Come Monday morning and the roads were driveable again. They were not safe however as Techno was so kindly informed by Dream through a text message as he went out to start his car so he had a warmish ride to campus. Dream was at his new job, going through some training and refreshing and showing off his skills. Apparently, the job wasn't that bad and it had been super easy to catch back up, everything being just pure muscle memory. Techno had sent back a quick text, thanking Dream for warning him and that he would be careful, before going back to making sure he had everything.

The snowstorm had been a huge blessing for him. He had desperately needed the break and now, going back to school, sounded like the best thing in the world. He did however have an extra week of assignments and lectures to make up now and would have to be at school for the next three weeks, seven days a week. The class had tried to protest, but the professors had said that this wasn't their choice, that the school board had decided this. So buckling in for the long, coffee-fueled weeks, Techno left early to go visit Dream at work.

To Dream, from Technoblade, at 7:38 a.m.

"Hey, will you be on break still in about twenty or so minutes?"

To Technoblade, from Dream, at 7:38 a.m.

"No. My break is over in five minutes. Why?"

To Dream, from Technoblade, at 7:38 a.m.

"I'll be there for coffee in about that time. Will you have something made for me if you have the time?"

To Technoblade, from Dream, at 7:39 a.m.

"Of course. See ya soon."

Putting away the phone, Techno put his car in reserve, the sound of snow crunching under his tires, and started the trip to Wilbur's Knickknacks. The road was slick, packed ice and snow causing him to worry greatly about traction. Despite that fear, he seemed to be doing alright. He went slow, ignoring the angry drives who would speed around him. At one point, a big truck sped past him and two other cars. About half a mile up the road, he saw that that same truck was now in a ditch. He pushed down a chuckle, knowing that in this weather, it did not pay to be impatient.

He arrived at Wilbur's Knickknacks just in time for another car to be pulling out of the closest parking space. He pulled right in, checking the time to see he was about two minutes later than he told Dream. Turning off the car, he grabbed his phone, wallet, and keys, stuffing them into his pockets and locking the door as he got out. He basically sprinted to the storefront, bells jingling as he opened the door.

Inside, it was much warmer. Soft music was playing and there seemed to only be a few customers inside, with only two baristas. One was watering the multitude of plants in the storefront window and greeted him as he came inside. He nodded to him, before making his way to the counter where Dream stood, back turned, making a drink.

"Dream," he said, causing the man to jump.

"Goddamnit Techno, you scared me," he took a shaky breath, putting down the cup he had been measuring syrup into.

"Sorry," he laughed. "Anywho, I hate to be pushy, but I have to get to class, and sadly being late isn't advised. What do you have for me," he pulled out his wallet, waiting for Dream to ring in the drink.

"Well, I was just making it. I think you'll know the flavor once you taste it," the blonde said, slightly distracted by the reddish-brown eyes in front of him. "It's just $4.53."

"Did you not do a large?" Techno asked, inserting his card.

"I did. They're just more reasonably priced than Starbucks. The owner is over there. He's one of four other employees. He's Wilbur and the other three mainly work nights as two of them are in school," he said, going back to making the drink.

Techno nodded, removing his card and heading to the other side of the bar. "That's fair. Well, are you happy here at least?"

Dream nodded, focusing more on the drink than on Techno. He knew this would be a regular occurrence and he would be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to it. This was one of the biggest and possibly the best highlight of his day. The pitcher is his hand warmed up quickly and he turned off the steam wand, tapping it multiple times on the counter, shot having been pulled already. Swirling the syrup and espresso together, he carefully began to pour his latte art. The flower came together well, a heart pulling it all together. He placed it on the counter, a small blush coming over his face when he saw Techno leaning on the counter, the bottom of his braid sticking out of his hat and placed over his shoulder.

He handed the drink to Techno, shrinking when he saw Wilbur peering at the two, pushing away a smile. "Here you go. Tell me what you think," he said quietly, placing a lid next to the drink.

"Thanks, Dream. I'm sure I'll love it," he said taking a sip.

The warmth spread across his entire body, the bold nutty flavor of the espresso complemented well with the much sweeter, floral taste of lavender. This was a flavor that Starbucks most certainly didn't have, but he was here for it, taking another drink.

"That. Was. Amazing Dream. I expect this type of greatness every time I'm in here from now on," he said, grinning. "Anywho, I need to get to class. I'll see you back at home."

Dream nodded and waved goodbye, watching as he left. Once he did, Wilbur walked over, eyebrow raised. "You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend," he teased, grinning wider than a shark's.

Dream blushed once more. "I don't. We're just roommates."

