Chapter Text
Borrowing was never easy when you had an unpredictable human, and Roman was a perfect example. Thomas had been living on his own for three years in this house, and yet even after all this time Thomas was still constantly on edge. He would be borrowing water or crackers or paperclips, when all of a sudden the human would burst through the door belting showtunes and Thomas would have to scramble for cover. On more than one occasion Thomas thought he was done for, and often Thomas had concluded that he would likely one day die of one of the many heart attacks Roman had given him over the years. Even borrowing at night was not without risks, as often Roman would be up late into the evening working on yet another one of his ‘creative visions’.
So, it was no surprise that upon Roman’s disappearance, Thomas’ first emotion was relief. Not knowing how long the human would be gone, Thomas began quickly borrowing as many essentials as he could carry. Roman never seemed to notice when multiple things went missing anyways. It was a shame that the cupboards were pretty bare (Humans Roman’s age seemed to forget to stock up on food), but Thomas just used his time to acquire other resources. He re-filled his staple supply for building climbing structures in the walls and even found time to finally borrow some glue to fix up his door.
“Thank you, Roman.” Thomas said with a small whistle, gazing over his findings fondly. Things were finally looking up for him.
However, with time, Thomas began to notice how long Roman had been gone. By the fourth day, Thomas’ food supply had run out, and his stomach wouldn’t stop reminding him. The borrower triple-checked the cupboards for even a scrap to tide him over, but it was a fruitless venture. Thomas had gathered up anything edible the day before; everything else had been discovered by a rat that had briefly taken up residence. Thomas had warded it off, but not before it got into the last loaf of bread.
Thomas sighed, heading over to the kitchen sink. He turned on the tap with his hook, watching the water begin to pour out. He filled up his cup, trying to ebb his hunger with water instead.
“Any time now, Roman.” Thomas sighed, sitting against the faucet and almost wishing the human would waltz through the kitchen door.
Thomas, being a borrower, had faced hunger before. After all, dinner is never guaranteed when you live on someone else’s scraps. But by the seventh day of Roman’s absence, Thomas began to realize what it truly meant to starve. His stomach would not stop screaming at him, every movement took an agonizing amount of effort, and Thomas lacked the basic motivation to move out of bed. He had taken residence in a small corner of the kitchen counter behind the toaster. It was very out in the open, but at least he wouldn’t have to go far if Roman ever returned with food.
“I’m dying without you.” Thomas couldn’t help but feel bitter as he glared at the kitchen door. “When are you coming back?” Of course, the door did not answer. Nor did Roman appear and magically solve his hunger problems.
Thomas groaned, laying back onto the hard countertop and putting his arm over his eyes to block out the light.
“...I’m an idiot.” Thomas said dully. “I should’ve just gone somewhere else. But noooo, I got all excited over some staples. And now i’m gonna die.” Indeed, Thomas lacked the energy required to travel to his room, let alone another human household. Even if there was a place nearby, Thomas would never make it in his state. He’s sooner be eaten by a raccoon or someone’s cat.
“Maybe I should just do that.” Thomas kept talking aloud, mostly to distract himself from the stomach pains. “Maybe I should get eaten by a cat. Would that hurt?” He thought of their fangs and winced. “I mean, at least that would be faster. It’s not like he’s gonna come back, after all.”
Thomas chuckled. He never thought his life would reach a point where he actually wanted Roman around, but right about now he’d do anything to have that dramatic, showtunes-obsessed bean galavanting through the hall; provided he brought something edible with him, of course.
It was then that Thomas paused. Was that… did he just hear the front door? No, it couldn’t be. Thomas sat up, trying to tell if his ears were playing tricks on him.
“I’m hoooooome!” Roman’s booming voice echoed in from the living room, and Thomas almost cried with relief. Thomas listened as loud footsteps transferred from the living room carpeting to the kitchen tiled floor. A sound of rolling wheels accompanied the human. A loud thud shook the surface on which Thomas sat as something was set on the counter. In his slightly delirious state Thomas almost peered around the toaster to investigate, but he had enough good sense left to stay put.
There was a sound of kitchen cupboards opening and closing, followed by the heavy fridge being opened as well. “Oh, Roman, you have got to go shopping.” Roman scolded himself lightly, closing the fridge. “Always the worst part about vacations, I swear….” Thomas heard a few more shuffling sounds before recognizing the familiar ‘pings’ of a human phone. Thomas used his remaining energy to try and focus on the conversation being held above his head, and had to hold back a groan as he recognized one heavenly word: Pizza.
“Shh, just a little longer.” Thomas whispered to his stomach as it let out a loud growl. Luckily Roman was still finishing up the order, and didn’t hear the borrower’s protesting digestive system.
Roman’s fingers began to drum on the counter, and Thomas began to watch them with the kind of strange interest only gained from malnutrition. Vaguely Thomas heard the phone call end as he continued to watch the hand just a few feet away from him, tap tap tap -ing away.
“What the-?” The tapping stopped. Thomas’ head slowly began to look up, too late realizing that he was still on the countertop. The toaster provided no cover if a human was standing. Indeed, as his neck craned back, Thomas found Roman’s humongous eyes tracking his movements. He gulped.
Far too fast for thomas’ unnourished brain to process, Roman’s hand darted towards him. Thomas tried to duck, but his efforts were in vain as those fingers that had captured his interest now captured him . A groan escaped Thomas as he was whisked far too quickly through the air, and if anything had been in his stomach it would likely have been expelled in this action. His felt incredibly lightheaded as he was brought up to face the human.
Thomas couldn’t even feel his instinctual fear as the room continued to spin. Even Roman’s gigantic face, though right in front of him, appeared as nothing more than a blurry blob. A loud pounding sound bounced through his skull, and Thomas vaguely recognized this as Roman’s voice. In his already weakened state all this stimulation proved to be too much for the borrower, and just a moment later Thomas lost consciousness entirely.