Alone in a Cramped Universe - 7
First - Previous - Next
Notes: I am not dead I promise! Just been busy! But I hope y'all enjoy this chapter! I'm excited for where this arc is gonna go
Tommy stared out of the window in his room, wringing his hands together as he watched the beautiful colors zip past the ship. To say he was nervous was an understatement.
He was originally excited for this pit stop as they were picking up the ordered furniture that was sized better for Tommy. He couldn’t be more excited for furniture his own size! He didn't have to worry about too small seats anymore and could have a proper sized bed.
But this was also the same Nova Port where they were picking up Wilbur’s brother. And Tommy… wasn’t sure if he was quite ready for that.
Wilbur still didn’t like him. He knew that and was well aware of that. They made some progress the other day but it was far from perfect.
So what the hell did he tell his brother?
Tommy could only imagine Wilbur had fed his own hatred of Tommy to his brother. His species was known for being extremely close to family, even going as far as to sacrifice themselves to keep the rest of the family safe. So rationally, Tommy knew Wilbur’s brother would be much like Wilbur.
A knock sounded on his door, forcing Tommy to collect his thoughts and stand up. He took one more glance out the window and noticed the ship slowing down and the yellow and orange atmosphere of the Arcturus region growing brighter around them. They must almost be at the port.
Tommy rested his hand on the door lock, listening to the quiet click before it slid to the side, revealing Techno shifting back and forth on his hooves. He perked up as the door opened, poorly concealing his excitement at seeing Tommy as he pretended to look apathetic.
“Phil wanted me to collect you, we’re almost at the port and you may have to help load some stuff on the ship.”
Tommy smiled down at Techno and stepped out of his room, letting the door slide shut behind him.
“I figured that would be the case. Let’s not keep him waiting! We got some cargo to pick up!”
Tommy continued unconsciously fiddling with his hands as they made their way to the ship’s loading dock, feeling the ship shutter as they touched ground at the loading port. Techno followed wordlessly, occasionally glancing over at the human.
The two of them made it to the dock and both stood there awkwardly, waiting for Phil to open the doors so they could load up the ship. Tommy felt his hands begin to clam up and he began fidgeting more, occasionally scratching at his skin in an attempt to distract himself.
He was so out of it he didn’t notice Techno walk away for a moment, only registering the boar left as soon as he heard his returning footsteps. He glanced down at Techno in confusion only to startle as Techno suddenly placed a small, cold object in his hand. Tommy stared at the boar with wide eyes, trying to figure out what was going on but Techno just pointedly ignored it.
Tommy lifted the object to his face and gasped as he realized it was a familiar red gemstone. He twisted it around for a bit, trying to confirm that it was real, before looking back down at Techno, mouth agape.
“Did-did you just hand me a ruby?! Where- why- what is going on?” Techno finally looked back up at Tommy and reached up, forcefully closing Tommy’s hand around the gem and pushing it towards the human. He huffed happily as Tommy kept it close to his chest and patted the human’s leg.
“You looked lost, so I got you a gem. Simple.”
Tommy just stared at Techno in pure confusion as the boar just went back to standing next to Tommy and waited for Phil to open the door, acting like nothing strange just happened. Tommy glanced down at the gemstone and studied it for a moment before realization dawned on him.
He smiled softly and carefully tucked the precious gem into his pocket, making sure it was secure. Couldn’t go and lose a gift after all.
A few moments later, familiar, quiet wingbeats approached, making Tommy and Techno turn around to face the incoming avian. Phil stopped in front of Tommy and landed in his now outstretched hand, getting himself comfortable. It seemed like Phil quickly took a liking to be held by Tommy, but he wasn’t complaining. He was just happy the small alien had so much trust in him.
“Change of plans! There’s a group of Shades here to load the ship, they were all paid to come help since it was big furniture and they knew we were mainly a smaller crew. So we’re gonna go find Wilbur and his brother… and Tubbo because he fucked off somewhere and I genuinely don’t know where he went.”
Any nerves that Tommy had managed to calm came back full force. He squashed down the nervousness however and reached his hand into his pocket, the coolness of the ruby oddly soothing. He wasn’t sure that Techno gave it to him to be utilized like that, but it was extremely helpful regardless.
