Chapter Text
It’d been—what?—over a month since Technoblade got his boyfriend. Dream . And things had been going. Practice for the DreamTeam and Sleepy Bois Inc. collaboration was going really well, and it was officially called the SleepyTeam Inc. so that was all really cool!
But, now, it was winter break, and a day before the Winter’s End Dance. Though, it was both not the end of winter, and the middle of winter break, the juniors and seniors who wanted to go to the dance would come back to school for the night to celebrate New Years. Fireworks had been banned at the dance several years before due to some… incidents… but everyone would have fun anyway! This was bigger than prom, and it was proved by the people there.
The school had a tradition of the students going were not allowed to see or speak to the person they were going with for all the previous days of winter break. Surprisingly, this was followed by most, and Techno and Dream were no rule-breakers (that was a lie, but today it wasn’t a lie).
The two had not seen each other or spoken to each other for the past week or so. Originally, they had wanted to spend Christmas together, but they were not willing to break this tradition, and so they stayed separated. Phil and his girlfriend did something similar, though they obviously weren’t allowed to the dance as they had already graduated. Phil was not allowed to speak to or see her until New Years, where they’d go over to her apartment and spend the night there.
Techno would prefer to not know what they were going to do while there.
He and Wilbur had gone and gotten their suits picked out for the night with Phil as a mediator between them and the judge. He had decided which suit was best for each of them, and since they didn’t exactly have a budget… it meant that the suits could look the best and still be in their price range. Their parents should not have given them free range of their card that day.
His suit was wine red, almost black, and he was certain he had almost the exact same suit at home for ballroom but the chance at a new suit was always welcome. So he got a new one, and no one was none the wiser. His tie was one that he had before, just a normal black tie. Originally, he had wanted to wear a very apple-colored red one, but after input from his mother, he decided that black was the best option. The white button-up underneath his suit was one he already had, as he had several from both ballroom events and his normal wear. Techno, of course, set out his best-looking one for the dance tomorrow. His pants were slim-fitting and black.
While at the store shopping for suits, he and Wilbur also picked up a corsage and boutonnière respectively. The one Techno picked out for Dream was a simple white gardenia. Knowing that he had no idea on Dream’s suit or how flashy it was, and with Dream’s track record, Techno had no idea what to expect anyhow. White matched practically anything, and a white gardenia was typically known as the most formal form of the boutonnière, according to Wikipedia, anyway. Wilbur got a cute yellow corsage for whatever girl he was going with this year (Techno hadn’t stuck around long enough to hear him fawning over her).
Now, he laid on his bed, not able to fall asleep. He was certain that it was actually December 31st by now—the day of the Winter’s End Dance. Sighing, he stood up from his bed. He might as well visit Wilbur, who he was certain was still awake based on the creaks coming from the ceiling above his room. Maybe he could convince Wilbur to give him a concussion by slamming his head into the wall, he might fall asleep then (or die).
He made his way upstairs and turned to the left, going down a hallway with just one bedroom door—the other door in the hall went to a closet used to store linens. The door opened before he could reach it, and light flowed into the hallway, only being disrupted by the head sticking out of the doorway. Wilbur’s head, and his massive forehead that should be a separate being.
“Hey,” Wilbur whispered, carrying just enough for Techno to hear it.
Their parents’ room were on this floor, and both of them slept lightly. It would be a mistake to accidentally wake them up, both were grouchy until they had their tea or coffee after waking.
“Hullooo… Can I come in?” Techno responded quietly. He had been told before that his voice would do well as ASMR.
“Sure.” Wilbur held the door open wider, allowing his brother to pass the threshold before shutting the door softly behind him.
Techno blinked at the light in the room, the rest of the house had been dark and the change in brightness made his eyes ache more than they already did. He should have put on his glasses, but he wasn’t about to go back down those treacherous, creaky steps to go get them.
“Well?” Wilbur questioned, taking a seat on his bed and patting the spot beside him. “Couldn’t sleep?”
Techno nodded and silently sat beside his brother, leaning his head against his shoulder. Wilbur laid his atop Techno’s.
“Was tomorrow- er- today- er- later… getting to you?” He nodded once again. “Nervous?” Another nod. “You know as well as I do, Techno, Dream loves you. He loves you so much, and he proves it so often. I know it’s only been about two months since you started dating—and three-ish months since you really got to know each other—but I can see it in the way he looks at you, acts around you, touches you—” Techno huffed a laugh. “—Okay that sounded wrong, but you get my point!
“Technoblade… he cares about you so much. I don’t know what you’re so worried about, but know that he won’t leave anytime soon—if at all.”
“I-I… I feel like I know that—in a sense—but it just doesn’t ever seem to settle in my mind, Wil,” Techno admitted. “Like, I don’t see how he can like me. It just doesn’t make sense when he could do so much better.”
