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This visit was long overdue, really. He should’ve made it before he went to see Dream, he should’ve made it after Dream went to prison- hell, he shouldn’t have fucked up as much as he did to warrant this visit at all.
The tundra was cold, but he barely felt it. It was strange- damage hurt so much now, but the weather hasn’t seemed to bother him at all. Snow clumped in his hair and he swiped it off, wishing he’d brought a helmet.
The house came into view and he cringed at the sight. He couldn’t turn back now, even if he wanted to.
Well. He could , but he’d promised himself that he would, dammit, he’d walked so far already and his feet were getting fucking tired.
Part of him wanted to go back to his old ways- be loud, be annoying, and hope that no one noticed how much he was hurting-
No. he had to face this like a man. Not have an impromptu therapy session, but not hide all that shit either. ‘ Boss up, Tommy! Who do you think you are, a pussy?’
The house had changed since he was there last- it looked good. The whole place was spawn-proofed, and there was a pond to bridge the two houses. Probably Phil’s handiwork. Distantly, he wondered if his room was still there. He doubted it, considering Techno’s tendencies to destroy anything he disliked.
He missed that room, he missed the peace, he missed the safety, the simplicity-
A flash of blond hair came out of the pond, wiping the water off with a green sleeve. He flinched more than he cared to admit, squeezing his eyes shut to remind himself that it wasn’t Dream, it wasn’t Dream-
“Tommy?”
Shit.
“Heeyyyy, Phil!”
The latter looked unimpressed as he ran a hand through already freezing hair.
“What do you need, Tommy.”
Great, he’s already annoyed with him. Good start.
“I… I want to talk to Techno.”
“He doesn’t want to talk.” Phil’s response was immediate. Cold.
“Please?” He clasped hands together, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. “I promise I’m not here to fight. I just want to apologize.”
Phil opened his mouth to respond, probably to turn him away again- but a familiar voice spoke before he could.
“Phil, do you have a spare pickaxe? Mine’s about to break, and I don’t wanna make the trip to L’Manberg, it’s too mu- Tommy.”
Turning, Phil waved his hand dismissively. “Hey, Techno. I’m tryin’ to get him to go right now, don’t worry about it.”
Frustration rose in his throat. He curled his hands into fists at his sides, ignoring how his nails digging in made him want to start pulling his skin off.
“Can you just hear me out?” He said, trying to keep his voice steady.
Surprisingly, Techno didn’t look as angry as he expected- he looked more confused than anything.
“Aren’t you supposed to be dead or somethin’?” He asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
Tommy met eyes with Phil for a moment, their animosity disappearing as they both suppressed the urge to laugh.
“You’ve been hibernating for too long, mate, you need to catch up.”
“Dream revived me like… three days later man, c’mon.”
Techno shook his head, spraying water like a dog. “How did you know, Phil? You’ve been digging in this damn basement for weeks.”
“Crows told me. I’m surprised your voices didn’t”
“I hadn’t been listening- oh, yeah. They’re all yelling about that now.”
This was going well. Maybe he caught Techno in a good mood, this could be okay!
Phil’s gaze sharpened on him once again, and he resisted the urge to groan.
“Getting back to the problem at hand… Tommy. You said you wanted to talk to Techno.”
He bit back an insult. “Is that a problem?”
“I’ve made it pretty clear that I don’t want to talk, Tommy.”
“But
why?
I just want to fucking apologize-”
‘You’ve apologized. Poorly. Just leave me be.”
“
No.
” he snapped. “I’m not just gonna leave you be so you can forget about all the shit that bothers you.”
“
You
are the shit that bothers me.”
“I know. But you don’t hate me.”
“Right. Keep tellin’ yourself that.”
“If you hated me you’d try and kill me.”
Techno’s eye twitched, and he drew his sword.
“I’m not against doing that. It’s not like I cared about your death the first time.”
He moved a step closer, and Tommy lurched backward against his will. Tripping over his own feet, he landed ass-first in the snow.
Fuck,
no one even
touched
him and he was already panicking, he was already ready to cry-
Through his now-teary eyes, he saw Techno stop.
“It’s not worth it, mate.”
Techno huffed. “Not my fault he’s got a death wish.”
Snow crunched as he dug the sword into the ground and offered a reluctant hand to Tommy. He flinched away, jerking his hand to rest over his pounding heart.
“Don’t touch me. Please.” His voice cracked on the last line and he winced.
Techno shrugged. “Suit yourself.” Pulling his sword from the ground as he turned back, he slammed the door of the house without looking. Phil followed after him with one last icy glance.
Shit.
Well, they didn’t kick him out. Not exactly the warmest welcome, though.
The tears on his face were freezing. He swiped at them, frowning. What could he even do? Give up?
