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If you’d have asked Todd Brotzman if he had a daily routine a year ago, he would have probably said no. He also would have scoffed, and wondered why you would ever think that. But Todd from a year ago also had a lot of anxieties, and struggled to pay his rent due to his pararibulitis. He didn’t work, because he was too anxious he would get an attack while working, and cared way too much about what people thought.
A therapist and a lot of trying and failing and trying again brought Todd to where he is today. He has a paper round that he does from 3 to 5 pm every Monday - Friday, and he helps his sister Amanda in her secondhand bookstore. His house is regular, just like his routine, there’s only two things to look forward to.
The first thing probably isn’t special, but it’s something he attaches a lot of value to. To start his productive day, he gets coffee for him and Amanda, and chats with her until the first customers enter. If it’s busy he helps her out until it’s time to do his paper round.
His paper round brings the second thing he looks forward to. The outside world and the bees and the birds also bring him great joy, but the smile of Dirk Gently, whom he officially doesn’t know, is something Todd could see every second of his day without getting sick of it.
Now, obviously he knows that Dirk Gently is a bit odd, based on the fact that sometimes he walks his cat and sings along to what seems like horrible music while he is wearing headphones. Maybe the eccentricity of the bright man walking on the other side of the street was the only bright detail in his life, and it’s something he needs. But he feels as if the need for weirdness isn’t the only thing drawing him to Dirk. The thing it actually is, is something he has yet to find out.
The day he officially meets Dirk Gently is a Wednesday. It’s around four pm, and Todd finds Dirk walking his dog Rapunzel. It feels almost too usual, and up to the moment something grey shoots across the street, there’s no opportunity for them to break out of their routines at all.
The moment the mouse runs for it, Rapunzel decides to as well, and she breaks loose from her leash. In ten seconds Rapunzel is nowhere to be seen. Todd sees Dirk looking a bit lost, but quickly decides to drop all his mail back into his panniers, and shouts a quick “jump on!” before cycling in the way Rapunzel went, Dirk sitting on the back of his bike.
“I think that’s where she went!” Dirk shouts while pointing at a forest. Todd feels almost invincible speeding through the street. This must be the most alive he’s felt in a year, and finally talking to the cute half-stranger feels scary but exciting.
When Dirk and Todd enter the forest, they see Rapunzel almost immediately. She’s on the side of a ditch, staring at it. Upon seeing Dirk again, she runs to him and looks innocently. Dirk sees this chance to put the leash back on again. “My name is Dirk, and I can’t thank you enough. Actually, I insist on helping you with your paper round to pay you back” Dirk states.
Todd tries to decline, but when Dirk insists, he reeaaally does. Todd has only three streets to do anyways, and it’s not like he can’t use the company. “So, why do you walk your cat?” Todd asks. Dirk and Todd walk from house to house, and ask each other serious to ridiculous questions, as if they’re old friends. Dirk smiles at him before answering, “I live in an apartment, and Olive doesn’t have enough space to really move, but I’m scared she’ll get kidnapped if she’s out her on her own.” “Yeah, alright.”
When the paper round is finished, Todd walks Dirk back to his home. It’s nice to finally see where the ex-half-stranger lives, and it feels almost sad to say goodbye. Todd sure hopes he’ll see him again.
↢⧫↣
After meeting, it’s almost two weeks before Todd sees Dirk again. While doing his paper round, he finds himself thinking about him even more than usual, and wonders whether he’s done something wrong, or it’s just a coincidence.
On Tuesday Dirk waves at him. It is raining, and both of them carry raincoats and Dirk an umbrella. Todd needs to look a few times before recognising him, and tries to wave, but he’s stopped by a street light, which he directly walks into. He falls on the pavement with his bicycle on top of him, and thinks he at least scraped his elbow, as it’s burning pretty heavily. Dirk appears above him only seconds later, and carries his bike off of him.
“Are you hurt?” Dirk asks concerned. He sticks out his hand to help him stand up, and looks into his eyes for any sign of injury. “I think I scraped my elbow?” Todd tries to feel under his sleeve, his hand comes out red. “Definitely,” Dirk answers, “c’mon, I’ll get you a band aid.”