Wilbur lifted his head off of Techno’s shoulder, angling Techno’s own head up so that he could look him in the eyes.
“Techno, you know how I used to feel about myself and you remember how bad that was, I know that. But you, Technoblade, I will not allow you to fall into a slump like that! Life for you has been so much better after meeting Dream, innit? Neither of us will let you talk about yourself like that.”
He lowered his eyes, pushing his weight onto Wilbur and knocking them both onto their backs. He wrapped his arms around Wilbur and buried his face in the brunette’s chest. Where did he get such a good brother? What made him deserve such a good brother?
Wilbur laughed breathlessly, resting his hand in Techno’s hair.
“We love you. Know that, ‘lright?”
He lifted his head from Wilbur’s chest just enough to mumble, “I love you too, Wilbur. I don’t tell you enough—anyone for that matter.” And then his face went right back into Wilbur’s chest.
His brother sighed and he felt it rumble through his body too. Then, Wilbur started humming. Techno didn’t recognize the tune, but it was very Wilbur-esque and it instantly relaxed him. His eyes began to droop… and he started feeling more tired… and his breathing began to slow… and he began to get very sleepy.
Techno woke up in Wilbur’s bed, laying on top of the owner of both the room and bed he was in. He groaned quietly. Why couldn’t Wilbur have moved him when he fell asleep? His back hurts now and it wouldn’t have been that hard, he’s a heavy sleeper. He’d complain to Wilbur when he woke up.
He slid off of Wilbur and settled against his side instead of his stomach. This was much more comfortable. Now, he’d stay like this until Wilbur woke up and he could complain as he was very comfortable.
Not even a moment later (it was definitely over an hour later), Wilbur was moving and pushing Techno off of his side. Technoblade scrambled to pull his brother back to him without opening his eyes—when had they shut? It didn’t go well. Huffing, Techno’s eyes blinked open. He pouted and glared at Wilbur as his brother yawned and stretched, not even bothering to look at Techno.
“Ge’ off, you wanker!” Wilbur muttered, trying to tear away from his pink-haired brother who was just clinging .
Techno groaned, and once he thought that Wilbur was pulling hard enough that he’d fall on his butt if Techno let go, he did exactly that. He let go. A girl-ish screech ripped its way from Wilbur’s lips as he fell back, and he was certain that the thud of Wilbur hitting the ground vibrated through the house.
Someone was definitely going to come upstairs and check on them.
Wilbur swung around and glared at him. Techno smirked, knowing he’d won. He stood and held a hand out to his still-on-the-floor brother. The brunette took it reluctantly.
He knew that his brother wasn’t just upset that his butt hurt from landing on the ground roughly, but it was also knowing that his younger brother was stronger than him and could control his movement to a point. This is what made Techno glad that his dad had forced him into so many activities when he was younger. One of which was martial arts, and another of which was weight lifting—yeah, he didn’t understand why you’d put a thirteen-year-old into weight lifting, but whatever, his dad was weird. This was about the only thing that made Techno glad about doing that stuff. Well, martial arts was alright, but it still wasn’t the best.
Once Wilbur was standing next to him, Techno stretched.
Looking back to his brother, Techno asked, “What time is it?” He didn’t have his phone with him as he’d left it in his room last night. He hadn’t expected to fall asleep in here.
Wilbur shrugged before walking over to the only other door besides the entrance in the room. It was the door to his soundproof room. He must’ve left his phone in there after a session or something. He returned with his phone, having it already on and looking at the screen.
“It’s 10:34,” he read off.
“Eh, that’s not too bad, especially for you.”
Wilbur didn’t say anything because it was true.
Techno stretched once more before heading over to the door and opening it. He was surprised that no one had come up to check on them, because even if everyone in the house was asleep, someone would’ve been startled enough to wake up. There was no one there though. The house was unnaturally quiet.
As he stepped out into the hallway, Techno glanced back at Wilbur, who looked equally as confused. The house had thin walls, thin floors, and it was super easy to hear whatever was going on in the house. Usually, you could hear the TV from upstairs and sometimes you could hear someone making food. It was never this quiet unless there was no one in the house, and the house should’ve been full this early on this day. The only ones who typically wouldn’t be awake at this time was Phil and Wilbur when they didn’t have to wake up at a certain time. Everyone else should be up and making noise.
His eyebrows furrowed closer as he went downstairs, followed by Wilbur. There was no one on this level either. Where was everyone?
Tommy should be screaming about not being able to go to the dance right about now, but also yelling about how happy he was that he could sleep over at Tubbo’s house tonight. It didn’t make sense; where was everyone?
