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Wilbur isn’t sure when he saw the boy in the mirror for the first time. He thinks, when he was very young, his reflection was his own. With brown eyes and soft, brown hair and the mischievous smile Phil says he has. But over time, his reflection changes. Warps. His brown eyes turn red, his soft hair grows longer, with small braids tied into it. Even when he knows that he himself doesn’t look like that. But the boy in the mirror is still just his reflection, still does what he does, still isn’t real.
Until Wilbur is eight. Something changes then. Phil is out with Tommy for a Doctor’s appointment, so Wilbur is on his own. Not for long, of course, an hour at most. But the point is, Wilbur is on his own, with nobody else in the house. He doesn’t really have a reason to walk into the bathroom, the only room with a big mirror. But when he looks up, Wilbur freezes. His reflection is staring at him with red eyes, which isn’t unusual. What is a surprise is how its arms are crossed in front of its chest. Wilbur glances down at his own arms, which are hanging by his side, then he looks back at the reflection.
“Uh, hi?”
The reflection blinks. Is it even a reflection, if it doesn’t copy what Wilbur does?
“Hi.”
Wilbur is surprised at hearing his own voice, though it is different, muffled. His reflection looks equally as surprised. Wilbur grins.
“I’m Wilbur!”
The reflection nods. Wilbur really needs to figure out what to call it. Or maybe him? Calling him a reflection seems rude.
“I know.”
Wilbur pouts, but quickly gets excited again. He doesn’t have many friends at school. Maybe the mirror boy could be his friend? It would be kind of cool, to have a secret friend. Wilbur knows others don’t see the differences between him and the mirror boy, not the same way Wilbur does. So that means this boy is a friend just for him! Like a secret twin!
“Well, what’s your name?”
The mirror boy looks a bit taken aback, but Wilbur doesn’t let that bother him. He would be nervous, too, if he spoke for the first time. Or maybe the mirror boy speaks to other mirror people. Are there other mirror people? Wilbur decides to ask later. Then the mirror boy answers.
“Technoblade.”
Wilbur grins.
-----
Every day, Wilbur spends some time talking to Techno. It turns out that Techno can actually only really see Wilbur out of reflections, but knows what is happening otherwise too. Still, Wilbur likes talking to Techno. Techno is funny, and smart, and always listens to whatever Wilbur has to say. It’s just nice, to catch sight of Techno in a random reflection and wink at him and giggle when other people are confused.
They have a routine, but things change again when Wilbur is twelve. Tommy is seven, now, already in elementary school and with two whole best friends. Wilbur is twelve when he storms into the smaller bathroom at home, gripping the sink so tightly that his knuckles are turning white. Phil and Tommy are in the bigger bathroom, patching Tommy up. Because some older kids decided to gang up on Wilbur’s little brother.
Techno is there, watching Wilbur with a serious expression on his face. On anyone else their age, that expression would look weird, but it fits Techno, weirdly enough. Techno tilts his head to the side as Wilbur lets out panting breaths. He is so, so angry. How dare they hurt Tommy? Who would do something like that?? Then Techno speaks.
“What are you going to do now?”
Wilbur wants to scream, but holds himself back. He can’t worry Phil. Phil needs to focus on Tommy right now. Instead he only tangles his hands in his hair.
“I don’t know.”
They stand in silence for a moment, before Techno speaks up again.
“I think I might have an idea. Do you trust me?”
Wilbur nods without thinking about it. Of course he trusts Techno. They’re twins, after all. Techno nods back, then seemingly lays his hand against the mirror.
“I can help. Lay your hand against mine.”
Wilbur lays his hand against the cold surface of the mirror and suddenly he isn’t standing in his bathroom any longer. Or, well, he is. Kind of. He’s standing in his bathroom, but only in the area that is visible in the mirror. Everything else just cuts off. He stares at the other side, where he can see himself. His own, real self, with soft hair and no braids. With brown eyes. Then his other self blinks and grins.
“I’ll handle it.”
Wilbur watches Techno walk out and as soon as he looses sight of him, Wilbur simply stops to exist. Well, he does still exist, but not really. He’s there when Techno passes some kind of reflection, he knows that Techno calls out to Phil that he’s going out, but otherwise Wilbur can’t even watch Techno walk down the street, even though he knows it’s happening.
