The next day // 7:30 AM
"It's cold out there!" Y/n calls. She shuts the front door closed, rushing back inside from warming the car up, still in her pyjamas; a white silky button-down stolen from Techno's side of the closet. Techno replies with a hum, the bitter taste of coffee on his tongue, he holds the newspaper in one hand, setting it down on the kitchen counter as he lifts his sleeve to check the time on his watch. He smirks to himself, Y/n's hands sneaking to his waist as she plants herself in his arms.
"I don't think the snow is stopping anytime soon." Her voice is muffled into his coat, Techno's fingers brushing through her bedhead as he drinks the last of his coffee, shuffling himself with Y/n's hold still on him, trying his hardest to place his mug into the sink. "Y/n." He sighs, unable to scold her as she grips his coat, keeping him from leaving the house. Once more, he checks the time. A minute has passed, one minute late. "I have to go now, my love," Techno whispers softly, a reassuring hand pulling her away so he can see her face as he places a kiss on her head. Her eyes are big and begging, tones of e/c looking up at him so yearningly. How much courage it takes to leave home every day knowing she was there. But that same prize was waiting for him as he gets home each day; each day he can't wait to return and see the way she greets him and welcomes him home. He loves the feeling, working hard all day just so he can be awarded the warmth of her presence.
Gradually, Y/n backs away, her hands falling behind her back, avoiding contact. Techno's hands are stilled in mid-air, confused and concerned as she sulks. Her back hits the counter, shifting in her spot as she grabs at something behind her.
Then, she turns swiftly, his lunch kit dangling behind her, bouncing as she marches towards the front door. Techno smiles, shaking his head when he follows her, his build tired and unready for the day in front of him.
Unlocking the door for him, Y/n puts on some warm slippers and a coat, grabbing one of Techno's hands as she leads him outside. He nearly forgets his book bag, being rushed out, Y/n seeking out for warmth by his heated car.
Techno can only snicker, his shoes shuffling past the snow as he reaches the car.
he wastes no time getting in, Wilbur passing by with a honk. "You'll be late bud!" He calls, Jack not far behind him, "Have fun at school, Techno mate!" Techno scoffs, the way their voices echoed down the road, getting ready to back up.
Y/n keeps him in his place, a shivering hand pulling his tie as she uses her free hand to place his lunch kit into his lap. She pulls him in for a chaste kiss, his body following but the car moves backwards so he's forced to pull away.
He hesitates as he leaves, Y/n smiling devilishly as she glances past him to see Niki, already rushing for warmth. She remains standing, watching as Techno drives away until the car was nothing but a speck on the road. She sighs, thinking to herself that she requires warmth as well.
There's a long day ahead of her, crossing each chore of the schedule for each time she gets it done, cleaning, cooking that night's dinner, to make herself useful, she'd shovel the driveway as well. The day was long, with little activity. It could only take a little more of her sanity to remain still, feeling restless. Women did not get to work. Not unless there was no man in the house.
That is why Puffy worked in a factory. Being a single mother, she needed to provide for her family, and many looked down on her for having no husband despite her hard work. Y/n truly envied her, the way she doesn't let others take her down so easily. She was a strong woman. Y/n just wishes she can be just as strong as well. Many attempts in her life to provide for her and Techno, all of which failed, and she's lost motivation recently to fight for her rights. Maybe when the weather warms again...
Meanwhile, at his full-time job, Techno is forced to spend his time away from his beloved, making sure Tommy stays out of the office, and that Tubbo is awake in class. He needn't worry about Ranboo, that hard-working boy. All his other students were pretty average compared to the trio. How eccentric and one-of-a-kind they were.
It's not as if he hates his job. In fact, he was quite fond of it. He got things done and was awarded meaningless rewards from the principal, Jchlatt, putting ego to his character. Many of the other teachers were quite intimidated by him, leaving him with little to no friends at work. He didn't mind. Not when he had genuine ones outside of his workplace. His co-workers were merely acquaintances.
The kind he sees at the grocery store with Y/n at his side as they ask to be introduced so formally Y/n gets confused when they try to shake her hand as she's already mid-way to hugging them. He remembers the way she stops, pretending to yawn before smiling at them so respectfully, shaking their hand. He can remember the way they walk away, her shoes now planted to the floor as she's no longer riding the cart around the store, the way she leans in and whispers to him with a quiet snicker, "Quite the save, huh Techno?" And he merely grins down at her, bemused, "Quite the save indeed." There is a ghost of a smile on his face, stacking the last of his student's homework on his desk. He'd need to mark those later.
"What's with the creepy smile?" Just as soon as his break begins, Terrance's peace and quiet are interrupted, silenced when Tommy trudges in with a grin so big it almost hurt just looking at him. He was like those cheeky little cats, Cheshire. Sighing, Terrance scolds, "What do you want now, Tommy?" He eyes him down, the blonde beauty pulling up a chair to the opposite side of Terrance's desk. "Just to see my big bro's best friend." He leans against the desk, toying with a fountain pen Techno kept strictly next to his blank looseleaf papers for notes.
"You saw him." Techno begins but Tommy is suspicious considering a ruler is still in his hand as he goes to fix the papers, inching closer to Tommy's. "Now go." Tommy flinches away, expecting something more than the way he seems to gently fix the fountain pen's position, straightening it. Techno raises a row, scoffing at Tommy as he grumbles to himself. "You really think I'd hit a child?" He defends with an evil grin, sitting back in his chair and loosening his tie as the room began to feel stuffy with the presence of someone he can no longer tolerate.
