Icarus

Chapter 7

"Phil, there appears to be an enderman on the roof."

Techno was standing by the honey harvesting, looking up at the unusually tall creature sleeping on his house.

"Oh? I though he'd leave before morning. I'll take care of it." Phil poked his head out of the window. He carefully climbed his way up to the rather large teen.

"Hey, mate, you gotta get up." He gently shook the boys shoulder. Ranboo's ear twitched slightly at the touch. "C'mon mate, Tubbo's gonna be suspicious."

The enderman turned slightly, looking at Phil with sleepy, glazed eyes. He blinked groggily, before struggling to sit up, his tail flicking back and forth, a sigh coming from him.

"I fell asleep?" He asked, fiddling with the crown next to him before placing it on his head.

"Yeah."

"Well," he stood, handing the cape Phil had lent him that night back. "Might as well stay. You probably need a little bit of help with Tommy. And I wouldn't mind keeping an eye on him. Plus I can say I was looking for loot." He gave the older man and eerily toothy grin.

"Well, let's get you some food. Techno!" He called down to his old friend. "Breakfast is ready, come inside!"

                                                                                                   *

Ranboo poked at the scrambled eggs before him, trying not to look at the bandages covering the other boys face.

Phil came over to Tommy, a ceramic plate in his hands. It was a deep blue, black vines crawling outward from the middle. He placed in front of Tommy, making sure to make a small clink against the table.

Tommy slid his hand forward, reaching for the plate, until his finger tips brushed against it. he cautiously pulled it towards himself, careful not to spill its contents.another small sound emanated from his left. He reached for the fork Phil had set down for him.

As Tommy ate the sausage and eggs, his mind started to wonder. He hadn't had a meal like this since before exile. His mind took a stroll down trauma lane. His brows furrowed as it reenacted the bombing of Logstedshire, the destruction of his hard earned iron tools, the theft of his gifts.

The blinding.

Slow and monotonous, his mind started to put the puzzle pieces together. His throat started to tighten as it came clearer and clearer. Everything became suffocating. 

"Your like...like a bug I can't flick off!" "I'll be back tomorrow!" "To keep an eye on you." "You did this." "It's your fault Tommy." "You pushed me to this!" "I'm your friend! I'm your best friend!"

Lies. All lies. He did nothing but LIE!

"Tommy? You okay man?" Ranboo fiddled nervously with his fork. He noticed the white knuckles as Tommy clutched his utensil. 

Tommy's head explode. A pain emanating from his spine and shooting its way to the cranial. His chest hurt from an invisible pressure. His lungs felt like they were about to give out. He needed to leave. He needed oxygen. Wide space. Anything to ease this relentless terror.

Phil, who had fathered before, recognized the signs. 

"Tommy? Hey, let's go outside real quick." Phil said, pulling slightly at the jumpy teen.

Tommy, who was desperate to leave the airless room, practically threw himself from his chair.

"Jesus mate," Phil grunted, propping the shaking child up and leading the struggling boy outside.

Techno sat, watching his old friend care for him. It was a major shock to find one of his rivals in his own home. But he wasn't a rival anymore was he? He was a kid. Theseus. A soft chuckle came from Techno. How ironic.

"Hey, Techno? What, ummm. What, what happened to Tommy?" Ranboo took a small bite of his food, a feeling of unease making its way to his stomach.

"I'm gonna be honest, I have no clue." Techno crunched down on one of his sausages. They were homemade, adorned with apple and honey.

"I came home two days ago and the kid was passed out on the couch. Obviously, it has something to do with Dream. But..." Techno stopped. "Tommy's...he's blind. I think permanently."

"Permanently?!"

Ranboo had known that Tommy had been blinded. He thought that there was a chance that he would recover!

"How'd it happen?"

Techno looked at him. "I...I just said I didn't know. The only thing thats apparent is he was burned. I think Phil said something about lava splashing onto his face or something. I don't know."

"....He seems confused."

A scoff. "He's aggressive. He never did like being vulnerable."

"That's understandable," Ranboo responded, glancing at his armor. He never liked taking it off.

"I suppose," Techno shrugged, his overgrown bottom teeth clicking against the mug as he took a sip of coffee. "As long as I don't have to deal with the child, I don't care. I have other things to take care of."

The door opened, revealing the green robe of Philza. "Techno, I want you to bring Tommy with you when you get the logs you promised me."

                                                                                               *

The wind blew over the trees, sending sprays of snow towards Tommy. His upper face was covered by a cotton bandage, but his lower caught the full force of the freezing crystals.

It felt amazing.

"Tommy, You need to keep up!" Techno called, grunting as he swung the axe. "Ranboo! I told you to make sure he stays close!"

"Sorry!" Came Ranboo's response. "C'mon Tommy."

"Don't ******* baby me, Ranboo! I'm perfectly fine!"

"I- I'm not babying you! I'm just trying to make sure you're not gonna die!"

"YOU ARE *****-" 

A 'wumph' before Tommy face planted into the snow. A white spot on his back between his shoulders, where the snowball that Techno had thrown hit, slid down his side, plopping on the ground.

Ranboo turned away, trying his best not to laugh. This inevitably failed. A burst of an enderlike noise came from him before it turned into a howl. He bent over to his knees, laughing hysterically.

Tommy, who was still sprawled out on the ground, looked up, glaring at the noise.

"I'm gonna ******* kill you."

(Still shorter then I'd like, but I figured, from yesterdays stream, we needed some wholesome content)