Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tommy felt his grin falter.

He was streaming with Wilbur and Phil, in reality they were doing very little but chatting and goofing off on origins.

“Wow you really are useless aren’t you Tommy?”

Flashbacks stormed his mind, his parents calling him that, the rest of the sleepy boys acting like that was the truth and even his own memories of him believing them came to the surface. Trying not to panic, Tommy started counting his breathing.

Out

One

Two

Three

In

One

Two

Three

Repeat

In less then a minute Tommy’s heart had been torn. He knew he couldn’t keep streaming like this. Deciding that Wilbur and Phil wouldn’t miss him anyway he decided to sign off. He thought he had talked to Wilbur about saying things like that though. In fact another memory came to mind, one from a few months ago.

“Shit Tommy, I didn’t know those comments affected you so much. I promise I will stop Sunshine, I swear you won’t hear any negative words like that again okay? I am so glad you told me Toms. Thank you for trusting me with this.”

“Welp chat, I may or may not have just remembered I have wayyy to many assignments that I haven’t started on, Motherinnit may kill me if I don’t get them done. Sadly that means I have to sign off now- but don’t worry, this big man will definitely stream sometime in the next week. I will see you guys next time!”

As Tommy spoke he noticed Phil and Wilbur go silent. He took one glance at the chat before clicking end stream.

NOOOO

we want more crime bois tommy stayyyy

did anyone else notice that tommy seemed to be off

OMG I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO SAW

tommy no angel duo come backkk

it was right after wilburs comment

OH SHIT

waitwait wait wait

tommy unpoggers you cant end this abruptly

homework lmao i can relate

ah yes motherinnit

chat wait tommy only left after wilburs comment and he didnt say goodbye to phil or wilbur

….

…

wait

HOL UP

DID WILBUR ACTUALLY HURT TOMMY

unpoggers

wtf wilbur

poor tommy <3

Sighing Tommy shut down his pc before hanging his head in his knees. “I guess” he thought to himself “I wasn’t as slick as I thought.” Slowly a single tear began to slide down Tommy’s face. Then another. Eventually Tommy was sobbing. He knew his character wasn’t the strongest but he didn’t think Wil thought he was useless. He didn’t understand Wilbur had promised, he had promised he wouldn’t do things like this. Squeezing his eyes shut didn’t help, it only made images of Wilbur run through his mind. Eventually he was able to get himself over to his bed. Once there he collapsed, tears still flowing from his eyes as he cried himself to sleep, letting the exhaustion he had been feeling for the past few days take him over.

Tommy blearily open his eyes, taking a moment to get back to reality he groaned and turned over about to try to go back to sleep before- beep

Ah so that was what had caused him to wake up. Stupid phone.

Lifting his head up he swatted his arm around till he felt a hard rectangular shape. Grasping onto in Tommy brought his phone to his face. As soon as Tommy pressed the button to turn it on glaringly bright light assaulted his vision.

“Stupid fuck” Tommy murmured to himself, not truly sure if he was talking to the phone or to himself.

Crow Dad

3 missed texts

Fish Fucker

15 missed texts

3 missed calls

1 voicemail

Shit.

Deciding Phil was the safer option Tommy decided to open his messages first.

Crow Dad

Hey you okay?

Tommy?

Wilburs kinda annoyed just letting you know bud, watch out.

So it was good Phil wasn’t mad at him, getting on Phil’s bad said was one of the worst things anyone could do. You would have to deal with the “I am not angry, just disappointed” shtick and it sucked ass. It warmed Tommy’s heart that Phil cared enough about him to check on him. However a pang of fear was sent through his heart at the idea that Wilbur was angry with him. Knowing that his anxiety about this would only get worse if he ignored it he opened the messages from his brother Wilbur.

Fish Fucker

tommy why did you leave to abrubtly

you cant do tat

wtf dude

it was barely 30min in

srsly tommy what the heck

dude

fucking respond to me

im not joking around rn tommy

tommy

answer me now tommy

istg

i know hw was an excuse so wtf

tom simons

why arent you answering my calls

tommy what the hell.

Well fuck.

That wasn’t good.

Tommy felt his eyes well up again, it was wasn’t his fault and Wilbur was still mad at him. He just didn’t understand. He knew he needed to tell Wilbur what was wrong, the older had made him promise to always let him know if Tommy was feeling hurt stating “I will murder anyone who hurts you Sunshine, right after comforting you of course.” Hoping that those words still applied Tommy hit the call button.

“Hey Wil, so we need to talk earlier I got-”

“Tommy what the hell!”

Tommy stopped speaking, he froze up at the anger in Wilbur’s voice. Wilbur rarely got truly mad at Tommy. Even more confused then he had been Tommy tried to interject.

“Wait Wil I’m sorry for leaving but-”

“No Tommy, a sorry doesn’t make up for this! We were barely 30min into the stream and you left without even letting us know- I can’t believe you would be so irresponsible Tommy. Lord I should have known.”

Tommy felt his heart crack because of what was being said. Feeling his tears well up even more he started shaking. As he talked to Wilbur his voice cracked.

“Wait Wil you aren’t listening to me, I felt really-”

“No one cares how you feel okay that’s not important at the second! Your emotions don’t matter right now Tommy! You ditched us and honestly I can’t…”

Your emotions don’t matter

No one cares how you feel

Tommy hung up the phone.

His breathing was getting odd.

Why couldn’t he breathe

He couldn’t breathe

Eyes darting around Tommy tried to get his lungs under control. It didn’t work. Gasping for air, Tommy clawed at his throat.

Wilbur was right, Tommy slowly realized. He was being selfish earlier. He should have stayed on stream. Tommy felt dumb- how could he have not seen that earlier? How could he have missed the fact that he was in the wrong? Why did he have to be such of a fuck up? It was his fault, he could have pushed past it, he could have not left the stream and it was wrong of him to have left. His family friends didn’t want Tommy they wanted Tommyinnit, and there was a difference.

So what to do? How could Tommy make this better? How could Tommy make them happy?

No one cares how you feel

Its not important

Oh

Okay

He could do that.

No need to be Tommy when they only wanted Tommyinnit.

No need to be himself when they only wanted his persona.

No need to express his emotions when no one wants to deal with that.

Tommy’s eyes dulled.

Over the next few days Tommy ignored Wilbur, not responding to the mans texts or calls or messages. He just couldn’t, he couldn’t see Wilbur because he knew he would break down if he did. He had gotten a message from Tubbo and Ranboo earlier but he hadn’t responded. He didn’t know how.

Lifeless eyes flickered when his phone screen lit up.

Crow Dad

1 Message

Hey, me and Tech are gonna stream trying out a new mod, it would be great if you were there too as we need a third person (wilbur isnt available), its also been a while since youve been online it would be good for your viewers.

Tommy debated in his mind, on one hand he really didn’t want to interact with them but they said it would be good for his viewers which was likely true. They also “need” Tommyinnit so he may as well help them. Sighing, he responded, trying to promote an excited exterior.

Crow Dad

Need big man tommy? im down- technoblade told me about the mod last week it seemed pretty pog :)

Tommy slowly sat up, getting out of his bed for the first time in hours. Taking time to prep for the stream he forced excitement and silliness onto his face, hoping that Philza and Technoblade wouldn’t see through him.

YOO TOMMY

KING

TOMMMMYYYYYY

HES BACK

LETS GOO

POGGERS

anyone notice he is acting a bit fake?

TOMMYYYYYYYYYY

BIGMANINNIT

YAY

i noticed that too, hope hes doing okay

YOOOOOOOOO FUCKING POGGGG

SBI SBI LETS GET WILBUR HERE

BEDROCK BROS MY BELOVED

ANGEL DUO

BEDROCK

SMH CRIME BOIS IDIOTS

“Alright chat, no need to go crazy- clam down you silly motherfuckers’

Eventually the stream finished, and while normally Tommy would stay on call and chat with his family friends for a bit, this time however was different. Tommy was intrigued by how exhausting that was, though he couldn’t find it in himself to care about how tired he was. No need for sleep, as the blade says “sleep is for the weak.” So what if Tommy had only slept a few hours in the past week? It was no big deal.

“Tom! Me and your mother are home.”

Fuck

Of course they were back

Perfect fucking timing

As always

Tommy hated them.

Groaning, he lifted himself out of the chair, trudging downstairs in a grim manner.

He always hated when they got back, though he honestly just hated them in general. It hadn’t always been like this; he hadn’t always dreaded the idea of them coming home. But they had started to leave more and more. Then, they had gotten well, violent. Now whenever he hears their voices all he wants to do is curl up into a ball and cry.

“Tom, why aren’t the counters clean? You know that we expect you to clean up around here, you have to help out Tom. We are a family and you are acting like you don’t even care!”

