Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was the first creeping tendrils of winter that spelled the end of Wilbur’s freedom. Wilbur and Tommy had escaped the fae hunters’ camp midspring and life had been surprisingly easy for them. Tommy was a young thing, but he was also a wild thing, and he seemed to bloom along with the flowers they trekked by in their travels through the wilderness. Tommy’s nature kept him strong and safe as spring passed even through Wilbur’s ignorance on caring for babies let alone one of fae blood.

They’d had plenty of food, more than Wilbur had been used to before or after his mother had sold him. Wilbur was unsure what was normal when living off a forest, but he suspected that the amount of fresh fruit, nuts, and mushrooms he’d been able to scavenge had something to do with Tommy and not his own abilities. Often, Tommy would reach for a bush or low hanging tree branch and there would suddenly be ripe fruit upon it that Wilbur hadn’t seen a moment before. Other times, Wilbur would set him down in an area he’d been sure to clear of nothing but soft grasses and would come back to Tommy gnawing on an edible mushroom with his baby teeth. (He would then have to wrestle the mushroom out of Tommy’s unhappy hand and tear it into small pieces so he could actually eat it.)

The nights were always warm enough for both of them to doze under the stars and, without fail, they would manage to “find” a group of thick trees with a canopy more leak proof than Wilbur’s old home’s roof whenever it rained. Despite it being summer, it was never too hot for Wilbur to walk around even while carrying Tommy and, whenever he was thirsty, they’d come across crystal clear running water. The rivers Wilbur bathed himself and Tommy in were always warm and calmer than any Wilbur had ever seen. He’d even managed to catch fish in them despite having no idea how to do so. He was pretty sure it was supposed to be a lot harder to swipe buckets of fish up in a hastily constructed, leaky wicker basket, but they all but jumped into it whenever Wilbur put it in the water.

The summer had been kinder to them than Wilbur could have expected in his humanity, but that made sense. Tommy was a summer fairy and, as Wilbur had discovered, the forest would bend to him in the warmer months. Even when the baby didn’t understand what he was doing, Tommy provided for Wilbur. Wilbur in turn made sure he didn’t choke to death on mushrooms and carried him around since he couldn’t walk well yet. It was a good deal.

Though Wilbur’s general opinion of the fae was rather poor, Tommy was different. Wilbur had loved Tommy since the first moment he’d seen him. He’d constantly smelled of blueberries and honey even if they hadn’t eaten those things in weeks. When Wilbur would hold his chubby cheeks or kiss his brow, it would leave a faintly glowing after image of gold in the wake of his touch. And he’d always been warm.

Tommy had been constantly warm, like a beam of afternoon sunlight.

And then fall had hit.

It surprised Wilbur (even if it shouldn’t have) how quickly their “luck” seemed to leave them as the leaves began to change. Food became scarcer and the water colder, but they were okay for a while. The forest’s investment in them seemed proportional to the number of leaves still on the trees.

Luckily, Wilbur now knew more about how to keep Tommy safe. They didn’t need the safety net of nature loving the summer child. They still had enough food even if it wasn’t a bounty and Wilbur had been smart enough to start stockpiling it when the air started to grow cooler.

They managed to make it almost all the way through the fall, and Tommy had been fine. He’d been a bit more sluggish and sleepy, but he’d been okay. It made sense that he’d not be as excitable on his off season. At least, Wilbur thought so. His temperature was cooler than it had been, but still warmer than Wilbur, so Wilbur didn’t worry.

Wilbur found a cave a few weeks into autumn and collected firewood for fires during the night for now and all day during the winter. He’d stockpiled a good amount of food. He had no idea if it was enough for the winter but hoped it would be. If it wasn’t, he’d chosen a place with a town within half a day’s walk. He didn’t want to risk a human settlement with Tommy on his back (even if he was still too small for most humans to easily tell his nature) if he could help it, but he’d cover the baby in blankets and beg for (or steal) bread if they needed it.

Wilbur had thought they’d make it through the winter.

Wilbur clearly didn’t understand the fae.

The first snow had shown him just how wrong he was about Tommy’s ability to make it through the winter in the human realm. It wasn’t a bad snowstorm at all; the snow melted the moment it hit the still warm ground. With the fire he built, the cold hadn’t even bothered Wilbur.

Yet, the second a flake of snow hit the ground, Tommy began to wail. Wilbur was very used to Tommy crying. He was just starting to be able to string together 2-3 word garbled phrases, but his main form of communication was still crying.

This crying communicated something new, something terrifying.

Snow fell through an entire night and Tommy was inconsolable the whole time. He sounded like he was in horrible pain, and Wilbur believed it. The baby’s skin was cold to the touch for the first time. No matter how tightly Wilbur held him in his arms or how close they sat to the fire, Tommy’s body temperature continued to plumet. His skin, usually an almost glowing golden, turned as white as the snow outside. Then it started to crack. Orangish blood appeared first from the skin of his lips and then from the backs of his hands.

It was clear that it wasn’t the cold doing this to Tommy, at least not alone. There was something Wilbur did not know or understand about the fae. There was something deeper about the changes of the seasons and winter was killing Wilbur’s summer.

He hadn’t expected this. He’d seen summers be lethargic but fine in the winter and falls be grumpy but okay in the spring, but that had been in the fae realm. Clearly something was different in the human realm.

Wilbur thought Tommy was going to die that night.

When the snow ended just before dawn, Tommy’s wailing finally stopped. Wilbur was shivering with blue tipped fingers by then. Tommy’s cold skin had leached the warmth from Wilbur’s core despite how the fire had left his face reddened from sitting too close to it all night.

Despite the snow ending, Tommy did not get fully better. He didn’t scream when ice wasn’t falling from the sky, but the colder it got the more lethargic he got until he was rarely awake long enough for Wilbur to feed him every day. His skin was always too cool, and Wilbur kept him clutched to his chest often, trying desperately to keep him warm with his own body heat. This meant Wilbur was cold almost constantly.

It became quickly apparent what Wilbur would need to do.

Wilbur did not know a lot about the fae. He understood the bare minimum he’d needed to while in Tommy’s mother’s domain, but no one had been sharing intimate details about their species with the human. He knew Tommy was a summer which, he’d figured out, meant the winter season was bad for him. It would kill him in fact. At least, it would with Wilbur.

He also knew summers could survive the winter. Obviously, they could; they were an immortal race, and winter happened every year. Wilbur was human; he did not know how, but he did know there was a way for a summer to survive the winter. Only a fae would know how.

Less than a week after the first snow, they left the cave. Every golden leaf that fell upon their path whispered of their dwindling time.

Wilbur had been careful. He’d avoided fae territory like the plague since their escape. However, this avoidance conveniently came with the knowledge of exactly where every square inch of fae territory was within miles of their cave.

He didn’t know anything about the nearest fae court who held territory in this forest, but he did know the fae treated their young with the upmost care. Even though Tommy didn’t belong to any of the nearby courts considering how the fae… were, he would belong to them the moment the decided they wanted him. And they would decide they wanted him.

Then, they would do whatever it was that needed to be done to keep Tommy alive through the winter. And they would continue to take care of him until he was grown. It was just how the fae worked. Tommy would be okay; Wilbur would be lucky if he died.

He would have liked to say he didn’t hesitate when he came upon the patch of mushrooms clearly marking fae territory, but he did.

Tommy was silent in his arms but looked up at him with dull blue eyes. Wilbur pressed their foreheads together. The ice his skin was pulled all the heat from Wilbur’s skin where they touched. “I love you, Tommy,” he said. He wished this last time holding Tommy, the baby smelled like he used to, like blueberries and honey instead of like rot and death. The world was not that kind. “You won’t remember me, but maybe you’ll remember that.”

A single leaf from the tree above them fell, landing just past the line of mushrooms. He kept his eyes on it as he took a step forward.

Chapter Text

Techno knew the moment a human stepped into their territory. It was not quite Technoblade’s domain of winter in the human world, but since autumn was… not currently covered, the responsibility of dealing with border intrusions fell to Techno. Phil did not bother pretending there was any possible way he’d be leaving the castle grounds in the fall. He didn’t even look up from his book, curled up in his chair near the spring fire hearth.

Techno did not like dealing with the humans who occasionally stumbled into one of their forests. In fact, he and most of his season-mates were notorious for not wanting to interact with strangers.

He recalled a conversation from right after he’d manifested as a winter.

‘Are you surprised?’ Techno had asked.

He’d gotten a snort in reply. ‘Of course I’m not fucking surprised, Technoblade. You were antisocial as a human. Of course you picked Sitting Inside: The Season.’

Techno quickly shook the memory away before he was sidetracked by melancholy. He needed to deal with this human since autumn was… temporarily under his control. He hated dealing with this stuff, but that’s just how it was.

At best the human would be uniformed and lost. Those were easy enough to scare away. At worst, it would be looking for a deal. Those were the most aggravating of the bunch, especially because they were persistent.

The meadow that laid on a plane halfway between the human realm and his own was covered in an ankle-deep layer of fallen golden leaves, though Techno could taste snow on the wind. If it had been earlier in the morning, the leaves would have been covered by a thin sheet of frost. As it was, the temperature was slightly above freezing.

In the meadow stood a human child about the age of... er… small…ish. It seemed to have an idea of where it was as it was looking around the meadow with anticipatory eyes, waiting for Techno. Great.

When Techno stepped fully into the meadow with a crunch of leaves, the human locked onto him immediately.

Before Techno could open his mouth to demand it’s reason for being there, the child bent over and placed a bundle of cloth on the ground between them.

Techno, caught off guard, looked down at the bundle only to see a small face within the folds of cloth.

A baby.

At first, Techno felt a flash of disgust. Humans liked to try selling their young to fae on occasion. They usually wanted riches or power and had heard rumors of the very few fae who would accept such bargains. This was a disgusting practice in Techno and most other fae’s opinions that would usually get the adults killed.

Though, in this case, it was not an adult offering its baby. It was too young for it to be the human’s offspring. It was perhaps a younger brother. The attempt still enraged Techno, but it was also just a child. It had probably developed petty feelings towards its younger sibling and came here less out of real malice and more out of temporary disgruntlement and ignorance.

That did not mean Techno planned to play nice. The opposite, in fact. It’d do the little human good to get the fear of God and fae put into him, so he never pulled any bullshit like this again.

Yet, just as he stepped forward, the baby moved and opened its eyes. Fae and humans were often hard to distinguish when they were that young, but one clear indicator was the eyes, and this baby’s eyes were an inhuman blue. It seemed to grow discontent as soon as it was fully awake, immediately starting to sniffle and wave its arms about. Techno was on his knees next to it a moment later.

Its attention landed on him when he moved. It paused in its crying only for a moment before starting to shake a fist at Techno while whining, like it was telling Techno off for some slight.

The active behavior was relieving considering the baby didn’t look well at the moment and it was no surprise. This child was a summer and far, far too young to be out in autumn without an adult nearby. He was clearly sick, but he was so small that he should have been long dead only 3 weeks away from true winter.

Techno glanced over at the human. It also didn’t seem to be doing well, though Techno couldn’t get a good sense of it considering the thing had at some point faceplanted into a pile of leaves while Techno was distracted. His clothes were falling off and his hair disturbingly dirty. It looked like he’d been walking through the woods for weeks if not months to get here.

Not an offering then. A return.

Techno knelt and touched the ground. A bit of frost built up at his touch and spread in a single line behind him. Hopefully his summons would quickly bring the person who, despite being half a year away from his season, knew far better than Techno how to deal with something like this.

In the meantime, Techno shook any remaining frost off his hand and reached out for the baby carefully. Luckily, he looked old enough that Techno’s lack of knowledge about holding babies probably wouldn’t harm him. The baby paused in its whining when Techno touched it, staring up at him with large blue eyes. Techno awkwardly pulled it against his chest and put a hand at the nape of its neck.

The baby was cold, or more, he was cold for a summer. He was surprisingly still about as warm as a human would be when too cold. Strangely, it seemed autumn had been kind to him despite being the season that ended summer. Techno pressed a finger to his forehead and the baby squirmed and whined at the too cool temperature of Techno’s skin. That was good.

Techno attempted to rock the baby, awkwardly bringing his shoulders up and down. The baby glared up at Techno as if affronted by his effort and shook his angry little fist again. “Well, I apologize, but I don’t know what I’m doing, you’ll have to tolerate me for a few minutes more.”

“Bah mah bah,” was the unhappy response.

“I do not know what you are attempting to say.”

Techno glanced over at the human wondering if it perhaps would tell him how to hold a baby properly. Unfortunately, it was still on the ground. Had it keeled over dead once it completed its task? Some humans were known to do that, but no, he could see it moving up and down slightly with its breath. Perhaps it just passed out from exhaustion. Again, it did not look particularly great, and humans were fragile and it was small.

It was… probably fine.

He decided to leave it be for the moment.

Techno as a winter could not give the baby warmth; his skin was icy cold by nature. He could, however, pull the cold wind of incoming winter away from him, creating a bubble of somewhat warmer air around the baby and allowing what little heat he could produce on his own at this point to propagate. Other than that, they had to wait for Phil.

Luckily, even in his autumn blues, Phil was quick to respond to the urgency in Techno’s summons. Techno was holding the baby out to him before he’d even fully entered the meadow’s in-between plane.

“Oh goodness,” Phil said, hands full of baby before he even realized what was happening. The baby seemed just as surprised by this development as Phil did, going still so they could stare at one another in confusion. “Well, hello there,” Phil finally said.

“Auh,” the baby replied, recovering itself enough to shake its indignant fist at Phil this time.

