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“How about an axe, he likes those right?” Phil asked, pushing around tools in the blacksmith’s shop.
The blacksmith himself was a short man with dark black hair, where the man lacked in height he made up for in muscle. The man bustled around in the background, shining weapons for display behind the counter.
“No, I don’t think so. Remember when he hunted me down with a diamond axe in the butcher army, not exactly a pleasant memory.” Technoblade huffed out, leaving the blacksmith’s shop to look at the other small clothing stands that lined the sides of the main street. It was a Sunday, so the Sunday market was set up and it was the best time to buy something, with all the choices laid out for you.
The older crow-hybrid looked tired as he spoke, “Ok well, Techno I’m running out of ideas mate.”
“Don’t worry about it, I’m sure I’ll find a courting gift on my own. It can’t be that hard… What did you get for mom when you courted her?”
Phil let out a lighthearted chuckle, “Did you ever wonder why we called your mother ‘the fridge’?” The older man watched his son's face twist into a confused expression before he continued.
“We nicknamed her ‘the fridge’ because I got her one as my courting gift, she laughed it off and said that we might as well be living together seeing as we gave each other kitchen appliances.” The older man explained, following a few steps behind his son as they walked through the bustling town’s people.
“Really?” The piglin-hybrid snorted, “I just thought it was because she acted cold towards you in the beginning.”
The statement elicited a round of chuckles and snorts from the two men. “Of course not, your mother was a lovely woman, lady death just had to return to business as normal, she couldn’t have stayed for as long as she would’ve liked to.” The older proclaimed with a sense of pride.
The old crow-hybrid gave two swift pats to his son’s back, watching the younger boy’s anxious expression settle back on his face, “Listen, mate, I’m sure Quackity will love whatever you give him, alright?”
“Alright,” the younger confirmed.
Phil waved his goodbyes and gave a final pat on the back before he sauntered off back in the direction they had come from, letting his green and white dress-coat sway behind him.
Technoblade watched as his father walked off and dissolved into a sea of people, realizing he was on his own now. He had to get something special, something that was perfect for Quackity and Quackity only. Whatever he bought had to show that he thought of Quackity as something special, it had to prove that Techno would be a good partner.
The piglin-hybrid sauntered through the stalls, trying to find something perfect for the winged boy. He sorted through a pile of armour and decided it be useless as Quackity never wore armour. He looked through a stall of knickknacks, lined with bright colours of children’s toys, he considered buying something but only for a brief moment, before he decided Quackity was a little too old for spinning tops.
Technoblade anxiously ran a hand through his short pink hair, it wasn’t really short hair but it just barely fell to his ears, the hairstyle was really just a good looking bowl cut he had gotten months prior, so that his hair wouldn’t poke out his helmet when he went to ‘settle’ some things in L’manberg.
The pink hair had once been long enough to reach his lower back but now it barely came halfway down his face, the piglin-hybrid would never admit to missing his hair but he did miss the regality the look of long braided pink hair brought.
Techno found himself in another stall quickly sorting through t-shirts and shorts but none of it really had anything fitting for the duck-hybrid. The two had agreed to meet close to dusk in the artic empire so that Techno could show Quackity the northern lights for the first time.
He figured that it was a time better than ever to give Quackity a courting gift and to ask the boy if he wanted to be more than friends. Hopefully, Quackity wasn’t expecting anything so it would be a lovely surprise. Techno told Phil of his plan earlier in the morning and the older man sprung to his feet, urging Technoblade to set out and find something before the shops closed in the evening.
So, Techno was now cruising along the shops, peeking his head in and quickly surveying each one, but to no avail, he reached the last ten shops and began to look around more scrutinizingly, paying greater detail to the shops and their products.
His eyes scanned a small games shop, he found a small set of poker chips in a shiny metallic case.
Techno knew that the winged boy was starting up a casino, he thought that the case of poker chips was too obvious a gift. It was a gift that fit his mental criteria perfectly, but Techno couldn’t bring himself to think that the case was worthy of the small, tanned boy.
It was a good gift, but it wasn’t quite good enough.
The tall piglin-hybrid carried himself back onto the main street, defeated. He entered the sea of buyers and started trudging back in the direction he came from, annoyed he wasn’t able to find anything suitable.
Techno watched the people mill around him, seeing as he was taller than most he was able to watch over the crowd as he filtered through. He watched couples drag each other by the hand, he watched parents with their kids, he watched avians try on armour.
The avian in question was a small girl, with bright red wings, highlights of blue and yellow feathers grouped towards the bottom. She was a parrot-hybrid Techno guessed, he watched as she went in the blacksmith’s and asked about something to do with the chest plate as she held the netherite armour and pointed to it as she talked.
Techno kept walking straight letting his mind wander back to the interaction he saw, Quackity never seemed to have an affinity for armour, always complained that it kept his beauty from the world. Techno of course, never believed him, just assuming that the duck-hybrid didn’t want to go through with the effort of putting it on properly.
