#borrower!tommy

･ ｡ﾟ☆: . . ･ ｡ﾟ☆ : ☽ .* ･ ｡ﾟ☆: . .

Tommy sighed contently as he relaxed further into the couch cushions behind him. Phil was sitting across from him in the green recliner reading a book on crows, whilst Wilbur sat on the floor in front of him, using the couch as back rest, whilst the TV softly played a movie about a woman pretending to be a man in a Chinese army in front of them.

“This is the part where she buries the army in snow. It’s okay though, there’s no gore or anything.” Wilbur whispered to Tommy, his voice full of warmth as he looked out for the younger, knowing he didn’t like bloody scenes. 

The Borrower had seen bits of this movie from atop the book shelf before, but it was kind of Wilbur to look out for him just in case. He was enjoying watching the whole screen, as the movie played out. The mood was calm and the only thing that would make the night perfect, would be if Technoblade would join them.

“May I join you?” 

As if Tommy’s thoughts had willed it, Technoblade stood in the hallway, arms in his red hoodie pockets, with his pink hair in loose braid, resting on his shoulder. The teen quietly waited for permission to enter the living room.

“Of course!” Tommy smiled brightly, as he nodded and waved Technoblade into the room. The teen rounded the couch to take a seat beside the blond as Tommy shifted over to make space. 

After some soft shuffling, the room settled back into a calm quiet, as the movie continued to play. Tommy looked around the room, his family; finally all together in the same space, happy and comfortable together. Tommy closed his eyes, settling back into the pillow. 

‘Now this was the perfect eve-’

“What’s that on your jeans?” Technoblade asked, cutting Tommy's thought off short, as he felt the Bean’s hand on his leg. Tommy peaked an eye open to see Technoblade looking at something on his jeans. 

“It’s blue paint.” Wilbur stated blankly, the warmth suddenly gone, the teen having turned around now staring at the massive blue splotch of dried paint on his leg. 

Instinctively, Tommy pulled his leg away from the Technoblade to his chest, the gaze of all three Craft family members following his leg unnervingly as he did so. The atmosphere of the room darkened, and suddenly Tommy wasn’t so content to see the rest of the movie.

“You know what, it’s getting late and I’ve already seen this movie before,” Tommy explained in an uneasy, upbeat tone, as he hastily pushed himself up and off the couch. “I think I might just head home early.” 

“What’s the rush Tommy?” Phil asked, slowly standing from the recliner, his gaze never leaving the boy as he crept forward. “Do you have something to hide?”

“Whaaat?” Tommy feigned confusion, sweat forming on his brow as he walked backwards towards the front door. All three Crafts had now stood and were slowly following him, synchronised in step, as he inched backwards. “You know me, big man. What could I possibly have to hide?”

“Curious question Tommy,” Wilbur replied tonelessly as the Beans advanced, pushing Tommy down the corridor as the three Beans came together, side by side. “You wouldn’t be the one responsible for things going missing, would you?”

Tommy swallowed hard as his heart rate spiked. 

Something was wrong. 

“You said it was mice, but somehow I doubt that is true.” Phil taunted darkly, Tommy tensing as his back made contact with the cold front door. 

“Quit it guys, you’re freaking me out.” Tommy laughed nervously, his hand searching for the door handle behind him, his gaze never leaving the three Beans as they continued to approach. 

“Oh Tommy,” Wilbur spoke in a sickly sweet tone, “Did you really think we wouldn’t figure it out?” 

‘What?’ Tommy’s thoughts short circuited, as he processed what Wilbur had just said. ‘He couldn’t mean? He’d been so careful, how would he know?’

“That you weren’t really like us.” Technoblade spat the dreaded words coldly, a sick smile of delight crept up his face.

Tommy was fully panicking now. Whatever was going on, this wasn’t the Craft Family that he knew and loved. They were possessed, or clones or evil twins- just not his Crafts! He turned to grab the door handle, to yank it open, but was alarmed to find the handle missing all together. 

“Oh come now Tommy, you can’t get away that easily.” Phil remarked as he stalked closer, Tommy whipping back around as he realised how close they were now. “Faking it all to get our love and affection? Honestly I thought you were smarter than that.”

“STOP!” Tommy yelled, squeezing his eyes shut, wishing everything would just go back to normal. “I DIDN’T FAKE ANYTHING! I LOVE YOU GUYS!”

“Love us?” Technoblade asked incredulously. “How can a pest love anything?”

Tommy snapped his eyes open and had to crane his head up to look at the three looming shadows of the Human Beans towering above him. He had shrunk.

All traces of love and kindness were gone from their faces, replaced by a malicious grins and ill intent in their eyes. That was all Tommy needed to see to know he was no longer an equal, but a prize to be fought over. 

“I think it’d be best we keep you somewhere you can’t cause any more trouble, don’t you think?” 

Tommy didn’t even know who was speaking to him now, all he could focus on was the jar that had appeared in Phil’s grasp. 

“Grab him.”

Tommy screamed, and began banging and clawing at the door, the walls around him fading to black as he desperately tried to get away. 

“PLEASE NO! YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THIS!” He screamed as the Beans knelt down, trapping him against the door. “I’LL LEAVE! YOU’LL NEVER HAVE TO SEE ME AGAIN, JUST LET ME GO!!! I’M SORRY!” 

The Borrower’s world grew darker, the Beans’ figures blocking out all sources of light as Tommy’s hand grew bloodied from how hard he was punching and scratching at the door. 

It couldn’t end like this. Not with them. Not his family…

Tommy had just enough time to turn his head as a hand filled his vision, the last of the light snuffed out as he was completely engulfed in the Human Bean’s hand.

“No one will ever love you Tommy.”

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*  ･ ｡ﾟ☆ : ☽ .* ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*

“NO!” Tommy yelled breathlessly, as he snapped up in bed, his heart pounding as a cold sweat dripped down his back.

His head whipped around, searching for any signs of the Crafts, hands, or jars, but all that met him was silence and the soft glow of his fairy lights, gently lighting up the space of his shoe box home.

“Oh.” Tommy shakily sighed, his shoulders sagging as his gaze landed on Henry who was head down on the floor. “I-It was only a d-dream. Just a dream.”

The Borrower reached over, snagging the cow plush from the floor and hugging it tightly as he slowly laid back down on his nest of blankets. He’d had a nightmare. None of it was real. He hadn’t been found out. Just a cruel trick created by his deepest fears and anxiety. 

Tommy laid in bed for a while just to let his nerves subside, as he took slow, deliberate deep breaths. That had all felt far too real for the Shifter. The events of last week must have been getting to him worse than he thought. 

After the incident with Techoblade, Tommy had kept to himself for the last two weeks. He’d made a couple of borrowing trips for snacks, but he didn’t waste time staying for longer than a few minutes, before getting back to the walls. He’d texted Wilbur and Phil a few times from the garage just to check in, but his mind had been occupied with Technoblade and how he could get to know the Bean without getting murdered in the process. 

He’d come up with a few ideas, like trying lunch again with Phil, or playing a game with him and Wilbur, but the moment of being caught in the kitchen; the pure rage on Technoblade’s face, had snuffed out any further planning. Seemed those scary memories of almost being caught were plaguing him far worse than he had realised. 

It was Saturday morning, and based on the light seeping in under the guitar pic door, he had more than justly overslept. Tommy ran his fingers down the back of the cow plush, squeezing it comfortingly in a hug. Perhaps he’d been away long enough now a visit would be okay? He could really do with a proper hug from Phil or Wilbur right about now.

When he felt ready, Tommy pushed himself out of bed and got changed- purposely checking that the jeans he wore had no paint stains on them, before heading out of the walls, shifting, and making his way around to the Crafts’ front door. He quickly raced up to the path and knocked a few times on the door, waiting for someone to come answer it. After a minute or so, soft footfalls approached from inside and Tommy relaxed, prepared to greet Phil as the door swung open.

“Hey Phil! Nice to see you…” The words died in Tommy’s throat when he was met with Technoblade. 

The tall pink haired teen had his reading glasses perched on his nose, and faced the blond with an equally surprised look on his face at seeing Tommy at the door. A flicker of annoyance flashed over the teens face, and instinct to react took Tommy over, as he rushed out an apology having disturbed Technoblades apparent peace. 

