Chapter Text
Soon enough, Tommy had made up his mind. It was January now, he and Techno were scouting out L'manburg. The both of them had invisible potions drunk, although Tommy was still in his raccoon form as an extra precaution.
He and Techno had discussed the plan.
Techno and Dream had a plan to raze L'manburg from existence but Techno had a plan for him to help double cross it and that started with the wards that Phil had put up around the cabin. So once they sent the code to pull them out back to Phil, they'd be back at the cabin with Dream none the wiser that he was with them.
Then tomorrow the plan would be enacted. They'd catch up to Dream, somewhere where Phil would be able to set Dreams spawn using magic. So that Dream wouldn't be able to get away, and they could kill him. Then, they'd be able to go back to their lives.
Techno enjoying retirement and Tommy learning how to heal and maybe reaching back out to L'manburg and fixing those ties. He just needed a little longer to think and get things through his head.
Things were going good for a while. He and Techno were able to watch the festival that was apparently going with ease. There was no sign of Dream like there probably should've been and they figured that something else was going in. They couldn't figure out where and even if one of them spotted something, Techno was the only one that could lead them somewhere else.
They started moving towards the community house, as they both heard some sounds of explosions coming from over there. Tommy had briefly flinched away, but it seemed that most everyone had heard it and was going to check it out. They still got there first, seeing the house in ruins. Luckily it couldn't be blamed on them because they were still invisible. The potion they were on should last for about five more minutes. So as long as they got out of there before that, they'd be fine.
But, of course, Techno had to check out the creter before anyone got there and subsequently they all ended up in the creter of the foundation of the community house with the water that was slowly trickling in. Someone carved a staircase in the side of the wall, so Techno was doing his best to make his way over go that, but no one was making this easy, as there were people up on the edge of the creter too, and then Dream showed up and they had to stop moving because he was looking straight at them.
At least it seemed like he was, and Techno wasn't one to get them caught for pebbles moving so they froze. Tommy knew they were still invisible, but he knew they wouldn't be for long. So, hopefully he was moving to text Phil to activate the statistics chambers below the house and bring them home. That would help them get out of this situation immediately.
Tommy hadn't really been paying attention to the conversation, he just knew that they were trying to figure out who it was when Dream said the worst possible answer.
"Do you think it was Technoblade?" Dream asked, still looking straight at them.
"What? I think we would've seen him." Tubbo laughed it off.
"Yeah, but I know Techno, and if he were to get the ego to check on the damage he did and drink, say, an invisible potion. He could still be around here, or likely is considering the fact that I saw his footsteps in the dust." Dream was still staring straight at them and honestly this wasn't looking great.
Tommy shifted his position a little and then saw the illusion of invisibility fade off both his and Technos' skin rendering them seeable to everyone around them. Almost immediately there was a multitude of crossbows and swords being pointed at them. Dream was the only one that stepped forward.
"C'mon man. We both know this wasn't me." Techno laughed, nervously. "I would've done it with a lot more flair than this, and I wouldn't have run away. Besides, what do I get out of destroyin' the community house?"
Tommy almost opened his mouth to agree and then remembered he was currently in his raccoon form and a raccoon attempting to talk or even acknowledge the conversation would be weird. Techno had decided to help him seem like a normal raccoon a couple of weeks ago when he figured out that Tommy wanted to go outside the cabin area and do normal things again. It was best to pretend that he was this random raccoon that Techno had partially domesticated.
"Where the fuck did you get a raccoon?" Tubbo asked from behind Dream.
Which really wasn't good, because he saw Dreams' stance. He could judge the guy's mood off almost anything. Right now he saw that Dream was connecting dots and the fact that he let out a little puff of laughter didn't help his case.
"Oh dear god," Dream started taking a couple of steps backward, laughing his ass off. "Are you fucking with me right now?"
Most people didn't laugh at Tommy. That was only Dream and he had a feeling that the guy knew who he was. It was terrifying but he had full netherite plus his turtle helmet. He also had a sword attached to his belt within quick reach, much like Techno did with the axe slung over his back and the sword in its scabbard on his waist as well.
