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“Hey, bitch!” Techno glanced up from the pages of his book to look at Tommy, who was staring down at him with his eyes squintedー and he wonders why Techno brought an umbrella to the beach. “I’m going swimming.” Techno nods, uninterested, before going back to his book, offhandedly registering Tommy walking away from him. He supposes that he should probably be watching the blond to make sure the kid doesn’t die or something, but if Phil wanted a responsible person to watch Tommy, he wouldn’t have left and brought Wilbur with him.
It was the man’s idea to have a “family beach day!” and now he’s not even here to enjoy itーTechno is vehemently ignoring, in favor of being dramatic, the fact that Phil’s just going to get food and Wilbur had to go to help carry stuff.
Due to popular beliefーand by that, he means the belief of his entire familyーTechno doesn’t hate the beach. Sure, the sand getting everywhere isn’t fun, and the water is always freezing for no reason, but the sound of the waves is a perfect noise to read to, and there’s always a nice breeze that makes the scorching sun somewhat-bearable. What he does hate, however, is being responsible for a gremlin while he’s trying to read a book Niki recommended.
He’s already had to suffer through Tommy yelling at some obnoxiously tall kid with black and white hair sitting relatively close to them, who Techno heard say his brother was a lifeguard and could technically kick Tommy off the beach (Techno didn’t laugh at that), and he’s not sure he can take much more of Tommy’s excitable personality. Phil was on babysitting duty before he left, while Techno was reading and Wilbur was listening to something through his earphones, and everyone was content with their positions.
Now, however, Techno has to be in charge of making sure Tommy doesn’t either die or piss off the wrong people. It’s safe to say he’s doing a pretty good job, too. Sure, it took a little while to notice that Tommy had managed to capture a seagull and was trying to steal people’s food with it (Techno wishes he was kidding), but he handled the situation perfectly by dragging the blond back to their stuff before making him sit down on the blanket, threatening to stop letting Tubbo visit their house if he moved.
Anyways, he thought he was doing pretty well, especially since he wanted to be doing anything else. He deserves a medal, or maybe some extra food from Phil, for being the best babysitter in the literal world. Maybe he should try and bribe Phil to buy him that sword he’s been wanting for a while, and if he refuses, he’ll bring up the fact that he could’ve easily let Tommy get berated by a middle-aged woman who was the victim of Tommy’s attempted robber-
The loud shrill of a whistle broke through Techno’s thoughts, and he, much like many others around the beach, looked toward the owner of the whistle, which happened to be the lifeguard on top of the post closest to Technoーwell, the lifeguard was on top of his post, before he started sprinting towards the water. The pinkette watched as people cleared out of the lifeguard’s way, all eyes on the blond man who finally reached the ocean, taking a couple steps before diving into the water. Techno tsked, mentally berating whoever managed to start drowning in relatively-calm water, before feeling his mouth go dry when he caught sight of the person the lifeguard was holding against their chest as they swam backwards to the beach.
It was Tommy.
Techno cursed under his breath, setting his book down (without marking his page, which future-Techno regretted deeply), before making his way towards the ocean, not running, per say, but definitely going faster than his regular walk. As he reached the frigid water, which lapped at his feet, the only thought in his head was fuck, Phil was going to kill him.
Techno stands by awkwardly as the lifeguard sets his brother down onto the wet sand below, not knowing what to do or where to look other than Tommy’s body, which is sitting up on the sand with his legs propped up in front of him. He’s coughing erratically, water escaping his lungs as the lifeguard rubs soothing circles into his back. Techno would be freaking out more if Tommy was unconscious, or if the lifeguard had to give him CPR, but he seems relatively fine despite his face being scrunched up, likely at the salt water in his throat and nose.
“Doing better?” The lifeguard’s voice is smooth and calming as moves his hand from Tommy’s back to his shoulder, garnering a nod from the teen in response.
