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“Move your right leg a bit inwards. Balance yourself. Try to keep your body a bit lowered while walkin’.”
Tommy groaned annoyingly. He did as told by Techno, muttering a couple of swears under his breath. He had agreed to train with Techno, but gods, it was annoying. Obviously he knew he had to correct things, he always just hated being told to correct himself.
“Don’t hold the sword too close to your face. Have a chance of cuttin’ your it by accident,” He said in a tone that sounded almost bored. “Also, move your elbow away a bit.”
The blonde kid moved the wooden sword away from his face and moved his elbow. Techno kept correcting a few things about his stance, Tommy attempting to follow along. Eventually, he managed to get a good stance again. This session was gonna be shorter than the last one, he felt, but it felt so long already.
“I really hope that by our like, 10th lesson, you know how to get your stance correctly in a short amount of time. People won’t wait in the middle of a fight.” Techno chuckled, a hint of tease in his voice. Tommy just scoffed.
“Yeah, yeah whatever, Technoblade. Ooo, look at me!! I’m a sarcastic fuck!! Ooo!!” The younger said in a mocking tone as he waved one of his hands around while the other held the sword up.
“Great impression of me, Tommy,” Techno said with a laugh. “Put your hand back on the sword. Don’t drop it. Don’t want you gettin’ hurt or somethin’.”
Tommy was going to make another little remark but he bit his lip and held back. Instead, he murmured an ‘okay’ and put his hand back up the wooden sword handle, getting back into the original stance he was in.
“Alright, swing.”
Tommy swung at the dummy. He swung the sword to the sides, trying to do hits from above, he was trying to aim for the weak point of the dummy. In one of the swings, he stumbled back a bit, almost falling onto his back in the process. He managed to regain his posture before slipping and stood back in his stance.
“That’s what I mean when I say make sure you keep distance between you and your opponent to try to focus where you set your foot, Tommy. Bein’ too close will give your opponent a chance to hit you, and if you try to block your opponent’s hit, you can still get hit because you were too close. You need to learn to regain your posture or stance quickly, too. Your opponent seeing you open like that will give them a chance to attack you.”
Techno corrected other small things in his stance, as well as his swinging and fighting techniques. Tommy nodded every time Techno corrected something, adjusting himself if it was his stance and making a mental note when it was about his swinging. He was properly back in his stance and ready to practice with the dummy.
“Go.”
Tommy began to swing at the dummy again. Left. Right. Up. Down. Side. Other side. He mainly went for the legs and the arms, almost falling forward in one of the swings to the dummy’s leg. Regaining his posture, he swung at the dummy again. He swung. Again. Again. Again.
In one of the swings, Tommy slipped, and wasn’t able to catch his fall. He fell into the snow, before lifting himself up a bit. He was panting harshly, and he kicked the snow in slight frustration while murmuring swears. He probably shouldn’t have lifted himself up and kept himself there for a moment, too. Now his hands were burning from the cold of the snow. Techno stood back amused, then walked to Tommy’s side. Tommy looked up at the man, expecting a disappointed look, or perhaps a cocky smile, or a bored expression.
Techno had a small smile. Amused, Tommy assumed. Techno stuck his hand out for the blonde to take hold of and get back up. The younger one slowed his breathing, and smiled a bit. He took hold of Techno’s hand, and got pulled up.
“That was decent. Besides the parts you stumbled and then fell,” Techno teased lightly. Tommy scoffed. “But for the most part, that was good. Quick with the swings. Okay reaction time. Regained your posture the first time fairly quickly. Good job, kid.” He gave Tommy a pat on the back, the blonde happy with the praise from the Blade.
Techno picked up the sword from the ground and stretched out a bit.
“Alright, I think that’s good for today-“
“Can we spar?”
The pink haired man stopped in his tracks for a moment, and then looked back at Tommy with his eyebrows raised. Well, that was a surprise.
“You- You want to spar ? Now? With me ?” The older asked. He didn’t exactly expect Tommy to want to spar with him. Well, he partially did. Cocky kid. Never thought he would actually say it, though.
“Yes. You and me. The grand, big man, super cool, absolutely feared Tommyinnit, versus the loser, stupid, idiot, not cool Technoblade-“
“Bruhh.” Techno had an amused smirk, and he chuckled softly as he looked at Tommy. He looked like he really wanted to try sparring. “You can wait a few more lessons to do sparrin’, kid. Not sure if you’re ready.”
“I don’t care! I think I’ll do good. I think I have a chance to beat you, I really do! I can probably knock you down or some shit.”
