Work Text:
Tommy was finally back, and he was with his duo. Mike. The two were back together, at last. And Mike and Tommy had a lot of catching up to do.
"Wie war das Kennenlernen deiner Eltern?"
How was meeting your parents? The translator pinged in the corner of Tommy's eye.
"It was great! Dad's well, as is Papa, and Papa has been staying with Dad for a bit instead of at the home server." Tommy fondly said, smiling—a smile of adoration.
"You really love your dads," Mike's German accent came out strong, and Tommy nodded, his wings fluffing up.
"I do! Sure- my past when I was separated from them was shit, fucking—I don't even know where to start with that shit, but I'll talk about it, one day," Tommy said to the fairy, and the fairy smiled back, knowing the day would come as Tommy stuck to his promises.
At first, Mike didn't know how it would be paired with phoenix-hybrid. Well, Tommy's species was closest to a phoenix, even though he was technically a nether-born and canary-avian, not an actual phoenix. Still, it was easier to say than to explain the details. Mike only found out the details when this white bear-looking thing came back to interview them after the first time.
"How was your vacation?" Tommy asked the fairy, and Mike went into a full ramble, talking about what he saw and what he did. German and English rapidly left his lips. The translator couldn't keep up, but Tommy was still able to catch what his partner was saying.
"That's so good, glad you enjoyed yourself!" Tommy's bright smile made the fairy react with a flutter of wings.
"Ja! It was so cool, brother!" Mike said, his smile mirroring Tommy's own.
However, the niceness of the time did not last all that long. It never did. An event notice came up, and everyone was teleported to the familiar black room with a TV. The void, and the video started playing.
Tommy watched, taking in everything, muttering to seemingly no one. Mike, on the other hand, didn't pay much attention; his focus was on Tommy, even with the room so dark that the video's light couldn't illuminate faces. Mike could still see Tommy; he was next to him. That was mostly a relief.
The video showed a plane crash? Was it a plane? It seemed like a plane, but there was no record of planes landing on the island. Once the video was done, there was shouting.
"Not this again!" came from Philza, an important figure in Tommy's life. "Fucking Deja Vu!" the angel of death yelled.
"Philza! Mi querido."
Philza! My darling. It came from Philza's roommate, Missa, the man's husband. Mike also knew this from Tommy. Tommy loved to share information about those he was close with, such as when he spent a whole day talking about Tubbo, his best friend in the whole world. The two matched, too, wearing colour bandanas. Tommy wore green on his right arm, Tubbo wore red on his left knee. It was sweet to Mike, even though he was a little jealous that Tubbo had something of Tommy's; he knew Tommy would give him something similar. He hoped Tommy would.
"We should go find the plane and help the people!" someone yelled from the back. There were so many that Mike couldn't tell who it was. But there were loud choruses of agreement.
Tommy and Mike followed the crowd, staying close to Pac and Fit. Missa and Philza were up ahead with Tubbo and a few others.
"You two keep up alright?" Fit called back, dragging his Brazilian boyfriend by the hand,
"Ja, wir sind dicht dahinter!"
Yes, we're right behind! Mike spoke, Tommy echoed the same words, "Mike and I are right behind you, Fit!"
Mike und ich stehen direkt hinter dir, Fit!
The plane was found, finally. Tommy, Philza, and a few other avian hybrids took to the sky to get a better range of view.
"Not going with them?" someone, Tubbo, had asked Mike,
Schließt du dich ihnen nicht an? Mike shook his head,
"Ich habe Flügel." He started,
I have wings.
"But, I can not fly all that high, compared to them," he switched to English.
"Yeah, I get that, I can't fly," Tubbo laughed, watching those above.
Ja, ich verstehe das. Ich kann nicht fliegen.
"Sorry that I don't have wings!" someone yelled. It was Schlatt. "You should be sorry!" Tubbo quid, his voice full of mocking anger, the elder of the two laughed. Both Tubbo and Schlatt were goat-hybrids, so there was always this running joke that the two were father and son, despite looking nothing alike, just with the same brown hair.
"We found the plane!" Philza yelled, flying down at full speed, Missa catching death's crow. Mike looked up and saw Tommy pointing in a direction, but still flying.
"Tommy! Fahren wir Richtung Osten?" Mike shouted, and the phoenix heard him
Tommy! Should we head east?
"Yeah! I'll stay with the flock; some are flying down to lead on foot! You good down there with Philza?"
