Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

All he saw was black. It was comforting in a way. Soft. His body was too stiff to move so he stayed where he was, enjoying the blissfulness of sleep. Mmmm, maybe he could push back his borrowing a couple more hours. He hadn’t done a night run in a while. It was safer to do so, maybe he could-

Pain. Pain. Oh gods that was pain. He gasped, his back arching in response. The pain…it was-

Radiating through his wing…was it broken? Is that why it hurts like hell? But how did it break-?

It hurt too much to think. The pain was now in his head. The back of his head. He groaned. There was something…wet? Dripping down his neck? Ugh it was all too confusing. He was…he was just going to fall back to the darkness. Yeah. Yeah, that would help. A long nap sounded nice. Maybe he’d feel better when he woke up. Maybe Kristin would make him some stew.

That sounded nice. Before Philza could have another coherent thought, he drifted off.

But he wasn’t down for long. Something nudged him awake. Something dragged him from the depths of a painless sleep. And when he surfaced, just a bit, the pain returned in full force. His face scrunched up as something large nudged his side. It was….frustrating? No, annoying was a better word. It didn’t help that whatever was nudging him was touching his hurt wing. Or his hurt side. He hissed as pain raced up his spine, up his neck and to the back of his head. Gods that hurt! His eyes fluttered open for a second but everything was blurry. Nothing was familiar. What…what was going on? Where was he?

Kristin?

Philza groaned as his eyes closed.

That thing was nudging him. Again. It was cold? What the f- he was just trying to get some sleep! Did a fucking rat get into a tunnel? Did it follow him to home? Gods he hoped not. Clearing the tunnels and patching up any holes were a pain in the ass to do. Maybe he could get Kristin to help him.

But right after his nap. Philza settled again, closing his eyes as he did so. Just a few more minutes of sleep-

He felt something. Tremors? Was there an earthquake?

Philza tried to sit up. He tried to get to his elbows in order to crawl away. If there was an earthquake, then that means the tunnels could collapse. He and his wife could get trapped and it would be a nightmare to dig themselves out. Also they could possibly die in the collapse if they weren’t careful. There was a rush of warm air over him. The sound of click-click-click was almost overtaken by the steady tremors that slowly approached him.

“Hmmm. Whatcha got there, Steve?” A voice. A big, loud fucking voice. What the fuck? Why was-

In the middle of a pain filled haze, Philza’s eyes shot open. The bright lights pierced his aching head, but it was nothing to the panic that was filling him. The ceiling is too big ….rhythmic tremors….loud booming voice…..

God, that was a human.

Philza’s stomach tightened. His body tensed up in fear. What…..how did he get here? Wasn’t he…wasn’t he in the tunnels? He had just said goodbye to his wife. They were going to get supplies…Kristin would go to one part of the house….he went to the other….the house was quiet….no one was home-

A hand wrapped around him, cutting off his thoughts. Philza’s body hurt too much to try to struggle, so he just went limp. Maybe the human would lose interest in him if he didn’t look appealing. Just like with an ani-

A dog. He was attacked by the human’s dog. .It had grabbed him while he was in the air -

“What in the-?”

Some adrenaline shot through him. He turned around and started to thrash about. The fingers, almost as big as he was, tightened further around him. Securing him in the grip. He pushed at them with very little effect. No..no…no…no…no…no!

“Whoa. Easy there. I’m glad that…you’re not dead.” The human turned him over, on his stomach, back and wings exposed. Philza tried to pull his wings closed, trying to bring them closer to his body to protect the wounded, sensitive appendages. But it didn't mean anything. The human’s free hand reached up, the fingers clutching the feathers gently before pulling them open. The human had grabbed his hurt wing. Philza whimpered, a thumb as big as his head gently brushing up through the feathers.

He hated this, being at the mercy of a being as big and dangerous as a human. He hated being so weak. There was nothing he could do. He ached all over. His wing. His body. His head. Oh and his stomach rolled violently like a turbulent sea.

“Are you…no of course you’re not okay. Looks like you’ve got a broken wing.”

Shit. That means he was grounded. He was vulnerable. Philza squirmed in the grip, but he was losing consciousness again. He went limp in the hand that held him.

“Alright. Uh…ay with me. O-”

Philza had once again slipped away into blissful oblivion.

He was lying on his side, bundled up in something soft and warm. He didn't want to wake up. Didn’t want to move one single muscle. It was nice. But there was someone talking over him. Philza’s brow furrowed in annoyance. Why couldn’t they go and have their conversation in another room?

“-ured wing. Yeah. I think…yeah, Steve probably thought he was a toy. No. He’s still alive. I think. Yeah. Uh-huh. Okay, uh give me one second.”

There was some movement, walking. Philza shifted a bit as he tried to push himself away from the voice. His breath caught in his throat as he hit the source of warmth. And oh if that wasn’t the most blissful feeling Philza had ever felt. He got closer, snuggling up against it and sighing in content. It would be nice, heaven almost, if that voice would stop fucking talking! And..was that scribbling?! Who the fuck is writing at this time of night? Maybe Kristin was writing a list for him to get while he was out on a borrowing run.

Shit, he should probably get up huh. Oh, but the covers were so warm. He was wrapped up in them like a burrito. It was comfy. Cozy. He snuggled down further.

“Okay. Yeah. Thanks, Ponk. I…yeah, I will.”

Who was talking? Did Kristin’s brother visit and he just forgot? But who was he talking to? Footsteps…ugh it hurt too much to think.

“Okay…Let’s see if I can do this.”

Humans. Shit, that’s a human. A big human. Fuck. Okay he’s gotta get out of here and somewhere safe. He’s gotta get back to Kristin-

“Here we go.”

Phil went limp as he felt, rather than saw, a hand reach down and grabbed hold of the little burrito that he was in. The hand picked him up. He managed to pick his head up and open his eyes, though the light was far too bright to see anything clearly. There….was that fucking pink? Looming over him?

Mmmmm, yeah he’s gonna go back to darkness. He was jolted just a bit as soon as his eyes closed. Not exactly shaken but it was enough to have him annoyed.

“Hey, don’t close your eyes, bud. I need to make sure you’re not concussed.” He groaned in annoyance. “Yeah, I know. I’m such a dick. But I’m just tryin’ to help you.”

Philza cracked open his eyes. The pink blob just tilted to the side.

“There we go. Hiya.” Philza grumbled. He turned his head as a large finger appeared in his vision, heading towards his face. “No, no, no, no. Don’t do that. You’re fine, I’m not gonna hurt you. Just gotta make sure you’re okay.”

Two fingers grabbed the side of his face. They were gentle, but that didn’t stop Phil from going as stiff as possible in fear of injury. Or well, further injury. The fingers didn’t do anything other than turn his head to the side, and gently open his eyes up a bit further. The pink giant above him hummed.

“Yeah, you’re definitely concussed. I’d bet the bright lights aren’t helping much.” Philza snarled at the human as he chuckled. It stopped pretty quickly. “Alright, let’s check your wings.”

He flailed about as the fingers moved the little blanket prison away from his wings. A hiss escaped his lips as his left wing straightened, only to have a very sharp pain tear through the muscle. The fingers gently grabbed hold of the appendage, moving up and down, following the bone until he got to where the pain originated. Phil hissed.

“There it is.”

Phil was put down on a hard surface. Turned over on his stomach-

-No, no, no! His back was exposed! He was vulnerable. Let go!

“Whoa, easy, easy, you’re okay. Calm down.” The fingers tightened around him. That only made him jolt harder. Thrashing about was not doing his head any favors, or his still-aching body, but he had to get out of the grip that was holding him. He…he had to….ugh….. “There we go. Settle down. I’m just gonna wrap your wing.”

No….he’d be…he’d be grounded. He’d be vulnerable. But he was so tired, he couldn’t muster up the energy to fight any more. Phil went limp.

“There we go. Nice and easy, yeah?” The human’s fingers relaxed.

Phil closed his eyes as the human carded through the feathers. Despite everything, the blond tiny relaxed even further. It was very similar to the feeling of when Kristin preened his feathers at the end of a very long day. But…then again…not quite. Though his still very achy body was all too happy to relax even further. His vision started flickering and his eyes started to droop. Phil hissed as he was gently shaken from side to side.

“Hey. I need you to stay awake. Steve threw you around pretty hard.”

Not this again. Phil jerked about as the hand he was held in gently laid him down on his stomach. His wings were spread out to their full length. The man was gentle as he carefully held something against his injured wing, before strapping it on to his feathers. Phil shook with exhaustion as the man wrapped his wing once, twice, three times before the hands cradled him upward and placed him back in his temporary bed. The hands burritoed him in a soft blanket.

He just wanted to sleep.

“Okay…I’m gonna let you get some sleep.”

Hm? Did he say that out loud? His eyes flickered.

“I’ll be back in a few hours, okay?”

Phil didn’t answer. Instead, he rolled over and drifted.

The next time Phil opened his eyes, however long that was, the full severity of his situation hit him. Though the shock of it pretty much had him lying there, just staring up at the ceiling.

He was trapped with a broken wing, with a human holding him captive. It wasn’t as bad as….er, however long ago. But it still hurts. Everything hurt. Ring down to his very soul.

Okay that might’ve been an over exaggeration. But his point still stood. His head pounded as he tried to sit up. But when his body wouldn’t respond to his needs, eventually Phil gave up on trying to sit, so he just turned over onto his side, wincing heavily at the pain that stabbed at his wing. His eyes didn’t seem to want to focus-

Er, wait a second. He removed his left arm from the burrito and reached out in front of him. No. His eyes were fine. It was whatever he was trapped in that warped his vision. Phil unraveled his right arm. His claws tapped the plastic material. He immediately recognized it. The humans had something like this in some of their cabinets. Their purpose still remains a mystery to him, but apparently, they were using it to keep him in one place for now. Not that he was going anywhere.

He pushed the blanket off him further. His arms were stiff, not wanting to work, but Phil managed it. Barely. He pulled his right wing out from underneath the blanket, then went for the next. Only to slam his teeth shut in a broken off scream.

His left wing….. What the hell was wrong with his left wing?! He tried to pull it forward, to see what the damage was, only to find he couldn’t bring the left one to move. Something held it closed. Which he supposed was a good thing, considering it hurt like a bitch, but it also caused an issue. One that could be labeled under the ‘there’s-no-way-I-can-escape-with-a-broken-wing’ file.

Phil flopped back down into the mess of rags that he was cocooned in, already sapped of energy despite his minimal movements. Maybe…maybe if he could rest just a little bit. Get his strength back and think of a way down. It would be relatively easy to scale down whatever he was on if he was careful. And then, from there he could find a tunnel-

The door creaked open. Phil trapped a gasp of surprise in this throat before quickly slamming his eyes shut and evened out his breathing. His body went limp on command, though his heart still skipped a beat with each approaching step muffled on the carpet flooring.

Even breaths, even breaths, don’t let him know you’re awake…. Phil thought. His instincts yelled at him to move, get out, get away from the predator, but Phil knew that wouldn’t be a good idea.

Even if his wing wasn’t fucked up, he still had to contend with the fact that he was possibly still concussed. There was no way he’d be able to focus long enough to get out of here-

Oh shit the footsteps had stopped right beside him. Keep the breath even. Keep it even, Philza. The back of his neck tingled as something was raised, blocking out the low light that shined on him. The air shifted a bit, and before he knew it, there were fingers poking at him curiously. Still feigning sleep, he shifted as far from the fingers as he could get. There was a rumble above him.

“Looks like you woke up at some point huh?” The voice sounded familiar. It was deep, like the rumbling of distant thunder. It hummed as the fingers carefully brushed his injured wing, touching and brushing over the crumpled feathers. His right wing twitched instinctively. Phil didn’t like it when his wings were touched by a stranger. And this person, no doubt a human, was most definitely a stranger.“Mmmm, wing looks alright I guess. We’ll need to watch it closely.”

Phil’s heart wanted to pick up speed. He wasn’t planning on hanging around here that long. There was a sigh above him.

“I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m sorry that this happened to you.”

The footsteps shuffled around a bit, shifting until there was the creaking of wood, a small groan, and a click. The room went silent and dark. Philza sat up, biting back a groan at his sore body. His legs shook as he stood up, grabbing ahold of the edges of the container he was in. He has to stop a scream when he laid eyes on the bed.

A human. A fucking large human, just sleeping peacefully in a bed. His chest rose and fell in steady breaths, pink hair all disheveled.

Oh…fuck. He had to get out of here.

