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Chapter Text

Dream let a smirk appear on his face when his sword pierced Techno's chest. Finally, after dueling for hours, he managed to win. He awkwardly waited for Techno to disappear and then respawn, but the sword was still in him and the blood was just splattered against the ground like paint on a messy canvas.

Techno grunted and put his hand on the blade, taking it out. Dream's grip failed for a split second and his face turned to utter confusion behind the protection of his mask.

"Nice one, green man," Techno said, voice scratchier than usual.

Dream blinked, his sight passing from the bloodied blade in his hands, to Techno's even more bloodied chest, to the face of the hybrid, and then to the blade once again. He was certain that the blow was lethal, but the other one was still standing there, definitely not respawning. Maybe he missed and somehow didn't hit him enough to kill him? A weak huff got his attention back to the pinkette, pausing his train of thought.

"Not goin’ to lie here, I was expectin’ more celebration on your part," he said and smirked, but it was strained. His face was paler than usual, the bags under his eyes more notorious, and a thin layer of sweat covered him.

Dream noted that the blood was, in fact, still gushing from the wound and he snapped back into reality. "Fuck! Forget that, why are you still here? Wait, I must have a potion over here... Where's my ender chest?" He rushed in, clumsily trying to find something he could use to heal Techno.

"Don't worry about it," he said, shrugging it off. Now dulled crimson eyes looked in amusement at Dream who was frantically trying to find potions and bandages.

"What are you on? Aren't you in pain?" He knew Technoblade was a madman, but to not be phased in the slightest by literally bleeding out to death was slightly concerning.

Techno hummed while putting his sword back on his hilt. He didn’t dare take a step, knowing well that if he tried he’d collapse on the spot. He tried to think of a comeback, but everything was numb. His hands and legs felt all tingly—probably from all the blood loss—but he couldn't manage to just drop almost dead in front of Dream of all people.

Technoblade never dies. A motto he always used: an extended joke for some, an admirable legend for others.

But what people didn't know is that it was not a phrase for nothing, it was a curse. He, in fact, couldn't die, but the pain of dying would stay until the injury healed. The feeling of being almost dead but just not quite there, the numbness of his body and mind, everything much like he was under water. Like he was in a limbo: so close to being relieved of pain, yet so far at the same time. Yes, Technoblade never dies, but he still felt like he was dying.

He didn't register Dream's hands on his button up shirt, nor how he almost ripped it open when one button didn't cooperate in the process. When he heard a gasp he tried to focus his attention again on the other man and tilted his head. He was facing the white mask, the stupid, poorly drawn smiley face looking at him. He wondered how many masks the other had. No matter how many broke he always had one for backup. Where did they even come from? Did he have a weird room filled with just smiley masks?

"...no! ...chno! Techno!"

Ah. That was his name, wasn't it?

"Yeah," he slurred the word, not managing to say more since he just felt like his mind and mouth were filled with cotton.

"Good, you with me?" Dream asked, concern all over his voice.

"Yeah..." he repeated. He looked down, noticing the tingling sensation in his skin and then the empty bottle in Dreams hand. Oh, so he did find the potion.

"You spaced out there and scared me." Dream said, trying to avert his gaze from the scar ridden chest in front of him.

"Sorry ‘bout that," Techno mumbled slowly—oh so slowly—as he felt the pain dissipate and the world become clear again.

Dream frowned, and then let out a heavy sigh, tension leaving his shoulders now that Techno was back to his senses. Or so it seemed, anyways. "What was that all about?"

"Well, you know, Technoblade never dieess~," he said with a smirk, a real one this time, and the spark of fire in his eyes came back to life just like him.

Chapter Text

Since the little incident when they were dueling, Dream hadn't stopped giving Technoblade glances every now and then. Now, don't get him wrong, Technoblade was a man of patience, but he was getting sick of constantly seeing that smiley face and what he could imagine where eyes full of concern under it.

He was pretty sure that Dream thought he was being sneaky, and that the pinkette hadn't noticed him, but he was wrong because he noticed ever single moment the smiley face was staring ominously at him, and it was alredy getting on his nerves.

That’s why he approached the table which Dream was sitting at. With furrowed brows, he dropped his things beside the hooded man, making him jump a little bit.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Oh, hey Techno!" Dream said, chuckling and ignoring the question. "Are you free today? No potatoes that need watering?"

"None of your concern. Now, mind tellin’ me why haven't stopped lookin’ at me all week?" he asked, his monotonous voice slightly coated by something Dream couldn't pinpoint.

Dream flushed under the mask, a bit of red blush being visible on the top of his ears and down his neck. He brought up his hands in mock surrender at his failed Operation: what the fuck happened I need to know but I dont wanna ask but I’m still going to figure it out some how.

"No, no, listen: it’s not what it looks like, man!" he said, wheezing a bit to mask his embarrassment.

Techno watched him, unamused with one eyebrow up. He crossed his arms and sat in front of Dream. "Then what is it, just spill it already. You have questions, don't you?"

Dream faltered, his eyes trailing down to Techno's chest. He still remembered all the scars that littered his pale skin. Now that he thought about it, it was rare to see Techno’s skin exposed. Was the rest of it also covered in scars? His hands itched with the want of discovery.

Techno shifted, a little uncomfortable by the intense glaring of Dream. He cleared his throat to bring back the attention of the speed runner. Dream looked back at his crimson eyes and faltered a bit, unsure of what to ask, or how to ask it.

"So, uh..." Dream mentally slapped himself. Wow, such eloquent wordage, Dream.

"What, are you goin’ to tell me you were just checkin’ me out all week?" Techno deadpanned.

Dream choked and shook his head. He wasn’t escaping from this, was he? "No! That's—no that's not it! Just—I—" his hand moved vaguely in the air—“Listen, I just can't stop thinking about what happened. You... you didn't die? And all the scars..."

Techno hummed. "Well, yeah, Technoblade never dies," he said, as a matter of fact.

Dream let out an exasperated sound. "I know the saying but it doesn't make any sense!"

Techno stared at him, the crimson irises shining ever so slightly under the faint light. Eyes so deep and mysterious, eyes that have seen things nobody else has. A chill ran down Dreams spine and he sat up straight.

"It does, Dream. It’s just like that. I can't die, at least I haven't for the time bein’." He grinned at the confused man. "Fallin’ into the void is a whole experience, I tell you. Anyways, I’ll leave if that’s all you wanted to know," he added noncommittally.

Dream was taken aback by how serious Techno’s tone was. It couldn't be possible, but there wasn’t a single indication of a joke nor hesitation in his words.

"Wh—hold up! You can't, you can't just drop something like that and leave!" he exclaimed, standing up and holding Techno's arm, "What do you mean by all that!?”

Techno's eyes shifted to the hand and then back to the owner. "It is what it is, I really can't die. Not quite sure if there is respawn for me, I haven't been able to test it." He snorted. Oh what he would give to see Dream's expression right now.

He could practically see Dream buzzing and so many gears turning in his head—he was worried the man would combust on the spot. Dream was screaming internally, wondering how on earth he couldn't die?! How many near death experiences has he had? Was that why he wasn't phased at all when Dream's sword pierced his chest? Was that why he was never phased at all? But from what he saw, Techno still felt the consequences of it. He had gotten so pale—it was like he was a paper sheet—and he had spaced out, ignoring Dream’s calls for him for a few minutes.

The mask was as expressionless as always, but under it Dreams face had cycled through so many emotions. He gulped and tried to stop his brain from having a meltdown.