"What do you mean?" Techno asked, reaching into his pocket and Tommy knew that he was sending the SOS message to Phil. They should get out of here within a few minutes then. They just needed to hold on a little longer.
"The raccoon." Dream wheezed. "Y'know, I gotta hand it to you Techno, you've gotten to be a pretty damn good liar since the last time you tried to lie to me. You actually had me convinced that you didn't know anything."
"I don’t." Techno lied smoothly.
Everyone else around them looked confused and it was just a frantic battle of how long they could stall. Phil should get them out of here at any moment.
"Seriously? You're going to continue to lie?" Dream asked.
"Are you? I was under the impression you told L'manburg somethin' else." Techno replied, the hint of nerves finally making into his voice.
Techno might be able to take on this many enemies at once, but not while Tommy was here. He cringed to himself as he realized that he was a little bit of a liability. He shouldn't have come.
The rest of L'manburg looked at Dream instead of the two of them, although all the crossbows stayed ready to shoot them at a moment's notice. Techno could afford to get shot as he was wearing full armor, but armor didn't manifest itself in his raccoon form. He was a liability yet again.
"Dream? What is he talking about?" Tubbo asked.
"He's talking shit, that's what. I told you guys what I thought was true at the time, that Tommy was dead. Because that's what I thought was true, and then I found evidence that he wasn't and I didn't tell you all because I didn't want to get your hopes up. I wanted to find him first." Dream was a master at word choice. A God in the art of the blade and talking. A deadly combination that normally never formed.
Then Dream took out some sort of potion and threw it at the ground next to Technos feet, and subsequently the potion made its way to him. It didn't seem to affect Techno, but Holy shit, could Tommy feel it. This was a completely new type of pain that was so incredibly different from the ones he'd felt before.
He fell forward and Techno grabbed him by the neck piece in his armor, keeping him standing and near him rather than falling towards Dream.
He blinked and steadied himself against the wall, having to look at the paw touching the wall quite a few times to realize that it wasn't a paw. It was a hand. Dream had used a potion to forcefully unshift him in front of everyone.
Techno had a sword in front of him, even though it was clear that Dream wanted nothing more than to just shoot him. Tommy was disoriented, but he could see Tubbo, and they made eye contact from across the creter. He looked shocked, his brown eyes a well of thousands of different emotions, none of which Tommy could place.
"Techno, you are currently breaking the law by housing an escapee from a legally instated exile." Dream said.
"Yeah, well, we both know I don't really like laws." Techno said. The whole point of today had been to scout things out, not talk to people and get involved. Certainly not tell people that he was indeed alive. This was not how this was supposed to go.
Tommy pushed himself off the wall and managed to remain standing, drawing his own sword and putting it out in front of him, allowing Techno to use his own to deflect any arrows rather than protect Tommy. That is, if any arrows came their way. Tommy could hold his own against most of the people here. He had fought before. Shit, where the fuck was Phil?
"Tommy?" Tubbos' voice was quiet, it was a miracle that he heard it at all.
When he looked back at his best friend, he looked more heartbroken now. He felt almost bad for him, and honestly Tommy did miss talking to him, but now was not the time.
"Y'know, Techno this would be a perfect time to talk about our plans for tomorrow. The plans to raze L'manburg to the ground, for good this time. We can perfect those if you hand over Tommy." Dream said, extending hand.
"That's a lovely offer, Dream, but I hate to break it to you. I'm gonna have to pass, unless Tommy feels like goin' back to L'manburg right now, he's under my protection." Techno said.
Tommy could sense the anger radiating off Dream. It was a very useful skill to have in situations like this.
So, Tommy leaned over and whispered in Technos ear, "He's angry. Like really angry. What's going on with Phil?"
"Y'know, I'm not too sure." Techno mused.
And then Tommy made one last piece of eye contact with Tubbo before he felt the familiar feeling of being teleported by an ender pearl take over his gut. Tommy was the first one out of the situation, pushing up on the trap door coughing out the water he'd accidentally inhaled and threw his sword on the ground to get it out of the way. It clattered away and Tommy continued to wheeze his way through each breath.
