The walk back home was abysmal.
'Visit family', you said.
'It'll be the chance to reconnect and have fun', you said.
Tough fucking luck that was.
You can still hear the noises of your brother, calling out for you, crying, weeping, for his only family to come back. It rung in your head like a bad mantra, echoing and touching every corner of your head the entire walk back.
But you also couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Techno knows.
He knows.
It's so weird, cause you felt like something should have changed, but nothing has so far.
He's acting the same. He's looking at you the same.
Maybe he was just tired. You know you were. As soon as he gets more energy he'll give you a look.
A look that means his view of you has changed.
For the worst.
You rub at your forehead and stare at his back as you both walk. Thoughts and worries for later.
The leather armor you stole from the skeletons was chaffing, which sucks, but made sense. It was armor. It was rough and toughened leather.
It was a pain to steal it too, the skeletons were so scared that pulling it off them was tedious. They kept wiggling everywhere.
You didn't care if they wiggled, as long as it was after you stole their armor.
The walk back was pretty quiet.
The information was all seeping in, both heads registering what happened.
You felt sleepy, and mildly overwhelmed, and you had no idea how long you've been away from the comfy attic bed in your house.
But eventually, you did get back home.
So so tired.
The anguished yells of your brother were mixing with the fresh image of his content face when you sat with him for those few minutes.
You couldn't tell if you should be happy he had still cared about you, or sad that if you ever visited again his fondness of you would definitely be hatred.
Again. Thoughts for later. The house was coming into view.
Techno reached the steps first, the inky sky bare of clouds, and the tundra, for once, was calm with no icy winds blasting through your skin.
His boots clumped up the steps, and you tentively hopped after him, reaching the top of the steps and letting out the longest sigh you had in you.
No glances were shared. No words.
No passing sentences or eyes silently communicating. You were both ready to be home.
Techno swung the door open, and immediately a squawking cry hits the air-
Oh good Lord.
"YOU-"
It's Tommy.
"MOTHER FUCKERS!"
Techno inches in, placing a hand on your shoulder to urge you inside before closing the door behind you, and in full view you can see a rather... scattered looking Tommy.
He looked like he hasn't slept for days- his eyes were red and puffy- all irritated like he had been crying. His hair was all sorts of ruffled, along with his clothes. The frown on his face as he impatiently tapped his foot in front of you and Techno was more then enough.
He was frazzled.
Tightly fisted in his one hands was a crumpled note. One that you wrote. With the simple words of, 'Be back soon-' scrawled on it.
Your note.
To everyone in this house.
He was more then frazzled. Tommy was angry.
"WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU TWATS-" His frown gets nastier, brows so far drawn together.
Tommy starts strutting towards you.
You go to make a response, but before you can get a word out Tommy is throwing his noodle arms around you, pulling you in with a frustrated but almost... scared kind of way.
Pulled into a hug, you can focus on something other then Tommy, and catch Philza cross legged by the fire place, calmly observing what was happening.
"You abandoned me-" he mutters, "You little shits wandered off-" Tommy backs up, throwing his arms in the air and walking in Phil's direction, "I wake up to an empty house, and a note!"
Techno is kicking snow off his boots as Tommy rants, properly shedding layers off himself.
Tommy makes a frustrated huffing noise before pacing back in your direction and giving you another lopsided hug, this time you actually get to reciprocate, awkwardly pulling your arms around the agitated avian and patting at him.
"Hey, I didn't mean to worry you- sorry buddy- I just-" You sigh, "Head stuff..."
You didn't realize Tommy was so clingy.
He never was at Pogtopia.
You each would often go and do your own things, sometimes for days on end.
He was acting like a child that lost their parents in a grocery store. 'How dare you briefly leave him.'
"Wasn't worried-" he angrily huffs onto your shoulder.
"Sure you weren't bud." You laugh.
He makes a disgruntled noise, but doesn't comment farther, just pissily hugging you, hands shaking.
In fact, his whole body seemed to be shaking.
A breath escapes him. That familiar warbly sound that you hear everytime he gets scared, or nervous... or remembers something he doesn't want to.
He must have been really scared. And you get it.
He was in exile for who knows how long? By himself? No concrete and stable person around?
You get it.
