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Honestly, Techno knew that he probably shouldn’t have been poking around in this stash without supervision. It was a mess, bottles only half labeled, sticky substances making his roughly clawed fingers tacky. But his back was killing him, after all the days of heavy lifting recently, trying to help finish one of Phil’s building projects. He knew that the man wouldn’t have let him help if he knew about the growing ache in his body, so he’d been keeping quiet about it - but now it was getting annoying.
One open bottle was apparently a bit different than the rest, as he found out. He caught a whiff of something that smelled frankly rancid, rearing back with a snort, shaking his head to clear the scent from his nose.
But it lingered, like spoiled meat, sticking to the inside of his nostrils.
“Ugh- come on,” he grumbled, picking up the offending bottle properly to read the label. It took his eyes a few moments to pick out the tiny lettering, especially under the gross brown of half-spilled and congealed liquid. “I mean… it is for bodily pain…”
Apparently finding what he had wanted, Techno grabbed up the loose stopper that he found and turned to go as he tipped the bottle. A quick dab of the thick potion to the pad of one finger, and he licked off the foul-tasting substance. Piglins were pretty sturdy, especially when it came to anything with poison or rotten substances, so he wasn't worried about the potion actually being rancid. If it was, his body would process it with only a little upset.
It didn’t take him long to return to his room, where he found a cloth to wipe off the bottle, setting it aside for later. He wasn’t feeling any change from the potentially turned potion, but perhaps later he could try to figure out what had gone into it. There had to be some sort of actual painkiller potion around somewhere, right?
If there wasn’t, he might look into making it himself. There were times when it was needed, even if he was graced with the strength of a piglin. Like now, for example.
He kept himself busy with idle tasks, eying the bottle that sat on his dresser every once in a while, considering that he might need more than just the dab that he took, though he was sure that it was all the label said he’d need. Piglins were built a bit different than humans after all, it wouldn’t be too surprising.
But it seemed like that wasn’t the case, as the moment he stepped towards the dresser he found his head growing… fuzzy.
Kind of like the weightless moment before sleep took him, the buzz of blood loss, or the lightheaded rush of rage that overtook him when the voices suddenly took hold of his sword arm. But there was a distinct lack of any threat that the voices in his head attempted to scream at him for, so he assumed that it was… just one of those days where he had forgotten to fall asleep for a while. It happened every once in a while, when he got too focused on his projects, and with the work he had been putting in for Phil, he wouldn’t be surprised.
Techno sat down on his bed, the weight of his seven and a half foot frame making the entire thing creak gently, and sighed. His limbs felt heavy, and yet restless at the same time. Tired, but not anywhere near exhausted enough to actually fall asleep. Like he wanted to move, while simultaneously sinking into the mattress below him.
There was something that was attempting to steer him up to his feet, despite the fact that his head was filled with fog that made him crave sleep.
He was caught between the sensations for what felt like hours, disoriented, before his door slammed open, and he looked up in surprise. There… was Tommy, saying something, talking a bit too quickly for Techno to keep up with at the moment. His mouth was moving, and there was a lot of noise coming from him, but his brain didn’t seem to be translating anything into any sort of actual meaning.
Not that he was even trying, really, because the moment that the piglin looked up at Tommy, his eyes were drawn by the gold.
Red eyes were mesmerized, staring, and Techno became aware of his body lurching upwards. He stepped towards the boy with an embarrassing, affectionate coo that was entirely unlike him as he reached out. In just a moment, the boy went from chattering about something or other that had happened, to violently cursing out the piglin as he was enveloped in a hug.
Now Techno definitely wasn’t listening, instead simply chuffing and reaching up to touch the boy’s hair. It was so pretty, glittering in the light as he turned them towards the window just a little more. Rough, clawed hands ran through those gold curls, and Tommy tried to wriggle out of his grip.
That wouldn’t do, to have his treasure running out on him. Fix that, he thought to himself, and in a moment Techno had physically lifted the boy off his feet, holding him close like an oversized teddy bear as he nuzzled into Tommy’s hair. Perfect.
“PHIL! WILBUR!” The boy cried out, wriggling and flailing, trying to break out of the warrior’s hold with little success.
Techno only chuffed at his little brother, affectionate at the attempts that seemed so weak against his own strength. This was why he was the protector, the helper, the warrior. The rest of them had to be taken care of, before they got hurt.
Footsteps pounded down the hallway towards them, before Phil and Wilbur both barrelled through the door in response to Tommy’s screams, only to be stopped in their tracks at the sight before them.
The great Technoblade, warrior feared by all, cuddling his younger brother close to his chest, nuzzling against his hair with a rumbling purr building in his chest. It was a rare sight to see Techno be physically affectionate at all, much less like this.
And yet, the moment Phil stepped closer, Techno looked up at him, blinking lazily. Another happy rumble came out, and he pulled the shorter man close as well, both blondes held against him. He had to set Tommy down on his feet again, though he made sure his grip was secure before the boy could escape.
“Tech?” Phil was caught off guard by the sudden affection directed at him, the way Techno wrapped a strong arm around both him and Tommy each. And when the tall piglin nuzzled into his hair, he squirmed around just enough to give Wilbur a shocked, confused look. “Wilbur? You have any idea?”