Todd follows Dirk to his apartment, knowing it’s not far from his route. He doesn’t know what floor Dirk’s house is on, but he assumes it’s the one with the house plants and bright colours. They walk up the stairs, and Todd was right. Dirk does live on the third floor. He has a white front door with some plants next to it, which Todd finds aesthetically pleasing, but when you go inside, there’s bright colours everywhere.
Upon further investigation, the wallpaper is actually white, but with bright figures on it. It’s got dogs, flowers, flamingos, Todd thinks it fits Dirk’s personality, from what he’s seen. Todd’s sitting on the kitchen counter, swinging with his legs with his sleeve up, while Dirk searches for the cabinet the band aids are in.
“Found them! They are Marvel band aids though, so you’ll just have to walk around with Thor on your arm. Doesn’t seem very difficult. Also, I have disinfectant spray.” Todd’s eyes go wide and he shakes his head wildly. “Don’t spray that on me, I swear to god I will kill you,” Todd threatens. “Oh well, looks like I caught another serial killer again, let me just-“ Dirk stops talking, and it seems like he’s moving the bottle of disinfectant spray to the side. However, in a nimble-fingered motion, Dirk opens the bottle and sprays it over Todd’s arm. “Fuck you!” Todd screams out. “Pussy,” Dirk says, laughing loudly at him. Dirk puts the Thor plaster on his arm, and taps it twice to indicate that he’s done.
Todd thanks Dirk quickly, and hops off the kitchen counter. When he turns around he notices Rapunzel and the cat laying down on Rapunzel’s dog pillow. It looks pretty cute, like he wants to take a picture of it and send it to a cute animals account. Todd walks over to the dog pillow, and starts petting them.
Dirk just stands watching, and after a bit he goes to sit on the couch. “Would you like to hang out for a bit before starting again? Because you’re like busy, all the time,” Dirk frowns a bit. “Only if you give me your phone number,” Todd responds with a slight grin, and he crashes on the couch before being comfortable. After Dirk smiles and nods, they’ve decided on watching Steven Universe, one of Dirk’s favourites.
At the end of episode seven, they have shifted a bit on the couch. This is a corner sofa, and Dirk is laying on the long part, with Todd almost touching him. Todd had moved there somewhere between episode three and four, because Rapunzel laid herself next to Dirk, and Todd wanted to pet her.
After another two episodes, Todd stretches out and stands up, looking at the time. “Yeah, I gotta go.” Dirk nods, and stands up. They stare at each other a bit dazzled. “Wait!” Dirk rises his index finger as if he has an idea. He grabs a pen from the coffee table, and then grabs Todd’s hand. Dirk clicks the pen while briefly stroking his thumb over Todd’s hand. “I still have to give you my number,” Dirk mumbles, as he starts to write it down. Todd is blushing a little, he was kind of joking when he said that, but he isn’t going to argue now.
“See you next time,” Dirk says with a smile. “See you next time,” Todd confirms with a small smile of his own. He looks at their hands touching and gently removes his own, before really saying goodbye.
↢⧫↣
On Thursday, Todd and Dirk see each other again. Todd asks Dirk if he would like to come over, and Dirk says yes. Todd had planned to only make small talk for about five minutes, but it turned into talking about sweet nothings for half an hour, while Olive and Rapunzel are begging Dirk to walk again.
Now, Saturday is finally here, and Todd wants it to be 5pm desperately. He had already cleaned the house, gone grocery shopping, and rearranged the pillows at least three times. Around 4:30pm he decides to call Amanda. “Hey dude,” she greets him. “Hello, how are you?” Todd and Amanda go through the standard conversation, but after that Todd decides to talk about Dirk coming over. “So, Dirk is-“ “Ooo the weird hottie who likes Beyoncé?” Todd sighs. “That’s besides the point Amanda, everyone likes Beyoncé. So, he’s coming over today and I’m cooking spaghetti carbonara.”
Amanda seems to change to a softer and more serious tone, and keeps a little bit of silence before replying. “Are you friends?” she asks. Todd hesitates a bit, “Yeah I think so.” “Is it a date?” There’s some struggling sounds coming from Todd, and he blushes and laughs a bit. “No no, we’ve only been talking for a week or two, just hanging out.”
“But you do like him?” Todd can just see her grin on the other side of the phone and sighs. “N-no, that’s silly.” “Alright Todd Brotzman.” “Stop it, Amanda Brotzman.” “I’m going to hang up.” “Alright bye.” Todd sighs again, but this time he’s in a room of silence. He puts his hands on his cheeks and feels how warm they are. Todd looks at the clock, and figures it’s time to start cooking. Dirk will be here in about ten minutes.