Thoughts raced through Tommy’s mind, he felt slight anger rising as he hadn’t used the kitchen since they left, preferring to order in and eat in his room. Interesting. It had been a while since he felt something. Odd that is was anger.

they dont like you feeling things, it doesnt matter anyway

Quickly pushing down his anger he stuck a fake grin to his face. As he did so he started to apologize to his parents, though as always they didn’t seem to care what he said. Finding the similarities between Wilbur and his parents slightly startled him- though why should it? He thought to himself. It was so obvious he was the problem- not them.

Oh, his dad was still yelling.

Why was he crying?

He didn’t understand.

Tommy started to nod along to whatever his parents were saying. It didn’t matter what exactly, they were right. Eventually Tommy’s father took notice of his glazed over eyes.

“My god Tom, are you ignoring us? Are you really spacing out right now? How dare you!”

Tommy looked up meeting his father’s eyes for the first time in weeks. Darting his eyes to the side he noticed his mother standing behind his father. With her arms crossed and her face hardened he knew she wouldn’t be helping him, he knew she supported his dad.

Looking away from Father only seemed to enrage him more, he grabbed the edge of Tommy’s shirt and pulled him closer.

Fear.

Fear coursed through his veins. He was truly afraid. Sure, his parents had gotten angry before and sure they had grabbed him too hard or dragged him by the hair but never had he seen his father’s eyes so dark and never had he seen complete support in Mother’s eyes.

Adrenaline filled him, for the first time in weeks he felt alive, not the good feeling of being alive, not the feeling of being happy, healthy and surrounded by your loved ones but the heart stopping adrenaline that comes with being kicked out, or being smacked. Tommy gasped as his shirt started to choke him. Suddenly a burst of fight arose in him. He pushed his father away, heaving as he did so, trying to get a breath. His father was on the ground. Was he safe now?

Tommy backed up, not knowing where he was going but just trying to get away. He hoped this was the right way to the stairwell, if it was he could call someone, he could get help, he would not have to hurt anymore. Who would he call? Maybe Wilbur or Phil or Techno or-

Wait

Wait

No

no

nononono

they didnt care

about what he felt

they had said so

Tommy froze as it hit him. He froze as the fact that he was truly alone sunk in. No one cared. No one cared about him being hurt, that was plenty clear. They only cared about Tommyinnit, the chaos kid, the funny gremlin child, the extra. For god’s sake, even Phil only messaged him to come on stream because Wilbur wasn’t available (Tommy didn’t know that the only reason Phil had said that was to make sure Tommy knew Wilbur would not be there. Phil wasn’t dumb- he knew Wilbur had fucked up and Phil needed to check on his son friend). Tommy felt tears well up again at the thought that no one cared.

Why was he surprised? Of course no one cared. It wasn’t like that was new news. He was dumb to think that anyone cared in the first place. It was selfish of him to expect them all to love him back, how stupid could Tommy possibly get?

Tommy had been frozen for far too long. Father was getting up. Father was coming closer. Father was reaching out to him why was Father so close please no not again-

slap

The noise echoed around the room. Tommy’s eyes widened. He fell back. Sharp pain bloomed along his cheek.

What had happened?

Father had slapped him.

Odd.

It was his fault of course; he deserved this. Even though Tommy felt frozen, he could tell his body was moving. He skittered across the floor, trying to get away from Him. His eyes only darkened, face contorting into a small grin as he stepped closer to Tommy. Power filled Father’s gaze.

Tommy realized something as his Father stepped closer. This didn’t matter. His pain didn’t matter so why did he feel. Feeling was dumb, emotions are overrated. Tommy gave up. He just couldn’t care anymore. Why should he? There was no point.

“Oh Tom, you know you deserve this. I know you will understand. Just need to learn a lesson okay?”

Everything went black.

When Tommy woke up, it was dark out. He hadn’t been paying much attention to his surroundings earlier, but he was pretty sure it had been light out. Not that it mattered. So his Father had knocked him unconscious. That was new. Interesting.

Tommy moved his hand up to his face, noticing a minor bruise on his arm as he did so. He didn’t remember getting hit there but Tommy didn’t really remember anything after the darkness came. As he prodded his face pain arose. There was no mirror nearby but Tommy didn’t need one to know that there were most likely a few bruises on his face, along with a hand mark.

As Tommy stumbled up his vision swayed. Eventually he was able to stumble his way over to the counter. Noticing a small piece of paper he staggered over to the tabletop.

Dear Tom,

We are going back out again, an important business trip that we can’t miss the flight too. We thought we would come home and see you for a bit but it was obvious you didn’t care enough about us to help out at all. We are very disappointed in you and you will be punished accordingly when we get home- feel grateful your father wasn’t that rough on you this time.

-Mom

As Tommy gripped the note he started to shake. This was light? This was going to happen again??

Tommy knew he should have felt startled that he didn’t care that he would be getting another punishment. It just didn’t seem to matter anymore. Nothing mattered.

As these thoughts ran through his mind, the spark that was once inside of Tommy and had always burned so bright, went out.

ding

The sound of his doorbell brought Tommy back to reality. He didn’t know what time it was exactly, but it had to be late- so why was someone here at this hour? Should he answer it? He didn’t know but common human decency dictated that he should at least check to see if it’s someone important. Though it was more likely that someone just had the wrong address.

As Tommy moved around, he could feel himself swaying even more. He likely need water. After, he told himself.

Finally, after what seemed like forever he made it to the door. Grasping the nob he twisted and pulled open the house’s front door and there was-

“Tommy?”

“Wilbur?”

 Wilbur felt like shit.

He really really really felt like shit.

It had been a week since he yelled at Tommy and since that moment he has felt little but regret. After Tommy had hung up Wilbur had only gotten more mad, but eventually he cooled down. As soon as he had a level head, he felt like he wanted to throw up.

Actually, scratch that he did throw up.

Wilbur had realized his mistake far too late. Well, mistakes actually. He hated himself for the pain he had caused his brother friend, he had been stressed about his new song and had taken it out on Tommy.

After Wilbur had cooled off he had gone to re-watch the stream from earlier, hoping for another clue as to what had gone wrong, to why Tommy had left.

Wilbur watched the stream in confusion, everything was fine until-

Oh

Oh no

Oh god Tommy

no

Remorse tore through Wilbur as he figured out what had gone so wrong. He thought he had been getting better, but he fell right back into his old habits- even after Tommy had told him how much the “teasing” actually hurt.

How could have he been so blind? He had hurt Tommy; he had hurt his little brother.

Wait.

Little Brother?

Wilbur felt tears rush to his eyes as he realized what his heart was telling him. Their brother dynamic wasn’t just an act anymore.

So now there was no denying Wilbur felt worse. Not only had he yelled as the boy who he considered his brother, but he had also called him worthless.

Thoughts began to race around his mind, the main one being “I’m sorry.”

Wilbur ached to hold Tommy, to provide him comfort right now. He needed to help his little brother; he needed to help his Tommy.

Wilbur checked the time, it had been an hour since Tommy hung up on him. Was he too late? Was Tommy hurting right now?

Oh don’t be silly, of course he is.

Wilbur frantically ran back to his bedroom before desperately searching for his phone. Breathing a sigh of relief once he grasped it, he took not a second to spare in calling Tommy.

“Please Toms, please Sunshine pick up, I am so sorry Tommy please answer the phone”

Wilbur started muttering as he anxiously paced back and forth. Every ring he heard brought his hope down. Tommy had always answered his calls on the first ring, had always been so excited to talk to Wilbur, almost as excited as Wilbur would always be before seeing his Sunshine’s face. What had happened?

It went to voicemail.

Wilbur froze.

Again, his mind screamed at him, call him again.

Once more

Twice more

Three times

Wilbur slowly sat down after his 4th attempt at calling his baby brother failed.

The tears that had filled his eyes earlier rushed down his cheeks. The pain he had felt earlier multiplied by ten fold.

His Tommy was hurting and he was the cause. His Tommy was hurting and he couldn’t comfort him.

All Wilbur felt was remorse. Desperate to reach his brother he tried messaging him, tried getting in contact with him.

GremlinChild (aka littlest shit)

tommy

toms

sunshine please answer me

i am so sorry

i promise i didnt mean it

i was stressed and i took it out on you toms

thats not an excuse for what i did im so sorry love

please tommy i need to know if your okay

please toms

im so sorry tommy i am so so so sorry

i fucked up tommy

i love you toms please respond

No response.

Tommy wasn’t responding.

Tommy was hurting and Wilbur couldnt help he couldnt breathe either-

Wilbur fell to the ground, leaning against the wall he put his head in his hands as sobs escaped him.

He knew he didn’t have the right to be feeling bad right now, he was the one that caused the pain.

His brain however, didn’t seem to be listening to him because Wilbur started shaking.

As Wilbur sat there, tears falling and body shaking he only said one name.

“Tommy”

It had been 3 days since the incident wilbur couldn’t bring up that memory so he just decided to refer to it as the incident and Wilbur was still freaking out. He had decided to give Tommy space, knowing that the younger would probably benefit from some time away from Wilbur- but no one had heard from Tommy since then. Not even Tubbo and Ranboo were able to reach their best friend.

