Enjoy ;)
-
Nights in Quackity's suite were always peaceful. It always smelt good and it was always comfortably warm, He would occasionally let you wear a jacket of his, and he would always let you choose the records.
Dancing wasn't a habit you two had, but one night, for whatever reason, you found yourself slow dancing with him in the kitchen without a song in the background. His hands were wrapped around your waist and kept you pulled close while your arms draped over his shoulders and you kept your face buried in his neck. He smelt of sun and tobacco, and the occasional whiff of gunpowder you would occasionally get was absent. His skin was warm against you, and his arms around your waist were strong and safe. He hummed a soft song to you to fill the absence of a record, his hums smooth and quiet, just meant for you.
"What song are you singing, Q?" You asked him, his song pausing after you voiced your question. His thumb rubbed the base of your back for a second before he responded.
"I dunno. I made it up," he laughed a bit, his laugh raspy and golden. "You like?"
You smiled and gave the base of his neck a soft kiss, lingering against his warm skin for a second before you put the side of your head against his shoulder, looking at the dark sky outside the window.
"Yeah, Q, I do."
-
"What the FUCK did you guys do?"
You had never heard Quackity yell like that. His anger was plain as day the second he stepped off the moving bridge, but the way he stalked up to you and Sam made you hurriedly step back. For one panicked moment, after seeing the gruesome display of his actions, you were scared he would swing the pickaxe at you.
Your fear was as evident as his anger, and for once, it was clear that he wasn't putting your emotions before his.
You found yourself unable to talk, your words blocked in your throat from terror, confusion, and panic from what had just happened. Sam, on the other hand, was much more composed, but just as panicked, confused, and scared as you were.
"I don't - I don't fucking know, Quackity - How - How the hell -"
"Sam, they're both gone - FUCKING DO SOMETHING!" Quackity shouted, throwing his pickaxe onto the floor with a loud clang. He whirled around and looked back at the empty cell with his hands in his hair - his beanie had fallen off during the small tussel - and stood there for a moment, his shoulders rising and falling as he breathed. He stood quiet for a moment while you and Sam stood behind him. You stood in frozen terror, and Sam stood in shock.
Quackity looked back at you two for a second before incredulously laughing. "What the fuck did I say? Fucking look for them!" He laughed angrily, snapping his fingers and pointing towards the hall. You turned and looked at Sam, watching him pick his sword off the floor and scamper into the guard's fast tunnel, slamming his fist on a button on the way out. The button sounded an alarm that was almost ear shattering, but you couldn't find it in yourself to cover your ears. You gripped your sword with white knuckles when you turned back to face Quackity.
"How the hell did he get out, Y/n?"
There was no doubt that he was still angry, but his tone was quiet and steady instead of the shouts he was delivering only seconds ago. Somehow, this was scarier.
"I don't know, Alex. We're on the same page here. They just vanished," You replied, trying to match his even tone and not show how much you were shaking. It was hard, honestly. This was the first time you ever found yourself genuinely scared in front of him. This one was different from the first time.
The first time, you were scared you were going to get killed. This time, you were scared you were going to lose him - which was so much scarier.
"It's a high tech prison," Quackity continued, keeping his tone of voice low while he closed his eyes and took a deep breath in and out. "They don't have invis, because they have no items, and there have been no visitors. They don't have pearls, because they would still be here if they pearled. They didn't blow anything up, they didn't dig out, they didn't do anything but disappear in front of my own eyes," he explained, trying his very hardest to keep his rage controlled. "So, somehow - someone either snuck shit in to get them out, or they have some sort of fucking otherworld power on their side - and one of those seems more probable than the other, wouldn't you think?"
Quackity opened his eyes and looked down at you, his eyes dark and accusing.
It clicked.
You scoffed.
"Are you seriously blaming me?" You asked, your eyebrows furrowing as you chuckled incredulously. "This has to be a joke."
"Sam, Bad, and Ant have been around long enough to have known Dream before and after -"
"Then why aren't you blaming them!?" You interrupted, stepping closer to him. He ignored your question and put his hand on your shoulder, holding you at arms length as he bent down and looked you in the eyes. It felt patronizing.
