wipe the blood off your face (it may stain)

And Then I'm Trapped, Overthinking

Techno had been acting weird for the past few days.

Phil really tried to figure out why, but he couldn't for the life of him.

Techni had been so distant the past week, seeming uncomfortable with talking to Phil and Wilbur.

He acted as if he was hiding something. It was like he was desperate to tell them something, but he didn't know how or where to start.

It was unusual. Techno wasn't one for secrets, for the most part. In a world where everyone seemed to despise the three, they needed to trust each other. And they did. So why was Techno keeping something secret? Phil needed to figure out what the hell was going on, especially when it seemed to bother the Hero so much.

"Techno," Phil started as they sat on the couch in the living room, "are you okay?"

Techno looked up from his book. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You've been weird," Phil stated. "I know you've been keeping something from us. You can tell us anything."

Techno sat his book down and took a deep breath, causing Phil to straighten up in his seat to prepare himself. "I don't think I can."

Phil deflated at that. "You can't? Techno, we all tell each other pretty much anything. You can trust me."

"It's not about trust, Phil. It's about judgement." Techno said. "I know I can trust you. I do trust you. But I know you will judge me if I tell you."

Phil brows pinched together. "I won't judge you. It's clearly affecting you, whatever it is. If you told me what it is, maybe I can help."

Techno let out a dry laugh. "Yeah, now it's your turn to trust me when I tell you, you will definitely judge me."

When Phil was trying to work up the courage to finally talk to Techno about this, he wasn't expecting it at all to go like this. He assumed that Techno may have done something bad during a patrol on accident or said something snarky to Dream, which escalated in some crazy threatening situation. He thought the pinkette didn't want to worry them with something. He didn't expect Techno to think the blonde would judge him.

It didn't feel right since they had such a close relationship. Of course, when you have everyone around you hating you along with two others, you're naturally going to get close with them, but this was before Techno even became a Hero.

They just clicked.

To be fair, it did take a while to properly 'click'. Techno was in the foster care system for three years, so trust didn't come easy for him. But after a little while, there was some sort of connection there with the two.

And Phil wouldn't pretend like he hadn't ever judged Techno over something, but he learned the Hero's point of view, tried to understand whatever went wrong, and helped. Techno knew that he would do that for him. So why was he so concerned over the judgement out of anything?

"You know that despite whatever it is, I'll help you." Phil replied. "I want to help."

Techno seemed to consider this, but before he could say anything his phone rang. He glanced at Phil and answered the phone. "Hello?" A pause. "What? How long has he just been there? It's been a month!" Another pause. "Of course I'm coming, but you couldn't have told me before? The guy has just been in that cell for weeks!" A beat. The Hero scowled and hung up.

"...who was that?" Phil asked hesitantly. Techno didn't usually get that worked up over a phone call, so he was scared to question who made him so upset.

"George," he growled. "He was telling me that-" Techno cut himself off and looked at Phil. "You want to know what's been going on with me?" –He didn't wait for a reply– "Follow me." He stood up and walked over to the elevator, Phil following him.