Chapter Text
Not that he's being ungrateful or anything, but Tommy grows to fear a lot of things during his time of being animate. First of all, sleep. Sleeping is terrifying for the boy, because every time he heads to bed he continues to wonder whether or not he'll wake up a statue again, and being saved by the family was all a dream his touch-starved mind made up in desperation. He knows that none of this is true; he didn't and or couldn't sleep as a statue therefore he didn't dream, but the fear is still there.
The next thing on his mental list isn't exactly a fear, he just doesn't know what it is. Whenever someone touches him, his nerves suddenly burn in a way that he can't decide makes him want more of the touch or makes him want to rip his arms away and jump into cold water to cleanse the ghost of contact off of his skin. This feeling is extra somehow whenever someone or something brushes against the crack-like scars on his body. He has one on his cheek, spreading from his jaw to just below his eyelid, one on the opposite forearm that wrapped around his entire arm in a way that made him fear the limb would fall off in his time as a statue, and one spreading across his knuckles on the opposing hand. Any and all cracks on his old clothes turned into tears, and the ones in his hair just kind of disappeared into the mess of blonde tangles they rested on.
He couldn't be more relieved one didn't start on his eye. God knows how that would have felt.
Anyways, he'd told Phil about the burning sensation that spreads across his skin at human contact, and he was responded to with a sad smile from the older man. "You're touch-starved. Happens when you haven't made any human contact in a while. And, uhm, it's been a bit for you, I'm assuming." The taller says, smiling awkwardly. This is true though; the last time anyone touched him even when he was a statue was a couple decades ago. A kind, tall man visited him for a few days, before saying he and his friend had to move because they were in danger. He gave Tommy a long hug before he left, his sad, white smile blinding before he left at the call of his name. Tommy couldn't really remember the man's name, he thinks it was just a word, but he was really nice. It's only been about thirty years or so; maybe he's still alive.
A tap on his shoulder jolts him from memory lane, and he doubts he would've noticed the touch had it not been for the familiar burning that followed it. He looks up from where he'd been staring down a blade of grass to see Wilbur, who smiles at the boy. "Hey. Phil wanted to know if you wanted to go to the village with him? A friend of his is coming over for dinner tonight and he needed to pick up a few things." The brunette explains, watching the boy turn to look at Phil in the distance, packing the horse's bags with his gold pouch and a canteen of water. Eventually, Tommy shakes his head politely. If he can barely handle someone poking him, he doubts he'd be able to handle being around several people and risking bumping into anyone. Wilbur nods, letting the boy know that he isn't upset at his decision. "I'll go tell Phil. Why don't you go inside; he gets anxious when we're outside without him home." He says with a roll of his eyes, making Tommy laugh quietly. "But- weren't you a-and Techno outside a lot w-while he was visit-visiting that person?" He questions, his stutter far less apparent than when it had been days before. Wilbur chuckles, crouching down to meet the boy's height. "Well yeah, but he let it slide because he didn't want you to be lonely. We didn't either." He says with a smile, having to physically restrain himself from ruffling the boy's hair, knowing of the touch-starvation.
Tommy blinks, smiling widely once he realizes just how nice that was of them. "Thank you." He hugs the man's leg, before walking back inside of the house and completely missing the awe-struck face the taller wears. That very same face remains with him even when he's walked the distance over to his father. "You good, mate?" Said man asks, a hand brushing the horse's neck before he walks with the young adult back to the house. "He's just- so sweet." Wilbur stutters, his voice filled with so much raw adoration that Phil has to hide a wide grin behind the back of his hand, patting his son's back with the other. "I know, Wil. By the way, does he want to come with?" Phil questions as he steps onto the porch, waiting for the other two to come outside and bid him goodbye. Wilbur shakes his head, having seemingly pulled himself together. "He said no. I think he'd be a little overwhelmed anyways, yeah?" The blonde nods, having thought about that before he offered, before the door opens to show Techno with said boy sat on his shoulders.
Phil gives them both a hug, lingering with Tommy so the boy doesn't feel as if his nerves are being ripped away with him, and waves them goodbye as he sits upon his horse, riding off towards the forest. It should only take him a couple of hours until he's back, the village being a thirty minute ride away from where they'd found Tommy originally. At the pat of his head, Techno lets the boy off of his shoulders, hovering his arms over him as he wobbles before standing normally. Luckily, it didn't take long for the child to regain motor functions; he just has some trouble standing up and running. Don't even mention stairs. "Who's D- Phil's friend?" Tommy asks, the twins feeling a wave of disappointment at the so-called correction. "An older friend of his named Bad. Apparently they met way before Phil even found us." Wilbur explains, leading the other two to the couch. Tommy pauses once he's sat down, squinting. Bad. Bad. Wait.
