𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐘 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄. ranboo (complete)

𝐗𝐗𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈. WHERE DID THE TIME GO?

❝ PRETTY FACE ❞
June 1st, 2021

REAL LIFE — TECHNO!

TECHNO WAS TURNING TWENTY-TWO, and that was a scary thought to the man.

He was quickly realizing just how much had happened when he was only twenty years old, only just at the start of last year, when he and Theo had left home. He had taken his fifteen-year-old brother, only five years younger than himself, and had gotten them into an apartment and helped his brother kickstart a streaming career. He had found out his brother had been groomed and had a stalker, and then he'd watched that stalker die in the living room at near six in the morning. He had tried protecting his brother from their dad, and even if that was going somewhat well, there were still some bumps in the road.

And now he was barely twenty-two. He had been legally allowed to drink for a year, and it was a miracle he hadn't become an alcoholic by this point. He of course couldn't do that to Theo, but it was still quite an amazement in his mind.

Sometimes he thought about it, though he would never admit it — not to anyone but a therapist, at least. He'd dealt with a lot of shit recently, and he knew that some people wouldn't blame him for picking up an unhealthy coping mechanism, but when he looked at his baby brother he knew he couldn't do that to either of them.

Theo had surprised Techno for his birthday by taking him to his favorite restaurant and insisting that he be the one to pay instead of Techno. That morning he'd given Techno a copy of Stardew Valley for the Switch, a present he'd obviously been hiding for a while now, and while Techno knew it was partly because Theo wanted Techno to play the game with him as soon as possible, he found it endearing that Theo wanted to spend so much time with him and introduce Techno to his interests.

Techno wanted to give Theo the world. One day he would.

"—and then Ranboo said—"

Or maybe someone else would.

Theo had a crush on Ranboo. That much Techno was confident about. Tommy had a crush on Theo. Ranboo . . . Techno didn't know. He didn't know the boy's sexuality and wasn't going to assume that he did, even if his interactions with Theo made Techno suspect that he had formed a crush, knowingly or not, on Theo. Techno had tried picturing Theo dating either of them — because he didn't care who it was, honestly. Both Tommy and Ranboo were amazing people and Techno trusted them with Theo's heart.

Tommy and Theo would be long-distance, but Techno suspected they could make it work. They knew each other so well, and Theo always spoke well of Tommy.

Ranboo and Theo were closer, and Theo always gushed about Ranboo and how cool he is; Ranboo always took the time to check in with Theo and ask about his day. They were best friends, Theo said, but Theo also said that Tommy was his best friend.

. . . But maybe Techno had lied. He did mind who Theo dated, and the truth was he didn't want Theo dating anyone.

Techno was only four when his mom told him that she was pregnant with his baby brother, and he remembered being thrilled while Chris threw a temper tantrum in the living room. He was five when Theo was born, and he had been there for Theo's first steps, his first word, his first day of school, and his last. Theo was everything to him — his baby brother, his star. Techno would hardly ever tell Theo or anyone else how much love he had for the younger boy, but he didn't think he needed to when it was so clear in his eyes.