Chapter Text
“This is it.” Farah shifted the car into park and hardly hesitated before turning to let herself out of the car.
Todd and Dirk simultaneously leaned forward to peer out of their respective windows (Todd having been granted the passenger’s seat for the remainder of the day’s drive) and out into the dark, illuminated only by the flickering neon light not ten feet away advertising a Motel in a large, somewhat foreboding font.
“This…” Dirk murmured. “Is it?”
The two shared a bit of a blank look before Todd gave Dirk a small shrug, unbuckling his own seatbelt and stumbling ungracefully out of the car to follow Farah. “This is it?” He repeated as he rounded the back of the SUV to stand at Farah’s elbow, where she was already beginning to unload items.
Farah slowed her movements long enough to give him a warning look. “It’s was the cheapest option, as we’re lodging on company funds.” she glanced up at the motel consideringly. “It’s just for the night, Todd.”
“Ri-ight.” Todd replied, haltingly, and opened his mouth to continue when Dirk appeared at his side, bouncing on the balls of his feet and interrupted.
“I, for one, am just glad to be out of the car.” he declared, cheerfully.
Todd glanced at his watch, which read nearly 11, and nodded in agreement, adding, “Me too.” to reassure Farah of his own gratitude. He paused, and watched as she unloaded another item from the back. “Do we really need all this?” he hazarded, “We’re only staying a night, right?”
“We’re right by the freeway, Todd.” Farah glanced between him and the nearby cars whizzing past and offered a somewhat bewildered look. “Unless you want to deal with coming back to a totally empty vehicle in the morning, I’d unload.”
“Right.” Todd repeated, flushing a bit and lurching forward to comply. Ttogether, the three (laden with their bundles of luggage), moved toward the motel and out of the chilled evening air.
Inside, the motel itself was hardly more encouraging than its exterior. The lobby smelt slightly musty, the rubber of Todd’s sneakers sticking dishearteningly against the linoleum floors as they followed Farah to the front desk to check in.
“It’s just for the night, remember.” Farah murmured after she’d received the keys from over the counter, turning and beginning to lead them back out toward the row of doors outside the main lobby. She sounded slightly more hesitant than she had not moments ago, and Todd considered that she might be beginning to understand his and Dirk’s own leeriness of the lodgings, the more she saw.
“Right,” Todd agreed, shooting her a small, encouraging smile and feeling the tight ball that had taken up residence in his chest loosen a little when Farah’s shoulders seemed to relax minutely, and she returned the expression weakly before exiting the lobby entirely.
The rooms weren’t much better, as it turned out. The crackling wooden door brushed along an avocado green shag carpet as Todd elbowed his way into the space and flicked the light on, trying not to startle badly as a large spider scurried away from the sudden company and back underneath the bed.
The bed. The singular bed that stood, very obviously sinking in on itself near the middle, at the dead center of the room.
“Um,” Todd swallowed, pointedly aware of both Dirk and Farah’s eyes now on him. “So this--uh. We have…how--how many rooms?”
“Two,” Farah replied, as if the answer were quite obvious (and really, considering the fact that Todd had been present for the check-in process, he supposed it really should have been). She made no movement to step any further into the room than she had already, her hands still gripping her own luggage tightly; answering Todd’s next question before he even had a chance to ask it.
“But what about…” Todd gestured vaguely and turned to meet Farah’s eyes over his shoulder. “Y’know. Company funds?”
“Technically, all company funds are, in reality, my own funds.” Farah shrugged. “And, as a significant benefactor of the agency, company funds purchased two rooms.” She pursed her lips, as if waiting for one of the boys to argue with her, before smiling slightly and turning on her heel. “I’ll see you both bright and early.” she called, “We should be on the road by seven!” The door slammed behind her, and Todd and Dirk were left standing, elbow to elbow, in the narrow entryway.
Todd didn’t have to look to know that Dirk’s gaze was trained firmly exactly where his was--the lousy excuse for a queen sized bed laid out before them-- rumpled, stained sheets and all.
“Look,” Todd was the first to speak, and moved forward so that he could set his singular bag down on the carpet.
“You should take the bed, Todd.” Dirk piped up, before Todd had a chance to continue, and moved forward to join him in the room. “You’ve been ill.”
“Car sickness doesn’t really count as ‘ill’, Dirk.” Todd swallowed thickly at the memory, belying his own words. “I’ll be fine on the floor.”
“You are ill, then.” Dirk dismissed in such a fashion that Todd knew he should technically be offended by, but couldn’t find it within himself to particularly care. “Whatever. I can sleep on the floor. Look at this carpet!” Dirk bounced a little experimentally. “It’s practically thick enough to be a bed, anyway!”
“Yeah…” Todd glanced downward morosely to study the carpet his sneakers seemed to be sinking into. “We don’t know what’s living down there, Dirk. Just take the bed.”
“I’m not a child.” Dirk snapped, making a face and moving to begin rifling through one of his duffle bags. “I’ve slept on plenty of floors before, Todd Brotzman. I go where the universe takes me, remember?”
