Author's Note: I wrote this with Damgel in 2009 but never posted it online because it was unfinished. I started working on it again, so I've decided to start posting it.

Dedicated to Robina for getting me into Loonatics Unleashed, and Damgel for helping me with this fic.

Pairings: Tech/Rev (past Tech/other)

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Part 1

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He liked it here. Yeah, okay, he took a couple of falls during battle, got beat up a bit. But these people, they didn't judge him. They didn't yell at him if he didn't clean his room completely, and he was allowed to do as he pleased. No one expected him to be super smart... in fact, he got the general impression they weren't too impressed with brains. Tech was the super smart one, and though he had a super inflated ego to go with it, he did deserve the credit for being the resident genius. He did stuff that Rev hadn't ever even considered! Yeah, so he had a photographic memory and got the best grades in Runner High, but when it came to thinking outside of the box... he failed. Miserably.

That was partly why he liked spending so much time in Tech's lab. Just to see him sit there with a couple pieces of unrelated metal and a couple CPUs and a half hour later have a working model of the entire planet... it was thrilling!

... He was thrilling. Annoying ego aside Rev found himself staring at the coyote more and more often, stupid silly grin on his beak as he inspected him. He loved the way Tech's brow knit when he was working on something delicate, and even the flash of annoyance in his eyes when Rev asked him a series of questions really, really fast.

He couldn't tell him though. All he could do was hide his feelings down as far as they would go and hope they'd go away over time. Which they did, sort of. For a while Tech drove him up the wall, his arrogance a little too much to handle, and that was saying a lot coming from him.

But then, Tech would do something incredibly CUTE, like stutter when Zadavia said she was going to a concert with him. Or look fearful when Zadavia said her brother's name. He couldn't help but like him then... and his stomach would flip flop and no amount of running would make it calm down.

He gave up sometime after that. He remembered the incident clear as day, a few weeks after Tech helped him make the Amigo and proved yet again he was right out of his league. He was excited about the new molecular reconstructor Tech had made, which could turn anything into anything else and proceeded to turn the air into a plate of steaming seed buns. The coyote was single-handedly the most amazing creature on the face of the planet.

"You're-so-amazing-that-this-time-i-don't-care-if-you're-a-coyote-or-a-guy-I'm-going-to-kiss-you!" And he did, pressing his beak to the coyote's snout.

Horror flashed across his face a second later. Tech just looked confused as he pulled away and Rev ran away. He didn't want to see the look on Tech's face to turn into disgust.

"Rev, wait..!" Was the last thing Rev heard before he was out of hearing range.

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He had to go back. He stood at a cliff at the edge of the city, approximately half way between the city and his family's home. He talked himself through everything, how he was going to have to quit the team, how he wasn't going to quit the team because the team needed him, how he was going to die of embarrassment if he ever saw Tech again, that Tech was going to tear his throat out, or banish him from helping him with his experiments for ever and ever and…

And then the coyote flew past him, stopped and looped back towards him. Rev forced himself to not move. He wasn't a coward. He'd face whatever... anger, punishment or whatever that Tech was going to give him.

Tech did look appropriately irritated as he cut power to his jetpack and stomped over to him.

"Now," he said with that same arrogant voice that gave him chills. "Tell me why I had to come out here to talk instead of my lab," he made an adorable face. "There's nothing wrong with my lab, is there?"

Rev actually let his mouth fall open and shut several times. "You're not mad?" he blurted. He shook his head quickly, "I-mean-I'm-a-a-roadrunner! You-know-those-coyote-issues?"

Tech's brow furrowed. "So?" he frowned. "You're not your parents are you?" He made another less cute face at that.

Rev shook his head so fast he was sure it blurred. "No!" He replied. "I-mean-I-hope-not-why-would-I-want-to-be-them?I-mean-don't-get-me-wrong-I-love-them-incredibly-and-they-raised-me-and-I'm-grateful-and-all-but-I-could-never-ever-live-like-that-how-else-would-we-even-work-to-"

Tech frowned deeper and took a decisive step forwards. "Rev," he interrupted.

Rev meeped twice and gave him a wide-eyed look.

