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When they agreed to do this, Wilbur was hoping for fun, for adventure, for thrill . He’d hope for the sound of ocean waves, the wind in his hair and the smell of salt. He definitely was not, by any means, expecting a mop in his hand, a bucket of water and the sticky sweat pooling by the side of his forehead.
“I don’t understand why I have to do this.” Wilbur complains as he drags the mop across the wooden deck, the boat slowly rocking from under him.
Technoblade stands at the helm of the ship, gearing the boat into a sharp turn to steer them away from a particularly shallow area with sharp rocks that would undoubtedly poke a hole into their ship.
“Well, Wilbur,” He muses, “You don’t want a repeat of last time, now, do you?”
Wilbur scrunches up his face in disgust, the memory of the scent of way too much raw fish about to eat up his insides, and by extension, his appetite. Techno lets out a slight chuckle at his expression, that bastard , and he’s almost a hundred percent sure that he thinks he’s won.
“Why couldn’t you do it then, hmm?” Wilbur points out. “There are two of us on this ship.”
“Someone’s gotta steer the ship.”
“Please, you don’t even need to be there, like, seventy percent of the time. Plus, who’s to say that I couldn’t do it.”
Techno rolls his eyes, “Yeah, because that worked out sooo well before.”
“That was one time!”
“One time too many.” Techno drawls out, hands steering the ship into the open ocean.
The boat breaks the water into a ripple, leaving foamy remains from where they previously passed. Wilbur grabs a stool and seats himself on it, leaning over the railings to gaze at the view of the horizon.
Somehow, somewhere between that point and the next, Wilbur found that he had dozed off in a steady slumber, only to be rudely interrupted by Techno shaking him awake.
“What?” He slurs sleepily.
“Look over there.” Techno whispers beside him. Wilbur looks towards the direction he’s pointing in, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
He squints to see the shadowy silhouette of a ship in the distance. He turns to see that his twin has already donned a grin, a plan already formulating in his head.
“No, no, no, no, no. You can’t be serious. It’s almost dark.”
“Even better then! They won’t see us coming.” Techno grins, fingers already furling around the handle of the iron sword he has always kept in his leather sheath.
Wilbur groans, knowing that at this point there is no way to convince Techno to do otherwise. Is one night of peacefulness too much to ask for?
The plan was simple, really. They’ve used this technique almost a hundred times over, and Wilbur’s sure he can recite it in his sleep. It was a flawless plan, and with it, they’ve not lost a single heist.
Techno slowly commandeers them to the opposing ship. Wilbur pats down his pockets, making sure that he’s got everything he might need for this mission. A dagger; in case he gets into a sticky situation and needs to fight, and a small pocket knife; to cut off any rope that might be securing the loot.
As they approach the ship, Wilbur notes that the other ship is not too far in size from theirs. Hopefully, the size is not a reflection of the amount of valuables they have in store. Nonetheless, loot is loot.
Techno strikes first, being the more skilled fighter between the two of them. He goes in guns, well swords blazing. He hears the clatter of swords and the eventual thud of a body.
There is a murmur that encompasses the opposing ship, people coming out of their cabins to check out the commotion. That was their first mistake.
Techno strikes his sword against the men, defending every hit thrown at him. He catches Techno’s eyes for a split second, and he nods at him, then returns his gaze to the men with a laser focus concentration. That’s his cue.
While Techno is the bloody warrior, the bear that mustn't be poked, Wilbur is the quiet infiltrator. The silent shadow that is always there, always waiting for his perfect moment to strike.
As the crew are distracted by Techno, rushing towards the man who didn’t seem to take a hit, Wilbur uses this opportunity to jump in. He tiptoes into the main crew cabins, careful to not make any noise that will garner him any unwanted attention.
The crew cabins are quiet and abandoned, looking very much lived in. Identical bunk beds are lined up against one side of the room, some with blankets strewed over the mattress, and some looking like they haven’t been touched in weeks. They probably haven’t.
Across the other side of the room is a long drawer, lined with various amounts of pictures. He picks up one picture of a smiling family, a young girl sitting atop her father’s shoulders while her mother laughs beside them.
