Techno was in the training area of the coliseum as he usually was midday, doing practice swings and other drills. The sun had been getting hotter, which wasn't great for his motivation. As he took one of his frequent breaks to wipe his brow and rehydrate, he noticed the sound of the entrance door.
"Techno!"
"Dream, what are you doing here?" Techno asked, his mood instantly lifting. Dream was wearing his mask and green cloak today, unusual since no one else was here.
"I told your manager it would be good to practice our bit together. How's training?" He said, waltzing up and looking around.
Techno chuckled to himself, knowing Dream had no intention of practicing. "Alright, getting hot though."
"Yeah, that's one of the benefits of training in the woods, lots of shade."
Techno saw Dream glance at the rack of wooden swords. "Have you learned sword fighting? We can spar if you want. I haven't had someone to practice drills with since Skeppy left."
"I've never had official training, so you'll have to teach me the drills, " Dream said coyly. "But I'm pretty confident."
Techno threw him a sword, picking up one for himself. "Watch and learn."
For the next few hours they practiced and practiced with the fake weapons. Dream picked up on the drills easily, which made Techno have even more fun as he teached his new student more and more advanced sets. By the end they were exhausted, taking turns to splash their face with water. Wilbur had already gone home, so Dream had been mask-less for a while.
"What a work out, I can barely stand." Dream said, not complaining.
Techno merely nodded as he threw his used towel in the pile for the laundry boy. "You have a change of clothes right? The changing room's over here."
When he was done, Techno left his stall to see Dream collapsed in a chair. "Um, are you gonna be alright? You live pretty far away."
"Probably. Just give me a minute. Or ten." Dream said, unmoving.
A sprig of sympathy sprouted inside Techno. "Would you rather rest at my place? It's pretty close."
The walk to Techno's house was painful. Dream probably should've stopped training when he knew he reached his limit. Luckily, he had a strong, steady arm to rely on.
The house was smaller than he expected. Very clean and well maintained, but small for a champion. Inside was simple and homely, almost cute. "Over here is the comfiest chair I own." Techno said, pointing to a little reading nook. "Use it wisely."
Dream plopped down, letting the cushions do their job. It sure was comfortable. They had tea, and when he felt like his muscles were staring to recover, he started walking gently around.
"You have a chess set?" He said, observing the carefully centered board on the shelf.
"Oh, yeah, I won it at something or other. The kings were specially carved." Sure enough, both king pieces had little pig ears and noses.
"Do you know how to play?" Dream smirked.
Techno eyed him. "Only the basics."
In an hour they were happily playing. After a long, hard think, which was plastered all over his face, Techno moved his rook forward, directly next to his opponent's king. Dream saw it coming a mile away and nudged his king forward. "Checkmate."
"Argh, I knew it. What's that, six to one?" Techno groaned.
"If you count the time you accidentally cheated, sure." He said, leaning forward. "You've gotten a lot better though, you almost had me in the ropes that time."
"Almost being the key word." Techno quipped, hunching over to reset the board.
Dream could've leaned back and helped, but instead he studied the face in front of him, frustrated but determined. The smell of sweat from earlier almost completely gone. He was glad he came.
"Sorry, but I think I'll have to postpone the rematch." Dream said, standing up. "I should get home."
Techno tried to find an excuse to ask him to stay. "Are you sure you feel better? I don't want you collapsing in the streets."
He giggled. "I'll be fine, thanks."
As Dream put on his shoes, Techno offered him an arm for balance, which was quickly accepted. He could feel the callouses and newly formed muscles. His hand would probably feel nice without the sticky layer of beer from last time.
As they said goodbye, Techno was reminded of something. "Could you invite me the next time you go running? It's much nicer to run the woods."
"I run there every morning, so feel free to stop by whenever." Dream responded, smiling back.
Techno was glad he had finally been able to ask him, and after he shut the door, his smile naturally widened.
Though they were friends, Techno had no idea how to hang out with people. His other friends were all through work at the coliseum, and he'd practically grown up with Wilbur. Hanging out with them was easy. So he was glad when Dream had visited him first. It had been a lot of fun too. He just about wished every day could be like that.
Techno still hadn't showed up. Dream had seen first hand how slow he was to wake up, but at this point, he probably wasn't coming. He had been looking forward to this all night, but he was being blown off. It's to be expected though, Technoblade was actually famous, who knows what could've happened that needed his attention. Dream sighed as he put on his shoes, leaving the half eaten breakfast on the table. When he opened the door to leave, he saw a fist. "Techno, I was afraid you wouldn't show up."
"Yeah, um. What a coincidence." Techno said, shifting awkwardly.
"I made some extra breakfast if you want some." Dream said, inviting him in.
"Thanks."
Dream took the lead when they started on their run. He led Techno through the winding trees and scattered bushes. He made sure to take him to all the most jaw dropping locations, showing off the woods he knew by heart. It wasn't the same route as the one from last time, but it never was. That was one of the things he liked about running without a path. Eventually, they stopped at a small clearing where the forest roof opened to the sky and the grass was trampled from years of use. It was practically his second home.
"Um, are we stopping here?" Techno asked, slowing down.
Dream smiled. "Welcome to my little training ground." He said, opening his arms to the sky and walking around. "This is where I go every day to do my workout."
"Oh sweet."
