Three years goes by pretty fast.

Techno wasn't sure when he'd really decided to stay. Perhaps it was when he joined the guards (which he was now the co-captain of, might he brag), or perhaps it was a gradual thing.

Nonetheless, he lived at the sanctuary. Over the years, he'd continuously told himself that it was temporary and that he'd be on the way home soon to reunite with his family, but as time passed, he did not do so.

He found himself fitting in, and despite his general awkwardness and stony mask he put on, he'd actually made some friends.

He'd never tell them that to their faces, of course. To them, he'd made it clear that they were just acquaintances, but he knew that they knew better.

Puffy was constantly in and out, leaving for months on end and occasionally bringing a hybrid back. Techno had gotten used to not seeing her around much, so he didn't let it get to him like it used to.

Corpse, the captain of the guards, had steadily become a close friend of his. Techno found it increasingly easier to talk to him as they grew older, and he was glad to say that he'd gotten on the man's good side. Corpse was scary, even Technoblade would admit that, so he took some pride in the fact that he got to see the man's soft side.

Long had the time passed that Techno was a teen. He was 19 now, an adult, and he'd grown into himself more.

As a teenager, he'd always been tall and had a strong build, but after working with the guards, doing constant training, and even having some run-ins with the royal guards that tried to wipe out their existence, Techno had gotten much taller, and much, much stronger.

He wore the little emerald he always kept with him from Phil as an earring now, and it dangled from his pointed ears as a remembrance of his father.

He sometimes wore a robe too, deep scarlet in colour with fluff lining the side, but it had been a present from Puffy, so he only wore it on special occasions, or when he needed the hood to cover himself if he left the sanctuary.

Yes, there was that too. He'd been allowed to leave the sanctuary, and he hadn't run off to his family, which had been something the others weren't expecting. As he'd worked with the guards, his fighting had gotten incredibly good, and now it was a fun game for the other guards to try and beat him in a battle (which they all lost, of course- except for on some occasions, Corpse).

Puffy used to ask him why he'd decided to stay. He never really knew the answer to it back then, but now he did. He had a purpose here. He had the opportunity to live for something, rather than to just survive like he had at his old home.

When Puffy was gone, Corpse would usually be in charge, but he was constantly getting Techno to do leadership like things. Techno always tried to refuse. Being co-captain of the guards was one thing, being co-leader of an entire sanctuary was another. 

The last three years had gone by so fast, a blur in which Techno tried to keep up with.

A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts, and he sighed, sliding himself off the bed and towards the door. He swung it open, and Eret stood there with a raised eyebrow.

"You're late for celebration night." Eret said, and Techno huffed slightly.

"Celebration night isn't mandatory." Techno pointed out, and Eret rolled their eyes.

"They look up to you, they expect you to be there, just like Corpse and Puffy." he said, and Techno sighed heavily.

"Fine."

He turned around, grabbing his brown coat from his rack, looking at his red cape for a moment, but leaving it there.

He shrugged it on and followed Eret outside, closing the door behind them.

It was dark, that much was expected. Techno had been to celebration night a lot over the years, so it's not like he was missing a lot when he didn't attend.

He'd found out after a year of being there what exactly celebration night was- it was a day out of the week to celebrate the tree and it's protection over the hybrids, and the eternal connection that their magic had.

Techno thought it was a bit much to celebrate every fucking week, but he knew his opinion was unpopular, so he kept it to himself.

They made their way to the tree, and Techno blinked at the lights as his eyes adjusted.

He made his way over with Eret to their group and sat down, leaning against the tree, sitting around the large roots like the first time he'd been there.

Techno was still incredibly curious about what was inside the tree, but he'd learnt his place. He didn't really need to know, despite how curious he was.

Connor smiled at him in greeting and gave him a pat on the back, while Corpse ruffled his hair.

Techno rolled his eyes, smacking Corpse's hand away, but he let a tiny smile slip onto his face so they knew he wasn't actually being aggressive.

Corpse used to hang out with the rest of the guards, and he sometimes still did, but he'd grown attached to the group of misfits, and often found himself hanging out with them rather than his work buddies, despite him being a fair few years older than the lot.

He yawned slightly, ears flicking down so he could muffle the other's words a bit better, and he rested his head on the back of the tree.

Corpse glanced over at the pig hybrid sitting next to him and smiled, rolling his eyes.

He opened an arm, and Techno looked at him, hesitating, before he sighed and leaned into the man's side.

Corpse gave him a pat on the shoulder, and Techno let himself relax.

It wasn't often that he let himself be so vulnerable around people, but Corpse was safe, and the others were cool, so he let himself flutter into a soft sleep, the sounds of chatter and singing being drowned out as slumber encompassed him.

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Hello friends!! Yeah, a time skip, I did that :>

Anyway, I made the server! https://discord.gg/zWkhQyRX

Hope to see you there!!

Happy reading!!

-Bee <3

(3/3/21)

Co-posted on ao3