“Yes, yes, goodness you are far too cold, aren’t you little one?” Phil said. He pulled open his robe slightly so he could press the chilled baby against his skin, wrapping the extra fabric back over him. Soon there was only a tuff of hair and odd lump against Phil’s chest to indicate a baby existed. When Phil began to rock up and down, the baby seemed to have no protests.

Thank God for Phil and his ability to produce warmth and his experience with children of every age.

Thinking of children, Techno cast his eyes downward towards the human child in their presence. He was still face down in the dirt and leaves. Phil’s gaze followed Techno’s. He looked as confused as Techno felt about the humans’ presence, but considering the state the human was in (If he was even conscious), Techno doubted they’d be getting an explanation from him anytime soon. Techno took a step towards him.

He went to poke the boy with his foot, but Phil coughed delicately behind him. Instead, Techno knelt down next to the prone figure.

“Are you awake, human?” Techno asked. The human shifted, nodding in a way that certainly rubbed dirt into his face. “Can you sit up?” In answer, the human shifted, slowly pulling back into a kneeling position, sitting on his haunches and staring at the ground.

He looked even worse up close than in the brief glimpse Techno had had of him before he folded. Of course, some of that might have to do with the new smears of dirt on his face. He shook from the cold or from the effort of keeping himself in an upright position, perhaps both. He was paler than the baby he had brought despite the fact that humans should be equipped to survive the winter and he was bonier than some partially decayed corpses Techno had seen.

Techno did not know the story that had brought him here, but felt pity for the little thing, nevertheless. He reached out a hand to it and it shied away.

“Let’s get you up,” Techno said.

He glanced at Techno’s offered hand and then slowly took it. His hand was freezing even to Techno and slightly blue which was concerning. He had, Techno recalled, been holding the baby. Without an efficient way to replenish body heat, the baby had probably sucked the warmth out of him like a sponge.

Techno pulled the human to his feet and he wavered unsteadily.

“We need to get back to the castle and get them both warmed up,” Techno said. Honestly, the human being so cold was more dangerous than the baby at this point. The baby, as a summer, could accept a full power blast of heat from Phil, but humans if warmed up too quickly could go into shock. Luckily, a regen potion would lessen the risk for the human as long as they got him back quickly.

Phil took one glance at the human’s face and tottering form and nodded, disappearing on the wind with the baby in his arms.

The human mumbled something when Techno grabbed him around the waist to lead him into the fae world.

“Tommy,” the human breathed. It had a ring of a true name to it, but not as though it were the human’s own he was giving. It must be the baby’s. It was worrying the human was giving it to Techno. It probably meant he thought he was about to die.

That thought in mind, Techno hastened their trip to the castle.

Chapter Text

Wilbur had fast traveled with a fae before, but only rarely, and usually when he was a bit more physically stable. He landed on his feet and his body immediately tried to crumple. However, the large arm of the first fae from the meadow kept him from ending up on the ground.

The arm ended up with all of Wilbur’s weight, his feet actually leaving the ground so he was bent in half over it. Wilbur stared at the floor under him. It was cherrywood, an interesting choice.

He wondered if the fae currently holding him was saying anything. His ears were ringing too loudly to hear him if he was.

He felt himself being shifted, the pressure of all of his weight coming off of his stomach as he was placed into an upright position. The change in orientation made his vision white out leaving him with no useful sense but touch.

The next few minutes were a flurry of confusing movement that Wilbur couldn’t comprehend. The only thing he did understand was the feeling of a bottle pressing against his lips.

Panicking, he tried to turn away from whatever was touching his mouth and to shake off the grip trying to hold him still, but it was no use. His mouth was forced open, and liquid splashed into it. He could feel whatever it was taking hold before being forced to painfully swallow.

The first sound that started to filter through was his own harsh breathing followed quickly by a painful cough. He was leaning over again; his weight being supported by a single hand splayed across his chest. Another smacked at his back as he coughed.

He pulled his head up slightly and blinked dully at the same floor from earlier. There was vomit on it now. He wondered where it had come from… until his taste buds came back online.

“You back with us?” a voice rumbled through his spine.

All that came out of Wilbur’s mouth was a groan.

“Yeah, you are,” the voice concluded. “Okay, let’s try that upright thing again.”  The hand on his chest pushed him upwards, though it still supported his whole weight.

Wilbur felt horrible, but the world was starting to come into focus, probably from whatever potion they’d just forced down his throat. He wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or not.

The blond fae was still there holding Tommy, though luckily the baby was tucked away in the man’s robes and hadn’t witnessed all of that. Wilbur wasn’t sure if he’d have understood, but it was still best he hadn’t seen it. The fae was holding an empty potion bottle in the hand not supporting Tommy’s weight, Wilbur noted.

Slowly the fae holding Wilbur let Wilbur’s feet take his own weight. His knees wobbled slightly, but ultimately took it all. He wondered what had been in that potion.

“Good,” the blonde one said. “Now, I’m going to get this little guy fed and get some regen potions into him.” He glanced over Wilbur’s shoulder. “Tech, can you…?”

“I’ll handle the human,” ‘Tech’ said. Wilbur felt a shudder pass through him.

At the acknowledgment, the blonde one turned on his heels and started hurrying down the hall with Tommy in his arms. Wilbur watched them go, trying not to cry. He’d already said his goodbyes before stepping past the mushrooms.

“Alright, kid, come on,” the fae still with him said. He put his hand on Wilbur’s shoulder to nudge him in the opposite direction from where the blond one had just taken Tommy. Wilbur stumbled forward quickly, not wanting to piss him off by being slow, and just about fell.

The hand that had been light on his shoulder now clutched his shoulder to steady him and Wilbur stopped breathing. He felt his knees start to wobble as he shook under the fae’s hand. He looked very carefully at the floor below his feet.

“You alright there?” the fae asked.

Wilbur nodded, because he wasn’t rude enough to not answer a question, but also didn’t think he could speak. He continued to shake.

“…Yeah,” the fae said, doubtfully. “Alright, come here. I’m going to carry you, okay?”

Wilbur could feel himself shudder at the concept but said shudder was lost in his shakes. He nodded his head again.

“Okay,” the fae replied, bending his hulking frame over Wilbur. A hand bigger than his head touched the back of his knee and then Wilbur was swept off his feet. His head fell into the crook of an arm like he was Tommy sized and not already halfway to adulthood.

Wilbur went still, docile like he was nothing more than a doll. He pressed his eyes closed lest he accidently meet the eyes of the fae now holding him.

They began to move, the soft up and down motion as the fae took steps would have felt almost calming if Wilbur’s mind wasn’t spinning with all of the likely horrors at their destination.

They walked for a couple of minutes before the fae shifted and Wilbur was set on his feet. Wilbur tensed when he felt the warmth of the floor beneath his feet, worried for a moment that he was being set down in a lit fire, but it just stayed pleasantly warm. When Wilbur dared to peak open his eyes, he saw what looked like a tile floor.

The fae stepped around Wilbur. Wilbur felt disconcerted with the large man at his back, but he didn’t dare move without permission. He heard the sound of running water start up and tensed.

“You should get cleaned up,” the fae said from behind him. “It’ll help you get warm too.” There was a pause. “Come here, kid.”

At that, Wilbur did turn to face the fae, though he kept his eyes averted the best he could. He could still make out the bathtub being slowly filled up with water. Wilbur stepped closer since he’d been ordered to.

“I’m unsure how warm it should be for you,” the fae said.

He took Wilbur’s arm in large but surprisingly gentle fingers and moved to dip Wilbur’s limp hand into the water. It was luke-warm at best and would doubtlessly be freezing within 10 minutes.

“Is that alright?” he asked.

A direct question.

“Yes, sir,” Wilbur said.

“Not too warm?”

Well, Wilbur wouldn’t have to lie about that. “No, sir.”

That must have been the right answer because he released Wilbur’s hand without crushing it and turned away. Wilbur stared down into the bathtub as the water level rose. He heard some clattering from where the fae was standing and then he was coming back with an armful of things.

“Here’s some soap,” he said, dropping his burden on the floor before moving to line the objects up on the side of the tub. “Get clean and I’ll grab you something to change into.” He turned off the water, placed a towel on the sink, and then disappeared out of Wilbur’s peripheral vision. The bathroom door shut with a snap.

Wilbur paused for half a second before allowing himself to finally look up and take in the room. It was a small room that really only had the bathtub, the sink, and a toilet, but it was fancy.

The tile floor was still warm under his feet and glowed with golden ruins every few seconds. The mirror over the sink was made of gold and leaves were carved into it. While the bathtub was large, it wasn’t the hugest Wilbur had ever seen. Two Wilbur’s could lay flat in it, but it would probably be just the right size for an adult. The still slowly dripping faucet was golden as well; whoever designed this room clearly liked gold.

Wilbur did not want to get in the tub, his fear of water rearing its head in a way it hadn’t since the last time he’d been in the fae realm. His fear of the fae who had brought him here was greater, however, and that fae wanted him clean. Why he wanted that, Wilbur couldn’t hazard a guest, so he put it out of his mind. What was important was that he obeyed.

Taking off his clothes was a requirement for a bath, he knew, but the thought of loosing even that bit of security made him feel like he was drowning before even touching the water. So, he decided to leave them on.

The water was thankfully not too deep. If he wanted to submerge his head, he’d have to lay down flat, something he had no intention of doing. However, the water was already losing what little warmth it had. Between the temperature and the way the water made his clothes feel heavy and tight, it was an almost unbearably uncomfortable experience. Wilbur did bare it though. He grabbed one of the bottles of soap the fae had set out at random and scrubbed himself down as quickly but thoroughly as possible. His hair was horribly matted, so he ended up just scrubbing it the best he could around the clumps of hair.

When he was finished, he hurried to get out of the uncomfortable water.

He immediately regretted this.

Despite the fact that the bathwater had felt room temperature by the time he’d finished, the air outside of it was freezing on his wet skin. He stood next to the tub shivering and dripping. The runes on the ground lit up and warmth spread across his toes at least. Without thinking the action through, he went to his knees on the floor. With a full-bodied shudder, he tilted to the side so his cheek was on the warm tile, his back against the bathtub.

He melted into the tile in relief. He did not feel fully warm, but the heated tile was something.

His head went fuzzy, and he may have passed out for a few minutes, because the next thing he knew, there was a knock on the bathroom door.

Wilbur sprang to his feet, almost tripping back into the bathtub.

There was a long pause and Wilbur waited with bated breath.

“May I come in?” the same fae who had told him to bathe asked.

Wilbur was confused by the ask for permission. “Yes,” he answered anyway.

The door open and the fae stood for a moment, blinking at him. “You didn’t remove your clothes to bathe?” he asked.

Wilbur didn’t know how to respond. The fae didn’t sound angry, but he also didn’t sound happy. It was better to just say nothing, Wilbur decided, and wait for either an order or a punishment.

“Just,” the fae said with a sigh, “I brought you warm clothes. Get changed.”

An order then, Wilbur thought, reaching forward to accept the stack of clothes the fae was offering him. His hands were shaking, and water dripped from his sleeve, pooling on the floor.

However, then the fae frowned and pulled back. Wilbur froze. “I want you to do 4 things,” the fae said holding up a finger. “Take off those wet clothes. Dry off as much as you can with the towel, I laid out for you. Put these clothes on,” he set the clothes on the sink next to the towel. “Then come out into the bedroom. Understand?”

Wilbur nodded.

The fae studied him for a moment more and then left, closing the door behind him.

Wilbur tried to be quick with the fae’s instructions, but still thorough with the drying. Since he had been very clear Wilbur was to do exactly 4 things, Wilbur just left his sopping wet old clothes on the floor.

When he grabbed the new clothes, he was extremely surprised that the sweater, sweatpants, and socks were all warm to the touch. He wasted a second pressing his face to them before moving to put them on. They smelled like flowers. They were also soft when he pulled them on, the warmth lingering and absorbing into his skin.

Then it was time for the fourth instruction. He swallowed nervously but didn’t let himself delay. He pushed open the door and stepped into a bedroom.

It was a nice bedroom, but Wilbur instantly clocked it as one not belonging to anyone that lived in the castle. He’d cleaned enough fae bedrooms in his life and this was a season-neutral guest room if he’d ever seen it. It was likely one for more important guests, perhaps even visiting relatives based on its size and amenities.

There was a programable fireplace. It was currently set for an autumn fae, showing a bright orange flame that pumped out heat. It was the most normal acting fire that could be there. However, if a winter was staying here, it could burn blue and actually suck heat out of the air. Summer fires would burn bright white and were far too warm to be comfortable for a human and spring fires burned green and either put out hot or cold air to keep the temperature at around 60-70 degrees while also pumping humidity into the air.

The bed was larger than a king-sized bed and could probably fit 3-4 adults or about 10 Wilburs. Tommy would get lost in it, his brain supplied against his will. He shoved the stinging thought away.

There was also a sitting area with a couch and two chairs. A desk sat in front of a window that was currently covered in a thick green curtain that let no light through. There was a stack of blank paper and a collection of pens in a few different colors neatly arranged for the next guest’s used. All of this, not to mention the bathroom, indicated this was a place for important fae.

The pink haired fae was standing near the desk chair when Wilbur entered. He turned to him after placing a tray of food down on the desk.

“Come,” he said, and Wilbur did. He pointed at the tray. “Eat.”

Wilbur looked at the tray and felt his mouth water even as his stomach tightened painfully. It was far too late for Wilbur to not eat fae food. Honestly, he’d been lucky to have Tommy with him while weaning off of a diet of only fae food. He’d gotten himself down to a point where he just needed a berry or two every week to starve off the hunger and could otherwise just eat human food to sustain himself. He’d known he’d never be rid of the dependency, but it had been manageable.

