Archive of Our Own ^beta

The thing is, Magic is very real.

It’s weaved through the very fabric of the world, twisting through the roots of plants and dancing across the waters of the oceans and rivers. It drifted through the air in lazy currents, spreading itself across the world, and it festered. Like weeds, magic infected and spread, unpredictable and chaotic in nature. It could turn a barren ruin to a lush grotto overnight, or it could decimate anything around it, leaving no trace of any life. Just as easily as it might bring blessings and good fortunes, it too might cause disasters of epic proportions. Still, it was an inevitable truth, as tangible as the Earth itself, and so any creature that wanted to prosper had to learn to work with magic, or at least to stay out of its way. Kingdoms were built like this, with humans knowing to be cautious of its might but grateful for its power. They assembled their own orders, despite the wild nature of the world, and found a way to conquer the odds stacked against them.

Magic was real, and if there was something that was true about it, it was that it was fickle. If there were another thing, it would be that it played favorites.

This was especially true in the Kingdom of Emeraldia, a nation far to the south that had,  despite its small size, garnered quite the reputation for two reasons. One was their booming agriculture industry, of which they got their name thanks to the rolling green hills that decorated much of their land. The other was the blessings of the kingdom's princes. The ruling monarch, King Philza Craft, had three sons. The eldest of these sons, Technoblade, had been granted a divine sense for the art of war since a very young age. He was prodgidal in most weapons, a brilliant tactician, and the next in line to take the throne as a well respected king. Then, Philza had two more sons; twins, named Tubbo and Tommy. Of the two, the elder, Tubbo, was blessed with the divine gift of-

“This is stupid,” Tommy whined, falling backwards into the soft cushions he was sitting on dramatically, “why do we have to read this? I already know all this shit!”

Tubbo set the book he’d been narrating  down, stretching his sore arms above his head. “Because we got caught trying to nab cookies from the kitchen.” he informed helpfully.

Tommy stuck his tongue out in return. “They should’ve let us have them, too. It was only one in the morning!”

“One twenty-seven.”

“You’re not helping our case.”

“Oh, because the minutes made such a difference?”

“We wouldn’t have been caught if you hadn’t been whining and stalling like a bitch. ”

Tubbo leveled an unimpressed glare at Tommy before grabbing a pillow and lobbing it straight at his twin's head. His aim was spectacular, of course, so it made direct contact before Tommy had a chance to react. He squawked in a very undignified way, spitting out a loose feather before launching himself at Tubbo, tackling his brother into the ground and promptly doing his absolute best to crush him. Tommy was strong, but Tubbo was fueled by pure spite, and managed to fend him off long enough for Tommy to give up.

“No fair,” the younger whined, “you’re cheating.”

“You’re cheating, being all lanky and shit.” Tubbo shot back, holding a hand out for Tommy to pull him off the ground.

“Not my fault you’re short. Have you tried getting better?” Despite his words, Tommy obliged him, hauling him upright.

“I hate you.” Tubbo deadpanned, brushing dust off the back of his shirt.

“Do not.”

“Do so.”

“Do not.”

“Do so. You’re going to wake up one day and find your kneecaps removed.”

Tommy laughed, though the sound was more wary than amused. “Not really, though, right?”

Tubbo stared at him.

“...Right?”

Unfortunately, before Tubbo could prove how serious he was actually being, the door clicked open, revealing the very unimpressed looking visage of their tutor, Eret.

"I believe you two are meant to be studying," they spoke, leveling the two with their rather intense glare.

"We are studying." Tommy shot back, never one to back down from a challenge. 

Eret raised their eyebrows. Tommy laughed, backpedaling.

"We were studying, until Tubbo started being a bitch."

"Oi! How is this my fault!"

"You threw a pillow at me!"

"You deserved it and you know it!"

"Boys." Eret cut in, sighing deeply. "I was going to tell you that you're both dismissed for lunch."

Immediately, Tommy was sprinting for the door, ducking under Eret's arm.