Ja! Ich bleibe bei der Herde; einige fliegen herab, um sie zu Fuß anzuführen! Alles in Ordnung bei dir da unten mit Philza? Mike and a few of the other Germans nodded. And off to the plane sighting they went.
"We made it!" Tubbo yelled, seeing the plane, the flock above flew down to their respective groups and people. Tommy landed right behind Philza and Missa, before speed walking to Mike.
"You all good, mate?" Tommy asked, his eyes glazing over the fairy. who nodded.
Alles gut bei dir, Kumpel?
The plane was bad, with different parts and sections in different areas, wings folded onto themself, and the people, oh god. The people were all in different traps, and they were puzzles no less.
"Uh, Mike..."
"Ja, Tommy?" the fairy responded to the phoenix,
"You're German...I heard y'all like puzzles...." Tommy looked at his duo, hoping in his eyes, "Please say it's true..."
Du bist Deutscher... Ich habe gehört, ihr mögt Rätsel... Bitte sag, dass es stimmt…
Mike nodded; he could do puzzles, so he was of help. Everyone was divided up.
Tommy and Mike went with Philza, Missa, Pac, Roier and Fit. To the plane wing.
"How do we do this?" a voice asked, in English,
"I don't know! I don't know redstone, I don't know redstone!" another voice sounded.
"Why do they sound familiar...?" Philza asked. Mike saw the translations in German.
Wie machen wir das?
Ich weiß es nicht! Ich kenne mich mit Redstone nicht aus; ich mache das nicht!
Warum kommen mir die so bekannt vor…?
Philza walked closer, and everyone stayed a few steps behind.
"PHILZA!" One screamed, and everyone jumped.
"CELLBIT!?" Philza yelled back. Roier's ear perked up, "GATIOHO!?"
"GUAPITO!?" echoed the man.
"Uh...English?" another person asked. "Oh, uh, let's do puzzles first," Cellbit said to the man he was with,
"Purp?" Philza asked, "Haha, hey Phil..." the alien replied. It was Tommy's turn.
"PURPLED!?" he yelled from where he was standing, not moving from Mike. The fairy appreciated that the phoenix didn't move from him, but knowing that Tommy knew the other person, there was a pang. Small, but it was there.
The puzzle was a redstone-based one—something to do with water and observers. The main task was to open the door using the password the captors, Purpled and Cellbit, had on their end.
“How do you even get tapped with redstone under a plane wing?” Philza muttered, reconstructing the whole observer mechanism because it was messed up, a full mess with redstone not connecting when it was meant to.
“I don't know! The plane crashed, bits went flying, and somehow the inside mechanics of the plane made these puzzles.” Cellbit explained
“GATINHO! ¡TE SACAREMOS DE AQUÍ, GATINHO! ¡DÍLE A TU AMIGO QUE ESPERE! ¡FELIPE! ¿CÓMO LO ESTAMOS HACIENDO?” Roier screamed, running around, panicking like the world was ending.
KITTEN WE'LL GET YOU OUT OF HERE, KITTEN! TELL YOUR FRIEND TO WAIT! FELIPE! HOW ARE WE DOING?
Mike watched the translation as he focused on Tommy. The phoenix was helping Philza, making sure nothing burned. Mike's eyes were always on Tommy, but he did spare glances at the two captors. He quickly picked out who was who: Cellbit was the brown-haired guy with a white streak, with a bit of a steampunk fashion sense. Then the other one. Purpled, or Grayson, as he heard Tommy also say, was in a purple hoodie, nothing much, but he also had otherworldly features. Antennas, purple glowing markings, and his eyes, while grey-blue, flashed purple, but Mike didn't know his species.
Mike fluttered to Tommy, to ask a question, his eyes on Purpled.
“Tommy…” Mike grabbed his sleeve, Tommy turned, smiling,
“Yeah, Mike?” And words didn't form in his throat, so he pointed to Purples.
“Um…” Purpled, choked out,t and Tommy laughed.
“Purpled is an Alien, and Purp,” Tommy looked at the blonde. “Don't hide your eyes, the flashes are coming in rapid succession, you'll blind yourself by suppressing them.”
Purpled ist ein Alien, und Purp hält die Augen nicht zu. die Blitze kommen in schneller Folge; Du wirst blind, wenn Du sie unterdrückst.