"Shut up," Tech commanded. And returned Rev's kiss.

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Tech kissed him until he actually began to relax, ruffled feathers smoothing and eyes glazing slightly. When Tech finally pulled away Rev darted his tongue out to taste his beak, savoring the flavor of it.

"I thought you'd be upset," he said finally, straining to go slowly as to not upset Tech. "I mean, I'm not even the same species..."

Tech looked a bit embarrassed at that and scuffed the ground with his boot. "Yeah well..." he tossed a look up at the moon, the scant light making his features seem sharper and even more exotic. "I don't exactly have a good track record of dating my own kind."

Rev shifted nervously. He didn't want to ask but he was fairly sure he knew who Tech was talking about. Tech merely confirmed it by giving him another look, this one sad and a bit weary. "Hey, at least I don't have to worry about you trying to take over the planet or anything like that."

Rev blinked. "Well-you-never-know-maybe-it-will-happen,-it's-possible-right-I-could-be-posessed-or-hit-my-head-really-hard-and-forget-things-and..."

Tech reached out and grabbed his neck and pressed his snout to Rev's beak again.

Rev blinked when he pulled away this time and grinned. "Finally found a way to get to you quit talking," Tech boasted.

Rev couldn't say he disagreed with this method as he made a contented sound and leaned in closer for a third kiss.

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And that's how that happened. They didn't even do anything beyond tentatively kiss that night, and agree to try something out.

It was like walking on eggshells at first, because sex wasn't exactly something he talked about with Tech, or really any of the team ever. So he flushed and got flustered when Tech just touched his arm to ask him to hand him something and kept his hand there a little longer than necessary.

The fact of the matter was, it was a little bit impossible to date, really. Tech was always in his lab. Dating consisted of him bringing Tech take out food and getting praise. And when he did finally convince Tech to come picnic somewhere outside the headquarters, alone, he was so flustered he couldn't sit still for more than three seconds. To make matters worse Tech finally ended up pulling out a microcomputer and writing up plans for a new spaceship while talking to him at the same time.

He had to live for the occasional kiss good night or nibble at his neck that made Rev fluff with happiness. And he had to slow down for that to happen and stand around Tech long enough for the coyote to notice him.

He felt he was going to go insane with impatience. He never ever considered that Tech was deliberately restraining himself from getting to close before he was ready. How was he to know how the coyote felt? He wasn't a predator... the thought of fighting urges much darker than sex never occurred to him.

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One night, soon after that, he found Tech out on the top of their base. The coyote was looking out over the stars and muttering to himself while jotting notes into his arm computer gadget. He looked so stunning framed by the moon light that Rev let a big silly grin to curl across his beak. That lasted about two seconds until he zoomed across the roof and wrapped his arms around Tech's waist.

Tech nearly jumped out of his skin. He relaxed a bit when Rev stuck his head against his neck and made a contented sound. That got a chuckle out of Tech. The coyote reached up and threaded his fingers through his feathers for a second, then turned and nuzzled the corner of his beak. Rev nuzzled back and Tech let out another low chuckle that sent shivers up Rev's spine.

That was all the warning Rev got before Tech turned and sacked him back, pushing him down on the roof and grinning. He forced himself to stay quiet and still (it was hard, but increased the likelihood that he'd get laid... maybe Tech would be willing to go all the way this time!) Sure enough the coyote let out a playful growl and began to lick and nibble at Rev's neck. Rev threaded his hands through the fur around Tech's shoulders, moving his neck to the side encouragingly. He was even happier when he felt Tech press down against him, and felt the beginning of his erection poke at him through his uniform. He was aroused! Rev rolled his thin hips up and pressed against Tech eagerly, encouragingly.

Suddenly Tech let out a low growl and grabbed his hips, forcing them down against the cool concrete. Rev didn't think anything of it, until he tried to move again and Tech nipped at his neck with his sharp teeth. That sent a small shock of pain through Rev and he gasped.

Tech was off of him in a flash and sitting beside him, his head cradled in his hands.

