Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In this part of the world where the story takes place, there are two large villages that share in between them unclaimed forest. 

The first one is bloodied and pulsating, ripping itself from the nation it used to be a part of and coiling around its stretch of land, snarling and bleeding for years before the war ended and they grasped victory from odds stacked against them. Manburg by all accounts, was never supposed to exist. But it did, dragging itself along the ground and hissing at anything that tried to get too close. 

Watched over by J. Schlatt, considered President by some, Dictator by others. He had watched over with his Vice, Quackity, before the man had dipped back into the shadows, fading out shortly after the war had ended, barely a whisper of wind.

Many Manburgians considered both of them corrupt, and they wouldn’t be wrong. Schlatt is a greedy man and would stop at nothing to get what he wants. Quackity had been more discreet with his deeds of gray, but if you ask any member of the Cabinet where Manburg gets its money, they dance around the question as if hot coals have strategically been placed around, and if you ask any member of the police force why drug lords are free to walk in the street, they shrug and tap their pockets where wallets reside.

 It’s a crime-ruled settlement, corruption is what you grip onto as the ground shakes with the wails of the cheated, nobody is truly clean there, even if blood isn’t on your hands, it can transfer with the handshakes of people you call friends. 

There were arguments amongst the residents of the city of war, the main one being how the city was put on the map, how they became known , how they became their own thing, something that wasn’t just a small house placed in an expanse of mountains and trees labeled ‘Village’ after they had fought so hard for freedom. 

Weapons are manufactured in Manburg! It was our crafting genius that gave us a place on the maps!

Whisper the deniers of the crime of their home. 

Lies! 

Say the soldiers, who never catch a break.

It’s the blood! Blood put Manburg on the map. A bloodied general's thumb telling his army where to attack after we fought against their tyranny! We are only here and notable because we rose, our victory against the Son of Death.

The truth!

 Scream the cabinet, who’ve seen everything. 

It’s us! We put Manburg on the maps! Our corruption! Our filth! We’re a stain on parchment and we’re there as a warning! 

Manburg fights within itself, surprising everyone by how long it has remained standing.

The southern one is similarly named ‘L’Manburg’, the more peaceful of the two. 

L’Manburg was more kingdom than village, ruled graciously over by Alastair Eret, a warmer character. 

Eret was a noble and kind ruler, and their influence showed in the kingdom. L’Manburgians were welcoming and kind, lending hands and clothing to any traveler resting within their vast walls. They all had an affinity for gardening and farming, spending most of their day tending to crops or trading in the square. Eret would be amongst them, asking for opinions to help decide whether or not a new law should be placed, or if they should expand. That’s what people liked about L’Manburg, its ruler was present and truly cared for their subjects. There were some rumors about some shady business done under the table to ensure Erets reign, but that's all they were. 

Rumors.  

When asked about the outcome of the war, the tactics they used, Eret would simply smile and wave it off. ‘We lost, there’s nothing more or less we can say,’

The kingdom itself was gorgeous, a sprawling expanse of buildings that crawled up against a mountain where Erets palace resided. Flowers and trees exploded between buildings, a river cut through the middle, where small boats bobbed.

L’Manburg was the escape from filth, the gateway to a cleaner life. 

Akin to its more violent neighbour, small disagreements were had over how the place was put on the map.

It was Eret! She pushed us into greatness! 

Say the bright-eyed historics, who saw old leaders get a taste of greatness, but never managed to hold onto it.

Incorrect! It was our farming! We provide food to many kingdoms and villages of The Esempi! Kinoko! Badlands! Boomerville! Hell, we even provide for some small villages of The Arctic Empire!

Yell the proud farmers as they fix their hats in the shade. 

It’s because we’re a subcapital of Esempi, you idiots.  

Mutter the tired interns, who just want to sleep. 

Sandwiched between the two, was the forest. 

The forest was lush and green, covering a large expanse of land between the two areas. It used to be fought over bitterly, with former leaders of the settlements wanting to expand their land. Eventually, so much blood was spilled that it was decided it belonged to nobody, and it melted into Greater Esempi land. 

Few people resided in the forest, self-sufficient people whom disliked big populations. 

Some of them were legally citizens of one of the neighbouring kingdoms, going there for jobs during the day and returning at night and on weekends for resting. Others did their own thing, building their little houses and planting their own food. 

It had become sort of its own community, nobody was really friends with the other residents, but if word got around that one of them wasn’t feeling well or needed some expensive supplies, food, drink, and money could be found on said persons doorstep within three days. 

Among these forest residents was Toby ‘Tubbo’ Underscore, a goat hybrid, Tubbo was a kind soul, but shy. He would help anyone who he came across in a heartbeat, but when it came to approaching people when he needed help, it was more so a heart attack than heart beat . Due to his hybrid genes, he was smaller in height than other kids his age and therefore lost a lot of the size swagger that they had.  

Nobody exactly knew where Tubbo came from, but one look at his extensive amount of trinkets would tell you that he somehow came from everywhere . But he never opened up to anyone who asked, and the only vaguely interesting thing you could divulge from him was that he didn’t know jack about some of the most important rulers of the lands. He said it was due to his constant moving, and general lack of interest in them. 

He appreciated his simple life, he kept bees to make honey which he sold at both the Manburg and L’Manburg markets, he visited Niki at her bakery when he felt like socializing, and he worked hard on his Redstone contraptions. 

Tubbo was well known both in and out of the forest, he was likable , which the boy used to his advantage, because while he was kind and nice, he also had a nice streak of chaos. People recounted times when dandelions grew blue and purple around his house after he discovered the craft of potion making, or the time when shopkeepers had to keep security on a 24 hour watch due to their stock of Netherwart depleting at night. 

Today was a quieter day for him, he had decided, spending more time with his beloved bees and working still on some vital essentials of his house. 

He crouched down in front of a fairly large beehive, a beautiful plant still in its pot set in front of him, he was still relatively new to the area, and if he wanted to keep making steady money he would need more bees. 

“It’s alright, I won’t smoke you,” he coaxed gently, backing away as a few bees curiously crawled out of their hive. “This is a sunflower, a baby one. I noticed that you don’t have many sunflowers around your hive and I wondered if you’d like to try it,” he said, smiling softly as one of the bees buzzed forwards. He sat back as more bees flew towards the sunflower, warm grass pressing against his palms. “Alright, I need some wood, I’ll leave you to your plant,” He stood, brushing dirt off his palms. 

Gripping his axe tightly, he wandered a bit away from the hive to start swinging at nature, picking a good tall and sturdy tree as his first victim. Due to it being early spring, a few branches were still leafless, green buds sprouting hopefully towards the sun. 

A few well-placed swings later, a soft thud filled the forest as the tree fell. 

Cleanly disposing of the excess branches swiftly, the brunet lifted the end of the log and began dragging it back to his home. 

The bees were lazily pollinating the sunflower when he passed the area, a few of them buzzing over to see what he was doing. 

Bark scraped into his palms, giving him a few slivers that would be a bitch to get out in the future, sweat poured down his face with the sun beating down on him, his bones ached. Heavy lifting wasn’t yet something Tubbo considered himself good at, he was strong, yes, but he was elegantly strong. Able to propel himself across long distances without much hindrance, climb trees and leap across branches like a forest spirit, or cut through water like a warm knife to butter. 

Finally, he reached his cottage. Setting down the log with a huff and preparing to strip it of its bark. 

Roofing still needed to be worked on, and there was a certain doorway that needed some excess support, so maybe he could recycle the rest of the log for some fences for his garden. 

Tubbo had so much he wanted to do, but it was a slow and tedious process. Eventually, he wanted to create an automatic farming system, or some sort of greenhouse for plants for his bees, but until then his house was the main priority. That and money. Money was important.

He hacked at the bark until he could shove his fingernails under and peel it off. 

Time passed achingly until there were a few relatively tidy piles of bark and one stripped tree log, the sun had dipped lower in the sky. The easiest part was over. Tubbo took a long swing of water, his muscles already aching. 

Deciding to take a break, he placed his axe in his inventory and began meandering in the direction of a quaint clearing that had a nice few flowers. 

Sunlight flitted through the gaps in the trees creating beautiful patterns on the ground that the boy hopped between, stopping every once in a while to observe a particularly beautiful flower. He adored the outdoors, the freedom, the freshness, the life . He would go mad if he didn’t have it. Freedom was the most important non-physical thing Tubbo had. 

He broke through to the clearing, taking in the wondrous scents of all the different species of flowers. 

Tubbo gathered up as many dandelions and daisies as he could, sitting against a tree and beginning to weave them into crowns. When he first moved to the area, he decided that the best course of money-making was small children. He walked into the village with a few trinkets and asked a kind baker by the name of ‘Niki’ if she would allow him to set up a sign in her front window to teach kids how to make flower crowns for a few dollars, she had agreed and fed him while he taught village kids how to weave the wildflowers they found. 

Now Tubbo went to her when he didn’t have the money to pay for food and she would give him a few loaves of bread for three hours of work in exchange. He actually found that he viewed her as an older sister, not that he’d tell her, not yet at least. 

His fingers worked quickly, bending and pulling the stems around each other, adding flower after flower until he could securely fasten the two ends together. 

He set the finished crown down next to him, before starting up a new one. 

The wind blew gently across his face, sending a small flash of goosebumps to appear on his skin. The weather was cooling down, slipping into a comfortable later afternoon. Another crown.

And another.

And another. 

And another.

Until all of his flowers are used up and the sun has sunk into the sky, painting it a beautiful fiery orange. 

Gathering his crowns up, he stretched, his shoulders popping gratefully. With small flashes of white, all except one of his crowns disappeared into his inventory. He carefully placed the crown on his head, pushing it up slightly so it wouldn’t get in his eyes. 

He trotted happily back to his home area, planning on dragging the log closer to the stairs and then making himself some dinner and tea. Today he had a fresher loaf of bread saved from his last visit to Nikis, carrots that he had saved over from making a small farm, and some leftover beetroot soup. Not exactly the best but arguably could be better. 

Everything was just as he had left it. A mess. 

Tubbo gripped the log and lifted it, dragging it closer to his house and away from the woods. Endermen liked to steal things that didn’t belong to them, as did common thieves. He set it down close to the stone foundation of his house, satisfied. Next was the bark, which could be set inside wrapped with some leather straps he had traded for at a village whilst he was still travelling. 

Gathering and tying the bark up into neat little piles was vaguely therapeutic, and the satisfaction when he could finally close and lock his door for the night was insurmountable. 

He used half of a smaller bark pile to light his stove, reheating the beetroot soup and boiling some carrots and water. Soon he had set the table for one and changed from his working clothes to his comfier evening/sleepwear. 

Finally sinking into his dining room chair with his food, lifting the hot soup to his lips, preparing for an evening of relaxation and early sleep. 

Stern, formal knocking quickly shot down any attempt of happiness Tubbo might’ve had. 

Sighing heavily, he pushed himself away from his food and towards the door. 

“Alright, I’m coming, please be patient,” he murmured as another bout of knocking rumbled through the house. 

The door opened with a swish . Revealing a towering figure shrouded in red. 

A terrifying ox skull sat atop a well-decorated neck, rough calloused hands firmly held onto a gleaming sword, and piglin hooves dug firmly into his top steps. 

Tubbo felt his soul drop into his bones, the figure shifted self-consciously. 

Oh! They were nervous!

Nervousness was a feeling Tubbo was unfortunately close to, it wasn’t exactly pleasant to be nervous around someone. “Do you need help with anything? Food? Water?” Tubbo asked kindly, trying to put the ginormous figure at ease. The figure peeked behind him, Tubbo felt embarrassment flush as he realized he hadn’t exactly cleaned in a while. The figure lowered its head to look directly at him. “Are your parents home, kid?” The deep voice startled Tubbo, sounding more like a rumble than words. 

His parents weren’t going to be home ever, so naturally, the best thing to do in this situation was lie. 

“I live alone,” He stated, curious what business this unit wanted with his dead parents if they were there. Surprisingly, the figure seemed confused, looking Tubbo up and down before tilting his head as if listening or contemplating something. Tubbo swore he heard something whispering indistinctly through the trees.

 “You look like you're fourteen,” He stated, much to Tubbos dismay. So what if he was short? “I’m not sure what that has to do with anything. Bitch. Why are you here?” 

Maybe he didn’t have to call the ox wearer a bitch, seeing as the man found it amusing, chuckling softly. Tubbo couldn’t decide if it was in a ‘Haha funny’ chuckle or a ‘Haha I’m going to skin this kid,” chuckle. Honestly, with the man's atire it could be anything. 

“I need directions. I haven’t been to this part of the woods,” The figure loosened his grip on the sword to gesture behind him, “I’ve been lost for the past hour and I’m just now accepting it,”

Ah. Well, at least he’s not nervous anymore.

The goat could relate with the statement, too many times had he been trying to find something in a city or a grocery store adamantly refusing to believe that he was lost and needed to ask someone for help, he always felt like he was inconveniencing them and felt horrible for three days after. 

Tubbo smiled, grabbing his cloak from a hook. “With all due respect, you could’ve just opened with that, big man,” He fastened the well-loved cloak around his neck before shooing the man down the steps so he could lock the door. “Where are you trying to go?” He asked, sitting down on the steps to tie his laces. Another head tilt. “L’Manburg,” he thought for another moment, “You… don’t need to come with me, couldn’t you just point in the right direction and leave me to my devices?” He asked, but luckily not in a condescending way.

That was a very good point, so Tubbo lied some more on the spot. 

“Nah, I have a friend who lives on the way, I’ve been meaning to trade them some shit to pay back a small debt that I’ve been procrastinating,” Tubbo explained, hoping that the dude would accept it and move on. “Oh. Ok,” 

The two reached a lull in the conversation, which Tubbo used to speedily finish his lace-tying. “My name’s Technoblade,” The figure said abruptly. “Alright, my name’s Tubbo, nice to meet you, Blade,” He introduced, standing up and reaching out his hand for a handshake. Techno didn’t take it. Staring at it in vague confusion. 

His hand fell limp to his side, slightly affronted that this man didn’t take it when offered. “Well then, follow me. Stick close so you don’t get lost, these woods aren’t very friendly at night,” Tubbo brushed past Techno and began walking in the direction of L’manburg, realizing that Techno could most likely hold his own in a fight if he owned a diamond sword. Those things were horrendously expensive. 

It was awkward for the first few minutes, the silence becoming unbearable. “So, pardon if this intrudes on your privacy, what brings you to L’Manburg? Tourism? Business? Escape?” Tubbo asks, brushing a leaf off of his shoulder. Techno hums, staring off into space for a few moments, “Business, but also just paid vacation,” 

Tubbo nodded approvingly. “I would recommend visiting the library,” He stated, pushing a branch out of the way of the overgrown path. “Oh? Does it have a good selection?” Techno inquired, matching his pace with the spry hybrid. “I would say so, I can’t really go there, reading is harder for me. But sometimes the librarian will read to me,” Tubbo admits this easily, it’s nothing that he’s embarrassed about, it’s just how he is.

“Mm, any other places? I have time,” Techno looked up at the slowly appearing stars, “Any sightseeing places?” 

The path slowly got more discernible as they walked on, “The village square around midnight is absolutely beautiful, you can see the stars and some people play music and dance. There’s the bakery, Nikis Bakery to be exact, tell her I sent you and she might give you free food. The river is exceptionally pretty around dusk, it’s a must to see the botanical gardens…” He rambled aimlessly for a bit, taking no notice of the fond look his companion was giving him. 

They arrived at a small clearing where a stone path extended both ways cut through the middle. “Right, well, go down that way all the way and it’ll take you directly to the gates of L’Manburg, my stop is down the other path,” Tubbo pointed down the direction Techno was to follow. Techno nodded, glancing up at the sky. 

“I’m in town for a while as you know, I would like to visit you. Help you with your house, y’know?” He drawls, “To make sure you aren’t homeless,” He kicked a small pebble out of the way. Tubbo blinked in surprise, a small smile breaking out across his face. “Sure, big man, I’d like that, if you know the way back to my place,” 

Techno laughed, “I’m sure I’ll be able to, I have my ways,” 

The two lapsed into silence, Tubbo joining him in looking at the sky. “I like your crown,”

Tubbo reached up and touched his flower crown in surprise. “I forgot I was wearing this, I’m surprised it’s still intact,” He smiled, an idea forming in his brain. “Lower your head,” He demands, and Techno obliges, bending down to see eye-to-eye. It’s creepy with the dark eye sockets of the ox skull shadowing red eyes pulled against leathery pink skin but Tubbo pays it no mind, pulling one of the previously made flower crowns out of his inventory. 

He set a daisy crown daintily atop of the skull, fixing it to make sure it wouldn’t droop or get into its wearer's eyes. “There, we’re twins,” Tubbo decided, proud of his handiwork. Techno stands straight again, touching the crown carefully as if he’s afraid it’s going to turn to dust in his hands. 

Techno seemed to blank, his head tilting. Tubbo gently pats him on the arm. “Well, big man, I’ll see you sometime soon,” He says, before turning down the opposite path and trotting away, planning on looping back around to mask the fact that he lied. 

Techno watched him go, a strange feeling tugging in his chest. 

-gave us a crown! 

He knows nothing.

Crown!

This is so… refreshing? We’re being treated as a normal person!

Not only that, we don’t necessarily need to… share? Like Tommy and Wilbur don’t know about him.

Oh! 

I mean they get everything they want, I think we should be able to get something for ourselves. 

So we’re keeping him hush hush?

HANDSHAKE

Yeah. Hush Hush.

Techno don’t you fucking dare mess this up. 

The voices crooned in his ear, he could practically feel their tendrils of influence caressing his view. They had a point. Tubbo didn’t know who he was, and that was so refreshing. He didn’t cower away from him, he didn’t trip over his words to appease him, he had helped him because he wanted to, and not because he was afraid of him. 

Something that he thought impossible. Someone just not knowing or not caring about who he was. 

Wilbur and Tommy could get away with that, they fit the appearance bill of many people, and with a clothing change, you would have to really think about if you knew them or not. 

Prince Ranboo didn’t leave the castle enough so he could get away with unrecognition if he left the Arctic. Granted, there were two sides of Ranboo and one of them wasn’t allowed to leave the castle regardless. They would insult everyone and probably cause some sort of uprising. The dominant side was perfectly fine, just shy. 

