Chapter 5 - StarGazing
Techno jolts awake as he hears the front doors open with a familiar click. He looks around, feeling disoriented for a moment. There's a light pressure on his right side that brings him to turn slightly and see Tommy curled around his arm, fast asleep while lightly snoring. With the haze of sleep suddenly clearing, Techno spots a thin, dried-up line of spit on the kids' chin before he distinctively hears the thumps of Wilbur's feet getting closer to the room.
Techno freezes when he hears the door next to the movie room open. Wilbur must have heard Techno movements from when he was startled just a bit ago. Quickly, Techno wrapped his arms around the child haphazardly and made a mad dash to the storage closet in the corner of the room. Suddenly freeing one hand, Techno begrudgingly swung the closet door open and settled the waking child in the middle before closing the door firmly.
Techno didn't have time to fully reflect on his actions before he distinctly heard another door close by. At a controlled speed, Techno speed-walks over to the only other door in the room. Just as he is about to reach for the doorknob, the door opens to a tired-looking Wilbur. Both brothers stare at each other, fully taking in how the other looked. Wilburs clothes look wrinkled to shit even with how dark it was in the room at the moment.
Techno takes a small step to his right, slightly covering where the supply closet door is. "Thought you guys would be another day?"
Turning on the light, Phil comes from behind Wilbur and shakes his head, "We went to all the safe houses and bugged them. It went faster than we anticipated." Wilbur looks around and stops at Tommy's bag that Techno completely forgot about.
"Who's bag is this?" Wilbur asked as he tilted his head in the direction of the bag. All eyes turned and landed on the bag for a moment.
Techno shrugs, "It's mine. I went shopping a little." Wilbur raises an eyebrow as he walks past Techno, over to the bag on the couch. With trained grace, Wil lightly kicks the bag onto the floor, causing its contents to fall out. With a few pieces of clothing, Henry and Shroud fall out. Tommy's stuffed animals that Techno had gotten him. Wilbur grabs them and shakes them at Techno.
"Ooo, does baby Techno need his stuffies to sweep at night, Owo?" Techno cringes and rolls his eyes at Wilbur's antics. The thought and hope to keep Tommy to himself were getting thinner by the minute.
Techno snatched the stuffed animals out of his face. "I found them.." he tried to lie, but it was clear on both Phil's and Wilbur's faces that they didn't believe him at all. Techno tosses the cow and spider on one of the couches near him. Before Techno could try to lie again, a very quiet wretched sob rang through the whole room that gave Techno shivers down his spine.
Techno bolts over to the door and rips it open to find Tommy crying in a fetal position. "ImsorryImsorryImsorry." Tommy chants rapidly in his panicked haze. Techno gets on his knees in front of the child and gently places a hand on Tommy's shoulder. Automatically moving on pure instinct, Tommy flinched violently at the touch like Techno's hand was made of fire and ice.
"Shhhhh, it's okay, Tommy. Look, it's just me." Techno tried to coax Tommy to open his eyes, but the kid wasn't having any of it. "Tommy? Toms... Kid. Gremlin." Techno listed off nicknames he had for Tommy. It seemed nothing could break Tommy out of his panic.
"Starlight," Techno called out softly, and Tommy's head snapped up at the name. Techno could see Tommy's pale wet face and bloodshot eyes that accentuated Tommy's stormy blue eyes. Tommy's face held so much confusion and pain that it made Techno flinch slightly. Techno slowly opened his arms for the kid to come to when he was ready. Tommy watches Techno's every move before realizing that Techno is offering a hug. Tommy throws himself into Techno's arms with tears still streaming down his face and a trembling body.
With gentleness, he didn't know he had. Techno wraps his arms around Tommy and holds his Starlight as close as possible. Tommy did the same and clung to Techno with a desperate grip. Still, with a slight tremble in the kid's body, Techno whispered in Tommy's hair that he was okay. That they are safe and not alone.
Tommy takes some time, but after a few more soothing words and light humming from Techno, Tommy relaxes more and more. He slowly settles out of his panic attack and cuddles further into Techno. "You're not mad at me, right? I didn't do anything wrong, right?" Tommy asks, needing to hear that he's okay again.
