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Tommy is lost.
In his defense, the city is really big, so it’s fairly easy for a four-year-old to get lost in it.
It started with a flamingo. Yes, a flamingo. It was Tommy’s treasured floatie that he used whenever Phil took him swimming. Keyword; was. Tommy has now not only lost his way, but also his floatie.
As his winged father packed the cooler into the back of the car, Tommy sat on the driveway, the pink floatie being his only form of entertainment. Wilbur said that they’re going on a trip to someplace warm—possibly a beach, but Tommy didn’t care nor want to go. Someplace warm meant someplace far from his home, and even though they wouldn’t be gone for long, Tommy still didn’t want to go. Leaving the cold city meant leaving Technoblade, how else was he supposed to see his favorite hero?
Techno, known as “The Blade” and for being the number one hero, has been coming over frequently ever since he found and returned runaway Tommy. Phil offered dinner as compensation for helping Tommy back home, and although Techno refused the first time, he’s now taken a liking to the chaotic family.
He usually would stop by for dinner and stay the night on an air mattress. Tommy loved every second the hero stayed and used to cry every time he had to leave. He’s stopped crying now, but only because Techno explained to him that he has a dog at home he has to take care of. That’s the one valid reason anyone should ever leave Tommy.
The kid loudly voiced his complaints many times, but Phil insisted on going on vacation, saying that Tommy needs a “change of scenery”. What Tommy needs is a change of clothes. The red and white Hawaiian shirt hugged his neck tightly, making it almost too uncomfortable to breathe. He could ask his dad or brother to undo the button clinging around his neck, but he was currently too busy having a staring contest with his flamingo—that and Tommy loves complaining about the littlest things.
While concentrating very hard on winning, Tommy didn’t realize that Phil and Wilbur got in the car, nor did he realize that the winged man had started the said car. His dad and brother also didn’t realize that Tommy wasn’t with them, Phil being tired from the stress that comes with planning a vacation and Wilbur being worn out from having to take care of Tommy while their dad did all the planning. Phil drives away, drinking his fifth cup of coffee this morning as an attempt to keep his eyes open.
Tommy’s eyes got dry from keeping them open, so he reluctantly blinked. Now, he’s upset that the flamingo beat him, the shirt was still constricting his breathing, and he still has to go on this stupid vacation. Tommy is on the verge of a temper tantrum.
He decides that he’ll give up the joy that comes with complaining for comfort and ask his dad to unbutton the top of his shirt. Tommy looks up from the flamingo for the first time in a while as he was concerningly persistent on beating his pink floatie in a staring contest, but doesn’t see his dad. He’s a bit alarmed, but he doesn’t panic. Phil is in the house with Wilbur, that must be it.
Tommy steadies himself by putting his hands on the concrete and stands up. He takes his flamingo and waddles from the driveway to the front door of the house. The boy stands on his tiptoes and reaches his tiny hand up to grab at the doorknob, but when he twists and pushes at it the door doesn’t open. As Tommy’s brain processes what this means, his grip on his flamingo loosens and it floats away, the wind carrying it into the empty street.
The red door stares at him, almost menacingly, as he looks back and forth between the floatie sitting on the road and his house. Tommy knows he should stay and wait for Phil to come back—if he comes back, but he also has to go save his floatie as it might get run over and pop. He tears up at the thought of Phil and Wilbur leaving him for good, but he wipes the tears budding in his eyes before they fall. Heroes don’t cry, Tommy knows because Techno is the greatest hero there ever was and he’s never seen him cry.
Tommy is going to be a hero like Technoblade and go save his floatie.
He looks at the red door once more, a silent promise that he’ll be back, and balls his fists in determination as he stumbles down onto the street. Tommy looks both ways just like Phil taught him and walks into the road, being careful to not trip as he steps down from the curb. As he bends down to pick up his floatie, a new gust of wind carries it up and away from him again when his fingertips brush the flamingo’s beak.
He stands there for a few seconds as his eyes search for where the floatie landed. Tommy sees that it was now on the other side of the street, though it’s a bit further down the sidewalk. Again, Tommy waddles across the street, just narrowly missing a truck that drove by. He doesn’t notice the blaring horn nor the way he was almost run over, too fixed on retrieving his floatie.
This process repeats quite a few times; Tommy goes after his floatie, almost catches it, the wind carries it away again, and Tommy barely avoids getting hurt as he waddles after it. A squirrel almost fell on his head from where it was in a tree, a football nearly hit him in the head, and he would’ve stepped in wet cement—the floatie saving Tommy from all of those misfortunes as it flew away again, the blonde following suit.
At one point, Tommy successfully outsmarts his flamingo floatie. It might have beat him in a staring contest, but he was the one who finally caught it. He stands up victoriously and hugs the flamingo, pledging a quiet oath to never lose it again. Once he pulls away, Tommy looks up from the floatie and decides to walk back home. He’s somewhat sure he’ll be back in time—if Phil and Wilbur even noticed he was gone in the first place. He shakes his head to get rid of the sad thoughts, now is not the time to think negatively, especially since he just saved his floatie!
