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Techno always kept quiet about the fact that he knew Dream when he was alive. His dad knew; he always saw Dream when he picked Techno up from practice, and so did his brother, who watched them compete in tournaments. Something in Techno's chest ached when he saw Dream on the TV, talking about ghosts and laughing with his friends. But he never voiced it. He wondered if Dream was still fencing.
One day, Tommy and Tubbo uploaded a video of one of their conversations with Techno. He was holding his sword, so his form flickers in and out of view occasionally. Techno was doubtful that anyone would find this as hard proof of ghosts' existence, but he was still happy he could help. Later that week, the DT announced that they'd be doing a live stream, where they'd have a live reaction to Tommy and Tubbo's newest video, as well as some other things. The two teens were ecstatic to watch the stream, set reminders, and waiting impatiently until they could crowd around a screen and watch it. Techno and the rest of his family figured they'd sit down and watch it as well since the kids were so excited about it.
By the time the stream started, Tommy was practically vibrating and couldn't keep his mouth shut. Tubbo had to shush him at least five times before they even finished waiting for more people to join the stream. The team even jokingly called them out as one of the first viewers on the stream. After that, George, Snapnap, and Dream talked about upcoming plans for the channel and a bit of context for anyone new. It was odd, watching Dream drone on about the channel rivalry but assure their audience it was all for fun. He looked so... different. Phil offered a comforting hand, which Techno took.
Finally, it was time for them to watch the video. Tommy practically screeched, and Tubbo waved his hands around in the air wildly before quieting Tommy again. The team all leaned back in their seats, watching quietly as the video began. Then, the mood shifted as Tubbo's voice-over explained what was happening and who he was talking to. Dream's face fell from a content smile to something uncomfortable. He leaned forward in his seat and uncrossed his arms, resting his hands on the table where the computer rested. He paused the video as Techno flickered in and out of view, skipping between frames until Techno was on screen. At this point, his friends were softly calling Dream's name.
Techno squeezed his dad's hand.
Dream's mask covered most of his face, but his lips were pressed in a thin line. He unpaused the video, and all it took was Tubbo calling out Techno's name for Dream to pause the video again.
"I-I can't. George, stop the pause the stream, please. I-"
And the stream ended. Techno doesn't know if it was ironic or not, but one of his old videos showed up in the recommended section.
"Uh... what just happened?" Tubbo asked.
A few hours later, the Dream Team sent out a few tweets talking about stuff they didn't get to in the stream. They didn't address how suddenly it ended.
About a day later, Tommy and Tubbo's official channel Twitter received a message from Dream asking them to be completely honest on whether they did any research into his past or faked anything in the video. They were honest and said no, nothing was faked, and no, they didn't look into Dream's history at all.
It took Dream a long time to respond.
At the same time, Tubbo was trying to communicate with the ghosts in the house while Tommy franticly managed Twitter. It was then that Techno hesitantly explained that he and Dream knew each other in life, and they did fencing together before Techno died. At that spill of information, Tommy and Tubbo shared a mutual expression of "Oh fuck."
Fanbases on both sides were freaking out; Tommy was attempting to figure out what the hell to say to Dream, Tubbo was trying to figure out if they've violated some sort of law, and Techno was trying to comprehend the fact that Dream had not only recognized him but was also so shaken that he called off a whole stream. Phil was doing his best to dad three separate kids, and Wilbur rejoiced in the house's temporary chaos.
After some frantic explanations from both sides, a single message from Dream came through.
"Wanna do a collab?"