Rev sat up. "Tech?" he questioned. "Tech-what-is-it?-What-did-I-do?-I-was-trying-to-do-everything-right-why-did-you-stop-it-was-good-Tech?-Tech?-Do-I-smell-or-something-oh-gosh-I-bet-that's-it-I-forgot-to-bath-today-gah-I-can't-believe..."

Tech brought his head out of his hands to roll his eyes skyward. He shot out a hand, clamping down on Rev's beak, holding it closed. When Rev obediently shut up, Tech turned his head and gave him a half exasperated, half enduring look and removed his paw. "No, it's not you," He sighed and studied the sky silently and Rev sat up to sit beside him. "It's just..." Tech shifted where he was sitting uncomfortably. Finally he looked back down and studied his hands. "It must be how you smell or something..." He held up a hand before Rev could exclaim that he knew it was because he smelt bad. "NOT because you didn't bathe or anything like that... I can smell all of you extremely well," he pointed to his nose. "I guess it comes from having one of these."

"So-I-have-a-nose-too-what-does-that-have-anything-to-do-with-"

"Because you smell like food!" Tech interrupted. His eyes widened with horror. He waved his hands about quickly. "Not-" he shut his eyes as he realized his mistake. "It's just that..."

At that exact moment every single anti-coyote comment his parents made come flooding back to Rev. 'Never trust a coyote- they're our enemies, son', and 'make sure they're always restrained when you're around them or you'll wind up in the cooking pot'. But he remained silent as Tech pressed a hand to his forehead and tried to fumble through an explanation.

"It's different with humans... and Slam, it's more of a competitive scent, and it's much easier to ignore because I'm not competing with them for anything. But you, and Ace and Lexi... even Duck..." he turned his gaze back to the stars again and Rev put a hand on his shoulder, worry on his face. Tech really looked troubled about this.

Tech slowly shook his head again. "Sometimes... in the back of my mind... I get this urge to get down on all fours and run around after you... especially you actually," he let out a small wry smile. "But it's easy to fight it back, I'm way above primitive behavior like that. You're definitely not going to get eaten."

Rev considered that. "But-what-about?"

Tech reached out and smoothed the tiny feathers at the corner of his beak with a thumb. "This?" He smiled. "You're lovely. And I want you."

If Rev were human he supposed he'd be flushing bright red at those words.

Tech's smile faded a bit. "but when I get too close, or too excited... it gets harder to push back those instincts... and I refuse to hurt anyone I'm involved with," he reached down and touched the lovely blue feathers where he had bit Rev only seconds before. "I'd never forgive myself," he added softly.

Rev let out a contented sound, his eyelid's falling half closed. "Bah-Tech-you-worry-to-much-you-can't-hurt-me-and-anyway-I'm-a-ROADRUNNER-remember? I'll-just-run-away-really-really-fast-and-there's-no-way-you'll-ever-be-able-to-catch-me-well-I-suppose-you-can-use-your-ship-but-we'll-pretend-you-don't-have-one-of-those-okay?"

Tech blinked then laughed out loud, amused. He gave Rev a happy look before jumping the bird and pushing him back down onto the rooftop.

It was the first time they made love in any sort of way, even though it was shy gropes and hands bringing each other off. It still was amazing Rev decided as Tech dozed while lying on his chest, partly to prevent Rev from shifting around every second.

Yes, there was no denying it. He was in love with a coyote. His parents were going to have a fit... roadrunners did not have romantic thoughts about coyotes, EVER. He shook his head and tried to force himself to not think about it. It failed because then his mind skipped to how the team would react. He made a face as he imagined the looks on their faces, then bit back a sigh. Maybe they could keep this from the rest of the team a little while longer... just have this moment to themselves.

Satisfied at that, he smiled, his eyes falling half lidded as he remembered the look of surprise and vulnerability on Tech's face as the coyote came in his fist. Even though Tech had had experiences like this before, he hadn't, and he found he liked the closeness. He hadn't had anything like this before and now he didn't want it to end. He stroked the soft fur between Tech's ears, enjoying as Tech shifted and made a contented sound. Rev echoed Tech's sigh. This moment was perfect.

Little did he know that, high in the night sky above him, there was something else sharing the moment with him as well...

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