Tommy is snapped out of his thoughts as he’s pushed by something, or rather someone, making him almost lose his grip on the flamingo as he trips over himself and nearly falls over. He catches himself before he could hit the pavement and clutches the floatie tightly to his chest, adamant about not breaking his oath to it. The blonde looks at his surroundings for the first time since he started his chase. Tommy’s eyes widen as he realizes he has no idea where he is.
Now, he’s somewhere in the city with no clue on how to get back home. His breathing quickens and he’s tempted to just start bawling until someone helps him, but Tommy evens his breaths like how he’d seen Wilbur do before. Tommy’s been a hero so far and rescued his floatie, he can’t stop now. He decides to use his tiny brain to come up with a plan just like Technoblade does.
Tommy thinks he’ll retrace his steps and go back the way he came from, but the person who knocked into him earlier made him lose track of where he was or where he came from. He’s now angry at himself, Tommy wishes he would’ve paid more attention to his surroundings.
He tries to look around to see if he can find any signs that might tell him where he is. He does find some, but unfortunately, Tommy only knows how to read and write his name along with Phil and Wilbur’s. Tommy decides he has to learn how to write Technoblade’s name when he gets home.
Tommy hears noises from behind him and turns around, the noise apparently coming from many TVs in a storefront. He tries reading the store’s name but gives up almost instantly and sticks with the assumption that it’s an electronics store. Tommy walks up to the window displaying the TVs, face in awe as he realizes what they’re all showing. A news reporter stands in front of live footage of the infamous Blade as she tells the public about the issue at hand.
Speak of the devil.
She goes on and on about the chaos a few lower-tier villains are causing somewhere near a law office in that monotone yet uplifted voice that all news reporters seem to have. Tommy listens intently when she describes the way The Blade came to the rescue of hundreds of people. He quickly makes a new plan; one that coincidentally involves a certain idol of his. If Tommy can find his way to Techno, then he’ll be brought home safely by the hero as he knows the city like the back of his hand—people have even nicknamed him “The Human GPS”.
The plan is certainly not an excuse to see Technoblade one last time before Tommy is whisked away to a beach far away from this city.
The blonde thinks as hard as he can to remember where “Harrison’s Law Office on 43rd Street” is. Tommy is sure he’s seen the name in passing before. That’s when it hits him, Tommy always passes that office when he gets picked up from daycare. An unqualified daycare, that is. In reality, the place is a toy store owned by Eret and Foolish; two very trusted people amongst the parents in Tommy's neighborhood, so people are comfortable enough to leave their kids with them. Eret usually watches and plays with the children in the back of the store, where there is a newly added play area from the surge of kids being left in their care, while Foolish mans the counter—it is a store after all.
If Tommy can just remember the general directions and landmarks, he may be able to make his way to Technoblade. A driven look paints itself across Tommy’s small face. He will find Technoblade and force him to bring Tommy and his floatie home. He leaves the window with all of the TVs, missing the news reporter’s warning about the villains that Techno, and other heroes, are fighting. Although they are lower-tier villains, they are still dangerous and civilians are advised to stay away from the area. The city is too loud for Tommy to hear the warning
~
As he walks, his determined face never wavers. Tommy passes Quackity and Karl’s food truck, not noticing the way they are swooning over a certain hot-headed, bandana-wearing villain in the newspaper. They notice him out of the corner of their eyes and ask if he’d like a burger, to which Tommy has to slowly shake his head. He wants the burger, his stomach growls at the mere thought of it, but he has to get to Technoblade before Phil comes back. He doesn’t hear them asking why he’s walking alone.
Tommy passes Niki’s bakery, which is actually not owned by Niki but was opened in her honor by Jack and Fundy. She had always wanted to own a bakery, but her hero work would keep her too busy to manage it. Therefore, her friends opened one named after her instead. However, the bakery is currently on fire. He doesn’t notice the flames nor the high-pitched screaming coming from inside, that must be Jack—or Fundy, he couldn’t tell since the scream sounded like a woman in the first place.
Tommy passes Eret and Foolish’s toy store, pausing his mission briefly to wave at them through the tall windows. They wave back and he gives them a big smile. He giggles as he sees the baby Eret’s carrying pull at Foolish’s fins and continues on his adventure, leaving before Foolish has time to run out of the store and ask where his dad is.
Now, Tommy has a dilemma. He found his way to the toy store, but he doesn’t quite remember where this “Law Office” is. He decides to just walk in a random direction until he miraculously finds it, but stops in his tracks when he hears a commotion to the right of him. Tommy turns his head, eyes immediately searching for any signs of Technoblade, and laughs as he catches sight of long, pink hair as he sees Techno flying in the air. Though when he makes eye contact with the blonde, Techno’s face immediately drops, fear hiding in his red eyes. That wipes Tommy’s grin clean off his face.
He feels somebody move next to him and looks to his left, only to see Sirene, another pink-haired hero, looking at him with concern. “Tommy, you’re not supposed to be here!” she exclaims, worry in her voice. Sirene sees the dejected look on his face and quickly changes her tone, “Um- let’s get you somewhere else, okay sunshine?” she offers instead, the kind smile on her face persuading Tommy to go with her.
