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Tommy shuffled his feet outside the door. The tundra was bitter cold, snow blowing in every direction as he stood in front of his brother old ally’s door. The wooden door is reinforced with netherite and a netherite lock. Made to keep something out. Or something, someone, in…
He breathes in…
And out…
And steps toward the door. He’s carrying two things to return to their owner before he goes back to his dirt shack, a small spider waiting there for him. There are many other things he could be doing rather than this. Technoblade should consider himself lucky to have the amazing, wonderful, great Tommy Innit on his doorstep. He’s really not.
Tommy shakes his head to clear his thoughts and knocks on the door, holding Techno’s cape and the Axe of Peace in one arm. The door doesn’t open. Tommy hums. Well… he could just leave it here on the step with a note! That would be fine, right? Tommy nods to himself and pulls out a scratch piece of paper from his journal and begins to write a heartfelt apology to Technoblade.
Dear Technoblade,
I understand that uhm this may not be the best thing you’ve ever received but I just wanted to say that I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have betrayed you like that. Looking back there was so many options I could have chosen. Right then I hadn’t thought so. I only saw two.
Staying with the country that Wilbur built. The one that had the best memories. The country I built up, the one we had fought for. I know you don’t like government but it hurt when you betrayed us the first time.
Or I could have stayed with you. Be cared for. We probably could have left if I had just asked. Said one word and you would’ve scooped me up and whisked us away.
But… I had one more reason not to go with you. You said you owed Dream a favor. And I… I couldn’t stand to be with Dream, be under Dream’s thumb anymore. I guess I still am, so my leaving you didn’t make a difference there. He still taunts me with his existence. Still tortures me in my dreams, in my thoughts, in my panic attacks. Everything. Exile was horrible for me… Terrible…. And you just… laughed at it. I thought I wasn’t worth anything when I came to you and when I left I still felt worthless but in a different way.
You showed me so many things I thought I could never have but… now I know that I never will.
I’m not dying don’t worry, it’s just… I’m locking myself away in my house for a while. Some ‘me’ time ya know?
Well… don’t come looking for me, just send a ‘thanks for the note’ or something over comms and that will be fine, or nothing at all! That works too! I would prefer to have my heart beating for a long time yet, thanks lol.
It hurt, you know, when you ripped my letters and disowned me as your family in exile. But I still came to you and then you just… you just were so angry all the time but refused to let me leave. I was so confused all the time. I guess it just hurt when you wanted to destroy L’manberg, I still wasn’t sure but you convinced me it needed to go, but I still had so many doubts about it. I chickened out. You were right.
Well… I don’t have any more smushy gushy feelings to put out, so…. I suppose I should sign off.
Sincerely,
Tommy Innit
And with that, Tommy lays the axe and cape on the stair and gently folds the note into the crevice between the cape and the axe. He walks home with a sad sigh. He was glad to know that he had returned everything that wasn’t his and paid back all of his debts. Except one.
He walks to the L’manhole and kneels by the pit. “Hey, Wil… I… I miss you. A lot. You kinda broke your promise when you said that nothing would ever hurt me again. Dream’s hurt me so bad, so bad. The scars still burn sometimes, Wil, the scars. They hurt really bad sometimes. I don’t wanna hurt anymore Wilby.” Tommy puts his head on the ground, sobbing into the damp earth. He doesn’t hear the footsteps approaching.
Techno had heard the knocking but he had thought they had heard him shout “One second!” up the stairs. He takes the stairs two at a time and opens the door, “Hello?” Techno doesn’t see anyone, they must’ve decided they didn’t have time or–
Techno trips over something and nearly falls down his porch steps. He turns back and sees his cape. The one he had given to his runt. He unwraps it and sees a piece of paper and his axe come out. He kneels and opens the folded note. He reads it and tears begin to slip from his eyes. He needs his runt. He wants his runt. His runt is hurting. Runt, runt, runt, runt, runt.
Everything in him shouts at him to find his runt now.
RUNT
RUNT
WE NEED RUNT
GET RUNT
HURT RUNT
RUNT SAD
GET RUNT
WE HURT RUNT
NOW
NOW
NOW
RUNT
Techno rubs his head and sighs. “I’m going, I’m going,” Techno says and stands. He takes his cape and axe and tucks the note into his breast pocket. “My runt. My precious runt. My beautiful, treasured, precious runt.” Techno walks away toward the L’manhole. It was the only other place he had spotted Tommy other than the younger’s stupid, ugly shack. Techno doesn’t know why he’s let his runt stay in this situation as long as he has. His runt has had enough freedom for a while.
Techno hears his runt crying and knows that the runt needs the den! After all, there is no safer, better, and more secure place than Techno’s den. Techno’s runt cries into the ground over looking the big pit he had made. Techno purrs softly and the runts head snaps up.
