Work Text:
Techno glanced at his watch, Awh, crap, he thought quietly to himself. His eyes flickered back up to his too-bright computer screen.
Just a bit longer, he compromised, just until I finish this outline.
Techno shook his head silently. Christmas Day and he was working overtime. If Wilbur found out about this he'd have Techno's head.
Just this outline. Then I can get home.
Wait.
Christmas Day. Christmas Day.
He'd forgotten to get Ranboo something.
Technoblade quickly stood up from his desk, nearly knocking his chair over in his haste. No matter, it wasn't like there was anyone left in the office that he might disturb. Just him and the blinding fluorescent lights.
Muttering curses under his breath, he quickly packed up his laptop and the assortment of paperwork he had scattered about while he wracked his brain for present ideas.
Ranboo, his only son, was a peculiar kid. Techno loved him for it, of course. Hell, he was the whole reason Techno worked as late as he did, so he could support the two of them. But his oddness made it extremely difficult to find gifts for him, which was why Techno had put it off for so long.
Now, though, it was too late to custom order a giant lego set of the Titanic, like he had done for Ranboo's birthday. Instead, he'd have to find something at one of the nearby toy shops.
Techno hurried out of the office at record speeds, barely pausing to pull on his coat before hurrying down the stairs.
Techno didn't have a car - nobody in the city did - so he rubbed his hands together in a desperate chance to keep warm as he stepped out into the chilly night air.
Partially melted snow crunched under his nice leather shoes as he stalked down the sidewalk towards the nearest toy store.
Ignoring the way his breath fogged in the air, Techno adjusted the scarf he had tugged around his neck as he came to a stop in front of a glass door.
CLOSED.
Dammit, Techno thought to himself, not even bothering to give the door an experimental push, What kind of toy store closes on Christmas? He clicked his tongue in annoyance as he turned away, already pulling out his phone to look for directions to a different store, Then again, small stores like these are probably family businesses. They're probably at home with their families.
Techno pondered for a moment silently before turning his phone off and heading instead to the closest department store. There was no way Walmart was closed, not when they had the chance to take advantage of all the last-minute shoppers.
Techno shook his head, Capitalism strikes again.
Thankfully, Walmart wasn't far away, the large store a sore-sight tucked in right by all of the more historic buildings. Techno jogged through the automatic doors, ignoring the tantalizing smell of a bakery just a few blocks away.
The sight he was met with was near apocalyptic.
The store was barren. Shelves were picked clean, leaving only the white-painted metal, nearly all of the check-out lines were abandoned, and Techno could only spot a single blue-clad employee.
Hopelessly, he stepped onto the tiled floor, leaving watery footsteps in his wake. With a deep sigh, he marched forward towards the children's section.
Alas, there was nothing to be found. Ranboo had already moved on from his LEGO obsession, not that there were many sets left. The only toys fit for a kid Ranboo's age seemed to be a Darth Vader action figure with a mangled voice box and a half-opened marble course set.
Techno cursed, kicking one of the spare pieces of plastic from the marble path. He watched it skid across the tile floor with something akin to regret.
Another sigh heaved through his broad shoulders. At some point during his shopping, one of his hands had gone to tug irritably at his hair. Absently, he watched the pink hands thread through his fingers.
He turned back around.
He wasn't going to find anything for his son here, so it was no use wasting time loitering around. He hurried out the door, sparing a second to flash a small smile at the single, sad-eyed employee.
Outside in the frosty air, Techno breathed deeply, a weak attempt at calming himself down.
There was that smell again. The bakery.
Techno's gaze trailed towards the lit windows of the small shop. In the low light of the streetlamps, the store looked to be made out of brick and mahogany, in complete dichotomy with the artificialness of the Walmart.
Techno glanced down at the Maps app on his phone. No open toy stores within five miles.
Might as well.
Techno headed towards the bakery, dodging puddles of melted snow. He missed the days when the city was coated with a small layer of white powder every winter, but those were long gone. As he approached, the smell of cinnamon seemed to intensify. A smile flickered across his lips as he stepped into the shop, a small, golden bell ringing in his wake.
"Coming!" a voice yelled from somewhere in the back. Young, but obviously male.
After a few seconds of standing in silence, a man hurried up to the counter, hastily pulling off a single oven mitt.
The man, with blonde hair just long enough to be pulled into a small ponytail and green eyes that shimmered in the warm light of the bakery, smiled kindly at him, "How can I help you, sir?"
Techno stared at him, feeling his cheeks warm. Techno's red eyes flickered down to the man's nametag. His name was Dream. How fitting.
A small, concerned crease formed between Dream's eyebrows, "Sir?"
Techno coughed awkwardly into his fist, clearing his throat, "Ah, sorry. I was just wondering if you had anything for a- uhm, a little boy? My son, he's a bit particular with the things he's interested in and I- I forgot to get him a present."
Dream's face warmed into a smile again. Something in Techno's chest eased at the sight, "Sure! We do custom cakes all the time. Well- I do. It's just me working here, now." Something in Dream's expression flickered at that, but he quickly sped past it, "But! You're gonna have to be more specific if you want it to be special, especially for Christmas. What does this son of yours like? I can make a list and we can see what we can incorporate into the cake."
Techno's smile deepened at the thought of his son, "He's been obsessed with the 1800s as of late. Last year it was the early 1900s, but you know how kids are. Always getting interested in the most random things."
Dream pulled out a notepad, seemingly from thin air, "Of course, of course. Anything in particular about the 1800s?"