He grabbed the side of the plastic, and hauled himself over with as little noise as he could make. His breath came in short pants, expelled through his nose as he threw his legs over the side. It was a short enough drop that Philza was easily able to right himself as soon as his feet touched the wood. His ear tuffs perked up as he held still. His eyes were locked onto the human’s back. The man hadn’t so much as shifted.

Good. Philza was not going to be staying here any longer.

He turned. It was hard to see where he was going in the dark, but thankfully, his eyes could see just a little bit into the pitch. There was….there was a ledge right in front of him. Philza approached it cautiously, peering over the side. It was too dark to tell how far the drop was. With his left wing broken, he couldn’t fly properly. But he could bear through the pain of gliding. If he could reach the floor, then he could walk home.

Not ideal, certainly not the best option. But Philza was desperate to get out.

He reached behind him and carefully undid the splint that held his injured wing shut. When unraveled, it hung limply at his side, unable to close all the way shut. He hissed at the pain, cutting his eyes over to the human.

Still asleep. Still unaware.

It was now or never.

He perched on the edge, falling into a crouch. If he could get enough of a jump at the right angle, then he’d be able to glide safely to the ground. There was some shuffling behind him.

“What the- hey don’t do that!”

The voice startled him. He lurched forward, form all but forgotten. Philza instinctively gave his wings a flap, trying to catch himself before he plummeted to his death. But his left wing gave out too much pain for him to think clearly. His vision whited out. His footing slipped.

He was falling.

Falling to his death…

He closed his eyes, waiting for the pain to greet him-

Something slid open beneath him. Instead of hard floors like he expected to meet his body, Philza let out a little oomph when he collided with something soft. It didn’t hurt, but it certainly knocked the wind out of his sails for a moment. He laid there, the soft things cradling his body while he tried to calm his breathing. When his heart quit pounding like a drum, Philza opened his eyes.

His heart might as well have stopped in fear.

Looming over him, blinking those big brown eyes was none other than the human Technoblade. The biggest human to live in the home. The one that could walk so quietly, you wouldn’t know he was there until he was right on top of you.

Techno, the one who held him hostage and was looking at him with concern. Philza let out a whimper as he scrambled backwards. Techno was reaching for him. He bumped up against something.

He was in a box…not again…he couldn’t see…there was no way to escape-

A hand reached around his middle. Philza screeched. Acting on instinct, he opened his mouth and latched onto the finger. Techno yelped in pain as he pulled back. It allowed Philza a few minutes to breathe, a few seconds to get his brain organized. He didn’t get as much time as he wanted to. The hand returned and this time it didn’t hesitate to wrap itself around him, squeezing like a snake. Philza cried out, scrambling for a hand hold, to keep him from being dragged out. There wasn’t anything for him to grab onto, except for the bundles of fabric. Nothing was held down enough for the man to gain resistance. He was pulled out of the drawer and held in the air.

Techno pulled him close to his face. Philza flapped his wings as much as he could, only to cry out with a flap of his injured wing. The human’s eyes went wide as he continued to fight, trying to claw his way out of the grip. Other than a few small lines of red, there was nothing that he could injure Techno enough for him to escape.

A light switched on. Philza screeched as the light pierced his eyes, forcing him to slam his hands over his face. He was placed down on the counter again, held down by a palm as big as he was.

Philza was still. His breath caught in his throat.

One little push downward, and Philza would be nothing but a grease stain. He dared to twitch a little when the hand pushed a little bit.

“Hold still, I’ve gotta check your wing.”

Philza cried out as his injured wing was straightened. Above him, Techno hummed.

“Looks like you didn’t hurt it too badly. We’re gonna have to re-wrap it though.”

The hand lifted up, just enough for Philza, in his adrenaline-filled state, to try for another attempt. He pulled himself out from underneath the hand, only to have it seize him once more. He whimpered as the hands started to replace the splint onto his wing. By the time it was done, Philza was all but limp, exhausted and spent. He was tired.

Vaguely, he heard the human above him sigh heavily as he was carefully lifted upward.

“Try to get some sleep, little dude. And no flying!”

Philza was placed back into the container, which was positioned just a bit closer to the bed. The two of them made eye contact with each other, and Philza couldn’t help but wilt at the intense gaze.

“I’m a light sleeper. And I can always put you in something a bit more….capable of containing you.” The man said. It sent a chill down his spine as Techno closed his eyes and fell back asleep.

Philza stayed like that, eyes staring up at the ceiling, wondering if he was going to make it back home, until he drifted off to sleep.

~.~

The second attempt at escape was made a day later. Technoblade was in and out of the room, apparently doing some repair work. Philza watched him come and go, counting the times between each visit. At one point, it was about an hour before Techno poked his head back in to see if he was still alive. Then, there was another hour where Philza was left alone.

Then another….

And then another….

Now was the time for escape.

Philza threw the covers off him, and climbed over the container. He couldn’t fly or glide down, since his wing was still messed up. Not to mention the fact that Techno could walk back in at any moment and when he found that Philza was trying to escape-

Well, he didn’t know what he would do if he were caught. Philza swallowed. The man certainly didn’t want to be around when that happened. He glanced around the room, trying to find a way down.

There was no way he could get down easily. Philza balked at the drop that greeted him when he peered over the edge of the dresser. HIs heart fell to his feet when he realized that he nearly fell down that ledge the previous night.

Oh boy.

There was no way out, he nearly wailed. He was trapped with a broken wing, hurting and concussed. But Kristin….

Kristin was probably worried about him right now. Probably wondering where he could be.

Okay…you’ve got this Philza. We need to think, formulate. The ledge isn’t the only way down. You can do this! You can make a rope… if you don’t have enough fabric…..hmmm, what’s the next best thing-

The window. Philza stood and made his way toward the large window that sat just a bit above the bed. He licked his lips, trying his best to form a plan.

He needed to get out of here and the window was most definitely the best option at the moment. If he could make it outside, then he could access the outside tunnels. If Philza remembered correctly, then there was a hidden tunnel entrance just outside the window he was staring at. His wing would be an issue, making him sitting duck against hawks or any other predator that might be lurking, waiting to snatch up a wounded and grounded borrower.

But he could do it.

All he needed to do was to get to the sill and get the latch undone.

Easy enough.

He hobbled his way across the desk, stopping just before the ledge. There wasn’t much of a gap between the desk and the bed, and if he angled himself just right, then he’d make it onto the bed. There might be a bit of a bounce, but Philza hoped that he would be okay. With a lick of his lips and a couple of moments of hype, a few choice words to himself, Philza stepped back. With a quick jog, he leapt upward into the air. There was a moment of freefall and then he landed on the mattress with a soft thump.

Philza bounced a couple of times, struggling to right himself, before he stopped. He glanced up, at the window sill. It was a….little higher up than he had first thought. He growled angrily. With both his wings, then he would be able to get to the window without too much trouble.

With only one of his wings functional….it definitely will be a challenge.

“Well…Kristin always says I love challenges,” Philza whispered to himself. If only to have some semblance of sound. He blew a puff of air out. “Okay. Here we go.”

He took a step backwards, eyeing the walls and windowsill upward and downward. He bit his lip. Maybe he could climb the curtains?

The door behind him creaked open. Philza froze. But instead of the normal thundering steps of the mighty Technoblade it was a gentle click-click-click of clawed feet on the wooden floor. A soft woof could be heard, causing Philza to stop breathing.

Oh-

The steps got closer to the bed, closer and closer to an injured Philza. A Philza that was downed and grounded and couldn’t escape-

Shit, it was the dog. The fucking dog that started all of this mess.

Deep breathes Philza. Deep breathes. Just…don’t make any sudden movements. His feathers puffed up in aggression, his one free wing flaring out to make himself bigger. He tensed even more, trembling a bit in fear as the cold nose of the dog touched the area right between his wings.

Oh gods-

The nose expelled a blast of warm, wet air. Philza couldn’t help but shut his eyes, tears falling down his cheeks as the nose explored a little bit more over him. A tongue darted out to lick his back, smearing slobber all over his body. The man dared to take a hesitant step forward, out of the shadow of the massive animal that could snap his neck with a few shakes of its head. But the tongue moved forward, following him closely as it once again moved up his back and over his head. There would be a streak of disgust had not the feeling of fear been so prominent. When the giant nose nudged at him, Philza slowly turned around, eyes wide at the great big beast before him.

He didn’t see the dog before the first incident. But now, he could. And he nearly had a heart attack right then and there.

The dog was huge. With blond, nearly pure white fur that honestly looked really fluffy, Phil couldn’t help but see a beast that could wrap its teeth around him and squeeze. He whimpered at the image. The beast before him whined, high and low before scooting forward. Philza fell back, tripping over his own feet as the dog leapt onto the bed with ease and began sniffing at him.

“No, no, no, no, no, no.” Phil repeated like a mantra. The tongue continued to lick him up and down, covering him with gooey saliva. His breathing became erratic. And a moment later instincts took hold. A chirp escaped his lips as he tried to run.

That was the worst thing to do, he was taught. Animals like dogs see him as prey. They were predators that would not hesitate to go after something that ran. He was prey falling into the trap of a predator.

But with pain and fear and desperation fueling his instincts all Philza could think was ‘RUN-RUN-RUN-‘

Calls for Flock to help, to warn them of a predator escaped his lips as he struggled to get around the covers that were partially strewn about. The dog, he could feel it oh gods, leapt on the bed. The whole thing shook with the force.

Philza tripped. He fell.

Two white legs entered his vision. One on either side of him.

This was it.

The maw enclosed around him gently, never squeezing too hard but enough to hold him. Philza lost his chance to escape when the dog started to hop off the bed and trot out of the room. He scratched at the dog’s maw, though aside from a gentle ‘woof’ of displeasure and a slight shake of the head, nothing else happened. Philza was trapped inside the mouth of an animal that could kill him.

He panicked, falling into the thrall of his instincts. Philza lost all awareness as the dog continued to travel through the house. The man screamed out warning to any flock that might be near that there was danger. No telling who or what else might be lurking around the corners, waiting to snag the other members of his family.

Oh gods Kristin might be out there somewhere-

The dog moved through the hallways with a lazy gait, ignoring Philza’s panicked chirps until they reached a little alcove, nosing the door open just wide enough for him to enter. Phil was unceremoniously dropped onto a dog bed, and immediately started to make a break for it. Only to have the dog pick him up again and place him back in the center of the fluffy bed.

He froze as the dog laid down next to him. Though the chirps were still flowing out of his mouth, they were certainly a lot quieter now that the danger was looming over him. Along with all those teeth.

FLOCK-FLOCK-HELP-DANGER-DANGER-DANGER-

The dog sniffed at him carefully, nostrils flaring as humid air expelled outward. Philza stayed as still as his instincts allowed him to be while the dog sniffed at him, but he squirmed when the tongue started to drag over him, as though the dog was cleaning. Ugh, this was worse than being eaten-

“Hey Tech?”

Philza froze. All distressed chirps fell quiet at the sound of a new voice. A voice that certainly wasn’t Technoblade.

“I think Steve got a hold of a bird again. I’m hearing chirping.”

The dog was still licking his hair, covering him with nasty slobber. He didn’t know if he should feel more afraid of the dog and its really big teeth or the new human that lingered somewhere outside the room.

“Alright, I’ll go check it out.”

That right there was Technoblade. And as much as he despised the man for keeping him hostage, Philza was more or less relieved to know that he was coming to save him. The door opened up wide, outlining the giant, pink-haired human like some white knight. Never before had he been so happy to see a human. Philza’s instincts latched onto the sight of the human looming over him and the dog. He screeched louder.

PLEASE-FLOCK-FLOCK-NOT SAFE-DANGER-DANGER-DANGER-HELP!

Technoblade sighed as he knelt down after crossing the room. Somehow, he sounded just a tad bit disappointed. “I thought I told you to stay put.”

Philza squirmed away from the dog, but flinched when it growled deeply. A warning.

“C’mon now Steve. He’s not a toy and he certainly isn't a pup.” Technoblade slowly placed a hand on top of the dog’s head, giving it gentle scratches while the other hand slowly reached out and grabbed Philza. All cries and chirps for help stopped as soon as he was out from underneath the dog. He would be embarrassed that he snuggled up close to the human’s chest like a fledgling after a nightmare.

That was a problem for Future Philza, when he came out of his instincts.

For now though, he was content to be held in the warmth of the man’s calloused hands. After all the excitement, the warmth was nice. A thumb gently started to rub over his head, as if to soothe the occasional chirp of fear. There was a grunt of disgust above him.

Philza cooed out a questioning chirp. Did he upset the Flock Protector?