Wilbur decided he needed to reach out to Tommy’s parents. They could maybe help right?

Though it was slightly worrisome that Tommy’s parents hadn’t contacted him. Wilbur knew if anyone hurt his brother he would either call them or even show up at their doorstep to yell at them because how dare they hurt Tommy.

Shaking those thoughts out of his head Wilbur sighed, the only one Tommy needed protecting from right now was him. That fact hurt, hurt worse than anything Wilbur had ever felt. He had always sworn to protect Tommy, but he never thought that Tommy would need protection from Wilbur, never had he thought that he would cause his brother such pain.

Maybe Tommy had kept what had happened to himself? That seemed like the only reason possible for why Ms. Simons wasn’t calling him and asking him what he had done to her son. Wilbur had always felt something off around Tommy’s family though, as if something was not quite right. Though in retrospect it was possible that they were just protective of Tommy- just as Wilbur was. Fishing out his phone from inside his pockets Wilbur decided to shot a text to Tommy’s mom.

Ms Simons

Hey, is Tommy doing okay? We had an argument and I was wondering if he has been acting off lately?

Wilbur waited for what felt like forever, till finally he heard a small

ding .

His face lit up, finally he was going to get some news about Tommy!

Ms Simons

Nope, Tom is fine. But I am actually extremely busy right now, so please do not contact me or Tom’s dad unless there is an emergency.

That was…

odd.

Wilbur didn’t like the tone of the text. Maybe he was reading too much into it though? It was just a text.

Wilbur felt that stupid feeling well up in him again. He couldn’t put a name to it. It felt like he was exhausted, but with himself. Guess he wasn’t that good at describing it either.

At this point Wilbur didn’t know what to do. Tommy had been likely hurting for the past few days and there was nothing Wilbur could do because he did not know what would make it worse. Did Tommy want to see him or not? Did Tommy want to see anyone?

Shaking his head, yet again Wilbur laid down. He truly felt at a loss here.

Mindlessly he thought to himself, thinking the same thing that had been running through his head the past 72 hours.

What had he done?

7 days

It had been a week.

At this point Wilbur was not the only one freaking out. The entirety of the Dream Smp was worried about Tommy.

Even Dream himself had tried inviting Tommy to make a video with him, hoping that the chance to work with his mentor would cause him to come back online. But it didn’t work. Nothing had.

Finally Phil stepped in, the man had wanted to stay out of it at first- claiming they needed to give Tommy space, but after a week he too became worried. Wilbur had been awaiting Phil’s message for 30 minutes now, the oldest Sbi member had let Techno and Wilbur know he would be inviting Tommy to a stream Phil and Tech had planned for later today.

A message had Wilbur scrambling to get his phone, lord he hoped Tommy had said yes.

SBI WITHOUT THE MINOR

Crow Dad: Tommy agreed to stream, be careful though Tech- I think something is wrong, his message sounded off.

Wilbur felt his heart become lighter, a small smile grew on his face. He was so immensely happy Tommy was interacting again- and this would also enable them all to check on Tommy (even if Wilbur was not there, Phil and Tech would keep him updated on what was going on) as Tommy always stayed to talk with them after stream.

What on earth had he just watched?

Wilbur watched the entire stream, and with every moment he became more and more worried for Tommy.

When Tommy had first entered the stream his eyes were slightly dull, not the bright and excited blue that Wilbur had come to adore. But at the time Wilbur had brushed it off- hoping it was the fault of the video quality.

Wilbur was proven wrong as soon as Tommy spoke.

No one other than the Sbi members seemed to notice- why would they? No one knows Tommy as well as they do or did.

Techno’s voice became rougher, Phil’s eyes took on a worried state and Wilbur gasped in shock.

Tommy had been crying.

They knew the slight signs, the tiny quiver in his voice gave it all away. Wilbur felt his heart shatter though, because Tommy crying was rare. But not only could all of Sbi tell he was crying, they could also all tell he was forcing the persona. They could tell he was not excited or happy or even annoyed, because every single emotion that had always made Tommy, well Tommy, was being forced out for the viewers.

That stream had to be the worst thing Wilbur had ever watched, but he sat through it, because being able to see Tommy was worth it.

Once the stream came to the end he patiently waited for Phil or Techno to text him about Tommy and how the “after stream party” as Tommy had dubbed it, was going.

What Wilbur was not expecting was a call from Phil.

“Why are you calling me?? Aren’t you talking to Tommy right now?”

“That’s the thing Wil, I’m not. Tommy didn’t stay to talk after stream and both Techno and I are really worried.”

“Shit”

“My thoughts exactly”

“Phil, I know you said to leave him alone but I have to go check on him, it makes the most sense for me to go and I need to say I am sorry”

“Wil”

“No Phil please, I understand I needed to leave him alone but I have to go comfort him- it is killing me to sit here and do nothing-”

“WIL”

Wilbur shut up.

“I was going to say I understand mate. Go to him”

Wilbur felt his heart leap, he was really going? He was really going to be able to hug his Sunshine? To comfort him?

“Thanks Phil.”

Wilbur hung up immediately, racing down to his kitchen he grabbed his keys before bolting out the door.

He needed to apologize, needed to show his brother that he was so so sorry and now he had the chance to do so.

After one pit stop, one car breakdown and 3 hours Wilbur finally made it to Tommy’s house. It would be an understatement to say he was annoyed at how long it had taken him to get there, but he was about to see Tommy so he put his anger aside.

As he walked up to the front door he hesitated, worrying about if Tommy wanted to see him or not was something he had avoided thinking about for the entire ride. But of course once he got to his brother’s house he could only think about the possibility that this would hurt Tommy rather than help him.

Wilbur slowly made his way to the doorstep, gathering all the courage and determination in him, he pressed the doorbell.

One second, two seconds, three seconds, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten- why was this taking so long?

Wilbur anxiously tapped his foot against the doorstep. Every second felt like an incredibly long hour full of nothing but waiting and worry.

Finally he heard the turning of a doorknob from inside.

He felt his heart leap his chest, excitement filling him to the brim. The door was slowly opened and-

Wilbur froze.

There was a hand print.

there was a hand print on his brother’s face

and bruises

bruises as well.

No

Someone had hit Tommy. Someone had hurt his baby brother. Someone had dared laid their filthy hands on his Sunshine.

Was it his fault?

Wilbur would make them pay.

One look up at Tommy made Wilbur snap back into reality. He looked into his brother’s eyes and-

“Tommy?”

Wilbur watched as thousands of looks came across Tommy’s face- he was unable to tell if they were emotion filled or not.

Eventually Wilbur heard that sweet, unmistakable voice of his little brother. Not the fake one that Wilbur had heard from Tommy earlier today, not the voice in which the emotions behind every word sounded forced, but the vulnerable, sweet, beautiful voice of his baby.

“Wilbur?”

Tommy gasped as he saw his big brother Wilbur standing there. Shock, fear, anger, relief, and joy all ran through him.

Tommy didn’t know how to feel- was he allowed to feel at all?

Your emotions don’t matter

No one cares how you feel

Of course they didn’t, so Tommy tried his best to squash all the stupid feelings down.

His eyes became dull again when not moments ago they had come to life for the first time in a week.

His face became apathetic again when not seconds ago had been full of emotion.

It was better like this, Tommy told himself, I can’t get hurt this way.

Tommy knew that if he showed emotions people wouldn’t like it. So he wouldn’t. And what was the easiest way not to show emotions? Not having any in the first place.

So Tommy had two options, one being he put up his persona and the other being he simply didn’t, and kept being emotionless. As Tommy looked into his brother Wilbur’s eyes, he knew that there was no way he could attempt to become Tommyinnit. He was exhausted, after getting screamed at, beaten unconscious and seeing the note that his parents had left for him, he was just too tired. Tired of everything, people, his family, his life and himself. He just wanted this to be over.

So, as worried as it may make Wilbur, Tommy had to choose the second option, because if he didn’t there would be a strong chance that Tommy would break down and feel and he couldn’t have that because Wilbur would get mad and Wilbur wouldn’t like and he would hurt him again and Tommy didn’t want to be hurt again, please father no-

Ah so his breathing was speeding up. He couldn’t get air in why couldn’t he breathe-

Tommy gasped.

Wil had touched him.

On his shoulder- Wilbur had touched him.

Wilbur had touched him in a way that didn’t hurt.

That was odd and new and scary.

He didn’t know if he liked it or not. The touch burned but at the same time he wanted that heat again; it had been so long since he felt warm.

Wilbur touching him had jolted him out of his probable panic, most likely a panic attack. That made what number of PA’s this week?