"It's alright." You say, watching as Techno meanders into the house eyeing Phil and muttering a greeting to him. You glance at the hands you have wrapped around Tommy, "Even if I leave for errands I ain't leaving you Tommy. Who'd be my little chicken friend?"
"Chicken??!" Tommy shoots backward away from you and growls, "I AIN'T NO CHICKEN-"
He starts ranting and you tune him out to listen to Phil and Techno's conversation.
"-ta get new clothes or something. Absolutly shredded." Techno mumbles.
Phil quirks an eyebrow at him cheekily, "Damn, must have been a crazy accident." He ends his sentence with a pungent wink, to which Techno aims a blank look at him.
"Phil please. Please Phil. Im trying to do serious planning here."
Phil grins, "Oh yeah I bet-" the old man's cheeky-ness fades, "Honestly though mate, you both look really roughed up-"
You didn't get to listen farther because Tommy snapped his fingers in front of your eyes with a pissy pout on his face.
"Where. Were. You." He sternly says.
"Nether." You say.
"Why didn't you bring me with you."
"Head stuff."
"Why'd you leave me behind and bring Techno."
"He brought himself along."
"Why'd you take so long."
"It was a long walk." You deapan. Tommy's stream of questions were bleeding you dry of answers AND patience.
You were so tired. You wanted to collapse in bed.
Tommy's eyes flicker around your face a few times before he lunges at you again and pulls you into another hug, which pulls a laugh out of you.
"Tommy, you're all good buddy-" you say, laughing and patting him, "We're home now."
"What were you and Techno doing." He mumbles.
"Mmm- stuff." You say.
He grunts.
Then reels back and obnoxiously yells, "You REEK. Stinky ass mother fucker. You smell like you were slobered on and then dropped in a fire."
You stare at Tommy, who has literally hit the nail on the head for what happened.
"Damn- you don't have to do me like that-" you say, before Tommy let's out another obnoxious yell.
"YOU LITERALLY HAVE TEETH MARKS IN YOUR SKIN-" He points to the scrap marks all over you from where you were grabbed and tossed around by your brother.
Tommy's face is irritated, and then shifts into extra angry as he stomps his skinny little self over to Techno and shoving his finger into the other male's chest, "What'd you do to my good pal Blade-"
"Heh?" Techno stares stock still at Tommy.
"My good old chum over there," Tommy points at you and you awkwardly stare at them, "is hella messed up- and I know it was you-" he jabs his finger into Techno wide chest again for emphasis.
Tommy's eyes go slack.
And then he looks down at Techno's chest where his finger was just jabbing.
And what he looks at is the completely busted armor Technoblade was sporting.
The poorly held together plates of netherite bleekly shined with enchantments, and did nothing to hide Techno's sliced up shirt and fresh scabbing wound from where your brother nearly crunched his ribcage in.
"What the fuck man-" Tommy glances from you to Techno in succession, "You both look like you went through a meat grinder."
The boy huffs. Then glances at you.
The slow winding glint of realization crawled up his face, eyes widening before he gasped.
"YOU. HAD. LORE. WITHOUT ME YOU BASTARDS-"
You find it funny that everyone in this room was witness to Tommy's thought process. Everything on display, from the blatant panic over everyone leaving him, to the anger of being left behind, and the unfolding mystery of where you guys were.
All of you wince when Tommy lets out a roar of a yell- wriggling around in his spot in front of Techno and pointing fingers at everyone, "Fuck you- fuck you! Fuck you both!" He growls, leveling his stare at you, "Next thing I know, you're gonna say you told the Blade what you are- before you told me what you are." Tommy pauses his temper tantrum.
You pause.
Techno's eyes slide from Tommy over to you and make direct eyecontact.
You stare at Techno.
Techno stares at Tommy.
Tommy wildly looks between you both.
"....YOU ROTTEN BASTARDS-"
Tommy charges at Techno and sends a flurry of punches at him, blindly grabbing and twisting- but Techno is quick to swing him around into a headlock, securely stopping the boy from attacking him.
Tommy is wriggling around like a chicken with its head cut off, screaming and yelling all the way, "I CANT BELIEVE THE AUDACITY OF YOU BITCHES-" He takes a deep breath in, flaring his nostrils before looking at Techno's arm and digging his teeth into the flesh there, violently shaking his head around.