She picks him up slowly, giving Tommy enough time to wriggle out of her hold if he pleased. The kid shows no resistance, so Sirene hauls him on her hip and makes her way to the policemen on sight. “Hi Ni’ni!” he calls out to her from where he laid his head on Niki’s shoulder, terribly pronouncing her name, but it’s cute so it’s okay. Instead of correcting him, she bounces Tommy on her hip and coos, making him erupt into a fit of giggles.
“Why lea’e Techie?” Tommy curiously asks, looking around once more to find Techno in the chaos. He waves when he spots Techno and accepts the slight half-wave the hero gives Tommy as he deflects a light post being thrown at him with his sword that's presumably made out of some special metal that’s stronger than normal. He guesses that Sam made it for him, as the green-haired man was in charge of making all the tools heroes use in their fights. Tommy doesn’t question the way the light post was strangely bent in half.
Sirene catches a pole that was hurling towards them, her quick reflexes fascinating the little boy. “He’s busy right now, but he’ll come talk to you in a second, alright?” she explains. Tommy nods at her words as she puts him down near a police car, “Stay right here and you should be safe,” she runs off to help more civilians caught in the mess.
Tommy looks down at his floatie, disappointment evident on his chubby face. All he wanted to do was talk to Techno for one last time before he leaves for a week, but the hero doesn’t seem to want to talk to him. He cheers up, though, as he looks on the bright side like Phil taught him. Now, he gets to watch The Blade in action, which is his favorite thing to do. Besides, Niki said that Techno will come to talk to him when he’s finished.
He flinches when an especially loud crash comes from the fight. Seeing the police car next to him, Tommy figures it would be safer in there and moves towards it. He puts his flamingo in the car first to make sure it’s safe. Tommy was about to get in with the floatie but was pushed back onto the concrete as the car suddenly started rising. He looks around, confused and scared, but his eyes focus on the car once more when the sound of glass and metal being crushed meets his ears.
Tommy gasps as he watches the floating police car get folded in half, a cry of despair coming from somewhere in his throat as he sees his flamingo pop from the pressure. He reaches out in a desperate attempt to save it, but the side-view mirror on the car breaks from the car and hits him on his forehead. Tommy stumbles back from the pain and trips, the back of his head hitting the hard pavement, successfully knocking him out. A truck, a squirrel, and a football have all tried harming him in some way today, but a car’s wing mirror, of all things, is the one that prevails.
What Tommy didn’t see before he passed out was Technoblade flying as fast as he could to save him from any collateral damage, calling out his name in hopes that the kid would hear it and back away from the crumbling car. The hero is on his knees next to Tommy a second too late, sword thrown carelessly to the side. Techno leans over him, scanning over him to see any injuries. Technoblade would never admit to anyone except the kid himself, but unshed tears pooled in his eyes when he caught sight of the blood dripping down Tommy’s face.
Techno wipes at his wet eyes, not caring that he might get dirt in them, before he turns around and picks up the car that was meant to be thrown at him. It was meant to hurt him, not Tommy. He throws the entire police car at the villain who crushed it in the first place. With the metal manipulator villain now apprehended, Techno gives Niki—who was too busy helping others on the site to get to Tommy in time—a look that screams “You know what to do”. She most definitely did.
He pays no attention to the sound of Niki kicking ass, grunts and howls of pain are something he doesn’t care to show sympathy for as he looks at the unconscious Tommy. His hands instinctively go to the kid’s neck to check for a pulse, a pang of fear hitting him when he doesn’t feel anything. He slightly relaxes as he feels the soft beating of Tommy’s heart and takes his hand away from under his jaw. For a moment, he just stays there and stares. Techno would never admit it to anyone except Tommy, but he’s scared. It’s only now that Techno fully comes to the realization of how much he really cares about this kid.
With his own heart beating faster than ever, Techno picks up the blond, supporting his head with one hand as he buries Tommy’s face into his shoulder. The mess of gold that sits atop his head is dirty and bloodied. Techno wants to cry.
He calls for backup before leaving, not wanting to leave Niki alone—though he knows she’s more than capable of taking care of these villains on her own. Niki doesn’t say anything as she watches Techno leave the battle site with Tommy in his arms. She knows how fond the aloof hero is of Tommy, which is exactly why she made sure to be extra harsh on the metal manipulator who hurt him.
~
“-He should be on bedrest. Make sure he doesn’t…”
A voice cuts through Tommy’s dreamless sleep, one that sounds nothing like Techno. At the thought of the hero, memories of what happened before Tommy hit his head come rushing back, causing him to jolt awake. He doesn’t know if it was because of the fear he felt when the car suddenly started levitating in his memories or the panic he felt being around someone unfamiliar, someone who’s not Technoblade.
The voice stops as they see that Tommy is awake. The bright light hurts his eyes and he covers them with his arms. Tommy only opens them again when he feels someone swiftly wrap their arms around him. Looking around, he can see that the lights are now dimmer than they were before. He looks at the person embracing him and gasps once he sees the pink hair that falls over the person’s arms.