As soon as Tommy snapped back to the real world he realized they both had been standing in front of his house too long. If Wilbur stayed he would see. (Tommy did not notice the anger and sadness present in Wilbur’s eyes, the darkness that had overtaken his eyes as soon as he had seen the handprint on his Sunshine’s face) Tommy needed to know why Wilbur was here, and then Tommy needed to get him to leave as soon as possible.

It was hard, forcing words out of his throat. His father had choked him there earlier- Tommy thought that was the likely reason as to why speaking felt extremely weird and painful. No problem though, he would push through it as he always had.

Tommy distantly remembered times where he couldn’t speak, not because anything was physically wrong but because the words couldn’t get out of his mouth. Every time he tried to speak he became more and more panicked as tears would fill his eyes and blur his vision. Eventually threats from his parents, mentions of doing things much worse to Tommy than they had before, made the scared and scarred little boy speak up. Every time though, every time he would force a word out, the little boy would feel like he wanted to hurl, like he wanted to curl up into a ball and die.

“What is it Wilbur? Is something wrong?”

Wilbur was pissed.

That was an incredible understatement, Wilbur was going to murder a bitch.

He would rather not go to prison but murdering whoever had hurt Tommy would be worth it.

Why Was Wilbur Pissed?

He had just watch his baby brother experienced a ton of emotion, then do something that resembled turning himself off and becoming emotionless.

He had just watch his Sunshine start having a panic attack, and then somehow fucking stop all because Wilbur touched his shoulder.

He had watched as Tommy looked like he was physically forcing words out of his throat, and then those words were asking Wilbur if something was wrong. And that wasn’t even the worst part. Not a minute ago Wilbur had heard his Tommy’s voice, but once Tommy had spoken again his little brother was gone. He had been put away.

So yeah, Wilbur would be murdering someone, preferably sometime in the near future.

But for now he needed to focus on his little brother. He needed to make sure Tommy knew it was going to be okay, and that Wilbur loved him. As much as Wilbur wanted to question Tommy about why he looked like that and what had happened, he knew that Tommy wouldn’t be able to handle that right now.

All Wilbur was going to do right now, was get his little brother back.

Hesitantly Wilbur asked “Can I come inside Sunshine?”

Wilbur watched as Tommy’s eyes widened slightly at the nickname, and he felt his heart break a little as he wondered if he had ever even told Tommy he was Wilbur’s Sun.

Wilbur watched as Tommy seemed to have an internal debate inside before nodding and backing up so that Wilbur could pass through.

Slowly the two brothers made their way into the house, one keeping a worried eye on the other the entire time.

Tommy still seemed slightly in shock that Wilbur was here, Wilbur of course hated that fact- why did his brother think he would not come for him?

Shaking that thought from his mind Wilbur led Tommy over to the couch, he needed to apologize to Tommy first, only then would Wilbur start questioning his baby about what had happened.

They both made their way into the living room, as they walked through the house Wilbur noticed slight blood on the ground, along with broken glass. Feeling his anger rise, Wilbur took in a few more deep breaths. It was hard to stay calm though, when someone had so clearly hurt his younger brother, but Tommy needed kindness and anything but anger right now; so Wilbur stored that anger, saving it for later.

Tommy gestured for Wilbur to sit, still not speaking a single word.

Wilbur watched as Tommy struggled, clearly trying to find words and force those words out of his throat. Before Tommy had the chance however, Wilbur started speaking.

As he stared into his brother’s eyes Wilbur decided to tell the complete truth, nothing would be held back. He needed Tommy to understand and while Wilbur had never been good at expressing his emotions, Tommy needed to know what he had been feeling.

“Tommy, I am so incredibly sorry for how I acted. I should never have treated you the way I did Sunshine. I was having a stressful week and I took it out on you, something I should have never done and have been regretting since the moment you hung up on me. Tommy, I said things that have haunted me for the past week. You have to understand Toms, that your emotions are always valid and always important. I should never have dismissed you the way I did.”

Wilbur watched as Tommy stiffened throughout his speech, most likely preparing a counterargument in his head. He also took notice of the fact that the darkness, the shadows that had been present in Tommy’s eyes, slowly started retreating.

“And if I know you well enough as I think I do, I know you are probably confused as to why I am here. Tommy, darling, everyone was so worried about you- we all care about you so much and we all knew something was wrong Toms. Do not however, get it in your head that it is your fault we were worried and that it was any way your fault for causing us pain, love if anything it was my fault. I fucked up so bad and I will do anything to make this better, I understand if you need time but also please understand that I needed to check on you, needed to make sure you were okay because I love you Tommy, you are my little brother in everything but blood.”

As soon as those words fell out of Wilbur’s mouth tears grew in Tommy’s eyes. Wilbur sat back, he had said his piece, now Tommy needed to respond.

In lieu of a response Wilbur starred as Tommy got up and inched towards Wilbur. Slowly Tommy made his way to his brother.

As soon as Tommy was in reach Wilbur opened his arms. Wilbur gave out a small oomph as Tommy practically dove into his embrace.

Wilbur felt unimaginable joy at finally being able to hold his brother in his arms again, finally Tommy was safe.

Wilbur clutched at his brother, both boys tearing as they gripped each other, desperate for the comfort the other could provide.

Tommy let out small gasps as he finally allowed himself to be comforted by his brother.

Wilbur took a second to compose himself, before kissing Tommy’s forehead. Tommy let out a small whine at the action, which shattered Wilbur’s heart.

Wilbur, with tears of relief in his eyes, whispered softly to Tommy.

“It is okay Sunshine, I got you now”

And with those words Tommy broke in the arms of his brother.

It took a long time for Tommy’s crying to dwindle down to slight hiccups, but the entire time Wilbur made sure to hold him close, whispering reassurances in his ear. Eventually, after he had stopped crying and his face was less puffy, Tommy glanced up at his brother? Wilbur, gasping at the pure love on Wilbur’s face.

Wilbur noticed Tommy’s surprise, letting out a small smile at his baby brother before running a hand through Tommy’s hair. Wilbur watched as Tommy let out a small smile at the action, it wasn’t much, wasn’t the grin and eye-roll that Tommy normally expressed whenever Wilbur ruffled his hair, but it was progress and that was all that mattered.

Once Wilbur was sure Tommy had calmed down he started to pull away. Confusion filled Tommy’s eyes and Wilbur watched as hurt rippled throughout Tommy’s face.

Worriedly, and frantically, Wilbur went to reassure him by saying “I promise I am not going far love, I just want to get some ice for your bruises, and some bandages for the scratches on your arm.”

Tommy nodded, letting Wilbur up. The fact that he had any cuts to begin with was odd, he hadn’t noticed, though he supposed it made sense that he scraped his arm at some point when his dad was beating him he fell. Moving on from that though, Tommy immediately started trying to process what had happened, as he was still confused- the fact that Wilbur drove all this way to see and comfort him wasn’t completely rendering in Tommy’s brain. It was unexpected to say the least. The apology that Wilbur had made was still running around Tommy’s mind, it didn’t make much sense to him as to why Wilbur was the one apologizing when Tommy was in the wrong. He had to be in the wrong, right?

While Tommy was contemplating all this Wilbur was in the kitchen, he had gotten an ice-pack from the freezer and now he just needed to find some bandaids and wipes to clean Tommy’s cuts. Anger filled him at the fact that Tommy had gotten cuts and bruises in the first place. Wilbur wasn’t stupid, he had suspected something was off since that weird text message from Ms. Simons, but he had never thought that they would truly do anything to hurt his Sunshine. Wilbur hoped he was wrong about his suspicions, but he knew there was a high chance he wasn’t.

Finally, after looking in millions of drawers Wilbur found the bandages and wipes. Wilbur practically raced back to the living room, but kept his steps quiet, making sure to not scare Tommy.

Tommy glanced backup at Wilbur as the elder moved closer to the couch. Tommy felt the unexplainable urge to backup or run away, he tried to tell himself that Wilbur wouldn’t hurt him, before realizing he didn’t know if that was true or not.

Wilbur wordlessly sat back down next to Tommy and handed him the ice-pack. Tommy silently took it and placed it on one of his many bruises, letting out a small hiss as he did so.

“Sunshine, is it okay if I clean your cut? It will sting for a second but it will help it not get infected.”

Fear slightly filled Tommy’s eyes at the promise of pain, he didn’t want his arm to hurt but Wilbur said it would be better in the long run, and he trusted Wilbur right? Tommy looked into Wilbur’s eyes, searching for any hint of deception or harmful intentions, however Tommy found nothing but love, worry and slight anger that didn’t seem directed towards him.

Deciding to trust Wilbur, Tommy shifted his arm so that Wilbur could clearly see the cuts before nodding, giving him permission to help.

Wilbur inched closer towards Tommy, making sure Tommy knew what was about to happen Wilbur slowly pressed the wipe onto Tommy’s cut, before maneuvering it a bit to make sure that the entirety of the cut was clean. Tears welled up in Tommy’s eyes at the sting, chiding himself Tommy reminded himself that he had felt much more pain, so this should be nothing.

