That Night. . .

The silence got Tommy’s attention first, not how the golden field looked peaceful and untouched by the past that plagued the world when his eyes opened. It was refreshing for Tommy, and almost familiar as well. Almost as if he had been there before. His blue eyes looked it over, then a small smile formed on his lips. During his time as a kid, he loved the outdoors, and one of the many things he loved was this huge meadows and fields that had been outside of their old cottage before they moved to the Dream SMP in search of a family they could never have.

Tommy’s usually alert stance softened at the memories, almost like he could see himself gliding in the air over the fields, a young Wilbur not far behind with a small Fundy in his arms watching his younger brother with a smile. 

He felt a hand on his shoulder, yet he didn’t react how he thought he would when he felt it. He didn’t jump away, try and pull out some type of weapon from his inventory, or even look towards whoever it was. Maybe it was because of the peaceful environment he was in, an area he missed and just wanted to take in a few more minutes before it was ruined. “Do you remember this place.” It was a small whisper, but the voice was too familiar for Tommy to not smile brightly. He looked over to see Wilbur there, his round glasses perched on his nose as his own brown eyes looked off into the distance with a sweet look. He had his iconic yellow sweater on, but his trenchcoat was long gone. Something Tommy appreciated. “It was your favorite place to go, you used to drag me and Fundy both out into this field so you could try new tricks in the air and show them to me.” Tommy sighed, leaning into the others side as his arm wrapped around his shoulders. 

“I remember.” Tommy spoke, those two words seeming almost too hard for the blond to say. Wilbur smiled, his grip on the teen growing. 

“Good.” They stood in silence after that, both taking in the view as the nostalgia unfolded before them. Tommy could almost picture that small creek that he loved, it was the one where Wilbur taught him to fish at, and not long after Fundy. The fields where he and Tubbo would explore, taking a young Fundy along with them on occasion. It was the place where Tommy, had for the most part, grew up. “I miss this place.” Wilbur murmurs out, his smile turning into a flat line. Tommy’s heart squeezed, his own arm going to wrap around Wilbur’s middle in a side hug.  

“Why’d we go to Dream SMP anyways?” Tommy chuckled out, pain filling his voice as he turned towards the older. 

“We wanted a new start, remember?” Wilbur started. “We thought we could run away from our problems, only to create new ones. It didin’t solve much of anything, did it?” Tommy stayed quiet, his blue eyes looking away from the other and back towards the field in front of him. “Sometimes I wish I hadn’t found Dream SMP and just stayed put.” Wilbur admits. “I don’t understand why I thought a brand new start would fix anything, with our luck I should have known it would end the way it has.” Tommy frowns, looking down at his feet before saying anything to the older brother. 

“We couldn’t have known, you know that Wilbur. No one can see the future, that’s why so many call it a mystery.” Wilbur huffed a laugh, making Tommy himself smile. “Plus, we wanted out of that house, because for us it didn’t feel like a home. We wanted a home, Wilby. Not just a house we lived in.” A long pause followed that sentence. 

“I guess.” Wilbur whispered out. “I just wish I hadn’t picked Dream SMP.” Tommy bit at his bottom lip, his grip on his older brother tightening. He knew that Wilbur always wanted the best for both him, Fundy, and Tubbo. But for whatever reason Wilbur thought that meant they needed more than just him. Tommy was happy in the little cottage that had endless forests and beautiful fields and meadows to explore.

He wished he could go back to those days, the days where he could climb trees and dare Fundy and Tubbo to do the same, the nights where they would camp out in the woods for the fun of it, Wilbur strumming a song around a campfire as the three kids made s’mores. How he could fly through the sky and feel the sun of his face without the worry of being shot down at any moment. 

Tommy looked back towards Wilbur, who was looking down at the younger with the same questioning sparkle the avian had. “It’s not the same with you gone, you know?” Wilbur hummed, brown eyes darkening at the mention of his death. “Why’d you have to die, Wilbur?” A long pause filled the silence around them, Tommy staring up at Wilbur in hope for a answer. 