Philza and Kristen were closer to his dilemma, however, they rarely had pictures or posters of their faces up around the world, to many they were the invisible leaders of the Empire. 

Techno suffered. He led the army, he was a general, and he was a Piglin Brute. His mask and face were known far and wide, people would stop and gawk at him, avoid him, fear him. He lost his chance at normalcy. The ability to have a peaceful day outside of his duties and forget who he was. 

But now, he made a friend. 

Tubbo. 

Tubbo; who didn’t know who he was, Tubbo, who when Technoblade told his name basically shrugged it off with indifference and introduced himself, Tubbo, who called him a bitch. To his face. 

He smiled, looking up at the stars.

Finally, he could have one shred of normalcy to himself, and god forbid he let anything happen to change that.

I FEEL AS IF WE’RE SLEEPING ON THE FACT THAT HE FUCKED UP A HANDSHAKE BECAUSE HE WAS SO SURPRISED SOMEONE DIDN’T KNOW WHO HE WAS.

OMG WAIT HE DID LMAOOOO

THATS SO EMBARRASSING AJSKJKDJKSJKJDK

LOSER

E

Techno’s moment of peace and revelations was disturbed as his chat started mocking him as if they weren’t panicking when Tubbo opened the door and was revealed to be quote-unquote ‘Fluffy’

Snorting at his own mental jab at his own mental consciousness, the Prince turned down the way Tubbo had pointed and started walking towards the city, already planning on how to escape the meeting for tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Tubbo woke up refreshed and happy. 

He ambled lazily towards his kitchen to watch the last of the sunrise, a content smile grazing across his face. Breakfast was made with toast and raspberries and enjoyed on his front steps, letting the morning sun warm his cool face. A mental list was composed as he ate, planning his day or at least the stuff that he needed to get done. 

Visiting the bees from yesterday, preferably either an hour past the current time or around late afternoon. 

Cleaning his living area so it was less cluttered. 

Gathering honey from his already friendly bees so he could sell it in the market sooner rather than later. 

The roof. 

God, he would be lying to himself if he wasn’t dreading the roof. 

It wouldn’t be hard , just time-consuming and boring without something to distract himself with. He wondered if Techno would be visiting, seeing as the man said that he would. He could use some new company. 

His first impression of Techno was definitely an interesting one, not many people who knock on your door wear skulls as helmets and observe you with the interest of a thousand scientists. But he was nice, albeit strange. The wonder in which he looked up at the sky couldn’t be faked, and in Tubbos's book, anyone who looked at the sky in genuine fascination and warmth could be trusted. 

A bird chirped, rousing him out of his thoughts. 

Sighing, he brushed away the last of his crumbs, standing up and steadying himself when his vision faded. Making his way back into the house to change and get ready for the working hours of the day. 

Clothing was changed from soft green pyjamas to a slightly worn-out striped yellow sweater and town jeans. 

Floorboards creaked as he moved around his room, picking up some dirty clothes and throwing them on the dirty clothing chair. Making his bed was a feat, pulling the heavy comforter out of its vague circular shape Tubbo had moulded it into last night. He didn’t care what anyone said, sleeping was always better if your bed was a nest. 

After fifteen minutes of wrestling with his sheets and blankets, the bed was back to its hideous state before it was slept in, something Tubbo saw as an absolute win. 

His win was promptly shat on when he stubbed his toe on the corner of the bed and was sent flying into his doorframe, which elicited a crack of its wood splitting and a hot jolt of pain echoing down Tubbos bones. 

Warm blood oozed from a new wound on the bridge of his nose, dripping onto the floor and Tubbos sock. His eyes watered and he blearily looked around, trying to regain his composure. It felt as if something exploded near his eye. Tubbo didn’t have incredible pain tolerance, it was decent, but it wasn’t great . 

Stumbling to the bathroom, using the wall to guide him, Tubbo took a look at the wound. 

A small cut on his nose bridge was the only feasible bleeding wound, but his eye had already swelled. Water was splashed onto his face to clear the blood, and one of his precious bandages was cut and applied to the wound. Hair was repositioned to cover his horrid handiwork, if anyone dropped by he didn’t want them questioning what happened, especially if it was caused by something relatively stupid. 

Times like these would call for a healing or regen potion, but he was lacking in the ingredients required. 

This morning definitely took an unpleasant turn. He huffed, moving to the living room and slouching on the couch. His wound still stung. 

Groaning, he propelled himself off the couch, and decided instead to walk around outside. Maybe if he was lucky he would run into someone with first aid training. He locked the door behind him and slipped the key into one of his many pockets, disappearing into the woods silently, wandering away from the safety of his cabin. 

With the sun still low in the sky, and the trees providing acute amounts of shade, Tubbo found that he was getting colder. Quickening his pace considerably in an attempt to create more body heat. 

His speed walking turned to a jog, and a jog soon turned to a sprint. 

Sprinting was something Tubbo loved, it was freeing and wild. His heart pounded in his chest as he skidded around a corner, knowing exactly where he was going. 

The clearing from yesterday emerged from the trees, the beehive still active and the sunflower reaching up happily towards the sunlight. The bees took notice of the familiar intruder, flying at him and buzzing around his face. A few landed on him, some nestling in his hair, others crawling carefully on his shirt. 

A soft smile stretched across his face. 

“Hello, I didn’t realize you’d miss me so soon,” He laughed, moving slowly towards a sunny spot. The bees buzzed louder, bumping their tiny fuzzy faces against him. “How did you like the sunflower? I would’ve brought a different flower today but I was rushing,” He asked, settling down on the dewy grass.

The bees didn’t respond. 

“You wouldn’t believe the morning I had…” He sprung into the short but not-so-sweet story of ramming his face against the doorframe and cracking it. “Now I have more stuff to repair, more money to spend, and fewer materials at my disposal,” He finished with a sad huff.  His bee friends wilted with him, an adorable sign of attempting to convey sympathy. 

The sun rose higher in the sky, Tubbo watching it with his bees. He spoke aloud to them about meeting Technoblade, how the man was terrifying but cool. He ranted about his morning and his injury. He complained about the wet grass dampening his shorts. Anything his mind latched onto he spoke about. 

He must’ve stayed there an hour before he was disturbed. 

In the middle of his explanation of how to build a homemade nuke, he heard two familiar voices. 

“There he is,”

“Ah, thank you, Niki,” 

His head whipped around as Techno broke through the forest, leaves and twigs stuck in his mound of pink hair that Tubbo hadn’t previously seen. His friend was wearing a simplified version of the practically royal clothing of yesterday, with an added addition of a belt of potions wrapped around his waist. Tubbo saw a few healing and regeneration potions there, and his eye gave a painful throb at the sight.  

“Hi!” Niki stood a little ways behind Techno, hands collapsed around a basket, smiling and waving at Tubbo. Tubbo returned the action, greeting the both of them happily and getting up from his comfy spot on the grass. The bees relaxing on his buzzing affronted at the two newcomers, flying off of Tubbo to fly around Techno. 

Chuckling at the vaguely confused stance of his Friend, Tubbo approached the duo. “I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon, how did you like the city? And I see you’ve acquainted yourself with Niki,” He said, turning his eye towards his other pink-haired friend. “Techno didn’t give you any trouble, did he? He joked, directing a sly look towards his taller friend. Niki shook her head, instead holding out the basket she was holding. “None, I made you some muffins,” She grinned at the sheer delight that exploded in Tubbos’ eye. Techno sighed, knowing that he was about to be roped into a picnic with two disgustingly adorable people. 

Niki had been a delight to meet, she recognized who he was immediately, but didn’t exactly care. She offered to walk him to Tubbos and deliver some muffins, and he agreed, figuring he could use the new company. 

She was an absolute delight, laughed when he told her how Tubbo had no idea who he was and promised she wouldn’t tell him. 

At first, the plan was to surprise Tubbo at his house, but the kid wasn’t there. Techno was lying if he said that didn’t cause him to have a small moment of large panic in which Niki had to calm him down with promises that Tubbo wasn’t kidnapped or had run away in the middle of the night. She had guided him to the clearing, pointing out the small boy amongst the grass and the bees. 

God the bees were everywhere.

 Now he was being pulled to the middle of said bee-infested clearing with the both of them chatting aimlessly about Niki's bakery and shit-talking someone named ‘Schlatt’. 

A few of the small fuzzy creatures mentioned before curiously investigated Techno, apparently deciding him worthy and settling on his clothing. To the sheer glee of Tubbo, who proudly showed off his tiny freelancers.

The picnic went wonderfully, Techno falling into comfortable ease as his two companions got into a lively discussion about German, with Tubbo trying to pronounce some German words and failing miserably, sending Niki into giggling hysterics. Then Tubbo taught Techno how to make flower crowns and absolutely abused his power by making flower bracelets and drowning the poor piglin in daisies, poppies, and dandelions. Niki was no help whatsoever and merely encouraged Tubbos behaviour. 

Eventually, Niki had to go, saying that she had left her bakery in the care of her friend for too long. Techno and Tubbo saw her off, Techno then turned to his brunet friend with a lively glint in his eyes. “Should we work on that house of yours?” 

Tubbo found that building houses went much faster when you had a friend to help. 

The two discussed Techno's work, and Techno complained about the stuck-up people he was tangled within a meeting. Tubbo nodded sympathetically, sitting the man down and offering to make them both lunch before they started with the building. 

They had had lunch together, Tubbo making a few small sandwiches of the few ingredients he had, and sat on his front porch discussing L’Manburg and the best course of action for the remainder of the house that needed working on. Techno took a new note of the splinters littering Tubbos hands and took a brief moment to treat them with one of his healing potions he had brought affixed to his belt.  

The roof was Technos biggest concern, mentioning how it needed to be insulated for winter and well-made so it wouldn’t leak when it rained. Meanwhile, Tubbo was grappling with the walls and his bedroom door frame, which had cracked this morning after he tripped on his carpet and rammed into the wall. 

He reluctantly showed Techno his black eye after the older asked if he had sustained any injuries from the fall. Techno had gone silent, pulling a potion of regeneration off of his belt and holding Tubbo still as he poured it directly on his eye. The ram had complained that Techno was grasping his shirt too tight, but his friend had paid him no mind. 

This is why we don’t tell people things, Tubbo. They crease our shirts. He mentally chided himself. 

Once that ordeal was over, they settled on finishing the doorframe. Seeing that the log that Tubbo had hauled back the previous day could fix the frame easily and leave a good chunk of wooding left over for the roof. 

It was quiet between them, a comfortable silence between friends. Tubbo took the required measurements and reported them back to Techno, who cut the wood and handed it back to him. Tubbo regained a few splinters, much to Techno's annoyance. 

When Tubbo was ripping out a part of the frame, Techno appeared holding some leather gloves, throwing them at him with the demand that he wore them. Tubbo obliged, finding working to be much less painful afterwards. 

During a lull in their working, the two took a snack break, wherein Techno discovered the saddening state of Tubbos pantry. 

“What do you have for food here?” Techno asked, glancing at Tubbo who sat at his table with his gloved hands wrapped around a nice mug of lukewarm water. “Bread, berries, carrots, uhhh… we ate all those muffins Niki brought, huh?” He blanked, giving a hapless shrug to the masked man. 

Berries were brought out, the both of them taking careful looks at each handful to make sure they weren’t spoilt. “When was the last time you went shopping?” Techno asked, jotting down on a piece of spare bark some materials they needed to stock up on, like clay. Tubbo sat back, “Like legit shopping? Maybe a few weeks ago? I get a lot of my food from Niki's bakery, the berries are usually foraged, honey comes from my bees…” He listed off a few more places he got free food, Techno nodding along and adding food items to the list. “...I guess the only things I really perchance are my vegetables and milk, meat and eggs are expensive so I try to stick to beans and nuts for protein,” He finished. 

Techno hummed, pressing his fingers together in thought. 

“Do you know how to fish?” He asked, taking another blueberry for observation. 

Tubbo nodded, “There’s just no good fishing spots, and I’m not the best at it,” he snuck a glance at the bark Techno was writing on, frowning slightly when he couldn’t make out the writing. “Well, tomorrow we’re going shopping. I’m getting you some good food,” Technos’ tone implied there wasn’t any room to argue. 

A small flash of concern clouded Tubbos's mind, remembering how expensive some of the food was priced in L’Manburg. It was excellent quality food, so it wasn’t unreasonable, just vaguely frustrating. “I can’t allow you to waste your money on me, you don’t even owe me for anything, I should be paying for your food, as a thank you,” Tubbo muttered. His friend waved him off, “Please, it was basically criminal of me to come here without food. It was all Nikis idea in the first place to bring you muffins,”

Techno paused for a moment, “What is your favourite food?” 

Tubbo ignored him and continued muttering under his breath while Techno resumed his previous thoughts. “We’ll also need some scaffolding to reach the roof, unless you want to climb up there or have me throw you,” 

The grooves on the side of the house could be a good ladder, plus goat genes helped him with climbing, however, it was getting down that blocked him from replying with the scrambling option. He could climb easily, but getting down was scarier. “Scaffolding, then we could both get up. Could you add some tar to the list?” Tubbo stood up and began clearing the dishes, pouring him and Techno glasses of water. The man nodded, making another note. 

“Come here and check this out, tell me if we’re missing anything,” Techno showed him the list, Tubbos eyes scanned it, pausing when a particular word gave him trouble and Techno said what it was. By the end, a well-stocked list of food and materials were laid out.

For the most part, the list was golden. Tubbo questioned certain things such as a set of iron tools, sugar, and sheepskin, seeing them relatively unnecessary. Techno shrugged and crossed off the sugar, but kept the other two on. 

They revised the list again, Tubbo remembering certain things he was lacking and Techno adding stuff he felt Tubbo just deserved, much to the goats' chagrin. 

After they settled on a list they both were happy on, Techno pocketed it with satisfaction. 

“Let me know if there’s something else you need or want,” Techno said, getting up and aiding Tubbo in clearing the dishes, taking a small moment to wipe away some dust on the sides of the table. Tubbo shook his head, wiping his hands on a towel before kicking his boots back on. “Nah, that’s probably going to be all I need, thank you for offering though,” He said kindly, opening the door for Techno.

The taller shrugged, “Offer is always open,” 

“Well, I would say we’re pretty set, if you remember anything else you need or want let me know and I’ll gladly add it to the list,” Techno stood from the table, helping Tubbo clear away the dishes and resetting to the ideal dining area idea.

The taller shrugged, “Offer is always open,” he reminded, exiting the house with a thank you. 

Tubbo shrugged, following after his friend with the intent to help him with the log. “I don’t think I asked, how long are you in town for, big man?” He asked, grasping his wooden axe and lifting it to hack off a piece of wood. Techno hummed, taking out a second piece of bark with some measurements written on it. “Three more days, shift your cut a little to the left,” 

Tubbo made the correction. “Will you be coming back or will you disappear into the winds never to be seen again?” He joked, swinging his axe down and denting deep into the log. Techno fake scoffed, “I’ll come around to this part of the world again,” The wood split. “That’s good, you’re nice company, send me a postcard every once in a while, and I’ll write to you, or try to,” 

Techno smiled, “I can manage a postcard, I can’t guarantee that the postpeople can find your house,” he noted, dodging a woodchip as Tubbo hacked at the log. “Address it to Niki, she’ll forward it to me, it’ll be fine,” The boy soothed, letting go of the axe to pry at the wood, which broke off after a few moments. Techno hm'd, pretending as if he wasn’t surprised that Tubbo just ripped a piece of wood off the log with his hands. 

Strong lamb boy.

Could kill a man.

Shut up, they are bonding.

“So do you have a meeting tomorrow?” Tubbo asked, wondering how tomorrow's shopping expedition would go. Techno shook his head, “One the day after, where should we meet up tomorrow?” 

Tubbo thought for a second, eyes lighting up when his mind settled on something. “We could meet at Nikis Bakery, it’s an easy landmark for the both of us if you found it today, and it’s close to all the important places,” he said, grabbing a small knife and cleaning up the rougher edges of the wood. 

Techno watched the boy's hands skillfully work the wood, absently wondering where he learned how to do it so well. “Yeah, that works, we’ll meet around noon?”

His friend's little goat ears flicked, a small motion that made Chat ‘aww’. “That works, and Techno? It’s getting a little late, would you like a spare cloak for the walk back? It gets pretty cold during the night,” Tubbo noted, glancing at the sun as it lowered in the sky. A tiny smile graced Technos' face, “Nah, Piglin Hybrid, it takes a lot to cool me down,” he stated. 

Tubbos' face morphed into confusion. “Really? I figured it would be the other way around, Nether Hybrids getting cold easily because they’re not built for cold weather,” he tapped his baby goat horns, “At least, that’s how I work,” 

Techno chuffed, ruffling Tubbos hair. “I’ll be fine, get some good rest tonight, ok?” He cleared his throat, “Don’t stay up all night workin’ on this,”

Wood stairs creaked as Tubbo sat on them, sending a mischievous smile towards his friend. “I have a history of being a night gremlin, Techno, but I can try,” his cool demeanour was broken by a yawn.

Oh my god he’s Theseus

SHH! HE’S SLEEPY

HE CAN’T EVEN HEAR US BRO

HUSH

“Mmhm, well, goodnight Tubbo, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Techno smiled, unhooking a potion of healing from his belt and handing it to his friend. Tubbo returned the smile, the potion popping into his inventory. “Likewise, big man, enjoy the nighttime festivities,” he saluted Techno, standing up for a stretch before going up his stairs and disappearing into the house. 

“I can try, Tubbo, I can try,” Techno murmured to himself, turning and walking into the forest, letting his chat guide him. 

Chapter Text

There were two main things Techno had noticed so far during his time in L’Manburg.

The first was L’Manburg is what Techno would call ‘ colourful’ . 

Paved with smooth glass, painted stones, and small gemstones, the entire path sparkled when the sun shone. The light reflection sent gorgeous rainbows splashing across buildings and people, washing everything in heavenly glows.

The river that he could see from his window was filled with flowers, boats, and people swimming in their colourful bathing suits, shining a beautiful shade of blue.

 Flowers in beautifully made ceramic vases sat on windowsills, patio tables, and benches, some hung from lampposts and trees. Trees had small wind chimes that danced and sang harmoniously in the wind, giving the entire city a slightly magical feel.  

Even the air was colourful in a way, filled with laughter and voices, surrounding Techno in a wash of ease and calm. Smelling faintly of flowers and baked goods. 

