Chapter Text
Early morning light filtered past the curtains surrounding a bed in a large chamber. Not much could get past the thick fabric, but a small gap allowed for a single ray to fall through. With the warm strip of light falling across his face, the youth in the bed grumbled and buried his face further into the arm his head rested on.
At the noise and movement, dark eyes slowly blinked open.
Technoblade paused for a moment, gathering his bearings. He then took stock of his room. The curtains hadn’t been pulled, the door hadn’t been opened (as with most mornings when he did fall asleep in his room), and there wasn’t the telltale sound of a blade being drawn. He took another moment to realize the pins and needles feeling in his arm. He looked to the side.
There, using his arm as though it were a pillow, was his brother Tommy.
With an affectionate huff, Techno attempted to pull his arm from beneath the head of blond hair, but was rewarded with a rougher dig into the muscle and a louder noise of discontent. He looked to the gap in the curtains, trying to judge a time of day, but soon gave up, assuming that it was too early to wake the boy.
He started to move slower, making his second attempt to escape.
It got a similar, if softer, response.
Sighing, Techno grabbed the pillow beneath his own head, moving to replace his arm with it. It took a few tries, but he ended up succeeding without waking his brother. He shook out his numb limb before stretching, groaning lowly at the pops that resulted. He shifted to get out of the bed, nearly forgetting that someone else was there.
Carefully moving the curtains out of his way, he stood, moving to the wardrobe to gather today’s garments. He never cared for the extravagant clothing his other brother, Wilbur, seemed to like, preferring to wear a simple shirt and pants he could easily move in. After changing, he then looked to the chair beside his reading table, where his red cape laid, draped across the back.
Debating whether or not to put it on for today, he eventually came to a decision.
With a practiced movement, he swung the garment across his shoulders in an elegant, yet intimidating fashion. He didn’t have any real plans for the day, having given the soldiers he was training a day to relax. Maybe he’d visit his potato farm, which he’d acquired for a competition with a kid by the name of Squid, who had foolishly called the challenge.
Technoblade yawned, moving to the bathroom connected to his room. Looking at his reflection, he sighed at the mess his hair was, trying to run a hand through it, but being stopped by a number of knots. It made no sense how it had gotten so tangled, though it may have something to do with the fact that he hadn’t slept for about two days, not bothering to get it brushed.
Finishing his business and splashing his face, he came to the conclusion that he’d just go to Philza to get his hair under control. The other man had always been better at braids, anyway. He left the bathroom, moving to close the curtains fully so the light wouldn’t bother Tommy anymore than it already had. He then left his chambers in search of his older brother, who was more of a father figure, truthfully.
The servants he passed all bowed as he moved by, no one offering words directed at his hair’s state. It was common knowledge around the castle that only a select few could get close to him, let alone touch his hair.
His first destination was the throne room, where Phil could usually be found, even early in the morning.
But he wasn’t there.
It wasn’t a problem, for Philza frequented other areas of the castle. He tried the library and kitchens, both of which turned out to not house his brother. There were other choices he could go with, but with it being morning, there was a high chance he was still asleep, what with his other morning haunts turning up empty.
He knocked on the grand door to the king’s chambers. The two guards on duty paid him no mind, even when he entered after no response came.
“Phil,” he called out, “Phil! It’s morning. You’re usually up before me.”
A grumble sounded from the large bed in the middle of the room, “What do you want, Techno.”
“I want you to brush my hair,” he deadpanned, opening the curtains in front of the tall windows before moving onto the ones on the bed.
“You ass,” the king hissed, clenching his eyes at the brightness.
“Wakey, wakey,” the other said with as much emotion as was usual for the man. He held out a brush to the man rubbing his eyes, plopping down onto the mattress when it left his grasp.
Phil sighed, giving in. He started going through the tangles, taking care not to cause damage while doing so.
“You do realize that you’ll need to take a bath soon, right?” he hummed to his brother, running the brush through pink locks.
“Yeah, yeah,” Techno said, noncommittally, his eyes closed.
Phil sighed again, more than he would want to after just waking up. He didn’t press, only asking, “You want it down or in a braid?”
“Braid,” was the immediate response.
The blond chuckled. His brother would never admit to it, but Phil was more than aware of how much his brother enjoyed the contact. It was with someone he trusted with his life and not the clashing of blades. The pink-haired man was not one for much affection, but small actions like this were welcome in the privacy of the brothers’ chambers.
Minutes passed, Phil brushing out the knots and putting it into a relaxed braid that held pretty sturdy without pulling at the scalp. As a sign that he was done, he smacked his brother on the head with the brush.
“Now get out so I can get dressed.”
“Of course, Dad,” the verbal jab only gained a laugh in response.
Techno left the king’s chambers looking less disheveled than when he arrived. The guards didn’t spare him a second glance. He moved on, walking toward his last brother’s room.
