Chapter Text
When Technoblade said he was going into retirement, he thought it would mean uneventful days; and there was nothing wrong with that, it's what he wanted, in fact. After years of being the Blood God, spreading anarchy and chaos, and being the raining champion in numerous servers' competitions, the thought of doing nothing all day but reading and exploring was heavenly. Yet life still likes to keep him on his toes, so his days in retirement have been everything but uneventful. Helping Tommy recover, and slowly rebuilding not only their relationship but his relationship with Philza, has taken up most of his days.
The first month with Tommy was eventful in its own ways. Figuring out exactly what had happened to Tommy in his two months of exile was his main goal, and it wasn't hard to accomplish when the boy would mumble out clues in his sleep (nightmares, chat reminds him, nightmares that kept you awake, too,). Then there was Ghostbur, with his ever cryptic memories of what he saw when Dream was in Logstedshire. Then came figuring out where on Earth Phil was. Then came finding out Dream was tapping their communicators. Needless to say, it was eventful. But it was eventful in the way this damned server normally was. Tensions and mysteries and piecing together clues.
However, after Dream's visit and Tommy's attempt, it was a new kind of eventful. A kind Technoblade was entirely unequipped to handle.
Tommy had gone shell-shocked in those first few days after Dream's visit. Once he and Phil (most Phil, a voice laughs, Dadza) managed to chip through Tommy's shelf, life became eventful in the fact that Techno had goals again. It wasn't just sitting around and aimlessly collecting gear (the Wither skulls hidden in the mountain mock him. Not today, he thinks, not for a while), it was helping Tommy heal.
A few years ago, Techno would deny even knowing Tommy's name, only referring to him as "that kid that hangs around Phil". A few months ago, Techno would've mocked the idea of caring for someone who betrayed him. Now, Techno would be a liar if he denied caring about Tommy, denied wanting to help Tommy.
Every few days into Tommy's recovery Techno would sit down, sometimes with Phil, sometimes with Ghostbur, sometimes with both and sometimes with neither, and write down how Tommy's improved and what still needs work. They have a list of things Tommy has told them triggers him and a list of things that seems to trigger him but Tommy hasn't explicitly admitted. There was also a page dedicated to advice the cleric gives him, ranging from coping mechanisms to vague pieces of advice that if Techno thinks too hard about he thinks they might be directed at his own mental health. (You need support, too, the cleric told him quietly one night, there is only so much one man can do.) It was all collected in a small leather notebook conveniently dubbed 'The Tommy book' by Ghostbur. Phil had praised him for putting so much effort and time into Tommy's recovery, but he brushed it off as 'I don't half-ass anything, Phil'.
Whether it was through the dedication on Techno's part, Phil's support, Ghostbur's seemingly endless supply of blue, Tommy's own sheer will power, or some combination of all of that, Tommy was recovering faster than Techno could've ever expected. There were still pieces of him that would never be the same, as the case with trauma normally is, but seeing Tommy loud and energetic and stable again brought a small smile to his face. A few months ago, Techno would say he was happy because a happy Tommy meant a happy Phil, and he only cares about Phil. Now, Techno thinks he's done lying to himself.
The four of them had built a calm routine over the past month. There was still someone with Tommy when he left the cabin (he doesn't think he'll ever get the image of Tommy standing over a lake of lava out of his head) but he was doing well enough to be allowed to wander the cabin and grounds freely. They even left him alone in the cabin for short periods of time. Tommy seemed relieved at the freedom it gave him and not like he was planning something, so Techno put it down as another improvement.
Phil wakes up before both of them (there's a bad joke about an early bird somewhere in there, he leaves that thought to the voice to laugh about) and makes breakfast. Tommy and Techno both get up, the three of them eat breakfast, and somewhere along the way Ghostbur might join them. Sometimes the spirit wanders his way back to L'manberg, but he's been around the cabin more and more as of the last month. Then Phil will go and work on the Nether wart farm, and Techno will check on his farms. Sometimes Tommy joins him, sometimes he doesn't. Techno wanders back to the cabin around mid-day and finds Tommy either reading or cleaning, and he reminds Tommy that he doesn't have to earn his place in the house, and Tommy tells him that he knows. The first few times he caught Tommy doing it, it wasn't hard to hear the lie in his reassurance that he's doing it because he wants to. Now, Tommy seems to genuinely enjoy the routine (Maidinnit, a voice laughs, and a few others make some remarks about him being a child).
