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Dream has always assumed Techno was like the river current: silent but relentless, eroding away at rocks as if they’re nothing. He chips away at enemies, sometimes with his bare hands as if they were mere ants, squeezing them to a pulp to the point where they would raise white flags immediately after.
He isn’t wrong. Techno is like water: strong and swift, morphing into different moulds and still coming out on top. Sometimes, though, he’s laid back. Drifting along and simply watching the people around him with an unspeakable amount of calm and tranquility.
Techno gives life to plants, growing them until they are lush and green. Every time flowers bloom and the air is filled with the pleasant scent of lobelias and blazing stars. He picks some and presents them to him in a pretty bouquet, face turning red in a way that makes Dream want to squish his cheeks and kiss him stupid.
He is usually cool, like bathing in spring water and letting the cold, fresh feeling seep into his skin. Dream is a raging inferno; passionate but blazing hot. Techno helps him soothe his burns in a serene and loving way, comfortable with every touch.
“Had a rough day?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you want a massage?”
A soft smile.
“Please.”
But there were times where Dream irks Techno; Dream and his flames licking Techno and his water surface. His volcano no longer stays dormant; the magma piping red-hot, rising to the very brim, a thread away from exploding.
He, in turn, boils and bubbles and is furious. The water grouping together to form a menacing tidal wave - vicious and deafening. The waterfall gushes down threateningly over the edge, tempting Dream to tip over.
Dream takes the bait, fire turning into an icy blue, burning brighter and scorching hot, rising higher and higher-
“You never tell me anything!”
“It’s common sense! Your duty as my partner is to understand how I feel!”
“Wha- Dream, I’m not some mind reader, you have to let me understand your emotions.”
“If you really loved me, you wouldn’t have any trouble.”
Dream erupts. Hot lava spewing into the air, the molten rock and tephra bursting high into the air before descending down at break-neck speed. The sky fills with ash and livid clouds, some hurtling down the sides of the mountain and eradicating everything in their path. The heavens rain a hot gray powder that smothering any hope of salvaging their relationship until it was merely an expanse of what used to be.
Dream’s flames battle Techno’s waves; they charge at one another like there’s no tomorrow and collide at odd angles, screaming themselves hoarse-
“We should break up.”
His words hit Dream like a blow to the stomach. Water dowsing raging fire, the blaze snuffed out with a hiss, smoke rising high into the air. The tide retreats wordlessly.
The world is silent.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
Dream burns out.
Techno leaves and Dream slumps against the ashy ground, clutching the gray dust in his hand and watches as it slips through his fingers, the powder clinging to them with the remnants of their love.
Techno turns stone cold, freezing up and sealing himself away from the rest of the world and shutting everything out underneath the icy surface, leaving an inky, tenebrous unknown beneath.
The volcano leaves an ashy gray carcass in its wake. The volcano now a shell of what it used to be. The lava cools into a dark, smoky, and thick blanket - burying plants and animals alike. The last of the fire crackles and smoulders, floating away in wisps.
Dream stumbles to his apartment and knocks a pattern which they established so that the other knows it’s him specifically.
He waits and time slips by without a response from Techno. The door never opens and there was absolutely no sound. Icicles form around the door handle and creep closer to him. With a trembling hand, he reaches forward. A sharp piece of ice embeds itself deep in his skin. He grits his teeth and tightly shuts his eyes; he deserves the pain given and he’ll take it.
“I’m sorry-” he breathes, the corner of his eyes stinging- “I didn’t mean what I said.”
Silence.
He leaves.
The sky was still bleak and gloomy, not letting a speck of sunlight pass through. Dream eats his heart out.
It always ends like this. Him being unreasonable over stupid things and his partner spitting back just as ferociously. Everything is chaos and regret and-
God , does he miss Techno.
He would do anything to get Techno back.
As Dream cries ash tears and black molten rock, a crack appears on the ice surface.
Time passes and they heal. The frost thaws and spring welcomes them all with open arms. Water flows calmly down streams, little fish thrive near river banks, and plants sway with the wind.
The volcano gives one last puff of smoke. The air clears and reveals a cerulean blue. The lava takes longer to cool before eventually becoming solid rocks. Dream is lonely, sitting on his newly made steep mountains, gazing out onto the destruction. Spring, fortunately, takes pity on him and drops some seeds as a show of mercy. He treasures each one.
Soon enough, his plants grow and the gloomy landscape finally has some color to it. If only Techno was here. He’d be proud.
As Dream fitfully sleeps under the covers, water swings by to nourish his plants.
When he wakes up, he wonders why the leaves of his crops had dew on them glinting under the morning sun. Until he realized, with an aching hope, that it was Techno.
He stays up late the next night, til he notices the water seeping in over the plants. He tries his hardest not to sprint over.
“Hi.”
“Oh. Uh, hey, Dream.”
“How- how have you been?”
“I could be better.”
They chat and the wooden sticks in Dream’s heart set a spark. He missed the water. He missed the waves lapping against him, the feeling of being underwater and liquid love surrounding him, cool and refreshing. He missed holding hands with water and his own flames, defying nature as if it were nothing. He missed having his fire constantly being checked on by Techno; he had always made sure it was never put out.
“I’d light myself on fire to keep you warm.”
Barely contained tears slip down and Dream is stuttering apologies, sniffling as he thumbs at the leaves he had so carefully grown. All he hears is Techno’s sharp intake of breath and he is once again enveloped by strong arms with sweet nothings in his ear.
No more was the boiling water seen from that other day. The stormy seas vanish, replaced by the person he’d come to love so unconditionally. Calloused hands wipe his eyes dry, the familiar deep voice rumbling words of comfort and apologies for leaving him behind.
As the last of Dream’s tears drips into the volcanic soil below, his flame rekindled once again. Water greets him merrily, they swoop and meld together, holding each other close as they waltz over lakes and grassy hills. Leaping over ravines. Under the joy of spring, they whoop and holler as they dance across the Ring of Fire, and Dream feels more whole than he ever had before.