❝ VICES ❞
December 4th, 2020
PHIL
This isn't exactly how Phil planned on meeting Techno.
They had talked about it before, a few days before Phil was set to meet Tommy and Will. Techno complained about not being able to go, and Phil knew him well enough to catch the actual emotion in his voice. He assured Techno that as soon as they could all meet up, Phil would drop everything to go. He'd glad to hear that Techno feels a bit better about that.
He thought they'd meet at a convention, if he's being honest. He's thought about them all traveling down together — him, Kristin, Tommy, Will, Rory, maybe Tubbo, Niki, and Fundy if they could make it — to California for a convention, convincing Techno to meet them there. He's imagined getting to hang out with his closest friends in one place, of meeting fans and taking group selfies all day. He's thought of getting to talk to Techno in person too many times to count.
But he always thought it would take longer to happen, that they wouldn't get to meet each other so soon.
That changes when he hears from Will that Techno is in Brighton. Phil gets a phone call at two in the morning on December 3rd, and it's Will.
Phil is the first person he calls when he gets arrested, and Phil is pissed off to hear it's because he's gotten himself into a fight. He scolds Will for being so careless, begrudgingly congratulates him when he hears that Will practically dragged Rory's abusive ex-boyfriend through the gutter. He grins when Will says, "Well, Phil, you should see the other guy!" but has to stop himself from laughing.
He and Kristin plan to meet up with everyone the next day, after Will's gotten out of jail and had time to himself. He's excited to hang out with everyone again, even more happy that Kristin is coming along this time, and elated to know that he's finally going to meet Techno in person. He goes to bed content that night, and also tired, since he's been worried about Will all day.
He and Kristin aren't the first to the bridge. They spot Tommy and Tubbo looking over Tommy's phone as Tommy scrolls through different memes, both teenagers clearly tired from the early time they had to get up for this meet up, and Tommy even more so since he had to wake up extra early to get to the city. They both excitedly shout when they see Phil and Kristin and get a few weird looks, but Phil doesn't care at the moment, too happy to see the boys.
Will and Niki show up next, and Phil winces when he sees how terrible Will looks, but the singer is all smiles and jokes. He passes off the fight as him defending Niki from a drunk bastard, and Niki backs him up for the boys' sake, because everyone knows that Tommy and Tubbo will be pissed if they find out that Henry had shown up after they'd left.
The six of them patiently wait for the final two further down the bridge than they'd started, finding a table to sit at so half of them aren't sitting on the ground. Tommy's head falls against Tubbo's shoulder as he takes a power nap; Will plays with Niki's hair as she and Kristin talk; Phil and Will talk about future video ideas, as well as new Dream SMP plot lines they could explore; Will mentions someone named Sorin, but Phil doesn't catch it as he glances around for any sign of Rory and Techno, but he figures they most be sleeping in.
Then Will's phone, face-up on the table, lights up. Phil looks up and sees Rory standing next to a taller man that Phil has only seen over video calls, both of them looking around for the group. Phil stands up and calls out to them excitedly as Tubbo shakes Tommy awake and Will and Niki turn around.
Everyone greets each other, handshakes and hugs. Phil gives Rory a quick hug, checks in with him as Niki introduces herself formally to Techno. Rory says he's doing okay. Kristin and Phil tease him about him and Techno being late, to which Tubbo and Tommy groan in disgust and hide behind Niki.
Phil holds out his hand to Techno, who shakes it, looking like he knows exactly what's going to happen. Phil pulls him into a hug and pats his shoulder. "Nice to see you here, Techno," he said, and he meant it genuinely. Techno chuckled sheepishly, but Phil can tell he's touched but has trouble expressing it. Phil's dealt with his found family long enough to know what that's like.
The group sets off for breakfast, Phil and Will taking the lead, and all Phil can think about is how happy he is to have his family together in one place.
KRISTIN
Kristin has a very good understanding of her husband and his friends. She knows that he'll do anything for them, even plan to drive down to Brighton just to make one of them feel better. He puts up with them wasting his time in a video game and hears the way he accidently calls them his kids sometimes, without even realizing that the word sons has come from his mouth. And she knows that his friends are good for him, too, able to motivate him on a bad day and help him smile during a bad week
She sees the way he worries about Will, talking about how Will has gone and gotten himself arrested for beating up an "abusive wanker," and they both laugh when she says, "Good for him!"