Dream passed one hand through his hair and let out a sigh. "Alright, let's suppose that's completely normal, so you just—what—infinitely bleed out? What if—what—" Dream’s eyes widened in surprise, his mouth opening and closing without anymore words leaving it. His mind, though, was once again a mess at the new realizations. What if something happened to one of his limbs—or any other body part. What if—if he couldn't die and respawn then what would happen if a Wither—

Oblivious to the internal existential crisis Dream was having, Techno tried to tear away his hand from the hand that was clutching at him like he would disappear any second. "Yeah. I would just bleed out until eventually the thing close up, or unless someone else or I used some potions," he explained, and then sighed, "Look, it's not as bad as it sounds, alright?"

B̵̼̆ư̵̡̯̘̈́̃̾̕t̷̮͓̟̎͆ ̷͍͠i̴̥͉̿͝t̴̠̫̝̜̀͐͜ ̴͎̦̈́͜w̵͙̯̚a̵̦̠̻̒s̴̱̲̠̤̭̆̆̊̓͝ ̷͚͍̖̈̃͛͝͝b̴̦̟̱̎͆̄a̶̲̗͖̮̽d̶͙̣̜̭̀
B̴̻̰̘̺̖̐̔u̷͉̼̿̇̔̌t̸͕̉ ̸̛̗͊̔͂̕ḯ̷̳̲̪͉̞̍̈́ṱ̴̈́̈́͛ ̷͕͐͛̆̕͜ẁ̵͔͛̊̂͘a̴̺͕̞̫͆s̵̝̪̺̾͆̊̈̚n̴̟͎̏ͅ'̵̟̎͒̎̈́t̸̛̜͖̽͑͝ ̴̧̮̩̫̘̾́͒b̵͈̪͛̑̒ȃ̵͍͆d̴̢̍̔̌͋.̶̡̛̮̯͐̔̚͘

He wasn't the best for these situations, even less so when the topic was about himself. He sighed and put a hand on Dream's shoulder.

"Just don't worry about it," he added and tried to smile to ease some of Dream's tension. The smile was a little awkward, but he tried nevertheless.

Dream huffed: that was easier said than done. Now he had more questions than before, but he also knew Techno well enough to not push the issue and risk the pinkette closing up. So instead, he changed the topic, ignoring how Techno's posture relaxed ever so slightly and how his eyes glimmered in relief.

Chapter Text

Techno slammed his axe into the enemy’s shield, successfully making them fall down but in the last moment he also got hit and fell from the narrow bridge.

Both of the players fell into the void, and some seconds later he saw how the other disappeared after reaching one point, but Techno passed that point and continued falling.

Breathing was difficult the deeper he went. He was trying to keep his crown in place and his cape was dead weight in the infinite fall. The weapons he had been carrying were forgotten at some point.

"Fuck," he mumbled under what felt like his last breath.

He gasped and clutched one hand to his shirt. Techno opened his mouth to try and get some oxygen but there was none. He choked and extended his other hand, letting go of the crown and allowing it to fall towards the vague form of the sun above where the light was rapidly dimming.

Then nothingness.

Silence and nothingness.

He faintly wondered if this was how respawn felt, and ever so slightly hoped he was respawning.

But there was just nothingness.

And nothing more.

The burning sensation in his chest was still present, but it was vague. He tried to gasp for air, but there was nothing.

He looked up, or at what he supposed was up, but everything was black. There was no light, the sun already gone long ago.

Chapter Text

Hi! Hope y'all having a good day! Also Happy Thanksgiving!!

I updated the chapter 3 to include some art I made at the end, hope you like it! It is definitely not fully rendered, I'm too lazy to actually do it but at some point maybe I will complete it.

And yes. Technoheels, nobody can change my mind.

Would you like to see more art for the chapters?

Anyways, see ya soon and take care!

Chapter Text

"Uhm, Techno?" Dream asked with hesitation after looking through his backpack.

The hybrid looked over his shoulder to see Dream. "Hm?" he hummed in acknowledgment.

"I forgot to bring gold armor."

"Don't worry, we don't need it," he said with a smirk.

It would have been fine, that is if they were anywhere but the Nether. But no, they just happened to be there, about to enter an immense bastion they had found the other day, just a few meters away from a fortress. Weirdly enough there were more piglins and hoglins than usual.

"We just kill whatever steps in front of us," Techno remarked, then he stopped for a second, Dream almost face planting against his back.

"Hey, don't stop like that!" the blonde complained.

Techno turned around so he was now face to face with Dream. He removed his crown and carefully placed it on top of Dream's head. His lips quirked up slightly into a smirk, then as if nothing had happened, he turned around and entered the bastion.

Dream was frozen in place for a few seconds. He raised one hand to touch the crown sitting on top of his head and immediately smiled. 'We got this,' he thought.

Except they didn't.

...

The clash of swords filled the black room, sparks of blue fire and lava illuminating the place casted shadows of movement. Grunts and screeching from the mobs could be heard accompanied by heavy breathing from the two men that were trying to get out of that hell hole.

It got out of control faster than they could manage, and now they were trapped in between waves of angry mobs. They were tired, with the supplies lowering every wave, and growing outnumbered.

"Fuck! Techno, stop it!" Dream said when Techno stepped in front of him to block an arrow: it was not the first hit he has taken for Dream, and it probably wouldn't be the last.

Techno just grunted and refused to give up any more ground. He stepped foward and used his sword to slay any enemy within his reach with graceful movements, even though he was tired and hurt. At least they got rid of the inconvenient blazes earlier or it would have been worse. Dream watched him in awe and refused to leave him with all the credit. With a new surge of energy, he dodged every attack and got rid of anything that was beyond Techno's reach.

After a few painfully long minutes they cleared most of the room. Techno's ears perked up at a rustling sound above them. He tried to dim his suprise when he saw a pair of wither skeletons. The ruckus probably attracted them since the fortress was right next to them. One of the skeletons jumped from the hole in the ceiling and was about to pierce Dream with it’s sword. Techno spun on his heel and took Dream by the waist, pulling him towards his body. He brought an arm up above both of them and let out a hiss as the poisoned blade made contact with his skin.

Dream blinked and saw the skeleton drop in front of them, the clanking sound of the bones filling the room. He took action immediately and used his axe to slam into the boney creature’s skull. "Techno! I can respawn, dude. Stop taking hits, it hurts you more than it hurts me," he complained, words filled with concern.

Dream scanned the hole above them, but the other skeleton was nowhere to be seen, the sound of bones moving being the only indication that they weren't alone. The arm that was still around his waist secured it's hold, causing him to lose some balance as his back collided with Techno's body. "I refuse to let you die under my watch, respawn isn’t pretty either, and we got a bunch of good loot..." Techno objected.

Dream felt like he was burning: not just because of how suffocating the Nether’s heat was, but because Techno's body radiated heat thanks to the piglin blood in him.

"It's not fair!" Dream complained.

"It wouldn't be fair to let you die when I can avoid it," Techno remarked, voice hushed.

Dream rolled his eyes and aimed his crossbow at the last wither skeleton who was currently entering the room. Before it could attack them, Dream shot it twice, effectively killing it. He felt Techno's forehead on his shoulder and the hot breath on his back gave him chills.

"What, wanna cuddle now of all times?" He laughed, making fun of Techno's sudden change in demeanor.

"Shuddup," Techno tiredly said. His hand clutched Dream and he closed his eyes, his breathing slowing down. He comfortably rested there, too drowsy for his mind to work, exhaustion filling his body. His arm lost hold of Dream and he let it go, not finding the strength to hold it in place. He really wanted to nap right there and then.

Dream huffed when he felt most of Techno's weight on him, but he didn't mind. Then, an idea struck him and he snickered. "Well, too bad," he said and suddenly took a step forward. He was expecting Techno to complain and he would laugh, not see his legs buckle and fail to support his own weight.

Dream brows furrowed and then realization hit him. "Techno?! Fuck, the Wither—where did it—" He managed to spin in time to catch Techno’s body before it collapsed. Though, since he was also worn out, both of them fell to the ground accompained by the clatter of their weapons.

