Chapter Text
Technoblade was fairly certain that he was the last devout follower of the Blood God.
When he was a kid, his village had sacrificed a young woman to the deity. A war was brewing at the kingdom's border, and their warriors needed strength and power. They needed a patron. And what better way to appease the Blood God than by offering him fresh blood?
Techno remembered the way the girl tried to run. He remembered her howling screeches and desperate twisting. He remembered the gurgling sound she made after the blade pierced her throat. He remembered the moment she went quiet, surrounded by chants of Blood for the Blood God.
After the ritual was over and everybody was gone, Techno had walked up to the sacrificial table and placed a baked potato on it. He tried not to make a face as blood clung to his hand. The food wasn’t much, but he felt like he should give something. The Blood God was going to protect them, after all. He wanted to show his thanks.
The next morning, the girl’s body was still there, strapped down to the table, eyes glazed open. The baked potato was gone.
A week later, Techno’s village was burned to the ground by the enemy’s advancing army. Their warriors weren’t strong enough to stop it. Everyone who made it out of the fire was slaughtered like pigs, their blood pooling in the streets. But Techno escaped, unharmed. It was as though the enemies' eyes simply slipped off of him.
It didn’t take him long to realize what must have happened.
With nowhere else to go, Techno joined the army at six years old. He was far too young to fight, but he was just quick enough to deliever messages between different corners of the war zone. When he had an extra moment, he would lean over a dying soldier and say some last rites. Ask them their name. Hold their hand as they passed on.
His superiors would always yell and push when he made such delays, furious that their messages took a few minutes longer to arrive, but Techno didn’t really care. He was otherwise good at his job, and was a lot faster and bolder than the other orphans the army had recruited. And for some reason, unlike the soldiers he heard cry themselves to sleep at night, the blood and gore of the battlefield never bothered him.
The second he hit his teenage years, he became a soldier. The war was still going strong, and the kingdom was more desperate for new bodies than ever before. Desperate enough to hand a 13-year-old a sword and push him out on the front lines. By 22, Techno was the most renowned soldier in his regiment. Secretly, he was also the luckiest. Enemies’ eyes skimmed over him as often as they saw him, and his weapons almost always hit their targets. Arrows just seemed to miss him. Hits didn’t land as deeply as they should have.
Techno would always leave sacrifices for the Blood God after such near misses.
Half his platoon hadn’t even heard of the deity before. Those who had weren’t big fans.
“Please,” one soldier told Techno over dinner, “The Blood God isn’t going to help you. He doesn’t accept any of the blood sacrifices the generals leave for him, so either he doesn’t exist, or he thinks he’s too good for the likes of us. Either way, it’s best to find a different patron.”
Techno had punched him in the face for that. None of his other comrades ever brought up the Blood God again.
Well, except for one.
“You follow the Blood God?” the new kid said, staring up at Techno with unbelievably blue eyes.
“Yeah,” Techno replied, perhaps a bit gruffer than he meant to, “What’s it to you?”
“Nothing!” the new kid said, grinning wildly, “I love that guy. He gets all the ladies. Hey, we should be friends!”
Tommy was young. Techno didn’t believe his lies of being 20 years old for a single second. He was 17, tops. Probably significantly younger, though his face made it hard to tell. Still, no self-respecting adult would follow Techno around like a confused duckling all day, asking inane questions and taking up all of his time.
What was even weirder was that Techno didn’t mind. He had always kept a healthy distance from his colleagues. Wartime wasn’t the place to make lasting friends. But Tommy… Tommy was genuinely funny and bright. He had a big temper and an even bigger mouth, but he only ever got truly mad when he saw something unfair. He was determined and loyal and always knew what to say to make the tension in Techno’s shoulders disappear. It was as if they had known each other for a lot longer than a few months.
