Happy sicktember. Here are 15 oneshots of absolute hurt/comfort & fluff with sick!Techno, as a treat.

Day 1: Cuddling on the couch

Dynamic: Peerpressureduo

Other tags: DSMP setting, post doomsday, platonic cuddling


"Do you have any spare wool lying around?"

Ranboo sipped his tea, scowling at how sweet it was. Did he forget he had already put sugar in it, then added more, only to find out he'd definitely already put sugar in there again? Probably. Was he going to make that noticeable? Absolutely not.

"I don't think I even have a spare sheep lying around," he said. Phil let out a short laugh, as if that was the peak of comedy. "What do you need it for?"

"Armor."

And that did give him pause. "Wool armor?" Ranboo thought about the seven enchanted netherite sets in the Syndicate room. Wool felt like a bit of a downgrade, and he told Phil as much.

"It's for protection from the hound army," Phil explained. "Techno's sick so the feeding is going to fall on my shoulders today. Which is fine, but I don't want them to make a chew toy out of me like they did last time." Pulling up his sleeve, Ranboo cringed at the clear scar of a bite mark on the inside of Phil's wrist. "Those little shits forget my skin isn't as tough as Techno's."

Ranboo hummed in understanding. That made sense. The last time he went into the doghouse, he'd been knocked over by an overexcited hound trying to lick his face (damn his weak, pathetic knees) and spent five minutes being absolutely smothered in fur and wagging tails. They were harmless, really. They just didn't know their own strength.

"Can I help?" he offered.

"Nope, already found what I'm looking for." Phil held up a bundle of deep gray wool bound together with leather. Turns out Ranboo did have some of that lying around.

"And with Techno. Because he's sick and all?"

"Nah, he'll be fine. It's just a cold. He can take care of himself." Phil was closing the chest, stuffing the wool in his inner pocket. "Unless you wanna cuddle with him."

Ranboo made a noise that was close to a squeaky toy being stepped on. "What?!"

Phil chortled loudly, the corners of his eyes crinkling up. From that reaction alone Ranboo could surmise it had been some kind of inside joke. Occasionally, Phil seemed to forget that Ranboo had only lived with them for three months. He didn't have the sort of intimate familiarity that could grow out of an eternity of standing side by side like Phil and Techno had. They didn't do it on purpose - Ranboo never got the impression that they did anyway. But sometimes he felt like an outsider when those two were joking around, referring to past events or shared memories he wasn't privy to.

Perhaps seeing his dejected expression, Phil smiled and started to explain. "It's a piglin thing. When a member of the sounder is sick, it's not unusual for the other piglins to snuggle up with them to make them feel better. Something about physical contact helping them recover faster. Not to mention it's kind of ironic how badly piglins can regulate their body temperature when sick."

That made sense, Ranboo nodded absently. Even after Phil said his goodbye and left though, it wouldn't leave his mind. He knew piglins were a pack species, anybody who had entered the Nether once would know this. Ranboo didn't think he had ever seen a lone piglin by itself. And Techno might not be all piglin, he was part piglin. Even if he wasn't, being sick and by yourself was never fun.

Phil had said Techno didn't need any help, Ranboo didn't doubt that was true. But that didn't mean he couldn't offer any?

When he opened the door to Techno's cabin, the first thing that struck him was how unbearably hot it was in there. All the forges and brewing stands had been lit, leaving excess heat from their fires to leak into the room. Techno had shut all the windows and even pushed towels into the cracks to make sure no cold could come through. The piglin himself was sitting on the couch, bundled up in his own blankets: a large maroon one that he'd taken from his bed, a dark blue tattered duvet Steve often slept under, even the extra blanket Niki had made him, pink with an embroidered floral pattern. Despite all these precautions Techno was shivering so much Ranboo could almost hear his teeth chatter.

"Hullo," he said in a horribly nasally voice that told Ranboo he was all clogged up.

"Hi," Ranboo answered lamely. He'd headed over full of intentions, but suddenly being faced with actually having to go through with them he felt really awkward. "Uh… I heard you were sick."

"I'm not sick." No sooner had Techno spoken the words or he winced, listening to the voices in his head chide him. "Okay, okay. I'm a little sick. Not a lot though."

"Yeah, Phil said as much. Just a cold, right?"

Technoblade nodded, drawing the blankets a bit closer around his shoulders. There was a book in his lap, but it fell to the floor with the motion. Ranboo went to pick it up for him.

