Work Text:
“Hello!”
Techno turned around from sorting the books onto the bookshelf, looking down to see a small blond child looking up at him, holding a short picture book.
“Hullo,” Techno responded, going back to his sorting. There was a cart full of unorganized books next to him from various people putting the books wherever in the library. It was tedious, repetitive work, and Techno loved it. The kid tugged on Techno’s pant leg.
“Can you read me this book?” He handed Techno the book, shoving it into his hands. It was the hungry hungry caterpillar- Techno used to read it when he was a kid . It’d been his favorite book.
Techno looked past the child’s head, searching for some sort of adult.
“Where’s your mom?” He asked, and the child just shrugged, pointing at the book again.
“Dunno. She left.” it wasn’t common that parents left their rather small children at the library, but occasionally they’d drop them off and go do some errands while they were entertained by books. It was depressingly often that Techno found himself face to face with a new child he’d never seen before, saying that their parents had dropped them off and told them to stay put.
“I’m Tommy! Who are you?” The little blond asked.
“My name‘s Techno,” he offered, and the kid’s eye gained a sparkle of curiosity.
“Like- like the music?” he asked and Techno nodded, shelving another book between two existing ones. Something about Pandora’s box. He might have to check that one out when he gets a chance. “Thas a cool name.”
“D’you like techno music?” Techo tried, and Tommy nodded enthusiastically, grinning. “I like the rhythm. It don't got the words.” There was a little gap between his front teeth. “I like your name, Techno sir.”
“I chose it,” Techno hummed, dusting some sort of dust off of Tommy’s hair. It looked like he’d rolled between the furthest corners of the library. “Can I choose my name when I become old like you, Techno sir?” Tommy chirped. Techno winced. He hadn’t realized he was that old. “My mom doesn’t like Tommy, so she calls me Thomas, but I like Tommy better.”
“Sure , Tommy . And you can just call me Techno. Or Tech, if that's easier.” he offered.
Tommy’s face split like the sun, tugging Techno along to the reading corner, abandoning his cart of mismatched books.
“Does that mean you’ll read to me?” He asked eagerly. Techno…. he probably had better things to do. But then the three foot tall child looked up at him with big, pleading eyes, and he crumbled.
“Sure, kid.”
“Read for me?” Tommy asked again, looking at Techno again. It’d been four days since the last time he’d come over. Techno sighed, looking at the stock of books he was supposed to be putting on the shelves.
“How about you choose a book, and I finish this, and then we can read together?” Techno suggested. Tommy brightened, nodding.
“Okay!” He toddled off, mumbling something to himself, and Techno busied himself with putting the rest of the books on the shelf, rather okay with the arrangement that they’d come up with.
“Hey, Phil?” Techno asked the older blond man over a cup of tea. Techno had his own respective mug of black coffee in his hands. “There’s this kid that keeps coming back to the library and askin’ me to read him books.”
Phil snorted. “I thought you hated kids, mate.” He said and techno huffed.
“I do. They’re dirty. But Tommy never comes with anyone. He’s always alone, Phil.”
Techno woke up to the sound of screeching tires and a scream.
Blearily he got out of his bed, jamming his glasses and rushed to look out the curtain. The crash had sounded scarily close, and the ear shattering crying permeating the layers of brick and wall. From his window, he could barely see the back of the car and the red hazard lights.
“Techno? Mate, did you hear that?” Phil’s voice came muffled from the door and Techno wandered over, turning the knob and seeing Phil’s worried expression on the other side.
“Can’t see it from here. Look through the livin’ room one,” Techno suggested, brushing past Phil and peering out the living room window not bothering with the lights as he pulled it open so Phil could see too.
It was the sight of a car crashing against one of the poles. The traffic light switched from green to red like nothing had happened at all. The front was well dented in, backseat relatively unharmed. Above it all was the sound of screaming that still filled the air. Phil let out a soft swear, running to the entrance and barely putting his shoes on, Techno close behind him. He took the first aid kit and fire extinguisher from under the kitchen sink- just in case.
He’d barely made it downstairs before Phil was sprinting towards the car, towards the sound of the shouts.
It sounded like a little kid.
Techno hurried behind him, case tight in his grip. By the time he’d made it downstairs, Phil was already carrying the kid out of the backseat bridal style. He looked around eight or nine years old and relatively unharmed apart from the terror in his eyes and tears streaming down his face. Phil handed the vaguely familiar figure to Techno carefully.
“Go that way,” he ordered, pointing at the sidewalk and curb. “Don’t let him see the car.”
Phil had been a daycare worker before becoming a lawyer, and he seemed just barely more knowledgeable on what he was doing in comparison to Techno.
Techno just nodded, awkwardly carrying the blond child away from the crash. He was still crying- albeit a bit less loud, but crying regardless. He looked down at him.
It was Tommy.
Tommy from the library- the kid that handed him the hungry hungry caterpillar book and demanded that he read it for him two weeks ago, and had only been coming back ever so often for Techno to read him another book.