"First person to the dining hall gets the loser's dessert!"

"What!" Tubbo scrambled after him, haphazardly dodging around the books they'd left scattered about. "Now who's cheating?!"

The sound of laughter flowed down the hall as Eret sighed, shaking their head and closing the door to the study. The book the boys had been assigned to reading was still open, the page exposed to the empty air:

“The elder, Tubbo, was blessed with the divine gift of immortality, while the younger, Tommy, was not known to receive any blessings.”

Lunch was, as always, a family affair, with Phil and Techno already seated by the time Tommy barreled through the doorway, Tubbo close on his heels.

"That wasn't fair and you know it. " Tubbo huffed, glaring at his brother indignantly.

"I think you're just mad because you suck. "

"You take that back!"

"Mimimimi, I'm Tubbo, and I'm short and also a huge bitch, mimimi-"

"-I will throw you out a window, I swear to god-"

Techno looked at Phil, eyebrow raised. Phil sighed, exasperated yet unsurprised.

"Boys." He called. Immediately, their argument ceased, and they both turned to Phil with matching innocent smiles.

"Yes, Dadza?" Tommy batted his eyelashes.

"Can we do something for you?" Tubbo clasped his hands in front of his chest.

Phil looked between the two of them for a moment before laughing, bringing his hand to his face.

"You little shits- get over here and sit with us. And no more fighting!"

"Aw, but dad," Tommy whined, drawing out the vowel sound, "Tubbo is just so bully-shaped!"

"Wouldn't that make me the bully?"

"Tubbo is so bully-able shaped!"

"I don't like that sentence."

Tommy sighed dramatically as he slid into his seat. "Tubbo is just so…" he leaned across the table to poke at him, " ...Tubbo." he settled on.

Tubbo whacked his brother's hand away. "I’ll take it,” he conceded, sliding into his own seat at the lunch table.

“Glad we could come to a conclusion.” Techno drawled, looking not the least bit glad. Tommy stuck his tongue out at him, which only caused Techno to roll his eyes.

As the four royals were seated, lunch was brought out in waves of platters and little dishes, and the family chatted amongst themselves as they ate. Tommy was, of course, the loudest, waving his arms around with great emphasis while Tubbo masterfully dodged the drops of sauce he inevitably flung. Techno continued to act disinterested, but joined their conversations anyway, humouring any hypotheticals or answering any questions. From his seat at the head of the table, Phil mainly watched the antics of his sons without directly interfering, smiling and laughing at their antics or cutting in when necessary. It was a rare reprieve from the formalities the elder two had to indulge, and for the younger two, a break from their endless studies and a chance to see their family. Still, while the moment was nice, it wasn’t bound to last forever.

“What are you two doing after this?” Phil asked, directing his attention to the twins. Tommy sighed melodramatically.

“ Sparring . Fucking hate sparring.” he grumbled, crossing his arms for added effect.

Techno snorted incredulously. “You like sparring when I’m there.”

“That’s because you’re fun! No one else lets me go against Tubbo. They make us practice against pro-fess-ion-als. Which is lame.” 

“You need to train with a variety of opponents in order to-”

“ Learn as many different techniques and fighting styles as possible.”  The twins recited in tandem, Tubbo with a monotonous drawl while Tommy continued, “Yeah, we know, but Tubso makes practice fun. Otherwise it's just a lot of parrying and slashing. Boring stuff.”

“Swordfighting isn’t all about fancy tricks,” Techno started, adjusting his hair as he spoke, “but I don't have much goin’ on after this. I could come out to the courts as well, show you some stuff.”

“Really?” Tommy gasped, awestruck, and at Techno’s nod jumped up from his seat, pumping his fist. “Yes! You are the best, Techno, the best man ever.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Techno mumbled, but he smiled anyway.

 Phil clapped his hands together, moving to stand up. “Welp! Glad that all worked out. I have a meeting with some diplomats I should get to, so Techno, make sure your brothers don't kill each other, please.”

