Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It starts, as it would affecting anyone else, with a cough.

The morning had started out particularly normal. Zadavia hadn't called them about the latest crime committed, and even from his room, Rev could hear Duck complaining about Slam hogging the TV or something. For once, the roadrunner was feeling particularly lazy, not wanting to get out of bed. Especially not after that dream. He thought, cheeks dusted a light shade of red.

Rev's feelings for a certain coyote on the team wasn't anything new to him. In fact, if Rev could've guessed, he'd say his feelings for Tech started when he first began working as a delivery boy at that pizza's place. He had once delivered pizza at Tech's university for him, and immediately became enchanted with the coyote upon realizing that Tech was kind of a genius. Of course, this was also the time where Rev knew about the coyote's and the roadrunner's history together, but that didn't stop him from wanting to make friends with him - even if he had to keep the friendship a secret from his parents.

Eventually, Rev's feelings for his best friend grew and it was only after they got superpowers that he became honest with himself and desired something more from Tech's friendship.

But he'll never say those things out loud though.

First, there was the matter of his parents. He knew his parents - his father especially  - don't like coyotes, if their recent visit was anything to go by. It's not like they don't have a justified reason; Tech's ancestors tried to eat his for crying out loud. This, of course, ran bad blood for them and Rev figures it'll probably never change regardless if Rev was able to make friends with Tech or not (and that's not even the worst part. The worst part would be Ralph finding out and then - Rev could feel his throat tightening, his hands fisting the sheets he's laying under). If they were to know that their son had a crush on a coyote.....

Without realizing it, Rev had closed his eyes as he could feel his body shake. He forced himself to try to calm down, though it felt like every nerves of his were on fire.

There is a reason Rev left his household, with his only regret is not taking Rip with him. Ralph could barely tolerate his friendship with Tech, him finding out his son harbor feelings outside of that would be the icing on the cake.

Next would be Tech himself.

Tech just never...seemed inclined for romantic endeavors. Coped up in his lab 98% of the time, romance was hardly something he probably thought about, and even if he did, Tech kept his jaws shut tight. If Tech ever got interested in someone - and Rev can feel his heart ripping itself in two at the mere thought of the impossible - Rev would like to think he'd be the first to know, if at all. Or maybe not. Maybe he would've gone to Ace, whose own love life is as blatant as Duck's oversized ego, but would've been ten times better than anyone else on the team.

Rev tried to stomp the ugly feeling curling inside his stomach at the thought - especially when Ace is more interested in a certain lone female rabbit than he is with Tech.

Adding to that....did Tech even like guys? Since Tech had shown no interest in anything outside of science, it was hard to judge if the guy was sexually active or not.

(This would be the part where Tech goes "No Rev, I'm still sexually active and I still have the urges to mate. But I've learned to control them better - in spite of what we look like, we are not animals." )

Then the whole thing with Velvet and how he just...brushed off the comments she made. While the other guys were obviously into her (poor Ace earning himself Lexi's ire), Tech just...did not care. A huge part of him felt relieved, but another was curious as to why he'd felt that way.

Oh wait, you know why. It's because you want Tech all to yourself. His subconscious sneered, but Rev quickly tossed that distracting thought away. Furthermore, Tech's nonchalant attitude towards anything not science-like brought upon a fear Rev always had.

Rejection.

If Tech rejected him, Rev wouldn't know what to do. He wouldn't be able to go in and out of the lab as often unless Tech needed him, meetings would be awkward at best, and Rev's pretty sure he would lose the tight bond he had with Tech. He doubted Tech would hate him, Tech's a reasonable guy - the fact that he went along with his family's shenanigans proves that - but Tech would be...less comfortable around him. At least, until his crush went away, or until Tech finds someone else.

A sudden irritation crawled at his throat, and Rev slightly coughed in hopes of clearing whatever it was.

If Tech rejects me, I don't think I can ever get over it. Not to mention what would happen to the team.....

Right. There's a good reason why Ace and Lexi haven't hooked up yet; they were teammates first, everything else is a maybe. Following that logic, that would mean Tech and Rev should just be teammates, because if Rev's feelings aren't going to be returned, then the awkwardness will, eventually, affect their dynamic. Rev would no longer be paired off with Tech if Ace thought a fight might break out or their chemistry somehow got worse - despite the fact that out of everyone, Rev is close-second to being the highly intelligent science guy.

Rev curled himself into a ball, green eyes shining with worry.

There are too many possibilities of this not working than there are is. Tech wouldn't hate me, just distance himself away from me; my family would definitely disown me, and my team...my team would probably be okay without me, if Tech and I can't work out.

He hated this. He hated the self-doubt, the worrying, the negatively. He tries to think of the positives, to think what would happen if Tech did accept his feelings, but in the back of his mind, all he can see is Tech shaking his head, telling him politely, but firmly, under no circumstances, that Tech would ever fall for him.

And just like that, the irritation came back full force, and this time Rev couldn't stop coughing. There was a trickle of something logged in the back of his throat, and with a slight panic, Rev started running out of his room and towards the bathroom, startling an unexpected Danger Duck.

"Hey! No running in the halls! I thought we talked about this!" Duck shouted, but was muffled when the door to the bathroom shut and Rev leaned over the toilet. He was struggling to breathe, tears appearing in his eyes as he coughed and coughed and finally....

Rev stilled, eyes widening in surprise as he looked at the object in the toilet.

Lavender rose petals.

"....Oh."

Rev figures his crush wasn't really crushing, he just didn't think he was that far into it.    

