Chapter Text
Pig-Face walked fast as fuck.
At first, Tommy wasn't surprised considering the alien had a whole two feet above him. Then Tommy realized that his legs were not proportionate to his body at all.
His legs were short, shorter than his own arms, and hoofed. His torso and arms were huge , just one big muscle mass that didn't at all make Tommy's inside squirm with anxiety of being crushed. However, despite his mass and shorter legs, Tommy was breaking a sweat trying to keep up with him.
It was as if Pig-Face was trying to get away from Tommy rather than guide him to this supposed other human. Tommy huffed into his mask, jogging a bit to catch up to Pig-Face. It wasn’t like he was in the best condition after escaping a lab and hiding in a storage room for who knows how long.
" Slow please ," Tommy sighed, holding onto his backpack straps underneath his coat.
Pig-Face glanced down at him and… actually slowed down.
"Apology," Pig-Face rumbled, once again in English.
Tommy huffed a laugh, not being able to help finding the humor in the odd way the alien apologized. The smile that tugged at his lips was also the joy of hearing his own language.
"Do you mean 'sorry?'" Tommy looked up at him, slowly catching breath.
Pig-Face snorted softly from his nose, then nodded. "Yes. Sow-ree."
Tommy's smile grew but he looked away. This was weird. He was speaking English with a goddamn alien right now, no matter how butchered it was. He could only guess the other human had taught him, unless English was actually a lesser known language throughout the whole universe.
Did that mean Pig-Face and the human were friends? Or was it that Pig-Face had forced the human to teach him, to give him knowledge from Earth? The aliens who had Tommy before he escaped had tried getting him to talk, or do tasks, with the threat of being punished if he didn't listen. Like some sort of lab rat, he often compared himself to.
He felt a twist of anxiety in his gut, realizing that Pig-Face may have done the exact same thing with this other human, and that’s how he knows English. He played a long game of getting one human to teach him in order to easily get more humans.
Pig-Face turned around, stopping in his tracks to look back at Tommy.
Tommy realized he had slowed to a stop, his worries pulling at his feet like thick mud.
Pig-Face huffed a little. "Follow me. Yes?" His ear twitched, red eyes boring into Tommy.
Tommy took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Again, he told himself, if the other human was in trouble, they both could work together to escape. Plus, Pig-Face would have hurt Tommy by now if he wanted to… right? The fucker was huge.
"Yes." Tommy answered, beginning to walk again.
Well, if Pig-Face knew English, then maybe Tommy could try and interrogate him.
"How um… how do you know English?" Tommy said hesitantly, glancing back up at Pig-Face. Pray the alien doesn't choose now to finally attack.
Pig-Face was quiet for a moment, thinking. His mouth opened and closed, as if he were trying to figure out what to say.
"I know Galactic." Tommy said. " I hear you good."
Blinking down at Tommy, Pig-Face spoke, " Your Galactic is very butchered. Can you understand it better?"
Tommy nodded, trying not to roll his eyes. How did Pig-Face think he was able to figure out how to work for Dog-Bitch back at the shop? Charades?
Pig-Face hummed then turned a corner, Tommy following. " The… human… I know, he taught me after I found him. I can also understand it better than speaking, but I’m gettin’ better. He knows Galactic quite well, so at least we don’t face a large language barrier. Did someone teach you Galactic?"
So the other human can at least communicate without English. That’s good, better than what Tommy had before he wound up here.
Tommy shook his head, quiet for a few moments. He kept staring straight ahead. "No… I learn alone. "
Pig-Face didn't reply. He merely glanced down at Tommy, nose twitching with small puffs of air. Tommy wanted to shrink away from the attention, not sure why Pig-Face was studying him.
"Name?" Pig-Face suddenly rumbled, turning away. He seemed… awkward. "What name, human?"
"Uh-" Tommy sputtered, shocked. God, how long has it been since someone asked him that? Not even Puffy had really asked him. She just called him the name of some little animal he had seen running around the market.
"It- It's Tommy."
Humming, Pig-Face’s mouth moved silently, before he muttered, "Tow-mee…"
Tommy shook his head, "No. Tommy . Taaah-mee."
Pig-Face tilted his head. He grimaced, and Tommy tried not to show his amusement. He didn’t want to assume, but the alien seemed embarrassed. “Tom… Tommy.”
The breath rushed out of Tommy’s lungs, hearing his name for the first time from someone else. From someone who, while awkward and mysterious, has been kind and presented Tommy with an opportunity that he’d long been praying for.
Tommy couldn't help but laugh, nodding enthusiastically. "Yeah, that's my name. What's yours, big man?"