"Put it on the table," Techno said. "I'm not reading it anyway, can't concentrate with this headache. I was just trying to keep occupied because I can't sleep."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Maybe you can hit me with a pickaxe and knock me out," Techno snorted. He sat back against the couch with a sigh, only slightly cringing when it hurt some muscle pain or another. "Even Steve abandoned me. I guess he's still a polar bear after all. Could have fooled me with how he acts like a lap dog all the darn time."

Ranboo hadn't noticed before but upon closer inspection, Steve was indeed not inside. With how stuffy it was, the warmth close to suffocating even for Ranboo, he couldn't fault the bear for not sticking around. But it did explain why Steve wasn't curled up on the couch with Techno, like he usually would be. "Would it help you if we cuddle instead?"

He snapped his mouth shut right after, the question asked in a moment of impulsive curiosity. Techno stared at him, surprised. So Ranboo felt forced to elaborate.

"Phil told me about the piglin bodily contact thing too. Is that why you can't sleep?"

Techno hesitated as if weighing his options. Ranboo was glad when honesty won out in the end. "Probably," he admitted. "It's fine."

"But you'll feel better if you can sleep," Ranboo pointed out. It made sense. It was perfect logic. Sleeping was notorious for being one of the main cures to any illness. If he could get Techno to fall asleep, he could help.

After he moved in, Techno and Phil had done so much for him. They had helped him build and given him supplies and they didn't even question it when he wandered out in the middle of the night in a daze. The least he could do was pay them back.

"You don't have to," Techno said. He'd pulled up the blankets, almost as if he wanted to hide behind them. Or guard himself.

"I mean, it's not… it's not that big of a deal, is it?" Ranboo stepped closer, but not too close. If his proposal actually made Techno uncomfortable, he wasn't going to insist. Phil had said it as a joke, and Ranboo had suggested it because he was trying to be nice. He didn't want to put Techno on the spot. "But if it'll help, I want to help. I can help."

Studying him a moment longer, whatever Techno saw there convinced him. Maybe he was just as worried about pressuring Ranboo into doing something he didn't want as Ranboo was about springing this on him.

Techno grunted. "It's worth a shot." He lifted one arm, making room for Ranboo to sit on the couch next to him. Ranboo sat down quickly, not wanting to give him a chance to change his mind. Techno drew his arm back, tucking it into his side. They were touching shoulder-to-shoulder but not much else. More importantly, they were just… sitting there. Techno seemed unsure what to do, meaning Ranboo was at a loss too. He kept his spine straight, feet planted on the ground so his legs made a perfect angle.

It was the furthest thing from relaxing he could probably imagine.

"It's not gonna work like this," Techno offered half-heartedly as if they didn't both know that. Ranboo hummed his agreement.

Before he could say anything else, Techno broke into a coughing fit. His entire body shook with it, something wet and unpleasant rattling around in Techno's lungs making Ranboo instinctively reach out a hand and thump his back a few times. When Techno sat back Ranboo left it there, arm braced around Techno's shoulder. Techno sighed and leaned into it, head falling back onto Ranboo's arm.

"Man this sucks."

Ranboo touched his forehead. "At least you don't have a fever." With all the shivering, he wanted to double-check. But Techno didn't feel like he was running warmer than usual. The piglin closed his eyes. Ranboo decided to not pull back his hand.

Instead, he slowly used it to brush through Techno's hair like he had seen Phil do a few times whenever he complained about having a migraine.

Techno relaxed instantly, body untensing more. Seeing that it was having some kind of positive effect, Ranboo continued up the motion. He scooted closer so he didn't have to stick his arm out so far. It made Techno tilt his entire body towards him, not leaning fully on the couch anymore. Half his body was now resting against Ranboo's chest instead.

"Is this fine?" Ranboo asked lowly, not stopping but still scared somehow.

"Hmm, 's better." Techno didn't really articulate the words, nor did he open his eyes. "Much better."

As glad as Ranboo was about it working, he also didn't want to be stuck with a crack up his spine if he was meant to hold this position for long. "Good. Maybe we can just…" He brought up his other arm so that it was more of a semi-embrace, then moved back so he could sit against the armrest instead. "There. That's better." Techno was sprawled almost entirely over the couch like this, a solid weight pinning down Ranboo's legs and using his chest like a pillow.

He mumbled something incoherently that Ranboo chose to interpret as a good sign. It came close enough to sounding like a purr to make him chuckle softly.

Within a few more minutes, Techno's breathing evened out and he was fast asleep. Ranboo smiled to himself, glad that he was right about it helping. But he didn't stop his gentle strokes of long fingers through pink hair, just to make sure.