Some days they'll go explore new parts of the world (Techno always has them walk past Logstedshire, something about exposer therapy that the cleric mentioned. The last time they walked past it Tommy didn't even freeze. Improvement). Some days the three of them will go mining. Some days Techno goes back to the village to talk with the cleric. Some days those visits with the clerics turn into therapy sessions for himself. He offers the cleric stacks of emeralds for payment and the cleric turns down the offer every time.
Slowly, but surely, his eventful goal-driven days meld into a true retirement.
Technoblade woke up that morning to no smell of frying eggs or fresh bread of Phil's cooking, and it's a testament to his own recovery that he doesn't instantly reach for his sword and shield. Instead, he rubs the sleep from his eyes and wanders out of his room to the main floor. He spots Tommy lounging on the couch, rereading a book he saw him with last week. Guess he'll have to stop by the librarian's shop again.
"Where's Phil?" He asks and Tommy flinches at the sudden break in silence. He hadn't done that in a while, it was something they put in the 'improved' section of The Tommy Book, so the jumpiness isn't a good sign.
"Gone off to L'manberg," Tommy mumbles, he must've woke up recently as well, "something about...something about Tubbo needing him. He didn't explain much."
Techno's shoulders stiffen. Tubbo was still an incredibly sensitive subject for Tommy, one of the things they were working on. There was a reason Phil didn't explain much, Tommy always seemed to have a sour day if Tubbo was mentioned even once.
"I'm sure it's just some dumb government stuff," Techno tries to keep the conversation light, but Tommy's lack of reply shows that he's obviously not in the mood to even joke about it. "I'll message him, see if it's anythin' specific."
"Hasn't Dream fucked with your com? It'd be stupid to message him," Tommy snaps and Techno realizes a little late that he's having a bad day. Now more awake, Techno sees the way Tommy's shoulders seem tense, the way he keeps Techno in the corner of his eye, the way he's positioned so he can see all entrances of the room. Tommy's bad days now are nothing compared to his bad days from earlier this month, and don't hold a candle to his bad day from last month (don't imagine him standing over the lake, don't), but they still caused some problems. Somedays Tommy's bad days entailed him clinging to Phil like a lifeline, some had him cursing and yelling at everyone in the cabin, some had him locked in his room. Techno can't quite tell what this one is.
"He already knows that we know, no point in hidin' it," Techno shrugs, starting to make breakfast for himself with Phil gone, "want your usual?"
Tommy hesitates, shoulders still tense and eyes on guard, "...I'm alright," he says, before quickly adding "thanks, though."
"I'll make you an egg and some toast, in case you change your mind," he keeps his voice casual, making it seem like he's doing it for himself, and not out of pity. That was one of the things he and Phil learned set Tommy off. If he thought something was being done out of pity, he'll curse at anyone in the vicinity and refuse help for the next two days.
Tommy hesitates again, but his shoulders drop just slightly as he mumbles a quiet "okay, thanks," and they fall into amicable silence; Tommy reading and Techno cooking. It was sickeningly domestic, and exactly what Techno had hoped for in his retirement. Techno sits at the small kitchen table and eats his breakfast while Tommy reads his already read book.
"Thinkin' about going to one of the villages past my usual one," Techno fills the silence, "wanna come?"
"I'm good," Tommy says simply. It seems like this bad day was one where he just wanted to be left alone. Techno thanked the world silently for that. Ghostbur was good with the days where Tommy wanted to scream, he'd simply take Tommy on a walk and let the boy curse him out and snap at him. Phil was good for when Tommy wanted someone to cling to, and if Techno was being honest, it seemed like Phil was happy to make up the time lost in Tommy's childhood to coddle the boy. Techno was good at neither of those days and with both Ghostbur and Phil in L'manberg, he's thankful he can let Tommy have his privacy without worrying about comforting him incorrectly. There's not much you can do wrong about leaving the guy alone when he wants to be left alone.
"Call me if you need something, or just want to talk, this village is further away than the others so I'm gonna be pretty bored and I wouldn't mind chattin' on the way there or back," Techno phrases it like he's the one who needs Tommy to call him, something he learned from the cleric. Tommy never responded well to their blatant request that he speaks up if he needs anything, so now he makes the request more casual so Tommy doesn't think it's out of pity. Tommy gives him a thumbs up and they leave it at that.
