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“Why do you call yourself the human GPS, Techno?” Wilbur asked, idly fiddling with a block of andesite.
He was perched on one of the many stone ledges and outcroppings in Pogtopia’s ravine, near the very bottom of it all. Out of the corner of his eyes, Wilbur could just see his stream camera hovering around and providing an ample view of the ravine.
“It’s because I’m good at navigating, obviously.” Technoblade’s familiar voice droned through the intercom, monotone like it usually was when he was being sarcastic. “What else did you expect?”
Wilbur just rolled his eyes, glancing at the ravine around him. There was still so much to do; Pogtopia still resembled more of a cave than a city, even with the many stairs and railings that they had painstakingly crafted. With a sigh, he pushed himself up from his makeshift seat and made his way over to the nearest staircase.
He checked his air screen for a moment. Though there were four of them in the voice call, there was a long lull in conversation, and things were getting boring. Even Wilbur’s chat was becoming more and more random, and less focused on the actual content. He sighed again, and closed his screen, not wanting to look at chat.
“I guess you’ve adapted to the DreamSMP quickly, huh?” Wilbur replied finally, starting to descend the crudely carved stone stairs.
He got a snort of amusement in return. “Late response, huh?” Techno mocked, imitating Wilbur’s tone of voice. “Well, yes, I have. I’m quite familiar with the terrain now.”
There was a sudden crackle in the voice call. Wilbur winced slightly at the loud sound, trying not to unbalance on a particularly sloped part of the staircase.
Tubbo’s voice spoke suddenly, eliminating the feedback. “Do you still use F3 though? Because if you do, does that really mean you’re that familiar?” The younger boy mused, his curious voice a welcome break in their monotone conversation.
Techno laughed slightly, the sound somehow managing to sound menacing. “Oh, I don’t need to bother with any of that.” He answered easily. Wilbur shook his head exasperatedly, choosing not to mention that Techno had used the debug screen as recently as yesterday, though it was off-stream.
A sigh alerted them to the presence of the final (and youngest) member of the quartet. “I want to be more like you, Techno.” Tommy said, his tone half joking, half genuine. “You’re so epic.”
Wilbur chuckled slightly at the youngest boy’s words, knowing that his chat was probably erupting with ‘AWW’s at that very moment. “Aw, why don’t you want to be like me?” He teased. A small smirk spread across Wilbur’s face as he finally stepped off the staircase, and realized that he was on the same floor as Tommy’s self-claimed room.
Tommy just scoffed, and didn’t reply. It didn’t bother Wilbur though. He knew that Tommy looked up to him just as much as Techno, and the thought always made him smile.
As Wilbur drew nearer to Tommy’s room, he started to hear the telltale sounds of blocks being placed. Strangely, there were also occasional clicks and thuds that only redstone pistons could make. He wondered what exactly Tommy was up to, as he stopped in front of a wooden sign tacked to the wall, saying ‘Tommy’s Room’.
“Tommy?” Wilbur called, peering into the narrow alcove next to the wall. He frowned as he caught a glimpse of sanded wood, rough cobblestone, and smooth redstone blocks. “Are you—”
He was interrupted by a particularly loud click, a sharp intake of breath, then…
“AAHHHH!” Tommy screamed, the sound spiking sharply over the intercom.
Wilbur jumped, hissing in pain as his head banged against the top of the narrow tunnel. Over the call, Tubbo let out a small gasp of surprise, and Techno said, “Holy—”
“OH, FUCK! WILBUR!” Tommy continued to yell, his voice full of panic.
Wilbur, quickly recovering from the small pain, rushed forward into the tunnel. “Tommy?” He called, starting to feel just as alarmed as Tommy sounded. “What happened? Are you okay—”
He stopped in his tracks, staring at the sight in front of him. Tommy looked up at him, his expression half panicked, half disgruntled. The younger boy was lying flat on his stomach, somehow wedged between the wooden top of a piston and the stone bottom.
