All it takes is one nap. That's it.

One nap and Tommy begins to notice how tired he is all the time, and then how hungry he is, and then how cold he is. All the time. He'll wake up early in the morning and want to rest from the moment he opens his eyes until the moment he gets off the ice at night and makes it back to his room.

Wilbur speaks up. “Did you eat anything before practice?”

Tommy nods again. “I had a salad.”

Wilbur smiles like he’s proud. Tommy feels himself straighten, even though it wasn’t really anything too big. Just a salad. But Wilbur’s smile makes Tommy want to keep taking care of himself. “Alright, then let's get you something tastier, yeah? A reward for doing well.” He stands, then opens his hands. Tommy, slowly, lays his own cold hands into Wilbur’s warm ones. “You've taken care of the nutrition, let me take care of the sweets. Have you ever had hot chocolate, sunshine?”

“Incoming,” Techno murmurs, and from around the corner, Tommy can hear voices- Schlatt and Quackity and Sapnap, all arguing amongst themselves. When they come into view, George leading them, Tommy peeks at them from over Wilbur’s shoulder, still being hugged. And then, following them comes a shorter blond man, also wearing the team colors.

“Everything alright?” George asks sharply, catching Tommy’s teary eyes and watching the way Wilbur slowly lets him go.

“Yeah, everything’s good,” Techno reassures. Tommy wants to melt into their sides and hide, a bit unnerved by the sight of who must be their coach and team manager or assistant coach. Coaches and their managers, historically, don’t exactly like him. They like what he can do and the things that he can achieve, but nothing past that.

“Tommy,” Wilbur says, “meet Phil and {{user}} - they’re the ones that we drive up a wall professionally.”