Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tommy sprinted down the streets, a shiny apple clutched tightly in his hand. Dogging the others in the market, as yells from the guard echoed behind him. Tommy can’t help but be annoyed at this. After all, why do these corporate bitches care about a stolen apple? Tommys just trying not to starve out here. It's hard enough in the winter months can’t they let him off just this once.

Tommy hears the guards getting closer. The heavy sounds of their boots slamming against the frozen rocky ground. He's quick to dive under a nearby stand and rush through the alleyways, hoping to lose them there. He runs as fast as he can, flying through the market. He can see his escape coming up, a small ladder that leads to the rooftops. He's almost there just a couple more meters and his freedom and a sweet meal would be granted. 

He crashes into a fucking wall before he gets there. Which confuses him because since when did they put a wall in the middle of the street. He looks up only to see a dark silhouette blocking the sun. That's when he realized that what he ran into wasn’t a wall, it was just some really buff guy. Before he even has the chance to jump to his feet, the man yanks him up, throwing him underneath his cloak. 

“What the fuck dude” Tommy yells trying to squirm his way out of the cape. The man only tightens his grip in response.

“Stop wiggling kid, I'm trying to help you here” The man whispers to him. That's when Tommy hears the soldier pounding footsteps closing in. He freezes praying that this man won’t sell him out.

Tommy hears them right next to him. They're so close Tommy can’t help but sink closer to the man. Trying to melt into the soft red fabric that surrounds him. Wishing that the guards would just leave him alone. As quickly as they came their footsteps fade into the distance and the cape around him lifts.

“They're gone now kid,” the man says. Tommy quickly back steps out from where he was tucked into the man's side.

“Thanks for not ratting me out big man,” Tommy says. Tommy studies that man's outfit and it's not what he would have expected. Long pink hair put up in a braid cascades down his side. A fancy white shirt tucked into black pants. An emerald earring swinging back and forth in the man's ear. He looks high up, filthy rich almost. Tommy wonders if he can pickpocket the man before he goes.

“No problem kid, I'm not too much a fan of authority either” The man remarks. Tommy makes eye contact with the man only to see bright crimson eyes staring right back. 

Holy shit, Tommys gonna die. This mans going to kill him. The man who saved him isn’t human. The monster that saved him is a bloodsucker. Something every street kid is to fear. Something that will pluck them out of their cozy little alleyways and suck the blood out of them. Only to leave a dry flaking carcass in their aftermath. 

“Thanks for saving me, but I gotta go,” Tommy rushes out before he turns and quickly sprints away. Why was a vampire out, it was barely midday? Tommy thought they couldn’t come out during the day. Tommy risked a quick glance behind him only to see the man standing in the same spot watching Tommy run. Why wasn’t the monster chasing him? Why wouldn’t he feast on Tommy? Isn’t that what they did? Questions flood his brain. Questions he hopes never get answered. 

He runs into his alleyway. A small rotted chicken coop sits in the back pressed tightly against the wall. Tommy quickly climbs into the coop. It's small but it's the best shelter he has. He quickly chokes down the apple, before he settles down for a nap. After all, he has to be well prepared for the night market.

Techno watches as the kid runs away. It was obvious that he was a street kid, due to his soiled appearance. The kid was covered in filth and looks as if he hasn’t eaten in days. For some reason that makes Techno want to growl. Not at the kid though. He can’t understand why but the voices are begging him not to let the runt out of his sight. And for the first time, he has to agree, because not only are the voices saying this his instincts are too. Techno knows better than to ignore his instincts but they're confusing him today. He can’t understand why but they seem to want this kid, but not in the usual ‘as dinner’ way. They appear to want to be closer to the kid. He has a strange urge to keep him wrapped up in his cloak. 

So he waits a few seconds before quickly going after the runt. He seems to have a destination in mind as Techno watches him duck through the heavy foot traffic. The kid quickly turns into an alleyway, Techno waits a second before he follows. Only to see the kid's foot disappear into a chicken coop. So this must be where he lives. 

Techno waits a couple more minutes before he hears the kid's breath get deeper, longer pauses in between each breath. Deciding that the kid must be asleep he creeps closer to the coop. 

