Chapter Text
The cicadas buzzed loudly, but it was still not enough to drown out Tommy’s yells or laughter as he poked a stick into the mud. Tommy was barefoot, his feet ankle deep in the mud as he tried to stab at worms and other little creatures. His gaze kept sweeping back and forth between the mud and Technoblade, who sat on the porch swing, watching the six year old warily.
Phil had to take Wilbur to the doctor since Wilbur felt ill (though Wilbur somehow always felt ill about something), leaving Technoblade to take care of the gremlin while the two were out. Tommy immediately decided that they would be playing outside-- and by they, he meant just Tommy because there was no way Techno was going to play in mud.
It was a nice day out. The ground was still wet from an early spring shower the night before, covering the grass and tree leaves in dew (an event that excited Tommy to no end), and of course, the mud. Tommy’s “favorite substance in the existence of all substances” (after he learned the word substance).
Techno was content to just let Tommy do his own thing while he read a book from the porch, but the afternoon had other plans.
“Techno, look!” Tommy yelled joyfully. He had a clump of mud in his hands that was seeping through his fingers with a leaf on top. “Mud pie!” Techno never jumped so fast when Tommy brang the mud to his lips, his mouth opening wide.
“Don’t eat that!” Techno said, slapping the mud out of the boy’s hand.
“Oi! That was our lunch!” complained Tommy, crossing his arms and tracking mud all over the white of his T-shirt.
“You can’t eat mud, Theseus.”
“Yes you can! I’ve done it before!”
Techno sighed deeply. “ Why did you eat mud?” It was obviously a question, but it came out more as a tired statement.
“Wilbur told me to!”
“If Wilbur told you to jump off a cliff, would you?” Tommy was silent for a beat, his face clenching tightly as he thought about the question before eventually nodding. Techno facepalmed exasperatedly. “You need to stop hanging out with Wilbur so much, then.”
“Then I’ll hang out with you, big man!” Tommy latched onto Techno’s leg, his grubby hands getting dirt over Techno’s recently washed trousers. Techno shook his leg vehemently, like Tommy was an extra sticky bug that would not come off-- and in a way, he was. “Come on! You never wanna do stuff with me! We can sword fight or play dragons or--”
“I get it! I get it. We can’t sword fight, you’re not old enough-- and dragons aren’t real--”
“Yes they are!” argued Tommy. “Phil said so! And Phil is the only man ever, which means he’s right!” Techno finally managed to get Tommy off of him, watching with amusement as the six year old fell on his butt. “Techno! I’ll cry if you don’t play with me!” whined Tommy, his eyes glazing over with water.
Techno took a hasty step back, his eye on his book over by the porch, his page marked by the fence of the porch. It was an old Greek play that Phil had brought back for him from one of his trips as a present that Techno had been dying to read. He then looked back at the young boy whose eyes contained stars, and made his decision.
“What do you wanna do?”
Tommy squealed happily, jumping up from the mud and raced into the forest before immediately running back, picking up rocks on the way. “Follow me, Tech!”
Techno obliged.
Tommy led them through the forest, using his T-shirt as a bag to collect rocks and twigs along the way. Techno would quietly pick up the rocks that Tommy missed and softly placed them in Tommy’s shirt.
Eventually Tommy came to a halt in front of a small, rocky hill mixed with dirt and clumps of grass, a small pool of water at the top. A stream of water descended from the pool, coming down to a little stream that snaked its way around the forest.
“What’s this?”
“I want to build a dam!”
“You’re serious,” Techno deadpanned. Tommy nodded. He struggled up the hill, his little legs slipping on the dirt as he climbed before finally making it to the top of the hill. He released his shirt, dumping all of the paraphernalia he had picked up along the way next to the pool.
“Come on, Tech!” Techno made the quest up the slope, not having as much trouble up since his legs were so much longer. One of the perks of being fourteen, he supposed. Tommy put his hands on his hips, pointing at the pool. “We have to build the dam here so we can stop the stream!”
“Why would you stop the stream, though? What did the stream do to you?”
“Nothing! But it’ll look cool when we let it go! Trust me, Techno, I know what I’m talking about.”
