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As long as the Watson’s have known Tommy, he’s covered his skin. He’s worn long sleeves and jeans year round; if they get him shorts, they live in the back of his drawer and if they get him short sleeved shirts, he’ll layer long sleeves underneath. They’ve never questioned it to his face, but it’s definitely been a curiosity. He’s never shown them his skin.
And now Technoblade understands why.
Tommy had been taking forever to leave the school campus, and Techno’s patience was wearing thin. It had been nearly ten minutes before Techno left to cool confines of his car and back into the building to find his dumbass brother (almost officially, waiting for the adoption papers to go through). He was walking the hall when he heard voices; and one sounded a lot like Tommy.
And it sounded pained.
Quickening his steps, he rounded the north hall corner and saw Tommy; his baby brother , on the floor with Dream standing over him. His fist are clenched and he throws another punch. Tommy’s jacket had been clearly wrestled off him as it was crumbled on the floor a few feet away; out of reach. Tommy had worn short sleeves, and his arms were on clear display.
Techno feels sick.
It feels wrong to look at his skin. After getting used to him being fully covered, it’s hard to look. It doesn’t help that he's covered in scars and bruises and cuts. He looks like a war prisoner, tortured for years on end.
Stuck in his stupor, Dream manages to throw another punch; the hard thud echoing through the empty hallway. Tommy cries in pain, the punch landing on top of another bruise. The sound snaps Techno out of his mind and he gets his phone out, starting to record it and setting it down on the ground, everything in clear view. As much as it pains him to waste the precious time to set it up - listening to Tommy cry and beg for Dream to stop - it’ll help in the long wrong of getting Dream in trouble.
Once his phone is down, Techno charges forward. “What the fuck!” His voice echoes and it brings everything to a halt. He grabs the green hood that Dream is wearing and pulls him back, harshly. If it chokes him, Techno could care less. He stands protectively in front of Tommy, stopping Dream from making any more advances towards him. Tommy is sobbing on the ground, shaking as he looks up to Techno - terrified.
“Oh… Techno.” Dream drawls, stuffing his hands in his hoodies pocket; acting as if he’s innocent. “Wasn’t expecting you to still be here.”
“What are you doing, Dream.” Techno growls, hands clenched at his side. Techno really wants to punch him, but with the recording; anything that he instigates can be damaging. He needs Dream to make the first move.
“Nothing. Just… giving Tommy a few sparring tips.” The guy shrugs. He’s staring Techno down, eye’s peering over his white medical mask. Techno takes a deep breath, anger stewing in his chest.
“Seems more like a beating to me.” Tommy is trying to stand up behind Techno, trying to say something but he’s coughing anytime he makes a sound. The coughs are harsh and painful. Dream’s eyes keep flicking to Tommy and Techno is half tempted to grab the fucker’s face to make him look at Techno. Every sound Tommy makes seems to agitate Dream; his eyebrows twitch at every wheeze and he looks about ready to shove through Techno to quiet him.
Techno keeps an eye on Dream as he bends down to help his brother down. Dream’s body is tense and he’s twitching, no doubt his hands are clenched in his pocket. Techno gets Tommy standing, wrapping an arm around the boy's torso and holding him close. He’s trying to be gentle, but he has to apply a bit of pressure to keep him standing. Tommy’s whimpers of pain make Techno want to cry and beat Dream to a pulp at the same time.
“We’ll be on our way.” Techno says (more like demands) and starts to lead Tommy away; never taking his eyes off Dream. He’ll have to leave Tommy’s jacket, but if it means getting the blonde home faster, he’ll buy him twenty new ones. Dream sidesteps in in front of them, staring at Techno. Techno stares back, he’s daring him to do something. Dream tsks and walks forward, pushing past him.
But he does more than that.
Tommy gasps and Techno feels Dream punch him in the stomach, hard. Tommy clutches his stomach and drops to the floor. Dream had taken his hand out of his pocket when he moved and got one last punch in. Techno immediately lets Tommy fall, reminding himself to apologize when he’s done, and immediately takes a swing at Dream. He side swipes his head in a full punch and knocks him into the wall.