“I think you have a dream that you can beat me. Two very different things, Toms. It’s okay to have a dream.” The older said sarcastically with a smile.
“Fuck you. Spar with me then, let’s prove that I can fight and have a chance against you. Come on, please?”
Techno hesitated for a moment, and then he sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“Fine. Get one of the stone swords from the barrel.”
Tommy grinned happily when he said that. Excitedly and quickly, he ran over to the sword barrel, almost tripping in the process, and picked up a sword. He picked up another one for Techno. He turned around towards Techno and threw it towards him.
The pink haired man caught it with a smile. He’d taken off the corset and cape for the time being while they sparred. Tommy happily hurried back, Techno backing up and giving them a bit of distance. Both of them got into their stances, Tommy taking a bit longer than Techno.
Techno lunged forward towards Tommy and swung. Tommy barely managed to block the sword as he pushed back, their swords making a clanking sound as they crashed.
“What the fuck- You didn’t even say ‘go’ or give a fuckin’ warning that we would start!” Tommy hissed as they pushed their swords against each other before they backed off.
“Oh, I’m sorry , Tommy, for not letting you know I was about to lunge forwards and attack you. I will make sure to let you know before I try to harm you next time.” said Techno sarcastically. They moved around in a circle for a moment before Tommy lunged.
Techno jumped out of the way swiftly, swinging his sword toward Tommy’s side. Tommy barely managed to block the hit, but he stumbled back. He was too close. Needed to back up. Tommy quickly backed up, almost tripping, but swiftly standing up correctly.
Tommy warily got close to Techno, the other backing up a bit, observing what Tommy was doing to see if he could predict his next move. Tommy moved towards the right and quickly switched to the left and slashed. It managed to catch Techno off guard and he stumbled back out of the way of the sword. A chuckle made it past Techno’s lips as he regained his posture.
Tommy continued to stab and lunge towards Techno, him playing a bit more defensive, blocking and dodging the swings, keeping distance between the two. The swords crashed against each other multiple times, Tommy hardly managing to harm Techno a couple times.
Techno began attacking Tommy more. He slashed, dodged, and swung. He managed to very barely get Tommy’s side. He didn’t draw blood or anything, just managed to tear a small hole in the short.
“Cunt. That’s my shirt.”
“Stop lettin’ me get you, then.” Techno swung too close for comfort at Tommy, catching him off guard.
“Fuckin’- shit.” Tommy hissed quietly as he stumbled back. He nearly tripped over a small bump in the ground as he tried to not fall.
Tommy swung at Techno, the other quickly blocking the hit. Techno swung back not too long after, and thrusted the sword forward. Tommy let out a small shriek as he sucked in his stomach a bit to not get hit and he stumbled back. He almost fell over but caught himself and huffed.
Tommy began trying to play a bit more strategically and carefully. He tried not to make too many risky swings, and tried to have quick reaction time. The blonde began swinging the sword at Techno, keeping distance and trying not to give Techno too much time to react properly and swing back.
Techno dodged and dodged, blocking some of the hits fairly quickly. They were both panting harshly, now they realized they were getting tired. Tommy wasn’t about to give up, though. He didn’t want to.
The blonde kept swinging. It was a bit obvious he was tired by looking at the swings. They were a bit sloppy and lower.
“Don’t let tiredness get to you in a fight.”
He huffed as he stepped back for a moment to catch a breather. Techno stood back too as he caught his breath. Tommy was suddenly aware of the cold air hitting his face, how it stung his nose a bit. He shivered a bit but shook it off quickly.
They both got back into their stances, and Tommy lunged again. Their swords crashed into each other harshly, Tommy pushing Techno’s sword back as much as he could.
In one of those pushes against Techno’s sword, he accidentally managed to cut Techno’s palm. Techno hissed at the pain and he put all his strength into the sword for a moment, made Tommy stumble onto his back and then Techno fell into the snow as well. Their swords laid against the snow.
Tommy caught his breath again and looked at the fallen Techno with his sword on the side and felt excitement begin to rush through him.
“LETS FUCKIN’ GO! I did it! That has to count as a draw at least, right? I knocked you down in the process technically, even if you knocked me down too- we knocked each other down that HAS to be a draw, big man-“ Techno breathily laughed at Tommy’s excited rambling, and pushed himself up a bit. It stung. The snow against the cut on his palm burned as he lifted himself up.
Tommy was still excitedly rambling and bragging about how he had a draw with the Blade, how he was right and could become better than Technoblade one day when he got older and had more lessons.