Tommy's been alone in the cabin before this, but not for this long. The village Techno wants to travel to is just northeast of his usual village. He'd run the nearest village dry of books and supplies, so he'll have to start traveling further until they replenish their stocks.
"You can also call Phil or Ghostbur if you want to chat," Techno reminds, "but call Phil if it's an-"
"if it's an emergency, he can get here faster and Ghostbur isn't exactly reliable," Tommy cuts him off with a poor impression of Techno's voice, "I know, Techno, you can fuck off now." Oh, so today's bad day is a mix of 'leave me alone' and 'i hate my entire family', wonderful, (You think he's family, a voice coos, Technolove, he pointedly ignores the 'awws' sounding in his head).
"Just remindin' you," Techno shrugs as he straps on his armor and prepares his gear bag. He's nearly out the door before he pauses, "I was thinking of gettin' new books, any specific genre you want?" He doesn't bother asking if Tommy wants new books. He never re-reads books unless he's out of new ones, and the kid refuses to accept a gift, so Techno's resorted to pretending like the books are for him and seeing if Tommy will give input.
"...history, maybe?" It's the first time Tommy's actually given an answer other than 'get what you want, they're not for me,'. Improvement. Techno smiles. Wilbur loved history, too. (He made it, as well).
"Sounds good," Techno shrugs, keeping his voice ever-casual, and waves Tommy goodbye before saddling up Carl and heading out.
The trip is incredibly uneventful. He was hoping that maybe Tommy would call him to at least yelling at him or complain about something meaningless, but even with how much he's recovered Tommy isn't one for small talk anymore. Hopefully, that will be another improvement Techno can add to The Tommy Book. Never did he think he'd miss the days Tommy wouldn't shut up. He feels almost guilty for how he treated Tommy in Pogtopia, always brushing the kid off and telling him to quiet down. Their current situation almost feels like karma. Whether it was past guilt or current boredom that encouraged him, Techno pulls out his communicator and messages Tommy.
Technoblade: Anything else you want me to look for at the new village?
Technoblade: They will have more than the one I normally go to, hopefully. It's further away too so it might have new things.
Tommy stared at the messages on his communicator and contemplated responding. He woke up much earlier than normal that morning because of a nightmare. It was the usual one, the one that felt like it lasted years. He was stuck in Logstedshire and no one, not even Dream, came to visit. He couldn't even leave and explore, some invisible force only possible in dreams keeping him stuck in Logstedshire. Completely and utterly alone. That dream always made him want to cling to Phil for the entire day, but when he got out of bed he found Phil packing his bag. Fear struck him hard, and dwindled only minutely when Phil told him he wasn't leaving forever, just had to go to L'manberg on Tubbo's request. Tubbo, the reason he was in exile (who stuck with you through everything). Tubbo, his best friend (the reason you're in this situation in the first place). Thinking about him made his head and heart hurt. He wasn't about to demand Phil stays in the cabin to baby him though, so he let Phil leave and decided on reading for the day. Then he remembered that he was out of new books, and he despised re-reading books, but he despised being left alone with his thoughts more so he sucked it up. Then Techno told him he was going to a village, a far one at that, and Tommy knows Techno didn't like it when he was clingy no matter how much the man denied it so he let Techno go alone.
TommyInnit: toys for walter
Tommyinnit: can you message phil when he'll be back?
Guilt gnawed at Tommy for bothering Techno, but quiet echoes in his head reminded him of the amount of care and effort Techno gave him. As much as his mind persists that Techno and Phil and even Ghostbur hates him (the thoughts sound so much like Dream), the logical part of his brain points out all the times they help him, points out how they absolutely do not need to be helping him. Still, he can't help but feel like he's messed up somehow when Techno's reply doesn't come for almost another hour.
Technoblade: Sorry for the delay I was waiting for Phil to respond. He said he should be back before noon. He just had to show up for a town meeting. Ghostbur's with him as well, but who knows if he'll come back with Phil.
Technoblade: I'll see if they have toys and cat treats
Tommy lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Glancing outside, it looked like it was around 9am. Only three-ish hours until Phil is back and he can curl up on the couch and ask him useless questions with answers he already knows.