And it was silly, but Technoblade felt… protected by Tommy. His presence felt safe in a way Techno hadn’t felt since he was a child. It was weird, since the kid could barely lift an axe and had basically no battle experience, but every time he fixed Techno’s armor or tried to make him smile, it felt like he was doing something more.
It was terrifying. Techno had seen the battlefield claim too many young lives. He was going to keep Tommy from that fate, all else be damned.
Every morning, when he prayed for his own safety, he prayed for Tommy’s as well. He gave the kid whatever he could spare at meals. He taught him how to fight, turning clumsy movements into something salvageable.
Tommy seemed thrilled by the attention. He took the extra food at dinner as though it was made of gold, and visibly perked up whenever Techno initiated spending time with him. Though Techno would never admit it, it warmed his heart.
Even better, Tommy seemed genuinely supportive of Techno’s faith. He would follow along on every trip to the Blood God's shrine, watching with rapt attention as Techno placed his offerings on the sacrificial table. Instead of slaughtering prisoners of war, like the generals preferred, Techno would leave the Blood God a bit of his dinner. Extra supplies. Some flowers or pretty rocks. After so many years, he knew what his patron liked. The items were always gone by morning.
“You’re really good at this,” Tommy said once, nearly breathless. “I’m sure he loves these gifts.”
Techno ruffled the kid’s hair in response. One of these days, he would try to convert Tommy, get him under the Blood God’s protection too, but he didn’t want to be too pushy. Drawing too hard a line might scare the boy away and onto the battlefield. Better to keep him close. There was plenty of time.
Techno was out of time.
Blood spilled from his stomach like water from a pump, his loose hands doing little to keep the gash closed. He had gotten lazy. Distracted. And in that moment, a man had gutted him mercilessly, leaving him to bleed out like a pig in a slaughterhouse.
Maybe it was what he deserved, after so much bloodshed.
Techno had minutes left, tops. And all he could think about was how there was no one left to protect Tommy.
Blood God, he prayed, his hands growing sticky, You’ve always been fair to me. Please, if I must die, protect Tommy. I hope my life is sacrifice enough—
“Techno!” a young voice shouted, startling him back into focus.
Tommy had spotted him, and was now stumbling over a hill to kneel down next to him. Relief flooded through Techno. At least the kid was okay.
“Shit man,” Tommy said, looking at Techno’s wounds, “This is bad.”
Selfishly, Techno was glad that he didn’t have to be alone for this. He continued his final prayer to the Blood God.
... Please guide my soul to—
“No, no!” Tommy hissed, pushing down on Techno’s wound to stop the blood flow. “I’m not going to let you die. That’s not happening.”
“It would be an honor,” Techno gasped between breaths, “To die on the battlefield.”
Tommy looked at him incredulously. “Right, so you’re certifiably insane.”
Techno wanted to glare at him, but he wasn’t sure he had the energy for it anymore.
Tommy grimaced, pushing down harder on Techno’s gaping stomach. “Look, Death’s lovely, okay? She’s really nice and gives great hugs or whatever. But if you die right now, there’s nothing I can do for you!”
Techno was a little confused about what Tommy was getting at, but ultimately decided it wasn’t worth fussing over. It was getting quite a bit darker around the corners of his vision.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck !” Tommy cursed. The boy’s hands were doing little to stop the blood from gushing out of Techno.
“Blood for the Blood God,” Techno muttered absently.
“Not yours!” Tommy yelled, looking extremely distressed. He looked up at the sky, pulling his hands from Techno’s wound and clasping them in prayer.
Somewhere on the battlefield, an explosion of TNT went off.
“C’mon, Ponk,” Tommy prayed, screwing his eyes shut, “You give me this and I’ll owe you the biggest favor you’ve ever gotten! Anything you want!”
Techno vaguely recognized the name Ponk. Some god of healing or whatever. Huh. He never realized the kid was so religious.
Tommy opened his eyes, laying his hands back on the open stomach in front of him. Techno was just about to tell him to give up, that he wasn't worth it when—
Well, Techno wasn’t quite sure how to describe it.
