Archive of Our Own ^beta

By the time they arrived at Novac, it was already close to dusk.

Tommy had kept up a continuous stream of conversation for the entire walk, and Technoblade had come close to shutting him up more than once. The constant questions were overwhelming, but at least it seemed Tommy must have realized that too because when Techno's answers started to become even more snappy than they already had been, the kid quickly switched to monologuing about whatever was on his mind.

Which turned out to be a lot. Technoblade probably couldn't have known more about Wilbur if he'd met the guy himself for how often Tommy mentioned him.

When finally the settlement came within sight, the sun had almost completely disappeared below the horizon. The neon sign from which the town borrowed its name flickered sporadically in the half-dark. Novac had been a simple roadside motel before the Great War. Not much of its infrastructure had survived the end times, most of the town had been constructed by the wastelanders that lived there now. But the sign that was supposed to tell passersby that there were no rooms available (or 'no vacancy') had miraculously kept standing, even if half the letters were missing.

Techno never got why they would waste part of what little power their generators could produce on keeping the sign lit up. Perhaps it was an odd sense of nostalgia that compelled people to keep the old world alive.

"We're going 'round back." He hopped over the road's barrier and into the thicket beyond, not wanting to approach Novac by the highway that ran through it and which they'd been walking on up until then. Tommy scurried after him.

"Why?"

"I told you, it's dangerous."

Apollo went ahead, leading the way through the forest. The dog knew where the safe paths were better than Techno himself did.

"Why is it dangerous?" Tommy asked behind him. His leg had been holding up pretty well, but after an entire day of walking, he was starting to limp. Come to think of it, seeing as Tommy used to be a vault dweller before, this was probably the longest stretch of time he'd ever spent being on his feet. Techno almost felt guilty.

"Do you ever stop asking questions?" He huffed when Tommy's only response was blowing a raspberry at him. "It's an army-controlled settlement. They don't take kindly to nomads."

"That doesn't make sense. The army's supposed to help people, Vault-Tec told us-"

"Before the war, maybe. These days they only help themselves." He looked over his shoulder. "Whatever they taught you in your vault, I suggest you unlearn all of it as soon as possible and start dealing with reality. The war did not bring the best out in people, or made them into heroes, or whatever they tried to convince you of down there... It just made us survivors, doing whatever it takes not to die."

Tommy fell into silence after that, deep in thought. If Techno had known delivering harsh truths was all it took to get the kid to stop talking he'd have done so ages ago.

They got to Novac's outer perimeter, sheet metal crudely patched together to form a protective wall. It probably did its job of keeping out mutant rats and other nasty creatures, but Techno knew how to circumvent its protection. All you needed was a pair of thumbs. He waited for Apollo to give the go-ahead first, knowing he would alert them if there was anybody idling on the other side of the wall. But Apollo only whined and scratched at the metal, eager to get inside after realizing where they were headed. Techno bent down to curl up the bottom, opening a small gap for them to crawl through.

He folded it back in place afterward, quickly checking both sides of the alley they found themselves in. It was filthy, squeezed between the houses and the metal coverings. Nobody would willingly spend any more time in it than was needed to dump their waste buckets, which is exactly why it made for the perfect entry point when trying to get into the settlement undetected.

"Smells like shit," Tommy scoffed.

Techno laughed. "It does for a reason. Watch your step and welcome to Novac."

Appalled, Tommy lifted his brown-streaked sneaker from the ground. "Jesus, fuck-"

Ignoring the parade of curses that followed, Techno headed straight to a trapdoor set into the back of a nearby building. He opened it, letting Apollo head into the basement first. "Down here, don't forget to close the hatch behind you."

The room was pitch-black, and when Tommy did as told and closed the trapdoor, seeing anything became near impossible. Reaching out, Techno blindly shuffled towards the door that he knew would lead into the rest of the house - trying to do so without bumping into any of the tightly packed shelves. Tommy wasn't as lucky, missing one of the steps and tripping the rest of the way down. He managed to knock over a stack of wood in the process. "Shit!"

"Maybe try not to die," Techno deadpanned at him. His fingers finally found the handle, pulling the door open and flooding the basement with light from the living room.

Then he ducked beneath a wrench aimed for his temple, letting it bounce off the wall harmlessly. "It's great to see you too, Niki."