"As I was saying, Y/n, they've known Dream since before he was - was this. They've seen him grow and change and become the piece of shit he is, and they understand more than anyone that if he's going to get better, being in here is the only way," Quackity explained, his eyebrows furrowing as he stared at you dead on. "You weren't here for that - so, if you're honest with me, we can actually work on getting Dream and Techno back if we know how they escaped."
You scoffed again and put your hands up, pushing Quackity off and away from you. He was surprised by the movement, but held the same look of controlled anger in his face as the sirens blared in the background.
"You're seriously accusing me of breaking them out of prison? After everything they've done to you, you think that I would do that?"
Quackity took a deep breath in and out, closing his eyes again. "As an overseer of Dream's imprisonment, I can't rule out any possibilities," he replied with a sigh, opening his eyes to look down at you for a moment before shouldering past. "Now stop standing around, Y/n. Do what you were hired to do. We have to fucking find them, or we are in very very big trouble."
-
Dream and Techno were nowhere to be seen.
After getting Bad and Ant to the prison, you four scoured the prison from top to bottom with the sound of the alarms scraping your ears and the occasional shouting of Quackity. He left after an hour of looking, but demanded that the guards search the prison until nightfall, and instructed Sam to stay overnight.
When you got home, you almost considered not opening the bedroom door, knowing he was behind him. The thought of him having accused you made you sick, but despite the queasiness in your stomach, you put your hand on the doorknob and turned, pushing the door open to see Quackity standing at the window with his wings out and a bottle of scotch in his hand. His wings drooped down his back and brushed the floor, the feathers contrasting bright against the dark gray carpet.
You closed the door behind you, the door shutting with a soft click. Instead of turning around and looking back at you like you had expected him to, he lifted up his bottle and took a healthy swig.
Silently, you opened the closet and slipped your shirt off, tossing it on the floor beside the door and grabbing a looser shirt to sleep in. You repeated the process until you had changed out of your clothes into something designed more for comfort than work. Unfortunately, the stress of today didn't fall off with the clothes like you hoped.
You sat down on the bed for a second before you laid down, turning your back to Quackity and pulling your knees up to yourself. You heard him take another drink, and then heard the bottle get put on the table with a small clink. You were quiet as you listened to him walk over to the record player. After a couple moments of shuffling, the needle dropped onto the record and the song Quackity hummed to you a few nights ago began to play.
Tears gathered in your eyes. You closed them before they could fall onto the pillow and let out a little sniffle. You tried your hardest to ignore the lump in your throat when you felt Quackity move to stand in front of you and grab your hand.
"Dance with me, Y/n. Please."
Keeping your eyes closed so he wouldn't see the tears, you stood. You felt him wrap his arm around your waist and pull you close while he held your other hand out. His lips pressed against the side of your head as you two began to sway, and when he put his head against yours, you were surprised to feel tears of his own. You let your head fall onto his shoulder and opened your eyes, the tears you were trying to hold slipping out onto his shirt.
"I'm sorry, Quackity," You whispered, your throat tight with tears.
Quackity gripped your hand and shook his head. "No. No no no. You don't have anything to apologize for, my love. Everything that happened today was on me. It was a stressful moment for the both of us - but that's not a valid excuse for me accusing you of something that heavy."
You hid your face in his shirt to muffle the small sob that you felt building in your chest. Quackity gripped onto you just a bit tighter and put his chin on your head as you started to cry.
"The truth is, Y/n," Quackity continued as you two slowly swayed around the bedroom, "The truth is that I'm terrified. I spend months torturing a man with abilities beyond reasoning, and then I go to kill someone who's maimed me, only for both of them to escape. I know for a fact that the both of them hold grudges, and I'm terrified that everything I've worked on up until now is going to be destroyed... I'm even going as far as questioning if I should've even started torturing Dream in the first place - and then I wonder if I'm questioning it because I'm regretting hurting someone like that, or if I'm questioning it because I'm in a vulnerable position again."
