Old Days

                                    

                                          


                          
Technoblade wakes up in a strange bed the next morning. At first, he's startled, unsure of where he is before he remembers. He's in Philza's home. His fingers run over the soft duvet above himself as Jabber nudges her head against his face. 
                          
"Alright, let me get up first," he grumbles at her, pushing her away gently as he rolls himself out of the bed. 
                          
He stretches his back out as he stands up, still dressed in loose grey pants as he hunts through his pack for a white shirt.
                          
His door creaks behind him, his ear perking up to listen as two small sets of footsteps race across the room towards him. 
                          

"Come play with us!" Wilbur immediately demands before he's even reached him.
                          
"We didn't wake you? Right? Daddy said not to," Tommy asks, staring up at him with wide eyes.
                          
Technoblade shakes his head, buttoning up the white shirt.
                          
"No, you didn't wake me. Just let me get dressed first, then I'll come to play with you."
                          
Both kids nod their heads rapidly, darting out of the room. With a whistle, Jabber takes the hint and follows after them.
                          
Once they're gone, he lets out a sigh, heading over to the bathroom. He carefully separates his hair, braiding it together again as he stares at himself in the mirror. 
                          
"What are you doing, Techno? A house? Two kids? Some random Elytra you met three times? What's your goal here? To protect them? How? You're already being hunted for sport... you're just putting more people in danger."
                          
He pauses to braid the strands around his crown.
                          

"You should've stayed in the forest. At least then no one would've seen you. You wouldn't have come here... you wouldn't have put them in danger. Dreams going to find you sooner or later, it's up to you if -"
                          
There's a knock on his bedroom door. Technoblade freezes. He's hunched over the bathroom sink, with the door wide open, a half-buttoned white shirt, and his hair only partially done. 
                          
"You decent?" Philza asks from the hall.
                          
"I'm a god. I'm always decent," Techno replies back, hopefully, loud enough for Philza to have heard. 
                          
The door to his room opens and then shuts. Signifying Philza's entrance. Technoblade waits, staring at the mirror, unsure of what to do next, as Philza stops in the bathroom doorway.
                          
"I came to bring you something to eat, if you want," Philza offers, setting a plate with two slices of thick bread, and some generously sliced grouse down on the bathroom counter.
                          
"Thanks," Techno mumbles, eyeing the food as he straighten's back up to continue his hair. 
                          
"You want to eat? I can finish the braid for you," Philza offers, prompting Technoblade to arch an eyebrow at him through the mirror. 
                          
"Why are you being so nice to me? Inviting me to stay in your home, giving me a bed, bringing me breakfast, offering to braid my hair...?" 
                          
"Why didn't you kill me on sight when we first met?"
                          
"Touche." 
                          
"Exactly, so stop questioning my actions, take a deep breath, and have some breakfast. I'll finish your hair."
                          
Technoblade lets out a sigh, relaxing enough to allow Philza to braid his hair as he eats the toasted bread. 
                          
<hr>
                          
Technoblade takes a week before he decides to leave. He spends the week watching over Tommy and Wilbur as Philza walks the forest. He gets up in the mornings and helps Philza with breakfast. He spends his afternoons in the courtyard. He takes his evenings in the study with Philza, discussing whatever comes to mind.
                          
But he knows he cannot stay. He knows he's only putting them in danger as he stays here. It's a lingering thought in the back of his mind. It eats away at him in the night. It whispers in his ear as he tosses Tommy and Wilbur in the air. It's even there in the quiet evenings with Philza by the fire. 
                          
So, late at night, when he's sure everyone's well asleep, he packs his belongings. His axe is pushed into his belt. His cape fastened around his neck. His crown secured under his braids. Jabber stands at his heel as he takes a deep breath in at the door.
                          
"We'll be okay, girl," he whispers, reaching down to ruffle her ears.
                          
She let out a whine, sensing his sorrow. He ignores her, pushing open the door instead. After a quick glance down the hall, he starts walking towards the stairs. The hollow clicking of his hooves against the stone floor echo through the home.
                          
He wants to stay. With all of his power, he wants to hide away here forever. Yet he knows, if he stays, he'll have to watch it burn as well.
                          
He reaches the entrance quickly. Quicker than he'd have liked. With a flat palm pressed to the door, he urges it open. 
                          
"Technoblade! Wait!" 
                          
He freezes, his arm going ridged as he hears Philza calls after him. 
                          
"Sorry Philza," he whispers, pushing the doors fully open and stepping out into the night air.
                          
He hears Philza reach the doorway as the leaves and twigs crunch under his feet. His cape billows in the midnight wind as he walks off towards the bridge. His arms cling to his chest, trying to keep the stoic profile as he fights the urge to turn back. As he fights his own reasoning.
                          
"I have to," he whispers into the cool night air as if he was trying to convince himself of this. 
                          
The waterfall crashes next to him as he crosses over the bridge. He knows Philza didn't follow him. He didn't blame him. He keeps his head low, and ventures out through the woods towards some sort of destination. 
                          
His feet take him to a familiar spot. A birch forest lit by moonlight. A field of yellow lilies. Alstroemeria. He hears the voices whisper in his head, reminding him of when he met Philza here. When he was told the Elytra's name. A silent tear rolls down his cheek.
                          
He tilts his head up towards the sky, taking in a shaky breath as he recalls a song commonly sung in his honour. To remark the change of the world, the death of a person, the end of an era.
                          
"Heaven help the ones who fly away..." 
                          
"Heaven help the ones who have to stay and place the blame..." 
                          
"Maybe what you think of me won't change..."
                          
"But I still hold on... to the old days."
                          
"Heaven help the ones who fly away..." he echoes, slumping to his knees in the meadow as he stares up at the stars.
                          
"You hear that, Dream?! -" he stands up again - "DO YOU SEE ME NOW YOU?! I'M READY! COME AND GET ME!" he calls up to the heavens, opening his arms wide as he rests there, accusatorially. 
                          
At his feet, the grass sparks. Small flames lick from his hooves, catching on the blades of grass around him. Fire starts to spread quickly, catching on the forest around him as he shouts to the heavens. As he calls out for the gods. As he calls out for Dream.