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Technoblade blinked at the ceiling. He hadn't been able to sleep well all night, and the clock read a solid 3:47 am.
Now, Technoblade's sleep schedule was iffy at best, but even this late was a little unusual. He wondered what the cause was, as he hasn't been drinking an exceptional amount of tea or coffee, and he was quite good at staying away from things that might wake his brain up like bright lights, so it all seemed a little odd to him.
He rubbed his eyes and sat up. If he wasn't going to sleep, he might as well get something done. Techno got out of bed and walked downstairs, looking outside to watch the fresh layer of snow land.
He poured a cup of water and went to sit by his brewing stands, hoping to get some more potions finished up for Phil's trip to the jungle in a couple of days.
Techno was in the middle of writing down a list of ingredients he was running low on when he heard a bang underneath him. The basement, Techno nodded to himself. Probably one of the zombie villagers getting a bit restless, they would probably settle down in a little bit.
It was a couple of minutes later when he heard another bang. He raised his eyebrows and pushed away from his desk. That didn't sound like the villagers, and even if it was, he would rather them not be banging around under his house.
He slid down the ladder, checking the villagers after he landed. They all looked okay, but what was odd was what they were looking at. They were all staring intently at one tile of Techno's floor as if waiting for something.
Techno blinked a couple of times in confusion and kept still. Maybe an animal was living under his floorboards? It wouldn't be the first time this had happened, he'd had to clean a family of little Arctic foxes out before, even if he'd thought they were cute. They had been disrupting his villagers, so they were placed in the forest, and Techno assumed that's all that was happening this time.
He's not going to lie, it was an easy fix, it had just taken an extraordinary amount of time, and it definitely wasn't something he wanted to do in his thin sleep clothes at four in the morning.
Technoblade sighed and knelt in front of the offending floor tile and lifted it up. Oh. Oh no. This was no cute family of foxes, it was a nest. A very big bird's nest. Technoblade blinked. It was also very dark, which didn't help. He grabbed a torch off of his wall and climbed into the hole with the nest. He didn't enter because he knew a thing or two about birds, and this looked specifically like a hybrid nest.
Now, Techno knows all he does about bird hybrids because of Phil, he's not going to lie. Phil had taught him what different things meant and what to look out for. There was one, extremely important rule: never mess with a nest.
Then something struck him: Bird hybrid. Who was it? Not Phil obviously, he had his own (better) nest at his cottage next door. It wasn't Ranboo either, because he was an Enderian hybrid, and they didn't like enclosed spaces for long periods of time.
With both people living nearby deemed as innocent, Technoblade could only wonder who. With the exception of Phil, the only other bird hybrids were Quackity and Wilbur. It wasn't Wilbur, though maybe Ghostbur? Technoblade really didn't believe it was Quackity, he knew he was smarter than to try to attack him at his home again, and he probably had a more organized nest somewhere else anyways.
Speaking of the nest itself, Technoblade inspected it more thoroughly now that he was closer to it. He shook his head, It was barren, only consisting of muds and a couple of sticks. Technoblade thought back to Phil's large nest, made up of blankets, pillows, clothing, and even jewelry is Phil was in a shiny mood that day. It was a little sad in comparison, and that made Techno even more confused, every avian he could think of had an official nest.
There was a thump from above Techno jolted him from his thoughts, coming from his basement. He could hear his heavy door opening and closing, and something (or someone) scurrying across his floor. They lifted the tile that Techno had put back in place when he'd come down and slid down the ladder the same way he had done. They didn't seem to notice Technoblade until they turned around.
It was Tommy.
Ah. Okay.
Technoblade's face hardened.
Tommy's eyes widened, "Ah! Tech-no-blade! Just the man I wanted to see!" His wings twitched nervously behind him.
Wait.
His wings. Tommy had wings now. Technoblade's face lost its hardness, replaced now by confusion. The last time he'd checked, Tommy wasn't an avian.
"Wings." Technoblade stated eloquently, "You have… wings."
"Great observation, big man. Can you, uh, get out of my house now?"