The two wandered into the kitchen, knowing that the most evidence of leaving would’ve been left in there as that was where most people were in the morning. Techno hoped that the rest of his family wasn’t kidnapped by the FBI, that had happened far too many times already (hahaha… he’s joking… hehe…).
Seeing nothing, Techno left the kitchen and went to the living room and peered out the window facing the street. He was looking for the car, and it was gone.
He heard a call from Wilbur and he ran back into the kitchen.
“What?!” he exclaimed. “Did you find somethin’?”
“Yeah! Yeah, here, look at this.” Wilbur passed a pink sticky note to Techno. “I found this on the fridge.”
Technoblade read it quickly.
Went out for breakfast and didn’t want to bother you 2 b/c you looked like you were having some brotherly bonding.
- Mum <3
Of course. She had to do that. She did the same thing Techno played on them. Well, he thought, at least Wilbur was there to suffer with him.
He sighed.
“Looks like we’re on our own for breakfast. What do ya want?” Techno muttered.
“Eh… honestly? I just want cereal,” Wilbur admitted blandly.
Techno grunted. “Same.”
They ate some Honey Nut Cheerios and had a lovely conversation over breakfast, but what was discussed will not be disclosed…
It was about 11:21 when the rest of their family returned to find Wilbur and Techno laying in the living room playing Smash Bros without a care in the world. Both were determined to not let their sadness at not getting to go to Niki’s bakery for breakfast. Yes, Niki was their ballet advisor, but she also owned a bakery and made very tasty food. Occasionally, she’d bring their class sweets after a good performance. It was always something the two looked forward to.
“Hello boys!” their father called as they walked into the house.
They did not respond.
Their family that was coming in all took their separate ways; Tommy to his room, Phil and their mom and dad to the living room, where Wilbur and Techno were busy duking it out on Smash. They watched as Techno beat Wilbur and they watched as Techno got jumped by Wilbur, scratching at his face. He shoved his brother off and wrestled him to the ground, but he did not go farther. Laying on top of Wilbur seemed to satiate both of them (somehow), and Techno reached up for the TV remote on the glass coffee table next to them. He flicked the TV off before getting off of Wilbur and sitting back in his original spot on the couch.
“Hullooo,” he greeted.
“Did you boys have a good sleep?” his mother asked, trying to egg them on into arguing, Techno could tell.
“Yeah,” Techno answered, “I couldn’t sleep so I went to Wilbur’s room and fell asleep there.”
She sighed, seeing that no reaction would come out of the two. Inevitably, she moved on from the topic. “Are you guys ready for tonight—for the dance?”
Techno took a moment to consider. No, he definitely wasn’t, but maybe he’d be by then. “Yes.” And that was the end of it, though, he knew his family did not believe a second of that answer.
“Alright…” Silence hung in the air a very uncomfortable second before someone started talking again.
Phil clapped his hands together. “When are you two gonna start gettin’ ready for the dance? It starts around 7-ish, right?”
“Yeah,” Wilbur answered. “It’s still too early to figure out when! It’s not even lunchtime yet; give us some time… Jeez, Phil…”
Their oldest brother sighed, standing up and ambling down the hall to his room. Their mom and dad left soon after, leaving Wilbur and Techno the only two in the room once again.
“I’m bored,” Techno groaned. Neither could do much until the dance. The day of the dance never had any dance classes scheduled, they were all canceled, but that also meant that there was nothing to do for several hours. They didn’t even have any school to go to! Usually, Techno would be talking to Dream right about now, but currently, he couldn’t.
“That’s nice. I’m heading back to my room. Shubble, Scott, Jack, and I are gonna play some Uno—find something else to do.”
Wilbur walked away, throwing a very rude hand sign behind him, laughing all the while. Techno groaned once more. He was not going to mope alone in the living room. No, he’d mope alone in his bedroom. Thank you very much. It was now his time to leave the living room. He ignored the laughs coming from Tommy’s open door, not knowing if they were directed at him or something else, at this point, he’d expect both.
Techno didn’t hesitate to shut his door loudly behind him—not slam, just shut loudly—wanting to let the rest of the house realize that he was not pouting alone in his room because pouting was a quiet activity not a loud one.
Since he was not pouting, Techno decided to call Skeppy. Skeppy also couldn’t see his best friend for the rest of today, and he knew that Skeppy was desperate to talk to someone based on the spam he had received the previous days of winter break. His notifications on his phone were filled to the brim with Skeppy’s texts from just today. He would not be the one pouting on this call because first of all, he did not pout, and second of all, Skeppy would be whining on and on about not being able to see Bad when he’d see him within a few hours.
