Chapter Text
Techno woke up warm and surrounded by a soft material. As someone who had slept on a forest floor his entire life, it was a shocking but comforting feeling.
On one hand, his common sense was telling him to run away but it was so soft . Snuggling tightly into the blanket, he let one of his hands flap from the softness of the blanket covering him. He could stay there forever, he decided, just laying on the warm bed, curled into a ball, surrounded by warmth and softness.
It didn’t last as long as he had hoped, because he heard the footsteps of a grown man on a wooden floor and knuckles rapping on wood. Instantly, he jumped up, eyes wide, ready to fight; only to see a yawning blonde man in blue pyjamas and wings standing by the door, looking very unthreatening.
“Hey, mate, it's okay, just me. Brought you brekkie.” The man said in a kind tone and his eyes reflected the kindness of his words, then he chuckled, “Gods, “brekkie?” I sound like a proper dad huh?” Techno only stared at the man in confusion and he let out another chuckle. “Right, here’s your food, I’ll be in the living room if you need me, Wilbur’s still asleep in his room but if you want to you can wake the little gremlin up.” Then he placed down a plate and glass and exited the room with a smile.
Lucidity slowly returning to him, he sat up and took a sip of the refreshing water. What was that man's name? He knew it, Finn? No, Phil. That was Phiil and he was in Phil’s home, although he did not remember the walk back from the river to the cottage.
Out of suspicion, he sniffed the plate of eggs and bread before deeming it probably not poisoned and chomping down. The bread was crunchy and the meal was warm, a stark difference from what Techno’s usual meal was and he savoured every last bite.
After placing the now-empty plate back down, Techno surveyed his surroundings. It was a normal looking room, carpe covering the wooden floor, white walls and a small bed in one corner, a desk in the other. The only peculiar thing was the small crws carved into the doorframe, they were cute though.
On one hand, Techno wanted to run as far away as possible from this place,, the sense of dread clawing at his mind but on the other hand it was warm. It was warm and comforting, unlike anything Techno had encountered before and he was just a kid. Just a scared little boy with nowhere to go as seemingly the whole world decided that he was not worthy of a place on this earth; that he was a stain on their perfect little idea of life. A little boy who had been offered the option of a home, even if fake, he would take the opportunity.
Thing is, Techno hated thinking of himself as a little boy, he was strong and scary and could kill an army with a single thought but sometimes he admitted to himself. That he really was just a kid, that he was allowed to want comfort and love. With his admission came a couple stray tears, dripping slowly down his face as if they wanted to stay.
Techno didn’t wipe those tears away, he didn’t cry often and practically never did he cry like this. These tears were not ones of mourning or fear (mostly), they were tears of acceptance, of allowing himself to cry openly without regret nor annoyance. These tears were free, safe. Tears that Techno would wear like badges, let them run down his face and feel the leftover trail.
Techno was a kid, he wanted to hope.
As much as Techno wanted to hope, he couldn’t let himself. Deciding that Phils behaviour was probably all a ruse, he made a silent bet with himself that the feigned kindness would not last a week.
Still wrapped in the warm blanket, Techno toddled across the wooden halfway to the living room because, as much as it was tempting to wake up Wilbur, he wanted to let the boy sleep. Walking through the large black doorway, his attention was immediately caught by a large, black sitting chair that Phil was currently occupying.
Phil’s night black, feathered wings were stretched out and relaxed to his sides. He had to admit that Phil’s wings were magnificent, glossy, somehow looked like they could cut you in half and would be the softest thing ever at the same time. Phil's golden hair was almost like a crown on the man's head but instead of the face of a stony ruler, he wore a soft smile as his eyes skimmed the book in his hand.
Looking so at peace, so innocent, so easy to kill. Techno could kill him now, run away with Wilbur and be safe, he didn't want to though. Chalking it up to intrigue, he decided to leave the man be for now (definitely wasn't developing an attachment or anything).
