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Curling incense in the air hid gems, cards, and candles from Techno’s view. When the doorbell rang, he took a deep breath to brace himself for the coming customer interaction. A familiar teen, tall with a black and white mask, entered and immediately waved, his eyes crinkling to show he was smiling behind the mask.
“Oh shit, Ranboo?” Techno’s eyes lit up and he quickly left from behind the counter.
"Techno!" Ranboo's arms awkwardly opened up, inviting a hug from the man.
Techno pulled him into a tight hug, then pulled away and looked up at him.
“Dude, how have you been? How come you’re here? Did you come with someone?”
"Nope, just me," Ranboo was fiddling his fingers together. "I asked Tubbo if they wanted to come with but they said they were busy." Ranboo approached a small rack displaying a whole variety of crystals and bent over to look at them.
"Honestly? Don't tell anyone, but I came because I missed you. Crazy, I know."
Techno paused, a bit taken off guard. He took a second to get his brain back in his head. He missed him?
“I… really?”
"Yeah? Dude. You made my sophomore year tolerable," he straightened back out. "You're like, my friend. Of course, I'm gonna miss you."
He felt his heart twist. “Thanks,” He said, offering a weak smile. “I, uh, I could take my lunch now, if you wanted. We could go get food.”
"I feel so special," Ranboo's eyes crinkled again. "This is a nice place you work at."
“Eh, it’s fine. We get a lot of new age wiccans, though. Gotta chase ‘em out with the broom.” Techno laughed.
Ranboo laughed along with him. "Sounds like an ideal Monday. Go put in your lunch, I'm just gonna look around while you put a word in with... whoever you gotta tell you're getting lunch."
Techno nodded and went upstairs to let Ezekiel know he was leaving, then headed back down with his keys.
“Alright! Where are you thinkin’? I know a good taco truck in WeHo.”
When Techno came back upon him, he was holding a piece of lapis. He quickly set it back. "I'm okay with tacos."
“Mkay, cool.” Techno led him to the back parking lot and unlocked the car, gesturing for him to get in the passenger seat. The car smelled like stale weed and nag champa incense, so Techno rolled down the windows.
“So, how have you been? What year are you going into now? Junior, right?”
"Yup," Ranboo nodded. "Tubbo told me it sucks. What say you, in all your earthly wisdom?"
“Depends on your classes. Are you doin’ any honors? AP?” Techno asked, pulling into the street.
"Umm... yeah! AP Writing and Composition."
“Oh, are you into English?”
"I like writing stories, but I know that class is more... essays. Still my best subject, though."
Techno nodded and smiled. “Same here. You should take a creative writing class if you go to college.”
"I probably will. They're pushing college stuff so hard right now, though. Like, maybe I just wanna take a gap year and play Minecraft. Ever thought of that? Hm?"
He laughed a little, “Yeah, where are you gonna live, man? You can’t play Minecraft for a livin’.”
"Maybe I will. Maybe I'll just stay at home. Don't question my resolve here."
“Would your parents let you live at home rent-free?”
"Maybe if I asked really really nicely. And helped supplement my living expenses with that sweet, sweet Minecraft cash," he grinned.
Techno hummed a laugh and pulled onto the highway. “I mean, if you ever need a place to stay, I have a good relationship with my parasite of a landlord.”
Ranboo gasped. "We can be near-roommates! Oh, that'd be fun actually. Curse you for making me genuinely consider something for my future."
He grinned. “You’d be welcome, man. We could see if our manager would take you on as a staff member, too.”
"I don't know the most about that kinda stuff. You would have to teach me before I took that on."
“Sure, I could teach ya. It’s cool.” He pulled off of the highway again, going into the streets of West Hollywood.
He stopped the car a few dozen feet from the truck and got out, locking the doors behind him.
“What do you want? I’ll buy.”
"Can you order for me, too? I'm probably fine with just... a chorizo taco. Do they have chorizo here?"
“Yeah, yeah.” Techno nodded and went to the window. He ordered in Spanish, had a small conversation with the worker, before paying and taking the food.
“Alright, here. Do you wanna go to a park or something?”
"Thank you," he took the bag and carried it for them, "sure. Did you always know Spanish?"
“Yup, I popped outta the womb and said, ‘donde está la biblioteca’.” Techno snickered. “I took two years in highschool. I picked the rest up just living in LA.”
"Donde está... did you just ask me where the library is?" Ranboo chuckled.
Techno grinned as they got back in the car. “It’s the first thing I ever learned.”
"What an odd first sentence," he set the bag of food at his feet.
“Have you taken any classes?”
"For Spanish? No, I took Mandarin instead."
“Oh, interestin’. Is there a reason?” Techno asked.
"Figured Spanish and French would be easier to learn on my own, if I ever needed to learn them. I'd need a class for Mandarin, and it's free in high school."
