Chapter Text
Wilbur Soot and Technoblade were twins. Identical twins, in fact. They’ve always been together, since the very, very beginning. Most days, it was absolutely impossible to tell which one was which, no matter how hard you tried. Everything from their hairstyle to their outfits and their jewellery would match. The only prominent difference between them was their personalities, which tended to be quite the opposite of each other. Sure, the two caused chaos, tons, but they did it in very different ways. The only other difference was their voices, however they tended to alter them to sound the same anyways. The only way for a normal person to tell them apart would be talking to them, or making them speak. No one could guess right on the first try, not when they were really trying.
No one, except for TommyInnit.
Tommy was a ball of absolute chaos and sunshine packed into a child’s body. He had been adopted into their family when the blonde was only six years old, when Phil brought him home one day. When the twins first met Tommy, they weren’t very happy about it. They were sure that Tommy wouldn’t stay for long, that they could scare him away. They didn’t want nor need another sibling, they were fine as they were. Just them and Phil. But what caught them off guard was that the six year old could tell them apart instantly. He would always tell one apart from the other, no matter how hard the twins tried. And oh boy did they try.
The twins loved pranking people with their appearances, their pranks ranging from little things such as switching meals or training sessions to literally living the other’s life for extended periods of time. And everyone always fell for it. Even Phil, who tried so desperately, couldn’t tell them apart when the twins were set on pranking the man. They loved chaos, and they were smart enough to pull it off. They were already extremely intelligent on their own, but it seemed like it multiplied when they were together. Along with an extra dose of absolute mischief. There wasn’t a single time when one of their pranks failed nor backfired.
Until that day. After Tommy managed to tell them apart the very first time, they were taken aback, but deemed it as a fluke. But the little boy did it again, and again, and again. The twins would try loads of things, from switching personalities to just being completely silent for hours on end. Some pranks would go on for days, even weeks sometimes. Everything just to fool a six year old that simply couldn’t be fooled. Phil would always laugh at them, insisting that Tommy was simply special, when in reality he himself had no idea how the blonde did it. The twins would also try simpler approaches, such as kneeling down to Tommy, and asking.
“Hey, Tommy. Who am I?”
They would take turns asking the same question, even after Tommy answered correctly every time. Eventually, the six year old would get sick of it.
“Hey Tommy, who am I?” Wilbur said, trying to sound as monotone as possible, and trying not to smile.
Tommy blinked at him. “You’re a bitch.”
Techno burst out laughing. Wilbur put his head in his hands.
Yeah, maybe the kid wasn’t so bad.
For the next few years, the questions “how do you do that?” and “how? Just, how?” were the ones Tommy heard the most while at home. Even after years, Tommy could still tell one twin apart from the other without missing a beat. But he dodged the questions every time, only replying with; “I just know.”, leaving the twins unsatisfied every time.
Once, when he was twelve, they even sat him down in the dark kitchen, shining a flashlight at him as if it were an interrogation. Tommy shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“TommyInnit.” Tommy jumped at the sudden noise, but rolled his eyes when he realised who was speaking.
“Yes, Wilbur?” He said tiredly, letting his posture relax, his hands crossed on the table. He could’ve sworn he heard an angry “damnit” being muttered, but elected to ignore it.
“I suppose you know why you have been brought here?” Wilbur spoke, shining the flashlight directly at Tommy’s face. The younger boy’s face scrunched up as a result.
“What the fuck, man?” He said, getting up out of the chair, only to be pushed back down by another person. He sighed and turned slowly only to be met with Technoblade. Tommy groaned, leaning back in the chair, arms crossed in annoyance.
Wilbur winced slightly and shined the flashlight a bit lower, the light circling around Tommy’s neck instead. It actually created a possibly better effect, according to Wilbur. “Sorry.” He added sheepishly. “But you haven’t answered my question. Also, watch the cursing.”
Tommy sighed, rolling his head back. “I just know, Wil—“
Before Tommy could say anything else, he was interrupted by Wilbur banging his fist on the table. “No, no.” He said, Tommy looking at him with a confused expression. “Your ‘I just know’ won’t cut it this time, prick.”