Dream grunted and shuffled so that he was sitting with Techno between his legs and leaning on his chest. He took one look at Techno's arm and muttered a curse. He cut the sleeve and panic filled him when he saw that most of the arm black, the wither effect rapidly expanding. He took a piece of cloth and knotted it where the effect was expanding in a futile attempt to stop it.

"You need to stop being a so careless!" he exclaimed.

"S' alright, jus' wait till the poison goes away," Techno reassured.

"S' alright, s' alright, he says," Dream mocked light heartily as he searched his belt for a potion, but all the bottles where empty.

Techno groaned and clutched his own arm, heavy breaths leaving him. In between falling through the void and being withered away not to death, he didn't know wich one he hated more. He felt dizzy and nauseous, the pain comining on waves that left him breathless. He felt so unbearably hot and at the same time so freezing cold, he was sure his body was trembling without his permission. He barely registered Dream's soft words of reassurance.

Dream was taken aback when Techno suddenly lurched himself to the side, the hand without the wither effect gripping on Dream's leg hard enough to hurt. He watch him gag and began making soothing circles with his hand on the back of the other.

"I called George and Sapnap, just hang in there a little more Tech," he softly said and sighed, "next time let me take the hit, I will be alright!"

Techno grunted and looked at him tiredly, sweat dripping down his face. "not on m' watch," he said before collapsing back onto Dream's chest.

"You really are unbearable," he complained shaking his head. He looked with worry while Techno's body melted on his, eyes slowly closing and breath slowing down. "Oi oi, Techno hold up!" he said stiring him. He now knew the other couldn't die, but that didn't help to ease the worry of seen him like this, in fact, it just made it worse.

"m' tired" he answered, he just wanted to sleep some minutes, hopefully sleep away the ache and tiredness.

"Fuck- no, Tech stay with me–" Dream pleaded, he took the crown with shaky hands and put it back in Techno's head. Thanks to it the piglins didn't went after him as much as they went for Techno, but the place where it belonged was on the pink haired head.– "Hey hey, come on, please, please keep your chin up, yes?"

He brushed off some of the pink strands from the face of the continuously dying man. Clouded eyes looked at Dream, trying to focus on him but it was near impossible. The image was all blurry for Techno, blackness surronding his vision. Dream took a shaky breath and looked at his communicator.

"They are near, George has some potions and milk and you are gonna be alright in no time, just bear a little more yes?" he softly asked, taking one of Techno's hand between his own.

But for Techno the comfort of the nothingness was difficult to ignore and he succumbed into it, the heat of Dream's hand growing weaker every second until everything was cold once again.

Chapter Text

Techno blinked slowly as he entered the room, he tilted his head in confusion and raised one hand to rub his eyes ignoring the flaring pain in his arm, while the other hand was on the wall for support.

Where the heck was he?

The room walls were filled with masks upon masks. All of them a signature shade of white and a simple face drawn. He grunted, a headache growing just by looking at all the masks. He felt like they all were looking at him, judging him, calculating his every move. Trying his best to ignore the feeling, he stepped inside and got a better look at the masks. From the distance every mask seemed to be the same, but now that he was closer he noted slight differences, it was the same smiley face in essence but with subtle variations in the expression. They weren't all the same shade of white either. Some with closed eyes, a crooked smile, a tint of gray, bigger eyes, smaller eyes, he even glimpsed one with a subtle frown.

He wondered just how big was the room and how many masks there were. His footsteps were uncomfortably loud in the weird empty room with the exception of the masks. He stopped at one mask that was black instead of white, and had a orange 'spooky' face painted on it, he considered if the reason this one was so different was because it was meant for something special. He stared at it for a few seconds and then blinked tiredly.

All the faces blinked at him.

He froze in place, heart skipping a beat. He didn't realize he was sweating earlier, but now the cold sweat was more than evident and the headache was killing him at this point. Now he was hyper aware of how his own breathing and heartbeat contrasted with the silence of the room.

The faces smiled with pleasure, looking at his distress.

He passed a hand through his hair, wich wasn't braided and pink strands fell gently over his shoulders. He stifled a laugh out, that was it, he was finally going insane. In all honesty, he lasted longer than what he expected.

He decided to go back where he came from, ignoring the sensation of all the stares on his back and the laughter he heard as he walked away.

...

Techno groaned and tried to move just to be shocked by pain in all his body. He gritted his teeth, his throat was burning and begging for some water.

He registered someone walking to him and a glass of water was placed on his lips. He drank it in seconds and then collapsed again on the bed. A wet cloth was placed again on his forehead, it had probably fallen when he stirred.

"–feeling?" someone asked, but he didn't catch the first part.
"Huh?"
"How are you feeling?" they repeated, it took a couple of seconds for his brain to understand.
"Tired, thirsty" he mumbled, he took a deep breath and blinked, pink lashes fluttering trying to recognize the blurred figure. After some seconds he was met with a soft smile, green eyes and a stardust of freckles.

"Oh" he whispered.

Dream let out a wheeze at Techno's reaction, he grimaced holding his aching ribs but kept laughing. " 'Oh'? The poison really did a number on you huh" he said softly.

Techno rolled his eyes. At least not seeing the mask was refreshing after the weird dream he had. He felt a hand on his arm, and tilted his head to see Dream's hands unwrapping the bandages from his arm. Dream hummed as he cleaned the wound with a piece of cloth damped in a mixture of water and a healing potion, there was still black skin around it, but not nearly as much as when Techno got hit.

"You were out for two days," Dream noted.

Techno groaned, that explained why he felt like utter trash. He noticed that Dream had some bandages on him but for the most part nothing seemed to be lethal. How did they even manage to get out of the bastion? The last thing he clearly remembers was when Dream killed the last skeleton.

There was a beat of silence, he noticed how Dream's shoulders were tense, his brows were furrowed and his eyes were full of concern? Contemplation? Guilt? He wasn't sure.

"Though' you were ugly or somethin'," Techno said.

Dream stopped and looked at Techno in confusion. "What?–"

"The reason you wear the mask," he said while looking away, it still felt weird to look at his face, he was used to the strands of blonde hair poking out of the sides of the mask and the glimpse of his mouth but nothing else.

Dream wheezed. "Glad to hear that I'm pretty~"

Techno scoffed and pouted. "I didn't say that."

He laughed even harder at Techno's defensive reaction. "Yeah, yeah," Dream's laugh eventually died and he went back to work, the tension slowly raising again.

There were a few minutes of silence until Dream spoke again.

"I'm sorry, I may have fucked it up big time while you were out," he stated.

Techno returned his attention to Dream and raised his eyebrows, it was just two days, it couldn't be that bad. "Care to elaborate?"

"Well, you see–"

Chapter Text

"They are near, George has some potions and milk and you are gonna be alright in no time, just hold on a little longer, yes?" Dream asked softly, taking one of Techno's hands between his own. He was trying to keep his voice calm but he was scared, the hand he was holding was too cold for Techno's normal temperature and it made him uneasy.

Techno groaned and his head tilted to the side, his breath hitched and his eyes rolled back into his head. Dream cursed when he saw his body go completely limp, his breath was barely there, and if he didn't know about the situation, he would've thought Techno wasn't breathing. The wither poison was practically covering his entire arm at this point and it wasn't looking any good. The black stood out against skin too pale for his liking.

Dream tried to move carefully with Techno still over him, to reach for his bag in order to try and take care of some of his injuries. He was left with nothing of great use, but he managed to bandage some of the wounds that were bleeding. The shivers every now and then, of the unconscious body, concerned him even more. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, immediately regretting it when his ribs ached. He spit out a bunch of curses - if they were because of the ache and pain in his body or because of the guilt he felt over Techno getting hurt while protecting him, it was nobody's business.