“Te’co!” he exclaims, excited that he finally gets to talk to Techno. His smile falls once he feels something wet on his shoulder where Techno currently had his face buried in. Tommy feels Techno shudder around him and his eyebrows furrow in concern, “What W’ong?”
Techno sniffles and rubs at his eyes, pulling away only to place a kiss onto Tommy’s cheek before hugging him once more, “Nothing, Tommy. Nothing at all. I was just worried about you,” he says, his voice low and gruff. With this new position, Tommy can now see where he is. A small room with a counter in the corner, a sink on it, and a chair with wheels under it. He peeks down and notices what seems to be a hospital bed. Tommy’s confused but he doesn’t mind the soft ambiance the room brings, the dim lights giving the walls an orange hue.
“Ho’pital?” Tommy asks, Techno releases from the warm hug and rolls over on the bed they’re on. Tommy climbs onto his chest in an instant, making Techno let out an “oof” at the added weight.
“Well, we’re at the HQ, but I don’t think you’ve seen this part of it before,” he says as Tommy looks around once more, “It’s called an infirmary, where people go when they’re hurt.”
Tommy lays his head on Techno’s chest, “D’ere is a doctor?” he asks. Techno looks down at him, warmth in his eyes.
“Yeah, there’s a doctor. His name is Ponk, he actually just left,” Techno places his hand on the back of Tommy’s head. “He said you have a mild concussion, which just means you hurt your head and you’ll have to rest for a while to let your brain get better,” he explains, not wanting to tell the kid of the symptoms in fear that it’ll scare him.
Tommy nods, shutting his eyes as his breathing evens out. Techno thought he fell asleep, so he startles when Tommy jerks up with a gasp. He looks at Techno in panic, babbling about how he has to get back home before Phil leaves him again. His panic turns into confusion as Techno laughs at him, petting his hair as a means to get Tommy to relax back onto his chest.
“They called me already, kid,” Techno says, “Your dad said you could stay the week with me since you need to relax for a while. Running across the beach would be too much activity for you,” he pinches Tommy’s cheek, not being able to resist the cute aggression.
“W’eally?” Tommy gasps with excitement, pure joy in his bright blue eyes—Techno swore he could see clouds in them—as he rubs the spot on his cheek with a small, closed fist.
“Yeah!” Techno tries matching the kid’s enthusiasm. It’s a good attempt, but no one can match Tommy’s energy. “Phil and Wilbur were so worried and frantic, it was kind of funny, to be honest,” he explains, “Wilbur called me and started asking so many questions. He was so out of breath, but he just kept talking.” The image of Wilbur freaking out while on the phone made Tommy giggle.
“Da’za?” Tommy asks, wanting to know if his dad cared if he was gone.
“Phil called your uh- daycare first, I think that’s what he called it,” Techno says, his low voice making vibrations in his chest where Tommy laid, “They said they saw you walking alone and tried to ask you where you were going, but Phil wasn’t having any of it. He went off on them before Wilbur pulled him away and said they should call me.”
They both laugh, though Tommy feels bad for getting Foolish and Eret in trouble. Techno brushes his fingers through the blond’s hair, making a note to give him a bath at some point to get rid of the blood still staining the wild sun rays. “You really gave them a heart attack, kid. They were so scared when they came back home and didn’t find you there,” he pauses before continuing, “You- uh, you gave me a heart attack too. Tommy, I was terrified when I saw you hurt.”
Tommy moves his head to look at the choked-up hero. He lays his tiny hand on Techno’s heart, an apologetic look on his face, “I’m so’wy,” he says. His eyes are glossy and teary, causing Techno to pull him in tight and bury his face in the golden locks.
“It’s alright, kid. Just, please, think before you do things,” he places a kiss atop Tommy’s head. “You could’ve gone to your daycare and they could’ve helped you back home. Don’t ever come to the places where I’m fighting, I never want to see you get hurt again, okay?” he says, firm but kind. Tommy nods from where his face is on Techno’s chest.
It’s peaceful, the door blocking out any noise from the rest of the Headquarters. The only sound being heard is the soft breathing of the two. Tommy subconsciously syncs up his heartbeat with Techno’s as the gentle hand combs through Tommy’s hair soothes him to a serene state. Tommy feels safe in Techno’s arms that surround him with care. He’s safe and thrilled to be spending an entire week with his favorite hero. Their eyes flutter shut, both are about to fall asleep.
A quiet knock on the door interrupts the mood.
“The results for the CT scan are in-,” the doctor, Ponk, cuts himself off, “I’m sorry, didn’t know you were having nap time,” he chuckles while walking into the room, the open door letting in the racket happening in the main area of the Headquarters.
Techno immediately opens his eyes, as if he wasn’t on the brink of passing out merely seconds ago. Must be a hero thing. Tommy, on the other hand, stays softly snoring on top of him. Ponk brightens the lights a tiny bit using the dimmer light switch, Tommy thinks its rolling mechanic is fancy. He makes sure not to make the room too bright, taking Tommy’s head injury into consideration.
