#techsfromlastnight

I really enjoy “Techs From Last Night,” it’s one of my favorite comfort reads when the day is dull and the train is late.  It just feels like one of those little worlds I can move on into and take up residence.

One of the things I really like about the story is the way it mentions on a couple of occasions that it’s fall when the story begins, with descriptions of the chill in the air and the shortening days.  And since we know the power of authority lasts for one year, so I imagine the progress of Matt and Mercy’s story through the four seasons, from one fall to the next. The urgency between them increases as that date gets closer, since surely some kind of decision will have to be made when it arrives.

The first thing that happens, is another encounter with the police.  They definitely aren’t going to just forget about Mercy.  Cassandra summons him downtown for an interview. Matt goes with him, naturally. The first few officers they encounter just see another junkie gang member and are casually cruel to Mercy, who is already hyperventilating to begin with.  Matt struggles to keep his temper under control because the one place where he absolutely, positively cannot lose his shit is in a police station. Matters improve once they find Cassandra.  She’s happy to see them, and takes them to meet Christine, an expert in Computational Forensics.  She has been trying to hack into Ma-Ma’s security system for months, and she is beyond ecstatic when she realizes that the system’s architect is sitting in her office.  Mercy shows her all the chinks in Ma-Ma’s armor, making him a hero to her and Cassandra. Matt is very impressed, a little intimidated.

As the winter progresses, Matt’s professional life starts looking up.  When the weather is wet and cold he always seems to draw an assignment that’s indoors.  His reqs get filled a little faster than normal, just like the one he was filing out when he met Mercy.  He’s getting more jobs on the other side of the river, the kind that demonstrate his technical ability to his superiors.  His performance review gets bumped up and goes well.  And Rey starts getting suspicious.  She comes to the (correct) conclusion that Mercy is somehow accessing First Order Aerospace’s systems and tipping the scales ever-so-slightly in Matt’s favor.  Rey assumes that Mercy is up to something, redirecting Matt’s paycheck or using him to get access to FOA for some criminal purpose.  She and Mercy have a confrontation, which clears the air between them.  She accepts that his intentions are honorable, if not legal.  He is able to work through some of his jealousy toward her. Rey keeps quiet, and maybe knows who to go to if she has difficulties with the scheduling and procurement systems.

We all know that Mercy is head-over-heels in love with his knight in shining armor.  Well, all of us except Matt.  I mean, after that rescue, the care and comfort, and their companionable relationship after being so lonely for so long, how could Mercy feel otherwise?  He has no conscious memory of any relationship that wasn’t strictly transactional.  In the Ma-Ma Clan, if you ceased to be useful, you ceased to be breathing. Mercy certainly doesn’t really think that Matt will kick him out for being too much trouble, but he’s still aware of the enormous amount of effort and money Matt has expended on him, and it bothers him.  A lot. Fixing the TV, making sandwiches, and accelerating parts requests don’t feel like enough.  It’s not like Mercy can go out and get a job with a resume that includes gang membership and lacks a real name.  So he starts utilizing the skills he does have.  When Matt sits down to pay bills one day in the spring, his account has more in it than the expected.  A couple of largish purchases that he distinctly remembers don’t appear on his bank statement.  A couple of smallish deposits that he definitely didn’t make do appear.  Not enough to draw the attention of the bank, but . . .  Matt remembers Christine and Cassandra’s admiration for Mercy’s security circumvention skills, and he knows what’s up.  He blows up at Mercy, since getting caught would probably mean jail for Mercy, and would definitely mean the end of the authority agreement.  Matt absolutely does not get the emotional component of what Mercy has done, and Mercy is terribly hurt.  But he promises not to try it again.

There’s another medium of exchange that was popular for getting what you wanted within the Clan, and anyway, Mercy desperately wants to show his affection for Matt.  When summer comes, he tries to express his willingness to have a sexual relationship with Matt.  It doesn’t go well.  Mercy’s never had any relationship that didn’t involve some level of coercion, and Matt is beyond horrified that Mercy would think he should do this as payment, that Mat would want him to.  Mercy is hurt and humiliated, and he takes off in the middle of the night.  Matt is frantic and finally hunts him down, curled up in the shelter of the nearest bus stop at two in the morning.  They have a big emotionally wrenching conversation out there.  I picture it being miserably hot, under those bright orange sodium lamps that make everything that happens after midnight look surreal.  They resolve . . . something, and go back home.  Honestly, these two just need a little human contact and affection way more than smutty circus sex.  Just holding hands and sharing a bed would be comfort beyond words for both of them.

I picture Mercy finally finding his calling, combing the city by day for discarded tech with a little wire cart and a crazy-looking straw hat (to protect his eyes).  He brings the best junk home and rehabs it or breaks it down for spare parts, then sells it all online to turn a surprisingly large, but completely legal, profit.

