Work Text:
"Aren't you excited?"
Techno pulls his eyes away from the road to look at his social worker. She's a stern-looking woman with long hair that's dyed a very fake light blonde color. Techno is always reminded of the wheat fields his parents had out back when he sees it. Her expression deepens the wrinkles in her face, accentuated by the makeup she uses in the hopes of smoothing them out a bit. It ends up having an opposite effect of what she intended, probably.
"You should be," she adds after a second, taking Techno's lack of an answer as a lack of enthusiasm. As if the fact that Techno isn't currently jumping for joy is a moral failing on his part. He'd rather stay securely buckled into his car seat, thank you very much.
The truth is that he's not not excited. Excitement would certainly be one of the many words you could use to describe that bubbling feeling that settles in Techno's rib cage until it's pushing everything else out. But there are a lot of other - better fitting - words too. Anxiety, apprehension, reluctance…Techno has decided on dread.
Changing foster families has always been pretty stressful. Not knowing what to expect makes Techno's heart flutter and his hands fill with nervous energy. He pushes them under his thighs, hoping his own weight will pin them down.
"You know, it was pretty hard to find a hybrid family willing to foster," his social worker says. Techno assumes that's the reason he should be excited, more than any of the previous times somebody was willing to take him in. Hybrids aren't super common. Techno has only ever met a handful in his life.
"What sort of hybrids are they?" he asks, voice small and wavering. He swallows thickly, though it barely helps.
At least he gets a tiny smile from his social worker in response. "Not sure, some sort of bird?"
"Oh," Techno says. He hopes it doesn't sound too disappointed. He's not trying to be ungrateful, it's not as if he's expecting whatever family takes him in to be the exact same species as him. But he'd hoped they'd be mammals. Then they'd have something in common.
Maybe it doesn't matter at all. Nothing is going to stop Techno from being the odd one out anyway, the intruder in another happy family that doesn't really need him around.
"Like I said, it's hard to find hybrids willing to foster. It's better than nothing, right?" his social worker insists. Techno nods, turning his head so he can look out of the window again. She means well, and she's one of the nicest social workers Techno has ever had so he doesn't want to make her mad. She's probably not entirely wrong either. Having hybrids foster him is going to be different from the human families he's stayed at. They'll kind of grasp the strange quirks most piglin hybrids have that Techno can't help, though they won't completely relate.
The neighborhood is fancy too. The streets are lined with pretty gardens. From what Techno can tell the houses aren't overly big, but they're cozy. A far cry from the group home or even where Techno lived before that. They stop in front of a home that's painted a weird dark green color. There's a kid's bike leaning against the gate up front.
"Here we are," his social worker comments unnecessarily. As if Techno was going to assume they stopped for any other reason. She gets out of the car and Techno takes slightly longer unbuckling his seatbelt with how fidgety his hands are. By the time he gets out, his social worker has already grabbed his bag. Techno snatches it from her hastily.
She clicks her tongue in disapproval, but doesn't comment.
As they wait for the door to be opened after knocking, Techno tries to straighten out his clothes a bit. His sweater is a few sizes too big. When he curls his tail up, it completely disappears beneath the heavy fabric. His sleeves are long enough that they mostly hide his hands, and the claws attached to them. Techno's long pink hair makes it hard to see his oddly shaped ears, and if he keeps his mouth closed nobody would notice his tusks since they're so small.
He has learned very well how to hide his hybrid traits when going to meet new families. And while these might also be non-humans, Techno finds comfort in knowing he can try to pass as 'normal'. It helps him make the best first impression he can.
A little boy opens the door. He's younger than Techno by a lot, five years or more. His hair is a little curled and dark blond in color. He looks at the social worker - not at Techno, thankfully. Techno doesn't like eye contact - and his face falls into a disapproving little frown. "Oh, it's just you."
Then he promptly slams the door closed again.
The social worker splutters and Techno tries his best not to laugh. In his defense, it's very funny when her cheeks go all red and she knocks on the door again.