Wilbur laughed in his face. "Roommates. Sure dude, lie to yourself some more. You two were flirting hard."

"I mean, I have feelings for him and he has feelings for me, but in reality, neither of us are ready for a relationship, so we really are just roommates!" he defended. "Just really, flirty roommates."

Wilbur laughed once more before going to place the watering can in the back room. "Whatever Dream. I think we have some more people coming in. Would you get them?"

Dream nodded as Wilbur passed, going to do as asked. He watched through the glass door as Techno pulled out of the parking spot, moving slowly down the street as the two new customers decided what they wanted. One of them started talking and Dream quickly grabbed a cup to jot down their orders as they talked.

"Alright, two hazelnut lattes, both medium and a blueberry muffin heated up. Anything else for you today?" Dream repeated the order back to them, ringing them up for the items.

Going to make the lattes, he found his mind drifting right back to that pink hair and those ruby eyes.

—

School had sucked. Technoblade felt as if every molecule of life and will to live had been sucked out of him by the time he exited the classroom. Sprinting to his car, Techno shivered as the wind hit him, snow blowing all over the parking lot. He turned on the car before grabbing the window scraper to clear the windows. The wind whipped around him, cutting through every layer of clothing he wore. It didn't take him long to finish and get back in the car, however.

Checking his phone one last time before putting it away, he began the slow drive home, debating for a moment about stopping for another coffee. Knowing he would get one tomorrow morning, however, he decided against it, trying to just focus on the road. The wind caused the snow to create ground blizzards in certain spots and for drifts to form in others. While not scared of driving through the snow, Technoblade did try his best to be cautious.

A twelve-minute drive turned into a forty-five-minute one, relief taking over him when he turned the car off in his driveway. He stared at the long walk to the front door for a moment before darting the fifteen feet to the door. The air was bitter and as he stepped inside to see a warm fire and something hot on the stove, he had never felt more grateful to have someone living with him. However, said person was nowhere to seen in the living room or the kitchen and Techno concluded he had to be in the bathroom or bedroom. Knocking off his boots, he went to sit in front of the fire, wishing he had the ability to sit in it to get warm. He had only been sitting there for a few minutes before Dream emerged from the bedroom.

"Oh shit, I didn't realize you were home. How was school?" the blonde jumped slightly at the sight of him.

"Exhausting and terrible. I have so much to do and so little time. I have to be there seven days a week for the next three weeks. We tried to get the teachers to change that, but they insisted. It's stupid," he muttered, hands busy unbraiding his hair.

"That's sucks. Well, at least I'll be there to serve you coffee for at least five days a week. How did you like the drink by the way?" Dream asked, going to serve them up dinner.

Technoblade laughed. "It was wonderful. Lavender is such a blissful flavor. I wish more coffee shops carried it. While I do want to try more, I would also be okay with drinking nothing but lavender lattes for the next few months."

Dream handed Techno a bowl full of rice, meat, and vegetables, which Techno accepted eagerly. "I mean, there's no one who says you can't."

Sitting next to each other, they ate in silence, Techno slowly warming up. As he ate, he got distracted by the green hoodie that was once again covering Dream's torso. It had such a cheesy logo and yet somehow the blonde wore it well. Taking a deep breath, working up the courage, he nudged Dream's side lightly.

"Hmm?" he looked at Techno, eyes wide, but not speaking as he had just taken a bite. After he swallowed, he answered him. "Is something wrong?"

"What? Oh! No, no nothing is wrong. Sorry, I could have found a better way to get your attention, like speaking, but no, nothing is wrong. I just have a question for you and it is totally fine if you say no," Techno became instantly flustered, rambling intensely at a very patient Dream.

"Techno. Breath. What is it?" Dream held back a small laugh.

Techno placed his bowl in his lap, muttering indistinguishable words quickly, to Dream's humor. The blonde laughed, this time unable to contain it. Technoblade's face grew red with embarrassment, looking even harder at the floor.

"Dream," he whispered, monotone voice cracking slightly, "would you go on a date with me?"

This felt like a good place to end the chapter! I hope you all enjoyed and Happy Hannakuh to those who celebrate! Fair warning, I'm in the process of moving and haven't had much time to write, so you may not see an update next week and for that, I do apologize. My life has been hectic and I haven't even had the time to work on the DnD session I'm supposed to DM this Thursday. Have a great week, and please review!

UPDATE! Whilst ff. net doesn't allow images, I didn't want you all to miss out on this wonderful fanart MaddWitch made for this fic! Go check it out on their ko-fi!

ko-fi maddwitch (Remove all the spaces for the link to work.)

Best Regards,

PFT3000