Chapter Text
Techno would not enjoy recounting what Ranboo told him to the rest of the group, especially since everyone was in a good mood from their little outing.
Wilbur, Tommy, and Tubbo all knew about Quackity and Las Nevadas. Phil had told the story many times about how Techno was almost part of their coven. They already had a bad impression of Las Nevadas, and the new info would not go over well.
Phil’s face looked like a mixture of worried and furious (mostly furious), while the other three looked like they were ready to murder Quackity. Tubbo was gripping a tree branch so tightly, it started to splinter.
To Techno’s surprise, a little bit of the anger was directed at him.
“You just let them go?! When there’s a whole coven after him?!” Wilbur shouted, making large hand gestures. It was only something he did when he was really upset.
“You should have told us as soon as you knew! We could have been on the lookout for them!” Tubbo let go of the tree branch. It completely snapped off and fell to the ground.
“They specifically asked for me not to say anything until later! Besides, what would we have done? He already made it clear that they weren’t comfortable with the idea of us at his house!” Techno defended himself.
Tommy was silent, pacing and very obviously freaking out. Phil seemed to be brainstorming, but was also clearly anxious.
Wilbur and Tubbo took a moment to calm themselves, and Phil sighed.
“Well, what are we going to do?” He said, turning to Techno as if he somehow had the answer.
Truthfully, he didn’t. Techno hadn’t felt that helpless since the day he was turned.
Okay, they just had to start from the beginning.
“How did they find us?” Techno asked.
Phil looked to be deep in thought.
“Quackity has definitely gotten some new members by now. Maybe one of them has a really good sense of smell, and they tracked us.” He suggested.
Tommy walked over to them, seemingly ready to join the conversation.
“I guess that makes sense. How would they even know about Ranboo though?” He began pacing again, but slower.
“I suppose when we’ve been so… preoccupied , it wouldn’t be too difficult to sneak around us, especially if one of them has good hearing.” Phil supplied.
Just leave it to Quackity to pick coven members that were the most useful for him.
“We’ll just have to be careful, and a lot more observant. I don’t know what they want with Ranboo, but knowing them, it isn’t anything good.” Techno spoke his thoughts aloud.
With more knowledge and (kinda) a plan, everyone seemed to relax a bit.
Tommy, in his usual fashion, started to complain.
“Ughhh, I’m so hungry! How long has it even been? I swear I could eat a horse!”
Wilbur looked at him with something akin to disgust.
“Ugh, no. Last time you did that you were practically bouncing off the walls. Never again.”
“What if we shared one?” Tubbo piped up.
“ No one is eating a horse. You kids go off on your own. You know the rules, don’t eat too much, and nothing endangered!” Phil shouted the last part as the trio ran off into the forest.
They would definitely be washing blood off of their clothes in the creek again.
Techno felt about as thirsty as they did, but he didn’t feel like hunting. He was too anxious to focus on anything.
A hand settled on his shoulder. Phil gave him a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry. We haven’t lost any kids yet, and we aren’t about to start now.”
___
Ranboo was not having a good day.
They barely got any sleep, so he was practically a zombie at work.
He kept thinking about Niki. It made them really sad, and he had to stop himself from crying during their shift multiple times.
A quick glance in the bathroom mirror told him that they looked just as bad as he felt.
There were dark bags under their slightly teary eyes. His face was red from the constant almost-crying.
After washing their face, he didn’t look too much better, but it would have to do.
Things continued on as normal. They calmed down after a while, and played his favorite music over the store speakers to help them distract himself.
About halfway through their shift, Techno and his family walked through the sliding glass doors, marveling at it like they always did.
Ranboo wasn’t expecting them to come so soon. Usually they would come around at the end of his shift.
Techno speed walked over and quickly whispered to Ranboo.
“Just so you know, I told them about your little… interaction with that other vampire. They might be a little bit weird and protective for a while.”
“Protective…?” Ranboo whispered back.
Techno muttered “Nevermind.” as the rest of the group caught up.
Tubbo, like usual, hopped up on the counter, smiling when he got a sigh out of Ranboo.
“You guys are here early. Any particular reason?” Ranboo spoke after everyone crowded around the counter.
“Nope. Just wanted to see you!” Wilbur said it with such ease. Like he truly meant it.
No. Ranboo is not going to cry in front of them again. It’s too embarrassing.
“Ah, well, thanks?” They stumbled through the sentence.