“Did Steve give you a bath with his tongue?! You’re absolutely covered in dog slobber.”

Philza whined.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll get some moist toilettes and we’ll wash you down.”

That sounded nice. He laid his head down, comforted in the fact that he was being held safely and that he was warm. His eyes were heavy as they traveled back through the hallways. Philza ignored the voices that were conversing above him, pouting when Flock Protector covered him up with his other hand. But it made it extra dark and cozy, so he wasn’t complaining too much.

He didn’t know how much walking they did before they got back to the bedroom. Eventually Flock Protector placed him into the plastic container, and Philza watched him intently as he dug through the drawers of his desk. What was he doing? What was he looking for? Could Philza help? Philza was something of an expert at finding things!

Technoblade let out an exclamation of victory as he pulled out a wide mouthed jar. He held it up, expecting it for something, before setting it down next to Philza. The winged man trilled a question.

“I don’t know why you keep moving about when you’re still healing, but I’m going to make sure you’re gonna stay put until your wing gets better.” Techno reached in and gently pulled him out, holding him as he transferred some of the blankets into the jar. Philza watched, enthralled until the man slowly started to put him inside the jar.

No, it was too small! He flailed about, his chirps spilling out of his mouth.

“I know you don’t like it. I know, I know, but this is just temporary. Just until I can find that old birdcage. You’re going to be okay. I’m not going to put the lid on or anything. I’m not a complete monster.”

Philza clawed at the glass frantically. What gods did he piss off to be put in this situation where he was constantly being transported from one prison to another?

He backed up against the glass when Techno leaned downward. His mind was still trapped in a state of panic that held him in a vice grip.

“You are going to stay there. Okay? I’m gonna go find that old bird cage. It may be a little bit so just hang tight.”

He felt tears cloud his eyes as the human walked off and left the room. The only one to hear his calls for flock was him.

~.~

A couple hours later when Philza came out of his instincts, he was mortified about his behavior.

But more importantly, he was determined to make this next escape his last. Technoblade had been gone for a while, leaving Philza in a wide-lipped jar. Philza stood up and with all his might, he threw his weight against the side. It titled and then finally spilled him out on top of the desk. Philza turned, his hands quick to tie each of the rags that were placed in the jar into a knot. One by one, they slowly became (hopefully) long enough to put him down near the ground. The man tied it to the closest drawer handle. He tugged on it harshly to make sure it was secure.

It was.

He sighed as he slid down the rope. He got closer and closer to the ground, the air whistling through his ears. As soon as his feet hit the ground, Philza darted into the shadow of the dresser. The door was closed, there were no sounds on the other side….

All clear.

Just across the room there was a hidden tunnel. He could get there easily. He could dip inside of it, head back to Kristin….

He was almost there.

Philza held his breath, counting down to five before he left the shadows. He ran as hard as he could, his legs pumping as fast as his heart was beating. Adrenaline flowed through his veins. The room was big, but somehow it was even bigger in his panic. Philza tripped, his legs quickly righting themselves before he pushed on.

The door opened.

Philza was still out in the open. Still a ways away from the entrance of the tunnel. He didn’t want to be caught by Technoblade again. Who knows what would happen if the man found him out and about again. Philza was not going to test the man’s patience on this, so with a quick glance around the room, he decided the best place to hide was a sock that was on the ground. He darted inside it, laying as still and as quiet as he could. He slammed a hand over his mouth to keep the chirps from flying. He heard the door open, footsteps walking into the room. It wasn’t Technoblade, that much was certain. Especially with how light the steps were.

“Honestly, Tech,” the high pitched voice whispered. “I thought you were the neat freak here.”

Philza felt the breath leave him as a hand curled around the sock he was hiding in. His stomach flipped when he was tossed into something. It was too late to escape, unless he wanted to be seen.

But would that be preferable to wherever he was being taken?

While Philza pondered his dilemma, tempted to jump out and take his chances, the owner of the voice was taking him somewhere. Whatever he was in, it was set down. A door was opened.

Hands scooped up Philza and tossed him into something.

Oh no.

Oh shit!

This wasn't good.

Phil crawled out of the sock, but then it was too late. There were clothes all over on top of him. By the time he had scrambled out of the pile, the door was closed. Philza was, once again, trapped in a new prison.

And by the steady stream of water flowing down like a waterfall near the back, his time was running down.

He threw himself back, slamming up against the clear plastic window, pushing with all his might. It wouldn’t budge!

Damn it!

The water was still climbing, getting higher and higher. It splashed about behind him, filling up the space with each passing moment. His breath hitched as he drew his wings further closer to him. They weren’t gonna save him, not in this situation.

“HEEEEEEEELLP!” He shouted. His fist pounded on the door until it ached. He pushed and pushed, throwing his shoulder into it until that too smarted.

The water was still rising, now reaching the top of the clothes pile.

Philza’s time was running out. Oh gods, he was going to die here, wasn’t he? Far away from his wife, from his home? Honestly, this wasn’t how he thought he’d go out.

Call him a pessimist, but he thought that he’d died either fighting off a predator or something. It would’ve been a cool way to go out, but instead he was stuck in a human’s machine, and was going to drown.

The water was reaching just above his chest. Philza turned back around, nearly sobbing at the sight of Technoblade right outside the machine. Oh gods, he was going to be saved. Philza renewed his banging on the door, invigorated by hope.

“TECHNOBLADE! TECHNOBLADE, PLEASE! TURN AROUND, I’M TRAPPED HERE!” The man didn’t turn around. Instead, his head snapped up and he walked out of the room. “No, no, no, no, no! Come back! Where are you going? I’m here! Right behind you!”

It was no use. Technoblade was gone. The water was now at his chin. He sobbed.

“Somebody please…..help me.”

He kicked upward, following the rise of the water until his head touched the top of the machine. The clothes were floating around him. A sock had wrapped around his ankle, the wet fabric dragging him underneath. He took a big breath of air before he went under. His wings were soaked dragging him down even farther.

The machine gave a twitch, the water shaking back and forth. Philza closed his eyes, not wanting to be aware that he was about to be tossed around in the spin cycle. His lungs were starting to ache. The spin cycle was starting. Something slammed into him, knocking what little air he had out of him. His mouth opened and on reflex inhaled. Lungs filled with water as the world started to blacken.

He just wanted to see Kristin one more time….

The world suddenly became a roaring rapid of noise and light. Philza felt himself spill out of the machine, with the water and clothes following him. Air rushed his lungs, thankfully dispelling the water that had entered. There was darkness over him, clinging to his body like an uncomfortable second skin.

“Where are you, little guy? Come on, come on.”

Oh, that was Technoblade. The thing over him was removed and- Ah. A wet t-shirt.

“Holy shit! Are you okay!?” Techno was asking. Philza just continued to cough the last remaining water out. When he was finished, he went limp, allowing Technoblade to gently scoop him up. “Oh god, I’m so sorry this happened! Uh…how did htis happ- You know what, I’ll figure that out later. Let’s get you dry.”

Philza was barely aware of what was going on around him. He was barely aware of the human man carefully drying him off, and then placing him at the bottom of a cage. He said some more words, something about getting some rest, then he left the room again.

This was his life now. He wasn’t getting out of this cage.

He would never see Kristin again.

With that acceptance in his fate, Philza sighed, snuggling up with the blankets around him and fell asleep.

~.~

Within the walls of the house, a woman with rich brown wings paced back and forth within a little cobbled together home. She was surrounded by furniture and things that she and her husband made. It was a cozy little place that was their sanctuary, a place where they could leave the dangers of the outside world behind them and come into somewhere safe. It was a place where they could relax.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t relax. Not with the fact that her husband had been missing for the past few days. She feared he was dead, possibly eaten by a cat or caught by a hawk or something, but then she heard the sound of a warning call, just on the other side of the wall. It was faint, muffled by layers of drywall, but loud enough that she had caught the last few echoes of it. By the time she went to answer it, to assure him that she was right there and coming for him, the calls had stopped. But despite the eerie silence, despite the chills that it sent up her spine, it gave her hope.

Philza was still alive. Possibly trapped by those humans that lived just on the other side of the walls. Kristin may’ve been a borrower. May’ve been only as tall as a human’s thumb, but she was a woman who was pissed.

And she was going to use that energy to rescue her husband.

Come hell or high water, she was going to save him.

Chapter Text

Knock, knock, knock.

Wilbur tapped his foot impatiently. He placed his ears up against the wood of the door, listening carefully to the shuffling noises on the other side. He groaned.

“Technoblade, I know you’re in there. I can hear you.” Wilbur said. “Come on, I’ve gotta ask you something.”

He waited another two minutes before he slammed his fist on the door again. This time, as soon as he placed his hand by his side the door swung open. Wilbur’s eyes went wide at his disheveled roommate.

“What’s up with you?” Wilbur couldn’t stop the question from coming out of his mouth. He winced harshly at Techno’s guarded expression.

“What do you mean?”

“Just….don’t worry about it. Listen, is there a reason as to why there’s wet clothes all over the laundry room floor?”

“Ah…..no. No reason at all.” Technoblade shifted just a little bit. Wilbur narrowed his eyes.

“Are you sure? You know, you’ve been acting a little weird lately.”

“Weird how?”

“I don’t know….” Wilbur scratched at his chin. “You’ve been very shifty recently. Secretive.”

“I’m always like that.”

“Well, you’ve been more so. Like right now. You’re blocking access to your room.”

“Yeah. Because it’s my room.” Techno raised an eyebrow.

“What about that bird cage you were looking for? Did you get a pet or something?”

“No, a friend of mine did. He didn’t want to have to shell out money for something I already had.”

Wilbur pouted. “Alright then. Keep your secrets. My original question still stands though: why’re there wet clothes all over the laundry room floor?”

“Dunno. Maybe it was a ghost.”

“Be serious.”

“Oh I am. You’re just the weird one who doesn’t believe anything supernatural. Like the nerd you are.”

“Ouch.” Wilbur clutched his chest, feigning mock hurt. “Why must you wound me, my dear, dear twin-“

“I’m not your twin-“

“-when all I did was ask a simple inquiry? Oh woe is me!”

“Oh haha. Anyway, if this is all you needed me for, I’ve gotta get back to….my project that I’m working on.”

“Wait, Technoblade-“

“Have fun cleaning up the laundry room, nerd.”

The door slammed shut on his face. Wilbur groaned as loud and as dramatically as he could before he skulked off. He pouted as he traversed the hallways, mocking his not really twin under his breath.

“‘Ooh look I’m Technoblade. I’m a big badass with a dark secret. I like to stay holed up in my room, mememememe’. Gah. And here I was thinking I’d have a normal day. But noooo. I have to clean up a mess.”

He made his way through the home until he made it to the laundry room. The floor was still soaked with water, and the clothes were still dripping. Wilbur stood staring at the mess, unsure of what he should do with what laid below him. The clothes were technically clean, but were still so laden down with water he didn’t want to put them in the dryer yet. And he was not to wring them out by hand. Wilbur sighed.

“Alrighty then. Back into the washing machine they go.” Wilbur grumbled.

It took him a full twenty minutes to grab each piece of clothing and throw it back into the machine, and restart it. Then it was another fifteen to mop the water up from the floor. By the time Wilbur left the laundry room, it was nearly six thirty in the evening. He dragged his feet back down the hallway and collapsed on the couch. Steve, Techno’s dog, was there relaxing on his bed. He picked his head up, ears forward at attention as Wilbur plopped down on the couch.

“Hey there, Steve.” Wilbur patted at the space beside him on the couch, but it seemed something important had grabbed the dog’s attention. It was almost hilarious to watch Steve woof out something gently before making his way over to the vent. “Whatcha looking at, boy?”

Steve didn’t answer. Only sticking his nose as far into the vent as he could and sniffling.

“Don’t tell me you’re acting weird now too!” Wilbur bemoaned. “Am I the only sane person in this house?!”

He could vaguely hear Techno call him a nerd, but he shoved that down. Instead he moved closer to the vent, gently pushing Steve out of the way so he could get a better look into the vent. There was a sound of rustling when Wilbur peered into the dark. Steve whined just as the man saw something moving away from the vent light. He groaned when he thought what he saw were wings.

“So, now we’ve got a bird in the vents. Great.” Wilbur thudded his head against the wall. “Why is this house suddenly in the Twilight Zone?!”

Steve nosed at his hand, licking it until Wilbur scratched at the area between his ears. He crashed on the couch with the large dog splayed out across him. The two watched a few hours of television. Though around the second hour, Wilbur felt the hairs on the back of his neck start to stand up. He glanced around the room and tried to shake off the every growing feeling of being watched.