Finally noticing the boy, Phil looked up and let out a light chuckle, "Y' alright mate? Can see you like the blanket." Techno hated how warm his voice was and how genuinely his eyes smiled.
"It's soft." Techno replied in a monotone voice, keeping his face unreadable, at least he hoped he was. "I'm here because I didn't want to wake up Wilbur."
The man nodded and placed down his book, "Okay, do you want to do anything?"
"With you? No." He stated, almost wincing at how cold it sounded, Phil winced too.
"Okay, I get that. Probably not the best relationship with adults huh?" Phil asked and Techno just raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Right, well we have some books and stuff, or you could go outside, although I'd like to watch over you so you don't get hurt," Yeah, that's definitely why Phil wanted to watch him. "Or you can just have a look around until Will wakes up?" Phil offered. Somehow even after Techno's display of utter disregard for the man, he was still smiling lightly, as if there were things to be happy about. Techno had to give him credit though, no one had tried this hard to capture him yet.
Techno nodded and shuffled across the room while still wrapped in the blanket which made Phil laugh before he picked up his book again.
Phil's laughter- Techno hated it, or he wanted to hate it. Except he couldn't because it felt like the smell of spring rain in a forest, it made him want to join in with the laughter. And he despised that.
Their home was nice. Small in the cosy way, and decorated well. Good furniture and many books that would probably be interesting if Techno knew how to read. Another thing he noticed were the small etchings of crows in every doorway, he liked them, they gave the house a personal feel that showed that it was home to someone. Whenever he passed one, he ran his finger over it, just because.
There was a fireplace in the living room and Techno wondered if Phil would light it if he asked. Some part of Techno craved the stench of angry smoke and the teasing crackles of fire, craved watching as the embers dance around to their own silent song as the flames warm him up and comfort him. Many people were scared of fire but he loved it like a long lost friend.
He had to remember to ask Phil to use the fireplace.
On one doorframe he found many carvings displaying different heights and the name Wilbur at the bottom. It ranged from 90cm to a metre thirty. So Wilbur has been here a long time and Phil hasn't killed or sold him yet, maybe Phil has a thing for adopting freaks then? He seems like the type. Maybe Wilbur is just different, more likeable, less likely to choke you with your own blood.
After that, Techno decided to sit outside Wilbur's door and wait for him to get up. That proved to be a bad idea when he got bored after a minute and began walking in circles while holding the blanket up above his head.
"You alright there?" Phil's voice was light and he raised a bit of the cover to look Techno in the eyes.
"Just' waiting for Wilbur to get up." He stated.
"Will probably take a while, he sleeps a lot, wait a sec-" Techno watched in confusion as the man walked into the living room and came back in with a box, which he then tipped upside down to make a lot of wooden blocks and a couple marbles clatter on the floor, making Techno jump.
"Sorry mate," Phil sat down and pushed the blocks into a heap, "Just thought you might be bored so.." he gestured to the heap and Techno raised an eyebrow. "Uh- they are blocks that you can make into a marble machine. Just like.." He took some pieces and slotted them together into a small slide, then placed a marble and let it roll, "-that. You can make slides or whatever you want really."
Phil looked up with a soft smile at the boys perplexed face and placed the golden marble into Techno's hand.
He moved the smooth ball between his fingers, examining it and then wordlessly began stacking up the blocks.
"I made it for Will, to kinda distract him, when he was having it rough." Phil spoke and received a nod from Techno before the boy continued slotting the blocks together, completely enamoured with the task at hand.
They sat there for at least an hour, Phil sitting with a calm presence and Techno slotting blocks together and testing how the marble would fall; he even managed to make a loop!
It wasn't the most interesting thing in the world but Techno was having fun, he liked building things, it was fun. Made him feel like he was making something that was his, like he was worth something.
Finally, Wilbur woke up. With sleepy eyes he opened his door to see the kid they adopted and his dad playing with blocks right outside his door and did the obvious thing: joined them.
"I like your jumper." Techno said as he looked up at the boy, who was wearing a sunny yellow jumper, it fit him.
