Chapter Text
The life in the Pube community had been, to put it simply, good.
It has been around a month now since he came here, and Techno would never in his life think that he’d be living amongst so many hybrids, being the only human there. His cottage was almost finished, Phil and him had been working on it together, while Techno continued to temporarily live in one of the Pube’s bedrooms.
It had it’s pros and cons, like all things tend to have.
He thought all he wanted was peace and quiet, but sharing space with energetic, ambitious and adventure-hungry people was actually quite nice.
Phil and him had been on rather good terms ever since the winged man realized Techno saved his youngest son. Long hours of talking or just existing in the same space made them realize that they had much more in common than they first thought. They were both adventurers at heart, both enjoying the excitement of a good fight, and both with a certain appreciation for tea.
Tommy, who had been the first to express any liking to Techno, had only seemed to like him more during the weeks they spent together. The boy was endlessly excited about his travels, fighting skills and seemed to love his dry sense of humor. He was incredibly endearing, and Techno couldn’t say he disliked the constant requests to play together or to teach the kid new things.
Him and Wilbur had seemed to click almost instantly. Techno got to know that they weren’t really that different in age, although it was only because Phantom hybrids (as Wil had said) age differently than humans, which was the same case with most hybrids.
Wilbur was a fun, maybe slightly crazy, man, who loved music and enjoyed pranking his friends. Techno was never a big fan of music, but Wilbur’s songs were a thing he wouldn’t trade for anything some during dark, cold nights. Even if they were very different in a lot of ways, they seemed to complete each other in the way that it mattered.
There were a lot of other people there, too, though he hadn’t really gotten to knowing them that well, like he knew the Watsons (which he learned was Phil’s little family’s surname).
There was Niki, who was the one who screamed about him on his first day. She turned out to be a very sweet and kind Merling, who he could always get amazing underwater stories from.
He also got to meet Tubbo (Tommy’s Bee hybrid friend who was always ready to cause trouble), Jack (a very passionate Blazeborn, with a liking to business), Scott (a Starborn fascinated by anything shining, and with great building skills), Sneeg (a very little man, never to be underestimated) and Fundy (a sneaky fox boy, always eager to cause chaos).
Techno’s life here was never boring, always something to do, even if it was just sitting before a fireplace with a cup of tea, which was what he was doing at the moment.
The Pube, as he found out, wasn’t just a normal pub. It was a place for meeting people, for warm conversations and laughter, from loud and joyful, to quiet and fond. Everyone from the community came to it, as it was made with access and a nice space for everyone. It was also a space for anyone in need of shelter, or just a place to stay and do whatever.
And apparently was also where the Watsons practically lived, having made a nest in one of the rooms, even if they technically had other houses. But Techno wasn’t complaining, it was nice to live with someone after years of solitude. The thought of now moving to his new house didn’t always seem so appealing now.
The pink-haired man was sitting on one of the couches on the upper floor, just relaxing with a warm drink. He just got back from collecting stone for his new basement, arms sore from the long hours of mining, and the only thing he wanted right now was some peace and qui-
“Techno!”
Or not.
He turned a bit to look behind him at the small blond running towards him. Tommy’s wings were slightly ruffled, feathers out of place, probably because he just crawled out of the nest. The boy was smiling widely at him as he jumped onto the couch, right next to Techno.
“Can we go and practice a bit, now that you’re back?” he asked, leaning on the man’s shoulder. “Wilbur’s doing something with Niki, so I’ve been here just by myself for like-” he looked at the clock above the fireplace. “- twenty whole minutes!”
Techno sighed.
“I’m sorry, Theseus.” He ruffled the boy’s hair. “My arms are killing me right now, I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to even lift a stick right now.”
“But I wanted to practice fighting!” the boy exclaimed. “Dadza says that I’m doing very good, and I wanna be even better!”
“Sorry, kid.” It really was hard to refuse these eyes, but he really was exhausted. “Maybe another time.”
Tommy grumbled, pouting angrily at him. He crossed his arms and leaned back into the couch’s cushions. He sat like that for a while, before slumping into Techno’s unoccupied arm.
Techno ruffled his hair, once again noticing the state of the boy’s wings.
“Shouldn’t you get your feathers in order?” he asked. “It looks kinda uncomfortable.”
“Both Wil and dad are gone, so they can’t really preen them,” Tommy grumbled back, still sulking because of the boredom he was forced to live through at the moment. “I can’t reach certain spots, and dad says that it’s gonna be even harder when they get bigger.”
Techno hummed, still absently brushing his fingers through the blond locks.
Tommy gasped suddenly.
“You can preen my wings!” He seemed very proud of his idea, his usual cheerfulness coming back.
“Huh?” Techno’s hand stopped. “Isn’t it supposed to be a thing amongst family?” Phil had been kinda explaining to him their hybrid habits and mannerisms, but there were still a lot of things he didn’t quite understand. Some of their ways of bonding over higiene being one of them.
“Well,” the boy started, avoiding eye contact. “You’re kinda like family now. Wilbur says it’s because we ‘trauma bonded’, but I think that you’re just that cool…”
Oh, and did Techno’s heart squeezed at that.
It was true that they had definitely gotten closer during their shared stay at the Pube, him and all of the Watsons did, but he didn’t think that the boy thought so highly of him. He couldn’t even remember the last time he felt that type of affection for anyone, the last time he had a family.
“Hah. I guess you’re right.” He brought the boy closer with his arm. “I guess I can say that you’re like a little brother to me, with all of our ‘shared trauma’ and all.”
Tommy looked at him with big, hopeful eyes, before giving him a smile that could outshine the sun, and throwing himself at Techno to hug him.
“Yes, yes, great!” he shouted into Techno’s ear. “Now I can have two brothers, how cool is that!”