“Wilbur!” Tommy shouted, his expression morphing into annoyance when Wilbur made no move to come closer. “Help me, Wilbur! The fucking redstone’s screwed me over!”
Wilbur couldn’t help it; he burst into laughter. The older man steadied himself against the cool stone walls, laughter shaking through his entire body. The voice call filled with the chuckles of the other two as they realized what was going on.
Tommy did not look amused at all. “WILBUR!” He screeched, startling Wilbur out of his laughing fit. He hurried on, taking the chance to speak quickly. “Wilbur, I actually need your help. Come on, Wilbur. Please?” The younger boy attempted to give Wilbur puppy eyes, but the whole image was ruined by the fact that he was still sandwiched in the piston.
Wilbur shook his head, still holding back laughter. “Hmm, I don’t know.” He pretended to consider, tapping his chin thoughtfully.
Tommy gave a nervous chuckle, trying to squirm in his uncomfortable position. “Wilbur, Wilbur. Come on! Please, Wilbur, let me—”
“How about no?” Wilbur let his hand fall again and looked down at Tommy, a playful smirk on his face. The smile wavered slightly as he saw what looked like a genuinely anxious look on the younger boy’s face. But no, it had to be acting, right? It was all a bit, after all.
“What?” Tommy scowled up at the older man, any vulnerability disappearing immediately. “Wilbur, you’d better mine this fucking piston right now, or I’ll—”
“Or you’ll do what?” Wilbur cut the younger boy off casually, grinning as a frustrated look crossed Tommy’s face. “Yeah, I don’t think so.” With a mocking salute to Tommy, he turned to leave the tunnel.
“Wait, Wilbur!” Tommy started yelling again, anger radiating off the younger boy. “Come back here, you little—”
Wilbur raised his hand and placed his block of andesite directly in front of Tommy’s face. Tommy flinched slightly, looking half surprised, half furious. Before the younger boy could continue screaming, Wilbur summoned a couple of cobblestone blocks into his hand, and placed them all in front of Tommy. Soon, the younger boy was hidden completely from sight.
“Hey, what are you—” Tubbo’s voice spoke up, and Wilbur turned to see the younger boy trotting up to him. Tubbo’s eyes flicked to the messy cobblestone blockage, to the sign proclaiming it as Tommy’s room, and then back to Wilbur. Then a surprised laugh left him.
“Wait, no way!” Tubbo snickered, greeting the stream camera with a distracted wave as he moved closer to the blockade. “Is he really trapped then?”
An irritated grumble could be heard from Tommy’s mic. “Tubbo, help me!” He whined. “Please?”
Tubbo shook his head, grinning mischievously. “No chance, big man. This is too funny.”
“Long live the king.” Techno deadpanned, though a hint of mirth could be heard in his voice.
“Wilbur! Wilbur, please!” Tommy continued, sounding more panicked than before. “Please, can you actually let me out? I-I’m claustrophobic, Wilbur! I’m claustrophobic!”
Wilbur’s brow furrowed slightly; was it just him, or was Tommy’s voice getting more and more desperate? He shook off the uneasy feeling though, and rearranged a smirk on his face. “Alright, I’ll take down the cobblestone.” The older man materialized a shining diamond pickaxe into his hand, and swung it hard at the nearest block of cobble.
The block cracked and burst, shards raining down and fading away from existence. A miniature version of the cobblestone block was sucked into Wilbur’s inventory, and he continued mining away the cobblestone blockade.
“Is the gremlin still stuck?” Techno spoke up suddenly, and Wilbur glanced backward to see the man walking over to them.
“YES I AM, YOU PRICK!” Tommy yelled angrily, his mood changing as fast as lightning. “I CAN SEE YOU OUT THERE! FUCK YOU! LET ME OUT!”
Techno rolled his eyes at Wilbur, though a smirk tugged at his mouth. “Patience is a virtue, Tommy.” He replied dryly. Wilbur snorted slightly, raising his pickaxe and bringing it down onto the final block.
