Chapter Text
“Hey, Mate?”
“Yeah?” Techno smiled, wiping some of the dirt off of his face from cleaning one of the dozen animal pens. Once he was sure he’d mostly gotten the dirt off of his face, he walked over to where Phil was. “What do you need, Phil?”
“Ah, I just came over to tell you that I don’t think Tommy’s going to be able to help you with the cleaning.”
Techno’s smile quickly found its way off of his face. “Oh, really now? What’s wrong with him this time?” He got a slight glare from his Father, probably from the ‘this time’ part he added. But Techno was genuinely curious.
Also, he didn’t believe Tommy, not at all.
They had been planning to do their share of the chores. Now that they had grown up a bit, they could be more responsible, or in other words… Do harder jobs. The hard job that had been given to Techno and Tommy, was barn duty.
Not something simple, like feeding the animals, (Which they did daily) No. It meant doing stock checks, counting how much their beloved ‘pets’ produced, and the general cleaning.
‘Can’t we do it in two weeks instead of next week? It’s going to suck so much if we do it the week before it gets hot, Techno.’
To be fair, his little brother did have a good point. The week they had decided on wasn’t the best. They knew they would be expecting nice warm temperatures soon, which was honestly a relief with how freezing it had been recently. So even he could admit, it would have been nicer doing it when you didn’t have to constantly wear a coat.
Alas, they still had made plans. Plans which his brother very much didn’t seem keen on following through on.
‘I don’t even know why we have some of these animals! And I 100% don’t see why I should clean up the cows when I don’t even drink milk!
‘You know when I meant clean the cows, I meant clean up their shit, right? Not just checking their udders.’
‘What? That’s never been my job! You’re just using the fact that you’re older as an excuse!’
Technoblade and Tommy had been arguing about it for a long while before finally coming to an agreement. But to be fair, Techno did sort of see this coming.
He had honestly just been waiting for either his Twin brother Wilbur or Philza to give him an excuse as to why he couldn’t come. Of course, the Gremlin decided to play sick.
“To be fully honest, I don’t know too much. He just didn’t seem up to getting up and ready like he normally would, and he felt pretty hot when I checked his temperature.” Phil frowned in concern, he glanced over at Wilbur who was filling up the car with the many harvested crops they’d collected, alongside the earrings from the animals, such as eggs and bottles of fresh milk.
Techno could only feel a little pissed off at the comment Philza had made. He knew Tommy was probably using his heightened temperature to his advantage. He knew perfectly well he ran hot after all. And since when was he keens on getting ready anyway?
His brother had said he didn’t want to go, far too many times for his liking. And he had to admit, he may have pressured him a little too far into accepting. But hey, Tommy should have said yes anyway, he was the one who begged them not to slaughter the cows. Surely he could take care of them properly. And if he could do that, he could also take care of the other animals. Such as the goats, the chickens, the horses…
Speaking of the horses, one of them in the stable next to him neighed right into his ear, making him jump and making Phil let out a wheezing laugh. He waited until his father was done until he continued.
“Well… Tell Theseus I told him to get well soon.” Philza nodded, he probably would. Even if the house was a few minutes walk away. “I’m guessing you and Wilbur are off to the market?”
The winged man sighed, glancing back over to where Wilbur was carefully stacking the milk cartons in a way where they wouldn’t completely demolish the seats if they spilled. “Mhm, heard the village is completely low on food. Thought this would be a nice chance to get rid of most of it. Especially since our competitors are dealing with that whole… Bull situation.”
That got a small chuckle from Techno, getting a flashback to the time they got to witness their competitors absolutely demolish their sale attempt at showing how healthy their animals are, only for them to break loose and wreak havoc among the small town.
One of the reasons they loved living alone in the forest.
“When I finish with this, I’ll go check on the gremlin.”
Phil nodded. “Alright, that’ll put me at ease a bit.” Techno didn’t like how Tommy faking being sick was stressing Philza out.
“I’ll go tell him that you’ll come and check on him-” He was cut off, not minding though.
“No! Don’t. I want to surprise him.” By that, he meant to sneak in and catch his little brother being his normal self.
Phil cocked his head, his wing twitching once before he smiled. “Whatever you say, Mate. I’ll be back before you know it. Call me if something goes wrong.”