That was something he was doing again lately, talking uselessly. Dream would always get pissed off whenever he asked dumb questions or talked just to fill the silence; and while it was terrifying to try and do it again now, the genuine joy on Phil's face when Tommy would start rambling and the unfiltered pride on Techno's face when he asked pointless questions were starting to break down that fear.
There were a lot of things that Dream beat into him (figuratively and literally, a bitter part of him thinks) that he's finally unlearning. When someone asks for something, he doesn't feel adrenaline and fear flood his veins. When Techno gives a snide or sarcastic reply to one of his jokes, he doesn't shut down completely. He gets up instead of sitting in his bed all day and he talks, admittedly less than he would've months ago, but talks nonetheless to Ghostbur or Techno or Phil or Walter or whoever will listen. He keeps up with his hygiene instead of letting himself collect dust on his bed. He hears Techno talk to Phil at night, go over the things he's doing better about and the things he's doing not so good at; and instead of hearing them talk about how disappointing it is that he isn't completely recovered, he hears nothing but determination and pride. He can lay over Phil's lap dramatically and not flinch when Phil runs a hand through his hair, he can turn his back on an entrance to the room, he can have someone make a snide comment to him and not cower for the rest of the day. And on the days he can't do any of that, his family still sits with him, still let him exist, and he thinks that's healing.
A knock at the door pulls him from his thoughts and glancing out the window at the sun he realizes he's been sitting with his thoughts for almost two hours. It's another proof of healing that he was able to be with himself alone and not collapse. Setting his book on the side table, he stands and goes to open the door. It's nearly noon, Phil must have gotten out of the town meeting early. Or maybe Ghostbur got bored and wandered back home.
"Why the fuck are you knocking to enter your own house-" Tommy grumbles as he swings open the door to greet Phil. The man at the door is definitely not Phil, but at least he's got the green clothing. Phil's green was a soft deep green, emerald and forest and juniper greens mixing with a pale white. The disgustingly neon green hoodie in front of him was so not Phil, so very Dream, that it gave Tommy whiplash.
"So this is where you've been," Dream says casually, like his presence alone isn't giving Tommy heart palpitations. "I mean, I always knew you were here, I just had to wait until Techno and Phil left to come grab you."
"H- How, why, what-" Tommy stutters, stumbling backwards into the cabin. Dream simply matches his steps, following him inside and swinging the door closed behind him.
"How? Well, maybe talking about how you're alone on communicators that you know are tapped isn't the smartest idea," Dream laughs, "unless, you made it easy for me." Dream pauses, pretending to think, before gasping, "Oh, Tommy, you were trying to let me know when I could come save you, weren't you?"
"Wh- what?! What the fuck are you on about?!" Tommy yells, still backing up.
"You were leaving obvious clues so I could come get you away from Technoblade," Dream's tone is sickeningly sweet, "because I'm your friend, and you knew you messed up when you ran away, but you couldn't escape Technoblade and Philza."
"No, I wouldn't- what are you-"
"Come on now Tommy, stop lying," Dream sighs, "I'm the only person who cares about you. I'm your only friend. You wanted me to come save you, it's why you left me hints. Because you miss me."
"What are you talking about-"
"Let's leave, Tommy," he only just now realizes he's backed himself into a corner, between the wall and the kitchen counter, stupid stupid move, "you aren't safe here, Technoblade is just trying to gain your trust so he can use you to get to Tubbo."
"Shut the fuck up-"
"You know I'm right, stop lying," Dream snaps, tone shifting coldly. Tommy grabs his communicator out of his back pocket and hides it behind his back, "you think Technoblade cares about you?" he thanks every god he can think of that he put Techno on speed dial on his communicator, "this little runaway dream was fun and all, but it's been really hard on me, Tommy," he hears the sound of Techno picking up, a faint 'Tommy?' that he prays Dream doesn't hear over his monologue, "This was really selfish, you know that? I was so worried for you Tommy, so worried," he can hear a quiet 'what the fuck' on the line, "but you can make it up to me if you just come back to Logsted with me, I'll even help you rebuild if you're good."
"FUCK YOU," Tommy screams, just now noticing the tears running down his face, "GO TO HELL. PRICK. STUPID BITCH. FUCK YOU-" he's cut off by a hand slapping across his face. He can feel the bruise forming already.
"Don't make this hard on me Tommy," Dream growls, hand on the hilt of his sword, "I'm only helping you." Tommy holds the side of his face with one hand, the communicator in the other, and glares at Dream with everything he can muster.