Techno cringes and drops him, "Ew- you got your nasty child slobber on me-"
Tommy ignores him and continues his rant, "LEAVING ME? ME?? THE MOST LOVABLE AND HANDSOME MAN YOU KNOW BEHIND???"
You open your mouth to try and get a word in edge wise, but Tommy tuts. He doesn't even want to hear it.
Blabbering away about how distraught he is, and how offended he was.
Again, you get why he feels this way. You completely understand what headset he's in.
But also he doesn't realize that you are beat. Your soul is aching for rest after the battle you just survived. Both a mental, and physical battle. You have no patience to debate.
Glancing to Techno you wave a hand at him.
"Tech, do me a favor and give him the book-"
You. Are. Beat.
Techno keeps eyecontact with you, tilting his head in question. A silent, 'you sure?'
You nod.
Tommy is flicking his head and watching the interaction.
Without farther delay, Techno drags the book out of his satchel, before throwing the book to Tommy, who lunges at the object.
The chicken snatches it out of the air, skittering around for a few moments, eyes skimming the cover, before scurrying down the basement ladder to his lair without another word.
Finally, the room was calm.
Somewhere in the back of your head you feel like you're going to regret that, but you couldn't be bothered to care, now feeling so much better without the added chaos.
Phil hums an amused noise at his place by the fire. A thousand unspoken words glinted in his eyes. Questions he wanted to ask but decided to be merciful and merely shake his head at you both.
"You both look like shit."
Techno grunts.
You space out and stare directly at Phil.
A few mutters come out of Phil, before he's shifting to stand up, shaking the stiffness out of his legs, "I'm gonna go get some fresh night air. You guys need to relax." He shuffled towards the doorway, which you are still standing beside, "I took care of Carl, so don't worry about him okay?"
"Thanks Phil..." Techno grumbles appreciatively.
"No problem mate." Phil opens the door and waves at you guys, before shutting it behind him and tromping down the steps.
You and Techno stare silently at nothing in particular. It felt like a live wire was wound up tightly against your bones. Everything was pulled tight and ready to snap.
Techno huffs and heads for the ladder, crawling up and mumbling a, 'I'm gonna get changed.' Which left you in the room by yourself.
The internal wire of tension in your head twitched, but didn't snap, which let you finally kick the snow off your boots and leave your shoes by the door.
The cloak Techno gave you was ruined. Burnt and bit, holding on, but also... much shorter and less durable then it used to be.
You hung it up anyways.
By the time you were done with that you were ready to collapse, but instead crawled up the ladder, catching Techno just pulling a fresh shirt over his head.
His hands pulled fabric down to cover the scarred flesh of his back.
The lower part of your brother's bite marks were covered by the soft fabric.
A giant that tried to bite into him.
You glance past Techno and see his armor was on the table near the back of the room, clearly a problem for him to deal with later.
Techno turns his head to peer at you, ears flicking as he gave you a once over.
With a quick movement he tosses a bundle at you- a pile of clothes hitting your face as you scramble to catch them.
"You should get changed too." He offers, walking towards his armor and keeping his back to you, "I want to see if I can try to salvage something out of this mess."
You squint at him.
Then squint at the clothes he gave you. A large white shirt. His.
And some baggy pants. Also his.
...How does he expect you to fit this?
Whatever.
You shrug off the leather armor you stole, before slipping into the borrowed clothes.
The shirt hangs off your shoulder, and the pants bunch at your feet, but at least there was a drawstring to hold it together.
Good enough.
You glance up.
Techno is still messing with the armor.
"You're tired." You say to him. Standing and watching his shoulders shift around.
He grunts.
Tip toeing across the floor you stand behind his hunched form.
Kneeling, you slide your arms around his neck and peer around his shoulder to watch what he was doing.
You can feel the muscles in his back tense, and see the way his hands stutter in what they were previously pulling at.
The heat radiating off him felt like a godsend to your worn and battered body.
"You should rest." Your voice is soft, but you know he can hear you with how close to his ear you are.
Another grunt, this time more stiffled, his voice follows, "You make a good argument; however, armor."
You groan in annoyance, before hanging all your weight on him, "Well then I guess I'll just sleep here instead."