Techno’s concern grows at the lack of snarky response from Tommy, before it’s placated once the younger boy opens his mouth, his words scratchy. “Yes, bitch, I’m fine.” The lifeguard snorts at that, standing up from his crouched position. Techno’s still watching Tommy as he staggers to his feet, batting away the lifeguard’s hand which shot out to support his arm. Techno would’ve attempted to help, but he was still frazzled from his brother nearly dying.
“Fine, fine. You got someone here with you? Or are you alone?”
Tommy sniffles before he turns around. “My brother’s here with me, he’s somewhere- oh, or he’s right here.” Tommy is suddenly staring right towards Techno, and the lifeguard follows his gaze, looking directly at the pinkette. Technoーafter having a silent conversation with Tommy through their eyes, and nodding once he was sure Tommy was actually fineーlooked towards the lifeguard, his breath getting caught in his throat for the second time that day.
The man in front of him, who looked roughly the same age as Techno, was, to put it frankly, stunning. He had tan skin, a sharp jawline, dirty blond hair, and startling emerald eyes hiding behind long lashes. Techno watched a bead of water drop down from the man’s jawline to his chest, stopping to pool at his collarbone for a moment before continuing its path down. Techno’s eyes caught on a few freckles scattered around the man’s chest, and he directs his gaze back up to the lifeguard’s face to find a splattering of freckles on the man’s cheeks.
Techno vaguely registers the man saying something about giving Tommy lots of fluids, and not letting him swim for the rest of the day, and vaguely feels himself nod in response before he’s grabbing Tommy and making a beeline back to their stuff. The boy behind him is cackling in response, and Techno would turn around to glare at him if he knew there wasn’t a blush high on his cheeks.
Once the two sit down again, Techno mentally berating himself for not marking his page while Tommy starts texting rapidly on his phone, Phil and Wilbur arrive, carrying bags of food in their arms. Techno cringes before looking at Tommy, who is already looking toward him with a mischievous expression on his face. Don’t tell them, Techno tries to tell Tommy through eyebrow raises and widened eyes, before the blond completely ignores him.
“Hey, Dad, guess what just happened.”
Shit.
-
Now, Techno finds himself walking along the beach later that day, the setting sun casting hues of red and orange onto the waves crashing just short of Techno’s feet. He’s cracking his fingers anxiously as he walks closer to the lifeguard post, where he can see the man from earlier sitting there, staring off into the sunset.
Shit, he was hoping the lifeguard would be gone, at least then he wouldn’t have to lie to Phil. He would have no problem lying to his father if he didn’t have some special ability to tell when any of his sons were lying (Techno is still convinced the man put him and his brothers into situations as kids where they would say white lies just so he could remember their body language and pinpoint exactly what changes when they lie). The point is, Techo wouldn’t have to lie if the lifeguard wasn’t at his post anymore, but, since the universe hates him, the man is still there, and now Techno has to thank him for saving his brother (Phil tried to defend making him do it since he’s the only one who knows which lifeguard it is, as if Tommy didn’t loudly point the man out to both Phil and Wilbur).
He’s silently cursing his father out for knowing exactly what punishment would cause Techno to regret all of his life choices. He wouldn’t have a problem apologizing to some random person if his social anxiety wasn’t already terrible, and if there were more than five people at the beach to draw attention away from him, and if the lifeguard wasn’t the most attractive person he’s ever seen. Nevertheless, Techno pushes forward, standing at the bottom of the lifeguard perch while he waits for the man atop it to notice him.
After about 15 seconds of waiting for the man to glance down, Techno cleared his throat, chuckling quietly when the lifeguard jumped in his seat before looking down at him. “Oh, hey, you’re that kid’s brother, right?” Oh, so he actually remembered Techno, that makes this a little easier (but it also makes butterflies erupt in his stomach). Techno nodded, and the blond man jumped down from his post, landing directly in front of Techno, who blushed and backed up a step. “What’s up?”
