Chapter Text
The Soot family consists of 3 young boys, Technoblade and Wilbur, the twins who are newly 14 and Tommy who had just turned 11. There used to be more to their family, parents and grandparents, an uncle and aunt, cousins. But that was before, now all that they had was themselves and each other and the cold streets.
It’s not half bad living on the streets, at least not on nights where you’re lucky enough to find shelter from the harsh elements of the outside world. The small family of three had found an abandoned house that was halfway livable about a month or so ago and had decided to make it their new house, at least until they got caught or found something better.
The house wasn’t half bad, with a usable upstairs and basement that luckily enough had a steady floor and insulated walls. There wasn’t any running water, electricity or heat in the house, but it was better than the alleyway they had been staying in the month before.
The rooms of the house that they actually used were the two upstairs bedrooms, and the basement. Unfortunately, the middle floor had big windows that weren’t covered and if anyone saw them inside and called the cops it would mean having to run again. They were careful though and only came and went late at night and early in the morning. On days where they had enough supplies to last and nothing else to do all three boys were able to stay inside, usually in the basement. Other days the three went out looking for odd jobs that would hire kids with no papers, Techno and Wilbur had alright luck with getting a job washing dishes or helping clean up in exchange for some food or a few dollars. Tommy was too young for most people to consider letting him work but he usually managed to get a few pity dollars here and there.
If they really needed money or a place to stay for the night they could always go to Dream. Dream was...a friend, almost a brother in a way. Older than Techno and Wilbur by a year maybe two. He’d found them after they ran and after some talking, he offered to help the three brothers out. Dream was in on the underground fighting ring in the city, the Nether, and if you could hold your own and managed to stay on his good side, he would help you find a fight. Usually, foster kids who were desperate enough to ask Dream ended up pinned against each other but they all ended up with a few bucks after. If you lost you got a few bucks for showing up and if you won you got a bigger cut, but it still wasn’t anything crazy, Dream took a portion of the money along with the guys who ran the place. Still a fight or two could get the boys enough money for a few blankets or a night in a motel when the winter nights are harsh.
When they really needed the money all three boys fought but if they only needed a few dollars for a secondhand shirt or a small meal Technoblade was usually the one who fought, even with his pink hair he was intimidating and a good fighter, he’d never lost a single match. Wilbur and Tommy fought when they needed a motel room or before winter when they all needed to buy some secondhand coats. With both Wilbur and Tommy, it was a toss-up on if they would win or not. They are both strong but getting paired with someone two or even one year older could end with them losing, it just depended on the fight and the day.
Little did the boys know that this next fight at the void would be one of their last.
Tommy woke up early that morning, groaning softly as he shifted away from Wilbur who was currently hugging him as though he was some kind of teddy bear. Tommy huffs and rolls his eyes, carefully moving Wilbur away, shifting his older brother so that he would be cuddling Technoblade instead of him. Tommy stood, stretching and making a face at the way his bones popped, sleeping on the floor was never comfortable despite how familiar it had become. At least this floor was inside with carpet Tommy thought as he took a moment to really look at his brothers. At some point in the night Wilbur had stolen most of the blanket he and Tommy shared and now had his limbs tangled up in it. His gray beanie had fallen from its rightful spot on his head and now laid next to him on the floor. Technoblade had one arm protectively wrapped around his twin, his jacket acting as a blanket for his upper half while the small blanket that he had covered his middle and his legs.
Tommy knelt down grabbing the beanie and carefully putting it back on Will’s head, holding his breath as his brother stirred in his sleep before relaxing again. It wouldn’t be long before Tommy would have to wake his older siblings up but for now, he let them sleep. He figured he could run out and grab breakfast before it was time for them to leave the house. It was getting colder and colder, odd jobs of shoveling snow would come up soon but until then the brothers would get in on a few fights to help them buy some cheap winter coats and gloves, if they were lucky, they might be able to find some kind of portable heater for sale or at the very least some more blankets.
