Archive of Our Own ^beta

In a very tidy house in the middle of a not so tidy forest, Tommy sat on his favorite stool. He leaned forwards as his dad, Phil gave him very specific instructions for what to do while he was gone.

“I’ll only be gone a few hours, alright, mate?” Phil said. “Then, I’ll be right back.”

Tommy frowned. He was seven, he could handle it, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have questions. “Where are you going?” he asked.

Phil gave Tommy a reassuring smile. “Just getting some ingredients for potions. We’re running out of the healing ones.”

Phil pointed to the red potions sitting on the top-most shelf. According to Phil, they were the hardest potions to make because the ingredients were so rare. Right now, Tommy could only count three potions.

“One, two three,” Tommy counted out loud, pointing to each potion in turn. Tommy frowned at Phil. “We only have three left?”

Phil nodded. “that’s why I have to get more alright?”

Tommy frowned, worry gnawing at him. He rocked back and forth on his stool, letting the legs hit the floor rhythmically. “Why can’t I come with you?”

“It’s dangerous to get the proper ingredients,” Phil said. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

They have had this conversation before. Every so often, Phil needed to get ingredients for potions. Most of the time, he’d take Tommy with him, showing Tommy the different plants and berries they would use. Tommy loved those outings, and he tried to be as helpful as possible as they filled baskets full of different plants of varying colors.

But, other times, Phil would have to get rarer, harder to find ingredients. Phil would tell Tommy it was too dangerous for him to come along, and Tommy would have to watch over the shop for a few hours while Phil went to get them.

It wasn’t so bad, but Tommy still worried. He was especially worried now that he knew they were low on health potions.

Especially. That was a fun word.

“What if I fall and hurt my head?” Tommy asked.

Phil frowned. “Then, you’ll sit tight and wait for me to come back,” he said.

“What if I scrape my knee?”

“You know where the bandages are.”

This was true. Tommy didn’t need health potions for that.

“What if there’s a lot of blood?”

Phil gave Tommy a patient smile. “Alright, here.” He set a health potion down on a lower shelf where Tommy could reach. “If you really believe you’re in danger and you absolutely cannot wait, you can have a sip of this, alright?”

“Really?” Tommy asked. He felt better knowing that he could heal himself if he almost died, even though that really never happened as long as he stayed safely inside.

“Really,” Phil said. “Okay. Recite the rules for me.”

“No going outside,” Tommy said dutifully. “No talking to strangers. If anyone comes to shop, say that the shop is closed and to come back tomorrow. No climbing the walls or drinking any potions.” Tommy frowned and looked at the health potion.

“Except if you are almost dying,” Phil said. “Then, you can drink the health potion.”

“Okay,” Tommy said, relieved that the rules weren’t going to contradict each other. “is that it?”

“that sounds about right, mate.” Phil nodded and put on his striped hat. He grabbed a bag, presumably for putting all of his ingredients in. “I’ll be back soon. Don’t touch anything that you’re not normally allowed to touch.”

Tommy nodded and stood up from his stool. It clattered to the ground behind him, but he dashed up to Phil and hugged his legs. “Stay safe!” he commanded.

Phil laughed and hugged Tommy back. “I will, don’t worry. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Tommy really doubted that. It was boring without anyone to play with, but he didn’t want Phil to be too worried for Tommy.

“Right!”

Phil gave Tommy another smile before exiting the house. Tommy heard Phil lock the door behind him with a small click.

Tommy dragged his stool over to the window and climbed up on it. He pressed his face against the glass as he watched Phil go down the the path and deep into the forest. Tommy watched until Phil made a turn and was completely hidden by some giant bushes.

And Tommy was alone.

Tommy pulled himself away from the window and giggled at the smudged imprint of his face that he had made. It didn’t look like him at all, but it was funny to look at.

Tommy got off of his stool. He missed Phil already, and he kicked the stool experimentally. The stool tipped over and fell over sideways with a small clatter, but that was all that happened.

Kicking the stool didn’t summon Phil. Tommy wasn’t really sure why he expected it to.

The fancy grandfather clock against the wall ticked rhythmically, but it was also haunting. It was a reminder that Phil wasn’t home anymore, and Tommy was all alone in the house.

But it was okay. Probably. Tommy knew how to fight off intruders with his magic, and nobody ever attacked the shop anyway. Tommy was perfectly safe.

Tommy whistled. It was a new trick he had learned recently, and he loved to do it to fill the world with his tunes. He whistled as hard and as loudly as he could, and he picked up his favorite stool and put it back on all four of its legs.

“Sorry,” Tommy said. He patted it. He shouldn’t have knocked it down in the first place, but he was just really sad that Phil was gone.

Tommy looked around the room. His health potion was still sitting dutifully on the lower shelf, just waiting for Tommy to get injured. Tommy scowled at it and put his hands on his hips.

“You shouldn’t want people to get hurt,” he told the health potion. “That’s very rude.”

The potion said nothing. Technically, it couldn’t feel anything at all, but it was fun to pretend sometimes.

Tommy turned around with a small sigh and looked around for something to do. He decided that the front room was terribly boring, and that his bedroom would serve for more entertainment. After all, all of his books and toys were in there.

Tommy marched to his bedroom, trying to look as purposeful as Phil did when he left the house. He pretended that he wasn’t just going to his bedroom. He was leaving the house, and he was going to get the most awesome ingredients ever to make the coolest potion in the entire world.

Tommy entered his room. It was full of dangerous obstacles. As a matter of fact, the floor was going to become lava!

Tommy leapt onto his bed in the nick of time. His stuffed cow, Henry, was on the floor. Tommy couldn’t reach him in time.

“No! Henry!” Tommy cried out. He imagined Henry burning up in the lava, but that made him sad. He reached down from where he was sitting on his bed and snatched Henry up from the ground. “There, I saved you.”

Henry’s beaded eyes stared at Tommy gratefully, and Tommy patted Henry’s head. “You’re safe now,” he informed his cow. “You’re perfectly—”

Tommy heard a weird clicking sound coming from the other room, and he gasped. He leapt to his feet shut the door without thinking.

Well, Phil did say that if anyone tried to break in, Tommy was supposed to hide. Tommy was doing the right thing. As a matter of fact, Tommy probably wasn’t well hidden enough.

Tommy climbed underneath his bed. The lava was all gone now, so Tommy didn’t need to worry about that. The only thing Tommy needed to worry about was making sure that no intruders got to either him or Henry.

Henry was scared. Tommy hugged him tightly. “Don’t be afraid, Henry,” he whispered. “I’ll protect you.”

Tommy held his breath, but he didn’t hear any footsteps. Either the intruder was very sneaky, or they had already left.

Tommy stayed curled up underneath his bed just to be safe, and he spotted a puzzle piece that he had been missing for a very long time.

“There you are!” Tommy said excitedly, almost forgetting about the intruder. He grabbed the piece and put it in his pocket.

Then, Tommy heard the creaking of hinges.

Tommy held his breath and covered his mouth with Henry’s body. Henry wouldn’t mind. Henry liked to be helpful. Tommy strained his ears to hear any other intruder noises, but nothing happened. The only thing Tommy could hear was the sound of the clock ticking in the way it always did.

