Chapter Text

The concerning thing wasn’t that Quackity had a nightmare or something of the sorts, it was the opposite.

For all the hours that Techno had spent at the others side, nothing really happened. Quackity seemed to be out like a light for the entire night, only shuffling in his sleep. Even now when it was around 10am he refused to wake from his heavy slumber. At first, Techno was relieved to see he got his rest, but when both he and Philza were up and about and had waited for a bit too long on their guest to join them for breakfast, the concern started to come back.

“He’s been asleep for like… what, fourteen hours?” For a second it sounded like hyperbole, but Techno knew that Quackity fell asleep around 9pm, and it was now a bit past 10 in the morning. Phil squinted and then proceeded to come to the same conclusion in his head, looking a tiny bit distressed over it.

Nothing more could be said before Phil had stood up, briskly walking over to the sleeping hybrid, patting his arm. The effort earned him a little grunt in response. “Quack, do you wanna wake up?” Phil questioned as he kept shaking the shorter one.

Slowly, bleary eyes opened up to take in their surroundings. Quackity curled up on himself, pulling the comforter closer to himself as he grumbled out an inaudible response to the shaking.

“Quacks, it’s almost evening. Breakfast is waiting for you,” Phil beckoned again, never relenting his attempts to wake the sleeping figure. For a moment, Techno caught his eyes, and all he did was give Phil a puzzled look.

Techno got up himself, slowly walking towards the other two. He stood tall over the couch, glaring down at the lump that was barely moving. When he had gotten closer, he noticed how Phil was holding a few lose yellow feathers, and quite a few more were littering the sofa. Techno frowned to himself. Phil had taught him about avian hybrids a fair bit, but he didn’t really know what to make of this. He turned to Phil, who seemed more relaxed than before.

“I think he’s moulting,” he said to Techno as he collected the feathers. Even with the presented explanation, Techno was still very confused, and it was probably obvious judging from how Phil huffed and smiled at him. “Birds have to pluck unnecessary or broken feathers so new ones can grow out. It’s nothing dangerous or painful, it just takes up lots of energy.” Phil stood up and put his hand on the beanie-clad head that wasn’t covered by the covers, ruffling it and pushing it down. Quackity groaned in response and retreated back under the comforter completely. Seriously, did he sleep in the beanie? Techno hadn’t thought about it during the night, but now he was curious.

“One unfortunate side effect however is mood change,” Phil laughed, looking at the lump as he walked towards the kitchen. “Since it takes so much energy it can cause some to get a little bit more grumpy than usual.” When he returned, he had the breakfast that was saved for the sleeping man in hand, placing it at the table in front of the blanket cocoon.

Slowly but surely, Quackity peeked out from under his mountain of blankets and pillows, sitting up and reaching for the bowl of porridge. He looked at it with contempt but started eating none the less. Techno sighed which earned him a glare from the shortest hybrid. When they locked eyes for a second, Techno noticed how the defiance in Quackity’s face warp into a more reluctant expression.

“You gotta get up after you’ve eaten,” Phil said, simultaneously chucking more wood into the fireplace. Apparently, that wasn’t enough either, so he went around the house and lit some candles. “We’ll work on your wings, yeah?” After he had lit enough candles to warm a small army, he retired to pull out the same fluffy sheep skin in front of the hearth.

Quackity grunted as he ate, looking like he was about lay down face first in the couch and ignore them both any second now.

Techno walked over to Phil and bent down, holding a hand next to his mouth and whispered comedically loud. “I think he might kill you if you make him move from there,” he said, loud enough for no one in the room to miss. Phil chuckled, and Quackity just glared and ate his breakfast aggressively, which caused Techno to chuckle himself.

“But for real Phil, I trust you but why are you making the house into a sauna?” Techno continued, standing up and talking normally. He didn’t mind much, he enjoyed the warmth, but it seemed to come out of nowhere.

“It’s good if it’s warm when moulting since it can get stressful,” Phil said. Techno was momentarily amazed with how much Phil knew about this kind of stuff, and it almost seemed as if Quackity thought the same with how he perked up when the eldest shared his knowledge. 

Eventually, Quackity finished his very late breakfast and slowly made his way to sit close to the fire. Every move looked sluggish, and Techno thought to himself of how bad it would be if someone caught you in that state, but he shrugged the thought off. Rather than thinking of that, he took his place on the couch and watched as the two birds fell into what seemed to be the new routine of the house.

Phil took a yellow wing in his hand, eyes widening when he saw the now empty slots of feathers. “You’re missing lots of feathers, Quack.”

Quackity kept an uninterested gaze at the fire and shrugged. “It takes like, a week for duck hybrids to moult, so a lot of feathers drop. I think they said something about not being able to fly during that time, but I don’t know.” Techno briefly thought to himself who they were in this situation, and he figured it would be some of the same people that were should have been the ones to teach him how to fly. The voices flared up, some upset at the remembrance, others angry and demanding blood like they usually did.