In return, Wilbur huffed and stared at the rest of them. “Tech, you gold-hoarding bastard, seriously?”
“Is that what this is about?!” Tommy cried, only drawing Techno’s attention once again, receiving another affectionate forehead-press.
“I mean, I don’t see what else it could be,” Wilbur said with a pout. He stepped closer, looking up at his self-proclaimed twin with his arms spread wide. “What about me, big guy? You can’t just hoard Phil and Tommy.”
Techno looked at him in a sort of fuzzy confusion, leaning over to bump his head against Wilbur’s, but making no move to hold onto him like he did with the others. Of course he adored his brother, but- the shine of golden hair kept his attention, dragging his gaze away once more.
“Oh, come on-” Wilbur pouted, muttering as he turned on his heel and stomped out of the room, leaving the two blondes at the mercy of the piglin.
Luckily for the two of them, Techno didn’t feel the need to stay standing while waiting for the brunette. Instead, he pulled both Phil and Tommy to the bed properly, wrangling them onto the sheets, staying close while also doing his best to make sure they were comfy. At that point, Techno was entirely lost to his instincts and whatever odd high he was on, huffing a warning when Tommy tried to move away again.
Thankfully, this time Phil was the one to grab the boy and keep him still, whispering to him with a grin. Whatever he said seemed to settle the kid, as a grin spread across the younger boy’s face now. Techno wasn’t sure what he said, but he wasn’t going to question it - not if it meant that his treasure wasn’t trying to move away.
Once he was sure that the two were settled in properly, he came close to hold onto both of them again, pressing his forehead to each of theirs with a pleased rumble. It was warm and comfortable, his family close to him, gold close enough to touch and hold, strands slipping through his fingers as he played with Phil’s hair.
When the door opened again, he looked up and felt his brain stall once more. Wilbur had apparently decided to get in on the events of the day, and decked himself in the material that piglins adored so much.
Golden rings, golden earrings, necklaces laced around his throat, bracelets on his arms. All gifts that Techno had gotten him at one point or another, as bets or congradulations, presents for holidays and birthdays. It made what might’ve been left of his brain shut off completely, and this time when Wilbur came close, Techno reached out for him, taking his hand and pressing those gold rings against his cheek with a happy purr starting up in his chest, loud enough that Phil laughed beside him.
Wilbur found a way to squish himself close to Tommy in the bed that was now growing cramped, grinning at the three of them.
“That’s better. I can’t believe you’re mistaking their hair for gold, dumb piggy brain.”
It didn’t entirely register to Techno, but he knew it was an insult, right? A short, halfhearted huff of something scolding left him, a barely-there break in his purring. The steady rumbling of the sound was starting to shake his chest, he was sure that they could all feel it through the bed.
Still, Wilbur just giggled and reached out and patted the top of Techno’s head. Tommy grumbled but finally let himself sink into the mattress between his family.
Something in Techno told him that this would be embarrassing later, but he didn’t care in this moment. His instincts were happy, he had all the things that made him comfortable pressed in around him, and the odd jitter of energy in his limbs had finally settled.
Pulling all of them in close, he gave another, rough chuff that stuttered with his purring, and let his eyes slip closed.
~~~
“Oh- I think he’s waking up.”
“Do you think he’ll remember all that?”
“I- I mean, I hope so.”
“Really? I’m kinda hoping that he doesn’t.”
“Wilbur,” came Phil’s low warning, his voice amused but scolding all the same. “Don’t mess with him too much, who knows what caused… all that.”
Techno barely cracked his eyes opened to see the brunette sitting up, quietly smothering his chuckles. “I kinda want to try whatever caused this-”
“Wil, no,” Phil whispered, horrified.
“I just wanted some painkillers,” Techno grumbled, his voice gravelly with sleep still.
With that, Wilbur let out a loud cackle, abandoning his attempts to keep quiet.
At Technoblade’s side, he felt another body shifting against him, and he shifted to make sure that Tommy was still comfortable. The boy was a heavy sleeper, some of Wilbur’s laughter wouldn’t be enough to wake him.
He took a few moments to stare at the ceiling, not daring to meet the eyes of either Wilbur or Phil. He knew that he would be faced with amusement either way, teasing him for the way that he had fallen into a pit of absolute instinct, with minimal human thought left over.
God, how much had he purred? He could almost feel it in his throat, the roughness that was more commonly felt when he spent too long talking.
“Are you feeling okay, mate?” Phil leaned over, running his hand over Techno's hair. “You were really out of it earlier.”
He nodded, eyes sliding shut once again. He was more coherent now, but relaxed enough that he still felt no real need to move out of the pile of bodies that his instinct-riddled self had pulled together. Techno was surrounded by his family and loved ones, and he couldn’t argue against that even if he wanted to.
Later, he’d suffer the consequences of whatever had taken hold of him. For now, he simply allowed himself to soak in the peace of silence and tactile affection.
That is, until Tommy raised his head with a scowl and sleep-mussed hair, glaring at Techno.
“I’m using this as blackmail,” the boy declared, before planting his face back into the pillow that he had raised it from, pulling laughter from all of them.