After what felt like a really long time, Tommy slithered out from underneath his bed like a snake. He pulled himself to his feet and carefully opened his bedroom door.

He expected to see the front room to be in tatters. Shattered glass would be everywhere, the floor would be a sticky mess, and there would be smoke where potions had exploded.

At the very least, Tommy had expected to see some sign that someone had broken in.

Instead, the front room looked like nobody had been in it at all. Nothing was broken. There were no footprints to be seen, and Tommy couldn’t see any strangers anywhere.

Tommy took a few brave steps into the front room.

“Hello?” he asked. “Anyone there?”

Nobody but the ticking grandfather clock answered. Tommy didn’t feel very reassured. “If you’re hiding, I’m going to find you,” Tommy said. He hugged Henry even closer to his chest. “I am the champion at hide and seek. I am the best ever.”

Nobody responded.

Tommy was feeling a bit braver now. The thief had probably left, and Tommy began to inspect the room for any sign of thieving. Nothing seemed to be missing. Phil’s cauldron was exactly where he had left it. The stool was still sitting by the window. All of the potions seemed to be in their places.

Tommy had no clue what the thief had taken. Maybe it was something from Phil’s room?

Tommy walked up to Phil’s room and peeked inside. Nothing seemed to be different in there too, and Tommy would think that he’d hear the sound of another door opening and closing if they had gone into that room.

Very strange.

Tommy ran back to the front room, but the air decided to hate him today. He tripped on nothing in particular, and he landed face first onto the wood floor.

His face stung, and tears welled up in his eyes. Tommy was a big boy; he shouldn’t let some stupid stairs get him down, and yet he still wanted to curl up into a ball and cry.

Tommy sniffed. Was he dying? Maybe he needed to take a sip of the health potion just in case.

Tommy pulled himself to his feet and dusted himself off. His face still hurt a lot, and so did his knees. He hobbled over to the place Phil had left the health potion, and—

Tommy gasped in horror. It was gone! Tommy knew for a fact that Phil had left it there, and Tommy hadn’t done anything to it. Where did it go? What had happened?

The thief must’ve taken it! That must’ve been what the intruder wanted so bad; they wanted Tommy’s health potion. They wanted to make Tommy miserable by stealing his one comfort!

Well, that wasn’t true, but Tommy was angry now. How could anyone do this? That was his health potion, and some stupid thief had decided that he couldn’t steal from the perfectly good shelf that was too high for Tommy to reach from.

Tommy marched up to the front door. Phil had said not to go outside, but Phil hadn’t accounted for his health potion being stolen. If Tommy’s health potion had made an exception in the no drinking potions rule, surely it getting stolen would make an exception in the no going outside rule.

The door was unlocked, which was convenient for Tommy. Tommy carefully stepped outside and looked around nervously.

It was still daytime, but the forest as a big and scary place to be without Phil nearby. What if something happened?

Things could happen inside too, and inside, Tommy’s health potion wasn’t there. Tommy absolutely needed to find the thief and bring them to justice.

His fear forgotten, Tommy looked around for clues. Surely, there would be some sign of the potion thief somewhere. Tommy looked at a few trees, but there was no sign of climbing. He looked at the ground, but he couldn’t see footsteps.

Tommy’s eyes landed on the giant bush. It was the same bush that had blocked Phil from view earlier. Back then, the bush had been full and colorful and properly shaped. Now, although the bush was still full and colorful and properly shaped, there was a weird dent in it.

“There you are!” Tommy declared loudly.

He marched up to the bush, and he found that there was a tiny hole in the middle. He wondered what had made that hole. Maybe the thief had climbed through it to be extra sneaky. Maybe the thief had been hiding behind the bush the entire time and had waited for Phil to leave for the perfect moment to strike!

Tommy was aghast that anyone would want to take Tommy’s health potion that badly, but anything was possible.

A small, slightly more reasonable part of Tommy told him that the thief probably just wanted any health potion, not just the one that Tommy was using. Tommy told that part of him to shut up.

Tommy climbed through the hole. The bush was poky and clung to his clothing, but Tommy endured a few scratches. It was all for the sake of the missing health potion.

The bush looked way bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. It made an interesting tunnel, and Tommy got onto all fours and began crawling. He didn’t like very tight spaces, but there were plenty of holes in the bush for the sunlight to crawl through, so it wasn’t as bad.

The tunnel seemed to go on forever, though, and Tommy was just thinking about giving up and turning around when he finally reached the end. The bush tunnel led out into a even more forest, which Tommy thought was very anti-climactic. He was expecting some sort of fancy clearing with giant flowers, not more forest.

How was he to find the thief now?

Then, Tommy laid eyes on a cave. There! That must be the thief’s evil lair, where they cackled over stealing Tommy’s precious potion. Well, Tommy was going to show them the real power of a witch.

Tommy stormed into the cave tunnel, summoning flames to his fingertips.

“Stop thief!” he shouted.

He skidded to a halt in front of two figures, but his flames faltered.

The thief in question had long pink hair that was not at all brushed properly. His face was dirty, and he was holding Tommy’s health potion to the other person’s mouth. The other person was lying on the ground, looking really unhealthy and just as dirty.

Well, Tommy didn’t really know that he was unhealthy. But his face was paler than what Tommy thought was his natural skin tone, and he was lying on the ground, and he was being fed a health potion.

So, Tommy was pretty sure that the other person wasn’t healthy.

“Who’s there?” The sick person asked. His voice was raspy.

“Just a kid,” the pink-haired thief said. “Don’t worry about him, Wilbur.”

“I’m right here!” Tommy protested. He stomped his foot on the ground. “And you should worry about me! I need that health potion back!”

The pink-haired thief held the glass bottle close to his chest. “I need it more,” he said. “Can’t you scram?”

Tommy shook his head. “I don’t know what that means,” he said honestly. “But it doesn’t sound very nice.”

“You’re not being very nice.”

“Technoblade,” Wilbur said reprovingly. “Be nice to the child.”

“He wants to take the potion away from us,” Technoblade said. “I’ll be as mean as I want.”

Tommy realized he wasn’t getting anywhere this way. Technoblade wasn’t going to give Tommy the potion, and Tommy wasn’t very confident that he could beat Technoblade in a fight.

What would Phil do in this situation?

Phil would probably try to figure out why Technoblade had stolen their potion. The answer seemed pretty obvious to Tommy, but he might as well cover all of his bases. He crossed his arms and frowned disapprovingly in the way Phil might.

“Why were you stealing my potion?” Tommy asked. “…mate.”

Tommy wasn’t sure about saying “mate”. It sounded weird. But Phil said it all the time, so maybe it was just one of those things grown-ups did.

“First of all, I’m older than you,” Technoblade said. “Don’t call me mate. Second of all, isn’t it pretty obvious?”

It was, but Tommy hadn’t accounted for Technoblade not answering anyway.

“Tell me anyway,” Tommy said.

“I’m sick,” Wilbur said. He paused to cough. “The potion helps.”

Tommy frowned. “Dad says that if you’re sick you should go get medicine,” he said. “Health potions only help temporarily.”

“Yeah, well, medicine isn’t a luxury we can afford right now,” Technoblade said. “We’re not exactly wealthy.”

“Be nice to the child,” Wilbur said again.

“Dad could help you,” Tommy said. “He likes helping people.”

