TRYST // Philza X Reader

24

From there the rest of the battle was a blur. You remembered Phil wrapping an arm around your waist, keeping you tucked under his wing as he escorted you out of the room, your fingers still wound into the linen of his shirt from where you had grabbed onto him. You remembered the boulders still hitting the palace walls, and the crunch of broken glass under your shoes. But most of all, you couldn't stop thinking about the cold dead eyes of the king on the floor.

The woman who had stolen the crown had done a good job at stopping all the fighting in the halls. The shouting and sounds of metal clanging together had faded from the halls as Phil guided you through - the news that the king was dead would spread like wildfire no doubt, especially since one of the invaders was carrying the crown.

"Hey."

Phil's gentle voice brought your focus back to reality as he stopped walking, tucking you both into concealed spot around a corner of the halls that hadn't been damaged in the fighting, leaning up against the wall and letting you sink to the floor before settling down beside you, his wing still curled around your shoulder.

"You alright?"

You curled into Phil's side, and let out a shaky breath, trying to expel the image of the dead king that had been burned into your eyelids to no avail. "No."

"I figured as much." Phil said, running a hand up and down your arm, pulling you closer to him slightly. "I can see the tension in your shoulders."

"I just watched a man get stabbed to death." You said. "The king, no less."

Phil sighed heavily, and you could hear the way his breath worked around the lump in his throat. "Yeah." He said, sounding a little choked.

You just sat together in silence for a moment, listening to each other breathe. The steady rise and fall of Phil's chest against your cheek was soothing, and soon enough your breathing evened out - going from borderline hyperventilation back to normal breathing as you matched pace to Phil. You could feel some of the adrenaline begin to drain away as well, though you knew it wouldn't be well and truly gone for a while. There had been so many moments where your life - or Phil's - could have ended today.

A boulder could have hit you on the flight over the palace, or an arrow from the ground. At any moment in the castle things could have turned south - the throne room, the hall with the twins, even the king's bedroom. Even here, there was no guarantee a group of pillagers wouldn't come around the corner, crossbows still drawn to fight. The worst part was that you knew Phil would have sacrificed himself for you every time.

Even now, he was still curled around you, even though you were the one with the Totem still in your pocket.

"Phil?" You started softly.

"Yes?" He shifted against you, sitting upright more. "You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

"No, I just..." You sat up somewhat as well, looking him in the eye. Suddenly, it seemed so hard to put into words - how did you explain to him that you had been desperately fearing for his life the whole time as if it was your own?

"Phil?"

A tall figure came around the corner, long red cape flowing behind him. Pink hair lay in a disheveled braid tossed over his shoulder, and his eyes were partially hidden behind a mask of bone - though you could still see they were blown wide with partial panic. He gripped a sword in his hand - stained with blood - but dropped it when his eyes landed on Phil, instead reaching down to extend a hand.

Phil's voice softened from the thick way it had sounded earlier. "Techno." He grabbed onto the man's hand - Lord Technoblade, now that Phil had identified him - and let himself be pulled up to his feet and into a fierce hug, Technoblade all but burying his face into Phil's shoulder.

When they pulled apart, Technoblade still looked concerned. "I came as soon as I got your message - both of us did, once we heard that you were here -"

"Thank you." Phil said. "I'm so glad to see you, Tech."

Technoblade's eyes softened some, and you could just see the bottom of a smile peeking out from under the bone mask. "Yeah, it has." He said. "It's good to see you too, Phil - looking young as ever."

Phil glanced back at you for a second. "Well, we'll see about that one."

Technoblade's eyes locked onto yours for a moment then, appraising, but not in the hostile way that you had seen it done before. More like he was looking at you as a whole, seeing you from Phil's eyes. His gaze settled on your pocket for a moment before he looked back to Phil. "You picked a good one."

Phil grinned. "Glad you approve."

Technoblade hummed low in his throat. "Reminds me of mine, a bit." He paused. "Speaking of, I was sent to come find you. There's a meeting going on in the throne room now that Etienne's been pronounced dead and the fighting's stopped - the leaders of the pillager army are there too. I think we're going to try for some sort of agreement."

Phil sighed. "They'll want me there then." He said. You could hear the fatigue in his voice as he said it. "You said everyone's gathering in the throne room?"

Technoblade nodded.

"I'll meet you there." Phil said.

Technoblade took one last look at you before he was heading back in the direction he had come from, cape billowing out behind him. Phil turned his attention back to you, reaching out to help you up off the floor, and brushing a lock of hair away from your forehead.

"I think first on the agenda is finding you a place to rest." He said softly.

"What about the meeting-" You tried.

"You're dead on your feet, love." Phil said. "Politics can wait."