“Techno! Big man! What… what are you doing here?” The runt scrambles away from Techno.
Techno doesn’t like that.
He frowns and walks toward his runt. “Runt-come-come-runt-bad-runt-runt-come” Techno chuffs. Tommy tilts his head in confusion.
“I don’t know what you’re saying big man, so I’m just gonna… uhm... BYE!” Tommy sprints away and Techno growls. His runt is running away? What a bad runt, Techno hasn’t taught his runt very well. He should’ve taught his runt better than this.
“Bad-runt-runt-stop” Techno calls. The runt just runs even faster. Maybe he had scared his runt. That must be why his runt is running, he scared him! Techno will just have to teach the runt that he would never hurt him. Techno is the protector, the brute, and Tommy is just a runt, a precious runt that shouldn’t have left the den yet.
“Yeah? Phil? Your son is chasing me and keeps making pig noises.” Tommy says. Phil? Caregiver? Dad! Techno makes a whine and he hears his caregiver chuckle.
“Yeah, mate, Techno is in his instincts right now. You’re making it worse by running,” Techno’s strong ears pick up his caregiver’s voice and he purrs. “Aw, hi, mate, Toms, you should–” Techno hears a click and he whines, but he has other things to do, like catch his runt! Caregiver can worry about Techno later, Techno has a runt to catch.
“Instincts? What the heck is that? Why does it involve me?” Techno sees where his runt is headed. Toward his stupid dirt shack. Techno growls and takes a shortcut to get in front of his runt. He grabs his runt and hauls him up on his shoulders. “OI PUT ME DOWN!” Techno winces at the runt’s screaming. A little potion won’t hurt the runt in the long run.
Techno pulls a weakness potion from his belt and shoves it in his runt’s mouth. The runt drinks about half, but with how thin his runt is, that should be more than enough for his runt to calm down. His runt’s movements grow weaker and weaker until finally, he’s asleep. Techno sighs in relief and purrs as he moves his runt into a more cuddlable arrangement. He buries his face in his runt’s hair as he walks.
He’s missed his precious runt.
No one and he means no one will take his runt.
Tommy wakes up in a dim room. A familiar room. Technoblade’s den. “Aw crap.” He stands but finds a weight on his ankle. He looks down and sees a golden chain. All of Tommy’s tools are gone (not that he had any that would help him right now anyway) and there isn’t anything in reach that he can use. In fact, Tommy can’t go farther than two feet away from this stupid bed. “Dang it, dang it, dang it,” Tommy repeats. He hears banging on the window and realizes why it’s so dark in here. Technoblade has boarded up the window.
Tommy had only been in here once. And that had been the last time Tommy remembers having seen kindness. The day before Tommy betrayed Technoblade. “How am I going to get out?” Tommy says to himself. Then a sinking feeling begins to set in his gut. What if… what if he can’t escape? What if there was no way out?
This is getting progressively worse and worse. What the heck are ‘instincts’? Why has no one told Tommy about them before? Why has no one even mentioned such a thing before? Tommy whips his head to the door when he hears it click.
Techno makes weird pig noises and steps in the room. Tommy hears it click shut behind Techno. Locked. Which means that Tommy can’t get out… but neither can Techno.
“Big man, I do not understand a word you’re saying if you’re saying anything at all,” Tommy replies, looking up at Technoblade, trying hard not to let the fear seep into his eyes or body language.
Techno makes some more pig noises before he coughs. “Runt.” Tommy just stares up at the other. Runt? What is a runt?
“Techno with no blade you must tell me what the heck a runt is.” Techno says nothing as he lays on top of Tommy. Tommy yelps as the older man’s weight crushes Tommy partially. Tommy shoves against the other. “LET ME GO,” Tommy shouts. Techno just reaches a hand around the back of Tommy’s head and lays a hand over Tommy’s mouth. Tommy protests but it’s muffled by Technoblade’s hand.
Maybe… if Tommy pretends to acquiesce to Techno’s desires, this will all breeze over faster.
Techno’s runt smells. In a good way. Like a true runt. The smell makes Techno’s instincts want to snuggle with his runt more and more until the boy understands how cherished and treasured and precious he is. Tommy is still asleep when Techno rolls over. His instincts purr at the golden chain that keeps the runt in a safe space and Techno moves his gaze to his runt’s face. It’s been a while since he’s had his runt, his little brother in a safe space.
Tommy was too thin. Techno would fix that. It would take a long time but he would fix it. Right now, his runt was manifesting, and if the thick, sweet, sugary smell that wafted in the air said anything, it was that Tommy was manifesting as a piglin hybrid. And Techno would be right here when he did. But first, he had to make sure that Tommy couldn’t get hurt anymore by Dream.