The woman who had nearly bashed his head in pulled back, apologetically fumbling over her words. "Techno, oh- Oh god, I'm- Sorry, I didn't know it was you. I thought somebody was breaking in."

He shrugged, letting her know he didn't take it to heart. "Not the first time I showed up in your basement."

"No, but you don't usually make such a racket and fall down my staircase. Speaking of which..." She leaned to the side, peeking behind him curiously. "You brought a friend?"

Techno hated how smug she sounded about that, like this meant she'd won their ongoing argument about him needing more of those. Only for a moment though, then she noticed this 'friend' was really just a teenager. "Uh, hi?" Niki said.

"Hey," Tommy answered. "I'm sorry about getting shit on your floor."

She glanced at his shoes. "That's... That's okay."

"Niki, meet Tommy. He's stalking me." Techno didn't allow Tommy's indignant noises to interrupt him. "Tommy, Niki. She's the only reason I still come to Novac sometimes."

"Aw, Techno." Niki glowed as if it had been a compliment. Maybe it had been, Techno wasn't sure anymore. It was true though, if it wasn't for Niki's kindness – and the warm meal and soft couch she offered him whenever he came by – he'd be avoiding this particular settlement like the plague.

Niki moved away so they could get out of the basement and into her house. Apollo jumped up to try and lick her face, she pushed him off with a laugh and some petting. "Well, you guys came just in time. I closed the bakery for the day, so there's plenty of leftover bread if you're hungry. I could try to see what I have in storage too?"

"Don't bother, I brought soup." Techno pulled out the can he'd traded from Tommy earlier.

Niki's eyes lit up like a child who had just been told Christmas came early this year. She took the can from him with reverence, handling it as if it were a precious treat. "Great, I can heat it up on the stove."

Techno ushered Tommy into the kitchen so he could close the door behind them. He didn't want the entire house to smell like the basement did. "You got electric now?"

"Barely enough juice for a few hours a day if I want to keep the lights working." She stepped up to start clearing stuff from the table. "Oh, sorry about the mess, I'm uh-" A few plastic cups and spoons fell onto the floor in her haste. "Working on a personal project. It's nothing interesting really."

"These?" Tommy asked, picking up a bottle. Something about his face was puzzling, but Techno was too tired to decipher why. "What are they?"

"Chems."

"Chems... you mean drugs?" Tommy allowed Niki to pluck the bottle from his hand.

"And other things. This is hair-dye, made it myself." She picked up a container and held the pink cream up next to her own hair, similar in shading if slightly lighter. "Let me know if you need a jar." She nodded at Techno. He reached up for his hair automatically. The pink had faded and only remained on the lower half of the strands.

"I might. How much are you charging for them these days?" he asked.

"Twenty caps."

Tommy – tired of standing – had sat down on one of the chairs. Techno followed his example, while Niki opened the can of soup to pour it into a tin pot. "You sell chems, I thought you had a bakery?" Tommy asked.

"She does," Techno said. "But what is baking if not a type of chemistry when you think about it."

"That's not-" Niki shook her head. "It's something I do on the side. Pays well, but it's hard to get the raw materials."

"Which is why we're such good friends," Techno supplied. Though the army delegated whatever foodstuff was allowed up for trade, they weren't too eager to let others get their hands on chemicals. Through Techno, Niki had an alternative means of buying anything not sold within Novac's borders, things he could scavenge for while on his travels.

And she wouldn't have to risk life and limb setting foot out of Novac herself.

He watched Niki stir the soup to heat it up for them, getting some bread from her pantry to eat with it. The new electric stovetop glowed in blueish hues, adding its light to the dimmed bulbs hanging from the ceiling. All the windows had been boarded up for safety, the only doors not barricaded were packed tight with towels between the cracks to keep the cold out. The one that led to the basement, the one that led to the front where Niki had her bakery, and one that led to a bedroom. The staircase had been blocked off by several pieces of furniture, but Techno had been up there and knew the walls were too ruined for the upstairs to be used as living space. Niki's house was small but cozy.

She put a bowl of water on the floor for Apollo - also dropping some leftover beef jerky beside it for him to munch on – before turning around to start serving the soup. "Now who's gonna fill me in on the situation here?"

