Part 2 of the SBI rust g/t prompt! :]
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2 days later, he returned.
Once again, it took Tommy all the self control he could muster not to hug wilbur with his hand when he saw him. Wilbur chuckled and sat down, closer to the giant, he found.
Most of the visit, and the one that would follow, had Wilbur looking through old scientific researches, noting down important info in his book, and talking to Tommy.
And everytime, Tommy brought his hand to Wilbur's head and did what he would later call 'mini cuddles'.
"You like doing that stuff, do you?"
"Been so long since I had a proper hug. My mom used to do that kinda stuff when I was younger."
Wilbur widened at the quiet, hoarse voice.
"... Oh?"
"Yeah." Tommy added, and goodness, he sounded so young. "It was nice... I miss it."
"It's... probably not easy to get a good hug in your conditions." He tried lightning the mood.
"... you're right."
Shit.
That was... very awkward.
Wilbur didn't know how to handle that.
"... I really miss it."
He groaned internaly. What was he supposed to do??!?!? He was very glad when he got away from his house, and disasters kept happening so he didn't have to worry about family dinners. How was he supposed to deal with a kid that missed his parents?!
"Well, um..." he tried, not having a clue where this was going. "At least you're..... not.... alone?" Wonderful start, Wilbur. "I'm keeping you company if that's anything..."
Silence drew out. It was really, really, awkward.
"... Yeah." Tommy nodded ever so slightly. "... Can I try to hug you?"
Wilbur's breath got caught in his throat.
A hug. As in, close to his chest. As in, carried by the giant. As in, a good dozen feet away from the ground with little to no freedom of movement....
Oh hell no, he thought.
"Suuuuuuuuure?" He replied.
Tommy smiled, and he tried offering one back. "Just be careful, please." He added.
"Okay." He said.
Then, a hand thrice his size came for him. He closed his eyes as fingers wrapped around him like a blanket and he was brought off the ground.
He felt movement until a fabric, which he deduced was a shirt. He was softly pressed against it as the hand rubbed against him.
That... was.... weird. Weird was a good word to describe it.
Slowly, he brought his hands in front of the mass in a pitiful attempt to embrace it. It probably looked comical.
He felt Tommy's second hand coming and cupping the first. It... didn't feel awful. Weird, sure, but not awful.
After a few minutes that seemed an eternity to the human, he was brought down to the ground. When he saw the giant's expression, it had a smile on it.
"Thank you Wilbur."
"..No problem."
The rest of that day was spent reading the documents and doing lighter conversations with the teen.
---
3 days, 2 days, 2 days, 2 days, 3 days, 1 day, 3 days, 1 day, 2 days, 1 day....
Turned out, there was a whole fucking lot of papers to read.
But Wilbur didn't mind going back to the Dome every other day.
And he didn't mind the company there.
But he was determined to finish his researches today.
Which made Tommy's more often intervention particularly annoying today.
"So, they messed up with like, nuclear shit?"
"No, no. The nuclear testings were 4 years prior to that, I told you already."
"But then how come the researches were public after this one??"
"They kept it to themselves, Tommy. Couldn't risk other countries knowing about such a thing."
"Well that's dumb."
"I'm not gonna be one to judge. Can I continue reading now?"
"Mmhh, I don't know, you've had your head stuck in the paper since you came."
"Tommy."
"Okay, okay. Geez."
"Thank you."
He read in silence, a small satisfaction building inside of Wilbur with each page closer to the end.
And he was really glad Tommy wasn't in a too rambly mood today. Sometimes, he would tell stories of when he was younger, or elaborate on random thoughts. It was nice and a wonderful occasion to know the teen better. Not to mention, the giant was very endearing. But today, all wilbur needed was calm and silence.
And he got silence.
As time went by, though, he felt eyes more and more insistant looking at him.
With a small grunt, he looked up and saw the face almost 5 time his size (could be more, he wasn't sure himself.) Looking indeed at him like he was trying to read his soul.
"What's up?" He tried not to be too aggressive in his tone. There was only 10 or so pages left.
"You know I was like you before."
A beat of silence. Then confusion.
"... what?"
"Finish your reading and I'll tell you about it. You want it done today."
Wow. Way to be passive agressive.
"... I..." wilbur sighed. "I can take the papers back home and study them there." He sighed, putting the small little pile down. He wouldn't get much sleep, tonight, would he? "What do you mean, you 'were like me'?"
Tommy smiled at Wilbur, though its joy dissapeared as quickly as it came. Melancholy or nostalgia perhaps.
"I used to be... you know... small." He used his hand to illustrate, having his thumb and pointing finger about the size of Wilbur apart.
".... Heh?"
"Yeah." He chuckled at the confusion. "I wasn't born like that."
The natural question followed.
"Then how...?? How did you get like that?"
Tommy looked almost sad as he said. "Well, what are the papers about?"
Wilbur frowned. He looked at the papers, and his book, and back at Tommy.
What are they about?? Well, obviously, about the incident that resulted in humanity's downfall and the mutation of a ton of-
Oh.
Mutation of-
"... you're a... mutan?" He tried. That sounded weird on his tongue, but that was the only word that applied.
"Victim of a bunch of weird radiations. It almost sounds like a movie speech if you present it right."
Wilbur only looked at him, mouth agape.
".... Huh."
Tommy chuckled humourlessly. "Yeah. I know.
It kinda fucked up everyone."
"Well... I feel like, in those circumstances, it gives you advantages of some kinds." Wilbur reassured.
"... mh. Not that great when I can't have a house that fits me, but..."
Wilbur looked around. "... the dome fits you."
"For now. I'm only, like, 16. I don't know how big I'll get."
"YOU'RE 16 YEARS OLD??!?!?"
Tommy tried really hard not to burst out laughing at the absolute shock. Hand rushing to cover his mouth.
"Mh-hm." He nodded, repressing his wheeze.
"Holy shit you're a FUCKING CHILD!!??!"
"I'm a teenager."
"YOU'RE A FUCKI- OH MY GOD."
Wilbur paced around the room as Tommy giggled in small bursts that vibrated through the brunette's body.
"A child. A child who turned into a fucking giant. And he's my neighbour. What the fuck. What the actual fuck."
"I thought you figured out, since you always call me a child."
"Everyone my younger by at least two years deserves that nickname- I knew you were young but holy shit-"
"Well, I'm almost a man if you take the old legal system."
"Yeah,right" he scoffed "the legal system that surely applies 8 years or so after turning into ruins- Wait."
Wilbur paled and he looked into giant blue eyes.
"... How long have you been alone?"
The silence covered the room like a suffocating mist.
Tommy's throat was tight, he tried a few times, opening and closing his mouth as nothing came of it. And his eyes were teary as he replied.
"Well... 8 years or so."
Oh.
Oh.
Oh goodness.
SOBS THIS IS SO GOOD
I love Wilbur being so shocked that tommys a kid but damn 8 years is so sad :”(
(Also here’s part 1)