Techno growled at the thought of Dream’s stupid hands wrapped around Tommy, even touching Tommy. Techno’s growl woke the sleeping runt and Techno chuffs an apology. “Big man, I have no clue what the heck you’re saying,” Tommy sleepily mumbles, “Mebbe you’re mad at me, hmm? Wouldn’t be the first time someone got mad at me.”
Techno growls, but then he releases a whine as he realizes that he had hurt his runt before. So many times. He needs to fix this. He will fix this. “Runt-sorry-sorry-runt-bad-brute-sorry-sorry” Techno whines to his runt.
Tommy’s pupils dilate and Techno purrs softly. “Sounder?” Tommy asks. Techno nods and wraps the runt impossibly closer.
“Mine-sounder-mine-runt-good-runt-love-runt” Techno replies. He buries his nose into his runt’s curly golden hair and purrs loudly. His runt returns a stuttering purr that doesn’t end when his runt falls asleep. Techno drifts to sleep, with his runt tucked safely away in his arms.
Tommy wakes up to a pain in his jaw, back, and ears. He rubs at his jaw and yelps when he finds two solid tusks (much like Techno’s) protruding from his jaw. Where did he get these from? “Runt-hello-hello-sleep-good?” Tommy jumps at Techno’s sleepy grumble. That… that wasn’t English… but how did it translate like so into Tommy’s brain?
“I… slept good?” Techno nods and purrs. Tommy’s chest responds with a purr of its own. “Techno?” Techno hums and cuddles with Tommy. Tommy finds that he doesn’t mind as much as he might have previously. He buries his face in Techno’s neck. He feels so… safe here. So protected. Like nothing in the world could get to him as long as he was in the den and safely tucked away in his brute’s arms.
“Hi, Theseus,” Techno mumbles some time later, “I think we both fell into our instincts a bit, huh?” Tommy nods silently, his purr still rumbling softly. “I’ve missed you, my precious runt, and now I can decorate you with the finest things of my hoard.” Tommy’s brain explodes like a firework.
“GOLD” Tommy squeals, moving to get up and look for the precious metal. Something around his ankle stops him and he chuffs appreciatively of his brute’s protectiveness.
His brute chuckles, “I forgot that runts like you are susceptible to the promise of gold. I’d heard about it, never seen it, poor, mistreated shoat, I will care for you, don’t you worry. Phil will get here sometime next week and be very proud of us for taking such good care of each other.” Tommy’s brute holds up some jewelry and Tommy’s purr turns into a near growl.
“Caregiver?” Tommy asks when his brute hands him the gold to put on his brute.
“No, I’m your brute, Phil is your caregiver.” Techno ruffles Tommy’s hair and slips a golden bracelet onto Tommy’s wrist. Tommy whines.
“Want-caregiver-bring-caregiver-to-runt,” Tommy pleads.
“He’ll be here soon, don’t you want some time alone with your brute?” Tommy thinks for a minute. He does want his caregiver, but… time alone with his brute? His protector? He thinks that’s alright until his caregiver gets back. “Yeah, Phil, he’s deep in them, I think if you get here within a week or two, he’ll still be in that phase,” Tommy whines when he hears another voice.
“Caregiver?” Tommy’s protector nods and smiles, pushing something toward Tommy’s face.
“Tommy, mate,” Caregiver!- that’s Tommy’s caregiver! “Yeah, sweetheart, it’s me, Techno’s gonna take care of you until I get home alright? Don’t forget that I’m your caregiver.” Tommy nods and chuffs, leaning toward the thing with his caregiver’s voice.
“No, Theseus, you can’t– Theseus no!” Tommy takes the thing from Techno and purrs into it, hoping to coax his caregiver out sooner. “Theseus. Tommy, give me the comm, and I’ll… I’ll let you play in the hoard room?” Tommy looks up at his brother, his brute, his protector. Play in the hoard room? That sounds great! Fun! Tommy likes to have fun! Tommy hands the thing back to Techno and he talks into it for a bit longer. When he’s done, Tommy makes grabby hands. Tommy’s brute sighs with a smile, “Fine, fine, you can go play in the hoard room now, but this doesn’t fix that–” Tommy purrs, hoping to coerce his brute into being less mad with him. It works and his brute smiles, a purr of his own coming from his big chest. “You win, gremlin,” Tommy squeals happily when the chain is taken off his ankle and he’s lifted into his brute’s arms.
“We’ve got some problems, but that sounds like something for Phil to fix, for now, you and I can play with the gold in the hoard room.” Tommy squeals happily.
Why was he scared of his brute in the first place? His brute is so nice and protective! Tommy doesn’t understand why he tried to run away. Why he still wants to. Tommy nestles his head into his brute’s arm as he unlocks the door.
Tommy has such a good protector.
He had been lost, a lost runt is a bad thing in a world full of predators. But his protector found him! His brute took him home and wrapped him in the den! His brother is going to love him forever and ever!
Tommy was lost, but now he had a home.
And lots of gold to play with too!