8 The Voice

3 POV

"Thank… you"

Tommy's eyes widened, not knowing what to do. From what he heard or saw, the girl never spoke. The girl was also a bit shocked by her own words, after all this time, why did I decide to speak now?

Suddenly, there is a grunt from behind the two, and they turn to the ladder only to see Techno pouting. "Why did she speak to you but not me?" Tommy knew he was just playing around, so he decided to humour him, "Guess I'm the favorite, eh?" He had a snarky grin, and Techno just rolled his eyes. Phil came up the ladder as well and entered the room, immediately going to hug the kid, "You finally spoke, I'm so proud of you!" The girl tensed at the contact, not used to her voice being a positive thing. You see, when she was at the village, she was usually picked on for her lack of speech and stuttering. This led to her parents keeping her and her brother in their rooms, so they wouldn't have to deal with the bullying. "Yea, that was a very brave thing for you to do, kid. I'm proud of you." She didn't know when Techno joined the hug, but she couldn't help but melt into the piglin's arms. She never felt so warm before.

The girl peeks over their shoulders only to see Tommy smile warmingly at her, before getting up and turning towards the ladder. Soon after, he was gone, presumingly to his room (?). Her eyebrows scrunched up, and she let go of the hug. The men gave her a worried look but she only pointed to the ladder.

"Bath...room?" she asked after a bit of struggling, not knowing how to express her worries about the blonde boy. Techno raised his eyebrow in suspicion so Phil just answered for him, "downstairs." The girl gave him a grateful smile before heading down the ladder and to the trapdoor. She opened it slowly and looked around, finding Tommy sitting on a chest, zoning out. She didn't want to bother whatever he was thinking about, so she slowly went towards the clothes and picked them up. However, Tommy still spotted her, and when they locked eyes, he just gave her a slight smile.

"Everything ok little one?" he asked after a while, noticing she was just- staring. She was looking into his deep gray eyes, noticing the sadness in them. She gave a pout, and headed over to him. He gave her a questioning look before he felt a hand on his hair. He looked up, only to be forced back down after being given to little pats by the girl. He blinked in surprise, looking down at the girl, who was giving him a gentle smile. In her eyes, the pat meant that everything was gonna be ok. Tommy seemed to get the idea because soon enough, emotions filled back into his eyes at once, and he began to cry.

Crying.

That's the only thing he's done since what happened, and today was no different. However, he wishes it wasn't in front of the kid. He feels like he's weak- the girl has been through hell at such a young age and she seemed fine. Why couldn't he just keep it together?

Before he could go into a rabbit hole of insecurities, he felt someone jumping onto him. His eyes widened, and he was about to scream until he looked below and saw the girl, pulling him into an embrace. "I-it is o-ok" she says after stuttering each word, but Tommy could care less. He melted into her hug, and just cried into her head, clutching her tightly. The girl didn't mind, though, she's glad she was able to help her uncle.

After what seemed like hours, which was actually a few minutes, he let go of the embrace. He looked behind the girl and noticed the clothes that were left behind, realization hitting him.

"Oh I'm sorry, I'll leave you alone so you can change." He says, giving her one last smile before going up the trapdoor and closing it behind him.

The little girl decides to look around the destroyed room before changing. The walls around her have TNT and ash marks on them, and they looked a bit old, as if they haven't been used in a while. The floor looks as though it was fixed in a hurry, but she assumes it also used to be in the same state as the walls. And of course, the chest Tommy was sitting at had a bunch of disorganized items in it, but she decided to not look. It would be rude to look at someone else's stuff, you know?

After exploring the destroyed room, the little girl changed into the clothes that Phil gave to her. She wore a white colored shirt that had a bit of ruffles on the arm sides, and black shorts with a gold belt. She was also given a red cape that seemed a bit too big, but she didn't mind. It was very warm. To finish it off, she wore a paper crown with fake jewels on her head, the colors being yellow, blue, red, and pink.

After putting some white socks with black boots on, she climbed up the ladder and peaked through the trapdoor, seeing her friends and uncle Tommy all waiting for her. Tommy was the first to notice her, a grin forming on his face. "You did not" He looked at Phil in amusement, and Phil looked towards the trapdoor, letting out a slight laugh. "I did, and you look adorable in it."

The girl gave him a smile while Techno showed no emotion, but you could tell he was getting red. He gave Phil a death glare, but he didn't notice, as he was taking many pictures for his scrapbook. Tommy burst out laughing after seeing Techno's face, "Dude you have a mini you! Though personally I think she's better than you."

And with that, Techno started chasing Tommy around the house, the only sound heard being Tommy's screams of joy.

Phil just smiled in content, turning to the girl, "By the way, I don't think I never properly introduced us. I'm Philza minecraft, but you can just call me Phil, or whatever makes it easier for you to say." Tommy appears from the other room and decides to run out into the snow, Techno following in suit. "That over there is Tommy, who is currently running away from my oldest, Technoblade, or Techno for short. Though I think he already introduced himself beforehand so that's not new." The girl nodded her head, and Phil just sighed, "You know, he hasn't smiled like that in a while. After what happened to two of his best friends, he hasn't laughed or smiled at all. Just cried. It hurts to see him like that, but thanks to you, he seems a bit better now." The girl's eyes widened, she knew something happened to Tommy, but she didn't know he also lost someone. She gave a sad smile, happy that someone probably understands how she's feeling. Phil notices and wraps his arm around her shoulders, "Don't worry kid. We'll protect you and Tommy no matter what. It's what family's for, after all."

The girl turned her head to Phil immediately after his statement, a shaky sigh escaping her. "F-family?" She asked for confirmation, but Phil just nodded his head, "Family."

She didn't stop smiling after that, and even in her sleep, a big smile was displayed on her face.

Because after everything, she got another family, who would do anything to protect, and she would do anything to protect them, as well.