'll respawn, won't they? they'll build it all up again, won't they? do you think you have a say in what i do? you don't dictate my emotions, tommy. you think you have this- this toll on my moral compass, think you're the hero in this so-called story. does that make me the villain? am i your villain, tommyinnit?"
"no, i-" the blond started, voice faltering as he stared at the man in front of him. there was something about the way he glared into his soul that made the boy want to disappear from his line of sight. this couldn't be the same wilbur who led l'manburg to victory all those wars ago, who managed to stand tall when it was taken from him, and who promised tommy that they'd get it back no matter what.
"i don't- i'm not a hero," he breathed, "i just, i want my friends safe. i don't want any of them to get hurt, wil. don't you want that, too?"
"no, tommy, i don't. i couldn't care less about what happens to any of them. they're all traitors - they don't deserve the certainty to know that they'll survive the explosion."
his jaw clenched at the man's words.
"this is wrong, wilbur! this isn't you! do you even hear yourself right now?!"
"this is me, tommy! can't you see? they don't care about you! tubbo, niki? they're lying to you! i'm the only one you can put your faith in!" he moved closer towards the blond, causing him to take two rough steps back. "blow it up with me, tommy. let's watch it all turn to shreds."
he glanced at the floor. "no. this isn't right, wilbur. you know that. i can't let you do this." there was a moment of stillness as wilbur stared at him, eyes narrowed and judgemental until his voice rang out.
"there's a reason i'm the president and you're not tommy," he sighed, "you're too weak, too emotion-based. i had high hopes in you, man." it hurt to hear, but he didn't let it show.
"i'm going back to sleep, you've grown too obnoxious for me to do anything, anyways. whoo hoo, the hero saves the day again," he muttered, annoyance evident in his voice as he shoved his hands in his coat and turned back to their base. once the dirt was patched up behind him after he entered pogtopia, tommy let out a heavy sigh he wasn't aware he'd been holding. his mind raced with the thought of his friends dying because he wasn't strong enough to stop wilbur's plan. it was sickening to think of.
he didn't want to go back in their nation after the brunette had - figured the tension would eat him in before he'd be able to get a good night's sleep - so instead settled on taking a walk to calm his mind, footsteps shaky as they came in contact with the grass.
unconsciously, tommy had found his way to what used to be the nation he and wilbur ruled. it was empty, aside from a couple of wandering mobs, and tommy wished he could've gathered the energy to go to one of his friends' homes, to wake them up and have a talk without the need for violence and war. a simple, 'how are you feeling today' from niki sounded too good to be true.
he managed to make it through manburg before the blond's venture came to an end, the soft sounds of soles against a wooden prime path stuttering upon finding his old dirt base. it was stranded, accompanied by a few decorative creeper holes. he patched them up rather quickly.
a swift craft of wooden stairs and tommy was wandering towards the area he and tubbo used to listen to his music discs, carefully setting down the blocks so that he had somewhere to think to himself. the nostalgia of watching the sunset with his best friend as a peaceful tune played in the background must've hit somewhere hard because the usually rock-hard wall he'd built around his obnoxious personality was now crumbling, shattering beneath a protective defense until he was nothing but a scared kid again.
"pull yourself together, big man," he mumbled to himself whilst focusing on blades of grass growing atop the ground, desperately attempting to distract himself from the thought of being all alone in the universe. who did he have now, if not the only person he swore to follow without a second thought? where was he supposed to go, now that he was exiled from the land he loved? resented by the man he used to see as a brother, a role model? and most importantly, how did he plan on stopping him all by himself?
the questions ate away from the inside, deterring him from seeing a hopeful outcome of getting wilbur to change his mind, until, as he was sitting on that bench with the weight of the world in his shoulders, the shield the boy proudly wore finally tore apart, and he allowed himself to cry.
it didn't seem to last for long, however, because the moment the tears had begun to roll down his cheeks and join at his chin, a distant crack alerted his senses again.
"fuckin' branches, always in my way and shit," it grumbled, voice low as it drew near, unnoticed of the boy sat on the bench feet away. he should've tensed at figuring out who it was, should've enderpearled away and found a new place to hide out, though nothing compelled him to. he figured he'd be fine if schlatt decided to murder him right then and there, taken his things and left the blond to respawn back at pogtopia. maybe he wouldn't burn his items afterward if he asked nicely enough.
"who the fuck is.. tommy? oh, hey, tommy!" he greeted a little too cheerfully, dress shoes tapping against the wooden path as he approached the blond.
"the hell are you doing here? didn't i ban you from stepping foot on my land a couple weeks ago? i'm not gonna have to force you out, am i?" he hummed, shifting through inventory slots until he pulled out a diamond sword.
"i don't want to fight you, man," tommy muttered, sniffling. his arm quickly moved to wipe away tears as his gaze locked onto the ground. there was a moment of silence between them before the businessman was speaking again.
