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Being the right-hand man of the most stoic leader was hard. It would be for anyone, and most people wouldn't last a day. Technoblade was not like most people though. He was the leader of the SMP, second only to Dream.
Dream was the cold, stoney-looking leader of that nation formed against L'Manberg. He wasn't all cut-off though. He showed simple signs of affection towards Sapnap and George, his primary way being to never let them help in wars or risk their lives. Regardless of them both having all three, Dream refused to risk even one. It was just the way he was. Maybe he was too protective, but he would take the risks, or the lack thereof.
The single other person Dream showed a hint of gentleness towards was Technoblade. It wasn't necessarily gentleness, but a show that he did care for his most trusted general. He showed it by giving him trust. He push Technoblade to the limits, but trusted him with everything.
It was sort of burdening, but Technoblade enjoyed being a semi-leader of an entire nation. He handled it well, regardless that it was against his old close friends. Maybe he was against them, and maybe they had used him, but he remained kind to those he cared about, which the number was dwindling with. He didn't show weakness though, instead keeping a neutral tone and facial expression as much a he possibly could.
That's probably another reason why he and Dream got along so well. They both understood the risks of growing attachments and showing emotions. They rarely expressed emotions to each other, though more often than for any others. It was the way they rolled, and it worked just fine.
Sadly, with a huge war stirring up between their nation and Wilbur's, more and more work was put upon both. Dream handled it well, releasing nothing. Technoblade however, had a few more troubles, but perhaps a certain someone could help, even if just a bit...
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Dream walked into the personal office of a stressed Technoblade in the early hours of the morn. Both had been at work just about all day and night, mapping plans and locating certain weak points in the enemy territory. With a war brewing on the horizon, neither had time to rest, sharing the weight of nations' fates on their shoulders.
Techno was resting his forehead in the palms of his hands, mask tossed to the side of his desk. His robe was lazily tossed across the back of his chair. It was easy to see that he had been lacking sleep as long as Dream. His long, pink hair was tied in three different spots, each one fluffed out a bit where it met the next tie. Random strands framed his face, lots pulled away from the majority in a sign of hard work with no breaks.
He worked just as much as Dream, that was for sure. His office remained organized though. Quills and paper were everywhere, in neat stacks and very few stray ones. He had three ink pots nicely lined up next to the paper he was currently working on.
Knickknacks were scarcely placed around the room on shelves, with even fewer picture frames. Mostly for decor were swords and daggers, broken with dried blood that hadn't been polished, won in exceedingly difficult battles.
"Hey..." Dream started.
Techno's head immediately bounced up, meeting the gaze of the newcomer. His hands fell down to his desk, but one waved back before he neatly folded them on top of the paper. "Hello, Dream."
His words weren't harsh, simply tired and wavering with a lack of normal energy. "Long night," Dream responded in a similar way, an understanding in tone.
"Mhm," the latter mumbled back, eyes flickering over Dream's body. "You look rough."
Dream looked down at himself, a pair of black jeans and dark green socks. He had on a black, long-sleeved, turtleneck shirt that he wore under the green sweatshirt that lay across his arm. His hair was a mess too, but that was normal for a late night.
"Can't say the same for you."
Techno cocked his head to the side, slightly confused of the words and their meaning. It wasn't an insult, more of a compliment he would have to suppose.
Dream removed his weight from the door frame, walking over to drag the chair across from Techno's desk next to him. After dashing in and out of the room, he returned with a tray of four cups and a teapot. It also had biscuits. He sat it down on the corner of the desk before neatly shuffling away papers. Techno didn't hinder his work, happy for the break.
Finally, Dream placed the tray in the middle of the desk, taking his seat next to Techno.
Looking into the cups, Techno saw two filled with steaming, black coffee, and the other two empty for the tea still cooling in the teapot.
