The song used in this chapter is called Calico Skies by Paul Mccartney. Listening to it made me think of these two and I couldn't stop thinking about how well it fit so here we are :D
Techno took your hand as he led you out of Pogtopia. Wilbur was left on his own and Tommy was with Tubbo and Niki talking things out. Techno was leaning on you rather heavily on the trek back to his base. He was exhausted from the events of the now previous day. Your clothes were still damp, your coat heavy on your shoulders. The sun was now over the trees, warming the cold air slightly. The sound of cows from the farm filled the rather quiet air as the two of you made your way past it. You needed to talk things out but for now you wanted to get Techno home and taken care of before that conversation was had.
the water was freezing on your legs as the two of you stepped into it and both of you were pulled into the vortex that was the elevator down into his base. The lanterns were still lit in his base, illuminating the small space rather nicely. It was a comforting space. It smelt of him and you could smell the faintest hint of smoke from the potions he had brewed. It was comforting, his base felt safe, it felt like you could breathe here unlike Manberg where you felt constricted, you always had someone breathing down your neck, always someone to watch you no matter where you were.
"Here." Your voice is soft as you lead Techno to his bed and making him sit down. "Where do you keep your med packs?" You ask. You carefully unclip the pin that held your coat in place and shuck the still wet piece of clothing off your shoulders. You set it on top of the crafting bench and you peel your armor off as well, setting it next to your coat so your clothes could dry.
"They're in the bottom chest." Techno answers. You can feel his gaze on you as you set your last pieces of armor. You clip the pin to your vest and you kneel down, digging through the disorganized chest to find a stack of medpacks underneath the rest of his items.
"Aha!" You hum as you pull one of the small packs out of the chest. You make your way over to Techno after you find a small roll of cloth in the chest as well. You move the pail of water that was half full next to the brewing stands closer to you so you can dip the cloth in it to clean the blood off of him. You carefully settle between his legs, giving him a small smile as he looks up at you. You can see the tiredness in his eyes and your heart aches.
"I can take care of this, Darlin'." Techno assures, his voice is lower than normal, his drawl slowed by his exhaustion.
"Just let me take care of you, Tech." You rip off a piece of cloth and dip it into the water, squeezing out the excess. He doesn't argue with you. He just lets you take his face in your hand and gently clean the dried blood off his face. You're much more gentle than he is when he tends to his own wounds. You hum quietly as you work and Techno's eyes slip closed as he lets you tend to him. When he's completely cleared of blood you open the medpack and cover the cut on his face with a bandage. "Techno." You tap on his cheek lightly and he lets out a quiet grumble in discontent. "Technoblade." You raise your voice slightly, speaking in your normal tone instead of the gentle tone you were using earlier.
His eyes open slightly and he lets out a tired "hmm?" You smile, laughing softly as you shake your head. "You can't sleep in your armor or your clothes because they're still wet and you're limping so I at least need to bandage your knee."
Techno sighs heavily and you step away so he can stand up. He steps into the enchantment area and back into a room just behind the bookshelves. You clean up the mess you've made and you put the bucket back where it was and place the medpack in its chest. You hear armor falling carelessly to the floor and you chuckle quietly, fondly.
No more than a few moments pass and Techno limps his way into the main area where his bed is. He's in a simple white shirt and some grey pants that hang low on his waist. His hair fell in a mess of waves and curls around his face, his braid no longer in place and he plopped down on his bed with a low groan.
"What did you do to your knee?" You ask, kneeling in front of him and pulling up the leg of his pants to assess the damage and you found his knee swollen and obviously sprained. You straightened his leg out, apologizing profusely at the hiss of pain he let out.
"I... Jumped off the podium." Techno says quietly. You immediately realize when that was and your heart breaks at the thought of him so panicked that he was careless with his own well being for you.
You wrapped his knee with the cloth, using it as a bandage you didn't have. When you finished you ripped and tied the bandage off to keep it in place. "Get some sleep." You tell him, getting up off the floor and moving to place the cloth back in its rightful chest. Techno grabs your arm and tugs you back towards him.
You blush as he pulls you towards him and the bed. "You need sleep, Darlin'." He mumbles tiredly.
"My clothes are wet, Techno." You argue though the offer is so tempting with the exhaustion that weighed heavily on your shoulders. The idea of curling up in bed with Techno is one that almost has you agreeing, even with the wet clothes.
"Go change."
"I don't have clothes here."
"Wear mine." He urges like it's the most obvious solution to your problem. You think sleepy Techno is precious, much more willing to allow you to take care of him and much more open about his wants than he normally is.
