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His new caretakers insisted on bathing him once a week.
It was a strange thing for Technoblade to get used to. His previous guardians had only resigned to the task once a month at most - if they bothered to bathe him at all. Most preferred to let him marinate in his own filth, blood and sweat drying on his skin until the itching made Techno scratch himself raw. His hair had too often become a tangled mess of knots that weighed on his spine. Then again, none of them spent as much time with him as these people did. Some of those previous wardens didn't open his cell unless it was to throw food at him. Again, a mercy. Once it was found out he could technically survive starvation, a lot of them decided it was less effort to keep him in complete isolation. Others had found he was more easily manageable when fed. It made Techno's mood and by extension his powers less volatile.
(Yet Techno would take the isolation over what certain guardians felt was needed to keep him in line.)
"We'll make it as quick as we can," Wilbur told him as he closed the shackles around Techno's wrists. "Nothing out of the usual, okay? So keep as calm as you can manage."
"I know," Techno said.
He wanted to stay calm. He didn't want to hurt the only people who had ever shown him kindness.
"Does this feel alright?" Wilbur asked, slender fingers pushing the metal back to sit more snugly. The cuffs were cold and firm, but not painful. Techno could feel the engravings on the inside.
He could only give a tight little nod as Wilbur helped him to his feet.
His knees were wobbly. Techno didn't get a lot of exercise. Tommy had started coaxing him to come out into the garden with him, he said fresh air and sunlight were important for Techno's health. But Techno was too scared to. He didn't refuse Tommy's commands - Never refuse the guardians, his mind would echo to him. Never ever unless you're aiming for a world of pain - but Tommy was surprisingly good at picking up on his non-verbal cues. He didn't make Techno do things he wasn't comfortable with unless he really couldn't help it, none of them did. And Techno didn't care about sunlight or fresh air anyway. His room was safer. Safer for himself and for the world. Again, it's not like Techno could die from an absence.
"Remember the step," Wilbur said. He was holding both of Techno's hands in his own to guide him along the hallway. Techno's bare feet scuffed against the hardwood floor and he felt it when the underground changed into familiar bathroom tiles. There was a small elevation right where the doorway was.
Techno could hear the water running, and he could feel the vague sensation of steam lingering along his skin. Phil was humming to himself and despite the nervousness clinging to Techno's gut, it made him calm down somewhat. His hands were shaking and he dug his blunt nails into his palms.
A touch on his shoulder made him jump.
"I'm going to show you where the towels are," Phil said. He held Techno's wrist and pulled him forward a bit. "They're on this chair here next to the tub. You can't miss them. We got you some clean clothes too."
Techno nodded again, throat closed tight enough to rob him of breath, let alone his ability to speak.
They helped him with his shirt, which was a bit of a bother with the shackles. The cuffs could be unlinked, to allow Techno to pull his arms through the sleeves. When only his undergarments remained, he stepped into the water. The water was very warm, but it made every muscle in Techno's body lock up. He sat there rigidly and kept his spine straight. Phil took the end of the chains and raised them over the edge of the tub so they could be attached to the walls.
"Steady now," he said. "I'm going to remove the blindfold so keep your eyes closed." He said it so gently as if the gesture held no greater meeting. As if it wasn't the most significant thing Techno had experienced in literal centuries.
It was a sign of trust.
Every time they removed the blindfold, Techno wanted to scream. It had been hammered into him over and over again how important it was for him to keep his eyes covered. To not look at anything - not look at anybody. They were risking so much by allowing him to take it off. All because they thought he deserved a sliver of humanity.
(One time Tommy had done it while they were in the garden. He had made Techno sit down and then he had knelt behind him and told Techno to not turn around as he unfastened the cloth from his eyes. Techno had seen the sky for the first time in longer than he could remember.
And if he had chosen to turn around, Tommy would have been dead.)
The blindfold was carefully pulled aside, allowing Techno to catch a glimpse of the blurry wall through his lashes before he forced his eyes closed again. There was a smile in Phil's voice as he continued.
"There, that's better. Wilbur…"
From behind him, Techno could hear Wilbur shift. There was a small pull on the chains that made it so Techno would keep his arms straight out. His fingers twitched uncomfortably, shoulders tensing. Techno exhaled through his nostrils to release some of that pent-up energy.
Phil touched the back of his neck again as he stood up, the touch oddly reassuring despite how it made Techno flinch when his nerve endings felt set ablaze. At first when they touched him, it would lead to disaster - his powers spinning out of control easily. He was more used to it now. Though Techno still hadn't made up his mind on whether he wanted to lean into the affection or shy away from it.
Probably both. He craved it yet abhorred it. He didn't want to think about the cruelty of that dichotomy.
"Here." Phil handed Techno a cloth so he could start washing himself, Wilbur allowing enough give in the chains for Techno to have some range of motion. He dipped it into the water and pressed it to his face, eyelids fluttering behind the soft pressure. Techno breathed through it, chest hitching only a bit when Phil started dragging a second cloth across his back. It dipped down and Techno exhaled as it touched the brand on his lower back. He felt Wilbur grab onto the chains, preparing in case something went wrong.