After what felt like hours of the burning sensation, Wilbur pulled the wipe away and tossed it into the trash. Noticing Tommy’s tear-filled eyes Wilbur pulled his Sunshine back into a hug.

They sat there for a bit, Tommy- who was finally calm and comforted, and Wilbur- who was finally pleased with the care Tommy had received.

Tommy tucked his head under Wilbur’s chin, content at last.

As happy as Wilbur would be to hold his brother in silence he needed to ask Tommy what had happened. Breaking the careful silence that had been constructed he cleared his throat, before voicing his query.

“Tommy, love, what happened?”

Tommy started shrinking away, he couldn’t go through that again he wouldn’t go through that again, hadn’t Wilbur promised not to hurt him? Hadn’t he promised?

Tommy shot up off of the couch and backed up into the corner, shaking as he did so.

Wilbur froze, his heart stopping as soon as he saw the reaction that his Tommy had. Wilbur gazed upon his baby brother, his heart tore apart at the sight, Wilbur had never seen his brother so broken.

Wilbur snapped back to reality as soon as he saw tears streaming down Tommy’s face. Wilbur wanted to race towards him but knowing that would only scare Tommy more Wilbur slowly made his way to his brother.

Once close enough to Tommy, Wilbur pulled his baby into a hug. He felt Tommy go still before slowly relaxing in the comforting hold of his brother.

It didn’t take long this time, Tommy calmed down quickly, almost like he was used to having small panic attacks no wilbur dont go there do not think like that.

Picking up Tommy why was the boy so light?? Wilbur made his way back to the couch, setting Tommy down gently. Like a little koala bear Tommy cuddled into Wilbur, seeking as much comfort as he could.

Turning so that he could face Wilbur, Tommy debated on whether to tell his brother Wilbur about what had happened. Part of him was screaming not to, saying that Wilbur would agree with Tommy’s parents and want to hurt him as well. But the other part took into consideration how kind Wilbur had been, how he had comforted Tommy and helped him, how he had made Tommy feel again, made him feel safe.

“They started to leave when I was five.”

Wilbur’s eyes widened in shock, he had thought that after his panic attack Tommy would need more time before talking about it.

That single sentence alone had Wilbur stiffening up, they had left a five-year-old alone? Pain filled Wilbur at the image of a young Tommy watching the people who raised him leave wilbur refused to call those people his parents.

“It was only for a few days at first, eventually it became months before I would see them again.”

Months? His brother was left alone for months???

“Eventually I started to dread the day that they would come back, whenever they saw me they would always get mad for one reason or another. The house wasn’t clean enough, the porch was messy, the windows weren’t clear enough- stuff like that.

His Tommy was left alone, and then those people would come back and criticize him? Berate him?

“One time, when they came back, I got angry and fought back. They didn’t like that. It was the first-time father hurt me.”

Oh god. His poor poor brother. His amazing little brother had gone through so much, but his Sunshine didn’t deserve any of this. Wilbur would never let those people hurt his Tommy, never again he promised himself.

“After that it got worse, my mom would always stand to the side while my dad hurt me. It was never that much, a slap or two, some pushing or pulling of my hair.”

That wasn’t that much?? Those people had hurt his brother and they would pay. They would pay for making his baby hurt.

“Afterwards they would leave, maybe spend a few days at the house but never any longer.”

They would just leave his brother all alone. How dare they.

“This time it was worse, because of what had happened earlier I was unfocused. I spaced out while they were yelling at me. That made them so mad. I looked over to my mom, hoping she would help. She didn’t, and it only made him more angry.”

Oh please god no. Why did his Sunshine have to go through this? Why was his brother forced to go through this and why did he have to go through alone? How did Wilbur not notice?

Wilbur pulled his Tommy closer to him, needing to know that his brother was safe. He was angry, but he couldn’t show it right now. He couldn’t scare his brother.

“I was scared and rash and I pushed him away. I took to long to run. He was so angry Wil.”

That man had hurt his Tommy. Tommy was hurt. Tommy was hurt by the people who were supposed to be protecting him, who were supposed to care for him. Tommy, his Tommy was being abused in his own house not his home it hadnt been tommys home in a long long time. Wilbur didnt know it yet but Tommy’s home was a soft singing voice, brown curly hair and kind words. His home was with his brother.

“He hit me. I blacked out. They were gone when I woke up, leaving for a business trip of some sort. Then you showed up. They want to hurt me again Wil, they said they would punish me more when they get back.”

“Wil please don’t let them hurt me.”

Wilbur felt his heart shatter at the whimpered plea that left Tommy’s lips. He would never let those people touch his brother again. Never.

Wilbur pulled away, just a tiny bit so that he could look Tommy in the eyes.

“I promise Sunshine, I promise I won’t let them hurt you.”

Tommy immediately let out a sound of relief before burrowing back into Wilbur.

Happy at last, free at last Tommy let himself drift off to sleep.

A while after Tommy fell asleep Wilbur moved away, going to grab a blanket to put over his brother.

Tucking Tommy in, he made sure not to wake the younger. Pressing a kiss to Tommy’s head he whispered. “I love you Tommy, they can’t hurt you anymore”

With that Wilbur left the living room, moving into the kitchen to make sure what he was about to do didn’t wake his baby brother up.

Fishing out his phone Wilbur glanced at the notifications.

Crow Dad

5 Messages

TechaPig

2 Messages

Choosing to ignore those for now, Wilbur open his contacts.

Scrolling through took him a minute but finally he found who he was looking for.

Pressing the call button Wilbur heard the phone ring, one, two, three, four times before the person picked up.

“We need to talk.”

“What's up mate?"

Deciding that starting  from the beginning would be the best idea, Wilbur took in a deep breathe and prepared himself. 

“So I am going to trying to go through this without getting more pissed then I already am.”

Wilbur heard a sharp intake of a breath on the other end of the phone. He had known Phil long enough to know that he was now worried. 

“I got here, and Tommy opened the door. Phil, he had fucking bruises on him. A hand print was embedded on his face Phil.”

“He seemed to experience a huge amount of emotions before doing something resembling shutting the fuck down. Then he had a panic attack. And some-fucking-how stopped having a goddamn panic attack all because I touched him.”

Phil had been silent up until this point, but after reviving this information he let out a quiet “Dear god.”

Wilbur knew exactly how Phil was feeling, having felt those same exact emotions for his Sunshine just minutes prior. The worry, pain, fear and anger that had come flooding through Wilbur was now flowing through Phil. And the need to help and comfort their boy brewed inside the elder. 

“He let me in and I apologized. Then I cleaned his wounds. Yes, plural. Phil I asked him what had happened and he had another fucking panic attack. I was able to calm him down and then he explained.”

Wilbur felt tears pierce his eyes as he readied himself to explain the next part of the tale. There could never be, and never would be enough words to describe the amount of anger that coursed throughout Wilbur’s veins at the mere thought of what had happened to his Tommy.

 “First they left him, a five year old. They left him all by himself, months in between their visits. Eventually whenever they visited they started points out little details, yelling at Tommy for the smallest things. Even though they had no fucking right because they had left him! They got physical Phil, his dad more so then his mom but still. He was really tired and so he fell asleep eventually. I just- I can’t believe they would hurt our Tommy like that, Phil what on earth do we do? What can we do?”

A worried voice filled Wilbur’s ears, soothing but somehow frantic at the same time. 

“I, I honestly don’t know mate. I-”

Phil seemed just as worried by it all as Wilbur was. They both knew that they had to do something as neither of them would ever let Tommy continue to live in this kind of environment for any longer. Their boy deserved so much better then what he had had to deal with in the past, and now they could help- they weren’t going to let that chance go. 

But, Phil heard the exhaustion in Wilbur’s voice as well as the tiredness in every word that came out of Wilbur’s mouth. He knew that while Tommy was the priority right now, Wilbur needed to rest as well. Sighing, Philza Minecraft prepared himself for the stubbornness of Wilbur Soot.

“Wil, I am going to contact Techno. I think it’s time for that Sbi meet up. I will explain everything to him okay? Meanwhile you need to get some rest.”

Wilbur rolled his eyes, did the old man really think that Wilbur was going to sleep? After what had just happened.

“No old man, not a chance in hell am I going to sleep right now, I have so much to do-”

“Wil, Toms will feel better if you rest because he will know you are okay and that will comfort him. Sleeping will also allow you to take time to recharge which will enable you to help Tommy more.”

Phil smirked slightly to himself as he heard Wilbur falter, Tommy had always been Wilbur’s weakness, and while they still needed to have a discussion about what had happened some rest for Wil would be best right now. 

Wilbur knew as soon as Phil played the Tommy card that he wouldn’t be able to help it- he would have to give in. Though he hadn’t expected the old man to use that trick this early. 

“Fuck you, you old man.”

“Yeah yeah, sure Wil. Now go join Tommy, you said he was sleeping right? Go cuddle our boy okay?”