After a few more seconds, it opens again. This time it's an adult man. He looks a lot like the boy, Techno wonders if they're father and son then. His social worker did mention he'd have foster siblings in this home, but failed to tell him if they were bio children or not. The nuance probably doesn't matter to her, though from experience Techno can say it actually matters a whole lot.
"Hello. Sorry about that, you're earlier than I expected." The man steps out of the way to let them inside. "Don't mind Tommy, he's waiting for a parcel."
Tommy must be the boy that opened the door. Techno ducks his head and steps inside, sticking close to his social worker who is already busy chattering away and pulling papers out of her bag. As the man leads them deeper into the house, Techno looks up and finds his eyes going wide.
There are two huge black wings attached to the man's shoulder blades.
He feels a bit silly for not noticing those before, since they're definitely big enough that they should be visible from the front too. Even tucked closed as they currently are. Techno wonders if the man could fly with them. He doesn't know enough about birds or bird hybrids to know how feasible it would be, but it's a cool thought.
In the kitchen, Techno's social worker puts the papers on the table for the man to briefly look over and sign. When he bends forward, Techno feels safe to take him in a bit more. His eyes keep being drawn towards those dark feathers, slightly iridescent where they catch the light. Techno thinks they're crow wings. The feathers are barely translucent at the tips and have sharp edges to them. Upon closer inspection, he also notices that the man has some patches on the side of his neck. He pulls a pair of half-moon glasses that are hanging from a silver chain up to his face, to read the small text better. For some reason, his features seem more birdlike when he does that.
Techno blinks when his social worker pats his head twice, a gesture more absentminded than deliberate. "Be good," she says. "I'll be around to check in on you soon."
And just like that she's leaving. Techno realizes he zoned out through all the explanations. He didn't even catch the man's name!
Great, leave it to him to completely mess that up.
"Techno, right?" the man asks him after he returns from seeing Techno's social worker out. Maybe he didn't really catch Techno's name either, or he's just trying to act casual to put him at ease. He waits for Techno to offer him a strained little nod, clutching the bag closer to his body. "Do you want me to show you to your room, so you can get settled in?"
"Yes please," Techno mumbles. The man smiles at him. Politeness will usually do that with foster parents.
They walk through the hallway. There are a whole lot of pictures on a little table against the wall. Techno recognizes the man, and the boy named Tommy. There are a few that have a woman in them. She's really pretty, with long black hair and dimples on her cheeks. Others have a boy in them who is much older than Techno and is wearing glasses. The woman and the teen both have wings too.
"Phil!"
Techno physically jumps at the loudness of the yell. But it's just Tommy, pointing an offending finger at Phil from the top of the stairs. Phil being the name of the mystery man, Techno puts together. If Tommy is calling him by his first name, he's probably not a bio kid after all.
"Check your tracking app again," Tommy demands.
Phil sighs a little, getting to the top of the stairs and pulling Tommy along by the elbow. Techno follows because he doesn't know what else to do. "Tommy, it's not going to get here any sooner if you keep camping the door. Why don't you help Techno put his stuff away?"
Techno frowns a bit at that. He doesn't really need or want help putting his stuff away. He doesn't have that much to begin with.
"Man, can't you see I have better things to do," Tommy complains, trying to free himself from Phil's hold. The fluffy yellow wings on his back puff out at his irritation. He must be another species of bird than Phil.
Great, so Techno is literally the only one in this family who doesn't have wings.
Phil sighs again, but he does let go. Tommy bolts past Techno down the stairs.
"Please don't take it too personally," Phil tells him, continuing down the hallway to a door on the right. "Tommy's been… struggling a little since Wilbur went off to university."
"Wilbur?" Techno asks. Must be the older kid in the photograph.
"Our son. He got this coveted scholarship he'd been gunning for and everything, we're very proud of him." Phil grins, sincere. Techno picks at the edges of his fingernails, very self-conscious suddenly. "But it means he's moving into a dorm and Tommy is having some trouble adjusting."
Phil opens the door. It leads into a decently sized room that's been sparsely decorated. There's a bed with bright blue covers, a closet for clothes, and a desk shoved into a corner. It gives the impression of something temporary. Maybe this family took in short-term fosters before they got Techno assigned to them.