She's quite excited to meet more of Phil's friends — she's met Will, Niki, Tommy, and Fundy before, as well as some others, but Rory, Tubbo, and Techno will be new, and she can't wait to interact with them even though she's spoken with Techno and Rory before when Phil streamed with them. She thinks they're nice.
They get up extra early the next day, far earlier than they needed to, and head down to Brighton. It's a nice drive, filled with listening to music and talking about seeing their friends again.
They hang out with Tommy and Tubbo for a while — Tommy is pleasant, and Kristin suspects it's because he's tired. She doesn't know this boy's sleeping schedule, but she's willing to bet it isn't good. Tubbo is peaceful, speaking quietly, but Kristin suspects that he's just as chaotic as Tommy normally is when he's around his best friend, so she's thankful that Tommy seems sleepy today.
When Will and Niki arrive, the group sets off and sits at a bigger table. Kristin and Niki catch up, because they don't talk often and the last time they did was the Brighton meet-up. Rory and Techno arrive holding hands, and Kristin can't resist teasing them about too much fun; Phil joins in, and the two kids groan at the mere idea.
They eat breakfast inside an open Starbucks, continuing to catch up and planning out what they were going to do for the way. Tommy and Tubbo want to go to the beach, while Will, Rory, and Techno want to stop by the arcade. Niki is just happy to be there, Phil and Kristin don't want to see anything interesting, so they agree to stop by the beach for a few hours before going up to the arcade. Then Tubbo and Niki would go home, Phil, Kristin, and Tommy would crash at Will's place, and Rory and Techno would go back to Rory's apartment.
They head to the beach.
Tommy and Tubbo immediately pull Will and Niki out to the water and splash the two adults, which starts an all-out war. Tommy recruits Techno, somehow, leaving Kristin, Phil, and Rory on the beach, watching the battle unfold. Kristin asks Rory why he doesn't join in, and Rory tells them that he's been terrified of the ocean since he was a kid, so he's better sitting down.
She's sees the way he nervously looks around the beach, like he's expecting to see someone bad, and she remembers that only two days ago he'd been corned by his ex-boyfriend, or so Will tells them. So she grabs a book from her backpack and passes it to him as a distraction, watching as he immediately gets wrapped up in the fictional world.
Kristin starts to figure out why Phil accidently refers to these boys as sons.
Eventually Tommy and Tubbo get tired and head back up, the adults following behind them. Everyone gets ready to go, and Kristin watches as Techno seems to be the only thing that pulls Rory away from the book, holding his attention like a spotlight. She smiles softly, reminded of her own relationship, and decides she's going to do whatever she can to protect these boys.
They set off for the arcade, the day a little brighter.
TOMMY
Tommy's greatest achievement today is getting Techno to give him a fistbump.
When Techno and Rory arrive at the bridge, the last two to show up — to which Kristin and Phil tease them about having too much fun and Tommy and Tubbo share a groan of absolute disgust — and the group sets off for breakfast, Tommy falls behind slightly.
It's Phil and Will at the front, leading; Niki and Kristin are behind them, talking excitedly and catching up; Tommy and Tubbo walk behind them, and Techno and Rory bring up the rear, holding hands.
Tommy falls behind and turns around to face the two of them. He holds out his hand, making a fist, and stops completely. Techno raises his eyebrows while Rory giggles, giving Techno an expectant look. With a reluctant sigh, Techno completes the fistbump. Tommy punches his fist in the air and runs to catch up with Tubbo, who scolds him for bothering the two of them, but Tommy doesn't care.
They get to the beach and he and Tubbo immediately hit the water, somehow managing to coax an oblivious Will and suspicious Niki into the water, where the two teens promptly start a splash battle that leaves both adults shocked. Then Will and Niki begin fighting back, and they're much stronger than Tommy would care to admit, so he gets Techno to join them, somehow.
Eventually Tommy grows exhausted, and then Tubbo's foot touches stray seaweed and grosses them both out, so everyone agrees that they should start heading to the arcade. It's cold when they get out of the water, but Tommy's already had one of the best days ever, so he doesn't mind if he shivers a little while walking to the arcade with his friends.
Rory and Phil pass their coats to Tubbo and Tommy, and Kristin drops her coat around Niki's shoulders while Will keeps his coat on for his own sake. Tubbo and Tommy pretend that they don't notice, but Tommy's heart feels warm and he thinks his face hurts from smiling so much.
He can't wait to move in with Tubbo and make this a weekly event.
