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“Wilbur!” Phil shouts, making the man poke his head into the room. Techno watches from his armchair, glasses low on his nose and book in his lap.
“What’s up?” Wilbur asks. He blows some hair out of his face, which only flops right back into place. He doesn’t seem too annoyed by it.
“It’s game night. Get Tommy in here so we can choose a game.”
“My vote’s on Clue,” Techno says, glancing up from the pages of his novel.
“How come I have to be the one to get Tommy?” Wilbur whines, ignoring Techno. Techno bites back a snicker. He sounds like a toddler.
“Because you’re already up,” Phil responds. Wilbur grumbles and crosses his arms. “Plus, you’re already on that side of the house. So just go grab him, please.”
Wilbur rolls his eyes, but concedes. His intentionally thudding footsteps can probably be heard a thousand blocks away. He really is a drama queen.
The room falls back into its previous quiet. Techno turns a page, head slightly bobbing along with the ticking of the clock. Phil shuffles through the chest filled with cards and games, pulling a handful out and setting them on the floor next to him. He will almost certainly be complaining about his knees later, but hopefully Techno can force someone else into his place before then.
Wilbur isn’t gone long, and returns with Tommy trailing behind him. He flops across the couch, arms landing on Phil’s lap. Tommy plops down on the floor next to him, quietly laughing at his brother’s theatrics.
“I got your damn demon,” Wilbur says, voice muffled by fabric. Tommy squawks, reaching up to hit his brother.
“Hey, fuck you, bitch!” Tommy exclaims. He forces his face into a scowl, even though it’s obvious he’s trying not to giggle. “I’m no demon, you’re a demon!”
“Tommy,” Phil says, biting back a laugh of his own, “it’s fine, mate. Now, what do you wanna play?”
“Monopoly,” Tommy says without hesitation.
“I think we should play Spoons,” Wilbur grumbles.
“That’s just gonna make you fight your brother,” Phil says back.
“Well maybe that’s exactly what I want, Philza. Have you considered that?” Wilbur shoots back, sniffing indignantly.
“Yeah, no.”
“What about Uno?” Techno throws out, adjusting his glasses so he can better see his family.
“Oh!” Tommy sits up and begins bouncing in place. His hands pat at his thighs excitedly, almost a blur eith how fast they move. “Yeah, yeah, let’s play Uno. I’ll totally beat you fuckers.”
“As if,” Wilbur says, rolling off the couch. He lands partially on Tommy, who shoves him off with a huff. “I don’t think you’ve ever once beat anyone in Uno in your life. You’re shit.”
“You’re shit. Also you smell. And you’re heavy. Fuck off.”
“Boys.” Phil rubs his temples. “Enough. You’re both fucking gremlins. One of you go get the cards, please.”
Tommy shoots up and bolts, racing to be the one to grab the Uno deck. No one else chases after him, but he doesn’t slow down anyway.
“I can go grab some snacks really quick.” Techno marks his page with the closest feasible object (a grocery list that he will most certainly forget he used as a bookmark, forcing them to make a new one), and heaves himself up out of the chair. Phil nods, and Techno pads into the kitchen to rummage through the cabinets.
“Oh, oh, Dad, I wanna order a pizza. Can I order a pizza?” Wilbur asks as Techno walks away. His cheer tells Techno that Phil nods in response to the question.
Techno throws some popcorn in the microwave, and gets out a bag of chips (or crisps, for those who like to be wrong) while he waits. He then gets out four bowls, and divides the chips between the bowls. Then Techno pulls out one big bowl, and places it on the counter for the popcorn.
Once he has all the snacks prepared, Techno carries them all out and puts them on the coffee table. Everyone else is sat around already, with the Uno cards sitting in the middle. It seems Tommy and Wilbur have started arguing again in the time he’s been slaving away in the kitchen.
“-wanna be the one to shuffle. Phil, let me shuffle, please.” Tommy begs, drawing out his words.
“You’re awful at shuffling, I should be the one to shuffle. Right, Phil?”
Techno rolls his eyes. He lives with children.
Without asking anyone, Techno snatches up the stack of cards and begins shuffling. Both boys jolt, then glare up at where he is standing, as Phil begins to cackle.
“Hey!” Tommy and Wilbur shout in-sync, then glower at each other. Techno rolls his eyes.
“You two are takin’ too long, so I’ll be the one to shuffle the cards. Maybe get better and one of you can do it instead of arguing over everythin’.”
Luckily, it doesn’t take too long to shuffle the cards and get them dealt. Wilbur and Tommy both pout, but get over it quickly once they have their cards. Tommy tries peeking at Wilbur’s hand, accidentally letting Techno see every card in his possession. Sighing, Techno sits next to the boy, pushing his hand up so his cards are hidden.
“I know every card you have now, Tommy.”
“Hey, you cheater!” Tommy shouts. He jerks his hand away, giving Wilbur the perfect view of his hand. Techno drops his head onto the table with a thud as Phil cackles next to him.
