Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A high pitched whine sounded from somewhere outside Technoblade’s cabin. The snow fell softly just outside, already blanketing the ground in several inches.

Techno elected to ignore the whining, chalking it up to a lost wolf that would soon find its way home. He groaned as he pushed himself to his feet, the floorboards and his joints creaking as he made his way to the kitchen. He hadn’t gotten dressed today, instead staying in his pajamas that consisted of a thin white shirt and flannel pants with little crowns on them. Philza had given them to him last Christmas, and while Techno wasn’t religious nor did he wear his crown anymore, he wore the pajama pants nearly every night.

The whines continued as he opened cupboards, pulling out tea bags, and starting to boil a kettle of water. As he waited for the water to bubble, Techno walked to the window by the front door.

The whines started to slow, the creature either leaving or tiring itself out as Techno pulled the curtains to the side to see his porch. He glanced around the dark yard after flicking the porch light on. He didn’t see a single animal, and he heard nothing, so he shut the light off and closed the curtains.

He took a step towards the kitchen, before hearing one solitary high-pitched whine from just outside his door. The creature seemed to have lost all energy, as the whine, the plead for help, dropped off into a breathy exhale.

Techno grabbed a small but sturdy dagger from the stand by the door, gripping it tightly and holding it in a defensive position as he opened the door just slightly. He glanced at the yard, confirming it wasn’t a trap, before he looked down at the creature at his feet.

A small, white blob-like creature laid curled in on itself. It turned its head slightly, just barely getting a whine past its lips as it stared up at the piglin.

Techno quickly set his dagger on the stand before scooping the creature up gently. He hummed comfortingly and apologized when it squeaked in fear, before he shut the door and locked it.

“Hello, little one,” he murmured to the creature, taking in its round head and almost cone-shaped body. It turned its beady black eyes to look up at Techno, and it chirped happily as it squirmed closer to his chest.

A chuckle rumbled through his chest as he raised one hand to pet the creature’s head. The creature immediately leaned into the touch, pushing up against his hand like a cat would.

“What are you?” Techno mumbled, mostly to himself, as he continued petting the new mystery. “Where did you come from?”

The mystery in question simply chirped twice before tucking its face into Techno’s chest.

The piglin smiled down at the creature, deciding that for now it would stay with him. He made his way to his bedroom, and rearranged his bed to create a small and safe confined space surrounded by blankets, and then laid the creature inside it. He pulled a small, thin blanket just under its head, and left it with a soft pat on the head and the door wide open.

A few minutes later, the kettle started to squeal, and Techno rushed to quiet it and make his tea, hoping he didn’t wake the little one.

As he poured his water into a mug, setting a tea bag inside, he thought to himself. He had decided to keep the creature- at least, for now- and he couldn’t just keep calling it “the creature.” It needed a name. But what?

He sighed as he pulled the soggy tea bag out, dropping it in the trash can. He walked back to the living room, sitting in his soft chair and staring out the window at the falling snow.

Wherever the creature came from, it had to have traveled through the blizzard. How such a small creature made it this far without freezing to death was concerning, but not enough for it to be dwelled on too long.

What did need to be dwelled on was its name. It needed a name.

Maybe he should wait until it woke up. Then it could help decide.

Techno sighed to himself before taking a sip of his tea. ‘It could help decide.’ Just say that you can’t decide things on your own, for fuck’s sake, Techno.

He stayed there, sipping his tea occasionally as he watched the window, getting up every now and again to refill his mug. Night turned to dawn, and dawn to day, before the creature started to stir.

Techno had just gulped the last of the tea left when he heard the signature whine. He got up quickly, setting his mug in the sink before making his way to the bedroom. The creature was standing on its cone-shaped base, seemingly trapped in the wall of blankets that Techno had created. It glared up at him as he got closer, its mouth turned down.

The piglin smiled sheepishly as he picked up the creature. “I’m sorry; I didn’t want you to hurt yourself trying to get down.”