However, it’s late summer now, and the agreement of authority is about up.  Matt certainly isn’t going to bring it up, because of course Mercy is going to want to leave once he’s no longer legally or economically obligated to stay.  Why wouldn’t he?  And Mercy isn’t going to bring it up, because of course Matt will be getting impatient for him to leave so Matt can have is his money, his home, and his freedom back. Why wouldn’t he?  While they’re still busy tiptoeing around the issue, Mercy gets a call from Dr. Gallia.  After all this time, the DNA sample she took has finally found a match.  Mercy’s father was a prominent guy, his mother was an escort.  His father had absolutely no interest in recognizing his illegitimate child.  He shows a little, minimal interest in the beginning, but eventually discarded Mercy and his mother.  Mercy’s mother became an addict, and she eventually sold him to Ma-Ma Clan to discharge her drug debt.  Shortly after the breakup, she used a paternity test to try to blackmail his father, unsuccessfully.  It’s been sitting in the hospital’s EMR all this time, and the searchbot has finally found it.

Mercy’s parents are both dead, but he has a half-brother.  (Armitage Hux, CTO of First Order Aerospace?  Too much?)  His brother isn’t a warm and cuddly guy, but he’s unexpectedly moved to discover that the younger brother he very vaguely remembers is still alive.  They agree to meet.  Matt is happy for Mercy having a chance to finally find out who he really is, but quietly devastated.  Mercy doesn’t need him for anything anymore.  That’s the end of it then.  Mercy goes to meet his brother, and Matt goes along and waits outside tragically, waiting to say goodbye.  Mercy comes out, gives his newfound sibling an awkwardly stiff hug, and says he’s ready to go home.  Matt is shocked that he isn’t staying with his brother.  Mercy is shocked that Matt expected him to.  Mercy has a home and a life of his own, with Matt.  Or, well, maybe he could get his own place, or something.   Or not.

So that’s the end, nothing happens.  I like the idea of it being sort of anticlimactic.  Nobody saves the galaxy or anything, for Matt and Mercy surviving is good enough, and finding someone to survive with is even better.  Things can be pretty good without being perfect.

It was hard to think of what else to do. Matt had always been too impatient, had always wanted results as quickly as possible -- but there was no rushing this. He couldn't force Bren to get better faster, no matter how much he wanted to. And no matter what he was feeling, worried, scared, he knew Bren was feeling far worse. Unlike Matt, who hadn't been really sick since sixth grade, Bren had a tendency to pick up bugs and illnesses, and this one had hit him particularly hard. 

So Matt did what he could. He wiped everything in the house down with Clorox wipes, and changed the linens on the bed twice a day so Bren could lie somewhere cool and clean. He brought Bren cold ginger ales and when he fucked up the soup he tried to make from scratch, he went to Panera and bought more, swearing a blue streak the whole way. He held Bren's hair back while he threw up, shushed Bren as gently as he knew how as he cried tearlessly, miserable. 

But he didn't know what else do to. He couldn't will Bren better. As hard as it was to do, what was best for him was to leave Bren alone in the dark to rest and recover his strength. 

"Did you sleep on the couch last night?" Bren asked him, the second morning of it, when Matt came in to bring him some toast to nibble on. 

"Babe, if I catch it too, where will we be?" Matt asked, laughing a little bit. Bren rolled onto his side, frowning. He'd showered just the night before, but he had sweated in his sleep and he hair stuck to his cheek. "I'm cozy and healthy down there, and I'll come back up once you're feeling better."

"I'm sorry," Bren whispered, his long white arm snaking out from under the blanket to take one of the triangles of toast that Matt had cut for him.

Matt moved the plate so it was a little easier for him to reach. He'd put just the barest little bit of butter on them, just enough so they weren't so dry. "You don't have anything to be sorry for."

"You're doing a lot, and you can't even lie down in your bed..." "You can make it up to me by resting and feeling better."

"Will you stay? Just a little while? I don't want to give you anything, but....I'm sorry, will you stay with me in the room?" Bren's eyes were reddening. "At least until I fall asleep again?" "Of course-- look, I'm gonna sit right here--" Matt moved a pile of dirty clothes off the papasan chair that they'd stuck in the corner because it wouldn't fit in any other room. "Right here so you can see me. How do you feel?"

"Bad," Bren sniffed. "But less bad."

"That's something," Matt noted. 

Bren pushed the hair out of his face and took another rabbit bite of the toast. "Um. When I had my own place for the first time, remember the studio I was living in, like, a block off campus? It was great, even though it was so small. I was free. And I could come and go as I pleased, and nobody bothered me. But then that winter, I got really sick. Just like this."

He brushed some crumbs away, then set the nibbled-on piece of toast back onto the plate.