Todd tried to ignore the particular implications that came to mind with the words, and shook his head stubbornly. “I used to be in a band.” He pointed out, and raised his eyebrows. “I’ve slept on the floor plenty of times, too.”
“But you’re old.” Dirk raised a brow.
“I--I’m confident that I might be younger than you are, Dirk.” Todd gawked indignantly, and narrowed his eyes slightly. “Besides, that doesn’t matter. Just--Sleep on the bed, okay? I’m probably the only one who would fit in the space between it and the wall, anyway.” He studied the small space with a sinking heart.
“Oh, just!” Dirk gestured wildly for a moment and puffed his cheeks out so that they tinged red, standing from where he’d been hunched over his bags a moment later with his toiletries in hand. “Let’s just both sleep on the bed, then! We can make it work.” The red on his cheeks had darkened slightly, and Todd politely averted his eyes, pretending not to have noticed.
Todd’s mind, the traitorous coward it was, was already reeling with the possibilities of what could potentially go wrong with the arrangement. He could have an attack (his mid-sleep attacks had been awakening him with a disheartening, increasing frequency, as of late), and potentially strike out and hurt Dirk.
The thought made Todd’s stomach sour slightly, and he quickly dismissed it, though it was quickly replaced by another. What if he took all the blankets in his sleep, prone to cold as he was? As immature as it sounded, Todd really did not feel like putting up with the potential complaining that Dirk might spin, after such an occurrence. They might sleep stiffly and uncomfortable with the close proximity, Todd mused, and be forced to spend the countless hours on the road tomorrow sore and exhausted.
Or, he thought a little hysterically, his mind beginning spin madly out of control along with the growing list of potential catastrophes, they might encroach too much on each other’s space. The bed really didn’t look like it was suited to fit two grown individuals, and it seemed that the night spent might end in discomfort no matter what.
Inexplicably a little flushed himself, now, and weary with entertaining the possibilities, Todd nodded slightly and swallowed. “Right.” he muttered, casting another quick glance at the way the bed dipped in the middle before tearing his gaze quickly aay again. “We’ve made worse things work.”
“Right!” Dirk agreed with an eager nod. “We’ve been in worse situations, that’s for certain.”
Uncertain silence settled upon the both of them, their gazes falling away, drawn almost magnetically back to the bed between them not moments later. “I’ll just, um.” Dirk held up his toothbrush and shook it a little. “Unless you want to…”
“Go for it.” Todd cut-in, quickly, almost wincing as his voice cracked on the last word.
Dirk nodded and hesitated another moment, seeming to come to some unspoken decision within himself, and turned to disappear into the bathroom without another word, leaving Todd to sigh dejectedly at his sleeping space for the evening before heaving a sigh and beginning to sift through his own belongings for a toothbrush.
---
Todd lay stiffly on his side, head pillowed on his elbow atop one of his flannels bunched beneath (the front desk had been unable to provide them with a second pillow), and watched the boxes of light from cars passing in the distance streak along the peeling wallpaper of the motel room.
Behind him, Dirk was a warm and solid weight at his back, reminding Todd somewhat unforgivably of just how long it had been since he’d slept with another person so near--nearly ten years, by his reckoning…
Dirk shifted, suddenly, the sound loud and grating in the previous silence, and Todd tried (and ultimately failed) to hide the way his shoulders tensed further at the sudden movement.
“Todd?” Dirk croaked, and though Todd kept his back turned, he could practically see the way Dirk would be rubbing blearily at his eyes, reaching up with the other hand to run it through his already dishevelled hair. “Have you not slept at all?”
The near sleepless nights they’d spent in Todd’s apartment (Dirk on the sofa and Todd in his bed, respectively) in the past had taught him enough to know that feigning sleep at this point would be totally pointless.
Todd bit back a sigh of exasperation. “What’s to say I wasn’t asleep just now?”
“People’s backs don’t tend to look so...high-strung while asleep.” Dirk pointed out, and shifted again so that he was laid on his side. “Not even you.”
Todd huffed. “Go back to sleep, Dirk.” he murmured, reaching a hand up to rub irritably at the sudden ache between his ribs. “You need it.”
“I’ve had it.” Dirk chirped, though he kept his voice to a low whisper, all the same. “It’s been nearly…” There was a brief clattering noise as Dirk turned and fumbled with something on the bedside table. “Ah damn. The clock’s dead.” Todd snorted. “It’s been a couple hours, at the very least. Surely you’re tired, as well.” His voice dropped into something lower, more hesitantly concerned.
Todd grimaced slightly at the tone, attempting to silence the small voice at the back of his mind insisting that he didn’t deserve the treatment. “It’s--”
“Ah, of course!” Dirk interrupted, and sat up suddenly, his elbow knocking Todd sharply between the shoulder blades. “You’re cold! Sorry, Todd. Don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.”
Todd furrowed his brow, surprise making him turn onto his back, just in time to see Dirk roll out of bed and begin rifling through his items. “How did you…” he trailed off, deflating slightly and watching Dirk fumble in the low light, deciding that (sometimes) it was better not to ask.
