Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tommy was floating.

His limbs felt weightless, his bones felt hollow, he felt like he was floating far above the clouds. If he closed his eyes and pretended hard enough, he could be a little kid back in Phils arms. Flying through the sky, squealing with pure glee as Phil threatened to drop him only to catch him at the last second. 

Then they’d land on the grass in front of their home, where Techno would be training and Wilbur would be playing his guitar. He’d run over to his Piglin brother and latch onto one of his unguligrade legs, shrieking with laughter as his brother tried to shake him off. 

And he wouldn't let go until his other brother came up behind him and tickled his sides, laughing alongside him as he squealed with laughter. Then he’d hug the boy to his chest with a kiss to the forehead while the younger playfully tried to shove him away.

Afterwards they would all lay together in the grass watching the stars as Techno told them stories of the gods, and they’d all laugh when Phil fell asleep and started to snore. And they’d lay there together throughout the night, and everything was okay, it would always be okay. Always. 

A harsh kick to the ribs broke him out of his trance. 

Tommy gasped softly, eyes shooting open and blinking away the tears he hadn't even realized had formed. He immediately began coughing, gunpowder and ash burned his throat, his eyes, his nose. Leaving him barely able to breathe. 

Wheezing softly, Tommy looked up through tears. Met with a familiar green hood and a bright white mask looking down at him. 

Oh right, he was still in exile. For a brief blissful moment, Tommy had almost forgotten. 

“I said get up Tommy.” 

Groaning softly Tommy uncurled from the fetal position he had been laying in, his body screamed in protest, his ears were still faintly ringing and his arms, once bandaged with dirty wraps, were covered in dark glistening burns now layered with dirt and grime from his time spent laying on the ground.

Shakily Tommy stood on two legs, looking up into Dreams cold stare. Immediately he forced himself to look away, unable to keep eye contact with the older man he instead stared at the ground.”

“S-Sorry.” He whispered, a cold gloved hand came up to harshly grip his face. Forcing him to look up into the mask's smiling visage that seemed to mock him every chance it got.  

“Look at me when you speak Tommy.” 

Forcing himself to look into the masked man's eyes, Tommy swallowed thickly. Forcing down the tears that threatened to spring into his eyes. 

“I-I'm sorry Dream.”

The older man cocked his head to the side. “What are you sorry for Tommy?”

The teen swallowed again. “F-...For hiding...stuff from you. I-It was dumb, and...and I shouldn’t have and I'm so sorry Dream..” 

Tommy felt his eyes burn, he had known deep down that hiding things from Dream had been a bad idea. The man always found out, always. And Tommy had been doing so good lately, Dream had been so nice. Had even let him use his trident. Had given him a friendly pat on the shoulder afterwards and told him how proud he was of him for doing so well. 

And now Dream was far from proud, he’d angered his only friend in the whole server and now he was going to pay the price for it. 

Dream let out a sad little hum that made Tommy's stomach twist. 

“You lied to me Tommy, is that what friends do to one another?”

“N-No…” Tommy whispered. 

“And yet here you are, lying to me. After how nice I’ve been to you, after everything I’ve done for you.” Tommy shuddered softly, tears now leaving freely from his cheeks. 

“I'm s-sorry…” 

 If you're gonna keep taking me for granted Tommy, I can just leave and never come back. And then you’ll be alone, do you want to be alone Tommy?” Dream asked and the young blonde felt his heart stop. The thought of being alone again made his throat close up and his body burn. Frantically he shook his head no. 

“N-No! Dream...Dream please I’m sorry I just...I..I needed stuff t-to survive, I..I can’t keep living like this I’ll die- ” 

“Is what I'm giving you not good enough for you Tommy?” Dream asked, tone darkening in a way that made Tommy's heart stop.

“N-No! No no no Dream! It's....It's good enough I..I just need….I need just a little more..” 

The hand harshly gripping his face left, but was replaced immediately after with a harsh blow to Tommy's right cheek that had his head snapping to the side and his legs giving out from underneath him. He collapsed onto the ground with a cry of pain, clutching his cheek and looking up at Dream fearfully. 

The masked man stared down at him in disgust. “More Tommy? You need more? Are you that selfish? Is nothing ever good enough for you?” 

“N-No Dream that's n-not-!”

“No more talking!” The older blonde spat. “You've said enough.” 

Suddenly, his posture seemed to soften as he sighed sadly. Reaching into his inventory the man pulled out a stick of TNT, shaking his head. 

“You know I don't like doing this Tommy, but you need to be taught a lesson.” He said softly, Tommy's eyes widened in fear. 

“No! I'll be good! Please! Dream Please!”

Whatever the hoodie clad man's response was going to be was interrupted by the familiar sounding beep of a communicator, with a huff Dream reached into his pocket and pulled out his own. He read over whatever message showed up on his screen before he sighed, placing both it and the TNT back into his inventory. 

“There's something that needs to be attended to, but don’t think you're off the hook. I will be back, and you better still be here. Understood?” 

Shakily Tommy nodded, with a grunt Dream leaned down to pat him a few times on the head.

“Good boy, maybe if you behave and really stay put I’ll reconsider a less harsh punishment.” 

Tommy didn't respond and simply watched as Dream walked away, keeping his eyes on the man's back until he was out of sight. It was only then that Tommy finally allowed himself to sob, deep heaving gasps that left his body shaking. 

It hurt, everything hurt. And Gods he was so tired. So fucking tired. He couldn't keep doing this anymore, he wanted to leave, he wanted to run far far away and never come back. 

But he couldn't leave, Dream...Dream was his friend. And if he left he would be upset, and he’d come find Tommy and drag him back and tell him how disappointed he was and the cycle would continue over and over and over….

Tommy thought back to Dreams' promise of return, promise of punishment. Always punishment, no matter how good he was he always got punished. 

Something in Tommy snapped. 

He scrambled to his feet, ignoring the way both his body and mind screamed in protest. He needed to run, he needed to get out of here before Dream came back, he needed to hide. He needed to hide now!

Suddenly before he even knew what was happening, Tommy was running. It seemed his body had decided for him, he was getting out of here now. He was going to go far, far away, somewhere Dream could never find him.

The very thought of Dream coming back and finding him missing sent another wave of blind panic coursing through him and Tommy began to run even faster, fueled by fear with no idea exactly where he was going. As long as it was as far away from Dream as possible. 

Tommy was so blinded by the tears, the smoke, the blood, the fear, that he just kept running in a blind desperate panic. His mind barely registered as the leaf covered trees became more dense and thicker around him, as the temperature started to drop significantly, he didn't even notice the way his bare feet, shoes long since turned to tatters, burned against the freezing cold ice and snow that now coated the ground in large patches. 

He never even noticed he was falling until he had almost already hit the ground. 

Whatever sort of scream of surprise that had built up in his throat, died as soon as he hit the ground, replaced instead by a quiet gurgle as pain overcame his body. White hot flashes filling his vision as his ears started to ring, his mind barely registering the loud sickening crunch that echoed in his ears over the sound of his own whimpers. 

He squeezed his eyes so tight it hurt, tears squeezing out from the corners and feeling too hot on his already freezing cold cheeks. 

It hurt . God it hurt so fucking bad. And Tommy didn't even know what had happened, it had all gone down too fast and his already panicking brain was struggling to catch up. Struggling to understand and put together what the fuck had just happened. 

Suddenly, the agonizing pain that seemed to blossom throughout his entire body, started to slowly fade to something almost tolerable. The pain was still there but it was almost….muted in a way. Like his brain had pushed into the back of his mind in a desperate attempt to save him some suffering. An almost eerie calmness had overtaken his senses. 

Was it shock? Adrenaline? Tommy didn't know, and he really didn't care. All that mattered to him now was how with the pain almost gone, he could finally breathe. With a shuddering gasp, he managed to pry open his eyes. 

Spots danced in his vision and after blinking a few times, he managed to clear them. 

He was laying on his back, the sky above him a dimly lit murky grey. Evergreen trees stretched up high above him, their branches coated in dustings of powdering snow. Tommy blinked.

Snow? 

It was then that he finally registered the freezing temperature in the air, his thin raggedy excuse for clothes provided him with absolutely no warmth. His back was the coldest, and it was uncomfortably wet. Laying here on the snow made his back burn but he still didn't have the energy to move just yet so he stayed where he was. 

Moving his gaze downward slightly he found himself staring directly up at the edge of a steep drop off, one that had to be at least a straight ten foot drop to the ground. Tommy winced. 

No wonder his body hurt so bad, with a fall like that he must have broken something. Even with the snow below him cushioning his fall. He closed his eyes tightly shut again, biting down hard on his lip.  

He didn't want to look, he didn't want to look, he didn't want to look, he didn't want to look-

He looked. 

Immediately he wished that he hadn't. 

The snow around him was stained pink with dark blood, his legs were a mess of twisted flesh and splintered bone. This was in no way like the time he had broken a bone as a little kid, no this was worse. This was so much worse. 

He quickly looked away as bile rose in his throat, but the image did not leave his mind. With a choked gag he vomited up stomach bile and acid that burned his throat, he at least had managed to turn his head to the side so he didn't choke. 

Gasping for breath and full on sobbing now, Tommy desperately raked his mind for any sort of idea of what to do. He couldn't move, couldn't even drag himself, he couldn't call for help, his communicator had been destroyed by dream. No one knew where he was, he didn't even know where he was. He was stuck.

He’d either die from the cold, his wounds or the monsters. 

Wait….

Tommy’s eyes snapped open with a gasp that turned into a choked sob of despair as he saw the already darkening sky, it was nighttime. He was trapped, unable to move, he’d never be able to defend himself from monsters. They’d tear him apart. 

Shaking now, not just from the cold, Tommy tried to calm his shallow breathing. He would be fine, maybe...maybe the monsters wouldn't be able to find him. Maybe none would spawn close enough that they would take notice of vulnerability. 

Of course, Tommy had never been that lucky. 

A loud raspy moan filled the air, the stink of rotten flesh clogged Tommy’s nostrils and he had to hold back a gag. Soon enough however, his disgust turned to fear as the shadows in the trees took a more familiar shape.

Zombies, a whole hoard of them. Drawn to the smell of his own blood. 

Mobs didn't always spawn in hoards, but when they did it was encouraged to not engage with them. To just run off and avoid them completely. 

This however, was currently not an option for Tommy. 

Dull blue eyes locked onto the approaching hoard of zombies, widening and filling with fear. His mind and body screamed at him to move, to run, to fight, to do anything but just lay there. 

Move, he had to move now. 

Whimpering softly he tried to pull himself to his knees only to immediately collapse in agony with a choked sob, oh right. His legs were broken. 

The pain that had once been muted due to adrenaline seemed to come back full force, stabbing into his body and leaving him withering on the ground in pain. 

The woosh of an arrow past his cheek brought him a little bit back to his senses and to his current predicament. It seemed his loud show of agony had brought more attention to himself, if the faint rattling of bones and the arrow now embedded somewhere in the snow behind him was any indication. 

Fear and desperation briefly overcame his pain as he started to frantically claw at the icy ground in front of him, ripping off some of his nails in the process. Desperately he struggled to drag himself forward, his body screamed in protest but his mind screamed louder. 

He had to get away. 

An arrow flew towards him and buried himself deep into his shoulder, he barely registered the new pain over his current agony but he did notice as his arm suddenly gave out. He tried clawing forward with his remaining good arm but it was too weak to pull the weight of his limp body. 

It was then that the full weight of this situation fully dawned on the teen. 

He was going to die here, bleeding out on the white tundra floor stained red with his blood. 

The rattling of bones and the sick stink of rotting flesh overwhelmed his senses as the mobs approaching him grew closer and closer by the second, his legs were twisted and bloodied beneath him. He couldn't run away. 

He was going to die here. 

Tommy opened his mouth.

And screamed. 

Chapter Text

One of the main reasons Techno had moved to live in the middle of the Tundra was because of the quiet. 

He had always had a fondness for the quiet, growing up in a rather...loud and rambunctious household where true quiet was a luxury not often able to be indulged in, lead to him being able to truly appreciate the air of calmness the quiet brought. 

He’d wake up early in the mornings, during the times where he managed to actually get some sleep, to nothing but sounds of the birds chirping outside his window and the soft sound of his sheets and quilt moving and rustling about as he rolled out of bed. Followed by his joints cracking and his own sigh at the brief feeling of relief it brought him. 