The only family he's had for years is Techno, and sometimes he wonders what would have become of them if they weren't abandoned as they were. Perhaps they would be a smiling bunch, having a nice picnic in the grassy field back in town.
Wilbur shakes off the thought, haphazardly placing the frame back on top of the drawer. He looks through them hurriedly, finding nothing but clothes and things that hold nothing but sentimental value.
He climbs back up the ladder, peeking out the trap door to check if anyone was watching. Luckily, they were all still crowded by Techno, who seemed to still be expertly dodging all of their hits.
He quietly runs over to the main cabin, praying that the captain was amongst the men clamoring over Technoblade.
The door clicks as he opens it, immediately greeted by a huge mahogany desk, papers strewn on top of it. The room is lit by a small candle on the desk, the light softly flickering.
Wilbur looks around the room, spotting a large chest with a gold rim. He tries to lift it, struggling a bit from its unexpected heaviness. He eventually manages, and runs out of the cabin.
"Techno!" He calls out. A dozen eyes turn to look at him. They sprint towards him, angrily yelling at him to give them back their chest.
He watches as Techno leaps to their ship, the crew still unsuspecting of his disappearance. He pushes down a plank, providing access for Wilbur, and the chest's passage.
Wilbur runs hurriedly back to the ship, passing the chest to Techno. They try to chase him, stepping on the makeshift bridge in an attempt to halt them.
After he boards the ship, Techno looks at Wilbur, nodding his head towards the men clamoring onto the plank.
"Do the honors?"
"With pleasure." Wilbur answers, turning his head towards the crew with a sly grin.
"Well boys, it was fun doing business with you."
He kicks the plank down, leaving some unfortunate people tumbling into the ocean. Techno quickly steers them away, the sound of fading cusses and cries for help all fading in the distance.
Wilbur leans over the railings, carefully keeping watch on whether they are still being tailed or not. After a couple of detours, Techno clicks the helm, locking its rudder in place, assuring him that they're safe.
Techno leaves for a moment to grab them a snack, giving him a warning to not open the chest without him. He walks over to it, taking the opportunity to finally be able to meticulously inspect it in full.
He brushes his fingers across the rough surface, the wood already showing signs of early decay. There are large crevices between the planks, the material almost breaking apart, making Wilbur wonder whether he took the wrong chest.
Soon, Techno comes back, tossing Wilbur an apple whilst munching on his own. He crouches next to him, concentrating his gaze on their newly found loot.
Wilbur pries the chest open easily, quite surprised that there isn't a lock. He takes a look inside, letting out a soft gasp once seeing what's inside.
Inside, a golden-haired toddler sleeps, blissfully unaware of the change of his surroundings.
"Techno," Wilbur whispers, "Did I just kidnap a child?"
Techno looks at him in horror, switching his gaze towards the child. Then, back to him. "I think you just did."
"You know, this is all your fault." Wilbur says, poking a finger in front of Techno's face. "If you weren't all, 'Wilbur let's go steal some loot and blah blah blah', then maybe we wouldn't be in this situation!"
"Please," Techno scoffs in retaliation, "It wasn't my fault that you mistook a baby's cot for a treasure chest"
"You-"
A loud cry interrupts their arguing, woken up by all the loud yelling. Wilbur softens at the sight of him, seeing a bit of himself in the child. So young. So small. So fragile.
He picks him up and cradles him, shooting Techno with a glare that tells him to shut up. He rocks the child back and forth, humming a soft tune under his breath.
The child eventually stops crying, instead making grabby hands towards Wilbur's uneaten apple. Wilbur breaks off a small piece, giving it to the small child in his arms. The kid eats it eagerly, as if he hasn't eaten in days. He looks towards his twin, who seems to be giving him a disapproving look. He might have to have a talk with him later.
___
Wilbur marches into the small cabin, shutting the door quietly behind him. He had just put the baby to sleep and has decided to have a conversation with Techno about their, erm, situation.
Techno glances up from his work, most likely writing a letter to their employer, Phil, about their journey and mishaps. He places his quill on its stand, capping his pot of ink before it dries out. He sets his hands on his desk, gesturing for Wilbur to sit on the stool in front of him.