“I…” Wilbur’s mouth clamped shut as he looked back out to the field, his arm falling away from the younger brother's shoulders. Tommy was confused at first when Wilbur moved away and faced him, he himself turning to face the older in the process. His face looked soft but also sad before he started speaking, his brown eyes looking almost distant as he spoke. “I was in a dark place, I thought that all the server's problems were because of me and the country I had made.” Wilbur’s eyes finally met Tommy’s own. “It was only until it was too late that I realized I was wrong.” Tommy looked away, crossing his arms in the process. “I thought that you and everyone else would have been better off if I was gone.” 

“Well, you were wrong.” Tommy choked out. Wilbur’s arms once again embraced the other, tears trickling down Tommy’s scarred cheeks. 

“I know, I’m sorry little bird. I’m sorry for leaving you alone… I should have been there for you, I shouldn’t have been so… so-” 

“There’s no point in wishing for the past to change. We can’t change the past.” Tommy interrupted. Wilbur stood silent, his hold on the other tightening as if he was afraid to let go. 

“Yeah… yeah you’re right.” Wilbur chuckled out. “When did you get so wise?” Tommy smiled, a sniffle leaving him. 

“Dunno, kinda just happened.” Wilbur let out a laugh at that, pulling out of the hug to look at his little brother. His eyes dimmed a little at the sight of him, his smile slightly fading before he let out a tired sigh. 

“You shouldn’t have had to grow up so quick, Toms. I-” 

“If you say you’re sorry one more time I will punch you.” I was a tease, and Wilbur only smiled before looking away from the shorter male. “Plus, it’s not your fault anyways.” The brunette nodded, taking his hands off of Tommy’s shoulders and letting them fall at his sides as he backed away. 

“I have to go now, but Tommy?” Wilbur still looked sad, and Tommy couldn’t help his heart from squeezing at the sight. 

“Yeah?” A long pause. 

“Wake up, okay?” His voice was broken as he spoke, his eyes turning glassy before he turned away from the confused blond. He started taking steps forward, ready to ask what he meant, before suddenly everything faded away into darkness. 

Tommy’s eyes opened slowly, the blue orbs taking in only the faint outline of the room he had been staying in. The sun had barely risen in the sky, he could tell by the sky outside his bedroom window. He sighed, turning away from the outside world to curl in on himself. Was the a dream, or had he spoken to the real Wilbur? He wasn’t sure what to think at the moment, but as he let his eyes slip closed again he decided to let that be a future Tommy’s problem to figure out. 

That Afternoon. . .

Tommy’s still unsure why he agreed to let Technoblade train him, he knew it wouldn’t end well for him. Technoblade was a born fighter, already training at the age of five with Philza ready for any enemies to try and invade his village. Tommy had always admired his older brother, always wanted to be like him, and looked up to the pinkette as a role model. Philza always paid extra attention to the piglin hybrid, barely even giving him and Wilbur the quiet family breakfasts that they all loved. 

Tommy doesn't know why his mind slipped back into the past once again, it seemed the longer he stayed around the two the more he’d think about what could have been- or what was. So as he fell into the snow on his ass, he was snapped out of his small daydream, looking back towards the piglin hybrid with furrowed brows. The older only laughed, holding his hand out for the other to take. “You’ll get there, it just takes time.” With a exaggerated sigh Tommy took the hand, pulling himself up in the process. 

“Easy for you to say, you basically had a sword in your hand since you were a toddler.” Tommy joked, making even the usually emotionless piglin hybrid crack a small smile. Technoblade sheathed his sword before letting out a tired sigh, letting his hands rest on his hips before speaking to the avian. 

“Well, I think that’s enough training for today.” Techno began, making the blond relieved that training was over. His side was hurting, which meant that he probably would have to have another health potion. “So go get cleaned up and get your snow gear on. We’re going ice fishing.” At this Tommy paused. 

“What?” 