He’d go down the stairs, which creaked with each step he took, and make himself some breakfast. Usually something simple such as eggs or toast (he avoided bacon, being a piglin hybrid and all) and there the only sounds would be the sounds of cooking food and the scraping of silverware against the dish.

Then he’d head outside to deal with his chores, his hooves crunching in the snow as he tended to his crops and animals, visiting his dogs, who always greeted him with loud excited barks and wagging tails, and then he’d head back inside.

Sometimes, well, a lot of the time, he’d spend the rest of the day reading his books. It was then he truly appreciated the quiet even more than before, the only sounds being the flipping of pages and the sipping of tea. 

But the quiet wasn't always so...peaceful. 

Sometimes the quiet brought a sense of paranoia, of anxiousness, that something was just around the corner, ready to pounce just at any moment. Sometimes the quiet allowed his own usually well held back thoughts and fears creep up on him and leave him even more vulnerable than before. Sometimes it served as a reminder of how truly alone he was. 

Sometimes the quiet was so loud it left him clutching at his own ears and screaming in a desperate attempt to fill the space where sound should be. 

It was during these moments he relished in Philzas visits, in all the sounds he made to fill the quiet. The faint ruffling of feathers, the coo’s and chirps of various birds, a soft humming as dishes were washed, his wheezy laugh. 

(It also made him miss the sounds of a faint melody being played on guitar and the soft singing that would follow, and the familiar sound of loud shrieking and oh so contagious childish laughter.) 

But Phil couldn't always stay for forever, and soon Techno was alone again with nothing but the quiet. 

He tried to make the best of it by keeping himself busy. 

Today he was farther away from home than he usually dared to go, riding Carl at a steady trout back towards his house. The slowly setting sun urged him to quicken the horses pace, in an attempt to get home before dark. 

He’d gone out today to stack up on wood, it wasn't as if he was low on the material itself, he just always liked having everything fully stocked. It gave him something to do, a good enough distraction.

Besides, it had been awhile since he’d taken the time to walk the woods. They were always such a pretty sight in the early morning, with the snow dusting the trees catching the light just right and sparkling almost like crystals. 

Techno had never been one to get sappy over scenery, but after being cooped up in his house for so long, the change in his surrounds had been nice. And he was sure being cooped up inside all day didn't exactly do wonders for whatever sanity he had left. 

So with a sigh he tried to let himself relax and appreciate the setting sun. 

The Tundra was always so quiet. 

That's why it startled him more than he’d like to admit when a scream pierced through the air. 

He jolted, tugging a bit harder on Carl's reins then ended and nearly sending himself tumbling off his saddle and into the snow when the horse bucked in surprise. Ears pressing lightly against his head as his sensitive hearing was assaulted with the sudden all too familiar sound. 

The scream stopped, fading to nothing but an echo. Techno breathed in sharply, whole body tensed and already beginning to pump full of adrenaline. His hand coming down to his hip, his hooved fingers ghosting over the handle of his enchanted axe. Crimson red eyes scanned his surroundings, pupils narrowed into anxious slits. 

Living alone in the Tundra had made him even more paranoid than usual. 

The familiar silence returned, except this time it brought no feelings of comfort for the few seconds it remained before another scream of pure genuine terror   echoed throughout the land once more. 

Techno cursed under his breath, doing his best to settle his horse; his ears perked as he searched for the general direction that the sound was coming from. 

That scream meant someone could be in danger, and who else was there out here to help but Techno? 

The thought of just turning around to return back to his warm home and leaving whoever was screaming their head off in the middle of the forest to their own devices was present in the back of his mind but he quickly dismissed it. 

Sure he was an asshole, that was a given, but he wasn't that much of an asshole. And he wasn't about to leave some poor idiot who had wandered away from their home and gotten lost in the forest. Not to mention the voice screaming sounded rather young, and he certainly wasn't about to leave a kid out here to die. Blood God be damned. 

So with a quick confirmation that the screaming was coming somewhere off to his left and a more then annoyed huff through his snout, Techno gently dug his foot into Carl's side and they were off. Kicking up snow as they went. 

They rode deeper and deeper into the forest, jumping over the occasional fallen tree or ditch in the ground. Techno grumbled to himself along the whole way there, the poor idiot had gotten themselves lost deep as shit in these damn woods. What fool was dumb enough to even venture into them alone? Even Techno was always careful when he ventured into them for supplies and food, never going too deep and always having spare supplies and a map on him just in case. 

Getting lost in the woods was bad enough, getting lost in the woods in below freezing weather at night? Now that was a whole other story. 

But nonetheless, Techno followed the sound of screaming. It was much more hoarse and strained now, and growing fainter by the minute. Techno was almost impressed by the person's vocal cords being able to hold out for so long, all this screaming must have been ripping them to absolute shreds. 

Almost as if reading his mind, the screaming abruptly stopped. 

The Piglin hybrid's grip on the reins tightened and he cursed slightly in his native tongue, urging Carl to go at an even faster pace. The Horse snorted but ever loyal she complied, picking up her speed and charging deeper into the dark depths of the never ending grouping of trees. 

He’d have to give her some extra carrots or something as an apology for having to deal with this kinda shit so late at night. 

The screaming was annoyingly loud in his ears, sure, but its presence at least gave him the reassurance that the person screaming was still alive. 

Maybe in the middle of being eaten by monsters, but still alive. 

The absence of the screaming alluded to a few things, and not a single one of them were good. Not wanting to have come all this way out here in the middle of the night for a corpse, Techno rode even faster. 

It was both his and Carl's good instincts, and his particularly good eyesight in the dark, that saved them both from missing the sudden drop off straight ahead that was rapidly getting closer by the seconds. 

Techno tugged on Carl's reins, which was less then needed as the horse wasn't dumb and had no desire to take a fall of a cliff, who was already in the middle of skidding both her and her riding to a messy but quick stop. Sending up splatters a snow as they came to an abrupt standstill a good few feet away from the cliff's edge. 

Techno huffed slightly, brushing himself off and giving Carl a good few pats. 

“Good girl.” He muttered, receiving a snort in response. 

With a grunt he carefully hopped down from the horses back, hooves sinking into the snow. His large and heavy red cape swished just above his ankles and away from the wet snow as he made his way towards the cliff's edge, grateful he and Carl hadn't been sent riding right off it. 

As he got closer to the cliff's drop-off point, his ears picked up on faint grunting moans and the rattling of bones. The telltale sign of monsters, just great. He ghosted a hand over the handle of the axe on his hip, just in case. 

Alongside the sounds, Techno's sensitive snout caught the sickening stench of rotting flesh and the all too familiar smell of blood. 

Well that most certainly wasn't a very good sign. 

Snout wrinkling at the foul smell he took a few more steps forward till he was right at the cliffs edge, another step and he’d be falling straight to his- Well, not death. He was a bit too sturdy to just die from a fall like that, he’d probably break something though. But that would be very annoying to have to deal with, so he made sure to keep a safe enough distance. 

He crouched down and leant forward slightly, more than mentally and physically prepared to find the corpse of some poor bastard being mauled by zombies. His good night vision allowed him to get a good enough look at the clearing below. 

He froze.

The surrounding area was smeared with blood, which was to be expected. Monsters littered the clearing, mostly zombies and a few skeletons, making their slow descent from the shadows the thicker parts of the forest surrounding the clearing provided. 

And laying there in the middle of it all, half-buried in the pile of snow stained pink with blood, was the all too painfully familiar torn up red and white shirt and curly dirt covered but still unmistakably blonde hair.  

“Tommy!?”

Chapter Text

There's a ringing in his ears and a heaviness in his body that makes it hard to move. A bitter metallic taste fills his mouth, and his body feels almost numb. 

His head throbs painfully and his eyelids feel like they’re glued shut, he hears a soft whimpering and it takes him a second to realize that it is coming from him. 

He tries to move his head but his body just won’t cooperate, and the attempt at even the slightest movement sends a ripple of white hot pain throughout his burning body as the throbbing in his head increases tenfold. 

After what feels like an eternity, the hot pain slowly dissipates; toning down to a continuous dull throb that was at least somewhat tolerable. Relief came in the form of numbness spreading throughout his body, he almost felt like he was floating as grey spots swam in front of his closed eyelids. 

It felt….nice, and he was so ready to just let the feeling take over him completely. To drift off into nothingness, into sweet relief. 

Clearly the universe had other plans though. 

“Tommy!”

There was a sudden shout that broke through the blanketed silence followed by the muffled thump of something landing in the ground not that far from him. There was a low snarl and the sound of a sword being drawn, clearly with the intention to cut into unfortunate flesh. 

For a moment there was nothing but the sounds of fighting and faint grunts and groans, a few times something warm and foul smelling would splatter against him. But even in his disgust, he couldn't find it in himself to open his eyes. 

And just as the sounds of battle had started, they faded soon after. Leaving nothing but the sound of silence and heavy panting breathing, followed by the sheathing of a sword and the faint crunch of snow that stopped right nearby him. 

Large arms suddenly wrapped around his frail body, and he was scooped up to be pressed against a warm broad chest. Pain spiked throughout his body and white spots appeared behind his eyelids and he whimpered, arms finding brief strength to fail blindly in an attempt to get away. 

His flailing hand suddenly collided into something warm and fuzzy, a broadened snout of sorts that snorted out a huff of warm air against his hand the moment he collided with it. 

Wait….snout? 

His mind was quick to catch up with his own acute observations, and he found his eyes finally snapping open at the realization of it. 

He was met with the blurry but familiar pink face of his piglin brother, faintly glowing crimson red eyes stared down at him with what Tommy could swear was almost concern. Followed by relief when the teenagers own dull baby blues open to meet his gaze. 

“Tommy….” He breathed, his chest rumbling against Tommy's body as he spoke in the familiar gravelly baritone, though with a bit more emotion laced behind his words then the teenager was used too. 

He opened his own mouth, managing to squeeze a weak croak from his burning throat. 

“Technoblade….”  he wheezed. 

And with that, he promptly passed out again. 

“Shit.” Techno cursed when his little brother's eyes rolled into the back of his head and his frail body went limp in his arms. 

“Shit.” Techno cursed when he took in just how blue the teens lips were, and how little he seemed to be breathing.

“Shit.” Techno cursed as he wrapped his fuzzy fur cape around the boy and held him even tighter to his chest, scrambling quickly to rejoin Carl where the horse stood waiting at the cliff's edge. Looking down at the two and huffing a snort of air from her nostrils in concern. 

Tommy was fucking freezing, and even with his cape wrapped around him, the boy surely wouldn't survive much longer in this weather. Especially in those rags that served as a pathetic excuse for real clothing, he wasn't even wearing shoes for god's sake! 

He needed to get the teen back to his cabin immediately. 

His ears perked up at the telltale warning signs that promised more monsters were already on their way but he paid them no mind, carefully climbing the semi-steep slope that acted almost like a ramp traveling down the side of the cliff to the even ground below. Using his strong hooved legs he pulled himself up and onto the cliffs over edge, Carl stepping forward and sniffing at Tommy; before nuzzling gently into his air with a huff. 

Techno couldn't help the smile that tugged at the sides of his mouth. “He’s gonna be alright Carl, but we got to get him home as quick as possible alright?” 

The horse whinnied in response and stood as still as possible as Techno approached, standing and trying to figure out how to carry Tommy on the horse. Though it was dark, even with his better than average night vision, he could tell that both of Tommy's legs were broken. Twisted at odd and surly painful angles, he had no way of knowing just yet how bad the breaks were but considering the circumstances...Techno figured that they were pretty fucking bad. 

Finally Techno decided to just keep holding the boy to his chest as he rode, carefully swinging his legs over Carl's back, thankful once more for his height, he settled himself on the saddle with Tommy tucked as close to his chest as possible. He’d have to rely on his lower body strength and his good balance alone to stay up on Carl's back as they rode. 

With a light dig to the horses side courtesy of Techno himself, they were off once more into the night. 

Techno wasted no time in kicking his door open, using his foot to slam it shut behind him as a brief afterthought as he quickly made his way into the warmth of the cabin. Mind racing and struggling to form a course of action on how to make sure his brother did not freeze to death . 