The blond lifts his head off Techno’s chest at the intrusion, the sudden light making him squint his eyes and grip at Techno’s shirt in discomfort. He hears Techno and the doctor talk, presumably about his injury, but his head hurts too much to bother listening to the confusing conversation. Techno sits up when Ponk hands him pictures of the scan, one arm fully supporting the tiny child still buried in the fabric of his shirt. He’s seen the kid basically inhale what tens of men could for dinner alone, yet Tommy stays so small.
Tommy didn’t struggle when the older man moved, he completely trusts Techno not to drop him, all he does is tug at Techno’s shirt in a silent complaint that he’s moving too much for Tommy to rest peacefully. The hero figures the symptoms of the concussion are already making themselves known since Tommy chose to silently complain over shout about how he can’t sleep in these conditions. Truthfully, Tommy was too overwhelmed to complain out loud, for his head hurt far worse than it did before.
He takes one hand and rubs at his forehead, knuckles coming in contact with the feeling of gauze. Ponk had wrapped a bandage around his head while he was asleep, but Tommy didn’t notice the material on his forehead as he was too preoccupied with talking to his favorite man ever. He moves off of Techno’s chest and pulls at the bandage, too overwhelmed to think properly. Techno notices and gently grabs Tommy’s fists with one hand, keeping them still as he resists against the hero’s hold with grunts and whines. The resistance didn’t do much, quite frankly, Techno’s hand’s not moving the slightest inch.
Techno pauses the conversation he was having with Ponk, “Hey,” he softly starts, “You okay, kid?” Tommy gives up on trying to escape the hero’s grip and throws himself back onto Techno, whines becoming loud cries. Tommy doesn’t know how to tell Techno that the lights are too bright—even though they’re dimmer than they normally are, the noise from outside the room is too much for his sensitive ears, and his head hurts too much to even think of words to say.
Techno released his delicate grip on Tommy’s fist as soon as he made a move for his chest, deciding to hold him instead. “Toms, can you tell me what’s wrong?” he tries, using the calmest voice he can manage, but Tommy just responds with more tearful babbles.
Techno can probably guess what’s happening, the night he dropped Tommy off at Phil’s, he picked up a vast amount of parenting books on his way home just to be prepared. He knows that his head probably hurts and so did Ponk, that’s why Ponk had already left the room to go get some pain relief medicine, though he also knows that Tommy must be a little overwhelmed. Taking into account everything that’s happened to him today, he must be feeling a lot of emotions, some foreign and some not.
Pain from his head injury, guilt from scaring Techno, Phil, and Wilbur, panic and sadness from the thought of his dad leaving him or not noticing he’s gone—Techno’s heart broke in two halves from the way Tommy asked about his “Dadza”, and probably some more things that Technoblade doesn’t know about. It’s no wonder the kid’s currently sobbing in his arms, tears soaking Techno’s shirt. He doesn’t mention it, there are more pressing issues than Tommy using his shirt as a tissue.
Such a small baby with such big emotions that he can’t understand. Techno can’t help but hug him tighter.
Techno now had to think back to every book about parenting he’s ever read. In times like these, he wishes he had some sort of knowledge powers like Wilbur does. He thinks the first step is to comfort the child, at least that’s what Techno’s read. Trying to get Tommy to tell him what’s wrong while sobbing wouldn’t work out the way Techno wants it to, so he holds the child in his lap, littering kisses across the messy mop of blonde hair and whispering comforting words in his ear. He hopes Tommy can hear his gentle words of how everything’s going to be okay.
The sobs turn into soft hiccups, such a tiny sound but it’s enough to make Techno want to cry. Techno doesn’t know why this kid makes him so emotional—at least that’s what he tells himself. He knows exactly why.
Tommy doesn’t understand why even the presence of Technoblade can calm him down so easily, but, to be fair, he doesn’t understand a lot of things. The smallest temper tantrum takes way longer to stop when he’s with Phil and Wilbur, but with Techno, the sight of the pink hair immediately makes him happy. Maybe Techno is just naturally good with kids—or maybe it’s because kids usually idolize him.
Technoblade brings his hand up to the blonde’s cheeks, his entire hand being bigger than Tommy’s chubby face, and wipes the remaining tears away. He can’t help but coo when Tommy grabs onto his fingers with both hands as if they’re his lifeline—which they may be in the current moment. “Can you tell me what’s wrong now?” he asks, knowing that Tommy’s head hurts but wanting the kid to tell Techno himself.
“H-head hurts,” Tommy hiccups, “an-and my f-floa’ie popped an-,”
“Your floatie?” Techno asks, cutting Tommy off with his question.
Tommy nods, “Mhm,” he wipes a stray tear, “Her name wa’ Fred.”
Techno pauses, “Right. Fred.”
“An’ also- also I miss Da’za,” Tommy finishes his list of issues, wrapping his arms around Techno’s neck for comfort.
“You miss your dad?” Technoblade repeats, a consoling tone to his voice, “What about Wilbur?” he chuckles.
“Don’t care ‘bout him,” the blonde dismissively says, “Wilby b’oke my toy the- the other day.”
“Did he now?” the older man plays along, “How about this; when we’re all done here and you’re fixed up and read to go, we can call your dad after we get home. Okay?”
