Work Text:
Ranboo fought during enderwalks.
The side of him that spoke quietly and hesitantly, walked unhurriedly and held itself politely, it never fought, didn’t even know how. Ranboo the northern neighbour, a fragile boy with a tender heart and the kindest soul, he scarcely touched a sword and held it so, as if the blade on a handle was weighing his whole body to the ground. He was peacefully living in his humble abode, loved to take care of animals and write diaries, knew how to make flower crowns and give the gentlest touches. This Ranboo replaced the sun for Technoblade, who was swimming in his warmest rays, curving under the fondness that the boy bestowed on him with the most sophisticated delicacy.
But the side that woke up at nights, oh, it knew how to fight, knew too well. As the darkness descended on the server and his eyes turned acid purple, he walked out of his house and headed in a random direction, traipsing slowly and sluggishly. He hunched his back terribly, stretched his neck forward and bugged his absent eyes out while his long arms were loosely hanging, wavering on the slightest wind like wheat ears. There was nothing alarming in him wandering around the biomes, and Technoblade wouldn’t have intervened in his calm promenades if he hadn’t had found the younger one the next morning in positions so frightening. Ranboo never came back home. Instead, he passed out, and was found lying in the depths of sharp cliffs, in the deserts almost suffocating in the sands, on the icy surfaces of lakes, slowly but surely freezing to death, and the worst - in the water. One time he fainted while crossing the bridge, and even the burn on his face he received after falling into the river didn’t hurt as much as the water that he inhaled. It took a whole week to nurse him, and the rest of the water that he was coughing up constantly was splashing in his lungs, burning, it scorched his insides so much it was excruciating to breathe.
Technoblade couldn’t stand it, to see the person he loved the most bear so much tormentous hurt every single day, smiling through pain the next morning and saying “I’m alright” with a feeble gaze.
So he went out every night to stop him from getting hurt. Holding him from getting himself in danger was, however, harder than he expected. At first, the enderwalker was softly pushing him away, and hissed, when the pighin, while escorting him, blocked the way that involved threat. Then, the enderman was avoiding the man and tried to keep him at a distance. And finally, one day when the older one grabbed his wrist and shoulder in a firm grip to pull away, he jumped him.
The man didn’t expect it, and managed to get a few hits on the face before collecting himself. He couldn’t let himself fight back, couldn’t swing his hand at him under any circumstances, and eventually was toppled to the ground. Ranboo lashed out at him, screeching ear-splitting with mouth so widely opened, it tore the corners of his lips which bled down to his chin. Techno was lucky to grab the nearest branch that was lying dry on the ground and throw it in front of himself, holding as an obstacle, and the enderman’s fangs thrusted violently into the bar, clenching it with such fury that his teeth went into the wood halfway.
The next morning, the piglin lied. He said that they both were unfortunate to fall down in a pit he didn’t see in the dark. As for Ranboo’s torn mouth, well… He just screamed at the moon for some reason.
The boy was losing all of his senses, turning into nothing but the wildest animal when the night came. He yelled from the top of his lungs, his shrieks were deafening. But the worst of it all - he became unimaginably strong. Techno was an exemplary fighter, probably one of the best of his kind, knowing dozens of different techniques and tactics, being enduring and having eagle-fast reflexes. But he had never confronted a beast that he couldn’t attack and even allowed the other to hit him if defending himself meant hurting him. And some attacks one simply can’t avoid with bare hands.
After bringing Ranboo’s unconscious body to his home and laying him on the bed, the piglin returned to his own house and spent hours, treating his deep wounds from sharp claws and teeth, and passing out on the floor or the table until Phil found him. The older man was staying every night that he could, and the three of them tried different ideas of how to help the boy. They wrapped him up tight in a fabric so he couldn’t move, tied him to the bed with leather straps and kept him at his house, but he gained so much strength when falling into the enderwalk state that he tore apart everything that was meant to deter him. One time, the older men blocked him in a stone box, leaving only the smallest window for him to breathe and no items whatsoever, and had to hear him scream for hours, crawling around his cell like an animal in a cage. What the two certainly couldn’t even imagine, is Ranboo starting to hurt himself after realising the inescapability of the place. His claws thrusted his own skin and left long cuts on his arms, chest and face, he was biting himself and hitting his head on the wall. Terrified, Techno shuddered with eyes full of panic, and his pickaxe broke the stone with a sharp swing immediately.