"Alright, Tech, I will." You smile, pulling yourself out of his hold and stepping into the small space behind the enchantment area. The room had chests lining the walls, it wasn't many, maybe five at most and you rolled your eyes at his armor scattered on the floor as well as his wet clothes. You opened the chests until you found shirts similar to the one he had stepped out in. You also found a set of older pants, they had holes in them but they seemed smaller than the others so you figured they would work just fine.
You peeled off your wet clothes, shuddering as the cool air hit your bare skin. His shirt smelled like him and it was soft, well worn. It was baggie on you, stopping just under your backside. You finished getting dressed and you had to tie the string of the pants, cinching the waist so they stayed on your body like they were supposed to. You laid your clothes out on top of one of the chests to dry. You returned to the main room to see Techno already curled up under the blue blanket sound asleep. The bed was tiny, no bigger than the one you had at your old home, there was enough room for you to lie down if you curled up against him. He'd asked you to lie with him and you had agreed so you climbed into bed with him. He stirred from his slumber, his eyes opening slightly, confused.
"It's just me, Techno, go back to sleep." You whisper. He slides his arm around your waist and pulls you into his chest. He buries his head into your shoulder, letting out a long, content sigh. You yawn, wrapping your arm around his shoulders and burying your face into his hair. Your chest aches with adoration for the man curled around you. You can feel his ear flicker as your breath ghosts over it and he snores softly. He's so warm, he's always so warm and you're so grateful for it especially when the chill of the cold air and wet clothes had left you freezing. You'd never laid with anyone like this before, held so securely and pressed so fully against them. Your body almost trembled from the contact but you couldn't move if you tried far too warm and far too tired to try and wrestle your way out of his grip.
You gingerly began to card your fingers through his hair, carefully working the knots out of his hair. His steady breathing and gentle snores lulled you into a warm, drowsy state. You kissed the side of his head. You wanted to sleep but your stomach was full of butterflies even as the tingling under your skin began to subside. You were lying with the man you held so incredibly dear and here he was completely content to be asleep with you in his arms. It was mind boggling. It felt surreal to be here, younger you would've laughed in someone's face if they told you that you would be here in your best friends arms, completely at peace for the time being.
You dozed off to the steady sound of Techno's breathing, your fingers tangled in Techno's hair.
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Techno groans lowly as he begins to wake up. He tries to move but a warm presence on his chest keeps him stuck. He doesn't remember falling asleep with anyone, nor does he remember much after you started tending to his wounds if he's completely honest so when he opens his eyes to find you contently asleep against his in one of his shirts he's a bit surprised but nowhere near disappointed.
Your hair is messy and your snores are soft, the dull light from the lanterns you'd both forgotten to turn off casts a soft almost ethereal glow against your skin. He could stay like this forever, he thinks... If his arm wasn't pins and needles beneath you. It's late evening according to the clock on the wall but you look at peace curled in his arms that he argues with himself for a few moments before he decides to get up. The two of you are going to need to eat and sooner rather than later he's going to have to speak to Tommy and try and resolve things so the revolution isn't strained more than it already is.
He's careful as he slides his hand out from underneath your head and the pillow and when he's successfully stood next to the bed he brushes your hair back from where it lays on your forehead and presses a gentle kiss to your temple. He can't explain the warmth in his chest that lingers at the thought of you or the way his heart aches with longing when he wakes up from dreams of you. He can, but he just hasn't quite admitted that to himself yet. He's constantly swarmed with thoughts of you and he had been since the first day he'd laid eyes on you outside of Pogtopia. You were lovely in the sunlight that peeked through the trees and the purple glow of the armor suited you. You'd left him breathless with the eyes he'd always dreamt of even years after he'd assumed you'd died you had haunted him with ideas of what he'd imagined you'd look like then instead of the young girl he'd held so dear.
He put steaks in the furnace to cook as he mindlessly looked through his chests. He had potatoes and he decided to throw those in the furnace as well, he needed to organize his chests, he hated how disorganized they were but he didn't have time to organize them. His knee has a dull ache each time he takes a step and he debates drinking a regeneration potion so he just doesn't have to deal with the pain, he really can't afford being injured like this especially with the revolution so close.