They get to the arcade and get the typical "Stay together, text me every 10-20 minutes, don't wander off without each other or I'm getting this place shut down until we find you" talk from Will, who buys them coins to play the games despite their protests. Tommy and Tubbo dive into the arcade together, challenging each other to games and groaning when they're the ones who lose.
Eventually they make it to skee ball, all the way at the back of the arcade, and decide to give themselves a break by playing a few relaxing games.
Tommy glances at Tubbo, who looks like he's been sleeping a lot better since they went to visit Rory a few days ago. Tommy didn't think he would be back soon soon, never even imagined his parents would agree to let him come back again for the night after ten days away from home, but they just make him promise to be safe and use his money wisely. They seem to understand that Tommy comes home much happier after spending time with his friends than when he's stuck at home all day.
"I can't believe Techno flew out here," Tommy admitted.
Tubbo nodded. "Same. When Wilbur told me, I thought he was joking!" He frowns. "Do you think he and Rory are boyfriends?"
Tommy snorted. "Techno's too much of a coward for that," he states, getting a perfect score with his next roll.
Tubbo chuckled. "Yeah. I wonder what Wilbur thinks about them," he mused.
"Why do you keep calling him Wilbur?" Tommy asked curiously.
Tubbo shrugged. "Why does he keep calling me Tubbo?"
". . . Fair enough," Tommy decides, looking around the arcade. He grins. "I bet I'll beat you at DDR," he challenges, and Tubbo raises his eyebrows.
The two share a look before dashing over to the game.
WILL
Will knows that Tommy and Tubbo have questions.
Tubbo gasps when he sees Will's face and Tommy launches into a rant about stabbing shit, mainly whoever fucked you up, but he gives the same excuse he gave Rory. He's glad when Niki backs him, though he knows she's confused because he still hasn't told that he lied to his brother for Rory's sake. He knows that Tommy and Tubbo will be furious if they find out that Henry stopped by after they were gone and even angrier that Will got himself thrown in jail for the bastard.
So he lies through his teeth and assures them he isn't dying.
Honestly, he's just glad to have everyone together.
He doesn't usually feel lucky enough to have this. The first Brighton meet-up lacked three very important people to him — Rory, Techno, and Tubbo. Sometimes he thinks what the outcome of that meet-up would have been if Rory and Techno could have made it there, but he supposes they were just meant to wait a little longer.
He's not going to pretend that it isn't weird that Techno and Rory are, like, a thing? Sure, no one wants to talk in on their little brother making out with someone, even less so when it's one of your best friends. But he's not going to make it weird for them — truly, Will is happy that Rory has finally found himself a good guy, and he trusts Techno not to fuck it up again. It's still a little weird, thinking about his best friend and his brother dating, but Will supposes it's not the end of the world.
His brother is happy, and that's something Will's wanted for a long time.
In the back of his mind, Will thinks he wants that same happiness.
They hit the arcade and decide they'll stay there for lunch, too, which isn't for another hour, so they have plenty of time to kill until then. He buys tons of coins for Tommy and Tubbo even though they protest and insist that they have their own money; then he sends them off, telling them to check in by texting him every 10-20 minutes. They grumble about it but don't argue.
Will watches them disappear into the crowd before he sits down at a table, placing himself next to Niki and across from Phil. He sits back in his chair and yawns dramatically. "Children are exhausting," he announces, looking up at the ceiling of the arcade. He gets a little dizzy from the lights that flash against it from various games and sits back up again.
"Oh, hush, you love caring for them," Kristin teases. Will grins, ignoring the pain that flares up his split lip, and shrugs.
"What can I say, I'm a pretty damn good older brother," he states proudly, glancing at Rory. Rory glances at Niki and the two burst into laughter, which makes Will pout — no matter how much it hurts his face to pull that expression — and cross his arms, only causing Phil to start laughing.
Will sighs, then perks up when Rory finally agrees that he's a pretty good older brother. His expression falls when Rory adds, "You know, not a lot of older brothers go to jail for beating up their sibling's ex, so a point to you, Will."
Will glances at Techno, who looks a little guilty, and sighs. ". . . You should've seen him, though. Dragged his ass through the fucking gutter, that's what I did!"
"I helped!" Niki chimes in.
"You what?" Techno, Rory, and Phil ask at the same time. Niki grins and holds up her hand, which still has a dark purple bruise spread across the knuckles from when she'd broken Henry's nose. "Will covered for me and I got him out of jail. Teamwork!"