Techno’s comment about the house being haunted sat itself at the forefront of his mind. But Wilbur just scoffed.

“‘Haunted’. Yeah right.” Despite his mockery of the theory that there might be a ghost in the house, things started to click in Wilbur’s mind.

Little things, like needles, or thread, are going missing. Items being moved about, or organized in a way that wasn’t like Wilbur or Techno. At first Wilbur thought that Techno was playing a trick….but the ghost theory might sound plausible right about now.

So when it was time for bed, after he shut the television off, he stood and said, “Uhm. Hello…er spirit. Or spirits. I don’t know how many of you guys, or girls, there are. But. I’m, uh, I’m going to bed now. Please don’t….spy on me. Or watch me…while..I sleep.”

Nothing answered him back, except for empty silence. Steve stared up at him with sleepy eyes, his ears twitching. Wilbur stared back.

“Well, what do you think I should’ve said, Mr. Ghost Expert?”

Woof!

“I don’t think that would’ve worked.” Wilbur sighed. “Maybe it is just a bird and I’m losing my mind. I mean, I am talking to a dog right now.”

Bark, bark!

“Right and you’re the expert on mental stability. You’re not the one who's talking to the dog right now.” Wilbur paused for a second, thought over what he just said and who he just said it to. He groaned. “That’s it. I’m gonna lay off the caffeine. Now, Steve. If you’ll excuse me. I’m going to bed.”

Wilbur trudged through the hallways. He threw open the door to his room and all but collapsed on his bed. The man didn’t have the energy or the apathy to care about the fact that he was falling asleep in his clothes or on top of the covers. All he cared about was the fact that he was falling asleep.

There was no telling how long Wilbur’s rest lasted. All he knew was that at some point, the quiet of the room was broken by the sound of flapping wings. He blinked open his eyes, staring blankly at the clock that sat on top of his nightstand. Sleep still clouded his eyes but he could make out two three block numbers that declared it was half past midnight. He groaned as the flapping continued.

“I swear to god,” he muttered into his pillow, “if you don’t stop that noise, I’ll shove you into the microwave, I swear to god-“

There was a screech that had Wilbur jolting up in his bed. He blinked quickly, but not in time to duck out of the way of a small figure barreling toward him. It collided with his face with enough force to throw him back. While Wilbur was trying to figure his bearings out, he felt something slide down his face and press something sharp right up against his jugular.

“Don’t move, or else.”

“Woah, woah. What the fu-“

“I don’t have time for this, so I’ll keep it short and sweet. Where’s my husband?”

Wilbur blinked. “What?! Who are you?”

“Doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that I won’t let you walk away until I find Phil.”

“Who the fuck is Phil?”

“My husband! What? Your ears not working?”

“Not when I have someone threatening to kill me in the middle of the night!” Wilbur tried to adjust so he could get a better look at his attacker, but whatever was being pressed into his neck was pressed further. “Okay, okay, I get the hint. I won’t move.”

“Not an inch. Not until you tell me where my husband is.”

This has to be a dream, he thought. Wilbur winced in pain as the shape object was dug in further. Nope! You don’t feel pain in a dream!

“Well?”

“Okay! Alright…..I’ll tell you where your husband is…but I need to turn on the light.”

“I’m not falling for that tr-“

“It’s not! I swear, it’s not!” Wilbur shifted a little. “There’s…there’s a lamp next to my desk. I can turn it on so I can see!”

There was a pause, a stretch of silence that had Wilbur holding his breath. Please say yes, please say yes.

“Alright.” The voice growled. “But if I think you’re doing anything else, I’ll cut you ear to ear.”

“Okay. We’re gonna do this, nice and steady.” With clear movements, Wilbur fumbled for the switch of the lamp. When it flicked on, he slammed his eyes shut before slowly opening them. He blinked in shock as he beheld his attacker. It was….

….a tiny woman?

What.

“Uhh….”

“So. You’ve got your light on. Now take me to Phil.”

All Wilbur could do was blink. He couldn’t really believe his eyes. The woman was….she was literally tiny. She looked…well she looked like a tiny human, with dark brown hair and a furious expression on her face. A normal human, except she was no bigger than his pinkie finger and brownish wings sticking out of her back, flaring out aggressively.

“Uhh….”

“Well?!”

“Uh-“

“Ugh I don’t have time for this.” Faster than Wilbur could blink the tiny woman had spread her wings and had leapt over to where his guitar sat propped up against the wall. His eyes went wide as the tiny woman pulled out a match from her belt. She struck it, a flame bursting forth. The woman held it up right against the strings of his guitar.

“No no, don’t do that! Please! Not the guitar!”

“Ooooh is this something that’s precious to you? I’ve seen you play it before. Gotta admit you’re pretty good. It would be such a shame if something happened.” Ever so slowly the woma brought the match closer to the nearly gossamer thin guitar string.

“OKAY! Okay, I’ll help you find your husband.”

He had all but thrown himself out of bed and onto his knees. His eyes were wide as he zeroed in on the flames. They were dangerously close to the strings.

“Good.” The tiny lady said. After a moment, she brought the lit match up to her mouth and blew it out. She spread her wings and flew to Wilbur’s shoulder, putting something thin and sharp up against his face. “If you do anything wrong, I’ll stab you until you bleed out.”

“Uh alright. Look I don’t know where we should start but I think my roommate might be able to help.”

The lady pushed the needle deeper into his cheek. Not enough to break the skin, but boy did it hurt! “You will not!”

“Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch- wait! This house is big. And if your husband is like you….then he’s not gonna be easily found. I’m sure if I ask Technoblade-“

“Fine. But you won’t say a thing about me. If I think you are…” she pushed the blade a little harder, as if to emphasize her point.

“Okay, I get it. No talking about a tiny lady with wings-“

“My name, human, is Kristin.”

“Uh. Alright. No talking about Kristin.” Wilbur stood to his feet, and shuffled out of the room. The hallway was barely lit, all the lights off as the two residents were supposed to have been asleep. Wilbur slowly, but surely went to Technoblade’s door. When he raised a hand to knock, the woman scooted around his neck. Out of sight, but the needle was still in its place.

A reminder that one bad move could leave him hurt.

He knocked on the door three times. And he waited.

When Techno didn’t answer, Wilbur knocked again, this time just a tad bit harder. He was about to just burst the door down but thankfully he heard Techno grumble something which was followed by some shuffling. The door opened. Techno was scowling harshly, which would be a scary sight considering the man was huge, but the scariness was kind of diminished when compared to the cartoon pig pajamas the man wore.

“Wilbur. It’s nearly two in the morning. What do you want?”

“Uhm….just had a weird dream about something. You wouldn’t happen to have seen a weird…tiny…er birdman around. Have you?”

“You knocked on my door. At two in the morning. Over a dream about a tiny bird man.”

“Yep!”

Techno sighed, rubbing his face with his hand. When he glanced up Wilbur hoped that his expression portrayed the panic he was starting to feel.

“Are you okay?”

Kristin pushed the needle against his neck prompting him to chirp out, “Yeah! Oh yeah, totally fine and definitely out being threatened by the wife of that tiny birdman.”

“Uh….okay….we’ll how about you-“

There was a loud chirp, sharp and short, followed by a hacking cough that hurt Wilbur’s own chest just listening to it. It felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. The tension changed a moment later. Deciding against secrecy apparently, Kristin threw herself out from behind Wilbur, screeching so loud the brunette man flinched backward.

“What the-“

“GIVE ME BACK MY HUSBAND YOU SON OF A BITCH!”

Wilbur blinked as he watched Techno try to duck out of the way of a crazy woman with bird wings swinging a needle like it’s a sword. He stood there, blinking in shock at the sight, slightly pondering what was slipped into his food at supper, when his eyes landed on Techno’s desk. The old bird cage that the man had brought with him when he moved in was sitting on the desk, cleaned up and padded with towels at the bottom. And wrapped up in the towels was a sickly-looking bird man.

“What’s going on-“ He was cut off by a sharp pain in his cheek. “AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH.”

“Take that you pathetic human!” He heard the bird lady cackle. “

What did she do?! What did she do?! What did she do?!?”

“Wilbur, I need you to focus-“

“Oh god!” His hand flew up to his cheek where he felt something long stick out of the skin. Cold horror flooded him. “She stabbed me with the needle?!”

Wilbur screeched. He heard Techno sigh and the bird lady cackle as he tried to pull the needle out of his cheek.

“Wilbur, don’t touch that needle.”

“You’re gonna have to do better than that, piggy!”

“TECHNO I’VE GOT A NEEDLE IN MY FUCKING CHEEK!”

“I’ll take you to the hospital to get it removed, if it makes you feel better. Right now, we’ve gotta get this situation under control.” “Haha! You’ll never take me alive! I’m too quick for you!” Chirp, chirp, chirp. Wilbur watched as the woman was distracted by the chirp, stopping long enough that Techno was able to grab one of his sheets off his bed and wield it like a fishing net. Wilbur blinked in shock as Techno caught the woman in his sheet, holding it closed like it was a sack. The woman was still fussing up a storm, and Wilbur could see her flail about in the sheet, but unable to escape. “Wilbur, Wilbur, go get a towel!” He blinked, pain forgotten in the confusion. “What? What’s that going to do!” “We’ve gotta put her in the cage. And the only way to do that without getting clawed to death is to get her wrapped!” “Since when are you the bird expert?” But Wilbur was already on his feet, darting to the bathroom that sat in the room. He threw it open, scanning frantically to find a towel. He snagged one that was hanging over the sink, a dark purple one, and brought it back into the room. Techno was still wrangling the woman in the sheet. The birdman in the cage was chirping softly, frantically trying to get out of the nest of towels. Though he didn’t get far, what with his wings getting caught (ooh was that a splint? Ouch) and then doubling over in a coughing fit. The chirping did have an effect on the bird woman though. She was fighting harder with each chirp released by the birdman, releasing her own chirps and screeches. “You’re making it harder than it should be.” Techno grunted. “Fuck you!” the woman screeched. Techno gently placed the bedsheet sack on the ground, hands poised around the top. Wilbur was essentially numb as he watched the scene before him play out. His roommate loosened his grip on the top of the bedsheets, dipping his other hand into it. Technoblade blindly reached into the sack.

“Yowch!” Techno yanked his hand out, sucking on one of his fingers. “She bit me!”

“Serves you right for trying to grab me!”

“Okay, we’re gonna try this again.” Techno glanced over at Wilbur. “Alright, when I pull her out, I’m gonna need you to wrap her.”

“Why does it have to be me?!”

“Because I’m gonna be getting a hair tie to keep her in the towel until we put her in the cage.” Techno shifted. “On the count of three, I’m going to reach in and take her out. One…..two…..three-”

There was an indignant squawk from the woman as she was pulled out from the sack, clutched gently in Techno’s grip. Despite being a very big man, Technoblade was surprisingly gentle so there was no danger of the woman getting crushed, though the way her eyes went wide as her movements slowed, she didn’t know that. Wilbur snapped to attention as he held out the towel. As soon as his roommate placed her down, the brunette didn’t hesitate to swaddle the still flailing tiny woman in the blanket.

“You think this will hold me! I will escape and have my reeevveeenggeee!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that before.” Wilbur heard Techno mutter. “Hold her firmly, Wil.”

“I am!” Wilbur’s eyes went wide as the woman snarled at him. He whirled aorund to Technoblade. “Wait what?”

“Don’t worry about it. Do you have her?”

“Yeah, yeah I do!”

“Okay, I’m gonna open up the cage door. Drop her in.”

Wilbur moved closer to the cage, watching with a small twinge in his heart as the blond birdman scooted back, trembling in fear. He couldn’t help but coo in sympathy at the sight. Technoblade opened the door to the cage, and Wilbur all but threw the lady into the cage as gently as he could. Techno closed it and slid the latch into place.

“YOU ASSHOLE! I’ll cut so many wires in this house you won’t ever have the internet ever again!” Techno threw a blanket over the cage. It didn’t get the lady to stop, it only muffled her slightly. The pink haired man turned towards Wilbur.

“Right. Now to deal with this other problem.”

“Oh yeah the needle in my cheek.”

There was a pause where the only sound was coming from the bird cage. And then-

“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

~.~.~

 The humans had taken them somewhere. They had picked up the cage and hauled them away. Kristin couldn’t see where they were going because of the cloth that blocked their view of the outside world, but wherever it was, it was somewhere far from the home. She growled as she pulled at the bars of her prison, though that was the extent of what she could do. The cage jostled as they were set down, and a giant roar picked up. Kristin felt her cheeks grow red when she realized that she had squeaked a little in fear. To make up for that moment of weakness, she glared her wings out.

