I'm a Healer, But...

4

Techno can't wait for Wilbur to get home. It's only been two days with Tommy, but he's exhausted.Tommy manages to walk a balance where he's annoying- incredibly so- but never enough to push Techno over the edge. He's good at reading people, so much so that Techno wonders if he has an ability similar to Wilbur's, and Tommy always seems to know when he's about to push things too far. He'll be talking too loud, or asking questions about the Syndicate, or touching Techno's things, and just as Techno starts wondering how hard it would be to find the healer without any information on them after Tommy's untimely death, suddenly Tommy will go silent. He'll drop whatever he's doing, retreat to the couch he's been staying on, and stick to himself for a few hours.Those hours of peace are a blessing to Techno, but soon enough, the cycle will begin again.Phil is no help. It's been forty-eight hours and he's already brought in Foolish to look at the place and start planning out an 'extension' that looks an awful lot like a second house attached to this one. It's huge. They have no business owning a house that big. It won't even be a cottage anymore.Wilbur's no help, either. He's too busy with his kid to come home early. Well, he's supposed to be back tomorrow anyway, but Techno could really use the help- Wilbur's the social one, the one who takes over when Techno's too overwhelmed. This kid is overwhelming."-so I told Big Q, 'you know he's super not human right? Like that's not powers, that's slime -' and he almost kicked me out right there," Tommy says from where he's sitting on the coffee table. Techno's trying not to listen to him, and Tommy doesn't seem to care, talking to fill the quiet more than to have a conversation. "But hey, it's not like I don't like Charlie, he's a nice guy, even if he knows a bit too much, yeah? Little spy guy. You know if you hit him, he shrinks? You can carry him around in your pocket if he gets hurt enough. It's pretty-"" Thomas," Techno growls.Tommy lets out a sharp laugh, too loud for Techno's liking. He's already getting a headache, for multiple reasons. "Wh- that's not even my name! It's just Tommy.""Tommy. Can you shut up? Just for like-""Aw, I was almost done!""No, you weren't.""...nah, I wasn't." Tommy stares at Techno for another moment before moving back to the couch. He treats that thing like home base, as if he's safe the moment he sinks into it. "How long until you guys kill Dream, anyway?""We need Siren back first.""Siren. Ew. He's the worst of you three, I think.""Finally. Somethin' we can agree on."That gets another laugh out of Tommy. This one, blessedly, quieter. "Yeah. Mind powers, yuck. I'd much rather punch something, yeah? Something destructive! Actually powerful. And he's so dramatic, like was he in theater back in the fucking, sixteen hundreds or whenever Shakespeare was around?""No," Techno says flatly. There's an awkward pause for a moment, but when Tommy opens his mouth- "But he did have a stint in Broadway in the... nineteen hundreds.""Oh, you're fucking kidding me.""I'm not. We were hidin' in America for a decade or two and he wanted to give it a shot. I ended up movin' across the country just so he'd stop askin' me to read lines with him."Tommy snorts with laughter. "Holy shit- ""Phil's banned any talk of musical theater in the house.""Ha! I'll keep that in mind, big man." Tommy seems a little more comfortable now... and surprisingly, so is Techno, his headache receding a bit.It's blessedly quiet for a few minutes, the only sounds being Techno turning the pages of his book, and the creak of the couch whenever Tommy shifts. It's not long before there's an interruption, though it's not by more talking for once.Instead, Tommy's stomach growls. The second half of the noise is covered up by a louder creak as Tommy bounces on the couch- is it deliberate? Trying to hide his stomach growling? Techno looks over at him, but Tommy isn't looking back."...you had lunch. Right?" He's pretty sure Phil would have told Tommy he had free reign of the kitchen. If Phil thought to, anyway. Tommy hasn't joined them for meals, thankfully, so it's a time for the two of them to talk, or even just sit in silence, but the kid must be eating.But Tommy doesn't say so. He doesn't even nod. Instead, he reaches out for the TV remote, turning on the television and flicking through some channels."Tommy," Techno repeats, a little louder, and Tommy turns up the volume. He huffs and gets to his feet. Tommy brings his feet up onto the couch, curling up-Home base.Yeah, right. That's not going to stop Technoblade. He pulls the remote out of Tommy's hands, shutting off the TV. "Didn't Phil tell you what you could eat?"Tommy looks at him again, his expression... bored? Annoyed? He's not sure. "I didn't ask, big man.""