I'm a Healer, But...

7

Despite Wilbur's best efforts, they refused to talk to him that night. Techno, for one, wasn't ready to have a sit-down discussion with Tommy, and Phil needed to drag Techno and Wilbur to his nest to settle his instincts....Techno might have to come to terms with the idea of Tommy staying around longer. He's just hoping he can get a Tubbo-and-Ranboo situation, where Tommy comes to visit once or twice a month and that's all. He's not sure how likely that is.He gets up early in the morning, heading out to the kitchen. Tommy is awake, surprisingly- so far he's been sleeping in. He looks exhausted. "Mornin'," Techno grunts as he goes through the cabinets."...hey," Tommy greets him back cautiously. He's skulking around like a prey animal trying to avoid a predator's attention. He gives Techno a wide berth and approaches the fridge, opening it and putting a barrier between them.The silence drags on a little before Techno speaks up. "What do you want for breakfast?""Whatever."There goes that attempt. "Do you eat eggs?""Yeah.""...how do you eat your-""Primes, just fucking tell me Wilbur told you about the news report."Techno sighs in relief. "Yeah. We watched the whole thing."Tommy groans and shuts the fridge door too hard. "I don't know what the fuck Dream said, but it was lies. And I'm not going anywhere until he's dead, especially since he fucking- put out a- whatever the fuck that was about me.""Well, Theo, he-" Techno cuts himself off at Tommy's reaction.Tommy freezes at the sound of his name, grip tightening on the fridge door as he stares at Techno with wide, terrified eyes. "Tha- that's not my name. That's not my name don't call me that don't you ever call me that-""Okay! Okay-" Techno throws his hands up, trying to placate him, but Tommy flinches violently and almost falls backward, hitting the back of his head against a cabinet door Techno left open. "Shit-"Tommy crumples, falling to his knees and reaching up, pressing both his hands to where he hit his head. He's breathing too fast, but before Techno can panic enough to call for help, Tommy's forcing his breathing slower. Inhale for four seconds, hold for seven, breathe out for eight. Huh. Tommy's better at staving off panic attacks than Techno is.Why the hell is he good at staving off panic attacks.Why did this cause a panic attack?"...Tommy," he says, trying to keep his voice low and calm. "Are you alright?""Just fucking peachy, " Tommy mumbles, still holding his injury. He looks so small, curled up like that. Someone so loud shouldn't look so small.Techno isn't good with these things. He solves problems, he doesn't give... emotional support or anything. "There's, uh. Ice packs. Freezer."Tommy doesn't respond. Instead, he reaches over to the freezer from where he's kneeling on the ground, and tugs it open just enough to feel around for an ice pack. He manages to pull one out, and presses it to the back of his head, hissing at the cold.He doesn't stand up, but instead brings his knees up to his chest and leans against one of the cabinets, using it to prop the ice pack up without having to hold it. He also very strictly doesn't look at Techno, which is great, because Techno doesn't want to make eye contact right now either."Uh... I'll make... eggs.""Uh-huh."Techno has to scoot around him to get to the stove, but Tommy doesn't flinch this time. He's probably too busy with that head injury- Techno can smell the blood.He keeps an eye on Tommy as he makes breakfast, but Tommy doesn't move an inch. When he's done, he plates the eggs and steps towards Tommy, loud enough for him to notice but not so much it's aggressive. He hands him the plate, and Tommy practically yanks it out of his hand.Techno retreats, getting his and the rest of the family's breakfast ready. About halfway through frying the bacon- no, he doesn't care about eating pigs- he finally speaks up. As much as he likes silence, this is too awkward. "So. Dream. He said you witnessed a villain attack?"Tommy snorts, not looking up from his plate. "I witnessed something, alright.""....what does that mean.""It means fuck Dream. Whatever he said, it was a lie. He's a fucking wrong'un and if he wasn't a hero he'd be in jail like a dozen times over, probably.""