Tommy pulls away from the very snug embrace, only to show Techno a face that was once tear-stained is now carrying a serious expression—well, as serious as a four-year-old can be. Actually, Tommy looks quite cute, but Techno doesn’t say anything so as to not ruin the act that Tommy is putting on.
He stands up on Techno’s lap, feet unsteady on the older man’s knees. Tommy falls over back onto Techno’s chest with an umph. They both laugh it off, the kid’s playful giggles are the most precious thing the hero has ever heard. Techno lets Tommy use his hands for balance as the kid stands up once more, the giggles now gone and replaced with another serious face. A smile hides underneath the scorn that Tommy wore.
“I wan’a go home,” Tommy declares, not alluding to his home, the one with a red door and a porch light that flickers from time to time. No, he’s talking about Techno’s small apartment, one that’s fit for a man and his dog for he never expected to care about anyone else. Oh, how wrong he was.
Techno feels a strange yet recurring feeling burst in his heart. He suspects there must be a reason as to why it always comes around when he’s with Tommy. He moves the hands Tommy was using for balance, but catches the golden child in his arms, giving him a bone-crushing hug. Though he’s careful not to pulverize the squirming, yet still squealing kid, in his arms, especially with his enhanced strength.
“Yeah, of course Toms. We can go home,” Technoblade gently replies, swinging the two of them back and forth from their position on the hospital bed. Tommy cheers and wriggles his hands out from the hug, wrapping them as best as he can around the hero. They only reached Techno’s shoulders. Tommy has almost completely forgotten his pounding headache.
As Technoblade glances at the child he holds so dearly to his heart, his breath hitches. Techno would be the first to tell anyone that he’s an anxious person, but when it comes to his hero duties, he’s described as the most fearless on the field. Yet when he saw that police car start floating right next to his Tommy, he was more terrified than he’s ever been.
Technoblade is a man who grew up on the streets. He’s a man who was shunned out of his home as a boy, a boy who scavenged for food in dumpsters and slept underneath makeshift cardboard shelters when it rained. Techno knows fear, he’s felt it throughout most of his life while living in alleyways, but the fear he felt while looking down at Tommy’s small and bleeding frame was like no other.
His hold on Tommy tightens even more as he attacks the child’s head with heaps upon heaps of kisses. Tommy lets out loud shrieks and darling giggles at the affection. Techno promises a silent oath to never, and he means never, let anything hurt this ball of sunshine in his arms ever again. It’s much like the promise Tommy made to his flamingo, but Techno would ultimately be the one not to, under any circumstance, break it.
“Don’t be silly! How can you leave without taking your pain medicine?”
They both turn to look at Ponk, who stands at the doorway holding a small dosing cup filled with a purple liquid. Tommy makes a face. He turns away from the doctor, opting to hide his face using Techno. The older men laugh at his antics.
“Tommy, you have to take the medicine. It’ll make your head not hurt anymore,” Techno tries to explain.
“No!”
“Mr. Tommy, what type of doctor would I be if I let you leave without getting rid of your pain?” Ponk says with feigned enthusiasm, the kind people use when talking to children. He’s trying to make taking the medicine sound fun with his tone, but it doesn’t seem to be working.
“Don’ Wanna!”
Techno lets out a breathy laugh, an idea pops into his head. “Toms, did you know, every strong hero takes their medicine?”
Tommy stops his struggling and turns to face Techno, mouth agape with curiosity, “Weally?”
“Yeah, of course. Niki takes her medicine, even Sam and Ponk do too.”
“You too?” he jabs a tiny finger into Technoblade’s chest.
Techno nods,”Mhm, every day, actually.”
Tommy’s brows furrow. How much determination can a toddler have? He swiftly turns to Ponk again, grabs the cup of medicine- he spilled some all over his hand-, and chugs it. They both stare at him in surprise, but Tommy just rubs his sticky hands on Techno’s shirt.
“Y’know, I was gonna hold it for you and have you slowly drink it, but that works too.”
Tommy turns to face Techno, “Home now!”
~
The soft sound of rain hitting the car window and the humming of the engine makes Tommy sleepy. He and Techno are currently in the backseat of Sam’s car, the man himself driving them to Techno’s home. The hero sat in the back per Tommy’s insistence, but it only ended in the blonde falling asleep in Techno’s lap. What a clingy kid, he can’t go more than three seconds without holding onto the older man. He demanded to be carried by Techno for the entire walk to Sam’s car. He couldn’t help but comply when Tommy used the very convincing words “Up up!”
The car smells of artificial strawberries. Techno looks around and catches a glimpse of the tree-shaped air freshener hanging off the rearview mirror. He and Sam lock eyes in the mirror.
There’s a beat of silence as Techno strokes the blonde’s curly locks. “This kid sure does get into a lot of trouble,” Sam chuckles, “I honestly don’t know how he manages it.”
Techno grins, a fond look in his eyes as he watches the child’s chest rise and fall, “Me neither,” he agrees. The car hits a road bump, which makes Tommy tighten his grip on Techno’s shirt. His eyes move back to the rearview mirror to look at Sam again, the man’s face reflecting the red of the traffic light, “But I’ll never hesitate to get him out of it. Every single time.”