The creature seemed to soften at that, the frown almost disappearing as it pushed its face against Techno’s chest while it… purred?

Techno took this as a sign of forgiveness, and smiled gently as he walked back out to the living room. He went to sit down, before remembering.

“Are you hungry, little one?” He asked softly, already starting towards the kitchen.

The creature stopped purring, picking its head up to look around the kitchen.

“We- I don’t have much, sorry,” Techno apologized as he set the creature on the counter. He started going through the pantry, trying to find something that he deemed alright for the creature. “Uhh… Do you like graham crackers?”

The creature just blinked back at him, and Techno huffed to himself, a smile fighting its way across his lips. “Dunno why I even asked… C’mere.” He held a hand out, watching as the creature took the hint and hopped up on his palm. It wobbled for a moment, and Techno quickly brought it to his chest, holding the box of crackers in the other. He walked them back to the living room, sitting down in his recliner with the creature being sat on his leg.

The creature chirped at him.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m hurrying,” Techno rolled his eyes, opening the crackers quickly. He pulled one out and broke it along the intended lines, holding out a small piece to the creature.

It must have been hungrier than he thought, as it took the whole piece and swallowed it all in one go.

“Whoa, little one, be careful,” Techno mumbled, breaking off a smaller piece to feed to it. It repeated the action of eating without chewing, and Techni continued to break smaller pieces off until he felt comfortable letting the creature swallow it whole.

“Do you have any names in mind?” Techno threw into the silence that blanketed the room after the creature had decided it was done.

It looked up at him, its small black eyes and blank smile revealing nothing.

Techno sighed to himself, moving one hand to pet the creature gently. It purred as he looked around the room for ideas. “Fern?”

The creature stopped purring, instead looking up at the piglin’s face.

“So, that’s a no. What about… Spike?”

A soft rumble came from the creature, and Techno looked down in surprise. It seemed to be growling at him.

“Okay, absolutely not Spike. Sorry. Um. Can I just call you Little One?”

Another growl.

“Sorry, sorry,” Techno sighed. His hand stilled as he tried to focus. “Can I just call you Blob?”

The creature almost seemed to glare at him before it hopped around, turning its back to him.

“Oh, c’mon, I’m not that bad at naming stuff,” he chuckled softly.

The creature glanced back at him with a look that stated the exact opposite.

“Well, you pick out a name then,” Techno huffed amusedly, watching as the creature seemed to be doing just that. It looked around the room, before its beady eyes latched onto the telescope that lay on the bookshelf, having gone unused for months. It chirped at it, swinging its head back and forth to look at Techno and then the telescope.

“Heh? Space?”

The creature shook its head, chirping happily.

“Star?”

Another shake.

“Uh… Mars?”

The creature looked at the telescope once more before chirping one final time and rubbing its head against Techno’s hand, which had fallen down to hold its back.

“Mars? You like that one?” Techno asked gently, moving to pet the creature gently.

Mars just purred, sinking down slightly. Techno smiled at this, before picking it up to cradle it close to his chest. “Okay, Mars. Let’s nap a bit,” he mumbled as he felt his body and mind start to finally shit down.

Mars cuddled closer to him, rubbing its face into his chest once more as it purred softly.

Techno fell asleep holding his new… holding Mars gently.

Chapter Text

Techno woke to Mars crying loudly, still asleep. It seemed to try and get closer to him as it curled into itself.

“Hey, hey, Mars,” Techno mumbled, sleepily petting the creature. “Hey, wake up, Mars. Wake up, it’s okay. You’re okay.”

Mars awoke with a jolt, immediately craning its head to look at Techno before crying again.

A frown stretched across the piglin’s features, and he brought Mars closer to his face. “I’m here… You’re okay, Mars. I won’t let anything hurt you.”

Mars cried out once more before it buried its face in Techno’s neck. It shook in his hands, the fear radiating off it in waves. Techno continued to pet it softly, mumbling reassuring statements until it fell back asleep.

Instead of sleeping with Mars, Techno looked around the room.

