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Dream fluttered his wings restlessly as he shifted in place.
Technoblade looked up from his book, eyebrow raised in question.
Dream bristled. Even two months after his escape from prison, Techno had a habit of fussing over him, "I'm fine, Tecno. Don't worry."
"Hmm," Techno said, trusting the man's judgment as he returned to his book.
//
"Dream," Techno said, quietly knocking on the other's door, "You have to wake up, nerd. I made breakfast."
"Mm, no," Dream said, burrowing further into his pillow.
Techno sighed, walking into the room and opening the curtains and ripping Dream's blanket off before he could protest.
Techno's breath caught. Dream's wings were splayed out beneath the comforter, beautiful, black, and glossy. It wasn't often that Technoblade the privilege of seeing them extended.
Dream hissed, green eyes flashing. He quickly folded his wings inward, "I'm going, Technoblade."
"Right, I could definitely tell. Hurry up, I made you eggs."
The feathers on Dream's wings fluttered, "Good."
//
"You good?" Techno asked, his brows knitted together.
"I said I'm fine, Techno," Dream snarled, going in for another strike.
"Just makin' sure!" Techno defended, blocking Dream's swing.
"Well, I'm fine."
"I believe you."
Another swing. Block. Lunge.
Dream had missed the distractions that came with sparring. During the first month after his rescue, he'd been bedridden. Now that a full three months had passed, Dream was fully capable of sparring, something he was eternally grateful for.
In fact, his condition had approved so much that he was almost back to his previous ability. Well-
Dream gasped, falling to his knees. Technoblade immediately froze before quickly rushing to his side.
"Dream?"
Dream sucked in a pained breath, attempting to ignore the painful cramp in his wings. He'd been ignoring the irritating feeling for weeks at this point, and it seemed it was finally catching up with him.
"Just give it a sec," Dream bit out.
Techno backed away in an attempt to give him space, but Dream grabbed at his sleeve, keeping him where he was. At the moment, Technoblade's strong presence was the only thing keeping the memories of Quackity at bay.
The tugging, the ripping, the trimming.
He squeezed his eyes shut, focusing on Techno's deep voice as he said something - Dream didn't know what - until suddenly there was a gentle hand on his wing.
Dream's eyes snapped open as he frantically scrambled backwards, away from the touch. He bared his fangs as his claws extended, eyes wild and unseeing.
Technoblade slowly raised his arms to show that he was unthreatening, "My bad, Dream. Just wanted to close them for you since they looked stiff."
Heaving in deep breaths, Dream clenched the cold snow in between his hands, grounding himself, "It's okay," he said, though it really wasn't. Technoblade hadn't meant any harm, "Just... don't touch them again."
Techno nodded, "Got it." In all honesty, the man had been avoiding touching the dragon hybrid's wings for this exact reason, he had feared that Dream would react poorly, "Inside?"
Dream stood on shaky legs, "Inside."
//
Since that day, Dream's wings never quite returned to normal. He was able to close them again, thankfully, but they remained stiff. And itchy.
He did his best not to show it, but he still saw Technoblade shooting him worried looks on occasion.
Eventually, Dream decided it would be best to just force his way through it.
And so, he went for a flight.
In hindsight, it was probably not his best idea but, really, he hadn't expected it to go as poorly as it did.
He just wanted to warm up the unused muscle.
It was not his intention to go hurdling into the snowy ground from fifty feet above.
He heard Technoblade start to shout before he even made an impact.
"I knew something was wrong with you, you absolute idiot," Technoblade scolded, "Dream. Dream! Look at me. How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Uhh," Dream murmured, dazed.
"Dammit. Okay. I'm going to pick you up and take you inside, don't freak out, okay?" Gently, he picked Dream up, careful to avoid his wings.
Dream's head lolled against Techno's broad chest.
"You can go to bed," Techno said, setting Dream down on the couch, "Just try not to do anything stupid while you're asleep."
