Chapter Text
“What?! Techno are you sure? I mean they’ll be fine without–”
“No,” Techno nods to himself, “We’re going to leave tomorrow.” They didn’t have many things that wouldn’t fit inside Wilbur’s car, and the few things that wouldn’t they didn’t need anyway.
The thought of moving terrified him, but he hadn’t known about Wilbur’s family. And after they put some ring masters in jail, others would be coming after them, or maybe they would as revenge.
“Okay, but I’m putting things in the car, you’re going to sit on the couch and watch me do it.” Techno nods. All he had to do was lock the house and take the deed with him and makes a note to tell one of his friends who was having problems with stable housing that he was going to be renting out his out.
Wilbur helps Techno to the couch. Techno’s limbs feel weak and he’s glad that Wilbur helped him. He watches Wilbur pack their things into boxes that Techno didn’t know they had.
He shoves away the thought that maybe Wilbur had been preparing to leave him anyway.
“I hope you know Dad is going to adopt you,” Wilbur says as night falls. “There’s only our hoard and some more books but then we can leave. I’m tired.” Wilbur plops beside him on the couch and leans against him. Techno slings an arm over Wilbur’s shoulders and pulls Wilbur into a side-hug on the couch. They watch movies until pizza arrives at the door.
They fall asleep on the couch, Wilbur had texted his friend, Quackity and he was going to be the tenant of their old house. They left all the big furniture, and some food. Quackity had a few friends who would also be moving in with him.
Techno remembers meeting the noirette at some point, but doesn’t remember much else. Wilbur swears up and down Quackity will treat the house well.
Techno just doesn’t want squatters in his house, he doesn’t care what happens to it.
Techno wakes up to find Wilbur gone and Techno whines softly, standing to look for his brother.
He finds Wilbur in the kitchen, cooking some breakfast.
He lays on his brother, looking over his shoulder to see eggs in a non-stick pan. “Can we bring this pan? I might’ve stolen it from Dad.” Wilbur asks, sheepishly looking at Techno. Techno straightens and nods, reaching to turn the stove off.
Wilbur swats his hand away.
“It’s burnin’ Wil.” Techno comments.
Wilbur yelps and turns to fix the eggs. Techno laughs and they eat the breakfast before piling into the car. They chat and bicker for a while.
The city streets fade to highways surrounded by farmland and grasslands.
They stop at gas stations for snacks and gas every few hours and they arrive at a small country town. As they pull into the gas station, Wilbur calls a greeting to the worker at the counter.
They talk like old friends for a bit before Wilbur notices Techno drooping beside him.
He helps Techno to the car and fills the tank before driving out of the town and into the countryside.
Only ten minutes later, they turn onto a country road and they drive through trees. Soon, Techno watches a two-story house pull into view.
“How’s your leg feel? And your shoulder? Are you hurting?” Wilbur asks for the the thousandth time.
“For shit’s sake, I’m fine, Wil, stop worryin’,” Techno complains as Wilbur helps him out of the car. They hobble together to the door and Wilbur knocks, his familiar knocking of one knock, two knocks, one knock, then three thudding on the wooden door.
“Coming!” Someone calls from inside. The door swings open and an avian with big black wings stands on the other side of the door, pale blonde hair framing his face and green eyes staring back at him. “Wil! And I presume this is Techno? What– Are those wounds? Is that a bruise?” The blond man begins to fuss over them and ushers them inside. He makes a loud trill and footsteps come running down a flight of stairs.
“What is it Dad?” A smaller, blond boy with curly hair comes around the corner and gasps when he sees Wilbur. “Wilbur!”
“Toms!” The boy jumps into Wilbur’s arms and they hug while the older man fusses over Techno’s wounds. “I’ve missed you both!”
“I missed you too!” The boy looks over Wilbur’s shoulder at Techno. “Is that the Technoblade?! Let me down! Let me down!” The boy jumps out of Wilbur’s arms, gold - gold- wings flapping happily as he stands beside his dad, staring down at Techno with sapphire blue eyes.