Quickly poking his head in only to be assaulted by an awful smell of mildew and rot. He quietly growls at that. How could humans let one of their own live like this? A child no less than thirteen left cold and alone. He forces himself to stop growling as the child starts to wiggle in his sleep. Techno glances around the coop. It's small, barely fitting the boy. The only things in it seem to be a thin blanket that's wrapped around the boy, doing little to keep out the cold, and a small stuffed cow that the boy is holding close to his chest. Techno seems to have no control as he takes off his cloak. Careful laying it on the boy, who immediately snuggles into it. Techno can’t help but think that this kid is his now. And as much as the voice screams for him not to, he has to leave without the kid. Only one thing on his mind. He's got to talk to Phil.

Chapter Text

Techno raced toward the mansion. Head bobbing back and forth as his horse Carl sped faster. His back was a little cold due to the lack of his cloak; however, that didn’t matter to him. All that mattered was finding out why his instincts were acting up. The only person Techno knew who might have that information, Phil. So as quickly as it came, the cold snowy woods turned into a clearing with a large brick mansion in the center. 

Techno hurried to put Carl in the small stable on the side of the house, before storming inside only to see Wilbur lounging in the kitchen with a goblet in hand. He took a small sip before size Techno up.

“What's the matter with you?” Wilbur questioned. Looking him up and down. Techno did have to admit he did look a bit disheveled, but Wilbur didn’t have to up and say it like that.

“Nothing, Wilbur. Where's Phil? I need him for something” Techno said. Wilbur opened his mouth to respond but never got the chance as a voice sounded behind them.

“What do you need me for mate?” Phil asked as he entered the kitchen. Techno rolled his eyes already tired of his family's theatrics. I mean was he just sitting in the other room listening in to their conversation?

“I think there's something wrong with my instincts,” Techno stated, cutting straight to the point. Phil's face lost all of its amusement quickly turning serious as he rushed up to Techno.

“What happened? Are you hurt? Why would you say that?” Phil spoke briskly. Asking too many questions for Techno to answer in the short pauses between each.

“I don’t know. I was just getting some feed from the market when some kid ran into me. He was running from the guard, stole some food or something” Techno starts as Phil gently leads him to sit down. “I don’t know what happened but suddenly the voices were demanding me to hide him, so I threw him under my cloak till the guards left. I talked to him for a minute before he ran off, but that's the problem. My instincts want him close. I don’t know why” Techno finishes. 

Phils worried face slips into a bright smile as he chuckles. “Mate, that's great news!” His father exclaims, confusing Techno to hell and back. Why are his fucked up instincts good news?

“You have a fledgling, that's what happened to me for both you and your brother” Phil exclaimed happily. 

The feeling was not returned, however, due to the fact that Techno is now having a bit of a crisis. He’s gonna have a fledgling? Is he ready for that? Fledglings are needy and he will be trapped in the nest for months. 

“Mate stop overthinking it. We’ll be here every step of the way, no need to worry” Phil tries to calm him down. 

“Awwe little Techies got his own little baby fledgling now” Wilbur taunts with a chuckle. Techno rolls his eyes ignoring his brother, instead turning back to Phil.

“What are we supposed to do now?” He questions.

“We get your fledgling”

++++++++++

Tommy wakes up confusingly warm. Usually, it's freezing cold in the early winter mornings, but today it's almost a bit hot. Tommy opens his eyes only for soft red fabric to fill his vision. He shoots up, inspecting the fabric. It’s a cloak. That's when it clicks. The vampire knows where he lives. Oh fuck, his gonna die. He needs to move and fast. Maybe he can live in the alley next to the bakers. The ovens always keep it a bit warm, so maybe he won’t need his coop. 

“Tommy, get up, it's time for the market!” A voice shouts from outside. Oh, shit, that's right, he was supposed to go to the night market with Tubbo and Ranboo today. Fuck, you know what this seems like a problem for tomorrow Tommy, after all the night market only happens once a month.

He quickly wiggles out of the coop. Tubbo was standing right outside staring down at him. Tommy quickly pushes himself up onto his feet before looking around.

