Content Warning! This chapter contains 2-3 uses of the f slur! Please do not read if you are uncomfortable.

"Has anyone seen Dream?"

Technoblade was rather concerned at this point for his boyfriend. It had been an hour since he had last seen Dream in the car. The house was loud with chatter and soft music from the live orchestra. Sometimes he forgot just how rich his uncle was until moments like these. Thanksgiving was the biggest family event of the year and there were servers running everywhere with platters of champagne and small sandwiches that no one would ever eat if they bought them with their own money. However, looking around the room, most people here were the type to eat these on any random Thursday evening.

The night had been disastrous. Eret had spent a lot of time in her room, trying to pack up a few more things seeing as she had no idea when he would be allowed back at his father's place. In the meanwhile, Technoblade had been forced to talk to his family, his crutches preventing him from running as he normally would have. His father was very drunk, something not outside normal holiday behavior for him. It was his mother that had caught him off guard. She had been surprisingly approachable.

Turning his attention back to the missing boyfriend, Technoblade scanned the room once more. Dream was truly nowhere to be seen. Finally giving in Techno got up and maneuvered his way to one of the side doors. He managed to sneak out of it without raising too many eyebrows, but it wasn't easy. Stepping into the snow, he saw the line of cars and headed towards them. It didn't take him long to find Dream's. He took his time and once he got to it, he lifted his crutch to wipe a little bit of snow away from the driver's window.

Dream was there with his seat leaned back and curled up in one of the blankets he kept in the trunk for an emergency. Techno smiles softly before trying the door and finding it unlocked. As he opened it, a small gust of wind blew snow into the car and on top of Dream, scaring him awake. He sat up, eyes wide.

"Wha-! Oh, hi Techno. Is it time to go?"

"No, but I'm glad I found you, dinner's in 30 minutes. Are you alright?" the pinkette leaned on his good leg.

"Oh…" he muttered. "I'm fine. I just didn't want to hinder the party. I'm not used to the rich life."

Technoblade raised an eyebrow, his gut telling him there was more there than Dream was telling him. "Fair enough. But you aren't a hinder and I would like to eat dinner with you. Will you please come in?"

Dream hesitated but gave a small nod. "Okay. I can do that."

Dream sat his seat up, blonde hair falling into his eyes as he did so. Techno laughed softly and brushed it out of the way, hand cupping Dream's cheek for a moment. The barista felt his face grow warm and he moved to get out, coming face to face with Techno. His eyes lingered on his lips for just a moment too long and so Techno decided that was a good moment to kiss.

Just as they did so, Eret appeared, a small smirk on their face. "There you two love birds are. Come on. Dad is waiting for you both."

Techno groaned, pulling away and staring Eret in the eye. "Could you not give us two minutes?"

"Nope. Never," he laughed and started back to the door.

"Well, I guess it's dinner time then. Any rules I should be aware of before I go in there?"

"Don't take seconds unless offered. No elbows on the table at any point. Always engage in conversation, but never with people sitting more than one seat away from you."

"Well shit, I was joking, but thanks for the heads-up I guess," Dream paled a bit.

"You'll be fine!" Techno took his hand. "Just follow my lead."

—

What Technoblade had failed to warn Dream of was the fact that he would not be sitting next to him. The table was divided by families. Because the Corbyns were the hosts and Technoblade had grown up with them, Nix, Techno, and Eret sat on the far right side of the table with different extended family members sitting further towards the left end. Dream, being the only guest was placed near the end but still surrounded by four other people, two of which were children who wanted nothing to do with him. He was very grateful for that.

However, the other two people were adults and while he didn't engage in conversation with them, it didn't take them long to force him to talk. It did not help that these were Technoblade's parents.

"Once again Nix has done an excellent job with the celebrations. I am impressed. Too bad we won't be allowed to stay," the man laughed, voice barely making a dent in the noise.

"Yes Hept, but you know why."

Dream tried to keep his eyes on his plate, but the couple was too loud to ignore. The man, visibly drunk, stunk of cigar smoke and cheap cologne. Dream was mildly impressed by how drunk he had managed to get off of champagne. It was clear that his wife, however, wasn't happy with this. It was mildly amusing to watch, but when the woman turned to Dream, he wished he could sink into the seat.

"What about your dear, how do you know Nix? He doesn't tend to invite strangers to Thanksgiving. You must be someone important," she said, and Dream felt threatened by her presence.

"Oh, I'm Technoblade's boyfriend. We've been dating for several months now," he said softly.

"Technoblade? Our Technoblade? Well, he sure didn't tell us he was seeing anyone. Can you believe it Hept? Our boy is seeing someone!"

Hept turned a sharp eye on Dream. "Of course, he chooses the dirtiest fag to go out with."

