Requested by: creep_with_a_guilty_pleasure, there's also some more protective!Ranboo because I love that

As soon as Technoblade took that step he realized it was going to end badly for both of them.

He was trying to catch Ranboo's full weight - which wasn't a lot despite his tall stature because the enderman hybrid was at least half made up of lanky limbs – before the boy could collapse to the ground and hurt himself worse. The act already threw Techno off balance, but then the ground shifted beneath his feet and no matter how hard he tried digging his hooves in he could feel himself slipping.

All that was needed was one more push happily delivered by Dream and then they were falling off the edge of the cliffside.

Beneath them was nothing but open air and then the swirling dark waters of a sea at turmoil, waves crashing into rocks. Technoblade didn't really have time to think about his options, only registering that pearling to safety would be impossible even if he could reach his stack with an unconscious Ranboo still clutched in his arms. Ender pearls only teleported the person who threw them.

From this height, there would be little difference in the force exerted on their bodies between hitting the surface tension of water or careening into solid land. Their armor might manage to save their lives - might keep their organs from splattering against the inside of their ribcages and their bones from snapping into a million pieces – but the straps could break and the metal could fail them. Technoblade knew that the enchanted netherite was what kept the skin from melting off Ranboo's flesh when he came into contact with water.

If that happened Ranboo wouldn't stand a chance.

With seconds to spare and no hesitation, he shifted as best he could while still falling, pulling Ranboo closer to his chest and atop him so Technoblade could catch the burnt of the impact with his back.

Slamming into the water felt like hitting a wall. All oxygen was forcefully pushed from Techno's lungs, replaced by a cough that tasted of blood. His nerve endings couldn't settle on what was worse, the overwhelming pain or the sudden cold, sending him a conflicting mess of both stimuli. He could barely retain consciousness let alone see through the murky depths, relying on touch to make sure Ranboo was still there, pressed against his shoulder, head rolled to the side but relatively uninjured. The water engulfed them both and Techno couldn't breathe.

Ignoring every inch of his body screaming out in pure agony, he forced it into motion despite how his muscles tore apart under the strain. The voices roared in the deafening silence beneath the water's surface and reminded him that pain was good. Pain meant he was alive, however fleetingly. He could already feel his awareness slipping but he refused to give in to that promised escape from how bad it hurt, nor care if his exertion would worsen his injuries. He wasn't about to let Ranboo drown.

As soon as his head burst up above the waves a wheeze tore through Techno's chest, gasping for much-needed air. He blinked against the saltwater that stung his eyes and started to swim towards land as best he could with one arm still curled around Ranboo's unconscious body to keep him from sinking. Techno had been right, Ranboo's armor had held out. His own chest plate and helmet were gone though, lost somewhere beneath the currents. A painful tingling sensation had settled on his limbs, making the movements that much harder when he was already fighting the undertow. He could feel his body shutting down – failing him – but he wouldn't allow it to until they made it to relative safety.

Clawing at the hardened ground, Technoblade pushed Ranboo onto the cobblestone first before pulling himself up as well. Water and blood both soaked his clothes, intermingling into a mix of warmth and cold where it dripped off him. Dark spots blurred his vision while he fumbled for his healing potions, finding that only one had survived the fall. With shaking hands Techno uncorked it and carefully poured half of the purple-ish liquid onto the still bleeding wound on Ranboo's temple. Then he downed what remained of the potion in one go, its effects burning into him unpleasantly. It was an uncomfortable sensation as he felt the magic work on closing his many internal bleedings haphazardly, not enough to be a proper fix but hopefully enough to keep him alive until he could get the required medical attention.

He checked on Ranboo again just to make sure he was fine, then lied down as well because he was too tired for anything else. Techno's skin felt seared, neurons overexposed to pain and freezing temperatures until most of them had become numb. Everything was getting dim and muted and he didn't even care to fight it, closing his eyes and giving himself over to that blissful nothingness.