Wilbur felt a small grin etch itself on his face at the usage of “our boy.” Tommy really was theirs in every way possible. Theirs to cherish, theirs to love, theirs to laugh with and theirs to hold. Their Tommy. 

“Alright. Bye Phil- I am assuming you are gonna head over hear once you talk to tech?”

“You know me soo well. I’ll see you soon Wil. Take care of Toms.”

“You know I will.”

With that final statement Wilbur hung up. He felt better, talking to Phil had helped- and the man was right, it had been too long since Wilbur truly slept. In fact the last time Wil had been able to sleep peacefully was before his fight with Tommy, so the musician needs some rest. 

Making his way back to the couch Wilbur tried to be as quiet as possible- he had no intention of waking Tommy. 

Wilbur smiled as he looked down upon his younger brother, Tommy looked peaceful- the expression on his face clam and slightly serene. Wilbur knew he was sappy but the joy he was getting from just gazing at his Sunshine was just plain stupid. Lord he was gone for this boy. 

As carefully as he could, Wilbur maneuvered Tommy, just enough so that Wilbur could slip in behind him. Slowly Wilbur encased Tommy in his arms, holding his baby brother was his favorite thing to do and he would do it any chance he got. 

Suddenly he felt the younger shift lightly, Tommy turned his head towards Wilbur, eyes not even opened.

“Wilby?” A small voice let out. 

Wilbur felt his heart swell in adoration for his boy. Tears of joy filled Wil’s eyes as he looked at his brother. Every time Wilbur thought he couldn’t love his brother more than he already did his Tommy would just go and prove him wrong, like the silly, stubborn, adorable kid he was. 

Wil had never had siblings before Tommy, never really known what being a big brother entailed, yet somehow he had been blessed with the most amazing younger brother in the world. He had messed up, had made mistakes yet his angel still forgave him. Tommy had kept Wilbur in his heart, something Wilbur doubted he deserved- but Wilbur wouldn’t take this for granted. He would be there for his Toms, no matter what, because that was the brother Tommy deserved. 

“Shh love, I got you kay? Just go back to sleep baby, I am right here- I promise.” 

With that Tommy nodded. He turned, putting his head against Wilbur’s chest, curling up into his big brother. 

Wilbur resisted the urge to let out an audible “aww” at his brother. Finally able to relax after a week of worry, Wilbur let himself fall asleep as well. 

Tommy blearily opened his eyes, wincing slightly as bright light flooded his vision.

Suddenly (yesterdays? or was is todays? Tommy didn’t know how long he had been asleep for.) the days events came rushing back into his mind. Instead of giving into his impulses, Tommy curled back into Wilbur. Though the voices in his head were screaming at him to get up and get away from the elder, Tommy knew that he could trust the man he had come to see as his older brother. 

Tommy laid there for a while, completely content to cuddle with his brother. It had been a long time since he had this kind of comfort, while it had been a long time since he had any physical comfort at all but that was besides the point. 

Eventually Wilbur started to open his eyes, gazing softly at Tommy as he pressed a kiss on the younger's forehead. 

Tommy felt his face flush, but he let out a small smile anyway. 

“Morning Sunshine.”

Feeling his face heat up even more, Tommy buried his head in Wilbur’s chest. He heard the man above him let out a small chuckle, before pulling away slightly. Tommy almost let out a small complaint at the lack of warmth, before deciding against it he would only be annoying Wilbur anyway.

Tommy slowly sat up, Wilbur was already upright on the couch, preparing himself for something “but for what?” Tommy wondered. 

Tommy looked at Wilbur, hoping that he would notice the silent question in Tommy’s eyes. Wilbur took notice of the look in Tommy’s eyes, but glanced at his phone- as if he was checking something. 

Tommy figured he would rather know what was about to happen and get punished for asking then be left in the dark. 

“Wil, you obviously are getting yourself ready for something- or maybe someone? May I please know what?”

Wilbur seemed to look slightly pained at Tommy’s politeness, which made absolutely no sense to the blond boy- wasn’t that how he’s supposed to ask for things?

As Tommy looked at Wilbur he noticed there seemed to be some kind of debate going on in his head, eventually Wilbur seemed to come to a conclusion and spoke up.

“Just checking for any messages from Phil. Dadza is meeting us at my apartment- if you are okay with going of course, and Phil also told Tech about what’s going on so he’s flying over.”

Tommy was confused- thought were racing through his mind. The main one being “what is going on?” with the second main one being “OMG TECHNO.”

Choosing to focus on the former for now Tommy figured he might as well just go out and ask it.

“What is going on?”

Tommy watched as shock blossomed on Wilbur’s face, as concern filled his brother’s eyes. Wilbur appeared to be in shock of some kind?

Tommy was so confused. 

Wilbur slowly moved towards Tommy, careful not to startle him- the last thing he wanted to do was to scare his brother. 

Wilbur pulled Tommy into yet another hug (as they had had very many of those in the past few hours), but Tommy was still confused. 

“Tommy, Angel, what is going on is that you, sweetheart, are not safe here. Me, Phil and Techno want to make sure that you are safe which means that you really can’t be staying here any longer. Please love, let us help you.”

Tommy knew that what Wilbur was saying was right, but it was still hard to hear. Clutching his older brother closer to him, Tommy let out a broken;

“Okay.”

Technoblade wasn’t the best with emotions, in all honesty he didn’t think he was slightly good with them at all. 

It had just never truly made sense to him, why base decisions or actions on anything other then logic?

Technoblade had first heard about what had happened in a worried message from Phil. 

Crow Father

Tech, do me a favor and look at Tommy’s stream earlier, im worried about him

That had been the start of it all. The start of not hearing from Tommy for a week. The start of everyone being worried for his safety. But this was also a new start for Technoblade, he started to understand why people would defy logic. 

When Technoblade had first met Tommy he had already been friends with the rest of the Sleepy Bois. He had found the younger annoying at first, but over time the kid grew on him. Tommy had that odd way of bringing joy to every situation. Technoblade had watched as the kid grew in popularity, watched how he gained more and more subscribers by the day, and he watched proudly. 

However, Technoblade also found himself watching simply Tommy himself. He watched as the addition of Tommy to the Sleepy Bois changed their dynamic. While they had always joked about being a small minecraft family, that was all it was, a joke. But once Tommy was added to the equation, things shifted. That had scared Technoblade at first, he was worried that things would change for the worse. 

So he watched. 

He watched Phil, and how a glint would appear in his eye whenever Tommy came online. How whenever Tommy jokingly called him dad a small tear would appear. He watched Phil start to give Tommy small, fond smiles- and eventually those smiles became not just for Tommy, but for Techno and Wilbur as well. He watched as Phil started to see them as sons. 

He watched Wilbur, and how the musicians smile got wider every time he saw Tommy. How whenever they would sleep call, Wilbur would always sing a lullaby to the youngest, no matter how much the gremlin protested against it. It was a new lullaby every time, no melody ever the same- it was as if no song would truly ever be able to describe the amount of love Wilbur held for the young boy. He heard the softness start to enter Wilbur’s tone whenever he talked to Tommy, and just like Phil, soon enough that softness entered his tone when he was speaking to Techno and Phil as well. He watched as Wilbur started to see them as a family.

Most importantly though, Techno watched himself. He noticed how his heart seemed to get a bit lighter every time he heard Tommy’s voice. Noticed how much brighter his world seemed to get whenever the younger was present. He noticed how the love he felt for Tommy grew and grew until it wasn’t just love for Tommy anymore, but for Phil and Wilbur as well. 

It  wasn’t like they hadn’t been close before they had met Tommy- they were friends before then. However Tommy was the piece that connected them all. They were a puzzle, the problem was that until the last piece was put in place the image wasn’t complete. So while the picture that the puzzle showed was nice, without that missing piece it was only that, nice. But as soon as the last part came along, the image formed fully. It was beautiful. 

He still hadn’t entirely understood then. He did now.

When Techno watched the stream the first thing that came to mind was denial. He tried to convince himself that Wilbur would never treat Tommy like that, however he had just watched it with his own eyes. 

Techno wasn’t stupid, he knew Tommy was incredibly insecure, and he knew that Tommy and Wilbur had talked about it. That was why his second thought was “it must have been a bit.”

So he watched, he watched how shock entered Tommy’s eyes, and how tears became apparent as well. He watched Tommy hastily make up some excuse to leave, breaking down as he did so.

It wasn’t a bit.

The third thought that entered Techno’s mind was Phil. The elder would know what to do right?

But no, Phil had just messaged him about the worry he felt, Phil was obviously worried as fuck about the younger. 

So Techno watched. He watched as Wilbur seemed to fall apart. He tried to comfort the man he saw as a brother, but he knew that truly only Tommy would be able to help. He watched Phil become more and more anxious by the minute, the hour, and then the day. 

He watched twitter blow up, questions come forward, videos that were made.