Philza went out with his friend every night it was possible for him, and with two of them, it was easier to defeat the beast of Ender. For the majority of time, however, the piglin fought in solitude, and it tore the older man’s heart to see the consequences. His body was suffering while his face, scarred and wounded face was smirking at his old friend and joking he couldn’t get so much stronger if it wasn't for the daily training.
But he wasn’t getting stronger. Most surely and visibly, he was getting weaker . He was constantly taking healing and regenerating potions, but even they couldn’t restore the amount of blood he lost over one week. There wasn’t a single day he didn’t take sleeping pills, yet still couldn’t close his eyes and breathe steadily for an hour straight, waking up all the time in a cold sweat of panic, fearing it was the night already and Ranboo might have gone out again. He became pale, feeble, but grinned warmly each time the younger guy approached and embraced him, each time he looked him in the eyes with affection, and at those moments, no cost seemed too great to have the boy be by his side. Truly there was a heartless ridiculing of fate in the way the man melted in the other’s arms, being kissed so dearly and lovingly during day and beaten up in a ruthless, merciless manner during night, sometimes being left with broken bones. His voices have never been more contrasting. Part of them screamed for his sanity, pointing out he was literally dying with every single day, while the other, seemingly more sensitive and warm to the Ranboo, was shouting not to give up like that and fight for his beloved until the end. Like he didn’t know that… He doesn’t need those annoying bunch, his decisions about the young enderman were the ones he didn’t let his voices influence by no means. He wished they could all shut up and leave him alone, but that happened scarcely.
When Ranboo found out, he was determined to move away in the fervor of guilt and self-hate, and Technoblade forced him to stay at his house for days until convinced him there was a way to solve this. He didn’t tell him why he couldn't let him go on his own during enderwalking, and kept enough truth so the boy believed him. The snowwhite light of hope ignited inside of him, and that was all Techno could ask for.
He tried to give him everything. He went out with him, walking in the forests and flower fields, danced at the festivals and picked up to hear a chime of a giggle he so adored. And the nights - they were spent in violent battles with an unrelenting beast, the consequences of which he tried the hardest to hide. Even when he didn’t need to fight him, seeing the enderman being safe, his arrival became a red flag for the monster, who irreversibly labeled the man as the rival and jumped him the moment he saw him unconditionally.
Phil protested. He argued and called for his friend’s common sense, but the other only nodded, at the very end saying that there was no other way and never will be. With a smile, he added that he would give his life to feel Ranboo’s single look on himself.
The boy saw him wither, and turned their leisure into the peacefullest time. They read together, talked or simply cuddled on the couch. The soft domestic moments became Techno’s favorite, he enjoyed the most how the younger guy tended to him, not noticing his pitiful look. Ranboo wasn’t more careful than when he was around the man, treating him like a sick or a very old person. And the piglin didn’t care. His mind faded into the blurry mist from all the love he was getting the same way his body did from all the potions he replaced water with.
They started to grow melons, and the boy didn’t understand the choice of such a particular fruit at first, but couldn’t look at the farm with the same lightness after finding out they were one of the ingredients for the healing potions. The word “potion” itself had lost its vast majority of meanings, shrinking to two options only: healing and regeneration. It was ironic how the best, the most helpful medicine was now directly connected to something so heart-tearing. Trading with villagers frequently, Techno stocked up blaze rods, nether warts, golden ingots and even ghast tears to deprive himself of ever needing to go to the Nether. His chests were filled with ingredients, the brewing stand bubbling most hours of the day. After a while he realised that the medicine wasn’t helping - his body became so used to them it stopped perceiving the curing effect. And so, after another violent night, he could only explode on the couch, bandaging only the deepest wounds and staring at the ceiling, his pets surrounding him in a worried circle as his floor was reddening with the drops that slid down his powerlessly hanging hand.
And still, despite everything, he was desperate, desperate in his longing for each second he could spend with the boy, putting his entire existence aside. Oh, his lover , the one he was completely and irrevocably bewitched by, his body and soul belonging to him alone and razed to the ground shall be the one who would dare to take his brightest light away. The thought of not having him brought a dread he couldn’t bear. Another day, another lovely day in the man’s house, the two were standing at the kitchen area of the floor, making an apple pie. Having the softest conversations with lighthearted laughs, they were having a wonderful time. The baking form was quite heavy, and Ranboo didn’t let the piglin take it, grabbing the two handles and lifting it himself. And after they walked to the furnace, the boy was unlucky to get his hands too close to the fire, and the flame licked his fingers as he landed the pie on the stone surface. The boy sharply pulled his hands away, and froze when Techno flinched, for a split second catching a glance of terror in his eyes, a glance of somebody who always has to be ready. The man quickly relaxed his face, turning to the more worrying issue.