“S-Sorry! Sorry! I thought it was Phil coming to the door.” Tommy stammered quickly, keeping his head down as he shuffled awkwardly on the spot. “Is he or Wil around? If not, I can go.” 

Tommy wasn’t sure how Technoblade would react at seeing him, but when he looked up, he didn’t look angry, more so he looked to be feeling equally as awkward as the boy felt. But he thought he was-

“Um, no they’re not.” Technoblade explained as he scratched at the back of his neck awkwardly. “He’s taken Wilbur to a Doctor’s appointment this morning and they won’t be back until later this afternoon.” 

Tommy nodded in understanding, as the two just stood awkwardly by the door, unsure of what to do next. Tommy still wasn’t sure if he was even okay to even be in Technoblade’s presence at the moment. He was just about to turn and leave when Technoblade spoke up.

“You can come in and wait if you like. I’m just about to have some lunch, but you’re welcome to join me or watch a movie until they get back.” 

Tommy stood slightly dumbfounded by the statement. 

That was the last thing he had expected the pinket to offer. If anything, he was ready for another interrogation session- not lunch! Tommy studied the elder’s face, unsure if he was reading the situation right, but unlike the fury he felt last time, Technoblade really did seem genuine with his offer. 

“Only if that’s okay.” Tommy asked tentatively, biting his lip as he scuffed the toe of his sneaker against the front porch in a restless rhythm. “I don’t want to be a bother.”

“It’s fine.” Technoblade assured him, turning to walk inside and leaving Tommy at the door. “I kind of owe you a do-over for lunch anyway.” 

Tommy stood a little longer, waiting for Technoblade to turn back and snap at him, or slam the door in his face, but when the teen rounded the corner to the kitchen, leaving the door wide open, Tommy took a step closer to the door. 

“If you’re not coming in, could you at least shut the door?” Technoblade called from the kitchen, making Tommy flinch at the request. “You’ll let the bugs in.” 

Tommy stared at the door, noting the handle was where it had always been, and walked over to test its mobility. He held the handle and pulled down on it, noting the locking mechanism in the door moved in and out like normal, and sighed in relief. It was real, the door still worked and Technoblade had invited him in. While he still felt a little on edge, if Technoblade had invited him in then maybe this was the opportunity he had been hoping for? The Bean did say he owed him a do-over. 

Walking inside, Tommy pulled the door in behind him, closing it with a soft click before making his way down the hall into the living room. Technoblade was in the kitchen, a loaf of bread with what looked like ham and cheese on the counter, and was putting together a sandwich. 

“So there’s not a lot on offer in the fridge at the moment, as Dad hasn’t gone grocery shopping in awhile, but you ate a lot of ham and cheese sandwiches last time and lucky for you, that’s all we’ve got.” Technoblade said as he pulled out a knife to cut the sandwich in half. “How many would you like?” 

“Um, just one is okay, thanks. I’m not super hungry at the moment.” Tommy replied, slightly surprised by the teens' hospitality, as he moved further into the living room and over to the dining table. There were a few books scattered across the table's surface, with covers of Fencers and fancy looking swords/knives which caught the blond’s attention.

“If you want to sit where Phil normally sits at the end, then I don’t have to move any of my stuff.” Technoblade called to him and pulled out another slice of bread. “Unless you want to sit on the couch.”

Tommy shook his head as he quickly moved over and took a seat in Phil's chair, but once sitting he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the book of swords. Tommy knew Technoblade had an impressive collection of knives, but it had been awhile since he dared to go into the Bean’s room to steal a glance at them. The book to his right was enticing; the cover showing a silver knife with a red decorated hilt, and the Borrower side of him was beckoning him to get a closer look.

What he would give to have a blade like that. 

“Here’s lunch.” Technoblade stated, as he placed a plate down in front of Tommy. 

“T-Thank you.” He stuttered as the teen sat in his normal seat to Tommy’s right. 

They ate mostly in silence, the two just eating their sandwiches as time ticked on, neither individual really knowing what to say to the other. Technoblade hadn’t been expecting the kid to show up, and at first he was ready to slam the door in the kid's face and pretend he hadn’t even come by, but the image of Phil popped into his head and his words echoed in his mind. Give him a chance, he said. While Tommy looked just about ready to keel over, he supposed if he was to make amends with the kid, he’d have to try- and he’d much rather do it when his family was away then have them ‘help’.

Of course now he didn’t really know what to do beyond lunch. It’s not like he knew them like his Dad and brother did, so now it just felt really awkward. Tommy seemed quite content to keep his eyes averted from his direction in general, but that didn’t seem to stop the kid from continuously glancing at the books he’d been reading.

Technoblade was studying up on fencing techniques for an upcoming competition, and so he’d been making notes of the forms and stances to practice in the garden later, but the book that seemed to have the kid’s attention was his monthly copy of swords magazine. He had a feeling the kid couldn’t actually read- given the overheard conversations of Phil explaining stuff to him that was literally on the items label, but the magazine was more so made up of pictures rather than words, and it seemed to have the blond's attention. When they had finished lunch, he grabbed the magazine and slid it in front of Tommy.

“Here, I’ve got some studying to do for a while, but you can look at this if you want.” 

As soon as he walked away with the plates, Tommy’s hand was on the pages, the kid audibly gushing over the pictures with little ‘oos’ and ‘ahs’. Once the dishes were dealt with, Techno settled back down at the table, and couldn’t help a little smile as he watched the kid become enthralled by the pages. He soon returned to his study, but kept stealing glances at Tommy to catch his reaction to each new blade as he turned the page. 

“Oh come on, now that sword’s just silly.” Tommy stated aloud, as he turned to a page where the handle was in the shape of a fish, with the sword's blade coming out of its mouth like a tongue. “How could you ever cut down your enemies with a blade like that? The handle would reduce your movement!” 

“You’re not wrong.” Technoblade agreed looking at the page, as Tommy froze, seemingly forgetting the Bean had been there at all. “They always have one comedic blade in every issue, but honestly I don’t know why someone even makes them. They’re not practical.” 

“Right?!” Tommy replied, grabbing the magazine to hold it up right and pointing to the tail part. “I mean if i used this over my head, the tail would literally stab into my hand!”

“Only if you were inexperienced.” Technoblade replied, “But for a novice like you, it would probably.” 

“Hey, I’m no nov-ISS or whatever you called me! I’ve been using swords for years!” Tommy exclaimed proudly, setting the magazine down and turning the page. “But nothing as cool as these. I could only dream of a blade like this!”

“I’m pretty sure you’d poke your eye out first if you had that sword. It’s literally taller than you.”

“Would not!” Tommy whined and Technoblade smirked. 

“Would too.”

“Would NOT!”

“Would too.”

“Me me me. My name’s Technoblade and I ruin fun.” Tommy mocked, making hands and faces at Technoblade, who simply rolled his eyes.

“Sure, and you’re a child who can’t use a sword.” 

“HEY! If I had my pin sword on me, I could so stab you!” Tommy threatened jokingly, as he scrunched his face up, glaring at Technobalde.

“Pin sword? What, so you could prick my finger?” Technoblade teased, but the comment seemed to have the opposite effect as Tommy lost his smile and stiffened up.

“Pft? Me use a pin for a sword?!” Tommy laughed nervously. “That’s ridiculous! What kind of idiot would use a pin for a sword?” 

Technoblade wasn’t sure why the sudden comment, but Tommy was fidgeting with his hands in his lap and failing to look like he was fine. This was the weird behaviour he was worried about, but he hadn’t even done anything wrong this time, and this made Technoblade confused. What significance did a pin have that changed the kid’s whole demeanor? 

How a pin got the kid all worked up Technoblade wasn’t sure, but he felt bad for causing it- even if he didn’t understand the significance. He hadn’t even threatened Tommy this time! Technoblade stood, frowning slightly as Tommy flinched when he did so. 

“Wait here a moment.” Technoblade asked softly, as he stepped away from the table, turning and disappearing to his bedroom. 

Tommy didn’t dare move from the table as he waited for Technoblade to come back. He’d slipped up with the pin! They were actually making progress, and then he had to go ruin it with his pin sword talk. Normal Beans don’t use pins for swords! Now Technoblade was probably going to get his throwing knives and use him for target practice!