Eating this much fae food would not only ruin the progress he’d made, but he also had no idea what this particular food was imbued with. He’d eaten all sorts of food with all sorts of effects before and he’d seen others eat even more types.

He picked up the bread and took a large bite.

“Sit and eat,” the fae said, so Wilbur sat. “Sit in the chair and eat,” the fae said the moment Wilbur’s butt hit the ground. Wilbur blinked up at him in confusion, mouth still full of bread. Apparently, the fae had no patience for delay because he swooped down after a moment, picking Wilbur up and depositing him on the desk chair. The bread suddenly got a lot harder to swallow. He managed it eventually.

The bread hit his stomach and… nothing happened.

“This is human food,” Wilbur said in surprise, forgetting to hold his tongue in his shock.

There was silence for a long time. Wilbur stared at the tray of food.

“Do you,” the fae said slowly, “need fae food?” There was something in his voice that made Wilbur want to squirm in discomfort, but he kept himself carefully still.

“Only a little,” Wilbur answered.

“How much is a little?”

“I have Tommy make me a blueberry’s worth every 4 or 5 days,” Wilbur said.

“When was the last time?” the fae asked.

Wilbur paused, thinking back. “I…” he said. “I don’t know. He was sick and we were in a hurry.” He hadn’t even been thinking about it until now. He’d been starving anyway since the first snow.

The fae puffed out a breath and Wilbur tensed when he saw a hand approach out of the corner of his eye, but the hand just deposited a ball of blue on the tray next to the rest of the food. “Eat that.”

Wilbur picked up the ball. He didn’t like the texture against his hands but went to pop it in his mouth anyway.

“Unwrap it first!” the fae said, voice alarmed.

Wilbur paused and scratched at the outside of the ball. The blue tore off leaving a much more pleasant looking and smelling brown ball behind. Was this… chocolate? He popped the ball, devoid of its original casing into his mouth.

“God and Phil says I’m too literal,” the fae muttered under his breath. Wilbur didn’t think he was supposed to be able to hear that, so he didn’t respond.

Wilbur was pretty sure this was chocolate, but there was something in the middle. Maybe caramel? Wilbur hadn’t had much chocolate before entering the fae realm let alone after, so he wasn’t sure. He swallowed and, yeah, that was fae food. He hadn’t realized just how much he’d needed it until he felt the relief of it in his stomach. The magic spread, tingling through his veins. He waited for any negative effects, but nothing came. In fact, it almost felt… nicer than usual. Perhaps the fae had some sort of food with positive effects like regeneration or healing on him and had given Wilbur that. He’d heard that existed but had never tasted something with it himself.

“Is that enough?” the fae asked.

Wilbur nodded.

“Alright, then, finish eating.”

Wilbur obeyed, eating another bite of the bread. He was hoping starting with the bread would stop his empty stomach from rebelling at the sudden influx. However, he was growing more convinced that the chocolate he’d been given had some good effect on it because his stomach didn’t hurt nearly as much as expected after eating it. He was able to move onto the beef soup without any nausea.

“Your hair is a mess,” the fae commented as Wilbur ate. Wilbur glanced at him carefully from the corner of his eye. The fae seemed hyper focused on Wilbur’s matted hair. The fae’s hair was immaculate, a light pink, falling over his shoulders and almost shining in the light from the fire. Hair was probably one of his things, Wilbur surmised. All fae had things. It was probably bothering the fuck out of him, Wilbur thought. He knew exactly where this was going and internally grimaced.

“Can I brush it out for you?” the fae asked. Wilbur was surprised it was phrased as a question, though he was sure it was not intended as one.

“Sure,” Wilbur replied.

He focused intently on eating even when he felt the fae touch his head. Fingers probed at the matts Wilbur’s hair had developed over the past half a year. If Wilbur had a choice of how to deal with them, he’d cut them out; he didn’t have a choice.

He didn’t bother to watch the fae, focusing on eating and letting his mind drift away from the situation. The fae may have gotten up at some point to get supplies or maybe he had them in his pockets, Wilbur didn’t know. He felt something cold and wet hit his neck in a mist but kept on eating.

He forced himself to mentally pull away from his own body as much as he could, even though he knew he wasn’t good at it. He’d been practicing and was pretty good at it when being left alone, but pain always brought him back. That was a shame since the whole point of the exercise was not to feel the pain.

The world fuzzed out. Wilbur was still eating. He thought he finished the soup and moved onto some more bread that had been provided and cheese. Then some fruit.

To his surprise, what pulled him back to his body was not pain but the fact that he’d ran out of food to eat. When he blinked back into awareness, a brush was running slowly through his hair, not hitting any snags.

His scalp was tingling, but not with echoes of missed pain, but with a bit of magic. The mats were gone, and Wilbur’s head felt much lighter without them. Had there… not been pain? He wondered, frowning down at the mostly empty tray. There was still a mug of tea which Wilbur picked up and sipped at.

There certainly wasn’t pain now. The brush running through his hair was slow and gentle. It felt nice to Wilbur’s surprise. He drank about half of the tea, tentatively allowing himself to be fully present, the warmth of the drink settling into his already full stomach pleasantly and the tugging on his hair gentle.

Eventually the fae put down the brush, but he wasn’t done. There were more gentle tugs on his hair, by the fae’s hands this time. Wilbur eventually realized he was braiding the hair. Eventually two mid length braids were dropped onto Wilbur’s back.

“There,” the fae said, seeming satisfied. A satisfied fae was always something reliving to hear, but strange to experience without the slowly dimming agony that usually accompanied it. “Are you finished eating?”

He’d finished off everything on the tray as well as the glass of water and mug of tea provided. Nothing but the chocolate was fae food and he felt no bad effects taking hold from anything he consumed. Wilbur nodded.

“Alright, I’m going to take the tray away. You stay in the room,” the fae said slowly. Wilbur nodded.

The tray and the fae was gone in two blinks leaving Wilbur alone sitting on the desk chair.

He stared at the desk for a long moment. The fae had ordered him to stay in the room, not in the chair. He wasn’t sure why he’d been put in the chair in the first place, but even if the pink haired fae was okay with it, the blonde one likely wasn’t. He wasn’t sure if the blonde one planned to show up anytime soon, but he didn’t want to be caught in the chair without the pink one around to explain it had been his decision. Plus, that fire looked really nice right now. That in mind, Wilbur stood.

Though he was warm now, the heat of the fire was still pleasant, so after a few moments of standing next to it, Wilbur chose to kneel on the rug in front of it.

He felt better. He felt clean from the bath and the pink haired one’s (‘Tech’ he recalled, but he didn’t dare to use even a nickname for him) work on his hair. He was warm and his stomach was filled. The potion he’d been given in the hallways and whatever was in the chocolate had helped too.

So, they wanted him alive.

He shuddered and it definitely wasn’t from the cold this time.

He tried to keep his mind away from all of the reasons the fae had bothered not only to passively keep him alive, but to actively work to heal him. It was difficult considering everything he’d seen the fae be capable of in his life.

He didn’t know how long he sat there trying and failing to not come up with scenarios before the door opened again. Wilbur kept his eyes on the ground and his hands folded in his lap.

“W’by!” a familiar little voice said as footsteps went pounding across the floor directly at him. Wilbur’s head went up sharply to see Tommy barreling towards him on unsteady legs. He barely managed to open his arms enough to catch him in them.

Wilbur was surprised by how much change there was to him having only been with the other fae for an hour and away from Wilbur’s side for only 40 minutes or so. He was clearly already feeling better and was back to smelling like blueberries and honey instead of stinking of death and sickness. That was… that was fast.

Wilbur had been right to bring him here despite the consequences.

There was movement at the door, reminding Wilbur of those consequences. He was careful to keep his eyes on the floor even as he could see the blond one shuffle into the room. Now that he was not in the middle of passing out, he noted that the blond fae… felt different, somehow. The pink haired fae was terrifyingly large and had that roughness to the way he spoke all winters did. However, the blond fae reminded Wilbur of something he couldn’t quite place, striking a dissonant chord within Wilbur’s hollow chest.

He was clearly powerful, and considering how the pink haired one had summoned him for assistance despite the fact that he was clearly a spring (therefore in no mood to do anything in autumn), he was likely the king of this fae court. So, perhaps he just reminded Wilbur of Tommy’s mother. That would explain the chill that passed through him as the fae stepped towards them. There was something else there, however. Wilbur’s mind landed briefly on his own mother which was an odd thought considering the woman had been human and full of resentment towards Wilbur. It was possible Wilbur was picking up feelings of resentment from the fae, but he didn’t know why the fae would be resenting him. It also didn’t feel like the right conclusion.

He did not have time to continue to contemplate this because now the fae was standing there, hovering over him and Tommy.

He instinctually hugged Tommy tighter before remembering Tommy was at no risk from the fae. Only Wilbur was. He was confused as to why Tommy was here, actually, and while he was thankful for this brief reprieve and the chance to see him truly okay and warm and fed, dread started to settle in Wilbur’s heart.

Why?

Why was Tommy here?

“You look better,” the blonde one said. He could only assume the man was addressing Wilbur since he’d already seen Tommy. Wilbur nodded his head against Tommy’s shoulder. He hoped that meant he’d done well when it came to the bath, not that he imagined doing well would help him much, but not doing well could have probably hurt him.

Wilbur inhaled sharply as arms came around him and Tommy both. He was no longer kneeling on the ground the next second, but in the air. The blond one was surprisingly strong, though perhaps it should not have been a surprise.

Wilbur with Tommy in his arms was deposited on the bed.

Wilbur didn’t move, still frozen in a kneeling position even though he’d been set on his side. Tommy squirmed in his arms and Wilbur let that part of his body go lax so the baby could rearrange himself into a more comfortable position.

Wilbur stared at the baby, his baby, but not anymore, as he nuzzled back up against Wilbur with his innocent, content, little smile.

He could feel the adult fae’s gaze on them like a noose tightening around his neck.

The worst thing that could happen, something Wilbur hadn’t even considered until that moment, was becoming a lesson for Tommy. Tommy had been around Wilbur for a long time and had grown attached just as much as Wilbur had grown attached to him. While Wilbur being dedicated to Tommy wouldn’t be so bad, Tommy being at all dedicated to a human would be… an inconvenience for the ones taking him in to say the least.

His breath began to speed up.

“Woah, hey,” the fae said, a hand touching Wilbur’s shoulder. It began suddenly even harder to breathe. “Hey, what’s wrong.”

“N-not in front of him,” Wilbur whispered like it was a prayer, and really the man at his back may as well be a god. He was probably the closest Wilbur was going to get to one.

“What?”

“Please. Anything,” Wilbur said. “Anything you want. Just not in front of him. Please, he’s too little. He won’t understand. Please.”

The blond one paused for far too long.

“Please,” Wilbur said again, his begging now deteriorating into senseless, breathless, pleas.

“Hush,” the fae finally said. There was a hand on Wilbur’s back now rubbing a circle. “Neither of you will be harmed here. It’s okay.”

The fae couldn’t lie, but Wilbur still couldn’t breathe; he was starting to get dizzy.

“You need to calm down,” the fae said. It was almost certainly an order, but Wilbur couldn’t obey. “Shit,” the fae said. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a small vial. “Here,” he said. “Take a sip of this for me.”

Wilbur could do nothing but whimper. He tried to pull away when the fae made him sit up and pressed the vial to his lips, but his body wasn’t obeying him.

The potion slid down his throat with a familiar sensation of toppling into a pit of darkness. Well, a sleeping potion wasn’t the worst potion he could have been given.

He drifted to sleep within moments, but it was hard to go peacefully when he knew he’d wake up.

Chapter Text

“He fell asleep?” Techno asked when he saw the human child’s surprisingly peaceful face. The boy was curled up on the bed, loosely wrapped around Tommy who was sitting up.

Phil grimaced. “Not exactly,” he said. “He had a panic attack, so I gave him a potion.

Ah, well, that did better match the behavior he’d exhibited so far.

“I don’t think he knew where he was,” Phil continued. “Stuck in the past perhaps.”

And there was certainly something in his past, but what Techno wasn’t quite sure yet. “He needed fae food,” Techno informed him.

“Did you…?”

“Only a small bit,” Techno said. “It sounds like he’s weaned himself off of it. Said he only needs a bit every few days.”

“Hmm,” Phil replied, his tone contemplative.

The human having been exposed to fae food did not by itself imply anything bad, but when taking into account how bad of shape he was in and the panic attack, it could be indicative of something more. They wouldn’t be able to learn what exactly that could be until the kid was awake and calm enough to hold a conversation with one of them.

For now, Techno turned to the other child in the bed. “And how’s this one?” ‘This one’ had rolled himself over onto his stomach and was now slowly making his way across the bed on hands and knees. His destination appeared to be Techno.

“He’s fine,” Phil said, watching his progress. “He was cold and hungry, but really there wasn’t anything more wrong with him once we got him out of the human realm. I gave him some summer honey and half a health potion to be safe.”

“That’s good,” Techno said. “Surprising given the circumstances, but good.”

The baby had managed to get to Techno’s side of the bed. Techno glanced down at him. “Hello.”

The baby plopped down on his butt and raised both arms towards Techno.

“No. Thank you.”

“Techno,” Phil chided.

Techno sighed and bent over so he and the baby were on the same level. “Yes, what would you like?”

A small hand grabbed one of his ears with a surprising amount of strength.

“Ouch,” Techno said blandly. In response, the baby tugged on his ear. “Tommy, no.” As Techno had predicted, the name struck home. Tommy released his ear only to clap his hands a moment later.

“You know his name?” Phil asked.

“Kid mentioned it.”

