Work Text:
Philza was holding his son in his arms, his dying son, his son that would die at his hand because Phil couldn't stand the begging and his own son's suffering anymore. He was sobbing, of course he was, he'd stabbed his son in the chest and hadn't hit his heart like he'd intended and now his son was dying a painful and drawn out death instead of the quick one Phil had intended. "Killza," his son was laughing, holding on desperately to his back. Phil could see the sword poking through his back.
Phil drew in a shaky breath, "Is this really what you wanted?"
Wil coughed after chuckling, "It would've happened eventually, at my hands or another. My unfinished symphony's last written note, low and sudden."
Phil nodded, "Of course." He let his son's last drawn out and ragged breathes wash over him, he could feel the warm air on his neck and shriveled wings. Phil hugged the corpse of his son until the explosions and screaming drowned out his own breathing. He gently laid his son on the ground, looking at the shitty job of mercy he'd granted for the kid. "My stupid son," he sighed as he stood up.
He knew everyone had watched him kill his own son, he'd feel guilt for it as long as he lived, they'd look at him in shame as long as he hung around. He hoped Fundy wasn't too upset, it didn't really matter but it was still a thought that passed through.
He watched as Techno spawned the withers, always one for chaos and dramatics. He wished that Techno would've waited a while for him to catch his breath before being forced into battle, to at the very least salvage some of the land of the country his son had built with his friends. Someone gave him a sword and some armor, he didn't see who but he tried to make quick work of the man-made beasts.
He was aware of Techno and Tommy still yelling at the other, Wilbur's two best friends, or at least that's what he'd written. He was so tired, he knew he'd be going back to wherever the fuck with Techno after the battle but he'd rather just sit down and wait out the battle between everyone. It was mostly just Techno versus everyone else with a few other arguments happening, he just continued to chase down the withers and swing at them until the star in the rib cages fell. After that Techno ran, he'd message Phil the coordinates through their devices. Until then Phil would try to help and repair the destroyed land the best he could.
He was talking to a few people, some who'd only caught glimpses of the killing before the withers. He set up the start of a base before Techno sent him the coordinates with no other words. He'd have to explain what'd happened to his best friend. He waved to the few people that talked to him, mostly one sided conversations with very few words of acknowledgment from his end.
A few crows flew around him as he made his way to the coordinates, traveling in a boat across the sea, the docks Tubbo made were great but the houses were just some mob spawners since he hadn't lit them properly. Luckily Phil avoided any that fell or walked out from the houses. The crows were chattering, some words he picked up and others quickly lost in translation. Many repeated "Killza" or "Not Poggers" as far as he could tell. Others just landed on his shoulder and listened to the warbling and cawing of the others. A very large crow, not big enough to be a raven, just sat in the boat with him.
He made it to shore after a few hours, the night having turned to day once he arrived. He was still far away from Techno's coordinates, he'd have to travel by foot the rest of the way. His wings were fucked from the explosion and he didn't want to rest in the day only to deal with the mobs later. He still had the sword from Wilbur, he'd handed the sword to him with a scared look in his eyes. He missed him already, he missed him the moment he saw what he'd become in the detonation room. This wasn't the son that had written to him for months on end, this was the son who'd stopped writing very suddenly with no explanation as to why.
He groaned, a few crows were perched on his damaged wings, he couldn't really feel them but they were still a weight added to what he was carrying. Phil had next to no food, two steaks and very few carrots or potatoes, all raw besides the steak. He couldn't share.
He started walking again and made his way across the beach and ruined nether portal. After an hour or two of walking he munched on a carrot and half a steak he was given, he hadn't eaten at all in the boat. He continued until he came across a village in the tundra, he figured that Techno would probably live close to one for trading. He spent the night in a bed that wasn't being used and took some carrots and potatoes, replanting them of course since others were living. He didn't trade with the villagers before continuing across the tundra.
A few crows had left him, saying "cold" and "ugh windy" before flying away. Others were sitting in the pockets of his cardigan if they were small enough and one was huddled in his hair. Others continued to fly around him, only landing on him for a minute or two before flying again. He knew he was at Techno's place when he saw a small house with a horse in the stable by the lower door. He didn't bother running to the house, he wasn't ready to confront his friend. He made his way to the stairs and just sat on them for a minute before knocking.
Techno opened the door with an axe ready. He looked down to see Philza and a bunch of crows. He ducked below the door way, Phil didn't know why he'd made it so small if he was living alone, and gave him a hug. He'd be yelled at sooner or later for sure, or maybe Techno would let him talk about it when he felt he was comfortable enough.
Techno pulled away from the hug and went inside, Phil following as soon as he'd gotten in. The house was nice, there were chests lining the wall and a ladder down to the lower area. Techno had posters of himself on the walls as well, he'd probably asked people to paint him on his way to the Dream SMP. There was a couch by the fireplace and a tiny kitchen on the other end of the house that Techno made his way to.
"Nice place mate," Phil complimented the house after briefly looking at it, it looked nice from the outside too. Techno only nodded, his voice was probably worn out from the yelling.