“Where's Ran-boob? I thought he was supposed to come with us tonight.” Tommy asks. Stretching out his back.

“He had something to do before. He said he’d just meet us there later than usual” Tubbo states before rushing out of the dark alley. Making Tommy have to run to catch up. 

The streets are alive tonight. Lanterns light up the roads as shopkeepers bring out their secrets. Strange bottles line every table, filled with anything from sage to werewolf repellent. 

Tubbo quickly whispers to Tommy what he needs before he slips into the crowd. This is their thing. Every full moon the night markets come out. And just like clockwork, so do Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo. Tubbo distracts the shopkeepers as Tommy snags whatever witchy stuff Tubbo needs. Ranboo usually just sits back and watches or helps them escape if they get caught, after all every good thief has a get-away driver.

Tommy quietly stocks behind Tubbo. Waiting for him to pick their victim. It doesn’t take long as Tubbo turns to a stand, striking up a conversation with ease. Tommy quickly falls behind reading the labels on the table. He starts pocketing everything Tubbo needs, marigold, citrine, amethyst anything and everything. As soon as his pockets are full he steps back, briskly walking towards the nearest alleyway. 

He sees Tubbo quickly buy an extra pack of spice. Tommy doesn’t worry though, because Tubbo’s got the money to spare. You see his not poor like Tommy he just steals for the thrill of it. That's why he and Tommy make such good friends. They both have very few self-preservation skills and Tommy would like to keep it that way. 

Tubbo rushes over opening his satchel as Tommy pours their spoils into it. They quickly got right back to the streets, because at the end of the day there's always more to steal! They continue for a couple more hits. On their last one, Tommy gets a bit turned around. He spins not sure where Tubbos run of to. He’s completely turned around so he decides just to pick a direction and starts walking, hoping he’ll find Tubbo. 

He walked for a few minutes before he saw a familiar split-dyed bitch. He went to call out to him, but before he could a hand falls on his shoulder and pulls him into someone's chest. A familiar voice starts behind him.

“It’s time to go home, runt” that was the last thing Tommy heard before it went black.

Chapter Text

Tommy woke up to voices. He quickly shot up. Throwing his legs up trying to get out of the bed he was laying on. The only problem, he got tangled in the sheets which sent him over the edge of the bed and onto the hardwood floor.

“Ok mate, let's calm down there,” A blond man says running over to help him, but all Tommy can focus on is the blood-red eyes staring into his own. “Come on, let's get you back in bed,” He says as he reaches out towards Tommy. Tommy quickly scrambles away from the man. His legs are still caught in the sheets causing him to slip back, slamming his head into the floor. 

Too dazed to stop it the man quickly picks him up, dropping him back on the bed. Tommy can’t understand why they haven’t killed him yet. Why did they put him in this large room? Why is he in soft clothes that aren’t his? Why is this strange man being so kind to him? 

“Why haven’t you killed me?” Tommy demands, voicing his question. The blond man smiles nodding to something Tommy can’t see. Before Tommy even has the chance to turn around someone grabs onto him. He is thrown like an alley cat into their lap.

“Because you're ours” A familiar voice whispers. A hand forces his head to the side, exposing his neck. He felt a sharp jab in the base of his neck. It was silent for a moment before excruciating pain bloomed from his neck spreading throughout his body. It felt as if his veins turned to fire. Searing across his body. Black spots danced across his vision, but he refused to go under. His brain felt like it was melting. Phantom hands touched his face, but he could only focus on the growing dots. He didn’t think he could hold on any longer. The waves of black were threatening to overtake him. Another sharp pain pinched at his throat.

“We don’t hurt our own” was the last thing he heard before he sunk into the darkness.

+++++++++++++++

Techno was freaking out. Rightfully so, I mean he could have just ruined his whole relationship with his fledgling.

“We didn't even get the kid's name. What kind of a person does that? He's gonna hate us I mean why wouldn’t he, I--” Techno rambled too fast for Phil to even process what he was saying. Phil was quick to cut off his insistent rambles.

