Work Text:
Phil met Techno on a grey, rainy day where walking home from work was the least appealing thing he's ever heard of.
So instead Phil took the bus.
The bus which was, of course, delayed.
He was already wet and miserable, huddling in on himself to try to keep himself warm. He hated that particular bus stop - it was just the sign and a bench without any shelter.
Phil shivered.
But just as he'd resigned himself to catching hypothermia the rain suddenly…. stopped? Or - no, it didn't stop, someone was holding an umbrella over him. He looked to the side, following the hand holding the umbrella. He had to look up and up and up - the person holding the umbrella was huge, probably a full foot taller than Phil and buff too.
"I- Uhm- Thanks," he stammered out, only cringing a little at the way his voice wobbled. The stranger's lips quirked up in a slight smile.
"You're welcome. You looked pretty miserable." they shrugged.
Phil let out a bark of laughter. "Yeah, that's because I am miserable. I've been stuck in the rain for ten minutes walking here and the bus is late."
"Ugh I hate that. the 90 Line is usually delayed by a bit. Guess we can wait for it together then. I'm Techno."
"Phil. Nice to meet you, Techno."
They'd stood at the bus stop for another fifteen minutes until the next scheduled bus picked them up. They'd picked up conversation easily, bantering and playing off of each other like they'd known eachother for ages instead of minutes. Phil's commute home had never felt shorter than that day and all too soon he'd gotten up from his seat, telling Techno his stop was coming up, only to be told that it was Techno's stop as well. They kept talking all the way to Phil's apartment building.
"I live a bit further," Techno told him, indicating down the street. He was still holding the umbrella to cover Phil as well, getting his own shoulder wet in the process. He didn't seem bothered by it.
They'd exchanged phone numbers under the awning of Phil's apartment building and had continued to message each other for the rest of the day, picking up conversation the very next day. One of them would send some meme, or Techno would send pictures of his dog Floof, or Phil would send pictures of particularly dumb looking pigeons.
They had only met up a few times in person by the time Techno stepped into the coffee shop Phil worked at on another shitty day - Phil had just dealt with a whole pack of Karens and had one of them actually throw her pumpkin spice iced latte at him. He was just mopping up the mess when the little bell over the door jingled.
Techno cut an imposing figure as he ambled towards the counter, parting the pack of Karens still hanging around like he was Moses in front of the Red Sea. It was quite impressive to Phil. A little satisfying too, when one of them actually flinched when Techno made accidental eye contact.
"Heya, mate, what can I get'cha?" Phil chirped.
"Oh. Hi, Phil. I didn't know you worked here."
"Yeah, started a while before we met," he explained.
Techno made a little acknowledging noise, head bobbing up and down in a little nod. "Nice, nice. We love long term stable employment, yes."
Phil snorted out a laugh and saw Techno's face lighten up with a satisfied smirk, like he set out to make him laugh. Which, knowing Techno, he probably did.
"Anyway, can I get uhhhh…. Just a black coffee? Large, please."
"Sure! Are you staying or will that be to go?"
"You're off work soon right?"
Phil blinked, taken off guard. "Uh. Yeah. How did-"
"You always start sending bird pictures around this time, I just guessed you saw them on your way home."
"Oh! Right! Yeah, that's true. Yeah I'll be off in twenty. If you wanna wait around we can take the bus together?"
Techno's smile widened into something softer, more geniune. "Sure. Black coffee for here, then."
"That'll be $2.45, your coffee will be up in a minute."
Techno picked up his coffee and settled down at one of the corner tables. The twenty minutes until Phil's shift ended felt endless with Techno sitting there and watching him. He constantly felt the other's gaze on him and flashed him a smile whenever they made eye contact. Techno always smiled back.
As soon as his shift was over he practically ran to the back room to get changed.
"Alright, Tech, I'm done, let's go!"
They chatted as they walked to the bus stop, they chatted on the bus, they chatted on the way to Phil's apartment.
"Ughh, I have to go to the store if I want to eat today, I've got nothing at home," Phil complained as they came within view of his building.
"Bruuuuh," Techno said with the typical tremble he always used when he was about to make fun of Phil. "One of these days you're gonna put off getting groceries for so long you'll actually starve. Like a noob."
"Oh you shithead, I'm not that bad!" Phil laughed and swatted at Techno's arm playfully.
"Do you wanna come over and have dinner at my place? I was gonna make tomato soup with grilled cheese."
Phil raised an eyebrow at his friend. "That sounds tempting. But then I still won't have any food at home." Also, it was one of Phil's favorite foods…
"It would let you put the grocery store off for another day at least. There's a shop like right across the street from me, we can get you groceries, have dinner, and I'll even walk you home so you don't have to carry all your stuff on your own with your noodle arms."
"I don't have noodle arms!" Phil said, faking offence.
Techno leveled him with a look that very clearly said Sure.
"I don't!"
