Work Text:
Techno pushed the warm mug he carried into Tommy’s hands, earning him a little grin as the youngest curled up next to the fire. Beside the door his boots still had melting snow on them, the teen having been outside for a good portion of the day.
But now the sun had since set, and all four of them were sitting and basking in the warmth of the living room. Phil in his favorite seat, Wilbur stretched out over the couch, and Techno taking the beanbag that Tommy had apparently allowed him to take. Usually the blonde never let it go without a fight, but he supposed that maybe returning home was an important enough event to get some special treatment.
Techno sipped at his apple cider and let out a content sigh as he let his eyes slip closed – it had been a while since he got to really relax at home. The last time that they had all sat around like this was before him and Wilbur had even packed to go to college.
But now they were all just… quiet, soaking in each other’s presences.
And then Tommy gave a quiet curse, and Techno opened his eyes to see the blonde glaring at his hot chocolate.
“Burn your tongue?” He gave an easy smirk, watching as Tommy turned his glare to him instead.
“Fuck off, no I didn’t.”
From the couch Wilbur snorted and tapped at the handle of his own mug. “Just don’t become like Techno and never listen when we say something is hot.”
Turning to his twin, Techno narrowed his eyes. “I listen, I just choose not to follow your advice. There’s a difference.”
“Mmmmhm, but then you whine about it for ages afterwards,” Wilbur said with a snicker.
“I don’t recall anything like that.”
“So much ‘Wilbur, I can’t taste my food anymore’ or ‘my tongue tingles and I hate it’ whenever you burn your tongue to shit, as if you didn’t already know who caused it.”
Techno hummed and felt his mouth twitch up into a smirk. “I’m pretty sure you’re thinking of Phil, I never said anything like that.”
“Hey! I’m not getting dragged into this, you little shits,” Phil admonished. “I know full well when I burn my tongue, but Wil’s right, you’re spiteful enough to keep putting whatever it is in your mouth until I’m almost surprised that you can taste anything.”
Techno shrugged. “If there’s something good in front of me, it goes into my mouth, I don’t see what’s wrong with that.”
Tommy, for his part, snickered as he ducked his head. “I think that’s kinda what they’re getting at, big man.”
“Betrayal,” Wilbur jeered, throwing one arm up as he sipped at his own drink. “It’s official Techno, you’re entirely flavorless.”
“Flavorless?” Techno could feel his confusion spike as he stared at his twin, not expecting the comment as Tommy cackled and rocked back slightly.
“Flavorless,” the brunet confirmed with a nod. “I really don’t understand how you can still taste anything.”
“It’s just lightly scalding my tongue, not- not branding it or something-”
“I don’t see the difference, clearly there is something wrong with your tongue. Maybe your brain has just gotten too used to having a depressing amount of flavor-based stimulation, you can’t even tell the difference.”
“Then how would it be any different?”
Wilbur shrugged, giving a grin. “Because I said so. Flavorless man.”
“I am not-” Techno sighed, rolling his eyes. “If you weren’t holding a drink I would smother you with a pillow.”
Phil gave a laugh and shook his head. “Please, no homicide in the living room, me and Tommy just got it cleaned up from the last time that Ranboo and Tubbo were over.”
Wilbur seemed to perk up as he set his feet on the floor to lean over his knees. “Oh yeah? How have those two been? It’s been a bit since we’ve seen the gremlins.”
The deep sigh that Phil gave was enough to answer the brunet’s question, and Techno sank further back into the beanbag.
He glanced down at Tommy, who seemed to simply be listening to the conversation. His eyes occasionally gave a slow blink, but otherwise the blonde seemed to be entirely enamoured with the fire.
“You okay Tommy?” Techno called quietly, letting the other two continue talking while his focus turned towards his youngest brother.
The blonde looked up at him before giving a small smile. “Yeah, I’m okay, big man. Just thinking.”
“That’s always dangerous,” he responded. “What are you thinking about?”
Tommy just shrugged, silent for a few moments as he sipped at his hot chocolate. “Not much. It’s just nice to have you guys home again, y’know?”
With a slow breath, Techno felt himself smile down at his youngest brother. “Yeah. It’s nice to be home, I missed you guys.”
Blue eyes flickered back up to him as Tommy gave a smile that seemed a little off – but he brushed it off for now. He knew that him and Wilbur moving out must’ve been a big change, almost as big as it was for the two moving out.
With that thought he slowly – carefully – slid out of the beanbag and sat on the floor beside Tommy. He pulled the blonde close against his shoulder in a hug, careful of their drinks, and squeezed the blonde until he groaned.
“Fuck- fuck off man, you’re gonna break my ribs!”
Wilbur looked over and snorted, distracted from his conversation with Phil at Tommy’s shout. “At least it’s better than getting a clock to the balls-”
“Oh come on,” Techno groaned, letting his head fall back to glare at his twin. “When will you let that go?”
“When you admit that you were the one to blame,” Wilbur retorted, as Phil just grinned and watched the two. This was a long-lasting argument, over some playful roughhousing that turned into an unfortunate accident, not that Techno would ever admit to it.
He was a stubborn bastard, and he did no wrong. “I did not drop a clock on you, you kicked the wall.”
“You pushed me against the wall!”
“These are all lies and slander, I have never done anything wrong in my life.”
Tucked under his arm, Tommy laughed and leaned against him. “I’m backing Techno on this one Wilbur, you kicked the wall, I saw it.”
“Last time you agreed with me!” The brunet threw up his arms, nearly splashing an unfortunate Phil who leaned as far back as the old man could manage.
Tommy shrugged, innocence nearly pouring out of his eyes. “I dunno man, I don’t remember saying anything like that.”
Techno laughed and gave his little brother another squeeze. This banter was everything he had missed while he was away from home.
~~~
“Oh, Toms,” Phil whispered in the quiet of a supposedly sleeping house, and Techno stopped where he was. “Don’t worry about that just yet, okay? Try to focus on the time you have now.”
That sounded ominous – he was about to step out of his accidental eavesdropping spot and ask further when Tommy spoke up again.
“I- I know that, I know it’s dumb,” the boy said quietly, a tight mutter with his voice full of emotion. “I just don’t want them to leave again.”
A rustle of cloth, and Techno imagined that Phil was hugging the youngest of the family.
“They’ll come back home, Tommy. Holidays and summer, and birthdays if they can.”
“I know, it’s just-” A deep breath, a slight sniffle and Techno’s heart dropped. “I feel dumb, cause I just miss them a lot, all the time.”
“It’s not dumb, mate.” Phil hummed quietly. “I know there’s not a lot I can do to help you, but you can talk to them about it, y’know? I’m sure they’d understand, they’ve missed you a lot as well when they’ve been gone.”
A sigh, and Techno could imagine the way that Tommy’s expression scrunched up in an attempt at lighthearted distaste. “It’s fine, big man. I’ll handle it.”
“... alright. Just know that you can always talk to me, yeah?”
“Yeah. Thanks Phil.”
“Of course, sunshine,” the older blonde murmured. “Now c’mon, I’ll make you some hot chocolate before you head back to bed.”
Techno took that as his leave, silently stepping back towards his old bedroom. His head was full of new thoughts to occupy him until he fell asleep, his need for water forgotten for now.