Work Text:
Phil's second floor of his Tudor style house is cozy but cramped for anyone over 5’10, as Dream quickly discovered climbing up the steep narrow stairs to the loft. Phil’s hosting a party, one normal of the tight knit group of streamers in Europe but tonight is a rare occurrence- the Americans are here.
Dream stumbles to a windowsill nestled in the eaves. It’s ajar and Dream can feel the buzz of the drink in his hand along with the breeze of the cool air outside. He pokes his head out the window and sees a figure seated on the roof. Dream climbs out, stabling himself with the shutters, first looking down to work out his footing, then looking up to see his “rival” seated quietly on the roof. Dream shakes his head slowly with a grin aimed at Techno who is sitting cross legged on the roof, holding a drink.
"Someone's comfortable." Dream lowers himself down next to the pinkett, leaning his elbows on his knees as his jeans hit the shingles.
"Uh yeah, Phil let's me come up here, really let's me clear my head."
"I can see why you like it" They sit in silence for a moment. Dream looks at the neighborhood surrounding them. The houses all look distant, the lights inside them long turned off.
"Where's George and Sap?"
"Where's Wil and Phil?"
"Touche."
Dream takes a swig of his drink then glances at the drink in Techno's hand, smirking at the mango Whiteclaw.
"Phil won't let me bring any drink harder than seltzer up here." If it wasn't so dark, Dream could have sworn to see the pink of his cheeks, probably a combination of alcohol and embarrassment. "He claims I might fall off."
"Can't have you falling for anyone can we?" As soon as the words leave his lips, he cringes quietly, his panic and shock at what words came from his own mouth luckily covered by how drunk he is.
"Anyone?"
"My bad, I just meant we don't need you dangling off the roof tonight."
Techno shrugs, "Wouldn't be the worst way I've spent a night," he goes to his hair, currently tied in a braid and pulls the elastic out. "Besides, Technoblade never dies."
Dream tried not to stare at the pinkett’s broad shoulders as he ran his fingers through his hair to pull it back up into a ponytail. "Does Technoblade ever get injured?"
"I am choosing to ignore that question." Dream laughed at Techno's dismissal that had been combined by a little dismissive hand movement, his hair now held up by one hand and the elastic band in between his teeth. Dream found himself lingering on Techno's lips, even after the man had moved the tie back into his grasp. "Besides, it seems like you've had more than me." Techno nods to Dream's gin concoction. "If Phil finds out you are up here that drunk, he'll be livid." He tightened the bun he just made with his long and nimble fingers, Dream suddenly and desperately wanted to do anything to get them on him.
"You could have just told me you wanted me to leave Techno." Dream pouts and makes a move to get up. Techno tugs on the arm of Dream’s jacket.
"No, stay."
"Aw, does Techno actually enjoy my company?"
"Now that you put it that way, get lost." Techno shoved Dream’s shoulder with his own and they both laughed into the night sky.
“So will you tell on me to Phil?"
"If you let me have some gin, your secrets are safe with me." Dream almost too quickly hands Techno his cup, which he takes, his rings hitting the cheap party cups making a loud noise, as he takes a long drink of the liquor. Dream’s mouth goes dry at the sight of Techno’s Adam's apple bobbing.
Once Techno is ginned up, they sit for a while, his shoulder still brushed against Dream's. "I haven't gotten this high in ages"
"Me neither," Techno confesses, rubbing his eyes and smudging the eyeliner lining the waterline, "I mostly just eat edibles while I edit, never in social situations."
"Sapnap hot boxed our bathroom a few months ago," Dream laughed at the memory "it took a week's worth of showers to get the smell out of the room."
"I forgot how good it feels."
"Being high?" Dream turns his head to face Techno, his neck tilted like a golden retriever. Techno turned to meet Dream.
"Being with other people when you're high."
Dream's face flushes, making his freckled cheeks look sunburnt. "I'm taking that as a complement."
"You should, I don’t give them to pretty people as often as I should." Techno bites his lip then turns away from the blonde, moving his shoulder with him.
Where Dream's shoulder had met Techno’s, it felt aflame, tingling and warm. His brain got fuzzier, an almost impressive feat considering how intoxicated he already was. Dream's lips parted, his breath heavy to an almost overpowering weight of want. If Techno said something like that again, he could moan on his words alone.