They were lucky that Dream had managed to get a fight for Techno and Tommy later in the day, 11:30pm, he also promised to get them another fight the next day, Sunday, if they won and a fight for Wilbur. Losing wasn’t an option tonight. Tommy never understood why adults seemed to like watching two kids beat the crap out of each other, but he figured it was the next best thing for them rather than getting to beat the kids up themselves. Tommy didn’t mind fighting, the wave of adrenaline that hit when he stepped into the ring always made him smile, he knows that Techno and Wilbur are the same way. That rush of adrenaline… sure the adrenaline came with the feeling of fear, of not being safe and the idea that one hit too hard and the win either way would be permanent… still it was worth it in the end when they got to stay someplace warm with the promise of food in the morning.
They’d leave Wilbur behind tonight in the house, Techno claimed it was so that he could watch over things and make sure no other runaways tried to steal their things or their spot, but Wilbur knew he was being left behind so that he didn’t have to watch his brothers fight when he couldn’t. As long as they both got back safe, he didn’t mind.
Tommy managed to sneak out of the house pretty easily, using the neighboring fences as cover to jog his way down to a nearby gas station that would have some cheap breakfast burritos cooking this time in the morning with the sun just starting to rise over the horizon. Tommy managed to get three of the breakfast burritos and two bottles of water with the ten-dollar bill he’d been given yesterday for his help in raking an old man's yard.
He made it back to the house just in time to see Techno waking up, handing his half-awake brother a bottle of water, what little change was left from the ten and a breakfast sandwich Tommy sits down next to Wilbur, gently shaking him awake.
Breakfast was spent in silence, as was most of their time when Tommy wasn’t speaking. Technoblade didn’t mind talking in front of his family and would often speak or sign to them but around other people he tended to keep to himself and only speak when necessary. Wilbur was a different story, he hadn’t spoken in just over two years, not to anyone, not even Techno and Tommy. They were lucky to know sign, they had begun learning the silent language in one of their first foster homes, their foster brother had been mute and offered to teach them as much as he could. After that, the brothers realized it was nice to have a silent way to communicate that most of the people around them wouldn’t understand so they took books from the library and continued to learn on their own.
In the end they were happy to have learned it because now it was the only way they could communicate with Wilbur. He only signed around them or when he figured no one else was paying attention but at least it was something.
After the three boys ate, they packed what little belongings they had into their three bags. Techno would carry the heavier things while Wilbur and Tommy would take whatever food and blankets they currently had. It wasn’t safe to leave anything they might need or want behind in the house even if they did plan to come back later in the day. If someone else got there before they got back, they would take everything the boys had, the brothers had learned that lesson the hard way.
Their day was spent wandering the town, on the day of fights none of them bothered with trying to find any kind of side work, they didn’t want to be exhausted when the night finally came. So instead, they spent the day together, hanging out in the nearby park, playing cards under a big oak tree, seeing which of them could skip stones in the pond better. It was fun and relaxing despite the chill in the air which only served as a reminder of the winter to come.
By the time that night rolled around they had all made it safely back to the house, Tommy and Techno leaving all of their things in the bedroom with Wilbur before they both hugged their brother goodbye.
The Nether is a sleazy place, in an abandoned warehouse about a twenty-minute walk outside of the main part of town. Some came to fight, some to watch and some to buy beer or cigarettes because no one cared about age here. None of the Soot brothers particularly liked the place or the people in it other than Dream, but money is money.
The fights went well overall both boys won that night and Techno had even gotten a second fight when one of the new kids chickened out. Tommy has a new black eye and a few bruises forming on his arms and chest, but his smile is unwavering. Techno has a bruise on his chin, a few on his back and one on his chest, but he's smiling too, watching Tommy jump around, the younger throwing his bruised fists that match Techno's in the air as he tells Techno all about his fight as if his older brother hadn’t been watching from the sidelines.