Pig-Face turned another corner, Tommy right behind him, as he hummed in thought. " It's a very long name, and spoken usually in my home language, but…" He thought again for a moment then nodded. "Human says… 'Tech-no-blade.' 'Techno,'" He rumbled, the words sounding a little choppy, obviously seeming odd for the alien to say in English.
" It's the closest pronunciation to my home language."
Tommy blinked. "Tech-no-blade… that's fucking sick," he muttered to himself. "So, Technoblade, huh? How do you say it in your first language?"
Technoblade snorted, then opened his mouth and… well it was some grunting, snorting, clicking noise. Almost like a hog from Earth. If Tommy replayed the sound in his head, he could almost line up the first half of the syllables and noises to the word 'Technoblade'. The rest was a mystery.
"Yea, I can see how that's a little difficult for a human to replicate…" Tommy nodded, but he was smiling. “It’s nice to meet you, Technoblade.”
Techno made a noise that sounded between a sigh and a purr. He was staring down at Tommy with his bright red eyes, and Tommy would almost think his expression was soft.
Aliens don’t do “soft.”
Tommy looked away, trying to hide a scoff. He glanced around the nearly empty street they walked down. “So… Where are we going?”
“Ship.” Techno said simply, pointing a thick finger down the street.
They were headed towards the docking bays, Tommy realized, where ships for both air and water were kept.
Tommy had been there before, but it was way back when he first arrived on this planet. It was sensory overload after he had been locked away on the dark gray ship of his original captors; the amount of new had been so overwhelming, that Tommy had spent his first few days bunkered underneath a small overpass that led to more ships from the initial shore, too afraid to move and be snatched again.
When he did finally move, he quickly realized he was the odd one out here- the amount of shit thrown at him, or hands that reached out to grab him, had him running away from the ship port and never wanting to come back. There were too many eyes and hands that he vowed to steer clear from here until he had enough credits to quickly hop a ship and get out of here.
“A ship?” Tommy gasped, staring ahead of them. He could smell the ocean of the planet. It wasn’t salty like Earth, but had a metallic undertone. The scent of it filled him both with dread and excitement.
“Yes,” Techno replied, his hand coming back down to his side. “ It is my ship, and my partners. The human.” His eyes met Tommy’s through the goggles. “ I was going to offer you to come with us, when we leave this planet. He wouldn’t mind you joining the crew.”
Tommy stared at the pig-like alien, heart racing. Holy shit. He was going to finally see another human, and they had a ship? Offering to take him off this planet? Was this his ticket out of here? If you ignore the fact that this all might be a ploy to kill him or capture him again, this was a miracle. Too good to be true.
But… Technoblade already knew he was human. Again, Tommy told himself, the alien knew English. He had to have at least known another human. Tommy was going in blind, but this was the first hypothetical goddamn good thing to happen in a long time.
He looked ahead of them, biting his lip. He’d check it out first. If anything, he would take off the second it seemed sketchy.
“I’ll let you know, big man,” Tommy responded quietly. He hated to seem nervous around the alien, but Techno merely nodded once and continued on.
They arrived at the docking bays, the sound of the crowd getting louder as they approached. Techno made sure to stay next to Tommy. At one point, he even put his hand on the boy's shoulder to guide him out of the way of a large approaching group, but quickly let go when Tommy ducked away.
Technoblade led them a fair ways away from the rest of the ships, where he stopped in front of a large ship. It was almost completely black, almost blending in with the background of the dark sea nearby, save for some pink and green accents. He turned to look down at Tommy, snorting in amusement.
Tommy stared up at the ship in wonder. It was huge . Though, he figured, most spaceships were. It just felt surreal being so close to one where he was able to just look. Not needing to be turning his back and running as fast as his legs could carry him.
After a few moments, Technoblade snuffled softly and took a step forward. “Come,” He said softly, motioning again for Tommy to follow.
As they got closer, they were practically underneath it. Techno pulled out what Tommy liked to call “space phones.” It was a holographic tablet that he noticed was different colors for each person, like they picked out the theme. Techno’s was… pink. Which was funny, but when Tommy thought about it, it matched Techno’s short fur and large mane that was braided down his back, as well as the accents on the ship.
Techno swiped and pressed a few things on the screen before the ship made a loud hissing noise.
Tommy jumped, stepping a few paces back, and watched with wide eyes as the bottom of the ship slowly popped open and began to lower downwards. A smooth metal floor slid out of the hatch and landed on the dirt below. The inside of the ship stared back at Tommy, a warm air wafting down and brushing away the neverending chill that surrounded them.