...oh?" That's interesting. Dream has always been the pinnacle of heroism, almost to an obsessive point. "What for?""You know. Wrong'un shit." Tommy starts to get to his feet, a little unsteady. "Siren's back, you guys are going to kill him soon, right?""Yeah. Just gotta sort it out first." He watches as Tommy throws out almost half of the eggs he was supposed to eat. ...he swears, Tommy is eating less and less, when he should be eating more now that he's getting more consistent food. He'll have to keep an eye on that. "Anythin' you can give us to help?""Not really," Tommy murmurs before thinking it over. "He lives at the Organization's headquarters-""Don't heroes normally have their own homes outside of that?""Yeah. But not Dream. Anyway, he's pretty much always there unless he's patrolling, responding to an alert, or out with 404 and Pandas."When Dream's dead, Techno's going to ask how Tommy knows so much about him. Right now, though, he wants to be pretty careful. As much as he doesn't trust Tommy, Tommy is their only connection to that healer. He's not going to deliberately upset him- or send him into another panic attack.God. He can't let Wilbur or Phil know about that, either. How is he keeping so many secrets about this kid?"Got it," Techno says, setting the table for three. "You should run off before the others show up. Otherwise Phil's gonna make you eat a second breakfast.""Yeah. Okay." Tommy makes his escape towards the living room- probably the damn couch again- and Techno sighs in relief.Tommy hates his name. He hates Dream, knows all about him, and Dream knows his name. Tommy's gotten into Ace's good graces. He found an unclaimed healer and waltzed right into the Syndicate's home to get what he wanted with them. He teeters between competent and being a mess, he's loud but quiet and so scared, he's a dozen contradictions and a thousand questions in one.Techno spent all night trying to find info on 'Theo'. There was nothing. No sixteen year olds named Theodore from L'manberg who looked anything like him. He spread out his search in case Tommy was lying about where he was from, then he tried changing the age, but nothing. If this kid is from anywhere in the Essempi, then he doesn't legally exist. He tried asking Ace, but the kid paid him off to keep his mouth shut- and the deal was so good that Ace didn't break even when Techno threatened to put his eye out.Wilbur is obsessed with being adored. Phil is obsessed with doting on others. Techno, he wants to know things. He can already feel his need to know Tommy, to find every scrap of information he can and piece them together until he finally understands this child who forced his way into Techno's home, who charmed his whole family so quickly and so much that they don't want to let him go.It takes a good chunk of self control to not stalk Tommy back to the living room and demand answers to his growing list of questions. That can wait. He can wait. When Dream is dead, the deal is done, and they have their healer, then he won't have to be so careful.Techno chuffs, self-soothing, and waits for his family to arrive. It takes too long for Wilbur and Phil to join him, but he feels better when they do, though the table still feels a bit empty. He's never noticed the empty fourth seat at the table before, but today it feels just a little... odd. Techno ignores it as best he can. "We need to actually plan today.""Plan?" Phil questions between chewing on a strip of bacon."The thing for Tommy. I want to get it over with.""Aw, you gonna miss kicking Dream's ass?" Wilbur coos.Techno huffs. "There will be other heroes out there.""Yeah, but none with good luck powers.""Maybe in a few centuries," Phil says. "You never know how often things like that will pop up.""His powers aren't even-" Techno sighs. "I don't care about Dream. I just want this done so we can kick out Tommy."The other two go quiet."...don't do that. He's leaving when this is done. We're already getting a healer, I'm not dealin' with two new people moving into our house. ""Well, Tommy has seniority-"Techno cuts him off. He can't afford for Tommy to stay here- not with Phil and Wilbur already so taken with him. Not with his own fascination with him. It's just going to lead to everything going wrong. "Tommy is only here so Dream doesn't get his hands on him- or possibly the healer- before we can take care of him. That's it. He's a contractor, not our friend, not-.""Damn right," Tommy says from the doorway, startling Techno- he didn't hear him arriving. Tommy looks a little calmer now, the bags under his eyes mostly gone and no longer smelling of blood. He must have cleaned himself up. "Are we talking about the thing?""...um. Yeah," Wilbur says. "The- plan with Dream, yes.""There's no plan yet," Techno corrects him. "So we need to make one."" Well," Wil starts, in a tone that promises only bad things for everyone involved. "I mean, I had an idea.""