Technoblade's confusion only rose, as did his annoyance, "Your house? This is beneath my house! Is that my food?"
Tommy had a basket in his hand containing assorted fruits and loaves of bread, clearly taken from just upstairs. He hid it behind his back and hissed at Technoblade, "Fuck off, man! It's mine!"
Technoblade didn't look impressed, "Yeah okay. But actually, when did you get wings? And what's with the nest under my house? You can't stay here, you know."
Tommy’s wings fluttered a bit and it made Technoblade realize that the room was much too small for Tommy and his wings, much less Technoblade and Tommy together.
Tommy was glancing around the room and Technoblade realized he was looking to escape. He sighed for what felt like the hundredth time tonight. He felt a little bad for the boy because last he’d seen him, Tommy was in exile and Technoblade knew what growing in wings felt like from Phil’s stories. It wasn’t something any avian should go through alone, even if Tommy was meant to be in exile.
So yeah, Technoblade felt a little bad.
“This is my nest! You can’t have it! I’m staying right here!”
While the words themselves were fierce, there was nothing scary about the shaking boy in front of Technoblade. Technoblade stood down from his defensive stance, he didn’t have it in him to fight a kid that very obviously needed food and shelter if the clothes hanging off the boy’s frame meant anything.
Technoblade nodded at Tommy, “Alright. Here’s what’s about to happen,” He ran a hand through his hair. He was too tired for this, “We’re both going to go upstairs.” Tommy glared. “Yeah yeah, you don’t want to, whatever. That’s what’s going to happen. After that, you can take a shower because you are not touching anything in my house with that mud on you. Then, if you want, you can make another nest in a guest room and eat and do whatever else you need to do. Then you’re going to go to sleep or at least be quiet so I can”
Tommy blinked at him owlishly, “You’re… letting me in? And I can… make another nest? With what?” The small boy’s suspicion was back.
“I dunno, whatever’s in the guest room. Haven’t checked in there in ages, haven’t had any visitors except Ghostbur, and he doesn’t sleep much.”
Tommy was wringing his hands. He looked cold. That wouldn’t do, Techno’s hybrid brain said, not at all.
“Okay… thank you.”
---
Tommy was in his new room, probably making his new nest. Technoblade nodded to himself. Yes, his brain told itself, little bird’s safe. Techno was able to nod off for a good 30 minutes before being awoken by shuffling and whimpering.
Hm. Nope.
Technoblade got up to check on Tommy. He truly was worried, he didn’t want Tommy to feel bad.
He wondered why he wanted to keep Tommy as safe as he did. He and Tommy were never very close, it was usually Wilbur’s job to make sure he was alright in Pogtopia. Technoblade was alright with taking his old job.
He creaked Tommy’s door open, peeking inside. He saw Tommy standing by his newly made nest or… an attempt at a new nest. He looked towards Technoblade, tear tracks streaking down his face. He whimpered, “I can’t do it right.”
Technoblade’s heart shattered, “Oh Tommy, it’s alright. Have you been in here the whole time?”
A nod in response.
“I can’t get it the right size or shape and it feels bad when I get in it and now I can’t sleep. I’m sorry I woke you up, Blade.”
“Yeah. Uh, what do you need? To go to sleep, I mean.”
“I don’t know. I don’t, I really don't know, I’m really sorry.”
“It’s alright kid. Do… Do you need to sleep in my room?”
“What? I’m not an actual kid, Technoblade! I’m fine, I’m the best, I don’t need a pity bed.”
Yeah. Whatever that meant.
“Okay. Goodnight then.”
Technoblade turned on his heel and went back into his room, laying back down. He didn’t go to sleep, he knew the kid would be here soon.
He was right, not even 5 minutes later Tommy was tip-toeing in and laying down, wriggling around to make a little circle of blankets. He nodded, seemingly not knowing Technoblade was awake.
He caught Technoblade’s eyes and froze.
“It’s okay kid. Go ahead.”
Tommy spread his wings over Technoblade and was out like a light, curled in his little circle.
Huh. Techno thought. The adoption thing Phil was talking about sounded a bit more appealing now, not that he’d admit that to him of course.