He cooks while also still panicking a little, and is so consumed in cooking and thinking that he jumps when he hears the doorbell. Stirring the sauce one more time, he runs to the door. His eyes wander over Dirk for a second, he is wearing a white shirt with “dogs before dudes” on it. “Hello Dirk!” Todd greets him. “Hi Todd,” Dirk smiles. They move to the kitchen, and Dirk goes to lean against the kitchen counter while Todd starts stirring in the pans again. “This smells delicious,” Dirk states. Todd gives him a little smile. “My mom taught me how to make this.”
When the spaghetti is done, they move to the living room. It feels more comfortable to eat on the couch while watching Steven Universe, than to go through the effort of setting the table. “Oo can we light the candles?” Dirk asks. There’s three strawberry scented candles on the table, which Todd has never used. When he moved here, Amanda gave them to him as a welcoming present, but Todd just didn’t see the point of it.
“Yeah I’ll go grab a lighter.” Todd walks to the kitchen and takes a moment to breathe. His cheeks are still as red as they were when he ended the call with Amanda. Once he finds the lighter he was looking for, he returns to the living room. Dirk is still on the couch, and Todd thinks he looks kind of cute when he’s all relaxed. Dirk has his legs crossed, with the plate on top of them. He’s humming happily, eating spaghetti and also tapping his fingers on his knees along with it.
Dirk watches Todd light the candles, and swallows before he begins talking. “This is just so good, and also I really like the interior of your house, and the candles, and that painting,” he points at Todds copy of Aves de corral by José Ruiz Blasco, “it’s just wonderful.” “Thanks Dirk, I really like the interior of your house, too,” Todd responds with only a bit of a fond smile. While eating the rest of the food, Dirk keeps talking a lot, and Todd keeps on watching him and chuckling every once in a while. Todd thinks he could watch him talk for ages, and he’s completely forgotten to turn on the tv, but neither of them mind.
After finishing, they clean up the plates, and decide to finally watch Steven Universe. It’s almost the end of autumn, and it’s cooling off quickly. “Are you cool with turning on the heater?” Todd asks. He’s always the first one to start wearing sweaters, and gets the worst case of cold hands. When Dirk nods, Todd almost runs to the thermostat, and grabs a blanket along with it too. “Are you that cold?” Dirk says, surprised. “Sorry, my hands are freezing.”
“Wait, come here.” Todd hesitates and looks a little confused, he’s not sure what Dirk is doing. Todd drapes the blanket around him, and while being careful for the candles, he sits next to Dirk. Dirk wraps his hands around Todds hands, and although it’s a little weird, Dirks hands are abnormally warm. After a bit Todd kind of leans against Dirk, and Dirk wraps his arm around him. “This is silly,” Dirk giggles, and he rubs over Todds shoulder. Todd now also starts to smile. They laugh and lean into each other for a minute, then Todd sits upright, saying: “It really feels like we’ve known each other for longer than two weeks.” Dirk nods, but tilts his head to the left, thinking. “That’s only if you don’t count the months we’ve been just staring at each other,” he says.
“Wait I’m going to move, it’s too warm,” Todd says while still laughing. “Or am I too hot?” “Yeah sure.” They giggle ridiculously again, and it dies out after a bit. There’s a comfortable silence, and they start watching again.
When Dirk says he needs to go home, it’s almost 11pm. They hug as a goodbye, something Todd has never done with any of his friends.
↢⧫↣
“So when did you get all touchy-feely?” Amanda asks, leaning on the counter. It’s Monday, and Todd is visiting Amanda’s bookstore. He just explained the rendezvous with Dirk, while taking sips of the coffee they drink together every weekday. “I-I’m not!” Todd exclaims. He might only like him a little bit. Not that Amanda needs to know that, and also, if he’s wrong about this he could lose his friendship with him. “Are you soft for Dirk then?” “Absolutely not, I’m tough.” Now Amanda is just laughing at him.
“Seriously dude, I think you need to get your shit together. You obviously like each other,” she says, smug about how right she is. “I could have misread the signs, I mean, what if he just felt like- I don’t know.” Todd shakes his head and sighs. He leans his elbows on the counter and his head on top of his hands. Amanda and he share a silence, which ends in Amanda petting his head once, saying: “Figure it out bro,” before leaving him alone with his slowly cooling off coffee.