In the distance, the infamous walls stretched upwards towards the sky, tiled and painted mosaics dancing across them in scenes of forests, oceans, and sky. The walls had previously been Blackstone, with ugly yellow concrete stabbing against the sky. They had been torn down and redone in an act of defiance against Manburg during a war between the two, which has now been over for decades. 

During the night, L’Manburg was awash in softer colours glowing gently from fairy lights and lanterns. Stars shone brightly above them, almost eliminating the need for the previously mentioned lights. 

The second thing was the L’Manburg citizens themselves. Techno had noted with a sense of vague fondness, contrasted their cities colours.

Whilst the city was exploding in bright and vibrant hues, the population represented the soft pastels, the watered-down colours, the low colours. People were gentle and welcoming, moving through their city like soft whispers of wind, making the city contrast dramatically against their quieter personalities. Of course, this wasn’t always how they were. 

At night, when the city came alive , they emerged from their shyer personalities. 

Times when they would’ve clashed against the bright vibrancy of the day made them delight in the night. The vibrant yellows of the city popping out during the violets of night. Nighttime is when L’Manburg was at its most beautiful.

As coloured fairy lights softly glowed against houses and lanterns cast their warm glow across the paths, the citizens dressed in their brightly coloured pajamas and slippers to escape into the squares, where all the night festivities began, 

L’Manburgians came together at night, gathering in larger groups across the city to watch the stars and dance. Shedding their soft hues of day for the vibrancy of night, laughing loudly, loving freely, sharing immensely, you name it. Blankets were passed around and people huddled together as the night wore on, giggling to themselves about how they would regret it in the morning when they had to wake up early. 

Techno had watched as people during the day had passed each other without a second thought, but at night they helped each other home after all was said and done, leaning on one another as if they were the only thing left in the world. 

It was a beautiful but confusing balance. 

He watched the people pass him, sparing him a fearful glance as if to reassure themselves that he wasn’t approaching them. A small sigh escaped his lips, wishing Tubbo would arrive faster. 

Niki's bakery was a welcoming cozy place, lit by pink-tinged lanterns and smelling constantly of freshly made sweets. He was sat at a window, watching the people bustle by while he waited for some customers to get their food and go, ignoring their hushed whispers as they noticed he was sitting there. 

Beside him on the table was his wallet, filled with golden coins and silver bars. He had worried about the expenses of food, given that Tubbo had mentioned the apparently high prices of food. So hopefully it would cover everything. Not that Techno was worried, if he ran out he could simply run back to his hotel room and get more, or just subtly threaten the cashier. 

Light footsteps alerted someone approaching him. “Here’s a coffee, sorry about the customers, they tend to stare,” Niki said, setting down a cup of coffee in front of him and leaning against the table Techno sat at. Techno thanked her quietly and shook his head. “M’ used to it,” he muttered, pretending not to notice Niki apprehensively glancing at the sword at his side. 

We like Niki

Yes Niki is great

Ooo she makes good coffee

She’s like tubbo 

Tubbo and Niki solidarity

Do you reckon she’s also, like, really strong? 

That would be epic

During the earlier hours of the morning, Techno had left his hotel, taking a long walk through the city before turning in the direction of Niki's bakery. People had turned the other way when they saw him coming, or just stared as he breezed past them, a few had greeted him politely with a ‘ Good morning, your majesty,’ , and even fewer had stopped to have pleasant conversation with him. During the walk, he noticed the lack of posters with his face on them, a welcome change from the other kingdoms he visited.

“What are you and Tubbo up to today?” She asked, waving at a passing civilian with a smile. Techno sipped his coffee, glancing at the person Niki waved to and mentally giggling when they tripped on a curb. “Uhh, Shopping, I’m going to help him with groceries, and get him some new tools,” He took another long sip of his coffee. Niki's eyes brightened, “Do you want to know what he’d love?” She asked, clasping her hands on her lap. 

Intrigued, Techno placed his coffee on the table and took out his notebook, nodding at Niki to prompt continuation. 

“Tubbo adores brewing, but I know for a fact that he hasn’t had nearly enough supplies to do it. As you know a lot of potions require Nether found materials, blaze powder, ghast tears and such. Due to their high demand, their prices skyrocket, and Tubbo can’t get anything. Which sucks because he’s one of the best brewers I know and could benefit financially if he had access to it,” Niki said, gently taking Technos notebook from his hands and writing down a list of well-known ingredients, “Instead of blaze powder, get him the rods, and also Phantom Membranes,” 

The piglin watched in fascination as Niki wrote down everything Tubbo needed for his potions, realizing just how close she and Tubbo were. 

I know we don’t really know tubbo all that well but like im kinda jealous that she’s so close to him

We Must Learn From Her

Teach Us, Niki. Educate Us About The Bee Boy

That way he likes us more and won’t leave us 

Whispers of the chat sat at the back of his mind, briefly clouding his thoughts and filling his head with sudden curiosity, which he squashed down before his chat took the reins. “Thank you, I doubt Tubbo would’ve told me this by himself,” Techno said sincerely, Niki waved him off with a chuckle. “Nope, probably not,” Niki agreed, placing the finishing touches on the list, “He knows how expensive this stuff is, and he hates being taken care of when he thinks he doesn’t deserve it,” her expression turned a tad troubled. 

The list was handed to him, Techno took a long look at the ingredients, nodding when he memorized them. “You speak from experience?” Techno asked, tucking the list in his inventory for safekeeping. She sighed and nodded, stealing his coffee cup and taking a sip. “He works here for food, I try and get him to take it for free, and he accepts sometimes! Just not all the time,” Niki muttered. 

Techno looked sadly at his stolen coffee cup, wondering what the point of being away from the castle if people still stole his stuff. “You’ll have to tell me what happened afterwards, Tubbo has some pretty creative ways of getting out of people paying for him,” Niki set down the coffee cup, the entry bell ringing as someone entered. “Niki, hi! I thought I’d drop in,” heavy boots hit against wood, and a strong smell of saltwater wafted through the air. Niki's face lit up in a smile, turning her attention towards the newcomer. Techno, curious on who it could be, apprehensively turned to look at the newcomer. 

A strong-looking woman in a pirate coat stood near the entrance, a happy grin splitting across her face, muscular arms crossed across her chest. Wild, unruly white hair poofed up behind her, her rams horns barely being able to be seen through it, golden and silver rings adorned with rubies gently encircling them. She was dressed richly, with gold watches and rainbow glittering gems dripping from bracelets and rings, leather boots tied with golden string, her poet shirt adorned with medals, and finally a rainbow silk belt. She looked oddly familiar, but Techno couldn’t exactly place his finger on it. 

The woman opened her arms and Niki swiftly ran over and wrapped her in a hug. “It’s been so long! How are you?” She gushed, releasing herself from the hold and looking her friend up and down. The woman laughed, showing something off on her lapel with pride. Whatever it was, it was impressive enough to elicit a gasp from Niki, the shorter of the two releasing an excited squeal.

We’re being ignored 

E

Where have we seen her before though?

She looks important 

Think Techno, think

Aren’t we his thoughts??

No. shut. 

As Techno still tried to recall where he had seen the woman before, her attention locked onto his with a small gasp. “Do my eyes deceive me? Techno, the Blade, is that you?” The woman approached him, a pleasantly surprised look on her face. Nervously, Techno looked at her medals, trying to spark any type of recognition. She referred to him informally, which meant that they had been close enough at one point to warrant so. 

“Why am I not surprised you know each other,” Niki jokingly scoffed, pulling out a chair for the woman and taking a second leaning position on a table. The pirate gave Techno a long look, nervously sweating. Her eyes were a bright shade of green. “You don’t remember who I am, do you?” The woman leaned back, seemingly not offended by this possible development, extending her well-decorated hand for a shake, “Captain Puffy, but please just call me Puffy. I commanded your ships for a while when you were younger, and took you and your Mum out for weekend sailing. Now I work here, Commander of a decent fleet of ships, and a therapist,” Puffy introduced herself, and finally, a mental puzzle piece clicked in. 

Techno shook her hand, a firm one which he remembered doing as a sign of respect. “You terrified Phil, I remember how you would purposely spin the boat just to watch his face turn green,” He recalled fondly, chuckling softly at the memory. Puffy smirked, returning the firm handshake with a tight squeeze. “I teased him relentlessly about being able to fly but sucking on the sea, you’ll have to give him my regards when you see him next,” She slipped her hand out of Technos grasp, instead stealing his coffee cup and promptly finishing the remainder.

Niki nudged Puffy, “What brings you to this part of town?” She asked, gently taking the now empty cup of coffee from Puffys hands, and setting it behind her. 

The captain shrugged, fiddling with a few of her rings, “Day off, I was on my way to visit my son, but I just had to visit my favourite baker,” she playfully sent a flirtatious look towards Niki, which the woman ignored with a chuckle. Techno watched the two of them interact, trying to gauge their relationship. Puffy snapped her fingers, suddenly slamming her hands on the table. “Enough about me, Techno, what brings you to L’Manburg? Last I saw of you was when you were helping your brother when he got seasick, back when you were yay high,” She lifted her hand slightly above her head, a genuine curious interest agleam. 

Surprised at having attention turned on him so quickly, it took Techno a moment to actually recall why he was in the city. “Here on business orders, discussing and finalizing some trade deals with Eret, there are some rumours about something brewing in Manburg, but let’s be honest here, we all know it’s not rumours,” He absent-mindedly fiddled with a string on his tunic, looking briefly out the window. Puffy nodded, leaning a little closer and lowering her voice. “That city is going to crumble from the insides out and we’re going to be there to witness it all,” 

The entry bell chimed, sending Niki to the front cash with a quiet apology as a group of people walked in, Techno grimacing when the group chittered noisily. “So! Any new friends? Is Wilbur still doting on that hybrid, Frumpy…? No, Fundy. Is Fundy still around?” Puffy nonchalantly combed her fingers through her hair, lowering her voice slightly so the customers wouldn’t take notice of them. Technos' mood soured at the mention of Fundy. The kid had gone ‘missing’ a long while ago and it had basically driven Wilbur into madness, preaching about how his son had been kidnapped and needed his dad to save him.

Fundy, in fact, had not been kidnapped, but rather escaped from the clingy, coddling cage that was Wilbur's love and affection. Techno should know, he helped the poor guy get out. For the longest time, he hoped Wilbur would move on, but he didn’t. He stayed looking for his son, in denial that he wasn’t going to find him.  

His brother was already walking a fine line between mental stability and the deep end before he met Fundy. Wilbur had a twisted saviour complex, and when he found Fundy when the boy was a kit, he took him in and had barely let him have any free will. Believing he was keeping his precious son safe from whatever forces had abandoned him. At first, Fundy was truly welcomed to the family, Phil taught him to read and helped him understand his heightened hybrid senses, Tommy played with him like a brother, and Kristen read him bedtime stories when Wilbur wasn’t available. 

Unfortunately, it deteriorated into Fundy only being there because he made Wilbur feel his own little horrible version of happiness, something the man was quickly becoming addicted to.  So, Techno did what he thought needed to be done, both for Wilbur and for Fundy. 

“Nah, he moved out a little while ago, I lost touch with him, been meaning to write,” He half-lied. Pushing the thought of the fox-hybrid out of his head. Puffy nodded, a vaguely disheartened look taking over her features. “Sucks, I wanted to see how he was doing. What about you though, have you met anyone new?” 

Tubbo!

TELL HER OR SHE'S GONNA BLOW IT WHEN HE ARRIVES AND START TALKING ABOUT YOUR RELATIVES

Tubbo!

E

He watched as the customers left, keeping an eye on them as they left the building. “Yeah, met a kid in the woods, he’s uh, coming over soon. He doesn’t exactly know about the whole Prince Technoblade thing, please don’t tell him, he treats me normally,” Techno said, observing Puffys reaction. She nodded, miming the ‘My Lips Are Zipped Shut’ motion.  “Tell me more about him, my son lives in the woods so maybe I’ve heard of him,” Puffy requested, taking a small strand of hair and braiding it. 

“His name is Tubbo-” Puffy slammed her hand down on the table, startling Niki, who dropped the coins she was holding.

The captain immediately stood, lifting her hand to her eyebrow. “Is he this tall? Brown hair? Goats horns but can be mistaken for rams? Good with Redstone?” She rapidly fired questions, making Technos brain briefly short circuit. Once he caught up, it was clear that Puffy and Tubbo had crossed paths before. “Uhh, yes actually, how did you know?” He questioned, leaning forward as Puffy took a seat. 

She lifted her sleeve, showing a small scar. “Way back, when I just started working for your father I was making a personalized delivery to L’Manburg, -this is back when the L’Manburg vs Manburg war was happening-, we made a pitstop in some shabby lakeshore town. I’m out getting food for the crew where I see a group of L’Manburgian soldiers, they were murmuring worriedly amongst themselves, kinda crowding something. Of course, I need to know what's going on, so I shove my way through the crowd and I see Tubbo,” She paused, looking around as if to see if anyone was spying.

 “He’s wearing a Manburg uniform, panicked tears are streaming down his face, he’s trying to tell the soldiers something, he’s inhaling lungfuls of air- clearly he’s just run a long distance- he was much younger at this time remember, so whatever you’re picturing age him down by like eight years,” Her eyes mist slightly, “The L’Manburgians were concerned because here’s this child in the enemies uniform who was trying to tell them something. I take the reins of the situation and approach him, bending down so I can wipe away his tears. I tell him to mimic my breathing, and finally, he can speak. His words are stuttered and whispered, and he’s looking rapidly around as if being there was a sin,  ‘They know you’re here,’ he says, ‘you need to run'’”

Technos's heart dropped at the realization. 

Puffy sighed, eyes shining with memories of the past. 

“The soldiers take up arms, asking this child where he ran in from. Tubbo points into the woods, he’s shaking like a leaf with nerves, clinging onto my sleeve,” She stops

“The less intrusive version is I helped him hide from his former army, I got the scar when those Manburgians he warned us about broke through the woods a half-hour later, I and my crew escaped with Tubbo and a decent chunk of civilians. He stayed on the ship and we nursed him back to health, one of my sailors taught him about redstone and the next thing we knew he had set up a lighting system in the cabins. We arrived here and I was going to ask him about staying with the crew. But he packed up his small sack of stuff we had given him -a compass, watch, some money to spend at the market, the clothing we had sewn- and told us that he was thankful for our help, but that he’d be ok on his own,” She chuckles at this, shaking her head in disbelief as she did eight years ago.

“I see him about a year later, just when the war is dialling down in Amounsus. He’s unsurprisingly managed to wedge himself into the heart of a fellow ship captain, Sparklez, the man claiming him as his Duckling. He was overjoyed to see me and proudly showed me how he was learning more about Redstone and I believe this is when his love for bees began to shine, seeing as he had constructed a tiny mechanical bee that could fly. I’ll see him a few more times as the years go by,”

Puffy finishes, leaving Technos mind processing all of this new information. 

So. Tubbo was in a war

War traitor

Bitch he was like what, nine? How old is he right now??

He’s been around holy fuck

HE KNOWS CAPTAINSPARKLEZ?

I thought Sparklez was in jail because he killed people?

I thought Sparklez was like magic

That can’t be the captain… 

Niki walks over with two glasses of water, placing them down in front of the duo with a soft smile. “I guess that explains all of the trinkets in his house and his weird knowledge on the most obscure subjects,” she jested,  Puffy nodded, taking a long drink out of her glass. “He stole so many things off my ship, I’m assuming you’ve seen his cloak? That was mine, I lent it to him on a colder night when he was travelling with us and he never gave it back. It’s basically his now,” She hummed with a smile. 

At the mention of Tubbo stealing stuff, Niki giggled, “He once took the plants from my planters. Talking to me the entire time, I just let him, I didn’t even think he was stealing because he looked so natural,”  she gestured to the window, where an uneven row of flowers stood, there were a few gaps that had yet to be refilled. Techno made a mental note to avoid leaving his stuff out around Tubbo. 

The trio lapsed into idle chatter, Niki pausing to help customers from time to time, and when the clock hit noon Puffy excused herself to help her with the lunch rush. Techno disappeared into the back kitchen when people started to stare. 

It was interesting to watch Niki and Puffy putter around, dodging out of the way as one of them ran into the kitchen to get something or reach something on a higher shelf. They moved like a machine, each of them predicting each other's moves and accommodating beautifully, it was almost like a dance. 

Broskis, they would be so dangerous on the battlefield

I mean Puffy sounds like she’s fought quite a bit, and there could be stuff that she’s not sharing about the first time she met Tubbo

SPEAKING OF THAT. TUBBO WAS IN A GODDAMN WAR WHEN HE WAS LIKE NINE

THE SWORDS WOULD’VE BEEN AS BIG AS HIS WHOLE BODY THE FUCK???

Who let him fight I just wanna talk to him. 

Kinda want to draw blood right now

Chat started talking among itself, feeding into the idea of murder. “I thought the guy who was in charge at the time died already?” Techno whispered, not wanting the two ladies to hear him talking to himself, although he would bet money Puffy already knew. 

After what felt like hours, finally , a familiar brown-headed hybrid trotted through the doors, pausing at the sight of the rush, and probably of the lack of sight of Techno. Niki greeted him, waving him into the back kitchen with a smile, Tubbo gratefully rushed past the people, pausing again at the sight of Puffy. The captain flashed him a smile, giving him a salute as she passed him, balancing two trays of cookies on her arm.  

“Took you long enough” Techno greeted, feeling a pang of concern when he noticed the shadows under his small friend's eyes. “You look like you got up at like six,” Tubbo scoffed, but a playful smile rested on his face. “ You look like you didn’t fall asleep until six,” Techno gestured towards his eyebags, quickly scanning over the rest of Tubbos's visible anatomy for signs of distress. The kid picked up on it quickly, changing the subject with a slap of his pocket. “So, we can alter the list slightly. I found a couple of tomato seeds in my junk cupboard, a trade deal I made with a farmer awhile back that I have yet to collect my part of- a dozen eggs and a few sacks of plant seeds with bonemeal-, and an old iron chest plate that we can melt down at the blacksmith for free, because the blacksmith still owes me after he accidentally stabbed me,” Tubbo listed off this without pause, giving Techno possibly the third short brain circuit of the day.

“He stabbed you?”