"I said, fuck-" he doesn't have time to finish his sentence before Dream unsheathes his sword and holds it to his neck, taking a step back to hold the sword at full length.
"Tommy," Dream says lowly, "come with me and I won't punish you, yeah?" The reminders of the punishments he got for disobeying Dream flood his mind involuntarily. Every time he talked back, a burnt-out torch pressed against his shoulder. Every time he resisted his belongings being destroyed there was a punch to the face. Days without food, days without human contact. Waking up drowning, staring into lava lakes, tall towers-
He brings himself back to reality with the feeling of Dream grabbing his arm harshly, pulling him away from the corner and causing him to drop the communicator. "What the fuck are you doing?" Dream growls, "What the-" Dream laughs, near hysteric, "of course you called Technoblade you son of a bitch-" Dream turns sharply, fist pulled back and then connecting sharply with Tommy's nose. There's no crack, but he feels the pressure build around his eyes and he knows the bruises won't look pretty in the morning. Tommy stumbles back, tripping over the couch and landing harshly on the floor. There's a snap of metal and plastic and Tommy forces his already bruising eyes to open and watch Dream stomp on his communicator until it's just pieces ground into the floorboards. Dream's already on top of him, pulling him up by the collar. Memories of drowning and lava and towers contrasting those of Phil's hugs and Ghostbur's blue and Techno's prideful smile that's directed at him is enough to encourage Tommy to struggle with all the energy he can muster.
"Who would'a thought that a mere two months with the fucking Blood God could get a kid enough recovery time to undone everything I worked on," Dream's voice is tight with anger and anxiety, "I was hoping we could do this the easy way Tommy, you just had to make it hard on me, huh?! You were so close to being exactly where I needed you, too! Maybe another month and I would've had you in the palm of my hand, you just had to go and ruin it!" He spits in Dream's face and Dream's fist connects with his mouth. Tommy spits in his face again, blood this time. He won't let himself fall into the panic taking over his mind, not after fighting for weeks to stay afloat.
He fights against Dream; whether it's for Technoblade, Philza, Wilbur, or himself, he doesn't care. He has stared death in the face countless times and met her twice, he refuses to let this bastard be his downfall for a third and final time. Not again.
"I'm not your fucking puppet you sick son of a bitch!" Tommy screams, thrashing against Dream's hold, and hand sneaking underneath the couch next to him, "I'm not going back with you! Go to hell!" Dream reels his arm back again and hits Tommy repeatedly as Tommy blindly grabs around underneath the couch. Techno, ever paranoid even in retirement, kept weapons hidden everywhere. A sword just happened to be kept under the couch. Tommy would be damned if he just spent two of the hardest months of his life recovering just to go back to his abuser. He can feel the concussion forming from the multiple hits to his temples, Dream letting anger consume him, and not carrying about the serious damage head injuries can do, but it doesn't stop him from finding the hilt of the netherite sword.
He doesn't have any catchy joke, no big one-liner, to scream before he swings the sword across Dream's chest. Pinned below Dream and carrying the heavy sword in one hand, he doesn't get a good angle to fatally stab Dream, but the man was cocky enough to not wear armor, so the sword dragging across his chest does a satisfying amount of damage. He was hoping the day he finally got the courage to retaliate against his abuser would be marked with a nice quotable line, maybe something like his parting words to Eret, but he can say nothing as Dream gasps and collapses against him. He lets the satisfaction of karma roll over him for just a moment before shoving Dream off of him and making a break for the door.
Slamming open the cabin doors, he only has a millisecond to spot a blur of pink atop a horse before he feels glass shatter against his back. The scent of melon and sugar hits him and he thinks for a second that Dream threw the wrong potions before the smell of spiders overwhelms him and he crumbles. Wilbur always made sure he kept up on his brewing knowledge, it would always come in handy during war times. Now, it comes in handy when he can recognize the distinct scent of slowness and harm.
He hears someone scream his name but pain overwhelms his senses. Wilbur refused to let them use instant damage potions in the war for independence; he said it was cowardly and cruel to use something so powerful and painful. Now he can understand why Wilbur said that as he can think of nothing but the pain covering his body. He curls himself around the sword he still manages to hold onto with a white knuckle grip. Cracking open his bruised eyes he can see a shadow looming over him and he feels himself being lifted by the back of his shirt.
