Bittersweet

Romance

{CW: hanahaki :)}

"You did it!" Dream squealed, sprinting up to him and grappling him into a hug that nearly knocked him over. It wasn't the best feeling to have this much human contact when he was still radiating heat from the game, skin sticky with sweat, but he didn't mind it. As Dream continued to shout exclamations of joy, Techno hugged him back, leaning on him to reduce the stress on his already spent legs. Dream's yips of hurrah turned into laughter and Techno giggled back until Dream eventually ran out of breath.

His grip loosened slightly, highlighting the continued proximity of their faces. "I-" Dream softly whispered into his neck, a sweet smile audible on his lips as he trembled in slight hesitation. They both held each other close as the world around them disappeared. "I'm so proud of you."

It was like a firework had gone off in the middle of Techno's heart. A rush of positive and negative emotions, too disparate to identify, except yearning, a yearning that was overwhelming, awe inspiring, and destructive. He didn't know exactly what he was feeling or why, but he recognized one thing, Wilbur was one hundred percent, insufferably right.

As time went on and the rest of his friends congratulated him, all Techno could focus on was a lump in his throat. He was getting lightheaded and dizzy, the world was starting to spin. His friends were certain it was from the exercise, but Techno knew that it wasn't since the times he used his aching muscles were when it disappeared. Still, what else could he do?

There was a thick haze over his mind as he sat in Wilbur's car, causing his two companions to drop him off first. Alone at home, with only his thoughts to accompany him, Techno ended up standing like a reed in the hallway, the lump in his throat only getting larger, threatening to break free.

Suddenly he gagged, and just about cough up a lung. Curling in on himself he clutched at his hair, hacking and heaving in a desperate attempt to stop what felt like strangulation. Then it came out. Wait, what?

Techno looked down in horror, half expecting his heart to be on the ground beneath him. Red, it was crimson red with rolls of petals laced together in an open spiral, daintily exposing its center. Fear shot up his spine and into the corners of his eyes.

His first instinct was to call Philza. Still hunched over, he frantically pulled out his phone and dialed the number. The distinctive ring echoed through his senses three full times while Techno stared down at the flower that had emerged on the floor.

Click. "Hey! Congrats on winning the tournament, I was going to call you tomorrow because I thought you'd be out celebrating."

"Philz..." His voice was shaky and quiet as his mind whirled, trying to process what was happening to him.

Immediately, Phil's voice became deeper and calmer, steady as he spoke. "What happened?"

"I-I-" What had actually happened? "I was coughing, and then..."

"Techno, just breathe, it's alright, you can tell me when you're ready."

He decided to take the advice, slowly inhaling and exhaling a few times, despite the new blockage he could feel stuck in his throat. "There was a rose, I- I was just coughing and- I think I coughed up a rose!"

There was silence on the other line for a while. "Can you drive?"

"Um, I don't know?"

"Get a ride to the emergency room right now. I'll tell Wilbur to meet you there."

"Yeah, okay." Anxiety coursed through him like fire and he squeezed his eyes shut.

"You're going to be fine." Phil softly reassured. Techno tried his best to believe him.