"Thanks, what are we making?" Wilbur responded and Phil smiled as Techno shuffled over to give Will space to sit down.
In total they spent about three hours on their project, the boys messing with each other and Will throwing multiple blocks at Phil, causing him to laugh loudly. For a few hours, it felt like a family.
By the end they had a large contraption that stretched through the whole hall. Techno was very proud of it.
"You know what we have to do now?" Wilbur asked with a mischievous smirk.
"No, what?" Techno questioned.
"Destroy it!" Wilbur exclaimed with a glorious smile.
Techno panicked, they had just made it, why did he want to break it already?
"Can't we, uh, keep it up, for a day at least?" He asked, wringing his hands and looking at the floor.
"Yeah, yeah, y'know what mate, we can keep it up for today and I'll make a sketch of it. Then we'll have it forever, yeah?" Phil offered, he was being kind again, it was annoying. But then again Techno didn't want their project destroyed yet, so he nodded.
"That's fine, as long as we can destroy it later!" Wilbur spoke, "Hey, Technoblade, wanna see my throwing skills!" He exclaimed and made Techno giggle before nodding and both the boys ran out of the door. Much to the dismay of Phil, who tried to tell them to put on shoes.
Wilbur, it turns out, did not have any throwing skills.
He missed every throw in fact.
Techno laughed as the boy continued to pick up rocks and hurl them towards his target on a tree, failing miserably each time.
"Why can't I do it?" Will whined, putting on a sulking face.
"I think you're kind of missing the target." Techno pointed out between laughs, receiving an eye roll from Wilbur.
"Oh really? I wouldn't have guessed."
"Bet I could do better."
"You-" Wilbur said before lunging at the boy and throwing him onto the floor, where he began tickling him. "Not so strong now, are you?" He teased with a light-hearted grin which turned into a face of surprise as Techno rolled him over and began tickling back.
A small cough came from their sides and both boys looked up to see a grinning Phil shaking his head.
"You two are going to need a wash."
….
Day Two. Six days left.
Techno got up reluctantly from under the soft blanket. Phil was keeping up a good act for now, Techno was surprised at how genuine he seemed.
But, nevertheless, it was a good time to get out of there. He wasn't leaving without Wilbur though. So, the boy snuck to Wilbur's room as quietly as possible and began to shake Wilbur to wake him.
"Wha- what?" Wilbur mumbled as his eyes fluttered open slightly before curling up further into the covers.
"Will, wake up. We gotta go." The slight panic and severity in Techno's voice brought ice to Wilbur's blood and he shot up.
"Why? Is everything okay?" He questioned while stumbling out of the bed with a scared look at Techno.
"Yeah. But we gotta go." Techno stated before grabbing Wilbur's arm and running with him. The door slammed against the wall as they sprinted out and Wilbur kept tripping over, only being held up by Techno's grip on his arm.
Once they ran into the woods Wilbur paused, causing Techno to lose his balance at the abrupt halt, and yelled in an anxious voice, "What’s going on? Techno? Where’s Phil?”
"We’re leaving him." Techno stated as if it was obvious and tried to pull on Will's arm but the boy ripped it out of his grip.
"Why?"
"Because he isn't safe." Wilbur looked straight into Techno's eyes with a bewildered look.
"Not safe? He's my dad." He crossed his arms and Techno rolled his eyes.
"No he isn't. He's just some guy that would sell you in an instant. We have to go ." To that, Wilbur looked as though someone had slapped him in the face.
"He isn't 'some guy', he's dad. And he would never sell me." He spoke, offence and venom lathering his words. Techno rolled his shoulders back and pinched his eyebrows.
"Wilbur, please . I don't want him to hurt you." He begged. Why didn't Will understand?
"He's not going to hurt me. He's my dad. You don't get to talk about him that way!" Wilbur yelled, the love for Phil that seeped into his words felt like betrayal. Annoyance began to cloud his brain.