“Don’t have to tell me twice, didn’t wanna do work anyways- Techno?” Tommy startled as Techno suddenly latched onto Tommy’s free hand. He didn’t miss the slight trembling of the boar as he held onto him. Before he could ask again what was wrong, Phil spoke up.
“Shades just make him nervous, don’t worry. There was a particularly tall one that scared him half to death when they met. His best friend’s boyfriend actually. He thinks it’s embarrassing but honestly I don’t blame him, they are a slightly creepy looking species when you meet them for the first time. But anyways, go on and head out. Wilbur said they were meeting at Gate N-4. I have to stay to help direct the Shades on where to put stuff.”
Tommy nodded and shifted his hand around, making Techno whine a bit before he gently grabbed his hooved hand. Techno froze but let himself be gently pulled forwards as Tommy made his way off the ship.
Tommy paused for a moment to stare in awe at the aliens who he could only assume were the Shades. They were tall to say the least, even taller than Tommy. As he scanned the shadowy looking aliens, he determined he came up to the shoulders of the shortest one, which was rather insane knowing how small most other species looked compared to him.
He was about to move on, not wanting to make the aliens uncomfortable with his staring until he was startled by a small blue figure suddenly barreling towards them, slamming into Techno and knocking him down. Tommy yelped and quickly went to help Techno before stopping himself as he took in the scene.
While Techno looked startled to have been tackled, he seemed oddly content with what looked like an excited Jeweloid sat on top of him. The pale blue skin of the alien was covered in giant chunks of what appeared to be bright, translucent blue diamond. Tommy had seen Jeweloids before, but none seemed to be this energetic. They tended to be more lethargic and stern, not energetic and rowdy. And despite their small stature, Tommy knew from a fact how strong they were, their gem covered claws looked big for their small bodies but man did these aliens know how to use them.
“Techno! I knew it was gonna be you guys, with you telling me about your new human brother! And Bad didn’t believe me. Where is he? I have to meet him.”
Tommy froze as the Jeweloid, who definitely knew Techno, referred to Tommy as Techno’s human brother. His brother. He was so caught up in his own shock and embarrassment that he didn’t notice Techno’s eyes widening and his face turning pinker as the Jeweloid looked around, locking his gaze on Tommy with an excited look.
The gem alien scrambled off of Techno, earning a pained grunt from the boar as he quickly ran up to Tommy, sticking a sharp hand out.
“You must be Tommy! Name’s Skeppy, I’m Techno’s beeeeeeeest friend!”
Tommy blinked at the small alien now dubbed Skeppy before squatting down and gently taking their outstretched hand, wincing as the sharp hand dug into his skin. It wasn’t the first time he’s had contact with a Jeweloid though, so it was fairly easy to ignore the pain for the time being. He gave the alien a small smile, carefully hiding his teeth so as to not threaten him.
“That’s me! Nice to meet you-” “GEPPY! WHERE ARE YOU?! YOU BETTER NOT BE- oh hi, Techno!”
Tommy watched as Techno’s eyes widened and he visibly flinched back as an abnormally tall Shade came into view. Tommy watched in awe as the tall alien stepped closer, a happy look plastered on their face as their tail waved behind them. They had to be at least two feet taller than himself, they were huge!
Techno just stood there, frozen in shock (or maybe that was fear?) as the Shade just walked past him and towards Tommy and Skeppy. They gave Tommy an apologetic grimace before leaning down and grabbed a particularly large diamond on his back before lifting him into the air with ease. He watched in shock as Skeppy just shrugged and went limp, letting himself be picked up like a baby kitten.
“So sorry about him, he gets excited easily. Now come on Geppy, we’re supposed to be doing a job!”
Skeppy just happily waved at Tommy as the Shade carried him away. “Bye Tommy! Till next time!”
Tommy just sat there and watched as the two strange aliens disappeared from sight. Slowly, he stood up and walked over to Techno, offering an outstretched hand which the boar gratefully took. Techno used Tommy’s hand to pull himself to his hooves, but didn’t let go, tightly gripping onto the human’s hand.