Techno came back to the living room with two mugs of tea, both comically large compared to Philza's regular mugs. They both smelled of mint, Techno's smelled of honey. Phil sat on the couch, Techno in his own chair by some bookshelves.
"Do you want to talk about the-" Phil was cut off by Techno shaking his head. He took a long drink of the tea.
"Throat hurts, tired," he said with a scratchy voice. Phil nodded and they drank their tea in silence. After Phil was done he messaged Techno.
Are you alright?
Yeah. I just figured you'd be exhausted after the travel and… festival.
You figured right, Philza chuckled. Got a spare bed?
Techno got up and went up the ladder. Phil just sat on the couch and waited until Techno waved at him from the hole in the floor. He climbed up the ladder to see an enchanting table in the same room that Techno slept in. His attention was drawn to the mattress that laid right beside Techno's own bed.
It already had a bunch of blankets and a few pillows on it. A dog had also already taken up half the mattress at the foot end. Phil thanked him and laid awake most of the night after they'd both had their nightly rituals. He knew Techno was probably awake as well with the voices. He didn't want to disturb the other so he just pet the dog that now laid across his stomach.
The day after Techno's voice was still hoarse so they talked through their communicators and occasionally just wrote on paper for the other. Techno took care of his animals and converted a few zombie villagers to alive villagers in the basement. Phil made soup for supper with what he found in the kitchen and entertained Techno's dogs. They didn't do all that much for the next few days either.
Techno's voice was back to normal and he asked Phil if he wanted to go hunting or mining with him. They both decided on mining and at the end of the day Phil felt the calming ache of everything he'd mined that day on his muscles.
They never talked about the "festival two" as Techno called it. Phil was glad for it. They just busied themselves with household chores and doing stuff outside. Eventually he'd have to break the porcelain vase though.
"Why did you blow up L'Manburg, well not just you but what happend?"
Techno kept stirring the stew of the night, "Wilbur was paranoid and given a lot of TNT, Dream had enabled him and wanted the country gone, for different reasons than Wil, but they both wanted it gone. Tommy was heavily against it and I wanted the corrupt government cycle to end. I helped Wil in the end, our causes differed heavily but they ended the same."
Phil stared at the ground, he knew Wilbur was off but he didn't think he'd be lying to him. "What about Pogtopia?"
Techno turned to face Phil, "What did Wilbur tell you about it?"
"He said that it was a side project he'd started with you, Tommy, and Tubbo. He told me that you farmed potatoes for fourteen hours on the first night you were there. Just a little ravine or cave place for you guys to mess around in."
Techno shook his head. "Wilbur and Tommy were banned from "Mangburg" during an election that they'd lost. Schlatt and Quackity won the election by one percent I think, they fled the election area and hid in a wall for a week. That's how Pogtopia started. Tubbo spied on Schlatt for them, he was Schlatt's second right hand man or something. I joined them because Wilbur wanted to destroy Manburg and "restore L'Manburg" and I wanted to wreck shit. I was forced to kill Tubbo after Schlatt found out he was a spy, Tubbo set up a festival for his own execution, I killed almost everyone after having killed Tubbo and Tommy was angry at me."
"Oh."
"Yeah, we fought in a pit because Wilbur was spiralling and wanted to prove Tommy wrong or something, I won and said some cruel things to Tommy. That's when Wilbur and I agreed on blowing up Manburg much to Tommy's disagreement."
"So he was plotting all of this far earlier huh?"
"I suppose so. Soup's almost done. But, uh, yeah. Pogtopia was never a side project obviously. It was a temporary shelter."
Phil nodded and started getting out bowls for the two of them. He'd give some to the dog just to see Techno get all fussy. He'd probably go to bed and leave Techno to put leftovers away, Techno didn't need help with leftovers.
"What else did Wilbur write to you?"
"Could we talk about something else? I'm not ready to talk about everything yet."
"Of course. Should I make you a bed frame eventually or are you planning to make your own house, I don't mind if you stay here forever but I don't want you to keep sleeping on the floor."
Phil laughed, "I'll probably live with you for a while longer. I can help with the bed frame."
"Okay, cause it's been a week or so and I'd rather have you actually have a bed. This isn't a month long sleepover after all."
He nodded, "Yeah, plus some proper back support would be sweet."
Phil went to bed early as he thought he would and Techno joined him a few minutes later carrying a book. Tonight would be sleepless for both of them but they could still try and rest. Phil ended up climbing into Techno's bed halfway through the night because he couldn't stand thinking anymore. He read whatever book Techno was reading and eventually grew too tired to continue moving his eyes.
"How often do you have nights like these?"
"Very. Voices get loud if I rest too often."
"Mm, makes sense," he groans. "I hope they calm down enough for you to get proper sleep some day." After that he fell asleep, his head resting on Techno's bicep. Techno would manage to continue his reading without waking Phil.