Sitting down at his desk with a call to Skeppy already ringing, Techno turned his computer on. He’d try and get some work done or something while on call with his friend. He expected that most of the call would consist of Skeppy talking and he could just listen; that’s how it normally would go.
The call was answered on the last ring—as usual.
“HI!” Skeppy sung out in greeting.
Techno winced. He hadn’t even put the call on speaker yet, and it wasn’t next to his ear. He was surprised that the speakers on his phone had yet to blow out. Sighing, he set the phone on speaker, making sure to turn down the volume quite a bit.
“Good afternoon,” he droned. “Talk or something, I’m bored.”
“What are you wearing to the dance tonight?” Ah, he asked a question about the dance. The one thing Techno didn’t want to talk about but knew that it’d be talked about anyway. YAY.
“Eh, a suit.”
“No duh! Like… What color is it? What’s the style?”
“It’s dark red, and I dunno… suit-styled?”
“You know suits, man. C’mon… what style is it?”
“I honestly don’t remember.”
“You’re so dry, Technoblade! My suit is actually kinda similar to yours. Mine is also a really pretty dark red—well, I can only assume yours is a pretty dark red because all of your outfits are immaculately put together—and so are the pants.”
“So your suit isn’t teal?”
“Nope! Who’s Wilbur going with again?”
“Don’t remember.”
“Come on Techno! You’re almost as bad as Ranboo. Oh, man… I can not wait to see Bad tonight. I bet he’ll look so hottttt…”
Just as he expected. Now, he could get stuff done—or just play Minecraft—with background noise. Skeppy could go on for hours about Bad, and Techno would know—it had happened to him in the past (more than once). He was glad for the easy distraction though, it took his mind off of the gorgeousness that would be Dream later tonight, and it took off the edge that permanently seemed to rest in his brain. Skeppy, no matter what bad crap Techno said about him, was a good friend.
The time seemed to pass ten times quicker with Skeppy on the line talking his ear off, because now it was 5:30 and Techno needed to get to dinner. Dinner was like an hour earlier than they normally would eat, so Techno wasn’t as hungry as normal, but he knew that there’d be food at the dance. There was nothing to worry about. After dinner, Wilbur, Phil, and Techno would get ready whatever they needed for the night. This meant taking an overnight bag and getting dressed.
From there, all of the brothers would get into the car. They’d bring Tommy over to Tubbo’s house first before Phil would cart Wilbur and Techno to the school—where the dance was being held—and kick them out of the car. Then, it’d be a free for all. Wilbur might end up sleeping on the curb from a hangover, or he might end up at Schlatt’s or Quackity’s. Techno would be heading to Dream’s after they were done at the dance, and he’d be spending the night there.
Whatever happened, Technoblade knew that he’d have fun. For as antisocial as he was, he had a feeling that he’d enjoy tonight, surprisingly. Then again, he’d be spending it with his friends and Dream. And he’d be dancing! Dream and dancing were two of his favorite things! (Dream was no object, but you understand.)
It was nothing fancy for dinner, and it made sense. His parents were going to a restaurant later that night for dinner so they weren’t eating with them, so it was just the brothers, and they just ate leftovers or made a sandwich or something. Techno chose to eat a turkey sandwich.
He finished dinner quickly—as expected—and went back to his room to get ready. Techno had decided that he'd shower before going to smell and look his best. Speeding through his shower with ease, and he was ready to get dressed. He would dress before doing his hair so as to not mess his hair up while fiddling with clothes. Doing his hair after he was dressed meant that he had the chance of getting his suit wet, which would be bad. He’d take his chances.
After brushing his hair, he ran a tired hand through his hair. He would wake up within the hour though, he knew that.
Normally, he’d straighten his hair after blow drying it, but he was requested by both his mother and Dream to leave it curly for the night—the day before winter break Dream pleaded with him to leave it curly. His mom said that he could get Wilbur to do his hair if he left it curly. Techno was up for anything that required him to do less work.
He had set all the clothes he was going to wear that night in the bathroom before getting into the shower, so they were all ready for him to get dressed. First, he had to put on an undershirt before anything else (well, he put on underwear, but you’re supposed to assume that one). That way, if the shirt was slightly transparent you couldn’t even tell. He had tons of these shirts and just grabbed his favorite one that was clean. Next, it was pants. He had to make sure that his undershirt was tucked into his pants before he could tuck his button-up in, which meant the pants went on before the shirt. Techno thought back to when he wasn’t good at tucking in his shirts. He had developed that skill very quickly, as he had to learn for both ballroom and his usual style. Now, he enjoyed tucking his shirts, unlike before when he despised the dull task that still had to be precise.
Once he had everything tucked in properly and had adjusted the pants so there wasn’t an odd lumpy bit where the tuck was, Techno checked himself in the mirror once more. He posed a bit, smiling to himself. He looked good! He enjoyed how he looked so far, and was pleased with it. It… was nice.