Rory laughs in disbelief and Phil groans something about his children being crazy, and Will thinks that this entire experience has been worth a little pain, even when he wonders how he's going to explain the bruises to his stream.
He's really glad everyone's together.
NIKI
Niki has rarely ever been surrounded by so many people that she loves.
Her childhood birthday parties were filled with friends and family members; sometimes her family would meet up once a year for a holiday, always a random one. But sometimes she goes to parties with friends and she doesn't know many people there, or she has to go somewhere and be surrounded by strangers. It's very rare that she's surrounded by so much love.
Sitting at this table in an arcade filled with screaming kids and the loud sounds of prizes being won isn't her first idea when she thinks about being with the people she loves, but she isn't going to complain about the setting when she can still hear her friends talking perfectly fine.
She listens to Will brag about beating up Henry and proudly chimes in with her own involvement, showing off the bruise on her hand that had been hidden under her sweater sleeves. When Will had called her about Henry, she didn't hesitate to offer her help. She knew that she couldn't convince Will to calm down, to think rationally about this, but she could help make sure his ass didn't get beat.
She laughs when Phil calls her mental and grins when Kristin says she's amazing. As the conversation flows, sometimes she catches a peak of Tommy and Tubbo playing a new game before the two disappear again, clearly trying to gather enough tickets to buy something cool. She keeps an eye on them when she can, because Will is so wrapped up in talking about new video ideas and the other four have their backs turned to the gaming section of the arcade.
Eventually lunch time rolls around. Tommy and Tubbo appear out of nowhere and Tommy drags Will and Niki from the table to be with him when he orders everyone food and to help him carry it. Niki sends a wave to the table as they set off. Tubbo waves back, looking a little lost now that Tommy isn't at his side, and Niki feels a little bad.
Tommy studies the menu as they enter the line. "What the fuck are we supposed to get?" he asks, turning to Will and Niki.
"Well maybe if you had asked everyone what they wanted before being impatient, you'd know," Will points out, but Niki knows he already has everyone's orders memorized.
Tommy waves his hand. "That doesn't help me now, does it, Wilbur Soot?" he mocks. Will nearly pinches the bridge of his nose before Niki reminds him that it'll hurt. She gently swats his shoulder.
"Oh just give him the order," she says, seeing that they're nearly at the front of the line. Will sighs but does as told, pulling out his phone, where he'd marked down everyone's orders an hour ago. Tommy already knows Tubbo's order, so it works out.
They carry the food back to the table carefully, because it's a lot of food and Niki doesn't want to waste Tommy's money (he insisted on paying, not accepting any argument Will and Niki tried to make and practically shoving Will onto the ground when Will tried to use his card to pay for the food). She passes everyone their order and settles into her chair, talking to Kristin more as they all start eating.
The conversations break up around them — Tommy and Tubbo are in their own world, Rory watches the conversations with a smile, Phil and Will talk about videos and new Dream SMP plot lines again, Niki and Kristin roll their eyes at the boys and talk about Niki's life in Germany versus her life in the UK, but the divide in attention doesn't bother Niki as much as she thought it would.
She's with her friends, and it's the nicest feeling in the world.
TUBBO
Tubbo tries the whole brotherly-talk thing, and it's safe to say that Techno is more scared of him than he is of Will.
He pulls Techno aside as the arcade when Tommy drags Will and Niki away to get food, Phil and Kristin talk to Rory about how he's been doing and how he and Techno are, leaving Tubbo and Techno alone with the games. Tubbo doesn't really want to stick with Techno, but he doesn't want to be rude, so he challenges Techno to a game of air hockey.
Techno, ever the competitive spirit, accepts.
Tubbo tries a trick that his dad once taught him — circling the puck with paddle, a way to distract your opponent. Tubbo circles the puck seven times and only hits it when Techno asks if he's going to take the shot; he scores a goal, much to Techno's annoyance, the game begins again.
Techno easily racks up more goals than Tubbo, getting the score to 6-1, and Tubbo realizes he has to find a better distraction, because his dad's method stopped working after the first time.
"Did you kiss Rory?" Tubbo blurts out, then hits the puck. Techno is so shocked that he doesn't even try defending his side of the table, staring at Tubbo with a frantic, scattered expression. Techno pulls the puck out of the goal and sets it on the table again.
"Uh . . . think you're a little young to askin' those questions, Tubbo," he says.