“Got it, see ya.”
He glanced in the distance, as Phil got smaller the further he walked away. He couldn’t make out what they were saying, but he did notice Wilbur poke his head through their front door for a moment, likely shouting something to the little faker, before closing the door and getting into the car.
Once his twin and dad had left, he decided to wait a little while. He worked for around thirty minutes before peacefully walking to the far-away house. When he caught Tommy he’d persuade (And totally not force) his brother into coming with him. The sun was still out after all.
He enjoyed the nice breeze while it lasted as he approached his… Their home.
He decided sneaking around the back door would be his best option. That way, if Tommy was in the living room, he likely wouldn’t see or hear him. If he did, he could just pretend the second he saw his dear older brother.
The second Techno touched the door handle, something felt insanely off. He hadn’t even opened it, or done any action that would cause his brother to notice him, yet…
The amount of harsh coughing he could hear from Tommys room upstairs, even it being so far away, he could hear it clearly. These weren’t the regular dry-coughs someone would get, no. They were the wet type. The type where it left you exhausted after each round. Hell, he even thought Tommy was throwing up the second he heard it.
He secretly had his fingers crossed on his free hand, hoping that it was indeed fake, and not something that sounded genuinely concerning.
The coughing was still going, even when he twisted the doorknob. It was only when he opened it a little further, he remembered the reason he never went inside by going through the back door.
A loud creak followed, which his brother seemed to notice as his coughing forcefully stopped and he let out a surprised noise, which Techno was surprised even he could hear. He tried not to let his brotherly instincts kick in as he heard a thump, he didn’t hear any pained noise following it, so he guessed Tommy jumped onto his bed.
As Techno closed the door behind him, squeaking and creaking once again, he silently walked up the steps. It was then he decided if he didn’t want to get hit with a safety potion he knew Phil made all the boys keep, he should announce his presence.
He wasn’t in the mood for them to both be hit by instant damage 2 again, thank you very much.
As he approached Tommy’s room, he called out, “Hello, Theseus. I came to check on y-“
And that was when Technoblade had finally looked at his brother, Tommy was snuggled up on his bed, practically swimming in a pile of fluffy (fake) fur blankets.
Hell, the second he saw how red his eyes and nose were, he panicked that it could have been an allergic reaction or at least an extremely bad reaction from the spring pollen. But it couldn’t have been. You don’t get fevers with hay fever, at least that’s what he thought.
No, he could see the literal sweat on his younger brother's face, all the way from across the room. The way his eyes were half-lidded and how his skin… His skin was the palest Techno had ever seen it.
Hell, even when Tommy had died for the first time, his… Body wasn’t that pale. And he’d seen plenty of shades in his lifetime, ranging from the vibrant flush of fever to a nice shade of green.
Well, any disbeliefs to Tommy faking being ill had gone absolutely flown out of the Window.
Not only did he look like shit, but he looked pretty damn shocked. Techno didn’t get why, he lived there too. As he got closer the definitely sick child pulled the blankets around himself tighter.
“Tech..?”
Holy Notch Tommy’s voice sounded terrible. It sounded as if he’d been screaming for eight hours straight, which he hoped wasn’t the case. “What happened to you…?”
He got close to his brother, ignoring the way he shifted away as he sat down on the bed with him. Even if he wasn’t a big fan of the whole, ‘physical contact’ thing, he still quickly brought the back of his palm up before the gremlin could object to it.
Yeah, that… That was boiling. He wiped the moistness from his brother's head onto his own jeans, they’d had far worse stuff on him today anyway, he couldn’t care less.
He could care about his brother, however. Which is exactly what he wanted to do right now.
Tommy was extremely confused as he saw Technoblade perform this action. Wondering why he’d come into his room. He knew it had to be something to do with the whole sick thing, but he expected Wilbur at least. Even if Wilbur wasn’t in the house.
He’d probably find a way.
“Tech, why are you in my room…?” He didn’t mean it in a mean way, he was just confused. “I thought Phil told you I w-“ He got cut off.
“Being 100% genuine with you Tommy, Phil came up to me and told me you were sick. Of course, I didn’t believe him with the timing and all… So I guess I decided to come and visit you to see if the rumors were true.”
