I'm a Healer, But...

10

"We really shoulda realized," Techno grumbles as he carries Wilbur back to their car, a little slower than he'd like because Tommy can't let go of Wilbur's hand. According to Tommy, they don't have much time before Dream's backup arrives and finds his headless, partially Withered body back in the alleyway."Well, yeah," Tommy says. "I was barely hiding it, big man." He pulls out another Wither Rose from where it's growing between his and Wilbur's hands and shoves it in his pocket. The thing almost makes Techno shudder, but Tommy's holding it without a problem. They can only temporarily cause Withering, it wouldn't kill someone unless they were already dying, but Withering isn't fun. Is Tommy just... immune? Or is he affected by the flowers, but he's constantly healing himself?Either way, he's angry with himself for not picking up on it. For not figuring it out. Tommy's healer just happens to be the same age as him, also an orphan, was somewhere 'safer than Pandora's Vault' (oh, Tommy considered them safe even when they first met?), trading himself for Dream's head-Dream. Dream, who threatened to kill his own- former- healer, and then bring him back to life, just to force him into obedience. If he wasn't already dead, Techno would kill him again. And then a third time for what he did to Wilbur.How the fuck did Dream get his filthy hands on Old Magic? It's called that for a reason. The three of them should be the last alive capable of it, without some sort of guide- Dream had mentioned a book, but there shouldn't be many of those left, and they should all be in one of the Syndicate's libraries. Just another one of the many questions he'll have to ask Tommy. For now, he just gently sets Wilbur in the back of the car with Tommy before heading into the driver's seat.Phil can't drive back. He's distraught. There's no point to Tommy saving Wilbur's life if Phil is just going to drive them into a ditch on their way home.Techno starts the car and heads home. Wilbur lets out a groan in the back, but his voice isn't so wrecked anymore- Tommy is healing him so quickly. How powerful is he? "Tommy.""Yeah?" he asks, sounding utterly unaffected by how he's currently healing a man who, just minutes ago, was fatally ill.He has so many questions. Too many to count. So why is the first one he asks- "Why did Dream do that?""...uh... which part, big man?""He Withered Wilbur. And himself."It had been slower on Dream, of course, but Old Magic always demands an equivalent price, and it was clear what Dream had paid as soon as he released Wilbur. Where Wilbur's Withering started at his neck and quickly spread, Dream's hands had only barely started to crumble when Techno beheaded him. Even if he escaped Techno's wrath, he would have succumbed to the Withering. Except-"He thought I was gonna pick him, obviously," Tommy scoffs. "Dunno why. He's a total dickhead. But it wasn't much of a risk to him when he was sure he could get me to do whatever.... whatever he wanted.""Right. ...you used to be his healer, then." It's not really a question.Tommy doesn't seem inclined to answer it. He just grunts, and Wilbur groans again before shuffling a little. "Hey, dipshit, don't move too much. You're still growing back all your bits.""Tommy," Wilbur whispers, and Techno shudders. His brother just went through some of the worst pain imaginable. Their healer has to grow back chunks of his throat. They'll have to pay Tommy handsomely for this.Oh, fuck. Nevermind. He's going to be moving in with them. That's payment enough."Yeah?" Tommy hums, keeping his voice low as he answers Wilbur."You're... ours.""Mhm. That was the deal. I didn't think asking for Dream's head was gonna be that literal, but... y'know, whatever works." Techno winces a little at that. Healers- they're gentle. Tommy might not be gentle the same way their last one was, but he's sure he didn't appreciate seeing that much violence right in front of him."Not..." Wilbur clears his throat. "We're not... jailers. We'll- take care of. You."Phil trills involuntarily- damn it. "Phil," Techno says warningly, but it's too late."We will," Phil says immediately. "Tommy, we'll take care of you. Our healer, our-""Whoa," Tommy cuts him off. "Stop? Stop. Cut that out." Phil lets out a disappointed chirp, and Tommy huffs. "I'm your healer, yeah. I'll work for you until I die. We'll figure out rules and shit later, but like- you don't have to take care of me. I'm a healer. I can protect myself. As long as Blade doesn't take my head off or some shit.""I didn't hurt you," he grumbles. Something about that sentence makes him uneasy- probably just guilt about how Dream almost got him to axe Tommy in half." Anyway, I don't give a shit. Okay? As long as you fuckers don't hurt me, I don't give a shit what you do, okay?"Another trill from Phil, a distressed one this time. "We would never- ""Dream did?" Techno asks, and Tommy falls quiet again.Not for very long. "Told you he was a wrong'un."He grunts. That would be a fourth death for Dream, if he were to bring him back from the dead. First the beheading, then actual death by Withering for hurting Wilbur, then twice for his crimes against Tommy...Hm. Techno shouldn't want revenge so badly for something that doesn't affect him or his family. He tries to put it out of his mind for now.The drive home is a bit long, but by the end of it Wilbur is mostly, if not fully recovered. Tommy lets go of his hand as Wilbur stumbles out of the back of the car, Phil immediately rushing to his side to help him stay standing. Wilbur clearly doesn't need it, but still leans into his side. "Nest," Phil says, the word barely intelligible through the chirps he's letting out. Phil's beady eyes lock on Techno and Tommy. "Nest," he repeats, insistent."Wh- him too?" Techno asks, waving a hand at Tommy, and Phil immediately nods. Tommy's ignoring them, pulling the Wither Roses out of his pockets and weaving them together into a disturbed flower crown. ...that could be useful if he used it in interrogations. Techno