This time, both Technoblade and Wilbur shook their heads. “We don’t need help,” Wilbur said. “We just need this potion.”

Tommy frowned. “But what am I going to say if Dad notices that there is one less potion than before?”

Technoblade shrugged. “You could always say you drank it.”

Tommy gasped. “But that’s lying!”

“Well, if you want to tell the truth, you’d have to tell him where we are, and that would make us really sad.”

Tommy bit his lip. Technoblade was right. Some lying would be necessary to help Wilbur and Technoblade. Still, a lot about this situation made Tommy really uncomfortable.

“But, Dad said I couldn’t drink the potion unless I was dying,” he said. “And I was never dying today.”

“You can lie about that too,” Technoblade said. “Here, I’ll give you the empty bottle when I’m done.”

Tommy wasn’t sure about this at all, but he rocked back and forth on his toes while he watched Technoblade finish feeding Wilbur. Wilbur still coughed a bit, but some color returned to his cheeks.

Wilbur smiled at Tommy. “Don’t worry about us too much.”

Tommy frowned, and tears filled his eyes. “Are you going to get better without medicine?”

Technoblade and Wilbur looked at each other weirdly. “We’ll be alright,” Technoblade said. “But the health potions really help.”

Maybe this was the type of disease that got better with potions. Tommy hadn’t really heard of one like that, but it was possible.

“I can help!” Tommy said cheerfully. “I’ll give you some potion!”

Technoblade frowned. “So, you draw the line at lying, but stealing from your Dad is fine?”

“It’s not stealing,” Tommy said. “It’s my store too. I’m just chosing to give some to you, because I want Wilbur to get better.”

“You barely know Wilbur,” Technoblade said.

He sounded a bit confused. Tommy understood. Before, Tommy had stormed into his cave with flaming hands, and now, Tommy was offering to help him. Tommy would also be confused if he were in Technoblade’s shoes.

“Yes, but he needs help, and Dad says we should always help people in need,” Tommy said seriously. “You just have to give me the empty bottle, and every so often, I’ll fill it up and give it to you.”

Technoblade’s eyes widened. “You’ll really do that?” He looked up and down at TOmmy. “Are you sure you’re up to the task?”

“I’m super up to the task,” Tommy promised. He held out his pinky. “Pink promise.”

Technoblade shook pinkies with Tommy. “It’d be great if we could have more by the end of this week,” he said. “Can you manage that?”

“Yep!” Tommy said cheerfully. “I’m really good at sneaking around, just you wait!”

Technoblade gave Tommy the empty glass bottle, and Tommy hurried back home. He shut the door behind him and locked it shut. Technoblade must’ve picked the lock like characters did in those cool books Phil sometimes read to Tommy.

Tommy hid the glass bottle beneath his bed. Nobody found anything under there, and Tommy didn’t need Phil taking away the thing Tommy would need to fill up later.

Tommy thrummed in excitement. He was like a spy in Phil’s books! He was going to help people.

The idea made Tommy bounce up and down, and he danced with Henry in his room. He couldn’t wait for Wilbur to get better. Maybe, then, he’d have more playmates.

Phil came home a little while after, and Tommy rushed up to him, hugging his legs tightly.

“Hi, Toms,” Phil said. He ruffled Tommy’s hair. “I’m back.”

“Yay!” Tommy cheered. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” Phil looked at where the potion bottle used to be and frowned. “What happened to the potion? Did you get hurt?”

Tommy stuck out his bottom lip. “I… I fell over,” Tommy said. “And it hurt really, really, badly, so I drank the potion, and then I lost the bottle.”

Tommy looked at the floor, hoping he looked properly ashamed. Tommy couldn’t’ imagine it would be difficult ot look that way, seeing as he was ashamed of lying to Phil at that very moment.

“Oh, Toms,” Phil said. “I said the potion was only for emergencies.”

Tommy sniffed. He hated lying. “I know!” He buried his face into Phil’s trousers. “I’m sorry!”

His voice was muffled, and Phil got down to his knees and hugged Tommy. Tommy hugged Phil tightly back, and he knew everything was okay.

“That’s alright,” Phil said. “It won’t kill you. Just try to be more careful next time, alright?”

Tommy nodded, relieved that Phil wasn’t calling Tommy out for his lie. Tommy really must be a good actor.

After their very nice hug, Phil went into the kitchen to make dinner. Tommy followed him, insisting that he’d be able to help, but Phil said that he was working around too many burning things that evening.

“You can play nearby,” Phil said. “But stay away from the oven, alright?”

Tommy pouted but nodded. He wanted to spend more time with Phil, but he knew that Phil was trying his best to make it so that Tommy was happy. Tommy marched back to his bedroom and pulled out a book. He read in there until Phil called Tommy to eat.

While Tommy ate his soup, he thought about Wilbur and Technoblade. Did they have anything to eat? The cave they were sleeping in didn’t seem to have a lot of food. Maybe that was part of the reason Wilbur was sick!

Tommy’s eyes widened, and he suddenly felt very guilty for having all this wonderful food while Wilbur and Technoblade probably had nothing.

“What’s wrong?” Phil asked. His brows were furrowed in concern. “Does it taste bad?”

Tommy shook his head and shoved another bite of food into his mouth. He didn’t want to hurt Phil’s feelings.

“Then, what was it?”

“Nothing,” Tommy lied with his mouth full.

“Swallow before speaking, please,” Phil said mildly. “And if it was nothing, don’t you think you could tell me.”

Tommy sighed. “I just wish that everyone could have food like us,” he said.

Phil’s expression softened. “That’s a very thoughtful thing for you to think about,” Phil said.

Tommy didn’t know what he meant by that. “It just doesn’t seem very fair.”

“Oh, mate.” Phil pulled Tommy into his lap. “It’s not fair. It’s not. But the most we can do is to try to share what we have with others.”

Tommy nodded as he rested his cheek against Phil’s chest. That made a lot of sense.

That night, Tommy snuck into the kitchen and took two apples from the fruit basket. He snuck back into his bedroom and looked around for a place to store them.

“Tommy?”

Tommy squeaked when he heard Phil’s footsteps began to approach his bedroom, and Tommy shoved the apples underneath his bed. Phil opened the door to Tommy’s bedroom with a tired frown.

“Toms?” Phil asked. “Are you alright?”

Tommy nodded quickly. “Uh-huh!”
 “What were you doing out of bed?”

Tommy frantically thought of a good excuse. “I was thirsty, but I couldn’t get the water pitcher.”

Phil led Tommy back to the kitchen and served him a glass of water before tucking Tommy back into bed.

“Good night, Toms,” Phil said softly. “Stay in bed this time.”

Tommy nodded. “Okay,” he murmured.

Phil closed the door behind him, and Tommy held his breath as he listened to Phil enter his own bedroom. He waited a few more minutes for Phil to have time to fall back asleep.

Now was the time to strike.

Tommy carefully got out of bed and pulled the apples from underneath it. Then, he carefully unlatched his window and opened it. The cold, night breeze entered into the room, but Tommy quickly climbed out the window and stepped outside. Tommy shut the window behind him, and he hoped it would open again when he tried to come back.

The forest was much scarier at night. The trees cast dark, spindly shadows, and Tommy gasped when he heard something rustle in the bushes.