He checked his communicator one more time hoping his friends would arrive soon, he’d only told them that it was an emergency and that they needed help but he didn't go into details. He stayed there still, scared to shake up Techno and make his condition ever worse. He was spacing out when he heard footsteps and perked up at his name being screamed.

When George and Sapnap arrived, they were definitely not expecting the scene that was in front of them. There were dead bodies and broken things everywhere. The room and the surroundings were a complete mess.

"Dream!? My God– what the fuck happened here?" Sapnap asked.

"Sap! George! Over here," he called, from where they were on the ground.

George gasped and was immediately crouching in front of them, he glanced at them and his face scrunched when he took a look at Techno's arm. "How long has it been? How bad is it?" he asked as he pulled out some potions.

"15 or 20 minutes maybe? Man, I don't know, he got a little delusional and then passed out. I tried to do something about the rest of his injuries, but I didn't have much to work with." He said, exhaustion filling his body now that his friends were there.

George frowned while he quickly checked Dream, he had some scrapes and bruises here and there, all minor cuts but nothing serious. He then looked back at Technoblade, who was in real bad shape. He shook his head a little, trying to get rid of a thought lingering his mind, but Sapnap asked it out loud. "Shouldn't he be dead?"

Dream froze and his arms held Techno closer by instinct. Fuck. He didn't think about what he would say beforehand. How could he possibly explain the situation? Maybe if he lied? Was he allowed to tell them? They would be suspicious either way- What could be credible enough?

"Uh... I ...he ate a golden apple? Yeah! He ate some apples," he reassured, more to himself than to them.

George raised an eyebrow, but didn't say much at the blatant lie, the actual problem of treating the poison was more important. He took Techno's face with one hand and partially opened his mouth to make him drink some milk and then two potions. Sapnap on the other hand, helped Dream with his injuries, it was a little difficult since Dream refused to move, but they managed. When they patched them up as much as they could, they were ready to actually get out of there.

•••

That's how now they were carrying a rather delirious Technoblade through the Nether.

"Fuck, why is he so tall?! This is the worst," Sapnap complained as he tried to maneuver with Techno.

"Dream, help us over here!" Whined George while trying to get a better grip of Techno's arms, trying not to jostle the bad one.

"Dude, I can barely walk– fuck don't stir him so much! You are gonna open his wounds again" Dream barked out.

"Well not our fault you guys got obliterated! Get good!" Sapnap laughed. "Ughh! Why is the path so terrible, we are gonna–"

They went down in slow motion.

A misplaced foot. Some crumbling rocks. A little slip. A gasp. Someone lost their balance. Someone lost their grip. There was a hard thud - someone falling on his butt, and the unmistakable sound of something heavy falling into lava.

Technoblade. Still unconscious...Floating in the burning lava.

The trio stood there for a few seconds in silence. Until the screaming started.

"FUCK, we are done. Nobody tell him we dropped him or we are dead, we are so DEAD"

"It was your fault! You dropped him!"

"Well you were the one that slipped!"

"What?! How is that my fault? I thought you had him!"

Dream only watched in horror, as Techno's body was slowly sinking. He ignored the arguing in the background and stole a fire resistance potion, drank it in a second and then jumped into the lava.

'Why don't we just pretend this never happened and run back home before he respawns? Right Dream?” George suggested.

He turned around just in time to see Dream throw himself into lava.

There were incoherent screams once more.

"DREAM WHAT THE FUCK, ARE YOU INSANE?!" Sapnap screamed.

"DREAM YOU IDIOT WHAT ARE YOU..."
George immediately looked at where he had the potions he had brought and noticed that fire resistance was missing.

"HE IS ALREADY DEAD– WHY WOULD YOU JUMP?"

"DREAM WHAT ARE YOU DOING, JUST LET HIS STUFF BURN, I- I DON'T THINK HE WILL BE THAT MAD AT US" George was obviously lying, they knew Techno would be furious.

While the two of them were busy being so fucking loud, Dream was screaming internally. This was it, Techno was going to be crispy bacon for the rest of his life. He was going to pull out bare bones and melted skin, wasn't he? Oh dear fucking Notch. Techno must be in such immeasurable pain, even with the potion it was barely bearable to be in the lava, it didn't hurt but it was still suffocating. Techno was already agonizing, and now he was being boiled alive, it was just marinated Technoblade now.
He needed to get him out of the lava as quickly as possible before there was nothing left of him, how would he even explain to his family that they made burnt pork? Oh no– they had murdered him for real, hadn’t they? If he couldn't respawn then they really had just killed him- unless now he was skeleton Technoblade- how would that even work? He felt tears trying to pool in his eyes, but being in the lava just evaporated them, still his eyes were burning with unshed tears, his heart was pounding painfully against his hurt ribs. This was all his fault—

When he was next to Techno's body, he shakily put a hand on his shoulder and turned him over.

What?

He had the most faint smile on his face, and was comfortably floating on the lava instead of appearing fucking burnt to death.

°°°

Techno felt warm, a fuzzy sensation on his chest and a comfortable tingle all over his skin, reminding him of home. Of being under Philza's warm embrace, protected by his wings. Of Wilbur's loud laughs and Tommy's screams. It reminded him of his family, his Piglin nature humming happily with the memories of the family who cared for him, not like the one before. It made the pain go away, or at least it made it simpler to ignore the burning ache in his arm, or was it the freezing ache?

°°°

"What the fuck?" Dream said, speechless.

Techno was, much to his surprise, totally unharmed. Not that he was complaining after the scare of his life, but to say he was confused was an understatement. Dream held Techno securely and then swam back to George and Sap, whose faces were totally filled with confusion, screams forgotten at some point.

They helped him get Techo out of the lava fist, and then Dream came out. He groaned and dropped on the floor trying to catch his breath, his heart banging in his chest. He was so done with everything. Today really wasn't a good day.

"What was that?" George asked.

"Did he drink a potion earlier?" Sapnap questioned.

"No way, it has a time limit and we have been here for a while"

Dream sighed, and shook his head before they started arguing again. "No– I honestly don't know"

"Maybe it is a Piglin thing?" George suggested, not quite certain of anything at this point.

Sapnap brightened up at that, taking Techno's uninjured hand. "We should test it again!"

"WHAT? NO- Sapnap!" Dream screamed, much to his terror watching his friend dip the hand back into the lava without any hesitation.

To the surprise of the three, the hand was totally okay, even after a minute in.

"LOOK! He is alright!" He exclaimed proud of his very questionable experiment.

Dream let out a loud sigh and then laughed a little, he chuckled and then laughed more, eventually wheezing full force, feeling the tension and anguish leave his body. Sapnap was still testing how fireproof Techno was and George was just watching the antics.

"Damn, that scared me so much, I thought he would melt," Dream said, still laughing.

"Even if he wasn't inmune, he would just respawn, it would save us the pain of getting both of you out of here".

"He can't die though." Dream thought.

"What do you mean?" George and Sapnap inquired at the same time.

Oh

Oh no

He had thought that, right?

Dream tensed, his eyes landing on Techno's body. His clothes were shredded, with some burned patches. He hadn't realized until now, thanks to the shock of the situation, but there were the scars that he saw that one time, and just as he suspected, his arms were also covered by them.

George followed Dream's gaze and frowned at the uncharacteristic silence of his friend and the evidence covering Techno's body. It was possible to see some scars peeking through the burned clothes, definitely letal scars that weren't faded in the slightest thanks to respawn.

One just over his heart was impossible to miss out.

"You actually mean it for real?" George asked once more.

"So, can we like throw him off the roof and he will be alright? '' Sapnap asked, astonished at how the boot (the heel?) was intact after he submerged it into the lava.