Techno didn't even need to open his mouth before Tommy sprung into a whole narration, starting to recount not only their meeting but his quest to find his brother and his original departure from the vault. Having heard it all on the walk over, Techno was relieved to just zone out for a bit while he ate. Social interactions made him tired and Tommy made him exhausted. When he reached back to take off his mask, Niki glanced at him, then at Tommy, then back at him meaningfully. But when he unclasped it and put it on the table, Tommy didn't even look his way, still busy telling his story.

Eating was a bit tricky for Techno and it wasn't the nicest thing for any onlookers to witness. He usually avoided doing it when people were around. Niki was kind of the exception though, and he guessed Tommy was too now.

By the time he tuned back into the conversation, their bowls were empty and Tommy was pulling his bag into his lap. "I do kinda know where he's going, yeah!" he said, digging into the mess of his belongings.

Oh, Niki must have asked him how he was planning to find Wilbur in the first place. Techno realized he had neglected to inquire about that.

Tommy grumbled when he couldn't immediately find what he was looking for, starting to unload several things onto the table. Niki picked up two square pieces of cardboard that Tommy had dumped out in his haste – Techno didn't realize what they were until she spoke up.

"Are these music discs?" She held one sideways, and Techno saw the slip in the side that revealed there was indeed an LP in there.

"Yeah, gifts from Wilbur. We had a gramophone in our room, I used to play these all the time." Tommy proceeded to throw several more cans, a few comic books, a small first aid kit that already looked half-empty, some spare clothes, an empty water canister, and his knife onto the table as well.

Techno was impressed by how much crap Tommy had managed to lug around all day. "You're not going to find anything to play them on up here," he said about the discs

Tommy bit his lip as if he hadn't expected that revelation and it saddened him. But then he shrugged. "That's fine, I don't need to listen to them, I've done that a million times before."

"Then why did you bring them?" Techno asked, frowning.

"Because they're important."

They're useless, Techno wanted to say. Don't carry around anything that doesn't directly contribute to your survival, idiot.

For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to say those words out loud. Not when he saw the way Tommy carefully took the discs from Niki to put them back in his bag, wrapping the clothes around them protectively.

"Here we go!" Tommy was holding a letter, or a crumpled piece of paper with lines of writing on it at least. When he unfolded it, a guitar pick fell out. He quickly swiped it from the table to shove it into his pocket. "Wilbur left me this note, this is how I know where he's going."

Techno took it from him, scanning the contents. Then he looked up. "Tommy, can you read?"

It was almost worth it for how red Tommy's face got, the boy nearly choking on the piece of bread he was shoving down his throat. "What the- Yes, I know how to fucking read!"

"It's just that this note says at least four times that Wilbur doesn't want you to follow him." Techno held up the piece of paper. "Or did you conveniently skip over those lines?"

"No, I read them." Tommy snatched the letter from his hand again. "I'm just electing to ignore them."

Niki took the letter from him next, face scrunched up in increasing worry as she read it. "Vault-Tec headquarters... I don't think they're operational anymore, why would he be headed there?"

Techno pulled out his map, spreading it out over the table. "Closest headquarters is south of here." He traced the highway down to Las Nevadas, scowling at the memory. Then he turned the map over so Tommy could see. "You can take the road but the chances of running into raiders are too high. Crossing through the wastelands isn't that much better but it's a different kind of dangerous. A better kind."

"So I'd go... down?" Tommy asked uncertainly.

"That's what I said, south."

Tommy fell back into his chair. "I don't know what that word means, man."

"Oh yeah, he's never been outside a vault, he doesn't even know basic directions," Techno said, barely concealed sarcasm. "I'm sure this will end well. He's gonna walk straight into a deathclaw nest."

"I know directions!" Picking at his fingers, Tommy suppressed a yawn to scowl at him instead. "And it'll be fine, since you're taking me, right?"

"I never said that."

"You never said you wouldn't either."

"Pretty sure I did actually."

"Guys!" Niki jumped when they both turned to look at her, shrinking back a bit under their gazes. "I mean, both of you. Shut up for a minute." She pulled the map towards her, then nodded. "Techno, you were going to salvage in zone 87, weren't you? That's southwest."

Oh.

He ignored Tommy fist-pumping the air, already convinced of his victory. "Well, I mean... I guess I was planning to scout in that general area but-"

"Bring him with you. If nothing else he'll be over half the way to Vault-Tec. You split up and go your separate ways here." Her finger hovered over a junction town Techno hadn't been to before. Its pre-war name had been struck through with black marker, but scribbled beneath it was the word 'Snowchester', indicating a settlement had been built there since.