Techno gave a thumbs up, also rising from his seat, while Tommy crossed his arms, scowling.

“You always have a meeting to get to,” he accused, “why can’t you skip this one?”

“Aw, Toms, while I’d love to see Techno kick your ass-”

“ -hey!-”

“-This is very important. I’ll see you two tonight, or at the latest, tomorrow morning, alright?”

Tommy sighed. “Alright, whatever, go be a boring old man.” 

From his place across the table, Tubbo nodded his agreement. Phil sighed, long-suffering yet fond.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” With that, the king swept out of the room, attendants quickly taking his place as they cleaned up the table. Tommy stood up, stretching his arms above his head before turning to Tubbo.

“Ready to be crushed by incredible sword-fighting-ry?”

Tubbo raised an eyebrow. “You have literally never won against me.”

“You-” Tommy cut himself off, drawing a deep breath through his nose. “You are a bitch, that's why.”

“Uh huh. If that helps you sleep at night.”

“Oh, that’s it, I’m going to clart you, you-”

“You can ‘clart’ Tubbo on the battlefield.” Techno interrupted, voice dry and long-suffering. “Save it for practice.”

Tommy grinned. “Oh, hell yeah, it is on.”

The trip to the training grounds was uneventful, except for Tommy and Tubbo’s continued ribbing. Soon enough they arrived outside, surrounded by racks of weapons and people sparring. Techno took his position at the edge of the field, observing rather than actively participating to start. The younger two collected their weapons; simple shortswords for training, and took their positions in the courtyard. Others stopped their matches, a hush falling over the area as all eyes focused on the two princes. They stood still for a moment, sizing each other up.

“Right. We’ll have a best of three, the winner is decided when the opponent is disarmed or otherwise made to be unable to fight. We’re not looking to inflict any actual damage, we;re just practicing self-defense today. Understood?”

Tommy rolled his eyes. “Yes, Techno, you only tell us this every time. Let me kick his ass already.”

“I don’t get paid enough to deal with you two.”

“You don’t get paid to deal with us at all!” Tubbo chimed in.

“As I said, not nearly enough. If both parties are ready?”

Tubbo nodded, while Tommy whooped excitedly.

“Then… begin.”

The reaction was instantaneous, with Tommy immediately lunging forward, making a drastic swing towards his brother. Tubbo blocked the hit, stumbling back slightly from the force, before rebalancing himself and making a counterattack by swiping towards Tommy’s exposed sides. So the match continued, Tommy fighting with reckless abandon whilst Tubbo blocked and parried, deftly moving around Tommy’s strikes and making the occasional swing when he found an opening. Despite their differences, they  seemed evenly matched- until Tubbo made a sudden move, catching Tommy’s sword at the hilt and twisting it from his hand, then going on step further to push him to the ground, keeping him locked at swordpoint.

Tommy looked stunned for a moment, breathing heavy from exertion. Tubbo gently tossed his sword to the side, offering a hand to Tommy, who took it after another stunned moment.

“Well done, Tubbo-” Techno started, but was cut off by another voice, the one of their usual instructor.

“Master Tubbo! We have discussed this at length- you cannot be so hard on your brother!”

Tubbo blinked. “I didn’t think I was being too aggressive-”

“I understand that it may be hard for someone like… you, to understand, but mortals are frail, sire. You cannot be hurt like your brother, and thus you must be more careful with him!”

Tubbo ducked his head, clearly embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I-”

“Oh, fuck off!” Tubbo was cut off again, but this time by Tommy, who aggressively wiped the dust off his shirt before pointing aggressively at their instructor. “You don’t get to talk to Tubbo like that!”

“Master Tommy, you must understand-”

“- you need to understand! We’re just training anyways, it's not like Tubbo’s actually gonna hurt me. Mind your own damn business, bitch.”