Dream takes more sips of his drinks, trying not to think about Techno’s lips on the same plastic rim minutes ago. Techno pulls a vape out of his pocket as Dream's stomach heats up, feeling like it's burning from the inside out. They sit in silence a bit longer, Techno's long fingers tapping against the vape pen to a pattern Dream couldn't place. The blonde then noticed the earbud cord running down Techno's shirt to the phone sat haphazardly on the roof, one earbud dangling and the other in his ear.
"Whatcha listening to?"
"I mean it's off right now but it was penelope scott- it's my sisters playlist." Dream looked at Techno skeptically. Techno's long fingers play with the wispy hair strands fallen from his bun that curl around his face, framing the pale skin glowing under the moon. ".. Okay she’s a guilty pleasure, so sue me."
"We all have our guilty pleasures, just tell me Taylor Swift is somewhere on that playlist."
"It would be a crime not to."
"I mean, you never struck me as the law abiding type."
Techno glances at Dream, eyes dark as he flicks and twists the vape pen in his hand."For the right people I’m not."
This was getting dangerously close to being real for Dream. Techno takes a long drag from the vape, Dream can smell the sweet vapor escaping Techno's lips.
"Do you actually like those things?"
"I like the scent mostly, and how it lingers, I don't use them often-"
"Are you gonna go all fault in the stars on me?"
"The great literary masterpiece? I could never attempt to recreate it," He rolled his eyes with a slight grin on his face. "but yeah I really just like the scent, gives me something to do with my hands when I get distracted too."
Sunk cost fallacy: as much as Dream’s heart aches and he knows it’s bad for him, he’s invested, he’s too far in to stop now. "Distracted?"
"Overwhelmed, I guess. Just so much happening inside, I'd rather just be left to myself and my thoughts.... it's a lot better than having music blowing out my eardrums downstairs."
"What are you thinking about that's better than-" Dream cranes his ear to hear the music playing downstairs- a Bruno Mars song most likely queued to get a reaction out of Tommy, "the music downstairs?"
Techno shakes his head and twists those stupid fucking curls again. "I'm too sober for this conversation Dream."
Dream might vomit, everything is getting too comfortable and he just wants to poke more and more and fall deeper. He slightly shakes his head and takes a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.
"Oh you smoke?"
"Just when I’m high, the smell clings on to my clothes and sort of grounds me."
"You've gotta be kidding me! You're smelling like cigarettes and I smell like pot and artificial strawberry flavoring? I need my badass card revoked." As if Dream's a badass compared to Techno 'hand full of rings, painted nails, smudged eyeliner, heavy stomping boots' blade. He decides to just go the comedic, hypothetical route.
"Is it even flavoring if it's a scent?"
"Well, I can taste it."
Dream was not prepared for this answer of the hypothetical. His eyes flicked down to Techno's lips then he slowly blinked, looking back at the pinkett's eyes that were drooped lethargically, seemingly calm, though his jaw was tense, showing his veins almost popping out from the milky skin on his neck, and his pupils blown out, hidden by dark lashes. He was so far in, Dream was absolutely fucked.
"Would I be able to taste it?" Dream looked up at Techno through his lashes, eyes heavy and reluctant to move from the pinkettes face.
"Depends on how sober you are." Techno’s eyebrow quirks up.
"I'm only getting more drunk as I look at you." Dream admits, his face heating up. Techno doesn’t seem to notice the pink cheeks, seemingly deep in thought looking at Dream’s mouth.
"You have pretty lips'' Techno murmurs. Dream moves his hand to play with the baby hairs at the back of Techno's neck.
"then kiss me, blood god"
Techno moves to hold Dream's cheek as their lips meet, a mix of smoke and saccharine. Techno's lips taste of stale edibles, mango whiteclaw, and sickeningly sweet strawberries that could give Dream a headache if he thought too hard about them. The entire conversation tonight had been laying gasoline, this was the explosion. Dream knows he is collateral, but he couldn't care less at this point. Tonight he’d breath in the cigarette smoke, the disgusting sugary vapor, and the sweat mixed with cologne in the cold fall air until that’s all that filled his lungs.