Chapter Text
Over the next 4 years, he watched with interest as the 2 boys grew up. They were 7 now, and Tommy had bonded with them well. Perhaps more than the other children, but he kept telling himself it was because they were special. He had to make sure they didn’t grow up hating each other.
He became close to them, and the boy’s parents, a nice couple in the village, thanked him for being so great to their children on their last day with him. He was sad to see them go, but he hoped he’d still get to see them after that, as he did with some of the older kids he still had a connection with.
He was right. Over the next 2 years, even once the boys had switched to the older classes, they still stopped by Tommy’s room, and he stopped to speak to them when he passed them in town. It was nice.
***
Until it wasn’t nice. It was a night like any other, a hot day in the summer where Tommy had been exhausted from sparring and had gone home early. He’d fallen asleep exhausted, expecting to sleep in a little.
But he hadn’t. Instead of waking up to the sun shining through his windows, he woke up to darkness and a dim glow, as well as shouts and screams.
Tommy sat up quickly, mind flashing through scenes of war, death explosion. He shook, feeling 16 once more, 16 and in constant fear of death and an enemy far more powerful than himself.
No. No, not now.
There was a problem. He had to help. He wouldn’t be afraid.
He ran outside as quickly as possible, and the moment he had, he could see the problem. Fire. A house was on fire. Robin and Jay’s house. He quickly ran over, noticing that basically everybody in the village was there except a few, and Tommy realized those people must be inside, trying to help out the family trapped inside.
Tommy felt his hands shaking, staring at the house engulfed in flames. He didn’t like fire. He’d never liked fire. His country had been taken by fire and destruction, many times over. No. No.
Not again.
Tommy was shaken out of his head by a shout, and a figure running towards the group, out of the house. The man was holding two smaller figures, and Tommy realized with a start that it was the boys.
The man, one Tommy barely barely even know, spotted TOmmy quickly, and as many in the village knew, Tommy was close with the boys. The man ran over to him, laying the boys down on the grass before running back to the house.
Tommy quickly knelt by them, hating how bad the kids looked. They were half conscious, hair singed, crying. He pulled them both into a tight hug, and they clung to him, all three shaking in the shadow of the flames. He held them as tight as he could, trying in some way to convey that it would be okay. It would all be okay, somehow.
***
It wasn’t all okay.
The boys’ parents were dead, engulfed by the fire, and nobody in the village seemed to know what to do. For the time being, they were staying with Tommy, because they trusted him, but he didn’t know what would happen in the long run.
He paced downstairs, in the house he’d lived in for so long, thinking.
He wanted to keep the kids. He wanted to care for them and protect them and make sure they didn’t know the pain he did.
He never thought he would want kids, certainly not biologically, but he’d been proven wrong so many times over the last 12 years here, that he wouldn’t be surprised anymore. He’d really grown to care for these kids, he couldn’t just let them suffer like this, not without stepping in and doing something.
With a laugh, he realized he was really becoming a lot like Phil.
It wasn’t a happy laugh, but also not full of sadness like it would have. He used to miss his dad, resent him as well. Now he just felt indifferent. He had moved on.
Tommy walked up the stairs, resolved. The boys were sleeping on a makeshift bed, mostly just a pile of blankets, and he hated to wake them, but he wanted to discuss with them.
He shook each of them lightly, and they stared up at him groggily. He tried to speak softly, hoping after this they’d be able to fall asleep again.
“Hey guys. Ι know this is a bit sudden, and you’re still sad, but Ι felt like it was only right to ask you guys first. Would you want to stay with me? It doesn’t have to be here, this house is a bit small, but you guys could stay with me. Or, of course, if you don’t want to, wwe can find someone else to take care of you guys. But Ι care about you both, and if you’ll let me, Ι want to help. Ι want to be there. What do you think?”
The boys looked at each other, and Robin nodded, just barely. Jay turned back to Tommy, still tired, but more noticeably sad as well.
“Yeah. We’d both like that.” Tommy smiled, ruffling the boy’s hair softly.
“Okay, you both get some more sleep now. Ι’lol get this all sorted out officially.”
***
It was pretty easy to officially take custody of the twins, there were no objections. The harder part was actually taking care of the kids. They were sad, and didn’t have much.
But over time, they healed. They grew. And Tommy, surprisingly, was a good dad. There were bumps along the way, of course there were, but Tommy rolled with them, always putting the kids first.
One such bump, had been Jay and Robin coming to him, Robin crying and Jay standing for support, as Robin told him they didn’t feel like a boy. But not a girl either. They were a kid. Tommy hugged them, reassuring them that of course he was still their dad, he still loved them, and life went on, with a new shiny set of pronouns.