“He wouldn’t mean to, I’m sure, but he is different to you, Master Tommy. You cannot hurt him, but he can hurt you, so he must be-”

“-shut the fuck up! Shut the fuck up, you don’t know anything, do you?” Tommy snarled viciously. Other soldiers were backing away now, cleaning their weaponry or halfheartedly running drills, anything to not be involved in the scene unfolding. “What’s your problem, honestly, you’re treating him like some kind of freak.”

“Tommy,” Techno attempted to cut in, but Tommy whirled to him, ire entirely redirected.

“Oh, what, are you gonna take his side? Gonna tell me how dangerous Tubbo is? How careful I need to be around him in case he decides to fucking kill me and there’s nothing i can do to stop him?” he drew a breath, body shaking with barely restrained energy. When no one replied, he scoffed. “Whatever. We’re done here.”

He stalked off angrily, equipment abandoned on the ground. Tubbo looked between the swords and Tommy for a moment, before casting a glance back to Techno.

“Uh… I just need to…” he trailed off, before jogging after Tommy. Techno only sighed, picking up the swords and putting them away for his brothers.

They’d sort themselves out. They always did.

Given Tommy’s naturally longer stride, and the pace at which he was walking, it took Tubbo a rather brisk jog to catch up to him, still trying to catch his breath from their sparring match only moments ago.

“Tom! Wait up!”

Tommy stopped short, whirling on his heel to be facing Tubbo. Rage simmered just beneath the sharp blue of his eyes. Tubbo tried not to wince.

“I’m.. I’m sorry.” he stammered out between breaths, eyes downcast mournfully. Tommy scoffed.

“The fuck do you have to be sorry for, then?”

“The- our trainer, he’s right. I shouldn’t have… pushed you so hard, not when I… when you-”

“Tubbo.” Tommy cut in, making Tubbo snap his mouth shut with a click, “That’s absolute horse shit, and you know it.”

“But-”

“But nothing, man, you’re being stupid. All of them- Techno, Eret, Dad- they have no idea what they’re talking about. They act like you’re some kind of… legendary animal. Like you’re not a person, just something to be marveling over. It’s weird. They're weird, but not you, okay?”

Tubbo shifted on his feet, uncomfortable. “I know.”

“I can hear you thinking over there. I know you don’t believe me.”

Tubbo sighed. “What if they’re right, though? I’ve got this incredible magical power that no one’s ever seen before… shouldn’t I be using it for something good? I could be doing more, I could be helping people. I…” he sighed. “I just don’t like it when you feel bad because of me.” he admitted, quietly.

Tommy stared him down, causing his gaze to sink lower to the ground. It was true, after all: he lived securely with the knowledge no harm could fall upon him, but he couldn’t say as much about Tommy. Born with no magic gift or miraculous blessing, it just wasn’t the same- he had to work twice as hard just to get a fraction of the power his brothers held by birthright. As much as he knew his brother acted like it didn’t bother him, deep down Tubbo knew it weighed on his mind: after all, how could it not? Being tied to an immortal couldn't be easy.

"Tubbo."

"Yes?"

"Do you think I'm mad at you? For being magical and shit?"

Tubbo blinked. "...yes?"

Tommy scoffed. "Now you're being stupid. Stop that. No more stupidity allowed."

"What are you… what?" 

"I'm not- fucks sake, did you think I was mad at you this whole time?" Tommy crossed the distance between them, planting a firm hand on Tubbo's shoulder. "I'm not mad at you. Even if you're clingy and annoying. I'm mad that everyone else treats me like I'm.. frail. And I'm mad they act like it's your job to protect me because of it. I don't want you to be some guard for me, I want you to be my brother! That I can spar with without being reprimanded because you can't get hurt but I can."/

"Oh." Tubbo was quiet for a moment, pondering. "Sorry."

"Whatever, man, it's not your fault I'm so…."

Whatever word he was thinking, he didn't say. Tubbo didn't clarify.

"It's not your fault, either."