Dream choked and slapped him, pulling Techno's leg out of the lava. "Stop! Just stop dipping him in the lava for fucks sake! And NO! Don't throw him or even think about it!" He said in distress.

He stopped for a moment when he heard a whine that he almost missed. He put his hand on Techno's forehead and then quickly pulled it back. "Shit, he is burning- and I don't think it is because someone was putting him in lava like a breadstick in hot sauce. Come on! Hurry and pick him up, we need to get out of here."

"You are not getting out of the 'he doesn't die' conversation." George said, confused.

Dream faltered and nervously laughed. "Maybe you can ask him when he wakes up?" He said, in hopes that they would forget, but who was he kidding, it wasn't a matter that one could forget so easily.

•••

When they finally arrived at Dream's house, he just wanted to drop dead on the spot, his body was aching and he was tired. But he was currently looking for some spare clothes for Techno.

"How the fuck does he tie up this shit every day?" Sapnap asked while trying to take off one boot, the laces were tightly laced and he had to undo most of them to finally remove the boot.

"Forget about the laces, how does he walk in these? How does he fight?!" George demanded while pulling on the other boot.

"I bet it is easier than it looks! If he can do it , I can do it!" Sapnap claimed with a big smile.

Dream hummed, looking at how Sapnap was now lacing the heels to wear them, this was going to be interesting. He went to Techno's side and with George's help he put him in a clean shirt. He was all bandaged up, but there were some visible scars. His heart clenched at the sight in front of him, Techno looked so weak but surely he would be alright, or at least he hoped so. He knew George was quizzically watching as well, but he was glad the other didn't ask further about it.

A loud knock brought both of them back to reality and Sapnap's curses filled the room. Dream couldn't help the wheeze that left him when he saw Sapnap trying to get up and walk again, only to fail miserably.

"Wow Sapnap, you are bad!" George mocked while laughing.

"Shut up! Stop laughing you two!" He whined, stumbling a little and then he stood with a shaky stance, his legs seemed about to give up any second.

"Easier than it looks, he said, get a load of this guy" Dream wheezed, grateful for his friends and their help.

•••

Dream finished speaking, he avoided some details here and there, but at least he was done with the first part. Techno sighed deeply and closed his eyes for a moment. He felt a little better, the blurriness in his vision was finally gone, so he opened his eyes and scanned the room for the first time since he woke up. This was Dream's house then? He noticed his cape, mostly burned, and he frowned, next to it was an intact one. Where did Dream get it from? He stayed silent for a moment and then his eyes were back to the ceiling.

"Did they see it?– Did you see it?" He asked, he knew the answer, he heard it, he knew he was wearing different clothes, ones that didn't belong to him and somebody must have changed him, and he wasn't wearing long sleeves, but still, he asked the obvious. He knew Dream already had seen some, but he was hoping he wouldn't see even more.

Dream nodded, Techno caught a slight movement out of the corner of his eye. He just wanted to be swallowed by the sheets, to be gone for a single moment. He felt so exposed, even when he told himself he didn't care, he still felt exposed. His stomach felt empty, a tight knot growing in him. It wasn't about them knowing he couldn’t die it was just about them seeing all the scars on his body. All the slips. All the pain. All the failures . He didn't want their pity, it was already enough with his own.

He sank into the sheets and avoided Dream's eyes. He painfully took a deep breath and then released it, ignoring how his body complained about the slight movement. Well, maybe it really wasn't that bad, he didn't even talk to George and Sapnap that much, he probably could avoid the details, avoid them forever, maybe they didn't even care, it didn't appear like they did. Yeah, it could have been worse.

"So... Uh- then let me continue with the worst part-" Dream said while looking at the clean cape, innocently hanging on the wall.

Techno tensed when he noticed what Dream was looking at, he felt his heart sink into his stomach and curled even more into the sheets hugging himself, he suddenly felt cold. He had his suspicion, but he didn't want it to be true. The anxiety was slowly eating him as he waited for Dream to continue, but the silence stretched painfully, the heartbeat in his ears was the only thing interrupting it and it just made him even more anxious. He looked into Dream’s eyes, those guilty-looking green eyes.

"...Dream, who else did you tell?"

His throat was dry and he hated how small his voice sounded.

Chapter Text

Dream furrowed his brow as he dampened the towel in water and then he put it back on Techno's forehead. Techno thrashed and a groan left his lips.

"Shh, it's alright, I got you," Dream cooed softly. He gently brushed back the pink locks of hair that clung to his face and sighed.

That’s why no one willingly takes a hit from a wither skeleton. Well, no one except Technoblade's stubborn ass. Potions help, but the body still needs to get rid of the poison naturally. Dream was worried because his fever didn't seem to go down at all. In fact, he was probably worse than before. In all honesty, it wasn't looking great. Techno hadn't regained consciousness, and it had been a whole day already.

Dream pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, glancing at Techno whose face was a sickly shade of white and green. The color definitely did not suit him. Techno's body was coated in sweat, he would have to change his shirt again. At this rate Dream was going to empty his entire closet.

Techno’s sudden movements snapped Dream out of his thoughts. The poor boy was now on his side, holding his arm with the opposite hand as a noise of distress left him. The grip was so strong his knuckles were turning white. Dream felt a lump in his throat and he carefully tried to pull apart Techno's hand, ignoring how his own hand burned at the touch.

It took a while until Techno calmed down. The erratic breathing remained. So did a face scrunched up in discomfort.

"Any improvement?" Sapnap asked, peeking out from the doorway.

Dream shook his head and stood up. "No, could you guys watch over him? I’ll inform Philza, he surely knows how to fight the poison’s effects."

"Are you sure? We can go instead of you."

"I slept all day yesterday, I'm feeling a lot better now, it’ll be fast," he said, but the main reason was that he needed to talk with Philza about the whole ordeal.

Sapnap nodded and walked over to the bed. "We’ll call you if anything happens."

"Thanks. Also, no questionable experiments Sap," Dream called out, but there was a smile on his face.

Sapnap laughed and brushed him off. "Come on! It was fun, and he was fine!"

•••

It was early in the morning and luckily the house of the "Sleepy Bois Inc", as they were called, was not that far—just half an hour on a fairly fast horse. Dream ignored the way his body ached and the way his ribs complained from time to time. He was relieved when he saw the house and the man he was looking for right outside.

Philza noticed Dream and waved at him with a warm smile. "Dream! Mate, what are you doing here? Weren't you and Tech on a trip?" he asked.

When Dream jumped off his horse and walked over the winged man he was pulled into a warm hug. "You look a bit rough, did something happen?" Phil asked, concern written all over his face.

Dream hesitated for a moment, he didn't want to worry the sunshine of a man. But when he remembered that Techno was probably still burning up, he shook his head and gained confidence. "Well... It didn't go as planned".

The wings twitched first, and then Philza's entire demeanor changed. His eyes trailing behind Dream as if he expected Techno to show up at any second. When the pinkette was nowhere to be seen, he sighed. "Come on, let's go inside and you can tell me what happened"

Dream gulped and nodded, a scolding was definitely coming.

After taking his horse to a safe place, Dream entered the warm and welcoming house. The main room was cozy and had a fireplace, the soft crackle of wood was a comforting background sound, but the air was full of anticipation.

"Do you want some tea?" Phil asked, his tone soft as always, but his eyes held an emotion that Dream couldn't read.

"Uh— sure, thanks," Dream replied. He sat down on a couch with a sigh, his body grateful for the softness. He looked around the room, then back to Philza who was in the kitchen, but still on sight.

Philza came back with the tea and then sat across from Dream. He smiled and waited patiently for Dream to start.

