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"I'm exhausted...", Tommy sighed as he wrapped himself in a cocoon from the blankets Techno gave him.
"Huh?" the boy was looking at Techno who was only half listening, as always. Techno was about to ask another question after Tommy's long silence, but before he cluld do so, the boy interrupts with a quiet mumble. "I'm fucking losing it, Tech", the boy looked up with his apathetic eyes. Though his trembling voice tells a different story.
Technoblade examined the languid boy beneath the numberless blankets he had made himself a home in. A dark aura surrounds the boy, yet Techno fails to fathom what the boy thinks.
The two sat quietly by the fire, only the soft crackles of the warm embers was heard. Suddenly a twig breaks from a distance, Tommy whimpered helplessly under his cocoon as he had just been woken up from a nightmare.
"Tommy?"
The dauntless anarchist –for the very first time– had felt terrified. Not of the mysterious sound but for the boy.
"Tommy... are you okay?"
He gently placed a hand on top of the pile of blankets which was covering Tommy's trembling body, in hopes that it would bring comfort to the boy. It didn't, it might've even brought the opposite. By the way Tommy subtly flinched, the blood god already knew there was something wrong.
The boy peeks through the thick layers of fabric with a stupefied expression and Techn fails to utter any word, his mouth hangs uselessly for the very first time. There was no snarky remark or a sly comment heard from him but a long sigh. Although Tommy badly wanted to speak, wanted to let out the contents of his anxiety induced brain, Techno is met with silence once again.
The blood god, out of concern and worry, sat beside the boy, attempting to place a hand on the boy again. This time, thankfully, Tommy did not flinch, maybe because he knew Techno had none of those intentions he once had thought.
On the spur of the warm, comforting moment, Technoblade wraps his arms around the boy, the blankets making it hard for his to do so. There was nothing Tommy could do but lean in and bask in the warmth that Techno's immortal body gave. All of a sudden, he felt his eyes wet themselves with tears, it took him a moment to realize that... he's crying.
Those agonizing years he had spent on exile with no other companions than... Dream, had taught him not to show any emotions, vulnerability. A way for Dream to torment him in a whole new 'nother level. He couldn't let his anger get the best of him nor let himself drown in tears. So crying now felt so unfamiliar to him that he had to take a second to process the emotion he was feeling as of the moment.
Technoblade could feel how the boy's fragile body shakes as he sobs quietly. The sound of the boy's cries were pitiful, remorseful even, but what else can he do but hug the boy tighter, his cape droops upon them both. The usual menacing aura ofhis red blood cape that could send chills down one's spine now gone as the two brothers sat by the fire, basking in each other's comfort.
"shh... it's okay, Tommy, whatever it is that's bothering you... it's all okay"
Tommy only shook in response, feeling his chest tighten too much that he couldn't even let out a word. He felt horrible, he felt sick of himself, the mistakes he had made. He wondered, if he hadn't had those childish decisions, maybe he wouldn't have to grow up this fucked up and this emotionally unstable. The unattainable if and then conditional statements he formed in his mind caused a crisis in him that he almost wishes for his demise, almost. He would've been building up a pillar, sitting atop, contemplating his life, whether he should jump or not, whether he should do a somersault or a kickflip, for the second time in this fucked up life of his if it weren't for his brother.
Techno, who stayed despite his complicated personality and the complexity —in a bad way— of the outcome of his poorly made decisions. Somehow, the man still found a way to tolerate him. After all, violence is the universal language in the blood god's perspective, so it baffles Tommy just how much compassion the man shows him right then and there.
Tommy huffs out a shaky breath, Techno slid his hands ever so gently through the boy's locks. A fox appears by the distance, seemingly observing the two. It might've been the same fox that broke a twig moments ago. The little animal stares at them for another second before leaping into the woods once again, leaving the two brothers in their own world again.