But it passed through Techno quickly. A wave of his powers sweeping over him like a tide, but not coming to fruition.
"Good," Phil said. "You're doing good, Techno."
"I'm not doing anything," he shot back, pinched and trying to laugh. Because if he didn't make light of this he would be losing his mind.
(Phil had asked him what he wanted, once. Nobody had ever asked him that. Techno couldn't ruin this. He'd never forgive himself).
"That's still good," Wilbur said. He chuckled under his breath but pulled the chains a little tighter. "Remember you broke the tub last time."
"I need to wash your hair next," Phil warned. He knew this was the part Techno struggled with the most.
"Do you want to change places?" Wilbur asked. Phil must have shaken his head because there was a moment of silence and then Techno felt Phil's hand move away. He picked up something that was dipped into the water next to Techno.
Techno shuddered slightly but kept his eye closed. Phil's hand found its place on his shoulder again and Techno had to stop himself from tensing up completely. "Tip your head back?"
He did so. Carefully, Phil poured the water over his hair.
And Techno swore he could feel the phantom tug of the guardian who had come before Phil pulling on his hair until it ripped out at the roots, yanking him down and pushing on his chest to submerge him more. The water closed above him, forcing its way into the crevices of his nose and mouth. He couldn't breathe.
His powers sparked again, the cuffs came alive with the energy and Techno hissed when they burned into his wrists. "Easy!" Wilbur said, pulling on them. "Techno-"
"I'm fine," he bit out. "Keep going, I'm fine."
Phil hurriedly kept up washing his hair, finger brushing through his long strands. "This will only take a few minutes longer," he said.
Techno remembered being tied to a chair that tipped back, back, back. They used buckets to pour the water then, torrents of it down his throat and sides. Shivering in the nothingness of the cell. When they were done, they left him there to tremble with the cold.
"There, all clean." His guardian smirked at him. "Don't let anybody tell us we don't treat it right." They undid the straps of the chair and pushed him to the floor. And when the foundations of the house shook with Techno's unbridled rage - when the curse laid beneath his skin threatened to tear the world asunder - they kicked him in the ribs. Their hand closed around his neck, the other twining in Techno's hair, and pulled him up as far as he could go with the shackles weighing his arms down. "This is such a pain to clean."
Techno didn't beg them to stop as they brought their scissors. They chopped into his hair unevenly, with little care for the results. Techno supposed the blindfold was a good thing then. He didn't have to see how utterly worthless he looked.
Then they left him gasping on the floor, water burning painfully in his lungs.
"There, all clean," Phil said. His tone was light. "Techno, you're okay. Breathe now, you're okay."
Techno shook his head, eyes still stubbornly closed. If he moved now, he would do something he'd regret. If he breathed now, he would hurt them.
His body hurt like electricity was running through it from the chain redirecting his own powers back into himself instead of allowing it to burst outwards. But Techno knew it was better - knew it was what he deserved.
"Techno." Wilbur's hands closed around Techno's. "We're done. It's done."
He released it like a flood, the water in the tub pushed up against the edges harmlessly.
"I hated that, let's never do it again." Techno pulled his arms away, wanting to hide how badly he was shaking.
Phil laughed, humorless. "Sorry, mate. You know we just want what's best for you.
(You shouldn't, Techno wanted to tell them. You should want what's best for humanity.)
"We'll leave you alone to finish up," Wilbur said. The chains went slack as they were detached from the wall, though they'd still do their job. They'd keep Techno properly contained. "We'll be just outside the door if you need us, so just call for us."
"Yeah, thanks."
When they were gone, he could finally open his eyes. He got out of the bath after a few more minutes and dried himself off, before slipping into the new clothes. They were comfortable and soft, a little oversized. Nothing like what previous guardians had made him wear.
Techno looked at himself in the mirror and could barely recognize himself.
He knew he shouldn't get used to this. They were temporary and he was immortal. Sooner or later they would die and Techno would persist and be no less a danger to the world. He would still contain multitudes in human skin and have plagues in his blood and he would destroy everything if he wasn't stifled. And whoever was tasked with that burden after them would not show their kindness.
"Techno, big man?" Tommy's voice carried through the door, accompanied by a knock. "Are you almost done? Phil said I could braid your hair this time."
"Come in," Techno said after closing his eyes.
He could hear Tommy's footsteps on the floor. He could feel an arm press against his, it was warm and wonderful and he hated it. The chains were not nearly as heavy. "Let's get these off," Tommy said. "You're, like, not going to freak out or anything right? Since you're not in the water anymore?"
"It's probably fine," Techno said with a shrug.
Tommy should insist. It was his job to insist. It was his job to keep the world safe from Techno.
But instead, the shackles came undone. "Pog. Let's go into the garden, it's warm out and I'll do your hair."
Techno smiled. He knew he shouldn't get used to this but somehow he already had. Certainly, that would come back to destroy him at some point. There would come a day Techno would pay repentance for thinking this was something he deserved to cherish.
Until then, the sun felt warm on his skin. And perhaps he could indulge the thought the world would not see his ire.