The twins grew together, each having their own friends, but also having some overlap. The kids were nice, most of them kids Tommy had taught when they were little. It was crazy, how quickly they all grew up.
He figured the same could be said about himself. It had been 14 years since he’d last seen L’Manburg. He was 30 now, no longer a child. It was crazy. He was almost as old as Phil had been. An old man.
He chuckled. How weird to think about that. How weird to think he was almost as old as Phil was, his father, one of the oldest people he knew.
How his children, age 12, were still very much kids. And he was happy. He wouldn’t let them know what he had, only a little older than them.
They were just kids.
And as it turned out, they liked stories. Ones that he told them. As they grew up, they became more aware of the fact that Tommy had been a part of many things in his past. And they always asked for more stories. He tried to not tell them the ones of brutal war, and loss, and betrayal, instead opting to tell them the ones of success, of growth, of freedom. And of his family.
“You know, there are tales of powerful people, very powerful forces. Do you want me to tell you one?”
“Yes!” The two kids’ voices were alight with excitement.
“Well, okay then, Ι will. There was a great legend of a man, a man with wings. They say he conquered death, even made a deal with death. He survived on his own, in a harsh world, for many years. They say he had great white wings, wings that allowed him to soar into the great blue skies. According to some stories, this man was very kind, but cruel to those who did wrong. He also had two sons by his side, and the three of them always stayed together.”
“What’s his name?” Jay blurted out.
Tommy smiled sadly. “Only a few knew his real name. Everybody else called him the Angel of Death.”
“And what about the other two? His sons?” Robin’s eyes were wide, curious.
“Some say they were twins, but anybody who saw them would find that hard to believe. The first twin, the elder, was called the Blood God in stories. They say he was a piglin hybrid, a king. Some stories say he heard voices in his head, terribly violent stories. They say that’s why he was always fighting. He was the perfect opposite of the other twin.”
“What was the other like?”
“He was less well known as the other two, probably because he refused to fight. There’s no name for him in the stories, but the general ideas about him were true. He was nonviolent in his early days, relying on his words to rally people behind him. He started countries, he brought people together. But it all drove him mad. And in the end, he died for it.”
Both kids’ eyes widened at that, but Jay recovered from it quickly.
“You know so much about them, did you ever meet them?”
“Yes Ι did. Ι knew them, once. A lifetime ago.” The two looked up at him in wonder.
“Wow! Are they like what people think they are?”
“Yes, they’re exactly how the people say. The Angel of Death was very powerful, with great wings. He was kind, yes, but only to a point. He favored the Blood God and his other son above all else, in the end choosing the more powerful son. He was powerful, but he wasn’t a great person.
“The Blood God, as well, was how you’d expect. Violent, powerful, angry. He fought for chaos, let the voices within him call for blood. The only person in the world he ever really cared about was the Angel of Death, he would let anybody else in his way get hurt. Even if they were family.”
“And what about the other twin, did you know him, too?”
“Yeah, Ι knew him. Ι knew him best. He was a great leader, he could command anybody, convince them to follow him. Ι followed him to the end of the world, as long as Ι could. He went insane though. Lost himself in it all, and died. And all of us had to pick up the pieces he left behind.”
“All of us?”
“My friends and Ι. My family. It all fell apart eventually, though. And Ι came here. And Ι’ve been here ever since.”
“Do you miss them?”
“My friends, Ι do. The others, the legends, Ι don’t know. Ι was never good enough for them, but Ι did care. Ι still do, despite how much Ι wish Ι didn’t. But Ι have you two now, and Ι wouldn’t trade that for the world.”
***
Tommy was glad he could raise his children in the safety of the village. There were rarely any outsiders, and that meant there were rarely attacks.
There was one day, however, where that changed.
Tommy was in the middle of a lesson, when a man Tommy knew ran in, announcing that all students were to leave class early. All the kids got up, rushing out of the room.
“What’s going on?” Tommy was confused, what could possibly be happening? The man turned to him, looking out of breath.
“There’s somebody in the village, armed. We don’t know what they want, but we want to gather some defenses. Can you help? You’re a good fighter.”
Tommy nodded. “Of course. Let me find my children and send them home, first, okay?” The man nodded, then he ran out again.
Tommy left after him, leaving the room a mess. He’d deal with it tomorrow. He ran to the other part of the school, where children were still exiting. He searched frantically, finally finding Jay and Robin.