Techno looked back at Tommy, his tail flicking behind him.
“ Stay here. I need to tell him you’re coming in. He also… hides.” Techno gestured to his own face, then to Tommy’s.
Tommy nodded, understanding. Guess it was a universal thing, at least for Tommy and now this other human, to hide what they are from the rest of the universe's population.
He watched as Technoblade walked up the ramp and disappeared inside the ship. He couldn’t help but fidget, suddenly self aware of his appearance. He hasn’t talked to another human in forever. His time on Earth before the abduction seemed like it was a whole other lifetime. That was the before, and this was the after. He’s completely changed and realized he doesn’t know how he’s going to act.
Another human was going to walk out of this ship. Say hello to him. What would he think? The same questions ran through Tommy’s head: Is he older than Tommy? How does he know Technoblade? Is he safe? Will he let Tommy stay? How much does he know about space? Could he get them home?
Tommy felt like he was going to puke.
Footsteps echoed out of the ship, low voices following. Tommy’s head snapped up, staring at the opening of the ship.
Techno emerged first, looking behind him. Then, another figure emerged.
He was shorter, draped in mostly black cloth. Green accents peeked through the black folds, and a large brimmed hat topped the silhouette. He followed behind Technoblade, voice too quiet for Tommy’s transmitter to pick up and translate, but he sounded slightly panicked, the Galactic words coming fast.
The pair stopped at the top of the ramp, voices falling quiet.. Tommy felt two pairs of eyes fall on him. Techno’s red ones, and another hidden in the shadow of the hat.
He shifted, body tensing, wanting to run. Alien eyes were never a good thing, when they lingered too long on him, like they knew what he was. They do though, this time, and one of them supposedly is one of him.
“Oh my god…” A male voice came from the cloaked figure.
Tommy felt his arms prickle with goosebumps. That was English, clear as day, not thickened with an accent or spoken with a deep growling voice. It was just a regular guy. He sucked in a deep breath, shoulders lifting up in anticipation.
The figure descended the ramp, hands coming up from out of the fabrics. They… they were hands. The two middle fingers were wrapped together with more black cloth, but the pale skin underneath showed what were undeniably human hands.
Tommy stood frozen as the man approached. He stopped a few feet in front of him, and the silence stretched on for miles. He was still holding up his hands in front of him, like he was trying to calm a frightened animal.
That’s sure what Tommy felt like at the moment.
Slowly following suit, Tommy lifted one of his hands, his own pale fingers peeking out of the sleeves that often slipped over them. Their hands matched, scars littering pale skin, but Tommy’s were lithe and shaking, while the others were calloused and strong.
A soft gasp came from the man, hands twitching. Then, one came up and pulled down the fabric that bunched around his face. He titled his head up, the brim of the hat revealing a pair of strikingly blue eyes. They landed on Tommy’s face, his mouth was slightly agape in shock.
Tommy stared, taking in the human’s face. He was clearly older, maybe in his late thirties to early forties. Wisps of blond hair peeked out of the hat, framing the man’s face. His expression shifted, and it took Tommy a surprising few seconds to realize he was smiling.
Shakily, and so slowly like he was going to break the spell by moving too fast, Tommy reached up and tugged his goggles off his face. They pulled the hood off with them, the mask off covering the bottom half of his face slipping down. The cold air hit his skin, and he nervously licked his lips, feeling odd to have eyes on his bare face.
The man’s expression softened, eyes roaming around Tommy’s face. “Hi, mate,” he said softly, looking a little sad. “I’m Phil.”
Tommy exhaled sharply like he’d been holding his breath. Maybe he had. He felt his eyes prickle with heat, and god, he did not want to cry in front of a stranger. But this stranger spoke to him clear as day, this stranger was another human. It felt like something that had broken inside of Tommy was beginning to heal.
“Hi…” Tommy whispered back, the word shaking along with the rest of him.
Phil smiled again, but he still looked forlorn. “Gods, you’re young…” He blinked and quickly looked around them as if remembering where they were. He waved his hand towards the ship. “Follow me, inside. It’s cold out here.”
He stepped onto the ramp, body half turned to see if Tommy was following.
Tommy hesitated, instincts ingrained into his entire being to not go onto a ship. To not give trust so easily in a world where he knew nothing but danger and secrecy. But… Techno brought him to Phil. And Phil was human. Standing right there, hand partially extended, both literally and physically, offering Tommy shelter and safety.
God, what a miracle this was.
Phil smiled a little wider at Tommy, nodding his head towards the ship. “It’s alright, mate.”
Tommy felt himself smile a little, and took a step forward.