“You’re always cold, aren’t you?” Dirk replied airily (quite suspiciously), before he froze and let out a groan. “Aw, nuts.”
“What?”
“I left my extra quilt in the car. Stupid Dirk.”
Todd frowned. “You brought an extra quilt?”
“Certainly.” Dirk muttered distractedly, a passing car briefly illuminating his face puckering in concentration. “You typically shouldn’t embark out onto a road trip into the great unknown without one, Todd.”
Todd huffed a little. “I’d hardly called California the ‘great unknown’.” he bit back a yawn, and scrubbed a hand wearily over his face when Dirk didn’t reply. “Listen, Dirk, it’s not that--”
“Hush.” Dirk interrupted airily, and Todd blinked slightly, but found himself doing as he was told as Dirk continued, “I might…” he began picking through his things again.
“Dirk, it’s fine.” Todd began again, tentatively. “We can just go back to sleep.”
“Aha!” Dirk cried, paying no heed to Todd’s protests and straightening triumphantly with what turned out to be his quilted red leather jacket clutched tightly in one hand. “Here we go!”
Todd blinked, before the insinuation behind the actions caught up with him and he flushed, despite his best attempts to avoid this. Another car sped past, and he nearly groaned at his reddening face being suddenly illuminated. “Dirk, it’s really not…”
“Todd,” Dirk interrupted, and strode forward to perch on the edge of the mattress. “It’s simple. You can’t sleep unless you warm up. I can’t sleep unless you’re asleep,” he cleared his throat a little, and Todd automatically glanced away to study his hands. “And Farah will be furious if she has to put up with both of us whilst sleep deprived.” Dirk paused dramatically, leaning in so that his face was inches from Todd’s own.
Todd blinked, trying not to appear outwardly startled.
“And I doubt they have any coffee you’ll approve of for a few more miles, at least.” Dirk murmured lowly, clearly understanding entirely the impact the words would have.
Todd’s eyes widened as the words sunk in. “Don’t joke about that.” he warned, already feeling the first dregs of exhaustion the next morning was sure to hold at the idea alone.
“I hardly would.” Dirk replied gravely, and extended the coat a bit further.
Rather than outwardly admitting that he was already feeling a good deal warmer, Todd instead forced an eyeroll (a half hearted effort, at best) and extended a hand to accept the offered garment. “Fine.” he muttered, and shifted so that he could shrug the jacket on over the thin fabric of his tee shirt. “Only if it gets you to go to sleep.” He glanced down at the red pleather that practically engulfed his own frame, feeling his stomach flutter a little at the picture. Unwilling to evaluate the implications behind that particular reaction, just yet, Todd swallowed slightly and forced himself to glance away.
Some things could wait until it wasn’t after midnight, and he and Dirk Gently weren’t sat, elbow to elbow on a bed in a damp and crowded motel room.
Todd frowned at the continued silence, and glanced up find Dirk studying him with an unidentifiable expression screwing his features. “Uh, Dirk?”
“Right!” Dirk cried, jolting back into action as if he’d been burned and curling back beneath the covers, his back to Todd. “Good night, Todd!”
“Night.” Todd replied, sparing one last glance for his suddenly tight-lipped companion before lying down himself, his brow furrowed in confusion.
Though, he considered, his eyes already drooping shut, why in the world he should still be surprised by sudden and erratic behavior from Dirk Gently was beyond him.
---
Another car sped by, faintly shaking the window of the motel room as Dirk turned, softly as to avoid waking a now soundly slumbering Todd, so that he could face his small friend.
Todd had shifted in his sleep sometime in the past hour that Dirk had remained suddenly wide awake, and was now laid out facing Dirk, limbs curled into his customary, tight ball of sleep, one hand tucked beneath his chin.
Dirk felt his heart constrict almost painfully at the sight, and he forced himself not to react beyond a hushed inhale as he felt Todd’s warm breath fanning across his face. He froze, briefly afraid that he’d been too loud when the characteristic worry-lines between Todd’s brows, previously smoothed out in sleep, reappeared for a moment as he shifted slightly. He quickly returned to sleep, however, and Dirk let out a slow sigh of relief, nearly choking on it a moment later when he caught sight of Todd’s other hand.
His hand, having been beforehand crushed beneath him, that was now sat tangled tightly in the fabric of Dirk’s jacket that pooled almost comically around his shoulders.
Dirk studied the scene for a long, breathless moment, his heart quivering upon his noting the way the red pleather of the sleeves reached past the knuckles of Todd’s hands, and attempting resolutely to ignore the warm contentment pooling in his gut at the sight; an effort that was, quite predictably, for naught.
The scene before him felt, his mind provided before he could fully silence it, something terrifyingly close to right.
He yawned suddenly, muffling the sound behind his hand, and found himself drifting off to follow Todd into sleep not moments later, the last thing he saw before his eyes drifted shut being the small, comfortable smile on Todd’s face.