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You were crying again. You did every Thursday night. Bad associations, trauma, horrible memories, too much to think about without crying harder. It didn't help that it was storming outside, the sound of hail beating against your trapdoor windows reminds you of a wave; a tsunami. Rising and falling and crashing and decimating anything in its path. Rising. Falling. Crashing. Rising. Falling. Crashing. You sobbed quietly into your arms, curled up with your knees hugging your chest. You bite your arm, trying to quiet your sobs, but it doesn't help. You cover your mouth, desperately trying to avoid bothering your housemates. You blinked through the tears, gasping for breath, your shoulders shuddering and clawing at your face, trying, trying, trying to quiet yourself. But failing. Failing, failing, failing. You give up, sobbing into your arms as you do every Thursday night. You hear a soft knock at your door and immediately quiet yourself, cursing up tighter. The door opens silently; it hadn't been there more than a year. Hearing it close, you attempt to curl up into yourself tighter again but failing.
You hear a heavy thump, thump, thump on the floor, and a soft thud as someone sits next to you. They stay silent, as do you. Tears continue their path down your cheeks, dripping off your chin onto your scrunched up stomach. A soft sigh released into the air and you immediately recognize who it is. 'Why is Techno here? I figured if anyone, it would be Phil or even Ranboo. Not him.' You feel the eyes of the piglin on the back of your head but you dare not lift your face from the cover that you have created. Thunder crashes outside, causing you to yelp and jump slightly. Suddenly, you feel an arm around you, holding you in place. Your head shoots up, eyes flitting around the dark room before fixating on the person next to you. Techno's head is turned away, avoiding eye contact. He pulls you slightly closer and you give up, wrapping your arms around him tightly. You don't sob, but you do cry quietly, feeling bad for dampening his shirt but what can you do right now. He tenses up and slowly puts a hand- hoof- on your back softly. You eventually calm down, your breathing evening out and becoming normal. You're aware of the situation you're in, but Techno doesn't seem nearly as tense as before and you're fucking exhausted. And you know for a fact, no one can hurt you here. You will never, ever be harmed as long as you remain in Techno's arms. He holds you close, causing you to be able to slightly feel the muscles of his arm. It's something you notice, but it only makes you feel safer. You move your head, facing outwards slightly, and close your eyes, feeling safer than you ever have. No one could, or would hurt you here.
• • •
Techno has his reasons for being reserved. He has his reasons for flinching and moving as soon as someone touches him unexpectedly, he has his reasons for smacking people's hands away when they try to touch him, he has his reasons for not touching people. He's been through a lot of war, a lot of fighting, a lot of betrayals, a lot of death. He can't trust anyone anymore, not after Tommy betrayed him twice. The only person he has left is Phil, who would never, ever betray him. He convinces himself that he's fine like this; he's never needed physical affection before and he doesn't need it now.
But, it's been harder recently. After Ranboo dragged you up the mountain, half-dead in his arms he had been hesitant. He had heard your name before, but that was it. You hadn't belonged to L'Manburg, surprisingly, you had just kind of existed outside of government. He could appreciate that, not like he was going to though. But, he couldn't trust new people, not again. Another kid someone dragged home, another stranger, another betrayal in the making. But while you stayed at the mountain, he could tell you were different; you weren't like Tommy. You didn't care about weaponry, or eat all of his fucking golden apples, or stealing his goddamn axe. You just wanted somewhere to stay, more like Ranboo. You paid your "debts" in gifts, not the same as Ranboo's but useful nonetheless. 2 cakes, one for him and one for Phil, a stack of enderpearls (from trading, to respect Ranboo), freshly baked bread; pumpkin bread, soft and sweet, laced with cinnamon and tiny pieces of nuts. If Techno was honest, he had grown a soft spot for you, just like he had for Ranboo (not that he would ever admit that to anyone, not even Phil). So, when Techno heard soft sobs coming from your room, he immediately felt conflicted. He didn't want to interfere as he was shit at comforting people, but the voices were screaming for him to help you. He grimaced, before softly knocking on the door to alert you that he was coming in. He pauses to listen for any objections, but opens the door after about 15 seconds. The light bleeds in, illuminating your hunched figure on the floor, pressed against the wall. He walks as softly as he can over (not very softly), and plops down next to you. He doesn't know what to do, and all the voices are saying is to comfort you. He sighs softly, trying to figure out what to do. Thunder crashes outside and you jump, yelping in the process, and out of what must be instinct, he reaches out and holds you tightly against him.
You stay still for a minute, and then wrap your arms around his torso. Techno tenses, unsure of what to do, but he keeps his arm wrapped around you, his hoof resting lightly on your back. Eventually, you calm down and you're able to breathe again. It doesn't take long, but you seem to fall asleep. It takes longer for Techno to realize. His gaze on the back of your head softens, and he smiles slightly before he can catch himself. He raises his arm, softly tucking a strand of loose hair behind your ear. He relaxes against the wall, and despite the fact that he's pressed against the wood, on the floor, he quickly falls asleep for the first time in who knows how long, a smile on his face. The next morning, he hears a soft knock on the door. He opens his eyes drowsily to see a shocked Phil and Ranboo standing in your doorway. Panic runs through his mind for a quick second before he shoots them a smile, a genuine one. Ranboo looks... a mix between worried and happy, while Phil just smiles and raises an eyebrow, a look fo what is clearly "you're gonna have to tell me all about this later." They leave, closing the door behind them, and Techno looks back at you. You inhale, stirring awake at the sun that filters in through the windows. Any water from the hail storm had frozen into slippery puddles and shimmering icicles hanging from the edge of the roof. You seem to quickly realize where you are and sit up, apologies spilling out of your mouth. Techno quickly hushes you, "Shit happens. We're all here for you, little Athena." He ruffles your hair, and stands up, preparing himself to explain what happened to Phil.
- - -
After a long-winded explanation and a lot of teasing, Techno was freed to go do as he pleases. He checked on the turtles and the cows, assuring that there had been no damage done to them, eating a slice of slightly crispy bread (he was never the same as yours; it was never quite as soft). His thoughts are occupied that day of you, not in any strange way, but questioning how you managed to break down the walls of netherite he had built around himself, the layers upon layers of obsidian that resided in his brain (gods, did he really call you 'little Athena'?). He eventually shrugged it off, concluding it as he wasn't smart enough in emotions to figure it out. It wasn't until 2 and a half weeks later that he figured it out. You had become more affectionate, giving him light hugs whenever you two accomplished something together, cupping his cheek and rubbing your thumb up and down when he became frustrated with projects. But this was different. He was sitting at the desk in his room, repeatedly stabbing at the table (it had many indentations showing similar previous events). "BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD" "KILL THEM ALL" "BLOOD SACRIFICE" The voices had been demanding today, worse than they usually were, normally he got one or two of these, but today... they were getting bored. He continued stabbing the table, his brows furrowed and teeth screwed together in an attempt to stop himself from going out and burning down some faraway village. He heard a soft knock at the door but didn't register it. The stabbing became more frequent, less time in between each thud. The door opened and shut, and Techno felt two arms wrap around his back. He froze, his hoof still wrapped around the dagger he held. A small hand reached up, softly petting behind his ears as you hugged him tightly. "It's okay." He relaxes, the voices slowly fading out as he focuses on the touch of your hand, the pressure around his stomach. He was safe. You wouldn't betray him; you weren't Tommy.
“It’s okay, my Minotaur.”