Chapter Text
Techno spun around in a circle for the 26th time, mindlessly scanning the common room for his missing book. He was pretty sure that Tommy had borrowed it after their last planet visit. However, after approximately 20 clicks of searching the ship, he’d resigned himself to waiting in the common room until Tommy decided to come out of hiding.
The common room was decidedly the best room for spinning, with its wide open floor space behind the couch, free of any possible tripping hazards. It seemed that Phil had finally put away the mess of blankets that had been living on the couch. Interesting.
Techno was just about to hold out his arms for the ultimate spinning experience when he spotted Phil standing in the doorway. Maybe he knew where Tommy was.
One of the great things about space was that Techno could do just about anything that might be considered weird on Earth, and pass it off as a species/cultural difference. He came to a stop facing Phil and blinked his eyes a couple of times in an attempt to stop the spinning in his brain. Once he was sure he could walk in a straight line without making a fool of himself, he started towards Phil.
“Hey, Phil. Have you seen Tommy around recently? I think he might have taken my book, but I can’t find him anywhere.”
Phil’s feathers rustled slightly as he shifted nervously from foot to foot, “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I’m going to tell you something right now and I need you to promise that you’re not going to freak out on me, alright mate?”
Techno raised an eyebrow, “ You took my book?”
Phil let out a squawk, “What?! No!”
“Alright then, what is it?”
“...We left the ship back on the last planet.”
“Phil, we are literally hurtling through the depths of space in our spaceship right now. What are you talking about?”
“Nope.”
“Heh?”
“You know how Tommy is a shapeshifter?”
And that, folks, is how Techno found himself walking through the halls of Tommy towards a Tommy medical room to distract Wilbur so that Phil could knock him out with a special screech since he hadn’t responded too well the last time this had happened.
Techno let out a deep sigh as the door to the medical room came into view. Apparently, Phil’s ability required the element of surprise to work properly, and Techno was the bait. He pressed the button to the room, stifling a shiver as he did. Never in his life had he been so glad to be wearing gloves.
Standing on the threshold to keep the door open for Phil, Techno could see Wilbur seated on the floor, sounding out a song on his cithstara. Techno cleared his throat and Wilbur glanced up at him in surprise.
“Uh, I’m here for that…medical scan.”
Wilbur practically shot into the air in excitement. He immediately dashed over to a large tube-like contraption and began pressing buttons. Techno grimaced as he watched him before realizing he’d forgotten to put in the earplugs that Phil had given him. Almost directly after this revelation, a sound like a tornado siren sounded in his right ear. Wil crumpled to the ground by the scanner as Phil appeared next to Techno.
“Thanks, mate.”
“No, problem.”
Techno reached into his pocket and fished out the unused earplugs.
“Here, you can have these back. I didn’t use them.”
There were a couple of awkward seconds where Phil just stared at Techno before seeming to shake himself out of it and grab the earplugs. Once that was done, Techno marched forward and hefted Wilbur into his arms.
The floor was not a good place for hyperspace travel.