"Stop being a sap, my god, you're so annoying. Let's go chase the chickens."

"Okay." There was something between them, not quite tension but heavy nonetheless. Understanding, Tubbo thought: understanding they would never fully grasp each other, but stood by anyway. There was no need for further dissection, not when Tommy was leading the way and Tubbo was following dutifully. They were themselves, and that was enough for them.

It was beyond ass o'clock in the morning when Tubbo was shaken awake.

He groaned, swatting at whatever was interrupting his sleep, only for the hands to dance away and return on his other side.

"Fuck do you want, Tommy," he mumbled out, because there wasn't anyone else he could think of anyone else that would br bothering him at all , let alone in the middle of the night.

"Get up," his twin's voice hissed back, "we're sneaking out."

"Why?"

"Because I said so! C'mon, up, let's go."

Tubbo groaned, but got to his feet anyway, yawning obnoxiously as he stretched his arms above his head.

"I hate you." He grumbled, pulling a cloak out of the closet and tying it over his shoulders.

"No you don't." Tommy replied, tossing him a torch as he checked the hallway for anyone that might catch them.

No, he didn't.

With a nod from Tommy, Tubbo propped the window open, easily sliding out onto the sill, then clambering up until he found a flattened section of the tiled roof to flop down against. Tommy was beside him a moment later, sprawling dramatically with his arm falling over Tubbo’s chest.

“Who made these things? They’re impractical for climbing.” Tommy snarked.

Tubbo pushed his arm off of him. “I think that’s kind of the point, bossman.”

“Oh, yeah, because invaders are going to try to scale the roofs of the castle. That's the best way to invade a kingdom. Obviously.”

“I’m just saying, man, I didn’t say it made sense!”

Tommy barked out a laugh, though it died off shortly as the boy stared up at the sky. Tubbo followed his lead, gazing up at the seemingly endless sky.

“Why are we up here, Toms?”

“I told you, we're sneaking out.”

“That’s not it, though.” 

For as much as Tommy could see straight through Tubbo, Tubbo could do the exact same to him. He may not always know exactly what Tommy was feeling (emotions had never been his strongest point, as much as he did try), but he could tell what Tommy was thinking by the tilt of his head and the glint in his eyes. Besides, they didn’t sneak out like this unless Tommy had something on his mind.

Tommy sighed, eyes pinching shut. “I just needed to breathe.”

Tubbo nodded, not that Tommy could likely see the action. Tommy was more outgoing than Tubbo, sure, but even he had his limits. That on top of the volatility of their afternoon, would lead to Tommy needing a break from everything else. It was a feeling that he could understand: Tubbo found crowds rather difficult, and he had more than once dragged Tommy off to some obscure corner to recuperate. He left their conversation there; he was more than happy to enjoy the quiet of the night until Tommy was ready to talk.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed; it may have been minutes, or maybe hours, when Tommy pointed up. 

“See those two glowing stars, close together?”

Tubbo squinted, trying to focus on where Tommy was pointing. “Yeah?”

“That’s Gemini.”

“Oh. That’s cool.”

“‘Cool’. What, you’re not gonna ask?”

“Oh, sorry. What makes Gemini interesting, Tommy?”

“I’m so glad you asked, my dearest brother! Gemini are the twin constellations, two brothers that stayed side by side through everything. You know what that means?”

“Mm?”

“It’s us, Tubbo! We’re stars!”

“Wow,” Tubbo drawled, “I didn’t realize you were into stars and shit, man, that’s interesting.”

“Now listen here, bitch,” Tommy started, sitting up, but his attention was quickly drawn elsewhere. Tubbo waited a few moments for him to finish his sentence before also sitting up, casting him a confused look.

“What am I listening to, bossman?”

“Shh, shut up,” Tommy whispered, leaning forward.

“What’s up?” Tubbo was starting to get nervous now, glancing between Tommy and the pathways below.

“Do you see that? Down there?”

