(Thanks for the tags @corporatebanana and @rcmclachlan ❣️❣️)
I paused omegaverse to finish something else (plus house and other things stress has just been crushing) but I'm back and trying so hard to finish it. But what that's actually meant is that I've written two scenes and then cut them. So I'm going to share what I wrote of one scene before deciding to cut it. (The other would be too spoilery to share.)
Frowning deeply, Matthias asked, “What does that mean?”
“It means maybe I should have been spending more time in the gym and less time…”
Tommy had never heard Matthias sound angry but this was close.
“Less time caught up worrying about E- … my bullshit.”
Whatever anger or maybe frustration Matthias was feeling seemed to have suddenly alchemized into bewilderment. “What is going on in your head?”
Tommy steadied the punching bag, his gloves bracing either side to stop its movement. He didn't answer.
“Tommy, are you… do you think that there's some version of things… where you… what? Had trained more and the bad stuff didn't happen?”
“No. No, Tommy. You… you can't. You can't think like that.
“You're… you're already this mammoth guy! Strong and good at martial arts and… and… and you didn't do anything wrong!”
“Then why did it happen?! Why didn't I… fight back? Call for help? Stop it?!”
“Because you were trying to help! Goddess, Tommy! You were helping! You were... you were helping me and you didn't get the chance to... to do any of that stuff.”
Matthias wiped his face and took a shuddering breath. “I'm... I'm so sorry you got caught in it too, but it wasn't because you didn't spend enough time in the gym.”
(The behind the scenes explanation for writing and deleting this, should anyone be interested, is that I've been struggling to explain how Tommy - huge, muscled, Muay Thai guy Tommy - got caught in The Bad Shit. But what I realized after I started really getting into this scene is that it was more me trying to head off some possible future reader's argument rather than what felt right for the story and characters. I think there's plenty to explore in Tommy having trauma and guilt associated with not being able to physically overcome/prevent the bad stuff... but frankly there's a lot of trauma to go around and this would have been an easier one for him to repress/hide. So it's just going to have to remain implied.)