Technoblade had decided to wait on his suit jacket until after Wilbur had done his hair, so he wouldn’t heat up too soon and so that no hair would get caught in the jacket while Wilbur was trying to do it. He stepped out of his bathroom, letting the steam flow out, and tossed his suit jacket on to his bed for later.
He didn’t know if Wilbur was ready to do his hair yet so he would wait by packing a small overnight bag. Grabbing the duffle bag he normally used for dance, he took out the ballet flats and clothes that needed to be washed yet hadn’t been taken from the bag out. The clothes went into his laundry basket and the flats went with the other ones—on a shoe rack inside his closet. Some pajamas he wouldn’t mind wearing in front of Dream’s mom went into the bag, clothes for the next day, his glasses and contacts cas, and the toiletries he’d use while there were all thrown into the bag. He didn’t really need anything besides that.
He pulled on some black socks and grabbed his dress shoes, taking his duffle bag and phone with him as a last minute thought. Techno was done in his room now and could dump the stuff he needed in the living room to wait for Wilbur to be ready so that his hair could be done. With his stuff already next to the couch, he could take the free time to sit down and hype Skeppy up for tonight like a good friend.
It wasn’t long before he heard Wilbur tromping down the stairs, but he ignored the brunette in favor of finishing up his hype for Skeppy. The guy needed as much as he could get, and hype from Techno was about two times as much as you could get from a normal person because he did it so little. Skeppy deserved this one act of kindness though; he had stuck with Techno through some pretty rough times.
“Oi,” Wilbur called. Techno glanced up at his brother only after sending his final text.
“Hmm?” he replied in question.
“It’s time to do your hair now.”
“Where are we gonna do it?” Techno asked as he stood. “My bathroom?”
“Nah, I’ve got the stuff in the bathroom I use—y’know, the one that people who aren’t special use.”
“Hey… you’re the one who wanted that bedroom.”
Wilbur ignored him and walked off, Techno followed obediently. They reached the downstairs bathroom, it was hidden underneath the staircase and in between the living room and kitchen. It was kind of an odd place for a bathroom to be, but the house was, in general, odd. Wilbur flicked on the light before turning to Techno.
“Can you go up to my room and grab the white baby’s breath from its vase on my bedside table? I’m sure you saw it last night when you were in my room,” Wilbur requested. “I’ll get the rest of the stuff ready while you do that.”
So we’re putting flowers in my hair?
“I didn’t see it last night, but whatever,” Techno sighed, leaving the bathroom. He was sure he could find it even if he hadn’t seen it last night.
He ran up the stairs, wanting to get this over with as quick as possible. It wasn’t that he didn’t like getting his hair done—no, he actually loved having his hair played with or messed with—but his excitement with seeing Dream overwhelmed every other thought and he couldn't think straight (he wasn’t already). He just wanted to see him so bad . Technoblade was a simp.
He found the flowers almost instantly, running down the stairs and to the bathroom, where Wilbur was waiting for him with a stool pulled up to the sink. The bathroom was skinny, and it was just a half-bath so there wasn’t much room to maneuver around each other. They’d made it work though, and Wilbur began his work as Techno watched him through the mirror.
Now, Techno had done his hair for most of his life, but before he learned, Wilbur did it for him. Wilbur, somehow, was so good at it too. He didn’t even have long hair to work with himself, but he worked Techno’s like he’d been doing it for decades, which he had done it for the better part of a decade—that’s not the point—yet, he retained the skill through years without anyone to practice on (from what Techno knows of).
The twirling of his hair made him evermore tired, but as soon as Wilbur finished, he was wide away again. This was seriously going to mess with his internal clock.
Wilbur pulled his hands away after lightly pushing the final sprig of baby’s breath into his now done hair. It looked great, as expected, but it definitely wasn’t something Wilbur had done on his hair before. The majority of his hair was down, cascading down his back, but from his part to about the parietal lobe it was braided into two buns. The small, white flowers were pushed into the cracks of the braids and in the space connecting the braids and buns to disguise that messy bit. The style had a messy feel that didn’t make it overly formal or manicured. It was definitely one of Techno’s favorite hairstyles Wilbur had done for him, then again, part of his love of the style might’ve been since it was done today—the day that he so desperately wanted to enjoy and look his best on.
“There,” Wilbur finished. “You’re all done now. Pretty, innit?”
“Yeah…” Techno breathed. “I- I love it. Thanks Wilbur.”
Wilbur laughed, putting on an accent. “Anytime, darling.”
The two walked out of the bathroom, leaving the mess for someone else, and going out into the living room. His brother ran upstairs carrying the leftover flowers, returning with a small bag full of what Techno could only assume were his overnight clothes.
