Two Days Later. . . 

Tommy laied on the bed he had woken up on, dull eyes looking out of the window as he sat in silence. Since he woke up, he hadn’t made any move to get out of bed, still processing the fact that those few weeks he had lived through were all something his mind had made up. It was all a dream. It was something that Tommy wished would become reality but couldn’t. He wouldn’t get his vengeance. He wouldn’t get to try and fix his family relationships. He would never get to see Wilbur again.

Wilbur was dead, and even if he wished he could bring his older brother back, he knew he couldn’t. His one wing moved behind him, stretching out and laying back down on his back. It made tears almost flood his eyes again. He had one wing, one useless wing that he had no use for anymore. His other one was chopped off by an axe, one that Dream held. He curled further into himself, his one wing acting as a shield from the outside world. He liked the make-believe dream his mind had conjured up, at least there he had both his wings gone. It was easier to accept with both gone. But now one remained, functional but useless on his back. 

Why did this have to be reality? He really preferred the other one, even if he had died in the end. At least he would have died happy. As his vision grew blurry, Tommy did nothing to wipe the tears away. It would do nothing anyways. New ones would replace the old ones, and Tommy would just have to repeat the action until his eyes grew dry. He doesn’t know how long he was sitting there before a knock sounded in the room. Tommy lifted his wing, looking towards the door with blurry vision, before going back to the curled-up pitiful state he was in originally.

Even though the avian never answered back, the door still opened. Someone entered the room, coming close to the bed before kneeling down. Blue eyes looked between Tommy’s wings, meeting his own tearful ones. Phil only sadly smiled, setting down a plate of food on his nightstand. 

“C’mon Tommy. You gotta eat something.” The bed dipped as the man sat on the edge. “You’re starving yourself. Techno’s getting worried about you.” A pause. “I’m worried about you.” Even though Philza’s voice only held calm and care, Tommy felt his heart twist and sour. He hissed, eyes narrowing at the other who only frowned at the other’s attitude. “Tommy-” Tommy flared open, almost hitting the older avian in the face as Tommy once again let out a horrid hiss. Philza had gone on edge from it, wings puffing up and opening in case the other blond decided to attack him. He watched the other, blue eyes watching the other tearful pair. Tommy had enough of him, of everything and everyone. More tears raked down his cheeks, his lips trembling as he forced himself to not start pathetically sobbing. 

“NO! Leave me alone! Let me die in peace!” Tommy could see the alarm in Philza’s eyes, his body going stiff as he looked toward the mess that was Tommy. It was silent for a long time, the teen only laying his head back down on to the bed to try and keep wallowing in his pain and sadness, only to have the older man grab his leg and yank him out of bed. Tommy slammed onto the floor, groaning at the pain it caused. He looked up, eyes glaring at the man above him. His own wings flared open as if daring Tommy to try and get up and fight him off. The teen knew it would be a long battle anyways.

Much like Tommy Philza’s wings had been damaged, and even if they were still healing, they looked as majestic and beautiful as he remembered from his childhood. He was sure soon that the blond would be able to soar through the clouds again. It was only a matter of time. Maybe that’s why jealousy grew in his stomach, making Tommy angrily glare at the other. “You’ve ruined my life, left me for dead! Why do you care all of the sudden, huh? You abandoned me, and then you just expect me to just welcome you with open arms or some shit?!” Tommy lifted himself off of the ground, his own one wing spreading out to try and intimidate the other. Philza watched, eyes cold and sad. 

“I don’t expect you to forgive me that easily, Tommy.” His voice was quiet and calm, making Tommy almost on edge with how he was acting. Alert, he watched and waited for the other avian to pounce and force him out of his house. It never came, and those cold eyes slowly turned warm and concerned. “As you said, I left you alone. I abandoned you when I should have been there by your side. But I wasn’t, and you suffered for that reason.” The older avian folded his wings, looking down towards the ground. “I’m sorry, and I hope in time you can find it in yourself to forgive me.” Tommy stayed quiet, his own wing settling into place as he crawled back into his bed. He was going to go back to mourn, but he was picked up before he could get settled, Philza kicking the door open as Tommy tried to thrash out of his arms. 

“GOD DAMNIT WILL YOU STOP AT NOTHING TO PISS ME OFF OLD MAN?” Tommy yelled out, his wing surly flapping in the others face. The elder only sighed, taking the two of them downstairs and into the dining room. Surprisingly, the room was just the same as it was in his dream, just like the bedroom had been. But it made no sense to him. How come he could imagine Technoblade’s house so accurately when he’s never been here? 

“Wait here, I’m gonna go get your food.” Phil said, making his way to exit the room to retrieve the food he had originally brought up for Tommy to eat. 

“Why’d you bring me down here?” Philza paused, looking behind himself with foggy blue eyes. 