"We can pretty it up a bit down the line," Phil says quickly, the bareness of the room also sticking out to him like a sore thumb.
Techno doesn't answer. He walks over to the bed and touches the sheets. They're soft, and unexpectedly thick. They'll probably be good enough to make a nest out of.
"Do you want to be alone, or do you need help unpacking?" Phil asks.
Techno tries not to let it show how that question surprises him. Most other foster parents would either leave him alone or insisted on making certain he didn't mess the room up in his efforts to put all his stuff away, they never asked him what he preferred.
"I can do it myself," Techno says quickly.
"Good. I'll fix us up some dinner then." Phil starts to walk out. "Oh, and if you hear the doorbell, just let Tommy get it. I doubt you'd get to it before he does anyway, but you know." He laughs.
Techno waits until he has heard Phil descend the stairs all the way before he dares put his bag down. He doesn't have a ton of clothes, but Techno does take them out and neatly fold them before putting them in the dresser. Somewhere between them, he has tucked a book away. Techno puts it on the bedside table for later.
Then he kneels and pulls the bag into his lap.
At the very, very bottom he has his hoard.
Techno doesn't have a big hoard. He never really had a chance to collect a ton of trinkets. There's a few coins in there he picked up throughout the years, a small golden chain he stole from one of his previous foster families when he was sure they wouldn't notice, and a nice gold nugget he cherishes. That last one kind of feels like cheating, since it's actually a smooth stone Techno found and then had the opportunity to decorate with gold paint and sprinkles. But it's Techno's very favorite.
Gently, Techno hides each item under his pillow, where he knows they'll be safe.
When he's done, he shoves the bag into the dresser too, and sits down on the bed. The blankets are as soft as they felt at his first inspection. So that's a win.
Maybe Techno won't totally hate it here.
It's been about four days and Techno has decided he totally hates it here.
And he is very mad at himself about it, because this is by far not the worst foster family he has ever stayed at. He hasn't been yelled at or punished (though he also has been very careful not to screw anything up), he has never gone to bed hungry, and Phil is very much making an elaborate effort to be nice to him. Tommy too, in his own way.
The younger boy was grumpy at first. From what Techno understands, Wilbur moved out literally the day before Techno moved in. Kristin, Phil's wife, is with him at the dorm to get all of that sorted out, though, in the long term, Wilbur will probably come home for vacations and the odd weekend. Phil and Kristin were hoping to foster another child for a while, but the timing worked out pretty conveniently. Now Techno has some time to get his bearings with two fewer people to deal with.
It's just all these little things that keep piling up.
Tommy pulls on his tail a lot.
The first time it happened, Techno had flinched so hard his entire body shook from it. Then he turned around and growled at Tommy. Tommy didn't pull hard enough for it to hurt, it was a light little tug if anything. But Techno didn't like being startled.
Phil witnessed the entire thing since he happened to be in the living room at the time. And while he did scold Tommy for doing it, he also mentioned that it's some weird type of bird play behavior. He remarked that Tommy must be in a better mood now, since he was so down the past few days.
So after hearing that, Techno didn't want to tell him to stop.
Tommy really has been in a better mood since he got Wilbur's package from university and all. Techno doesn't want to ruin that by being too sensitive. Especially if the tail pulling is Tommy's way of trying to get his attention, to show he wants to play with Techno.
(The first time Techno tried to return the favor, jumping on Tommy and pinning him down for a good old piglin wrestling match, Tommy shrieked so loud his ears rang. So Techno hasn't done that a second time).
Phil makes his bed every single day.
Techno doesn't want to complain about the smoothed out blankets, because that's going to sound ungrateful. He kind of likes that Phil is attentive enough to tidy his room every day, since Techno is so prone to forgetting. It's just a hassle for Techno to remake his nest every night. Also, Phil will often open the windows to let in fresh air.
He does that all the time, throughout the entire house. Bird hybrids must not be able to stand stuffiness. Techno is cold a lot, but putting on an extra sweater will remedy that. He doesn't need to mention it out loud.