They run into the people who ganged up on Tommy not soon after. Or maybe Techno tracked them down, that seems more accurate. Techno is the one who throws the first punch and Wilbur watches from the broken glasses of one of them as Techno easily fights all three of them, leaving them on the ground before making his way back.
They end up back in the small bathroom and Techno presses his flat hand against the mirror. Wilbur copies him and suddenly he is back in his own body and Techno is back in the mirror. Wilbur looks down at his hands. His knuckles sting and are bloody, but not all of it is his own blood. Otherwise he feels fine. Techno didn’t get hit. Mechanically, he turns on the water and washes the blood off. He looks at Techno.
“Where did you learn to fight?”
Techno shrugs.
“I don’t know. I just can.”
Wilbur accepts that answer. He doesn’t get in trouble for what happened, though Phil looks at his split knuckles unhappily and bandages them for him. Wilbur doesn’t say anything. Still, Tommy looks happy when he comes home the next day. Apparently, the three people have been bullying him almost all year now and suddenly they’re leaving him alone. Wilbur shares a look with Techno and smiles.
-----
Wilbur and Techno don’t often switch bodies. Wilbur hates being in the mirror dimension. He can’t imagine being trapped like that, somewhere between existing and not existing, in the same way Techno is. Techno doesn’t mind it. Still, just because they don’t do it often doesn’t mean they never do it. Techno refuses to help Wilbur cheat on tests he doesn’t want to write, not that Wilbur needs a lot of help. By the time Wilbur is fifteen, he has a bit of experience with switching bodies quickly.
Wilbur stumbles when the girl pushes him and lands on the ground. All five bullies laugh. Wilbur can feel water seeping into his shirt and jeans. It stopped raining barely an hour ago. The girl, the leader of the group, leers at him.
“Come on, it’s not that hard to understand, is it? You do my homework and we won’t have to keep doing this.”
Wilbur glares. He knows that that’s a lie. He doesn’t answer, even as the girl sighs and gestures to the others.
“Fine, fine. Have it your way.”
Wilbur doesn’t know what to do. He’s sitting in a puddle of water in some random alley. Nobody will help him. Then he pauses. A puddle of water has a reflection. He looks down and sees red eyes looking back. Wilbur shifts, placing his flat hand in the puddle, making sure not to ripple the reflection too much. The next moment, Wilbur watches from the ground as Techno jumps up and kicks the first one to attack him in the stomach. Someone stumbles through the puddle and Wilbur is forced away.
He knows that Techno holds the bullies off before taking Wilbur’s back and running. But really, he barely pays attention until they’re back in the bathroom, door locked and facing each-other in the mirror. Techno sighs.
“You really need to get better at this.”
He lays his hand against the mirror and Wilbur copies him, glad to be back in his body. He grins.
“Why should I when I have you?”
Techno rolls his eyes but doesn’t complain any further.
-----
Wilbur is twenty-one and hasn’t seen his family in almost a whole year. He hasn’t picked up their calls, either. Or answered to their texts, at least not until Phil threatened to come by personally and kick in his door. It ended in another fight. Right now, Wilbur is pacing in the bathroom, Techno glaring at him from the mirror. Techno’s hair is pink now. Wilbur doesn’t know when that happened. He takes a drag of his cigarette.
“Will, this needs to stop. You know this needs to stop.”
Wilbur ignores him. Really, he doesn’t know why he’s still in the bathroom. He could just walk away. Then again, every room in his flat has a big mirror. So avoiding Techno would mean going outside. He keeps pacing and exhales smoke.
“Wilbur! Damn it, at least call Tommy! You know how he worries.”
Wilbur glares at Techno. He puts his cigarette nub out on the ashtray standing next to the sink and pulls out a second one. Techno sneers at him.
“Don’t.”
Wilbur leers back as he fishes in his pocket for a lighter.
“Oh come on, just cause you borrow my body sometimes doesn’t mean you can decide what I can and can’t do.”
Techno glares.
“It’s not about that and you know it. Wilbur, listen to me. You need to stop.”
Wilbur lights the cigarette.
“No.”