“Because of what you said, Tommy. I refuse to let you die, and I plan to make sure you get better rather than worse.” Tommy looked towards the table, a frown forming on his face. It didn’t make sense to him that Philza cared so much, but then again, the Phil in his dream had cared about his wellbeing too, no matter how mean and rude he had been towards him. Would this Phil be like that, too? He scoffed, leaning back in his chair as he folded his arms over his chest, cold blue eyes meeting the saddened blue. 

“Yeah, whatever.” With a small smile Philza left, leaving Tommy alone. Or at least he thought he was. Techno hummed from the kitchen, Tommy’s head whipping over to see Techno’s bored blue eyes as he sipped on some coffee. 

“Wondered when Phil was gonna force ya out of bed.” The pinkette said, making his way to the dining table from the kitchen counter. He sat down, sighing as he relaxed in his chair. He smiled at him. “It’s good to see you up and moving, Theseus.” Tommy looked at the other, from his smile to his soft eyes. It was too much like the made-up Techno, the Techno he created that cared about him and wanted to protect him. His smile was just as kind, eyes just the same, and the nickname alone made Tommy want to curl up and die in his seat. 

“Don’t call me that, please.” Techno only stared, taking another sip of his drink before setting the cup down. 

“Okay, I won't call you Theseus anymore.” He agreed, the room becoming awkward after the conversation. Tommy refused to look at the other, instead picking at his fingers to ignore the piglin hybrid altogether. It didn’t stop Techno from staring at him with examining eyes, probably trying to figure out why Tommy was acting the way he was. Both Tommy’s and Technoblade’s heads jerked up when Philza re-entered the room, setting a plate down in front of the teen avian. It was now that he got a good look at what they were feeding him, seeing some steak and mashed potatoes. 

“There, now c’mon you need to eat. You haven’t eaten since you woke up.” Philza crossed his arms as he spoke, looking towards the teen with expecting eyes. Tommy almost felt sick as he stared at it, biting his bottom lip as he picked up the fork on the plate. He hadn’t eaten much during exile, he’d be lucky to get a full meal for just one day. Now, seeing the lunch? Dinner? In front of him, he can’t help from feeling the need to gag. 

But why? He never felt that way when he was in his dream, always eating with no problem when food was given to him. How come his stomach seemed to want to reject even the idea of eating now? He poked at his mashed potatoes, hearing a cough from above he saw Philza watching him. His blue eyes held concern, even if he tried to trick Tommy with a smile when the blond looked up. He looked over towards Techno to see him even looking at Tommy with concern.

The only difference was he didn’t try and hide it. He gladly showed it with his pursed lips and creased brows as he watched the teen from his seat next to him. Looking away from the two, he bowed his head, licking his dry lips before scooping up some of the mashed potatoes up. He brought it to his lips and forced his lips to part for it, swallowing it seconds later. The nauseous feeling was growing. Even so, he knew the two were watching him, which made him uneasy. He looked up, scooping some more of his mashed potatoes onto the fork as he glared at them. 

“Can you two stop fuckin staring already?” Philza looked away, unfolding his arms as he turned towards the exit. 

“I’m gonna go and get some sleep, can you keep an eye on Tommy? I don’t want him accidentally injuring himself.” Techno hummed, letting the avian leave to go and sleep. Tommy only kept eating (even if his stomach protested) avoiding eye contact with his older brother. He isn’t the Techno his brain had made up, the one that cared and wanted to fix their relationship. He wasn’t the same Techno he wished he could have. A sigh made Tommy jump, blue eyes meeting Techno’s own. 

“Seems you’ve been a handful for dad, huh?” Tommy only shrugs, silence filling the dining room once again. He kept forcing food down his throat before Techno grabbed his hand to stop him from shoveling any more into it. He glared, ready to yell at the pinkette before seeing his eyes. They held care and concern, something that made Tommy want to curl up and die. It seemed he wanted to do that a lot recently. “You can stop.” 

“Wha-” 

“No, forcing yourself to eat more than you can handle is only going to do more damage than good Toms.” Toms. Tommy bit back the angry feeling he felt, instead letting his fork drop out of his hand. “It’s ok if you can’t eat it all. It’s good to see you eating at all.” 

“I should be able to eat it all.” Tommy grumbles out. The hand that was holding his wrist let go, instead lifting up to ruffle Tommy’s hair. He had a smile on his face, a long sigh leaving his lips. 

“And eventually you will. It can’t be easy from going to no or little food to being able to have three meals a day again.” Tommy glared towards the pinkette who finally took his hand away from him, planting it onto the table where it was before. 

“How do you know I wasn’t eating during exile?” Techno’s smile left his face, eyes turning foggy. 

“When I picked you up, you were too light. Philza only confirmed it when he came over and looked you over. Said you probably haven’t had a decent meal since before exile even.” Techno mumbles out. “So how long has it been since you’ve properly eaten?” Tommy’s lips became a thin line, trying to reach back into his memory for the information the other wanted. it shouldn't have been that difficult to figure out.