...well, go on then, mate," Phil nudges him.He grins, smile too wide, too excited for a simple murder. "Dream is so careful, so routine. At least, until about a month ago. His patrols have gotten stranger, going all over Greater Essempi to L'manberg to the Badlands. I think it's pretty clear he's getting desperate looking for... someone." Tommy doesn't say anything, but he's tensed up, looking moments from bolting back to the couch. "I say we use that desperation."Phil frowns. "Wil, I hope you're not suggesting-""We could use Tommy as bait!""Oh, fuck no!" Tommy immediately snaps out. "Did you fucking forget that if anything happens to me, you'll never get the healer? Because Dream getting his fucking hands on me counts! I'm not fucking-""Tommy, Tommy, hear me out," Wilbur says, voice soothing. From the look on Tommy's face, it's not working. "The three of us stick to the rooftops. You walk around in a few back alleys, we call in a tip from a 'concerned citizen', and as soon as Dream spots you, we kill him. He won't even touch you!""Bull- bullfuckingshit-" Tommy skitters back. Techno stands up on instinct, not sure how to fix this but unable to just sit and watch it happen. Tommy just ignores him. "You don't fucking know that, he's lucky , you could get distracted by something at the wrong moment or fucking, trip and fall off a roof, or- I don't know! Something! And then I'm fucking- fucked, I'm fucked- ""No," Techno growls, putting a hand on Tommy's shoulder. Tommy almost collapses under it, but he holds it tight, keeping him standing as Tommy tries to fix his breathing."We wouldn't let that happen," Wilbur says, though he looks pale. Tommy's emotions must have overwhelmed him. From the way Phil physically flinches, he must have reflected them over to him, probably just to share the pain. "...nevermind, maybe that was a bad idea.""No shit it was a bad idea," Techno hisses, pulling Tommy a little closer to him. "We can handle Dream without putting the kid in danger.""Not a kid," Tommy says, still shaky, as he tries to pull out of Techno's grip. "'m sixteen. "Phil shakes his head, reaching up to fix some of his ruffled feathers as he talks. "Yeah, mate, you're only sixteen. We can still work off of abusing Dream's change of schedule without your help.""It shouldn't take too long to find him," Techno says. "We just need to get some people to keep eyes on him, see if they can pin down any pattern. Then we just need an opportunity, sometime when he's alone.""I'll check with Ni- Nihachu," Wilbur sighs. "Phil, can you check with Ace?""He said he was goin' on vacation. Talked to him last night. Him and his fiancés are doin' something. He'll be back in a week.""A week ?" Tommy complains, looking a little more steady. He's not fighting Techno's hand on his shoulder anymore. "I've already waited a fucking week!""A week just for him to get back," Techno corrects. "Then some more time for espionage, then we'd strike.""Fuck that. " Tommy hesitates, and Techno knows what he's about to say. Before he can stop him- "Fine, I'll fucking- I'll do it. But if- if anything happens, I'm gonna fucking kill all of you. I don't give a shit if you're immortal. I'll do it anyway. And- you all have to be right fucking there, because if he touches me I'm going feral. I'll fucking bite him.""Tommy," Techno chuffs, not quite realizing what he's doing. "You don't have to-""Hell no. I'm not a kid , alright? I'm fucking- I'm the biggest fucking man here, I can do whatever the fuck I want, I don't have to do shit. But if it's that or wait who-fucking-knows how long, I'll be bait. But also I want a knife.""Techno has a great knife collection," Wilbur says with a small smile at Techno. "He should lend you one.""What? No. Those are my knives-""Wait, you have a knife collection? I need to see it right now. Where is it? Your room?" Tommy finally pulls himself free of Techno's grip and bolts towards the bedrooms before Techno can stop him.He's about to give chase- he doesn't want Tommy in his den - but Phil lets out a little laugh. "Just a contractor, yeah? Not a friend?"Wilbur looks just as amused. "You comforted him like one.""Because you freaked him out," Techno hisses, looking towards the door to make sure Tommy isn't coming back. "That's his second borderline-panic-attack this morning, we all need to leave him alone, not drag him into this. Besides, as much as he hates Dream, is he really okay to watch a man get murdered? You and I both know he's not going to have time to get away when he's playing bait.""...I think he should, " Wilbur says. "I think Dream is the source of all that fear- if he watches him die, then he won't be scared anymore, will he?""I'm not... sure that's how it works for most people, mate," Phil says."Well, guess we'll find out!" Wilbur looks far too happy for having driven his new passion project to a panic attack.There's a loud clattering in the distance, and Techno is immediately reminded that the kid is touching his things.Suddenly he has more important things to worry about.