“Techno,” Wilbur starts, seating himself on the chair, “I think we should keep him.”
Techno sighs, rubbing at his temples, “Wilbur, do you know how hard it is to take care of a child? I don’t know if we can handle that kind of stress.”
“Techno, we were able to handle ourselves just fine before dad abandoned us.” Wilbur tries to reason. “How much harder is a toddler?”
“Wilbur, we were eight, this- this kid is barely even three! I don’t get why you’re trying so hard to keep a kid you hardly know.”
“You said it yourself, this kid is barely even three! You know what it’s like to be a young kid living on the streets, you’re abandoning him! You’re abandoning him just like dad!”
Techno lets out a breath of air, “We’re not abandoning him, Wil, we’re going to let him have a better life than any of us could give. We’ll find an island, hopefully find a family who’ll take him in. We’re not abandoning him, so no, we’re not like dad.”
Wilbur scoffs, rolling his eyes as he looks away.
“You’re not going to let up, are you?” Techno says softly, “Fine. It’s late, and we’re clearly both tired. Let’s both rest for tonight and just continue this whole conversation tomorrow.”
“Fine.”
__
When Wilbur wakes the next morning, he looks to the chest beside him to check on the child, only to find it empty. A panic stirs in him, a fear that the people they have stolen the child from, has taken him back. He rushes into Techno’s cabin to tell him about the possible attack, but ends up stopping to coo at the image in front of him.
Techno and the kid are fast asleep, the toddler sleeping comfortably on Techno’s chest. Techno stirs from the noise, blinking his eyes sleepily at Wilbur. He closes his eyes again to fall back to sleep, and Wilbur takes that as his cue to leave.
After a minute or two, Wilbur hears the door creak open.
“Looks like someone’s got a soft spot.” He smirks at his brother.
Techno rolls his eyes, “Don’t get your hopes up, that little brat was crying all night and he wouldn’t shut up.”
“Mhm, sure.”
“But I guess it wouldn’t be a completely terrible idea if we kept him.” Techno gives him a pointed look, “For now.”
“Now, what do we name this kid?” He asks, after cheering and celebrating, of course.
“Tommy.” Techno says, not missing a beat.
“Tommy?”
“Tommy.”
“Why Tommy?” Wilbur questions Techno, wondering how he came up with the name so quickly.
Techno smiles, “When we were really little, before mom died, she was always talking about how if ever we had a brother, she’d name him Tommy. It was really funny because I remember reading in a book how Tommy actually means ‘a twin’. Ironic, isn’t it?”
“Oh, yeah.” was all Wilbur could say, suddenly feeling guilty that he couldn’t remember any of this.
“I’m gonna go check on the ship now, take care of Tommy.” Techno says, walking over to the main deck.
Wilbur nods, going into the cabin to check on Tommy. He enters the room, and the child sits on his chest, giggling at him.
He squats by Tommy’s chest, lifting his finger to poke at his cheeks. Tommy lets out a small laugh, curling his small hands onto Wilbur’s finger. It’s safe to say that Wilbur’s heart almost melts.
“Hi, little treasure.” He smiles at him.
___
Tommy grins as he snatches the gold coin from the man’s fingers, twirling it around his own. The years have been good on him, garnering him a skill in swordsmanship that can almost rival Techno’s and agility and mischievousness that could have only come from Wilbur.
He had easily grown into their swashbuckling lifestyle, fitting into their family as if he truly was. Wilbur always said that he was, so he supposes it’s true.
Wilbur ruffles his hair as he walks beside him, Techno wandering off to purchase some food. They’d tell him the story of how they’ve got him a thousand times over, Wilbur’s eyes glossing with tears and nostalgia every time without fail.
Techno walks back over to them and hands him a turkey leg, Wilbur upset that he didn’t get one. Tommy smiles at his family, munching over his turkey leg happily.
“You’re getting so old now,” Wilbur looks at Tommy, “One day, you’ll leave us and join another pirate crew, the horror!”
Tommy rolls his eyes at Wilbur’s dramatics, “Please, no matter how old I grow, you guys will always be family. Growing up won’t make me any less of your treasure, will it?”
It’s safe to say that Wilbur had started crying again.