Techno shakes his head and curls around Tommy. "No Starlight. You did nothing bad. I did. I shouldn't have put you in a small space in the dark. I'm sorry I scared you. I swear I won't do it again." Techno rubbed circles on Tommy's back as he could practically feel eyes burning holes in his back at the moment. "Would you like to meet some idiots?" Techno asked as he turned slightly so that Tommy could see the two people standing behind Techno.
Tommy peeled himself a little off Techno's chest to peer over Techno's shoulder. There, right behind Techno, stood Crow and Shout staring at him. Or, well, what looked to be Crow and Shout but without a mask on.
First thing Tommy noticed of the Crow in front of him was slightly different from the Crow on tv. For starters, this Crow looked older, like a bag of dusty bones kind of older. Like that one old man that would walk around the neighborhood to find kids to cut his lawn, sort of ancient man. Crow is old.
"Hiya mate," Crow said with a light, airy tone. Crow smiles at the kid in Technos arms, who stares up at him like he just gave him the world.
"Holy fucking shit! The Crow! Oh my god, oh my god. I'm dreaming- I!" The kid explodes with so much bright personality that Philza couldn't help but join the kid in his fit of laughter at the moment. "HAHA, Y-you're so cool! And! And! So brave!" Tommy gushes as he struggles to try and get out of Techno's arms that are still wrapped around him protectively. Reluctantly, Techno let go of the kid only for his Starlight to crash into Phil immediately.
Phil laughs at the young child's clumsily antics and helps the kid stand upright again. "There you go. I take it you're Techno's friend?" Phil asks the kid, who smiles brightly as he nods his head.
"I'm his best friend, of course!" Tommy exclaims while Techno stands up behind him and takes in his family's reaction. Phil looks to have already warmed up to the kid. Next to him, Wilbur looks more into his own thoughts than the random kid in their house. Techno suspects Wil is worrying about something or questioning everything at the moment.
"Tommy, this is Phil and Wilbur. Guys, this is Tommy. He's staying for a while." Techno said, being the bluntest he can be while at… Techno looked over at the clock…while at four am.
"So this is why you were off your game recently? You grew a heart while we were gone?" Wilbur jokes with Techno before he turns his attention to Tommy. "Punch Techno once if he's holding you here against your will. Or punch him twice if he's been good to you." Wilbur jokes with Tommy and Tommy being Tommy immediately turns and punches Techno in the gut twice.
"Ah! I've been fatally wounded!" Techno acts as if Tommy's weak punches did him in, and he pretends to fall on the floor, taking the giggling child down with him. "Nooo! Let me go! Just die already! Ahh! W-wait! That t-tickles! BFFFT HAHA NO-" Tommy screams as Techno tickles him while playing dead.
Phil smiled at the scene happening in front of them. "Already a great influence, I see," Phil says to Wil, who looks ready to join in on the tickle fight with a playful grin on his face.
All attention abruptly turns to Tommy as they all clearly hear his laughing turning into rough violent coughs. Techno immediately sits Tommy up and rubs his back while Tommy fights off his painful-sounding coughs. Both Wil and Phil give Techno concern looks while he ignores them in favor of helping Tommy calm down fully.
Once Tommy has stopped coughing up a lung at this point, Techno can clearly see exhaustion pulling at the kid as he tries to keep his eyes fully open. "Alright, time to sleep. Can you walk?" Techno asked Tommy softly while he already had an arm wrapped around the kid's back for support.
Tommy doesn't answer but turns slightly, facing Techno as he hooks his arms around Techno's neck. The kid looks ready to pass out any second now. Techno understands Tommy and picks him up carefully. "We'll speak later," He tells his family as he passes them and starts making his way to his own bedroom. Sure they have a handful of clean guest rooms to give, but the thought of Tommy not next to him made Techno feel… unwell.
With a slight nudge from his foot, Techno opens his bedroom door and walks over to his bed in the corner of the room. Gently, Techno lays Tommy down next to the wall and covers the child in blankets till he's satisfied. Techno takes off his jacket before getting on the other side of the bed. He contemplates making a wall of pillows just so he doesn't risk suffocating Tommy if he rolls over. Or is that only for infants? Techno wasn't sure. But as time ticks away, while Techno tries to fall asleep, he notices Tommy has slowly moved closer and closer to him. It doesn't take long till Tommy is fully clinging onto Techno, trying to steal all of his warmth since the kid probably ran cold most of the time.
Content with his Starlight next to him, Techno slowly falls asleep to a certain someone's light snoring.
End Chapter Notes
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