"Techno got hit by a wither skeleton and he … fuck, he's too hot. I don't think he, like—like he’s normally hot, but he burns to the touch and yesterday he was out all day, he didn't wake up. We even dropped him by accident and he didn't even bother, and then I found him passed out in the hallway—and Phil he didn't—he doesn't look good—"

Phil's eyebrows arched up after hearing the quick and messy explanation. "Slow down son, breathe," he calmly said and gestured to the tea.

Dream nodded and took a big sip of the warm tea. He took a deep breath and then looked into Phil's blue eyes. There was something reassuring about them: even if his expression was serious, he was still kind. "I wanted to ask your advice on how to deal with the poison, Techno just goes 'don't worry, don't worry, I’ll just wait until my system gets rid of it'," he said, imitating the monotonous tone. "He's so stupid! Just because he doesn't die doesn't justify the stupid stunts he pulls!" He said, exasperated.

Philza's wings puffed out and he stopped the cup halfway to his mouth. "You know? Did he tell you?"

Dream felt like his whole soul was being judged. Scratch the kind part, suddenly Philza looked at Dream like he was a threat. "Uh... we were sparring and I kinda... didn't kill him? Then I asked about it and he told me"

Philza hummed and took a sip of tea, his face returning to its usual soft look—he seemed to be pleased with the answer. Maybe it was because Techno himself was the one who had told him? Dream gulped and fiddled with the hem of his sleeves.

"And then we got to the bastion and he just bodyblocked the hits and then the wither skeletons, and UGH, why is he so stubborn?! Does he not care about his well-being?? It's like I'm talking to a damn rock! Yeah Techno, you can't respawn, but do you also have an IQ of 0?" Dream fumed, he was stressed and he just let go of all his frustrations.

A warm laugh caught him off guard. He looked at Phil, laughing softly as he shook his head. "Techno’s always been like that," he said fondly, "it’s hard to get his way of thinking, even I have a hard time understanding it, but he really cares and he doesn't want us to be hurt either. He has a hard exterior, but he’s a softie inside."

Dream let out a little laugh, his shoulders relaxing a bit. "Well then, he needs to care about himself too."

Philza hummed, knowing that Techno always tended to ignore his self-care. "You said his fever was bad, right?"

Dream nodded.

"Alright, I'm going to prepare some things, but we can keep talking, okay?" Philza asked and smiled.

He headed back to the kitchen and Dream heard him opening some cabinets and pulling things out, some herbs and such.

"Was he... was he always like this?" Dream asked.

Phil stopped and tilted his head. "Like what?"

"The whole not dying thing—not respawning?"

"It seems so. At first I thought it was just good luck and some insane resistance, but..." he trailed off, his eyes focusing on something that Dream couldn't see.

Philza's wings spread and both he and Dream were startled by the ruffle. He softly laughed, trying to ease the tension. "Sorry about that—'' he shook his head slightly and continued with his work. "Later on I learned about it with my own eyes."

"Sorry... I shouldn't have asked," Dream apologized.

"It's alright! Don't worry about it, I'm sure it hasn't been easy for you either."

Dream let out a heavy sigh. "It's so hard, it's even harder knowing Techno can't die, and he’s just there suffering! The worst thing is that I can see the pain in his eyes, but he’ll just go on saying that he’s fine"

"What do you mean?" Asked a new voice.

Dream almost spit out the tea he was drinking and turned his head so fast he almost got whiplash. Oh fuck. Oh fucking hell.

Philza looked at Wilbur who was standing in the hall, hands clenched into fists so tight that his knuckles were white.

"Wil," Phil softly said, "since when have you been listening?"

Wilbur tensed and gritted his teeth. "That's what you ask? That's what you’re worried about?! I just fucking heard Techno can't—I— I don't even fucking know what I just heard! You know why? Because it was something VERY important that nobody minded to tell me earlier!"

Philza sighed while Dream tried to make himself smaller.

"Wil, calm down a bit, please. Sit down, I’ll pour you some tea and–"

"I don't fucking want tea! Since when did you know this dirty little secret, dad?" He said, venom evident in the last word.

Philza flinched and looked at Wilbur, troubled. He wanted to call him out for raising his volume, but at the same time the expression on his face told him everything. "I… six years ago"

Wilbur let out a dry laugh and raised his hands. "Six years?! And I have been in the dark for six fucking years?! About how my twin can't respawn??"

Dream's eyes looked at Wilbur in surprise. He knew they were Philza's adopted children, but he didn't know Wilbur and Techno were actual twins.

"Am I such a failure as a brother that my own twin didn't tell me this?" He asked, distress all over him and tears in his eyes.

"No! Wilbur, don't even think about that! You know Tech, you know how he is— come on, baby dove, don't ever say that"

Wilbur could not understand how Techno nor Phil, didn't tell him something of this magnitude. He was hurt, his chest hurt so bad. He stifled a sob and tried to wipe away the tears with the sleeve of his sweater. He had failed. He had failed horribly as a brother, how could he protect Techno if he wasn't even someone Techno trusted.

"You both lied to me! Is this why Techno was always the favorite one, because of your little secret? Tell me, dad! And don't even try to lie to my face again!"

"Wilbur! Stop right there! You know I don't have any favorites among the three of you! Please understand, dove, that it was Techno's final word.He didn't want to worry you two.Hell, the only reason I even know is because I saw it—because I was there! I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have told me otherwise."

"And how come the stupid green shit knew before me?! What? Techno trusted his fucking rival more than me?!"

Dream shrunk. He was so out of place, but he couldn't find the moment to leave. Wilbur was blocking the path outside and he was stuck in there. "Uh—I—it was also by accident—he didn't tell me I just… uh, I just bothered him for answers?"

Wilbur looked at him, and if looks could kill, he would be so dead right now. He closed his mouth and looked at the floor instead.

"Take that, bitch," Tommy's loud voice came from from the doorway after being drawn over by all the screaming.

"Oh my God," Dream muttered, face palming—another one?

"Shut up gremlin, go back to playing or something. This is not your conversation," Wilbur called out.

"Oh come on, Wilbur! You’re just being a little baby, all angry and shit, it's the Blade! Of course he doesn't die," he said proudly.

Wilbur's jaw tensed and his eyes fixed on Tommy. "Of course you don't understand, you are a child and this is adult talk! Get out of here!"

"Come on, Big man! I'm not a child! Don't call me a child! You know, I am massive, you wish you were as massive as I am"

"Tommy. Get. Out."

"Take back calling me a child! And what if the Blade didn't tell you? What, are you gonna cry? Huh?" Tommy mocked, even though he was making fun of Wilbur, he felt hurt too.

Tommy looks up to Technoblade and idolizes him, the fact that he didn’t tell him something so important angered him. He was mad and bitter because his older brother didn’t trust him in the same way he did.

"Shut up Tommy! I'm his twin—his TWIN! You don't understand, you are nothing, just a stupid child that came out of nowhere! That's why nobody likes you! Because you are so naive! Just leave, it would be better that way!"

Finally, there was silence.

A suffocating silence.

"Fuck off, Wilbur." Tommy stormed out of the room, a confused Tubbo being left behind where he once stood. He awkwardly excused himself and went after Tommy. Not long after a loud door slam was heard.

"Come on Wil, let's calm down a bit. We can talk about this and you’ll apologize to Tommy about the things you said," Phil said with a sad tone.

"I don't fucking want to talk with you," he snapped.

Philza frowned, a hard look in his eyes. "You will not speak to me in that tone, Wilbur, nor will you get away with the things you said to Tommy. I have been patient enough, it's time for you to stop," he warned, his wings extending behind him.

Wilbur hesitated and he avoided Philza's gaze. "Sorry," he murmured.