Techno smiled, and hugged the child back. He raised his other arm to avoid spilling any of his tea, as the child leaned back to look at him again.
“You gotta tell me how to do it, though,” the older man said as he put his cup down on one of the nearby tables. “I’ve never done it, so it might not be as good.”
“You’ll do it great, it’s easy,” the boy reassured. “You just gotta, like, straighten any crooked feathers, and brush your hands through the wings so any loose ones will fall off.” He got up and started dragging Techno by his hand, making the man stand up.
“Where are we going?”
“To the nest, duh,” Tommy replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Dad says it’s the best place to preen, because the feathers stay in one place and it’s the best place for bonding!”
“Are you sure I can go there?” Techno had only been next to the nest, never really in it. He carried Tommy there a few times, when the child had fallen asleep on him, but he never really dared to disturb the mess of blankets and pillows. It seemed like an invasion of privacy at the time.
“Nah,” the boy replied, still guiding Techno through the hall. “Both Wilbur and Dadza agree that you should relax more! Also! Wil’s been complaining about you not wanting to join in on our nap times, so there!”
Techno was still a bit sceptical, but he wasn't gonna just tell the kid to leave him alone. Contrary to popular belief, he did have a heart and he valued his friend’s feelings, especially when they were a little blond boy who wanted some help. It really was the thing that started the new part of his life, wasn't it?
“Okay!” Tommy’s shout brought him back from his thoughts. “Now, sit!”
Techno did as he was told, looking at the kid that made himself comfortable with his back to him. The man was still a little bit cautious in the pile of blankets, scared of disturbing the peace of the nest, but when Tommy spread his wings before him, he focused on his new task.
His arms were still a bit sore, but it wasn’t that bad that he’d decline a chance to help Tommy feel better.
“Tell me if I do anything wrong. okay?” Techno said as he started smoothing the feathers with his fingers.
Tommy hummed, spreading his wings a little bit more.
Preening was actually quite relaxing, the repeating movement of combing his fingers through the soft feathers was rather nice. With each passing minute, Techno was feeling more and more confident with it, straightening any out of place feathers, gently pulling out any that were falling out.
With each passing minute Tommy was also relaxing more and more. His shoulders didn’t have a bit of tension in them, head down, quiet chirps filling the silence around them.
The inhuman noises were also a thing Techno had to get used to. Phil constantly chirped at his sons, them replying in their own ways. While Phil and Tommy were making a lot of various bird sounds all the time, Wilbur’s sounded more like trills. Sometimes screeching in a way, that made Techno’s first reaction be looking up at the sky, making sure he wasn’t becoming prey for some hungry Phantoms.
Now, chirps, trills and short bird songs were a daily occurence: Phil always chirping in greeting when they saw each other for the first time of the day; peeping being heard from the nest upstairs every time Tommy needed something or was just feeling lonely; Wibur giving him a happy trill whenever one of their pranks were successful or when he got really excited.
Sometimes Niki also trilled at him (though in a different way than Wil), either because he came over to see her, or just because she was happy. He’d heard Fundy squeak, even make a bark-like noise, Tubbo buzz while flying around, and a lot more during the last month, so now he could say he was somewhat used to it all.
Right now, Tommy’s chirps were rather sleepy sounding, the boy slowly tilting to the side as Techno’s fingers kept cleaning his wings.
“I’m almost done, I think,” the man said, making the blond jump a bit. “You falling asleep on me, kid?”
Tommy grumbled, moving a bit. He turned around and suddenly fell onto Techno’s chest, making the man make a surprised sound.
“Uhhhh,” the older started, confused. “Do you want me to-”
“Shhhh.” The boy slapped a hand on Techno’s mouth. “Just lay down, I wanna nap now, you’ve made me nappy.”
“I don’t think that’s a word, kid,” he replied, slowly lowering himself onto the blankets. “I can go and so you can sleep in peace.”
“No,” the blond grumbled, making himself comfortable on the other. “You’re warm and it’s your fault that I’m sleepy.”
“But-”
“No, sleep now.”
So Techno laid there, careful not to wake the boy up, staring at the ceiling. The sun set a while ago, the only source of light being a lantern next to the nest. He just now realized that Tommy wasn’t the only one in need of sleep right now. He closed his eyes and slowly drifted off, little snores coming from the boy sleeping on him every once in a while.
oOo
The sound of quiet laughing made him wake up.
Techno opened one of his eyes to look at the two glowing spots staring back at him. Gods, sometimes Wilbur’s phantom blood made him a bit too creepy.
“Quiet, Will,” he heard Phil whisper from behind his son. “You’re gonna wake them up. Look how comfy they are!”
“Too late,” Techno grumbled at him, keeping his voice down as Tommy was still soundly asleep, still contently laying half-way on his chest.
“Aw, sorry, mate.” Phil came closer to them, crouching at the edge of the nest. “You guys seemed to be having a good sleep there.”
“Ah,” Techno wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do now. “I can go back to my bed and make room for you guys…?”
“Nah, don’t worry about it,” Wilbur whispered as he started to make himself comfortable next to Tommy in the mess of blankets. “The nest’s big enough.”
“Yeah, mate.” Phil also got into the bed, next to Wilbur. “We can have a sleepover, you’ve been sleeping by yourself enough.”
Techno just stared at them, Phil throwing his wing over Wil, Tommy’s hand letting go of his shirt to let his brother grab it instead.
Huh. Maybe he really was overthinking the whole ‘not-being-allowed-into-the-nest’ thing.
He hummed a quiet ‘goodnight’ to the others, hearing quiet replies, before his eyes started to close on themselves again.
It really was nice to sleep with your closest ones around you. That was Techno’s last coherent thought as he drifted off to the sound of three people quietly breathing next to him.
.