“You’re growing soft, Blade.”
He looks down at Tommy again, a solemn look on his face as he spies the red blood still staining his blonde hair, “Maybe I am.” Tommy subconsciously smiles, the hero wonders if he’s having a good dream, “I wouldn’t trade him for the world.”
Techno looks out of the car window. He would gather all of the stars in a sack before even thinking of leaving Tommy.
The light turns green, shade almost matching Sam’s emerald eyes as he looks back onto the road. Another beat of silence passes. “Me neither,” he agrees, a faint smile present underneath his gas mask.
~
Unlocking his apartment door was much harder with a bouncing toddler in his arms, Techno has newly found out. The second the door opens, after a while of fumbling with his keys, warm air hits their faces, making them shiver from the sudden temperature change.
Techno walks inside and kicks the door closed with his foot, frantically trying to get situated before a certain fluffy dog runs between his legs in excitement at his arrival. He places down the tiny bundle of sunshine that was previously babbling in his arms, cooing at the way Tommy’s coat practically ate him up.
Tommy gasps and points to something behind the hero, “Doggy!” His time has run out, Techno decided to lock the front door later. Besides, what burglar would succeed in robbing the number one hero?
Technoblade puts his backpack down and sees the bundle of warmth slowly but surely wobble towards the giant dog, the oversized coat restricting Tommy’s movement—they didn’t have a smaller size at the headquarters. He picks Tommy up and places him back where he first was. Techno starts untying his shoes, only to stop midway when he sees Tommy waddle towards his dog again. He’s very fixed on getting to that dog. He picks Tommy up and puts the wriggling blonde back in front of him.
After finally getting his shoes off, Techno squats in front of Tommy to take off the coat he was buried in and to take off the kid’s small shoes. Techno didn’t know shoes came in such tiny sizes, but, to be fair, he didn’t know a lot about children before he met Tommy.
“Doggy now?” the kid asks, still in dirty cargo pants and a blood-stained Hawaiian shirt.
Techno pauses to think, “How about…” he starts, choosing his words carefully so Tommy will agree with his idea—though he’s sure Tommy would agree with him saying the sky is green-,”Let’s get you in a nice and warm bath, okay? Then, you can play with Steve and not get his white fur dirty.”
Tommy turns to look at the dog twice his size, “S’eve! Hello S’eve!” Tommy shouts as he walks up to the samoyed. Techno lets him, wanting to gain an understanding of how Tommy acts around animals. He knows other children have no concept of hurting others or personal space, and Techno would not enjoy having an angry dog in the same apartment as a toddler. Strangely, the only thing Tommy seems to do is have a quiet conversation with Steve, said dog letting out small barks and huffs as if they were actually conversing.
Giving Steve one last very serious nod, Tommy turns to Techno and grabs onto his pinky finger, “Okay, S’eve said to go get bath.”
One warm bath and a wet dog later—Steve decided that he apparently couldn’t wait to play with Tommy so he jumped in with the kid, much to Techno’s dismay. His heavy backpack, filled with many things he might not need, had a first aid kit, which he used to replace Tommy’s bandage around his forehead. Tommy, of course, needed Steve, his new emotional support dog, in order to get through the terrible process of wrapping a bandage around his head.
Techno’s now in the kitchen trying to make a somewhat nourishing meal for Tommy while he and Steve go on adventures in the living room. Tommy’s long shirt—that is technically Techno’s—drags behind him as he runs around the small apartment. The hero makes sure to keep the playing at a moderate level, Ponk’s bed rest orders are still in his mind.
Techno trusts Steve, so he can focus on the stove without worrying that the dog will hurt Tommy. It’s really only the kid he was worried about, but from the looks of the two, they seem to be thrilled to play with someone who can match their energy. Though Steve appears to be careful while playing with Tommy, more careful than he’d ever been with Techno.
“Tommy!” he calls. He doesn’t need to finish his sentence as both Tommy and Steve come running to the kitchen, almost making Techno drop the plated grilled cheese sandwiches. He’s not the greatest chef, but he tries.
As he walks to the small table where he’s decided they’ll eat, Steve runs through his legs, and Tommy tugs on the hem of the hero’s shirt.
“Te’co! Te’co! Te’co-”
“What?” he shouts with feigned annoyance. Tommy giggles.
“You- you have TV!”
Techno looks down at the kid with a raised eyebrow, “...Yeah, I do.”
“Can me, Te’co, an’ S’eve watch TV an’ eat?”
Techno ponders it, knowing how messy Tommy is as he’s seen the kid eat at Phil’s house. He knows he messed up when he looks down at Tommy again and sees the dreadful puppy dog eyes.
Techno decides he doesn’t mind cleaning messes.
~
“-A ‘poonful of suga’ makes the med’cine go down!”
They ended up watching Mary Poppins while eating their dinner, Steve soundly sleeping on the couch next to where they sat as the TV played the movie at a soft volume. Surprisingly, Tommy was the one who suggested it.