Soon the teen re-entered the living room, setting a thin medium sized black box down in front of Tommy before taking his seat back at the table. Tommy stared at the box skeptically, as the older teen watched him intently. Surely this wasn’t some kind of trap contained in a small box? Human Beans were clever, but this was Technoblade. Anything could be in the box. 

“Open it.” Technoblade urged gently, as he nudged the box closer to the blond. “I promise it’s nothing bad.”

Swallowing slowly, Tommy opened the box lid and set it to the side, as he lifted a piece of thin tissue paper to reveal a pen knife. 

Tommy’s jaw dropped open, his eyes going wide as he reached into the box and delicately took the pen knife into his hands. Whilst small compared to the other knives Technoblade had in his collection, this one was the longest knife Tommy had ever held. Sure his pin sword was longer, but this was intricately made, and made his pin pale in comparison.

The handle was a light brown wood with intricately carved swirls and patterns on the hilt, whilst the blade was made from a light silvery metal. Though the blade was completely dull to the touch, it reminded the boy of his failed Stanley knife borrowing trip. Perhaps if he spent enough time on it, he could sharpen the blade, Tommy thought as he ran his fingers along the slick surface.

Technoblade smiled as he watched the boy marvel at the trinket. He couldn’t help the fond look form as he watched the way Tommy's eyes lit up at finding the Ruby gem on the bottom of the handle. 

“Is this real?” Tommy asked, as he held up the Ruby embedded end. 

“Sure is.” He smiled as Tommy's jaw dropped in disbelief. “It’s one of my favourites for that reason.”

“It’s beautiful.” The boy whispered as he ran a finger over the gem. 

Phil and Wilbur had told him before how soft Tommy became when he was truly in awe of something. The way he settled into a comfortable silence as he handled what felt like the most precious item in the world. But to see the frightened boy from before so calm and in awe of something he loved so much, made him feel like it was Tommy who was truly the most precious thing in the world. 

After a little bit of staring, Tommy seemed to realise he was being watched, and smiled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. 

“I uh- guess you probably want this back huh?” He said sheepishly, quietly holding out the pen knife. 

Kid really liked this knife a lot huh? Well, it’s just one knife…

“I think you should keep it.” Technoblade proposes. “You’ll probably get more use out of it then I will.” 

Tommy recoiled at the notion as he tried to push the knife back into the pinket’s hands. 

“No no- I, I couldn’t! You said it’s one of your favourites and- and it’s a real Ruby! I’ll just end up wrecking it.” He stammered, desperately trying to get Technoblade to take the knife back. 

“Tommy, I have plenty of swords and knives in my collection. This one has just been in a box collecting dust in a drawer.”

Technoblade smiled before gently taking and opening Tommy's palms up, placing the pen knife in them, before curling the boy's fingers back around it.

“Besides, it suits you a lot more than me. I’m more of an emerald guy to be honest.” Techno smiled with a wink. 

The boy didn’t say anything at first, instead simply staring at the gift in their hands. Something about it just felt so right in his grasp. The weight, the colour, the details. Despite the part of his brain that said he was breaking the Borrower rules by having it, he didn’t want to give it back. This wasn’t a necessity for the Borrower to have, but the part of Tommy that wanted to be selfish and say yes was winning him over. 

“Only if you’re sure you won’t miss it.” Tommy asked carefully. “I don’t want it if you think you’ll need it later and call me a wrongin for keeping it.” 

Techno chuckled as Tommy eyed him off warily, but nodded as he reassured him that it was okay. He wanted the boy to have it and that if he didn’t, he certainly wouldn’t have offered it in the first place. He truly admired how considerate the kid was despite having so little.

Tommy turned the knife over, and gazed into the beauty of the ruby. It truly was striking in colour and everything about the blade just felt like it was made for him. He grabbed it by the handle and gave it an experimental slash in the air.

“Woah! Watch out.” Techno said as Tommy moved without warning. It was light and easy to handle and he just knew once he sharpened it up, it would be the perfect borrowing weapon. 

“How about we move to the garden before you go breaking something yeah?” 

Tommy smiled sheepishly, nodding in agreement, as Techno went and grabbed two of his sparring swords from his room. It had been a while since he’d taught anyone to fence that wasn’t his own brother, and he had a feeling it would be better to teach the kid some proper skills now, rather than let them be a hazard to himself.

“Come on, I’ll teach you some real skills before you go poking someone’s eye out.”

“Oh come on! I’d never do that. Well, except maybe to Wilbur if he annoyed me enough, but that’s an exception.”

Technoblade laughed as he patted Tommy on the back before leading them out to the garden.

Yeah. Kid’s alright.

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*  ･ ｡ﾟ☆ : ☽ .* ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*

Genuinely loved writing the nightmare scene! Was so much fun and all I could imagine was that scene in Toy Story 2 of Woody's nightmare when writing it and ugggh it was good! And yay! Bedrock bros bonding!!! It's been so long since we had nice fluff between these two <3 Now to make them brothers >:3

Thank you to @dingbatnix for beta reading. Bestie is working hard writing their Space Orcs fic at the same time which fyi, you should ALL get super excited for because I am in DEEP with the story and it's not even finished yet so get hyped!

Life update: As predicted, this ended up a little late 😅 Kind of got hit for 6 on the normal post date emotionally and just couldn't get myself motivated to format and post this so thanks for your patience!

As of right now, I officially have 7 days left of work before I leave my job which I'm so excited for! That work booklet ended up being 67 pages long which I'm so proud of, but my gosh I can't wait to get out of this job.

It's actually kind of sad for me as I get ready to leave, to think this will be the last chapter I post while working here. I even wrote some chapters of Jornos here on my break so it's nice to think that my fic has basically journeyed with me from when I moved to the city to this job and onto another chapter of life. I'll miss being here probably, but also won't lol. Gosh I'm not going to be ready when I finish the final chapter 😅

Fingers crossed I get the next chapter posted on time since I'll have officially started my course this time next month so guess we'll see what happens. Till then, thanks for reading! <3✨✨

TAG LIST: @bag-o-gummies @brick-a-doodle-do @justarandomsloth @veryfunkycheesecake @kayla-crazy-stuffs @da3dm

Tommy proudly came home from his little haul, he placed his findings on the ground and inspected every item—A decent amount of clean fabric, and even a few fruits—He thanked the gods he lived on the outer part of the city, so he could forage for food on the plants.

(He misses the food humans made though-)

He sat down in content, having already eaten on his outing. He quickly fixed up his area and snuggled underneath his covers for warmth, the night was spent with eerie silence, yet nonetheless, the borrower slept comfortably that night.

As the sun rose, rays of light beamed down onto the rundown streets of the once-populated city—it was still fairly populated, just not with the living—The borrower still slept soundly in the walls of one of the apartment buildings, Tommy was not a light sleeper in any way; that's when his instincts kick in and warn him if anything happens while he's sleeping.

His eyes blinked open, as he let out a groan while rolling out of bed. The blond grabbed his satchel and his items; he was planning to go to the inner city, risky yet necessary.

The young blond began to head out of his little cavern, he peeked out of the semi-opened window, and saw vast empty streets; he hurriedly started to run across the empty streets, still hiding under objects in case of any unexpected interactions, he knew better than to expect the streets were going to be this empty along the way.

He passed by a few of those mindless creatures, luckily none seemed to pick up on his scent; which was their most highly sensitive sense. As he neared the core of the city, groans became more apparent to his ears.

Tommy could do this! He was a big man, never mind that he was trembling.

Tommy dashed across the streets, nearly getting stepped on in the process; the blond yelped as he almost tripped over a tiny pebble. As he quickly regained his stature he spotted a store not too far away, the blond grinned widely as he began to sprint towards the store. The door was slightly ajar which worked in the blond's favor.

He rushed inside and he was instantly met with rows and rows of looming shelves, albeit it was a bit messy; it seemed that there was still edible food on the shelves. He immediately started to search for crisps; one of the few human foods he had the luxury of tasting, he eventually found the aisle that kept the junk foods.