"It wasn't life or death or anything like that. But it was so miserable. I had to do everything myself, and I know other people do just fine with that, but I could hardly move. And, I, um, I cried a lot, because I wished someone would help me, but I didn't think that was ever going to happen." He brushed the sheet off one more time, then pulled the blanket up over him again. "And then it did? I didn't think it would, but--Mattie, it's so much less miserable because I know you're here and you know how to help and you--you want to, too."

Matt got up from the papasan and brushed the rest of the hair that was stuck to Bren's cheek away. 

"Bren. Of course--of course I want to. I want to do everything it takes to make you feel better." He smiled wryly. "Besides, I can play Overwatch without bothering you when I sleep downstairs."

"You should play it lots," Bren murmured, his eyes closing. "Okay?"

Matt was already planning another run to Panera, more soup, maybe a bagel or two if Bren was feeling better tomorrow. Once Bren was securely asleep, and he felt safe leaving for fifteen minutes. The last thing he wanted was for Bren to need anything, ever, and for him to not be around to give it to him. 

“I knew you were good from the minute I saw you, from the moment, Matt,” the redhead whispered, sliding in the water until he was curled on his side in the bubbles, like a sleepy mermaid.

-Techs From Last Night by ArtemisCLydeFrogge on AO3

Read Here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/7562128/chapters/17201353

Now that more folks are returning to Tumblr from spoiler hiatus, I wanted to post this so everyone could see how amazing it is! 

I commissioned @elviscl to do a piece for the absolutely flawless @@techsfromlastnight . Ivy is the sweetest, most indulgent, most adorable person ever, and writing stuff with her makes even my worst days so much better. So here is a little gift!

"Bren," Tidge said, trying to sound commanding but just sounding tired, and hazy from the medicine he'd been given. "I need you to go home, okay? Go hang out with Matt. Eat some dinner. Did you even have lunch?"

Bren didn't even remember, if he was being honest. He had probably been about to go grab something before class when he'd gotten the call that Tidge had gotten woozy while walking down the stairs at work, fallen, and ended up with a concussion and a broken arm. The actual cause of the wooziness was determined to be dehydration and stress, since he had been in the middle of a huge project and had sort of forgotten to drink water or rest much--not that hard to fix. But the physical injuries and the just-to-make-totally-sure test would keep him in the hospital overnight.

"You're one to talk," Bren said with a sniff. 

"Learn from my mistakes," Tidge warned him. "God, I wouldn't wish today on anybody."

Bren was tempted to argue. He could just go down to the hospital cafeteria and get something to eat and then come back to Tidge's room. But maybe Tidge wanted to just rest without Bren feeling chained to the room, and besides, he was getting released the next day. "I'll text Matt and maybe we can get some dinner," Bren said. "Can we bring you anything?"

Tidge shook his head. "Nothing for me, thanks. All I want is for you to go home and not worry so much."

Well, easier said than done. When Matt picked him up from the hospital about fifteen minutes later, his unease was palpable--the way he was picking at his fingernails, chewing on the ends of his hair, checking his phone all the time as though Tidge were going to text him when he knew damn well Tidge was probably asleep.

"You want to go to Bodhi and Kaye's?" Matt asked as they came off the main road and closer to campus. "They invited us. I told them what happened with your brother, and they thought it might be fun for us to all hang out. It might take your mind off things."

That sounded a bit unlikely to Bren, but as soon as Matt mentioned it, he wanted to do it. Some distraction was better than none, and if he was going to be hanging out with a group, he'd rather it be people who liked and just got him the way those guys did. 

It was kind of funny how bad Bodhi and Kaye were at pretending to have casually prepared too much food and a pile of board games to play, like they were just going to eat an entire table's worth of snacks and play Monopoly all on their own. Clearly, they'd taken a hint from something Matt had said earlier and gone an extra mile or ten. In an act of supreme magnanimity, Kaye even allowed Bodhi to choose the first game piece (the dog). 

Gradually, the game night began to have its intended effect. Bren managed to tie his hair back instead of chewing on his split ends, and as time went by, he found his anxiety beginning to ebb, especially after he got a message from Tidge wishing him a good night and promising him he'd be discharged by eleven the next morning. And of course it helped that Matt knew just how to wordlessly reassure him without climbing all over him or smothering him--the way he kept a hand on the small of Bren's back, or how he dropped chivalrous little kisses on Bren's hand. Then Matt lost all but $6 of his money when he landed on one of Kaye's hotels and pretended to be furious (well, mostly pretended). Bren, giggling, pulled at his arms, forced him to promise he wouldn't knock over the table and send the Monopoly board and all the pieces and all the fried macaroni and cheese balls flying. "I'll finance you, honey," he promised Matt, giving him some money.

"That's cheating!" said Bodhi.

"He can do what he wants!" Matt argued, accepting the little colored bills.

They looked at Kaye, who had declared himself the rule master. 

"He offered," Kaye said with a shrug.