“It was an accident! We’re good!” Tubbo raised his hands as if to prevent Techno from storming out of the kitchen and ‘accidentally’ stabbing the blacksmith. Honestly, Techno didn’t blame him. Both of them stared at each other in silence before Tubbo started giggling, a sound that both blessed and terrified Techno. “I stabbed him back after he said I could,”

He what

I don't think that's how comeuppance works?

Don’t we do comeuppance like that?

No no, not us , we’re CHAT, the other us does that. 

An eye for an eye, a leg for a leg, a stab for a stab I guess

Slowly, Techno reached out and patted Tubbo on the shoulder, “I promise I will not harm you in a way that warrants a stabbing,” he droned, recalling Tubbo hacking into the log with the axe. Tubbo returned the shoulder pat, having to reach up slightly to reach. “Much appreciated, big man. Shall we get going? I would love to stay and catch up with Miss Puffy, but I borrowed a cloak from her a long time ago and it’s kinda awkward that I haven’t given it back, plus I don’t even know if she wants it back and it’s a vaguely embarrassing topic,”  Tubbo glanced over his shoulder, trying to figure out if Puffy was in earshot. 

A small smile worked its way onto Techno's face, deciding not to tell Tubbo that  Puffy wasn’t bothered at all.

The two waved goodbye secretly to Niki and Puffy before spending three minutes trying to find the back exit. Techno was following Tubbo and Tubbo promised he knew exactly where it was. They walked past it five times. 

Once they were out in the alleyway, Tubbo exhaled. “Alright, big man, let’s shop,” 

Chapter Text

Something Techno learned quickly was that Tubbo was easy to lose in a crowd. 

They had exited the alleyway together, Tubbo simply telling Techno to follow him to where all the good shops were, Techno had thought it would be easy, people were thin enough and L’Manburgs streets were narrow, how hard could it be? 

Very hard. 

Tubbo went out a little bit ahead of Techno, quickening his pace slightly at the sight of the people. The boy would disappear behind civilians as he passed them, obscured by their swishing cloaks and seamlessly passing behind others. Techno found that he had to speed walk just to keep an eye on him. Whilst doing so, people stopped, looking at him curiously before realization dawned on them. 

Right. We can’t let Tubbo know of our lineage, and we’re surrounded by people who know our lineage

Oh gods this is going to be hysterical to watch

Suddenly, L’Manburg seemed to be swarming with people staring at him, murmuring and pointing. He ran to catch up with Tubbo. “Could you slow down? I’m supposed to be the faster one,” Techno joked, lightly placing a hand onto Tubbos shoulder to prevent him from running. Tubbo sized him up, “Due to your constant need to wear that skull, I reckon I could outrun you,” he reached up and knocked on the nose of the skull. “Nah, It gives me a speed boost,” 

The two walked side by side through the city, Techno distracting Tubbo whenever someone tried to talk to him about the Empire and trying his best not to lose it when people looked anxiously towards the oblivious boy chatting next to him. “Tell me about your job, do you travel a lot?” Tubbo asked, pausing to look at a pretty flower arrangement. Techno glared at someone approaching them, making the man quickly back off. “I would say so, it’s mostly just talking,” Techno shrugged, not exactly lying but telling the truth either. 

Satisfied, Tubbo nodded, “What’s been your favourite place to visit so far?” he asked, hopping from one coloured tile to the next. Thinking, Techno tried to recall positive memories from everywhere he’d been. 

“Honestly, probably here. It’s a pretty city, and I met you,” Techno answered, looking up at a particularly interesting-looking building. Tubbo grinned, “I do make every place better,” he said proudly, earning a chuckle from Techno. “What about you? I’ve seen the trinkets in your house, you obviously travel, what has been your favourite place to live?” Techno observed his friend's face, watching for any indication that he was uncomfortable. 

His friend smiled, patting his bag. “That’s a tough question,” a silence grew between them, Tubbos brow furrowed in thought.

During this, Techno scrutinized Tubbo a little bit more, more specifically, looking at his shoes. Something that Puffy had told him when he was younger was the way to know a person's life was their shoes, and Techno took that to heart. Tubbos shoes were worn leather boots, with copper clasps instead of laces, and their soles were attached with various coloured strings. In summary, they were well loved. In fact, so far, all of Tubbos things were well loved.

His pants had patches and extra pockets sewn on, his shirts were stretched and loose, his bag that he had slung across his shoulder looked like it had seen better days many many years ago, and those tools that he used working with the log looked like they had served him long past their contract… the list went on, in fact, the only thing that didn’t look well loved was his wallet. 

Startling him out of his thoughts, Tubbo clapped suddenly. “So, I think I have an answer,” he chirped, looking up at Techno with a winning smile. “And?” Techno prompted, almost bumping into someone as Tubbo took a hard right. “Where I live now. It’s practically where I wanted to live when I was a kid, minus a few things I plan on adding later. It’s close to a safe city, secluded, and I built it mostly on my own,” His reasons were sweet, and Techno could tell he really meant it. Tubbo sighed, “Everyone is so nice here, it’s very refreshing,” 

Techno hummed in agreement. “What’s the least friendly place you’ve lived in?” Techno asked, turning away from a member of some sort of royal guard, recalling seeing the same one standing outside the meeting room yesterday morning. “Manburg, hundred percent,” Tubbo responded without hesitation, pausing in front of a street sign before turning down another street, this one much less crowded than the ones before. Techno didn’t exactly need an explanation for Manburg. 

For the most part, Manburg was thriving in a darker sort of beauty. Its civilians were decentish, but not those you go to for help. But Manburg was also just crawling with all sorts of criminals, the ugly underbelly it was known for taking the spotlight away from its few redeeming qualities. Any time Techno's job led him to Manburg, Techno would beg Phil to allow him to miss the meetings, voicing vague lies about fearing he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from murdering the cabinet. Phil would turn down these wishes, much to Technos's disappointment. 

“Makes sense, it’s not the prettiest,” Techno agreed, thinking back on what Puffy had told him about Tubbos life when he was younger. “Mmhm, I got mugged one time, when I was maybe about five. This drunkard threatened to kill me and was about to take the money my… uh, father gave me to get some fish. Thing is, he must’ve pissed off the wrong people because as he’s taking out his knife, he gets body slammed by this blond guy, an avian, with the biggest wings I’ve ever seen. The avian turns to me as he’s holding down the drunk, gives me a smile and tells me to run along, so I do, and I run all the way back home,” Tubbo taps the side of his head. “I hear his voice saying those words to me whenever I feel unsafe, ‘ Run along' and I do, I run all the way back home,” He finishes his story with a small giggle as if he’s just finished telling a joke instead of a surely traumatic incident. 

“I never saw either of them again, I sometimes wonder what they’re doing with their lives,” he hums, slowing his pace as they round a final corner. “And, we’re here,” Tubbo gestures out towards the market, eyes now losing whatever confidence he was carrying on the walk, taking in the people walking around and laughing. 

The market was definitely busier than Techno had expected, with all the twists Tubbo had led him through, he was under the assumption that it was a more secretive meeting place. Colourful stalls lined up along the curve of the street, each of them promoting different items and trinkets that varied in rarity. A few restaurants had grouped together to provide a clean eating area, their chairs and tables placed a little ways away from the buyers and sellers. Tubbo took a deep breath, stepping back a bit to let Techno take the lead, eyes flitting nervously from person to person.

Unfortunately for him, Techno was just as nervous, knowing for a fact that people would stop and stare. 

Taking a deep breath, Techno walked forward, keeping his eyes on the lookout for any unwanted approaches. “So, should we hit up where you feel the most uncomfortable and work our way down?” Techno asked, turning to look at the boy hovering behind him. Tubbo nodded, gesturing towards the food section. Sighing, Techno gave him a reassuring pat on the head, miming what he would do to Ranboo. Squaring his shoulders, Techno walked towards the colourful foods area, Tubbo silently trailing behind.

Surprisingly, the stall keepers were much more chill about Techno being there, possibly due to the fact that their own ruler liked to go to the market themself to pick out their food.

Techno asked Tubbo what he wanted, much to the boy's chagrin when the stall keepers would direct their attention to him. The first stall was fruits, a sweet small thing run by a very kind old man who spoke softly to them. Tubbo asked for some strawberries, protesting slightly when Techno interjected with an input of five. The man working there laughed, handing Techno the strawberries while Tubbo tried to shorten it to three. 

His friend glared at him as Techno placed the strawberries in his inventory. “I don’t need five huge baskets of strawberries. Do you know how expensive those things are?” He fretted, looking towards the long line of stalls that Techno was sure to spend ridiculous amounts of money at. “Yep, but these are some amazingly grown strawberries,” Techno pointed out, offering a strawberry to Tubbo. He took it, “Where will I even store this?” He muttered, eating the strawberry. 

As they walked to the next stall, Tubbo hesitantly grabbed Techno's sleeve, surprising the man slightly, but he didn’t do anything. 

The next stall indulged in vegetables, something Tubbo took interest in. Lettuce was important in Techno's book, so he made sure that he bought a few heads for his friend. Tubbo asked quietly for red and yellow peppers, selecting them out himself, something Techno saw as an improvement. Tubbo passed on the tomatoes, reminding him that he had found tomato seeds that morning. When he wasn’t looking, Techno bought some anyway. The stall keeper kindly threw in some freebies, which included a bunch of celery, a bunch of green beans, and a generous amount of beetroot. Tubbo thanked the man profusely, something Techno and the stall keeper found endearing. 

When their purchases were handed over, Tubbo immediately took a small knife and cut two pieces of pepper, handing one of them to Techno. His friend took it, lifting his mask slightly to eat it. “I'm going to feed you half of what you buy me out of spite, I hope you understand,” Tubbo muttered, slicing another piece of pepper. Techno hummed, taking the knife out of Tubbos grasp and tucking it into his pocket. 

His friend glared up at him, a slightly comedic sight. “Are you ready to go to the next stall?” Techno asked, gesturing towards the stall next to them, one that was filled with spices and drier ingredients. “I hope you trip and inhale chilli powder,” Tubbo crossed his arms but moved to Technos's side nonetheless. 

Here, Techno made sure that Tubbo didn’t wild out on the possibilities, sticking with some easy-to-work-with spices and not letting his friend near the spicier choices. Tubbo also selected some garlic, mentioning how he planned to stick it into Technos pocket and make him smell. The woman working there looked horrified, glancing at Techno with terror before advising Tubbo that it wouldn’t be wise to do something like that to him. Tubbo shrugged her off, “He’s a dick, he deserves it,” he said without any real malice. The poor girl blanched, handing Techno the spices with a shaky hand. “He’s mad that I’m paying for him,” Techno scoffed, pretending that he wasn’t offended by the woman being afraid for Tubbo's safety when clearly the boy was fine. 

Tubbo, oblivious to the whole thing, took the bags from Techno's grip and they disappeared into his inventory. “I’m mad because you keep buying more than I need,” He corrected, grasping Techno's sleeve again. 

They swiftly visited the other stalls, Tubbo whispering or pointing at what he wanted, and the stall keepers either chuckling at Tubbo's clear disregard for royalty or looking horrified at Tubbos's clear disregard for royalty. Every once in a while they shared a stall with a few other buyers, at a sweets stall, a handful of children were arguing amongst themselves about what to buy. Tubbo had recognized them, leaving Technos side to help them with their dilemma. 

The sight made Techno wish slightly that the Empire could do things like this, without the citizens worrying about the frigid temperatures, maybe he could get Phil to get one of those old warehouses converted to an indoor market. 

“Sorry about that, those kids come to Niki's bakery often,” Tubbo explained upon his return to Techno, cheerfully waving goodbye as the kids ran off with a huge chunk of chocolate. “No need to apologize. Where should we go next? Or do you want to take a break from the social aspect?” Techno asked, nibbling on his own piece of chocolate. 

Please take a break

This chocolate is vibing ngl

Chocolate supremacy 

Yall sleeping on white chocolate

Honk shoe motherfucker 

Tubbo pointed to the extended patio, “I’d like to do a transfer of inventory, please,” he said. The two of them made their way to a table a little farther than everyone else, sitting in the chairs and relaxing. Techno brought out the strawberry baskets, placing them on the table and praying that they wouldn’t fall off. “How are you enjoying the market so far?” Tubbo asked while putting the strawberries away. “Very populated,” he observed Tubbo's hands, frowning to himself when he noticed a fresh bandage on his palm. His friend laughed, “Yeah, I try to avoid the markets as much as I can, this one is one of the more tolerable ones,” 

“If this is tolerable I think I’d rather die than see intolerable,” Techno joked, one last strawberry from the basket before Tubbo placed it in his inventory. “Oh my god don’t get me started, the mugging story from before? I’d rather go through that again than go through one of the popular markets,” Tubbo shuddered, rubbing his arms. “So noisy ,” 

A pang of familiarity poked Techno's brain, the action reminding him of a smaller Wilbur before he had to grace some social gathering. Before Wilbur changed for the worst. “On the plus side, we’re not in a more popular market. I bet those ones don’t have nearly as much good stuff as this place has,” Techno joked, lifting the strawberry to eat. Tubbo chuckled, “You’d be correct about that, bossman,” 

The two relaxed into their chairs, watching people in the market. 

Tubbo brought out his water bottle and two cups, offering Techno some which the man accepted.  “Three minutes before we head over to the blacksmith? I’d like to do it sooner rather than later,” Tubbo sipped his water, looking at a large stone chimney a little ways away. “Makes sense, let me finish my water and we’ll go,” Techno swiftly chugged the water, coughing and leaning over as it went down the wrong pipe. Tubbo swiftly got up and smacked him on the back, probably hard enough to leave a bruise. 

The people around them grew quiet as Techno continued hacking on the water and Tubbo repeatedly smacked him. “Can you breathe?” Tubbo asked, panic evident in his eyes as Techno wheezed in a breath, before dissolving into more coughs. “We’re…good,” Techno choked out, wishing that Tubbo would stop assaulting his back, the boy was strong . Tubbo sighed in relief, giving one last painful hit before stopping. Techno looked at his smaller friend, concerned at the wild look of panic still resting in his eyes. 

“Ok, that’s enough drama, let’s go,” Techno stood, firmly placing his hand on Tubbos neck and guiding him away from the stares. 

After a few minutes of Tubbo guiding him through the market, they arrived at a large stone building. Tubbo detached himself from Techno's grip and waltzed right in, Techno following behind.

Tools and ash littered the floor, the air was almost uncomfortable with how hot it was, and what looked to be a nearly ten-foot tall archway leading into a nether portal stood at the back of the room. Nether Portals were a huge deal, they had almost been banned due to the number of deaths caused after people were being reckless, nowadays they were harder to find and even harder to own. “Hey! Sapnap!” Tubbo greeted, approaching a man Techno didn’t even notice until he was pointed out. 

The guy wore what used to be a white t-shirt, now stained with ash and burned at the ends. Brown hair was tied back with an actual white bandanna, showing off little pointed ears that faded into black. 

Sapnap was elbow deep into lava, perking up when his name was called and shuffling around the basin to be able to face Tubbo. His eyes glowed faintly of orange, and Techno could see streaks of gold on his teeth when he grinned. “Tubbo! What a pleasant surprise, come to stab me again?” he greeted, chuckling at his own joke. Tubbo shook his head, feigning a saddened face. “Not today, but it does tie into that. Remember that favour you owe me?” He approached the man, nearly tripping over a few tools on the way. “How could I forget? I don’t think I’ll ever sleep peacefully again,”

While his friend and his stabber spoke, Techno observed Sapnap from afar, wanting to know if he was safe to leave alone with Tubbo. The man seemed regretful over his mistake, which was good, but Techno wouldn’t put it past him to accidentally do it again. Not yet had the man successfully checked himself off of Technos distrust list. “Just a chest plate? Damn dude, are you sure that’s all I need to do? I’ll gladly do more,” Sapnap asked incredulously, a frown set onto his face. 

“When I said a favour I meant like a legit sweat-inducing favour, like making you a set of tools or something,” 

Techno perked at that, walking forward and placing a hand on Tubbos shoulder. “You can do that,” Techno said, staring down Sapnap who had suddenly gone very stiff, his eyes dimming a considerable amount. Tubbo shook his head, gently patting Techno's hand. “Ignore my friend. I just want the chest plate smelted, that’s all,” he soothed, opening his palm. A child-sized battered chest plate materialized into his hand, Tubbo huffed softly as he gripped the neck hole, rubbing away something that Techno prayed was just rust. “I'm not looking for you to do overtime,”

“Dude, I almost took one of your…” he trailed off, eyeing Techno, who towered behind Tubbo and had a protective little gleam in his eye, “...Nevermind. It’s no hassle, really. In fact, you’d be doing me a favour,”

Tubbo frowned. “I just need it smelted, please. I like to make my own tools,” he handed the chest plate over with a firm look at Sapnap, who was weighing the thing in his hands.  

His eyes narrowed in on the chest plate, scanning every inch he could see. “That’s a Manburgian-made chest plate, my dad told me that they lined them with obsidian to protect against projectiles,” he said, gesturing towards a decently sized hole in the side of the thing, “Guess whoever owned that one wasn’t as lucky,” 

Grimacing, Tubbo stepped away from him, “Nope, I guess not,” 

Techno tried to ignore the way Tubbos hand hesitated as it passed his ribs. 

With a glance towards Techno, Sapnap turned away from the two of them. “It’ll take me a little while to clean and melt this, why don’t you chill out for a bit?” He offered, tilting his head briefly towards a workbench. “Unfortunately, we have a few more stops we need to make, but we’ll be back soon,” Tubbo apologized, sticking his hands into his pockets. “Hm, alright. Could your friend stay back for a bit? I need to ask him something,” Sapnap set the chest plate on a stone slab, his hands starting to glow and smoulder. Not exactly surprised, Techno shrugged, looking at Tubbo for the answer. 

Tubbo hummed, “I’ll go collect that debt from the farmer I mentioned, I’ll either be there or back at the table,” he pointed in the direction of the farmer's stall, giving Sapnap a quick wave before weaving back in with the crowd. 

I hope he doesn’t get stepped on

I hope he’ll be able to talk to the farmer

I think seeing that they know each other, he’ll be fine.