After pouring some tea and both taking their own fair share of biscuits, they discussed things other than war plans for once. They'd been working on it all night, no point in wasting their time together talking about it more. Instead, they talked about less pressing matters, like trading a supplies for their nation, in between bites of the flaky dough and sips of their steaming cups of tea.
"On a brighter note, George found another village with lots of inhabitants," Dream stated after a discussion on mining groups.
"Hmm, were the villagers fair in their trades?" Techno glanced up from staring into the pool of liquid swirling in his cup.
"No, you know they never are."
Dream wasn't particularly happy to relay that message, but villagers with good trades were getting incredibly harder and harder to find.
"We need to find more zombie villagers, but their spawn rates are so low, we might as well be searching for enderman on our own."
Searching for enderman was surely a death sentence if done alone, and even with a big group, if one person was targeted, there was nothing anyone could do about it. Not only that, they were rare to an incredulous point. Even worse, villager trades were the easiest way to get ender pearls, yet finding good trades or a zombie one was as hard as finding enderman. It was a never-ending loop that only got increasingly frustrating.
Techno hummed, sipping his still steaming cup of tea. "God, looking over wars is hard. It's just so much work."
Dream nodded alongside him, knowing the same feeling. "But it'll be worth it once we win. L'Manberg stands no chance against us, no matter how many people they have on their side."
Techno couldn't but feel all their work was building up for nothing and that Dream was wrong in the moment, but even he knew deep down that all of the tiring days would pay off.
He leaned his head back, resting it against his chair, close to the top where it was carved to be pointed in the shape of a crown.
It was only a few mere seconds before he heard a tentative voice ask him, "Hey, Techno? Are... you okay?"
He put his head back into a proper position to look at Dream, who's concern was written all in his face, and it clouded his sparkling eyes.
Dream held a hand semi-close to his face, as if a question to touch it. Techno cocked his head in confusion, and Dream reached forward.
Dream used his thumb to wipe away the small trickle of a tear that was there. The tears were few, but built of in a pool in Techno's eyes. They glistened somewhat red in reflection of his irises. They were mesmerizing, like pools of rubies because they glittered and were just rare enough to where not many people saw them. Techno had ruby tears, and Dream wiped them a way as they came.
"Don't cry, it's okay..." he spoke in his softest voice as Techno realized his was.
Dream scooted his chair closer, one hand clasping Techno's and the other keeping his face dry from the salty droplets.
Recognizing how much weakness he'd shown, Techno hastily tried to regain his composure, but to no avail. With Dream softly whispering that everything would be alright, he slowly just broke open.
Mumbling, he tried to apologize, "Sorry. I know I can't afford to show weakness. It's just... easy around you to not have to put up a front or a hardened facade constantly."
Dream had a small smile perched on his lips then, "I know the feeling. With you, I don't have to watch my tongue in fear of people twisting my words or catching onto any of my plans."
Techno's eyes shivered as they stared into Dream's. Expressing emotions was such an intoxicating thing, once you start, you want to release all of it.
Techno moved forward unconsciously, not knowing what he was doing but not fighting it. Dream searched his face for clues of a reasoning for his actions but found none. Instead he brought himself forward, and their skin met.
It was soft at first, something they just both wanted as fulfillment. Light and airy, it left room for them both to either pull away or make it more. Techno placed his index finger below Dream's chin, pressing them closer together. The kiss quickly became a hot and electrifying one, and a battle for control over it begun.
With neither winning, Dream took an easy upper hand when he bit down onto Techno's lip, and not very lightly either. After the small victory, they pulled apart at the small taste of a trickle of blood.
What was that?' was in fact a question they both chose not to ask. They knew what it was. An expression of bottled up feelings, something they'd both hoped for eventually.
Techno continued to repeatedly lick his bottom lip, wiping off blood whenever it started to form. He gave Dream a small smile, one that was returned.
"Well, I guess I'm off to go back to work now. Take a break Techno, you need it. We'll do this again sometime, believe me." With that, Dream stood up, putting his chair back and leaving the cups of tea and coffee with his pink haired officer.