“Uh, yeah, uh.” Okay, Techno would like to point out that he came into this with a script in mind. He knew exactly what to say and he even considered every single way this conversation could go, planning accordingly for even the wildest of routes this discussion could go down (he even thought of what to say if, somehow, a shark bit his leg off on the way and the lifeguard had to save him). That being said, he was totally unprepared for what to do when the lifeguard was bathed in golden light, making his eyes lighter and his freckles more apparent. “I- um…”
“Are you okay?” The lifeguard cocked his head to the side, his eyes growing concerned, and Techno wondered how one person could both be hot as hell and as cute as a puppy. The man brought a hand up to Techno’s forehead, resting the back of it against the skin as if checking for a fever. The lifeguard withdrew his hand when he found nothing, which Techno was surprised about, considering his face must be aflame with a wild blush.
“I’m okay, uh, my dad is making me come thank you for savin’ Tommy, even if you should’ve let him drown.” Techno winced after he said that, hoping the lifeguard doesn’t think that he’s torturing his brother or something. Luckily, the lifeguard laughed, a wheeze-like sound that caused a small smile to come to Techno’s face. “So, yeah, thank you again.”
The man stopped laughing, but the smile never left his face, and now he was directing it towards Techno’s face instead of towards the ground, which is where it was while he was hunched over, laughing. The pinkette’s heart clenched at the sight of a beaming smile, and Techno’s beginning to wonder when he became such a simp. “I’m just doing my job, but you’re welcome.” Techno, despite knowing that that was probably his cue to leave, stood in place after the man stopped talking. The lifeguard didn’t seem to mind, simply scanning his eyes over Techno’s face. “I’m Dream, by the way.”
Of course his name is Dream, of all things, would a man this gorgeous be named something average like Bob? No. “Technoblade.” The man nodded, and Techno knew, again, that he should probably leave. Just as he was about to muster up the courage to turn around and go tell Phil that he’s a terrible father, Dream spoke again.
“You know, uh, if you really wanted to thank me, you’d get coffee with me tomorrow.” Techno is going to ignore Dream’s terrible attempt at flirting in favor of focusing on the fact that a hot lifeguard is flirting with him. Despite his face heating up, Techno managed to smirk at Dream, who looked like he wanted to take everything he’s ever said back.
“Are you supposed to be flirtin’ on the clock?” Dream, despite his past embarrassment about how he decided to flirt, didn’t seem too ashamed about making a move on Techno; and Techno, despite his discouraging words, didn’t mind the man flirting with him (though, he’ll also never admit that he likes it).
The man tsked, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture. “Probably not, but my boss owes me for making me work this long shift, anyway, so it’s only fair.” Techno nods in an understanding way; although he doesn’t exactly know if Dream’s excuse is a fair one, his simp-brain will believe the pretty man. “So, about that date?”
Techno’s not one to usually get flirted with, especially by gorgeous people such as the man in front of him, but it looks like the universe is giving him a treat today. “Sure.” Despite him wanting to say more, or maybe kiss the blond in front of him, or maybe ask Dream if he needs his shoes shining (he’s not even wearing shoes, what is wrong with his mind?), he keeps it in in favor of keeping his reputation.
“Perfect, meet you here tomorrow at nine.” With that, Dream climbed back up to his post, saluting Techno as the pinkette watched him. Techno rolled his eyes playfully at the gesture, not bothering to salute back before he was leaving, the sound of Dream’s wheezing laughter fading out as he got further away from the blond. He let a smile stretch across his face, hidden from the cause of it.
He doesn’t know how tomorrow’s gonna go, or how he’s going to get through a date with a hot lifeguard without offering to shine his shoes (again, there’s something wrong with his mind), but there is one thing he knows for sure: he is not telling Phil about this, that old man doesn’t need any more ammo against him.
Besides, he wants to keep Dream all to himself for a little bit.