"Mhh."
At the first glimpse of Dream being out of it, Technoblade hurried out of the room, saddling Carl and preparing to ride to Philza's house. The problem was clearly with Dream's wings, and the only other person Techno knew with wings was Phil. Hopefully, he'd have some insight into what Techno could do.
Phil's house wasn't far, but it was still a struggle to get there. The wind had picked up speed since Dream's fall, and ice particles were whipping against Techno's skin.
With shivering hands - honestly, how had been stupid to forget his gloves - he hurriedly knocked on Phil's door. Phil's face lit up happily as he saw him, but it quickly turned to alarm when he took all of Techno's blue-tinged skin.
"Jesus, get inside, mate," he said stepping out of the way of the door.
Technoblade nodded gratefully, beginning to speak before he even stepped into the hallway, "There's somethin' wrong with Dream's wings. So I thought I'd come and see you because... well, you know," Techno jerked his chin the direction of Philza's wings.
Phil's wings were similar to Dream's, though not identical. Dream's Ender Dragon genes meant that his wings were a considerable amount larger than Phil's, and came to a horned tip at the top.
Phil's crow's wings were smaller and slightly duller. Still, wings were wings, and Techno doubted that Phil's advice would be void just because his feathers were less shiny.
"Something wrong?" Phil asked, concern etching it's way onto his features, "How do you mean?"
"He fell out of the sky today when trying to fly," Techno said bluntly, "His wings have been cramping for a while I think, but the pain doesn't seem to be debilitating."
Phil paused for a moment, thinking, "Actually, what it might be... Techno have you seen Dream touch his wings at all? Run his fingers through them as stuff."
"Err... no."
"It's likely that he's neglecting to take care of his wings. They require constant maintenance, so its easy to let them fall into disrepair. I've met very few Ender Dragon hybrids in my lifetime, but I know that they preened their wings as often or more often than I do. If Dream hasn't been preening his wings, it might've left him unable to fly."
"So he needs to clean them?"
"He does. But I have no doubt that it's more complicated than that. Do you think his injuries could be causing any problems?"
"I don't think so..." Techno said.
"Perhaps I could come with you and talk to him about it."
"You'd do that?"
"Of course. Wings are important, Techno. Remember that."
Techno nodded, "I think I'll head out now. Dream passed out after he fell and I want to be there for him when he wakes up."
"Do you want me to come with you? Just to make sure I was right about the problem."
"Alright, let me go get ready." Philza placed a comforting hand on Techno's shoulder, "You're a good man, Techno."
Techno shrugged the hand off his shoulder, but smiled gently at his old friend, "Thanks, Phil."
"Any time, mate. Any time."
//
"Dream?" Techno asked softly, placing a hesitant hand on Dream's shoulder.
Sunbonciously, Dream leaned into the touch, "Hmm?" he asked, blinking his eyes open, "Techno?"
"Do you want some water?"
"That'd be nice," he yawned, his sharp teeth glimmering in the low light of Techno's living room.
"Dream."
The hybrid tensed at the unfamiliar voice, sitting up and scanning the room. His eyes landed on Phil's form, still standing in the doorway.
"It's just Phil, nothin' to worry about," Techno said as he returned, glass of water in hand.
Dream took it gratefully, his eyes never leaving Phil, "Why is he here?" His voice was cautious, but not distrustful.
Techno took that as a good sign, "For your wings."
Dream narrowed his poison green eyes, "What about them?"
"Dream, Techno tells me you just fell out of the sky. I came to figure out what the problem might be."
"There is no problem."
"Have you been preening them properly?"
"They're fine, Philza," Dream bit out, curling his wings around him. He winced at the action.
"Dream, it isn't normal for wings to fail mid-flight. It's necessary for you to take proper care of your wings in order to be able to-"
"I can't!" Dream snarled, baring his fangs.