In the mood to mess with the brunet, he knocked and wouldn’t stop until door opened.
“What!?” a sleep-gruffed voice sounded as the wood moved, “What do you want, Techno.”
“G’morning,” the other greeted with a smirk.
“I will end you.”
“You can try,” came the tease, “but will you succeed?”
That earned him a glare.
“Did you just come here to annoy me?” Wilbur asked, exasperated.
“Maybe,” he hummed. “Well,” he turned around, his cape sweeping dramatically across the floor, “I’ll see you at breakfast.”
“Bastard…” he heard his brother mutter before the door closed.
Techno slowly made his way to the dining hall. Breakfast would be served soon enough, so it wouldn’t do him anything to get there any faster. Checking in with the chefs, they seemed to be scrambling a bit. Maybe Phil had told them the day before that breakfast would be served later or something and his appearance earlier caused them to panic a bit.
He shrugged, turning and making a B-line for the palace gardens. They weren’t exactly grand, but they were still nice to visit. Upon entering, he saw a boy tending to a patch of flowers, likely to be blooming this time of year.
He didn’t say anything, knowing the kid wasn’t a threat. He watched as the boy giggled when a bee brushed his cheek before moving to the flowers before him. Preferring to not just creepily watch a child and practically under threat if he harmed this one in particular, Techno cleared his throat.
The kid startled, scrambling to stand, “You- Your Highness!” he squeaked.
Techno’s face scrunched at the title, “Nah, no. No title stuff. Just Techno, you’ve at least earned that.”
The other shifted, “Um… Of course, sorry.”
A silence passed between them.
“Uh… I’ll- um, I’ll just head out,” the kid stumbled over his words, excusing himself.
“See you later, kid!” Techno called after him. It wouldn’t be long before Tommy sought him out, so seeing him again was practically guaranteed. He spent a few more minutes there before deciding enough time had passed that breakfast was at least almost ready and headed back for the dining hall.
When he arrived, he first saw Phil at his seat, which drew his line of sight to Wilbur beside him. The two had been talking when he arrived, but the door opening had grabbed both of their attention.
“Well,” Wilbur said with amusement, as well as some resentment, “Look who showed up.”
“Yeah, it’s crazy,” Techno said, lazily raising a brow. He had just taken his seat when a knock sounded from the door.
“Enter!” Phil called.
The doors opened to reveal a maid. “Your Majesty,” she greeted nervously, “I couldn’t find Prince Thomathy in his chambers.”
Phil blinked, “Huh?”
“Um-“
But before she could repeat herself, Techno’s hum interrupted her.
“Ah, yeah, about that. Found him this morning when I woke up. For one reason or another, he’s gotten really good at sneaking into my chambers.”
“And?” Wilbur hummed in amusement, “Did you wake him up?” It was obvious he already knew the answer.
Techno briefly paused, “No. But I expect that he’s woken up by now so-“
It was now Techno’s turn to be interrupted as quick footfalls could be heard outside the hall. The recently closed doors were soon slammed open by Tommy himself.
“You bastard, Techno! Why didn’t you wake me up!?”
“What did I say?” Technoblade directed to his two seated brothers, a smug look on his face.
Phil rolled his eyes, turning to greet Tommy, “Good morning, Tommy.”
“Yeah, yeah, morning or whatever,” the other blond waved, before taking his spot. He brushed off any conversation Phil or Wilbur tried to pull him into, rather sulking where he sat.
Techno was starting to be uncomfortable with the awkward atmosphere. The other two failed to raise the youngest’s spirits and he wasn’t the best with people. With one last glance to his last hope before he stepped in, he sighed at their silence. A silent breakfast wasn’t what he wanted on one of the few days they all had somewhat free from formalities.
Looking to Tommy, he offered, “So… you wanna spar later?”
This caused Phil’s head to whip in his direction as both Wilbur and Tommy’s eyes widened, in surprise and happiness, respectively.
“Really!?” the teen exclaimed, jumping from his seat, “Oh man! I gotta tell Tubbo! He’s gonna want to watch!” He then left as soon as he came, all thoughts of breakfast gone.
“Tommy!” Phil tried to call him back, but the other was gone. He then turned to Techno, “Techno! Look what you did! Now he’s not going to eat breakfast with us!”
He just raised his hands in defeat, “He was sulking. And he’s just grabbing his friend. That Tubbo kid is gonna convince him to come here and Tommy is gonna convince him to eat with us.”
Phil was done with sighing, “Okay, alright, but only if that’s how it goes.”
Lo and behold, that’s how it played out, Tommy coming in, dragging his best friend behind him, as breakfast was being served. This was the usual occurrence for the royal family, the servants already bringing out another set of tableware and share of food.
The warm atmosphere around the table was comforting, and Techno caught himself wishing days like this would happen forever. That’s an unrealistic thought as a royal, and he knew better, but…
A man can hope.