Okay, first course of action. Getting him warm. 

He quickly hurried over to the couch in the center of his living room area, pushing it closer to the fireplace with his foot. He laid the boy down on it. Grabbing onto his cape he carefully pulled it away from the boy's body, taking in the damage. 

His skin was still far too pale, his lips tinted a concernedly blue color. His once bright blonde hair was greasy and caked with dirt, blood and gods know what else, it looked like he hadn’t properly bathed in months. His cheeks were sunken in and his ribs were far too prominent, oozing burns covered the boy's arms, there was a large gash on his cheek that was just now starting to scab over and many others could be seen littering different parts of his skin. 

But that wasn't even the worst of the damage. 

Both the boy's legs were twisted at odd angles, one of the more worse breaks Techno had seen in his time. He could fix the teens legs of course, but it would take him many months to heal and be able to walk again. At most a year. 

His hands clenched at his sides and he clenched his jaw, breathing deeply. What the hell had happened to him? This....This was no accident. Someone had done this to his brother, and that someone was going to pay. 

But his revenge could wait, for now he needed to get his brother fixed up. 

Leaving his brother on the couch for now he made his way up the stairs in his house, grabbing whatever blankets and medical supplies he could find. As well as a pair of clean clothes, much too big for Tommy, especially with how underweight he was now, but it would have to do. 

After a brief consideration, Techno also picked up his communicator. Opening it up and typing a quick frantic message into it as he hurried to run some warm water in his sink to use to clean Tommy's wounds

Techno to Philza: Found Tommy badly hurt, will get back to you soon. 

Satisfied with his curt message he half heartedly tossed his communicator to the side in favor of picking up the bowl, now filled with lukewarm water, and making his way back to his brother's side. 

Crouching down he muttered a quick apology to the unconscious teen before carefully cutting away at the rags covering his body, tossing them aside to be thrown away later. Dipping a rag into the water he made a quick but careful job of cleaning his brother's wounds, trying to clean as much dirt and blood from his skin as possible. Keeping his anger at bay with every new mark or wound revealed underneath the layers of dirt, and at every soft whimper his brother made in his sleep. 

“Soon ,” he told himself, trying to calm his nerves “Soon...”

After cleaning the boy's face and most of his upper body, Techno moved down to his legs. With a soft huff he laid the damp and now dirtied rag to the side. Bracing his hands on his brother's left leg, this is the part he had been looking the least forward too. 

Mentally counting down in his head from three, Techno made quick and fluent work of snapping the bone back into place. 

Now, Techno has fixed broken bones plenty of times before in the past. But it was different when it was his own little brother, who bucked once with a strangled sob before falling back down and going limp once more. Tears trailing down his cheeks from his tightly closed eyes. 

Techno gently wiped them away before repeating the process with his other leg, which had suffered less of a break than his left one. Some tension leaving his shoulder now that the hardest part was over, the piglin made quick work bandaging his brother's legs as well as any other wounds that had reopened or were in need of coverage. 

Afterwards he slipped the clothes he had grabbed earlier onto him, which, much to his own amusement, swallowed the boy completely. 

Grabbing his cloak he laid it over the teen like a blanket, before piling just about every blanket he owned on top of him as well. Satisfied, he took a step back to admire his work. Eyes trailing over the bundle of blankets that Tommy had become before they came to a stop at the teens face. 

The light cast from the fire cast a shadow over his face, highlighting his sunken in cheeks and the dark shadows under his eyes. As if he hadn't slept properly in weeks, and Techno doubted he had. 

But most importantly, laying there with a bandaged on his cheek and a fuzzy blanket tucked up to his chin, Tommy looked so..... young . 

Surprisingly Techno found himself reaching out with a hesitant hand, carefully resting it atop the boy's head. Heart clenching painfully at the way the boy flinched before he practically melted into the touch, eagerly pressing his hand into his head like a needy cat. 

Gently Techno ran his hooved fingers through the boy's hair, brushing aside his bangs. There was a new scar on his forehead that Techno didn't recognize, and the sight of it made the soft smile that had appeared on his face disappear as he bared his tusks with a quiet snarl. 

He shut himself up quickly however when Tommy, as if he could sense Techno's anger, whimpered in his slumber and pressed himself further into the couch as if he was trying to burrow into it. 

With a soft sigh, Techno let his hand drop back down to his side. Glancing around at the mess around him and at his bloodied clothes, with a huff Techno moved away from his brother's side to get to cleaning up the mess he’d made. 

He had thrown away Tommy's rags and changed into new clothes not covered in his brothers blood and was in the middle of ringing out the rags he had used in his sink, when he suddenly noticed his communicator laying on the table where he had tossed it in his frantic states after sending a quick message to Phil. 

Wait….

Phil….

“Aw fuck…” 

Realization hitting him like a brick he all but lunged to grab his communicator off the table, silently bracing himself and groaning softly when he saw the many...many missed messages he had received in the past couple of hours. 

Philza: What!? 

Philza: Techno is he okay!?

Philza: Techno what happened!?”

Philza: Techno!

Philza: Techno is Tommy okay?

Philza: Technoblade you better answer me right now so help me.

Philza: TECHNO!

Wincing slightly, Techno started to type a response. 

Techno: He’s okay now. Don't worry.

It wasn't even a few seconds later that the older man responded.

Philza: Oh thank the gods.

Philza: What the hell happened?

Philza: You can't just drop something like that and not answer me afterwards Techno.

Techno: I know, I'm sorry.

Techno: I was a bit panicked at the time. 

Techno: Finding your brother half dead in the snow at the bottom of the cliff will do that to you. 

He regretted his blunt phrasing almost as soon as Phil started to type a response.

Philza: What!?

Philza: Techno what the fuck!?”

Techno: Easy old man, you're gonna give yourself a heart attack.

Techno: Tommy is fine, I patched him up and he’s resting and warming up on my couch as we speak. 

Techno: I have no idea what happened or how the hell he got where I found him, I’ll talk to him as soon as he’s awake and coherent enough to give me an answer. 

There was a longer patch of silence before Phil's next response.

Philza: I'm sorry, I shouldn't have freaked out at you like that.

Philza: I was just so worried and then you wouldn't respond, it got me panicking. 

The piglin allowed a soft smile to grace his lips in the privacy of his own home where no one would be able to see and called him soft for it. 

Techno: It's alright Phil, I get it. 

Philza: Thanks Tech. 

Philza: You said you got him patched up? 

Techno: Yep. 

Philza: Thank you so much for looking out for him like that, I'm so proud of you.  

If Techno could blush he’s sure he would, but the fact he technically couldn't didn't stop his face from growing hotter than usual. Which he blamed on the warmth of the fire, that was all. And the warm and fuzzy feeling in his chest was just his nerves, yeah, that was it. 

Techno: Thanks Phil. 

Philza: Of course. 

Philza: I’ll be coming over there as soon as possible. 

Philza: A week tops. 

Techno: Alright. 

Techno: Just don't pull a wing muscle flying too fast m’kay? 

Philza: Very funny. 

Philza: That was like, one time. 

Philza: But I'll be careful.

Philza: Take care of your brother for me alright? And keep me updated. 

Techno: I’ll take care of the child, don't worry. 

There was a long pause, and Techno figured the conversation was over when he noticed a new message pop up out of the corner of his eye. 

Philza: I love you, Techno. 

He froze, hooved fingers hovering over the keyboard for a brief moment before he typed his own response. 

Techno: I love you too. 

There wasn't another response after that so Techno deemed the conversation to be over, with a heavy sigh falling from his lips he slipped his communicator into his pocket. Deciding to keep it close in case Phil decided to message him again anytime soon, which knowing him he would. 

Floor creaking slightly, he made his way out of the kitchen and back into the living room where his brother lay in a fitful slumber. He stood over him for a moment debating, before he sighed and walked over to one of the bookcases against the wall. Picking out a book, he made his way over to one of the armchairs, which he pulled closer to the couch to get better lighting from the fireplace, no other reason why of course. 

He settled down with a heavy grunt into the chair, sinking into its cushions with a grateful sigh. Pulling his spectacles from his pocket he slipped them on, opening his book and thumbing to the place he had last left off and began to read. 

And in silence, he waited. 

Chapter Text

Tommy’s head hurt.

A constant drilling pound into the middle of his skull, and for a second that pain was all he could recognize. 

But then the pain started to fade to a more tolerable level, allowing him a moment to work through cleaning up the thick fog clouding his head. 

His mouth felt extremely dry, and his body and muscles throbbed. Not to mention he felt very itchy all over, like he was back wearing that sweater he had long since outgrown that Tubbo had made for him way back whenever. 

His eyes felt weirdly heavy, weighing down his exhaustion. And he had to fight to even get them to open, his eyes sticking together with the crust of sleep. 

He was met with blurry vision, black spots danced about obscuring parts of his sight. Through his foggy vision he was just barely able to make out the dark oak ceiling that stretched out above him. 

Wait......ceiling? 

Tommy suddenly realized that he was not staring up at the familiar rotten and hole filled tent he’d spent the past couple of months sleeping in. 

The revelation of that fact is what had his eyes fully snapping open and his mind pushing past the fog that had previously made it hard to think. 

He made an attempt to shoot up from where he was laying, but his body only succeeded in giving a painful spasm. Tearing a strangled noise of pain out of his throat, and even making the noise alone felt like he was attempting to swallow glass.

He lay there for a moment, eyes clenched tightly shut as he rode through the pain. When it faded, after what felt like a lifetime, he let out a breath that sounded more like a wheeze. 

Brain no longer clogged by pain and much more lucid of the fact he was not back in his tent back in exile, Tommy became aware of the fact he was warm....and comfortable.

Very comfortable. 

Back on the beach there had always been a persistent chill, the kind that managed to creep its way into his tent and settle deep within his bones. It had never been freezing, but it had certainty never been this warm. And his sleeping bag had never been so comfortable. 

But if he wasn’t in exile, then where the hell was he? 

He tried to recall what exactly had happened, what could have led to him ending up somewhere unfamiliar. But his mind came up blank.

‘Oh, I’m dead aren’t I? I have to be. I’m dead and I probably died doing something stupid, like falling out of a tree. Oh gods he was dead for real this time, no more extra lives. Dream was going to kill him-‘

“Tommy?” 

At first at the mention of his name Tommy instinctually flinched, fighting to keep his breathing from picking up. But he realized a second later that the voice didn’t belong  to Dream. It was much too deep and spoke in a way as if the mouth wasn’t made for speaking English. 

And it was familiar, but in a different way.

He kept his eyes closed, squeezing them even tighter when he heard the sound of creaking wood as whoever it was who called his name approached his side. 

There was silence for a moment and Tommy could feel the person looming over him, there was another creaking of wood and the feeling of someone hovering just above him.

Tommy could feel their breath, warm against his face, and something lightly brushed over his face. Tommy instinctively scrunching his nose up at the sensation, it was only when he heard the person looming over him snort that he realized his mistake.

“I know that you're awake Tommy.” 

Seeing that there was no real point in faking it anymore, the teen decided to just bite the bullet and open his eyes. 

He found himself immediately face to face, or more so face to snout, with his older Piglin brother Technoblade. His crimson red eyes boring into his own pale blue ones, Tommy fought back to urge to shudder. Briefly brought back to a time where those crimson eyes had been filled with malice and rage, but now they held an emotion that Tommy couldn't quite put his finger on. 

“Technoblade?” Tommy croaked, wincing at the sound of his own voice. His older brother frowned before he straightened and took a step back, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Yep.” He remarked dryly. “In the flesh.” 

“Wha-” Tommy coughed. “W-Where..?”

“My house.” Techno shrugged, “On my couch, in my living room.” 

“Oh…” 

 Now knowing at least where he was, Tommy made a move to sit up. Techno grunting when he saw what his brother was trying to do. 

“I wouldn't do that if I were you.”

Tommy glared at him. “Why not?”

The piglin rolled his eyes. “I mean, have you taken a look at yourself?” 

Tommy blinked, he really hadn't. 

He turned his attention from his brother's face back down to himself, his breath catching in his throat when he saw the many bandages littering his body. Unfamiliar clothes, many sizes too big on his bony form, replaced his dirty rags. 

“What the fuck..?” He whispered, eyes wide. From beside him, Techno snorted. 