Tommy stared at him for a moment. First of all, he just told him not to curse and then called him a prick. Idiot. Second of all, why was Wilbur so desperate about this? He looked up at Techno, who was only looking back at him with pure determination in his eyes. If he hadn’t known any better, he would’ve said that this is the most emotion he’s seen any sign of in the man since forever.
The blonde sighed again, placing both hands on the table in front of him, eyes set on his brother. “Well, what d’you want me to say then, bitch boy?” He asked, refraining from laughing. Wilbur rolled his eyes at the antics, gripping the flashlight tighter in his hand.
“I want you to tell me how.” He said simply, eyes focused on the blonde, who was now smirking. “How do you tell us apart, and so quickly?”
Tommy opened his mouth to reply with the same reply again. They weren’t going to get him to talk, they didn’t before and they won’t now. But before he could make anything more than a sound, the monotone voice of his other brother cut him off. Tommy leaned his head backwards to look at him.
“This is important, Toms, we need this information.” He said, face blank. Tommy blinked at him. Toms? He’s never been called that by Technoblade before. Wilbur, sure, but not Techno. Damn, this bitch must be desperate. He raised an eyebrow at Techno before looking back at Wilbur, who seemed to be… silently cursing Techno out? Ah, so he said something he wasn’t supposed to, then.
Tommy smiled. “Why are you so desperate about this, all of a sudden? You weren’t this desperate before.” Tommy smirked wider and clicked his tongue, knowing full well that he was pissing Wilbur off. That was the fun, innit?
Wilbur took a deep breath before smiling right back at Tommy. “Listen, we’ve got a bet with Dream to uphold—“ Wilbur began, before promptly being cut off by Tommy’s whining.
“Of course this is about another one of Dream’s fuckin’ bets. I don’t give a damn about whatever he offered you or whatever public humiliation you’re getting, I’m not saying shit.” Tommy said, voice strangely clear. He would never admit to it, but Tommy was terrified of Dream. He wasn’t a bad person or anything, he just intimidated Tommy. Big bad teenager who likes to humiliate people.
Tommy heard Techno sigh behind him. “I told you it wouldn’t work, Wil. Tommy might be stupid but not this stupid.” Tommy shot him a look, mouthing a ‘hey!’ to which he only got an amused huff in response. Wilbur, on the other hand, put the flashlight down and got closer to Tommy, a pleasing look on his face.
“Please, Tommy? For your big brother Wilby?”
Tommy blushed from embarrassment at the old nickname. He had accidentally said it while tired around two years ago, and he hasn’t heard the end of it since. Tommy stuttered over his words, the only thing coming out of his mouth being choked back noises. “N-no! Stop that, you p-prick!” He managed, growing redder at the second as Wilbur smiled at him.
“Tommy, don’t call your brother a prick.”
All of the kids’ eyes turned to the doorway as the kitchen lights turned on. There stood Phil, looking like he had just woken up. Tommy straightened up, pushing out of Techno’s grip.
“But he called me a prick first!” Tommy defended, shaking his head. “Plus they’re literally interrogating me! Tell them to stop, dad!” He pulled the fringe of his hair down over his face, desperately trying to cover the embarrassment blush underneath.
Phil looked up, glancing at one twin then the other, before shaking his head. He sighed, looking back at Tommy. “Why don’t you get to bed? It’s late already and I’m sure you don’t want to miss out on sleep? You want to be a big man, don’t you?”
Tommy looked up at him, blowing his hair out of his face. “Fuck yeah! Big man needs his big man sleep!” He said proudly, stomping off. “Language, Tommy!” Phil yelled over his shoulder, receiving what sounded a muffled “sorry..” in return.
He then turned back to the twins, who were now anxiously standing next to each other behind the table.
“What did we say about interrogating your brother?”
“Sorry, Dad.”
Tommy smiled fondly at the memory. That was only four years ago, yet so much has happened since then that it feels like much longer than that. The twins don’t even look like twins anymore, and they interact horribly little. Wilbur keeps his distance from practically everyone, and Techno has long gone and dyed his hair pink. Fucking pink, seriously? Tommy thinks he looked much better with brown, for the record.