Not like anyone could see them though.

She sighed as she turned towards Phil. Her husband of five years had yet to acknowledge her, chirping and coughing interchangeably. He didn’t look good at all. His already pale skin was even paler, shining with a thin sheen of sweat. His cheeks, glowing a flushed pink with fever, was the only sign of color in his entire countenance. His wings were a mess too, but that wasn’t as worrying as the state of his health.

Kristin sat down next to him. Her fingers gently combed through his tangled blond locks. “Phil? Can you hear me?”

His eyelids flickered a few times beofre they opened. Kristin cooed out an assurance that she was there. His eyes, glassy and unfocused, landed on her.

“Kr’stin?”

“Yeah, yeah it’s me.” She flared her wings and draped it over him. He whimpered, before cuddling up close to him. Her hand touched his forehead. She winced. “You’ve got a fever, sweet pea.”

“Mmmmyeah.” Phil shuffled closer to her. “Took a swim in the washing machine.”

“What?!” She flared out her wings, growling. To the humans outside the cage she hissed, “YOU PUT MY HUSBAND IN THE WASHING MACHINE?!”

“It was an accident.” The pink haired man said.

She growled even more before she laid back down. Kristin did her best to stay by her husband’s side, even when whatever they were in severed this way and that. The outside was still blocked by the towel but that only allowed her shoulders to droop. Her husband was out of it, mostly muttering about how he was sorry that he did this and that-

“I didn’t mean to drop the other sword down the drain! I swear! I got startled and it just, tumbled!”

With an eyebrow quirked and a small smirk playing on her lips she said, “you said that a rat took it.”

“I know!” Phil wailed as loud as his throat would let him. “But I lost it! It was a nice sword too…..”

“There, there, Phil. I’m not mad.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

“Good.” Phil cocked his head, thoughtful expression of his face as his eyelids drooped. “Ya know, you’re almost like my real wife.”

“…..what?”

“Kristin. She’s a real person. I’m just feverish so you’re probably just a hallucination.”

“Oh honey.” Kristin cooed out their call, which Phil was more than happy to answer. When his eyes went misty and his lips wobbled, she laid next to the man, snuggling up close and draping a wing over him like a blanket.

As the adrenaline from the last few hours faded, it left behind a rather heavy exhaustion. Kristin wasn’t foolish enough to completely drop her guard, but it was difficult to stay aware when she had been up for hours pacing back and forth. God, her husband was okay. He was alive, not eaten by the dog or squashed or snagged by a hawk. Yes, Phil was incredibly sick, but he was here. With him.

“I’m here, Phil. I’m here.”

“Oh gods…..” Phil dissolved into chirps and chitters. Kristin sighed as she answered them back. They clung together, their grip nearly bruising, but at least the pain was something tangible. Something that reminded them that this wasn’t a dream. That it was real and that they were really together.

Kristin was pulled out of her doze when she felt the machine stopped. Her eyes were blinking heavily, the adrenaline completely drained out of her. Phil was out like a light, snoring softly like he always does. Although occasionally, his snores would be interrupted by a coughing fit that would wrack his body. She snuggled as close as she could, at least until the towel that draped over the cage was pulled back. Then, she sat up, wings flaring outward and a stuttering hiss spilling from her lips.

It was the pink haired man. The one who had grabbed her after trapping her in a sheet. Her wings flared even more.

“Nope. She’s awake, but he’s down for the count.”

“Damn right, ‘she’s’ awake.” Kristin spat softly. “‘She’ will also claw your eyes out if you even think about touching either of us.”

“Okay, easy. Just….we’ll be back in a few more minutes. We’ll, uh, we’ll leave the air conditioner on.”

Kristin hissed as the towel dropped. That’ll show’em! She settled back down next to her husband when she heard two doors open and close. The machine was left quiet, allowing her to fully relax. At some point she hummed quietly to herself as her fingers automatically moving about in her husband’s wings. Kristin couldn’t hide the wince that crossed her face when she realized that they were in a state.

Of course they are, she thought wistfully. It’s a wonder he still has wings to begin with.

Phil was practically puddy by the time she had straightened out his primaries, and coverts, and all the feathers in between. But while her preening of one wing went smoothly, she found herself trilling her heartache when she saw the left wing. It was splinted shut, wrapped up in a thin layer of gauze. Carefully, Kristin reached out to gently caress the injury, to see what was wrong, only to have Phil jerk away with a croon of dislike.

“Okay, okay. I won’t touch it.” Kristin sighed. She settled back down next her husband. Her eyes were drooping shut and before she knew it, Kristin had joined Phil in his rest.

~.~.~

Tehcno grumbled to himself as he was handed the bill for their recent hospital visit.

“This is coming out of your next rent.” Techno muttered as he pulled out his card.

“It’s not even that much!” Wilbur whined.

“May not be,” Techno paid the fee, thanked the woman behind the desk and marched out with a sulking Wilbur behind him. As soon as they were through the doors and out of earshot, he continued, “but you were stupid enough to get yourself stabbed by a tiny bird woman.”

“First of all her name is Kristin. Secondly, in my defense, it’s too early in the morning and she snuck up behind me.”

Techno just shrugged. “Wouldn’t have snuck up on you if you weren’t distracted.”

“She didn’t distract me! That tiny bird man did!”

“And that’s why you got stabbed.” Technoblade couldn’t help the smugness that filled him when he turned and saw Wilbur pouting. “Don’t pout like a five year old. Just think about this way: while I’m taking the bird guy-“

“Phil.”

“Heh?”

“The bird guy’s name is Phil.”

Techno hummed. “Good to know. Anyway while I’m taking Phil to see Ponk, you’re gonna get some bonding time with the bird la- er, Kristin.”

“Whaaaaat? Do I have to?”

“Well, yeah…? You’re gonna be fine. Besides, if they’re gonna stay in the walls, then we’re going to have to be on amicable terms. Otherwise, the house may end up burnt down.” Wilbur scrunched up his face.

“They’re tiny. What are they going to do?” They reached Techno’s truck.

When he reached the door handle, his eyes went wide as he cryptically stated, “Don’t tempt them.” He opened his door and climbed into the cab. When Wilbur did the same, Techno cautiously lifted up the edge of the towel and took a peek two bird people. Phil and Kristin…. apparently……were snuggled up against each other asleep. Their breathing was even, and Kristin had her dark brown wing draped over the blond. Techno honestly couldn’t help but coo at the sight. He dropped the towel and turned towards the steering wheel.

The thirty-minute drive from the hospital to the nearest vet clinic was spent in silence. The lack of traffic out on the road this early in the morning aided them in getting to the clinic right as the first shift was rolling in. Techno had parked the vehicle, and then, with a quick look over at Wilbur, nodded towards the cage. He prepared himself mentally for the struggle that would come from trying to separate the two bird people. And when the clock struck five, Techno gestured for Wilbur to grab a spare rag that sat in the glove box beofre he opened the door. Kristin was stirring but Phil was still sleeping, however restlessly he was doing. But regardless, Techno was quick to grab Kristin gently around her waist and pull her out.

His fingers curling around her was what apparently snapped her to consciousness, eyes opening and clouding with anger. She turned into a tiny ball of curse words and swears, swinging her claws about as she struggled. But Techno’s hold was gentle as he handed her off to Wil, who was quick to swaddle and secure her as Techno grabbed the cage.

“WHERE ARE YOU GOING WITH HIM YOU BASTARD?! BRING HIM BACK OR I’LL CLAW YOUR EYES OUT!”

Wilbur looked at him pleadingly. "Please be quick.”

Techno grunted as he closed the door and, with the bird cage in hand, moved towards the door of the clinic. The assistants were still setting up when he approached the desk, cage in hand.

“Hi.” He greeted bluntly. “I need to see Dr. Ponk.”

The lady beamed up at him, typing away on her computer with vigor. Even though the sun was not even up.

Techno was still in his pajamas.

Ugh.

“What’s a name I can use?”

“Technoblade.”

The woman typed something, before grabbing a clipboard. “Doctor Ponk will see you a few minutes. I just need you to sign these forms here and you can have a seat in our waiting room. We’ll call you when he’s ready.”

“Great.” With clipboard and cage in hand, Technoblade sat in one of the uncomfortable waiting room chairs. The crappy pen he was given scrawling over the forms was the only sound, aside from the vet techs rushing around and (most likely) gossiping about him and why he was here so early. He just ignored them and focused on filling out the paperwork. Most of it was pretty straightforward, insurance and whatnot.

But what stumped him was the last form with the header TELL US ABOUT YOUR PET!

Oh boy….

His eyes scanned the questions. The only one he could answer without hesitation was the very first.

Beside the question which asked ‘what’s your pet’s name?’ He scrawled out the word ‘Phil’. The others….we’ll, they were a bit more difficult to answer.

What type of animal is your pet? How old are they? What issue(s) are they having?

And so on and so forth. All sorts of things that would raise….uncomfortable questions if Technoblade told the truth. And it was too early to be dealing with uncomfortable questions. So he answered them, stretching the truth every so often. The bird type….well, Phil has what looks like crows wings, so that’s what Techno wrote. He did his best with the final questions, and by the time he was done, Technohad done his best, but he was sweating bullets. Thankfully, the nurse didn’t seem to notice, and he didn’t have to wait too much longer to be called back. Ponk, an old friend from high school, called him back to an empty examination room, shifting and locking the door behind him.

“So.” The white-haired young man clasped his hands behind his back. “You brought your crow friend that Steve got a hold of?”

“Uh….yeah…about that….” Techno wrung his hands nervously as he moved closer to the cage that sat on the table. “Look, Ponk, I’m going to be straight with you. This crow…..this guy’s a little strange.”

Ponk laughed. “Technoblade, I’m a veterinarian. I’ve seen a lot of weird animals in my time. I’m sure I can handle it.”

Techno hoped his eyes conveyed his doubts as he gently grabbed the towel and removed it from over the cage. Phil stirred as the light pierced through the cage bars, coughing as he attempted to burrow underneath the blanket. All was quiet as the two men stared at the little man suffering, chirping as he blindly felt around for something. Technoblade realized that he was looking for Kristin only when Phil started to screech harshly.

“What in the-“

“Yeah.” Techno agreed. “There’s another one with Wilbur. His wife I think.”

He spared a glance over at Ponk, chuckling to himself a little when he noticed that the vet was looking a little pale.

“There are two of them?!” Ponk leaned over the birdcage. That didn’t seem to do Phil anything good, seeing how he freaked out even more.

“Steve got a hold of this one.” Techno explained as calmly as he could. He didn’t like how his body wanted to bolt from the room as Phil continued to screech. “My guess is he was flying too low, Steve thought he was an actual bird and wanted to play. The wing isn’t what I’m here for though getting that checked out probably wouldn’t help. Wilbur accidentally grabbed Phil while he was hiding and threw him in the wash.”

“What?! How does someone accidentally throw a tiny bird man in the wash?!”

“I think he was hiding in a sock or something.” Techno shrugged. Despite his nonchalant demeanor, worry and guilt curled inside of him. Who knew what would happen if he didn’t turn around in time? Phil, noticing that they weren’t making a move had calmed down marginally, but he still looked scared. He had tucked his good wing submissively. Oh boy. “My concern though is that he’s developed a cough and a fever. And I’m a bit scared of giving him something that might make it worse.”

Ponk was quiet for a few more minutes, staring blankly at Phil like he held all the secrets of the universe. When Techno called his name again, the man blinked himself back into existence and entered into smooth professionalism.

“I’ll have to listen to his lungs. And get him into the X-ray..” He tugged at his stethoscope that sat around his neck. Almost as though he was grounding himself. Ponk turned towards Techno. “It’s….er, he’s not gonna bite me if I try to pull him out?”

“Honestly? I can’t say ‘yes’.”

Ponk took a deep breath, almost psyching himself up beofre h slowly opened up the cage. Phil….well, let’s just say he wasn’t a fan of that. He yelled out incoherently, a mix of pleas and chirps of distress as Ponk reached for him. Ponk seemed to falter for just a second when he heard Phil scream out his please, but the mask of professionalism slipped right back on. The doctor was doing fantastic, at least in Technoblade’s opinion, as two of his fingers were expertly and gently placed on either side of the bird man’s neck, cradling his body with his palm. Phil immediately went slack. Though Techno could see the man’s body trembling.