Philza's eyes widened at Dream's response, "Mate-"
"Don't call me that-"
"Woahhhhh," Techno said slowly, drawing the attention to himself and easing the tension, "Phil, I know you're concerned, but obviously it's more complicated than that."
Phil heaved a heavy sigh, "Right. Sorry, ma- Dream."
Dream said nothing, still curling in on himself defensively.
Techno moved forward and placed a comforting hand Dream's upper back, between his wings. Dream relaxed into the touch. Philza watched them with sharp eyes.
"Dream," Techno continued, "Is there a reason you can't- preen your wings or whatever."
"I can't."
"Okay... do you want Phil to leave so you can actually tell me?"
"Stop talking to me like I'm a child, Technoblade. I'm not going to shatter."
"Mhm."
"But yes, I want Phil to leave."
Techno nodded at Phil, and the crow hybrid shrugged, wings ruffling slightly as he took hesitant steps out of the room.
With him gone, the tension in Dream's shoulders began to waver. Techno retracted his hand and sighed, flopping down heavily in one of the armchairs.
"So, what is your issue?"
"Really, Techno? Can't you be more- more sensitive or whatever."
"Right, because you're so interested in that."
Dream huffed out a laugh, "Whatever."
The pair sat in silence for a moment, until Dream began to speak again.
"It's not that... that I don't want to, Techno."
"Figured as much."
"It's just that... when I touch my feathers... it's like- it's like-"
"Dream?"
"Quackity... when I was in the prison... he made me rip them out. He knew how much it hurt, he has wings, too. But he didn't care, he just- made me rip them out. So he could watch. And I just-" Dream voice broke and he averted his gaze downward, teeth pressed into the palm of his hand, "Every time I try to take care of my wings, it feels just like prison and- I don't want to remember that anymore, Technoblade. I can't. I... I just can't."
Techno swallowed the bile rising in his throat. Despite everything, he could picture it. Dream cowered in the corner of his cell, hunched over as Quackity forced him to pull black, glossy feathers from his large wings, tears dripping down his face.
"Dream..." Techno coughed into his fist. Dream looked up at the noise. His eyes were glossed over with horrible memories of horrible times. Despite himself, Techno reached out a hand.
Dream grabbed it immediately, squeezing it like a lifetime.
"So, there's nothing you can do Techno. I would literally rather never fly again than preen my own wings." There was an air of defeat about his voice, and Techno hated it. Had hated it since the first time he'd heard it creep into the man's voice, somehow natural and unnatural all at once.
Technoblade studied Dream; his downcast eyes, his painful grip, his stiff wings, "Do you think..." he cleared his throat again, suddenly nervous, "Could I preen your wings for you?"
Dream's head snapped upward.
"I mean, you can't preen your own wings- I get that. But, do you think I could do it? It doesn't look impossible, I just have to make sure not to pull too hard."
"Y-you want to do it?" Dream's cheeks were reddening and his expression was a mixture of embarrassment and horror.
"What, do you think I can't? It's just runnin' your fingers through the feathers and stuff, right?"
"You want to preen my wings." Dream sounded a little disbelieving.
"I just said that, nerd."
"It's just- Isn't that embarrassing?"
"You can say no if you don't want me to."
"No! It's not that..."
"Okay, then what is it?"
"N-nothing. Nothing. That's... okay I guess."
"Dream, when you say it like that, it makes it sound very much not okay."
Then yes, you can do that. I wouldn't mind."
Techno released Dream's hand, "Okay."
Dream swallowed nervously, "Okay."
"I'm gonna go tell Phil that he can head home, so he's not sitting in the entryway waitin' for us forever."
Dream's expression soured, "Right."
Techno rolled his eyes, "Don't look like that, Phil was just worried."
"Right."
Techno stood, ignoring Dream as he walked through the too-large doorway, "Phil."
Philza turned from where he'd been fiddling with some sort of trinket, "Hm?"
"Dream and I have got it figured out, so you can ride home if you want."