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. What if there were monsters in the forest that came out at night?

But Tommy had already committed to this. He had stolen two apples from the kitchen, and he had snuck out of the house, and he needed to make sure that Technoblade and Wilbur had something to eat.

Tommy snuck through the bush, yelping at each strange sound. He went back through the tunnel, but it was much scarier than it was during the day. Tommy missed the sunlight.

He took forever to reach the end of the tunnel, but when Tommy finally made it, he rushed to the cave entrance. There was warm light bathing the walls, and Tommy entered to see a nice fire crackling in the center of the cave. Both Wilbur and Technoblade seemed to be sleeping, and Tommy deliberated on the best way to wake them.

It turned out that Tommy didn’t need to think that hard, though, because Tommy took a single step forward, and Technoblade sat straight upwards. His eyes were wide, and he held up his hands in a defensive position.

“Oh,” Technoblade said when he saw Tommy. “What are you doing here?”

Tommy nervously held out his apples. “I was eating dinner, and I thought about you guys, and I wondered if you guys had any food, and then I got worried, and Dad says we should share what we have with people, so I took some apples and snuck outside to give them to you.”

Technoblade stood up and took the apples. “Thanks,” he said after a pause. “That’s very considerate of you.”

“Really?” Tommy asked. “You don’t have to like apples.”

Technoblade patted Tommy’s shoulder. “No, we’ll eat them. Just don’t go sneaking out to give us your food. There’s plenty of stuff we can scavenge for in the forest.”

“Really?” Tommy asked. It was a bit of a relief to know that Tommy didn’t have to worry about getting them food every night. One night alone in the forest was enough for Tommy to never want to do it again.

“Really,” Technoblade said. “The forest isn’t safe for a kid to be wandering alone at night anyway.”

Tommy kicked restlessly at the ground. “Sorry,” he said.

“It’s alright, you were trying to do the right thing.” Technoblade gave Tommy a smile. “Thanks, though. Really.”

“You do like apples, right?” Tommy asked. “Because I know there are some foods that I really don’t like.”

“I can’t exactly afford to be picky, but, yes, I like the taste of apples.”

Tommy beamed. It was good to know that he had picked the right fruit. “I’m glad!”

“You should head home,” Technoblade said. “You don’t want your dad to start looking for you.”

Oh. Right. Tommy wasn’t supposed to be outside of the house. Obviously.

Tommy glanced outside the cave. The forest looked even darker than before, if that was even possible, and the idea of having to go out there made Tommy’s skin crawl.

“Do I have to?” he whispered.

“Yeah,” Technoblade said. “You really sort of do. I don’t want your dad thinking we kidnapped you. That would be a terrible first impression.”

Tommy nodded. “That makes sense.” He rubbed his hands against his pajamas and swallowed. He was brave. He could handle the dark.

Tommy took two steps toward the exit. Outside, something rustled.

Tommy let out a small shriek and ran behind Technoblade.

“Oh,” Technoblade said. His voice was slightly softer than before. “Are you afraid of the dark?”

“No,” Tommy said. His face was buried into Technoblade’s legs. “I’m just… cautious. Like a good adventurer.”

“Of course,” Technoblade said. “You’re very cautious.”

Technoblade glanced at Wilbur, who was still sleeping very comfortably. He sighed. “fine, I’ll escort you home, but let’s do this quickly, alright?”

Tommy looked up at Technoblade hopefully. “Really?”

“Really.”

Tommy frowned and he looked at Wilbur. “What about Wilbur?”

“I won’t be gone long,” Technoblade said. “He should be alright. Just don’t forget to bring some health potion by the end of the week, alright? That’s the most important part of this deal.”

Tommy nodded. “Right,” he said. Don’t worry, I won’t let you down.”

Technoblade followed Tommy back home, although he didn’t exit through the magic tunnel bush. Tommy waved to him goodbye, and he rushed back to his bedroom window. It had not magically opened while Tommy was gone, and Tommy pried it open before climbing back into his bedroom.

Phil wasn’t waiting for him, which meant that Tommy was probably successful in his sneaking. Tommy quickly but quietly closed the window and latched it again, and he hopped back into bed and pressed his head against the pillow. He hoped that he looked like the soundest sleeper there ever was.

Sure enough, Phil opened the door, and Tommy imagined him peeking in the room, making sure Tommy was up to nothing crazy. Tommy made himself look so sleepy that maybe Phil would get sleepy too.

Tommy woke up and blinked. One minute, he was trying to look like he was sleeping. The next, sunlight was flooding through the windows, and Tommy felt like he had slept for a hundred years.

Sleep was really weird.

Tommy climbed out of bed and marched into the front room. Phil was pouring ingredients inside of his cauldron, and Tommy stared into the pot with fascination. The boiling concoction wasn’t any color yet, but Tommy could see that Phil was using the ingredients he collected the day before.

“Can I help?” Tommy asked.

Phil laughed. “Here, you can put this in.”

Phil handed Tommy a pouch full of fancy golden dust, and Tommy felt anticipation rush through him.

“How much should I put in?”

“Just a handful for now,” Phil said.

Tommy reached into the pouch and grabbed as much dust as he could manage. Unfortunately, when he pulled his hand out, some dust managed to slip back through his fingers and into the pouch.

“Is this good?”

“That’s great! You can just throw it in.”

Tommy brought his hand over the cauldron. Heat was radiating from it, and Tommy quickly dropped the golden dust in. Phil began stirring, and Tommy watched as the clear liquid became a golden color.

“Can I stir?” Tommy asked.

“For a little bit,” Phil said. “You can grab your stool so you have a better vantage point.”

Tommy to the window, where his stool was still sitting. He grabbed it with both hands and ran back to the cauldron. He set the stool down quickly and climbed up onto it, making him taller than usual.

Phil let Tommy grab hold of the big spoon, but he didn’t take his own hands off of it.

“I can do it by myself!” Tommy protested.

“I know you can, but I want to make sure that you don’t drop it, just in case,” Phil said. “It’s very heavy.”

Tommy pouted, but this potion was meant to heal Wilbur, so he didn’t protest too heavily. Instead, he started using his arms to stir the potion, and Phil’s hands followed his motion.

Stirring was hard work, and Tommy took a break soon after. He watched as Phil put in more ingredients and continued stirring it in interesting directions until the color became the pale red of a health potion. The room smelled a bit like a field of flowers.

“Are you done?” Tommy asked.

“Mostly,” Phil said. “We just have to let it sit for a bit, and then you can help me bottle it, alright?”

Tommy nodded, and Phil put his spoon back on the potion making shelf.

“Come on,” He said. “Let’s have some breakfast.”

While Tommy was eating his breakfast, he suddenly had an amazing thought. Phil was busy making his own breakfast, so Tommy could quickly fill his empty bottle with some of the potion while Phil wasn’t looking.

Ignoring his own breakfast, Tommy got up from his chair and started marching to his bedroom.

“Where are you going?” Phil asked.

“I, um, left Henry in my room,” Tommy said. “I’m going to get him.”

“Alright.” Phil returned to frying his eggs. “Come back and finish your breakfast when you find him.”

Tommy nodded and ran to his bedroom. He got down on all fours and grabbed his bottle from underneath his bed, which was fortunately still there. He held the bottle carefully with both hands and snuck to the front room, where Phil’s potion was sitting.