Tubbo shifted closer to Tommy, trying to look exactly where he was. While it was hard to tell, with darkness encroaching on all sides, it almost looked like…

“Are those people?”

In the darkness, there were four figures wearing dark coverings, approaching the castle from the same side Tubbo and Tommy happened to be stargazing on. The two watched in stunned silence as they drew closer, heading for a rarely used tower on the outer wing.

“What- what the fuck,” Tommy breathed. Tubbo recovered before him, tugging on his arm meaningfully.

“We have to- we have to go warn someone.” he whispered, trying to get to his feet on the slippery tile without drawing attention to himself, “C’mon, Tommy, let’s go.”

Tommy didn’t move.

“I know it’s scary, Toms, come on-”

“We can’t.”

“What- what do you mean?”

“This side of the castle has all the bedrooms and shit, man, by the time we go get the guards and come back, who knows what these guys will have done! What if they're after dad, or- or Techno? We can’t, we have to-” something seemed to click in Tommy’s head. Tubbo felt a sinking feeling drag his hammering heart down to his stomach. “We need to fight them off ourselves.”

“Tommy- tommy, no, we are not fucking doing that, think about this for a second.”

“I am, Tubbo! There’s not enough time, but I’m a plenty good swordfighter, and you’re immortal! We’ll defeat these wronguns, right here and now, and then everyone will see how capable we both are!”

“We’ve never been in a real sword fight before!”

“Well, we’re doing it now!”

Without any more warning, Tommy slid down the roof, scaling his wat further down.

“Tommy!” tubbo hissed, frantic, “Tommy, come back!”

It was no use, as the boy was either out of earshot, or not listening. Tubbo stood for a moment, frozen in time. What was he to do? Reasonably, he was pretty sure they were about Tommy was about to get his ass thoroughly kicked, and there wasn’t much he could do to stop it. He may be immortal, but he was no Techno- he beat Tommy t sword fighting, but that’s because Tommy fought loosely at best; he wasn’t all that hard to counter. He could probably go get help, find a patrolling guard or even make it to the barracks, but Tommy was already going to be upon the assailants as it was: who knew what would happen to him?

Cursing under his breath, Tubbo made his choice: it wasn’t like he wasn’t used to following Tommy into trouble; they likely couldn’t escape easily.

Navigating down the castle was as difficult as he imagined. The walls were steep, with very little purchase for footholds, and the tile and stone were slippery with evening dew. How Tommy had managed his descent so quickly, Tubbo had no idea, but he did his best to follow quickly, egged on when he heard a surprised shout and the clashing of metal. He was on the ground faster than anticipated, though much too slow all the same; he could already see Tommy fending off three people at once, a fourth seemingly having been caught off guard by him as they were slumped against the wall, unmoving. Tubbo made quick work of rushing in, quickly swiping a shortsword and a dagger from the unconscious man before diving into the fray, doing his best to repel their opponents.

“Nice of you to join me, T!” Tommy called, suddenly appearing back to back with him. Tubbo scoffed.

“You didn’t give me much of a choice. Here,” he handed off the sword, just in time to duck under a reaching arm and slash back with a quick stroke of the dagger, “this might help.”

“Hell yeah! Now this is a fight!” Tommy dove back in towards the closest figure, swinging wildly.

“Tom-” Tubbo tried, but was cut off as another attack was made against him, and he was forced to focus back on the fight at hand.

Despite his immortality, he was not impervious to harm: blades still stung and blood still shed, he just couldn’t die because of it. As such, he did fight consciously when he could, focusing on minimizing damage to himself while maximizing damage to others. Being two against one, it wasn’t easy, and he certainly took more hits than he usually would. However, he could easily fight through, something which the assailants seemed to be quickly realizing.

“Fuck- this is the unkillable one!” one of them shouted, directing another quick stab at him before backing off a few steps.

“Don’t bother with him, then; knock him out and tie him up. I’m sure he’ll make us a fine fortune in ransom. Get the other boy, the feisty one.”

