Work Text:
Harrow frowned as Viren’s phone straight through to voicemail for the fifth time that afternoon. He hung up without leaving a message, worry growing; it wasn’t like Viren to ignore his calls. Harrow hesitated a long moment, thumb hovering over a second number. I’m probably over reacting. He’s busy, or his phone is off.
But Harrow hadn’t been able to reach Viren since Friday; three long days of absolutely nothing. They were each other’s emergency contacts, so nothing dangerous had happened- just Viren, falling out of communication for three whole days. A-Type, always-have-his-phone-charged-Viren. Harrow chewed his bottom lip, then thumb scrolled to texts instead, and typed quickly.
Hey Claudia, do you know where your father is? I’ve been trying to reach him but his phone is dead.
It wasn’t necessarily a lie, but he wasn’t ready to admit perhaps he had angered him and Viren was screening his calls. He sent it before he could change his mind.
Her reply came quicker then he had expected; the phone vibrated in his fingers.
He’s at home. He forgets to charge it when he’s busy.
A pause, then a second message.
I’m at mom’s with sorbear, or I would tell him. sorry
Harrow felt the tension in his shoulders slowly melt away. Viren at home, working overtime on some project seemed a lot more likely than Harrow having pissed him off unwittingly, to the point where he was screening his calls.
Well, that only left him with the option of driving over to his house, then. Nodding to himself, Harrow pocketed his phone, and snagged his keys off the ring by the door.
Just a quick hello. See how he’s doing. He reasoned, as he locked the door behind him.
I’m going to stop in on Viren, he texted his oldest son, and then added, I may be gone for dinner. You can order in but no sushi.
~*~
The drive between their two houses was not long, and within ten minutes Harrow was pulling into Viren’s pale gravel driveway; his car was there, but the lights seemed to be off in most of the house. He didn’t want to seem like a creeper- most of Viren’s neighbours were blocked by tall laurel bushes, but not all. So he only peered in the front window, and froze.
Oh no. He could see a figure on the sofa, curled up; Viren was slumped over on the couch, dishes haphazardly stacked on the coffee table in front of him and partially obscuring Harrow’s view. He was wrapped in one of Harrow’s red robes- Harrow frowned, he didn’t remember leaving one of those at Viren’s house.
I can’t believe he’s been sick this whole time. He felt bad for thinking Viren was angry with him- he should have stopped in sooner, checked on him instead of assuming Viren was upset. Harrow crossed over to the front door, and knocked.
The bell was one of those obnoxiously long jingles, and Viren despised it, but Soren had installed it, and despite attempts at pleading and bribes, he hadn’t managed to convince Soren to change it. Just as Harrow raised his hand to knock louder, the lock turned, and Viren opened the door, seeming startled to see him.
“Harrow? Has something happened?” Panic edged into his voice, and he looked over Harrow’s shoulder like there was going to be something horrible. Harrow leaned in, touching the side of his neck- not too warm, no fever- and stroking his fingers down the base of Viren’s skull soothingly.
“No, nothing has happened. I cam to check up on you.”
Viren looked confused, although he leaned absently into Harrow’s touch.
“Check up? Harrow, I saw you Friday.”
He didn’t sound sick, but his hair was dirty, and messy. It stuck up like it did whenever he’d been running his hands through it. Harrow could see a sleep shirt peaking out from under the robe.
“Babe, it’s Monday.” Said Harrow, soothingly. Maybe he had a fever and lost track of time?
Harrow stepped past Viren, inside, and Viren stepped back to allow him in. Harrow shut the door, and got his first good look inside as Viren visibly processed that he had lost three days of time, apparently. The house wasn’t dirty per say, but there were dishes (neatly piled) and a pillow and blanket thrown over the couch. Obviously, Viren had been camped out there.
Harrrow’s concern ramped up another notch, and he stroked his hand down Viren’s back.
“Babe, you should have told me you were sick, I would have come over sooner! I’ve been phoning you all weekend.” He tried to avoid dropping his voice in the way he did when the boys were sick; Viren was an adult, and he didn’t like being baby talked to, as he put it.
“I’m not sick, Harrow.”
Harrow leaned back, looking at the room, then back at Viren.
“….are you—?" he started hesitantly, and Viren cut him an annoyed look. Wisely, Harrow didn’t finish his sentence.