“Hi!” The boy says ecstatically. “I’m Tommy!”
“Hello, Tommy,” Techno replies, wincing when the older avian presses too hard against one of his wounds.
“Tell me what happened to him, Wil,” the older avian says.
“I’m fine–”
“No, you’re not,” the avian interrupts, looking at Wilbur expectantly.
Techno huffs in slight jealousy that Wilbur wasn’t close enough to him, and was paying attention to someone who wasn’t sounder. He had to remind himself that Wilbur’s sounder was more than just Techno.
Wilbur lists every injury, the older avian’s eyes getting darker and darker the more injuries Wilbur tells him of.
“How are you awake right now?” The avian asks, holding Techno’s shoulders.
“I’m fine! I just–”
Wilbur sits beside Techno and leans against Techno’s side. “No you’re not. If Phil’s worried, it’s for a good reason.”
“Tommy, take them to the nest, I’ll bring their things in.”
Techno growls at the thought of someone who wasn’t sounder touching their hoard. Phil’s eyes snap to him and he hisses.
“Dad, you better bond with Techno before you touch our hoard. His instincts don’t see you as sounder yet.” Wilbur says immediately, trying to move away from Techno.
Techno reaches toward Wilbur his hands are pinned together by the avian– Phil’s hands.
“I think you’re right. You bring your things in, and Tommy can help.” Techno feels less agitated at Tommy helping, but he does not like the idea of being alone with Phil.
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Techno says, gritting his teeth. “Phil can–”
Phil hisses and begins dragging Techno away, his hands pinned. Techno’s instincts bubble up, threatening to drag him under.
“Look, man, it’s really not that big of a deal,” Techno tries to placate.
“It is. Everything in this house is mine, and you’re in it, that makes you mine.”
Techno snarls as Phil shoves him into the nest. He tries to leave but Phil sits on him. With how weak his body is, he can’t shove Phil off.
“Get off,” he growls.
“No.” Phil looks down at Techno and Techno growls, trying to claw his way out from under Phil. “Knock it off.”
“No!” Techno snarls, “Sounder-come-come-now-help.”
“I’m not going to just let you run around my house thinking you’re not in my flock. Wilbur was mine first.” Techno’s instincts freeze. “If you want him to be yours, you have to be mine.”
Then Techno’s instincts add the fuel to the fire of his insecurities.
Wilbur was with his old sounder now. Why would he want to be with Techno?
Techno settles, not listening to anything else that Phil tries to say. His instincts are mourning the fact that he led himself straight to his own demise.
He lays there, not responding to Phil’s words for a long time. He thought he heard Wilbur try to come in once, but he didn’t have his sounder nearby, so he must’ve heard wrong.
He doesn’t sleep that night, just stares blankly at the wall thinking about how much better off Wilbur would be without him there, dragging him like a ball and chain on his ankle.
Over the next few days, Phil tries to get Techno to eat and drink. While Techno doesn’t fight back against Phil, he doesn’t react. He just stares blankly in front of him while Phil practically force-feeds him.
Eventually, he hears Phil leave and Techno knows he’s going to go tell Wilbur that he’s got to tell Techno to leave.
His instincts have accepted that Phil could be his sounder leader, his father, but without Wilbur, it all feels useless.
Wilbur was the first piglin to make him feel safe, make him feel loved.
And now Techno had just dug himself a hole by trying to give Wilbur every ounce of happiness he could.
The door slams back open and he hears chuffs.
He doesn’t understand the chuffs, but he looks around. Wilbur’s hands move Techno around until Techno was wrapped in Wilbur’s arms.
Techno tries to growl, but Wilbur’s growl startles him back to his floaty, drifty land where nothing hurt, but nothing felt good.
Where he existed, but only barely.
He tries a couple of times to push Wilbur away, but it’s half-hearted and it fails every time.
He hears Wilbur talking to him, can hear Wilbur saying his name, but it flows through one ear and out the other like sand through the two sections of an hourglass.