You didn't reply, afraid you would burst into sobs if you opened your mouth. Quackity allowed you a moment before he continued with a shaky breath.
"I finally have people who love me and care for me again. I have Sam, Foolish, Fundy, Purpled, Slime, and you. I'm almost more scared of Dream coming after you all instead of me - he knows how to attack people's attachments and use them to manipulate his target. It's what he did to Tommy, to Wilbur, and it's what he's going to try to do to me," Quackity sniffled, his voice cracking a bit. He dropped your hand and wrapped his other arm around you, pulling you into a solid hug.
"I lost Sapnap and Karl. I lost the man Wilbur used to be. I lost George. I can't lose you too."
You wrapped your arms around his neck, leaning fully into his tearful hug.
"You won't, Alex. I promise."
-
With a sigh, Technoblade plopped into the armchair of his home with a huff. He held his cup of tea between his scarred hands and took a healthy sip of the warm drink. It was heaven on earth after three months of eating raw potatoes. He thought that getting sick of the starchy vegetable was impossible, but the mere thought of him made him sick. So, instead, Technoblade sipped on his orange tea as he watched Wilbur come in and sit on the couch beside Philza.
"Is he asleep?" Wilbur asked, looking down at his hands and picking at his nails.
"Yes. He's in my bed right now. He was out as soon as his head hit the pillow - I had to dress the wounds Quackity inflicted while he was asleep. The shower is going to have to wait until tomorrow," Techno replied, putting his cup on the coffee table. He ignored Wilbur's disgusted grumble and grabbed the cookie Phil had set out for him as well, eating half of it in one bite. "Jesus, you guys have no idea how good this tastes after three months of uncooked potatoes."
"Now you know how I felt when I was revived," Wilbur replied, resting his elbow on the arm of the couch and putting his cheek in his hand.
"At least I didn't deserve my imprisonment."
"Ehhhh, I'd beg to differ."
"Techno, stop stooping down to Wilbur's level. Wilbur, stop acting like a child," Phil snapped, bowing his head and pinching the bridge of his nose. "You two are just as bad as you were when you were younger. It's like you never aged past sixteen, and the only one who's actually mature here is Dream."
"Good for him," Wilbur muttered, looking down and picking at his jeans disinterestedly.
"Why are you so bitchy about him being back? I thought you owed him your life," Techno asked his brother, eyebrow arching in curiosity.
"I'm bitchy because this means that I have to leave Paradise without telling Ranboo," Wilbur snapped, his dark eyes narrowing and meeting Techno's annoyed gaze. "The guy is like a better younger brother to me - one that actually understands me. We have similar experiences and feelings about this fucking server -"
"Do I need to remind you that Tommy is one of the reasons that you had a home in the first place?" Technoblade snapped, his own eyes narrowing to match Wilbur's glare.
Wilbur scoffed and shook his head. "Tommy never got me like Ranboo gets me," he continued, holding eye contact with Techno before looking down at his lap again and at the fraying threads in his jeans. "Plus, Quackity knows where you guys live. What's going to stop him from just coming here and killing you and Dream?"
"Have you seen his face recently?" Technoblade laughed, finishing his cookie in another bite and taking a swig of his tea. "He won't come after me because he's scared of what I'll do to him again."
"No. It's because he has a partner."
Technoblade glanced up when the door opened to look at the sudden intruder as Phil suddenly stood with his sword at the ready. He glanced between the purple clad man and back at Philza, who looked just about ready to cut this teenager's head off - Technoblade suddenly felt guilty. He had dragged Phil back into this when the old man wanted a serene and peaceful life out in the snow more than anyone.
"Who the hell is this?" Philza asked gruffly, motioning to the unphased kid with his blade as he glanced at Wilbur, who had a small smile curling the corner of his scarred lips up. Wilbur had a look that was all too familiar - the look that had made Techno feel chills the last time he saw it moments before L'manburg was blown sky high. The look that Wilbur had when he knew something that everyone else in the room was oblivious.