Tubbo raises his eyebrows, smirking to himself. He defends his side of the table more confidently. When he has the puck again and his ready to make a shot, he asks, "Did you spend the night?" He means it in the most innocent way, wondering if Techno had gotten a hotel or had literally flown out to Brighton without a plan.
Techno chokes and Tubbo scores another goal. 6-3.
"Are you two boyfriends now?" 6-4.
"You should get a pet together, I doubt either of you are ready for kids." 6-5.
"So is marrige on the table?" 6-6.
"Tubbo, why are you askin' these questions?" Techno asked suspiciously, once again putting the yellow puck back onto the table. He hits it to Tubbo's side and Tubbo defends easily.
"Just wondering if you're serious about him," Tubbo said, only half-lying. He doesn't eye the scoreboard, not ready to give his plan away. "And, you know, I'm like his brother. I gotta look out for him, I doubt Wilbur actually scared you if he even gave you the brother-talk," Tubbo added. He doesn't even think about calling Will by anything other than Wilbur — it's a habit, now.
"I— I'm serious about him, Tubbo," Techno promises, faltering on the defense.
"Good. That's good, Technoblade. Because if you hurt him, it's not Wilbur you have to worry about," Tubbo finishes, hitting the puck into Techno's side, winning the game.
He walks back to the table and sits down across from an empty chair that's next to Rory, who's on the "couple's side" of the table next to Phil, who has Kristin on his other side. Next to Tubbo is Tommy, then Will, then Niki. Tubbo hides his grin when he sees Techno sit down next to Rory and the man refuses to look in Tubbo's direction, clearly startled by how scary a 16-year-old could be.
Good. Tubbo isn't going to let Rory get hurt again, and if it happens, Tubbo will make sure the person who upset Rory regrets it.
RORY
Rory has never felt so loved in his entire life.
He still has the book that Kristin has given him; she told him to hold onto it until he's done, and then they could talk about, because she has a lot of thoughts about how it ended and wants someone to rant to; Tubbo is still wearing his jacket from that morning, when Rory had noticed that the boy was shivering from the water; he and Phil had given the kids their coats at the same time, a silent agreement.
Techno has moved his chair closer to Rory's and they're holding hands under the table. Rory listens to Phil and Will talk about different ideas they have, and also hears Tommy and Tubbo talking about what it would be like if they were to move in together. Rory can only imagine the chaos, and Phil seems to agree, starting a playful argument that the entire table jumps in on.
He leans against Techno, feeling nothing but love as his family bickers.
They all go to Will's apartment, as it's closer, and watch some movies. Tommy and Tubbo fight over the remote as they sit next to each other on the floor in front of the couch, Tommy wanting to watch an action movie and Tubbo insisting that he can handle a horror one; Niki and Kristin sit side-by-side, and Phil's head is in Kristin's lap. Will sits next to Tommy, comfortably leaning against Niki's legs. Rory finds his head leaning against Techno's shoulder, tired.
Eventually they have to break up the group. The sun sets. Rory and Techno drive Tubbo and Niki home before heading to Rory's apartment again.
(Phil and Kristin take him aside before they leave, telling Rory that if he felt unsafe when Techno went home, then Rory was perfectly free to take the guest bedroom at their house. Rory wants to protest, but he thinks about Henry showing up again and tells them he very well might take him up on that offer. Besides, he's been looking to move out of that terrible apartment, and having some space to do that would be nice.)
(Tommy barely looks up when Rory announces they're leaving, telling him to be safe. Rory doesn't make it halfway to the door before Tommy jumps up and hugs him tightly, telling him more insistently to be safe. Rory gently pats his back and they pretend that Tommy doesn't sound like he's going to cry because all of his friends are leaving too soon.)
(Tubbo gives him a tight hug goodbye. He starts taking off the jacket to give back, but Rory tells him he can keep it. Tubbo tries to protest, because he knows it's one of Rory's favorites, but he just ruffles Tubbo's hair and tells him goodnight.)
(Niki gives him a tight hug and gives Techno a threatening look before she goes inside her apartment. Techno and Rory watch to make sure she gets inside before they allow themselves to drive away.)
They get home and collapse on the couch in exhaustion, both of them spent after such a long day. Rory leans against Techno tiredly, mumbling something about them needing to sleep in a bed tonight — falling asleep on the couch hadn't done any wonders for Rory's shoulders, and it still hurts when he tries to turn his neck too far.
Neither of them realize that they're cuddling in Rory's bed until the next morning, and even then, it doesn't really matter, does it? Not when they're falling for each other so fast that they can barely keep up with their own feelings.