"Wilbur, you're coming, now." He decided and grabbed Wilbur's arm hard, pulling him further away from home.
"No! Fuck you!" Wilbur screamed before kicking Techno in the stomach, causing him to lose the grip on Will's arm. Dumbfounded, Techno stared at the boy.
“Will, come on…” He pleaded.
“No, how about we go back to dad, we can talk about this.” Wilbur reasoned, reaching out a hand to grasp Techno’s but he shoved the boy’s arm away.
“Talk? Wilbur don’t you see? He’s manipulating you. He wants you to trust him so that he can stab you in the back. Please-”
“That’s not true. Phil’s a good dad.” Wilbur argued, glaring at Techno with a steely look that betrayed his utter trust in the older man, it broke Techno’s heart.
“I know, I know you want to believe that-” Techno started.
“No I don’t want to believe it , I know it, and if you would just give Phil a chance maybe you would realise it!” Techno scoffed at that.
“Why? I am done giving chances to people, Wilbur. Maybe you want to believe Phil-” Wilbur looked about to interrupt so Techno raised a hand to stop him, “But I know people like him, and I’m not letting myself get hurt again.”
“Phil’s not like that.” Wilbur argued, bottom lip quivering.
“He is exactly like that. Will please-” Techno reached out a hand only for Wilbur to smack it away defensively.
The brunette straightened his back and crossed his arms defiantly, sure that Techno would listen to him.
Techno sighed.
"I'm sorry." Techno spoke, if Will would just listen …
Techno ran.
As he bolted through the various trees and branches, he could hear Wilbur screaming for him.
“Techno come back!”
“Stop!”
It was as though his words were laced with something persuasive, commanding Techno to listen to them. But they weren't strong enough and the boy kept pushing forwards through the greenery as fast as his legs could take him.
If Techno had still been near Will, he would have seen the baffled look on his face when his command did not persuade the other boy to return to him.
Next came a yell that echoed throughout the entire valley and shook any heart that heard it:
“DAD!”
It threatened to knock Techno off of his feet.The noise stunned Techno, he had never heard anyone do that before. But what shocked him more was the sudden sound of colossal wings whipping the air above him and a figure landing right in front of him causing Techno to crash into the man. For a moment, Phil stood like a statue with one hand on Techno’s shoulder and an absent look on his features before seeming to come back to reality and smile at the boy.
“Hey mate, are you okay?” The man asks with the kindest smile Techno had ever seen and his strong grip on Techno’s shoulder lightens into something protective and loving. Phil feels loving, he feels like home.
It makes Techno sick.
Forcefully, he pushes Phil away and bolts further into the woods, expecting the man to stop him but nothing happens. Instead, in the distance he can hear Wilbur yelling at Phil to go find him but Phil only tells the distressed boy that, “If Techno doesn’t want to stay, we can’t force him, Will.”
As he sprints, his feet pound on the forest floor, sending jolts of pain through him with every step but he continues. He has to get away. If he had been thinking clearly, he would have stopped and wondered about this sudden need to run away that he hadn’t been feeling just a day ago, but the adrenaline and unprompted fear coursed through his veins and clouded his thinking.
He kept running. And running. Until his foot collided with a tree root, sending the boy crashing into a tree head-first, luckily stopping his fall with his arm. Dazed, the boy attempted to get up and feebly begin running before a stab of pain in his arm and legs brought him to the ground again.
Then he noticed the bleeding scrapes decorating his arms and legs and the acute pain that his left arm was throbbing with. Sobering from the previous adrenaline, panic filled his lungs and pain firmly clutched his throat as tears pricked his eyes. He did the only thing he could think of.
“PHIL! PHIL PLEASE!”
….
Phil had just been calming down a very distressed Wilbur and assuring him that Techno would be back. He wasn’t sure himself, but had hope, the boy was definitely scared- Phil couldn’t blame him, being hunted down your whole life will do that to you- but he wasn’t stupid. So he would keep hope and an eye out for a pink haired boy, once he calmed the currently kicking Wilbur down.