Philza watched him expectantly as he tapped his foot on the floor. Wilbur sighed and looked at Philza's eyes. He deflated and then let a sob. "I'm sorry, I—I didn't mean it, I was—I was—"

The wings lowered slowly and Phil sighed. "I know, I know... It's okay, it's okay, little dove," he cooed softly. He took Wilbur into a warm embrace and laced his fingers in the brown mess of hair. "It's okay, I’m sorry too," he whispered.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Wilbur repeated, feeling the regret of raising his voice at Philza and the things he said.

Philza ran his hand up and down Wilbur's back in a soothing motion. "It's alright, I love you, Will. I love you, to the sun and back," he said with a loving kiss on his forehead.

He heard a sniff, but it wasn't coming from Wilbur. He raised his face to the person that was still sitting on the couch.

"Dream, are you crying?" he softly asked.

"N-No?" Dream replied while sniffing under the mask.

Philza let out a chuckle and took Wilbur's hand. He guided him to the couch in front of Dream and both sat down.

Dream cleared his throat and looked down at his hands. "I'm sorry—that... that wasn't the best way to learn about it"

"Don't feel guilty about it, Dream. It wasn't your fault. I’ll explain the basics to you two, alright? While we wait for Tommy to cool down... Tubbs is with him so we know he’ll be alright."

Wilbur shifted at the mention of Tommy. "M'sorry."

"It's alright, Wil, you’ll apologize to him later, okay?"

Wilbur nodded and he hugged Philza, seeking some comfort. One of Philza's wings curled around him and he sighed softly.

•••

"So yeah, that's what happened..." Dream ended awkwardly.

"You know, Dream... I really, really want to punch your pretty little face right now," Techno said and then groaned. He rubbed his eyes until he saw spots dancing in his vision and sighed. "...but, I'm not mad at you."

"Really?" Dream asked, eyes shining with hope

"Just a little bit, because I'm not going to lie to you, you messed up," he chuckled. "But you didn’t really do anything wrong. I’m the problem.”

"Thanks, Tech." It took a moment for Dream to catch up to the rest of what Techno said. "Wait, no—Techno don’t say that about yourself—"

Techno chuckled tiredly and Dream frowned at how empty it sounded. He let himself get lost in Dream's eyes, processing the whole story and trying to mentally prepare to face his brothers.

Dream was worried Techno would fall unconscious again when he just spaced out, so he took his hand and did soothing motions with his thumb on Techno's palm. When Techno blinked several times and looked back at him in confusion, Dream let his hand go and smiled.

"Ugh... I feel all gross, help me go to the bathroom so I don't look awful when they come, " Techno complained, breaking the awkward silence.

"Sure thing. Here, let's see if you can sit up," Dream said, moving to help Techno.

"Course' I can." Techno scoffed. He gritted his teeth and when he finally sat on the side of the bed, he let out a sigh.

Techno pulled the sheets off of himself and he slowly stretched his legs. Dream's attention was captured by something shining out the corner of his eye, making him look down at Techno's ankle and noticing the golden anklet around it. It was about an inch and a half in width and was tightly secured to his body. Below it was a smaller, loose gold chain with little emeralds.

"Oh, I hadn't noticed that before," Dream said.

Techno hummed and looked at his right foot, staying quiet for a while. "It's for looks," he said noncommittally.

Dream snorted. "Of course it is. But it does look nice on you—really pretty."

Techno felt the heat rise to his face and looked the other way to avoid Dream's gaze.

When he didn't respond, Dream took Techno's healthy arm and passed it over his shoulders, wrapping an arm around Techno's waist. Slowly, they stood up. Techno hissed as he adjusted his position: he really felt weaker than expected.

"Are you alright?" Dream asked worriedly.

"Yeap, it just feels like a truck hit me. No big deal."

"It's fair, your body has been through a lot."

Techno snorted and looked up to lock his eyes with Dream. "You think?"

Dream blinked, trying to read the tone that he used, then rolled his eyes. "Ah, yeah, yeah, I get it—Mr. I Can't Die But Still Seek Death." He looked down at him, and then blinked again in confusion. "Hold up, I forgot you were a shortie."

"Oh my Blood God, shut up, Dream."

Chapter Text

With a final push, the two men managed to make it into the bathroom without further injury.
Techno huffed and flopped onto the closed lid of the toilet, resting his aching body a moment as Dream watched on with a small smile. He quickly looked away as Techno opened his eyes again and glanced over, shooting him an incredulous look. “What’re you starin’ at?”

“Hmm?” Dream attempted to feign ignorance, glancing over with innocent eyes. He quickly saw that Techno wasn’t buying it, though, quickly coming up with an excuse beyond ‘I was staring because I think you’re really pretty.’

“Oh—it’s just because, uh... your hair’s kind of a mess.” Dream chuckled as he watched the pinkette frown and run his fingers through his hair, wincing slightly as they got caught in a nasty tangle. He sighed dejectedly, looking up again to find a grinning Dream holding a hairbrush. “May I?”

Techno looked down at his arm, huffed, then nodded. “Please. But if you start pullin’ or anythin’ then expect consequences in the future.”

Dream made a small, triumphant noise before moving beside Techno, beginning to carefully brush out his silky, pink locks. The domestic action was foreign to both, yet not unwelcome. It was intimate and an admittedly nice break after all they had been through the past few days. Dream began to quietly hum as he went from section to section, delicately untangling knots and making sure not to pull on Techno’s hair. Techno, meanwhile, had closed his eyes and was greedily taking in the peaceful moment, knowing it wouldn’t last as long as he wanted it to. He leaned into Dream’s soft touches and nearly fell asleep while his hair was brushed, causing Dream to jostle him from time to time to make sure Techno stayed awake. He was equally annoyed and thankful for this.
After about half an hour, Dream set the hair brush down, though was quick to stop Techno when he tried to stand up. “Hey—wait a minute, I’m not finished!”

“What do you mean you’re not finished? My hair is brushed, isn’t it?”

“Yes, that is true, but I didn’t say I was only going to brush your hair, did I? C’mon, let me braid it! Please?” Dream did the best puppy dog eyes he could at Techno, seeing as his annoyed features softened and a dusting of pink began to appear on his cheeks. The sight didn’t last for long since Techno turned away again, groaning dramatically.

“If you truly must braid my hair then I suppose I can allow it. Go ahead.” Smiling at the other’s dramatics, Dream quickly got to work on a fishtail braid, having learned to braid from Niki when they were younger. The braiding didn’t take nearly as long as the brushing did, Dream tying the woven hair off with a ribbon (making a bow, of course) just ten minutes after he had begun.

Techno reached back with his good arm and brought the braid over his shoulder, humming in delight as he ran his fingers over the woven bumps. A small smile crossed his face, the sight making Dream’s heart flutter a bit. He set the feeling aside for the moment, composing himself before speaking, “So, anything else you need?”
“Actually, yes, just one more thing. Can you get me some new clothes? These ones are kinda disgustin’.”

Maybe Dream should have stopped himself from saying anything, but honestly the line was worth the inevitable beat down he’d receive during training. “Only if I can help put ‘em on you~”

Techno froze, hands hovering over his braid slightly tensed. Dream, meanwhile, stood smiling like an idiot behind him, a small blush on his face. The pinkette turned around and glared daggers into the other, albeit the effect was slightly diminished by his bright red face.

Before Dream could attempt to say anything else, he let out a startled noise upon being shoved out of the bathroom, jumping slightly at the loud bang which came from the door being slammed shut in his face. Dream let out an amused chuckle, leaning his forehead against the door as a love sick smile lingered on his face.

He heard muffled shuffling from behind the door, then a quiet voice, “Okay... I might need your help because of the pain thing, but I swear to the blood god if you say somethin’ like that again I will deck you.”

Dream’s eyes widened a bit and he blushed more, Techno’s shy tone being absolutely adorable. He wheezed hard and clutched his stomach as he did, listening to the annoyed noises of the pinkette. After a minute or so, he calmed down, flicking a tear from his eye.