“Oh, are you alright?” he asked softly, and as he took a step towards the other, the boy, who was staring at him with the most horrified look, stepped away panically. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Techno,” Ranboo replied faintly, stuttering. “T-this can’t go on like this.”
“What are you talking about?” the man frowned.
“I’m killing you!” the boy cried out. “I want to love you a-and keep you safe, but I am the only reason you are- you are withering, Techno, I can’t-”
“Cease it! You are the reason I am feeling alive !” he suddenly raised his voice, interrupting. “You are the reason I feel so loved and cared for, the reason I feel at all!”
The young enderman was shaking. In a trembling voice, he shouted:
“But you are suffering because of me! I-I can’t- I can’t do this to you, I need to stay away from yo-”
“No!” Techno’s voice had never been that desperate as he dashed into the other when saw tears rolling down his cheeks, burning on his face with a quiet hissing sound.
The man wrapped his arms around the boy, but he held out his hands that bumped into the piglin’s chest and pushed away softly but insistently.
“I can’t endanger you, I’m going to get you killed if I stay longer, I need to leave…”
“Ranboo, I love you,” Technoblade uttered, pressing himself more into the younger guy who was trying to pull him back. “I don’t want to lose you- I can’t lose you!”
He felt the boy faint, and lowered with him as he slowly got down on his knees, still resisting the pressure and holding him tight. Clenched in his lover’s startled grip, Ranboo tilted his head to look up, but couldn’t stop the tears streaming down his face like fleeting rivers, not paying attention to the pain of the burn. It hurted more to hear the words that the older one said so cordially.
“Please,” the man pleaded, heart pounding violently as he struggled to breathe steadily. He turned his head and, taking the boy’s in his hand, pulled in to eagerly wash the dark half of his face with affectionate fondling of his lips. Coming closer to the younger’s ear, he whispered imploringly: “My love, my dearest lover, I fear losing you more than death, and I don’t wish for anything more than I wish to be with you… I beg you, don’t push me away.”
Breaking into loud sobbing, the boy slid his hands down from between their chests and curled his arms around the other’s back, dropping his head on Technoblade’s shoulder. The older one pressed them closer, the sounds of Ranboo crying scratching his soul deeper than the enderman’s claws wounded his body, and kissed him through the curls, making him tighten the hold. They stayed like that, the man softly stroking the younger one’s back and gently rubbing through his hair in light calming motions.
After a while, the boy slowly pulled away, and as they gazed at each other, Techno carefully wiped his tears, cupping his face, and his tired look made the younger one purse his lips into a thin trembling line. His eyes started watering again while he brushed the long pink hair behind his ear with shaking fingers.
“I love you,” he uttered quietly and added, voice dropping into slightly high-pitched whispering on some words: “But I don’t want to torture you.”
“That sounds silly in one sentence,” the man replied with a smirk, nuzzling his face lightly. “As long as you really love me, I’ll be immortal.”
“I do, I do so much,” the boy squeezed his eyes shut, stroking Technoblade’s cheek with his thumb and bumping their foreheads together. “I will love you for all two hundred years of my life, and my feelings will only grow bigger with every single day. I will love you forever, most ardently.”
The man smiled, caressing the young enderman’s face and watching him lean into the touch, covering his hands with his own and curving from the gentleness. Ranboo’s head fell down slowly, until Techno lifted it up. He slid his thumb across the boy’s lower lip, making him part it from the upper one to let him paint the little patterns on his mouth as he desired. Savouring him with his warm gaze for a while, watching tears glitter in heterochromatic eyes that were overflowing with regret yet coveting the closeness as if the piglin was his only source of air, Technoblade tilted his head to the side and leaned in to press their lips together in a long, softest kiss. The younger one heaved a sigh and dove into the pink locks with his fingers, thumbs fondling next to his ears, but soon enough the older one felt the tears reaching his hands and running down, he pulled back, gazing at him with sorrow, heart tearing for his pain. He moved the fabric of his shirt, putting the sleeves on his face for them to soak in the burning rivers.
