A Functionally Dysfunctional Family

{29} Fʀɪᴇɴᴅs ᴀɢᴀɪɴ? {29}

He stood in the void, blackness surrounding him from all sides.

"The fuck?"

Suddenly, hundreds of doors appeared, creating a seemingly endless hallway. Each door was labeled something different.

He opened a door labeled 'Nightmare'.

On the other side of the door was the bedroom he briefly shared with Tommy. It was late—about midnight—and a younger him and a younger Tommy laid in their separate beds, sleeping.

That is, before the younger Tommy sprung up, sweating and breathing heavily.

Techno, being the naturally light sleeper, woke up and looked at his younger brother, irritation in his eyes.

"What's wrong with you?" Techno asked the seven-year-old, his gaze softening upon seeing the terrified look in his brother's eyes.

"I-I had a nightmare..."

Techno sighed, before getting up and sitting on Tommy's bed. "C'mere."

Tommy threw himself in his older brother's arms, relaxing upon hearing the calm and consistent heartbeat of his brother.

Now, if you were to ask Techno if he could sing, he wouldn't hesitate to tell you no.

But, he didn't care about that now. All he cared about was calming his brother.

"I will give you the comfort you crave
You deserve a calm sea, a fresh breeze
Maybe you'll finally recognize
A beautiful place called home"

He watched the child doze off to the song.

Techno didn't sleep that night.

But he didn't care.

As long as his brother slept peacefully, he was fine.

~<•>~

Techno opened the door when he heard someone knocking on it. To his surprise, it was Tubbo.

"Is Tommy here?" The teen asked.

"Uh, yeah, he's in his room. Why?"

"Can I please talk to him?"

Techno shrugged. "If he'll let you."

Tubbo nodded as he walked up the familiar stairway leading up to his best friend's bedroom.

He knocked on the door.

"What?" The door answered.

"Can we talk?" He asked.

He could feel the tenseness in the air.

"About what?"

He shrugged. "Anything, really. Or we could talk about nothing if you prefer."

"...is he with you?"

He cringed at the venom in his tone. It was obvious that he was referring to Ranboo, but Tubbo didn't think that Tommy hated him that much.

"N-no, no he's not. He specifically told me to talk to you without him."

"So you're only here because he told you?"

He could feel the anger laced within every syllable.

"No, he just helped me find the courage. I wanted to call you last night, but...I thought that you hated me, so..."

".....you thought that I hated you?" That anger was now replaced with sadness. "I thought you hated me..."

"Now why would you think that?"

"Because you started hanging out with him...."

"It's not like I replaced you. I tried talking to you. I tried hanging out with you. You wouldn't let me."

".....I know....."

"Are we good now? Can we be friends again?"

"Will you let me be your friend again?"

He giggled. "Tommy, you already know the answer to that."

Suddenly, the door opened, and the younger teen tackled the older in a bear hug. It wasn't the most comfortable position in the world, because there was someone much taller than Tubbo hugging him to death, and the fact that he smelled like he hasn't showered in weeks didn't help, but he didn't care. Neither of them did.

They had their best friend back.

~<•>~

560 words