“Don't see how you're so surprised, if anything you should be glad it wasn't as worse as it could have been.” 

Tommy turned his attention from his bandaged body to fix his brother with an angry glare. 

“What the hell are you talking about?” 

Techno frowned. ‘Do you really not remember?” 

“Remember fucking what?” 

Techno stayed silent, staring at his brother's face. And when he saw that the confusion, albeit an annoyed confusion, on his brother's face was very much so real he sighed. 

“You fell off a cliff Tommy.” He said, deciding to just be blunt with it and get straight to the point. No use with beating around the bush, especially with Tommy. 

Said teen spluttered. “I'm fucking sorry!? I what!?”

“Fell off a cliff.” Techno shrugged. “I was doing my errands when I heard someone screaming their head off, when I came to check it out I found you laying at the bottom of a cliff surrounded by monsters. Should be glad I got there when I did honestly.” 

Tommy blinked, bringing a hand up to his forehead. His foggy brain struggled to keep up with what Techo was saying. “I..Wha…? How did I even get here?” 

Techno shrugged. “Beats me. I have no idea what you were doing running around in the Tundra, while barefoot and in shitty rags of all things. And all covered in burn marks and shit...speaking of which..”

The Piglin trailed off, crimson eyes narrowing in the boy's direction. 

“Cuts and bruises I can see you getting from the fall, but burns? They were fresh too, so you must have gotten them fairly recently. So, what happened to you?” 

Tommy stared at him for a moment, processing his words. 

Burns? Where did he….

Oh…

Oh no…

Suddenly, like he’d been punched in the face, everything hit him all at once as memories came flooding back to him. 

The explosions, the pain, the running, the cold, the fear, the smoke. 

Dream. 

Oh Gods, Dream. 

He had been angry before but now he was going to be fucking pissed. Tommy had done the number one thing he wasn't supposed to do, he left. He ran away like the fucking idiot he was. And now Dream was going to track him down and punish him for it. 

He remembered falling now, and the fear at the realization that he was going to die….but he didn't. By some fucking miracle, and Tommy didn't believe in that sort of shit, his older brother had helped him. Techno had saved him.

Why?

The very same brother who had willingly  destroyed the very thing that he had known meant so much to him and Wilbur, the man who had sat back and watched as their brother slowly fell deeper and deeper into his obsession, until it was too late, who had stood there and watched and did nothing. 

The very same man who had looked him in the eyes and told him to die like a hero, ended up being the one to save him.

How ironic. 

Tommy felt his hands clenched tightly into fists, so hard he felt his nails cut into his palms and draw blood. His chest started to heave slightly as everything seemed to catch up to him at once, every pent up emotions, everything he’d had to keep in during his exile, during the war. Everything boiled over all at once. 

And there was only one person available at the moment for him to take it all out on. 

Unbeknownst to him, Techno watched the teen with a carefully hidden expression of concern as the teens eyes seemed to cloud over as he presumably remembered whatever the hell it is that had happened to him to cause him to show up in the middle of the Tundra of all places in the current state his in. 

Frowning, he reached out slowly and carefully with his hand.

“Tommy-”

“Why?”

Techno paused with his hand hovering in mid air, blinking a few times. Slightly taken aback by the sudden venom in Tommy's tone, he cocked his head to the side. 

“Excuse me?” 

Pale blue eyes narrowed as they fixed Techno with a harsh gaze. 

“Why did you help me?”

Techno frowned. “Why wouldn't I help you?” 

At the teens scoff, Techno sighed. He really wasn't cut out for dealing with this talking things out shit, but he could at least try. 

“Look Tommy, I...I know a lot of shit has happened between us there's no denying that, but...you're still my brother and I-”

He was cut off by Tommy letting out a harsh laugh, fixing his older brother with a cold stare.

Of course right off the bat, Techno had apparently said the wrong thing.

“Your brother? Since when has me being your brother ever meant anything to you?”

Techno blinked a few times in surprise. “Tommy-”

“In fact.” Tommy hissed, not giving his brother a moment to continue. Now that he'd started, he couldn't stop. Everything he'd been holding back for the past few months was all gonna come spilling out right here and now, and Techno was going to have to but up with it whether he liked it or not. 

“When have I ever meant anything to you Techno? When was I ever more than some annoying little kid who followed you around cause he wanted to be just like you when he grew up? When was I ever really  your brother Techno?” The teen snarled, spitting out his name like a foul world. 

“And it took you, what? Me almost fucking dying for you to actually fucking care about me? For you to finally fucking do something? To come out of your fucking hidey hole? Huh?”

Despite himself, Techno felt a slight twinge of anger. Where the hell was this even coming from, what the hell had Techno even done?

‘You know what you did’ A voice hissed in the back of his head, but in this moment he chose to ignore it. Too focused on letting his own anger get the best of him.

“What did you what me to fucking do Tommy? Leave you there to die?”

Tommy huffed. “That seems like a very Technoblade thing to do.”

The Piglins' eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?” 

The teen glared. “You fucking heard me, it would be just like you! Leaving me there to die! Leaving me just like you...You like you left Wilbur to die!”

Silence, and then a low snarl rumbled from deep within Technos throat. 

“Don't.” 

Despite the slightest twinge of fear Tommy felt pricking at the back of his mind, his anger won over him and fueled him to continue. 

“Don’t what Techno? Don't remind you about how Wilburs fucking dead? About how our brothers fucking dead? Did it matter to you that he was your brother then Techno? When you blew up the very thing he...no, fucking we worked so hard to build, something we fucking died for!? Did it Techno? Did it!?”

“Of course of fucking mattered!” Techno snarled, his own anger getting the best of him as well. 

“He wasn't meant to die Tommy! He shouldn't have died!” 

“Well he fucking did!” Tommy all but shrieked. “You knew he wasn't okay! You fucking knew it! And yet you weren’t there for him! You weren't there for ME! Neither you or Phil were ever fucking there! You didn't even fucking care”

“Of course we fucking cared Tommy!”

“Well you didn't fucking care ENOUGH!” Tommy snarled, shoving at Technos chest angrily. The much more sturdy of the two barely even flinching at the push, his own tusks now on full display as he snarled. 

“What do you want from me Tommy!?” He finally snapped. “What do you want me to do!?”

“Nothing!” Tommy roared. “Because there's nothing you can do! Wilburs Dead, Phils gone, Tubbo hates me, there's nothing fucking left for me Techno! And I...and I-!”

Tommy paused, his breath catching in his throat as he let out a small gasp.

“And….And I’m...I’m alone…” he whispered, a stark contrast to his previous shouting. And just like that, the fight seemed to drain right out of the boy. The sudden anger that had been so close to finally boiling over, evaporated in an instant. Leaving Tommy but a shell of the angry shouting teen he had been but a few moments ago.

“I'm alone Techno….” He croaked, shoulders briefly shaking as he let out a chuckle void of any real humor. 

“And I don't know what to do anymore.” 

In an instant, the anger that had slowly been bubbling within Techno, threatening to spill over and make himself do something he would later regret, vanished just like that at the sound of just how...defeated Tommy sounded. 

Because Techno could handle loud Tommy, could handle Tommy yelling, and shouting, and screaming. But Techno couldn't handle quiet Tommy. And to be honest, quiet Tommy worried him more than loud Tommy ever would. 

“Tommy…” Techno rumbled softly, deep baritone of a voice barely above a whisper as he reached out slowly with his hand. The teen flinched violently away, pressing himself against the back of the couch, albeit at an odd angle. 

“Don’t…” Tommy said softly. Shaking his head, he turned away from Techno. Pressing his face into the couch cushions, muffling his next words.

“Please just….just don’t…” 

Techno closes his mouth, letting his hand drop back down to his side. He...he wasn't cut out for this kind of thing, for these kinds of..emotions. He was not the one well equipped to deal with a clearly emotionally unstable Tommy, but that doesn't mean he couldn't try. 

With a soft sigh, Techno straightened his back. He hesitated for a moment, opening and closing his mouth as he looked down at Tommy’s trembling form. Before he shook his head, turning on his heel he walked away. Making his way back up the stairs, never sparing another glance over his shoulder at his brother on the couch.

Well, at least he could’ve tried if he wasn’t such a fucking coward. 

Chapter Text

Techno woke up with a groan and a crick in his neck. The morning sun rudely shining in from in-between the cracks of the curtains that cover his window. Beaming directly into his face.

He huffed and threw his arm over his eyes, shielding them from the harsh tundra morning light.

He lay there like that for a few moments longer, willing himself to fall back asleep for even just a few moments longer; even though he already knew his attempts would be futile.

As he slowly became more aware of the world around him the longer he lay there, the more the fog of exhaustion cleared from his head, and the more he remembered from the day before.

His eyes suddenly snapped open.

Tommy.

He sat up quickly, wincing when his body screamed in protest. He groaned softly, rubbing the back of his neck.

The other days previous events caught up to him and he brought a hand to his head, massaging his temple in an attempt to tame the headache he already knew was going to form.

He sat there for a moment, silently building himself up to deal with the very injured and even more so emotional teenager he currently had staying on his couch that he was very much not equipped to properly deal with.

With a sigh he rubbed a hand down his face, so much for a peaceful retirement.

He stood from his bed, arching his back and groaning at the slight relief he received when it cracked.

He straightened, looking down and tugging slightly at his white shirt. Briefly considering if he should change before heading downstairs.

Deep down he knew he stalling the inevitable, he had to go downstairs eventually. Both to check on his little brother to make sure he hadn’t somehow died in his sleep, at least he didn’t have to worry about him running away, and because he still had morning chores he needed to do.

He huffed, he wasn’t about to let his own uncomfortableness with the possibility of having to deal with more emotions keep him from going downstairs in his own home.

Reaching forward he pushed against his not fully closed door, he always slept with it not fully closed; an old habit from his childhood that he had never been able to grow out of, pushing it open and stepping out into the hall.

The floor creaked softly under his hooves as he made his way down the dimly lit hallway, hesitating for longer then he’d like to admit, before making his way down them. Purposely making plenty of noise, to alert Tommy of his upcoming presence; if he was even awake that is.

He reached the bottom of the stairs and peered over to where his small living area, more so a cluster of furniture sat close to his fireplace, and where Tommy was currently residing.

Dull pale blue eyes, once as bright as the sky and now more akin to the murky sea, bore right into his own bleeding crimson ones. His eyes weight heavy with exhaustion, puffy and red around the edges. As if he had been crying for a while, and Techno had a feeling he had.

He felt a painful stab of guilt in his chest, silently berating himself for never knowing what right thing to say and for leaving his brother in such a state to begin with. He fought back the urge to just push everything aside and keep walking, go back to his usual routine. But he refused. He wouldn’t leave his brother, not again. Emotional constipation be dammed.

His brother continued to stare at him blankly, and Techno had to admit he was getting a little bit uncomfortable. He cleared his throat.

Well, it was now or never.

“Tommy I-“

“I’m sorry.”

Techno paused, well thought over words dying on his tongue as he focused his gaze back onto his brother. The teens eyes were no longer on him, instead he stared down at his hands as he fiddled with his own fingers. Picking at the bandages, and Techno had to fight back the urge to tell him to cut it out.

Instead, he just blinked dumbly.

“What?”

Tommy’s eyes flickered briefly over to him and for a split second, Techno caught sight of that familiar anger, before it was gone and replaced by something more somber. A muted sort of melancholy sadness.

“I said that I was sorry okay?” He muttered, shoulders hunching up to his ears.

“I shouldn’t have yelled at you or whatever, Shouldn’t have gotten so angry.”

Techno just stared.

He had come down here, mentally preparing for himself to apologize. Not Tommy. He had expected more anger, more emotional outbursts like before. He wasn’t prepared for rehearsed compliance, like he’d gone through this same song and dance before.

It seemed that Tommy was dead set on throwing curb ball after curb ball at him.

Techno frowned as he stared at the teen, who still sat fidgeting with his hands. Even he knew just a ‘sorry’ wasn’t enough, that Tommy wasn’t the only one that should be apologizing. He sighed.

“It’s okay Tommy.”

It really wasn’t, but it was a start at least.

Tommy gave a curt nod and they fell back into a painfully awkward silence, broken only by Tommy’s sudden fit of coughing that overtook him. Forcing him to hunch over and gasp for air.