No. He wouldn’t back out that easily. He was Th- Tommy Danger Kraken Innit, for fucks sake! He’s been through death and back, this won’t stop him.
‘These wet pants might.’ He thought to himself as he stood, pouting at how the snow had soaked through. Trudging through the ice, he plopped himself on the mailbox he’d built. His old intimidation tower had been torn down ( that was definitely Techno), this was the only place he really could sit- unless he wanted to sit with the dogs, and he was pretty sure they still hated him.
Not soon after, Phil left the house again with far too many pickaxes slung over his shoulder. His eyes passed over Tommy purposefully, choosing to ignore him in hopes that he’d give up.
He’s an idiot, of course. Tommy’s never given up in his life, he’s not starting now.
How has this kid not given up yet?
Techno buried his face in Steve's fur as he grumbled to himself. Phil would be gone for the rest of the night, so his bear would have to be a stand-in.
Tommy was being his usual stubborn self, he knows. But in this weather? Really? It’s all but storming out, for fucks sake- if it were snowing any harder he’d be buried.
“Should I go get the child, Steve?” He asked. The bear huffed, sniffing his hair.
Wilbur would want him to.
Gods.
He raised a middle finger to stare at the ceiling for a moment.
“Damn guilty conscious. If this is your doing, Will, I’ll come there and smack you back to life.”
As he stood and brushed the white fur from his cape, he squinted outside to
check on
make sure the child wasn't dead yet. There was a flickering light near him that he hadn’t noticed before- maybe he had the common sense to put down a torch.
Or not.
The light disappeared quickly, and he saw Tommy go flying as a creeper exploded.
“ Shit! ” he swore under his breath as he rushed out the door. The silhouette of the teen was no longer visible, and he remembered with a sinking feeling that there was a pond not too far from where Tommy had been sat.
If he fell in that water… the pond was far too cold for a half-frozen teenager, especially one like Tommy. The kid was skin and bones the first time he lived, and he looked even worse the second.
“Tommy?” He called, wincing at how his voice was shaking.
‘Findtommyfindtommyfindtommyfindtommy’
‘Technosave!!!’
‘Big brother technoblade awww’
Great. Even in a life-threatening situation, the voices were no help.
“Tommy!” Again he yelled, worry building as there was still no response.
He neared the crater, taking all of a second to survey the damage. The mailbox was nothing but a pile of ash, the rest of it smoking and unusable. He would've complained about the property damage if it weren't for everything else going on.
A groan disturbed his thoughts, and he hurried towards the noise.
“Is that you, Toms?” The nickname slipped out accidentally as his eyes scanned the area around him.
Another groan, closer this time- from the pond. His stomach dropped.
“ Theseus! ”
He nearly tripped over his own feet as he ran to the pond, the snow so thick and clumped on his feet that it weighed him down. In the dim moonlight, he could see a figure on the edge of the water- laying completely still.
“ Fuck, ” he murmured, sliding down the shallow slope. Dropping to his knees in the water, he blindly reached towards the figure and fisted hands in a sopping wet shirt.
“Theseus, say something to me.”
“‘M cold, Tech.” Tommy slurred back.
“How long were you in the water? Do you know?” Techno pushed, mind racing.
He was silent.
“ Tommy. ”
Tommy was silent still as Techno pulled him close and cradled the water-soaked body. Desperately, he searched for a heartbeat, knowing the combination of the blizzard and the freezing pond could’ve been fatal-
There.
A faint rhythm.
He sagged in relief, pulling his cape off with one hand and bundling Tommy the best he could- it might be useless, but it at least felt like it was helping.
His knees were cold when he stood- probably stained with mud. He didn’t care.
‘Technosoft uwu’
“I’m not fuckin’ soft, chat.” He grumbled, staggering through the snow. “I’m doing this for Will.”
‘He’s lying LMAOOOO’
‘LMFAOOOOOOO’
“I am literally dealing with a half-dead child and you’re laughing.”
He had never been more relieved to enter his house. Shifting Tommy to one arm, he climbed upstairs gingerly and regretted having ladders rather than stairs. As he set the teen on his bed, he again checked his heartbeat- still faint, but better.
His clothes were too wet to stay in, Techno realized. Leaving him in them could result in hypothermia- though he probably already had it.
Taking him by the shoulders, he shook.
“Tommy, wake up.”
His head lolled to the side and an annoyed noise slipped from his mouth. Techno shook harder.
“
Theseus.
I’m not undressing you myself.”
He shot up at that, and Techno noted how dilated his eyes were. Shit.
“What? Why’re you fuckin’ undressin’ me, bitch? Why’m I all wet?”
“You got blown up into a pond, Tommy.” He said, slightly annoyed with how gentle he sounded. He was supposed to be hating this kid. “You need to change your clothes so you don’t get sick.”