“…Huh,” was Phil’s only reply. He seemed to decide to put away the questions inspired by that fact until the child who could talk was awake. Instead, he looked at the baby. “Tommy,” he tried himself.

Tommy’s head snapped to him instantly. He squirmed until he was on his stomach again and then started crawling towards Phil this time.

“Oh, you’re going to be a looper, aren’t you?” Phil asked with a fond expression.

“What’s ‘a looper,’” Techno asked.

“Some kids his age feel the urge to move towards someone who says their name,” Phil explained. “If you have two or more adults, you can get them going in circles. It’s pretty funny and the best way to get a baby down for a nap.” Phil swooped up the baby when he was close enough. “Speaking of, I think we should probably put this guy to bed. Hopefully, Bee will be able to give us a bit more information in the morning.”

“Bee?” Techno asked.

Phil shrugged. “It’s what Tommy called him. It’s obviously not his actual one. I’ll assume he’s okay with us calling him that too unless he tells us something different tomorrow.”

~~~

Unfortunately, the human wasn’t forthcoming with any information about his preferred name or anything else the next day. Despite the regeneration and healing they’d given him; he fell ill overnight. Regen helped, but for such a small, weak thing, giving him more than one potion a day multiple days in a row could be dangerous. So, they mostly had to just let him work through the sickness.

By the next morning, his fever had spiked to a temperature that rivaled Tommy’s (though to be fair, Tommy, though out of the danger zone, still had some heating up to do). He then spent most of the next two weeks asleep. The rare times he was awake, it was a toss-up if he’d be out of sorts and confused or completely delirious.

This led to Phil and Techno playing a game of child hot potato while Techno tried to bring in the winter and Phil dealt with his duties as king (luckily already limited due to it being autumn).

It did not help that Tommy would start wailing anytime Bee was clearly in pain (which was anytime he was awake), so they had to be separated most of the time. Tommy ended up having to go along with either Techno or Phil to whatever duties they had. Techno had found trying to do anything with a baby was difficult. Phil had already known this, but Tommy’s audacity was a new experience even for him.

The first time Phil had taken the baby to court, Tommy (of course not being introduced to anyone by name) had received his first official widespread nickname when he’d stolen the crown right off of Phil’s head and stuck it in his mouth. Everyone at court and all residents of the castle now relished in calling him The New Supreme Ruler of Everything Under the Sun. From what Techno had observed, everyone loved their new little king. Phil had eventually gotten the crown back… after Tommy had fallen asleep that night. The child seemed completely aware of and incredibly pleased with his new title and position in court.

Meanwhile, Bee was not having nearly as good of a time.

When the human was asleep, it was easy enough to decide who had which child. When one of them had something pressing to deal with, that person would take Tommy while the other stayed with Bee. If neither had anything to do, they took shifts or even let Tommy hang out with Bee on the bed (while praying to Kristin the older boy didn’t wake and get the baby screaming).

When Bee was awake, things got much more complicated.

When Bee was awake and (mostly) lucid, Techno had to be the one to stay with him. In fact, Phil could not be in the room. Phil’s very presence was likely to send him into an anxiety attack within minutes for yet unknown reasons. Since they were already maxing him out of regeneration points, they couldn’t even give him a potion to calm him back down.

It could take up to an hour for Techno to get him back to sleep after one of these episodes. Bee was not exactly comfortable around Techno either, flinching away at any quick movements and occasionally working himself up into a dissociative state, but it was nothing like the screaming session that would occur with Phil nearby.

One would think then the obvious solution would be for Techno to stay with him whenever possible and for Phil to take over Tommy duty almost full time, but unfortunately, it was not that simple.

When Bee was in the midst of his worst delirium, his opinion of Phil completely flipped. He would not be calm unless Phil was in the room. In his worst fits, he wouldn’t calm down unless he was literally in Phil’s arms. He’d even called Phil ‘dad’ a few times during his incoherent mumblings. Phil, of course, took this with no small bit of discomfort considering only one person had ever called him that before, but it also seemed to endear him to the child. This, of course, made the times Bee freaked out in his presence much worse.

Perhaps, Techno thought, Phil reminded Bee of his father.

Perhaps that explained both reactions.

~~~

It was a relief when Bee’s fever finally broke exactly 5 days before winter officially began. It had been weeks of tension and running back and forth, so Techno had been on full alert when he’d looked up from his book to see Bee’s eyes open. The human had been looking down at where Phil was playing with Tommy on the floor and Techno was wondering if he’d need to swipe Tommy from his arms and flee or if Phil would need to get out asap. However, Bee didn’t fly into any type of fit. His eyes were not distant or clouded in any way.

Techno closed his book slowly. “You awake over there?” Techno asked. The boy flinched and looked up at Techno. He didn’t say anything. “You spiked a fever,” Techno explained. “You’ve been out of it for a long while.”

Considering all the kid had done was scream in the last two weeks, his voice was quiet and broke at the start of the word, “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Techno said, reaching over to the nightstand for a cup. “Drink this.” Bee pulled himself into a sitting position to drink. The kid managed to suck a full quarter of the water through the straw before Techno pulled it away. “Slowly,” he chided. He paused for a moment before offering the cup again. The kid was obedient. He slowly sipped the drink through the straw until he’d drained the whole cup. Techno pulled it away when he heard the sound of air being sucked up the straw.

The kid slow blinked at him. “Was that water?” he asked. His voice still sounded like it hurt to use, but it was a bit better.

“Yep,” Techno said. “We’ll get you some hot tea in a minute for that throat.”

“Bee!” a little voice shrieked. Phil had stood up with Tommy in his arms. The baby was reaching towards the boy on the bed and kicking both feet angrily. The Supreme Ruler of Everything Under the Sun clearly was unhappy with the speed his servant was moving. “Bee!”

“Yes, yes,” Phil soothed. Techno sat back in his chair to make way for him. “Here is your Bee.” Bee gave Phil an odd look as he settled the baby in the boy’s lap. Bee’s arms automatically came up to hold him. He knew how to hold a baby much better than Techno despite Techno’s two weeks of practice.

Tommy, the moment he was able to reach, smacked both of Bee’s cheeks in displeasure. Bee blinked and then bent forward to touch their foreheads together. Tommy calmed at this almost instantly, settling down in Bee’s lap.

Phil stepped away from the bed. “I’ll go get him something to eat,” he said.

Techno nodded. It was probably best until they knew how Bee would react to Phil while fully awake and aware that they weren’t left alone together.

Techno glanced at Bee. The last two weeks had only added to the many questions he had for him. Right now, however, the boy was curling up around Tommy like he was trying to hide him from the world. His shoulders shook a bit and Techno realized he was crying.

…

Fuck. Why had he let Phil get the food?

Techno, unsure what to do, averted his gaze. Wow, hmm, this was nice carpet. He personally liked more fluffy carpet, but he could acknowledge it looked nice… yup…

Despite very carefully not looking at the lump of children on the bed, he could still hear how Bee’s breathing was off rhythm. His breath hitched every few seconds. At least he didn’t seem to be sliding into a panic attack.

Then again, Techno slightly knew what to do for a panic attack at this point. Crying on the other hand…

They stayed like that for the 10 minutes it took for Phil to come back with a tray of food.

Phil gave Techno a look upon observing the scene, but honestly Techno didn’t know what he was supposed to have done about it.

“Hey, Bee,” Phil said softly. His voice was a more high pitched and humany one than he usually used even with humans. “Why don’t you hand Tommy off to Techno so you can eat?”

Bee paused, but then slowly uncurled. He pressed a kiss to the top of Tommy’s head before letting Techno pick him up. Tommy made an unhappy sound at being removed from his favorite person’s lap but got distracted when Phil took one of the bowls on the tray and passed it over to Techno. It was a bowl of cut up peaches, Techno noticed. Tommy instantly tried to stick his hands in the bowl but having already made the mistake of allowing such things twice, Techno pulled the bowl out of reach. Instead, he selected one piece of the fruit and offered it to Tommy whom he was restraining with his other hand.

Meanwhile, Phil put the tray on Bee’s lap, though he took the mug of hot tea and set it on the nightstand beside the bed.

“It’s all human food, except the peaches and I kept it a low dose,” Phil said. “Eat what you need.”

Bee nodded and began to eat. He started with the peaches, eating all of them before moving onto the human food. The room was mostly silent for the next few minutes other than the sound of Bee eating and Tommy attempting every conceivable plot to get both of his hands into the bowl of peaches. Bee, likely starving since they hadn’t been able to get much solid food into him the last two weeks, finished everything on the tray plus the tea.

Once all the food was gone, Phil dug out a regen potion from his pocket and set it on the tray. “Here,” he said. “This too.”

Bee stared at the bottle silently for a moment. Techno watched him, passing another piece of peach to Tommy idly. Bee’s hand shook as he reached for the potion, and perhaps that was not odd. He was rather weak from his sickness after all… but Techno had just watched him drink a mug of hot tea without any problems.

“You don’t have to drink it,” Techno spoke up. The boy paused, his hand wrapped around the bottle. He did not look up at Techno when he spoke, but kept his eyes lowered.

Phil, Techno thought, had not noticed anything amiss before Techno said something, but he did now.

“It’s regeneration,” Phil explained. “It helps your immune system and will make you feel better quicker, but no you don’t have to take it, especially since your fever’s gone now.”

Bee did not respond. He kept his gaze fixed on the potion, hesitating for a long moment. Then he picked it up, uncorking and downing it whole in one fluid movement. Neither Phil nor Techno had a chance to say anything else.

“Good,” Phil said, taking the empty bottle back after only a moment’s hesitation. “That’ll help.”

Techno was not sure if it was good though. There was a tremor to Bee now, and his unfocused eyes didn’t move from where the bottle had been. Techno recognized the expression on his face from the couple of times he’d somehow moved wrong while the boy had been sick. His eyes would go glassy like that, fixed on something that didn’t exist, and then he’d just go. He wouldn’t fall asleep, he’d just freeze, eyes open but heart racing when Techno had checked.

Techno set down Tommy’s bowl of peaches and grabbed a cube of ice from the otherwise empty waterglass. He reached over to put the ice in Bee’s hand. The boy flinched violently, the tray almost upending except that Techno’s hand was there to force it back down. He came out of it though, whatever it was.

“It just boosts your natural healing abilities,” Techno said, “it only lasts for 30 seconds, and you did not have to drink it.”

The kid did not say anything, eyes bopping around and hand clenching in what looked like a painful way around the ice Techno had put there.

“Count to 30,” Techno said. The human heard him, head twitching towards him, but he did not obey. “Do it.”

The kid flinched again but opened his mouth. “One, two,” the first two numbers came out as nothing more than a whisper, but by the time he was at “ten” he was speaking at a normal volume. Once he hit “eighteen,” Techno could tell the effects of the potion had worn off, the animalistic panic in his eyes dying, but he still let the kid continue until he hit “thirty.” By then his shoulder had slumped and his breathing had evened out.

“Perhaps, no more potions for a bit, Phil,” Techno said calmly. He bounced the leg Tommy was on when the baby who had been surprisingly, but thankfully silent through the ordeal whined softly.

Phil looked horrified, which was valid. Techno was a bit horrified himself.

He was also, somehow, filled with even more questions, but looking at the still slightly shaking child, they would, again, have to wait.

~~~

Techno and Phil agreed to give the kid another week to recover before even trying to get information out of him. The thing was fragile and not in the way all humans or all children were.

Even without any more potions, he physically recovered quickly enough, but it was clear the illness he’d acquired getting here just scratched the surface of what was wrong. The real problem was from before that journey even began.

Phil and Techno had their theories, but until they could ask him, they couldn’t be sure. Techno insisted it had something to do with his father considering how he acted around Phil while ill and even now that he was better. However, an abusive human father couldn’t explain his dependence on fae food and fear of potions, not to mention the entire natural born fae child he’d shown up with.

Phil thought maybe he and Tommy were half-brothers. It was rare, but possible for a fae to settle down with a human in the human realm. It was rarer still for those unions to produce a child, though slightly more likely if the mother was human. However, it would explain why Bee knew Tommy’s true name better than the other option which was Bee had in some way been taken in by a fae court.

If Bee was a random human in a fae court, there was no way he would have been given Tommy’s name, at least not at his age. Natural born fae were incredibly rare and incredibly precious. Usually only the parents would have the child’s true name. Maybe an older sibling or declared heir would also be trusted, but since the average number of declared heirs a fae royal had was 0.5 and the average number of natural born children was all but 0, this was an unlikely circumstance. You especially wouldn’t give the name to a human child. Even if you planned for that child to eventually become an heir, trusting one so young was unthinkable. Not to mention trusting one who had clearly been abused by fae magic in some capacity.

In that case, it was much more likely for Tommy to have Bee’s true name, not the other way around. However, Tommy had only ever used a nickname for him.

The two being brothers did make sense considering their bond, but the chances of that truly were astronomical. The fae were immortal and their ability to produce children reflected this. Crossbreeding added even more difficulties. Even if a couple managed to get pregnant, the baby typically wasn’t viable.

Of course, crossbreeding wasn’t impossible. Phil and Kristin had somehow managed it and Kristin wasn’t even humanoid a good percentage of the time. (Techno had never had any interest in asking for details.) Their union had (somehow) produced a natural born fae child. A similar situation happening with a fae and a human was, all things considered, more likely, even though the probabilities of both things did round to 0.

Even with a couple where both were faes, natural born children were rare and very revered when they came to be. Most fae ‘reproduced’ by creating an heir out of a mostly or fully grown human like Phil had done to Techno. This was still difficult to do, but easier than producing a natural born fae.

In fact, Phil having possession of a second naturally born fae child (even if said second child was not his by blood and the first was currently… indisposed) had already skyrocketed his status among the courts.

Not to mention, Tommy was a summer. People were careful not to mention it to Phil’s face considering the current state of autumn, but Tommy would complete the seasons for Phil’s lineage. That combined with Phil’s age and marriage partner had people talking (if quietly and out of Phil’s earshot). If Phil had considered this angle, he hadn’t made any indication of it even to Techno, but if when Wilbur returned, it would be the first time the seasons were completed by one lineage since before Phil had been born.

Of course, this was only if Tommy did not have family somewhere out there. It was unlikely considering how he’d been found, but technically possible. (It was also getting more and more unlikely Phil would care at all if he did have family especially as he observed Bee’s horrifying behavior.) However, the only way to know for sure was to ask Bee about it, and that would have to wait.