From how they were standing, Techno knows his phone caught the punch and has no remorse as he lays into Dream. He pins Dream to the wall and glares at him. “You messed with the wrong fuckin’ family.” He pulls his fist back and swings, landing a punch on the guy's nose. He doesn’t hear a crack until he throws his next one. Dream groans as blood starts to stain his white mask.
He throws two more punches before he lets Dream down, stepping back as he slides down the wall, groaning. Techno shakes out his hand and turns back to Tommy, rushing forward. Tommy is a heap on the floor, clutching his stomach as he struggles to breath properly. Reaching out blindly, he snatches Tommy’s jacket and drapes it over his shoulder.
“Techie…” Tommy slurs, looking up at him through his lashes.
“I’m here Tommy. I’m here, Toms… Let’s get you home.” He helps the boy stand before crouching in front of him, helping him get onto his back. Once he’s situated, he walks back down the hall, grabs his phone and leaves the building. They walk in silence to the car, Techno gently nudging Tommy whenever he feels the boy get too lax. He doesn't know if he has a concussion; so he needs to stay awake.
Once they reach Techno’s car, he gently gets Tommy off his back and into the passenger seat. Techno quickly gets in the driver seat and sets off home, taking slight detours as to not jostle Tommy too much. He keeps gently shaking Tommy, trying to keep him awake and he tries to start up a conversation.
The ride home takes about ten minutes and when they pull into the driveway, Techno’s phone (and no doubt Tommy’s) has been blowing up with messages from Wilbur and Phil. Techno gets out and rushes to Tommy’s side before the boy even reaches for the handle.
He gets Tommy back onto his back, he’ll come back for his stuff later. Speaking of which, where was Tommy’s stuff? Looking back, Techno doesn’t remember seeing it.
He’ll worry about that later; he needs to get Tommy inside.
Adjusting his hold on Tommy, he kicks at the door and waits to be let in. He can hear the rapid footsteps of his family and the door is thrown open, loud voices following. He quickly shuts them up and storms inside, careful not to move Tommy too much. He can feel the blondes jacket sliding and he needs to get him sitting.
Walking to the living room, he gently gets Tommy sitting on the couch and makes Tommy look at him. “Techie…” he mumbles, but he’s alert and looking directly at Techno. The likelihood of a concussion lessons. He can hear Phil and Wilbur begin to ask questions when he puts his hand up effecting silencing them. “Techie… hurts…” Tommy leans into Techno hands as tears slide down bruised cheeks.
“I know Tommy… I’ll help best I can.” He promises, leaning forward and pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead. “Stay here and stay awake until I come back, okay? I’m gonna get some stuff to help you.” Tommy looks panicked at the idea of Techno leaving. “Hey, hey… it’s okay. Wilbur will stay with you, okay?” Techno quickly looks over his shoulder at Wilbur, his twin startled at being singled out. But he recovers quickly and Techno’s pointed stare.
“Y-Yeah, I’ll stay with you Toms.” he quickly says, rushing over and sitting next to Tommy, gently pulling him into his side. The boy goes willingly, even if his face grimaces in pain.
“Wilby…” The boy sniffs, burrowing his head into his shoulder. Techno looks at Wilbur with a heavy stare and stands, walking towards their bathroom with Phil in tow. Before Phil even gets a word out, Techno thrusts his phone into Phils hands, the video waiting to be played. Techno hears the video play as he grabs the first aid kit. He listens to his father gasp as the faint thuds of skin-on-skin echo from his speaker as he gathers extra towels and a bottle of ibuprofen.
“Tommy was taking a while, so I went back inside. I found that…” he spits glaring at his phone, watching as his father’s face pales and hardens into a glare. He holds all the first aid stuff and gently pushes past his father, walking back towards the living room.