“Kids, go home. There’s an issue, Ι’ll explain it all later, just get inside, go upstairs, and stay there for now, okay?”
“Yeah. Come on Robin.” Jay turned, grabbing Robin’s hand, and the two ran back in the direction of their house.
Tommy ran to the town center, where the others were gathering to challenge the foreigner. Somebody handed Tommy his sword, and his hand shook as he held it.
He might have to actually use it against somebody. But it was for the defense of his friends, his family. His home. He could do this.
Eventually, Tommy joined the crowd, and he saw the person in question for the first time.
They sat upon a horse, wearing a dark coat. Most of their face was obscured, but Tommy could see they had short brown hair. A sword was at their side, but it wasn’t drawn. That was a good sign.
Tommy stepped forwards, looking up at the man. He thought it was a man.
“Who are you, what do you want?” The man was silent, but Tommy could see his eyes widen. The man slid off the horse, and Tommy took a step back, drawing his sword.
Then Tommy caught a glimpse of his face. He looked familiar.
Why did he look so familiar?
“Tommy?” Oh. Tommy would recognize that voice no matter how long it had been.
“Tubbo?” His voice shook, and just like that, Tubbo was running towards him, both of their swords dropped, forgotten, and they were hugging, rib crushing. Tubbo clung to him, and Tommy noticed he was a little taller than he’d been when they were 16.
Oh yeah, Tubbo was 30 as well. How crazy.
Just then, somebody from the crowd spoke up. “Tommy, do you know him?” He looked over to Tubbo, and as he did, memories flooded back, vivid. Tubbo yelling at him. Tubbo exiling him. Him screaming at Tubbo. None of that had ever been resolved.
“Yeah, Ι know him. He’s… somebody Ι used to know.” TUbbo flinched at that, but Tommy didn’t pay too much attention to that. “He won’t hurt anybody. Ι swear. Ι’m going to talk to him, if that’s okay?”
People nodded, seeming relieved, and the crowd dispersed. Tommy gestured for Tubbo to follow him, and he headed back home.
As he opened the door, he heard two pairs of footsteps running down the stairs, and then there were Robin and Jay.
“Dad, what’s-” Then, they seemed to spot Tubbo, stopping.
“Kids, this is Tubbo. We’ll be talking in my room, you two go play a game or something, okay?” They nodded, running off again.
Tommy led Tubbo to his room, closing the door, and finally turning to Tubbo.
“So.”
“So. It’s good to see you again.”
“Sure.” Tubbo flinched again, and Tommy thought maybe he was being too harsh, but Tubbo seemed to move on.
“So… dad, huh?” Tommy smiled, fondly thinking of his kids.
“Yeah. Robin and Jay, they’re twins, 12. They’re great.”
“And you’re their biological dad?”
“No, Ι adopted them.” Tubbo laughed at that.
“You’re really becoming a Philza Minecraft.”
“Ι guess Ι really am.” Then he paused. “And what about you? What about everybody else? How are you all?”
“We’re good. It took 10 years, but we defeated Dream. He’s in Sam’s prison now. He won’t be getting out. Ever. That’s why Ι came, now.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, we sent out search parties, trying to find you. For 2 years, we’ve been trying.”
“You were trying to find me?”
“Of course! We all missed you, Tommy.”
Tommy’s voice was bitter. “You exiled me.”
“That was never permanent. We always planned on finding you.”
“Wasn't permanent? Tubbo, it’s been 14 years! You all abandoned me!”
“We had to take down Dream, that just took longer than we thought it would!”
“Well too bad, Tubbo, you don’t just get to leave me for 14 years, and expect me to be okay!”
At this point, both of them were shouting, just like they had 14 years ago, when Tommy was a hotheaded teenager, and Tubbo was in charge of a country that was falling to pieces. Tubbo looked down, seemingly sad.
“Tommy, please. Ι missed you so much, we all did. Please, come home.”
“This is my home, now. Ι have a life here, Ι have people Ι care about, a job Ι care about. Ι won’t leave it.”
“What about your family? What about Techno and Phil?”
“They’re not my family, Tubbo! They left me, they always did. Robin and Jay are my family now, Ι can’t leave that. Ι won’t raise my kids on a battleground.”
Tommy finished, and he could almost feel the anger radiating off of Tubbo.
“Fine. Stay here. You always talk about how you’ve been betrayed, abandoned by everybody, and yet you want to leave me, leave your real family. Selfish. Fourteen years, and you’re still selfish.”
“Goodbye, Tubbo.”
And Tubbo turned to leave, walking out. Then he was gone. And Tommy started to cry.