might ask for it later. "Alright. You get Wilbur to the nest."Phil makes a soft pleading noise, looking between them both, but goes on ahead.Techno turns to face Tommy, who's not looking at him. "...Theseus."Luckily, this name doesn't send him into a panic attack. Tommy just keeps weaving the flowers together. "Yeah.""You're our healer.""I think we've said that like a dozen times in the last hour, yeah. I'm your healer now.""Theseus, look at me." Tommy huffs, but looks up. He removed his sunglasses at some point in the car. His eyes are still glowing, fainter than when he was actively healing Wilbur, but they still have an inhuman, icy blue glow. "You are our healer, and only our healer. Wilbur is attached- Phil is attached- but it won't go any further. You're not our friend. You're not family. You're an employee. I don't want any confusion about that.""Good," Tommy says, almost a growl. Techno's a little taken aback. "That's all I want to be. I don't need their pity, I don't need shit except to be treated like a person. That was my whole plan, you know? I make the deal, I stay around a little, I make sure you aren't actually worse than Dream somehow. If you were, I would have ditched before you even killed Dream- but you're all okay. So we have our deal, but I'm not going to fucking- I won't play along with whatever role they're trying to put me in. I'm a person, I'm your healer, I'm not anything else-"Wow, that is so much baggage that Techno has zero idea what to do with. He doesn't even understand it- not yet. "Whatever Dream did to you, we won't do. Our healers get treated with respect. I just wanted to make sure you weren't goin' to get confused just because Phil and Wilbur are, uh, affectionate.""I'm not. ""...and..." Techno swallows, struggling to say this. "Thank you. For savin' Wilbur. Even if it was just part of our deal.""Yeah. Well. I wasn't gonna let Wilbur get got just because he jumped into my bullshit." He finishes the crown, and drops it on top of his own head."...don't. Don't wear that right now. Are you- immune, or-?""No clue," Tommy says, adjusting it slightly. "I'm not growing any more Wither Roses, so I'm not healing it... but I might be stopping it somehow? Dunno. I've never fixed Withering except people fucked up by Roses before.""Right. Can you put that away for a bit?" Tommy huffs, but takes it off and shoves it into his bag. It's overflowing with sunflowers. "...what are those... Oh. Hunger?" Techno guesses, not liking the idea."Yep." Tommy almost leaves it there, but clearly hesitates. "...uh, you know how it hurts not to use powers?"Hurts? It's usually just an itch, or an annoyance. "...yes.""Yeah, well. I overused mine a lot at the Hero Organization because the Dream Team is full of stupid fucks, so I basically have to use them all the time. Or, like... I guess less now, because I haven't been using them so much since, but like... It hurts pretty fast if I don't use it. So I heal myself now. Starvation works best, because it's constant, and if I grow the flowers right I can get a snack out of it."...they overused his powers. They overused this child's powers, to the point where he's in pain if he doesn't use them. To where he starves himself, because that pain is better than not using his healing. That's ignoring how Dream apparently hurt him.Techno is going to kill every hero in the nation.No, he's not. It's just Tommy. He's just their healer. Even if he was mistreated- even if the heroes didn't give him the respect he deserves as a healer, as a person - he's not family. Techno will not treat him like family.Except for right now. "Leave your bag here. Phil wants us.""...you mean he wants you.""You just saved Wilbur. Phil's keepin' you in the nest tonight. Especially because if Wilbur even winces in pain, his instincts are gonna go overboard, and he's gonna want you around. ...I'm surprised he even left us behind this long."Tommy crosses his arms. "Look, I don't know much about birds-""Avians.""-but the nest is a big fucking deal, right? Didn't you just say that I'm not going to be treated like- that?"Techno sighs, annoyed. "Yeah, but it's a balance. I gotta satisfy their bird brains without lettin' them start callin' you family." He idly notes how Tommy shudders at that.He called Dream his brother. Techno isn't touching that with a twelve foot pole."Look, it's one night. Maybe not even that long, if you can sneak out. But if Phil has to be the one to drag you in, you're not gettin' out of there for at least twelve hours. Maybe a full day, if it upsets him enough. You're goin'."Tommy's fists clench and unclench before he drops his bag by the front door. "Fine. Fine! One fucking time. But Phil's gonna need to get his bird shit on lock."Techno's been trying for centuries. Not gonna happen. But- "Yeah. He does. C'mon." He leads Tommy through the house, towards Phil's nest. They're already settled in, Phil curled around Techno's brother and playing with his hair- a poor imitation of preening, but the days he could run his fingers through Wilbur's feathers are long gone.Phil coos when he notices them, reaching an arm out to Techno. He doesn't hesitate to approach him, and he quickly gets dragged down into the pile of soft silks and pillows that make up Phil's nest. Techno is uneasy, but gestures for Tommy to come closer. He doesn't like the idea of having someone who's practically a stranger in the nest with them-But Tommy is their healer. He's already saved Wilbur. He can be allowed, just this once, to join them. To keep them safe and healthy, to be kept safe and healthy, to-No. No. He needs to keep himself under control. Tommy is an employee. Just an employee.Even as he watches Tommy settle in next to Wilbur. Even as Wilbur takes his hand again, and Tommy's eyes glow just a little bit brighter as Wilbur sighs in relief. Even as Phil reaches over, carding a hand through Tommy's hair, letting out more soft coos and chirps, comforting his flock, and seemingly counting Tommy among them.Tommy is an employee. That's all he'll ever be.