"I'm calling in that favor-" Dream says from behind him. Oh, it was Dream who was holding him. Fear would be flooding him if it weren't for the pain and haziness already in its place.
"You don't get to ask me shit!" Techno screams, practically roars. Tommy can't remember the last time he's heard him this angry. But that's not saying much, considering it's hard to focus on much of anything, nevertheless memories.
"I thought you were a man of your word, Techno," Dream says like he's chastising a small child. Tommy hears the distinct sound of a sword unsheathing and feels a blade against his neck. Finally having the energy to lift his head up he makes eye contact with Techno. Technoblade looks more terrified than Tommy has ever seen him.
To say Techno was terrified would be underselling it by a long shot. He doesn't think there's a word in any human language that can encompass just how petrified he is in that moment. Not when he was sure the Antarctic Empire would be forced to disband under international laws, not when Wilbur descended into madness, not when Phil drove a sword through his son, not even when he found Tommy in his basement. Because he could argue in defense of the Empire, Wilbur's descent ended up helping his political beliefs, Phil killing Wilbur hurt, sure, but wasn't something that he felt terrified about, and Tommy sick as all hell and trembling in his basement was something he could heal.
He couldn't fix this. Tommy had some kind of potion effects, slowness at the very least based on the particles and instant damage based on the pain he was in. He can't lunge for Tommy and grab him because Dream's got a sword against his throat. He can't debate or fight or mourn or heal his way out of this.
When he got the call from Tommy he had just reached the village. At first, he was a little upset that the kid didn't call him earlier, to make the travel go by faster, but then the tidal waves of voices flooded his head. PICK UP, DREAM, DREAMS AT THE CABIN, they screamed, SAVE TOMMY, HELP TOMMY, PROTECT TOMMY. He was jumping back onto Carl's saddle and heading home before he even picked up. Sometimes the voices lied just to mess with him, but he wouldn't take the chance, not with this. The background noise of Dream screaming, occasionally punctuated by Tommy's curses (pride weaseled its way over the fear when he heard Tommy stand up against Dream) or sounds of a fight. When the call cut out he sent Phil a message and didn't bother to wait for a response.
Technoblade: getto cabin ow dream
Now, he stands in front of a nearly limp Tommy held at knifepoint by a manic looking Dream and he prays that Phil somehow swoops down at that very second and saves them both. Obviously, Phil doesn't, but it doesn't hurt to dream. (Hah, isn't that ironic)
"Nothing to say to that, Techno?" Dream cackles, "No fancy speeches? Not gonna tell me to die like a hero?" He can hear the grin behind Dream's mask, "Don't you remember that, Tommy? Techno never cared about you, he wanted you to die not even a few months ago. I wouldn't do that." Tommy struggles slowly against Dream's grip at that, still clearly in pain.
"Holdin' a knife to his neck kinda makes me think you want him dead," Techno tries to keep his voice level, and gives his hardest glare at the two small dots on Dream's mask, "but that might just be me."
"I'm doing this because Tommy doesn't know what's good for him," Dream's voice pitches back into that overly friendly tone, it makes Techno feel sick, "I'm doing this because I'm Tommy's friend," Techno watches as Tommy readjusts his grip on the sword that Techno somehow only just notices he has. Tommy flips it so he's holding it backwards, hilt pointing up and blade pointing behind him, pointing towards Dream. "Now, Tommy and I are gonna go back to Logsted, and you're going to-" Dream doesn't get to finish his sentence as Tommy drives the sword into his gut. Dream staggers back, sword dragging superficially against Tommy's neck in a shallow cut, collapsing to his knees and dropping Tommy. They both crumble, and Techno surges forward, gathering Tommy in his arms.
"Is he dead," Tommy mumbles, clutching Techno's shirt like a lifeline, "is he dead did I kill him. Please, Techno, make sure he's dead." Techno stands shocked for only a moment before pushing Tommy behind him and stumbling towards Dream. The man was hunched over himself on his knees, holding himself up with his sword that he staked in the snowy ground. Dream glances up at him, clutching the wound in his stomach.
"Not even gonna kill me with honor, oh mighty Blood God?" Dream mocks, though the intimidation factor is lacking. Technoblade doesn't give him the decency of a reply, he simply stands over him and watches him bleed. Tommy stumbles to stand next to him, and they both watch as Dream slumps forward completely, before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Techno wasn't expecting him to be on his last life, but knowing the man wasn't permanently dead was still unsatisfying. Glancing at Tommy, however, and see the vindication on his face was satisfying enough in itself.
