Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dream knew it would happen, kinda at least. It was a gut feeling even though he was an expert in ignoring said feelings and instead trust the people he loved. He trusted a lot, George always told him he trusted too much.

So when Techno – his secret boyfriend – and him had to decide what to do once the time for college came Dream trusted again. They had planned it all out. Dream still had one year left of High School after having to repeat one due to him being absent for a long time in a former year. Techno however could leave, forget about L’Manberg, the little conservative village they grew up in.

But they had planned it all out at the beginning of High School, when they got together. With fragile fourteen years they had sat in Techno’s tree house and planned their future. They’d leave to college together, and when family drama happened in Dream’s family and he had to repeat a year the plans didn’t change. Techno would look for a job the year Dream finished high school and once Dream graduated they’d go to a college together, far far away.

One where they wouldn’t have to hide in the shadows. Where they could hold hands in public. Where they didn’t check every direction ten times to bring up the bravery for a kiss on the cheek. Where they wouldn’t need to fear a parent walking in while they just sat too close to just be friends. Where they could be themselves, where they could be in love.

Yes, they had a plan.

However, plans change. And sometimes that happens surprisingly for one of the people involved.

“You… what?” Dream mumbled out as he stood in Techno’s room, eyes wide. The man was sitting on his desk chair, Dream stood in front of his bed. He just put down his bag, ready to try and relax as much as possible, when Techno dropped the bomb on him.

“I’m going to college in Las Nevada,” he repeated, eyes on Dream – his boyfriend – with determination in his eyes.

“...What?” Dream asked once again in a weak voice, not sure if he wanted an actual answer. “But… When…?”

Techno took a deep breath as if this was the hardest thing he ever did, telling his boyfriend that he’d leave him behind in their little town. Dream couldn’t really believe that, he wasn’t sure what at all he could believe anymore. “At the end of August, to settle into my dorm and get used to campus.”

August. It was the middle of June.

“Why…?” Another question, Dream had so many he wanted to ask, wanted to shout them out. But he was scared, so unbelievably scared. Because he knew what was to come, everyone who’d hear this conversation would and even though Dream was never the smartest – never could be with Techno nearby – he also wasn’t dumb. “Techno, we- we had plans!”

“I know,” Techno said, standing up and taking a sheet of paper, holding it out to Dream. “But this is a great chance for me, Dream. Las Nevadas doesn’t accept people with a break in their resume, this was my only chance of getting in.”

“We never wanted to get into Las Nevadas, you never told me you wanted to. Ever since we talked about-”

“Esempi Campus, I know,” finished the pinkette, rubbing with his hand over his face. Meanwhile Dream looked over the paper he had gotten, read how happy Las Nevadas was to call Techno as one of their students. When he read the ‘Congratulations!’ he felt tears in his eyes, he should be happy for Techno, really, but how could he knowing what would come next?

“Yes, ever since we were kids. We decided together that Esempi was perfect for us!” Esempi was a rather well known college on the other end of the country, just not the end Las Nevadas was located at. L’Manberg was between them, making it each a few hours away. And it had a reputation of being the most LGBTQ+ friendly college you could imagine, with special programs for student who grew up in places where they were shunned at.

Las Nevadas had a great reputation for that as well and additionally was known that almost every student would make it big in their career later on. It was just really hard to get into and expensive as well. Money Dream could never spare, grades he could never achieve. Suddenly Techno felt so, so far away from him.

“Why so suddenly? And why didn’t you tell me?!” Desperation was filling Dream’s voice and the less answers he got, the more anger rose inside him. “Tell me, Techno!”

“I didn’t know how!” Techno eventually yelled back, walking closer to stand right in front of his slightly smaller boyfriend. “I know we had plans, Dream, but those plans were.” He took a deep breath and huffed when the blond stared at him. “They were shit, okay? We were naive and young when we made them, now we’re older and I have to see what is good for me.”

“So being away from me is good for you?”

“That’s not what I meant and you know that.”

“I don’t care what you meant, Techno,” continued Dream, tears filling his eyes as he took a step back, not wanting to cry. “You’re leaving me.”

“I am miserable here, can’t you see that? My parents are getting worse with each day and I feel like I can’t breath,” Techno said, his usual monotone voice filled with emotions, filled with something Dream wished he could understand, but he couldn’t. “This damn village is suffocating me and I can’t keep hiding away who I am!”

“And you think I can?!” It wasn’t really a question, Techno knew the answer. He knew that Dream felt the same, that both of them were sick of having to hide their feelings for each other. “The only reason why I’m able to live here is because of you, and now you’re leaving me behind…”

Silence fell over them, tensing up the air. None of them really knew what to say or to do. Deep down Dream understood Techno, understood why he would leave, so he could live the life he deserved. But Dream was jealous, jealous and scared because that meant he’d be left behind in a place with people who’d beat him up the second they knew what he was.

Without saying another word and with the first few tears escaping, Dream picked up his backpack. “...I hope you can live the life you want there, maybe you’ll even find someone you can hold hands with while going on dates and to kiss without fearing to be beaten up. Goodbye Techno, stay away from me.”

And just like that Dream left, not wanting to hear another word from his now ex-boyfriend.

The next few weeks were awful, because everyone started to ask questions why Dream and Techno stopped hanging out. Ironically it were mostly his parents begging him to befriend him again, said that Techno was such a nice boy and always went to church each Sunday in his suit. Yeah, if they knew what Dream and him had been doing each Sunday after church, in their rooms behind closed doors.

Others also asked him what was going on. George knew, obviously, he was the only one who had known about them all this time. It was him who held him when Dream’s heart was breaking, who spent any minute he could with him before he also had to leave for college.

In the end Dream was alone in L’Manberg. He remembered the day he looked out the window and saw the car of Techno’s family driving past to get him to the airport. Maybe he imagined it, maybe it was wishful thinking, but he was sure that he and Techno made eye contact for a split second. Nothing really happened, the world didn’t freeze or anything like that. There wasn’t some sudden feeling of knowing that it would be okay, they would be fine.

Because that was it. This was the end of their story, as their ways and future separated.