“See?! I fuckin’ told you I stood a chance against you! I TOLD you I was gonna be able to knock you down, which I technically did! I told-“ Tommy almost instantly stopped talking when he saw a small patch of blood in the snow where Techno had just been. He looked up to see Techno putting away the swords as he waved the cut hand around a bit, and Tommy gulped.
“Shit- Techno, king- I’m sorry! I did not mean to actually hurt you or cut you, I just meant to lightly scratch you at least, I didn’t think I fuckin’ cut you! Shit, man- are you good, are you fine-“
“Toms. I’m fine. It’s a cut on the hand, it’s not the end of the world for me. It stings and hurts a bit but I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.” said Techno as he gently put the other hand on Tommy’s shoulder. Tommy looked at him again and gulped, but nodded.
“Alright. C’mon, let’s get back to the cabin. I’ll bandage my hand up and we can just chill after that.” Techno grabbed the corset and the cape he had put aside, and began walking back. Tommy stayed behind for a moment, watching Techno walk, then quickly began catching up to him.
——————————————————
The hounds outside were mostly messing around, play fighting, some of them were just sitting in the snow, some were laying down together, and some were in the small house they had, chilling.
Techno was gently and carefully cleaning the wound with alcohol, and then when he was done with that, he grabbed the bandages and began wrapping them around his hand. Tommy was watching him while he was sat by Steve, gently scratching behind the polar bear’s ear, who was very happy and relaxed with the scratches. Three of the hounds were laid down by him, along with Blitz curled up near the hounds. Blitz was special, Tommy loved him a lot, got along with him pretty easily, he knew Techno did as well. He didn’t want to necessarily choose favorites, he just felt..different. Closer, with Blitz. Oh, and Techno was too lazy to bring up the other foxes. A soft squeak came from Blitz as his ears flicked gently.
But, they had been in mostly silence since they got back to the cabin. A few words would be spoken every few minutes, trying to make small talk. It didn’t work that well, and didn't last too long.
“Do you uh, know where Phil is? I thought he was here before we left to practice. Was kind of thinking he would still be here when we came back.” Tommy spoke up. And he was curious, he was concerned where Phil was.
“Was expectin’ him to be here, too. Probably went out to the village somewhat nearby to do somethin’.” Techno grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the bandage when he was done wrapping. “Or he probably went to gather resources for somethin’. Not exactly sure what for, though. He just mentioned before you woke up earlier that he wanted to do that, hadn’t told me when.”
Tommy nodded wordlessly.
Silence.
“Sorry again for the cut.”
“Don’t worry. I’m fine, just needed to clean it and bandage it, I’ll live.”
Silence fell over them again. Techno went to put away the bandages and alcohol while Tommy stayed with the hounds and Steve. They were all happy with the attention they were receiving from Tommy. The pink haired man came back down, stretching a bit. He stood there for a moment.
“..Do you want some hot chocolate?” Techno asked awkwardly out of nowhere. But Tommy looked up at him with a smile and almost instantly nodded. He was a bit cold, anyway. Both of them were. They wanted to warm up with some hot chocolate. Might as well, right?
Tommy got up and walked over to the chests, the animals making a couple whines of protest, but quieting down soon after. Techno had turned on the stove and poured a bit of milk and water into a small pot while Tommy grabbed the chocolate bits and the marshmallows. Tommy came back, already having a few marshmallows in his mouth.
“You. You are a fuckin’ child.” Techno chuckled as he put a marshmallow into his own mouth.
“‘m fucki’ not!” Tommy complained, his complaints being instantly muffled by the marshmallows in his mouth. Techno laughed a bit as he lightly shoved Tommy. Tommy just huffed softly as he put the chocolate bits and the rest of the marshmallow bag onto the counter.
The pink haired man was gently stirring the water and milk before getting a few pieces of chocolate and putting them into the pot, waiting for the chocolate to melt. He looked over to the younger one just to see him still putting marshmallows into his mouth. Techno smacked Tommy’s hand away from the marshmallow bag.
“Stop eatin’ all of the marshmallows before the hot chocolate’s done, you actual raccoon.”
“Do not call me a raccoon! I am not a fuckin’ raccoon!”
“Whatever makes you feel better.” said Techno with a snicker. Tommy scoffed and crossed his arms as he watched Techno still stirring in the pot.
“Is it done yet?”
“Almost. Do you want a bit of vanilla in the drink?” Tommy instantly nodded and rushed to get the bottle of vanilla extract. He grabbed the bottle and went back and gave it to the older. Techno grabbed it with a small smile and poured a bit into the pot.