Techno was crouched by his side in a matter of seconds, hand hovering at his side. Wanting to give comfort but unsure if he was allowed to.

“Are you Alright?”

Tommy let out a strangled wheeze and Techno winced. “Y-Yeah...my throats just kinda dry.”

The elder hummed. “Wait here” he said as he stood, grateful for something that finally could help that he actually knew how to do.

He returned back to Tommy’s side a moment later, an apple and a glass of water in his hands. He held them both out to Tommy, almost like a peace offering.

“Here.” He rumbled. “Figured you could use something to eat as well.”

Tommy looked hesitant, staring at Techno suspiciously. Glancing at the glass and licking his cracked and dry lips, he carefully reached out and grasped the glass with trembling boney fingers.

His fingers brushed against Techno’s own hooven ones, and the elder frowned when the teen quickly pulled his hand away from the contact. Thankfully taking the glass with him.

He brought it to his lips, still watching Techno out the corner of his eye, and took a sip. In seconds he was practically guzziling the whole thing.

Techno huffed. “Don’t drink to fast, you’ll make yourself sick.”

Tommy gave him a slight glare out of the corner of his eye, but he did slow his drinking. Despite that he downed the whole glass probably faster then he should, not that Techno blamed him. Kid probably hadn’t had much to drink as of late.

He held out his hand, ignoring the twinge of anger in his chest when Tommy flinched, for the empty glass. The teen blinked, before he handed to glass back to him. Techno grunted as he took it.

“You want some more?” He asked, and when Tommy shook his head he sat the glass back onto the table beside the couch, Incase he needed it later.

“Need anything else?”

A head shake no.

“You sure?”

Another no.

“Alright, try and get some rest then.” Techno said, walking over to the door and grabbing his cloak from the hook near the door. Pulling it over his shoulders.

“I’ve got to do some chores, it’ll only take a half hour or so. In case of emergency just scream or something, I’ll probably be able to hear you.”

Tommy sent him an unimpressed glare before he shrugged, turning away and picking up the apple and taking a small bite out of it.

Techno took that as Tommy being done with the conversation, which was fine with him in all honesty. He’d done enough talking for the moment.

Turning on his heel he opened the door and stepped outside to start the days work.

———-

Techno grunted as he straightened up from the chest after he finished putting away his gardening tools, cracking his back and sighing at the feeling.

He brushed his hands off on his pants, telling himself he would change later, and made his way back to the entrance gate of the garden.

He was finishing up the last of his morning chores, he’d already checked on the animals and the hounds, and did his usual perimeter check. And he’d just gotten done with the garden, now he planned to head back to the cabin the check up on Tommy and make him and the teen something to eat.

His hooves crunched in the snow as he made his way down the path that would eventually connect to the one that would lead straight up to his porch, eyes gazing over the horizon absentmindedly; lingering in the direction Techno knew the village, a small grouping of buildings with friendly enough people that didn’t ask questions, that he traded with on the occasion lay. Something about It made him pause in his steps, cocking his head to the side.

He hummed

Techno had never been good at verbal apologizes. A simple ‘sorry’ always felt fake coming from his own mouth, and with longer more sincere ones he always stumbled over his words to the point he struggled to even get his original point across.

No, Techno was more known for his physical ways of saying sorry. Giving gifts, doing favors, giving hugs if need be. To others outside his circle it may seem he was being insincere and just looking for a way out of it, but to those who knew him well enough knew that it was as sincere as he could get.

Favors wouldn’t do him any good, and he wasn’t sure how up for hugs Tommy was; especially from him. So that left him with a few other options.

He spared a moment longer look at the direction where the village lay, before he turned on his heel and made his way back to his house.

——

Techno knocked on the door three times, in the same pattern Phil always used when he came by the visit. Of course, Tommy wouldn’t know that. But hopefully the knock would be distinct enough to let Tommy know that it was just him.

He waited a beat before he opened the door and stepped inside, stomping his hooves off on the mat. Approaching the living area where he could see a mound of messy blonde hair peeking just above the back of the couch.

He frowned when saw the apple he had left behind was barely touched, and was being half heartedly picked at by the teen.

“Tommy?”

“Hm? Yeah?” The teen seemed almost distracted, only half listening to what his older brother was saying.

“I’m gonna be heading towards the village near here to do some trading, I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

Now that certainly got Tommy’s attention, his gaze snapping from his half picked at apple to his older brother above.

“What? You’re leaving?”

The ‘me’ went unspoken but it was there nonetheless, Techno frowned.

“It’ll just be for a moment Tommy, literally no one know about this place aside from and now you. You’ll be safe here.”

“Bullshit!” Tommy spat, fighting to keep the panic he felt at being left alone again at bay.

“What am I gonna do if something does happen Techno? I can’t exactly defend myself here.”

Techno sighed. “Nothing bad is gonna happen Tommy.”

“But what if it does?”

Techno pinched the bridge of his snout, fighting back and groan.

“Tommy-“

“But what if it does Tech?” Tommy pushes, and this time Techno paused at the slight desperation in his voice.

He sighed again, softer this time.

“Wait here.” He grunted, his brother shooting him a vaguely annoyed and questioning look but said nothing as he watched him slip back out the door and into the snow.

Techno, meanwhile, made his way back to the hound house.

He stepped inside and was immediately bombarded by yipping fur balls running under his feet and trying to jump up and like his face, thankfully Techno was a sturdy guy and used to his excitable hounds.

(Phil however, had very much so not been. And Techno could still picture the look on his face when he was overtaken by a sea of fur and slobber. Techno still got a bit of a laugh out of it.)

But Techno wasn’t here to play, not today at least, and a sharp whistle had the well trained canines backing down. Though they still trembled with excitement, staring up at him with adoring eyes. He absentmindedly rubbed at the heads as he walked by, gaze traveling over them as he searched for the one he was looking for.

He found her, laying on her stomach. Lifting her head and wagging her tail when he approached and crouched down beside her, rubbing at her ears.

“Hey there girl.” He muttered “I’m gonna need you to do me a bit of a favor.”

He was rewarded with a head cocking to the side, she was one of his older and therefore more calmer wolves. Despite being one of the oldest, Techno new she was still fully capable of defending the home.

And more importantly, defending Tommy.

He gave her side a few more pats before he straightens back up, the wolf standing up with him. And with a sharp whistle she was following behind at his feet, he brushed past the other dogs. Keeping them at bay as he stepped out the pen with his sole wolf following at his feet.

He made his way back to the cabin, knocking out of instinct, before opening the door. The wolf immediately rushed inside past him, eager to explore the house. From inside he heard Tommy make a noise of surprise and, lips twitching, he stepped inside.

In the house the wolf sniffed around curiously, tail wagging a mile a minute behind her as she explored the new environment.

Tommy watched the dog explore with wide eyes, his attention all but gone from the half eaten apple in his hand. He glanced from the large wolf to Techno, silently asking for an explanation.

Techno shrugged. “She’s one of my hounds, figured she could keep you some company while I was gone.”

The wolf had lost interest in sniffing around the house, her attention now solely on Tommy. Approaching the teen, tail wagging. She sniffed curiously at his casts and, before Techno could stop her, placed her two front paws up onto the edge of the couch so she could shove her snout into Tommy’s face to sniff at him curiously.

Tommy’s whole body went totally stiff, and Techno felt his breath catch in his throat. He hadn’t even asked if Tommy was okay with big dogs in the first place, and he really didn’t need Tommy panicking right now. Heart in his throat he reached out he opened his mouth to call a command to get the canine to back down and-

Tommy giggles.

Techno froze.

Tommy giggles, scrunching up his shoulders as the wolf licked at his cheek. His hands coming up to run through the wolves thick fur, teeth flashing as he grinned widely.

“Oh Hello” He giggled.

“Aren’t you just a good girl? The best girl? The bestest best girl?”

The teens joy and praise did nothing but fuel the wolves excitement, let out a soft whimper of happiness as tried to cover Tommy’s face in “puppy kisses”, said teen giggling and pushing her away with no real strength behind it.

Techno stared for a moment, blinking a few times. Before a wide grin spread across his face, tusks on full display as he let out a rumbling chuckle.

Tommy, suddenly remember that he was not alone, went stiff. He scowled at Techno and his stupid grinning face, turning away with a slight tingle of color on his cheeks. Techno just chuckled again.

The wolf paid no mind to Tommy’s predicament, scutching as close as she could get to Tommy. Pawing at his chest and whining for attention, the scowl on Tommy’s face turned into another wide grin as he went back to running his fingers through the wolves thick fur.

He glanced at Techno, who was still smiling at him the bastard, and cleared his throat.

“What’s her name?”

Techno shrugged. “She’s your dog, you name her.”

Tommy blinked and then turned his attention back to the wolf beaming, he grabbed either side of the wolf’s face and seemed to think for a moment before he smiled.

“Clementine.” He whispered

Something in Techno’s chest most certainly did not soften at that, instead he just nodded casually.

“Clementine hm? Huh, I like it. Suits her.”

Tommy smiles, rubbing the sides of the wolves, now named Clementine, cheeks.

“The best name for the best girl.” He cooed, scrunching up his face when Clementine licked his nose.

Techno smiled, softer this time.

“You think that you’re gonna be alright with me leaving now.”

Tommy didn’t look at him as he answered, keeping his attention all on Clem. He nodded.

Techno’s shoulders relaxed. “Good.” He sighed, reaching up to tighten his cloak around him. Pulling his hood over his head to hide his features.

“I won’t be gone long, if anything goes wrong you’ve got Clem. You’ll be plenty safe with her here.”

Tommy just hummed in response, focused on playing with Clementines ears, Techno nodded, satisfied. He kept his own worries to himself as he made his way to the door, Tommy would be okay. Gods protect anyone who dared tried to hurt him, cuz if Clementine doesn’t rip whoever dares to trie throat out first, Techno will.

He was in the middle of reaching out for the handle of the door, when a quiet voice froze him in tracks.

“Techno?”

Ears perked up, the Piglin turned to look back at his younger brother on the couch. Who still kept his attention on running his fingers through Clementines fur, his ears burning.

“....Thanks..”

Techno blinked, and then he smiled. And this time there was no denying that his eyes may have went just a little soft.

“You’re welcome Tommy.”

Chapter Text

Techno gently pulled back on Carl's reins, hard enough to bring her to a stop just on the outskirts of the village. He hopped down from her back, landing on the snow with a faint crunch and a grunt. He gave Carl a few quick pats, receiving a huff of air in return, before he grabbed onto her reins and carefully led her into the village. 

He gave his hood another tug, making sure it covered his face in a veil of shadows. He wasn't worried about being called out for being a hybrid, there were hybrids who lived in the village itself, but they were overworld hybrids and hybrids such as himself who were from other realms, weren't nearly as accepted. 

Not to mention, his reputation had a habit of preceding him. Most of the time for the worst. 

He made his way over to the stables, giving a brief nod to the stable worker who tipped their hat in a friendly greeting before returning to whatever book they had been reading. He led Carl over to an empty stable, leading her inside and closing the gate. Stroking her thick mane he handed her a handful of hay, which she nibbled out of his hand. 

“I’ll be back in a bit girl, behave yourself. No kick’n the stable workers again like last time.” 

He received a snort as Carl shook her head, whinnying softly. She learned forward and nuzzled her nose into his chest, snuffling. Techno smiled, rubbing her ears before stepping back and making his way out of the stable. The worker gave him not much more than a brief glance as he left. 

He made his way into the village's main pathway, one that split off into smaller shorter ones that would lead him to various shops and homes. Instead of taking his usual path, one that would lead him to the blacksmith and the bookshop, he instead took the one that would lead him straight to the small little bakery near the center of the small village. 

Techno rarely visited the bakery itself, he had never had much of a sweet tooth, more one for the savory side of the flavor spectrum. But Phil certainly did, and during his visits Techno had made it a habit of his to come by and pick up some of the sweet bread that Phil was rather fond of. 

He stepped inside the bakery, having to duck slightly to avoid hitting his dead on the doorframe, the bell above the door rang faintly as he entered. Inside was warm, a stark contrast to the freezing temperature that the tundra provided, and his sensitive nose was clogged with the smells of different baked goods,and sweet spices. 