Technoblade faded in and out of consciousness after that. At some point, Ranboo must have woken up because there were anxious hands against his face and a blurred person moving around him. Every time Techno blinked the sky had changed shape or color, clouds drifting past his vision.

"Can you move?" Phil cupped his cheek worriedly, the setting sun reflecting waning daylight in the emerald hanging from one ear. Techno focused on its swaying to keep from getting dizzy and throwing up. He didn't know when the other man had gotten there.

"Think so," he managed. "I can't really feel my legs though." He couldn't feel much of his body at all.

Phil nodded and exchanged a glance with Ranboo. When they hoisted Techno up between them an excruciating pain shot down his spine and he bit his tongue to keep from crying out, though he was sure they noticed. His claws curled into the fabric of Ranboo's shirt, clenched against the metal of Phil's armor.

"Techno-" Phil said, before stopping. He seemed like he wanted to say more but thought better of it. He pressed his palm against Techno's back carefully to steady him. "Let's get you home, okay?"

With a sigh, he slumped against their holds keeping him upright. "What happened to Dream and the others?"

"I took care of them," Phil answered simply.

If he had the energy for it Techno would have asked further, but sinking into oblivion was too enticing. Besides, he didn't need the full details to paint a picture of what Phil meant. From where he was during the battle, Phil would have had a perfect view of Dream shoving Techno and Ranboo both off that cliff.

And the Angel of Death only dealt in full retribution.

Satisfied, Technoblade simply allowed that darkness to swallow him once more.

By all outward appearances, Technoblade recovered quickly.

A mere week after the incident, he was confident nobody could tell by looking at him that it had happened at all. The severe bruising on his back and legs had faded, his wounds had healed with minimal scarring and the help of several more potions, and despite Phil's protest he was up and about again – never one to believe in the merits of bed rest.

The thing about appearances was that they could be rather deceiving.

He was sitting at his kitchen table and frowning at the cup of tea Phil had put in front of him as if it had personally slighted him. Phil laughed, amused by his expression. "C'mon mate, you gotta try until you get it right."

Techno grumbled under his breath but dutifully wrapped his hand around the ceramic. Shifting his fingers, he made sure not to touch the parts of the cup that could lead him to burn himself without noticing. One of the fun side-effects of a damaged nerve system was an inability to gauge temperatures and sometimes even pain. Ranboo had been in hysterics as he walked in on Techno when he had accidentally put his hand too close to the forge while smelting iron. Techno hadn't even noticed what he'd done until the burn had reached the flesh beneath.

Holding the cup felt strange, not like it was supposed to. It felt as if little needles were being stuck into his skin all over, itching wherever he touched. Techno lifted the cup with shaking fingers, managing not to spill anything as he had done before. At least they were steady enough for him not to drop things all the time anymore, meaning Phil didn't have to hand feed him like he'd done when Techno couldn't even hold a spoon. The involuntary muscle cramps were harder to deal with, but they were concentrated in his legs mostly, spasming at random intervals. They had removed all breakable items for the time being, afraid that Techno might kick them on accident.

"See, it's already better." Phil was trying his hardest to be encouraging and for that Techno was grateful. He was frustrated enough with his body refusing his control, Phil could have patience for the both of them.

Slowly he put the cup down, not daring the risk of trying to drink from it and staining his shirt. "Great, I'll be at the turtle farm then."

Phil pursed his lips, narrowing his eyes at him. "Techno..." Only he could manage to pronounce a single name in such a way that it sounded as if an entirely different conversation was layered beneath it.

"You said that if I recovered enough to lift the cup without spilling I could go to the farm. And I did, see?" Techno picked the cup up again, hastily and while tipping a little over the rim which he ignored. "Are you going to fight me over this, Phil? Do you really have the time?"

"I have all the time in the world," Phil threatened. They both knew it was a lie though. Phil hadn't strayed from Techno's side more than a couple of feet during the entire recovery, meaning all his own chores had been left to pile up.