How did Mars even get here? Where did it come from? What was it exactly?

It had to have traveled from somewhere. It had been snowing since he found Mars, so any tracks would have been practically erased at this point. Besides, Mars obviously left for a reason. Whether it was an unsafe environment, or it just needed a better home, it was with Techno now. He would give it a better home.

He still wasn’t sure what Mars was. He had never seen one before. He would have to wait until Philza got home- maybe he would know. He was supposed to be home last night, but it wasn’t uncommon for him to be late.

Sometimes he had to trade for longer than expected, or one of his crows got hurt, or he simply lost track of time on his trips. Either way, Techno wasn’t worried. Philza was immortal, after all; he could handle whatever crossed his path.

Time passed, with the snow continuing to fall just outside. Techno suspected that they would be snowed in if it kept the pace it was at.

Mars woke up a few hours later, the only indication that it was awake being how it purred and wiggled every now and again.

Techno sat for a few more minutes after it woke, before he sighed and got up. He made his way to his closet, using one hand to hold Mars close to his chest. He stood on his tiptoes to reach the top of the closet, pulling a box down from the shelf.

“You wanna play a game, Mars?” The piglin asked, tilting the box so that Mars could see the title.

Colorful letters spelled out “Candyland” big and bold across a far-too-busy background. Mars shook its head, looking up at the shelf before chirping.

Techno put the box back, grabbing down another. “Uno?”

Mars shook its head once more, chirping more angrily at the shelf.

“Monopoly?”

A growl this time.

Techno chuckled before he pulled down another, final box. “Cards Against Humanity?”

Mars chirped happily, purring as Techno pulled the box closer so he could shut the closet.

He wasn’t sure how well Mars would do at the game, but he wasn’t one to judge.

They sat at the table, with Mars sitting behind a cereal box that was tipped on its side so that the game was fair. Techno drew a black card, reading aloud the prompt. “Hey baby, come home and I’ll show you [blank].”

Mars chirped from behind its box, before using its head to nudge a card into view. Techno set his own card down with a small smile, before reading out his full sentence.

“Hey baby, come home and I’ll show you… my powerpoint presentation,” he chuckled.

Mars chirped, hopping once.

“Okay, okay, I’ll read yours. ‘Hey baby, come home and I’ll show you… my grandpa’s ashes,” Techno stated the last part through a giggle, laughing harder when he heard Mars start to chirp rapidly. It chittered away, almost like it was laughing.

“Mars! I didn’t know you were going to be good at this!” Techno chuckled, setting the used cards aside as they both calmed. Mars simply chirped once before hopping back behind the box.

Techno smiled at the box fondly before drawing the next black card. “Why do I hurt all over?”

Mars didn’t chirp this time, just simply nudging the card into view once more. Techno placed his own down, looking to Mars with a smile. “Am I going first or..? I’ll just go first. Why do I hurt all over? Crippling debt.”

Mars stared at him, its dull smile sticking in place.

“Oh, c’mon, that was funny! Well, what do you have, my liege?” Techno asked sarcastically.

Mars nudged the card once more, and Techno picked it up to read it better.

“Why do I hurt all over? The bond between a woman and her horse- Mars!”

Mars started chirping once more, laughing not at its card choice but Techno’s shocked face.

The piglin started packing the cards up. “Nope, no more,” he stated, ignoring Mars’ whines. “Your jokes are too good. It’s unfair!”

Mars whined a bit more, before hopping over to the hand that was braced on the table as Techno rearranged a few cards in the box. Mars rubbed up against it lightly, purring and chirping every now and again.

Techno dropped his fake angry scowl, instead smiling softly at Mars. He reached his other hand to pet it, his hand practically able to hold its entire head.

Mars smiled back at Techno, purring louder.

“I love you too, Mars,” Techno chuckled. He scooped it up, and placed it on his shoulder, under the veil of his hair. Mars snuggled up to his neck as he used both hands to close the box and head back to the bedroom to put it away.