Techno continued stirring into the pot until it looked well mixed, in the meanwhile Tommy grabbed two mugs for them and put them near Techno when he needed them. Techno kept glancing over at Tommy to make sure he wasn’t trying to eat all of the marshmallows in one go, and he did manage to catch Tommy trying to eat more of the them, simply smacking his hand whenever he reached for the bag.
After a couple of minutes, the hot chocolate was ready and Techno turned off the stove, reaching for the mugs with his other hand. Tommy pushed away the mugs from Techno to make him struggle, causing Techno to nearly fall over and he glared at the younger when he caught himself.
“You almost- fuckin’ fell over, get fucked bitch-“ Tommy was laughing and wheezing, holding onto the counter as to not fall. Techno kept glaring at him as he grabbed the mugs.
“Tommy. I COULD’VE FELL, TOMMY. What would you do then? What if I was Philza? He could’ve died, bro.” said Techno with a mix of an annoyed and teasing tone. Tommy had finally stopped laughing as he caught his breath, waving his hand at him.
“Yeah yeah, whatever dumbass-“
A little wheeze left Tommy’s lips when Techno elbowed him playfully to his side, and Tommy glared at the older as he carefully began pouring the hot chocolate into the mugs. Tommy considered messing with Techno and making him struggle, but he decided he didn’t want to spill the drinks. Again, he did feel a bit cold anyways so might as well.
“I’ll clean and put this away later.” Techno murmured as he put the pot and spoon in the sink and grabbed the mugs. He handed one to Tommy, who instantly grabbed it and began putting marshmallows in it to the point the top was just covered in marshmallows.
“You cannot say that you aren’t a child or a raccoon and then go ahead and do something like that , Tommy.” He teased with a little grin as he grabbed some marshmallows and put some in his hot chocolate as Tommy glared at him.
“Fuck you. I’m not either, you cunt.” The younger huffed angrily as he went back to sit down on the floor against Steve. Techno chuckled softly as he sat down next to Tommy, scratching behind Steve’s ear. Blitz and three of the hounds moved to be around the two, a hound and Blitz settling next to Techno while the other two hounds laid down next to Tommy.
They both relaxed as they drank their hot chocolate. Tommy turned his head over to Techno to see him with his eyes closed calmly. Tommy smiled. He moved a bit closer to lightly rest his head against the side of Techno’s arm, Techno froze for a moment and then relaxed again.
Techno looked down at Tommy and Tommy looked up, smiling at each other.
“You’re like my big brother, you know, Techno.” Techno let out a soft chuckle.
“Yeah yeah, whatever. I guess you are like my little brother. Because you’re annoying. And loud. And disruptive. And chaotic.” He said with a grin as Tommy scoffed at him.
“I was trying to have a moment with you but whatever, fuck you.” Techno laughed at that and he ruffled Tommy’s hair playfully, the younger instantly recoiling and complaining. Techno stopped, smiling, and went back to drinking the hot chocolate.
Silence.
“Can you tell me a story, Techno? A myth. Or one of your own stories, I don’t care.”
“Hm. Alright.” Techno murmured softly, thinking about a story that he could tell Tommy. “So, basically, there was this random dude from this like semi-big town..”
Both of them relaxed. Techno happily telling Tommy a story, the blonde happily listening to him. He’s probably already heard this story so many times, but he couldn’t care any less. Both of them were at peace. They were relaxing. They were happy like this, neither of them would change this for the world.
Moments like these were the moments that Techno especially cherished. It was one of the moments that the voices were quiet and calm. It was one of the moments where he didn’t have to worry about someone chasing him or someone trying to hurt him or his friends. It was one of the moments he didn’t have to worry about hiding away.
He knew it was the same for Tommy. Tommy had been dealing with so much as well, he knew. He didn’t know exactly what but he knew things were happening with Tommy. He had to go through wars at sixteen years old.
And he was right. Tommy was happy like this, he didn’t have to worry about anything for now. He could just sit there and relax and not worry about what will happen next.
Tommy’s eyes began to slowly drop, but he kept jumping up when trying to wake himself up. The older quietly took the mug from the younger’s hand and put the mugs on one of the small tables. He’d clean them later. Carefully, Techno grabbed his cape from one of the chairs not too far from him, trying not to disturb the animals or Tommy. When he got it, he pulled it back, and put it over the two of them gently.
The hounds and Blitz moved a bit to get a bit more comfortable while Steve just set his head down to sleep, too. Techno pulled Tommy in a bit, the younger’s head falling against Techno lightly. The older one just sat there for a moment, taking it all in for a bit. He smiled and sighed, and closed his eyes. Drifting off to sleep.
They just wished these moments would last forever.