Phil discovered that he gets some actual sleep with another body next to him. He talked with Techno about it and they agreed on just making a bigger frame from the one Techno already had and adding Phil's mattress next to it. Techno didn't mind extra warmth and felt calmer with Phil around, and Phil got proper sleep some nights. It was beneficial all around and it wasn't like they didn't have to share a bed in the Antarctic Empire, it's cold in the southern most part on Earth after all.
A week after doing more chores and work outside the house they had enough materials to expand the bed frame. They started early in the morning and it was done before supper.
"I'll make something that isn't soup tonight," Phil said after looking at their handiwork. Techno nodded.
"That'd be cool, I was almost starting to get tired of our goop meals."
Phil shrugged, "I don't know how you could possibly get tired of soup but you have your wrong opinions." Techno laughed at that and called him lame.
Phil decided to just cook some rabbit and carrots and potatoes. Like proper cooked carrots, not the soggy ones. He called for Techno from the kitchen and got no response, the other hadn't gone downstairs like he had.
He went up the ladder to see Techno sprawled across their combined mattress, completely knocked out. Phil shoved Techno lightly, after no response he shoved harder and still had no response. He most certainly wasn't buff enough to try and push the blood god off the bed. He didn't need to check if Techno was still breathing, the piglin was snoring oh so loudly. Phil groaned, he was a little amused at his friend but he was also annoyed that he'd probably have to sleep on top of him since there wasn't really much room for him to comfortably lay with the other's limbs all spread out.
He went downstairs and ate the rabbit and roots he'd made, Techno would miss out on hot food but hey, the cold leftovers couldn't possibly lose that much flavor right? If it did that was a Techno problem.
He went to bed, as he'd presumed, laying on top of Techno's back. He hadn't moved at all since when Phil came to check on him but he was still snoring. Phil tried to sleep, he really did, but with the combination of the snoring and Techno's back moving with his inhales and exhales it was quite difficult. Getting sleep was future Phil's problem, he'd decided, because future Phil definitely wasn't present Phil just later. He climbed down the ladder again and went to the bookshelf. Techno had an enderman in a boat by the fireplace and he avoided eye contact as best he could with it. He sat down in Techno's big chair and just read for the night.
When the sun started to shine through the "windows" Phil went upstairs to try and wake Techno again with no luck. Techno never mentioned hibernating to Phil, if that's what Techno was doing. Phil wasn't sure. He might be sick but he wasn't running any fever from when he'd checked last night. Then again, some people just sleep a lot after not having slept enough before.
He'd have to carry the work around the house with Techno knocked the hell out, so he got to it. He milked Henry, tended to Carl, and carefully gave Steven some berries. He converted most of Techno's villagers by the time the sun was going down and by then it was too cold to go outside. He was glad Carl was kind of fluffy.
He went upstairs after having some leftovers to see Techno slightly less sprawled across the bed. He'd be able to sleep comfortably tonight if he wore earplugs. He thought about covering Techno's nostrils before remembering that's how you kill people, so he wouldn't be doing that. He grabbed some leftover cotton from a far too stuffed pillow and put it in his weird feathered ears. He curled up around Techno and got some sleep before waking abruptly from a nightmare.
He looked outside with his ragged breaths and looked back to Techno who'd wrapped his arms around him at some point. He took a deep breath, he wouldn't be asked what the nightmare was about if Techno suddenly awoke, he'd be asked if he was alright and then the two would drink tea or cocoa and try to go back to sleep. Techno wasn't awake to offer any of that obviously so he talked himself through the dream before going downstairs for some tea. He hoped Techno would wake up soon but if he didn't he'd manage.
"Why did the dream have to be about Wil?" He was muttering to himself between hot sips of lemon honey tea. The dream wasn't just about Wil of course, it was about him dying repeatedly in front of Phil who couldn't do jack shit about it. The seemingly immortal man leaned his head back and sighed.
He went back up the ladder after an hour of being down in the living room for an hour. Techno had all his limbs just straight out again, not much space but just barely enough for Phil to squeeze onto the bed. He tried hugging Techno's chest, only really able to get his hands nearly at Techno's armpits. He sighed and settled for hugging one of Techno's arms instead. It'd have to do.
Techno's sleep, hibernation, slumber thing went on for nearly a month before the man clambered down the ladder with slight difficulty.
"Welcome back to the living big man," Phil greeted. He was happy to see his friend again. "You didn't tell me you started hibernating."
Techno shook his head and put on a pair of small glasses from a table by the bookshelves. "There's nobody here to tell me how long I sleep and I don't have a calendar. I have no idea how long I've been out."
"Nearly a month, you knocked out before you could get any cooked rabbit and now you'll have to suffer with soup."
Techno groaned and put the glasses back down. He wasn't sure why he'd picked them up in the first place but stopped thinking about it when he smelled eggs. "There's no chickens around here."
"I traded with some villagers for a hen. Her name's Death Hawk." Phil said. Death Hawk was a bit of a dick but she still made eggs and didn't mind if they were taken. The hen was sitting on the counter by one of the odd windows that Techno had and was having a staring contest with the dog. They were mortal enemies.
Techno nodded, "Of course you'd name a chicken after an apex predator." Phil laughed. Techno smiled.