Rivalry or? [dreamnoblade]

Chapter 11: What Comes Next

     It was simple, it was childish, it clearly had way too much thought put into it, if this was someone else's story, he would have scoffed. But in the moment, Dream loved it. He loved the hesitant smile, the wilting flower, the fact that it made Techno seem like a ten year old school boy. He loved it all, and before he could even register it, he was smiling so wide, he didn't even want to open his mouth to reply. "Mmhmm!" He nearly fainted when Techno left that evening.
     It was a few days before either of his friends could visit again because of their now busy schedule. It turned out to be George, who was in for quite a surprise.
     "What happened?" Was his first question.
     Dream must have had it written all over his face. "Guess who has a boyfriend!"
     "No way!"
     "Yes way!"
     "Who asked?"
     "He did."
     "Was it romantic?"
     "Not at all!"
     "How far are you?"
     "Just hand holding."
     "Dream! That's so tame, I expected more from you."
     "I know, but it makes me so happy, I don't need anything else. Besides, he already kissed my cheek when we were drunk."
     "We both know that doesn't count."
     "I know."
     "Geez, and when the rest of the city thinks he murdered you."
     Dream was slapped out of his dreamy state. "What? They think I died?"
     "No, not most people, most people think he just maimed you, the most extreme say you lost your arm. Either way, hype is up."
     "Ugh, I forgot that we're supposed to hate each other. There were so many people at the coliseum, they saw that it was my fault. Techno wasn't even holding a weapon!"
     George merely shrugged as Dream got a headache thinking about how to deal with the rumors. He was surprised he hadn't heard anything when he went on outings, though he was probably too enthralled by Techno to notice. He regained his memory and realized Techno already knew about this, he even told him and he forgot. Wilbur must be having a hard time, he wished he could help.

     "Wilbur, I'm so glad you came, we have to talk." Techno stated, letting him inside.
     "Yes, we do. We need to get this rivalry business sorted."
     "Yeah, Dream was mentioning how bad the rumors are, what should we do?"
     "First we need to talk to the Dream Team, get everyone on the same page, then we can make a plan."
     Techno had thought about solutions before and all of them led to one conclusion. "Will I have to take the blame?"
     Wilbur looked at him with pity, seeing how much pain was in his words. "I wish it were different." Techno turned somber as Wilbur planned the necessary meeting.

     Dream arrived with George and Sapnap and sat next to Techno, across from Wilbur as they all waited like pallbearers for the meeting to start.
     "So, what we know." Wilbur begun. "Dream got injured at Techno's event. He has been gone for a couple months, probably more by the time he's ready for the public. Techno also hasn't been in public since." He paused, trying to see any reactions. "I say, we go off the public's assumption that Techno caused Dream's injury."
     "But that's not true!" Sapnap blurted.
     "It doesn't matter if it's true, it matters if it's believable." Dream responded, understanding their dilemma.
     "Exactly. Dream stumbling just doesn't make sense, it doesn't fit with his persona. Techno being brutally cruel, that's something we can work with." Wilbur proposed with little protest.
     Dream looked over at Techno. He looked worried and more shy than usual. It was understandable, their relationship was still new, Techno likely wasn't comfortable with acting like a psychopath to him. Dream reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing it in sympathy, and saw as the worried look faded.
     "Wait, but then people will except even more cruelty from Techno." George argued. "Your not planning on making Dream get injured more?"
     "Of course not, we'll just say he learned from his mistakes, that he underestimated me last time." Countered Techno.
     The meeting continued. Everyone had opinions to pitch in, but Wilbur held the floor for most of it. It was clear that most of his time since the incident had been focused on this very issue. They ended with a plan. It was shaky, and required a lot of assumptions, but it was a plan.

     Techno was at Dream's house one day, more out of habit than necessity as Dream now only needed help with a handful of tasks. "How's your arm today?" He asked.
     "A lot better actually, it only hurts when I bend it the one way, and the cut on my chest almost feels like there's nothing there. I was talking to George and Sapnap and we agree that we should do the plan soon."
     "Oh the stress, I'm really not excited to yell at you like that." Techno whined, not wanting to remember the soon to be torment. Dream started patting his back sympathetically. "It's just so mean, can't we all just chill?"
     "You know we have to do this, right?"
     "Yeah. I'll get over it." Dream kept rubbing Techno's back as silence overcame them. Techno tried his best to forget about the future and focus on the man next to him, but he was failing.
     Dream's hand stopped moving for a second, causing Techno to look up at the now thoughtful face. "What about we do something fun?"
     "Like what?"
     "It should be the start of harvest season, right? Maybe one of the local villages has a festival we can go to!"
     Dream was clearly very excited, and Techno felt the same way. He usually avoided the big city festivals, but he had a lot of nostalgia from the ones he attended growing up. Now he wanted to share that with Dream. "Let's find out."
     The day was still young, so they spent it visiting the bulletin board, chatting with bartenders, making conversation with sellers of bulk products, and generally asking around. Sure, Techno wasn't a big fan of socializing, but the anticipation of going to a festival with Dream kept him motivated. Things were less stressful with him by his side. Eventually they found one. Someone had bought four kegs of beer and local gossips confirmed what village they were from and the fact that they were talking excitedly about a festival. Luckily, the first day was the day before the plan, so Techno would be able to have a day to relax before the big moment. He and Dream beamed at each other when it all worked out. It was sure to be a fantastic day.