Todd leaves huffing, and he’s debating whether he should go home and relax before he gets groceries and starts his paper round. He’s feeling a little sad, like he wants to lay in bed for a few hours and do nothing. His thoughts are already up in the air, confusing and big. Todd decides to go home, and once he gets there he falls face down on the couch, with no plan of moving.
Todd must’ve fallen asleep at some point, and wakes up because of the loud ringing noise of his phone. It’s Dirk calling. “Hi Todd! Just wondering how you’re doing.” That’s absolutely the last question Todd wants to answer today. So he lies. “I uh- great!” He makes sure to sound as happy as he can, having just woken up. “Right,” Dirk says, not sounding convinced at all. “I have to go actually,” Todd says quickly. He thinks he’s been too obvious, and panics a little. His eyes are closed with tension. “Er, alright.” There’s a short silence, but after that, they just say goodbye and hang up quickly. Todd sighs and starts falling asleep again.
Only a few minutes later, he’s awoken again, by the doorbell. “It’s open,” Todd says semi-loud. He sits up quickly and his eyes widen when he sees it’s Dirk. “Hi Todd. I wasn’t sure you were quite alright when you had to leave, so I really wanted to come over.” Seeing the look on Todd’s face, Dirk sees he’s done well to come over. He wraps Todd in a blanket burrito, and rubs his shoulder comforting. “What’s going on?” he asks with genuine concern in his eyes. Todd sighs again, and leans into Dirk’s touch. “I don’t know, just my sister saying stuff and overthinking I guess.” Dirk nods, “Are you stressed?” he asks. Todd shrugs and stares at the table. He doesn’t normally want people around when he’s miserable. For him it feels like he’s absorbed in self-pity, and he doesn’t want anyone to deal with it but himself.
“You know you’re not alone, right?” Dirk pulls the blanket-burrito against him, and strokes his arm gently, kissing his head every few minutes. It makes Todd feel different, kind of nice. It’s warm and soft, his cheeks are red. “How did you know when to call?” Todd still wonders. Dirk stops stroking his arm, “Just a hunch,” he says.
Todd feels at ease again, and decides to stop cuddling Dirk, and actually something. “Do you want something to drink?” he asks, standing up. “Erm, syrup please.” Todd keeps the blanket around him as a sort of cape and gets two cups filled with syrup. “How are you today?” asks Todd when he gives Dirk his cup. Dirk answers with a curious look, furrowing his brows. “I’ve been doing alright. Also, how do you know Farah? Because she asked me about you?”
Todd’s eyes widen in surprise: “Noooo not Farah! What did she tell you?” “Don’t ask another question, that’s just cheating, Todd!” Dirk says as he sits a bit straighter. “Well she’s my sister’s girlfriend.” “Amanda?” “I only have one sister you doof.” Dirk and Todd chat for another hour before they really have to part ways. Todd knows their friendship is now really blooming, with being able to talk for hours, and relaxing, feeling calm in his presence.
↢⧫↣
In a perfect situation, Todd would see Dirk every one of the following days. But they both have more important stuff to do, and the day Todd and Dirk finally find each other again is friday. Todd’s in his sisters shop, and she has been making a call for fifteen minutes already. He is bored to death, and starts checking his phone. There’s texts from Dirk waiting to be noticed, and when he opens them there’s a dozen.
Dork: todd i’m bored
Dork: help me
Dork: all my friends died
Dork: even rapunzel and olive are bored
Dork: steven universe is boring now without you
Dork: can i please come over
Todd looks over them with a smile. He’s missed Dirk, and although they texted a bit in the past days, it isn’t the same as really seeing each other. Todd texts back.
toad: I’m at my sisters bookstore
toad: You should come, it’s boring here too
When Amanda comes back, he quickly slides his phone back into his pocket. “What’re you smiling about?” she asks with a grin. Todd rolls his eyes. “Dirk is coming over.” “Oooooo.”
Todd and Amanda chat for a while until the door opens. It’s Dirk, wearing a black short-sleeved dress shirt with roses on them. Todd thinks he looks fantastic. “Hi Dirk!” Amanda waves enthusiastically. “Hello Amanda! Nice to meet you!” The two of them don’t just shake hands, they also hug. Sighing in relief, Todd thinks: thank god they don’t hate each other already.