“Dunno, has always been on and off. And with all the battles and wars it’s hard to keep track of when and when you haven’t eaten.” Tommy began. “Even after Pogtopia, I don’t think I ever got on a proper schedule, now that I think of it. So, to be honest, probably sometime before the first war.” Tommy just shrugs, brows furrowing as he took in that information himself. He’s always skipped days, sometimes days in a row before he let himself eat. It only got worse when he joined exile. He’d always been that way, and he survived doing that. He always had enough food then, if he skipped days and ate full meals on others. His body had gotten used to that, and Tommy never saw any problems with that method. But now, looking back, he remembers days where he felt nauseous at the thought of eating, even the smell making Tommy gag. This has happened before. “It’s been a long time…” Tommy whispered, his arms folding in front of his chest as he curled up in his chair. Techno stayed quiet, as if letting the information soak into his brain as well. 

“I’m sorry Tommy.” Said boy looked up when Techno said that, seeing the glossy eyes he now held. “We should have been there for you, we should have forced you to come with me when I left to live out here.” Technoblade sighed, leaning back in his chair. “You shouldn’t have to go through any of this.” 

“It’s fine. Wilbur kept me safe for as long as he could. It wasn’t as bad as you guys might think it was.” Tommy whispered out, once again picking at his fingers, watching as some skin peeled away. Even if he tried to distract himself with the pain he was inflicting on himself, watching pearls of blood begin, his vision once again grew blurry. “I was fine until Wilbur died.” He whispered out, his bloody fingers balling into fists. 

“It wasn’t though. This started way before either me or Philza thought. You haven't been eating properly for a long time, Toms. And that's not good.” Techno calmly said though he could hear the hints of panic in his voice too. “I’m so sorry, Tommy. I should have shown up sooner- Me and dad shouldn’t have left you and Wilbur in the first place.” Techno said, his hands burying his face as he leaned forward, elbows resting on the table. “We shouldn’t have left.” 

“But you did.” Tommy numbly said, blue eyes once again turning dull. “You left and me and Wilbur had to fend for ourselves because you two left.” Tommy couldn’t stop the tears, his fingers ripping into his flesh. “You left me, and I didn’t even know why!” Everything was quiet as Tommy cried, the blond now even attempting to reach up and wipe the tears away. Techno stared at Tommy, eyes flickering red. 

“Tommy.” The boy looked up at him. “Tommy, let me see your hands.” Tommy looked down, seeing the bloody mess that they have become. He blinked, surprised as he stared at what he had done. Techno reached out, grabbing Tommy’s arm and forcing his hand into view. The piglin hybrid looked stunned, letting go and leaving the dining room quickly. Tommy only cried more, lifting his bloody hands up to see the damage he had done more clearly.

What was wrong with him? He didn’t want to hurt himself this badly. He had just wanted to get his mind off of… everything else. He shouldn't have hurt himself that badly. The pain was an easy distraction, something that Tommy had learned early on in life. He looked up when Technoblade re-entered, a health potion in one hand and in the other disinfectant supplies with bandages. Tommy stayed quiet as Techno handed Tommy the health potion, the boy taking it with no argument and gulping it down. It didn’t take long for Techno to grab one of Tommy’s hands, beginning to disinfect and bandage the self-inflicted wounds. After a few more minutes of silence other than (Tommy’s crying) he began to speak. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry-” Techno hushed him. 

“You have nothing to be sorry for. I should be the one apologizing, Toms.” Tommy looked towards his lap, more tears and pitiful choked-back sobs and sniffles leaving his lips. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you, I’m sorry I left, I’m sorry that I just left you behind. I should have been there, I shouldn’t have NOT been there for you, both me and dad. It wasn’t fair to you or Wilbur, and you two paid for the decision that me and dad had made.” Techno began to finally bandage up Tommy’s first hand. “I’m not making that mistake again, I’m not leaving you’re side again. You hear me? I’m not leaving again.” The words made Tommy start crying again, this time not holding back his sobs, his body shaking as he took in those words. This Techno wanted to be there for him, apologized to him. It reminded him of his dream Techno, how he had apologized and promised to not leave Tommy’s side. And so, desperate, Tommy began to talk through his sobs and heaves for breath. 

“Y-your not g-gonna ab-abandon me again, r-right?” Techno was working on his other hand at this point, but he stopped as he looked into Tommy’s desperate, watery eyes. Techno himself looked on the verge of crying, which was unusual to see from the usually emotionless or bored-looking pinkette. 

“No, never again Tommy, never again.” he shook his head as he spoke, a sorrow-filled smile on his face. 

“Y-You p-promise?” Tommy choked out, forming his own wobbly smile. 

“I promise, I’m not leaving anytime soon, ok Theseus?” Tommy nodded, more nears leaving his eyes. He didn’t need to say he forgave Techno, it was obvious in the way he launched forwards and hugged techno, squeezing the other close as if he was some sort of lifeline, still crying as he buried his face into Techno’s chest. And even if blood still covered one of Tommy’s hands, Techno couldn’t help but hug the poor teen back. He felt that Tommy needed a hug right about now, and he was happy to be the person who gave him one.