The reassurance seemed to quell some of Phil’s worries, but he still looked a bit upset. He shrugged it aside and returned his focus towards the wing he was holding. After letting Quackity know what he was doing, he started stretching it just like he had the day before. This time, the wing extended just a bit further, still not far, but it was edging on getting halfway. The progress was interrupted when Quackity let out a noise of complaint, which compelled Phil to stop. Back came the soothing words and actions.

“Moving onto the next one,” Phil said, sounding more like he was letting the other know that asking for permission. The duck nodded and braced himself once again, ready to repeat what had just happened.

If you asked Techno, who was someone completely unaware of how it felt to have wings or had no prior experience, he’d say it looked like it was going well. Quackity grimaced all the while they did this little spiel, but it was just a smidgin better compared to the day before. They were at it for a bit longer today, too, Techno noted as he watched from his spot on the couch.

After what was probably 30 minutes of stretching and relaxing, Phil finally relented, leaning back with a content smile. “You’re doing great, Quacks. When you’re back in shape, I could probably help you fly. It just might take a while.” Techno made sure to watch Quackity intently, waiting for his response. In all honesty, he was very curious as to see him fly. It had nothing to do with him wanting to spite the people in the others past through him. Yeah, not at all. At least he hoped Quackity wanted to spite those bastards.

—

Phil had let Quackity know that he could do whatever he wanted, giving him the option to either sit and relax on the couch, or help him shovel snow outside. For the time being, Phil was alone outside doing said task, clearing small area around the stairway and doors, but also around Carl’s pen. The work was harder than it seemed, taking its toll on the man’s body a while in.

Logically, he knew he had nothing to worry about. Moulting was natural and a sign of healing, but it felt off to see Quackity so lifeless. Okay- lifeless might be over exaggerating. He just looked… really, really tired. But still. He’d rather have him being energetic and tearing down the place.

Almost as if he was summoned by Phil’s train of thought, Quackity came waddling down the stairs. He was stuffed into a huge jacket, not the one he usually wore but Techno’s spare one. It was larger and probably warmer, and Phil thought it honestly was a good idea to have the larger one as to not put a strain on his wings. Besides, Techno barely wore anything other than his robes.

“Hey, Quack,” Phil said, looking over to Quackity with a fond smile. Phil wasn’t planning on making the duck hybrid work, but the one small part of his brain that thought that maybe it was good if he got to do something was squashed down immediately when he saw how Quackity melted into the jacket with his eyes closed.

“Forgot the ity,” he mumbled out, mouth obscured by the jacket. Even if he argued, Quackity seemed content with the company, and maybe even the nickname. Phil just laughed at him and kept shovelling the snow, and Quackity watched as his breaths puffed out in small clouds.

Phil turned around to the man accompanying him when enough time had passed. “I’m here when you want to talk, you know,” he said, starting off in a gentle tone that he hoped wasn’t too confrontational.

Quackity’s brows knit together as he looked over at Phil. He seemed to be thinking about his words carefully before uttering them. “Yeah,” was all he said, which coaxed a sigh from the blond man, and for a second, it almost looks like Quackity regretted talking.

“Take your time, no need to rush,” he added on in concern. “I just want you to know that the option is there. You’re gonna have to talk to someone eventually.” He went to lean against the fence on Carl’s enclosure. You could almost think that Quackity had fallen asleep with how silent it was, but with a small peek Phil could see that he was just staring at his shoes. “We want what’s best for you.”

A bitter laugh filled the air between them. “Not sure if Techno would say the same. Pretty sure he’s gonna kill me in my sleep. He watches me, Phil-“ his voice held a hint of humour in it, and Phil laughed a bit despite his confusion. It seemed that the two of them had very different views on how the piglin hybrid thought and felt.

“Quackity, he’s concerned about you, you do know that right? He helped you with your nightmare and wants you to get better.” Maybe it shouldn’t have hurt as much as it did to see how Quackity’s head snapped up in disbelief, but it did, and Phil hated it. He pushed on. “He might not be the best at expressing his emotions, but he’s trying.”

“But- I literally was the vice president and the reason Schlatt got to become president.” The young hybrid had gripped the jacket around himself, as if holding it harder would help him solve this riddle. “I wouldn’t like me.”

Another pang shot through Phil’s heart. He understood Quackity spoke from Techno’s perspective, but it didn’t help to console him. “We’re anti-government, not anti-people. Maybe some people represent the government, but the real issue is how authority takes good people,” he reached an open hand out towards the sitting man on the staircase, “and twists them into something bad. You couldn’t have known how Schlatt would be. Techno thinks the same, and he has told me as much. If either of us hated you, we wouldn’t be here.”

Quackity had seemed to choke on his words, mouth hanging open but no noise coming out. The only thing that could be heard after that was a choked gulp as he nodded slowly. Seeing as he was done, Phil abandoned his spot leaning against the fence in favour of sitting on the stairs next to their guest.

“You’re a good person, Quackity. I’ve seen how you are with your friends. I’m sorry you had to be put in this situation, you don’t deserve it.”

And just like the day before, Quackity feared that tears would spill, especially when Philza wrapped a wing and an arm around his shoulders.