"But-"

"Give me one good reason why you couldn't," Niki said then.

And Techno knew he'd walked right into that one.

"Fine," he relented. "I'm leaving at dawn."

He picked up his mask again, getting up to head to the couch while Niki and Tommy continued talking. Kicking off his shoes, he fell face-first into the pillows. Grumbling because they deserved to be aware of his discontent. After pulling one of Niki's blankets over himself, Apollo jumped up onto the couch after him, settling his solid weight on Techno's chest. Techno stroked his fingers through long fur, knowing it was a self-soothing gesture he often denied himself the comfort of.

Maybe if he believed in any kind of higher being, he'd ask it if he was truly such a terrible person, or if this was merely bad karma from a previous life he was still signing off on.

Deciding instead that he was too tired to continue dealing with it today, Techno turned over and went to sleep.

---

An hour before the sun was set to rise, Techno was putting his shoes on.

He checked his bag, but most of his stuff was still in it from yesterday. Food, bullets, spare mechanical parts,... If he could grab some bread for breakfast he'd be good to go.

Pulling out his IV bag and a syringe, he rolled up his sleeve to uncover his inner elbow, mildly concerned at how little of his medicine was left. A half dose would probably be fine since he was running low and didn't know when he'd be able to find more. Headaches and fatigues were the least of his worries lately.

The liquid burnt a little when it was injected into his bloodstream. Techno flexed his fingers, exhaling until it had passed then put away his things. He got up to find Apollo so they could leave.

Good news: the dog never went far, currently lying curled up sleeping in the kitchen.

Bad news: so was Tommy for some reason?

It didn't even look like a comfortable position, Tommy's back was pressed against the basement door and he had his knees pulled up to his chest, arms curled around them all hunched up. A mark from where his cheek had been smooshed into his jeans was clearly visible, and once every few seconds the kid would shiver since he didn't bring a blanket. No wonder Apollo had joined him, trying to ward off the cold with his own furry body heat by scooting as close to Tommy as he could.

Techno always knew dogs were too good for this world.

"He was scared you would leave without him," Niki said, walking into the kitchen behind him.

Not pointing out that was exactly what he'd been attempting to do, Techno turned towards her. "This is your fault. I hate you."

Niki smiled. "I'm sure you do."

"Why are you so insistent I take him with me in the first place? I can't take care of him, Niki."

"I know, you can't even take care of yourself."

He wanted to argue but couldn't. Niki had spent one too many evenings patching him up, keeping him from bleeding out, fishing bullets out of his flesh - for him to pretend he had his shit together. Truth was he barely had a clue what he was doing out there half the time. Didn't mean it wasn't still better than the alternative. This world had no place where Techno could ever be safe at. Other people maybe, but not him. "Then why?"

She stepped closer, putting a hand on his elbow. He stiffened, but didn't flinch away like he used to. Niki was the only person allowed this close to him – the only person allowed to touch him. It still felt like molten iron on his skin.

"Stick together, look out for each other." When she smiled, it was more akin to sadness than anything. "You'll both have a better chance of making it when you're not alone."

Another statement he couldn't really argue with.

And when dawn came, Technoblade woke Tommy up so they could have breakfast together while sitting at Niki's kitchen table, before setting out headed south.

Tommy should have been able to guess most adults were liars.

The surface wasn't anything like what they'd described it to be back in the vault. He'd been up top a grand total of three days and he hadn't been mauled yet, hadn't been torn to pieces by any mutant ravagers, hadn't had his skin peeled off or been melted into a radiated mess. Nothing terrible had happened at all!

The worst he'd had to deal with so far was Technoblade's sour attitude.

And the sun was so much brighter than he expected after only reading about it in books his whole life, it burnt his eyes whenever he tilted his chin up. The air was fresh and endless, without that underlying smell of artificial oxygen recycling that was inescapable in the vault - that shit made every breath taste like plastic. He didn't feel locked up anymore, squeezed into a tiny space while standing in line at the canteen waiting for food distribution to start. Tommy hated that feeling more than anything, hated the tightening of his chest when he was trapped with nowhere to go.