“What- hey!” Tubbo shouted as one of the assailants rushed past him, “What do you think you’re-” he cut himself as the full weight of the other came crashing at him, trying to pin him down more than actually fight. Tubbo snarled, gripping the dagger tightly and plunging it into whatever muscle happened to be closest to him, hitting the attacker in the shoulder. They cried out, which Tubbo felt bad about for a moment, before remembering the circumstances and kicking them off of him, pushing himself to his feet in time to see Tommy narrowly dodge a dagger straight into the neck.

“Get away from him!” he screamed, fury and fear boiling into some unholy combination as he charged.

He doesn’t remember much of the next few moments, actually. Everything whirled in his mind, loud noise and sensation and yet nothing at all. He was fighting, he knew: he and Tommy both. He knew he heard the sound of footsteps, and saw the familiar gold armour and green emblem of the family's guards, shouting and clamoring at the sight before them. And, very clearly, he remembers the momentary panic that shot across attackers face, before they took a wild swing with their dagger, and Tommy cried out, falling to the ground.

There is a lot that happens after that. The unconscious individuals are apprehended, arms tied behind their back. The remaining one is also seized, taken awake to the dungeons to be held for further questions. Tubbo is sure this happens, as it would be protocol, but he doesn’t notice any of it. Instead, his eyes focus only on the form of his brother, also with a guard kneeling beside him, flat on the floor, breathing shakily.

Tubbo approaches, tentative. He kneels beside his brother, motioning for the guard to leave. They hesitate, but take a few steps back.

“Toms?”

Tommy smiles, eyes pained and face pale. There’s a lot of blood on the ground, Tubbo thinks, more than a person should probably lose.

“Hey, big T,” Tommy breathes, and his voice is strained and weak. Tubbo’s heart stutters: he’s never known Tommy to be so still.

“You’re gonna be okay, yeah?” Tubbo reassures, a gentle hand finding it’s way to Tommy’s hair. “You’re gonna be fine.”

“Mm.” Tommy breathes, and Tubbo thinks it maybe sounds slower, “whatever you say, T. I trust you.”

The guard behind him clears their throat. “Prince, sir, we’ve called for a medic, and your father?”

“Okay.” Tubbo is numb, numb, numb- “Thank you. That’s good.”

Tommy’s breath stutters. Tubbo grips his shoulder with his free hand.

“You’re gonna be fine, Toms-”

“Tubbo, tell Dad-”

“No, no, you tell him- didn’t you hear? He’s been alerted, he’s on his way.”

“Tubbo, c’mon, listen, please.”

Tommy doesn’t say please. Tubbo listens.

“Tell dad I’m sorry for sneaking out all the time. And making his life hard. Tell Techno that too. Actually, don’t, He’ll hold that over me forever.”

“Okay.”

“And make sure someone feeds clementine extra caterpillars. She’s my favourite chicken.”

“Okay.”

“And- and don’t forget you were my favourite brother. You were always my favourite brother.”

His eyes are wet, which is odd, he doesn’t remember when that happened. “The competition wasn’t steep.” he jokes, and then he sobs, which is also odd.

Tommy laughs, harsh and painful. “You’re right, you’re right. But don’t forget anyways, okay?”

“Okay.” Tubbo agrees easily, because it’s what he knows. Tommy takes a breath, and smiles.

He does not take another breath.

Tubbo is still for a moment. The hand that had been supporting Tommy slowly moves to his neck, feeling for a pulse. He does not find one. He’s pretty sure he’s checking the correct side, but he moves his fingers across Tommy’s neck anyway, just to be sure. There is still no pulse.

“Tubbo?”

He looks up to see the horrified faces of his older brother and father. He looks down to see the pale form of his twin. Something sets in, at that moment, and Tubbo cries something primal and inconsolable, , head down on Tommy’s chest. How did this happen- how did he let this happen, when he knew better? He should have stopped him- he should have believed their instructor- he never ever should’ve let Tommy climb onto that roof, easy as breathing- he should’ve-

“Child.”