"Suuuuureeee," Techno drawled.
Phil threw up his arms in more fake exasperation, then laughed. "Fine! I'll eat your grilled fucking cheese."
Techno's answering grin was wide and toothy. Phil loved when Techno smiled like that.
They did end up stopping at the store by Techno's home. Phil got enough groceries to hopefully last him the rest of the week and then followed Techno to his place. He'd never been there and was surprised to see Techno approach one of the nicer houses lining the street. Two floors, from what he could see, as well as a generous backyard and an actual, honest to God white picket fence.
"Welcome in," Techno said as he unlocked the front door, quickly greeted by the telltale click-clack of doggy claws on the wooden floors. And sure enough, a small white dog came skidding around the corner, barreling right into Techno's legs with excited barks and whines.
"Floof! Hi, girl, there you are!" Phil had to blink at that - he'd never heard Techno's voice pitch that high in the over six months they'd known each other by that point. But well. Phil would baby talk Floof too, she was a cute dog. A very cute dog who was wagging her tail so hard her entire body was wiggling with it. She soaked up the pets Techno lavished on her before coming over to sniff at Phil's feet and legs. He smiled and leaned down to pet her which was also accepted happily.
While Phil was still busy greeting Floof, Techno had taken off his shoes and started taking Phil's groceries further inside, to what Phil assumed to be the kitchen. Something crinkled and rustled and Floof stopped wiggling, instead going stiff as a board, ears perked attentively. Then, like a bullet from a gun, she was gone, racing for the noise. Phil laughed and followed her after leaving his own shoes neatly lined up next to Techno's.
Techno was already mostly done with putting Phil's perishables in the fridge or freezer, leaving the rest in the bags they'd carried them home in.
"What can I help with?" he asked.
Techno smiled at him. "You can start by washing your hands, then maybe peel an onion and some garlic. Knives are in that drawer."
Phil followed his instructions, finding a small paring knife once his hands were dry. Techno chopped the tomatoes into large chunks, feeding a small piece to Floof with a secretive grin to Phil, like they were sharing a secret. It was incredibly endearing.
All in all it didn't take long for dinner to be ready and before he knew it, Techno ushered him over to the little dining table with two bowls of soup while he carried two plates of grilled cheese sandwiches. They looked delicious, perfectly golden brown, and the soup smelled heavenly. Phil barely waited for Techno to sit down before he was digging in.
"This is so fucking good, Tech. Should make you cook for me more often," he mumbled around a mouthful of soggy, cheesy toast.
Techno snorted at him, spoon halfway to his mouth. "I mean, I can if you want me to? I usually make too much for just myself and end up with leftovers for several days."
A comfortable silence settled over them as they continued to eat, mostly on account of Phil being too busy stuffing his face with table manners his mother would skin him for.
His second grilled cheese was a little gritty, which he voiced to Techno.
"Oh, it happens sometimes when the cheese doesn't warm enough, maybe I didn't leave it on the stove long enough. I can make you another if you don't like it?" There was a frown on Techno's face, subtle but noticable, something quietly sad, and Phil simply could not let that stand.
"No, absolutely not, it's perfectly fine! I'm eating it, it's mine, keep your grubby paws off my sandwich," he insisted, taking a huge bite out of it to make his point clear.
The frown disappeared from Techno's face. Mission accomplished.
By the time they finished their meal, Phil had demolished four grilled cheeses and two servings of soup. He was quite grateful when Techno suggested he get comfortable on the couch while he took care of the dishes. He could feel a little food coma descending on him.
It grew increasingly hard for him to keep his eyes open, especially when Floof settled by his feet.
"You look a minute away from falling asleep," Techno said quietly when he returned.
Phil blinked at him blearily. "Feel like it too."
"Wanna just stay the night? You've got tomorrow off right?"
Phil blinked again. His head bobbed up and down in a little nod. When had he told Techno about his day off?
He must have forgotten.
"Alright, Phil. Let's get you up and into the guest room."
He let himself be pulled off of the couch and brought downstairs to the basement. Phil stumbled towards the bed with a single minded focus and collapsed onto it, not even bothering with the blanket. Techno chuckled behind him.
Strong, gentle hands moved him, rolling him onto his side and pulling the blanket from under him, tucking him in with great care. "Don't worry, Phil, I didn't expect the benzos to work quite this fast but it's not like it'll hurt. You just go to sleep and I'll make sure you're safe, okay, Phil? No more colds from getting caught in the rain, no more angry Karens, no more worrying about your neighbours breaking into your apartment. Just you, safe and happy. Doesn't that sound nice, Phil?"
Techno's voice was deep and rumbly and a familiar comfort. Phil knew he should be worried - it wasn't normal for him to get so sleepy so suddenly and benzos were drugs right? Did Techno drug him?
Oh well. He was so tired and the bed was so comfortable.
He was already too far gone to hear the basement door lock when Techno left.