His snout wrinkled and he snorted softly, trying to clear the smell out of his nostrils. Hooves creaking on the wooden floorboard below he made his way up to the counter just as a head popped up from around the corner and led to the kitchen. 

Reiko was a plump and kind faced cat hybrid, with bright eyes and burn scarred hands. They gave Techno a warm and friendly smile, flashing their sharpened teeth. 

“Techno.” They said, a purr lacing their words and they lent forward slightly on the counter. 

“It’s been so long, I'm assuming you want the usual?” Techno shook his head, voice rumbling in his chest. 

“Not today, I'm here to order something else”

Reiko's ears perked up with interest. “Oh? Switching things up today are we? I like it.” 

They straightened back up. 

“So, what is it  that I can get for you today instead?” 

Techno hummed, eyes glancing down at the display case below him. Gaze traveling over the various cakes and other goodies displayed behind the glass, he racked his mind for the correct choice. One that Tommy would enjoy. 

Thinking back on it he was pretty sure that kid would eat anything with chocolate in it. 

He pointed with a single gloved hand at the pile of chocolate chip cookies stacked up neatly on a plate for display. “Can I get a dozen of these please?” 

The cat hybrid followed to where he was pointing and smiled. “Of course, coming right up.” 

They moved swiftly about, carefully covering the cookies in wax paper before wrapping them up in a bright red cloth, tying them up with a bow they handed him the wrapped package which Techno took carefully into his own hands. 

“There you are.” They chirped. “Gave you a few extra, my treat.” they winked. 

Techno let out a soft huff of amusement as he paid for his, or well, Tommy’s goodies. 

‘Thank’s Reiko, have a good day.” 

They smiled and gave him a wave as he made his way back towards the bakery entrance. 

“You too Techno, come by again soon.” 

He offered a final grunt of acknowledgement before he stepped back out into the chilly air, taking in a deep breath to unclog his nose from all the sweet smells of the bakery. Not wanting to keep Tommy waiting, he made no other stops and instead started his way straight back to the stables. 

Along the way back he paused, his ears perked up at the sound of voices talking nearby. One of which was forgien to him, while the other was very familiar. Head tilted slightly he turned to look in the direction of the voice, pupils narrowed ever so slightly. 

He was met with a familiar shade of green, a stark contrast to the white snow surrounding them. 

Dream. 

Internally; Techno groaned. He had no idea what the hell Dream of all people was doing all the way out here, and he didn’t care enough to find out. Not wanting to have to deal with whatever bullshit the green boy had going on, he averted his gaze and continued on his way steadfast to the stable and-

“Technoblade? Hey!”

Son of a bitch.

As if sensing his very presence, Dreams masked face turned snapped its attention from the villager in front of him to the signature red cloak and cape that gave Techno away. The green clad man, apparently having lost interest in conversing with the random villager, quickly made his way to Techno is long strides.

Techno considered turning away and pretending to be some other giant piglin hybrid wearing a hooded red cape, but he soon let himself reside to his own fate and allowed Dream to approach him.

“Technoblade!” Dream greeted, his mask but a hollow smile despite the friendly tilt to his tone of voice. 

“Dream.” Techno grunted, his voice devoid of any sort of emotion, his monotone drone a stark contrast to Dream artificial friendly voice. 

“What are you doing out here? You live in this area or sumthin?” 

“I could ask the same of you.” Techno said, choosing not to give Dream any answers. Not like he needed to know where Techno lives, he could mind his own business thank you.

“Didn’t think you came out this far.”

Dream chuckled. “Sometimes I just like to get around ya know? Get a lay of my land.” 

Hidden under his cloak, Dream never caught the annoyed twitch of his ear at his words, but he kept his body language neutral.

“That so?” 

“Uh huh, although...” Dream trailed off, and Techno could imagine the smile curling on his lips. 

“Today I’m not here for sight seeing sadly, you see I recently lost something of mine that’s really quite important and I have a feeling you might be able to help me find it.” 

Techno raised a brow. “What are you lookin for?” 

Techno could almost here the sound of Dreams grin stretching even wider on his face.

“You and Tommy still keep in touch?” 

Techno blinked. 

“What? The hell that got to do with anything?” 

“Well you see.” Dream hummed. “Tommy’s who I’m lookin for. He went missing a few days ago and I managed to track him out here. Figured I would check out the village and see if anyone had seen him or if he’d somehow managed to make his way out here.”

Techno stared down at him blankly, he’d prepared for something like this. For someone to come looking for Tommy, the boys presence was loud and it was easy to notice its absence. But Techno had expected someone like Tubbo to come looking for the teen, they were best friends after all....right? 

But Techno hadn’t expected Dream of all people to show up looking for the boy, from what Techno knew the two of them didn’t have a very good relationship. If anything, Techno would be confident in saying that they even hated each other, at best a strong disliking.

So why would Dream be looking for Tommy?

Not one to share his own business, especially when every instinct in his body was screaming at him, Techno just shrugged. 

“I haven’t seen him no, we aren’t exactly on the best of terms anyways.” 

From behind his mask, Dream sighed. 

“I’d hope he’d somehow ran off to you.” 

Techno’s eyes narrowed “What exactly is he runnin off from?” 

“Oh, his exile of course.” 

Techno paused, every muscle in his body went rigid.

“Exile?”

“Oh? Haven’t you heard?” Dream said, sounding genuinely surprised. 

“Tommy has been put in exile upon request of President Tubbo for destruction and griefing of another’s property. And it’s been my job to keep an eye on him.” 

Techno felt something in his chest drop down to his stomach, the image of Tommy’s clearly abused and malnourished body laying limp and cold in the snow wounds too fresh to no be recent popped onto his mind and refused to leave. 

And Dream.

Dream who was looking for Tommy.

Dream who has been in charge of looking out for Tommy during his exile.

His exile.

Tommy has been in exile.

“How long?” Techno muttered, voice barely above a whisper.

“Hm?”

“How long has he been in exile?”

“Oh, bout a couple of months I think?” 

Techno fought back the urge to sharply inhale. 

A couple of months.

A couple of months.

Tommy has been left alone with Dream for a couple of months.

Suddenly it made sense, all of it made sense. The flinching, the silence, the fucking obedience. 

Techno wasn’t stupid, he could put two and two together. 

Techno thought back to the now bandaged burns that had littered his little brothers skin. 

Dream has always liked his TNT.

He also had always had a fondness for being in control, and he didn’t like being told no. And who told him no more then anyone else but Tommy? 

Subconsciously his hand moved to grasp his axe hanging at his side on his belt, the thought of taking off Dreams stupid mask wearing head straight off from his shoulders was overwhelming. He was right there in front of him, all it would take was a single swing.

He dropped his hand from his axes carved handle, instead he clenched them tightly to his side. Not yet. 

Soon. But not yet.

“-but anyways, It’s getting late so I should start heading back so I don’t end up getting caught out here in the dark.” Dream was saying, seemingly unaware of Techno’s internal conflict. 

“That would probably be for the best.” Techno grunted, voice almost trembling from the effort of having to hold back from killing Dream right then and there.

Dream seemed to perk up at the lift to his voice, but he said nothing. But Techno could hear the smile in the voice as he spoke.” 

“Of course, you’ll let me know if you hear anything from him right?” 

“Sure.” Techno said, having absolutely no plan to let Dream get anywhere close to Tommy ever again. 

“I’ll let you know the moment I hear anything.”

“Great! Hopefully with your help I’ll be able to find him quicker.” Dream sighed.

“Whelp, I won’t keep you any longer. Feel free to head back to whatever hole you’ve been living in.” Dream chuckled. 

“Thanks again” 

Techno gave a grunt. 

“Always happy to help.” He droned, turning on his heel and having to fight to keep himself from beelining it straight to the stables. He needed to get back to Tommy, there was a lot they needed to discuss.

He chose to ignore the feeling of Dreams gaze burning into the back of his head as he watched him walk away. 

Chapter Text

Techno stomped off his hooves so as to not track snow into the house, he gave the front door his signature three knocks as to not alarm his new guest inside. Closing the door behind him he gave a soft sigh as the warmth of the house engulfed him, washing away the chill from outside. Removing his cloak and hanging it on the hook on the wall near the door he made his way towards the living room. 

Cloth wrapped bundle clutched in his hooved hand he peered into the living room from the doorway. 

“Tommy?” He called, keeping his voice soft. 

He got no answer in response and he couldn't help the twinge of worry that pinched in his chest, reassuring himself that the teen was probably just taking a nap he stepped further into the room so he could peer over the back of the couch. 

Sure enough Tommy was fast asleep, face smushed against his pillow and a little line of drool running down from the corner of his mouth. Laying half on him and half on the couch was Clementine, the large wolf lifting up her head from Tommy's chest and wagging her tail in greeting. 

Techno couldn't stop the slight burst of warmth that spread throughout his chest, but he could certainly choose to ignore it. With a soft huff he walked around the couch, patting Clem on the head he picked up one of the many blankets Tommy had managed to knock onto the floor in his sleep. 

He covered the sleeping teen, and in return Clementine as well, carefully tucking in the teen. Once finished he stepped back, glancing over to Tommy’s sleeping face he couldn't help but notice the slight furrow of his brows. Techno frowned.

Reaching over he hesitated for just a moment before he placed his hand on top of Tommy's head, gently combing his hooved fingers through his messy blonde hair. The teen made a soft noise, pointed ears twitching, and Techno almost pulled away when Tommy suddenly turned his head. Eagerly pushing into Techno's hand, face relaxing with a soft sleepy sigh. 

Even Techno couldn't stop the soft smile that snuck its way onto his snout as he scratched at Tommy's scalp, the boy practically purring at this point. 

Suddenly with a soft hum Tommy’s eyes cracked open, soft blue eyes met Techno's blood red ones. Suddenly his sleepy gaze  became much more aware as Tommy’s eyes snapped open all the way, jerking away and grunting as he ran into the back of the couch. 

Techno made a slight noise of concern. “Careful.”

“What the fuck man!?” Tommy cried, voice croaky and from sleep. 

“Were you watching me sleep just now? That's fucking weird!” 

Techno rose a furry brow. Either Tommy didn't remember practically begging for headpats just moments before, or he was choosing to pretend it never happened. Either way Techno decided to humor him and not comment on it, for now at least. 

“Good morning to you too.” 

Tommy squinted at him before rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, using his arms to push him into a better sitting position. Clementine grunted at having to move but made herself comfortable again either way, Tommy buried his fingers in her thick fur. 

“When did you get back?” He asked, watching his hands as he tangled his fingers in Clementine's fur. Techno watched as he did so and hummed. 

“Bout maybe five minutes ago, were you sleeping the whole time I was gone?” 

Tommy fixed him with a harsh glare. “Well it's not like there was anything else to do while you were gone.” 

Techno held up his hands. “Easy, I'm not tryna call you out or anything. You sleeping is a good thing, help’s quicken your healing.” 

Tommy blinked. “Oh, well….yeah, I did.” 

“That's...That's good...”

“I guess so yeah.”

The two stood in awkward silence for a moment, both avoiding each other's gaze. When Tommy's wandering eyes caught sight of the blue bundle still clutched in Techno's hand. His pointed ears perked up in interest. 

“What's that?” 

“Hm? Oh this?” Techno lifted up the bundle slightly. “It's uh, it's for you.”

Something like surprise flashed in Tommy's eyes but it was gone before Techno could confirm if he’d actually seen it or not “For me? Well, what is it?”

Techno simply tossed the bundle into his lap. “Open it and find out.”

Tommy supplied him with a glance, eyes filled with suspicion, before turning his attention back to the bundle. Tugging at the string that kept it wrapped together it all came undone, revealing the stack of still warm cookies inside. 

Tommy blinked a few times reaching out slowly and picking one up, watching it cautiously like it might try and bite him. He glanced at Techno out of the corner of his eye. 

“Cookies?”

“Yep.”

Tommy glanced back to the baked goods and then back to him, eyes narrowed. 

“...Why?”

Techno shrugged. 

“Why not?” 

Another back and forth glance.

“....And they aren't poisoned?” 

The piglin sighed, rolling his eyes. “Look do you want them or not? Cause if you don't I can just take them and-”

“No!” Tommy hissed, holding the cookies to his chest. “They're mine! No take backs!”

He looked back at the cookie and brought it to his mouth, preparing to take a bite. 

