Work Text:
Techno lets out a long-suffering sigh as he finally finishes the last of his paperwork for the day. He glances tiredly at the clock. It’s 8 PM, and he’s been in his office since 6 AM. That’s 14 hours he’s spent just sitting here, doing exhausting paperwork, meeting with various people, and just generally suffering. To make it worse, his coffee had run out by 7, leaving him to make it through the rest of the day using sheer willpower.
Now, it’s not that he doesn’t like his job, because he does. It brings him lots of money, it keeps him occupied, and it’s entertaining to watch new recruits tremble in front of him when they screw something up. The issue is, though, that it sometimes keeps him too occupied, like today. He has to wake up at ungodly hours in the morning and stay in his office well into the witching hours of the night. And honestly, as devoted as he is to his job as a CEO, he doesn’t want to work for 14 hours a day.
With another sigh, Techno quickly organizes his desk and grabs his things, eager to get out of his office and go home. After making sure everything’s in place, he sprints to the elevator, takes it to the ground floor, and heads out to the parking lot. He hops into his car, starts the engine, and drives off.
About 20 minutes later, he reaches his house. He parks the car in the driveway and gets out. Using his keys, he unlocks the front door and steps inside.
He’s immediately greeted by Steve, who trots up to him, tail wagging and mouth curled into a happy dog-smile. Techno leans down to stroke the dog’s head a few times. “Hey, boy,” he murmurs. “Miss me?”
“Techno?” a voice calls from further inside the house. “Is that you?”
“Yeah,” Techno calls back. He hangs his coat up on the coat rack, kicks off his shoes, and drops his bag on the small bench by the door. With Steve at his heels, he heads into the kitchen, where his boyfriend is sitting at the island.
Dream stands up as Techno enters. “Hi, Techie. Did you have a good day at work?”
“No,” Techno grumbles. He seizes Dream by the waist, ignoring the blonde’s squeak, and pulls his boyfriend close. He buries his nose into Dream’s fluffy hair and inhales. It smells good and is just what he needs after a long day.
“You’re tired, huh?” Dream asks sympathetically. “Do you want something to eat?”
Techno pulls away and nods. He takes a seat at the island as Dream bustles around, pulling out bowls and silverware. Patches stalks around the corner and leaps into his lap, meowing softly. With a small chuckle, Techno runs his hands through her fur, drawing out a few purrs.
A few minutes later, Dream sets a bowl of chicken noodle soup in front of Techno. Murmuring a grateful “thank you”, Techno picks up his spoon and begins to eat. The soup warms his insides and soothes his growling stomach. He finishes it quickly and leans back in his chair with a content sigh. “Your cookin’ skills are gettin’ dangerously good, Dream.”
Said blonde giggles. “Thank you. I followed a recipe, though, so it’s not that impressive.”
“A recipe means nothin’ if you don’t have some sort of cookin’ skills.”
“True.”
Techno lets out a small groan as he slumps down. “God, I’m tired.”
Dream hums sympathetically, moving over to stand behind Techno. Delicate fingers begin to comb through his hair, causing him to sigh. He closes his eyes and relaxes to the gentle, soothing strokes.
After a few minutes, Dream speaks up. “You can go to bed, love. I’ll wash the dishes.”
Techno opens his eyes and shakes his head. He’s tired, but not in the way that he wants to go to sleep. It’s more like he just wants to lie on the couch and cuddle with his boyfriend. “Can we watch a movie or somethin’?”
“You want me to go live?” Dream jokes.
“That would be appreciated. You’re my comfort streamer, you know.”
“I thought I was just your pillow to hug at night.”
“That too.” Chuckling, Techno stands and easily picks Dream up. He carries his boyfriend into the living room and sets them both down on the couch. He gets comfortable by adjusting the pillows and reclining against them. Then, as Dream snuggles into his chest, he wraps his arms around the blonde’s waist.
“What should we watch?” Dream murmurs, shifting so that he can peer at Techno with luminous green eyes.
Patches leaps onto the table and meows loudly. She nudges the remote with her paw, tail flicking behind her.
“I think she’s tryin’ to tell us somethin’,” Techno observes.
Dream sighs fondly. “Oh, Patchy, what do you want? How about some Harry Potter?”
“Meow,” Patches agrees.
Techno picks up the remote. He flicks the TV on and scrolls through the shows on Netflix before finding the first Harry Potter movie. He chooses it and settles back as the movie begins to play.
“We should’ve gotten popcorn,” Dream mumbles.
“Well, I’m not gettin’ up.”
“Me neither.” With a huge yawn, the blonde snuggles closer to Techno. “You’re very warm, you know.”
“That’s a surprise. My office is freezin’.”
“I know. It’s like Antarctica in there.”
“I do have a snow globe.”
“Why do you have a snow globe?”
“So that new recruits think that I’m a nice person. And then I can see the shock on their faces when they discover that I’m not.”
Dream giggles. “You’re not a mean person. You’re a big softie.”
“Dream, love, if I were a softie, I’d be fired by now.”
“Who would fire you? You’re literally your own boss.”
“Then I would fire myself.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“But I’m your idiot.”
“That’s true, and that’s a good thing.” Dream shifts and presses a gentle kiss to Techno’s cheek. “I love you.”
“Love you too.” Techno leans down so he can return the gesture, only instead of kissing Dream’s cheek, he brushes his lips against the blonde’s forehead. “You’re cute.”
“Oh?” Dream blushes. “Am I now?”
“Yes, you are.”
Giggling sleepily, Dream closes his eyes. He yawns. “‘M tired.”
“We’ve only made it to Hagrid’s introduction,” Techno says, amused.
“Then you can watch. I’m going to sleep.” With that, Dream goes still. Soon, his chest is rising and falling with soft, even breaths.
Techno chuckles quietly to himself. It astounds him how easily Dream can fall asleep- not that he minds. His boyfriend is extremely cute while asleep, and Techno could look at the blonde’s plump cheeks and slightly scrunched up nose all day. Smiling, he begins to gently stroke Dream’s fluffy hair.
He only sticks around to watch a few more minutes of the movie. Then, he turns off the TV and carefully scoops Dream up, being extremely gentle in order to avoid waking the blonde. He makes his way to their shared bedroom and sets Dream down on the bed. Then, he quickly goes through his bedtime routine before settling under the covers. Patches soon joins them on the bed, and Steve curls up in his own dog bed.
Techno wraps his arms around his boyfriend’s waist. Without waking up, Dream snuggles closer, and Techno smiles. He closes his eyes and slowly drifts off to sleep.