Oh…
That was all that came to Mike's head; he saw Tommy's eyes, a gaze he had for Tubbo, for Philza. A look of contentment, but this was softer. Was there something between Tommy and Purpled? He would ask his partner later, first. Save the alien and the man Roier referred to as kitten.
Finally, those trapped under the wing were saved; the code was found in one of the wing flaps. They told the others, and Fit, Pac, and Phil cracked the code, and they were free.
The sight was something. Roier tackled Cellbit, who was crying and speaking rapidly in Spanish. Pac and Fit had gone to help others out, and Philza and Tommy were fussing over Purpled. Mike just stood there with Missa.
“Unsure of what to do?” Missa asked the fairy, who nodded. A small feeling of ire befallen Mike at the sight he witnessed.
He couldn't hear anything, but he saw the translation of what Tommy was saying. He was helping Purpled with the translator, which was fine; Mike didn't have a problem with that. What caused the ire was how Tommy was helping. The alien was letting the phoenix touch his player code, undefended. Touching one's code, it was an intimate thing, even the Angel of Death seemed to know as he stepped away from the two. Everyone in the vicinity watched.
“Thanks for the help, Toms.”
Danke für die Hilfe, Tom. Came from Purpled. Name. First name. The fairy knew mortals didn't hold names to the same regard as fairies did, but Tommy knew. Mike knew Tommy's name but didn't dare use it; if he did, he'd be claiming Tommy as his own. Not that he didn't want to. But seeing another use of Tommy's name, a form that was similar to his real name, it hurt.
“No worries! Oh! Have you met Roier and Missa?” Tommy asked, pointing to the two Spanish speakers. He left Mike out. Ouch.
“Uh, no- but I'm guessing Cellbit and Roier are…something?” He awkwardly asked.
“Si! Me and Gatioho are married!” Roier spoke in slightly broken English. Purpled nodded and looked to Philza, who was by the Missa and Mike.
“Missa is my husband.” He explained
“Aren't you married to Lady Death?” The alien asked, and the older blonde laughed. “I am, and she approves of him,” and Missa kissed Philza’s cheek.
During the conversation, Mike had spaced out.
“Michael?” The fairy snapped at hearing his name, his real name. It was Tommy. “You okay? You're a bit spaced out,” he didn't even read the translator.
“Yeah, I'm fine, bro, totally fine.” He said blankly.
“You sure? Are you okay with introducing yourself to Purp?” The phoenix asked, getting a nod. The fairy looked up. Seeing the alien in front of him,
"Hallo. Ich bin Mike. Ich bin eine Fee und Tom's Partner."
Hello. I'm Mike. I'm a fairy, and I'm Tom's partner.
The fairy watched the alien. Looking for any reaction.
"Toms, you have a partner?"
Toms, hast du einen Partner? Purpled asked the phoenix, and he nodded, wrapping his arms around Mike. Oh, he didn't expect that.
"Fuck yeah, I do!"
Verdammt richtig, das tue ich.
Everyone was saved. Introductions were in order. There were about 5 new people, there were some reunions, and new friends were made. Mike followed Tommy around like a shadow, fingers clinging to a small bit of his sleeve. Tommy didn't mind; he didn't push Mike away.
It was a long day, but everyone split into their own groups or duos. Mike stayed with Tommy, still holding his sleeve. Purpled, he was with them too, but Mike paid no mind.
"Do you two live together?" Purpled asked Tommy, who nodded,
"Yeah, since day one!" Tommy boasted out, his wings twitching with the ostentatious pride Tommy showed. The alien laughed, used to the blonde, just like their childhood, the childhood that was taken away from them.
"Tommy, wird er bei uns übernachten?" Mike asked, his voice soft, his eyes darting quickly to Purpled before returning to Tommy's eyes.
Tommy, will he be staying overnight?
The phoenix paused, halting his walk. He was in thought. He turned to Purp,
"Purp, you're a great friend, mate, but you'd be fine with setting up your own base? Mike and I's place only has a place for us two."
Purp, du bist ein super Freund, Kumpel, aber wärst du damit einverstanden, dir dein eigenes Lager einzurichten? Bei Mike und mir ist nur Platz für uns beide
The alien picked up on the hint quicker than the fairy,
"Yeah, I'll manage, I'll just be your neighbour, can't have you, the son of the infamous TangoTek and Jimmy Solidarity, be causing chaos for your partner," Purpled joked, partly, getting a loud yell of protest from Tommy.