“There we go….I’m just gonna listen to your lungs okay? It’ll only take a few minutes.” Ponk was saying. Techno moved closer, eyes taking note how Phil trembled as the vet unwound the stethoscope from around his neck. He placed on Phil’s chest, and exhaled exaggeratingly. Phil, still shaking harshly, followed his example, though it was caught by a cough. Ponk listened for a few more minutes before placing Phil back in the cage.

“Well….there certainly is some moisture that isn’t supposed to be there. I’ll go and get the X-ray set up. And….and maybe have a cup of coffee to make sure this isn’t a dream.”

Techno chuckled as the doctor left, saying he’d be back in a moment once everything was set up. Once they were alone, he knelt down to peer into the cage. Phil was lying down, eyes half lidded and just looking absolutely exhausted.

“Hey there.” He whispered. Phil only blinked at him, baring his teeth abit. “I’m….I’m sorry about all this. It…it was a complete accident.”

Phil just kept his teeth bared.

“I know you don’t believe me. But it’s true. I just want to help you.”

“Then….” The man cut himself off to hack out a cough. Techno hid his shock as Phil recovered and choked out, “then let me go.”

“I can’t. I’m not cruel enough to just throw you back to the metaphorical wolves when I can help fix you up.”

“I’ve survived worse than this.”

Techno blinked. “Yeah….I figured that. Look, as soon as we get you better you and your wife are free to go.”

Phil hissed slightly before plopping himself onto the blankets. All the fight seemed to fall out of him, leaving him tired. Techno sighed as he stood up. There wasn’t much to look at in the examination room, aside from some overly excited posters about checkups and vaccines. At some point, Techno started to hum out a tune that was joined by Phil. The pink haired man kept his back turned, eyes forward on the sign about letting your pet stay for day care or something when the door opened. Ponk poked his head in.

“We’re ready for you.”

Techno nodded as he grabbed the towel and draped it over the cage. Phil chirped a few times before going silent, though as they traveled through the hallway, Technoblade did hear some scrambling about. He followed Ponk into the radiograph room, where all the equipment was set up.

Techno noticed there weren’t any assistants in the room. “Uuuuhhh. Where are your assistants?.“

“Didn’t know if Phil was a big secret or not, so we’re going the safe route here. You can help me.”

“Uh okay…..” Techno shifted from foot to foot as Ponk moved about. From a shelf, the man grabbed a towel and made his way to the cage.

“Okay, Techno, here p. We’re going to get him wrapped up. We’ll get him settled after that.”

Technoblade opened the cage, only to have Ponk reach in and yoink Phil. The tiny man….was not happy. Thrashing about and screeching his head off. He tried to hit Ponk with his wings, but the vet managed to swaddle him quickly enough.

“Hold him close to your chest. I’ll go and get the mask .” Techno took Phil. He could feel the man’s tiny chest fluttering in his rib cage. The close proximity to Technoblade’s heart managed to calm him down a bit, but Phil started to thrash when Ponk returned with a weird looking helmet-looking thing. The vet placed the mask over Phil’s head. Techno tightened his grip until Phil started to go limp in his hold.

“There we go.” Ponk muttered. The man placed two fingers against Phil’s chest, the slow rise and fall getting more and more steady. He glanced up at Techno. “Here, lay him out on the table over there.”

Techno did as he was told, watching as Ponk grabbed a roll of medical tape. He taped the mask up, keeping it from falling down Phil’s face. Then he gently straightened out the wings, being extra careful of the broken wing after he unwrapped it. Then Ponk tape down the man’s legs.

“Alright, time to get the radiograph.” Ponk gestured for Techno to step back behind a wall. He watched as the machine lowered itself, running up and down Phil’s body.

The bird man barely twitched, though there wasn’t much movement that could be done with him being tapped down. Once the machine was done and Ponk switched it off, Techno waited for the man to say it was safe. When he was able to, Techno shuffled towards Phil with Ponk in front of him. The doctor removed the mask from Phil’s face, replacing it with another.

“Oxygen.” Ponk replied to Technoblade’s confused expression. He watched curiously as Ponk started to remove the tape from Phil, rubbing and stretching the man’s legs and good wing. Ponk was talking, almost to himself. “Now we’re gonna get the blood flowing.”

A few more stretches and Phil stirred just a little bit. His eyes flickered a little bit, a sleepy coo escaping his lips as he turned his head.

“Wrap him up….” Ponk did so carefully. “And set him back in the cage.”

Techno took the wrapped man gratefully, holding him just a tad longer than he realized.

“You two can go back to the exam room. I’ll be back with the results in a few minutes.”

Techno held Phil, cradled in his hand and carefully tucked to his chest as he picked up the birdcage. He headed back through the hallway of the clinic, which was now popping with activity as nurses and clients bustled about. Techno hid Phil the best he could, shoving open the door. He laid down on the bed with Phil on his chest, still chirping drowsily as the anesthetic started to leave his system.

“Oh what are we gonna do with you?” He asked, himself getting drowsy. He certainly was going to need a nap.

~.~.~

The world was blurry. Very blurry, and he was tired. His chest ached and he shook with fever. Phil snuggled up against the warm being that held him, it wasn’t Kristin, it was far too big to be Kristin.

Gods above, he didn’t realize how much he missed his wife until she was there, in the cage with him. He thought he was hallucinating, until she preened his good wing. She was with him, somehow, someway. Now, he was separated from her again, handled by another human. He wasn’t sure if he could bring up any feelings to feel ashamed at how badly he and his wife concealed themselves from the humans. But he was just so sleepy….

A door opened somewhere and Phil blinked up at this new human. The one who had taped him down, who allowed a weird machine to hover over him and make weird noises. He picked his head up as Technoblade and the….Phil thinks he’s a doctor but his brain was moving too slowly. He wanted to go back to before what all happened, because then he would be snuggled up in the walls with Kristin sleeping in. The two humans were talking, the doctor showing Technoblade a weird picture.

They pointed at something, saying words that flew over Phil’s drug-addled mind. And at some point he had faded off into a doze while the men were still talking. He hissed weakly as he was moved back into his cage, the blanket falling over it a moment later. His instincts were soothed and comforted by the darkness,and the way the cage swung gently as Technoblade strolled back to the growling machine. A door opened and Kristin’s voice filtered through the haze. He chirped, feeling almost drunk. There was an answering trill, then there was a…..a creak.

“PHIL!”

Oh, that was his wife. Such lovely wife he had. He smiled. “Helloooo.”

He felt a hand gently touch his face, which he leaned into very quickly.

“Don’t worry, Phil. We’re gonna get out of this. I promise.”

Somehow, he felt that nothing would be the same again.

Chapter Text

Phil was getting better. His lungs were cleared after a week or two of being put in this weird ...Not oven. He struggled at first, unsure if this was some sort of Human Torture. But at least eased the ache in his chest to the point of making breathing much easier. his wing was all but healed. There were some moments when the one that was hurt ached, but the bone was all but fused back together.

Techno and Wilbur were doing their best to make sure that he and his wife were comfortable. Bringing them food, giving them warm bedding, water and space. It was almost funny, considering they were both very anxious to get back into the walls.Well, Phil was, more so than his wife. He slept with Kristin close to his side, wings extended over her in meager protection. That didn’t stop his worry though. Worry and fear curled inside him despite the constant reassurance from Technoblade and Wilbur that they weren’t going to hurt him. That didn’t stop him from lying awake in the middle of the night, trying to push down his panic as he thought over the last month and a half.

Technoblade and Wilbur had been kind to the two of them. They had kept the cage door open all the time, even at night. Kept them fed and kept their water high. The humans didn’t treat them like how the horror stories said they would.

There was no cooing over them. There were no instances of them being grabbed out of nowhere. No hushed talk of scientists or freak shows or putting them on display. Their space was respected. They were respected.

And it made Phil anxious. Were they planning on doing something? Was there something about to happen? Were they going to be sold?-

Kristin shifted in her sleep, putting her hand on his chest. He covered her gentle fingers with his and sighed. Phil tried not to dwell on that too much.

Things were finally looking up for the two borrowers.

But that led to the worry of what to do next. He broached the question with Kristin one morning.

“I….I’m not sure Phil.” She whispered. Her hands were messing with the blankets they had slept on, trying to fold them. But instead, in her worry, she was just tearing them. Phil noticed how frayed the seams were becoming and quickly grabbed ahold of them. Kristin’s breath caught in her throat as she looked in his eyes.

“What’s wrong, honey?”

Kristin lowered her eyes. “I…..I don’t want to move.”

Phil recoiled. Shocked. He blinked, unable to process them, until he was. Then he sputtered before hissing out, “What?”

“We’ve built a life here in this house, Phil-”

“-a life that is no longer safe!”

“We’re in a good position here! We’re safe, we’re provided for-”

Phil scoffed. “Yeah, by humans!”

“You can’t be that upset- Phil …..these men haven’t hurt us! They haven’t asked us for anything in return!”

“Don’t you think I know that!? They’re mounting up a debt! They have to be! One that we can’t repay!”

“Listen to yourself-” He whirled around, wings flaring out in aggression. Phil felt his eyes flash with anger, growling meeting his ears. He immediately backed down when he noticed how his wife recoiled. “I….I’m sorry, Kristin.”

There was a moment of silence that stretched between the two, a silence that was hard to read. Until Kristin stood. “Phil…I know you’re scared.” She grasped his hand.

“I know you’ve been scared-”

“I’m not scared. I’m fine. I don’t- ” He shrugged her off, moving closer to the door-

The cage door that was always opened. Never closed. Never locked. Never an indication that they were prisoners.

Something curled inside Phil’s chest. Something bitter and awful. He fluffed his wings- no pain, no agony- and spread them wide.

“Phil? Where are you going?”

“I’ll be back.” Phil snapped them open wider and took off. He heard Kristin calling after him. Trying to get him to come back. But he needed to think about the next step in their lives. They weren’t going to stay. No. They were going to leave, somewhere else, somewhere safe-

“Watch it!” Phil cut to the left, dodging the big head of Technoblade that he nearly crashed into. The maneuver forced him to land on the counter, just on the edge of the sink. Phil eyed the water worriedly.

“Hey ... .there, Phil.” Techno greeted. Phil backed up on instinct as the large human got closer, looming over him with his height. He swallowed nervously.

“Hi.”

Techno dried his hands off with a dish towel, and, possibly because he could sense the anxiety in Phil, backed up. That bitter feeling curled tighter in his chest.

“Are you…are you doing okay? Is everything alright? Do you two need anything?”

“I…we’re fine.” He fluffed his wings, a clear sign of his irritation, but Techno just smiled. Stupid humans. “What are you doing?”

“Oh just washing the dishes.” The human gestured to the sudsy water. “What are you doing?”

“Just-” Phil cleared his throat. He couldn’t say the real reason why he was out and about. Techno might get angry. “Just flying. Stretching my wings.”

“Ah. Right. How….uh…how’s it feeling? Your wings?”

“Good.”

“They’re not….not stiff are they?”

Why do you care? He wanted to snap. HIs feathers fluffed up even more, his wings flexing outward in agitation. But he kept his head down, kept his tongue in cheek as he answered with a short, “No.”

“That’s…good. Yeah that’s good.”

The two stood there in silence. It was awkward, uncomfortable. Everything that he wanted to avoid. Phil cleared his throat.

“I-”

“How about-” Techno said at the same time. Phil chuckled a little bit before it caught in his throat. Techno started, “Do you guys want some lunch? I was about to pull out some leftover spaghetti.”

“Uh…sure….”

He watched the human flutter around the kitchen, pulling out everything he needed with ease. It was almost…calming in a sense to see a human as large as Technoblade moving around with such grace and ease. But it also caused something to settle heavily in Phil’s stomach, something that sat right next to the aching bitter feeling. He stepped back, stepping away from his ‘savior’. Gah the very thought of being indebted to a human made something ugly curl into his gut.

What would he want, as payment for saving Phil’s life multiple times over? Granted, both times his life had been in danger because of the humans. First his stupid dog attacks him, and then he gets thrown into the wash. Phil stepped back even further, feeling his anger and his fear grow. So what if he owed these humans? So what if they fixed his wing? They weren’t going to keep them here-

Techno whirled around, a plastic container in hand. It looked like he was going to say something, his mouth opened until his brow furrowed. Philza took an automatic step backward.

“I-hey, uh I wouldn’t take another step if I were you-”

Phil did so, just to spite the human only to fall backwards off the edge of the sink. He was freefalling for a moment, before he hit soapy water. Not a minute later a hand plunged in after him, cupping around his body and hauling him up. He spluttered about as he was placed on the counter, coughing and hacking the filthy water that had lodged into his throat. There was a moment where he was back in the water that spilled out of the washing machine, half drowned and sick-

Then he came back to himself. Aware of Techno patting his back as he coughed.