"Bad as in... tall shadow guy with a glowing white mouth and eyes?" He asks hesitantly, knowing his assumption his correct at the bewildered looks he gets. No sane person named their child 'Bad' other than Bad's parents apparently. Aka bad parents. He knew there was a chance it'd be him. "How do you know Bad? I know you're literally older than us by a couple hundred years but it's not like-... how?" Wilbur asks, cutting off his taunt once he realizes how much of an asshole it would make him. Tommy notices it, but waves it off with a sad smile that makes Wilbur wish he simply wasn't born. "He visited me for a couple of days. H-he had to go away though because s-something dangerous was happening." The boy explains shakily, leaning into the side hug he gets from Techno. "How long ago was this? We didn't hear anything about him and Skeppy bein' in danger." The man mumbles, looking up in thought.
Tommy shakes his head. "He wasn't with whoever Skeppy is- this person's name was Ant. I met him with Bad; he was a cat hybrid. And this was thirty years ago, I- I think." The boy says in an equally quiet tone, yawning a little. You really can't blame the boy for being tired; Techno runs warm at a startlingly high temperature due to his piglin nature, and soft tones of the house alongside his... brothers, being next to him calms him down. The twins make eye contact, a sign that they'll talk more about this later with Phil, before Wilbur gets up to come back with a blanket, wrapping it around his younger brother. "You can take a nap bud. We'll wake you up before Bad gets here." He assures in a soft voice, smiling when the boy nods and leans into his brother's side even more.
He doesn't even realize that he's completely ignored his first two discomforts.
_-_-_-_
Phil had just been attaching his bags to the horse's saddle when he hears his name being called. Turning around at the voice, he grins at the sight of Bad. "Phil! I wasn't expecting to see you here! I was actually on my way to your house just a few minutes ago." The demon grins, stopping his footsteps in front of the shorter man. Phil smiles back, holding the lead of his horse as he walks with Bad in the direction of his home. "I'm actually glad I ran into you, Bad. There's something I wanted to talk about." The man starts, continuing at the pressing smile his friend gives him. "Have you heard of the 'Living Statue' in the forest surrounding our cottage?" He asks, Bad smiling with a nod. "Yeah, I actually used to visit him a lot until me and Ant had to go. Ooh! I'll get to see him again now that I'm here!" He says excitedly, though he pauses at the fond smile that appears on his friend's lips.
"And he'll actually get to make conversation this time." Phil says, his grin widening when he sees his friend's face at the news. Tears begin to swell up in the demon's eyes, and he wipes them a way with a smile and a watery laugh. "You're too good for this world, Phil." The man mumbles, pausing in their walk to give his friend a hug. The size difference makes it look like the demon is hugging a child, but Phil doesn't mind, hugging the man back happily. "I know, right? Honestly, I should get payed for this shit." He jokes, laughing at the swat he gets to the head. "Language, Phil!" Bad reprimands, though there's no malice in his tone.
It takes barely an hour for the two to make it back, Bad helping Phil bring the bags filled with groceries back into the house. Phil has to hide a smile at the sight of Tommy asleep on Techno, said man reading as his twin absentmindedly strums the guitar. The house is quiet as Techno and Wilbur look between Bad and Tommy, making eye contact with each other before Wilbur shakes the boy's shoulder. "Hey Toms, Bad is here." The brunette mumbles, snorting when Tommy shoots up at the words. Looking around, the boy meets Bad's eyes. The two stare at each other for a moment before Bad grins, crouching down with his arms open for the boy as he jumps into them. "I knew Phil wasn't lying when he said he helped you, but it's still a little hard to believe." The man says, sitting down on the floor with the blonde in his arms.
The family watches the cute little reunion, filled with Tommy thanking the man for accompanying him, and filled with Bad apologizing for not being able to help any sooner. It's genuinely heartwarming, and Phil hates the fact that he has to go cook dinner and can't just sit there and watch the little boy be cute and stuff. Philza Minecraft is a very professional man, as you can see.