The small smile on Techno’s face falls through when they finally reached the house. Police. There are two cop cars surrounding the abandoned house that the brothers were currently staying in. Techno’s heart stops as he quickly grabs a hold of Tommy to keep his kid brother from moving any closer.
“Tech!” Tommy’s eyes shifted from the police to his big brother filled with fear and worry. Wilbur, their brother is in that house and who knows what will happen if the cops have found him.
“I know… I know but if Wilbur left in time and we go running in there we’ll get caught and he’ll be alone, okay? We need to play it safe, get closer without them seeing us. Come on”
Techno pulls Tommy down the sidewalk before turning down a driveway three houses over. These people don’t have any bright lights in their backyard which makes it easy for the two to sneak behind the fence all the way to the neighboring house of the one they had been staying in.
They’re close enough now to hear two of the cops talking without the worry of being caught.
“Pretty sure that kid isn’t going to talk, I couldn’t even get his name out of him.”
“Anderson is in the house talking to the kid now, probably just a runaway who’s trying to plead the fifth” The man makes it sound like some sort of joke, Techno wants to punch him.
"Maybe... He might be mute or something, who knows... Either way someone will take him into the station and get an ID on him. It’s nothing to worry about.”
Except it is. They have Wilbur. Techno should have known better than to leave his twin alone in that house. He’s not sure what to do but he figures he has at least a few minutes to figure out next steps if Wilbur is still inside of the house.
That hope disappears in an instant when Techno hears the side door of the house open and sees Wilbur being led out with his hands cuffed in front of him. Shit. He does a quick scan of his twin as Will is dragged from the door. He looks okay, no visible bruises and no visible panic. He’s trying to act tough with all of the cops around, but Techno and Tommy can see the hidden fear in his eyes and the way his hands shake. Techno’s sure if it was Tommy, he’d be dragged out kicking and screaming words no 12 year old should know.
“Grab him and run” It’s the only plan Techno can think of while watching his brother be dragged away. There’s nothing that’s more important than Wilbur in that moment.
Tommy runs first, straight for Wilbur, Techno runs in behind him. Using the element of surprise Tommy is able to push Wilbur away from the cops giving him just enough space to make a run for it. Techno pushes one cop into the other in order to give them a head start. As they run, Tommy spots their bags sitting next to one of the cop cars and runs over, picking one up, Techno’s it has all of their most important items and just so happened to be the one Tommy could get his hands on.
They run for what feels like forever, hiding in back alleys and behind trash cans from the now four cop cars that are out searching for them. They have the advantage though, from running for so long they’ve learned to map out every new city they go to just in case they need a place to hide.
Their running eventually leads them to a nicer part of town, each house here is spaced out with big yards and small hills. There’s a cop right on their tail, someone who must know the city as well as they do because every time they think they’re safe they see the same car.
It’s getting harder and harder to keep running, Techno has long since taken the bag from Tommy and put it on his own shoulders but each of them is bruised up and Wilbur's wrists are bleeding from the metal of the cuffs.
They need to stop, at least for a few minutes, long enough for them to catch their breath and for Techno to find a way to either get Wil out of the cuffs or put some padding in between his brother's skin and the metal. Techno sees a shed coming into view and grabs Tommy’s wrist and Wil’s arm, dragging them over to it. He considers them lucky when he tries the handle and finds the shed unlocked, pushing his brothers inside he shuts the door.
They all take a moment to breathe before Tommy suddenly launches himself at Wilbur causing the teen to fall over into a stack of yard tools. The loud sound of the tools hitting the ground echoes throughout the small shed and causes all three brothers to flinch.
“Sh-shit I’m sorry” Tommy shifts to sit up and pull Wilbur up as he does.
Before anyone can say anything else the shed doors open once again, a light shining into the small space. The brothers tense, expecting a cop, but instead when they look up they find a man, standing in his pajamas with a flashlight in one hand and a bat in the other.
The man blinks, seeing the three young boys, two on the floor, one in handcuffs and all three bruised in one way or another “um… Hello mate?”