It had only been twenty minutes, and the black blade that Techno had given to you was already weighing you down, causing you to lag behind him. You didn't mind though, it gave you the opportunity to observe at the grown pigman hybrid when he wasn't looking. He had forgone the red cape that usually draped over his broad shoulders and his long pink hair was tucked semi-neatly into a braid that Tyche had whined about doing before he left. He also passed off his crown to Dream before he left, leaving him looking almost bare without it..

He had chosen to wear a dark red dress shirt instead of his normal white, paired with neat black pants and his normal long black boots. A satchel was strung over his shoulder that contained emergency items that Techno insisted on bringing, though he promised you and Tyche that nothing would go wrong. Still, the long blade he wore on his side was intimidating as it clanged with the loose chain on his pants every time he took a step.

It wasn't even just the sword, Techno himself was intimidating. From his broad shoulders, to his strong arms, to his lean waist... You shook your head and cursed yourself for thinking that far. You bit your tongue as your face screwed up in embarrassment over your thoughts.

Your eyes snapped back to his face when you noticed him glazing at you, his head tilted in curiosity. You were once again entranced by the intensity of his red eyes, partially hidden behind the skull mask he wore. Realizing you had been caught staring, you quickly searched for something to say.

"Look where you're going before you fall into a pit of lava," You warned trying to sound nonchalant.

He laughed, the sound rich and deep. "It's all netherrack for another two minutes, you don't have to worry," He quipped, giving you a teasing smile.

You bit your tongue at his gesture and tried not to let the embarrassment show on your face. Did he catch you looking at him? You really hope not.

"Where are you taking me?"

Techno's smile widened, as if he'd been waiting for you to ask . "There's a biome not too far west of here that I think you'd like to see."

The vagueness of his answer made you frown. "Well, what's it called?"

"I'll tell you when we get there," Techno replied with a shrug before turning his gaze back to the path ahead.

You narrowed your eyes at the back of his head, imagining the teasing smirk he was surely hiding. After a few seconds you sighed. It wasn't worth it to try and get the answer out of him.

"Well, in the meantime, would you mind slowing it down a bit? The sword you gave me is really dragging me down," You admitted, turning your head to the side to avoid eye contact.

Techno looked back at you, smiling softly at the slight pout on your face. Gradually, he slowed his pace until he was walking beside you, close enough that you had to keep your hand glued to your thigh to keep it from touching his. You internally screamed at yourself for being so awkward all of a sudden. Were you always this conscious of him?

"Is everything okay?" His voice was low and almost raspy as he spoke over you, making your internal monologue go completely silent and your mind go blank.

"Yep," You quickly spat out, "All good, completely fine."

You pretended that you didn't hear him chuckle at you after that.

•••

You gaped at the cyan environment in front of you, the color overwhelming your senses. It was absolutely beautiful. The cyan trees reminded you of the trees you had back home, besides the cyan part. The whole biome also seemed to glow, making it all the more inviting.

"Well, are you going to join me or are you just going to stand there?"

You clamped your mouth shut and shuffled over to Techno, who was already standing in the biome.

"Sorry, it's just so beautiful," You confessed, eyes still roaming over the trees. Now that you stood beneath them, you could see small glowing pieces that allowed them to glow. Technoblade hummed in agreement before looking away from you, letting you take in the sight.

After a couple minutes, the two of you continued to walk further into the biome, and you tried not to be too eager with your questions.

"So, what's this place called?"

"It's called a warped forest"

"And the trees... how do they glow?"

"They're actually mushrooms," He explained, chuckling at your amazement, "Some of them glow because they have shroomlight."

"Mushrooms?!" You exclaimed, eyes darting over the cyan-colored "trees".

You closed your eyes tightly, trying to process everything he was saying, but it all seemed like a fantasy.

"None of this was in the Nether book you have?" Techno questioned.

"Well, no," You admitted, trying to rack your brain for any mention of a cyan biome. "It really didn't talk about different Nether biomes at all. I didn't know there were different ones."

"People in the overworld don't tend to travel this far, I guess."

You began to study the tree again, eyes roaming over the purple toned trunk, finding a faint cyan pattern etched into it. As your fingers traced over it, your mind began to wander. "My dad would have loved to see this," You sighed.

Techno smiled softly, placing a hand on your shoulder in comfort. He knew this was going to bring out emotions for you... it was one of the reasons he brought you here. You spoke about how your father wanted to explore the Nether for so long. While he could never give that experience to him, he could offer it to you instead.

Techno's heart stopped when he felt you place your hand over his, and he watched as you lifted your head to him. Your eyes were glittering with tears but you gave him a genuine smile, squeezing his hand firmly. Techno felt his mouth go dry as his heart started to pick up. His eyes peered into yours, making his head go numb. Eventually his eyes started to slowly travel down, taking in the shape of your nose and the curve of your cheeks to your lips, which took his breath from him.

You were entranced by him too, his red eyes contrasted beautifully with the cyan environment. They were soft and they made your chest feel warm. When Techno broke eye contact with you, you took it as an opportunity to gaze lower too, your eyes glazing over the bone mask down to his lips, which began to part. Briefly, you began to see his sharp elongated canines before your vision started to darken.