“Where’s Tommy and Phil?” Techno questioned, glancing around.
“Do you think I know? I haven’t been around them really since a few hours ago,” Wilbur answered. “Go check Phil’s room, I’ll get Tommy.”
Techno nodded and followed Wilbur down the hall, walking past him when he stopped at Tommy’s door. Briefly, he reminded himself of his suit jacket still sitting on his bed, just waiting to be taken. He ran inside his room to grab the jacket, and pulled it on as he made his way down the rest of the hall.
Nicely, he rapped his knuckles on his oldest brother’s door unlike Wilbur, who immediately barged into Tommy’s room as soon as he got close enough to reach the door. Techno could tell that he did that without having to look based on the shouts coming from that direction, and just general knowledge and experience. Philza answered within seconds, already to go.
“Time to go, mate?” he questioned, shutting off the light in his room and trailing off Techno, already going down the hall.
“Mhm.”
“Hustle, hustle!” Phil called into Tommy’s room, where their other brothers were struggling for dominance with Tommy in a headlock and trying to bite Wilbur’s hand. “And Wilbur, don’t ruin your suit!” Wilbur turned, smiling apologetically before immediately dropping Tommy onto the ground.
Tommy screamed, but the other three scraped out of the room with Tommy hot on their heels, chasing after the culprit who was the farthest behind Techno and Phil. Techno ran into the living room, snatching his bag and following after Wilbur, who had run past Phil—who was getting the car keys—and out the door. The two were running in circles around the car, not getting anywhere and just tiring themselves out.
Techno stepped closer to the runners and grabbed ahold of Tommy’s collar at the chance he got. He would not ruin Wilbur’s suit, knowing the anger that would leave his brother and parents at the destruction of another suit (a story for another time).
“Oi, get in the car, loser,” Techno demanded. “I don’t wanna be late.”
Tommy stuck his tongue out at his brother but got in the car without complaint. The other two came in shortly after.
On the ride to the school, Phil relayed all the rules to Wilbur and Techno as he had been taught by their parents. They didn’t listened. All they wanted was to get inside that building and find their partner, and that was about all that was on each of their minds.
They called goodbyes as they left the car, but little else was said with pent up energy fueling them onward. The two dumped their overnight bags into a bush near the front of the school, but not too close that the bags would be easily spotted and snatched. The bush was a bush they had used in the past for similar situations such as homecoming. It worked surprisingly well for its purpose—to keep their bags safe and out of the way to be grabbed when they were ready to go.
Students filtered into the building, and Wilbur followed, knowing that his date was already in the building, but Techno’s was not. He knew that he was getting there earlier than Dream and was going to wait for the blond to arrive before going in. He really wanted to see him. The two shot each other nervous glances and they parted.
Techno fiddled with the boutonnière in his hand, nervous and filled with anxious anticipation. He stood off to the side of the pathway, not wanting to get in the way of other students and wanting Dream to be able to see him and not be lost in the crowd. He felt uncomfortable, alone, standing right next to a moving crowd. It made him feel left out, but he wouldn’t be for long, he promised himself. Dream was coming and wouldn’t leave him alone.
And he was right, Dream was coming and soon arrived, spotting Technoblade almost immediately after stepping out of his mother’s car and waving goodbye to her. He ran over to the waiting pink-haired boy and leapt into his arms. Techno caught him instinctually, having caught multiple people in ballet in the past.
“Hey,” Techno murmured, clutching Dream’s middle in a tight hug—but still nowhere near as tight as Dream’s hug to Techno.
“Hi!” Dream exclaimed, finally taking a moment to let Techno breathe. He stepped back, looking his boyfriend up and down. “You-” he quieted. “You look… so gorgeous…”
Techno’s eyes widened and his face lit up with blush. ‘I-I,” he stumbled. “I have something for you.” Techno fumbled with the boutonnière in his hands before getting a good grip on it. “Come ‘ere.” Dream stepped closer, allowing Techno to pin the decorative flower to his black suit.
For once, Dream was wearing minimal green. The only thing being Dream’s wretched neon green that Techno had learned to enjoy being his tie, but even that was hidden behind his black suit. Underneath the suit, Dream wore a white button-up and he wore black slacks and shoes. He looked presentable for once. He couldn’t wait to dance with his boyfriend.
“Ah…” Dream pulled his own boutonnière from his pocket, a red rose. “I’ve got one for you too.” And he pinned the flower to Techno’s chest.
“Ready to go in now?” Techno questioned, taking hold of Dream’s hand after leaning over and pecking his cheek. He could feel the warmth radiating from it.