“Sooooo, was that the Shade the Jeweloid is dating? The one that scares you?”
Techno nodded and took a deep breath. “Bad. That’s his name. Skeppy is my best friend and he’s dating Bad. I don’t want to be scared but… he’s so tall.”
Tommy reached over a ruffled Techno’s fur on his head, earning a soft chuff as the boar leaned into the touch. He sure as hell didn’t blame Techno for being scared, if Bad was tall to Tommy then he was massive to Techno.
“Yea, he was pretty tall. How about we just head to the gate and go meet up with Wilbur and his brother?” Techno nodded at that and began pulling Tommy along to the gate. Tommy just followed wordlessly, examining the port in awe.
He actually hadn’t been into the Arcturus Galaxy before so it was all new to him. The dusty orange and yellow sky was mesmerizing to look at, as were most galaxies with stardust in the atmosphere. He’s just glad nothing was on the surface. Those stuffy suits you had to wear when traversing through stardust laden planets were the worst. Humans couldn’t breathe that stuff in, it supposedly causes health issues, though Tommy had never actually heard of a case yet.
The thick vine-like foliage that curled around everything was beautiful too, in its own strange way. The red vines curled around anything tall enough to climb and always seemed to end with endless curls on the edges. Some violet stalks rose from the ground in the distance as well, the tall pillars of foliage reaching into the bright sky above and the tops hiding behind clouds of stardust.
Before he could take in any more of the breathtaking sights, Techno began to slow down as they reached a platform. Tommy belatedly noted that they had already passed through the gate, he must’ve been too engrossed in the scenery to realize what they were doing.
In front of them stood two lizard aliens, happily chattering with a mixture of hisses and clicks. Tommy froze. One of them was the familiar alien of Wilbur, the other was a slightly more purple version of the alien who hated him.
They looked nearly identical, the only differences being their coloring and that Wilbur’s brother had a bit less plating over their body. They even looked the same age. Nobody mentioned that they were twins.
Suddenly, all of Tommy’s nerves about meeting Wilbur’s brother hit him full force again. He began trembling and averted his gaze, instead opting to stare at the sunset colored horizon instead. His free hand snaked into his pocket and gently grabbed at the cold ruby sitting in his pocket, the chilliness of the gem being slightly comforting.
Techno gently patted Tommy’s leg and gave him a small smile. Tommy slightly relaxed and shot a thankful look, happy he had Techno there and it wasn’t just him and the other two.
“Eret! Long time no see!” Tommy tensed up as Techno called out to who he could only assume was Wilbur’s brother. He watched warily as the purple alien turned towards them and clasped their hands in happiness.
Tommy kept still as they approached and gave Techno a quick hug. They seemed friendly enough but hadn’t acknowledged him yet. He was just hoping Wilbur didn’t make them hate him already.
“Techno! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I am glad to see you are doing well though!” He turned towards Tommy and gave a small grin. “And you must be Tommy, the human! It’s wonderful to meet… you?”
Tommy tensed up as he trailed off, his face slightly falling and an unknown expression crossed his face. Oh Prime, he already hated him didn’t he? Wilbur already made his brother hate him. He was doomed to be hated by this family wasn’t he?
Eret suddenly shook it off and gave Tommy a grin again, as if none of that never happened. Though Tommy could still see the slight confusion in their expression, throwing his thoughts off once more. He’d be better off ignoring it for now though, no need to work himself up right now.
“Good to meet you too! Wish I could say I’ve heard a lot, but someone doesn’t like sharing information with me.”
Tommy watched in shock as Eret rolled his eyes and glared at Wilbur, who looked offended at the look. Wait, what in the world was happening?!
“Yea, he’s a straight up idiot. He’ll come around. Just be warned, the lizard brain gets clingy once he warms up to people.” Eret laughed as Wilbur began sputtering out angry protests, and Tommy couldn’t help but chuckle too. Eret leaned in and gestured for Tommy to lean down before loudly whispering, “He’s proving my point, he just won’t admit it.”
Tommy couldn’t help himself as he let out a loud laugh, not noticing how Eret and Techno looked at him fondly. Or how Wilbur stared at him with a small smile, glancing away in slight shame.