Techno didn’t know what else he could do. He didn’t want to overwhelm Tommy. Techno knew there was a high chance that the others were sending him tons of messages. He didn’t want the boy he had begun to see as a brother getting scared because of all the messages he was receiving.  But he also didn’t want Tommy to shut everyone out, Techno knew how harmful that could be. 

So Techno talked to Phil, mentioned how Tommy may be more willing to come online if he thought it would be good for his viewers. He also knew that if Phil phrased it right, Tommy hopefully would get the message that they needed him as well. 

He felt bad, using the idea of viewers as bait for the younger, but they needed to get him out of the shell that he had carefully constructed around himself- otherwise he would suffocate. 

So when Phil messaged him to let him know Tommy had accepted the offer to stream, Techno felt a pressure he hadn’t even truly noticed was there, lift slightly. He knew Tommy always stayed after the stream, Techno and Phil would just talk to him then. 

As soon as Tommy joined Techno felt his heart drop. He immediately knew Tommy had been crying. There was a small quiver in his voice, and a bit of puffiness around his eyes as well. 

So Techno watched. 

He watched as Tommy faked everything. The joy, the excitement, the humor and the laughter was being forced. None of it was real. They all had personas, parts of themselves they would exaggerate on camera. But it was always an exaggeration, an extension of something that was already there. But what Techno was watching wasn’t being exaggerated, it wasn’t an extension of Tommy. No, it was all forced, every word being said wasn’t truly being said by Tommy, it was being said by Tommyinnit. Techno watched as Tommy forced himself to be his persona.  

That stream was the most painful stream he had ever done, but Techno pushed through. He pushed through because as soon as it was over he would be able to talk to his brother. 

But then, Tommy didn’t join the after-stream call. 

The amount of panic Techno felt was horrible. He didn’t know what to do. He messaged Phil, but the elder didn’t respond. 

So Techno tuned everything out. He needed to get his worry under control, removing himself from the situation for a bit would hopefully help. 

He heard his phone ding a few times, but he ignored it. 

Well he tried to. He tried tuning everything out but all he could think about was the look on Tommy’s face before they had ended the stream. One of dull acceptance and boredom. 

He couldn’t get the image out of his head. 

After a while, instead of getting a message, he got a phone call. One from Phil. 

Before Techno even picked up the phone he knew it would be about Tommy. Phil rarely called, preferring to use text for some reason. He called when it was important though, and right now (and honestly most of the time) Tommy was the most important topic. 

So Techno picked up. 

He heard Phil explain how Wilbur had gone over to Tommy’s. How when Wilbur saw him, the kid had bruises and marks on him. How Tommy had a panic attack. And then somehow stopped having the panic attack because Wilbur touched him. How Wilbur apologized and the two held each other and cried together. How Wilbur helped Tommy with his wounds and asked him what had happened. How Tommy had another panic attack.

How Tommy explained. 

Phil told him of the abuse Tommy had endured, of the pain he had felt and the horrific way their Tommy was treated. 

Techno heard Phil stop talking, likely to give him a few minutes to process what he had just heard. 

Techno had always been one to watch. He had never been someone who understood using emotions over logic. 

Now all Techno felt was pure rage. Rage at Tommy’s parents, for the way they treated him. Rage at everyone who failed to notice something was incredibly wrong. But most of all Techno felt rage at himself. He had always just watched, never doing anything because he didn’t understand he didn’t know. 

Not anymore. Techno would not just watch this time. He would not let himself be swept away by logic. Screw logos. Technoblade had never felt so much before. 

In his mind he put aside everything he had planned, clearing his schedule in his mind. Thirty minutes ago he never would have even imagined doing that. Now he couldn’t imagine not. 

He shot a text to his parents, letting them know he would be leaving soon. 

He rushed over to his computer, nearly all rational thought had left his mind. The only thing that Techno knew was that he needed to get to his brother. He looked for the nearest flight, money didn’t matter. Whatever got him to his little brother quickest was worth it. Maybe a few minutes ago he would have planned out what would be most cost-efficient, but he found he didn’t care anymore. 

It took no less than three minutes for Techno to have a flight booked to England. 

It did however take a bit over three minutes for Technoblade to realize that Phil was still on the call. Grabbing his phone he spoke only two words before hanging up and going to pack. 

“I’m coming.” 

He left for the airport within the next hour. 

It had been a few hours since Wilbur first told Tommy that Techno was coming to the UK, and Tommy didn’t exactly know how to feel. He felt bad, making Techno fly all the way here for no reason. When Tommy had voiced his concerns to Wilbur however, the brown haired man heavily disagreed.

“Tommy, Love, Techno loves you so much, and he has been wanting to do this for a while anyway. Sweetheart there is no reason to feel bad at all, I promise.”

After that Wilbur had pulled Tommy into a hug.

It was odd, to say the least. While they had hugged and cuddled earlier Tommy had been slightly out of it. This was different. Tommy was truly aware this time and with every little crumb of affection Wilbur gave him, he only became more relaxed.

  But Tommy couldn’t ignore the war in his mind. His own fucking brain was screaming at him. Half of himself was mad because he was trusting Wilbur too easily, the other half was mad at the other half for not trusting Wilbur. On and on the voices went in an endless cycle.

Tommy was still confused, and slightly disoriented. He had been alone for so long it was weird having someone to take care of him. Thankfully Wilbur seemed to notice this.

Tommy was so grateful to Wil. His brother ? seemed to understand how this was all, new. And it was slightly scary. Because for so long, as much as he hated his house for what it represented, he also loved being in it- because it meant that he was alone and safe.

So instead of the two boys doing anything insane, or going out or playing games, they simply cuddled together for hours. Wilbur would sometimes softly sing to Tommy or would put on a television show. They stayed close, Wilbur not letting go of Tommy and Tommy refusing to let go of Wilbur.

It was peaceful, and quiet and with everything that had happened, it was just what the brothers needed.

They could have stayed there forever, just them in their little pocket of comfort.

So they did. For hours there was nothing to worry about and nothing to stress over. Just the constant warmth and comfort they provided each other with.

Eventually though, it had to come to an end.

Because even in their little bubble there was still one question. What was next?

Neither knew.

So when Wilbur revived a phone call from Phil, he knew that their time was up. Tommy was still a minor and would stay that way for two more years. And there was absolutely no way anyone of the Sleepy Bois would let him stay in custody of those people anymore.

Leaving Tommy on the couch, Wilbur headed over into the kitchen area.

  “Alright Phil we need a plan- Tommy and I slept for a good 7 hours and then chilled for a while as we both needed it. When can you come over?”

Wilbur pressed the phone closer to his ear, as he had lowered the volume- he did not want to disturb Tommy, though his Sunshine probably knew it was Phil that didn’t mean his baby brother needed to worry about what they were talking about.

“I know Wil, believe me I have been looking into the child protection laws. I won’t be able to explain over the phone but we will be able to do something- I promise you that. Unfortunately I am caught up in something right now and probably won’t be able to make it over there for another few hours. Which does bring up the question- are you and Tommy staying there?”

Wilbur quickly ran through the facts in his head. The people that left Tommy wouldn’t be returning for a while, and Tommy was clearly comfortable with this house for the time being. They would have to move eventually, but it would likely be better if they had a talk with Tommy about what to do next first.

“I think staying here for a bit longer would do some good. In all honesty I think here would be the best place to have a talk with Toms about what to do next- and I think we all need to be here. Any news on Techno?”

“One, that makes sense-”

“Good, glad you agree.”

“Two, about Techno-”

Phil’s voice over the phone was overshadowed by a loud ding.

Wilbur’s voice caught in his throat for a second, before he sputtered in shock.

“No fucking way.”

“It’s Techno mate, what did you expect?”

Wilbur quickly hung up the call, rushing back towards the living room to check on Tommy. Catching sight of his Sunshine, Wilbur felt the slight anxiety that had risen up when the door rang fell away.

Tommy had a confused expression on his face. Wilbur felt excited though, he knew how much Tommy adored their other brother (oh lord that wasn’t a bit anymore either. fuck) and how excited Tommy would be to see him. And if Wilbur knew anything about Techno as well, then his “twin” would have also been extremely worried about Tommy as well- it would likely help him as well.

The door rang again and again, though Wilbur wasn’t there to see it the first time, Tommy flinched slightly because of the loud noise.

Tommy felt slight worry fill him, as the idea that it may have been his parents came to the forefront of his mind. But as Wilbur seemed perfectly okay with someone being at the door, actually Wil seemed more then okay he seemed happy. So Tommy knew that it couldn’t be them.

“Phil?” Tommy asked.

A slight gleam entered Wilbur’s eye.

“Nope. Better.”

With that Wilbur dashed to the front of the house, with Tommy trailing behind him. He was still confused though- certainly it wasn’t any of the other dsmp members that lived near here. As much as he cared about them he wasn’t sure how much he would be able to tell them right now. Truly the only people Tommy knew he would be comfortable around right now would be Sbi.