Wilbur’s done a good job keeping Tommy awake and comfortable. His jacket is still covering him, and he seems pretty relaxed, even if he winces and whines occasionally if he moves too much. He perks up when he sees Techno walk over, but pouts slightly at the kit in his hand. Techno sits in front of him and sets the kit down.
The house is silent again.
“Can I take a look, Tommy?” Techno asks, staring at his brother. Tommy looks like he’d rather be doing it by himself; but like hell anyone will let him. Tommy pulls his jacket tighter around himself and bites his lip. He looks close to tears again and Techno wishes he could make this easier on him. “I need to take a look, Tommy. Me or Phil; we’ll let you pick.” Wilbur gently brings his hand up to Tommy's head and scratches at his scalp.
“Hm… you…” Tommy mumbles, scooting out of Wilbur’s hold and to the edge of the couch. Techno nods and opens the kit, watching out of the corner of his eyes as Tommy slides his jacket off. He sees Wilbur stiffen and gape at Tommy. It’s a first for everyone seeing his skin in this close of light.
He looks worse now.
In the time it’s taken to get home; bruises have darkened, and blood has dried. Tommy stares at his lap, fidgeting with his hands. Cuts are all over his arm, some old and some new. Many are scared and it’s hard to tell if they are self-inflicted or not. What Techno can see from the collar of his shirt is more bruises in various stages of healing and Techno wants to throw up.
“Are you okay taking off your shirt? I need to see your ribs.” Techno whispers, setting his hands on top of Tommy’s hands. The boy tenses and bites at his lip, pulling at the chapped skin and making them bleed. Wilbur gently nudges his shoulder and Tommy stops, licking the blood away slightly.
“We just wanna make sure you okay, bubs…” Phil comforts, crouching next to Techno and gently grabbing Tommy’s arm, thumb gently swiping on pale skin. “If you’d rather do this in the bathroom with Techno, we can move. Whatever you want bubs; but we’ve gotta check…” They watched as Tommy was deep in thought, before he pointed to Techno with his shirt fisted in his hand. “Just Techno?” Phil clarifies, thumb still rubbing on pale skin. Tommy nods and his fist tightens on his shirt.
“Okay, Thes…” Techno said, reclosing the kit and tucking it under his arm. “Let’s go…” He humbles, offering an arm for Tommy to lean into when he stands. Wilbur helps the boy stand, hands hovering should Tommy fall. Phil looks one step away from just taking Tommy to the hospital, regardless of the complaints and hate he’d get.
The walk (it’s more of a limp, really) to the bathroom is long, Tommy taking breaks to breath and grimace. He looks close to tears the entire time; either from pain or embarrassment or frustration, Techno thinks it’s all of the above. Once in the bathroom, Techno helps Tommy hop up onto the counter and sets the kit in the sink. Techno opens the kits and lets Tommy take a breather before he asks him to remove his shirt.
It looks worse in the bathroom light.
His skin is more bruised than not, same with the scars. He’s still extremely skinny, but since he’s been with them, he’s put on more weight. Tommy gulps and it shocks Techno into action. There are some areas that have dried blood and Techno tackles those first. He grabs an alcohol wipe and starts cleaning, mumbling apologies when Tommy grimaces or whines. Now that the areas are clean, they start bleeding again and Techno quickly, but gently, puts some gauze and bandages over them. On some of the worst bruises, he applies a balm in gentle strokes.
It was a lengthy process, but soon Tommy was as patched up as he could be. Tears were silently running down his face by the end and all Techno could do was pull him into a tight but gentle hug. His brother sobs in his shoulder and shakily brings his arms to Techno back and fist at his shirt. His body heaves and shakes while he cries, noises barely muffled by Techno’s shoulder.
Techno just holds him close, holding back tears of his own, and brings a hand up to gently rub at Tommy’s scalp. “You’re okay, Theseus…” He mumbles into his temple and presses a gentle kiss, “you’ll be okay…” Techno barely acknowledges the soft knock on the door and when it opens slowly.
He feels when his brother and father join him in holding Tommy, soft mumbles of promises and love echo in the small room. They’ll be okay.
Dream won’t be though.