Chapter Text
God, how the hell is he supposed to buy a gift for someone he barely knows?
Dream sighs, running a hand through his hair.
Stupid Wilbur with his stupid proposition. "It'll be fun to do a Secret Santa this year with all our friends," he said. "It'll be fun," he said.
This was a bad idea.
He and Techno have talked before, sure, but he has no idea what the man actually enjoys. It was casual conversations before, primarily in large groups where they weren't directly speaking to each other.
They were never "friends", more acquaintances who hung out together sometimes. Mutuals, really. Mutuals who dueled once and didn't really talk about it.
And now Dream has to buy a present for him and send it across the country.
Rules: it has to cost somewhere between $20 and $50, there can be multiple gifts in there, and it has to be genuine.
Cool, Dream can do this.
He spends the next week observing Techno from afar, which is a tad difficult.
Case in point: Techno never produces content.
Dream knows what he would get George or Sapnap (book on coding for George, large amounts of candy for Sapnap), or even Wilbur (a fancy guitar pick), or even Skeppy (an ironic-but-unironic duck onesie), but not Techno.
So Dream finds himself listening to old VODs, trying to figure out Techno's interest.
Surprisingly, listening to Techno talk for two hours at a time while stabbing people in Minecraft tournaments is strangely comforting. He's always liked to listen to the other's voice, but Dream finds himself just watching the past streams without even paying attention to the task at hand, entranced by the gravelly voice and the insane plays.
God, he's a little bit of an idiot. Simping for a man who he's barely talked to, who lives all the way across the country, and who is obviously, blatantly not interested in anything that Dream does? These are things that go in the "0 IQ" compilations.
Eventually, Dream realizes that just Googling "cool christmas presents to get for the man you're simping for" might be the best option. He finds list after list, all with titles that are somewhere along the lines of "111 best Christmas gifts for men".
Knives, beer, cigars, power tools, camping gear, and all other kinds of other alcohol are immediately ruled out from the lists. Every item that he sees feels remarkably masculine and toxic and not fit for a 21-year-old gamer.
Finally, Dream remembers the fact that he learned how to crochet from his mom a few years ago, and decides to make a scarf for Techno.
It's cold, it's a simple gift, and it's enough of a friendly gesture that it'll work.
He chooses a simple soft, pink yarn and begins the same evening he buys it, another one of Techno's past streams playing while he crochets.
It gets done in less than a week. During that time, George and Sapnap try to pry out who Dream's Secret Santa person is, but Dream gives them nothing (it's on stream, for goodness sake) in an attempt to keep it secret.
Dream makes up a whole box for Techno, including some holiday-themed salted-caramel chocolates, a short card that explains who sent the box, a small package of cinnamon-coated almonds, and the scarf.
It takes nearly a week, but Techno texts him when he gets the package.
hello dream, thanks for the stuff. don't know how you knew i like almonds, but thank you for them. i usually hate scarves but this is the softest thing I've ever felt. thank you so much.
The text puts a smile on Dream's face for the rest of the day.
Dream receives a package the next day from Techno (apparently Techno picked his name on random, whoops).
A small framed picture of their two Minecraft avatars. A tin shaped like a Christmas tree full of fudge with red and green sprinkles on it. Two candles scented like "Balsam and Cedar" and "Winter Berry Sugar" respectively. Five candy canes. A beaded green-and-white bracelet.
To say Dream blushes when he opens the box is an understatement. He immediately slips the bracelet on his wrist and puts the little picture frame up on the bookcase in his living room.
Maybe he's got a little bit of a crush on Techno.
Maybe he'd like for them to talk more.
He shoots Techno a text as well when he's composed himself again.
hey hey techno thanks so much for the gifts! the candles smell fantastic and ive already got the bracelet on lmao. hopefully we can recreate that picture soon but irl?
He doesn't expect the next text, but it leaves him buzzing for the rest of the day.
perhaps