Why does Sapnap look angry

Precisely the moment Tubbo was out of earshot, Sapnap turned to face Techno, arms crossed. “What’s your deal?” He asked, hands sparking in some unknown emotion. “Heh?” Techno decided to feign confusion, already having quite a few guesses as to what Sapnap could be referring to. The blacksmith huffed, glaring at a wrench on the floor instead of at Techno. “So what, does Tubbo not know who you are? Does he just not care?” He asked, brushing ash off of his shirt. 

Is he… jealous?

No no, I don’t think so. 

Worried maybe.

“About my status? He doesn’t know. I’m planning on keeping it that way,” Techno drawled, leaning against the wall and blocking the exit. Sapnap huffed, “You’re lucky nobodies screamed at the sight of you. Do you even know how many retired soldiers live here? People who have seen you kill in war are here,” he pointed out, much to Techno's frustration. “Then what? What will happen to Tubbo when he finds out everything you’ve done?” Sapnap placed the child's chest plate down, approaching Techno with an eyebrow raised. 

I don’t like him

I think he should shut up

I know, right? He’s making us think of all those negatives…

But what would happen if Tubbo found out? 

Techno stepped forward, towering over Sapnap with a glare. “I will do everything in my power to prevent him from finding out. This is the one thing I don’t need to share with my family, I’m not giving it up that easily,” His eyes whispered an unspoken promise to the Blacksmith, placing his hand on his shoulder and gripping it tightly. 

Sapnap stood his ground, his eyes flicking to a framed photo, from Techno's perspective, the glare of the sunlight hid whoever was in it. 

“I won’t tell him on one condition, ok?” Sapnap offered, pressing his burning hot hand onto the hand and gripping his shoulder in an attempt to get it off. Unflinchingly, Techno nodded, tightening his grip further. “My father, Badboyhalo, isn’t going to be imprisoned,”

Of all the things Techno was expecting, that was not one of them. 

“I can-”

“There’s no ‘trying’ in this. You are going to do everything in your power to get him back to me in one piece. Both physically and psychologically,” Sapnap cut him off, his eye glow darkening to a red that brought Techno back to staring in the mirror as the Voices ran rampant. “That egg has twisted him, he’s not that horrible tyrannical dictator of the Badlands, ok? He’s my kind, tough-as-nails, badass Dad,” Sapnap returned Techno's stare with determined eyes, “Promise me that when you and your army invade the Badlands, my Dad will return home,”

Techno squeezed his shoulder, “I promise,” 

The two of them kept staring at each other for a moment longer before Sapnap nodded, “Good, go find Tubbo. And do me one favour, alright?” Sapnap moved away from Techno, picking up the chest plate and moving towards his workbench. Techno hummed.

“Don’t tell Tubbo that im disobeying him with the whole ‘oh, just smelt it please, no need to make it into tools,’ thing,” Sapnap flashed him a sharp grin, one which Techno returned. “Cross my heart,” 

With a firm nod of respect, Sapnap shooed him out of his workplace and sent him back into the world. 

Whilst on his way to find Tubbo, the man stumbled across a stall selling Nether items- much to his luck- and bought enough to last Tubbo months. Much to Tubbos' chagrin. 

“How expensive was this? One blaze rod costs ten gold! Why the hell do you have twenty?” Tubbo seethed, crossing his arms as Techno handed him three large bottles of ghast tears. “I have more items in my inventory,” Techno mentally riffled through the items in his inventory, bringing out four baskets and balancing them precariously on his arms. Tubbo facepalmed, quickly apologizing to the farmer he was talking with before leading Techno away from the public eye. “I’m never taking you out again,”

Despite this, Techno saw the slight smile and giddy light in Tubbos eyes and grinned to himself. Success. 

Chapter Text

Dear Tubbo, 

I’m sorry for leaving you on such short notice and without a good goodbye. Because of the government, I won’t be able to visit you for the rest of my visit. Unfortunate I know, I can hear you crying from here, stop it. 

I’ve been moved to the castle, I guess paparazzi started swarming the hotel I was staying at and for my safety -not that I need it- I was moved. Pro-tip, don’t ever stay at this castle, you wouldn’t believe how easy it is to get lost here. 

My room is decent, it’s full of books and maps, and I have a beautiful view of the forest. As I’m writing this I think I’m looking at your house, if so, please get someone else to help you with that roof because kid, you’re not doing so good on your own. 

Work is boring, the way generals can talk for hours on end about wanting to win back the smallest piece of land will never fail to amaze me, just give it up you nerds. You don’t need it. 

I wish I could tell you all that's happened in person, but I’m being shipped out of here tomorrow. Or, by the time you've received this, about a week ago. How are you doing? How’s the roof coming along? Reply at your own speed, I’m not going anywhere. 

Your friend, Technoblade. 

Also known as Techno, or to you, Bitch. 

P.S, I’ve ordered a ton of clothing to be delivered to you because I know that If I bought them with you in person you would’ve declined. 

Tubbo read and reread the letter to himself, giggling and sighing as he sipped some hot chocolate Niki had made him. “How is he?” The woman herself asked, emerging from the kitchen with a tray of lemon squares. Tubbo smiled, “He’s good, I think he must be home by now though,” He took a square when it was offered, taking a large bite. Niki hummed, taking a seat next to him and motioning towards the letter. 

They sat in silence for the most part as Niki read the letter herself, chuckling quietly. The street outside the window they were sitting at was doused in twilight light and soft orange glows from the lanterns, making the outside look much warmer than it actually was. 

Tubbo internally shuddered at the walk back to his place in the growing cold, knowing well that the cloak he had chosen this morning wasn’t well suited for the chill of the evening. Granted he did have a regen potion on hand that helped with body heat. Niki passed him back the letter, adjusting her sleeves which had rolled down ever so slightly. “He really does spoil you, huh?” She smiled, shaking her head. With a hum, Tubbo tucked the letter into his cloak pocket. 

“To an alarming degree honestly,” 

Niki ruffled his hair, eating one of her lemon squares as she got up and started puttering around her bakery, making sure everything was ready for her to pack it in for the night. “I mean, you deserve it. Could you help me move these tables?” Niki asked, motioning towards the tables set in the middle of the room, “Be careful with the first one, it’s leg is wobbly,” 

Laying his cloak across his chair, Tubbo got up from his comfy spot to help. Lifting two tables up and moving them across the room, stacking them neatly alongside their companions. Soon enough the place was cleared, leaving the floor easily accessible to brooms and mops. Tubbo lifted the window seats up onto their counter as Niki swept, dodging when she jokingly attacked his ankles with the bristles.

“Don’t do this to me,” he pleaded, nearly losing his footing as he leaped away from a well-placed poke, sliding across the floor. Niki evilly grinned, discarding her flour-covered apron with a flourish. “I haven’t done anything to you!” He cried as Niki dashed towards him with the broom outstretched. “I know!” She cheered, internally wincing as Tubbo flinched at the noise. 

He was in the middle of jumping and clinging onto one of the lower roofs supports to avoid a broom to the knee when the door opened with a ding of the bell, startling the both of them. His fingers dug into the wood as he hoisted himself up, trying to get out of view of whomever just walked in. Niki watched with curiosity and worry as Tubbo accomplished this feat, broom still raised from her last attempt at pokeage. 

The duo turned their attention to the door when a slight chuckle from the arrival startled them. 

A tall figure shrouded in a green button-up hooded poncho wearing a white mask with an eerie smile stood in front of the just-closing door. Curled horns broke from his blond hair and reached towards the ceiling, giving him a somewhat sinister look, which was only highlighted by the Netherite claws gracing his fingers. “Hiya,” He waved, leaning against the doorframe. Gold and silver clicked against each other as the chains dangling from his belt swayed. 

“Hiya yourself, do you ever knock?” Niki muttered, setting down the broom, much to Tubbos relief. The newcomer shrugged, picking an invisible piece of lint off of his shoulder, “You were busy terrorizing that kid up there,” He pointed up at Tubbos's hiding spot, a flash of amusement in his tone. Tubbo peaked over the side, scowling. “You should’ve entered sooner,” 

The man hummed. “I don’t think we’ve met,” he said, looking towards Niki, presumably for an explanation. Niki smiled, “This is Tubbo, Tubbo this is Dream. Puffys son,” Niki introduced.

Dream nodded in respect, “My mother talks about you sometimes, it’s nice to put a face to your name,” he said. “Wish I could say the same,” Tubbo muttered to himself, reluctantly climbing down from his safe spot on the rafters. Upon his feet's safe return to the ground, Niki grabbed the broom and aggressively poked his knees. “Ok! Ok! I forfeit,” Tubbo leaped away from the offending broom, raising his hands in mock surrender. Niki smirked, retracting the broom and placing it against the wall. 

“What have you guys been doing?” Dream asked, head turning to presumably look at the cleared floor area. Tubbo moved next to Niki, still intimidated by the well-decorated man in front of him. “Packing in for the night. What have you been doing? You never visit me without Puffy,” Niki asked, glancing at Dream's muddy boots. “Oh, she’s coming, I just ran ahead after she started talking with a friend,” he said, pausing at the tray of lemon squares still sitting out. “Can I have one of those?”

With a sigh, Niki walked over to retrieve the tray. “So, Tubbo huh? What’re you up to these days?” Dream asked, looking Tubbo up and down. Nervous, Tubbo adjusted the rings on his horns, mentally going through every outcome this conversation could have. “Not much, I’ve been working a lot on my house-” “Is that you ? You’re the one who built that thing?” Dream interrupted, a little note of awe making Tubbo feel bashful. “If you mean the one with the horrible roof, then yes,” 

“I wouldn’t say it’s horrible…”

Tubbo raised an eyebrow.

“Ok yeah it’s horrible,” Dream shrugged, “It’s still very well put together,”  he added. 

Niki, who had been approaching with the tray of lemon squares and eavesdropping on their conversation slid up next to the both of them. “Maybe Dream could help you with your roof now that Technos is not here,” she suggested, eliciting very different reactions from the two of them. 

Tubbo nervously looked at the man and tilted his head.

Dream, with a very surprised yelp, gripped Nikis' shoulders. “Techno?” He hissed, glancing towards Tubbo who was watching with thinly veiled fear, eyes locking onto where Dream's fingers were digging into Niki's flesh. Niki firmly gripped Dream's wrist, promising Tubbo kindly that they’d be back shortly before dragging Dream into the back room. 

Tubbo stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, deciding to continue Nikis sweeping while she spoke with Dream. 

By the time they emerged from the back room, the interior was properly swept, and Tubbo was just about to begin mopping. “Oh, Tubbo, you don’t need to do that,” Niki chided, taking away the broom from his hands. Tubbo didn’t reply, feeling the Dream staring burning into the back of his neck. As Niki started mopping, he wordlessly inspected her for wounds, relieved when he found none. He could hear his footsteps and braced for when his hand would meet his shoulder like it did Nikis. Instead, a gentle tap on the shoulder surprised him. 

He turned to face the man, stepping back when he realized how close he was standing. “If you’re comfortable, I’d love to help you with that roof, I have nothing to do much anyways,” Dream offered, an interested tone aloof in his muffled voice. Tubbo looked towards Niki, who smiled and gave him a thumbs up. He turned back to look at Dream, extending his hand to shake somewhat reluctantly, “Work partners?” 

“Work partners.” Dream firmly shook his hand. 

Niki broke their handshake with a tap of the mop handle against the wall, drawing their attention to where she stood. “If you two are done, I’d like a bit more help, if you two could get the day-old stuff out of the display and split it evenly between the both of you, that would be great,” 

They looked at each other. “I call immediate dibs on the chocolate chip cookies,” Tubbo said, dodging past Dream to get to the clear display case. Not even a terrifying man like Dream would prevent Tubbo from getting free reign over Niki's cookies.

Apparently, friendship could be formed over splitting baked goods, seeing as by the end of the ordeal the both of them were giggling as they traded certain pastries for others, sitting cross-legged on the floor like children. “I’ll trade you three cookies for that slice of cake right there,” Dream suggested, holding up three decently sized chocolate chip cookies and gesturing to a huge piece of vanilla cake. Tubbo considered, eyes scanning the treats Dream had lined up. 

“Throw in a lemon square for an added macaron,” he offered, pushing the slice of cake and the macaron on a napkin closer to Dream. The masked man ‘ooh’d’ quietly, swiftly adding a small lemon square to his napkin and repeating the napkin action, confirming the trade. “Thank you kindly, sir,” Tubbo lifted the square to his mouth and took a bite, savouring the sweet tangy flavour. Dream lifted the macaron as a mock toast, lifting his mask ever so slightly to eat it. 

Niki, who had been watching this with interest, giggled and shook her head. “You both are just children, honestly,” she said, discarding the mop into a closet and sitting on the counter above them. Tubbo scoffed, eating one of his newly gained cookies, “I’m making sure I’m getting my cakes worth, Niki, I won’t be underpaid, not in this economy,” he got a far-off look in his eyes. “Not in this economy…” 

“Ok then,” Niki shrugged, much to the confusion of Dream, who had never been in a room with Tubbo before, that he could remember. “Should I be concerned?” he whispered to Niki, keeping a close eye on Tubbo in case the boy spontaneously decided to steal some of his stuff. “Yes,” both Tubbo and Niki said in unison. 

Dream made a mental note to keep a close eye on Tubbo as they worked on the roof. 

After a few more trades were made, the trio were all sitting on the counter, eating sweets and chattering amongst themselves. Eventually, Puffy actually arrived, about an hour after her son. She pulled up a chair, trying her best to remain in the conversation but eventually dozed off after a good half hour. 

“She’s been harnessing her Mom Energy today,” Dream joked, taking off his cloak to drape over Puffy in her chair, making sure to gently clasp it around her neck so it wouldn’t slide onto the floor. “We should get packed up and ready for home anyways,” Niki mentioned, glancing at the clock. 

Tubbo frowned, lightly touching every new sweet he had and popping it into his inventory. It’s not that he didn’t want to go home, he just didn’t want to walk home in the cold. Reluctantly, he moved over to his cloak, swinging it over his shoulder and fastening it around his neck as tight as he could. 

He waved goodbye to his friends, chuckling softly at the sight of Dream whose stance reminded him of a child hesitant of waking up their mother. Just as he was about to open the door -wincing when the cold metal of the doorknob pressed into his hand- Niki stopped him, “Tubs, your letter fell out of your pocket,” she called, pointing towards the sheet of parchment laying on the floor where his chair was. Both Tubbo and Dream turned to look at it, Dream quickly leaving his stance and rushing over to pick it up.

“Cool paper, who’s it from?” Dream asked, observing the exterior for a moment before properly handing it to Tubbo. Tubbo hesitated, remembering how Dream reacted when Niki briefly mentioned Techno. “Oh, is it from Techno?” Dream asked, taking Tubbos silence as an apparent answer. “...Yeah? Why do you ask?” Tubbo tucked the letter safely into his pocket, zipping it up this time to prevent it from falling out again. The man shrugged, “When are you going to write back? I could help you with spelling and the such,”

Tubbo could point out noticeable strangeness in that statement, but he was tired and just wanted to go home. “Sure, why not, we’ll discuss it tomorrow when we’re building the roof,” he offered, flashing a tired smile at his new friend. Dream snapped his fingers, “Of course, have a good night, Tubbo, I’ll see you tomorrow,”

Dear Techno,

Don’t worry, you don’t need to apologize for work! But if it makes you sleep better at night, then I accept your apology :) 

Something I’m not going to forgive you for is telling Sapnap to make the iron tools anyways. Going directly against my wishes, you should be ashamed. 

I’m doing well! There are not many things that have happened in your absence, so I’ll tell you what I can. I’ve made a lot more money selling potions with the ingredients you bought me at our outing in the market. Now I can buy that expensive L’Manburgian food and stop pestering Niki about free bread and cramming her bakery with children. 

On the topic of the roof, Puffys’ son, Dream, has taken to helping me. He’s scary but he gets stuff done, I think you and him would get along. The reasons being that both of you scared the shit out of me when I first met you, both of you wear masks and gold, and enjoy berating me about my life choices. The length of time Dream went on about me staying up late to finish my farm would make you proud. 

He’s actually standing over my shoulder as I write this, menacingly. That makes me obligated to say that we’re friends now and I am no longer scared of him. 

The shipment of clothing hasn’t arrived yet, and I guess I owe you a thank you for that. Niki says I don’t own any winter clothing-which is a LIE- and I would ‘benefit’ from this. I miss you a lot, but I hope you're happy back at home! 

Sending you well wishes, 

Tubbo.

P.S - Dream is gone now so I can say with confidence he’s still terrifying 

Techno sat by the window, using the light of the stars to read Tubbos letter, pressing his warm hand against the frigid glass. He had settled back into the routine of the Empire easily enough, missing the nice warmth of L’Manburg over the constant cold of the Arctic. 

It would just be getting colder there by now huh

The smiley face though that’s so cute

I hope Tubbos doing alright

He’s strong, he’ll survive. 

Will he though? I heard that goats don’t do very well in winter

Well, now we’re all stressed. Thanks for that. 

The letter had arrived presumably eight days after it had been sent, seeing as the post wasn’t the most reliable travelling such distances and into such a snowy wasteland, so hopefully, by now the winter clothing Techno had ordered would arrive at Niki's bakery. He detached his hand from the window, pacing around by the large fireplace crackling on netherrack against Blackstone bricks, casting long shadows from where it hit the engravings on his walls and books in his personal library. 

Reading it made him feel better after being around his family for the past week- letting him forget how… strange they all were. Sure, Tommy was pretty normal, just annoyingly loud, but the others were beginning to concern him. Ranboo was increasingly controlling over Tommy's time, not wanting his younger brother's attention to go towards anyone Ranboo deemed unworthy, something Tommy must’ve pretended to be oblivious to. Phil was distant, rarely showing up for family dinners and staying in his study constantly, researching every illness and trying to find a cure, and Kristen hadn’t been able to leave her room for weeks. In fact, she had been there since Techno left . 

His feet tapped against the wood, providing a sense of rhythm as he continued reading.

Dream surprised him, Techno remembered a while ago having a duel with him, which he of course won, something Dream didn’t take very well. The man had faded from his memories after a while, leaving only a bitter taste in his mouth whenever he thought of him. While it was nice to hear Tubbo had befriended someone, it was definitely dampened by the fact that it was Dream . 

You’re lying to yourself. 

“Shut up,” he muttered, trying to banish the growing feeling of jealousy Chat was brewing at the corners of his mind. “We can’t control who Tubbo’s friends with, ok?” 

