Wilbur crouches lower behind the forest shrubs and holds his breath waiting for the rabbit to come close enough to the trap. The sun was beginning to set and he was having a hard time dealing with his frustration for having such a pathetic amount of food to bring back to his brothers.

Techno would understand that with winter approaching the food was more scarce but Tommy was only ten, and the last thing the brunette or his twin wanted was to have their little brother be anxious about the lack of food. They'd just have to work harder in town.

The animals were hiding quickly, winter was going to be cold this year. Wilbur wasn't sure they were prepared for that.

For starters, they're not really brothers by blood, but runaways living in an abandoned shelter right outside a town. Techno and Wilbur were teenagers and had realized their chance of finding a family was with each other. After talking it over, they decided to run from the orphanage a few months ago, and Tommy had stupidly run after them.

Whether the blond boy regrets his choice to chase his two brother figures into uncertainty or not is up to him, and this winter might decide it.

Wilbur had no regrets. He gathered his basket of herbs and the fish from earlier. The trees were golden and he knew his brothers would be back from their respective jobs soon.

--------------

He nudges the fence door to the side and slips into their makeshift home. He can't help but be concerned when he sees Tommy already asleep curled under his thin blanket. The younger always waits for at least one of his brothers to make it back. He ran his hands through his hair and set down the basket before heading over to check on Tommy. There's a moment where the brunette hesitates to wake him up. with all that's happened to the boy he only looks at peace when he sleeps.

There's bags under his blue eyes, there's scrapes on his arms and face from being pushed around in the streets. Techno always gets so angry when Tommy comes home hurt, but there's not much they could do besides steal from the men who do. Wilbur brushes his shoulder and Tommy flinches awake.

"Wilbur? Why are you waking me up?" he mumbles while rubbing his eyes.

"Tommy, is your shoulder okay?" Wilbur holds his arm away gently and pushes his sleeve down to reveal several small bruises, as if someone had grabbed him. "What happened?" He searches the sleepy boy's face for any kind of answer.

"Just another person who was tired of seeing street boys. It's nothing really. It's fine Wilbur."

He's a little more awake now.

The older one takes a deep breath trying to choose his words very carefully. "No it's not fine, I should be able to protect you from those people. Letting you get hurt should never be okay." Honestly, what he decides next has been a long time coming. "I'll go with you tomorrow morning, see if anyone messes with you then, yeah?" He smiles and hopes he looks reassuring.

"Wilbur, it's okay really-" He's cut off by the sound of the door moving. Both boys turn to see Techno come inside.

He takes off his work clothes, and puts away his earnings for today.

"Techno! You're back." Tommy is sitting up now, tiredness forgotten and replaced with excitement. "How was the farm?"

Techno glances to Wilbur to answer for him, He's always tired after he gets back from one of his trips. Wilbur hunts and gathers, Tommy goes into the town and asks for money, and Techno...

Well, Techno takes any job he can find. He switches between taking letters faraway, to helping on the larger farms. Wilbur always makes him promise he'll be home before it's been a week. Or else he'd assume the worst.

"Let him go get clean before you bother him Toms." Wilbur whispers as Techno shrugs off his red coat and leaves for the river.

Tommy nods, and settles on the wood floor. Wilbur shrugs off his coat and lays down next to Tommy, blocking the blond from view of the door. He shivers and curls up tighter to try to block it out. He wants to stay up and wait for Techno, but he knows he needs to sleep if he's gonna be in town pickpocketing while Tommy distracts people.

Tommy is out cold once again and Wilbur is facing him trying to keep warm when Techno finally joins their makeshift bedroom corner. Which, with it being a few blankets and pillows, looks more like a nest.

Knowing both of his brothers were here, and safe, Wilbur finally sleeps.

-----------

The sun starts to shine through the cracks and creates golden rays in their house. They shine right across Wilburs face and the discomfort wakes him up. He looks to his right to see Tommy against the wall, his arms hugging his knees and looking right back at Wilbur.

The sun always made Tommy's hair look so golden, seeing it makes Wilbur feel selfish for not turning Tommy back into the orphanage. He knew someone would've adopted him, kept him safer than the brunette ever could.

"We have to go to the part of town with the market today, I went to the park yesterday." Tommy tells Wilbur as he gets up to find his day clothes.

"I like working there better, you pull off a great lost child ruse. Plus all the crowds make this much easier.' Wilbur smiles and gets himself dressed. Techno is still sound asleep, recovering from being away so they leave without him. With Tommy dressed in his overalls with a soft white striped shirt underneath, making him look younger than he already is and Wilbur lacing up his boots, they walk towards town.

Tommy wants to lead the way, as he's used to it far more than Wilbur who avoids going into town at all costs. But Wilbur was coming today to make sure Tommy didn't get hurt.

"Stay close to me yeah? I don't want you to lose me by walking too far ahead." Wilbur knows he sounds ridiculous but seeing that bruise last night made WIlbur very anxious about leaving Tommy alone for a few days. Once someone knows they won't fight back, it can turn into a regular thing.