Wait, hadn’t their entire conversation earlier been about- 

“Hello Wilbur. Where the fuck is my baby brother?”

Techno had decided he did not like airports. It had taken way to fucking long to get to England and he did not appreciate the fact that it felt like an eternity to get to his Tommy.

Traffic was just as bad. 

Thankfully there was a lot weighing on his mind, which meant that there was a good amount of things to think about. Turns out planing ways to murder and/or put the people who hurt Tommy behind bars is an excellent way to pass the time. 

In all seriousness though, Techno had not felt this out of it in a while. It was almost like the entire way to England he was on autopilot.  He had never been so worried and so he had to push everything out and focus just on getting to where he needed to be.

Reminded him of the potato war. Heh. 

In Techno’s opinion it had taken too much time to get to Tommy’s. 

He had sent a quick text to Phil to let the elder know he was on his way, and had looked through his phone to find Tommy’s address as the gremlin had accidentally shared his location in the past. 

The entire cab ride Techno was anxiously tapping his foot. He hadn’t been this worried in, well, forever. Logically he knew that Tommy was perfectly safe with Wilbur as the brown haired man loved the blonde with all his being, but Techno couldn’t shake the slight worry that filled him at not truly being there with his brother. Luckily he would remedy that very soon. 

Techno stared out the window, watching the water droplets race down the glass. Trying to call himself he focused in on the droplets.

He watched and watched and eventually his thoughts weren’t so loud and he was able to think. 

He remembered a time when he was bullied for his differences, nothing compared to what Tommy was going through but Techno felt he could likely understand what Tommy was experiencing right now more than the other two members of the Sbi. 

He and his Toms had spent quite a few nights bonding over their shared memories, though it was more Techno rambling and Tommy listening. 

When Techno had first slipped up about his OCD as well as his ADHD, he hadn’t expected the younger the understand, turns out they had more in common then he had originally thought (not that he liked that fact).

He definitely hadn’t expected the younger to almost immediately become a safe person for him to ramble to or rant to, he didn’t expect to start to trust the boy so quickly but no one could truly resist Tommy’s charm. 

Techno had not told anyone other than his therapist that he had some not so great experience with his peers as a child, but Tommy understood- at the time Techno didn’t know exactly why and he didn’t want to push the younger. Now he had a suspicion, that he hated of course. 

Techno jolted back to reality as the cab stopped, his foot sped up as he tapped faster and faster.  Excitement and anticipation filled him to the brim as he was finally, finally, going to be able to see his little brother. 

Quickly paying the driver he grabbed the backpack and bag he had brought and raced up to the front of the house. His stuff got slightly wet but he was fast and was quickly able to get under the roof of the porch. 

It felt like electricity was running from his head to his toes, he was ecstatic at the fact that at long last he would be seeing Tommy. He was tired and wanted to cuddle and comfort his brother, had wanted to since he first had heart about what had happened. 

He rang the doorbell.

One Second.

Two Seconds.

Three Seconds. 

Four Seconds. 

Five seconds. 

What was taking so long??

Techno waited a few more moments, tapping his leg anxiously before ringing again. 

Another few seconds passed. Techno raised his head to bang on the door as worry that maybe he had gotten the address wrong or maybe Wilbur had taken Tommy to his apartment or maybe-

Then the door flung open and Techno saw brown hair with glee and excitement filled eyes. Smiling at the shorter man, Techno only had one question. 

“Hello Wilbur. Where the fuck is my baby brother?”

Wil stepped aside, and pointed inwards. Techno rushed inside and then-

Catching sight of golden hair and a smile that was brighter than the sun, Techno sprinted to Tommy. His baby brother was here and next to him and safe and that was the only thing that mattered right now. 

Techno raised an eyebrow, asking  a silent question. Tommy didn’t answer, opting to dive into Techno’s open arms instead. 

Techno wrapped his arms around his brother as his eyes watered up. The thoughts had quieted down as soon as he saw his Tommy and for the first time in what felt like weeks (likely because it was) Techno was able to relax. He squeezed his little brother closer to him, never wanting to let his Toms go. Hoisting the younger up was easy (why was he so light?) and Techno carried Tommy, who was still wrapped like a koala bear around him, to sit down on the couch.

Tears filled Tommy’s eyes as well and Techno became worried for a second, was he hurting Tommy? Did he do something wrong? Techno’s worry began to show on his face and Tommy noticed right away. Techno looked upon Tommy as the younger pulled away and shook his head and whispered “Happy tears. I missed you Tech.”

A wide smile etched itself on Techno’s face as he grasped the younger back to him. 

“I missed you too Kiddo. You worried me Runt, had me pretty fucking scared for a bit there. Though having you in my arms help a huge hecking amount.”

Tommy let out a watery laugh as the sound practically lit up Techno’s world. The world had dimmed when Tommy wasn’t there. He had missed his brother, one of his other pieces. The worst part was the fact that his baby brother was hurting and there wasn’t anything he could do about it. Now though, he had his brother in his arms and nothing, nothing at all could hurt them.

They sat there for a few minutes, Wilbur was off in the background likely texting with Phil. Techno basked in the fact that Tommy was finally there and Tommy was just truly happy to have Techno there. 

Eventually Wilbur headed over to where they were sitting and sat near them. He smiled at them, happy to see two of the three people he cared about most in the world extremely happy.  

“Now I am wondering if you guys should be called clingy duo- Tech are ever going to let Toms go?”

“No.”

Tommy burst out laughing at Techno’s response, he had answered so monotone-ly and abruptly that the sixteen year old couldn’t help but let a few giggles escape.

Both Wilbur and Techno smiled at their younger brother laughing so hard, it had been a missed sound. 

Wilbur gasped, dramatically putting a hand over his heart before replying. 

“Oh no- how will I ever get my Tommy cuddles then? Angel tell the lesser one of your brothers that he can’t cuddle you forever!”

Tommy felt a grin etch itself on his face as the thought that Wilbur referred to himself and Techno as Tommy’s brothers, though that wouldn’t save Wilbur from the devilish idea that Tommy had. 

Looking straight at Wilbur, Tommy let out a deadpan response. 

“Wil, you aren’t allowed to cuddle me forever.”

The room went silent for a minute oh no did tommy fuck up he didnt mean to he is sorry- before Techno began laughing. The man let out large chuckles and WIlbur flopped backwards onto the cushions, putting his hand on his head he let out a fake sniffle. 

“Betrayed! By my own brother no less! Alas I shall never recover from this betrayal!”

Tommy let out another laugh, he had missed this. Missed the banter that had come so easy and that always made him grin so hard the sides of his cheek hurt. He had missed the daily conversations that always ended in Tommy loving the men he thought of as his older brother a little bit more than what he had thought was possible.  

Tommy rolled his eyes, making sure to exaggerate so that Wilbur was sure to see.

“God, you are such a theatre kid Wil.”

At this Wilbur sat up and let out a laugh before unleashing his comeback. 

“Says the boy who listened to Hamilton over 50 times and wouldn’t stop rambling to me about how amazing Angelica is.”

“Wilbur!” Tommy hissed, “I told you that in confidence you traitor!”

“Takes one to know one Sweetheart.” Wilbur cheekily replied. 

Techno shook his head, exasperatedly but fondly at the same time. He loved these two idiots, as much as he denied it sometimes. They really were brothers.

The two went back and forth with their banter for a bit, which included Tommy calling Wilbur a variety of curse words and Wilbur calling Tommy different things that were all fused with gremlin. Techno, of course, found it utterly entertaining and thought that this would be better in-flight entertainment then whatever shit they had on the stupid fucking flight. 

Techno definitely did not record any of it to use as blackmail. Nope. You saw nothing at all. 

For Wilbur, although Tommy was swearing at him with almost every other word Wilbur’s grin never faltered. He had missed this banter and to see his baby so open and happy was amazing. Tommy may not think it but he deserved the world, and so even though Wilbur could not give his little brother the entire world, he could make sure Tommy knew that he was Wilbur’s world.  So Wilbur laughed, and bantered and teased his brothers, surrounded by affection the entire time. 

For Techno, even with Tommy being loud and cursing, Techno was happy, because this was a Tommy who was comfortable with them enough to banter with them. Techno had gone a week without the joyous laughter that Tommy always had. Had gone a week without seeing the bright gleam in his little brother’s eye whenever he got excited about something. But now their Tommy was laughing and having fun with his brothers, and while they would need to talk later, Techno knew that Tommy needed this. Needed to be able to have fun and enjoy himself for a bit. So Techno watched, and laughed, and argued with his brothers, surrounded by warmth the entire time. 

And for Tommy? Tommy felt amazing as he gazed upon his two older brothers who yes, he was arguing with, but who he was also laughing with, and who had come to help him as all older siblings should. He looked around the room at his brothers who he was giggling with, who he was jesting with and who he was having fun with and Tommy felt surrounded by love the entire time.