The piglin-hybrid wondered how the smaller boy would put it on since he had cut-outs for his wings in the back of the adidas tracksuit that he always wore, how would the duck-hybrid put on a chest plate if it didn’t have holes? Oh, Techno thought to himself, the duck-hybrid never wore armour because there were never any wing slots in the back.
The few times Techno had seen the small boy in armour, he always looked uncomfortable, and Techno now realized it was because his wings would have been pinned down against his back.
The perfect gift came to mind.
Techno turned swiftly, startling some of the people walking around him. The piglin-hybrid went back to the blacksmith and had a curt conversation. He asked for a golden chest plate to be made, knowing as it would be light enough for the other to fly with. He asked for the chest plate to be built with two holes in the back, the blacksmith nodded, understanding that just like the parrot-hybrid the piglin-hybrid was asking for an avian’s chest plate.
They guessed at Quackity’s size as Techno only really knew that the man was much smaller than himself, they agreed on making a chest plate medium size, a great contrast to Techno’s own extra-large armour. Techno himself wore extra-large armour purely because of his height, not wanting to have his mid-drift exposed like it would’ve been in a large chest plate.
The two discussed the style of armour and settled on a style that Techno had for all of his own armour, the blacksmith was one of Technoblade’s favourites and the piglin-hybrid trusted him to do the job well. Because the armour could be made from an existing chest plate the blacksmith promised he would have it done shortly before closing the armoury that night.
Before leaving Techno asked the blacksmith to add his own brand-forge, a pig snout that the blacksmith only used for Technoblade’s armour, the man seemed to understand the significance of the armour and offered a sly smile as he arched an eyebrow.
Techno let out a hearty laugh, “Knock it off, Phil already made fun of me for it.”
The blacksmith only smiled in response, the two said their goodbyes and Technoblade hurried home, hoping to shower before he got dressed.
He showered quickly, letting the hot water pour over him, feeling it melt his anxieties away as he mentally prepared himself to ask out Quackity.
Techno had determined that there were three possible out comes; option ‘A’ Quackity says yes and everything works out, option ‘B’ Quackity makes fun of him and Techno goes back to being a social hermit, or finally option ‘C’ where Quackity just gets weirded out and leaves.
In all honesty, Techno was really hoping that it came to be the first scenario, he really wanted to court the tanned boy. Quackity was everything Techno wasn’t, he was loud and funny, good with his words, convincing at times. The boy was even incredibly observant and attentive, he was much smarter than most people gave him credit for.
Technoblade sat at the other end of the spectrum, quiet, much more analytical. He was a more avid fighter, more focussed on his physical abilities rather than his social ones.
He turned off the hot water and watched himself in the mirror opposite to him, being a piglin-hybrid didn’t make him look much different than anyone else, he stood slightly taller than most, his skin slightly pinker than most, his canine teeth slightly sharper than most. He looked like he was made to be a hearty warrior.
The pink hybrid stepped out of the shower and got himself dressed, deciding on his normal poet’s shirt and dress pants, he clipped the gold chain of his cape around his shoulders. He let the red velvet cape hang loosely, swaying side to side as he walked over to grab his crown, he set the crown atop his head and set off back to the armoury.
He paid the blacksmith a handsome fee and admired the golden armour, the back of the chest plate had the slits as promised. Where the gold strips had been cut out the chest plate was lined with a soft felt-like material, Techno assumed it was so that the duck-hybrids wings wouldn’t get sores from rubbing up against the metal and he appreciated the blacksmith's forethought.
Techno asked for the Blacksmith to box it up, and he watched as the man placed the armour in a box cushioned with silk lining before finally placing the lid on the black box and tying it up with a silky blue ribbon. It was perfect.
He quickly ran back home and waited out in the snow, sitting on a small bench that was stationed outside of his and Phil’s shared house. He waited for a short few minutes before he saw the familiar blue and yellow blob approach from the white horizon. The sun had also just begun to kiss the snow, falling into dusk perfectly as Technoblade approached the smaller man.
Quackity wore his normal L.A.F.D beanie and a small dark blue puff jacket, embroidered holes in the back allowed him to extend his wings at the sight of Techno, making the taller chuckle lightly.
“Hola mi guapo (hello my handsome),” Quackity exclaimed as he sped up his walking pace to meet Techno halfway. The piglin-hybrid had no understanding of Spanish, but he still liked that Quackity used it, it felt like a secret language that only the duck understood, and Techno liked to listen to sweet words.
“Well hello to you too Quackity,” the taller bellowed, hiding the box behind his back in one hand.
“Shall we?” Techno asked with his other hand extended.
The winged boy took his hand quickly, “Lead the way carino (dear).”
Techno led the smaller boy up a small cliff, weaving between a few spruce trees as they climbed up the mountain still hand-in-hand. On bigger steps, Techno would lift Quackity’s hand to help pull him up and on jumps between rocks, he would wait to catch the smaller, never once removing his hand.
Quackity smiled each time the piglin-hybrid waited, he was enamoured at how considerate the larger man was, taking his hand carefully. Quackity’s hand was much smaller than Techno’s and he felt how the bigger man tried to be as gentle as possible, it was sweet.