Chapter Text

Rev was not stupid. Being on the same level of intelligence as his best friend, just differently, Rev knew exactly what he was looking at the moment he saw it.

Hanahaki Disease: an illness said to occur when unrequited feelings are at play, and can only be cured if the person you hold feelings for returns them. There is another method, surgery, but from what Rev can concur, removing the flowers - the form of Hanahaki, which grows in either the lungs, stomach, or heart - also means removing the feelings you have for that someone, leaving a dull ache in your chest behind. It's such a sad illness that Rev would never wish on anybody.

The thing was, however, Hanahaki was a myth. It's usually told in stories of sad romances and fairy tales, and as far as everyone in Acmetroplis knew, there had been no cases of the Hanahaki Disease. Not once had there been news about someone dying due to one-sided love.

Rev wasn't that into science to believe that maybe this was an elaborate prank by Duck, and that he wasn't really coughing up flowers; the pain in his chest had been all too real, and, as little as Rev thinks of Duck, he knows his teammate would never harm him in a way. Duck was a lot of things, but being malice wasn't one of them.

(Though, there was that time where he'd offered Lexi up due to a misunderstanding with an alien, but Rev chalked that up to Duck being more of an insensitive jackass than him being purposely malice).

So, Rev have no choice but to accept that Hanahaki is real, and that he was going to be case number one if this escalate.

Swallowing painfully, Rev pulled himself up and flushed the toilet, still in shock. 

A part of him knew that despite insisting that his feelings for Tech was just a crush and it'll probably go away, Rev actually really, really loved Tech. Not only was he smart, but in his own way, he was pretty funny too - often using sarcasm for his jokes. If you look really closely, you can sometimes see him smile, sometimes in his cool arrogant way, other times when he's genuinely happy. Rev liked that part of him the most, he thinks; when Tech is truly happy, his entire face just lights up. And even though Tech tries very hard to not let it show, he does show care for the people around him, mostly Rev - even though Rev often thinks it's because Tech values him as a guinea pig (and Tech often tells him it's not). And while he's quick to snap at anyone for their misbehavior, Rev noted that he always lets Rev off easy, which...if Rev was being honest with himself, was kind of a shame.

He'll take this secret to the grave, but he always found Tech's temper...kind of hot. It's why he often sneaks into Tech's lab to touch things he shouldn't be - even though he knows Tech trusts him with his inventions over everyone else on the team - in hopes Tech would at least growl at him.

If he really wanted to piss Tech off, he'll just have to talk his beak off...and even then, he's mostly using his inventions on him while gently scolding him for talking.

So really, Tech was just a big softie, at least, where Rev is concerned.

And in knowing that, Rev felt himself lean over the toilet again as he heaved another coughing fit, his lungs tightening just as an overwhelming sense of adoration came over him.

Maybe he shouldn't be listing off everything Rev found attractive about Tech, since being attracted to Tech was the issue.

A sudden knock was at the door.

"Rev? You've been in there for a long time, are you okay?" Lexi asked, genuine concern in her voice. Apparently his absence had been noticed, and the rest of the team was probably wondering where he was.

"I-I'm...fine, Lexi, j-just had a really bad stomachache." Rev said, pressing down on his lower abdomen. 

"You don't have to tell me, I can hear you all the way from the kitchen. Did you eat something bad last night?" She asked. When it felt like he could breathe again, Rev stood up, and flushed the toilet.

"Y-Yeah, must've been those birdseed pizzas I've ordered. A-anyways I'm-fine-now-Lexi-if-you-need-to-use-the-bathroom-I'll-be-out-in-a-jiffy-of-course-I-don't-know-a-jiffy-do-you?-because-if-you-do-I-think-you-should-introduce-him-to-the-team-and-I-think-that-would-be-so-swell-because-any-friends-of-yours-would-be-friends-of-ours-and-I-know-we-don't-like-talking-about-our-pasts-but-"

"Whoa, slow down Rev. I was just checking to see if you were alright, but clearly, since you're talking normally, you are. I'm going to take my leave now, see ya!" Lexi said. Rev could hear her walking away and he heaved a sigh, feeling tired despite just waking up.

Now the matter is whether or not he should bring up his dilemma to the team. If everyone knows Hanahaki doesn't exist, they could very well believe he's lying and would instead ask about his crush, should he bring it up.

Rev swallowed, his hands clutching the side of the sink hard.

He doesn't know if he wanted to bring it up in the first place. They'll probably tell him to confess his feelings - after bugging him about it - and if he gets rejected, or is just so stubborn in keeping his crush a secret, would insist on getting the surgery - and he didn't want that either. His feelings for Tech were pure, and he definitely don't want to erase him from his heart and memories. So the surgery was out.

And there's still a possibility they wouldn't believe him. They know Rev isn't a liar (welll), but with no evidence backing up the claims of Hanahaki, are they really going to believe that out of the 8 billion people on the earth, Rev was the lucky one who got it? When in Acmetroplis alone, there was no cases?

Rev trust his friends, he does. But unless they were seeing it with their own eyes, Rev having Hanahaki was a doubtful moment - especially with Tech.

Tech, who always relied on science to explain things, who happens to invent things that made the impossible possible. Tech, who probably doesn't return Rev's feelings. Tech, his best friend, and most likely the cause of Rev Roadrunner's death, even by incidentally.

"You finally did it Tech," He whispered, looking at his reflection with a sad smile on his face. "You finally caught the roadrunner."