“Huh… What rumors…? And why would I fake something that could be so e-easily rescheduled…?” He pushed himself up with his elbows before quickly turning to face away from Techno. He started violently coughing into his elbow, as hard as he could against his will.
The least Techno could do was put a reassuring hand on his brother's back as he tried oh so hard to get that feeling out of his lungs.
“Easy Theseus, it’s alright. Just deep breaths.” Asking someone who had a pretty bad problem with coughing didn’t end the best as it just resulted in more coughing.
Techno mentally punched himself as he realized what he had said. “Jeez, Tommy. What happened to you? I spoke to you about the farm like… Three days ago, how did you get so bad since then?”
The way his little brother avoided eye contact instantly let him know that there was something up.
“Tommy?”
His brother whined pitifully, sinking further into the nest of blankets.
“Tommy…”
“Uhm… I wasn’t actually feeling the best when we were talking about that…” He whined, scratching at the blanket, looking for any excuse to not look his brother in the eyes.
“Mind explaining a little more?” He tilted his head towards the other, moving to the side where he would be forced to have eye contact. It worked as his brother started squirming.
“My nose was a little runny and my throat had kind of been killing me… I did have a headache… It went away for a while though…” He paused to sniff, then continued. “Then I agreed to the stupid plans so… Yeah”
He was very keen on trying to avoid eye contact as much as possible.
“Why didn’t you tell me you felt like shit? We could’ve actually done it next week when it’s hotter and warmer out if you had just told me-“
“You literally just told me that you didn’t believe I was sick a moment ago, I doubt you would have believed me if I said it while we were disagreeing…”
Techno signed, ruffling his brother's way-too-warm hair as he got up from the couch. “Well, I believe you now Theseus, if that means anything to you.”
He felt a little bad as he could tell that Tommy was really leaning into that short head ruffle, it must have felt like glory as Techno knew his hands were typically cold.
Though as much as it made him sad, he knew he had to get up to get the thermometer. With a very quick, unlikely Audible mutter that he would be back, he left the room.
He knew where the thermometer was. Anything medical was now low to the ground, which was a blessing and also a curse. Techno thought it was dumb, putting dangerous stuff in the reach of children. But at the same time he was glad as he still remembered the… Tooth fiasco, instinctively clamping down on his teeth.
As he grabbed the small digital thermometer from the bathroom cabinet and headed down the hallway, which felt a lot longer than he remembered. Maybe that was because he was… Worried?
Oh boy, did he sure feel scared when he approached the bedroom door and heard sniffing? ... Was he crying? That was quite possibly the one thing he was not equipped for at all. He entered the room, instantly reassuring his brother spotting him with his hands over his face
“It’s alright Tommy I’m here, it’s oka-“ It was his turn to get cut off as he was interrupted by what sounded like an extremely painful sneeze.
“Eh’kshew-! Eh’kSHew !”
Well, he could handle that better than crying. “Bless you.” Leaning over to grab some tissues from Tommy’s nightstand, he handed them to his brother, who hoarsley thanked him. Once he’d finished, he dropped the used tissues into the small bin beside his bed.
Techno used this perfect opportunity to shove the digital thermometer in his mouth. “Keep it in there or else.” He couldn’t think of what he’d do if his brother didn’t obey, so if his brother actually didn’t keep the thermometer in, he wasn’t sure what he would do.
“What have you had to drink today, Tommy?” Breaking the silence for the both of them. He guessed the answer likely wouldn’t be what he wanted to hear at the way his brother turned away from him. Techno glared as the boy replied.
“I had a little bit this morning…”
Yeah, uh-huh. He wanted an actual answer, thanks. “So in an actual amount, how much have you had to drink today?” He was definitely not pleased when his little brother pointed to the half-full water bottle on the table, he had a right to being at least a little bit pissed off. “Tommy, there’s no way in Hell that’s healthy. Why haven’t you drank more?”
His little brother grumbled, muttering something along the lines of not wanting to get up and leave his bed. That wasn’t a good enough answer for Techno, no way. He decided to joke. “Well you’re going to need to get up anyway, we have a barn to clean.”