Entranced by each other, you and Techno began to slowly inch toward each other. Techno reached towards your face, gently cupping your cheek with his hand as he leaned towards you. It was a beautiful moment that made you forget about everything. Nothing existed except you and Techno. Your eyes completely shut when you could feel his breath on your lips, so close to meeting yours.

Techno's ears twitched when he heard something teleport, making all of his nerves go on edge. Quickly, Techno used the hand on your shoulder to shove you behind him, twisting with his other hand on the hilt of his blade, ready to attack. When he saw that it was only an enderman, he dropped his head and let out an exasperated sigh, taking his hand off his blade.

"Is everything okay?" You asked, your voice steadying his nerves.

"Yeah, it's just an enderman," He answered, holding himself back from glaring at the creature. You peaked around his shoulder to look at what he was talking about. When he realized what you were doing, Techno rushed to cover your eyes before scolding you. "Are you crazy? Don't look into its eyes!"

You huffed at him, "How am I supposed to know that?"

"There's endermen in the overworld too."

"I've never seen one."

"Good, otherwise you'd be dead."

"Can you stop covering my eyes now?" You requested in a cheeky tone.

"Just don't look anywhere near its face," Techno warned before removing his hand.

Your eyes darted to the ground, searching for whatever made Techno frightened enough to cover your eyes. When you found a pitch black form, your eyes slowly traveled up its body, careful not to make eye contact with the creature. Not too long after, it picked up some dirt and vanished into thin air, making you jump.

Techno laughed at your response, causing you to playfully glare at him before joining him. The whole situation was ridiculous.

"Why did it just pick up some dirt and leave?"

Techno's grin never faltered as he looked at you. "I don't know. Maybe he wanted to add some to his collection."

"His dirt collection?" You laughed, beaming at Techno.

Your laughter quieted down as you caught Techno staring at your face again. You peered into his eyes and smiled teasingly, knowing just what he was looking at. If that enderman hadn't interrupted you, you would have been able to kiss him sooner.

With the confidence that you knew Techno wanted it too, you gathered up the courage to ask the question, "Well, are you going to kiss me?"

Techno's red eyes shot back up to yours, slightly widened from the shock of your question. "What?"

"I asked if you're going to kiss me," You tilted your head and smiled cheekily at him.

Techno's lips began to form a teasing grin. "Do you want me to?"

"Yes," You admitted, "Do you want to kiss me?"

"More than anything."

Yours and Techno's hearts were soaring as your lips connected. You felt as though you could cry tears of joy. Nothing in this world made you happier than the man in front of you. And you felt complete knowing he felt the same way about you.

•••

On the way back to the fortress, you and Techno spoke about how you should approach Tyche about the news. Techno insisted that Tyche would be elated no matter how she found out, but you were scared of the news pushing her away from you. You didn't want her to think that you had cared for her just for the attention of her dad.

Techno watched as your eyebrows knitted together from worry. He sighed, grasping onto your hand and squeezing it. "If you want, we can wait and figure out a way to tell her later," He suggested, offering you a small smile.

Looking up at him, you could tell that he didn't want to do that, but you weren't sure how else to approach the situation. "Let's wait," You decided, watching as Techno deflated a bit, "But as soon as we find a way to approach her about it, we will."

"Okay." Techno agreed, nodding his head.

As you started to approach the fortress, the peace between the two of you began to turn into nervousness. Multiple pigmen, wither skeletons, and blazes were rushing around the fortress in full chaos. You and Techno looked at each other with worried faces before sprinting towards the entrance of the fortress. Techno, of course, made it there first, bursting in, darting his eyes around to find Tyche or Dream. What he found instead shocked him, but not for long as he rushed towards the figure. Shortly behind him, you quickly ran up to see what Techno was so shocked about. You gasped at the sight of his blue eyes and familiar green and white striped bucket hat.

"Philza!" You yelled and ran over to him, immediately hugging him without much thought.

Philza hugged you back. "(Y/n), I'm glad you made it here safely."

After a few seconds, you bounced back, looking at Phil with wide eyes. Just as you were about to ask, Techno beat you to the question. "But where have you been? It's been so long since we've heard from you?"

Philza's eyes turned cold as he turned to Techno, his voice turning serious. "I've been in royal prison since I helped (Y/n) and Tyche escape into the portal."

The thought of Philza being stuck there because of you made your heart twist with guilt.

"But that doesn't matter right now. I've broken out to tell you that they're using (Y/n) as an excuse to start a war."

"What?" You couldn't help but gasp, looking between Philza and Techno.

Techno clenched his teeth at the thought of the Greshams using you as a tool for war.

"Listen, we don't have much time. I don't know exactly when, but they plan to attack soon. We should prepare for the worst."

Techno took in a deep breath, trying to process everything that was happening without letting the shouting voices take over his mind. Silently, he looked at you, watching as you looked at him with a worried gaze. Immediately, he gave you a reassuring smile and silently made a promise to himself that he kept close to his heart. He promised to protect you and Tyche until his last breath. And if something did happen to either of you, the universe would be damned.

Techno then looked back at Phil with fire in his eyes.

"Then I guess we better start preparing."