He decides to drink the potion, even though he has nothing else in his system. He rummages in his potions chest and pulls out one of the bottles of hot pink liquid. He sighs to himself before he pops off the cork and drinks the regeneration potion, grimacing at the taste of salt that coats his tongue he feels a warmth spread through his chest like he'd taken a shot of whiskey but this spreads through his limbs and curls around the base of his spine. He prays he doesn't end up throwing it up later. He glances up when he sees you move in his peripherals and he finds himself smiling fondly at the sight of you stretched out on his bed. the shirt you wear has ridden up and he can see two fresh, jagged scars on your stomach. Bile rises in his throat and not from the potion. He knows what they're from and they leave a bitter taste in his mouth. The voices in his head chant for revenge, bloodshed for the pain caused. He ignores them in favor of beginning to organize his chests to give himself something to do.
The voices only quiet for a few moments, a few blissful minutes of piece before they begin to shriek, their voices are grating, some high pitched and some gravelly but they're all warbled and overwhelming. They screech and moan, demanding bloodshed, demanding revenge and they don't stop, they refuse to quiet. It hasn't been this bad in so long, they haven't been so loud and so incessant in months.
He closes the chest he'd been organizing and he sits against it, struggling to quell the voices in his head but they only grow louder. He feels dizzy and his stomach aches they claw at the inside of his mind. they're so loud so fucking loud. His head falls in his hands and his eyes are screwed shut. His chest aches as he struggles to breathe, it feels like they've wrapped their greedy, ugly hands around his throat and refuse to let him breathe unless he gives them exactly what they want. He's so overwhelmed, his head is spinning and their screams have jumbled into a mess of unintelligible screeches that leave him tugging hard on his hair to try and ground himself. Everything's shrunk into nothing but inky blackness and the pain that burns in his lungs and spreads throughout his body with every breath he tries to take and he feels tears brim in his eyes. He hates this, he hates feeling like this, he feels like he did when he was young and he couldn't control the voices and he'd end up with blood on his hands and tears in his eyes with Phil finding him curled up and pitiful.
"Tech? Techno-" A familiar voice breaks through the loud barrier of noise, something he can grasp into in the sea of emptiness he's lost himself in. He feels hands that aren't his gently undo the fists in his hair, his hands are trembling, his nails dig into the meat of his palms, pain to keep himself tethered to reality. "Techno what can I do?" The voice is soft, far away but he clings to it desperately, a moment of reprieve in the constant storm that shoves him under the water.
The hands disappear from his body and he lets out a choked whimper, reaching his hands out to find nothing in the air. His eyes open but his vision is blurred the edges, fuzzy and he can't see you in his vision anymore. He smells something burning and he hears the muffled sound of a loud swear. his vision swims but he catches sight of your muddled outline and he says your name, a weak croak that he can't even hear over the swarm of voices that still scream in his head.
You reappear in his vision, knelt in front of him. Your movements are slow, cautious and you take his hands. He squeezes your hands tightly, struggling out a shuddering breath as he stares at the blurry image of your face. He can see the worry on your face and he feels pitiful, embarrassed that he can't fucking control himself enough to calm down and that you have to see this side of him. "Honey you have to breathe, Breathe with me, Techno." Your voice is soothing and the pounding in his temple lessens. You put his hand above your heart where your chest rises and falls steadily and he struggles to follow it. Each breath is a cold ache in his chest but he forces himself to breathe with you.
"Good, Good, Sweetheart can you talk to me? What can I do to help?" You ask.
Techno moves his hand to your waist and he pulls you towards him, he needs something to ground him, keep him from falling back under the torrent of water, a life raft to cling to. You follow his pull until you're straddling his thighs. You pull him into you, letting his head rest on your chest as he listens to the steady beat of your heart. You scratch his scalp lightly, carding your fingers through his hair. He takes a deep, shuddering breath, a breathless sob escapes him as air finally fills his lungs. You sing quietly, a song you'd heard from an old gentleman years ago. He lived in one of the first villages you'd stumbled into and he was different than the other villagers. He told you stories and taught you songs like the one you'd began to sing while he let you stay in his home until you got on your feet. The song reminded you of Techno, even more so now. "It was written that I would love you, from the moment I opened my eyes, and the morning when I first saw you, gave me life under calico skies,"
Techno's breathing begins to steady and the voices slowly but surely begin to quiet. His eyes close in relief and you rock the two of you back and forth, your hands slide from his hair to his shoulders, rubbing steady circles on his back. You're willing to sit here all night until he's calmed down completely even if your knees begin to ache and your legs go numb from the awkward position you're in huddled in in his lap with his arms curled around you. "I will hold you for as long as you like I'll hold you for the rest of my life."