He stops, for just a moment, head turning to see… something. Someone, maybe. A figure so tall he can’t see to their face, not that he would’ve been able to anyway with the heavy veil that fell over their eyes. Their black dress moved ethereally across the floor, giving the impression more that they are gliding than walking. From behind them, another figure steps out- shorter, with visible golden hair and a mask like an animals skull. They approach the two with the energy of something unstoppable, stopping just a few steps from Tubbo, a scythe drawn at the ready in their hands

“Who are you?” Tubbo whispers, vision still obscured by tears.

“It is his time, Child. You must let go now.” the shorter speaks, with a voice like winter winds.

Tubbo’s brain stutters. “No, no, you- you can’t.”

“It is the way of the world, Child. It is his time.”

“Please, you can’t!”

“It is the natural order of things. All must cross into my domain eventually.”

“Please,” Tubbo cries, seemingly incapable of doing anything else, “I can’t- I can’t not see him ever again- can’t you take me instead?”

He’s sure this figure- Death, he’s put together by now, the goddess Death herself and her psychopomp- has heard the deranged ramblings of the grief stricken many times before. Yet, before anything more can happen, Death raises a hand, stopping her underling.

She approaches, and Tubbo feels cold, the hands of death reaching fruitlessly towards him.

“Young one,” she whispers, and though her voice is cold as the void, it is kind, “I am not without heart. I would hate to seperate you from your borther, knowing you can never follow him to what comes after. However,  your brother has no more time left in this world: his vitality has become part of my domain. You, however, have much time to spare.”

Tubbo sniffles. “What are you saying?”

“What is dead is lost, but what is alive can be repurposed. Give up half your magic, and your brother will live once more. But, it comes at a cost: without all your magic, you shall become mortal as well.”

Tubbo could hear his heart pumping in his chest. What she was saying- it was crazy, wasn’t it? But- she was a goddess. If anyone could save Tommy, it would be her. His magic was a terribly steep cost, but… his earlier words came back to him.

“I’ve got this incredible magical power that no one’s ever seen before… shouldn’t I be using it for something good?”

His mind was made up. Though, frankly, he wasn’t sure he could even conceive picking the other option.

“Yes,” he whispers, fierce and protective and hurt, “yes, please, if that’s what it takes.”

“Very well.”

Tubbo isn’t sure it’s possible to describe what happens next. The cold he’d felt since Death approached suddenly sunk to his bones, and he wondered for the first time if that was what mortality felt like. And then, she was gone, and Tommy-

Drew a long breath, gasping like he’d been drowned.

Tubbo, startled, dropped him against the floor. It wasn’t very far, but it was enough to surprise the boy, who twisted and gasped.

“Fuck- ow, dude!”

“Sorry. Are you okay?”

“I- I’m…” Tommy trailed off, looking down at his hands, then around at the castle, then to Tubbo. “What the fuck? I thought… I thought I was dead.”

“You were. I think.”

“I- what?”

“It’s fine, the goddess let me make a deal with her.”

“You-” Tommy’s eyes widened then, sitting up. “I remember that. I heard that. You gave up your immortality for me.”

Tubbo nodded, and god, why were his eyes wet again? “Yeah.”

“Tubbo, you…” Tommy leaned forward on his knees, looking Tubbo very seriously in the eyes.

And then he slapped him.

“You fucking idiot! You were immortal, Tubbo, you don’t just go throwing that away, fuck’s sakes, now we’re both- fuck, man!”

Tubbo laughed, and then he threw himself into Tommy’s chest and cried. He thinks, maybe, that Tommy is crying too, but it’s hard to tell where all the tears and snot and general grossness is coming from. He’s not sure if he’s crying because he’s happy, or because he’s sad, or just because it seemed like the appropriate thing to do when your brother died and then undied, but for now, the two were reunited, and he was ready to face that, whatever it entailed.