“What kinda cookies are they anyways?” 

“Raisin.”

Tommy paused mid bite, fixing Techno with a look of pure betrayal and disgust and the Piglin couldn't keep the smile off his face. 

“I'm just messing with you, they're Chocolate chip.” 

“You dick!” Tommy shrieked and Techno couldn't help but chuckle softly as Tommy spat curses his way, still glaring at him the teen proceeded to shove the whole cookie into his mouth. He paused, his eyes going wide. 

Techno frowned. “Tommy? Is something wrong?” 

“Holy shit…” Tommy muttered, mouth still full of cookie. Swallowing he turned his wide eyes gaze to Techno who was still bemusedly concerned. 

“Techno holy shit! These things are so fucking good!” He picked up another and took a large bite.

Techno felt his shoulders relax, he’d been worried there for a second that Tommy hadn't liked the baked goods….probably too worried in his own opinion. For a moment he just watched as little brother ate his cookie with a look of utter bliss on his face, when something popped into his mind. He frowned. 

“Hey Tommy?” 

The teen turned his gaze to him, swallowing and wiping his mouth of any crumbs, which Techno was sure Clem would have a ball licking up off the floor later. 

“What's up?”

“Can I ask you something?” 

Tommy froze for a moment, something flashing in his eyes before he relaxed, picking up another cookie as he gave a casual shrug. 

“Go for it.”  

Techno glanced over to Tommy’s hand, watching as his fingers gripped tightly onto Clementine's fur. Boney fingers entangling themselves in thick fur. He forced his gaze away. Approaching this carefully, like one would a cornered animal, would probably be in both of their best interests. 

He took a deep breath and sighed, glancing up and looking at Tommy’s face. The teen wasn’t meeting his gaze, focused on the cookie still gripped in his free hand.

Techno didn’t mind, he’d never been good at eye contact anyways.

He settled for staring just behind Tommy, at the bookcase full of books he still needed to finish. He took a deep breath. 

“I ran into Dream during my errands today.” 

Silence. And then;

“...What...?” 

Tommy's voice came out as more of a strained whisper, tone wavering and cracking at the end. Alarmed by the sudden change in tone, at the sound of pure horror in his brother's voice, Techno turned his head to meet his brother's gaze.

Dull blue eyes stared back at him, wide and filled to the brim with terror . 

Unable to turn his gaze away from the two dull pools of blue boring into his own red irises, Techno continued. 

“I...yes..” he hesitated, confidence faltering at the sudden change in tone. 

“He was at the village I was trading in, we talked briefly and he told me that he was looking for you and I-“ 

Techno never got to finish his sentence, interrupted when a shaky gasping intake of air filled the room. 

The cookie now wet with sweat and crumbled with how tightly he had been gripping it fell to the floor as Tommy raised both his shaking hands to his face, one hand hovering over his mouth like he was going to be sick. 

“No..” he whispered. Voice raw. “No please...you didn't....” 

Techno blinked, any coherent put together plan he’d had on how to approach this situation quickly went out the window as he watched his brother shake and tremble before him. Without thinking, Techno reached out, some deep well hidden instinct inside of him urging him to do something, anything, to comfort his clearly in distress baby brother. 

“...Tommy?” 

He got no indication of the teen having heard him in response, the boy's eyes focused not on him but on something only he could see. A glazed over look of distant ever growing fear overflowing in his eyes, threatening to spill over.

Clementine, seeing Tommy's distress, whined softly. She started to squirm to press herself closer to Tommy and Techno reached out and gripped into her collar, gently tugging her down and off the couch. 

The wolf compiled, but continued to pace back and forth in front of the couch, letting her distress be known with whines and whimpers. 

Techno paid her no mind, gaze entirely focused on the shaking teen in front of him. He lowered his voice in what he hoped was a soothing tone, hands held up in front of him in a soothing manner.

“Tommy....hey...” he whispered and the boy's eyes blew wide.

“NO!” He all but shrieked, and Techno violently flinched back at the sudden outburst. Hand slamming back down to his side, clenching tightly into fists.

Gasping and panting for air Tommy continued to ramble, eyes boring holes into Techno's own but never really actually seeing him. 

“N-No please! Don’t.... Don’t let him take me, don’t let him take me back! I...I promise that I’ll be good! Please! I...I can't go back! He’ll...He’ll..”

His words trailed off with a low keening whine, he continued to babble, the spewing of words from his lips broken up only by his gasping intakes of air. 

Techno froze. 

“Tommy....” he whispered, the only word he was able to think to say, barely heard over the teens own panicked breathing. 

“Tommy.” He tried again, louder, more confident. A strange sort of burning behind his eyes and a piercing pain in his chest. Something bubbled up from the back of his throat. 

“Tommy!” He called a third time, voice finally finding a steady confidence as he reached forward and grasped tightly onto Tommy's shoulders with both of his hooved hands. 

Faintly in his blue eyes, there was the briefest spark of recognition. Tommy seemed to finally see Techno in front of him, grounded by the tight almost burning grip on his shoulders. 

“T-Techno.” He gasped out, like he was finally coming up for air after spending too much time underwater. 

“It’s me, It’s Techno, you’re in my house, you're safe.” The piglin spoke, voice a soft rumble in his chest. His little brother blinked at him, eyes starting to damp around the edges. 

“T-Techno...” he choked out. “D...Dream...”

Dream.

The word burned in his mind and tasted like foul acid on his tongue, he fought back the urge to snarl and bare his teeth at the thought of the man who he now knew for certain had done something to his baby brother. 

But he fought back the burning rage rising up his throat like bile, Tommy didn’t need Angry Technoblade, Tommy needed soft Technoblade. Technosoft, yeah. 

“Look at me Tommy.” He whispered softly, dull blues turning to gaze at him. 

“I didn’t tell Dream about you being here.”

There was a spark of surprise amidst the terror. Finding a new confidence that Tommy was actually hearing his words, Techno continued.

“I didn’t tell Dream about you and I don’t plan on telling Dream about you. As far as I’m concerned it’s none of his damn business where you are and who you’re with. And if i have it my way then you wont ever have to see his stupid masked face again.” 

He lowered himself slowly so that he was crouched down in front of the boy on the couch, the teens gaze never leaving his own. 

“I’m serious when I say that you’re safe here Tommy. Did you hear that? Safe. I don’t know where or why you’re so scared of going back to wherever you came from, but as long as you’re with me you don’t ever have to worry about going back. And if Dream has a problem with that, then he can come and talk it out with me so I have a free excuse to kick his ass.” 

Silence, Tommy continues to stare at him and Techno just finds himself relieved that the boy isn’t fighting for air anymore. 

An intense urge of instinct rises and burns in his chest, and he finds himself giving in to the screaming that urged him to give in. 

“Can I hug you?” He blurts before he could chicken out. 

Tommy blinked, his eyes having cleared significantly, he stared at Techno with an unreadable expression. Eyes filled with….some sort of emotion that Techno couldn't read. Techno fought the urge to squirm under his little brother's intense glaze, feeling as if he’d made a mistake he was quick to try and correct it. He awkwardly cleared his throat. 

“I...Sorry, you don't have to-” 

Techno however, never got a chance to backtrack on his words. Interrupted when Tommy suddenly threw himself into Techno's arms, burying his face into his chest and grabbing onto handfuls of his shirt. Pushing himself as close as possible against Techno, as if he feared the Piglin would disappear. 

Overcoming his surprise, Techno was quick to wrap his arms around the teen. Practically engulfing his small frame with his own much larger one, he felt his own throat tighten slightly. 

Tommy just looked so...small in his arms, And it was sending his protective instincts wild. 

Pack, Pack, Pack.

Little piglet. 

Protect. 

Protect.

Protect. 

Holding onto the teen in the position he was currently in was a bit awkward, with half his body still being stuck on the couch with his legs being broken and all. So Techno settled on maneuvering himself, which was a little difficult with Tommy now clinging onto him, so he was sitting on the couch, Tommy sitting in his lap with his legs stretched out on the couch, body turned so he could continue to push his face into Techno's chest. 

Techno kept his arms wrapped around the boy, chin resting on top of his head, he allowed his chest to vibrate with a soft comforting rumble as he gently swayed back and forth in a rocking motion. 

Words Techno wasn't so good at, but this? 

This Techno could handle. 

“I’ve got you Toms.” He whispered, ignoring the way his own voice quivered. 

“I’ve got you.”

And Tommy?

Tommy wailed. 

Loud ugly sounding cries that soon had Techno's shirt covered in tears and snot, once a nicely ironed shirt now wrinkled and stained. 

And Techno continued to hold him. 

“I'm sorry.” He whispered, though he at the moment wasn't quite sure just what he was apologizing for.

There was another soft whine, this time not from Tommy, and a pawing at his legs. He glanced downwards to see Clementine staring up at him with pleading blue eyes. He sighed softly, rolling his eyes and making a soft clicking noise with his tongue. Immediately Clementine hopped up onto the couch, shoving herself against Techno's open side. Practically trapping him between a clingy dog, and a clingy teen. 

(Not that he really minded.) 

He sighed softly, rubbing soothing circles and patterns on his brother's back as his sobs became quiet hiccups and coughs. He closed his own damped eyes. 

He knew, deep down, while clutching onto his younger brother, that things were far from being fixed. That it would take more than a hug to fix months of hurt and betrayal, that it would be messy, and painful, and hard.

But all that mattered in that moment is that Techno had Tommy, and he wasn't planning on letting him go anytime soon. 

Chapter Text

The first thing Tommy became aware of when he woke up was that he was warm, warm and very comfortable.  A soft sigh escaped past his lips on its own accord as he snuggled deeper in the warmth, taking comfort in the soft rumbles that vibrated against his body. 

Wait….rumbles? 

He blinked open his eyes, turning to see the familiar white dress shirt of his older brother Techno. A quick glance up saw the piglin fast asleep, his head tilted back against the couch backing. A muscular fur covered arm draped against Tommy's frail body, a comfortable pressure that left Tommy feeling safe and warm. 

Mind still muddled by sleep, and still a bit too comfortable to pull away, Tommy simply stared at his sleeping older brother as he allowed yesterday's events to catch back up with him. He felt his face warm as he groaned internally, the thought of breaking down like that in front of Techno had him cringing. 

He thought about pulling away, yelling at his brother to let go of him. But….his brother's words of reassurance from last night still echoed in his mind, the lingering spark of hope that they left behind had him thinking that maybe his brother really did want to help him. Plus…he was comfortable, it had been so long since he had been this warm, since he had been held. 

And it felt….nice..

So Tommy stayed in his brother's embrace, head against the piglins chest as Techno rumbled in his sleep, chuffing occasionally. He didn't know the next time he’d be held like this so Tommy made no move to wake his brother, in fear he’d lose the comfort and warmth the piglin provided. 

And then Tommy got bored. 

Having his legs be messed up and therefore having it so he couldn't do much of anything was bad enough, but just sitting here staring at a wall unable to move an inch in fear of waking up his older brother had Tommy wanting to scream. 

He was debating if elbowing his brother in the side to wake him would get Tommy thrown out into the snow when a soft whine came from his lower left and something cold and wet pressed against his hand. 

The teen jerked his hand away on instinct, turning his head and relaxing when he saw it was just Clementine. The large canine was standing and staring at the teen, her tail starting to wag when the boy’s attention turned to hers. Tommy grinned, reaching out and scratching the dog behind the ears. 

“Oh hello my best girl, have you been waiting for me to wake up? Huh? Huh?” Tommy cooed, keeping his voice low so as to not awake his still sleeping brother. 

Clementine let out a happy whine, leaning into Tommy’s touch. With a huff she lifted herself onto two legs, placing her front paws on the couch so she could lean forward in an attempt to lick at Tommy cheek in her excitement. The teen giggled softly, holding out a hand and gently pushing at her muzzle. 

“No girl down! No slobbering on me alright?” Tommy huffed, though there was of course no real heat in his voice. His eyes traveled back up to his older brother's face and though there was no one there to see it, an evil grin spread across his lips. He turned back to the wolf. 

“You know who could use some doggy kisses? Techno.” Tommy whispered, shifting slightly to give the wolf ample room to reach up and attack the piglins face with her doggy affection. 

“Go on girl! Get him! Slobber on the pigman!” 