“Can we play with the slap-in rule?” Wilbur asks. He leans back and presses his cards against his chest as he looks at Phil.
“Oh, yeah, yeah. I think we should.” Tommy adds in. Wilbur nods and pats Tommy’s head, who snaps his teeth at his hand.
“Hey, you fucking gremlin! Keep your teeth to yourself.”
“Don’t pet me like a dog.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t be a bitch.”
“Yes, we can play with the slap-in rule,” Phil says exasperatedly. Tommy and Wilbur high five, inexplicably getting along again after three seconds. Techno does not think he will ever understand them.
The game starts, with Wilbur going first. Somehow, despite all their arguments before (and, honestly, during) the game, he and Tommy end up allying to try to destroy Phil. They use all their reverses and skips specifically to screw Phil over, who groans theatrically every time.
Techno wisely stays out of the battle. He does not want the ire of Tommy and Wilbur, but he knows that Phil could easily wreck him. His best chance to win is to stay out of it, he thinks. Or, he thinks until Tommy and Wilbur join forces against him.
“Techno,” Tommy whines as he pokes Techno’s arm. Techno glares at him. Tommy just grins back as he continues. “Tech. Techno. Tech-no-blade. Please, Techno. You gotta help us. See, Phil is old. And he’s winning. He only has three cards left, Techno! You can’t let the old man win, and you’re the only one with the power to stop him.”
“What would I get out of it?” Techno asks, throwing down a blue seven. Tommy plays a wild card, switches the color to red, and continues.
“Anything your heart desires, Technoblade. Anything at all, as long as Phil doesn’t win. He can’t, Tech. He just can’t. I’d even prefer you to win over Philza.”
Techno hums. He watches as Wilbur and Phil take their turns, and smirks once it makes it back to him. Still red.
“Uno,” Techno says as he places his three. Tommy’s eyes go wide and Wilbur shouts.
“Fuck off, dude, there’s no way.” Wilbur glares at Techno, who shrugs.
“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll need your help, Tommy. Thanks for the offer, though.”
Phil shakes his head, seemingly content to watch the interaction without adding any of his own input. He chuckles as they continue, and Techno eyes him. Phil looks back, smiling as he changes the color to green.
“Uno,” Phil says pleasantly. Tommy and Wilbur explode again. Techno grins and places down his green eight while they both yell in outrage.
“Easy,” Techno says as he wins the game. He doesn’t have to put up with much of the clamoring from the boys, thank God, as a knock on the door cuts them off.
“I’d say that's probably the pizza,” Phil says, standing up. His knee creaks and he winces as Tommy starts howling.
“Old man, old man,” Tommy chants. Phil swats at his head, making Tommy yelp.
“Shut. Go get a plate and shut the fuck up, or you’re not getting any.”
Tommy sticks out his tongue but does as told. Phil walks over to the door and opens it, chattering away as Techno wanders into the kitchen and out of earshot. He is able to be the first to grab a slice when Phil comes back in, and walks back into the living room to sink back into his armchair.
Everyone else joins him soon, and they chat as they eat. Once they’re finished, they do end up playing spoons, and Tommy and Wilbur do get into a… physical altercation. Phil wins. A handful of rounds pass, and they eventually give up and put on a movie. Despite the grumbles that come with the request, they do put on Up when Tommy asks. He mumbles almost every word as the characters speak, and Techno can’t even find it in himself to be annoyed.
Tommy starts drifting off midway through the second movie, Bolt, and is asleep by the end. Phil drapes a blanket over him and Wilbur, who are pressed against each other’s sides, and follows soon after. Wilbur decides on a mushroom documentary that he then falls asleep during, leaving Techno as the only one awake.
Techno stands quietly, and tucks a blanket around where Phil is slumped. He is sure the man will be aching in the morning, but can’t find it in himself to wake Phil up when he looks so comfortable.
Then, Techno collects the dirty plates and puts them in the sink. He doesn’t feel like washing them, that’s a tomorrow issue, but it’s better than leaving them on the coffee table. Techno finds a way to Tetris the box of leftover pizza into the fridge, then heads back out to the living room.
Here, he hesitates. He could go up to his room. It would be significantly more comfortable to be in a bed. However, his family is down here. And he won’t be alone.
Techno swallows a groan and trudges over to the couch. He squeezes into the little free space left, and steals what he can of Phil’s blanket. It’s only a small bit and does little to keep him warm, but Phil sifts and rests his arm across Techno’s body, which is warm enough, he supposes.
Techno settles in, and closes his eyes, hoping sleep will take him soon.
(When he wakes up, it is to Tommy shouting from the kitchen. His neck hurts from his awkward sleeping position, and he is cold from his lack of blanket cover through the night. Wilbur nudges him with his foot once he notices Techno is awake.
“Race you to the kitchen. There’s pancakes.”
Techno narrows his eyes, then bolts up. Wilbur grabs onto his arm, trying to propel himself forward.
Techno wins. Wilbur smiles anyway. They eat breakfast, and Techno feels content.)