"You do? Dream's going to preen his wings?"
"Er- well, no. I'm going to preen them for him."
Phil's hands stopped fiddling, "Dream is letting you preen his wings. For him."
"Yes?"
Philza looked incredulous, "Okay... So is this your way of telling me to head home?"
Techno rubbed at the back of his head, "Yeah. Thanks for your help, Phil."
"Sure thing, Tech." Phil turned the door handle, flashing Techno a kind smile.
Techno let the tension leak out of his shoulders as the door blew shut behind Phil's form. He knew what to do now, the solution was in sight.
"Dream?" he called, "So uh, how do you wanna do this?"
Dream was staring resolutely at the opposite corner of the room, cheeks still pink, "Here, lemme just-" with a small wince, he pulled his shirt off above his head and shifted his body until his back was facing Techno, wings spread wide, "Like this?"
Techno's breath hitched at the sight. No matter how many times he saw Dream with his wings extended, it never failed to take his breath away. They truly were beautiful.
Techno cleared his throat, "Uh, yeah, that should work."
He kneeled down behind Dream and began threading his fingers between the feathers. Dream gasped, his wings ruffling with pleasure.
"Is this alright?"
"Yeah," Dream whispered, eyes fluttering shut.
Techno continued in silence for a few moments, before reluctantly pulling his hands away. A low hum of displeasure rumbled in Dream's chest.
Techno snorted, "This is a bit awkward positioning. Do you think we could move a bit?"
"How?" Dream sounded significantly more sleepy than he had before.
"Um..." Techno moved to sit on the couch in front of Dream. With embarrassing ease, he lifted Dream from his spot on the cushion and moved him into Techno's lap. Dream made a squeak of surprise, but didn't protest. Instead, he happily laid his cheek on Techno's shoulder.
With Dream straddling Techno's thighs, Techno's large hands had better access to the underside of Dream's wings. With better positioning, Techno resumed his grooming. Moments later, Dream's chest began to vibrate.
Techno froze, thinking Dream was growling at him. But when Dream made no hostile moves, Technoblade slowly realized that Dream was purring.
Purring.
The admin of the server was curled up in Techno's lap, half naked, purring.
The absurdity of the situation hit techno all at once, heat rising to his cheeks. Still, his fingers kept carefully brushing through the feathers. He had a job to do, after all.
"Dream?" Techno said quietly.
"Hm?"
"I need you to shift forward a bit, so I can reach the-" he wracked his mind for the correct term, "The tertials? I think that's what they're called."
"M'kay," Dream obliged, shifting forward. The purring resumed.
The moment Techno's fingers brushed the sensitive feathers that sat against the bottom part of Dream's back, Dream gasped, arching farther into Techno's chest.
"Dream?"
"It's okay," Dream squeaked, "Just ticklish."
Techno huffed a laugh, "I can tell. Just- just bear with it for a second, okay?" he said, going as quickly as possible while still being gentle.
Dream's fingers tightened their grip on Techno's cloak, "Y-yeah. Yeah."
"You good?"
Dream buried his face into the crook of Techno's neck, "Mhm."
"Okay, okay," Techno removed his hands from Dream's wings, "We're done with that part."
The tension left Dream's body as the blonde melted against, the breath from his relieved sigh tickling Techno's neck.
One of Techno's large hands rested against Dream's bare back comfortingly before sliding down his left wings, "Just one more section, and then we're done," Techno muttered into Dream's hair.
Dream stayed silent, content to just remain in Techno's arms.
"Dream?" Techno repeated.
Again, no response. Only the sound of quiet breathing.
A soft smile spread across Techno's lips as he pulled the sleeping Dragon closer to him.
Carefully, he finished threading his fingers between Dream's feathers and moved his hands to Dream's waist, happy to stay as he was until Dream woke up.
Smile still on his face, Techno buried his face in Dream's soft hair and fell asleep.