Wilbur doesn’t even quite know what Techno says after that. He tries to tune him out, when suddenly he snaps. It might just be that Techno keeps talking at him, has been for weeks now. Maybe he brought up his latest fight with Phil. Wilbur doesn’t know, but what he does know as that from one moment to the next, his fist is hitting the mirror, shattering it. He’s staring at Techno, grinning through the shards. Then Wilbur falls.
Techno used the moment his fist connected with the mirror to switch places and suddenly Wilbur is the one watching through a broken mirror as Techno puts out the barely lit cigarette and then cleans and bandages his hand. For a moment, he can’t make sense of what happened. Switching is an active decision for both of them. Techno can’t just decide to throw Wilbur out of his body. That’s not how it works. Only apparently it is.
“Techno! TECHNO!”
Wilbur starts screaming as Techno bends down to carefully pick up the shards from the broken mirror, but Techno just ignores him. Wilbur runs after him, into the next room.
“Techno! Give me back my body! Technoblade!”
Techno ignores him. As if Wilbur isn’t even there. He brings out the broken mirror shards, then throws all of Wilbur’s cigarettes away. Wilbur hammers his fists against his side of the mirror, but he can’t do anything from here. He can do nothing but watch as Techno walks through the apartment, throws out the trash and looks through his fridge. Wilbur falls silent even as his throat doesn’t ache despite his screaming. Techno is cooking something, making himself a tea. Wilbur can do nothing but watch as Techno airs out his apartment, throws all of his blankets into the washer.
“Techno, please. Please, let me out.”
Techno ignores him. He ignores him, and then he goes to bed. Wilbur is left standing in the floor-length mirror in his bedroom, watching Techno sleep. Techno was never in control during the night, Wilbur was always in his own body when it was time to sleep. Wilbur watches and as time moves on, he feels panic choking him. He has never been in the mirror dimension for this long. He can’t even sleep, is neither tired nor thirsty nor hungry. Will Techno just leave him like this? Trapped? Will he take over his life?
The second day starts much like the first. Wilbur sees Techno get up, but he himself stays curled up on the ground. He if forced into a different mirror when Techno moves around, when he eats breakfast and looks through his letters. Wilbur starts screaming again, at some point. Just to have something to do. He watches Techno live his life for three days. Three days, trapped in the mirrors of his own home. Techno just ignores him and Wilbur hates it, hates Techno. How can he do that to him? Techno knows that Wilbur doesn’t like the mirror dimension, how can he still do this? Then his phone rings. It’s Phil. Wilbur feels like throwing up when Techno reaches for it.
“Please, don’t.”
Finally, Techno looks at him. Wilbur takes a shaky breath.
“I promise, I’ll stop smoking. And I’ll talk to them again. Just, please.”
Techno nods and moves towards the mirror. He raises a hand.
“Make sure you do.”
Wilbur nods, then Techno presses his hand against the mirror and Wilbur is back in his body. Immediately, he is hit with the urge to smoke, but he ignores it. Techno made sure no cigarettes are left in the flat. Instead, Wilbur faces the still ringing phone. From the corner of his eye, he can see Techno. Techno nods at him and with shaking hands, Wilbur picks up the phone. His voice shakes just as badly as his hands do.
“Hey, dad.”
Silence, then Phil speaks from the other side.
“Wilbur?”
He sounds cautious and Wilbur can’t blame him. After all, the last time they spoke, Wilbur screamed at him. He can feel Techno staring at him and then he’s sobbing, kneeling on the floor, clutching his phone close. Phil is speaking on the other side, but Wilbur can’t hear a word of what he’s saying. He just keeps apologizing, promises he will be better. And Wilbur will be. He will be better. He promises. Please.
Then the door to his flat opens. Vaguely, Wilbur remembers his neighbour having a key, but Niki wouldn’t come in like this. Not without reason. The next moment, a person is throwing themselves at him and Wilbur barely manages to catch Tommy, his phone clattering to the ground.
“You idiot!”
Tommy is crying too and Wilbur just pulls him closer. His eyes find Phil, standing a bit away, eyes sad. Wilbur reaches for him.
“Dad-”
Immediately, Phil is kneeling next to him, one hand in Wilbur’s hair, the other on his shoulder.
“We’ll figure this out. I promise.”
Wilbur nods. He knows he hurt them, knows he has a lot to make up for, but for now this is enough. Until he gets better, this is enough.