They moved in from the foyer, Harrow toeing off his shoes, and without consciously meaning to, he started to gather up the dishes dotting the surfaces of the room, stacking them carefully.
“So, if you aren’t sick?” he arched his brows, looking meaningfully at the pile of dishes, then up at Viren.
Viren pinked in the face, tugging closed the robe, and glanced around the room. He seemed a little startled by the mess.
“Claudia and Soren are with their mother this week. I—” he paused, and cleared his throat self consciously. His little embarrassed blush spread to the tips of his ears, and he studiously avoided Harrow’s eyes. “I started playing a… a game, Claudia said I would enjoy it- and you’re always saying I work too much, so I—” he cut himself off, and grimaced. “It’s strangely addicting. I wish it didn’t have spiders,” He added, under his breathe.
Harrow nodded. “Alright. Well, I’m proud of you for letting loose and going wild all week end.”
Viren narrowed his eyes at him, but Harrow could see the hints of a smile being concealed. He grinned at him, and leaned in to kiss his nose. “I will take care of the dishes. My darling, don’t take this the wrong way—”
“But I need to shower, yes, I-I’ll just go do that.”
Harrow rarely got to see Viren caught with his guard so far down; he couldn’t resist putting the dishes down, and tugging him closer for a proper kiss. Viren leaned against him with a satisfied noise, warm, and relaxed.
“After we finish up, why don’t you talk me through this captivating game?” Harrow murmured, enjoying the warm weight of Viren in his arms. Viren ducked his head, hiding a smile in Harrow’s shoulder.
“You’ll regret that offer,” Viren promised, as he pulled carefully away, hands lingering affectionately before he turned and went off to presumably shower.
~*~
He had spent his time cleaning up; loading the dishwasher, taking out the trash and recycling, wiping down the coffee table, and tossing the pillowcase and blanket down the basement stairs rather then get committed to doing a load of laundry. He was just shaking the pillow into a fresh pillowcase when Viren reappeared. His hair was wet, slicked back from his face, and a clean robe tied loosely closed. From the slice of damp skin Harrow could see, Viren wasn’t wearing anything under it.
He tossed the pillow down, opening his arms for Viren. On impulse, he kissed his nose, smiling when Viren wrinkled it.
“I thought we were playing your game?” Harrow asked softly, hands sliding down Viren’s back, fingers tugging the robe up so it edged an inch higher. Viren laughed softly, and leaned into him.
“Don’t have anywhere to be until tomorrow,” he whispered, then stepped back out of Harrow’s arms, plopping down on the sofa. Harrow snorted; it took a moment, but he got settled with Viren laying along his chest, pillow under Harrow’s head, and small brightly coloured game balanced on Harrow’s chest. Viren talked softly, explaining everything, and Harrow nodded along. Legs twined together, rubbing their ankles together lazily, he asked questions, and laughed when Viren explained about the spiders.
“It’s cute.” Harrow said, some time later, when the game chirped that it’s battery was low, and Viren was a heavy, sleepy weight against his chest. When no answer rose, Harrow lifted the game to see Viren, asleep on his chest. His thick hair had dried with a faint wave, curling over his closed eyes.
Harrow reached awkwardly to put the game down on the table, and smoothed his hands down Viren’s spine, sighing contentedly at the sleepy murmur it prompted.
~*~
“Yeah, no, I don’t think anything is wrong- I’ll be quick, Thanks mom, okay bye.” Claudia hung up the phone, tugging her keys out as he hung up, tapping off her screen, and tucking her phone into her back pocket.
She wasn’t concerned, not really, but she’d given her copy of Animal Crossing New Horizons to her dad, figuring he’d get bored with its simple idea. But if Harrow hadn’t heard from him….
She unlocked the door, and peeked inside.
She spotted the bright blue and green switch on the coffee table, and a lump on the couch. Creeping inside, she had to cover her mouth to keep quiet; her father lay draped over Harrow, both of them soundly asleep. Harrow’s arms circled Viren, and her Dad had his hand shoved under Harrow.
Fishing out her phone, she muted it, and took a quick photo.
Yeah, sorbear, he’s fine. She texted, attaching the photo. I’ll be home in twenty
She crept back out of the house, locking the door as quietly as she could.