a series of sbi oneshots

ghostbur

techno and tommy visit wilburs grave

or

bedrock duo fluff

“Hi, Ghostbur.” Tommy whispered.

Techno felt like he was intruding on a private moment. Still, he asked, “Ghostbur?”

“Wilbur’s ghost.”

“I didn’t know you believed in ghosts.” Techno said, carefully taking a seat next to his brother. Carl was lying down next to them in a second.

“I don’t. But I have to call him something, and he’s not exactly Wilbur anymore, so…”

“So Ghostbur. I get it.”

Tommy nodded slightly, turning his attention back to the gravestone. “Do you ever think about what life would be like if he was still around?”

“I…” He considered, for a moment, to lie. “Yeah, I do.”

Tommy nodded again. “I do, too.”

Quickly, they fell into a comfortable silence. Tommy seemed to be lost in thought, but he didn’t look anxious or anything, so Techno wasn’t going to break it.

However, Tommy was still a kid, and even after everything, he still had enough energy to power a small city. It wasn’t long before he spoke up.

“Do you miss Wilbur?”

“I do.”

“Does… Do you…” He took a deep breath. “Does it ever stop hurting?”

“Losing him?”

“Yeah.”

“No. I think it’s just one of those things.”

“Like my ankle.”

“...Sure. But it gets better, you know.”

“I think it hurts less now that I’m here with you. Wilbur being gone, that is. Not my ankle.”

Techno chuckled. “Same here, kid.”

Wilbur’s gravestone was laid on a family plot. Their mother was the first to be buried, a spot reserved next to it for Phil. There was an empty space on her gravestone, too, specifically for him.

Techno remembered when Phil purchased the plot. He had said it would be a long time before it was used, but he wanted them to be able to be buried near each other. Something or another about how family needed to stick together. He didn’t quite recall- it had been sixteen years since that conversation.

No one thought they would bury another family member so soon. Ten years may have felt like a long time, but in reality, it really wasn’t. Not when Wilbur had barely been twenty-four, with so much more life he should have lived.

Almost a year ago, Phil had been making plans to have Tommy buried there. Not really, because they hadn’t found a body (of course they hadn’t, because Tommy hadn’t died), but Phil was still making plans and trying to order a gravestone and Techno had been just a whole mess of emotions.

He snapped out of his thoughts to Tommy talking.

“And it was a whole thing, but then Techno adopted me.” Tommy was saying. Techno was about to respond, when he realized the kid wasn’t talking to him.

He was telling Wilbur (er, Ghostbur?) about what had happened in the time he was gone.

Techno let him talk. Tommy rambled on about his ankle, about hospitals, about Techno’s seizures and the consequences of them. He sort of skimmed over coming back to Dream (he wouldn't be surprised if Tommy had blocked a lot of it out). And then he was recounting everything afterwards.

How Techno had just barely been allowed custody back once Tommy was out of the hospital (that alone had taken two, terrifying, long months). How he and Tubbo had pulled more pranks at school than he could count.

He talked about Phil and Techno taking him to a fair in the summer. They had ridden the ferris wheel, and this time no one was afraid of it falling apart.

He explained the process of getting Carl, and how much Wilbur would have loved him, despite being a self-proclaimed cat person.

He just went on and on about everything that had happened over the year.

Techno hadn’t realized how much those little things had meant to his brother. But here Tommy was, going on about how he had been trying to teach Techno guitar, but Techno’s fingers were apparently ‘just not made for it’.

“Hey!” Techno finally cut in, “I played it just fine, thank you.”

Tommy laughed. “You muted half the strings and swore every two seconds.”

“First off, there was no swearing-”

Tommy turned back to the grave, “He complained about his fingertips hurting for a week.”

They went on like that for a while.

Technoblade had never really spoken to Wilbur’s grave like Tommy did. He sat by it before, sure. He had spoken to himself while grieving. But he had never spoken to Wilbur.

It was nice to have a conversation. Even if Wilbur wasn’t really there.

As the conversation came to a close, they both said their goodbyes to Wilbur, promising to visit again soon.

It was different.

It was nice.

As they walked back through the cemetery, Tommy pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“It’s almost noon.” He said, glancing at the clock.

“We should get lunch.”

“Pizza?”

“Only if it’s pineapple pizza.”

“Well, of course. Should we invite Phil?”

Techno hadn’t expected Tommy to suggest that. Not when their relationship was barely moving past the ‘wary’ stage. Still, Techno wouldn’t turn him down. “Of course. I’m sure he’d be happy to come.”

Tommy was dialing Phil’s number in an instant. “Philza! Philza Watson!” He shouted into the receiver as soon as the phone was answered.

Techno felt himself smile at it. It was sappy, he knew, but he thought he finally understood, now, what Wilbur had seen in his little brother.

He’d like to think Wilbur was proud of him. Of both of them, really.

And maybe, somewhere, Wilbur really was.

But even if he wasn’t, that was alright. Because right now it was Tommy and Techno, and that was okay. They were safe. Life was good.

“Phil’s coming.” Tommy said, putting the phone away. Techno had tuned out their whole conversation, apparently.

“Is he meeting us there?”

“Of course. I convinced him to pay for us, too.”

“Tommy, I have money-”

“It’s about the principle.”

“...Sure, Tommy.”

Yeah, life was good.