Dream grinned where Techno couldn't see it as he thought about the idea he had come up with last night. "And now that you're here, we can train together."
Techno backed up slightly. "Uh, I didn't bring any swords."
Dream chuckled. "Last time you challenged me, now I'm challenging you." He turned around so they were face to face. "When was the last time you wrestled?"
Techno smiled, getting into a practiced stance in response.
It really had been a long time since Techno wrestled someone. The coliseum wasn't exactly a formal battleground, but they emphasized sword use, probably to distance themselves from street fights. Still, he wouldn't say he was rusty. You wouldn't last long in the coliseum if sword fighting was all you knew after all.
The wrestling match was very close. Dream was quick and darted around easily. He wouldn't let himself be caught. But when he was, that was Techno's time to shine. He had a firm grip and he knew how to use his weight to his advantage, not letting even the slipperiest snake escape. But Dream somehow managed it. They went back and forth until they were both exhausted and dripping with sweat.
Techno was holding down his opponent when Dream suddenly used the last of his strength to roll them both over, reversing the positions with a sloppy technique that left their faces only inches apart. A few minutes ago and Techno would've easily been able to escape. But they had been wrestling for hours, and he barely had enough strength to keep his eyes open. He looked at Dream on top of him, breathing just as hard as he was. Dirt was threatening to erase his freckles and sweat was running down his face and neck. Still, sunlight was streaming around him and his green eyes still shone even in the lush environment. There was a weak smile on his lips that teased his victorious attitude.
Techno's eyes focused on those lips as one thought emerged. He wanted to kiss him.
If the moment had prolonged, maybe he would've actually done it, but Dream's strength was just as exhausted as his was, and soon, Dream's muscles failed him and they were just two men flopped on top of each other like pancakes. Techno used some of his remaining strength to bring Dream into a hug, his arms naturally resting around the slender frame. "Gotcha." He said. Dream laughed as well as he could under the circumstances.
For a while they stayed there, feeling the breeze and listening to the birds singing and hopping around trees. Even after they had both regained their strength, neither wanted to move. Eventually their stomachs growled, almost in sync. They laughed with gusto as Dream rolled off onto the grass. Dream stood up, offering a hand to the other. "Want to eat out somewhere?"
Techno smiled at the kind gesture before gladly taking it. "Sure."
They walked back, just chatting and joking, enjoying each other's company.
"How do you know Skeppy by the way?" Dream asked. "I had no idea you were friends before Bad told me."
"You must not have know him very long then, he was a big shot in the coliseum a few years ago."
"Seriously?"
Dream didn't believe him, and he knew why. "Haha yeah, he wasn't very good. Better than most of the nerds that come, but not by much." Dream laughed that cute laugh he had, making Techno laugh as well. "You should've seen it, he challenged me to so many private 1v1s and got destroyed every single time."
Dream's laugh turned into a wheeze, making Techno blush. "I can only imagine, he must've been so mad!"
"Yeah, well then he left us for some posh company that performs for the rich, haven't seen too much of him since."
"Aw, that's too bad, you seem to be good friends."
Techno smiled, remembering when Skeppy was still in the coliseum. "Yeah."
Dream already had a place in mind for them to eat. There was really only one restaurant this side of town that offered anything decent. After dropping off the towels they brought, he led Techno straight to it. "This is Aunt Martha's. As long as you don't order anything with chicken, it's pretty good."
Waiting for their food, they started talking again. "The day I challenged you, my manager was furious. I was already late so Wilbur, you know him, right?"
"We've met." He said. It'd only been a handful of times.
"Yeah, so now Wilbur wasn't just yelling about being late, he was also yelling about how I gave you free promotion! It was a mess."
Dream laughed. "Being a professional must be tough. But you were late? You seemed right on time to me."
"Ah, Wilbur had planned for me to practice with my new sword before the match. Things can get ugly quick if you don't." Techno mentioned. "But wait, you were there?"
Dream shifted his eyes, it was a bit embarrassing to think that Techno would find out he was a fan. "Ah, I was. Oh! Our food's here." He said, thankful for the distraction.
"No no no, you're not getting out of this." Techno grinned. "Why were you at my coliseum fight? Even I didn't know I would call you out."
Dream could feel himself turning red, he could feel Techno's eyes staring deep into his soul, trying to figure this out. As soon as the waitress left, he managed to overcome his embarrassment and mutter, "I, may be a bit of a fan. Of yours." He peeked his eye at Techno, trying to judge his reaction.
Techno was surprised, and his cheeks seemed, a little flushed? He quickly smiled though, replying, "Oh well I'm flattered."
They continued chatting about meaningless stories all the way through dinner and on the walk back to Dream's house. "Here's your towel back." He said.
Techno took it back and flung it around his shoulders. "Thanks."
Dream's face turned crimson. He had suddenly remembered something from when they were drunk, he had asked Techno to kiss him, right in this spot. Embarrassing memories quickly flooded his brain, every slight motion or piece of scenery seemed to point to that short series of moments, not helped by the man himself standing in front of him, back to the street lamp and that same messy hair. "So it was nice seeing you!"
"Yeah, I had fun. I'll have to stop by again." Techno said, somewhat sheepishly.
Dream smiled. The man before him had the familiar awkward mannerisms, the tough, confident stance, and a small but noticeable smile behind his stubble. This was the Techno he liked, not some drunken memory. "Feel free!"