“Y-Yeah… I’d really like to dance with you tonight, but I don’t know how to slow dance or do anything like you can…” Dream admitted as they walked into the crowd. “I meant to have my mom teach me! I swear! But… I- uh- forgot.”
“Hey… it’s fine. I’ll teach you. Let’s just enjoy the night until you want to dance, then I’ll show you.”
Dream nodded, and squeezed Techno’s hand just a bit harder. Finally, they had stepped into the school.
There were signs and arrows pointing in the direction of the gym—where the dance was being held—but they didn’t even need to look at those as the crowd just moved in that direction anyway. Techno reckoned that it would be just about impossible to go a different direction.
For a school dance, it was surprisingly nice. Teachers, students, and parents had all come together early today and previous days to set up the gym for the Winter’s End Dance, and it looked like a completely different place. With the lights turned off, and candlelight and vibrant purple, blue, and pink lights being the only source of lights, it really looked like some kind of ballroom-like room. It was seriously impressive. A dance floor of sorts was set up and people were dancing to up-beat music that usually started the night off. The slower stuff would begin later in the night.
The two looked at the room in wonder, images of the cruddy gym they used for P.E leaving their mind completely. They had stepped out of the crowd and off to the side where fewer people were so that they wouldn’t hold anyone up.
“Well?” Dream wondered, having been brought out of his trance and startling Techno out of his. “What do we do?”
That was a good question. What did they do in this seemingly massive room. There were so many options.
Find where some of the students had snuck in bad-tasting liquor and take some of that? Go up to the table filled with an assortment of snack type foods and punch that was bound to be spiked? Go out on the dance floor where their friends were certain to be? Cower in the corner in fear? Yeah—well, they were already doing that, so that wasn’t an option.
“We could try and find George and Sapnap?” Techno suggested. “Bad and Skeppy are bound to be here by now, too.”
“That’s true. You up for it?”
“Sure.” Techno was agreeing to something that was sure to be chaotic, and he didn’t really mind as much as he would’ve a few months ago.
The two scooted through the crowd with some difficulty—Techno never knew there were that many people in the Junior and Senior classes. Eventually, they made it to the dance floor, instantly spotting Sapnap putting on some strange show in the middle of the dance floor. Karl was video taping it just to their right. They moved over to stand by his side, Dream tapped him on his shoulder to let him know that they were behind him.
Soon, the song finished and so did Sapnap, and he walked off the dance floor with a flourish and flip of his hair. He still had his white bandana on… why had Techno thought he wouldn’t wear it? Why wouldn’t he wear it! Sapnap spotted the two others and walked a bit faster to them.
“Hey guys!” he called over the music. “When’d you get here?”
“A bit ago,” Dream answered once Sapnap was close enough to them to be heard over the music. “Where’s George?”
“Oh? Wondering about him when you’re standing right next to your boyfriend ? Dream… you’re heartless!” Yes, Sapnap was still salty about not being told that they were dating as soon as it happened. “And, I don’t know. I think he’s with Quackity and Wilbur. Obviously, it’s a bad idea to leave those three alone together, but he mentioned something about political parties? I don’t know, I had to get out on the dance floor.”
Dream nodded, taking in the information.
“I’m gonna go over and get some food. I thought I saw some Monster over there too1” Karl announced. “You boys coming?”
The three trailed after him, weaving their way through the dense crowd. It was obvious that Karl, Dream, and Sapnap were more comfortable with all the people with how they moved through the hoard.
Karl ran ahead, somehow running through the crowd and by the time the other three emerged, he was holding an empty Monster can and an unopened one in his hands.
“Sap!” Karl exclaimed. “Let’s do Monster shots!”
“Okay!” Sapnap agreed happily. “Dream, Techno! Do you want to join?”
“Yes! C’mon Techno! Let’s do it!” Dream pleaded, tugging on Techno’s hand.
And that’s where things started going. He didn’t understand where they were going, but they were certainly going somewhere.
Technoblade was certain it was impossible to get drunk on Monster—before. But now? It seemed incredibly possible and highly likely. And then it happened.
The night had begun to slow down—for some—and so, a music change was in order, too. Techno recognized the song through some haze in his mind. He’d been drinking too much Monster having never had any before in the first place. He focused back on the chaos in front of him.
George had come over at some point and now, Sapnap was trying to do body shots off of him. Dream had wanted to, but Techno quickly shot him down. If there was anyone who could make Dream fall out of love with Techno and in love with them, it was George. Technoblade hated him.
“Hey,” he murmured as he tugged on the sleeve of Dream’s suit. He was just close enough to him that he was heard over the people around them.
“Hmm?” Dream questioned, still clapping in excitement at Sapnap. “Are you getting overwhelmed?”