“Don’t cry, Tommy ,” he tried, only wincing when Tommy only screamed louder. Techno was not built to deal with children. The neighbor's kid, Ranboo, had been an exception. And that was solely because of the glint the kid got when they had one of Techno’s collector swords in his hands. As much as his shyness and apprehensive nature towards…everything riddled their life, there was always a glint of chaos that was present.
But this kid wasn’t Ranboo, and Ranboo had never really come to Techno crying with his problems, so Techno had no idea what to do, honestly.
“Hey- hey, Tommy,” He tried, and the blond looked at him, sniffling.
“Tec’no?,” he hiccupped, tears still abundant. His screaming had stopped now, but Tommy’s eyes were still red and puffy.
Techno nodded his head, trying not to show the obvious relief on his face when Tommy recognized him. Then Tommy pointed at the first aid kit that Techno still had in his hands.
“What's that?” he asked, and Techno opened it up for him to look at, smiling slightly at the sound of surprise Tommy made when he saw it. Almost on cue, the sirens turned the corner, bathing the night in red and blue. An ambulance followed behind, and all too suddenly, Tommy stood up and began running back towards the car, Techno following behind him.
“No! You can’t take her!” He shouted, fighting against Techno as he picked him up, stopping him in his tracks. The ambulance was pulling a woman’s body out of the crash- it only looked worse looking back at it, and Techno couldn’t tell if the driver was alive.
“MOM!” Tommy screamed, as Techno held him back. ”MOM!”
Phil came rushing towards them, kneeling down to Tommy’s level and trying to direct him so he wasn’t watching his mother get loaded onto a stretcher.
“Hey, hey mate. My name is Phil,” he said kindly, grabbing onto Tommy’s hands gently so he would stop punching Techno. “Your mom is going to be okay. She’s going to be okay.”
“Then why are they taking her?!” He shouted, tears starting back up. “Techno, where are they taking her?!”
Phil looked at Techno helplessly, gesturing to the kid. Techno panicked.
“They’re takin’ her to the hospital.” he said carefully. Tommy’s face went slack, all the color draining from his face.
“The what?” he said quietly- disbelievingly. “Isn’t that where they take the dead people?” As Tommy slowly came to his own sudden realization, his eyes became glassy again with water. “Is my mom going to die?”
“No, no not at all mate, that's where they take the people to check up on them,” Phil said quickly, trying to keep the entire situation under control. Tommy just looked at Techno expectantly. Pleading.
“They’re just takin’ her to check on her,” Techno explained, not technically lying. He got down to Tommy’s height so he could look the 9-year-old in the eyes so that he could see the honest y in Techno’s eyes.
“She’s gonna be fine, kid,” Techno said earnestly. Tommy’s bottom lip bobbled.
“Really?”
“Sure. Here,” Techno popped the first aid kit open, taking one of those cheap lollipops no one really knew where they came from and offered it to Tommy. “It’s magic. If you eat it, it makes you brave.” Tommy shook his head.
“Thas not true,” he mumbled, but got closer to Techno anyways. Techno shrugged.
“It’s true if you believe it.” Tommy looked dubious but he took the lollipop anyway. Techno hadn’t even realized Phil had left until he came back with one of the ambulance people, a lady with kind eyes and short pink hair.
“Hey there. You’re Tommy, right?” she asked, smiling at the little blond. He nodded hesitantly. “Whose this?” the nurse turned her gaze towards Techno.
“Thas Techno,” Tomy supplied, readjusting his grip on Techno’s hand with his other one clutched around the lollipop. “He’s my best friend.”
Techno just slowly shook his head at the nurse.
“I live in the building over. I heard the crash and I’ve just been watchin’ him. We met at the library I work at yesterday. ” He answered for Tommy. The nurse nodded, turning her attention back to the small blond kid.
“I’m Niki. How old are you?” She asked kindly, and Tommy held up five fingers on one hand before realizing it wasn’t enough, frowning.
“I’m six and a three quarters,” he said, trying to peer around Niki to see his mom. “Is my mom gonna be okay?”
Niki hesitated.
“We’re not sure yet. But you can come with us, and we’ll let you know the minute she’s awake.” She held her hand out but Tommy didn’t move, looking up at Techno before looking back at Niki.
“Can Tech come?” He asked quietly, pleading in his eyes. “He’s really nice, I promise. He even gave me a lollipop and he read me the hungry hungry caterpillar yesterday.” He held out the aforementioned lollipop, like it was proof of Techno’s trustworthiness. Techno just shrugged.
“I mean, wasn’t like I was sleepin’ or anything,” Techno drawled, only pausing when someone called Niki, and she held a hand out to signal for them to wait.
“Do you wanna ride in the police car?” Niki asked Tommy, her voice bright and excited so Tommy would find it more appealing. Techno would know. Phil did the same thing to try and encourage Ranboo to put a sword down.
“Does it mean Techno comes?” he asked again. Niki looked at Techno again before nodding back at Tommy.