He hears Wilbur make various sounds, clearly trying to get him to respond. Techno doesn’t.
He sits and stares.
He feels so empty. He doesn’t know what to do or what to say, he’s not even sure what’s happening.
He feels like his world is ending and the earth will swallow him whole soon.
He hears Wilbur’s harsh tone that he gets when he’s anxious or worried. Techno wishes he could ease that for his brother, but he can’t.
Wilbur wouldn’t want that would he? He’s going to leave Techno soon, so why should he pay attention?
“If you want to stay with Wilbur, you have to be mine.” But Techno didn’t want to be Phil’s.
Did that mean he had to leave?
But they wouldn’t let him leave.
He whines and rolls onto his side away from the hallucination. That’s what the illusion has to be right? He hasn’t seen Wilbur in so long, and the other probably doesn’t even want to see him.
It’s been hard, coming to terms with the fact that his body is failing to function, and he knows that if he leaves this house like this, there’s a high possibility of him dying.
Without Wilbur, what is there to live for?
Then he hears a panicked squeal.
He jolts upright, instincts dragging him under. “Sounder-unsafe-protect-protect-where-danger?”
“There we go,” his sounder says. Techno grabs him and holds him close. “Techno! Let me go!”
Something grips Techno’s mind as he remembers that Wilbur wasn’t his anymore. Techno immediately pushes Wilbur away.
He stands and wobbles on his feet. He starts toward the door, intent on getting out of his ex-sounder’s den.
Abandoned-bad-brute-leave-leave. rings through his head like the echoing sound of a gunshot in an alley.
He’d been foolish. Stupid, even, for thinking he could have a chance to have Wilbur back.
He’d been a moron to give Wilbur back to his old sounder, and now they don’t have a spot for Techno to join. He needs to leave.
He grips the doorknob but it doesn’t turn. It’s stuck. He looks for a lock but doesn’t see one.
Why won’t they just let him leave?
Clearly, he wasn’t meant to be here.
“Techno! Hey!” Wilbur tries to grab his arm but Techno doesn’t let him. He tries to push Wilbur away again but Wilbur ducks around him this time and pushes him back into the room. “I know Phil said you couldn’t stay if you didn’t bond with him, but you can, I promise, Tech.”
“Bad-brute-no-want,” Techno whines.
Wilbur sighs and reaches around Techno’s head and pulls their heads together. “I want you here, Techno. I’m not letting you leave thinking that I exiled you. I’m not like them. You’re stuck with me forever, remember?” Techno looks into his sounder’s eyes and is comforted by the love that rests there.
“Love-brute?”
“Love-brute.” Techno lets Wilbur pull him back to the nest and Wilbur remains there with Techno. They’re content for now. Techno knows he has to try the whole bonding with that Phil guy again, in a distant way where very little makes actual sense and thoughts flow through his mind like a rain droplet in a river.
“I’ll convince you one day that you’re the most precious treasure in my hoard,” Wilbur says as he hands Techno some of their hoard. Wilbur places a few golden trinkets in Techno’s lap. Techno puts some of the necklaces and bracelets on his brother.
Techno purrs when Wilbur brushes through his hair.
“You’re so bad at taking care of yourself,” Wilbur comments, “Techno?”
Techno turns to look at his brother curiously, chuffing acknowledgment at his brother. “Yes-sounder-attention-have.”
“Will you stay? Do you promise not to leave?” Techno begins to nod but Wilbur cuts him off. “Even if you feel like I want you gone, I’d rather you stay than leave. If I’m mad at you, I want you to stay here. Don’t leave me, please, Techno. I was so scared when Phil told me you’d spiralled.” Wilbur places his forehead against Techno’s and Techno chuffs reassuringly.
“No-leave-promise-stay-stay-promise-promise,” Techno responds.
“You’re so out of it,” Wilbur laughs, patting Techno’s shoulder.
Techno purrs in contentment as his brother settles down in the nest. All the energy that Techno had used in the last hour has tired him out and he falls asleep quickly.