Ja, das schaffe ich schon. ich bin einfach dein Nachbar. Ich kann es nicht zulassen, dass du, der Sohn des berüchtigten TangoTek und Jimmy Solidarity, deiner Partnerin Chaos verursachst.
"TangoTek? Jimmy Solidarity?" Mike asked as soon as the two parted ways with Purpled. Tommy nodded,
"Yeah! My two dads, TangoTek and Jimmy Solidarity, are popular in the English stream, like MCC. My Papa, Jimmy, is popular in that; if you know Hermitcraft, my dad, Tango, is famous in that. " Tommy explained, Mike nodded and asked questions about the phoenix's dads. He found out alot, and it linked to some parts of Tommy's personality.
Tango, being a redstone expert, made sense for Tommy to know how to help Philza, and Jimmy, being known to be a bit of a menace, made sense for Tommy's drive for chaos. To Mike, this just made Tommy even more special.
"Can I ask something about Purpled?" Mike asked. Once at the base, Tommy sat on the bed, made of two beds pushed together.
"Ask away,"
"Gab es jemals etwas zwischen dir und Purpled? Er nannte dich bei deinem Vornamen." The fairy spoke in German, not trusting his voice to say the right words in English.
Was there ever anything between you and Purpled? He called you by your first name.
"Other than us having a history and linked childhoods due to an old server we were in," Tommy started, taking time for the translator to catch up.
Abgesehen davon, dass wir aufgrund eines alten Servers, auf dem wir gemeinsam waren, eine gemeinsame Vergangenheit und verbundene Kindheiten haben.
"What we have," Tommy pointed between him and Mike, "Is different to the friendship Purp and I had, yes, we have a duo name, as we do, but GoldenDuo is different to us, HornyDuo."
Was wir haben...ist anders als die Freundschaft, die Purp und ich hatten. Ja, wir haben einen Duo namen, wie üblich, aber GoldenDuo ist etwas anderes als wir, HornyDuo.
Hearing that, Mike was a bit stunned,
"So...Purpled doesn't have a claim on you?" he asked, his wings fluttering uncontrollably, as if he was getting ready to fly.
"Claim on me...?...oh..." Tommy asked, and then remembered the whole thing with fairies and names.
"No! he doesn't! No claim, I am not claimed by Purpled." The words fell out in the same fashion as word vomit.
Nein! Tut er nicht! Keine Ansprüche. ich werde nicht von Purpled beansprucht.
Mike read the translation and threw himself into Tommy.
"Makes me happy, you know," he spoke, his face in Tommy's chest, "Happy to know you aren't under claim,"
"Is stealing someone who is 'claimed' by a fairy a crime?" Tommy asked, partly out of curiosity and partly as a joke. But Mike took it very seriously.
"Ja, ein schweres Verbrechen: Es ist dasselbe wie Diebstahl, das Äquivalent zu dem, was Sterbliche 'Unterschlagung' nennen, also ein sehr, sehr schweres Verbrechen. Feen können dafür bestraft werden, indem sie ihre Flügel verlieren, was schlimmer ist als den Verlust von Kräften oder Titeln." Mike explained, all in German, Tommy's eyes flickered between the fairy and the translations popping up.
Yes, a serious crime, it's the same as theft, it's the equivalent of what mortals call 'embezzlement,' so a very, very serious crime. Fairies can be punished for it by losing their wings, which is worse than losing powers or titles.
"I didn't know..." Tommy said, voice deflated, his eyes full of guilt and sorrow,
"It's okay, bro, I never told you," Mike muttered into the phoenix's chest,
"Is that why, when you told Purp you were my partner, you were testing if he had any reaction?" Tommy asked, Mike nodded,
"Ja, if there was a reaction, it could be a sign of admitting a claim, and if he did have a claim, I'd be in trouble," Mike said, his voice soft, as if trying to hide it, as if it was a secret, his English having some mistakes.
"Well, I can promise you, no one has a claim on me, so feel free to claim me as yours. I'm your partner, your duo, after all."
Tommy had a lopsided smile, and Mike thought he couldn't find the phoenix any more special than he already did. Yet, he was proven wrong, once again.
"Eines Tages werde ich dich für mich beanspruchen. Aber ich will es richtig machen."
One day, I will claim you for myself. But I want to do it right.