Tommy rolled his eyes. “‘S fuckin’ stupid.”
“Tommy.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can do it m’self, Techie-” He hadn’t heard that nickname in
years-
“I don’ need your help.”
He frowned. “Are you sure?”
“‘M sure. I’m a big man, Techie.”
“Stop callin’ me that,” He muttered. Turning to a chest, he pulled out the warmest clothes he could find- along with his old Antarctic Empire cloak. The memories from it left a pang in his chest, but it was warmer than any of his capes.
Tommy was beginning to shiver when he turned back around. He frowned, trying to remember if that was good or not.
“You should change.” He set the dry clothes next to the teen and pushed down the instinctual urge to ruffle his hair. When did that happen? When did he stop wanting to smack him and start wanting to be so soft?
This kid has a terrible effect on him.
Tommy picked up the cloak, squinting at it like it was a mystery he needed to solve.
“Isn’t this your fuckin’ Antarctic shit?”
He nodded. “It’s my warmest cloak.”
“Betrayin’ Business Bay, innit?”
“I’m sure they’ll survive. I’m gonna make you some soup- change into those clothes, Antarctic or not.”
Humming, Tommy nodded, seeming satisfied. “Rabbit soup?”
“I’ll make it the way you like.” Throwing one last cautious glance over his shoulder, Techno climbed downstairs and hoped that when he came back the kid would still be awake- changing him himself would be a nightmare.
Hoping for awake was too low of a hope, clearly, because somehow Tommy managed to squirrel himself under the bed.
“ What are you doing?”
He scowled at him from his position on the floor.
“Sittin’ under the bed?”
“Yeah, but
why?
”
Tommy made a face and tapped a finger on the floor. At least he seemed to have changed his clothes.
Sighing, Techno set down the steaming soup and crouched, making to take the teens' hands. Tommy hissed, retreating further under the bed.
“Fuck off!”
“
Tommy
. There’s probably bugs and shit under there, get out-”
“Fuck off!! I want Wilby, go get him instead.”
The statement hit him like a brick, settling in his stomach atop his growing pile of anxiety.
“Wh-what?”
“I want
Wilbur.
Go get him- please?”
“Toms- Tommy, what are you talking about?”
Tommy made a frustrated noise. “You fucking suck. Where’s Wilby?”
‘Sadge’
‘Tommy doesnt know????’
‘Amnesia pog???’
‘Shut up, chat’ He fired back before pushing down the grief that he’d avoided for so long, too long-
“Will’s out. He and Phil are… going to a Woodland Mansion. To get… totems. They’re getting totems.”
“Ohh, Philza! I haven’t seen him in so long, I…” he trailed off for a minute, scrunching up his face. “Anyway, why’d you stick me under this bed? ‘R you trying to kidnap me or something?”
“Wha- you put
yourself
under the bed! C’mon, get out from under there.”
“Fine, fine. I swear
you
put me under there. I don’t remember you doing it, so it must be your fault.” Lifting himself onto his elbows, Tommy shimmied out from under the bed, dusting off his pants and shirt.
Picking the soup up again, Techno gestured towards the bed.
“Sit down.
On
the bed, not under it. I’ve got your soup here, then I need to check your fingers for hypothermia.”
Tommy's eyes lit up at the bowl, quickly sitting on the bed and making grabby hands at it.
“Gimme! I’m fuckin’ hungry.”
“Don’t eat it too fast, dumbass,” Techno said, watching him do the exact opposite.
“‘M fuckin’ fine,” he replied with his mouth full, nearly choking.
“You’re an idiot.”
Tommy raised a middle finger and Techno took the opportunity to grab it, inspecting the tips of his fingers thoroughly. Tommy tugged to no avail, mouth still full of soup.
“What the fuck,” He said. “That fuckin’
hurts.
”
“It
hurts?
”
Finally, he finished his food. “Everything hurts. All the time, Techno.”
“Wh- are you hurt? Who’s been hurting you?”
“Nobody!” He snapped. “I mean- Dream. But it’s not because of that. Well, it kind of is but-”
“Tommy.”
“Fuck off! I’m trying to
explain.
It’s because of Dream reviving me. Having an actual body again- it’s a lot to fuckin’ adjust to.”
The description sent a pang in his chest. He never would’ve imagined how different the living and dead would be- after all, he really had only been dead for a moment. But Tommy…
“Give me your other arm. I’ll be quick.” Techno held his hand out, quickly reassuring the teen when he began complaining. “Being brought back isn’t the best, is it?” He tried to ask casually as he prodded at the arm- it looked normal, thank the gods.
“It’s shit. But it’s better than being dead.”
“How was- being dead?”
His eyes shuttered. “Fucked. You probably don’t want to hear about it.”
Message received. Techno nodded. “Yeah, probably not. You should sleep?”