In no way whatsoever did he expect to be taken seriously. “... What are you doing?” He asked as he watched his little brother begin to shift to the side of the bed, trying to slip his feet out from under the covers. He re-thought what he said before realizing.
“Tommy, sit back down. You know I wasn’t actually being serious, right? There’s no way in Hell I’m going to let you go down there, especially with…” He pulled out the digital thermometer he had realized was beeping. “ Especially not with a Fever of 103.” Yeah, definitely sick alright.
“But the animals-”
“Will be fine. They’ve already got enough food and water down, and delaying the jobs by a few days isn’t going to be the end of the world. Plus, I already told Phil I’d check up on you. So I’m pretty sure he and Wilbur would actually kill me if they found out I left you here alone.”
And he was telling the truth. In reality, if he really needed to, he could’ve done it all by himself. He had before, it was just… Nicer having Tommy there alongside him. “But you can’t-”
“I can do whatever I want Theseus. And I want to be here with you. I don’t need to be, but I’m staying because I want to. Have you ever seen me doing something I don’t want to?”
“Yeah, when Dad made you clean up the blood from the carpet when you so rudely pushed me into th-”
“Alright, I get it. But seriously. I am staying . And sorry for not picking a better day.”
“I normally like doing the animals… I love helping the cows, I just didn’t feel the best, and I didn’t want to get them sick too… And I already felt really sick then and-” He didn’t get to finish as another round of coughing happened, and boy did it sound rough. It sounded really hard and really, really painful.
Before Techno could go and help him, Tommy turned further away from him, burying his face into his elbow and groaning. “You going to puke, Theseus? Because I would rather you not do that.”
The silence proved him right as his little brother took in a few shaky breaths before speaking. “... No, uhm… Almost…” Okay, well. Considering the bin he had was filled was designed with a bunch of tiny holes, using that was out of the question. So he quickly sped-walked down the stairs and into the kitchen.
He picked the large bowl, the one they had specifically for this reason. And went back up the stairs, maybe rushing a little. He didn’t exactly like the idea of a speedy carpet redecoration. “Sit down, and shut up.” Wow, he actually listened to him.
Techno placed the bowl beside him, hoping he wouldn’t actually need to use it. And Tommy… Well, he just looked beyond mortified, it was clearly embarrassing to him. But Techno didn’t care.
What he did care about, however, was his brother's attempts at warming himself up. Despite being surrounded by what looked to be every spare blanket in the house, he was full-on shivering. He had at least a bit of common sense to know that probably wasn’t the best sign.
His temperature was already 103. So anything higher would be worrying, and as comfy as the fake fur blankets were, it wouldn’t help the fever. “Tommy, I know it sucks, but I’m going to need to take some of those blankets from you-”
“No!” He snapped, burying himself deeper. If it weren’t for the way he reacted, Techno would have assumed the child was just being stubborn. But he could tell that something else was the issue. As he moved to forcibly remove the sheets, he saw Tommy grab them tighter. “You are literally only going to make yourself sicker.”
“Stop it, Technoblade.” Alright, full names. Okay, well he could tell by the tone being used that he was pissed. But he frankly found it kind of cute. His brother absolutely failed at being intimidating, especially more now that he was sick.
Still, it was just blankets. And he could tell his brother didn’t only want them because he felt cold. He had no reason to respond so quickly and forcefully if that were the only reason. So the first conclusion his mind came to. “What, are you in your shorts or something?”
Tommy looked at him like he was an idiot. “What no-” Good enough answer for him, as he yanked the blanket off of him while he was distracted.
And wow, even he couldn’t help the aww he let out.
Tommy was wearing a pink pig onesie, the hood down so Techno couldn’t tell. It was one the twins got him as a joke. But knowing he actually wore it made him smile, largely. “Piss off… It’s comfy.”
“Mhm, no doubt. Remind me to get a pair for myself.” Tommy only whined, not feeling good.
He tried to reach back to the blanket, only to have it pulled away from him and put to the side. “Well, Theseus. I’ll stop making fun of how adorable you look. You up for some food?” As his brother shook his head no, he continued. “Yeah you are. I’ll go get you something.”
And once again he left.