(Techno, his Techno, pulls Rory against his chest and rests his chin on top of Rory's head, and Rory doesn't even feel embarrassed to say that's the best feeling in the world, being loved.)
TECHNO
Techno thinks he wants to stay.
He's always thought about moving out of California — it was too hot for him most of the time, or it was too cold, too boring and predictable. He laughs when his mom suggests he moves to Idaho, home of the potatoes, and sobers up when his brother says he'd like Techno to move out so the house is quieter. When he met Phil and Will, he thought, briefly, about moving to Brighton.
He even began the process of getting a Visa, but gave up on that a week later when the thought that it would creep his friends out.
But now, sitting next to Rory as everyone begins to eat lunch, Techno thinks he's ready for that change.
Hearing Phil and Kristin talk about how crazy it was for them to get married makes him glance at Rory, and then he catches Tommy's eye and Tommy grins but doesn't say anything, a silent promise not to push too far again.
Will talks about wanting to do more things like this, wistfully talks about everyone being close enough to meet up more often; Tubbo mentions that he and Tommy have been talking about moving in together when they're well off enough to, and he laughs when Phil exclaims, "You two will burn the house down, what do you mean?"
Tommy and Tubbo start to argue with him as Niki giggles and shares a look with Kristin that says Children, am I right? Will laughs at an argument Phil makes, rolls his eyes and shushes Tommy when Tommy's voice gets even louder. Techno kind of agrees with Phil, it would be a chaotic mess of a house, but he also thinks that Tommy and Tubbo are responsible kids who could make it work.
Rowan leans against Techno slightly, watching the argument unfold with pure adoration for his family, and Techno's heart stutters in his chest when he realizes that it could be like this a lot of the time — meeting up with friends, family, sharing stories and just spending time together. He tries to think of the last time he had something like this, peaceful and loving, but can't for the life of him remember when it all felt so warm.
He wants to stay like this forever.
He thinks about road trips with everyone to see Phil and Kristin for a weekend, imagines the two traveling down to hang out for the weekend. He thinks about actually being there to do something the next time Tommy has a fame-centered panic attack, thinks about being able to help Tubbo out when the boy is feeling sad. He thinks about being able to visit Will whenever the singer has a bad day, about helping Rowan fall asleep after a long night. He thinks about being near his friends when his panicking thoughts take over his mind, and he thinks about Rowan holding him when he needs to be held.
Techno thinks he's found a good family, and he doesn't want to give that up.
she's a, she's a lady
Rowan laid in his arms, curled into Techno perfectly, like they were two pieces of the same puzzle.
Techno held him tightly, feeling the way Rowan shivered from the cold that had set into the apartment due to him forgetting to turn on the heater. Techno wanted to get up and turn on the heater, but the idea of letting go of Rowan had him hesitant, not willing to let go of the man sleeping in his arms.
This was the first time Rowan had begun doing so well, falling asleep with ease, sleeping through the night and laughing more often. Techno wanted to hold onto that a little longer, even it meant his mind raced in the middle of the night, reminding himself that he could very easily fuck this up.
He sighed, pressing his face into the back of Rowan's shoulder. "I think—" His breath hitched. Could he even say it? Even if he and Rowan weren't together romantically, he still meant the words, but was it too soon? They hadn't even discussed what they were to each other — though Techno had a very good idea — and he felt like he was pushing too far.
But at the same time, everytime he looked at Rowan — when he laughed, when he told a joke that only he found funny, when he casually touched Techno like it was the most normal thing in the world — Techno could feel the words sitting on his tongue, ready to be spoken. Even if he and Rowan weren't romantically involved, even if they weren't even calling each other boyfriends, Techno needed to say the words.
He felt like he was going to be sick if he didn't spit it out.
"I think . . . I might— . . . love you," he murmured, pressing a quick kiss to the barely exposed skin of Rowan's neck, before pulling away in embarrassment. He tenses when Rowan chuckles softly, unable to hide the fact that he was awake. But Rowan didn't pull away, didn't try to get up, didn't ask Techno to repeat himself. Techno sighed, pulling him closer. "Go to sleep," he scolded, voice horse.
Rowan hummed softly. "You know . . . I think I might love you too, Tech," he teased as Techno sighed, shifting so he moved further up the bed, just enough to comfortably rest his chin on Rory's head without annoying either of them.
Three more days until he had to go home. Techno would make that worthwhile.
and I am just a line without a hook