Dream was stunned by the use of the slur. He didn't respond, just looked back at his plate, feeling dirty inside now. He was gay, and he had never used that word. These two reminded him of his parents. He hated it. He prodded at the thin slice of turkey that lay on his plate, unsure of what to do now. There was a reason that certain people were put at the furthest end of the table. Hept had made his position clear as to why.

"Well? How do you know my son?" he spat out.

"Oh, um, we went to high school together. I've known him for nearly nine years I think. We just started dating two or three months ago," Dream offered up the information, not knowing how to shut down the conversation.

Hept laughed. "If we had raised our son, he wouldn't stoop so low as to pick up rocks off the sidewalk. But sadly, Nix was the one to raise him. Look how Nix's son turned out. Eret and his mental illness, thinking anyone in their right mind can actually be something other than their biological sex. It's not right. He's just desperate for attention."

Dream snapped for a moment. "Eret uses all pronouns. You have no right to disrespect her, Techno, or I. No wonder Technoblade wants nothing to do with you," he slid his chair back, startling the entire table.

All eyes on his, he swallowed deeply and stood to leave. Technoblade also struggled to stand, leaning on his crutches heavily as he looked over the table to see the empty seat near his mother. Dream left, footsteps resounding against the empty living room. The dining room slowly became filled with sound as Technoblade glared at his parents.

"Excuse me Uncle Nix, I need to go check on Dream," he said, but was surprised to see Eret stand up as well.

"I'll do it Techno. I think he went upstairs. It'll be easier for me. You should probably speak with your parents."

Technoblade nodded, and the cousins went their separate ways. Eret disappeared into the living room and Uncle Nix escorted Techno to his parents. Technoblade sat down, Nix taking the seat next to him. While his uncle might be on thin ice with him at the moment, he still deeply appreciated the backup. His parents were scary.

"What did you say to him?" he spat out.

His voice was full of more bitterness and anger than he had expected, but he tried to hide the surprise it caused. His father shot him a disgusting grin and shrugged, picking up his glass of whiskey, and sipped on it more. Techno's mother reached a hand out to touch his shoulder, and he flinched away.

"Don't touch me. Answer my question. What did you say to my boyfriend?"

"I told him he was a dirty fag, and that Eret needs to stop playing dress up and be the man he is."

Technoblade felt rage, struggling to get to his feet, only to have Nix, hold him down. "Hephaestus, leave my home right now."

"Oh come on Nix, you know it's true!"

"I will not stand for any hate towards my son or nephew, nor any guest in this house. You may think that being a part of this family entitles you to speak your mind, but in reality, it only holds your words to a higher standard than anyone else's. I support you and your wife year after year when you both should be in prison, and this is how I am repaid? Leave. I do not want to see you again."

The dining room was silent. Technoblade felt shocked by the attitude being shown. He looked at his father, the man who had killed his sister and had abandoned him in every moment of need. His mother next to him reached a hand out towards him, but Techno didn't take it. He didn't need any of these people. He never had.

"Let's go Sonia," Hept spat, pushing his chair back.

Sonia did as told, watching Nix stand firmly behind Techno's chair and two men coming to escort them out. "Oh… Okay."

A tinge of pain went through Technoblade as he watched them leave, but for what reason, he would never know.

—

"Dream? Are you up here?" Eret called as he reached the top of the stairway.

No answer was received, so Eret started in the two rooms she knew Dream had been in before. She found their room empty and checked Techno's, that being a success. Dream looked furious. It wasn't the reaction Eret had expected, but he figured that whatever had gone downstairs had warranted it.

"Hey. Are you okay?"

Dream looked up at him, face relaxing slightly. "I'm good. Just… Disgusted by Technoblade's parents. I didn't realize how terrible they are. No wonder he was raised by Nix. Not that the man is much better, no offense."

Eret took a seat next to the blonde. "I mean, my aunt and uncle are terrible. As we all know, they deserve jail time. Sadly, they won't ever get it. But yeah, my dad may not be the best, but he's certainly better. What did they say?"

"They used the f slur and weren't respecting your pronouns and identity. It was awful."

"Ah… Yeah, they do that a lot sadly. My best advice is to just ignore them. I hope dad doesn't make me go with them and while I love and appreciate you and Techno, I do want to be back home," he muttered.

"I can't blame you. I really can't," Dream nodded in agreement. "Um, if I may ask, why should Techno's parents be in jail?"

The question was shocking to Eret, as he thought Technoblade would have already told someone so important. "Oh, well, you see, Hept and Sonia abused Technoblade to the point where he nearly died and Uncle Hept is solely responsible for Techno's sister's death."

"Oh. How… You know?"

"Drowned her when she was three. Techno was five. Techno witnessed it. It's not really my story to tell. You should ask him about it."

With that, Dream saw red. "I will," he said standing and heading for the door. "If I'm not in jail myself."

Hi, here is a chapter. I know it's a tad bit heavier. I received really bad news tonight, so I'm not okay. See y'all next week. :)

Best Regards,

PFT3000