Techno, who'd gotten the warning, the warning being Tommy disappearing, helped him get the water out of his lungs. His turtle helmet had fallen off on the water which was why he wasn't able to just breathe it. He exhaled heavily as he finally got a breath of air without his lungs rattling.
"That's a human." Phil took note of Tommy's current state.
"Dream- he- fuck." Tommy whispered, shutting his eyes and curling his fists together. He tried to shift back to a raccoon. He really needed the comfort of being a raccoon even if he was likely going to be soaking wet and no one likes the smell of wet fur. He couldn't.
"I don't know. Dream used some potion. Next thing I know, Tommy's human and all disoriented, like the potion forced him to shift to Human." Techno said, placing a hand on Tommy's back. "I've never seen anythin' like it."
"Well… you're back in the cabins now. Just stay here until you leave for your plan tomorrow. I'm sorry it took so long but the message didn't notify me until a few minutes after." Phil murmured.
"That's alright, Tommy, are you good?" Techno asked.
"I can't shift." Tommy whispered, terror taking over his heart. Dream had already infected every part of his life. He couldn't take this one thing from him. He just couldn't. He had everything else.
"It's gonna be alright. It's probably just because of the potion." Techno said, "Let's get some milk alright. That should clear the effects."
Tommy nodded and let himself be helped up by Techno and the two of them went to the kitchen and Tommy poured two glasses. One of which he gave to Techno who seemed a bit confused before remembering that he'd been hit with it as well, and while not necessarily shifted at the moment, it likely still affected him. He took a big swig before placing the glass on the counter and immediately attempting to shift.
The wave of relief when he did end up on the floor as a little raccoon was wonderful. He was so glad that he could still shift. Dream was not going to take one more thing from him. He could stand up to him. They were going to kill him tomorrow.
He shifted back into human form so he could take off his armor and get his gear off of him. Which he hung up on an armor stand in his room. His sword hung beside it. It wasn't even one that had been Technos. One of the days they went down in the mines, Tommy found diamonds and he kept them. They were his own and he made two items: a sword and a pickaxe and when they went into the Nether, he made his sword netherite.
He was very proud of it. It was the only netherite thing he owned that he made himself.
Tommy headed downstairs to make and eat dinner with Phil and Techno after that. He wondered what they were making.
Tommy just hoped he wouldn't have nerves about tomorrow so he could actually eat it.
xxx
The night passed quickly, with Tommy having no nightmares for the first time in months. It was a little daring, but he almost felt as if that was symbolizing that he would be free of Dream after today. The guy was going to be dead, and Tommy could be free of his mental torment.
Tommy almost felt excited. It was a little terrifying to feel that way but he kept fidgeting in his seat during breakfast. Which he was able to eat in full, surprisingly. Normally when he felt any strong emotions, he wasn't able to eat well. Techno seemed to take note of that because he looked at him and a small smile came to his face.
The idea of murder probably shouldn't be as exciting as it was, but Holy shit he could be free after today. He was going to be free. Dream would be dead by the end of the day hopefully, and he'd be safe.
The plan did include Phil staying here to activate the stasis chambers if needed, although Phil had fashioned a little button they could click at any moment in time, they just needed to click it twice consecutively to let him know they needed to get out of there. He'd be much more attentive today and pull them out immediately to treat whatever wounds they'd gained.
The only person who wasn't aware the plan for today had changed was Dream, and Techno had already made sure he was at the meeting place. Where Techno would discreetly slip the magic infused slip of something onto Dream, and then they'd be free to kill him. Assuming everything went well of course.
"You good, kid?" Techno asked as he helped him get his armor on. Tommy had done this a million times before, but he had too much energy to do it himself.
"I feel excited to kill him. Is that bad?" Tommy asked.
"Not really." Techno said. "He put you through six months of torture that you regularly have nightmares about."
"Did I ever tell you he took my first two lives?" Tommy asked suddenly, not entirely sure why he'd mentioned it, but he had now.
"What?" Technos hands stilled where he was adjusting one of his shoulder straps. "No, you didn't. You just told us there was a duel and you lost."
"Yeah, he was the one who killed me in the final control room and during the duel." Tommy said.