“Mate, you got to calm down ok? It's gonna be fine. He wasn’t going to trust us anymore if we waited, and now his instincts are going to keep him here. It’ll be fine” Phil reassured him. “It's not like Wilburs or your turning was any better. And personally, I think you guys turned out fine” 

And boy was he right. Techno can’t remember much of his turning other than the fact that Phil just jumped him in an alleyway. Wilburs wasn’t much better, the only difference was he got to know Phil a little bit before he got jumped. He still doesn’t know why Phil always jumped his children, even after he just did it. It wasn’t like it was fun.

“It took him a while to pass out, reminds me of someone,” Phil said, raising his eyebrows at Techno. Oh Primes, Techno prays this child wasn’t as difficult as him. It's not like he was an awful child, of course, that title was saved for Wilbur, but he was a bit of a monster when Phil first turned him. He remembers the one time he jumped off the roof screaming that he will never die, just because he could. He did break both his legs of course, but it was not a problem with advanced healing. 

His instincts were starting to set in, he could feel them begging to go to the nest. So he picked up the runt and walked as fast as possible to the nesting room, Phil at his heels. He threw open the doors revealing a giant room filled to the brim with blankets and pillows. Wilbur is already there, preparing the nest for a new coven mate. 

Techno is quick to move to the center of the room, gently setting his runt down before he goes to scope the area. He begins pacing the walls of the room. Looking for anything that can potentially harm his runt. Phil and Wilbur already curled around the runt, keeping him safe until Techno returns. Techno does a few more paces before he comes back to the center. Phil and Wilbur quickly move out of the way as Techno wraps up his runt in blankets. After wrapping him in far too many to be comfortable, Techno settles down with him gently putting him in his lap. Wrapping his arms around him in a protective manner. His coven quickly fills in gentle doting on the runt in his arms.

Chapter Text

Tommy’s been drifting in and out of consciousness for the past few days. It's always unusually warm, sometimes voices are talking above him. He can never understand what they are saying. Always muffled and quiet. He can’t seem to open his eyes. He feels away from his body. Almost like his floating untethered. 

Today however seems different. Voices are louder, his body feels closer. He even thinks he could possibly move his finger if he tried hard enough. The voices are talking again.

“I’m worri------ been out for a while,” They say. Tommy can hear them! He’s finally being tethered back down to earth. 

His eyes open. Light floods his vision causing him to have shut them tightly. He tries again only to see someone staring directly at him. The memories from the past couple of days come flooding back. His fist shoots up before he even has a chance to stop them nailing the one above him, right in the nose.

The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed around the room. It clicks in Tommy's head that his now official fucked up. Why would he do that? He can barely move in an unfamiliar environment, and the first thing he does is punch the very thing that can easily snap his neck. Honestly, if they haven’t killed him yet they will now.

“Ow what the fuck kid. Why would you do that?” the brunet whines. They're gonna kill him, and Tommys just made it more painful for himself. He tries to hold them back but he can’t. Tears flood his vision. He can’t die. He doesn’t want to, not yet.

“Wilbur, why would you say that! You’ve upset him now” The pink-haired one scolds. Tommy had to have misheard him, because why would the brunet, or Wilbur, get in trouble for Tommy punching him? The pink-haired one starts to reach out to Tommy, who is desperately trying to scramble away; however, his legs fail him. All it proves to do is make him look like a fish out of water. The pink vampire gently picks Tommy up, ignoring his struggles, setting him in his lap. Whispering soft nothing in his ear.

Tommy can’t figure out why, but he feels safe here. He doesn’t understand what's happening. Little voices are yelling words he doesn’t know the meaning of in his head. What's a coven? What's a sire? Why are these words swimming around in his head? A whine rips through his throat and he can’t stop it. He’s just too confused. The vampires must have done something to him.

“It's ok runt why don’t we just calm down alright” The pink-haired one starts. “My name's Techno, I’m your sire now” he counties. Tommy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. What's a sire? Why is he being nice? Tommy's breath began to speed up as more questions filled his head.

A strange purring noise sounds through the air. Tommy's body relaxes on instinct. The stress he felt seems to melt away as he collapses into Techno's arms.