As Todd leans against the counter, Dirk and Amanda are loudly chatting about all sorts of things, but mostly about Farah. “Farah’s very nice, but she can be so terrifying.” “She is, although I never saw you for a police guy, Dirk.” “Well I just fly the helicopter.” “That’s so cool! Wait do you know Mona too then?” “Yes, she’s so weird- I love her.”
Their conversation is cut off by the loud ringtone of Amanda’s phone. “Yes hello,” she holds a finger in the air as a sign for them to wait, and then leaves to the storage room. It’s very silent suddenly. They can faintly hear Amanda talking in the next room. Deciding not to eavesdrop, Dirk leans against the counter, right next to Todd. “Hey erm- It’s my birthday next week, and I’m having a couple of friends over, and I would really like you to come- also you could come early if you’d like,” Dirk says, blushing fiercely. “I’d love to, when is it?” Dirk and Todd set the details, and quickly their conversation is about random things again. Amanda joins, and they joke around for another hour.
↢⧫↣
Todd, for some reason, feels very nervous to go to Dirk’s birthday party. It’s the very first time he’s meeting any of Dirk’s friends, and if they’re all as hyperactive and loud as Dirk, he thinks he might have to leave early. Before leaving, Todd decides on wearing a black hoodie. He last-minute writes a birthday card, wraps the amazing present he got Dirk, and then he’s ready to go.
Dirk’s apartment seems very quiet, and Todd can see that everybody else has yet to arrive. It’s cold outside, and Todd is very happy when Dirk opens the door. “Aren’t you freezing?” Dirk exclaims. “A bit,” Todd shrugs. Todd guesses that he could’ve worn a scarf or gloves to make the cold more bearable, but he had been too lazy to search for them, and didn’t want to be late. They move inside, where it’s a lot warmer. Todd puts away his coat, and walks into the living room, where Dirk is waiting for him. He immediately decides to first give his present to Dirk, so he doesn’t have to awkwardly walk around with it any longer.
“Happy birthday!” Todd gives him the square shaped present he got him: a stargazing book with all the constellations and important sights in the sky. Dirk is beaming, hugging Todd as a thank you. They’re standing next to Dirk’s bookshelf, and soon they leave each other’s embrace. However, Dirk doesn’t let go of Todd’s hand. It’s very warm, the opposite of Todd’s freezing hand. It is just like last time, with Dirk being like a human heating. He feels fuzzy, and sees Dirk is also blushing. In an attempt to defuse the tension and lower the awkwardness, he begins, “do you like Rainbow Rowell, because-“
“Can I kiss you?” Dirk interrupts. Todd, being too caught up in his rambling, didn’t hear it very clear. “What?” he asks. “Can I kiss you?” Dirk asks again. Todd’s breath shudders, and he breathes out a soft “yes.” There’s a silence between them now, and it scares Todd a lot. He can hear the outside sounds from cars and birds, and his own quickening heartbeat. It all changes very quickly when Dirk’s lips are on his.
Todd’s hands are in the air in panic for the first bit of it. He can only think about the feeling in his belly, how good it feels to kiss Dirk. Dirk’s hands are softly going through the hair at the back of his head, and it makes him feel even more, a weird sound leaving his throat. Todd finally figures out what to do with his hands, putting them on Dirk’s hips. They’re deepening the kiss and it all just feels so good, but then the doorbell is ringing.
Dirk pulls away, but not after giving Todd one last peck. He’s panting a little, leaning his forehead against Todd’s. And when he’s really almost out the acceptable time to answer the doorbell, he kisses Todd’s forehead and then he’s gone. Todd feels his lips. They’re a little wet, but also so swollen. He hopes nobody’s going to notice it and link everything together. He’s just not ready for that, because he and Dirk didn’t really talk about it yet. Then Dirk’s friends come in, and he’s forced to stop thinking and socialize.
↢⧫↣
It’s almost eleven pm when most of Dirk’s friends have left. Todd isn’t really into the socializing thing, but if there’s one thing he noticed it’s that some friends of Dirk’s are even weirder than him. Although he doesn’t know what that means. He really liked Sherlock and Tina. Tina was a bit much, but he had a very good conversation with Sherlock, and when Tina joined in on that he started accepting and liking her. Panto and Silas were like the life of the parties. They were both very charismatic, Panto more than Silas, and Todd felt there was just no possibility to dislike them.