He can almost feel Technos anger begin to smolder behind him, and he chooses to ignore it when Techno goes back to helping him fix his armor. When Techno is done, Tommy goes and puts his sword in his scabbard. Techno had said that axes were just better weapons to begin with, but Tommy didn't have any experience with one. He'd always fought with swords.
He was given a leather potion holder, much like Technos to hang at his side to use when needed. He felt like a much more accomplished version of his fourteen year old self. Knowing he was about to march off to fight and that he might not win. Just that this time, he had more experience and things to use to his advantage. Tommy can heal mid battle if he chooses this time. He won't be stuck waiting for someone else to be down enough that they can treat each other's wounds. Or until the end of the skirmish.
Tommy puts the turtle helmet on, and they're off to find Dream. Mainly so they can get this over with and kill him. This was going to be incredibly therapeutic. Tommy's pretty sure most therapists wouldn't recommend killing people, but Techno had suggested it so that was close enough.
They had to go through the nether to get there, and Tommy looked over at the lava. For once, he's not scared of it, which was something they'd definitely had to work on in the past. It was nice to know that he was getting better at dealing with the things he experienced during exile.
He supposed the lava thing was because he'd tried to kill himself in it, but he wasn't feeling like that anymore. It was nice. It might come back someday, but for now, his mental health was doing a lot better.
Killing Dream might just help put an end to the conflicting thoughts he had on him. He knew Dream was a bad person, but some part of his brain didn't know that, and he was determined to get rid of that part. By killing Dream.
Tommy made sure to stay with Techno when they began traversing an unfamiliar part of the nether. They passed a bastion and he knew he didn't have any gold on him but the moment they all saw Techno they decided that they were going to leave him alone.
Techno led them to an unfamiliar Nether Portal, and when they reached the other side, he could see L'manburg in the distance but there was a little hobbit hole door that they needed to go through on the side of the mountain. It was a little surprising, and Tommy would definitely make fun of Dream for it.
"Alright, you ready, kid?" Techno asked, hand ready to open the door and the other on the magic slip that Phil had made.
Tommy nodded, taking the last of his nerves in and breathing them out. He kept his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to take it out at any moment.
Techno swung open the door, and they walked in. Tommy saw Dream sorting through a chest of TNT, seemingly trying to find something, and he fought back the feelings of panic he felt when he saw the guy. Today was going to be a good day.
"Hey, Techno. Phil." Dream said without looking up once. The guy didn't even have half of his armor on yet. His chest was almost entirely exposed to weapons capable of killing him. It almost made it feel like the task for them would be too easy.
"Hey, how are things goin'?" Techno said, shutting the door and walking over to where Dream was sitting, sorting through the chest.
He watched Techno get the slip of magic on Dream without him noticing. It was almost like the gods had decided that Tommy could have one good battle. He could have this one thing, and that one thing was being able to kill the man that tormented him for six months.
When Dream finally did look up, he took note of Techno standing right next to him first and then Tommy across the room.
"Why the hell did you bring him? I thought he was under your protection or whatever." Dream said, standing up.
"Oh, I know." Techno unhooked his axe from his back and slid it into his hand with ease. Tommy walked forward towards them, drawing his sword. "See, we've had a change of plans, Dream."
"What?" Dream asked, stepping backward a bit, his hands stretching ready to do something.
"I'm not up for blowin' stuff up today. I think it would be a little good to get some blood on our hands." Techno said, smiling.
Tommy couldn't help the grin that kept showing up no matter how much he tried to make it go away. Dream snapped his fingers, and he was now wearing the rest of his armor, a simple spell most likely, but that just made their job harder. Which was fine.
Dream brought out his axe from the otherworldly place he kept it and made the mistake of swinging first.
Then they all moved, and the world became a blur of clashing weapons and sounds of things getting hit. Tommy hadn't been in a battle where he was on equal ground in a long time, maybe ever. The place was an enclosed space, and Tommy caused quite a few of the scrapes on Dreams' armor and a gash in his leg. Eventually, Techno got the first hit of death, using his axe and sending it crashing the back of Dreams head, breaking his spinal cord. They knew he lost his first life because he disappeared in a flash of smoke and didn't immediately reappear where he'd been when Techno put the magic slip on him.