Oh but what if we could, wouldn’t that be wonderful?

Just think about it, you wouldn’t have to bother anyone exposing you. 

So far the only reason Tubbo doesn’t know is because of people's own amusement. 

They’re not telling him because you told them too, they’re not telling you because they like to watch you dance.

Techno stopped his pacing, taking deep breaths to calm himself. “That’s not true and you know that, now, shut the fuck up,” he hissed, sighing in relief when his head quieted and he was left to his own thoughts. 

As he slunk over to his chair, he bit back a scream as a cold hand gripped his wrist. 

“Haunting,”

“You need to get better at greetings, Ranboo,” Techno sighed, popping the letter into his inventory secretly so the Prince couldn’t see it, before turning to meet his younger brother's look. He was stopped in his tracks by the vacancy in Ranboos's purple eyes, becoming increasingly aware of the pressure on his wrist. “Haunting,” Ranboo repeated, staring down at the point between Technos eyebrows.

Mmm haunting. 

Delicious 

I think he’s lost

Yalls IQ is like three, Endermen consider their family their Haunting, he came to us for comfort you absolute wood chewers.

No need to get aggressive.

Yeah, 'Yalls' isn't even a word

Techno hummed, gently patting Ranboos arm before leading him to sit on the bed. “Bad dream? We all get those sometimes,” He soothed, kneeling down to meet Ranboos eyes and going off of the first idea that didn’t belong to his chat. Ranboo warbled in reply, eyes not leaving the one spot on Techno's forehead. “Techno? Is Ranboo in here?” 

Wilbur pushed open the door, hair messy and eyes clouded with gunk, his wings fluffed up in sleep and were being dragged on the floor. Techno sighed softly, standing up as much as Ranboos grip would allow, “Yeah, he’s in here, why are you up?” Techno asked, bending back down as Ranboo chirped sadly. His brother hummed, rubbing at his eyes and stumbling forward. 

Sleepy Wilbur, affectionate

You're going to be sleeping on the couch because these fuckers aren’t going to be leaving

“Ranboo teleported into my room, woke me up with a pillow to my face and I think he tried to kidnap me. So I followed him,” Wilbur yawned, collapsing onto the bed and folding the blanket over himself. Ranboo nodded, his other hand grasping Wilbur's wrist and his eyes closing. Before Techno could even suggest possibly carrying them back to their rooms, soft snores 

It was… concerning how fast Wilbur fell asleep nowadays. He spent ample time with their Mother, feeding her soup and making sure she was in utmost comfort as she fought whatever illness plagued her, rarely leaving her room. Techno theorized that he was throwing himself into caring for their mother to ease the pain of Fundy. 

He found himself kneeling there for hours , letting his two brothers sleep, ignoring the growing pains in his knees. Eventually, Ranboos grip loosened enough for him to gently slip his wrist out of the hold, standing with a wince and carefully lifting the boy up, hearing his Chats cooing when he purred contentedly. 

He tucked Ranboo under the covers, sighing in relief when the boy remained sleeping, now curling into Wilbur's side and wrapping his previously hidden tail around his arm, Wilbur unconsciously responded with a careful wing draped across the younger. 

With a smile, Techno brushed some of Ranboos hair out of his face before silently moving to sit on the couch, bringing out Tubbo's letter and a blank sheet of parchment.

Dear Tubbo,

I'll start off by saying that I'm not ashamed at all, you'll thank me when you're older and wiser. Iron tools are vital and I’d rather a hopefully licensed professional who is immune to fire make your tools in the forge rather than you, someone I know for a fact isn’t fireproof, and would most likely end up with horrendous burns. Let’s be honest here, burns are not fun. 

On a happier note, I'm very pleased to hear about your potion business. With winter coming and all, getting some money stored up is important to buy good winter foods and crop preservers. Potion making is also - as you know- a not very known but a very beneficial survival skill. It can also get you ooh's and ahh's at parties. If you even go to those things, I heard you can actually meet new people and friends there. From my experience, however, all they do is drain your social battery and make you prone to feelings of anxiety. 

On the subject of new people, I don't think I got to meet Dream on my visit to L'Manburg, it's nice to hear you've gotten a new friend who can help you with stuff. I'm interested in hearing more about him if you're interested in sharing. 

I wish I'd met someone new In the time I’ve been gone. It's definitely been boring without you here, I only have my siblings to interact with and their only interest is to torment me about the most uninteresting things. 

My Mother has sadly fallen ill in the time I've been gone so we're all helping her recover, I'm hoping by the time you receive this and reply with a healthy illness-curing soup recipe we will no longer need it. Other than that we're all in good health. But between you and me, I'm betting on my youngest brother getting sick with a cold within the next two weeks because he never wears his jacket when I tell him to.

Awaiting your next letter, 

Techno

He read over his letter, taking a few of his chat’s topic suggestions. It was truthful enough to ease his worries about spewing pure lies to his friend, but also kept enough of his life secret to prevent Chat from screeching as if he killed Tubbo himself.

I hope we don’t sound too needy

Are you 100% sure we can’t spin a lie about Dream and be rid of him?

For the final time, we aren’t going to negatively impact Tubbos relationships with other figures just because we don’t like them. 

By now, the fire previously dancing in the fireplace had died down to a pile of embers, the orange glow only just lighting up the parchment enough to read the words he had written. With a soft smile, Techno allowed the letters to disappear into his inventory before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

Chapter Text

The Queen struggled to open her eyes, head pounding with a pain she couldn’t put into words, mouth parched and feeling as if sandpaper was shoved down her throat. The previously cool sheets now drenched in sweat were uncomfortably tangled around her legs, barely having the strength to reset it to the smoother rendition of before. 

Dark hair was tangled and wet, plastered to her face and getting in her mouth. Next to her, was her sleeping husband, one of his large wings covering her lap and providing a warmth that she actually wanted. Mindlessly, she straightened feathers and brushed dirt out of his wing, trying to find something - anything - to distract her from the feelings of Xde brushing out her sinuses. 

The wing twitched as she worked, the man they were attached to humming contentedly in his slumber. 

Her internal clock had been ruined by whatever was plaguing her, rousing her from sleep just before four in the morning with what felt like the worst hangover of her life.

When every little feather had been cleaned and straightened to perfection, the Queen let herself sink back into her cushions, tilting her head up to the ceiling to ease her headache. The part of the pillow she rested her neck on was cool, providing the smallest bit of relief. 

“Mm, Darling?” Her husband turned over, his eyes barely managing to be visible through his bedhead of blond hair. The Queen hummed in acknowledgement, placing one of her frigid hands on his forehead. “Goodmorning, love,” she whispered, gently swirling one a strand of hair around her finger, “Good morning, dear,” Phil responded, lifting himself up and hoisting himself closer to her, grabbing a washcloth in cool water from the bedside table and gently dabbing it on her face.

The queen closed her eyes, letting her husband gently wipe away the sweat. 

“Kristen? How do you want the day to go?” her husband asked, gently taking ahold of her hand and pressing a soft kiss to her knuckles. Kristen hummed, scooting over and nestling herself in the warmth Phil provided, “Just like this would be nice,” she said, her own smaller dove wings pressed tight against her back. Phil chuckled softly, wrapping his wings around his frail wife and pressing his chin to her head, inhaling the traces of the shampoo she had used the night before. 

He circled her waist with his arm, sighing, “You know that can’t be done, I’m researching,” Phil murmured, slowly combing through Kristens knotted hair with his fingers. Kristen traced the embroidery on his pajama top with a frown. “Maybe you’ll have to accept-” “No. I’m finding a cure, my love , Death won’t be able to take you away from me just yet,” Phil cooed, the noise soothing and warm.

She chuckled, closing her eyes and relaxing, “I was going to say ‘Maybe you’ll just have to accept taking days off,” she lightly punched his chest, “Your morbidness isn’t welcome in this nest, ok?” she whispered. 

Phil's embrace rumbled as he crooned, lulling Kristen into sleep, melting into her husband's arms.

When she awoke for the second time, Phil was nowhere to be seen and his side of their bed was cold. She stretched as well as she could without physical pain before slowly sitting up, her vision going spotty as blood rushed to and from her brain. 

Fumbling for the glass of water on her bedside table nearly sent multiple heavy books and glasses crashing to the ground, her hand shaking and feeling as heavy as fifteen blocks of pure iron. Shakily, she brought the water-filled glass to her lips, cold water being gulped down in a matter of seconds. Placing the empty glass back where it belonged and letting her arm collapse onto the covers when she was done. 

Waking up the first time sucked, but for some reason the second time always hit so much harder. 

The door creaked open, a familiar face peaking through with a silver tray just catching the lighting enough to be noticeable. “Mother?” Wilbur greeted, waiting for the ok to enter despite Kristens repeated tellings that he didn’t need too. “Hello, my darling,” Kristen smiled, raising her hands ever so slightly to prompt her elder middle child to enter. Wilbur entered with an even brighter smile, his white teeth almost having a sinister look with the limited lighting. 

“How was your sleep last night?” Her son asked, placing the tray of what now could be seen as health and regen potions, candied golden apple, toast, and a steaming kettle of tea. He puttered around her bed, adjusting the pillows so she could sit up straight without the wooden headboard pressing uncomfortably against her back, making sure the covers were pulled up so she could be kept warm, opening the curtains to fill the room with the chrisp lighting of the outside, whatever Wilbur thought needed to be done, he did. 

Sometimes she forgot that she was his mother and not vice versa. 

“I slept well, and you?” 

Such as their morning ritual for the past month or two, they both lied about how well they slept. 

“Like a baby,” 

Wilbur hadn't had a full night's sleep since Fundy went missing. 

It pained her to see her son so frazzled about his son, wishing desperately that she could help him look for him and bring him home. Wilbur had preached to her about how tiny he was, how defenseless, akin to a fledgling cursed to forever be a fledgling. She knew he was throwing himself into caring for her to try and forget about that ungrateful boy.

Kristen pushed herself upwards, taking a good long look at her son as he poured health and regeneration into seperate little cups. Taking in his eyebags, the restless flutterings of his wings -how long had it been since Wilbur got to go out for a good honest fly?-, the way his hands shook and he giggled when he felt stressed, which as time went on became more and more frequent and constant. 

He needed some time outside of the castle, to be alone. Hell, she needed some time to be alone. 

Her son didn’t notice or didn’t care about the scrutinization he was under, instead intently measuring the amount of potion he had poured. 

Kristen made up her mind. 

“Wil,” Kristen tried getting his attention. He didn’t hear. “Wilbur,” she tried again, to no avail. As she was going in for the third attempt, it felt as if the air was ripped out of her lungs and dust coated the inside of her throat, resulting in a horrible coughing fit. Luckily, that got her son's attention and he was by her side in an instant, forcing the little cup of red cherry-smelling potion into her hands. 

She thanked him in between gasps of air and chugged it, the coughs ceasing in moments. 

Wilburs eyes were wide and panicked as he watched his mother breathe, pushing the hair out of her face so he could check if her face had been turning blue.

When she had finally regained her breath, Wilbur sat next to her and took her hand in his. “Do you need anything? I could get you tea, I could get you a book, would you like me to play you some guitar?” He whispered, his leg twitching in anticipation to move again. Kristen sighed, shaking her head. 

Wilbur frowned, his tumb tracing over hers in circles as he wondered what else he could offer his mother. Kristen looked out the window, smiling softly as the beautiful hues of reds and golds of the leaves climbed the overlooking mountain.  

“What I’d like, son, is for you to have a day of flying. No if ands or buts,” Kristen felt Wilburs hand tense up, quickly looking back towards her son, who had a dark sort of fear gleaming in his eyes. “But what happens to you while I'm gone? Surely, Theseus and Ranboo don’t visit? Gods I hope they don’t… and Dad! Dad doesn’t ever come out of his study! Who’s going to take care of you? The servants ? They don’t even know the first thing about-!” His voice rose with his wings as he clutched his mothers hand tighter, fingernails digging into flesh 

“ Wilbur,” Kristen usually hated using ‘The Croon’ as Theseus had dubbed it, thinking it was a vaguely barbaric way of utilizing one's instincts to get what she wanted, but this time, she felt like she could make an exception. 

Her son visibly relaxed, his wings folding back nicely onto his back and his eyes getting a vague glazed look before he blinked. “But-” “What did I just say, Wil? Take a day off, I’m not going to die while you’re out,” she firmly pressed her thumb into his palm, a small smile playing at her lips, “And Theseus and Ranboo visit plenty, I’ll have you know,” 

A disgruntled chirp from her son caused her to chuckle. “You need to stop being so jealous of your siblings, honestly,” she patted her son's hand, letting go and letting it rest on the blanket. Wilbur huffed, drawing the two sides of his sweater closer together as he rolled his eyes. 

“I’m not… jealous . I just don’t think that their… energies are what you need around you right now,”  he chose his words carefully. Kristen just shook her head in amusement, leaning back in the bed and waving him off. “Go fly, son. You’re missing out on the daylight,” 

Wilbur huffed, squeezing her hand one more time before hesitantly turning and walking out the door. Leaving Kristen to her thoughts and her thoughts alone. For the first time in a long time. 

—

Walking down the hallway felt weird . Passing by Phil's study and not hearing laughter was weirder. Not seeing Theseus, Ranboo, or Techno in the hallways was less weird, sadly. The youngest members had not-so-secretly taken to sneaking out and exploring the village despite Ranboo being under instructions not to interact with the public until he had gotten his superiority complex under vague control, or at least, enough that he didn’t openly call people ‘those of lesser status' to their face. 

And Techno… well Techno was Techno, and Techno did what he wanted. Today, Techno didn’t want to be found. 

His coat was still hung on the hook from when he had previously gone out, kept in pristine condition, with not a speck of dust on it. The texture felt strange, he needed to get readjusted to wearing it, it seemed. His wings gently pushed out of the back of the coat, flapping momentarily to detangle any loose threads. 

The walk to the courtyard was uneventful, leaving Wilbur with something he hated being left with. His thoughts. His pessimistic, shitty thoughts. 

Within the moment he had stepped onto the grass, Wilbur took off. 

Dodging through and around clouds, circling around the palace a few times before setting an internal course towards L’Manburg, he had heard the place was nice this time of year, plus there was interesting history to be found. The scandal with the Royal Siblings, to name one. 

Cold air pressed against his cheeks like knives, pushing back his hair and sliding over his wings like water, his mother was right -she usually was- he had needed this. Dipping and diving through the sky, laughter bubbling up and bursting, the sound carried away by the wind. 

Twirling and spinning, letting himself drop and then swoop back upwards, tricks and triumphs he recalled fondly doing with Theseus when the boy had gotten a grip on the basics of flying. 

Before he knew it, he had been flying for a steady hour, his wings soon growing sore from the sudden overuse. What a feeling . The freedom. Soreness that told you that you did something good . 

But, like all good things, it didn’t last long. 

A stormy cloud loomed ahead of him, smack in the middle of his path, already starting to drizzle water on the forest stretched out below him, the orange and yellows of the leaves shifting hues as the water hit them. 

I could make it through that. I would just have to fly quicker. I can do that.

Feeling cocky, Wilbur didn’t divert from his path, speeding towards what would most likely become a downpour. At first, it was ok, but then the heavens opened and thunder crackled. 

Wilbur cursed and realized it was too late to turn back and he would have to land, his wings wouldn’t be able to support him much longer. He pulled his wings tightly to his body so he could plummet, spreading them back out to glide swiftly over the seemingly endless stretch of woods, already feeling the cold sensation of rain splattering against his wings. 

He searched for any gap in the trees or smoke of a house’s chimney to make his landing, desperation kicking in ever so slightly when there was none in sight and the rain was just getting worse. 

Thunk

A strangled gasp of pain tore Wilbur's throat as an arrow sunk deep into his wing. In mere seconds, his entire flight plan was ruined. He only had moments to brace himself before crashing into the trees and skidding against the hard, rocky ground. Blood stained the ground from his wing wound and various scrapes of varying severities. 

He could feel his glasses break on impact, praying as he slid that no glass would get into his eye. His body slammed against a rock, the momentum flipping him onto his back but luckily stopping him from sliding any further. 

Adrenalin was chorusing through his body, dulling his pain as best as it could, leaving only a fearful thrumming of his heart and a strong urge to move . Wilbur wasn’t stupid, that arrow was aimed by a professional, someone was on the hunt. Which meant he needed to follow his instincts and get as far as he possibly could. 

“Shit. Shit. Shit .” Air wheezed out of his lungs as his bloodied hand scrabbled at the dirt, pushing himself up as best he could. “You bastard ,” he cursed out when pain tore through his muscles like… well, an arrow, added with the soreness beforehand, it took a lot of willpower to prevent screaming. 

To make everything worse, the rain had begun to fall harder. 

The rain soaked through his jacket in minutes, thunder cracking in a horrifying harmony of earsplitting booms, followed closely by lightning cutting open the sky faster than a bullet from a gun. 

Fear gripped his being as he realized that if his hunter was approaching, he wouldn’t be able to hear his footsteps, forcing himself to his feet by digging his fingers into the hard bark of an oak tree next to him.

Stumbling through the forest blindly, Wilbur nearly cackled to himself recounting what his dear Mother had told him that very morning. ‘A day of flying’ ha.

Wilbur limped beneath trees, using his poor wings as attempts of cover, only succeeding in getting them littered with twigs and hideously dirtied. Mud sloshed under his boots, sticking to his pants and nearly sending him crashing to the forest’s floor once more from slipping. The trees around him trembled and creaked as the wind blew them around, branches falling left and right, leaves flying around in miniature hurricanes, frosty winds biting into his skin, blowing right through his clothing. 

He didn’t know the closest village to reside in, only praying that he hadn’t gotten mixed around in his failed landing and ending up running away from shelter and towards the threat. Eventually, his wings grew too heavy to keep above his head, slouching down to drag uselessly behind him in the mud. 

Fatigue and cold weighed down his limbs, drawing his sprinting pace to a sluggish, dragging jog. Trees and flowers around him all blurred into vague shades of browns and greens, the water dripping down his lenses not helping with anything. It was surprising how he wasn’t caught yet, as if the hunter was playing some sick sort of game. 

When his fingernails were purple and his jog had slowed to a limping walk, he contemplated just laying in a meadow and letting the hunter kill him, only propelled at the depressing image of Fundy and his Mother receiving the news of his death. 