~~~

When the week was up, Techno and Phil agreed Techno should be the one to question Bee. It wasn’t that Techno wanted that responsibility, but against all odds and logic, Bee seemed more comfortable around Techno than Phil. It wasn’t as explicit when he was fully conscious, but Phil clearly triggered something in him. Even when Phil was doing his best to act gentle and human-like, Bee always seemed to gravitate to Techno. So, Techno was going to have to talk to the human.

They fed Bee and Tommy breakfast together as they’d gotten into the habit of doing. Bee only had human food today as he’d had some fae food the day before, and he was sitting at the desk instead of in bed.

Meanwhile, Phil sat on an armchair, trying very hard to not let Tommy get his hands, feet, and face into a bowl of strawberries. However, the strawberries were covered in honey today, so Tommy was very very determined to have them all immediately.

“Ahh!”

“Nope, no, Tommy stop,” Phil said. “Ouch!”

Bee finished his whole tray of food without complaint as usual. Techno wondered if he even liked what was on the tray, but that was a conversation for another time. They had a more pressing one for today. Techno glanced at Phil who was still wrestling with Tommy over the strawberries. Then, he looked back at Bee.

“You seem to be recovered physically,” Techno said. Bee glanced at him and then looked away again. Techno cleared his throat. “Therefore, we shall go on a walk.”

Bee nodded without any protest and stood up.

Phil glanced up briefly at them as they left. “Wait, Tommy no!” Techno heard as he closed the door behind him.

Techno paused for a moment while looking at the human. “Uh, this way,” he said, turning down the hallway. He heard quiet footsteps patter behind him. They were silent as they walked. Techno almost took him outside to the gardens without a coat or shoes before remembering he’d just recovered from almost dying from the cold. He stole one of Phil’s extra warm coats for him and managed to find some old fur lined boots approximately his size. Only then did they go outside.

The fae realm seasons were a bit more clear-cut than in the human realm. Winter had only started 2 days ago, but instead of the layer of golden leaves that had covered everything before, there was now a thin layer of fluffy snow, and icicles hung from the fountain that bubbled happily in every other season. Yet still the large tree near the fountain perpetually had pink flowers falling gently from it.

Techno glanced at the human to make sure he didn’t start to shiver but considering Phil’s coat wrapped almost three times around him, he seemed fine. They continued to walk farther into the garden as he tried to think of a way to start this conversation, but he couldn’t think of anything.

“Tommy’s favorite food is blackberries,” Bee suddenly blurted, pulling Techno’s attention abruptly to him, “but he doesn’t like the seeds getting stuck in his teeth, so if you make them into juice and strain them out, it’ll make him really happy. And if he can’t sleep, a bit of warm lavender tea will calm him down. It’ll work better if you add a bit of cream, but if not, that’s okay. We didn’t have it much, so he’s used to not having it. He really likes soft things, but you have to be careful with what you give him because he still sticks everything in his mouth. And he has a really good sense of smell, so if he,” the kid’s voice broke slightly, “if he starts to miss me, you can wrap him up in one of the blankets we slept on together. That’s what I’d do whenever he was being clinging when I had other stuff to do…”

“Whoa kid,” Techno tried to stop his tirade, but the human wasn’t done.

“You’ll be nice to him, right?” the human asked, looking up at Techno fully for what may have been the first time. He had dark brown eyes that looked just a touch too big for his face. They were also glazed over with tears; Techno doubted he could even see Techno’s face at this point. “Because he’s so little and… and he’s yours now, so you won’t be mean to him.”

He was shaking by the end of his speech, like the last brown leaf on a tree before the winter winds plucked it off.

“Kid,” Techno tried again, bending down to be at his level, but that seemed to be the wrong move as he flinched at the movement. Techno lost the boy’s eyes as his gaze returned to the ground. His frame curled in upon itself. Techno studied him, this little shriveled up piece of human that was full of too many mysteries to count. “What’s going on in that head of yours?” he asked. “What do you think is happening here?”

“Punishment,” was the immediate answer.

“Punishment?” Techno asked, confused. “For what?”

“I trespassed on your lands,” Bee said, “without invitation or bounded agreement to give me free passage. Therefore, my life is forfeit.”

Techno couldn’t help but frown at the words. They were familiar worlds if only from books. They were old words, and ones that clearly did not belong to the boy of less than 10 years in front of him. At least not originally. Yet, they still rolled off his tongue as though they’d been heard dozens of times.

“Who said that to you?” Techno asked. He realized far too late that his voice had dropped a few too many octaves into something clearly nonhuman. Phil would have scolded him harshly if he’d heard him use that tone in front of a human. Yet, to Techno’s surprise, the growl in his voice didn’t make Bee flinch away. In fact, his eyes flickered up briefly in shock, but no (extra) terror before returning to the ground.

The boy did not answer; he did not look like he planned to anytime soon.

Techno reached out, a mistake, he knew even as he acted with the way the boy had flinched from him before. He did flinch this time too when Techno’s hand descended on his shoulder, but then he went still. Techno did not know if that was a good or bad thing, but it did stop his shuddering.

His other hand came up to grab Bee’s chin and tilt his head up, so he was looking Techno right in the eyes with his startled brown ones.

“Okay,” Techno said, “how about a deal then?”

There was instant wariness in his eyes, but also a bit of curiosity. “A deal?” he asked.

Phil was going to kill him.

“Free passage, as you put it,” Techno proposed, “in exchange for you telling me how you came to learn that exact phrasing.”

Bee’s eyes widened at the offer, but still he hesitated, contemplating it for a moment.

“Free passage,” Bee clarified, “means I don’t die? Or get put in any type of prison? Or get turned into living food for trees?”

Techno grimaced at the thought of any of their trees being Blood Trees, let alone ones that fed off a small human child.

“You will not be killed or harmed in any way because of your existence in this realm,” Techno promised. He could feel the words fall heavily onto himself even though no deal was yet made. It was more of a deal with himself for now.

“Deal,” the child said.

“Good,” Techno said softly, and then leaned forward to bump their foreheads together gently. When he drew back, Bee looked startled at the slightly less conventional method of sealing the deal, and honestly Techno was startled by his choice as well.

Most deals were confirmed by a handshake or sometimes a kiss, though the latter was a more familiar gesture. Techno’s choice was also more of a familiar gesture, but one of a different kind. Bee had likely never seen anything of the sort.

Techno cleared his throat. “Now speak.”

Bee nodded earnestly. “My mom sold me to a Fae queen when I was six,” he said, concerningly casually. “The Queen thought I was too little to be fun yet, so she was going to let me grow up a bit. I saw what happened to humans who trespassed though, and she’d always say those words when she found them.”

“Hmmm,” Techno said. “Do you know the exact title of this queen?”

Bee shook his head.

“How about a location?” Techno asked.

“You can’t give me back to her,” Bee said his tone uncharacteristically sharp. “She’s dead anyway.”

“No, I wouldn’t be giving you back,” Techno agreed lowly, the hand that was still lingering on his shoulder squeezing slightly. Bee gave Techno an odd look at that but didn’t try to pull away. “I just wanted to know who it was, but she’s dead you say?”

Bea nodded. “Fae hunters made it into the castle and killed everyone.”

Good, Techno thought automatically. Though, really, Fae hunters mucking about was a bit concerning. The fact they had been able to storm a castle was even more so. Although, to be fair, that was one non-moral reason not to feed your realm’s trees with human blood. It made the borders weaker to human influence.

“And what about Tommy?” Techno asked.

“Oh, Tommy was the fae Queen’s son,” Bee answered. Again, his tone was casual while the content of the words was startling. “He was small enough that hunters couldn’t tell if he was human or not just by looking at him, so I said he was my brother and then ran away from their camp at night.”

“That is… very kind and very brave of you,” Techno said, leaning forward to tap their foreheads together once again on instinct, though it was unnecessary for the deal. “Your end of the deal is complete, good job.”

He released the kid then. There was still wariness in his eyes in the moment it took for him to look away from Techno again. He was probably worried he’d been somehow tricked with the deal.

“C’mon kid,” Techno said. “Phil’s probably done feeding Tommy and knowing that child, he’s probably already throwing a tantrum that you’re not there.” Plus, Techno wanted to get Bee out of the courtyard considering how bad it had freaked him out. They had a deal now to address the fear of becoming tree food, but still. Techno held out his hand this time and the human cautiously took it.

~~~

Phil would be absolutely livid if he knew what Techno was doing. Techno himself wasn’t particularly thrilled by his own methods even if the results spoke for themselves.

“Tommy’s fidgety,” because he was watching Bee do what Phil referred to as his anxiety dance, “If you settle down next to him and listen to me read for half an hour, you can pick out whatever you want for lunch tomorrow.”

The offer caused the boy to pause, consider, and then creep up to Techno. “Deal,” he said, offering up his forehead for Techno to tap with his own. Then, he laid down next to Tommy; both kids were out within the given half hour. Techno also got to learn that Bee liked baked ziti. It was a win-win for both of them.

Still.

Humans were fragile. There was always a risk in deals between humans and fae, and that risk laid far more heavily on the humans’ shoulders. Even fae acting in good faith could forget important facts about humans like how often they needed to eat and drink or how fragile their skin was. Most humans didn’t consider the fae wouldn’t think of these things when crafting deals and didn’t always correctly advocate for themselves when making deals.

“Every chapter of this book you read, you get one piece of chocolate,” Techno said.

“Why?” Bee asked, eyes guarded as he stared at the book.

Because you have done nothing but stare forlornly at books the entire time we’ve been in the library.

“This book has information about fae culture. You should know about the fae in case Tommy ever asks.”

“And if I don’t read any?”

“No extra chocolate.”

“But I still get other food?”

“Yes.”

He thought for a moment more and then nodded, before tilting his head up towards Techno. “Deal.”

Even if a fae remembered everything a human needed and very carefully crafted deals that did not harm humans physically, there was still the mental aspect to consider. Fae and human culture were very different. Certain parts of deals that to a fae would elicit a disgruntled huff would be a life ruining violation for a human being. Fae grew up making deals with their parents or mentors where the power imbalance was felt but harmless and loving. To humans these things could be a strangling lack of autonomy when they didn’t know how to breathe under them.

“Was the nightmare about Tommy’s mother?” Techno asked.

Bee looked up at Techno with tired eyes. Techno hoped Phil had managed to get Tommy back to bed after Bee’s freak out. The last thing they needed was a crabby baby on top of dealing with an exhausted, jumpy, Bee tomorrow. Every deal Techno had offered tonight that so much as implied he should blink for more than three seconds had been adamantly denied.

“Yes,” Bee answered simply. He had a book in his lap, but since he hadn’t requested a piece of chocolate yet, Techno was sure he hadn’t gotten very far in the last 4 hours.

“Why don’t you tell me about it?”

Bee stared at him without reacting.

Techno inwardly sighed. “If you tell me about it, I’ll brush your hair for you.”

It was a very unneeded reward. Bee’s hair had already been brushed before bed by Phil and he could handle it on his own besides. It also wasn’t something that Bee would horribly want. He liked having his hair brushed, they’d found, but not enough to bend his will for it.

“Is it a breakable deal?” Bee asked softly.

“You can back out at any time without consequences.”

Bee put his book down and joined Techno on the couch. He half crawled into Techno’s lap to bonk their heads together and then didn’t leave.

Bee did not fully fall asleep while Techno brushed his hair, but he did doze for about an hour. It was at least something.

As a rule, fae didn’t make deals with humans without much consideration and shied away from making deals with ones they didn’t want to harm. It was especially frowned upon to make deals with human guests, let alone child human guests.

They weren’t like fae children. While deals were necessary for fae children to blossom, it was likely for a human to wither under them.

“If you finish your lessons today,” Techno said. “I will walk with you in the garden this evening.”

Bee always finished his lessons. Techno did not know if he wanted to walk in the gardens. The last time they had, it had freaked Bee out.

Bee hummed, looking up at him from where he’d been scribbling notes from a textbook.

“It’s spring now,” Techno said. “It’s warm enough for humans to be outside without a coat. I even checked with Phil.”

“Okay,” Bee agreed, waiting for the forehead tap before going back to his writing.

~~~

Despite Techno’s assurances, Bee had still come to him after dinner with a jacket. He ended up tying it around his waist rather quickly.

“I think spring is my favorite season,” Techno offered as they walked down the garden path.

Bee’s face screwed up. “You’re a winter,” he pointed out.

Techno just shrugged.

“I think I like summer best,” Bee said after a few moments.

Techno chuckled. “That’s just because of Tommy.”

“And your choice is not just because of Phil?” Bee asked, his tone startlingly withering. It made Techno squint at him in surprise. “At least I’m not going against my own nature.”

“I think you’d be a spring actually, if you were fae. It’s your color,” Techno said. He plucked a bit of lavender from a bush near the path and held it next to Bee’s face. “See?”