Hopefully, it had sat long enough. Tommy dipped his finger into it experimentally.

It was warm, but not hot enough to burn him. Tommy shoved the mouth of the bottle into the potion and scooped up as much as possible. He firmly put the cap back in and smiled at his hard work.

He had got some potion for Wilbur! Now he just had to make sure he could get it to Technoblade without Phil noticing.

Tommy ran back to his bedroom and placed the bottle back underneath his bed. Then, he snatched Henry from on top of his bed and hurried back to the kitchen.

“You found him!” Phil cheered. He was smiling, which meant he didn’t know what Tommy had been up to. “Did you not remember where you had put him?”

Tommy frowned. No, he remembered exactly where he had put Henry. “Huh?”

“You were gone for a long time,” Phil explained.

“Oh!” Saying that Tommy had lost Henry would be a perfect cover to explain why he had taken so long. Then, Phil would never suspect Tommy had stolen, borrowed, some of Phil’s potion. “Yeah, I thought he was under my bed, but he was on top of my bed the entire time.”

Phil laughed. Tommy liked it when he did that. “Normally, it’s the other way around.”

“I’m special,” Tommy said.

Phil laughed again as he scooped his eggs up onto his own plate. He sat down across from Tommy, and Tommy took time to savor his scrambled eggs. He had done a very successful spy mission to save the kingdom. Except, in this case, the kingdom was Wilbur.

Wilbur was cooler than any old kingdom anyway.

After breakfast, Tommy followed Phil back into the front room. They had to pause doing any work because a customer had come in for a night vision potion. Those potions were cool. Tommy had a sip of one once, and it made everything super-duper bright.

It was only cool at night, though, when Tommy wanted things to be bright. It wasn’t so cool in day, because then everything was too bright, and it made Tommy’s head hurt.

When the customer had left, Phil pulled out a bunch of shiny potion bottles and set them on the floor. Tommy was very careful to place his stool down outside of the sea of glass bottles, and he sat down expectantly.

Whenever he and Phil bottled potions, Phil would fill the bottles with potion, and Tommy would put their caps in. It was a very simple process that made everything much easier. Or, at least, that’s what Phil said. Tommy was always happy to help.

That day, they were bottling potions at a super-fast speed. Tommy was becoming an expert at putting caps in, and he carefully arranged the filled potions into nice, easy to count rows of five as per Phil’s instructions. Phil’s cauldron always made forty potions, which was a very large amount in Tommy’s opinion, although one hundred would be cooler.

There were only two glass bottles left, and Phil was frowning as he scraped the bottom of the cauldron to fill the second to last one. He handed it to Tommy, and Tommy capped it. He placed it nicely in the final row, making it four bottles instead of three.

Tommy waited for Phil to fill the final bottle to complete their awesome rectangle. But Phil was just staring at the inside of the cauldron, a frown still upon his face.

“What’s wrong?” Tommy asked. Did he know Tommy had stolen some of the potion?

“We’re all out,” Phil said. “Strange… normally it fills exactly forty bottles. Did I miss something?”

Guilt began to tug at Tommy’s stomach. He was the reason Phil couldn’t fill his last bottle. Tommy had already filled the fortieth bottle and stuck it under his bed. How could he have not seen this inevitable situation coming?

“Is that bad?” Tommy asked.

“Well, it just means we’ll run out slightly sooner,” Phil said. He gave Tommy a smile. “Don’t worry, Toms. The world isn’t going to end. Here, why don’t you help me put these potions up on their shelf?”

“Helping” really just involved handing Phil the potions as he arranged them so that they all fit on the health potion shelf. It was really high up, so Tommy wouldn’t be able to reach even if he were standing on his stool, and Tommy was glad he was proactive when he was about stealing some of the potion. There was no way he’d be able to steal it now that they were all up there.

Tommy wasn’t sure what he was going to do if Technoblade needed more health potion, though. Maybe Tommy could try to climb the shelves, but that was one of the rules that was on the very top of the don’t do list. Phil said that if Tommy tried to climb the shelves, he could accidentally cause the shelves to break and the potions to crash, and Tommy could get hurt.

Maybe climbing the shelves would be a last resort.

That night, while Phil was tucking Tommy in, Tommy’s guilt weighed down on him. He didn’t want to be lying to Phil anymore. He didn’t want to have to sneak around like a spy.

“Is there something wrong?” Phil asked.

Tommy shook his head, trying not to look as miserable as he felt. “No,” Tommy said. He wanted to tell Phil everything, but he didn’t want Phil or Technoblade to get mad at him.

“Are you sure?”

Tommy nodded.

Phil smoothed the blankets on top of Tommy. “You know, sometimes talking about what bothers us makes us feel better.”

“Nothing is bothering me,” Tommy insisted. He rolled over so that Phil wouldn’t see the way his face was beginning to scrunch up. “I’m sleepy now.”

Phil got up. “Alright. Good night.”

Tommy shut his eyes and made snoring noises. It must’ve convinced Phil, because he left the room and shut the door quietly behind him.

Tommy sat up immediately and wriggled his way out from underneath his sheets. He carefully pulled the potion from underneath his bed and unlatched his window. Just like the night before, Tommy climbed outside from his window and started marching toward the bush.

Unlike the night before, as Tommy approached the bush, he saw Phil running outside. His eyes were wide, and when he saw Tommy, he rushed toward him. Tommy didn’t even bother to hide as Phil got on his knees in front of Tommy, his face worried.

“Tommy!” he exclaimed. “What are you doing out here?”

Tommy frowned. “What are you doing out here?” Tommy challenged.

“I heard your bedroom window open and shut, and when I checked in your room, you weren’t there anymore!” Phil looked Tommy up and down. “Are you hurt? Where’d you get that potion?”

Tommy really wanted to cry now. Not only did he make a horrible spy, sneaking out way too early and getting caught, but he had also made Phil worried.

“I’m sorry!” Tommy’s voice cracked, and big tears ran down his face. Tommy breathed in big ugly breaths.

Phil shushed Tommy gently, hugging him and rubbing his back. “Shh, shh, it’s alright,” Phil said softly. “Just tell me what’s going on. This isn’t like you.”

Tommy sniffed, but he tried to take deep breaths.

“Yesterday—yesterday, there was a thief!” Tommy’s voice pitched slightly, and Phil made a gasping sound. “And, and, he stole my health potion. So, I went after him!”

“Oh, Tommy,” Phil said. “I told you not to leave the house. That was one of my rules.”

“I know, but… but he stole the health potion, and the health potion was an exception to the potion drinking rule, so I thought that this was an exception too, and… and I didn’t mean to be bad!”

“I know you didn’t,” Phil said. “I’m not angry. Keep going.”

“Well,” Tommy said. His tears were calming down a bit, and he sniffed a couple of times. “I found the thief. His name is Technoblade, and he has super cool pink hair, even if it’s dirty. And his brother Wilbur is sick. He was using the health potion to help him.”

“Can I guess the rest?” Phil asked. Tommy nodded, burring his face into Phil’s shoulder. He was still tightly holding onto the potion bottle. “You were sneaking the health potion to them tonight. Is that right?”

Tommy nodded. “I also stole some apples and brought them to them,” Tommy confessed. “Last night.”