“You seem to have an issue with water, my friend.” The man joked. Phil had had enough.

“I’m not your friend.” He spat. His body jerked away from the touch, even though it was gentle. He growled, his wings flaring outward and fluffing up. He pushed his attention up, up, up until he met the eyes of the much larger man. A man who could squash him right then and there. Or keep them hostage. Phil was ashamed to feel tears burning behind his eyes as he growled, “I was never your friend. We are not your friends. My wife and I, we’re trapped! What do you want me to do!? What do you want from me?!”

“I don’t want anything f-”

“That’s a load!” Phil laughed. “Humans always want something in return! So what do you want? Do you want to keep us both as pets? Attractions? Something to sell and make money off of?!”

“Why would I do that?”

“Why wouldn’t you?! We’re borrowers!” Why couldn’t the man see that? Why was he continuing to play this horrible game with him! “We can make you rich-”

“I don’t care about that! I just want to help you and Kristin.”

“NO!” Phil didn’t know why, couldn’t understand why he was fighting this. Why was he arguing this? But- “Nothing you do is right!”

“What?”

“You’re supposed to hurt us! K-keep us in cages! They-” Phil cut himself off with a choked sob. He clenched his hair, feeling his knees go weak underneath him. He was so tired. He jerked away from the fingers that tried to embrace him.

“I….” Phil’s ears picked up the sound of awkward shuffling. Technoblade cleared his throat, “I think there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding. I….truly, I’m sorry that you thought that I….that. Erm. I never would’ve done that. I promise.”

Humans always lie.

“You guys. You’re free to leave whenever you want. Whether you’re going back into the walls, or somewhere else….well.” Techno was silent for a heartbeat. “You’re free to do so. Whatever you like to do.”

Phil took a shaky breath. They were going to leave just as soon as he could gather up some of the items he needed from their home….

Their old home.

Phil’s heart was breaking as Techno walked off. He didn’t want to leave but-

They didn’t have a choice. They had been seen (because of him), they had been caught (because of him) and they-

They didn’t have a choice.

He balked at the gentle clink that sounded right beside him. But when he lifted his head up to see what it was, he could only push down a sob at the little plate ... .too small, much too small to be for humans, must’ve come from a dollhouse or something ... .that was filled with spaghetti and meat sauce.

Phil didn’t have the heart to go back to Kristin with the plate. He didn’t think his hands were steady enough. He would drop the plate, he would make a mess-

Kristin needed to eat. She would eat, and he’d go and clear out their old home. Gather the items that they would to…to make the journey to the nearest borrower settlement. Maybe they would try their hand at ‘civilized’ living for a bit…see how they like….

Maybe they could start a family. Kristin is always talking about the possibility of having a child someday. They couldn’t raise a baby in the walls. Too much crying, too much of a risk that they would be caught-

The Colony would be a good way to start over. A fresh new life. New start.

Philza stood and with a flying leap took off the counter. His wings snapped open, catching the air. Despite the tensenses in his shoulders, despite the fear coursing through his veins….it was good to fly again. To feel the breeze underneath his feathers. Here in the air he felt a freedom that could never be taken.

He angled himself towards the wall, where there was a hidden entrance to the farthest tunnel from his old home. It was the first one they blocked off due to the insane amount of snap traps left over from the old owners of the house. Philza remembered that time before the elderly couple moved out, listening to them talk about a possible infestation and setting up traps. The hole to the kitchen was one of the first ones they blocked off. It made sense for the humans to do that, but it also made getting food a lot harder for Phil and Kristin. They never bothered to remove the traps, Wilbur and Techno.

Perhaps they didn’t know the traps were there.

But Phil did. And since it was the only entrance, close enough to his current position, he decided to risk it. He opened the long abandoned door, sneezing upon getting hit with the heavy dust that permeated the tunnel. Phil peered into the darkness, making out the shapes of the spring traps.

He swallowed nervously.

There were at least ten traps laid out before him. None of them had any bait. They sat there. Still ready to be sprung.

Phil took a deep breath.

Took a step forward. It was easy enough to weave through the traps, almost on autopilot as he jumped from space to space. His wings were pulled in tight, giving him balance that was required to move quickly. He danced, as though he was dancing with Kristin, like he did when they were younger. Dancing in the moonlight, underneath the stars, and-

Phil landed on the side of a trap, nearly off balanced for a second. His breath caught in his chest as he tried to steady himself.

His wings flared outward. A fearful moment passed and he was able to steady himself. Phil took a deep breath, examined his situation.

It was….difficult. For sure. Two traps ahead of him, blocking the entrance to the tunnels that would lead him to his old home.

It would be hard to get there. But not impossible. Phil was going to make it. He cleared his throat, tensed up and prepared for the jump.

He backed up a few steps. His body tense.

Phill was going to make it. He leapt upward, his wings flaring outward for a second to keep him aloft for a moment. It worked-

Phil thought he was going to make it-

For a second.

He landed, foot on the ground. Then his wings flared outward too soon, unbalancing him so much that his eyes went wide. Time slowed to a crawl.

Phil watched himself be pulled backwards by gravity and weight. He could only pray that his death would be quick. He only hoped that he would be found, soon enough at least. He hoped that Kristin didn’t think he had abandoned her.

He fell to the ground, wincing in preparation for the trap to trigger. For the bar to fall down on his throat and break his neck.

It triggered, but it did not land on his throat. He heard the snap, followed by a moment of agonizing pain, in his wing. He screamed until he was hoarse. His legs rose up, only to fall-

Right down on another trap. His vision spotted, darkening until all he knew was pain.

He was still screaming even as he fell unconscious.

X

Kristin was angry.

No….that wasn’t the right word. She was….she was ….

Frustrated.

Being a borrower came with all sorts of risks. From predators being all around them to even finding food, their species were at the bottom of the food chain. So whenever Fortune turns good, then they accept it with a bowed and humbled head. Never had a borrower had it as good as Phil and Kristin did. They didn’t need to hide anymore. They were given shelter, protection, and food. All the things they had deemed luxury items given freely. Blankets were given in the form of towel scraps and hand rags, and Kristin even managed to have a bite of chocolate.

And yet Phil wanted to go. He wanted to leave this shelter that had been given with kindness and head into the wild where everything and anything could kill them.

Somehow, Kristin knew he wanted to find a Colony. But colonies were so wary of outsiders…so unsure and suspicious. Especially of those that lived in human houses.

Kristin felt safe here. Not outside, not in the walls where one small issue could cause a massive calamity, or with a Colony. But out in the open with Techno and Wilbur watching over them. Her shoulders sagged, her dark brown wings coming up to engulf her in a pseudo hug.

“Hey Kristin I thought I’d bring you some Lu-uuuuuhhh, are you okay?”

She jerked her head up when she realized that Wilbur was standing at the door with a small plate of food in his hand. Embarrassingly, she quickly wiped her eyes free of the tears that threatened to fall, and plastered on her best smile. “Oh! Yes, lunch sounds lovely! What uh,,…what’s on the menu?”

“Spaghetti.” Wilbur answered. “You….you can eat spaghetti….right?”

Kristin couldn’t help but laugh. “Of course! Only our wings are bird-like. The rest is all human.”

“Cool.” Wilbur entered the room-respect, privacy given freely-and placed the plate down. Kristin gave the blanket one final fold before stalking closer to the food. It smelled heavenly. We wouldn’t be able to make this in the walls, or at the Colony. Kristin thought as she began to dig in. The food was hot, the sauce meaty and rich. Settling in her stomach nicely.

“Thank you,” she whispered after another mouthful.

Wilbur just shrugged. “No problem.”

She saw his eyes wandering to the cage, the way his brow furrowed. “So…..where’s Phil?”

“I don’t know. If he’s anywhere, he’s probably clearing out our old home.”

“You’re….leaving?”

Kristin hugged herself. “Phil wants to. Leave. That’s what we do when we have no other option. Aside from trying to find a Colony to live with. But…..”

Wilbur cocked his head. “But…..?”

“I don’t want to leave. This is the safest we’ve been in a long, long while. And I get Phil’s fear. He’s had a worse go of things than most….doesn’t trust humans. Neither of us do….Phil’s just scared. I don’t. I don’t blame him.”

“Must suck. Being this size.”

“Ohhh you have no idea.” Kristin flapped her wings a bit. “Everything is a predator. Anything can catch you and swallow you up. Just like that. Not to mention-“

"Humans?” Kristin couldn’t help a giggle escaping her. “Yeah. Humans are….well. There’s a lot of horror stories involving you guys. But I mean. Look at you! You’re huge!”

Wilbur laughed. A bright, warm sound that filled Kristin up with happiness. She smiled before it died down.

“Yeah.” She picked at a noodle hanging from the plate. “There’s not a lot of luxury in being a borrower. Especially when it comes to having children.”

“Oh, uh-“ For some reason, Wilbur turned a deep red. He started to fidget, shifting in his chair. “I’m…sorry…I guess. I know you must be upset.”

“I am. But being a Borrower isn’t safe. And children….they’re so curious about the world. I….I wouldn’t want to bring a child into this world. So dangerous for them.”

“Oh! Oh so you’re not-”

Kristin turned towards him with her face screwed up. “I’m not what?”

The shade in his face turned an even deeper red as he stuttered out, “I-I th-thought y-you were….er, uhm-”

The woman cackled. Wilbur pouted, but that just made her cackle harder. “I am able to have children. At least….I think I’m able. But….we live in a world where such innocence is dangerous. Life threatening. Deadly. Maybe some day…..someday, I’ll become a mother.”

A sadness that she had felt before returned. Blanketing over her like a worn, heavy cloak. It was never the right time for Phil. Yes, he wanted kids as well, but- Not in the house, they’ll hear the baby. Or, when we decide to move to a colony, then we can try. Or even, when we’re safer, then we’ll have children. Kristin had all but stopped bringing the topic of having a child up to her husband. Because he was right. He was right-

“But…now you could….have kids…right?”

She glanced up at the young man who she had taken to-almost like a son-and smiled. “Yes. Sadly, though, Phil is adamant about moving. So….we’ll move.”

“Where would you go?”

“Probably to a Colony.” She pulled her wings in front of her, fingers carding through the feathers absently. “There are those Borrowers that never settled in the walls of human homes. Instead they lived outside. In trees, in abandoned hollows. Everywhere. But they’re not very welcoming of outsiders.”

“Ah, okay.” Wilbur shifted. Looked down, before looking back up. Looking down at Kristin. “Maybe you can convince Phil to stay.”

“Maybe.” Kristin shrugged. “He’s stubborn alright. Stubborn enough for both of us.”

Her eyes drifted to the bird cage, trailing the bars that he was so scared of. She sighed, blinking away the images of drapery and a homemade baby crib that suddenly superimposed over in her mind.

Maybe when Phil gets back, calms down a bit in a few hours, they’ll talk. Phil was stubborn, which is how he had survived so long. But sometimes stubbornness could be a curse.

Kristin still had a few hours though. A few hours to clean, organize and prepare her argument.

Her hands worked steadily as she passed the morning and early afternoon away. She folded some of the cloth given to them as blankets, dusted a little around the birdcage, and tidied it up. To hopefully sweeten Phil up, she even fluffed up the nest, adding some pieces of stuffing that Wilbur managed to find.

Her husband was a sucker for stuffing. By the fourth hour, Kristin had settled in for some mending. But her mind couldn’t focus on the task.

Something was wrong. She was sure of it.

Never had Phil stormed off for this long. Sure he had his absent moments after an argument but…..he always came back by the end of the second hour, ready to apologize and reconcile.

But now double that time had passed, and Phil still hadn’t returned. Kristin deepened her scowl in annoyance as she had to pull out a long set of back stitches, forced to redo them as her anxiety intensified.

“Knock, knock.”

“You can come in, Techno.” She ordered gently, her order dissolving into a fit of curses as she stabbed her thumb with her needle. Technoblade froze at the door, eyes wide.

“Whoa. Everything okay?”

“Yeah ... .I'm just trying to get the mending done. It’s uh, well it’s not quite working out.” Kristin sighed tiredly as she examined the stitch line, finally strong enough to hold. It wasn’t neat, far from it. But as long as it held-

“Huh.” Techno shifted from foot to foot. His eyes scanned the room.

Kristin felt worry settling in her gut uncomfortably. “So…do what do I owe the pleasure of the visit?”