“Are you sure you want him to come?” She asked one more time. Tommy nodded determinedly, clutching Techno’s hand. “I’m not gonna go if he doesn't come.” he repeated, ever stubborn.
So that's how Techno found himself in a hospital waiting room as Tommy kicked his legs back and forth- they didn’t quite reach the ground- sucking his lollipop.
“Why’d you trust me?” Techno asked Niki and Niki’s eyes glinted for barely a second.
“I’ve seen you at the library. Plus, kid’s intuitions are usually pretty good. If you were a creep, he probably wouldn’t have demanded for you to come.”
Techno squinted at her.
“And that roommate of yours teaches my little sister’s class,” Niki added as half an afterthought, walking towards Tommy. The blond toddler brightened at the familiar face, waving at the nurse.
“Hey Tommy, do you know what your dad’s name is?” she asked kindly. Tommy shook his head. “It’s just me and mom,” he said. “And Techno at the library.”
“Are there any adults you know?” she tried. Tommy pointed at Techno again. “He’s an adult.” he chirped.
“He’s never come to the library with someone else.” He told Niki. “When he comes to the library. He’s always alone.”
Niki frowned.
“Not even his mom?”
Techno shook his head.
“I’ll check it out.” She wandered away, and Tommy looked up at Techno.
“What does that mean?” Techno watched as Niki turned a corner before looking back at Tommy and at the rack of kid’s books next to him.
“Nothin’. Wanna read a book?”
And Tommy brightened just a little bit, going to busy himself with picking a book and settling back down with it next to Techno.
“Hey Tommy. Wanna see your mom?” Techno nudged the small blond kid whose head slumped against him, asleep. Slowly he woke up, bleary eyed and disorientated.
“She’s awake?”
Techno nodded. “For a little bit. If you want to see her.”
Tommy hesitated.
“Can I tell you a secret?” He whispered, looking at Techno with sleepy eyes. Techno nodded. “I wanna stay with you.”
Techno’s heart skipped a beat.
“You can’t do that, kid. You’re gonna go back with your mom.” Tommy shook his head.
“I wanna go back with you. You’re nice.” Tommy went to hug Techno tightly, arms wrapped around his waist. Techno patted his head awkwardly.
“We’ll see, kid. We’ll see.”
“Is the kid awake?” Niki asked quietly. The sun had just begun to rise- it’d been at least 4 hours now they’d been waiting in the room and the uncomfortably chairs. Techno had to get coffee from the vending machine twice to stay remotely awake.
“Nah. He’s been in ‘n out the entire time.”
“His mom just flatlined.” She sighed. There was genuine pity in her eyes as she looked at Tommy’s small, sleeping figure. “Father’s out of the picture. He’ll be going to foster care.”
“No relatives?”
“None that matter, apparently. The mother just said to put him in foster care if she died.”
Techno frowned at the kid curled up on his side.
“So just like that? Can’t I- I dunno, do somethin’ ‘bout it?” Niki shook her head nearly apprehensively.
“We wait ‘til he wakes up.”
Techno just flicked off a piece of dust on Tommy’s hair.
“Oh.”
A ring.
“Hey, Phil?”
“Yeah?”
“What do you know about foster care?”
“Techno!” Tommy shouted, pulling his grip away from Puffy’s. It’d been four months of constant back and forths, getting approved before getting rejected again, Techno’s only actual joy being seeing Phil come back with half signed adoption papers.
Techno picked Tommy up and spun him around, putting him down gently and waving at Puffy who only had an amused tug on her lips. “You’ve been all he’s talked about y’know,” she said, smiling down at Tommy and handing him his backpack and giving Techno a small luggage. It was depressing to think, really, that Tommy’s entire life fit in a luggage and a kid sized backpack.
All of a sudden a child slightly smaller than Tommy came running out of the group home, tackling Tommy to the grassy lawn. He laughed, wrestling the kid back.
“You’re getting adopted Tommy!” He shouted, happily rolling his friend around in the dirt. Tommy just fought back, a grin on his face. “I know Tubbo! I told you he had pink hair!” He gestured vaguely in Techno’s direction, both of them tussling for only a few seconds more before tiring themselves out and helping each other up.
The Tubbo kid wrapped Tommy in a hug, Tommy responded with just as much energy. Techno winced at the idea of being held so tightly. His ribs would probably crack.
Then Tubbo marched up the Techno, frowning and an absolute murderous intent in his eyes.
“You better treat Tommy right and get him everything that he wants, or I will find you.” He said seriously.
Techno nodded back just as serious, if only to entertain the seven year olds. He’d treat Tommy like the sun.
All too soon, Tommy said goodbye to the kids at the group home one more time: waving them goodbye as he got into Techno’s car, humming and holding onto his backpack.
Just as Techno was about to pull out of the driveway, Tommy made a shout of surprise.
“Wait!” he called, rifling through his backpack. “I need to give you something!” Techno looked back at the blond kid, who held out a small red lollipop with a huge, toothy grin.
“For you!”