“Well,” Phil said. “I’m not going to say you did the right thing. You should’ve told me instead of sneaking off on your own, that’s very dangerous.”

More tears welled up in Tommy’s eyes. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“It’s alright, Toms. I forgive you,” Phil said. “While you didn’t handle this quite right, you were only trying to do the right thing, so you won’t get too badly grounded, alright?”

“Really?” Tommy asked between sniffles.

“Really,” Phil said. “Now, why don’t I take the health potion to your friends? You can go back to bed.”

Tommy clutched the potion tightly to his chest. “They said I wasn’t supposed to bring adults. They’ll get angry.”

“I’m sure they’ll understand,” Phil said. “You don’t have to come with me. I’ll bear the brunt of the anger.”

Tommy frowned. “But I want to see them.”

“You can see them tomorrow,” Phil said. “During the day. With me. When it’s safe.”

Tommy knew there would be no arguing with Phil, so he handed the potion bottle over. Phil took it with a smile. “Thank you.”

Phil led Tommy back to the house, and Tommy explained the secret path in the bush that lead to the cave. Phil said he could probably get there without going through the secret tunnel, which was astonishing news to Tommy.

Tommy crawled back into bed and fell into a fitful sleep. Hopefully, Technoblade and Wilbur wouldn’t be too angry.

Technoblade frowned as Wilbur continued to cough. His face was getting hotter and hotter. Sweat coated his forehead, and Wilbur kept shaking.

Technoblade wasn’t sure what else he could do to help.

Technoblade heard a rustling from outside the cave, but he ignored it. It was probably just Tommy coming with more apples or something. That kid had a bleeding heart.

Or, at least, Technoblade thought it was just Tommy. But those footsteps were too heavy to belong to a child.

Technoblade leapt to his feet and snuck toward the cave entrance, peering outside. Sure enough, the witch that lived nearby, and presumably Tommy’s father, was approaching. All of Technoblade’s nerves were set on end, and he snuck back into the cave. He’d have to destroy the fire, and—

“Technoblade?” Tommy’s dad asked. “My name is Phil. I have a health potion for you. I don’t mean any harm, I promise.”

Technoblade had heard that before.

“Place it down by the cave entrance,” Technoblade said. Whether or not Technoblade trusted Phil was an inconsequential issue. If Phil actually had a health potion, Technoblade needed it to help Wilbur.

Technoblade tensed as he heard a few more footsteps, and Phil temporarily came into view. He placed down the potion and disappeared again. Technoblade let out a breath of relief.

He walked to the health potion and looked it over. It looked exactly like the potion that he had stolen before, and the bottle was in the same shape.

“I caught Tommy trying to bring it to you,” Phil said. “So, I thought I’d bring it myself.”

“I told him not to tell any adults,” Technoblade grumbled. He undid the cap and dipped his finger into the potion, sticking it into his mouth. It tasted the same as the first potion too, and Technoblade grimaced at the disgusting flavor.

“Sorry mate.” Phil only sounded sort of sorry. “I couldn’t let Tommy sneak around alone at night. Or at any time of day for that matter.”

Technoblade guessed that was fair. He got nervous too when he saw Tommy had come over to give him apples. Besides, the potion wasn’t killing him yet, which meant that Tommy’s dad probably wasn’t all bad.

Technoblade went over to Wilbur, who was lying down with his eyes closed. He looked utterly miserable, but Technoblade gently grabbed him by the shoulder anyway. Wilbur moaned.

“Hey, Wil,” Technoblade said. “I have more potion for you. It’ll make some of the pain go away.”

Wilbur obediently opened his mouth, and Technoblade fed him a few sips of the potion. Wilbur swallowed on his own and shuddered.

“It still hurts,” he muttered bitterly. “Why hasn’t the pain gone away yet?”

“It takes a few minutes,” Technoblade reminded Wilbur patiently.

Wilbur groaned before breaking back into those wretched coughs.

“I can help,” Phil said after Wilbur had stopped coughing. “I have proper medicine. If you let me see him—”

“I don’t trust you,” Technoblade snapped.

“The potion can’t help forever,” Phil said. “It heals injuries, it doesn’t cure illness. He needs proper care.”

“And I don’t trust you,” Technoblade repeated.

There was a silence that was only punctuated by the crackling of the fire and Wilbur’s unsteady breathing.

“Can I at least bring medicine over?” Phil asked. “I’ll leave it by the cave entrance.”

Technoblade bit the inside of his cheek. As much as he would like to deny it, Phil was right. Wilbur needed proper care.

“Fine,” he said. “You can bring medicine. But don’t step inside this cave.”

“Deal.”

The next morning, Tommy hurried to Phil, who was already making breakfast. “Was Technoblade angry?” Tommy asked. “Is Wilbur alright?”

Phil gave Tommy a smile, but Tommy could tell there was still something wrong. “Technoblade’s not angry at you,” he said. “And Wilbur will be okay.”

Tommy wasn’t sure if he believed Phil, but he was usually right about this sort of thing. “Can I see them today?”

“Sure,” Phil said. “You’re still in trouble, though. No more helping me with potions for a while.”

Tommy made a small noise of despair. He loved helping Phil with his potions.

“Why not?”

“Because you broke my rules that were meant to keep you safe,” Phil explained. “There have to be consequences for that.”

“What are consequences?”

“Like… the effect of your actions.”

Tommy wasn’t sure he got it, but he understood what Phil was basically saying, even if he didn’t particularly like it.

“I’m sorry for breaking your rules,” Tommy said.

“I know, and I forgave you for that,” Phil said. “But consequences are consequences.”

Phil was probably right.

“But I can still see Technoblade and Wilbur?”

“Yeah,” Phil said. “I have to prepare some things, and then we can visit together, alright?”

Tommy nodded cheerfully.

Phil took forever to prepare the things that he needed for the visit. Tommy kept restlessly playing in his room before returning to the kitchen to see if he was done.

“Are you making medicine?” Tommy asked.

Phil nodded. “For Wilbur.”

Tommy brightened. “So, he’ll get better, right?”

“If all goes well,” Phil said.

That was good enough for Tommy. Phil was a master at helping people when they got sick. Once, Tommy got really sick, and Phil helped him feel better really fast.

Finally, finally, finally, Phil finished making the medicines for Wilbur, and they left the house. Tommy held Phil’s hand as they took a different path to Technoblade’s cave, and Tommy whistled excitedly the entire way there.

When they reached the cave, Phil handed Tommy the medicine.

“Tell Wilbur to take all of it,” he said.

Tommy frowned. “You can’t go inside?”

“Technoblade doesn’t trust me very much. Oh, and tell Wilbur to sleep further away from the fire.”

Tommy scowled. “Technoblade’s dumb.”

Phil shook his head. “Technoblade isn’t dumb. He just… doesn’t trust adults very well.”

Tommy thought that was dumb, but Phil told Tommy not to trust strangers, so maybe it wasn’t very dumb after all.

Tommy took the medicine and marched to the cave. Technoblade was sleeping, but he woke up quickly at Tommy’s approach.

“You sold us out,” Technoblade said. He didn’t look very happy.

“Sorry,” Tommy said. He hoped Technoblade wouldn’t start yelling at him. “I brought medicine!”