After what felt like hours left in the cold and wetness, a warm orange broke through the blurred colours, and upon stumbling closer, it was revealed to be a quaint cottage. Wilbur nearly cried with relief, stumbling through roots and rocks before banging into a low fence that he hadn’t noticed. He fumbled for his sword and unevenly swung at the offending thing, wincing as the blade cut through his pant leg and pierced his skin. 

It was like everything had come crashing down by this one small mishap. The fatigue and cold hit him and sent him over the fence and crashing into the ground, his wings flapping uselessly as he tried to sort himself out on the grass he had landed in. 

“Oh, oh my god . Sir! Sir, are you hurt?” A panicked voice that sounded so so far away barely reached Wilbur's ears, followed closely by the sounds of footsteps and rain hitting a vaguely waterproof surface. Before Wilbur could even respond, his brain shut down and his vision faded into sweet nothingness. 

When he woke up the first thing he noticed was the warmth .

It pressed against him comfortingly, as if reassuring him he was safe from everything, reminding him so much of his mothers' hugs. The second thing was that he wasn’t in any room in his palace. Despite his glasses being missing and his head feeling like it had been stuffed full of cotton balls, he could recognize the smell . 

The palace smelled of fresh but still air, this place smelled like chocolate and fabric softener. 

He pried his eyes open more, trying to make sense of his new surroundings and devise whether or not he was safe. Turning onto his side to take in whatever awaited him. 

The first thing to be noted was the clutter;

Elytrian instincts were always drawn to clutter, it’s how they adorned their nests, more specifically Fledglings, especially with this degree. Theseus’ room looked like this. Hell, even Fundys’ room looked like this when he was younger. 

(He remembered crying in his mothers' arms the night Fundy eagerly showed him, his son proudly stating that ‘He was just like Dad’. Kristen had laughed, recounting when Phil had the same experience when Wilbur started nesting.)

The room looked frighteningly similar to an average newly made Fledgling nest. Every surface seemed to be occupied by something, mostly blankets, pillows, and fabrics. Glass bottles of all different shapes were filled with different varieties of potions, the liquid glowing and painting the room in soft multicoloured light. 

Lanterns hung from the ceiling via chains or fabric, accompanied by little chunks of magma block. 

Rugs had been rolled out on the ground, just barely letting the wooden floorboards underneath be known. Clearly whoever lived here was adamant about staying warm. 

This is where a new realization kicked in; Wilbur was laid out on the carpets, and his wings spread-eagled and sheen. Feathers glinted in the light provided by a lantern, highlighting that the arrow previously deeply embedded was gone, replaced by a pristine bandage that smelled sweetly of sugars. 

He had been healed. Expertly, at the very least . He was sure not even the healers at the palace could do so well. 

Take that, hunter asshole. Oh my god, hunter asshole. Where the hell is the hunter? Wait, I was saved. Where the hell is my saviour? 

Wilbur sat up slowly, the ache not quite gone from his bones. Giving another quick glance around the room, this time focussing on the hallway and from what he could see, a kitchen sitting across the room. 

To his delight, there was someone in there.

From what Wilbur could see, the person was male. He looked no older than fourteen and had delicate little goat ears that twitched as he wrung his hands, wearing a sweater that had to be rolled up three times before it would allow his hands to even show. Worn pants patched up with leather almost dragged against the floor, and little hooves just peaked out from under the fabric. 

The kid was rushing around quietly, adding spices and little drops of blue liquid from vaguely glowing bottles. 

He… looked breakable. As if Wilbur could crush him in his hands, able to warp his sense of reality and twist his instincts easily. Like a little newborn fledgling. 

No. Stop. This is not how I think. I’m better than this. Please. Please let me be better than this. I don’t want to warp him. 

Something crashed to the floor, eliciting a soft bleat of surprise from the boy, who turned enough to allow Wilbur to see his face. He frowned slightly at the sight of a scar wrapping itself around the boy's neck, pink and angry looking. Surely one so young hadn’t already had such a traumatic incident? 

Maybe it was because he looked so young , younger than Fundy, and already so scared, that Wilbur felt his bottled-up parental avian urges crack, a low reverberating coo echoing out. Alerting the child that he was awake. 

I need to shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up. 

His little goat ears perked up, a relieved smile stretching across his face as he turned off the stove and trotted over to where Wilbur was. 

“Oh! You’re finally awake! How are you feeling, sir?” The boy bent down and gently placed a hand on his forehead, ignoring Wilbur blatantly staring at the healed wound on his neck. When he didn’t respond, the boy nervously removed his hand, drawing Wilbur's attention to his face. “Oh! Yes yes, I’m feeling just fine,” Wilbur tried for a reassuring smile, and given by the relieved smile on his host's face, he succeeded. 

“That’s good to hear, I won’t pry into why you were stumbling around outside with an arrow stuck in your wing and frankly, I don’t want to hear it,” The boy extended his hand, “I’m Tubbo, I’m making us some hot chocolate, it’s nice to make your acquaintance,” Tubbo smiled. 

Masking his surprise, Wilbur returned the shake. 

Ok, so he doesn't know of my status. Humbling. Just like… Just like Fundy. No. No no no. Stop comparing both of them. Fundy is irreplaceable. I can’t replace Fundy. This is just Tubbo , Tubbo is not Fundy. Ignore similarities. Ignore them.

“Wilbur, Wilbur soot. Thank you for saving my life,” Wilbur returned Tubbos' smile with a firm squeeze of his hand, gently pulling his wings back up to their default position. The boy stood, pulling Wilbur gently to his feet, stepping back slightly when Wilbur towered over him by at least a foot. “No need, it’s what I do,” 

He lets other strangers into his house willingly? No no no that’s not safe. No. Stop. I won’t worry about some kid that saved me. I will forget him by the end of this. I. Will. Forget. Look at how tiny he is. No. Don’t think like that. I’m just tall.

“Mr. Wilbur, I’d appreciate it if you let go of my hand,” Tubbo said, tapping his hand with his free one. With a jolt, Wilbur realized he had Tubbos tiny delicate breakable wrist in a white-knuckle grip. Horrified, he let go, tripping over himself to apologize. 

Instead of accepting his apology, Tubbo just looked at him with concern, taking a step back. “Wilbur, are you sure you’re feeling completely ok?” He asked calmly, but Wilbur could hear his little heart beating erratically in fear. “Yes! Yes, I’m fine, I must’ve hit my head out in the storm,” 

Liar. I’m a fucking liar. But what if I did hit my head? Would I have even remembered? No. I wouldn’t’ve. So realistically I did hit my head. So I’m not a liar. That’s good. I’m not a liar. I wouldn’t lie. 

Tubbo nodded, looking unsure, pupils dilated. Poised like a lamb ready to run. He tensely walked backwards into his kitchen, flashing a thumbs up. “For my own personal reasons, I’d like you to go sit on the couch, if you’ve hit your head you shouldn’t be standing. I’ll make you a hot chocolate,” Tubbos eyes flicked to Wilbur's wings, which had feathers flaring out. Disappointed, Wilbur turned and walked towards the couch, mentally berating himself. 

Look what you’ve done. You scared him. You despicable human being. You ruined him. He’s going to be bruised by your hand. Didn’t you promise that you’d be better than Philza? You’ve stooped so fucking low. 

Stressed, Wilbur pulled at a feather. 

After this, I leave. I will never return. I’m not going to ruin Tubbo. I promise. Who am I even promising? Myself? Fundy? I didn’t ruin Fundy. Fundy needed to be raised. So I raised him. That doesn’t make me a bad person. I’m a good person. I’m a great person…

He watched Tubbo resume what he was doing before he came over and helped him up, this time with the added addition of him flashing Wilbur a small smile over his shoulder. Wilbur knew it was just to make sure that he knew where Wilbur was. 

 If I’m such a good person Tubbo shouldn’t be afraid of me. Why is he afraid of me? I didn’t do anything? I just… needed to steady myself when he pulled me up. 

A slight cough alerted him to Tubbo approaching with two steaming mugs, one of them extended outwards for Wilbur to take by the handle. The boy had relaxed considerably, giving a genuine smile to Wilbur as the man took his cup with a thank you. Tubbo moved to the other side of the room, pushing some stuff on a table to the side so he could hoist himself up and sit cross-legged. “I spiced it with some cinnamon and slow, I hope you don’t mind,” Tubbo sipped his hot chocolate, unbothered by the heat. 

Confused, Wilbur sipped his drink, wincing when it burned his mouth but pleasantly surprised with the taste. “Why slow falling? Wouldn’t you rather it have Strength? Or healing?” Wilbur questioned, taking another sip. Tubbos' eyes brightened, placing his mug down. 

“When a potion of slow falling is used on someone, as the name suggests, they fall slower, obviously. It’s usually just used by mountain climbers or cave explorers, never for everyday stuff y’know? Well, I found out that if you drink a slow falling potion when you’re not going to fall, i.e, in a situation where the instinctual part of your brain is pumping out adrenalin, it just makes you feel tingly and light, kinda like feeling like you’re on cloud nine because there’s little to no adrenalin to cancel out the effects,” Tubbo took a breath. 

“So because of this, I started experimenting, mixing it with other drinks. Testing it with substances. With alcohol it’s the equivalent of drinking two shots for the price of one- I wasn’t the one drinking the alcohol-, with juice it makes the drink sweeter… I won’t bore you with the details, but when I tried it with hot chocolate, I found out that it creates a sense of comfort and safety, like a warm hug,” 

Wilbur listened, fascinated when Tubbo rambled on about the simple question he asked. As he listened he felt the safety and comfort wash over him, relaxing on the couch and eagerly drinking more. Tubbo looked delighted that someone was listening to him, his hand reaching out into a pile of stuff and bringing out a sheet of parchment paper, scribbling something down. 

A maniacal gleam in Tubbos' eye delighted Wilbur, encouraging him to lean forward as Tubbo delved deeper into his ideas.  “... and maybe I could try it with swiftness, would that make someone anxious? Make their brain pump out so much adrenalin without using it… would they faint? What would happen if we mixed that with strength? Would that make someone have a heart attack? All of that excess adrenaline isn’t good for the human body,”

Well, now I’m curious. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to try it out on himself, right? No. No, he’s not dumb . I don’t even think he can legally try this out. I could. I have protection. No. Step back from that edge. 

Tubbo stopped suddenly, looking at Wilbur sheepishly, “Sorry, I got a little bit carried away,” he bowed his head nervously, voice going quiet. Wilbur waved him off, “It’s fun to listen too, don’t apologize,” he took one final gulp of his hot chocolate before placing it down on a less cluttered table. “Don’t be, it's a pleasure to listen to, It’s interesting ,” Wilbur flashed the boy a kind smile, internally rejoicing when Tubbo lit up.  

There. I’ve succeeded. He most likely doesn’t fear me. That’s good. I don’t need to be feared. 

The two dissolved into casual conversation and before Wilbur knew it, Tubbo was clearing the mugs and bringing them back to the kitchen. “Would you look at that, the rains’ cleared up nicely,” he said, wiping a little condensation off of the window. Wilbur sighed, getting up and flexing his wings. “Then I should be off,” 

Leave before you do something you regret. I wonder if Fundy would like a brother. No. No. No. I’m not going to let this kid get dragged into my shit. Find Fundy first, get him home, then I can start thinking of another. 

Tubbo hummed, rummaging through his drawers and pulling out a little bag of cookies. “Take these then, I personally wouldn’t be recommending flying so soon, but then again I’ve never listened to doctors' orders. They’re infused with regeneration, so just eat one when you feel fatigued,” Tubbo explained as he handed the bag to Wilbur, shaking his hand firmly. “Be safe on your travels,” 

With a promise that he could try, Wilbur stepped out of the house and onto the wet porch, breathing in the fresh air and jumping off, stretching his wings to fly. 

Chapter Text

Theseus was bored . 

He stretched out on a couch in one of the extensive libraries with a book in hand, lazily tracing his finger over the indented runes for what felt like the umpteenth time. His brother, Ranboo, was curled up in a loveseat, absolutely entrapped by the story in his hands, clearly not suffering from the passage of time as much as Theseus was. 

Ranboo was different. He was quiet and observant, taking his time to ensure everything was perfect, down to the very last detail. He could afford to wait around for hours.

The library was suffocating, swirling with all types of arcane magic, springing to life at a murmur of command. The shelves loomed above him, seeming to almost sway despite remaining completely still. 

He felt contained. He needed to move, feel the fresh air on his face, feel the adrenaline chorus through him, and make himself feel so much more alive. Anything would be better than being cooped up in some library. His wings rustled in discomfort, an annoyed groan echoing as he stood up with a flourish. Ranboo glanced upwards, their eyebrow raised as he started to pace. 

The carpet was firm under his feet, his hands tapping against the wood of the table whenever he passed it over and over again. “What is it?” Ranboo asked after a moment too long of pacing, eyes flicking back towards their page. 

“Does this room feel stuffy to you?” Theseus asked, pulling at his collar and scrunching his face to further his point. He was met by the sound of a page slowly turning. “Not especially, no,” Ranboo clicked his tongue, sliding the silken bookmark to the center of the page, closing the book with a gentle snap, and laying it on the table next to him. “It’s too hot,” He muttered, eyes locking back to the runes of the book before him. Fingers deftly ran along the ink, eyes scouring the page for something to help his issue. 

“And your plan is?” Ranboo asked, leaning back and stretching. Theseus scoffed, tossing his book aside as he moved forward, standing in front of his brother as he placed his hands on his hips. “We’re going out,” 

‘Out’ was always what Theseus wanted to be. It had increased, both of them did, really, but Theseus was rampant about leaving the palace. ‘It’s like, full of ghosts now, Ranboo, don’t tell me you haven’t noticed’. 

Ranboo sighed, pinching the bridge of their nose as they glanced at the window. “When you say out, what does that entail? Also, that seems mildly excessive for just the temperature,” He muttered, tail twitching, betraying his curiosity. Theseus scoffed, reaching down and grasping Ranboos sleeves, dragging him upwards. “Let’s go! We’re at least leaving this library, education is for people who lack smartness, and we have an abundance of it,” He smiled, pulling Ranboo along to the exit, the prince sighing and letting themself be taken away. 

The halls were just as empty as before, eerily silent if not for Theseus’ ramblings and the sound of their footsteps. Guards were posted where they should be, but without moving even to breathe, it felt like little more than decorative armor. The sunlight streamed in from the stained windows, painting the carpet in hues of pink and blue, the snow outside sparkling. 

The mountains in the distance poked against the sharp blue of the sky, the sky finally clear enough to see that far, allowing the two brothers to come to a momentary pause. Theseus released his sleeve, placing his hands on his hips as he stretched out his wings in front of the glass. In the light, the red was even more brilliant, highlighting the golden flecks, burning like flame. “Do you have to be so bright?” Ranboo huffed, playfully covering their eyes and pushing him away. Theseus squawked, flaring out his wings for balance as they rounded on Ranboo, flexing his wings. 

“Where are you two going?” They both froze, Theseus swearing softly under his breath as he turned to face the end of the hall. Philza stood straight, the shadows from the window casting his face in darkness. His face was stern, hair falling around his face as his wings ruffled, Theseus mimicking the action unconsciously. “Hey Dad,” Theseus greeted, masking his worry with an eager wave. 

Ranboo fidgeted, eyes narrowed as they watched the Emperor lift his hand in response, lips pursed. “Theseus,” 

“We were just heading back to my chambers from the library, what about you?” Theseus lost momentum in his tone, faltering to an awkward sort of shuffle as his hand lowered. The Emperor sighed, a tired smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes stretching across his face. “Just to the gardens, you both should come with me, it would do you both some good, getting out of this palace,” Ranboo looked towards Theseus, who looked back at him with a subtle quirk of his eyebrows. Ranboo sighed, exhaling with a hiss of air between his teeth. “Ah… sorry, Phil, we’re kinda busy,” 

Phil’s wings twitched, cold eyes flicking to them, piercing. “I see,” 

Silence.

“Have either of you seen Wilbur recently? I think the boy has gone and locked himself in his chambers again,” The Emperor scratched his chin, rubbing his face as he looked out the window, waving them off before either of them could speak. “If you see him, tell him to come out and visit with me,” He mused, before continuing to walk down the hall, his cloak dragging behind him. Ranboo gave Theseus a sidelong glance, watching as his brothers’ face twisted into something slightly sour before his hand grasped around their sleeves, dragging them forward. 

The walk was quiet now, Theseus’ grasp tight as he looked ahead, brow furrowed in a way just seen on the Emperor. “It’s good to see him outside of his office,” Ranboo offered, Theseus not responding. They walked silently for a bit longer before Theseus deflated, groaning as he hid his face in his hands.

“‘Get out of the palace’, he says, ‘do us some good’ he says,” He shook his head, a weak chuckle escaping his lips. “It’s like he doesn’t even know us,” 

Ranboo chuckled with him, it was good to see Phil. The man had been holed up for ages, but when it had been weeks since he had gone out of his way to visit with his sons and not just wait for a chance for them to cross his path, it was just a little difficult to not feel like an obligation, another responsibility on the list. “Well, let’s go get some air then,” 

The waystone room was also where Techno kept most of his armory, something vaguely ironic when taken into consideration that Techno refused to use the damn thing. The two crept forward, Ranboo closing the door softly behind them as Theseus chuckled, wasting no time in crossing the room, marveling at the lineup of weapons that Techno had on display, rubbing his hands together with a sharp grin. “Do you think he’d let me use these someday?” He asked, glancing back at Ranboo, who had taken a much more ginger approach to the room, lingering near the doorway and smoothing down their shirt. “He barely touches them himself , I fail to see the reasoning for someone needing so many swords,” 

Wings rustled as Theseus shrugged, waving him off. “You wouldn’t get it, I suppose, the glory , you and your lack of it, you wouldn’t know glory even if it walked up and introduced itself to you,” Theseus said, eliciting a sigh from his brother. He continued looking over the swords, grasping one in his hand and lifting it from its place on the wall. “ Prime , this is heavy,” He swung it, the weight of it nearly sending him careening into the shelves, his feet shuffling over the stone of the floor to regain his balance. “Then I suppose that answers your question, no, Techno would not let you borrow them, you can’t even lift them,” Ranboo watched with mild amusement as Theseus scowled, remounting the sword to its proper place. “Bold of you to assume that would stop him,” “Once again you are assuming that he’d even let you touch them,” He walked across the room to flick Theseus between the eyebrows, the prince squawking with indignation as his wing smacked Ranboo in the arm. 

