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It’s late at night when they find each other in the woods. It was probably just a coincidence, Techno had gone out hunting for blood, and Tommy, well Tommy was just wandering.
Wandering is one word to describe it. Some days when Tommy finds the voices too much to bear, and his head feels like it will split open and the pathetic contents of his pathetic mind will spill out onto the ground...he walks through the forest to clear his thoughts.
It’s something Wilbur taught him. He has a memory, so faint it might have been a dream, of walking through the forest holding his big brother’s hand.
“Tommy,” Wilbur said, his dark eyes serious, “Sometimes you’re gonna get overwhelmed, but you have to promise me to..to never listen to them. Don’t give in.”
“Who is them?” Tommy had asked, his brow furrowed in confusion
Wilbur squeezed Tommy’s hand as he murmured, “Toms, I hope you’ll never have to find out.”
But as he got older, he met them. The voices in his head, telling him he’s a failure, telling him to just give up, that he should end it all in a fiery blaze and bring the world down with him.
So Tommy made a promise with Wilbur, that they would never give in to the voices.
Wilbur broke his end of the promise the same day he shook his hands with Dream.
So there Tommy is, wandering blindly through the forest. Feeling panicked because of the voices in his head, and feeling cold and alone because Wilbur is no longer there to hold his hand.
By some strange twist of fate, Techno finds himself standing on the same path as Tommy, his cold eyes staring into the boy’s shocked expression.
Technoblade looks at the boy before him, and sees the sword strapped to his waist and the flames in his eyes. He does not see the red swollen rim around the flaming eyes, nor how small the frame that carries the sword has become. He does not see his brother, he sees an enemy.
Technoblade is annoyed. The last thing he wants right now is to hear Tommy’s stupid laugh.
(Techno tries not to think about how much he misses Tommy’s stupid laugh.)
The voices demand blood, and once again this pathetic child is in his way.
Expecting the usual rude and obnoxious remarks from Tommy, Techno starts before Tommy can get a word in, “Tommy what are you doing in the middle of the forest? Are you an idiot? It’s the middle of the night! You’re so stupid, I don’t know why I didn’t just hand you off to Dream myself. It wouldn’t have made a difference since you’re just going to get yourself killed anyway.”
Techno does not see the way Tommy’s hands start to shake. He continues.
“Really you are just such a stupid child. And don’t forget that these are my woods, and I haven’t forgotten those gapples you stole from me. Give me one reason I shouldn’t take your worthless life right now.
Tommy’s whole body is shaking now. Techno can no longer pretend he doesn’t see it.
Tommy’s face remains as blank and emotionless as a mask, but his eyes are filled with tears. He wraps his arms around himself, trying to stop the shaking.
He begins to sob. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he says over and over through panicked breaths.
Then suddenly he wipes his eyes and recomposes his anguished features into a blank expression.
Techno watches in horror as Tommy sinks to the ground, dull eyes locked onto techno’s.
“Just do it.” Tommy says flatly, with a voice far too calm for the tears that continue to spill from his eyes. “I deserve it.”
“Tommy?” Techno’s voice is small.
For the first time in what feels like centuries, technoblade is shocked. He had expected to be insulted, maybe even attacked. He expected hatred. The last thing in the world he expected was...this.
But there Tommy is, shivering in his tattered t-shirt, arms wrapped around a shaking frame, and the flames in his eyes doused by his tears. He sits in the snow, looking expectantly up at techno through frost covered lashes.
Techno leans forward, and Tommy smiles. This is it, he thinks. But the blow never comes.
Instead, Techno scoops tommy up like a bride, ignoring the teenager’s screams of protest.
All the way home, Techno carries a thrashing tommy. He pays no attention to Tommy’s insults, and he doesn’t bat an eye when Tommy threatens him. Tommy screams and cries and hits,but techno holds himself together. But when tommy begs, begs to be killed, begs to die, Techno shatters.
It is only when Tommy falls asleep in Techno’s arms, exhaustion trumping anger, that Techno allows himself to cry. Tears fall silently as he looks down at the broken boy in his arms. He looks so small, so pale, so helpless. Techno wonders how he never noticed these things before.
He told himself he didn’t care about Tommy, but as he carries Tommy through the door of his cabin and gently tucks him into bed, Techno vows to never let anyone lay a hand on this boy ever again.
Techno shakes with anger as he thinks of the way Tommy shook, the helpless look in his eyes... and the smile.. the smile when he thought his life was ending.
Techno knows he holds blame for Tommy’s current state, but he also knows that he is not the main reason Tommy has become this way. A smiling mask fills Techno’s vision and he sees red.
He’ll talk to Tommy later, make amends for the things he’s done, but that can wait. Techno isn’t good at talking, but there is one thing he can do without fail. He wraps his fingers solidly around his axe, gives the blade a swing, and heads back out into the forest.
The voices be will getting their blood tonight.