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Tommy isn't a baby! He's not scared of the dark!
He's just.. Intimidated. But not scared! (A voice in the back of his mind questions if they are the same thing.)
He doesn't want to wake up his father, phil came back home tired today. Almost burned his hand while cooking him and techno's dinner. Big men deserve rest. And phil's the biggest of men! (Second to him though.)
So here he was, in front of techno's room door.
It's familiar. From when he would go to his brothers room whenever he had nightmares or there was a storm outside.
But he hasn't been able to do that for a while now.. Ever since mom left for a long vacation, just like dad said, things have been more tense.
It confused him. Why couldn't they go with mom? It's not fair! Now phil's working two jobs and barely plays with him anymore! And when he does he looks sad.. Or tired. And he tries hiding it from tommy but he can see right through the man.
And his brother.. He's been distant. He must be upset about not going on vacation with mama too.
But why does he seem so angry at tommy then?
Tommy grumbled, realization hitting that he's alone in the dark empty hallway. Quickly raising his hand at that to knock at techno's door.
Nothing.
He knocked again, harder and faster this time.
Distinctively, he heard a shuffle of sheet and a couple of irritated grumbles from the other side of the door. He took a step back when he heard footsteps come toward him..
"What do you need theseus." Techno asked gruffly, the teen rubbing his eyes tiredly while his six year old brother stared up at him with a frown.
"Dark."
"Yeah. Cause its night."
Tommy nodded and shifted inside his brothers room without invite. The older raised a brow when tommy turned on his lamp. "Dark."
"Well not anymore with lamp light" techno sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Are you still scared of the dark?"
"No." Tommy objected with a rumble. "Just.. Don't like it. It's not pog."
"Pog isn't a word"
"Your face isn't.. A word." The younger retorted.
Techno snorted at the ridiculous come back. "That made no sense what's so ever."
Tommy shifted his feet and looked around the room for any entertainment. He's not sleepy so.. Might as well.
He tried taking a rubix cube that was already done organized and solved with its six respective colors. The boy barely got to move any before having it be snatched away.
"Hey!-" techno picked him up without struggle, cutting his little brothers protests off short while taking him back to his room.
"Dick! Let me go!"
"Quiet runt, you'll wake up phil."
Tommy let an evident frown sit on his face. Ignoring how he leaned closer in his brothers arms and warmth.
Techno walked towards tommy's room, opening the door that had been already slightly cracked open and entering inside. "You need sleep."
"But it's dark.." Tommy mumbled quietly. Letting the older place him on his bed gently with a quiet chuff. "The dark isn't so bad tommy."
"But what if i see someone in front of the bed that isn't you or dad? Or if a monster comes from under the bed and you and phil cant save me?"
Tommy looked up expectantly at techno for an answer. Because he's right! The darks wrong! His small light lamp that his father brought broke a week ago and he hasn't told him or tech. Because he's a big man who isn't scared of the dark! It's just.. Annoyingly looming.
"There aren't gonna be any monsters under the beds runt, nor any intruders. Because you have me, And your lighty."
"Lighty broke!" Tommy whined, pouting and pointing his tiny fingers to the light.
Techno raised a brow and went to test it, seeing that his little brothers right onto it being broken. "Oh"
"And i don't want to sleep alone. Not.. Not tonight."
Techno looked at him for a moment, tommy's face was twisted to an angry like pout with his cheeks puffed up. Hugging himself with his arms while the younger piglins ice blue eyes stared back.
He let out a small breath and went back to picking the smaller up. "Okay. You can sleep with me tonight runt"
A smile spread on tommys face and he happily buried his face into his older brothers neck with a happy rumble. Making techno reply back with his own soothing one.
"But first, let me show you why the darks not so bad theseus."
***
"Why are we out here?"
Techno silently closed the back door, careful to not make noise before letting himself walk fully out to the backyard. "Star gazing, see? Look up."
Tommy did what he was told and let his eyes gaze above to the night sky. Pretty stars scattered around the sky's dark atmosphere as if it where spilled glitter.
The sky was a dark blue mixed with small different splashes of other colors. Like a lighter shade of blue or purple.
Techno looked at his brother who was still in the hold of his arms, staring up at the nights sky with awe as if it were his first time seeing them.
He let another moment drip past before settling down in a criss crossed position with tommy sitting on his lap. "See? It's dark isn't it? But nothings happened."
Tommy grumbled and slipped his face under his brothers chin. "Still, too dark."
"That's just because of light pollution." Techno snorted back. Looking up himself with slight disappointment at the knowledge that they aren't able to see stars much clearer.
"The stars are prettier out there." Techno snorted, pointing his finger up to the sky. "And when it's dark, don't let your mind roam to scary things and leave you panicking like a baby piglet."
"Im not a piglet!"
"Never said you were runt, just advice."
Tommy glared at him before looking back at the sky once more. "The stars are with you when you're in the dark tommy. The universe loves you so much that it'll always be with you"
"But i feel so alone in my room."
"You're not, the stars all watch over you and keep you safe. They love you, tommy."
The younger boy couldn't help but feel tears start to form inside his eyes, lips wavering before hiding his face in his brothers neck to hide them with a sniffle.
"Will they ever stop loving me?"
Techno drew him closer and chuffed, making tommy raise his head up to wipe away his tears. Finishing them off just to pull him closer and rumble gently.
"I don't think they can theseus."
Techno gently ruffled tommys hair and grinned. "Because you are love itself."
A silence fell upon them after that, with just the two boys on the grass looking up at the stars in peace.
And tommy feels loved again.
Techno broke the silence after a while, asking if tommy wants to hear some greek mythology stories before going back inside. And he can never say no to that! (He's missed it so much, even if sometimes they got a little repetitive..)
Slowly, sleep started to take tommy away from his brothers arms and deeper into peaceful unconsciousness. And the young hybrid could swear he saw himself falling into the arms of the universe and its stars.
Techno realized his brother had fallen asleep after the third story, a smile twitching onto his lips at the slightly nostalgic feeling tugging at his chest. (Along with the heavy guilt that sat on it.)
When he finally reached tommys room and tucked the sleeping boy to bed, he realized that tommys small light lamp wasn't broken, just unplugged.
Snorting at that, the teen plugged it in and let the light shine in his brothers room. Taking a small last glance at his brothers sleeping figure before slipping out the door and towards his own room.
And when tommy found his light fully on and working in the morning, nothing needed to be said. Just a happy grin shot up at techno during breakfast before shifting away to watch the early weekend cartoons.