They all know that fact from experience.

They arrive and head straight to an alleyway by the market. Since it's still early, the sun hasn't made it warm enough for many people to be here. Wilbur and Tommy decide to use the morning to look around. Tommy goes straight to his friend Tubbo's booth, where they play around with his family's farm animals they bring to sell.

Seeing how happy Tommy is to see someone his age, to act his age, is another weight to the guilt Wilbur feels for keeping Tommy with him. There've been so many hard nights where Wilbur has told Tommy he could go back to the orphanage, that he could say Wilbur and Techno forced him to leave and he finally made his way back. He wanted Tommy to know they would understand if he wanted to at least try for a good life.

Tommy being the optimist he is, always said things would get better. That they could get an apartment together, and he could go to school with Tubbo sometime. Wilbur and Techno would exchange a small uncertain look before agreeing with Tommy. Till Tommy's perfect plan fell into place however, they needed to get their story straight. Wilbur walks over to greet Tubbo's mother while their boys play.

"Hello Mrs. Smith, how's the farm been doing this winter?" He tilted his head, and smiled knowing how much it charmed people when his curls bounced. He really needed the farmer to like him for Tommy's sake. Didn't need her finding out that Tommy didn't just live on the other side of town.

"Oh it's been well, Tubbo complains about the cold so much it's driving me up the wall however" She laughs as she tugs on her gloves before glancing back at him. "I wish he'd be like your brother, never a complaint out of him when he's over."

That comment stings him, he knows May didn't mean to. She doesn't know that he doesn't have anything to complain about when Tubbo invites him to stay at their farm. It feels like she's saying he doesn't do enough when he knows that's not what she meant.

He always feels like he's not doing enough.

"Well, I'm sure he'll get used to it soon. You know how boys are." Wilbur forces a small laugh.

He hears Tommy tell his friend he'll be back soon, that he and his brother had some shopping to do.

"Wilbur can we please go look around now? It's getting crowded, we need to see everything before it's gone!" He tugs on Wilburs shirt gently and starts pulling him away from his conversation.

"I'm sure we'll see you soon Mrs. Smith, perhaps I'll bring Tommy back here this afternoon, our Mother wanted him to pick out some warmer items." He resists Tommy pulling at his shirt long enough to hear her respond,

"See you both later then. I'll tell Tubbo." She waves them off.

"You're being so pushy, what's got you so excited?" He asks the blonde as they walk down the rows.

"I want to get the y'know- stealing stuff over with." Tommy whispers.

"Alright then, see that lady in the blue dress? Go tell her you're lost. Sell it too okay? Get her to set down her purse and I'll take her wallet and go stash it." Tommy nods and Wilbur separates from him.

They both amble for a few minutes, making sure no one in the area would think they were together. Tommy catches his eye and Wilbur gives him the signal to start.

He keeps feigning interest in the different satchels and bags the booth in front of him had to display, while watching Tommy pretend to sob.

Wilbur doesn't know what he said, but as soon as she sets the bag down and kneels in front of the small boy, he's shuffling through her purse for a wallet. He feels something leather and grabs it before dashing to the alleyway from earlier.

This would've been the end of it, he would have pocketed it and went to another part of the market and waited for Tommy to pretend to recognize him and thank the kind woman for bringing him back safe (and for the money).

Little did the boys know, a man had been watching Tommy for a few weeks now. He had been growing concerned with how he'd seen the small boy run off to the woods when he was closing his bookstore. A bookstore on the street Tommy frequented for selling newspapers or whatever he could find.

So when Wilbur hears a stranger shout and start to run towards him, he does what any animal would do when chased.

He started running down the alleyways trying to throw the stranger off his tail, but the man was insistent on catching the 16 year old. He makes a right turn where he should've made a left and ends up backed against a brick wall. Breathing heavily, Wilbur can't climb the brick wall, so he decides to face the man and prepare to apologize and give the wallet back.

The man looks about in his 30s and is blonde like Tommy. He pants and puts his hands up placatingly. "Hey uh, I've just- I own a bookstore and your boy, he sits in front of it a lot. Alone might I add, and now I see him helping you steal a wallet-" He takes a step forward.

Wilbur takes a step back, shaken from all the chaos. "W-what about it." He glares, frustrated to have been cornered like this. By a bookstore owner no less.

"Where are your parents? He runs off towards the goddamn woods every night, unless I'm mistaken there's nothing out there. And now I see him stealing with some teenager... " The older man sounds like he's trying to put together the pieces as he says it.

"Look- I- he doesn't have any. He has two older brothers though, and we manage." He spits defensively.

"Clearly not if you have to steal" The man tries to keep calm as he says it, Wilbur appreciates it as he's scared enough for the both of them right now.

"Can I just go back please? I don't like leaving him out there alone. I'll give the lady back her wallet it's fine just please-" Wilbur was stupid to tell the stranger as much as he did, but there's no taking it back now.

"That'd be nice of you, but I have a question for you," Wilbur stands up straighter, curious and really antsy to stop being in a dirty alley. The man continues.

"Are you okay?"