Tommy held up the medicine, and Technoblade sighed. He got to his feet and took it from Tommy.

“Is your dad here?”

“Yep!” Tommy pointed outside the cave. “he’s waiting outside.”

Technoblade glanced warily in the direction Tommy was pointing. “At least he’s sticking to his end of the bargain,” he muttered.

“Also,” Tommy said, remembering the other thing Phil had said. “You should move Wilbur away from the fire.”

Technolade frowned. “Why? It keeps him warm.”

Tommy didn’t actually know. He ran back to Phil and asked.

“The smoke hurts his lungs,” Phil said.

Tommy nodded. That made a lot of sense. When Tommy was near fires, he didn’t like smoke very much either.

Tommy ran back to Technoblade and repeated what Phil had told him. Technoblade’s eyes widened.

“Oh, damn, you’re right.”

He ran to Wilbur, who was still resting, and he shook Wilbur’s shoulder.

“Wil,” Technoblade said. “You have to move away from the fire.”

Wilbur moaned. “But… warm.”

“They make your lungs worse,” Technoblade said.

Wilbur let Technoblade help him further back into the cave, and Tommy frowned as he watched Wilbur shiver.

“You need blankets,” he observed.

“Yeah,” Technoblade sighed. “We do. Now, what are we meant to do with this medicine.”

Tommy ran back to Phil and asked.

“Have him drink all of it. I’ll come back with more tomorrow.”

Tommy parroted the news back to Technoblade, and Technoblade nodded. He helped Wilbur drink the medicine, and Tommy waited for Wilbur to miraculously recover.

It didn’t happen. Wilbur was still shivering, and Tommy thought that he could really use some nice blankets.

“Will he be okay?” Tommy asked.

Technoblade nodded. “He’ll be fine.”

Tommy smiled. “I’ll come back tomorrow,” he informed him.

“I know you will.”

Tommy marched outside of the cave and tugged on Phil’s robe. “I think we should bring blankets tomorrow,” Tommy said. “Wilbur’s extra cold now that he’s not near the fire.”

Phil nodded. “That’s a very good idea, Tommy.”

Tommy liked having good ideas.

The next day, they brought a big pile of blankets, more medicine, and a loaf of freshly baked bread.

Tommy might not have been allowed to help Phil with potions, but he was allowed to help bake the bread. Tommy’s favorite part was kneading the dough, even though Phil had to help him in the end. Flour got all over the place, but it reminded Tommy of snow.

Tommy had to take multiple trips to deliver all of the things. He started with the blankets.

“We brought blankets!” Tommy announced when he first entered the cave. “Look how soft they are!”

Technoblade gaped at the blankets. Tommy would be surprised too. They were very good blankets. Technoblade took the blankets with both hands.

“Aren’t they soft?” Tommy asked, glad to be free of the burden. One wouldn’t think blankets weighed a lot, but they were really hard for Tommy to carry.

“They’re very soft,” Technoblade said. He still sounded stunned. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome!” Tommy bounced up and down on his toes happily. Technoblade went to the back of the cave to pile the blankets on top of Wilbur. “The blankets were my idea!”

“Well, it was a very nice idea,” Technoblade said. “Do you have the medicine?”

Tommy nodded. “I have to get it from Dad. Wait here.”

Technoblade snorted for some reason, and Tommy ran back to Phil. Phil handed Tommy both the medicine and the bread, and Tommy carried one in each hand. He walked back to Technoblade, though, because he didn’t want to accidentally break the medicine.

Also, because Phil told him to.

Technoblade was also surprised by the loaf of bread, and Tommy cheerfully informed him that the bread was Phil’s idea. Technoblade suddenly looked suspicious of the bread.

“Do you think it’s poisoned?” Tommy asked, because sometimes that happened in Phil’s books. “Here, I can prove it’s not.”

Tommy took the bread from Technoblade and ripped off a tiny piece. He stuck the piece in his mouth and ate it.

Technoblade and Tommy stared at each other, and nothing happened. Tommy wans’t really sure how fast poison would work, but he knew the bread wasn’t poisoned.

Technoblade eventually sighed and took the bread back from Tommy. “Alright, you win. Thank you for the bread.”

“You’re welcome!”

For the next few weeks, they developed a routine. Tommy and Phil would come over and bring food, medicine, and whatever else Technoblade and Wilbur needed. Technoblade slowly got less suspicious of Phil, but he still wasn’t allowed to enter the cave.

Wilbur was getting a tiny bit better, but he wasn’t recovering as quickly as Tommy would have liked. Phil said that it would be better if Wilbur were in a proper bed instead of lying in a damp cave, and if Phil could always be able to monitor him so that he knew exactly what Wilbur needed.

When Tommy told Technoblade this, Technoblade shut down the idea immediately.

Tommy was beginning to get worried for Wilbur. Everyone said that he would be okay, including Wilbur, but he didn’t seem to be getting better very quickly.

It was getting colder and colder outside, and Phil said that winter was coming. Tommy liked the winter. Sometimes it snowed, and snow made the entire forest look magical.

Phil looked worried about the cold, though. Tommy asked why, but Phil said not to worry about it.

One morning, Tommy woke up and looked out the window. The world was covered with white.

Tommy cheered excitedly, and he ran up to Phil, who was in the kitchen.

“It’s snowing, it’s snowing, it’s snowing!” Tommy cheered. “Can we go out and play? Please, please, please?”

Phil laughed. “Eat your breakfast first.”

Tommy ate his breakfast as quickly as possible, and Phil made sure that Tommy was wearing the proper winter clothing. When Tommy was finally allowed to go outside, he was wearing a cloak, a big scarf, a hat, and mittens.

Tommy felt cozy, and he ran outside into the snow. Flakes were still falling quickly onto the ground, and Tommy tried to catch some on his tongue. It didn’t taste like anything, but the cold sensation was neat.

Tommy put his hands on his hips and thought about what he wanted to do in the snow. Snowmen were fun, but Tommy wasn’t very good at them. Phil was still inside, working on Wilbur’s medicine, so Tommy had to wait for him to come out later.

Tommy hummed. Oh well. He can make his own snowman. He was a big boy. He didn’t need Phil’s help.

Tommy crouched down and started packing snow together. Even with his mittens, he could feel how cold the snow was. He shivered and snuffled deeper into his cloak while he worked.

Tommy was half-way through his baby snowman when he heard the crunching of footsteps in the snow. Tommy frowned and pulled himself up to his full height, looking for the source of the sound. It was probably just a deer, but if it was, Tommy wanted to see it. Deer were pretty.

But it wasn’t a deer. Instead, Technoblade trudged down the path, loking like he was carrying something heavy on his back. Tommy ran up to him. It was the first time he had actually seen Technoblade outside the cave.

“Technoblade!” Tommy cheered. “Have you come to play in the snow?”

Technoblade only grunted, and Tommy understood why. He wasn’t carrying something. Wilbur was on his back, looking absolutely miserable, even though he was wrapped up in a ton of blankets. Technoblade himself didn’t look very happy.

“I’ll get Dad,” Tommy decided. He would know what to do.

Technoblade continued walking toward the house, and Tommy ran inside. He didn’t bother taking off his boots, leaving a trail of snow in his wake, but he was sure it wasn’t a big deal.