They say nothing to each other as Tommy leans against Techno and the two stumble back into the cabin, leaving the sword stabbed into the ground. The cabin is surprisingly put together, all things considered. Techno was expecting more signs of a struggle, but all he finds are the crushed remnants of a communicator, and the couch and coffee table are slightly out of place. He sets Tommy onto the couch, nudges the table and couch back in place, and picks up the pieces of metal. It looks like nothing had changed since that morning.
It was disappointing, in a sense, that something so drastic had happened yet the world seemed calm. It felt like the world should stop to cheer for Tommy, praise him for overcoming Dream, for taking his life back into his own hands. The world still spun, and no one clapped, but it was justice nonetheless.
"Techno," Tommy's voice, cracking and quiet, pulls him out of his thoughts, "did I kill Dream?"
"...Yeah, you did," there was no point in sugar-coating it. "Don't feel bad-"
"Good," Tommy snaps bitterly, "I'm glad he's dead. I'm glad," his voice wavers a bit, "I'm glad...I killed him and I'm glad," Tommy looks up at him with wet eyes, "I'm an awful person."
"No," Techno says quickly, "he hurt you. He killed you, twice. He deserved every bit of that, Tommy, you are not an awful person." Tommy opens his mouth but the fluttering of wings and the slam of feet on the porch cuts him off. The door swings open and there stands Phil, sword in hand and tears in his eyes. He gives a frantic look around the cabin and after looking between Techno and Tommy a few times, stumbles to the couch and pulls Tommy into his arms.
"Oh my gods I got Techno's message and I tried to leave the meeting but Tubbo kept questioning me so I just flew off but when I got here I saw the sword and the blood and-" Phil's own sob cuts him off and Techno sighs, he didn't even think of how the scene outside would look to Phil, "Gods, Tommy, you're okay. You're okay."
"I killed him, Dad," Tommy mumbles into Phil's chest and Techno can hear Phil choke on a sob once more, "I- I killed him and I'm glad. I couldn't go back. I wouldn't."
"Good," Phil whispers, pressing a kiss on top of Tommy's head, "I'm glad, too." Phil looks up at Techno and he doesn't even have to say anything before Techno's tripping over his feet to fall into Phil's embrace. The three of them sit on the couch, Techno and Tommy practically in Phil's lap like they're children again as Phil wraps his wings around them to shield them from the world. Maybe the world didn't stop, but sitting together as a family, Tommy finally free of Dream's grasp, was enough.
Techno doesn't move until his legs are asleep and he thinks he'll piss himself from how long they've been sitting there. He gets up and makes them dinner while Tommy and Phil stay seated on the couch. Tommy's mumbling something and Techno doesn't try to eavesdrop, because he hears Phil quietly reassuring the boy and decides to give them their privacy. Walter wiggles his way in between the two and Techno can hear his purrs all the way across the room. At some point, Ghostbur wanders in and complains about the red on the lawn, how it conflicts with the blue he loves sharing, and joins Tommy and Phil on the couch. Techno hands out dinner and he listens as Ghostbur tells them stories of what he did that day, or what he did last week, or retells childhood memories like they just happened. Techno can't find himself to care because it feels so much like their childhood home in Phil's cabin servers away. The world spins.
He watches as Tommy stays with Phil the entire day, and seems jumpier for the next week. He comforts Tommy when he has his nightmares and writes down more observations in The Tommy Book. He hears Tommy whisper and sobs his fears and regrets to Phil on quiet nights. He watches as Tommy takes five steps backwards in recovery after the Dream's appearance, and then takes ten more forward.
Techno thinks back to when he confided in the cleric that he was terrified that if Tommy relapsed again, there would be no bringing him back. That there was no way he could come back from the first Dream incident, and if something remotely similar (how similar the situation would be, Techno wouldn't know yet) happened, Tommy would fall too far off the deep end and into lava lakes and off of towers and drown. But Tommy defied gods and clerics and dads and brothers like he always did, and recovered. There were slip-ups, bad days, relapses, and parts of Tommy that would never be the same, but they persevered. Recovery is funny like that, it's tedious and nonlinear and slow, but Techno was retired. He had all the time in the world to make sure his little brother never fell too far.