Ranboo pulled towards him and started fervently trailing with kisses the face soon to be bruised and tenderly stroking with fingers the neck he strangled last night so callously. Techno melted, closing his eyes and smiling in bliss, letting the other caress him with his lips as long as he wished.
He hadn’t felt a bigger rage as the one he was ignited with when found out the boy started taking laxative. The motive was kind to the purest, indeed, and maybe it would have influenced him in the enderwalk state in the piglin’s favor, but the man didn’t want to hear anything, interrupting the young enderman’s quiet voice with thunderous shouts. And Ranboo cried, he cried again in desolation of his fluttering spirit, whispering how much it hurt to know he was destroying the one he loved so devotedly. Techno forced him to get rid of the remedy and strictly forbade him from even thinking about doing anything to himself. The boy obeyed, of course he did, for the wishes of his lover were to be fulfilled without a question.
When they fell into each other’s arms, they sank into the so enticing pleasure of the honey sweet feeling. Affection . The gift they were blessed with and couldn’t get enough of, grasping it with each other’s exhales after breaking a kiss, seeking it in the other’s body, each spot of which had their name written on it with warm touches of their lips on the other’s skin. Enchanted, possessive, they savoured each other with greed, desperate from fear. Neither of them said it out loud, and Techno wouldn’t dare to afflict his dear beloved, but clear as a crystal was it that each new day could be their last, and unknown it was when would their final battle occur. But until then, they would give each other everything, lay their entire being to the other’s feet while bowing, worshiping them in adoration and undying dedication. The perpetual flame burned inside their chests like a wildfire as they, interlacing their fingers, tasted each other’s lips in passion, exchanging the heat and silent vows. The man would close his eyes and let out a loud sigh of satisfaction, tilting his head up as the Ranboo showered his neck with kisses, softly but ardently trailing down to his chest. Carefully pulling the string of his white shirt, the boy slipped his lips under the light fabric, and the older one could feel his warm breath on his collarbone that he covered with prolonged touches. Techno’s hands would slide under the other’s shirt, and the latter’s whole soul would be brought up in the ether as his body irreversibly melted, acutely sensing each of the man’s fingers that explored every little humps of his spine, it curving under the touches like a serpentine and leaning more into it. With devotion so temerarious, Ranboo craved to lick the other’s wounds that didn’t heal properly, to shower him with touches of his hands with such tenderness that his body would forget the scars the same hands had left it with. Technolade’s gentle look lowered him on his knees, pressed to the ground with the divinest softness and forced to pray, pray in the most cordial whispers until his savior bestowed the earnest grace on him yet again. His lover, his sun and air, his keeper, the owner of the entirety of him, his love. No god was worshipped so much as the young guy had worshipped the man, whose long pink locks he dove his face in and felt ethereal bliss as the other’s lips touched his skin. They were delicate towards each other, the lightness of their caressing not limiting the strength of affection they were giving, pouring it into each other’s souls like a viscous syrup through gazes, touches and kisses, so profuse and never too excessive in their amount. In tender studies of each other, they were eager to learn what would please the other the most, and inflamed with each breath of contentment.
In the careful hold, wrapping his arms around the man’s waist, Ranboo tilted his head up, looking with the greatest admiration at the man, who, calmly resting his hands on his shoulders, was the embodiment of heaven’s speaking for him.
“I will belong to you forever,” the boy uttered sensuously and most determinedly.
Gazing down at him, Techno smiled with slightly lowered eyelashes, and the world turned upside down for the younger guy. He held his breath when the man slid his fingers up his neck, it stretching with his soft move, and, carefully lifting his chin, leaned lower to kiss his already parted petals of the lips, enfolding them with special delicacy. Ranboo nourished hope in the slow movements, desperately grasping its slivers in the lightest touches of their tongues. Running his fingers through the younger’s hair, the man rubbed behind his ear.
“So will I,” he whispered into the boy’s lips, holding his chin with his fingers, and added as an additional confirmation: “I’ll always be yours.”
Heaving a sigh, Ranboo dropped his head in the crook of his neck, planting careful kisses as his hand brushed his cheek. Techno tilted his head to the side, inviting his lover to relish him to the fullest, and smiled.
There wasn’t a man happier than him.
A heavy fist smashed up the piglin’s nose, and blood ran down his lips and chin like a fast-flowing river that he wiped with the sleeve of his shirt, leaving a long red smear on the torn fabric. He jumped back, and was lucky to catch his breath for a moment.
The storm raged furiously, picking up the snow and twirling in violent hurricanes so speedily, that the soft snowflakes had turned into the icy bullets, scratching the two faces that couldn’t have cared less.
Two men, both standing in their white shirts and readiness in front of each other at a distance, with their chests pounding heavily as they caught the frosty air with their mouths and exhaled with fluffy steams. Both tensed in the wait for the other, they held themselves in fighting stands, not taking eyes of each other. Techno’s were narrowed from the gale that stormed the tiny slivers of ice, while the enderman’s were widely opened, glowing with bright purple like two lanterns, them being the most distinct light source. They have been in captivity of each other’s company for several hours now, and the older one counted for the other to pass out soon. His voices were screaming loudly, not letting concentrate fully as half of them shouted to protect the boy while the other was yelling to save himself. He’ll kill us all , they were crying out. You won’t survive!
Of course the enderman jumped first. He dashed into the piglin with claws out and the man slid under his arms to grab and twist them, clenching in the blocking hold. Forcing the enderman on his knees, he failed to dodge as the younger guy sharply threw his head back, hitting the piglin’s. Technoblade growled, and the slightest loosening of his grip was enough for the enderman to free himself and swing his elbow, which the older one this time avoided.
Their limbs were flying in each other’s directions in ruthless sharpness, the two curved around each other in the violent dance, thrusting into the other for life and death. With an absent look in his eyes, the enderman’s rage fueled his strength, and he furiously was throwing himself at the man without giving him a second to catch a breath. His claws were cutting like blades and stayed deep into the piglin’s skin, aggravating the pain with every movement of his fingers with the inevitability of a hook.
A curious scene of despair and slowly draining powers. Moving on four of his limbs, the enderman screeched resoundingly before rushing in for his neck and met the grip of firm hands on his wrists. Resisting, Technoblade winced, giving all of his effort, but was trapped in the boy’s harsh hold when he twisted one of his hands and, grabbing his shoulder, thrusted his knee into the piglin’s stomach. The latter, falling down, was pinned to the ground by the enderman who sat astride him and clenched his neck in his hands, nails going through his skin. The man threw his hands and pushed him fiercely, gritting his teeth at the excruciating pain.
You fool! He’s a lost cause!
Protect him!
Forcing himself to make a push, Techno rolled over and now was the one on the top. The enderman was still strangling him, but was partially distracted by the snow that his head lied on and that, melting, burned his hair and nape. Hissing, he rushed to bite the other’s wrist, and the moment of weakening after, the piglin was knocked out of his balance and was about to be rolled again, but he used the momentum to grab the beast and throw him as far as he could. The younger one bowled on the snow and as he was getting up, Technoblade saw him do it unusually slow. His body was trembling, and the man held his breath when saw one of his purple eyes turn green.
Ranboo’s body was bent like an animal one, yet his face that turned to him was in the purest, conscious misery. A single tear rolled down his green eye as he spoke with trembling lips:
“Techno…” he uttered feebly, and his expression reflected suffering at its fullest. He whispered pleadingly. “End this…”
“No way!” the man growled with a frown. Do it! Kill the beast! Protect!
“Please…” Ranboo cried out. Save him!
“The dawn is soon to come, hold on a little longer,” he replied, voice much softer. “I beg you, just hang o-”
The enderman’s eyes lit up full purple, and Technoblade dashed under his arm as he jumped him again. They resumed the fighting, being quite used to each other’s movements and doing everything to outsmart the other. The younger one had the privilege of using the most brutal hits, having no limits whatsoever. The older one, in turn, could only avoid and parry his attacks, or at least try to do so. He forced himself not to think about the pounding realisation that his powers are fading quicker and quicker.
The guy knocked him on the ground, and before the man could do anything, got on top of him, clenched his hair above the forehead in his fist and, tugging, hit his head against the stone the snow didn’t soften. Techno squeezed his eyes shut, harshly pushing him in the chest and getting him off himself for a moment, feeling the liquid sliding down his nape in a thin river.
Another hit on his face, and another red stream spilled on his temple from the corner of his brow. The enderman got to his neck and continued to choke, the man even though was feeling less and less power to resist, was determined to carry on.
The first ray of sunlight blinked on the snow in the golden yellow, and the piglin’s heart filled with hope.
He’s going to wake up soon, he’ll wake up any second.
Suddenly, the enderman’s other eye freed itself from the clenching of enderwalking, but the boy’s hands were still squeezing the man’s neck in a callous grip, and he was still wrapping his hands around his wrists, attempting to pull them away.
His emotionless face expressed the excruciation again.
“End me, I beg you…” Do it, do it, do it! He’ll kill us!
“Never, hang on just for a moment!”
A tear dropped on his pale, heavily bruised face and, blending with the fresh blood, rolled down to the man’s ear. Suddenly noticing the boy’s clench weakening, Technoblade dared to take one of his hands off and softly land his palm on the younger’s cheek, making him shake.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he sobbed, and his red eyes cried all of the pain the conscious side of him held. Protect! Protect!
“It’s going to be fine,” the man replied reassuringly. “Remember, I love you, more than anything. We can do this.” You idiot!
“I-I’m tormenting you…”
“Ranboo, please… Just a little longer.”
Looking at his wounded face, the neck, covered with marks from wild strangling, his bleeding bruises, the younger guy pulled back, moving carefully. Clumsily, with a dizzy head, he stood up, and paced backwards. Technoblade got up as well, but as soon as he, sending the other questionative gaze, stepped in his direction, Ranboo threw his hand alarmingly. What is happening?!
“Stay back!” he shouted harshly.
“What are you doing?..”
The inventory hologram displayed under the boy’s palm, and the next moment he wrapped his fingers around the handle of the enchanted netherite sword.
“...Something that should have been done much earlier.”
With his eyes wide open, the man paced towards him, and when pointing the blade at him didn’t stop him from approaching, the boy took a few steps back and turned the sword to his own chest. Technoblade froze, and his heart skipped a beat.
Ignoring the burning tears that were sliding down his cheek, Ranboo curved his terribly trembling lips in a feeble, hurtful smile, the right half of his face barely moving since remained in the enderwalk state, the purple eye not expressing anything at all.
“Techno, I’m sorry I brought you so much pain…” he uttered quietly, words parting with anxious whimpers.
“Don’t do this,” the man implored. “Ranboo, please…”
“Forgive me.”
Save! Save! Save! Save! Save! Save! Save! Save! Save! Save! Save!
When the boy swung the handle up, Technoblade dashed, throwing himself into the boy in the wildest rush of despair, and Ranboo was knocked down on the snow, the sword dropping down beside them. Lifting himself a bit, the man hovered over his lover’s trembling body, pinning his arms to the ground.
The enderman’s eyes flashed full purple again. He looked around hurriedly, and before Techno could catch the boy’s wrists -
- the netherite blade thrusted fully through his stomach.
And so, time had no longer power over their fate, it drowned. Sank, its infinite quantity fitting into one brief moment, when everything stopped existing at once, silencing around the two. The man froze, with a stunned, fluttering gaze staring at the boy in front of him. Life started perceptibly pouring out of him, and he moved to the side, terribly slowly, wincing from the unbearable hurt his every movement caused. The voices have never been so quiet.
Oh, what a relief.
A split second later Ranboo’s eyes turned emerald green and scarlet red.
Seeing only the gentle colors of the dawning sky, he carefully sat up, but the moment he looked around, the convulsion from the sight took his breath away.
The piglin smiled, seeing his lover fully awake, and there wasn’t anything more beautiful than those two heterochromatic eyes of his.
Ranboo collapsed on the ground beside him, his eyes panically wandering around his withering body.
“No, no, no, no, no, no, Techno no!” he cried out, struggling to breathe, in despair searching for he didn’t even know what. “Please, no, hang on!”
“...Ranboo.”
With his hands shaking dreadfully, the boy untied the bottle of the potion that was hanging from the man’s belt.
“It’s going to be okay, you’ll be fine, please, just hold on!”
Convulsively, he tried to open the bottle that was treacherously resisting.
“...Look at me.”
The younger one didn’t hear. He was anxiously grasping air with his mouth while failing to untie the ropes on the lid.
“Ranboo…”
The lightest touch of Technoblade’s fingers on his knee made him sharply turn to the man, halting.
“Leave it,” the piglin whispered.
“No! You’ll get better, you’ll see!”
He shouted, but quickly put the bottle aside after seeing the older one suffering in trying to lift his hand up to him. Grabbing his palm hopelessly, he slid his other hand under the man’s head, holding it carefully.
“Listen to me…”
“Techno-”
“You must know that I regret nothing, not a single decision,” the man said faintly, rubbing Ranboo’s hand with his thumb while the boy bursted into uncontrollable tears. He continued softly: “You are heaven's gift to me, and I am grateful to you… for every moment I spent with you. My heart belongs to you alone and my love for you will never wither.”
“T-Techno, I beg you, please, stay, p-please,” he uttered, stuttering as he pressed the slowly weakening hand to his chest.
The man feebly curved his lips into the warm smile.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said gently. “My soul will forever be with you.”
Shaking, Ranboo squeezed his hand tightly as he sobbed, tears running down his cheeks so much they stopped evaporating.
“Techno, I’m so, so sorry-”
“Kiss me.”
Mouth trembling in the narrow line, the boy stood still for a moment.
“...Techno-”
“For the love of God, Ranboo, just kiss me!” raising his voice for the smallest bit sent a strike of pain to him, and he shut his eyes, wincing.
Horrified, Ranboo gasped and dashed into him immediately, covering Technoblade’s terribly pale lips with, passing affection most sensuous and tender. He felt the man’s feeblest smile through the kiss, and it only made him shake more, dropping the tears of agony on the other’s face. When he pulled back, the older one was looking at him with softness in his eyes that was slowly fading into the dim absence.
Their faces were inches apart when the Techno whispered:
“I want to feel your cheek.”
The boy hurried to cup his face with the man’s palm, pressing the feeble hand with his own, his chest pounding fitfully as he swallowed his tears, not taking his eyes off the ones in front of him.
“I love you,” Technoblade uttered with a voice barely audible.
Ranboo sobbed loudly, squeezing his eyes shut.
“I love you too!” he cried out through insufferable hurt.
“Hey…” the man spoke, and the boy opened his eyes. He looked at him with the gaze most comforting. “You’re going to be okay.”
The younger one whimpered, seeing life relentlessly leaving his lover’s eyes.
“...Please kiss me again.”
And Ranboo leaned in without lingering, pressing their lips together most gently and tenderly. He stayed so until the moment Technoblade’s lips relaxed.
Pulling back, the boy looked at him, but the man’s eyes didn’t open again. Ranboo’s fluttered, staring alternately at both of his closed eyelids and rubbing his nape with his thumb.
“T-Techno?” he called and received no answer. “P-please, look at me…” he pleaded, wrapping his fingers around his hand. It felt soft, too soft, and didn’t respond to any of his so gentle touches. “I beg you… Please…”
His lover, the one he loved so dearly, was lying on the white comforter of the lulling snow breathlessly. Ranboo brushed his shaking fingers against his face, caressing lightly and carefully, but his affectionate gestures didn’t wake his beloved.
Far above him, a sound imploded with a thunderous thud like a giant firework. The boy knew what it was, but couldn't bring himself to look, refused to believe it. He stared at Technoblade’s peaceful face, showering him with fondling. When eventually, he tilted his head up.
In the heights of the dawning skies, across the entirety of gentle blue, five holographic words were displayed. White giant words, shining brightly as if announcing his sentence solemnly.
Technoblade was slain by Ranboo
Two communicators that hung on their belts started vibrating violently and unceasingly, being overflowed with messages and incoming calls. Ranboo didn’t hear them, he was entirely excluded from reality, and the only thing he could perceive was his lover.
Slowly, the boy lowered his forehead on the man’s chest, and the next moment a deafening, desolate shriek exploded, startling birds in the forests around and making them take wings and ascend to the skies. Prolongedly, Ranboo was screaming his whole lungs out in the most insufferable, torturous pain, clenching the fabric of his beloved’s shirt in his hands.
When his voice broke, he coughed, choking with tears and poisonous guilt. Pressed with the weight of strangling blame, overwhelmed with emotions, he failed to breathe even though tried so hard. Suddenly, he shuddered, and froze with his eyes glowing in purple.
Sitting on his heels, he was staring in front of himself movelessly. It lasted for only a few brief moments, and as his eyes drifted shut again, he passed out, collapsing on the snow beside his forever dreaming lover.