“There we go, bud. Here why don’t I introduce you to your coven mates, how does that sound?'' Techno asks quietly. Technos's arm goes up pointing to the blond in front of Tommy. Tommy whines a bit at the loss of contact but listens when he starts talking. “The one here is Phil, and the idiot you punched is Wilbur.” When he mentions the punch Tommy whines again. “Don’t worry about it, runt. He needed to be knocked down a peg anyway” Techno reassures. 

Tommy can’t figure out why he is so calm. These people kidnap him and he's just relaxing in one of their laps. He should be fighting tooth and nail. Biting anything that comes near him. The usually big man thing. But he can’t and he can’t seem to worry about it either.

“Can you tell us your name, runt?” Techno askes. 

“Tommy” he mutters and soon he’s fast asleep again.

++++++++++++++++

Techno watches Tommy fall asleep. He’s not sure how this kid can sleep so much. I mean after two weeks he wakes up for around ten minutes before falling right back asleep. He feels a bit bad after feeling his runt so confused, but it went better than he expected it to. 

“Is the little shit asleep?” Wilbur questions. Techno gives him his worst death glare before responding. 

“Yes, and if you don’t want to get your nose broken I suggest you stop calling him that” Techno growls out. 

“He was the one who started it! You can’t believe this is my fault! Phil, you have to be on my side here, tell Techno he’s being way too overprotective” Wilbur stammers out. A shocked look on his face.

“I don’t know mate. I think I have to agree with Tech on this one, you shouldn't have swarmed the little one as soon as he woke up” Phil responded. Wilburs put his hand over his heart as if he just witnessed the greatest betrayal in history.

“Phil, how could you do this to me? You know what it doesn’t matter. Mother hens both of you” Wilbur yells. Techno can’t help but roll his eyes. His brother always has been one for the stage. 

“Stop being so overdramatic Wilbur. Just wait until you get a fledgling of your own, you would never let that poor kid out of your sight” Phil mocks. Techno can’t help but agree. Wilbur has good intentions but is one of the most possessive bastards Technos ever met. 

“Aren't you two supposed to be hunting right now?” Techno asks, trying desperately to get some alone time with his fledgling. After all, he hasn’t been left alone for less than a second in the past two weeks. And as much as he loves his family he doesn’t love them that much.

“Oh shoot we are. Come on Wilbur let's leave them alone, we need to stock up our fridge” Phil says quickly walking out of the room, Wilbur in tow. Phil gives Techno a knowing smile before tuning out the lights as he goes.

The door slams shut, submerging them in darkness. Techno’s quick to curl around Tommy gently nudging him into a more comfortable position. And that's how Techno stays for the rest of the night. Carefully wrapped around his fledgling.

Chapter Text

Waking up warm has become an annoyingly usual thing in Tommy's life. Here he is in a dark room wrapped up in a tight hug from one of the vampires, still so confused on why they haven’t killed him. But that will end now. He’s going to march up to those vampire bastards and demand they tell him what’s happening.

Tommy is quick to elbow the man holding him in the stomach before scrambling away from him. Techno stares from the spot he was just in. Tommy glares at him trying to figure out what to say. He really should have been more prepared. But Tommys has never been one for patients or thinking things through in general.

“I’m tired of this! I wanna know what you fuckers did to me!” Tommy screams out. Words pouring from his mouth. Not thinking of the consequences of screaming at a being that could easily kill him.

 Just then warm artificial light flooded the room. Wilbur and Phil walked in with confused looks on their faces, Techno shared the same look. It's clear they heard Tommy's demand from outside the room.

“Mate, have you seriously not figured it out,” Phil said. Frustrated tears well up in Tommy's eyes. They don’t need to rub it in.

“We turned you”, Techno states. 

No, that can’t be right. Tommy would never be a vampire. They have to be lying. Tommy refuses to be a monster.

“You're lying! You're lying that's not true! It can’t be!” Tommy yells in Technos face. That's impossible, he can’t be a vampire.