When that was done, he made his way back to the kitchen. With Mars safe on his shoulder, he preheated the oven and started pulling out ingredients for a recipe he had done countless times.

When Techno was younger, Philza used to make cookies whenever he needed a pick-me-up. The first meal that Techno had in the Overworld had a dessert of chocolate chip cookies. It was a staple in his childhood- from bad days at school, to nightmares, to even skinned knees, there was always a cookie to help him feel better.

Some might argue that Philza was spoiling him, but Techno didn’t mind. It created a comfort food for him, a food that he never grew tired of and always trusted to help him cope. He figured it was time to let the new family member in on his secret.

“Alright, Mars. You’re gonna learn how to bake tonight!” He grinned, pulling out a large bowl.

An hour later, there was flour all over the counter and cookies in the oven.

Mars was trying to help with the flour, but couldn’t get its head high enough and accidentally spilled the entire cup of flour. Techno had sighed frustratedly, knowing it would be a pain to clean up, but he didn’t let it ruin their day. Instead, he smiled and filled the cup up again, this time helping Mars up so it could pour the cup.

Little prints from when Mars had hopped across the counter through the flour made Techno smile fondly once more. He looked around quickly, before picking Mars up and setting it on his shoulder again. “The cookies should be done in a few minutes-”

The front door opened, the cold wind bursting its way into the house before it was abruptly cut off.

A blonde man with a green cloak hissed quietly to himself as he locked the door. “That storm really kicked it up a notch, huh?”

Techno leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms as he watched the newcomer start taking off his scarf and cloak, revealing large, black feathered wings. “Yep. Wonder if it heard you were out and held a grudge.” He teased, noticing how Mars shook slightly and snuggled closer to his neck.

Philza mock glared at him. “That was one time. And I’m sure DreamXD doesn’t care enough about me to inconvenience me in such a stup- in such a way.” He hung up his cloak on the rack beside the door, before stretching. He sighed heavily as he made his way to the kitchen. “Cookies? You alright, mate?”

Techno chuckled to himself. “Yeah, I’m doing great, actually. Speaking of which, look who I found!” He reached up to pull Mars out, but stopped as his hands touched the trembling body. “Mars?”

Mars squeaked in fear, chattering in its own language as if trying to communicate.

Philza craned his neck, trying to see what was beneath Techno’s hair.

“Mars? Is it okay if I bring you out? Philza isn’t going to hurt you, I promise,” Techno murmured, his hand softly petting Mars.

Mars squeaked once more, still trembling as it nodded. Techno gently extracted it, cradling it close to his chest comfortingly.

“Philza, this is Mars. Mars, Philza.”

Philza ducked slightly to get a better look at Mars, studying it curiously. “Where did you get Mars? What is it?”

“It was just outside in the cold,” Techno shrugged. “I couldn’t leave it out there. And I was hoping you would know what it is.”

Philza shook his head sadly, looking up as the timer went off. He glanced at Techno and Mars, before shooing them away so he could carefully bring the cookies out and set them on the unlit stove. “No idea, mate.”

Techno looked down at Mars, who still trembled slightly. He gently rubbed its head, before looking back up to Philza. “Well. Shit.”

Philza chuckled softly, before starting towards the bathroom. “I’m gonna take a shower and then go to bed. Call if you need anything.” And he was gone.

Techno glanced at the still hot cookies before he walked to his own bedroom. He set Mars down in the little nest he had built, immediately picking it back up when it cried out.

“Well, what am I supposed to do? I can’t sleep with you- I might crush you,” Techno muttered.

Mars simply chirped.

Techno rolled his eyes. “Convincing.”

Regardless, he set a spare pillow besides his own, and leant Mars against it. He quickly stripped, getting dressed in a clean pair of pajamas. He yawned as he shut the light off and got into bed on his own side, burrowing under the covers.

A small whimper came from the other side of the bed, and Techno smiled into the pillow before moving a hand to gently rest on Mars’ side.