“Alright, I promi—“ he was cut off by a yelp as the door was opened, causing him to fall to the ground flat in his face. Now it was Techno who was laughing, though Dream wasn’t complaining. He simply grinned as he listened to the addicting noise of the other.

Chapter Text

Philza was trying with every fiber of his body to go after Techno, but the wind was so strong he almost felt one of his wings break under the pressure of going against the draft. He was relieved for a second when both of their hands touched. He reached out, trying to hold Techno and saw his son desperately trying to get a better grip, but as soon as relief came, it was gone.

They brushed their fingers together one last time, both with horror on their faces.

Philza was pulled back harshly and gritted his teeth as he tried his best to stay flying. He yelled Techno's name out with all his might, but of course yelling wouldn't help him. He watched the pink hair flowing and the soft sunlight over his defined and royal features, it would have been a beautiful sight if it weren't for the cruel reality behind it.

Tears were in Philza's eyes, if it was from the strength of the wind or from the anguish he felt, he didn't know. He let out a choked scream as the distance between the two grew to where he just saw a blur of pink and red. He strained his muscles, flapping his wings frantically, but the wind pushed him further and further from Techno. The dread in his heart and the pit in his stomach grew bigger every second: it was as if someone was stabbing him repeatedly.

The painful, broken scream of a father was muffled by the sound of the wind.

•••

His body was exhausted. Spreading his wings in defeat, he let the wind push him to the top of the draft. He covered his face with trembling hands and let ugly sobs fill the air. There was a pit in his stomach and a knot in his throat that was strangling him. The sickness and the pain was unbearable.

Philza curled up on himself, wings still extended, and cried his heart out until his throat hurt and tasted like metal. He couldn't save his own son.

He remembered the first time he found the little piglet. Scared little thing, eyes full of distrust and wielding a golden sword with shaking hands. It was concerning how feral he was, later on he understood why. When he took him to Wilbur and they recognized each other, they cried and stuck together for weeks. He was glad there was at least someone that Techno trusted at that time, Wilbur often being the one that spoke for him.

Techno was really thin at first and refused to eat anything Phil offered him. That was until he offered some potatoes. Those were gone in the blink of an eye. Philza's smile was brighter than the sun that day. Techno was terrified of Philza, but thanks to reassuring words and soft smiles, he’d grown to trust the man (Wilbur's good opinion of Philza helped as well). Philza was warm, not like the suffocating hot of the nether, but a good warmth that he was not used to.

Techno always flinched when Phil touched him, the boy would snap or attack him immediately, but little by little he welcomed the man's soft and gentle touches. When he allowed him to braid his pink hair, Philza was incredibly happy. Techno was quiet and it took him months to hear a single word leave the boy. But when he heard Techno call him 'dad' for the first time, he cried, and the warmth in his heart never left.

Until now.

Everything felt so, so cold.

•••

Cracking. Crushing. Breaking. Shattering. Snapping.

Ringing. Silence. Bright. Black.

•••

Techno gasped painfully. There were black spots dancing in his vision and everything was blurry. He coughed and immediately bit his tongue to cut off a scream. Something felt terribly wrong. His lungs burned, another cough left him—it was wet, and his body let out a weird gurgling sound. His breath hitched, the pain in his chest made breathing awful. Something pierced his lungs. His ribs probably. How many he had broken was too hard to tell.

He guessed he had passed out from the impact, but he didn't know how long it had been since then. There was still daylight, maybe it had been minutes? Hours? Days? Philza probably thought he’d died, he’d probably left him here. He was going to rot there, wasn't he? He was alone. No, he wasn't. Where were the voices? Why was it so silent? They were never silent. Where were they?

His heart pounded painfully inside his chest, a beating rhythm in his ears that felt like someone was banging his head against a gong. His erratic breathing was not helping the lung situation by any means. He needed to assess the condition he was in, but focusing was hard. He closed his eyes—even with them closed, he still saw colorful spots in his vision. He tried to find a way of breathing that wasn't agonizing, but soon gave up.

He tried to move his fingers, managing to twitch them slightly though he felt numbness all over them. Then he flexed his elbow a little, but it hurt and the numbness appeared to spread further up his arm. When he tried to move his shoulder, he froze, pain flooding all over him. He hoped it was just dislocated, he couldn't even tilt his head to take a look but he hoped at least his right arm was partially unharmed aside from the numb feeling. His left arm was an entirely different story, tears appearing in his eyes, betraying him immediately. When he tried to move it, the only response was excruciating pain. Now that he was focused he could feel the hot pain everywhere.

Make it stop. Make it stop. Makeitstopmaketistoptstopstop—

He had potions didn't he? Maybe if he managed to get them... No, there was no way the potions survived that, and it was near impossible to attempt to move his hands. Maybe that was the sharp feeling all over him—broken glass and not broken bones. But he wasn't sure, it could be both.

His breath hitched when he tried moving his legs, guessing that most of the impact was received by his left side because his left leg was totally unresponsive. He couldn't feel it and he didn't know if that was a bad or a terrible sign.

The urge to vomit was trapped in his throat. He was dizzy and everything was spinning, even with his eyes closed. He coughed, choking on a mix of blood and other fluids, the movement made his ribs scream in agony.

Was it just his ribs or was he the one screaming?

•••

Philza was sitting on the top of the cliff, curled into his own wings with vacant eyes, looking over into the dark pit. Every muscle in his body was tired and he couldn't manage to find the force to fly back to their home. He knew he would see Techno again once he arrived at the house, but he couldn't forget the terrified expression. He rubbed his hands, trying to get rid of the feeling of their fingers brushing. He was so close, yet so far. He felt useless.

The weather was calmer now, still with some strong drafts, but not as bad as before. Silent tears were trailing down his face. He let a shaky breath and was about to leave when he heard something. He froze immediately, looking down. No, it was completely impossible—

There it was again. His wings shivered slightly and he leaned over the border. He tuned out the wind and focused on anything else. He didn't even need to finish listening to the weak plea of help before immediately diving in.

•••

"Fuck, Tech–" was all that Philza could manage to say. His heart dropped at the sight: there was blood everywhere and there were bones definitely sticking out of him. Pink hair now dyed deep red, a big gash on the side of his forehead. Philza's face was pale as he took shaky steps, then started running towards Techno.

"Hang in there, I'm here, Tech. Fuck, I'm sorry, I thought you–I thought you–"

With shaking hands he cupped Techno's face. Clouded eyes looked up at him with so much pain he felt like crying again, surprised that he even had tears left. He gently placed a kiss on Techno's forehead and cleaned his face. "I got you, I got you, Tech"

He swallowed hard, not knowing what to do despite what he had claimed. There was so much damage. Maybe it would be for the best if he ended his pain—

No, he couldn't do that. He shook his head. What was he even thinking? His stomach lurched at the terrible thought. He felt even sicker from the sight but pushed it down and started working, ignoring the crying and the heartbreaking screams that left Techno.

•••

His hands ended up bloodier than ever - but Philza had no care for that. What mattered was that it was Techno’s blood. It was his son's blood. And it was all his fault.

Techno fell unconscious shortly after Phil had started treating him. He was glad because splinting the broken bones with him awake would have been horrible for both of them. Still, the screams at the start hadn't left his mind, and they probably would haunt him forever.

He took a shaky breath and glanced over at the empty bottles. He needed more potions but for now, for now it was enough to keep him alive. To keep him breathing, if only barely. He just needed to get him home.

For now, just for some minutes, he held him. He held him and cried.

He hugged him, holding him as if his life depended on it, although he wasn't the one who's life was in danger. He hid his face under the crook of Techno's neck and cried. Cried for his son, because he didn't deserve this.

Techno didn't deserve this.

:)