“No… You said you wanted to slow dance, right? Well, ‘ere’s music on now if you’d like. Of course, we don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
“Ah… it is. Give me one moment, I need to check the time and say goodbye to these nerds. I assume we’re leaving after this?”
“That’s fine with me.”
And so, it was decided.
Dream and Techno stepped out onto a corner of the dance floor, now filled with soft warm lighting instead of the vibrant hues of earlier. Couples danced around them slowly, and Techno could point out one pair as Skeppy and Bad (good for them!).
“So?” Dream questioned quietly. “How do you dance?”
Techno laughed, “Well you should know how to do that…” Dream groaned, mumbling something or another. “Okay, so I’m going to take your right hand in my left hand, alright?” He did exactly that. “And then I need you to put your other hand on my shoulder- Yep, right there.” Techno maneuvered his own arm so that it was partially holding up Dream’s and resting just on the edge of his back.
“I thought you're supposed to put your hands on my waist and I’d put mine on your neck?” Dream wondered.
“No, I learned this way, so that’s the way we’re doing it, darling.”
Dream’s face filled with bright red flush at the pet name. “What now?”
“We just sway to the beat… You can do that, right?”
“Yes, Techno. I can sway .”
“Good, good.”
He didn’t know how long they danced, but it felt so good to be with Dream, to touch Dream, to know that Dream was his and he was Dream’s. It felt like so long since they had seen each other and Techno never wanted to do something like that again. He wanted to see Dream every waking moment and non-waking moment. He wanted to dance like this in his dreams with Dream. If anything his boyfriend was a dream, not just Dream.
As soon as they got out of this wretched—yes, he had decided the dance was wretched after realizing he couldn’t snuggle with Dream and fall asleep there—Winter’s End Dance. He no longer wanted to be here, but he did want to dance with Dream, so he’d bear it just a little longer.
Techno didn’t remember a time that night that he and Dream had not been touching in some way or another, whether it be holding hands or leaning against each other, it was like they were inseparable.
The song they were currently dancing to came to a stop with one final drag and they stepped off of the dance floor.
“Time to go home?” Dream murmured tiredly. He hadn’t been told what time it was when Dream checked, but he knew it was late, even for them. This was proving the facts.
The next song started playing, “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston (how was that a slow dancing song?), and most of the students in the room began belting out the easy lyrics. This was not a pleasant-sounding belting.
“Yeah,” Techno agreed. “Let’s get outta here.”
Moving as quickly as possible to the door, they ran through the crowd at an almost decent pace, but were slowed by literally every possible thing. This included someone running into Techno.
He was knocked back, hitting Dream too, and he was prepared to yell at the guy. When he got a good look at the blond who ran into him, he saw Tommy in his suit from Halloween with Ranboo not too far behind.
“Hey… uh- Bossman!” Tommy exclaimed with a pinched-look on his face. ‘Y’know… I think it’s time I get goin’...”
Just as his brother started to run off, Techno grabbed him by his arm and leaned down so that his mouth was right next to his ear.
“You, Tommy, are in massive trouble when we are all home tomorrow. Be. Ready. You better be glad I’m staying at Dream’s tonight,” Techno gritted out, ruffling Tommy's hair with a heavy hand.
Tommy let out a screech, and before Techno could release his younger brother, Tommy had some sort of burst of strength and ripped away from Techno’s steel grip.
“Welp,” Dream clapped. “That just happened. Let’s go home. I want to sleep.”
Techno nodded in agreement and they quickly made their way out of the building. Finally, they were in air that didn’t smell of flowery perfume and overly potent deodorant and cologne. He took a deep breath of the good air before moving over to the bush he had stashed his bag behind, taking it back up and jogging over to Dream, who had begun the walk to his house.
“Hey,” he panted, catching up. “Wait- gimme a sec.” He unbuttoned his suit jacket and loosened his tie, unbuttoning the first button on his button-up, too. “Okay, now that I finally can… I wanted to do this.”
He pulled Dream close to him with one hand on the middle of his back, and the other on his jaw, pushing their lips ever closer. Techno squeezed his eyes shut, kissing Dream with every part of his being. He’d wanted to do it all night, but knew that the middle of their school gym during a school dance was not the most ideal location.
Dream’s hands didn’t know where to go, but after a moment, they landed to rest on Techno’s chest and he pushed back just as strong, if not stronger. They pulled away a few seconds later.
“What was that for?” Dream murmured beside Techno’s ear, his face red with blush even in the cold night. His warm breath on Techno’s ear made his own ears flush. “Kissing me like that..?”
“Do you- Did you-” Techno stuttered.
“Do it again, idiot. Why’d you stop?”
“I don’t know,” he breathlessly answered before pulling him right back in.
The body says what words cannot.
- Martha GRaham