“Dad!” Tommy exclaimed. “Technoblade and Wilbur are here!”

Phil put down the ingredients he was about to put into a small bowl and looked at Tommy in shock. “What?”

“Technoblade’s carrying Wilbur over here,” Tommy explained.

Phil hurried outside, not even bothering to grab a cloak. Tommy thought this to be very irresponsible, but Phil was an adult, so maybe he was allowed to be irresponsible.

Tommy quickly followed Phil.

“Here,” Phil was saying to Technoblade. “I can take him. You get inside.”

To Tommy’s surprise, Technoblade only hesitated for a few moments before letting Phil carrying Wilbur on his own back. Wilbur made a small noise of protest, and Technoblade squeezed his hand.

“He hasn’t done anything yet,” Technoblade said. “I don’t think he’s going to try anything now.”

Phil smiled gratefully, and he quickly walked into the house. Tommy and Technoblade both followed him, and Tommy shut the door behind him.

“He can have my bed,” Phil was saying. He was tucking Wilbur into his own big bed, and Wilbur looked very small on such a large mattress. “You can sleep in there too, if you want to stay with him.”

Technoblade still looked a little confused. Tommy grabbed his hand.

“It’s going to be okay,” he said seriously.

Technoblade looked away. “I know that.” His voice sounded choked.

For the next few days, Technoblade and Wilbur slept in Phil’s bed, and Phil slept on the couch. Phil filled up the bath tub for the both of them, and he boiled the water for Wilbur.

“A hot bath should be good for him,” Phil explained to Techno.

Technoblade’s hair was a lot pinker without all the dirt covering it. Phil gave him a brush to try to work out all the knots, but they still had to cut off some of the very matted parts. When they were done, Technoblade tied his hair into a braid.

“Can you braid my hair?” Tommy asked, very impressed.

Technoblade tied a tiny braid into Tommy’s hair, and Tommy showed it off to everyone.

Now that Wilbur was at their house, and Technoblade was letting Phil near him, he was getting better a lot faster. Soon, Wilbur looked less like he was in a lot of pain, and he even let Tommy read to him.

“You’re a very good reader,” Wilbur told Tommy. Tommy had just finished reading his favorite picture book about the cow who traveled all sorts of fields to find his mummy, and Tommy beamed.

“Really?”

“Yep,” Wilbur said. “I don’t know how to read.”

“I can teach you!” Tommy said excitedly.

It turned out that Tommy wasn’t the best teacher, but Phil helped him to teach both Wilbur and Technoblade how to read. They picked it up pretty quickly, and Tommy did what Phil always did when Tommy got better at his reading.

“I’m proud of you,” he informed them seriously.

Technoblade and Wilbur both blushed, and Wilbur even cried a little. Tommy suddenly got very worried he said something wrong, and he hugged Wilbur.

“Please don’t cry!”

“They’re happy tears,” Wilbur said. “Don’t worry about me.”

One week became two weeks, and two weeks became two months, and soon, Wilbur was well enough to play with Tommy in the snow.

“We should make a snowman,” Tommy said, even though there was already an army of snowman that Technoblade and Phil had helped create all over the forest. Snowmen were fun, and Tommy still hadn’t made one with Wilbur yet, so there.

Wilbur laughed. “Alright, then,” he said.

They worked together to make the coolest snowman ever, and Tommy even gave it a cool backstory.

“This snowman is a warrior from a great kingdom,” Tommy informed Wilbur. “He has three sons that he protects.”

“Wow,” Wilbur said. “What’s his name?”

“You can decide.”

Wilbur hummed. “Let’s name him Henry.”

“You can’t name him Henry!” Tommy exclaimed. “Henry is the name of my cow.”

“Well, lots of people share names,” Wilbur said. “Besides, maybe your cow is also a warrior who protects three sons. You never know.”

Tommy couldn’t argue with that. “Fine,” he sighed.

The next day, Tommy was alone with Technoblade in the front room. They were playing checkers, and Technoblade was unfortunately very good at it.

“Technoblade,” Tommy said quietly. There had been something weighing on his mind for a while. “Can I ask you something?”

Technoblade nodded as he picked up one of his pieces. “Sure.”

“Are you going to leave soon?”

Technoblade froze, his hand holding his piece stopping mid-air. He stared at the chessboard for a long time. “Do you want us to leave?”

Tommy shook his head. “No! I really like you guys,” he said. “I just… I wanted to know because Wilbur is better, and you didn’t seem to like Phil much at first, and, and, I don’t want you guys to leave.”

Technoblade hummed and he placed his piece back to where it originally was on the board. “Well, Phil hasn’t kicked us out yet.”

“Dad wouldn’t kick you out,” Tommy said.

“He might.”

“He wouldn’t.”

“Well, then, I guess we won’t leave until he asks us to,” Technoblade said. “There’s food here, and shelter, and you guys are good to us, so yeah.”

“Does that mean you’ll never leave?” Tommy asked hopefully.

“I don’t know about that…”

“But we could be like brothers!” Tommy said excitedly. “I’ve always wanted siblings, and two older brothers sound really cool.”

A small smile formed on Technoblade’s face. “We’ll see,” he said. “Phil might not like that.”

“He will,” Tommy said confidently.

Other than that conversation, Technoblade and Wilbur potentially leaving was never discussed. Phil never brought it up, and they never brought it up in turn.

Winter turned to spring, and Tommy showed Wilbur and Technoblade their beautiful flower garden.

Spring turned to summer, and Phil started constructing another room for their cottage.

“What are you making?” Tommy asked.

“I think we should have a guest room,” Phil said. “I miss my bed, and I’m sure Technoblade and Wilbur are tired of sleeping in my bedroom.”

Tommy nodded. That made sense.

They celebrated Tommy’s birthday together, and Tommy declared it to be the best birthday celebration ever.

Summer turned to fall, and Wilbur and Technoblade moved into the guest room. Phil asked them when their birthday was, and they admitted they didn’t know.

“We can make a date up,” Phil said. “How about next week? You’re twins, right?”

Technoblade and Wilbur looked surprised, but they nodded. “Next week is good,” Wilbur said.

“And you’re both fine with sharing a birthday?” Phil asked.

Technoblade and Wilbur nodded again. “Yeah,” Technoblade said. He grabbed Wilbur’s hand. “We share everything.”

The next week, Tommy helped Phil bake the coolest cake ever. They were turning fifteen, which was really old. After eating, Phil gave Technoblade and Wilbur their gifts.

Wilbur received a guitar. Technoblade received a book on ancient mythology.

They were both moved to tears.

“Happy tears,” Wilbur explained. “These are happy tears.”

Tommy liked happy tears.

Fall turned back to Winter, and Technoblade and Wilbur still hadn’t left.

Tommy began to call the guest room “Wilbur and Technoblade’s room”, and nobody stopped him. When Tommy called Wilbur and Technoblade his brothers, nobody corrected him.

Tommy started introducing Wilbur and Technoblade as his brothers. In turn, Wilbur and Technoblade started introducing Tommy to their friends as their brother.  Wilbur and Technoblade never called Phil “Dad”, but they told their friends that he was their dad.

It was never discussed. It was just a thing that naturally happened. Soon, Tommy couldn’t even imagine a life without their presence in it.

There were family, and nobody doubted it.