And then there's the preening.
Techno loves to braid his hair. He doesn't have a ton of memories from when his parents were alive anymore, since he was so young when they died. But he does remember them braiding his hair, the different types of braids, and what they mean to piglin culture. Or how special it felt when they braided in little beads or bells.
Techno has to braid his own hair now. He knows all the special techniques, he knows how to make them so the braids would stay for days or even weeks at a time.
Phil wants to preen him every night.
Techno supposes it is probably a bonding thing. Phil preens Tommy too, then combs his hair while the boy is sitting in his lap. Because Techno lacks the wings, he thought he'd be exempt. So he was a little surprised that, on his first night in the house, Phil asked him if he needed his hair taken care of.
Techno said yes because he didn't want to disappoint Phil.
Phil took all the braids out - he complimented them first, which made Techno's stomach feel warm and fuzzy - but then he used a soft brush to detangle the strands. The sensation was nice, and Phil spoke to him as he did it. Techno enjoyed it.
Then when he was done, Phil put a loose French braid in his hair and called it a day.
Techno felt weird looking in the mirror that night. He didn't want to upset Phil. He didn't want to be difficult and make a big deal out of a tiny thing. He didn't want to be thankless.
He put a small little braid at the back of his ear before going to bed, because he'd be too restless to sleep without it.
After three days, Techno knows he was wrong in hoping they'd understand his hybrid quirks just because they are also hybrids. However, it's not much worse than other families he stayed with so why would Techno bother making a fuzz?
Well, that's what he tries to tell himself. Until that all goes out the window.
Because Techno is an idiot and he left his hoard out in plain view.
He was just admiring the trinkets earlier today, having taken them to his desk so he could sit and touch them. Techno finds it hard to explain how something simple like that can calm him down. How it makes all the nervous energy that floods his veins and makes his skin tingle simmer away into nothing. Normally, he's pretty meticulous about putting the hoard back in its safe spot when he's finished, but when Phil calls him down, Techno hurries to go see what the older man wants from him. Some of his previous foster parents got very upset if Techno was tardy. He even left his door open.
So what happens next is something Techno can only blame himself for.
"Do you mind going shopping with me?" Phil asks. He's waiting for Techno at the bottom of the stairs. "I could use the help carrying groceries, and maybe we can get some stuff for your room too."
"Sure," Techno says. He hasn't been enrolled in the nearby school yet, so he's been pretty much stuck at home all this week. Not that he minds. Going out with Phil sounds fun though.
"Look what I found!" Tommy suddenly runs down the stairs. He's holding a rock.
He's holding Techno's improvised gold nugget.
He feels his entire body tense up automatically, instincts lapping at the corners of his brain with anger and upset. That's his hoard! His gold! And Tommy just took it?!
"Where did you find that, Tommy?" Phil asks, getting his coat from the little hooks by the door.
"In… In Techno's room," Tommy admits sheepishly.
Phil shakes his head. "Then it's not yours and you should put it back."
"But it's so shiny," Tommy whines. His fingers close around the rock more, holding it closer to his chest.
Techno is barely breathing at this point, because he wants to lunge and grab his gold and get it back from Tommy. That will certainly get him kicked out.
"I know your instincts make you want to collect shiny things," Phil says patiently. "And I'm sure Techno is honored you want to add something of his to your nest. But that's not how it works, mate, you should at least ask first."
Ah…
Techno hadn't considered that crows are also notorious for scavenging pretty things. And the way Phil said that implies that they want to collect items belonging to loved ones. Kind of like how the tail pulling reads as hostile to Techno but is meant to be affectionate.
He swallows, having some trouble forcing his throat to stop being clogged up. "You can keep it."
"Really?" Tommy asks, eyes wide and happy and it tears at Techno. It really does.
He hates this.
"You don't have to let him keep it just because he nabbed it from you, Techno. This is how he gets to be so spoiled," Phil says half-heartedly. Tommy sticks out his tongue at him.
