APRICITY // technoblade x reader DISCONTINUED

22 - Progress and Pastries

By the time you wake, sunlight is streaming in through your still-open curtains, and your bed is a pool of sunlight. You shove your face into the pillow, willing yourself back to sleep before you jolt back upright.

Last night. That happened. A lot happened, actually.

That's... so much to process.

"Coffee," you declare to the empty room. "I need coffee and to check on Ranboo before anything else."

You slide out of bed, abandoning your torn nightgown on the floor in favor of your typical cyan-and-cobalt robes. Once your boots are on and laced, you slip out of your room and make your way downstairs. You can hear muffled chatter from the direction of the den, and you follow the breadcrumbs of sound to where the rest of the household is gathered.

As you peek into the doorframe, you see everyone scattered around the room, enjoying breakfast and drinks.

Ranboo is in the middle of the room, centered on one of the couches and sandwiched by Tommy and Tubbo. He's bundled in a blanket so that only his face, tail, and hands, wrapped around a mug of something steaming, poke out from the fluff. Niki and Techno are on the floor, locked in quiet discussion over a few papers scattered on the floor between them. Phil and Kristin are snuggling on the loveseat, and Wilbur is sprawled across a chair, strumming a guitar and humming softly.

Scattered across the coffee table and other end tables is a delicious-looking assortment of pastries, along with two pots, one of coffee and one of tea.

"Good morning," you call quietly, not wanting to break the comfortable atmosphere of the room. a chorus of soft greetings and good mornings echo back at you.

Ranboo looks up at you from within his pile of blankets as you step inside. The fluffy tip of his tail waves gently, and he smiles up at you. "Y/n. I just, uh, wanted to say thanks."

You frown as you plop down on the floor in front of the couch, plucking a flaky, golden pastry coated with raspberry spread and a drizzle of icing from the table. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I don't remember anything from last night. All I remember is going to sleep, then waking up with a mild headache and a cleric hovering over me."

Your face falls, but he waves a hand frantically. "Wait, let me finish! Techno and Phil, they, uh, explained everything. Techno told me how you stopped me from hurting anyone, and I..." He bites his lip, staring down into his mug as though it contains the secrets of the universe. "I don't want to hurt anybody. I'm a demon, and I can always be summoned again. I know that you didn't want to hurt me; Wil said you were pretty torn up about it. But I don't know what I would have done while I was like that, so, uh... thanks for hitting me in the head with a rock?"

You set your pastry down on a plate and scoot Tommy to the side. "Scoot scoot, kid." He protests weakly as you flop down on the couch, but lets you push him aside. You loop your arm around Ranboo and ruffle his hair gently. "I can't believe you said it like that. I'm glad you're okay, though."

Ranboo leans into your hug, and he feels almost like a little kid and he bumps you gently with his horns. "Thanks."

You squish your cheek against his blanket-covered head. "And I don't care if you're not human. You can still feel pain and you're still my friend, 'kay?"

"Mmkay," comes the muffled reply. Curled up under your arm, leaning against you, Ranboo feels rather small. You don't have any siblings; being an orphan raised alone in a library will do that to you, but you think that maybe the warmth in your chest is what having a younger brother feels like. You smile, small and genuine, and for a moment everything feels amber and sweet, your soul like honey.

A loud slurp interrupts your warm feeling as Ranboo sips his tea. Tommy immediately slurps his hot chocolate even louder, and you roll your eyes. Teenagers.

"We were having a moment, Ranboo!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I was thirsty!"

"Yeah, but you didn't have to slurp that loudly."

"Maybe I did, okay? Maybe I wanted to."

You roll your eyes, but the smile on your face belies your joking annoyance. "Whatever. Moment over." You push yourself off of the couch.

You pour yourself a hot cup of coffee, dropping in a sugar cube and a splash of cream. In your other hand, you grab your pastry, and you make your way over to Techno and Niki. You settle down between them. Niki is leaned against Wilbur's leg, and Techno's glasses are perched on his snout.

"Hey," you announce as you sit down, taking a bite of your pastry. "Wha' ya talkin' abou'?"

Techno's gaze flicks down to your lips, then back up to your eyes, and you feel yourself go red. If Niki notices she doesn't mention it, instead choosing to move on.

"Techno and I were just talking about the gem in the garden," she explains. "There's a sigil around it, and it's in the center."

"It wasn't there before, and it's powerful magic," says Techno. "It's mind control, that's for sure, but that's not what's strange about it. Magic is old, millennia old. But it's like language. It changes as the people do, growing and shifting to adapt to the needs of sorcerers and other magic users as time continues. The runes around the stone, though, contain a sort of magic dialect, like an accent, that's centuries old."

You frown, peering down at the drawing of the runic sigil on the floor in front of you. "What does that add to what we already know, though?"

"That's the thing– the sigil in the vault looked old too, but I didn't think anything of it because the Libraries themselves are all so old too. But the thing is..."

"...you think they might be connected," you finish, your face mirroring the concern on Techno's face. Niki looks just as worried, and you feel a pang of regret. "Niki, Techno, I'm so sorry for dragging you into this. If I wasn't staying with you, maybe Ranboo wouldn't have gotten hurt, and Niki, you would still be back and safe at the library—"

Niki grasps your hand. "No." She loops her finger through the leather bracelet around your wrist. "I'm with you all the way, remember?"

I will Pass Through Fire, reads the outside of the leather band. You brush your thumb against the words, the promise of what you two will do for each other. Niki presses her bracelet to yours, displaying the small words I Will Pass Through Flame.

"That's sweet," murmurs Wilbur.

"We got them when we were fifteen," Niki says. "We may not be biological sisters, but we're still sisters."

Wilbur shares a look with Techno, then glances around the room at the rest of his family. "I... I understand that. That's why we're all so worried about Ranboo."

You nod. "Exactly. Should we talk to Chancellor Puffy again?"

Techno runs a hand through his hair, clearly stressed. "I think so. I'll send a message to Dream, and we can head over in half an hour."

"Sounds good."

After you all clean up breakfast and Techno sends a magical message to Dream, you retrieve your swords and head to Haveneaux Manor.