Now, only Mona, Farah and Amanda are left. Over the evening, Todd has noticed that Mona is really Dirk’s best friend, with inside jokes and talking without words. Todd didn’t really expect Dirk to have so much friends, but he’s glad Dirk has a huge support system. It’s what he deserves. Todd notices the clock, and decides he should be going home. He waits for a gap between the conversations, and says, “I think I should be heading home.” Dirk nods, “I’ll walk you out.”
Todd puts on his coat while Dirk is leaning against the wall behind him. “ I really enjoyed kissing you,” Dirk says, almost as quiet as a whisper. “I did, too.” Todd turns around and stands closer to Dirk, leaning closer towards him. In a heartbeat, they’re kissing again. Softer this time, and less awkward, also less desperate. Todd holds Dirk’s hands, and leans against him a bit, making Dirk fully leaning against the wall. Todd pulls away his lips, but keeps leaning his forehead against Dirk’s. “We should do this more often,” Todd says. “Agreed.” Todd kisses Dirk’s cheek, then his forehead, and ends with another kiss on his lips. “See you soon.” “See you soon,” Dirk repeats, but they’re still not moving. It seems they’re not quite ready to leave each other yet.
Again, they’re interrupted. Amanda opens the door of the hall, going wide-eyed. “I’m sorry, but I really have to pee.” Todd and Dirk both give her a smile and Dirk nods, before walking to the front door and really saying goodbye. “I’ll text you tomorrow, but goodnight for now,” Todd says, scratching behind his ear. “Goodnight, love,” Dirk smiles, kissing Todd’s cheek. Dirk and Todd give each other one last hug, and then Todd leaves.
↢⧫↣
If you would ask Todd Brotzman if he had a daily routine, he would hesitate, and say yes. It’s not like Dirk turned his life upside down, but Dirk did change him a little for the better. When Dirk learned about Todd’s pararibulitis, he didn’t run away like any of his friends did. Dirk actually made him feel comfortable enough to get a job around people again, and he’s now working at Amanda’s bookstore.
It’s not a boring routine anymore, because he has Dirk to spend time with in the evening. Todd spends most of his time at Dirk’s apartment, only going home to water his houseplants, or swap books every once in a while. They don’t officially live together, but it sure looks like they do. Tonight, friday, is date night. They both don’t have to work tomorrow, and they’ve decided on getting milkshakes.
It isn’t very busy, considering it’s almost eleven pm. They sit in the corner by the window. Todd orders a marshmallow milkshake with cookie crumbs on it, and Dirk orders a strawberry milkshake with candy on top. Todd and Dirk are sitting next to each other, and hold hands under the table. Dirk strokes his thumb over the back of Todd’s hand, and Todd’s head is leaning against Dirk’s shoulder. It’s very calming, sitting there like this. Todd is looking around, making up stories about the people that are at the cafe.
“That man looks like he could be a murderer,” Todd whispers while he raises his head. Dirk shakes his head. “Nah, I’ll bet you for five dollars that he’ll give the waiter a tip and pet that cat outside,” Dirk says. Todd shrugs affirmatively and puts his head back on Dirk’s shoulder. After a few minutes, the man indeed tips the waiter and pets a cat. “Do you know him or something?” Todd asks. Dirk smiles, “I really don’t, it was just a hunch.” He’s clearly very happy with himself, and Todd can’t help smiling too, giving him a peck on the lips. “I’ll pay for the milkshakes then.” “I was only joking.” “I’ll still pay.” “You’re ridiculous.” “I know.”
Todd and Dirk are jokingly chatting now. They stop when the milkshakes arrive, to have the standard conversation with the waiter. After that, Dirk starts stirring his milkshake slowly, and Todd takes a few slow sips. “Look, so I know you’re ridiculous, but I love you and you know I do. And I thought about your idea from Tuesday, and I’d love to move in together,” Dirk says, cautiously looking at Todd. Todd lets loose of his straw and has got a big smile on his face. “Really?” he asks. Todd tackles him in a hug, which makes Dirk lean against the window. Dirk is also smiling, his eyes wrinkling from happiness. “I can’t wait,” Todd says, still hugging Dirk. “Me either.”