“Uh…well, I was just here for the bird cage. To…clean it out, I guess, since Phil said you were leaving. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him, so I assumed you guys’d left- are you okay?”

The worry deepened, coiling in her stomach like a snake about to strike. Kristin’s body seemed to grow cold, her fingers dropping the mending. She tried to keep her features under control as she tried not to show the panic, the betrayal, the fear, she felt about possibly being left behind-

“How….” She took a moment to swallow, wetting her dried throat, “how long ago was that? Would you say?”

“Agh, probably, a uh, a couple hours ago. Maybe about three?”

Phil wouldn’t have left her. He wouldn’t. They were bonded for crying out loud. He had said he would throw himself into the maws of death if it meant Kristin could live. He wouldn’t abandoned her for no reason, over a silly little argument-

“Something’s wrong,” she said quietly. Her hands clenched and unclenched, her heart starting to thunder in her chest. “Phil…he-he would never leave- oh gods!”

Fear like she had never known curled deep within her. Techno looked at her with worry, eyes filling with concern as he knelt down to be eye level with her. She didn’t realize how much panic she was feeling at the human looming over her until it disappeared. Leaving only the panic for her husband.

“Okay….we don’t need to panic about this-”

“Anything could’ve happened!”

“-I know. But we don’t need to lose our heads. The clearer thoughts we have, the easier it will be to find him.”

He had a point. Krisitn knew this. She wouldn’t get anything done if she was panicking all over the place. Calmer heads will see this day through with little tragedy. Hopefully.

“Alright.” Techno started to pace. Very calm, she noted, but she kept her mouth shut. Technoblade wouldn’t do anything to hurt them…..

Wouldn’t he?

“So we know he was mad-”

“Then he would’ve gone outside. He….he likes to take walks when he gets upset.” Kristin flared her wings a little bit in anxiety. There were so many predators in the big world outside their home. If Phil was distracted….and one of those many predators- cats, dogs, birds, anything- if they snuck up on him while he was distracted-

A cry left her mouth. Tears welled up in her eyes.

“What? What is it?”

“What…if ... .what if he got-” Bile rose to her throat as she tried to stop the question from leaving her tongue. If she said it, if she brought the question to light and allowed it freedom, then what? Would it become true? Would it doom her husband to a painful death at the claws of a hawk or a stray cat?

Thankfully, Technoblade seemed to understand the question. He knelt, looming even though he was hunched over her. “Hey. It’s gonna be alright. We’re gonna find him. He’s too stubborn to die.”

Kristin laughed wetly. “You’ve got a point.”

“Yeah. I know.” Technoblade grew somber. “Now. This is what we’ll do: you go and search outside. I’ll look under the couches and such. If we don’t find him, let’s meet up in the kitchen.”

She nodded. Spreading her wing, Kristin took off into the air, through the window that Technoblade had opened. The outside world greeted her with sunlight and green grass. For a moment, a dangerous moment, she was blinded by the sunlight. She veered off to the left, catching the wind currents that would lead her to the side of the house. Kristin landed into a crouch. Her eyes went to any holes that she could see, any holes that she knew for a fact that lead to the inside.

“Phil? Are you in there honey?” She called. There was no answer, except for her echo. She poked her head into a couple of more holes, only receiving the same results as the other. Thirty minutes of poking her head into holes passed. Kristin could only feel more and more anxious as she realized that the chance of her husband meeting his fate at the bottom of a stomach was growing more and more likely.

Kristin fell to her knees. Her chest heaving barely contained panic.

That couldn’t be how things ended between us. The yelling. The anger. The barely tampered tempers- Oh gods please. I need to apologize to him. I need Phil to know that I’m sorry.

As much as she didn’t want to go back inside, she had to. Kristin….Kristin had to tell Techno that it was pointless. Maybe…hopefully….Gods above please-

Maybe Philza didn’t go outside. Maybe he went somewhere else. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if their last words said to each other were said in anger. Kristin stood to her feet and took off into the air. Her wings beat frantically as she turned a corner, eyes fanatically looking for an open window. She found one, entering it and landing on the counter.

“He wasn’t outside.”

Techno whirled around, eyes wide. “What?”

“I…I didn’t see any signs of him.” The pink haired man’s eyes turned sad. Kristin felt her wings puff up.

“No.”

“I didn’t say anythin-”

“You didn’t have to. I can see it in your face, clearly enough.” Kristin felt her vision go watery. “You think he’s dead.”

Techno hung his head. “I’m not ... .suggesting it out of malice, Kristin. But…what are the chances that he left?”

“Phil would never-” Kristin whirled around, her fury evident on her face. Too much anger swirled in her to be contained. How dare he suggest that Phil left her. Who does this human think he is, waltzing in here and suggesting that Phil would ever leave her willingly-

But then that means he’s probably dead. A little voice niggled in the back of her mind.

She wouldn’t acknowledge that voice.

“He would never leave without me.”

Until she saw proof- gods above- until she saw Philza’s body ...Kristin would hold out hope that he was still out there.

Technoblade was still talking behind her. Still trying to get her to listen to him, to listen to the reason that he might be gone. Kristin wasn’t listening, no. She was turned away from the human, eyes trailing the counter until they moved upward. Up, up, up until they landed on a half cracked hole in the wall. She felt everything freeze around her.

Oh gods.

“Kristin?”

“The traps.”

“What?”

Kristin was moving before she realized. She reached the little door that had gone so unused in the past few years. The door was thrown open. Her stomach clenched painfully at the sight of all those little deadly traps. Traps that could break a wing-

Or a neck.

“Kristin?”

She moved to the side. Allowing Technoblade to see the rows of traps. “Oh.”

“‘Oh’ is right.” She muttered. Kristin made to step forward, feeling desperation curl in her like a cement snake, only to feel fingers wrap around her shoulders. “NO! UNHAND ME!”

“I’m not about to have you waltz through a corridor filled with mousetraps!” Technoblade deposited her on the counter, placing his hand in front of her to keep her from running back into the fray.

“Like hell you will. My husband might be in there!” She prayed that he had indeed gone back to their little hovel. Back to pack and he was lost in the memories. Losing track of time was something Phil was very good at doing. But she wouldn’t know unless she could get through there.

“I’ve to make sure you don’t break your neck. Or seriously hurt yourself.”

Kristin took a deep breath at that, having enough sense about her to realize Techno was right. They had closed this tunnel off for a reason. But why did Phil think he could navigate it? In the dark and alone?

“We need to have a way to get to him.”

“Okay.” Technoblade sounded a little unsure before he walked away. Leaving a very befuddled Kristin. Where was he going? Was he abandoning him?

Her panic was soothed just a bit as he reentered the kitchen a few minutes later with….

Was that a hammer?

“I’m gonna need you to take a step back.”

“What are you….”

“I’m going to make quite a mess.”

She followed the directions, a bit numbly due to the shock of where this was going. She backed up even further when Techno pulled the hammer back before slamming it straight into the wall. Kristin had to cover her ears at the loud noise, wincing and backing up until she was perched near the end of the counter. Plaster and tile flew all over the place, creating a mess that would surely be a hassle to pick up.

But that would be an issue for later.

For now, she watched as Technoblade rammed the hammer into the wall enough times to create a decently sized hole. He peered into it, eyes going wide.

“Shit.”

“W-what? What is it?!”

Technoblade didn’t say anything. Just placed his tool down and easily reached into the hole. Her breath was stolen away when he pulled them back, only to feel a curl of despair at the limp figure.

Phil-

Kristin was sure she screamed.

The horrible, horrible sight of her husband stuck in not one but two traps was enough to make her vision white out in fear. It didn’t look like-

Oh gods-

“Is he-?”

Techno placed the man on the counter where Kristin could reach him. She cradled his face, finding the paleness of his complexion even more gut-wrenching. But at least-

“He’s breathing!” she cried. Sobbed. He looked so limp and lifeless on the counter. Then her eyes went to the traps. Desperation moved her forward, and her hands wrapped around the trap. She was prepared to pull it upward, to get it off his wing.

“Don’t touch it.”

“WHAT?! BUT IT’S HURTING HIM!”

“We don’t want to make it worse.” Just then, Wilbur strolled in. Probably drawn in by the shouting and the hammering of the wall. His eyes went wide.

“What’s happened to the wall?” Then his eyes went to the limp form of Philza on the counter. “What happened to Phil!?”

“I’ll explain later. Go get the crate and my keys.” Techno ordered as he floated around the kitchen. “We’re taking him to the vet.”

“On it.” Wilbur disappeared. Kristin turned her attention to Technoblade who handed her a large towel. “Wrap this around him. We don’t know if he’s gone into shock already. But we need to keep his blood flowing.”

Kristin nodded as she quickly and carefully did as she was told. Phil was pale. So dangerously pale.

“Phil, please stay with me.” Krisitn whispered. “Please, I’m so sorry. I'm so sorry about what I said. Please don’t leave me. We still have so much to do. You’re….. We can have a family. Just please stay with me”

It wasn’t long before Techno and Wilbur returned. Phil was moved carefully into a little cat carrier that the Vet gave them last visit, to make their trips a little easier and so Techno didn’t haul them around in a birdcage constantly. Kristin went with her husband, bracing both of them best she could as Technoblade rushed out of the house. It was a familiar route to Kristin, they had driven there so many times. She could feel the twists and turns in the road, but didn’t pay them any mind.

Her focus remained on her husband. Desperate to keep an eye on that rise and fall of his chest. To see that little flutter behind the eye lids. She prayed the entire way there, asking every god she could think of to keep her husband here long enough to make it to Ponk.

Ponk would fix him.

He had to.

By some mercy they made it to the vet. Phil was still breathing, but his lips were turning a worrying shade of purple. Kristin was screeching at Techno, crying that something was wrong. The crate jostled as they were carried inside.

The world outside was a blur. Until a hand came in and pulled Philza out. Away from her.

She went to bite the fingers.

Phil wouldn't come back if he was taken. Not this time.

Her fangs barely grazed the skin before her husband was removed from her completely. She fell to the floor, limp as another hand reached in and pulled her out. It was careful, gentle. Kristin fell in and out of the haze of instincts as panic gripped her something awful. Technoblade (that’s who was holding her, gentle, talking to her calmly) rocked her back and forth when she arose from her instincts and broke down sobbing.

“Oh I can’t lose him!” She cried. “I can’t!” 

“It’ll be okay. Ponk says he’ll do his best to save Philza’s wing. He’ll be fine.”

“No…it’s not that…” Kristin choked on her tears. She found herself holding onto Techno’s thumb, crying into the creases. “I….I can’t lose him.”

“It’ll be okay.”

They waited. She didn’t know how long but she waited. It was long enough for her to numbly realize that she had cried herself out, just sitting with a vague feeling of numbness in her soul. Silently she prayed, hoping against everything that Phil’s wing would be saved. Hours later, an eternity later it felt like, Ponk entered into the room. He looked a little flustered, but in good spirits. Krisitn stood, heart soaring.

“Well?”

“It went well. He’ll have to have a cast on his wing again. It’ll be a long recovery. He had multiple shatters in his wings and his leg. Both will require surgery and lots of physical therapy. But he’s gonna be okay.”

The woman all but sagged underneath the pressure of relief. It would be a longer healing process than before and there was no telling how this would affect his flying-

But he was going to be okay.

“Right. How much do I owe you?”

“Come to the front and we’ll make a plan and prepare a date for the surgeries.”

“Uh….Doctor Ponk? Would it be possible ... .to get some bloodwork done?”

“Yes?”

“Kristin?”

“I’m fine….” She assured Technoblade. “But…I’ve gotta see about something. And I want to be sure.”

“Okay…okay. Okay we can do that.”

They drew her blood and sent the samples through the lab, telling her it would take a couple of days for it to get back. They scheduled Phil’s surgeries after his injuries had been splinted and they went home. Technoblade left them in their little cage, the man bringing food and stuff while Philza drifted in and out of consciousness due to the painkillers they gave him.

In the afternoon, Philza had regained some sense of his surroundings, becoming a little more lucid than before. Of course, that was when Technoblade came into the room, cell phone to his ear and his eyes wide.

“Uh…yeah, sure I’ll let her know.” Techno was saying. He hung up and looked at both of them.

“Was that…Doctor Ponk?”

“It was.”

Philza glanced between the two, eyebrows furrowed in curiosity. “What’s…going on…?”

“He said…he said that you’re-” Technoblade cut himself off. A blush exploded over his cheeks as Kristin awkwardly fidgeted with her skirt.

“Philza. My darling. My love.” Kristin knelt down until she was eye level with the man she had come to call her husband and best friend. “I’m….I’m pregnant.”