The winds around them seemed to stop, and the sounds of the battlefield grew distant. There was light spilling from Tommy’s hands and eyes, redder than the blood that covered the two of them. Tommy himself was gaping at something distant, muscles tense.
Then, the kid started laughing.
“Thank you!” he screamed, digging his already bloody hands into Techno’s guts, “Thank you!”
Techno’s entire stomach felt like it was being rearranged, like every cell was being pulled and polished, but it didn’t hurt. It didn’t even feel like it was happening to him. Quickly, even the pounding ache in his head and the cuts on his arms seemed to ebb and disappear, until absolutely nothing felt out of place. It was better than he had felt in months, years maybe.
Techno looked at Tommy. The red light was fading, and the kid was noticeably more tired.
Tommy smiled, though it looked a bit more like he was baring his teeth. “Death doesn’t get you,” he said, voice manic and possessive and full of love, “You’re mine.”
Then he collapsed into Techno’s arms.
Techno was at a complete loss. One minute, he had been bleeding out in the mud, coming to terms with his unavoidable death, and the next, he was completely alive and well, holding an unconscious teenager.
He had gotten Tommy off the battlefield quickly, ignoring commands from one of his superiors. That was going to bite him in the ass later. They probably thought he was deserting.
He didn’t care. The realization surprised him.
Occasionally, Tommy would stir in his arms, muttering something about patrons and protecting Techno, but there was no time for that. He needed to get the boy somewhere safe, and then they needed to get out of this fucking war once and for all.
As he laid Tommy down in a long-forgotten trench, the gravity of the situation finally hit Techno.
Tommy had offered up everything to save him, and there was no way of knowing how much the healing god would take. The idea of Tommy, bright, wonderful Tommy, enslaved to some random deity, forced to bend to their every will… It made Techno sick. As soon as the kid woke up, Techno would have to find a way to free him. Maybe he could trade his own life? Or beg the Blood God for help?
At that moment, Tommy groaned. Techno was beside him in a second, ready to help.
The kid opened his eyes blearily, like he was waking up from a long nap. The moment he registered Techno, he smiled.
“Hello,” Tommy croaked.
“You,” Techno said, “are a fucking idiot.”
Tommy blinked. “You know, a thank you would be nice. I kind of saved your life, motherfucker.”
“You promised yourself to a random healing god! He could do anything to you, and there’s nothing I can do to protect you! That wasn’t a risk worth taking!”
Tommy frowned, pushing himself up. “I was saving your life. Besides, me and Ponk trade favors all the time.”
“Heh? You—“ Techno sputtered, “you’ve done this before?”
“Yeah?” Tommy said, rubbing his eyes. “It’s not that big of a deal. I’m not like, sworn to him or anything. We just help each other out.”
“You have to be more careful with gods, Tommy. Do you know how fickle they can be?”
Tommy smiled. “Yeah, most of them are right assholes.”
Techno tensed. “Tommy.”
But Tommy wasn’t listening. He looked up at the sky and flipped it off. “You hear that, everybody? Fuck you!” Tommy paused. “Except Ponk! Thanks again!”
Techno grabbed Tommy and clutched him against his chest, as though that was going to protect him from the gods’ wrath.
The kid had the absolute gall to laugh. “Don’t worry Techno, most of them are pretty fond of me.”
“Tommy,” Techno said seriously. “You shouldn’t insult the gods. And you shouldn’t give them blank checks, under any circumstances. That healing god isn’t going to just let you go!”
Tommy cocked his head. “But you swore yourself to the Blood God.”
“That’s different,” Techno insisted. “The Blood God… he’s not like the other gods.”
“How?”
“He… he protected me. When I was a kid. I owe him everything.”
Tommy paused. “Would you do anything for him?” he asked softly.
Techno nearly scoffed. “Of course. He’s my patron.”