Techno finally relaxed completely when the voices had completely quieted and he relished in the soft sound of your voice filling the silence in a way that's comforting. He loves listening to you, he could and has spent hours just listening to you talk but your singing voice is sweet, slightly raspy from sleep and your touch is so gentle, so tender and he doesn't know how to react to them. Nobody's ever dared to hold him this way, not even Phil who'd helped him through this more times than he could count and he comes to the terrifying realization that he doesn't want to live without you if his life will be filled with moments like this, held in your gentle embrace while you sing to him though maybe they'd be brought on by something other than a panic attack.
"Long live all of us crazy soldiers, Who were born under calico skies, May we never be called to handle, All the weapons of war we despise, I'll hold you for as long as you like, I'll hold you for the rest of my life, I'll hold you for as long as you like, I'll love you for the rest of my, For the rest of my life." You finish, letting the silence cover the two of you like a blanket. Techno's hands slide under your shirt, gently touching your soft, scarred skin and you press a kiss to his head, a soft content hum coming from your lips.
Techno's hand slide over your hips and to your stomach, his calloused fingers trace over the scars and you let out a sharp gasp. Techno freezes, his hands hover over your skin and his eyes are near frantic as he looks you over for any hint of pain.
Your brows furrow in confusion but when you meet his eyes your eyes soften. You place his hands back on your body where they once were "You didn't hurt me." you assure. "It... It tickled, is all."
His hands are gentle as his fingers trace the scars and you jolt, a laugh bubbles out of you as his hands trace over your sides and you wince slightly at the sudden sharp pain that shoots through you. His hands stop and you immediately put your hands on his to keep them where they lay on your skin "The scars are still sore." You say weakly.
Techno frowns, his brows furrow and you can see the hint of anger in his eyes that you know is directed at someone far away and you can see that he's tired from his panic attack. You kiss the space between his brows, biting your cheek to hold in your laugh at the flush that rises on his cheeks from the unexpected show of affection.
Eventually the two of you rise off the floor and you eat the potatoes that hadn't burnt along with two more pieces of beef that Techno carefully watches so that they don't burn a second time. It's late when you find the courage to ask about what happened, close to midnight. "What.. what was that about?"
Techno had a book in hand when you asked and he paused his reading to look up at you. He sets the book face down on the bed to keep his place and he swallows hard, shifting uncomfortably. You're sat next to him with a book of your own but the words had blurred together ages ago and you'd given up on trying to read any longer.
"The uh.. The voices got..." He pauses, letting out a loud sigh "They were overwhelming."
"Oh." is your only response. It feels intrusive to ask him to elaborate so you don't even though your curiosity begs you to ask.
"Thank you for... for helping." Techno says quietly, almost embarrassed and you know that he hated the fact that you had to see him spiral so far from sanity.
"I'll always be here, Tech." Your voice is as sweet as honey and you take his hand, intertwining your fingers and giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "As long as you'll have me."
"You can't be sayin' stuff like that princess, my heart can't take it." He chuckles quietly, his cheeks pink. He's so much different when it's just the two of you, especially now when the two of you were pressed together from head to toe to fit on the tiny mattress.
Your face heats up at the pet name and butterflies erupt in your stomach. You hide your face in his shoulder, obviously flustered. Princess. Why did you like that so much?
Techno chuckled lowly, amused at your reaction and far too tired to have a second thought about what he said. he brushed his thumb back and forth against yours. He catches your chin between his free hands thumb and forefinger, tilting your head up from his shoulder and he leans down, pressing a soft kiss to your lips.
You sigh into the kiss, your heart stuttering in your chest. When he pulls away he lingers a few centimeters away and you lean in again, your nose lightly bumping against his as your lips brushed against his in a feather light touch. You were quickly getting addicted to the feeling of his plush lips against yours and you deepened the kiss, relishing in the way his breath caught and his hand slid down to your waist to pull you into his lap so the kiss wasn't at such an awkward angle.
Your arms wrapped around his shoulders, pulling yourself closer to him and carding your fingers through his silky hair. Techno's hands were ever so gentle as they trailed up and down your spine, cautious like you were made of glass and he was afraid he would break you. Your mouths fell sleepily together, already soft and open, each one sending the butterflies in your chest into a frenzy of wild flutters. He was like a furnace alway radiating head and it only managed to lull you into the pull of sleep. When the two of you finally broke apart You laid your head on his shoulder, yawning tiredly.
"Get some sleep, Princess." Techno's voice rumbled, low and sleepy, pressing sleepy kisses against your neck as you began to doze off to the steady rise and fall of his chest, content in his arms.