Technoblade wasn't much of a talker, though he tended to mumble to himself a lot. Tommy didn't mind that, he didn't have many people to talk with back home either. Only Wilbur, before he left. Before he got all weird and sullen and dumb. Tommy was more than willing to carry on conversations for the both of them, he was very interesting and had a lot to say anyway - and he'd even roped Techno into a few games of eye spy when he got bored.

But when Techno did speak, Tommy knew to listen.

"Stop."

He stopped immediately, crouching lower to the ground while Technoblade did the same. They'd been through this routine a few times already. Apollo huddled down with him, though he clearly had no idea what was going on, tail wagging as if it were a game.

"Raiders?" Tommy asked in a whisper. There were increasingly more of them the further they went out from Novac, away from the military-controlled areas. Tommy had seen them from a distance, but they'd always managed to stay undetected and sneak past them. Large groups of people, sometimes on horseback and with more weapons than he could count.

Not that Tommy was scared of them or anything.

Techno sighed and stood up again, shoulders raised. "Worse." Tommy didn't get a chance to ask what the hell that was supposed to mean. "They've already seen us so there's no point hiding. Stay behind me and keep your mouth shut, yeah? I'll take care of this."

Tommy rolled his eyes at him but obeyed, knowing Techno probably had his reasons. But from what he could see these strangers were just three men. While they approached, Techno started walking to meet them in the middle. Tommy gripped his baseball bat a little tighter and followed, careful to linger a couple of steps behind like had been asked of him.

Ten feet across from each other both parties stopped.

"Technoblade! Man, we haven't seen you in ages, I was starting to think you were avoiding me." The guy that stepped forward was wearing a green poncho-type cloak with a big hood and a strange mask that was covering his entire face. Tommy didn't like his voice, melodious and having a drawl to it as if he was making fun of people with every word he said.

"That's because I am," Techno said flatly, and the man laughed.

"Ouch. I thought we were friends."

"Whatever gave you that impression?" Techno didn't wait for him to answer. "We're passing through, is that gonna be a problem Dream?"

The masked man was named Dream? Kind of a stupid fucking name if you asked Tommy.

Dream clicked his tongue, mock remorse dripping from his every word. "Well you see, normally I'd be more than happy to let you through, but my associates and I are actually here on business today."

"I figured." Techno sighed, dropping the rifle from his shoulder into his hands. Dream didn't react to this blatant display of hostility but the others pulled out their own guns, prepared for a fight. "Will you at least tell me who put out a bounty on me this time? I don't remember stepping on any toes recently."

They were bounty hunters? Tommy stepped up to kind of peek around Techno's shoulder. Dream's head moved and it was as if he could feel those eyes land on him from behind the mask, sending a shudder through him. A smile stretched out from beneath, pearly white and unnervingly sharp teeth on display.

"Paranoid as always, Techno. But we're not actually here for you today." Dream gestured with his hand at his friends, making the man with half-long black hair kept out of his face by a white headband step up. "Grab the kid, but don't hurt him too badly. Customer's paying for undamaged goods only."

Tommy felt as if a solid rock had been dumped onto his stomach, moving to hide behind Tehno's back on instinct. "What?"

In one swift motion, Techno brought up his rifle, took aim, and pulled the trigger. A bullet found home in the ground mere inches in front of the guy's raised foot. "Explain yourself!" he demanded angrily.

"Wait, you didn't know? Oh my god, Techno, please don't tell me you didn't know?" Dream was chuckling a little, but when silence was his only answer he stopped, tone turning serious. "And here I was thinking you were just trying to claim the bounty for yourself. I'm almost disappointed."

"If I had wanted to hunt people for sport I would have joined your merry band of losers when you begged me to."

Dream scoffed but didn't appear too affected by the words. "Apparently your new friend here is worth quite some money to the right people, so he's coming with us."

"Why? And to whom?" Techno asked calmly. Too calmly, Tommy could hear the underlying confusion plain as day.

"No clue. You should know better than anyone we don't ask questions, we just do what's needed to get paid." Dream shrugged.

Keeping his gun aimed between the three as if daring them to make a move, Techno seemed to be thinking over their options. They were outnumbered, and each of them had at least one gun compared to their single riffle. He'd never admit to it out loud, but a tiny part of Tommy was almost worried Techno was going to sell him out.

Then Techno turned his head towards him. "Run."