"No, it's fine, really," Techno insists, every word feeling like barbed wire. Hurting him more and more. "Can we go shopping now?"
"Sure, get your shoes on. Tommy, promise not to burn the house down in the half hour we're gone?"
Techno doesn't hear what Tommy answers. He's almost mechanical in moving through the motions of tying his laces. He ignores his mind echoing over and over again with the reminder that he lost his gold, it was stolen, he gave it away like an idiot, and he liked that gold and it was his gold and now it's not his anymore and-
Phil walks him to the car, Techno very slowly puts on the seatbelt with numb fingers.
They drive away and somehow Techno hoped that would help, like he'd feel better if he didn't have to see Tommy clutching that little piece of fake gold anymore. But all it does is make the hollow in his chest wider, gaping.
He starts to tap his foot slightly, stupidly as if that would make him feel better. He fidgets with the buckle a little and Phil throws him a glance but doesn't ask. Techno wishes he could speak up. He bites his tongue not to. He wants to beg to go back. He wants to tell Tommy he needs his hoard. He wants to be better for Phil and that includes not being difficult and being a brother to Tommy and not acting this way. They'll get to the store soon enough. Maybe then it'll be ignorable.
He also gets out of the car very slowly.
Techno's tail wags anxiously, the only moving part about him. Phil grabs his hand, squeezing a little and smiling down at him. Techno wants to appreciate it, because it's very easy to tell Phil is doing that because he's misinterpreting Techno's internal breakdown about losing his gold for him being nervous in a crowded store. The social worker did tell Phil all about Techno's troubles with that.
Too bad she couldn't tell him about all the hybrid stuff that really matters. Techno never told anybody about that, including her.
He's starting to regret that now.
They begin to cross the parking lot and Phil is talking to him, mentioning something about what they need to buy in preparation for Kristin coming home soon. Maybe speculating about what Techno might want for his room.
He can't concentrate. He's trying not to hyperventilate.
There's something shiny on the ground.
Techno falters, slowing down a bit. The alluring glint of yellow has caught his eye and Techno can't look away. He bends down to pick up the little treasure, finding that it's simply a discarded candy wrapper. But the foil is golden and it sparkles and Techno's ear twitches, his insides burst with sparks of happiness. While losing his gold still hurts, having something new to hold onto eases that pain.
And then Phil snatches it from his hand.
"Don't go picking up trash, Techno, that's gross."
His words are more sympathetic than stinging. They're not meant to be mean.
Techno feels very silly when tears start to brim in his eyes.
Phil notices immediately, dropping the wrapper again. He kneels in front of Techno, moving his hands to kind of hold Techno's elbows. "Wha-What's wrong? Techno?"
He does attempt to respond, but all that comes out is a hiccupy sob. Techno bites his tongue. He shakes his head.
Turns out he doesn't have to explain.
"Oh… It's the gold, right?" Phil kind of exhales the words and his face falls with guilt. Which in turn also makes Techno feel guilty, because Phil has been trying so hard and here Techno is making him feel bad because he can't keep his dumb instincts in check.
And it doesn't help that Phil proceeds to pull him into an embrace.
It usually takes a little longer for Techno to feel comfortable enough with a foster parent for this kind of affection, yet for some reason he finds himself clinging to Phil almost desperately. Maybe because losing his gold makes him feel so empty. And Phil is so warm.
"I'm sorry," Phil says. "I did read up about piglins hybrids, but- Fuck, I should have been more mindful."
Techno shakes his head harder. He doesn't want Phil to blame himself.
Phil pulls back a bit. Techno is mournful to break the hug, craving that comfort more than he has ever allowed himself to admit - even to his own brain. But then Phil picks up the yellow candy wrapper and hands it to him.
"We still need to do our shopping," Phil says apologetically. "But hold onto this and you can trade it for your rock when we get home? We'll have to talk more about your piglin things too, okay?"
The statement is unfathomably scary to Techno. Still, he nods. He clutches the wrapper more tightly in his fingers, rubbing his thumb over the smooth, shining texture.
And when Phil squeezes his hand again before they head into the store, Techno smiles.