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“Techno!” Tommy called from the other room, “Come over here! I wanna show you what I got.”
Techno sighed softly, gently putting down his book and hopping out of bed where he had been resting.
“What is it, Tommy?” He asked, walking into the living room.
Tommy laughed as he and Wilbur both pulled on a Christmas cracker, it broke with a loud pop and both boys had smiles on their faces.
Techno didn’t however. He hadn’t been ready for the loud noise, flinching back when the pop echoed through the room. Now his hands were shaking a bit, but he wasn’t ready to let anyone know about that.
“Wow, Tommy! That’s awesome.” Techno said, forcing a smile onto his face.
Tommy, never the wiser, shot his older brother a grin. “I know! I bought a whole bunch so that we can pop them tonight!”
Techno hummed in acknowledgment, “sounds sweet!”
With that, he turned and wandered back into his room, listening to Tommy laugh as he walked.
He wanted to act more excited, because clearly this meant a lot to Tommy for some reason, but Techno was too panicked over needing to prepare himself mentally for that night.
Phil had invited a couple of people over for dinner, he had asked his middle son if that would be okay, knowing that Techno had problems with having a bunch of people around, but the boy had said it was fine.
What a hole he managed to dig for himself.
Now, not only did he have to prepare himself for people being in his house all night, Techno also had to brace himself for the loud popping of those crackers.
Dinner was nice, Techno could say that without a doubt. Phil had put a lot of work into creating a nice evening for them, and the middle child was grateful for that.
But the problem appeared after dinner had been finished, and the dishes had been cleared away.
Everyone had migrated to the living room, and that’s when Tommy decided to bust out the Christmas crackers. Techno caught one glimpse of them and promptly stood to his feet, slipping away quietly and heading back up to his room. He was ready for this.
He shut his door tightly and grabbed his headphones, settling himself down underneath a couple of his blankets. He listened to a calming music playlist, turning up the sound a little bit every time he heard any hint of the popping downstairs. Techno was determined not to have a panic over something like this.
Unbeknownst to the piglin under the blankets, Tubbo wasn’t fairing anywhere near as well.
Tubbo was panicking, that was for sure. He didn’t know what was going on, he was going to die and he had no idea why. His hands shook violently, and his vision was turning dark around the edges. Another pop from the Christmas crackers forced a soft gasp from his lips.
He stood up, mumbling something about going to the bathroom before sprinting down the hall. His legs came out from under him right in front of Techno’s room, and he tried to be quiet, not wanting to disturb Techno.
Tubbo slumped against the wall, not about to stand back up. He couldn’t breathe, he was going to die, he couldn’t breathe, he was going to die. Everything was loud and the popping made his ears ring, his heart was beating out of his chest, thumping heavily inside Tubbo’s throat.
This was it. Tubbo wasn’t going to make it through the night. He was gonna die on the floor of his best friend’s house.
“Hey, Tubbo? Buddy? You gotta listen to me, okay?”
Tubbo forced his eyes open, hearing a voice surprisingly close to him. He didn’t want anyone to sit there, watching him die, but he also didn’t want to be alone.
The fuzzy figure standing in front of him was moving away, and Tubbo let a quiet whimper leave his mouth, not quite realizing the noise was coming from him.
“Nope, I’m not leaving, don’t worry. I’m right here, Tubbo. Just focus on me.”
Tubbo gasped and sobbed, curling into himself and away from the voice that was right next to his right ear. It was too loud, Tubbo needed to get away from the noise.
“Can I touch you, Tubbo?” The voice softened, sounding more like a whisper.
Tubbo found himself nodding, he craved the physical touch that had been offered.
Hands slipped under Tubbo’s back, and the crook of his legs. He was being carried bridal style, and would have protested if he hadn’t already calmed slightly at the comfort that the physical touch brought.
All too soon, he was being set down on something soft, a bed probably. He whimpered softly as he was left alone, but soon the person was back, pulling Tubbo’s limp and shaking form onto their own lap.
“Tubbo, it’s me, it’s Techno. Alright?”
Tubbo sighed, relaxing into Techno’s hold now that he knew who his rescuer was.
Techno chuckled, the sound creating vibrations that Tubbo focused on, grounding himself.
“Okay, I’m taking that as a good sign. Can you tell me what’s wrong?”
Tubbo shook his head, hiding his face into the fabric of Techno’s shirt. But he was being pushed away gently as soon as he did so.
“Sorry, bud, you still aren’t breathing too well and I don’t want you to minimize your oxygen even more.”
Tubbo nodded slowly, his eyes drooping. He was suddenly very tired. His body felt weak, and his hands still shook. He was breathing better, but still struggling. At least his heart had moved back to his chest where it was supposed to be.
“That’s it, Tubbo, keep calming down. Good job.” Techno kept his voice low, sending comfort and encouragement as Tubbo relished each word.
It took time, but eventually Tubbo felt almost normal again. He opened his eyes, bracing himself for the brightness of the room, but finding out that Techno had somehow turned off all the light and closed off the windows without Tubbo even noticing.
“Would you look at that,” Techno said with a smile, “I was waiting for you to open your eyes. Are you feeling better now?”
Tubbo nodded slowly, processing what Techno was saying. “Yeah, I feel better.” There was a pause as he hiccuped and gasped a little, “thank- thank you Techno.”
“Anytime, Tubbo. Can you tell me what triggered that?”
Tubbo’s shaking increased a little, prompting Techno to hold him tighter.
“Sorry, I’m sorry. I just didn’t- I wasn’t ready and then the noise was, the noise was loud and it hurt my ears and then I couldn’t breathe. And-” He cut himself off with a small sob, the emotions and feelings of terror rushing back to his mind.
Techno hushed him softly, rocking the boy in slow movements. “You’re okay now, Tubbo. You’re with me, and we’re in my room. Everyone’s downstairs and the loud popping is just your best friend being a goof. Okay? You’re alright. Just keep breathing.”
Techno slowly worked Tubbo down from another panic attack, and was able to keep the shaking boy calm this time. Tubbo had cried for a while, whispering a couple of apologies for “taking up too much time” or some other bullcrap.
“It’s alright, Tubbo. I’ve got all the time in the world.” Techno had whispered back, his only goal was to help the trembling boy.
Eventually Tubbo had calmed down again, this time Techno didn’t ask questions, figuring out that the attack had been triggered by the popping. So the older boy did the one thing he could think of. He held the boy tight as he hummed a quiet tune, knowing the soft noise was grounding.
Which is why later, when the dinner party was over, both Technoblade and Tubbo were found asleep in bed, Tubbo encased securely in Techno’s arms.