He doesn’t think the rest of the server even knows about their family being actual family. Sure, they’ve called each other family before but he doesn’t think anyone ever took it seriously. The only person that Tommy knows that knows about the family is Tubbo, as he grew up with them as well.
Tommy wasn’t sure where their family stood at this point in time. He loved all members of his family, and he… he knew they thought the same. However, if the twins were separated, did he really know anything at all? All his life, not once did he see Techno and Wil separate for any longer than a day. Now, the only time they interact with each other is when Techno comes by to drop off supplies to Pogtopia. Even then, the only interactions they have are simple nods of… understanding? Acknowledgment? Anger??
Tommy knows his family, and Tommy doesn’t.
One thing he does know, is that he’s prepared for anything.
Tommy was, in fact, not prepared for this.
“Seriously, you two?!” He yelled over the smoke. There was no reply, his voice lost and barely audible over the sound of explosions. Tommy stomped past piles of rubble, heading towards the muffled yelling he could just make out. His ears were ringing and they were fucking loud.
Tommy waved the smoke out of his face, trying to make out the scene in front of him unfold as his hearing became clearer.
“—important, Wilbur!” A female voice rang out, and Tommy was quick to realise it was Niki. He squinted, struggling to see. Wilbur? But he was on the other side of the battlefield…
There was more shouting from Niki, along with other people, but Tommy blocked them out. He pushed to the front of the crowd, he wanted to see what was going on. He thought he heard his name a few times as he pushed past, but ignored them. Tommy could talk with them later. Eventually, before he could fully make sense of the situation, his arm was pulled. He wheeled around to see who it was, his eyes being met with Niki. Apparently, she was the one that had been shouting his name multiple times prior.
“What do you think you’re doing, Tommy? You could get hurt!” She said, trying to yell over the explosions in the background. Tommy frowned. “First of all, we’re in a war, Niki! Second of all, what’s even going on?!” He yelled back, making Niki flinch back slightly. Oops, maybe a bit too loud then.
“Wilbur’s gone rogue, Tommy! He’s about to spawn withers!” Niki yelled, pointing somewhere behind Tommy. Tommy turned to see where she was pointing. What the fuck does she mean withers? Wilbur fucking hates withers!
”What did withers ever do to you? Techno’s voice echoed. “Withers are great.”
”They haven’t done anything to me.” Wilbur said. “They’re just ugly is all. And loud.
”So are you.” Came younger Tommy’s voice from behind him.
”Tommy!”
Tommy shook his head at the memory. But he was right, Wilbur hates withers, but someone else doesn’t.
He lifted his head to exactly where Niki was pointing, seeing the figure of his brother, in all his glory.
Except it wasn’t Wilbur.
No, that was Technoblade. The ‘I dyed my hair pink because I’m quirky’ Technoblade. But there he was, hair short and perfectly brunette. It really did look like Wilbur, but Tommy knew. They must have planned this beforehand, not letting Tommy in on it.
These fucking bitches.
Tommy wriggled his hand out of Niki’s grasp and stomped towards his brother, despite Niki calling for him. He stood in front of the crowd, taking a deep breath.
“TECHNOBLADE FUCKING WATSON!”
The loud sounds coming from everywhere died down after his voice rang out, and his eyes met his brothers. Tommy felt the eyes of the entire crowd on him, but he was focused on Techno. Techno raised his eyebrows in fake surprise, before grinning at Tommy. God, that was weird to see from Technoblade.
“Techno? What do you mean, Tommy?” Techno said, somehow managing to copy Wilbur’s tone of speech perfectly after all this time. “Do I look like Technoblade to you?” He added, tilting his head slightly as Tommy scoffed and stomped closer to him, not losing eye contact. Techno was still smiling, and it was starting to piss Tommy off.
“Yes, actually.” Tommy said, his tone matching the monotone one of his older brother. There was a beat of silence, and Tommy heard a yell from the crowd, but he couldn’t quite recognise who it was. Someone he didn’t know, probably a citizen?
“Are you blind, Tommy?!”