The rest of the night is spent with Tommy glued to Bad's side, and it takes a lot of convincing, aka bargaining, for Tommy to let Bad leave so he can make it home to his friend. On the promise that he'd come visit again in at least a month, of course. No one's upset about it though; because Tommy was smiling the entire night. The family can all agree that they'd move mountains to see that smile more often.
_-_-_-_
Some mornings, the crack-like scars will be a painful reminder of all of Tommy's years spent standing still. It's on those same mornings that he finds he can't move his body, too lost in his own reflection to remember that he's capable of so. The first time this happened was the worst, because no one came in to help him until late noon. He has woken up in pain, his arm and cheek throbbing more so than his knuckles due to those cracks being huge in comparison. It threw him back to the pain he had felt when he first felt the cracks, his entire body wanting to convulse in the pain yet staying still. He started sobbing quietly, feeling as if he had been turned to stone once again, yet this time there was no fixing it.
At least he was lying down this time; he doesn't think he can handle another hundred years standing still on legs that beg for a break.
After a few hours his door finally opened to reveal a concerned looking Techno, who's concern only grew once he saw the tears running down the boy's pain filled face. The pink haired male crouches to his knees next to the bed, placing a hand on the younger's shoulder and frowning at the lack of response. The boy doesn't shake, doesn't flinch, doesn't relax, he's just completely still. It's then that Techno realizes what's happening, and he stands up, sitting on the bed next to the boy. Gently, he sits the boy up and grabs his hand, moving the fingers so they're wrapped around his own.
"Squeeze my hand if you can. Don't pressure yourself to, but try." The piglin hybrid asks. The hand in his stiffens, as if it's trying to move but can't, before relaxing back to it's original, still position. "That's okay, you gave me some movement and that's all I need. That's all you need. You moved, okay? You can't move if you're a statue." He explains, wrapping his other hand around the one encased in the other. "And you told us that it was hard for you to feel touch when you were a statue. You can feel this, right?" He asks, quietly. The boy blinks, blinking again at the fact that he blinked in the first place, before he lets out a small, pained whimper. Techno jumps, having not expected it to be that easy, before he squeezes the boy's hand. "What's wrong?" He asks, his heart breaking at the small sobs coming out of his- dare he say- little brother's mouth. "Hurts." Is what he makes of the response he gets, and it just makes him even more sad.
"What hurts?" He presses, hugging the boy. He's relieved that the boy sinks into the comfort instead of reeling back like he usually does, unused to the touch. He only gets a one word response again, but as did the last one, it breaks his heart even more. "Cracks." Looking at the boy's face, shiny with tears, he stares at the long crack across his entire cheek, splitting off and going right back in on itself near the bottom of his jaw. Then he looks at the line going around the boy's entire arm, creating a circle. And then he looks at the hand he was just holding, seeing the jagged line going across the boy's knuckles.
Techno has been overly aware of the scars since the second he's seen the boy without his stone outer layer. He was just never aware of the fact that Tommy could feel them. Especially with the fact that they hurt him to the point that he thinks he's a statue again. Don't get him wrong, Techno is well aware of the phantom pain scars can bring, what with having some himself from his many battles and times he went out at night to hunt. But these aren't phantom pains that the crack-like scars bring his little brother; this is actual pain. The boy is genuinely feeling the pain of his skin being cracked, at that's mortifying to Techno.
"I'll be right back, okay? Literally, it should take me less than thirty seconds to come back." He assures, scooting off of the bed and wincing at the sound Tommy makes at the loss of warmth. Wilbur and Phil were out today, so it's up to Techno to help the boy. Luckily, Techno's probably the only one in the house who knows where the numbing cream is. True to his word, he comes back to the boy's room in less than thirty seconds, barely out of breath as he sits back down and gently grabs the boy's arm; the one with the scar on his knuckles. "I'm going to need to put this on your scars, okay? It might hurt if they're sensitive, but all of the pain will be gone in a second." He warns, seeing the boy nod before Techno gently rubs the numbing cream across the cracks, trying his best to ignore the quiet sobs that follow.
The man finishes applying the cream as quickly as possible without making the pain any worse, and he's glad to hear the boy's sobs begin to quiet down before coming to an end, turning into nothing but labored breaths and a face sticky with tears. Techno hates that this is an eleven year old, having been alive for over six hundred years or not. He hugs the boy close, mourning for the loss of his childhood as he wipes the tears from the child's face, trying not to wipe off the numbing cream on his cheek.
He tells the other two about the situation later, once Tommy's eaten something and gone back to sleep. They now always check on Tommy if he's not out of his room by ten.