Tommy never thought he’d be sitting on the ice with Technoblade ice fishing, let alone ice fishing in the first place. Technoblade sat next to Tommy, sharpening one of the many weapons he had on him as all times. Tommy was staring at he hole in the ice, his pole in hand and waiting for a bite from a fish. It was quiet, but not a awkward silent like he thought it would be. “Y’know, I always though ice fishing was relaxing.” Technoblade began to say. “It helps me relax anyways, at least for a while.” 

“You ice fish a lot?” Tommy asks, looking towards Techno. The hybrids lips quirked up into a smile. 

“Yeah, I used to do it a lot on a different server. Me and dad made a kingdom on this server called SMP Earth, we took over the antarctic. When I needed time to think or some time to just relax ice fishing was my go-to.” Techno sighs, looking towards Tommy. “I wish you could have seen it, it was really peaceful. I feel like you and Wilbur would have liked it there.” Tommy stayed quiet for a long time, blue eyes watching the water before he turned towards Techno who had went back to sharpening his sword. He never believed that his brother could be so oblivious. He and Wilbur had lived on that SMP for a while, at least long enough until they found a more stable server to put roots down on. 

“How come you and Phil never came back home?” It was a quiet whisper, but Technoblade caught it. His hands stopped moving, and his blue eyes looked over towards the younger male. Techno looked lost, as if he was trying to piece together a forgotten story. Tommy waited though, eyes watching the older brother in expectance. He had always wondered why he had been abandoned, why even after Phil had found them in this broken down SMP he never tried to help Tommy, his youngest son. Why Technoblade had pretended that he didn’t even know who Tommy and Wilbur where, ignoring their childhood with such ease that it made Tommy only more angry. It looked like Technoblade didn’t have a good reason for why they had left though, hsi eyes seeming to be lost as he tried to think of some sort of passable answer. Tommy looked away towards the ice once more, lips pursed together as he tried to keep his anger and sadness from showing. 

“You know, I used to think that you and Philza would come back. That you’d just show up one day and we’d all be one happy family again.” Tommy whispered out, his hands shaking as he talked. “It was hard to live when you and Phil left, Wilbur cried alot because of it. I didn;t know what to do so I tried to help with what I could to try and help with some of the responabilitied that Wilbur had.” Tommy sighed, looking back towards a silent Techno. “He started working after you left, did you know that? Phil stopped paying for the house when he left so we had to try and pay the bills, so Wilbur took up a job at the port to help load and unload ships that came in. he hated it.” Tommy huffed a laugh. “But I mean, he never would have met Sally if he hadn’t started working there.” Tommy still remembers the fish hybrid, her red frizzy hair framed her porcelain like face, kind orange eyes always smiling even when things seemed so bad.  Sally was the closest thing he had to a mother back then, and even now he still remembers so much she had taught him. “I just… why didn’t you guys try and come back? Didn’t you care about us even a little bit?” 

Before Tommy could say anything else he was brought into a tight hug, his glassy eyes widening at the sudden act. Even so he let himself fall into the others side, a shaky sigh leaving his lips. “I’m sorry Tommy. And I know that’s not going to fix anything, but I don’t know what else to say. It wasn’t right what we did, and I know that we should have gone back for you guys sooner, but… We got side tracked. We thought you two would always be there waiting for us to come back, and I’m sorry that you’ve had such a hard time since we left. We shouldn’t have gone, we should have stayed like Wilbur wanted us to, but we didn’t.” Tommy stayed silent, wondering if this was some sort of dream or if Technoblade was truly letting this much emotion show.

He’s never heard Techno opologize so genuinely, you’d be lucky to just a simple ‘sorry’ out of him. Tommy sat the pole down, letting his own arms wrap around his older brother, letting those held back tears run down his face to stain the piglin hybrids red cape. 

“You’re not going to abandon me again, right?” Tommy asked. 

“No, I’ll never abandon you again, Tommy.” Techno pulled away from the hug after that, letting out arelieved sigh. Tommy smiled brightly. 

“Then I forgive you.”