Chapter Text
Dennis Reynolds hadn’t had a peaceful nights sleep in over a week, starting from last Monday when his neighbor moved in, It was a small, scruffy thing, desperately in need of a clean but Jesus could that thing bark. Day in, day out. A constant loop of high pitched yipping, and sure it wouldn't be so bad if the stupid dog kept to itself but it had started to scare poor Special Agent Jack Bauer. The cat had been non-stop hissing at the dog from Dennis’ window, at least someone shared his hatred for the animal. Dennis woke up a full hour before he usually would, the usual barking echoing around his room. Sound proof his ass, he’d have to make some minor adjustments if this kept happening, or maybe nothing could stop this dog from hell. The banging next door certainly didn’t help, but at least Dennis knew that would stop soon when his new neighbor settled on where he wanted his furniture.
So that's how Dennis started his morning, starting out his window after somewhat aggressively getting out of bed, but still careful not to disturb his cat who was sound asleep still. The traitor.
Dennis ran his hand through his bedraggled curls, glaring out the window as he watched the stupid dog chase after his stupid tail. Why someone would want an idiotic dog was beyond him.
He continued to brood over the absolute cons and only cons of dog ownership before something caught his eye.
A man. Small and scruffy, a lot like the dog. He was yelling loudly, again, like the dog however at least his words were muffled by the window. Dennis presumed this was his new neighbour, it made perfect sense for someone like that to own such an evil dog. Dennis stilled for a moment, watching the short man chase after the dog in a circle for a few minutes before falling over. Dennis scoffed. Of course his new neighbour was an idiot, it seemed everyone was these days.
Dennis turned from the window with a sigh, allowing himself to close his eyes, count to ten and continue about this day.
Continuing about his day proved to be quite hard, what with the dog from hell voicing in on everything.
From getting dressed to doing the dishes to watching the TV. Not a moment of silence throughout the day. He could feel his eyes twitching and was sure his face was red, hair in disarray. This had to stop.
“Fuck this!” Dennis exclaimed, standing up from his tense perch on the sofa.
With hsi fireplace poker in hand he was ready for the mission ahead of him. Beat the shit out of his neighbour and annihilate the dog.
He stormed out of his house, muttering about murdering his new neighbour in cold blood, he quickly took the patio steps two at time, which doesn’t sound half as impressive when you realize there’s only three steps. Whoever this guy is better be enjoying his last moments, Dennis thought as he banged on the door.
“Open up asshole!” He yelled, brandishing his fire poker and taking a stance that looked like something out of mortal kombat as he waited for his new neighbor to reveal themself.
The door creaked open, bit by bit. This dude was totally a pussy, he totally saw Dennis holding the fire poker and was terrified to open the door.
Finally the door opened fully and Dennis was so ready to give this tiny asshole a piece of his mind.
Expect this guy wasn’t tiny. Quite the opposite actually. No, this guy was almost the same height as himself and definitely not as scuffy as whoever was in the backyard, despite what his thick beard might suggest. The man who has tacked on a considerable amount of mass, compared to the short guy started scratching at his neck in an almost bored way as if Dennis wasn’t literally holding a blunt poker in his hand. “Dude, you okay?” He asked, finally looking at Dennis who was doing a bad job of hiding the poker.
Dennis choked on the words in his throat, feeling his face heat up as he spluttered for a response. Fuck. He plan was foiled. If he was to murder his neighbor and dog now, there would be a witness. Still, it was worth a shot.
“Yeah, erm,” Dennis cleared his throat, coughing into his hand, “I live next door, I just wanted to welcome my new good ol’ neighbor to the neighborhood, uh, is he in there?” Dennis lied like he never had before, fiery rage hiding behind what he deemed a sweet smile, an approachable smile.
The dark haired man just quirked a brow at him, “Thats me?” he said.
Dennis noted that it wasn’t a statement, like he wasn’t quite sure himself if he was the new neighbor. Dennis didn’t mean to laugh in his face, he really didn’t but the sound burst out of his lips as he doubled over, the fire poker nearly slipping from his fingers as he rested his hands against his knees.
Surely this was some sort of joke, there was no way this huge man owned such a small annoying dog. They say your pet starts to look like you, Dee said that once to Dennis, mentioning how him and Jack both have similar evil eyes and toothy smiles. Dennis thought his cat was quite handsome, thank you very much.
The man continued to stare at him, itching his beard every few seconds. “Sorry, sorry. You mean to tell me you own that rat that was running around making all that noise?” Dennis huffed a laugh, hands resting on his hips with a grin on his lips, as if this man was also in on the joke. As if this was just some big joke and Dennis wasn’t planning on murdering his dog.
Yeah, this guy definitely didn’t take it as a joke. His thick brows furrowed, confusion being replaced with a look of sheer annoyance. “Dude,” he started, “don’t talk about Charlie like that. I know he's kinda gross and loud, but he means well! You don’t even know him, like what the fuck-”
“Well, excuse me,” Dennis held his hands up in a mocking surrender, “I don’t need to know your dog to know he's loud as fuck. I mean, I can’t sleep, I need my sleep, I can't function without my sleep. So if you could please get your dog to be quiet that would be just great.”
Dennis was red by the end of his rant, hair sticking up at odd angles as he pointed the poker at the large man, who was currently sporting a very confused look. Suddenly everything seemed to click as the man made an elongated “Oh” sound, nodding his head. Dennis felt enraged and intrigued all at once. He couldn’t help but notice the small crinkles by the man’s eyes and how grinned with tight lips.
“You mean Poppins, right?”
Now it was Dennis’ turn to look confused, his face drooping.
“Yeah, Poppins can be like that. He’s just getting used to his new house is all,” the man spoke as if this was something he was used to, shoving his hands in his jackets and rocking on his heels. “Uh, I’ll try make sure he doesn’t bother you anymore, cool?”
Dennis felt mildly stunned, he came over he, no, stormed over here with the intentions of murder and yet this somewhat jolly man barely blinked an eye at him.
Huh. That's new. Could this be a feeling of fondness? Dennis pushed it aside.
“Yeah, cool…” Dennis couldn’t help but stare for a moment, there was something strangely charming about this man, something he couldn’t put his finger on. It didn’t matter anyway, Dennis was sure he was twice as charming. “I’m gonna…” he jutted his thumb over his shoulder, slowly making his way down the steps. “I’ll see you later, uh….”
“Mac,” said the stranger with a gentle half smile and a nod, he quirked an eyebrow at Dennis as if asking him his own name.
“Dennis,” the name come out quick and blurted, Dennis could feel his cheeks heat up, fuck, it was hot out today, right? That could be the only logical reason for the color in his face.
“Bye, see you,” he muttered, turning his back after throwing a short wave, which was returned back Mac and made his way back to his own house, practically sprinting up the patio and slamming the door behind him.
Inside Jack meowed at him, sitting in the hallway, staring him down with his usual evil look. “Oh, fuck you,” Dennis spat, rubbing at his face, “Don’t give me that look, jackass.”
He shook Mac from his mind, ridding his mind of those big dark eyes and his stupid beard and those thick arms that might hold him so tight that he-
What the fuck?
Dennis shook his head with a groan. He was in deep shit and he knew it.