Techno thought it over. “That’s pretty smart.”
The park was fairly populated, but the two easily found a spot of grass in the shade.
“How did the rest of sophomore year treat you?” Techno asked as he sat.
"Pretty mediocre," Ranboo admitted. "Not awful though, which is good. Like, you know- it sucked, but probably better than any school year that came before it."
“That’s good. You ended up friends with Tubbo, right?”
"Yeah," he nodded. "I feel like I should be friends with Tommy too, but we honestly just don't see each other much. I'm getting closer with Niki, though. Things are all good."
“That’s good. Tommy is touchy about Tubbo, I wouldn’t worry about it.” Techno sighed, taking a bite of his taco.
"Touchy how?" Ranboo raised an eyebrow and pulled down his mask to start eating.
“He’s very protective. Guarded.”
"Yeah... from what I've heard, that checks out," he shrugged. "I think Tubbo mentioned they're gonna hang out this weekend. Sucks, 'cause I wanted to go shopping with them, but they said I should try saving my money anyways."
“Yeah, that sounds like them.” Techno sighed. “They act exactly like Schlatt and Wilbur did. It’s weird.”
Ranboo never really got to meet Wilbur, and didn't see Schlatt very frequently. He couldn't imagine the two of them being friends, though. "How so?"
“Codependent,” Techno snorted to himself.
"Ah," Ranboo nodded. "Yeah. Honestly? When we like, first met, Tommy was all Tubbo would talk about. I do think they've been getting better," he offered up. "Maybe helps that there was like, a good half a year where they hated each other's guts," he smirked a little. "What about you? Do you still talk to anyone from school? Anyone I'd know?"
Techno hesitated. “Uh, no… not really. I think you’re the only person from school that’s talked to me since I left.”
"I wouldn't really consider that a loss, though," Ranboo pointed out.
Techno was quiet for a moment. “I miss Karl. And Skeppy.” He pulled a blade of grass up from the ground. “Karl and Alex were the only people who talked to me after I got expelled, actually. Karl mostly.”
"Well then, you should reach out to them."
“I… I dunno, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
"No? Why don't you think so?"
Techno shrugged. “They’re all, like, outgoin’ people. They woulda reached out first if they wanted to hang out, ya know?”
Ranboo hummed. "I don't think so. They're outgoing, yeah, but sometimes people just get too caught up in their own things, or assume you're gonna be the one to reach out first. Who's to say they're not waiting for you to make the first move?"
He thought it over for a moment before his eyebrows screwed shut. “No, I’d… I’d just be bothering them. But, uh, let’s not talk about me. Tell me how your summer’s been.”
"My summer's been lame. Technoblade, I wanna talk about you. That's the whole reason I came and visited."
Techno felt his fingers itch for a cigarette.
“My life is borin’, Ranboo. You don’t wanna hear about my shit.”
"I literally do. I think you should text Karl. He's a cool enough guy, he wouldn't be annoyed by you texting him."
“I…” Techno grimaced, then offered a tired laugh. “Come on, Ranboo. He’s- he’s probably got his life together by now. He wouldn’t want me contacting him.”
"Why not? The few times I talked to him, he had nothing but good things to say about you. He talked about how much he appreciated you standing up to Punz, and that you were always nice to him, so on and so forth. I'm sure he'd like getting to catch up with you."
Techno kept his eyes trained down. “He’s a nice person.”
"...Which is exactly why you should reach out to him! Come on, Techno. You get that people actually, like, enjoy your presence, right?"
That one stung. Techno stopped himself from flinching.
“Heh, if you say so.”
"I do say so, is the thing. I would not have hunted you down at your place of work if I didn't."
Techno felt a lump catch in his throat. He scratched absentmindedly at his arm.
“So, how is Niki doin’?”
Ranboo leveled a stare at Techno, before sighing. "She's good. Got a job at a nursery. Like- the plant kind. She likes it, but she's kind of looking at applying to this one bakery. Coincidentally, she can't decide if she wants to major in botany or culinary arts."
“Mm, they should let her to both.” Techno said, his thumb tapping on the knuckles of his other hand. He needed a cig badly.
"She was thinking of double majoring, yeah, but she's nervous the workload might be too much. Me and her girlfriend and pretty much, like, everyone is telling her she should do it though."
“If anyone could handle a workload like that, it’d be her, Bad, or Alex.” Techno admitted.
"You know what? So true!" he pointed at Techno. "Maybe Karl if we're being generous- ah, who am I kidding, he spends too much time watching anime."
He snorted a laugh. “I don’t blame him, it’s addictive. You ever seen Sword Art Online?”
Ranboo grimaced. "You gotta be kidding me."
“What? What’s wrong with Sword Art Online?”
"It's just-" Ranboo stuttered trying to figure out his wording for a few moments, "there are better ones. Much better ones. You ever seen Mob Psycho 100? Reigen and Mob remind me of you and Tommy if you guys, like, switched personalities."