In response, Bee sneezed.

“Or perhaps not,” Techno said, grimacing as he felt drops of snot land on his hand. Tommy constantly reminded him that children were gross, but he hadn’t thought Bee would betray him in this way. “Nose in elbow next time please,” Techno said. Bee just blinked at him. “Like this,” Techno said, demonstrating. “It stops you from sneezing on people.”

“Okay.” He sounded unconvinced. Children.

They continued their walk, speaking about the spring plants popping up around them. Techno was so absorbed in watching Bee to make sure he didn’t have a freakout similar to the last time they were in the gardens that he didn’t notice where they’d gone until Bee paused in front of a certain tree.

“Is this tree dying?” Bee asked. “All the other ones are green.”

Techno looked up quickly, slightly afraid that it actually would be dying as they had expected it to all those years ago, but the tree was still sturdy, its golden leaves making a pile at its foot no faster than they reappeared on its branches.

“No,” he replied with a sigh. “It’s not dying. It’s just an autumn tree.”

“An autumn tree?”

“Just like the tree over there is completely green like its summer despite it being spring.”

“And like the one near the fountain is always blooming pink flowers?”

“Exactly.”

“What makes them like that?” Bee asked with a frown.

“Most of the trees around here are connected to a fae,” Techno said. “They share a life force. A summer’s tree is always green no matter the season and a spring’s is always blooming. That one was… is a friend of mine’s. An autumn.”

“Oh,” Bee replied. There was a long stretch of silence where both of them looked at the tree and its slowly falling leaves. Bee eventually broke the silence. “Is a winter’s tree always dead then?”

Techno chuckled. “No, typically a winter gets some sort of evergreen tree. Mine is a blue spruce.”

Bee took a moment to absorb the information. He looked back at the tree. Techno waited for more questions about the specific tree, but none were forthcoming. “Does Tommy have a tree then?”

“That’s a good question,” Techno said. “We haven’t looked for it, but it’s likely somewhere around here.”

“Why would it be here?” Bee asked. “He wasn’t born here.”

“No,” Techno said, “but fae trees can move. They’ll root down wherever a fae thinks of as home. I’d imagine Tommy’s tree has moved here by now.” He glanced at Bee. “I’d like to find it actually. Perhaps we can look for it tomorrow.”

For the first time, Bee didn’t balk at the offer despite the lack of a deal behind it. “Okay,” he agreed.

Chapter Text

Tommy’s tree did end up being in the castle gardens. They’d found the tiny tree firmly planted by one of the old filled in ponds. Its green leaves were bright and healthy, and Tommy was entranced by it when they showed it to him.

Now that it was spring, Techno and Phil allowed Tommy outside as long as one of the adult fae was nearby. Wilbur often went on these excursions as well. Wilbur could set the baby down in front of his tree, and he’d stare at it in silence for a couple of hours. Considering how active of a baby Tommy had become when Spring hit, this was a nice trick.

Currently, Wilbur was sitting at the base of the small summer tree with Tommy on his lap. One of Techno’s assigned books was being used as a seatbelt to keep Tommy still as Wilbur read. Techno himself had been sitting casually on a bench a few feet away for the last few hours. Since Spring had come, Techno had gotten a bit less energetic. However, he was old enough that the after-season blues did not hit him as hard. It helped that he apparently liked Spring, though the concept of the fae preferring his after-season instead of his own season or even his pre-season irrationally irritated Wilbur.

Phil had joined Techno on the bench only a few minutes ago, having completed whatever royal or seasonal duties he’d been doing all morning. He was of course living his best life. This also irrationally irritated Wilbur, an emotion made more extreme today as he was still slightly drowsy from the allergy medication Techno had made him take that morning before being permitted outside.

Luckily, he had one way to improve his own mood. “I finished a chapter,” Wilbur called, glancing up at the adults.

He watched as Techno reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the human chocolates he’d taken to carrying in addition to his fae ones. Techno tossed it towards him underhand, and Wilbur snatched it out of the air easily after all his practice the last few months.

“Mine!” Tommy declared as Wilbur caught the treat. His hands reached for it and Wilbur pulled it away.

“No, Tommy,” Wilbur said. “Human chocolate is not for baby fae.”

Tommy looked at him and then frowned. “Mine!”

Wilbur sighed and looked up at the other fae. “Can you get him something else to eat?”

“Sure,” Phil agreed, standing up. He pulled a blueberry out of his pocket. Personally, Wilbur would not eat that, but Tommy seemed content when Phil handed it to him, so Wilbur didn’t argue.

“Hey Bee,” Phil said, his tone gentle, but somehow also grating. He was not going back to his seat and Wilbur couldn’t help but tense up even though Phil had been nothing but kind over the last few months. “I think you should probably come up with another name to call Tommy when you’re outside.”

Wilbur blinked up at him. “What?” he asked. “Why?”

“Well, it’s okay to use it when we’re alone, but when you’re in a public place where other fae may be, you should probably not use his true name for safety reasons.”

“Tommy isn’t his true name,” Wilbur said with a frown. “It’s just what I call him. I don’t know what his true name is. Noone would have told me it.”

Phil just looked him for a moment before giving him an odd grin. “I see,” he said slowly. Phil had squatted to hand Tommy the blueberry, but now he shifted so he was sitting on the ground in front of Wilbur. Wilbur stared at him as he did.

He didn’t always know what to think about Phil. Techno he could handle. He understood how the winter fae worked. Their relationship was layered in deals at this point, which gave Wilbur a defined structure to more easily navigate their interactions. Plus, Techno wasn’t good at lying. Well, technically no fae was good at lying, but unlike Phil, there was a genuine feel to how Techno acted. He never could quite hide how very fae he was in front of Wilbur. His voice got too echoey and deep when he was irritated, and his face did not always emote like a human’s would. He’d never been harsh, but he could be rather pushy. He always made it clear what he wanted from Wilbur, and that made it easier for Wilbur to breathe.

Phil was a different story. He was good at acting human, but Wilbur was too familiar with the fae for it to fool him. He could see bits of the fae past the human-like façade especially now that Phil’s season had come, and that made him leerier of him than if he’d just shown himself for real. Phil had also firmly turned away from every passing remark Wilbur had made about deals. It frustrated Wilbur and often inspired fear in him, though as Spring passed by the fear had just started to turn into anger.

“You know,” Phil said, pulling him from his thoughts with a facial expression that was too soft. Wilbur chose to ignore the irritation that inspired in favor of listening to him for now. “A fae’s true name isn’t necessarily the one they’re given at birth. Sometimes, the name they start with doesn’t sit right for some reason, so a fae will end up identifying with a different one. Sometimes it’s a nickname people used for them too much before their true name settled or a name a specific person they love a lot gave to them. I think someone,” Phil bopped Tommy on the nose, “picked the name you gave him as his true one.”

Wilbur was unable to process that for a moment. “Really?” he asked. The word came out choked.

“Yep,” Phil answered, an odd smile growing on his face that for once didn’t make Wilbur uncomfortable.

Wilbur felt tears prickle at his eyes and looked away from Phil’s face. He swallowed thickly a few times, hugging the baby closer to him.

“So,” Phil said after giving him a moment to compose himself. “A nickname is perhaps in order.”

Wilbur nodded, panicking slightly as he recalled all of the times he’d carelessly said Tommy’s name out loud without a thought in the world. “Yeah,” he said. “Um. What have you guys been calling him?” Wilbur knew Phil and Techno occasionally took Tommy to court, so he must have some nickname already.

“Ah… well,” Phil said.

“Everyone has been referring to him as The Supreme Ruler of Everything Under the Sun,” Techno offered.

“The what?” Wilbur asked.

“Or The Supreme for short.” Techno shrugged.

“I’m not calling him that,” Wilbur said decisively, looking down at Tommy. Tommy grinned at him, drooling blue as he chewed his blueberry. “I’ll call him Blueberry.”

There was a pause from the adult fae. “Blueberry?” Techno questioned doubtfully.

“Yeah,” Wilbur said.

“Why?”

“Sure,” Phil said. “You can call him that. For now. Feel free to come up with other ideas though.”

“He likes the nickname Blueberry, don’t you Blueberry?” Wilbur asked.

“Berry!” Tommy said joyfully. “B-berry!”

Wilbur smiled at him, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of his head.

“W’by!” Tommy clapped his hands in joy.

The sound of the name, mangled as it was by baby lips into something more like ‘Whu-bee,’ gave him pause. He wondered if humans could end up with different true names too. ‘Wilbur’ was not his true name, after all. His mother had given Tommy’s mother that. ‘Wilbur’ had just been a name that had come to him one night and he’d used it as a replacement ever since. From the beginning it had felt more like a true name than the one his mother had sold and after the last few years, that was even more true.

“Phil, you’re not actually letting him call the kid Blueberry are you?” Techno whispered too loudly from the bench.

“Hush,” Phil said, not even trying to whisper. “They’re fine.”

Wilbur put his thoughts on his own name away. The adult fae called him by a nickname anyway and Tommy couldn’t say it, so it did not matter if ‘Wilbur’ was true or not.

(He kind of hoped it was his true name though.)

After that day, Tommy became Blueberry, at least to Wilbur. To everyone else, he was some selection of the words in ‘The Supreme Ruler of Everything Under the Sun.’ Phil mostly used ‘The Supreme One’ and Techno took to just calling him ‘The’ most of the time, though occasional he changed it up to ‘Thes’.

A few of the castle workers that were in contact with Tommy the most began using an acronym for the phrase, though these were all different since people used a different selection of the words in the first place. Basically, if you heard a mash of random letters or words, it probably was referring to Tommy.

Spring passed slowly in the fae realm, almost like time was literally slowing down for its king, and Wilbur’s feelings towards the spring fae got more and more conflicting every day. It was Phil’s season, and while Wilbur hadn’t thought of him as weak in any of the seasons that had come before, you could tell. He had a different aura to him in the spring, one that sparked with power enough to make Wilbur squirm in anxiety. Yet, at the same time, something about the fae drew him inexplicitly in, like a planet trying to pull warmth from the sun without getting scorched. It was complicated.

Luckily, Techno was, as always, the opposite of complicated.

Wilbur sighed heavily, making Techno glance at him. They were in a room that had been recently converted into a type of school room. Techno really cared about education even, apparently, for humans. Wilbur had vague memories of starting his first year of school, but his mother had made the decision to sell him off by mid-September of the same year.

He knew how to read; someone must have taught him when he was young because he was rather good at it. He’d kept up the skill while in the fae realm by reading various books when he had free time. It was one of the few things he could do that wouldn’t make him bored or get him into trouble.

Other areas of his education had some gaps, however.

“Having trouble?” Techno asked.

Wilbur shook his head and frowned down at the desk. “Just tired.” Techno, of course, was aware he hadn’t been sleeping well recently. He’d been having nightmares, and not even of Tommy’s mother’s court. His phobia of water had been triggered by an intense spring storm two weeks ago and all he’d dreamed of was water ever since.

“Well, you don’t have to finish all of your schoolwork if you can’t today,” Techno said. “Just get some done.”

Wilbur glanced up at him with a despondent look on his face. “If I finish this maths homework, can I go take a nap in the gardens with Tommy?”

“Sure,” Techno conceded. “It’s a deal.” He leaned over to press his forehead to Wilbur’s.

“Great!” Wilbur said cheerfully. He wrote ‘=5’ at the bottom of the worksheet he’d been working on for the last half an hour. Then he promptly handed the finished page over to Techno. Techno had not even had the chance to straighten back up.  “I’m going to go get Tommy now.”

“You are tricker than most fae I know,” Techno said as Wilbur slid out of his seat; his tone was amused. “But, a deal’s a deal. Go ahead.”

Wilbur grinned and Techno shook his head in exasperation. Tommy’s nursery was in the attached room so he could still be watched while Techno gave Wilbur his lessons.

“Out!” Tommy complained when he saw him. He was currently in baby jail, his hands gripping the bars of the playpen as though he planned to try to climb it.

“Don’t worry, Tommy,” Wilbur said, smiling. “I’ve managed to free us both for the afternoon.” He grabbed a baby sling before lifting Tommy out of the playpen. He passed by Techno, a grin still on his face. He knew he was lucky Techno didn’t mind him being a bit cheeky, so he tried not to do it too often, but he really was tired today.

“Want to go to our favorite spot?” Wilbur asked Tommy. Tommy was still pouting about being in the baby pen for so long today, so Wilbur answered for him. “Yeah, you do.”

Wilbur and Tommy were spending more of their time in the gardens now. Phil and Techno did not even insist on following them around as long as Wilbur promised to stay in the main of 5 castle gardens. Luckily, the main garden was plenty big and even covered where Tommy’s tree was planted. They often visited Tommy’s tree or sometimes would wander the gardens aimlessly looking at all the blooming flowers. However, there was only one place Wilbur wanted to go when he was so tired.

Wilbur set Tommy down at the base of the tallest tree in the main gardens. It was a beautiful tree and clearly very old. It constantly had petals falling from it, leaving a pile of pink at its base that Tommy happily dug his fingers into upon being released. Wilbur got the baby sling ready to tie Tommy onto his back before picking him up again. Petals fell from his little fingers as he was lifted.

Once Tommy was settled, Wilbur looked around to make sure no one saw what he was going to do, and then he started climbing.

About a month ago, Wilbur had found a hollowed-out area in the tree’s trunk large enough that Wilbur could lay flat with his hands stretched out above his head and not touch a wall with his hands or feet. He could also stand up in it, though an adult could not. It was a cozy little area, about 10 feet off the ground, and its entrance was covered by the tree’s branches. Wilbur was pretty sure no one knew about the hollowed-out area but them. He could sit at the entrance to peer down at people from between the branches and would never be seen.

