Requested by Anon: Technoblade spends some time unconscious and the others are sad :(

Phil had not left Technoblade's bedside for more than a minute.

Nikki lingered and not for the first time wished Puffy was here.

She didn't even understand why, finding idle comfort in the thought that Puffy would know what to do with this. She always did. Nikki had resolve, tenacity that could weather any storm. But when it came to soft touches she often felt helpless.

Her kindness was fragile and ever so easily swept away.

But she did what she could. Bringing Phil food and tea, helping him change the bandages on Techno's wounds, promising to keep watch while Phil slept curled up in the chair he refused to abandon. Sometimes she would merely stand in the doorway, listening as Phil read out loud to a person who couldn't hear him.

Or they would talk, softly and without a defined subject. Straying far away from the present and even further from the past. Nikki remembered Phil with fewer wrinkles, with not so much weariness etched into his bones, displayed openly on his face. She remembered the way he smiled when she playfully pushed Wilbur into the river on a hot summer day, laughing at his soaked curls and indignant sputtering. She remembered him with sons untouched by war.

And it broke her to think about how cruel time could be.

"I just want to be here when he wakes up, you know," Phil told her when she had asked for the umpteenth time if he shouldn't get some proper rest. "I know it's stupid, he probably wouldn't even care... but I do."

Nikki nodded, watching him adjust the blanket with a frown on his face. "Sure, but he'd definitely care if you collapsed from sleep deprivation."

Phil laughed, a brittle sound with no real attachment. "Yeah, he'd complain about it." He still didn't move from his spot.

Nikki sighed and went to fix up more tea.

"He's still not awake?" Ghostbur asked, transparent form flickering like the flames of a candle as he moved across the room.

"Not yet," Phil answered simply. Nikki could tell the strain in his voice.

"I brought more blue," Ghostbur offered. He put it on the bedside table, a growing pile that had been accumulating over the last few days into quite the collection.

"I'm sure he'll appreciate it," Nikki said. Ghostbur nodded, glad with his contribution. She wondered how much he understood about what was going on, if ignorance was really bliss, but it was a thought she'd rather not mull over too long.

There was only shame in envying the dead.

If looks could kill, Tommy would have been dead all over again.

The idea should probably not be half as amusing to Nikki as it was, but she had to hold onto the little things.

There was a lot of yelling, angry words and accusations that made her keenly aware of how this was something she wasn't meant to witness. This ran deep, deeper than she could grasp. Wrought with old regrets and stale mistakes and something painfully raw. Eventually, Phil had straight up told Tommy to leave, to which Tommy had replied with a glare that could freeze hell.

"I'm still his fucking brother, okay? We're family too."

Phill had deflated, the fight draining out of him in an instant. Nikki had never seen the man shut down that quickly, that thoroughly. It was almost scary.

Tommy hadn't said anything more after that. He paced across the room, always returning to the bedside to stand there and bite at his thumb, staring down at Techno's motionless form. As strange as his behavior was, Nikki felt it was almost a ritual. Something sacred and important.

Only once did Tommy reach out, briefly wrapped his hand around his brother's wrist and simply held it there.

After he left, there was a gapple on the bedside table next to the pile of blue.

Ranboo came by a lot, small moments of respite. It was the only time Nikki seemed to see Phil smile genuinely anymore. When those two talked, the world almost felt normal again.

He was taking care of the many animals at the cabin too, dutifully bringing updates on how they were faring. Phil didn't ask about the destruction or how reparations were going. Niki couldn't tell if he didn't want to know or genuinely didn't care, but she wasn't about to ask.

Only once did Ranboo bring Tubbo with him.

The tension had persisted for the length of one breath before Phil had broken eye contact without saying anything. Tubbo bit at the inside of his cheek, obviously uncomfortable but devoid of the words to confront why.

That visit hadn't lasted very long.

Three weeks after the battle, Technoblade finally stirred.

Nikki shook Phil awake, fallen asleep in the chair again. Together they watched confused red eyes blink into a groggy sort of focus as awareness slipped back for their owner. Phil had grabbed Techno's hand, clutching it like a lifeline unable to be let go.

Pulling out her communicator, Nikki made sure the others would be alerted about the change. She felt it vibrate in her hand as the responses poured in, the relief at least one shared experience they could harbor from this.

As selfish as it was, maybe Nikki could hope it would change things for the better.