It gave them a few minutes to drink some regeneration and health pots before the next battle. Tommy had to admit that he'd gotten a pretty nasty hit on his arm that Techno was fretting over. He'd drunk a health pot, and yet it was still bleeding. Whatever, Tommy could deal with that, and the pile of stuff where Dream had died. He'd debated taking it just as a final fuck you but decided he was just going to let it burn later. It would be funny to see the stuff go up in flames.
Dream respawned exactly where they found him the first time. It took a hit of Technos axe to the neck and he disappeared once more. The final kill was Tommy's. Tommy got to kill him last. That's what they'd discussed.
Dreams' last life was the one that Tommy got to take. He'd debated how he was going to do this a few times but had elected eventually to just kill him, but slowly. Not an immediate death like Techno had so granted him.
It made Tommy wonder if he was any better than Dream but then he remembered that the green bastard had wanted to take him back to exile and continue the same abuse and torment until Tommy likely just killed himself and Dream was free of him. He couldn't permanently kill a kid, because that would cause so many alliances of his to fall.
Dream finally respawned for the time and Tommy drove his sword into his gut. Blood stained the hoodie Dream always wore and it was splattered across his mask. Dream groaned when he twisted it in his gut. Tommy had been right, this fight had been a lot shorter than expected. So much build up and yet it was over in mere minutes simply because of how much anger they both held.
"So, this is it, is it?" Dream rasped from behind his mask. "You kill me?" He seemed almost in scorn of himself.
"That's right. You don't get the satisfaction of me dying, you mother fucker." Tommy hissed, letting the blade slip out before jabbing it back in Dreams gut, this time more to the side of the last wound. Maybe it was a little overkill. The guy was definitely going to bleed out at this point but there was nothing Tommy could do but hope he rots in hell after this.
Tommy would be no better than him if he put him through everything that he did to him. So, he settled on making Dream relive the first death he'd felt from this guy, and he removed the sword.
"You.. you… Techno why?" Dream managed to garble out.
"I don't condone child soldiers, Dream, and I really don't like abusers." Techno said.
Tommy watched the man on the ground in front of him take one last, heaving breath before dying for the third time in a matter of minutes.
It was a strange mix of relief and euphoria when he realized that Dream was dead. Tommy's blade dropped to the floor and he turned into Techno, hugging him profusely. He killed him, holy shit. Dream wasn't going to bother anyone anymore. He would've tried to make a comparison of the bitter euphoria to others but no one else had gone through what he had. No one else seemed to get the conflict in his mind some days and that was okay.
Techno hugged him back tightly, his axe clattering to the ground behind him. Tommy could feel Technos hand hold his head like he was comforting a child. There was blood everywhere so it was likely in his hair now, as the turtle helmet didn't cover all of his hair. Blood covered half his shirt anyways.
"You did good, kid. Let's go home now. Are you good to walk or do we wanna get Phil to activate the chambers and bring us back?" Techno said.
"Can Phil bring us back?" Tommy murmured, letting go of Techno and putting his blood stained sword back in its scabbard. It was going to take a lot of scrubbing to get the blood off his hands and pretty much everywhere.
"Yeah, I'll message him." Techno said, pulling out his communicator.
Tommy presumed that was so that they could get back without scaring the shit out of Phil. He looked down at Dream, kicking him in the side once just to make sure he was dead. It was very imperative that he was dead, but if he wasn't he had to have been now because the blood was all of the wooden planks of the floor, soaking it all up. Permanently stained red.
"I'm gonna go outside. In the sun." Tommy added on for clarity. He did miss the sun. He missed the dry heat that L'manburg could bring. Even if it was just a sunny winter day and the wind was still blowing.
"Alright, Phil's been notified." Techno said.
Tommy walked outside with Techno following. He sat on the hillside looking out towards L'manburg which would live to see another day, and maybe many more days. They really did spend a shitton of time building that place. It would be a shame for it all to go down the drain again. He hated doing things if they were just going to get taken away. It reminded him too much of exile.