Tommy also seemed to love the place. Wilbur set him down on a pile of blankets he’d smuggled up here a few weeks ago before taking one for himself.

The bottom of the little area was surprisingly soft. Wilbur curled up into a ball and happily dozed next to Tommy who also seemed content to nap. At least, he was content for a while. Eventually, the baby decided they weren’t sleeping anymore.

“Berry!” Tommy’s voice made Wilbur stir. “Berry, berry, berry!”

Wilbur sighed. Tommy had gotten into a phase where he fixated on certain words he heard and… said them over and over again. ‘Berry’ was one of his favorites, not only because Wilbur used Blueberry as his nickname, but also because he had, unfortunately, learned that, when outside, saying the word ‘berry’ repeatedly often produced a berry on whatever plant was nearby.

“Berry!” he cooed once again.

Wilbur glanced up to see a blackberry had bloomed on one of the branches of the large tree. Wilbur sighed and plucked the berry for him before he started crying at the fact that he couldn’t reach it.

“Berry!” he said as soon as he finished eating it.  Another blackberry spawned and was picked. “Berry!”

“Tommy, you can’t just grow yourself unlimited berries,” Wilbur groused.

“Berry!” The kid was lucky he was cute.

Wilbur stared at the roof of the tree room in defeat. “Or maybe you can.”

“B-berry!”

Wilbur quickly figured out he was not going to be napping again anytime soon. Instead, he grabbed one of the books he stored up here and opened it, pausing every so often to pick the berries Tommy couldn’t reach himself.

“You’re going to ruin your dinner,” Wilbur chided.

“Berry! Yay!” was the response.

Well, Wilbur wasn’t his parent he was just his… human something, so he figured it wasn’t his responsibility and picked him his newest berry. And then the next one… and then the next.

This pattern seemed fit to repeat itself indefinitely until it was suddenly interrupted by a voice.

“Oh! Hello.”

Wilbur froze at the sound of Phil’s voice, turning to stare at the fae’s head that had appeared in the tree opening. Wilbur had not really considered if he was allowed up here, banking on never being caught. Techno likely wouldn’t care, but Phil might.

“Berry!”

Phil glanced up as a berry grew from another branch.

“Ah,” he said, pulling himself fully into the tree hollow. “So that’s what’s felt weird about my tree.”

“This is your tree?” Wilbur asked, feeling an odd mix of fear and embarrassment. He hadn’t… considered this could be Phil tree even though he probably should have. It was a spring tree, huge, and in the main gardens. Probably, it was pretty obvious, but those facts had slipped from Wilbur’s mind before ever being thought. He’d been drawn to the tree before ever even finding the hollow. Maybe his odd fascination with the tree should have been another hint.

“I don’t mind that you’re here,” Phil said, noticing Wilbur’s anxiety. “However, I’m not a fan of somebody,” he turned to Tommy as he said it. The baby giggled. “Using my magic to make himself illegal berries.”

“Berry!” Tommy responded. The berry popped up near Phil’s head. “Yay!” said the baby.

“Blackberries grow on bushes young man,” Phil said, narrowing his eyes jokingly at the baby. Tommy clapped his hands and giggled, happy with his crimes.

“Berry!” he declared. The tree produced a huge blackberry right in front of his face. “Yum-yum!”

“You are such a little shit, you know that?” Phil asked.

And because he was Tommy, he immediately opened his mouth. “Shit.”

Wilbur looked at Phil and Phil looked back at him.

“Shit!”

“I have made an error.”

“Shit!”

“Berry,” Wilbur said firmly.

“Shit!”

“Berry.”

“Shit!”

Wilbur plucked the blackberry Tommy had grown and held it in front of his face. “Berry.”

“Shit.” Tommy pouted when his word did not result in him getting a berry.

“Berry.”

Tommy’s little face scrunched up as he thought very hard. “Berry.”

Wilbur handed him the berry.

“Berry!” A blackberry grew from the tree branch next to them. He clapped his hands. “Berry! Berry!”

“Well,” Phil said. “I suppose I prefer ‘berry’.”

“Berry!”

Phil sighed but didn’t protest anymore. He glanced around the tree hollow, eyes noting the pile of books and the couple of blankets Wilbur had snagged a month or so ago. “You’ve been here before,” he concluded.

“Sorry,” Wilbur said.

Phil shook his head. “I don’t mind,” he said. “At least you’re a polite guest.”

“Berry!”

“To be fair, I did bring him.”

Phil just shrugged. He lowered himself to the floor, so he didn’t have to keep crouching like he had been and grinned. He reached out and grabbed the blanket Wilbur already had settled around his shoulder. He readjusted it carefully until it was to his liking and then pressed a gentle hand to Wilbur’s curls.

Wilbur blinked at him, breath stopping for a moment. His expression was unmistakably tender, but not in the way that always annoyed Wilbur. He’d seen him look at Tommy like that when he did something particularly cute and babyish, but now the expression was directed towards him.

“How is your book?” he asked.

“It’s good,” Wilbur replied. “It’s a book of legends from Techno.”

Phil laughed softly. “Of course that’s what he’d give you. Do you like it?”

“Yeah,” Wilbur said.

“Speaking of Techno, aren’t you supposed to be in school right now?”

“I was tired,” Wilbur said. “So, I… convinced Techno to let me take a break.”

“Convinced, huh?” Phil asked, an eyebrow raised, but he was smiling. He looked almost proud, and Wilbur felt that weird tug in his chest towards the man again.

Wilbur shrugged. He found himself physically leaning closer.

“Berry!”

With a sigh, Phil turned from Wilbur, and picked the newest berry for Tommy.

“I guess you’re on berry duty now,” Wilbur said, sitting back and returning his eyes to his book.

“Berry!”

“I suppose I am.”

Wilbur continued to read, though it was hard to focus with his eyes still drooping. He yawned, putting the book down and looked over at Phil. Phil was currently holding Tommy, likely trying to convince him to stop growing berries since he was mumbling something to him.

Usually, Wilbur would be too stressed to sleep with Phil nearby, but today, he felt surprisingly calm. Perhaps he’d gotten himself used to napping in the tree and since it was Phil’s tree, the energy was the same. He wasn’t sure, but he found himself curling up on his side facing him and Tommy.

Phil started rocking Tommy softly and to Wilbur’s surprise started humming a soft tune. It wasn’t surprising that Phil was good at holding a tune, music was a fae thing, but Wilbur had never heard him make any music.

The song sounded familiar, but Wilbur couldn’t quite place it. It was nice though and calming. Wilbur closed his eyes, Phil’s melody in his head, and quickly went to sleep.

For the first time in weeks, he didn’t dream of water.

Chapter Text

Really, it was always going to end this way. Techno had had a good run, but there was no chance that the plethora of deals tying him and Bee together wouldn’t eventually come to light. He’d, in fact, expected it to happen sooner. Bee had not even known the deals were secrets, so the fact Techno hadn’t been caught months ago was surprising. Honestly, Techno almost wished Bee had given it away in the spring or even in the summer instead of… in autumn.

In autumn, Phil was more irritable by nature. The seasonal reminder his autumn fae was currently missing from court also did not help his mood.

Bee had apparently begun attempting to make deals with Phil in the summer. Considering how bold he’d grown in his deal makings with Techno and the fact that he’d slowly warmed up to Phil by the end of spring, it wasn’t a surprise, even if Techno hadn’t been made aware of it at the time.

From what Techno had learned later, Bee had started off tentatively. He’d offered small exchanges that could be misconstrued as accidental deal offers when making a request. Techno had noticed the uptick in presents that Phil was giving to Bee at that time. He’d even noticed Bee was oddly irritated with said presents. There had been plenty of toys, books, and special foods that Bee treated with disdain upon receiving. (Once Techno had even caught Bee tossing one of the gifted books into a summer fire unread. It had been incinerated instantly.) Phil had, of course, been brushing aside Bee’s deals, denying Bee’s offerings and just giving him what he’d asked for from Phil as a no string attached present.

It explained why his dealings with Techno had grown more complex and forward as the summer months dragged on. Oh, they were still a child’s deals, concerned with childish desires, but they were also very carefully (sometimes edging on shrewdly) negotiated. He’d also started testing the boundaries of deals more frequently.

He’d negotiated Techno into a deal where he’d get 30 minutes off lessons for every approved extracurricular book he finished in addition to the one chocolate per finished chapter. He had then proceeded to find on the approved reading list, a 10-book series on fae history, all of which were relatively short. He’d finished all but one page of each within a week. He’d then proceeded to read the last page of all 10 of them within 5 minutes and took off an entire day of class, specifically the day he was meant to have a maths exam.

Techno had used his day off to make the exam harder.

It hadn’t mattered. Bee had not taken off the day because he was not confident with the material. He’d done it just to prove he could.

Techno could think back and track how the boy’s deal attempts with Phil had escalated through the summer by recalling the increasingly complex deals he’d made with Techno. The tentative deals aimed at Phil had become more explicit and difficult to brush off as time went by, and Bee’s reactions to being denied ramped up accordingly.

At the beginning, he’d taken the brush offs without comment, choosing instead to run off and attempt (with various success) to tangle up Techno’s summer muddled mind, but eventually he let his displeasure towards Phil show.

First, he’d showed Phil his sadness and then his anger, though this demonstration was always restrained to brief expressions.

Tension had grown. Phil grew more and more displeased with Bee’s insistence on deals. Techno had noted that displeasure, but Phil had not shared the reason. The fae had not been angry, just upset Bee thought that deals were a part of being a human in a fae court.

Bee had been angry.

Techno had noted the anger but had been too busy not letting the human’s surprisingly nimble tongue twist him up into knots when his brain was foggy from the heat, that he hadn’t questioned its source.

And then autumn had hit.

Phil was, predicably, downtrodden by the change of season; Bee was, unpredictably, emboldened by it.

Bee had wanted to take Tommy into the garden to jump in the piles of leaves with him, but he hadn’t just wanted permission from Phil to do so. He’d wanted a deal.

He had asked for a deal specifically, had done so in front of a group of other fae in the throne room (though not during actual court), and had insisted upon it even after Phil first denied him. Every time in summer, he’d bent when Phil denied a deal, but this time he hadn’t.

He’d thrown a tantrum.

Tommy threw tantrums. Bee did not throw tantrums.

Except, apparently, he did.

Techno, despite being on the other side of the castle attempting to convince Tommy he needed more naps now that it was his post-season, had sensed the argument happening. He’d felt the temperature of the entire realm decrease by an entire degree.

Human or no, apparently, the entire royal court had fucking scattered when Bee started screaming. Some of the more skittish court members hadn’t even returned to the castle to date.

Phil had eventually gotten Bee to calm down, still with no deal made. He’d then proceeded to explain why he would not under any circumstance make a deal with Bee. Techno was sure all of the reasons had been the ones Techno himself had come up with and resolutely averted his eyes from in the past months, though he hadn’t gotten a full summary from either party after the fact. He’d also told Bee if anyone else in the castle did try to make a deal with him, he should refuse and inform Phil immediately.

Bee had not snitched on Techno, but Bee was also a horrible, horrible liar. Worse, somehow, than most fae. The fact he had made a deal with someone in the castle already had apparently been written all over his face. He’d refused to tell. No, the person who had inevitably told had been Techno himself. Bee was a worse liar than most fae, but Techno was even worse than that. When Phil had mentioned the fact Bee had made a deal with someone, he’d cracked almost instantly. A direct question had sealed the deal.

So, now Techno was exiled from the castle.

It wasn’t that bad. It was autumn, so he was content to spend time outside and didn’t have to pick between suffering in the heat and suffering confining himself to the cabin he was currently living in. He spent most of his days hanging out by his tree when not handling the autumn duties he was still responsible for.

Techno’s tree was on the castle grounds, of course, but unlike Phil’s and Wilbur’s (and now Tommy’s he supposed), it was not in the main garden. His tree was planted at almost the exact spot he’d first entered the fae realm centuries ago.

(Considering preteen fae were reluctant to bring their new illegally acquired humans directly into the middle of their father’s territory, it was a good distance out.)

He was sitting under his tree when he caught sight of the small human trudging determinedly towards him.

Bee did not see him at first, but his eyes lit on Techno only a few minutes after Techno had noticed him. His pace quickened as he made a beeline straight to Techno’s tree.

“You know you’re not supposed to be out here,” Techno said lightly, still seated on the ground as the child removed a backpack from his shoulders and let it fall to the ground with a loud thump.

“And why not?” Bee asked, one eyebrow raised even though he knew very well why.

“Well,” Techno explained anyway, “Phil has banned you from seeing me.” He let his eyes glance at the backpack once before turning back to Bee’s face, “and he’s also banned you from leaving the main gardens.”

“Phil has no influence over me,” Bee said. He titled his chin up as he dismissed Techno’s words, “and you owe me 37 chocolates and 2 hours off lessons. I’ll be banking the hours.”

“Phil had me break all active deals with you,” Techno reminded.

“Severing deals can only happen with consent from all parties,” Bee informed him in an icy tone, “and I didn’t release you from anything.” If their species had been reversed, this would be the part in the storybook where the human realized they’d fucked up. As it was, the side of Techno’s lip quirked up into a bemused smile.

He grunted his consent and stood. “I don’t have anything on me; you’ll have to come back to my cabin.”

“That’s fine,” Bee agreed. He bent to pick up his backpack, struggling slightly with its weight.

“This way then,” Techno said, turning to lead the way. “Also, I do ask you don’t eat all of the chocolate at once.”

“No promises.”