The piece of andesite disappeared, revealing Tommy’s relieved face. “Wilbur!” He said excitedly, craning his neck to look up at Wilbur. “C’mon, can you get me out?” Wilbur faltered slightly as he stared at the younger boy’s hopeful expression, unsure if he should continue teasing Tommy.
But before he could reach a decision, he was pushed aside by Technoblade. “Ha! Look at him!” The man pointed a mocking finger at Tommy, whose eager expression quickly became irritated again. “Idiot.”
“Techno, you prick—” Tommy began, his face contorting in anger, but he was cut off by Tubbo.
“Wait, wait!” The boy bounded past both of them with a mischievous smile on his face, a bucket full of water materializing in his hands. “I have an idea!” And with that, Tubbo overturned the bucket and dumped the water directly on Tommy’s head.
Techno let out surprised laugh, and Tubbo’s cackle was positively feral. “Now he can’t breathe!” The boy snickered, tossing the empty bucket carelessly onto the ground and turning back to face the two. The stream camera turned too, focusing on Techno and Tubbo.
But Wilbur didn’t see the amused expression on Techno’s face, or Tubbo’s bright grin. He was staring at Tommy. The younger boy’s hands had flown up to claw desperately at the wood pinning him down, his eyes wide and full of a genuine fear that Wilbur had never seen in him before.
Without even thinking, Wilbur rushed forward, snatching the discarded bucket up from the ground. He plunged the bucket into the water that was flowing around Tommy’s head, and the water immediately disappeared, settling calmly back into the iron bucket.
“Tommy?” Wilbur dropped to his knees next to the boy, panicking slightly as Tommy gave no immediate response. “Tommy, you okay?”
Tommy just shook his head, his eyes still wide and his chest heaving. “Piston.” He managed, his voice a quiet croak.
“Oh shit, right.” Wilbur moved his pickaxe back into his main hand, and brought it down with a clang onto the stone base of the piston. He didn’t miss the way Tommy flinched slightly, his hands now clenched into slightly shaking fists as he struggled to control his breathing.
Behind him, Wilbur could hear Techno and Tubbo’s voices becoming more and more concerned. But he was focused on Tommy and Tommy only, and when the piston finally broke and disappeared, Wilbur immediately stretched out a hand to help him up.
“S-Sorry.” Tommy mumbled, pushing himself shakily off the ground and completely ignoring Wilbur’s offered hand. “I ruined the bit, didn’t I?” He laughed, his voice high and slightly trembling. “Sorry about that…”
“What?” Wilbur stared at the younger boy, feeling more and more concerned by the second. He reached out hesitantly, placing a tentative hand on Tommy’s shoulder. The boy flinched again, but didn’t pull away. “Tommy, don’t apologize. I should be the one saying sorry. I didn’t notice how bad it got…”
“Wilbur?” Tubbo’s anxious voice called, breaking Wilbur out of his tunnel vision. He glanced backward, and saw Tubbo standing with his hands cupped around the still-hovering stream camera. Wilbur suddenly realized that he was still streaming, and felt a surge of thankfulness for the younger boy and his quick thinking. At least that moment of vulnerability hadn’t been caught on camera.
“Thank you Tubbo.” Wilbur scrambled to his feet, giving Tommy an apologetic look before quickly walking to Tubbo. He nodded to the younger boy, who carefully uncovered the camera and angled it to only show Wilbur.
Wilbur opened his air screen momentarily, glancing at his chat. He cringed slightly as he saw the messages of mixed concern and panic in there, and looked back at the stream camera apologetically. “Sorry, chat. I think I’ll end up right now. Everything’s okay!” Wilbur added reassuringly. “Tommy’s fine. He just couldn’t follow the bit, I guess.”
He forced a small laugh, trying to play off the whole situation as a funny joke. “Well, I’ll see you guys next time. Bye!” Wilbur quickly clicked ‘End Stream’ on his StreamLabs, and let out a long sigh as the stream camera disappeared with a pop.