"You good kid?"
"I feel happy that he's dead, but also not because there's a stupid part of my brain that's attached to him. It wants me to mourn him, but I really don't want to." Tommy admitted. "I'm glad he's dead, though. He can't hurt me or anyone else anymore. Ever. Hopefully, even in the afterlife."
"I'm not really surprised by that. That stuff fucks you up, but it'll be okay. He's dead. He can't hurt you now." Techno said, absentmindedly reaching over to ruffle his hair but hit his turtle helmet instead.
That's the straw that broke the camel's back and Tommy dissolved into a fit of laughter. Genuinely happy laughter.
"Holy shit, he's fucking dead Techno." Tommy said, jumping up and he saw the smile forming on Technos face too.
He spun around, face to the sun, soaking it in while laughing. He felt stupid and like he was going to collapse at any second and yet Tommy was free. He was free to do whatever the fuck he wanted.
"I KILLED DREAM." He yelled into the wind, knowing that likely only Techno could hear him, and he was his accomplice in murder.
It wasn't murder really. It was the removal of trash. A good thing to happen to the world.
Tommy laughed once more, looking down the hill to see Tubbo, compass pointed towards him. He felt the feeling of the ender pearl dragging them back to the Arctic. The two of them would make up in due time. Right now it was the time to celebrate his victory.
xxx
Because Techno was such a stickler for blood stains, he had to make sure that all of Tommy's wounds were closed before he even entertained the idea of taking a shower and possibly getting blood on his towels.
Tommy still felt so giddy. There was something so freeing about murdering someone. Albeit a concerning elation followed it. Once Techno had finally finished stitching up a wound that had refused to close with potions, he was sent to be free of the blood on his hands and in his hair via shower. His blood-stained clothes, though, would likely have to get thrown away.
The blood was easily washed off, and he ended up on the couch, lounging about like Techno would always when taking his naps. Which, per his expectation, when Techno did come back, he was removed from the couch. Even shifting to his raccoon form didn't throw Techno off with how many times he'd done it at this point. Techno just laid down, blood washed off except for a few flecks that Tommy could see in his hair, and placed raccoon Tommy back down on his chest.
Tommy had figured out recently that the best place to sleep was on Technos chest as he wasn't alone, and he could sleep peacefully with each breath. That and Techno would usually put his cape on the two of them, and Tommy would snicker when Phil would inevitably comment about Techno growing soft. Which should've been happening right about now.
"I swear, every day you get softer and softer. A proper family man." Phil snickered.
A family man?
"Oh, fuck off Phil." There was no malice in it, just tiredness. Techno yawned, "I'm not growin' soft, just tired of violence."
Was Techno his family now? Did Tommy get to have a family that cared for him after all this time? He liked the idea of that.
xxx
Weeks passed. Techno had taken Tommy to Dreams' actual base at some point to raid the thing and then destroy it. In doing so he finally got his communicator back after months of never having it and finally got back into contact with Tubbo. Tommy had also had Techno cut his hair at some point. Nearly seven months worth of growth, cut back down to how he had it before. Like Wilbur did. Short sides, and a little longer on the top. He liked it that way.
On snowy days Technos cape got filled with more little animals embroidered on the edge of his cape and he'd even taken up learning how to sew. In doing so, he started embroidering the other light blue cape that Techno had from some previous Empire that he and Phil had actually run rather than destroyed. The two had laughed about it the day Tommy found out. He found it a little ridiculous until he figured out that most of it had actually been a joke, and they didn't think it was actually possible to pull off what they did but they had and it was hilarious.
He still had nightmares some nights, followed by Techno coming into his room and the two of them sitting next to each other while he comforted him. Sometimes they'd go downstairs and sit next to the fireplace. It was nice.
The season was changing though.
Winter was being left behind and Tommy and Techno could go outside in less layers to do the chores. Grass had started to peek through the snow and Tommy saw how truly tall the house was to accommodate for the amount of snow they got. The sun began to show itself on the horizon and it had been getting warmer. The fireplace was used less and less, and before Tommy knew it, it was April.
April 9th, to be specific.