Techno thought it over. “I… guess? I mean, I like the sci-fi reality altering stuff, though. Like, did you ever read Ready Player One? It was a similar concept, it felt better executed, though.”
"Oh, oh! Did you ever read Ender's Game?" Ranboo grinned wide.
“Yeah! I loved that one, really cool statement on how the military brainwashes their soldiers.”
Ranboo threw his head back. "Dude!" His hands moved about as he talked, clearly excited. "It's my favorite book. Usually, when I ask people about it they don't know what I'm talking about."
“I haven’t read it in a couple years, tell me about it again.” Techno encouraged, offering a smile as he scratched his thigh.
"I really related to Valentine back when I read it. That was back in seventh grade, uhh..." he rubbed at his scalp. "I'm trying to think. Damn memory problems. I don't- I don't remember much of it, but I know it makes me really happy," he offered with an embarrassed grin.
“Oh, really? I get the same way with like, everything.” Techno met him with a small laugh. “Do you know why that happens to you?”
"What, loving things really intensely, or forgetting everything, or both?"
He gave a small laugh. “Uh, yeah. Both.”
"Well, for the first one, I have ADHD. For the second one, heard of a fun little thing called C-PTSD?"
Techno’s brows furrowed. “Uh, I know PTSD, what’s the C stand for?”
"Complex. So it's not, like, technically in the DSM I don't think, but it is recognized in the mental health community. It's for like... repeated trauma, instead of just a single event. It's like normal PTSD, but it also affects your memories and emotional regulation and stuff like that."
Techno stared at him, then looked away when he remembered he didn’t like eye contact. “That sounds… hm. That… hm.”
Ranboo chuckled a little. "Yeah, buddy? Are you having a realization there?"
He forced away the pit in his stomach as he stood up. “Sorry, I just need to- uh- I’ll be right back.” Techno apologised as he picked a cig out of his pack and lit it, walking off to hover by the parking lot.
Ranboo wasn't going to pursue him if Techno needed to step away for a little bit. Instead, he finished up his food and pulled his mask back over his mouth. He pulled out his phone and opened up Discord as he awaited his friend's return.
Ranboo: Hey Karl!
KarlJacobs: hi ranboo! :o what's up?
Ranboo: I was just wondering your thoughts on a certain person
KarlJacobs: who?
Ranboo: Technoblade?
Ranboo: I know you guys haven't talked in a while now but I know you guys were friends
KarlJacobs: FUNNY YOU ASK! i've been wanting to ask him to hang out, but i've just been sort of worried he might have moved on from me or something
KarlJacobs: i mean he left kind of suddenly, i sort of got worried he wanted to leave the people here in the past
Ranboo sighed. Just as he figured.
Techno stunned the butt of the cig out under his boot and returned to the spot where his friend was sitting.
“You wanna head somewhere?”
"How long is your lunch?"
“An hour or so. I won’t be in trouble if I’m late, though.” Techno said.
"You got a sick workplace. Are there any places you'd wanna head?"
Ranboo: You should text him like right now. It'd be funny
“What about the Huntington gardens?” Techno suggested, leading him back to the car.
"Oh-ho, getting fancy now, are we?" Ranboo brought a hand to his chest. A Discord notification rang out from Techno's phone.
KarlJacobs: hey technoblade! how have you been? :o
Techno opened the car door and glanced down at his phone. He blinked in surprise, then pocketed it. As they pulled out of the parking lot, Techno felt his grip on the steering wheel tighten. He forced himself to take a breath and clear his head.
“I, uh…” he watched his knuckles go white. “If I wanted to talk to Karl, I would’ve texted him myself.” He kept his eyes on the road. He wasn’t mad at Ranboo. Well, he was, but he liked Ranboo, and he didn’t want to scare him.
"If you wanted to talk to Karl, you would overthink it and psyche yourself out," Ranboo deadpanned as politely as possible.
Techno felt his stomach twist a little. “I- I understand that you have good intentions in mind.” He took a breath. “I don’t- I would prefer if you- I don’t like-“ Techno swallowed a lump in his throat and felt his knuckles whiten.
"...Techno? Are you alright?" Ranboo shot a concerned glance over. "Okay, I'm sorry. I can text him and say I screwed up if you really want, but... but you should talk about this."
He was quiet for a few moments. “Just- Hold on, I gotta pull over.” Techno said, his voice strained as he signalled and pulled to the side. He parked and closed his eyes, his brows furrowed as he tried to push away the gory scenarios that played out in his head.
“Fuck,” he sighed, resting his head in his hands. “I- Ranboo, I don’t- I don’t know what your deal is, but you’re the only person other than Tommy who likes me i-in the slightest. Karl is a nice person. I don’t- I don’t want to bother him.”