Immediately, Tubbo rushed past Wilbur, heading straight for his friend. He collapsed next to Tommy and grabbed onto the younger boy’s hands, murmuring what seemed to be apology after frantic apology. Tommy just nodded shakily, mustering a weak smile.
“Is…is he okay?” Techno was suddenly next to Wilbur, his eyes full of uncertainty as he gazed at Tommy and Tubbo. “I…god, I didn’t mean for it to get so out of hand…”
“It wasn’t your fault. Honestly, I still don’t know what happened.” Wilbur replied numbly, even as guilt rose in him. “But I know we shouldn’t have done that.”
Techno didn’t say anything; he just crossed his arms and continued to stare at Tommy, worry painting his features. Wilbur patted him heavily on the shoulder, trying to offer some reassurance, before hurrying back to Tommy’s side.
“Tommy.” Wilbur spoke in a gentle but firm voice, interrupting Tubbo’s stream of apologies. Both boys looked up at him, Tubbo with his eyes shining with guilty tears, Tommy still with traces of panic in his expression. Wilbur felt his heart break at the sight, and he knelt down next to both of them, placing a comforting hand on each shoulder. “Hey, Tommy…what happened?”
Tommy ducked his head again, clearly not wanting to look directly at Wilbur. “Sorry, I…I’m just a bit claustrophobic, you know? Nothing to worry about.” He chuckled nervously. “Sorry, I really overreacted, didn’t I…I should have just gone on with the bit, sorry—”
“No, Tommy, I’m sorry!” Tubbo burst out, tears threatening to fall from his eyes as he gripped Tommy’s hands even tighter. “That was so stupid of me to do that—it’s all my fault—I’m so sorry—”
“Boys!” Wilbur cut off Tubbo’s ramblings, his voice authoritative as the boy fell silent immediately. He took a deep breath, summoning his brotherly instincts and looking sternly at them both. “Calm down. Tubbo, I won’t deny that you shouldn’t have done that. But,” Wilbur added quickly as Tubbo flinched, looking down in shame. “All of us are to blame. You, me, Techno…we all should have realized we were going too far. But I’m not surprised that you didn’t notice anything wrong with the whole bit. Not when I didn’t notice anything.” He finished, quieter than before as guilt crept into his voice.
Wilbur jumped slightly as a hand thumped down on his shoulder, heavy yet comforting. “It wasn’t all your fault either, Wilbur.” Techno spoke sternly, and Wilbur twisted around to see the other man settling down next to him, giving him a serious look. “Don’t blame yourself too much, okay?”
Wilbur swallowed, nodding jerkily as he turned back to Tommy. “And Tommy, please don’t apologize for being claustrophobic. Nothing that causes genuine fear or anxiety should be laughed at, and I should have realized that you weren’t okay with the bit.
“Don’t worry about your persona, or the bit, or anything like that.” Techno added. “None of that matters compared to your happiness.”
Wilbur nodded quickly, moving one of his hands to gently grip Techno’s, as a silent sign of gratitude. “Your safety and happiness is the most important here, and I don’t care that I had to end the bit, or even that I had to end stream. I’d do anything to make sure you’re okay.” He finished fiercely.
The silence that followed his words was heavy and full of tension. Wilbur tentatively squeezed Tommy’s shoulder, gazing sadly at the boy. “…Tommy? Can you look at me?”
Tommy obeyed, looking up at him. Wilbur’s eyes widened slightly as he saw that Tommy’s eyes were shining with unshed tears. “…Really?” Tommy whispered hoarsely. “Are…are you sure it’s okay?”
“Of course, Toms.” Wilbur answered immediately. He felt tears rising to his own eyes, and he opened his arms invitingly to the young boy.
A shaky but genuine smile broke out on Tommy’s face as the tears finally spilled, and he dove forward into Wilbur’s embrace. Wilbur wrapped his arms around the boy, his own tears falling too as he felt Tommy shake with silent sobs. Silently, Wilbur extended one arm out to Tubbo, who was watching them with a mixture of relief and sadness in his eyes. Tubbo looked surprised for a moment, but smiled shakily at the older man and joined the hug willingly.