To be even more specific, it was his birthday.
And, the sun was actually going to be visible today, not just a distant hint on the horizon, but up in the sky. Albeit not very far but he'd be able to see it. Techno said that soon the sun wouldn't set at all and they'd be in polar day rather than night. The cooler temperatures would stay but the snow would melt.
Tommy was seventeen. Almost three whole years he'd spent on this server. L'manburg seemed like a distant memory at times. The war that had started in August, a few months after he joined, and continued up until next March. It was hard to believe that L'manburg had truly existed for two years sometimes.
Holy shit, Tommy lived to see his seventeenth birthday.
To be honest, he wasn't really expecting that.
Still, he got out of bed, just as he did every morning, shifted to human and went downstairs. The fire was going as it was still in freezing temperatures when they woke up but had started to get into not freezing temperatures during the day.
He took the blanket he always used and wrapped it around him, sitting in front of the fire. It was what he always did.
Techno walked in eventually and set a cup of hot chocolate in his hands. He looked up confused until Techno spoke.
"It's your birthday, is it not?" Techno asked.
"Yeah, it is." Tommy said, taking a sip of the hot chocolate. He quite enjoyed it.
Techno cracked a grin and ruffled his hair, "Happy birthday, kid."
Tommy grinned and Techno walked off presumably to go make breakfast. If Tommy was lucky, they'd have pancakes. A delicacy that Techno made once or twice a month to let Tommy indulge in his sweet tooth.
When Tommy did get called to the kitchen, he saw that they were indeed having pancakes and he even had chocolate chips in his. The pancakes didn't even stand a chance. He devoured them quite quickly. Quick enough that Techno had to remind him to breathe even if he had a smile on his face as he said it. Tommy knew Techno would never admit it but he knew that Techno enjoyed seeing him happy.
Phil seemed amused by his antics too, so as far as Tommy was concerned, this was the best birthday he'd had in a while. Yeah, maybe Tubbo wasn't here, but he'd woken up to a number of messages from his friends in L'manburg wishing him a happy birthday. Tubbos was at the top, dated at 12:05 am.
He really thought the day couldn't get any better but there was a knock at the door. Months ago that would've sent him spiraling with worry, but instead that simply sparked his curiosity. No one ever really visited Techno and Phil except for Ghostbur.
Techno sent him to open the door, even though the two of them were following. Tommy looked through the window before he opened the door, mouth agape.
"How-?"
Tubbo stood in front of him, smiling wide, "Techno invited me. Happy Birthday, Tommy."
Tommy didn't respond, instead choosing to latch onto his best friend in a tight hug. They'd been talking via communicators for a couple months now, but Holy shit it had been so long since he actually saw his best friend.
"Are you crying right now?" Tubbo asked, hugging him back.
"No. I am a big man. Big men don't cry." Tommy sniffled. Yeah, he was crying a little but it had been ten months since he actually got to talk to Tubbo in person. He was feeling a little all over the place.
"Sure, sure." Tubbo laughed. "Now let me inside. It's cold."
Tommy let him inside and they spent most of the morning talking on the couch next to the fire. Techno sat in his chair reading, and Phil had gone out to prepare something. Tommy didn't really mind, so far it really was shaping up to be the best birthday ever. So, it was a little surprising when Phil came back in with a box and said that he and Techno had a gift for him. He hadn't really been expecting a gift. He'd honestly thought that them inviting Tubbo was the gift and yet there was now a box on the kitchen table. He did want to know what was inside of it.
Tubbo did have to leave before he opened it, not before another tearful goodbye and a promise to visit more often. There were things going on around L'manburg and Jack was not to be trusted with it. Tommy did understand that, he was doing plenty well here.
He went back to the box, where Phil and Techno were waiting for him to open it. It was a strangely big box. Tommy genuinely had no clue as to what it could be.
Still, he lifted up the lid and removed the tissue paper that had been placed on top of the clothes that resided there.
It was the same color as the blues and whites that both of them had started to wear again. The Antarctic empire colors. The symbols of a peaceful era for the both of them. He gingerly took out the article of clothing on top. A dark blue cape with the same gold adornments that both Techno and Phil had. The same cape that the two always wore over their general clothing when going out of the house, adjusted to accompany either Phil's wings or Technos regular red cape. It looked longer than both of theirs, giving him his own style.