Techno bent down to survey the pool of water closely. He rolled the sleeves of his white poet’s shirt up, even though he had a feeling it would get dirty no matter what. The two of them spent the next ten minutes brainstorming their foundation. Tommy wanted to set it up vertically by placing the rocks one on top of each other, while Techno argued that they needed to set all of the rocks down first before putting on layers.
In the end, Techno won by virtue of holding Tommy over the side of the hill, threatening to drop him if he did not comply. Tommy, who had at least some natural instincts left, decided it was best to leave it to the experts (i.e., Techno).
The two of them built for an hour, perfecting their design by sticking twigs in between the gaps of the rocks. Finally, Techno deemed the dam foolproof. Not a drop of water leaked from their wall. Multiple times did Tommy try to release a rock prematurely (“Just to see what happens!”), but they stuck it out to the end. The pool water built up, threatening to spill over.
“Alright! I’ll go down-- Techno, you have to unleash the stream! ” Before Techno could respond, the little boy raced down the slope, tripping on a stray rock and landing face first in the dirt. Techno paused, concern slipping through the cracks before he began laughing.
“Bro! L! Get good!”
Tommy scrambled to his feet, his face red from embarrassment. “Shut the fuck up! I meant to do that! It was a calculated move, you bitch!”
“Sure.”
Tommy positioned himself over the stream, all the water zapped away by an overly energetic six year old. He bent his legs, screeching, “Go! Go! Go!”
Techno stood up, pulling off his left boot and sock. “Starting the stream!” he said in a sing-songy voice, kicking over the dam they just spent a painstaking hour building. Tommy danced around in the water as it enveloped his feet, somewhat cleaning off the dried mud that made a home on his heels and toes.
Techno watched Tommy play in the water for a while before the boy came back up the hill, flopping dramatically onto Techno’s back. “Techno, I’m tired! Can you carry me back?”
“ Heh? Did you flip a switch or something?” Tommy’s only reply was a little snort. Techno swiveled his head-- a harder feat to do when someone was leaning on your hair-- only to find Tommy a dead weight, his eyes closed as he breathed softly.
He really fell asleep.
Techno had no choice but to grab Tommy’s arms and secure them around Techno’s neck, before grabbing his legs and hoisting him up.
It was a short walk back to the house, and Techno silently reflected in the rare moment of silence he had with Tommy. Despite it all, Techno had… fun. It was something new and unfamiliar, but that didn’t make Techno appreciate the experience all the same. He could’ve read his book at any other time, but he only had those moments with Tommy to build a stupid little, dam and then release it.
As Techno came out of the forest, he noticed Wilbur on the porch swing, picking his guitar strings softly, abruptly stopping as he noticed his brothers’ return. “Hey Tech! You have a rodent on your back!”
Techno chuckled, readjusting Tommy. “He won’t let go.”
“What were you both doing in there?”
“We built a dam.”
Wilbur pouted instantly, crossing his arms against his chest. “Ugh! No fair. He said he’d only do it with you after the last time we went to the beach.” The three of them had had a sandcastle-building contest. Tommy would have gotten last place (his idea of a castle was just a pile of sand with a stick on top), but with a little bit of peer pressure, Tommy managed to convince Techno to outvote Wilbur, putting his pseudo-twin in dead last.
Techno’s castle was nothing magnificent, but it was much better than his brothers’ efforts. Later, Phil outdid them all somehow by building a sand palace along with an expansive garden and training area for the sand knights.
(If Techno secretly kicked it to dust as they were leaving, well that was nobody’s business but his own).
Tommy slowly stirred, releasing Techno’s neck to rub at his eyes. “Tech?” he slurred. Techno immediately released his hold on Tommy’s legs, and Tommy plummeted to the ground. “Ow! Oi, bitch! Why’d you drop me?” he cried.
“You’re awake now.”
“Aw! Technoblade, are you embarrassed because you carried Tommy? Techno soft? Brotherblade?” Wilbur mocked. Techno stepped forward menacingly and Wilbur instantly raced into the house.
“Techno, can we hang out again?” asked Tommy as he dusted his butt off. Techno didn’t say anything, but nodded curtly before racing into the house after Wilbur.