When the two appeared at the top of the mountain the stars were clear overhead, Techno watched as Quackity looked up, taking in the sight of the night sky, inhaling cold breaths of air as he faced the stars.
Techno chuckled at the winged boy’s amusement, he began to unclip his cape and he set it down on the fresh snow acting as a picnic blanket in the night. He placed down the black box on the cape before Quackity noticed what he had done, “Won’t you get cold?” he asked curiously.
“Not really, I think my skin’s thicker than yours.”
Quackity walked closer and let himself fall back onto the cape, a star shot across the sky, almost too quickly to notice. The small man grinned “Techno! Did you see it? Did you make a wish?”
Techno nodded in response, offering a smile before he looked up to face the stars as well. A flare of neon green seemed to leak across the sky and Techno felt the duck-hybrid inhale deeply at the sight. Aurora borealis they called it, waves of solar radiation that would’ve been deadly without the atmosphere, the greens and light purples that strung across the sky were stunning.
Another shooting star ran across the sky moments late going the opposite direction from the last, Techno turned his head to look back at Quackity only to see the other already looking at him fondly.
The piglin-hybrid smiled, “Quackity, I uh… I don’t know if-um… Would you let me court you?” he managed to blurt out. The pink man reached to the side and retrieved the black box, placing it in between them.
“Well guapo (handsome), let’s see what you got me first, hmm?” Quackity said smiling as he began to unravel the ribbons tying the box shut. Working carefully to pull them off before he opened the box, he looked curiously as the gold armour, he gave a confused look to Techno before he flipped it onto his lap. He looked over the piece, running his fingers lightly over the soldered bits of gold that outlined the slits in the back.
He gave Techno a crooked smile before he unzipped his jacket, pulling it off his wings carefully.
Thousands of thoughts spurred in Techno’s mind, Quackity hadn’t yet rejected him and that was a good sign. He seemed to like the gift as he began trace around the gold forgery with his hands.
“Help me put it on?” The small boy asked hopefully, making Techno realize that he had fallen silent.
“Oh sure!”
Quackity let the chest plate fall on over his shirt, carefully moving the piece of gold side to side until his feathers poked out the back and his wings fit through. The golden-orange colour of his phoenix-like wings looked impeccable compared to the soft yellow shimmer of the gold.
Quackity looked at the other with grateful eyes, “You had it made for an avian? You asked a blacksmith to make it custom… for me?”
Techno flushed, “I thought I had to give you something personal, you never really wear armour so I got it made just for you,” He mumbled sheepishly, pointing to his own insignia on the bottom, the familiar pig snout that could be found on all his belongings. His own crown that he was currently wearing bore the symbol in between gems.
The small boy tightened the leather straps at the sides, pulling the gold flush against his body, letting the chest plate fit perfectly. Quackity flushed, rubbing his hands together. Before Techno could do anything to stop him, he watched as the small boy ran at the edge of the clip, jumping off and falling out of sight.
The piglin-hybrid’s breath caught in his throat; this wasn’t a planned result. Quackity jumping off a cliff was not the intended result of this. He carefully stalked forward, not wanting to see where the other had landed.
Instead of a dead body a whoosh of feathers went by as Quackity shot straight up into the air, wings twirling to make him look like the feathers at the end of an arrow. The tanned boy came down, holding onto his hat in one hand as he laughed with a wide smile on his face.
“You got a gold chest plate because it’s the lightest… you got a chest plate perfect for me.” The raven-haired boy stammered out in between his panting.
He fell to his feet and keeled over, resting his hands on his knees laughing.
“Holy shit Techno, of course I’ll court you.” He said panting.
Techno fell to laughter as well, falling back on the snow as his cape sat forgotten several feet away.
“Fuck Quackity… I thought… I thought- don’t do that again please.” He managed in between his own rumbling laughs. While laughing his crown fell off and he reached out to get it only to be interrupted by a small tan hand on his wrist.
“Wait, wait I also got you a courting gift, Techno I really like you too.” The small man said as he walked over to where his jacket was thrown on the ground. The duck-hybrid quickly picked something from a pocket, he walked over and placed it snug on Techno’s head.
Confused the large man took it off his pink hair and turned the item over in his hands, it was a beanie just like Quackity’s own except in place of the letters it had an embroidered crown sitting at the front.
Techno placed it back onto his pink hair and he pulled Quackity down into a hug, “I love it,” the taller man mumbled into tan shoulders.
“I’m glad,” Quackity said as he hurried to get up his chest plate, getting rid of the metal that stood in the way of the hug.
Once he had it off, he leaned back into Techno’s body, practically straddling him, “Can this count as our first date carino (dear)?”
“Why count this one when he can have an even better date?” Techno said as he ran his fingers under the other’s hat to play with his hair.
Quackity adjusting himself to place a chaste kiss on Techno’s lips, “I’m glad it’s you.”
“I’m glad it's you too Quackity.”