"Well I don't. And neither do the turtles." Techno got up from his chair, immediately feeling the sharp waves of pain he had grown increasingly familiar with the past week running from his lower back into his legs. He inhaled through his nose to stomp them down, knowing it would peter off into dull throbbing soon. Walking any distance had been impossible at first, but by now he could manage.

Pain was nothing new to him.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Phil's concerned eyes hadn't left him. Techno could feel them crawling over his skin. Phil meant well – he always did – but that didn't mean Techno couldn't get sick of being treated like damaged goods.

"I'll be fine."

Phil didn't put up an argument, even if Techno could see how reluctant he still was. "Just be sure to let me know where you are. I don't need that kind of stress in my life."

"It's not even that far," Techno defended, but he knew what Phil was getting at. His memory hadn't been the same since the incident either, prone to failing him mid-task and leave him with no idea what he was doing. Or where he was. It always came back, but apparently that wouldn't keep Phil from worrying that he'd wander away and straight off another cliff. "I'll have my communicator with me and everything."

"Sure. Don't stay out too late, I'm making stew for dinner."

Techno forced his legs into cooperation, the tingling sensation he'd become used to ever-present. Feeling Phil's stare still burning a proverbial hole in his back he quickly went outside to escape it. Ranboo met him when he was halfway down the stairs, a bundle of fabric in his arms.

He looked Techno up and down once, not very noticeable in his assessment but still. "Oh, hey. I didn't think you'd be going out so soon?"

"It's good to see you too, Ranboo," Techno groused. The enderman sputtered out an apology, but Techno waved his hand to indicate he wasn't being serious. "What do you have here?"

Suddenly remembering what was in his arms, Ranboo looked down at it then smiled brightly. "It's your cape, actually. It got a little... torn up the other day, so I fixed it." He handed it to Techno, who unfurled it and saw that it was indeed back to being in pristine condition. Ranboo was a good seamster, he could hardly tell where the stitches were.

"You didn't have to, I would have just made a new one," Techno told him.

"It's the least I could do to repay you for basically saving my life," Ranboo admitted with a little laugh.

"Wasn't expecting payment for that, but I'll take it." Ranboo's tail wagged side to side a few times at his acceptance. "Thanks."

Practically beaming, Ranboo glanced at Techno's arms. "You should probably wear it if you're going out too, it's freezing today."

Following his gaze, Technoblade hadn't realized he was cold until he saw the goosebumps on his skin. He couldn't feel it, but his body would tell him otherwise. He unfurled the cap to throw it over his shoulders, before fumbling with the clasp. He had done it a hundred times before, but trembling fingers refused to complete the simple task he was asking of them, especially when he had hardly any sensation in his fingertips.

Ranboo did well staying silent and watching him fail at it for a full minute. Then he awkwardly raised his hand. "I could uh, help with that maybe?"

With an exasperated grunt, Techno relented. "It's getting better," he said in way of explanation while Ranboo bent forward. "Phil thinks it will clear up completely in a few weeks."

"That's good."

Technoblade didn't say out loud that 'a few weeks' was a lot longer than he was willing to wait. He shrugged his shoulders when Ranboo was done, making sure the fabric draped over him as it should. With it back on, he realized how much he had missed his cape.

Standing still had made the pain in his legs and back worse. His finger twitched involuntary, curled into his own palm. The turtle farm felt ridiculously far away suddenly, especially if he had to tackle the track there by himself. Ranboo was looking at him expectantly.

Techno sighed. "I'm going down to the turtles. If you want to, you can come with me I guess."

With a hum and another flick of his tail betraying how pleased he was with the offer, Ranboo answered, "I could come, yeah. Maybe chop some trees on the way."

When Technoblade started walking Ranboo fell in step next to him without a second thought, sticking close to his side. Closer than he would otherwise, Techno noticed. Phil could learn a thing or two about subtlety from this kid.

"We gotta be back before dinner, though. Phil's making stew."