Work Text:
The syndicates best kept secret is not what you’d expect.
It’s not that they know who stole the nukes, it’s not the blueprints to the prison, it’s not Her.
The thing that the syndicate will keep locked away more securely than anything, is the knowledge that Technoblade is a softie.
He refuses to show it around pretty much anyone, and even when he’s being very visibly affectionate he always insists that he’s not, even though he very clearly is.
The Syndicate's meetings being so late at night, and Technoblade having such an appalling sleep schedule, they often saw him when he was tired, and when he was tired and felt safe, he let his guard down.
He was currently sat in his chair in the meeting room with his head lying on the table, allowing Ranboo to plait his hair.
Ranboo was being careful, making sure to not get their fingers caught in any tangles as they gently passed the strands over each other. Niki and Phil spoke softly next to them. Initially they had been talking about what excuses they should give if they were ever to be questioned on what they did up in the Arctic, but that hadn’t lasted long.
Techno couldn’t be bothered to tune into what they were saying, if they needed him then they would call him. He was content to lie there while Ranboo fiddled with his hair. He was barely suppressing the rumbling in his chest, it was definitely not similar to a cat purring. Technoblade would never purr.
“What dye do you use?” Ranboo asked. It took Techno a moment to register that the question was directed at him.
“Magma cream and pink tulips,” he replied simply. He was in a state of suspension between sleep and consciousness, so talking was limited right now.
“I’ve been thinking of dying my white side.” Ranboo adjusted the volume of their voice to match Techno’s response, which was much appreciated.
“I think you’d look good. Like a smaller version of me.” Technoblade wished that he could cut his tongue off for ignoring the filter of dignity between his thoughts and his mouth.
Ranboo chuckled, “I hate to break it to you but I am considerably taller.”
Techno laughed in response, or more accurately he aggressively exhaled air and then sat up.
“I say we call this meeting ended, I wanna sleep,” he announced to the room.
The other’s agreed and they all dispersed into their separate homes, Phil offering Niki a bed in his house so she wouldn’t have to travel back to her house, but she politely refused.
Techno lay in bed and watched his ceiling as the light grew dimmer and dimmer with every torch that Phil extinguished.
He waited for the last torch to go out, which took an exceptionally long time, Phil probably stayed up reading.
Techno sat up on his bed, trying to force his eyes to not shut. He desperately wanted to lie back down and sleep for about a decade but he had things to do.
He threw on some armour, not his good armour, the enchantments made it glow and Techno needed to be discreet. He put his signature cloak on top and left his house.
He travelled through the snow all the way to the nearest portal, which was ridiculously far, in Techno’s opinion. He went through the Nether, thankfully he didn’t encounter any ghasts, he did not want to deal with that today. A stray blaze did start shooting at him at one point but he just kept walking.
He became more alert as he approached the main portal. The likelihood of someone else being here at 4AM was not high, but Techno was vigilant.
He crept through the portal and stood for a moment, listening for any sounds that may be out of the ordinary. He didn’t hear anything so he continued.
He let his guard down slightly as he walked along the Prime path, at this point if he got caught then he would just accept it, no one was awake anyway.
He walked up the ridiculously long staircase and finally got to his destination.
The ugly dirt pile that was Tommy’s house.
He silently walked up to the door and looked through the windows. There was no light but he could just about make out a mound of blankets on the bed.
Techno crouched down to the keyhole and started picking it, it only took a matter of seconds before it popped open and Techno frowned at the poor security of his brother’s house, surely he taught him better than this.
He opens the door carefully as to not make it creak and enters the house. The spider curled up in a glass box in the corner stirs at the sound of the door, but upon seeing that it’s just Techno it goes back to sleep, it had gotten used to him by now.
After assuring that the spider wasn’t going to go crazy he resumed his task.
He looked around the room, there were no bottles, that was good, alcoholism would be bad. His armour was polished, swords sharpened, floor swept, shelves dusted, and chests organised. Well, as organised as Tommy’s chests ever were. It seemed Tommy was doing well.
The only indication that something was amiss was the pile of bandages crumpled up at the end of the bed. Techno tip toed over to it and picked them up, examining them. He lifted them up so they were at least somewhat visible in the moonlight.
Upon closer inspection Techno could see that they were tattered and dirty, and they also some blood on them, but it was a confusingly small amount. It didn’t look like they had been used to bandage a cut of any kind, Techno couldn't decipher what Tommy had bandaged with these.
He decided the only way to know would be to look at the source. So he shuffled over to the head of the bed and faced Tommy.
Tommy was fast asleep, he didn’t look very peaceful, but this didn’t worry Techno. Ever since he was tiny Tommy would frown in his sleep, it didn’t mean he was having a nightmare, that’s just what his face did.
He had also continued wearing the same pyjama’s since he was a kid, which consisted of a red top and some joggers. He was obviously wearing a considerably larger pair than when he was five but the style had stayed the same.
He was breathing slowly, so Techno risked lifting the covers a little so he might be able to find the injury that warranted the bandages.
Luckily for him when he moved the duvet Tommy rolled over and took the rest of the blankets with him, meaning that all of his back and right side was now exposed.
Techno couldn’t see any injuries yet. He examined every piece of skin he could see in the dim lighting. He hesitantly reached out and pushed Tommy’s arm so it would fall towards him. He held his breath as he accidentally made Tommy entirely roll over to face him again. He waited a moment before breathing out.
Tommy didn’t seem at all fazed, sleeping peacefully throughout it all.
Techno picked up the arm that had fallen towards him and began observing it. It looked fine, if a little rough but with the way Tommy lived that was probably just from him doing something stupid.
However he understood what was going on when he got to Tommy’s hand. It was in bad shape, it had evidentially been crushed by something. He had dark bruises on his wrist and the back of his hand, and scratches and cut all over the place.
Techno carefully felt his hand, moving around his fingers, there was a risk that he would move something broken and wake him up but that was something Techno was willing to risk. Tommy flinched in his sleep when Techno raised his middle finger up too high, but the other fingers seemed fine. There was nothing visibly wrong with the finger so Techno concluded that it must be a hairline fracture.
He tucked Tommy’s arm back against him and made sure he was well covered before exiting the house.
Tommy would wake up in the morning with a splint, perfectly sized to hold his middle finger and index together.
- - - - - - -
It was an odd feeling, such safety when you're so vulnerable in front of someone who has betrayed you multiple times.
And yet Tommy pretends to sleep, every night, because no matter what, they’ll always be brothers.