Prompt: reluctant caretaker

One time when Technoblade was very, very young he almost died. He didn't remember much of it anymore. He didn't remember how he got out, though he supposed it had something to do with his family being there at the time. They must have saved him.

He couldn't recall their names or their faces either. But the touch that lingered in his memories was one of kindness, gentle hands that eased his childish sobs after a rock tumbled down during them moving it for underwater cave repairs. The pressure of it crushing him was a painfully sharp sensation he also remembered well, but it was short-lived. They'd gotten him freed almost immediately.

The foot the human used to keep him in place had felt similar. And in the chaos, it had not even blossomed to its full potential, the disorientation of being thrown from the box effectively numbing the harsher layers of how much it hurt from filtering through. In the tub, Technoblade could not focus on anything except how every movement sent a sharp pang of pain through his body. The side that already bothered him while swimming was a minor annoyance now compared to how badly it ached just to breathe. Something sharp pushed inside him with the expansion of his chest. It pressed against his lungs.

Obviously Techno wasn't going to mention that. He didn't think this Quackity guy was likely to give a crap, and he had bigger worries. Such as the words that man had spoken earlier.

Technoblade didn't entirely believe him. Not so much because he believed in Phil's moral integrity. Humans had done much worse things than act nice to his face only to sell him out behind his back before. They were made of blunt teeth that formed sharp smiles. Their skin was warm, but they were more slippery with deceit than any of Techno's own species.

However, he was a person of logical assumptions. He liked to think things through. Actions meant more than what came out of a person's mouth. And untangling this new development of Phil supposedly defending him first only to then cut Quackity a deal mere hours later and then freak out when Quackity came to cash in on it… it simply didn't make sense. Techno refused to believe that was what had happened, or at least it wasn't the full story.

Then again, so little about Phil had made sense so far. Maybe he was just losing it a little bit?

And he was losing blood too, though it had managed to stay internally so far. That's where blood was supposed to be, so it couldn't be too big a deal. There was no helping it.

Slowing down because he could feel himself getting weaker, Techno lay down on the bottom of the tub instead. The metal seeped heat out of everything and he shivered. It wasn't as bad as the jar, but Phil's box had really spoiled him - even if he only got to enjoy it for a little while. He wasn't used to these conditions anymore.

He wasn't used to being constantly hungry and cold and in pain anymore.

What if Quackity had been telling the truth though? What if Phil had always intended to sell him for the right price because he knew the immortality thing was bullshit. And now Techno would be pawned off to a royal who would eat him for an empty promise.

(Even if Phil didn't sell him, even if Quackity had stolen him… did it matter? Would Phil bother to get him back, was it worth the danger? Did he care enough to put himself at risk?)

Black spots had become a constant so he closed his eyes. His side burned, bruises pressed on with shaking hands. He must be bleeding a lot.

(Was Phil even still alive?)

Technoblade didn't really mind when the darkness swallowed him whole.

—

He woke up a few hours later (or maybe it had been several days, he definitely felt terrible enough to justify it) by his entire body jolting painfully. His chest spasmed, trying to expel something from his mouth. When he coughed, red clouds dispersed through the water.

Oh great, punctured lung then.

The upside of having gills meant Techno didn't need his lungs to survive. In fact, as long as he stayed underwater he didn't really use them at all. A more pressing concern was the blood loss this signified. If one of his ribs had broken and pierced his insides that was… not an ideal situation, to put it mildly.

He could hear Quackity pace around the room. The other man - younger, reminded Techno oddly of Tommy in a way - had left and not come back. And with each tick of the clock, his absence seemed to make Quackity grow more nervous.

"Fuck, what's taking him so long…"

Techno flinched when a shadow fell over him. There was no cover to conceal him, nowhere to feel safe. So he curled up tighter where he was, knowing it would do little good. Quackity scowled at the pieces of bread floating on the water's surface, broken up into congealed threads. Techno refused to touch them. He'd learned firsthand recently how badly they could mess with his stomach, and he wasn't starving like he was before. Maybe if Quackity kept it up, he'd get desperate enough to make a stupid decision out of pure hunger again. For now, Techno would stick with starvation.

"Wha-" Quackity knelt down, inspecting him closer. Techno shook again, his entire body assaulted with coughs he desperately tried to keep in. He didn't want them to know how bad he was doing.

But with how bare the tub was, the evidence of his condition could not be hidden. Techno clasped both hands over his mouth as he nearly hacked out his punctured lung, eyes pinched close with pain. More red escaped through his clenched fingers.

This time he didn't have a chance to escape when a hand reached into the water.

And being pulled up was probably the worst experience Technoblade could have ever imagined. Because yes, underwater his gills could provide him the oxygen he needed to survive but when Quackity lifted him, Techno's first instinct was to take a breath.

A big mistake.

He couldn't breathe. His chest constricted, panic at not being able to get in the required air mingling with how badly it hurt. Automatically, he started hyperventilating, which is not what one should do when they're suffering from pneumothorax. Agony consumed him, blacking out all else. He barely even noticed when he was dropped again, hitting the water from an uncomfortable height.

The discomfort was minor compared to finally being able to breathe again.

Lacking the energy to keep afloat or swim or anything really, Techno sunk to the bottom. The steel was cold, but it was solid. He wished he could just melt into it and not use his brain for a while.

Mercy was not on his side. It never seemed to be.

Quackity returned, footsteps more hurried. He knelt at the side of the tub again, cursing softly.

"Shit, this is not what I signed up for, you know? I need to give that asshole a piece of my mind when he comes back."

If you don't want people to have broken ribs, don't step on them next time, Techno thought bitterly. But with how breathing had become a chore, talking was completely out of the question. He could only whine pitifully when Quackity scooped him up again.

Everything was a blur of motion and color much too overwhelming for him to parse. Something was wound around his chest, pulled taut enough that it made him open his mouth in a soundless scream. Techno squirmed, but Quackity had become smarter about holding on to him without dropping him. His thumb pressed down on Techno's throat to keep him in place.

"I'm trying to help you," he muttered. Technoblade was sick of humans thinking they should help him, if they'd left him alone none of this would have happened to begin with.

When the bandage was applied, painful in how tight it was but Techno realized it was meant to compress his chest and keep his rib from causing more issues, Quackity picked up something glass. A bottle.

Techno really didn't have time to see what it was before Quackity unceremoniously dumped the contents on his face.

Since he was still gasping miserably unable to breathe, mouthfuls of the liquid came in unbidden. It didn't taste bad, cloying and unnaturally sweet. It made his head swim. But it also numbed the pain, making his very brain feel fuzzy around the edges.

Did this man just waterboard him with a healing potion? He could learn a thing or two about Phil's bedside manners.

"There. All better now."

Quackity sounded relieved. He was probably happy that his investment was saved.

All Techno cared about was that he was lowered into the tub again. The bandages got soaked through immediately, clinging to him in a profoundly unpleasant way. But at least they were applied well enough to stay stuck. It made his chest hurt still, but the pain was more dull and constant than the stabbing from before. That was an improvement.

Techno hated to admit it, but Quackity had probably saved his life just now.

He curled up again, face down and tail tucked beneath him. He didn't know what else to do.

If Phil was coming to get him - if he was even alive at all… Techno really hoped he would hurry.