It was silent for a moment as the group got a good look at him. Their happy expressions faded slightly.
“Ranboo, are you feeling okay? I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you don’t look so good.” Phil spoke softly.
Okay, that was inevitable. They were far too observant to not notice.
They took a deep breath.
“Remember when I told you about my sister? In the hospital?”
The group nodded in unison.
“Well, she’s not doing very well, so the hospital increased her dosage of medication, and it’s going to cost me quite a bit of money. I might actually end up working here on the weekends.” He laughed humorlessly.
The group stared at them with such heartbreaking expressions. It chipped away at his resolve to act strong.
“I’m very sorry to hear that.” Wilbur spoke with a grave tone, starkly contrasting from how he sounded earlier.
The rest of the group expressed similar sentiments.
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Techno added at the end of his sentence.
Another brick was removed from the walls he built up.
“No….no I don’t think so. A distraction would be nice.” They fidgeted with his shirt sleeve.
After a second, Techno began talking about his life before he was turned.
His father was a baker, most likely the best in his village. Techno planned to inherit the bakery after his father died, but he decided against it after he was turned.
Tubbo started animatedly telling a story about a heist he pulled off when he was still human.
The others in the group would chime in with details he failed to mention. They seemed to know the story quite well.
To be fair, they spent decades together, so it makes sense that they know each other so well.
A small part of Ranboo wished to have that connection with someone. They used to be like that with Niki, but after years of being in the hospital, she was a shadow of the person she used to be.
Well, he kinda had the vampires. They weren’t really close, though. At least, not yet.
“Why me?” Ranboo blurted out of nowhere.
The group stared at him, looking slightly confused.
“I mean, you guys are immortal! You could be doing whatever you want! But you’re here, in a crappy convenience store, just to hang out with a random teenager.” They rambled.
The vampires stared at each other, hesitating.
“It’s hard to explain.” Phil spoke first.
“Just imagine you’re looking at someone, and you have a strong urge to be around them. It’s like a constant pull.” Techno attempted an explanation.
“You would do anything for them, no matter the cost.” Wilbur added on.
“Even if you don’t know them, they’re like your best friend from that moment on.” Tommy looked Ranboo in the eyes.
“You no longer live for just yourself. You live for that person.” Techno finished.
Everyone was looking at them for some reason, with such serious expressions, and-
Oh. Oh.
They were talking about him. All those words expressed how they felt when they looked at him .
Emotions had already been high, and they were just so tired. When the tears came, they let them fall.
No longer being able to hold himself together, Ranboo broke .
They set their head down on the counter, wrapping his arms around their head.
In between sobs, he heard the front door lock, and slightly panicked voices above them.
“What do we do?!” Tubbo whisper-yelled.
“I don’t know! Wilbur, what did you do when I was like this?!” Tommy whispered back.
“I would usually rub your back and hold your hand, but I don’t think that will work for them.” Wilbur softly spoke.
“It’s worth a try.” Techno said, sounding determined..
All of a sudden, there was a hand on his shoulder.
Ranboo flinched back, hard . They hated it when he cried.
But Techno’s large, calloused hand felt nothing like theirs , and Techno wouldn’t hurt them.
Ever so slowly, Techno rubbed small circles into Ranboo’s back.
It felt…nice. Niki would always rub his back after he had a nightmare.
It was comforting. And it had been so long , since touch didn’t feel bad.
After a few minutes, the tears stopped. Ranboo slowly lifted their head. Techno stopped the circular motions and removed his hand from their back.
Ranboo ignored the part of his brain that wanted him to keep doing it.
The vampires looked relieved, and a little happy.
They flushed after realizing that, once again, he cried in front of the group.
They quickly stood up and roughly wiped at his eyes.
“Sorry about that. I guess I was just pretty emotional tonight, Y’know, with my sister and…” he trailed off.
Techno rested his hand on Ranboo’s shoulder. The initial contact spooked them, but he relaxed after a second.
“You shouldn’t have to apologize for experiencing emotions.” Phil smiled sadly at them.
“Yeah! You’re all good, man.” Tubbo scooted up a little closer to him.
Ranboo almost felt undeserving of all the positive attention. They allowed himself to revel in it for a moment. He should enjoy it while it lasts.
After all, you never know when something you love is going to get ripped away from you.
___
Behind the 7-Eleven, a man with red eyes and fangs listened in on a conversation.
He had light orange hair, and a face that looked like a sly fox. He ran off into the night, pleased to have something to report to his boss.