“Then can you keep holding me?” Tommy asked, voice wavering.
Techno had almost forgotten that Tommy was still in his arms, pressed against his chest. It was a weird and sudden request, given the conversation they had been having, but who was Techno to deny it?
“Of course,” he said, lacing his hand through Tommy’s hair and pulling him closer.
Unsurprisingly, getting Tommy out of the war zone was easier said than done. After over a decade of non-stop conflict, the wasteland stretched out for miles in every direction, making it impossible to camp out or scavenge. Other than their weapons, both Tommy and Techno had no food, no water, and no supplies. Techno wasn’t even sure where they were.
He had certainly been in worse situations. At least neither of them were actively bleeding out anymore.
Tommy, meanwhile, seemed to be in an extremely cheerful mood. The kid kept checking in on Techno, making sure the nonexistent gash on his stomach didn’t magically reopen. Tommy had rebounded spectacularly from his healing-induced coma, chattering and bouncing around as though it was a normal day for the two of them.
Honestly, considering that Tommy had spent a good chunk of the afternoon unconscious, Techno was pretty relieved.
“Have you ever met a god, Technoblade?” Tommy asked, tugging at Techno’s shirt.
The two of them were sorting through an abandoned wagon, clearly the victim of some forgotten military campaign. Besides a single gold coin, there didn’t seem to be anything useful..
“Eh?” Techno said, looking over to Tommy. “Oh. No. I’ve never met a god.”
Tommy rolled his eyes. “How would you know? Gods love to— I mean, I’ve heard that they love to come down among the mortals and pretend to be human. You could have met a dozen gods and you wouldn’t even know the difference!”
“I’m a soldier, Tommy. The only new people I meet want to kill me. I’m pretty sure if I had come across a god, I would have been smited by now.”
Tommy huffed, kicking the wagon wheel next to him.
Oh. Techno knew what this was about. “Have you met a god, Tommy?”
The boy’s face lit up. “Totally, big man! I’ve met more gods than you can count!”
“Oh really? Name one.”
“Death.”
Techno’s heart did a weird little jump. “Sorry, did you just say you’ve met Lady Death?”
“Yep!” Tommy said with a grin. “She’s really nice.”
Techno didn’t even know how to approach the rest of this conversation.
Luckily, Tommy didn’t give him much time to flounder. “Do you think you’d be happy if you met the Blood God?” he asked, picking at his fingernails.
Techno went back to searching the wagon. “I’d be honored, Tommy. But I don’t think I’m important enough to be worth his time.”
Tommy seemed to bristle at that. “Don’t say that,” he hissed.
Techno blinked at him in surprise.
“Don’t,” Tommy said, visibly trying to calm himself down, “say that you’re not worth his time. You’re worth it.”
“It’s okay, Toms,” Techno said, “Gods are busy. Besides,” he reached out to squeeze Tommy’s hand, “I like spending my time with you.”
At that, Tommy bit back a smile, looking a tad embarrassed. He quickly shook it off with his regular bravado.
“Yeah, I guess I’m pretty cool. Are we done with this fucking wagon yet?”
“What do you two think you’re doing?”
Techno jumped up, immediately positioning himself between Tommy and the new voice. As Tommy peaked over his shoulder, Techno counted six soldiers approaching, all heavily armed.
Shit.
“We’re delivering a message to your commander,” Tommy piped up. Techno did his best not to glare at him.
“Uh, yeah,” Techno continued, “What he said.”
The lead soldier raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Which commander would that be?”
“Err, Commander Larkson?” Techno ventured.
The soldiers all unsheathed their weapons. The lead guy, if anything, had the absolute audacity to look thrilled by Techno’s misstep.
“Commander Larkson died two months ago,” he said, genuine glee dripping from his words.
Before any of the soldiers could make a move, Techno tackled Tommy behind the wagon.