“So S’eve don’ wake up!” is what his reasoning was. Techno may have underestimated how much love the kid has for his dog.
The phone in his pocket rings, and he has to maneuver it out of his back pocket while the kid sits in his lap, firmly refusing to move from where he felt safe. Techno doesn’t argue and opts to struggle getting his phone out, only to see Phil is the one calling him.
“Phil?” he answers, “Something wrong?” he asks, worried that Phil and Wilbur might be in trouble.
“No, no. Nothing’s wrong. Just wanted to see how you’re doing, mate,” Phil’s muffled voice on the other side of the phone says.
He’s clearly talking about Tommy. Techno looks down to where the blonde is playing with his fingers, eyes not watching the end credits on the TV. “Yeah, we’re doing fine.”
“Sup’acal’afrag’alis’icexp-,” Tommy repeats over and over again, continuously getting the phrase wrong every time he says.
They both laugh, Phil hearing Tommy’s antics through the phone. “I gave him a bath earlier, and we just finished watching a movie while eating dinner,” Techno watches as Tommy moves on from his fingers and starts gently petting Steve, being careful not to hurt him. Techno knows that Tommy is nowhere near strong enough to slightly hurt the beast of a dog that is Steve, but he appreciates the sentiment.
“He really likes my dog,” Techno says.
Phil chuckles, “Yeah? He’s always had a love for animals. He was so jealous when Tubbo’s power came in.”
Techno had heard the name Tubbo in passing through stories that Tommy would tell him, but he’s never met the kid in person. He just knows that they met at Tommy’s daycare. “What’s uh- Tubbo’s ability?”
“He can talk to animals.”
Huh. Technoblade thinks back to when it looked as if Tommy was having a conversation with Steve. That’s weird.
“He also has a bunch of animal toys at home,” Phil continues, “His favorite is a stuffed cow he named Henry. If you have time, could you stop by my house and get Toms his toys? As soon as he realizes that Henry is missing he’ll get upset.”
“Yeah, of course I have time. Actually, I took the whole week off so I could stay with Tommy,” Techno explains.
Phil makes a noise of affirmation, “There’s an extra key under the mat.”
He then asks to speak to Tommy, to which Tommy excitedly greets him. Anyone could tell that, although he practically views Technoblade as family, Tommy really missed his biological one. He even beamed when Wilbur showed himself, to everyone’s surprise. Still, he’s overjoyed to spend an entire week with Techno.
Soon enough, Phil had to hang up as he and Wilbur had to sleep. Speaking of sleep, a certain blond boy seems to struggle to keep his eyes open. Even with Tommy’s short nap in Sam’s car, the warm bath had made him sleepy, and playing with Steve had tired him out.
“Watch Up?” Tommy quietly says, yawning right after asking his question.
“Yeah, sure. Anything for you, Toms,” he chuckles. Who was he to deny such a ball of sunshine?
As soon as the opening played, Tommy was fast asleep despite his fight to stay awake. They’re in the same position they were in on the drive here, Tommy sleeping soundly, curled up in a ball while on Techno’s lap. Except this time, Techno was alone with only a sleeping toddler and dog with him, allowing him to stay comfortably in his thoughts for a while as the movie plays.
If Techno is being honest, he has felt the most self-doubt he’s felt in decades. If he couldn’t protect this little kid, someone who he holds so dearly to his heart, how is he supposed to protect an entire city throughout his career as a hero?
When Niki picked him up off the streets many years ago, they swore to each other that they wouldn’t be the homeless nobodies they were. They enrolled in the hero training program together and knew that one day they would be fighting side by side in battle, helping people less fortunate than them on the way.
That’s Technoblade’s entire purpose; to help people when no one else will. That might seem like a very typical thing for a hero to say, but when Techno was sleeping in alleyways at age twelve, nobody—not even heroes—tried to help him.
He knows that Tommy isn’t a homeless kid living on the streets like he was, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t go through hell and back to spare the child any harm.
Yet today, he failed. Tommy was hurt and it was because he didn’t save him in time. It was because of him.
Technoblade—“The Blade”, a fearless hero, a man who relies on his strength and doesn’t waste time on silly things like tears—cried more today than he has his entire life.
He looks down through teary eyes and sees the blur of gold. Golden hair. Tommy’s golden hair was no longer stained red, neither was the bandage that wrapped around the kid’s forehead. Good, Techno doesn’t think he’ll be able to handle seeing the blood amongst the sun again.
As he runs his hands through Tommy’s hair, the blonde almost purring at the sensation, Techno feels that it’s wet. No, not from the bath he gave Tommy earlier, but the tears that ran down Technoblade’s face at a rapid pace.
His eyes sting from the feeling. Technoblade cannot recall the last time he cried before today.
He wipes his face, trying to force the tears to stop budding. He fails, but he doesn’t seem to mind it. Maybe Techno needs to cry every now and then, he supposes that’s a healthy thing.
He holds the blonde as close as he can without waking him up and hopes that Tommy doesn’t question why his shirt is damp in the morning. Technoblade swears to whatever god is up there that he will never allow anyone to touch a single golden hair on this kid. He promises that hell will be raised if anyone dares.