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"DAMMIT DAN!", Brian shouted as he was hit by another red shell, making the other lads laugh. "How do you have so many red shells?"
"The Drift King has his ways, Brian." Dan teasingly responded, turning the final curve of the track and finishing in first, much to the surprise of nobody. Brian crossed the finish line shortly after, then Daithi, then Sean, with Kevin bringing up the rear.
"Ugh, I'm done. I can't take another round of this shite." Brian said, tossing his controller on the floor.
"Fair play, Brian. It's gettin' late after all, we should probably be heading to bed." Sean agreed. The Lads were spending the weekend at Sean's house, though he only had one guest bedroom (thankfully, with two twin beds), that Daithi and Brian had already claimed. Dan and Kevin would stay in the living room, as Sean's sectional couch was big enough for both of them to fit comfortably.
Daithi and Brian went off into the guest room while Sean pulled some spare pillows and blankets from the closet for Dan and Kevin. Everyone had changed into their sleepwear earlier in the night: with how long their Mario Kart marathons could go, everyone just wanted to be comfy. Kevin took the longer part of the sectional, while Dan took the shorter. Even with how big it was, their feet were nearly touching at the couch's corner piece. Both men laughed softly at this as Sean left to go to his own bedroom.
Meanwhile, in Daithi and Brian's room, Brian was already under the covers, on his side, facing the wall, trying to go to sleep. Daithi wasn't having it.
"Brian, tell me a story."
"No."
"But Briiiiaaaan I can't sleep without a storyyyy"
"Go feck yourself Daithi."
"Can I tell you a story then?"
"No."
"Once upon a time there was a lad named Brian, he sucked at Mario Kart and kept getting boned by the Drift Dadd-ow"
Daithi was cut off by Brian's pillow smacking him in the face. Even if Brian was pissed, he couldn't help but crack a smile at his friend's antics, and Daithi caught this, even in the room's dim light.
Both of them laughed as Daithi threw Brian's pillow back to him and settled in for some sleep.
Sean woke in his bed, suddenly freezing. He couldn't recall having turned the heat off at all. He took a glance at his phone to check the time (3:30 AM), and noticed that it wasn't charging, despite being plugged in.
"Oh no."
The power had gone out. That was when Sean noticed the sounds. It sounded like a full-on storm was brewing outside, with lightning and thunder flashes alongside a heavy rain pounding on the roof. Honestly, he's shocked that he didn't notice that first.
Normally, he'd just grab some of the extra blankets from the closet, but those were currently in use by the two lads on his couch. He threw on a hoodie and some socks, and grabbed the duvet off his bed, heading into the living room to check up on Dan and Kevin. Maybe stay with them if they needed him, Dan didn't exactly love thunderstorms.
He noticed Kevin already sitting up, Dan curled into him, flinching with every crack of thunder. Kevin had his arms wrapped around the younger lad, slowly stroking his back and whispering "It's okay" to him over and over.
Sean moved into Kevin's line of sight to get his friends' attention, so as to not further startle Dan. "Oh, hi Sean, did we wake you?" Kevin asked.
"Nah, this feckin' storm did. Power's out too, so I'm freezing my arse off in here. You two have my spare blankets."
"Uh, well I hope you're not here to ask for them back, we're cold too." Kevin laughed.
"Of course not. Just wonderin' if I could join ya. Body heat and all that."
"I'm fine with that if Dan is." Kevin answered, looking down at the man in his arms. Dan gave a small nod, prompting Sean to sit down on his other side. He threw the duvet he brought with him over the three of them, and snuggled into his friends. Dan was already looking a lot calmer.
The three sat in silence for a few minutes, until another lightning flash appeared, and Sean instinctively placed his hands over Dan's ears as the younger lad buried his face in Kevin's chest. The thunder came shortly after, which was expected.
What was not expected was a shout coming from the guest bedroom. Sean and Kevin looked in its direction curiously, only to see Brian storming out of the room and coming to join the others.
"Feckin' storm. I'm tired as shit but can't sleep at all. And Daithi won't shut up either, if he's up then everyone is. I'm joining you guys."
Sean lifted the part of the duvet covering him and Brian got underneath it. He felt a little weird about it at first, but seeing as the other three were snuggled up together like it was nothing, he decided to get over himself and fully nuzzle into Sean's arm as he closed his eyes.
"Briaaaaan..." Daithi whispered, making Brian's eyes pop back open. "I'm lonely noooow."
"Sucks to be you." Brian replied, closing his eyes again. Daithi wouldn't accept this. He lifted the duvet and got right next to Brian.
"I'm cold too."
"We can cuddle if ya promise to keep quiet." Brian said. "Some of us are trying to sleep."
"Fine." Daithi relented, putting his arms around Brian.
The storm tapered off, and the Lads, all tired and cold, started slowly drifting back off to sleep.
That lasted about 10 minutes.
*CRACK*
A whimper came from Dan as he hugged Kevin tighter. Sean and Daithi were shivering and Brian was about to lose his mind. Sensing this, Sean cuddled Brian on his other side, taking in his body heat for himself while he was at it.
"I really hope this storm ends soon." Kevin yawned, still rubbing Dan's back to comfort him. "I'm feckin' tired."
"Brian here's on the verge of killin' someone." Daithi added.
"Yeah, you're gonna be first." Brian snapped back, making the others laugh.
They saw another flash through the window, and waited for the thunder to follow. It took about 10 seconds before the sound could be heard.
"Oh my God, it's finally getting further away from us." Sean said happily.
Dan tentatively looked up from Kevin's chest and smiled at Sean's words. The storm finally seemed like it was calming down, too, with the heavy pounding of rain that was there before becoming a softer, more relaxing pitter-patter against the roof and windows.
About 10 minutes had passed, and there was no more thunder to be heard or lightning to be seen. Dan finally loosened his grip on Kevin, but didn't let go completely. The power was still out and the house was still freezing, after all. He looked up at the man who'd been helping him through the storm, only to find Kevin with his eyes closed and his breathing even.
He looked over at Sean, who had passed out as well, still cuddling Brian for his body heat. Brian had managed to get the sleep he desperately craved, with soft snores filling the room. Daithi's eyes were closed as well, so that explained why he'd been so uncharacteristically quiet.
Dan snuggled back into Kevin, Kevin's arms still around him. Closing his eyes, he focused on nothing but Kevin's heartbeat to calm him, and he soon drifted off surrounded by warmth and safety.