“G’night Mars,” he mumbled, “I love you…”

Mars chirped back softly, almost like it was saying ‘I love you’ back.

Techno fell asleep with dreams of telescopes and planets and exploring with his new pet.

Chapter Text

When Technoblade woke, it was to soft chirps and something rubbing against his face. One large hand reached up to brush away whatever had landed on his face, but it hit Mars instead.

Techno’s eyes blinked open slowly, like that of a lazy cat. He turned his head to look at Mars, a smile stretching across his face when it butted its head against his forehead.

“G’Morning,” Techno mumbled as his brain started waking up.

Mars simply chirped back at him, before rubbing its face on the hand that now resided on its head.

Techno pet Mars a few times, before getting up and stretching. He reached out, waiting until Mars jumped on his hand, before putting it up on his shoulder, once more veiled by his pink hair. He walked out of his room, and headed towards the kitchen, before stopping in the doorway.

Philza was humming to himself a tune that was too quiet to be decipherable as he stood at the stove. One hand held the pan handle, and the other held a spatula that hovered over the pan for a moment, before flipping what looked to be a pancake.

“Morning, Techno,” Philza said when he caught a glimpse of the piglin. “Morning, Mars.”

Techno nodded in response, and Mars chirped back.

“There’s more pancakes on the table,” Philza gestured with the spatula. “Eat up, both of you. I’m thinking about going out again.”

“Did you not get everything you needed last time?” Techno asked offhandedly as he started putting pancakes on his own plate. He poured the syrup, before starting to cut into it.

Philza shrugged, and Techno couldn’t help but notice how his jaw tensed. “Nah, and I’d rather get more stuff for potions.”

“Why not stay back for today?” Techno asked curiously. “Hang with Mars and I. You can go back out into that shitshow tomorrow.”

“Well-”

“Rest your brittle bones, old man,” Techno deadpanned, cracking a smile when Philza glared at him.

The old man sighed playfully, before taking the pancake out of the pan and setting it onto a nearby plate. He turned the stove off, then sat at the table with Techno and Mars.

Techno lifted a hand to move Mars down onto the table, and held out his fork. Mars ate the soggy pancake, swallowing it whole and smiling up at the piglin.

Philza chuckled as he watched the scene, moving one hand closer to the small creature. “You are such a cutie,” he cooed, reaching to pet Mars roughly.

Mars growled under its breath, tolerating the babying for a few moments.

“Aw, who’s a cutie? A lil baby, aren’t you?” Philza crooned, seemingly oblivious to how pissed Mars was getting.

Techno watched with a sadistic fascination, seeing how frustrated Mars was. He figured that soon enough Mars would hop away or something.

Or something.

Next thing Techno knew, Philza yelped and ripped his hand away from the creature, clutching his injured hand close to his chest. “Motherfucker!”

Mars simply grinned up at him, hopping slightly so it could bend down and eat some of the pancakes on Techno’s plate.

“Nice one, Mars,” Techno complimented, stabbing a piece of pancake and bringing it to his mouth.

“Prick,” Philza muttered at Techno, hesitantly returning to eating while watching Mars carefully.

Techno chuckled to himself, offering his pet another bite; a bite it gladly took.

“Do you want some bread?” He asked it. “Do you even have teeth?”

“It absolutely has teeth,” Philza cut in, glancing down at his hand.

Mars seemed to nod, so Techno got up from the table to get a loaf of bread. He set it on the table, untying it quickly before pulling a piece out for Mars.

Mars chirped, as if in thanks, and started eating the bread from Techno’s hand.

The piglin let go, turning back to finish his own meal.

Minutes later, the entire loaf was gone. Philza and Techno stared in awe at Mars, trying to comprehend how it ate something almost double its size.

Mars chirped once, before hopping over to rub against Techno’s arm lovingly.

Philza continued to stare at the creature in disbelief, while Techno just accepted it with a soft huff, as he reached to pet Mars.

“God damn,” Philza muttered to himself.