In the few minutes he was downstairs, he decided to microwave the canned soup. Perfect, as that was something he could semi-not burn. While that was cooking, he decided to grab a new ice-cold water bottle. Because, damn it. He would get that child to eat.
Once he’d turn the stove off, he put the soup and water on a tray. That way it wouldn’t spill everywhere if something were to happen. As he was halfway up the stairs, he heard a few small sneezes which he responded to with a “Bless you.” As he opened the door.
Tommy jumped, clearly not hearing him come up the stairs. ”...Thanks.” His older brother nodded, placing the tray onto the bed.
“I brought some water too, but you can finish your old one first if you want, this ones pretty cold since I just got it from the fridge.”
Tommy actually ended up eating quite a bit of the soup, (Which he totally didn’t need Techno to help him eat with the spoon, nope.) It wasn’t a lot, but it was something at least. “Are you finished?” Assuming by the way, he ultimately stopped trying to raise the spoon by himself.
“Mhm… Sorry…”
“Don’t apologize nerd. You actually ate some of it, which I’m glad.” He moved the tray onto the floor on his side, so it wouldn’t get kicked or spill onto the floor. “Theseus, all I beg of you is that you do at least give me a warning before you throw up because I need to emotionally prepare for that.”
“... I can’t help it, dickhead.” He just got his hair pat in return. Surely Tommy had to be able to tell that he was joking? He knew he sounded monotone but wow.
“I know, jeez since when were you so sensitive?”
“When I started feeling like my lungs would fall out of my mouth if I coughed again.” And you know what? He was completely fair. Hell if he felt the way Tommy had described.
“Can I… Have my blanket back please?” Tecno grabbed said blanket, balled it up, and chucked it across the room. So if the gremlin really wanted it, he’d have to stand and get it. And they both knew he wasn’t going to do that. So instead, he just grumbled and leaned back into his comfy bed, sinking deeper into the mattress.
“Techno, this is my room! Just give it…” He mumbled, clearly upset from the interaction.
He wasn’t too happy with the tone.
“You want to argue about this?”
… “Not really, I just want the blanket back… I’m freezing.” His body proved a point for him as he let out another fierce shiver. The older sibling sighed.
“I know, but drowning yourself in warm fluff when you’re already baking won't do anyone any favors.” Tommy was only a little mad that Techno was right. And accepted the fact that he wouldn’t get one of his beloved blankets back.
Tommy actually seemed pretty keen on sitting alone in silence. Techno, however, found it to be quite disturbing, and once again decided to break the silence. “Hey, would you like to… Watch a movie?” He knew that if his little brother did agree, it would probably be the movie Up. Which… No. Okay, yeah. He’d watch it. But it didn’t mean he’d enjoy it the way he did.
Tommy felt way too nauseous to care. Instead opting for a simple response. “I don’t care about Techno, you can if you want.” With a few more coughs into his elbow.
Okay, he was worried now. He knew his brother too well to know that he absolutely despised awkward silences. Don’t get him wrong, he could be quiet when he needed to be. But if he had a chance to be louder, he’d take it.
So Techno decided to reach over and grab Tommy’s Ipad from one of the tables, opening Disney +, he thought a Disney movie would do. Lion king to be specific. Instantly remembering how every time they watched it when they were little, Tommy would point to Pumba and say it was him, even though Pumba was a warthog.
He smiled at the memory, pressing play and setting the device to where they could both see it. A little while into the movie, Techno started to notice how his brother kept on absentmindedly leaning to the side, steadily dozing off. He was glad.
He’d secretly been checking his forehead every half an hour or so, not that he could actually tell if it was any different. He didn’t want to stick the thermometer in his mouth in case he woke up. He wanted his brother to sleep while he could, knowing how easy it was to wake him when he was unwell.
He knew for sure, he’d make it up to him for not believing him when he was better.
Somewhere between when Lion King 1.5 started playing, Wilbur had messaged him asking about how he was. Which Techno responded with a short answer. Mentioning how their little brother had a bad cough and a fever.
Techno didn’t want to downplay the symptoms, but he knew if he said the wrong word that Phil and Wilbur wouldn’t hesitate to drive home. But he could handle it, for now. He’d let them know when they got back from selling the food.
