Chapter Text
The sun was well above the trees by the time Techno and Phil stepped outside onto the bridge. Phil was silent, leaning on the railing. His brows were drawn together and his lips were pursed. Techno knew that expression and had paced around the porch, trying not to speak, waiting for Phil to parse out his thoughts.
Finally, he straightened and cleared his throat.
“How’s he getting around? Before the damn idiot fell down ladder,” he said.
Techno snickered.
“He’s pretty good at runnin’ around when he’s a bunny but that makes sense,” said Techno. “A lot more balance when you have four legs versus two but right now he’s gonna be stuck in that chair for a bit.”
“He’s not going to be happy about that, huh.”
Scratching the side of his snout, Techno shook his head, trying to hide the smile.
“Not even a little,” he said. “He’s probably not gonna want the others to come over. Heck, he wasn’t too thrilled about you comin’ over.”
“Can’t really blame him.” Phil fell silent, looking back towards Techno’s cabin. “I don’t blame you for not telling me at first, mate. I get it and whatever it takes to keep him out of that fucking prison, I’ve got you.”
Techno’s shoulders sagged in relief and he took a step forward, wrapping Phil up in a hug. He held his friend in the hug, resting his cheek against the top of Phil’s head, crushing his hat. It felt like a weight had been lifted.
“Thank you, Phil. You have no idea how much it was stressin’ me out.”
“It was pretty damn obvious, mate.”
Techno made a shushing sound.
“You had no idea.”
Reaching up, Phil gave Techno a quick pat on the shoulder, turning the hug until Techno finally broke it and took a step back.
“Whatever you say.”
“Oh, wait,” said Techno, taking one large step after Phil and then lowering his voice. “You remember Dream from Doomsday, right? Wasn’t he pretty dang tall?”
Phil tilted his head to the side, the movement quick and bird-like.
“He’s about the same height as Tommy, so I’d say so. Why?”
“Eh, don’t worry about it, Phil.” Techno looked up and narrowed his eyes. “I’m just goin’ over some details in my mind. Don’t worry about it.”
There was something bouncing around in Techno’s head, Phil knew that much but it didn’t seem heavy, didn’t seem to be weighing him down, so Phil didn’t press the issue.
“Yeah, there’s plenty to go around when it comes to shit to worry about,” he said, putting his hand on Techno’s back for a moment. “Alright, I’m going to head over to Ranboo’s for a bit. I’ll let them and Niki know to steer clear for a bit.”
“Thanks, Phil, I really appreciate that, man.”
Techno watched until Phil was out of sight, heading towards Ranboo’s house, before turning back to his home. It was still dark inside; he hadn’t turned the lanterns up, figuring that Dream would be more comfortable that way. He blinked rapidly, trying to force his eyes to adjust to the darkness, and moved to open the shutters on the closest window, letting the snow-reflected light trickle in.
In the chair, Dream squinted and pulled the cloak up further, almost hiding half his face behind it. Next to him, his breakfast was untouched. Techno said nothing as he collected the plate and brought it into the kitchen. He was worried, enough that he almost wanted to shake Dream and tell him to eat, tell him to talk to him, but instead he dumped the plate into the sink with a sigh.
“Y’know, I’ve got a question for you, Dream,” said Techno as he took a seat next to him. Suspicion crossed Dream’s face immediately and his ears laid flat against his skull. “Oh, c’mon, Dream, do you really trust me so little?”
Letting go of the cloak, Dream signed, “Yes.”
“Yeah, alright, that’s fair, man.” He chuckled and leaned back, forgetting for a moment this chair wasn’t his rocking chair and almost tipping it backwards before catching himself. Clearing his throat, he glanced at Dream. If he noticed, he didn’t show it. “Can I ask you a question? Just a little somethin’ that’s been botherin’ me.”
Dream’s ears twitched, knuckles white as he griped the cloak once more, the only outward sign of the panic at the words. He shrugged with feigned nonchalance.
“Now, my memory isn’t that great, Dream, but I distinctly remember you bein’ taller than this, before,” Techno said. “So, I’m just tryin’ to figure out how that works.”
Dream stared at him. The first thought was that Techno was making another poor taste joke, this time about his foot being cut off, then he thought back and realization hit. Embarrassment crept up on him, making his cheeks go bright red, and he looked away.
“Look, your secret is safe with me.”
“It’s not—” His fingers stilled and Dream scrunched up his nose, rubbing the back of his hand against it. He sneezed, once and then again.
“Are you allergic to admittin’ you’re short?” asked Techno, glad that the earlier panic had been fleeting, eager to cling onto the humor of the situation.
“What?” Dream’s voice cracked. “It’s not like that.”
“I understand, I understand.” Waving his hand, Techno held back his amusement in favor of a mock haughty tone. “I’d be embarrassed, too, if I got caught fakin’ my height.”
“Fuck you, Technoblade,” said Dream.
Techno laughed. The annoyed, squeaky way Dream spoke reminded him of before, when he had come by, looking for Tommy, trying for all the world to seem serious and menacing only to be reduced to barely contained laughter. If things had gone differently, Techno thought, they could have been friends then and there. Not now, in the wake of so much pain and hurt.
Better now, despite it all, he supposed, than never.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” he said.
The room was silent for a stretch of time, only the background noise of the crackling fire and distant yips and barks from the foxes and dogs that had been brought back. Techno made a mental note to retrieve Steve and Carl; it didn’t feel right without them. After a moment, Dream sighed, resigned and exasperated. Techno looked over with one eyebrow raised.
“It wasn’t like that,” he signed. “The boots made me taller because of my feet.”
“Sure, Dream, sure. The classic ‘the boots did it’ excuse.”
Dream scowled at him.
“You’re so annoying,” he said and sank back down into the chair.