"are you.. crying? what the shit? did big brother wilbur hit a soft spot or somethin'? that's why you're here?" sarcasm laced his voice as he disregarded his sword into an empty slot.
"yeah. yeah, that's why i'm here, schlatt, alright? can you leave me alone or kill me already? i don't want to talk with you anymore," his hands clenched onto the fabric of his pants as the man grew closer, eventually taking a seat next to him on the bench.
"well, no, you're in my land, and now i've gotta hear this story. sounds like a good laugh to me, tell me about it." tommy met his eyes; they didn't seem as hostile as his words.
hesitantly, he caved in. though expressing his emotions could be used against him later on, tommy decided ranting to someone - even if it was an arrogant man with a crude sense of humor and an even worse habit of inflicting nothing but pain on the people he loved - wouldn't hurt to try, just to get all the repressed emotions out of his system. it sucked to think about how he used to see that same man as an idol, someone he looked up to years ago.
"he just- he said some hurtful things. made me feel all bad and shit, so i took a walk, ended up here. i'm probably overreacting, it just- it hit a little, you know. especially coming from him. i think he's just overwhelmed or something. i don't blame him, his nation was taken from him and everything," he laughed, though it caught in his throat. another wipe at his eyes and schlatt was staring intently, attempting to follow up his words with something lighthearted - rude, maybe - to lessen the mood.
"well, the asshole lost already; he can kiss my ass to try and get it back," he proudly boasted. at a lack of response, he tried again.
"what'd the jerk say to you?" tommy was letting the tears drop freely now, silently crying as the man watched over him.
"he um, he just- just said that he used to have high h-hopes in me and, and that i'm obnoxious and weak, and- and-" he stopped after his vision blurred, tears blocking his line of sight as he attempted to continue speaking, failing in doing so once a painful sob escaped his lips. a desperate try to regain composure and the boy was blindly wiping at his eyes, trying anything to not resemble a frightened kid in front of the man who could definitely take his vulnerability as an invitation to make fun of him, to torment him about how stupid he looked crying about nothing important.
except, that didn't happen.
instead, his body flinched as two arms moved to pull him into a tight embrace. schlatt sighed, muttering a quick, 'stop crying, man,' as tommy's weeping hitched. it was comforting enough to elicit a new wave of tears as he allowed himself to lean into the hug.
"it hurts, it hurts, schlatt," his hands shook, trembling limbs moving to latch onto the man's back as he buried his head into a neatly-done suit.
"does he not w-want me anymor-re? i, i can't- i don't know what to do," his voice muffled against fabric, desperate rambles escaping his lips as his brain continuously supplied him with more to spew about.
"alright, alright," the brunette sighed, "let it out, kid."
-
the next half hour composed of tommy ranting about wilbur's hurtful statements mid-sob while schlatt patted his back in a half-assed attempt to comfort him, up until his cries had gradually come to a close and he was left sniveling into the man's shoulder.
"i'm sorry," he guiltily spoke after they pulled apart from their embrace, "i, uh- not one of my strongest moments." schlatt offered a chuckle.
"you're alright, man. we don't gotta talk about it," he explained, thinking to himself before continuing, "actually, never bring that up, it was really fuckin' weird for both of us."
they shared a bittersweet laugh until the elder of the two shook his head, elbows coming up to rest on either side of the bench as he gazed up at the sky. he glanced down to the boy's jukebox, an idea making its way into his mind.
"hey, why don't you grab one of those stupid music discs you're all attached to and shit? pop one of those baby's into the jukebox. let's listen to a tune."
before the blond could object or voice his doubts and concerns, he was interrupting.
"i'm not gonna steal it from you, if that's what you're thinking, einstein. we just had a bonding moment, or whatever you'd call that shit, plus it's the dead of night - i'm not starting a war when all your buddies are in their pajamas dreamin' about ponies and cupcakes."
it must've been persuasive enough because tommy was nodding and standing from his seat, footsteps distancing themselves from the bench as he retreated to his base to grab a music disc. after a couple of moments, he inserted it into the jukebox and sat back down next to the man.
it was 'blocks,' schlatt recognized. the disc he and tommy had listened to together when he first joined their land months ago. it was much more peaceful back then when he made jokes about irrelevant matters and relentlessly bullied the boy for being much younger than the rest of the group. he almost felt bad for overruling manburg and banishing him and wilbur as his first decree. almost.
"could've picked a less sappy disc, huh?" he joked, head turning once the blond didn't reply with something just as witty. he almost thought he had prompted the boy to start one of his stupid crying sessions again about how he missed the past, only to find out that, oh, he was asleep.
the businessman sighed as he looked back at the stars, eyes gently closing to bask in the moment. he wouldn't fall asleep, given that it'd be one hell of a story to explain to whoever managed to stumble upon their sleeping bodies, but figured that he could allow himself to enjoy the moment without war and anarchy, for however long it managed to last between their chaos-ridden world. that and the fact that he'd definitely steal tommy's disc while he was sleeping.
as a joke, of course.