Hidden in the Depths

Chapter 30

(Warning! Mention of human remains in this chapter!)

Techno had exactly 10 minutes to himself, quietly chewing away at his cooked fish, before he got nudged up and dragged to the furthest possible corner by Fit. Much like before, there weren't many options for a truly private conversation, so the older simply tried to keep his voice as low as possible. "What was that about?" He didn't immediately know how to answer that. Explaining the situation would include explaining what had happened with Foolish, and Techno wasn't sure if he was ready for that step yet.

Fit gently nudged his shoulder, leaning a little closer for any possible chance that their conversation couldn't be fully overheard by the others. "Please. You are starting to worry me. You're not okay, haven't been since the island. But I can only help if you talk to me." And Techno sighs, glancing off to the side, just trying to collect his thoughts. How would he even start to explain this? Explain how fucking helpless and scared he was, not just because of their situation. This whole possession and visions and seemingly greater purpose was messing with his head so badly...

But Fit wasn't backing down this time, nor had anyone stopping him from interrogating his friend. He wasn't giving him space to distract and stay silent either. "Techno, this isn't healthy. Based on what we heard when we woke up, this was an argument about working together as a team. So you better stay true to your own word and work with me here. We have to stick together. That includes you." It was not the first time Fit used his own words against him. Not that these type of comments weren't normal between them already, with the handful of unhealthy habits Techno and Fit both already had. But hearing it this directly in this situation... it switched something within his brain.

He nearly broke down right then and there. Just let it all spill, let himself bleed, not hold it together for the sake of everyone around him. Stop doing the thing he had learned throughout his career within the Federation. Fit would understand, he would pick up the pieces and help him build himself up again. He always does...

"I... something happened to me. Something... leviathan related, again." He took a steadying breath, leaning into the hand now resting on his shoulder, using it to ground himself. "Tubbo immediately came to my side and tried to help me, Quackity apparently had been a little scared and worried I might attack someone while I was out of it. When Tubbo got me back inside and managed to wake me up again, Quackity helped by bringing water and making food, asking if I'm okay. Tubbo didn't like that and started arguing with him, saying he shouldn't pretend to care now and that he isn't part of the team. I tried to intervene, but I think I only made it worse now. He told Quackity he should have died, Fit. I couldn't just ignore it."

Fit listened to him quietly, letting him get all his thoughts out before speaking up again. When he reached the point of Tubbo's behaviour, his brows drew together, clearly confused and shocked that their friend would say something so cruel. "And I know I shouldn't have yelled, maybe that was a bad move, but I am just so fucking stressed and this vision shit is getting to my head and Tubbo is acting so out of pocket..." He just nodded, squeezing his friend's shoulder until his ranting stopped. And to the others' credit, they seemed to busy themselves as much as possible to try and not eavesdrop on their conversation. They deserve so much better than a maybe leader questioning his own sanity and breaking down every day.

"Okay... I understand why you were so angry now." Fit glanced over at the nest, where Pac is still mostly blocking Tubbo from view while holding a quiet conversation with Cellbit. "This... obviously needs to be talked out. Again." And he took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders a little. "But that can wait until both of you have cooled off a little. Until then, we have to move forward. We discussed our plan yesterday and we will go through with it like we agreed on." He moved to squeeze Techno's hand now. "And, just for today, I want you to step back a little. Let me handle leading. You need a break and you need to learn that you don't have to be in charge. We're a team."