Wilbur reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it on a candle on the coffee table before standing. He crossed over the living room and put his hand on the teenager's shoulder, taking a drag in the same move as he pulled the stranger into the room and away from Phil's sword.
"Techno, Phil - this is Purpled," Wilbur introduced, moving his hand from his shoulder to wrap around the newcomer and pull him flush to his side. "He's someone who's been around on this server longer than I have. He's like his brother Punz - he does jobs for people who pay them well," Wilbur smiled, blowing out the smoke through his speech. "He, uh - he did a job for Quackity a while ago to get rid of the egg - Techno, that was the same job you were a part of, right?" Wilbur asked, quirking an eyebrow in confusion as to why Techno hadn't recognized Purpled.
Techno looked at Purpled, furrowing his eyebrows before shrugging. "I've lived a long time," was his excuse, but really, he had gone into hibernation that very same night. Slept for about three weeks after that bloody event. Most memories from it had faded a long time ago.
Purpled scoffed and shrugged Wilbur's grip off of him. "He said he would pay me for that job, and then proceeded to blow up my house the second I got out of the eggpire," he explained, taking off the snow covered hat he was wearing and unwrapping the scarf around his neck. "My UFO was one of the oldest builds on the server. It was my home. He blew it up without remorse and then told me that I wouldn't amount to nothing since my legacy was gone - and then said that I could rebuild my legacy if I joined Las Nevadas," he continued, tossing his warm gear onto the table and sitting down where Phil had been sitting.
Wilbur sat down next to him with a satisfied smirk as he looked at Techno. His dark brown eyes glared I told you so.
Techno scoffed.
Wilbur smirked again. "Tell him about the partner, Purp," Wilbur stage whispered while maintaining eye contact with his older brother.
Purpled was unphased by Wilbur's childness. "This person came into Las Nevadas about four, five-ish months ago. They cheated in his casino, and he caught them, but instead of punishing, he stationed them as a guard in the -"
"I'm sorry, but I still don't get what you're doing here - or WHY," Technoblade asked impatiently. His patience with this kid (and Wilbur) was growing incredibly thin. Between a stranger being invited into his house without his knowing and Wilbur's smugness, he wanted to each other put an arrow in his head or punch a wall.
"Because I don't like Quackity," Purpled answered matter of factly, his shoulders rising and falling in a lazy shrug. "Also, Punz and Dream had planned for the disc finally to happen and to get him in jail, but Dream was never supposed to be in prison that long. Me and my brother have been on his side for a very long time - Also, I know most of Quackity's weaknesses, both in his nation and his own morals. I'm someone you need on your side."
Compelling. Techno nodded a bit, sizing up the kid on the couch across from him. He could feel Phil move behind the armchair he was sitting on, and the piglin knew that the Angel of Death was doing the same.
"Are you a fighter?"
"Yeah. I came from Planet Hypixel. I would fight competitively and people would bet on my odds," Purpled replied, leaning forward and putting his elbows on his knees, matching Technoblade's defensive stance. "Early days of the SMP, I would engineer traps designed as 'pranks'. I was able to trap Fundy underground a couple of times - do I have to provide you a fucking resume or something?!"
"Language," Phil muttered. Techno looked back to see his friend's emerald eyes twinkling in quiet curiosity, but he still maintained the same sternness as he did when Tommy was around.
"How did you get here?" Techno asked. He was annoyed that so many people knew where he lived now. He could barely count them on his hands without losing track. He missed the days where he lived in solitude with Phil and Ghostbur.
"I was digging a lava pit to push Slimecicle in, and Wilbur saw me. I told him about my grievances with the place, and he told me about you," Purpled shrugged. "Said you would be wary about another stranger coming into your house, and I'm used to people with trust issues here."
"What do you say we do with Quackity?" Philza asked, stealing the words right out of Techno's mouth.
Purpled smirked, looking up at the avian before reaching into his pocket, pulling out a journal and handing it over to Techno. Techno tentatively took it and opened it, thumbing through the filled pages with raised eyebrows.
Purpled laughed a bit at the look of surprise Technoblade was wearing.
"Now, let me tell you about the weak points of Las Nevadas."