"Yes. Techno-", "That's Mr. Blade on school grounds Tomathy." Techno pokes fun at him, eyes following the ruler which was still in his hand, simply just for the fun of Tommy's fear.
"Ok, Mr. Blade," He mocks in a low, monotone voice, straightening his posture and tightening his imaginary tie. "Yes, I do think you would hit a child." Terrance lets out a chuckle, still putting up a wall others can't seem to break. That is unless it was Y/n. To which she wouldn't even need to lift a finger to see him so vulnerable. He constantly lets her walk through those walls, even picks her up from behind them and places her safely on the other side. She's just special to him that way. "How does Y/n keep up with your ego?" Suddenly, Tommy stands. He walks to Techno's side of the desk, hands on his hips as he studies the clean chalkboard on the wall. Techno simply watches, not caring for his foolery. "She has her own," he explains, brows knitting. In the corner of his eye, Tommy is now drawing on the board, making a mess out of it. "Oh?" Tom snickers, wondering what kind of arguments they've had in the past and who usually won. "Like she said the other night, we're both very independent." He places the ruler in an open drawer, shutting it gently. "Surprising." Tommy hums. Techno nearly lets it slide if it wasn't for his attention span which lasted just a little longer than usual. "What do you mean?" He stands, turning his head only to find a really big, detailed penis on his board. "I mean you're always so glued to her. Besides, she's like I isn't she? If I were her, I'd be all over you, Mr. Blade." Tommy wiggles his brows, putting the chalk down only for Techno to stand. He backs away as he does, grabbing the eraser and groaning, "Never say that again." To which Tommy laughs at.
"I'm just saying! Big, silent type. You'd get all the girls and if I were Y/n, I'd constantly be around to keep them away, you know?" Tommy shrugs, passing Techno sneakily and crashing into his desk chair.
"Yeah well, that's just called trust Tommy. I have no interest in other girls. Y/n knows that, and it's a mutual thing. You know what's that called?" Techno places the eraser down firmly, turning towards the pubescent cant child. He merely tilts his head, urging him to continue. "A healthy relationship." Tommy frowns at this, scoffing as he spins around. "You're such a dick when Y/n's not around." He grumbles. Techno has heard enough from the past of Tommy's strange tastes in women. Usually, ones that always seemed to find him befriending girls that like him on accident, leading to a failed commitment to the talking stage of the relationship.
Quietly, Techno thinks to himself, "I wonder what she's up to right now?" but he can only shrug it off. "Speaking of Y/n, I know you told us all about how you ended up liking her... but how'd you meet her in the first place.." Tommy wonders, speaking genuinely as he turns to Techno again, a puzzled look on his face.
Techno thinks, barely able to remember considering it was so long ago.
"She was travelling here to study. Some of my papers flew from my book bag while the train was just arriving and she chased after them with Wilbur for me after I was about to give up on them."
"Wow. Women are barely allowed an education." Tommy comments, thinking of the rare opportunity it was for a girl to study. "She's stubborn. Couldn't take no for an answer. Of course, she received an education." Techno scoffs, thinking of how underestimated she was by all the men around her in those halls. Not him though. As a matter of fact, Techno challenged her constantly. Even after they started dating, he'd work her to the bone, going against her in the classes they shared so she'd have the right competition considering her smarts were almost just as great as his when she tried hard enough.
Truthfully, she wasn't much of a thinker, but she worked well with people and had a knack for persuading them into considering her way of thinking. Eventually, people started to understand her more, even when she was a strange, eccentric woman.
"So why did you avoid her?" Tommy asks, his head tilting. Techno stops, thinking deeply, "Y/n's loud, very unorganized, emotional, and honestly I thought she just had something up her sleeve, the way she tried to get closer to me." His brows furrow, a simple distaste for the way he used to think of her. "She persuaded many to like her so I thought it was all an act just to fool around with others. Welp, turns out her kindness was real. Just that she had a lot more than just loud and unorganized to her." Techno sighs.
Dating Y/n, he finds out the amount of emotional baggage she carried. The weight over her and the constant struggle she had with even her own identity. Constantly he'd find her with others, being her regular self, until it was just the two of them and she'd confide in him about her problems when he asked what was wrong, her spirit suddenly low and her feelings towards her self-worth diminishing. She'd be on her own ass, wondering if there was something wrong with her, thinking she was annoying, or just straight-up hating herself.
It took a long time for her to heal. Even now, she has times when she struggles. But each day she picks herself up again, stronger than the last time she's been down.
"I admire her. A lot, Tommy."
____
After work // 6:30 PM
Pulling into the driveway, Techno finds the lot of snow gone. He was planning to shovel it later in the night but it seems someone had gotten to it first. Sighing out, he grins when he shuts the door behind him to find himself listening to the tune of the record player and Y/n's distant humming to it growing closer. He closes his eyes, a hand slamming against the wall next to him. "Hey, handsome." The voice he's been waiting to hear all day was like music to his ears.
"Hello, my love." He sighs, opening his eyes to watch as Y/n steps in front of him slyly, undoing the buttons on his coat and pulling on his tie, a gesture he adored. She meets his lips to his, Terrance completely melting in her touch as a hand sneaks to the nape of his neck, playing with neatly gelled hair, messing him up after a long day of putting on a proper appearance.
Techno doesn't mind though. "Couldn't stay still?' He mutters into the kiss, referring to the clean space on the driveway.
"Nope." Y/n sighs, pulling away to lead him towards the kitchen, a lazy smile on her face.
"Dinner?"