The morning of the long-awaited day arrived. Techno was sleeping in the loft, Phil was in the rocking chair, and Wilbur and Tommy slept peacefully on the couch. Tommy was the first one up, which is unusual for him. He slipped off the couch, grabbing a handful of pipe cleaners and other art materials, tip-toeing quietly to the door. He opened it just enough so he could get through, then closed it without a sound. He shoved some boots on that Phil got him and stepped off the porch onto the earthy ground, covered in a cloak of yellow, red, and orange leaves. The air was refreshing to breathe in, and he understood why Wil liked to go for walks; it was invigorating just to be outside.

He crunched through the leaves as he made his way across the land, searching for the group of pine trees that he knew were there. He reached to trees, only to find most of the pinecones were buried beneath the leaves. Tommy made an effort to find the perfect four, digging through piles of leaves and finding cones without bugs inhabiting them. He knew his idea of making a pinecone family was childlike, but he didn't want to get them something storebought. He wasn't a crafty person, but he was able to make four pinecone people out of the pinecones. One pinecone was Phil; it had on a little green and white striped umbrella hat, which Tommy thought resembled the one Phil had quite nicely. A second one was Techno, adorned with a small crown that Tommy had applied with a bit of sap from a nearby tree. A third pinecone was Wilbur. Wilbur's had a red beanie (the heel of what used to be a red sock) and something that matched what a guitar would look like. The fourth pinecone was himself, though he didn't know what to put on it. Tommy settled on a tiny knife. When he was finished with them, he set the four pinecones in front of him, proud of his handiwork.

-

Wilbur woke up after realizing the empty space he had on the couch. He called Tommy's name out quietly at first to see if he was in the house. There was no reply. Wilbur threw on a jacket and opened the door loudly, waking Philza.

"What's going on Wil?" Phil asked sleepily, then not seeing Tommy, he asked, "Where's Tommy?" Techno jumped to the ladder from his spot on the loft when he heard Phil's last question.

"What do you mean, 'where's Tommy?'" He asked, reaching the ground and grabbing his ax from somewhere. Wilbur just stood, yearning to go search for the boy. He impatiently and quickly spoke, "I don't know. I just woke up and Tommy wasn't with me." Wilbur stepped out, the air swirling bitterly around him. He was about to put on a pair of boots but stopped as he saw Tommy dawdling around with pinecones in his hands. The young boy looked so joyful as his blue eyes landed on Wilbur.

"Good-morning!" He called out, running up to him.

Wil sighed out of relief, "I thought something had happened to you, Tommy."

The blonde grinned, "I just went for a walk," he informed him. They both went back inside, the three oldest relieved that nothing terrible had occurred. Tommy handed Phil his pinecone with a pleased smile, "This is for you." Phil smiled, giving Tommy a side-hug and thanking him. Tommy walked over to Techno, handing him the Techno pinecone, "This one's yours." Techno's face was unquestionably pleased as he beamed at, his joy radiating off him (which is more unusual than Tommy waking up early), "I love it!" Techno declared, bringing the pinecone up to his eyes to observe it more carefully. Tommy laughed at his reaction, then went to Wil, who sat smiling widely at the scene. "This is yours, Wil." Wilbur, though he wasn't as intrigued as Techno was, appreciated the gift nonetheless, ruffling the boy's hair to express his thanks.

Once Techno was done admiring his pinecone and had returned to the Techno they knew best, he went to the corner of the cabin where his carving was wrapped. He sat down and directed their attention to the object he was holding.

"I made a carving for us all. Um..." he didn't know what else to say, so he just unwrapped it, revealing the elegant wood carving. The other three all gasped, entranced by it.

"You did so well, Techno!" Tommy let out excitedly. Phil examined the carving from his seat, cherishing all the little details.

"That is some fine work you did there," Phil said, agreeing with Tommy's comment. Wilbur felt the wood, running his finger over all the little creases in it, "So cool, Techno," Wil breathed, mesmerized by the figure.

They found a place to set the carving and the pinecone family, then Wilbur offered to sing his song for them. He grabbed his guitar and picked the familiar melancholy tune that he had taught Tommy not long ago. He sang along to it, complimenting the melancholy tune with his bittersweet voice. When he had finished, the other three erupted in applause, making Wilbur shine his shy sideways smile across his face.

"I also got you all some gifts," he went to get the tote bag that held the items in them, he grabbed the pack of jars and gave them to Phil, who thanked him with a grateful smile. He handed a small box to Tommy who untied a ribbon and opened it, revealing a knife tucked in a sheath.

"Wilbur!" Tommy whispered. The boy looked at Wil with wide eyes before gifting him a tight hug, "Thank you!" Wilbur patted his back, laughing at the boy's joyfulness. After the hug, he got up and kneeled by the couch, looking under it. Wil slid a box out from underneath it that held Techno's gift. Phil and Tommy glanced at each other, already knowing what was inside. Whenever Techno left the house to do whatever he did, Wilbur would pull out the fabric for the cape and start working on it.

Wilbur handed the box to Techno, who peered under the lid before opening it completely. He blinked when he saw the cape folded neatly in the box. His eyes met Wilbur's, "You made this?" Wil nodded, a grin growing on his face. Techno stared back down at the cape, taking it out of the box and carefully unfolding it. He stood and fastened the cape around himself.

"Long live the king!" Tommy shouted, breaking the silence and making everyone laugh.

Evening came, and so did the feast. Phil had made a dinner of baked chicken, garlic and rosemary roasted potato fingerlings, salad, a loaf of homemade sweet bread, and a jar of dill pickles they grabbed off a shelf. He followed the dinner with a dessert of angel food cake that they topped with mixed berries or canned peaches.

The rain beat against the roof, but they weren't bothered as they all gathered on the couch. Tommy leaned his head against Wil, who put his head against Techno, who leaned against Phil, who put his arm around Techno. The furnace crackled, and the thunder responded with a distant rumble, sending them all off into their dreams...

~~~~~

*Sniffle*

This might be one of my favorite stories so far...

Thank you all for reading this fluff story, I'm so happy that you decided to read it and stick with it. I appreciate you all so so so so much, and I hope you are all still doing well and staying safe :) I wuv you <3 <3 <3