The teen was practically drooling at the sight as he spotted one of the few crisps he tasted before. The borrower; despite his small stature, was strong enough to carry the lightweight bag back to his home, he however chose to open one of them to munch on.

His taste buds practically melted as the taste brought him nostalgia, he cherished the moment as he got lost in the taste. The blond kept scarfing down the food, as the teen continued with his actions; he was completely oblivious to the door creaking open.

He was snapped out of his trance as he heard a loud grumbling groan looming over him, he was met with the grueling face of the creature; the borrower screamed in terror as he tried scrambling away falling off the shelf in the process. The creature stumbled about, chasing the borrower knocking over the shelves, chaos brewed as the blond dodged objects.

His heart pounded in his chest, the rush of adrenaline pushing him to run faster and faster. He barely grasped the fact he ran face-first at a wall, he scrambled to the sides; not realizing he backed himself into a corner.

He turned around, registering that a shelf had fallen atop the mindless creature, it hissed and growled as it slowly broke itself free. Other shelves and various items blocked his way, he wasn't in great shape to climb any of them as well, that's when it dawned on him.

Shit...

He's done for.

His eyes watched intently as it wiggled itself out of its awkward position, the blond took a shaky breath; the entity roared as it reached out an arm, the sudden act forced him to instinctively shut his eyes and prepare for the worst. His ears felt like it was about to burst; all he could hear was loud ringing.

And then nothing.

He tried grasping onto the wall behind him, but his hold faltered as he dropped to his knees. The borrower trembled as he sensed a shadow loom over his wobbly frame. Incoherent words made their way to his ears, words that boomed, so much so that it sounded cold and terrifying.

Their words blurred together until he was met with a huge hulk of a man with a terrifying boar mask. His voice returned to him as he started spewing out curses or sentences like 'get the hell away from me!' The teen was nothing short of frantic as suddenly another figure came into vision, the new person was shorter than the man with a boar mask but was still significantly taller than him.

That didn't stop him from swatting and cursing at them until the man with golden locks like him spoke in a deep yet loving tone.

"Hey mate, we're not gonna do anything, but you look pretty shaken up-" The taller was cut off by the borrower's bold mouth. "Oi just back off man, I can take care of myself!" He retorted and stubbornly flipped him off.

"We still have to take these supplies back to our base, how about you think about it?" As the teen turned back around the two men already sheathed their weapons and began grabbing items, he wanted to protest as he watched them take away mostly all the food, yet his mouth snapped shut.

Was it that bad if he decided to go with them?

He was lost in thought until the familiar voice asked again, "Hey kid we're leaving, you sure you don't wanna come with us?" He was met with silence as Tommy blankly stared up at him. The man sighed as he turned to walk away.

He came to an abrupt stop as he heard the borrower's voice, now sounding smaller and rather...weak.

"Wait..."

It was the ninth time that week that pranks had been pulled around the casino. The pranks were basically meant for the casino clients. The three borrowers who put them on laughed a lot at the reactions of the people who fell for their pranks.

This time was different. The three of them were placed in a hidden place, where they could not be seen or caught, of one of the rooms in which they had put one of their pranks.

While they were talking, they noticed that the prank had been triggered, so they looked out to see the human's reaction. “Looks like someone fell into the pra-” “Tubbo? Are you okay?" Ranboo asked seeing his friend freeze. "What happened big man?" Tommy said, placing a hand on Tubbo's shoulder.

Tubbo froze as the human who fell for their prank turned out to be the owner of the casino that they had tried so hard to avoid. He turned to talk to his friends when he saw how the human's face showed an annoyed expression and flapped his wings in a way that seemed to have pissed him off.

“Gu-guys… We-we should go.” he said with urgency and fear. Before they could ask why, a shadow fell over them. Tommy and Ranboo froze at the sight. “Th-the o-owner of the ca-casino…” Reacting, Tubbo grabbed his friends' hands. "Run!"

But before they could escape a hand blocked their path. "So you guys are the bastards that have been bothering my clients." The borrowers were unable to respond due to shock. “Guess I'll just have to teach you guys a lesson…” He continued to grab Tubbo with one hand while holding Tommy and Ranboo in the other.

He brought the little boy closer to his mouth as he opened it by taking him inside without a second thought. He pushed the borrower into his mouth while covering him in saliva, noticing how the little one tried to move his tongue away. As he continued to lick him, he looked at the other two little ones in his hand. Both with horrified eyes fixed on his mouth.

He turned his attention back to the borrower in his mouth, which he had already completely covered in saliva. He tilted his head back slightly, taking a small swallow, sending the little boy down his throat. He felt him struggle as he went down his throat, feeling him enter his stomach soon after.

He did the same with the other two, the one who was taller than the others put up much less of a fight than his friends, while the blond one fought even more than the first.

He returned to his office, as he felt them snuggle into each other and fall asleep.

Tommy and Tubbo weren't bad kids, they were young with no parents. They were taught the rules by strangers who abandoned them the moment they could borrow.

They were born in captivity and sold to a rich child with a fascination with hurting things, if by Tommy's missing wings and Tubbo's scared face had anything to do with it.

People didn't stay with them for long.

Tommy was always too loud and Tubbo too easy, and they only stuck together.

They were a bit upset at being alone but both deemed to not need anyone else.

The two decided to leave and find another place to live, somewhere not many monsters dare to go. The Artic.

Tubbo built their first house, near a tree close but not part of the forest. Tommy began the underground gardening system which Tubbo ended up making it automatic, but continued to make touches and railroad tracks into caves and mines.

They hunted rabbits in the area for meat, and often take from the near by village.

One day though, Tubbo noticed an abandoned cottage near the village and quickly messaged Tommy about it, who immediately agreed to scoping it out for a hideout.

After gathering their supplies for the day, they went to explore the cottage.

There was a small enough crack in the door frame the the two borrowers to slip into. They froze at the large still warm room.

It wasn't dusty, so it couldn't be more than a few days that someone had been there. Tommy was a bit confused about it seeing as he would have noticed someone pass through here.

Tubbo pointed out that they lived near a forest and most people avoid them, but froze at the sound of a clatter.

Tubbo, with the better ears could hear aggressive whispering, "Someone is in my house Phil, the door didn't open, where are they?"

Tubbo nodded to his friend and pulled him closer to the counter and skimmed closer to the wall, taking out his hook, he and Tommy climbed up the counter at his urging.

Tommy made it first seeing three of their kind, "Sup Bitches!"

Tubbo made it up in time to see three grown men jump in fear, examining each one as Tommy talked.

The tallest looked to be a piglin Hybrid, the smaller usually stay in the Nether where their known about and treated equally. He wore a surprisingly nice long sleeve blue shirt and cloak.

The next looked human but his features suggest he's a piglin as well...just more human looking. He wore a similar cloak and shirt and the tall one.

The final man was shorter than Tommy, he had wings which was surprising in itself. That he still kept them after all, he wore a similar shirt but instead of a cloak he was a ponch and a bucket hat. What startled Tubbo, was that he seemed to be studying them like he was them.

There eyes met briefly as Tommy waved his arm in front of him sounding heated, causing him to tone in.

"I'm calling as I see it! The old man's gonna get it if he doesn't stop staring at my friend!"

"For someone so small, why are you so loud? Don't call us pets!" The middle one growled out.

"Where's the monster of this place anyway, we've never noticed anyone coming to and from here." Tubbo interrupted.

He watched the tallest flinch as the shortest puffed up angrily ready to defend their owner when Tommy interrupted, "Tubs, they could be one of those people."

Tubbo flinched, and looked at the older men, "Surely Not, Big Man, something is off about them but we can leave if you want."

"What! After you insult us! What kinds of people!?"

"Monster apologists, their pets who do anything for their Master. Even capture more of our kind, we've been here to long, let's go." Tommy led the way, leaving the shocked men on their counter top.

Tubbo stares at them, "Do you not have a rope to climb down? I didn't see and ledges and stuff to move around on."

The shortest still glared but it soften a bit, "I can get us down, where do you live? Can we visit?"

Tubbo looked down at Tommy as his friend shook his head no, "We'll visit you."

The kid jumped, catching the rope instead of plummeting to his doom. The three men looked over the ledge with eyes in shock as Tubbo pulled his hook down.

Tommy grinned up, "Have fun with your Monster folks!"

His friend yanked him along as the middle one made offended noises, something not sitting right as they squeezed through the door and made their way home.

"Tommy, I think they were in captivity. They didn't know how to react to us and two of them were piglin Hybrids, they probably got sold."

"Poor blokes, we'll visit them tomorrow, I'll apologize to them too." He didn't want to, but even he was a victim of only knowing monsters.

Tubbo began to start dinner, it becoming darker and darker outside.

========

The snow beginning to pick up, Tommy was working on his stone sword when someone knocked on the door.

Tubbo had a hunch on who it was.

He was correct when three familiar faces were shown shocked at the sight of them, "If you're coming in, please hurry."

Tommy shut the door with a knowing look as the grown men inspected their home, "So you two live alone? How old are you seven?"

Tubbo could hear the concern but Tommy huffed, "We are fifteen thank you very much! What about you old people? Huh? Ancient?"

"Well let's introduce ourselves huh? I'm Wilbur, I'm the very charismatic of the bunch. My brother here is Technoblade, he's the fighter. Here's the old man, Philza or Phil."

Tubbo can just feel Tommy roll his eyes, "I'm Tommy the handsomest in the whole land and the biggest man, and over there is Tubbo, he is my best friend and brother. Wilbur, your names shit, I hope you know that."

Tubbo continued to say nothing as he finished making dinner and Tommy continued, "So, how did you end up in a mon-"

"Before you finish that sentence, Mate? What monster and why do you call him that?" The newly dubbed Phil asked.

Tubbo answered as he approached, "That's what our kind call big folk, you know, giants? Human and Hybrids? They're monsters, all of them."

Wilbur narrowed his eyes, "How about size shifters? Reckoned they're good."

Tommy tilted his head, "Haven't met one that wanted to shrink to our size, seen a few go Titanic but they tried to kill everyone."

Tubbo might have been the only one to see the oldest man frown a bit before smiling, "How about you two show us how to survive, like without the big folk."

Tommy caught on to the fact he didn't say Monster but said nothing, "Don't know, you three are pets-"

"We are not pets!" Technoblade finally spoke, his eyes peering down at Tommy and him being unfazed.

Tubbo sighed, he honestly didn't know what to think about the implications he was getting but no harm in being prepared, to bad this was the last time he'd think on it.

For a moment, the other teen seem to contemplate it.

Tommy's face finally grew Stony, "Nope, you're better off as pets or being self taught. You can spend the night but leave after."

Unfortunately, years of being abandoned is still a fresh wound.

Wilbur tried reasoning, "You're the only ones we've met like us! We've no idea how to do things on our own! Also if we run away-"

"You'll lead your monster straight to us and get us all caught, I'm not risking our lives like that." It was rare that Tommy put his foot down, but even rarer for Tubbo to object.

"If we don't, they could still tell their Monster where we are." Tommy looked shocked but resigned.

Technoblade looking a bit uncomfortable before speaking again, "He wouldn't bother you even if he did know."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Riiiight."

====An image of drawn on wings appears on Tommy's back and tears on Tubbo's face.====

It started off slow, teaching basics of climbing and mending clothes first. Technoblade was great at mending, nearly on par with Tubbo. And he and Wilbur both Excell at climbing. Philza was actually on par with Tubbo for mending and pretty decent at climbing without rope, though he had wings he referred to it as handicapping himself.

They were decent in keeping up with Tommy and Tubbo themselves, but the two found that they were better fighters.

Now the teens needed fighting lessons, though the sneaking and stealing was the difficult part.

It's kinda insulting for these grown men to ask for help and not need it, and Tommy let them know.

They were sheepish as Tubbo led Techno to the farm, they bonded over the automatic farm he and Tommy created. Technoblade suggested and easier way to do it but Tubbo shook his head sadly.

"Mobs love going after our kind, not Endermen, even when we look them in the eye. But other mobs will Hunt us down. We try not to dig that deep, and avoid getting Iron ores...not that we can use them." Understanding reached the older Hybrid's eyes as Tubbo led him away.

It had been two weeks after that conversation that Tubbo finally let them see his horns, rubbing at them as they matured and needed a day.

Philza remain with him as Tommy took Techno and Wilbur hunting with him.

The elder man asking the hard questions as he made the child some tea, "Tell me, how did you get your...wounds."

Tubbo flinched and backed away from Phil before taking a deep breath, "Tommy and I...we were born and raised in captivity, we got sold to be a child's pets. They hurt Tommy so bad, then they tried to set me on fire with a torch...their mother stopped them before they touched me. But they believed me and Tommy were too...broken. so we were thrown out.

"More of our kind found us, but after teaching us what we know they left us. It's why we live outside instead of in the walls of a Monster's house...Tommy was too loud and I was too dumb to leave him."

Phil looked on the verge of tears, "You're not dumb, you're pretty wise for your age."

Before dozing off Tubbo managed to speak again, "No choice when you and yer friend are alone."

In the month, Tommy managed to let slip that he used to have wings and broke down in Tubbo's arms as the adults looked on in horror.

A child, ripping off his wings just because he asked them for an hour of rest. Then proceeded to play with said wings, nobody said anything as Phil flutted his own wings and occasionally covered the two children like a shield.

====The Next Month====

Tubbo laughed as Wilbur and Tommy shouted at each other about the best way to hunt. Phil would disappear once a week before returning with soft material for clothes, but Technoblade.

Technoblade was acting peculiar and even Tommy noticed, the two would ask if he were okay but he would nod and shoo them off.

The piglin Hybrid had been looking uncomfortable for the past few days, Phil and Wilbur seem to be waiting for something while Tubbo tried everything in his power to make him comfortable.

Tommy was concerned, not that he would show but got the material for Tubbo's gift to the older men.

For Philza, Tubbo made another ornament for his hat, a bee and raccoon.

For Wilbur, Tommy and Tubbo managed to have enough redstone for a music room. Tommy himself listen to Will play the most.

Tubbo was nervous about his gift to Techno, as Tommy gifted him a stone axe with self made design.

Tubbo, still focused on the Hybrid's discomfort, made his a pillow that looked like a ravanger. He gave a toothy grin and hugged the kid, keeping it close as he dozed off.

Tubbo will deny his tail ever wagging.

It wasn't until the next morning things made sense and seemed...bad.

Tubbo's horns hurt as Techno himself grunted in his discomfort, so they couldn't get things done.

Wilbur and Tommy got into another argument but this time about borrowing iron from the village which Phil helped Wilbur understand why not.

They were due for another hunting trip but with Technoblade and Tubbo out of commission, Phil had to go with them despite not wanting to leave the two.

Technoblade decided to stay on the couch instead of his newly added room and Tubbo remained near in case neither could handle the stairs.

When Tubbo blinked awake, it was to the noise of rushing wind and screams.

The ground shook under him as the house quaked, Pillagers

Tubbo quickly crawled over to Techno, too dizzy to stand and a shock went through his body.

The piglin Hybrid was much larger than their little couch that he slept on, Tubbo could place two hands on the older Hybrid's face and attempted to awake him.

"T..ech..no, we need to move, please wake up." Just as Tubbo stuttered that out, a booted foot came through the borrower's home, a pained and fearful cry escaped him as he missed a single red eye open.

Something wrapped around his waist, startling him as he looked up fearful at Techno.

The Hybrid looked pained as he began to expand higher through the ceiling, Tubbo watched in horrified fascination as the hand he was in curled closer to an eye.

"Tubbo, you know me, you know I'd never hurt you. Please hold on to me, I don't want you getting hurt." Tubbo's body went on autopilot as the hand was brought closer to the mon- the neck of Technoblade.

Tubbo held on as the body finally broke through the house, shielding him from danger.

A gleam brought Tubbo to attention, a light blue axe appeared in the giant's hand shimmering with unspoken enchantments. Tubbo had only heard of diamonds before, he was not disappointed.

Technoblade slashed through all his enemies, all the while keeping an eye and ear on Tubbo.

The beat of large wings alerted Tubbo to another person, Philza. The oldest coming from the air like an Angel of Death.

Tubbo could make out two people against his own throat, Tommy and Wilbur.

Unfortunately Phil didn't catch sight of him and the borrower was being grabbed in a tight fist, "Come on Mate! You're not prepared enough for this."

Technoblade's ear twitched and the scared pain Yelp, "Philza! Let go! You have Tubbo!"

The crushing weight was immediately gone as the kid took deep breaths barely hearing Techno's instructions, "Tubbo, I'm going to have to fight my way through. Hold on the best you can."

As that was said, the older hybrid began to lurch forward. Tubbo caught glimpses of Phil fighting alongside, but his focus was on not falling.

Not being ripped away wasn't part of this, a small glowing Fae creature tackled Tubbo and flew him away.

========

Tommy watched as his best friend got carried away by a Vex, "TUBBO!"

Wilbur flinched at the volume and Phil slightly stiffen but didn't falter in his fighting, Technoblade visibly looked around when it happened.

The small army was thinning down as the two watched out for the vex with the ram Hybrid, carefully taking out other vexes that went for Tommy or Wilbur.

Techno knew there was one left as bodies turned to emeralds, but the snow began to become blinding and Tubbo's scent getting fainter.

Phil had to physically drag him to the cabin, Wilbur had grew to his full size and started a fire and proceeded to hold Tommy.

Who was using all his energy in fighting Wilbur's hand, "I have to find Tubbo! Wilbur let go!"

The small being froze as Techno and Phil entered the space, "Don't worry Tommy, we'll find him. But we'll be useless in this weather."

Phil attempted to comfort, suddenly feeling too large compared to the child. The man can barely see his facial features, but even he could tell that he was terrified.

The silence was thick and tension high and the broken voice to an all too small child spoke up, "So... this is it? You...you really got us to trust you-"

Wilbur knew where this was going, "Tommy, Tommy no-*

"You shithead's are really fucked up! What next? Am I a pet? Did you honestly sell Tubbo!?" Tommy continued, the only one about to tell he's crying was Wilbur.

Techno didn't say anything as Tommy yelled, guilt too strong in his gut. He slowly turned to the window, the snow falling harshly as Tubbo got farther and farther.

They were getting Tubbo back.

========

Tubbo wasn't feeling well, his head throbbed because of his horns and he was cold. His cagemate wasn't much better so he can't complain.

Enderfae were quite rare on the market, Tubbo had only met one that he called The Captain. Well sorta, he was of Dragon variety.

Tubbo doesn't like to think what happened to him.

The Enderfae was crying, as the Pillager added their cage to his wall. A pillager outpost.

"HHey, it'll be okay, I'll find a way out of this. My... family will come for us." Tubbo tried to soothe knowing that he was making empty promises.

"Its okay, I've come to terms with this the moment I got captured. I hope my friends are okay. My name's Ranboo."

"I'm Tubbo."

========

The cabin was dark, Wilbur slept curled around a pillow which held a borrower.

A borrower who's trust they destroyed...one of two.

Upon closer inspection, you could see the tear stains down his face. Filling the larger three with guilt, sympathy, and rage.

Technoblade added more Regen and Health Potions to his pack, his old red cloak was taken from the closet and put on. A large netherite axe lay strapped to his back along with his trusty trident.

His bright golden crown lay on his head once again as he readjusted his armor.

He stood in full netherite armor, his hair lay hazardous around his head. Stiffening as hands began to braid it into a ponytail.

"Be careful Technoblade, Tubbo is fragile compared to me and Wil. He might be afraid, try not to hurt him and try not to get hurt." Philza warned.

Techno responded in a snort, He was the Blood God, of course he'll be careful

========

Technoblade isn't always the lovable dope he shows his family, he was ruthless, dangerous, and incredibly protective.

Everyone knew of him, but very few knew him.

When something happens to his family, he hunts down the threat and if it's killable...need he continue?

A pillager kidnapped his little brother, his pack, and expects not to be hunted down like prey? Pillagers are not known for brilliance.

"Technoblade?!" A familiar voice rang out behind him, a feral growl escaped him.

Dream, Sapnap and George ran up to him. All equipped in their own armour, oddly enough Dream was without his mask and tear stains on his face.

They hesitated, they each had seen Technoblade in his most feral and bloodthirsty before, so they new to be cautious.

Sapnap spoke in Piglin, "Techno? Did something happen to Wilbur and Phil?"

"New Pack, Pillagers took him!" It was no secret that Feral Technoblade couldn't speak common, but it was still a surprise each time someone heard it.

Sapnap nodded, "We'll help, Pillagers stole my Inferno. Work together?"

The trio watched as the Piglin Hybrid nodded in agreement, it had been a while since they teamed up. What better way than to save family.

~~~~~~~~

Tubbo and Ranboo talked quietly, trying to brighten their seemingly dark future.

Ranboo talked about what he remembered before being bought by his Haunting, then finally trusting them and calling them his.

Tubbo spoke of his Herd, how he met the older three and how he knew one was just giant. How he observed them long enough to trust them, and their names.

Both promising the other that if they live or die that the other tell their family.

Not that it was necessary, about three minutes later an alarm went off, alerting the occupant of intruders.

Hope filled the two as yells of fear and agony echoed through the building, scaring the Evoker that captured them.

The pillager didn't have time to cast a spell when a familiar face burst through the doorway.

Tubbo could see the rage in his red eyes, but his happiness clouded judgement.

"Techno!"

For a moment, his rage cleared only for it to return full force at the Evoker.

Not long after that, he was struck down and Technoblade gently took the cage off the wall. He noticed the Enderfae and looked around for others.

His clawed hand wrapped around the small cage at the sight of small bones and jarred tiny insides, the only other living thing in the room was a small zombie Piglin hybrid in a jar next to the taxidermy book.

He took the jar and opened it, grabbed the child and opened Tubbo's cage and passed them to him.

As the building began to burn, Technoblade left just as fast as he arrived.

Tubbo watched as Ranboo called out to three individuals, he recognized one being a Mushroom hybrid but not the other two.

The baby zombie Piglin Hybrid curled next to him, both shivered just realizing the cold.

The bandana wearing man looked to Technoblade, "I can carry them if you want, keep them warm. You did agree to let us spend the night at your place."

He didn't understand the snorts and grunts but it seemed like the baby did because he copied.

That brought a soft smile to the bandana boy and Technoblade, the later grinned at Tubbo.

Soon they were on the move again. Tubbo and Ranboo huddled the baby Piglin, more relieved than before that they were saved.

========

Tommy hadn't eaten anything since Tubbo was taken, he hadn't interacted nor did he call Wilbur name and claim he was bald.

The two sizeshifter knew deep down that he wouldn't get better unless Tubbo was with them again.

The front door swung open revealing a steaming Sapnap holding something against his chest with the protective determination that was only in reserve for his friends and family.

Soon the rest of Dream Team and Technoblade entered the cabin, they were covered in soot smudges and looked exhausted.

Phil could see Tommy stiffen and move further from the door but settled on Technoblade, "Tubbo?"

Sapnap moved his arms to reveal a small cage with three small beings inside, one Phil recognized immediately.

"Tubbo!" Philza approached the younger man, who backed away at the same time as Ranboo flinched.

But the old man was patient, and the cage was released again, this time Tubbo was halfway through the door and jumping into Phil's hands.

"Hi Phil! Where's Tommy!?" Tubbo looked exhausted as well.

As gently as well as fast as he could, Phil brought his hands on the table so Tubbo could run to Tommy.

"Tubbo!"

"Tommy!"

The duo hugged until Tubbo passed out and caused a mass panic from everyone but Ranboo.

 ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*  ･ ｡ﾟ☆ : ☽ .* ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*

Things fell into a comfortable pattern after that Saturday.

Once a week, Tommy would come around for lunch or dinner and hang out with the Crafts. At first, it was to just watch a tv show or chat, but slowly over time it became an afternoon out in the park, or baking with Phil, listening to guitar with Wilbur. A short thirty minute stay grew to an hour, then two, then three and soon Tommy was around a couple times a week. The more time he spent out in the open with the family, the less time he began to spend in the walls.

Even on days when they weren’t home, Tommy often found himself hanging out in the open at Bean size. He’d slowly been starting to understand the clock on the wall and how time worked.  Turns out the little sticks on the clock were actually important, and now Tommy knew what it meant when Phil said he’d be working from 9:00 till 5:00pm. 

Essentially, the need to borrow at night all the time became less of a necessity, as did bringing his borrowing gear with him. Why use a hook and rope to reach the top shelf, when you can just grow and reach the shelf with your hands? Although he did still keep his hook on him, just until he left the walls. 

The number of mousetraps had doubled since he accidentally set the one off in the garage. The following day, Tommy had done a scout for more traps and disarmed six traps, (three of which were also in the garage) but when he returned to set the phone charger up, the traps were reset with more surrounding the last.

Though he had set the phone up, the traps were starting to appear in other rooms, and it certainly had Tommy more alert until he was clear of the walls. If setting them off caused Phil to get more, then he was better off leaving them untouched to reduce the risk, but having traps lurking around every corner was extremely nerve wracking with the threat they posed. Shifting into the open was honestly an instant relief to just escape the damn traps.

He found the quiet life he once had in the walls had begun to be overtaken by his want to remain a part of the Beans’ world. The key Phil had given him was hung proudly on his wall, since he didn’t really need it to get in and out of the house. While he knew Phil and Wilbur said he could come whenever he wanted, he never had the heart to leave a note like Phil had asked. He knew he was welcome to visit, but something about telling the Beans he’d visited while they were away didn’t sit right with the Borrower. 

Borrowers weren’t meant to be seen, afterall. Leaving a note felt wrong, and went against the boy’s instinct to remain hidden. 

When the Crafts weren’t home, he was learning about their world in a way he never would have dreamed of as a Borrower. Watching movies was a personal favourite pastime, as was tinkering with the house appliances. Did you know that a toaster makes bread like, ten times tastier? It comes out warm and crispy and with butter added on top, it’s like a party in your mouth! Except when it’s burnt- he doesn’t recommend the black bread. No amount of butter can save it- trust him, he’s tried. 

If he left a note saying he’d been and spent the whole afternoon fiddling with the record player or TV, he’d look a bit silly. Although he had a sneaking suspicion Phil knew whenever he’d been over. Of course, he’d shrink and leave before the Crafts ever arrived home to find out he’d been, but the knowing looks he’d get when he next visited and as they randomly decided to show him how to use whatever he’d been messing with without them, was enough to confirm Phil was at least somewhat aware of what he’d been doing. 

There was however still one member of the Crafts not so fond of his visits.

Technoblade rarely ever spent any one-on-one time with Tommy. Had the blond not watched him from the walls, Tommy would know basically nothing about the Bean. If he ever overstayed his welcome, Technoblade had a way of letting him know. He was grateful that Phil and Wilbur very rarely ever pushed questions about his past, and had long since stopped asking him about his parents and trying to walk him home from the park without his permission, but Technoblade still pushed the occasional uncomfortable question. 

Ever since his outburst at that first lunch, Tommy had been extra wary of just how observant the pinket was, but he was running out of excuses to his onslaught of questions. Questions that were always a little too close for comfort…

“How’s school Tommy?”

“Oh you don’t go to school Tommy? 

“Why is that Tommy?”

“What’s home life like Tommy?”

“What did you do today Tommy?”

While the questions may not sound bad to the average listener, Technoblade always asked them in a way that had him on edge. Often he just changed the subject or would answer with the same fake cover story, but those answers wouldn’t satisfy the insistent teen for long. Wilbur and Phil sort of covered his reasoning by answering for him, but it only made Technoblade more persistent the next time he asked.

As much as he wanted Technoblade to like him, Tommy didn’t want to jeopardise his secret and figured with time, he may be able to work something out to gain the Bean’s favour. Probably not any time soon, but that was okay. 

He’d been patient this long.

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*  ･ ｡ﾟ☆ : ☽ .* ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*

It was another normal Thursday afternoon, and based on the lights' high position in the walls, nearing mid-day. That aching feeling in the Borrower’s chest was creeping up on him again. Tommy hated to admit it, but he recognised the feeling well, and was determined to not let it bring him down. He had coped with far worse and for far longer before. Just because he felt lonely again did not mean he was going to let it consume him now.

He stared around his room knowing it was probably due a clean and dust down, but his gaze trailed back and lingered on his guitar pic door. It had been a couple of days since he last caught up with one of the Crafts. Maybe he could head out and just pop in for a bit? Or even hang out in the living room and watch a movie till someone got home, shrink and then reappear? That certainly sounded more appealing than staying here for much longer. 

At least movies drowned out the quietness the room held. 

Tommy decided that was probably for the best. Better to escape his plaguing thoughts and try and distract himself then clean a home no one would ever see. 

‘Greedy brat.’ 

The bitter comment hung heavy whenever his home held just a few too many items. His old alley in the colony only ever had a trashy bed made of leaves and small food storage of one or two crumbs at a time. If he ever had anything more, it wouldn’t be long before another Borrower decided he had too much, and would strip it of everything that Tommy found remotely important. Those were harsh weeks, scouring for scraps to simply survive the night. 

Looking at the cow plush and feather key chain he’d been given made his heart warmly swell, knowing that no one could take these gifts from him now. 

Throwing on his red hoodie, Tommy slipped out the front door and began a slow walk to Wilbur’s bedroom. Thanks to the floor entrance by the Bean’s bed, he wouldn’t need his gear to emerge in the Bean’s space, but his hook still bumped rhythmically against his side as he walked, just in case. 

Tommy’s house was only a meter or so from Wilbur's bed behind the walls. When he first scouted the place, he found the old shoe box crammed into the wall, untouched besides the thick layer of dust that had formed on the outside. How the old box had ended up in the wall was beyond the Borrowers' understanding, but on his first scout, it had not been his first choice of living quarters. 

It would serve as a decent enough camp whilst he looked for somewhere more permanent, but of course it just so happened that same first night, Wilbur had come home and decided to play guitar all evening. Any other plans he’d had to scout further were immediately diminished by the sweet strumming of Wilbur on his guitar, which had Tommy’s thoughts completely enthralled. It was all he could think about whilst he tried to scout a better home base, but every time he found somewhere more suitable, the guitar melodies would play in his mind on loop. 

Sure it was dangerous living in a space so close to a Human Bean, but logically he argued Wilbur was the easiest to borrow from, and only two rooms down from the kitchen which made food runs a lot easier with less distance to traverse. Besides, Danger was his middle name- Of course he lived life on the edge!

As he walked down the thin corridors, Tommy ran his hand along his safety line, checking everything was still intact. He passed by an old entrance he had semi closed back up since Wilbur rearranged his room, leaving the initial entry/exit spot exposed between the Bean’s bed and dressing table, and continued on to the one in the far corner under the Bean’s bed. 

This entrance was cleverly hidden in the very far corner behind where the wallpaper met the floor. It blended in with the dark shadows cast by the bed overhead, and had bits and bobs shoved in front of it from Wilbur's lazy cleaning habits, which made it perfect to hide by when Tommy wanted to be closer to the music in action- even if he couldn’t actually see anything. 

He emerged slowly, looking and listening for any sign of the Bean being around and edged his way to the end before peering out and up to the bed above in case Wilbur was on top of it. Not seeing any discarded school bag, or socked feet over the edge, Tommy inched out further confirming the coast was clear.

It was a Friday afternoon and a quick glance at Wil’s alarm clock showed in red it was 12:46pm. Phil had gone to work this morning and the twins were at school, so they wouldn’t be home for at least a couple more hours yet. Now would be a good time to do a quick food restock and then a movie whilst no one was home. 

Tommy focused his thoughts and allowed himself to grow in size, taking a moment to adjust to the room change as he regained his bearings. The head spinning he felt afterwards was slowly getting better with practice, but it was still always such a rush knowing this was something he could do.

Slowly opening the door and closing it behind him, Tommy tiptoed down the hallway carefully surveying the kitchen and living room, just in case someone was home. He made almost no noise as he went, his movements slow and intentional as though a single sound would echo like a screech. Body pushed up against the wall, the blond peaked around the corner to the kitchen and spied the phone charger port. As per usual, all three phones were missing from their cords, and looking by the window showed that no new lunch dishes appeared to be by the sink. 

The coast was clear. 

Tommy breathed, releasing the tension he’d been holding and slunk into the kitchen, going straight for one of the upper cabinets. Hopefully they had bought some more- AH HAH! Yes! They did buy more BBQ crackers like he hoped! A new packet had just been opened, and he quickly pulled out a good handful, popping them on the bench and returning the packet back to the shelf closed back up. 

Now if he just had something to wrap them up in, looking around the other shelves… Ah, perfect! Cling film on the top shelf. A bit of that would do nicely. The blond reached up on his tip toes as high as he could to reach the roll of plastic wrap, but even at his Bean height he couldn’t seem to reach it. 

‘Ugh, what's the point of being able to shrink and grow if I still can’t reach the top shelf?’ 

Not overly considering his safety and whether this was a good idea, Tommy pushed himself up onto the kitchen counter, and hastily stood up on the wooden surface. He teetered out on the edge a little bit to get around the open cabinet door and stuck his hand into the cupboard, feeling about till his hand landed on the smooth surface of the plastic, and began to gently tug it out. 

“Almost- got it.” He mumbled in concentration, as he stuck his tongue out for extra focus.

“What are you doing?” a loud voice demands from behind the boy.

Tommy yelped in surprise and slipped forward, grabbing onto the cabinet door for purchase as he tried to regain his balance. Clinging to the door, he pulled himself back up to stop himself from falling to the kitchen floor below, hitting the door with a slight thud. His head shot back over his shoulder, fire in his eyes, ready to cuss out whoever almost sent him tumbling to the floor.

“HEY! Can’t you see I’m trying to-” The words died in his throat.

There standing with a steely glare in the entry doorway was Technoblade- and he looked pissed. 

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*  ･ ｡ﾟ☆ : ☽ .* ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*

Technoblade just wanted to eat his lunch.

While technically he should be in school right now, he’d left his lunch at home and he wasn’t particularly fond of the cafeteria food they served. Wilbur had joked, and dared him to run home and get it not believing he’d actually go for it, but it had been awhile since he had gone for a decent mile run and he really didn’t feel like eating whatever slop they were serving. Besides, any opportunity to stick it to his brother's ego was always funny.

What he hadn’t expected when he came through the locked doors of his house, was to see Tommy scaling his kitchen cupboards. 

Now don’t get him wrong, he was slowly getting over how attached his brother and father were to the kid- as long as they left him out of it. But having the kid over and knowing he was coming was one thing; but having them in their house, when no one was home and getting in without a key was something else entirely. The front door was locked, he knew that when he slipped the key in and unlocked the latch; but somehow that same kid was in his house, scaling their furniture and stealing their food? 

How did he know he wasn’t stealing their stuff too?

Tommy froze like a deer in headlights, with Technoblade’s gaze trapping him in place. He’d seen the Bean mad before from a distance, but this was an entirely different level of ‘you’re stuffed.’ Technoblade’s brown eyes were almost glowing red with fury and Tommy felt powerless against them. Phil and Wilbur hadn’t had a problem with him taking their stuff, but Techno clearly was not. 

“I-um was, um.” Tommy fiddled with the cabinet handle, avoiding Technoblade’s gaze atop the kitchen counter as he tried to think of a reasonable excuse.

“Get. Off.” Technoblade gritted out, his jaw clenched as he motioned once with his hand for Tommy to get down.

Tommy obeyed instantly, his heart rate spiking as he tumbled off the counter as fast as his gangly limbs would let him. He honestly didn’t know what to do. In Techno's eyes, he’d magically appeared in the kitchen and was taking food without permission- that would look bad to anyone! 

“Do you want to explain why you’re in my house?” The pinket spat as he stalked closer to Tommy. “Or better yet-” now only a foot away, Techno leaned in as the boy swallowed hard as he was threatened.

“How?”

Rather than answer, Tommy's breathing picked up and the instinct to flee screamed at him to run. 

‘Did he not know about the spare key? Surely Phil would have told Technoblade it was okay for him to be here when they weren’t?’

One glance his way told the Borrower he didn’t think as much. He needed to escape, to flee, to getaway or else Techno would skin him alive! His body began to grow warm and instantly the Borrower realised what it meant. 

No, no no no! His body was trying to shift! 

His fight or flight response was kicking in and now was the worst possible moment! If he shifted now, Technoblade would know he wasn’t Human and everything he’d worked for would be ruined. He couldn’t let that happen. He had to control it. 

Technoblade stood expectantly waiting for an answer. The kid looked terrified, and had his head down, eyes squeezed firmly shut, as they tried to steady themself. It almost looked like his whole body was moving with his breathing and it made the teen feel off. Part of him felt bad for scaring Tommy so badly, but at the same time he wanted answers and was sick of the kid dancing around the truth. If he wouldn’t be open and honest, then that made the kid a threat. He would do anything to protect his family, and if that meant terrifying some orphan child to do so, so be it.

“Well?” Technoblade insisted impatiently, when Tommy’s breathing finally evened out. “I’m waiting.”

Tommy took a deep breath, feeling the last of the tingly sensation die out, noting the world hadn’t changed size and he had stayed the same size minus maybe a centimetre or two. 

‘Okay good; one crisis averted.’ Tommy thought as he prepared to face whatever Technoblade had in store for him.

“Umm, fancy seeing you here.” The blond greeted awkwardly. 

Okay look he doesn’t have a lot of options in this situation and if there was one thing he was good at, it was lying his way out of sticky situations. Though Technoblade didn’t look all that convinced.

“I live here dumbass. Try again.” 

Tommy bit his lip as Techno’s impatience grew. 

“I was in the area, and being the incredibly handsome man I am, I decided I’d come pay you all a visit but whoops! I forgot you losers had school so thought I’d come in anyways and treat myself to your hospitality without you, because CLEARLY, you are lacking it.” 

Technoblade didn’t seem to appreciate that answer either…

“Look, I was just hungry and grabbing a couple of crackers.” Tommy pointed to the stack of BBQ crackers he’d gathered on the kitchen counter. Techno side eyed them but didn’t move.

“I was just trying to grab some cling film to wrap them up and go. Phil gave me a spare key and said I could come whenever. I was going to leave a note. Honest! ” 

It wasn’t exactly a lie. He really was going to grab the crackers and go. Maybe not leave the note thing or before the movie, but Phil did say he could come whenever he was hungry and take what he wanted. It’s why Phil had given him a spare key in the first place- even if he never actually used it.

“Don’t play ‘coy’ with me, kid.” Technoblade spat as he stepped forward to jab a finger into the blond's chest. “You don’t just show up in someone's house randomly to grab a bite and dip without asking first.” 

“But it’s the truth!” Tommy insisted. “Ask Phil and he’ll tell you!” 

Techno’s patience was thinning now. He of all people would know if his Dad gave out a spare key to the house. You don’t just give the random street kid a key and not say anything to your family. 

Tommy looked just about ready to bite or cry- it was kind of hard to read them, not that he overly cared in the moment. It wasn’t completely unreasonable for his Dad to have given Tommy a key. His father did have a soft spot for kids and babies of sorts. He was convinced that Phil was half avian purely by the number of baby birds that man had nursed back to health; but a human child is a bigger deal than some fledglings, and he still should have told him if he was giving them a key.

Technoblade huffed as he rolled his eyes, harshly snagging Tommy by his hood, and dragged him into the living room where he unceremoniously dumped the boy on the couch.

“Don’t. Move.” Technoblade warned with a pointed finger, before moving to the hallway to call Phil, leaving Tommy splayed across the cushions to regain his bearings. 

He was getting to the bottom of this, kid be damned.

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*  ･ ｡ﾟ☆ : ☽ .* ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*

Ohhhh I've been waiting to post this chapter >:3 Honestly this fic was never meant to have this happen, but hey ideas happened and you're girl loves the angst and fluff times- even if we haven't had the fluff yet... (I'm sorry for the cliff hanger but the chapter got too long and I needed to split it!!!!) Also be honest, how many of you thought there would be a reveal this chapter? Genuinely curious if you did so let me know ;P

Thank you to my lovely beta reader @dingbatnix and the number of times I kept asking 'does this sound too forced' lol. I swear I kept asking you so many times about Techno's character in the lead up to this chapter and during it, you were probably sick of it lol. Thanks again for putting up with me and reading!!

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