“What? I’m fine.” Tommy said, yawning. “Well- I’m not
that
tired.”
“A little sleep won’t hurt. Do you want me to keep you warm?”
He shook his head rapidly. “No. I don’t want to be- I’ll be fine alone. Really.”
“I’ll stay close by if you need anything.”
Tommy was already dozing off as he wiggled under the covers.
“Mhm. G’night, Techie.”
Fuck.
That was the nail in the coffin- this kid’s successfully gotten into his heart again.
Technoblade whispered to Ph1LzA: Phil help
Ph1LzA whispered to Technoblade: What’s wrong m8
Technoblade whispered to Ph1LzA: The child Phil
Technoblade whispered to Ph1LzA: He’s making me soft again
Ph1LzA whispered to Technoblade: LOL
Ph1LzA whispered to Technoblade: Do you need me to send Ranboo over
Technoblade whispered to Ph1LzA: No don’t
Technoblade whispered to Ph1LzA: If he starts crying I’m fucked though
Ph1LzA whispered to Ranboo: Techno might need saving
Ranboo whispered to Ph1LzA: Is he okay????
Ph1LzA whispered to Ranboo: Something about Tommy and being soft
Ph1LzA whispered to Ranboo: I’ll tell you if you need to dw m8
Tommy woke up in a warm bed that smelled like home. In all honesty, he wasn’t sure how he got there or why, but he was too comfortable to care. His body ached- but what else is new?
Sitting up with a grin, he stretched. Today would be a good today.
Then he saw Technoblade sleeping on the floor next to him and nearly screamed.
‘What the fuck is going on?’
Techno shifted where he sat, and his heart leapt into his throat. He silently laid back down and squeezed his eyes shut- if he couldn’t see Techno, Techno couldn’t see him.
He heard a yawn. Floorboards creaking, a faint tsk .
The covers he’d thrown back were pulled back to lay on him. It was taking all his willpower not to open his eyes- anything could be happening right now.
A hand carded through his hair and he instinctively jerked back, pressing his back to the wall behind him. He stared wide-eyed at Techno, red eyes meeting blue.
“You’re awake,” Techno said, shaking surprise from his face.
“
WHAT THE FUCK?
”
“How much do you remember?” His voice was too calm, too caring, something was wrong-
“Not- nothing. Why am I
here?
Did I- fuck- did I sneak into your house? Oh god, please don’t hurt me-”
He waved him off.
“I’m not gonna hurt you, dumbass. You didn’t sneak anywhere - I would’ve punted you if you did.”
“Well then what-”
“You nearly died. I made sure that didn’t happen. I can explain, or I can show you.”
“Show me?”
“Follow me,” He said with a flick of his wrist. “Get shoes- there’s still snow on the ground.”
“It’s always snowing,” Tommy grumbled as he tugged the closest boots he could find on. They were a size too big- probably Phils.
Techno led him outside, silent but bursting with just-concealed energy. They stopped at a snow-covered crater, where he vaguely remembered the mailbox being.
“Do you remember any of this?”
“Uh- I remember sitting on your mailbox.”
“What about the creeper?”
“Creeper? Wait-” Oh.
That.
Spying the look on his face, Techno nodded. “It knocked you over there-” He pointed towards a pond not too far away- “I barely got there in time to get you out.”
“Did I pass out?”
“No. No, far from it. Scared the shit out of me, actually. You- you asked for
Wilbur
.”
Wilbur.
Wilbur.
Nononono nononono-
“Theseus.” Techno said smoothly. He stopped moving- he hadn’t even realized he’d been backing up.
“Tommy, you’ve got that same look on your face- the same one from after exile.”
“Can- can we go inside? I can explain but- it’s cold.”
He nodded. “C’mon.”
“When I- died.” Tommy began over hot chocolate. “It was… it fucking hurt. You might know the best other than, well, other than the people that are already dead. But it took me to this other world. Another
existence
- but it was barely existing. To me, it looked like L’Manberg. The original L’Manberg. And- and Wilbur was there. The others were too, but Wilbur was there the most. He- Techno, time moves differently in the afterlife. I was dead for two, three days. It felt like months. Wilbur’s been there for almost
seven years
. He’s well past insane at this point and I-”
Techno reached to touch his shoulder and drew back quickly, putting the hand on his own chest instead. “It’s alright.”
He shook his head. “Dream could revive Wilbur at any minute. And that’s fucking terrifying. ”
“I should just kill Dream,” Techno muttered. “It’d be better for everyone, to be honest.”
“Yes- please.”
“Soon,” He promised. “But even if we’re too late- you’ll always have a safe place here. I swear it.”
“Swear it on your bedrock.”
“I swear it on my bedrock. I wouldn’t want to lose our brand, would I?”