“Are you spies or deserters?” the lead soldier asked, voice getting closer. “Ah well, I guess it doesn’t really matter, does it? Punishment’s the same either way.”
Techno needed to get Tommy out of here, immediately, but these men weren’t going to leave them alone without a fight. As good as he was, Techno couldn’t take down six men at once, and if he told Tommy to run without him, the kid would be defenseless.
“Tommy, take this,” Techno said, handing the kid his bow and arrows. “I need you to cover me while I go out there. If something happens to me, you run. Got it?”
Tommy looked nervous.”Techno, I–”
“This bow is for you. I believe in you, alright?”
Tommy’s eyes went wide. Quickly, he glanced up at the sky.
“Come on,” he said, a crooked grin stretching across his face, “that’s got to count.”
Just as Techno opened his mouth to ask what he meant, Tommy stood up and shot one of the soldiers straight through the hand. Before that man’s weapon had even hit the ground, two more soldiers also found their dominant hands suddenly impaled. Just like that, half their attackers had dropped their weapons.
Techno was a bit too stunned to help, but it didn’t matter. Tommy shot the remaining three attackers just as quickly, though the sixth arrow missed its target slightly, driving into the man’s hip instead of his hand.
“Shit,” Tommy hissed. He grabbed Techno’s wrist and started running.
Techno let himself be pulled along. Tommy… Tommy didn’t know how to do things like that. Out of all the new recruits, he was one of the worst shots. The army hadn’t even bothered to give him his own bow, for that reason.
And yet here he was, holding the weapon like it was his birthright, with six trained men unarmed in under 30 seconds. It shouldn’t have been possible.
The two of them kept running, Tommy zigzaging with surprising experience, until Techno’s breath began to labor. Tommy seemed to realize it almost immediately, pulling Techno inside a bombed-out husk of a house. The roof was gone, but at least the walls gave some protection from wandering eyes.
“Are you okay?” Tommy asked, voice as steady as if they had been walking.
“How,” Techno panted, “How did you do that? With the arrows?”
Tommy looked down at the bow, still clutched tightly in the hand that wasn’t holding Techno’s wrist. “Lucky shot?”
“Six lucky shots? Tommy, I saw you in training. You couldn’t hit a boulder, let alone six hands in a row.”
“Five hands,” Tommy said, uncharacteristically bitter. “I missed the last one.”
“Tommy.”
“Look, Tech, I don’t know. Maybe it was adrenaline. I just—” Tommy cut himself off, suddenly looking quite upset.
Techno fought the urge to hug him. “What is it, Tommy?”
“I… I already almost lost you once today. I looked at those soldiers and I just… I couldn’t do it again. I couldn’t send you out there to fight for me.”
Techno had never been good with words, so he didn’t bother with them, instead choosing to wrap his arms around Tommy. The kid audibly sighed, melting into him.
Techno wanted to tell Tommy that he was too young to fight other people's battles. That he deserved to be protected. That Techno could be strong enough for the both of them. That he had to be.
Instead, he just sat the two of them down, leaning against the most solid-looking wall the building had to offer. The sun had set a little bit ago, and the weight of everything was finally setting in. He had questions, yes, but mostly, Techno wanted to rest. He wanted Tommy to rest.
“It’s been a long day,” Techno muttered. “Let’s go to bed.”
Tommy nodded, burying his face into Techno’s shoulder. He fell asleep quickly.
Techno rested his chin on Tommy’s head, looking up at the stars above them. The one upside to taking refuge in a bombed-out house was that there was no roof to block out the night sky.
Blood God, he prayed, please protect both of us. Tommy’s a good kid. He deserves better than what I can give him. Better than me.
Tommy stirred in his sleep, frowning slightly, but he relaxed as Techno rubbed circles into his back.
Amen.
Tommy looked peaceful when he slept. Far more peaceful than he ever looked awake. It almost made Techno forget the situation they were in.
“Goodnight, Toms,” Techno whispered, closing his eyes.