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Techno pushes open Phil’s bedroom door and stares for a moment. Phil was laying in his bed, blankets wrapped around him but pulled down under his wings which were stretched out. He was laying on his stomach with his face pressed against a pillow, strong arms wrapped around the pillow and hugging it to his chest. Phil snores softly as he sleeps, wings shifting and fluttering with his dreams. Seeing him like this relaxes some of the rising panic inside of Technoblade. Phil must hear him because the blond man opens his eyes and glances over at the door sleepily, stretching a bit and huffing softly.
“What’s up mate?” he mumbles, voice rough and deep because of sleep. Techno grunts and walks over to the bed and without any prompting Phil shifts over to make room for Techno. He lifts a wing and the blanket and Techno climbs in next to him. Once the piglin is settled against Phil’s side, the avian drops his wing over the piglins body and wraps an arm around the man. Techno presses his face against Phil’s shoulder and sighs softly, some of the tension that had built up from his nightmare melts from his body. Phil hums softly, one hand rubbing against his friend’s back, feeling along tense muscles “Nightmares again?” Phil asks softly with a bit more consciousness than before.
Recently Techno had been having worse nightmares than before, especially since his execution. Tonight had to have been bad though because Techno rarely crawled into Phil’s bed anymore even on his worst nights. The piglin hadn’t been sleeping well and maybe he just wanted to be able to sleep.
Phil feels Techno’s face nuzzle into his shoulder and he smiles softly. It wasn’t unusual for the two of them to sleep together after being friends for so long and having been through so much, sleeping in the same bed was nothing.
Technoblade didn’t say anything because he didn’t have to. Phil already knew, already understood what he needed. Phil yawns and runs a hand through the pink hair and buries his face against it, holding the larger man close. Phil closes his eyes and slowly starts to fall back asleep, comfortable with the warm weight of his best friend pressed against his side. He listens to the soft piglin like snuffles coming from his friend as he slowly starts to fall asleep again.
In the morning Phil wakes up warm and with a comfortable weight resting against him and because of this he’s slow to wake. Techno is still asleep, which is a bit unusual since he’s always awake before him but Phil supposes he hasn’t been sleeping well recently and he deserves some rest. Phil pets his hand through Techno’s hair, noticing how tangled it is. He would have to brush through Techno’s hair for him and braid it. Phil moves his wing to cover Techno more, shielding his eyes from the sun creeping in through the windows. The avian makes soft chirping noises to go with the deep, pleased rumble emitting from Techno’s chest at the petting of his hair and ears and Phil feels more relaxed than he had in a long time. He needed this too honestly, just someone to hold. A warm, familiar body laying with him and keeping him grounded with strong arms and heavy bodyweight. The soft rumbling calms something inside of Phil and makes the consistent ache in his chest lessen.
Phil lays there for quite some time, just holding Techno and letting the piglin hold him. He stays there until the rumbling stops and Technoblade shifts against him. Phil lays and watches his best friend wake up and stretch. Techno sits up and runs his hand through his hair to push the tangled strands out of his face and his ears twitch. He looks down at Phil and rubs his eyes sleepily and Phil can’t help but chuckle at the dazed and drowsy look on his friend’s face.
“Sleep well mate?” Phil asks with a chuckle, breaking the comfortable bubble of silence and warmth they had created. Techno old grunts and helps Phil sit up, bumping his head against the older man’s shoulder and resting his forehead against him, body slumping over and leaning heavily on Phil who wraps his wings around the piglin, quickly follows by pulling the larger into a hug. Techno needed this, needed the closeness and reassurance of being held. He wouldn’t ask out loud, lord forbid The Blood God ask for help, but his actions said it all “I’ve got ya Tech” Phil mumbles and closes his eyes.
“I know” Techno replies, fully confident in his words. He knew Phil had him, knew Phil would be there for him no matter what, and he knew Phil would never betray him or hurt him. The hybrid pulls away after a moment and leaves the room, presumably to get a late start on his day. Phil smiles and watches him go, listening to his quiet grunts and the sound of him fumbling around a bit. Phil stays in bed a bit longer, unwilling to leave the warmth of his bed for the frigid temperatures of the artic but eventually, he forces himself out of bed when he smells food and hears Techno moving around in the kitchen. Phil settles on a stool near the kitchen and simply watches the piglin work. He relaxes and they fall into a comfortable silence, the only sounds being the crackling from the furnace and Techno’s gentle humming. Things remain quiet even after Tecno has set down their plates and they settle down to eat together. It’s breakfast food even though it’s truthfully closer to noon than it is morning by now.
“Do you want to talk about it, Tech?” Phil asks softly, he could basically hear Techno’s thoughts from across the table, and although Phil can guess what the issue is he would much rather hear it from Techno himself. The other needed to learn how to ask for help and open up on his own. Phil watches the man tense for a moment, eyes snapping up to Phil for a moment. Phil only holds his gaze, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head. It takes a moment of staring before Techno gets uncomfortable and glances down at his food.
“It was about execution, again,” the piglin mumbles and shakes his head, a shiver runs through his body, and Phil watches the wince as it crosses his friend’s face. Phil hums softly to show he’s listening and continues eating his food in an attempt to make Techno feel relaxed and comfortable speaking “I feel...It still hurts sometimes. I thought it would go away but even with the totem it still hurts,” Technoblade’s voice cracks and Phil’s heart cracks a little at his words because god did he understand. Phantom pains had become a near-constant in Phil’s life, small aches from major wounds that never truly healed properly. The muscle between his wings often twinged with pain from hunters damaging it in a fight, he often has trouble with his legs from too many times landing just a bit too rough.
“I understand Techno, phantom pains are a bitch,” Phil mumbles, and his wings flutter behind him. Technoblade looks up at Phil and nods a little feeling better now that he knows he’s not alone. There was more he wanted to say, Phil could tell, but the other was already upset and out of his comfort zone so Phil drops the conversation and they eat.
The rest of the day goes by normally because really, nothing that happened is a big deal or out of the ordinary, and late at night if Techno slips into his bed again muttering apologies and shaking like a leaf, then that’s no one else business than theirs.