“We’re not lying sunshine. It's the truth, we chose you,” Wilbur speaks up. That's when Tommy feels it, or rather the absence of it. His heart is still. His chest isn’t moving. His hands are abnormally cold. They're not lying. He’s dead. They turned him.

 Why did they make him a monster? Tommy doesn’t understand. He never wanted to live forever. He never wanted to hurt others? He doesn’t want to be a murderer. Why did they choose him? Nobody chooses Tommy for anything, so why would they choose him for this? Surely they can make him human again. There must be plenty of other street kids who want this. They have to be able to return him, like so many others. He can’t do this! He can’t be like this. Why would they do this to him? He can’t wrap his head around it. He needs them to turn him back!

“Turn me back!” he screamed. He’s sobbing at this point. Fat tears rolled down his cheeks. He can’t be brave, not for this. He knows it's stupid but he can’t handle it. Voices in his head telling him his safe shoved quickly to the back of his mind, overpowered by the ones telling him to run. 

“That’s not possible. I’m sorry but you're with us now. Your family. For the rest of time” Phil voices. A certain dark look crosses his face as he says it. 

Tommy doesn’t understand. Why is everything so confusing? Why can’t they turn him back? He was fine on his own. Why would they do this to him? He never wanted to be a part of this family. He never wanted this to happen. So why is it happening! 

Tommy needs to run. He needs to get away. He can’t take this anymore of this. He springs up. Rushing to the door that was left open by Phil. 

He hears surprised shouts sound from the nest but he doesn’t care. He runs as fast as he can through the halls. Twisting and turning. Trying to find an escape. That's when he sees it. A huge bay window sits at the end of the hall. A dark sleepy village lays behind the cold glass. 

Tommys quick to throw open the window jumping out of the second story of the house. He hits the ground hard. Pain spikes through his body, but it doesn’t stop him. 

He runs straight to the woods, praying they won’t find him there. Praying a wild animal will get to him before they do. He can’t stay, he would rather die cold and alone. That was how it was always supposed to go down anyway. He's fine with that. A predictable death for a big man like himself. Alone, no family, he has accepted that. While he didn’t think it would have so soon it was better than spending eternity with those monsters.

+++++++++++++

Techno was getting worried. They have been looking for Tommy for more than an hour now, and yet nothing. How could the runt hide for so long? This was not how most fledglings reacted. He should not even leave the nest, let alone the house.

The more he thought about it, the more worried he became. Tommys still a newly turned he shouldn’t be able to ignore his instincts like he is. Wilbur was what you would call a hard fledgling. He used to hide from Phil, but never to the extent, never at this young. He would never leave the house. Tommy however didn’t just leave the house he jumped out a two-story window. That wasn’t normal.

Techno only hopes that after he feeds the runt for the first time his blood would strengthen the bond enough for this to stop. That's how it worked with Phil and him. He can’t wait to prove to his fledgling that he’s safe. That they love him.

And now Techno searching the whole forest for his runt. He had around six hours before the sun rose, and while it is a myth that it kills vampires, it's still unpleasant for a newly turned. Blisters bursting from the pale skin, sunburns stinging at the smallest movement. Techno would like to spare his runt from that pain, and also himself from the whining that would surely follow. 

He hears a soft crunch from a bush next to him. He probably won’t have heard it if it wasn’t for enhanced hearing. He side-eyes it as he walks, not pausing in case it was Tommy. If Tommy knew he knew where he was he would run deeper into the forest. So when Techno sees a flash of red in the corner of his vision he didn’t stumble. He continued to move forward. Tommy would soon learn it wouldn’t be so easy to beat Techno at his own game.

+++++++++++++

Techno passed Tommy as he laid low to the ground. A small bush covered him. He thought for sure Techno would have spotted him, but he guesses he overestimated him.

He heard the leaves crunch under Technos feet as he walked further from Tommy's hiding spot. Soon he was far enough away that Tommy couldn’t hear his footsteps anymore. 

Tommy waited a few more moments before he determined he was gone. He stood up, pain shot through his leg as stretched. He decided to head deeper into the woods. Turning the opposite way Techno went in. 