That was the plan until he heard a rough, blood-curdling scream yelling his name.
Immediately the man let go of Wilbur and shot into the air, replying with his own yell of, “TECHNO!” There was another scream in response and Phil began to soar in the direction of the noise. At the speed he was going he knew his wings would be sore the next day but he would handle that later. He had to help his son.
There was another, weaker, cry almost directly underneath him and he dropped, cutting through the branches, to land next to the crumpled, sobbing boy.
“Oh Techno.”
….
For the first time, relief flooded Techno when he saw Phil, and in response croaked out, “Phil ‘m hurt.”
The man’s concerned features softened slightly, “Yeah, I know mate. Can I pick you up?” Techno nodded, exhaustion slowly sinking in. As the man picked him up, his eyes closed and despite his efforts, Techno melted into unconsciousness.
….
He groaned while blinking away the remnants of sleep in his eyes.
“Hello mate, how are we feeling?” A kind voice asked and Techno groaned again and rolled over in the bed. “Yeah that checks out, you got pretty banged up huh?”
He finally opened his eyes to see Phil smiling warmly at him, although his eyes looked tired, like he hadn't slept.
“You gave us a big scare, though I guess it was my fault. I’ve healed what I can.” Techno offered a small smile at the man.
“My arm’s in a cast.” He stated, sitting up in bed.
“You broke it, but hopefully with healing pots it'll be better within a week. I’ve sent Will out to get some more. Techno furrowed his eyebrows, both at the prospect of staying there another week and at the confusing response.
“Healing pots?” He questioned.
“Healing potions, they speed up recovery, that's why your scrapes are healed.” Phil replied, Techno looking down to see his healed legs and making an “o” face. “Yep, now wait here, I will bring you food, get some rest.” As the man walked out, he seemed almost guilty, even though he had nothing to feel guilty for.
A couple of minutes later, Techno got to eat some cooked fish, potatoes and carrots. Stomach full and content, he decided to take a nap.
When Techno woke up, it was to Wilbur hovering next to the bed with a concern etched onto his face. Techno smiled softly at him, causing the boy to jump before his face broke into a wide grin.
“Techno you’re awake!” He pulled Techno into a tight hug, forgetting about Techno’s broken arm and immediately dropping him onto the bed when he gave out a small ‘ouch’. “Oh god sorry, I got excited.” Wilbur apologised profusely for a good minute even though Techno promised him it was fine.
“You’ve been asleep for two days.That’s good, sleep is good right? Just rest, stay in bed, me and Phil will bring you food, and you can drink the healing pots and-” Techno placed a hand on the fretting boy's arm and made calm eye contact with Will’s darting eyes. He took an exaggerated breath in and out which Wilbur copied, “... and you’ll be okay.”
Techno nodded and shuffled over to let his brother under the covers next to him, rubbing circles on the boy’s back as he took deep breaths with a patient smile, (Wilbur would never say it, but he seemed like Phil in that moment).
“Sorry I’m just worried and they were saying that maybe you wouldn’t be okay- I just got a bit stressed.” Techno nodded at Wilbur’s explanation.
“It’s okay, don’t worry I’ll be okay, been through worse. I’m strong, yeah? Technoblade never dies.” Wilbur lightens at that and giggles slightly, “Hug?” Techno pulls his brother into a side-hug.
“You’re still staying in bed.” Wilbur said, smile apparent in his voice, Techno groaned in disagreement, “No, no arguing. In fact let me go get you some food. And games! I have some cool cards, Phil made them! And my books, do you even know how many animal facts I’m gonna teach you?” Will leaped up excitedly and fixed the bed covers before dashing out the room.
Techno’s faux annoyed face melted into a wide grin at his brother’s antics. “This is going to be the funnest recovery you’ve ever had!” Will shouted from the kitchen, making Techno laugh as he settled into the soft blanket.
Maybe a week in this house wouldn’t be as terrible as he thought.