True to your word, you settle as comfortably as you could latched onto him like you were, nuzzling your head into his neck and relishing in the warm that only seemed to grow more intense.
"No- you're gonna get a stiff neck sleeping like that dumby-" he huffs, still cross legged on the floor to try his hand pulling some leather padding out from between one of the shoulder plates, "I only need like five minutes, okay?"
"Murmph-" you mumble.
"Go murmph yourself." He huffs.
Instead of heeding any of his words, you slide your arms away from his shoulders, almost feeling him lean into the movement, before pulling away completely.
He huffs in a noise of agreement, assuming you had decided to go lay down elsewhere, but instead you're crawling into his lap, fumbling around before curling up like some kind of domesticated house cat.
"Heh??" He grunts- head snapping down to stare at you, watching you press your head into the side of his abdomen and pull your arms close to your face, "When I said lay down I meant in bed...!" He whispers down at you, red eyes catching light from somewhere in the room and shining at you.
"Murmljphh..." You hum, reaching a hand up and patting his face, which was angled to stare at you.
Techno stared incredulously at you, eyebrows so far up his forehead they felt like they were going to fly off.
Heat dusted his nose and ears, watching you decide the most comfortable place in the room was him-
"You...!" He says, looking down at you trailing off as your eyes are already closed, and you have somehow already settled comfortably.
He shut his open mouth, pursing his lips and letting his arms go slack on the armor he was grasping.
Taking a deep breath in he glanced around the room, dimly lit by the night and a comfortably temperature from the fire in the floor below.
Looking back to you he stared at your forehead.
"You're still gonna be sore if you sleep like that Achilles." He says.
You mumbled something eyes peering open briefly to squint at him before shutting them and re-nuzzling into him.
A noise he can't control slips out, the rumbling in his chest making a soft puttering grumble.
He huffs in amusement, lowering a hand to poke at your forehead, "You had some big horns popping out of your head today. They must have fried your brain power."
Another mumbled unintelligible threat from you.
He huffed again.
The room was quiet.
And you shift around to try and get an actual thought out, and murmur a,
"...ᴵ'ᵐ ʳᵉᵃˡˡʸ ᵍˡᵃᵈ ᴵ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ʸᵒᵘ..."
The soft puttering in his chest was intensified.
An overwhelming wave of affection washed over him as he looked down at your nearly limp form.
He wanted to hold your face in his hands and tell you how much you meant to him. Press his head against yours and whisper how he'd sacrifice everything if it meant he got an extra second of having you in his life.
Feel the breath in your lunges as you grinned at him, feel your heart beat under his hands as he held you close.
He settled for a sweet, and simple, "I'm really glad you know me." Voice almost of hum, eyes dilating as he battled to keep his hand off your head.
To keep himself in general off of you.
Finally sliding his gaze off you, he instead looked back at the armor in front of him.
He was content.
Tired and worn out, but content to have you right there with him.
Like a sleepy cat looking for the warmest spot to sit, keeping him company while he worked.
He could hear the moment you fully dozed off.
Breathe evening.
Chest taking longer, slower breaths.
In the end he didn't get too much progress on the armor, only managing to gut the chest plate's straps before looking at you and deciding laying there won't be comfortable for too much longer.
Gently setting the armor down, he looked down at you, mentally trying to figure out the best way to pick you up.
He started with your neck, scooping his arm under it and leaning back so your upper half rested against his chest, placing a hand on your back to steady you there.
His second arm scooped under your legs, hoisting you and un-crossing his legs before fully rising.
Despite the room being dark he had no problem manuevering to the bed, careful of your limp body as he used his leg to pull the pelts of the bed down.
You slid in easily, completely and utterly conked out.
He slid in after, settling beside you and tugging the pelt up around the both of you.
He sighed.
Gods.
He missed when he wasn't this careful with anyone. He missed being independent.
But now all he could think about was how much he wanted to see you laugh at his dumb jokes, or try to attack him only to fail, or smile at him for no reason other then you enjoy his presence.
He hated it, but at the same time couldn't stop it.
The breaks were broken, and he was the driver.
The best thing he can do is pretend the car isn't about to crash.
He can all but hear Phil in his head as he drifted off.