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Tommy struggled against the arm that dragged him down the obsidian hallway. “No! Please-” he begged but Sam's grip was strong and unwavering, a firm glare on his face.
“You can't keep breaking into Pandora, Tommy” he growled, smoke poured out from his mouth as he spoke.
Tommy couldn't breath as he caught sight of that damned cell, it still smelled of tar and redstone. “Wait- wait!” Tommy tried to tug his arm away, Sam's claws only dug into his flesh. He yanked the blonde forward. “Stop struggling!”
Tommy froze in fear, his entire body was shaking as tears poured down his face. “Please…” he whispered, his voice strained. Blood slowly dripped from his arm.
—
Techno had been stuck in this cell for a week, he was beginning to worry that Phil had read his note wrong.
Being stuck with Dream wasn't so bad, they had been friends once before. Sure, he smelled of musk and blood, and…Tommy. But as long as Dream talked of George and escaping prison and not Techno’s ex-lover, then Techno could bear it.
But there were times in the past week or so when the scent became almost intoxicating, the scent of sadness and pain. Of Tommy.
Techno had heard of what Dream had done, he had seen the death messenge, the Revive book. He just hadn't gotten the chance to speak with Tommy himself, he wasn't sure he could.
“Do you think we could dig our way out?” Dream spoke, poking at the obsidian flooring with his finger.
“Do you have a diamond pickaxe?” Techno spoke with sarcasm, his head tilted back against the wall, he passed the time by taking naps. The overly warm cage and strong scent of his mate was the perfect hibernating conditions for a piglin hybrid like him.
“Maybe I would if you hadn't wasted our wish on a fucking bell” Dream grit his teeth, the bell sat next to Techno’s side.
He smiled smugly, ringing the bell just to piss Dream off. “Oh come on, you can’t still be mad about that” Techno wasn't stupid, he wasn't going to let someone as dangerous as Dream, especially to Tommy, out of this prison.
If Techno had any control over Dream’s situation, he'd rot in this cell.
“For someone with a reputation like yours, I'd assume you would be smarter-” Dream spoke with a growl, Techno cut him off by ringing the bell.
“What was that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of telling people to subscribe to Technoblade”
“What does that even mean-” Dream was once again cut off by the bell, the mask that covered most of his face was cracked and broken. Revealing a single crazed eye. It glared strongly at Techno.
The two returned to silence, listening to the lava boil as Techno debated another nap.
Techno smelled him before he heard him.
That strong scent of fear, a scent of warmth that only belonged to Tommy. Then he heard his cries, begging to be let go.
Techno didn't know what was happening, his instincts still saw Tommy as his. His little runt. The voices were mixed, some agreed. The little raccoon had dug a nest into his heart and refused to leave.
Techno ignored them, both prisoners turned to listen to the gears of the platform, two figures appeared before the lava parted.
Dream crawled backwards, stuffing himself into the corner as the warden appeared. Techno instead was much more focused on the thick scent of blood that flooded to his nose.
Tommy's lip was busted and bleeding, cuts littered his body. Some were old, but some were new. Bruises that covered him, Techno’s eyes zeroed in on his arm, still firmly held in Sam's hand.
His sharp claws dug deep into the soft skin, Techno growled lowly at the sight, his pointy ears pinned back.
Tommy was thrown roughly to the floor, the obsidian did nothing to soften his fall. The warden let out a hiss and a growl before disappearing behind the wall of lava.
Tommy had quickly scrambled to a far corner, tucking his head between his knees as he shook and tried to steady his breathing, which only grew worse by the second.
Dream tilted his head from the corner, his eyes never leaving the blonde. Techno didn't like the look he had on his face as he looked at Tommy.
He wasn't sure what to do, Tommy silently sobbed with his back against the wall, when Dream scooted back to his place, Tommy flinched back. All it did was move him closer to Techno.
Techno knew just how scared Tommy was of Dream, the man having abused and tortured him, stalked and manipulated him, killed him…
Techno knew that Dream’s stare was only making Tommy's panicking worse,.
he couldn't just give him his cape to hide under, Tommy would overheat. Plus, they weren't on very good terms, he was probably just as scared of Techno as he was Dream.
So he remained in his spot, faking sleep but keeping a watchful eye on Dream.
Dream didn't make any attempt to move forward, but he never looked away. Prime, it was like the man never blinked.
Tommy had been slowly inching his way over towards him, Techno was pleased with how his breathing slowed the closer the boy got. Even if he thought that Techno was asleep, the fact that he found comfort in him still made his heart sore.
Tommy didn't try to move any closer once he had gotten within a few inches of the piglin, probably hoping to find safety from the eyes that bore into him from the other side of the cell.
Dream started to hum to himself, a weird smile on his face when he saw that Tommy had once again flinched at the sound of his voice. Techno was growing tired of his antics, of his needless toying with his mate.
A soft growl poured out of him before he had time to think, Tommy flinched at the sound but when he looked up, expecting to see Techno glaring at him, instead found the piglin staring harshly at Dream.
He set a hand next to Tommy after a moment, his palm facing up. Tommy stared at it hesitantly.
“It's just me” Techno whispered, Tommy looked at him for a good long moment before he took his hand into his own, squeezing it tightly and bringing it to his lap.
Techno gives a satisfied huff as Tommy scoots closer into his side.
Dream stops humming, his eyes bore into them. Staring them down.
It felt like they were trapped in a room with an obsessive psychopath, oh wait-
Techno’s ear twitched as he could hear a lever being pulled, the platform once again being moved towards them. Techno wrapped a protective arm around the front of Tommy as the lava fell away.
Techno certainly did not miss the smell of ash and burn, hoping to leave it in the nether.
Sam entered the cell, a triton in his hand. Tommy shook violently, curling further into Techno’s side.
Sam did little more than glance at Tommy with an apathetic glare, grabbing Dream by his collar and taking him out of the cell.
Dream thrashed and screamed but just as with Tommy, he could not escape Sam's grip.
When the lava flowed back down, and the platform squeaked until it halted to a stop, Tommy's body melted with relief.
He spent a moment catching his breathing, he held Techno’s hand firmly between his own.
“I'm sorry” Tommy muttered quietly, leaning his head onto Techno’s shoulder. “For everything”
Techno wanted nothing more than to scoop Tommy up, take him home and bandage his wounds, wrap him in blankets and cuddle in his nest for days. He huffed.
He pulled Tommy as close as he could, settling his arm on his waist. He leaned his chin on top of Tommy's head. “It's alright, Runt”
Tommy believed him, letting the piglin scent him for the first time in almost a year.
Techno let out a pleased hum as Tommy tilted his head to give him access to his neck. Techno was immediately on his scent gland, pressing soft kisses as his teeth grazed across his skin. A faint mark from years before was still visible, a perfect mark of Techno’s teeth.
Tommy trembled in his arms, he felt more safe then he had at any point in the past few months. Caged in Techno’s arms, stuck in prison.
They could hear as Dream was dragged away, kicking and screaming as he was stuffed into another cell.
It would only be a matter of time before Phil showed up, ready to take them home.