Egged on by the teens excitement and his frantic pointing at Technos face the wolf stretched herself up to reach the piglins face, before she promptly covered his face in doggy kisses. 

Almost immediately Techno's' eyes snapped open, reaching up to push away at the dog's face. Spluttering out protests with laughter in his deep voice. 

“Okay, Okay! Down! Down girl! I’m up! I’m up!” Techno managed to gently push the wolf away from his face, groaning slightly as he wiped his face with his free arm. 

“Ugh Clem your breath stinks, this is so gross.” 

Tommy, who had pretended to be asleep as soon as he saw Techno open his eyes, had to bite down on the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. He felt Techno shift from under him, and as the piglins gaze turned to watch him as Tommy struggled to keep his face neutral. 

He heard Techno sighed, he expected the older to either shake Tommy awake or make some attempt to maneuver the lanky teen off his lap without waking him. What he wasn't expected however was his brother's deep monotone and oh so unimpressed voice to sound out above him.

“Get him Clementine.” 

Almost instantly Tommy’s nose is filled with the smell of bad dog breath as Clementine makes him her next victim, and in seconds the teens face is covered in slobber. He shriek's. Sitting up and shielding his hands with his face, shouting out protest. 

Above him he can hear his brother's deep laughter, wiping at his face angrily he turns to glare at the piglin who's all grinning at him, tusks on full display. He gives a lazy wave. 

“Mornin.”

 “What the fuck Techno!?” Tommy shrieks. The piglin looking down at him just grins and shrugs. 

“What? Figured you need a good wake up call.” 

Wiping his face in disgust Tommy scowls at him. “You could have just woken me up normally dickhead.” 

Techno rose a brow. “You started it.” 

“Wha- “

“I woke up as soon as you started movin around.” Tommy spluttered.

“You were awake the whole time!?” 

“Yep.” Techno hummed, popping the ‘P’. He reached up and poked Tommys forehead. 

“You're loud.” 

Tommy smacked his hand away. “Oh fuck off!”

Techno threw his head back as he laughed, Tommy feeling his chest shake with his deep rumbling chuckles. The Piglin let out a soft chuffing noise as he settled, head still resting on the back of the couch. Glancing down at his brother, crimson red meeting baby blue as the two stared at each other. After a moment had passed Techno rose a furry brow. 

“Well?” He rumbled, Tommy glared at him. 

“Well what?” 

“Are you gonna get off?” 

Tommy blinked a few times, realizing that he was still snuggled against his older brother's chest like a needy newborn hit him full force and he felt his face and ears heat up significantly as they flushed red. He scowled, glare only deepening when he heard his brother start to chuckle softly again. He shoved at Techno's broad chest, beating at it with his fist. 

“Fuck off you Bitch! Get offa me you fuckin weirdo, clingy bitch.” Tommy grumbled, and Techno held up his hands in surrender. 

“Alright alright, bout time I made you something to eat anyways.” 

Tommy's stomach churned at the thought of food, but he chose to ignore it, shoving at Techno to move faster. 

“Yeah Yeah Bitch, go make me some gourmet shit.” 

The elder glanced at him and for a moment Tommy felt a flash of fear that the Piglin would get angry with him for being so pushy, but he only snorted and rolled his eyes good naturally. 

“Give me a sec, I gotta move you off my lap. Done wanna hurt ya..” Techno rumbled softly, and Tommy definitely did not squeak as he was picked up and manhandled so he was back to sitting propped up against the armrest of the couch. Clementine coming up and sitting beside the edge of the couch, resting her head on his stomach. Tommy grinned and immediately brought his bandaged hands up to run through her thick fur. 

Techno stood and stretched with his arms over his head, groaning as his back popped. His body already screaming protests at him for sleeping in such an uncomfortable position for so long. He chose to ignore that issue for later as he turned back to his younger brother. 

“I’ll be back with some food for you in a bit, stay here.” 

Tommy paused his petting of Clementine to turn and give Techno a blank unimpressed stare, Techno blinked before glancing back down to where his legs were still heavily bandaged and propped up on pillows. 

“Oh…’ He blinked dumbly. “Right, guess you can't leave.” 

“Thanks for the reminder.” Tommy deadpanned, turning back to Clem. 

“Dumbass…” He muttered under his breath. 

Techno chose to pretend he didn't hear that one as he turned on his heel to head into the kitchen. Tommy watching him go out of the corner of his eye, allowing his own thoughts to bounce around in his head. 

Huh, Techno was right….He really couldn't leave… 

A flash of anxiety made him grip tighter onto Clementine's fur, as of right now he was officially stuck at his older brother's house, at his mercy. 

Tommy should have been a lot more scared at that, at being so vulnerable. Because being vulnerable meant being weak, and being weak meant being taken advantage of, and being taken advantage of meant being hurt and lied to and..and lead to fire and smoke and the sounds of explosions and the smell of gunpowder clogging his throat and suddenly he cant breath he cant breath he can't- 

Clementine whined softly, shoving her wet nose against his cheek causing him to jump slightly. Knocked out of his spiraling thoughts, he shook his head. Rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hand as he sighed, turning to the wolf and running his fingers through her fur. 

“I'm okay Clem.” He muttered softly, voice hoarse. The wolf huffed slightly like she didn't believe him, dropping back down to all fours from where she had propped herself up on the couch with her two front paws. She spun around a few times in circles before flopping onto the ground and rolling over onto her back, tongue hanging out of her mouth as she stared up at him. 

Tommy giggled softly and shook his head as he watched the wolf act silly for his own amusement. Techno chose this moment to walk back into the room, a steaming bowl in one hand and a golden apple in the other. 

Tommy's eyes immediately snapped to the heavenly treat in Techno's hands, his mouth watering at the sight of the golden apple gleaming in the fire-lit room. For once Tommy ignored the churring protests of his stomach at the sight of food because Golden apples were delicious so they were the exception. 

Techno’s eyes followed to where Tommy was looking and he raised a brow as he shook his head. “You can have this.” He started, gesturing to the golden apple in his hand. “After you eat this.” He held up the bowl of soup. 

The teen scowled at him, crossing his arms and huffing with a slight whine in his tone. 

“Technooooo, why can’t I have the Golden apple first thoooough? It is far more superior and better suited for a big man such as myself.” 

Techno rolled his eyes, ignoring the part of him that leapt for joy at the fact the Teen seemed to be acting like his old self again, aside from that flash of uncertainty and fear in his eyes that Techno just barely managed to catch. He chose not to say anything about it, simply stepping closer so he was standing over the boy. 

“Because you need to eat your soup and also because I said so.” The piglin deadpanned, signally that Tommy was not going to get him to budge with his whining. The blonde huffed, rolling his eyes. 

“Whatever, just give me the soup.” He grumbled, and Techno raised a furry brow in surprise. Shocked at just how quickly the teen had given up, shocked and slightly suspicious. 

“Alright.” He muttered, as he began to lean down to set the bowl of soup into his lap. “Careful it's hot-”

There was a flash of movement, so fast that it even caught Techno off guard, and just like that there was no longer a Golden apple sitting in Technos hand. There was however one sitting grasped in the hands of the one and only Tommyinnit. Who flashed him a cocky grin. 

Techno narrowed his eyes as he growled, straightening up quickly, careful not to spill the still very hot soup. 

“Oh you little- I should have known. ” He snorted air through his snout in annoyance, mostly at himself for falling for his little brother's tricks. Said little brother who just shot him a shit eating little grin, pointed ears twitching in his amusement. 

“Sucks to Suck Mr. Tech-no-blade.” He hummed. “Should have known you’d never be able to best the Tommyinnit, biggest of all big men, haver of many wives. 

The piglin rolled his eyes, setting the bowl of soup on the nearby coffee table he straightened to his full height, crossing his arms over his chest he held out a hand. 

“Give me the apple Tommy.”

The teen just stared at him. “No.” 

“Tommy.”

“No.”

“Tommy you need-”

“No.” 

He let out a low frustrated groan, pinching the bridge of his nose with two fingers, it was too early in the morning to deal with his little brother's crap. If he wasn't injured Techno would just pick him up and shake the little shit until he gave him the Golden apple. 

The teen just sent him a smirk as if he already knew he had won. 

Techno let out a huff of air from his snout before he lowered his hands back down to his sides, fine, two could play at that game. 

“Tommy.” Techno said, voice deadly serious. “You are not gonna like what happens next if you don't give me that golden apple right now.” 

For a second there was a flash of fear in his brother's baby blue eyes, and Techno couldn't help the stab of guilt he felt for scaring his brother, as well as the stab of anger at the fact someone had made his brother so scared of being hurt in the first place. 

For a second Techno actually thought he was going to give him the Golden apple, but then in true Tommy fashion he stuck at his chin and glared at Techno in defiance. 

“No.” He growled. 

Techno sighed as he shook his head. “So be it.” 

And then his hands were on Tommy's sides, gently and mindful of his injuries, and then he was tickling him. The teen let out a shriek of surprise, grasping onto his brother's wrists as he cursed in between high pitched laughter. 

“N-No! Technohoho! You..! Youhoho Bitch!” 

“Give me the apple Tommy.” The piglin droned, fighting to keep the amusement out of his voice. 

“Okay!” Tommy shrieked, practically shoving the apple into Techno's chest. “Just..! Just stohohp!” 

Techno stopped, pulling his hands away and snatching up the apple. Straightening back up like nothing had just happened, Tommy let out a wheeze, glaring at Techno with his cheeks flushed. 

“You're a bitch.” He grumbled. 

Techno hummed. “So I’ve heard.” 

The teen just huffed, frowning deeply and crossing his arms over his chest refusing to look at Techno. He was being childish, nothing shocking there. But there was a slight twinge in Techno's' chest looking at Tommy's frowning face that had been smiling not seconds ago, one that caused his face to soften and for him to sigh. 

He held the Golden apple in front of Tommy's face. 

“Here..” He huffed. “Take it.”

Tommy paused, looking up at Techno in surprise and then suspicion as he glanced at the apple and then back to Techno's face. 

“....You're not gonna try and take it back..?”

There was another twinge in his chest at that one as Techno shook his head. “No, it's yours. I'm not gonna try and take it from you….I promise. “

Techno ignored the voices that hissed in his head telling him that a promise coming from him meant nothing, especially to the teen in front of him. 

Tommy stared him in the face for a moment longer, long enough for Techno to get just a little bit uncomfortable, before he reached out and snatched the apple from Techno's hands. Holding it to his chest, when Techno made no move to try and take it back Tommy relaxed. 

“Thanks…” He muttered softly and Techno allowed a slight smile to tug at his lips. 

“You're welcome kid.” His gaze turned serious. “You're still gonna have to eat that soup afterward though, you need something more in you then just a Golden apple.” 

Tommy rolled his eyes. “Yeah whatever.” He huffed before he turned his eyes to his acquired treat, pupils dilating as he sunk his teeth into the flesh of the magical fruit. Humming softly at the sweet surgery flavor that coated his tongue, it had been so long since he’d had a golden apple and he’d be lying if he said he hadn't missed their flavor. 

From out of the corner of his eye he could catch Techno watching him with a soft look, a look which caused a slight twinge in Tommy's chest. No one had looked at him like that in a really long time, the last person to look at him like that had been Wilbur and Wilbur was…was….

He took another bite of his apple. 

He chewed for a moment in thought before glancing back at Techno who was still watching him eat, the weirdo, and he fought back a grin as he quickly swallowed his bite and bit out another chunk. Holding out his hand he spit the slobber covered and slightly chewed up chunk of golden apple into the palm of his hand. Holding it up to the Piglin as an offering. 

“Here.” He grinned. “Felt like sharing.” 

The soft look at the Piglins face turned to that of disgust as he scowled at the younger. 

“You're disgusting.” 

Tommy threw his head back as he laughed, some part of him sent him warning signal to be more quiet, to be less annoying, but for once he ignored them and simply laughed at the dumb look on his brothers face. 

His laughter however was cut short when Clementine chose this moment to leap up and snag the chunk of Golden apple right from his hand, chomping down on it and licking her chops happily. 

There was silence for a moment before Techno burst into laughter, throwing his head back as Tommy shrieked in dismay. 

“Clementine no! Bad dog! Bad! That was so gross! Shut up Techno oh my god you're so annoying fuck off-”