"The fashion, actually. Kid loves it. Gets it from his uncle, probably."
"The fashion. I actually might know what to do with that. Hmm," Dream hummed absently as he scribbled away on his piece of paper. He paused for a moment before spinning the pad around, showing Techno his small drawing of what appeared to be a cake with a small figure on top.
Techno looked at it hesitantly, "Do you... have figures of people from the 1800s?"
Dream laughed, the sound high and tinkly. He glanced away, as if embarrassed, "Uh, yeah- My ex-boyfriend. He was a big fan of musicals. Right before we- uh broke up, he helped put on a production of Les Mis. Made a whole cake and everything for the cast party right after it ended. We still have a few of the figures he used. Les Mis is set in the 1800s, right?"
Techno shot him a helpless smile, too distracted by the word boyfriend and the way Dream's tongue stuck out when he was thinking to give a real answer.
"Right!" Dream slammed the notepad down on the wooden counter with a grin, causing Techno to jump slightly, "Lets get to work."
With that declaration, Dream quickly busied himself, running around the small kitchen with fervor.
"Your son," Dream called over his shoulder, "What's his favorite flavor?"
"Marble!" Techno had to half-speak half-yell to be heard over the clanging of some machine, "Chocolate and vanilla mixed together."
Dream shot him a wink, "Fancy little gut, huh? how old is he?"
"Eight, barely. Feels like just yesterday I brought him home for the first time. He was adopted."
Dream made a quick face of surprise before it melted back into a smile. Really, all the smiling he was doing must hurt his cheeks, "Do you have a wife? Or a- a partner?"
"Nope, just me."
Dream nodded sagely, "Same boat, then. At least you've got your son for company tonight, though. I'm stuck with these damn machines." He banged his palm against the side of a large mixture for comedic effect.
Techno frowned minutely, "Is your family out of town?"
Dream laughed, though it sounded quite a bit sadder than his last one, "Something like that, yeah. Just me tonight."
Techno nodded, but didn't push it. He wasn't entitled to this man's private life just because he was making his son a cake.
More minutes passed between them without any conversation. Eventually, the sound of Dream's humming began to fill the air.
Techno glanced down at his phone screen. 7:48.
Dream exaggerated a sigh as he plopped down on a chair behind the counter, directly across from Techno. At some point during their conversation, Techno himself had sat down on one of the many stools.
"Are you here all night?" Techno asked, eyes lingering on the smattering of freckles that were scattered across Dream's nose bridge.
Dream shot him a look that was more wince than smile, "Yeah. There isn't really anywhere else for me to go."
Techno swallowed nervously. He could hear Wilbur's voice echoing in the back of his head, Shoot your shot, Shoot your shot, Shoot your shot.
"You could always... You could join my son and me, if you want."
A pretty blush spread across Dream's cheeks as his eyes widened, "Oh, I couldn't! I mean, I wouldn't want to intrude on your Christmas."
"Actually, I'm sure he'd be happy to have more people around. Ranboo loves people once he warms up to them, and I'm sure there isn't a person in the world you couldn't warm up with that smile."
Dream's blush intensified by 100%.
"Well, I mean, if you're sure-"
"I definitely am."
"Then I'd love to." Dream smiled, more tentative and shy this time. Techno hoped his cheeks weren't as red as they felt, "After I finish the cake."
Techno finger gunned, curing himself for the motion as he did it, "Right, the cake."
"Its cooling in the freezer right now, so we have about ten-ish moments to get to know each other right now, if you're up for it."
Technoblade didn't know if he'd ever be able to refuse those too-green eyes, "Yeah, sure. Well, to start, my name's Technoblade."
"Technoblade, well I'd love to hear the story behind that."
//
"Ranboo!" Techno called as he tapped his knuckles against their wooden door. Techno had texted the babysitter a few minutes ago to let her know she was fine to head home. He'd already felt bad enough booking for Christmas Day, he didn't want her to have to stay longer than necessary.
"Dad?" A young voice called from down the hall, "Dad!" A black and white haired child came rushing into view, crashing into his legs.
"Woah, woah," Techno chuckled, thankful for Dream's steadying hand on his shoulder, "Watch it, buddy. I've got someone behind me."
"You do?" Ranboo asked, shyly poking his head out from behind Techno's knees. Dream smiled down at him.
Techno stepped forward, dragging the small child along with him.
"Hi Ranboo," Dream said softly. Techno didn't even have t turn around to imagine the smile on his face, "Merry Christmas. I brought you a cake!"
Ranboo's mismatched eyes lit up with joy, "You did?"
"Hold on, hold on, I wanna hear about everything you got. Tina told me you already opened your presents from Uncle Wil and Grandpa and Grandma."
Ranboo buried his face in Techno's pant leg, "I want cake, though."
"Here," Dream began in a reasonable voice, "How about we do both?"
"Yeah!" Ranboo released Techno's leg and ran off to the kitchen, presumably to fetch them all plates.
Techno raised an eyebrow, "Don't go bribin' my son now, got it?"
Dream smiled at him, "No promises."
//
Hours later, after the plates had long since been washed and put away, Techno was awoken by a slight shaking of his arm.
His eyes slowly blinked open, taking in his surrounding. He was in his living room.
"Techno!" a voice whispered, belonging to the same person who was shaking his arm, "Techno!" Dream stared down at him, green eyes alight, "Look, it's snowing!"
Techno sat up, failing to process the fact that his current position meant that he had fallen asleep on Dream's shoulder, "Well would you look at that," he said slowly, voice rough with sleep, "it is."