Techno hummed. Well, that was going to be Phil’s problem anyway. “Where’s Theseus?”

“When Phil can’t find me, he won’t assume I’d ever have left the castle without Blueberry.”

“…Ah.” It was true, of course. Techno also would never have imagined he’d leave without Tommy. If Techno was in Phil’s position and couldn’t find Bee, he’d immediately check where Tommy was. Upon finding the baby still in his crib, he’d just assume Bee had found some out of the way place to read or nap.

He would not assume the boy had gone outside alone, left the main gardens without permission, and trekked miles to demand the chocolate due to him by a deal that really should have been broken the moment the fae in the equation tried to break it.

How did you even figure out where I was?” Techno asked.

“Looked for the tallest evergreen tree,” Bee explained. “That’s your tree, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Techno replied, still slightly confused. You could not see his tree from the castle. He supposed Bee had wandered for a while before spotting the tree.

They made it to the cabin quickly as it was close to Techno’s tree. The cabin was a Feature of the Forest. It had always been there when Techno was (even when he’d still been human); it was never there when Techno wasn’t.

Bee hesitated at the front door, and, for a moment, Techno wondered if he’d be unwilling to come in. Most of Techno’s animals refused to step foot into the cabin. Other than Techno himself, no human had ever been invited into it before now. He was unsure if the same thing that caused animals to be leery would prevent Bee from entering. Yet, Bee just tilted his head for a few moments with a squint before stepping forward into the cabin.

Bee glanced around the cabin for a few moments. “Nice cabin,” he said and dropped his bag. It once again thumped heavily to the ground.

“What do you have in there?” Techno asked, eyeing the bag.

“Books,” Bee answered, “and clothes and human food. Also, some jewelry.”

“Clothes?” Techno picked out of the list, eyes narrowed.

Bee met his eyes challenging.

“Kid, you are not moving in here.”

“Yes I am.”

“Phil would have my head,” Techno said.

“Just lie to him,” Bee suggested. Techno raised an eyebrow and Bee continued impatiently. “By omission.”

“You want me to hide you from Phil?”

“Yes.”

“The king of this territory?”

“Yep.”

“Who has magical ties to the land and can sense the exact location of anyone, especially a human, on his lands if he actively looks?”

“I’ll just stay in your cabin,” Bee insisted. “Phil has no domain here.”

How the fuck he knew that, Techno did not know.

“Kid, no,” Techno said.

“Yes.”

“What about Tommy?”

Bee hesitated over that for a moment. “I’ll visit him,” he concluded.

“Uh huh. Without getting caught?”

Bee just glared at him.

“I’ll get your chocolate, but then I’m taking you back to the castle.” Bee frowned, but Techno ignored him, turning to go to the cabin’s small kitchen.

“Can’t I stay at least for the night?” Bee asked when he came back. His tone was uncharacteristically whinny.

“No,” Techno said.

Bee tilted his head, brown eyes big and watery, “but I missed you.”

Techno stared at him with a blank expression for a moment, but then sighed. “20 minutes,” he said. “We can hang out for 20 minutes.”

Bee’s eyes lit up and he grabbed a book from his bag. “Read to me?” he asked.

Techno couldn’t help but feel his heart warm just slightly. “Fine kid, I’ll read to you.”

Techno sat in his armchair and Bee immediately climbed onto the armchair’s arm so he could prop his chin up on Techno’s shoulder.

The book Bee had chosen was one Bee had already read himself before and one Techno had read to him before as well. He must really like it.

“I’ll read you one chapter,” Techno said, “and then you go back willingly.”

“Deal,” Bee said and stretched to bonk their heads together.

“Hey, no,” Techno said, scowling over at him. “That was not a deal.” It was though. Techno could feel a small prick of magic and Bee just looked smug. “Do not tell Phil.”

“You could just not take me back,” Bee suggested.

“No.”

Bee made a low sound of displeasure that sounded more fae than human. Techno just rolled his eyes and opened the book.

Despite almost falling asleep by the time Techno finished reading, (The kid looked exhausted, and Techno wasn’t sure if that was only from his long hike today.) the kid was true to his word. He took the book back from Techno and started to pack up when Techno asked.

“Also,” Techno asked curiously, “what jewelry did you think to bring when you aimed to move in with me?”

“…I stole Phil’s crown on my way out.”

“You what?”

~~~

Techno returned Bee to the castle, a bag of chocolate in his hands and a pout on his face. Phil looked at the bag of chocolate and frowned at Techno. “You said you broke all of the deals.”

Techno raised his hands in surrender. “I did,” he confirmed.

“I didn’t,” Bee said, pushing past Phil to stride into the castle.

Phil blinked after him and Techno just shrugged when he turned back to look at him.

One benefit of Techno’s exile was that was not his problem.

~~~

At least, it was not his problem again that night. It was his problem again very soon though.

Phil must be slipping in his old age because Bee managed to slip out of the castle and make it to Techno’s tree or cabin dozens of times over the next month. Though to be fair, Phil had autumn brain, and the kid was sneaky. Sometimes Techno didn’t even realize he was there until he spoke, like he’d floated in on the autumn breeze.

Everything finally came to a head exactly halfway through the fall when Phil was at his lowest. It was the second time that day that Techno had returned the boy, the sky already darkening as night approached.

Techno set the surly kid down in front of Phil (he’d long since taken to carrying the boy after the sprinting incident of October 8th) and Phil just pinched the bridge of his nose.

“If I let Techno back into the castle, will you stop running away?” Phil asked, exasperated.

Bee’s head gave a dangerously sharp tilt at the words. “That sounds like a deal.”

Phil’s eyes flew open as he realized what he’d almost done. “It’s,” he said, his control over his tone slipping for once, the word echoing with an inhuman growl. He cut himself off with a sharp inhale and continued in the human tone he usually used around Bee a moment later. “Not.”

Bee did not react at all to the change in Phil’s tone other than narrowing his eyes at his demands not being met yet again. When he spoke, his tone sounded thoroughly unimpressed. “Well ‘grr grr’ I’m angry too,” he said. Then without another word, he walked off deeper into the castle.

They watched him go.

“Uh,” Techno started.

“Just come inside!” Phil said, his human like tone gone from his voice with Bee out of earshot. “It’s your turn to watch him. You watch him.”

~~~

That was how Techno’s exile ended. Bee seemed pleased to have him around even if he wasn’t fully satisfied and that gave Phil a break for a few days. Techno started up lessons for the boys once again and Bee sat through them despite how much time off he’d earned during their break. He did stop going on unapproved ventures outside the castle with Techno there (although that may have been because Techno was able to watch him more closely than Phil).

However, after the first two days, a quiet discontent settled over the boy once again, though he did not verbalize it. By the 4^th day, Techno had the feeling he was hatching some plan.

He found he was right when less than a week after Techno’s exile ended, Bee spoke up during dinner. Bee was feeding Tommy (mostly because the baby was more likely to behave when Bee did so) when the human looked at Phil.

“If you don’t make a deal with me, I’ll make one with Tommy.”

The reaction to that was instant and predictable (both to Techno and likely to Bee). “You absolutely will not be doing that. Tommy is a baby!”

Bee just looked at him with one eyebrow raised. “Yeah.” That really was the point.

They stared at each other. It was a battle of wills and Phil had honestly been losing it for weeks now.

“Fine, fine,” Phil said finally. “What do you want?”

“I want permission to go into the herb garden,” Bee said without missing a beat, “and in exchange I will not make any deals with Tommy until he’s at least 5-years-old or it’s a legitimate emergency.”

“Fine,” Phil said. “Deal.”

Bee looked immensely pleased with himself. He finished feeding Tommy his last bite of apples and then went over to Phil. He climbed on his lap and bonked their heads together (a bit rougher than necessary).

~~~

Phil tried to take the deal back repeatedly over the next few days, but as Techno had discovered, you did not break a deal with Bee until Bee decided he wanted the deal to be broken. And he had proven himself stubborn enough that Techno doubted Phil would be free anytime soon if ever.

~~~

Techno was sure Phil expected the deal to result in disaster, but really all that happened was everything went back to normal. Bee went back to being a polite, rational little child, though he’d shed some of the anxiety he’d always had before, especially around Phil.

Phil still was unsure about deal making with the human child, but he must have seen what Techno had when he’d started making deals with Bee. Bee was calmed by having deals in place despite how logic said he should be more anxious around them. Phil even allowed Techno to start making small deals with him again, as long as they were ones that were completed within a day and weren’t ongoing ones like the chocolate (which Bee was still taking gleeful advantage of at every turn).

Bee spent as much time outside during the autumn as during the summer if not more. Tommy didn’t always want to go since being in his post season made him a tad sleepier and crabbier. Bee had grown more comfortable wandering around by himself after his many excursions to Techno’s cabin, so he often ventured out to enjoy the fall weather on his own when Tommy was napping. (Luckily, as far as Techno knew, he did not leave the bounds of the two gardens he was allowed free access to.)

Today, Techno had found both Tommy and Phil napping in Phil’s room and Bee had been nowhere in sight, so Techno had figured he was out in the gardens again. He spent over half an hour searching for the kid, checking Phil’s tree as well as Tommy’s. He was worried he was going to have to check his own tree, but he had a feeling Bee was nearby. He was likely just curled up somewhere either with a book or napping (or a mix of both with how he sometimes nodded asleep while reading only to start awake and turn the page).

Eventually, Techno’s searching took him to an area he hadn’t mean to go to. For the second time, Bee had somehow drawn him here without him noticing. Techno paused as Wilbur’s tree was suddenly in his path.

It looked the same as usual. Its trunk was solid and still growing, slower than it had when Wilbur had been here, but still expanding a bit every year. It was perfectly healthy, illogically healthy. When a fae died, their tree withered quickly. The conclusion had been, despite the breathless body found in a river in the human world, that Wilbur was alive somehow. How and where, no one knew.

Wilbur had not returned to them in the century since, but he had also never crossed into his mother’s domain. The tree’s branches still stretched wide, throwing shadows across the ground and waving back and forth in the autumn breeze. Golden leaves were spawning and falling continuously from them, fluttering to the ground in a thick sheet.

It was in this accumulation of leaves that Techno spotted him. Bee was laying curled at the base of the autumn tree. He’d been there a while judging by how he was now buried in a pile of gold. Only his face was visible, though even that blended into the leaves around him. He looked like he belonged there.

Techno drew up short when the boy stirred, seeming to sense Techno’s scrutiny. He opened his eyes and, for a moment, in the autumn sun, they were not their usual brown. They were as golden as the leaves falling gently upon his form.

Techno’s lips moved without conscious thought. He felt his mouth form the letters, but didn’t realize what he’d said until the sound of it hit his own ears. “Wilbur?”

The boy’s face turned to him in that abrupt but smooth way that every fae’s face did when hearing their true name spoke allowed.

“Technoblade,” the boy returned as though him knowing Techno’s true name was nothing out of the ordinary.

“You… came home,” Techno said.

But then the boy blinked, his eyes returning to a human brown, though glints of something golden remained. “Huh?” he asked, his voice thickened with sleep.

“Nothing,” Techno said, shaking his head. “It’s nothing you need to be concerned about at least for a few years.”

Bee looked at him and then yawned. “You can come sit with me if you’d like,” he invited, eyelashes already fluttering closed.

Techno accepted the offer, of course, walking over to settle himself next to the boy at the base of the tree.

A fae and a human at the base of an autumn tree. Funny how history repeated itself in the oddest ways.

Bee hummed and shifted so he was pressed to Techno’s side. The rustle of leaves was comically loud. Techno put a hand on the top of his head, and Bee pressed into the touch, eyes closed.

“You know,” Techno said softly, contemplatively, “this is probably why the ancients weren’t happy with Phil marrying a death demon. They probably should have left a couple of them alive. Just for information purposes.”

“Phil married what?” Bee asked, frowning. One of his brown eyes flickered open to look up at him.

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll be meeting her soon,” Techno said.

Bee peered up with him with his one open eye, seeming confused, but then he shrugged it off, closing the eye again. “M’kay.”

The child fell into a doze again, and Techno was content to let him. He was sure there were about to be a lot of intense conversations in his future; he would take this temporary peace. He would take this chance to think.

They stayed like that for almost an hour until Bee finally stirred again. He sat up, scattering leaves everywhere. Then he peered at Techno blearily.

“Finally awake?” Techno asked.

Bee just yawned and smacked his lips.

Techno reached forward and tapped his cheek to get his attention. Bee turned to him with an inquisitive look. “I don’t want you to be afraid of what I’m about to say,” Techno said seriously. Bee just tilted his head, confused. “I do however want you to remember this when you remember why I’m saying it.” Techno squinted at the golden flakes in his eyes. “When you’re fully grown and know what I’m talking about, I’m going to kick your ass.”

Wilbur did not appear concerned by the statement at all. He was the opposite of concerned, in fact. “I was busy, Technoblade,” he said airily.

Techno shook his head. “You’re lucky you’re small and human right now.”

And then the kid blinked. “Huh?”

“Nothing,” Techno said. “You can forget it for now. Let’s head inside. I need to talk to Phil about something.”

“Oh, okay,” Bee replied, letting Techno help him up. They brushed off most of the leaves, but a few were still stuck in the boy’s hair. Well, stuck was maybe not the correct word; they almost looked like a hand had purposefully weaved them into place.

Now that he’d seen it, Techno wasn’t sure how he’d ever not.

“You owe me two chocolates,” Bee said as Techno led him back to the castle.

Techno just sighed and reached for the ones he stored in his pocket.

If he’d known Bee was Wilbur, he’d have known never to so carelessly cut any deal with him, but it was too late for regrets. Though really, he didn’t actually regret anything.