"No, me and Tommy aren't." He reached over a hand to pat Technoblade's shoulder. "I know- I know you don't like yourself, and that makes it so easy to convince yourself that you're not worth anyone's time. Because- because trust me, I've been there." He drew his gaze to Techno, and tried his hardest to maintain the contact. "But just because you think you're bothering people, that doesn't make it the truth. I thought you hated me for, like, the longest time."
Techno kept his gaze on his lap, his fists still tight.
“I didn’t- I never hated you.”
"And neither does Karl. You don't have to text him back if you don't want to. But I think he'd like to hear from you. He said misses you."
He felt his anger subside, guilt washing over him. He took a deep breath through his nose, feeling a lump form in his throat.
“Ranboo, please. I-I…” he squeezed his thumb in an attempt to keep his tears in. “Come on. Don’t lie to me to make me feel better, man. I’m not stupid.”
Ranboo sighed and quickly unlocked his phone. He showed off his own conversation with Karl, which had three more new texts since Ranboo last opened the chat.
KarlJacobs: done and done hehe!
KarlJacobs: do you think he'll reply?
KarlJacobs: i really have been wanting to talk to him again
Techno stared at it, brows furrowed. “Fuck. Wh- Why? Why- Why do people still care about me, shouldn’t they have moved on?” He asked, his voice cracking.
"Why should they have?"
Techno felt his breath catch in his throat. Because he was supposed to be dead by now. He pressed the back of his hand to his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut. He was not about to cry in front of Ranboo.
"You were never anything but good to us. We're not gonna just forget that," Ranboo comforted. "Do you... want me to look away or something? 'Cause I can."
“No, fuck- I’m sorry, I just-“ Techno choked back a sob. “I j-just don’t understand it.”
"It's because you're a good person. Even when you do... questionable things, it's from the right place." He leaned his head on Techno's shoulder, and looked out the front. "You don't have to be perfect to deserve friendship and people that like you, you know. You just gotta be halfway decent."
He hiccuped on a sob and wiped his eyes. “Fuck, I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m s-such a mess today,” He sniffled, “It’s just, I-I had to have Wilbur help me pay my rent, and he just- god, he’s always just s-so mean.”
"No, no, you're okay, man. I've heard he's pretty unpleasant, not just from you. I think he talks from a place of insecurity though, what he thinks doesn't mean anything."
Techno nodded, his eyes still squeezed shut and forcing out tears. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, sniffling and pushing the ball of his palms against his eyes in an attempt to stop crying.
Ranboo leaned a little farther over the center console, and wrapped a spindly arm around Techno. "Don't be sorry. You sound like you need to cry."
It only took a second for the dam to break. Techno let out a harsh sob, his whole body shaking as he cried. “It’s j-just so hard, I miss Tommy and Skeppy and Bad and Karl so much,” He sobbed, his voice wracked with pain. “I m-miss my dad!”
"They miss you too!" Ranboo reassured. "You can talk to them! The worst thing they can do is ignore you, but you need to let them know you still want them in your life. I'm sure they'd be happy to let you into theirs."
He shook his head, struggling to breathe. “My dad kicked m-me out when I was eighteen, he d-doesn’t want me.” Techno’s words were cracked and wobbly, barely managing to make it past the sobs.
"I'm sure he's just struggling. Just like you have. It was an asshole move on his part maybe, but you were both just hurting and he didn't know how to properly help. That doesn't mean he hates you, he's probably actually guilty." Ranboo ran a hand up and down Technoblade's arm.
Techno sniffled, his hair sticking to his face with the tears. “Do you r-really think so?”
"Duh. Have I ever been a liar, Techno?" Ranboo chuckled a bit.
He took a few deep breaths to steady himself. “Fuck. I’m- I’m really sorry, you sh-shouldn’t’a had to seen that.”
"Why not? I think you deserve someone to be there while you cry." Ranboo pulled away.
He sniffled and wiped his eyes for what he hoped would be the last time. “God, Ranboo. You’re a really good guy.” Techno swallowed the lump in his throat. “Can you do me a favor?”
"What's up?"
“Never- Never get into drugs, okay? They’ll ruin your life. I’ve seen it happen too many times, a-and I know you’re hangin’ out with Tubbo and they’re doin’ coke, a-and I don’t wanna see that happen to you.”
"I know. No, I know. I really wasn't planning on it- I'm kind of screwed up enough as is," he explained with an awkward laugh. "I... I couldn't do that to you."
Techno met him with a weak smile. “Thank you, man. It means a lot.”
"Anytime," he grinned back with his eyes and quickly looked away. "I don't think we have enough time to go to the Huntington Gardens anymore."
“Uh, yeah, I don’t think so either.” Techno offered a small laugh. “Can I take you to get boba?”
"Only if the place has taro flavored tea."
“Then it’s a plan.”