Tommy didn’t turn to look at the crowd, eyes still locked with Techno, who was now struggling not to laugh. Ah, so not much has changed, clearly. Tommy squinted slightly before sighing. “I’m not playing these fucking games with you, Techno.” He said flatly, reaching up and grabbing his brother by the ear, pulling him down. Techno tried to protest, and Tommy smiled. ”I just know.” Techno stopped struggling.
Tommy scanned the crowd in front of him in search for the other twin, but couldn’t quite spot him in the crowd of shocked faces. He took another deep breath. “WILBUR SOOT! YOUR LITTLE FUCKING SCHEME FAILED, COME THE FUCK OUT!” He yelled, making most people in the crowd flinch back. Nothing happened for a few moments, so Tommy sighed again. “I KNOW YOU’RE NEARBY, WILBY!”
There was a slight sound of rustling and suddenly Wilbur was rushing to Tommy’s side. “Did you just call me Wilby??” He panted, out of breath. Tommy looked him up and down disappointedly and then grabbed him by the ear as well. ”Ow ow ow TOMMY!”
Tommy pulled them both in front of the crowd as Wilbur struggled. Techno seemed strangely content with being pulled. Tommy looked at the crowd, which was only watching him intently, completely silent. He pushed Techno forward, earning a ”bruhhh.”
Tommy rolled his eyes. “This is Technoblade.” He began, and some murmuring was heard from among the crowd. He stopped for a moment, and then pushed Wilbur forward. “And this is Wilbur.” He let go of the two, dusting his hands off. “Learn it off if you want to avoid their tricks, alright?” He was met with no distinct answer, so he simply nodded and with that, left the scene.
The twins watched as he left, and then turned back to the crowd, Wilbur smiling sheepishly. “Uh… hi?” He muttered, giving a small wave. The crowd erupted into yelling and questions. Wilbur flinched back significantly, and Techno gave an eyebrow raise.
“Okay okay, one question at a time!” Wilbur yelled frantically, waving his hands in front of him. The crowd quietened down slightly.
“So you’re Wilbur?!” Someone yelled, from the back of the crowd. Wilbur nodded. “Yes, that’s me.” Wilbur replied, putting his hands down. “The person next to me is my brother, Technoblade. We’re twins.” He said.
The crowd erupted into yelling again.
“What do you mean you’re twins?!” Jack yelled, significantly louder than the whole crowd. Wilbur raised an eyebrow as Techno scoffed. “Like… twins. You know… family? Siblings?” Techno said, shrugging. Wilbur nodded. “And actually, Tommy is the only one who could tell us apart when we were kids. Still not sure how he did it.” Wilbur said, smiling slightly at the mention of his sassy little brother.
“TOMMY’S A PART OF THIS TOO?!” Someone yelled, and Wilbur thought it was Fundy. Maybe Jack too. Then he chuckled. “Yeah, the little shit is our annoying little brother.” He said, his smile not leaving his face. He looked over at Techno, who was looking the other way, clearly also hiding a smile.
“And as you saw,” Wilbur started, “he can tell us apart, just like that. Not even our dad could do it that easily.” There was a moment of silence, before Niki spoke. “So… Tommy’s your brother, and all three of you are related?” She said, no longer yelling. Wilbur only nodded, and Techno groaned. “Yeah, that’s what we said. Are you deaf or somethin’?” He snapped, Wilbur chuckling slightly.
“We actually planned this before hand.” Wilbur started again after a moment. “Techno’s pink hair was wash-out dye. He’s been dyeing it for weeks.” Techno scoffed. “I ruined my perfectly good hair only to be found out by Tommy, again”
The people seemed to be processing the information. “So, why can Tommy tell you apart so easily? You said even your dad can’t?” Someone asked, from the middle of the crowd. Wilbur shrugged in response. “Dunno. Every time we ask he replies with ‘I just know’ and avoids all other questions.” He explained. “Even Phil doesn’t know how he does it. And you’d think he’d be the person to know.”
“What does Phil have to do with this?” Asked Jack, now leaning on Niki slightly.
Techno raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean? Phil’s our dad.”
“WHAT?!”