“That’s my Mars!” Techno joked, as he reached to put Mars up on his shoulder once more.

They finished breakfast, before heading off to do anything but actually work for the rest of the day.

+ + +

Techno woke to complete stillness, which was odd. Usually, Mars woke him by chirping with the morning birds. The silence was almost deafening.

He groaned as he laid on the bed, eyes still shut. Maybe he could go back to sleep again…

Something shifted beside him. Something… big.

Techno slowly reached his hand to the dagger slid between his bed frame and the mattress, before practically bouncing out of the bed and onto his feet in a defensive position.

The person- the very naked person- groaned sleepily as they rolled over to face Techno, their eyes still shut.

Techno stared at their bare face for a moment, almost not recognizing his old best friend. The acne sprinkled across his features, and the single scar stretching across the bridge of his nose weren’t there when they were younger. The light freckles that gathered along his nose and cheekbones, and spread up his temples were just as defined as they had been all those years ago. His hair was far more fried, having been bleached so many times that it’s a wonder it wasn’t all falling out; yet, the dirty blonde roots showed the months of neglect.

“What the hell are you doing in my bed, Dream?” He growled, more confused and concerned than anything else.

Dream’s eyes slowly opened, and he blinked sleepily at Techno as the far-too-dull green revealed itself. He looked down at the bed, before looking at himself and hurriedly pulling the blanket up to his shoulders. His face burned red in embarrassment, and he bit his lip as he sat up slowly. “Uh, this is awkward.”

Techno snorted, gently placing his dagger back where it resided before. He went to his dresser soon after, pulling out a shirt and a pair of sweatpants and tossing them at Dream. “Get dressed, we’ll talk over tea,” he mumbled on his way out of the room.

He started to fill the kettle, placing it on the stove when he had deemed it full enough. He turned the knob, setting it on high, before pulling out a chair at the small table in the corner and sitting down. He sighed to himself, before looking around for his pet.

“Mars?” He called out, clicking lightly in hopes that it would come hopping.

It didn’t.

Dream, however, did leave the bedroom, far more awkward and uncomfortable than Mars would have been. He stood just inside the doorway, shifting his weight slowly.

Techno gestured for him to sit in the other chair while he got up to pour the boiling water. He soon came back to the table with two mugs of tea, setting one in front of Dream and keeping the other for himself.

“So. What are you doing here?” Techno inquired.

Dream stared down into his mug, shrugging pointlessly.

“Dream.”

The blonde sighed softly, as if he didn’t want Techno to hear, before taking a sip of tea. He hesitated to speak, but soon realized that he wasn’t going to get far.

“A week or so ago, I was unspokenly exiled from L’Manburg,” he muttered, his voice soon getting louder. “Nobody wanted me there, and half the residents ignored me. So I left. But, I somehow forgot I don’t- I don’t have a house anymore, and had nowhere to go. I intended to camp near Tommy’s exile, but I got lost. I had been traveling through the snow, hoping to find someone, when I stumbled across a house. And that leads up to just the other day, when you found me.”

“Hold on,” Techno shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. “The other day? Found you? What the hell are you talking about?”

Dream smiled sheepishly at the piglin before turning his gaze to the table. “Uh- When I get overworked, or stressed, or any negative feeling that feels overpowering, I… shut down? It’s like a survival instinct. I turn into this little white blob-like creature.”

Techno stared at Dream in disbelief. This was… Dream was Mars? No, he couldn’t be. But…

“Mars?”

Dream nodded solemnly, watching Techno’s face contort through several different emotions, before settling on… relief?

“Well. I’m glad you’re here, and safe. You can stay as long as you like,” Techno replied, briskly standing up to take care of his mug, still half full.

Dream blinked in surprise, watching as the piglin strided back to his room. He gulped down his tea before taking care of his own mug.

He stared down at the sink, dirty dishes soon to be overflowing the one side. He sighed to himself before plugging the other drain and running hot water.

If he was going to stay, he might as well be useful.