Tommy was stuck staring at it, before he realized that it was real. He was holding this thing.
He looked up at Techno, the shock that was rocking him, coursing through his veins. He held it tight to his chest, a smile creeping onto his face.
"You probably won't get good use out of it until winter comes back around, but I figured this would be the best time to give it to you." Techno shrugged. "You've got more in there."
Tommy continued to sort through the box, finding almost a full set of clothing in the same dark blues, light blues and whites that Techno and Phil had. There was still some red on them, as the classic Tommy Innes color and the amount of joy that was flowing through him, he almost couldn't control. Tommy couldn't really smile any wider than he already was though.
He would've put the cape down but for the second time that day, he went crashing into someone to give them a hug. Techno laughed a little but it was happy laughter and hugged him back, seeming to be okay with it for now.
"I take it you're happy?" Techno asked, running his hand over his hair.
Tommy nodded, the excitement of the gift he'd received became too much for his vocal cords. He had matching clothes with them. It was hard to explain the joy he got from a simple gift like this. Or maybe it wasn't simple. Maybe this was Phil and Technos way of saying he belonged here and that he always would, no matter where he decided to go.
"You wanna put it on and go outside? The sun is going to be out soon." Techno said.
Tommy nodded, releasing Techno from his death trap of a hug and taking the box upstairs.
The amount of joy he felt when he put it on and for once saw himself in the mirror was amazing. He'd need to embroider little designs on the sleeves and the seams but he saw he'd been left space to do that in-between the two lines on the edges of the fabric. So that Tommy could customize it as much as he wanted. Even if the design already looked different from Phil and Technos.
His shirt was woolen, just like theirs, but they'd made the sleeves and the top just blue much like his iconic T-Shirt, and it was more like a sweater. The dark blue of his pants managed to make them look like the jeans he usually wore, and he had to admit that they both knew him so well. He put on the cape and found that it was longer than he thought it was, draping just past the end of his tail, so it wouldn't get cold either. Likely to make up for the fact that Tommy never usually wore a cloak or cape like Techno did nor did he have wings like Phil.
The boots had to have been the best part. His own were already insulated with fur and these were too, but there were designs etched into the leather. A crow, a pig, and a raccoon. If he looked closer he could see a guitar next to them as well. A small tribute to Wilbur, the guy that had pulled him into this. His smile became more melancholy when he saw that but it quickly went away. Wilbur wouldn't want him to be sad on his birthday.
He pulled the boots on and ran back downstairs where Phil and Techno were waiting for him. He was still putting on his hat, the excess fabric where his ears fit perfectly against them. Tommy wouldn't need to put on his gloves, but Techno made him anyway. The temperatures were still pretty cold even if they weren't exactly freezing. Or at least freezing to Phil and Technos standards.
He went outside and climbed the ladder to the roof. Techno had installed it pretty quickly after he noticed that Tommy liked watching the sun come and go.
There wasn't much snow on the roof any more and around the chimney area there wasn't any ice to slip on either. So, Tommy went and stood over there.
He closed his eyes and let the sun hit his face. It was indeed fully visible today. Completely over the horizon and not blocked by a single cloud threatening more snow. It was warm. Tommy liked to bake in the sun sometimes. It was a nice feeling. He usually replicated that by laying in front of the fire most afternoons.
"You look happy." Techno commented, standing next to him and soaking up the sun as well.
Tommy knew that Techno loved the heat as much as he did. It was a little silly that Techno lived all the way out here in the cold and yet Tommy understood the nostalgia that it likely brought.
To say that Tommy was happy would be an understatement. He was ecstatic to be alive and living here. He loved feeling like a human being again and the fact that he had some sort of, maybe, kinda family now in Techno and Phil just made it all better. He was overjoyed with the simple parts of life and it kept taking over his heart and sending waves of seemingly never ending joy.
But he always preferred simple terms.
"I am happy." Tommy smiled.
For once he wasn't lying.