It wasn’t until about half an hour or so later, Tommy had wiggled his way out of the blankets and shuffled his way into the hall. Techno would have asked if he were okay, but his brother seemed pretty keen on going to the bathroom. Oh well, they had been there for a few hours after all.
He’d heard the toilet flush after a few minutes, only to be followed by absolute silence. No sounds of walking around, no sound of water running. Nothing. Technoblade was about to shout out if he was okay until he heard the unpleasant sound of something he’d been dreading happening all afternoon. The intense sound of retching, followed by the disgusting sound of splattering of water.
Mere seconds after the intense sound of vomiting began, Technoblade was already out of his seat and making his way down the hall. As he reached out to the doorknob, he heard the sound that was engraved into his brain. The bathroom doorknob locking. “Tommy-”
“ Please, please please don’t come in.” The kid begged. Which Techno actually listened. He could unlock it if there were an emergency. (Cough, cough. The medicine cabinet incident.) So he just waited, hoping his brother would open it soon. He’d seen him throw up before, so he wasn’t sure what was different this time.
“Are you good in there…?” An extremely dumb question, of course, he wasn’t. But he thought it’d be better than saying nothing at all.
“Mm.. Just… Don’t-” He didn’t exactly get to finish before he was forced into another round of gagging and throwing up what would likely only be the soup. “Don’t come-”
“Tommy, open the door.”
He didn’t.
Techno’s mind was absolutely screaming at him, it was telling him a thousand things at once. To call Phil, Wilbur. Go get help, go help, Tommy… Rub his back and help him at least. He couldn’t stand this. Not when he was right there.
“... No…”
“Last chance, open it now.”
The only answer he got was coughing, not good enough for him. As he quickly picked the lock with one of his hairpins, thanking Notch himself that it wasn’t the most quality of security.
Woah, to put it kindly. He looked like a wreck. He looked far worse than he did before he began practically puking his insides out. But he didn’t know anyone who looked good after that, besides himself of course.
He could tell that his brother knew he didn’t look the best as he shielded his face from Techno’s direction, pretty keen on not locking eyes. “Stop looking at me” he muttered, leaning back over the bowl to empty his stomach once more, coughing a few times in the process. “Stop It, It’s gross… Go outside.”
Nope.
“Do I look like I care about that? You’ve literally thrown up on me , more times than you have the toilet.” That wasn’t even a lie. That was the honest truth, almost. Wilbur tied pretty close for being puked on too. But he decided not to go too far with the teasing, as it was already clear that Tommy was a lot more emotional right now, and no doubt would be extremely embarrassed when he was feeling better.
They spent what felt like hours in the bathroom when in reality it was only around seven minutes. When Tommy was sure he wasn’t going to puke for the moment, Techno spoke. “Alright, I’ll go get you some new clothes. Those ones are kind of…” He pointed at the mark in the pig onesie.
Well, so much for trying not to embarrass him.
When he was sure his brother wouldn’t take a nosedive to the concrete floor, he sneaked into the bedroom, rummaging through the pajamas. Letting out a few, ‘Awes’ at the various animal onesies.
He looked between the chicken and the cow onesie and opted for the cow one, it matched the boy's stuffed animal. As he grabbed it, he heard a loud crash from the other room. “Tommy? Are you alright!?” He asked cautiously.
“I’m okay!” Which was very quickly followed by another round of gagging and no doubt had to be the sound of throwing up. Techno pretty speedily returned to the bathroom to see Tommy leaning over the toilet. At least he was… Awake. That was a good sign, to be up and walking with a… 103 fever.
Was it higher now? He knew puking could make it spike… Was Tommy okay? “Good thing I thought to check on you.”
“Only because..” He coughed, spitting into the bowl. “You thought I was faking.” He briefly made eye contact with his brother before reaching out for a bit of paper to wipe his face with.
Techno did feel pretty bad about that.
Though no point thinking of that now, as he told his brother to get changed into the new-er onesie he’d picked out.
Obviously, he gave him privacy. Standing outside of the closed bedroom door. He asked Tommy not to lock in if in the worst-case scenario, he passed out. But his brother agreed, which after a few minutes had emerged.
He looked a slight bit better wearing something that didn’t have gross stains on it. Not a lot better, but by somewhat. He reached the palm of his hand out to the child's forehead, which said child tried to wiggle away from.