"What?!" Tommy got closer to him. "I'm not going to leave you-"

"I'll be fine." Techno kind of shouldered into him, urging him to move. "Run, Tommy. I'll catch up to you later." When he was still not showing any sign of listening, Techno yelled louder. "Now! Go!"

And Tommy did.

Shouts rang out from behind him, then more gunshots. Tommy's legs were shaking so bad, he almost tripped over his own feet several times. He wanted to go back. He wanted to turn around and stick at Techno's side and he wanted to be brave and strong and fucking useful like he'd never been to Wil but he couldn't because what if it was his fault Wilbur left in the first place and now it'd be his fault if Techno died and-

Somebody was running to catch up to him, he could hear them. And he could hear it wasn't Techno.

"Shit!" Tommy ran faster.

The cut he'd gotten a few days ago shouldn't be bothering him anymore, except it clearly disagreed with his decision to sprint and Tommy felt how the skin started tearing open again, pain radiating up and down his leg. He couldn't outrun whoever was after him for long, so he had to think of something better.

As if the universe itself was looking out for him, the burnt-out shell of a building came within view.

Not wasting any time to consider if he was stupidly getting himself cornered, Tommy ran into it – outside he'd have no chance, at least this minimally increased his odds. All the interior walls were still up, turning the house into a maze of rooms he ducked between. He found a door to hide behind and clasped both hands over his mouth to muffle his own breathing like he'd seen people do in the old horror flicks Wilbur sometimes played on their black-and-white tv in the vault.

The sound of heavy footfalls let him know his pursuer had entered the house after him.

Tommy pressed himself closer to the wall, barely daring to blink. All his muscles were tensed up from how hard he was trying to keep still, terrified of making a noise that would give his position away. He could hear them moving through the house, slowly.

The wooden staircase creaked, maybe they were going upstairs?

His heartbeat was loud enough he could hear it in his fucking head, pounding, pounding, pounding. Slowly, Tommy leaned forward to try and peep through the door's crack. Nobody was there. He could either stay put and risk the person searching the house finding him, or he could try and escape. Make it back to Techno maybe. Shuffling his feet because he didn't want to make any noise, Tommy slipped through the opening.

"Gotcha!"

A hand closed around his wrist, their grip tight like a vice. Tommy jolted but there was nowhere to go as Dream pushed him up against the wall.

"Let go off me you ass!" Tommy yelled. His baseball bat had fallen to the floor when Dream grabbed him but he wasn't above fighting the fucker barehanded. He lashed out, knuckles splitting open on the plastic of Dream's mask. It was shoved to the side and Tommy's eyes widened as he saw what was hidden beneath.

Dream's entire face looked like Techno's jaw did, all rotted and fucked up. It made Tommy want to puke. His unnaturally bright green eyes narrowed.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said, though the statement was horribly undercut by the way he curled his fist into the fabric of Tommy's shirt, lifting him off his feet. "You're lucky they asked to bring you back alive.

"Fuck off!" Shoving Dream against his shoulders was about as useful as trying to shove over a brick wall would be. The straps of Tommy's backpack were sliding off but he didn't care, kicking his feet instead and clawing at the hand holding him even though it was in vain. When his bag slipped off onto the ground he barely noticed.

Until Dream turned to see what he'd dropped and grinned.

"Look at that, you brought little vault souvenirs when you came up top? You won't need those where you're going so I'll be sure to sell them for a pretty penny, hm?" He was talking about Tommy's discs, which had spilled out of his bag when it fell. Dream nudged them with his foot, crinkling the carton covers beneath his boots. Putting his dirty shoes on Wilbur's discs.

For a split second, all Tommy saw was red.

Letting go of Dream's wrist, he reached for the knife tucked into his belt instead. With zero hesitation he pulled it out and plunged it into the side of Dream's neck, forcing it as deep as his strength would allow him to.

Everything happened very fast after that. A flood of blood covered Tommy's hands, his sleeves. He'd pulled the knife out again without thinking and Dream was using his own fingers to try and stop the flow but it was too much, spilling everywhere. He was screaming. Tommy was dropped onto his ass and barely had time to grab his stuff and pull it into his lap to protect it from Dream's wrath. The man was towering over him, every inch of his body betraying how absolutely livid he was and Tommy was still holding his knife, clutching it like a fucking lifeline, thinking that he'd had a good run but this was it for him.