“Hey, don’t leave me out.” Techno grumbled, shuffling forward and awkwardly putting his arms around them all.
“Clingy idiot.” Wilbur chuckled fondly, shifting so that he could throw an arm around Techno’s shoulders too. Techno gave no response, except for a contented hum as he leaned into the embrace.
They sat there for a while, tangled awkwardly in each other’s arms. One of Tubbo’s arms was flung uncomfortably around Wilbur’s neck, and someone’s elbow was digging into his stomach. But even if it was messy, even if half of them still had tears on their faces, it felt like home. It felt like family.
“I love you guys.” Tommy mumbled suddenly, his face buried in Wilbur’s shoulder. Wilbur felt his heart melt, and he hugged the youngest boy closer to him. “You’re all so pog. You know that, right?”
Tubbo let out a slightly teary laugh, and Techno chuckled lightly. Wilbur just smiled, sighing contentedly. “Of course.” He murmured.
“Just don’t downplay your own wellbeing again.” Techno added, and they could all hear the smirk in his voice. “Or you’ll have to face my wrath.”
Tommy giggled, his body shaking not with sadness but with laughter. Wilbur laughed too, deeming it safe to pull back and release them all from the hug. He immediately felt the loss of warmth, and for a moment, he considered just wrapping his arms around them again. But Techno had already stood up, and both Tubbo and Tommy were getting to their feet too.
“Well!” Techno sauntered away from them, emerging from the small tunnel first. “I’ll have to get back to my potato farming now. It’s absolutely crucial, y’know.” He glanced back at them, giving Tubbo in particular a pointed look. “Tubbo, you said you wanted to learn the art of farming, right?”
“Uh…” Tubbo stared at Techno for a few moments, clearly confused. Then his expression cleared. “Oh! Yeah, I do!”
“Come this way.” Techno declared, as Tubbo turned to give Tommy a last, quick hug. The man gave Wilbur a little mock salute as Tubbo released Tommy and bounded over, a wide smile on his face. They both waved at Wilbur and Tommy, before pulling up their air screens and leaving the voice call together.
Wilbur smiled slightly, watching as the duo walked away from them, their mouths moving but with no sound. He stepped out of the tunnel too, blinking slightly in the brighter hallway outside.
“Wilbur?” He turned back around when Tommy called him. The younger boy fidgeted slightly with the edge of his shirt, eyeing Wilbur’s hands. Then, he tentatively reached out and grabbed onto the older man’s hands.
Wilbur let out a small sound of surprise, staring down at the younger boy. “Thank you.” Tommy muttered, his gaze fixed on their intertwined hands. “You know, for…"
Wilbur gently pried the younger boy’s hands away from his own. Tommy looked nervous for a moment, as if expecting to be reprimanded. But Wilbur just rolled his eyes and stretched out his arm, ruffling the younger boy’s hair. Tommy yelped, his hands flying up to defend himself.
“You little gremlin.” Wilbur smiled fondly, allowing Tommy to push his hand away and look back up with a pout. “Don’t worry about it. I meant it when I said that I’d do anything for you.”
“Yeah.” Tommy grinned up at the older man, his eyes as bright as ever. “Now, let’s get back to making a redstone door for my room! We’d better get a move on, we wasted so much time.”
“‘We?’” Wilbur spluttered, staring at the boy. “What do you mean, ‘we’? This is your problem, not mine!”
Tommy looked just as incredulous as Wilbur did. "Didn't you just say that you'll do anything for me?" He pointed out snarkily. "Why don't you help me with my redstone then?"
Wilbur rolled his eyes. "You know that's not what I meant." Then the rest of Tommy’s words registered in his mind, and a grin made its way slowly onto his face. “Aww, wait…was little Tommy defeated by a bit of redstone?”
“Oh, fuck you.”