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The nether is rough, hot and unforgiving. One slip up and you're dead. As if the difficult landscape and lava everywhere didn't make it hard enough to traverse, there are dangerous mobs lurking around every corner.
There's nothing soft in the nether either. The 'grass' is prickly, if you could even call it that. The ground is practically stone. The softest thing there are mushrooms and leather.
Which is why Techno loves everything soft, even though he'll never admit it. The piglin hybrid grew up in the cruel dimension but after ending up in the overworld he can definitely say he doesn't miss it. So much is soft in this colourful dimension, animal fur, the grass, snow. Gold is nice of course, it's the softest of metals, but it's metal none the less and frankly Techno would choose fluffy wool any day even if his piglin instincts disagree.
It's much colder for him in the overworld, considering he's a creature of hell. But a cloak is enough to keep the cold at bay and the soft sheep wool and fur collar are an added bonus. He hardly takes it off.
Right now, he had taken it off. The fur got in the way of his hair being braided.
By whom? None other than his 'rival' Dream.
They weren't really rivals anymore. To the public, yes, and they did still spar and fight but they were friends as well.
Phil wasn't able to braid the piglin's hair, and doing it himself was quite tedious. Luckily Dream knew how, apparently he had a sister whose hair he used to braid often.
So in Techno's cottage they sat. Dream gently combing and braiding the pink strands. Techno wasn't sure what the other was doing but it definitely wasn't a basic braid. Not that he minded, he quite liked his hair being played with, something else he'd never admit.
They were quiet, just enjoying the moment. The crackling of the fire in the fireplace and the wind rattling some of the windows gave it all a domestic feeling.
Eventually Dream finished and nodded proudly to himself.
"Done."
Techno took the braid into his hand while the other felt on his head, careful to not mess anything up. From what he could see and feel, Dream had braided smaller bits of his hair to weave into the main one.
"Do you want to do my hair next?" Dream asked.
Techno eyed the blonde's hair. It reached his shoulders and was tucked behind the sheep ears. The blonde locks shined gold in the sunlight.
"I don't think your hair is long enough to braid."
Dream shrugged. "You could do smaller braids, it's long enough for that."
Techno gestured for the other to turn around, which he did, before scooting closer on the couch. He reached for the strands tucked behind the ears.
It was the softest thing he's ever felt.
Dream was a sheep hybrid so it was to be expected but this was just too soft.
For a good few minutes Techno was just fiddling with the golden hair. He wanted to stuff his face in it, like you'd do with a fluffy blanket, but that would be uncomfortable to say the least.
"Are you going to braid my hair sometime today or should I come back tomorrow?" Dream sounded amused and Techno would bet that he was smirking.
The question made him refocus and actually make an attempt at braiding this time. Though he did take his sweet time combing.
"Did you get distracted by something?" The blonde asked as one of his ears flicked.
"Your hair is very soft." Techno mumbled, tugging a bit harder at a certain knot in the other's hair before resuming to weave the golden strands.
"You got a thing for soft stuff?" And even though he didn't get an answer the slightly harder tugging told Dream enough.
To hold the small braid together Techno used a green ribbon provided by Dream.
"Do you want me to make another braid?" He asked as he let go of the soft braid.
"Are you looking for an excuse to touch my hair?"
Techno scoffed but stayed silent.
Dream chuckled. "You can play with it if you want."
The piglin eyed his hair and fidgeted with his own fingers. Which the blonde found good enough an answer.
He leaned back laying his head in the other's lap and threw his legs over the arm wrest of the couch.
"Go ahead." He closed his eyes.
Techno fiddled with the strands. He wasn't going to lie about this, Dream's hair was currently his favourite thing to exist. Not only was it oh so soft, but it also allured to his piglin instincts by looking golden.
He wove the strands into small braids before untangling them again, but keeping the one with the ribbon. Repeating that process a few times with some tugging and inspecting in between.
Dream just laid there enjoying what was pretty much a head massage. He knew his hair was soft but he wouldn't ever have guessed that Technoblade of all people would enjoy playing with his hair this much.
"Who would have thought, the mighty Blood God has a soft spot for my hair?" He grinned, the only response he got was a huff and a particularly harsh pull on his hair.
"Careful, or I won't let you pet my hair again." It was an empty threat but Techno didn't need to know that.
He pretended not to notice how the hands in his hair became extra careful.
---
Phil came back to Techno's cottage to find Dream and Techno asleep on the couch. The piglin was resting with his head against the armrest, a certain blonde in his arms and face buried in said blonde's hair.
Neither of them seemed to mind though.