He'd still rather die than allow Dream to lay a finger on any of his things, Wilbur's things.

"Tommy!"

The door to the house was thrown open with enough force to hit the wall, followed by the sound of Techno searching every room and Apollo barking. Just like that Dream was gone – having taken off as soon as he didn't hold the advantage anymore. Fucking coward.

Tommy exhaled shakily and finally lowered the knife, unsure why he felt like sobbing suddenly.

"Tommy?" Techno found him and rushed towards him, dropping onto his knees. "Are you alright, did you get hurt?"

"I'm fine," he said, numb. Techno was tugging on his sleeves to check for injuries and Tommy pulled his arms away. "I'm fine," he repeated. "It's not my blood."

Techno nodded, not asking whose it was then. He probably already knew.

"Did I..." Tommy took a sharp breath and rubbed at his face, ignoring the sticky sensation of blood on his skin. "Did I kill him?"

"What?"

"Dream, I-" Tommy motioned awkwardly, unable to say it out loud so he pantomimed stabbing himself instead. He'd never taken the life of another person, had never even thought about it being a possibility.

It horrified him. Though Tommy could at least recognize he'd met with one of the few humans who probably deserved it.

"Oh. No, you didn't. Dream won't go down that easy, trust me I've tried. They all tucked tail, we won't see them for a while."

Tommy didn't know whether to feel sick or relieved so he settled on a bit of both.

When Technoblade continued his voice was a lot graver. "Tommy, if you know why they're after you, I need you to tell me right now."

"I don't."

Not taking his answer at face value, Techno persisted. "What happened before you met me? When you came out of your vault, did you meet anyone? Speak to anyone? You need to be certain, this is important."

"I already told you about it, you're not a good listener man-"

Techno grabbed both of his shoulders, shaking him. It kind of hurt. "I'm serious, Tommy. No lies. If you want me to trust you, if you want this to work between us, there can be no lying."

"I'm not lying!" Tommy snapped, a bit more harshly than he intended. "I don't fucking know! I really don't!" He put both hands on Techno's wrists, but then didn't feel like pushing him off so he left them there instead, fingers pressed to skin. "I promise you were the first person I saw, I don't-" His voice hitched, but he was stubborn enough not to cry and bit his lip instead. "I don't know why anybody would be after me."

Maybe that was the part that scared him.

Techno wasn't shaking him anymore. "Do you think it has something to do with Wilbur?"

"I... maybe? I suppose it could."

"Okay." Techno nodded and sat back, acting as if this was helpful information while it really fucking wasn't and he probably was only trying to seem nice or some shit. Tommy felt all wired and jittery, but he did his best to exhale and look at Techno properly.

"You're bleeding," he observed out loud, noticing the stain of blood spreading against Techno's upper arm.

Technoblade barely glanced at it. "Just a scratch, a bullet grazed me. They really should spend some time practicing their aim."

"Who were they?"

"Bounty hunters," Techno said, helping him up. Tommy's legs were about as steady as gelatin at the moment, but he could probably walk. At least for a little while.

"Yeah, no shit Sherlock." As was to be expected from a surface walker, the reference did not seem to register for Technoblade. "I'm asking how you know them."

"I wouldn't say I know them," Techno dodged the question with all the grace of newborn fawn stumbling over itself while learning to walk (so none at all).

"What did you just say, 'if you want this to work between us, there can be no lying'? You're such a hypocrite!"

"Don't use my own words against me," Techno groused, clearly annoyed. Which meant Tommy was definitely going to use his own words against him more often. "And I don't know them. Just Dream. We have... history, I guess you would call it."

"Like what, you used to be friends or something?"

Techno half-laughed at that. "Eh, debatable. But we were stuck in a real nasty place together a long time ago and that does breed kinship at the very least. We parted ways after getting out and since then I usually only run into him when there's a price on my head."

"And that happens a lot?"

"A lot more often than I'd like, yeah."

Outside, the sun was already setting. Tommy felt exhausted, so he wasn't about to complain when Techno suggested they just camp out in the house for the night. It would shelter them from the elements, and while Tommy did miss sleeping in an actual bed the wooden flooring would still be more comfortable than the wasteland ground.

Not that it'd matter. With the blood still warm and half-dried on his hands, Tommy knew he wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight.