He felt terrible. Sunken eyes and pale skin highlighted the effects of his nonexistent sleeping schedule. Technoblade was suffering, to say the least, but he didn't want to talk to anyone about it. He couldn't. Especially not with his reputation in the fortress, and especially not with the circumstances they're in now.
Trying to ignore it didn't do any good for him either. No matter how much he tried, it would always wear on him. It was always nagging at the back of his mind, always lurking in the darkest corner, ready to strike when he was the most vulnerable. And, apparently, it had deemed him vulnerable the past few nights.
The uncertainty of his father's whereabouts was taking a toll on him. For one of the first times, he wasn't sure what to do. It felt like he lost Tyche all over again, but this time he lost his father. He knew that Phil was more than capable of taking care of himself but the thought that he could be out there, alone, and needing help made Technoblade stay wide awake at night.
He was supposed to be back already. He was supposed to walk through those doors with a smile on his face and laugh about the journey he had to get here. He was supposed to tell them that he was safe. But alas, there was nothing. No reassurance, no comfort. Just cold silence.
Technoblade made an early trip to the kitchen, knowing that there was no way he'd be able to sleep before he went back to work. To survive, he'd have to have a nice meal and something to drink. When Technoblade walked in, Wilbur was already standing at the island with a mug of coffee in hand, steadily taking large sips of it.
"Coffee?" He offered, motioning to the coffee maker that still had some leftover.
Technoblade graciously took the offer, knowing that his body would thank him for it. Normally, he would only stick to tea but his body needed an extra boost this morning.
"Why are you up so early?" Wilbur hummed.
"Couldn't sleep."
Technoblade wasn't going to lie to his brother, he knew that would be useless. Wilbur would be able to see right through him.
"What's on your mind?"
The hybrid sighed, not meeting the eyes of his brother. He felt shameful, embarrassed of his worries about Phil. His dad was a grown man, fully capable of taking care of himself. So why was he so bothered by this?
Technoblade dances around the question, not fully confident in what he truly wanted to ask. "How's the overworld been?"
Wilbur narrowed his eyes, piercing into the side of Technoblade's head. Despite the urge to ask Technoblade what was really going on, he answered nonchalantly, "It's been pretty normal except for the fact that a human snuck through the Nether portal."
Technoblade's head shot up. So, the royals did know you went through the portal.
"Are they upset about it?"
"I'm sure they are but I don't stick around long enough to find out."
"How's Phil doing?"
From the change in tone in Technoblade's voice, Wilbur could tell this is what he wanted to ask this whole time.
"I assume he's doing well. I haven't heard from him in a while."
That was not what Technoblade wanted to hear. He could feel the panic rising in his chest but he pushed it back, willing the voices to quiet down so he could think.
"When you passed by the capital, did you hear anything about him?"
"What are you trying to get at?" Wilbur finally asked, tired of Technoblade beating around the bush.
Technoblade took another long sip of his coffee, fingers squeezing the cup tight enough to cause tension.
"Phil was supposed to come to the fortress when it was safe enough to get through. It's been over a month since anyone has seen him."
The two stood in silence for a minute, taking in the situation at hand.
"Who was the last person he was with?"
"(Y/n) and Tyche. He distracted the guards so they could escape through the portal."
Wilbur hummed. "Did Tyche tell you that?"
"No, (Y/n) did."
Silence.
"Are you trying to say that they lied to me?"
"Well, you can't take all options off the table," The brunette shrugged.
Technoblade shook his head in disbelief. "I can't imagine them doing that."
"It's a cruel world, Techno. You and I both know that."
"Tyche trusts them."
"She's 9." The comment made Techno's frown deepen. "She's still learning what's right and wrong. I'm sure being in a totally new environment was stressful and having a person to latch onto was critical for her. I wouldn't be surprised if she blindly trusted (Y/n) because they helped her adapt to it."
"Then why would they escape from the Greshams and bring Tyche here?"
"It's all part of their plan. They gain trust then take you down from the inside out."
That's ridiculous... is what Technoblade wanted to say but nothing escaped from his pursed lips. Was it really that absurd?
Technoblade shook his head. All the talk about you being a traitor was getting overwhelming. He was told about it in meetings with the Elders, he heard about it in the quiet hallways, and now his own brother was suggesting it. Was he just too stubborn to realize you were tricking him? Maybe he was too caught up in trying to please Tyche that he turned a blind eye to your true colors.
It must not be that ridiculous if everyone is thinking it.
Like usual, life had cruel timing. Before Technoblade could inquire about anything else in Wilbur's brain, you strolled in through the door, immediately offering a lopsided smile to his brunette brother. Technoblade put his head down, not wanting to look you in the eye.
"You're up early."
"I don't need to be reminded." Your voice was slightly scratchy, a product of your sleepiness.
"I forgot to thank you for the cookies last night. They tasted really good."
The grip on Technoblade's mug tightened. Why was Wilbur being so cordial towards you? Didn't he think you were a traitor?
"Thanks. Next time, I promise I'll try to keep Tyche from eating half of them."
"Next time, huh?" The hybrid could feel his blood begin to boil at Wilbur's stare so he returned it with a glare of his own. "I look forward to it then."
While Wilbur turned his head back to you, Technoblade was still staring at him sternly.
"Well, I should get going, it was nice meeting you, (Y/n)."
"You too, Wilbur."
Before Wilbur could get too far, Technoblade shot his hand out to stop him. "You better say bye to Tyche before you leave. Otherwise, I won't hear the end of it."
"Not my problem."
The hybrid's grip tightened. There was no way he was going to go through this again. "It will be the next time you come over. You know she holds grudges."
Wilbur waved his hand, just humming in acknowledgment. "I'll say bye before I leave."
With that, the brunette left, leaving you and Technoblade alone in the kitchen. Instantly, the hybrid began to tense up, continuing to avoid eye contact. He really did not want to be stuck in there with you. Part of his mind was screaming at him to leave while the other was screaming at him to stay
Technoblade could feel you staring at him and he could only imagine what you thought at the moment. Could you tell that he was acting differently? Could you tell that he didn't want to be in the same room as you?
Wilbur had really gotten into his head. Every little inkling of doubt was beginning to seep from the cracks.
"It's a cruel world, Techno. You and I both know that."
Technoblade was on high alert, every little movement you made was caught by him. Every breath you took, every twitch of your fingers, every moment of hesitation. Nothing was going past him, and it was putting him on edge.
"We have a meeting today, right?"
The question just about pushed him over his boiling point. He desperately needed to get out before he did anything. Technoblade didn't even trust himself to speak so he responded with a curt nod, grabbed his mug, and left.
•••
"I can't believe he just left without saying anything! No goodbye, no see you later, nothing! Nada! Ugh! What is he doing anyway? He leaves for months without a word and then comes back like nothing happened. If he was here right now, I'd try to smack some sense into him. Maybe then he'd understand to at least say goodbye to me."
Tyche's rambling blended with the white noise in Technoblade's head. While normally he would be fully focused on Tyche when he spent time with her, his mind was completely elsewhere today. The conversation he had earlier with Wilbur kept replaying in his mind, twisting the uncomfortable knot in his stomach tighter. Though he was fully adamant before about trusting you, he trusted Wilbur. And Wilbur didn't trust you.
His mind felt like a merry-go-round. Every time he would try to argue your innocence in his head, it would be shot down by another voice, and then that would be shot by another. It was an infinite loop. Going around, and around, and around.
To make it worse, you could tell something was wrong with him. You blatantly asked if he was okay after meeting with the Elders, staring at him with eyes full of concern. He freaked out, deciding to walk away without answering. He knew that if he stayed longer he'd give in to the peer pressure.
The problem with that is he just made himself suspicious. If you really were a spy, then that would've set off red flags in your mind.
But you aren't, so he has nothing to worry about.
...Right?
"Are you okay?"
Technoblade almost missed Tyche's question, thinking for a moment that he was experiencing flashbacks of you asking the same thing. He couldn't lie to her. He trusted Tyche and there was no doubt about that.
"Has (Y/n) seemed weird lately?"
Technoblade wouldn't answer her question directly, he couldn't. He didn't even know what he was truly feeling. Did he trust (Y/n) or did he not? He knew Wilbur didn't but did Tyche? What difference would it make?
Tyche hummed in thought, narrowing her eyes at the larger hybrid. "I don't think so... why?"
"Do you... trust (Y/n)?"
"What are you trying to say?" Tyche started to stiffen, almost looking offended by what he was implying. "Of course I do."
Technoblade nodded, but the pit in his stomach didn't cease to exist. It was still there, as obvious as ever.
"Don't you trust (Y/n)?"
The large hybrid couldn't answer, wallowing in the silence.
Tyche didn't seem to take it well. "How– don't you trust me?"
"Of course I do," Technoblade answered without missing a beat. There was no way he was going to let her even plant a seed of doubt about that.
"Then you should trust (Y/n)."
Technoblade wanted to sigh and tell her it didn't work like that but he knew that wouldn't go over well. She was stubborn, way too stubborn for her own good.
All of a sudden, Tyche started to shrink into herself, lips pursing to keep herself from saying anything. Technoblade furrowed his eyes at her but didn't say anything. He knew she would speak eventually.
Tyche let out a shaky sigh not too long after, avoiding eye contact with her dad. "I was thinking about telling (Y/n)."
Tyche didn't need to say anything else, Technoblade knew exactly what she was getting at. The man hesitated to say anything. It was a touchy subject for Tyche, and he didn't want to make her feel any worse about it. Despite the amount of time he's spoken to her about it and reassured her, she still seemed to be sensitive about it.
"Are you sure?"
Tyche swallowed thickly, biting her lower lip as it trembled. She nodded her head. "But I-" Tyche paused to recollect herself, though her voice was still shaky, "I'm scared."
The man could feel himself instinctively move closer to the small girl, resting his hand on her head as comfort. It hurt him deeply to see her so upset about this, despite her decision to want to do it in the first place.
"(Y/n) wouldn't think of you any differently, you know that."
The words escaped him before he could even think about it. Did he truly think that or did he just see it because Tyche was in distress?
Tyche shakily nodded her head before whispering to him, "Can you tell them?"
Technoblade shook his head gently. "You should be the one to tell them."
Tyche shook her head strongly at that, her shaking becoming worse. "I've tried b-but I can't."
The man pulled his daughter into his chest, cradling her like he used to when she was younger. This experience wasn't his to tell but he knew that Tyche really wanted him to do it. So, he nodded despite his brain telling him not to.
"I'll tell them," He whispered into her hair. The girl sunk into her dad's chest, clinging onto him tightly. While she felt reassured and comforted by him, Technoblade felt like he just dug himself in a hole. He couldn't go against his word but it would be terrible of him to tell (Y/n) if he thought they could be a traitor.
But this was Tyche's story, he had to remind himself, and Tyche wanted to tell you.
•••
Hello everyone!! Interesting chapter :) Kind of a filler but it's necessary for setting up a very important scene I have planned for the next two chapters.
I know I can be vague when I write and that's partly because I want to keep the suspense and not spoil everything. Hopefully, you know what Tyche was getting at in this chapter... and if you don't then you can check the comments :) I'm sure someone got it.
The next chapter will most likely not be out until around the 14th of December. My finals start next week so I'm putting all my focus on that for the time being. I'm still checking my Wattpad though (of course) so I'll be able to see all your lovely comments.
Make sure you drink water and get some rest! I wish you all luck on your midterms/finals. Have a great day/night! <3
P.S. I felt a little bit off writing this chapter so please don't hesitate to tell me if you see any mistakes, especially with pronouns!