Only to see glowing bright red eyes staring at him. A disappointed frown wore on Techno’s face.

Chapter Text

Techno was quick to pick up his runt. He quickly checked him over, making sure he wasn’t injured in any way. A pained whine told him that his runt was. His ankle was twisted painfully wrong. 

Techno started growling before he could even think about it. How could he let this happen? Tommy has barely been with them for a week and he’s already broken a bone. Even if it would heal fast with a bit of Techno’s blood, it's still unacceptable. Tommy shouldn’t even be out of the nest and here he is hurt in the woods. Techno knew Tommy was going to be a handful, but even this is a bit much. Hopefully, he’ll mellow out a bit after they heal him.

Techno begins sounding comforting chuffs trying to calm down his whining fledgling. He quickly began walking back to the house. Trees pass by quickly as he walks faster with every step. Anxious about his runt being outside of the nest so long. This was a crucial stage in Tommy's development and Techno would never forgive himself if he messed it up with his insolence. Trees started to thin as Techno got closer. Light from the house began to poured through the branches. 

Techno was running full speed by the time he entered the front yard. Throwing the door open as he entered. He rushed up the stairs, making a beeline to the nesting room. He sent a simple message through the bond to the rest of his family. I have him. Three simple words that tense shoulders relax. Techno was quick to wrap his nestling in blankets. 

He put his arm up to his mouth. Opening a small cut on his finger. Tommy didn’t need a lot, just enough to heal his ankle. Tommy was yelling at him. Trying to escape his blanket prison. Techno’s quick to shove his finger into the fledglings mouth. Tommy stops moving seting into his instincts a bit more. While Techno is not excited to hear Phil bitch about not being here for Tommy’s first feeding he can’t seem to care. 

Techno carfully removes he’s hand as the ankle heals. Tommy squirmed, screaming profanities. All of which Techno ignored. All of which but one.

“Why do you want me?” Tommy demanded. Techno couldn’t help but zero in on this one comment.

+++++++++++++++++++

Techno’s head snapped towards Tommy after he said that. It was a genuine question. One that Tommy never could figure out the answer to. After years of living on the streets, cast out by everyone, why would Techno want him. He’s an unlovable, annoying, loud, ungrateful street rat. So why does Techno act as if he cares?

Techno shoves Tommy under his chin. Head gentle resting on a bed of golden curls. 

“Tommy I want you because your family,” Techno starts. “I know we haven’t known each other for long, but as soon as I saw you at that market I knew you were meant to be in this family”

Tommy doesn’t know how to respond to that. They want him. Not for a blood bag or some strange science experiment. His not a pity case to them. They want him as a brother, as a son. It's such a confusing thing for Tommy to process. Everything seems different than his life on the streets. His life has been completely flipped on its ass in a little over a week. He deserves a little processing time damn it.

“Tommy, in the little time I’ve known you I’ve learned that you are just want this family's needs” Techno says, apparently disagreeing with Tommys processing time. “You're so confused and hurt and I want nothing more than to take away all of that pain. I feel awful that you have lived on the streets for so long when you could have been here.”

Tommy doesn’t know what this is. It sounds like pity but not at the same time. Tommy’s brain feels as if someone put it through a shredder and then smashed back together. Why would Techno feel bad about Tommy being on the streets? There are hundreds of street kids all over this rat filled village. So why Tommy? Why not one of the other hundreds who are left in the cold every night? 

Maybe it's just Techno who wants Tommy. The others couldn’t want him. All he’s done is cause problems. All he has done is made their life harder. And as if Techno hears he thoughts he puts them to rest.

“Wilbur and Phil love you just as much as I do runt. You should have seen Phil when I came home the day I met you, he couldn’t shut up about how excited he was to meet you. How ecstatic he was to have a new little fledgling to dote over” Techno voice is firm and certain. Leaving no room for argument.

And maybe just maybe Tommy can believe him. Maybe Tommy doesn’t have to be cold anymore. Maybe he doesn’t have to be alone. Maybe Tommy can have a family. 

And he thinks he likes the sound of that. A family even if their a little fucked up. Even if their monsters. He will be a monster with them.