...so what have you been. Eating."Tommy shrugs. "Nothing yet.""Oh." Techno falls quiet. "Phil's going to kill you. An' possibly himself. Come on, we're getting you something to eat." He drops a hand onto Tommy's shoulder, ignoring how he stiffens, and drags him up to his feet.Now that he's paying attention to something besides the words that Tommy's constantly spewing out, he can see the signs of malnutrition. He's skinny, too skinny, and he's shaking a little too, though Techno isn't sure if that's from hunger or fear. If he hasn't eaten since before he got here, then when was his last meal?"You've been drinkin' at least, right?""Fucking- yeah, obviously," Tommy grumbles as he's led into the kitchen. He eyes the room warily, as if Techno is storing torture devices under the sink. "What am I allowed to have?""Eh... pretty much whatever. Except Siren's snacks, those are all in this cabinet-" he taps it. "Or the second shelf in the fridge. Me 'n Phil aren't too picky, an' we grow a lot of our own vegetables, so you won't be eatin' us out of house and home." Even if he might literally annoy Techno out of house and home. After they have their healer, he thinks he's going to go on a vacation."Wait, I can have whatever? " Tommy immediately opens a cabinet and starts looking."Well, when Phil finds out you haven't been eatin', he's gonna want to make sure you've got balanced meals or somethin' like that. Otherwise, yeah."Tommy starts going through multiple cabinets, then the fridge, and then the pantry. "...why are there two hundred fucking potatoes in here.""Like I said. We grow our own stuff."He looks at Techno. Then back at the pantry. Then, he carefully shuts the door. "Cool. I'm having bread.""Balanced meals-""Yeah, I haven't had a meal in like two weeks. Unless you want me to puke all over your kitchen from overeating, I'm having bread." Tommy finds their bread box and pulls out a few pieces of white bread. Absolutely no nutritional value. He's probably right that that's all he can stomach-"Two weeks," Techno repeats."Yeah. I mean, I don't even know if that counts. Like, what is a meal? What constitutes a 'meal', right? If it's eating 'til you're full, then it's only been a few days, but if it's like... fucking, multiple things, or like a balanced whatever, then two weeks. If it has to be a lot of food and also something I didn't throw up after, then like- ohhh fuck, I don't know," Tommy laughs, as if this isn't all horrifying. "Uhhh, two months?"Tommy talks a lot, but he never says anything. As much as he won't shut up about Quackity or Phil's manga or Techno's aesthetic, they don't know anything about him personally. It's clear now, though, wherever he came from, it wasn't good.He can never let Phil know, or they'll never get rid of him. "Right. Well. Eat while you're here. If Phil thinks you're starvin', he'll hover over you like a mother bird."That gets another snort out of Tommy. "The Angel of Death really doesn't fit his name.""He does. But not when it comes to kids.""Hey, I'm fucking sixteen, not a kid," he gets out in between shoving bread in his mouth.Techno doesn't even dignify that with a response. "What do you eat? You can add some things to the list on the fridge. Maybe Phil'll tell the Siren to bring you back some snacks or somethin' on his way home tomorrow.""I'll eat whatever. Except-" Tommy pauses, and then finishes off the piece of bread he's holding. "Nah, I'll eat whatever."Techno eyes him. Is it worth pushing? Then again, there isn't much to lose here. "Except what?""I said I'll eat whatever.""Yeah, I heard that. Also heard you hesitatin' before that. Like I said, you can have whatever here, but if we're going food shopping we need to know what you want. "Tommy grumbles, ignoring him for a few moments. Just as Techno is about to insist again, Tommy speaks up. "Fine. I'm vegetarian.""...heh? But you'll eat-?""Yeah, I will if I have to," Tommy snaps. "If I'm fucking starving or whatever, I'll eat some chicken if it's the only thing I can find. But if I get to pick, I'm not eating meat.""...very utilitarian," Techno comments. From the way Tommy's nose scrunches up, he doesn't think Tommy knows what it means. "I can work with that."So, the kid's been homeless. That makes sense, though Techno wonders how he got his hands on designer sunglasses and gloves. It also makes sense that he refuses to take those off, though, if those are his most expensive belongings. He doesn't get consistent food. Most weirdly, despite how pushy he is... he doesn't take things unless he's told it's okay first. Or at least, not food, even though he needs it to live.(Unlike the Syndicate, who could starve forever if they didn't mind the hunger pains.)All of this is adding up pretty bad. Techno watches him nibble away at the last piece of bread and thinks- how the fuck is he going to keep this a secret from Phil?