Yeah, still really hot. And wet too, which probably wasn’t a good sign. He motioned for them to both put their hands in the sink, whatever he had, they were still going to wash them. As Techno led him into the hallway, he asked. “Would you rather go back to your bedroom, or downstairs on the couch?”
“Uh… I’m not sure.” The translation: ‘I just want to follow you.’ Which Techno actually had to think about. He knew there was a second bathroom downstairs, though it was a little further to get to from the couch. He had the bowl with him though. The kitchen would be close too… But it wasn’t really an issue whichever he picked.
“How about you try your bed again, and we’ll see how you feel? You can change your mind if you want to be on the couch. Plus the bathroom’s closer.” So they slowly walked their way over, Techno absentmindedly putting an arm on his little brother's shoulder in case he fell.
Tommy practically flopped onto the blankets, not moving from the position he landed in. It was clear, even after how much he tried to shrug it off or ignore it, he was absolutely exhausted. He didn’t even flinch or make eye contact when Techno leaned over him to adjust the blankets.
“Alright… Time to call Dadza.” Somehow that was the magical choice of words that got Tommy to respond.
“No, don’t. They’re going to come home or something. I’m fine.” He mumbled. Fine, he said. As he sank further into the blankets, not too keen on getting up.
The whine got louder as he could hear Techno’s phone, he recognized the sound of typing and then heard the rings. He had the, ‘I can’t see you, you can’t see me’ mentality as he fully covered himself with the blanket. It wasn’t even a facetime call.
“Hey, Phil.”
“What’s up, Mate? I was just about to call you.” Techno and Tommy could hear the voice of Wilbur talking to customers in the background of the call. Fighting over their pure milk likely, it was always the freshest on the market.
They could also hear the focus in their dad’s voice.
“Right, I’m with Tommy and he’s…” He wanted to word it in a non-concerning way, so he paused to think. Which was totally not relieving for Phil as he quickly heard his Dad’s voice.
“Techno, Is he alright?”
The sick little gremlin decided to respond for him, after hearing his voice. “I’m fine, Dad.” Yeah, no. Techno could tell him himself thank you. Gently pushing his brother deeper into the bed, he left into the hallway. He knew his brother could probably hear him, but he wanted to tell Phil the truth , not just some lies from a stubborn child.
“Yeah, he’s… Mostly fine.”
“Technoblade.”
“I’m telling mostly the truth! He’s awake, and eavesdropping like a GREMLIN .” He raised his voice, knowing his brother was listening to likely every word. He continued. “He’s got a cough that makes him sound like he’s dying, and he’s puking a lot. And uhh, he had a fever of 103 about an hour ago. I haven’t checked it again yet.” He peered into the bedroom again, seeing how betrayed his brother looked.
There was no lying to Phil.
“Well, shit. I’m don’t want to leave yet with how many people there are, but as soon as we sell enough, I’ll be heading straight back with Wilbur, or do you need me there right now-”
The frantic silent head nodding, no from Tommy.
“It’s alright, Phil. I’m taking care of him. And he’s not dead yet, is he?” He heard the sound of Phil saying something to Wilbur, likely about an order.
“Okay, I promise we’ll be back as soon as we can. And please call me if he gets worse, last time-”
“He was fine last time too, couldn’t say the same for Wilbur and my sweaters.” Phil audibly wheezed at the memory, funny times.
“Okay, okay. The customers are getting rowdy. I’ll be back soon, love you boys, Bye!” They both let out an, “I love you too” as the call ended.
Once the call had ended, it really dawned onto Techno that he actually had little to no idea what he was doing. It clearly wasn’t some cold he’d picked up from being outside for too long. And it wasn’t something he could treat with just Calpol.
Tommy only stared blankly at the Disney movie that was playing, they managed to get through over half an hour before the child had enough.
You know, maybe he should have asked Phil to come back… He glanced to Tommy.
No, he could handle this.
“Alright, here’s the deal. If you don’t start feeling better in the next hour, I’m calling Ph-”
He didn’t even get to finish before Tommy was throwing up loudly into the empty bowl in front of him.
Sighing, Technoblade began to unlock his phone again, looking for Phil’s contact once again.