Ranboo rolled their eyes, rubbing the spot. Turning to look at the obelisk in the center of the room. It pulsated with the arcane as Ranboo approached, the runes etched on the side thrumming to life as the enderman extended his hand. “Look at this beauty!” Theseus called, catching Ranboo's attention as he pulled away from the stone. Their brother was running his hands along a mounted trident, eyes gleaming with interest as the enchantments shone, the purple light shimmering over Theseus’ face.

“Could you stop touching the weapons maybe? For three seconds?” Ranboo hissed, tail whipping nervously as they watched Theseus pull it from the wall, giving it a swing that went far better than the sword. “Nah, we’re going to one of the cities, right? Maybe we could get a trade for it, I doubt he’d notice one thing missing,” Theseus snapped his fingers, the trident disappearing with a flash of white and a distinct smell of sulfur. “There, poof! Gone! Inventory. Out of sight, out of mind, I do say,” Theseus said proudly, leaving Ranboo mildly horrified. “We have so much money, we could just buy things, like normal people, and not steal from Technoblade? Our family?”

He rolled his eyes, clapping them on the back of their arm as he pulled them to the obelisk, “He’s not going to skin us alive, Boob, he does in fact, care about us. As much as it might pain and inconvenience him to think about, and acknowledge verbally,” He waved his hand around, “And like I said, he has so many other ones, he won’t even notice! And we can’t go out spending, that’s suspicious. Now, where do we want to go?” He stopped in front of the table, looking down at the map pinned across it. Ranboo muttered under his breath about how they were never coming along again the next time Theseus got bored. 

Sparks of purple exploded over the paper, Theseus deep in thought as he regarded some of them burn out into a deep red. Ranboo sighed, stepping next to him and resting their hands on the smooth table, tail curling around Theseus’ leg. “We could always go to the usual spot, that’s safe,” He mentioned, tapping one of the flames lower to the border, “The village has that treehouse, and if you really want to get something for that trident, I’m sure someone will have something,” They mused, pressing fingers to their chin. Theseus scrunched his nose, “No no, we always go there, I think Dad is getting suspicious, we should go outside of the Empire,” He motioned to the areas away, signaling out one of the fires. “Like there, Manburg,” 

Ranboo looked closer at the map, eyebrows furrowed. “Manburg? Absolutely not, I’m not going somewhere so… abhorrent,” They tsked, gazing over the map again, “There’s L’Manburg, next to it, but a safe distance away from the poor, much better,” He said, tapping the spot on the map. “Where’s your sense of adventure? Is it on a date with your glory?” Theseus groaned, “Where’s your sense of self-preservation? If we waltz into Manburg, with our status, we are going to get mugged,” Ranboo pointed out, sweeping their gaze downwards as they held out their hands, showcasing the jewelry that decorated his hands. “Not to mention that Wilbur hates that place, he’d throw a fit if he found out that we went there,” 

“Then he just won’t find out, c’mon, we aren’t going to get mugged,” Theseus flicked his knuckle. “We just get changed into something less assuming, ditch the jewelry, and boom! We’re unrecognizable,” He chirped, Ranboos expression souring. “But my-” “You can be a normal person for one day, Ranboo, it’s not that hard,” 

The two fell into silence as Ranboo mulled it over, looking down at their finery and then at Theseus, who had already begun shedding his shirt, looking away as the prince struggled getting it over his head. “I don’t want to breathe the same air as people who don’t know class,” He sniffed, looking at the map and gingerly sparing a glance tep back as Theseus snapped a different tunic into his hand, this one much less fancy. “Don’t you sleep in that one? Why do you have it with you?” 

Theseus was already pulling it over his head. “Yeah, I was meaning to bring it down to wash myself, but I forgot, y’know how it is,” He adjusted his wings through the slits in the back, folding his royal shirt and also making it disappear with a snap. “I really don’t, we have people for that,” Ranboo flicked a piece of lint from their shirt, reluctantly shedding his rings and pocketing them. “But I suppose for one day I can part, but next time we are going somewhere where class and elegance are appreciated,” They sniffed, glancing down at their attire before sighing. “I’ll be right back, then,” 

With that, they disappeared in a soft pop and a flurry of purple particles. Theseus sighed, rolling his eyes as he leaned against the wall, fiddling with the drawstrings of his shirt. “Dramatic, the door was right there,” 

He waited for a few moments before sighing, looking back at the wall of weapons. Daggers glinted, so many of them that he was positive that Techno wouldn’t notice if a few went missing. So he snagged a few, admiring the sharpness and the intricate design, one of them even had a boar's head carved into the handle. 

“You’re ready?” Theseus asked, arm slung over the top of the waystone. Ranboo nodded, stepping onto the platform next to Theseus. “Perfect,”

The waystone glowed a soft blue as Theseus placed his hand on the top, Ranboo following the action as sparks started to fly. He felt a pulling sensation, the room warping around them as the stone began to glow with a brilliant white light, slowly engulfing the room. 

It felt like their insides were being turned inside out, the room spinning until his feet left the floor, the stone growing freezing to the touch before they landed with a thud. It was outside, this one, and Theseus groaned as he straightened up. “It never gets easier, does it?” He complained, stretching out his wings before tucking them back into the safety of his cloak. Despite that it was far warmer here than it was back home, Marburg always lingered in the cold, and frost outlined where they had landed. “No, no it does not,” Ranboo agreed, shaking their head to rid of the final splotches in his vision. 

The two glanced around their surroundings, finding the clearing strangely empty for a waystone near such a populated city. The trees were tall and skinny, pine-needles littering the ground and illuminated by hanging soulfire lanterns that swayed in the breeze. The pathway leading out of the forest and down a hill was dotted with stained glass and shining rocks, something that immediately had Theseus kneeling on the ground, trying to pick them out.

Ranboo didn’t join him, instead looking down the path and the hill, mildly impressed by the beauty of it. Rolling hills swept into the horizon, and nestled down in the valley was the sprawl of buildings, ivy seemed to grow in abundance, crawling up the walls and almost choking out the dark stone of the city. Wildflowers in powder blues dotted the pathway down, and with the clouds above it looked like the surroundings had been pulled from a novel.

He could see the remnants of the walls, far off in the distance, tiny little specks that marked the divide between the sister nations. Torn down after the war had come to end, or suffered wear and tear from the weather. “It’s a bit of a walk down, we could teleport,” Ranboo mused, walking to stand next to Theseus, who had managed to pull one of the quartz from the ground. “Where’s the fun in that? We’re on an adventure,” Theseus reminded, standing up and dusting the dirt from his hands. “Do you just hate making my life easy?” They padded down the mountain after his brother, who laughed and shoved him into the grass.

Ranboo sputtered, barking an offended laugh as he teleported out, chasing after Theseus as the prince darted down the mountain. “I’m so telling Mom!”

Walking through roach-infested streets was not how Theseus had wanted to spend his outing. He was expecting a more pleasant adventure, not… this. It had started out so nice, the walk down the mountain was pleasant and fun, it took about an hour with the amount of times they bickered and got sidetracked by him trying to pry out another pretty stone, but it was still nice. The closer they got to the city though, the more the city started to loom. The outskirts were strangely barren, crops grew aplenty but they were overgrown and the walls were cracked with foliage, then the closer they got, the more it started to smell. 

It was like the city held onto the stench of death, sticking and oozing from every citizen that passed them. The heavy smell of smoke clung to cloaks, cigarettes blowing even more of the stuff out as the two walked by. It also smelled damp, the rocks of the street wet despite it not having rained, at least since the two had arrived.

Ranboo tsked next to him, the enderman keeping a tight grip on his upper arm under the cloak, tail curled protectively around his wrist. “We could have left the moment we got here, why are we still here?” They hissed, leering at a man who walked by them, long gray cloaks swishing against the wet stones. “I don’t know, okay? Curiosity? How much do you know about this place?” Theseus whispered back, wings rustling under his cloak. “Clearly not enough to have insisted that we not go here!” Ranboo wanted to teleport out, dragging Theseus with him. 

The sky was cloudier, casting long shadows onto the streets from where the buildings reached towards the sky, gnarled and twisting. Along the sides of the street were market stalls, each selling something vastly different than the one next to it. People bumped shoulders as they walked by, nobody lingering for long after taking a glance at Ranboo, who openly held disdain on their face. “Let’s just find a place to trade and leave?” Theseus whispered, eyes scanning the street for a suitable candidate. His eyes settled on a green-cloaked figure standing next to a stall decorated with various potion ingredients, the guy had a scarf wrapped around his neck and lower half of his face, but his hood was pulled back just enough to show small little goat horns poking through a tangle of brown hair. “Like him, looks trustworthy enough,” He pointed out the boy to Ranboo, who squinted. “Really? You can’t even see his whole face,” They pointed out, much to Theseus’ chagrin. “He’s fine, c’mon,” 

Before Ranboo could protest against this, Theseus had pushed into the crowd, people swearing as they caught an elbow to the ribs. Up close, the boy wasn't any more or less threatening, he kept his eyes down, barely sparing the two a glance as they shuffled closer, tilting his head instead at the vial of ghast tears. “How much for this?” He questioned, looking up at the stall owner, a man with a crooked scar running the length of his nose. Ranboo watched carefully as Theseus pretended to browse. 

“Hm, for the trouble it gave, twenty-five gold,” The vendor's voice was gruff, slightly out of tune as he hacked out a cough, leaning forward in his chair and resting his chin on his fist. “Twenty-five gold?” The boy repeated. “Take it or leave it, son,”

The boy sighed, running his hand through his hair as he shook his head. “Sorry, bossman, that’s a bit out of my price range,” He said, withdrawing from the stall and moving down to the next one. Ranboo sighed, turning his attention back to Theseus, wincing when he recognized the look in Theseus’s eyes as one that he got when he was about to do something arguably unnecessary and stupid. “Sorry, how much?” Theseus slid up to where the vendor was sitting, picking up the vial and turning it over in his hands. The man sighed, “Twenty-five gold, I’m not budging on this,” 

“I’ll trade you for it,” Theseus lowered his voice to a whisper, his hand twisting under his cloak and summoning the trident, sliding it into view and setting it on the table. The weapon glinted in the light, and the vendor straightened up, a distinct note of interest on his face. “This thing is for a vial of tears?” He clarified, hissing air through his teeth. “You might want to browse around, son, don’t go wasting this pretty thing on something so small, alright?” He patted the hilt of the weapon with a grunt, nudging it back towards him. Theseus faltered, slowly taking the trident back with a murmur of agreement. 

Moving away from the stand, Ranboo patted him on the shoulder. “He’s right, you know, if you’re going to trade for it, you’re going to trade for something good,” He said, walking alongside his brother as they stepped off to the side. Theseus nodded absent-mindedly, scanning the crowd with a nod of disinterest. “Yeah, yeah, where’d he go?” He muttered, nudging Ranboos' side, “You’re tall, find our guy, won’t you?” He mumbled, much to Ranboo's grief. “But he’s poor, what does he have to offer?” Ranboo said in distress, but swept his gaze over the groups of people on the street.

“Unwavering loyalty or something, I don’t know, we’re giving back to our people,” Theseus pulled him against a wall as the crowd swelled, the clouds above starting to turn a darker shade of grey as the temperature dropped. “These aren’t even our people, Theseus, we are in fact, very far away from our people,” Ranboo flicked his tail, glancing sidelong at his brother, who rolled his eyes. “Just keep looking, okay?” He murmured. 

Ranboo huffed but kept searching, finding it utterly bewildering that green was such a popular cloak colour. “I can’t see anything, but I’m sure he hasn’t gone far,” He murmured, slouching as Theseus’s eyes brightened. “Got him, he’s… ah crap,” He hissed, turning on his heel and running into the entrance of an alleyway a few feet away, trying to cut across into the next street over. Ranboo groaned, cursing under their breath as they followed. The alley didn’t lead anywhere, except for another side street that the two ran down, Ranboo not even bothering to ask anymore. They almost reached the exit when something nestled into the fabric of Theseus’s cloak, pulling him back with a shout of surprise as he was dragged back over the stone. 

Ranboo twisted just in time to see a man wrestle his brother into a hold, a silver dagger pressed against his neck. One of his arms was pinning his arms to his sides, the grip clearly tight around Theseus’s wings, and the other held the dagger. “Don’t move,” The man whispered, grinning sharply at Ranboo as he pressed the dagger closer, “I don’t want any trouble, okay? We’re going to make this nice and easy,” 

Fear was a direct drug to the system, Ranboo freezing entirely as Theseus looked up at him in a panic. 

The man was thin, eyes bulging and twitching as his fingers kept adjusting on the dagger, tongue wetting chapped lips. “The trident, I know one of you has it, that’s all I need, all I want, okay?” He shuffled backward, eyes darting from Ranboo to the entrance of the alleyway, dragging Theseus closer to the shadows. “Alright! Alright, I have it, okay?” Theseus choked, fingers just barely managing to summon the trident from his inventory, the thief immediately shoving it out of his hands, stomping on it with his boot. “Good, good, that’s good,” He muttered, keeping a close eye on the two of them. “We’re going to stay still, okay?” He whispered, the blade drawing just a drop of blood as he released Theseus’s arms, flicking the trident up with his boot and grasping it. 

“See? We’re almost done here,” The man chuckled, the sound surprisingly smooth.

Theseus gagged as the man leaned closer. “You aren’t hiding anything more, are you? Surely someone with a pretty thing such as this, with your companion no less, has something a bit pricier on their person?” He slurred, waving the trident around with a flourish, his gaze sliding to Ranboo, who remained paralyzed as Theseus gritted his teeth. “C’mon, I know that someone like you isn’t cheap, I saw those rings you have around your neck, pure gold, nether gold, could fetch a pretty price-” 

A sharp bang was the only warning before an arrow sunk itself deep into the man's arm, making him release the trident with a howl, staggering backward into the wall as he wailed out in pain.  “Fuck! You fucking-” staggered back, seething as he cradled his arm, his eyes were wild, searching the walls and the roof until landing on something Theseus couldn’t see. 

Ranboo took the chance, stepping aside and pressing Theseus to the wall behind him as the man swore, blood dripping down and landing on the stone, oozing down to the gutter. 

Theseus strained his neck to see towards the mouth of the alleyway, eyes widening slightly at the sight. There was a figure, hunched over and aiming the crossbow, already loaded with a second arrow, at the thief with a curled lip. The boy. 

The thief snarled, hands trembling as he reached up, tentatively brushing his hand over the wood of the arrow, hissing in pain as he backed off. The boy stepped closer, barely giving a note of warning before the crossbow went off again, the arrow moving silently through the air before landing with a thud into the wall just over the man's shoulder. “Don’t move,” He said, voice firm and almost robotic, cranking another arrow into the crossbow as he stepped forward. The man hissed, uninjured hand grasping at his belt before a dagger was thrown, nicking the goat’s cheek as his expression hardened. 

Ranboo watched in morbid fascination as the boy moved as a blur, throwing a pearl and landing behind the thief, grabbing the man by the shirt and wrestling the wounded arm to his back, pushing the sleeve up to take a glance at his wrist. The man yelped, a note of genuine fear crossing his face as he tried wrestling out of the boy's grip, “Wait! Stop! Stop stop-” 

Theseus strained from where Ranboo’s arm held him against the wall, wings flapping as he whined that he wanted to see. His eyes settled on the glint of a dagger before it plunged into the man’s side. In one last agonized scream, the man crumbled to the ground before sinking into the stone and dissolving. The alleyway fell into silence, the other boy panting slightly before looking up. His eyes were a soft shade of blue, sweeping over the other two before he straightened up. “Are you both alright?” He asked. His voice was surprisingly warm, but guarded.

Theseus gaped, adrenaline running high as he burst into laughter, the sound loud and echoing off the walls, making both Ranboo and the boy flinch. “Alright? That was so cool!” He gushed, eyes lighting up as he squirmed from Ranboos' arm, stumbling forward before clasping his hands onto the boy's shoulders. “Who are you? What’s your name?” His grip tightened slightly, and Ranboo stepped forward to pull him back from the collar of his shirt. 

The boy hesitated, tilting his head slightly as Ranboos' tail curled around the trident, lifting it before thrusting it back into Theseus’s arms. “Um… Tubbo, and you are..?” His crossbow disappeared into his inventory as he extended a hand, ears flicking as he watched the way Ranboos expression mildly soured. 

The two people in front of him definitely weren’t from the area, clear from the way they carried themselves and the clear disdain on the endermans face as the winged one eagerly grasped his hand, his grip almost crushing as he pumped his arm with such force that he nearly stumbled. “Thes-uh… Tommy, and this is-” “Ranboo,” Ranboo interjected, keeping his hands clasped behind his back. “I see, well, best of luck then,” Tubbo pulled his hand away, adjusting his cloak and pushing his hair back from his forehead. He brushed past Theseus, who looked at Ranboo quickly before grabbing his sleeve and pulling him deeper into the alleyway. 

“We’re going with him,” He whispered, eyes flicking back as Tubbo stood near the entrance of the alley, the goat looking around carefully before stepping out of the alley. “What? You can’t be serious- Theseus-” He watched as his brother turned to see that Tubbo wasn’t there, grasping his shoulder tightly to turn him back to face them. “We aren’t staying here, you nearly got killed, and we just watched someone die,” They tightened their hold, slightly shaking Theseus as the boy squirmed. “I’m not running around this forsaken, desolate city for a moment longer, we are going home, am I clear?” He pressed, wincing as Theseus wrenched away from their hold.

The prince shook his head firmly, a pleading expression crossing his face as he shifted from foot to foot. “Ran, please, we can at least repay him, right? He saved us, and you don’t actually care about that guy dying,” He shuffled backward, pulling his brother with him as he looked back. “You… fine, fine! Why do I even try, but we’re leaving right after,” Ranboo deflated as he was dragged, shoes clicking against the stone as Theseus started to run, reaching the mouth of the alleyway and doing a quick scan before pulling them back onto the infested streets.

“Tubbo! Tubbo, wait up!” Theseus called, spotting the green cloak and shoving through the crowd. 

The goat faltered as he was grabbed again, yelping as Theseus crashed into him. Ranboo winced, already regretting folding for what felt like the eightieth time today.